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Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity

2010-05-19T20:37:23Z

69.43.35.2: /* The Transformers cartoon */

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[[Image:G1OptimusPrimeStockFootage.jpg|thumb|right|350px|"Captions are the right of all TFwiki users"]]
Come read the incredibly complex, convoluted, and competing accounts of '''[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]]'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s massive amount of appearances in the [[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]!

==''The Transformers'' cartoon==
:''Voice actors:'' [[Peter Cullen]] (Optimus Prime, English), [[Laurie Faso]] (Orion Pax, English), [[Tesshō Genda]] (Japanese), [[Francis Lax]] (French), [[Hubert Gagnon]] (French Canadian), [[Willi Röbke]] (German), [[Thomas Rau]] (German ''Generation 2''), [[Diego Reggente]] (Italian, first season and part of second season), [[Giorgio Melazzi]] (Italian, third season).

[[Image:Orionpax.jpg|right|225px|thumb|Ariel spends a lot of time hanging around the docks.]]

Optimus Prime began his life as an Autobot named '''Orion Pax''' during the [[Golden Age]] of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] nine million years ago. Together with his girlfriend [[Elita One|Ariel]] and his best friend [[Dion]], Orion was a dock-worker at a [[storage yard 67|storage yard]] who had the simple job of unloading and storing shipments of energy that came from a power plant up-river. But the times in which Orion lived were strange ones: a new breed of robot had recently appeared on the planet, with strange robot-mode [[flight]] powers that led Orion and Dion to idolize them. Ariel wasn't so sure, having heard rumors that the flying robots' leader had recently perpetrated an attack on an outer city.

[[Image:Wardawn_orion_dies.jpg|left|210px|thumb|Better get used to [[The many deaths of Optimus Prime|dying horribly]], buddy.]]

One day, Orion was going about work as usual when an unfamiliar group of [[Aerialbot (G1)|five robots]] arrived on the docks, and Orion, wondering if they were new workers, introduced himself and his friends. At that moment, all attentions turned skyward as a group of the flying robots soared by overhead. Both Ariel and the newcomers urged caution in dealing with the fliers, but Orion waved off their concerns, and returned to work. Before long, Orion was shocked when he was approached by [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]], leader of the flying robots, who claimed to be looking for a place to store his wares. Overcome, Orion showed Megatron around the warehouses and explained that they were used for storing energy... at which point Megatron ordered his followers, the [[Decepticon]]s, to attack and steal it all! When Orion took a shot to the shoulder from the Decepticon leader, Ariel rushed to his defense, but was hit by another blast from Megatron. The enraged Orion lunged at Megatron, but was shot down by yet another blast from the Decepticon's cannon.

[[Image:Sfat prime and elita fb.jpg|right|thumb|"No girls allowed"]]

While Megatron and the Decepticons set about pillaging the warehouses, the five robots Orion had met earlier carried his body away, in hopes of finding someone to repair him. They came upon the Cybertronian machinesmith [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]], who reluctantly decided to subject Orion to a new reconstruction process he had developed, which would rebuild the Autobots' frail bodies into battle-hardy configurations so that they could battle the Decepticons on even footing. Thus it was that Orion Pax became Optimus Prime, the new leader of the Autobots, and was given the [[Matrix of Leadership]], which Alpha Trion had kept safe since Megatron had killed its [[U-Haul Robot|previous holder]]. While Alpha Trion set to work on rebuilding Ariel into "[[Elita One]]" using Prime's schematics as a basis, Prime confronted Megatron, introducing himself as the Decepticon's "worst nightmare". A mighty battle ensued, which came to an end when the warehouse's fuel stockpiles were blown up by the five enigmatic Autobots, who disappeared. {{storylink|War Dawn}}

Over the following five million years, Optimus Prime led the Autobots in a steady war of attrition that gradually drained Cybertron of almost all of its energy. In order to continue the fight, Prime arranged for an interstellar expedition to search for energy on other planets. Loading his best and brightest aboard a huge [[Ark (G1)|spacecraft]], Prime was the last to board, but was stopped by a cry from Elita One, who came running up to the launch platform. Prime told her that he would return for her as soon as he could, but Elita was intent on joining Prime on the mission. No debate was to be had, however, as a Decepticon attack on the platform caused an explosion that seemingly destroyed Elita. Crestfallen, Prime boarded the spacecraft and ordered a take-off, unaware that Elita had, in fact, survived. {{storylink|The Search for Alpha Trion}}

[[Image:Mtmte1 prime controls.jpg|left|thumb|The Transformers spent four million years in stasis lock because Prime never learned to turn INTO the skid.]]

The Autobots' spacecraft had a troubled flight. After navigating a treacherous asteroid field, the ship was caught in a tractor beam from a [[Nemesis (G1)|Decepticon space cruiser]] that had been shadowing them, under the command of Megatron himself. Megatron's forces swarmed the Autobot ship, and the two leaders grappled until the G-force of the nearby planet [[Earth]] took hold of the craft, and dragged it down. Although Prime tried valiantly to pull the ship up, it collided with a [[Mount St. Hilary|mountain]] so violently that all the Autobots and Decepticons were knocked offline.

[[Image:Mtmte2_witiwickys_saved.jpg|215px|right|thumb|Water-boarding is unconstitutional]]

Four million years later, in 1984, a volcanic eruption jarred the ship's computer, [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]], back online, and it set about reviving the Transformers indiscriminately, beginning with the Decepticons. The evil robots soon departed the Ark, but thanks to a tremor caused by a petty parting shot upon the ship from [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]], the inactive form of Optimus Prime was jostled into the path of Teletraan I's restoration beam. Reconfigured by the computer to transform into a tractor trailer, Prime thanked Teletraan for its efforts with a thumbs-up, and quickly saw to the reactivation of all his fellow Autobots. Wasting no time, Prime led the Autobots in pursuing the Decepticons, who were in the process of attacking an oil rig. Prime and Megatron faced off, but Prime was promptly set upon by [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]], allowing Megatron to break off the fight and collapse the oil rig with a few well-placed blasts. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 1}} Prime quickly rescued a pair of rig workers—[[Sparkplug Witwicky]] and his son [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike]]—and introduced himself and the Autobots to the two grateful humans, who volunteered to help the Autobots learn more about Earth.

[[Image:Mtmte2_shermandam.jpg|left|250px|thumb|"Hey, Megatron! Lemme axe you a question!"]]

Next, the Decepticons targeted [[Sherman Dam]], and Prime led the Autobots in an attempt to stop them, battling Megatron atop the dam with his retractable [[energon-axe]]. Distracted by a cry for help from Spike, Prime was knocked off the dam by Megatron, and the Decepticons escaped to carry out their next raid, this time on the [[Ruby Crystal Mines of Burma]]. When the Autobots arrived at the mines, Sparkplug and [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] were sent in to plant an explosive charge that would entomb the Decepticons. When the pair did not return, Prime drove up to the mineshaft and deployed [[Roller]] to investigate. No sooner had Roller entered the mine, however, than the charge went off, and Prime was caught in the blast and hurled off the cliff. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 2}} Prime and Roller both survived the explosion, but unfortunately, so did the Decepticons, who blasted their way free of the collapsed mine and took to the air. Prime tried to stop [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] from pursuing the villains, but his old friend would not listen and was shot down. Prime was happy that Ironhide was okay, but reminded him that there was a thin line between being a hero, and being a memory.

[[Image:Mtmte3_prime_combatdeck.jpg|right|225px|thumb|In mere moments, the gun would be destroyed, but the finger would keep right on firing.]]

After the Autobots' attempt to use a phony holographic rocket base to dupe the Decepticons failed, Megatron stood poised to return to Cybertron. Prime called for volunteers for the dangerous mission to stop the Decepticons' blasting off in their new [[Decepticon Headquarters|space cruiser]], and all the Autobots stepped forward, including Spike and Sparkplug. With all his soldiers behind him, Prime led the Autobots into battle once more, and once again faced off with Megatron, this time using the additional firepower of his [[Combat Deck]] against his enemy. When the combat shifted to hand-to-hand, however, Prime was blindsided by [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]], affording Megatron the opportunity to call off the fight and instruct the Decepticons to board the cruiser. As the craft took off, emotion got the better of Prime, and in a rare display of short-temperedness and anger, he roared at [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] to hand over his rocket pack. With the pack's additional boost, Prime achieved escape velocity and followed the cruiser into space, but a blast from its artillery hatch sent him plummeting back to Earth. His anger fading to despair, Prime declared that the Decepticons had won... before noticing that [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] was missing. In fact, the invisible Autobot had stowed away aboard the Decepticons' cruiser and sabotaged it from within, causing it to crash back to Earth, into the ocean. Believing the Decepticons aboard destroyed, Prime ordered the Autobots back to the ship, so that they could continue rebuilding it and return to Cybertron themselves. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 3}}

[[Image:Too_prime_truckmode.jpg|left|thumb|225px|The smokestacks were filed down for your safety, kids.]]

One night, months later, before rebuilding was complete, Prime and Ironhide stood looking out at the ocean, and Prime confessed he was not entirely convinced that the Decepticons were gone for good. And he was right: before long, Teletraan I reported an emergency at a solar power plant, and Optimus discovered to his horror that Megatron still lived. Prime led a team of Autobots to drive the villains off, and while they were successful, the Decepticons escaped with a large quantity of energy to send to Cybertron with their new intergalactic "[[space bridge]]" transport system. Spike was captured and nearly sent across the bridge with the energy, but at the last moment, Prime blasted him free of the transport pod and then hurled Megatron into the bridge in his place. {{storylink|Transport to Oblivion}} Megatron was not gone for long, however, and when Prime next faced his eternal enemy, it was for possession of an [[antimatter]] energy formula. {{storylink|Roll for It}}

[[Image:Divide and conquer.jpg|right|225px|thumb|He was recovering nicely until Bumblebee tripped while carrying his dynamite collection.]]

While searching for any trace of where the Decepticons' space bridge would next materialize, Prime received word of a Decepticon attack on a weapons factory and sped to the scene. In the battle that followed, Prime was badly injured by an exploding computer bank when he shielded the human workers with his body, and was taken back to Autobot Headquarters for repair. Alas, Laserbeak followed the Autobots back to their base, and while Prime was lying on a medical table with his internal mechanisms exposed, the crooked cassette struck, destroying Prime's vital [[cosmotron]] component. A team of Autobots were dispatched to Cybertron to recover a replacement cosmotron, but in their absence, the Decepticons initiated an all-out attack on the Autobots. At the last moment, the cosmotron arrived, and the repaired Prime made a dramatic entrance onto the battlefield, challenging Megatron to one-on-one combat and soundly defeating him. {{storylink|Divide and Conquer}}

After leading the Autobots on a mission to the Arctic to stop the Decepticons from draining the energy of the Earth's core, {{storylink|Fire in the Sky}} Optimus Prime okayed [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] and [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]]'s project to create robotic dinosaurs to bolster their forces. Unfortunately, when the three "[[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]]" turned out to be dangerous, simple-minded monsters, Prime ordered them destroyed. Wheeljack was able to talk him down to merely deactivating the Dinobots and sealing them in a cavern in their volcano headquarters... and a good thing, too, since soon after, when Prime and the Autobots were defeated in battle with the Decepticons at the [[Great Falls]], Wheeljack was able to bring the Dinobots back online to save the day. Realizing that "even the wisest of men and machines can be in error", Prime overruled his previous order, and allowed the Dinobots to remain part of the Autobot ranks. {{storylink|S.O.S. Dinobots}}

[[Image:Grimlockapologize.jpg|left|250px|thumb|"Someday, my large friend, [[Grimlock (G1)/toys#Masterpiece|the tables will be turned]]."]]

Following a mission to Peru, {{storylink|Fire on the Mountain}} Prime was so impressed with the Dinobot trio's improved performance that he ordered the creation of two more. Unfortunately, Prime would soon learn that the Dinobots were not perfect; left alone to guard a [[Meteorini Chipperoni|strange energy-rich meteorite]], the Dinobots were approached by Megatron, who exploited their simple brains to turn them against Optimus Prime. Soon after, when Prime discovered that the meteorite was unstable and set to explode, he rushed out to warn the Dinobots, only to be attacked by them and taken to Megatron. The Decepticons had also stolen the meteorite, unaware of its impending detonation, and when the space-rock finally exploded, Prime dove into action and shoved the Dinobot leader [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] to safety. Realizing that Optimus Prime was on the side of the angels, Grimlock apologized, and he and Prime shook hands. {{storylink|War of the Dinobots}}

[[Image:SurfsUp.jpg|right|225px|thumb|There is no way it could be cooler than this...]]

When the Decepticons constructed a massive "space pyramid" in order to bring Cybertron into Earth's orbit, that they might exploit the energies released in the chaos that would ensue, Prime attempted to stop Megatron from activating the third and final pylon in the system. Megatron merely laughed, and informed Prime that ''he'' would be the one to activate the pylon—for if he did not, Cybertron would be utterly destroyed! {{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 1}} Prime was forced to comply and brought the pylon online, but he did not linger on the moral repercussions of his decision, and instead led the Autobots in combatting the environmental terrors that Cybertron's orbit unleashed. On top of all this mayhem, the Decepticons had also used [[hypno-chip]]s to mind-control human slaves into helping them gather energy, including Sparkplug Witwicky. Learning that Sparkplug had been taken to work on Cybertron, Prime felt that it would be best if Spike did not find out, only for the boy to overhear him discussing it. Prime permitted Spike to join a team of Autobots that were heading for Cybertron to investigate the source of the Decepticons' mind-control. {{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 2}} Prime then led another team of the Autobots on a mission to stop the construction of a Decepticon hydro-electric generator, cruising into battle on Transformer-sized surfboards. Things came to a head in a huge firefight on a tropical island, during which the Autobots returned from Cybertron with a device that undid the effects of the hypno-chips. Megatron cut his losses and fled with the energy he had gathered, but Prime then opened fire on his craft, blowing up the energy within and creating an explosion powerful enough to thrust Cybertron back out of orbit. {{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 3}}

[[Image:CountdownToExtinction.jpg|left|thumb|... I stand corrected.]]

In the wake of Cybertron's orbit, Optimus Prime and the Autobots set about repairing the damage done to Earth, when an even greater threat emerged: Starscream set an [[Exponential Generator]] to overlord and destroy the planet. For the first time—but not the last—Prime and Megatron were forced to team up for the greater good (or the lesser evil), as Megatron transformed into pistol mode and allowed Prime to wield him so that they could shoot the exponential generator into space and save Earth. {{storylink|Countdown to Extinction (episode)|Countdown to Extinction}}

[[Image:Tanker throw.jpg|right|225px|thumb|Eat your heart out, Superman.]]

Hearing reports of giant robotic insects in Bali, Optimus Prime led a team of Autobots to investigate. The team discovered that the insects in questions were a trio of "[[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticons]]" who had allied themselves with Megatron, and pursued them to an oil refinery the Decepticons were in the process of plundering. In one of his most impressive feats of strength ever recorded, Optimus Prime hoisted an entire oil tanker over his head and hurled it at Megatron. The Insecticons were so awed by this display of strength that they decided to consume the gathered energon and flee, earning them Megatron's ire. Although he considered the day a victory, Prime worried that the Insecticons would inevitably ally themselves with Megatron again. {{storylink|A Plague of Insecticons}}

[[Image:HeavyMetalWar Primedefeated.jpg|left|thumb|"I... fell on my keys.. ow."]]

When an unarmed Megatron appeared in front of Autobot Headquarters claiming that he had come only to talk, Optimus Prime agreed to hear him out, and found himself challenged to a one-on-one duel in accordance with Cybertron law. The loser of the duel and his troops would be forced to vacate Earth forever, but Prime confidently and honorably accepted the challenge. Little did Prime realize that Megatron had found a way to imbue himself with the different powers of all his Decepticon troops, and when the battle began, Prime was defeated with shocking speed. Believing that he had simply been unaware of the number of powers at Megatron's command, Prime sorrowfully agreed to leave Earth, much to the other Autobots' chagrin. When they returned to Autobot Headquarters to prepare for their departure, they discovered Megatron's newest warriors, the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]], in battle with the Dinobots, but Prime refused to get involved, citing the law despite Ironhide's protests. Spike's friend [[Chip Chase]] had his suspicions about the battle and used Teletraan I to scan Prime's injuries, revealing Megatron's deception. As the battle had been unlawfully won, Prime was able to disregard the law and lead the Autobots into the battle raging outside. Prime was able to blast the Constructicons' merged form of [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] apart with his laser rifle, and the Autobots ganged up on the Decepticons and forced them into a lava-filled crevasse. Prime and Megatron faced off once more, and Prime sent Megatron to join his troops in the magma below. Spike asked if the Decepticons were gone forever, prompting Optimus to wonder aloud... in the vast universe, was anything truly forever? {{storylink|Heavy Metal War}}

[[Image:Autobotspike_prime_vs_autobotx.jpg|215px|right|thumb]]

As 1985 rolled in, Optimus Prime found himself on the receiving end of the fury of "Autobot Spike", as he struggled to bring the young Witwicky back to his right mind after his consciousness was implanted in a [[Autobot X|robot body]]. {{storylink|Autobot Spike}} Later, when Megatron threatened the stability of the [[sun]] with his [[Solar Needle]], Prime was caught off guard by the Decepticon leader and wound up staring down his fusion cannon. Megatron ordered the other Autobots to lay down their weapons, but Prime told them to leave him to his fate and destroy the needle. Refusing to risk their commander's life, the Autobots complied with Megatron's wishes, but Prime found a way out of the situation by requesting a last wish: he asked [[Gears (G1)|Gears]], who had been rendered totally subservient by the removal of one of his circuit cards, to destroy the Solar Needle for him, and the deed was done before Megatron could do anything about it. {{storylink|Changing Gears}}

[[Image:Cos prime disassembled.jpg|left|225px|thumb|"The seller promised he was mint!"]]

Responding to reports of Decepticon activity in New York City, Optimus Prime was captured by the evil robots and disassembled into his component parts by [[Hook (G1)|Hook]]. The Autobots were able to recover their leader's head, but the other parts of his body had been rebuilt into an [[alligatorcon]] that the Autobots were forced to defeat and disassemble in order to restore him. Even after his body was rebuilt, Prime was still missing his right arm, which had been mounted as a laser turret on the top of the [[Empire State Building]]. Luckily, Prime was able to remote-control his arm, and used it to blast Devastator off the building, after which the Autobots reclaimed and re-attached Prime's errant limb. {{storylink|City of Steel}} The Decepticons were not done trying to manipulate Prime for their own ends, however; for their next evil scheme, they attacked his mind instead of his body, using a [[personality destabilizer]] to turn Prime and his fellow Autobots to the side of evil. Sparkplug was able to rig up [[attitude exchanger]]s to restore the Autobots to normal, but Prime was able to avoid being tagged by the devices by splitting up into his three components and bedeviling the Autobots on three fronts. Finally, Bumblebee took it upon himself to charge into Prime, and succeeded in restoring his leader's mind. {{storylink|Attack of the Autobots}}

[[Image:Dotm_prime_vs_torq3.jpg|right|215px|thumb]]

Numerous crazy gadgets formed the backbone of Prime's next few adventures, as he battled the Decepticons for control of [[electro-cell]]s, {{storylink|Traitor}} had to convince Ironhide to remain with the Autobots when his old friend botched a mission involved Wheeljack's new [[Immobilizer]], {{storylink|The Immobilizer}} and found himself temporarily trapped in truck mode by the [[Transfixatron]] when he and the other Autobots participated in the "Autobot Run" charity race. {{storylink|The Autobot Run}} Later, when the Decepticons allied themselves with the [[Sub-Atlantica]]ns and attacked [[Washington, D.C.]], Prime was felled by a blast from an anti-Transformer disruptor ray created by the Sub-Atlantican king, [[Nergill]]. Prime's diodes were pulled out of the laser fire by the fortunate arrival of Grimlock and the Dinobots, and the Dinobot leader didn't hesitate to point out that fact. Prime then transported the Dinobots to Sub-Atlantica in his trailer, and unleashed them upon the fish-men with the order to "act prehistoric!" {{storylink|Atlantis, Arise!}}

When Megatron took control of the super computer [[TORQ III]], Prime gave a particularly good account of himself, duping and defeating the addled computer almost single-handedly, besting Megatron in hand-to-hand combat and destroying his remote control device, and saving [[Hound (G1)|Hound]], [[Jetfire (G1)|Skyfire]] and Spike from a sinking oil platform. {{storylink|Day of the Machines}} The Decepticons struck back with another plot that involved controlling an Earth machine; even Optimus Prime found himself outmatched by the robotic ninja [[Nightbird (G1)|Nightbird]], and his attempts to reason with the lifeless construct fell on deaf ears. {{storylink|Enter the Nightbird}}

[[Image:Primeproblem prime and clone.jpg|left|215px|thumb|"Oh noes! If only there were some way to tell them apart! [[Matrix of Leadership|Sacred lifeforce]]? What?"]]

As part of a plot to lead the Autobots to their doom in a crevasse of [[korlonium crystal]]s, Megatron created a [[Optimus Prime clone|perfect clone of Optimus Prime]], which he could remote control from a distance. Despite the Prime clone's blatantly odd behavior, the Autobots were unable to tell the difference between the two Primes, so they staged several contests in hopes of identifying the true Prime through his skills. Unfortunately, a sharp-shooting test and a race yielded no results, and the Autobots were forced to table the debate and go into battle against the Decepticons with both Primes. To fully complete the illusion, Megatron proceeded to create a clone of Starscream, which his Prime clone then destroyed, convincing the Autobots that it was the genuine article. Unfortunately, Megatron promptly blew his ruse by dismissing Spike's safety as unimportant, and all of the Autobots immediately turned on the clone and blew it to smithereens. {{storylink|A Prime Problem}}

[[Image:Dinobotisland jetpacks.jpg|right|215px|thumb|Eat your heart out Super...oh wait.]]

Next, Prime found himself allying with Megatron on two separate occasions, first to prevent the destruction of the Earth when a Decepticon attempt to drill to the planet's core went awry {{storylink|The Core}}, and then again when the Insecticons drained the [[Nova Power Core|power core]] of the [[Nova Power Plant]] and grew in size and power. In the latter instance, Prime again wielded Megatron in gun mode to shoot capsules of antidote into the Insecticons, shrinking them back to normal before they exploded. {{storylink|The Insecticon Syndrome}}

After another disastrous Dinobot rampage in Autobot Headquarters, Optimus Prime ordered the Dinobots to relocate to [[Dinobot Island (G1)|Dinobot Island]], a strange prehistoric paradise the Autobots had just recently discovered. Unfortunately, the Decepticons followed the Dinobots there and began draining the island's rich sources of energy, disrupting the fabric of space and time and causing humans and other creatures from throughout time to materialize in the present day. {{storylink|Dinobot Island, Part 1}} Prime put his trailer to use as a holding pen for a herd of woolly mammoths, and after the prehistoric pachyderms were returned to their home time, he donned a jetpack and led a team of Autobots to Dinobot Island to stop the Decepticons' plan. {{storylink|Dinobot Island, Part 2}}

[[Image:Master builders prime basketball.jpg|left|215px|thumb|Red bots can't jump.]]

In the midst of some basketball lessons from Spike, Prime was approached by [[Grapple]] with a design for a solar power tower, but was forced to forbid its construction on the basis that it had no means of defense against a Decepticon attack. Consumed with a desire to build the tower, Grapple and [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] wound up allying with the Constructicons to construct the tower, only to be promptly turned on and entombed within it once it was complete. Prime and the Autobots rescued them, and while Prime accepted their apologies, he still had them clear up the wreckage of the tower as punishment. {{storylink|The Master Builders}}

Optimus Prime later helped test Wheeljack's new [[Negavator]] weapon and had to deal with a paranoid [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]], {{storylink|Auto Berserk}} then found himself faced with a super-powered Megatron when the Decepticon leader boosted his systems with the [[Heart of Cybertron]]. {{storylink|Microbots}}

[[Image:MMP1 Gavel bang.jpg|right|215px|thumb|A collection of G1 Transformers toys, sold to the [[Megatron (G1)|psychotic robotic madman offscreen]].]]

After helping to save [[Central City (G1)|Central City]]'s new solar energy facility from Decepticon attack, Optimus Prime and the Autobots were honored at city hall, but the ceremony turned sour when the mayor's rival, [[Shawn Berger]], framed the Autobots for raiding an oil field using a video tape faked by the Decepticons (which featured a costumed Starscream playing the role of Prime). Prime and the Autobots were called to trial and found guilty of crimes against Earth, and Prime reluctantly accepted the court's ruling that they leave Earth and return to Cybertron aboard a craft supplied by Berger. {{storylink|Megatron's Master Plan, Part 1}} Prime soon regretted his decision and ordered [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] to turn the rocket around, only to discover that Megatron had set it to collide with the sun and destroy them all. Thanks to [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]]'s force field, Prime and the Autobots survived the explosion of their rocket, and returned to Earth to clear their names. {{storylink|Megatron's Master Plan, Part 2}}

When Optimus Prime attended [[Professor Greene]]'s demonstration of his new [[Ultra Plane]], the Decepticons attacked and destroyed the new weapon. In the battle that resulted, the Autobots and Decepticons began to suffer sudden system malfunctions that were quickly deduced to be a result of the [[cybertonium]] in their systems degenerating after four million years on Earth. {{storylink|Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 1}} Spike and his girlfriend [[Carly]] braved a perilous journey to Cybertron, recovering enough cybertonium to repair the Autobots, and were appointed honorary Autobots by Prime for their efforts. {{Storylink|Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 2}}

[[Image:Goldenlagoon_prime_perceptor.jpg|left|225px|thumb| Rare [[Lucky Draw]] Optimus and Perceptor.]]

Optimus Prime was particularly exasperated with [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] when he broadcast a rock concert back into the Autobot base, partially because of the ungodly noise, but mostly because it meant that the Autobots failed to receive a distress call from [[Professor Haley]], whose [[Voltronic Galaxer]] device had been stolen by the Decepticons. It was with Blaster's help, however, that Prime then bested Megatron in a battle on the [[Moon (moon)|Moon]], and so he allowed Blaster to turn Megatron's moonbase into a radio station that he could broadcast from. {{storylink|Blaster Blues}}

Prime later led the Autobots in battle for control of the [[electrum|golden lagoon]], {{storylink|The Golden Lagoon}} then found himself playing the role of tech-support as he talked [[Talaria]] through the activation of [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]]'s signal beacon via a communications channel when the space-faring Autobot was stranded on [[Titan (moon)|Titan]]. Prime intended to go to Titan and rescue Cosmos himself, but Red Alert urged against it, and [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] wound up going in his place.{{storylink|The God Gambit}} Prime later agreed to help the NYPD bust a carjacking ring headed up by the [[Geddis brothers]], leading to another confrontation with the Geddis's secret allies, the Decepticons. {{storylink|Make Tracks}}

[[Image:Childsplay_aron_and_prime.jpg|right|thumb| Aron just finished his cartoon accurate Optimus kitbash.]]

When the Decepticons attempted to turn a baseball stadium into a new space bridge, the mechanism malfunction, teleporting Prime, Bumblebee, [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]], [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]], [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] and a quartet of Decepticons to an alien planet inhabited by giants. Prime took the diplomatic approach, introducing himself and the Autobots to [[Aron]], the alien boy into whose room they had been transported, and Aron then helped his new friends evade capture and dissection by the planet's authorities. Following a riotous sewer-surfing journey back to Aron's house, the Autobots departed the planet in a toy rocket ship Perceptor had rewired. {{storylink|Child's Play (episode)|Child's Play}} On the return journey to Earth, however, the Autobots were captured by the alien gambler [[Bosch]], who brainwashed them all, save Smokescreen, and sold them to [[Lord Gyconi]] on the asteroid resort of [[Monacus]]. Prime was pitted against an [[Animalien]] in a gladiatorial battle for Gyconi's patrons' amusement before Smokescreen and Bosch secured the Autobots' freedom and restored their minds. {{storylink|The Gambler}} Upon his return to Earth, Optimus Prime faced the menace of the [[Morphobot]]s. {{storylink|Quest for Survival}}

When reports came in of the Constructicons mining an asteroid out in space, Optimus Prime requested that Omega Supreme investigate. The asteroid proved to be an egg containing an [[asteroid bird alien|alien bird monster]], which emerged and began attacking [[San Francisco]], but Omega ignored Prime's orders to intervene and shut off his communicator in mid-battle, preferring to seek revenge against the Constructicons. Prime was forced to intervene, getting between Omega and his quarry and finally convincing the giant Autobot to help dispose of the alien, on the basis that there were more important things in life than revenge. {{storylink|The Secret of Omega Supreme}}

Outfitted with a special coating of insulation to protect himself, Prime led a small team of Autobots to Japan to stop Megatron's latest creation, the demented energy imp known as [[Kremzeek]]. When the Autobots finally got the better of the crazy creature, Prime had to regretfully order his destruction. {{storylink|Kremzeek!}}

[[Image:Primetarget_beast_of_borneo.jpg|left|thumb|Bad touch!]]

After receiving a distress signal from the planet of [[Tlalakan]]s, Prime ordered a team of Autobots to investigate, but was unable to go himself as he was too large for Cosmos to carry. {{storylink|Sea Change}} Later, when Megatron, Starscream, [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] and [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] began feuding for Decepticon leadership, Prime was greatly amused by the whole thing, calling it a "domestic squabble" and taunting Megatron by dismissing him so he could fight the "real" leaders of the Decepticons. Prime kept the other Autobots from getting involved in the battle, and sure enough, the Decepticons wound up knocking the fight out of each other. The other Autobots agreed there was only one leader for them, and formed a throne out of their bodies for Prime to sit upon, but Prime said he preferred to roll. {{storylink|Triple Takeover}}

Optimus Prime's fame and prowess soon led him to become the target of the demented big-game hunter, [[Lord Chumley]], who sought Prime's head to go along with his other rare trophies. Chumley captured several Autobots in order to lure Prime to his estate, and of course, the Autobot leader had no choice but to comply. Battling his way through a mock-up of Cybertron itself against all kind of bizarre traps and creatures, from a ferocious [[dragon]]-like beast, to several robotic arachnids, to the interfering Astrotrain and Blitzwing, Prime succeeded in freeing his Autobot comrades, capturing Chumley, and delivering him to the authorities. {{storylink|Prime Target}}

[[Image:G1 Prime Elita energy transfer.JPG|right|220px|thumb|Oh look. Optimus Prime is having robo-sex with his sister. Better get used to seei- whoa, wait a minute.]]

Prime received the shock of his life when Megatron contacted him to inform him that Elita One was still alive, and had been captured by his Decepticons on Cybertron. Prime immediately departed for Cybertron to rescue her, but walked straight into the trap that had been laid for him, and was trussed up by the Decepticons and dangled above a vat of acid. Just as Prime was dropped, Elita used her secret power to stop time, freezing Prime in mid-air and pulling him to safety. Unfortunately, the use of her power drained almost all of her life-force, leaving her on the brink of death, so Prime loaded her aboard his trailer and set out in search of Alpha Trion, in the hope that the ancient Autobot could heal her. In the process, Prime rediscovered his own forgotten connection to his creator, when Alpha Trion shocked him with intimate knowledge of his and Elita's systems by telling him that only his own power supply could properly interface with Elita's. Prime gave Elita the power transfusion necessary to save her life, and the two lovers then joined the other Autobots in fighting off the Decepticons. Prime regretted that they had to part ways again, but Elita knew that she had to continue the fight against the Decepticons on Cybertron. {{storylink|The Search for Alpha Trion}}

[[Image:Ktvs_prime_and_trion.jpg|left|215px|thumb|Optimus was just in time to keep Alpha Trion from falling for the Nigerian e-mail scam.]]

Optimus Prime had little to do in the mission to rescue [[Astoria Carlton-Ritz]] from the Decepticons, merely offering theories and passing along information to Powerglide, {{storylink|The Girl Who Loved Powerglide}} but took to the fore again when Megatron created the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]] to combat the Autobots on the roads. Realizing that Megatron would have to use the Cybertronian mega-computer [[Vector Sigma]] to bring the Stunticons to life, Prime took a team of Autobots to Cybertron, where they sought the aid of Alpha Trion in navigating the planet's catacombs to find the way to the computer. {{storylink|The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1}} Unfortunately, Megatron made it to the computer first and brought the Stunticons online, so Prime proposed the creation of a team of jets known as the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]] as a countermeasure. With Vector Sigma's [[Key to Vector Sigma|activation key]] in Megatron's clutches, Alpha Trion proposed that he merge with Vector Sigma to bring the computer back online. Prime refused, knowing it would mean the end of his creator's life, but Alpha Trion insisted that he be allowed to sacrifice himself so that the Aerialbots could live. The Autobots and Aerialbots returned to Earth, where they stopped Megatron from using the key to Vector Sigma to convert the planet into a metal sphere. {{storylink|The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2}}

[[Image:Cosmicrust_prime_and_perceptor.jpg|right|215px|thumb|"Perceptor, what happened?"
"It's... rust."
"But it looks like..."
"Rust."
"But it smells like..."
"RUST!"]]

When Megatron attempted to send the Aerialbots back to the dawn of time using the [[kronosphere]] time machine, Optimus Prime blasted the device before it could complete its evil work, depositing the Aerialbots nine million years in the past. Prime and the other Autobots fended off a Decepticon attack while Wheeljack rebuilt the kronosphere, and the five airborne Autobots were returned to the present just in time to turn the tide of battle. In the aftermath of the conflict, when the Aerialbots were able to refer to him with his old name of Orion Pax, Prime realised that it had been the time-tossed Aerialbots who have saved him from Megatron and brought him to Alpha Trion to be rebuilt all those millions of years ago. {{storylink|War Dawn}}

When Perceptor was kidnapped by the Decepticons and infected with the contagious [[Cosmic Rust (disease)|Cosmic Rust]] , Prime risked his own safety to single-handedly rescue the scientist, and wound up being infected in the process, just as Megatron had planned. Even infected, Prime met Megatron in battle while the Autobots retrieved the cure to the disease, and the Autobots won the day yet again. {{storylink|Cosmic Rust (episode)|Cosmic Rust}}

[[Image:RevengeofBruticus Primefiringguns.jpg|left|thumb|Being a hero is all about dramatic lighting. And two-fisted violence.]]

When another power struggle between Megatron and Starscream erupted, Prime was once again quite happy to ignore the whole messy affair until Starscream and his newly-built [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticons]] attacked the unveiling ceremony for a [[Optimus Prime Memorial|memorial]] to Optimus Prime himself (rather oddly being built while he was still alive) and kidnapped Jazz and Cliffjumper. In the midst of a battle between Megatron and Starscream's force, Prime led the Autobots in rescuing their teammates. Starscream and the Combaticons were subsequently defeated and exiled from Earth, {{storylink|Starscream's Brigade}} but that just made matters worse, as they headed for Cybertron, conquered the planet, and used the space bridge to alter Earth's orbit and send it spiralling towards the sun. Both Autobots and Decepticons needed to use the space bridge to travel to Cybertron and stop Starscream's plan, but the Insecticons damaged the control panel, requiring Prime to donate some of his own circuitry to the repair effort, on the condition that Megatron did the same. With the bridge restored, Prime and Megatron led a united team of Autobots and Decepticons to stop Starscream and the Combaticons and save the Earth. Prime was led to believe that he had destroyed the Combaticons at the battle's end, but in reality, he had been duped by a holographic projection so that Megatron could reprogram the new Decepticons to serve him. {{storylink|The Revenge of Bruticus}}

[[Image:Masquerade_prime_vs_mmaster.jpg|right|230px|thumb|You re-enacted this scene countless times as a kid. You know you did.]]

After leading a team of Autobots to save the Aerialbots from a Combaticon attack in the Middle East {{storylink|Aerial Assault}} Prime led another effort to stop the Stunticons from stealing the components Megatron needed for his latest super-weapon. Prime survived a head-on collision with [[Motormaster]] (although he definitely decided it was something he would prefer not to go through again) and then disguised himself as the Stunticon leader in an effort to learn what Megatron's plan was. Accompanied by a team of four other Autobots disguised as the other Stunticons, Prime was able to infiltrate the Decepticon camp, but had not counted on the real Stunticons escaping Autobot capture and exposing their deception. The Autobots abandoned their disguises when Megatron assembled the components into his new laser weapon, but it turned out that Optimus had sabotaged the device, and it blew up in Megatron's face. {{storylink|Masquerade}}

In his final recorded adventure in the 20th century, Prime dispatched Ironhide, Gears and Bumblebee to investigate a disturbance at [[Benjamin Franklin Pierce High School]], where a group of students had stumbled onto a Decepticon plot to attack the Autobots with a gravity disruptor beam. Prime rallied the Autobots to fight off the Decepticons, and thanked the humans for their help. {{storylink|B.O.T. (episode)|B.O.T.}}

[[Image:Tftm_prime_megs_finalblow.jpg|left|260px|thumb]]

Over the course of the next twenty years, the Decepticons turned their attentions away from Earth, and succeeded in seizing control of all of Cybertron. The Autobots were forced off the planet and founded [[Autobot City]] on Earth, in addition to two staging bases on Cybertron's moons. At some point during this period of time, Prime was known to have battled Megatron in a laboratory on Earth, causing an explosion that scarred scientist [[Gregory Swofford]]. {{storylink|The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1}}

In the Earth year 2005, Optimus Prime was stationed on [[Moonbase One]], and dispatched troops to Earth to acquire energy for an upcoming strike to take back Cybertron. The Decepticons, however, got wind of the plan and attacked the shuttle, killing its occupants. Their scheme was to use the shuttle to stage a [[Battle of Autobot City|surprise attack on Autobot City]]; an attack which would have succeeded, if not for a distress call which summoned Optimus Prime and support troops to Earth. Declaring that Megatron would have to be stopped, "no matter the cost", Prime bravely plowed through the remaining Decepticon ranks before confronting Megatron in a climactic one-on-one battle. Despite a gash being torn in his side, Prime gained the upper hand in the battle and was poised to deliver a killing blast when the young Autobot [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] leapt into the middle of the fight, having spotted that Megatron was reaching for a gun. Unfortunately, Megatron overpowered the youth and used him as a shield, preventing Prime from taking his shot, and opening fire with the gun, blasting Prime in his wound. Prime fell, and Megatron stood over him, about to deliver the final blow, but at the last moment, Prime summoned up all his strength and hurled Megatron off the platform on which they battling. With Megatron bested, the Decepticons fled, as the other Autobots flocked to the side of the wounded Prime.

[[Image:Optimusg1passingthematrix.jpg|right|thumb|"Oh, hey, I have this in me now, by the way."]]

Despite the efforts of Perceptor, Optimus Prime's wounds were fatal. Knowing his time had come, Prime passed the Matrix of Leadership, and with it leadership of the Autobots, into the hands of his old friend, the city's commander, [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]]. With his last ounce of energy, he muttered "[['Til all are one]]", then died, his lifeforce becoming one with the ancient wisdom contained in the Matrix, joining the other former bearers within it. Soon after, when Hot Rod opened the Matrix within the body of the planet-eater, [[Unicron]], Prime 's voice was heard once more, dubbing the transformed Hot Rod "Rodimus Prime", new leader of the Autobots. {{storylink|The Transformers: The Movie}}

When Rodimus Prime voyaged into the Matrix in search of answers to the mysteries of the alien [[Quintesson]]s, Optimus Prime was among the "spirit guides" who appeared to him and led him on his journey through the origin and history of the Transformer race. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4}}

[[Image:Optimusg1zombie.jpg|left|215px|thumb|"WHERE IS SARAH CONNOR?"]]
Optimus Prime's body was entombed in a massive deep-space mausoleum with the many other fallen Autobots, but his corpse was desecrated by the [[Quintesson]]s in 2006 when they reanimated it as part of an attempt to destroy the Autobots. Pursued by the Decepticons through space, a team of Autobots led by Rodimus Prime took refuge in the mausoleum, where they were confronted by the seemingly-reborn Optimus Prime. Optimus dispatched the pursuing Decepticons, and Rodimus—never truly comfortable with the burden of leadership—happily relinquished the Matrix to his predecessor. At that point, the reprogrammed Optimus turned on the Autobots, stranding them on the mausoleum and blowing it up. The zombie Prime returned to the main Autobot force and reassumed command, intending to lure the Autobot space fleet into a trap that would destroy them all. Hot Rod's Autobots, however, were revealed to have survived the explosion of the mausoleum, and Hot Rod engaged Prime in battle. In the course of the fight, the Matrix began to overpower the Quintesson influence in Prime's mind, and he returned the talisman to Hot Rod, then ordered the rest of the Autobots clear while he piloted his flagship into the Quintessons' trap. As the Autobots watched from a distance, the flagship collided with the booby-trap detonator the Quintessons had placed on an asteroid, triggering the explosion of a nearby sun that apparently took Optimus Prime from them once more. {{storylink|Dark Awakening}}

Prime's lifeforce returned to the Matrix, and he was among the spectral figures whose ethereal forms emerged from the talisman when it was stolen by [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]], warning him to return it to its rightful holder. Galvatron was suitably convinced. {{storylink|The Burden Hardest to Bear}}

[[Image:Roop1_prime_revived.jpg|right|220px|thumb|Optimus Prime was reborn in the electric chair for our sins.]]

While the other Autobots believed that Prime's body had been destroyed in the supernova, in actuality, just before the flagship impacted with the detonator, his remains had been recovered from the craft by two human scientists, [[Jessica Morgan]] and Gregory Swofford, who still blamed Prime for the explosion that scarred him years beforehead. Jessica's father, [[Mark Morgan]], shared Swofford's loathing of the Autobots, and his hatred only grew when, some months later, an attempt by the Decepticons to steal a heat-resistant alloy he had developed resulted in Jessica being paralyzed. Seeking revenge, Swofford and Morgan reconstructed Optimus Prime's body in an attempt to use it as a delivery system for the mysterious spores that had been released from the exploding sun, which induced hatred and madness. However, when they could not reanimate Prime, they used his body as a lure instead, bringing the Autobots to their lab, where they were infected by the spores directly. Rodimus Prime was able to escape infection and made off with Optimus Prime's body, then ordered [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] to find him a Quintesson to fully restore Prime to life. Rodimus succumbed to the "[[Hate Plague]]" before Sky Lynx returned, but the airborne Autobot succeeded in his mission, recovering a Quintesson who finally brought Optimus Prime back to life. {{storylink|The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1}}

[[Image:Roop2_prime_vs_prime.jpg|left|210px|thumb|Not [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] srsly.]]

The resurrected Prime led a team of Autobots to the Decepticons' base on [[Chaar]] to recover the heat-resistant alloy they had stolen, so that Prime could coat his body in it and make himself impervious to the Hate Plague. Thus protected, Optimus confronted Rodimus and defeated him in battle, reacquiring the Matrix so that he could consult the lifeforces of the ancient Autobots within it for a way to defeat the Hate Plague. Informed by "[[It]]" that the only way to cure the disease was with wisdom, Prime unleashed the concentrated wisdom of the Matrix itself to wipe out the plague. {{storylink|The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2}}

In 2007, Optimus Prime began to suffer visions following the release of the Matrix's energy, which foretold a great transformation for Cybertron. Prime realized that the events he had foreseen had begun with the Decepticons' theft of the key to the [[Plasma energy|Plasma Energy Chamber]]. {{storylink|The Rebirth, Part 1}} Prime was forced to consult the spirit of Alpha Trion within [[Vector Sigma]], who informed him that the mega-computer had set these very events in motion in order to restore Cybertron's Golden Age. {{storylink|The Rebirth, Part 2}} When the Plasma Energy Chamber was opened and threatened to drive Earth's Sun supernova, Spike Witwicky and the other organic [[Nebulos|Nebulans]] who had become involved in the conflict as a result of these events were able to drain off the excess solar energy and revitalize Cybertron. {{storylink|The Rebirth, Part 3}}

[[Image:Puppetpmprime.jpg|right|thumb|Prime's legal troubles began after he gave Tommy "the Touch". Strangely, the prosecution never even noticed the double entendre.]]

At an undetermined point in time, through unknown circumstances, Optimus Prime was upgraded into a [[Powermaster]] body, and began associating with a human boy named [[Tommy Kennedy]]. Tommy, apparently a resident of Autobot City, interviewed Prime on a variety of topics related to Cybertronian history and lore, sometimes for school assignments, sometimes for historical reference, and sometimes simply for the heck of it. Prime regaled young Tommy with tales of the Autobots' greatest battles; [[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1|their arrival on Earth]], [[The Transformers: The Movie|Prime's own death and the struggle against Unicron]], [[Five Faces of Darkness|the return of Galvatron and the Quintessons' role in Transformer history]], Prime's [[Dark Awakening|brief revival at the hands of the Quintessons]] as well as his [[The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1|return during the Hate Plague crisis]]. He also recounted the [[The Rebirth|the origins of the Headmasters and Targetmasters]] and, inexplicably, a tale of [[Surprise Party|Ultra Magnus's birthday]].

At this point in his career, Prime 's role seemed to be more of a goodwill ambassador, as he spent much of his time aiding fellow Autobots with minor tasks, like helping [[Joyride (Autobot)|Joyride]] repair a space bridge, refueling [[Sky High (Pretender)|Sky High]], and helping [[Cloudburst]] redesign his retro-rockets.

At one point, a problem with Prime's [[Memory chip|memory chip]] left him incapable of recalling specific details of various historical events. This issue was short-lived, as Tommy Kennedy managed to fix it with a small amount of effort and encouragement. Once, before leaving to attend an intergalactic peace conferences, Prime showed Tommy an informational [[The Touch|music video]] depicting the events surrounding the battle with Unicron. {{storylink|The Transformers (cartoon)|Season 5}}
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==Madman ''The Transformers'' comic==
[[Image:Madman comic PrimeHotrod.jpg|left|200px|thumb|—Or maybe you're just hepped-up on goofballs, kid.]]
In 2001, Optimus Prime led the Autobot evacuation from the Decepticons' successful conquest of Cybertron, standing as the unflinching rearguard for his fleeing Autobots. Before he left, he secretly met with Ultra Magnus at the site of the future Autobot City to discuss hiding the Matrix of Leadership, against the possibility of Prime's capture or death. Unfortunately, Soundwave had secretly recorded this clandestine meeting and moved to capture the powerful Autobot relic. To the surprise of all, the young Hot Rod managed to defeat Soundwave and secure the Matrix. When the Autobots arrived back on Earth, Optimus Prime learned of Hot Rod's deeds, and as he was handed the Matrix, a mysterious energy from the artifact passed through both Autobots. However, Prime only cryptically stated that perhaps Hot Rod's destiny was greater than the young 'bot himself knew. {{storylink|The Transformers (Madman)|The Transformers}}
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==Japanese cartoon continuity==
{{note|The events of the American animated series occur in Japanese continuity as noted above, except that the events of Season 3, which took place in 2006 in America, were moved back to 2010, and "The Rebirth" and subsequent events do not occur. Japanese animated continuity inserts a large number of additional storylines, told through various different media, into the timeline (in particular, between Season 2 and the movie, and between the movie and Season 3), as detailed below.}}

===e-Hobby pack-in comic===

During an attack on [[Ark (G1)|Autobot Headquarters]], Optimus Prime once again found himself going toe to toe with Megatron. Prime eventually punched Megatron hard enough to send him smashing through a wall, seemingly defeating him. In reality, Prime's punch so was powerful it damaged Megatron's gyrocompass which acted as his internal stability regulators. This allowed Megatron to access a cache of [[Quantum surge|quantum surge]] energy within his circuits, upgrading him into a nigh-invulnerable [[Transmetal]]. Maybe pull your punches next time, Optimus? {{storylink|Decepticon Leader Megatron Black Ver.}}

===''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' comic===

[[Image:FightSuperRobotLifeTransformersManga.JPG|right|275px|thumb|From ''AMERICA!'']]

When the Decepticons turned their attention to pillaging the energies of Japan in the late 1980s, Optimus Prime and the Autobots met up with a young Japanese boy named [[Kenji]], whose inventive mind helped them to defeat [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] during an energy raid on [[Tokyo]]. As a token of thanks, Optimus Prime granted Kenji a special communications helmet and made him an official Autobot ally. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 1|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #1}}

During a Decepticon attack on Autobot Headquarters, Ratchet noticed that Soundwave and his cassettes were nowhere to be seen, so Prime dispatched a unit to Japan to search for them. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 2|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #2}} Not long after, Prime oversaw the early stages of the construction of the Autobots' new transforming battle fortress, [[Metroplex (G1)|Scramble City]]. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 3|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #3}}

While showing Kenji around the Autobots' new Tokyo base, Optimus Prime lamented that he wished his "kid brother" [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] would hurry up and arrive with his trailer upgrade. As he pondered the whereabouts of his sibling, the Decepticons attacked Yokohama. The Autobots hurried to the scene only to encounter an over-powered Megatron in his newest form: the Super Megatron Gun. The Autobots' defeat seemed assured until Magnus arrived with Prime's trailer upgrade, the [[Scramble Power Buster]]. The Scramble Power Buster trumped the might of the Super Megatron Gun, leaving Prime and Magnus to vanquish the Decepticon forces with their combined attack: the Double Cross Kick (basically, them jump-kicking the Decepticons in the spine at the same time). {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 4|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #4}}

When the Decepticons created their own counter to Scramble City, [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]], Prime ordered the Aerialbots into battle against the monster on an island utopia. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 6|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #6}} Later, Prime and Magnus teamed up again to battle the Stunticons and [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticons]] when the two Decepticons teams posed as Autobots and besmirched the two commanders' good names. Although Menasor and [[Onslaught (G1)|Onslaught]]'s [[Decepticon Trailer Brigade|Decepticon Great Wheel]] attack proved a challenge, Prime and Magnus's "Finish Double" attack (suspiciously similar to their Double Cross Kick) soon won the day. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 7|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #7}}

===Scramble City===

[[Image:Prime_magnus_scramblecity.jpg|left|thumb|"I'm a white you under here."]]

As the 1980s rolled on, the Autobots began an initiative to construct a new battle fortress known as [[Metroplex (G1)|Scramble City]]. The facility to construct the fortress was concealed within a cavern and overseen by Ultra Magnus, but when it was discovered by Decepticon spy [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]], Megatron ordered the Decepticons to destroy it. Prime led an Autobot counter-offensive, and helped to blast [[Wildrider]] free when the evil Stunticon managed to link up to Superion in an attempt to disable the Aerialbot combiner, but things were looking bleak for the Autobots until the construction of Scramble City was completed. Ultra Magnus activated the battle fortress, which transformed into its robot mode of [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] to send the Decepticons fleeing. As Prime thanked Ultra Magnus for his quick work, however, Megatron unleashed Trypticon upon the assembled Autobots. {{storylink|Scramble City}}

{{note|This storyline was never concluded, as a second installment of "Scramble City" was never produced.}}
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===Full Throttle Scramble Power!===
[[Image:MegatronMangaEnergonMace1.jpg|right|200px|thumb|This is why you have that axe, Prime, remember?]]
After Megatron and the Decepticons threatened humanity with their latest death ray, the [[Omega Whip]], Optimus Prime dispatched [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] and his human partners, [[Toru]] and [[Jenny (G1)|Jenny]] to follow the electromagnetic trail and find the Decepticons' hidden base. Hound, Toru and Jenny were then swiftly captured.

Contemplating what to do next, Prime reluctantly dispatched the still-wet-behind-the-ears [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]] to deal with the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]], who were trashing a power plant. The burning justice of [[Superion (G1)|Superion]] ensured his victory.

Prime and a small unit of Autobots then stormed the Decepticon base to rescue their friends. As Hound, Toru and Jenny destroyed the Omega Whip and escaped, Prime and Megatron squared off yet again (with Megatron unleashing his seldomly seen [[energon mace]]). Megatron quickly gained the upper hand in battle...until [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] and ''every single Autobot soldier'' arrived as back-up. Megatron and the Decepticons immediately fled.

Toru and Jenny celebrated their success with a public display of affection. Curious, Optimus began to ask them embarrassing questions, swatting Toru in the bottom with his mighty robot finger. {{storylink|Full Throttle Scramble Power!}}
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===''The Stargate Battles''===

[[Image:Stargatebattles_prime_cx_slice.jpg|left|thumb|225px|right]]

In the late 1990s, continued interaction between the Autobots and humankind led to a formal alliance being forged with the American government. Using technology supplied by the Autobots, the government funded the creation of "[[Warp Gate|The Trigger]]", a huge interstellar teleportation system, and Prime participated in a goodwill press conference to announce the creation of the Trigger to the world. Unfortunately, the Trigger soon became a target for the Decepticons, who had allied with a foreign power and used a human agent to gain access to the station. The Autobots were quick to repel the Decepticon attack, but only one member of the Trigger's crew survived. This man, [[Makoto (Stargate Battles)|Makoto]], offered to help the Autobots in any way that he could, and Prime told him that his kind of strength was what the Autobots needed the most. {{storylink|First Contact}}

[[Image:Stargatebattles_prime_megs.jpg|right|225px|thumb|''Rival Fusion!'']]

Three months later, Optimus Prime helped [[Professor Adle]] test his new [[C-X]] drone, which was designed to resemble Prime himself, by sparring with the remote-controlled robot so that the Professor could gather data on its performance. In the midst of the test, however, the C-X ran amok (in actuality, it had been possessed by the time-tossed ghost of Starscream), and Prime was forced to crush it beneath his trailer and sever its head with his energon-axe to stop it. The grisly scene did little to dissuade the mass of anti-Transformer protestors that had sprung up in recent months, but Prime attempted to placate the crowd by telling them that he did not ''want'' the power he wielded—he ''needed'' it, in order to protect those that could not protect themselves. {{storylink|Divided Views}}

When the Decepticons terrorized Japan with a series of powerful earthquakes, Optimus Prime confronted Megatron amidst the chaos caused by the most powerful tremor yet. The battle ended when a blast from Megatron's fusion cannon sent Prime plummeting to the depths of the ocean, apparently destroyed. {{storylink|Activation}} Subsequently, Starscream's ghost fused with the rebuilt Trigger in an attempted coup, and it was during the monumental space battle that resulted that Prime returned from his seeming demise, borne into space on [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]]'s back. After saving Makoto's escape pod from burning up in re-entry, Prime was forced to join with Megatron to defeat the greater threat posed by Starscream, channelling the power of the Matrix through gun-mode Megatron to destroy Starscream and the Trigger in one mighty blast. The Transformers were all caught in the backwash of the explosion, and their flaming bodies were sent tumbling back down to Earth. Although they were not heard from again for many months, Prime and Megatron survived the experience, and their war continued. {{storylink|The Stargate Battles (issue)|The Stargate Battles}}
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===''Story of Binaltech''===
In 2003, the Decepticons attacked the Autobots on Earth with a plague of [[Cosmic Rust (disease)|Cosmic Rust]], leaving many of them injured. Consequently, Earth was all but defenseless when Megatron made his big push to fully take over Cybertron in 2004, and Optimus Prime found that he could not spare any troops currently fighting by his side on the Transformers' home planet to send to Earth. To resolve this situation, the Autobots on Earth worked closely with the governments of the world and various car companies on the Binaltech Project, creating advanced new "Binaltech" bodies for the various Autobot warriors damaged by the Cosmic Rust. {{storylink|Story of Binaltech, Chapter 1}}

In the midst of the Binaltech conflict, the time-travelling [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] attempted to alter history by using the [[Kronosphere]] to teleport Megatron and the Decepticon armada outside of time during a turning-point battle with Prime and the Autobots. {{storylink|Changing Lanes}} This left the Autobots to face the looming threat of [[Unicron]] alone, an opponent which Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus bravely faced together. Prime was badly damaged in the attack and passed the Matrix to Ultra Magnus, who was able to use it to destroy Unicron. {{storylink|Binal Time}}

Before departing to battle Unicron, Prime had put into motion a plan to try and undo the changes Ravage had wrought upon the timeline, having ordered [[Skids (G1)|Skids]] to use the time warp on Dinobot Island to send a message into the past. {{storylink|Darkest Hour}} Shortly after the defeat of Unicron, this plan bore fruit, and time began to correct itself. Thanks to the sudden intervention of a mysterious time-travelling entity known as "[[Optimus Primal|the Protector]]", however, the altered, "BT World" timeline was also preserved, and continued to exist as an alternate universe. {{storylink|Binal Time}}

{{Note|At this point, the original timeline was retroactively restored and the events of the ''Story of Binaltech'' diverged into a parallel universe. Skip to "[[#Robot Masters|Robot Masters]]" below to continue reading about the original timeline; exactly how many (if any) of the events related in this section, even prior to the divergence, occurred in the original unaltered timeline are unknown.}}

In this new, parallel world (known as [[universal stream]] Primax 903.0 Beta), the Protector explained that he had acted to preserve the "BT World" because it was the origin point for the ultimate evolution of Cybertronian life, the "[[Alternity (species)|Alternity]]", of whose he was an agent. Optimus Prime soon recovered from his injuries, and with the Decepticons now mostly offline thanks to the activation of the Quintesson's [[large switch|killswitch]], {{storylink|Kill Switch}} the Autobots were able to start conducting experiments under the Protector's direction that would ultimately lead to the future he had spoken of. {{storylink|Unfinished Business, Part 3}} When the Protector's spark was stolen by the new Decepticon leader—an evil clone of Optimus known as [[Nemesis Prime (G1)|Nemesis Prime]]—Prime engaged his evil doppelganger in battle in Australia. During the fight, the Protector's spark fused with Prime—an experience that Prime found [[Optimal Situation|strangely familiar]]—giving him the power to destroy Nemesis Prime. {{storylink|Unfinished Business, Part 4}}

====Alternity====

[[Image:Alternity_ultimate_silver_optimus.jpg|left|thumb]]

Experimentation proceeded apace, and eventually, the Autobots succeeded in synthesizing the substance known as [[Alternium]], which would form the bodies of their new evolved forms, and the space-time transportation system known as the [[Timaeus drive]], which would allow them to travel through the [[multiverse]]. After millennia of experimentation, effort and broadening of his perceptions, Optimus Prime eventually integrated these new technologies into his systems, and 900,000 years later, became a founding member of the Alternity. Now existing outside of time, Prime interacted with the material world through a proxy body known as an [[auto-avatar]] (a "Vector 01" model, code-named "Ultimate Silver"), which he used to travel from world to world, inviting many different incarnations of himself from different dimensions to join the Alternity. Together, they merged into one composite trans-dimensional "Optimus Prime" being, becoming a huge collective consciousness existing outside of reality, while yet retaining their individuality as a cross-time "[[Convoy Corps]]", each one controlling an auto-avatar of their own in the physical world.

Learning that his eternal enemy, Megatron had reawakened, and that he planned to lure the Alternity's natural enemy, the time-eating god-beast known as [[Hytherion]], into universal stream Primax 109.0 Beta, Prime traveled into that universe in 2007. Approaching his [[Optimus Prime (G1)#Alternity|counterpart]] from that world, Prime informed him of this looming danger, and his counterpart agreed to join the Alternity when the time came. Sure enough, in 2009, Hytherion appeared in his dimension, and so Prime returned to that world, with a "Vibrant Red" Vector 109 auto-avatar for his counterpart to inhabit. {{storylink|From Here to Alternity}} Little did the Convoy Corps suspect, however, that Megatron had summoned Hytherion for reasons greater than mere destruction. Shackling the beast's power and overwriting its consciousness with his own, Megatron was able to confer hyperdimensional powers akin to the Alternity's upon himself and many other Megatrons he had gathered from across the multiverse. {{storylink|To Mega Therion}}

[[Image:To die game begins.jpg|right|thumb|220px]]

As battles between numerous different Primes and Megatrons erupted quite literally all across time and space, "Ultimate Silver" Optimus Prime was seen engaging in a cross-dimensional duel with a Megatron who hailed from universal stream [[Transformers: Mystery of Convoy|Primax 1286:3 Kappa]]. Prime lost an arm to Megatron's tesseractal swords, but remained undeterred, observing that Megatron was fighting from the year 2009 and suspecting an ulterior motive for his being in that time period. Amused by Prime's observation, Megatron proposed a wager: if Prime could defeat him in a game of his choosing, he would answer any question he asks him honestly. Megatron's sadistic game involved manipulating the occupants of his home dimension in the year 2005, pitting them against each other in a "game full of death and suffering". While Megatron distributed a portion of his power through legions of this universe's Decepticons, Prime was only allowed to infuse his power into one being to send against them. Prime dismissed the rules as utter nonsense and refused to use another living being like a chess piece, but Megatron forced him to play the game by pointing out that the inhabitants of the dimension would only suffer if he did not. Prime selected Ultra Magnus as his champion, and the game began! {{storylink|To Die Game!}}
{{note|Alternity beings are both individuals and a collective of separate entities. More fiction about Optimus Prime's Alternity collective can be found [[Optimus Prime (G1)#Alternity|here]].}}
{{--}}

===''Robot Masters''===
[[Image:Robotmasters_four_great_commanders.jpg|left|thumb|275px|If Big Convoy would just hurry the hell up, they could summon Captain Planet.]]

In 2004, the Scramble City project was expanded through the use of the newly-discovered element [[Solitarium]] to involve the construction of a fully-fledged Autobot City on Earth. This coincided with the opening of a dimensional fissure known as the [[Blasty Zone]], which transported the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] through time to the present day. This "Beast Megatron" seized control of the Decepticons, left leaderless by the mysterious absence of the original Megatron, and went up against Optimus Prime and the Autobots for control of the world's solitarium. Uniting with a team of Autobot and Maximal leaders from throughout time and space who also came through the Blasty Zone, Optimus Prime gained the power of an [[Energon Matrix]] and eventually returned all the Transformers to their home time.

{{-}}
{{note|''Robot Masters'' is explicitly placed in the Japanese cartoon continuity by [[Generation 1 cartoon timeline (Japan)|Takara's 2007 Transformers timeline]]. However, none of the three pieces of actual ''Robot Masters'' fiction tells the story of the line in its entirety, and each of them relate certain events in notably different ways. Precisely ''which'' of the three—covered individually below—should be considered the [[canon]] one for the cartoon timeline is unknown.}}

====Pack-in comic====

[[Image:Starsaber robotmasters minicomic.jpg|right|thumb|225px|Gah! What's wrong with Prime's chest? Was he drawn by [http://grotesqueanatomy.blogspot.com/2004/05/now-thats-grotesque-anatomy.html Rob Liefeld?]]]

When a creature that seemed to be a ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' appeared just outside Autobot City, Optimus Prime and Mirage investigated, and were shocked when the dinosaur transformed into a robot mode and introduced itself as "Beast Megatron". Almost immediately, [[Optimus Primal]] appeared through the Blasty Zone, and he and Optimus Prime charged into battle against Megatron side-by-side. {{storylink|The New Battle Begins!}}

Later, the two Optimuses found themselves in battle against the huge Decepticon warrior, [[Gigant Bomb]], but were unable to hurt him because he had supercharged his armor with Solitarium. The two heroes were flattened by a powerful punch from Gigant Bomb, at which point [[Star Saber (G1)|Star Saber]] and [[Victory Leo]] appeared to join the fray. The two future heroes merged into Victory Saber and defeated Gigant Bomb, after which Prime and Primal welcomed him to the fold. {{storylink|The Victory Warriors Enter!!}}

====Online comic====

When a mysterious purple dinosaur led the Decepticons in an attack against the Autobots, Optimus Prime demanded to know the identity of the foe he was facing. The creature transformed into robot mode and introduced itself as "Beast Megatron", but Prime did not falter, and bombarded the new villain with heavy fire. Declaring Prime to be "quite the monkey", Megatron announced that the battle had merely served as a introduction, and promptly departed. {{storylink|Robot Masters (online comic)|Clash! The Two Leaders}}

Optimus Prime, Optimus Primal and [[Road Rocket (G2)|Road Rocket]] were later exploring a large crevasse filled with Solitarium when they were attacked by Megatron and [[Sideways (RID)|Sideways]]. The two villains detonated the crystals around the Autobots, and while Primal was able to shield them with a huge slab of rock, they were unable to stop the Decepticons from escaping with a huge load of Solitarium. {{storylink|Robot Masters (online comic)|Defend the Solitarium!}}

[[Image:Robotmasters_prime_vs_megses.jpg|left|thumb|300px]]

When new arrival [[Lio Convoy]] was tricked into battling Victory Saber by Megatron, it was Optimus Prime who got between the two combatants and convinced Lio Convoy that they were all on the same side by revealing his Energon Matrix, which glowed in tandem with Lio Convoy's own. The four great commanders teamed up to dispose of the Decepticons lurking nearby, and then they all welcomed Lio Convoy to the team. {{storylink|Robot Masters (online comic)|Together, the 4 Great Supreme Commanders}}

Discovering an unconscious robot outside Autobot City, Prime and the Autobots brought the enigmatic newcomer inside for medical attention. The robot introduced himself as [[Reverse Convoy]] of the planet [[Vehicon (planet)|Vehicon]]. {{storylink|Robot Masters (online comic)|Strategic Meeting: The Mysterious New Warrior}} Before long, however, Prime's goodwill proved to be misplaced when "Reverse Convoy" captured him, Mirage and Optimus Primal, and revealed himself to actually be the original Megatron, inhabiting Reverse Convoy's body by means of his black hole interlink system. Although the Autobots were saved from the clutches of "Rebirth Megatron" by Victory Saber and Lio Convoy, Prime's greatest enemy had returned. {{storylink|Robot Masters (online comic)|The Dark Emperor of Destruction, Reborn}}

Prime led Primal, Victory Saber and Lio Convoy in a mighty battle against the two Megatrons, Starscream, Skywarp and Thundercracker, during which he had much of his right forearm torn off by Beast Megatron. As both Megatron rushed the injured Prime, he summoned his energon-axe to take the place of his lost fist and slashed the two Decepticons, claiming victory. {{storylink|Robot Masters (online comic)|And}}
{{-}}
====Cartoon====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Wataru Hatano]] (Japanese)

[[Image:Robomasters g1convoy.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Check out my taint!]]

Optimus Prime sped into action to help Victory Saber in battle against Starscream and [[Wingstun]], blasting Wingstun with a sneaky shot from below. Prime then transformed into robot mode and opened fire on Starscream, but was shocked when the plummeting form of the Air Commander was snatched out of the sky by a ''tyrannosaurus rex''. Transforming to robot mode, the dinosaur introduced himself as "Beast Megatron", and revealed that he came from a different dimension, causing Optimus Prime to fear for the integrity of the space-time continuum. Before he could fret any more on the subject, Prime came under attack from Gigant Bomb and [[Smokesniper]], but quickly took refuge in a nearby canyon while Victory Saber handled the twin troublemakers. Prime then engaged Megatron in battle, but was quickly laid low by the newcomer, who called for Gigant Bomb and Smokesniper to finish him off. Instead, however, another strange new Transformer descended from the sky: Optimus Primal! Following Primal's lead, Prime united his energy with Primal's own, and together, they created the powerful "Double Convoy Tornado", which sent Megatron flying. In the aftermath of the battle, Prime thanked Primal for his help, and told him that they would definitely need his power when the Decepticons next attacked. {{storylink|Fight! The Group of the Strongest Commanders!}}

Beast Megatron would not relent, and eventually discovered a massive deposit of solitarium beneath [[New York City]]. The Decepticons razed the city in search of the element until Prime and his forces arrived to save the day, this time aided by Lio Convoy and the enigmatic Reverse Convoy. Prime battled Gigant Bomb, Smoke Sniper and Megatron once more, with a little extra firepower courtesy of Victory Saber's V-Lock Cannon, and things were going smoothly until Reverse Convoy revealed himself to actually be the ''real'' Megatron in disguise. Now going by the name Rebirth Megatron, Prime's nemesis teamed with Beast Megatron to conquer their mutual foes. Again, Prime and Primal united their power in the Double Convoy Tornado, but the Megatrons countered it with a tornado of their own. It seemed that the Decepticons' power would overcome the heroes, until Lio Convoy added his energy to the mix, becoming a shining "Lio Typhoon Arrow" that took down the two Megatrons. While the battle was over, however, the war raged on... {{storylink|The Lio Convoy Typhoon Enters (episode)|The Lio Convoy Typhoon Enters}}

===''15 Go! Go!''===
[[Image:TGGStarConvoy.jpg|right|180px|thumb|"Hot Rod?! Did you shrink in the wash?"]]
[[Image:TGGLaserPrime.jpg|left|180px|thumb|"How do you think I'd look in black?"]]
Shortly before the [[Battle of Autobot City]] in 2005, an unknown saboteur badly damaged [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]]'s databanks. Optimus Prime notified his Autobots of the attack and issued a command that the information be recovered as soon as possible. "[[Ravage (G1)|Black Panther Man]]", stationed on the artificial Earth satellite [[Nana]], volunteered for the important task and assigned [[Teletraan 15]] to the case. {{storylink|15 Go! Go!#Chapter 1|15 Go! Go! Chapter 1}}

Teletraan 15 proceeded to travel through time and space on her mission, and encountered future incarnation of Optimus Prime on several occasions. First, she travelled into the future, where [[Micromaster]] [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] saved her from a [[Novaroid]]. {{storylink|15 Go! Go!#Hot Rod|15 Go! Go! Hot Rod's chapter}} As Dark Nova and Ultra Megatron prepared to merge, Prime, in his "Star Convoy" form, arrived and asked Hot Rod to aid him in the coming fight. {{storylink|15 Go! Go!#Star Convoy|15 Go! Go! Star Convoy's chapter}} But before they could start the battle, an interruption came from an unexpected source: [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] emerged from a [[Transwarp]] portal and attacked! {{storylink|15 Go! Go!#Galvatron|15 Go! Go! Galvaron's chapters 1-2}}

On another mission even further into the future, Teletraan 15 and her companion [[Steeljaw (G1)|Steeljaw]] were aboard [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]] as he was attacked by the [[Decepticon]] jets [[Smokescreen (G2)|Smokescreen]] and [[Dreadwing (G2)|Dreadwing]] on his way to his commander. Fortunately for them, Optimus Prime—now in his [[Laser Rod]] body—appeared and severed Dreadwing's wing with a single mighty slash of his sword. Teletraan 15 thought that he looked sad and wondered if he had learned his sword skills during his [[Kiss Player]] days. {{storylink|15 Go! Go!#Battle Convoy|15 Go! Go! Battle Convoy's chapter}}
{{-}}

===''Kiss Players''===
{{note|[[Kiss Players (franchise)|Kiss Players]] takes place between ''The Transformers: The Movie'' and the third season of the animated series. While there is no particularly large time-gap between these stories in American animated continuity, in Japan, since the third season was moved to 2010 but the movie remained set in 2005, there was a five-year milieu that made room for plenty of new stories to be told.}}

[[Image:Illust.jpg|left|225px|thumb|Optimus is the one on the left. With the dignity.]]

Following Optimus Prime's death in the Battle of Autobot City, Tokyo was devastated when [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] crash-landed on the city after being hurled out of Unicron's body by Rodimus Prime. The death and destruction that resulted caused a massive anti-Transformer sentiment to spring up, epitomized by the formation of the government organization known as the [[Earth Defense Command]], who forced any remaining Transformers on Earth off the planet. Dissatisfaction with the EDC's extreme actions resulted in the formation of an underground resistance group for whom the death of Optimus Prime was a rallying point. Among these commandos was a young woman [[Marissa Faireborn]], who had been rescued by Optimus Prime back in 1996 when a mission that her [[Flint (G.I. Joe)|soldier father]] had been on had gone bad. Marissa had formed a great friendship with Prime in her childhood, and came to see him as a surrogate father figure, and perhaps a little bit more. {{storylink|Kiss Players (radio drama)|Kiss Players radio drama #34}}

[[Image:Kissplayers2 prime marissa.jpg|right|thumb|These x-rays uncover the darnedest things.]]

When Prime's corpse was covertly flown to Japan by the EDC, {{storylink|Kiss Players issue 1|Kiss Players #1}} Marissa's commandos attacked the convoy transporting the Autobot leader's body. Believing that they had secured Prime's body, the commandos were taken by surprise and slaughtered by the [[Ne squad]] [[Kiss Player]] [[Ringo Chikuma|Ringo]] and her [[Autorooper]] partner, who burst out of the torso of the decoy Prime body that had been atop the flatbed truck. As the sole surviving member of the squad, Marissa discovered that the true body was being transported within Prime's own trailer nearby. Slicing the trailer open, she was too late to prevent an EDC Autorooper from partially fusing with Prime. Reflecting on her childhood memories of playing with the kindly Autobot leader, Marissa lovingly kissed his faceplate. In an explosion of energy that destroyed the trailer, the two [[ParasiTech|fused]] and Prime was reborn in a new, living body. The pair had become Kiss Players! {{storylink|Kiss Players issue 2|Kiss Players #2}}

Marissa and Prime promptly made themselves scarce, and began travelling together, battling the monstrous creatures known as [[Legion]] that Galvatron's dispersed cells had also produced, while also eluding the EDC. Marissa thought of Prime as her boyfriend, {{storylink|Kiss Players (radio drama)|Kiss Players radio drama #1}} and Prime himself certainly cared for the girl, unwilling as he was to put her in harm's way, despite the prodigious knife-wielding skills that she could share with him via their kiss-fusion. {{storylink|Kiss Players (radio drama)|Kiss Players radio drama #4}}

[[Image:Marissa convoy stack.jpg|left|150px|thumb|She prefers the Japanese version's longer stacks.]]

Prime had little use for Marissa's other great skill—surfing—given his own [[The Ultimate Doom, Part 3|experience in that area]], {{storylink|Kiss Players (radio drama)|Kiss Players radio drama #7}} so instead, he found a better use for Marissa's surfboard by using his new powers to transform it into a knife so he could make use of the skills Marissa's fusion gave with him. Marissa was not very happy, {{storylink|Kiss Players (radio drama)|Kiss Players radio drama #10}} but took it in stride, and dubbed the new weapon the "[[Surfblade]]". In response, Prime named her shirt "The Three Skull Brothers," after the image on it. {{storylink|Kiss Players (radio drama)|Kiss Players radio drama #16}}

Prime and Marissa had a close relationship, as the girl washed Prime in "intimate" spots like his stick shift and gas tank, {{storylink|Kiss Players (radio drama)|Kiss Players radio drama #19}} and they would go on "dates" together, at one point visiting the seaside, only to wind up in battle with a Legion created from the fusion of an octopus and a shipwreck. Prime regretted that these activities had to be carried out under the cover of night, and vowed that he and Marissa would visit the beach under the light of the sun. {{storylink|Kiss Players (radio drama)#CD_collections_and_special_episodes|Someday, Under the Sun}}

[[Image:PrimeKP.jpg|right|225px|thumb|Unable to take it anymore, Optimus tries to punch his way free of the Kiss Players Universe. Hey, it worked for Superboy-Prime.]]

Soon, Optimus Prime found himself suffering from a recurring nightmare filled with visions of his old enemy, [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]. In the grip of one of these hallucinations, Prime lost control of himself and almost crushed Marissa in his fist, but was thankfully able to regain his senses before he hurt her. Marissa and Prime subsequently fused, and were able to corral a legion of Legion for an attack upon the EDC headquarters. They found their way barred by a pair of most unexpected opponents: [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] had returned to Earth and become Kiss Player partners with Marissa's old friend, [[Shaoshao Li]]. Hot Rod believed Prime to be an impostor, and Shaoshao wished to see him dead so that she might "reclaim" Marissa as her friend, having long hated Prime for "stealing" Marissa away from her. Prime and Hot Rod began battling, but EDC Kiss Player [[Atari Hitotonari]] soon entered the fold and broke up the battle. The attack on EDC headquarters was broken off, and Prime and Marissa now found they had to elude Hot Rod and Shaoshao as well as the EDC's forces. {{storylink|Kiss Players issue 3|Kiss Players #3}}

[[Image:KPPrimeGoldbug.jpg|left|thumb|You, Sharkticon. Devour the human faster.]]

After viewing a seaside fireworks display for their "last date", {{storylink|Kiss Players (radio drama)|Kiss Players radio drama #34}} Marissa and Prime again launched a Legion-backed attack upon the EDC. This time, however, Marissa, Shaoshao, Atari, Prime and Hot Rod all decided to set their differences aside in order to discover the true, dark secret lurking within the EDC. {{storylink|Kiss Players (radio drama)|Kiss Players radio drama #37}} Venturing into the mysterious [[Genital System]] facility hidden beneath the EDC headquarters, the team discovered a mad plot by EDC Commander [[Hitoshizuku Amaō]] to resurrect her daughter, who had died in Galvatron's impact. Thanks to the efforts of Marissa and her friends, the plan was foiled, the [[anti-electron]] field keeping Transformers off Earth was deactivated, and Galvatron's cells were extracted from the Legions and Kiss Players and reconstituted within his body, which was launched off into space. As a result, Marissa lost her Kiss Player powers, and Prime slipped back into death once more. {{storylink|Kiss Players (radio drama)#CD_collections_and_special_episodes|You, I and the Spinning Earth}}

Marissa did get a few chances to see her friend again, however. In 2007, she, Shaoshao and Atari were transported back through time by the [[Sparkbot]]s to 1984 where they witnessed Prime's battle with Megatron atop [[Sherman Dam]]. Although invisible to residents of the past, Marissa was instructed by the Sparkbots to kiss Prime, and when she did so, a piece of what the Sparkbots claimed was the "[[Allspark]]" emerged from within him. {{storylink|Kiss Players (radio drama)|Kiss Players radio play #40}} While travelling on through time to search for more pieces of the Allspark, the girls accidentally crashed in 2010 and wound up in the clutches of the [[Quintesson]]s. Prime (and [[Bumblebee (G1)|Goldbug]]) helped Marissa once more by rescuing her and her friends from death in the fangs of the [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticon]]s. {{storylink|Kiss Players (radio drama)|Tokyo Toy Festival 2007 live script-reading}} Later still, Shaoshao embarked on a marathon Prime-kissing session (much to her own disgust), quickly jumping through time to kiss Prime in his Star Convoy, "Nucleon Quest," [[Action Master]] and [[Laser Rod]] bodies successively. {{storylink|Kiss Players (radio drama)|Kiss Players radio play #44}}
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===''The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers''===

[[Image:2010_manga_primes.jpg|right|thumb|300px|And eat your greens or no dessert!]]

After boarding a Decepticon spaceship, [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus Prime]] became trapped by the schemeing Galvatron. Galvatron quickly bested him in combat and Rodimus, badly injured, was ready to give up. Lucky for him, the spirit of Optimus Prime reached out to him from within the Matrix and encouraged him to get up and keep fighting. Inspired by his predecessor, Rodimus Prime outwitted Galvatron, escaped and destroyed their spaceship. {{storylink|The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers issue 1|The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers #1}}

When the Quintessons reactivated Optimus Prime as a rampaging zombie {{storylink|Dark Awakening}}, they made it a point to copy his schematics while they had the opportunity. Teaming with the Decepticons, they then obtained the schematics of Megatron. Combining the best aspects of both, they created the Colossal Cannon Soldier [[Guiltaur]]. {{storylink|Transformers 2010 (story page)|Transformers 2010 Part 4}}

Guiltaur was then unleashed upon Rodimus Prime and, eventually, Galvatron. The two enemies teamed up and defeated the powerful warrior, with Rodimus swearing to do it in the name of Optimus Prime's honor. With Guiltaur destroyed, it was revealed the behemoth had been controlled by the ghost of [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] all along. {{storylink|The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers issue 4|Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers #4}}

===''The Great Transformer War''===

Following his resurrection, in the year 2011, Optimus Prime and [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] engaged in a battle against [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] and the Decepticons in deep space. Galvatron fled the battle, leaving Hot Rod to request pursuit. Optimus told him not to, and instead to regroup back at [[Athenia]], as he suspected the Decepticons had a much greater scheme in mind. Indeed, Optimus was correct, as Galvatron was preparing for his full-blown invasion of planet [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. {{storylink|The Great Transformer War issue 3|The Great Transformer War #3}}

===''The Headmasters'' cartoon===
[[Image:Headmasters-primedies.jpg|thumb|250px]]
Some time before the Transformers' war left Cybertron, Optimus Prime engaged the Decepticons with his men. Later, on Earth, a suspiciously similar battle with the Decepticons resulted in, er, Prime's death.

{{note|Optimus Prime appears in two Cybertronian flashback battles within the episode, alongside the same team of Autobots, suggesting that they represent the same fight. He also appears in one further flashback battle on Earth, which depicts his death in a scene that doesn't match up to his ''actual'' death in ''The Transformers: The Movie''. This was a continuity patch-job by the ''Headmasters'' production staff, as the movie hadn't been released in Japan yet. }}

One year after Prime's resurrection, in 2011, the Autobots had entered into an even closer relationship with Earth and began the colonization of other worlds, the first of which was the planet [[Athenia]], where Optimus Prime was stationed. It soon became apparent, however, that when Prime had released the energy of the Matrix to cure the Hate Plague, the consequences were more far-reaching than he had anticipated—without the energy of the Matrix to act as a balancing factor, [[Vector Sigma]] had become destabilized, and the Decepticons suddenly returned to exploit this, assaulting Cybertron in order to seize control of the mega-computer. The intensity of the battle caused [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] to recall the Cybertronian skirmish that Optimus took part in 4 million years ago — or another one very much like it. {{storylink|Four Warriors Come out of the Sky}}

[[Image:Headmasters_prime_death.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Rodimus finally receives his Nemesis Prime RealDoll.]]

Prime took a squad of troops to aid in the battle on the planet, and when the arrival of the Autobot [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmasters]] tipped the battle in their favor, Prime broke off from the main attack and headed down into the depths of the planet, planning on stabilizing Vector Sigma at any cost. {{storylink|The Mystery of Planet Master}} Guided through the dangers of the planet's catacombs by the spirit of Alpha Trion while the other Autobots searched for the Matrix on Earth, Prime eventually arrived at the computer, only to find his way barred by [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] and [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]]. Hot Rod then arrived with the Matrix, with which Alpha Trion merged, re-energizing it and transforming Hot Rod back into Rodimus Prime; for the first time, the two Primes fought side-by-side and defeated Galvatron. Before Rodimus could implement the Matrix to stabilize Vector Sigma, however, Optimus Prime sacrificed himself to perform the task, merging with the computer and restoring its balance to save the planet. {{storylink|Birth of the Fantastic Double Prime}}

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===''The Headmasters'' comic===
Following Prime's death, a great bronze [[Optimus Prime memorial|statue]] was erected on planet [[Athenia]] in order to [[Optimus Prime memorial|memorialize]] him. Oddly, only [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus Prime]] and the [[Headmasters of Justice]] attended its unveiling. Speaking for all the Headmasters, [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] announced that Optimus Prime was the greatest warrior who ever lived. {{storylink|The Headmasters issue 1}}

===''Super-God Masterforce'' and ''Victory'' cartoons===

[[Image:Ginrai_1stapp.jpg|thumb|right|"Well tonight, Matthew, I'm going to be..."]]

Once they had defeated the Decepticons, the Autobots had planned to somehow resurrect their fallen leader, using the technology developed on the planet [[Master (planet)|Master]] to give him a new body. However, shortly after it had been built, the [[Transtector]] intended for Optimus was among those stolen by the self-proclaimed "Decepticon god" [[Devil Z]]. It was then hidden on Earth where it was eventually found by, and [[Godmaster|bonded with]], a human named [[Ginrai]]. {{storylink|You Too Use the Masterforce to Transform|Shūta and Grand's Masterforce Super Secrets}} The Transtector later gained sentience of its own, which meant that it ultimately could not be used for its intended purpose, {{storylink|A Battle... and Then...}} and later went on to be rebuilt into [[Victory Leo]]. {{storylink|Fight!! Victory Leo}}
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===''The Battlestars'' story pages and comic===
[[Image:PrimeZodiak.jpg|left|225px|thumb|''You got the—'' No, hang on... Nevermind.]]

Over 15 years after his merging with Vector Sigma, Optimus Prime's lifeless body was spirited away in a sinister plot to destroy the Autobots by [[Dark Nova]], the big bad guy du jour. Nova duplicated Prime's body, using the copy to create the evil [[False Convoy]]. {{storylink|The Battlestars (story page)|The Battlestars story page #3}} The elite Autobot team, the [[Battlestars]], defeated False Convoy and retrieved the real Prime's body from Planet [[Lucifer]], and then used the mysterious energy source known as the [[Zodiac]] to restore Prime to life. Transformed into '''Star Convoy''', Prime was also reunited with [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]], who became his [[Micromaster]] partner. {{storylink|The Battlestars (story page)|The Battlestars story page #4}}

[[Image:Starconvoy magami.jpg|right|thumb|"Occasionally you meet a nice one—Star Convoy, E.T. ... but usually they just turn out to be some kind of big lizard!"]]

After Star Convoy and [[Sixliner]] defeated a swarm of Dark Nova's [[Novaroid|Great Novaroid]] drone warriors, {{storylink|The Battlestars (story page)|The Battlestars story page #5}} the mysterious creature decided to resurrect Prime's oldest nemesis, and plucked [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] from the icy grave he had been cast into years beforehand by the Autobot Headmasters, recreating him as [[Megatron (G1)|Super Megatron]]. {{storylink|The Battlestars (story page)|The Battlestars story page #6}} The two old foes clashed in battle at the North Pole, with Star Convoy emerging victorious {{storylink|The Battlestars (manga)|The Battlestars special}} but Super Megatron soon returned with an army of [[Galaman|Great Galaman]] drones to back him up. {{storylink|The Battlestars (story page)|The Battlestars story page #7}} Defeated by the "[[Triple Combination Battlestar Attack]]" that combined all the power of Star Convoy, [[Sky Garry (ROC)|Sky Garry]] and [[Grandus (ROC)|Grandus]], Super Megatron was again upgraded by Dark Nova into Ultra Megatron. Star Convoy and the Battlestars met him in battle once again, and again, they claimed victory. {{storylink|The Battlestars (story page)|The Battlestars story page #8}}

His pawn having failed him, Dark Nova absorbed Ultra Megatron into his body, transforming them both into the gargantuan "Star Giant". {{storylink|The Battlestars (story page)|The Battlestars story page #9}} Star Giant proved to be virtually indestructible from the outside until Star Convoy got the bright idea of giving the villain [[Furmanism|the worst case of indigestion he'd ever had]]. Holding Star Giant's massive mouth open, he ordered Sky Garry and Grandus to move in. After all three were swallowed, they began taking Star Giant down from the inside while simultaneously fighting off his various defensive systems. As soon as the trio escaped from Star Giant's interior, the monster exploded, leaving only his head slightly intact. As it happens, Megatron was housed inside Star Giant's noggin and survived the attack. {{storylink|The Battlestars (story page)|The Battlestars story page #10}}

===Nucleon Quest Convoy bio===
Following the defeat of Star Giant, the restoration of Cybertron (following its devastation in 2011) began, but the planet was in the throes of a chronic energy shortage. In order to re-energize the struggling planet, Optimus Prime upgraded himself into a Powermaster by fusing with the Nebulan scientist [[Hi-Q]]. Protecting his body with a Phase Modulation Shield, Prime ventured into a black hole to obtain the super-energy [[Nucleon]], which was used to restore Cybertron to its former glory.
{{-}}

===''G-2'' story pages and pack-in comic===
[[Image:G2AllianceBeginsAndEnds.jpg|left|225px|thumb|The alliance would have lasted if they'd gotten more than one chair.]]
With Cybertron restored, Optimus Prime upgraded himself into a new [[Action Master]] body. Megatron eventually recovered from his defeat and with his sanity circuit fully restored at last, joined with Prime to form the [[Cybertron Alliance]]. Things were good for a little while, as Megatron's attempts at peace were genuinely sincere, and the alliance ushered in what would be called the Second Generation of the Transformers. However, after human soldiers killed one of his dearest comrades, Megatron adopted a new tank body and started the war anew, believing he could bring a more stable peace to the galaxy by ruling it with an iron fist. {{storylink|G-2 (story page)|Autobots vs. Decepticons: Combat Secrets }}

[[Image:G2 manga hero prime.jpg|right|thumb|275px|Uh oh, [[Jolt (G2)|Jolt]]! You've cheesed off Prime so much he's broken through the panel borders!]]
To counter Megatron, Optimus Prime upgraded his body into a new Missile Trailer mode. Rallying a new wave of Autobot warriors, Optimus diligently repelled Megatron and the Decepticons. In one early encounter, Prime managed to rescue [[Electro]] and [[Volt]] from Megatron by firing his "Matrix Saturn" attack. He immediately recommended that Megatron and all his Decepticons leave the area at once. {{storylink|G-2 (pack-in comic)|G-2 #1}} Megatron, of course, refused, and continued his attack. Prime, Electro and Volt combined their firepower, leaving Megatron in a smoke-filled crater. As Electro moved in to administer the killing blow, Megatron emerged from the smoke unscathed, effortlessly plucking Electro up by his head. {{storylink|G-2 (pack-in comic)|G-2 #2}} Against Prime's orders, Volt immediately rushed Megatron from behind to free his captured friend. {{storylink|G-2 (pack-in comic)|G-2 #4}}

At one point, the secrecy of the Autobot field base became a priority, leaving Megatron to order warriors such as [[Jolt (G2)|Jolt]] to tail other Autobots and locate Prime. {{storylink|G-2 (pack-in comic)|G-2 #5}} Prime's location was eventually compromised when [[Skyjack]] slipped past all Autobot radar. Astonished at the Decepticon's stealth, Prime was unable to stop Skyjack from returning to Megatron with his location. {{storylink|G-2 (pack-in comic)|G-2 #7}} Meanwhile, [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]], [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] and [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] began to study the [[Matrix of Leadership]] and discovered a new property within it called the [[Reconfiguration Matrix]] which could grant Autobots new powers. {{storylink|G-2 (story page)|Optimus Prime of the Autobots has Fallen!}}

[[Image:G2PrimeJustice.jpg|left|thumb|225px|"SHALOM!"]]
Prime and Megatron eventually met to do battle, with Prime coming out on top as Megatron slowly ran low on fuel. Prime offered Megatron one last chance to surrender, but was caught off-guard by [[Hooligan (G2)|Hooligan]], who blasted him in the back with his missile attack, destroying Prime's back-mounted weaponry unit. {{storylink|G-2 (pack-in comic)|G-2 #9}} Megatron then ordered [[Dreadwing (G2)|Dreadwing]] and [[Smokescreen (G2)|Smokescreen]] to swoop in and finish Prime off before he could recover. The pair of Decepticons proceeded to bomb Prime mercilessly before turning him over to Megatron for the kill. {{storylink|G-2 (pack-in comic)|G-2 #10}} With a surprising lack of satisfaction, Megatron blasted Prime to pieces, killing his ancient foe at last. Victorious, Megatron offered Prime a final prayer, only to be interrupted by...Prime! The essences of the previous Autobot Supreme Commanders within the Matrix of Leadership activated the Reconfiguration Matrix to forge him a new body. Optimus Prime became '''Battle Convoy''' and easily trumped Megatron's power. {{storylink|G-2 (pack-in comic)|G-2 #13}} {{storylink|G-2 (story page)|Birth of the New Supreme Commander Battle Convoy!}}

Prime and Megatron then agreed to a one-on-one duel following the "Law of Cybertron": total banishment to the defeated and his forces. After a lengthy and painful battle, Prime narrowly managed to best Megatron, forcing him and the Decepticons to retreat into deep space. Prime was last seen wounded, being aided off the battlefield by Volt and Electro. {{storylink|G-2 (story page)|The Autobots Triumph in the Battle of Good Vs. Evil!}}
{{-}}

===e-Hobby storyline===

[[Image:Black_hybrid_prime_manga.jpg|right|thumb]]

When the universe came under threat from an [[Galvatron II|alternate-reality incarnation of Galvatron]], Prime used his [[Reconfiguration Matrix]] to once again transform his body into a form resembling his original. Armed with powerful solar-powered missile launchers created by the Decepticons that were so energy-consumptive that Prime required a sunlight-absorbing [[black body]] coating to operate them at full power, Prime put his new body to use rescuing Laser Ultra Magnus from Galvatron's clutches. {{storylink|Hybrid Style Convoy Black Version}}

To combat the Decepticons' aggressive energy raids, Wheeljack and [[Ga'mede]] put their heads together and duplicated Prime's new black form to create twenty-one battle droids that would play on the Decepticons' subconscious fear of Optimus Prime. These "[[Eldedroid]]s" were placed under the remote control of [[Flip Sides]] and sent out onto the battlefield. <ref>''Masterpiece'' Convoy Black Ver.‎ [[bio]]</ref> Later experimentation with the Eldedroids involved placing human minds in control of them; the first successful test subject was a human named [[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Dan]]. This Eldedroid, along with [[Diver (Masterforce)|Diver]], [[Splashdown]], [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] and [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]], was dispatched by Optimus Prime to investigate Decepticon involvement in recent attacks on human shipping vessels. Prime was worried about Dan, but Ironhide encouraged him not to be so pessimistic. {{storylink|MP-1B Cybertron Commander / Convoy Black Ver.‎}}

==References==

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Action Masters]]
[[Category:Alternators]]
[[Category:Autobots]]
[[Category:Autobot leaders]]
[[Category:Combiners]]
[[Category:Multi-component Transformers]]
[[Category:Generation 1 characters]]
[[Category:Generation 2 characters]]
[[Category:Ghosts]]
[[Category:Headmasters characters]]
[[Category:Kiss Players characters]]
[[Category:Matrix bearers]]
[[Category:Powermasters]]
[[Category:Return of Convoy characters]]
[[Category:Rulers of Cybertron]]
[[Category:Zombies]]

Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity

2009-11-30T20:58:49Z

69.43.35.2: /* Generation 1 */

{{suite}}
[[Image:Muk306 tacitus.jpg|thumb|250px|Insert [[Furmanism]] here for humorous effect.]]
What did '''[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]]''' do? Find out in [[Marvel Comics continuity|Marrrrrrrrvel Comics]]!

'''Hint:''' [[Wikipedia:Giri (Japanese)|Heavy is the head... and heavier the heart.]]

{{quote|With Malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds.|[[Abraham Lincoln]]|[[Wikipedia:Abraham_Lincoln's_Second_Inaugural_Address|March 4, 1855]]}}

==Generation 1==
{{noteukonly}}
[[Image:Optimusprimeg1preearthmarvel2.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Optimus Prime's Cybertronic truck mode, along with a Cybertronic Grumman X-29, a Cybertronic Earth motorcycle, and a Cybertronic Porsche 962.]]
Before the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]] broke out on Cybertron, Optimus Prime was a Transformer of note, displaying his skills in the [[IntraFormers Sharpshooting Competition]]. {{storylink|Sureshot (G1)|Sureshot's ''Transformers Universe'' entry}} As a serious-minded individual, he also spoke out against [[Needlenose]]'s faddish "[[Chic Chips]]" line of hardware accessories. {{storylink|Needlenose|Needlenose's ''Transformers Universe'' entry}}

''Gladiator games were commissioned between the City-States to increase good will as the planet's population outpaced its resources. Optimus was the gladiator champion of [[Iacon]], and he shared a sporting rivalry with a young champion from [[Tarn]] called [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]. But sabotage plunged Tarn and [[Vos]] into an inter-city war. An [[Overlord (rank)|Autobot Overlord]] was damaged while trying to sort it out, so Optimus Prime left to get help. However, the Overlord mysteriously perished while under the care of Megatron and Overlord's bodyguard, [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]]. {{storylink|State Games}} Following the destruction of Tarn and Vos, Prime had planned to become a medical officer, but enrolled in the Autobot army as soon as the Decepticons declared war. He was immediately put in charge of the [[Elite Flying Corps]]. {{storylink|Transformers Annual 1987|Optimus Prime datafile}}''

''Optimus Prime saved the life of an Autobot named [[Swoop (G1)|Divebomb]] from another [[Divebomb (G1)|flying Decepticon]] who had previously beaten him and taken his name. "Divebomb" hated Prime with a passion, and was humiliated by his rescue, and so he kept this to himself. {{storylink|What's in a Name?}}''

Optimus Prime quickly made a name for himself as a combat leader. On a mission with the [[Triggerbot]]s to stop Megatron from claiming the [[Underbase]], Prime was forced to jettison the massive databank into space to prevent anyone acquiring its power, but with this action he first proved his wisdom and skill. {{storylink|The Flames of Boltax!}} ''As Optimus Prime's reputation became known, he was promoted to field commander of the entire Autobot army, but regrettably, the [[Council of Autobot Elders]] still pulled the strings. Unknown to the Elders, Optimus Prime began orchestrating unsanctioned military actions. {{storylink|Transformers Annual 1987|Optimus Prime datafile}} As the Great War intensified, Autobot territories began falling under Decepticon dominion, one City-State at a time. The last City-State to be taken was the Autobot capital of Iacon. As Decepticons besieged Iacon, the Council of Elders prepared to surrender. Councillor [[Emirate Xaaron|Xaaron]] suggested that High Councillor [[Traachon]] step down and allow a military officer to assume Autobot leadership. Traachon then used his powers of veto and effectively elected himself out of office, allowing Optimus Prime to assume supreme command of the Autobots, becoming the first soldier to ever hold the mantle of Autobot leadership. {{storylink|And There Shall Come...a Leader!}} ''

[[Image:Optimusprimeg1marvelfirst.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Prime had to go through an experimental "box with a gun on top" phase before he could commit to the truck thing.]]
After over a thousand years of war, Cybertron—shaken from its orbit and drifting through space—came under threat when it floated into the path of a massive asteroid swarm that could potentially devastate the planet. Prime led a group of his most powerful Autobot warriors on the Autobot starship, the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]], on a mission to destroy the asteroids. Although the Autobots were successful, in the aftermath of this mission the Ark was attacked by Decepticons, hoping to overcome their weakened foes. Intent on keeping the secrets of the Ark's computer, [[Auntie]], from the Decepticons, Prime set the craft on a suicide course, crashing it into the prehistoric planet Earth. After lying dormant for four million years, the Ark was awakened by the eruption of [[Mount St. Hilary]] in 1984, and Optimus Prime was rebuilt so that he could reconfigure his body into a semi truck. As the Decepticons fled, Optimus Prime called for a roll call of his own troops. Suspecting that after all this time, Cybertron probably no longer existed, Optimus Prime began studying the planet upon which they had landed; he was startled to realize that this planet did have sentient life! He swore that the Autobots would hide themselves from Earth's natives, so that they would be spared the horrors of the Transformers' war. {{storylink|The Transformers (issue)|The Transformers}}

[[Image:PowerPlay-Optimustransforms.jpg|left|thumb|250px|In the live-action movie's version of this scene, Sparkplug was replaced with some hot chick.]]

Optimus Prime and the other Autobots were all dangerously low on fuel, but thankfully [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] had befriended some humans who could help—[[Sparkplug Witwicky]] and his son, [[Buster Witwicky (G1)|Buster Witwicky]]. Leading the Autobots to Sparkplug's auto shop, Optimus Prime introduced himself to the humans. Unfortunately, the Decepticons had the same idea, and the warring factions met in battle. But while Prime was busy shooting Decepticons out of the air, Megatron grabbed Sparkplug, and so Prime was forced to face his nemesis one-on-one. Despite Prime's apparent victory, Sparkplug was snatched away by [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]], and the Decepticons retreated. Optimus Prime acknowledged Buster's sorrow at the kidnapping of his father, but noted that without fuel, retrieving him would be impossible. {{storylink|Power Play!}} Carrying [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] and [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] in his trailer, Optimus Prime and the other Autobots returned to the Ark, where [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] awaited. With the mysterious [[Spider-Man]]'s help, Sparkplug was rescued from the Decepticons' [[Fortress Sinister|cliffside headquarters]], but not before Sparkplug had converted fuel for the Decepticons! {{storylink|Prisoner of War!}} Unfortunately, Optimus Prime couldn't stop the Autobots from overreacting to this bad news, and their actions caused Sparkplug Witwicky to suffer a heart attack. {{storylink|The Last Stand}}

[[Image:Boulderdamfight.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Better get used to seeing this scene.]]

''When the Ark alerted Optimus Prime of a power surge at [[Sherman Dam]], he and his Autobots weren't surprised to find the Decepticons behind it. Afraid of the dam crumbling under the stress of the Decepticons' manipulations, he faced off against Megatron on the top of the dam, brandishing his energy ax. As he trash-talked Megatron, Prime was suddenly distracted by [[Hound (G1)|Hound]]'s defeat. Megatron used this moment to his advantage, knocking Prime off the dam and firing his cannon into the dam itself. Prime quickly assembled his troops, directing them to divert the waves by digging trenches and elevating the neighboring humans. Mirage was angered when the humans still vilified them, despite their hard work, but Prime calmed him. {{storylink|Decepticon Dam-Busters!}}''

''Meanwhile, Optimus Prime sent a team of Autobots to investigate the [[Man of Iron]], a local legend in the [[United Kingdom]]. After befriending [[Sammy Harker]], and tangling with the Decepticons over the remains of the Man of Iron's ship, Optimus Prime and [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] were forced to destroy the ship and its inhabitants, not realizing that its [[Navigator]] knew the location of Cybertron. {{storylink|Man of Iron!}} Back at the Ark, after [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] suffered some sort of psychotic break and ran off, Optimus Prime decided that hunting Brawn down was crucial, before he could harm any humans! After Brawn was cornered, he threatened the Autobots with death, but he was quickly overwhelmed, and Optimus Prime carried Brawn's defeated body back to the Ark. In order to prove Brawn's loyalty, a showdown was orchestrated between him and the traitorous Decepticon, [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]]. With the help of [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]]'s holograms, Brawn's death was faked once he had proved himself, and the two factions returned to their respective bases. {{storylink|The Enemy Within!}} The Decepticons did not stay there for long, and suddenly a full-scale attack was launched on the Ark! Unfortunately, the Ark's computer systems, "[[Auntie]]", went berserk, and it fell to Optimus and Megatron to team up against the malfunctioning program. Megatron used his ability to tap into the power of a black hole, freeing them, [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] destroyed Auntie, and the Decepticons were forcibly ejected from the Ark. {{storylink|Raiders of the Last Ark}}''

[[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] alerted Optimus Prime to information that Ratchet had uncovered from the Ark's databanks: millions of years ago, the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] battled [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] to a standstill. This raised some questions, but there was little Optimus Prime could do with this knowledge now. With a Decepticon attack imminent, and the Autobots dangerously low on fuel, Optimus Prime had a desperate gamble. Using the [[Tubes of Transference]], the combined remaining fuel was compiled into five of the strongest Autobots, himself, [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]], Huffer, [[Bluestreak]], and [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]]. Sure enough, the Decepticons descended quickly upon them, but even though Prime was still low on fuel, he was still quick enough to grab Starscream out of the air! It was not enough to defeat Megatron, however, and his nemesis hoisted Prime's body over his head in complete victory. ...That is, until Megatron and the other Decepticons doubled over in pain. Sparkplug had poisoned the Decepticons' fuel! Unfortunately, Optimus Prime's subsequent speech was short as he and the other Autobots were blasted into pieces. Shockwave had awakened and returned. {{storylink|The Last Stand}}

[[Image:NewOrder-OptimusPrimehead.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Buster regretted the low volume on his Optimus Prime voice changer helmet.]]

Though the Decepticons had taken over the Ark, Ratchet was able to sneak Buster Witwicky inside, and the young human was startled to find Optimus Prime's decapitated head attached to machinery. {{storylink|The New Order}} Optimus Prime, in this weakened state, pleaded with Buster to detach two power cords and attach them to either side of the human's head. This released a tremendous amount of energy, transferring Optimus Prime's [[Matrix of Leadership|Creation Matrix]] to the human, and Buster blacked out. After Buster awoke, he returned to Ratchet to tell him of Optimus Prime's defeat. {{storylink|The Worse of Two Evils!}} Ratchet had to see this for himself, and he was saddened to find out that Buster was correct. The Autobots were defeated, even including the mighty Optimus Prime! But Optimus would not let Ratchet give up or despair. He pushed Ratchet to action, telling him that even though Ratchet was nothing more than a doctor, now was the time for him to learn to be a warrior. {{storylink|Warrior School!}} Since Shockwave's return, he had wrested leadership of the Decepticons from Megatron, and so the former Decepticon leader was ordered by Shockwave to prepare to move Optimus Prime's head from the Ark to the Decepticons' base of operations within a [[Blackrock Industries]] aerospace plant. {{storylink|Repeat Performance!}}

Shockwave planned to use the Creation Matrix energies within Optimus Prime's head to give life to a new Decepticon army, despite Optimus Prime's obvious objections. Shockwave didn't know that he had transferred most of the energy to Buster Witwicky, so Optimus Prime took quiet solace in the fact that the last of his remaining energies would be used on only six new warriors. ''{{storylink|The Wrath of Guardian!}}'' {{storylink|DIS-Integrated Circuits!}}

[[Image:PrimeTime-Primewantsyou.jpg|thumb|right|250px|He's mad as hell, ain't he ain't gonna take your orders anymore!]]

Optimus Prime's head watched helplessly as Shockwave brought his [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] to life using the rest of Prime's stored Creation Matrix energies. But Shockwave realized something was wrong when Prime failed to give life to his next creation, [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]]. {{storylink|The Next Best Thing to Being There!}} Shockwave deduced what had happened, and so he sent Jetfire (who was still little more than a drone) out to capture Buster. Optimus Prime realized he had put Buster in tremendous danger, but thankfully Buster prevailed. However, with the Matrix energy spent, Prime was useless to Shockwave, and so the Decepticon leader made plans to dispose of the head. {{storylink|Brainstorm!}} In actuality, the head Shockwave disposed of was an impostor. Shockwave had learned that his headquarters were bugged, and so when the Autobots came to retrieve the head from a nearby swamp, the impostor head took control of Prime's body and turned on the Autobots. The day was saved only by the efforts of Buster, who was able to wrest control of Jetfire so that he could deliver the real head to its body. Once again whole, Prime retaliated against the Decepticons battling at the swamp, and one by one, they were destroyed. Shockwave himself arrived to battle Prime, but after they grappled, Shockwave was thrown into the swamps and disappeared. Instead of delivering a final blow, Optimus Prime rushed back to the plant to assure Buster's safety. The nightmare over, Prime transferred the Creation Matrix energies from Buster back into himself. {{storylink|Prime Time!}}

[[Image:Arkchristmastree.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Prime may reconsider his return to the Autobots.]]

''Optimus Prime's dignity restored with his head once again reunited with his body, Prime immediately dressed as Santa Claus to appease Buster's strong sense of [[Christmas]] spirit. {{storylink|Christmas Breaker!}}''

''Optimus Prime questioned his ability to lead after his recent series of trials when a fight broke out amongst the Autobots on whether to use the Creation Matrix to create an army of unstoppable robot monsters. His introspection was interrupted by the intrusion of Ravage. The spy was captured, but it was not known by the Autobots that this was part of a larger Decepticon plot. Ravage escaped easily, and when Bumblebee gave chase, the Autobot was captured by the Decepticons. His disembodied arm was dropped in front of the Ark by [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]], a gauntlet cast. Prime decided to go alone to Decepticon headquarters to rescue Bumblebee, despite the other Autobots' objections. Indeed, Prime bested the Decepticons one-by-one, felling them all, until he arrived, heavily damaged, in the chamber where Bumblebee was held. After making short work of Soundwave, Optimus Prime returned to the Autobots, determined to do things right from then on. {{storylink|Crisis of Command!}}''

''After Optimus Prime visited Bumblebee in the repair bay, the Autobots were surprised to be attacked by the Dinobot [[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]], who was thought to be dead. After Swoop's mind was reclaimed from [[Professor Morris]], Swoop went berserk and left once more. After learning that the Dinobots all would suffer the same involuntary rage, Optimus Prime called for a Dinobot Hunt! {{storylink|The Icarus Theory}} Optimus Prime briefed the Autobots on the Dinobots and their nature and sent them to find the Dinobots in groups. Later, Optimus Prime traveled via [[Ark shuttlecraft]] to put a stop to a fight between Grimlock and Sludge that had claimed several Autobot and human injuries. Prime neutralized the rampaging Dinobots, but was saddened to hear that the Decepticons had seized the opportunity to steal large quantities of energy from the humans while the Autobots were kept busy. With the Dinobots in ruin and the Decepticons fueled, Optimus Prime's Autobots had suffered a major defeat. {{storylink|Dinobot Hunt!}} Optimus Prime later checked in with Ratchet, who was monitoring the comatose Dinobots. He implored Ratchet to find a way to save them from their constant nightmares. {{storylink|Victory!}}''

With the Autobot ranks drastically depleted, Optimus Prime gave life to Jetfire using the Creation Matrix, and performed on him the [[Rite of the Autobrand]]. He guided Jetfire through the Ark; first into Ratchet's repair bay, and next into [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]]'s lab, where additional troops were being assembled. Optimus Prime assigned Bumblebee to train these new recruits, but ordered them not to engage the enemy. When the group stumbled onto a Decepticon plot to siphon energy from a [[Brick Springhorn]] concert, Optimus gathered every able Autobot to assist. However, Bumblebee had disobeyed orders and his rookies had successfully thwarted the Decepticons. {{storylink|Rock and Roll-Out!}}

When a human named [[Donny Finkleberg|Robot-Master]] appeared on television, claiming he controlled all Transformers, Optimus Prime led a team of Autobots into the [[Powder River Basin]] to prevent the human from getting hurt. Megatron, who had frozen, deactivated, at the bottom of the basin, was subsequently re-energized by Soundwave and his minions, and the combined might of their firepower and the human military's drove away Optimus and the Autobots in defeat. {{storylink|I, Robot-Master!}} Afterward, Bumblebee felt he had failed Optimus Prime due to his relative lack of size and strength, and so he ran away. When Optimus discovered that Bumblebee had become a target of interest for the Decepticons, Optimus hurriedly led another team of Autobots to the rescue, an act that helped prove Bumblebee's worth to himself. {{storylink|Plight of the Bumblebee!}}

[[Image:RobotBuster-outofyourminds.jpg|right|thumb|250px|"There's ''no slaggin' way'' Mary-Kate is the cutest Olsen Twin!"]]

''Optimus Prime was absolutely appalled to discover that Wheeljack and Ratchet had built Buster Witwicky an armored suit to aid him in the battle against the Decepticons, asking them outright if they had lost their minds. Though Buster protested, noting that since he was trusted with holding the Creation Matrix he should be trusted with the suit as well, Optimus Prime ordered the armored suit destroyed. But Buster stole the armored suit under cover of night and attacked the Decepticon headquarters, plowing through the Decepticons until he reached Shockwave. Shockwave bested the human, but the arrival of Optimus Prime and the Autobots convinced Shockwave to spare his life. {{storylink|Robot Buster!}} Following this incident, Buster began having strange nightmares, and Optimus Prime suspected that these nightmares were induced by the Creation Matrix. {{storylink|Devastation Derby!}} Wanting to investigate these Creation Matrix-induced dreams, Optimus Prime and Buster were hooked up to machinery so that the human could share them. Optimus Prime and Buster witnessed strange five-robot combiners from each faction named [[Special Teams]], and awoke shouting their name. They had seen a vision of the next generation of Transformers... {{storylink|Second Generation!}}''

Meanwhile on Cybertron, a group of Autobots were happy to learn that Optimus Prime and his Autobots still lived. {{storylink|The Smelting Pool!}}

[[Image:CommandPerformances-Autobotsattack.jpg|left|thumb|300px|"Year Two toys, attack!"]]

In front of all the active Autobots, Optimus Prime and [[Grapple]] unveiled their secret project: [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]]! Designed to be their last line of defense, Prime planned to leave Omega Supreme to guard the Ark while Prime led the Autobots to the Decepticon river basin headquarters to steal combiner technology from Devastator and promptly leave. The Dinobots scoffed at this plan, refusing to start a battle they were required to run away from, and so Grimlock and his Dinobots seceded from the Autobots. Though [[Skids (G1)|Skids]] raised concerns, Optimus Prime maintained that he had allowed for this. In fact, he allowed for everything save the interference of the humans, and after the mission was successfully pulled off, one human came after Skids for revenge. Optimus Prime regretfully had to leave Skids behind. {{storylink|Command Performances!}}

''Learning of the Dinobots' disastrous solo adventures, Optimus Prime wanted to disown them, but reluctantly acknowledged that they were necessary muscle for the team. Tragically, while speaking to the Autobots about their war thus far on Earth, he, Prowl, and Ratchet mysteriously vanished in a flash of light! {{storylink|Target: 2006}} They found themselves in a strange dimension called [[Limbo]], where they battled violent creatures. They soon allied with Shockwave, [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]], and [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]], who were also shunted into this dimension. The creatures' attack stopped only when Prime realized that they fed on their negative emotions. {{storylink|Distant Thunder!}} Upon his return, Optimus learned that they had been displaced by Autobots and Decepticons traveling from the future. {{storylink|Time Wars}}''

As Ratchet sealed up one of Prime's wounds, the Autobot commander was delighted to see Skids was alive, having returned to him along with [[Donny Finkleberg]] (previously the Robot-Master). They had news for him regarding the arrival of Autobot reinforcements from Cybertron, but they were interrupted by a news bulletin. [[Hoover Dam]] was being attacked by Decepticons, so Optimus Prime leapt from the repair bay despite Ratchet's objections to call the new [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]] into service. {{storylink|Aerialbots over America!}} Later Ratchet was able to finish sealing Prime's wound, but not before the [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticon]] [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]] was able to implant a [[cerebro-shell]] within Prime's body. Through this link, the Decepticons would be able to share use of the Creation Matrix to give life to new troops! The Aerialbots hadn't done well on their first outing, so as Optimus Prime reformatted them, Megatron gave life to the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]]! {{storylink|Heavy Traffic!}}

''Optimus Prime observed the records of how poorly the Autobots performed in his absence in Limbo, specifically how they went so far as to seek leadership from Megatron out of sheer desperation. Optimus Prime began to consider whether he was too important to the Autobots, and if they could carry on should he fall. To alleviate his doubts, he and a reluctant [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] plotted to fake Prime's death to teach the Autobots how to fend for themselves. While Prime was setting up an impostor version of himself to leave behind destroyed for the Autobots to find, Megatron sent the [[Predacon (G1)|Predacons]] to attack Prime. {{storylink|Prey!}}''

[[Image:HarderTheyDie-Iaconno.jpg|right|thumb|300px|You can't go home again.]]

''During the scuffle, Optimus and Megatron were transported to Cybertron, while Prime's counterfeit body, torn apart, was found by the Autobots. Optimus Prime surveyed Cybertron for the first time in four million years, and he couldn't believe how terribly it had fallen. Cities and buildings were cut to the ground, and even his beloved [[Iacon]] was in shambles. After Prime saved [[Outback]] from a roving Decepticon, the tiny Autobot followed him despite Prime's wishes to be alone. Unfortunately, Megatron (in league with [[Straxus (G1)|Straxus]]) had spread rumors that an imposter Optimus Prime had infiltrated Cybertron, which were readily believed due to Prime's four-million-year absence. Before too long, Prime was surrounded and shackled by [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] and the [[Wrecker]]s! {{storylink|The Harder They Die!}} With Outback's help, Prime was able to escape, but not without Outback suffering mortal wounds. {{storylink|Under Fire!}} As Outback began to die in his arms, Prime told Outback of the time he, Prowl, and Ratchet were stuck in Limbo. His words were overheard by the Wreckers, but hearing Prime's words convinced [[Emirate Xaaron]] that this was in fact the real Optimus Prime! {{storylink|Distant Thunder!}}''

[[Image:Primefuneralnumberone.jpg|left|thumb|200px|He approved of it ''so much'' that when he died for real the next day, they instead shot him into space.]]

''The return of Optimus Prime was a welcome boost to the Autobot underground resistance. Not only did Autobot morale increase, but Decepticons were spooked at his very appearance! But after a few strategic victories, Prime knew he had to return to Earth. Prime and Ultra Magnus planned one last raid—they would besiege [[Polyhex]] and destroy Megatron! But Megatron's "eccentricities" had become too much for Cybertron's Decepticons to handle, and in the middle of their battle, all three were whisked away to Earth by the [[space bridge]]. Optimus Prime appeared before the Autobots just as they had finished their Earth-inspired burial of the impostor body he had left behind. {{storylink|Resurrection!}}''

[[Image:Afterdeath-gameoverman.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Game over, man! Game over!]]

The Autobots had been monitoring the humans' creation of [[Power Station Alpha]], and Optimus Prime, sensing its completion would need closer inspection, sent Bumblebee to its unveiling. {{storylink|Blood on the Tracks}} Optimus Prime met an anticlimactic end in a gambit for [[Energy Futures Industries]]' [[Hydrothermocline]]. He and the [[Protectobot (G1)|Protectobots]] agreed to fight Megatron and the [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticons]] in a simulated, virtual world named ''[[Multi-World]]''. But when Megatron cheated, Prime resorted to killing virtual beings to gain the upper hand, and despite his victory Prime believed he had truly lost. Before their eyes, the human [[Ethan Zachary]] detonated Optimus Prime's body, as was previously agreed. In secret, Ethan secured away a [[floppy disk]] that held a copy of Optimus Prime's mind. {{storylink|Afterdeath!}} Meanwhile, [[Superion (G1)|Superion]] had been sent to investigate Bumblebee's destruction at the hands of [[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]], but he was recalled in the middle of this altercation when it was discovered that Optimus Prime had been "assassinated". {{storylink|Power Struggle}}

Optimus Prime's death unhinged Megatron further. The Decepticon leader simply couldn't believe that his eternal foe was truly dead, and he began blowing up random trucks. Megatron's paranoia grew so much that he blew up the Space Bridge with himself on it. {{storylink|Gone but Not Forgotten!}} Ratchet's subsequent efforts to restore Optimus Prime were unsuccessful, and after much grieving, Optimus Prime's body was launched into space as per Cybertronian custom. Omega Supreme presided over his funeral, and both he and [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] gave eulogies. {{storylink|Funeral for a Friend!}} {{storylink|Ashes, Ashes...}}

In front of a holographic image of Optimus Prime's head, the surviving Autobots tried to choose a new leader. Optimus Prime's replacement would be like him: a great warrior, wise, compassionate, kind, and courageous. As luck would have it, Grimlock chose exactly that moment to show all of those qualities for the first and only time in his life. {{storylink|King of the Hill!}}

Optimus Prime's funeral barge eventually crashed on a giant moon of [[VsQs]], where it lay for untold time. {{storylink|Dark Creation}}

[[Image:Ethanzacharypretendertothethrone.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Reaching level 70 was a momentous occasion.]]

Years passed as [[Ethan Zachary]], who still possessed the floppy disk that contained a copy of Optimus Prime's mind, tried to coax it into full sentience. This copy of Optimus Prime believed he was a video game character and nothing more, despite Ethan Zachary's constant prodding. Ethan thought he finally had a chance to jolt Prime back to his old self when he was investigated by [[Bumblebee (G1)|Goldbug]]. The two put Optimus Prime in charge of a real team of Autobots, the [[Pretender]]s, and the disk copy Prime led them in battle against Decepticon Pretenders. Prime's delusions were unshaken. {{storylink|Pretender to the Throne!}} Goldbug took the disk with him, and attempts to rebuild Optimus Prime ended in failure. An argument over supreme Autobot leadership erupted between Grimlock's earthbound Autobots and a group of Autobots who had just arrived from [[Nebulos]] under the leadership of [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]]. Ultimately, Fortress Maximus realized that Optimus Prime was the true leader of the Autobots, not anyone else, and so he sent Goldbug, [[Joyride (Autobot)|Joyride]], [[Slapdash]], and [[Getaway]] back to Nebulos where the technology existed to fully restore Optimus Prime to life. {{storylink|Totaled!}}

[[Image:PeoplePower-reprogrammed.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Seriously, Prime's been playing WoW waaaay too long.]]

It wasn't quite so simple, however. Fortress Maximus's Autobots had left Nebulos in ruin, and the planet poisoned its fuel supply so that robots could never return and wage war. A loophole was found, however, in the [[Powermaster]] process, created by the scientist [[Hi-Q]]. As luck would have it, Hi-Q was the exact person Goldbug was searching for to rebuild Optimus Prime, but the scientist refused on the grounds that he would be reintroducing the war to his planet—and he didn't believe the Transformers were any more than clever yet unsentient machines. Optimus Prime was rebuilt anyway, even though he wouldn't live very long at all without unpoisoned fuel. Hi-Q changed his mind on the sentience of Transformers when he saw the rebuilt Optimus Prime (shocked out of his video game persona delusions) interact with Goldbug. Hi-Q underwent the Powermaster process himself to save Optimus Prime's life, and Powermaster Optimus Prime was able to defeat two Powermaster-enhanced Decepticons, [[Dreadwind (G1)|Dreadwind]] and [[Darkwing]]. Optimus Prime and his crew left Nebulos with their new Nebulon partners. {{storylink|People Power!}}

Prime quickly proved himself to be a fool, for he dared to ignore [[Rorza, the Rocket-cycle Racer from Rigel III]]. {{storylink|The Cosmic Carnival!}}

''Before reuniting with the other Earthbound Autobots, Optimus Prime and the other Powermasters took a [[Ark shuttlecraft|shuttle]] to Earth on [[Christmas]] Day. Optimus Prime, seeing Earth's frozen wasteland, wondered why he even cared about the Earth in the first place, much less fought desperately to defend it. But after recalling the events that first brought him there, he remembered that it was his fault that the Ark crashed there four million years ago, and so any pain and suffering caused by the Transformers' war was his burden. {{storylink|Cold Comfort and Joy!}}''

''Return to the Ark, Optimus easily assumed command of the Autobots there; while the Dinobots were initially unhappy, Prime quickly and effortlessly sweet-talked them into going along with it.'' {{storylink|The Quest!}}. That done, he learned via television about the Decepticons' baffling island vacation resort, [[Club Con]]. Optimus Prime sent Blaster to investigate. {{storylink|Club Con!}}

[[Image:TimeWars-OptimusPrimeentersthefray.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Enter a new challenger!]]

''Despite a mysterious disruption in time and space that threatened all reality, due to [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]'s adventures in his own past (which was Prime's present), Optimus Prime halted a conference on the matter to rescue [[Highbrow (G1)|Highbrow]]. While Highbrow apologized for interrupting more important matters, he, Optimus Prime, and a few other Autobots were displaced to Limbo once again, allowing [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus Prime]] and other Autobots from the future to investigate the mysterious disruption. The other present-day Autobots thought Optimus Prime and the others had been disintegrated, and so attacked the "impostor" Autobots under Rodimus Prime's command, but Optimus spoke to them through Rodimus Prime's Matrix and calmed them down. A crazed yet seemingly unbeatable Galvatron attacked them, and Optimus Prime debated whether he should leave Limbo and team up with Rodimus against him, even though two Matrix-bearers coexisting at the same time would accelerate the timestorm's destruction of reality. Eventually, Optimus decided to ignore the dangers, and he materialized through Rodimus Prime's Matrix and engaged Galvatron one-on-one. Finally, Galvatron himself was eaten by the timestorm, and Scourge and the body of Cyclonus were also fed to it, which caused the timestorm to subside temporarily. Rodimus Prime promised to Optimus Prime that he would destroy all time machines when he returned to the future. {{storylink|Time Wars}}''

[[Image:Fortmaxboat.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Prime's not back five minutes and he's already using the previous leader as his personal boat.]]

Optimus Prime and Fortress Maximus accompanied Blaster to where Club Con used to be located, but it had been relocated by then. Prime assured [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] that the search for his brother Buster, who had been kidnapped by the Decepticons, would continue. {{storylink|Cold War!}} Sure enough, a distress signal in the Arctic led the Autobots to Buster, but also to a Decepticon ambush! After several Autobots were incapacitated, the battle stopped when it was discovered that this had all been arranged by Starscream, who had launched into space to seize the powers of the long lost [[Underbase]]. As the Autobots and Decepticons formed a loose alliance to stop Starscream, Optimus Prime warned that he had learned when he was young that fully possessing the Underbase led madness or death. Starscream was stopped before he could absorb all of the Underbase, but he had absorbed enough of it to be able to destroy the Decepticons' island spacecraft in which the two factions were traveling. Thankfully, Optimus Prime had thought ahead and had the Ark follow them there in case of an emergency.

Several teams of allied Autobots and Decepticons followed Starscream to Earth to stop him, but Optimus Prime insisted that he stay behind on the Ark to work on a plan on his own. [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]] and [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] had growing suspicions that the Autobot leader was really trying to claim the rest of the Underbase for himself, and they snuck on board as the Transformers on Earth were being shut down en masse by Starscream. Unfortunately for Optimus, they caught him while Hi-Q was disconnected from him, and so he was drastically overpowered. Optimus revealed to Scorponok that he was not trying to possess the Underbase... rather, he had been working on a rocket to deflect the Underbase towards Earth. He knew Starscream would try to absorb the rest, and sure enough, Starscream did—growing in size and power before their eyes. But possession of the Underbase resulted in madness ''and'' death, and Starscream's massive body exploded. Scorponok apologized for his bad appraisal of Optimus Prime's intentions, and the two commanders resolved to cease fighting so that they could gather their wounded and resume the fight another day. {{storylink|Dark Star (issue)|Dark Star}}

Now that Buster had been reclaimed from the Decepticons, Spike told Optimus Prime that he felt his obligation to the Autobots was over. Prime reluctantly let Spike go, but told him that he was more attached to Fortress Maximus than he knew. {{storylink|The Man in the Machine!}} Not only was now Fortress Maximus out of commission, but the Autobots had suffered incredible losses at the hands of the Underbase-powered Starscream. Optimus Prime assigned [[Cloudburst]] and [[Landmine (G1)|Landmine]] to purchase microchips on the black market at [[Grand Central Space Station]], knowing their Pretender shells would allow them to hide their robotic forms from the robotophobic aliens there. {{storylink|Guess Who the Mecannibals Are Having for Dinner?}} Cloudburst and Landmine reached an ethical impasse involving the microchips, and so Optimus Prime reached out to Cybertron for reinforcements. He called upon the [[Micromaster]]s, specifically the [[Race Car Patrol]] and [[Off Road Patrol]], to investigate some Decepticon-originated weather problems in [[New York City]]. Hi-Q worried that the Micromasters were unreliable punks, but they were able to prove themselves against the Decepticons in the end, though they refused to join the Autobots proper. {{storylink|King Con!}}

[[Image:Doubledealerofthecentury.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Optimus Prime is also corresponding with a cash-strapped Nicaraguan prince...]]

''The Race Car Patrol accompanied Prime on a more rural mission: receiving stolen Autobot resistance plans couriered by [[Chainclaw]]. But a Decepticon, [[Doubledealer|Dealer]], abducted Chainclaw before he could deliver them, and offered the plans back to Prime as a ransom. Optimus Prime accepted, and a new Autobot named [[Doubledealer|Double]] offered to deliver the Energon payment himself. But Double never made it, and he returned to Optimus defeated with Chainclaw's injured form, having been "ransacked" by "the Decepticons". {{storylink|(Double) Deal of the Century!}}

''Optimus Prime lamented that he could no longer use the Creation Matrix to heal his fallen troops, as the Matrix was inside his old body which had been shot into space; the Autobots did not know the Matrix was in Optimus Prime's chest to remove. On cue, a being who called himself [[Deathbringer]] appeared on Earth, and it was seemingly powered by a piece of the Creation Matrix! Death Bringer proved to be invulnerable, but Optimus Prime couldn't bring himself to harm something that held the essence of the Matrix anyhow. But after enough destruction, Optimus Prime was finally able to defeat it with help from [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]], who convinced it to self-destruct in concordance with its primary function. {{storylink|Deathbringer (issue)|Deathbringer}}'' {{storylink|Dark Creation}}

''Thunderwing led a seemingly suicidal assault on the Ark, entirely for the purpose of seeking revenge against his defeat at the hands of Nightbeat, [[Siren]], and [[Hosehead]]. Optimus Prime took Thunderwing on, berating him for having more courage than sense. True to Prime's words, Thunderwing's own troops dragged him away. {{storylink|Assault on the Ark!}}''

Optimus Prime ordered Ratchet to get some downtime, fearing his overworked medic (and friend) was losing his grip on sanity. Soon after, Optimus Prime saw news reports of the Micromaster [[Air Strike Patrol]] holding [[MacDill Air Force Base]] hostage, so he took the largest ensemble of troops down to Earth he could muster, given the Autobots' depleted ranks. {{storylink|Back from the Dead}} As he told the Micromasters to surrender or face the consequences, he received a transmission from Ratchet, back at the Ark, but [[Storm Cloud (G1)|Storm Cloud]] fired at Prime's communicator before the message could be completed. This enraged Optimus Prime, who began to suspect grander, more sinister things at work behind the scenes. Optimus Prime had been led to a staged battle, but before he could leave, Scorponok and his Decepticons also arrived, itching for a fight! But after the circumstances of the day, Optimus Prime wasn't about to deny them the opportunity, and he fought back with a shocking, cold fury that baffled even Scorponok. The humans at the Air Force base called out Prime on his reckless violence, and Prime apologized for his outburst. {{storylink|The Resurrection Gambit!}}

Since Optimus Prime knew the battle was staged, he scaled back his troops accordingly, and ordered them to return to the Ark and leave him behind. [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] refused and stayed behind, helping Optimus Prime fend off the hordes of Decepticons who had attacked him. But Optimus Prime stopped Hot Rod short of firing on [[Zarak (Nebulan)|Lord Zarak]], as Optimus Prime had begun to appeal to his sense of logic. Someone was pulling the strings! Scorponok hesitated, but before an agreement could be reached, they were confronted by an old enemy thought defeated—Starscream! {{storylink|All the Familiar Faces!}}

Though Starscream's performance started out impressively, he soon began to show his true cowardly colors, and so both factions again parted ways. Once again Optimus Prime turned his thoughts towards Ratchet... {{storylink|Skin Deep}}

[[Image:YesterdaysHeroes-Whyyyy.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Meanwhile, nobody mourns poor [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]].]]

...but it was too late! Ratchet had sacrificed himself to destroy Megatron, the orchestrator behind the events at MacDill Air Force Base. Optimus Prime was overcome with grief, and he decided to stop fighting altogether. After parking the Ark on Earth's moon, he walked out on its surface, apparently never to return again. This, of course, caused the Autobots to worry about the future of their cause, and Hot Rod quickly threw together a risky plan to win Prime back. He plotted a "rampage" by an "out-of-control" [[Mark V Guardian Droid]] to whisk Prime back into fighting shape, but when the droid truly went out of control, the plan worked just a little too well. Prime came to his senses, returned to the Ark, and destroyed the droid, but not before several Autobots suffered genuine injury. {{storylink|Yesterday's Heroes!}}

Meanwhile, their creator, [[Primus]] had awakened within Cybertron, alerting his enemy [[Unicron]] to its location. Since the only thing that could stop Unicron was the Creation Matrix, and the Creation Matrix had been shot into space inside Optimus Prime's funeral barge, Prime and Emirate Xaaron assembled several teams of Autobots to scour a specific star system in which the funeral barge likely would have landed. {{storylink|Bird of Prey!}} Though Optimus Prime was never very comfortable with the mystical side of the Creation Matrix, he approached an altar aboard the Ark and was given a vision of a Matrix corrupted by evil and imminent oblivion! {{storylink|Kings of the Wild Frontier}} After several dead ends, the Prime's funeral barge and the Creation Matrix were found on the barren moon of [[VsQs]]. Optimus Prime and Hot Rod went together to meet the [[All-Terrain Turbo-Transport]] as it landed, but were shocked to realize that Autobots were not delivering the Matrix at all! No, they were face to face with Lord Thunderwing, the Creation Matrix's next vessel! {{storylink|Dark Creation}}

[[Image:AllFallDown-andweshallwin.jpg|left|thumb|300px|"The sky will open. The lights will come down. Celestial choirs will be singing and everyone will know we should do the right thing and the world will be perfect!"]]

Powered by the corrupted energies of the Matrix, Thunderwing was unstoppable. Even so, Optimus Prime pleaded for his troops to avoid trying to damage Thunderwing, for the Matrix was their only chance to destroy Unicron! After numerous losses were incurred, however, Optimus Prime decided to forgo the soft touch, and the Autobot leader let loose his full fury on the possessed Decepticon leader. More and more, the Matrix assumed control of Thunderwing, even taking control of his mind, but Prime could not make Thunderwing notice he was losing control of his own body. Thunderwing was not stopped by Prime's strength or by logic or reason, but by the cunning of Nightbeat. Nightbeat harpooned Thunderwing to the All-Terrain Turbo-Transport, shut off the artificial gravity systems, and Thunderwing and the transport were flung out into space. Thunderwing and the Matrix were presumed destroyed when the transport's self-destruct activated. Despite this seemingly catastrophic loss, Optimus Prime vowed to never give hope or give in to evil. With good on their side, they would ultimately prevail! {{storylink|...All Fall Down!}}

[[Image:PriceofLife-Icannot.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Optimus Prime is firmly against the Right to Die movement.]]

With the Matrix out of the picture, Optimus Prime fell to another prophecy, one that claimed that Unicron could be destroyed if all Transformers worked together as one. That would be impossible so long as the war continued, so Prime announced his intentions to surrender the Autobots to the Decepticons on Earth. Unsurprisingly, this was met with hostility. Optimus Prime was also still hung up on Ratchet's death, and had assigned Nightbeat to investigate it. Nightbeat suggested that Ratchet and Megatron might still be alive in [[Unspace]], the dimension that serves as a middleman between transdimensional portal openings. Nightbeat was correct, but there were complications. He was able to pull Ratchet out of Unspace, but Ratchet had been fused molecularly with Megatron into one frightening creature! {{storylink|Eye of the Storm}} Optimus Prime refused to let anyone harm the creature. This caused even more complications when the creature, unchecked, began to tear apart the Ark's engine systems. [[Kup (G1)|Kup]], Prime's security officer, warned him that if he didn't put the creature down, he would personally remove Prime from command. Optimus Prime reluctantly approached the creature, intending to kill it, but when the half that was Ratchet put the barrel of Prime's gun to its own head, begging Prime to kill it, Optimus Prime had second thoughts. He ordered [[Fixit (G1)|Fixit]] to separate the two, even though Megatron would survive. Worse, one could not survive without the other. This did not please Kup and the others. {{storylink|The Pri¢e of Life!}}

True to his word, Optimus Prime surrendered his Autobots to Scorponok's Decepticons, stationed in the [[New Jersey (Earth)|New Jersey]] swamps. The Decepticons were enjoying this turn of events a little too much, which drew an outburst from Kup. Optimus Prime tried to tell Kup to have patience, but Kup reminded him that the Optimus Prime he knew would never back down, never surrender, no matter what the cost! But no matter, the deed was done, and Optimus Prime and the Autobots were escorted into cells. After a while, Optimus Prime began to suspect that Scorponok didn't really want to talk about an alliance against Unicron at all, and was ignoring the long term to satisfy his short term problems with commanding respect amongst his troops. Optimus Prime knocked aside Soundwave, his guard, and found Kup and Hot Rod. Unfortunately, Kup wouldn't be so easily rounded up, citing Prime's recent problems. But Prime pleaded to him at length, noting that for a warrior race, perhaps surrender took the most courage of all! Kup quietly admitted Prime was right, and the three Autobots burst into Scorponok's quarters, where Scorponok's body had been stowed, leaving Lord Zarak and Bludgeon mostly vulnerable. Zarak and Hot Rod grabbed a hostage each, but Prime ordered both sides to stand down. They had to begin trusting each other, if they were to team up against Unicron. Optimus Prime and Scorponok were once again about to reach an agreement when they were once again interrupted! A splinter team of Decepticons, led by Shockwave and Starscream, attacked the Decepticons' underground base, causing it to implode. {{storylink|Surrender!}}

Optimus Prime's immediate concern was damage control—and not just towards the humans in nearby New York City, but to the fragile alliance that was nearly formed! He and Nightbeat left to keep Scorponok and Shockwave's feud from reaching New York, but the fight was accelerated with the arrival of [[G.B. Blackrock]]'s new superhuman team, the [[Neo-Knights]]! {{storylink|...All This and Civil War 2}} Their best chance at securing the alliance was keeping Scorponok alive, but [[Circuit Breaker]] was making it very difficult. Finally, once Shockwave was out of the picture, Optimus Prime and Scorponok once again (again) went to shake hands... {{storylink|Out of Time!}} when all Earthbound Transformers were all whisked away by Primus to Cybertron. Primus spoke to them through the glowing body of Emirate Xaaron, telling them of the eternal conflict between himself and Unicron. Primus also selected Optimus Prime to be the Transformers' leader, which caught the attention of a hidden sect of [[Unicron cultist]]s. While Scorponok confided in Prime that he was scared, the two were jumped by the cultists. Scorponok, the Autobots, and even the rest of the Decepticon army came to Prime's rescue, and it seemed the alliance was finally forged. ...Till, at least, Kup pointed out that Unicron himself was hovering over the planet, ready for attack. Prime took the opportunity to double over in debilitating pain, a condition he had been hiding from the Autobots for some time. {{storylink|The Void! (US)|The Void!}}

[[Image:EdgeofExtinction-sothatallmaylive.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Prime's been reading his [[Jesus|New Testament]].]]

Kup and Getaway tried to push Prime along, but the force of Unicron's claws punching into the surface of Cybertron sent them reeling. Just the sheer impossible size of Unicron paralyzed Optimus Prime and Scorponok with fear and awe. Primus, still using Emirate Xaaron's body as an avatar, tried to intervene, but was destroyed; Optimus Prime cried out in loss. Optimus Prime was not shaken into action until a [[Galvatron II|brave, unidentified soldier]] attacked Unicron singlehandedly and was swatted away. The Autobot leader charged into action, but their attacks had little effect. Scorponok was among the casualties, and Optimus Prime waited with the melted body of his former foe until death. Scorponok, having martyred himself, asked Optimus Prime if he "did good". Optimus Prime nodded, called him his friend, and finally Scorponok passed away. Unfortunately, it was Optimus Prime's turn. A Matrix-possessed Thunderwing had suddenly returned, but although Thunderwing's body was completely disintegrated by Unicron, that left the Matrix itself unaccounted for. Prime ejected Hi-Q from his chest, knowing this next act would kill him. He seized the Matrix, fought its corruption, and plunged himself and the Matrix into Unicron's maw. Unicron exploded. {{storylink|On the Edge of Extinction!}}

[[Image:EndOfTheRoad-itcanitis.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Gotta sell that one last toy!]]

The Transformers' ultimate battle was won, but the cost was high! What was left of Optimus Prime's body was found, and he was amazingly still holding on to life, thanks to the Matrix energy that he'd absorbed. But he hadn't much longer, so he pulled Prowl close to him and told him that Grimlock would lead the Autobots. Prime died (again), and Prowl screamed in agony. But before too long, after the Powermaster absorbed [[Nucleon]] energy from Grimlock, Hi-Q announced that ''he'' was Optimus Prime! {{storylink|Still Life!}} Since Cybertron was threatening to break apart after the stress of Unicron's attack, Hi-Q and the other Neo-Knights were packed up on a ship meant to escape the planet. But Hi-Q had other ideas. {{storylink|Exodus!}} He persuaded the Neo-Knights to stay on the dying planet and search for the [[Last Autobot]], explaining that the pains Optimus Prime were feeling before he died were the start of a larger metamorphosis. If Prime had lived, the Powermaster process would have eventually merged the two into one, but it continued on even with Prime dead. Thankfully for the Neo-Knights, Hi-Q was not crazy, and they stumbled across the storage chamber for the Last Autobot. {{storylink|The Last Autobot?}}

The Last Autobot set in motion the planet's healing process and took an interest in Hi-Q. A new robotic body was forged around Hi-Q's, and he and Optimus Prime were truly combined into one being! Optimus Prime, fully reborn as an [[Action Master]], took the Neo-Knights and the Last Autobot to [[Klo]], where the final battle was taking place. The Autobots had dwindled to just five of their number, and the Decepticons were approaching total victory, when Optimus Prime miraculously returned. Optimus Prime ushered in a new age of peace and harmony by shoving his fists through the Decepticons' heads and torsos, and with some resurrection help from the Last Autobot, the dead Autobots were restored and the Decepticons were forced to flee. The war finally over, Optimus Prime told his fellow Autobots that they'd help Klo rebuild... and then they'd finally go home! {{storylink|End of the Road! (US)|End of the Road!}}
{{-}}

===Marvel UK future timelines===
''In an alternate timeline, Optimus Prime still maintained his Powermaster body in 1995. When a feminist group on Earth raised complaints that all the Autobots seemed to fit male archetypes, Optimus tried to appease them in the name of public relations. Unfortunately, his "appeasement" came in the form of a powder pink token Autobot female named [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]]. That...didn't go over well. {{storylink|Prime's Rib!}}''

''Years later, in 2004, Prime was back in his original Earthen appearance. While attending the grand opening of Autobot City on Earth, the Autobots came under fire from Shockwave and his Decepticons. Optimus Prime and the Autobots bravely used their bodies as shields to protect their human guests until the Decepticons were driven off. {{storylink|Aspects of Evil!}}''

===Earthforce===
{{earthforcefiction}}
[[Image:Primevsgrimlockbreakaway.jpg|left|200px|thumb|That's got to be theraputic.]]
''While dealing with the oncoming threat of Unicron, Optimus Prime came under a great deal of stress and began actively berating [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] and his newly reactivated Dinobots for their more brutal methods of combating the enemy. {{storylink|Two Steps Back!}} This reprimand prompted Grimlock to offer his resignation from the Autobot army. Tempers got heated, and the two Autobots actually started brawling with one another in the conference room. After a few minutes of furious fighting, however, Prime and Grimlock effectively beat some sense into each other. Optimus Prime decided to take the Ark and its crew out into space, leaving Grimlock behind to command an "Earthforce" of Autobots, dedicated to protecting the planet in his absence. {{storylink|Break-Away!}}''

''Optimus Prime returned briefly for an inspection after the Autobot Earthbase was completed, and the Dinobots barely managed to keep him from learning about the berserker rages which plague [[Slag (G1)|Slag]] every few million years. {{storylink|The 4,000,000 Year Itch!}} He also oversaw the reconstruction of [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] in Wheeljack's repair bay, leaving the vain Autobot under Grimlock's command before returning to space. {{storylink|Makin' Tracks!}}''
{{-}}

===Another Time and Place===
{{note|This text story was later [[retcon]]ned away by the events of ''[[Generation 2 (Marvel Comics)|Generation 2]]''.}}

[[Image:TFAnnual1991rip.JPG|left|thumb|200px|They will each keep half in special BFF lockets.]]

After Klo, the Autobots returned to Cybertron in an effort to rebuild the planetary government and resources. Optimus Prime naturally took the lead in these endeavours, but matters weighed heavily on his spark. The [[Nucleon]]-soaked Hi-Q at the core of his new body was one thing, reducing Prime to a non-transforming "[[Action Master|Actionmaster]]" like many of his fellow Autobots. But more importantly, Optimus Prime feared that the newfound peace on Cybertron would not last. He desperately wanted his soldiers to stop being soldiers, yet was petrified that something might come along and disturb their inactivity. This trepidation kept Optimus from stopping Grimlock from jetting off on an ill-advised mission to [[Hydrus Four]] in search of a way to reverse the Nucleon process, and he even refused to listen to Prowl when he reported that Grimlock took off to Hydrus Four anyway. Prowl struck a chord, however, when he pointed out that if he could track Grimlock's destination, so could the Decepticons. Shamed by Prowl's rebuke, Optimus Prime soon pushed aside his recalcitrance and assembled a strike team to go after the Dinobots.

On Hydrus Four, the Autobots discovered the Decepticons had taken over the medical facility with the Nucleon supply, and taken the Dinobots hostage. It seemed Bludgeon had a plan for the Nucleon, using it to recreate Megatron himself. With a surgical strike, however, they managed to free the Dinobots and take the fight to the enemy. Optimus confronted Bludgeon himself in battle, but was saved when Grimlock suddenly charged through and struck the Decepticon leader in dino-mode. It turned out the Nucleon process could be reversed after all! After that, all Prime and Grimlock had to do was tear apart the zombie-like, half-revived Megatron. Piece o' cake. {{storylink|Another Time and Place}}
{{--}}

==''Generation 2''==
[[Image:Optimusprime-g2.jpg|right|250px|thumb|More apocalyptic visions than you can shake a covenant at.]]

As time passed, with the Decepticons supposed in exile and Cybertron at peace, the Autobots functionally disbanded. They scattered across the galaxies, with many retiring in peace while others continued to fight for peace among other civilizations they came across. The time came when Optimus Prime was called back into the skirmish, alongside his honor guard of [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] and [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]], when Grimlock and his combat unit discovered a greater [[Cybertronian (faction)|Cybertronian Empire]] that had sprouted up without their noticing it. These next generation Decepticons, led by the Liege Centuro [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]], would conquer world after world using terraforming and exo-structuring processes to remake raw materials into a new Cybertron for their use. Optimus Prime, Grimlock and their "Dirty Dozen" of Autobots began a small resistance movement against Jhiaxus and his people, but realized they were out of their depth. As the call went out to reassemble the Autobot army en masse, Prime worried that they were still missing some greater threat—he had begun experiencing visions of an unknown peril that was heading their way, and wasn't sure if even the united Autobots would be enough to deal with it. {{storylink|War Without End!}}

Until he could identify this secondary threat, Prime ordered the Autobots to remain inactive at an Autobase built into a small asteroid belt. But certainly Grimlock was having none of that. He grabbed a sizeable percentage of their displaced warriors who had already arrived and headed out after Jhiaxus and his flagship, [[Twilight (G2)|Twilight]]. Naturally, they got in over their heads. Prime grabbed some of his personal soldiers (Hot Rod, Kup, Prowl, [[Hound (G1)|Hound]]) and hijacked a strike ship to get close enough to Twilight for a rescue mission. Once Grimlock and his men were sent out on a prison vessel, Optimus blasted the ship just enough to cause chaos, and give Grimlock enough time to overtake the crew. {{storylink|Devices and Desires! (Marvel)|Devices and Desires!}}

Surprisingly enough, he gave Grimlock no rebuke once they met up again—in fact, Prime put the Dinobot commander in charge of the entire army! In order to fully understand the visions of impending doom he was receiving, Optimus Prime decided he needed to return to Cybertron itself, to help "cut through the static" that was garbling whatever message the Matrix was trying to send him. Engaging in a quasi-mystical ritual to expand his psychic boundaries, Optimus cast himself mentally back through time to witness the birth of the first Transformer, [[Prima]], as he rose from the living structure of Cybertron itself. What he saw next, however, was astonishing—Cybertronians birthing new Cybertronians themselves, causing living metal to burst forth from them in a bio-morphic reproduction process called "[[Reproduction#Budding|budding]]". Primus had apparently allowed this only up till a point, allowing the race to evolve in stages before discontinuing the ability and the memory of it from his progeny. Jhiaxus and his new Cybertronians, however, were the end result of some Decepticons somehow relearning the budding process. They were stronger, yes, and perhaps more evolved physically, but their souls, their sparks, were distilled too many times over. Optimus Prime awoke from his trance, believing he had come to understand the threat he sensed: the fractioning of his species. Little did he know that the threat was far less philosophical, and far more tangible, than he realized. {{storylink|The Power and the Glory}}

When word reached Prime that Megatron had resurfaced on Earth, he jumped at the idea of joining forces with the original Decepticons to face off against the Cybertronian Empire. Travelling to Earth alone, Optimus approached Megatron with the intent to talk. Instead, Megatron blasted him from behind, beat him to a pulp, ionized his every circuit, and then ripped out his chest and siphoned away the power of the Matrix. So no, the talking didn't go too well. Prime only survived due to Grimlock's talent for insubordination, as the Dinobot leader brought a massive strike team down to save their fallen leader before Megatron finished him off. Still, as the Autobots dragged Prime away to receive repair treatment, he knew Megatron would be back—Optimus had stuttered out enough information about "new Decepticons" to pique his old foe's interest, and once Megatron went after them and bit off more than he could chew, they'd meet again. {{storylink|The Gathering Darkness}}

In this, at least, Optimus Prime knew Megatron all too well. Only days later a heavily battered and bruised Megatron wandered into Autobase: Earth, looking for that alliance Prime had offered. {{storylink|Escalation!}} With new allies, things were looking up for Prime until the unthinkable happened. His visions of death and apocalypse finally came true as the Autobots came across a devastated world looking almost identical to the images he had been experiencing. Optimus now realized his visions were not metaphorical in nature, and almost drew the conclusion himself before [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]]'s science team completed their analysis of the genocide—it was their fault. More specifically, some by-product of the Cybertronian race had been formed by the budding process which created Jhiaxus and the Cybertronian Empire, an animate entity that scoured the cosmos of its own design. Before more data and analysis could be had, however, Jhiaxus and his troops arrived on Earth seeking to end their ancestors once and for all. {{storylink|Swarm (issue)|Swarm}}

[[Image:Megatrong2idiot.jpg|left|thumb|250px|No, no, shoot at ''each other''!]]

Once again seeking compromise, Optimus Prime took Megatron in an attempt to reacquire the Decepticon [[Warworld]] and use it to force Jhiaxus to see reason, that they faced a common and perhaps unbeatable foe in this "[[Swarm (G2)|Swarm]]". His efforts were more than a little delayed, however, by the ever-treacherous [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]]. That Decepticon schemer had sold them out to Jhiaxus in the first place, but then came aboard Warworld and merged with it and the power of the Creation Matrix Megatron had been housing there. {{storylink|Total War!}} Still, Optimus Prime managed to reach a communications console, and begged Jhiaxus for an audience to discuss the impending threat which was bearing down on them all. As badly as Prime's last attempt to "just talk" with an enemy had gone, this time it went much worse, as Jhiaxus responded by ordering the orbital bombardment and destruction of the human city of [[San Francisco]]. Millions of lives wiped out in an instant. And before Prime could even attempt to respond or try again, the Swarm itself arrived in orbit. {{storylink|Dark Shadows!}}

[[Image:Jhiaxusyouhavedestroyedme.jpg|right|thumb|200px|"Do you like me? Check (yes) or (no)."]]

As bad as things were, a silver lining did develop—Starscream proved too much of a "pedestrian villain" to actually corrupt the Matrix as had happened in the past. Instead, it was actually turning him more heroic, giving him selfless and self-sacrificing urges! Not wanting to be a hero, much less a dead hero, Starscream willingly relinquished the Matrix to Optimus Prime. In yet another effort at unity and compromise, Prime took a skysled over to Jhiaxus's flagship, Twilight, in order to talk the Liege Centuro into working with the Autobots and Decepticons to commune with the Swarm.

[[Image:RageInHeaven-HeroPrime.jpg|left|thumb|100px|He really does like to push the new toy at the last possible moment.]]

Instead, Jhiaxus tore off his face.

The formerly icy Cybertronian had been driven completely off his rocker by the extended conflict with his ancestors, and was now little more than a mad dog pounding away at Optimus Prime. The brutality only ended when the Swarm entered Twilight and consumed Jhiaxus utterly. At this point, Optimus had reasoned that the Swarm was merely a void, searching for something to complete the emptiness inside it. With desperate reasoning, Prime allowed the Swarm to assail him, hoping that he (and the Matrix inside him) would prove to be what it was searching for. His body ravaged to the point of total disintegration, Optimus Prime still managed to make mental contact with the Swarm as it consumed him, and expose it to the will of Primus. Having successfully purified the Swarm, Optimus Prime rematerialized in a new, more powerful body. In the aftermath, in front of the cheering masses, Prime declared a new age of peace and enlightenment.

Privately, however, Prime knew that [[Furmanism|it never ends]]... {{storylink|A Rage in Heaven!}}
{{--}}

==''Classics''==
{{note|The Classics comic takes place after the end of the original Marvel Comic, but in a new timeline that does not include the events of the Marvel UK-exclusive stories or ''Generation 2''.}}

[[Image:Classicscomicautobots.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"All right, do-over. This time I'll skip the visions of doom, and you won't get yourself tangled up with Cobra. Deal?"]]

After the war ended on Klo, Optimus Prime returned to Cybertron exhausted. Since the war had gone on for so long, Prime had all along resigned himself to an inevitable death, and so finding the war at an end, Prime simply withdrew from society. No civilian job satisfied him. Now that peace was finally here, he had no idea what to do! Fifteen years later, he was somewhat relieved that Megatron had resurfaced on Earth. Though it shamed him, he once again had a purpose. {{storylink|Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club (magazine)|''Classics'' Optimus Prime profile}}

Optimus Prime returned to Earth commanding [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]], [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]], [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]], [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]], [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] and [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus]] (formerly Hot Rod) to counter the return of [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]. When Transformers from another reality, [[Skyfall (Cybertron)|Skyfall]] and [[Landquake (Timelines)|Landquake]], arrived on Earth unexpectedly, Megatron stumbled upon them, only to find himself under attack by Prime and his Autobots. {{storylink|Crossing Over, Part 1}} Overwhelmed, Megatron managed to escape with Landquake, while the Autobots returned to Autobot headquarters with Skyfall. {{storylink|Crossing Over, Part 2}}

Optimus Prime took his Autobots and Skyfall to [[South America]], where the Decepticons were investigating a mysterious energy source that was similar to the radiation readings of their new dimension-traveling companions. After Prime left Jetfire in mid-transit to help [[Armored Robot Hunters|RUNT]] fight the [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]], he and the remaining Autobots arrived at their destination and battled the rest of Megatron's forces on the ground. {{storylink|Crossing Over: Part 3}} As the battle raged, Optimus Prime took on Megatron in a one-on-one battle. Megatron tried repeatedly to escape Prime so that he could discover the location of the energy readings, but Prime made it difficult. {{storylink|Crossing Over: Part 4}} As Megatron's troops were eliminated from the fight, the Decepticon leader realized his gambit was up. He swore the next time he and Prime met, it would be different! Optimus Prime told him to leave before he lost his patience, and the Decepticons withdrew. {{storylink|Crossing Over: Part 5}}

The battle won, but the energy source still a mystery, Prime and his Autobots returned to their headquarters heavily damaged, and seemingly having lost Skyfall and Cliffjumper (along with Landquake). Later, he was pleased to have been visited (seemingly very quickly, if really at all) by [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] when their paths crossed while the latter was hunting [[Bug Bite (G1)|Bug Bite]]. {{storylink|Games of Deception}}

[[Category:Action Masters]]
[[Category:Autobots]]
[[Category:Autobot leaders]]
[[Category:Classics characters]]
[[Category:Combiners]]
[[Category:Multi-component Transformers]]
[[Category:Generation 1 characters]]
[[Category:Generation 2 characters]]
[[Category:Matrix bearers]]
[[Category:Powermasters]]
[[Category:Rulers of Cybertron]]

Time Wars

2009-09-17T16:07:48Z

69.43.35.2: /* Errors */

{{comicstory
|seriesissue=[[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|''Transformers'' (UK)]] #199–205
|prev=Cold Comfort and Joy!
|prev2=Altered Image!
|next=Cold War!
|title="Time Wars"
|image=MarvelUK-202.jpg
|caption=Oh shit.
|publisher=[[Marvel Comics]]
|date=[[January 7|7th January]] 1989—[[February 18|18th February]] 1989
|writer=[[Simon Furman]]
|pencils=[[Dan Reed]], [[Robin Smith]], [[Lee Sullivan]], [[Andrew Wildman]]
|inks=[[Stephen Baskerville]]
|colours=[[Euan Peters]]
|lettering=[[GLOP]], [[Gary Gilbert|GLIB]], [[Annie Halfacree]], [[Peter Knight]]
|editor=[[Euan Peters]]
}}
'''The combined forces of the Autobots and Decepticons must battle both Megatron and Galvatron to save the present and the future from a rift in space and time.'''

==Synopsis==
{{note|This story follows directly from the UK Annual stories [[All in the Minds!]] and [[Altered Image!]].}}
On New Years Day 2009, a time rift has destroyed the planet [[Quintessa|Quintesson]] {{storylink|Space Pirates!}} and is now threatening to consume both Earth and Cybertron. Analysing the source of the disturbance, they find the source of the rift to be the year 1989. They correctly deduce that Galvatron, Cyclonus and Scourge are somehow the cause. In an attempt to solve the problem, a small group of Autobots travel back in time to 1989.

In 1989, the rift is also threatening modern day Earth, causing natural disasters. An earthquake awakens Ravage, who has lain inactive since falling down a mine shaft. {{storylink|Showdown!}} He attempts to escape back to the surface, but instead discovers the underground base of Galvatron.

Optimus Prime is giving a briefing to the other Autobots, in which he outlines his belief that the time storm is related to Galvatron. Meanwhile, outside the Ark, Highbrow is fretting over what to do with the head of Scorponok that he had captured. {{storylink|All in the Minds!}} He wishes to end the threat of Scorponok, but is unwilling to kill him in cold blood.

Before he can make a decision, he is attacked by the Decepticon Headmasters and Targetmasters in an attempt to recover the head. They capture the head, but before they can destroy Highbrow, the other Autobots come to his rescue and a major battle ensues.

In the midst of the battle, the future Autobots arrive, causing Optimus Prime, Hardhead, Highbrow, Blaster, Brainstorm and Snarl to be transported to the holding dimension as part of the time travel process. Thinking their friends have been killed by the newcomers, Fortress Maximus leads an attack on the future Autobots.

At the same time, a spacecraft from Cybertron arrives on Earth carrying the combined forces of the Autobot [[Wrecker]]s and the Decepticon [[Mayhem Attack Squad]]. They have joined forces in an attempt to force Galvatron to return to his own time.

The Autobot battle is eventually stopped when Goldbug, who has seen the results of time travel before {{storylink|Target: 2006}} & {{storylink|Wanted:Galvatron — Dead or Alive!}} and believes the newcomers are friends, is injured. Using the Creation Matrix that resides in both Optimus and Rodimus Prime, the present and future leaders are able to communicate with each other and resolve the battle peacefully.

The Wreckers and the Mayhem Attack Squad meanwhile enter Galvatron’s base and confront the future Decepticon. They are shocked to discover, however, that Galvatron and Megatron have now joined forces. The two of them soon leave the ranks of the Wreckers and Mayhem Attack Squad decimated, forcing them to retreat and regroup.

Optimus Prime is explaining that the rift is caused by Cyclonus and Scourge being in the present because they bypassed the usual mass transfer system when they travelled back in time using Unicron's time portal. {{storylink|The Legacy of Unicron!}} As a result, the balance of space time has been upset. The situation has been made worse by Cyclonus's death twenty years before his creation. {{storylink|Dry Run!}} They deduce that if Cyclonus and Scourge are returned to the future, the rift will seal itself.

Galvatron and Megatron follow the Wreckers and the Mayhem Attack Squad and continue the battle outside, bringing the other Autobots into the fray. Galvatron has now become totally insane and is fighting blindly and slaughtering all in his path.

[[Image:MarvelUKTimeRift.jpg|right|180px|thumb|I guess we're not in Kansas anymore.]]
Scourge, who is beginning to have doubts about his alliance with Galvatron, decides to take action and flies to the Decepticon fortress to retrieve Cyclonus's body. There, he finds Shockwave in a state of mental breakdown after learning {{storylink|Dry Run!}} that he is due to die at Cyclonus and Scourge's hands in 2008. {{storylink|The Legacy of Unicron!}} Unwilling to let Scourge take Cyclonus's body, he blasts the future Decepticon unconscious.

The battle with Galvatron is going badly and all are falling before him. Half his face has been blasted off in events that are different from how he remembers them as Megatron, pushing him even further from sanity at the same time as changing the course of history. Optimus Prime, trapped in the limbo dimension, can only watch through the Matrix link. As the Autobots continue to fall, however, he decides to take drastic action and uses the power of the Matrix to return to reality and confront Galvatron. However, because he is now in the same period as Rodimus Prime, also the bearer of the Matrix, the effects of the time rift increase.

Scourge, recovering, appeals to Ravage to get Cyclonus's body, and wanting the madness to end, he sacrifices himself by throwing himself into the rift. Ravage manages to convince Shockwave that because he has foreknowledge, he has time to prevent his fate. This snaps Shockwave from his mental decline.

Galvatron, still fighting madly, fights Optimus Prime to a standstill, but before a winner is revealed the time rift rips Galvatron apart. However, the rift continues to worsen as it needs Cyclonus as well. Just as the rift is about to rip the Earth apart, Shockwave arrives and throws the body of Cyclonus into the rift, causing it to close itself.

The future Autobots return to their own time, pledging to destroy all their time machines. Optimus Prime and Shockwave agree to a truce until they next meet.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] (6)
* [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] (9)
* [[Rodimus Prime (G1)|Rodimus Prime]] (10)
* [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] (11)
* [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] (13)
* [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] (14)
* [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] (15)
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]] (19)
* [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] (20)
* [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] (21)
* [[Highbrow (G1)|Highbrow]], [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] (22)
* [[Sandstorm (G1)|Sandstorm]] (23)
* [[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]](24)
* [[Slag (G1)|Slag]] (29)
* [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]] (30)
* [[Goldbug (G1)|Goldbug]] (31)
* [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] (33)
* [[Catilla]] (35)
* [[Topspin (G1)|Topspin]] (39)
* [[Twin Twist]] (41)
* [[Rack'n'Ruin]] (42)
* [[Roadbuster]] (43)
|c2=
* [[Rippersnapper (G1)|Rippersnapper]] (1)
* [[Sinnertwin (G1)|Sinnertwin]] (2)
* [[Blot]] (3)
* [[Cutthroat (G1)|Cutthroat]] (4)
* [[Hun-Gurrr|Hun-Grr]] (5)
* [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] (12)
* [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (16)
* [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] (17)
* [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] (18)
* [[Snapdragon]] (25)
* [[Misfire]] (26)
* [[Weirdwolf]] (27)
* [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]] (28)
* [[Mindwipe (G1)|Mindwipe]] (32)
* [[Carnivac (G1)|Carnivac]] (34)
* [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] (36)
* [[Battletrap]] (37)
* [[Flywheels]] (38)
* [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] (40)
|c3=
* [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (7)
* [[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel Witwicky]] (8)
}}

==Errors==
[[Image:Timewars colourerror uk201.JPG|right|150px|thumb|The FortMax repaint we've all been waiting for!]]
*The first page of issue 201 was originally printed with the wrong colours. This was corrected in the subsequent [[Collected Comics (Marvel)|Collected Comics]] and [[Titan Books]] reprints.
*Scourge was pretty mad at Galvatron last time he saw him, to the extend that he was willing to kill him. How we get from that to the look of love he gives Galvatron in issue 200 is unexplained.
*What's left of the [[Wrecker]]s and the [[Mayhem Attack Squad]], having been key characters for much of the story, simply disappear in the closing stages, shunted aside by the big names. The same happens to the rank-and-file present day Autobots such as [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] and [[Scattershot]].
*The "present" Autobots should recognise most of the "future" Autobots - [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] and [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]], for example, are among their current forces on the Ark. Kinda lucky they didn't make the trip to Earth, really... They should probably recognise Ultra Magnus and Rodimus Prime (he looks just like Hot Rod, after all) as well, and maybe even [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]]. (Similarly isn't it lucky that Scorponok didn't bring the present day Terrorcons with him?)
* Blaster appears in the 2009 timeline but neither does he travel back in time with the other Autobots nor is he present when the Decepticons storm Autobot City. It's lucky he didn't travel back in time as his 1989 incarnation is present as well.
*At least some of the present-day Autobots (such as Ironhide) should recognise the explosive effects of being shunted to limbo, so their immediate declaration that Optimus and company have been killed is a little hysterical.
*The nature of Goldbug's injury shifts all over the place - he's shot in the shoulder by [[Misfire]], but then has a critical chest injury by the time Magnus finds him. His dramatic turn done with, his life-threatening wound reverts to being a shoulder injury that [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] patches up in three seconds flat.
*Also Rodimus Prime isn't ''really'' Optimus Prime's future self. Optimus Prime and Rodimus Prime in the same era should not cause a time disruption despite what the two Primes believe...yet it is caused by the two holding the Matrix simultaneously. Though, Optimus doesn't have the Matrix, as it is with his other body on VsQs. Head hurt yet?

==Items of note==
*This marks the end of the story arc that began 121 issues ago in "[[Target: 2006]]".
*This was the last of the UK comic's 'epic' storylines. By issue [[The Fall and Rise of the Decepticon Empire|213]] falling sales meant that the page count of the UK originated strip was reduced from 11 to 6. The constant threat of the comic's cancellation meant that [[Simon Furman]] kept the story arcs limited to a few issues at most
*Cyclonus was killed in issue 189 "[[Dry Run!]]". The initial effects of the time rift were shown in issues 182-187 "[[Space Pirates!]]" with the destruction of the planet [[Quintessa|Quintesson]].
*Here Ravage recovers from his fall down a mine shaft after a battle with [[Skids (G1)|Skids]] in issue 72-73 "[[Showdown!]]" (US issue 20).
*The future Decepticons don't really add anything to the story. They just turn up, watch for a bit and then leave.
*The Wrecker/Mayhem strategy is laughable - they simply walk into Galvatron's base, arguing loudly.
*It's a recurring problem with the rotating artists on the UK comic, but the height of characters changes drastically over the course of the story. Fort Max goes from being a shade taller than Rodimus to almost half again as tall between issues.
*Galvatron actually starts off this story in a fairly sane state of mind (as he had in [[Altered Image!]]) By the end of it he's attempting to destroy every Transformer that exists and screaming his defiance at the universe itself. [[A Savage Circle| Hanging out with Megatron]] seems to have this effect on him (although to be fair, having half his face blasted off probably didn't help matters).
*Finally, Galvatron stays dead. Hard to miraculously recover from being erased from history. Except that he [[Aspects of Evil!|does]], sort of.
*Where does [[Fracas]] go?
*During the first issue when humans are fleeing from the Terrorcons on New Year's Day 2009, a dropped copy of ''Dragon's Claws'' can be seen. This prediction of the title's longevity was optimistic as the real ''Dragon's Claws'' comic folded a few months into 1989; however just a few months before the real New Year's Day 2009 a trade paperback of ''Dragon's Claws'' was published.
*Reprinted as a Trade Paperback by [[Titan Books]] in July 2003.
* The future Autobots last appeared in "[[Space Pirates!]]". Their story continues in the second segment of "[[Aspects of Evil!]]", then "[[The Void! (UK)|The Void!]]".

===Covers (7)===
<gallery>
Image:MarvelUK-199.jpg|199 cover
Image:MarvelUK-200.jpg|200 cover
Image:MarvelUK-201.jpg|201 cover
Image:MarvelUK-202.jpg|202 cover
Image:MarvelUK-203.jpg|203 cover
Image:MarvelUK-204.jpg|204 cover
Image:MarvelUK-205.jpg|205 cover
</gallery>

[[Category:Marvel UK issues]]

The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2

2009-08-24T17:00:13Z

69.43.35.2: /* Continuity errors */

{{episode|
|series=G1toon
|series2=2010
|ep=95
|ep2=32
|image=ReturnOptimusPrime2 title shot.JPG
|caption=I'm back, kiddies!
|title="The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2"
|production code=700-116
|airdate=[[February 25]], 1987
|written by=[[Michael Charles Hall]]
|story by=[[Marv Wolfman]] [[Cherie Wilkerson]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Optimus and a handful of Autobots make a desperate bid to recover the Matrix, in the hopes that a cure for the Hate Plague can be found.'''

:''Japanese title:'' コンボイの復活パート2 (''Convoy no Fukkatsu Part 2'', "The Resurrection of Convoy Part 2")
:''German title:'' '''Die Rückkehr von Optimus Prime, Teil 2''' ("The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Primeandjessicamorgan.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Chip Chase, is that you?]]

[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]], now fully restored to life by [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] and a [[Quintesson]] survivor of the rampant Hate Plague that's infecting the universe, demands to know what has happened during his time on the [[Allspark|other side]]. Sky Lynx recaps the events that had conspired to bring him back, including [[Jessica Morgan]]'s valiant play to save him from total destruction, the discovery of the [[Hate Plague]] spores, and the trap laid out by Jessica's father and her partner Gregory Swofford to infect the Autobots with the spores in revenge, which ultimately spiraled out of control. It was thought by Rodimus, before his infection, that Prime would know what it would take to stop the plague. Prime asks who is available, and learns of the injured [[Autobot|Autobots]]. The Quintesson manages to reactivate them, completely rebuilding [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] into Goldbug.

When [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] asks what the plan is, Prime admits that he doesn't have a plan. Without the accumulated wisdom within the [[Matrix of Leadership]] (which now resides in Rodimus), he doesn't have a clue as to where to start. That is, until Jessica comes forward with the experimental alloy that she, her father, and Gregory had worked on, which proved strong enough to block the spores. Theoretically, coating Optimus with this alloy would protect himself from the spore's infection and allow him to get close enough to Rodimus to extract the Matrix from him. However, all remaining alloy samples were stolen by the Decepticons. The Autobots decide to retrieve the metal.

[[Image:ReturnOptimusPrime2 crazycons.JPG|right|200px|thumb|Cyclonus and Scourge each spent 2,000 XP to create the Level 7 Flame Barrier spell. Unfortunately Galvatron has Protection from Fire with Permanency effect.]]

Meanwhile, on [[Chaar]], [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] is pinned down by his own mutinously diseased soldiers, unable to fight back against their maddening ferocity...until Optimus and his team arrive to save the day, convincing Galvatron that it would be in his best interest to join in an alliance with them. As is his way, however, the Decepticon leader is suspicious of Optimus' motives, especially when he learns they need the alloy he stole, but cannot get a reason for it out of them. He agrees to join in and leads Optimus and his gang down a series of boobytrapped tunnels, their numbers dwindling from the tunnel's natural hazards and the infected Decepticon mob behind them, until only Optimus, Galvatron, Sky Lynx, and Jessica arrive at the alloy's hiding place. Unfortunately, Jessie accidentally lets slip their plan to coat Optimus with the metal after confirming there would be enough of it to do the job, prompting Galvatron to turn on Optimus in hopes of using the process on himself, but he is soon subdued by Sky Lynx. Under coercion, Galvatron loads the alloy onto Prime's trailer, but doesn't notice that an infected Cyclonus has managed to sneak in, infecting Jessica in the process. Jessica, in turn, infects Galvatron, forcing Sky Lynx and Optimus to flee back to Earth.

[[Image:ReturnOptimusPrime2 Primes duel.JPG|left|200px|thumb|So I guess Rodimus is a bottom...to Ultra Magnus?]]

Once on Earth, Optimus is coated with the alloy, and sets out to find Rodimus. He finds him, taking down infected Transformers with reckless glee, and attempts to reason with him, which fails. Unwilling to hurt his successor, Prime lures Rodimus to a nearby auto shop, attempting to peacefully subdue and talk Rodimus into helping him, but the Hate Plague is overriding any effort to do so, forcing Optimus to knock Rodimus out and take the Matrix back by force. Back at [[Autobot City]], Optimus dives into the Matrix to question the elders of the past in reverse chronological order (of their history) to try and find out any information on the spores. The spirit of [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] warns him that if he travels too far, he risks becoming lost within the Matrix itself.

During Prime's journey, the Quintesson that revived him notices a troop of infected Transformers attempting to get in, and manages to temporarily shut them out, giving Optimus the time he needs to finally find his answer. He learns that, in a period of pre-Cybertronian history, the Plague ''has'' visited the planet before, but was contained and sealed inside the star Jessica and Gregory found it in using sheer wisdom, though even back then, no one had the wisdom to destroy the spores, and now that it has spread so much throughout the galaxy, it's doubtful that anyone has the wisdom to even contain them again. Optimus then realizes that a source of raw wisdom may be available to destroy the infection once and for all: the accumulated wisdom within the Matrix of Leadership.

[[Image:ReturnOptimusPrime2 Matrix open.JPG|right|200px|thumb|Hmm, this looks familiar...]]

The infected Transformers finally break into the base, and corner the Quintesson, who begs them to stop. Galvatron grabs a metal pole, intending to impale Prime. However, Prime's chest opens to reveal a glowing Matrix, surprising the Transformers. Asking it to "light our [[darkest hour]]", Optimus Prime releases the energy of the Matrix of Leadership, which spreads across the universe and totally eradicates the Plague. It even seems to, at least temporarily, cure Gregory and Jessica's father of their hatred for Autobots, and Galvatron of his own madness; all of them call a truce with Optimus.

It is then that Rodimus (now [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]], without the Matrix within him) notes that the Matrix is now empty, its wisdom supposedly lost in order to stop the plague. Optimus, however, disagrees; they have all become a little wiser, now, and although the Matrix is indeed empty of wisdom, it is up to them from then on to fill it again with their knowledge and experience. Optimus, once again the Autobot leader, ordering his troops to "Transform and roll out".

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] (1)
*[[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] (2)
*[[Slingshot]] (6)
*[[Chase (G1)|Chase]] (7)
*[[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] (8)
*[[Kup (G1)|Kup]] (10)
*[[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] (11)
*[[Steeljaw (G1)|Steeljaw]] (12)
*[[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee/Goldbug]] (13)
*[[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] (14)
*[[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] (15)
*[[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus Prime]] (21)
*[[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] (22)

|c2=
*[[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] (16)
*[[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] (17)
*[[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] (18)
*[[Sweep|Sweeps]] (19)
*[[Predaking]] (20)
*[[Rampage (G1)|Rampage]] (23)
*[[Razorclaw (G1)|Razorclaw]] (24)
*[[Divebomb (G1)|Divebomb]] (25)

|c3=
*[[Jessica Morgan]] (4)
*[[Gregory Swofford]] (5)
*[[Mark Morgan]] (26)

|c4=
*[[Quintesson]] (3)
*[[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticon]] (9)
}}

==Quotes==
"[[Autobots, transform and roll out]]!"
:—'''Optimus Prime''', getting back into the swing of things.

"Fools, I am your leader! ... It's no use. You're all crazed!"
:—'''Galvatron''' fighting his infected and insane troops. The irony fairy just had a coronary.

"Have I no friends left?!" 
"Well, well, what have we here?" 
"Looks like something the cat dragged in."
:—'''Galvatron''' tries to reason with the infected '''Cyclonus''' and '''Scourge'''...for once

[[Image:ReturnOptimusPrime2 Prime Galvatron.JPG|right|200px|thumb|"Come on, Optimus, why can't we be friends?" "When we first met, you shot and damaged me and my girlfriend. You make a bad first impression."]]

"Come on, Optimus, tell me! Why do you want this metal? How will it be used? Why is it so precious?" 
"I've explained it to you." 
"You told me it was important, but you didn't tell me why!" 
"That's because I know you too well, Galvatron."
:—'''Galvatron''' and '''Optimus Prime''' resuming their same old song and dance

"I don't need you anymore, Optimus. So much for your resurrection!"
:—'''Galvatron''', same song, different tune

"I don't want to hurt you, Rodimus!" 
"Don't worry, Optimus, you won't! HAHAHAHAH!"
:—'''Optimus Prime''' and '''Rodimus Prime''' throw down.

"Innocent lives are at stake, Rodimus!" 
"''No one'' is innocent!"
:—'''Optimus Prime''' and '''Rodimus Prime''' throw down some more...right before Optimus clocks him.

"Now, light our darkest hour!"
:—'''Optimus Prime''', proving that destiny and Chosen Ones mean nothing when pitted against letters from angry kids and parents.

"There will be no war today, Optimus. You have earned Galvatron's respect."
:—'''Galvatron''', totally sane for the first time since...ever

"The wisdom of the ages! It's lost!" 
"No, not lost. We're all a little wiser now." 
"But the Matrix is empty!" 
"It's up to all of us to fill it again—with the wisdom we accumulate from this moment on. Autobots, transform and roll out!"
:—'''Hot Rod''' and '''Optimus Prime'''

==Notes==
*The Japanese version of this episode has a slightly alternate ending. After Optimus Prime and the Autobots ride off into the sunset and "the Touch" ends, the music changes to "[[TRANSFORMER 2010]]" by [[Shō Hirose]] and the scene shifts to a montage of all the major characters from the series.
*The portion of "The Touch" that plays includes the line about "Hell breaking loose," an unusually strong word for an American '80s TV cartoon. Guess the censors were looking elsewhere that day.

===Animation errors===
*When Galvatron is threatening Optimus after they find the heat-resistant metal, Galvatron's cannon has a trigger on it.
*When escaping after Galvatron is infected, Optimus and his cab are coated in the resistant metal before it was even melted down.
*As Optimus is explaining that the Matrix must be refilled with the future wisdom, he is colored as if he still has the heat resistant metal on him.

===Continuity errors===
*The alloy is heat-resistant to the point of surviving a supernova in the [[The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1|previous episode]]. Yet it now can be melted down to coat Optimus Prime with it.
* So....how ''exactly'' does Sky Lynx know every single detail of what happened in the previous episode? He wasn't even there when half of those recapped events took place!
*The Transformers wounded by [[Superion (G1)|Superion]] included Steeljaw and Wheelie, who are briefly seen at the start. They are then replaced by Blaster. Steeljaw returns a bit later, however, but Wheelie stays gone.
*How did Kup know that Rodimus had been contaminated since he was deactivated by Superion before Rodimus was?
*When Galvatron and Prime are working together, Prime says, "That's because I know you too well, Galvatron." Yet this is the first time Prime has ever met Galvatron (being dead since before Galvatron was created). Perhaps he just has really good intuition, or knows who Galvatron USED to be...

===Transformers references===
*When Optimus uses the Matrix to cure the Hate Plague, it bears more than a passing resemblance to when Rodimus Prime used the Matrix to destroy [[Unicron]] in [[The Transformers: The Movie|''The Movie'']]. They've even got "The Touch" playing in the background.

*In Japanese continuity, the events of [[The Great Transformer War issue 3|issue 3]] of ''[[The Great Transformer War]]'' take place shortly after this episode, helping to bridge the gap between it and "[[Four Warriors Come out of the Sky]]", the first episode of ''[[The Headmasters (cartoon)|The Headmasters]]''.

*Optimus's armored form is identical to Ultra Magnus's inner robot mode.

*Does anyone else think that Dr. Swafford and Morgan get off waaaaay too easy at the end of the episode? They ''willingly'' unleash the hate plague that causes widespread devastation (and probably death), just to spite the Autobots, and they get off by just saying "sorry"?

==External links==
* [http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/the_return_of_optimus_prime_part_2.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2}}
[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]

The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2

2009-07-17T13:23:24Z

69.43.35.2: /* Continuity errors */

{{episode|
|series=G1toon
|series2=2010
|ep=95
|ep2=32
|image=ReturnOptimusPrime2 title shot.JPG
|caption=I'm back, kiddies!
|title="The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2"
|production code=700-116
|airdate=[[February 25]], 1987
|written by=[[Michael Charles Hall]]
|story by=[[Marv Wolfman]] [[Cherie Wilkerson]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Optimus and a handful of Autobots make a desperate bid to recover the Matrix, in the hopes that a cure for the Hate Plague can be found.'''

:''Japanese title:'' コンボイの復活パート2 (''Convoy no Fukkatsu Part 2'', "The Resurrection of Convoy Part 2")
:''German title:'' '''Die Rückkehr von Optimus Prime, Teil 2''' ("The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Primeandjessicamorgan.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Chip Chase, is that you?]]

[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]], now fully restored to life by [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] and a [[Quintesson]] survivor of the rampant Hate Plague that's infecting the universe, demands to know what has happened during his time on the [[Allspark|other side]]. Sky Lynx recaps the events that had conspired to bring him back, including [[Jessica Morgan]]'s valiant play to save him from total destruction, the discovery of the [[Hate Plague]] spores, and the trap laid out by Jessica's father and her partner Gregory Swofford to infect the Autobots with the spores in revenge, which ultimately spiraled out of control. It was thought by Rodimus, before his infection, that Prime would know what it would take to stop the plague. Prime asks who is available, and learns of the injured [[Autobot|Autobots]]. The Quintesson manages to reactivate them, completely rebuilding [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] into Goldbug.

When [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] asks what the plan is, Prime admits that he doesn't have a plan. Without the accumulated wisdom within the [[Matrix of Leadership]] (which now resides in Rodimus), he doesn't have a clue as to where to start. That is, until Jessica comes forward with the experimental alloy that she, her father, and Gregory had worked on, which proved strong enough to block the spores. Theoretically, coating Optimus with this alloy would protect himself from the spore's infection and allow him to get close enough to Rodimus to extract the Matrix from him. However, all remaining alloy samples were stolen by the Decepticons. The Autobots decide to retrieve the metal.

[[Image:ReturnOptimusPrime2 crazycons.JPG|right|200px|thumb|Cyclonus and Scourge each spent 2,000 XP to create the Level 7 Flame Barrier spell. Unfortunately Galvatron has Protection from Fire with Permanency effect.]]

Meanwhile, on [[Chaar]], [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] is pinned down by his own mutinously diseased soldiers, unable to fight back against their maddening ferocity...until Optimus and his team arrive to save the day, convincing Galvatron that it would be in his best interest to join in an alliance with them. As is his way, however, the Decepticon leader is suspicious of Optimus' motives, especially when he learns they need the alloy he stole, but cannot get a reason for it out of them. He agrees to join in and leads Optimus and his gang down a series of boobytrapped tunnels, their numbers dwindling from the tunnel's natural hazards and the infected Decepticon mob behind them, until only Optimus, Galvatron, Sky Lynx, and Jessica arrive at the alloy's hiding place. Unfortunately, Jessie accidentally lets slip their plan to coat Optimus with the metal after confirming there would be enough of it to do the job, prompting Galvatron to turn on Optimus in hopes of using the process on himself, but he is soon subdued by Sky Lynx. Under coercion, Galvatron loads the alloy onto Prime's trailer, but doesn't notice that an infected Cyclonus has managed to sneak in, infecting Jessica in the process. Jessica, in turn, infects Galvatron, forcing Sky Lynx and Optimus to flee back to Earth.

[[Image:ReturnOptimusPrime2 Primes duel.JPG|left|200px|thumb|So I guess Rodimus is a bottom...to Ultra Magnus?]]

Once on Earth, Optimus is coated with the alloy, and sets out to find Rodimus. He finds him, taking down infected Transformers with reckless glee, and attempts to reason with him, which fails. Unwilling to hurt his successor, Prime lures Rodimus to a nearby auto shop, attempting to peacefully subdue and talk Rodimus into helping him, but the Hate Plague is overriding any effort to do so, forcing Optimus to knock Rodimus out and take the Matrix back by force. Back at [[Autobot City]], Optimus dives into the Matrix to question the elders of the past in reverse chronological order (of their history) to try and find out any information on the spores. The spirit of [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] warns him that if he travels too far, he risks becoming lost within the Matrix itself.

During Prime's journey, the Quintesson that revived him notices a troop of infected Transformers attempting to get in, and manages to temporarily shut them out, giving Optimus the time he needs to finally find his answer. He learns that, in a period of pre-Cybertronian history, the Plague ''has'' visited the planet before, but was contained and sealed inside the star Jessica and Gregory found it in using sheer wisdom, though even back then, no one had the wisdom to destroy the spores, and now that it has spread so much throughout the galaxy, it's doubtful that anyone has the wisdom to even contain them again. Optimus then realizes that a source of raw wisdom may be available to destroy the infection once and for all: the accumulated wisdom within the Matrix of Leadership.

[[Image:ReturnOptimusPrime2 Matrix open.JPG|right|200px|thumb|Hmm, this looks familiar...]]

The infected Transformers finally break into the base, and corner the Quintesson, who begs them to stop. Galvatron grabs a metal pole, intending to impale Prime. However, Prime's chest opens to reveal a glowing Matrix, surprising the Transformers. Asking it to "light our [[darkest hour]]", Optimus Prime releases the energy of the Matrix of Leadership, which spreads across the universe and totally eradicates the Plague. It even seems to, at least temporarily, cure Gregory and Jessica's father of their hatred for Autobots, and Galvatron of his own madness; all of them call a truce with Optimus.

It is then that Rodimus (now [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]], without the Matrix within him) notes that the Matrix is now empty, its wisdom supposedly lost in order to stop the plague. Optimus, however, disagrees; they have all become a little wiser, now, and although the Matrix is indeed empty of wisdom, it is up to them from then on to fill it again with their knowledge and experience. Optimus, once again the Autobot leader, ordering his troops to "Transform and roll out".

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] (1)
*[[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] (2)
*[[Slingshot]] (6)
*[[Chase (G1)|Chase]] (7)
*[[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] (8)
*[[Kup (G1)|Kup]] (10)
*[[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] (11)
*[[Steeljaw (G1)|Steeljaw]] (12)
*[[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee/Goldbug]] (13)
*[[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] (14)
*[[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] (15)
*[[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus Prime]] (21)
*[[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] (22)

|c2=
*[[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] (16)
*[[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] (17)
*[[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] (18)
*[[Sweep|Sweeps]] (19)
*[[Predaking]] (20)
*[[Rampage (G1)|Rampage]] (23)
*[[Razorclaw (G1)|Razorclaw]] (24)
*[[Divebomb (G1)|Divebomb]] (25)

|c3=
*[[Jessica Morgan]] (4)
*[[Gregory Swofford]] (5)
*[[Mark Morgan]] (26)

|c4=
*[[Quintesson]] (3)
*[[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticon]] (9)
}}

==Quotes==
"[[Autobots, transform and roll out]]!"
:—'''Optimus Prime''', getting back into the swing of things.

"Fools, I am your leader! ... It's no use. You're all crazed!"
:—'''Galvatron''' fighting his infected and insane troops. The irony fairy just had a coronary.

"Have I no friends left?!" 
"Well, well, what have we here?" 
"Looks like something the cat dragged in."
:—'''Galvatron''' tries to reason with the infected '''Cyclonus''' and '''Scourge'''...for once

[[Image:ReturnOptimusPrime2 Prime Galvatron.JPG|right|200px|thumb|"Come on, Optimus, why can't we be friends?" "When we first met, you shot and damaged me and my girlfriend. You make a bad first impression."]]

"Come on, Optimus, tell me! Why do you want this metal? How will it be used? Why is it so precious?" 
"I've explained it to you." 
"You told me it was important, but you didn't tell me why!" 
"That's because I know you too well, Galvatron."
:—'''Galvatron''' and '''Optimus Prime''' resuming their same old song and dance

"I don't need you anymore, Optimus. So much for your resurrection!"
:—'''Galvatron''', same song, different tune

"I don't want to hurt you, Rodimus!" 
"Don't worry, Optimus, you won't! HAHAHAHAH!"
:—'''Optimus Prime''' and '''Rodimus Prime''' throw down.

"Innocent lives are at stake, Rodimus!" 
"''No one'' is innocent!"
:—'''Optimus Prime''' and '''Rodimus Prime''' throw down some more...right before Optimus clocks him.

"Now, light our darkest hour!"
:—'''Optimus Prime''', proving that destiny and Chosen Ones mean nothing when pitted against letters from angry kids and parents.

"There will be no war today, Optimus. You have earned Galvatron's respect."
:—'''Galvatron''', totally sane for the first time since...ever

"The wisdom of the ages! It's lost!" 
"No, not lost. We're all a little wiser now." 
"But the Matrix is empty!" 
"It's up to all of us to fill it again—with the wisdom we accumulate from this moment on. Autobots, transform and roll out!"
:—'''Hot Rod''' and '''Optimus Prime'''

==Notes==
*The Japanese version of this episode has a slightly alternate ending. After Optimus Prime and the Autobots ride off into the sunset and "the Touch" ends, the music changes to "[[TRANSFORMER 2010]]" by [[Shō Hirose]] and the scene shifts to a montage of all the major characters from the series.
*The portion of "The Touch" that plays includes the line about "Hell breaking loose," an unusually strong word for an American '80s TV cartoon. Guess the censors were looking elsewhere that day.

===Animation errors===
*When Galvatron is threatening Optimus after they find the heat-resistant metal, Galvatron's cannon has a trigger on it.
*When escaping after Galvatron is infected, Optimus and his cab are coated in the resistant metal before it was even melted down.
*As Optimus is explaining that the Matrix must be refilled with the future wisdom, he is colored as if he still has the heat resistant metal on him.

===Continuity errors===
*The alloy is heat-resistant to the point of surviving a supernova in the [[The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1|previous episode]]. Yet it now can be melted down to coat Optimus Prime with it.
* So....how ''exactly'' does Sky Lynx know every single detail of what happened in the previous episode? He wasn't even there when half of those recapped events took place!
*The Transformers wounded by [[Superion (G1)|Superion]] included Steeljaw and Wheelie, who are briefly seen at the start. They are then replaced by Blaster. Steeljaw returns a bit later, however, but Wheelie stays gone.
*How did Kup know that Rodimus had been contaminated since he was deactivated by Superion before Rodimus was?
*When Galvatron and Prime are working together, Prime says, "That's because I know you too well, Galvatron." Yet this is the first time Prime has ever met Galvatron (being dead since before Galvatron was created). Perhaps he just has really good intuition, and knew Galvatron was Megatron.

===Transformers references===
*When Optimus uses the Matrix to cure the Hate Plague, it bears more than a passing resemblance to when Rodimus Prime used the Matrix to destroy [[Unicron]] in [[The Transformers: The Movie|''The Movie'']]. They've even got "The Touch" playing in the background.

*In Japanese continuity, the events of [[The Great Transformer War issue 3|issue 3]] of ''[[The Great Transformer War]]'' take place shortly after this episode, helping to bridge the gap between it and "[[Four Warriors Come out of the Sky]]", the first episode of ''[[The Headmasters (cartoon)|The Headmasters]]''.

*Optimus's armored form is identical to Ultra Magnus's inner robot mode.

*Does anyone else think that Dr. Swafford and Morgan get off waaaaay too easy at the end of the episode? They ''willingly'' unleash the hate plague that causes widespread devastation (and probably death), just to spite the Autobots, and they get off by just saying "sorry"?

==External links==
* [http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/the_return_of_optimus_prime_part_2.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2}}
[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]

Theodore Galloway

2009-07-17T12:46:02Z

69.43.35.2: /* Revenge of the Fallen */

{{disambig2|the irascable politician named Theo|the evil politician named Theo|Theodore Allen}}
:''Theodore Galloway is an orange ball of hate in the [[Revenge of the Fallen (franchise)|Revenge of the Fallen]] portion of the [[live-action film series]].
[[Image:Director galloway.jpg|thumb|250px|I hate you so much I got it in ''writing''.]]
Director '''Theodore Galloway<ref>First Name given in [[The Last Prime|Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: The Last Prime]], p16</ref>''' knows he isn't the smartest, strongest or bravest like the men and women of [[NEST]]. He's a bureaucrat, and a damn good one. And if he can't be fighting on the front lines, then by gum he's going to do everything in his power to make sure that the ones who ''are'' have all the support they deserve.

Galloway is the kind of bureaucrat [[Wikia:c:Stargate:Richard_Woolsey|every soldier prays for]], possessing the steadfast character to represent ''their'' interests, to go to bat for them and if necessary, lay his job (and neck) on the line.

Yessir, that's ''exactly'' what [[Shattered Glass (franchise)|Shattered Glass]] Galloway would be like.
{{-}}
==Fiction==
===Revenge of the Fallen===
[[Image:Tf2009 galloway trailerevolved.jpg|thumb|Ironically, ''loves'' [[Bonecrusher (Movie)|Bonecrusher]].]]
Director Galloway is the [[:wikipedia:National Security Advisor (United States)|National Security Advisor]] to the [[Barack Obama|President of the United States]].

A less than supportive bureaucrat, he believes that the increase in Decepticon activity is a direct result of Autobot presence on Earth (i.e. it's all Prime's fault for calling in more Autobots). His tirade resulted in Soundwave picking up important information about the location of the AllSpark sliver and Megatron's location.

Way to go, Galloway.

{{storylink|Revenge of the Fallen (novel)}}
{{storylink|Revenge of the Fallen Movie Adaptation issue 1}}
{{storylink|Revenge of the Fallen Movie Adaptation issue 3}}

===Revenge of the Fallen the game===

Director Galloway doesn't appear in the Autobot campaign. On the Decepticon side he is targeted for capture by Soundwave, who reports he has valuable information. Starscream personally hunts him down, destroying his Autobot and military escorts. Upon his capture, he makes amusing little threats which (surprisingly) fail to impress Starscream as he fights off a rescue attempt.

Starscream later notes they received some rather useful information from Galloway. If the way they were trying to receive info from Sam in the movie is any indication, this doesn't bode well for the fleshy's survival.

{{storylink|Revenge of the Fallen (game)}}

==References==
<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT: Galloway, Theodore}}
[[Category: Humans]]
[[Category: Revenge of the Fallen characters]]
[[Category: United States of America]]

Megatron (Movie)

2009-07-17T12:20:28Z

69.43.35.2: /* Trivia */

{{factions|decepticon}}
{{disambig3|Megatron}}
:''Megatron is the [[Decepticon]] leader from the [[Live-action film series|live-action film]] [[continuity family]]. He is often referred to as "Lord Megatron". Known to humans as both "The Ice Man" and "The Mega-Man" and more formally as [[Non-Biological Extraterrestrial|N.B.E.]]-01''

[[Image:Movie_Megatron_Defiance3.jpg|thumb|300px|Friends, [[Trypticon (Movie)|Trypticonians]], countrybots, lend me your audio receptors!]]

Once the [[Lord High Protector]] of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] and the "[[brother]]" of the science division leader [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]], '''Megatron''' is vicious, extremely powerful, single-minded in his goals, straight-forward and brutally direct. He is all "blunt force" in contrast to [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream's]] penchant for deceit and trickery. On the downside, Megatron tends to become so obsessed with the object of his desires that he can ignore "secondary" matters, glaring flaws in his plans (otherwise, he likely wouldn't have melted into ice-cold arctic water after being white hot from falling through [[Earth]]'s atmosphere, and spent ten-thousand years as a [[wikipedia:popsicle|popsicle]], and even crippling injuries in pursuit of the coveted item. Trying to talk Megatron out of blindly going for his goals is useless. He will risk his world, his troops, and even his own [[spark]] to achieve his goals; these things do not matter to Megatron. Even the destruction of the [[Autobot]]s is a secondary concern. In Megatron's cerebral processor, all that has become important are the whims of his [[The Fallen|master]] and, by extension, the [[All Spark]].

While [[Megatron (disambiguation)|some]] merely dislike or disregard humans due to the incomprehensibility of organics being a dominant life form ''anywhere'', Megatron feels a violent hatred towards them and seems to view them as only slightly above bacteria. Though his master suffered a very similar affliction due to the circumstances of his purpose of existence, Megatron's postulation is born from spending decades as a prisoner of sorts to them, causing a very extreme disdain. If there was no All Spark, it would not be much of a stretch to realize his ideals would have brought him to this planet anyway, just to cleanse one more planet of an "infection".

{{quote|You still fight for the weak! That is why ''you lose!''|Megatron to Optimus|[[Transformers (2007)|Transformers]]}}

==Fiction==
===IDW ''Transformers'' movie comics===
[[Image:Defiance1 Megs Prime argument.jpg|left|350px|thumb|"Know your place, boy!"]]

High Protector Megatron, the supreme commander of the Cybertronian defense forces and firm leader of all of Cybertron, once ruled the entire planet seemingly side-by-side with Optimus Prime, protecting their world against all perceived hostile threats. For generations, the two ruled in peace—Megatron firm, with Prime being fair, creating an even (if sometimes strained) governmental balance. When Commander [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] returned from his patrol in the [[Eshems Nebula]], [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus]] was reporting on his science sector's continuing excavation of the site near the temple at [[Simfur]] and the unusual pulse waves that the [[All Spark]] had been emitting ever since work began. At the excavation site, while Optimus' scientists were concerned with disturbing the ancient artifacts, all Megatron cared about was whether these relics might provide the same revitalising energy as the All Spark. He was nettled when Optimus asserted the sector's dominion over all scientific and archaeological discoveries and reminded his junior that it was his defence force that protected this world, demanding to be informed of all possible threats from the excavation's findings. When Optimus dared to remind Megatron of the military's treatment of such discoveries as hostile, Megatron told Optimus that when ''he'' tried to be the leader of Cybertron, he could make those decisions, not ''now''. When a mysterious relic was discovered, Megatron ordered it removed at once, a demand that Optimus disagreed with. Just as the pair were about to launch into another argument, Cybertron fell under attack from Nebula inhabitants. Megatron had the relic quickly moved to his quarters under the guise of protecting it from the invaders. Arriving to find [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]] and [[Cliffjumper (Movie)|Cliffjumper]] seeking cover within the temple of Simfur, Megatron chastised their alleged lack of courage before he was hit by an alien tank vehicle. After destroying it, he told Starscream to keep Optimus' team out of the military's way and staggered back to his quarters in the capital of [[Trypticon (Movie)|Trypticon]]. Drawn towards the relic, he ignored his injuries and scraped away at the layers of debris encrusting it before losing consciousness. {{storylink|Defiance issue 1}}

[[Image:Defiance2_Megatron_warrally.jpg|thumb|250px|Mein Führer!]]

The relic used what little power it had left to repair Megatron's wounds. At first Megatron was angry, demanding the being to show himself to the Protector of all Cybertron. The relic explained that it was unable to do so without Megatron's help, and ''if'' he helped, the relic would make him '''Lord''' of Cybertron. The relic then fired beams of energy into Megatron's mind (turning his white optic sensors red), explaining what needed to be done, filling him with delusions of grandeur. When Optimus came looking for the Protector, Megatron had changed; he had become even more aggressive in his speech and demeanor, and what's more, he demanded Optimus gather his scientists to go to war. When Optimus explained the sector was not combat-trained, Megatron shot back that the scientists should have known what the aliens were after: the All Spark. Optimus refused, stating that the army's mission was of defense, and it went against everything their society was based upon to exacerbate war. Megatron slammed Optimus into the wall and stated that their society then needed to ''change''. He held a massive saber-rattling war rally outside Trypticon, demanding vengeance upon the alien aggressors. He claimed that until the war ended, he would assume full control of the military, and everybody would answer only to him. Megatron ordered all flight-capable Cybertronians accompany him to the Eshems Nebula, where they launched a surprise attack against the still-unknown aliens. Megatron fought his way inside the alien flagship and personally executed the alien leader. He then ordered Starscream and his units to conduct a war of genocide: ''none'' of the aliens were to survive. {{storylink|Defiance issue 2}}

[[Image:Defiance3_wearenowDECEPTICONS.jpg|thumb|left|200px|]]

Megatron returned from the front with news of their success and awaited further instructions from his master. The relic ordered Megatron to prepare the way for his return by expanding the army, and at the end, Cybertron would be Megatron's, while everything else the master's. Megatron was enraged when the relic informed him that Optimus had snooped inside his quarters while he was fighting the aliens, and convinced the Protector that Optimus was after the same power the relic had promised ''him''. Now seeing that there were "enemies" within Cybertron as well as without, Megatron arranged to have the "traitors" taken care of by ordering [[Prowl (Movie)|Prowl]]'s security team to arrest Optimus, and sent Starscream's soldiers to kill all bar Optimus. However, Megatron underestimated Optimus, who personally defeated Starscream's squad. Nonetheless, he used the survivors as propaganda that treacherous malcontents sought to betray them all, and declared that Megatron's followers would now be reformed under a new image and a new name: '''Decepticons'''.{{storylink|Defiance issue 3}}

Optimus' forces having eluded him for now, Megatron was given new orders by his master: build a [[Nemesis (ROTF)|mighty starship]] that would scour the stars for something very important to the relic's plans. The relic counseled Megatron to not make the same mistakes he did thousands of years ago, that his protege should strike without mercy or hesitation. The relic told Megatron the story of his mighty race, and how the All Spark granted them great power and created the Transformer race, but it needed to be recharged by draining the power of a sun using specially-constructed [[Solar harvester|harvester]] devices, and their under-construction starship would be used to search for the last harvester in the galaxy. When Megatron presumed to believe he would accompany his master, he was rebuked and punished. Much later, the ''Nemesis'' was finally completed, the relic praising Megatron for his fine work, and ordering him to stay behind to continue the war. Over the next thousand years, the Autobots and Decepticons clashed in a bloody struggle until Optimus Prime made his most dangerous gamble. During an assault on the Autobots personally led by Megatron and his hound, [[Blackout (Movie)|Blackout]], the tyrant crushed an Autobot opponent's spark before casually tossing his corpse over his shoulder. He declared that the All Spark would be his, to which Blackout assured his leader that he would personally see to it. Megatron was pleased by his minion's loyalty, but decided to dispatch him to assist Starscream's unit to prevent Optimus Prime's reinforcements from entering Tyger Pax. He then left to meet his destiny, but it slipped from his grasp; Prime had commissioned the All Spark to be launched into the abyss of outer space. {{storylink|Movie Prequel issue 1|Prime Directive (IDW) issue 1}} {{storylink|Planetfall}}
[[Image:Movie Megatron Targetcomic sure.jpg|left|150px|thumb|"Sit, boy — or I'll beat you to death."]]

[[Image:MovieMegatron Bumblebee torture comic.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Better get some ice on that.]]
After realizing [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]] had stalled him from claiming the Cube so the operation could be completed, Megatron tore off Bumblebee's arm—removing his weapon—and crushed his voice box, destroying his vocal processors so that the young Autobot would never speak of the affront to his destiny. {{storylink|Movie Prequel issue 1|Prime Directive (IDW) issue 1}} Megatron, believing Prime to be a desperate, inexperienced fool, gave chase. On the way, he detected the ''Nemesis's'' distress signal and soon found the mighty starship on a barren world, abandoned by all but his master. Megatron was berated for allowing the Cube to slip away from his grasp and ordered to thoroughly continue his chase. {{Storylink|Defiance issue 4}} As Megatron tracked the All Spark through space, he mused about his reasons for the war and how he and his "brother" were not all that different, as seen by Optimus' sentencing their home to a slow death by launching the Cube into space. Tracing the All Spark via energy signature to [[Earth|a primitive world]], he lost contact with it upon atmospheric entry and crashed into the planet's icy northern pole. Low on [[Energon (fuel)|energon]], his safety buffers exhausted, Megatron went into stasis lock. Millennia later, [[Archibald Witwicky]], the leader of the National Arctic Circle Expedition, discovered Megatron buried deep in the ice. Unfortunately, the soon-blinded Witwicky was eventually driven insane by what he saw, attracting the attention of a mysterious [[Sector Seven|group]] that sought to discredit his story and seize the mysterious "Ice Man". Six years later, they found the Cube. {{storylink|Movie Prequel issue 2|Prime Directive (IDW) issue 2}}

In the Earth year of 1935, Megatron was moved to [[Hoover Dam]], in extremely close proximity to the All Spark's final resting place, where he would remain imprisoned for the next seven decades. {{storylink|Movie Prequel issue 3|Prime Directive (IDW) issue 3}}

{{-}}

===''Transformers: Beginnings''===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Frank Welker]]

{{charstubfiction}}

{{note|Transformers: Beginnings is a condensed flash-animated retelling of IDW's first movie prequel comic series.}}

===Titan Magazines ''Transformers'' movie comic===

[[Image:MegatronMovie_GeoffSenior.jpg|right|150px|thumb|''The Beast and its armies shall rise from the pit to make war against God.'']]

The All Spark had not been blindly launched into space, however—its trajectory was leading it directly towards the [[Alkaris Anomaly]], a wormhole that could potentially transport the cube to any one of an infinite number of locations in the universe. Megatron was fully capable of catching up to the cube before it would enter the wormhole, but as he passed Cybertron's moon, he found himself ensnared by an Autobot tractor beam of remarkable strength that pulled him down to the moon's surface.

Enraged by the ignominy of it all, Megatron turned his weapons on the Autobots responsible, but quickly calmed down enough to realize that this was only playing into their hands, and instead ordered [[Brawl (Movie)|Devastator]] to take his place in the battle. Megatron swooped back into space, hot on the All Spark's heels, but was unable to stop the cube from falling through the anomaly. Determined to have the All Spark's power, Megatron chose to enter the wormhole himself, only to be spat out in some far-off star system, with no trace of the All Spark... {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 2}}

''This led into Prime Directive #2.''

{{notetitantlg}}

In another reality, he defeated Optimus at [[Mission City]], killed Sam Witwicky and took control of the All Spark. He was fully linked to it and drew on its power—"It is me and I am it!"—giving him greater might and the ability to heal any wound. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 12|Twilight's Last Gleaming, Part: 4}}

After conquering an unknown chunk of Earth (including the entire [[United States of America]]) with [[Dropkick]] as his second-in-command, he used the All Spark's power to start turning Earth from an organic world into a new Cybertron. Optimus Prime lay frozen in the [[Hoover Dam|old Sector Seven base]], Autobot resistance was scattered, and NATO's threat to nuke occupied America was hardly much of one. [[Image:Megatron Bumbleslap.jpg|left|350px|thumb|"''Sigh'' Even mindless violence seems boring today..."]] The only thing bothering Megatron was those rebels breaking into Hoover Dam... {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 9|Twilight's Last Gleaming, Part: 1}}

Megatron personally arrived to face [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]] and hunted for him, trying to bait him into appearing. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 10|Twilight's Last Gleaming, Part: 2}} Realising the Autobot must have come with a human ally, he deliberately threatened to go after the human and thus got an emotional Bumblebee to make a defiant attack... at which point he backhanded Bumblebee into the wall and prepared to eviscerate him. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 11|Twilight's Last Gleaming, Part: 3}} He gave the Autobot a chance at a swift death if he begged for mercy, and was quite impressed when Bumblebee merely asked "that all you got?", but was less impressed when Autobot reinforcements arrived. [[Image:Megatron Titan12.jpg|right|350px|thumb|Megatron's BDSM Dungeon just wasn't meeting expectations.]] He effortlessly smashed them aside and was about to kill [[Skyblast (Movie)|Skyblast]] when a new challenger arrived: the revived Optimus! {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 12|Twilight's Last Gleaming, Part: 4}}

Optimus Prime got the snot beaten out of him, every attack he landed on Megatron being repaired by All Spark power. However, he distracted Megatron long enough for Bumblebee to hit him with the ''other'' thing they'd broken into the Dam for: Sector Seven's greatest weapon, a nanovirus that targeted All Spark operation frequencies. Infected, the tyrant was consumed from within by his own power and collapsed dead. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 13|Twilight's Last Gleaming, Part: 5}}

Or so it appeared. He'd downloaded his mind into the All Spark interface module, knowing Starscream would take it and assimilate it into himself. And so Megatron was able to be a voice in Starscream's head for weeks and weeks—and finally, when Starscream had suffered a setback and wanted a plan to stop the Autobots, Megatron gave him one: to let him out... {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 22|The Decepticon Who Haunted Himself}}

While Starscream didn't, he ''did'' follow Megatron's tactical suggestions. He had the Decepticons use both carrot (promise of truce) ''and'' stick (multiple attacks) to make the US government, prompted by [[Theodore Allen|the mind-controlled President Allen]], boot out the Autobots—and then nuke them as they left, giving the Decepticons a clear shot at reconquest! {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 23|Revolution Part 1}} This plan backfired when [[Stockade (Movie)|Stockade]] intervened, and Megatron visited a broken, gibbering Starscream to once again tell him the only way out was to release him and let him walk the Earth again. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 24|Revolution Part 2}}
[[Image:Starscreamseesthings_Titan25.jpg|left|350px|thumb|''You're looking throooough me...'']]

This time Starscream ''did''... much to his dismay when he realised what he'd done. And so, when Stockade's New Decepticons stormed the [[Decepticon Heartland]], Megatron was there to "greet" them with fiery death!

Megatron fought Stockade in single combat, and [[Nucleon]]-fueled punches rained down on him—only for him to ''grab'' a punch and use the momentum to hurl his opponent, berating him for lacking clear ambition to support his strength. This fight would've carried on except then the Autobots turned up. Trashing a rebellion, conquering Earth, ''and'' killing Optimus Prime in one day?! WOOOOO!

But Optimus drew first blood, and before Megatron could truly fight back, he was forcibly teleported with his Decepticons to Cybertron. A dead Cybertron. A dead Cybertron that itself teleported to an unknown area of space, leaving them trapped with no way back and no way off, ''forever''.

{{bigquote|'''PRIIIIIME!'''}}

{{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 25|Revolution Part Three}}

===''Ghosts of Yesterday'' prequel novel===
"The Ice Man" was kept in deep freeze by [[Sector Seven]] in their super-secret [[Sector Seven High Arctic Base|High Arctic Base]] until they decided to move him closer to the [[All Spark|Allspark]] in 1969. The convoy was disrupted when the driver of the lead truck spun out causing the rest of the vehicles to pile up on the icy roads. It was determined later that the driver was the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] spy [[Sergei Tasarov]] who had taken the place of the Sector Seven agent Peter Hodgson.

While the convoy prepared their defenses and a Soviet strike force attacked trying to obtain the Ice Man.

When Megatron came partially online, it was obvious that some time had passed. Not only was he encased in a primitive transport, but there were [[Human|lifeforms]] fighting over him. Before Megatron could properly exterminate them, another crude transport crashed into his, causing a massive (but not spark-threatening) explosion. Megatron would have been pleased to know that the fire only added to his terrifying visage in the eyes of the maggots. Regaining his composure, Megatron noticed [[Phillip Nolan|an insect]] standing near him. As Megatron reached out to grab it, [[Thomas Kinnear|another insect]], this one terminally damaged, began firing crude projectiles which his body armor easily deflected. Waiting until after the creature had expended its ammunition, Megatron grabbed it in his hand, only to discover that it had packed itself with explosives, which threw Megatron to the ground when they detonated. Then, the aforementioned first insect began spraying liquid nitrogen on Megatron, causing him to go back into stasis. Unable to escape, Megatron screamed a dark vengeance upon his captors. {{storylink|Ghosts of Yesterday}}

===''Transformers'' (2007 movie)===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Hugo Weaving]] (English), [[Kōtarō Nakamura]] (Japan), [[José Santacruz]] (Brazil), [[Hans-Jürgen Wolf]] (German)

[[Image:Movie2007_Megatron_ArchibaldWitwicky.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Oh baby you know just the spot to turn me on!]]

Megatron eventually succeeded in tracking the All Spark to [[Earth]], where he rather embarrassingly crash-landed in the Arctic Circle and was frozen solid for thousands of years. In 1897, some 100 Earth-years before the arrival of the other Transformers, he was discovered by an explorer named [[Archibald Witwicky|Archibald Amundsen Witwicky]]. Captain Witwicky accidentally activated Megatron's navigation system and caused the coordinates of the All Spark to be etched onto the explorer's glasses. Megatron remained imprisoned in the Arctic, until the 1930s, when he was dug out by the United States government and moved to a secret [[Sector Seven]] stronghold inside [[Hoover Dam]]. In the years that followed, many modern devices (by Earth standards) were reverse-engineered from his frozen body.

[[Image:Movie Megatron breakout.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Mace isn't for spraying, it's for hitting.]]

In the present day, having searched the galaxy for the All Spark and being drawn to Earth, the remaining Decepticons learned of Witwicky's glasses. Through the Internet, they determined the location of both Megatron and the All Spark inside Hoover Dam. [[Frenzy (Movie)|Frenzy]] infiltrated the dam and shut down the power systems, while Starscream attacked the external powerlines, resulting in Megatron's thawing out. Once again online, the leader of the Decepticons informed the worthless insects of his true name, shouting "I am Megatron!" (to clear up all that N.B.E.-01/Ice Man nonsense), randomly killed a few of them while destroying his former prison, then transformed and flew off after the All Spark again. He met up with Starscream on the outside, and, never one for pleasantries, demanded to know where the Cube was. Upon learning that the humans had moved the All Spark, Megatron berated Starscream for yet another failure.

[[Image:Movie2007_Megatron_Starscream.jpg|thumb|left|250px|You fail me once again Starscream... will I ever meet [[Starscream (Shattered Glass)|a Starscream that is truly loyal?]]]]

After Starscream and Devastator's opening attacks in [[Mission City]], Megatron arrived, and again declared his name (he really wants people to know who he is). The Autobots were so panicked by the sight of their long lost nemesis that [[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]] called for a temporary retreat. Megatron blasted [[Jazz (Movie)|Jazz]] away when the diminutive Autobot attempted to attack, then threw him into the air before crushing him on top of a tower with his clawed talons. Jazz vainly fought on, asking if Megatron wanted a "piece", but doing little damage to Megatron. The Decepticon leader killed the Autobot by tearing him in half, callously declaring that he wanted "two".

[[Image:Movie Megatron jetmode cityfight.jpg|250px|thumb|Whoa, that energon's not settling too well.]]

As [[Sam Witwicky|the human boy]] ran off with the All Spark, Megatron ordered the Decepticons to [[Decepticons, attack|attack]]. Devastator attacked the armed insects, while Starscream and [[Blackout (Movie)|Blackout]] fought [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]] and Ratchet for the All Spark. At that moment, Optimus Prime appeared and challenged Megatron. Millennia in the ice had done nothing to lessen the animosity Megatron felt for his brother, however. Barely managing to growl out Prime's name, he transformed and flew at Prime at full speed. The Autobot leader leapt and grabbed a hold of Megatron, who slammed him into a building before flying right through a skyscraper. Both leaders landed in the middle of an intersection, but Megatron was the first to recover and leaped upon his brother, snarling that the humans were undeserving of life. Optimus Prime replied that they had the right to choose for themselves before he threw his brother off. Megatron declared that if Prime wished to defend them, he should "join them in extinction", forming his [[fusion cannon]]. Before he could fire, the Autobot leader drew his [[ion blaster]] and fired, hitting Megatron. The Decepticon leader shrugged off this attack, spun around from the momentum and fired his cannon, throwing Optimus Prime into the side of a building.

[[Image:Movie Megatron Samonroof.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Oh look I found a stray human... wonder if I can keep him as a pet... come on boy, don't be scared. I'll take you to a new home.]]

Megatron pursued the young human who had removed the All Spark from Hoover Dam, destroying everything that stood in his way. The boy ran to a dilapidated building that was the designated coordinates for a human military evacuation team, and Megatron smashed his way through, yelling that he could smell the human maggot. Starscream destroyed the helicopter intended to take the All Spark, and Megatron burst through the floor, inquiring if it was courage or fear that compelled him. Finally cornering him on a ledge, Megatron offered that if the human gave him the All Spark, the boy might live as [[Ravage (G1)|his]] [[Laserbeak (G1)|pet]]. The Decepticon leader relished the human's defiant refusal and destroyed the ledge the human was standing upon, sending the boy tumbling to the ground.

[[Image:Movie2007_Prime_Megatron.jpg|thumb|250px|Get up, so I can knock you back down!]]

Unfortunately, the human was caught by Optimus Prime, who then tried to escape down the side of the building before Megatron tackled him and sent all three slamming into the pavement. As a nearby [[Michael Bay|human bystander]] attempted to run, the Decepticon expressed his disgust at the insect's proximity and flicked it away. Protecting the young boy, Prime declared that their war would end here and it was now just between the two brothers. Though lusting for the All Spark, Megatron decided to indulge his brother's obvious death wish, declaring that only he was in this fight. Despite Optimus Prime's best efforts, Megatron was relentless, matching the Autobot leader with blow after devastating blow until he collapsed. Adding insult to injury, Megatron informed Prime that his defense of the "weak" was the real reason he lost.

[[Image:Megatron allspark merge.JPG|left|250px|thumb|Oh, he's dead. There's no way this will make him [[Galvatron (disambiguation)|even]] [[Galvatron (G1)|more]] [[Megatron (RID)|powerful.]]]]

The Decepticon leader turned his attention back to the human boy, but was suddenly attacked by the human fighter jets and [[William Lennox|Captain Lennox]]'s ground soldiers firing sabot rounds. Optimus took this chance, striking Megatron and knocking him down. His armor a damaged, shattered mess, Megatron ignored the punishment and focused on the human boy, growling that he would kill the boy and that the All Spark was his. As Optimus Prime ordered the boy to place the All Spark into his chest, the human instead pushed it into the now-exposed [[spark]] in Megatron's chest, overloading him with energy and extinguishing the Decepticon's life force. As Optimus Prime stood over Megatron's lifeless shell, watching the light flicker out of his brother's [[Sensors#Optical sensors|optics]], he remarked somberly, yet remorsefully, that Megatron had left him no choice, and removed a shard of the All Spark from his brother's spark cavity.

Megatron's body was dumped into the [[Laurentian Abyss]] at its deepest point, along with the remains of the other Decepticons, where the near-freezing temperatures would, hopefully, keep them dormant indefinitely. {{storylink|Transformers (2007)|Transformers}}
{{-}}

===Toy bios===
{{notemoviebio}}

Megatron was ''born'' evil, always wanting domination of everything. {{storylink|#Voyager Class toys|Voyager Megatron}} His fiery diatribes still managed to sway thousands, however. {{storylink|#Robot Replicas|Robot Replica Megatron}}

At some point, he took a stealth mode so he could attack Optimus without warning. {{storylink|#Fast Action Battlers|Night Attack Megatron}}

When frozen on Earth, he remained vaguely conscious and remembers a few things from when he warmed up slightly. At one point, his body was worshipped as a god by [[protohuman]]s. {{storylink|#Voyager Class toys|Premium Series Megatron}}

===IDW ''Transformers'' movie comics===
In the aftermath of the battle in Mission City, [[Sector Seven]] hauled away Megatron's corpse along with the other Decepticon bodies. The clandestine human organisation brought the bodies to a secret facility in the Nevada desert, with the intention of getting every bit of information they can out of the dead Decepticons before they were forced to dump them into the sea. {{storylink|Alliance issue 1}} When he arrived to oversee the burial of those who fell in Mission City, Optimus Prime noticed the surviving All Spark fragment glowed when near Megatron's body, and gave it to [[Professor Vine]] for safekeeping. {{storylink|Alliance issue 2}} Weeks later, Megatron, along with Blackout, was dumped into the Laurentian Abyss. {{storylink|Alliance issue 3}}
{{-}}

===''Revenge of the Fallen'' movie===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Hugo Weaving]] (English), Norio Wakamoto (Japan), [[Hans-Jürgen Wolf]] (German)
{{spoiler|Revenge of the Fallen (film)|July 24, 2009}}

[[Image:ROTFMegatronRising.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Now, where's Starscream? I want to give him a piece of my mind.]]

[[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]] tapped into a conversation between [[NEST]] and General [[Morshower]], listening to Director [[Theodore Galloway]] mention that 1) a shard of the [[All Spark]] was in storage in [[Diego Garcia]] and 2) Megatron's body lay in the [[Laurentian Abyss]]. [[Ravage (ROTF)|Ravage]] was sent to steal the shard, and swam to the Abyss with [[Scalpel]], [[Long Haul (ROTF)|Long Haul]], [[Mixmaster (ROTF)|Mixmaster]], [[Rampage (ROTF)|Rampage]] and [[Ze little one|another Constructicon]]. Scalpel ordered spare parts be used to repair Megatron's body with the unnamed Constructicon, who was torn apart by his larger brethren, and then struck Megatron with the shard: the Decepticon leader was reborn as a Cybertronian tank with flight capabilities. Megatron flew up to the surface, striking a submarine on his way, before journeying into space to find the ''[[Nemesis (ROTF)|Nemesis]]''.

On the ruined ship, Megatron chastised [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] for leaving him to die on Earth, although Starscream defended that he had to take care of the [[hatchlings]], who were dying without [[energon (fuel)|energon]]. Megatron met up with [[the Fallen]], who was free of his sarcophagus but still weakened and in a life support chair. Megatron told his master he had failed to secure the All Spark, but The Fallen told of another energon source on Earth, which had been hidden with the mind of the boy who killed Megatron. Before they could act, however, Megatron was ordered to kill [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]], who was the last of the [[Dynasty of Primes]], which made him the only one that could kill the Fallen.

[[Image:ROTFPrimePunch.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Body or face, Megatron? Not the face!]]

Megatron sprang a trap, dispatching [[Grindor (ROTF)|Grindor]] to take [[Sam Witwicky]], [[Mikaela Banes]] and [[Leo Spitz]] to him at an abandoned factory. Although Megatron would have rather killed Sam slowly and painfully, Sam had valuable information as to the energon source's location in his mind, which he had received from his own All Spark fragment. Scalpel's probes confirmed The Fallen's claims, and Megatron ordered Scalpel to get it out. Just as Scalpel was ready to dissect Sam's brain, Optimus and [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]] burst in to rescue the humans. Optimus drove Sam to a forest, with Megatron in hot pursuit. The Autobot and Decepticon leaders transformed and battled as Sam fled. Starscream and Grindor arrived to aid their commander, as Megatron told Prime that Sam could lead them to another energon source. Kicking off his [[mouthplate]] and blasting him, Megatron asked Prime if the boy was worth the future of the Cybertronians. Prime replied that he'd never stop at one, then took on all three Decepticons. Surprisingly, he was winning, stabbing Megatron multiple times. As a weary Prime tore Grindor apart, Megatron stabbed him in the back and blasted him: Prime fell, mortally wounded. As Megatron moved for the boy, the rest of the Autobots arrived and provided enough cover for Bumblebee to spirit Sam away. Already injured from the battle with Prime, Megatron and Starscream were forced to retreat.

[[Image:ROTF_movie_MegatronStarscream_roofchat.jpg|thumb|right|250px|"That's IT! No more Mr. Nice Megatron!" "But you were never-" "SHUT UP!"]]

With Prime dead, Megatron decided it was time to end their secret war, and had the rejuvenated Fallen broadcast a message to deliver Sam to them across the planet. Megatron himself broadcasted the Fallen's message by rewiring the [[Empire State Building]]'s radio tower.

[[Image:ROTFMegatronSam.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Hey, he stole my purse! Wallet! I mean wallet!]]

He then flew to [[Egypt]], where nineteen thousand years before, the Fallen had built a [[Solar harvester]] to harness the [[Sun]] for energon. Megatron ordered [[Devastator (ROTF)|Devastator]] to destroy the pyramid that was built over the harvester, while he himself chased Sam for the [[Matrix of Leadership]], which would activate the harvester. Megatron almost killed Sam, but was overwhelmed by human gunfire, and flew off. The Fallen managed to take the Matrix and activate the harvester, but it had already been used to resurrect Optimus. Optimus combined with [[Jetfire (ROTF)|Jetfire]] and destroyed the harvester, leading to a two on one match with Megatron and the Fallen battling Prime. This one went better for Optimus than the last one, as he used Megatron's own cannon to blast half his face off, and then severed the arm. Finally, Optimus used his afterburners to send Megatron hurtling through some ruins, ending his role in the battle. Megatron was so damaged he could barely call out for "Tharscweam!", but it soon mattered little as Optimus Prime killed the Fallen. Horrified at the loss of the power behind the Decepticons, Megatron acknowledged Starscream's advice that they should flee, but noted that "This is ''not'' over."

{{note|Adaptations based on early drafts of the script show Megatron hoped to become a Prime under the Fallen. However, during Optimus' final battle with the ancient villain, he revealed Primes were born, not made. Here, Megatron was angered that he had been misled, refusing to aid his master and vowed never to serve anyone again. Optimus is revealed to be an orphan who was "hidden" from The Fallen, further indicating he is not biologically related to Megatron. {{storylink|Revenge of the Fallen (novel)}} {{storylink|Revenge of the Fallen Movie Adaptation}}}}

{{storylink|Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen}}
{{-}}

==Games==
===''Transformers'' The Game===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Frank Welker]]

====Autobot campaign====
After arriving at Hoover Dam, Bumblebee saw Megatron and the All Spark being held in the same room, which was guarded by lasers. After bringing down the lasers, Bumblebee managed to shrink the All Spark, while under fire by Megatron. Following the Autobots to Mission City, Megatron ignominiously "flicked" Bumblebee away, then tried to grab the All Spark from Sam. Optimus Prime arrived and the two fought in the Mission City park. After Prime believed that he had destroyed Megatron, Sam handed the All Spark to Prime, but Megatron jumped into the air with his flail, making one last attempt at nailing Prime. Prime caught the flail in its path and yanked Megatron towards him, shoving the All Spark into his chest. Pretty ruthless there, Prime, pretty ruthless. {{storylink|Transformers The Game (console)|Transformers The Game}}

====Decepticon campaign====
After learning Megatron's location, Blackout and Starscream sabotaged the dam's power, allowing Megatron to thaw out and awaken. After Megatron emerged, Starscream and Blackout bowed before their Lord, who declared that they had much to do. After the Decepticons dispatched the Autobots, Megatron, hoping to draw Prime out, went on a rampage in Mission City, declaring that the city would burn beneath his feet (this means toastie toes, but he's willing to make that sacrifice). Megatron and Prime played a game of cat and mouse, with Megatron tracking Prime and Sam, until Megatron finally destroyed Prime, then merged the All Spark with his spark, becoming even more powerful in the process (...wait, what?). After decimating Earth, Megatron took the [[Abraham Lincoln|Lincoln Memorial]] as his throne, then ordered Starscream, Brawl, and Barricade to finish the planet, before going on to conquer the galaxy. {{storylink|Transformers The Game (console)|Transformers The Game}}

===''Transformers: Autobots''===
Having landed on Earth some thousands of years ago, Megatron is thought to be frozen somewhere in the Arctic. As the Autobots look for clues as to his location, they eventually arrive in the frozen desert long enough to realize the humans have found him, as well as the [[All Spark|AllSpark]] (sic). Once they hack into the communications array at the base, they find documentation leading to the Hoover Dam, where the Autobots and Decepticons race. Some wishing to free him, most hoping to destroy him, the Transformers fight over the base until the Decepticon leader is finally freed. Once out of cryo-storage, Megatron proceeds to steal the AllSpark from the Autobots and begin a destructive rampage through Tranquility, until he is finally defeated by Optimus Prime and [[Create-A-Bot (Autobot)|Create-A-Bot]]. {{storylink|Transformers Autobots/Decepticons|Transformers: Autobots}}

===''Transformers: Decepticons''===
With Megatron frozen in the Hoover Dam, the Decepticons fight to free their leader. However, as is quickly made apparent, Starscream and his young protege, a [[Create-A-Bot (Decepticon)|Create-A-Bot]], seek to eliminate their leader. This quickly changes, as Create-A-Bot is convinced by Barricade to free their commander, as Starscream is a back-stabbing bureaucrat while Megatron is a truly zealous leader. Even though both would kill you in an instant, Megatron would at least do it to your face so you could see it coming.

Once free, Megatron quickly takes the time to wipe out Jazz, who has been left at the bridge to help get rid of Megatron. After a fairly short battle, Megatron smashes Jazz into the dirt, leaving him to die. Back in Tranquility, he chases after Starscream, only to be blocked by [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]]. Once the sibling rivalry is finished, Prime is left in pieces in the streets of Tranquility.

Arriving in the Casino Strip, Megatron finds Create-A-Bot damaged and Starscream flying away. Giving chase, he attacks his traitorous second-in-command, nearly destroying him despite his awesome All Spark driven powers. Starscream uses his last breath to insult Megatron before being killed by the tyrant. Returning to Create-A-Bot's side, Megatron takes a moment to call him a weakling and a failure, completely forgetting about the fact that Create-A-Bot saved him, led him to Starscream, destroyed the Autobots, and served him more loyally than most of his other followers. Taking a moment to let this sink in, Megatron went on to tell him that the weak are made to serve the strong, then ripped the young Decepticon apart and ate his Spark. Megatron then took off into the sky with intentions unknown. {{storylink|Transformers Autobots/Decepticons|Transformers: Decepticons}}

===''Revenge of the Fallen:'' The Game===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Frank Welker]]
{{charstubfiction}}

==Toys==
===Transformers (2007)===
====Legends Class toys====
[[Image:Movie Legends Megatron toy.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Just what the hell do I turn into?]]
*'''Megatron''' (Legends Class, 2007)
**''Japanese name:'' '''EZ Collection Megatron'''
:Legends class Megatron is the smallest mainline ''Movie'' Megatron toy, and boy, does it show. Even with Megatron's relatively simple transformation sequence, the sheer simplicity of the Legends class toy means that his vehicle mode is basically his robot mode splayed out, and again, boy is it ''obvious''. His robot mode is passably accurate, if by accurate one means he is now a hunchback with wings for legs, Dustbusters for hands, and an unchanged Alien Queen-esque head design.
{{-}}

*'''Generations Legends''' (Target exclusive multi-pack, 2007)
[[Image:TargetGenerationsLegends.jpg|thumb|Megatron is quite beside himself.]]
:A Target exclusive, this four-pack of Legends Class figures contains two versions of both Optimus Prime and Megatron, namely [[Optimus Prime (Armada)|Legends of Cybertron Optimus Prime]], [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Movie Legends Optimus Prime]], [[Megatron (Armada)|Legends of Cybertron Megatron]] and Movie Legends Megatron.
{{-}}

[[Image:Movie Allspark Legends pack.jpg|right|150px|thumb|"Quick, Bumblebee! You hold up Megatron, I'll just fight with the others!" "...I hate you."]]
*'''Battle for the Allspark''' (Toys'R'Us exclusive multi-pack, 2007)
:A Toys'R'Us exclusive, this six-pack of Legends Class figures contains unmodified toys of [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]], [[Jazz (Movie)|Jazz]], [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]], Megatron, [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] and [[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]].
{{-}}

[[Image:Movie Legends JazzIceMegatron toys.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Wow, those guys sure do grow up fast... No, wait. They're still puny.]]
*'''Battle Jazz vs. Ice Megatron''' (Legends multi-pack, 2008)
:Ice Megatron is a, well, ice-themed redeco of Legends class Megatron, which means his black paint applications have been replaced by blue. He comes packed with yet another redeco of Legends class Jazz, this time "battle damaged".
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====Voyager Class toys====
[[Image:Movie Voyager Megatron toy.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Hey, I think I'm as weird as the War Within figures!... Nah, not there yet.]]
*'''Megatron''' (Voyager Class, 2007)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''MD-14'''
**''Accessories:'' Projectile
:Voyager Class Megatron transforms into an ice-covered version of his Cybertronic jet, with transparent blue plastic forming large portions of his vehicle mode, such as parts of his wings. This ice design is carried onto his robot mode, with his legs, shoulders and chest having some kind of 'ice' plastic covering them. With a significantly different (and simple compared to other figures of the same pricepoint) transformation sequence compared to his earlier Leader class toy, his chest frost lowers and his shoulders raise to robot mode position when you bring his lower body forward thanks to [[Automorph Technology|Automorph]] technology. He also has his fusion cannon in its entirety on his left arm. His wings feature flip-out "ice blades", and pulling on a piece in the back of his jet mode brings them forward like pincer claws. This design is remarkably similar to his Predacon- incarnation toys.

:Something interesting to note is that his feet are entirely spring-loaded, which means his foot and the two "rear toes" on each feet automatically close up when he's not standing up. Surprisingly, this helps a lot with the posing, as the feet's parts automatically position themselves for the perfect balance.
{{-}}

[[Image:Movie Voyager Premium Megatron.jpg|right|250px|thumb|]]
*'''Megatron''' ("Premium Series" Voyager Class, 2007)
**''Accessories:'' Projectile
:One of the first figures available in the ''Premium Series'' (although not explicitly identfied on the packaging as such), Voyager Class Megatron was released exclusively at Best Buy on October 16th, 2007 alongside the North American launch of the ''Transformers'' movie DVD. Megatron has been completely redecoed, covering most of his previously grey parts with metallic silver paint and a black paint wash over the top of that. Black and gold highlights are used to offset all of the silver, while the transparent 'ice' parts are clear. These changes essentially make Megatron far more accurate to his movie appearance.

:Megatron is presented in robot mode inside a special display box similar in shape to the packaging for the Hasbro release of ''Generation 1'' ''Masterpiece'' [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]].
{{-}}

*'''Battle Over Mission City Megatron (Two-Pack)''' ("Screen Battles" Voyager Class, 2008)
**''Accessories:'' Projectile
:A Target exclusive [[repaint]] of Voyager Class Megatron in primarily beige and chocolate brown colors with brown paintwashes, this version replaces the ice colored translucent plastic with two shades of translucent orange to replicate a look that resembles Megatron's firey demise (or atmospheric re-entry). Unlike the previous releases, this version's wings are painted to match the body color, so they give the appearance of molten slag. This version was only available in a two-pack with a mostly unchanged Deluxe Class [[Jazz (Movie)|Final Battle Jazz]] in reference to their fight on the skyscraper featured in the film. As the colors on this Megatron are very similar to the colors on the Screen Battles version of Voyager Class [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]], it might be assumed that those two sets are meant to also represent the climactic final battle at the end of the film.
{{-}}

====Leader Class toys====
[[Image:Movie Leader Megatron toy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|]]
*'''Megatron''' (Leader Class, 2007)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''MD-07'''
:Leader Class ''Movie'' Megatron transforms into a silver Cybertronic assault jet. He is quite accurate to the CGI design... except for the giant mass of legs attempting (but failing) to hide under the wings.

:In robot mode, Megatron's sculpt is quite accurate, or as accurate as a toy based on his CG design can be. However, his paint decoration is quite inaccurate, with blue highlights on various parts of his body, possibly to allude to his pre-frozen state and to give a relatively monochromatic figure more color. More confusing is his jet black face, which obscures the sculpt's details and is inaccurate to the movie appearance's gunmetal.

:Megatron's right fist disconnects at the wrist to become the spiked end of the extendable "chain whip" weapon concealed within his forearm; pressing the black switch on the arm pulls the chain taut for a whipping attack. His arms also link together at the wrists to form a "[[fusion cannon]]," with the pod on his left forearm concealing the weapon's [[Automorph Technology|Automorph]]ing twin barrels, exposed by pulling a switch. His other automorph features include his wings folding up as his vehicle nosecone is moved into place, and his feet unfolding as his knees are straightened. Finally, pressing the button on his waist activates a small friction motor, which moves various torso plates and blades on his back into place, accompanied by a metallic shrieking sound and flashing yellow lights.

:Megatron's instructions summarily fail to actually tell the reader about how his gimmicks work. The whipping-action black switch for his flail is not mentioned; they do not detail how to connect the arms for fusion cannon mode; and the fact that the cannon is on a slider, allowing it to be centre-aligned, rather than sitting off to one side, is also omitted.

:There is an error in Megatron's legs, in that his left and right hip joints have been swapped for reasons unknown. Switching them allows for a slightly smoother transformation. In addition to ''that'', both of Megatron's hands have a finger misassembly. Two pieces are molded to have two fingers, while one is obviously supposed to be a thumb–however, this thumb is on the 'outside' of his hands instead of the inside. The prototype on the packaging's stock photos show the correct assembly.

:''Geez'', [[Hasbro]].

:Possibly a dropped feature [[for safety reasons]], the right fist (partly a projectile tethered to the arm) is designed to launch out of his wrist via a spring-loaded firing mechanism. However, the spring for the launching mechanism was removed, though the firing trigger remains. One can either find a compatible spring or steal the spring in his left arm fusion cannon, then place it in his right forearm, though this disables his fusion cannon-retracting Automorph.
{{-}}

[[Image:Premium Movie Megs.JPG|right|300px|thumb|"Hey, I got a tan!"]]
*'''Megatron''' ("Premium Series" Leader Class, 2008)
:Premium Megatron is a redeco of the previously released Leader class Megatron. The figure is now given far more movie-accurate paint applications of black, gold, & silver. Premium Megatron also features the classic transformation sound when the chest Automorph function is activated. The original "metal shriek" sound is retained when the sound button is pressed in vehicle mode.

:In the promotional photos of the toy, this version was pictured with a new vehicle mode face cover that fit the new head better. However, this retool was apparently dropped before actual production but can still be seen on the box back photography. All manufacturing errors from the first release are still present.

:Unlike some of the early "Premium Series" toys, Premium Leader Megatron was mass-released at a variety of retailers, instead of being an exclusive to any particular store.
{{-}}

====Fast Action Battlers====
[[Image:Movie FAB Megatron.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Just back from filming Predator 3]]
*'''Fusion Blast Megatron''' (Fast Action Battler, 2007)
**''Japanese ID number:''
**''Accessories:'' 2 projectiles
:Fusion Blast Megatron is a simple version of Megatron with dorky-looking proportions in robot mode, and it turns into an even dorkier-looking vehicle mode. The transformation sequence manages to be even more simple and non-involved than the other ''Movie'' Megatron toys by means of an Automorph feature very similar to the early Beast Wars flipchangers. Moving his back section down causes the torso to flip up, hiding the head and positioning the arms skywards. Though the figure requires a little more repositioning and folding, most of the transformation is done with a single step.
{{-}}

[[Image:NA megatron FAB.JPG|right|200px|thumb|Racism accepted...]]
*'''Night Attack Megatron''' (Fast Action Battler, 2008)
**''Accessories:'' 2 projectiles
:A redeco of Fast Action Battler Megatron, this time cast primarily in black plastic, with opaque grey missiles.
{{-}}

====Robot Replicas====
[[Image:Mov2007-toy RobotReplicas Megatron.JPG|right|150px|thumb|This is heavy man!]]
*'''Megatron''' (Robot Replica, 2007)
**''Accessories:'' Fusion Cannon
:As part of the [[Robot Replicas]] sub-line, this version of Megatron is a non-transforming action figure that hews very close to the movie's CGI model. It features joints similar to the [[Revoltech]] toys, though the elbows only turn from side-to-side, giving him extremely limited arm articulation. His forearms can be replaced with his fusion cannon accessory (or any other arm attachments from other Robot Replicas, which could lead to some fun Frankensteins).
{{-}}

====Titanium series====
[[Image:Movie TitaniumRM Megatron.jpg|right|130px|thumb|]]
*'''Megatron''' (3" Robot Masters, 2007)
**''Accessories:'' Movie-style Decepticon sigil display stand
:''Titanum'' Megatron is a die-cast metal and plastic figurine, with an accurate sculpt based on the CG model owing to the fact he doesn't need to transform. Being a figurine, he only has articulation in his shoulders, neck and waist. Megatron comes with a Movie-style Decepticon symbol display stand.
{{-}}

====Attacktix====
*'''Battle Masters Megatron and Scorponok''' (Battle Master set)
[[Image:Attacktix-MovMegsScorp.jpg|right|150px|thumb|HADOOOUKEN!]]
:One of the many casualties of the shelving of Hasbro's ''[[Attacktix]]'' line was this Battle Master set featuring Megatron and Scorponok.

{{canceledtoy}}
{{-}}

===Revenge of the Fallen===
====Legends Class Toys====
[[Image:Megatron ROTF Legends toy.jpg|After enduring countless "What do I turn into" captions, Michael Bay started from scratch.|right|thumb|250px]]
*'''Megatron''' (2009)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''EZ-02'''

:Megatron transforms from a reasonably accurate version of his movie robot mode to a reasonably accurate version of his tank mode (with a teeny extra Megatron face in his groin). He has ball-jointed shoulders and hips in robot mode, plus elbow and knee joints. His alt-mode turret is formed by merging his left and right arms, which is a neat callback to the first movie's fusion cannon, but means the turret can't rotate side to side, only pivot at the barrel.

{{charstubtoys}}
{{-}}

====Voyager Class Toys====
[[Image:ROTF_Voyager_Megatron_toy.jpg|thumb|250px|First blue, then green. Watch, in the next movie, it'll be red.]]
*'''Megatron''' (2009)
**''Japanese ID number:''
**''Accessories:'' Missile

:The second mainline ''[[Revenge of the Fallen (toyline)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' Megatron toy is more slender than the larger Leader class Megatron, as it was based (more or less) on the finalized Megatron design, and as such, features a sleeker tank mode, a large lobster-claw like right arm and a normal-sized left arm. Unlike the larger toy, the Voyager's firing missile is located on the left arm, and he's green.
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====Leader Class Toys====
[[Image:ROTF_Leader_Megatron.jpg|thumb|250px|Beefcake!]]
*'''Megatron''' (2009)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''RD-01'''
**''Accessories:'' Missile

:The first and largest ''Revenge of the Fallen'' Megatron toy transforms into a Cybertronian tank, though it lacks the wings seen in the film. In robot mode, Megatron's entire lower right arm is a spring-loaded missile launcher and the tank turret's armour/shroud can be positioned over to partially cover the cannon, with flip-out sword blade, as seen in the early concept design.

:Pressing the Decepticon symbol-emblazoned button on his chest activates his light, [[Mech Alive]], and voice sound effects ("I am Megatron!"). The Mech Alive mechanics involve shaking his head to and fro while panels in his chest shudder. The European release (sold in non-English speaking countries) proclaims just simply "Megatron!" with laughter (although the voice and pronunciation are still in English). In the Canadian province of Quebec, both the European and talking American versions can be found, although due to language demographics, the European version is slightly more widely available.
{{-}}

====Fast Action Battlers====
[[Image:ROTF_FAB_Megatron_toy.jpg|thumb|250px|I sure hope [[Wikipedia:Metal_Slug_(series)|SNK]] don't sue...]]
*'''Cannon Blast Megatron''' (2009)
**''Accessories'' Projectile

{{charstubtoys}}
{{-}}

====Power Bots====
[[Image:ROTF_PowerBots_Megatron.jpg|thumb|150px|Super Fighting Robot- MEGAMAN!]]
*'''Megatron''' (2009)

This large action figure is a sturdy version of Megatron for younger children. Pressing the various Decepticon symbol buttons activates battle phrases, sound effects and light-up eyes, although for the European release, almost all of the battle phrases were cut in order to avoid language barriers (except for the occasional utterance of "Megatron" among a huge, long string of blasting noises).
{{-}}

====Robot Replicas====
*'''Megatron''' (2009)

{{comingsoontoy}}
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====Burger King====
[[Image:ROTFtoy-RiseofMegatron.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Darn that [[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]]. ''*yyywaaawwwwwwn*'']]
* '''Rise of Megatron''' (Kids meal toy, 2009)
: Rise of Megatron has a pull-back motor and can "transform" between flying tank and robot modes.
{{-}}

==Merchandise==
===Transformers (2007)===
[[Image:GummyCandyFront.jpg|right|100px|thumb|"Oh, How hideously (and deliciously) ironic!"]]
*'''Transformers Gummy Candy''' (2006)
:Made by the [[Frankford Candy & Chocolate Company]] at the behest of [[Hasbro|Hasbro's]] Cap Candy Company unit, this large Megatron-shaped [[Transformers Gummy Candy|gummy candy]] was available throughout 2006 to 2007. Also available was an [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]]-shaped gummy candies.
{{-}}

===Battling Robots Bubble Bath===
*'''Megatron''' (2007)
[[Image:Megatron bubblebath.jpg|right|120px|thumb|"This is why I hate merchandising."]]
:Megatron's torso attaches to the bottle of bubble bath. His elbows bend, and his arms have a punching gimmick, to allow him to battle the forces of good. Pushing a lever on either side makes the respective fist punch forward. He's removable, though not as easily held without the bottle below his waist. Like many pieces of Megatron merchandise, this "figure" uses the older head design with blue eyes. The blue eyes are also the only spot of paint on him, unlike the elaborately decoed Prime.
{{-}}

*'''Megatron''' Burger King free toy (2007)
:A non-transformable version of Megatron, cast primarily in gray plastic. The toy's entire "gimmick" is that both arms rotate at the shoulder. Due to the strict [[For safety reasons|protocols]] of making a fast food premium, Megatron's sharp and deadly design was forced to be smoothed out. This had the unfortunate effect of making his sculpted details meld together and looking less like a killer robot and more like a melted clay man. The toy ''appears'' to use the earlier head render of Megatron's, but due to the vague detail and paint job, may also not be.

:The toy also comes with a purple plastic Decepticon base and a lenticular motion card with a surprising amount of frames of animation. These two pieces may in fact be the better part of the package.

====Basic Fun====
*'''Megatron''' (Figural keychain assortment, 2007)
: Produced by [[Basic Fun]], this keychain is a likeness of Megatron's robot mode with articulated arms, legs, head, waist, and a keyring sticking out of his ass.
{{-}}

====Transformers Movie Danglers====
[[Image:Movie Megatron dangler.jpg|right|200px|thumb|No, that's not his back, that's his actual face.]]
*'''Megatron''' (2007)
:Released by [[Tomy Yujin]] in November 2007<ref name="TomyYujin">[http://www.gachausa.com/products/transformers.asp Tomy Yujin ''Transformers'' page]</ref> for the [[Danglers Collection]], this toy is a weird plastic [[super deformed]] version of Megatron that pops out his vehicle mode when you squeeze him. This little figurine has a little strap on it so that it can be put on cell phones or portable gaming devices.

:Other than Megatron, there are also versions of [[Brawl (Movie)|Decepticon Devastator]], Bumblebee, Ironhide, Bonecrusher, Jazz, and Optimus Prime.
{{-}}

====Unleashed====
[[Image:Movie2007_Unleashed_Megatron.jpg|right|200px|thumb|]]
*'''Megatron''' (2008)

{{charstubtoys}}
{{-}}

====Transformers Movie Screen Cleaners====
[[Image:Movie Megatron screencleaner.jpg|right|104px|thumb|]]
*'''Megatron''' (2008)
:Released by Tomy Yujin on January 2008<ref name="TomyYujin" />, this dangler is a faction logo-shaped screen cleaner for your cell phone, with a stock image of Megatron printed on the other side.
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===Revenge of the Fallen===
====Transformers Digital Watch====
[[Image:ROTF_Megatrondigitalwatch.jpg|thumb|200px|]]
*'''Megatron Digital Watch''' (2009)

:Made by [[Fab Starpoint]], this Megatron-themed digital watch has a nylon velcro strap with a rubber pull tab, a plastic case and chrome bezel, and an LCD display on the face.
{{-}}

====Transformers Wacky Wobblers====
*'''Megatron''' (2009)

{{comingsoontoy}}
{{-}}

====Basic Fun====
*'''Articulated keychain''' (2009)

: Produced by [[Basic Fun]], this keychain is a likeness of Megatron's robot mode with articulated arms, legs, head, waist, and a keyring sticking out of his ass.
{{comingsoontoy}}

===Robot Heroes===
[[Image:Robot Heroes Ratchet vs Megatron.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Adorable head crushing!]]
*'''Autobot Ratchet vs Megatron''' (2007)
:The first Robot Heroes toy of Megatron was available packed with Autobot Ratchet. Like many Robot Heroes, he is grinning from ear to ear, and in a squatty pose. Notably, his hands are simplified into three fingered claws, and his head is a cute version of the original (and replaced) design. His articulation is the standard shoulders and neck. The toy is colored much like the Leader class version of the character.
{{-}}

*'''The Final Battle''' (2008)
[[Image:Robotheroesfinalbattle.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Shiny!]]
:Sold exclusively in Walmart stores, this release of Megatron is a repaint of the first Robot Heroes toy. Sold with redecoed Autobot Jazz, Blackout, Optimus Prime, and Ratchet, no molding was changed on this toy. However, the figure boasts a metallic finish, making the toy a vibrant silver with painted bronze highlights for greater film accuracy.
{{-}}

*'''Battle Jazz vs Megatron''' (2008)
[[Image:Robotheroesjazzmegatron.jpg|right|150px|thumb|PRIIIIIIME!]]
:The second mold, sharing no parts with the first release. His right arm has transformed into the mace, and he's posed just after slamming it into the ground (with impact "explosion" molded in). The head is the "final" head design, but the toy has many outbursts of blue, either to make a more exciting deco or evoke him being "recently thawed". Sadly, he is only articulated at the neck and LEFT shoulder, denying the world adorable mace bonking.
{{-}}
*'''Autobot Skids and Megatron''' (2009)
{{-}}

[[Image:Robotheroesmegatronfallenprimejetfireironhide.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Say hello to my GIGANTIC-ASS friend!]]
*'''Battle for the Fallen''' (box set, 2009)
:This ''Robot Heroes'' box set of figures comes with [[The Fallen]], Megatron (tank mode), [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Jetfire (ROTF)|Jetfire]] combined, and Ironhide (truck mode). Megatron proooobably has no articulation.

{{comingsoontoy}}
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[[Image:RobotHeroes_BattlefortheAllspark.jpg|300px|thumb|right|]]
*'''Battle for the Allspark''' (2009)
:A redeco of the second ''Robot Heroes'' mold is included in this set representing the battle of [[Mission City]] along with a redeco of Decepticon Brawl, along with new figures of Ratchet (with his saw), [[Sam Witwicky]] with the All Spark Cube, Optimus Prime, Starscream and Bumblebee in vehicle mode.

{{comingsoontoy}}
{{-}}

==Trivia==
[[Image:Movie Megatron olduglyface.jpg|right|200px|thumb|I'm blind!]]
* When the 2007 Bristol Comic Expo's Transformers panel got onto how fiddly the Movie designs were, Megatron was singled out as a prime example; one of the ''panel'' referred to him as "a walking chandelier". <ref>[http://panelborders.wordpress.com/2007/07/30/podcast-transformers-and-now/ Panel Borders (click "Download This Episode Now" link as others go to the wrong podcast)]</ref>
* The prototype photographs on the back of Leader and Voyager class Megatrons' packaging show him with a completely different head based upon an earlier version of CGI design (seen on the right) that was dropped after much negative fan reaction.
* According to The Movie Guide, Megatron is one of the few Transformers capable of space travel without reverting to a Protoform. This explains how he was capable of chasing the All Spark ''immediately'' after its launch.
* According to [[The Quest For the Allspark]] paperback's opening paragraph, "...Most revered were Optimus and Megatron. They were twin brothers of the Prime dynasty." This implies that Megatron may have also had the surname "Prime" at one time.
* Early script drafts and a [[Optimus Prime Versus Megatron|children's picture book]] featured Megatron consuming the [[spark]]s of his fallen foes, but this didn't make it into the final film due to time constraints. The novelisation of the movie, on the other hand, sees him chow down on Jazz in the final battle; similarly, although not outright stated in dialogue, his animalistic pouncing on the fallen bodies of various characters (including Optimus Prime, Starscream, Jazz and the [[Create-A-Bot (Decepticon)|Decepticon Create-A-Bot]]) in the Movie Nintendo DS games, following by what appears to be rooting around in their innards, seems to suggest he's doing the same there.
* Similarly, in the ''Autobots'' version of the same DS game, it is noted that Megatron "took the spark" of his and Optimus' father. Presumably, this is a reference to both his cannibalistic practises as well as the fact that both he and Prime are in fact brothers, at least in the Cybertronian sense.
* Despite his undeniable hatred of humans, Megatron is the only Decepticon in the movie who doesn't speak [[Cybertronian languages|Cybertronian]] for the majority of his dialogue. In fact, he speaks ''fluent'' English upon reviving, despite the fact that [[wikipedia:Modern English|Modern English]] came into existence around the Sixteenth century, when he was presumably still frozen in the ice. This could suggest that he still was somehow conscious when he was studied by Sector Seven (which he also overtly states upon awakening in the IDW comic adaptation). This would explain why his first action after thawing was declaring his name - imagine being frozen for generations being referred to as "N.B.E. 1", or even worse: "Mega-man" ''and'' "Ice-man".
* The Megatron computer generated model consisted of 2411 individual pieces, 433,949 polygons, 8924 rig nodes, and 1437 texture maps. The pieces combined gave a volume of 10,325 cubic feet.<ref>Robertson, Barbara (2007). Heavy Metal. ''Computer Graphics, 30''(7), 12-17.</ref>
* [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]] from ''[[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Transformers Animated]]'' has apparently stolen this Megatron's head, at least for the [[Transform and Roll Out|first episode]].
* There are some problems with Simmons' statement about various technologies being reverse-engineered from Megatron. Cars came about in one shape or form at about the turn of the century, and spaceflight technology was pioneered by German and Soviet scientists. Of course, Simmons isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, so he could be exaggerating. They'll always have ''[[Ghost 1]]'' though.
*It was decided that Megatron would not be renamed Galvatron in [[Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]] for the sake of the general audience.<ref>[http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-movie-discussion/180451-welcome-mr-roberto-orci-you-may-ask-him-questions-229.html#post3421064 Roberto Orci answers fan questions on the TFW2005 boards.]
</ref>
*While the [[Revenge of the Fallen: The Movie Universe|Revenge Of The Fallen Movie Universe]] creates the idea that Megatron is a triple changer that alternates between his robot, jet, and tank modes, there is absolutely nothing to support this in the movie. Throughout the entire film, he only transforms into a winged tank portrayed by the Voyager figure and is more than capable of flying in said mode.
*Megatron may have been a descendent of a Prime, because only a Prime can kill a Prime, and Megatron killed Optimus. This might not make sense, because Sam killed Megatron. However he used the Allspark, the most powerful MacGuffin in the Movie continuity, which therefore appears to trump being a Prime. Also, it's possible that the "only a Prime can kill a Prime" rule only applies to the first generation of Primes, and not to a descendent like Optimus. Head hurt yet? More on this Movie Plot Device Ladder Match as it develops.

{{-}}

==External links==
* [http://www.tfu.info/2007/Decepticon/Megatron/megatron.htm Megatron at TFU.info]

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:3D Battle-Cards]]
[[Category:Attacktix]]
[[Category:Decepticon leaders]]
[[Category:Decepticons]]
[[Category:Movie characters]]
[[Category:Revenge of the Fallen characters]]
[[Category:Live-action film ARG characters]]
[[Category:Robot Heroes]]
[[Category:Rulers of Cybertron]]
[[Category:Starships]]
[[Category:Toys with sound]]
[[Category:Titanium Series]]
[[Category:Triple Changers]]

Autobot Spike

2009-07-16T16:44:38Z

69.43.35.2: /* Trivia */

{{episode
|series=G1toon
|ep=17
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=11
|image=AutobotSpike Autobotx concealed weapon.jpg
|caption=That kid's gonna need a lot of therapy.
|title="Autobot Spike"
|production code=#700-16
|airdate=[[September 23]], 1985
|written by=[[Donald F. Glut]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''A wounded Spike is turned into an Autobot Frankenstein's monster to save his life.'''

:''Japanese title:'' フランケンシュタイン・スパイク (''Frankenstein Spike'')

==Synopsis==
[[Image:AutobotSpike-AutobotXTabled.jpg|left|200px|thumb|In the future, Autobot X will be revived to systematically battle groups of 8 animal-themed robots.]]

The Autobots gather around [[Sparkplug Witwicky|Sparkplug]]'s worktable in [[Ark (G1)|Autobot Headquarters]] for a demonstration. Using spare parts and human ingenuity, Sparkplug has cobbled together a large robot he has dubbed [[Autobot X]], and with a flip of a switch sets him loose. He immediately runs amok—groaning, growling and smashing everything in sight. It takes [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]], [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] and [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] to bring him down. Sparkplug apologizes to [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] for the mess and recommends Autobot X be put in storage.

Before this can be done, the party is interrupted by an alarm. Decepticons are attacking the new Air Force rocket base. The Autobots roll out to the base and engage the Decepticons. During the battle, the rockets and their fuel are inadvertently destroyed, and [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] orders a retreat.

To cover their escape, Megatron creates a diversion for the Autobots; he blasts [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] while [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] is riding in him. The attack leaves Bumblebee damaged and Spike comatose. Spike is taken to Metro Hospital, where the doctors suggest that if Spike's mind could be transferred somewhere else, they would be able to operate on his fragile body.

[[Image:BotX.JPG|right|200px|thumb|This happens whenever you see certain things.]]

[[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] and Sparkplug transfer Spike's mind into Autobot X's body. However, as a side effect of the transferral process, Spike's mind is in an extremely unstable state. Angry and confused about his new body, Autobot Spike rampages, destroying several computers and machines in Wheeljack's shop.

Optimus Prime is able to subdue Autobot Spike without damaging his mind. To keep Spike calm, Wheeljack tunes [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]] to a television station, where cruel Fate just happens to have scheduled an airing of the movie ''Frankenstein''. Spike is roused to anger, convinced he is a "monster", and begins to rampage again throughout the Ark, and then he escapes.

[[Image:AutobotSpike-Moping.jpg|left|200px|thumb|At least he's not a Headmaster.]]

Alone in the wilderness, Spike suffers from the conflict between his own mind and what there is of Autobot X. Will he use his new body and powers to help the world like Optimus Prime, or conquer all Humanity?

[[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] informs Megatron of Spike's new Autobot body and unstable mind, and Megatron forms a plan to trick Autobot Spike into destroying the Autobots. Megatron soon finds Spike with [[Reflector (G1)|Reflector]]'s help. Autobot Spike attacks, but Megatron has other plans. Spike's unstable mind makes it hard for him to think, and he is easily twisted by Megatron to side with him against the Autobots.

Bumblebee brings the Autobots to Spike's location, but they are unable to fight against the vengeful being for fear of destroying Spike's mind. Only after Autobot Spike shoots his father off the edge of a cliff does he realize what he has done. At once, he saves his father and turns on the [[Decepticon|Decepticons]].

Finally, Spike's mind is returned to his [[human]] body after the surgical operation is successfully completed.

Spike will never be placed in a robot's body again. [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Never?]]

==Featured Characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (1)
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] (3)
*[[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] (5)
*[[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (6)
*[[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] (7)
*[[Autobot X]] (8)
*[[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] (9)
*[[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (10)
*[[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]] (11)
*[[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] (12)
*[[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] (20)
*[[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] (21)
*[[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] (25)
*[[Hound (G1)|Hound]] (26)
*[[Bluestreak]] (27)
*[[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] (28)

|c2=
*[[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] (14)
*[[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] (15)
*[[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] (16)
*[[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] (17)
*[[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] (18)
*[[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] (22)
*[[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (23)
*[[Reflector (G1)|Reflector]] (24)

|c3=
*[[Sparkplug Witwicky]] (2)
*[[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (4)
*Air Force General (13)
*Spike's doctor (19)

|c4=
'''On TV'''
*[[Doctor Frankenstein]]
*[[Igor]]
*[[Frankenstein's monster]]
}}

==Quotes==
"Another Autobot? Even if it works, who needs it?"
:—'''Ratchet''' is a [[GEEWUN|1984 purist]].

"He's not supposed to do that!"
:—'''Sparkplug''' referring to Autobot X destroying Autobot headquarters

"So you Decepticreeps like to fly, eh? Well, take off!"
:—'''Brawn''' after kicking Soundwave

"Hmmm...if only there were a way of separating Spike's mind from his body while we work..."
:—'''Spike's doctor''' clumsily moves the narrative along within earshot of Autobot X's creator.

"He wants a battle—let's give him one!"
:—'''Starscream''', referring to the now-mechanized Spike

"Very impressive, General. ''[To Ironhide]'' For primitive rocket technology." 
:—Only '''Optimus Prime''' could both praise and diss humanity at the same time.

"I must say, you've improved your appearance since our last encounter, Spike!"
:—'''Megatron''', upon meeting Spike in Autobot form

"Hmmm, I wonder—I wonder what it would be like for a robot mind to be transferred to a human?"
:—'''Bumblebee''', being [[Only Human|eerily prophetic]]

==Notes==
===Errors===
All in all, remarkably few errors:

* The beginning of Sparkplug's line "It's not working" is cut off, as if the sound dropped out for a split second.

* ''Technically'' it's not an error, but Ratchet maintains his "who needs it?" arm gesture for a ''very'' long time after he finishes speaking.

* Bumblebee can be seen rolling out from Autobot Headquarters along with Prime's team, even though he wasn't called out by Prime to be part of the attack force. He ''does'' arrive at the rocket base after the battle is over, so... maybe he just fell behind?

* Skywarp has an all-yellow chest as the Decepticons prepare to retreat from the rocket base. Only his cockpit canopy should be yellow.

* Spike's hospital room is hilarious. Not only is it completely devoid of any medical equipment whatsoever (not even so much as an IV drip), but Spike's ancient-looking dormitory-style bed is placed ''directly in the middle of the room''. Despite this, the ticking of a heart monitor can be heard.

* Sideswipe's voice is off as he and Sunstreaker rush to contain Autobot X. The delivery's a bit off, too: he sounds like he's discussing the weather, not rushing into battle.

* The docking tower for [[Decepticon Headquarters]] is right off of a rocky coast. Usually it's in open water.

* Spike's second round of fire on the Decepticons hits ''[[generic|three]]'' Thundercrackers.

* Okay, it's a cartoon and all, but... when Spike blasts him off the cliff, Sparkplug falls for an ''incredibly'' long time.

* As he flies out of Spike's hand, Megatron's gun-mode handle is colored gray instead of black.

* Just before Megatron orders a retreat, Soundwave has Skywarp's colors, and Skywarp is firing a laser beam that somehow passes in front of Starscream's air intake, even though Starscream is in the foreground.

===Transformers references===
* The three Reflector components, while speaking in unison, refer to themselves as "I".

* Autobot X/Spike demonstrates a few abilities that his component parts have never shown. None of the 1984 Autobots shoot lasers from their fingertips; Trailbreaker's gun arm has never been shown to be an extendable grappling hook; Bluestreak has never fired lasers from the headlights on his chest.

===Real-world references===
* Autobot Spike watches the movie ''[[Frankenstein]]''. Nice going Wheeljack...have an unstable guy who's a patchwork of parts watch a movie about a monster who is a patchwork of parts. That won't cause problems.

===Trivia===
[[Image:AutobotSpike Prime firing from shoulder height.jpg|right|200px|thumb|I'm shooting him gently!]]
* While this episode originally aired in the United States on 9-23-85, it aired in Japan on 9-14-85, making it the only episode of the [[Generation 1 (cartoon)|original series]] to be aired in Japan before the United States.

* The episode begins with a narrative voice-over from [[Victor Caroli]]. While this is not unprecedented, this is the only such episode where the voice-over is not recapping the events of previous episodes.

* When Optimus Prime tries to subdue Autobot X/Spike, he fires his ion blaster from his shoulder, like an RPG launcher.

* Ratchet is standing behind Wheeljack when Wheeljack "volunteers" him to help improve Autobot X. Ratchet has a comical surprised reaction to the news. Wheeljack later looks visibly depressed that his mind transfer device has burned itself out.

* Throughout the episode, Spike struggles with unpredictable destructive urges and freaks out at the slightest provocation. Sparkplug and the rest repeatedly assume that this is a side-effect of the mental transfer process, rather than the fault of the body they put it in. Did they forget that the body itself goes on similar rampages even ''without'' Spike's mind in it? Spike even says himself that it feels like "something" is telling him to do "bad things."

* This episode features a curiously large amount of extreme close ups with the camera constantly going straight into characters' faces for no reason.

* The episode finally addresses that it's incredibly unsafe to bring a teenager to a battle between two factions of giant robot killing machines. Except that Spike continues to tag along in the future...

==External links==
* [http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/autobot_spike.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]

Megatron (Movie)

2009-07-13T16:33:04Z

69.43.35.2: /* Trivia */

{{factions|decepticon}}
{{disambig3|Megatron}}
:''Megatron is the [[Decepticon]] leader from the [[Live-action film series|live-action film]] [[continuity family]]. He is often referred to as "Lord Megatron". Known to humans as both "The Ice Man" and "The Mega-Man" and more formally as [[Non-Biological Extraterrestrial|N.B.E.]]-01''

[[Image:Movie_Megatron_Defiance3.jpg|thumb|300px|Friends, [[Trypticon (Movie)|Trypticonians]], countrybots, lend me your audio receptors!]]

Once the [[Lord High Protector]] of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] and the "[[brother]]" of the science division leader [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]], '''Megatron''' is vicious, extremely powerful, single-minded in his goals, straight-forward and brutally direct. He is all "blunt force" in contrast to [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream's]] penchant for deceit and trickery. On the downside, Megatron tends to become so obsessed with the object of his desires that he can ignore "secondary" matters, glaring flaws in his plans (otherwise, he likely wouldn't have melted into ice-cold arctic water after being white hot from falling through [[Earth]]'s atmosphere, and spent ten-thousand years as a [[wikipedia:popsicle|popsicle]], and even crippling injuries in pursuit of the coveted item. Trying to talk Megatron out of blindly going for his goals is useless. He will risk his world, his troops, and even his own [[spark]] to achieve his goals; these things do not matter to Megatron. Even the destruction of the [[Autobot]]s is a secondary concern. In Megatron's cerebral processor, all that has become important are the whims of his [[The Fallen|master]] and, by extension, the [[All Spark]].

While [[Megatron (disambiguation)|some]] merely dislike or disregard humans due to the incomprehensibility of organics being a dominant life form ''anywhere'', Megatron feels a violent hatred towards them and seems to view them as only slightly above bacteria. Though his master suffered a very similar affliction due to the circumstances of his purpose of existence, Megatron's postulation is born from spending decades as a prisoner of sorts to them, causing a very extreme disdain. If there was no All Spark, it would not be much of a stretch to realize his ideals would have brought him to this planet anyway, just to cleanse one more planet of an "infection".

{{quote|You still fight for the weak! That is why ''you lose!''|Megatron to Optimus|[[Transformers (2007)|Transformers]]}}

==Fiction==
===IDW ''Transformers'' movie comics===
[[Image:Defiance1 Megs Prime argument.jpg|left|350px|thumb|"Know your place, boy!"]]

High Protector Megatron, the supreme commander of the Cybertronian defense forces and firm leader of all of Cybertron, once ruled the entire planet seemingly side-by-side with Optimus Prime, protecting their world against all perceived hostile threats. For generations, the two ruled in peace—Megatron firm, with Prime being fair, creating an even (if sometimes strained) governmental balance. When Commander [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] returned from his patrol in the [[Eshems Nebula]], [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus]] was reporting on his science sector's continuing excavation of the site near the temple at [[Simfur]] and the unusual pulse waves that the [[All Spark]] had been emitting ever since work began. At the excavation site, while Optimus' scientists were concerned with disturbing the ancient artifacts, all Megatron cared about was whether these relics might provide the same revitalising energy as the All Spark. He was nettled when Optimus asserted the sector's dominion over all scientific and archaeological discoveries and reminded his junior that it was his defence force that protected this world, demanding to be informed of all possible threats from the excavation's findings. When Optimus dared to remind Megatron of the military's treatment of such discoveries as hostile, Megatron told Optimus that when ''he'' tried to be the leader of Cybertron, he could make those decisions, not ''now''. When a mysterious relic was discovered, Megatron ordered it removed at once, a demand that Optimus disagreed with. Just as the pair were about to launch into another argument, Cybertron fell under attack from Nebula inhabitants. Megatron had the relic quickly moved to his quarters under the guise of protecting it from the invaders. Arriving to find [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]] and [[Cliffjumper (Movie)|Cliffjumper]] seeking cover within the temple of Simfur, Megatron chastised their alleged lack of courage before he was hit by an alien tank vehicle. After destroying it, he told Starscream to keep Optimus' team out of the military's way and staggered back to his quarters in the capital of [[Trypticon (Movie)|Trypticon]]. Drawn towards the relic, he ignored his injuries and scraped away at the layers of debris encrusting it before losing consciousness. {{storylink|Defiance issue 1}}

[[Image:Defiance2_Megatron_warrally.jpg|thumb|250px|Mein Führer!]]

The relic used what little power it had left to repair Megatron's wounds. At first Megatron was angry, demanding the being to show himself to the Protector of all Cybertron. The relic explained that it was unable to do so without Megatron's help, and ''if'' he helped, the relic would make him '''Lord''' of Cybertron. The relic then fired beams of energy into Megatron's mind (turning his white optic sensors red), explaining what needed to be done, filling him with delusions of grandeur. When Optimus came looking for the Protector, Megatron had changed; he had become even more aggressive in his speech and demeanor, and what's more, he demanded Optimus gather his scientists to go to war. When Optimus explained the sector was not combat-trained, Megatron shot back that the scientists should have known what the aliens were after: the All Spark. Optimus refused, stating that the army's mission was of defense, and it went against everything their society was based upon to exacerbate war. Megatron slammed Optimus into the wall and stated that their society then needed to ''change''. He held a massive saber-rattling war rally outside Trypticon, demanding vengeance upon the alien aggressors. He claimed that until the war ended, he would assume full control of the military, and everybody would answer only to him. Megatron ordered all flight-capable Cybertronians accompany him to the Eshems Nebula, where they launched a surprise attack against the still-unknown aliens. Megatron fought his way inside the alien flagship and personally executed the alien leader. He then ordered Starscream and his units to conduct a war of genocide: ''none'' of the aliens were to survive. {{storylink|Defiance issue 2}}

[[Image:Defiance3_wearenowDECEPTICONS.jpg|thumb|left|200px|]]

Megatron returned from the front with news of their success and awaited further instructions from his master. The relic ordered Megatron to prepare the way for his return by expanding the army, and at the end, Cybertron would be Megatron's, while everything else the master's. Megatron was enraged when the relic informed him that Optimus had snooped inside his quarters while he was fighting the aliens, and convinced the Protector that Optimus was after the same power the relic had promised ''him''. Now seeing that there were "enemies" within Cybertron as well as without, Megatron arranged to have the "traitors" taken care of by ordering [[Prowl (Movie)|Prowl]]'s security team to arrest Optimus, and sent Starscream's soldiers to kill all bar Optimus. However, Megatron underestimated Optimus, who personally defeated Starscream's squad. Nonetheless, he used the survivors as propaganda that treacherous malcontents sought to betray them all, and declared that Megatron's followers would now be reformed under a new image and a new name: '''Decepticons'''.{{storylink|Defiance issue 3}}

Optimus' forces having eluded him for now, Megatron was given new orders by his master: build a [[Nemesis (ROTF)|mighty starship]] that would scour the stars for something very important to the relic's plans. The relic counseled Megatron to not make the same mistakes he did thousands of years ago, that his protege should strike without mercy or hesitation. The relic told Megatron the story of his mighty race, and how the All Spark granted them great power and created the Transformer race, but it needed to be recharged by draining the power of a sun using specially-constructed [[Solar harvester|harvester]] devices, and their under-construction starship would be used to search for the last harvester in the galaxy. When Megatron presumed to believe he would accompany his master, he was rebuked and punished. Much later, the ''Nemesis'' was finally completed, the relic praising Megatron for his fine work, and ordering him to stay behind to continue the war. Over the next thousand years, the Autobots and Decepticons clashed in a bloody struggle until Optimus Prime made his most dangerous gamble. During an assault on the Autobots personally led by Megatron and his hound, [[Blackout (Movie)|Blackout]], the tyrant crushed an Autobot opponent's spark before casually tossing his corpse over his shoulder. He declared that the All Spark would be his, to which Blackout assured his leader that he would personally see to it. Megatron was pleased by his minion's loyalty, but decided to dispatch him to assist Starscream's unit to prevent Optimus Prime's reinforcements from entering Tyger Pax. He then left to meet his destiny, but it slipped from his grasp; Prime had commissioned the All Spark to be launched into the abyss of outer space. {{storylink|Movie Prequel issue 1|Prime Directive (IDW) issue 1}} {{storylink|Planetfall}}
[[Image:Movie Megatron Targetcomic sure.jpg|left|150px|thumb|"Sit, boy — or I'll beat you to death."]]

[[Image:MovieMegatron Bumblebee torture comic.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Better get some ice on that.]]
After realizing [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]] had stalled him from claiming the Cube so the operation could be completed, Megatron tore off Bumblebee's arm—removing his weapon—and crushed his voice box, destroying his vocal processors so that the young Autobot would never speak of the affront to his destiny. {{storylink|Movie Prequel issue 1|Prime Directive (IDW) issue 1}} Megatron, believing Prime to be a desperate, inexperienced fool, gave chase. On the way, he detected the ''Nemesis's'' distress signal and soon found the mighty starship on a barren world, abandoned by all but his master. Megatron was berated for allowing the Cube to slip away from his grasp and ordered to thoroughly continue his chase. {{Storylink|Defiance issue 4}} As Megatron tracked the All Spark through space, he mused about his reasons for the war and how he and his "brother" were not all that different, as seen by Optimus' sentencing their home to a slow death by launching the Cube into space. Tracing the All Spark via energy signature to [[Earth|a primitive world]], he lost contact with it upon atmospheric entry and crashed into the planet's icy northern pole. Low on [[Energon (fuel)|energon]], his safety buffers exhausted, Megatron went into stasis lock. Millennia later, [[Archibald Witwicky]], the leader of the National Arctic Circle Expedition, discovered Megatron buried deep in the ice. Unfortunately, the soon-blinded Witwicky was eventually driven insane by what he saw, attracting the attention of a mysterious [[Sector Seven|group]] that sought to discredit his story and seize the mysterious "Ice Man". Six years later, they found the Cube. {{storylink|Movie Prequel issue 2|Prime Directive (IDW) issue 2}}

In the Earth year of 1935, Megatron was moved to [[Hoover Dam]], in extremely close proximity to the All Spark's final resting place, where he would remain imprisoned for the next seven decades. {{storylink|Movie Prequel issue 3|Prime Directive (IDW) issue 3}}

{{-}}

===''Transformers: Beginnings''===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Frank Welker]]

{{charstubfiction}}

{{note|Transformers: Beginnings is a condensed flash-animated retelling of IDW's first movie prequel comic series.}}

===Titan Magazines ''Transformers'' movie comic===

[[Image:MegatronMovie_GeoffSenior.jpg|right|150px|thumb|''The Beast and its armies shall rise from the pit to make war against God.'']]

The All Spark had not been blindly launched into space, however—its trajectory was leading it directly towards the [[Alkaris Anomaly]], a wormhole that could potentially transport the cube to any one of an infinite number of locations in the universe. Megatron was fully capable of catching up to the cube before it would enter the wormhole, but as he passed Cybertron's moon, he found himself ensnared by an Autobot tractor beam of remarkable strength that pulled him down to the moon's surface.

Enraged by the ignominy of it all, Megatron turned his weapons on the Autobots responsible, but quickly calmed down enough to realize that this was only playing into their hands, and instead ordered [[Brawl (Movie)|Devastator]] to take his place in the battle. Megatron swooped back into space, hot on the All Spark's heels, but was unable to stop the cube from falling through the anomaly. Determined to have the All Spark's power, Megatron chose to enter the wormhole himself, only to be spat out in some far-off star system, with no trace of the All Spark... {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 2}}

''This led into Prime Directive #2.''

{{notetitantlg}}

In another reality, he defeated Optimus at [[Mission City]], killed Sam Witwicky and took control of the All Spark. He was fully linked to it and drew on its power—"It is me and I am it!"—giving him greater might and the ability to heal any wound. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 12|Twilight's Last Gleaming, Part: 4}}

After conquering an unknown chunk of Earth (including the entire [[United States of America]]) with [[Dropkick]] as his second-in-command, he used the All Spark's power to start turning Earth from an organic world into a new Cybertron. Optimus Prime lay frozen in the [[Hoover Dam|old Sector Seven base]], Autobot resistance was scattered, and NATO's threat to nuke occupied America was hardly much of one. [[Image:Megatron Bumbleslap.jpg|left|350px|thumb|"''Sigh'' Even mindless violence seems boring today..."]] The only thing bothering Megatron was those rebels breaking into Hoover Dam... {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 9|Twilight's Last Gleaming, Part: 1}}

Megatron personally arrived to face [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]] and hunted for him, trying to bait him into appearing. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 10|Twilight's Last Gleaming, Part: 2}} Realising the Autobot must have come with a human ally, he deliberately threatened to go after the human and thus got an emotional Bumblebee to make a defiant attack... at which point he backhanded Bumblebee into the wall and prepared to eviscerate him. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 11|Twilight's Last Gleaming, Part: 3}} He gave the Autobot a chance at a swift death if he begged for mercy, and was quite impressed when Bumblebee merely asked "that all you got?", but was less impressed when Autobot reinforcements arrived. [[Image:Megatron Titan12.jpg|right|350px|thumb|Megatron's BDSM Dungeon just wasn't meeting expectations.]] He effortlessly smashed them aside and was about to kill [[Skyblast (Movie)|Skyblast]] when a new challenger arrived: the revived Optimus! {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 12|Twilight's Last Gleaming, Part: 4}}

Optimus Prime got the snot beaten out of him, every attack he landed on Megatron being repaired by All Spark power. However, he distracted Megatron long enough for Bumblebee to hit him with the ''other'' thing they'd broken into the Dam for: Sector Seven's greatest weapon, a nanovirus that targeted All Spark operation frequencies. Infected, the tyrant was consumed from within by his own power and collapsed dead. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 13|Twilight's Last Gleaming, Part: 5}}

Or so it appeared. He'd downloaded his mind into the All Spark interface module, knowing Starscream would take it and assimilate it into himself. And so Megatron was able to be a voice in Starscream's head for weeks and weeks—and finally, when Starscream had suffered a setback and wanted a plan to stop the Autobots, Megatron gave him one: to let him out... {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 22|The Decepticon Who Haunted Himself}}

While Starscream didn't, he ''did'' follow Megatron's tactical suggestions. He had the Decepticons use both carrot (promise of truce) ''and'' stick (multiple attacks) to make the US government, prompted by [[Theodore Allen|the mind-controlled President Allen]], boot out the Autobots—and then nuke them as they left, giving the Decepticons a clear shot at reconquest! {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 23|Revolution Part 1}} This plan backfired when [[Stockade (Movie)|Stockade]] intervened, and Megatron visited a broken, gibbering Starscream to once again tell him the only way out was to release him and let him walk the Earth again. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 24|Revolution Part 2}}
[[Image:Starscreamseesthings_Titan25.jpg|left|350px|thumb|''You're looking throooough me...'']]

This time Starscream ''did''... much to his dismay when he realised what he'd done. And so, when Stockade's New Decepticons stormed the [[Decepticon Heartland]], Megatron was there to "greet" them with fiery death!

Megatron fought Stockade in single combat, and [[Nucleon]]-fueled punches rained down on him—only for him to ''grab'' a punch and use the momentum to hurl his opponent, berating him for lacking clear ambition to support his strength. This fight would've carried on except then the Autobots turned up. Trashing a rebellion, conquering Earth, ''and'' killing Optimus Prime in one day?! WOOOOO!

But Optimus drew first blood, and before Megatron could truly fight back, he was forcibly teleported with his Decepticons to Cybertron. A dead Cybertron. A dead Cybertron that itself teleported to an unknown area of space, leaving them trapped with no way back and no way off, ''forever''.

{{bigquote|'''PRIIIIIME!'''}}

{{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 25|Revolution Part Three}}

===''Ghosts of Yesterday'' prequel novel===
"The Ice Man" was kept in deep freeze by [[Sector Seven]] in their super-secret [[Sector Seven High Arctic Base|High Arctic Base]] until they decided to move him closer to the [[All Spark|Allspark]] in 1969. The convoy was disrupted when the driver of the lead truck spun out causing the rest of the vehicles to pile up on the icy roads. It was determined later that the driver was the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] spy [[Sergei Tasarov]] who had taken the place of the Sector Seven agent Peter Hodgson.

While the convoy prepared their defenses and a Soviet strike force attacked trying to obtain the Ice Man.

When Megatron came partially online, it was obvious that some time had passed. Not only was he encased in a primitive transport, but there were [[Human|lifeforms]] fighting over him. Before Megatron could properly exterminate them, another crude transport crashed into his, causing a massive (but not spark-threatening) explosion. Megatron would have been pleased to know that the fire only added to his terrifying visage in the eyes of the maggots. Regaining his composure, Megatron noticed [[Phillip Nolan|an insect]] standing near him. As Megatron reached out to grab it, [[Thomas Kinnear|another insect]], this one terminally damaged, began firing crude projectiles which his body armor easily deflected. Waiting until after the creature had expended its ammunition, Megatron grabbed it in his hand, only to discover that it had packed itself with explosives, which threw Megatron to the ground when they detonated. Then, the aforementioned first insect began spraying liquid nitrogen on Megatron, causing him to go back into stasis. Unable to escape, Megatron screamed a dark vengeance upon his captors. {{storylink|Ghosts of Yesterday}}

===''Transformers'' (2007 movie)===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Hugo Weaving]] (English), [[Kōtarō Nakamura]] (Japan), [[José Santacruz]] (Brazil), [[Hans-Jürgen Wolf]] (German)

[[Image:Movie2007_Megatron_ArchibaldWitwicky.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Oh baby you know just the spot to turn me on!]]

Megatron eventually succeeded in tracking the All Spark to [[Earth]], where he rather embarrassingly crash-landed in the Arctic Circle and was frozen solid for thousands of years. In 1897, some 100 Earth-years before the arrival of the other Transformers, he was discovered by an explorer named [[Archibald Witwicky|Archibald Amundsen Witwicky]]. Captain Witwicky accidentally activated Megatron's navigation system and caused the coordinates of the All Spark to be etched onto the explorer's glasses. Megatron remained imprisoned in the Arctic, until the 1930s, when he was dug out by the United States government and moved to a secret [[Sector Seven]] stronghold inside [[Hoover Dam]]. In the years that followed, many modern devices (by Earth standards) were reverse-engineered from his frozen body.

[[Image:Movie Megatron breakout.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Mace isn't for spraying, it's for hitting.]]

In the present day, having searched the galaxy for the All Spark and being drawn to Earth, the remaining Decepticons learned of Witwicky's glasses. Through the Internet, they determined the location of both Megatron and the All Spark inside Hoover Dam. [[Frenzy (Movie)|Frenzy]] infiltrated the dam and shut down the power systems, while Starscream attacked the external powerlines, resulting in Megatron's thawing out. Once again online, the leader of the Decepticons informed the worthless insects of his true name, shouting "I am Megatron!" (to clear up all that N.B.E.-01/Ice Man nonsense), randomly killed a few of them while destroying his former prison, then transformed and flew off after the All Spark again. He met up with Starscream on the outside, and, never one for pleasantries, demanded to know where the Cube was. Upon learning that the humans had moved the All Spark, Megatron berated Starscream for yet another failure.

[[Image:Movie2007_Megatron_Starscream.jpg|thumb|left|250px|You fail me once again Starscream... will I ever meet [[Starscream (Shattered Glass)|a Starscream that is truly loyal?]]]]

After Starscream and Devastator's opening attacks in [[Mission City]], Megatron arrived, and again declared his name (he really wants people to know who he is). The Autobots were so panicked by the sight of their long lost nemesis that [[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]] called for a temporary retreat. Megatron blasted [[Jazz (Movie)|Jazz]] away when the diminutive Autobot attempted to attack, then threw him into the air before crushing him on top of a tower with his clawed talons. Jazz vainly fought on, asking if Megatron wanted a "piece", but doing little damage to Megatron. The Decepticon leader killed the Autobot by tearing him in half, callously declaring that he wanted "two".

[[Image:Movie Megatron jetmode cityfight.jpg|250px|thumb|Whoa, that energon's not settling too well.]]

As [[Sam Witwicky|the human boy]] ran off with the All Spark, Megatron ordered the Decepticons to [[Decepticons, attack|attack]]. Devastator attacked the armed insects, while Starscream and [[Blackout (Movie)|Blackout]] fought [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]] and Ratchet for the All Spark. At that moment, Optimus Prime appeared and challenged Megatron. Millennia in the ice had done nothing to lessen the animosity Megatron felt for his brother, however. Barely managing to growl out Prime's name, he transformed and flew at Prime at full speed. The Autobot leader leapt and grabbed a hold of Megatron, who slammed him into a building before flying right through a skyscraper. Both leaders landed in the middle of an intersection, but Megatron was the first to recover and leaped upon his brother, snarling that the humans were undeserving of life. Optimus Prime replied that they had the right to choose for themselves before he threw his brother off. Megatron declared that if Prime wished to defend them, he should "join them in extinction", forming his [[fusion cannon]]. Before he could fire, the Autobot leader drew his [[ion blaster]] and fired, hitting Megatron. The Decepticon leader shrugged off this attack, spun around from the momentum and fired his cannon, throwing Optimus Prime into the side of a building.

[[Image:Movie Megatron Samonroof.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Oh look I found a stray human... wonder if I can keep him as a pet... come on boy, don't be scared. I'll take you to a new home.]]

Megatron pursued the young human who had removed the All Spark from Hoover Dam, destroying everything that stood in his way. The boy ran to a dilapidated building that was the designated coordinates for a human military evacuation team, and Megatron smashed his way through, yelling that he could smell the human maggot. Starscream destroyed the helicopter intended to take the All Spark, and Megatron burst through the floor, inquiring if it was courage or fear that compelled him. Finally cornering him on a ledge, Megatron offered that if the human gave him the All Spark, the boy might live as [[Ravage (G1)|his]] [[Laserbeak (G1)|pet]]. The Decepticon leader relished the human's defiant refusal and destroyed the ledge the human was standing upon, sending the boy tumbling to the ground.

[[Image:Movie2007_Prime_Megatron.jpg|thumb|250px|Get up, so I can knock you back down!]]

Unfortunately, the human was caught by Optimus Prime, who then tried to escape down the side of the building before Megatron tackled him and sent all three slamming into the pavement. As a nearby [[Michael Bay|human bystander]] attempted to run, the Decepticon expressed his disgust at the insect's proximity and flicked it away. Protecting the young boy, Prime declared that their war would end here and it was now just between the two brothers. Though lusting for the All Spark, Megatron decided to indulge his brother's obvious death wish, declaring that only he was in this fight. Despite Optimus Prime's best efforts, Megatron was relentless, matching the Autobot leader with blow after devastating blow until he collapsed. Adding insult to injury, Megatron informed Prime that his defense of the "weak" was the real reason he lost.

[[Image:Megatron allspark merge.JPG|left|250px|thumb|Oh, he's dead. There's no way this will make him [[Galvatron (disambiguation)|even]] [[Galvatron (G1)|more]] [[Megatron (RID)|powerful.]]]]

The Decepticon leader turned his attention back to the human boy, but was suddenly attacked by the human fighter jets and [[William Lennox|Captain Lennox]]'s ground soldiers firing sabot rounds. Optimus took this chance, striking Megatron and knocking him down. His armor a damaged, shattered mess, Megatron ignored the punishment and focused on the human boy, growling that he would kill the boy and that the All Spark was his. As Optimus Prime ordered the boy to place the All Spark into his chest, the human instead pushed it into the now-exposed [[spark]] in Megatron's chest, overloading him with energy and extinguishing the Decepticon's life force. As Optimus Prime stood over Megatron's lifeless shell, watching the light flicker out of his brother's [[Sensors#Optical sensors|optics]], he remarked somberly, yet remorsefully, that Megatron had left him no choice, and removed a shard of the All Spark from his brother's spark cavity.

Megatron's body was dumped into the [[Laurentian Abyss]] at its deepest point, along with the remains of the other Decepticons, where the near-freezing temperatures would, hopefully, keep them dormant indefinitely. {{storylink|Transformers (2007)|Transformers}}
{{-}}

===Toy bios===
{{notemoviebio}}

Megatron was ''born'' evil, always wanting domination of everything. {{storylink|#Voyager Class toys|Voyager Megatron}} His fiery diatribes still managed to sway thousands, however. {{storylink|#Robot Replicas|Robot Replica Megatron}}

At some point, he took a stealth mode so he could attack Optimus without warning. {{storylink|#Fast Action Battlers|Night Attack Megatron}}

When frozen on Earth, he remained vaguely conscious and remembers a few things from when he warmed up slightly. At one point, his body was worshipped as a god by [[protohuman]]s. {{storylink|#Voyager Class toys|Premium Series Megatron}}

===IDW ''Transformers'' movie comics===
In the aftermath of the battle in Mission City, [[Sector Seven]] hauled away Megatron's corpse along with the other Decepticon bodies. The clandestine human organisation brought the bodies to a secret facility in the Nevada desert, with the intention of getting every bit of information they can out of the dead Decepticons before they were forced to dump them into the sea. {{storylink|Alliance issue 1}} When he arrived to oversee the burial of those who fell in Mission City, Optimus Prime noticed the surviving All Spark fragment glowed when near Megatron's body, and gave it to [[Professor Vine]] for safekeeping. {{storylink|Alliance issue 2}} Weeks later, Megatron, along with Blackout, was dumped into the Laurentian Abyss. {{storylink|Alliance issue 3}}
{{-}}

===''Revenge of the Fallen'' movie===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Hugo Weaving]] (English), [[Kōtarō Nakamura]] (Japan), [[Hans-Jürgen Wolf]] (German)
{{spoiler|Revenge of the Fallen (film)|July 24, 2009}}

[[Image:ROTFMegatronRising.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Now, where's Starscream? I want to give him a piece of my mind.]]

[[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]] tapped into a conversation between [[NEST]] and General [[Morshower]], listening to Director [[Theodore Galloway]] mention that 1) a shard of the [[All Spark]] was in storage in [[Diego Garcia]] and 2) Megatron's body lay in the [[Laurentian Abyss]]. [[Ravage (ROTF)|Ravage]] was sent to steal the shard, and swam to the Abyss with [[Scalpel]], [[Long Haul (ROTF)|Long Haul]], [[Mixmaster (ROTF)|Mixmaster]], [[Rampage (ROTF)|Rampage]] and [[Ze little one|another Constructicon]]. Scalpel ordered spare parts be used to repair Megatron's body with the unnamed Constructicon, who was torn apart by his larger brethren, and then struck Megatron with the shard: the Decepticon leader was reborn as a Cybertronian tank with flight capabilities. Megatron flew up to the surface, striking a submarine on his way, before journeying into space to find the ''[[Nemesis (ROTF)|Nemesis]]''.

On the ruined ship, Megatron chastised [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] for leaving him to die on Earth, although Starscream defended that he had to take care of the [[hatchlings]], who were dying without [[energon (fuel)|energon]]. Megatron met up with [[the Fallen]], who was free of his sarcophagus but still weakened and in a life support chair. Megatron told his master he had failed to secure the All Spark, but The Fallen told of another energon source on Earth, which had been hidden with the mind of the boy who killed Megatron. Before they could act, however, Megatron was ordered to kill [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]], who was the last of the [[Dynasty of Primes]], which made him the only one that could kill the Fallen.

[[Image:ROTFPrimePunch.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Not the face! Don't hurt the face!]]

Megatron sprang a trap, dispatching [[Grindor (ROTF)|Grindor]] to take [[Sam Witwicky]], [[Mikaela Banes]] and [[Leo Spitz]] to him at an abandoned factory. Although Megatron would have rather killed Sam slowly and painfully, Sam had valuable information as to the energon source's location in his mind, which he had received from his own All Spark fragment. Scalpel's probes confirmed The Fallen's claims, and Megatron ordered Scalpel to get it out. Just as Scalpel was ready to dissect Sam's brain, Optimus and [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]] burst in to rescue the humans. Optimus drove Sam to a forest, with Megatron in hot pursuit. The Autobot and Decepticon leaders transformed and battled as Sam fled. Starscream and Grindor arrived to aid their commander, as Megatron told Prime that Sam could lead them to another energon source. Kicking off his [[mouthplate]] and blasting him, Megatron asked Prime if the boy was worth the future of the Cybertronians. Prime replied that he'd never stop at one, then took on all three Decepticons. Surprisingly, he was winning, stabbing Megatron multiple times. As a weary Prime tore Grindor apart, Megatron stabbed him in the back and blasted him: Prime fell, mortally wounded. As Megatron moved for the boy, the rest of the Autobots arrived and provided enough cover for Bumblebee to spirit Sam away. Already injured from the battle with Prime, Megatron and Starscream were forced to retreat.

[[Image:ROTF_movie_MegatronStarscream_roofchat.jpg|thumb|right|250px|"That's IT! No more Mr. Nice Megatron!" "But you were never-" "SHUT UP!"]]

With Prime dead, Megatron decided it was time to end their secret war, and had the rejuvenated Fallen broadcast a message to deliver Sam to them across the planet. Megatron himself broadcasted the Fallen's message by rewiring the [[Empire State Building]]'s radio tower.

[[Image:ROTFMegatronSam.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Hey, he stole my purse! Wallet! I mean wallet!]]

He then flew to [[Egypt]], where nineteen thousand years before, the Fallen had built a [[Solar harvester]] to harness the [[Sun]] for energon. Megatron ordered [[Devastator (ROTF)|Devastator]] to destroy the pyramid that was built over the harvester, while he himself chased Sam for the [[Matrix of Leadership]], which would activate the harvester. Megatron almost killed Sam, but was overwhelmed by human gunfire, and flew off. The Fallen managed to take the Matrix and activate the harvester, but it had already been used to resurrect Optimus. Optimus combined with [[Jetfire (ROTF)|Jetfire]] and destroyed the harvester, leading to a two on one match with Megatron and the Fallen battling Prime. This one went better for Optimus than the last one, as he used Megatron's own cannon to blast half his face off, and then severed the arm. Finally, Optimus used his afterburners to send Megatron hurtling through some ruins, ending his role in the battle. Megatron was so damaged he could barely call out for "Tharscweam!", but it soon mattered little as Optimus Prime killed the Fallen. Horrified at the loss of the power behind the Decepticons, Megatron acknowledged Starscream's advice that they should flee, but noted that "This is ''not'' over."

{{note|Adaptations based on early drafts of the script show Megatron hoped to become a Prime under the Fallen. However, during Optimus' final battle with the ancient villain, he revealed Primes were born, not made. Here, Megatron was angered that he had been misled, refusing to aid his master and vowed never to serve anyone again. Optimus is revealed to be an orphan who was "hidden" from The Fallen, further indicating he is not biologically related to Megatron. {{storylink|Revenge of the Fallen (novel)}} {{storylink|Revenge of the Fallen Movie Adaptation}}}}

{{storylink|Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen}}
{{-}}

==Games==
===''Transformers'' The Game===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Frank Welker]]

====Autobot campaign====
After arriving at Hoover Dam, Bumblebee saw Megatron and the All Spark being held in the same room, which was guarded by lasers. After bringing down the lasers, Bumblebee managed to shrink the All Spark, while under fire by Megatron. Following the Autobots to Mission City, Megatron ignominiously "flicked" Bumblebee away, then tried to grab the All Spark from Sam. Optimus Prime arrived and the two fought in the Mission City park. After Prime believed that he had destroyed Megatron, Sam handed the All Spark to Prime, but Megatron jumped into the air with his flail, making one last attempt at nailing Prime. Prime caught the flail in its path and yanked Megatron towards him, shoving the All Spark into his chest. Pretty ruthless there, Prime, pretty ruthless. {{storylink|Transformers The Game (console)|Transformers The Game}}

====Decepticon campaign====
After learning Megatron's location, Blackout and Starscream sabotaged the dam's power, allowing Megatron to thaw out and awaken. After Megatron emerged, Starscream and Blackout bowed before their Lord, who declared that they had much to do. After the Decepticons dispatched the Autobots, Megatron, hoping to draw Prime out, went on a rampage in Mission City, declaring that the city would burn beneath his feet (this means toastie toes, but he's willing to make that sacrifice). Megatron and Prime played a game of cat and mouse, with Megatron tracking Prime and Sam, until Megatron finally destroyed Prime, then merged the All Spark with his spark, becoming even more powerful in the process (...wait, what?). After decimating Earth, Megatron took the [[Abraham Lincoln|Lincoln Memorial]] as his throne, then ordered Starscream, Brawl, and Barricade to finish the planet, before going on to conquer the galaxy. {{storylink|Transformers The Game (console)|Transformers The Game}}

===''Transformers: Autobots''===
Having landed on Earth some thousands of years ago, Megatron is thought to be frozen somewhere in the Arctic. As the Autobots look for clues as to his location, they eventually arrive in the frozen desert long enough to realize the humans have found him, as well as the [[All Spark|AllSpark]] (sic). Once they hack into the communications array at the base, they find documentation leading to the Hoover Dam, where the Autobots and Decepticons race. Some wishing to free him, most hoping to destroy him, the Transformers fight over the base until the Decepticon leader is finally freed. Once out of cryo-storage, Megatron proceeds to steal the AllSpark from the Autobots and begin a destructive rampage through Tranquility, until he is finally defeated by Optimus Prime and [[Create-A-Bot (Autobot)|Create-A-Bot]]. {{storylink|Transformers Autobots/Decepticons|Transformers: Autobots}}

===''Transformers: Decepticons''===
With Megatron frozen in the Hoover Dam, the Decepticons fight to free their leader. However, as is quickly made apparent, Starscream and his young protege, a [[Create-A-Bot (Decepticon)|Create-A-Bot]], seek to eliminate their leader. This quickly changes, as Create-A-Bot is convinced by Barricade to free their commander, as Starscream is a back-stabbing bureaucrat while Megatron is a truly zealous leader. Even though both would kill you in an instant, Megatron would at least do it to your face so you could see it coming.

Once free, Megatron quickly takes the time to wipe out Jazz, who has been left at the bridge to help get rid of Megatron. After a fairly short battle, Megatron smashes Jazz into the dirt, leaving him to die. Back in Tranquility, he chases after Starscream, only to be blocked by [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]]. Once the sibling rivalry is finished, Prime is left in pieces in the streets of Tranquility.

Arriving in the Casino Strip, Megatron finds Create-A-Bot damaged and Starscream flying away. Giving chase, he attacks his traitorous second-in-command, nearly destroying him despite his awesome All Spark driven powers. Starscream uses his last breath to insult Megatron before being killed by the tyrant. Returning to Create-A-Bot's side, Megatron takes a moment to call him a weakling and a failure, completely forgetting about the fact that Create-A-Bot saved him, led him to Starscream, destroyed the Autobots, and served him more loyally than most of his other followers. Taking a moment to let this sink in, Megatron went on to tell him that the weak are made to serve the strong, then ripped the young Decepticon apart and ate his Spark. Megatron then took off into the sky with intentions unknown. {{storylink|Transformers Autobots/Decepticons|Transformers: Decepticons}}

===''Revenge of the Fallen:'' The Game===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Frank Welker]]
{{comingsoon}}

==Toys==
===Transformers (2007)===
====Legends Class toys====
[[Image:Movie Legends Megatron toy.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Just what the hell do I turn into?]]
*'''Megatron''' (Legends Class, 2007)
**''Japanese name:'' '''EZ Collection Megatron'''
:Legends class Megatron is the smallest mainline ''Movie'' Megatron toy, and boy, does it show. Even with Megatron's relatively simple transformation sequence, the sheer simplicity of the Legends class toy means that his vehicle mode is basically his robot mode splayed out, and again, boy is it ''obvious''. His robot mode is passably accurate, if by accurate one means he is now a hunchback with wings for legs, Dustbusters for hands, and an unchanged Alien Queen-esque head design.
{{-}}

*'''Generations Legends''' (Target exclusive multi-pack, 2007)
[[Image:TargetGenerationsLegends.jpg|thumb|Megatron is quite beside himself.]]
:A Target exclusive, this four-pack of Legends Class figures contains two versions of both Optimus Prime and Megatron, namely [[Optimus Prime (Armada)|Legends of Cybertron Optimus Prime]], [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Movie Legends Optimus Prime]], [[Megatron (Armada)|Legends of Cybertron Megatron]] and Movie Legends Megatron.
{{-}}

[[Image:Movie Allspark Legends pack.jpg|right|150px|thumb|"Quick, Bumblebee! You hold up Megatron, I'll just fight with the others!" "...I hate you."]]
*'''Battle for the Allspark''' (Toys'R'Us exclusive multi-pack, 2007)
:A Toys'R'Us exclusive, this six-pack of Legends Class figures contains unmodified toys of [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]], [[Jazz (Movie)|Jazz]], [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]], Megatron, [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] and [[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]].
{{-}}

[[Image:Movie Legends JazzIceMegatron toys.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Wow, those guys sure do grow up fast... No, wait. They're still puny.]]
*'''Battle Jazz vs. Ice Megatron''' (Legends multi-pack, 2008)
:Ice Megatron is a, well, ice-themed redeco of Legends class Megatron, which means his black paint applications have been replaced by blue. He comes packed with yet another redeco of Legends class Jazz, this time "battle damaged".
{{-}}

====Voyager Class toys====
[[Image:Movie Voyager Megatron toy.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Hey, I think I'm as weird as the War Within figures!... Nah, not there yet.]]
*'''Megatron''' (Voyager Class, 2007)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''MD-14'''
**''Accessories:'' Projectile
:Voyager Class Megatron transforms into an ice-covered version of his Cybertronic jet, with transparent blue plastic forming large portions of his vehicle mode, such as parts of his wings. This ice design is carried onto his robot mode, with his legs, shoulders and chest having some kind of 'ice' plastic covering them. With a significantly different (and simple compared to other figures of the same pricepoint) transformation sequence compared to his earlier Leader class toy, his chest frost lowers and his shoulders raise to robot mode position when you bring his lower body forward thanks to [[Automorph Technology|Automorph]] technology. He also has his fusion cannon in its entirety on his left arm. His wings feature flip-out "ice blades", and pulling on a piece in the back of his jet mode brings them forward like pincer claws. This design is remarkably similar to his Predacon- incarnation toys.

:Something interesting to note is that his feet are entirely spring-loaded, which means his foot and the two "rear toes" on each feet automatically close up when he's not standing up. Surprisingly, this helps a lot with the posing, as the feet's parts automatically position themselves for the perfect balance.
{{-}}

[[Image:Movie Voyager Premium Megatron.jpg|right|250px|thumb|]]
*'''Megatron''' ("Premium Series" Voyager Class, 2007)
**''Accessories:'' Projectile
:One of the first figures available in the ''Premium Series'' (although not explicitly identfied on the packaging as such), Voyager Class Megatron was released exclusively at Best Buy on October 16th, 2007 alongside the North American launch of the ''Transformers'' movie DVD. Megatron has been completely redecoed, covering most of his previously grey parts with metallic silver paint and a black paint wash over the top of that. Black and gold highlights are used to offset all of the silver, while the transparent 'ice' parts are clear. These changes essentially make Megatron far more accurate to his movie appearance.

:Megatron is presented in robot mode inside a special display box similar in shape to the packaging for the Hasbro release of ''Generation 1'' ''Masterpiece'' [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]].
{{-}}

*'''Battle Over Mission City Megatron (Two-Pack)''' ("Screen Battles" Voyager Class, 2008)
**''Accessories:'' Projectile
:A Target exclusive [[repaint]] of Voyager Class Megatron in primarily beige and chocolate brown colors with brown paintwashes, this version replaces the ice colored translucent plastic with two shades of translucent orange to replicate a look that resembles Megatron's firey demise (or atmospheric re-entry). Unlike the previous releases, this version's wings are painted to match the body color, so they give the appearance of molten slag. This version was only available in a two-pack with a mostly unchanged Deluxe Class [[Jazz (Movie)|Final Battle Jazz]] in reference to their fight on the skyscraper featured in the film. As the colors on this Megatron are very similar to the colors on the Screen Battles version of Voyager Class [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]], it might be assumed that those two sets are meant to also represent the climactic final battle at the end of the film.
{{-}}

====Leader Class toys====
[[Image:Movie Leader Megatron toy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|]]
*'''Megatron''' (Leader Class, 2007)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''MD-07'''
:Leader Class ''Movie'' Megatron transforms into a silver Cybertronic assault jet. He is quite accurate to the CGI design... except for the giant mass of legs attempting (but failing) to hide under the wings.

:In robot mode, Megatron's sculpt is quite accurate, or as accurate as a toy based on his CG design can be. However, his paint decoration is quite inaccurate, with blue highlights on various parts of his body, possibly to allude to his pre-frozen state and to give a relatively monochromatic figure more color. More confusing is his jet black face, which obscures the sculpt's details and is inaccurate to the movie appearance's gunmetal.

:Megatron's right fist disconnects at the wrist to become the spiked end of the extendable "chain whip" weapon concealed within his forearm; pressing the black switch on the arm pulls the chain taut for a whipping attack. His arms also link together at the wrists to form a "[[fusion cannon]]," with the pod on his left forearm concealing the weapon's [[Automorph Technology|Automorph]]ing twin barrels, exposed by pulling a switch. His other automorph features include his wings folding up as his vehicle nosecone is moved into place, and his feet unfolding as his knees are straightened. Finally, pressing the button on his waist activates a small friction motor, which moves various torso plates and blades on his back into place, accompanied by a metallic shrieking sound and flashing yellow lights.

:Megatron's instructions summarily fail to actually tell the reader about how his gimmicks work. The whipping-action black switch for his flail is not mentioned; they do not detail how to connect the arms for fusion cannon mode; and the fact that the cannon is on a slider, allowing it to be centre-aligned, rather than sitting off to one side, is also omitted.

:There is an error in Megatron's legs, in that his left and right hip joints have been swapped for reasons unknown. Switching them allows for a slightly smoother transformation. In addition to ''that'', both of Megatron's hands have a finger misassembly. Two pieces are molded to have two fingers, while one is obviously supposed to be a thumb–however, this thumb is on the 'outside' of his hands instead of the inside. The prototype on the packaging's stock photos show the correct assembly.

:''Geez'', [[Hasbro]].

:Possibly a dropped feature [[for safety reasons]], the right fist (partly a projectile tethered to the arm) is designed to launch out of his wrist via a spring-loaded firing mechanism. However, the spring for the launching mechanism was removed, though the firing trigger remains. One can either find a compatible spring or steal the spring in his left arm fusion cannon, then place it in his right forearm, though this disables his fusion cannon-retracting Automorph.
{{-}}

[[Image:Premium Movie Megs.JPG|right|300px|thumb|"Hey, I got a tan!"]]
*'''Megatron''' ("Premium Series" Leader Class, 2008)
:Premium Megatron is a redeco of the previously released Leader class Megatron. The figure is now given far more movie-accurate paint applications of black, gold, & silver. Premium Megatron also features the classic transformation sound when the chest Automorph function is activated. The original "metal shriek" sound is retained when the sound button is pressed in vehicle mode.

:In the promotional photos of the toy, this version was pictured with a new vehicle mode face cover that fit the new head better. However, this retool was apparently dropped before actual production but can still be seen on the box back photography. All manufacturing errors from the first release are still present.

:Unlike some of the early "Premium Series" toys, Premium Leader Megatron was mass-released at a variety of retailers, instead of being an exclusive to any particular store.
{{-}}

====Fast Action Battlers====
[[Image:Movie FAB Megatron.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Just back from filming Predator 3]]
*'''Fusion Blast Megatron''' (Fast Action Battler, 2007)
**''Japanese ID number:''
**''Accessories:'' 2 projectiles
:Fusion Blast Megatron is a simple version of Megatron with dorky-looking proportions in robot mode, and it turns into an even dorkier-looking vehicle mode. The transformation sequence manages to be even more simple and non-involved than the other ''Movie'' Megatron toys by means of an Automorph feature very similar to the early Beast Wars flipchangers. Moving his back section down causes the torso to flip up, hiding the head and positioning the arms skywards. Though the figure requires a little more repositioning and folding, most of the transformation is done with a single step.
{{-}}

[[Image:NA megatron FAB.JPG|right|200px|thumb|Racism accepted...]]
*'''Night Attack Megatron''' (Fast Action Battler, 2008)
**''Accessories:'' 2 projectiles
:A redeco of Fast Action Battler Megatron, this time cast primarily in black plastic, with opaque grey missiles.
{{-}}

====Robot Replicas====
[[Image:Mov2007-toy RobotReplicas Megatron.JPG|right|150px|thumb|This is heavy man!]]
*'''Megatron''' (Robot Replica, 2007)
**''Accessories:'' Fusion Cannon
:As part of the [[Robot Replicas]] sub-line, this version of Megatron is a non-transforming action figure that hews very close to the movie's CGI model. It features joints similar to the [[Revoltech]] toys, though the elbows only turn from side-to-side, giving him extremely limited arm articulation. His forearms can be replaced with his fusion cannon accessory (or any other arm attachments from other Robot Replicas, which could lead to some fun Frankensteins).
{{-}}

====Titanium series====
[[Image:Movie TitaniumRM Megatron.jpg|right|130px|thumb|]]
*'''Megatron''' (3" Robot Masters, 2007)
**''Accessories:'' Movie-style Decepticon sigil display stand
:''Titanum'' Megatron is a die-cast metal and plastic figurine, with an accurate sculpt based on the CG model owing to the fact he doesn't need to transform. Being a figurine, he only has articulation in his shoulders, neck and waist. Megatron comes with a Movie-style Decepticon symbol display stand.
{{-}}

====Attacktix====
*'''Battle Masters Megatron and Scorponok''' (Battle Master set)
[[Image:Attacktix-MovMegsScorp.jpg|right|150px|thumb|HADOOOUKEN!]]
:One of the many casualties of the shelving of Hasbro's ''[[Attacktix]]'' line was this Battle Master set featuring Megatron and Scorponok.

{{canceledtoy}}
{{-}}

===Revenge of the Fallen===
====Legends Class Toys====
[[Image:Megatron ROTF Legends toy.jpg|After enduring countless "What do I turn into" captions, Michael Bay started from scratch.|right|thumb|250px]]
*'''Megatron''' (2009)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''EZ-02'''

:Megatron transforms from a reasonably accurate version of his movie robot mode to a reasonably accurate version of his tank mode (with a teeny extra Megatron face in his groin). He has ball-jointed shoulders and hips in robot mode, plus elbow and knee joints. His alt-mode turret is formed by merging his left and right arms, which is a neat callback to the first movie's fusion cannon, but means the turret can't rotate side to side, only pivot at the barrel.

{{charstubtoys}}
{{-}}

====Voyager Class Toys====
[[Image:ROTF_Voyager_Megatron_toy.jpg|thumb|250px|First blue, then green. Watch, in the next movie, it'll be red.]]
*'''Megatron''' (2009)
**''Japanese ID number:''
**''Accessories:'' Missile

:The second mainline ''[[Revenge of the Fallen (toyline)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' Megatron toy is more accurate in terms of sculpt than the larger Leader class Megatron, as it was based (more or less) on the finalized Megatron design, and as such, features a sleeker tank mode, a large lobster-claw like right arm and a normal-sized left arm. It is unknown why he is cast in green plastic in the stock photos, as fortunantly he was cast in a (veeerry greenish) gunmetal color for mass release.
{{-}}

====Leader Class Toys====
[[Image:ROTF_Leader_Megatron.jpg|thumb|250px|Beefcake!]]
*'''Megatron''' (2009)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''RD-01'''
**''Accessories:'' Missile

:The first and largest ''Revenge of the Fallen'' Megatron toy is actually one of the more inaccurate. While Megatron's body is generally true to the final CG design, his arms are actually from early concept designs where Megatron had a right arm that deployed a sword and also had a very thin, gimpy-looking left arm, as opposed to the final Megatron CG's crab pincer/fusion cannon right arm and normal-sized left arm. He also has [[kibble]] on his shoulders that makes him look hunch-backed; however, this can be removed easily using a screwdriver, but by doing so the "mask" that partially covers his face in tank mode is lost.

:Megatron transforms into a cybertronic tank, though it is not as sleek and aerodynamic as the design it was based upon. In robot mode, Megatron's entire lower right arm is a spring-loaded missile launcher and the tank turret's armour/shroud can be positioned over to partially cover the cannon, with flip-out sword blade, as seen in the early concept design.

:Pressing the Decepticon symbol-emblazoned button on his chest activates his light, [[Mech Alive]] and voice sound effects, which yells "I am Megatron!" The European release (being sold in various non-English speaking countries as well as Quebec) proclaims just simply "Megatron!" with laughter.
{{-}}

====Fast Action Battlers====
[[Image:ROTF_FAB_Megatron_toy.jpg|thumb|250px|I sure hope [[Wikipedia:Metal_Slug_(series)|SNK]] don't sue...]]
*'''Cannon Blast Megatron''' (2009)
**''Accessories'' Projectile

{{charstubtoys}}
{{-}}

====Power Bots====
[[Image:ROTF_PowerBots_Megatron.jpg|thumb|150px|Super Fighting Robot- MEGAMAN!]]
*'''Megatron''' (2009)

{{charstubtoys}}
{{-}}

====Robot Replicas====
*'''Megatron''' (2009)

{{comingsoontoy}}
{{-}}

==Merchandise==
===Transformers (2007)===
[[Image:GummyCandyFront.jpg|right|100px|thumb|"Oh, How hideously (and deliciously) ironic!"]]
*'''Transformers Gummy Candy''' (2006)
:Made by the [[Frankford Candy & Chocolate Company]] at the behest of [[Hasbro|Hasbro's]] Cap Candy Company unit, this large Megatron-shaped [[Transformers Gummy Candy|gummy candy]] was available throughout 2006 to 2007. Also available was an [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]]-shaped gummy candies.
{{-}}

===Battling Robots Bubble Bath===
*'''Megatron''' (2007)
[[Image:Megatron bubblebath.jpg|right|120px|thumb|"This is why I hate merchandising."]]
:Megatron's torso attaches to the bottle of bubble bath. His elbows bend, and his arms have a punching gimmick, to allow him to battle the forces of good. Pushing a lever on either side makes the respective fist punch forward. He's removable, though not as easily held without the bottle below his waist. Like many pieces of Megatron merchandise, this "figure" uses the older head design with blue eyes. The blue eyes are also the only spot of paint on him, unlike the elaborately decoed Prime.
{{-}}

*'''Megatron''' Burger King free toy (2007)
:A non-transformable version of Megatron, cast primarily in gray plastic. The toy's entire "gimmick" is that both arms rotate at the shoulder. Due to the strict [[For safety reasons|protocols]] of making a fast food premium, Megatron's sharp and deadly design was forced to be smoothed out. This had the unfortunate effect of making his sculpted details meld together and looking less like a killer robot and more like a melted clay man. The toy ''appears'' to use the earlier head render of Megatron's, but due to the vague detail and paint job, may also not be.

:The toy also comes with a purple plastic Decepticon base and a lenticular motion card with a surprising amount of frames of animation. These two pieces may in fact be the better part of the package.

====Basic Fun====
*'''Megatron''' (Figural keychain assortment, 2007)
: Produced by [[Basic Fun]], this keychain is a likeness of Megatron's robot mode with articulated arms, legs, head, waist, and a keyring sticking out of his ass.
{{-}}

====Transformers Movie Danglers====
[[Image:Movie Megatron dangler.jpg|right|200px|thumb|No, that's not his back, that's his actual face.]]
*'''Megatron''' (2007)
:Released by [[Tomy Yujin]] in November 2007<ref name="TomyYujin">[http://www.gachausa.com/products/transformers.asp Tomy Yujin ''Transformers'' page]</ref> for the [[Danglers Collection]], this toy is a weird plastic [[super deformed]] version of Megatron that pops out his vehicle mode when you squeeze him. This little figurine has a little strap on it so that it can be put on cell phones or portable gaming devices.

:Other than Megatron, there are also versions of [[Brawl (Movie)|Decepticon Devastator]], Bumblebee, Ironhide, Bonecrusher, Jazz, and Optimus Prime.
{{-}}

====Unleashed====
[[Image:Movie2007_Unleashed_Megatron.jpg|right|200px|thumb|]]
*'''Megatron''' (2008)

{{charstubtoys}}
{{-}}

====Transformers Movie Screen Cleaners====
[[Image:Movie Megatron screencleaner.jpg|right|104px|thumb|]]
*'''Megatron''' (2008)
:Released by Tomy Yujin on January 2008<ref name="TomyYujin" />, this dangler is a faction logo-shaped screen cleaner for your cell phone, with a stock image of Megatron printed on the other side.
{{-}}

===Revenge of the Fallen===
====Transformers Digital Watch====
[[Image:ROTF_Megatrondigitalwatch.jpg|thumb|200px|]]
*'''Megatron Digital Watch''' (2009)

:Made by [[Fab Starpoint]], this Megatron-themed digital watch has a nylon velcro strap with a rubber pull tab, a plastic case and chrome bezel, and an LCD display on the face.
{{-}}

====Transformers Wacky Wobblers====
*'''Megatron''' (2009)

{{comingsoontoy}}
{{-}}

====Basic Fun====
*'''Articulated keychain''' (2009)

: Produced by [[Basic Fun]], this keychain is a likeness of Megatron's robot mode with articulated arms, legs, head, waist, and a keyring sticking out of his ass.
{{comingsoontoy}}

===Robot Heroes===
[[Image:Robot Heroes Ratchet vs Megatron.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Adorable head crushing!]]
*'''Autobot Ratchet vs Megatron''' (2007)
:The first Robot Heroes toy of Megatron was available packed with Autobot Ratchet. Like many Robot Heroes, he is grinning from ear to ear, and in a squatty pose. Notably, his hands are simplified into three fingered claws, and his head is a cute version of the original (and replaced) design. His articulation is the standard shoulders and neck. The toy is colored much like the Leader class version of the character.
{{-}}

*'''The Final Battle''' (2008)
[[Image:Robotheroesfinalbattle.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Shiny!]]
:Sold exclusively in Walmart stores, this release of Megatron is a repaint of the first Robot Heroes toy. Sold with redecoed Autobot Jazz, Blackout, Optimus Prime, and Ratchet, no molding was changed on this toy. However, the figure boasts a metallic finish, making the toy a vibrant silver with painted bronze highlights for greater film accuracy.
{{-}}

*'''Battle Jazz vs Megatron''' (2008)
[[Image:Robotheroesjazzmegatron.jpg|right|150px|thumb|PRIIIIIIME!]]
:The second mold, sharing no parts with the first release. His right arm has transformed into the mace, and he's posed just after slamming it into the ground (with impact "explosion" molded in). The head is the "final" head design, but the toy has many outbursts of blue, either to make a more exciting deco or evoke him being "recently thawed". Sadly, he is only articulated at the neck and LEFT shoulder, denying the world adorable mace bonking.
{{-}}
*'''Autobot Skids and Megatron''' (2009)
{{-}}

[[Image:Robotheroesmegatronfallenprimejetfireironhide.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Say hello to my GIGANTIC-ASS friend!]]
*'''Battle for the Fallen''' (box set, 2009)
:This ''Robot Heroes'' box set of figures comes with [[The Fallen]], Megatron (tank mode), [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Jetfire (ROTF)|Jetfire]] combined, and Ironhide (truck mode). Megatron proooobably has no articulation.

{{comingsoontoy}}
{{-}}

[[Image:RobotHeroes_BattlefortheAllspark.jpg|300px|thumb|right|]]
*'''Battle for the Allspark''' (2009)
:A redeco of the second ''Robot Heroes'' mold is included in this set representing the battle of [[Mission City]] along with a redeco of Decepticon Brawl, along with new figures of Ratchet (with his saw), [[Sam Witwicky]] with the All Spark Cube, Optimus Prime, Starscream and Bumblebee in vehicle mode.

{{comingsoontoy}}
{{-}}

==Trivia==
[[Image:Movie Megatron olduglyface.jpg|right|200px|thumb|I'm blind!]]
* When the 2007 Bristol Comic Expo's Transformers panel got onto how fiddly the Movie designs were, Megatron was singled out as a prime example; one of the ''panel'' referred to him as "a walking chandelier". <ref>[http://panelborders.wordpress.com/2007/07/30/podcast-transformers-and-now/ Panel Borders (click "Download This Episode Now" link as others go to the wrong podcast)]</ref>
* The prototype photographs on the back of Leader and Voyager class Megatrons' packaging show him with a completely different head based upon an earlier version of CGI design (seen on the right) that was dropped after much negative fan reaction.
* According to The Movie Guide, Megatron is one of the few Transformers capable of space travel without reverting to a Protoform. This explains how he was capable of chasing the All Spark ''immediately'' after its launch.
* According to [[The Quest For the Allspark]] paperback's opening paragraph, "...Most revered were Optimus and Megatron. They were twin brothers of the Prime dynasty." This implies that Megatron may have also had the surname "Prime" at one time.
* Early script drafts and a [[Optimus Prime Versus Megatron|children's picture book]] featured Megatron consuming the [[spark]]s of his fallen foes, but this didn't make it into the final film due to time constraints. The novelisation of the movie, on the other hand, sees him chow down on Jazz in the final battle; similarly, although not outright stated in dialogue, his animalistic pouncing on the fallen bodies of various characters (including Optimus Prime, Starscream, Jazz and the [[Create-A-Bot (Decepticon)|Decepticon Create-A-Bot]]) in the Movie Nintendo DS games, following by what appears to be rooting around in their innards, seems to suggest he's doing the same there.
* Similarly, in the ''Autobots'' version of the same DS game, it is noted that Megatron "took the spark" of his and Optimus' father. Presumably, this is a reference to both his cannibalistic practises as well as the fact that both he and Prime are in fact brothers, at least in the Cybertronian sense.
* Despite his undeniable hatred of humans, Megatron is the only Decepticon in the movie who doesn't speak [[Cybertronian languages|Cybertronian]] for the majority of his dialogue. In fact, he speaks ''fluent'' English upon reviving, despite the fact that [[wikipedia:Modern English|Modern English]] came into existence around the Sixteenth century, when he was presumably still frozen in the ice. This could suggest that he still was somehow conscious when he was studied by Sector Seven (which he also overtly states upon awakening in the IDW comic adaptation). This would explain why his first action after thawing was declaring his name - imagine being frozen for generations being referred to as "N.B.E. 1", or even worse: "Mega-man" ''and'' "Ice-man".
* The Megatron computer generated model consisted of 2411 individual pieces, 433,949 polygons, 8924 rig nodes, and 1437 texture maps. The pieces combined gave a volume of 10,325 cubic feet.<ref>Robertson, Barbara (2007). Heavy Metal. ''Computer Graphics, 30''(7), 12-17.</ref>
* [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]] from ''[[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Transformers Animated]]'' has apparently stolen this Megatron's head, at least for the [[Transform and Roll Out|first episode]].
* There are some problems with Simmons' statement about various technologies being reverse-engineered from Megatron. Cars came about in one shape or form at about the turn of the century, and spaceflight technology was pioneered by German and Soviet scientists. Of course, Simmons isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, so he could be exaggerating. They'll always have ''[[Ghost 1]]'' though.
*It was decided that Megatron would not be renamed Galvatron in [[Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]] for the sake of the general audience.<ref>[http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-movie-discussion/180451-welcome-mr-roberto-orci-you-may-ask-him-questions-229.html#post3421064 Roberto Orci answers fan questions on the TFW2005 boards.]
</ref>
*While the [[Revenge of the Fallen: The Movie Universe|Revenge Of The Fallen Movie Universe]] creates the idea that Megatron is a triple changer that alternates between his robot, jet, and tank modes, there is absolutely nothing to support this in the movie. Throughout the entire film, he only transforms into a winged tank portrayed by the Voyager figure and is more than capable of flying in said mode.
*Megatron may have been a descendent of a Prime, because only a Prime can kill a Prime, and Megatron killed Optimus. This however would not make sense, because Sam killed Megatron. Though logically, it could be assumed that Optimus didn't completely die, since he could be revived via the Matrix. Look...just watch the movie, okay?

{{-}}

==External links==
* [http://www.tfu.info/2007/Decepticon/Megatron/megatron.htm Megatron at TFU.info]

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:3D Battle-Cards]]
[[Category:Attacktix]]
[[Category:Decepticon leaders]]
[[Category:Decepticons]]
[[Category:Movie characters]]
[[Category:Revenge of the Fallen characters]]
[[Category:Live-action film ARG characters]]
[[Category:Robot Heroes]]
[[Category:Rulers of Cybertron]]
[[Category:Starships]]
[[Category:Toys with sound]]
[[Category:Titanium Series]]
[[Category:Triple Changers]]

The Autobot Run

2009-07-10T18:56:08Z

69.43.35.2: /* Continuity errors */

{{episode
|series=G1toon
|ep=23
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=65
|image=The Autobot Run title shot.JPG
|caption=See Autobot. See Autobot run. Run, Autobot, run!
|title="The Autobot Run"
|production code=#700-22
|airdate=[[October 31]], 1985
|written by=[[Donald F. Glut]]
|animation studio=[[AKOM]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''When the Autobots perform a race for charity, the Decepticons take the opportunity to trap them in their vehicle modes.'''

:''Japanese title:'' トランスフォームをとめろ! (''Transform o Tomero!'', "Stop the Transforming!")
:''German title:'' "'''Wer ist der schnellste Autobots?'''" ("Who is the fastest Autobot?")
:''German ''Generation 2'' title:'' "'''Die Geheimwaffe'''" ("The Secret Weapon")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Transfixatron.jpg|left|200px|thumb|A collection of character models gathers around the Decepticons' new weapon.]]

While watching a car race, [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike]] and [[Chip Chase|Chip]] comment on how cool it would be to see the Autobots perform in a race as well.

Meanwhile, in an old west ghost town, the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] have completed the [[Transfixatron]], a new device that will lock a [[Transformer]] in the mode they currently occupy (usually vehicle mode). [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] arrives, informing the Decepticons about the Autobot race.

[[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] complains that [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] is wasting time with the device instead of leading an attack. In response, Megatron tests the device on his whiny subordinate, and it's a success. Starscream is stuck in jet mode and begs to be released, saying he'll do whatever Megatron wants and he's too valuable to the Decepticon cause. Megatron gets bored of Starscream's pleas and frees him. Satisfied with the test, Megatron orders the Constructicons to start working on a second device whose purpose will be revealed later.

[[Image:Autobotrunfinishline.jpg|right|200px|thumb|The guy at the finish line wonders where the Hell his car went.]]

Chip and Spike suggest their race idea to the Autobots, and [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] agrees, as long as it's for charity. [[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] complains that it's a waste of time and a bad idea (as usual), but the Autobots decide to do it. Huffer, [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]], [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]], and [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] remain to guard the [[Ark (G1)|base]].

The Autobots arrive at the track and wait at the starting line in robot mode before they compete "in the greatest automobile race in history." Some numbskull in the audience wonders aloud where their cars are. The Autobots transform, and the race is on with a whole lot of trash talk. [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]], [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] and [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] rush ahead of the slower vehicles like [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] and [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]].

[[Image:Autobotruncanttransform.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Hey, look! Diaclone Sunstreaker!]]

During the race, [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] teleports to a position over the track and uses the Transfixatron on the Autobots, who don't notice. The Autobots near the finish line, but they're kicking up so much dust it's impossible to tell who won. "The real winners are us, folks!" says the announcer.

Next up, the Autobots line up to do some stunts and make "Evel Knievel look like a kiddie car driver", according to Spike. But Sunstreaker's attempt to jump the other Autobots falls short and he has to be saved by [[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]]'s magnetic powers.

Before they can do anything else, the Decepticons arrive. The Autobots attempt to [[Transformation|transform]], only to find that they are all stuck in vehicle mode. Optimus orders the Autobots to ram the Decepticons, but they simply shoot out the Autobots' tires, fire rays to make their engines overheat and disable their radios. Helpless, the Autobots are herded away by the 'Cons.

[[Image:Autobotrunbyeironhide.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Ironhide must have been giving a Japanese schoolgirl a ride.]]

[[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] takes Spike and Chip back to the base, hoping Ratchet and Wheeljack can figure a fix for the Transfixatron ray. As usual, Huffer complains, but a massive bearhug from Brawn gets him to shut up, while Ratchet and Wheeljack get to work.

At the ghost town, Megatron forces Optimus Prime to watch his soldiers die one by one in the Constructicons' second device, a horrific crushing machine, starting with Ironhide. The Autobot leader dispatches [[Roller]] to distract Megatron, allowing Prime to ram the crusher, which frees Ironhide. [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] manages to send a signal to [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]], just as Ratchet and Wheeljack finish working on a device which will allow the Autobots to transform...a grenade. (Real good thinking there, guys.)

[[Image:Autobotrunravageattackschip.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Dude, what are you doing? I wanted to push over the cripple.]]

Spike and the other Autobots arrive to save their comrades, but [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] dispatches [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] to deal with them. After a game of keep-away with the grenade, Chip manages to get it close enough to release its energy, allowing the Autobots to transform to robot mode.

The Constructicons form [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]], but [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] and Wheeljack fire the Transfixatron at giant Decepticon, causing the [[Combiner]] to separate. The Decepticons retreat, and the Autobots destroy the Transfixatron.

{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] (3)
*[[Bluestreak]] (16)
*[[Gears]] (17)
*[[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (18)
*[[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] (19)
*[[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] (20)
*[[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] (21)
*[[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (22)
*[[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] (23)
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] (24)
*[[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] (25)
*[[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (26)
*[[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] (27)
*[[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] (28)
*[[Hound (G1)|Hound]] (29)
*[[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]] (30)
*[[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] (32)
*[[Roller]] (33)

|c2=
*[[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] (4)
*[[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] (5)
*[[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] (6)
*[[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] (7)
*[[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] (8)
*[[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] (9)
*[[Hook (G1)|Hook]] (10)
*[[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] (11)
*[[Mixmaster (G1)|Mixmaster]] (12)
*[[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]] (13)
*[[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] (14)
*[[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] (15)
*[[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] (31)
*[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (34)
*[[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] (35)

|c3=
*[[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (1)
*[[Chip Chase]] (2)
}}

==Quotes==
"Transform." 
"No, Megatron. You can't mean to—" 
"What's a test without a guinea pig-o-tron? Transform, I say!"
:—'''Megatron''' selects '''Starscream''' as the test subject for his latest device.

"If you're going to do what I think, Sunstreaker, you've got boom glitches in your brain garage."
:—'''Mirage'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s colorful terms for Transformer anatomy.

"Well, guys, what's next? I'm for anything except demolition derbyin'."
:—'''Jazz'''

"I can't change back to my normal, handsome self!"
:—Modest and humble '''Sunstreaker'''

"I knew the racing bit was bad news, but would anyone listen to me? Oh, noooo!" 
"Stifle it, Huffer, or I'll put my footio in your audio!!"
:—'''Huffer''' being an ass and '''Brawn''' looking to kick some.

"Ironic, isn't it, Autobots, that after so many valiant battles, you will meet your end in the crushing jaws of this device so lovingly fashioned by my Constructicons."
:—'''Megatron'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s concept of irony is off.

"Later, guys. It's been really great knowin' ya."
:—Headed for the crushing device, '''Ironhide''' accepts his fate.

"Hey, what's that?" 
"I'd call it a TARGET!"
:—'''Thundercracker''' and '''Starscream''' spotting Roller.

"I'm transforming! I see my true beauty emerging!"
:—'''Sunstreaker'''

==Notes==
* In a visual gag, Devastator throws Optimus Prime and Ironhide into a line of three buildings, the middle one of which is labeled "GLASS". Prime and Ironhide smash through the buildings on either side, but the "GLASS" building remains unharmed.

===Animation or technical glitches===
* This episode's [[transformation]] sound effects are oddly applied, stopping and starting halfway through and even playing over the wrong transformation type (ie, vehicle-to-robot vs. robot-to-vehicle) at times.
* Ignoring the big, paved driveway right next to him, Bumblebee arrives at the race track by ''driving across the grass''.
* That's okay, though, because as the race finishes, Chip nonchalantly turns his wheelchair and ''rolls across the grass''.
* Chip then rolls into Bumblebee, and sits in the driver seat, while still in his wheelchair. Huh?
* For the duration of this episode, actor [[Michael Bell]] performs Scrapper with a very different voice than normal, sounding...well, frankly, quite ''normal'', compared to Scrapper's usual hoarse rasp.
* As Laserbeak enters Soundwave's chest to report, Soundwave's eyeband is colored white like his faceplate, while his forehead is colored red like his eyeband should be.
* Starscream is missing one of his wings prior to the Transfixatron test.
* A moment later, in jet mode, Starscream has a random black stripe across his back.

[[Image:Autobotrungreenteletraan.jpg|right|175px|thumb|Chip Chase always did have the luck of the Irish.]]
* Instead of being provided by [[Neil Ross]] as usual, Bonecrusher's single line in this episode is supplied by Michael Bell, using the same unusual voice as he is for Scrapper. The temptation, of course, is to peg this on an animation error that mistakenly depicted Bonecrusher instead of Scrapper, but the script for the episode actually called for Bonecrusher to speak the line.
* As Skywarp transforms to robot mode over the raceway, he pulls the Transfixatron out of nowhere, despite it being as large as he is.
* A second later, Skywarp has a yellow stripe down his back where there should be black.
* When Skywarp uses it on the Autobots, the Transfixatron beam effect is not properly animated to glow.
* In the next racing pass, Gears is colored almost entirely red. It happens again later, when Prime revs up to save Ironhide.
* After the Autobots discover they're locked in vehicle mode, when Megatron laughs the other Decepticons just sort of... vibrate.
* When Chip is trying to locate the Autobots, Teletraan I is colored green instead of orange.
* As Wheeljack flees, he fires at a pair of Thundercrackers. One of them teleports away (indicating that it was supposed to be Skywarp.) When he re-materializes, he's colored like Starscream, but still speaks in Skywarp's voice.
* As Spike and company arrive at the ghost town, Ironhide is shown arriving and transforming instead of Ratchet.
* When the Autobots are un-transfixed and transform into robot modes, Gears is colored like Brawn.
* As the grenade does its work, a series of vehicle-mode Autobots simply appear out of nowhere.
* When Spike, Chip, Bumblebee, Wheeljack and the other Autobots come to save Optimus Prime and the others, Bumblebee is missing his headlights when he transforms into robot mode.
* Devastator's combining sequence is screwy. First Scrapper and Mixmaster are shown forming Long Haul's portion of the combiner robot in addition to their own. Long Haul then forms Devastator's upper torso, instead of the lower torso. Hook then forms a tiny part of the upper torso, including the head, and... Bonecrusher's bulldozer kibble.
* Just after Wheeljack pulls Cliffjumper out of the rubble his voice becomes much higher pitched.
* As Cliffjumper zaps Devastator with the Transfixatron, the glowing animation effect vanishes after a second or two.
* In one of the numerous errors that crept into the [[Kid Rhino]] DVD sets, the [[commercial bumper]]s for the second act break feature the theme music for ''[[G.I. Joe]]'', not ''The Transformers''.

===Continuity errors===
* [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] appears twice in this episode: first when Megatron is gloating about the Transfixatron, then when the Decepticons arrive at the race. Of course, it's ''possible'' that Shockwave came to [[Earth]] during this episode, but the idea of him just popping up and hanging around in the background seriously goes against the established notion that he always stays on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] as its full-time guardian.
* Why the heck are Spike and Chip watching the race from next to the grand stands, instead of, y'know, ''inside'' them?
* How does the dust at the finish line get ''ahead'' of the Autobots?
* Bumblebee returns to the Ark to tell Wheeljack and the others of the Decepticon attack, and yet in the next scene he's with the transfixed Autobots in the western ghost town.
* Wheeljack states that the [[Transfixatron]] will "cancel Devastator's robot mode", though one would really expect it to just transfix Devastator ''as'' Devastator.
* Chip can stand. And he's in a wheelchair. ''Huh''.
* While early in the episode Megatron was required to lift the Transfixatron off the ground in order to aim upwards at Starscream, Cliffjumper only needs to pivot the head to aim at Devastator. Perhaps the [[Ball joint|joints]] loosened up a bit.
* The race gets started VERY quickly. Chip and Spike come up with the idea, go back to the base, tell Prime, and apparently the Autobots just show up and demand to race for charity. Granted, some time could have elapsed in between, but ''still''.

===Transformers references===
* This is Roller's third and final appearance.
* This is the first episode where the Transformers formally refer to themselves as ''Transformers''.

===Miscellaneous trivia===
* This is one of three episodes from Season Two which were animated by [[AKOM]] (the others being "[[The Core]]" and "[[City of Steel]]"). They share similar art and animation styles, prominent use of the Constructicons, slightly more juvenile plots than usual, Star Wars sound effects, and several character model oddities such as Megatron's dark gray gun barrel, Optimus Prime's white backpack, Huffer's white eyeliner, and Chip Chase's blue jacket.
* A one-time-only bit of Westernish background music plays across the opening scene in the Decepticons' ghost town.
* When instructing Starscream to transform out of vehicle mode, Megatron tells him to return to his "root mode". This was almost certainly the result of a typo in the script that was ''supposed'' to say "ro'''b'''ot mode", but it makes a charming amount of sense as a term.
* Megatron can shoot laser beams from his eyes, especially when he wants to scare away earth germs.
* An early model sheet calls the Transfixatron a 'Satsitron.'
* The idea of a [[Transfixatron|device to keep a Transformer frozen in one mode]] would be revisited over the years in other fictions, with [[Tarantulas]]'s [[transformation lock lens]], [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]]'s [[transformation lock virus]], the [[Protectobot (G1)|Protectobots]]' [[Child's Play (issue)|mode lock]] used on [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]], and [[Spotlight: Soundwave|an experimental weapon]] created by Shockwave.
* Chip climbs inside Bumblebee while still sitting in his wheelchair. He is then sitting in his wheelchair inside Bumblebee. Apparently, VW Beetles are wheelchair accessible.
* Bumblebee says he would only race if it were "under the speed limit". He then proceeds to drive off really fast.
* After the Autobots are fixed by Wheeljack's grenade and Optimus Prime transforms, his trailer shrinks into his back rather than rolling away as usual.
* In an unfortunate foreshadowing, [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] remarks that when they made him, they 'broke the mold'.
* Seriously, ''guinea pig-o-tron''?!

==External links==
* [http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/the_autobot_run.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Autobot Run}}
[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]

The Autobot Run

2009-07-10T18:55:58Z

69.43.35.2: /* Continuity errors */

{{episode
|series=G1toon
|ep=23
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=65
|image=The Autobot Run title shot.JPG
|caption=See Autobot. See Autobot run. Run, Autobot, run!
|title="The Autobot Run"
|production code=#700-22
|airdate=[[October 31]], 1985
|written by=[[Donald F. Glut]]
|animation studio=[[AKOM]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''When the Autobots perform a race for charity, the Decepticons take the opportunity to trap them in their vehicle modes.'''

:''Japanese title:'' トランスフォームをとめろ! (''Transform o Tomero!'', "Stop the Transforming!")
:''German title:'' "'''Wer ist der schnellste Autobots?'''" ("Who is the fastest Autobot?")
:''German ''Generation 2'' title:'' "'''Die Geheimwaffe'''" ("The Secret Weapon")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Transfixatron.jpg|left|200px|thumb|A collection of character models gathers around the Decepticons' new weapon.]]

While watching a car race, [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike]] and [[Chip Chase|Chip]] comment on how cool it would be to see the Autobots perform in a race as well.

Meanwhile, in an old west ghost town, the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] have completed the [[Transfixatron]], a new device that will lock a [[Transformer]] in the mode they currently occupy (usually vehicle mode). [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] arrives, informing the Decepticons about the Autobot race.

[[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] complains that [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] is wasting time with the device instead of leading an attack. In response, Megatron tests the device on his whiny subordinate, and it's a success. Starscream is stuck in jet mode and begs to be released, saying he'll do whatever Megatron wants and he's too valuable to the Decepticon cause. Megatron gets bored of Starscream's pleas and frees him. Satisfied with the test, Megatron orders the Constructicons to start working on a second device whose purpose will be revealed later.

[[Image:Autobotrunfinishline.jpg|right|200px|thumb|The guy at the finish line wonders where the Hell his car went.]]

Chip and Spike suggest their race idea to the Autobots, and [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] agrees, as long as it's for charity. [[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] complains that it's a waste of time and a bad idea (as usual), but the Autobots decide to do it. Huffer, [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]], [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]], and [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] remain to guard the [[Ark (G1)|base]].

The Autobots arrive at the track and wait at the starting line in robot mode before they compete "in the greatest automobile race in history." Some numbskull in the audience wonders aloud where their cars are. The Autobots transform, and the race is on with a whole lot of trash talk. [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]], [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] and [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] rush ahead of the slower vehicles like [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] and [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]].

[[Image:Autobotruncanttransform.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Hey, look! Diaclone Sunstreaker!]]

During the race, [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] teleports to a position over the track and uses the Transfixatron on the Autobots, who don't notice. The Autobots near the finish line, but they're kicking up so much dust it's impossible to tell who won. "The real winners are us, folks!" says the announcer.

Next up, the Autobots line up to do some stunts and make "Evel Knievel look like a kiddie car driver", according to Spike. But Sunstreaker's attempt to jump the other Autobots falls short and he has to be saved by [[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]]'s magnetic powers.

Before they can do anything else, the Decepticons arrive. The Autobots attempt to [[Transformation|transform]], only to find that they are all stuck in vehicle mode. Optimus orders the Autobots to ram the Decepticons, but they simply shoot out the Autobots' tires, fire rays to make their engines overheat and disable their radios. Helpless, the Autobots are herded away by the 'Cons.

[[Image:Autobotrunbyeironhide.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Ironhide must have been giving a Japanese schoolgirl a ride.]]

[[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] takes Spike and Chip back to the base, hoping Ratchet and Wheeljack can figure a fix for the Transfixatron ray. As usual, Huffer complains, but a massive bearhug from Brawn gets him to shut up, while Ratchet and Wheeljack get to work.

At the ghost town, Megatron forces Optimus Prime to watch his soldiers die one by one in the Constructicons' second device, a horrific crushing machine, starting with Ironhide. The Autobot leader dispatches [[Roller]] to distract Megatron, allowing Prime to ram the crusher, which frees Ironhide. [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] manages to send a signal to [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]], just as Ratchet and Wheeljack finish working on a device which will allow the Autobots to transform...a grenade. (Real good thinking there, guys.)

[[Image:Autobotrunravageattackschip.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Dude, what are you doing? I wanted to push over the cripple.]]

Spike and the other Autobots arrive to save their comrades, but [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] dispatches [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] to deal with them. After a game of keep-away with the grenade, Chip manages to get it close enough to release its energy, allowing the Autobots to transform to robot mode.

The Constructicons form [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]], but [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] and Wheeljack fire the Transfixatron at giant Decepticon, causing the [[Combiner]] to separate. The Decepticons retreat, and the Autobots destroy the Transfixatron.

{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] (3)
*[[Bluestreak]] (16)
*[[Gears]] (17)
*[[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (18)
*[[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] (19)
*[[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] (20)
*[[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] (21)
*[[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (22)
*[[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] (23)
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] (24)
*[[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] (25)
*[[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (26)
*[[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] (27)
*[[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] (28)
*[[Hound (G1)|Hound]] (29)
*[[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]] (30)
*[[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] (32)
*[[Roller]] (33)

|c2=
*[[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] (4)
*[[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] (5)
*[[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] (6)
*[[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] (7)
*[[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] (8)
*[[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] (9)
*[[Hook (G1)|Hook]] (10)
*[[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] (11)
*[[Mixmaster (G1)|Mixmaster]] (12)
*[[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]] (13)
*[[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] (14)
*[[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] (15)
*[[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] (31)
*[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (34)
*[[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] (35)

|c3=
*[[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (1)
*[[Chip Chase]] (2)
}}

==Quotes==
"Transform." 
"No, Megatron. You can't mean to—" 
"What's a test without a guinea pig-o-tron? Transform, I say!"
:—'''Megatron''' selects '''Starscream''' as the test subject for his latest device.

"If you're going to do what I think, Sunstreaker, you've got boom glitches in your brain garage."
:—'''Mirage'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s colorful terms for Transformer anatomy.

"Well, guys, what's next? I'm for anything except demolition derbyin'."
:—'''Jazz'''

"I can't change back to my normal, handsome self!"
:—Modest and humble '''Sunstreaker'''

"I knew the racing bit was bad news, but would anyone listen to me? Oh, noooo!" 
"Stifle it, Huffer, or I'll put my footio in your audio!!"
:—'''Huffer''' being an ass and '''Brawn''' looking to kick some.

"Ironic, isn't it, Autobots, that after so many valiant battles, you will meet your end in the crushing jaws of this device so lovingly fashioned by my Constructicons."
:—'''Megatron'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s concept of irony is off.

"Later, guys. It's been really great knowin' ya."
:—Headed for the crushing device, '''Ironhide''' accepts his fate.

"Hey, what's that?" 
"I'd call it a TARGET!"
:—'''Thundercracker''' and '''Starscream''' spotting Roller.

"I'm transforming! I see my true beauty emerging!"
:—'''Sunstreaker'''

==Notes==
* In a visual gag, Devastator throws Optimus Prime and Ironhide into a line of three buildings, the middle one of which is labeled "GLASS". Prime and Ironhide smash through the buildings on either side, but the "GLASS" building remains unharmed.

===Animation or technical glitches===
* This episode's [[transformation]] sound effects are oddly applied, stopping and starting halfway through and even playing over the wrong transformation type (ie, vehicle-to-robot vs. robot-to-vehicle) at times.
* Ignoring the big, paved driveway right next to him, Bumblebee arrives at the race track by ''driving across the grass''.
* That's okay, though, because as the race finishes, Chip nonchalantly turns his wheelchair and ''rolls across the grass''.
* Chip then rolls into Bumblebee, and sits in the driver seat, while still in his wheelchair. Huh?
* For the duration of this episode, actor [[Michael Bell]] performs Scrapper with a very different voice than normal, sounding...well, frankly, quite ''normal'', compared to Scrapper's usual hoarse rasp.
* As Laserbeak enters Soundwave's chest to report, Soundwave's eyeband is colored white like his faceplate, while his forehead is colored red like his eyeband should be.
* Starscream is missing one of his wings prior to the Transfixatron test.
* A moment later, in jet mode, Starscream has a random black stripe across his back.

[[Image:Autobotrungreenteletraan.jpg|right|175px|thumb|Chip Chase always did have the luck of the Irish.]]
* Instead of being provided by [[Neil Ross]] as usual, Bonecrusher's single line in this episode is supplied by Michael Bell, using the same unusual voice as he is for Scrapper. The temptation, of course, is to peg this on an animation error that mistakenly depicted Bonecrusher instead of Scrapper, but the script for the episode actually called for Bonecrusher to speak the line.
* As Skywarp transforms to robot mode over the raceway, he pulls the Transfixatron out of nowhere, despite it being as large as he is.
* A second later, Skywarp has a yellow stripe down his back where there should be black.
* When Skywarp uses it on the Autobots, the Transfixatron beam effect is not properly animated to glow.
* In the next racing pass, Gears is colored almost entirely red. It happens again later, when Prime revs up to save Ironhide.
* After the Autobots discover they're locked in vehicle mode, when Megatron laughs the other Decepticons just sort of... vibrate.
* When Chip is trying to locate the Autobots, Teletraan I is colored green instead of orange.
* As Wheeljack flees, he fires at a pair of Thundercrackers. One of them teleports away (indicating that it was supposed to be Skywarp.) When he re-materializes, he's colored like Starscream, but still speaks in Skywarp's voice.
* As Spike and company arrive at the ghost town, Ironhide is shown arriving and transforming instead of Ratchet.
* When the Autobots are un-transfixed and transform into robot modes, Gears is colored like Brawn.
* As the grenade does its work, a series of vehicle-mode Autobots simply appear out of nowhere.
* When Spike, Chip, Bumblebee, Wheeljack and the other Autobots come to save Optimus Prime and the others, Bumblebee is missing his headlights when he transforms into robot mode.
* Devastator's combining sequence is screwy. First Scrapper and Mixmaster are shown forming Long Haul's portion of the combiner robot in addition to their own. Long Haul then forms Devastator's upper torso, instead of the lower torso. Hook then forms a tiny part of the upper torso, including the head, and... Bonecrusher's bulldozer kibble.
* Just after Wheeljack pulls Cliffjumper out of the rubble his voice becomes much higher pitched.
* As Cliffjumper zaps Devastator with the Transfixatron, the glowing animation effect vanishes after a second or two.
* In one of the numerous errors that crept into the [[Kid Rhino]] DVD sets, the [[commercial bumper]]s for the second act break feature the theme music for ''[[G.I. Joe]]'', not ''The Transformers''.

===Continuity errors===
* [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] appears twice in this episode: first when Megatron is gloating about the Transfixatron, then when the Decepticons arrive at the race. Of course, it's ''possible'' that Shockwave came to [[Earth]] during this episode, but the idea of him just popping up and hanging around in the background seriously goes against the established notion that he always stays on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] as its full-time guardian.
* Why the heck are Spike and Chip watching the race from next to the grand stands, instead of, y'know, ''inside'' them?
* How does the dust at the finish line get ''ahead'' of the Autobots?
* Bumblebee returns to the Ark to tell Wheeljack and the others of the Decepticon attack, and yet in the next scene he's with the transfixed Autobots in the western ghost town.
* Wheeljack states that the [[Transfixatron]] will "cancel Devastator's robot mode", though one would really expect it to just transfix Devastator ''as'' Devastator.
* Chip can stand. And he's in a wheelchair. ''Huh''.
* While early in the episode Megatron was required to lift the Transfixatron off the ground in order to aim upwards at Starscream, Cliffjumper only needs to pivot the head to aim at Devastator. Perhaps the [[Ball joint|joints]] loosened up a bit.
* The race gets started VERY quickly. Chip and Spike come up with the idea, go back to the base, tell Prime, and apparently the Autobots just show up and demand to race for charity. Granted, some time could have elapsed in between, bust ''still''.

===Transformers references===
* This is Roller's third and final appearance.
* This is the first episode where the Transformers formally refer to themselves as ''Transformers''.

===Miscellaneous trivia===
* This is one of three episodes from Season Two which were animated by [[AKOM]] (the others being "[[The Core]]" and "[[City of Steel]]"). They share similar art and animation styles, prominent use of the Constructicons, slightly more juvenile plots than usual, Star Wars sound effects, and several character model oddities such as Megatron's dark gray gun barrel, Optimus Prime's white backpack, Huffer's white eyeliner, and Chip Chase's blue jacket.
* A one-time-only bit of Westernish background music plays across the opening scene in the Decepticons' ghost town.
* When instructing Starscream to transform out of vehicle mode, Megatron tells him to return to his "root mode". This was almost certainly the result of a typo in the script that was ''supposed'' to say "ro'''b'''ot mode", but it makes a charming amount of sense as a term.
* Megatron can shoot laser beams from his eyes, especially when he wants to scare away earth germs.
* An early model sheet calls the Transfixatron a 'Satsitron.'
* The idea of a [[Transfixatron|device to keep a Transformer frozen in one mode]] would be revisited over the years in other fictions, with [[Tarantulas]]'s [[transformation lock lens]], [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]]'s [[transformation lock virus]], the [[Protectobot (G1)|Protectobots]]' [[Child's Play (issue)|mode lock]] used on [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]], and [[Spotlight: Soundwave|an experimental weapon]] created by Shockwave.
* Chip climbs inside Bumblebee while still sitting in his wheelchair. He is then sitting in his wheelchair inside Bumblebee. Apparently, VW Beetles are wheelchair accessible.
* Bumblebee says he would only race if it were "under the speed limit". He then proceeds to drive off really fast.
* After the Autobots are fixed by Wheeljack's grenade and Optimus Prime transforms, his trailer shrinks into his back rather than rolling away as usual.
* In an unfortunate foreshadowing, [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] remarks that when they made him, they 'broke the mold'.
* Seriously, ''guinea pig-o-tron''?!

==External links==
* [http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/the_autobot_run.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Autobot Run}}
[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]

The Autobot Run

2009-07-10T18:55:21Z

69.43.35.2: /* Continuity errors */

{{episode
|series=G1toon
|ep=23
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=65
|image=The Autobot Run title shot.JPG
|caption=See Autobot. See Autobot run. Run, Autobot, run!
|title="The Autobot Run"
|production code=#700-22
|airdate=[[October 31]], 1985
|written by=[[Donald F. Glut]]
|animation studio=[[AKOM]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''When the Autobots perform a race for charity, the Decepticons take the opportunity to trap them in their vehicle modes.'''

:''Japanese title:'' トランスフォームをとめろ! (''Transform o Tomero!'', "Stop the Transforming!")
:''German title:'' "'''Wer ist der schnellste Autobots?'''" ("Who is the fastest Autobot?")
:''German ''Generation 2'' title:'' "'''Die Geheimwaffe'''" ("The Secret Weapon")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Transfixatron.jpg|left|200px|thumb|A collection of character models gathers around the Decepticons' new weapon.]]

While watching a car race, [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike]] and [[Chip Chase|Chip]] comment on how cool it would be to see the Autobots perform in a race as well.

Meanwhile, in an old west ghost town, the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] have completed the [[Transfixatron]], a new device that will lock a [[Transformer]] in the mode they currently occupy (usually vehicle mode). [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] arrives, informing the Decepticons about the Autobot race.

[[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] complains that [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] is wasting time with the device instead of leading an attack. In response, Megatron tests the device on his whiny subordinate, and it's a success. Starscream is stuck in jet mode and begs to be released, saying he'll do whatever Megatron wants and he's too valuable to the Decepticon cause. Megatron gets bored of Starscream's pleas and frees him. Satisfied with the test, Megatron orders the Constructicons to start working on a second device whose purpose will be revealed later.

[[Image:Autobotrunfinishline.jpg|right|200px|thumb|The guy at the finish line wonders where the Hell his car went.]]

Chip and Spike suggest their race idea to the Autobots, and [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] agrees, as long as it's for charity. [[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] complains that it's a waste of time and a bad idea (as usual), but the Autobots decide to do it. Huffer, [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]], [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]], and [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] remain to guard the [[Ark (G1)|base]].

The Autobots arrive at the track and wait at the starting line in robot mode before they compete "in the greatest automobile race in history." Some numbskull in the audience wonders aloud where their cars are. The Autobots transform, and the race is on with a whole lot of trash talk. [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]], [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] and [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] rush ahead of the slower vehicles like [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] and [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]].

[[Image:Autobotruncanttransform.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Hey, look! Diaclone Sunstreaker!]]

During the race, [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] teleports to a position over the track and uses the Transfixatron on the Autobots, who don't notice. The Autobots near the finish line, but they're kicking up so much dust it's impossible to tell who won. "The real winners are us, folks!" says the announcer.

Next up, the Autobots line up to do some stunts and make "Evel Knievel look like a kiddie car driver", according to Spike. But Sunstreaker's attempt to jump the other Autobots falls short and he has to be saved by [[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]]'s magnetic powers.

Before they can do anything else, the Decepticons arrive. The Autobots attempt to [[Transformation|transform]], only to find that they are all stuck in vehicle mode. Optimus orders the Autobots to ram the Decepticons, but they simply shoot out the Autobots' tires, fire rays to make their engines overheat and disable their radios. Helpless, the Autobots are herded away by the 'Cons.

[[Image:Autobotrunbyeironhide.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Ironhide must have been giving a Japanese schoolgirl a ride.]]

[[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] takes Spike and Chip back to the base, hoping Ratchet and Wheeljack can figure a fix for the Transfixatron ray. As usual, Huffer complains, but a massive bearhug from Brawn gets him to shut up, while Ratchet and Wheeljack get to work.

At the ghost town, Megatron forces Optimus Prime to watch his soldiers die one by one in the Constructicons' second device, a horrific crushing machine, starting with Ironhide. The Autobot leader dispatches [[Roller]] to distract Megatron, allowing Prime to ram the crusher, which frees Ironhide. [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] manages to send a signal to [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]], just as Ratchet and Wheeljack finish working on a device which will allow the Autobots to transform...a grenade. (Real good thinking there, guys.)

[[Image:Autobotrunravageattackschip.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Dude, what are you doing? I wanted to push over the cripple.]]

Spike and the other Autobots arrive to save their comrades, but [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] dispatches [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] to deal with them. After a game of keep-away with the grenade, Chip manages to get it close enough to release its energy, allowing the Autobots to transform to robot mode.

The Constructicons form [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]], but [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] and Wheeljack fire the Transfixatron at giant Decepticon, causing the [[Combiner]] to separate. The Decepticons retreat, and the Autobots destroy the Transfixatron.

{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] (3)
*[[Bluestreak]] (16)
*[[Gears]] (17)
*[[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (18)
*[[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] (19)
*[[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] (20)
*[[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] (21)
*[[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (22)
*[[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] (23)
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] (24)
*[[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] (25)
*[[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (26)
*[[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] (27)
*[[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] (28)
*[[Hound (G1)|Hound]] (29)
*[[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]] (30)
*[[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] (32)
*[[Roller]] (33)

|c2=
*[[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] (4)
*[[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] (5)
*[[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] (6)
*[[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] (7)
*[[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] (8)
*[[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] (9)
*[[Hook (G1)|Hook]] (10)
*[[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] (11)
*[[Mixmaster (G1)|Mixmaster]] (12)
*[[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]] (13)
*[[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] (14)
*[[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] (15)
*[[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] (31)
*[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (34)
*[[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] (35)

|c3=
*[[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (1)
*[[Chip Chase]] (2)
}}

==Quotes==
"Transform." 
"No, Megatron. You can't mean to—" 
"What's a test without a guinea pig-o-tron? Transform, I say!"
:—'''Megatron''' selects '''Starscream''' as the test subject for his latest device.

"If you're going to do what I think, Sunstreaker, you've got boom glitches in your brain garage."
:—'''Mirage'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s colorful terms for Transformer anatomy.

"Well, guys, what's next? I'm for anything except demolition derbyin'."
:—'''Jazz'''

"I can't change back to my normal, handsome self!"
:—Modest and humble '''Sunstreaker'''

"I knew the racing bit was bad news, but would anyone listen to me? Oh, noooo!" 
"Stifle it, Huffer, or I'll put my footio in your audio!!"
:—'''Huffer''' being an ass and '''Brawn''' looking to kick some.

"Ironic, isn't it, Autobots, that after so many valiant battles, you will meet your end in the crushing jaws of this device so lovingly fashioned by my Constructicons."
:—'''Megatron'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s concept of irony is off.

"Later, guys. It's been really great knowin' ya."
:—Headed for the crushing device, '''Ironhide''' accepts his fate.

"Hey, what's that?" 
"I'd call it a TARGET!"
:—'''Thundercracker''' and '''Starscream''' spotting Roller.

"I'm transforming! I see my true beauty emerging!"
:—'''Sunstreaker'''

==Notes==
* In a visual gag, Devastator throws Optimus Prime and Ironhide into a line of three buildings, the middle one of which is labeled "GLASS". Prime and Ironhide smash through the buildings on either side, but the "GLASS" building remains unharmed.

===Animation or technical glitches===
* This episode's [[transformation]] sound effects are oddly applied, stopping and starting halfway through and even playing over the wrong transformation type (ie, vehicle-to-robot vs. robot-to-vehicle) at times.
* Ignoring the big, paved driveway right next to him, Bumblebee arrives at the race track by ''driving across the grass''.
* That's okay, though, because as the race finishes, Chip nonchalantly turns his wheelchair and ''rolls across the grass''.
* Chip then rolls into Bumblebee, and sits in the driver seat, while still in his wheelchair. Huh?
* For the duration of this episode, actor [[Michael Bell]] performs Scrapper with a very different voice than normal, sounding...well, frankly, quite ''normal'', compared to Scrapper's usual hoarse rasp.
* As Laserbeak enters Soundwave's chest to report, Soundwave's eyeband is colored white like his faceplate, while his forehead is colored red like his eyeband should be.
* Starscream is missing one of his wings prior to the Transfixatron test.
* A moment later, in jet mode, Starscream has a random black stripe across his back.

[[Image:Autobotrungreenteletraan.jpg|right|175px|thumb|Chip Chase always did have the luck of the Irish.]]
* Instead of being provided by [[Neil Ross]] as usual, Bonecrusher's single line in this episode is supplied by Michael Bell, using the same unusual voice as he is for Scrapper. The temptation, of course, is to peg this on an animation error that mistakenly depicted Bonecrusher instead of Scrapper, but the script for the episode actually called for Bonecrusher to speak the line.
* As Skywarp transforms to robot mode over the raceway, he pulls the Transfixatron out of nowhere, despite it being as large as he is.
* A second later, Skywarp has a yellow stripe down his back where there should be black.
* When Skywarp uses it on the Autobots, the Transfixatron beam effect is not properly animated to glow.
* In the next racing pass, Gears is colored almost entirely red. It happens again later, when Prime revs up to save Ironhide.
* After the Autobots discover they're locked in vehicle mode, when Megatron laughs the other Decepticons just sort of... vibrate.
* When Chip is trying to locate the Autobots, Teletraan I is colored green instead of orange.
* As Wheeljack flees, he fires at a pair of Thundercrackers. One of them teleports away (indicating that it was supposed to be Skywarp.) When he re-materializes, he's colored like Starscream, but still speaks in Skywarp's voice.
* As Spike and company arrive at the ghost town, Ironhide is shown arriving and transforming instead of Ratchet.
* When the Autobots are un-transfixed and transform into robot modes, Gears is colored like Brawn.
* As the grenade does its work, a series of vehicle-mode Autobots simply appear out of nowhere.
* When Spike, Chip, Bumblebee, Wheeljack and the other Autobots come to save Optimus Prime and the others, Bumblebee is missing his headlights when he transforms into robot mode.
* Devastator's combining sequence is screwy. First Scrapper and Mixmaster are shown forming Long Haul's portion of the combiner robot in addition to their own. Long Haul then forms Devastator's upper torso, instead of the lower torso. Hook then forms a tiny part of the upper torso, including the head, and... Bonecrusher's bulldozer kibble.
* Just after Wheeljack pulls Cliffjumper out of the rubble his voice becomes much higher pitched.
* As Cliffjumper zaps Devastator with the Transfixatron, the glowing animation effect vanishes after a second or two.
* In one of the numerous errors that crept into the [[Kid Rhino]] DVD sets, the [[commercial bumper]]s for the second act break feature the theme music for ''[[G.I. Joe]]'', not ''The Transformers''.

===Continuity errors===
* [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] appears twice in this episode: first when Megatron is gloating about the Transfixatron, then when the Decepticons arrive at the race. Of course, it's ''possible'' that Shockwave came to [[Earth]] during this episode, but the idea of him just popping up and hanging around in the background seriously goes against the established notion that he always stays on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] as its full-time guardian.
* Why the heck are Spike and Chip watching the race from next to the grand stands, instead of, y'know, ''inside'' them?
* How does the dust at the finish line get ''ahead'' of the Autobots?
* Bumblebee returns to the Ark to tell Wheeljack and the others of the Decepticon attack, and yet in the next scene he's with the transfixed Autobots in the western ghost town.
* Wheeljack states that the [[Transfixatron]] will "cancel Devastator's robot mode", though one would really expect it to just transfix Devastator ''as'' Devastator.
* Chip can stand. And he's in a wheelchair. ''Huh''.
* While early in the episode Megatron was required to lift the Transfixatron off the ground in order to aim upwards at Starscream, Cliffjumper only needs to pivot the head to aim at Devastator. Perhaps the [[Ball joint|joints]] loosened up a bit.
* The race gets started VERY quickly. Chip and Spike come up with the idea, go back to the base, tell Prime, and apparently the Autobots just show up and demand to race for charity. Granted, some time could have elapsed in between, bust [i]still[/i]

===Transformers references===
* This is Roller's third and final appearance.
* This is the first episode where the Transformers formally refer to themselves as ''Transformers''.

===Miscellaneous trivia===
* This is one of three episodes from Season Two which were animated by [[AKOM]] (the others being "[[The Core]]" and "[[City of Steel]]"). They share similar art and animation styles, prominent use of the Constructicons, slightly more juvenile plots than usual, Star Wars sound effects, and several character model oddities such as Megatron's dark gray gun barrel, Optimus Prime's white backpack, Huffer's white eyeliner, and Chip Chase's blue jacket.
* A one-time-only bit of Westernish background music plays across the opening scene in the Decepticons' ghost town.
* When instructing Starscream to transform out of vehicle mode, Megatron tells him to return to his "root mode". This was almost certainly the result of a typo in the script that was ''supposed'' to say "ro'''b'''ot mode", but it makes a charming amount of sense as a term.
* Megatron can shoot laser beams from his eyes, especially when he wants to scare away earth germs.
* An early model sheet calls the Transfixatron a 'Satsitron.'
* The idea of a [[Transfixatron|device to keep a Transformer frozen in one mode]] would be revisited over the years in other fictions, with [[Tarantulas]]'s [[transformation lock lens]], [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]]'s [[transformation lock virus]], the [[Protectobot (G1)|Protectobots]]' [[Child's Play (issue)|mode lock]] used on [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]], and [[Spotlight: Soundwave|an experimental weapon]] created by Shockwave.
* Chip climbs inside Bumblebee while still sitting in his wheelchair. He is then sitting in his wheelchair inside Bumblebee. Apparently, VW Beetles are wheelchair accessible.
* Bumblebee says he would only race if it were "under the speed limit". He then proceeds to drive off really fast.
* After the Autobots are fixed by Wheeljack's grenade and Optimus Prime transforms, his trailer shrinks into his back rather than rolling away as usual.
* In an unfortunate foreshadowing, [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] remarks that when they made him, they 'broke the mold'.
* Seriously, ''guinea pig-o-tron''?!

==External links==
* [http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/the_autobot_run.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Autobot Run}}
[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]

Theodore Galloway

2009-07-01T12:36:26Z

69.43.35.2: /* Revenge of the Fallen */

Optimus Prime (G1)

2009-06-02T13:46:52Z

69.43.35.2: /* Generation 1 */

{{factions|autobot|autobotg2}}
{{disambig3|Optimus Prime}}
:''Optimus Prime is the leader of the [[Autobot]]s from the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:Optimusg1.jpg|right|350px|thumb|I'm that guy everyone remembers. No, not the tape guy, the other guy.]]
'''Optimus Prime''' is the awe-inspiring [[Prime (rank)|leader]] of the [[Autobot]] forces. Originally a mere civilian, he was chosen by the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]] to command, the first in a number of heavy burdens he has been forced to bear. Another is his bringing of the Transformers' conflict to Earth. The complete opposite of his mortal enemy [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]], every casualty, [[human]] or [[Transformer|Cybertronian]], weighs heavily on his [[spark]]. He does not show this side to his soldiers, and he never succumbs to despair. The Autobots need a decisive, charismatic leader, and that is what he gives them. It was that leadership which turned the tide of the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]].

On the battlefield, there are few who rival Optimus Prime's prowess. He is easily the strongest of any Autobot his [[Scale|size]], and his [[ion blaster]] and his [[energon-axe]] are deadly weapons. He would sacrifice his life to protect his fellow Autobots or those under their care, and [[The many deaths of Optimus Prime|does so on a regular basis]]. His compassion for other sentient beings is his only real weakness, and one the Decepticons have taken advantage of time and again... though it's also the source of his strength!

Prime carries within him the [[Matrix of Leadership]].

Before being rebuilt into a [[Powermaster]] his robot mode split into three components:

*A sentient robot module, the [[Brain Center]].
*A wheeled drone module known as [[Roller]].
*A [[Combat Deck]].

Although Optimus Prime can function as three independent modules, injury to any one module is felt by the other two.

{{bigquote|Freedom is the right of all sentient beings.|Optimus Prime's most common [[bio]] quote}}

:''Japanese name:'' '''Convoy''', '''Battle Convoy''' (Laser)
:''French-Canadian & Chzech name:'' '''Optimus Primus'''
:''Hungarian name (The Movie):'' '''Optimusz Fővezér''' / '''Optimusz Prájm'''
:''Italian name:'' '''Commander'''
:''Portuguese name (Portugal comics):'' '''Optimus Supremo''' ("Optimus Supreme")
:''Portuguese name (Brazil cartoon):'' '''Líder Optimus''' ("Leader Optimus")
:''Portuguese name (Brazil comics):'' '''Supremus Absolutus'''
:''Taiwanese name:'' '''Tīh-ghŭ''' (鐵牛, literally "Iron Ox" or "Iron Bull", a kind of vehicle in early days and rural area)
:''Chinese name (Taiwan):'' '''Jr-tsūn''' (至尊, "Prime")
:''Cantonese name:'' '''O Baak Man''' (柯柏文)
:''Chinese name (China):'' '''Qing Tian Zhu''' (擎天柱, "Pillar Towering into Sky")

==Fiction==
===Marvel Comics continuity===
====Generation 1====
{{noteukonly}}
[[Image:Optimusprimeg1preearthmarvel2.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Optimus Prime's Cybertronic truck mode, along with a Cybertronic Grumman X-29, a Cybertronic Earth motorcycle, and a Cybertronic Porsche 962.]]
Before the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]] broke out on Cybertron, Optimus Prime was a Transformer of note, displaying his skills in the [[Intra-Formers Sharpshooting Competition]]. {{storylink|Sureshot (G1)|Sureshot's ''Transformers Universe'' entry}} As a serious-minded individual, he also spoke out against [[Needlenose]]'s faddish "[[Chic Chips]]" line of hardware accessories. {{storylink|Needlenose|Needlenose's ''Transformers Universe'' entry}}

''Gladiator games were commissioned between the City-States to increase good will as the planet's population outpaced its resources. Optimus was the gladiator champion of [[Iacon]], and he shared a sporting rivalry with a young champion from [[Tarn]] called [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]. But sabotage plunged Tarn and [[Vos]] into an inter-city war. An [[Overlord (rank)|Autobot Overlord]] was damaged while trying to sort it out, so Optimus Prime left to get help. However, the Overlord mysteriously perished while under the care of Megatron and Overlord's bodyguard, [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]]. {{storylink|State Games}} Following the destruction of Tarn and Vos, Prime had planned to become a medical officer, but enrolled in the Autobot army as soon as the Decepticons declared war. He was immediately put in charge of the [[Elite Flying Corps]]. {{storylink|Transformers Annual 1987|Optimus Prime datafile}}''

''Optimus Prime saved the life of an Autobot named [[Swoop (G1)|Divebomb]] from another [[Divebomb (G1)|flying Decepticon]] who had previously beaten him and taken his name. "Divebomb" hated Prime with a passion, and was humiliated by his rescue, and so he kept this to himself. {{storylink|What's in a Name?}}''

Optimus Prime quickly made a name for himself as a combat leader. On a mission with the [[Triggerbot]]s to stop Megatron from claiming the [[Underbase]], Prime was forced to jettison the massive databank into space to prevent anyone acquiring its power, but with this action he first proved his wisdom and skill. {{storylink|The Flames of Boltax!}} ''As Optimus Prime's reputation became known, he was promoted to field commander of the entire Autobot army, but regrettably, the [[Council of Autobot Elders]] still pulled the strings. Unknown to the Elders, Optimus Prime began orchestrating unsanctioned military actions. {{storylink|Transformers Annual 1987|Optimus Prime datafile}} As the Great War intensified, Autobot territories began falling under Decepticon dominion, one City-State at a time. The last City-State to be taken was the Autobot capital of Iacon. As Decepticons besieged Iacon, the Council of Elders prepared to surrender. Councillor [[Emirate Xaaron|Xaaron]] suggested that High Councillor [[Traachon]] step down and allow a military officer to assume Autobot leadership. Traachon then used his powers of veto and effectively elected himself out of office, allowing Optimus Prime to assume supreme command of the Autobots, becoming the first soldier to ever hold the mantle of Autobot leadership. {{storylink|And There Shall Come...a Leader!}} ''

[[Image:Optimusprimeg1marvelfirst.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Prime had to go through an experimental "box with a gun on top" phase before he could commit to the truck thing.]]
After over a thousand years of war, Cybertron—shaken from its orbit and drifting through space—came under threat when it floated into the path of a massive asteroid swarm that could potentially devastate the planet. Prime led a group of his most powerful Autobot warriors on the Autobot starship, the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]], on a mission to destroy the asteroids. Although the Autobots were successful, in the aftermath of this mission the Ark was attacked by Decepticons, hoping to overcome their weakened foes. Intent on keeping the secrets of the Ark's computer, [[Auntie]], from the Decepticons, Prime set the craft on a suicide course, crashing it into the prehistoric planet Earth. After lying dormant for four million years, the Ark was awakened by the eruption of [[Mount St. Hilary]] in 1984, and Optimus Prime was rebuilt so that he could reconfigure his body into a semi truck. As the Decepticons fled, Optimus Prime called for a roll call of his own troops. Suspecting that after all this time, Cybertron probably no longer existed, Optimus Prime began studying the planet upon which they had landed; he was startled to realize that this planet did have sentient life! He swore that the Autobots would hide themselves from Earth's natives, so that they would be spared the horrors of the Transformers' war. {{storylink|The Transformers (issue)|The Transformers}}

[[Image:PowerPlay-Optimustransforms.jpg|left|thumb|250px|In the live-action movie's version of this scene, Sparkplug was replaced with some hot chick.]]

Optimus Prime and the other Autobots were all dangerously low on fuel, but thankfully [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] had befriended some humans who could help—[[Sparkplug Witwicky]] and his son, [[Buster Witwicky]]. Leading the Autobots to Sparkplug's auto shop, Optimus Prime introduced himself to the humans. Unfortunately, the Decepticons had the same idea, and the warring factions met in battle. But while Prime was busy shooting Decepticons out of the air, Megatron grabbed Sparkplug, and so Prime was forced to face his nemesis one-on-one. Despite Prime's apparent victory, Sparkplug was snatched away by [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]], and the Decepticons retreated. Optimus Prime acknowledged Buster's sorrow at the kidnapping of his father, but noted that without fuel, retrieving him would be impossible. {{storylink|Power Play!}} Carrying [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] and [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] in his trailer, Optimus Prime and the other Autobots returned to the Ark, where [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] awaited. With the mysterious [[Spider-Man]]'s help, Sparkplug was rescued from the Decepticons' [[Fortress Sinister|cliffside headquarters]], but not before Sparkplug had converted fuel for the Decepticons! {{storylink|Prisoner of War!}} Unfortunately, Optimus Prime couldn't stop the Autobots from overreacting to this bad news, and their actions caused Sparkplug Witwicky to suffer a heart attack. {{storylink|The Last Stand}}

[[Image:Boulderdamfight.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Better get used to seeing this scene.]]

''When the Ark alerted Optimus Prime of a power surge at [[Sherman Dam]], he and his Autobots weren't surprised to find the Decepticons behind it. Afraid of the dam crumbling under the stress of the Decepticons' manipulations, he faced off against Megatron on the top of the dam, brandishing his energy ax. As he trash-talked Megatron, Prime was suddenly distracted by [[Hound (G1)|Hound]]'s defeat. Megatron used this moment to his advantage, knocking Prime off the dam and firing his cannon into the dam itself. Prime quickly assembled his troops, directing them to divert the waves by digging trenches and elevating the neighboring humans. Mirage was angered when the humans still vilified them, despite their hard work, but Prime calmed him. {{storylink|Decepticon Dam-Busters!}}''

''Meanwhile, Optimus Prime sent a team of Autobots to investigate the [[Man of Iron]], a local legend in the [[United Kingdom]]. After befriending [[Sammy Harker]], and tangling with the Decepticons over the remains of the Man of Iron's ship, Optimus Prime and [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] were forced to destroy the ship and its inhabitants, not realizing that its [[Navigator]] knew the location of Cybertron. {{storylink|Man of Iron!}} Back at the Ark, after [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] suffered some sort of psychotic break and had ran off, Optimus Prime decided that hunting Brawn down was crucial, before he could harm any humans! After cornering Brawn, he threatened them with death, but he was quickly overwhelmed, and Optimus Prime carried Brawn's defeated body back to the Ark. In order to prove Brawn's loyalty, a showdown was orchestrated between him and the traitorous Decepticon, [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]]. With the help of [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]]'s holograms, once Brawn had proved himself his death was faked, and the two factions returned to their respective bases. {{storylink|The Enemy Within!}} The Decepticons did not stay there for long, and suddenly a full-scale attack was launched on the Ark! Unfortunately, the Ark's computer systems, "[[Auntie]]", went berserk, and it fell to Optimus and Megatron to team up against the malfunctioning program. Megatron used his ability to tap into the power of a black hole, freeing them, [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] destroyed Auntie, and the Decepticons were forcibly ejected from the Ark. {{storylink|Raiders of the Last Ark}}''

[[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] alerted Optimus Prime to information that Ratchet had uncovered from the Ark's databanks: millions of years ago, the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] battled [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] to a standstill. This raised some questions, but there was little Optimus Prime could do with this knowledge now. With a Decepticon attack imminent, and the Autobots dangerously low on fuel, Optimus Prime had a desperate gamble. Using the [[Tubes of Transference]], the combined remaining fuel was compiled into five of the strongest Autobots, himself, [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]], Huffer, [[Bluestreak]], and [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]]. Sure enough, the Decepticons descended quickly upon them, but even though Prime was still low on fuel, he was still quick enough to grab Starscream out of the air! It was not enough to defeat Megatron, however, and his nemesis hoisted Prime's body over his head in complete victory. ...That is, until Megatron and the other Decepticons doubled over in pain. Sparkplug had poisoned the Decepticons' fuel! Unfortunately, Optimus Prime's subsequent speech was short as he and the other Autobots were blasted into pieces. Shockwave had awakened and returned. {{storylink|The Last Stand}}

[[Image:NewOrder-OptimusPrimehead.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Buster regretted the low volume on his Optimus Prime voice changer helmet.]]

Though the Decepticons had taken over the Ark, Ratchet was able to sneak Buster Witwicky inside, and the young human was startled to find Optimus Prime's decapitated head attached to machinery. {{storylink|The New Order}} Optimus Prime, in this weakened state, pleaded with Buster to detach two power cords and attach them to either side of the human's head. This released a tremendous amount of energy, transferring Optimus Prime's [[Matrix of Leadership|Creation Matrix]] to the human, and Buster blacked out. After Buster awoke, he returned to Ratchet to tell him of Optimus Prime's defeat. {{storylink|The Worse of Two Evils!}} Ratchet had to see this for himself, and he was saddened to find out that Buster was correct. The Autobots were defeated, even including the mighty Optimus Prime! But Optimus would not let Ratchet give up or despair. He pushed Ratchet to action, telling him that even though Ratchet was nothing more than a doctor, now was the time for him to learn to be a warrior. {{storylink|Warrior School!}} Since Shockwave's return, he had wrested leadership of the Decepticons from Megatron, and so the former Decepticon leader was ordered by Shockwave to prepare to move Optimus Prime's head from the Ark to the Decepticons' base of operations within a [[Blackrock Industries]] aerospace plant. {{storylink|Repeat Performance!}}

Shockwave planned to use the Creation Matrix energies within Optimus Prime's head to give life to a new Decepticon army, despite Optimus Prime's obvious objections. Shockwave didn't know that he had transferred most of the energy to Buster Witwicky, so Optimus Prime took quiet solace in the fact that the last of his remaining energies would be used on only six new warriors. ''{{storylink|The Wrath of Guardian!}}'' {{storylink|DIS-Integrated Circuits!}}

[[Image:PrimeTime-Primewantsyou.jpg|thumb|right|250px|He's mad as hell, ain't he ain't gonna take your orders anymore!]]

Optimus Prime's head watched helplessly as Shockwave brought his [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] to life using the rest of Prime's stored Creation Matrix energies. But Shockwave realized something was wrong when Prime failed to give life to his next creation, [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]]. {{storylink|The Next Best Thing to Being There!}} Shockwave deduced what had happened, and so he sent Jetfire (who was still little more than a drone) out to capture Buster. Optimus Prime realized he had put Buster in tremendous risk, but thankfully Buster prevailed. However, with the Matrix energy spent, Prime was useless to Shockwave, and so the Decepticon leader made plans to dispose of the head. {{storylink|Brainstorm!}} In actuality, the head Shockwave disposed of was an impostor. Shockwave had learned that his headquarters were bugged, and so when the Autobots came to retrieve the head from a nearby swamp, the impostor head took control of Prime's body and turned on the Autobots. The day was saved only by the efforts of Buster, who was able to wrest control of Jetfire so that he could deliver the real head to its body. Once again whole, Prime retaliated against the Decepticons battling at the swamp, and one by one, they were destroyed. Shockwave himself arrived to battle Prime, but after they grappled, Shockwave was thrown into the swamps and disappeared. Instead of delivering a final blow, Optimus Prime rushed back to the plant to assure Buster's safety. The nightmare over, Prime transferred the Creation Matrix energies from Buster back into himself. {{storylink|Prime Time!}}

[[Image:Arkchristmastree.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Prime may reconsider his return to the Autobots.]]

''Optimus Prime's dignity restored with his head once again reunited with his body, Prime immediately dressed as Santa Claus to appease Buster's strong sense of [[Christmas]] spirit. {{storylink|Christmas Breaker!}}''

''Optimus Prime questioned his ability to lead after his recent series of trials when a fight broke out amongst the Autobots on whether to use the Creation Matrix to create an army of unstoppable robot monsters. His introspection was interrupted by the intrusion of Ravage. The spy was captured, but it was not known by the Autobots that this was part of a larger Decepticon plot. Ravage escaped easily, and when Bumblebee gave chase, the Autobot was captured by the Decepticons. His disembodied arm was dropped in front of the Ark by [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]], a gauntlet cast. Prime decided to go alone to Decepticon headquarters to rescue Bumblebee, despite the other Autobots' objections. Indeed, Prime bested the Decepticons one-by-one, felling them all, until he arrived, heavily damaged, in the chamber where Bumblebee was held. After making short work of Soundwave, Optimus Prime returned to the Autobots, determined to do things right from then on. {{storylink|Crisis of Command!}}''

''After Optimus Prime visited Bumblebee in the repair bay, the Autobots were surprised to attacked by the Dinobot [[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]], who was thought to be dead. After reclaiming Swoop's mind from [[Professor P. Morris]], Swoop went berserk and left once more. After learning that the Dinobots all would suffer the same involuntary rage, Optimus Prime called for a Dinobot Hunt! {{storylink|The Icarus Theory}} Optimus Prime briefed the Autobots on the Dinobots and their nature and sent them to find the Dinobots in groups. Later, Optimus Prime traveled via [[Ark shuttlecraft]] to put a stop to a fight between Grimlock and Sludge that had claimed several Autobot and human injuries. Prime neutralized the rampaging Dinobots, but was saddened to hear that the Decepticons had seized the opportunity to steal large quantities of energy from the humans while the Autobots were kept busy. With the Dinobots in ruin and the Decepticons fueled, Optimus Prime's Autobots had suffered a major defeat. {{storylink|Dinobot Hunt!}} Optimus Prime later checked in with Ratchet, who was monitoring the comatose Dinobots. He implored Ratchet to find a way to save them from their constant nightmares. {{storylink|Victory!}}''

With the Autobot ranks drastically depleted, Optimus Prime gave life to Jetfire using the Creation Matrix, and performed on him the [[Rite of the Autobrand]]. He guided Jetfire through the Ark; first into Ratchet's repair bay, and next into [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]]'s lab, where additional troops were being assembled. Optimus Prime assigned Bumblebee to train these new recruits, but ordered them not to engage the enemy. When the group stumbled onto a Decepticon plot to siphon energy from a [[Brick Springhorn]] concert, Optimus gathered every able Autobot to assist. However, Bumblebee had disobeyed orders and his rookies had successfully thwarted the Decepticons. {{storylink|Rock and Roll-Out!}}

When a human named [[Donny Finkleberg|Robot-Master]] appeared on television, claiming he controlled all Transformers, Optimus Prime led a team of Autobots into the [[Powder River Basin]] to prevent the human from getting hurt. Megatron, who had frozen, deactivated, at the bottom of the basin, was subsequently re-energized by Soundwave and his minions, and the combined might of their firepower and the human military's drove away Optimus and the Autobots in defeat. {{storylink|I, Robot-Master!}} Afterward, Bumblebee felt he had failed Optimus Prime due to his relative lack of size and strength, and so he ran away. When Optimus discovered that Bumblebee had become a target of interest for the Decepticons, Optimus hurriedly led another team of Autobots to rescue, an act that helped prove Bumblebee's worth to himself. {{storylink|Plight of the Bumblebee!}}

[[Image:RobotBuster-outofyourminds.jpg|right|thumb|250px|"There's ''no slaggin' way'' Mary-Kate is the cutest Olsen Twin!"]]

''Optimus Prime was absolutely appalled to discover that Wheeljack and Ratchet had built Buster Witwicky an armored suit to aid him in the battle against the Decepticons, asking them out right if they had lost their minds. Though Buster protested, noting that since he was trusted with holding the Creation Matrix he should be trusted with the suit as well, Optimus Prime ordered the armored suit destroyed. But Buster stole the armored suit under cover of night and attacked the Decepticon headquarters, plowing through the Decepticons until he reached Shockwave. Shockwave bested the human, but the arrival of Optimus Prime and the Autobots convinced Shockwave to spare his life. {{storylink|Robot Buster!}} Following this incident, Buster began having strange nightmares, and Optimus Prime suspected that these nightmares were induced by the Creation Matrix. {{storylink|Devastation Derby!}} Wanting to investigate these Creation Matrix-induced dreams, Optimus Prime and Buster were hooked up to machinery so that the human could share them. Optimus Prime and Buster witnessed strange five-robot combiners from each faction named [[Special Teams]], and awoke shouting their name. They had seen a vision of the next generation of Transformers... {{storylink|Second Generation!}}''

Meanwhile on Cybertron, a group of Autobots were happy to learn that Optimus Prime and his Autobots still lived. {{storylink|The Smelting Pool!}}

[[Image:CommandPerformances-Autobotsattack.jpg|left|thumb|300px|"Year Two toys, attack!"]]

In front of all the active Autobots, Optimus Prime and [[Grapple]] unveiled their secret project: [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]]! Designed to be their last line of defense, Prime planned to leave Omega Supreme to guard the Ark while Prime led the Autobots to the Decepticon river basin headquarters to steal combiner technology from Devastator and promptly leave. The Dinobots scoffed at this plan, refusing to start a battle in which they were required to run away from, and so Grimlock and his Dinobots seceded from the Autobots. Though [[Skids (G1)|Skids]] raised concerns, Optimus Prime maintained that he had allowed for this. In fact, he allowed for everything save the interference of the humans, and after the mission was successfully pulled off, one human came after Skids for revenge. Optimus Prime regretfully had to leave Skids behind. {{storylink|Command Performances!}}

''Learning of the Dinobots' disastrous solo adventures, Optimus Prime wanted to disown them, but reluctantly acknowledged that they were necessary muscle for the team. Tragically, while speaking to the Autobots about their war thus far on Earth, he, Prowl, and Ratchet mysteriously vanished in a flash of light! {{storylink|Target: 2006}} They found themselves in a strange dimension called [[Limbo]], where they battled violent creatures. They soon allied with Shockwave, [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]], and [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]], who were also shunted into this dimension. The creatures' attack stopped only when Prime realized that they fed on their negative emotions. {{storylink|Distant Thunder!}} Upon his return, Optimus learned that they had been displaced by Autobots and Decepticons traveling from the future. {{storylink|Time Wars}}''

As Ratchet sealed up one of Prime's wounds, the Autobot commander was delighted to see Skids was alive, having returned to him along with [[Donny Finkleberg]] (previously the Robot-Master). They had news for him regarding the arrival of Autobot reinforcements from Cybertron, but they were interrupted by a news bulletin. [[Hoover Dam]] was being attacked by Decepticons, so Optimus Prime lept from the repair bay despite Ratchet's objections to call the new [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]] into service. {{storylink|Aerialbots over America!}} Later Ratchet was able to finish sealing Prime's wound, but not before the [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticon]] [[Bombshell]] was able to implant a [[cerebro-shell]] within Prime's body. Through this link, the Decepticons would be able to share use of the Creation Matrix to give life to new troops! The Aerialbots hadn't done well on their first outing, so as Optimus Prime reformatted them, Megatron gave life to the [[Stunticon]]s! {{storylink|Heavy Traffic!}}

''Optimus Prime observed the records of how poorly the Autobots performed in his absence in Limbo, specifically how they went so far as to seek leadership from Megatron out of sheer desperation. Optimus Prime began to consider whether he was too important to the Autobots, and if they could carry on should he fall. To alleviate his doubts, he and a reluctant [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] plotted to fake Prime's death to teach the Autobots how to fend for themselves. While Prime was setting up an impostor version of himself to leave behind destroyed for the Autobots to find, Megatron sent the [[Predacon (G1)|Predacons]] to attack Prime. {{storylink|Prey!}}''

[[Image:HarderTheyDie-Iaconno.jpg|right|thumb|300px|You can't go home again.]]

''During the scuffle, Optimus and Megatron were transported to Cybertron, while Prime's counterfeit body, torn apart, was found by the Autobots. Optimus Prime surveyed Cybertron for the first time in four million years, and he couldn't believe how terrible it had fallen. Cities and buildings were cut to the ground, and even his beloved [[Iacon]] was in shambles. After Prime saved [[Outback]] from a roving Decepticon, the tiny Autobot followed him despite Prime's wishes to be alone. Unfortunately, Megatron (in league with [[Straxus (G1)|Straxus]]) had spread rumors that an imposter Optimus Prime had infiltrated Cybertron, which were readily believed due to Prime's four-million-year absence. Before too long, Prime was surrounded and shackled by [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] and the [[Wrecker]]s! {{storylink|The Harder They Die!}} With Outback's help, Prime was able to escape, but not without Outback suffering mortal wounds. {{storylink|Under Fire!}} As Outback began to die in his arms, Prime told Outback of the time he, Prowl, and Ratchet were stuck in Limbo. His words were overheard by the Wreckers, but hearing Prime's words convinced [[Emirate Xaaron]] that this was in fact the real Optimus Prime! {{storylink|Distant Thunder!}}''

[[Image:Primefuneralnumberone.jpg|left|thumb|200px|He approved of it ''so much'' that when he died for real the next day, they instead shot him into space.]]

''The return of Optimus Prime was a welcome boost to the Autobot underground resistance. Not only did Autobot morale increase, but Decepticons were spooked at his very appearance! But after a few strategic victories, Prime knew he had to return to Earth. Prime and Ultra Magnus planned one last raid—they would siege [[Polyhex]] and destroy Megatron! But Megatron's "eccentricities" had become too much for Cybertron's Decepticons to handle, and in the middle of their battle, all three were whisked away to Earth by the [[space bridge]]. Optimus Prime appeared before the Autobots just as they had finished their Earth-inspired burial of the impostor body he had left behind. {{storylink|Resurrection!}}''

[[Image:Afterdeath-gameoverman.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Game over, man! Game over!]]

The Autobots had been monitoring the humans' creation of [[Power Station Alpha]], and Optimus Prime, sensing its completion would need closer inspection, sent Bumblebee to its unveiling. {{storylink|Blood on the Tracks}} Optimus Prime met an anticlimactic end in a gambit for [[Energy Futures Industries]]' [[Hydrothermocline]]. He and the [[Protectobot (G1)|Protectobots]] agreed to fight Megatron and the [[Combaticon]]s in a simulated, virtual world named ''[[Multi-World]]''. But when Megatron cheated, Prime resorted to killing virtual beings to gain the upper hand, and despite his victory Prime believed he had truly lost. Before their eyes, the human [[Ethan Zachary]] detonated Optimus Prime's body, as was previously agreed. In secret, Ethan secured away a [[floppy disk]] that held a copy of Optimus Prime's mind. {{storylink|Afterdeath!}} Meanwhile, [[Superion (G1)|Superion]] had been sent to investigate Bumblebee's destruction at the hands of [[G.I. Joe]], but he was recalled in the middle of this altercation when it was discovered that Optimus Prime had been "assassinated". {{storylink|Power Struggle}}

Optimus Prime's death unhinged Megatron further. The Decepticon leader simply couldn't believe that his eternal foe was truly dead, and he began blowing up random trucks. Megatron's paranoia grew so much that he blew up the Space Bridge with himself on it. {{storylink|Gone but Not Forgotten!}} Ratchet's subsequent efforts to restore Optimus Prime were unsuccessful, and after much grieving, Optimus Prime's body was launched into space as per Cybertronian custom. Omega Supreme presided over his funeral, and both he and [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] gave eulogies. {{storylink|Funeral for a Friend!}} {{storylink|Ashes, Ashes...}}

In front of a holographic image of Optimus Prime's head, the surviving Autobots tried to choose a new leader. Optimus Prime's replacement would be like him: a great warrior, wise, compassionate, kind, and courageous. As luck would have it, Grimlock chose exactly that moment to show all of those qualities for the first and only time in his life. {{storylink|King of the Hill!}}

Optimus Prime's funeral barge eventually crashed on a giant moon of [[VsQs]], where it lay for untold time. {{storylink|Dark Creation}}

[[Image:Ethanzacharypretendertothethrone.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Reaching level 70 was a momentous occasion.]]

Years passed as [[Ethan Zachary]], who still possessed the floppy disk that contained a copy of Optimus Prime's mind, tried to coax it into full sentience. This copy of Optimus Prime believed he was a video game character and nothing more, despite Ethan Zachary's constant prodding. Ethan thought he finally had a chance to jolt Prime back to his old self when he was investigated by [[Bumblebee (G1)|Goldbug]]. The two put Optimus Prime in charge of a real team of Autobots, the [[Pretender]]s, and the disk copy Prime led them in battle against Decepticon Pretenders. Prime's delusions were unshaken. {{storylink|Pretender to the Throne!}} Goldbug took the disk with him, and attempts to rebuild Optimus Prime ended in failure. An argument over supreme Autobot leadership erupted between Grimlock's earthbound Autobots and a group of Autobots who had just arrived from [[Nebulos]] under the leadership of [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]]. Ultimately, Fortress Maximus realized that Optimus Prime was the true leader of the Autobots, not anyone else, and so he sent Goldbug, [[Joyride (Autobot)|Joyride]], [[Slapdash]], and [[Getaway]] back to Nebulos where the technology existed to fully restore Optimus Prime to life. {{storylink|Totaled!}}

[[Image:PeoplePower-reprogrammed.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Seriously, Prime's been playing WoW waaaay too long.]]

It wasn't quite so simple, however. Fortress Maximus's Autobots had left Nebulos in ruin, and the planet poisoned its fuel supply so that robots could never return and wage war. A loophole was found, however, in the [[Powermaster]] process, created by the scientist [[Hi-Q]]. As luck would have it, Hi-Q was the exact person Goldbug was searching for to rebuild Optimus Prime, but the scientist refused on the grounds that he would be reintroducing the war to his planet—and he didn't believe the Transformers were any more than clever yet unsentient machines. Optimus Prime was rebuilt anyway, even though he wouldn't live very long at all without unpoisoned fuel. Hi-Q changed his mind on the sentience of Transformers when he saw the rebuilt Optimus Prime (shocked out of his video game persona delusions) interact with Goldbug. Hi-Q underwent the Powermaster process himself to save Optimus Prime's life, and Powermaster Optimus Prime was able to defeat two Powermaster-enhanced Decepticons, [[Dreadwind (G1)|Dreadwind]] and [[Darkwing]]. Optimus Prime and his crew left Nebulos with their new Nebulon partners. {{storylink|People Power!}}

Prime quickly proved himself to be a fool, for he dared to ignore [[Rorza, the Rocket-cycle Racer from Rigel III]]. {{storylink|The Cosmic Carnival!}}

''Before reuniting with the other Earthbound Autobots, Optimus Prime and the other Powermasters took a [[Ark shuttlecraft|shuttle]] to Earth on [[Christmas]] Day. Optimus Prime, seeing Earth's frozen wasteland, wondered why he even cared about the Earth in the first place, much less fought desperately to defend it. But after recalling the events that first brought him there, he remembered that it was his fault that the Ark crashed there four million years ago, and so any pain and suffering caused by the Transformers' war was his burden. {{storylink|Cold Comfort and Joy!}}''

Once Optimus Prime had assumed command of the Autobots orbiting Earth aboard the Ark, he learned via television about the Decepticons' baffling island vacation resort, [[Club Con]]. Optimus Prime sent Blaster to investigate. {{storylink|Club Con!}}

[[Image:TimeWars-OptimusPrimeentersthefray.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Enter a new challenger!]]

''Despite a mysterious disruption in time and space that threatened all reality, due to [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]'s adventures in his own past (which was Prime's present), Optimus Prime halted a conference on the matter to rescue [[Highbrow (G1)|Highbrow]]. While Highbrow apologized for interrupting more important matters, he, Optimus Prime, and a few other Autobots were displaced to Limbo once again, allowing [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus Prime]] and other Autobots from the future to investigate the mysterious disruption. The other present-day Autobots thought Optimus Prime and the others had been disintegrated, and so attacked the "impostor" Autobots under Rodimus Prime's command, but Optimus spoke to them through Rodimus Prime's Matrix and calmed them down. A crazed yet seemingly unbeatable Galvatron attacked them, and Optimus Prime debated whether he should leave Limbo and team up with Rodimus against him, even though two Matrix-bearers coexisting at the same time would accelerate the timestorm's destruction of reality. Eventually, Optimus decided to ignore the dangers, and he materialized through Rodimus Prime's Matrix and fought Galvatron. Finally, Galvatron himself was eaten by the timestorm, and Scourge and the body of Cyclonus were also fed to it, which caused the timestorm to subside temporarily. Rodimus Prime promised to Optimus Prime that he would destroy all time machines when he returned to the future. {{storylink|Time Wars}}''

[[Image:Fortmaxboat.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Prime's not back five minutes and he's already using the previous leader as his personal boat.]]

Optimus Prime and Fortress Maximus accompanied Blaster to where Club Con used to be located, but it had been relocated by then. Prime assured [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] that the search for his brother Buster, who had been kidnapped by the Decepticons, would continue. {{storylink|Cold War!}} Sure enough, a distress signal in the Arctic led the Autobots to Buster, but also to a Decepticon ambush! After several Autobots were incapacitated, the battle stopped when it was discovered that this had all been arranged by Starscream, who had launched into space to seize the powers of the long lost [[Underbase]]. As the Autobots and Decepticons formed a loose alliance to stop Starscream, Optimus Prime warned that he learned when he was young that fully possessing the Underbase led madness or death. Starscream was stopped before he could absorb all of the Underbase, but he had absorbed enough of it to be able to destroy the Decepticons' island spacecraft in which the two factions were traveling. Thankfully, Optimus Prime had thought ahead and had the Ark follow them there in case of an emergency.

Several teams of allied Autobots and Decepticons followed Starscream to Earth to stop him, but Optimus Prime insisted that he stay behind on the Ark to work on a plan on his own. [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]] and [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] had growing suspicions that the Autobot leader was really trying to claim the rest of the Underbase for himself, and they snuck on board as the Transformers on Earth were being shut down en masse by Starscream. Unfortunately for Optimus, they caught him while Hi-Q was disconnected from him, and so he was drastically overpowered. Optimus revealed to Scorponok that he was not trying to possess the Underbase... rather, he had been working on a rocket to deflect the Underbase towards Earth. He knew Starscream would try to absorb the rest, and sure enough, Starscream did—growing in size and power before their eyes. But possession of the Underbase resulted in madness ''and'' death, and Starscream's massive body exploded. Scorponok apologized for his bad appraisal of Optimus Prime's intentions, and the two commanders resolved to cease fighting so that they could gather their wounded and resume the fight another day. {{storylink|Dark Star (issue)|Dark Star}}

Now that Buster had been reclaimed from the Decepticons, Spike told Optimus Prime that he felt his obligation to the Autobots was over. Prime reluctantly let Spike go, but told him that he was more attached to Fortress Maximus than he knew. {{storylink|The Man in the Machine!}} Not only was now Fortress Maximus out of commission, but the Autobots had suffered incredible losses at the hands of the Underbase-powered Starscream. Optimus Prime assigned [[Cloudburst]] and [[Landmine (G1)|Landmine]] to purchase microchips on the black market at [[Grand Central Space Station]], knowing their Pretender shells would allow them to hide their robotic forms from the robotophobic aliens there. {{storylink|Guess Who the Mecannibals Are Having for Dinner?}} Cloudburst and Landmine reached an ethical impasse involving the microchips, and so Optimus Prime reached out to Cybertron for reinforcements. He called upon the [[Micromaster]]s, specifically the [[Race Car Patrol]] and [[Off Road Patrol]], to investigate some Decepticon-originated weather problems in [[New York City]]. Hi-Q worried that the Micromasters were unreliable punks, but they were able to prove themselves against the Decepticons in the end, though they refused to join the Autobots proper. {{storylink|King Con!}}

[[Image:Doubledealerofthecentury.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Optimus Prime is also corresponding with a cash-strapped Nicaraguan prince...]]

''The Race Car Patrol accompanied Prime on a more rural mission: receiving stolen Autobot resistance plans couriered by [[Chainclaw]]. But a Decepticon, [[Doubledealer|Dealer]], abducted Chainclaw before he could deliver them, and offered the plans back to Prime as a ransom. Optimus Prime accepted, and a new Autobot named [[Doubledealer|Double]] offered to deliver the Energon payment himself. But Double never made it, and he returned to Optimus defeated with Chainclaw's injured form, having been "ransacked" by "the Decepticons". {{storylink|(Double) Deal of the Century!}}

''Optimus Prime lamented that he could no longer use the Creation Matrix to heal his fallen troops, as the Matrix was inside his old body which had been shot into space; the Autobots did not know the Matrix was in Optimus Prime's chest to remove. On cue, a being who called himself [[Deathbringer]] appeared on Earth, and it was seemingly powered by a piece of the Creation Matrix! Death Bringer proved to be invulnerable, but Optimus Prime couldn't bring himself to harm something that held the essence of the Matrix anyhow. But after enough destruction, Optimus Prime was finally able to defeat it with help from [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]], who convinced it to self-destruct in concordance with its primary function. {{storylink|Deathbringer (issue)|Deathbringer}}'' {{storylink|Dark Creation}}

''Thunderwing led a seemingly suicidal assault on the Ark, entirely for the purpose of seeking revenge against his defeat at the hands of Nightbeat, [[Siren]], and [[Hosehead]]. Optimus Prime took Thunderwing on, berating him for having more courage than sense. True to Prime's words, Thunderwing's own troops dragged him away. {{storylink|Assault on the Ark!}}''

Optimus Prime ordered Ratchet to get some downtime, fearing his overworked medic (and friend) was losing his grip on sanity. Soon after, Optimus Prime saw news reports of the Micromaster [[Air Strike Patrol]] holding [[MacDill Air Force Base]] hostage, so he took the largest ensemble of troops down to Earth he could muster, given the Autobots' depleted ranks. {{storylink|Back from the Dead}} As he told the Micromasters to surrender or face the consequences, he received a transmission from Ratchet, back at the Ark, but [[Storm Cloud (G1)|Storm Cloud]] fired at Prime's communicator before the message could be completed. This enraged Optimus Prime, who began to suspect grander, more sinister things at work behind the scenes. Optimus Prime had been led to a staged battle, but before he could leave, Scorponok and his Decepticons also arrived, itching for a fight! But after the circumstances of the day, Optimus Prime wasn't about to deny them the opportunity, and he fought back with shocking, cold fury that baffled even Scorponok. The humans at the Air Force base called out Prime on his reckless violence, and Prime apologized for his outburst. {{storylink|The Resurrection Gambit!}}

Since Optimus Prime knew the battle was staged, he scaled back his troops accordingly, and ordered them to return to the Ark and leave him behind. [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] refused and stayed behind, helping Optimus Prime fend off the hordes of Decepticons who had attacked him. But Optimus Prime stopped Hot Rod short of firing on [[Zarak (Nebulan)|Lord Zarak]], as Optimus Prime had begun to appeal to his sense of logic. Someone was pulling the strings! Scorponok hesitated, but before an agreement could be reached, they were confronted by an old enemy thought defeated—Starscream! {{storylink|All the Familiar Faces!}}

Though Starscream's performance started out impressive, he soon began to show his true cowardly colors, and so both factions again parted ways. Once again Optimus Prime turned his thoughts towards Ratchet... {{storylink|Skin Deep}}

[[Image:YesterdaysHeroes-Whyyyy.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Meanwhile, nobody mourns poor [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]].]]

...but it was too late! Ratchet had sacrificed himself to destroy Megatron, the orchestrator behind the events at MacDill Air Force Base. Optimus Prime was overcome with grief, and he decided to stop fighting altogether. After parking the Ark on Earth's moon, he walked out on its surface, apparently never to return again. This, of course, caused the Autobots to worry about the future of their cause, and Hot Rod quickly threw together a risky plan to win Prime back. He plotted a "rampage" by an "out-of-control" [[Mark V Guardian Droid]] to whisk Prime back into fighting shape, but when the droid truly went out of control, the plan worked just a little too well. Prime came to his senses, returned to the Ark, and destroyed the droid, but not before several Autobots suffered genuine injury. {{storylink|Yesterday's Heroes!}}

Meanwhile, their creator, [[Primus]] had awakened within Cybertron, alerting his enemy [[Unicron]] to its location. Since the only thing that could stop Unicron was the Creation Matrix, and the Creation Matrix had been shot into space inside Optimus Prime's funeral barge, Prime and Emirate Xaaron assembled several teams of Autobots to scour a specific star system in which the funeral barge likely would have landed. {{storylink|Bird of Prey!}} Though Optimus Prime was never very comfortable with the mystical side of the Creation Matrix, he approached an altar aboard the Ark and was given a vision of a Matrix corrupted by evil and imminent oblivion! {{storylink|Kings of the Wild Frontier}} After several dead ends, the Prime's funeral barge and the Creation Matrix were found on the barren moon of [[VsQs]]. Optimus Prime and Hot Rod went together to meet the [[All-Terrain Turbo-Transport]] as it landed, but were shocked to realize that Autobots were not delivering the Matrix at all! No, they were face to face with Lord Thunderwing, the Creation Matrix's next vessel! {{storylink|Dark Creation}}

[[Image:AllFallDown-andweshallwin.jpg|left|thumb|300px|"The sky will open. The lights will come down. Celestial choirs will be singing and everyone will know we should do the right thing and the world will be perfect!"]]

Powered by the corrupted energies of the Matrix, Thunderwing was unstoppable. Even so, Optimus Prime pleaded for his troops to avoid trying to damage Thunderwing, for the Matrix was their only chance to destroy Unicron! After numerous losses were incurred, however, Optimus Prime decided to forgo the soft touch, and the Autobot leader let loose his full fury on the possessed Decepticon leader. More and more, the Matrix assumed control of Thunderwing, even taking control of his mind, but Prime could not make Thunderwing notice he was losing control of his own body. Thunderwing was not stopped by Prime's strength or by logic or reason, but by the cunning of Nightbeat. Nightbeat harpooned Thunderwing to the All-Terrain Turbo-Transport, shut off the artificial gravity systems, and Thunderwing and the transport were flung out into space. Thunderwing and the Matrix were presumed destroyed when the transport's self-destruct activated. Despite this seemingly catastrophic loss, Optimus Prime vowed to never give hope or give in to evil. With good on their side, they would ultimately prevail! {{storylink|...All Fall Down!}}

[[Image:PriceofLife-Icannot.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Optimus Prime is firmly against the Right to Die movement.]]

With the Matrix out of the picture, Optimus Prime fell to another prophecy, one that claimed that Unicron could be destroyed if all Transformers worked together as one. That would be impossible so long as the war continued, so Prime announced his intentions to surrender the Autobots to the Decepticons on Earth. Unsurprisingly, this was met with hostility. Optimus Prime was also still hung up on Ratchet's death, and had assigned Nightbeat to investigate it. Nightbeat suggested that Ratchet and Megatron may still be alive in [[Unspace]], the dimension that serves as a middleman between transdimensional portal openings. Nightbeat was correct, but there were complications. He was able to pull Ratchet out of Unspace, but Ratchet had been fused molecularly with Megatron into one frightening creature! {{storylink|Eye of the Storm!}} Optimus Prime refused to let anyone harm the creature. This caused even more complications when the creature, unchecked, began to tear apart the Ark's engine systems. [[Kup (G1)|Kup]], Prime's security officer, warned him that if he didn't put the creature down, he would personally remove Prime from command. Optimus Prime reluctantly approached the creature, intending to kill it, but when the half that was Ratchet put the barrel of Prime's gun to its own head, begging Prime to kill it, Optimus Prime had second thoughts. He ordered [[Fixit]] to separate the two, even though Megatron would survive. Worse, one could not survive without the other. This did not please Kup and the others. {{storylink|The Price of Life!}}

True to his word, Optimus Prime surrendered his Autobots to Scorponok's Decepticons, stationed in the [[New Jersey (Earth)|New Jersey]] swamps. The Decepticons were enjoying this turn of events a little too much, which drew an outburst from Kup. Optimus Prime tried to tell Kup to have patience, but Kup reminded him that the Optimus Prime he knew would never back down, never surrender, no matter what the cost! But no matter, the deed was done, and Optimus Prime and the Autobots were escorted into cells. After a while, Optimus Prime began to suspect that Scorponok didn't really want to talk about an alliance against Unicron at all, and was ignoring the long term to satisfy his short term problems with commanding respect amongst his troops. Optimus Prime knocked aside Soundwave, his guard, and found Kup and Hot Rod. Unfortunately, Kup wouldn't be so easily rounded up, citing Prime's recent problems. But Prime pleaded to him at length, noting that for a warrior race, perhaps surrender took the most courage of all! Kup quietly admitted Prime was right, and the three Autobots burst into Scorponok's quarters, where Scorponok's body had been stowed, leaving Lord Zarak and Bludgeon mostly vulnerable. Zarak and Hot Rod grabbed a hostage each, but Prime ordered both sides to stand down. They had to begin trusting each other, if they were to team up against Unicron. Optimus Prime and Scorponok were once again about to reach an agreement when they were once again interrupted! A splinter team of Decepticons, led by Shockwave and Starscream, attacked the Decepticons' underground base, causing it to implode. {{storylink|Surrender!}}

Optimus Prime's immediate concern was damage control—and not just towards the humans in nearby New York City, but to the fragile alliance that was nearly formed! He and Nighbeat left to keep Scorponok and Shockwave's feud from reaching New York, but the fight was accelerated with the arrival of [[G.B. Blackrock]]'s new superhuman team, the [[Neo-Knights]]! {{storylink|...All This and Civil War 2}} Their best chance at securing the alliance was keeping Scorponok alive, but [[Circuit Breaker]] was making it very difficult. Finally, once Shockwave was out of the picture, Optimus Prime and Scorponok once again (again) went to shake hands... {{storylink|Out of Time!}} when all Earthbound Transformers were all whisked away by Primus to Cybertron. Primus spoke to them through the glowing body of Emirate Xaaron, telling them of the eternal conflict between himself and Unicron. Primus also selected Optimus Prime to be the Transformers' leader, which caught the attention of a hidden sect of [[Unicron cultist]]s. While Scorponok confided in Prime that he was scared, the two were jumped by the cultists. Scorponok, the Autobots, and even the rest of the Decepticon army came to Prime's rescue, and it seemed the alliance was finally forged. ...Till, at least, Kup pointed out that Unicron himself was hovering over the planet, ready for attack. Prime took the opportunity to double over in debilitating pain, a condition he had been hiding from the Autobots for some time. {{storylink|The Void! (US)|The Void!}}

[[Image:EdgeofExtinction-sothatallmaylive.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Prime's been reading his [[Jesus|New Testament]].]]

Kup and Getaway tried to push Prime along, but the force of Unicron's claws punching into the surface of Cybertron sent them reeling. Just the sheer impossible size of Unicron paralyzed Optimus Prime and Scorponok with fear and awe. Primus, still using Emirate Xaaron's body as an avatar, tried to intervene, but was destroyed; Optimus Prime cried out in loss. Optimus Prime was not shaken into action until a [[Galvatron II|brave, unidentified soldier]] attacked Unicron singlehandledly and was swatted away. The Autobot leader charged into action, but their attacks had little effect. Scorponok was among the casualties, and Optimus Prime waited with the melted body of his former foe until death. Scorponok, having martyred himself, asked Optimus Prime if he "did good". Optimus Prime nodded, called him his friend, and finally Scorponok passed away. Unfortunately, it was Optimus Prime's turn. A Matrix-possessed Thunderwing had suddenly returned, but although Thunderwing's body was completely disintegrated by Unicron, that left the Matrix itself unaccounted for. Prime ejected Hi-Q from his chest, knowing this next act would kill him. He seized the Matrix, fought its corruption, and plunged himself and the Matrix into Unicron's maw. Unicron exploded. {{storylink|On the Edge of Extinction!}}

[[Image:EndOfTheRoad-itcanitis.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Gotta sell that one last toy!]]

The Transformers' ultimate battle was won, but the cost was high! What was left of Optimus Prime's body was found, and he was amazingly still holding on to life, thanks to the Matrix energy that he'd absorbed. But he hadn't much longer, so he pulled Prowl close to him and told him that Grimlock would lead the Autobots. Prime died (again), and Prowl screamed in agony. But before too long, after the Powermaster absorbed [[Nucleon]] energy from Grimlock, Hi-Q announced that ''he'' was Optimus Prime! {{storylink|Still Life!}} Since Cybertron was threatening to break apart after the stress of Unicron's attack, Hi-Q and the other Neo-Knights were packed up on a ship meant to escape the planet. But Hi-Q had other ideas. {{storylink|Exodus!}} He persuaded the Neo-Knights to stay on the dying planet and search for the [[Last Autobot]], explaining that the pains Optimus Prime were feeling before he died were the start of a larger metamorphosis. If Prime had lived, the Powermaster process would have eventually merged the two into one, but it continued on even with Prime dead. Thankfully for the Neo-Knights, Hi-Q was not crazy, and they stumbled across the storage chamber for the Last Autobot. {{storylink|The Last Autobot?}}

The Last Autobot set in motion the planet's healing process and took interest in Hi-Q. A new robotic body was forged around Hi-Q's, and he and Optimus Prime were truly combined into one being! Optimus Prime, fully reborn as an [[Action Master]], took the Neo-Knights and the Last Autobot to [[Klo]], where the final battle was taking place. The Autobots had been dwindled to just five of their number, and the Decepticons were approaching total victory, when Optimus Prime miraculously returned. Optimus Prime ushered in a new age of peace and harmony by shoving his fists through the Decepticons' heads and torsos, and with some resurrection help from the Last Autobot, the dead Autobots were restored and the Decepticons were forced to flee. The war finally over, Optimus Prime told his fellow Autobots that they'd help Klo rebuild... and then they'd finally go home! {{storylink|End of the Road! (US)|End of the Road!}}
{{-}}

=====Marvel UK future timelines=====
''In an alternate timeline, Optimus Prime still maintained his Powermaster body in 1995. When a feminist group on Earth raised complaints that all the Autobots seemed to fit male archetypes, Optimus tried to appease them in the name of public relations. Unfortunately, his "appeasement" came in the form of a powder pink token Autobot female named [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]]. That...didn't go over well. {{storylink|Prime's Rib!}}''

''Years later, in 2004, Prime was back in his original Earthen appearance. While attending the grand opening of Autobot City on Earth, the Autobots came under fire from Shockwave and his Decepticons. Optimus Prime and the Autobots bravely used their bodies as shields to protect their human guests until the Decepticons were driven off. {{storylink|Aspects of Evil!}}''

=====Earthforce=====
{{earthforcefiction}}
[[Image:Primevsgrimlockbreakaway.jpg|left|200px|thumb|That's got to be theraputic.]]
''While dealing with the oncoming threat of Unicron, Optimus Prime came under a great deal of stress and began actively berating [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] and his newly reactivated Dinobots for their more brutal methods of combating the enemy. {{storylink|Two Steps Back!}} This reprimand prompted Grimlock to offer his resignation from the Autobot army. Tempers got heated, and the two Autobots actually started brawling with one another in the conference room. After a few minutes of furious fighting, however, Prime and Grimlock effectively beat some sense into each other. Optimus Prime decided to take the Ark and its crew out into space, leaving Grimlock behind to command an "Earthforce" of Autobots, dedicated to protecting the planet in his absence. {{storylink|Break-Away!}}''

''Optimus Prime returned briefly for an inspection after the Autobot Earthbase was completed, and the Dinobots barely managed to keep him from learning about the berserker rages which plague [[Slag (G1)|Slag]] every few million years. {{storylink|The 4,000,000 Year Itch!}} He also oversaw the reconstruction of [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] in Wheeljack's repair bay, leaving the vain Autobot under Grimlock's command before returning to space. {{storylink|Makin' Tracks!}}''
{{-}}

=====Another Time and Place=====
{{note|This text story was later [[Retcon|retconned]] away by the events of ''[[Generation 2 (Marvel Comics)|Generation 2]]''.}}

[[Image:TFAnnual1991rip.JPG|left|thumb|200px|They will keep each half in separate BFF lockets.]]

After Klo, the Autobots returned to Cybertron in an effort to rebuild the planetary government and resources. Optimus Prime naturally took the lead in these endeavours, but matters weighed heavily on his spark. The [[Nucleon]]-soaked Hi-Q at the core of his new body was one thing, reducing Prime to a non-transforming "[[Action Master|Actionmaster]]" like many of his fellow Autobots. But more importantly, Optimus Prime feared that the newfound peace on Cybertron would not last. He desperately wanted his soldiers to stop being soldiers, yet was petrified that something might come along and disturb their inactivity. This trepidation kept Optimus from stopping Grimlock from jetting off on an ill-advised mission to [[Hydrus Four]] in search of a way to reverse the Nucleon process, and he even refused to listen to Prowl when he reported that Grimlock took off to Hydrus Four anyway. Prowl struck a chord, however, when he pointed out that if he could track Grimlock's destination, so could the Decepticons. Shamed by Prowl's rebuke, Optimus Prime soon pushed aside his recalcitrance and assembled a strike team to go after the Dinobots.

On Hydrus Four, the Autobots discovered the Decepticons had taken over the medical facility with the Nucleon supply, and taken the Dinobots hostage. It seemed Bludgeon had a plan for the Nucleon, using it to recreate Megatron himself. With a surgical strike, however, they managed to free the Dinobots and take the fight to the enemy. Optimus confronted Bludgeon himself in battle, but was saved when Grimlock suddenly charged through and struck the Decepticon leader in dino-mode. It turned out the Nucleon process could be reversed after all! After that, all Prime and Grimlock had to do was tear apart the zombie-like, half-revived Megatron. Piece o' cake. {{storylink|Another Time and Place}}
{{-}}

====''Generation 2''====
[[Image:Optimusprime-g2.jpg|right|250px|thumb|More apocalyptic visions than you can shake a covenant at.]]

As time passed, with the Decepticons supposed in exile and Cybertron at peace, the Autobots functionally disbanded. They scattered across the galaxies, with many retiring in peace while others continued to fight for peace among other civilizations they came across. The time came when Optimus Prime was called back into the skirmish, alongside his honor guard of [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] and [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]], when Grimlock and his combat unit discovered a greater [[Cybertronian (faction)|Cybertronian Empire]] that had sprouted up without their noticing it. These next generation Decepticons, led by the Liege Centuro [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]], would conquer world after world using terraforming and exo-structuring processes to remake raw materials into a new Cybertron for their use. Optimus Prime, Grimlock and their "Dirty Dozen" of Autobots began a small resistance movement against Jhiaxus and his people, but realized they were out of their depth. As the call went out to reassemble the Autobot army en masse, Prime worried that they were still missing some greater threat—he had begun experiencing visions of an unknown peril that was heading their way, and wasn't sure if even the united Autobots would be enough to deal with it. {{storylink|War Without End!}}

Until he could identify this secondary threat, Prime ordered the Autobots to remain inactive at an Autobase built into a small asteroid belt. But certainly Grimlock was having none of that. He grabbed a sizeable percentage of their displaced warriors who had already arrived and headed out after Jhiaxus and his flagship, [[Twilight]]. Naturally, they got in over their heads. Prime grabbed some of his personal soldiers (Hot Rod, Kup, Prowl, [[Hound (G1)|Hound]]) and hijacked a strike ship to get close enough to Twilight for a rescue mission. Once Grimlock and his men were sent out on a prison vessel, Optimus blasted the ship just enough to cause chaos, and give Grimlock enough time to overtake the crew. {{storylink|Devices and Desires! (Marvel)|Devices and Desires!}}

Surprisingly enough, he gave Grimlock no rebuke once they met up again—in fact, Prime put the Dinobot commander in charge of the entire army! In order to fully understand the visions of impending doom he was receiving, Optimus Prime decided he needed to return to Cybertron itself, to help "cut through the static" that was garbling whatever message the Matrix was trying to send him. Engaging in a quasi-mystical ritual to expand his psychic boundaries, Optimus cast himself mentally back through time to witness the birth of the first Transformers, [[Prima]], as he rose from the living structure of Cybertron itself. What he saw next, however, was astonishing—Cybertronians birthing new Cybertronians themselves, causing living metal to burst forth from them in a bio-morphic reproduction process called "[[Reproduction#Budding|budding]]". Primus had apparently allowed this only up till a point, allowing the race to evolve in stages before discontinuing the ability and the memory of it from his progeny. Jhiaxus and his new Cybertronians, however, were the end result of some Decepticons somehow relearning the budding process. They were stronger, yes, and perhaps more evolved physically, but their souls, their sparks, were distilled too many times over. Optimus Prime awoke from his trance, believing he had come to understand the threat he sensed: the fractioning of his species. Little did he know that the threat was far less philosophical, and far more tangible, than he realized. {{storylink|The Power and the Glory}}

When word reached Prime that Megatron had resurfaced on Earth, he jumped at the idea of joining forces with the original Decepticons to face off against the Cybertronian Empire. Travelling to Earth alone, Optimus approached Megatron with the intent to talk. Instead, Megatron blasted him from behind, beat him to a pulp, ionized his every circuit, and then ripped out his chest and siphoned away the power of the Matrix. So no, the talking didn't go too well. Prime only survived due to Grimlock's talent for insubordination, as the Dinobot leader brought a massive strike team down to save their fallen leader before Megatron finished him off. Still, as the Autobots dragged Prime away to receive repair treatment, he knew Megatron would be back—Optimus had stuttered out enough information about "new Decepticons" to pique his old foe's interest, and once Megatron went after them and bit off more than he could chew, they'd meet again. {{storylink|The Gathering Darkness}}

In this, at least, Optimus Prime knew Megatron all too well. Only days later a heavily battered and bruised Megatron wandered into Autobase: Earth, looking for that alliance Prime had offered. {{storylink|Escalation!}} With new allies, things were looking up for Prime until the unthinkable happened. His visions of death and apocalypse finally came true as the Autobots came across a devastated world looking almost identical to the images he had been experiencing. Optimus now realized his visions were not metaphorical in nature, and almost drew the conclusion himself before [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]]'s science team completed their analysis of the genocide—it was their fault. More specifically, some by-product of the Cybertronian race had been formed by the budding process which created Jhiaxus and the Cybertronian Empire, an animate entity that scoured the cosmos of its own design. Before more data and analysis could be had, however, Jhiaxus and his troops arrived on Earth seeking to end their ancestors once and for all. {{storylink|Swarm (issue)|Swarm}}

[[Image:Megatrong2idiot.jpg|left|thumb|250px|No, no, shoot at ''each other''!]]

Once again seeking compromise, Optimus Prime took Megatron in an attempt to reacquire the Decepticon [[Warworld]] and use it to force Jhiaxus to see reason, that they faced a common and perhaps unbeatable foe in this "[[Swarm (G2)|Swarm]]". His efforts were more than a little delayed, however, by the ever-treacherous [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]]. That Decepticon schemer had sold them out to Jhiaxus in the first place, but then came aboard Warworld and merged with it and the power of the Creation Matrix Megatron had been housing there. {{storylink|Total War!}} Still, Optimus Prime managed to reach a communications console, and begged Jhiaxus for an audience to discuss the impending threat which was bearing down on them all. As badly as Prime's last attempt to "just talk" with an enemy went, this time it went much worse, as Jhiaxus responded by ordering the orbital bombardment and destruction of the human city of San Francisco. Millions of lives wiped out in an instant. And before Prime could even attempt to respond or try again, the Swarm itself arrived in orbit. {{storylink|Dark Shadows!}}

[[Image:Jhiaxusyouhavedestroyedme.jpg|right|thumb|200px|"Do you like me? Check (yes) or (no)."]]

As bad as things were, a silver lining did develop—Starscream proved too much of a "pedestrian villain" to actually corrupt the Matrix as had happened in the past. Instead, it was actually turning him more heroic, giving him selfless and self-sacrificing urges! Not wanting to be a hero, much less a dead hero, Starscream willingly relinquished the Matrix to Optimus Prime. In yet another effort at unity and compromise, Prime took a skysled over to Jhiaxus's flagship, Twilight, in order to talk the Liege Centuro into working with the Autobots and Decepticons to commune with the Swarm.

[[Image:RageInHeaven-HeroPrime.jpg|left|thumb|100px|He really does like to push the new toy at the last possible moment.]]

Instead, Jhiaxus tore off his face.

The formerly icy Cybertronian had been driven completely off his rocker by the extended conflict with his ancestors, and was now little more than a mad dog pounding away at Optimus Prime. The brutality only ended when the Swarm entered Twilight and consumed Jhiaxus utterly. At this point, Optimus had reasoned that the Swarm was merely a void, searching for something to complete the emptiness inside it. With desperate reasoning, Prime allowed the Swarm to assail him, hoping that he (and the Matrix inside him) would prove to be what it was searching for. His body ravaged to the point of total disintegration, Optimus Prime still managed to make mental contact with the Swarm as it consumed him, and expose it to the will of Primus. Having successfully purified the Swarm, Optimus Prime rematerialized in a new, more powerful body. In the aftermath, in front of the cheering masses, Prime declared a new age of peace and enlightenment.

Privately, however, Prime knew that [[Furmanism|it never ends]]... {{storylink|A Rage in Heaven!}}
{{-}}

====''Classics''====
{{note|The Classics comic takes place after the end of the original Marvel Comic, but in a new timeline that does not include the events of the Marvel UK-exclusive stories or ''Generation 2''.}}

[[Image:Classicscomicautobots.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"All right, do-over. This time I'll skip the visions of doom, and you won't get yourself tangled up with Cobra. Deal?"]]

After the war ended on Klo, Optimus Prime returned to Cybertron exhausted. Since the war had gone on for so long, Prime had all along resigned himself to an inevitable death, and so finding the war at an end, Prime simply withdrew from society. No civilian job satisfied him. Now that peace was finally here, he had no idea what to do! Fifteen years later, he was somewhat relieved that Megatron had resurfaced on Earth. Though it shamed him, he once again had a purpose. {{storylink|Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club (magazine)|''Classics'' Optimus Prime profile}}

Optimus Prime returned to Earth commanding [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]], [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]], [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]], [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]], [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] and [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus]] (formerly Hot Rod) to counter the return of [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]. When Transformers from another reality, [[Skyfall (Cybertron)|Skyfall]] and [[Landquake (Timelines)|Landquake]], arrived on Earth unexpectedly, Megatron stumbled upon them, only to find himself under attack by Prime and his Autobots. {{storylink|Crossing Over, Part 1}} Overwhelmed, Megatron managed to escape with Landquake, while the Autobots returned to Autobot headquarters with Skyfall. {{storylink|Crossing Over, Part 2}}

Optimus Prime took his Autobots and Skyfall to [[South America]], where the Decepticons were investigating a mysterious energy source that was similar to the radiation readings of their new dimension-traveling companions. After Prime left Jetfire in mid-transit to help [[Armored Robot Hunters|RUNT]] fight the [[Seeker]]s, he and the remaining Autobots arrived at their destination and battled the rest of Megatron's forces on the ground. {{storylink|Crossing Over: Part 3}} As the battle raged, Optimus Prime took on Megatron in a one-on-one battle. Megatron tried repeatedly to escape Prime so that he could discover the location of the energy readings, but Prime made it difficult. {{storylink|Crossing Over: Part 4}} As Megatron's troops were eliminated from the fight, the Decepticon leader realized his gambit was up. He swore the next time he and Prime met, it would be different! Optimus Prime told him to leave before he lost his patience, and the Decepticons withdrew. {{storylink|Crossing Over: Part 5}}

The battle won, but the energy source still a mystery, Prime and his Autobots returned to their headquarters heavily damaged, and seemingly having lost Skyfall and Cliffjumper (along with Landquake). Later, he was pleased to have been visited (seemingly very quickly, if really at all) by [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] when their paths crossed while the latter was hunting [[Bug Bite (G1)|Bug Bite]]. {{storylink|Games of Deception}}

===S.T.A.R.S. pack-in flyers===
The Autobots were outnumbered and outgunned on Earth from the start, though Optimus was confident (and correct) that reinforcements from Cybertron would arrive. {{storylink|Reinforcements from Cybertron!}}

However, the situation was still so desperate that Optimus not only decided to recruit human allies {{storylink|The battle is far from over!}}, but aggressively tried to recruit and ''deputise'' human children, including giving them the power to co-ordinate Autobot teams in battles. He wouldn't even make a final move on the Decepticons until he had enough child soldiers on his side. {{storylink|Earthlings: THE S.T.A.R.S. need your help now!}} {{storylink|Have the Decepticons defeated us once and for all?}} In at least one case, this likely led to the ''death'' of a small boy at Decepticon hands. {{storylink|Can one boy, alone, hold back the evil Decepticons?}}

Optimus later led a convoy in search for a building site for [[Autobot City]], which ran into a Decepticon ambush. {{storylink|Rodimus Prime remembers the Transformers greatest battle on Earth.}} He sent off several Autobots to get help, knowing this was the only chance of victory. {{storylink|Transformers Combat Data}} Those several Autobots were seen again, but Prime... wasn't.

===Generation 1 cartoon continuity===
====Generation 1 cartoon====
:''Voice actors:'' [[Peter Cullen]] (Optimus Prime, English), [[Laurie Faso]] (Orion Pax, English), [[Tesshō Genda]] (Japanese), [[Francis Lax]] (French), [[Hubert Gagnon]] (French Canadian), [[Willi Röbke]] (German), [[Thomas Rau]] (German ''Generation 2'')

[[Image:Orionpax.jpg|right|225px|thumb|Ariel spends a lot of time hanging around the docks.]]

Optimus Prime began his life as an Autobot named '''Orion Pax''' during the [[Golden Age]] of Cybertron nine million years ago. Together with his girlfriend [[Elita One|Ariel]] and his best friend [[Dion]], Orion was a dock-worker who had the simple job of unloading and storing shipments of energy that came from a power planet up-river. But the times in which Orion lived were strange ones: a new breed of robot had recently appeared on the planet, with strange robot-mode flight powers that led Orion and Dion to idolize them. Ariel wasn't so sure, having heard rumors that the flying robots' leader had recently perpetrated an attack on an outer city.

[[Image:Wardawn_orion_dies.jpg|left|210px|thumb|Better get used to dying horribly, buddy.]]

One day, Orion was going about work as usual when an unfamiliar group of [[Aerialbot (G1)|five robots]] arrived on the docks, and Orion, wondering if they were new workers, introduced himself and his friends. At that moment, all attentions turned skyward as a group of the flying robots soared by overhead. Both Ariel and the newcomers urged caution in dealing with the fliers, but Orion waved off their concerns, and returned to work. Before long, Orion was shocked when he was approached by Megatron, leader of the flying robots, who claimed to be looking for a place to store his wares. Overcome, Orion showed Megatron around the warehouses and explained that they were used for story energy... at which point Megatron ordered his followers, the Decepticons, to attack and steal it all! When Orion took a shot to the shoulder from the Decepticon leader, Ariel rushed to his defense, but was hit by another blast from Megatron. The enraged Orion lunged at Megatron, but was shot down by yet another blast from the Decepticon's cannon.

[[Image:Sfat prime and elita fb.jpg|right|thumb|"No girls allowed"]]

While Megatron and the Decepticons set about pillaging the warehouses, the five robots Orion had met earlier carried his body away, in hopes of finding someone to repair him. They came upon the Cybertronian machinesmith [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]], who reluctantly decided to subject Orion to a new reconstruction process he had developed, which would rebuild the Autobots' frail bodies into battle-hardy configurations so that they could battle the Decepticons on even footing. Thus is was that Orion Pax became Optimus Prime, the new leader of the Autobots, and was given the [[Matrix of Leadership]], which Alpha Trion had kept safe since Megatron had killed its [[U-Haul Robot|previous holder]]. While Alpha Trion set to work on rebuilding Ariel into "[[Elita One]]" using Prime's schematics as a basis, Prime confronted Megatron, introducing himself as the Decepticon's "worst nightmare". A mighty battle ensued, which came to an end when the warehouse's fuel stockpiles were blown up by the five enigmatic Autobots, who disappeared. {{storylink|War Dawn}}

Over the following five million years, Optimus Prime led the Autobots in a steady war of attrition that gradually drained Cybertron of almost all of its energy. In order to continue the fight, Prime arranged for an interstellar expedition to search for energy on other planets. Loading his best and brightest aboard a huge [[Ark (G1)|spacecraft]], Prime was the last to board, but was stopped by a cry from Elita One, who came running up to the launch platform. Prime told her that he would return for her as soon as he could, but Elita was intent on joining Prime on the mission. No debate was to be had, however, as a Decepticon attack on the platform caused an explosion that seemingly destroyed Elita. Crestfallen, Prime boarded the spacecraft and ordered a take-off, unaware that Elita had, in fact, survived. {{storylink|The Search for Alpha Trion}}

[[Image:Mtmte1 prime controls.jpg|left|thumb|The Transformers spent four million years in stasis lock because Prime never learned to turn INTO the skid.]]

The Autobots' spacecraft had a troubled flight. After navigating a treacherous asteroid field, the ship was caught in a tractor beam from a [[Nemesis (G1)|Decepticon space cruiser]] that had been shadowing them, under the command of Megatron himself. Megatron's forces swarmed the Autobot ship, and the two leaders grappled until the G-force of the nearby planet Earth took hold of the craft, and dragged it down. Although Prime tried valiantly to pull the ship up, it collided with a [[Mount St. Hilary|mountain]] so violently that all the Autobots and Decepticons were knocked offline.

[[Image:Mtmte2_witiwickys_saved.jpg|215px|right|thumb|Water-boarding is unconstitutional]]

Four million years later, in 1984, a volcanic eruption jarred the ship's computer, [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]], back online, and it set about reviving the Transformers indiscriminately, beginning with the Decepticons. The evil robots soon departed the Ark, but thanks to tremor caused by a petty parting shot upon the ship from Starscream, the inactivate form of Optimus Prime was jostled into the path of Teletraan I's restoration beam. Reconfigured by the computer to transform into a tractor trailer, Prime thanked Teletraan for its efforts with a thumbs-up, and quickly saw to the reactivation of all his fellow Autobots. Wasting no time, Prime led the Autobots in pursuing the Decepticons, who were in the process of attacking an oil rig. Prime and Megatron faced off, but Prime was promptly set upon by [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]], allowing Megatron to break off the fight and collapse the oil rig with a few well-placed blasts. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 1}} Prime quickly rescued a pair of rig workers—Sparkplug Witwicky and his son Spike—and introduced himself and the Autobots to the two grateful humans, who volunteered to help the Autobots learn more about Earth.

[[Image:Mtmte2_shermandam.jpg|left|250px|thumb|"Hey, Megatron! Lemme axe you a question!"]]

Next, the Decepticons targeted [[Sherman Dam]], and Prime led the Autobots in an attempt to stop them, battling Megatron atop the dam with his retractable [[energon-axe]]. Distracted by a cry for help from Spike, Prime was knocked off the dam by Megatron, and the Decepticons escaped to carry out their next raid, this time on the [[Ruby Crystal Mines of Burma]]. When the Autobots arrived at the mines, Sparkplug and Bumblebee were sent in to plant an explosive charge that would entomb the Decepticons. When the pair did not return, Prime drove up to the mineshaft and deployed Roller to investigate. No sooner had Roller entered the mine, however, than the charge went off, and Prime was caught in the blast and hurled off the cliff. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 2}} Prime and Roller both survived the explosion, but unfortunately, so did the Decepticons, who blasted their way free of the collapsed mine took to the air. Prime tried to stop [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] from pursuing the villains, but his old friend would not listen and was shot down. Prime was happy that Ironhide was okay, but reminded him that there was a thin line between being a hero, and being a memory.

[[Image:Mtmte3_prime_combatdeck.jpg|right|225px|thumb|In mere moments, the gun would be destroyed, but the finger would keep right on firing.]]

After the Autobots' attempt to use a phony holographic rocket base to dupe the Decepticons failed, Megatron stood poised to return to Cybertron. Prime called for volunteers for the dangerous mission to stop the Decepticons' blasting off in their new [[Decepticon Headquarters|space cruiser]], and all the Autobots stepped forward, including Spike and Sparkplug. With all his soldiers behind him, Prime led the Autobots into battle once more, and once again faced off with Megatron, this time using the additional firepower of his [[Combat Deck]] against his enemy. When the combat shifted to hand-to-hand, however, Prime was blindsided by [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]], affording Megatron the opportunity to call of the fight and instruct the Decepticons to board the cruiser. As the craft took off, emotion got the better of Prime, and in a rare display of short-temperedness and anger, he roared at [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] to hand over his rocket pack. With the pack's additional boost, Prime achieved escape velocity and followed the cruiser into space, but a blast from its artillery hatch sent him plummeting back to Earth. His anger fading to despair, Prime declared that the Decepticons had won... before noticing that Mirage was missing. In fact, the invisible Autobot had stowed away aboard the Decepticons' cruiser and sabotaged it from within, causing it to crash back to Earth, into the ocean. Believing the Decepticons aboard destroyed, Prime ordered the Autobots back to the ship, so that they could continue rebuilding it and return to Cybertron themselves. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 3}}

[[Image:Too_prime_truckmode.jpg|left|thumb|225px|The smokestacks were filed down for your safety, kids.]]

One night, months later, before rebuilding was complete, Prime and Ironhide stood looking out at the ocean, and Prime confessed he was not entirely convinced that the Decepticons were gone for good. And he was right: before long, Teletraan I reported an emergency at a solar power plant, and Optimus discovered to his horror that Megatron still lived. Prime led a team of Autobots to drive the villains off, and while they were successful, the Decepticons escaped with a large quantity of energy to send to Cybertron with their new intergalactic "[[space bridge]]" transport system. Spike was captured and nearly sent across the bridge with the energy, but at the last moment, Prime blasted him free of the transport pod and then hurled Megatron into the bridge in his place. {{storylink|Transport to Oblivion}} Megatron was not gone for long, however, and when Prime next faced his eternal enemy, it was for possession of an anti-matter energy formula. {{storylink|Roll for It}}

[[Image:Divide and conquer.jpg|right|225px|thumb|He was recovering nicely until Bumblebee tripped while carrying his dynamite collection.]]

While searching for any trace of where the Decepticons' space bridge would next materialize, Prime received word of a Decepticon attack on a weapons factory and sped to the scene. In the battle that followed, Prime was badly injured by an exploding computer bank when he shielded the human workers with his body, and was taken back to Autobot Headquarters for repair. Alas, Laserbeak followed the Autobots back to their base, and while Prime was lying on a medical table with his internal mechanisms exposed, the crooked cassette struck, destroying Prime's vital [[cosmotron]] component. A team of Autobots were dispatched to Cybertron recover a replacement cosmotron, but in their absence, the Decepticons initiated an all-out attack on the Autobots. At the last moment, the cosmotron arrived, and the repaired Prime made a dramatic entrance onto the battlefield, challenging Megatron to one-on-one combat and soundly defeating him. {{storylink|Divide and Conquer}}

After leading the Autobots on a mission to the Arctic to stop the Decepticons from draining the energy of the Earth's core, {{storylink|Fire in the Sky}} Optimus Prime okayed [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] and Ratchet's project to create robotic dinosaurs to bolster their forces. Unfortuantely, when the three "[[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]]" turned out to be dangerous, simple-minded monsters, Prime ordered them destroyed. Wheeljack was able to talk him down to merely deactivating the Dinobots and sealing them in a cavern in their volcano headquarters... and a good thing, too, since soon after, when Prime and the Autobots were defeated in battle with the Decepticons at the [[Great Falls]], Wheeljack was able to bring the Dinobots back online to save the day. Realizing that "even the wisest of men and machines can be in error", Prime overruled his previous order, and allowed the Dinobots to remain part of the Autobot ranks. {{storylink|S.O.S. Dinobots}}

[[Image:War of the dinos 7.jpg|left|250px|thumb|"Someday, my large friend, [[Grimlock (G1)/toys#Masterpiece|the tables will be turned]]."]]

Following a mission to Peru, {{storylink|Fire on the Mountain}} Prime was so impressed with the Dinobot trio's improved performance that he ordered the creation of two more. Unfortunately, Prime would soon learn that the Dinobots were not perfect; left alone to guard a strange energy-rich meteorite, the Dinobots were approached by Megatron, who exploited their simple brains to turn them against Optimus Prime. Soon after, when Prime discovered that the meteorite was unstable and set to explode, he rushed out to warn the Dinobots, only to be attacked by them and taken to Megatron. The Decepticons had also stolen the meteorite, unaware of its impending detonation, and when the space-rock finally exploded, Prime dove into action and shoved the Dinobot leader Grimlock to safety. Realizing that Optimus Prime was on the side of the angels, Grimlock apologized, and he and Prime shook hands. {{storylink|War of the Dinobots}}

[[Image:SurfsUp.jpg|right|225px|thumb|There is no way it could be cooler than this...]]

When the Decepticons constructed a massive "space pyramid" in order to bring Cybertron into Earth's orbit, that they might exploit the energies released in the chaos that would ensue, Prime attempted to stop Megatron from activating the third and final pylon in the system. Megatron merely laughed, and informed Prime that ''he'' would be the one to activate the pylon – for if he did not, Cybertron would be utterly destroyed! {{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 1}} Prime was forced to comply and brought the pylon online, but he did not linger on the moral repercussions of his decision, and instead led the Autobots in combating the environmental terrors that Cybertron's orbit unleashed. On top of all this mayhem, the Decepticons had also used [[hypno-chip]]s to mind-control human slaves into helping them gather energy, including Sparkplug Witwicky. Learning that Sparkplug had been taken to work on Cybertron, Prime felt that it would be best if Spike did not find out, only for the boy to overhear him discussing it. Prime permitted Spike to join a team of Autobots that were heading for Cybertron to investigate the source of the Decepticons' mind-control. {{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 2}} Prime then led another team of the Autobots on a mission to stop the construction of a Decepticon hydro-electric generator, cruising into battle on Transformer-sized surfboards. Things came to a head in a huge firefight on a tropical island, during which the Autobots returned from Cybertron with a device that undid the effects of the hypno-chips. Megatron cut his losses and fled with the energy he had gathered, but Prime then opened fire on his craft, blowing up the energy within and creating an explosion powerful enough to thrust Cybertron back out of orbit. {{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 3}}

[[Image:CountdownToExtinction.jpg|left|thumb|... I stand corrected.]]

In the wake of Cybertron's orbit, Optimus Prime and the Autobots set about repairing the damage done to Earth, when an even greater threat emerged: Starscream set an [[Exponential Generator]] to overlord and destroy the planet. For the first time – but not the last – Prime and Megatron were forced to team up for the greater good (or the lesser evil), as Megatron transformed into pistol mode and allowed Prime to wield him so that they could shoot the exponential generator into space and save Earth. {{storylink|Countdown to Extinction (episode)|Countdown to Extinction}}

[[Image:Tanker throw.jpg|right|225px|thumb|Eat your heart out, Superman.]]

Hearing reports of giant robotic insects in Bali, Optimus Prime led a team of Autobots to investigate. The team discovered that the insects in questions were a trio of "Insecticons" who had allied themselves with Megatron, and pursued them to an oil refinery the Decepticons were in the process of plundering. In one of his most impressive feats of strength ever recorded, Optimus Prime hoisted an entire oil tanker over his head and hurled it at Megatron. The Insecticons were so awed by this display of strength that they decided to consume the gathered energon and flee, earning them Megatron's ire. Although he considered the day a victory, Prime worried that the Insecticons would inevitable ally themselves with Megatron again. {{storylink|A Plague of Insecticons}}

[[Image:Primedefeated.gif|left|thumb|"I... fell on my keys.. ow."]]

When an unarmed Megatron appeared in front of Autobot Headquarters claiming that he had come only to talk, Optimus Prime agreed to hear him out, and found himself challenged to a one-on-one duel in accordance with Cybertron law. The loser of the duel and his troops would be forced to vacate Earth forever, but Prime confidently and honorably accepted the challenge. Little did Prime realize that Megatron had found a way to imbue himself with the different powers of all his Decepticon troops, and when the battle began, Prime was defeated with shocking speed. Believing that he had simply been unaware of the number of powers at Megatron's command, Prime sorrowfully agreed to leave Earth, much to the other Autobots' chagrin. When they returned to Autobot Headquarters to prepare for their departure, they discovered Megatron's newest warriors, the Constructicons, in battle with the Dinobots, but Prime refused to get involved, citing the law despite Ironhide's protests. Spike friend [[Chip Chase]] had his suspicions about the battle and used Teletraan I to scan Prime's injuries, revealing Megatron's deception. As the battle had been unlawfully won, Prime was able to disregard the law and lead the Autobots into the battle raging outside. Prime was able to blast the Constructicons' merged form of Devastator apart with his laser rifle, and the Autobots ganged up on the Decepticons and forced them into a lava-filled crevasse. Prime and Megatron faced off once more, and Prime sent Megatron to join his troops in the magma below. Spike asked if the Decepticons were gone forever, prompting Optimus to wonder aloud... in the vast universe, was anything truly forever? {{storylink|Heavy Metal War}}

[[Image:Autobotspike_prime_vs_autobotx.jpg|215px|right|thumb]]

As 1985 rolled in, Optimus Prime found himself on the receiving end of the fury of "Autobot Spike", as he struggled to bring the young Witwicky back to his right mind after his consciousness was implanted in a [[Autobot X|robot body]]. {{storylink|Autobot Spike}} Later, when Megatron threatened the stability of the [[sun]] with his [[Solar Needle]], Prime was caught off guard by the Decepticon leader and wound up staring down his fusion cannon. Megatron ordered the other Autobots to lay down their weapons, but Prime told them to leave him to his fate and destroy the needle. Refusing to risk their commander's life, the Autobots complied with Megatron's wishes, but Prime found a way out of the situation by requesting a last wish: he asked [[Gears]], who had been rendered totally subservient by the removal of one of his circuit cards, to destroy the Solar Needle for him, and the deed was done before Megatron could do anything about it. {{storylink|Changing Gears}}

[[Image:Cos prime disassembled.jpg|left|225px|thumb|"The seller promised he was mint!"]]

Responding to reports of Decepticon activity in New York City, Optimus Prime was captured by the evil robots and disassembled into his component parts by [[Hook (G1)|Hook]]. The Autobots were able to recover their leader's head, but the other parts of his body had been rebuilt into an [[alligatorcon]] that the Autobots were forced to defeat and disassemble in order to restore him. Even after his body was rebuilt, Prime was still missing his right arm, which had been mounted as a laser turret on the top of the [[Empire State Building]]. Luckily, Prime was able to remote-control his arm, and used it to blast Devastator off the building, after which the Autobots reclaimed and re-attached Prime's errant limb. {{storylink|City of Steel}} The Decepticons were not done trying to manipulate Prime for their own ends, however; for their next evil scheme, they attacked his mind instead of his body, using a [[personality destabilizer]] to turn Prime and his fellow Autobots to the side of evil. Sparkplug was able to rig up [[attitude exchanger]]s to restore the Autobots to normal, but Prime was able to avoid being tagged by the devices by splitting up into his three components and bedeviling the Autobots on three fronts. Finally, Bumblebee took it upon himself to charge into Prime, and succeeded in restoring his leader's mind. {{storylink|Attack of the Autobots}}

[[Image:Dotm_prime_vs_torq3.jpg|right|215px|thumb]]

Numerous crazy gadgets formed the backbone of Prime's next few adventures, as he battled the Decepticons for control of [[electro-cell]]s, {{storylink|Traitor}} had to convince Ironhide to remain with the Autobots when his old friend botched a mission involved Wheeljack's new [[Immobilizer]], {{storylink|The Immobilizer}} and found himself temporarily trapped in truck mode by the [[Transfixatron]] when he and the other Autobots participated in the "Autobot Run" charity race. {{storylink|The Autobot Run}} Later, when the Decepticons allied themselves with the [[Sub-Atlantica]]ns and attacked [[Washington, D.C.]], Prime was felled by a blast from an anti-Transformer disruptor ray created by the Sub-Atlantican king, [[Nergill]]. Prime's diodes were pulled out of the laser fire by the fortunate arrival of Grimlock and the Dinobots, and the Dinobot leader didn't hesitate to point out that fact. Prime then transported the Dinobots to Sub-Atlantica in his trailer, and unleashed them upon the fish-men with the order to "act prehistoric!" {{storylink|Atlantis, Arise!}}

When Megatron took control of the super computer [[TORQ III]], Prime gave a particularly good account of himself, duping and defeating the addled computer almost single-handedly, besting Megatron in hand-to-hand combat and destroying his remote control device, and saving [[Hound (G1)|Hound]], [[Jetfire (G1)|Skyfire]] and Spike from a sinking oil platform. {{storylink|Day of the Machines}} The Decepticons struck back with another plot that involved controlling an Earth machine; even Optimus Prime found himself outmatched by the robotic ninja [[Nightbird (G1)|Nightbird]], and his attempts to reason with the lifeless construct fell on deaf ears. {{storylink|Enter the Nightbird}}

[[Image:Primeproblem prime and clone.jpg|left|215px|thumb|"Oh noes! If only there were some way to tell them apart! [[Matrix of Leadership|Sacred lifeforce]]? What?"]]

As part of a plot to lead the Autobots to their doom in a crevasse of [[korlonium crystal]]s, Megatron created a [[Optimus Prime clone|perfect clone of Optimus Prime]], which he could remote control from a distance. Despite the Prime clone's blatantly odd behavior, the Autobots were unable to tell the difference between the two Primes, so they staged several contests in hopes of identifying the true Prime through his skills. Unfortunately, a sharp-shooting test and a race yielded no results, and the Autobots were forced to table the debate and go into battle against the Decepticons with both Primes. To fully complete the illusion, Megatron proceeded to create a clone of Starscream, which his Prime clone then destroyed, convincing the Autobots that it was the genuine article. Unfortunately, Megatron promptly blew his ruse by dismissing Spike's safety as unimportant, and all of the Autobots immediately turned on the clone and blew it to smithereens. {{storylink|A Prime Problem}}

[[Image:Dinobotisland jetpacks.jpg|right|215px|thumb]]

Next, Prime found himself allying with Megatron on two separate occasions, first to prevent the destruction of the Earth with a Decepticon attempt to drill to the planet's core went awry {{storylink|The Core}}, and then again when the Insecticons drained the [[Nova Power Core|power core]] of the [[Nova Power Station]] and grew in size and power. In the latter instance, Prime again wielded Megatron in gun mode to shoot capsules of antidote into the Insecticons, shrinking them back to normal before they exploded. {{storylink|The Insecticon Syndrome}}

After another disastrous Dinobot rampage in Autobot Headquarters, Optimus Prime ordered the Dinobots to relocate to [[Dinobot Island (G1)|Dinobot Island]], a strange prehistoric paradise the Autobots had just recently discovered. Unfortunately, the Decepticons followed the Dinobots there and began draining the island's rich sources of energy, disrupting the fabric of space and time and causing humans and other creatures from throughout time to materialize in the present day. {{storylink|Dinobot Island, Part 1}} Prime put his trailer to use as a holding pen for a herd of woolly mammoths, and after the prehistoric pachyderms were returned to their home time, he donned a jetpack and led a team of Autobots to Dinobot Island to stop the Decepticons' plan. {{storylink|Dinobot Island, Part 2}}

[[Image:Master builders prime basketball.jpg|left|215px|thumb|Red bots can't jump.]]

In the midst of some basketball lessons from Spike, Prime was approached by Grapple with a design for a solar power tower, but was forced to forbid its construction on the basis that it had no means of defense against a Decepticon attack. Consumed with a desire to build the tower, Grapple and [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] wound up allying with the Constructicons to construct the tower, only to be promptly turned on and entombed within it once it was complete. Prime and the Autobots rescued them, and while Prime accepted their apologies, he still had them clear up the wreckage of the tower as punishment. {{storylink|The Master Builders}}

Optimus Prime later helped test Wheeljack's new [[Negavator]] weapon and had to deal with a paranoid [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]], {{storylink|Auto Berserk}} then found himself faced with a super-powered Megatron when the Decepticon leader boosted his systems with the [[Heart of Cybertron]]. {{storylink|Microbots}}

[[Image:Masterplan2_autobots_on_trial.jpg|right|215px|thumb]]

After helping to save [[Central City (G1)|Central City]]'s new solar energy facility from Decepticon attack, Optimus Prime and the Autobots were honored at city hall, but the ceremony turned sour when the mayor's rival, [[Shawn Berger]], framed the Autobots for raiding an oil field using a video tape faked by the Decepticons (which featured a costumed Starscream playing the role of Prime). Prime and the Autobots were called to trial and found guilty of crimes against Earth, and Prime reluctantly accepted the court's ruling that they leave Earth and return to Cybertron aboard a craft supplied by Berger. {{storylink|Megatron's Master Plan, Part 1}} Prime soon regretted his decision and ordered Cliffjumper to turn the rocket around, only to discover that Megatron had set it to collide with the sun and destroy them all. Thanks to [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]]'s force field, Prime and the Autobots survived the explosion of their rocket, and returned to Earth to clear their names. {{storylink|Megatron's Master Plan, Part 2}}

When Optimus Prime attended [[Professor Greene]]'s demonstration of his new [[Ultra-Plane]], the Decepticons attacked and destroyed the new weapon. In the battle that resulted, the Autobots and Decepticons began to suffer sudden system malfunctions that were quickly deduced to be a result of the [[cybertonium]] in their systems degenerating after four million years on Earth. {{storylink|Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 1}} Spike and his girlfriend [[Carly]] braved a perilous journey to Cybertron, recovering enough cybertonium to repair the Autobots, and were appointed honorary Autobots by Prime for their efforts. {{Storylink|Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 2}}

[[Image:Goldenlagoon_prime_perceptor.jpg|left|225px|thumb]]

Optimus Prime was particularly exasperated with Blaster when he broadcast a rock concert back into the Autobot base, partially because of the ungodly noise, but mostly because it meant that the Autobots failed to receive a distress call from [[Professor Haley]], whose [[Voltronic Galaxer]] device had been stolen by the Decepticons. It was with Blaster's help, however, that Prime then bested Megatron in a battle on the [[Moon (moon)|Moon]], and so he allowed Blaster to turn Megatron's moonbase into a radio station that he could broadcast from. {{storylink|Blaster Blues}}

Prime later led the Autobots in battle for control of the [[electrum|golden lagoon]], {{storylink|The Golden Lagoon}} then found himself playing the role of tech-support as he talked [[Talaria]] through the activation of [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]]'s signal beacon via a communications channel when the space-faring Autobot was stranded on [[Titan]]. Prime intended to go to Titan and rescue Cosmos himself, but Red Alert urged against it, and Jazz wound up going in his place.{{storylink|The God Gambit}} Prime later agreed to help the NYPD bust a carjacking ring headed up by the [[Geddis brothers]], leading to another confrontation with the Geddis's secret allies, the Decepticons. {{storylink|Make Tracks}}

[[Image:Childsplay_aron_and_prime.jpg|right|thumb]]

When the Decepticons attempted to turn a baseball stadium into a new space bridge, the mechanism malfunction, teleporting Prime, Bumblebee, [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]], [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]], [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] and a quartet of Decepticons to an alien planet inhabited by giants. Prime took the diplomatic approach, introducing himself and the Autobots to [[Aron]], the alien boy into whose room they had been transported, and Aron then helped his new friends evade capture and dissection by the planet's authorities. Following a riotous sewer-surfing journey back to Aron's house, the Autobots departed the planet in a toy rocket ship Perceptor had rewired. {{storylink|Child's Play (episode)|Child's Play}} On the return journey to Earth, however, the Autobots were captured by the alien gambler [[Bosch]], who brainwashed them all, save Smokescreen, and sold them to [[Lord Gyconi]] on the asteroid resort of [[Monacus]]. Prime was pitted against an [[animalian]] in a gladiatorial battle for Gyconi's patrons' amusement before Smokescreen and Bosch secured the Autobots' freedom and restored their minds. {{storylink|The Gambler}} Upon his return to Earth, Optimus Prime faced the menace of the [[Morphobot]]s. {{storylink|Quest for Survival}}

When reports came in of the Constructicons mining an asteroid out in space, Optimus Prime requested that Omega Supreme investigate. The asteroid proved to be an egg containing an [[asteroid bird alien|alien bird monster]], which emerged and began attacking [[San Francisco]], but Omega ignored Prime's orders to intervene and shut off his communicator in mid-battle, preferring to seek revenge against the Constructicons. Prime was forced to intervene, getting between Omega and his quarry and finally convincing the giant Autobot to help dispose of the alien, on the basis that there were more important things in life in than revenge. {{storylink|The Secret of Omega Supreme}}

Outfitted with a special coating of insulation to protect himself, Prime led a small team of Autobots to Japan to stop Megatron's latest creation, the demented energy imp known as [[Kremzeek]]. When the Autobots finally got the better of the crazy creature, Prime had to regretfully order his destruction. {{storylink|Kremzeek!}}

[[Image:Primetarget_beast_of_borneo.jpg|left|thumb|Bad touch!]]

After receiving a distress signal from the planet of [[Tlalakan]]s, Prime ordered a team of Autobots to investigate, but was unable to go himself as he was too large for Cosmos to carry. {{storylink|Sea Change}} Later, when Megatron, Starscream, [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] and [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] began feuding for Decepticon leadership, Prime was greatly amused by the whole thing, calling it a "domestic squabble" and taunting Megatron by dismissing him so he could fight the "real" leaders of the Decepticons. Prime kept the other Autobots from getting involved in the battle, and sure enough, the Decepticons wound up knocking the fight out of each other. The other Autobots agreed there was only one leader for them, and formed a throne out of their bodies for Prime to sit upon, but Prime said he preferred to roll. {{storylink|Triple Takeover}}

Optimus Prime 's fame and prowess loon led him to become the target of the demented big-game hunter, [[Lord Chumley]], who sought Prime's head to go along with his other rare trophies. Chumley captured several Autobots in order to lure Prime to his estate, and of course, the Autobot leader no choice but to comply. Battling his way through a mock-up of Cybertron itself against all kind of bizarre traps and creatures, from a ferocious [[dragon]]-like beast, to several robotic arachnids, to the interfering Astrotrain and Blitzwing, Prime succeeded in freeing his Autobot comrades, capturing Chumley, and delivering him to the authorities. {{storylink|Prime Target|Prime Target}}

[[Image:Sfat_powertransfer.jpg|right|220px|thumb|Oh look. Optimus Prime is having robo-sex with his sister. Better get used to seei- whoa, wait a minute.]]

Prime received the shock of his life when Megatron contacted him to inform him that Elita One was still alive, and had been captured by his Decepticons on Cybertron. Prime immediately departed for Cybertron to rescue her, but walked straight into the trap that had been laid for him, and was trussed up by the Decepticons and dangled above a vat of acid. Just as Prime was dropped, Elita used her secret power to stop time, freezing Prime in mid-air and pulling him to safety. Unfortunately, the use of her power drained almost all of her life-force, leaving her on the brink of death, so Prime loaded her aboard his trailer and set out in search of Alpha Trion, in the hope that the ancient Autobot could heal her. In the process, Prime rediscovered his own forgotten connection to his creator, when Alpha Trion shocked him with intimate knowledge of his and Elita's systems by telling him that only his own power supply could properly interface with Elita's. Prime gave Elita the power transfusion necessary to save her life, and the two lovers then joined the other Autobots in fighting off the Decepticons. Prime regretted that they had to part ways again, but Elita knew that she had to continue the fight against the Decepticons on Cybertron. {{storylink|The Search for Alpha Trion}}

[[Image:Ktvs_prime_and_trion.jpg|left|215px|thumb]]

Optimus Prime had little to do in the mission to rescue [[Astoria Carlton-Ritz]] from the Decepticons, merely offering theories and passing along information to Powerglide, {{storylink|The Girl Who Loved Powerglide}} but took to the fore again when Megatron created the Stunticons to combat the Autobots on the roads. Realizing that Megatron would have to use the Cybertronian mega-computer [[Vector Sigma]] to bring the Stunticons to life, Prime took a team of Autobots to Cybertron, where they sought the aid of Alpha Trion in navigating the planet's catacombs to find the way to the computer. {{storylink|The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1}} Unfortunately, Megatron made it to the computer first and brought the Stunticons online, so Prime proposed the creation of the Aerialbots as a countermeasure. With Vector Sigma's [[Key to Vector Sigma|activation key]] in Megatron's clutches, Alpha Trion proposed that he merge with Vector Sigma to bring the computer back online. Prime refused, knowing it would mean the end of his creator's life, but Alpha Trion insisted that he be allowed to sacricice himself so that the Aerialbots could live. The Autobots and Aerialbots returned to Earth, where they stopped Megatron from using the key to Vector Sigma to convert the planet into a metal sphere. {{storylink|The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2}}

[[Image:Cosmicrust_prime_and_perceptor.jpg|right|215px|thumb]]

When Megatron attempted to send the Aerialbots back to the dawn of time using the [[kronosphere]] time machine, Optimus Prime blasted the device before it could complete its evil work, depositing the Aerialbots nine million years in the past. Prime and the other Autobots fended off a Decepticon attack while Wheeljack rebuilt the kronosphere, and the five airborne Autobots were returned to the present just in time to turn the tide of battle. In the aftermath of the conflict, when the Aerialbots were able to refer to him with his old name of Orion Pax, Prime realised that it had been the time-tossed Aerialbots who have saved him from Megatron and brought him to Alpha Trion to be rebuilt all those millions of years ago. {{storylink|War Dawn}}

When Perceptor was kidnapped by the Decepticons and infected with the contagious [[Cosmic Rust (disease)|Cosmic Rust]] , Prime risked his own safety to single-handedly rescue the scientist, and wound up being infected in the process, just as Megatron had planned. Even infected, Prime met Megatron in battle while the Autobots retrieved the cure to the disease, and the Autobots won the day yet again. {{storylink|Cosmic Rust (episode)|Cosmic Rust}}

[[Image:RevengeofBruticus Primefiringguns.jpg|left|thumb|Being a hero is all about dramatic lighting. And two-fisted violence.]]

When another power struggle between Megatron and Starscream erupted, Prime was once again quite happy to ignore the whole messy affair until Starscream and his newly-built Combaticons attacked the unveiling ceremony for a [[Optimus Prime Memoria|memorial]] to Optimus Prime himself (rather oddly being built while he was still alive) and kidnapped Jazz and Cliffjumper. In the midst of a battle between Megatron and Starscream's force, Prime led the Autobots in rescuing their teammates. Starscream and the Combaticons were subsequently defeated and exiled from Earth, {{storylink|Starscream's Brigade}} but that just made matters worse, as they headed for Cybertron, conquered the planet, and used the space bridge to alter Earth's orbit and send it spiralling towards the sun. Both Autobots and Decepticons needed to use the space bridge to travel to Cybertron and stop Starscream's plan, but the Insecticons damaged the control panel, requiring Prime to donate some of his own circuitry to the repair effort, on the condition that Megatron did the same. With the bridge restored, Prime and Megatron lead a united team of Autobots and Decepticons to stop Starscream and the Combaticons and save the Earth. Prime was led to believe that he had destroyed the Combaticons at the battle's end, but in reality, had been duped by a holographic projection so that Megatron could reprogram the new Decepticons to serve him. {{storylink|The Revenge of Bruticus}}

[[Image:Masquerade_prime_vs_mmaster.jpg|right|230px|thumb|You re-enacted this scene countless times as a kid. You know you did.]]

After leading a team of Autobots to save the Aerialbots from a Combaticon attack in the Middle East {{storylink|Aerial Assault}} Prime led another effort to stop the Stunticons from stealing the components Megatron needed for his latest super-weapon. Prime survived a head-on collision with [[Motormaster]] (although he definitely decided it was something he would prefer not to go through again) and then disguised himself as the Stunticon leader in an effort to learn what Megatron's plan was. Accompanied by a team of four other Autobots disguised as the other Stunticons, Prime was able to infiltrate the Decepticon camp, but had not counted on the real Stunticons escape Autobot capture and exposing their deception. The Autobots abandoned their disguises when Megatron assembled the components into his new laser weapon, but it turned out that Optimus had sabotaged the device, and it blew up in Megatron's face. {{storylink|Masquerade}}

In his final recorded adventure in the 20th century, Prime dispatched Ironhide, Gears and Bumblebee to investigate a disturbance at [[Benjamin Franklin Pierce High School]], where a group of students had stumbled onto a Decepticon plot to attack the Autobots with a gravity disruptor beam. Prime rallied the Autobots to fight off the Decepticons, and thanked the humans for their help. {{storylink|B.O.T. (episode)|B.O.T.}}

[[Image:Tftm_prime_megs_finalblow.jpg|left|260px|thumb]]

Over the course of the next twenty years, the Decepticons turned their attentions away from Earth, and succeeded in seizing control of all of Cybertron. The Autobots were forced off the planet and founded [[Autobot City]] on Earth, in addition to two staging bases on Cybertron's moons. At some point during this period of time, Prime was known to have battled Megatron in a laboratory on Earth, causing an explosion that scarred scientist [[Gregory Swofford]]. {{storylink|The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1}}

In the Earth year 2005, Optimus Prime was stationed on [[Moonbase One]], and dispatched troops to Earth to acquire energy for an upcoming strike to take back Cybertron. The Decepticons, however, got wind of the plan and attacked the shuttle, killing its occupants. Their scheme was to use the shuttle to stage a [[Battle of Autobot City|surprise attack on Autobot City]]; an attack which would have succeeded, if not for a distress call which summoned Optimus Prime and support troops to Earth. Declaring that Megatron would have to stopped, "no matter the cost", Prime bravely plowed through the remaining Decepticon ranks before confronting Megatron in a climactic one-on-one battle. Despite a gash being torn in his side, Prime gained the upper hand in the battle and was poised to deliver a killing blast when the young Autobot [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] leapt into the middle of the fight, having spotted that Megatron was reaching for a gun. Unfortunately, Megatron overpowered the youth and used him as a shield, preventing Prime from taking his shot, and opening fire with the gun, blasting Prime in his wound. Prime fell, and Megatron stood over him, about to deliver the final blow, but at the last moment, Prime summoned up all his strength and hurled Megatron off the platform on which they battling. With Megatron bested, the Decepticons fled, as the other Autobots flocked to the side of the wounded Prime.

[[Image:Optimusg1passingthematrix.jpg|right|thumb|"Oh, hey, I have this in me now, by the way."]]

Despite the efforts of Perceptor, Optimus Prime's wounds were fatal. Knowing his time had come, Prime passed the Matrix of Leadership, and with it leadership of the Autobots, into the hands of his old friend, the city's commander, [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]]. With his last ounce of energy, he muttered "[['Til all are one]]", then died, his lifeforce becoming one with the ancient wisdom contained in the Matrix, joining the other formers bearers within it. Soon after, when Hot Rod opened the Matrix within the body of the planet-eater, [[Unicron]], Prime 's voice was heard once more, dubbing the transformed Hot Rod "Rodimus Prime", new leader of the Autobots. {{storylink|The Transformers: The Movie}}

When Rodimus Prime voyaged into the Matrix in search of answers to the mysteries of the alien [[Quintesson]]s, Optimus Prime was among the "spirit guides" who appeared to him and led him on his journey through the origin and history of the Transformer race. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4}}

[[Image:Optimusg1zombie.jpg|left|215px|thumb|"WHERE IS SARAH CONNOR?"]]
Optimus Prime's body was entombed in a massive deep-space mausoleum with the many other fallen Autobots, but his corpse was desecrated by the [[Quintesson]]s in 2006 when they reanimated it as part of an attempt to destroy the Autobots. Pursued by the Decepticons through space, a team of Autobots led by Rodimus Prime took refuge in the mausoleum, where they were confronted by the seemingly-reborn Optimus Prime. Optimus dispatched the pursuing Decepticons, and Rodimus – never truly comfortable with the burden of leadership – happily relinquished the Matrix to his predecessor. At that point, the reprogrammed Optimus turned on the Autobots, stranding them on the mausoleum and blowing it up. The zombie Prime returned to the main Autobot force and reassumed command, intending to lure the Autobot space fleet into a trap that would destroy them all. Hot Rod's Autobots, however, were revealed to have survived the explosion of the mausoleum, and Hot Rod engaged Prime in battle. In the course of the fight, the Matrix began to overpower the Quintesson influence in Prime's mind, and he returned the talisman to Hot Rod, then ordered the rest of the Autobots clear while he piloted his flagship into the Quintessons' trap. As the Autobots watched from a distance, the flagship collided with the booby-trap detonator the Quintessons had placed on an asteroid, triggering the explosion of a nearby sun that apparently took Optimus Prime from them once more. {{storylink|Dark Awakening|Dark Awakening}}

Prime's lifeforce returned to the Matrix, and he was among the spectral figures whose ethereal forms emerged from the talisman when it was stolen by [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]], warning him to return it to its rightful holder. Galvatron was suitably convinced. {{storylink|The Burden Hardest to Bear}}

[[Image:Roop1_prime_revived.jpg|right|220px|thumb|Optimus Prime was reborn in the electric chair for our sins.]]

While the other Autobots believed that Prime's body had been destroyed in the supernova, in actuality, just before the flagship impacted with the detonator, his remains had been recovered from the craft by two human scientists, [[Jessica Morgan]] and Gregory Swofford, who still blamed Prime for the explosion that scarred him years beforehead. Jessica's father, [[Mark Morgan]], shared Swofford's loathing of the Autobots, and his hatred only grew when, some months later, an attempt by the Decepticons to steal a heat-resistant alloy he had developed resulted in Jessica being paralyzed. Seeking revenge, Swofford and Morgan reconstructed Optimus Prime's body in an attempt to use it as a delivery system for the mysterious spores that had been released from the exploding sun, which induced hatred and madness. However, when they could not reanimate Prime, they used his body as a lure instead, bringing the Autobots to their lab, where they were infected by the spores directly. Rodimus Prime was able to escape infection and made off with Optimus Prime's body, then ordered [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] to find him a Quintesson to fully restored Prime to life. Rodimus succumbed to the "[[Hate Plague]]" before Sky Lynx returned, but the airborne Autbot succeeded in his mission, recovering a Quintesson who finally brought Optimus Prime back to life. {{storylink|The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1}}

[[Image:Roop2_prime_vs_prime.jpg|left|210px|thumb]]

The resurrected Prime led a team of Autobots to the Decepticons' base on [[Chaar]] to recover the heat-resistant alloy they had stolen, so that Prime could coat his body in it and make himself impervious to the Hate Plague. Thus protected, Optimus confronted Rodimus and defeated him in battle, reacquiring the Matrix so that he could consult the lifeforces of the ancient Autobots within it for a way to defeat the Hate Plague. Informed by "[[It]]" that the only way to cure the disease was with wisdom, Prime unleashed the concentrated wisdom of the Matrix itself to wipe out the plague. {{storylink|The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2}}

In 2007, Optimus Prime began to suffer visions following the release of the Matrix's energy, which foretold a great transformation for Cybertron. Prime realized that the events he had foreseen had begun when the Decepticons' theft of the key to the [[Plasma energy|Plasma Energy Chamber]]. {{storylink|The Rebirth, Part 1}} Prime was forced to consult the spirit of Alpha Trion within [[Vector Sigma]], who informed him that the mega-computer had set these very events in motion in order to restore Cybertron's Golden Age. {{storylink|The Rebirth, Part 2}} When the Plasma Energy Chamber was opened and threatened to drive Earth's Sun supernova, Spike Witwicky and the other organic [[Nebulos|Nebulans]] who had become involved in the conflict as a result of these events were able to drain off the excess solar energy and revitalize Cybertron. {{storylink|The Rebirth, Part 3}}

[[Image:Puppetpmprime.jpg|right|thumb|Prime's legal troubles began after he gave Tommy "the Touch". Strangely, the prosecution never even noticed the double entendre.]]

At an undetermined point in time, through unknown circumstances, Optimus Prime was upgraded into a [[Powermaster]] body, and began associating with a human boy named [[Tommy Kennedy]]. Tommy, apparently a resident of Autobot City, interviewed Prime on a variety of topics related to Cybertronian history and lore, sometimes for school assignments, sometimes for historical reference, and sometimes simply for the heck of it. Prime regaled young Tommy with tales of the Autobots' greatest battles; [[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1|their arrival on Earth]], [[The Transformers: The Movie|Prime's own death and the struggle against Unicron]], [[Five Faces of Darkness|the return of Galvatron and the Quintessons' role in Transformer history]], Prime's [[Dark Awakening|brief revival at the hands of the Quintessons]] as well as his [[The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1|return during the Hate Plague crisis]]. He also recounted the [[The Rebirth|the origins of the Headmasters and Targetmasters]] and, inexplicably, a tale of [[Surprise Party|Ultra Magnus's birthday]].

At this point in his career, Prime 's role seemed to be more of a goodwill ambassador, as he spent much of his time aiding fellow Autobots with minor tasks, like helping [[Joyride (Autobot)|Joyride]] repair a space bridge, refueling [[Sky High (Pretender)|Sky High]], and helping [[Cloudburst]] redesign his retro-rockets.

At one point, a problem with Prime's [[Memory chip|memory chip]] left him incapable of recalling specific details of various historical events. This issue was short-lived, as Tommy Kennedy managed to fix it with a small amount of effort and encouragement. Once, before leaving to attend an intergalactic peace conferences, Prime showed Tommy an informational [[The Touch|music video]] depicting the events surrounding the battle with Unicron. {{storylink|The Transformers (cartoon)|Season 5}}
{{-}}

====Madman ''The Transformers'' comic====
[[Image:Madman comic PrimeHotrod.jpg|left|200px|thumb|-Or maybe you're just hepped-up on goofballs, kid.]]
In 2001, Optimus Prime led the Autobot evacuation from the Decepticons' successful conquest of Cybertron, standing as the unflinching rearguard for his fleeing Autobots. Before he left, he secretly met with Ultra Magnus at the site of the future Autobot City to discuss hiding the Matrix of Leadership, against the possibility of Prime's capture or death. Unfortunately, Soundwave had secretly recorded this clandestine meeting and moved to capture the powerful Autobot relic. To the surprise of all, the young Hot Rod managed to defeat Soundwave and secure the Matrix. When the Autobots arrived back on Earth, Optimus Prime learned of Hot Rod's deeds, and as he was handed the Matrix, a mysterious energy from the artifact passed through both Autobots. However, Prime only cryptically stated that perhaps Hot Rod's destiny was greater than the young 'bot himself knew. {{storylink|The Transformers (Madman)|The Transformers}}
{{-}}

====Japanese cartoon continuity====
{{note|The events of the American animated series occur in Japanese continuity as noted above, except that the events of Season 3, which took place in 2006 in America, were moved back to 2010, and "The Rebirth" and subsequent events do not occur. Japanese animated continuity inserts a large number of additional storylines, told through various different media, into the timeline (in particular, between Season 2 and the movie, and between the movie and Season 3), as detailed below.}}

=====''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' comic=====

[[Image:FightSuperRobotLifeTransformersManga.JPG|right|275px|thumb|From ''AMERICA!'']]

When the Decepticons turned their attention to pillaging the energies of Japan in the late 1980s, Optimus Prime and the Autobots met up with a young Japanese boy named [[Kenji]], whose inventive mind helped them to defeat [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] during an energy raid on [[Tokyo]]. As a token of thanks, Optimus Prime granted Kenji a special communications helmet and made him an official Autobot ally. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 1|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #1}}

During a Decepticon attack on Autobot Headquarters, Ratchet noticed that Soundwave and his cassettes were nowhere to be seen, so Prime dispatched a unit to Japan to search for them. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 2|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #2}} Not long after, Prime oversaw the early stages of the construction of the Autobots' new transforming battle fortress, [[Metroplex (G1)|Scramble City]]. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 3|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #3}}

While showing Kenji around the Autobots' new Tokyo base, Optimus Prime lamented that he wished his "kid brother" [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] would hurry up and arrive with his trailer upgrade. As he pondered the whereabouts of his sibling, the Decepticons attacked Yokohama. The Autobots hurried to the scene only to encounter an over-powered Megatron in his newest form: the Super Megatron Gun. The Autobots' defeat seemed assured until Magnus arrived with Prime's trailer upgrade, the [[Scramble Power Buster]]. The Scramble Power Buster trumped the might of the Super Megatron Gun, leaving Prime and Magnus to vanquish the Decepticon forces with their combined attack: the Double Cross Kick (basically, them jump-kicking the Decepticons in the spine at the same time). {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 4|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #4}}

When the Decepticons created their own counter to Scramble City, [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]], Prime ordered the Aerilabots into battle against the monster on an island utopia. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 6|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #6}} Later, Prime and Magnus again teamed up again to battle the Stunticons and [[Combaticon]]s when the two Decepticons teams posed as Autobots and besmirched the two commanders' good names. Although Menasor and [[Onslaught (G1)|Onslaught]]'s [[Decepticon Trailer Brigade|Decepticon Great Wheel]] attack proved a challenge, Prime and Magnus's "Finish Double" attack (suspiciously similar to their Double Cross Kick) soon won the day. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 7|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #7}}

=====Scramble City cartoon=====

[[Image:Prime_magnus_scramblecity.jpg|left|thumb|"I'm a white you under here."]]

As the 1980s rolled on, the Autobots began an initiative to construct a new battle fortress known as [[Metroplex (G1)|Scramble City]]. The facility to construct the fortress was concealed within a cavern and overseen by Ultra Magnus, but when it was discovered by Decepticon spy [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]], Megatron ordered the Decepticons to destroy it. Prime led an Autobot counter-offensive, and helped to blast [[Wildrider]] free when the evil Stunticon managed to link up to Superion in an attempt to disable the Aerialbot combiner, but things were looking bleak for the Autobots until the construction of Scramble City was completed. Ultra Magnus activated the battle fortress, which transformed into its robot mode of [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] to send the Decepticons fleeing. As Prime thanked Ultra Magnus for his quick work, however, Megatron unleashed Trypticon upon the assembled Autobots. {{storylink|Scramble City}}

{{note|This storyline was never concluded, as a second installment of "Scramble City" was never produced.}}
{{-}}

=====Full Throttle Scramble Power!=====
[[Image:MegatronMangaEnergonMace1.jpg|right|200px|thumb|This is why you have that axe, Prime, remember?]]
After Megatron and the Decepticons threatened humanity with their latest death ray, the [[Omega Whip]], Optimus Prime dispatched [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] and his human partners, [[Toru]] and [[Jenny (G1)|Jenny]] to follow the electromagnetic trail and find the Decepticons' hidden base. Hound, Toru and Jenny were then swiftly captured.

Contemplating what to do next, Prime reluctantly dispatched the still-wet-behind-the-ears [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]] to deal with the [[Stunticon]]s, who were trashing a power plant. The burning justice of [[Superion (G1)|Superion]] ensured his victory.

Prime and a small unit of Autobots then stormed the Decepticon base to rescue their friends. As Hound, Toru and Jenny destroyed the Omega Whip and escaped, Prime and Megatron squared off yet again (with Megatron unleashing his seldomly seen [[energon mace]]). Megatron quickly gained the upper hand in battle...until [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] and ''every single Autobot soldier'' arrived as back-up. Megatron and the Decepticons immediately fled.

Toru and Jenny celebrated their success with a public display of affection. Curious, Optimus began to ask them embarrassing questions, swatting Toru in the bottom with his mighty robot finger. {{storylink|Full Throttle Scramble Power!}}
{{-}}

=====''The Stargate Battles''=====

[[Image:Stargatebattles_prime_cx_slice.jpg|left|thumb|225px|right]]

In the late 1990s, continued interaction between the Autobots and humankind led to a formal alliance being forged with the American government. Using technology supplied by the Autobots, the government funded the creation of "[[Warp Gate|The Trigger]]", a huge interstellar teleportation system, and Prime participated in a goodwill press conference to announce the creation of the Trigger to the world. Unfortunately, the Trigger soon became a target for the Decepticons, who had allied with a foreign power and used a human agent to gain access to the station. The Autobots were quick to repel the Decepticon attack, but only one member of the Trigger's crew survived. This man, [[Makoto (Stargate Battles)|Makoto]], offered to help the Autobots in any way that he could, and Prime told him that his kind of strength was what the Autobots needed the most. {{storylink|First Contact}}

[[Image:Stargatebattles_prime_megs.jpg|right|225px|thumb]]

Three months later, Optimus Prime helped [[Professor Adle]] test his new [[C-X]] drone, which were designed to resemble Prime himself, by sparring with the remote-controlled robot so that the Professor could gather data on its performance. In the midst of the test, however, the C-X ran amok (in actuality, it had been possessed by the time-tossed ghost of Starscream), and Prime was forced to crush it beneath his trailer and sever its head with his energon-axe to stop it. The grisly scene did little to dissuade the mass of anti-Transformer protestors that had sprung up in recent months, but Prime attempted to placate the crowd by telling them that he did not ''want'' the power he wielded—he ''needed'' it, in order to protect those that could not protect themselves. {{storylink|Divided Views}}

When the Decepticons terrorized Japan with a series of powerful earthquakes, Optimus Prime confronted Megatron amdist the chaos caused by the most powerful tremor yet. The battle ended when a blast from Megatron's fusion cannon sent Prime plummetting to the depths of the ocean, apparently destroyed. {{storylink|Activation}} Subsequently, Starscream's ghost fused with the rebuilt Trigger in an attempted coup, and it was during the monumental space battle that resulted that Prime returned from his seeming demise, borne into space on [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]]'s back. After saving Makoto's escape pod from burning up in re-entry, Prime was forced to join when Megatron to defeat the greater threat posed by Starscream, channelling the power of the Matrix through gun-mode Megatron to destroy Starscream and the Trigger in one mighty blast. The Transformers were all caught in the backwash of the explosion, and their flaming bodies were sent tumbling back down to Earth. Although they were not heard from again for many months, Prime and Megatron survived the experience, and their war continued. {{storylink|The Stargate Battles (issue)|The Stargate Battles}}
{{-}}
=====''Binaltech''=====
In 2003, the Decepticons attacked the Autobots on Earth with a plague of [[Cosmic Rust (disease)|Cosmic Rust]], leaving many of them injured. Consequently, Earth was all but defenseless when Megatron made his big push to fully take over Cybertron in 2004, and Optimus Prime found that he could not spare any troops currently fighting by his side on the Transformers' home planet to send to Earth. To resolve this situation, the Autobots on Earth worked closely with the governments of the world and various car companies on the Binaltech Project, creating advanced new "Binaltech" bodies for the various Autobot warriors damaged by the Cosmic Rust.

In the midst of the Binaltech conflict, the time-travelling [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] attempted to alter history by using the [[Kronosphere]] to teleport Megatron and the Decepticon armada outside of time during a turning-point battle with Prime and the Autobots. This left the Autobots to face the looming threat of [[Unicron]] alone, but as Prime and Ultra Magnus coordinated a last-chance attack against the chaos bringer, Prime dispatched [[Skids (G1)|Skids]] into the past to undo the change made to the timeline. Although Skids was successful in his mission, and the original timeline was restored, the intervention of a mysterious time-travelling entity known as "[[Optimus Primal|the Protector]]" led to the altered, "Binal-Time" timeline also being preserved, as an alternate universe. This, the Protector attested, was due to the fact that the existence of the Binaltech warriors was necessary to preserve the future from which he came.

Unfortunately, this meant that the Autobots of this parallel timeline still had to deal with Unicron, and during the final showdown with the chaos-bringer, Optimus Prime was badly injured. Fearing that he would die, he passed the Matrix to Ultra Magnus, who used it to destroy Unicron, but as chance would have it, Prime recovered from his injuries and resumed leadership. Under the Protector's direction, the Autobots began conducting experiments that would ultimately lead to the future the Protector spoke of, where Transformers would evolve into multiversal-spanning abstract entities known as the "[[Alternity (species)|Alternity]]". When the Protector's spark was stolen by the new Decepticon leader—an evil clone of Optimus known as [[Nemesis Prime (G1)|Nemesis Prime]]—Prime engaged his evil doppelganger in battle in Australia. During the fight, the Protector's spark fused with Prime—an experience that Prime found [[Optimal Situation|strangely familiar]]—giving him the power to destroy Nemesis Prime.

=====''Robot Masters''=====
[[Image:Robotmasters_four_great_commanders.jpg|left|thumb|275px]]

Also in 2004, the Scramble City project was expanded through the use of the newly-discovered element [[Solitarium]] to involve the construction of a fully-fledged Autobot City on Earth. This coincided with the opening of a dimensional fissure known as the [[Blasty Zone]], which transported the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] through time to the present day. This "Beast Megatron" seized control of the Decepticons, left leaderless by the mysterious absence of the original Megatron, and went up against Optimus Prime and the Autobots for control of the world's solitarium. Uniting with a team of Autobot and Maximal leaders from throughout time and space who also came through the Blasty Zone, Optimus Prime gained the power of an [[Energon Matrix]] and eventually returned all the Transformers to their home time.

{{-}}
{{note|''Robot Masters'' is explicitly placed in the Japanese cartoon continuity by [[Generation 1 cartoon timeline (Japan)|Takara's 2007 Transformers timeline]]. However, none of the three pieces of actual ''Robot Masters'' fiction tells the story of the line in its entirety, and each of them relate certain events in notably different ways. Precisely ''which'' of the three—covered individually below—should be considered the [[canon]] one for the cartoon timeline is unknown.}}

======Pack-in comic======

[[Image:Starsaber robotmasters minicomic.jpg|right|thumb|225px]]

When a creature that seemed to be a ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' appeared just outside Autobot City, Optimus Prime and Mirage investigated, and were shocked when the dinosaur transformed into a robot mode and introduced itself as "Beast Megatron". Almost immediately, [[Optimus Primal]] appeared through the Blasty Zone, and he and Optimus Prime charged into battle against Megatron side-by-side. {{storylink|The New Battle Begins!}}

Later, the two Optimuses found themselves in battle against the huge Decepticon warrior, [[Gigant Bomb]], but were unable to hurt him because he had supercharged his armor with Solitarium. The two heroes were flattened by a powerful punch from Gigant Bomb, at which point [[Star Saber (Victory)|Star Saber]] and [[Victory Leo]] appeared to join the fray. The two future heroes merged into Victory Saber and defeated Gigant Bomb, after which Prime and Primal welcomed him to the fold. {{storylink|The Victory Warriors Enter!!}}

======Online comic======

When a mysterious purple dinosaur led the Decepticons in an attack against the Autobots, Optimus Prime demanded to know the identity of the foe he was facing. The creature transformed into robot mode and introduced itself as "Beast Megatron", but Prime did not falter, and bombarded the new villain with heavy fire. Declaring Prime to be "quite the monkey", Megatron announced that the battle had merely served as a introduction, and promptly departed. {{storylink|Robot Masters (online comic)|Robot Masters online comic #1}}

Optimus Prime, Optimus Primal and [[Road Rocket (G2)|Road Rocket]] were later exploring a large crevase filled with Solitarium when they were attacked by Megatron and [[Sideways (RID)|Sideways]]. The two villains detonated the crystals around the Autobots, and while Primal was able to shield them with a huge slab of rock, they were unable to stop the Decepticons escaping with a huge load of Solitarium. {{storylink|Robot Masters (online comic)|Must Defend the Solitarium!}}

[[Image:Robotmasters_prime_vs_megses.jpg|left|thumb|300px]]

When new arrival [[Lio Convoy]] was tricked into battling Victory Saber by Megatron, it was Optimus Prime who got between the two combatants and convinced Lio Convoy that they were all on the same side by revealing his Energon Matrix, which glowed in tandem with Lio Convoy's own. The four great commanders teamed up to dispose of the Decepticons lurking nearby, and then they all welcome Lio Convoy to the team. {{storylink|Robot Masters (online comic)|Gathering, 4 Great Supreme Commanders}}

Discovering an unconsious robot outside Autobot City, Prime and the Autobots brought the enigmatic newcomer inside for medical attention. The robot introduced himself as [[Reverse Convoy]] of the planet [[Vehicon (planet)|Vehicon]]. {{storylink|Robot Masters (online comic)|Strategic Meeting: The Mysterious New Warrior}} Before long, however, Prime's goodwill proved to be misplaced when "Reverse Convoy" captured him, Mirage and Optimus Primal, and revealed himself to actually be the original Megatron, inhabiting Reverse Convoy's body by means of his black hole interlink system. Although the Autobots were saved from the clutches of "Rebirth Megatron" by Victory Saber and Lio Convoy, Prime's greatest enemy had returned. {{storylink|Robot Masters (online comic)|Revive, Dark Emperor of Destruction}}

Prime led Primal, Victory Saber and Lio Convoy in a mighty battle against the two Megatrons, Starscream, Skywarp and Thundercracker, during which he had much of his right forearm torn off by Beast Megatron. As both Megatron rushed the injured Prime, he summoned his energon-axe to take the place of his lost fist and slashed the two Decepticons, claiming victory. {{storylink|Robot Masters (online comic)|Robot Masters online comic #13}}
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======Cartoon======

:''Voice actor:'' ? (Japanese)

[[Image:Robomasters g1convoy.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Check out my taint!]]

Optimus Prime sped into action to help Victory Saber in battle against Starscream and [[Wingstun]], blasting Wingstun with a sneaky shot from below. Prime then transformed into robot mode and opened fire on Starscream, but was shocked when the plummetting form of the Air Commander was snatched out of the sky by a ''tyrannosaurus rex''. Transforming to robot mode, the dinosaur introduced himself as "Beast Megatron", and revealed that he came from a different dimension, causing Optimus Prime to fear for the integrity of the space-time continuum. Before he could fret any more on the subject, Prime came under attack from Gigant Bomb and [[Smokesniper]], but quickly took refuge in a nearly canyon while Victory Saber handled the twin troublemakers. Prime then engaged Megatron in battle, but was quickly laid low by the newcomer, who called for Gigant Bomb and Smokesniper to finish him off. Instead, however, another strange new Transformer descended from the sky: Optimus Primal! Following Primal's lead, Prime united his energy with Primal's own, and together, they created the powerful "Double Convoy Tornado", which sent Megatron flying. In the aftermath of the battle, Prime thanked Primal for his help, and told him that they would definitely need his power when the Decepticons next attacked. {{storylink|Fight! The Group of the Strongest Commanders!}}

Beast Megatron would not relent, and eventually discovered a massive deposit of solitarium beneath [[New York City]]. The Decepticons razed the city in search of the element until Prime and his forces arrived to save the day, this time aided by Lio Convoy and the enigmatic Reverse Convoy. Prime battled Gigant Bomb, Smoke Sniper and Megatron once more, with a little extra firepower courtesy of Victory Saber's V-Lock Cannon, and things were going smoothly until Reverse Convoy revealed himself to actually be the ''real'' Megatron in disguise. Now going by the name Rebirth Megatron, Prime's nemesis teamed with Beast Megatron to conquer their mutual foes. Again, Prime and Primal united their power in the Double Convoy Tornado, but the Megatrons countered it with a tornado of their own. It seemed that the Decepticons' power would overcome the heroes, until Lio Convoy added his energy to the mix, becoming a shining "Lio Typhoon Arrow" that took down the two Megatrons. While the battle was over, however, the war raged on... {{storylink|The Lio Convoy Typhoon Enters (episode)|The Lio Convoy Typhoon Enters}}

=====''15 Go! Go!''=====
[[Image:TGGStarConvoy.jpg|right|180px|thumb|"Hot Rod?! Did you shrink in the wash?"]]
[[Image:TGGLaserPrime.jpg|left|180px|thumb|"How do you think I'd look in black?"]]
Shortly before the [[Battle of Autobot City]] in 2005, an unknown saboteur badly damaged [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]]'s databanks. Optimus Prime notified his Autobots of the attack and issued a command that the information be recovered as soon as possible. "[[Ravage (G1)|Black Panther Man]]", stationed on the artificial Earth satellite [[Nana]], volunteered for the important task and assigned [[Teletraan 15]] to the case.

Teletraan 15 proceeded to travel through time and space on her mission, and encountered future incarnation of Optimus Prime on several occasions. First, she travelled into the future, where [[Micromaster]] [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] saved her from a [[Novaroid]]. As Dark Nova and Ultra Megatron prepared to merge, Prime, in his "Star Convoy" form, arrived and asked Hot Rod to aid him in the coming fight. But before they could start the battle, an interruption came from an unexpected source: [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] emerged from a [[Transwarp]] portal and attacked!

On another mission even further into the future, Teletraan 15 and her companion [[Steeljaw (G1)|Steeljaw]] were aboard [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]] as he was attacked by the [[Decepticon]] jets [[Smokescreen (G2)|Smokescreen]] and [[Dreadwing (G2)|Dreadwing]] on his way to his commander. Fortunately for them, Optimus Prime—now in his [[Laser Rod]] body—appeared and severed Dreadwing's wing with a single mighty slash of his sword. Teletraan 15 thought that he looked sad and wondered if he had learned his sword skills during his [[Kiss Player]] days.
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=====''Kiss Players''=====
{{note|[[Kiss Players (franchise)|Kiss Players]] takes place between ''The Transformers: The Movie'' and the third season of the animated series. While there is no particularly large time-gap between these stories in American animated continuity, in Japan, since the third season was moved to 2010 but the movie remained set in 2005, there was a five-year milieu that made room for plenty of new stories to be told.}}

[[Image:Illust.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Optimus is the one on the left. With the dignity.]]

Following Optimus Prime's death in the Battle of Autobot City, Tokyo was devastated when [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] crash-landed on the city after being hurled out of Unicron's body by Rodimus Prime. The death and destruction that resulted caused a massive anti-Transformer sentiment to spring up, epitomized by the formation of the government organization known as the [[Earth Defense Command]], who forced any remaining Transformers on Earth off the planet. Dissatisfaction with the EDC's extreme actions resulted in the formation of an underground resistance group for whom the death of Optimus Prime was a rallying point. Among these commandoes was a young woman [[Marissa Faireborn]], who had been rescued by Optimus Prime back in 1996 when a mission that her [[Flint (G.I. Joe)|soldier father]] had been on had gone bad. Marissa had formed a great friendship with Prime in her childhood, and came to see him as a surrogate father figure, and perhaps a little bit more.

[[Image:Marissa convoy stack.jpg|right|150px|thumb|She prefers the Japanese version's longer stacks.]]
When Prime's corpse was covertly flown to Japan by the EDC, Marissa's commandos attacked the convoy transporting the Autobot leader's body. Believing that they had secured Prime's body, the commandos were taken by surprise and slaughtered by the [[Ne squad]] [[Kiss Player]] [[Ringo Chikuma|Ringo]] and her [[Autrooper]] partner, who burst out of the torso of the decoy Prime body that had been atop the flatbed truck. As the sole surviving member of the squad, Marissa discovered that the true body was being transported within Prime's own trailer nearby. Slicing the trailer open, she was too late to prevent an EDC Autrooper from partially fusing with Prime. Reflecting on her childhood memories of playing with the kindly Autobot leader, Marissa lovingly kissed his faceplate. In an explosion of energy that destroyed the trailer, the two [[ParasiTech|fused]] and Prime was reborn in a new, living body. The pair had become Kiss Players! {{storylink|Kiss Players issue 2|Kiss Players #2}}

As fugitives from the EDC, Prime and Marissa spent their days on the run and their nights hanging out at the beach. He longed for the day when he would be able to see her bathing in the sun, rather than the moonlight, although he also thought that all the soft-serve ice cream she was eating was making her a little fat. One night while Marissa was surfing, she had a squid latch onto her. Then a [[Legion]] that had infused itself with both an octopus and shipwreck attacked her. With tentacles. Prime fought it off and saved Marissa, but the EDC [[Autrooper]]s were soon dispatched to the scene, and the two had to beat a hasty retreat. {{storylink|List of Kiss Players radio drama episodes|Someday, Under the Sun}}

[[Image:PrimeKP.jpg|left|225px|thumb|"And THIS is for TRAILBREAKER, who DESERVED to have GOTTEN this MOLD INSTEAD!"]]
Over the months that followed, Prime and Marissa battled Legions, led Legions (due to the Galvatron-infused cells inside Prime's new body, which sometimes overcame him with nightmares about his old enemy Megatron), fled from Hot Rod, who believed Prime to be an impersonator of his dead commander, and both fought and fled from the EDC.

Finally, teaming up with Hot Rod and his Kiss Player partner [[Shaoshao Li]] (who had adored Marissa since childhood and hated Prime for "stealing" her friend's affections), and the EDC Kiss Player [[Atari Hitotonari]] with her Autrooper partner, Prime and Marissa entered the secret experimental facility beneath the Tokyo headquarters of the EDC and discovered the sinister truth behind the shadowy organization. Everything that had occurred was part of an attempt by EDC commander [[Hitoshizuku Amaō]] to resurrect her daughter, who had been killed in the 2005 catastrophe. Finding Galvatron's headless corpse imprisoned in the facility, the Kiss Players realized that the only way to repair things was to return the [[Unicron]]-created Decepticon's cells. Galvatron's body absorbed the Legions, the Autroopers, and the cells inside Prime and Hot Rod, who were returned to their former forms... which meant that Prime was once again dead. {{storylink|List of Kiss Players radio drama episodes|You, I, and the Spinning Earth}}

Marissa did get a few chances to see her friend again—in 2007, she and her friends were transported back through time to 1984 where they witnessed Prime's battle with Megatron atop [[Sherman Dam]], {{storylink|List of Kiss Players radio drama episodes|Kiss Players radio play #40}} and then later, ''forward'' in time, to 2010, where Prime (and [[Bumblebee (G1)|Goldbug]]) helped her once more by rescuing her and her friends from the [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticon]] pit on [[Quintessa]]. {{storylink|List of Kiss Players radio drama episodes|Tokyo Toy Festival 2007 live script-reading}}
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=====''The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers''=====

[[Image:2010_manga_primes.jpg|right|thumb|275px|And eat your greens or no dessert!]]

After boarding a Decepticon spaceship, [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus Prime]] became trapped by the schemeing Galvatron. Galvatron quickly bested him in combat and Rodimus, badly injured, was ready to give up. Lucky for him, the spirit of Optimus Prime reached out to him from within the Matrix and encouraged him to get up and keep fighting. Inspired by his predecessor, Rodimus Prime outwitted Galvatron, escaped and destroyed their spaceship. {{storylink|The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers issue 1|The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers #1}}

When the Quintessons reactivated Optimus Prime as a rampaging zombie {{storylink|Dark Awakening}}, they made it a point to copy his schematics while they had the opportunity. Teaming with the Decepticons, they then obtained the schematics of Megatron. Combining the best aspects of both, they created the Colossal Cannon Soldier [[Guiltaur]]. {{storylink|Transformers 2010 (story page)|Transformers 2010 Part 4}}

Guiltaur was then unleashed upon Rodimus Prime and, eventually, Galvatron. The two enemies teamed up and defeated the powerful warrior, with Rodimus swearing to do it in the name of Optimus Prime's honor. With Guiltaur destroyed, it was revealed the behemoth had been controled by the ghost of [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] all along. {{storylink|The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers issue 4|Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers #4}}

=====''The Great Transformer War''=====

Following his resurrection, in the year 2011, Optimus Prime and [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] engaged in a battle against [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] and the Decepticons in deep space. Galvatron fled the battle, leaving Hot Rod to request pursuit. Optimus told him not to, and instead to regroup back at [[Athenia]], as he suspected the Decepticons had a much greater scheme in mind. Indeed, Optimus was correct, as Galvatron was preparing for his full-blown invasion of planet [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. {{storylink|The Great Transformer War issue 3|The Great Transformer War #3}}

=====''The Headmasters'' cartoon=====

[[Image:Headmasters_prime_death.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Rodimus finally receives his Nemesis Prime RealDoll.]]

One year after Prime's resurrection, in 2011, the Autobots had entered into an even closer relationship with Earth and began the colonization of other worlds, the first of which was the planet [[Athenia]], where Optimus Prime was stationed. It soon became apparent, however, that when Prime had released the energy of the Matrix to cure the Hate Plague, the consequences were more far-reaching than he had anticipated—without the energy of the Matrix to act as a balancing factor, [[Vector Sigma]] had become destabilized, and the Decepticons suddenly returned to exploit this, assaulting Cybertron in order to seize control of the mega-computer. {{storylink|Four Warriors Come out of the Sky}} Prime took a squad of troops to aid in the battle on the planet, and when the arrival of the Autobot [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmasters]] tipped the battle in their favor, Prime broke off from the main attack and headed down into the depths of the planet, planning on stabilizing Vector Sigma at any cost. {{storylink|The Mystery of Planet Master}}

Guided through the dangers of the planet's catacombs by the spirit of Alpha Trion while the other Autobots searched for the Matrix on Earth, Prime eventually arrived at the computer, only to find his way barred by [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] and [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]]. Hot Rod then arrived with the Matrix, with which Alpha Trion merged, re-energizing it and transforming Hot Rod back into Rodimus Prime; for the first time, the two Primes fought side-by-side and defeated Galvatron. Before Rodimus could implement the Matrix to stabilize Vector Sigma, however, Optimus Prime sacrificed himself to perform the task, merging with the computer and restoring its balance to save the planet. {{storylink|Birth of the Fantastic Double Prime}}

=====''Super-God Masterforce'' cartoon=====

[[Image:Ginrai_1stapp.jpg|thumb|right|"Well tonight, Matthew, I'm going to be..."]]

Once they had defeated the Decepticons, the Autobots had planned to somehow resurrect their fallen leader, using the technology developed on the planet [[Master (Headmasters)|Master]] to give him a new body. However, shortly after it had been built, the [[Transtector]] intended for Optimus was among those stolen by the self-proclaimed "Decepticon god" [[Devil Z]]. It was then hidden on Earth where it was eventually found by, and [[Godmaster|bonded with]], a human named [[Ginrai]]. {{storylink|You Too Use the Masterforce to Transform|Shūta and Grand's Masterforce Super Secrets}} The Transtector later gained sentience of its own, which meant that it ultimately could not be used for its intended purpose. {{storylink|A Battle... and Then...}} The Autobots didn't bother to build another one.

=====''Victory'' cartoon=====

Occupying the body of Optimus Prime comes with [[the many deaths of Optimus Prime|its drawbacks]], and it seems that even if the bot in question doesn't actually happen to be Prime, it doesn't mean they should be an exception. After a scuffle with the Decepticons' new [[Emperor of Destruction]] [[Deathsaurus]], the sentient Transtector Ginrai accepted his fate and [[death|bought the energon farm]]. {{storylink|Ginrai Dies!!}} Quick to act, the Autobots built him a fresh new body, and Ginrai was reborn as [[Victory Leo]]. {{storylink|Fight!! Victory Leo}} They still didn't bother to build another body for Optimus, though. By then, they'd already moved on and found [[Star Saber (Victory)|someone new]] to settle down with.

=====''The Battlestars'' story pages and comic=====
[[Image:PrimeZodiak.jpg|left|thumb|''You got the--'' No, hang on... Nevermind.]]

Over 15 years after his merging with Vector Sigma, Optimus Prime's lifeless body was spirited away in a sinister plot to destroy the Autobots by [[Dark Nova]], the big bad guy du jour. Nova duplicated Prime's body, using the copy to create the evil [[False Convoy]]. {{storylink|The Battlestars (story page)|The Battlestars story page #3}} The elite Autobot team, the [[Battlestars]], defeated False Convoy and retrieved the real Prime's body from Planet [[Lucifer]], and then used the mysterious energy source known as the [[Zodiac]] to restore Prime to life. Transformed into '''Star Convoy''', Prime was also reunited with [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]], who became his [[Micromaster]] partner. {{storylink|The Battlestars (story page)|The Battlestars story page #4}}

[[Image:Starconvoy magami.jpg|right|thumb|"Occasionally you meet a nice one—Star Convoy, E.T. ... but usually they just turn out to be some kind of big lizard!"]]

After Star Convoy and [[Sixliner]] defeated a swarm of Dark Nova's [[Novaroid|Great Novaroid]] drone warriors, {{storylink|The Battlestars (story page)|The Battlestars story page #5}} the mysterious creature decided to resurrect Prime's oldest nemesis, and plucked [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] from the icy grave he had been cast into years beforehand by the Autobot Headmasters, recreating him as [[Megatron (G1)|Super Megatron]]. {{storylink|The Battlestars (story page)|The Battlestars story page #6}} The two old foes clashed in battle at the North Pole, with Star Convoy emerging victorious {{storylink|The Battlestars}} but Super Megatron soon returned with an army of [[Galaman|Great Galaman]] drones to back him up. {{storylink|The Battlestars (story page)|The Battlestars story page #7}} Defeated by the "[[Triple Combination Battlestar Attack]]" that combined all the power of Star Convoy, [[Sky Garry (G1)|Sky Garry]] and [[Grandus (ROC)|Grandus]], Super Megatron was again upgraded by Dark Nova into Ultra Megatron. Star Convoy and the Battlestars met him in battle once again, and again, they claimed victory. {{storylink|The Battlestars (story page)|The Battlestars story page #8}}

His pawn having failed him, Dark Nova absorbed Ultra Megatron into his body, transforming them both into the gargantuan "Star Giant". {{storylink|The Battlestars (story page)|The Battlestars story page #9}} Star Giant proved to be virtually indestructible from the outside until Star Convoy got the bright idea of giving the villain [[Furmanism|the worst case of indigestion he'd ever had]]. Holding Star Giant's massive mouth open, he ordered Sky Garry and Grandus to move in. After all three were swallowed, they began taking Star Giant down from the inside while simultaneously fighting off his various defensive systems. As soon as the trio escaped from Star Giant's interior, the monster exploded, leaving only his head slightly intact. As it happens, Megatron was housed inside Star Giant's noggin and survived the attack. {{storylink|The Battlestars (story page)|The Battlestars story page #10}}

=====Nucleon Quest Convoy bio=====
Following the defeat of Star Giant, the restoration of Cybertron (following its devastation in 2011) began, but the planet was in the throes of a chronic energy shortage. In order to re-energize the struggling planet, Optimus Prime upgraded himself into a Powermaster by fusing with the Nebulan scientist Hi-Q. Protecting his body with a Phase Modulation Shield, Prime ventured into a black hole to obtain the super-energy Nucleon, which was used to restore Cybertron to its former glory.
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=====''G-2'' story pages and pack-in comic=====
[[Image:BlasterG2.jpg|left|thumb|The alliance would have lasted if they'd gotten more than one chair.]]
With Cybertron restored, Optimus Prime upgraded himself into a new [[Action Master]] body. Megatron eventually recovered from his defeat and with his sanity circuit fully restored at last, joined with Prime to form the [[Cybertron Alliance]]. Things were good for a little while, as Megatron's attempts at peace were genuinely sincere, and the alliance ushered in what would be called the Second Generation of the Transformers. However, after human soldiers killed one of his dearest comrades, Megatron adopted a new tank body and started the war anew, believing he could bring a more stable peace to the galaxy by ruling it with an iron fist. {{storylink|G-2 (story page)|Autobots vs. Decepticons: Combat Secrets }}

To counter Megatron, Optimus Prime upgraded his body into a new Missile Trailer mode. Rallying a new wave of Autobot warriors, Optimus diligently repelled Megatron and the Decepticons. In one early encounter, Prime managed to rescue [[Electro]] and [[Volt]] from Megatron by firing his "Matrix Saturn" attack. He immediately recommended that Megatron and all his Decepticons leave the area at once. {{storylink|G-2 (pack-in comic)|G-2 #1}} Megatron, of course, refused, and continued his attack. Prime, Electro and Volt combined their firepower, leaving Megatron in a smoke-filled crater. As Electro moved in to administer the killing blow, Megatron emerged from the smoke unscathed, effortlessly plucking Electro up by his head. {{storylink|G-2 (pack-in comic)|G-2 #2}} Against Prime's orders, Volt immediately rushed Megatron from behind to free his captured friend. {{storylink|G-2 (pack-in comic)|G-2 #4}}

At one point, the secrecy of the Autobot field base became a priority, leaving Megatron to order warriors such as [[Jolt (G2)|Jolt]] to tail other Autobots and locate Prime. {{storylink|G-2 (pack-in comic)|G-2 #5}} Prime's location was eventually compromised when [[Skyjack]] slipped past all Autobot radar. Astonished at the Decepticon's stealth, Prime was unable to stop Skyjack from returning to Megatron with his location. {{storylink|G-2 (pack-in comic)|G-2 #7}} Meanwhile, [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]], [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] and [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] began to study the [[Matrix of Leadership]] and discovered a new property within it called the [[Reconfiguration Matrix]] which could grant Autobots new powers. {{storylink|G-2 (story page)|Optimus Prime of the Autobots has Fallen!}}

[[Image:G2PrimeJustice.jpg|right|thumb|"SHALOM!"]]

Prime and Megatron eventually met to do battle, with Prime coming out on top as Megatron slowly ran low on fuel. Prime offered Megatron one last chance to surrender, but was caught off-guard by [[Hooligan (G2)|Hooligan]], who blasted him in the back with his missile attack, destroying Prime's back-mounted weaponry unit. {{storylink|G-2 (pack-in comic)|G-2 #9}} Megatron then ordered [[Dreadwing (G2)|Dreadwing]] and [[Smokescreen (G2)|Smokescreen]] to swoop in and finish Prime off before he could recover. The pair of Decepticons proceeded to bomb Prime mercilessly before turning him over to Megatron for the kill. {{storylink|G-2 (pack-in comic)|G-2 #10}} With a surprising lack of satisfaction, Megatron blasted Prime to pieces, killing his ancient foe at last. Victorious, Megatron offered Prime a final prayer, only to be interrupted by...Prime! The essences of the previous Autobot Supreme Commanders within the Matrix of Leadership activated the Reconfiguration Matrix to forge him a new body. Optimus Prime became '''Battle Convoy''' and easily trumped Megatron's power. {{storylink|G-2 (pack-in comic)|G-2 #13}} {{storylink|G-2 (story page)|Birth of the New Supreme Commander Battle Convoy!}}

Prime and Megatron then agreed to a one-on-one duel following the "Law of Cybertron": total banishment to the defeated and his forces. After a lengthy and painful battle, Prime narrowly managed to best Megatron, forcing him and the Decepticons to retreat into deep space. Prime was last seen wounded, being aided off the battlefield by Volt and Electro. {{storylink|G-2 (story page)|The Autobots Triumph in the Battle of Good Vs. Evil!}}
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=====e-Hobby ''Generation 2'' storyline=====

[[Image:Black_hybrid_prime_manga.jpg|left|thumb]]

When the universe came under threat from an [[Galvatron II|alternate-reality incarnation of Galvatron]], Prime used his [[Reconfiguration Matrix|Reconfiguration Matrix]] to once again transform his body into a form resembling his original. Armed with powerful solar-powered missile launchers created by the Decepticons that were so energy-consumptive that Prime required a sunlight-absorbing [[wikipedia:Black_body|black body]] coating to operate them at full power, Prime put his new body to use rescuing Laser Ultra Magnus from Galvatron's clutches. {{storylink|Hybrid Style Convoy Black Version}}
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===Kid Stuff Talking Story Books===
:''Voice actor:'' Unknown

Optimus Prime is a "metallic nemesis". Megatron said so.

{{charstubfiction}}

===Big Looker Story Books===
[[Image:KidsPrime1.jpg|right|150px|thumb|And the fluffy kitten played with that yarn all gosh-darn night.]]

When a 2-part race was being held with a massive supply of oil and gasoline as the prize, both the Decepticons and the Autobots badly wanted to win it. Megatron entered the race by hiding himself inside a hollowed-out car and harassed [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] all throughout the contest. When Prime discovered the car was being driven by his arch foe, he swiftly pulled a telephone pole out from the ground and used it to bash the mortal hell out of the cheating Decepticon. Thanks to Prime's violent intervention, Cliffjumper was able to win the race. Afterward, Optimus Prime celebrated the Minibot's victory with a gargantuan smile as all the Decepticons starved to death. {{storylink|The Great Car Rally}}

{{charstubfiction}}
{{-}}
===Ladybird Books continuity===
{{storylink|Autobots' Lightning Strike}} {{storylink|Megatron's Fight for Power}} {{storylink|Autobots Fight Back}} {{storylink|Laserbeak's Fury}} {{storylink|Autobot Hostage}} {{storylink|Decepticons Underground}}
{{charstubfiction}}

===''Transformer PD Type'' comic===

[[Image:PDtype-Matrixattack.jpg|left|thumb|250px|This is the highlight of this entire page.]]

When a horde of time-displaced Decepticons joined forces to hunt down the five [[Blackball]]s, a super energy source, Optimus Prime gathered a team of time-displaced Autobots to help stop them.

In one encounter with his arch-foe [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]], they reenacted their epic struggle from the [[Battle of Autobot City]]. However, this time around, Prime avoided dying by launching his "Matrix Attack"...''literally'' launching the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]] from his chest, bonking Megatron on the head. {{storylink|Transformer PD Type|You're Great! Optimus Prime!}}

Later, Optimus Prime and [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] concocted a cunning strategy. They disguised a round, black cartoon explosive as a Blackball and gave it to [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]]. Starscream promptly brought it to Megatron, where it blew both of them up. Optimus and Magnus were astounded their plan actually worked. {{storylink|Transformer PD Type|Don't Cry! Megatron!!}}

In one of his less impressive moments, after running out of ammo during a battle with [[Deathsaurus]], Optimus Prime ordered his fellow Autobots to improvise and hurl everything that wasn't nailed down at their enemy. This included the Blackball, unfortunately. Catching it, Deathsaurus began to fantasize about his inevitable galactic conquest, all the while being pelted with rocks and litter. Frustrated, Deathsaurus accidentilly hurled the Blackball back to the Autobots in a fit of rage. {{storylink|Transformer PD Type|Good Job! Deathsaurus!!}}
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===''Comic Bom Bom G-2'' comic===
[[Image:G2Hero.jpg|right|200px|thumb|GAH, HE'S LOOKING AT ME!]]
In the year 199X, the Decepticons had learned of a powerful new energy source known as [[forestonite]] which just happened to be located (surprise surprise) on [[Earth]]. Megatron sent his trio of [[Cyberjet]]s to Earth first to draw out the enemy Autobots. The Cyberjets made quick work of [[Electro]] but were soon halted by the appearance of Optimus Prime.

Megatron then entered the fray and fired his Black Hole Burn attack from his fusion cannon, narrowly missing Optimus Prime but vaporizing [[Hooligan (G2)|Hooligan]] in the process. Prime fought fiercely but Megatron began to take the upper-hand in battle.

However, Prime was encouraged to keep fighting by the cheers of a human boy named [[Junpei]]. Megatron, surprised at Prime's resilience, attempted to finish his foe off with his Tornado Axe attack. Prime countered with his Double Wheel-Torque Mega-Ton, which trumped Megatron's attack and injured the Decepticon badly. Megatron teleported back to his ship and left Earth's atmosphere, vowing to return.

Optimus Prime addressed Junpei, asking if the boy was injured. Junpei revealed he was alright but presented concern about the Decepticons returning to Earth. Optimus Prime swore that the Autobots would remain on Earth until the threat of the Decepticons was finished and asked for Junpei's help in making that future a reality. {{storylink|The New Battle!!}}

===''Beast Wars'' cartoon continuity===
====''Beast Wars'' cartoon====
[[Image:G1Prime BWMegs.jpg|left|180px|thumb|You have to get up preeeeetty early in the timestream to beat Optimus Prime!]]

The [[Beast Wars (event)|Beast Wars]] raged on prehistoric Earth, eventually leading to the discovery of the buried Ark sometime after its crash on prehistoric Earth. [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]], following his namesake's instructions in a desperate gambit, decided to attempt to change history by killing Prime, who was still lying in the Ark in [[stasis lock]]. Megatron hoped that this would result in the Decepticons winning the Great War and eventually [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] control of Cybertron. Megatron unleashed a full-power weapon blast at Optimus Prime's face, near-fatally injuring him. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part III)}} However, [[Optimus Primal]] proceeded to take Prime's spark into his body to protect it from surgical trauma while his injuries were repaired. The subsequent power increase caused by Prime's spark's connection to the Matrix mutated Primal into a large, [[Transmetal]] "Optimal Optimus" form. Then, with the repairs complete, Prime's spark was restored, and he briefly activated before sinking back into normal stasis. {{storylink|Optimal Situation}}

Sometime after the Autobots and Decepticons awoke in the 1980s, the original Megatron gained access to one of Earth's ''Voyager'' spacecraft and inscribed a message on the [[Golden Disk (Voyager)|disk]] on board. In the event that he lost the War, Megatron left instructions for the descendants of the Decepticons to use [[transwarp]] technology to travel to Prehistoric Earth, locate the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]], and change history by killing Optimus Prime. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part 2)}}

====''Beast Machines'' cartoon====
[[Image:Sparkwar2_Optimus_hologram_primal.jpg|right|200px|thumb|]]
:''Voice actor'': [[Garry Chalk]] (English), [[Tilo Schmitz]] (German)

An enormous statue of Optimus Prime, bearing two [[Golden Disk (disambiguation)|Golden Disks]], could be seen on Cybertron in front of the Hall of Archives. The statue was subsequently blown to pieces by the [[Vehicon (BM)|Vehicon forces]]. {{storylink|Fires of the Past}} Later, Megatron beamed a hologram of Optimus Prime down to the ruins of [[Iacon]] to confront [[Optimus Primal]]. Primal mistook the hologram for the real thing and shared with it the code for the [[Oracle (BM)|Oracle]]. Megatron quickly revealed his ruse. Primal explained to his Maximals that he knew the image was fake, but he needed the location of the missing [[spark]]s from Megatron's mind. {{storylink|Sparkwar Pt. II: The Search}}

{{note|Writer [[Bob Skir]] claims that neither the statue nor the golden disks in its hands were mentioned in the script. However, he suggested that they were either the [[Golden Disk (Voyager)|disks]] from the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 probes, or that Optimus won them in the 2,395,989th Annual Cybertronian spelling bee.<ref>[http://bigbot.com/beast-machines-transformers-bob-skir/Beast-Machines-FAQ/Tue_12_Oct_1999.html Q&A from Bigbot's "bobskir.com"]</ref> We're betting on the latter.}}

====''Universe: Primeval Dawn''====
[[Image:Sparkholderprimevaldawn.jpg|left|190px|thumb|"Oh, I also have this in me now, too."]]
The Vok took the Matrix of Leadership from an unconscious Optimus Prime, used it to create [[Primal Prime]], then gave the Matrix to their new creation. {{storylink|Primeval Dawn Part 1}}

{{note|In the ''Beast Wars'' cartoon, Prime's spark was shown to be contained in a Matrix-like vessel. In [[Universe (2003 comic)|Primeval Dawn]], that vessel was shown to be merely a container for his spark, and the actual Matrix was hidden underneath.}}
{{-}}

===''Beast Wars Metals'' comic===
[[Image:CheetasManga1.jpg|right|100px|thumb|Cheetor, that's Prime's Spark, not a toy.]]
Optimus Prime was blasted into pieces by Dragon Megatron. Fortunately, his spark remained perfectly intact—in the remains of his [[Optimal Situation|Matrix-shaped spark chamber]]. Megatron was going to destroy Prime's spark, but [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] (now in his Transmetal body) saved it. Prime's spark was eventually swallowed by Optimus Primal, who was upgraded into Optimal Optimus by doing so.

After Megatron was killed by Optimal Optimus, Primal and his crew said it would be troublesome to fix Optimus Prime's body.
{{-}}

===Dreamwave comics continuity===
{{cleanup|April 2009|Needs general expansion and STORYLINKS TO INDIVIDUAL ISSUES. Links to the series are not acceptable.}}

[[Image:Optronix optimus.jpg|left|180px|thumb|What? OPTRONIX is evolving!]]
Optimus Prime started life as '''Optronix''' (Orion to his friends<ref>The [[Keepers Trilogy]] novels set in Dreamwave continuity</ref>), a data archivist. After taking note of a battle in which the Autobot leader [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime]] had been defeated by Megatron, he was summoned to the council of elders and informed that the Matrix had chosen him to be the next leader of the Autobots. He received the Matrix of Leadership shortly thereafter, gaining a powerful new body in the process, and almost arranged for the Autobot evacuation of Cybertron, intending to leave the Decepticons to their own devices, until a battle with Megatron beneath the planet's surface, accompanied by visions from the Matrix, stirred him on to fight for the safety of his homeworld. Some time into his role as leader, Prime disappeared in a [[space bridge]] explosion along with Megatron, but returned some time later, having spent a period of time on [[Quintessa]]. {{storylink|The War Within}}

Following the awakening of the Transformers on Earth, the Autobots protected the planet from the Decepticons. Over the next fifteen years, the Autobots befriended the humans, particularly the [[Witwicky|Witwicky family]]. The Autobots finally allied with humankind and eventually defeated the Decepticons at the turn of the century. They planned to return to Cybertron aboard the newly constructed ''[[Ark II]]'', along with seven humans, including Witwicky patriarch [[Sparkplug Witwicky|Sparkplug]]. Before the ship departed, Prime gave a piece of the Matrix to [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]], Sparkplug's son and [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]]'s closest human friend. But the ship was destroyed as part of a military conspiracy to take control of the Transformers. However, a terrorist organization run by the enigmatic [[Lazarus]] was able to seize control of several of the Transformers that fell back to Earth, while the U.S. military located Prime's body. Spike was forced by the product chief, General [[Robert Hallo]], to use the piece of the Matrix to reactivate Prime. Functional again, Prime used the Matrix to reactivate more of his fallen comrades, and then faced off against Megatron in [[San Francisco]]. {{storylink|Prime Directive}}

Following this, Prime began to experience subconscious urgings, leading both the Autobots and the Decepticons to the Arctic Circle, where Shockwave arrived to greet them—and arrest them as war criminals. Shockwave had succeeded in ending the war on Cybertron, but Prime soon fell in with a rebel Autobot group that had discovered Shockwave had a greater agenda. Rallying Autobots across Cybertron to the cause, Prime faced Shockwave in battle but was defeated and had the Matrix ripped from him and used to activate Vector Sigma. Before Shockwave could make full use of the mega-computer's data, however, [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] arrived and bested him. The injuries Prime took in this conflict necessitated a prolonged restoration period in stasis. {{storylink|War and Peace}}

{{note|...which turned out to be the remainder of Dreamwave's existence. Bummer.}}

===''G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers''===
[[Image:GIJoevsTFcobraprime.jpg|right|275px|thumb|G.1. Joe-the real universal hero!]]

Several Autobots and Decepticons, including Optimus Prime, were reformatted into will-less war machines under the control of [[Cobra]]. During an initial attack on a human peace conference, Cobra's remote control of Optimus mysteriously failed. Later at Cobra's island headquarters in the Caribbean, Cobra scientists pulled Optimus apart to find out what was impeding their commands. As this analysis took place, Optimus reverse hacked into Cobra computers until they shut him down in a panic. Despite this, Prime sent a viral message out to hundreds of email addresses that included the coordinates of Cobra's base. The message was intercepted by [[G.I. Joe]] who teamed up with Wheeljack and Bumblebee. After Wheeljack broke the remote control over the Transformers, Prime went after [[Cobra Commander]]. More than a bit frightened of a giant robot gunning for him, the human released Megatron, who was trapped in gun model. Megatron transformed and fought Prime to a standstill until other Autobots came to back him up.

Although he was weak and low on [[Energon (fuel)|energon]], Prime made a last-ditch effort to save the day when he rammed through the wall of Megatron's energon-producing lab. After a quick recharge, Optimus single-handedly smashed the Decepticons, pounded Megatron to the ground, and ripped his [[fusion cannon]] off his arm. Prime then teamed up with the Joes and used Megatron's cannon to shoot down the [[SPS satellite]] that had gone rogue and was destroying the island.

With the battle over, Prime and the Autobots boarded a new ''[[Ark (G1)|Ark]]'' ship built by G.I. Joe and returned to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers}}

[[Image:GIJoevstfIIprime1930s.jpg|left|275px|thumb|War Convoy: TRANSFORM!!!]]
On a Cybertron dominated by [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] and the Decepticons, Optimus Prime and the Autobots took on the roles of resistance fighters. Cobra experimentation transported a contingent of Cobras and G.I. Joes to Cybertron and destabilized [[Teletran 3]]. The computer then sent several Transformers to [[Earth]] across different time periods. A team made up of Joes and Cobra agents were sent back and found Optimus Prime and the [[Stunticon]]s in 1930s-era Chicago, disguised as period cars and trucks. The Stunticons chased Prime and the Joes around the city until everything was wrapped up with bullets, a collapsed bridge and some dynamite.

After the Transformers and humans were returned to present-day Cybertron and the Decepticons were vanquished by the recently-arrived [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]], Prime made an agreement with the Joes to destroy the technology that started the whole mess in order to protect Earth. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II}}

On Cybertron, Optimus Prime kicked back to do a little bit of paperwork and reminisce. With Shockwave defeated, Cybertron was enjoying a new era of peace. He was interrupted by Hot Rod, who reported that a group of "pesky humans with their peashooters" were giving an Autobot team on Earth a hard time. Prime suspected Cobra's involvement and counseled Hot Rod not to be so dismissive of the humans.

Later, at a peace celebration, Prime was watching a procession of Autobots when Decepticons attacked. Optimus ordered Omega Supreme into action but the huge Autobot was quickly overcome by Menasor, Piranacon and Predaking. Prime hopped into the fray, saved a female Autobot from getting smushed by the falling Omega, rode a flying Decepticon into Piranacon's face, smashed another Decepticon into the ground, and carried a wounded Autobot out of danger.

[[Image:Primevsserpentor.jpg|right|175px|thumb|Serpent O.R. soon realized that "This I command!" doesn't work on Optimus Prime.]]
Menasor cut off Prime's escape and confronted him with a hologram of [[Serpentor|Serpent O.R.]] The new Decepticon leader carried Megatron's memories and information downloaded from Soundwave, from which he learned of the Matrix of Leadership. Serpent O.R. offered Optimus a trade: hostages and peace if he handed over the Matrix. Optimus agreed.

In his stronghold, Serpent O.R. questioned Prime about his own worthiness to carry the Matrix, but Optimus broke free of his chains and aggressively ordered him to surrender. A group of Decepticons broke in and nearly took Prime apart, but not before Serpent O.R. took the Matrix for himself and changed into the massive Serpentor Prime. The Matrix showed Serpentor Prime the error of his ways but as he was about to commit suicide Cobra Commander tripped a device and took over Serpentor Prime's body. Moments before he crushed Arcee, a severely damaged Optimus Prime threw Hawk toward the Matrix but warned the human not to touch the artifact. Hawk did so anyway and through a quasi-mystical transfer of power Serpentor Prime was vanquished.

Later repaired by a female nursebot, Optimus went back to finishing his paperwork. A leader's job is never done. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers: The Art of War}}

Sensing a new, yet old, danger to planet Earth, Prime elected to send himself to earth on an investigation, and gave Hot Rod a glare when the young Autobot accused his leader of taking an unnecessary risk to atone for the death of a close friend.

Optimus Prime landed in the Himalayan Mountains with G.I. Joes [[Flint (G.I. Joe)|Flint]] and [[Hawk (G.I. Joe)|Hawk]]. As they searched the area, the trio was attacked by [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]] in his [[Pretender]] shell. Prime whacked him with his [[energon-axe]] and in return Bludgeon bearhugged him and coated him in metal-eating slime. Hawk, still carrying power from the Matrix, helped Prime break free. Optimus then shot his way into the hidden kingdom of [[Cobra-La]].

While they wandered through the tunnels, the Joes and Prime found cave paintings that described the last visit to Earth by the planet-eating god [[Unicron]]. They were attacked again by Bludgeon and Cobra-La minions, but were led away by a ragged [[Joe Colton]], prisoner of Cobra-La for the last 25 years. Bludgeon managed to find them again and during a second battle Prime tore open the Pretender's shell, revealing Bludgeon's robot form inside. Bludgeon tripped and dangled dangerously over a chasm, but rather than let Optimus Prime save him, Bludgeon forced Prime to drop him to his death laughing all the way down.

The Joes discovered a cavern where the people of Cobra-La were growing metal-eating spores as a last defense against Unicron. Flint and [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] took a load of the spores into space just as Unicron appeared in Earth orbit. Prime, Hawk and Colton headed deeper into Cobra-La to rescue [[Firewall]] and kick butt. Prime was tackled and pinned by a giant bug creature, but made a dramatic recovery and tossed the bug aside. He then took the machine-hating Cobra-La leader [[Golobulus]] to task with a single punch. Flint and Cosmos released the spores, which devoured Unicron from the inside and defeated the giant Transformer before he could harm [[Earth]].

With the threat of Unicron gone, Prime relaxed with [[Eject]] and Firewall by watching some reality TV, and sighed at the banality. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers: Black Horizon}}

===''Transformers/G.I. Joe''===
{{charstubfiction}}
=== IDW comics continuity ===
{{ongoing}}

{{note|[[Megatron Origin]] depicted that before the war, a robot that's a hybrid of the "Orion Pax" and "Optronix" designs appears listening to [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime]]'s speech at the funeral of [[Bumper (G1)|Bumper]] and [[Fastback]]. He is standing with [[Elita One]], [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]], and a white version of himself (presumably [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]], possibly even [[Dion]]). Whether this is truly the [[IDW continuity]]'s version of pre-Prime Optimus or not remains unrevealed.}}

[[Image:SpotlightBlurr-Optimus.jpg|left|thumb|200px|There's something missing...]]

Galvanized by the death of Sentinel Prime, Optimus joined the Autobot forces under his successor [[Zeta Prime]], and was assigned to a unit commanded by the veteran [[Kup (G1)|Kup]]. During his tour of duty his unit intercepted a message reporting of a planned attempt on the Prime's life. He approached former racer [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] as a reliable means of getting the news to Zeta Prime in a hurry. The former celebrity balked, but ultimately the young soldier helped Blurr find what really drove him to race, and thus recruited him to the Autobot cause. {{storylink|Spotlight: Blurr}}

[[Image:IDWOptimus.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Freedom is the right of all sentient and heavily-armed beings.]]

An undisclosed amount of time later, Optimus would be chosen as the next Prime, and commanded the Autobot armed forces spread across the galaxy from the [[Autobot Orbital Command Hub]]. He was directly involved in the cataclysm ([[IDW timeline|just under 450 years ago]]) that reduced [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] to a dead husk, fighting alongside [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] in an attempt to stop [[Thunderwing (G1)|Thunderwing]]'s rampage. Their efforts were futile, and they only survived due to Cybertron itself swallowing Thunderwing at [[Thunderhead Pass]]. Megatron was unconvinced that Thunderwing was dead, and advocated that Cybertron be destroyed to better insure that the mad Decepticon was forever destroyed. Optimus Prime refused, and threatened to stop any effort that Megatron attempted. Megatron agreed to spare the planet, but warned Prime that anything which happened afterward was on his head.

In the present, Prime received a pulsewave from [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]], who was stationed under [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]]'s team on Earth, saying that the Decepticon infiltration cell under [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] had broken their infiltration methods and enacted [[Infiltration protocol|siege mode]] prematurely. Soon afterward, the Autobot science vessel ''[[Calabi-Yau]]'' sent a distress signal from above Thunderhead Pass, and he ordered the [[Wrecker]]s to withdraw from [[Varas Centralus]] and meet him on Cybertron. {{storylink|Stormbringer issue 2|Stormbringer #2}} Thunderwing had been restored by [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]] and his followers, and though the Wreckers made short work of them, the real fight would be met with Thunderwing. After the Wreckers, [[Predacon (G1)|Predacons]] and [[Centurion droid]]s were unable to destroy the monster, Prime took to the field, firing massive amounts of energy at Thunderwing, forcing it to exhaust its last reserves of [[Ultra-Energon]] and, ultimately, its life. {{storylink|Stormbringer issue 4|Stormbringer #4}}

[[Image:IDWPrime Earth.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Don't crush the cameraman!]]
[[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]] discovered information in Bludgeon's files about the mysterious new form of Energon found on [[Earth]]. Linking it to the pulsewave transmission from Ironhide, Prime diverted his spacecraft to Earth and called [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]] in to assist him. {{storylink|Spotlight: Nightbeat}}. Shortly after arrival, and having undergone alteration so that he could disguise himself as an Earth truck, he slowly began to realize how unusual the situation Prowl's unit had found itself in was. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 6|Infiltration #6}} Not only had the Decepticons broken their own infiltration protocols over what Starscream had dubbed [[Ultra-Energon|Ore-13]], but after attempting to recover what appeared to be [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]]'s remains, it was also evident that some of the planet's native sentient lifeforms—[[human]]s—posed a threat possibly equal to that of their old enemies. {{storylink|Escalation issue 2|Escalation #2}}

Optimus Prime, now fully filled-in on Earth's happenings, decided that they needed reinforcements. He called Nightbeat, [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]], and [[Hardhead (G1)|Hardhead]] to come when they could. When Prowl pointed out that Megatron, in his new gun-based Earth mode, was in the breakaway Soviet state of [[Brasnya]] stirring up trouble, Prime ordered them into action.

[[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] almost got the drop on Prime, but [[Roller]] was right behind him and took out Blitzwing with a single shot. Megatron returned to his full-size robot mode and disagreed with the quality of Prime's tea and crumpets. At last, the two rivals were going to go at it.

[[Image:Escalation5 Primedies enlightning.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Rule of thumb, Megs—if he don't turn gray, he's A-OK.]]
The fight went well at first, with Prime blowing Megatron's [[fusion cannon]] clean off. Megatron, however, tireless thanks to Ore-13, prevailed, almost beating Prime into [[stasis lock]]. {{storylink|Escalation issue 5|Escalation #5}}

However, Prime transferred his consciousness into his trailer, leading Megatron to believe him dead. Realizing that Ore-13 was the same as Ultra-Energon, Prime returned to his body in time to save his forces from the relentless Megatron, blasting him point blank in the face and dealing enough damage to the Decepticon leader to drain his power reserves, just as he did against Thunderwing. The victory was narrow, however, leaving Optimus with the daunting task of fending off an increasing enemy force without his last ace in the hole. {{storylink|Escalation issue 6|Escalation #6}}

This near-death experience had left Prime somewhat unsettled. While his consciousness was in [[infraspace]] downloading to his trailer, he sensed a presence of dread—the visage of his long-missing predecessor, [[Nova Prime]]. Looking for answers, Optimus Prime left Earth temporarily to seek an audience with [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] for answers. Once there, he found out about Nova's beliefs of how Transformers were a superior race and should remake the universe in their image, and faced down the rampaging [[Monstructor]], a legacy of Nova's tenure locked away by Omega Supreme. Then he gave his "you shouldn't have done that" speech to Omega, handed Monstructor's limbs over to Jetfire's team, and went on to have angst-ridden introspection about himself and the tarnished legacy of the [[Prime (rank)|Prime lineage]]. {{storylink|Spotlight: Optimus Prime}}

After returning to Earth, Nightbeat discovered that a human group was aware of the base's location and recommended to Prime that they move the ''[[Ark-19]]''. As preparations were underway, Prime received a message from [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] saying that Thunderwing had been stolen. [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]], eager to search for Sunstreaker, suggested that they be reassigned to Earth, and Prime agreed. However, the thrashing that Prime gave Megatron had so embarrassed the Decepticon leader that he ordered in the Decepticons' living weapon, [[Sixshot]]. While moving the ''Ark-19'', Prime and the others came under fire by Sixshot, who severely damaged their ship. {{storylink|Devastation issue 1|Devastation #1}}

[[Image:Devastation4 PrimeSixshot hyperbole.jpg|left|180px|thumb|"And THAT'S for killing my brother in another timeline!"]]
Ordering [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] to get [[Jimmy Pink]] and [[Verity Carlo]] to safety, Optimus then instructed Nightbeat to upload all of ''Ark-19''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s data to ''[[Ark-32]]'' and for Prowl to activate the self-destruct sequence. {{storylink|Devastation issue 2|Devastation #2}} When ''Ark-19'' exploded, it was assumed that Optimus was on board, but all was good at the end when he appeared with [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] and the others—ready to take on Sixshot. {{storylink|Devastation issue 3|Devastation #3}} Optimus and the Autobots held Sixshot at bay, but the U.S. military ordered an air strike to destroy the alien robots. The battle was a stalemate, as Sixshot had to return to the Decepticons while the Autobots [[orbital jump]]ed just in time to avoid destruction. {{storylink|Devastation issue 4|Devastation #4}} On ''Ark-32'', after a conversation with Jetfire, Prime informed Prowl that they needed to retrieve [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]], Hot Rod and Ironhide, and leave Earth to see to another crisis. The secure facility on [[Garrus-9]] had been breached, and Prime and company needed to make sure that some of the "recent inmates" there didn't end up "in enemy hands". {{storylink|Devastation issue 5|Devastation #5}} Before leaving Earth, Optimus Prime redirected Hound's unit to rendezvous with ''Ark-32'' at Garrus-9, and told Hound to impress upon Sideswipe the importance of their mission and how he didn't leave Earth or Sunstreaker behind lightly. {{storylink|Devastation issue 6|Devastation #6}}

[[Image:DarknessPrimes.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Think he can go one series without having a near-death experience?]]
Optimus Prime and Prowl met with [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] and Jetfire on Garrus-9 and discussed the prisoners' breakout, and that a surviving Decepticon had been tortured. Maximus and Jetfire gave each other a guilty glance. Prime left Maximus in charge and returned with Prowl to the ''Ark-32''. Meanwhile, [[Dead Universe]] resident [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] attacked Hound's crew, but they received help from Ultra Magnus and drove Cyclonus to escape to [[Corata-Vaz]]. There, he activated the [[Nega-Core]] and fought with Magnus and Hound's crew, whom had followed him. In desperation, Cyclonus activated the Nega-Core's guardian—Thunderwing. Using the distraction, Cyclonus escaped but Magnus sent another tracker after him. All this was reported to Optimus Prime on the ''Ark-32'', who recognized that this had something to do with his infraspace encounter in Brasnya. Prime ordered Jetfire to summon the Wreckers to find out what Thunderwing is guarding. {{storylink|Spotlight: Cyclonus}}

The prison soon came under attack from Nova Prime. Rather then watch his soldiers be slaughtered by the undead monster, Optimus Prime ordered a retreat and faced Nova alone. Announcing his new title of Nemesis Prime, Optimus's predecessor explained the nature of the [[Darkness (G1)|Darkness]] before unleashing a portion on the Autobot leader. Shattered, Prime collapsed onto his hands and knees as Nemesis loomed. {{storylink|Spotlight: Doubledealer}}

[[Image:OptimusdeadNemesis.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"Optimus! I've come to help y- oh. Sorted, then?"]]

Unexpectedly for Nemesis Prime, the Darkness seemed to be more interested in the younger Prime and sought to be passed onto Optimus. Nemesis wasn't about to let go of the power he commanded, and savagely attacked Optimus Prime, whose attempts to reason fell on deaf ears. Just as Nemesis Prime seemed victorious, [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] attacked the fallen Prime from behind, killing him. Nemesis's death allowed the Darkness to finally enter Optimus, who tried to fight against its evil to no avail. Galvatron offered the Autobot a choice: kill himself by plunging into the [[Solar pool]], or pass on the Darkness to Galvatron, who had coveted the Darkness for so long. Optimus seemed to willingly do so, but just as he passed on the Darkness, he threw the surprised Galvatron into the solar pool. As Optimus gazed upon the dead body of Nemesis, he told himself he could not mourn the elder Prime's death, as Nova truly died long ago. {{storylink|Spotlight: Sideswipe}}

[[Image:AHMPrimecritical.jpg|right|250px|thumb|So he's dying. [[The many deaths of Optimus Prime|This shouldn't be a problem by now]].]]
A year later, Optimus Prime combined his Autobot squad with another squad. Having received word of a supposed Decepticon power struggle, Prime led the Autobots to a location where Starscream's "group" was, only to be ambushed by a unified Decepticon force. Though they managed to briefly turn the tide, Devastator's appearance made the difference, which enabled Megatron to rip the Matrix of Leadership from Prime's chest. Prime was dealt another blow (mentally) when the Autobots were told that they were sold out to a traitor in their ranks (who was later revealed to be [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]]). {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 8|All Hail Megatron #8}} The Autobots were led to a space bridge, where Prime, who was the last to go, used his remaining energy to destroy the machine. Unfortunately, this heroic act left Prime in critical condition. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 7|All Hail Megatron #7}} With this defeat, the Autobots were forced to leave Earth to the Decepticons. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 1|All Hail Megatron #1}}

After Prime's unit met up with Kup's unit, and after dealing with the Swarm and Sideswipe's sacrifice to save them, Ratchet and Wheeljack managed to bring Prime back online (with the Energon from the ''[[Trion|Trion]]'') in time to smooth over an Autobot argument. As the others excitedly welcomed him back, Prime makes a speech about how he was proud of them, and that he wanted to win the war. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 9|All Hail Megatron #9}}. After the Autobots recovered and prepared for a final stand against the Swarm, Prime had a brief chat with Ironhide (to which Ironhide admitted to secretly hating him at first sight at the start of the Great War), then prepared for the Swarm's onslaught. When they came, the Autobots fought back, but they were quickly outnumbered by the thousands. Thankfully, Omega Supreme arrived and saved them from certain doom. After Omega briefly told them about his arrival, Prime orders him to transform and transport the Autobots back to Earth. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 10|All Hail Megatron #10}}

{{charstubfiction}}

{{note|The events of ''Spotlight: Mirage'' possibly take place in an alternate/unknown continuity.}}

Optimus Prime commanded one of the last remaining pockets of Autobot resistance, hiding out in the [[Pegasus Star Cluster]]. While awaiting the arrival of Bumblebee's team, he and Hound tried to work out how to convert the [[Zodiac Energy]] for their consumption. "Bumblebee's" arrival proved to be their downfall, as it was really the self-serving mercenary [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]], who destroyed the bunker security systems, allowing the Decepticons inside. Optimus Prime refused to surrender during the ensuing struggle, until Mirage used the critically-injured Jetfire as a hostage, forcing the Prime to back down. When Megatron betrays Mirage's word and orders the execution of the Autobots, Optimus Prime tried to reason with the mercenary, appealing to his former friendship with Hound... until Mirage killed Hound in defiance. Furious, Optimus Prime broke free of his captors and tackled Mirage into the Zodiac Energy chamber. {{storylink|Spotlight: Mirage}}

===''Hearts of Steel''===
[[Image:HeartsofSteel_1_Prime_Bumblebee.jpg|thumb|left|200px|]]

The Autobots and the Decepticons came to [[Earth|a distant world]] in the grip of an ice age. Assuming alternate modes based upon the [[Dinosaur|dominant (though doomed) indigenous creatures]] of this planet, they continued their ancient, unending war. However, the Autobots, with their energy levels dangerously low, withdrew from combat as the world grew colder. They sought refuge in a deep cavern and entered [[stasis lock]], awaiting the day when surface conditions changed to better suit their operation. Millions of years later, Bumblebee was awoken by the hammering of humans working on a rail line. He briefly considered awakening Optimus Prime, but thought better of it. After discovering the world had changed significantly, Ratchet thought there was no reason to awaken Prime. {{storylink|Hearts of Steel issue 1}} When Bumblebee discovered the Decepticons were once again active on this world, Ratchet and Prowl agreed that the Autobots must intervene, but again decided out of rousing Optimus from his slumber. {{Storylink|Hearts of Steel issue 2|Hearts of Steel #2}}

{{Note|Optimus Prime appears very briefly in the first few pages, in his "Ice Age Wars" body (we only see him in robot mode, but his altmode is a brachiosaurus<ref>[http://www.allspark.com/forums/index.php?s=d5d311674e796c81d010d26ac751389b&showtopic=10074&st=20&p=266183&#entry266183 Allspark forums post] by [[Guido Guidi]], August 15th, 2006</ref>. He spends most of the story in stasis lock. [[:Image:Opthos.jpg|Unused concept art]] depicts him as transforming into a locomotive engine.}}
{{-}}

===''Henkei! Henkei!'' pack-in comics===

{{charstubfiction}}

===''Comic Bun bun Henkei! Henkei!'' comic===

{{charstubfiction}}

===Commercial appearances===
Optimus Prime has appeared in more [[Commercial|television commercials]] than any other Transformer... just like with everything else. He has been voiced by Peter Cullen in every animation segment in which he's had a speaking role.

[[Image:Toycommercial-firstPrime.jpg|right|thumb|My wheels don't disappear!]]

* He was one of the featured characters in the first ever appearance of the Transformers anywhere, an advertisement for the first issue of [[The Transformers (Marvel Comics)|the Generation 1 comic]]. He arrives in the midst of a desert battle as the Decepticons attacked a power plant on Earth, driving to back up his troops in defending it. He strikes a rather iconic pose as he transforms and fires, which would be replicated and copied numerous times in the early years of the franchise. This first commercial used nonfinal versions of the characters' [[character model]]s; Optimus Prime, for example, still had wheels on his legs. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9-7RjhFzpM]

* In a commercial for the [[Triple Changer]]s, Optimus confronts Astrotrain on a desert battlefield, but the Triple-Changer escapes under fire from other Autobots. Shortly afterward, Prime uses Perceptor's microscope mode to examine a fragment of Decepticon battle armor. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WssZjIsUIU]

* Prime and Jazz are shown fighting Megatron in the desert in an ad for the 1985 cars, whom he summons to help out with the battle. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WssZjIsUIU]

* Prime narrates two commercials around the time of ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'', describing the action as [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] battles [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]], and [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] and [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] take on the [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticons]]. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5X-10pud7DY]

[[Image:Toycommercial-PowermasterOptimusPrime.jpg|right|thumb|An integral part of Powermaster Prime's transformation is Joyride shooting lightning bolts through his pointed finger.]]

* Prime was prominently featured in the ad for the first comic issue featuring the [[Powermaster]]s. On the rocky plains where practically every Transformer battle ever seems to happen, Prime arrives in his Powermaster body to back up three of his troops against Dreadwind and Darkwing. He's shown combining with [[Hi-Q]] and transforming, attacking with his trailer's battle station mode, then combining with the trailer to continue the attack. Who wins? Find out in [[People Power!|Marvel Comics]]! [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voX_KNNxNCI]

[[Image:OptimusQuickswitchCommercial.jpg|right|thumb|Optimus Prime is so giving, he even gives other Transformers time in his commercials.]]

* Prime also features briefly in [[Quickswitch]]'s ad; in a battle on the moon, Quickswitch transforms to gun mode and is wielded by Powermaster Optimus Prime.

* An abbreviated ad for Powermaster Prime uses footage from both the Marvel Comic and Quickswitch commercials.

* Prime's Powermaster body shows up yet again in the [[Classic Pretender|Pretender Classic]]s ad. He comes under attack in the darkened streets of the city, prompting the narrator to explain that he needs the greatest Transformers ever! Prime then welcomes back Bumblebee and Jazz in their Pretender forms. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mahbq-FnSPY]

* Powermaster Prime and [[Piranacon]] are the representatives from each faction that [[Doubledealer]] doublecrosses! Everyone wonders who that guy is that Prime's talking to... He looks kinda suspicious!

* Optimus features prominently in the first [[Action Master]] commercial; he's shown surrounded by a circle of his troops, and challenges them to give up their transforming powers to become faster, stronger, more alive! [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeNf3jQ1zdw]

* A stock intro was used for several Micromaster commercials, with Optimus opening his fist to reveal a Micromaster city within.

[[Image:Hotrodpatrolcommercial.jpg|right|thumb|Prime wants to know if they can transform, because he sure can't!]]

* A similar sequence in another Micromaster has Prime opening his fist to find the [[Hot Rod Patrol]] inside. He and Jazz check them out, and Optimus wonders if they can transform.

* In an ad for the Micromaster micro bases, a battle rages outside an Autobot base, and Prime watches impassively as Bumblebee and Jazz pull two [[Interstellar shuttle|captured]] [[Attack Copter|vehicles]] into the base. Prime is the first to notice that the vehicles are transforming and shooting things.

* Prime and [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] are the stars of the first ''[[Generation 2 (franchise)|Generation 2]]'' commercial, animated with [[Computer-generated imagery|CGI]]. Prime is shown driving down a road in his ''Generation 2'' colored truck mode. He rocket-launches up into the air to transform, then has a brutal fight with Ramjet. Despite getting a hole blasted in his chest, he wins the fight and fires his gun into the air in triumph. Non-speaking.

* Prime also is shown briefly in a commercial for the new Megatron tank toy. He transforms and finds his head in a target crosshairs. In the subsequent toy segment, Prime's toy is shown getting completely trashed by that of Megatron. Non-speaking.

* And finally, Prime got his own rap segment. He's shown in his Combat toy body, waiting for Megatron as he attacks a human subdivision. Prime converts to robot form, blows up Megatron's weapon at point blank range, and slugs it out with him. Apparently emerging victorious, is next shown sitting next to an identical truck, which the live-action kid mistakes for the real thing. The real Prime then transforms and picks up the kid, inspecting the human with his cold, lifeless, flashing red optics. Prime is once again voiced by Peter Cullen in this commercial.

Prime also appeared in commercials for ''Transformers'' products other than the toys themselves...

* In the ad for [[Coleco]]'s [[Power Cycle]], Optimus Prime shoots ''at'' a child riding the titular cycle, but misses. This footage is recycled from the advertisement for the comic.

* Prime delivers a load of shoes to schoolchildren in a South American ad for [[Bata]]'s licensed ''Transformers'' footwear.

==Toys==
{{main|Optimus Prime (G1)/toys}}

==Merchandise==
:''Main article: [[Optimus Prime (G1)/toys#Merchandise|Merchandise]]''

==Notes==
* According to [[Bob Budiansky]], longtime comics writer [[Denny O'Neil]] named Optimus Prime prior to Budiansky being brought on to the ''Transformers'' project.

* Optimus Prime's Japanese name is "Convoy", which is named after his original name "Battle Convoy" in the [[Diaclone]] toyline, because the name "Optimus Prime" is difficult for Japanese kids to remember and pronounce. <ref>'''Figure-Oh''' No. 114</ref>

*According to an early ''[[Transformers Universe (Marvel comic)|Universe]]''-style profile published in ''[[The Transformers Comics Magazine]]'', Optimus Prime's "official" nicknames were at one point considered to be "Autobot Commander", "Chief", "Big Boss" and "Roller". As far as it is known, no piece of fiction has ever purposely addressed him using these nicknames, though it's a fair bet he's been called "chief" at least once or twice anyway.

* He [[Letters page (Marvel UK)|allegedly]] hates the music of [[wikipedia:Mötley_Crüe|Mötley Crüe]].

* According to the staff of ''[[Beast Wars (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'', Optimus Prime became a space explorer in the [[Beast Era]].<ref>[[Beast Wars Universe]] ISBN 978-4766938005</ref>

[[Image:Optimusprime-mom.jpg|right|125px|thumb|Prime's mom knows how to write in cursive.]]
* By the time Optimus Prime appeared in ''[[Beast Machines (cartoon)|Beast Machines]]'', his 3D model from ''Beast Wars'' had apparently been lost, leading the animators to use a faceplated Optimus Primal head as a quick replacement to save time and budget.

* Aside from occasionally having Alpha Trion as a father figure, Optimus Prime may have a mother! In an advertisement for [[Pepsi Convoy]] that shows him in a refrigerator (along with [[Destron Pizza]]), a note attached to a nearby piece of Tupperware reads:

:''Dear Convoy''
:''Warm it before you eat''
:''Mom''

:Although the ad itself is for Pepsi Convoy, he is a separate character, and it can be assumed that the note was left for Convoy/Optimus Prime himself.

* The first wave of Dreamwave posters in 2001 identified Optimus Prime as [http://www.comicden.com/merch/posters.htm "Captimus Primus"], which is tantalizingly close to making some sort of sense.

* According to EJ Su, Optimus Prime's [[Holomatter|Holomatter avatar]] is modeled after [[wikipedia:Ulysses_S._Grant|Ulysses S. Grant]].<ref>[http://www.protodepot.com/archive/2007_11_01_archive.html Idea: Holomatter Projection]</ref>

==External links==
* [http://www.tfu.info/1984/Autobot/OptimusPrime/optimusprime.htm Optimus Prime on TFU.info]

* [http://www.ntfa.net/universe/english/index.php?act=view&char=Optimus_Prime Optimus Prime's Universe profile at NTFA.net]

* [http://www.ntfa.net/universe/english/index.php?act=view&char=Optimus_Prime_PM Powermaster Optimus Prime's Universe profile at NTFA.net]

* [http://www.toybin.org/search.php?q=1984+Autobot+Optimus+Prime ToyBin Optimus Prime Toy gallery]

== Footnotes ==
<references />

[[Category:Action Masters]]
[[Category:Alternators]]
[[Category:Attacktix]]
[[Category:Autobots]]
[[Category:Autobot leaders]]
[[Category:Beast Wars characters]]
[[Category:Classics characters]]
[[Category:Combiners]]
[[Category:Convention exclusives]]
[[Category:E-Hobby]]
[[Category:Generation 1 characters]]
[[Category:Generation 2 characters]]
[[Category:Ghosts]]
[[Category:Go-Bots]]
[[Category:Headmasters characters]]
[[Category: Henkei! Henkei! characters]]
[[Category:Kiss Players characters]]
[[Category:Machine Wars characters]]
[[Category:Mail order exclusives]]
[[Category:Matrix bearers]]
[[Category:Powermasters]]
[[Category:Return of Convoy characters]]
[[Category:Robot Heroes]]
[[Category:Robot Masters characters]]
[[Category:Rulers of Cybertron]]
[[Category:Titanium Series]]
[[Category:Toys "R" Us exclusives]]
[[Category:Zombies]]

Time Wars

2009-06-01T15:27:48Z

69.43.35.2: /* Synopsis */

{{comicstory|seriesissue=[[Generation 1 (Marvel Comics)|''Transformers'' (UK)]] #199–205
|prev=Cold Comfort and Joy!
|prev2=Altered Image!
|next=Cold War!
|title="Time Wars"
|image=MarvelUK-202.jpg
|caption=Oh shit.
|publisher=[[Marvel Comics]]
|date=7th January 1989—18th February 1989
|writer=[[Simon Furman]]
|pencils=[[Dan Reed]], [[Robin Smith]], [[Lee Sullivan]], [[Andrew Wildman]]
|inks=[[Stephen Baskerville]]
|colours=[[Euan Peters]]
|lettering=[[GLOP]], [[GLIB]]. [[Annie Halfacree]], [[Peter Knight]]
|editor=[[Euan Peters]]
}}
'''The combined forces of the Autobots and Decepticons must battle both Megatron and Galvatron to save the present and the future from a rift in space and time.'''

==Synopsis==
{{note|This story follows directly from the UK Annual stories [[All in the Minds!]] and [[Altered Image!]].}}
On New Years Day 2009, a time rift has destroyed the planet [[Quintessa|Quintesson]] {{storylink|Space Pirates!|Space Pirates!}} and is now threatening to consume both Earth and Cybertron. Analysing the source of the disturbance, they find the source of the rift to be the year 1989. They correctly deduce that Galvatron, Cyclonus and Scourge are somehow the cause. In an attempt to solve the problem, a small group of Autobots travel back in time to 1989.

In 1989, the rift is also threatening modern day Earth, causing natural disasters. An earthquake awakens Ravage, who has lain inactive since falling down a mine shaft. {{storylink|Showdown!|Showdown!}} He attempts to escape back to the surface, but instead discovers the underground base of Galvatron.

Optimus Prime is giving a briefing to the other Autobots, in which he outlines his belief that the time storm is related to Galvatron. Meanwhile, outside the Ark, Highbrow is fretting over what to do with the head of Scorponok that he had captured. {{storylink|All in the Minds!|All in the Minds!}} He wishes to end the threat of Scorponok, but is unwilling to kill him in cold blood.

Before he can make a decision, he is attacked by the Decepticon Headmasters and Targetmasters in an attempt to recover the head. They capture the head, but before they can destroy Highbrow, the other Autobots come to his rescue and a major battle ensues.

In the midst of the battle, the future Autobots arrive, causing Optimus Prime, Hardhead, Highbrow, Blaster, Brainstorm and Snarl to be transported to the holding dimension as part of the time travel process. Thinking their friends have been killed by the newcomers, Fortress Maximus leads an attack on the future Autobots.

At the same time, a spacecraft from Cybertron arrives on Earth carrying the combined forces of the Autobot [[Wrecker|Wreckers]] and the Decepticon [[Mayhem Attack Squad]]. They have joined forces in an attempt to force Galvatron to return to his own time.

The Autobot battle is eventually stopped when Goldbug, who has seen the results of time travel before {{storylink|Target: 2006}} & {{storylink|Wanted:Galvatron — Dead or Alive!}} and believes the newcomers are friends, is injured. Using the Creation Matrix that resides in both Optimus and Rodimus Prime, the present and future leaders are able to communicate with each other and resolve the battle peacefully.

The Wreckers and the Mayhem Attack Squad meanwhile enter Galvatron’s base and confront the future Decepticon. They are shocked to discover, however, that Galvatron and Megatron have now joined forces. The two of them soon leave the ranks of the Wreckers and Mayhem Attack Squad decimated, forcing them to retreat and regroup.

Optimus Prime is explaining that the rift is caused by Cyclonus and Scourge being in the present because they bypassed the usual mass transfer system when they travelled back in time using Unicron's time portal. {{storylink|The Legacy of Unicron!}} As a result, the balance of space time has been upset. The situation has been made worse by Cyclonus's death twenty years before his creation. {{storylink|Dry Run!}} They deduce that if Cyclonus and Scourge are returned to the future, the rift will seal itself.

Galvatron and Megatron follow the Wreckers and the Mayhem Attack Squad and continue the battle outside, bringing the other Autobots into the fray. Galvatron has now become totally insane and is fighting blindly and slaughtering all in his path.

[[Image:MarvelUKTimeRift.jpg|right|180px|thumb|I guess we're not in Kansas anymore.]]
Scourge, who is beginning to have doubts about his alliance with Galvatron, decides to take action and flies to the Decepticon fortress to retrieve Cyclonus's body. There, he finds Shockwave in a state of mental breakdown after learning {{storylink|Dry Run!}} that he is due to die at Cyclonus and Scourge's hands in 2008. {{storylink|The Legacy of Unicron!}} Unwilling to let Scourge take Cyclonus's body, he blasts the future Decepticon unconscious.

The battle with Galvatron is going badly and all are falling before him. Half his face has been blasted off in events that are different from how he remembers them as Megatron, pushing him even further from sanity at the same time as changing the course of history. Optimus Prime, trapped in the limbo dimension, can only watch through the Matrix link. As the Autobots continue to fall, however, he decides to take drastic action and uses the power of the Matrix to return to reality and confront Galvatron. However, because he is now in the same period as Rodimus Prime, also the bearer of the Matrix, the effects of the time rift increase.

Scourge, recovering, appeals to Ravage to get Cyclonus's body, and wanting the madness to end, he sacrifices himself by throwing himself into the rift. Ravage manages to convince Shockwave that because he has foreknowledge, he has time to prevent his fate. This snaps Shockwave from his mental decline.

Galvatron, still fighting madly, fights Optimus Prime to a standstill, but before a winner is revealed the time rift rips Galvatron apart. However, the rift continues to worsen as it needs Cyclonus as well. Just as the rift is about to rip the Earth apart, Shockwave arrives and throws the body of Cyclonus into the rift, causing it to close itself.

The future Autobots return to their own time, pledging to destroy all their time machines. Optimus Prime and Shockwave agree to a truce until they next meet.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] (6)
* [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] (9)
* [[Rodimus Prime (G1)|Rodimus Prime]] (10)
* [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] (11)
* [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] (13)
* [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] (14)
* [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] (15)
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] (19)
* [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] (20)
* [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] (21)
* [[Highbrow (G1)|Highbrow]], [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] (22)
* [[Sandstorm (G1)|Sandstorm]] (23)
* [[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]](24)
* [[Slag (G1)|Slag]] (29)
* [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]] (30)
* [[Goldbug (G1)|Goldbug]] (31)
* [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] (33)
* [[Catilla]] (35)
* [[Topspin (G1)|Topspin]] (39)
* [[Twin Twist]] (41)
* [[Rack'n'Ruin]] (42)
* [[Roadbuster]] (43)
|c2=
* [[Rippersnapper]] (1)
* [[Sinnertwin]] (2)
* [[Blot]] (3)
* [[Cutthroat]] (4)
* [[Hun-Gurrr|Hun-Grr]] (5)
* [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] (12)
* [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (16)
* [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] (17)
* [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] (18)
* [[Snapdragon]] (25)
* [[Misfire]] (26)
* [[Weirdwolf]] (27)
* [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]] (28)
* [[Mindwipe]] (32)
* [[Carnivac (G1)|Carnivac]] (34)
* [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] (36)
* [[Battletrap]] (37)
* [[Flywheels]] (38)
* [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] (40)
|c3=
* [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (7)
* [[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel Witwicky]] (8)
}}

==Errors==
[[Image:Timewars colourerror uk201.JPG|right|150px|thumb|The FortMax repaint we've all been waiting for!]]
*The first page of issue 201 was originally printed with the wrong colours. This was corrected in the subsequent [[Collected Comics (Marvel)|Collected Comics]] and [[Titan Books]] reprints.
*Scourge was pretty mad at Galvatron last time he saw him, to the extend that he was willing to kill him. How we get from that to the look of love he gives Galvatron in issue 200 is unexplained.
*What's left of the [[Wrecker|Wreckers]] and the [[Mayhem Attack Squad]], having been key characters for much of the story, simply disappear in the closing stages, shunted aside by the big names. The same happens to the rank-and-file present day Autobots such as [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] and [[Scattershot]].
*The "present" Autobots should recognise most of the "future" Autobots - [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] and [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]], for example, are among their current forces on the Ark. Kinda lucky they didn't make the trip to Earth, really... They should probably recognise Ultra Magnus and Rodimus Prime (he looks just like Hot Rod, after all) as well, and maybe even [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]]. (Similarly isn't it lucky that Scorponok didn't bring the present day Terrorcons with him?)
*At least some of the present-day Autobots (such as Ironhide) should recognise the explosive effects of being shunted to limbo, so their immediate declaration that Optimus and company have been killed is a little hysterical.
*The nature of Goldbug's injury shifts all over the place - he's shot in the shoulder by [[Misfire]], but then has a critical chest injury by the time Magnus finds him. His dramatic turn done with, his life-threatening wound reverts to being a shoulder injury that [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] patches up in three seconds flat.

==Items of note==
*This marks the end of the story arc that began 121 issues ago in "[[Target: 2006]]".
*This was the last of the UK comic's 'epic' storylines. By issue [[The Fall and Rise of the Decepticon Empire|213]] falling sales meant that the page count of the UK originated strip was reduced from 11 to 6. The constant threat of the comic's cancellation meant that [[Simon Furman]] kept the story arcs limited to a few issues at most
*Cyclonus was killed in issue 189 "[[Dry Run!]]". The initial effects of the time rift were shown in issues 182-187 "[[Space Pirates!]]" with the destruction of the planet [[Quintessa|Quintesson]].
*Here Ravage recovers from his fall down a mine shaft after a battle with [[Skids (G1)|Skids]] in issue 72-73 "[[Showdown!]]" (US issue 20).
*The future Decepticons don't really add anything to the story. They just turn up, watch for a bit and then leave.
*The Wrecker/Mayhem strategy is laughable - they simply walk into Galvatron's base, arguing loudly.
*It's a recurring problem with the rotating artists on the UK comic, but the height of characters changes drastically over the course of the story. Fort Max goes from being a shade taller than Rodimus to almost half again as tall between issues.
*Galvatron actually starts off this story in a fairly sane state of mind (as he had in [[Altered Image!]]) By the end of it he's attempting to destroy every Transformer that exists and screaming his defiance at the universe itself. [[A Savage Circle| Hanging out with Megatron]] seems to have this effect on him (although to be fair, having half his face blasted off probably didn't help matters).
*Finally, Galvatron stays dead. Hard to miraculously recover from being erased from history. Except that he [[Aspects of Evil!|does]], sort of.
*Where does [[Fracas]] go?
*During the first issue when humans are fleeing from the Terrorcons on New Year's Day 2009, a dropped copy of ''Dragon's Claws'' can be seen. This prediction of the title's longevity was optimistic as the real ''Dragon's Claws'' comic folded a few months into 1989; however just a few months before the real New Year's Day 2009 a trade paperback of ''Dragon's Claws'' was published.
*Reprinted as a Trade Paperback by [[Titan Books]] in July 2003.
* The future Autobots last appeared in "[[Space Pirates!]]". Their story continues in the second segment of "[[Aspects of Evil!]]", then "[[The Void! (UK)|The Void!]]".

==Covers==
<gallery>
Image:MarvelUK-199.jpg|199 cover
Image:MarvelUK-200.jpg|200 cover
Image:MarvelUK-201.jpg|201 cover
Image:MarvelUK-202.jpg|202 cover
Image:MarvelUK-203.jpg|203 cover
Image:MarvelUK-204.jpg|204 cover
Image:MarvelUK-205.jpg|205 cover
</gallery>

[[Category:Marvel UK issues]]

Optimus Prime (G1)

2009-06-01T15:10:49Z

69.43.35.2: /* Generation 1 */

{{factions|autobot|autobotg2}}
{{disambig3|Optimus Prime}}
:''Optimus Prime is the leader of the [[Autobot]]s from the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:Optimusg1.jpg|right|350px|thumb|I'm that guy everyone remembers. No, not the tape guy, the other guy.]]
'''Optimus Prime''' is the awe-inspiring [[Prime (rank)|leader]] of the [[Autobot]] forces. Originally a mere civilian, he was chosen by the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]] to command, the first in a number of heavy burdens he has been forced to bear. Another is his bringing of the Transformers' conflict to Earth. The complete opposite of his mortal enemy [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]], every casualty, [[human]] or [[Transformer|Cybertronian]], weighs heavily on his [[spark]]. He does not show this side to his soldiers, and he never succumbs to despair. The Autobots need a decisive, charismatic leader, and that is what he gives them. It was that leadership which turned the tide of the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]].

On the battlefield, there are few who rival Optimus Prime's prowess. He is easily the strongest of any Autobot his [[Scale|size]], and his [[ion blaster]] and his [[energon-axe]] are deadly weapons. He would sacrifice his life to protect his fellow Autobots or those under their care, and [[The many deaths of Optimus Prime|does so on a regular basis]]. His compassion for other sentient beings is his only real weakness, and one the Decepticons have taken advantage of time and again... though it's also the source of his strength!

Prime carries within him the [[Matrix of Leadership]].

Before being rebuilt into a [[Powermaster]] his robot mode split into three components:

*A sentient robot module, the [[Brain Center]].
*A wheeled drone module known as [[Roller]].
*A [[Combat Deck]].

Although Optimus Prime can function as three independent modules, injury to any one module is felt by the other two.

{{bigquote|Freedom is the right of all sentient beings.|Optimus Prime's most common [[bio]] quote}}

:''Japanese name:'' '''Convoy''', '''Battle Convoy''' (Laser)
:''French-Canadian & Chzech name:'' '''Optimus Primus'''
:''Hungarian name (The Movie):'' '''Optimusz Fővezér''' / '''Optimusz Prájm'''
:''Italian name:'' '''Commander'''
:''Portuguese name (Portugal comics):'' '''Optimus Supremo''' ("Optimus Supreme")
:''Portuguese name (Brazil cartoon):'' '''Líder Optimus''' ("Leader Optimus")
:''Portuguese name (Brazil comics):'' '''Supremus Absolutus'''
:''Taiwanese name:'' '''Tīh-ghŭ''' (鐵牛, literally "Iron Ox" or "Iron Bull", a kind of vehicle in early days and rural area)
:''Chinese name (Taiwan):'' '''Jr-tsūn''' (至尊, "Prime")
:''Cantonese name:'' '''O Baak Man''' (柯柏文)
:''Chinese name (China):'' '''Qing Tian Zhu''' (擎天柱, "Pillar Towering into Sky")

==Fiction==
===Marvel Comics continuity===
====Generation 1====
{{noteukonly}}
[[Image:Optimusprimeg1preearthmarvel2.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Optimus Prime's Cybertronic truck mode, along with a Cybertronic Grumman X-29, a Cybertronic Earth motorcycle, and a Cybertronic Porsche 962.]]
Before the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]] broke out on Cybertron, Optimus Prime was a Transformer of note, displaying his skills in the [[Intra-Formers Sharpshooting Competition]]. {{storylink|Sureshot (G1)|Sureshot's ''Transformers Universe'' entry}} As a serious-minded individual, he also spoke out against [[Needlenose]]'s faddish "[[Chic Chips]]" line of hardware accessories. {{storylink|Needlenose|Needlenose's ''Transformers Universe'' entry}}

''Gladiator games were commissioned between the City-States to increase good will as the planet's population outpaced its resources. Optimus was the gladiator champion of [[Iacon]], and he shared a sporting rivalry with a young champion from [[Tarn]] called [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]. But sabotage plunged Tarn and [[Vos]] into an inter-city war. An [[Overlord (rank)|Autobot Overlord]] was damaged while trying to sort it out, so Optimus Prime left to get help. However, the Overlord mysteriously perished while under the care of Megatron and Overlord's bodyguard, [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]]. {{storylink|State Games}} Following the destruction of Tarn and Vos, Prime had planned to become a medical officer, but enrolled in the Autobot army as soon as the Decepticons declared war. He was immediately put in charge of the [[Elite Flying Corps]]. {{storylink|Transformers Annual 1987|Optimus Prime datafile}}''

''Optimus Prime saved the life of an Autobot named [[Swoop (G1)|Divebomb]] from another [[Divebomb (G1)|flying Decepticon]] who had previously beaten him and taken his name. "Divebomb" hated Prime with a passion, and was humiliated by his rescue, and so he kept this to himself. {{storylink|What's in a Name?}}''

Optimus Prime quickly made a name for himself as a combat leader. On a mission with the [[Triggerbot]]s to stop Megatron from claiming the [[Underbase]], Prime was forced to jettison the massive databank into space to prevent anyone acquiring its power, but with this action he first proved his wisdom and skill. {{storylink|The Flames of Boltax!}} ''As Optimus Prime's reputation became known, he was promoted to field commander of the entire Autobot army, but regrettably, the [[Council of Autobot Elders]] still pulled the strings. Unknown to the Elders, Optimus Prime began orchestrating unsanctioned military actions. {{storylink|Transformers Annual 1987|Optimus Prime datafile}} As the Great War intensified, Autobot territories began falling under Decepticon dominion, one City-State at a time. The last City-State to be taken was the Autobot capital of Iacon. As Decepticons besieged Iacon, the Council of Elders prepared to surrender. Councillor [[Emirate Xaaron|Xaaron]] suggested that High Councillor [[Traachon]] step down and allow a military officer to assume Autobot leadership. Traachon then used his powers of veto and effectively elected himself out of office, allowing Optimus Prime to assume supreme command of the Autobots, becoming the first soldier to ever hold the mantle of Autobot leadership. {{storylink|And There Shall Come...a Leader!}} ''

[[Image:Optimusprimeg1marvelfirst.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Prime had to go through an experimental "box with a gun on top" phase before he could commit to the truck thing.]]
After over a thousand years of war, Cybertron—shaken from its orbit and drifting through space—came under threat when it floated into the path of a massive asteroid swarm that could potentially devastate the planet. Prime led a group of his most powerful Autobot warriors on the Autobot starship, the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]], on a mission to destroy the asteroids. Although the Autobots were successful, in the aftermath of this mission the Ark was attacked by Decepticons, hoping to overcome their weakened foes. Intent on keeping the secrets of the Ark's computer, [[Auntie]], from the Decepticons, Prime set the craft on a suicide course, crashing it into the prehistoric planet Earth. After lying dormant for four million years, the Ark was awakened by the eruption of [[Mount St. Hilary]] in 1984, and Optimus Prime was rebuilt so that he could reconfigure his body into a semi truck. As the Decepticons fled, Optimus Prime called for a roll call of his own troops. Suspecting that after all this time, Cybertron probably no longer existed, Optimus Prime began studying the planet upon which they had landed; he was startled to realize that this planet did have sentient life! He swore that the Autobots would hide themselves from Earth's natives, so that they would be spared the horrors of the Transformers' war. {{storylink|The Transformers (issue)|The Transformers}}

[[Image:PowerPlay-Optimustransforms.jpg|left|thumb|250px|In the live-action movie's version of this scene, Sparkplug was replaced with some hot chick.]]

Optimus Prime and the other Autobots were all dangerously low on fuel, but thankfully [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] had befriended some humans who could help—[[Sparkplug Witwicky]] and his son, [[Buster Witwicky]]. Leading the Autobots to Sparkplug's auto shop, Optimus Prime introduced himself to the humans. Unfortunately, the Decepticons had the same idea, and the warring factions met in battle. But while Prime was busy shooting Decepticons out of the air, Megatron grabbed Sparkplug, and so Prime was forced to face his nemesis one-on-one. Despite Prime's apparent victory, Sparkplug was snatched away by [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]], and the Decepticons retreated. Optimus Prime acknowledged Buster's sorrow at the kidnapping of his father, but noted that without fuel, retrieving him would be impossible. {{storylink|Power Play!}} Carrying [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] and [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] in his trailer, Optimus Prime and the other Autobots returned to the Ark, where [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] awaited. With the mysterious [[Spider-Man]]'s help, Sparkplug was rescued from the Decepticons' [[Fortress Sinister|cliffside headquarters]], but not before Sparkplug had converted fuel for the Decepticons! {{storylink|Prisoner of War!}} Unfortunately, Optimus Prime couldn't stop the Autobots from overreacting to this bad news, and their actions caused Sparkplug Witwicky to suffer a heart attack. {{storylink|The Last Stand}}

[[Image:Boulderdamfight.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Better get used to seeing this scene.]]

''When the Ark alerted Optimus Prime of a power surge at [[Sherman Dam]], he and his Autobots weren't surprised to find the Decepticons behind it. Afraid of the dam crumbling under the stress of the Decepticons' manipulations, he faced off against Megatron on the top of the dam, brandishing his energy ax. As he trash-talked Megatron, Prime was suddenly distracted by [[Hound (G1)|Hound]]'s defeat. Megatron used this moment to his advantage, knocking Prime off the dam and firing his cannon into the dam itself. Prime quickly assembled his troops, directing them to divert the waves by digging trenches and elevating the neighboring humans. Mirage was angered when the humans still vilified them, despite their hard work, but Prime calmed him. {{storylink|Decepticon Dam-Busters!}}''

''Meanwhile, Optimus Prime sent a team of Autobots to investigate the [[Man of Iron]], a local legend in the [[United Kingdom]]. After befriending [[Sammy Harker]], and tangling with the Decepticons over the remains of the Man of Iron's ship, Optimus Prime and [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] were forced to destroy the ship and its inhabitants, not realizing that its [[Navigator]] knew the location of Cybertron. {{storylink|Man of Iron!}} Back at the Ark, after [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] suffered some sort of psychotic break and had ran off, Optimus Prime decided that hunting Brawn down was crucial, before he could harm any humans! After cornering Brawn, he threatened them with death, but he was quickly overwhelmed, and Optimus Prime carried Brawn's defeated body back to the Ark. In order to prove Brawn's loyalty, a showdown was orchestrated between him and the traitorous Decepticon, [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]]. With the help of [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]]'s holograms, once Brawn had proved himself his death was faked, and the two factions returned to their respective bases. {{storylink|The Enemy Within!}} The Decepticons did not stay there for long, and suddenly a full-scale attack was launched on the Ark! Unfortunately, the Ark's computer systems, "[[Auntie]]", went berserk, and it fell to Optimus and Megatron to team up against the malfunctioning program. Megatron used his ability to tap into the power of a black hole, freeing them, [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] destroyed Auntie, and the Decepticons were forcibly ejected from the Ark. {{storylink|Raiders of the Last Ark}}''

[[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] alerted Optimus Prime to information that Ratchet had uncovered from the Ark's databanks: millions of years ago, the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] battled [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] to a standstill. This raised some questions, but there was little Optimus Prime could do with this knowledge now. With a Decepticon attack imminent, and the Autobots dangerously low on fuel, Optimus Prime had a desperate gamble. Using the [[Tubes of Transference]], the combined remaining fuel was compiled into five of the strongest Autobots, himself, [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]], Huffer, [[Bluestreak]], and [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]]. Sure enough, the Decepticons descended quickly upon them, but even though Prime was still low on fuel, he was still quick enough to grab Starscream out of the air! It was not enough to defeat Megatron, however, and his nemesis hoisted Prime's body over his head in complete victory. ...That is, until Megatron and the other Decepticons doubled over in pain. Sparkplug had poisoned the Decepticons' fuel! Unfortunately, Optimus Prime's subsequent speech was short as he and the other Autobots were blasted into pieces. Shockwave had awakened and returned. {{storylink|The Last Stand}}

[[Image:NewOrder-OptimusPrimehead.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Buster regretted the low volume on his Optimus Prime voice changer helmet.]]

Though the Decepticons had taken over the Ark, Ratchet was able to sneak Buster Witwicky inside, and the young human was startled to find Optimus Prime's decapitated head attached to machinery. {{storylink|The New Order}} Optimus Prime, in this weakened state, pleaded with Buster to detach two power cords and attach them to either side of the human's head. This released a tremendous amount of energy, transferring Optimus Prime's [[Matrix of Leadership|Creation Matrix]] to the human, and Buster blacked out. After Buster awoke, he returned to Ratchet to tell him of Optimus Prime's defeat. {{storylink|The Worse of Two Evils!}} Ratchet had to see this for himself, and he was saddened to find out that Buster was correct. The Autobots were defeated, even including the mighty Optimus Prime! But Optimus would not let Ratchet give up or despair. He pushed Ratchet to action, telling him that even though Ratchet was nothing more than a doctor, now was the time for him to learn to be a warrior. {{storylink|Warrior School!}} Since Shockwave's return, he had wrested leadership of the Decepticons from Megatron, and so the former Decepticon leader was ordered by Shockwave to prepare to move Optimus Prime's head from the Ark to the Decepticons' base of operations within a [[Blackrock Industries]] aerospace plant. {{storylink|Repeat Performance!}}

Shockwave planned to use the Creation Matrix energies within Optimus Prime's head to give life to a new Decepticon army, despite Optimus Prime's obvious objections. Shockwave didn't know that he had transferred most of the energy to Buster Witwicky, so Optimus Prime took quiet solace in the fact that the last of his remaining energies would be used on only six new warriors. ''{{storylink|The Wrath of Guardian!}}'' {{storylink|DIS-Integrated Circuits!}}

[[Image:PrimeTime-Primewantsyou.jpg|thumb|right|250px|He's mad as hell, ain't he ain't gonna take your orders anymore!]]

Optimus Prime's head watched helplessly as Shockwave brought his [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] to life using the rest of Prime's stored Creation Matrix energies. But Shockwave realized something was wrong when Prime failed to give life to his next creation, [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]]. {{storylink|The Next Best Thing to Being There!}} Shockwave deduced what had happened, and so he sent Jetfire (who was still little more than a drone) out to capture Buster. Optimus Prime realized he had put Buster in tremendous risk, but thankfully Buster prevailed. However, with the Matrix energy spent, Prime was useless to Shockwave, and so the Decepticon leader made plans to dispose of the head. {{storylink|Brainstorm!}} In actuality, the head Shockwave disposed of was an impostor. Shockwave had learned that his headquarters were bugged, and so when the Autobots came to retrieve the head from a nearby swamp, the impostor head took control of Prime's body and turned on the Autobots. The day was saved only by the efforts of Buster, who was able to wrest control of Jetfire so that he could deliver the real head to its body. Once again whole, Prime retaliated against the Decepticons battling at the swamp, and one by one, they were destroyed. Shockwave himself arrived to battle Prime, but after they grappled, Shockwave was thrown into the swamps and disappeared. Instead of delivering a final blow, Optimus Prime rushed back to the plant to assure Buster's safety. The nightmare over, Prime transferred the Creation Matrix energies from Buster back into himself. {{storylink|Prime Time!}}

[[Image:Arkchristmastree.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Prime may reconsider his return to the Autobots.]]

''Optimus Prime's dignity restored with his head once again reunited with his body, Prime immediately dressed as Santa Claus to appease Buster's strong sense of [[Christmas]] spirit. {{storylink|Christmas Breaker!}}''

''Optimus Prime questioned his ability to lead after his recent series of trials when a fight broke out amongst the Autobots on whether to use the Creation Matrix to create an army of unstoppable robot monsters. His introspection was interrupted by the intrusion of Ravage. The spy was captured, but it was not known by the Autobots that this was part of a larger Decepticon plot. Ravage escaped easily, and when Bumblebee gave chase, the Autobot was captured by the Decepticons. His disembodied arm was dropped in front of the Ark by [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]], a gauntlet cast. Prime decided to go alone to Decepticon headquarters to rescue Bumblebee, despite the other Autobots' objections. Indeed, Prime bested the Decepticons one-by-one, felling them all, until he arrived, heavily damaged, in the chamber where Bumblebee was held. After making short work of Soundwave, Optimus Prime returned to the Autobots, determined to do things right from then on. {{storylink|Crisis of Command!}}''

''After Optimus Prime visited Bumblebee in the repair bay, the Autobots were surprised to attacked by the Dinobot [[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]], who was thought to be dead. After reclaiming Swoop's mind from [[Professor P. Morris]], Swoop went berserk and left once more. After learning that the Dinobots all would suffer the same involuntary rage, Optimus Prime called for a Dinobot Hunt! {{storylink|The Icarus Theory}} Optimus Prime briefed the Autobots on the Dinobots and their nature and sent them to find the Dinobots in groups. Later, Optimus Prime traveled via [[Ark shuttlecraft]] to put a stop to a fight between Grimlock and Sludge that had claimed several Autobot and human injuries. Prime neutralized the rampaging Dinobots, but was saddened to hear that the Decepticons had seized the opportunity to steal large quantities of energy from the humans while the Autobots were kept busy. With the Dinobots in ruin and the Decepticons fueled, Optimus Prime's Autobots had suffered a major defeat. {{storylink|Dinobot Hunt!}} Optimus Prime later checked in with Ratchet, who was monitoring the comatose Dinobots. He implored Ratchet to find a way to save them from their constant nightmares. {{storylink|Victory!}}''

With the Autobot ranks drastically depleted, Optimus Prime gave life to Jetfire using the Creation Matrix, and performed on him the [[Rite of the Autobrand]]. He guided Jetfire through the Ark; first into Ratchet's repair bay, and next into [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]]'s lab, where additional troops were being assembled. Optimus Prime assigned Bumblebee to train these new recruits, but ordered them not to engage the enemy. When the group stumbled onto a Decepticon plot to siphon energy from a [[Brick Springhorn]] concert, Optimus gathered every able Autobot to assist. However, Bumblebee had disobeyed orders and his rookies had successfully thwarted the Decepticons. {{storylink|Rock and Roll-Out!}}

When a human named [[Donny Finkleberg|Robot-Master]] appeared on television, claiming he controlled all Transformers, Optimus Prime led a team of Autobots into the [[Powder River Basin]] to prevent the human from getting hurt. Megatron, who had frozen, deactivated, at the bottom of the basin, was subsequently re-energized by Soundwave and his minions, and the combined might of their firepower and the human military's drove away Optimus and the Autobots in defeat. {{storylink|I, Robot-Master!}} Afterward, Bumblebee felt he had failed Optimus Prime due to his relative lack of size and strength, and so he ran away. When Optimus discovered that Bumblebee had become a target of interest for the Decepticons, Optimus hurriedly led another team of Autobots to rescue, an act that helped prove Bumblebee's worth to himself. {{storylink|Plight of the Bumblebee!}}

[[Image:RobotBuster-outofyourminds.jpg|right|thumb|250px|"There's ''no slaggin' way'' Mary-Kate is the cutest Olsen Twin!"]]

''Optimus Prime was absolutely appalled to discover that Wheeljack and Ratchet had built Buster Witwicky an armored suit to aid him in the battle against the Decepticons, asking them out right if they had lost their minds. Though Buster protested, noting that since he was trusted with holding the Creation Matrix he should be trusted with the suit as well, Optimus Prime ordered the armored suit destroyed. But Buster stole the armored suit under cover of night and attacked the Decepticon headquarters, plowing through the Decepticons until he reached Shockwave. Shockwave bested the human, but the arrival of Optimus Prime and the Autobots convinced Shockwave to spare his life. {{storylink|Robot Buster!}} Following this incident, Buster began having strange nightmares, and Optimus Prime suspected that these nightmares were induced by the Creation Matrix. {{storylink|Devastation Derby!}} Wanting to investigate these Creation Matrix-induced dreams, Optimus Prime and Buster were hooked up to machinery so that the human could share them. Optimus Prime and Buster witnessed strange five-robot combiners from each faction named [[Special Teams]], and awoke shouting their name. They had seen a vision of the next generation of Transformers... {{storylink|Second Generation!}}''

Meanwhile on Cybertron, a group of Autobots were happy to learn that Optimus Prime and his Autobots still lived. {{storylink|The Smelting Pool!}}

[[Image:CommandPerformances-Autobotsattack.jpg|left|thumb|300px|"Year Two toys, attack!"]]

In front of all the active Autobots, Optimus Prime and [[Grapple]] unveiled their secret project: [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]]! Designed to be their last line of defense, Prime planned to leave Omega Supreme to guard the Ark while Prime led the Autobots to the Decepticon river basin headquarters to steal combiner technology from Devastator and promptly leave. The Dinobots scoffed at this plan, refusing to start a battle in which they were required to run away from, and so Grimlock and his Dinobots seceded from the Autobots. Though [[Skids (G1)|Skids]] raised concerns, Optimus Prime maintained that he had allowed for this. In fact, he allowed for everything save the interference of the humans, and after the mission was successfully pulled off, one human came after Skids for revenge. Optimus Prime regretfully had to leave Skids behind. {{storylink|Command Performances!}}

''Learning of the Dinobots' disastrous solo adventures, Optimus Prime wanted to disown them, but reluctantly acknowledged that they were necessary muscle for the team. Tragically, while speaking to the Autobots about their war thus far on Earth, he, Prowl, and Ratchet mysteriously vanished in a flash of light! {{storylink|Target: 2006}} They found themselves in a strange dimension called [[Limbo]], where they battled violent creatures. They soon allied with Shockwave, [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]], and [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]], who were also shunted into this dimension. The creatures' attack stopped only when Prime realized that they fed on their negative emotions. {{storylink|Distant Thunder!}} Upon his return, Optimus learned that they had been displaced by Autobots and Decepticons traveling from the future. {{storylink|Time Wars}}''

As Ratchet sealed up one of Prime's wounds, the Autobot commander was delighted to see Skids was alive, having returned to him along with [[Donny Finkleberg]] (previously the Robot-Master). They had news for him regarding the arrival of Autobot reinforcements from Cybertron, but they were interrupted by a news bulletin. [[Hoover Dam]] was being attacked by Decepticons, so Optimus Prime lept from the repair bay despite Ratchet's objections to call the new [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]] into service. {{storylink|Aerialbots over America!}} Later Ratchet was able to finish sealing Prime's wound, but not before the [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticon]] [[Bombshell]] was able to implant a [[cerebro-shell]] within Prime's body. Through this link, the Decepticons would be able to share use of the Creation Matrix to give life to new troops! The Aerialbots hadn't done well on their first outing, so as Optimus Prime reformatted them, Megatron gave life to the [[Stunticon]]s! {{storylink|Heavy Traffic!}}

''Optimus Prime observed the records of how poorly the Autobots performed in his absence in Limbo, specifically how they went so far as to seek leadership from Megatron out of sheer desperation. Optimus Prime began to consider whether he was too important to the Autobots, and if they could carry on should he fall. To alleviate his doubts, he and a reluctant [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] plotted to fake Prime's death to teach the Autobots how to fend for themselves. While Prime was setting up an impostor version of himself to leave behind destroyed for the Autobots to find, Megatron sent the [[Predacon (G1)|Predacons]] to attack Prime. {{storylink|Prey!}}''

[[Image:HarderTheyDie-Iaconno.jpg|right|thumb|300px|You can't go home again.]]

''During the scuffle, Optimus and Megatron were transported to Cybertron, while Prime's counterfeit body, torn apart, was found by the Autobots. Optimus Prime surveyed Cybertron for the first time in four million years, and he couldn't believe how terrible it had fallen. Cities and buildings were cut to the ground, and even his beloved [[Iacon]] was in shambles. After Prime saved [[Outback]] from a roving Decepticon, the tiny Autobot followed him despite Prime's wishes to be alone. Unfortunately, Megatron (in league with [[Straxus (G1)|Straxus]]) had spread rumors that an imposter Optimus Prime had infiltrated Cybertron, which were readily believed due to Prime's four-million-year absence. Before too long, Prime was surrounded and shackled by [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] and the [[Wrecker]]s! {{storylink|The Harder They Die!}} With Outback's help, Prime was able to escape, but not without Outback suffering mortal wounds. {{storylink|Under Fire!}} As Outback began to die in his arms, Prime told Outback of the time he, Prowl, and Ratchet were stuck in Limbo. His words were overheard by the Wreckers, but hearing Prime's words convinced [[Emirate Xaaron]] that this was in fact the real Optimus Prime! {{storylink|Distant Thunder!}}''

[[Image:Primefuneralnumberone.jpg|left|thumb|200px|He approved of it ''so much'' that when he died for real the next day, they instead shot him into space.]]

''The return of Optimus Prime was a welcome boost to the Autobot underground resistance. Not only did Autobot morale increase, but Decepticons were spooked at his very appearance! But after a few strategic victories, Prime knew he had to return to Earth. Prime and Ultra Magnus planned one last raid—they would siege [[Polyhex]] and destroy Megatron! But Megatron's "eccentricities" had become too much for Cybertron's Decepticons to handle, and in the middle of their battle, all three were whisked away to Earth by the [[space bridge]]. Optimus Prime appeared before the Autobots just as they had finished their Earth-inspired burial of the impostor body he had left behind. {{storylink|Resurrection!}}''

[[Image:Afterdeath-gameoverman.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Game over, man! Game over!]]

The Autobots had been monitoring the humans' creation of [[Power Station Alpha]], and Optimus Prime, sensing its completion would need closer inspection, sent Bumblebee to its unveiling. {{storylink|Blood on the Tracks}} Optimus Prime met an anticlimactic end in a gambit for [[Energy Futures Industries]]' [[Hydrothermocline]]. He and the [[Protectobot (G1)|Protectobots]] agreed to fight Megatron and the [[Combaticon]]s in a simulated, virtual world named ''[[Multi-World]]''. But when Megatron cheated, Prime resorted to killing virtual beings to gain the upper hand, and despite his victory Prime believed he had truly lost. Before their eyes, the human [[Ethan Zachary]] detonated Optimus Prime's body, as was previously agreed. In secret, Ethan secured away a [[floppy disk]] that held a copy of Optimus Prime's mind. {{storylink|Afterdeath!}} Meanwhile, [[Superion (G1)|Superion]] had been sent to investigate Bumblebee's destruction at the hands of [[G.I. Joe]], but he was recalled in the middle of this altercation when it was discovered that Optimus Prime had been "assassinated". {{storylink|Power Struggle}}

Optimus Prime's death unhinged Megatron further. The Decepticon leader simply couldn't believe that his eternal foe was truly dead, and he began blowing up random trucks. Megatron's paranoia grew so much that he blew up the Space Bridge with himself on it. {{storylink|Gone but Not Forgotten!}} Ratchet's subsequent efforts to restore Optimus Prime were unsuccessful, and after much grieving, Optimus Prime's body was launched into space as per Cybertronian custom. Omega Supreme presided over his funeral, and both he and [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] gave eulogies. {{storylink|Funeral for a Friend!}} {{storylink|Ashes, Ashes...}}

In front of a holographic image of Optimus Prime's head, the surviving Autobots tried to choose a new leader. Optimus Prime's replacement would be like him: a great warrior, wise, compassionate, kind, and courageous. As luck would have it, Grimlock chose exactly that moment to show all of those qualities for the first and only time in his life. {{storylink|King of the Hill!}}

Optimus Prime's funeral barge eventually crashed on a giant moon of [[VsQs]], where it lay for untold time. {{storylink|Dark Creation}}

[[Image:Ethanzacharypretendertothethrone.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Reaching level 70 was a momentous occasion.]]

Years passed as [[Ethan Zachary]], who still possessed the floppy disk that contained a copy of Optimus Prime's mind, tried to coax it into full sentience. This copy of Optimus Prime believed he was a video game character and nothing more, despite Ethan Zachary's constant prodding. Ethan thought he finally had a chance to jolt Prime back to his old self when he was investigated by [[Bumblebee (G1)|Goldbug]]. The two put Optimus Prime in charge of a real team of Autobots, the [[Pretender]]s, and the disk copy Prime led them in battle against Decepticon Pretenders. Prime's delusions were unshaken. {{storylink|Pretender to the Throne!}} Goldbug took the disk with him, and attempts to rebuild Optimus Prime ended in failure. An argument over supreme Autobot leadership erupted between Grimlock's earthbound Autobots and a group of Autobots who had just arrived from [[Nebulos]] under the leadership of [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]]. Ultimately, Fortress Maximus realized that Optimus Prime was the true leader of the Autobots, not anyone else, and so he sent Goldbug, [[Joyride (Autobot)|Joyride]], [[Slapdash]], and [[Getaway]] back to Nebulos where the technology existed to fully restore Optimus Prime to life. {{storylink|Totaled!}}

[[Image:PeoplePower-reprogrammed.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Seriously, Prime's been playing WoW waaaay too long.]]

It wasn't quite so simple, however. Fortress Maximus's Autobots had left Nebulos in ruin, and the planet poisoned its fuel supply so that robots could never return and wage war. A loophole was found, however, in the [[Powermaster]] process, created by the scientist [[Hi-Q]]. As luck would have it, Hi-Q was the exact person Goldbug was searching for to rebuild Optimus Prime, but the scientist refused on the grounds that he would be reintroducing the war to his planet—and he didn't believe the Transformers were any more than clever yet unsentient machines. Optimus Prime was rebuilt anyway, even though he wouldn't live very long at all without unpoisoned fuel. Hi-Q changed his mind on the sentience of Transformers when he saw the rebuilt Optimus Prime (shocked out of his video game persona delusions) interact with Goldbug. Hi-Q underwent the Powermaster process himself to save Optimus Prime's life, and Powermaster Optimus Prime was able to defeat two Powermaster-enhanced Decepticons, [[Dreadwind (G1)|Dreadwind]] and [[Darkwing]]. Optimus Prime and his crew left Nebulos with their new Nebulon partners. {{storylink|People Power!}}

Prime quickly proved himself to be a fool, for he dared to ignore [[Rorza, the Rocket-cycle Racer from Rigel III]]. {{storylink|The Cosmic Carnival!}}

''Before reuniting with the other Earthbound Autobots, Optimus Prime and the other Powermasters took a [[Ark shuttlecraft|shuttle]] to Earth on [[Christmas]] Day. Optimus Prime, seeing Earth's frozen wasteland, wondered why he even cared about the Earth in the first place, much less fought desperately to defend it. But after recalling the events that first brought him there, he remembered that it was his fault that the Ark crashed there four million years ago, and so any pain and suffering caused by the Transformers' war was his burden. {{storylink|Cold Comfort and Joy!}}''

Once Optimus Prime had assumed command of the Autobots orbiting Earth aboard the Ark, he learned via television about the Decepticons' baffling island vacation resort, [[Club Con]]. Optimus Prime sent Blaster to investigate. {{storylink|Club Con!}}

[[Image:TimeWars-OptimusPrimeentersthefray.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Enter a new challenger!]]

''Despite a mysterious disruption in time and space that threatened all reality, due to [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]'s adventures in his own past (which was Prime's present), Optimus Prime halted a conference on the matter to rescue [[Highbrow (G1)|Highbrow]]. While Highbrow apologized for interrupting more important matters, he, Optimus Prime, and a few other Autobots were displaced to Limbo once again, allowing [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus Prime]] and other Autobots from the future to investigate the mysterious disruption. The other present-day Autobots thought Optimus Prime and the others had been disintegrated, and so attacked the "impostor" Autobots under Rodimus Prime's command, but Optimus spoke to them through Rodimus Prime's Matrix and calmed them down. A crazed yet seemingly unbeatable Galvatron attacked them, and Optimus Prime debated whether he should leave Limbo and team up with Rodimus against him, even though two Matrix-bearers coexisting at the same time would accelerate the timestorm's destruction of reality. Eventually, Optimus decided to ignore the dangers, and he materialized through Rodimus Prime's Matrix, and fought Galvatron to a standstill. Finally, Galvatron himself was eaten by the timestorm, and Scourge and the body of Cyclonus were also fed to it, which caused the timestorm to subside temporarily. Rodimus Prime promised to Optimus Prime that he would destroy all time machines when he returned to the future. {{storylink|Time Wars}}''

[[Image:Fortmaxboat.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Prime's not back five minutes and he's already using the previous leader as his personal boat.]]

Optimus Prime and Fortress Maximus accompanied Blaster to where Club Con used to be located, but it had been relocated by then. Prime assured [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] that the search for his brother Buster, who had been kidnapped by the Decepticons, would continue. {{storylink|Cold War!}} Sure enough, a distress signal in the Arctic led the Autobots to Buster, but also to a Decepticon ambush! After several Autobots were incapacitated, the battle stopped when it was discovered that this had all been arranged by Starscream, who had launched into space to seize the powers of the long lost [[Underbase]]. As the Autobots and Decepticons formed a loose alliance to stop Starscream, Optimus Prime warned that he learned when he was young that fully possessing the Underbase led madness or death. Starscream was stopped before he could absorb all of the Underbase, but he had absorbed enough of it to be able to destroy the Decepticons' island spacecraft in which the two factions were traveling. Thankfully, Optimus Prime had thought ahead and had the Ark follow them there in case of an emergency.

Several teams of allied Autobots and Decepticons followed Starscream to Earth to stop him, but Optimus Prime insisted that he stay behind on the Ark to work on a plan on his own. [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]] and [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] had growing suspicions that the Autobot leader was really trying to claim the rest of the Underbase for himself, and they snuck on board as the Transformers on Earth were being shut down en masse by Starscream. Unfortunately for Optimus, they caught him while Hi-Q was disconnected from him, and so he was drastically overpowered. Optimus revealed to Scorponok that he was not trying to possess the Underbase... rather, he had been working on a rocket to deflect the Underbase towards Earth. He knew Starscream would try to absorb the rest, and sure enough, Starscream did—growing in size and power before their eyes. But possession of the Underbase resulted in madness ''and'' death, and Starscream's massive body exploded. Scorponok apologized for his bad appraisal of Optimus Prime's intentions, and the two commanders resolved to cease fighting so that they could gather their wounded and resume the fight another day. {{storylink|Dark Star (issue)|Dark Star}}

Now that Buster had been reclaimed from the Decepticons, Spike told Optimus Prime that he felt his obligation to the Autobots was over. Prime reluctantly let Spike go, but told him that he was more attached to Fortress Maximus than he knew. {{storylink|The Man in the Machine!}} Not only was now Fortress Maximus out of commission, but the Autobots had suffered incredible losses at the hands of the Underbase-powered Starscream. Optimus Prime assigned [[Cloudburst]] and [[Landmine (G1)|Landmine]] to purchase microchips on the black market at [[Grand Central Space Station]], knowing their Pretender shells would allow them to hide their robotic forms from the robotophobic aliens there. {{storylink|Guess Who the Mecannibals Are Having for Dinner?}} Cloudburst and Landmine reached an ethical impasse involving the microchips, and so Optimus Prime reached out to Cybertron for reinforcements. He called upon the [[Micromaster]]s, specifically the [[Race Car Patrol]] and [[Off Road Patrol]], to investigate some Decepticon-originated weather problems in [[New York City]]. Hi-Q worried that the Micromasters were unreliable punks, but they were able to prove themselves against the Decepticons in the end, though they refused to join the Autobots proper. {{storylink|King Con!}}

[[Image:Doubledealerofthecentury.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Optimus Prime is also corresponding with a cash-strapped Nicaraguan prince...]]

''The Race Car Patrol accompanied Prime on a more rural mission: receiving stolen Autobot resistance plans couriered by [[Chainclaw]]. But a Decepticon, [[Doubledealer|Dealer]], abducted Chainclaw before he could deliver them, and offered the plans back to Prime as a ransom. Optimus Prime accepted, and a new Autobot named [[Doubledealer|Double]] offered to deliver the Energon payment himself. But Double never made it, and he returned to Optimus defeated with Chainclaw's injured form, having been "ransacked" by "the Decepticons". {{storylink|(Double) Deal of the Century!}}

''Optimus Prime lamented that he could no longer use the Creation Matrix to heal his fallen troops, as the Matrix was inside his old body which had been shot into space; the Autobots did not know the Matrix was in Optimus Prime's chest to remove. On cue, a being who called himself [[Deathbringer]] appeared on Earth, and it was seemingly powered by a piece of the Creation Matrix! Death Bringer proved to be invulnerable, but Optimus Prime couldn't bring himself to harm something that held the essence of the Matrix anyhow. But after enough destruction, Optimus Prime was finally able to defeat it with help from [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]], who convinced it to self-destruct in concordance with its primary function. {{storylink|Deathbringer (issue)|Deathbringer}}'' {{storylink|Dark Creation}}

''Thunderwing led a seemingly suicidal assault on the Ark, entirely for the purpose of seeking revenge against his defeat at the hands of Nightbeat, [[Siren]], and [[Hosehead]]. Optimus Prime took Thunderwing on, berating him for having more courage than sense. True to Prime's words, Thunderwing's own troops dragged him away. {{storylink|Assault on the Ark!}}''

Optimus Prime ordered Ratchet to get some downtime, fearing his overworked medic (and friend) was losing his grip on sanity. Soon after, Optimus Prime saw news reports of the Micromaster [[Air Strike Patrol]] holding [[MacDill Air Force Base]] hostage, so he took the largest ensemble of troops down to Earth he could muster, given the Autobots' depleted ranks. {{storylink|Back from the Dead}} As he told the Micromasters to surrender or face the consequences, he received a transmission from Ratchet, back at the Ark, but [[Storm Cloud (G1)|Storm Cloud]] fired at Prime's communicator before the message could be completed. This enraged Optimus Prime, who began to suspect grander, more sinister things at work behind the scenes. Optimus Prime had been led to a staged battle, but before he could leave, Scorponok and his Decepticons also arrived, itching for a fight! But after the circumstances of the day, Optimus Prime wasn't about to deny them the opportunity, and he fought back with shocking, cold fury that baffled even Scorponok. The humans at the Air Force base called out Prime on his reckless violence, and Prime apologized for his outburst. {{storylink|The Resurrection Gambit!}}

Since Optimus Prime knew the battle was staged, he scaled back his troops accordingly, and ordered them to return to the Ark and leave him behind. [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] refused and stayed behind, helping Optimus Prime fend off the hordes of Decepticons who had attacked him. But Optimus Prime stopped Hot Rod short of firing on [[Zarak (Nebulan)|Lord Zarak]], as Optimus Prime had begun to appeal to his sense of logic. Someone was pulling the strings! Scorponok hesitated, but before an agreement could be reached, they were confronted by an old enemy thought defeated—Starscream! {{storylink|All the Familiar Faces!}}

Though Starscream's performance started out impressive, he soon began to show his true cowardly colors, and so both factions again parted ways. Once again Optimus Prime turned his thoughts towards Ratchet... {{storylink|Skin Deep}}

[[Image:YesterdaysHeroes-Whyyyy.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Meanwhile, nobody mourns poor [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]].]]

...but it was too late! Ratchet had sacrificed himself to destroy Megatron, the orchestrator behind the events at MacDill Air Force Base. Optimus Prime was overcome with grief, and he decided to stop fighting altogether. After parking the Ark on Earth's moon, he walked out on its surface, apparently never to return again. This, of course, caused the Autobots to worry about the future of their cause, and Hot Rod quickly threw together a risky plan to win Prime back. He plotted a "rampage" by an "out-of-control" [[Mark V Guardian Droid]] to whisk Prime back into fighting shape, but when the droid truly went out of control, the plan worked just a little too well. Prime came to his senses, returned to the Ark, and destroyed the droid, but not before several Autobots suffered genuine injury. {{storylink|Yesterday's Heroes!}}

Meanwhile, their creator, [[Primus]] had awakened within Cybertron, alerting his enemy [[Unicron]] to its location. Since the only thing that could stop Unicron was the Creation Matrix, and the Creation Matrix had been shot into space inside Optimus Prime's funeral barge, Prime and Emirate Xaaron assembled several teams of Autobots to scour a specific star system in which the funeral barge likely would have landed. {{storylink|Bird of Prey!}} Though Optimus Prime was never very comfortable with the mystical side of the Creation Matrix, he approached an altar aboard the Ark and was given a vision of a Matrix corrupted by evil and imminent oblivion! {{storylink|Kings of the Wild Frontier}} After several dead ends, the Prime's funeral barge and the Creation Matrix were found on the barren moon of [[VsQs]]. Optimus Prime and Hot Rod went together to meet the [[All-Terrain Turbo-Transport]] as it landed, but were shocked to realize that Autobots were not delivering the Matrix at all! No, they were face to face with Lord Thunderwing, the Creation Matrix's next vessel! {{storylink|Dark Creation}}

[[Image:AllFallDown-andweshallwin.jpg|left|thumb|300px|"The sky will open. The lights will come down. Celestial choirs will be singing and everyone will know we should do the right thing and the world will be perfect!"]]

Powered by the corrupted energies of the Matrix, Thunderwing was unstoppable. Even so, Optimus Prime pleaded for his troops to avoid trying to damage Thunderwing, for the Matrix was their only chance to destroy Unicron! After numerous losses were incurred, however, Optimus Prime decided to forgo the soft touch, and the Autobot leader let loose his full fury on the possessed Decepticon leader. More and more, the Matrix assumed control of Thunderwing, even taking control of his mind, but Prime could not make Thunderwing notice he was losing control of his own body. Thunderwing was not stopped by Prime's strength or by logic or reason, but by the cunning of Nightbeat. Nightbeat harpooned Thunderwing to the All-Terrain Turbo-Transport, shut off the artificial gravity systems, and Thunderwing and the transport were flung out into space. Thunderwing and the Matrix were presumed destroyed when the transport's self-destruct activated. Despite this seemingly catastrophic loss, Optimus Prime vowed to never give hope or give in to evil. With good on their side, they would ultimately prevail! {{storylink|...All Fall Down!}}

[[Image:PriceofLife-Icannot.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Optimus Prime is firmly against the Right to Die movement.]]

With the Matrix out of the picture, Optimus Prime fell to another prophecy, one that claimed that Unicron could be destroyed if all Transformers worked together as one. That would be impossible so long as the war continued, so Prime announced his intentions to surrender the Autobots to the Decepticons on Earth. Unsurprisingly, this was met with hostility. Optimus Prime was also still hung up on Ratchet's death, and had assigned Nightbeat to investigate it. Nightbeat suggested that Ratchet and Megatron may still be alive in [[Unspace]], the dimension that serves as a middleman between transdimensional portal openings. Nightbeat was correct, but there were complications. He was able to pull Ratchet out of Unspace, but Ratchet had been fused molecularly with Megatron into one frightening creature! {{storylink|Eye of the Storm!}} Optimus Prime refused to let anyone harm the creature. This caused even more complications when the creature, unchecked, began to tear apart the Ark's engine systems. [[Kup (G1)|Kup]], Prime's security officer, warned him that if he didn't put the creature down, he would personally remove Prime from command. Optimus Prime reluctantly approached the creature, intending to kill it, but when the half that was Ratchet put the barrel of Prime's gun to its own head, begging Prime to kill it, Optimus Prime had second thoughts. He ordered [[Fixit]] to separate the two, even though Megatron would survive. Worse, one could not survive without the other. This did not please Kup and the others. {{storylink|The Price of Life!}}

True to his word, Optimus Prime surrendered his Autobots to Scorponok's Decepticons, stationed in the [[New Jersey (Earth)|New Jersey]] swamps. The Decepticons were enjoying this turn of events a little too much, which drew an outburst from Kup. Optimus Prime tried to tell Kup to have patience, but Kup reminded him that the Optimus Prime he knew would never back down, never surrender, no matter what the cost! But no matter, the deed was done, and Optimus Prime and the Autobots were escorted into cells. After a while, Optimus Prime began to suspect that Scorponok didn't really want to talk about an alliance against Unicron at all, and was ignoring the long term to satisfy his short term problems with commanding respect amongst his troops. Optimus Prime knocked aside Soundwave, his guard, and found Kup and Hot Rod. Unfortunately, Kup wouldn't be so easily rounded up, citing Prime's recent problems. But Prime pleaded to him at length, noting that for a warrior race, perhaps surrender took the most courage of all! Kup quietly admitted Prime was right, and the three Autobots burst into Scorponok's quarters, where Scorponok's body had been stowed, leaving Lord Zarak and Bludgeon mostly vulnerable. Zarak and Hot Rod grabbed a hostage each, but Prime ordered both sides to stand down. They had to begin trusting each other, if they were to team up against Unicron. Optimus Prime and Scorponok were once again about to reach an agreement when they were once again interrupted! A splinter team of Decepticons, led by Shockwave and Starscream, attacked the Decepticons' underground base, causing it to implode. {{storylink|Surrender!}}

Optimus Prime's immediate concern was damage control—and not just towards the humans in nearby New York City, but to the fragile alliance that was nearly formed! He and Nighbeat left to keep Scorponok and Shockwave's feud from reaching New York, but the fight was accelerated with the arrival of [[G.B. Blackrock]]'s new superhuman team, the [[Neo-Knights]]! {{storylink|...All This and Civil War 2}} Their best chance at securing the alliance was keeping Scorponok alive, but [[Circuit Breaker]] was making it very difficult. Finally, once Shockwave was out of the picture, Optimus Prime and Scorponok once again (again) went to shake hands... {{storylink|Out of Time!}} when all Earthbound Transformers were all whisked away by Primus to Cybertron. Primus spoke to them through the glowing body of Emirate Xaaron, telling them of the eternal conflict between himself and Unicron. Primus also selected Optimus Prime to be the Transformers' leader, which caught the attention of a hidden sect of [[Unicron cultist]]s. While Scorponok confided in Prime that he was scared, the two were jumped by the cultists. Scorponok, the Autobots, and even the rest of the Decepticon army came to Prime's rescue, and it seemed the alliance was finally forged. ...Till, at least, Kup pointed out that Unicron himself was hovering over the planet, ready for attack. Prime took the opportunity to double over in debilitating pain, a condition he had been hiding from the Autobots for some time. {{storylink|The Void! (US)|The Void!}}

[[Image:EdgeofExtinction-sothatallmaylive.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Prime's been reading his [[Jesus|New Testament]].]]

Kup and Getaway tried to push Prime along, but the force of Unicron's claws punching into the surface of Cybertron sent them reeling. Just the sheer impossible size of Unicron paralyzed Optimus Prime and Scorponok with fear and awe. Primus, still using Emirate Xaaron's body as an avatar, tried to intervene, but was destroyed; Optimus Prime cried out in loss. Optimus Prime was not shaken into action until a [[Galvatron II|brave, unidentified soldier]] attacked Unicron singlehandledly and was swatted away. The Autobot leader charged into action, but their attacks had little effect. Scorponok was among the casualties, and Optimus Prime waited with the melted body of his former foe until death. Scorponok, having martyred himself, asked Optimus Prime if he "did good". Optimus Prime nodded, called him his friend, and finally Scorponok passed away. Unfortunately, it was Optimus Prime's turn. A Matrix-possessed Thunderwing had suddenly returned, but although Thunderwing's body was completely disintegrated by Unicron, that left the Matrix itself unaccounted for. Prime ejected Hi-Q from his chest, knowing this next act would kill him. He seized the Matrix, fought its corruption, and plunged himself and the Matrix into Unicron's maw. Unicron exploded. {{storylink|On the Edge of Extinction!}}

[[Image:EndOfTheRoad-itcanitis.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Gotta sell that one last toy!]]

The Transformers' ultimate battle was won, but the cost was high! What was left of Optimus Prime's body was found, and he was amazingly still holding on to life, thanks to the Matrix energy that he'd absorbed. But he hadn't much longer, so he pulled Prowl close to him and told him that Grimlock would lead the Autobots. Prime died (again), and Prowl screamed in agony. But before too long, after the Powermaster absorbed [[Nucleon]] energy from Grimlock, Hi-Q announced that ''he'' was Optimus Prime! {{storylink|Still Life!}} Since Cybertron was threatening to break apart after the stress of Unicron's attack, Hi-Q and the other Neo-Knights were packed up on a ship meant to escape the planet. But Hi-Q had other ideas. {{storylink|Exodus!}} He persuaded the Neo-Knights to stay on the dying planet and search for the [[Last Autobot]], explaining that the pains Optimus Prime were feeling before he died were the start of a larger metamorphosis. If Prime had lived, the Powermaster process would have eventually merged the two into one, but it continued on even with Prime dead. Thankfully for the Neo-Knights, Hi-Q was not crazy, and they stumbled across the storage chamber for the Last Autobot. {{storylink|The Last Autobot?}}

The Last Autobot set in motion the planet's healing process and took interest in Hi-Q. A new robotic body was forged around Hi-Q's, and he and Optimus Prime were truly combined into one being! Optimus Prime, fully reborn as an [[Action Master]], took the Neo-Knights and the Last Autobot to [[Klo]], where the final battle was taking place. The Autobots had been dwindled to just five of their number, and the Decepticons were approaching total victory, when Optimus Prime miraculously returned. Optimus Prime ushered in a new age of peace and harmony by shoving his fists through the Decepticons' heads and torsos, and with some resurrection help from the Last Autobot, the dead Autobots were restored and the Decepticons were forced to flee. The war finally over, Optimus Prime told his fellow Autobots that they'd help Klo rebuild... and then they'd finally go home! {{storylink|End of the Road! (US)|End of the Road!}}
{{-}}

=====Marvel UK future timelines=====
''In an alternate timeline, Optimus Prime still maintained his Powermaster body in 1995. When a feminist group on Earth raised complaints that all the Autobots seemed to fit male archetypes, Optimus tried to appease them in the name of public relations. Unfortunately, his "appeasement" came in the form of a powder pink token Autobot female named [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]]. That...didn't go over well. {{storylink|Prime's Rib!}}''

''Years later, in 2004, Prime was back in his original Earthen appearance. While attending the grand opening of Autobot City on Earth, the Autobots came under fire from Shockwave and his Decepticons. Optimus Prime and the Autobots bravely used their bodies as shields to protect their human guests until the Decepticons were driven off. {{storylink|Aspects of Evil!}}''

=====Earthforce=====
{{earthforcefiction}}
[[Image:Primevsgrimlockbreakaway.jpg|left|200px|thumb|That's got to be theraputic.]]
''While dealing with the oncoming threat of Unicron, Optimus Prime came under a great deal of stress and began actively berating [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] and his newly reactivated Dinobots for their more brutal methods of combating the enemy. {{storylink|Two Steps Back!}} This reprimand prompted Grimlock to offer his resignation from the Autobot army. Tempers got heated, and the two Autobots actually started brawling with one another in the conference room. After a few minutes of furious fighting, however, Prime and Grimlock effectively beat some sense into each other. Optimus Prime decided to take the Ark and its crew out into space, leaving Grimlock behind to command an "Earthforce" of Autobots, dedicated to protecting the planet in his absence. {{storylink|Break-Away!}}''

''Optimus Prime returned briefly for an inspection after the Autobot Earthbase was completed, and the Dinobots barely managed to keep him from learning about the berserker rages which plague [[Slag (G1)|Slag]] every few million years. {{storylink|The 4,000,000 Year Itch!}} He also oversaw the reconstruction of [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] in Wheeljack's repair bay, leaving the vain Autobot under Grimlock's command before returning to space. {{storylink|Makin' Tracks!}}''
{{-}}

=====Another Time and Place=====
{{note|This text story was later [[Retcon|retconned]] away by the events of ''[[Generation 2 (Marvel Comics)|Generation 2]]''.}}

[[Image:TFAnnual1991rip.JPG|left|thumb|200px|They will keep each half in separate BFF lockets.]]

After Klo, the Autobots returned to Cybertron in an effort to rebuild the planetary government and resources. Optimus Prime naturally took the lead in these endeavours, but matters weighed heavily on his spark. The [[Nucleon]]-soaked Hi-Q at the core of his new body was one thing, reducing Prime to a non-transforming "[[Action Master|Actionmaster]]" like many of his fellow Autobots. But more importantly, Optimus Prime feared that the newfound peace on Cybertron would not last. He desperately wanted his soldiers to stop being soldiers, yet was petrified that something might come along and disturb their inactivity. This trepidation kept Optimus from stopping Grimlock from jetting off on an ill-advised mission to [[Hydrus Four]] in search of a way to reverse the Nucleon process, and he even refused to listen to Prowl when he reported that Grimlock took off to Hydrus Four anyway. Prowl struck a chord, however, when he pointed out that if he could track Grimlock's destination, so could the Decepticons. Shamed by Prowl's rebuke, Optimus Prime soon pushed aside his recalcitrance and assembled a strike team to go after the Dinobots.

On Hydrus Four, the Autobots discovered the Decepticons had taken over the medical facility with the Nucleon supply, and taken the Dinobots hostage. It seemed Bludgeon had a plan for the Nucleon, using it to recreate Megatron himself. With a surgical strike, however, they managed to free the Dinobots and take the fight to the enemy. Optimus confronted Bludgeon himself in battle, but was saved when Grimlock suddenly charged through and struck the Decepticon leader in dino-mode. It turned out the Nucleon process could be reversed after all! After that, all Prime and Grimlock had to do was tear apart the zombie-like, half-revived Megatron. Piece o' cake. {{storylink|Another Time and Place}}
{{-}}

====''Generation 2''====
[[Image:Optimusprime-g2.jpg|right|250px|thumb|More apocalyptic visions than you can shake a covenant at.]]

As time passed, with the Decepticons supposed in exile and Cybertron at peace, the Autobots functionally disbanded. They scattered across the galaxies, with many retiring in peace while others continued to fight for peace among other civilizations they came across. The time came when Optimus Prime was called back into the skirmish, alongside his honor guard of [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] and [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]], when Grimlock and his combat unit discovered a greater [[Cybertronian (faction)|Cybertronian Empire]] that had sprouted up without their noticing it. These next generation Decepticons, led by the Liege Centuro [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]], would conquer world after world using terraforming and exo-structuring processes to remake raw materials into a new Cybertron for their use. Optimus Prime, Grimlock and their "Dirty Dozen" of Autobots began a small resistance movement against Jhiaxus and his people, but realized they were out of their depth. As the call went out to reassemble the Autobot army en masse, Prime worried that they were still missing some greater threat—he had begun experiencing visions of an unknown peril that was heading their way, and wasn't sure if even the united Autobots would be enough to deal with it. {{storylink|War Without End!}}

Until he could identify this secondary threat, Prime ordered the Autobots to remain inactive at an Autobase built into a small asteroid belt. But certainly Grimlock was having none of that. He grabbed a sizeable percentage of their displaced warriors who had already arrived and headed out after Jhiaxus and his flagship, [[Twilight]]. Naturally, they got in over their heads. Prime grabbed some of his personal soldiers (Hot Rod, Kup, Prowl, [[Hound (G1)|Hound]]) and hijacked a strike ship to get close enough to Twilight for a rescue mission. Once Grimlock and his men were sent out on a prison vessel, Optimus blasted the ship just enough to cause chaos, and give Grimlock enough time to overtake the crew. {{storylink|Devices and Desires! (Marvel)|Devices and Desires!}}

Surprisingly enough, he gave Grimlock no rebuke once they met up again—in fact, Prime put the Dinobot commander in charge of the entire army! In order to fully understand the visions of impending doom he was receiving, Optimus Prime decided he needed to return to Cybertron itself, to help "cut through the static" that was garbling whatever message the Matrix was trying to send him. Engaging in a quasi-mystical ritual to expand his psychic boundaries, Optimus cast himself mentally back through time to witness the birth of the first Transformers, [[Prima]], as he rose from the living structure of Cybertron itself. What he saw next, however, was astonishing—Cybertronians birthing new Cybertronians themselves, causing living metal to burst forth from them in a bio-morphic reproduction process called "[[Reproduction#Budding|budding]]". Primus had apparently allowed this only up till a point, allowing the race to evolve in stages before discontinuing the ability and the memory of it from his progeny. Jhiaxus and his new Cybertronians, however, were the end result of some Decepticons somehow relearning the budding process. They were stronger, yes, and perhaps more evolved physically, but their souls, their sparks, were distilled too many times over. Optimus Prime awoke from his trance, believing he had come to understand the threat he sensed: the fractioning of his species. Little did he know that the threat was far less philosophical, and far more tangible, than he realized. {{storylink|The Power and the Glory}}

When word reached Prime that Megatron had resurfaced on Earth, he jumped at the idea of joining forces with the original Decepticons to face off against the Cybertronian Empire. Travelling to Earth alone, Optimus approached Megatron with the intent to talk. Instead, Megatron blasted him from behind, beat him to a pulp, ionized his every circuit, and then ripped out his chest and siphoned away the power of the Matrix. So no, the talking didn't go too well. Prime only survived due to Grimlock's talent for insubordination, as the Dinobot leader brought a massive strike team down to save their fallen leader before Megatron finished him off. Still, as the Autobots dragged Prime away to receive repair treatment, he knew Megatron would be back—Optimus had stuttered out enough information about "new Decepticons" to pique his old foe's interest, and once Megatron went after them and bit off more than he could chew, they'd meet again. {{storylink|The Gathering Darkness}}

In this, at least, Optimus Prime knew Megatron all too well. Only days later a heavily battered and bruised Megatron wandered into Autobase: Earth, looking for that alliance Prime had offered. {{storylink|Escalation!}} With new allies, things were looking up for Prime until the unthinkable happened. His visions of death and apocalypse finally came true as the Autobots came across a devastated world looking almost identical to the images he had been experiencing. Optimus now realized his visions were not metaphorical in nature, and almost drew the conclusion himself before [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]]'s science team completed their analysis of the genocide—it was their fault. More specifically, some by-product of the Cybertronian race had been formed by the budding process which created Jhiaxus and the Cybertronian Empire, an animate entity that scoured the cosmos of its own design. Before more data and analysis could be had, however, Jhiaxus and his troops arrived on Earth seeking to end their ancestors once and for all. {{storylink|Swarm (issue)|Swarm}}

[[Image:Megatrong2idiot.jpg|left|thumb|250px|No, no, shoot at ''each other''!]]

Once again seeking compromise, Optimus Prime took Megatron in an attempt to reacquire the Decepticon [[Warworld]] and use it to force Jhiaxus to see reason, that they faced a common and perhaps unbeatable foe in this "[[Swarm (G2)|Swarm]]". His efforts were more than a little delayed, however, by the ever-treacherous [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]]. That Decepticon schemer had sold them out to Jhiaxus in the first place, but then came aboard Warworld and merged with it and the power of the Creation Matrix Megatron had been housing there. {{storylink|Total War!}} Still, Optimus Prime managed to reach a communications console, and begged Jhiaxus for an audience to discuss the impending threat which was bearing down on them all. As badly as Prime's last attempt to "just talk" with an enemy went, this time it went much worse, as Jhiaxus responded by ordering the orbital bombardment and destruction of the human city of San Francisco. Millions of lives wiped out in an instant. And before Prime could even attempt to respond or try again, the Swarm itself arrived in orbit. {{storylink|Dark Shadows!}}

[[Image:Jhiaxusyouhavedestroyedme.jpg|right|thumb|200px|"Do you like me? Check (yes) or (no)."]]

As bad as things were, a silver lining did develop—Starscream proved too much of a "pedestrian villain" to actually corrupt the Matrix as had happened in the past. Instead, it was actually turning him more heroic, giving him selfless and self-sacrificing urges! Not wanting to be a hero, much less a dead hero, Starscream willingly relinquished the Matrix to Optimus Prime. In yet another effort at unity and compromise, Prime took a skysled over to Jhiaxus's flagship, Twilight, in order to talk the Liege Centuro into working with the Autobots and Decepticons to commune with the Swarm.

[[Image:RageInHeaven-HeroPrime.jpg|left|thumb|100px|He really does like to push the new toy at the last possible moment.]]

Instead, Jhiaxus tore off his face.

The formerly icy Cybertronian had been driven completely off his rocker by the extended conflict with his ancestors, and was now little more than a mad dog pounding away at Optimus Prime. The brutality only ended when the Swarm entered Twilight and consumed Jhiaxus utterly. At this point, Optimus had reasoned that the Swarm was merely a void, searching for something to complete the emptiness inside it. With desperate reasoning, Prime allowed the Swarm to assail him, hoping that he (and the Matrix inside him) would prove to be what it was searching for. His body ravaged to the point of total disintegration, Optimus Prime still managed to make mental contact with the Swarm as it consumed him, and expose it to the will of Primus. Having successfully purified the Swarm, Optimus Prime rematerialized in a new, more powerful body. In the aftermath, in front of the cheering masses, Prime declared a new age of peace and enlightenment.

Privately, however, Prime knew that [[Furmanism|it never ends]]... {{storylink|A Rage in Heaven!}}
{{-}}

====''Classics''====
{{note|The Classics comic takes place after the end of the original Marvel Comic, but in a new timeline that does not include the events of the Marvel UK-exclusive stories or ''Generation 2''.}}

[[Image:Classicscomicautobots.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"All right, do-over. This time I'll skip the visions of doom, and you won't get yourself tangled up with Cobra. Deal?"]]

After the war ended on Klo, Optimus Prime returned to Cybertron exhausted. Since the war had gone on for so long, Prime had all along resigned himself to an inevitable death, and so finding the war at an end, Prime simply withdrew from society. No civilian job satisfied him. Now that peace was finally here, he had no idea what to do! Fifteen years later, he was somewhat relieved that Megatron had resurfaced on Earth. Though it shamed him, he once again had a purpose. {{storylink|Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club (magazine)|''Classics'' Optimus Prime profile}}

Optimus Prime returned to Earth commanding [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]], [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]], [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]], [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]], [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] and [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus]] (formerly Hot Rod) to counter the return of [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]. When Transformers from another reality, [[Skyfall (Cybertron)|Skyfall]] and [[Landquake (Timelines)|Landquake]], arrived on Earth unexpectedly, Megatron stumbled upon them, only to find himself under attack by Prime and his Autobots. {{storylink|Crossing Over, Part 1}} Overwhelmed, Megatron managed to escape with Landquake, while the Autobots returned to Autobot headquarters with Skyfall. {{storylink|Crossing Over, Part 2}}

Optimus Prime took his Autobots and Skyfall to [[South America]], where the Decepticons were investigating a mysterious energy source that was similar to the radiation readings of their new dimension-traveling companions. After Prime left Jetfire in mid-transit to help [[Armored Robot Hunters|RUNT]] fight the [[Seeker]]s, he and the remaining Autobots arrived at their destination and battled the rest of Megatron's forces on the ground. {{storylink|Crossing Over: Part 3}} As the battle raged, Optimus Prime took on Megatron in a one-on-one battle. Megatron tried repeatedly to escape Prime so that he could discover the location of the energy readings, but Prime made it difficult. {{storylink|Crossing Over: Part 4}} As Megatron's troops were eliminated from the fight, the Decepticon leader realized his gambit was up. He swore the next time he and Prime met, it would be different! Optimus Prime told him to leave before he lost his patience, and the Decepticons withdrew. {{storylink|Crossing Over: Part 5}}

The battle won, but the energy source still a mystery, Prime and his Autobots returned to their headquarters heavily damaged, and seemingly having lost Skyfall and Cliffjumper (along with Landquake). Later, he was pleased to have been visited (seemingly very quickly, if really at all) by [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] when their paths crossed while the latter was hunting [[Bug Bite (G1)|Bug Bite]]. {{storylink|Games of Deception}}

===S.T.A.R.S. pack-in flyers===
The Autobots were outnumbered and outgunned on Earth from the start, though Optimus was confident (and correct) that reinforcements from Cybertron would arrive. {{storylink|Reinforcements from Cybertron!}}

However, the situation was still so desperate that Optimus not only decided to recruit human allies {{storylink|The battle is far from over!}}, but aggressively tried to recruit and ''deputise'' human children, including giving them the power to co-ordinate Autobot teams in battles. He wouldn't even make a final move on the Decepticons until he had enough child soldiers on his side. {{storylink|Earthlings: THE S.T.A.R.S. need your help now!}} {{storylink|Have the Decepticons defeated us once and for all?}} In at least one case, this likely led to the ''death'' of a small boy at Decepticon hands. {{storylink|Can one boy, alone, hold back the evil Decepticons?}}

Optimus later led a convoy in search for a building site for [[Autobot City]], which ran into a Decepticon ambush. {{storylink|Rodimus Prime remembers the Transformers greatest battle on Earth.}} He sent off several Autobots to get help, knowing this was the only chance of victory. {{storylink|Transformers Combat Data}} Those several Autobots were seen again, but Prime... wasn't.

===Generation 1 cartoon continuity===
====Generation 1 cartoon====
:''Voice actors:'' [[Peter Cullen]] (Optimus Prime, English), [[Laurie Faso]] (Orion Pax, English), [[Tesshō Genda]] (Japanese), [[Francis Lax]] (French), [[Hubert Gagnon]] (French Canadian), [[Willi Röbke]] (German), [[Thomas Rau]] (German ''Generation 2'')

[[Image:Orionpax.jpg|right|225px|thumb|Ariel spends a lot of time hanging around the docks.]]

Optimus Prime began his life as an Autobot named '''Orion Pax''' during the [[Golden Age]] of Cybertron nine million years ago. Together with his girlfriend [[Elita One|Ariel]] and his best friend [[Dion]], Orion was a dock-worker who had the simple job of unloading and storing shipments of energy that came from a power planet up-river. But the times in which Orion lived were strange ones: a new breed of robot had recently appeared on the planet, with strange robot-mode flight powers that led Orion and Dion to idolize them. Ariel wasn't so sure, having heard rumors that the flying robots' leader had recently perpetrated an attack on an outer city.

[[Image:Wardawn_orion_dies.jpg|left|210px|thumb|Better get used to dying horribly, buddy.]]

One day, Orion was going about work as usual when an unfamiliar group of [[Aerialbot (G1)|five robots]] arrived on the docks, and Orion, wondering if they were new workers, introduced himself and his friends. At that moment, all attentions turned skyward as a group of the flying robots soared by overhead. Both Ariel and the newcomers urged caution in dealing with the fliers, but Orion waved off their concerns, and returned to work. Before long, Orion was shocked when he was approached by Megatron, leader of the flying robots, who claimed to be looking for a place to store his wares. Overcome, Orion showed Megatron around the warehouses and explained that they were used for story energy... at which point Megatron ordered his followers, the Decepticons, to attack and steal it all! When Orion took a shot to the shoulder from the Decepticon leader, Ariel rushed to his defense, but was hit by another blast from Megatron. The enraged Orion lunged at Megatron, but was shot down by yet another blast from the Decepticon's cannon.

[[Image:Sfat prime and elita fb.jpg|right|thumb|"No girls allowed"]]

While Megatron and the Decepticons set about pillaging the warehouses, the five robots Orion had met earlier carried his body away, in hopes of finding someone to repair him. They came upon the Cybertronian machinesmith [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]], who reluctantly decided to subject Orion to a new reconstruction process he had developed, which would rebuild the Autobots' frail bodies into battle-hardy configurations so that they could battle the Decepticons on even footing. Thus is was that Orion Pax became Optimus Prime, the new leader of the Autobots, and was given the [[Matrix of Leadership]], which Alpha Trion had kept safe since Megatron had killed its [[U-Haul Robot|previous holder]]. While Alpha Trion set to work on rebuilding Ariel into "[[Elita One]]" using Prime's schematics as a basis, Prime confronted Megatron, introducing himself as the Decepticon's "worst nightmare". A mighty battle ensued, which came to an end when the warehouse's fuel stockpiles were blown up by the five enigmatic Autobots, who disappeared. {{storylink|War Dawn}}

Over the following five million years, Optimus Prime led the Autobots in a steady war of attrition that gradually drained Cybertron of almost all of its energy. In order to continue the fight, Prime arranged for an interstellar expedition to search for energy on other planets. Loading his best and brightest aboard a huge [[Ark (G1)|spacecraft]], Prime was the last to board, but was stopped by a cry from Elita One, who came running up to the launch platform. Prime told her that he would return for her as soon as he could, but Elita was intent on joining Prime on the mission. No debate was to be had, however, as a Decepticon attack on the platform caused an explosion that seemingly destroyed Elita. Crestfallen, Prime boarded the spacecraft and ordered a take-off, unaware that Elita had, in fact, survived. {{storylink|The Search for Alpha Trion}}

[[Image:Mtmte1 prime controls.jpg|left|thumb|The Transformers spent four million years in stasis lock because Prime never learned to turn INTO the skid.]]

The Autobots' spacecraft had a troubled flight. After navigating a treacherous asteroid field, the ship was caught in a tractor beam from a [[Nemesis (G1)|Decepticon space cruiser]] that had been shadowing them, under the command of Megatron himself. Megatron's forces swarmed the Autobot ship, and the two leaders grappled until the G-force of the nearby planet Earth took hold of the craft, and dragged it down. Although Prime tried valiantly to pull the ship up, it collided with a [[Mount St. Hilary|mountain]] so violently that all the Autobots and Decepticons were knocked offline.

[[Image:Mtmte2_witiwickys_saved.jpg|215px|right|thumb|Water-boarding is unconstitutional]]

Four million years later, in 1984, a volcanic eruption jarred the ship's computer, [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]], back online, and it set about reviving the Transformers indiscriminately, beginning with the Decepticons. The evil robots soon departed the Ark, but thanks to tremor caused by a petty parting shot upon the ship from Starscream, the inactivate form of Optimus Prime was jostled into the path of Teletraan I's restoration beam. Reconfigured by the computer to transform into a tractor trailer, Prime thanked Teletraan for its efforts with a thumbs-up, and quickly saw to the reactivation of all his fellow Autobots. Wasting no time, Prime led the Autobots in pursuing the Decepticons, who were in the process of attacking an oil rig. Prime and Megatron faced off, but Prime was promptly set upon by [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]], allowing Megatron to break off the fight and collapse the oil rig with a few well-placed blasts. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 1}} Prime quickly rescued a pair of rig workers—Sparkplug Witwicky and his son Spike—and introduced himself and the Autobots to the two grateful humans, who volunteered to help the Autobots learn more about Earth.

[[Image:Mtmte2_shermandam.jpg|left|250px|thumb|"Hey, Megatron! Lemme axe you a question!"]]

Next, the Decepticons targeted [[Sherman Dam]], and Prime led the Autobots in an attempt to stop them, battling Megatron atop the dam with his retractable [[energon-axe]]. Distracted by a cry for help from Spike, Prime was knocked off the dam by Megatron, and the Decepticons escaped to carry out their next raid, this time on the [[Ruby Crystal Mines of Burma]]. When the Autobots arrived at the mines, Sparkplug and Bumblebee were sent in to plant an explosive charge that would entomb the Decepticons. When the pair did not return, Prime drove up to the mineshaft and deployed Roller to investigate. No sooner had Roller entered the mine, however, than the charge went off, and Prime was caught in the blast and hurled off the cliff. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 2}} Prime and Roller both survived the explosion, but unfortunately, so did the Decepticons, who blasted their way free of the collapsed mine took to the air. Prime tried to stop [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] from pursuing the villains, but his old friend would not listen and was shot down. Prime was happy that Ironhide was okay, but reminded him that there was a thin line between being a hero, and being a memory.

[[Image:Mtmte3_prime_combatdeck.jpg|right|225px|thumb|In mere moments, the gun would be destroyed, but the finger would keep right on firing.]]

After the Autobots' attempt to use a phony holographic rocket base to dupe the Decepticons failed, Megatron stood poised to return to Cybertron. Prime called for volunteers for the dangerous mission to stop the Decepticons' blasting off in their new [[Decepticon Headquarters|space cruiser]], and all the Autobots stepped forward, including Spike and Sparkplug. With all his soldiers behind him, Prime led the Autobots into battle once more, and once again faced off with Megatron, this time using the additional firepower of his [[Combat Deck]] against his enemy. When the combat shifted to hand-to-hand, however, Prime was blindsided by [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]], affording Megatron the opportunity to call of the fight and instruct the Decepticons to board the cruiser. As the craft took off, emotion got the better of Prime, and in a rare display of short-temperedness and anger, he roared at [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] to hand over his rocket pack. With the pack's additional boost, Prime achieved escape velocity and followed the cruiser into space, but a blast from its artillery hatch sent him plummeting back to Earth. His anger fading to despair, Prime declared that the Decepticons had won... before noticing that Mirage was missing. In fact, the invisible Autobot had stowed away aboard the Decepticons' cruiser and sabotaged it from within, causing it to crash back to Earth, into the ocean. Believing the Decepticons aboard destroyed, Prime ordered the Autobots back to the ship, so that they could continue rebuilding it and return to Cybertron themselves. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 3}}

[[Image:Too_prime_truckmode.jpg|left|thumb|225px|The smokestacks were filed down for your safety, kids.]]

One night, months later, before rebuilding was complete, Prime and Ironhide stood looking out at the ocean, and Prime confessed he was not entirely convinced that the Decepticons were gone for good. And he was right: before long, Teletraan I reported an emergency at a solar power plant, and Optimus discovered to his horror that Megatron still lived. Prime led a team of Autobots to drive the villains off, and while they were successful, the Decepticons escaped with a large quantity of energy to send to Cybertron with their new intergalactic "[[space bridge]]" transport system. Spike was captured and nearly sent across the bridge with the energy, but at the last moment, Prime blasted him free of the transport pod and then hurled Megatron into the bridge in his place. {{storylink|Transport to Oblivion}} Megatron was not gone for long, however, and when Prime next faced his eternal enemy, it was for possession of an anti-matter energy formula. {{storylink|Roll for It}}

[[Image:Divide and conquer.jpg|right|225px|thumb|He was recovering nicely until Bumblebee tripped while carrying his dynamite collection.]]

While searching for any trace of where the Decepticons' space bridge would next materialize, Prime received word of a Decepticon attack on a weapons factory and sped to the scene. In the battle that followed, Prime was badly injured by an exploding computer bank when he shielded the human workers with his body, and was taken back to Autobot Headquarters for repair. Alas, Laserbeak followed the Autobots back to their base, and while Prime was lying on a medical table with his internal mechanisms exposed, the crooked cassette struck, destroying Prime's vital [[cosmotron]] component. A team of Autobots were dispatched to Cybertron recover a replacement cosmotron, but in their absence, the Decepticons initiated an all-out attack on the Autobots. At the last moment, the cosmotron arrived, and the repaired Prime made a dramatic entrance onto the battlefield, challenging Megatron to one-on-one combat and soundly defeating him. {{storylink|Divide and Conquer}}

After leading the Autobots on a mission to the Arctic to stop the Decepticons from draining the energy of the Earth's core, {{storylink|Fire in the Sky}} Optimus Prime okayed [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] and Ratchet's project to create robotic dinosaurs to bolster their forces. Unfortuantely, when the three "[[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]]" turned out to be dangerous, simple-minded monsters, Prime ordered them destroyed. Wheeljack was able to talk him down to merely deactivating the Dinobots and sealing them in a cavern in their volcano headquarters... and a good thing, too, since soon after, when Prime and the Autobots were defeated in battle with the Decepticons at the [[Great Falls]], Wheeljack was able to bring the Dinobots back online to save the day. Realizing that "even the wisest of men and machines can be in error", Prime overruled his previous order, and allowed the Dinobots to remain part of the Autobot ranks. {{storylink|S.O.S. Dinobots}}

[[Image:War of the dinos 7.jpg|left|250px|thumb|"Someday, my large friend, [[Grimlock (G1) toys#Masterpiece|the tables will be turned]]."]]

Following a mission to Peru, {{storylink|Fire on the Mountain}} Prime was so impressed with the Dinobot trio's improved performance that he ordered the creation of two more. Unfortunately, Prime would soon learn that the Dinobots were not perfect; left alone to guard a strange energy-rich meteorite, the Dinobots were approached by Megatron, who exploited their simple brains to turn them against Optimus Prime. Soon after, when Prime discovered that the meteorite was unstable and set to explode, he rushed out to warn the Dinobots, only to be attacked by them and taken to Megatron. The Decepticons had also stolen the meteorite, unaware of its impending detonation, and when the space-rock finally exploded, Prime dove into action and shoved the Dinobot leader Grimlock to safety. Realizing that Optimus Prime was on the side of the angels, Grimlock apologized, and he and Prime shook hands. {{storylink|War of the Dinobots}}

[[Image:SurfsUp.jpg|right|225px|thumb|There is no way it could becooler than this...]]

When the Decepticons constructed a massive "space pyramid" in order to bring Cybertron into Earth's orbit, that they might exploit the energies released in the chaos that would ensue, Prime attempted to stop Megatron from activating the third and final pylon in the system. Megatron merely laughed, and informed Prime that ''he'' would be the one to activate the pylon – for if he did not, Cybertron would be utterly destroyed! {{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 1}} Prime was forced to comply and brought the pylon online, but he did not linger on the moral repercussions of his decision, and instead led the Autobots in combating the environmental terrors that Cybertron's orbit unleashed. On top of all this mayhem, the Decepticons had also used [[hypno-chip]]s to mind-control human slaves into helping them gather energy, including Sparkplug Witwicky. Learning that Sparkplug had been taken to work on Cybertron, Prime felt that it would be best if Spike did not find out, only for the boy to overhear him discussing it. Prime permitted Spike to join a team of Autobots that were heading for Cybertron to investigate the source of the Decepticons' mind-control. {{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 2}} Prime then led another team of the Autobots on a mission to stop the construction of a Decepticon hydro-electric generator, cruising into battle on Transformer-sized surfboards. Things came to a head in a huge firefight on a tropical island, during which the Autobots returned from Cybertron with a device that undid the effects of the hypno-chips. Megatron cut his losses and fled with the energy he had gathered, but Prime then opened fire on his craft, blowing up the energy within and creating an explosion powerful enough to thrust Cybertron back out of orbit. {{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 3}}

[[Image:CountdownToExtinction.jpg|left|thumb|... I stand correct.]]

In the wake of Cybertron's orbit, Optimus Prime and the Autobots set about repairing the damage done to Earth, when an even greater threat emerged: Starscream set an [[Exponential Generator]] to overlord and destroy the planet. For the first time – but not the last – Prime and Megatron were forced to team up for the greater good (or the lesser evil), as Megatron transformed into pistol mode and allowed Prime to wield him so that they could shoot the exponential generator into space and save Earth. {{storylink|Countdown to Extinction (episode)|Countdown to Extinction}}

[[Image:Tanker throw.jpg|right|225px|thumb|Eat your heart out, Superman.]]

Hearing reports of giant robotic insects in Bali, Optimus Prime led a team of Autobots to investigate. The team discovered that the insects in questions were a trio of "Insecticons" who had allied themselves with Megatron, and pursued them to an oil refinery the Decepticons were in the process of plundering. In one of his most impressive feats of strength ever recorded, Optimus Prime hoisted an entire oil tanker over his head and hurled it at Megatron. The Insecticons were so awed by this display of strength that they decided to consume the gathered energon and flee, earning them Megatron's ire. Although he considered the day a victory, Prime worried that the Insecticons would inevitable ally themselves with Megatron again. {{storylink|A Plague of Insecticons}}

[[Image:Primedefeated.gif|left|thumb|"I... fell on my keys.. ow."]]

When an unarmed Megatron appeared in front of Autobot Headquarters claiming that he had come only to talk, Optimus Prime agreed to hear him out, and found himself challenged to a one-on-one duel in accordance with Cybertron law. The loser of the duel and his troops would be forced to vacate Earth forever, but Prime confidently and honorably accepted the challenge. Little did Prime realize that Megatron had found a way to imbue himself with the different powers of all his Decepticon troops, and when the battle began, Prime was defeated with shocking speed. Believing that he had simply been unaware of the number of powers at Megatron's command, Prime sorrowfully agreed to leave Earth, much to the other Autobots' chagrin. When they returned to Autobot Headquarters to prepare for their departure, they discovered Megatron's newest warriors, the Constructicons, in battle with the Dinobots, but Prime refused to get involved, citing the law despite Ironhide's protests. Spike friend [[Chip Chase]] had his suspicions about the battle and used Teletraan I to scan Prime's injuries, revealing Megatron's deception. As the battle had been unlawfully won, Prime was able to disregard the law and lead the Autobots into the battle raging outside. Prime was able to blast the Constructicons' merged form of Devastator apart with his laser rifle, and the Autobots ganged up on the Decepticons and forced them into a lava-filled crevasse. Prime and Megatron faced off once more, and Prime sent Megatron to join his troops in the magma below. Spike asked if the Decepticons were gone forever, prompting Optimus to wonder aloud... in the vast universe, was anything truly forever? {{storylink|Heavy Metal War}}

[[Image:Autobotspike_prime_vs_autobotx.jpg|215px|right|thumb]]

As 1985 rolled in, Optimus Prime found himself on the receiving end of the fury of "Autobot Spike", as he struggled to bring the young Witwicky back to his right mind after his consciousness was implanted in a [[Autobot X|robot body]]. {{storylink|Autobot Spike}} Later, when Megatron threatened the stability of the [[sun]] with his [[Solar Needle]], Prime was caught off guard by the Decepticon leader and wound up staring down his fusion cannon. Megatron ordered the other Autobots to lay down their weapons, but Prime told them to leave him to his fate and destroy the needle. Refusing to risk their commander's life, the Autobots complied with Megatron's wishes, but Prime found a way out of the situation by requesting a last wish: he asked [[Gears]], who had been rendered totally subservient by the removal of one of his circuit cards, to destroy the Solar Needle for him, and the deed was done before Megatron could do anything about it. {{storylink|Changing Gears}}

[[Image:Cos prime disassembled.jpg|left|225px|thumb|"The seller promised he was mint!"]]

Responding to reports of Decepticon activity in New York City, Optimus Prime was captured by the evil robots and disassembled into his component parts by [[Hook (G1)|Hook]]. The Autobots were able to recover their leader's head, but the other parts of his body had been rebuilt into an [[alligatorcon]] that the Autobots were forced to defeat and disassemble in order to restore him. Even after his body was rebuilt, Prime was still missing his right arm, which had been mounted as a laser turret on the top of the [[Empire State Building]]. Luckily, Prime was able to remote-control his arm, and used it to blast Devastator off the building, after which the Autobots reclaimed and re-attached Prime's errant limb. {{storylink|City of Steel}} The Decepticons were not done trying to manipulate Prime for their own ends, however; for their next evil scheme, they attacked his mind instead of his body, using a [[personality destabilizer]] to turn Prime and his fellow Autobots to the side of evil. Sparkplug was able to rig up [[attitude exchanger]]s to restore the Autobots to normal, but Prime was able to avoid being tagged by the devices by splitting up into his three components and bedeviling the Autobots on three fronts. Finally, Bumblebee took it upon himself to charge into Prime, and succeeded in restoring his leader's mind. {{storylink|Attack of the Autobots}}

[[Image:Dotm_prime_vs_torq3.jpg|right|215px|thumb]]

Numerous crazy gadgets formed the backbone of Prime's next few adventures, as he battled the Decepticons for control of [[electro-cell]]s, {{storylink|Traitor}} had to convince Ironhide to remain with the Autobots when his old friend botched a mission involved Wheeljack's new [[Immobilizer]], {{storylink|The Immobilizer}} and found himself temporarily trapped in truck mode by the [[Transfixatron]] when he and the other Autobots participated in the "Autobot Run" charity race. {{storylink|The Autobot Run}} Later, when the Decepticons allied themselves with the [[Sub-Atlantica]]ns and attacked [[Washington, D.C.]], Prime was felled by a blast from an anti-Transformer disruptor ray created by the Sub-Atlantican king, [[Nergill]]. Prime's diodes were pulled out of the laser fire by the fortunate arrival of Grimlock and the Dinobots, and the Dinobot leader didn't hesitate to point out that fact. Prime then transported the Dinobots to Sub-Atlantica in his trailer, and unleashed them upon the fish-men with the order to "act prehistoric!" {{storylink|Atlantis, Arise!}}

When Megatron took control of the super computer [[TORQ III]], Prime gave a particularly good account of himself, duping and defeating the addled computer almost single-handedly, besting Megatron in hand-to-hand combat and destroying his remote control device, and saving [[Hound (G1)|Hound]], [[Jetfire (G1)|Skyfire]] and Spike from a sinking oil platform. {{storylink|Day of the Machines}} The Decepticons struck back with another plot that involved controlling an Earth machine; even Optimus Prime found himself outmatched by the robotic ninja [[Nightbird (G1)|Nightbird]], and his attempts to reason with the lifeless construct fell on deaf ears. {{storylink|Enter the Nightbird}}

[[Image:Primeproblem prime and clone.jpg|left|215px|thumb|"Oh noes! If only there were some way to tell them apart! [[Matrix of Leadership|Sacred lifeforce]]? What?"]]

As part of a plot to lead the Autobots to their doom in a crevasse of [[korlonium crystal]]s, Megatron created a [[Optimus Prime clone|perfect clone of Optimus Prime]], which he could remote control from a distance. Despite the Prime clone's blatantly odd behavior, the Autobots were unable to tell the difference between the two Primes, so they staged several contests in hopes of identifying the true Prime through his skills. Unfortunately, a sharp-shooting test and a race yielded no results, and the Autobots were forced to table the debate and go into battle against the Decepticons with both Primes. To fully complete the illusion, Megatron proceeded to create a clone of Starscream, which his Prime clone then destroyed, convincing the Autobots that it was the genuine article. Unfortunately, Megatron promptly blew his ruse by dismissing Spike's safety as unimportant, and all of the Autobots immediately turned on the clone and blew it to smithereens. {{storylink|A Prime Problem}}

[[Image:Dinobotisland jetpacks.jpg|right|215px|thumb]]

Next, Prime found himself allying with Megatron on two separate occasions, first to prevent the destruction of the Earth with a Decepticon attempt to drill to the planet's core went awry {{storylink|The Core}}, and then again when the Insecticons drained the [[Nova Power Core|power core]] of the [[Nova Power Station]] and grew in size and power. In the latter instance, Prime again wielded Megatron in gun mode to shoot capsules of antidote into the Insecticons, shrinking them back to normal before they exploded. {{storylink|The Insecticon Syndrome}}

After another disastrous Dinobot rampage in Autobot Headquarters, Optimus Prime ordered the Dinobots to relocate to [[Dinobot Island (G1)|Dinobot Island]], a strange prehistoric paradise the Autobots had just recently discovered. Unfortunately, the Decepticons followed the Dinobots there and began draining the island's rich sources of energy, disrupting the fabric of space and time and causing humans and other creatures from throughout time to materialize in the present day. {{storylink|Dinobot Island, Part 1}} Prime put his trailer to use as a holding pen for a herd of woolly mammoths, and after the prehistoric pachyderms were returned to their home time, he donned a jetpack and led a team of Autobots to Dinobot Island to stop the Decepticons' plan. {{storylink|Dinobot Island, Part 2}}

[[Image:Master builders prime basketball.jpg|left|215px|thumb|Red bots can't jump.]]

In the midst of some basketball lessons from Spike, Prime was approached by Grapple with a design for a solar power tower, but was forced to forbid its construction on the basis that it had no means of defense against a Decepticon attack. Consumed with a desire to build the tower, Grapple and [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] wound up allying with the Constructicons to construct the tower, only to be promptly turned on and entombed within it once it was complete. Prime and the Autobots rescued them, and while Prime accepted their apologies, he still had them clear up the wreckage of the tower as punishment. {{storylink|The Master Builders}}

Optimus Prime later helped test Wheeljack's new [[Negavator]] weapon and had to deal with a paranoid [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]], {{storylink|Auto Berserk}} then found himself faced with a super-powered Megatron when the Decepticon leader boosted his systems with the [[Heart of Cybertron]]. {{storylink|Microbots}}

[[Image:Masterplan2_autobots_on_trial.jpg|right|215px|thumb]]

After helping to save [[Central City (G1)|Central City]]'s new solar energy facility from Decepticon attack, Optimus Prime and the Autobots were honored at city hall, but the ceremony turned sour when the mayor's rival, [[Shawn Berger]], framed the Autobots for raiding an oil field using a video tape faked by the Decepticons (which featured a costumed Starscream playing the role of Prime). Prime and the Autobots were called to trial and found guilty of crimes against Earth, and Prime reluctantly accepted the court's ruling that they leave Earth and return to Cybertron aboard a craft supplied by Berger. {{storylink|Megatron's Master Plan, Part 1}} Prime soon regretted his decision and ordered Cliffjumper to turn the rocket around, only to discover that Megatron had set it to collide with the sun and destroy them all. Thanks to [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]]'s force field, Prime and the Autobots survived the explosion of their rocket, and returned to Earth to clear their names. {{storylink|Megatron's Master Plan, Part 2}}

When Optimus Prime attended [[Professor Greene]]'s demonstration of his new [[Ultra-Plane]], the Decepticons attacked and destroyed the new weapon. In the battle that resulted, the Autobots and Decepticons began to suffer sudden system malfunctions that were quickly deduced to be a result of the [[cybertonium]] in their systems degenerating after four million years on Earth. {{storylink|Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 1}} Spike and his girlfriend [[Carly]] braved a perilous journey to Cybertron, recovering enough cybertonium to repair the Autobots, and were appointed honorary Autobots by Prime for their efforts. {{Storylink|Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 2}}

[[Image:Goldenlagoon_prime_perceptor.jpg|left|225px|thumb]]

Optimus Prime was particularly exasperated with Blaster when he broadcast a rock concert back into the Autobot base, partially because of the ungodly noise, but mostly because it meant that the Autobots failed to receive a distress call from [[Professor Haley]], whose [[Voltronic Galaxer]] device had been stolen by the Decepticons. It was with Blaster's help, however, that Prime then bested Megatron in a battle on the [[Moon (moon)|Moon]], and so he allowed Blaster to turn Megatron's moonbase into a radio station that he could broadcast from. {{storylink|Blaster Blues}}

Prime later led the Autobots in battle for control of the [[electrum|golden lagoon]], {{storylink|The Golden Lagoon}} then found himself playing the role of tech-support as he talked [[Talaria]] through the activation of [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]]'s signal beacon via a communications channel when the space-faring Autobot was stranded on [[Titan]]. Prime intended to go to Titan and rescue Cosmos himself, but Red Alert urged against it, and Jazz wound up going in his place.{{storylink|The God Gambit}} Prime later agreed to help the NYPD bust a carjacking ring headed up by the [[Geddis brothers]], leading to another confrontation with the Geddis's secret allies, the Decepticons. {{storylink|Make Tracks}}

[[Image:Childsplay_aron_and_prime.jpg|right|thumb]]

When the Decepticons attempted to turn a baseball stadium into a new space bridge, the mechanism malfunction, teleporting Prime, Bumblebee, [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]], [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]], [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] and a quartet of Decepticons to an alien planet inhabited by giants. Prime took the diplomatic approach, introducing himself and the Autobots to [[Aron]], the alien boy into whose room they had been transported, and Aron then helped his new friends evade capture and dissection by the planet's authorities. Following a riotous sewer-surfing journey back to Aron's house, the Autobots departed the planet in a toy rocket ship Perceptor had rewired. {{storylink|Child's Play (episode)|Child's Play}} On the return journey to Earth, however, the Autobots were captured by the alien gambler [[Bosch]], who brainwashed them all, save Smokescreen, and sold them to [[Lord Gyconi]] on the asteroid resort of [[Monacus]]. Prime was pitted against an [[animalian]] in a gladiatorial battle for Gyconi's patrons' amusement before Smokescreen and Bosch secured the Autobots' freedom and restored their minds. {{storylink|The Gambler}} Upon his return to Earth, Optimus Prime faced the menace of the [[Morphobot]]s. {{storylink|Quest for Survival}}

When reports came in of the Constructicons mining an asteroid out in space, Optimus Prime requested that Omega Supreme investigate. The asteroid proved to be an egg containing an [[asteroid bird alien|alien bird monster]], which emerged and began attacking [[San Francisco]], but Omega ignored Prime's orders to intervene and shut off his communicator in mid-battle, preferring to seek revenge against the Constructicons. Prime was forced to intervene, getting between Omega and his quarry and finally convincing the giant Autobot to help dispose of the alien, on the basis that there were more important things in life in than revenge. {{storylink|The Secret of Omega Supreme}}

Outfitted with a special coating of insulation to protect himself, Prime led a small team of Autobots to Japan to stop Megatron's latest creation, the demented energy imp known as [[Kremzeek]]. When the Autobots finally got the better of the crazy creature, Prime had to regretfully order his destruction. {{storylink|Kremzeek!}}

[[Image:Primetarget_beast_of_borneo.jpg|left|thumb|Bad touch!]]

After receiving a distress signal from the planet of [[Tlalakan]]s, Prime ordered a team of Autobots to investigate, but was unable to go himself as he was too large for Cosmos to carry. {{storylink|Sea Change}} Later, when Megatron, Starscream, [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] and [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] began feuding for Decepticon leadership, Prime was greatly amused by the whole thing, calling it a "domestic squabble" and taunting Megatron by dismissing him so he could fight the "real" leaders of the Decepticons. Prime kept the other Autobots from getting involved in the battle, and sure enough, the Decepticons wound up knocking the fight out of each other. The other Autobots agreed there was only one leader for them, and formed a throne out of their bodies for Prime to sit upon, but Prime said he preferred to roll. {{storylink|Triple Takeover}}

Optimus Prime 's fame and prowess loon led him to become the target of the demented big-game hunter, [[Lord Chumley]], who sought Prime's head to go along with his other rare trophies. Chumley captured several Autobots in order to lure Prime to his estate, and of course, the Autobot leader no choice but to comply. Battling his way through a mock-up of Cybertron itself against all kind of bizarre traps and creatures, from a ferocious [[dragon]]-like beast, to several robotic arachnids, to the interfering Astrotrain and Blitzwing, Prime succeeded in freeing his Autobot comrades, capturing Chumley, and delivering him to the authorities. {{storylink|Prime Target|Prime Target}}

[[Image:Sfat_powertransfer.jpg|right|220px|thumb|Oh look. Optimus Prime is having robo-sex with his sister. Better get used to seei- whoa, wait a minute.]]

Prime received the shock of his life when Megatron contacted him to inform him that Elita One was still alive, and had been captured by his Decepticons on Cybertron. Prime immediately departed for Cybertron to rescue her, but walked straight into the trap that had been laid for him, and was trussed up by the Decepticons and dangled above a vat of acid. Just as Prime was dropped, Elita used her secret power to stop time, freezing Prime in mid-air and pulling him to safety. Unfortunately, the use of her power drained almost all of her life-force, leaving her on the brink of death, so Prime loaded her aboard his trailer and set out in search of Alpha Trion, in the hope that the ancient Autobot could heal her. In the process, Prime rediscovered his own forgotten connection to his creator, when Alpha Trion shocked him with intimate knowledge of his and Elita's systems by telling him that only his own power supply could properly interface with Elita's. Prime gave Elita the power transfusion necessary to save her life, and the two lovers then joined the other Autobots in fighting off the Decepticons. Prime regretted that they had to part ways again, but Elita knew that she had to continue the fight against the Decepticons on Cybertron. {{storylink|The Search for Alpha Trion}}

[[Image:Ktvs_prime_and_trion.jpg|left|215px|thumb]]

Optimus Prime had little to do in the mission to rescue [[Astoria Carlton-Ritz]] from the Decepticons, merely offering theories and passing along information to Powerglide, {{storylink|The Girl Who Loved Powerglide}} but took to the fore again when Megatron created the Stunticons to combat the Autobots on the roads. Realizing that Megatron would have to use the Cybertronian mega-computer [[Vector Sigma]] to bring the Stunticons to life, Prime took a team of Autobots to Cybertron, where they sought the aid of Alpha Trion in navigating the planet's catacombs to find the way to the computer. {{storylink|The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1}} Unfortunately, Megatron made it to the computer first and brought the Stunticons online, so Prime proposed the creation of the Aerialbots as a countermeasure. With Vector Sigma's [[Key to Vector Sigma|activation key]] in Megatron's clutches, Alpha Trion proposed that he merge with Vector Sigma to bring the computer back online. Prime refused, knowing it would mean the end of his creator's life, but Alpha Trion insisted that he be allowed to sacricice himself so that the Aerialbots could live. The Autobots and Aerialbots returned to Earth, where they stopped Megatron from using the key to Vector Sigma to convert the planet into a metal sphere. {{storylink|The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2}}

[[Image:Cosmicrust_prime_and_perceptor.jpg|right|215px|thumb]]

When Megatron attempted to send the Aerialbots back to the dawn of time using the [[kronosphere]] time machine, Optimus Prime blasted the device before it could complete its evil work, depositing the Aerialbots nine million years in the past. Prime and the other Autobots fended off a Decepticon attack while Wheeljack rebuilt the kronosphere, and the five airborne Autobots were returned to the present just in time to turn the tide of battle. In the aftermath of the conflict, when the Aerialbots were able to refer to him with his old name of Orion Pax, Prime realised that it had been the time-tossed Aerialbots who have saved him from Megatron and brought him to Alpha Trion to be rebuilt all those millions of years ago. {{storylink|War Dawn}}

When Perceptor was kidnapped by the Decepticons and infected with the contagious [[Cosmic Rust (disease)|Cosmic Rust]] , Prime risked his own safety to single-handedly rescue the scientist, and wound up being infected in the process, just as Megatron had planned. Even infected, Prime met Megatron in battle while the Autobots retrieved the cure to the disease, and the Autobots won the day yet again. {{storylink|Cosmic Rust (episode)|Cosmic Rust}}

[[Image:RevengeofBruticus Primefiringguns.jpg|left|thumb|Being a hero is all about dramatic lighting. And two-fisted violence.]]

When another power struggle between Megatron and Starscream erupted, Prime was once again quite happy to ignore the whole messy affair until Starscream and his newly-built Combaticons attacked the unveiling ceremony for a [[Optimus Prime Memoria|memorial]] to Optimus Prime himself (rather oddly being built while he was still alive) and kidnapped Jazz and Cliffjumper. In the midst of a battle between Megatron and Starscream's force, Prime led the Autobots in rescuing their teammates. Starscream and the Combaticons were subsequently defeated and exiled from Earth, {{storylink|Starscream's Brigade}} but that just made matters worse, as they headed for Cybertron, conquered the planet, and used the space bridge to alter Earth's orbit and send it spiralling towards the sun. Both Autobots and Decepticons needed to use the space bridge to travel to Cybertron and stop Starscream's plan, but the Insecticons damaged the control panel, requiring Prime to donate some of his own circuitry to the repair effort, on the condition that Megatron did the same. With the bridge restored, Prime and Megatron lead a united team of Autobots and Decepticons to stop Starscream and the Combaticons and save the Earth. Prime was led to believe that he had destroyed the Combaticons at the battle's end, but in reality, had been duped by a holographic projection so that Megatron could reprogram the new Decepticons to serve him. {{storylink|The Revenge of Bruticus}}

[[Image:Masquerade_prime_vs_mmaster.jpg|right|230px|thumb|You re-enacted this scene countless times as a kid. You know you did.]]

After leading a team of Autobots to save the Aerialbots from a Combaticon attack in the Middle East {{storylink|Aerial Assault}} Prime led another effort to stop the Stunticons from stealing the components Megatron needed for his latest super-weapon. Prime survived a head-on collision with [[Motormaster]] (although he definitely decided it was something he would prefer not to go through again) and then disguised himself as the Stunticon leader in an effort to learn what Megatron's plan was. Accompanied by a team of four other Autobots disguised as the other Stunticons, Prime was able to infiltrate the Decepticon camp, but had not counted on the real Stunticons escape Autobot capture and exposing their deception. The Autobots abandoned their disguises when Megatron assembled the components into his new laser weapon, but it turned out that Optimus had sabotaged the device, and it blew up in Megatron's face. {{storylink|Masquerade}}

In his final recorded adventure in the 20th century, Prime dispatched Ironhide, Gears and Bumblebee to investigate a disturbance at [[Benjamin Franklin Pierce High School]], where a group of students had stumbled onto a Decepticon plot to attack the Autobots with a gravity disruptor beam. Prime rallied the Autobots to fight off the Decepticons, and thanked the humans for their help. {{storylink|B.O.T. (episode)|B.O.T.}}

[[Image:Tftm_prime_megs_finalblow.jpg|left|260px|thumb]]

Over the course of the next twenty years, the Decepticons turned their attentions away from Earth, and succeeded in seizing control of all of Cybertron. The Autobots were forced off the planet and founded [[Autobot City]] on Earth, in addition to two staging bases on Cybertron's moons. At some point during this period of time, Prime was known to have battled Megatron in a laboratory on Earth, causing an explosion that scarred scientist [[Gregory Swofford]]. {{storylink|The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1}}

In the Earth year 2005, Optimus Prime was stationed on [[Moonbase One]], and dispatched troops to Earth to acquire energy for an upcoming strike to take back Cybertron. The Decepticons, however, got wind of the plan and attacked the shuttle, killing its occupants. Their scheme was to use the shuttle to stage a [[Battle of Autobot City|surprise attack on Autobot City]]; an attack which would have succeeded, if not for a distress call which summoned Optimus Prime and support troops to Earth. Declaring that Megatron would have to stopped, "no matter the cost", Prime bravely plowed through the remaining Decepticon ranks before confronting Megatron in a climactic one-on-one battle. Despite a gash being torn in his side, Prime gained the upper hand in the battle and was poised to deliver a killing blast when the young Autobot [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] leapt into the middle of the fight, having spotted that Megatron was reaching for a gun. Unfortunately, Megatron overpowered the youth and used him as a shield, preventing Prime from taking his shot, and opening fire with the gun, blasting Prime in his wound. Prime fell, and Megatron stood over him, about to deliver the final blow, but at the last moment, Prime summoned up all his strength and hurled Megatron off the platform on which they battling. With Megatron bested, the Decepticons fled, as the other Autobots flocked to the side of the wounded Prime.

[[Image:Optimusg1passingthematrix.jpg|right|thumb|"Oh, hey, I have this in me now, by the way."]]

Despite the efforts of Perceptor, Optimus Prime's wounds were fatal. Knowing his time had come, Prime passed the Matrix of Leadership, and with it leadership of the Autobots, into the hands of his old friend, the city's commander, [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]]. With his last ounce of energy, he muttered "[['Til all are one]]", then died, his lifeforce becoming one with the ancient wisdom contained in the Matrix, joining the other formers bearers within it. Soon after, when Hot Rod opened the Matrix within the body of the planet-eater, [[Unicron]], Prime 's voice was heard once more, dubbing the transformed Hot Rod "Rodimus Prime", new leader of the Autobots. {{storylink|The Transformers: The Movie}}

When Rodimus Prime voyaged into the Matrix in search of answers to the mysteries of the alien [[Quintesson]]s, Optimus Prime was among the "spirit guides" who appeared to him and led him on his journey through the origin and history of the Transformer race. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4}}

[[Image:Optimusg1zombie.jpg|left|215px|thumb|"WHERE IS SARAH CONNOR?"]]
Optimus Prime's body was entombed in a massive deep-space mausoleum with the many other fallen Autobots, but his corpse was desecrated by the [[Quintesson]]s in 2006 when they reanimated it as part of an attempt to destroy the Autobots. Pursued by the Decepticons through space, a team of Autobots led by Rodimus Prime took refuge in the mausoleum, where they were confronted by the seemingly-reborn Optimus Prime. Optimus dispatched the pursuing Decepticons, and Rodimus – never truly comfortable with the burden of leadership – happily relinquished the Matrix to his predecessor. At that point, the reprogrammed Optimus turned on the Autobots, stranding them on the mausoleum and blowing it up. The zombie Prime returned to the main Autobot force and reassumed command, intending to lure the Autobot space fleet into a trap that would destroy them all. Hot Rod's Autobots, however, were revealed to have survived the explosion of the mausoleum, and Hot Rod engaged Prime in battle. In the course of the fight, the Matrix began to overpower the Quintesson influence in Prime's mind, and he returned the talisman to Hot Rod, then ordered the rest of the Autobots clear while he piloted his flagship into the Quintessons' trap. As the Autobots watched from a distance, the flagship collided with the booby-trap detonator the Quintessons had placed on an asteroid, triggering the explosion of a nearby sun that apparently took Optimus Prime from them once more. {{storylink|Dark Awakening|Dark Awakening}}

Prime's lifeforce returned to the Matrix, and he was among the spectral figures whose ethereal forms emerged from the talisman when it was stolen by [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]], warning him to return it to its rightful holder. Galvatron was suitably convinced. {{storylink|The Burden Hardest to Bear}}

[[Image:Roop1_prime_revived.jpg|right|220px|thumb|Optimus Prime was reborn in the electric chair for our sins.]]

While the other Autobots believed that Prime's body had been destroyed in the supernova, in actuality, just before the flagship impacted with the detonator, his remains had been recovered from the craft by two human scientists, [[Jessica Morgan]] and Gregory Swofford, who still blamed Prime for the explosion that scarred him years beforehead. Jessica's father, [[Mark Morgan]], shared Swofford's loathing of the Autobots, and his hatred only grew when, some months later, an attempt by the Decepticons to steal a heat-resistant alloy he had developed resulted in Jessica being paralyzed. Seeking revenge, Swofford and Morgan reconstructed Optimus Prime's body in an attempt to use it as a delivery system for the mysterious spores that had been released from the exploding sun, which induced hatred and madness. However, when they could not reanimate Prime, they used his body as a lure instead, bringing the Autobots to their lab, where they were infected by the spores directly. Rodimus Prime was able to escape infection and made off with Optimus Prime's body, then ordered [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] to find him a Quintesson to fully restored Prime to life. Rodimus succumbed to the "[[Hate Plague]]" before Sky Lynx returned, but the airborne Autbot succeeded in his mission, recovering a Quintesson who finally brought Optimus Prime back to life. {{storylink|The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1}}

[[Image:Roop2_prime_vs_prime.jpg|left|210px|thumb]]

The resurrected Prime led a team of Autobots to the Decepticons' base on [[Chaar]] to recover the heat-resistant alloy they had stolen, so that Prime could coat his body in it and make himself impervious to the Hate Plague. Thus protected, Optimus confronted Rodimus and defeated him in battle, reacquiring the Matrix so that he could consult the lifeforces of the ancient Autobots within it for a way to defeat the Hate Plague. Informed by "[[It]]" that the only way to cure the disease was with wisdom, Prime unleashed the concentrated wisdom of the Matrix itself to wipe out the plague. {{storylink|The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2}}

In 2007, Optimus Prime began to suffer visions following the release of the Matrix's energy, which foretold a great transformation for Cybertron. Prime realized that the events he had foreseen had begun when the Decepticons' theft of the key to the [[Plasma energy|Plasma Energy Chamber]]. {{storylink|The Rebirth, Part 1}} Prime was forced to consult the spirit of Alpha Trion within [[Vector Sigma]], who informed him that the mega-computer had set these very events in motion in order to restore Cybertron's Golden Age. {{storylink|The Rebirth, Part 2}} When the Plasma Energy Chamber was opened and threatened to drive Earth's Sun supernova, Spike Witwicky and the other organic [[Nebulos|Nebulans]] who had become involved in the conflict as a result of these events were able to drain off the excess solar energy and revitalize Cybertron. {{storylink|The Rebirth, Part 3}}

[[Image:Puppetpmprime.jpg|right|thumb|Prime's legal troubles began after he gave Tommy "the Touch". Strangely, the prosecution never even noticed the double entendre.]]

At an undetermined point in time, through unknown circumstances, Optimus Prime was upgraded into a [[Powermaster]] body, and began associating with a human boy named [[Tommy Kennedy]]. Tommy, apparently a resident of Autobot City, interviewed Prime on a variety of topics related to Cybertronian history and lore, sometimes for school assignments, sometimes for historical reference, and sometimes simply for the heck of it. Prime regaled young Tommy with tales of the Autobots' greatest battles; [[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1|their arrival on Earth]], [[The Transformers: The Movie|Prime's own death and the struggle against Unicron]], [[Five Faces of Darkness|the return of Galvatron and the Quintessons' role in Transformer history]], Prime's [[Dark Awakening|brief revival at the hands of the Quintessons]] as well as his [[The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1|return during the Hate Plague crisis]]. He also recounted the [[The Rebirth|the origins of the Headmasters and Targetmasters]] and, inexplicably, a tale of [[Surprise Party|Ultra Magnus's birthday]].

At this point in his career, Prime 's role seemed to be more of a goodwill ambassador, as he spent much of his time aiding fellow Autobots with minor tasks, like helping [[Joyride (Autobot)|Joyride]] repair a space bridge, refueling [[Sky High (Pretender)|Sky High]], and helping [[Cloudburst]] redesign his retro-rockets.

At one point, a problem with Prime's [[Memory chip|memory chip]] left him incapable of recalling specific details of various historical events. This issue was short-lived, as Tommy Kennedy managed to fix it with a small amount of effort and encouragement. Once, before leaving to attend an intergalactic peace conferences, Prime showed Tommy an informational [[The Touch|music video]] depicting the events surrounding the battle with Unicron. {{storylink|The Transformers (cartoon)|Season 5}}
{{-}}

====Madman ''The Transformers'' comic====
[[Image:Madman comic PrimeHotrod.jpg|left|200px|thumb|-Or maybe you're just hepped-up on goofballs, kid.]]
In 2001, Optimus Prime led the Autobot evacuation from the Decepticons' successful conquest of Cybertron, standing as the unflinching rearguard for his fleeing Autobots. Before he left, he secretly met with Ultra Magnus at the site of the future Autobot City to discuss hiding the Matrix of Leadership, against the possibility of Prime's capture or death. Unfortunately, Soundwave had secretly recorded this clandestine meeting and moved to capture the powerful Autobot relic. To the surprise of all, the young Hot Rod managed to defeat Soundwave and secure the Matrix. When the Autobots arrived back on Earth, Optimus Prime learned of Hot Rod's deeds, and as he was handed the Matrix, a mysterious energy from the artifact passed through both Autobots. However, Prime only cryptically stated that perhaps Hot Rod's destiny was greater than the young 'bot himself knew. {{storylink|The Transformers (Madman)|The Transformers}}
{{-}}

====Japanese cartoon continuity====
{{note|The events of the American animated series occur in Japanese continuity as noted above, except that the events of Season 3, which took place in 2006 in America, were moved back to 2010, and "The Rebirth" and subsequent events do not occur. Japanese animated continuity inserts a large number of additional storylines, told through various different media, into the timeline (in particular, between Season 2 and the movie, and between the movie and Season 3), as detailed below.}}

=====''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' comic=====

[[Image:FightSuperRobotLifeTransformersManga.JPG|right|275px|thumb|From ''AMERICA!'']]

When the Decepticons turned their attention to pillaging the energies of Japan in the late 1980s, Optimus Prime and the Autobots met up with a young Japanese boy named [[Kenji]], whose inventive mind helped them to defeat [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] during an energy raid on [[Tokyo]]. As a token of thanks, Optimus Prime granted Kenji a special communications helmet and made him an official Autobot ally. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 1|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #1}}

During a Decepticon attack on Autobot Headquarters, Ratchet noticed that Soundwave and his cassettes were nowhere to be seen, so Prime dispatched a unit to Japan to search for them. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 2|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #2}} Not long after, Prime oversaw the early stages of the construction of the Autobots' new transforming battle fortress, [[Metroplex (G1)|Scramble City]]. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 3|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #3}}

While showing Kenji around the Autobots' new Tokyo base, Optimus Prime lamented that he wished his "kid brother" [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] would hurry up and arrive with his trailer upgrade. As he pondered the whereabouts of his sibling, the Decepticons attacked Yokohama. The Autobots hurried to the scene only to encounter an over-powered Megatron in his newest form: the Super Megatron Gun. The Autobots' defeat seemed assured until Magnus arrived with Prime's trailer upgrade, the [[Scramble Power Buster]]. The Scramble Power Buster trumped the might of the Super Megatron Gun, leaving Prime and Magnus to vanquish the Decepticon forces with their combined attack: the Double Cross Kick (basically, them jump-kicking the Decepticons in the spine at the same time). {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 4|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #4}}

When the Decepticons created their own counter to Scramble City, [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]], Prime ordered the Aerilabots into battle against the monster on an island utopia. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 6|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #6}} Later, Prime and Magnus again teamed up again to battle the Stunticons and [[Combaticon]]s when the two Decepticons teams posed as Autobots and besmirched the two commanders' good names. Although Menasor and [[Onslaught (G1)|Onslaught]]'s [[Decepticon Trailer Brigade|Decepticon Great Wheel]] attack proved a challenge, Prime and Magnus's "Finish Double" attack (suspiciously similar to their Double Cross Kick) soon won the day. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 7|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #7}}

=====Scramble City cartoon=====

[[Image:Prime_magnus_scramblecity.jpg|left|thumb|"I'm a white you under here."]]

As the 1980s rolled on, the Autobots began an initiative to construct a new battle fortress known as [[Metroplex (G1)|Scramble City]]. The facility to construct the fortress was concealed within a cavern and overseen by Ultra Magnus, but when it was discovered by Decepticon spy [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]], Megatron ordered the Decepticons to destroy it. Prime led an Autobot counter-offensive, and helped to blast [[Wildrider]] free when the evil Stunticon managed to link up to Superion in an attempt to disable the Aerialbot combiner, but things were looking bleak for the Autobots until the construction of Scramble City was completed. Ultra Magnus activated the battle fortress, which transformed into its robot mode of [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] to send the Decepticons fleeing. As Prime thanked Ultra Magnus for his quick work, however, Megatron unleashed Trypticon upon the assembled Autobots. {{storylink|Scramble City}}

{{note|This storyline was never concluded, as a second installment of "Scramble City" was never produced.}}
{{-}}

=====Full Throttle Scramble Power!=====
[[Image:MegatronMangaEnergonMace1.jpg|right|200px|thumb|This is why you have that axe, Prime, remember?]]
After Megatron and the Decepticons threatened humanity with their latest death ray, the [[Omega Whip]], Optimus Prime dispatched [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] and his human partners, [[Toru]] and [[Jenny (G1)|Jenny]] to follow the electromagnetic trail and find the Decepticons' hidden base. Hound, Toru and Jenny were then swiftly captured.

Contemplating what to do next, Prime reluctantly dispatched the still-wet-behind-the-ears [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]] to deal with the [[Stunticon]]s, who were trashing a power plant. The burning justice of [[Superion (G1)|Superion]] ensured his victory.

Prime and a small unit of Autobots then stormed the Decepticon base to rescue their friends. As Hound, Toru and Jenny destroyed the Omega Whip and escaped, Prime and Megatron squared off yet again (with Megatron unleashing his seldomly seen [[energon mace]]). Megatron quickly gained the upper hand in battle...until [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] and ''every single Autobot soldier'' arrived as back-up. Megatron and the Decepticons immediately fled.

Toru and Jenny celebrated their success with a public display of affection. Curious, Optimus began to ask them embarrassing questions, swatting Toru in the bottom with his mighty robot finger. {{storylink|Full Throttle Scramble Power!}}
{{-}}

=====''The Stargate Battles''=====

[[Image:Stargatebattles_prime_cx_slice.jpg|left|thumb|225px|right]]

In the late 1990s, continued interaction between the Autobots and humankind led to a formal alliance being forged with the American government. Using technology supplied by the Autobots, the government funded the creation of "[[Warp Gate|The Trigger]]", a huge interstellar teleportation system, and Prime participated in a goodwill press conference to announce the creation of the Trigger to the world. Unfortunately, the Trigger soon became a target for the Decepticons, who had allied with a foreign power and used a human agent to gain access to the station. The Autobots were quick to repel the Decepticon attack, but only one member of the Trigger's crew survived. This man, [[Makoto (Stargate Battles)|Makoto]], offered to help the Autobots in any way that he could, and Prime told him that his kind of strength was what the Autobots needed the most. {{storylink|First Contact}}

[[Image:Stargatebattles_prime_megs.jpg|right|225px|thumb]]

Three months later, Optimus Prime helped [[Professor Adle]] test his new [[C-X]] drone, which were designed to resemble Prime himself, by sparring with the remote-controlled robot so that the Professor could gather data on its performance. In the midst of the test, however, the C-X ran amok (in actuality, it had been possessed by the time-tossed ghost of Starscream), and Prime was forced to crush it beneath his trailer and sever its head with his energon-axe to stop it. The grisly scene did little to dissuade the mass of anti-Transformer protestors that had sprung up in recent months, but Prime attempted to placate the crowd by telling them that he did not ''want'' the power he wielded—he ''needed'' it, in order to protect those that could not protect themselves. {{storylink|Divided Views}}

When the Decepticons terrorized Japan with a series of powerful earthquakes, Optimus Prime confronted Megatron amdist the chaos caused by the most powerful tremor yet. The battle ended when a blast from Megatron's fusion cannon sent Prime plummetting to the depths of the ocean, apparently destroyed. {{storylink|Activation}} Subsequently, Starscream's ghost fused with the rebuilt Trigger in an attempted coup, and it was during the monumental space battle that resulted that Prime returned from his seeming demise, borne into space on [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]]'s back. After saving Makoto's escape pod from burning up in re-entry, Prime was forced to join when Megatron to defeat the greater threat posed by Starscream, channelling the power of the Matrix through gun-mode Megatron to destroy Starscream and the Trigger in one mighty blast. The Transformers were all caught in the backwash of the explosion, and their flaming bodies were sent tumbling back down to Earth. Although they were not heard from again for many months, Prime and Megatron survived the experience, and their war continued. {{storylink|The Stargate Battles (issue)|The Stargate Battles}}
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=====''Binaltech''=====
In 2003, the Decepticons attacked the Autobots on Earth with a plague of [[Cosmic Rust (disease)|Cosmic Rust]], leaving many of them injured. Consequently, Earth was all but defenseless when Megatron made his big push to fully take over Cybertron in 2004, and Optimus Prime found that he could not spare any troops currently fighting by his side on the Transformers' home planet to send to Earth. To resolve this situation, the Autobots on Earth worked closely with the governments of the world and various car companies on the Binaltech Project, creating advanced new "Binaltech" bodies for the various Autobot warriors damaged by the Cosmic Rust.

In the midst of the Binaltech conflict, the time-travelling [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] attempted to alter history by using the [[Kronosphere]] to teleport Megatron and the Decepticon armada outside of time during a turning-point battle with Prime and the Autobots. This left the Autobots to face the looming threat of [[Unicron]] alone, but as Prime and Ultra Magnus coordinated a last-chance attack against the chaos bringer, Prime dispatched [[Skids (G1)|Skids]] into the past to undo the change made to the timeline. Although Skids was successful in his mission, and the original timeline was restored, the intervention of a mysterious time-travelling entity known as "[[Optimus Primal|the Protector]]" led to the altered, "Binal-Time" timeline also being preserved, as an alternate universe. This, the Protector attested, was due to the fact that the existence of the Binaltech warriors was necessary to preserve the future from which he came.

Unfortunately, this meant that the Autobots of this parallel timeline still had to deal with Unicron, and during the final showdown with the chaos-bringer, Optimus Prime was badly injured. Fearing that he would die, he passed the Matrix to Ultra Magnus, who used it to destroy Unicron, but as chance would have it, Prime recovered from his injuries and resumed leadership. Under the Protector's direction, the Autobots began conducting experiments that would ultimately lead to the future the Protector spoke of, where Transformers would evolve into multiversal-spanning abstract entities known as the "[[Alternity (species)|Alternity]]". When the Protector's spark was stolen by the new Decepticon leader—an evil clone of Optimus known as [[Nemesis Prime (G1)|Nemesis Prime]]—Prime engaged his evil doppelganger in battle in Australia. During the fight, the Protector's spark fused with Prime—an experience that Prime found [[Optimal Situation|strangely familiar]]—giving him the power to destroy Nemesis Prime.

=====''Robot Masters''=====
[[Image:Robotmasters_four_great_commanders.jpg|left|thumb|275px]]

Also in 2004, the Scramble City project was expanded through the use of the newly-discovered element [[Solitarium]] to involve the construction of a fully-fledged Autobot City on Earth. This coincided with the opening of a dimensional fissure known as the [[Blasty Zone]], which transported the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] through time to the present day. This "Beast Megatron" seized control of the Decepticons, left leaderless by the mysterious absence of the original Megatron, and went up against Optimus Prime and the Autobots for control of the world's solitarium. Uniting with a team of Autobot and Maximal leaders from throughout time and space who also came through the Blasty Zone, Optimus Prime gained the power of an [[Energon Matrix]] and eventually returned all the Transformers to their home time.

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{{note|''Robot Masters'' is explicitly placed in the Japanese cartoon continuity by [[Generation 1 cartoon timeline (Japan)|Takara's 2007 Transformers timeline]]. However, none of the three pieces of actual ''Robot Masters'' fiction tells the story of the line in its entirety, and each of them relate certain events in notably different ways. Precisely ''which'' of the three—covered individually below—should be considered the [[canon]] one for the cartoon timeline is unknown.}}

======Pack-in comic======

[[Image:Starsaber robotmasters minicomic.jpg|right|thumb|225px]]

When a creature that seemed to be a ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' appeared just outside Autobot City, Optimus Prime and Mirage investigated, and were shocked when the dinosaur transformed into a robot mode and introduced itself as "Beast Megatron". Almost immediately, [[Optimus Primal]] appeared through the Blasty Zone, and he and Optimus Prime charged into battle against Megatron side-by-side. {{storylink|The New Battle Begins!}}

Later, the two Optimuses found themselves in battle against the huge Decepticon warrior, [[Gigant Bomb]], but were unable to hurt him because he had supercharged his armor with Solitarium. The two heroes were flattened by a powerful punch from Gigant Bomb, at which point [[Star Saber (Victory)|Star Saber]] and [[Victory Leo]] appeared to join the fray. The two future heroes merged into Victory Saber and defeated Gigant Bomb, after which Prime and Primal welcomed him to the fold. {{storylink|The Victory Warriors Enter!!}}

======Online comic======

When a mysterious purple dinosaur led the Decepticons in an attack against the Autobots, Optimus Prime demanded to know the identity of the foe he was facing. The creature transformed into robot mode and introduced itself as "Beast Megatron", but Prime did not falter, and bombarded the new villain with heavy fire. Declaring Prime to be "quite the monkey", Megatron announced that the battle had merely served as a introduction, and promptly departed. {{storylink|Robot Masters (online comic)|Robot Masters online comic #1}}

Optimus Prime, Optimus Primal and [[Road Rocket (G2)|Road Rocket]] were later exploring a large crevase filled with Solitarium when they were attacked by Megatron and [[Sideways (RID)|Sideways]]. The two villains detonated the crystals around the Autobots, and while Primal was able to shield them with a huge slab of rock, they were unable to stop the Decepticons escaping with a huge load of Solitarium. {{storylink|Robot Masters (online comic)|Must Defend the Solitarium!}}

[[Image:Robotmasters_prime_vs_megses.jpg|left|thumb|300px]]

When new arrival [[Lio Convoy]] was tricked into battling Victory Saber by Megatron, it was Optimus Prime who got between the two combatants and convinced Lio Convoy that they were all on the same side by revealing his Energon Matrix, which glowed in tandem with Lio Convoy's own. The four great commanders teamed up to dispose of the Decepticons lurking nearby, and then they all welcome Lio Convoy to the team. {{storylink|Robot Masters (online comic)|Gathering, 4 Great Supreme Commanders}}

Discovering an unconsious robot outside Autobot City, Prime and the Autobots brought the enigmatic newcomer inside for medical attention. The robot introduced himself as [[Reverse Convoy]] of the planet [[Vehicon (planet)|Vehicon]]. {{storylink|Robot Masters (online comic)|Strategic Meeting: The Mysterious New Warrior}} Before long, however, Prime's goodwill proved to be misplaced when "Reverse Convoy" captured him, Mirage and Optimus Primal, and revealed himself to actually be the original Megatron, inhabiting Reverse Convoy's body by means of his black hole interlink system. Although the Autobots were saved from the clutches of "Rebirth Megatron" by Victory Saber and Lio Convoy, Prime's greatest enemy had returned. {{storylink|Robot Masters (online comic)|Revive, Dark Emperor of Destruction}}

Prime led Primal, Victory Saber and Lio Convoy in a mighty battle against the two Megatrons, Starscream, Skywarp and Thundercracker, during which he had much of his right forearm torn off by Beast Megatron. As both Megatron rushed the injured Prime, he summoned his energon-axe to take the place of his lost fist and slashed the two Decepticons, claiming victory. {{storylink|Robot Masters (online comic)|Robot Masters online comic #13}}
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======Cartoon======

:''Voice actor:'' ? (Japanese)

[[Image:Robomasters g1convoy.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Check out my taint!]]

Optimus Prime sped into action to help Victory Saber in battle against Starscream and [[Wingstun]], blasting Wingstun with a sneaky shot from below. Prime then transformed into robot mode and opened fire on Starscream, but was shocked when the plummetting form of the Air Commander was snatched out of the sky by a ''tyrannosaurus rex''. Transforming to robot mode, the dinosaur introduced himself as "Beast Megatron", and revealed that he came from a different dimension, causing Optimus Prime to fear for the integrity of the space-time continuum. Before he could fret any more on the subject, Prime came under attack from Gigant Bomb and [[Smokesniper]], but quickly took refuge in a nearly canyon while Victory Saber handled the twin troublemakers. Prime then engaged Megatron in battle, but was quickly laid low by the newcomer, who called for Gigant Bomb and Smokesniper to finish him off. Instead, however, another strange new Transformer descended from the sky: Optimus Primal! Following Primal's lead, Prime united his energy with Primal's own, and together, they created the powerful "Double Convoy Tornado", which sent Megatron flying. In the aftermath of the battle, Prime thanked Primal for his help, and told him that they would definitely need his power when the Decepticons next attacked. {{storylink|Fight! The Group of the Strongest Commanders!}}

Beast Megatron would not relent, and eventually discovered a massive deposit of solitarium beneath [[New York City]]. The Decepticons razed the city in search of the element until Prime and his forces arrived to save the day, this time aided by Lio Convoy and the enigmatic Reverse Convoy. Prime battled Gigant Bomb, Smoke Sniper and Megatron once more, with a little extra firepower courtesy of Victory Saber's V-Lock Cannon, and things were going smoothly until Reverse Convoy revealed himself to actually be the ''real'' Megatron in disguise. Now going by the name Rebirth Megatron, Prime's nemesis teamed with Beast Megatron to conquer their mutual foes. Again, Prime and Primal united their power in the Double Convoy Tornado, but the Megatrons countered it with a tornado of their own. It seemed that the Decepticons' power would overcome the heroes, until Lio Convoy added his energy to the mix, becoming a shining "Lio Typhoon Arrow" that took down the two Megatrons. While the battle was over, however, the war raged on... {{storylink|The Lio Convoy Typhoon Enters (episode)|The Lio Convoy Typhoon Enters}}

=====''15 Go! Go!''=====
[[Image:TGGStarConvoy.jpg|right|180px|thumb|"Hot Rod?! Did you shrink in the wash?"]]
[[Image:TGGLaserPrime.jpg|left|180px|thumb|"How do you think I'd look in black?"]]
Shortly before the [[Battle of Autobot City]] in 2005, an unknown saboteur badly damaged [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]]'s databanks. Optimus Prime notified his Autobots of the attack and issued a command that the information be recovered as soon as possible. "[[Ravage (G1)|Black Panther Man]]", stationed on the artificial Earth satellite [[Nana]], volunteered for the important task and assigned [[Teletraan 15]] to the case.

Teletraan 15 proceeded to travel through time and space on her mission, and encountered future incarnation of Optimus Prime on several occasions. First, she travelled into the future, where [[Micromaster]] [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] saved her from a [[Novaroid]]. As Dark Nova and Ultra Megatron prepared to merge, Prime, in his "Star Convoy" form, arrived and asked Hot Rod to aid him in the coming fight. But before they could start the battle, an interruption came from an unexpected source: [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] emerged from a [[Transwarp]] portal and attacked!

On another mission even further into the future, Teletraan 15 and her companion [[Steeljaw (G1)|Steeljaw]] were aboard [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]] as he was attacked by the [[Decepticon]] jets [[Smokescreen (G2)|Smokescreen]] and [[Dreadwing (G2)|Dreadwing]] on his way to his commander. Fortunately for them, Optimus Prime—now in his [[Laser Rod]] body—appeared and severed Dreadwing's wing with a single mighty slash of his sword. Teletraan 15 thought that he looked sad and wondered if he had learned his sword skills during his [[Kiss Player]] days.
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=====''Kiss Players''=====
{{note|[[Kiss Players (franchise)|Kiss Players]] takes place between ''The Transformers: The Movie'' and the third season of the animated series. While there is no particularly large time-gap between these stories in American animated continuity, in Japan, since the third season was moved to 2010 but the movie remained set in 2005, there was a five-year milieu that made room for plenty of new stories to be told.}}

[[Image:Illust.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Optimus is the one on the left. With the dignity.]]

Following Optimus Prime's death in the Battle of Autobot City, Tokyo was devastated when [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] crash-landed on the city after being hurled out of Unicron's body by Rodimus Prime. The death and destruction that resulted caused a massive anti-Transformer sentiment to spring up, epitomized by the formation of the government organization known as the [[Earth Defense Command]], who forced any remaining Transformers on Earth off the planet. Dissatisfaction with the EDC's extreme actions resulted in the formation of an underground resistance group for whom the death of Optimus Prime was a rallying point. Among these commandoes was a young woman [[Marissa Faireborn]], who had been rescued by Optimus Prime back in 1996 when a mission that her [[Flint (G.I. Joe)|soldier father]] had been on had gone bad. Marissa had formed a great friendship with Prime in her childhood, and came to see him as a surrogate father figure, and perhaps a little bit more.

[[Image:Marissa convoy stack.jpg|right|150px|thumb|She prefers the Japanese version's longer stacks.]]
When Prime's corpse was covertly flown to Japan by the EDC, Marissa's commandos attacked the convoy transporting the Autobot leader's body. Believing that they had secured Prime's body, the commandos were taken by surprise and slaughtered by the [[Ne squad]] [[Kiss Player]] [[Ringo Chikuma|Ringo]] and her [[Autrooper]] partner, who burst out of the torso of the decoy Prime body that had been atop the flatbed truck. As the sole surviving member of the squad, Marissa discovered that the true body was being transported within Prime's own trailer nearby. Slicing the trailer open, she was too late to prevent an EDC Autrooper from partially fusing with Prime. Reflecting on her childhood memories of playing with the kindly Autobot leader, Marissa lovingly kissed his faceplate. In an explosion of energy that destroyed the trailer, the two [[ParasiTech|fused]] and Prime was reborn in a new, living body. The pair had become Kiss Players! {{storylink|Kiss Players issue 2|Kiss Players #2}}

As fugitives from the EDC, Prime and Marissa spent their days on the run and their nights hanging out at the beach. He longed for the day when he would be able to see her bathing in the sun, rather than the moonlight, although he also thought that all the soft-serve ice cream she was eating was making her a little fat. One night while Marissa was surfing, she had a squid latch onto her. Then a [[Legion]] that had infused itself with both an octopus and shipwreck attacked her. With tentacles. Prime fought it off and saved Marissa, but the EDC [[Autrooper]]s were soon dispatched to the scene, and the two had to beat a hasty retreat. {{storylink|List of Kiss Players radio drama episodes|Someday, Under the Sun}}

[[Image:PrimeKP.jpg|left|225px|thumb|"And THIS is for TRAILBREAKER, who DESERVED to have GOTTEN this MOLD INSTEAD!"]]
Over the months that followed, Prime and Marissa battled Legions, led Legions (due to the Galvatron-infused cells inside Prime's new body, which sometimes overcame him with nightmares about his old enemy Megatron), fled from Hot Rod, who believed Prime to be an impersonator of his dead commander, and both fought and fled from the EDC.

Finally, teaming up with Hot Rod and his Kiss Player partner [[Shaoshao Li]] (who had adored Marissa since childhood and hated Prime for "stealing" her friend's affections), and the EDC Kiss Player [[Atari Hitotonari]] with her Autrooper partner, Prime and Marissa entered the secret experimental facility beneath the Tokyo headquarters of the EDC and discovered the sinister truth behind the shadowy organization. Everything that had occurred was part of an attempt by EDC commander [[Hitoshizuku Amaō]] to resurrect her daughter, who had been killed in the 2005 catastrophe. Finding Galvatron's headless corpse imprisoned in the facility, the Kiss Players realized that the only way to repair things was to return the [[Unicron]]-created Decepticon's cells. Galvatron's body absorbed the Legions, the Autroopers, and the cells inside Prime and Hot Rod, who were returned to their former forms... which meant that Prime was once again dead. {{storylink|List of Kiss Players radio drama episodes|You, I, and the Spinning Earth}}

Marissa did get a few chances to see her friend again—in 2007, she and her friends were transported back through time to 1984 where they witnessed Prime's battle with Megatron atop [[Sherman Dam]], {{storylink|List of Kiss Players radio drama episodes|Kiss Players radio play #40}} and then later, ''forward'' in time, to 2010, where Prime (and [[Bumblebee (G1)|Goldbug]]) helped her once more by rescuing her and her friends from the [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticon]] pit on [[Quintessa]]. {{storylink|List of Kiss Players radio drama episodes|Tokyo Toy Festival 2007 live script-reading}}
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=====''The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers''=====

[[Image:2010_manga_primes.jpg|right|thumb|275px|And eat your greens or no dessert!]]

After boarding a Decepticon spaceship, [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus Prime]] became trapped by the schemeing Galvatron. Galvatron quickly bested him in combat and Rodimus, badly injured, was ready to give up. Lucky for him, the spirit of Optimus Prime reached out to him from within the Matrix and encouraged him to get up and keep fighting. Inspired by his predecessor, Rodimus Prime outwitted Galvatron, escaped and destroyed their spaceship. {{storylink|The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers issue 1|The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers #1}}

When the Quintessons reactivated Optimus Prime as a rampaging zombie {{storylink|Dark Awakening}}, they made it a point to copy his schematics while they had the opportunity. Teaming with the Decepticons, they then obtained the schematics of Megatron. Combining the best aspects of both, they created the Colossal Cannon Soldier [[Guiltaur]]. {{storylink|Transformers 2010 (story page)|Transformers 2010 Part 4}}

Guiltaur was then unleashed upon Rodimus Prime and, eventually, Galvatron. The two enemies teamed up and defeated the powerful warrior, with Rodimus swearing to do it in the name of Optimus Prime's honor. With Guiltaur destroyed, it was revealed the behemoth had been controled by the ghost of [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] all along. {{storylink|The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers issue 4|Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers #4}}

=====''The Great Transformer War''=====

Following his resurrection, in the year 2011, Optimus Prime and [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] engaged in a battle against [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] and the Decepticons in deep space. Galvatron fled the battle, leaving Hot Rod to request pursuit. Optimus told him not to, and instead to regroup back at [[Athenia]], as he suspected the Decepticons had a much greater scheme in mind. Indeed, Optimus was correct, as Galvatron was preparing for his full-blown invasion of planet [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. {{storylink|The Great Transformer War issue 3|The Great Transformer War #3}}

=====''The Headmasters'' cartoon=====

[[Image:Headmasters_prime_death.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Rodimus finally receives his Nemesis Prime RealDoll.]]

One year after Prime's resurrection, in 2011, the Autobots had entered into an even closer relationship with Earth and began the colonization of other worlds, the first of which was the planet [[Athenia]], where Optimus Prime was stationed. It soon became apparent, however, that when Prime had released the energy of the Matrix to cure the Hate Plague, the consequences were more far-reaching than he had anticipated—without the energy of the Matrix to act as a balancing factor, [[Vector Sigma]] had become destabilized, and the Decepticons suddenly returned to exploit this, assaulting Cybertron in order to seize control of the mega-computer. {{storylink|Four Warriors Come out of the Sky}} Prime took a squad of troops to aid in the battle on the planet, and when the arrival of the Autobot [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmasters]] tipped the battle in their favor, Prime broke off from the main attack and headed down into the depths of the planet, planning on stabilizing Vector Sigma at any cost. {{storylink|The Mystery of Planet Master}}

Guided through the dangers of the planet's catacombs by the spirit of Alpha Trion while the other Autobots searched for the Matrix on Earth, Prime eventually arrived at the computer, only to find his way barred by [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] and [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]]. Hot Rod then arrived with the Matrix, with which Alpha Trion merged, re-energizing it and transforming Hot Rod back into Rodimus Prime; for the first time, the two Primes fought side-by-side and defeated Galvatron. Before Rodimus could implement the Matrix to stabilize Vector Sigma, however, Optimus Prime sacrificed himself to perform the task, merging with the computer and restoring its balance to save the planet. {{storylink|Birth of the Fantastic Double Prime}}

=====''Super-God Masterforce'' cartoon=====

[[Image:Ginrai_1stapp.jpg|thumb|right|"Well tonight, Matthew, I'm going to be..."]]

Once they had defeated the Decepticons, the Autobots had planned to somehow resurrect their fallen leader, using the technology developed on the planet [[Master (Headmasters)|Master]] to give him a new body. However, shortly after it had been built, the [[Transtector]] intended for Optimus was among those stolen by the self-proclaimed "Decepticon god" [[Devil Z]]. It was then hidden on Earth where it was eventually found by, and [[Godmaster|bonded with]], a human named [[Ginrai]]. {{storylink|You Too Use the Masterforce to Transform|Shūta and Grand's Masterforce Super Secrets}} The Transtector later gained sentience of its own, which meant that it ultimately could not be used for its intended purpose. {{storylink|A Battle... and Then...}} The Autobots didn't bother to build another one.

=====''Victory'' cartoon=====

Occupying the body of Optimus Prime comes with [[the many deaths of Optimus Prime|its drawbacks]], and it seems that even if the bot in question doesn't actually happen to be Prime, it doesn't mean they should be an exception. After a scuffle with the Decepticons' new [[Emperor of Destruction]] [[Deathsaurus]], the sentient Transtector Ginrai accepted his fate and [[death|bought the energon farm]]. {{storylink|Ginrai Dies!!}} Quick to act, the Autobots built him a fresh new body, and Ginrai was reborn as [[Victory Leo]]. {{storylink|Fight!! Victory Leo}} They still didn't bother to build another body for Optimus, though. By then, they'd already moved on and found [[Star Saber (Victory)|someone new]] to settle down with.

=====''The Battlestars'' story pages and comic=====
[[Image:PrimeZodiak.jpg|left|thumb|''You got the--'' No, hang on... Nevermind.]]

Over 15 years after his merging with Vector Sigma, Optimus Prime's lifeless body was spirited away in a sinister plot to destroy the Autobots by [[Dark Nova]], the big bad guy du jour. Nova duplicated Prime's body, using the copy to create the evil [[False Convoy]]. {{storylink|The Battlestars (story page)|The Battlestars story page #3}} The elite Autobot team, the [[Battlestars]], defeated False Convoy and retrieved the real Prime's body from Planet [[Lucifer]], and then used the mysterious energy source known as the [[Zodiac]] to restore Prime to life. Transformed into '''Star Convoy''', Prime was also reunited with [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]], who became his [[Micromaster]] partner. {{storylink|The Battlestars (story page)|The Battlestars story page #4}}

[[Image:Starconvoy magami.jpg|right|thumb|"Occasionally you meet a nice one—Star Convoy, E.T. ... but usually they just turn out to be some kind of big lizard!"]]

After Star Convoy and [[Sixliner]] defeated a swarm of Dark Nova's [[Novaroid|Great Novaroid]] drone warriors, {{storylink|The Battlestars (story page)|The Battlestars story page #5}} the mysterious creature decided to resurrect Prime's oldest nemesis, and plucked [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] from the icy grave he had been cast into years beforehand by the Autobot Headmasters, recreating him as [[Megatron (G1)|Super Megatron]]. {{storylink|The Battlestars (story page)|The Battlestars story page #6}} The two old foes clashed in battle at the North Pole, with Star Convoy emerging victorious {{storylink|The Battlestars}} but Super Megatron soon returned with an army of [[Galaman|Great Galaman]] drones to back him up. {{storylink|The Battlestars (story page)|The Battlestars story page #7}} Defeated by the "[[Triple Combination Battlestar Attack]]" that combined all the power of Star Convoy, [[Sky Garry (G1)|Sky Garry]] and [[Grandus (ROC)|Grandus]], Super Megatron was again upgraded by Dark Nova into Ultra Megatron. Star Convoy and the Battlestars met him in battle once again, and again, they claimed victory. {{storylink|The Battlestars (story page)|The Battlestars story page #8}}

His pawn having failed him, Dark Nova absorbed Ultra Megatron into his body, transforming them both into the gargantuan "Star Giant". {{storylink|The Battlestars (story page)|The Battlestars story page #9}} Star Giant proved to be virtually indestructible from the outside until Star Convoy got the bright idea of giving the villain [[Furmanism|the worst case of indigestion he'd ever had]]. Holding Star Giant's massive mouth open, he ordered Sky Garry and Grandus to move in. After all three were swallowed, they began taking Star Giant down from the inside while simultaneously fighting off his various defensive systems. As soon as the trio escaped from Star Giant's interior, the monster exploded, leaving only his head slightly intact. As it happens, Megatron was housed inside Star Giant's noggin and survived the attack. {{storylink|The Battlestars (story page)|The Battlestars story page #10}}

=====Nucleon Quest Convoy bio=====
Following the defeat of Star Giant, the restoration of Cybertron (following its devastation in 2011) began, but the planet was in the throes of a chronic energy shortage. In order to re-energize the struggling planet, Optimus Prime upgraded himself into a Powermaster by fusing with the Nebulan scientist Hi-Q. Protecting his body with a Phase Modulation Shield, Prime ventured into a black hole to obtain the super-energy Nucleon, which was used to restore Cybertron to its former glory.
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=====''G-2'' story pages and pack-in comic=====
[[Image:BlasterG2.jpg|left|thumb|The alliance would have lasted if they'd gotten more than one chair.]]
With Cybertron restored, Optimus Prime upgraded himself into a new [[Action Master]] body. Megatron eventually recovered from his defeat and with his sanity circuit fully restored at last, joined with Prime to form the [[Cybertron Alliance]]. Things were good for a little while, as Megatron's attempts at peace were genuinely sincere, and the alliance ushered in what would be called the Second Generation of the Transformers. However, after human soldiers killed one of his dearest comrades, Megatron adopted a new tank body and started the war anew, believing he could bring a more stable peace to the galaxy by ruling it with an iron fist. {{storylink|G-2 (story page)|Autobots vs. Decepticons: Combat Secrets }}

To counter Megatron, Optimus Prime upgraded his body into a new Missile Trailer mode. Rallying a new wave of Autobot warriors, Optimus diligently repelled Megatron and the Decepticons. In one early encounter, Prime managed to rescue [[Electro]] and [[Volt]] from Megatron by firing his "Matrix Saturn" attack. He immediately recommended that Megatron and all his Decepticons leave the area at once. {{storylink|G-2 (pack-in comic)|G-2 #1}} Megatron, of course, refused, and continued his attack. Prime, Electro and Volt combined their firepower, leaving Megatron in a smoke-filled crater. As Electro moved in to administer the killing blow, Megatron emerged from the smoke unscathed, effortlessly plucking Electro up by his head. {{storylink|G-2 (pack-in comic)|G-2 #2}} Against Prime's orders, Volt immediately rushed Megatron from behind to free his captured friend. {{storylink|G-2 (pack-in comic)|G-2 #4}}

At one point, the secrecy of the Autobot field base became a priority, leaving Megatron to order warriors such as [[Jolt (G2)|Jolt]] to tail other Autobots and locate Prime. {{storylink|G-2 (pack-in comic)|G-2 #5}} Prime's location was eventually compromised when [[Skyjack]] slipped past all Autobot radar. Astonished at the Decepticon's stealth, Prime was unable to stop Skyjack from returning to Megatron with his location. {{storylink|G-2 (pack-in comic)|G-2 #7}} Meanwhile, [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]], [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] and [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] began to study the [[Matrix of Leadership]] and discovered a new property within it called the [[Reconfiguration Matrix]] which could grant Autobots new powers. {{storylink|G-2 (story page)|Optimus Prime of the Autobots has Fallen!}}

[[Image:G2PrimeJustice.jpg|right|thumb|"SHALOM!"]]

Prime and Megatron eventually met to do battle, with Prime coming out on top as Megatron slowly ran low on fuel. Prime offered Megatron one last chance to surrender, but was caught off-guard by [[Hooligan (G2)|Hooligan]], who blasted him in the back with his missile attack, destroying Prime's back-mounted weaponry unit. {{storylink|G-2 (pack-in comic)|G-2 #9}} Megatron then ordered [[Dreadwing (G2)|Dreadwing]] and [[Smokescreen (G2)|Smokescreen]] to swoop in and finish Prime off before he could recover. The pair of Decepticons proceeded to bomb Prime mercilessly before turning him over to Megatron for the kill. {{storylink|G-2 (pack-in comic)|G-2 #10}} With a surprising lack of satisfaction, Megatron blasted Prime to pieces, killing his ancient foe at last. Victorious, Megatron offered Prime a final prayer, only to be interrupted by...Prime! The essences of the previous Autobot Supreme Commanders within the Matrix of Leadership activated the Reconfiguration Matrix to forge him a new body. Optimus Prime became '''Battle Convoy''' and easily trumped Megatron's power. {{storylink|G-2 (pack-in comic)|G-2 #13}} {{storylink|G-2 (story page)|Birth of the New Supreme Commander Battle Convoy!}}

Prime and Megatron then agreed to a one-on-one duel following the "Law of Cybertron": total banishment to the defeated and his forces. After a lengthy and painful battle, Prime narrowly managed to best Megatron, forcing him and the Decepticons to retreat into deep space. Prime was last seen wounded, being aided off the battlefield by Volt and Electro. {{storylink|G-2 (story page)|The Autobots Triumph in the Battle of Good Vs. Evil!}}
{{-}}

=====e-Hobby ''Generation 2'' storyline=====

[[Image:Black_hybrid_prime_manga.jpg|left|thumb]]

When the universe came under threat from an [[Galvatron II|alternate-reality incarnation of Galvatron]], Prime used his [[Reconfiguration Matrix|Reconfiguration Matrix]] to once again transform his body into a form resembling his original. Armed with powerful solar-powered missile launchers created by the Decepticons that were so energy-consumptive that Prime required a sunlight-absorbing [[wikipedia:Black_body|black body]] coating to operate them at full power, Prime put his new body to use rescuing Laser Ultra Magnus from Galvatron's clutches. {{storylink|Hybrid Style Convoy Black Version}}
{{-}}

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

Optimus Prime is a "metallic nemesis". Megatron said so.

{{charstubfiction}}

===Big Looker Story Books===
[[Image:KidsPrime1.jpg|right|150px|thumb|And the fluffy kitten played with that yarn all gosh-darn night.]]

When a 2-part race was being held with a massive supply of oil and gasoline as the prize, both the Decepticons and the Autobots badly wanted to win it. Megatron entered the race by hiding himself inside a hollowed-out car and harassed [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] all throughout the contest. When Prime discovered the car was being driven by his arch foe, he swiftly pulled a telephone pole out from the ground and used it to bash the mortal hell out of the cheating Decepticon. Thanks to Prime's violent intervention, Cliffjumper was able to win the race. Afterward, Optimus Prime celebrated the Minibot's victory with a gargantuan smile as all the Decepticons starved to death. {{storylink|The Great Car Rally}}

{{charstubfiction}}
{{-}}
===Ladybird Books continuity===
{{storylink|Autobots' Lightning Strike}} {{storylink|Megatron's Fight for Power}} {{storylink|Autobots Fight Back}} {{storylink|Laserbeak's Fury}} {{storylink|Autobot Hostage}} {{storylink|Decepticons Underground}}
{{charstubfiction}}

===''Transformer PD Type'' comic===

[[Image:PDtype-Matrixattack.jpg|left|thumb|250px|This is the highlight of this entire page.]]

When a horde of time-displaced Decepticons joined forces to hunt down the five [[Blackball]]s, a super energy source, Optimus Prime gathered a team of time-displaced Autobots to help stop them.

In one encounter with his arch-foe [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]], they reenacted their epic struggle from the [[Battle of Autobot City]]. However, this time around, Prime avoided dying by launching his "Matrix Attack"...''literally'' launching the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]] from his chest, bonking Megatron on the head. {{storylink|Transformer PD Type|You're Great! Optimus Prime!}}

Later, Optimus Prime and [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] concocted a cunning strategy. They disguised a round, black cartoon explosive as a Blackball and gave it to [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]]. Starscream promptly brought it to Megatron, where it blew both of them up. Optimus and Magnus were astounded their plan actually worked. {{storylink|Transformer PD Type|Don't Cry! Megatron!!}}

In one of his less impressive moments, after running out of ammo during a battle with [[Deathsaurus]], Optimus Prime ordered his fellow Autobots to improvise and hurl everything that wasn't nailed down at their enemy. This included the Blackball, unfortunately. Catching it, Deathsaurus began to fantasize about his inevitable galactic conquest, all the while being pelted with rocks and litter. Frustrated, Deathsaurus accidentilly hurled the Blackball back to the Autobots in a fit of rage. {{storylink|Transformer PD Type|Good Job! Deathsaurus!!}}
{{-}}

===''Comic Bom Bom G-2'' comic===
[[Image:G2Hero.jpg|right|200px|thumb|GAH, HE'S LOOKING AT ME!]]
In the year 199X, the Decepticons had learned of a powerful new energy source known as [[forestonite]] which just happened to be located (surprise surprise) on [[Earth]]. Megatron sent his trio of [[Cyberjet]]s to Earth first to draw out the enemy Autobots. The Cyberjets made quick work of [[Electro]] but were soon halted by the appearance of Optimus Prime.

Megatron then entered the fray and fired his Black Hole Burn attack from his fusion cannon, narrowly missing Optimus Prime but vaporizing [[Hooligan (G2)|Hooligan]] in the process. Prime fought fiercely but Megatron began to take the upper-hand in battle.

However, Prime was encouraged to keep fighting by the cheers of a human boy named [[Junpei]]. Megatron, surprised at Prime's resilience, attempted to finish his foe off with his Tornado Axe attack. Prime countered with his Double Wheel-Torque Mega-Ton, which trumped Megatron's attack and injured the Decepticon badly. Megatron teleported back to his ship and left Earth's atmosphere, vowing to return.

Optimus Prime addressed Junpei, asking if the boy was injured. Junpei revealed he was alright but presented concern about the Decepticons returning to Earth. Optimus Prime swore that the Autobots would remain on Earth until the threat of the Decepticons was finished and asked for Junpei's help in making that future a reality. {{storylink|The New Battle!!}}

===''Beast Wars'' cartoon continuity===
====''Beast Wars'' cartoon====
[[Image:G1Prime BWMegs.jpg|left|180px|thumb|You have to get up preeeeetty early in the timestream to beat Optimus Prime!]]

The [[Beast Wars (event)|Beast Wars]] raged on prehistoric Earth, eventually leading to the discovery of the buried Ark sometime after its crash on prehistoric Earth. [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]], following his namesake's instructions in a desperate gambit, decided to attempt to change history by killing Prime, who was still lying in the Ark in [[stasis lock]]. Megatron hoped that this would result in the Decepticons winning the Great War and eventually [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] control of Cybertron. Megatron unleashed a full-power weapon blast at Optimus Prime's face, near-fatally injuring him. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part III)}} However, [[Optimus Primal]] proceeded to take Prime's spark into his body to protect it from surgical trauma while his injuries were repaired. The subsequent power increase caused by Prime's spark's connection to the Matrix mutated Primal into a large, [[Transmetal]] "Optimal Optimus" form. Then, with the repairs complete, Prime's spark was restored, and he briefly activated before sinking back into normal stasis. {{storylink|Optimal Situation}}

Sometime after the Autobots and Decepticons awoke in the 1980s, the original Megatron gained access to one of Earth's ''Voyager'' spacecraft and inscribed a message on the [[Golden Disk (Voyager)|disk]] on board. In the event that he lost the War, Megatron left instructions for the descendants of the Decepticons to use [[transwarp]] technology to travel to Prehistoric Earth, locate the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]], and change history by killing Optimus Prime. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part 2)}}

====''Beast Machines'' cartoon====
[[Image:Sparkwar2_Optimus_hologram_primal.jpg|right|200px|thumb|]]
:''Voice actor'': [[Garry Chalk]] (English), [[Tilo Schmitz]] (German)

An enormous statue of Optimus Prime, bearing two [[Golden Disk (disambiguation)|Golden Disks]], could be seen on Cybertron in front of the Hall of Archives. The statue was subsequently blown to pieces by the [[Vehicon (BM)|Vehicon forces]]. {{storylink|Fires of the Past}} Later, Megatron beamed a hologram of Optimus Prime down to the ruins of [[Iacon]] to confront [[Optimus Primal]]. Primal mistook the hologram for the real thing and shared with it the code for the [[Oracle (BM)|Oracle]]. Megatron quickly revealed his ruse. Primal explained to his Maximals that he knew the image was fake, but he needed the location of the missing [[spark]]s from Megatron's mind. {{storylink|Sparkwar Pt. II: The Search}}

{{note|Writer [[Bob Skir]] claims that neither the statue nor the golden disks in its hands were mentioned in the script. However, he suggested that they were either the [[Golden Disk (Voyager)|disks]] from the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 probes, or that Optimus won them in the 2,395,989th Annual Cybertronian spelling bee.<ref>[http://bigbot.com/beast-machines-transformers-bob-skir/Beast-Machines-FAQ/Tue_12_Oct_1999.html Q&A from Bigbot's "bobskir.com"]</ref> We're betting on the latter.}}

====''Universe: Primeval Dawn''====
[[Image:Sparkholderprimevaldawn.jpg|left|190px|thumb|"Oh, I also have this in me now, too."]]
The Vok took the Matrix of Leadership from an unconscious Optimus Prime, used it to create [[Primal Prime]], then gave the Matrix to their new creation. {{storylink|Primeval Dawn Part 1}}

{{note|In the ''Beast Wars'' cartoon, Prime's spark was shown to be contained in a Matrix-like vessel. In [[Universe (2003 comic)|Primeval Dawn]], that vessel was shown to be merely a container for his spark, and the actual Matrix was hidden underneath.}}
{{-}}

===''Beast Wars Metals'' comic===
[[Image:CheetasManga1.jpg|right|100px|thumb|Cheetor, that's Prime's Spark, not a toy.]]
Optimus Prime was blasted into pieces by Dragon Megatron. Fortunately, his spark remained perfectly intact—in the remains of his [[Optimal Situation|Matrix-shaped spark chamber]]. Megatron was going to destroy Prime's spark, but [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] (now in his Transmetal body) saved it. Prime's spark was eventually swallowed by Optimus Primal, who was upgraded into Optimal Optimus by doing so.

After Megatron was killed by Optimal Optimus, Primal and his crew said it would be troublesome to fix Optimus Prime's body.
{{-}}

===Dreamwave comics continuity===
{{cleanup|April 2009|Needs general expansion and STORYLINKS TO INDIVIDUAL ISSUES. Links to the series are not acceptable.}}

[[Image:Optronix optimus.jpg|left|180px|thumb|What? OPTRONIX is evolving!]]
Optimus Prime started life as '''Optronix''' (Orion to his friends<ref>The [[Keepers Trilogy]] novels set in Dreamwave continuity</ref>), a data archivist. After taking note of a battle in which the Autobot leader [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime]] had been defeated by Megatron, he was summoned to the council of elders and informed that the Matrix had chosen him to be the next leader of the Autobots. He received the Matrix of Leadership shortly thereafter, gaining a powerful new body in the process, and almost arranged for the Autobot evacuation of Cybertron, intending to leave the Decepticons to their own devices, until a battle with Megatron beneath the planet's surface, accompanied by visions from the Matrix, stirred him on to fight for the safety of his homeworld. Some time into his role as leader, Prime disappeared in a [[space bridge]] explosion along with Megatron, but returned some time later, having spent a period of time on [[Quintessa]]. {{storylink|The War Within}}

Following the awakening of the Transformers on Earth, the Autobots protected the planet from the Decepticons. Over the next fifteen years, the Autobots befriended the humans, particularly the [[Witwicky|Witwicky family]]. The Autobots finally allied with humankind and eventually defeated the Decepticons at the turn of the century. They planned to return to Cybertron aboard the newly constructed ''[[Ark II]]'', along with seven humans, including Witwicky patriarch [[Sparkplug Witwicky|Sparkplug]]. Before the ship departed, Prime gave a piece of the Matrix to [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]], Sparkplug's son and [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]]'s closest human friend. But the ship was destroyed as part of a military conspiracy to take control of the Transformers. However, a terrorist organization run by the enigmatic [[Lazarus]] was able to seize control of several of the Transformers that fell back to Earth, while the U.S. military located Prime's body. Spike was forced by the product chief, General [[Robert Hallo]], to use the piece of the Matrix to reactivate Prime. Functional again, Prime used the Matrix to reactivate more of his fallen comrades, and then faced off against Megatron in [[San Francisco]]. {{storylink|Prime Directive}}

Following this, Prime began to experience subconscious urgings, leading both the Autobots and the Decepticons to the Arctic Circle, where Shockwave arrived to greet them—and arrest them as war criminals. Shockwave had succeeded in ending the war on Cybertron, but Prime soon fell in with a rebel Autobot group that had discovered Shockwave had a greater agenda. Rallying Autobots across Cybertron to the cause, Prime faced Shockwave in battle but was defeated and had the Matrix ripped from him and used to activate Vector Sigma. Before Shockwave could make full use of the mega-computer's data, however, [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] arrived and bested him. The injuries Prime took in this conflict necessitated a prolonged restoration period in stasis. {{storylink|War and Peace}}

{{note|...which turned out to be the remainder of Dreamwave's existence. Bummer.}}

===''G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers''===
[[Image:GIJoevsTFcobraprime.jpg|right|275px|thumb|G.1. Joe-the real universal hero!]]

Several Autobots and Decepticons, including Optimus Prime, were reformatted into will-less war machines under the control of [[Cobra]]. During an initial attack on a human peace conference, Cobra's remote control of Optimus mysteriously failed. Later at Cobra's island headquarters in the Caribbean, Cobra scientists pulled Optimus apart to find out what was impeding their commands. As this analysis took place, Optimus reverse hacked into Cobra computers until they shut him down in a panic. Despite this, Prime sent a viral message out to hundreds of email addresses that included the coordinates of Cobra's base. The message was intercepted by [[G.I. Joe]] who teamed up with Wheeljack and Bumblebee. After Wheeljack broke the remote control over the Transformers, Prime went after [[Cobra Commander]]. More than a bit frightened of a giant robot gunning for him, the human released Megatron, who was trapped in gun model. Megatron transformed and fought Prime to a standstill until other Autobots came to back him up.

Although he was weak and low on [[Energon (fuel)|energon]], Prime made a last-ditch effort to save the day when he rammed through the wall of Megatron's energon-producing lab. After a quick recharge, Optimus single-handedly smashed the Decepticons, pounded Megatron to the ground, and ripped his [[fusion cannon]] off his arm. Prime then teamed up with the Joes and used Megatron's cannon to shoot down the [[SPS satellite]] that had gone rogue and was destroying the island.

With the battle over, Prime and the Autobots boarded a new ''[[Ark (G1)|Ark]]'' ship built by G.I. Joe and returned to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers}}

[[Image:GIJoevstfIIprime1930s.jpg|left|275px|thumb|War Convoy: TRANSFORM!!!]]
On a Cybertron dominated by [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] and the Decepticons, Optimus Prime and the Autobots took on the roles of resistance fighters. Cobra experimentation transported a contingent of Cobras and G.I. Joes to Cybertron and destabilized [[Teletran 3]]. The computer then sent several Transformers to [[Earth]] across different time periods. A team made up of Joes and Cobra agents were sent back and found Optimus Prime and the [[Stunticon]]s in 1930s-era Chicago, disguised as period cars and trucks. The Stunticons chased Prime and the Joes around the city until everything was wrapped up with bullets, a collapsed bridge and some dynamite.

After the Transformers and humans were returned to present-day Cybertron and the Decepticons were vanquished by the recently-arrived [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]], Prime made an agreement with the Joes to destroy the technology that started the whole mess in order to protect Earth. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II}}

On Cybertron, Optimus Prime kicked back to do a little bit of paperwork and reminisce. With Shockwave defeated, Cybertron was enjoying a new era of peace. He was interrupted by Hot Rod, who reported that a group of "pesky humans with their peashooters" were giving an Autobot team on Earth a hard time. Prime suspected Cobra's involvement and counseled Hot Rod not to be so dismissive of the humans.

Later, at a peace celebration, Prime was watching a procession of Autobots when Decepticons attacked. Optimus ordered Omega Supreme into action but the huge Autobot was quickly overcome by Menasor, Piranacon and Predaking. Prime hopped into the fray, saved a female Autobot from getting smushed by the falling Omega, rode a flying Decepticon into Piranacon's face, smashed another Decepticon into the ground, and carried a wounded Autobot out of danger.

[[Image:Primevsserpentor.jpg|right|175px|thumb|Serpent O.R. soon realized that "This I command!" doesn't work on Optimus Prime.]]
Menasor cut off Prime's escape and confronted him with a hologram of [[Serpentor|Serpent O.R.]] The new Decepticon leader carried Megatron's memories and information downloaded from Soundwave, from which he learned of the Matrix of Leadership. Serpent O.R. offered Optimus a trade: hostages and peace if he handed over the Matrix. Optimus agreed.

In his stronghold, Serpent O.R. questioned Prime about his own worthiness to carry the Matrix, but Optimus broke free of his chains and aggressively ordered him to surrender. A group of Decepticons broke in and nearly took Prime apart, but not before Serpent O.R. took the Matrix for himself and changed into the massive Serpentor Prime. The Matrix showed Serpentor Prime the error of his ways but as he was about to commit suicide Cobra Commander tripped a device and took over Serpentor Prime's body. Moments before he crushed Arcee, a severely damaged Optimus Prime threw Hawk toward the Matrix but warned the human not to touch the artifact. Hawk did so anyway and through a quasi-mystical transfer of power Serpentor Prime was vanquished.

Later repaired by a female nursebot, Optimus went back to finishing his paperwork. A leader's job is never done. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers: The Art of War}}

Sensing a new, yet old, danger to planet Earth, Prime elected to send himself to earth on an investigation, and gave Hot Rod a glare when the young Autobot accused his leader of taking an unnecessary risk to atone for the death of a close friend.

Optimus Prime landed in the Himalayan Mountains with G.I. Joes [[Flint (G.I. Joe)|Flint]] and [[Hawk (G.I. Joe)|Hawk]]. As they searched the area, the trio was attacked by [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]] in his [[Pretender]] shell. Prime whacked him with his [[energon-axe]] and in return Bludgeon bearhugged him and coated him in metal-eating slime. Hawk, still carrying power from the Matrix, helped Prime break free. Optimus then shot his way into the hidden kingdom of [[Cobra-La]].

While they wandered through the tunnels, the Joes and Prime found cave paintings that described the last visit to Earth by the planet-eating god [[Unicron]]. They were attacked again by Bludgeon and Cobra-La minions, but were led away by a ragged [[Joe Colton]], prisoner of Cobra-La for the last 25 years. Bludgeon managed to find them again and during a second battle Prime tore open the Pretender's shell, revealing Bludgeon's robot form inside. Bludgeon tripped and dangled dangerously over a chasm, but rather than let Optimus Prime save him, Bludgeon forced Prime to drop him to his death laughing all the way down.

The Joes discovered a cavern where the people of Cobra-La were growing metal-eating spores as a last defense against Unicron. Flint and [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] took a load of the spores into space just as Unicron appeared in Earth orbit. Prime, Hawk and Colton headed deeper into Cobra-La to rescue [[Firewall]] and kick butt. Prime was tackled and pinned by a giant bug creature, but made a dramatic recovery and tossed the bug aside. He then took the machine-hating Cobra-La leader [[Golobulus]] to task with a single punch. Flint and Cosmos released the spores, which devoured Unicron from the inside and defeated the giant Transformer before he could harm [[Earth]].

With the threat of Unicron gone, Prime relaxed with [[Eject]] and Firewall by watching some reality TV, and sighed at the banality. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers: Black Horizon}}

===''Transformers/G.I. Joe''===
{{charstubfiction}}
=== IDW comics continuity ===
{{ongoing}}

{{note|[[Megatron Origin]] depicted that before the war, a robot that's a hybrid of the "Orion Pax" and "Optronix" designs appears listening to [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime]]'s speech at the funeral of [[Bumper (G1)|Bumper]] and [[Fastback]]. He is standing with [[Elita One]], [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]], and a white version of himself (presumably [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]], possibly even [[Dion]]). Whether this is truly the [[IDW continuity]]'s version of pre-Prime Optimus or not remains unrevealed.}}

[[Image:SpotlightBlurr-Optimus.jpg|left|thumb|200px|There's something missing...]]

Galvanized by the death of Sentinel Prime, Optimus joined the Autobot forces under his successor [[Zeta Prime]], and was assigned to a unit commanded by the veteran [[Kup (G1)|Kup]]. During his tour of duty his unit intercepted a message reporting of a planned attempt on the Prime's life. He approached former racer [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] as a reliable means of getting the news to Zeta Prime in a hurry. The former celebrity balked, but ultimately the young soldier helped Blurr find what really drove him to race, and thus recruited him to the Autobot cause. {{storylink|Spotlight: Blurr}}

[[Image:IDWOptimus.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Freedom is the right of all sentient and heavily-armed beings.]]

An undisclosed amount of time later, Optimus would be chosen as the next Prime, and commanded the Autobot armed forces spread across the galaxy from the [[Autobot Orbital Command Hub]]. He was directly involved in the cataclysm ([[IDW timeline|just under 450 years ago]]) that reduced [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] to a dead husk, fighting alongside [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] in an attempt to stop [[Thunderwing (G1)|Thunderwing]]'s rampage. Their efforts were futile, and they only survived due to Cybertron itself swallowing Thunderwing at [[Thunderhead Pass]]. Megatron was unconvinced that Thunderwing was dead, and advocated that Cybertron be destroyed to better insure that the mad Decepticon was forever destroyed. Optimus Prime refused, and threatened to stop any effort that Megatron attempted. Megatron agreed to spare the planet, but warned Prime that anything which happened afterward was on his head.

In the present, Prime received a pulsewave from [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]], who was stationed under [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]]'s team on Earth, saying that the Decepticon infiltration cell under [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] had broken their infiltration methods and enacted [[Infiltration protocol|siege mode]] prematurely. Soon afterward, the Autobot science vessel ''[[Calabi-Yau]]'' sent a distress signal from above Thunderhead Pass, and he ordered the [[Wrecker]]s to withdraw from [[Varas Centralus]] and meet him on Cybertron. {{storylink|Stormbringer issue 2|Stormbringer #2}} Thunderwing had been restored by [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]] and his followers, and though the Wreckers made short work of them, the real fight would be met with Thunderwing. After the Wreckers, [[Predacon (G1)|Predacons]] and [[Centurion droid]]s were unable to destroy the monster, Prime took to the field, firing massive amounts of energy at Thunderwing, forcing it to exhaust its last reserves of [[Ultra-Energon]] and, ultimately, its life. {{storylink|Stormbringer issue 4|Stormbringer #4}}

[[Image:IDWPrime Earth.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Don't crush the cameraman!]]
[[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]] discovered information in Bludgeon's files about the mysterious new form of Energon found on [[Earth]]. Linking it to the pulsewave transmission from Ironhide, Prime diverted his spacecraft to Earth and called [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]] in to assist him. {{storylink|Spotlight: Nightbeat}}. Shortly after arrival, and having undergone alteration so that he could disguise himself as an Earth truck, he slowly began to realize how unusual the situation Prowl's unit had found itself in was. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 6|Infiltration #6}} Not only had the Decepticons broken their own infiltration protocols over what Starscream had dubbed [[Ultra-Energon|Ore-13]], but after attempting to recover what appeared to be [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]]'s remains, it was also evident that some of the planet's native sentient lifeforms—[[human]]s—posed a threat possibly equal to that of their old enemies. {{storylink|Escalation issue 2|Escalation #2}}

Optimus Prime, now fully filled-in on Earth's happenings, decided that they needed reinforcements. He called Nightbeat, [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]], and [[Hardhead (G1)|Hardhead]] to come when they could. When Prowl pointed out that Megatron, in his new gun-based Earth mode, was in the breakaway Soviet state of [[Brasnya]] stirring up trouble, Prime ordered them into action.

[[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] almost got the drop on Prime, but [[Roller]] was right behind him and took out Blitzwing with a single shot. Megatron returned to his full-size robot mode and disagreed with the quality of Prime's tea and crumpets. At last, the two rivals were going to go at it.

[[Image:Escalation5 Primedies enlightning.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Rule of thumb, Megs—if he don't turn gray, he's A-OK.]]
The fight went well at first, with Prime blowing Megatron's [[fusion cannon]] clean off. Megatron, however, tireless thanks to Ore-13, prevailed, almost beating Prime into [[stasis lock]]. {{storylink|Escalation issue 5|Escalation #5}}

However, Prime transferred his consciousness into his trailer, leading Megatron to believe him dead. Realizing that Ore-13 was the same as Ultra-Energon, Prime returned to his body in time to save his forces from the relentless Megatron, blasting him point blank in the face and dealing enough damage to the Decepticon leader to drain his power reserves, just as he did against Thunderwing. The victory was narrow, however, leaving Optimus with the daunting task of fending off an increasing enemy force without his last ace in the hole. {{storylink|Escalation issue 6|Escalation #6}}

This near-death experience had left Prime somewhat unsettled. While his consciousness was in [[infraspace]] downloading to his trailer, he sensed a presence of dread—the visage of his long-missing predecessor, [[Nova Prime]]. Looking for answers, Optimus Prime left Earth temporarily to seek an audience with [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] for answers. Once there, he found out about Nova's beliefs of how Transformers were a superior race and should remake the universe in their image, and faced down the rampaging [[Monstructor]], a legacy of Nova's tenure locked away by Omega Supreme. Then he gave his "you shouldn't have done that" speech to Omega, handed Monstructor's limbs over to Jetfire's team, and went on to have angst-ridden introspection about himself and the tarnished legacy of the [[Prime (rank)|Prime lineage]]. {{storylink|Spotlight: Optimus Prime}}

After returning to Earth, Nightbeat discovered that a human group was aware of the base's location and recommended to Prime that they move the ''[[Ark-19]]''. As preparations were underway, Prime received a message from [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] saying that Thunderwing had been stolen. [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]], eager to search for Sunstreaker, suggested that they be reassigned to Earth, and Prime agreed. However, the thrashing that Prime gave Megatron had so embarrassed the Decepticon leader that he ordered in the Decepticons' living weapon, [[Sixshot]]. While moving the ''Ark-19'', Prime and the others came under fire by Sixshot, who severely damaged their ship. {{storylink|Devastation issue 1|Devastation #1}}

[[Image:Devastation4 PrimeSixshot hyperbole.jpg|left|180px|thumb|"And THAT'S for killing my brother in another timeline!"]]
Ordering [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] to get [[Jimmy Pink]] and [[Verity Carlo]] to safety, Optimus then instructed Nightbeat to upload all of ''Ark-19''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s data to ''[[Ark-32]]'' and for Prowl to activate the self-destruct sequence. {{storylink|Devastation issue 2|Devastation #2}} When ''Ark-19'' exploded, it was assumed that Optimus was on board, but all was good at the end when he appeared with [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] and the others—ready to take on Sixshot. {{storylink|Devastation issue 3|Devastation #3}} Optimus and the Autobots held Sixshot at bay, but the U.S. military ordered an air strike to destroy the alien robots. The battle was a stalemate, as Sixshot had to return to the Decepticons while the Autobots [[orbital jump]]ed just in time to avoid destruction. {{storylink|Devastation issue 4|Devastation #4}} On ''Ark-32'', after a conversation with Jetfire, Prime informed Prowl that they needed to retrieve [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]], Hot Rod and Ironhide, and leave Earth to see to another crisis. The secure facility on [[Garrus-9]] had been breached, and Prime and company needed to make sure that some of the "recent inmates" there didn't end up "in enemy hands". {{storylink|Devastation issue 5|Devastation #5}} Before leaving Earth, Optimus Prime redirected Hound's unit to rendezvous with ''Ark-32'' at Garrus-9, and told Hound to impress upon Sideswipe the importance of their mission and how he didn't leave Earth or Sunstreaker behind lightly. {{storylink|Devastation issue 6|Devastation #6}}

[[Image:DarknessPrimes.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Think he can go one series without having a near-death experience?]]
Optimus Prime and Prowl met with [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] and Jetfire on Garrus-9 and discussed the prisoners' breakout, and that a surviving Decepticon had been tortured. Maximus and Jetfire gave each other a guilty glance. Prime left Maximus in charge and returned with Prowl to the ''Ark-32''. Meanwhile, [[Dead Universe]] resident [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] attacked Hound's crew, but they received help from Ultra Magnus and drove Cyclonus to escape to [[Corata-Vaz]]. There, he activated the [[Nega-Core]] and fought with Magnus and Hound's crew, whom had followed him. In desperation, Cyclonus activated the Nega-Core's guardian—Thunderwing. Using the distraction, Cyclonus escaped but Magnus sent another tracker after him. All this was reported to Optimus Prime on the ''Ark-32'', who recognized that this had something to do with his infraspace encounter in Brasnya. Prime ordered Jetfire to summon the Wreckers to find out what Thunderwing is guarding. {{storylink|Spotlight: Cyclonus}}

The prison soon came under attack from Nova Prime. Rather then watch his soldiers be slaughtered by the undead monster, Optimus Prime ordered a retreat and faced Nova alone. Announcing his new title of Nemesis Prime, Optimus's predecessor explained the nature of the [[Darkness (G1)|Darkness]] before unleashing a portion on the Autobot leader. Shattered, Prime collapsed onto his hands and knees as Nemesis loomed. {{storylink|Spotlight: Doubledealer}}

[[Image:OptimusdeadNemesis.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"Optimus! I've come to help y- oh. Sorted, then?"]]

Unexpectedly for Nemesis Prime, the Darkness seemed to be more interested in the younger Prime and sought to be passed onto Optimus. Nemesis wasn't about to let go of the power he commanded, and savagely attacked Optimus Prime, whose attempts to reason fell on deaf ears. Just as Nemesis Prime seemed victorious, [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] attacked the fallen Prime from behind, killing him. Nemesis's death allowed the Darkness to finally enter Optimus, who tried to fight against its evil to no avail. Galvatron offered the Autobot a choice: kill himself by plunging into the [[Solar pool]], or pass on the Darkness to Galvatron, who had coveted the Darkness for so long. Optimus seemed to willingly do so, but just as he passed on the Darkness, he threw the surprised Galvatron into the solar pool. As Optimus gazed upon the dead body of Nemesis, he told himself he could not mourn the elder Prime's death, as Nova truly died long ago. {{storylink|Spotlight: Sideswipe}}

[[Image:AHMPrimecritical.jpg|right|250px|thumb|So he's dying. [[The many deaths of Optimus Prime|This shouldn't be a problem by now]].]]
A year later, Optimus Prime combined his Autobot squad with another squad. Having received word of a supposed Decepticon power struggle, Prime led the Autobots to a location where Starscream's "group" was, only to be ambushed by a unified Decepticon force. Though they managed to briefly turn the tide, Devastator's appearance made the difference, which enabled Megatron to rip the Matrix of Leadership from Prime's chest. Prime was dealt another blow (mentally) when the Autobots were told that they were sold out to a traitor in their ranks (who was later revealed to be [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]]). {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 8|All Hail Megatron #8}} The Autobots were led to a space bridge, where Prime, who was the last to go, used his remaining energy to destroy the machine. Unfortunately, this heroic act left Prime in critical condition. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 7|All Hail Megatron #7}} With this defeat, the Autobots were forced to leave Earth to the Decepticons. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 1|All Hail Megatron #1}}

After Prime's unit met up with Kup's unit, and after dealing with the Swarm and Sideswipe's sacrifice to save them, Ratchet and Wheeljack managed to bring Prime back online (with the Energon from the ''[[Trion|Trion]]'') in time to smooth over an Autobot argument. As the others excitedly welcomed him back, Prime makes a speech about how he was proud of them, and that he wanted to win the war. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 9|All Hail Megatron #9}}. After the Autobots recovered and prepared for a final stand against the Swarm, Prime had a brief chat with Ironhide (to which Ironhide admitted to secretly hating him at first sight at the start of the Great War), then prepared for the Swarm's onslaught. When they came, the Autobots fought back, but they were quickly outnumbered by the thousands. Thankfully, Omega Supreme arrived and saved them from certain doom. After Omega briefly told them about his arrival, Prime orders him to transform and transport the Autobots back to Earth. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 10|All Hail Megatron #10}}

{{charstubfiction}}

{{note|The events of ''Spotlight: Mirage'' possibly take place in an alternate/unknown continuity.}}

Optimus Prime commanded one of the last remaining pockets of Autobot resistance, hiding out in the [[Pegasus Star Cluster]]. While awaiting the arrival of Bumblebee's team, he and Hound tried to work out how to convert the [[Zodiac Energy]] for their consumption. "Bumblebee's" arrival proved to be their downfall, as it was really the self-serving mercenary [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]], who destroyed the bunker security systems, allowing the Decepticons inside. Optimus Prime refused to surrender during the ensuing struggle, until Mirage used the critically-injured Jetfire as a hostage, forcing the Prime to back down. When Megatron betrays Mirage's word and orders the execution of the Autobots, Optimus Prime tried to reason with the mercenary, appealing to his former friendship with Hound... until Mirage killed Hound in defiance. Furious, Optimus Prime broke free of his captors and tackled Mirage into the Zodiac Energy chamber. {{storylink|Spotlight: Mirage}}

===''Hearts of Steel''===
[[Image:HeartsofSteel_1_Prime_Bumblebee.jpg|thumb|left|200px|]]

The Autobots and the Decepticons came to [[Earth|a distant world]] in the grip of an ice age. Assuming alternate modes based upon the [[Dinosaur|dominant (though doomed) indigenous creatures]] of this planet, they continued their ancient, unending war. However, the Autobots, with their energy levels dangerously low, withdrew from combat as the world grew colder. They sought refuge in a deep cavern and entered [[stasis lock]], awaiting the day when surface conditions changed to better suit their operation. Millions of years later, Bumblebee was awoken by the hammering of humans working on a rail line. He briefly considered awakening Optimus Prime, but thought better of it. After discovering the world had changed significantly, Ratchet thought there was no reason to awaken Prime. {{storylink|Hearts of Steel issue 1}} When Bumblebee discovered the Decepticons were once again active on this world, Ratchet and Prowl agreed that the Autobots must intervene, but again decided out of rousing Optimus from his slumber. {{Storylink|Hearts of Steel issue 2|Hearts of Steel #2}}

{{Note|Optimus Prime appears very briefly in the first few pages, in his "Ice Age Wars" body (we only see him in robot mode, but his altmode is a brachiosaurus<ref>[http://www.allspark.com/forums/index.php?s=d5d311674e796c81d010d26ac751389b&showtopic=10074&st=20&p=266183&#entry266183 Allspark forums post] by [[Guido Guidi]], August 15th, 2006</ref>. He spends most of the story in stasis lock. [[:Image:Opthos.jpg|Unused concept art]] depicts him as transforming into a locomotive engine.}}
{{-}}

===''Henkei! Henkei!'' pack-in comics===

{{charstubfiction}}

===''Comic Bun bun Henkei! Henkei!'' comic===

{{charstubfiction}}

===Commercial appearances===
Optimus Prime has appeared in more [[Commercial|television commercials]] than any other Transformer... just like with everything else. He has been voiced by Peter Cullen in every animation segment in which he's had a speaking role.

[[Image:Toycommercial-firstPrime.jpg|right|thumb|My wheels don't disappear!]]

* He was one of the featured characters in the first ever appearance of the Transformers anywhere, an advertisement for the first issue of [[The Transformers (Marvel Comics)|the Generation 1 comic]]. He arrives in the midst of a desert battle as the Decepticons attacked a power plant on Earth, driving to back up his troops in defending it. He strikes a rather iconic pose as he transforms and fires, which would be replicated and copied numerous times in the early years of the franchise. This first commercial used nonfinal versions of the characters' [[character model]]s; Optimus Prime, for example, still had wheels on his legs. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9-7RjhFzpM]

* In a commercial for the [[Triple Changer]]s, Optimus confronts Astrotrain on a desert battlefield, but the Triple-Changer escapes under fire from other Autobots. Shortly afterward, Prime uses Perceptor's microscope mode to examine a fragment of Decepticon battle armor. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WssZjIsUIU]

* Prime and Jazz are shown fighting Megatron in the desert in an ad for the 1985 cars, whom he summons to help out with the battle. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WssZjIsUIU]

* Prime narrates two commercials around the time of ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'', describing the action as [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] battles [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]], and [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] and [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] take on the [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticons]]. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5X-10pud7DY]

[[Image:Toycommercial-PowermasterOptimusPrime.jpg|right|thumb|An integral part of Powermaster Prime's transformation is Joyride shooting lightning bolts through his pointed finger.]]

* Prime was prominently featured in the ad for the first comic issue featuring the [[Powermaster]]s. On the rocky plains where practically every Transformer battle ever seems to happen, Prime arrives in his Powermaster body to back up three of his troops against Dreadwind and Darkwing. He's shown combining with [[Hi-Q]] and transforming, attacking with his trailer's battle station mode, then combining with the trailer to continue the attack. Who wins? Find out in [[People Power!|Marvel Comics]]! [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voX_KNNxNCI]

[[Image:OptimusQuickswitchCommercial.jpg|right|thumb|Optimus Prime is so giving, he even gives other Transformers time in his commercials.]]

* Prime also features briefly in [[Quickswitch]]'s ad; in a battle on the moon, Quickswitch transforms to gun mode and is wielded by Powermaster Optimus Prime.

* An abbreviated ad for Powermaster Prime uses footage from both the Marvel Comic and Quickswitch commercials.

* Prime's Powermaster body shows up yet again in the [[Classic Pretender|Pretender Classic]]s ad. He comes under attack in the darkened streets of the city, prompting the narrator to explain that he needs the greatest Transformers ever! Prime then welcomes back Bumblebee and Jazz in their Pretender forms. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mahbq-FnSPY]

* Powermaster Prime and [[Piranacon]] are the representatives from each faction that [[Doubledealer]] doublecrosses! Everyone wonders who that guy is that Prime's talking to... He looks kinda suspicious!

* Optimus features prominently in the first [[Action Master]] commercial; he's shown surrounded by a circle of his troops, and challenges them to give up their transforming powers to become faster, stronger, more alive! [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeNf3jQ1zdw]

* A stock intro was used for several Micromaster commercials, with Optimus opening his fist to reveal a Micromaster city within.

[[Image:Hotrodpatrolcommercial.jpg|right|thumb|Prime wants to know if they can transform, because he sure can't!]]

* A similar sequence in another Micromaster has Prime opening his fist to find the [[Hot Rod Patrol]] inside. He and Jazz check them out, and Optimus wonders if they can transform.

* In an ad for the Micromaster micro bases, a battle rages outside an Autobot base, and Prime watches impassively as Bumblebee and Jazz pull two [[Interstellar shuttle|captured]] [[Attack Copter|vehicles]] into the base. Prime is the first to notice that the vehicles are transforming and shooting things.

* Prime and [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] are the stars of the first ''[[Generation 2 (franchise)|Generation 2]]'' commercial, animated with [[Computer-generated imagery|CGI]]. Prime is shown driving down a road in his ''Generation 2'' colored truck mode. He rocket-launches up into the air to transform, then has a brutal fight with Ramjet. Despite getting a hole blasted in his chest, he wins the fight and fires his gun into the air in triumph. Non-speaking.

* Prime also is shown briefly in a commercial for the new Megatron tank toy. He transforms and finds his head in a target crosshairs. In the subsequent toy segment, Prime's toy is shown getting completely trashed by that of Megatron. Non-speaking.

* And finally, Prime got his own rap segment. He's shown in his Combat toy body, waiting for Megatron as he attacks a human subdivision. Prime converts to robot form, blows up Megatron's weapon at point blank range, and slugs it out with him. Apparently emerging victorious, is next shown sitting next to an identical truck, which the live-action kid mistakes for the real thing. The real Prime then transforms and picks up the kid, inspecting the human with his cold, lifeless, flashing red optics. Prime is once again voiced by Peter Cullen in this commercial.

Prime also appeared in commercials for ''Transformers'' products other than the toys themselves...

* In the ad for [[Coleco]]'s [[Power Cycle]], Optimus Prime shoots ''at'' a child riding the titular cycle, but misses. This footage is recycled from the advertisement for the comic.

* Prime delivers a load of shoes to schoolchildren in a South American ad for [[Bata]]'s licensed ''Transformers'' footwear.

==Toys==
{{main|Optimus Prime (G1) toys}}

==Merchandise==
:''Main article: [[Optimus Prime (G1) toys|Merchandise]]''

==Notes==
* According to [[Bob Budiansky]], longtime comics writer [[Denny O'Neil]] named Optimus Prime prior to Budiansky being brought on to the ''Transformers'' project.

* Optimus Prime's Japanese name is "Convoy", which is named after his original name "Battle Convoy" in the [[Diaclone]] toyline, because the name "Optimus Prime" is difficult for Japanese kids to remember and pronounce. <ref>'''Figure-Oh''' No. 114</ref>

*According to an early ''[[Transformers Universe (Marvel comic)|Universe]]''-style profile published in ''[[The Transformers Comics Magazine]]'', Optimus Prime's "official" nicknames were at one point considered to be "Autobot Commander", "Chief", "Big Boss" and "Roller". As far as it is known, no piece of fiction has ever purposely addressed him using these nicknames, though it's a fair bet he's been called "chief" at least once or twice anyway.

* He [[Letters page (Marvel UK)|allegedly]] hates the music of [[wikipedia:Mötley_Crüe|Mötley Crüe]].

* According to the staff of ''[[Beast Wars (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'', Optimus Prime became a space explorer in the [[Beast Era]].<ref>[[Beast Wars Universe]] ISBN 978-4766938005</ref>

[[Image:Optimusprime-mom.jpg|right|125px|thumb|Prime's mom knows how to write in cursive.]]
* By the time Optimus Prime appeared in ''[[Beast Machines (cartoon)|Beast Machines]]'', his 3D model from ''Beast Wars'' had apparently been lost, leading the animators to use a faceplated Optimus Primal head as a quick replacement to save time and budget.

* Aside from occasionally having Alpha Trion as a father figure, Optimus Prime may have a mother! In an advertisement for [[Pepsi Convoy]] that shows him in a refrigerator (along with [[Destron Pizza]]), a note attached to a nearby piece of Tupperware reads:

:''Dear Convoy''
:''Warm it before you eat''
:''Mom''

:Although the ad itself is for Pepsi Convoy, he is a separate character, and it can be assumed that the note was left for Convoy/Optimus Prime himself.

* The first wave of Dreamwave posters in 2001 identified Optimus Prime as [http://www.comicden.com/merch/posters.htm "Captimus Primus"], which is tantalizingly close to making some sort of sense.

* According to EJ Su, Optimus Prime's [[Holomatter|Holomatter avatar]] is modeled after [[wikipedia:Ulysses_S._Grant|Ulysses S. Grant]].<ref>[http://www.protodepot.com/archive/2007_11_01_archive.html Idea: Holomatter Projection]</ref>

==External links==
* [http://www.tfu.info/1984/Autobot/OptimusPrime/optimusprime.htm Optimus Prime on TFU.info]

* [http://www.ntfa.net/universe/english/index.php?act=view&char=Optimus_Prime Optimus Prime's Universe profile at NTFA.net]

* [http://www.ntfa.net/universe/english/index.php?act=view&char=Optimus_Prime_PM Powermaster Optimus Prime's Universe profile at NTFA.net]

* [http://www.toybin.org/search.php?q=1984+Autobot+Optimus+Prime ToyBin Optimus Prime Toy gallery]

== Footnotes ==
<references />

[[Category:Action Masters]]
[[Category:Alternators]]
[[Category:Attacktix]]
[[Category:Autobots]]
[[Category:Autobot leaders]]
[[Category:Beast Wars characters]]
[[Category:Classics characters]]
[[Category:Combiners]]
[[Category:Convention exclusives]]
[[Category:E-Hobby]]
[[Category:Generation 1 characters]]
[[Category:Generation 2 characters]]
[[Category:Ghosts]]
[[Category:Go-Bots]]
[[Category:Headmasters characters]]
[[Category: Henkei! Henkei! characters]]
[[Category:Kiss Players characters]]
[[Category:Machine Wars characters]]
[[Category:Mail order exclusives]]
[[Category:Matrix bearers]]
[[Category:Powermasters]]
[[Category:Return of Convoy characters]]
[[Category:Robot Heroes]]
[[Category:Robot Masters characters]]
[[Category:Rulers of Cybertron]]
[[Category:Titanium Series]]
[[Category:Toys "R" Us exclusives]]
[[Category:Zombies]]

Time Wars

2009-06-01T15:09:08Z

69.43.35.2: /* Synopsis */

{{comicstory|seriesissue=[[Generation 1 (Marvel Comics)|''Transformers'' (UK)]] #199–205
|prev=Cold Comfort and Joy!
|prev2=Altered Image!
|next=Cold War!
|title="Time Wars"
|image=MarvelUK-202.jpg
|caption=Oh shit.
|publisher=[[Marvel Comics]]
|date=7th January 1989—18th February 1989
|writer=[[Simon Furman]]
|pencils=[[Dan Reed]], [[Robin Smith]], [[Lee Sullivan]], [[Andrew Wildman]]
|inks=[[Stephen Baskerville]]
|colours=[[Euan Peters]]
|lettering=[[GLOP]], [[GLIB]]. [[Annie Halfacree]], [[Peter Knight]]
|editor=[[Euan Peters]]
}}
'''The combined forces of the Autobots and Decepticons must battle both Megatron and Galvatron to save the present and the future from a rift in space and time.'''

==Synopsis==
{{note|This story follows directly from the UK Annual stories [[All in the Minds!]] and [[Altered Image!]].}}
On New Years Day 2009, a time rift has destroyed the planet [[Quintessa|Quintesson]] {{storylink|Space Pirates!|Space Pirates!}} and is now threatening to consume both Earth and Cybertron. Analysing the source of the disturbance, they find the source of the rift to be the year 1989. They correctly deduce that Galvatron, Cyclonus and Scourge are somehow the cause. In an attempt to solve the problem, a small group of Autobots travel back in time to 1989.

In 1989, the rift is also threatening modern day Earth, causing natural disasters. An earthquake awakens Ravage, who has lain inactive since falling down a mine shaft. {{storylink|Showdown!|Showdown!}} He attempts to escape back to the surface, but instead discovers the underground base of Galvatron.

Optimus Prime is giving a briefing to the other Autobots, in which he outlines his belief that the time storm is related to Galvatron. Meanwhile, outside the Ark, Highbrow is fretting over what to do with the head of Scorponok that he had captured. {{storylink|All in the Minds!|All in the Minds!}} He wishes to end the threat of Scorponok, but is unwilling to kill him in cold blood.

Before he can make a decision, he is attacked by the Decepticon Headmasters and Targetmasters in an attempt to recover the head. They capture the head, but before they can destroy Highbrow, the other Autobots come to his rescue and a major battle ensues.

In the midst of the battle, the future Autobots arrive, causing Optimus Prime, Hardhead, Highbrow, Blaster, Brainstorm and Snarl to be transported to the holding dimension as part of the time travel process. Thinking their friends have been killed by the newcomers, Fortress Maximus leads an attack on the future Autobots.

At the same time, a spacecraft from Cybertron arrives on Earth carrying the combined forces of the Autobot [[Wrecker|Wreckers]] and the Decepticon [[Mayhem Attack Squad]]. They have joined forces in an attempt to force Galvatron to return to his own time.

The Autobot battle is eventually stopped when Goldbug, who has seen the results of time travel before {{storylink|Target: 2006}} & {{storylink|Wanted:Galvatron — Dead or Alive!}} and believes the newcomers are friends, is injured. Using the Creation Matrix that resides in both Optimus and Rodimus Prime, the present and future leaders are able to communicate with each other and resolve the battle peacefully.

The Wreckers and the Mayhem Attack Squad meanwhile enter Galvatron’s base and confront the future Decepticon. They are shocked to discover, however, that Galvatron and Megatron have now joined forces. The two of them soon leave the ranks of the Wreckers and Mayhem Attack Squad decimated, forcing them to retreat and regroup.

Optimus Prime is explaining that the rift is caused by Cyclonus and Scourge being in the present because they bypassed the usual mass transfer system when they travelled back in time using Unicron's time portal. {{storylink|The Legacy of Unicron!}} As a result, the balance of space time has been upset. The situation has been made worse by Cyclonus's death twenty years before his creation. {{storylink|Dry Run!}} They deduce that if Cyclonus and Scourge are returned to the future, the rift will seal itself.

Galvatron and Megatron follow the Wreckers and the Mayhem Attack Squad and continue the battle outside, bringing the other Autobots into the fray. Galvatron has now become totally insane and is fighting blindly and slaughtering all in his path.

[[Image:MarvelUKTimeRift.jpg|right|180px|thumb|I guess we're not in Kansas anymore.]]
Scourge, who is beginning to have doubts about his alliance with Galvatron, decides to take action and flies to the Decepticon fortress to retrieve Cyclonus's body. There, he finds Shockwave in a state of mental breakdown after learning {{storylink|Dry Run!}} that he is due to die at Cyclonus and Scourge's hands in 2008. {{storylink|The Legacy of Unicron!}} Unwilling to let Scourge take Cyclonus's body, he blasts the future Decepticon unconscious.

The battle with Galvatron is going badly and all are falling before him. Half his face has been blasted off in events that are different from how he remembers them as Megatron, pushing him even further from sanity at the same time as changing the course of history. Optimus Prime, trapped in the limbo dimension, can only watch through the Matrix link. As the Autobots continue to fall, however, he decides to take drastic action and uses the power of the Matrix to return to reality and confront Galvatron. However, because he is now in the same period as Rodimus Prime, also the bearer of the Matrix, the effects of the time rift increase.

Scourge, recovering, appeals to Ravage to get Cyclonus's body, and wanting the madness to end, he sacrifices himself by throwing himself into the rift. Ravage manages to convince Shockwave that because he has foreknowledge, he has time to prevent his fate. This snaps Shockwave from his mental decline.

Galvatron, still fighting madly, fights Optimus Prime to a standstill, but before a winner is revealed, the time rift rips him apart. However, the rift continues to worsen as it needs Cyclonus as well. Just as the rift is about to rip the Earth apart, Shockwave arrives and throws the body of Cyclonus into the rift, causing it to close itself.

The future Autobots return to their own time, pledging to destroy all their time machines. Optimus Prime and Shockwave agree to a truce until they next meet.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] (6)
* [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] (9)
* [[Rodimus Prime (G1)|Rodimus Prime]] (10)
* [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] (11)
* [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] (13)
* [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] (14)
* [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] (15)
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] (19)
* [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] (20)
* [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] (21)
* [[Highbrow (G1)|Highbrow]], [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] (22)
* [[Sandstorm (G1)|Sandstorm]] (23)
* [[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]](24)
* [[Slag (G1)|Slag]] (29)
* [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]] (30)
* [[Goldbug (G1)|Goldbug]] (31)
* [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] (33)
* [[Catilla]] (35)
* [[Topspin (G1)|Topspin]] (39)
* [[Twin Twist]] (41)
* [[Rack'n'Ruin]] (42)
* [[Roadbuster]] (43)
|c2=
* [[Rippersnapper]] (1)
* [[Sinnertwin]] (2)
* [[Blot]] (3)
* [[Cutthroat]] (4)
* [[Hun-Gurrr|Hun-Grr]] (5)
* [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] (12)
* [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (16)
* [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] (17)
* [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] (18)
* [[Snapdragon]] (25)
* [[Misfire]] (26)
* [[Weirdwolf]] (27)
* [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]] (28)
* [[Mindwipe]] (32)
* [[Carnivac (G1)|Carnivac]] (34)
* [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] (36)
* [[Battletrap]] (37)
* [[Flywheels]] (38)
* [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] (40)
|c3=
* [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (7)
* [[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel Witwicky]] (8)
}}

==Errors==
[[Image:Timewars colourerror uk201.JPG|right|150px|thumb|The FortMax repaint we've all been waiting for!]]
*The first page of issue 201 was originally printed with the wrong colours. This was corrected in the subsequent [[Collected Comics (Marvel)|Collected Comics]] and [[Titan Books]] reprints.
*Scourge was pretty mad at Galvatron last time he saw him, to the extend that he was willing to kill him. How we get from that to the look of love he gives Galvatron in issue 200 is unexplained.
*What's left of the [[Wrecker|Wreckers]] and the [[Mayhem Attack Squad]], having been key characters for much of the story, simply disappear in the closing stages, shunted aside by the big names. The same happens to the rank-and-file present day Autobots such as [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] and [[Scattershot]].
*The "present" Autobots should recognise most of the "future" Autobots - [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] and [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]], for example, are among their current forces on the Ark. Kinda lucky they didn't make the trip to Earth, really... They should probably recognise Ultra Magnus and Rodimus Prime (he looks just like Hot Rod, after all) as well, and maybe even [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]]. (Similarly isn't it lucky that Scorponok didn't bring the present day Terrorcons with him?)
*At least some of the present-day Autobots (such as Ironhide) should recognise the explosive effects of being shunted to limbo, so their immediate declaration that Optimus and company have been killed is a little hysterical.
*The nature of Goldbug's injury shifts all over the place - he's shot in the shoulder by [[Misfire]], but then has a critical chest injury by the time Magnus finds him. His dramatic turn done with, his life-threatening wound reverts to being a shoulder injury that [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] patches up in three seconds flat.

==Items of note==
*This marks the end of the story arc that began 121 issues ago in "[[Target: 2006]]".
*This was the last of the UK comic's 'epic' storylines. By issue [[The Fall and Rise of the Decepticon Empire|213]] falling sales meant that the page count of the UK originated strip was reduced from 11 to 6. The constant threat of the comic's cancellation meant that [[Simon Furman]] kept the story arcs limited to a few issues at most
*Cyclonus was killed in issue 189 "[[Dry Run!]]". The initial effects of the time rift were shown in issues 182-187 "[[Space Pirates!]]" with the destruction of the planet [[Quintessa|Quintesson]].
*Here Ravage recovers from his fall down a mine shaft after a battle with [[Skids (G1)|Skids]] in issue 72-73 "[[Showdown!]]" (US issue 20).
*The future Decepticons don't really add anything to the story. They just turn up, watch for a bit and then leave.
*The Wrecker/Mayhem strategy is laughable - they simply walk into Galvatron's base, arguing loudly.
*It's a recurring problem with the rotating artists on the UK comic, but the height of characters changes drastically over the course of the story. Fort Max goes from being a shade taller than Rodimus to almost half again as tall between issues.
*Galvatron actually starts off this story in a fairly sane state of mind (as he had in [[Altered Image!]]) By the end of it he's attempting to destroy every Transformer that exists and screaming his defiance at the universe itself. [[A Savage Circle| Hanging out with Megatron]] seems to have this effect on him (although to be fair, having half his face blasted off probably didn't help matters).
*Finally, Galvatron stays dead. Hard to miraculously recover from being erased from history. Except that he [[Aspects of Evil!|does]], sort of.
*Where does [[Fracas]] go?
*During the first issue when humans are fleeing from the Terrorcons on New Year's Day 2009, a dropped copy of ''Dragon's Claws'' can be seen. This prediction of the title's longevity was optimistic as the real ''Dragon's Claws'' comic folded a few months into 1989; however just a few months before the real New Year's Day 2009 a trade paperback of ''Dragon's Claws'' was published.
*Reprinted as a Trade Paperback by [[Titan Books]] in July 2003.
* The future Autobots last appeared in "[[Space Pirates!]]". Their story continues in the second segment of "[[Aspects of Evil!]]", then "[[The Void! (UK)|The Void!]]".

==Covers==
<gallery>
Image:MarvelUK-199.jpg|199 cover
Image:MarvelUK-200.jpg|200 cover
Image:MarvelUK-201.jpg|201 cover
Image:MarvelUK-202.jpg|202 cover
Image:MarvelUK-203.jpg|203 cover
Image:MarvelUK-204.jpg|204 cover
Image:MarvelUK-205.jpg|205 cover
</gallery>

[[Category:Marvel UK issues]]

Time Wars

2009-06-01T15:08:48Z

69.43.35.2: /* Synopsis */

{{comicstory|seriesissue=[[Generation 1 (Marvel Comics)|''Transformers'' (UK)]] #199–205
|prev=Cold Comfort and Joy!
|prev2=Altered Image!
|next=Cold War!
|title="Time Wars"
|image=MarvelUK-202.jpg
|caption=Oh shit.
|publisher=[[Marvel Comics]]
|date=7th January 1989—18th February 1989
|writer=[[Simon Furman]]
|pencils=[[Dan Reed]], [[Robin Smith]], [[Lee Sullivan]], [[Andrew Wildman]]
|inks=[[Stephen Baskerville]]
|colours=[[Euan Peters]]
|lettering=[[GLOP]], [[GLIB]]. [[Annie Halfacree]], [[Peter Knight]]
|editor=[[Euan Peters]]
}}
'''The combined forces of the Autobots and Decepticons must battle both Megatron and Galvatron to save the present and the future from a rift in space and time.'''

==Synopsis==
{{note|This story follows directly from the UK Annual stories [[All in the Minds!]] and [[Altered Image!]].}}
On New Years Day 2009, a time rift has destroyed the planet [[Quintessa|Quintesson]] {{storylink|Space Pirates!|Space Pirates!}} and is now threatening to consume both Earth and Cybertron. Analysing the source of the disturbance, they find the source of the rift to be the year 1989. They correctly deduce that Galvatron, Cyclonus and Scourge are somehow the cause. In an attempt to solve the problem, a small group of Autobots travel back in time to 1989.

In 1989, the rift is also threatening modern day Earth, causing natural disasters. An earthquake awakens Ravage, who has lain inactive since falling down a mine shaft. {{storylink|Showdown!|Showdown!}} He attempts to escape back to the surface, but instead discovers the underground base of Galvatron.

Optimus Prime is giving a briefing to the other Autobots, in which he outlines his belief that the time storm is related to Galvatron. Meanwhile, outside the Ark, Highbrow is fretting over what to do with the head of Scorponok that he had captured. {{storylink|All in the Minds!|All in the Minds!}} He wishes to end the threat of Scorponok, but is unwilling to kill him in cold blood.

Before he can make a decision, he is attacked by the Decepticon Headmasters and Targetmasters in an attempt to recover the head. They capture the head, but before they can destroy Highbrow, the other Autobots come to his rescue and a major battle ensues.

In the midst of the battle, the future Autobots arrive, causing Optimus Prime, Hardhead, Highbrow, Blaster, Brainstorm and Snarl to be transported to the holding dimension as part of the time travel process. Thinking their friends have been killed by the newcomers, Fortress Maximus leads an attack on the future Autobots.

At the same time, a spacecraft from Cybertron arrives on Earth carrying the combined forces of the Autobot [[Wrecker|Wreckers]] and the Decepticon [[Mayhem Attack Squad]]. They have joined forces in an attempt to force Galvatron to return to his own time.

The Autobot battle is eventually stopped when Goldbug, who has seen the results of time travel before {{storylink|Target: 2006}} & {{storylink|Wanted:Galvatron — Dead or Alive!}} and believes the newcomers are friends, is injured. Using the Creation Matrix that resides in both Optimus and Rodimus Prime, the present and future leaders are able to communicate with each other and resolve the battle peacefully.

The Wreckers and the Mayhem Attack Squad meanwhile enter Galvatron’s base and confront the future Decepticon. They are shocked to discover, however, that Galvatron and Megatron have now joined forces. The two of them soon leave the ranks of the Wreckers and Mayhem Attack Squad decimated, forcing them to retreat and regroup.

Optimus Prime is explaining that the rift is caused by Cyclonus and Scourge being in the present because they bypassed the usual mass transfer system when they travelled back in time using Unicron's time portal. {{storylink|The Legacy of Unicron!}} As a result, the balance of space time has been upset. The situation has been made worse by Cyclonus's death twenty years before his creation. {{storylink|Dry Run!}} They deduce that if Cyclonus and Scourge are returned to the future, the rift will seal itself.

Galvatron and Megatron follow the Wreckers and the Mayhem Attack Squad and continue the battle outside, bringing the other Autobots into the fray. Galvatron has now become totally insane and is fighting blindly and slaughtering all in his path.

[[Image:MarvelUKTimeRift.jpg|right|180px|thumb|I guess we're not in Kansas anymore.]]
Scourge, who is beginning to have doubts about his alliance with Galvatron, decides to take action and flies to the Decepticon fortress to retrieve Cyclonus's body. There, he finds Shockwave in a state of mental breakdown after learning {{storylink|Dry Run!}} that he is due to die at Cyclonus and Scourge's hands in 2008. {{storylink|The Legacy of Unicron!}} Unwilling to let Scourge take Cyclonus's body, he blasts the future Decepticon unconscious.

The battle with Galvatron is going badly and all are falling before him. Half his face has been blasted off in events that are different from how he remembers them as Megatron, pushing him even further from sanity at the same time as changing the course of history. Optimus Prime, trapped in the limbo dimension, can only watch through the Matrix link. As the Autobots continue to fall, however, he decides to take drastic action and uses the power of the Matrix to return to reality and confront Galvatron. However, because he is now in the same period as Rodimus Prime, also the bearer of the Matrix, the effects of the time rift increase.

Scourge, recovering, appeals to Ravage to get Cyclonus's body, and wanting the madness to end, he sacrifices himself by throwing himself into the rift. Ravage manages to convince Shockwave that because he has foreknowledge, he has time to prevent his fate. This snaps Shockwave from his mental decline.

Galvatron, still fighting madly, fights Optimus Prime to a standstill , but before either is defeated, the time rift rips him apart. However, the rift continues to worsen as it needs Cyclonus as well. Just as the rift is about to rip the Earth apart, Shockwave arrives and throws the body of Cyclonus into the rift, causing it to close itself.

The future Autobots return to their own time, pledging to destroy all their time machines. Optimus Prime and Shockwave agree to a truce until they next meet.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] (6)
* [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] (9)
* [[Rodimus Prime (G1)|Rodimus Prime]] (10)
* [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] (11)
* [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] (13)
* [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] (14)
* [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] (15)
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] (19)
* [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] (20)
* [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] (21)
* [[Highbrow (G1)|Highbrow]], [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] (22)
* [[Sandstorm (G1)|Sandstorm]] (23)
* [[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]](24)
* [[Slag (G1)|Slag]] (29)
* [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]] (30)
* [[Goldbug (G1)|Goldbug]] (31)
* [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] (33)
* [[Catilla]] (35)
* [[Topspin (G1)|Topspin]] (39)
* [[Twin Twist]] (41)
* [[Rack'n'Ruin]] (42)
* [[Roadbuster]] (43)
|c2=
* [[Rippersnapper]] (1)
* [[Sinnertwin]] (2)
* [[Blot]] (3)
* [[Cutthroat]] (4)
* [[Hun-Gurrr|Hun-Grr]] (5)
* [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] (12)
* [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (16)
* [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] (17)
* [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] (18)
* [[Snapdragon]] (25)
* [[Misfire]] (26)
* [[Weirdwolf]] (27)
* [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]] (28)
* [[Mindwipe]] (32)
* [[Carnivac (G1)|Carnivac]] (34)
* [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] (36)
* [[Battletrap]] (37)
* [[Flywheels]] (38)
* [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] (40)
|c3=
* [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (7)
* [[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel Witwicky]] (8)
}}

==Errors==
[[Image:Timewars colourerror uk201.JPG|right|150px|thumb|The FortMax repaint we've all been waiting for!]]
*The first page of issue 201 was originally printed with the wrong colours. This was corrected in the subsequent [[Collected Comics (Marvel)|Collected Comics]] and [[Titan Books]] reprints.
*Scourge was pretty mad at Galvatron last time he saw him, to the extend that he was willing to kill him. How we get from that to the look of love he gives Galvatron in issue 200 is unexplained.
*What's left of the [[Wrecker|Wreckers]] and the [[Mayhem Attack Squad]], having been key characters for much of the story, simply disappear in the closing stages, shunted aside by the big names. The same happens to the rank-and-file present day Autobots such as [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] and [[Scattershot]].
*The "present" Autobots should recognise most of the "future" Autobots - [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] and [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]], for example, are among their current forces on the Ark. Kinda lucky they didn't make the trip to Earth, really... They should probably recognise Ultra Magnus and Rodimus Prime (he looks just like Hot Rod, after all) as well, and maybe even [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]]. (Similarly isn't it lucky that Scorponok didn't bring the present day Terrorcons with him?)
*At least some of the present-day Autobots (such as Ironhide) should recognise the explosive effects of being shunted to limbo, so their immediate declaration that Optimus and company have been killed is a little hysterical.
*The nature of Goldbug's injury shifts all over the place - he's shot in the shoulder by [[Misfire]], but then has a critical chest injury by the time Magnus finds him. His dramatic turn done with, his life-threatening wound reverts to being a shoulder injury that [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] patches up in three seconds flat.

==Items of note==
*This marks the end of the story arc that began 121 issues ago in "[[Target: 2006]]".
*This was the last of the UK comic's 'epic' storylines. By issue [[The Fall and Rise of the Decepticon Empire|213]] falling sales meant that the page count of the UK originated strip was reduced from 11 to 6. The constant threat of the comic's cancellation meant that [[Simon Furman]] kept the story arcs limited to a few issues at most
*Cyclonus was killed in issue 189 "[[Dry Run!]]". The initial effects of the time rift were shown in issues 182-187 "[[Space Pirates!]]" with the destruction of the planet [[Quintessa|Quintesson]].
*Here Ravage recovers from his fall down a mine shaft after a battle with [[Skids (G1)|Skids]] in issue 72-73 "[[Showdown!]]" (US issue 20).
*The future Decepticons don't really add anything to the story. They just turn up, watch for a bit and then leave.
*The Wrecker/Mayhem strategy is laughable - they simply walk into Galvatron's base, arguing loudly.
*It's a recurring problem with the rotating artists on the UK comic, but the height of characters changes drastically over the course of the story. Fort Max goes from being a shade taller than Rodimus to almost half again as tall between issues.
*Galvatron actually starts off this story in a fairly sane state of mind (as he had in [[Altered Image!]]) By the end of it he's attempting to destroy every Transformer that exists and screaming his defiance at the universe itself. [[A Savage Circle| Hanging out with Megatron]] seems to have this effect on him (although to be fair, having half his face blasted off probably didn't help matters).
*Finally, Galvatron stays dead. Hard to miraculously recover from being erased from history. Except that he [[Aspects of Evil!|does]], sort of.
*Where does [[Fracas]] go?
*During the first issue when humans are fleeing from the Terrorcons on New Year's Day 2009, a dropped copy of ''Dragon's Claws'' can be seen. This prediction of the title's longevity was optimistic as the real ''Dragon's Claws'' comic folded a few months into 1989; however just a few months before the real New Year's Day 2009 a trade paperback of ''Dragon's Claws'' was published.
*Reprinted as a Trade Paperback by [[Titan Books]] in July 2003.
* The future Autobots last appeared in "[[Space Pirates!]]". Their story continues in the second segment of "[[Aspects of Evil!]]", then "[[The Void! (UK)|The Void!]]".

==Covers==
<gallery>
Image:MarvelUK-199.jpg|199 cover
Image:MarvelUK-200.jpg|200 cover
Image:MarvelUK-201.jpg|201 cover
Image:MarvelUK-202.jpg|202 cover
Image:MarvelUK-203.jpg|203 cover
Image:MarvelUK-204.jpg|204 cover
Image:MarvelUK-205.jpg|205 cover
</gallery>

[[Category:Marvel UK issues]]

The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2

2009-05-22T20:34:55Z

69.43.35.2: /* Continuity errors */

{{episode|
|series=G1toon
|series2=2010
|ep=95
|ep2=32
|image=ReturnOptimusPrime2 title shot.JPG
|caption=I'm back, kiddies!
|title="The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2"
|production code=700-116
|airdate=[[February 25]], 1987
|written by=[[Michael Charles Hall]]
|story by=[[Marv Wolfman]] [[Cherie Wilkerson]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Optimus and a handful of Autobots make a desperate bid to recover the Matrix, in the hopes that a cure for the Hate Plague can be found.'''

:''Japanese title:'' コンボイの復活パート2 (''Convoy no Fukkatsu Part 2'', "The Resurrection of Convoy Part 2")
:''German title:'' '''Die Rückkehr von Optimus Prime, Teil 2''' (''The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2'')

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Primeandjessicamorgan.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Chip Chase, is that you?]]

[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]], now fully restored to life by [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] and a [[Quintesson]] survivor of the rampant Hate Plague that's infecting the universe, demands to know what has happened during his time on the [[Allspark|other side]]. Sky Lynx recaps the events that had conspired to bring him back, including [[Jessica Morgan]]'s valiant play to save him from total destruction, the discovery of the [[Hate Plague]] spores, and the trap laid out by Jessica's father and her partner, Gregory Swofford to infect the Autobots with the spores in revenge, which ultimately spiraled out of control. It was thought by Rodimus, before his infection, that Prime would know what it would take to stop the plague. Prime asks who is available, and learns of the injured [[Autobot|Autobots]]. The Quintesson manages to reactivate them, completely rebuilding [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] into Goldbug.

When [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] asks what the plan is, Prime admits that he doesn't have a plan. Without the accumulated wisdom within the [[Matrix of Leadership]] (which now resides in Rodimus), he doesn't have a clue as to where to start. That is, until Jessica comes forward with the experimental alloy that she, her father, and Gregory had worked on, which proved strong enough to block the spores. Theoretically, coating Optimus with this alloy would protect himself from the spore's infection and allow him to get close enough to Rodimus to extract the Matrix from him. However, all remaining alloy samples were stolen by the Decepticons. The Autobots decide to retrieve the metal.

[[Image:ReturnOptimusPrime2 crazycons.JPG|right|200px|thumb|Cyclonus and Scourge each spent 2,000 XP to create the Level 7 Flame Barrier spell. Unfortunately Galvatron has Protection from Fire with Permanency effect.]]

Meanwhile, on [[Chaar]], [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] is pinned down by his own mutinously diseased soldiers, unable to fight back against their maddening ferocity...until Optimus and his team arrive to save the day, convincing Galvatron that it would be in his best interest to join in an alliance with them. As is his way, however, the Decepticon leader is suspicious of Optimus' motives, especially when he learns they need the alloy he stole, but cannot get a reason for it out of them. He agrees to join in and leads Optimus and his gang down a series of boobytrapped tunnels, their numbers dwindling from the tunnel's natural hazards and the infected Decepticon mob behind them, until only Optimus, Galvatron, Sky Lynx, and Jessica arrive at the alloy's hiding place. Unfortunately, Jessie accidentally lets slip their plan to coat Optimus with the metal after confirming there would be enough of it to do the job, prompting Galvatron to turn on Optimus in hopes of using the process on himself, but he is soon subdued by Sky Lynx. Under coercion, Galvatron loads the alloy onto Prime's trailer, but doesn't notice that an infected Cyclonus has managed to sneak in, infecting Jessica in the process. Jessica, in turn, infects Galvatron, forcing Sky Lynx and Optimus to flee back to Earth.

[[Image:ReturnOptimusPrime2 Primes duel.JPG|left|200px|thumb|So I guess Rodimus is a bottom...to Ultra Magnus?]]

Once on Earth, Optimus is coated with the alloy, and sets out to find Rodimus. He finds him, taking down infected Transformers with reckless glee, and attempts to reason with him, which fails. Unwilling to hurt his successor, Prime lures Rodimus to a nearby auto shop, attempting to peacefully subdue and talk Rodimus into helping him, but the Hate Plague is overriding any effort to do so, forcing Optimus to knock Rodimus out and take the Matrix back by force. Back at [[Autobot City]], Optimus dives into the Matrix to question the elders of the past in reverse chronological order (of their history) to try and find out any information on the spores. The spirit of [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] warns him that if he travels too far, he risks becoming lost within the Matrix itself.

During Prime's journey, the Quintesson that revived him notices a troop of infected Transformers attempting to get in, and manages to temporarily shut them out, giving Optimus the time he needs to finally find his answer. He learns that, in a period of pre-Cybertronian history, the Plague ''has'' visited the planet before, but was contained and sealed inside the star Jessica and Gregory found it in using sheer wisdom, though even back then, no one had the wisdom to destroy the spores, and now that it has spread so much throughout the galaxy, it's doubtful that anyone has the wisdom to even contain them again. Optimus then realizes that a source of raw wisdom may be available to destroy the infection once and for all: the accumulated wisdom within the Matrix of Leadership.

[[Image:ReturnOptimusPrime2 Matrix open.JPG|right|200px|thumb|Hmm, this looks familiar...]]

The infected Transformers finally break into the base, and corner the Quintesson, who begs them to stop. Galvatron grabs a metal pole, intending to impale Prime. However, Prime's chest opens to reveal a glowing Matrix, surprising the Transformers. Asking it to "light our [[darkest hour]]", Optimus Prime releases the energy of the Matrix of Leadership, which spreads across the universe and totally eradicates the Plague. It even seems to, at least temporarily, cure Gregory and Jessica's father of their hatred for Autobots, and Galvatron of his own madness; all of them call a truce with Optimus.

It is then that Rodimus (now [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]], without the Matrix within him) notes that the Matrix is now empty, its wisdom supposedly lost in order to stop the plague. Optimus, however, disagrees; they have all become a little wiser, now, and although the Matrix is indeed empty of wisdom, it is up to them from then on to fill it again with their knowledge and experience. Optimus, once again the Autobot leader, ordering his troops to "Transform and roll out".

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] (1)
*[[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] (2)
*[[Slingshot]] (6)
*[[Chase (G1)|Chase]] (7)
*[[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] (8)
*[[Kup (G1)|Kup]] (10)
*[[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] (11)
*[[Steeljaw (G1)|Steeljaw]] (12)
*[[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee/Goldbug]] (13)
*[[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] (14)
*[[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] (15)
*[[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus Prime]] (21)
*[[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] (22)

|c2=
*[[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] (16)
*[[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] (17)
*[[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] (18)
*[[Sweep|Sweeps]] (19)
*[[Predaking]] (20)
*[[Rampage (G1)|Rampage]] (23)
*[[Razorclaw (G1)|Razorclaw]] (24)
*[[Divebomb (G1)|Divebomb]] (25)

|c3=
*[[Jessica Morgan]] (4)
*[[Gregory Swofford]] (5)
*[[Mark Morgan]] (26)

|c4=
*[[Quintesson]] (3)
*[[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticon]] (9)
}}

==Quotes==
"[[Autobots, transform and roll out]]!"
:—'''Optimus Prime''', getting back into the swing of things.

"Fools, I am your leader! ... It's no use. You're all crazed!"
:—'''Galvatron''' fighting his infected and insane troops. The irony fairy just had a coronary.

"Have I no friends left?!" 
"Well, well, what have we here?" 
"Looks like something the cat dragged in."
:—'''Galvatron''' tries to reason with the infected '''Cyclonus''' and '''Scourge'''...for once

[[Image:ReturnOptimusPrime2 Prime Galvatron.JPG|right|200px|thumb|"Come on, Optimus, why can't we be friends?" "When we first met, you shot and damaged me and my girlfriend. You make a bad first impression."]]

"Come on, Optimus, tell me! Why do you want this metal? How will it be used? Why is it so precious?" 
"I've explained it to you." 
"You told me it was important, but you didn't tell me why!" 
"That's because I know you too well, Galvatron."
:—'''Galvatron''' and '''Optimus Prime''' resuming their same old song and dance

"I don't need you anymore, Optimus. So much for your resurrection!"
:—'''Galvatron''', same song, different tune

"I don't want to hurt you, Rodimus!" 
"Don't worry, Optimus, you won't! HAHAHAHAH!"
:—'''Optimus Prime''' and '''Rodimus Prime''' throw down.

"Innocent lives are at stake, Rodimus!" 
"''No one'' is innocent!"
:—'''Optimus Prime''' and '''Rodimus Prime''' throw down some more...right before Optimus clocks him.

"Now, light our darkest hour!"
:—'''Optimus Prime''', proving that destiny and Chosen Ones mean nothing when pitted against letters from angry kids and parents.

"There will be no war today, Optimus. You have earned Galvatron's respect."
:—'''Galvatron''', totally sane for the first time since...ever

"The wisdom of the ages! It's lost!" 
"No, not lost. We're all a little wiser now." 
"But the Matrix is empty!" 
"It's up to all of us to fill it again—with the wisdom we accumulate from this moment on. Autobots, transform and roll out!"
:—'''Hot Rod''' and '''Optimus Prime'''

==Notes==
*The Japanese version of this episode has a slightly alternate ending. After Optimus Prime and the Autobots ride off into the sunset and "the Touch" ends, the music changes to "Dash Dash Transformer" (the 2010 Japanese theme song) and the scene shifts to a montage of all the major characters from the series.
*The portion of the "The Touch" that plays includes the line about "Hell breaking loose," an unusually strong word for an American '80s TV cartoon. Guess the censors were looking elsewhere that day.

===Animation errors===
*When Galvatron is threatening Optimus after they find the heat-resistant metal, Galvatron's cannon has a trigger on it.
*When escaping after Galvatron is infected, Optimus and his cab are coated in the resistant metal before it was even melted down.
*As Optimus is explaining that the Matrix must be refilled with the future wisdom, he is colored as if he still has the heat resistant metal on him.

===Continuity errors===
*The alloy is heat-resistant to the point of surviving a supernova in the [[The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1|previous episode]]. Yet it now can be melted down to coat Optimus Prime with it.
* So....how ''exactly'' does Sky Lynx know every single detail of what happened in the previous episode? He wasn't even there when half of those recapped events took place!
*The Transformers wounded by Superion included Steeljaw and Wheelie, who are briefly seen at the start. They are then replaced by Blaster. Steeljaw returns a bit later, however, but Wheelie stays gone.
*How did Kup know that Rodimus had been contaminated since he was deactivated by Superion before Rodimus was?
*When Galvatron and Prime are working together, Prime says, "That's because I know you too well, Galvatron." Yet this is the first time Prime has ever met Galvatron (being dead since before Galvatron was created). Perhaps he just has really good intuition...or perhaps he's smart enough to know that Galvatron and Megatron are one and the same.

===Transformers references===
*When Optimus uses the Matrix to cure the Hate Plague, it bears more than a passing resemblance to when Rodimus Prime used the Matrix to destroy [[Unicron]] in [[The Transformers: The Movie|''The Movie'']]. They've even got "The Touch" playing in the background.

*In Japanese continuity, the events of [[The Great Transformer War issue 3|issue 3]] of ''[[The Great Transformer War]]'' take place shortly after this episode, helping to bridge the gap between it and "[[Four Warriors Come out of the Sky]]", the first episode of ''[[The Headmasters (cartoon)|The Headmasters]]''.

*Optimus's armored form is identical to Ultra Magnus's inner robot mode.

==External links==
* [http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/the_return_of_optimus_prime_part_2.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2}}
[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]

Optimus Prime (Movie)

2009-05-04T13:23:51Z

69.43.35.2: /* Trivia */

{{factions|autobot}}
{{disambig3|Optimus Prime}}

:''Optimus Prime is the [[Autobot]] leader from the [[Movie (franchise)|2007 movie franchise]] in the [[Live-action film series|live-action film]] [[Continuity family|continuity family]].''

[[Image:MovieOptimusPrime promorender3.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Freedom is—oh, hell, you know the drill.]]
'''Optimus Prime''' is the leader of the Autobots. Once, long ago, he was [[Prime (rank)|co-ruler]] of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] together with his [[brother]], [[Lord High Protector]] [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]], but Megatron grew greedy and attempted to claim the [[All Spark (Movie)|All Spark]] for himself. Optimus rose to stand against him. As obsessively as Megatron strives to achieve his objective, Optimus is equally as dedicated to stopping him, even at the cost of his life, his world, and—if necessary—his own people. It was on his order that the All Spark was jettisoned into space, dooming Cybertron to a slow death and his people to nomadism. The sacrifices he has made weigh heavily on his [[Spark|spark]], but they must be done, for there is no other choice. He knows the ambitions that lurk in Megatron's spark, and they must never see the light of day. Lives must be kept free from the threat of Megatron's tyranny, no matter the cost.

{{bigquote|A necessary sacrifice to bring peace to this planet. We cannot let the humans pay for our mistakes.|Optimus Prime on sacrificing his life to destroy the [[All Spark]], ''[[Transformers (2007)|Transformers]]''}}

:''Hungarian name'': '''Optimusz Fővezér''' ("Prime Leader Optimus")
:''Chinese name (Taiwan):'' '''Kē Bó Wén''' (柯博文)
:''Cantonese name (Hong Kong):'' '''O Baak Man''' (柯柏文)

==Fiction==
===IDW ''Transformers'' movie comics===
[[Image:Defiance1 Megs Prime argument.jpg|left|350px|thumb|"Hey, I wanted a mouthplate!"]]

Millions of years ago, Optimus was in charge of the science division and the protectors of the [[All Spark]]. When Protector Megatron toured the excavation site near the temple at [[Simfur]], he and Optimus clashed over several issues. While Optimus wanted to take the investigation slowly, all Megatron cared about was if the site contained power similar to the All Spark. Optimus nettled Megatron when he reminded the Protector that the science sector was in charge of scientific and archaeological discoveries, and that the defense forces had a tendency to treat such discoveries as hostile, to which Megatron told him if and when he was leader, then he could make such decisions. When a mysterious relic was uncovered, Optimus disagreed with Megatron's order for it to be removed from the ground. Just as the two were about to launch into yet another argument, aliens previously encountered by Commander [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] attacked Cybertron. Megatron blackmailed Optimus into moving the relic into his personal quarters by reminding the science leader that the science division would like to protect the only intact relic from harm. {{storylink|Defiance issue 1|Defiance issue 1}}

Optimus ordered his science teams to help the survivors on both sides, in the hopes of finding out who was responsible and why they attacked. While he went off to find Megatron, he ordered the others to continue searching for survivors while [[Arcee (Movie)|Arcee]] examined the alien remains. Optimus was shocked and appalled when Megatron ordered him to marshall his forces for war. Optimus objected, as his science division was not trained for combat, but Megatron retorted that the scientists should have known that aliens were after the All Spark. He endured Megatron's insane fury when he accused the protector of betraying that which their society was built upon. Later, Optimus called upon a meeting with his science division to ask to stay by his side and continue on with their mission of peaceful research, as they were protectors, not soldiers. While the aerial-based cybertronians followed Megatron into space, Optimus confided in [[Prowl (Movie)|Prowl]] and [[Jazz (Movie)|Jazz]] that Megatron seeked to divide their planet, and asked the former for help breaking into the the High Protector's personal quarters. {{storylink|Defiance issue 2}}

After noting that Megatron had restored the artifact to pristine condition, Optimus had to leave the military leader's quarters just before he returned. Returning to Burthov to discuss what he has learned with [[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]], [[Arcee (Movie)|Arcee]] came telling Optimus they had found a symbol matching the one on Optimus' head. The symbol indicates Optimus is a [[Prime (rank)|Prime]], and the other Autobots begin to dub him "Optimus Prime", although a humble Optimus noted they did not know what it meant and for all they know, he could just be from a line of record clerks. Prowl was forced by Megatron to arrest Optimus, but this turned out to be a trap to kill him. Optimus bested Starscream, while Megatron formed his new faction, the [[Decepticon]]s. {{storylink|Defiance issue 3}} Learning of Megatron's new starship, the ''[[Nemesis (ROTF)|Nemesis]]'', Optimus had a [[Ark (Movie)|ship]] repaired to flee [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] with the All Spark. However, since the ship could not transport all the Autobots, he made a plan to launch the All Spark into space so the Decepticons would leave those remaining alone. {{storylink|Defiance issue 4}}

{{note|[[Defiance]] changes the past relationship between Megatron and Optimus Prime as previously seen in IDW's Prime Directive prequel where they ruled side by side as equals. As presented here, Defiance establishes Optimus Prime as merely the leader of the Cybertronian science sector, and an underling to Megatron.}}

[[Image:Optimusprimemovieprequel.jpg|right|200px|thumb|All Primes are required to have window boobs.]]

For two generations, Optimus Prime ruled [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] side-by-side with [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]]. The two personalities created a balance; Prime was fair while Megatron was firm. However, when Megatron revealed his intentions to steal the [[All Spark (Movie)|All Spark]] and use it for evil, selfish gain, Prime reacted accordingly. He formed the Autobots, a militia from the civilians around him, but they fared terribly against Megatron's armies, the Decepticons. Ultimately, Prime was forced to eject the All Spark into space to keep it from his nemesis. Unfortunately, Megatron tracked the All Spark to [[Tyger Pax]], where [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]]'s unit was trying to slow down the Decepticons. Prime and the Autobots were held up in [[Simfur]], and unable to come assist. Fortunately, Bumblebee's unit succeeded, and the All Spark was ejected into space, but Cybertron was sentenced to a slow death. The Autobots were forced to abandon the planet.

Thus the focus of the war between Autobot and Decepticon shifted. The All Spark's ejection was only a stall. No longer did Prime have to keep Megatron from stealing the All Spark, instead Prime and his Autobots must hunt down the All Spark, wherever in the universe it landed, before Megatron could. {{storylink|Prime Directive (IDW) issue 1}}

As they prepared to leave Cybertron on board the ''[[Ark (Movie)|Ark]]'' to go after the All Spark, Optimus Prime had some doubts about his decision, feeling that in buying them some time in the war, he had sentenced their world to death. [[Prowl (Movie)|Prowl]] disagreed, pointing out that had Megatron been able to claim the Cube, all those that opposed him would have been destroyed, and that Prime turned death into a fighting chance for the Autobots. Bolstered by Prowl's words, Prime resolved to rebuild their shattered home once they retrieved the All Spark. {{storylink|The Reign of Starscream issue 1}}

===''Transformers: Beginnings''===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Peter Cullen]]

Bumblebee remembered Optimus Prime's orders that they must launch the All Spark into space, for it was better to lose it to the depths of space than allow Lord Megatron to corrupt it with his evil. For where ever there is hope, there is life. {{storylink|Transformers: Beginnings}}

{{note|Transformers: Beginnings is a condensed, flash-animated retelling of the [[IDW]] [[Prime Directive (IDW)|Prime Directive]] Movie Prequel that is detailed above this section.}}

===Titan Magazines ''Transformers'' movie comics===

[[Image:OptimusMovie_GeoffSenior.JPG|left|250px|thumb|They came and had a go, they weren't 'ard enough.]]

When war broke out, Optimus studied the entire history of intergalactic warfare from any datatrack he could find - he studied whole campaigns to desperate last stands, gaining a focused "playbook" of warfare strategy. He understands warfare on a practical and psychological level, and in desperate battles knows to show no mercy to opponents beyond a swift death. <ref>''Autobot VS Decepticon Smackdown! - Megatron V. Optimus Prime'', #4</ref>

Optimus was the focus of constant attacks by assassin drones and killed them all. In the aftermath of one, he witnessed a prophetic vision of the [[Mission City]] battle and realised the All Spark's ejection could spread war to other planets—but too late to stop the launch... {{storylink|Prelude: Optimus Prime}}

{{note|The following event is unique to the Titan Magazines comics continuity, and thus does not occur anywhere else.}}

Almost immediately after the final battle against Megatron, Optimus Prime had to lead the Autobots against a horde of [[Zombie|zombie]] Decepticons. Despite having no idea how they could be stopped and having had his power drained by fighting Megatron, Optimus continued to fight the monsters rather than let them run amok. Ratchet worked out a solution just in time before Optimus fell. {{storylink|Starscream's Militia}}

{{note|The following events occur in an alternate timeline/continuity where Megatron won the battle of Mission City.}}

[[Image:Tf mag 18 2008.JPG|right|250px|thumb|"Who left this cover text lying around?"]]
In the alternate reality, Megatron defeated Optimus and took the All Spark at [[Mission City]]. Prime's body was now partially frozen and in Decepticon hands. He was the last and only hope of the Earth resistance, and so Bumblebee and [[Mikaela Banes]] were not happy to find him offline. {{storylink|Twilight's Last Gleaming, Part: 1|Twilight's Last Gleaming, Part: 1}} She thawed him out while Bumblebee distracted Megatron, and the revived Prime challenged Megatron to a solo duel... {{storylink|Twilight's Last Gleaming, Part: 4|Twilight's Last Gleaming, Part: 4}} Unfortunately, Megatron's link to the All Spark meant Optimus could not do any lasting damage and was never going to win. Luckily, Bumblebee and Mikaela saved the day, hitting the distracted Megatron with an old [[Sector Seven]] nanovirus. (Which means ''they'' were the last and only hope, but oh well.) Despite Megatron dying as a result and the All Spark being destroyed elsewhere, Prime could take no satisfaction in victory: this battle was won, but the war remained... {{storylink|Twilight's Last Gleaming, Part: 5}}

He became resigned to the fact that Humanity, battered by Decepticon occupation, would view both Autobot and Decepticon as hostile invaders. When [[NATO]] was manipulated into attacking the Autobots, Optimus refused to allow his men to return fire, and after the crisis passed, he was sure that [[Starscream (Movie)|the Decepticons' unknown new commander]] was up to something bigger. Optimus has also placed the last All Spark fragment in the care of Ratchet, though he's worried exposure to Megatron may have corrupted it. {{storylink|Aftermath Part 1|Aftermath Part 1}} {{storylink|Aftermath Part 2|Aftermath Part 2}} He was ''not'' happy when Ratchet "took care" of the fragment by bringing [[Jazz (Movie)|Jazz]] back with it, who was left corrupted and amoral by it. {{storylink|Dark Spark}

Optimus Prime soon worked out that while the All Spark's transformation of Earth had been halted, the damage had been done: the organic Earth and the technological transformation were now fighting for supremacy, killing the planet in the process. He called in a specialist team to investigate and limit the damage, while working with [[President of the United States|President Allen]]. In secret, he's organised for [[Nucleon]] to be retrieved from the dead Cybertron and brought to Earth, as there's a long shot it could save the planet. He hasn't told the humans out of concern that if they know about the plan and it fails, their hopes would be raised and dashed. {{storylink|Return to Cybertron: Part 1}}

When the team on Cybertron sent an distress signal and reported [[Stockade (Movie)|Stockade's]] Decepticons had captured the Nucleon, Optimus led the entirety of the Earth-bound Autobots (save Camshaft's team) to Cybertron as back-up. He was then surprised to see Cybertron coming to ''them'', looking [[Unicron|a lot meaner these days]]. {{storylink|Return to Cybertron: Part 3}} The planet's possessor, Unicron, shot down the Straxus and the Autobots survived only by evacuating it in time in [[Protoform|protoform]] modes.

Optimus landed next to Stockade's old equipment and, after being filled in by [[Arcee (Movie)|Arcee]], he effortlessly formed an alliance with Stockade against Unicron. His plan was to drain the Nucleon away so Unicron couldn't use it as a power source, while the bulk of the Transformers provided a distraction, which turned out to be going underground and shooting up Unicron's body. The plan worked, Nucleon was secured for Earth, and Optimus extended an offer for Stockade to join them on Earth whenever he wished. Optimus was left optimistic that Autobots and Decepticons had came together in a common cause. {{storylink|Return to Cybertron: Part 4}}

On returning to Earth, he found the Decepticons had seized the Autobot base and six hundred square miles around it; he made the decision to withdraw to [[Washington, D.C.]], knowing that this meant leaving Mikaela in Decepticon hands. Upon landing at an air base, the Decepticon-controlled President Allen lured him into a trap, and he found himself fighting Jazz, now a Decepticon hired gun. Optimus lured him away from humans and prepared to engage him, but when a second assassin named Kullt turned up, Jazz gunned it down out of annoyance. Optimus had viewed Jazz as a lost cause but now stated there was still some Autobot in him: he ''could'' have let Kullt do the work for him and then killed him, but he saved Prime instead.

[[Image:Optimus Titan22.JPG|left|200px|thumb|Freedom is not dispensed here, sentient fools, only DEATH!]]
The battle made it clear to Optimus that Allen was under Decepticon mental control. {{storylink|Hard Target|Hard Target}}

As he'd promised Bumblebee, Optimus took the Autobots to get Mikaela back; he himself went first, launching himself in [[Protoform|protoform]] mode to land in Savannah like a bomb and tearing his way through [[Swindle (Movie)|drone hordes]]. He was quickly gunned down by aerial units and about to be killed by Starscream, but this whole flashy attack had been a diversion-allowing other Autobots a chance to hit the distracted air forces and nab Mikaela. After the battle, Optimus remarked Starscream was no Megatron. {{storylink|The Decepticon Who Haunted Himself}}

Optimus seemed to quickly bond with [[General Seward]], his military liason at Andrews Air Base, but that didn't help when the mind-controlled President Allen had the government order the Autobots out of America. Anticipating this, he dispatched Ironhide on an unknown mission. The following day, the Autobots all departed—and then Allen nuked them out of the sky! {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 23|Revolution Part One}} Somehow, they'd survived and made it to Cybertron, and turned out to have made an unspecified deal with Stockade. Optimus doesn't trust Stockade to not renege on it, but believes this is their best shot at stopping the conflict... {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 24|Revolution Part Two}}

{{-}}

===''Ghosts of Yesterday'' prequel novel===
Optimus Prime led the search for the All Spark in the ''[[Ark (Movie)|Ark]]'', a transport vessel. When they came across an abandoned solar system, they located [[Ghost One|a vessel]] of strangely Cybertronian design, seemingly of Decepticon make. When the vessel fled to the surface of a planet, Prime dispatched Bumblebee to investigate while he and the other Autobots battled Decepticons from the ''[[Nemesis (Movie)|Nemesis]]''. Prime managed to defeat [[Blackout (Movie)|Blackout]], [[Scorponok (Movie)|Scorponok]], and [[Frenzy (Movie)|Frenzy]] all on his own. After losing touch with Bumblebee, Prime went down to locate him on the planet, where they were attacked by [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] and the alien ship. They fell into a cavern network, where they were further attacked by [[Worm-thing|indigenous worms]].

During their flight from the creatures, Optimus Prime and Bumblebee came across the alien vessel. Prime realized that they were trying to surrender, so the Autobots communicated with its crew. Optimus explained that they came in peace, "freedom is the right of all sentient beings," Starscream tricks everyone, and so on. However, the creatures, who called themselves "[[Human|humans]]", explained that they held Megatron, whom they called the Ice Man, on their home world, [[Earth]]. Realizing the destruction Megatron would wreak upon the humans if he escaped, and that the humans would be unable to defend themselves effectively, Prime vowed to see them return to their world to warn it. Prime was able to blast an opening in the cavern, and the group escaped. As they returned to the ''Ark'', Prime began to speculate that the All Spark was what drew Megatron to Earth.

In the ensuing battle with the Decepticons, Prime was in the difficult position of fighting Starscream and protecting the human ship. His distractions allowed Bonecrusher to spear him with his tail. The difficult state nearly gave Starscream the chance to kill him, but the humans saved Prime's life by damaging Starscream, who destroyed them. Optimus Prime was inspired by their courage and sacrifice, and resolved to locate Earth before the Decepticons did—and hopefully before Megatron came back online. {{storylink|Ghosts of Yesterday}}

===''Transformers'' (2007) film===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Peter Cullen]] (English), [[Tesshō Genda]] (Japanese), [[Guilherme Briggs]] (Brazil), [[Reiner Schöne]] (German)

[[Image:Movie OptimusPrime protoform.jpg|right|220px|thumb|Having overenergized the previous night, Prime woke up abandoned in a field, with his wallet and clothes stolen.]]
The leader of the Autobots, Optimus Prime came to Earth shortly after [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]] sent his comrades a beacon. Upon atmospheric reentry, Prime managed to land outside of [[Tranquility]]'s inhabited areas. While Sam and Mikaela watched, Optimus transformed and fled his landing place. From atop a hill, he quickly scanned the form of an Earth truck, thus configuring his body to transform into it. Prime, [[Jazz (Movie)|Jazz]], [[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]], and [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]] met up with Bumblebee and his human friends, [[Sam Witwicky]] and [[Mikaela Banes]] in an alley. In one of the most extended [[Transformation|transformations]] in the multiverse, Prime assumed his robotic form before the stunned humans. After confirming Sam's identity, Prime introduced himself and his team. When Mikaela asked of the Autobots' intentions, Prime explained the search for the All Spark, the betrayal of Megatron, and why Sam was important to their search.

[[Image:Movie PrimeSam parentsfreakout.jpg|left|300px|thumb|Optimus Prime will watch you fornicate. And there is nothing you can do about it.]]
Glasses that belonged to Sam's ancestor, [[Archibald Witwicky|Captain Archibald Witwicky]], contained the location of the All Spark encoded across its lenses, so Optimus Prime ordered his troops to wait outside Sam's house while Sam and Mikaela searched inside for the glasses. Much to Sam's exasperation, Optimus Prime, in his impatience, clumsily ruined his parents' garden, and the Autobots' heavy footsteps convinced them there was an earthquake. Prime's attempts to hide, such as having the Autobots transform into vehicle mode right in the backyard, were also less than satisfactory. Ultimately, Sam came so close to a panic attack that Prime was forced to order the Autobots to fall back. As Prime lectured his team on their supposed inability to remain quiet, Ratchet got himself shocked by walking into some powerlines, causing further problems. When [[Ron Witwicky|the]] [[Judy Witwicky|parents]] came to investigate, Prime's attempt to avoid discovery caused the house to shake, though this was to their benefit, as the father assumed that the damage to the yard was the result of an earthquake. Ironhide suggested that they kill the parents, but Optimus scolded his old friend. Despite all this, their presence remained undetected until [[Sector Seven]] arrived (in a convoy of GMC Yukons) and abducted Sam, Mikaela, and Sam's parents.

[[Image:Movie Optimus Prime S7 mad.JPG|right|300px|thumb|Get out of the car...what's left of it anyway!]]
Optimus Prime sent the Autobots in pursuit of the SUV that contained Sam, Mikaela, and Sector Seven's director, [[Reggie Simmons|Agent Simmons]]. Prime intercepted the vehicle carrying their young human friends, ripping the roof of the vehicle off, with the other Autobots disarming the agents, and made it perfectly clear to Simmons how pissed off he was at him for trying to apprehend the two children, regarding this as a bad move on Simmons' behalf. Optimus then ordered his comrades to relieve the agents of their weapons, and attempted to interrogate Simmons. The agents' lack of surprise at their appearance indicated that they had seen Cybertronians before, but Simmons refused to reveal any information. With a Sector Seven backup team en route, Prime ordered the Autobots to scatter, while he took Sam and Mikaela. While hiding under a bridge, Mikaela and Sam slipped and fell off Prime's shoulder. Bumblebee managed to catch them before impact, but was captured, and Sam and Mikaela recaptured, by the organization after their retreat.

Optimus Prime, now in possession of the glasses which could tell him the location of the All Spark, regretfully left Bumblebee in Sector Seven's hands, knowing that if they went after him, they would have to use deadly force. After regrouping the next day, Prime used the glasses to locate the All Spark. Jazz raised objections to leaving Bumblebee behind, but Prime remained firm in his belief of not harming the humans. Ironhide seemed okay with using deadly force, stating the humans were too violent, but Prime countered that when their time had come, the Cybertronians had been [[Cybertronian Civil Wars|little different]]. Going on to explain the potential he saw in the humans, as well as reminding them that "freedom is the right of all sentient beings", Prime revealed to the Autobots his real plan for the All Spark: if they could not defeat the Decepticons, Prime intended to merge the Cube with his [[Spark|spark]]. Though this would destroy the All Spark, Ratchet cautioned Prime against this, as it would also kill him. Prime believed that this was acceptable, vowing not to let another race suffer the mistakes of the Transformers. The glasses placed the All Spark at [[Hoover Dam]] where, luckily, Bumblebee and the young humans were taken.

[[Image:Movie2007 Prime sword.jpg|left|300px|thumb|Swiss army Prime.]]
Optimus Prime's team met up with Sector Seven, Bumblebee, Sam, and Mikaela en route, who had planned to hide the All Spark in nearby [[Mission City]]. While on the highway, he was attacked by [[Bonecrusher (Movie)|Bonecrusher]], who managed to tackle Optimus and drag him over the edge of a freeway overpass. During the battle, Optimus struck the rage filled Transformer so hard his [[Optic|optic]] popped out. As the Decepticon swung his claw wildly, Optimus drew his sword from his right arm and sliced off one of Bonecrusher's arms, before brutally finishing off his enemy by driving the blade through Bonecrusher's neck, severing his head.

Optimus arrived at Mission City just in time to observe Megatron discarding the remains of Jazz, and challenged him. Millennia in the ice had done nothing to lessen Megatron's hatred of his brother, and he launched himself in jet mode at the Autobot leader. Optimus leaped and grabbed hold of the wings, which was a really bad idea, as Megatron drove himself and Prime through an office block. As they flew out of the building onto the street below, Megatron transformed and leapt on top of Prime, declaring the humans undeserving of life. Prime rejected his claims, saying that they deserved to choose for themselves. Megatron threw Prime across the street, declaring that if he wished to defend the humans, Prime could die with them. He then formed his [[Fusion cannon|fusion cannon]] from his forearms. The power up time allowed Prime to draw his [[Ion blaster|ion blaster]] and fire, hitting Megatron. The Decepticon used the momentum to spin around, then used the fusion cannon to blast Prime across the street into another building. Megatron then resumed the hunt for Sam and the All Spark.

[[Image:Movie2007 Prime truck.jpg|right|300px|thumb|He knows he's a sexy truck.]]
Tracking Megatron to the deserted building, Prime barely managed to catch Sam after Megatron knocked him off the roof. Telling the boy to hold onto the Cube, Prime attempted to scale down the building, but Megatron jumped on Prime, causing them both to fall down hard onto the street below. Sam survived, however, and Optimus told the boy that if he could not defeat Megatron, Sam must put the All Spark into his chest which would destroy it. As Sam sought cover, Optimus faced down Megatron, and informed him that, "At the end of this day, one shall stand, one shall fall". Unfortunately, Megatron, even after years of stasis, proved to be far too powerful for Prime to defeat alone. The unit led by Lennox and the Raptor squadron laid down suppressing fire as Megatron reached for the All Spark, until Optimus finally took him down by sweeping his legs. Still, Megatron continued, crawling toward the cube. Believing he had lost, Optimus implored Sam to put the All Spark into his chest. Sam instead thrust it into Megatron's chest, killing the Decepticon leader and destroying the All Spark.

[[Image:Movie2007 Prime AllSpark shard.jpg|left|300px|thumb|The Autobot [[Matrix of Leadership|Dorito of leadership]]]]
As Optimus watched his brother die, he regretfully said there was little other choice. He also told Sam he owed him a debt of gratitude for saving his life, but was then informed that Jazz had not survived (Jazz was flapping around disrespectfully like a ragdoll during this sequence). Prime briefly eulogized his comrade, then commented that they had gained new comrades in the humans, and was honored by their bravery. Bumblebee, who had finally regained his voice, requested permission to remain with Sam Witwicky, to which the young human eagerly agreed, and Optimus approved. He noticed a fragment of the All Spark in Megatron's chest cavity and removed it, then permitted the humans to dispose of the Decepticon corpses by dumping them into the deepest part of the ocean.

[[Image:Movie Optimus ending.JPG|right|300px|thumb|[['Til all are one]]!]]
Though Megatron was killed and his Decepticons were defeated, the All Spark was destroyed, leaving the Autobots unable to restore Cybertron. The Autobots elected to remain on Earth, and Prime sent a message into deep space to any surviving Autobots in the Galaxy to come to their new home on Earth, their long years of searching having finally having come to an end. As the other Autobots rested (and watched Sam and Mikaela make out on Bumblebee's hood) Optimus Prime looked to the sky, hoping his message had been heard. {{storylink|Transformers (2007)}}
{{-}}

{{note|The [[Movie Adaptation Issue Number Four|comic book adaptation]] depicts Optimus Prime also defeating [[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]] during the highway altercation with Bonecrusher. However, the later comic [[The Reign of Starscream issue 1]] depicts Ironhide doing the deed.}}
{{-}}

===Toy bios===

That truck he transcanned was ''the coolest thing he ever saw''. {{storylink|Optimus Prime (Movie) toys#Voyager Class toys|Robo-Vision Optimus Prime}}

When the All Spark was destroyed, Optimus was ''bathed'' in its power and became a living receptacle: he could destroy or heal with the merest thought. He still remained dedicated to peace, and altered his exterior decorations to match the ones he bore as a young leader, before the beginning of the war. {{storylink|Optimus Prime (Movie) toys#Voyager Class toys|First Strike Optimus Prime}}

When the war turned out to ''not'' be over though, and with more Decepticons appearing on Earth, he was forced to alter himself to be used for stealth missions—something he finds dishonourable but knows has to be done. He is now sensor transparent and silent. {{storylink|Optimus Prime (Movie) toys#Leader Class toys|Nightwatch Optimus Prime}} In this form, he came under surprise attack by an equally stealth-modified Starscream, leader of the new Decepticons! {{storylink|Optimus Prime (Movie) toys#Legends Class toys|Nightwatch Optimus Prime vs. Stealth Starscream}}

Once the Decepicons were beaten on Earth, Optimus was given intelligence by [[Sector Seven]] on Decepticon activity on Mars. He immediately altered his form to blend in to Mars, and headed off to ''personally'' hunt the enemy down. {{storylink|Optimus Prime (Movie) toys#Fast Action Brawlers|Fire Blast Optimus Prime}}

===IDW ''Transformers'' movie comics===
[[Image:AllianceOptimusHoloDriver.jpg|right|200px|thumb|[[Peter Cullen|Optimus Prime]] driving Optimus Prime! Sheer awesomeness!]]

Following the battle of [[Mission City]], and the destruction of Megatron and the All Spark, Optimus Prime was left to ferry the body of his first lieutenant [[Jazz (Movie)|Jazz]] out of the city in an abandoned trailer. Trusting [[William Lennox|Captain Lennox]] and his men, Prime asked the human soldiers to help the Autobots escape from the city, before [[Sector Seven]] and other untrustworthy humans could arrive. A month later, [[Reggie Simmons|Agent Simmons]] managed to convince Lennox and [[Robert Epps|Sergeant Epps]] to call upon the assistance of Optimus Prime and the Autobots to escort the Decepticon remains, thereby hopefully reactivating the Decepticon [[Wreckage (Movie)|Wreckage]] somehow. {{storylink|Alliance issue 1}}

Optimus, Ironhide, Ratchet and Bumblebee arrived at Sector Seven's Nevada desert base to escort the a naval base at [[California|San Diego, California]]. Optimus insisted on escorting Jazz's remains personally, and thanked Lennox for arraigning a proper burial-at-sea for his fallen lieutenant. When he noticed the All Spark shard seemingly reacting to the Decepticon bodies, he handed the fragment to professor [[Vine]] for safekeeping until he returned. Shortly after leaving the base, Optimus had second thoughts about leaving the fragment in Sector Seven's possession, and ordered Bumblebee and Ironhide to turn around and retrieve the only remaining piece of the All Spark. {{storylink|Alliance issue 2}}

The convoy returned to the Sector Seven base after learning of Wreckage and Starscream's attacks. [[Salani]] retrieved the All Spark shard and returned it to Optimus Prime, who felt the last piece of their heritage should stay with him. Weeks later, the Autobots and the soldiers with whom they served with traveled aboard a [[United States Navy|US Navy]] carrier for Jazz's burial-at-sea and to observe the disposal of the Decepticons. Optimus deeply appreciated the humans' paying last respects to their fallen comrade, though he was concerned that even the great depths of the Laurentian Abyss were not enough to keep the Decepticon bodies hidden. Below deck, Optimus and Lennox agreed to a formal [[NEST|alliance between the Autobots and humans]] as the first line of offense and defense against the Decepticons. During training on the island of [[Diego Garcia]], Optimus Prime reminded the Autobots that they must work together with the humans as a team, never forgetting that division is what caused the war on Cybertron in the first place. When they were alone, Optimus Prime and Major Lennox complimented on each other's leadership and the dedication of their respective troops. When Lennox commented that it was because of the Autobots that he and his soldiers were alive today, Optimus refuted this, saying it was because of humans such as Lennox and Sam, and that the Autobots were only part of the problem. Soon, both [[N.E.S.T.]] leaders learned that the Decepticons had returned to Earth. {{storylink|Alliance issue 3}}

NEST was deployed to [[San Francisco]], where the Decepticons [[Swindle (Movie)|Swindle]] and [[Dead End (Movie)|Dead End]] were wrecking havoc. Flushed out of hiding, the Decepticons managed to evade the other Autobots, but Optimus Prime quickly put down Dead End by ramming him head-on. When asked by Prime, he commented that he was fine, but he wasn't sure if Dead End was. On the way back to base, Lennox and Optimus Prime discussed Swindle's last words and were concerned that this was just the first wave of Decepticons coming to Earth, and that they were after [[Sam Witwicky]]. Optimus convinced Lennox that no matter what, it was Sam's destiny to become involved in this conflict, and they agreed to send Bumblebee back to the States to resume his role as the boy's guardian. Later, when Optimus observed the distrust for the Autobots held by Lennox's superiors, he suggested that they must work harder and that continued success would satisfy those above them. During the subsequent hunt for Decepticons around the world, Optimus Prime personally destroyed [[Jetstorm (Movie)|Jetstorm]], [[Dropkick]] and [[Incinerator (Movie)|Incinerator]]. As NEST's ranks grew, together they celebrated their victories and mourned those who made the ultimate sacrifice. One event brought joy and hope to the team: The arrival of Autobot refugees who were eager to protect their new homeworld. This joy was tempered by the fact more and more Decepticons were being sighted on Earth, and Optimus believed that there was some unknown that threatened their new home, their species and their alliance with the humans. {{storylink|Alliance issue 4}}

===''The Veiled Threat'' prequel novel===
{{Note|The events of ''The Veiled Threat'' take place during [[IDW Publishing]]'s ''[[Alliance]]'' comic.}}
{{charstubfiction}}
{{storylink|The Veiled Threat}}

==Games==
===''Transformers'' The Game (console)===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Peter Cullen]]

Optimus Prime provides intelligence and missions to Bumblebee in his search for the All Spark. Eventually, the clues lead the Autobot to Sam Witwicky. After saving Sam from Barricade, Bumblebee finally completes preparations for the Autobots to arrive on Earth.

Once on Earth, and having informed the two teenagers of their mission, Prime and the Autobots are discovered by Sector 7. Optimus sends Jazz on a high-speed <strike>destruction</strike> distraction mission, then sends Ironhide to rescue Jazz from a double-threat posed by the government agents and various Decepticon scouts.

When Bumblebee is captured, Prime transforms and chases the chopper which from which the small Autobot is tied. After a lengthy chase, Prime manages to catch the net, only to be thrown off by another Cybertronian meteor. As Bumblebee is carried away, Optimus promises he will not fail him again. Jazz informs him that the meteor is not an Autobot. Prime confronts the new threat, who turns out to be the Decepticon triplechanger [[Shockwave (Movie)|Shockwave]]. The two battle it out across [[Tranquility]] before Optimus finally destroys him. But not without overhearing [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]]'s transmission revealing the location of the All Spark.

Optimus then returns to an intel role as he guides Bumblebee in his mission to retrieve the All Spark from Hoover Dam. Unfortunately, the Decepticons manage to free Megatron, leading to the final battle in Mission City.

As the Autobots battle it out with the Decepticons to protect Sam and the All Spark, things seem to take a turn for the worst as Megatron finally arrives. But before he can claim the cube, Optimus attacks him.

The two battle it out until Megatron is finally on the ground, seemingly devoid of life. Optimus then kneels to take the All Spark as Sam hands it to him. Megatron however awakens, leaping at Optimus with his chain-flail out, and making one last attempt at defeating his adversary. Optimus grabs the chain, pulling Megatron in closer, and with the All Spark clutched in his fist, delivers a punch through Megatron's spark. As Megatron dies, Optimus reflects on the losses and rewards of this battle, as the Autobots have a new home. Optimus plans to guard the humans in secret, "For freedom is the right of all sentient beings." {{storylink|Transformers The Game (console)}}

{{note|If played in Decepticon mode, Optimus is beaten to the ground, and as he crawls for the All Spark, Megatron smashes his head with his flail before using the cube to destroy humanity.}}

===''Transformers: Autobots''===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Peter Cullen]]

Arriving late on Earth, Optimus meets up with the other Autobots to give further commands to his troops. [[Create-A-Bot (Autobot)|Create-A-Bot]], the new rookie, is eager to help in the cause, but Optimus tells him to sit back while the grown-ups take care of business. Getting fed up with the bureaucracy, Create-A-Bot finally defies orders and completes a mission against Optimus's council. After nearly getting himself and the other Autobots killed, Create-A-Bot apologizes to Optimus personally. Taking pity on the newcomer, Optimus lets him off with a stern warning, and they move out together to face Megatron. During the fight, Create-A-Bot sacrifices himself to save his commander. Megatron defeated, Optimus commends the young Autobot as a war hero, and sends out an interstellar message to any Cybertronians living among the stars. {{storylink|Transformers Autobots/Decepticons|Transformers: Autobots}}

===''Transformers: Decepticons''===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Peter Cullen]]

Landing on Earth, Optimus Prime quickly joins the other Autobots to attempt to stop the Decepticons. Prime didn't appear on the battlefield until Megatron himself was released and Starscream escaped with the AllSpark. He stepped in to thwart the maniacal leader of the Decepticons, but alas, was struck down, left in the streets while Megatron gave chase to his traitorous second-in-command. {{storylink|Transformers Autobots/Decepticons|Transformers: Decepticons}}

==Toys==
{{main|Optimus Prime (Movie) toys}}

==Merchandise==
:''Main article: [[Optimus Prime (Movie) toys#Merchandise|Merchandise]]''

{{-}}

==Trivia==
[[Image:Movie Primetruck before.jpg|right|150px|thumb|8:30 pm: "Trick My Truck". Tonight's guest: [[Alpha Trion (disambiguation)|Alpha Trion]].]]
[[Image:Movie OptimusPrime truckrear.jpg|right|150px|thumb|No container for you!]]
[[Image:Movie Prime Trucklogomistake.jpg|right|150px|thumb|In the darkness, a PA will misread "Truck A" as "Truck B", and there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth -- Revelation 11:7.]]
* When Optimus' design was first revealed, many fans of the ''Generation 1'' series objected to the flames seen on Prime's body. When asked in an interview why he put the flames on, [[Michael Bay]] claimed he liked them because it was "cool". It was later revealed on a special featurette on the DVD that the flames were added because, apparently, red is not very good to film on camera, so Bay chose a blue truck but used the flames so that when Optimus transformed, the layout would result in maintaining his iconic red chest.

* The announcement of [[Peter Cullen]] as Prime's voice actor in the movie is credited by some fans as alleviating many fan tensions about the movie. Not all tensions, mind you, as there are some who just can't forgive, but it put the fans in a good mood.

* [[Takaratomy]] officially recognizes Optimus Prime's vehicle mode as a [http://www.kenworth.com/2100_vir_w900.asp Kenworth W900 truck], even though the vehicle used for filming was a modified [http://www.peterbilt.com/index_gal_mod_desc.asp?model=model379 Peterbilt 379], a different model from a different brand, although both are made by the PACCAR company.<ref>[http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Features/articleId=121424?tid=edmunds.il.home.photopanel..2.* Article at Edmunds.com on some of the vehicles used in the movie]</ref>

* Unlike most of the other truck-mode Optimus Primes in other continuities, ''Movie'' Optimus Prime does not pull a trailer of any sort. However, if he did, it would most likely be a flatbed trailer, as the rear of Prime's sleeper cabin is protected by a large silver "headache rack", a piece of optional equipment installed in trucks that haul heavy loads on flatbed trailers. The rack protects the driver in case the load breaks free during braking.

* When Optimus Prime scans a truck for his new body, the passing truck has what appears to be an Autobot sigil on its grill, but the actual truck that Prime turns into at the end of the scene has a much wider, flatter symbol on the grill which looks rather more like that of Peterbilt. Then, Prime has an Autobot sigil on his grill while driving to meet the other Autobots.

* As part of the hype buildup to the movie's release, Optimus Prime made a brief cameo at the 2007 MTV Movie Awards, interacting with host Sarah Silverman. The scene spliced Silverman into pre-existing movie footage, but featured new dialogue recorded for the event by Peter Cullen. Prime heavily hinted that he wanted to present an award, but was rejected for a regular MTV fan.

* According to the free trading cards from the Boston Globe, Optimus is 28 feet tall, weighs 4.3 metric tons, and his primary weapon is an [[Ion blaster|ion blaster]]. (Considering Optimus's height, however, this weight would seem implausible.)

* In the Japanese dub of the movie, he is given his original western name of Optimus Prime rather than the Japanese equivilent, Convoy. Like how Peter Cullen voiced Prime in the English version of the film, Tesshō Genda (the voice of G1 Convoy) reprises his role for the Japanese dub.

* According to a tie-in advertisement for [[Burger King]], Prime likes his Whoppers with no onions, no cheese, and with extra pickles on the side. However, due to a cruel twist of fate, he can never enjoy the sweet taste of beefy victory. He saved the world from the Decepticons, and still he can't even have it his way? Where's the justice?

* The Optimus Prime computer generated model consisted of 10,108 individual parts, 1,830,898 polygons, 27,744 rig nodes, and 2336 texture maps. The volume of all pieces combined came to 5445 cubic feet.<ref>Robertson, Barbara (2007). Heavy Metal. ''Computer Graphics, 30''(7), 12-17.</ref>

* Sadly enough, Optimus was only able to shoot his gun ONCE in the movie. He makes up for it by using the awesome energy blade, though.

* Out of the other existing continuities, this Optimus Prime is probably the most aggressive incarnation, based on how he speaks to [[Reggie Simmons|government officials]] and how he deals with [[Bonecrusher (Movie)|enemy combatants]]. Though considering [[Michael Bay|who directed]] the movie, this doesn't seem too shocking.

* Optimus Prime (in truck mode) made an appearance at [[BotCon 2007]], alongside the [[Sector Seven Mobile Command Unit]]. He was available for pictures all weekend.

* It said in the Autobots game in the DS, Prime's father was killed by Megatron. However, since it is also widely known that Prime and Megatron were brothers, Megatron killed his own dad. Not that this is surprising, though.

* In Titan Magazines ''Transformers'' comics, Optimus' Cybertronian robot mode is exactly like his earth mode, but with different weapons, yet his Cybertronian mode is a mostly silver protoform -- with no truck windows. Odd.

==References==
<references />

==External links==
* [http://www.tfu.info/2007/Autobot/ProtoformOptimusPrime/optimusprime.htm Optimus Prime at TFU.info]
* [http://www.seibertron.com/toys/index.php?f_series=40&f_name=optimus&f_type=exact&Submit=Search Galleries of various different Optimus Prime toys from the Movie]

[[Category:Autobots]]
[[Category:Autobot leaders]]
[[Category:Convention guests]]
[[Category:Exclusives]]
[[Category:Movie characters]]
[[Category:Revenge of the Fallen characters]]
[[Category:Rulers of Cybertron]]
[[Category:Target exclusives]]
[[Category:Titanium Series]]
[[Category:Toys with sound]]
[[Category:Robot Heroes]]

Mission City

2009-05-01T13:03:51Z

69.43.35.2: /* Items of Note */

:''Mission City is a city in the [[Movie (franchise)|Movie]] [[continuity family]]''

[[Image:Mission City.JPG|right|300px|thumb|City motto? Life is pain.]]
'''Mission City''' is a city in the [[United States of America]], possibly in either [[wikipedia:Nevada|Nevada]] or [[wikipedia:Arizona|Arizona]]. It may rival [[San Francisco]] as "worst place to live", because it's the kind of place where [[Dispensor|Mountain Dew machines]] thirst for human blood, [[Xbox 360 robot|Xbox 360s]] play with the lives of their owners, and [[Steering wheel robot|steering wheels]] tend to [[kiss]] their drivers. It also had the poor fortune to be the location where the [[Autobot|Autobots]] and the [[Decepticon|Decepticons]] threw down for control of the [[All Spark]].

It's located 22 miles north of the [[Hoover Dam]].<ref>[[William Lennox]] explicitly states their distance from the dam in [[Transformers (2007)|the 2007 movie]].</ref> Its downtown has lots of Classically-detailed buildings from the early 20th Century which tend to shatter spectacularly when [[Transformer|giant robots]] smash into them.

==Fiction==
===''Transformers'' (2007) movie===
As [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]] began to thaw, [[William Lennox|Captain Lennox]] suggested that they move the All Spark to Mission City, where it would be easier to contact and rendezvous with military airlift to take it to safety. Defense Secretary [[John Keller]] agreed with him, despite the risk of attack from pursuing Decepticons. [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]] converted the All Spark to a more portable form, and he and a military escort, soon augmented by the Autobots, left for the city.

En route, [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] left the escort to battle [[Bonecrusher (Movie)|Bonecrusher]], while the other Autobots continued into downtown Mission City. Their human allies, meanwhile, had summoned F-22 Air Force fighters to provide aerial support.

[[Image:Movie MissionCityBattle1.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Ironhide is the first person in some twenty years to consider Starscream a serious threat... with good reason for once.]]
Captain Lennox procured several short-wave radios to contact the hoped-for aerial support, intending to summon Blackhawk helicopters to extract the All Spark. They soon sighted a lone F-22 overhead and called for support, marking their location with green smoke. Too late, the Autobots realized that the incoming fighter was in fact [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]]. [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]] ordered the humans and other Autobots to fall back, as he and Bumblebee lifted a truck to shield them from Starscream's attack. The resulting explosion crippled Bumblebee, severing his legs below the knees.

As the humans realized the deception, they finally heard back from actual incoming Blackhawks, but they then came under attack from [[Brawl (Movie)|Devastator]]. [[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]], [[Jazz (Movie)|Jazz]] and Ironhide all rushed to attack as the human soldiers fell back. [[Mikaela Banes|Mikaela]] spotted a tow truck nearby and ran to procure it, while the crippled Bumblebee handed the All Spark off to [[Sam Witwicky|Sam]].

[[Image:Movie MissionCityBattle2.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Yeah, let's triple-team the guy who is suffering an identity crisis. That's fair.]]
Ironhide rushed Devastator head-on, transforming and vaulting over an extremely hot woman with a huge mouth, all the while dodging two of the Decepticon's missiles. Jazz attacked from another direction, yanking the Decepticon's main gun aside. Devastator transformed and tossed Jazz into a building. Ironhide fired on Devastator, while Ratchet and Jazz attacked from both sides, Ratchet using a saw blade to slice off one of Devastator's arms. The humans joined the Autobots in blasting Devastator, until a series of shots from Ratchet knocked the Decepticon to the ground.

While Mikaela worked to hotwire the tow truck, [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]] landed in the city streets, prompting the Autobots to call a retreat. Jazz stayed behind and engaged the much larger Decepticon, getting blasted aside for his efforts.

Mikaela drove the tow truck over to Sam and Bumblebee. Megatron, meanwhile, carried Jazz through the air, crushing him under his feet atop a building, then pulling him out. Jazz fired on Megatron, but the massive Decepticon tore him in half.

[[Image:Movie Ratchet Ironhide runSam.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Wow. Ironhide was never this agile in the cartoon...or the comics...]]
On the ground, Captain Lennox's troops observed Devastator getting back to his feet, as well as the arrival of Blackout, who transformed and landed atop a building behind them. Under sporadic hostile fire, Lennox led his troops back to Bumblebee's position as Sam and Mikaela worked to hook Bumblebee to the tow truck. Lennox handed a flare to Sam and ordered him to take the All Spark to a nearby rooftop, while [[Robert Epps|Sergeant Epps]] summoned their Blackhawk support to pick him up. Ratchet and Ironhide promised Sam that they would protect him as he carried out the mission. After a quick farewell to Mikaela, Sam fled.

Megatron (from somewhere) ordered the Decepticons to [[Decepticons, attack|attack]], prompting Devastator to fire. Ratchet and Ironhide provided cover fire as Sam ran. Blackout attacked from the other side, and Ironhide engaged him. Blackout bashed aside the car that Ironhide tossed at him, then transformed and flew away. Mikaela finished securing Bumblebee and drove him off, as Devastator continued his lumbering advance.

[[Image:Movie MissionCityBattle4.jpg|right|250px|thumb|This is the only time Prime and Megs got to use their signature weapons. You fail us yet again, Michael Bay.]]
Optimus Prime arrived after his delay on the freeway, transforming and challenging Megatron. Still perched atop his building, Megatron tossed away the remains of Jazz and transformed. He scooped up Prime and took him for a dizzying ride through the streets and buildings of the city, smashing through an entire office building at one point before crashing to the street. The two exchanged their respective views on humanity and fisticuffs. Prime managed to get in a shot at Megatron, but a blast from Megatron's main gun hurled Prime down the street and into the side of another building, prompting viewers to wonder why Michael Bay hates architecture so much. Prime then fell to the street amid a small crowd of panicked humans, some of whom may or may not have been crushed.

With Ratchet and Ironhide alongside him, Sam continued sprinting for the building. Blackout landed in the street and sliced at Sam with his rotor weapon, but did not attempt to capture him. Starscream also landed nearby and engaged Ratchet and Ironhide, blasting them both. Starscream then transformed and launched again as the two Autobots collapsed. Sam continued onwards.

Megatron flew down from the sky and transformed, demanding that Sam give up the All Spark. As Sam darted through traffic, a near-collision with an SUV made him drop the cube, unleashing a pulse of its power. The pulse brought several machines to life, including part of the SUV and a [[Dispensor|Mountain Dew vending machine]].

[[Image:Movie Brawl dies.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Gah! Heartburn!]]
''Meanwhile, in [[Detroit]]...'' Sam sprinted into the abandoned building, pursued by Megatron, who smashed through a floor practically on Sam's heels but failed to stop him from entering a fire stairwell.

Mikaela and Bumblebee stopped in an alley, while Sam continued climbing and Lennox's troops continued fighting against Devastator. Mikaela was crying, hitting the wheel in frustration, then turned to look at Bumblebee, who nodded. After a moment of preparation, Mikaela backed the tow truck into the street so that Bumblebee was facing forwards, then drove it full speed in reverse into the battle scene. Under heavy attack from two directions, Devastator suffered heavy damage, before a final shot from Bumblebee hit him in the chest, bringing him down for good. He collapsed into the building where Lennox's troops had taken shelter.

[[Image:Movie Megatron Samonroof.jpg|right|250px|thumb|It depends...how well do you take care of your pets?]]
As the Blackhawks closed in, Sam reached the rooftop and activated his flare. Starscream transformed and landed on a nearby building as the helicopters pulled up to the rooftop. Sam was inches away from handing off the All Spark when Starscream shot the waiting Blackhawk out of the sky. Optimus Prime sprinted toward the building, determined to save Sam. Starscream continued watching from nearby while Megatron bashed his way onto the rooftop. Cornering Sam, Megatron demanded the All Spark, then unsheathed a barbed mace and bashed the building out from under Sam's feet when he refused. Optimus Prime, suspended most of the way up the building, caught the falling human. Prime then vaulted/fell down to street level, with Megatron close behind. The two metal titans smashed into the street, scattering still more panicked humans, [[Michael Bay|one]] of whom got himself flicked aside by Megatron.

Prime ordered Sam to take shelter behind him and to push the All Spark into his chest if he was unable to defeat Megatron. As the two leaders laid into one another a second time, Lennox's troops moved in on their position. They stopped and observed as Blackout transformed, landed, and moved in to assist his leader. Epps called in their air support, advising that the targets would be marked. The troops then marked Blackout with green laser light as the F-22s closed in. Meanwhile, Lennox secured a fallen motorcycle.

[[Image:Movie MissionCityBattle5.jpg|left|250px|thumb|WWWWHHHHEEEEEEEE!!!]]
Blackout was about to fire when he noticed the lasers lighting him up, so he instead turned to engage the soldiers, opening fire. Lennox raced at him on his motorcycle, evading Blackout's blasts and purposefully going into a long skid/slide along the ground. As Blackout was hit by fire from the F-22s, Lennox slid past and under him, firing several rounds directly up into the Decepticon's chest and crotch. (''Ow!!'') The Decepticon fell dead to the pavement. Lennox urged his troops onward as Megatron appeared to be getting the upper hand over Optimus.

[[Image:Movie Prime Jazz Ironhide Ratchet battleaftermath.jpg|right|250px|thumb|"Prime, could we maybe discuss this some time when you're not holding a corpse?"]]
As a second wave of F-22s approached the city, Starscream appeared in their midst, destroying three of them before the pilots realized what was happening. The surviving pilots attempted to engage the Decepticon. Several of the F-22s survived to make an attack run on Megatron, firing on him while Lennox's troops also attacked him, damaging his chest. Megatron advanced on Sam, and Prime urged him to push the cube into Prime's chest. Instead, Sam opted to push it into Megatron, killing him.

Ratchet and Ironhide arrived then, carrying the remains of Jazz, and Mikaela and Bumblebee reached the scene soon afterward. Prime thanked the humans for their effort and sacrifice. Bumblebee requested to stay with Sam. Prime granted the request, then extracted a sliver of the All Spark from Megatron's body. {{storylink|Transformers (2007)|Transformers (2007)}}

===''Transformers'' film novelization===
{{note|For unknown reasons, in Titan comics continuity the Battle of Mission City was moved to [[Las Vegas]].<ref>''Bumblebee and Lennox's convoy headed for Las Vegas.'' — [[Movie (books)|Del Rey Books]], [[Transformers (novel)|Transformers]], p249, ([[2007]])</ref>}}
{{storylink|Transformers (novel)|Transformers (novel)}}

===Titan Magazines ''Transformers'' movie comics===
Wow, it sure is lucky for Mission City that all of the above ''didn't'' happen there but happened in [[California|Los Angeles]] instead! {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 7|Starscream's Militia}}

Two years on, and Starscream is still unclear about why Optimus lured the Decepticons to this heavily populated city when he claims to like humans. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 22|#22's Star Screams}}

===IDW ''Revenge of the Fallen'' movie prequel comics===
In the aftermath of the battle, Lennox's soldiers became acquainted with the Autobots whilst they hunted [[Xbox 360 robot|mutated]] [[Dispensor|transformers]] created by the released All Spark energies. Optimus Prime requested Lennox's help in allowing the Autobots to transport Jazz's remains out of Mission City whilst evading untrustworthy humans such as those from Sector Seven. When a suitable abandoned truck trailer found, the assembled soldiers had a moment of silence as Ironhide placed Jazz's body inside. Soon after the Autobots left, [[Reggie Simmons|Agent Simmons]] and Sector Seven arrived to take away the dead Decepticons. {{storylink|Alliance issue 1|Alliance issue 1}}

==Related characters==
===Kid on freeway===
This young man was riding on the freeway though Mission City when [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|two]] [[Bonecrusher (Movie)|robots]] suddenly fell off the overpass and landed in their lane. His mother barely skidding their car to a halt, the kid watched in shock as one of the robots was struck so hard one of its [[Sensors|eyes]] popped out and it was knocked off the overpass on which they were sitting. As the other robot jumped after it, the kid said that the whole thing was cool.

===SUV driver===
This young woman and two of her friends were driving around in her SUV when [[Sam Witwicky|some kid]] nearly ran into her car. Failing to noticed the panicked bystanders running in the opposite direction, the woman asked if "that jerk" had dented her car. This was quickly forgotten as she noticed her [[Steering wheel robot|steering wheel]] had come to life. It proceeded to wrap itself around her face. Her fate is unknown, but [[Kiss Players (franchise)|things are not looking good]].

===Woman in blue===
This woman had the unfortunate circumstance of being caught in the middle of [[Brawl (Movie)|a tank]] firing shells at [[Ironhide (Movie)|a truck]]. As the truck [[Transformation|changed]] into a giant robot, it proceeded to do some questionably useful (but fun to see) somersaults over the missiles being shot at it, landing right near the woman and totally scaring the crap out of her. Of course, this raises another question: If a tank was shelling something, why did she stop right in its line of fire?

===Xbox owner===
This man was proudly carrying his newly purchased Xbox down the street (as you do) when some sort of [[Energon (G1)|energy]] surged from some [[All Spark (Movie)|object]] that a kid was carrying. He heard the Xbox activate, he saw that it had sprouted arms that were trying to attack him. Despite the fact that it probably cost a great deal of money, the owner threw the Xbox away, deciding that it wasn't worth his life.

Remember that, people: Gaming is not worth your life!

==Items of Note==
*At [[BotCon 2007]], at one of the movie's writers' panels, they explained that the original intent behind taking the All Spark to the city was not to "hide" it there, but simply to use the city as a rendezvous point—someplace relatively near the dam that might have a working radio they could use to call for help.
* It's not entirely clear where some of the Decepticons go during the battle, or why. Starscream defeats Ratchet and Ironhide, but then flies away instead of making a grab for Sam and the All Spark. Blackout is nearby at this point and would also seem to have an opportunity to secure the human, but he disappears after slicing up the street outside the diner, not reappearing until Megatron and Optimus begin their final fight.
* There's a long period where Jazz is not doing ''anything''. He's standing around in vehicle mode when Ironhide notices that the F-22 flying above the city is Starscream, stays in vehicle mode when Ironhide and Bumblebee pick up a Furby delivery truck for cover, ''still'' remains in vehicle mode when Starscream blasts them, and after Sam discovers that Bumblebee has lost his legs, all Jazz does is pull back for a few feet to give Bumblebee space to crawl. In the end, Jazz doesn't really join the battle ''at all'' until Brawl shows up.
* For that matter, the fact that Starscream completely incapacitates Ironhide and Ratchet (they're absent from the last eleven minutes of the fight) is not made clear. When we last see them, they are falling down, but Ironhide is still talking and moving.
* [[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]], meanwhile, never shows up at all. Presumably he was fighting Optimus Prime off-screen, accounting for the Autobot leader's late arrival; Prime's delay seems too long to be accounted for solely by his very short fight with [[Bonecrusher (Movie)|Bonecrusher]].
* Why didn't Bumblebee use the All Spark to restore himself as Frenzy had done?
* Also unclear is why the military thought they could smuggle the All Spark out of town on a slow-moving helicopter, when fast-flying guys like Starscream and Megatron were around and well aware of the cube's location.
* Fans have speculated that Starscream actually participated in the F-22 attack run on Megatron. While there's no concrete evidence either way, it doesn't make much sense for him to be destroying the jets beforehand if he's just going to turn around and help them in their mission a few seconds later. When asked about it, screenwriter Roberto Orci explicitly refused to address this theory since it would pose a plot thread for the sequel. Meanwhile, IDW's [[The Reign of Starscream issue 1]] has Starscream consider this an option, but soon has the decision taken from his hands.
* Epps emphatically states that F-22 pilots would ''never'' fly between buildings, as they'd just observed Starscream doing. Yet a few minutes later, that's exactly what the real F-22s do.
* [[Transformers: The Junior Novel]] set the final battle in the ostensibly nonfictional city of [[Las Vegas]] instead of Mission City.
* Incidentally, most of the city skyline shots clearly show Los Angeles. The downtown street scenes were primarily filmed there as well.
* The abandoned building that Sam runs into, however, is actually the Michigan central depot, located in [[Detroit]].
* And because things weren't muddled enough, the Mission City diorama backdrop in the [[Longarm (Movie)|Final ]][[Bumblebee (Movie)|Stand]] Screen Battles set is actually a Photoshopped version of Scranton, Pennsylvania. <ref>[http://www.oafe.net/yo/tfm_sbfs.php OAFE review of The Final Stand Screen Battles set]</ref>
* At the end of the Jazz/Megatron battle, Megatron rips Jazz in half. After several minutes, Optimus Prime walks up to Megatron, who is still holding Jazz's corpse. Why he was holding said corpse for such a long period of time is unknown. One could assume that he killed Jazz right before Prime arrived, and the rest of the scenes in between were just what was happening simultaneously.
* The denizens of Mission City are remarkably well-composed considering that global communications networks have been shut down. You'd think there'd be a bit more "panic in the streets."
** Not to mention all the audible explosions, and people fleeing from previous battlegrounds... yet nobody ''ever'' panics until those freaking giant robots come literally crashing into the next nearby building. You'd think the girl whose steering wheel is brought to life by the Allspark would have bigger problems than Sam denting her car... such as those giant robots fighting everywhere. [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WeirdnessCensor Weirdness censor] doesn't even ''begin'' to describe this.

==Footnotes==
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[[Category:Cities in the United States]]
[[Category:Movie]]