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Lugnut (Animated)

2017-10-26T23:56:12Z

Empuratapharmaa:

{{factions|decepticon}}
{{disambig3|Lugnut}}
:''Lugnut is a glorious [[Decepticon]] from the [[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Animated]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:LugnutPromoModel.jpg|right|300px|thumb|The secret (GLORIOUS!) love child of Shockwave and Omega Supreme.]]
If mighty [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]] were to command '''Lugnut''' to jump, the powerful Decepticon would be in the upper atmosphere long before his master could specify how high. In Lugnut's optics, bold, heroic Megatron embodies the Decepticon cause, and his devotion is total. It's easy to misinterpret Lugnut’s blind zeal for a lack of overall processing power, but this is not the case. Although he isn't much of a thinker or planner, Lugnut does not care, for wise Megatron is brilliant enough for a thousand Decepticons. His master makes the plans, and Lugnut carries them out. However, that blind loyalty is his weakness. Although innovative on the battle field, he does little thinking about anything else.

Besides his compulsion to serve Megatron, the only other driving force in his programming is to destroy the Autobots. Renowned throughout Cybertron as one of the most destructive fighters for the Decepticon cause, Lugnut has no time or patience for contemplation or strategy when he could just as easily level an entire Autobot battalion with a single [[Punch of Kill Everything|explosive punch]]. He knows that his unparalleled strength, endurance, and seemingly limitless missile payload is enough to serve glorious, bold, fresh-scented, bright and shiny MEGATRON! Autobots that know him know the only way to survive a fight with him is to stay clear of his path.

He will only keep company with Decepticons who are as loyal to the grand and imperious Megatron as he is. Traitors and disgraces such as [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]] and [[Lockdown (Animated)|Lockdown]] are not worthy of mention, let alone being in the presence of the glorious Megatron. Granted, even magnanimous Megatron himself can get a little tired of Lugnut's praises, but he keeps it to himself, lest Lugnut should lose faith in mighty Megatron.

He is also [[Strika (Animated)|Strika's]] "consort", whatever that means.

{{bigquote|I believe only two things: The Decepticons will rule Cybertron, and Megatron will rule the Decepticons!|Lugnut, Megatron loyalist|"[[Lost and Found (episode)|Lost and Found]]"}}

==Fiction==
===''Animated'' cartoon===
{{Idw-tfa}}
{{voiceactor|[[David Kaye]] (English), [[Kentarō Itō]] (Japanese)|[[Alexander Kovriznyh]] (Russian), [[Uwe Jellinek]] (German), [[Pietro Ubaldi]] (Italian), [[Antônio Moreno]] (Portuguese, only one episode), [[Carlos Campanile]] (Portuguese), [[Marco Antonio Espina]] (Latin American Spanish, seasons 1 and 2), [[Bruno Lähteenmäki]] (Finnish)}}

[[Image:LugnutsPrayer LostandFound.jpg|left|225px|thumb|Thank the GLORIOUS Megatron I finally found my contact lens!]]
At some point in the past, Lugnut got a call from [[Shockwave (Animated)|Shockwave]], who had infiltrated [[Autobot boot camp]], and allowed him to report to Megatron. {{storylink|Autoboot Camp}} Many, many years later, Lugnut was on board the [[Nemesis (Animated)|''Nemesis'']] with [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]], [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]], [[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]], and [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]] when they discovered the [[AllSpark]]. Doubting that it was near, Starscream insulted Megatron (out of the latter's presence, of course) as a fool who was chasing a ghost. Furious, Lugnut leapt in and roared at the "traitor" about how Megatron would lead the Decepticons to a new age. Blackarachnia mocked him, asking if the speech was memorized or just hardwired into his one-track processor. Blitzwing indirectly defended Lugnut by insulting Blackarachnia, but soon burst into song, prompting all the Decepticons to argue until the entry of Megatron silenced them. Later, when it became clear the ''Nemesis'' was going to crash into an exploding space bridge, Lugnut showed uncharacteristic intelligence by fleeing in an escape pod. {{storylink|Transform and Roll Out}}

''Lugnut and Blitzwing, upon leaving the warship, returned to [[New Kaon]]. Lugnut, refusing to believe that Megatron was offline, destroyed a statue Blitzwing had made in memory of their fallen leader. Blitzwing was not pleased.'' {{storylink|Dispatches}}

[[File:Everythingmustgo-LugnutTripleCrusherCannon.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|right]]
''After finding out Blitzwing had made arrangements with a [[Lockdown (Animated)|bounty hunter]] in order to locate and exact revenge on the Autobots, Lugnut was furious. His fury (along with Blitzwing's responding fury) were taken advantage of by an [[Swindle (Animated)|unscrupulous arms dealer]] seeking to make a profit off the two in a never-ending escalating arms race. Things ended poorly for said arms dealer, however, once Lugnut and Blitzwing caught on to the fact they were both being played. {{storylink|Everything Must Go}} (Although odds are, if Lugnut had known just [[Punch of Kill Everything|what Blitzwing had offered Lockdown]], he may not have been so forgiving).'' {{storylink|A Few Loose Strands}}

''When the Allspark gave off the radiation burst during Prime and Starscream's battle, the signal served as a beacon, the Decepticons on New Kaon picking up the signal. Lugnut took this as evidence his leader was still online.'' {{storylink|Dispatches|The Arrival issue 1}}

After arriving on [[Earth|Earth's]] [[Moon (moon)|Moon]], Lugnut and Blitzwing discovered the ''Nemesis'', near where Blitzwing mentioned that [[Lockdown (Animated)|Lockdown]] had last reported. Lugnut did not care for the bounty hunter or his mission, for he still believed that Megatron was alive. Heading to Earth, the two crash landed at a construction site, where Lugnut interrogated a crane on Megatron's whereabouts with little success. After randomly destroying everything in sight, Lugnut and Blitzwing had a battle with the Autobots. [[Image:Lugnutfist.JPG|left|175px|thumb|[[Ryō Horikawa|FALCON PUNCH!]]]]Utilizing his back-mounted missile arsenal, Lugnut easily outgunned the Autobots himself, and was able to throw [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] around like he was nothing. When he demanded to know where Megatron was, [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] mentioned that he was reduced to a "fireball somewhere over [[Cleveland (city)|Cleveland]]". Screaming "Megatron lives", Lugnut knocked out the Autobots with his [[Punch of Kill Everything]] (at which Blitzwing said he had told Lugnut "a thousand times" to warn him before using), which convinced Megatron that Lugnut could be trusted. He contacted only Lugnut, who, in his eagerness, dragged a confused Blitzwing away from the fight. Blitzwing thought that Lugnut had finally overheated his motherboard and headbutted him, who responded in kind and sent Blitzwing plummeting straight smack dab in the middle of a military base. When they heard police cars approaching, Blitzwing suggested that they lay low to determine their strengths, but Lugnut planned to slaughter them ''en masse''. Annoyed Megatron told him to shut up and get a disguise.

That evening Megatron contacted Lugnut, uploading a sample of the [[AllSpark Key]]'s energy signature, and instructed him to use it to find the AllSpark itself, which would restore Megatron. Heading for [[Lake Erie]], the two Decepticons tracked down the [[Omega Supreme (Animated)|Autobots' ship]]. Once they'd followed the Autobots below its surface, Lugnut showed remarkable intelligence by being reluctant to enter the underwater smokescreen [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] had created, although he still entered to follow Blitzwing. Obscured by kicked-up dust, his targeting systems still found a body in the haze. Pleased that his targeting sensors had not failed him, he fired – on Blitzwing. The Autobots seemed to have the upper hand when Lugnut again displayed unexpected smarts by transforming and using his jet thrusters to blow away the obscuring dirt. Unfortunately for him and Blitzwing, just as they were going destroy the Autobots, [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] and [[Sari Sumdac (Animated)|Sari Sumdac]] brought the weapon systems of the Autobots' ship online. The two Decepticons were blasted to the shores of Lake Erie in several pieces, severing Megatron's radio link with Lugnut and thus leaving the poor lunk to believe that his master had forsaken him. The next morning, Starscream appeared and promised to repair them – if they swore loyalty to him. {{storylink|Lost and Found (episode)|Lost and Found}}

[[Image:Megatron Rising Starscream on Lugnut.JPG|right|175px|thumb|Keep trying, Lugnut. Keep trying.]]
For reasons beyond understanding, Lugnut agreed to Starscream's request, or at least paid lip service to him, but was quick to remind the upstart that they served him not by choice. However, when Megatron contacted him, Lugnut immediately repledged himself to Megatron. The Decepticon leader told Lugnut to locate the AllSpark Key and bring it to him. Taking it from Ratchet, they flew to [[Sumdac Tower]], where Lugnut blabbed the whole Decepticon thing to [[Isaac Sumdac (Animated)|Isaac Sumdac]], forcing him to kneel to Megatron. Now that he knew Lugnut wasn't totally bonkers (like him), Blitzwing used the Key to help Megatron repair his body and restore him. {{storylink|Megatron Rising - Part 1}}

[[Image:TFA Megatron Rising Lugnut boom.JPG|left|200px|thumb|"The GLORIOUS Megatron has GLORIOUSLY blessed me with this GLORIOUS explosion! Thank the GLORIOUS Megatron, and his GLORIOUS GLORIOUSLY servos... they is just too GLORIOUS - just like Lord Megatron's GLORIOUS body!" ~Lugnut

"Uh... what the frag is he talking about?" ~Bumblebee

"Oh, zhere is just zomezing vrong vith hiz procezzor - he'z crazy!" ~Blitzwing]]
As Megatron proceeded to beat up the Autobots, Blitzwing and Lugnut decided not to intervene, but to keep an eye on Professor Sumdac. When Megatron called his loyal troops to him, Lugnut prostrated himself before his master, where he briefly found himself humiliated by Starscream, but then got to look on as Megatron made an example of the schemer. The Decepticons took to the air, locating and attacking the Autobots' ship as it travelled from the lake to the Tower, then from the Tower to [[Dinobot Island (Animated)|Dinobot Island]], where it was shot down. Bulkhead leapt into the air and onto Lugnut, and the two landed in the forest. Although Lugnut was the physically stronger of the pair and tossed Bulkhead around like a beach ball, his zeal let him down. He prepared to use his explosive punch...and Bulkhead slammed the ignition point with his wrecking ball, causing a powerful explosion that defeated the brute. {{storylink|Megatron Rising - Part 2}}

After the battle with Bulkhead, Lugnut helped the Decepticons set up a base in a mine, even though his left arm kept falling off. Not realizing that the mine's carbon deposits shielded their energy signatures from Autobot detection, Lugnut did not understand why they had to hide. He was even more confused by Megatron's plan to conquer Cybertron, but this didn't prevent him from hitting a doubting Blitzwing. Things became clearer to Lugnut when Megatron said that they would use [[space bridge]] technology, one of the two reasons they lost the Great War, to reach and conquer Cybertron. First, they needed Isaac Sumdac, who had been captured by Megatron, in order to reverse-engineer the missing pieces of the space bridge data Megatron had copied. When a servant-bot in Sumdac's enclosure malfunctioned, Lugnut accused the professor of sabotaging Megatron's plans. However, he backed down at the behest of Megatron, who learned the servant-bot had acted as it did because it had a fragment of the AllSpark in its circuits. {{storylink|The Elite Guard}}

[[Image:Lugnutkick.JPG|right|200px|thumb|The dancing lessons weren't going that well!]]
Lugnut and Blitzwing were sent by Megatron to steal a tachyon generator from the [[Cybertron Elite Guard|Elite Guard]]'s ship. Lugnut was able to acquire the generator, when Starscream appeared and tried to destroy Megatron. After the Decepticon leader offlined him, Lugnut confirmed that Starscream was dead. After all, there was no spark in his spark chamber, so he had to be dead. Despite this, Starscream kept coming back and trying to kill Megatron, and Lugnut spent the rest of the night repeatedly throwing his corpse into a river. {{storylink|Mission Accomplished}}

[[Image:GarbageInGarbageOut-Wreck-GarandLugnutwithaxe.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Stop! Hammertime!]]
When Lugnut later detected an AllSpark fragment, Megatron sent him to retrieve it, partially to be rid of his sycophantic subject for a while. Discovering it in a garbage truck, Lugnut believed it was being transported by a human. He was thus surprised when the truck transformed into a robot named [[Wreck-Gar (Animated)|Wreck-Gar]]. The simple-minded robot soon confused poor Lugnut with his habit of mirroring what was being said to him, so Lugnut came to believe that Wreck-Gar was a Decepticon like him. Pleased that the new Transformer was a Decepticon, Lugnut celebrated the discovery with a resounding cry of "All hail Megatron!" Wreck-Gar followed suit...then asked who Megatron was.

When the Autobots arrived and verbally accosted Wreck-Gar, Lugnut came out of hiding and prepared to use his bomb punch on Ratchet. Wreck-Gar then responded to the threatened use of the Punch of Kill Everything with the [[universal greeting]]...and a high-five. Despite the premature detonation, Lugnut was left unharmed, but grew increasingly impatient with Wreck-Gar's lack of comprehension. Attempting to attack the Autobots, he took off in plane mode with Wreck-Gar still on his back. However, when Wreck-Gar caused his [[Atomic mace|tail/mace]] to become infected with matter-eating microbots, Lugnut panicked and demanded that Wreck-Gar get the microbots off him. The obliging robot responded by simply unscrewing Lugnut's tail assembly, leaving Lugnut rather unsteady in the air. {{storylink|Garbage In, Garbage Out}}

Later on, Lugnut was sent with Blitzwing to recover parts for Megatron's new space bridge, and the two began stealing caches of construction materials. During one such raid, the Autobots became involved, and Lugnut's singlemindedness meant that he practically ignored Bumblebee's stinger attack, not even slowing down until a pipe fell in his path and sent him falling. He then departed in his bomber mode to unload the material. Sometime later, he and Blitzwing began moving two huge containers of heavy supplies, and Lugnut was most offended when Blitzwing noted how Megatron was curiously absent when they were moving such heavy equipment. Soon afterward, they encountered the [[Constructicon (Animated)|Constructicons]]. Lugnut was suspicious of these newly created machines, but Blitzwing convinced him to allow them to do the heavy lifting until they reached base, at which point they would eliminate the two newcomers. At base, Blitzwing kept them distracted so Lugnut could activate his rocket punch, but at the last second, Megatron told him to stop. Unfortunately, this caused poor Lugnut to lose balance, fall into a cave and detonate his weapon in his own face. Ever the trooper, he tersely acknowledged he was still all right. {{storylink|Rise of the Constructicons}}

When Lockdown announced he had captured Starscream, whose head Megatron had set a bounty on, Lugnut was among the Decepticons who accompanied Megatron to collect the traitor and apprehended Prowl when he tried to intervene. However, when the Autobots arrived with ''another'' Starscream, it was revealed that both Starscreams were actually [[Clone number 3370318|booby-trapped]] [[Clone number 2716057|sparkless clones]]. Lugnut followed Megatron in escaping forcibly through the ceiling. However, when Prowl used the upgrades given to him by Lockdown to send the clones into the air, the bombs exploded, not too far from the fleeing Decepticons {{storylink|A Fistful of Energon}}

Soon after the space bridge was near completion, the Autobots found the Decepticons' hideout and attempted to stop them. Lugnut and Blitzwing attacked the Autobots invading their underground base, but they ended up getting stasis-cuffed by [[Blurr (Animated)|Blurr]]. {{storylink|A Bridge Too Close, Part I}}

Lugnut was soon freed by the Constructicons and cheered when Megatron announced they'd be invading Cybertron via space bridge, but was interrupted by the invading Autobot ship. When given the task of stopping [[Omega Supreme (Animated)|Omega Supreme]], Lugnut remarked that the large Autobot's size was no match for their leader's glory. This inspired [[Slipstream (Animated)|Slipstream]] to attack Omega's legs. Lugnut attempted to stop Omega Supreme by firing his entire missile supply at the enormous Autobot. Instead, he was blown away by Omega's lasers. {{storylink|A Bridge Too Close, Part II}}

[[Image:Three'saCrowdLugnutPrime.jpg|left|thumb|200px|[[wikipedia:I've fallen and I can't get up!|I've fallen and I can't get up!]]]]
Lugnut survived the battle, and later was found by the Autobots after Professor Sumdac disabled the Decepticon signal dampers. He attacked, demanding the whereabouts of Megatron and creating the world's biggest pothole in the road. After a brief battle, the Autobots managed to [[Stasis cuffs|cuff]] him, but found he was too heavy for them to pull out. When Bulkhead sent a distress call, Prime decided Lugnut wasn't going anywhere and went to rescue Bulkhead. Upon returning, however, they found the pit empty and Lugnut out of scanner range. He had been freed by the [[Ramjet (Animated)|honest-as-the-day-is-long Starscream clone]], who wholeheartedly promised Lugnut he'd never reveal his humiliating defeat to Megatron. What a guy. {{storylink|Three's a Crowd}}

Later, Lugnut was captured by Lockdown and given to [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Prime]] in exchange for energon and parts, along with Blitzwing, [[Swindle (Animated)|Swindle]] and the [[Ramjet (Animated)|lying]] and [[Sunstorm (Animated)|sycophantic]] Starscream clones.{{storylink|Five Servos of Doom}}

When the Autobots became trapped in [[Soundwave (Animated)|Soundwave's]] virtual reality, Lugnut was among the Decepticons who invaded and attack Detroit.{{storylink|Human Error, Part I}}

[[Image:TFAni Decepticon Air Lugnut Megatron.jpg|thumb|right|200px|It is an honor to serve as mighty Megatron's [[Wikipedia:Garfield|Garfield]] window sticker. Inside or outside of the ship.]]
Their capture did not last long, however, as Sentinel Prime steered the Elite Guard's ship into a stormy nebula, creating a chain reaction which freed Swindle from his transformation lock. When Lugnut ordered him to release the others in the name of the glorious Megatron, Swindle was happy to oblige on behalf of his best customer. The freed Decepticons then made short work of the "Elite" Autobots, but not before Sentinel had sent an SOS to Optimus Prime.

When Optimus arrived, he led the Decepticons on a run-around, eventually freeing the captured Autobots. Their attempt to escape led Lugnut to [[Punch of Kill Everything|POKE]] a hole in the ship, venting everyone in the room into space, where the Autobots were more limited than the flying Decepticons. Lugnut ordered his comrades to Transform and Rise Up, and they attacked, but ultimately Lugnut was thrown clear of the battle when Optimus used Sentinel as a bludgeon to knock him away...leading to Lugnut being picked up by the glorious Megatron in Omega Supreme. {{storylink|Decepticon Air}}

[[Image:TFA-ThisIsWhyIHateMachines-LugnutRagesStarscreamPlots.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Let the butt-kissing contest begin!]]
Brought inside Omega Supreme, Lugnut recovered a transwarp cell, allowing Megatron to regain control of the ship. Lugnut was quick to point Megatron's numerous achievements to a moaning Starscream, explaining how they now both had the freedom to come and go as they pleased and had regained the ability to transform Omega. However, Lugnut was annoyed when Shockwave joined their crew, which wasn't helped by Megatron referring to Shockwave as "my most loyal servant". Lugnut's inner rage was noted by an amused Starscream. {{storylink|This Is Why I Hate Machines}}

As Shockwave tried to recover the Omega activation codes from Arcee, Starscream egged Lugnut about Shockwave being Megatron's new lapdog. Lugnut easily fell for it, starting an epic butt-kissing, ego-pissing contest between the two purple giants while Starscream sneaked back to the ''Nemesis''. Megatron eventually got the two separated and sent them to start building three [[Lugnut Supreme|clones of Omega Supreme]]. Shockwave later tore the activation codes from Arcee, and when Starscream tried to interfere again, Lugnut loyally leapt to his master's aid—just as Megatron was planning. Lugnut became the template for the three new Decepticon war machines and almost wagged his tail at being chosen for such an honor. Shockwave then discovered that there was a missing security patch, requiring Lugnut to be wired into Omega Supreme for the "Lugnuts Supreme" to be operational, so Lugnut had to remain on the Moon while the purple ships themselves flew to Earth with Megatron aboard. {{storylink|Endgame, Part I}}

[[File:StunticonJob-LugnutMegatronPrison.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|right|"Hey." "What?" "Don’t drop the soap." "I swear to Primus Lugut I will shiv you."]]
Lugnut guided the Omega Supreme clones to Earth, where he continued to congratulate his great and glorious leader. Megatron was a little...impatient...with this and asked Shockwave if there was a way the Supremes could be controlled without Lugnut's worshipping. Shockwave took great pleasure in informing his commander there was no other way (showing that he still held his little rivalry with Luggy). After taking a pounding from Prime (armed with the Magnus Hammer), the Lugnut Supremes crash-landed on Dinobot Island. Megatron ordered Lugnut to return them back to the Moon, but Lugnut regretfully informed him the clones were too damaged to fly. The Autobots eventually managed to regain control of Omega Supreme, who then chucked Lugnut off his control chair and out the back of the giant robot, causing him to go bouncing away along the Moon's surface. The Autobots then captured Lugnut and took him back to Cybertron alongside Megatron and Shockwave so they could face justice for their crimes.
{{storylink|Endgame, Part II}}

''Lugnut and his fellow Decepticons were imprisoned in [[Trypticon Prison]], where [[Team Stunticon]] tried and failed to break them out.'' {{storylink|The Stunti-Con Job}}

===''Animated'' shorts===
As [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]] heckled [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]] during a rousing speech, Lugnut looked on in utter horror until Megatron eventually dispatched Starscream straight through a wall. The sight of such brutality caused Lugnut to wince. {{storylink|Starscream Heckles Megatron}}

Later, Lugnut used his [[Punch of Kill Everything]] to create gigantic craters in a forest. As it turns out, he was helping [[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]] build a new Decepticon swimming pool, but the lunatic couldn't settle on where it should be located, forcing Lugnut to explode things over and over ''and over''. {{storylink|Explosive Fist}}

===Titan ''Animated'' comic===
[[Image:Lugnut_stick.JPG|right|150px|thumb|A stick?! What happened to your mace?!]]

Lugnut was part of Megatron's assault on the Autobot base and got beaten very quickly off panel. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 24|Megatron's Revenge}}

He later went along with [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]]'s plan of isolating and terminating a lone Autobot. He was ''very'' eager to be the one who got to break the captive, including ''ripping a stalactite off a cave roof'' so he could use it as a stick to [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]]'s pinata. (He did wonder if it was too small a stick, though.) Unfortunately for Lugnut, the tracer used to track [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] was whacked onto his "robo-butt" (no, really, Lugnut said that) and this, along with him mega-bombing a cave roof, led to the Decepticon's defeat.

[[Image:Lugnut robobutt.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Sometimes the captions write themselves.]]

Lugnut also admitted to Blitzwing that he's scared of the dark. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 25|The Race}}

{{--}}

===''The Cool'' comic===
Lugnut was part of Megatron's band of Decepticons, chasing down the Autobots who had rediscovered the long-lost Allspark. He displayed exhasparation when Megatron along with the Autobots disappeared through a Space Bridge gate. {{storylink|The Cool Extra issue 3|The Cool Extra #3}}

Lugnut joined [[Soundwave (Animated)|Soundwave]] in an assault on [[Dinobot Island (Animated)|Dinobot Island]] for nefarious purposes unknown. As Soundwave kept the Autobots occupied with his sonic attacks, Lugnut dropped a payload of bombs on them, remarking that all who crawl beneath him are his inferiors. Suddenly, he was knocked out of the sky by a blow from [[Swoop (Animated)|Swoop]], who continued to battle him on the ground. As the rest of the [[Dinobot (Animated)|Dinobot]]s showed up, Lugnut realized they were outnumbered and ordered a retreat. {{storylink|The Cool Episode 3}}

[[Image:TheCoolSwoopFightsLugnut01.jpg|thumb|200px|right]]

Later, in [[Detroit]], as [[Blackout (Animated)|Blackout]] found himself on the losing end of a battle with [[Safeguard (Animated)|Safeguard]], Lugnut ordered [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]] to retreat, as getting captured would negatively impact their mission for their glorious [[Emperor of Destruction]]. Lugnut then took off, leaving Blackout to his fate. {{storylink|The Cool Episode 4}}

Lugnut was present at [[Sumdac Systems]] headquarters for the revival of Megatron. When [[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]] offered to destroy the Autobots, Lugnut berated him for attempting to horn in on Megatron's good time. Then [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]] swooped in and landed on his head. {{storylink|The Cool Episode 5}}

Lugnut later joined the other Decepticons in intercepting the rogue Starscream from the bounty hunter [[Lockdown (Animated)|Lockdown]]. When the "Starscream" they were given turned out to be a bomb, Lugnut and the other Decepticons fled into the sky, only to be caught in the explosion ''anyway'' after [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] launched the clones at them with his rocket packs. {{storylink|The Cool Episode 6}}

During the battle for the Decepticon [[space bridge]], Lugnut attempted to keep [[Blurr (Animated)|Blurr]] and [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] from interfering with Megatron's battle against Optimus Prime. The speedsters proved too much for him, however, and after confusing him with their dashing about and interrupting his [[Punch of Kill Everything]], they slapped a pair of stasis cuffs on him. {{storylink|The Cool Episode 7}}
{{-}}

===''TransTech''===
{{voiceactor|[[David Kaye]] (English)}}

{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|Bee in the City 2: Electric Boogaloo}}}}

==Games==
===Transformers Animated: The Game===
{{voiceactor|[[David Kaye]] (English)}}
[[Image:TFAnimated Game Lugnut.jpg|thumb|left|111px]]
When [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]] was preparing to have his men attack Cybertron, Lugnut contacted his leader to report that the Decepticon forces were standing ready to invade the planet on his command, thanks to his "infinite wisdom and magnificent leadership". {{storylink|Transformers Animated: The Game}}
{{-}}
===Transformers Animated: ''Action Packs''===
{{note|Lugnut is featured as a playable game card. He is a purple card, has a value of 10 points, and has the following power: "-2 to any Bulkhead in play."}} {{storylink|Transformers Animated: Action Packs}}

==Toys==
===Animated===
[[Image:Lugnut animated toy.JPG|right|300px|thumb|Made tiny in name of the glorious Hasbro toy race! ''(Hasbro version pictued)'']]
[[Image:Takara Lugnut animated toy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Gloriously shiny! ''(TakaraTomy version pictured)'']]
*'''Lugnut''' (Voyager, 2008)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''TA-15'''
**''Accessories'': Tail assembly/power mace

: Part of the third wave of ''Animated'' Voyager-class toys, Luggy transforms into a big ol' retro-futuristic bomber plane that includes features from many historic designs, including the [[wikipedia:B-25 Mitchell|B-25 Mitchell]] and the [[wikipedia:Heinkel He 111|Heinkel He 111]]. He also suffers from [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] syndrome, as his robot mode is '''tiny''' compared to most Voyagers. A good portion of his vehicle mode transforms into his big-ass "power mace", almost as big as Lugnut himself. He features three [[Autotransformation|Autotransform]] [[gimmick]]s in his head, mace, and hands. The mace connects with a special tab into Lugnut's hand and activates its gimmick: tapping the bottom of the mace on the ground while he holds it causes the engine pods to pop open. Pushing down the area on his back where the mace is stored flips his head up and splits his cockpit halves to the sides of his chest. The small purple tabs on his lower arms open and close his claws in unison. Pushing the mace into one of the hands causes it to close around the mace.

: The mace can also be activated with any Mini-Con figure.

: The figure's paint deco shown in promotional photography and the boxart depicts Lugnut's teal areas with highly metallic, almost silver coloration and a slightly lighter shade of purple. The final figure, however, has a darker purple with an much more show-accurate flat teal with no trace of the metallic coloring.

: There have been reports of his cockpit halves not closing properly in vehicle mode due to an overly tightened screw inside his torso. It cannot be corrected without dismantling the figure. The head automorph area also tends to flop slightly, not staying in place in vehicle mode. It is unknown if later releases remedied this.

: [[TakaraTomy]]'s release of Lugnut was [[redeco]]ed with most of the flat purple replaced by a shinier metallic purple. His red eye appears to be brighter as well. Also, the ''Animated'' gold sigils were replaced by G1 ones, as on all Japanese ''Animated'' toys.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Decepticon/Lugnut/lugnut.htm More information on Lugnut at TFU.info]''

{{-}}{{anchor|McDonalds}}
[[Image:Ani-toy LugnutMcD.jpg|right|300px|thumb|He stands up straight to look good for his master.]]
*'''Lugnut''' (McDonald's Happy Meal Toy)
**''McNumber'': '''6'''

:A simple version of Lugnut with a very simple transformation sequence. You transform him by flipping his back to reveal the head, bringing down the missiles/arms and flipping the tail to reveal his legs. This makes him stand ''very'' tall. Like most of the McDonald's ''Animated'' toys, he gave up a show-accurate robot mode for a show-accurate vehicle mode.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Decepticon/McLugnut/lugnut.htm More information on McDonald's Lugnut at TFU.info]''

{{-}}{{anchor|Atomic}}
[[Image:Atomiclugnutvoyager.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Yeah, this'll come off real well in Japan.]]
*'''Atomic Lugnut''' (Voyager class, 2009)
**''Accessories'': Tail assembly/power mace

: Part of the sixth wave of ''Animated'' Voyagers, Atomic Lugnut is a [[redeco]] of the Voyager-class Lugnut in a color scheme inspired by World War II era B-29s. He's gonna bomb you. He retains all of his previous [[gimmick]]ry.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2009/Decepticon/AtomicLugnut/lugnut.htm More information on Atomic Lugnut at TFU.info]''
{{-}}

===Kre-O===
[[File:KreO-Toy LugnutKreon.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Gloriously Adorable.]]
*'''Lugnut''' (Kreon Micro-Changer, 2013)
**''Collection'': '''2'''
**''Bag number'': '''***** 75'''
**''Accessories'': Logo brick (or plate, 2015 releases only), shock-prod staff

:As part of the second wave of [[blindpacking|blindpacked]] [[Micro-Changer]]s, Lugnut is a Kreon that can be rebuilt into a purple bomber plane. He reuses [[Mirage (Kre-O)|Mirage]]'s helmet and shares the majority of his extra parts with wavemate [[Powerglide (Kre-O)|Powerglide]]. His weapon was originally wielded by [[Knock Out (Kre-O)|Knock Out]].

: This Collection was still in circulation at "dollar" stores and drug stores up through 2015. They eventually lost the individual-identifying bag codes, but other changes were hidden inside the bag. The 2015 releases replaced the 2x4 logo stand-brick with a new 3x4 logo plate. The Kreon was also given the slight [[retool]]ing to the arm seen in the 2014 Kreons, making the "cuff" parts more sharp-cornered and better adapted to being used as studs. Some of the add-on pieces may also be slightly off-color, possibly due to a change in factories in mid-production.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2013/Decepticon/Kre-OLugnut/lugnut.htm More information on Lugnut at TFU.info]''

{{-}}{{anchor|DollarGeneral}}
[[File:KreO-toy LugnutKreon2015.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Aglorable.]]
*'''Lugnut''' (Kreon Micro-Changer, 2016)
**''Collection'': '''2'''
**''Accessories'': Stand-plate, shock-prod staff

:In 2016, Collection 2 was re-released in a whole new production run for Dollar General stores in the US as part of a large collection of re-released ''Kre-O'' sets. But where most of these releases are nigh-identical to the originals, the re-released Micro-Changer blind-bags use the almost-entirely-retooled 2015 Kreon, with slightly-differently-hued plastics than the originals. (It is possible for some of the add-on pieces to be in the older hues.) Lugnut's [[paint operation]]s have also been altered, giving him gray chest-windows instead of black, as well as changing his [[insignia|faction symbol]] from a black outline to a white-outlined purple. Lugnut also has a parts change, replacing the clip-on domes with newer clip-on turbines.

:Sadly, this release has no individual-identification code on the bag, requiring you to use the feel-through-the-bag method or just buy blind and hope.
{{--}}

==Notes==
* Lugnut's name derives from an earlier stage in his development; at one point he was going to be more Frankenstein's Monster-esque, with giant bolts (or "nuts") sticking out from his neck. While this concept was effectively discarded, the character kept "Lugnut" for his final name... but it works well enough on its own, as he ''is'' a big lug and a bit of a nut.
* Of the five main ''Animated'' Decepticons, Lugnut is the only one without a "counterpart" from a prior series.
* According to the Decepticon character descriptions sent out in the initial [[Cartoon Network]] press release for ''Transformers Animated'', Lugnut "carries a payload of mega-bombs and can spew liquid napalm with laser-like accuracy". Alas, his napalm-spewing ability hasn't shown up anywhere. The bio on the Latin America [[McDonald's]] website used this character description as well when promoting his toy.
* [[Derrick J. Wyatt|Derrick Wyatt]] and [[Marty Isenberg]] admitted at [[BotCon 2008]] that they didn't know that Lugnut's toy had the battle mace, as it was a [[Hasbro]] creation. Once they learned of its existence, they slipped it into season 2, and it makes its only appearance in "[[Garbage In, Garbage Out]]".
* At Botcon 2008, Marty Isenberg took a liking to the term [[Punch of Kill Everything]] used in the fandom to refer to Lugnut's attack, and said he would find a way to work it in. Sure enough, in the comic [[The Arrival issue 4|''The Arrival'' #4]] penned by Isenberg, Lugnut's attack was named as such.
* The four small red dots (two to either side) on Lugnut's head, according to the series' creators, are secondary optics.<ref>[http://derrickjwyatt.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/tfa-s3-chin-on.html#c6948917618130667236 Derrick J Wyatt, in response to a question on his blog]: "I've always thought of Lugnut as having five eyes. One main, and four smaller peripheral vision eyes. Although the other eyes are probably pretty dim, as Lugnut is pretty singularly focused."</ref> This means Lugnut actually has ''five'' eyes, rather than the one he appears to have at a casual glance.
* According to his on-package bio, Lugnut is known as the '[[Kaon (polity)|Kaon]] Krusher'.
* In the Japanese dub of ''Animated'', Lugnut has a [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/VerbalTic verbal tic] where he adds the syllable "ttsu" (ッツ) to the ends of most of his sentences. In the intro voiceover for "[[Three's a Crowd]]", he explains that he simply does this "because [I'm] Lugnut", as in Japanese, his name is pronounced "raguna'''ttsu'''".

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Lugnut''' (ラグナッツ ''Ragunattsu'')

==Footnotes==
<references/>

[[Category:Animated Decepticons]]
[[Category:Fast food exclusives]]
[[Category:Gladiators]]
[[Category:Kre-O Decepticons]]
[[Category:Kreons]]
[[Category:TransTech Decepticons]]

Blitzwing (Animated)

2017-10-25T21:21:52Z

Empuratapharmaa:

{{factions|decepticon}}
{{disambig3|Blitzwing}}
:''Blitzwing is a [[Decepticon]] from the [[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Transformers Animated]] [[continuity family]].''

[[File:AniBlitzwingPromoModel.jpg|right|upright=1.4|thumb|That's far enough, Dr. Jones.]]
'''Blitzwing''' not only has three modes (robot, jet, and tank), he also has three alternate personalities (an "Icy" cold strategist, a short-tempered "Hothead", and a total "Random" nutcase) along with the faces rattling around in his head to go with them.<ref>Blitzwing's three personas are named "Icy", "Hothead" and "Random" on his [[Character model|model]] sheets.</ref> He's as liable to have a conversation with himself as he is to say a word to his fellow Decepticons. Pretty much the only thing that keeps him in line is that all three of his personalities are scared to death of [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]].

Blitzwing's "dominant", Icy personality is represented by a long, blue face with a monocle and speaks with quiet disdain. His easily angered Hothead personality has a wide, red face, is gap-toothed, and tends to react angrily with violent threats towards almost anyone. Finally, his Random personality's face looks like nothing so much as a black jack-o'-lantern, and may toss out bad puns and jokes, children's nursery rhymes, or random non sequiturs, mostly followed by hysterical laughter. All three personalities speak with a pronounced German [[accent]] and apparently he has trouble flying in a straight line.

Blitzwing's armament varies depending upon which personality is dominant at the time. His calculating personality has an arsenal of ice weaponry, while the Hothead predictably can turn up the heat. When his third personality is foremost, nearly anything can be dished out from either of his [[alternate mode|vehicle mode]]s. Blitzwing's alt mode is likewise usually dependent on which aspect is dominant at the time. His cold side uses the jet, his angry side uses the tank, and his insane side can use either. However it seems that if he changes personality while in his alt mode, that alt will change with him, and if that's a jet to tank change, he'll fall right out of the sky.

{{quote|Ze name iz Blitzwing, [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|insect]]; remember it! Cause it's ze last thing you're gonna hear before I—express my feelings in song!|Blitzwing switching personalities like we switch shoes|"[[Transform and Roll Out]]"}}

==Fiction==
===''Animated'' cartoon===
{{Idw-tfa}}
{{voiceactor|[[Bumper Robinson]] (English), [[Yūichi Nagashima]] (Japanese)|[[Alexander Kovriznyh]] (Russian, Hothead), [[Rainer Doering]] (German), [[Giorgio Bonino]] (Italian), [[Wellington Lima]] (Portuguese), [[Rodolfo Vasquez]] (Latin American Spanish, all heads during the pilot episode), [[Sergio Aliaga]] (Latin American Spanish, Icy head, seasons 1 and 2), [[Nelson Medina]] (Latin American Spanish, Hothead head, seasons 1 and 2), [[Rodrigo Saavedra]] (Latin American Spanish, Random head, seasons 1 and 2), [[Jari Salo]] (Finnish, unknown head), [[Julio Lorenzo]] (Castillo Spanish, unknown head), [[Maciej Walentek]] (Polish)}}

[[File:Animated blitzwing faces1.JPG|left|125px|thumb|"So Arnold, Dietrich, and Blot walk into a bar..."]]

Long after the [[Great War (Animated)|Great War]] ended and the Decepticons went into hiding, [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]] experimented upon Blitzwing, rebuilding him into a Triple Changer and giving him the fractured mind he is known for today. {{storylink|Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac|The AllSpark Almanac}}

Blitzwing was aboard the [[Nemesis (Animated)|''Nemesis'']] with the other Decepticons at the time of the [[AllSpark]]'s re-discovery. He partially froze [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]]'s arm, commenting on how her demeanor was as unpleasant as her organic [[beast mode]]. When Blackarachnia advised him to blow it out his actuator, Blitzwing angrily demanded that she refer to him by his proper name, or else he would...''express his feelings in song!'' His out-of-tune rendition of "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" got all the Decepticons arguing until Megatron entered, prompting Blitzwing to fall silent with the rest.

When it became clear the ''Nemesis'' was going to crash into an exploding space bridge, Blitzwing fled in an escape pod. {{storylink|Transform and Roll Out}}

''After Megatron's disappearance, the Decepticons held a funeral at [[New Kaon]]. Blitzwing gave the eulogy, in which he vowed that they would destroy the [[Autobot]]s responsible for their leader's demise...and then paint mustaches on their faceplates. [[Lugnut (Animated)|Lugnut]] was angry with the service, declaring that Megatron was alive and would return. When Blitzwing pointed out evidence to the contrary, Lugnut destroyed the statue of Megatron that Blitzwing had built. This angered Blitzwing, who'd spent six deca-cycles building it, and initiated an exchange of fire between him and Lugnut.'' {{storylink|Dispatches}}

[[File:Everythingmustgo-BlitzwingGlassGas.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|right|Blitzwing performs one of his famous tuba solos.]]
Blitzwing placed a bounty on [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]], intending to punish him for destroying Megatron. ''When Lockdown proposed that Blitzwing pay him for his services with Lugnut's "[[Punch of Kill Everything|P.O.K.E.]]," Blitzwing agreed to the terms.'' {{storylink|The Arrival issue 4|A Few Loose Strands}} Fifty stellar cycles later, the bounty hunter [[Lockdown (Animated)|Lockdown]] contacted Blitzwing, saying he had Prime. Blitzwing promised that Lockdown would receive payment once Blitzwing received Prime — then his random side asked if he could ''please, please, please'' see Prime turn into a firetruck. {{storylink|The Thrill of the Hunt}} ''His conversation was cut short however, when an enraged Lugnut slammed his face into the monitor for daring to commune with the bounty hunter. The pair began scrapping, and things were only made worse when [[Swindle (Animated)|Swindle]] showed up, taking the opportunity to sell each of them a wide variety of weapons so they could pummel each other. It eventually culminated in him selling the pair of them doomsday weapons and unbreakable nemesis shields. Realizing they were being played, Lugs and Blitz put aside their anger, beat the holy hell out of Swindle and made friends again.'' {{storylink|The Arrival issue 5#Everything Must Go|Everything Must Go}}

Some time after this, Blitzwing and Lugnut followed a beacon to the [[Moon (moon)|Moon]] to find the wreckage of the ''Nemesis''. Noting that [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]] was bad at parking, Blitzwing also remembered that this quadrant was the last time they received an update from Lockdown. Concluding that the Autobots responsible for killing Megatron were nearby, the duo went to Earth. Landing at a construction site, the two had similar problems determining the dominant species on Earth as the Autobots did, mistaking Earth's automatons and machines for sentient beings. Lugnut's attempt to interrogate a crane ended up getting Blitzwing hit by the wrecking ball, which convinced the Decepticons to do a more time honored tactic—blow stuff up and hope it forces the Autobots to come out. It worked. During the battle with the Autobots, [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] and [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] were hard pressed to avoid Blitzwing's energy blasts, but his freeze beam did get Bumblebee off his feet. When Lugnut demanded information on Megatron's location, the Autobots mentioned that he had "turned into a fireball somewhere over [[Cleveland (city)|Cleveland]]". Naturally, Lugnut was displeased, and he used his [[Punch of Kill Everything|super-punch]] to floor the Autobots—and bury himself and Blitzwing under the rubble. When Blitzwing unburied himself, he irritatedly reminded Lugnut of his oft-repeated request for a little warning before the punch.

[[File:LugnutBlitzwingNemesis.JPG|left|upright=1.1|thumb|"This was Megatron's ship!" "Oh, cool! Maybe my DVD collection's still in there."]]
Having observed the battle over a live feed, Megatron opted to radio Lugnut exclusively, leaving Blitzwing struggling to work out what exactly was going on. Blitzwing believed Lugnut was only listening to voices in his head, so Lugnut had to take him along forcibly. Uncertain of the number and strength of the Autobots' "reinforcements" (the Detroit Police Department), the pair scanned Earth vehicles for disguises so they could lay low. Icy Blitzwing wanted to scan a fighter jet, while Hothead wanted a tank. After a brief argument, Random suggested that they scan both. That evening, the two Decepticons followed the Autobots to [[Lake Erie]], where Blitzwing froze the lake. When the Autobots submerged, he followed them in tank form. Blitzwing was lured by the Autobots towards [[Teletran-1|their ship]] and blasted by one of its weapons systems. He and Lugnut were left fragmented but functional and floated to the surface, only to be met by Starscream, who offered to repair them in exchange for a pledge of undying allegiance. {{storylink|Lost and Found (episode)|Lost and Found}}

[[File:Megatron Rising 1 Ratchet Blitzwing Key.jpg|right|upright=1.1|thumb|Oooh, Autobot-cicles, fresh out of the freezer!]]
Apparently, they chose to serve under Starscream, but still were bickering with each other. When Lugnut began receiving internal transmissions from Megatron again, Starscream was confused, and Blitzwing explained that it was a "technical glitch" that happened. A lot. When Starscream learned that Lugnut thought he was talking to Megatron, he felt threatened and scanned Lugnut, detecting the signals. Starscream ordered both Lugnut and Blitzwing to find the [[AllSpark Key]] while he himself tracked the transmissions.

At the moment, the AllSpark Key was in the hands of [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]]. Blitzwing used his ice guns to freeze Ratchet and rip off the arm that was carrying the Key. Afterward, they went to [[Sumdac Tower]] to find Megatron. In the process of greeting him, they revealed Megatron's true Decepticon nature to [[Isaac Sumdac (Animated)|Prof. Sumdac]]. Blitzwing, now understanding what had been going on with Lugnut, inserted the Key into Megatron's head, restoring their true leader. {{storylink|Megatron Rising - Part 1}}

[[File:Megatron Rising 2 Blitzwing tank crash.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|He's just as aerodynamic as the next tank.]]
As Megatron proceeded to beat up the Autobots, Blitzwing and Lugnut decided not to intervene and kept an eye on Professor Sumdac instead. When Megatron called his loyal troops to him, Blitzwing looked on as his leader made an example of Starscream. The Decepticons took to the air, locating and attacking the Autobots' ship as it travelled from the lake to the Tower, then from the Tower to [[Dinobot Island (Animated)|Dinobot Island]], where it was shot down. Blitzwing split off to tackle Prowl, Ratchet and Bumblebee, before being brought down by a combined EMP burst. As Blitzwing rolled around and shelled the Autobots, Prowl noticed that Blitzwing's personalities were connected to his alternate modes and powers. By this time, Blitzwing was back in the air, but Bumblebee taunted the Triple Changer enough that Hothead Blitzwing took over, transformed from jet to tank—and fell into the lake. {{storylink|Megatron Rising - Part 2}}

[[File:TFA Blitzwing Jet Altmode.jpg|right|upright=1.1|thumb|I'm gunning for you, [[Snoopy]].]]
The Decepticons set up a base in a mine containing carbon deposits, which would block their energy signatures so they could recover from their encounter with the Autobots without detection. When Megatron announced his new plan to conquer [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], Blitzwing felt the plan was crazy, as neither he nor Lugnut had any idea how they would get there. He changed his mind when Megatron explained that they would build their own [[space bridge]] using the specs Megatron had downloaded from [[Teletran-1]] during one of the encounters with the Autobots. However, they would need the captured Prof. Sumdac to help them, as the specs were incomplete. {{storylink|The Elite Guard}}

After Isaac Sumdac developed a device that shielded their energy signatures from Autobot sensors, Blitzwing and Lugnut went to retrieve a tachyon transmitter from the [[Cybertron Elite Guard|Elite Guard's]] [[Steelhaven (Animated)|ship]]. When they presented it to Megatron, Starscream appeared, tried to kill Megatron—and was killed by Megatron. However, Starscream appeared to survive, and Blitzwing spent the rest of the evening dumping Starscream's body into the river...repeatedly. The next day, Blitzwing and Megatron responded to an AllSpark energy signature which turned out to be a trap laid by Starscream. Blitzwing and Megatron then pursued the traitor, offlining him again. {{storylink|Mission Accomplished}}

Blitzwing was later sent by Megatron to track down an AllSpark fragment, with an oddly disappearing energy signature. He froze [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] and much of the surrounding landscape, destroyed a bridge, [[Carmine Fanzone|Captain Fanzone]]'s [[Captain Fanzone's car|car]], and [[Master Disaster (Animated)|Master Disaster]]'s truck before [[Sari Sumdac (Animated)|Sari Sumdac]] managed to make him leave using Master Disaster's remote. {{storylink|Velocity (episode)|Velocity}}

Blitzwing and Lugnut wound up stuck with the dirty work, collecting supplies for the construction of the space bridge. Foiled by the Autobots, they tried again the next day, hauling heavy trailers up a hill. Blitzwing's foot slipped, and he was nearly offlined by the trailer sending him careening towards a wall. Bracing for impact, his demise was interrupted by the intervention of [[Mixmaster (Animated)|Mixmaster]] and [[Scrapper (Animated)|Scrapper]]. Seeing a good opportunity in the brawny Constructibots, he tricked them into hauling the two trailers to the mine. Though Lugnut stated that Megatron would never stand for this, he reassured the huge Decepticon that the two newcomers would be offlined as soon as the work was done. True to his word, Blitzwing was about to have Lugnut dispatch the hapless bots when Megatron stepped in. He had bigger plans for them. {{storylink|Rise of the Constructicons}}

When Lockdown announced he had captured Starscream, whose head Megatron had set a bounty on, Blitzwing was among the Decepticons who accompanied Megatron to collect the traitor and apprehended Prowl when he tried to intervene. However, when the Autobots arrived with ''another'' Starscream, it was revealed that both Starscreams were actually [[Clone number 3370318|booby-trapped]] [[Clone number 2716057|sparkless clones]]. Blitzwing followed Megatron in escaping forcibly through the ceiling. However, when Prowl used the upgrades given to him by Lockdown to send the clones into the air, the bombs exploded, not too far from the fleeing Decepticons {{storylink|A Fistful of Energon}}

[[File:TFA Sari no one home Blitzwing Ratchet hostage.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|Jou vould zink vith all my multiple perzonalities, at leazt one vould be likable. Right, autobot?]]
When the [[Constructicon (Animated)|Constructicons]] resurfaced, Megatron dispatched Blitzwing to bring them back to the mine, giving him some oil to entice them, and instructing the Triple Changer not to engage the Autobots. During his search, Blitzwing came across the Autobots. Although his Icy personality wanted to continue the search, his Hothead and Random personality decided to engage them. During the battle, Blitzwing utterly dominated the Autobots, and eventually took Ratchet hostage. At that point, Megatron ordered Blitzwing to disengage and resume his search. Finally locating the Constructicons, Blitzwing offered the two the oil barrels he was carrying, and led them back to base. {{storylink|Sari, No One's Home}}

Soon after the space bridge was near completion, the Autobots found the Decepticons' hideout and attempted to stop them. Blitzwing and Lugnut attacked the Autobots invading their underground base, but they ended up getting [[Stasis cuffs|stasis cuffed]] by [[Blurr (Animated)|Blurr]]. {{storylink|A Bridge Too Close, Part I}} Blitzwing was later retrieved by Scrapper and joined in on the attack on [[Omega Supreme (Animated)|Omega Supreme]]. His Hothead side was unimpressed with the gargantuan Autobot, and he vowed to damage Omega Supreme so badly he'd need a GPS locator to help him find his still-attached exhaust port. Omega was equally unimpressed with the verbal posturing and headbutted Blitzwing to the horizon. {{storylink|A Bridge Too Close, Part II}}

[[File:FiveServosOfDoom-CapturedDecepticons.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.1|"So, how often do you transform them for display?"]]
When [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Prime]] hired Lockdown to capture Decepticons for him, Blitzwing was one of the bounty hunter's early victims. He was subsequently locked up in the Elite Guard flagship alongside [[Sunstorm (Animated)|Sunstorm]] and Swindle, and had mouth clamps placed on each of his faces to keep him quiet. {{storylink|Five Servos of Doom}}

When the Autobots became trapped in [[Soundwave (Animated)|Soundwave's]] virtual reality, Blitzwing was among the Decepticons who invaded and attack Detroit. Unfortunately for him, Bulkhead smashed through his leg as he attempted to stomp Prowl while Bumblebee pummeled his faces.{{storylink|Human Error, Part I}}

As the Elite Guard headed back to Cybertron with their prisoners, they navigated the ship through an energy storm in outer space, causing a stray bolt of energy to hit the ship and free Swindle, who had been left unrestrained. The greedy Decepticon immediately released Blitzwing and the others from their bonds and provided them with new weaponry. Led by Lugnut, the Decepticons defeated and captured the crew, only for Optimus Prime to transwarp into the ship and release them. The ensuing battle took place outside the ship, where Blitzwing froze Sentinel Prime and threatened to blast his head off if the other Autobots didn't surrender. The plan was a success, and the captured Autobots were led into their own decontamination unit to be frozen. (Blitzwing's crazy side also wanted them grinded up into snowcones.) However, this was the Autobots' plan all along, as [[Jazz (Animated)|Jazz]] had tampered with the freeze-gas pipes, causing Blitzwing, Sunstorm and [[Ramjet (Animated)|Ramjet]] to be frozen instead. The three Decepticons were subsequently recaptured and brought to Cybertron, where Sentinel Prime displayed them during his [[Magnus (rank)|Magnus]]-promotion parade. {{storylink|Decepticon Air}}

===''Be the Hero'' books===
{{notemultipath}}
====''Prime Suspect''====
Upon discovering that the launch of [[HomeTech]]'s new range of [[Pixie-6]] helpbots was imminent, Blitzwing cooked up a plan to steal a Pixie-6 control sphere. Holographically disguising himself as Optimus Prime, he broke into HomeTech's laboratory and successfully stole a controller, which he modified to be powerful enough to control ''all'' of the Pixie-6 'bots. He intended to wait until they had been sold and installed in every home in America, but the Autobots caught up with him at HomeTech's warehouse. After a brief battle, Blitzwing was subdued, and Prime announced that they would attempt to reprogram him into an Autobot. {{storylink|Prime Suspect}}

===''The Cool'' comic===
[[File:TheCoolBlitzwingKneels01.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|right|Everybody knows Triple-Changers speak perfect Japanese!]]

Blitzwing was part of Megatron's band of Decepticons, chasing down the Autobots who had rediscover the long-lost AllSpark. He was visibly frustrated (though he maintained his "Icy" persona) when Megatron along with the Autobots disappeared through a Space Bridge gate. {{storylink|The Cool Extra issue 3|The Cool Extra #3}}

Through some means, Blitzwing succeeded in obtaining the [[AllSpark Key|key]] and bringing it to the disembodied head of Megatron. Upon Megatron's rebirth, Blitzwing offered to help him destroy the opposing Autobots. Lugnut berated Blitzwing for trying to rob Megatron of a good time, and Megatron agreed with Lugnut, as he wanted the Autobots all to himself. {{storylink|The Cool Episode 5}}

Blitzwing later joined the other Decepticons in intercepting the rogue Starscream from the bounty hunter [[Lockdown (Animated)|Lockdown]]. When the "Starscream" they were given turned out to be a bomb, Blitzwing and the other Decepticons fled into the sky, only to be caught in the explosion ''anyway'' after [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] launched the clones at them with his rocket packs. {{storylink|The Cool Episode 6}}

During the battle for the Decepticon [[Space bridge|Space Bridge]], Blitzwing attempted to keep [[Blurr (Animated)|Blurr]] and [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] from interfering with Megatron's battle against Optimus Prime. The speedsters proved too much for him, however, running in circles around him until his rotating faces got dizzy. They then slapped a pair of stasis cuffs on him, and "random" Blitzwing cried that his arms had "fallen asleep" as the cuffs paralyzed him. {{storylink|The Cool Episode 7}}
{{-}}

==Games==
===Transformers Animated: The Game===
{{voiceactor|[[Bumper Robinson]] (English)}}

[[File:TFAnimated Game Blitzwing.jpg|thumb|left|324px|Can you guess which one wants to do the victory dance?]]
As the Decepticon armies stood ready to invade [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], two of Blitzwing's personalities were keen to get to bashing Autobots. The third just wanted to do the Decepticon victory dance. {{storylink|Transformers Animated: The Game}}
{{-}}

===Transformers Animated: ''Action Packs''===
{{note|Blitzwing is featured as a playable game card. He is a black card, has a value of 9 points, and has the following power: "-2 to all reds in play."}} {{storylink|Transformers Animated: Action Packs}}

==Toys==
===Animated===
[[File:Ani blitz.JPG|right|upright=1.4|thumb|"WHY IS IT GETTING SO CROWDED IN HERE?!" "Oh, wait, it's me." ''"And me! AHAHAHAHAAA!!!"'']]
*'''Blitzwing''' (Voyager, 2008)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''TA-13'''
**''Accessories'': 2 "flame" missiles

: Blitzwing transforms into a futuristic "Mech-Warrior"-ish tank with two large, spring-loaded anti-aircraft-like guns, and a fighter jet that loosely resembles the Northrop Grumman F-14 Tomcat. His tank-cannons become the jet's thrusters. The [[robot mode]] has three faces, which can be switched around via a knob on the back of the head. Surprisingly against the [[For safety reasons|norm]], Blitzwing's pointy nosecone is molded from rigid plastic. He has a pair of panels on his forearms which are spring-loaded to be able to lie flush in his [[alternate mode|vehicle mode]]s, yet make his arms wider in robot mode (as they tend to be rather flat without them).

: Sadly, his cannons cannot tilt forward over his shoulders when in robot mode. Though promotional photos showed the figure with a gold traditional Decepticon insignia, the final toy used the movie variant in the tampograph.

[[File:Blitzwinganimatedtoyfaces.jpg|left|upright=1.4|thumb|So people who buy enough toys to display them in every mode have to buy five of this guy, right?]]
: Blitzwing also has a minor [[misassembly]] problem, in that his upper arms are swapped. This is the reason his wings cannot press down flush with the rest of the jet fuselage. This can be fixed by pulling off his arms, unscrewing the one screw visible on either forearm, then separating the upper arms and switching them, which makes for a much improved jet mode.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Decepticon/Blitzwing/blitzwing.htm More information on Animated Blitzwing at TFU.info]''

{{-}}{{anchor|McD}}
[[File:TFAnimated McDonalds Blitzwing.jpg|right|upright=1.1|thumb|[[Chip Chase|No one's ever really insane so long as he has courage!]]]]
*'''Blitzwing''' (McDonald's Happy Meal toys, 2009)

: A very simplified (but well painted!) version of Blitzwing that has abandoned his triple changer aspect for simplicity's sake. Although this toy sports Blitzwing's "Icy" face, he transforms into "Hothead"'s tank mode.

:This toy was only available in French McDonald's restaurants. Why they got this singular elusive is anyone's guess.

{{--}}

==Notes==
* When developing the character who would become Blitzwing, [[Marty Isenberg]] originally envisioned a crazy, Joker-like character who could turn into anything, but was driven mad by his constant shapeshifting.<ref>http://www.allspark.com/2016/09/transformers-animated-story-bible-never-seen-before/ Allspark.com: "Transformers Animated Story Bible – Never Seen Before!"</ref> Obviously, that idea proved unworkable in toy terms, so art director [[Derrick J. Wyatt]] proposed using [[Sixshot]] for the role. When Hasbro deemed a [[Six Changer]] to be too expensive, the Triple Changer Blitzwing was finally settled upon instead.<ref name="artstory">[http://www.cvcomics.com/artandstory/?p=242 Art & Story interview with Marty Isenberg]</ref> As fate would have it, Hasbro designer [[Eric Siebenaler]] had been itching to do a face-swapping Blitzwing since 2005.<ref>Blitzwing's long design history was detailed at [[BotCon 2008|BotCon 2008's]] Hasbro Design panel.</ref>
* His German accent was a last-minute improvisation by voice actor [[Bumper Robinson]], inspired by the character's name, that went on to influence his entire [[robot mode]] aesthetic; once Robinson had been cast in the role, Blitzwing was subsequently designed to "make him look really German,"<ref name="artstory"/> with his helmet an obvious nod to a World War II-era [[wikipedia:Stahlhelm|Stahlhelm]] helmet and goggles.
* Blitzwing's face-changing [[gimmick]] was in part inspired by [[wikipedia:Man-E-Faces|Man-E-Faces]] from ''Masters of the Universe.''<ref>According to [[Hasbro]] employees speaking at the 2007 Comic-ConInternational.</ref> He's not the first Transformers toy to feature multiple rotating faces; [[Alpha Quintesson]], inspired by the five-faced Generation 1 [[Quintesson]]s, holds that distinction. The fiction-only character [[Violen Jiger]] also had three faces that spoke in different tones.
* According to the Allspark Almanac, Blitzwing wasn't always the [[Triple Changer]] we know him as today. His current state came about as a result of being rebuilt by [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]] after the Great War, to increase his versatility. This process, however, also had the side effect of giving him three distinct personalities, something [[Springer (Animated)|hinted at earlier]] by [[Derrick J. Wyatt]].
* According to [[Derrick J. Wyatt]], becoming crazy seems to be an inevitability for Triple-Changers, as opposed to an avoidable side-effect or possible risk.<ref>[http://derrickjwyatt.blogspot.com/2008/11/my-desk-is-mess.html#c5110113958119556634]</ref>
* In the Japanese dub of the series, Blitzwing speaks with a stressed ''American'' accent, rather than a German one.
** His "Icy" personality speaks with (what's regarded in Japan as) a very stereotypical (but polite) American accent; sounding out words slowly, always using the bland but respectful ''-masu'' form and ending nearly every sentence with a proper ''desu''.
** His "Hothead" personality speaks with a "rude" American accent and spouts English words and phrases such as "Hey!", "Now" and often ends sentences with "Man!"
** His "Random" personality mostly loses the American accent and is instead a throwback to actor [[Yūichi Nagashima]]'s previous performance as [[Alpha Quintesson|Alpha Q]] in ''[[Transformers: Energon (cartoon)|Super Link]]'' (another character with a split personality/rotating face gimmick).
*Blitzwing's design was used in the [[The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|''More Than Meets the Eye'' comic book]] as the basis for a generic member of the [[Titan Hunter]]s, chumming around with [[Lugnut (TF 2010)|that continuity's Lugnut]].

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Blitzwing''' (ブリッツウイング ''Burittsuuingu'')

==Footnotes==
<references />

[[Category:Animated Decepticons]]
[[Category:Fast food exclusives]]
[[Category:Triple Changers]]

Megatron (G1)/2005 IDW continuity

2017-04-10T00:45:17Z

Empuratapharmaa:

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[[File:IDWMegatron.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|Megatron A, Megatron B, Megatron Retailer's Incentive, Megatron Dynamic Forces Exclusive variant, and Megatron (Second Printing).]]
'''Megatron''' waged a battle to destroy the evil forces of the [[Senate]]! Then he ''continued'' to wage a war against the evil forces of freedom, organic life, and the very idea of an Autobot living. After [[Dark Cybertron|some life-changing events]], he is currently waging a war against the evil forces of his own past [[Decepticon Justice Division|legacy]].

Megatron is a master planner, constantly a step ahead of any opponent and even ahead of what he wants ''now'', preparing for anything he may want in the future. He has the physical might to overpower most foes but it's his mind who has one-upped three Primes and rival Decepticons. But his cold clinical nature is a front he has to struggle to keep up, as he's quick to anger and quicker to use excessive violence as his answer to any problem. Megatron's trying to change but he's spent such a long time revelling in violence, it may have been a lost cause from the start.

{{quote|Because in the final analysis, I would happily wade across a river of corpses, chest-deep in rust and grease and engine oil, just to crush the spark of the last Autobot standing. And I would not do so simply as a means to an end. No. I'd do it, Prime, because it would give me '''pleasure'''.|Megatron to Optimus Prime|"[[Chaos Theory Part 1]]"}}

{{quote|And the thing is, when those words were in my head I didn't think I meant them; but when they left my mouth, I realized that I '''did'''. If the world thinks you're a monster, what does it matter? The world is '''wrong'''. But when you start to think of '''yourself''' as a monster...|Megatron on the previous quote|"[[slaughterhouse]]"}}

__TOC__
==IDW Generation 1 comics==
{{ongoing}}
===Birth of a tyrant===
[[File:MTMTE37 megatron under construction.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.0|Megatron (Work in progress)]]
Megatron of [[Tarn (polity)|Tarn]] was built in the 1st Cycle 012, one of the many Transformers [[reproduction|constructed cold]] during the [[Silver Harvest]]. The [[spark]] intended for this body was one generated from the [[Matrix of Leadership]] by [[Tyrest (G1)|Tyrest]]... but this spark was destroyed while his body was still in the process of being built, by time-travelling [[Autobot]]s from the future attempting to prevent the destruction they knew Megatron would come to wreak upon the universe. But the non-existence of Megatron meant that the [[Functionist Council]] would eventually plunge [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] into [[Functionist Universe|a dystopian hell]], and the Autobot [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]], who loathed the Functionists, refused to permit this to happen. Whirl replaced the deceased body's spark with a forged [[Point One Percenter]] spark that had been harvested by [[Brainstorm (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Brainstorm]] from [[Moonbase One|Luna 1]] millions of years in the future—and so Megatron was ''truly'' born: the first "hybrid" Transformer, a powerful forged superspark in a constructed cold body. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 3: Predestination: An Expert's Guide|Predestination: An Expert's Guide}}

Megatron desired to be a medic, {{storylink|The Becoming: Dark Cybertron Chapter 10|The Becoming}} but alas, he lived in a time of functionism, where one's [[alternate mode]] denoted one's role in society, and one's role determined one's rights. As such, the true nature of his exceptionally rare spark apparently unknown, Megatron was assigned the task for which he had been built: that of [[energon]] miner, a member of the lower class, toiling in a mine under [[Nova Point]]. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|Towards Peace}}

[[File:ChaosTheory1 megatron symbol creation.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.66|... And thus the "Silica Fracturism" art movement was born.]]

An idealist, intellectual and poet, Megatron was sickened by the caste-ridden social apartheid of [[Nominus Prime]]'s Cybertron, and so he wrote [[After the Ark: Nominus Prime and the Illusion of Progress|a treatise]] on how pacifist dissent and the exchange of ideas could change things. It was while he was sharing this work with his miner friend [[Impactor (G1)|Impactor]] over a drink in [[Maccadam's Old Oil House|Maccadam's New Oil House]] that the event occurred which would change the course of his life, as Impactor wound up being drawn into a bar brawl with some of the city's upper classes and Megatron was among those arrested after the fracas. Megatron's writings had been growing in popularity and inspiring some dissent against the current regime, so in order to silence him, the [[Senate]] arranged for a police officer on their payroll, [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]], to kill him. Before Whirl could finish the job, however, police captain [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Orion Pax]], having discovered Megatron's innocence, arranged for his release. Despite Pax expressing support for the message of his writings, Megatron now found himself filled with rage and hate, disillusioned with his former ideology and realizing the power of applied violence. Angrily hurling the datapad on which he had written his treatise through a public info-screen, Megatron observed the jagged shape of the shattered glass, and later turned it into a [[insignia|symbol]] for his cause. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1|Chaos Theory #1}}
[[File:MTMTE34 what you might call a thinker.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|When considering the Grand Cybertronian Taxonomy, one question remains unanswered. Why am I always pictured with phallic-shaped items in awkward positions?]]
Megatron's samizdat writings began to circulate in Cybertron's underground, spawning the "[[Decepticon]]" movement, its name derived from its own slogan, "You are being deceived", warning the common 'bot of the Senate's true nature. Knowing that, at this stage, assassinating Megatron would merely make him a martyr, the Senate instead elected to relocate him off-planet, reassigning him to a mining facility on the world of [[Messatine]] while they tried their own schemes to defuse the growing Decepticon movement. {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 1: Post Hoc|Post Hoc}} It was there that Megatron met [[Terminus (G1)|Terminus]], an elderly fellow miner who encouraged him to keep writing, and who, in addition to proofreading his works for him, smuggled each new tract back to Cybertron, helping to continue the spread of the Decepticon movement. When Terminus was maimed in a mining accident and had his fuel rations cut off, Megatron kept him alive by sharing his own [[energon]] with the old 'bot. Eventually, Senate agents [[Froid]] and [[Trepan]] were dispatched to Messatine to perform mind-altering [[Shadowplay]] upon Megatron, in order to cut his writings off at the source. Tased into submission and strapped to Trepan's operating table, Megatron was helpless to stop the [[mnemosurgery|mnemosurgeon]] from beginning his vile work. Though the arrival of Froid's rival psychopathologist [[Rung (G1)|Rung]] fortunately forced Trepan to stop before Megatron's personality was altered, the experience left the miner with a lifelong fear of mnemosurgery. Subsequently, a mysterious surge of energy deep within the mine forced an evacuation of the facility; Megatron raced back to his quarters to carry Terminus to safety, but found his friend was not there. With time running out and no sign of Terminus anywhere, Megatron instead chose to save the stack of datapads containing his unpublished works—a decision that would haunt him. {{storylink|Births, Deaths, and Interventions}}
[[File:MegatronOrigin1 first kill.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.3|"You know, sometimes I think I was born with a leak, and any goodness I started with just slowly spilled out of me and now its all gone. And I'll never get it back in me. It's too late."]]
Megatron was relocated to [[Mining Outpost C-12]], and continued to seethe with hate and frustration in his new workplace. His discontent reached a peak when, some time later, [[Decimus|Senator Decimus]] arrived to announce that the mine was being automated and the workers would be relocated. When one of the Senator's guards killed a worker for insubordination and claims of Senate corruption, Megatron's fury boiled over and he hurled his pickaxe at Decimus. In turn, he was attacked by the Senator's guard, whom he killed by smashing his head to fragments—the first time he had ever taken a life. A riot erupted around him, but Megatron himself could only sit amongst the chaos, staring at his fuel-stained hands in abject horror, which allowed him to be easily pacified and rounded up with the other miners as the mayhem was quickly suppressed. En route to [[Penal Facility H-3|imprisonment]] back on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], however, [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] and [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] broke free and started a riot aboard [[Longshot (G1)|their ship]]. Megatron joined in their effort, and together, they overpowered their guards, took control of the ship, and disappeared into the [[Kaon (polity)|Kaon]] underground. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 1|Megatron Origin #1}}
[[File:MegsOrigin2 Cykill.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.4|Battle of the Awesome Voices!]]
After evading law enforcement, Megatron joined a team of underworld gladiators under the tutelage of [[Clench (G1)|Clench]]. Initially repulsed by killing his opponents, the games eventually turned him more brutal and excessive, and he took control of the entire operation from Clench. The opportunistic Senator [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]], after seeing how much money there was in the underworld matches, covertly sent his agent [[Soundwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Soundwave]] to offer Megatron weaponry and technology to upgrade himself and his comrades. Their meeting was spied upon by [[Bumper (G1)|Bumper]] and [[Fastback (G1)|Fastback]], agents from the Senate's forces, who Megatron slew. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 2|Megatron Origin #2}} Subsequently, impressed by how he treated his animal-form [[Decepticon Mini-Cassette|cassette partners]] as equals (in contradiction to the teachings of his Senate masters), Megatron invited Soundwave back to the gladiator pits and gave him permission to use his mind-reading abilities on him. Within Megatron's mind, Soundwave saw his honest desire for all Cybertronians to be true equals, and was so moved by it that he joined Megatron's cause. {{storylink|Soundwaves (issue)|Soundwaves}}

Gradually, Megatron used the gladiatorial games to drum up an army of violent malcontents, sending Soundwave to recruit more and more warriors to his cause. Such recruits included [[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]], [[Thundercracker (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Thundercracker]] and [[Skywarp (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Skywarp]], who he was presented with while having an arm he lost in a brawl replaced with a new limb that incorporated an [[energon mace]], {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 3|Megatron Origin #3}} and the disenfranchised warrior [[Drift (G1)|Drift]], who was personally asked by Megatron to fight at his side when he attended a Decepticon rally, and whom Megatron rechristened "Deadlock," {{storylink|Drift issue 2|Drift #2}} and transformed into a capable Decepticon warrior. {{Storylink|Drift issue 3|Drift #3}} A wave of terrorism and sabotage spread across Cybertron at his command: bombings, wrecking factories and fuel plants, shutting down transport links, a mass poisoning to tank a corporation, and a very public kidnapping of Senator Decimus. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 3|Megatron Origin #3}}

Seeking to enhance his army even further, Megatron reached out to [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Senator Shockwave]], offering to supply him the resources he required to carry out his own mysterious experiments in exchange for his using the teachings of his lost mentor [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]] to create a [[combiner]] that would serve the Decepticons. Shockwave cautioned that it could take some time, but Megatron was content to wait. {{storylink|Shockwaves}}

[[File:Apexthrone.JPG|upright=1.4|thumb|You should have gone to IKEA.]]
Despite all his efforts, Megatron believed that the Senate was still not taking the Decepticons seriously, so Soundwave formulated a plan for a declaration of intent that could be not denied: lure the Senate to Kaon and murder them. {{storylink|Soundwaves (issue)|Soundwaves}} In preparation for this scheme, Megatron offered to restore Shockwave's lost hands—a victim of [[empurata]]—believing that doing so might speed his work. {{storylink|Shockwaves}} The following day, in accordance with Soundwave's plan, Megatron and the Decepticons allowed themselves to be arrested by Sentinel Prime's men, after which Soundwave was freed on Ratbat's orders, while Starscream would ensure his own release by pretending to defect. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 3|Megatron Origin #3}} Together, Soundwave and Starscream exterminated the entire Senate, then liberated Megatron and the rest of their comrades, in the process granting their leader the gift of a [[fusion cannon]] liberated from the Senate forces' armory. Megatron led his army against Sentinel Prime's men, killed Sentinel himself, and took control of Kaon, now ready to turn his insurgency into a full-blown war. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 4|Megatron Origin #4}}

When Sentinel's head went missing, Megatron (unaware) was blamed for it. {{storylink|The Last Autobot}}

===Early days of war===

Megatron formally declared war on "[[Declaration Day]]" when he delivered a stirring speech from [[Nova Point|Nova Peak]]. {{storylink|Rules of Disengagement (issue)|Rules of Disengagement}} The growing Decepticon forces swiftly spread across six [[Polities of Cybertron|Torus-States]], {{storylink|Parasites}} and to combat them, Cybertron's new leader [[Zeta Prime]] assembled a new military force, the "[[Autobot]]s", led by Megatron's old acquaintance [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Orion Pax]]. Researching his new opposite number, Megatron was intrigued to discover that his now-abandoned treatise had been a source of inspiration for Pax, who had even quoted from it when he confronted the Senate and openly accused them of corruption. {{storylink|Cause and Effect}} Early into the war, [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]] would admit to Pax that Megatron talked about him sometimes, when he was tired. When Pax asked what was said, Bludgeon told him that it would make "both of us feel ''uncomfortable''". {{storylink|Omega's Conundrum}}
[[File:Autocracy4 backroom meeting.jpg|upright=1.66|left|thumb|Megatron Delightful Destuction Exclusive Variant]]
When Orion Pax came close to Kaon during a mission, Megatron saw it as a chance to speak to him and had his Decepticons bring him in. {{storylink|The Hunt for Soundwave}} Megatron attempted to convince him that Zeta Prime was even worse than he appeared—that he had planned to let Orion die in [[Nyon]] so that he could use his death as pretext to invade the rebel-infested city and drain the citizens of their energon—and proposed they work together against him, but Orion refused to hear him and then escaped. Knowing the doubts he'd placed in his head would only serve to damage the Autobot cause, Megatron let him go. {{storylink|Cause and Effect}}
[[File:Autocracy8 megs and pax together.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|"Megatron, let's roll." "What you thinking?" "...Pub?"]]
Megatron continued to keep an eye on Orion Pax's activities, spying on his encounter with the Nyon insurgent [[Hot Rod/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Hot Rod]]. {{storylink|Ruins}} When Zeta Prime's [[Guardian robot|Omega Destructor]]s suddenly attacked Nyon, Megatron was surprised by how zealously the new Prime fought against the city's rebels, but his real interest still lay on how Orion would handle the crisis. {{storylink|Purge}} Orion turned on Zeta, who in turn attempted to kill him, prompting Megatron to intervene and force the Prime to retreat. Taking Orion back to Kaon, he again offered that they work together against Zeta's corruption, and this time the Autobot officer accepted. {{storylink|Choices}} As their combined forces invaded the [[Citadel]] in Iacon, Megatron and Orion Pax made their way inside and fought Zeta Prime in person. The battle ended with Megatron killing the Prime with a head shot, and with his objective complete, he then betrayed the injured Orion by shooting him in the back. {{storylink|Overthrown}} This moment lived in infamy as the point at which Megatron revealed his true colors, no longer couched in ideology; {{storylink|Dinobot Hunt (IDW)|Dinobot Hunt}} though curiously, an alternate report incorrectly implied he had assassinated Zeta from afar, sniping him with the rifle alternate mode of [[Vos (DJD)|Vos]]. {{storylink|Bullets}} {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 3: The Chaos of Warm Things|The Chaos of Warm Things}}

[[File:Autocracy12 no you dont megatron.jpg|upright=1.4|left|thumb|I can't be the only one with deja vu here.]]
With Zeta dead, Megatron conquered Iacon and declared himself ruler of Cybertron. His soldiers patrolled the planet's streets to "keep the peace", mostly by hunting down and capturing any remaining Autobots who opposed him. {{storylink|Transformation (issue)|Transformation}} During his rule, Megatron attempted to sway the neutral Hot Rod into joining the Decepticons, but he decided otherwise upon witnessing Megatron ordering the execution of several Autobot prisoners. {{storylink|Rise}} Megatron was shocked to learn that Orion Pax had survived the betrayal and was organizing a rebellion against him under the name "Optimus Prime", and even more shocked that people actually had the courage to listen to him. He wasted no time in striking back against the rebels approaching the Citadel with the full force of his army. {{storylink|Broadcast}} During the battle, Megatron unleashed Zeta Prime's energy-draining [[vamparc ribbon|vamparc annihilator]], but when the gigantic [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] took out the cannon, Megatron fell to the streets and was confronted by Optimus Prime himself. He lost the ensuing [[The Transformers: The Movie|familiar-looking duel]] and was badly wounded after a failed attempt to defeat Prime by holding Hot Rod hostage, forcing him to escape aboard Astrotrain. As he fled, he warned Optimus that he hadn't won, he had only started a war unlike any Cybertron had ever seen. {{storylink|Endgame}}

[[File:Monstrosity3 Megatron and Pentius.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|Megatron insists on wearing his Darksiders cosplay when he's walking his pet Quintesson.]]
Before Megatron could recover from his injuries, he was betrayed by [[Scorponok (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Scorponok]], who was gunning for the position of Decepticon leader (with aid from Starscream). As punishment for his failure to hold Iacon, Scorponok banished the wounded Megatron to the hell-world of [[Junkion (planet)|Junkion]]. {{storylink|Derelicts}} Further injured in battle with some [[Junkion (species)|cannibalistic natives]], he stubbornly refused to give up and used the trash littering the world to patch himself up, leaving him with a mismatched, monstrous appearance. {{storylink|Wreckage (issue)|Wreckage}} While searching for a way off Junkion, Megatron entered the wreckage of a starship and found a trapped [[Quintesson]] named [[Pentius]], who had mapped the planet and knew of an area known as the [[Pillar of Rust]] where starships may land and take off. Megatron freed the alien to guide him there, while also putting him in chains to serve as his slave. {{storylink|Faces of Darkness}}

[[File:Monstrosity7 megatron takes pentius spark.jpg|upright=1.4|left|thumb|"Thanks for turning me into the psychopath I've been the whole time!"]]
While crossing the [[Acid Sea]] on the way to the Pillar, Megatron was attacked by [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticons]] who pulled him into the depths. {{storylink|Rage (IDW)|Rage}} For reasons unknown he was then released, the creatures having allowed him to live. As he emerged, Pentius was waiting with a history lesson, telling him that Junkion was once a prosperous world until its inhabitants drained it of resources, leaving it the broken husk it is today: a fate that may also await Cybertron. Megatron rejected this possibility, declaring that under his rule, Cybertron—and his legacy—would last forever. {{storylink|Fallout (issue)|Fallout}} On arrival at the Pillar of Rust, Megatron was met by the [[Terrorcon (G1)|Terrorcons]], who had come to Junkion to finish what Scorponok had started by killing him. He was able to fight off several of his attackers, but [[Hun-Gurrr (G1)|Hun-Gar]] was too much for him to handle in his injured state. Egged on and taunted by Pentius, Megatron realized he had one last resource left to use: the Quintesson himself. Telling Pentius that his legacy would live on within him, he tore out the alien's [[spark]] and used it to fuel himself, granting him enough power to defeat Hun-Gar. He spared the Terrorcons in exchange for their loyalty, then returned to Cybertron on their ship to take revenge on Scorponok and take back control of the Decepticons. {{storylink|Prey (issue)|Prey}}

[[File:Monstrosity12 strange turns.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb]]
Megatron returned to a Cybertron in chaos, as the ancient reptilian [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] had been unleashed by Scorponok and was in the midst of razing Iacon. After reasserting his leadership of the Decepticons by beating Scorponok nearly to death, he had Shockwave restore his body to its original shape and condition, {{storylink|The Illusion of Control}} and set out to investigate the Trypticon situation alone, unwilling to risk his soldiers in the face of the beast's uncontrolled fury. Finding an injured Optimus Prime on the battlefield, Megatron lectured him, but opted to leave him alive so that he could watch as the Decepticon leader defeated the enemy that Prime could not. Megatron was attacked by [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]], but as they grappled, they were swallowed by Trypticon. {{storylink|Annihilation}} Within the giant, the pair set their differences aside to fend off the [[cyber-morphic predator]]s that populated his interior, and together, they destroyed Trypticon's internal power cell, taking him offline. A tense standoff between the Autobots and Decepticons followed as the two warriors emerged from within Trypticon, but both sides agreed to go their separate ways for the time being. Not long after the battle, however, Megatron removed Pentius's spark from within himself and installed it within Trypticon. {{storylink|Belly of the Beast (issue)|Belly of the Beast}}
[[File:Primacy4 megatron imprisoned.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.4]]

After being fully repaired following his ordeals, Megatron roused Trypticon by exploiting the connection they now shared thanks to both having borne Pentius's spark. Discovering that Trypticon now possessed the consciousness of Pentius, Megatron was immediately suspicious of the Quintesson's potential treachery and was staggered by the visions of undiluted evil he saw in the aliens' past via their spark-link, but Trypticon assured him that he was dedicated to their shared goal of breaking a world. {{storylink|Primacy issue 1|Primacy #1}} Using Trypticon's city-ship alternate mode, Megatron took to the stars, rounding up the scattered Decepticon army and even recruiting Junkions and Sharkticons. {{storylink|Primacy issue 2|Primacy #2}} Returning to Cybertron in force, Megatron was content to wait and watch from the sidelines while his troops viciously tore into Iacon. Trypticon was defeated in battle by Metroplex, at which point Megatron's folly was revealed: through their link, Pentius mockingly revealed his intention to use Trypticon consume Cybertron once the Autobots and Decepticons had weakened each other. {{storylink|Primacy issue 3|Primacy #3}} Leaving his men with orders to burn Iacon to the ground if he failed in order to spare it such a fate, Megatron set off for Trypticon's fallen body in hopes that he would be able to remove Pentius's spark before the giant revived. Confronted atop Trypticon by Optimus Prime, Megatron tried to goad the Autobot leader into destroying him, believing that Pentius would be destroyed with him thanks to their link. Refusing to accept death as the answer, Optimus instead used the [[Matrix of Leadership]] to purify Megatron, burning Pentius's spark away; Megatron, however, vowed that he would never stop hating Optimus in spite of what he had done for him. Sadly resigned to the fact that the once-noble revolutionary he had admired was now lost, Optimus knocked out the weakened Megatron and took him into custody. {{storylink|Primacy issue 4|Primacy #4}}
{{-}}

===The spreading conflict===
[[File:MTMTE14 megatron vs overlord.jpg|upright=1.4|left|thumb]]

Escaping Autobot custody under as-yet-unrevealed circumstances, Megatron continued to wage the war. Early in the continuing conflict, he wrote ''[[Towards Peace]]'', a new treatise to replace ''After the Ark'', in which he described continuing to fight the war until the very notion of conflict was literally inconceivable. Then and only then would he finally give up his fusion cannon. {{storylink|Rules of Disengagement (issue)|Rules of Disengagement}} The earliest edition of the work featured a dedication to Terminus, which Megatron would later remove to reflect the lesson his friendship with Terminus had taught him: not to get attached. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|Towards Peace}} He oversaw the creation of a class of super-warriors known as the [[Warriors Elite]], selecting only his most powerful troops to undergo the torturous upgrade, including [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]], a brilliant sadist and frequent opponent of his from his pit-fighting days who had developed an obsession with Megatron after the Decepticon leader dealt him his first ever defeat. {{storylink|Remembrance Day}} At some point, he also created the [[Decepticon Justice Division]] to deal with traitors, {{storylink|Rules of Disengagement (issue)|Rules of Disengagement}} though he elected not to send them after Deadlock when he defected, valuing the warrior enough to instead dispatch [[Lockdown (G1)|Lockdown]] to bring him in. {{storylink|Drift issue 2|Drift #2}}

[[File:ChaosTheory prime vs megatron montage.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|Good times, bad times.]]
Megatron would personally clash with Optimus Prime many times; Optimus grew to respect and fear Megatron as a calm, calculating and measured opponent, while Megatron himself respected Prime's sheer power and his skill as a tactician and as a leader. {{storylink|Escalation issue 5|Escalation #5}} Megatron would later incorrectly recall their battle on [[Sherma Bridge]] during the [[Rorsha Campaign]] as the first time they met. Said battle was certainly momentous—every Autobot and Decepticon stopped fighting to witness their duel, during which Megatron's cannon arm was sliced off by Prime's [[energon-axe]], and he claimed revenge by throwing the Autobot leader off the bridge. As the war spread to other planets, they would meet again and again: during the [[Siege of Massunstrad]], Megatron sealed Prime in an anti-matter chamber; on [[Rada Mor]], Prime reduced Megatron to ashes with sentient explosives; and in the midst of the [[Vorsk Offensive]], Megatron was nearly sliced in half by Prime. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1|Chaos Theory #1}} Though he resisted [[Tyrest (G1)|Tyrest]]'s attempts to find a "Two City-State Solution" to the war, he did agree to abide by the [[Tyrest Accord]]. {{storylink|Remain in Light 2 of 5: House of Ambus|House of Ambus}}

Megatron took on a new pistol alternate mode for the [[Battle for Hell's Point]], during which he was used by [[Heretech]] to blast [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]]. {{storylink|The Gloaming}} During the same skirmish, Megatron took off half of Prime's face with his energon mace, but had a city block dropped on him by Prime in retribution, which shattered his [[transformation cog]] and trapped him in gun mode for two years. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1|Chaos Theory #1}} Prime was not the only old face that Megatron would see again during the war: during a battle on an aerial drilling platform over the [[Manganese Mountains]], Megatron came face-to-face with his old friend Impactor, and stood poised to execute him until Impactor gave him a moment's pause by recalling his old fondness for poetry. In this moment, Megatron was knocked from the platform by [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] and sent plummeting to the mountains below. {{storylink|Zero Point}}

[[File:LastStandoftheWreckers2-teleconference.jpg|upright=1.66|left|thumb|"We attack the Rice Krispies guys at dawn! Assuming Judd Hirsch delivers the goods."]]
At the war's zenith, Megatron sealed himself in an [[Omniglobe]] to absorb the relentless flood of data coming in from countless fronts. {{storylink|Rules of Disengagement (issue)|Rules of Disengagement}} With total war going nowhere, he would go on to develop a six-stage [[infiltration protocol]] to be used for conquering targeted planets. The sixth phase called for outright planetary razing, and Megatron selected three of his Warriors Elite for this task: [[Sixshot]], {{storylink|Devastation issue 5|Devastation #5}}, Overlord and [[Black Shadow (Victory)|Black Shadow]]. He informed this trio of his decision via teleconference, but Overlord, tired of being used as someone else's weapon, refused. Megatron threatened to hunt Overlord down for his disobedience, {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2|Last Stand of the Wreckers #2}} but while the powerful warrior spent the rest of his life preparing for this conflict, Megatron never followed up and left him to stew in his own obsession. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|Last Stand of the Wreckers #5}}

[[File:Stormbringer1 get up and fight.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|You don't gotta go home Prime but you can't stay here.]]
Deducing that the Autobot/Decepticon war would culminate in an energy crisis that would threatened the stability of Cybertron itself, Shockwave left Cybertron to secretly pursue alternate energy sources. Around 10,000 years ago, when Shockwave did not return, Megatron ordered Bludgeon to investigate his files, {{storylink|Spotlight: Shockwave}} secretly assigning Soundwave to investigate Bludgeon {{storylink|Spotlight: Soundwave}} and probe deeper into whatever it was Shockwave had created. {{storylink|Shockpoint}}

Shockwave's prediction soon proved accurate, and Cybertron found itself in the throes of an energy shortage. Decepticon scientist [[Thunderwing (G1)|Thunderwing]] came to Megatron with a revolutionary, controversial plan to stave off this energy death by [[Pretender|polydermal grafting]], a process where they encased themselves in "symbiotic carapaces", or shells created from living tissue. When Megatron dismissed him angrily and cut him down, Thunderwing did not abandon his research; instead, he experimented on himself. {{storylink|Stormbringer issue 3|Stormbringer #3}} {{storylink|Stormbringer issue 4|Stormbringer #4}} The process gave him immense power, but drove him insane. He became so dangerous that Megatron had to join forces with Optimus Prime to stop him. This battle at [[Thunderhead Pass]] accelerated the apocalypse destined to befall Cybertron, leaving it an uninhabitable, radioactive husk and forcing both armies to continue their war on other worlds. {{storylink|Stormbringer issue 1|Stormbringer #1}} Megatron advocated that they simply destroy Cybertron to ensure that Thunderwing was destroyed, but Prime refused, and threatened to stop Megatron if he tried. Megatron agreed not to destroy the planet, but warned Prime that whatever happened was on his head. Shortly after the last big push by the Decepticons, Cybertron was abandoned by both factions. {{storylink|Stormbringer issue 1|Stormbringer #2}}

===Breaking protocol===
[[File:Infiltration4 enter megatron.jpg|upright=1.3|left|thumb|Megatron (Second Printing Preview)]]
In the present day, when word reached Megatron that the infiltration unit led by [[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]], stationed on the planet [[Earth]], had broken protocol, he headed for the planet to investigate. Examining the unit's abandoned bunker in [[Nebraska]] for information, he discovered that Starscream had stumbled across [[Ore-13]]—an incredible energy source that (unbeknownst to Megatron) was the end result of Shockwave's experiments—and was planning to use it to usurp Megatron's command. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 4|Infiltration #4}} While studying the bunker's files, he was contacted by [[Razorclaw (G1)|Razorclaw]] with some distressing news: Bludgeon's investigations of Shockwave's files had led him to revive Thunderwing. Megatron ordered the [[Predacon (G1)|Predacons]] to Cybertron, authorizing them to do whatever was necessary to destroy Thunderwing, including the destruction of their homeworld itself. {{storylink|Stormbringer issue 3|Stormbringer #3}} Just as he was handing down this order, Megatron was happened upon by [[Verity Carlo]], a human ally of the Autobot unit active on the planet, {{storylink|Infiltration issue 4|Infiltration #4}} but he utterly ignored her. The bunker was then leveled by an airstrike courtesy of [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] and [[Skywarp (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Skywarp]], who were merely covering their unit's tracks and unaware of Megatron's presence; when their leader furiously emerged from the wreckage, Skywarp attempted to explain their ignorance, but Megatron simply responded by blasting him out of the sky. Blitzwing favored opening fire rather than attempting explanations, so Megatron beat the stuffing out of him too, then set off for Starscream's new bunker in [[Oregon]]. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 5|Infiltration #5}}

[[File:Infiltration6 takeyourpunishment.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|Those librarians are getting really strict on late returns.]]

{{quote|You will stand down. If you fight, you ''die''. There is no room anymore for mercy. In the end, you are ''all'' expendable. Choose.|Megatron's ultimatum to Starscream's renegade troops|[[Infiltration issue 6|''Infiltration'' #6]]}}

[[Orbital jump]]ing to Oregon, Megatron called Starscream out and ordered the team to stand down, disgusted to see such power games being played amongst his troops. His brief, chilling speech was enough to take the fight out of all but Starscream, who, powered-up on Ore-13, took Megatron on himself. Though the new power source made Starscream a formidable adversary, Megatron was still more deadly than he, and Starscream was taken out by a point-blank fusion cannon blast through his torso. Megatron ordered the Decepticons to ensure that Starscream survived, and then, observing the Autobots who had been watching the battle, announced that it was time to begin phase two. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 6|Infiltration #6}}

In light of the discovery of Ore-13, Megatron took stock of Starscream's progress on Earth and elected to get the infiltration protocol back on track himself, calling a meeting to make Starscream's former troops and making them aware, in no uncertain terms, that any further insurrections would be met with deadly force. {{storylink|Escalation issue 1|Escalation #1}} He continued to order his troops on Earth directly, {{storylink|Escalation issue 2|Escalation #2}} and was even able to revisit his past gun alternate mode, once again able to achieve the [[size changing|mass displacement]] the mode required thanks to the extra energy Ore-13 provided. {{storylink|Escalation issue 3|Escalation #3}}

[[File:Megsandspidy.jpg|left|upright=1.4|thumb|Megatron/Spiderman #1 Retailer's Incentive]]
With his forces joined by [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]], a new arrival who Megatron suspected of having ulterior motives, {{storylink|Man and Machine, Part Two}} the Decepticon leader initiated phase two of infiltration protocol by destabilizing relations between the European nations of [[Latveria]] and [[Symkaria]] through use of an aggression-inducing [[Psycho-Prism]], stolen from Latverian dictator [[Doctor Doom]]. When the superhero team known as the [[Avengers]] investigated the array the Decepticons' were using to broadcast the prism's signal, Megatron abducted the arachnid-powered [[Spider-Man]] to use as a subject for their [[mirror response mode]], {{storylink|Man and Machine, Part One}} draining the hero's powers and infusing himself and the other Decepticons with them. {{storylink|Man and Machine, Part Two}} He proceeded to forge a brief alliance with Doctor Doom, who helped him defeat and capture the allied Autobot/Avenger team who snuck inside the Decepticons' array, but when Doom's suggestion to threaten the captives in order to force the other heroes to lay down their arms failed, Megatron violently dissolved the partnership. {{storylink|Man and Machine, Part Three}} Emerging from the confines of the array to take on the Autobots and Avengers himself, Megatron refrained from engaging Prime, foreseeing a more intimate confrontation between the two of them in the near future, and instead turned his attention to destroying [[Iron Man]]'s Transformer-sized armor. The tables soon turned, however, when Doctor Doom freed the captive Autobots and used the Decepticon's mirror response technology to empower them. Defeated by these enhanced Autobots and with the Psycho-Prism destroyed by [[Wolverine (superhero)|Wolverine]], Megatron used the last of his extra power to teleport the Decepticons out with an [[emergency warp-out]]. He refrained from departing alongside his warriors, intending to slaughter the Avengers for their interference, but when he was immobilized by Spider-Man's webbing, knocked to the ground by [[Luke Cage]], and rattled by a hail of Autobot fire, he finally warped-out with a final taunt to Optimus Prime of the battle yet to come between them. {{storylink|Man and Machine, Part Four}}
[[File:Escalation3-Massdisplacement.jpg|upright=2.2|thumb]]
With phase two of [[infiltration protocol]] properly underway, Megatron recognized that he ''should'' rightly withdraw and install a new unit commander on Earth, but could not resist the chance to try out his new Ore-13 empowered body, selecting the nation of [[Brasnya]], where Decepticon subterfuge was already underway, as his testing ground. {{storylink|Escalation issue 2|Escalation #2}} Allowing the Decepticon's [[facsimile construct]] [[Georgi Koska]] to wield him in pistol mode, Megatron had Koska use him to first sever a [[Russia]]n oil pipeline, and then to fire upon the soldiers who came to investigate, furthering the political and military tensions already brewing in the region. When word came through from Blitzwing that Optimus Prime and the Autobots had arrived, {{storylink|Escalation issue 3|Escalation #3}} Megatron at last engaged Optimus directly, {{storylink|Escalation issue 4|Escalation #4}} and although Prime was able to destroy his fusion cannon, the extra strength afforded Megatron by Ore-13 allowed him to physically beat Prime into submission, punching directly into his chest and crushing his [[spark]]. {{storylink|Escalation issue 5|Escalation #5}} {{storylink|Spotlight: Optimus Prime}} [[File:Escalation5 prime vs megs.jpg|upright=1.4|left|thumb|''I got me a shovel I'm digging a ditch...'']] The horrified Autobots moved into a full but ineffective counterattack, their only edge being that Megatron had no long-range guns left. It turned out that Prime's apparent death was a desperate ruse when the Autobot leader countered with a surprise attack on Megatron, able to exploit Ore-13's weakness—the more it's used, the faster it burns itself out. Megatron almost collapsed from power loss and was forced to have Skywarp take him to safety before the Autobots could kill him. {{storylink|Escalation issue 6|Escalation #6}}

Furious over the embarrassing defeat, Megatron threw protocol out the window and ordered that Sixshot be summoned to the planet. {{storylink|Escalation issue 6|Escalation #6}} He took out some of his anger on Ramjet, who he discovered had been busy cooking up a plot to overthrow him; without saying a word, he beat the attempted traitor to death before tearing him apart and keeping his head as a trophy. {{storylink|Spotlight: Ramjet}}
[[File:Devastation5 decepticons attack.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|''And I'm gonna fight for this four square feet of land Like a mean old son of a bitch'']]
Upon Sixshot's arrival, Megatron ordered him to utterly destroy the Autobots, and although the [[Phase Sixer]] questioned his early deployment, he was happy to go along with the abandonment of the phase structure. The other Decepticons, on the other hand, were worried that Megatron was losing his grip—and since they were too scared to tell him that, they decided to revive Starscream to do it for them. {{storylink|Devastation issue 1|Devastation #1}} {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 1|Maximum Dinobots #1}} Megatron monitored Sixshot's attack on the Autobots' [[Ark-19]], ordering him to pursue the escape pod that broke away from the crashing craft, {{storylink|Devastation issue 2|Devastation #2}} but before he could obliterate the Autobots, Megatron was forced to recall him to deal with a new threat assaulting the Decepticon base—the alien [[Reaper]]s. {{storylink|Devastation issue 4|Devastation #4}} Unfortunately, the Reapers convinced Sixshot to side with them, and when an Ore-13 powered Starscream entered the fray to take Sixshot down, Megatron realized his troops had been conspiring against him. He decided not to punish them '''yet''', due to greater threat posed by the Reapers, {{storylink|Devastation issue 5|Devastation #5}} and entered battle alongside them all, even allowing Starscream to wield him in pistol mode against the aliens. After the invaders were dead, however, he turned on his men, starting with Blitzwing—but was forced to realize that they needed to remain united when it became apparent that their battle with the Reapers had made humanity inescapably aware of their existence {{storylink|Devastation issue 6|Devastation #6}} {{storylink|Spotlight: Grimlock}}
{{-}}

===All Hail Megatron===
[[File:AHM7 megs rips out matrix.jpg|upright=1.1|left|thumb|[[The Becoming: Dark Cybertron Chapter 10|"I don't think I'd have made a good medic. No patience."]]]]
While the Decepticons were occupied fighting the Reapers, the Autobots had left Earth to deal with the greater threat of an incursion by the [[Dead Universe]]. Exploiting their enemies' absence, Megatron and his men went to ground; when Autobots returned, they could find no trace of the Decepticons, who kept one step ahead of them for months. Secretly abducting [[Hunter O'Nion]], former [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]] partner to the Autobot [[Sunstreaker (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Sunstreaker]], Megatron and his men returned to Cybertron, where Megatron had [[Deluge (G2)|Deluge]] conduct experiments that bred a [[Insecticon swarm|swarm]] of monstrous [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticons]]. The experiments culminated in the creation of [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]], who Megatron employed in a series of key tasks in his plan: the Insecticon obtained from Hunter's mind various Autobot secrets and codes, completed Shockwave's long-gestating combiner process, granting the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] the ability to combine into [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]], and created a working [[space bridge]] {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 7|All Hail Megatron #7}} based on designs sold to them by Sixshot in exchange for his freedom. {{storylink|Spotlight: Metroplex}}

Returning to Earth, the Decepticons staged a phony schism within their ranks, allowing the Autobots to believe that they had "disappeared" as a result of a power struggle that had split their ranks into two camps, one led by Megatron and one by Starscream. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 7|All Hail Megatron #7}} Starscream then approached Sunstreaker, whose experience as a Headmaster had left him bitter and jaded, with the proposition that the Autobots join with his forces against Megatron, {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 8|All Hail Megatron #8}} but when the Autobots arrived at the designated time and place, they were instead confronted by the united Decepticon army and quickly defeated by Devastator. After personally tearing [[Matrix of Leadership]] from Optimus Prime's chest, Megatron marched the captive Autobots through the space bridge back to Cybertron, where the Insecticon swarm waited for them. Prime, however, was able to damage the bridge, causing it to deposit the Autobots a safe distance from the swarm, but in the process, fried his own circuits and left himself comatose. Though the Autobots had escaped the fate he had intended for them, Megatron had successfully exiled his enemies to their dead homeworld; moreover, using information and codes gained from Sunstreaker and Hunter, he concurrently orchestrated the event that would later be known as [[Surge (event)|The Surge]], as Decepticons stormed Autobot installations all across the galaxy, achieving total victory. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 7|All Hail Megatron #7}}

[[File:AHM1 decepticons attack.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|Megatron's urban renewal program was off to a flying start.]]
With galaxy-wide domination accomplished, one year after the Decepticons' battle with the Reapers, Megatron chose Earth to become the new Decepticon homeworld. Together with his men, Megatron stormed [[New York City]], humiliating Starscream with a display of his greater capacity for destruction. When the US Air Force retaliated, Megatron shrugged off their fire and ordered the other Decepticons to engage them; when one damaged jet threw itself toward him in a suicide run, Megatron, outraged at the [[DJ (G1)|pilot]]'s temerity, destroyed it and its occupant with a furious swipe of his hand. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 1|All Hail Megatron #1}} When US Army forces arrived, Megatron ordered [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] dispatched to deal with them, then sent Devastator to destroy the subway tunnels leading out of the city. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 2|All Hail Megatron #2}} With New York secured, Megatron directed the Constructicons to begin building a new space bridge in the city's heart, and had a candid talk with Starscream, revealing his belief that the [[Seeker (body-type)|Seeker]]'s attitude and actions marked him as the embodiment of the Decepticon cause, even if he was blind to seeing it himself. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 3|All Hail Megatron #3}} After a series of further attacks on major American cities saw the country firmly crushed under the Decepticons' collective heel, Megatron made a propaganda speech to his men in the ruins of New York. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 4|All Hail Megatron #4}} As night fell upon the city, Megatron withdrew to privately gloat over the Matrix. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 5|All Hail Megatron #5}}

[[File:AHM6MegatronVsIsrael.jpg|left|upright=1.66|thumb|Starscream just told Megatron that AHM is going to go on for another six issues. He's taking it pretty well, all things considered.]]
As the Decepticons began attacking other countries around the globe, Megatron was questioned by Starscream on what the next step in his plan was. A recalcitrant Megatron merely informed him that it was merely time to savor their victory, but Starscream accused him of not ''having'' any plans post-victory, and was merely allowing his men to run wild to distract them from any notion of taking power for themselves. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 6|All Hail Megatron #6}} What Starscream did not realize was that Megatron did indeed have a plan: to defeat the Autobots, he had created an army of killers and monsters, but in order to create his perfect rule, that army would have to be destroyed, the dissenting, distasteful elements obliterated before Megatron's peace could dawn. Megatron was not distracting his warriors... he was ''waiting'' to see which of them would question and turn on him. Silently sorrowful to already know that such dissent would begin with Starscream, an otherwise-model Decepticon, {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 10|All Hail Megatron #10}} Megatron withdrew to [[Israel]] for some silent reflection amid wholesale devastation. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 6|All Hail Megatron #6}}

[[File:AHM10 megs vs devastator.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb]]
Some time later, Megatron surveyed the space bridge Bombshell and the Constructicons had built in New York. He congratulated Bombshell on his work, but revealed that he had always foreseen Bombshell's intellect as a danger—had always known he and his fellow Insecticons would side with Starscream when the time came. His gambit exposed, Starscream made his move and attacked, but the Insecticons proved no match for Megatron's might. The Decepticon leader had failed to anticipate one thing, however: he did not foresee the Constructicons siding with Starscream, and found himself having to fight the mighty Devastator. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 10|All Hail Megatron #10}} The in-fighting was halted by a last-ditch attack by the mustered might of what remained of the human resistance, forcing Megatron and Starscream to put their differences aside momentarily and organize a defense. This attack came as no surprise to Megatron, but the same could not be said for the next entrants onto the battlefield: the Autobots had returned.

After assuring Starscream that he would be leader in the future, when his time was done, Megatron confronted Optimus Prime, surprised not so much that his old foe had survived, but that he had bothered to return to Earth. Both leaders had always maintained a policy of acceptable losses through their millennia-long war, so Megatron assumed Prime had come back for selfish reasons, to reclaim the Matrix, but Prime insisted that he had changed, and would no longer allow their cold war to endanger innocent lives on this scale. [[File:AHM12 prime vs megs.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.66|Like Homer Simpson putting on his pants, the struggle between Optimus Prime and Megatron remains eternal. [[...And the Damage Done: Dark Cybertron Finale|Almost.]]]] Megatron scoffed at the notion, reavling that Prime's supposedly "innocent" humans were planning to nuke New York, killing millions of their own just to get rid of the Decepticons, {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 11|All Hail Megatron #11}} but Prime retorted that it wasn't ''just'' about the humans, but also about the difference between Autobots and Decepticons. The two came to blows, but Megatron triumphed in short order and commanded the Decepticons to depart, leaving the Autobots to be killed by the humans' nuke... but just before they withdrew, he was shot in the face by human soldier [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]], wielding a powerful weapon reverse-engineered from Cybertronian technology. Injured and disoriented by the blast, Megatron was finished off when Prime smashed his face in with his own fusion cannon. As he wanted to ''take'' leadership rather than just have it fall in his hands, Starscream picked up his damaged leader and ordered the Decepticons to retreat. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 12|All Hail Megatron #12}}

[[File:AllHisEngines-Megatron.jpg|thumb|Pretty sure when you float in a bacta tank you're supposed to be wearing a diaper.]]
The Decepticons departed Earth aboard Astrotrain, where the gravely wounded Megatron was put on life support and tended to by Soundwave and his cassettes. With Megatron's life signs only at ten percent capacity, Starscream attempted to appeal to Soundwave's sense of logic and have him shut down so that leadership could be his, but Soundwave refused. Starscream was soon able to take command, however, when he recovered the Matrix of Leadership and professed to have been chosen by it. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 13|Uneasy Lies the Head}}

===New body, new powers===
The Decepticons eventually settled on a desolate asteroid, where Megatron was installed in a [[CR chamber|CR tank]]. Retaining some level of awareness of the events occurring around him during his convalescence, he was forced to watch as his army languished in inactivity, their energy slowly ebbing away until they were reduced to cannibalism. {{storylink|All His Engines}} After a year of trying to free his leader from this living death, Soundwave was finally forced to conclude that Megatron's body was beyond repair, and recruited the recently returned Shockwave, whom Starscream had provided with the majority of the Decepticons' resources to create a space bridge, to help build a new body for Megatron's consciousness to inhabit. The operation succeeded and Megatron was reborn in a deadly new body, powered by Ore-13, armed with a devastatingly powerful rail gun, and even equipped with space bridge nodes stolen from Metroplex, which gave him the ability to open space bridge portals on his own. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 2: Altered Carbon|Altered Carbon}} {{storylink|Spotlight: Megatron}}

[[File:IDWongoing15 megatrons new body.jpg|left|thumb|275px|"Uh, it's like...did anyone ever see the movie ''Tron''?"]]
Back in action, Megatron devised a plan to destabilize the relationship between the humans and Autobots on Earth. Together with Soundwave and Shockwave, he chopped up his old body and used it to create human-scaled replicas of his former gun mode, containing small pieces of his own consciousness. When Starscream caught them in the act, Megatron elected to table his plan for the moment, as he considered it folly to go against Starscream's wishes for the moment since the Seeker was still in possession of the Matrix of Leadership. Megatron had never truly understood what the talisman ''did'', but it served as a threat merely by being an unknown variable. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 2: Altered Carbon|Altered Carbon}} Fortunately, for Megatron this variable was soon removed from the equation when Hot Rod, estranged from the Earthbound Autobots, infiltrated the Decepticons' asteroid base and recovered the Matrix from Starscream. Megatron seized his chance, intercepting the Autobot and blasting him and the Matrix out into the void of space. {{storylink|Heart Like a Wheel}}

[[File:SLMegatron stealth bomber mode.jpg|thumb|275px|Behold... the ''Bomberang!'']]
With Starscream's trump card now gone, Megatron had the Decepticons gathered so he could address them. Distrustful of Shockwave's motives for preparing his new body, wary of Soundwave's constant surveillance, and repulsed by the state of his once fearsome Decepticon war machine, Megatron decided that he needed to unequivocally reestablish dominance over the now Matrix-less Starscream. He intended to beat Starscream near to death as a means of letting them both work out their frustrations with Starscream's inability to lead effectively during Megatron's absence, but Starscream did not want to fight—spiritually broken by his failures, he simply wanted Megatron to kill him. Rather than accept this, Megatron instead goaded Starscream into opening fire upon him. This began a running battle between the two, with Megatron pursuing the fleeing Seeker in his new stealth bomber alternate mode, continuing to bait Starscream every time he appeared willing to give up the fight. Incensed by Starscream's accusation that he did not know what it felt like to see everything he had worked for fall apart, when that was exactly what Starscream's pitiful leadership had done to the empire he had created, Megatron pummeled him to within an inch of his life, then paused to explain why he kept a schemer like Starscream around: as a constant reminder to watch his back. The brutal display galvanized the languid Decepticons, and Megatron was ready to begin his scheme. {{storylink|Spotlight: Megatron}}

[[File:IDWongoing14 megatron guns.jpg|upright=1.66|left|thumb|Megatron doesn't support the NRA. He IS the NRA.]]
Roughly two years after the Decepticons' defeat on Earth, Megatron used his space bridge powers to dispatch a container full of the guns made from his old body to Earth, where they were found by South American gun-runners and illegally disseminated amongst an increasingly paranoid public seeking ways to protect themselves against Transformers. This allowed Megatron's consciousness to spread across North America, until it was focused enough to contact one particular owner of a Megatron gun: [[Joe Gladki]]. He deceived and manipulated the paranoid human, and eventually convinced him to perform an assassination attempt on [[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]], the new Autobot leader. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 2: Altered Carbon|Altered Carbon}} In their ignorance, the Autobots then mistook Gladki's gun for Megatron himself and held it captive. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 1: The Demolished Man|The Demolished Man}}

[[File:IDWongoing16 megatron vs autobots.jpg|upright=1.2|thumb|Not the [[Realignments|first time]] he's traded his [[fusion cannon]] for a [[rail gun]].]]
With the Autobots in chaos, Megatron started the next phase of his plan and returned to Earth personally, where he used his new stealth bomber mode to shoot down a plane carrying Optimus Prime and several other Autobots. He then hunted down the remaining Autobots, effortlessly defeating them and their new temporary leader Ultra Magnus with his powerful new body, and killing some of their [[Skywatch]] allies. Magnus tried to draw Megatron's attention from the humans, claiming the Autobots were the ones he really wanted, but Megatron assured him that humanity was his real target. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 3: Woken Furies|Woken Furies}} Taking the defeated Autobots captive, Megatron dumped them in a city and directed three of his mind-controlled human puppets to kill them. Contacting Prime directly, Megatron summoned him to the city's outskirts and revealed his plan: crush Prime's spirit and destroy the Autobots' alliance with humanity by forcing them to choose between fighting the humans or allowing them to kill them. Prime found the hole in Megatron's plan, however, when he realized that Soundwave was maintaining the connection between Megatron and his guns, and shot him in the head. His connection to his pawns severed, Megatron scooped up Soundwave and withdrew. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 4: Burning Chrome|Burning Chrome}} Thanks to a tracker Ultra Magnus had slipped on Soundwave, though, Prime was able to follow the Decepticons to their bolthole and called Megatron out for a full and proper confrontation. In actuality, Prime had lured Megatron outside so Skywatch could drop a [[kinetic harpoon]] on him, but even a weapon dropped from orbit barely proved able to put a scratch in Megatron's mighty new exostructure. Megatron proceeded to beat Prime senseless, but then returned him to the Autobots, and to their great shock, surrendered to their custody. After recovering, Optimus demanded to know why he had surrendered, but Megatron merely taunted him by revealing that Spike Witwicky had murdered a Decepticon in cold blood. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 5: Enemy Mine|Enemy Mine}} Prime immediately had Prowl begin investigating Spike and Skywatch, and Prowl interrogated the Decepticon leader for information, which he provided after a little verbal sparring. {{storylink|Police Action: Prologue}}

[[File:ChaosTheory1 megatron imprisoned.jpg|upright=1.5|left|thumb|Megatron and Optimus Prime can't agree on a safe word.]]
When Rodimus returned to Earth and warned the Autobots that [[Galvatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Galvatron]] had taken control of Cybertron, Optimus decided to lead the Autobots in reclaiming their homeworld. In the name of Earth's safety, he elected to bring Megatron and the confiscated guns made from his old body with them. {{storylink|Space Opera—Final Tableaux: Orphans of the Helix|Orphans of the Helix}} On the way to Cybertron aboard [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]], Prime again attempted to discern why Megatron had surrendered, even releasing his old foe from his bonds and having a civil conversation with him about their past together and their dueling ideologies. Optimus tried to reach out to Megatron, offering him the chance to end the war once and for all with a handshake; Megatron appeared to consider it for a moment but ultimately remained silent. With Megatron returned to the confines of the [[variable voltage harness]], the other Autobots pressured Optimus for a decision on his fate: execution or imprisonment. Trying to come to a conclusion, Prime asked Megatron if he regretted any of his actions, but the Decepticon leader remarked that he only regretted not killing ''more'' Autobots. He taunted Prime with the notion that even he was thankful for the war, as it had raised him from a nobody to the greatest Autobot in history, and a furious Prime activated the harness, electrocuting Megatron. The jolt would have killed Megatron if Omega Supreme had not cut the power in time and Megatron, struggling to stay conscious, offered Prime his thanks for saving his life all those years ago in Rodion. Shocked by his actions, Prime realized that Megatron wanted to die and wanted Prime to be the one to kill him. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1|Chaos Theory #1}} Eventually, Prime decided to let Megatron choose his own fate, and Megatron calmly replied that he chose death. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 2|Chaos Theory #2}}

[[File:Chaos2 armored megatron.jpg|upright=1.3|thumb|...Again...?]]
As Omega drew close to Cybertron, Megatron demanded to know who or what was threatening their homeworld, but Optimus Prime refused to provde him with any information. {{storylink| Chaos Part One: Lamentations|Lamentations}} The Autobots subsequently engaged Galvatron's forces in battle, and while they were occupied, Megatron put into motion the ace he had up his sleeve: taking remote control of the numerous "Megatron guns" aboard Omega, Megatron summoned them to him and combined with them into a new armored mode. Breaking free from his restraints, he headed out to confront Galvatron, intent that nobody would take his world from him. {{storylink|Chaos Part Two: Numbers|Numbers}} As he tore through the Sweeps, Megatron also revealed the reason for his surrender: now that he was back on Cybertron, he could open a space bridge that would allow the massed forces of the Decepticons on Earth to return to their home planet as well. Unfortunately, not long after the Decepticons arrived on the battlefield, Galvatron's secret puppet master, the Dead Universe entity known as the [[D-Void]], seized control of their minds and those of the Sweeps, merging them into a gigantic, monstrous avatar. With Prime occupied pursuing Galvatron into Cybertron's depths, Megatron was left to face this "[[Deceptigod]]" alone. {{storylink|Chaos Part Three: Kings|Kings}} Fighting against the D-Void's attempts to ensnare his own mind and make him part of the collective, Megatron was gravely wounded and even lost an arm to the beast, but succeeded into destroying it, blasting it apart with one massive beam from his weapons. {{storylink|Chaos Part Four: Genesis|Genesis}}

===The long game===
Even as the Deceptigod disintegrated back into its component Decepticons, Megatron could see the potential the creature embodied—the D-Void had, in essence, created the perfect combiner by means of utterly obliterating free will. With Cybertron reverting into a primordial wasteland around him—a result of Optimus Prime purifying [[Vector Sigma]] with the Matrix to stop Galvatron and the D-Void—Megatron chose to withdraw to experiment with the possibilities this presented. He informed Shockwave, the sole Decepticon who had not been made part of the Deceptigod, of his plans, and Shockwave in turn revealed them to Soundwave and Bombshell. {{storylink|Shockpoint}} While Megatron hid in the wilderness, his Decepticons were left to live as second-class citizens in the new [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]] that the Autobots built; Optimus Prime left Cybertron two weeks after the D-Void's defeat to calm tensions with "NAILs"—other unaffiliated Cybertronians—who had returned to their homeworld, but even as he did so, he mused that Megatron must still be out there somewhere. {{storylink|Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime|The Death of Optimus Prime}}

[[File:RID11 megatron in wilderness.jpg|left|thumb|225px|Megatron can't find anyone who wants to join his nudist colony to save his skin.]]
In the months of study and experimentation that followed, Megatron discerned that the combination of Ore-13 and space bridge technology in his body somehow gave him the ability to manipulate the natural energy of Cybertron that the D-Void had used to merge the Decepticons into the Deceptigod. After experiments on [[turbofox]]es created larger, more ferocious beasts, Megatron stepped up trials when the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]] seceded from the shaky government Bumblebee, [[Metalhawk (Masterforce)|Metalhawk]] and Starscream were building in Iacon and ventured into the wilderness. The signal Megatron had created from the combination energy first drove the Aerialbots mad, before uniting them in body and mind, spontaneously merging them into the gestalt [[Superion (G1)|Superion]], but this newborn Autobot combiner was considered hopelessly insane by Megatron and left to die in the wilderness. The madness aspect of the signal afforded him the chance to revive some of the principles of the infiltration protocol, however, as he blanketed the wastelands in it, forcing the Autobots, Decepticons and NAILs to stay in Iacon, causing natural conflict among them to snowball, providing a useful cover for his actions. To gain a pawn within Autobot high command, Megatron even provided Bombshell with the energy to use in conjunction with his own mind-controlling [[cerebro-shell]]s, ensnaring the mind of Prowl. With the resources and cover control of Prowl provided, Shockwave, Soundwave and Bombshell were able to use Megatron's findings to perfect the combination process, rebuilding the Constructicons with new modular designs that would allow them to merge into a perfect Devastator. The endgame was for Megatron himself to form the head of the combiner, but before risking his own mind and body, Megatron decided that Prowl would be used first as a test subject. {{storylink|Before the Dawn}}

[[File:RID12 kill him.jpg|upright=1.95|thumb]]
The appearance of a [[Crystal City Metrotitan|Metrotitan]] on Cybertron which declared that Starscream was the "Chosen One" threatened Megatron's ability to easily re-take leadership of his Decepticons, forcing him to step up his schedule. Through Prowl, he had his inner circle gathered together in the secret "[[Black Room]]", then boldly strode into Iacon for all to see. {{storylink|The End of the Beginning of the World}} His body shattered and skeletal, he professed to come in peace, but Bumblebee did not accept his surrender and ordered his Autobots to kill him. Indeed, Megatron could possibly have died there and then had Iacon's Decepticons not stepped in, insisting that Megatron's defense of Cybertron during the D-Void's attack marked him a hero and that he be taken into custody instead. {{storylink|City on Fire}} After [[Wheeljack (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Wheeljack]] got through examining him to prove his body concealed no weapons, Starscream approached the imprisoned Megatron and attempted to explain that he was not far away from taking complete power in the government, ensuring a Decepticon victory of a different kind. Megatron merely smiled silently at the notion, terrifying his ex-lieutenant with his grin. Presently, the Decepticons rose up in an angry mob and marched on Autobot high command to insist on Megatron's release; the situation quickly devolved into a riot, during which a squad led by [[Needlenose (G1)|Needlenose]] stormed the prison and freed Megatron. {{storylink|The Verge}}

[[File:RID14 new body redux.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.55|New body or not, Megatron may want to think twice about standing [[:File:Devastator-ROTFenemyscrotum.jpg|underneath Devastator's legs.]]]]
Megatron brought Starscream and the captured Bumblebee and Metalhawk to the Black Room, where he explained his plans and had himself transferred into a pre-prepared new body that could combine with the Constructicons' new forms. At his command, the Constructicons and Prowl combined into the new Devastator, who immediately set about razing Iacon. {{storylink|Before the Dawn}} Even the return of Superion seemed unable to stop the powerful new combiner, until help came from an unexpected quarter—Prowl's secret assassin [[Arcee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Arcee]] killed Bombshell, taking out Prowl's controller and causing Devastator to shut down. This was no real impediment to Megatron, however, as the successful function of the new combiner process had been proven, and he set out to take ''his'' place as Devastator's head. Before Megatron could reach the fallen gestalt, though, Devastator awoke, possessed of his own unique, united consciousness for the first time, and resumed tearing into Iacon. {{storylink|Plan for Everything}}

[[File:RID20 megatron in forcefield.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|You know you can't catch a break when you find yourself trapped inside a novelty plasma lamp from Spencer's.]]
Still Megatron remained unfazed, calmly fending off Autobot attacks and waiting for the inevitable moment when the heroes would take Devastator down. When [[Ironhide (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ironhide]] succeeded in doing so by managing to reach Prowl, Devastator separated, and Megatron immediately stepped in, re-initiation the combination with himself in control. Seconds before uniting with the Constructicons, though, his plan was foiled by Bumblebee, Ironhide and Prowl's activation of a secret failsafe: Wheeljack had integrated a forcefield generator into Megatron's spark casing during his examination of him, and when it was triggered, he was completely paralyzed in mid-transformation. {{storylink|Heavy Is the Head}}

In the fallout of the battle, Starscream killed Metalhawk, took control of Iacon and banished the Autobots and Decepticons from the city. He took custody of the immobilized Megatron, and silently gloated over the victory he had accomplished by using guile and politics, rather than Megatron's ways of brute force and firepower. {{storylink|Three Monologues}}

===A new approach===
Megatron would not remain incapacitated for long. That night, as the end result of millennia-long secret machinations by Shockwave, an [[Necrotitan|undead Metrotitan]] appeared on Cybertron and opened a portal to the Dead Universe in the planet's skies. Through the portal, Shockwave made contact with Galvatron and his master, the exiled Cybertron despot [[Nova Prime]], but was unable to bring them through to Cybertron thanks to the unexpected disappearance of the Titan's space bridge system. Intending to use the space bridge within Megatron as a replacement, {{storylink|Black Metal: Dark Cybertron Chapter 2|Black Metal}} Shockwave reanimated the deceased Metalhawk with a wave of necrotic energy from the Titan and had him liberate Megatron and bring him to his secret lab in [[Crystal City]]. {{storylink|Winners & Losers: Dark Cybertron Chapter 3|Winners & Losers}}

[[File:RID24 i remember you.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.4|Somewhere in the multiverse, [[Override (G1)|Override]] and [[Jazz (Movie)|Jazz]] are smiling.]]
Shockwave hoped that Megatron would comply with his plans willingly, but the Decepticon leader refused and Shockwave forcibly activated the space bridge technology in Megatron's body. {{storylink|Into the Abyss: Dark Cybertron Chapter 4|Into the Abyss}} The opening of the bridge in his chest caused Megatron agony, but his screams were heard by Soundwave, who led the united forces of the exiled Autobots and Decepticons to Shockwave's lab to free his leader. Nova Prime and Galvatron attempted to squeeze their way through the space bridge despite this interference, but Ironhide was able to punch Nova back through into the Dead Universe. Just then, Shockwave's "Necrotitan" came crashing into the subterranean city, and in the chaos, Megatron was freed from the restraints holding him. No sooner had Megatron carried Ironhide to the safe hands of the other Autobots, however, than he was ripped in half from behind by Galvatron, who had successfully emerged through the portal {{storylink|Finest Hour: Dark Cybertron Chapter 5|Finest Hour}} — a briefer battle, no doubt, than the one Shockwave had foreseen between the pair in a vision at the outset of his scheme. {{storylink|Dark Dawn: Dark Cybertron Chapter 1|Dark Dawn}}

[[File:MTMTE26 megs and bee.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|I smell a sitcom!]]
After the battle was over, Galvatron and [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] lugged Megatron's bisected remains back into Crystal City, only to find their way barred by the unlikely form of Bumblebee, who demanded they hand Megatron over. Galvatron attacked the Autobot, at which point Megatron revealed that he was fine, as he took down Waspinator and knocked Galvatron out with a barrage of fusion cannon fire. {{storylink|The Dead Are Not Enough: Dark Cybertron Chapter 7|The Dead Are Not Enough}} Bumblebee lugged Megatron back to Iacon, currently being razed by the Necrotitan, where the Decepticon leader announced to the assembled Autobots, Decepticons and NAILs his plan to withdraw to [[Moonbase Two|Luna 2]], summon the Decepticon Justice Division and other scattered troops, and strike back. Bumblebee rejected Megatron's notion of retreating, and struck a nerve within him by questioning his entire philosophy: Megatron had ''long'' ago abandoned any notion of fighting for freedom and equality, Bumblebee attested, and merely used the claim to ideology as an excuse for his actions. {{storylink|Burning Bright: Dark Cybertron Chapter 8|Burning Bright}} Fortunately, fighting back suddenly got a lot easier when Metroplex and the ''[[Lost Light]]'' space-bridged to Cybertron. During the battle between the Titans, Megatron observed Metroplex reaching for the ''Lost Light''; when the ship's crew explained that they had Metroplex's severed thumb aboard, Megatron had Bumblebee carry him to it, whereupon he realized that the thumb contained one of Shockwave's [[Regenesis]] ores. Megatron used his internal space bridge to teleport the thumb back to Metroplex, and the ore provided the giant with the power boost to defeat the Necrotitan. {{storylink|Finis Temporis: Dark Cybertron Chapter 9|Finis Temporis}}

[[File:DCFinale megatron the autobot.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.95|ಠ_ಠ]]
At Bumblebee's order and under protest, [[Ratchet (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ratchet]] repaired Megatron's injuries and reattached his legs, reminding Megatron of his desire in youth to be a medic. His recent string of failures, the success of ''Starscream'', of all 'bots, and Bumblebee's stinging words had turned the Decepticon leader introspective, and he realized he had forgotten something very important that had driven his writings in his early years: winning meant turning people to your way of thinking, not dominating them. {{storylink|The Becoming: Dark Cybertron Chapter 10|The Becoming}} Subsequently, when Shockwave initiated his millennia-long plan to collapse all reality into a universal black hole, Megatron placed himself and the Decepticons under Bumblebee's command to co-ordinate a counter-strike, and journeyed with his uneasy new "friend" into Shockwave's [[Crystal City]] base to confront their shared enemy. There, they found the weakened Galvatron, who Megatron prepared to destroy for past indignities, until Bumblebee talked him down, convincing him that blood did not have to be repaid with blood. At that moment, Shockwave struck, slaying Bumblebee with a blast, and driving Megatron into a rage. {{storylink|Black Planet: Dark Cybertron Chapter 11|Black Planet}} Empowered by his various ores and the energy of the Dead Universe, Shockwave was a formidable opponent and it was all Megatron could do to hold his own against him until Optimus Prime arrived to join the fight. Prime attempted to reason with Shockwave and remind him of the kindly senator he had once been, but his words had little effect, so Megatron opted for a more object lesson: removing the fallen Bumblebee's insignia, he placed it upon his chest and declared himself an Autobot. The stunned Shockwave lost control of the time machine powering his plot, causing his old pre-[[Shadowplay]] memories to emerge. Horrified at what he had become, he allowed Megatron and Prime to kill him, which caused the time machine to collapse into a singularity. Megatron and Prime made what seemed to be a futile dash for freedom, but were saved from the singularity's pull at the last moment by the timely arrival of the ''Lost Light''. {{storylink|...And the Damage Done: Dark Cybertron Finale|...And the Damage Done}}

===Crimes against the Species===

{{quote|I don't want to be acquitted. I want to '''make amends'''|Megatron on his new goal in life|"[[World, Shut Your Mouth Part 3: Predestination: A Beginner's Guide|Predestination: A Beginner's Guide]]"}}
[[File:DCFinale this is not a trick.jpg|thumb|upright=1.95|Optimus apparently decided a sincere Megatron was a cue for mood lighting.]]
In a private meeting between Optimus Prime and Megatron a short time after Shockwave's defeat, Megatron affirmed that his change of heart was genuine, and Optimus assured him that he could see past his wartime deeds and remember the well-intentioned 'bot he had started out as. {{storylink|...And the Damage Done: Dark Cybertron Finale|...And the Damage Done}} The rest of Cybertron, however, demanded a trial; Autobot High Command agreed, realizing that the Decepticon leader's fate had to be decided in public. Before the trial, Megatron was approached by Optimus, [[Chromedome (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Chromedome]] and Rodimus in an attempt to extract some of the Decepticon's memories as evidence in hopes of expediting the proceedings, but a horrified Megatron refused, considering the sanctity of his mind all he had left. After Optimus departed, Rodimus remained to taunt Megatron with the certainty of his execution; in return, the impassive Decepticon simply asked Rodimus to deliver a [[communicube]] to Optimus, {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|Towards Peace}} containing a request to have the trial moved to the [[Raskol Arena]] on Luna 2, in order, he alleged, to accommodate the huge number of spectators that would inevitably attend. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 3: Predestination: A Beginner's Guide|Predestination: A Beginner's Guide}}
[[File:MTMTE28 megatron pleads guilty.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.95|I agreed to this trial on the condition of meeting Matlock.]]
Megatron's trial lasted five months. At the outset of the proceedings, Megatron pled guilty to "Crimes against the Species", {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|Towards Peace}} but things changed when Starscream took the stand and gave a testimony that presented Megatron as an incapable leader who was unable to control the Decepticon forces under his command, a powerful brute lacking in the qualities of true leadership who led his followers down an ultimately self-destructive path. His treacherous lieutenant's words struck home, and Megatron stunned the assembled crowd by changing his plea to "not guilty". {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 2: Words Hang in the Air|Words Hang in the Air}} Just as his defender, Ultra Magnus, was reading a statement declaring this, the trial was dramatically interrupted by a small army of Decepticons led by [[Snaptrap (G1)|Snap Trap]] and [[Hun-Gurrr (G1)|Hun-Grr]], who had escaped from the brig on the ''Lost Light''. The invading force attempted to teleport Megatron away to safety, but he refused to escape and the uprising was quickly quelled. During the recess that followed, Optimus confronted Megatron over his true motives: he had requested that the trial be held on Luna 2 in order to exploit the moon's different legal system in the event that he felt the trial was unjust. Caused by Starscream's speech to realize that, were he to submit to execution now, his legacy would be one only of pain and death, Megatron invoked one of the moon's forgotten laws: an individual who had committed sufficiently heinous crimes could request he be judged by the long-lost [[Knights of Cybertron]]. Megatron requested that he be allowed to join the ''Lost Light'' in their search for the Knights and their homeworld of [[Cyberutopia]], thus ensuring that ''that'' would be his legacy, after which he would submit to whatever punishment was deemed necessary. Optimus agreed on the condition that Megatron read a prepared speech denouncing the Decepticon cause and asking all active Decepticons to stand down. Megatron did so, at great personal pain. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 3: Predestination: A Beginner's Guide|Predestination: A Beginner's Guide}} Hurt and angry over this perceived abandonment, Soundwave used Megatron's change of faction as evidence to forge a new allegiance of his own, decamping to Earth and working with the [[Earth Defense Command]] to create a new home for Decepticons there. {{storylink|Earthfall Part 2: Detonation Boulevard|Detonation Boulevard}}
[[File:MTMTE30 cocaptains.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|O captain, my co-captain.]]
Megatron was assigned co-captaincy of the ''Lost Light'' alongside Rodimus, who immediately hated the idea and everything about it, leading to a particularly antagonistic relationship between the two. Megatron was permitted only to fuel himself with "[[Fool's Energon]]", which left him substantially weakened. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 3: Predestination: A Beginner's Guide|Predestination: A Beginner's Guide}} Shockwave's machinations had left his internal organs a tortured Gordian knot of space bridge wormholes from which it was impossible to extract his spark; his outward appearance changed between the end of his trial and his co-captaincy, suggesting that his armor was rebuilt around him, or his entire internal structure was transplanted into a new body. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|Towards Peace}} Megatron would later lament that his body did not graft to his spark like past chassis, which he considered a sign of his waning age. {{storylink|Slaughterhouse|Slaughterhouse}} Optimus would see Megatron off on his voyage before he himself headed off to Earth, a meeting Prowl found deeply disturbing. {{storylink|Earthfall Part 1: Hello Cruel World|Hello Cruel World}}

===Towards Peace===

[[File:MTMTE28 megatron head examined.jpg|left|thumb|275px|"So Megatron, tell me about your mother." "She was hot."]]
The ''Lost Light'' warped back out to the Galactic Rim and set off on the trail of [[Thunder Clash|Thunderclash]], who they considered their best lead on the location of the Knights. A month into the journey, Megatron agreed to a therapy session with ship's psychoanalyst Rung. Megatron was less than forthcoming, but when Rung inquired about the removed dedication to Terminus from ''Towards Peace'', Megatron explained to him his current thinking on personal history, and one's ability to selectively edit or abandon entirely previously-held truths.

Departing for his quarters, Megatron found that his door had been heavily grafittied by Whirl, who then suddenly attacked him, declaring that their shared history made the battle inevitable. Megatron responded by undermining Whirl's entire life with the revelation that the ex-Wrecker's penchant for surviving tough scraps was a falsehood: the second order Megatron had issued upon forming the Decepticons was that under no circumstances was any Decepticon to kill Whirl. As they struggled, Megatron taunted Whirl with the knowledge that his memory of Whirl's actions all those years ago had helped keep him on the path of violence; the outraged ex-Wrecker punched Megatron in the stomach, only to find his hand teleported away by the space bridge tangle inside the former Decepticon. This took the fight out of Whirl, and Megatron offered to forget the incident if the graffiti was removed from his wall. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|Towards Peace}} That lost arm began to edge towards a far-off event horizon. Megatron, seeing an advantage ''just in case'' he ever changed his mind about what he wanted, made note of this. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 6: Do Not Go Gentle|Do Not Go Gentle}}

Leaving Whirl behind and heading for the bridge, Megatron received a report that the ''Lost Light'' had crossed paths with a coffin floating in space. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|Towards Peace}} Megatron oversaw the bringing onboard of the coffin and its transport to the med-bay. A short time later, [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailcutter]] snuck into the med-bay on a drunken dare in search of Megatron's "Fool's Energon", unaware of its true nature; caught in the act and believing he had been poisoned by the fuel, he triggered his forcefield, which inadvertently cracked the coffin open. Megatron reprimanded him by permanently engaging his fuel intake moderation chip, and assigned him the role of Security Director in order to focus his mind. The pair then turned their attention to the opened coffin, which was revealed to contain the body of another Rodimus! {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 2: Words Hang in the Air|Words Hang in the Air}}

[[File:MTMTE32 i came to hate the person id become.jpg|thumb|275px|Lolcat is watching you deprecate.]]
Brief analysis suggested that the body was of Rodimus from the future, but before the matter could be settled, the crew of the ''Lost Light'' were forced to abandon the ship as it suddenly began disappearing around them. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 3: Predestination: A Beginner's Guide|Predestination: A Beginner's Guide}} The disappearances did not stop there, however: Megatron found himself on the [[Rodpod]] with a score of other 'bots, and when ''they'' then began to vanish, [[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]] accused Megatron of being responsible. A tense Mexican standoff ensued, which was brought to a surprising end when [[Ravage (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ravage]] was discovered to have been hiding on the pod, having secreted himself on the ''Lost Light'' in order to spy on Megatron for Soundwave. The disappearances continued, and Megatron clashed with [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]] as he tried to find a pattern. {{storylink|Twenty Plus One}} The weirdness only continued as the remaining crew of the Rodpod—Megatron, Ravage, Nightbeat, [[Skids (G1)|Skids]], [[Nautica (G1)|Nautica]], [[Riptide (G1)|Riptide]], and [[Getaway]]—discovered the wreckage of a second ''Lost Light'', point of origin for the mystery second Rodimus, orbiting the planet [[Ofsted XVII]]. Still believing that the duplicate ship hailed from the future, Skids accused Megatron of being responsible for the devastation, and, realizing that the recent huge changes he had made in his life left him devoid of any surety in his future actions, Megatron allowed himself and Ravage to be imprisoned until the truth could be determined. Locked in a supply closet with Ravage, Megatron had a heart-to-heart with his angry ex-subordinate, justifying his decisions and unable to offer Ravage any consolation. When power returned to the ship, the pair discovered the dead bodies of Ratchet, [[Drift (G1)|Drift]] and [[Hound (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Hound]] in the closet with them, their [[brain module]]s stuffed in their mouths—calling card of [[Helex (DJD)|Helex]] of the Decepticon Justice Division. Realizing the DJD was responsible for destroying the ship the team re-grouped and prepared to retreat when an even stranger discovery was made: Autobot archivist [[Rewind (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rewind]] was found, still alive, the only survivor of the D.J.D.'s attack, despite the fact that he had died months beforehand. {{storylink|slaughterhouse}}

[[File:MTMTE33 megatron skids right there.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.4|"...But you're not the [[Skyfall (G1)|worst]] [[Zeta Prime|guy]] to wear the badge. So keep trying."]]
Nautica and Nightbeat were able to deduce the whole story: the duplicate ''Lost Light'' was not from the future, but rather, it and its crew were quantum duplicates created in the explosion of the [[quantum generator|quantum engines]] during the ship's original launch two years prior. To make matters worse, the [[quantum foam]] leaking from the engines was threatening to destroy Ofsted XVII, but Megatron had no compunctions about getting to safety and leaving the planet to its fate until Skids called him out, forcing him to face up to the fact that being an Autobot meant more than wearing a badge, and had to be reflected in one's actions. When all other options were exhausted, Megatron admitted that he could use his old mass-displacement ability to shrink his robot form down, enabling him to safely make it through the foam and deactivate the engines, saving Ofsted XVII, "cancelling out" the duplicate ''Lost Light'', and reinstating their own. The diminutive Rewind joined him in the task; Megatron showed him kindness by holding back knowledge of his counterpart's passing so that he might die happy, but Rewind was mysteriously ''not'' erased when their task was successfully completed. As they made their way back to the returned ''Lost Light'', Megatron invited Ravage to remain at his side, hoping an up-close view of the DJD's horrors had instilled in him some doubt in the Decepticon cause. {{storylink|slaughterhouse Part 2: The Road Not Taken|The Road Not Taken}}

[[File:MTMTE38 send me back.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.75|"AND I WANT YOUR LUNCH MONEY TOO NERD!"]]
Returning to "their" ''Lost Light'', Megatron's team discovered that their Brainstorm had incapacitated the crew and, to Megatron's dismay, that the Decepticon Justice Division had killed Trailcutter. {{storylink|The Custom-Made Now - An Elegant Chaos Prologue|The Custom-Made Now}} A depressed Megatron exploited the death, removing Trailcutter's forcefield generators from the body ''just in case''. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 6: Do Not Go Gentle|Do Not Go Gentle}} During a strategic discussion, the crew realised Brainstorm had used his mysterious [[Time case|briefcase]] to travel back in time. The ridiculousness of the entire situation caused Megatron to have a mini-breakdown, but he soon got ahold of himself, and theorized that Brainstorm was attempting to change history by killing Orion Pax. {{storylink|The Custom-Made Now - An Elegant Chaos Prologue|The Custom-Made Now}}

Rodimus led a squad back in time in pursuit, which led to Megatron having a cross-time conversation with the young Orion Pax via Rodimus's "[[time phone]]" communicator. Pretending to be his own younger self during the call, Megatron found the young 'bots optimism for the future a mixed source of both affirmation and tragic amusement. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 1: All Our Parlous Yesterdays|All Our Parlous Yesterdays}} After Rodimus's team made several further jumps, Megatron deduced that the dates they were travelling to were not important moments in Pax's life, but Megatron's own. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 2: Stet|Stet}} Realizing that Brainstorm intended to kill him at the moment of his creation, he flew into a panicked rage, attacking [[Perceptor (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Perceptor]] and demanding the scientist send him back in time to save himself, until Ultra Magnus restrained him and the pair talked him down. As events in the past played out, Megatron was visibly shaken to hear that Rewind had been the one to pull the trigger that destroyed the original spark in his body, and that the universe would truly be a better place had he never existed. Although Whirl subsequently set the timeline to rights, Megatron did not join in the celebrations when everyone returned from the past, retiring to his quarters {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 3: Predestination: An Expert's Guide|Predestination: An Expert's Guide}} to begin trying to make contact with Whirl's lost arm, using it as an anchoring point. If he could find and retrieve it, he'd ''finally'' have a connection to a black hole and a way to use antimatter.

Days, he spent in his room, never quite able to pull it off. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 6: Do Not Go Gentle|Do Not Go Gentle}}

[[File:MTMTE43 the old man.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.4|"Oh my Primus! WHAT IS THAT?! SOME ONE GET RATC-?!?! ... Oh, wait. Nevermind. False alarm. It's my hand. Almost had me there guys." *tries to look relaxed, and nails it*]]
When Optimus contacted the ''Lost Light'' to invite them home for first contact, Rodimus declined, saying it would interfere with their quest, while Magnus promised to send a shuttle with representatives from the ship, Megatron just hung silently in the background. When the call ended Rodimus told Optimus that Megatron said 'Hi'. Megatron said no such thing but Rodimus ended the call before he could tell Optimus. {{storylink|First Contact (IDW)|First Contact}} Megatron dedicated some of his spare time to writing poetry, but his works remained largely unappreciated- a single poetry reading at [[Mirage (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Mirage]]'s bar, [["Visages"]], was enough to empty the bar of its patrons. This returned the title of popular Lost Light bar back to [[Swerve's]]. When Brainstorm's time machine was to be destroyed, Megatron had Ravage recover one of them for him.{{storylink|Our Steps Will Always Rhyme}}

The crew ended up finding the ''[[Vis Vitalis]]'', and Rodimus took Megatron to school on his solitary sulking. {{storylink|The Sensuous Frame}} When the strange personality ticks threatened to overrun both ships, Rodimus and Megatron's mere presence upon entering a room with them killed them. {{storylink|The Frail Gaze}} Megatron took part in the voyage into [[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]]'s mind to save the dying metallurgist, forcing him to don a holomatter avatar for the first time. Megatron noted the fragility - but not weakness - of humans when his avatar was cut by broken glass. {{storylink|The One Where They Go to Earth}}

Bemused that the late [[Dominus Ambus|Agent 113]] left his intel in the form of bullets, Megatron was unsettled by the revelation that Rodimus had somehow drawn a complete map to Cyberutopia. Realizing that his day of judgment was actually now on the horizon, Megatron advocated in favor of an expedition to the [[Censere|Necrobot]]'s planet of operations, confiding in Ravage that he wished to stave off his day of reckoning as long as possible. He realized that it would come for him sooner than later, after learning that the flowers around the holographic statues represented the sparks of other Cybertronians killed by the statue's namesake—and that his happened to have enough flowers to stretch beyond the horizon he so feared. {{storylink|The Not Knowing}}

[[File:MTMTE44-MegatronLookAtTheFlowers.jpg|450px|center|thumb|Yeah, we got nothing.]]
Megatron's fear of mnemosurgery would once again plague him when he awoke to find little Tailgate trying to perform mnemosurgery on him - all part of a plot from [[Getaway]] to provoke Megatron into killing the little guy in order to get him either executed or imprisoned for supposedly betraying the Autobots. Breaking into a panic, Megatron was stopped by Cyclonus' reaction - which involved running him through with his Great Sword - and Megatron was left unconscious as the ship's security team pursued Tailgate and Cyclonus. {{storylink|The Lopsided Triangle}} Once Getaway's plot had been foiled, Megatron came to the medbay with a patch of metal covering the damage dealt to him by Cyclonus, and made amends with his attacker, promising that he would not have killed Tailgate. {{storylink|Speak, Memory: Part 1}} Soon afterward, Megatron was alerted by Rung that [[Sunder (G1)|Sunder]] was going on a rampage across the ship, and Megatron fruitlessly attempted to talk him down and had to be saved by the newly powered Tailgate. After Sunder and [[Froid]] were dealt with, Megatron reluctantly accepted Rung's resignation and revealed to Rodimus that he had sworn off violence, no matter the situation or who would bring it against him. {{storylink|Speak, Memory! (Part 2)}} Even as he said that, he theorised that maybe ''pain'' was the answer to his black hole quest, just like it had triggered Tailgate's strength. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 6: Do Not Go Gentle|Do Not Go Gentle}}

When the ship was preparing to sneak through Mauler-inhabited space, Megatron and Ultra Magnus set about preparing the ship and the crew for the crossing. When a [[Scraplet]]-controlled [[Magnus Armor]] came shambling towards him, Megatron panicked believing Magnus had come for a hug before Swerve, Nautica and Whirl arrived to save him. {{storylink|Silent Light}}

Whirl invited Megatron to a movie night and, after a long time of trying to think of a reason not to, he went along to find everyone watching a documentary about his defeat of Sentinel. This was taken to be an insult (actually Whirl just really hated Sentinel too!) and expressed discontent with Rewind's documentary, never mind having to listen to people casually compare him to the Prime. It was then that Megatron first learned Sentinel's head had been stolen and was disgusted to learn people thought ''he'd'' ordered such a desecration. {{storylink|The Last Autobot}}

Megatron took part in a brief excursion into the past thanks to Perceptor's "time windows", and he and his closest allies honored the fallen crew members of the ''Lost Light''. {{storylink|No Guns, No Swords, No Briefcases}}

===Do Not Go Gentle===

[[File:HowBrightTheirFrailDeeds-rollout.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.6|Hey, it's less bizarre than when [[:File:Terrorcons-rollout1.jpg|Scorponok said it.]]]]
Megatron would oversee the ''Lost Light'''s campaign to liberate [[Miliarium]], and though Megatron was dismayed that the crew withheld that the inhabitants of the planet were organic, he softened when he was given the chance to finally use the "[[roll out]]" command. During a subsequent class over the Knights of Cybertron, Megatron {{storylink|The Dying of the Light: (1) How Bright Their Frail Deeds|How Bright Their Frail Deeds}} heard the screaming of every organic he'd ever killed {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 2: The Sun in Flight|The Sun in Flight}} and grabbed his head so hard he dented it. He kept quiet about the exact trauma, merely saying he had felt a strange mental disturbance that several other members of the crew were afflicted with too. Megatron set out with Rodimus and several others to the source of the strange signal, only to find themselves on Censere's planet once again, where they found Censere murdered. After the group found themselves stranded on the planet, things got even worse when Getaway contacted them, announcing that he and the vast majority of the ''Lost Light'' crew had revolted against Megatron and Rodimus, weary of the former's apparent letting off and the latter's poor leadership. As Ravage investigated the planet, Megatron wearily realized the mutineers would never forgive him, and began to put the pieces together when Getaway said the ousted Autobots (who all were found to be unsympathetic to a mutiny against Megatron) were now at the mercy of someone. Ravage returned with horrible news: the Decepticon Justice Division and [[Deathsaurus (Victory)|Deathsaurus]]' army had arrived. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light: (1) How Bright Their Frail Deeds|How Bright Their Frail Deeds}} To Megatron's great shame, he could identify Tarn's psychological attack, a show of strength before leaving with a threat to come back, as standard operating practice ''he'd'' laid down.

[[File:TheSunInFlight MegatronTarn.jpg|right|thumb|250px|"Look how old you've become." "Something far worse has happened to you."]]
When the Autobots began looking for any useable asset, they found two things: a teleport chamber and a room full of helpless organics in stasis pods. When Brainstorm began to sweet-talk and cajole the others into thinking they could abandon the organics, Megatron announced that he would stay to protect the sleepers regardless and gave a stirring, heartfelt speech that got everyone agreeing to stay. (He later admitted to Rodimus how the psychic trauma had forced him to realise organic lifeforms were people) Ravage urged Megatron to at least try talking to Tarn... and so Megatron went out to meet the man and ''surrendered''. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 2: The Sun in Flight|The Sun in Flight}} On the condition Tarn didn't harm any of the others. He and Tarn talked, about their past, and their history, Megatron expressing his regret for "corrupting" who Tarn had been, stating he'd gone too far during the war. He even expressed regret Brainstorm's attempt to kill him hadn't succeeded. Somehow, this all managed to set the D.J.D.'s leader off, and he began viciously beating Megatron, expressing hatred for who he'd become. Megatron refused to fight back, laughing at how the irony of Fool's Energon might have been changing his nature, and he didn't even care.

Regarding Megatron as being better off dead, Tarn blew a massive hole in his chest. Before he could land the killing blow, Overlord arrived, looking for his own chance at killing Megatron. The two fought, giving a not-quite dead Megatron a chance to drag himself back toward the Necrobot's house, where he was quickly brought inside, still holding his autobrand fiercely in one hand. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 3: Your Fierce Tears|Your Fierce Tears}} A newly-returned Ratchet managed to patch Megatron up, but it wasn't until twenty minutes before sunset that he got up to find everyone else preparing for a last stand. Megatron refused to join the preparations, rebuffing the new fusion cannon Ten had built specifically for him, and urged the group to cherish what time they had left rather than waste it in battle. In the face of Rodimus's disappointment, Megatron called himself too weak and too afraid to fight, and slunk off deeper into the building. The last word came from Ravage, who yelled after him how ashamed he was of his former leader. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 4: At Close of Day|At Close of Day}}

[[File:RageRage-Megatronappears.jpg|left|thumb|200px|You can practically hear "Instruments of Destruction" playing.]]
With the ensuing battle outside only getting more heated as time passed, Megatron could only watch his fellow Autobots from inside, while helping Ratchet take care of a dying Skids. Ratchet tried to tell Megatron to help the others, but he refused; Megatron told Ratchet that he was afraid of becoming a monster upon resuming fighting, not being able to stop after he'd started, even with the Fool's Energon running through him. Ratchet then told Megatron the truth; that Fool's Energon didn't exist, and that it was only foul tasting, unfiltered, regular Energon. Megatron asked why the medic had decided to inform him as much at this moment, and Ratchet replied that Megatron had been in control of himself all along, and that he believed that wouldn't change now. Right as the news hit him, Megatron, via a viewscreen, watched Tarn tear Ravage in half.

Megatron left the room (leaving Ratchet alone with Skids, and thus unable to save him when he fell off the slab) {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 5: Rage, Rage|Rage, Rage}} and finally ejected Whirl's arm from his chest, a link now established to the black hole.{{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 6: Do Not Go Gentle|Do Not Go Gentle}} As the Autobots were about to be overrun, Megatron attached the new fusion cannon and saved their lives. When he reached his allies, he told them (with a bit of screaming) to take Ravage back to the fortress for medical aid and to let him handle the Decepticons.

[[File:mtmte 55 antimatter.jpg|thumb|upright=1.7|"I'll light our [[Darkest hour]] the only way I know how! With more darkness!"]]
As the others fled, Megatron shouted for Tarn to face him only for a well placed shot to destroy the fusion cannon. Dropping to his knees and weary, Megatron looked up to see Tarn and Overlord taunting him, with guns pointed straight at his head. Rodimus watched as Tarn gave the order to fire at Megatron. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 5: Rage, Rage|Rage, Rage}} An unfazed Megatron simply activated a panic bubble with Trailcutter's looted forcefield generator and played the part of a coward to get rid of Overlord, who flew off in disgust.

The D.J.D. refused to leave however and broke through the forcefield only to be sealed inside as a result. Dropping his charade, Megatron summoned the full power of the black hole to mine antimatter as a weapon. He taunted the D.J.D. by stripping each one of their codenames and forcing them to die with their birth names in their head. When he reached Tarn, he ripped off the fanatic's iconic mask and applied to his own chest re-embracing his inner Decepticon before coldly informing him that "everything you did was for nothing".

Consigned to die as a Decepticon, once again, Megatron made no attempt to escape only for Rodimus to appear via teleport and offer Megatron a way out. Both subsequently reappeared in the medbay where Ravage was dying. Megatron went to his friend only for Ravage to expire after begging that Megatron not revert to becoming a tyrant.

Megatron lashed out, refusing to have his cannon removed and attempting to murder the Autobots with the weapon. Realizing what he'd done, Megatron tried to leave only for [[Terminus (G1)|Terminus]] to suddenly appear. Megatron dropped the cannon and embraced his old friend stating he'd lost his way. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 6: Do Not Go Gentle|Do Not Go Gentle}}

===A New World===
{{ongoing}}
Terminus' reappearance was down to the Necrobot time-travelling to rescue 'missing in action' robots, and the "organics" in the basement had in fact been those robots in disguise.{{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 6: Do Not Go Gentle|Do Not Go Gentle}} Megatron tried to fill in his old friend about the war, much as he doubted his objectivity. This was a disrupted by a minor quake giving the planet a wobble and turned out to be from a Galactic Council geobomb, sent to the planet without anyone knowing but luckily burning itself out. We're sure that's all that happened.

Once Brainstorm had developed a way of teleporting to Cybertron, Megatron and Terminus joined the team that went home to get a new ship. They made it... but to ''[[Functionist Universe|the wrong Cybertron]]'', finding themselves in the timeline where Megatron never existed and the Functionists ruled all! {{storylink|Dissolution Part 1: Some Other Cybertron|Some Other Cybertron}} Megatron instructed everyone to surrender peacefully to the Functionist goon squad in the hope they could reason with the full Council. When the rebel [[Anti-Vocationist League]] tried to save them and got their arses kicked by [[Functionary|Functionaries]], Rodimus talked Megatron into giving fights a chance instead: without himself lifting a fingerm, he commanded the Autobots in a decisive battle. Terminus, impressed, told him he'd become a great leader.

That's when the Functionist [[Six-of-Twelve]] broadcast to the planet, telling everyone they would see what the "Useless One", this reality's Rung, was actually ''for''. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 2: Anomie|Anomie}}

{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|Dissolution Part 3: A World Misplaced|A World Misplaced}}}}

===Pax Cybertronia===
In a vision of the future seen by Ironhide and Alpha Trion during the reformatting of Cybertron, fifteen million years hence, Ironhide still believed Megatron to be alive and promised a young Autobot they would defeat him again if he ever returned. {{storylink|Pax Cybertronia (issue)|Pax Cybertronia}} {{storylink|A Better Tomorrow}}
{{-}}

==''Spotlight: Mirage''==
[[File:SLMirage all in good time.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5]]
Somewhere, in an unknown time or place, the self-serving mercenary Mirage dreamed of Megatron and his Decepticons launching a massive attack on the Autobots. But Mirage knew that to only be a dream; in reality, the Autobots were almost eradicated, and Megatron had hired him to hunt down the last of their number. Megatron was outraged by the mercenary's demand for a majority share in all energon mining operations as payment, but it proved to be fuel well spent, as he soon succeeded in locating Optimus Prime and forcing him to surrender. Megatron demanded the prisoners be executed despite Mirage's promise to spare Autobot lives. Seeing Mirage's hesitation, Megatron appealed to his greed. {{storylink|Spotlight: Mirage}}
{{--}}

==Ask Vector Prime==
[[File:Megatron cam.jpg|left|150px|thumb|I think this is a killing joke!]]
In [[Primax 708.10-R Lambda]], Megatron cracked the codes to an Autobot forward listening outpost. He walked in, shot [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]], and then laughed and took a photo of what he had done. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime#Facebook|Ask Vector Prime, 2015/08/06}}
{{-}}

==Notes==
[[File:MegatronOrigin2 Megs hair.jpg|thumb|100px]]
*In [[Megatron Origin issue 2|''Megatron Origin'' #2]], we see that Megatron's helmet is, in fact, a helmet and not part of his head (at least in his original body). Upon removing his helmet, Megatron then briefly unfurls a crest. The significance of this moment is not explained, but it is briefly revisited in [[Remembrance Day|''More than Meets the Eye'' #14]] when a helmetless Megatron spars with [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]].
*Apparently, the stealth bomber Megatron design used in IDW for a while was created by artist [[Don Figueroa]]. However, he created the design as part of a story pitch to editor [[Andy Schmidt]]; a pitch the editor rejected. Schmidt proceeded to use the design for this comic, but without compensation or credit to Figueroa; something the artist was highly displeased about.<ref>[http://www.seibertron.com/energonpub/don-figueroa-designed-idw-s-stealth-bomber-megatron-but-wasn-t-compensated--t96022s0.php archive of Figueroa's post on the subject at Seibertron forum]</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Combiners]]
[[Category:Decepticon leaders]]
[[Category:IDW Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:IDW Generation 1 Decepticons]]
[[Category:Gladiators]]
[[Category:Lost Light crew]]
[[Category:Point One Percenters]]
[[Category:Rulers of Cybertron]]
[[Category:Turncoats]]

Optimus Prime (G1)

2017-04-10T00:36:52Z

Empuratapharmaa:

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{{disambigm|Optimus Prime (disambiguation)|Orion Pax (disambiguation)|Convobat}}
{{suite}}
:''Optimus Prime is the [[Autobot]] leader from the [[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''
[[File:Optimusg1.jpg|upright=1.95|thumb|I'm that guy everyone remembers. No, not the [[Soundwave (G1)|tape guy]], the ''other'' guy.]]
'''Optimus Prime''' is the awe-inspiring [[Prime (rank)|leader]] of the [[Autobot]] forces. Selfless and endlessly courageous, he is the complete opposite of his mortal enemy [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]. 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 [[Transformer]]s' conflict to Earth. 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 (G1)|Roller]].
*A [[Combat Deck (G1)|Combat Deck]].

Although Optimus Prime can function as three independent modules, injury to any one module is felt by the other two. He's sometimes [[binary bonding|binary-bonded]] to [[Hi-Q]], a process that combines Hi-Q's intellect with Optimus's own wisdom. In other circumstances, he has been known to power up with [[Diac]] and [[Overrun|Surge]]. In some universes, he can [[combiner|combine]] with his fellow Autobots to form [[Ultra Prime]] or [[Optimus Maximus (G1)|Optimus Maximus]].

He is often previously known as '''Orion Pax''' or less often '''Optronix'''. Sometimes he changes his name to '''[[Convobat]]''' or he adopts the moniker the '''Authority'''. In some futures he gained the nickname '''Triple-Threat Prime''' before passing into legend as '''Optimus Convoy'''.

{{bigquote|Freedom is the right of all sentient beings.|Optimus Prime's most common [[bio]] quote}}

==Fiction==
===Marvel Comics continuity===
{{main|Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity}}
[[File:CommandPerformances-Autobotsattack.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.66|Don't worry, the multiple crises of conscience come soon enough.]]

Optimus Prime was a gladiator champion for [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]] before quickly working his way up the Autobot ranks once [[Megatron (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Megatron]] started the war. Four million years ago, when Decepticons attacked the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]], he personally chose to crash it onto [[Earth]], a decision that caused him much remorse when the war restarted on Earth in the modern day.

Though Optimus allowed himself to be destroyed when he betrayed his own moral code while playing a video game, a copy of his mind survived on a [[floppy disk]]. Years later, he was restored as a [[Powermaster]], binary bonded to the [[Nebulan]], [[Hi-Q]]. Optimus Prime slowly earned the respect of Decepticon leader [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]], mourned the loss of his friend [[Ratchet (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Ratchet]], and ultimately sacrificed everything to defeat [[Unicron]]. Though Optimus died again, his mind persisted in Hi-Q, and the [[Last Autobot]] was able to restore him as an [[Action Master]] in time to bring a temporary end to the war.

In [[Transformers: Generation 2 (Marvel)|one universe]], Optimus Prime went on to battle [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]], his [[Cybertronian (faction)|Cybertronian troops]], and the [[Swarm (G2)|Swarm]]. In [[Transformers: Classics|another]], fifteen years of peace passed before Megatron rose again.
{{-}}

===S.T.A.R.S. pack-in flyers===
[[File:PackIn RodimusPrimeRemembers Inside2.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|The fury of the "Road Warriors"... and Cosmos.]]
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 (G1)|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===
{{main|Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity}}
[[File:Mtmte2 shermandam.jpg|left|upright=1.4|thumb|He had this ax once. It was very memorable.]]
Before the war, Optimus Prime was originally '''Orion Pax''', a young dock worker with a girlfriend named [[Elita One|Ariel]]. But as the war began, Megatron destroyed them both, and [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] rebuilt them into more powerful warriors.

Four million years ago, Optimus Prime ended a Decepticon attack on the Ark by directing it towards prehistoric Earth. When both factions reawakened in [[1984]], Optimus Prime and the Autobots fought the Decepticons on numerous occasions until [[2005]]. During an attack on [[Autobot City (G1)|Autobot City]] on Earth, Prime fell in battle against Megatron and passed the [[Matrix of Leadership]] to [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]].

Optimus Prime eventually returned, once as a [[zombie]], and again when he was rebuilt by the [[Quintesson]]s to stop the spread of the [[Hate Plague]].

The details between these events differ between universes. Sometimes Optimus Prime merged with [[Vector Sigma]] soon after defeating the Hate Plague, and returned much, much later as Star Convoy. Sometimes Optimus Prime partnered up with [[Marissa Faireborn]] to receive upgrades through mutual [[kiss]]ing. Sometimes... look, he did a lot of weird stuff, okay? He later sacrifices himself to restore the [[Matrix of Leadership]].
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===Sticker Adventures books===
During a Decepticon attack, Cliffjumper pleaded with Optimus to let him jump into the fray. Optimus denied his request, telling him that they already had the Decepticons on the run. In the battle’s aftermath, the Decepticon’s activity seem to vanish altogether. Grateful for the quiet, Optimus decided to head out and fetch extra fuel for the Autobots with Sparkplug. He returned just in time to find his Autobots in the middle of a battle with the Decepticons. With Sparkplug and Prowl’s help, Optimus refuelled his troops, and once more drove the Decepticons back. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons}}

Optimus Prime and the Autobots were repairing a ship in the hopes of using it to return to Cybertron, when the Decepticons attacked. He took a hit in the midst of the battle, and fell unconscious…

Then he dreamed of awakening, only to find his troops smashed. Realizing his only hope for survival lay with Cybertron, Optimus then boarded the ship the Autobots were repairing, and travelled back to his home planet. Arriving on Cybertron, he found it completely under Decepticon domination. Optimus then met an old Autobot codger who pleaded that he return to Earth to gather a force that could overthrow the Decepticon’s regime. Optimus remorsefully told the old Autobot that there could be no reinforcements from the planet Earth. The two Autobots were then swarmed by Decepticon police officers, who Optimus fought until his dying breath…

Only for Optimus to awaken for real, back on Earth and surrounded by his troops. Realizing that his trip to Cybertron was a dream, Optimus instructed his Autobots to redouble their efforts in fixing up their ship, certain that they would soon need to return to Cybertron. {{storylink|Return to Cybertron}}
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===Marvel Storybooks continuity===
When Optimus captained an Autobots spacecraft with the intent of clearing an asteroid field heade for Cybertron, he found his ship and crew attacked by the Decepticons. Rather than allow his Autobots to be taken prisoner, he deliberately crashed the Ark on Earth into a volcano.

Millions of years later, Optimus was one of the thirty-five Autobots rebuilt into modern machines by the ship"s computer. Some time later, Jazz reported that he had spotted Decepticon activity at a nearby construction site. Optimus decided to take a proactive angle to their war with the Decepticons, and led the entirety of his troops to the Decepticon base. Once there, they found themselves allowed in by Megatron, feigning a friendly demeanor. Not fooled by Megatron's claims that he was making an honest living heading a construction company, Optimus engaged the evil robots in combat, before being blasted out of the Decepticon base. Optimus and his troops were sent tumbling down the cliffside beneath their feet. The Autobots suffered only minor damage from the fall, and after getting patched up, moved out once more to stop Megatron's plan, now well under way. Megatron was holding millions of humans hostage in a bid to get the Earth to surrender unconditionally to the Decepticons.

The two sides found themselves equally matched until the Constructicons merged into The Devastator. The tables were turned once more when the Dinobots appeared, and mercilessly slaughtered the Constructicons. The Decepticons' plan foiled, Optimus decided that the Autobot-Decepticon war had come to an end, despite Megatron's protests to the contrary. He and his Autobots then drove away victorious. {{storylink|Battle for Earth}}

[[File:Autobots secret weapon prime megs.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2]]
Optimus pondered [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]]'s whereabouts after noticing that he had been absent from Autobot headquarters for longer than expected. The answer came through [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]], who relayed a message from [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]; Sunstreaker was the Decepticons' captive. Megatron demanded that the Autobots surrender, or else Sunstreaker would be destroyed and rebuilt as a Decepticon! The Autobots refused to give up without a fight, but Optimus took care to explain the threat they were up against before a rescue party headed out. Optimus told [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]], [[Slag (G1)|Slag]] and [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]] of [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]]'s combiner nature, and warned them not take the danger he posed lightly. The rescue squad failed in liberating Sunstreaker, and were captured themselves. The Autobots were shaken by this turn of events, but Optimus was able to think up a new plan to trick the Decepticons. He ordered his Autobots to build a hollow statue of Devastator for him and his soldiers to hide within. Optimus then wrote a letter explaining that the statue was a peace offering for the Decepticons, and the completed decoy was placed before the Decepticons' base. The ruse worked, and Optimus and his troops burst forth from the false Devastator after the Decepticons had let down their guard. An all-out brawl between Autobots and Decepticons followed. The fight came to an end when Megatron attempted to down Optimus with his fusion cannon, only for Optimus to deflect Megatron's beam back at him by bouncing it off a reflective piece of metal. With the Decepticons defeated, Optimus ordered his troops to retrieve their wounded and return to Autobot headquarters. {{storylink|The Autobots' Secret Weapon}}
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===Marvel coloring books===
[[File:SummertimeColoring Optimus Prime combat deck.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|In lieu of solving the [[FIRRIB]] debate the hard way, Prime eliminates the problem at the source.]]
Alerted by [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] of [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]'s latest plan, Optimus Prime led the mission on [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]]'s ship to foil them. He sent Bumblebee on an underwater scouting mission, and took part in a pitched battle that ended in the Decepticon's being defeated. {{storylink|Search for Treasure Under the Sea}} When [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] dropped rocks on the Autobots, Optimus used [[Roller (G1)|Roller]] to eliminate most of them. Unfortunately he was forced to surrender when he saw the other Autobots had been captured by the Decepticons, and was placed in a [[special Autobot prison]]. Luckily Bumblebee remained free, and after he'd rescued the others, Optimus wrapped Megatron up with an iron bar. {{storylink|Bumblebee to the Rescue!}}

One peaceful day, Optimus decided it was ''too'' quiet, and sent Bumblebee and [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] to find out what the Decepticons were up to. Sure enough, the Decepticons were looking for a factory, so Optimus had Mirage create a holographic factory as a trick, and ambushed the Decepticons. Optimus himself hurled Megatron into orbit. {{storylink|Decepticon Patrol}} Optimus and his Autobots rescued [[Sparkplug Witwicky|Sparkplug]] and [[Buster Witwicky (G1)|Buster Witwicky]] when the pair were captured by Decepticons, and afterwards Prime was amazed when Sparkplug repaired [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] and [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]]. After Bumblebee and [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] discovered that the Decepticons were attacking [[Hoover Dam]], Optimus and his team defeated them. {{storylink|The Deadly Fuel Shortage}}

[[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] and [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] reported to Optimus that the Decepticons were stealing gas, and Optimus was able to use Roller to find out the Decepticons were using a [[molecular transfer device]]. The Autobots assaulted the Decepticon stronghold so they could take care of the device. {{storylink|Summertime Coloring Book}} After a rain storm, Optimus and most of the other Autobots went out on patrol. When the Decepticons used a fake message to lure Bumblebee out of the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] so they could take it over, Optimus used the same gambit to retake the ship. {{storylink|A Message From Outer Space}}

[[File:Forestrescuemission-bunny.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|Carrots are the right of all fluffy beings!]]
When the Decepticons turned up in the same forest that the Autobots were taking a vacation in, Optimus took great pleasure in stopping them and returning the forest to pristine condition. {{storylink|Forest Rescue Mission}} Optimus was undertaking some repairs when Bumblebee offered to help, but Prime told him the repairs were too hard for him. When later the other Autobots were dismissive of Bumblebee's report of a Decepticon attack, Optimus alone listened to him, and they subsequently defeated the Decepticons. {{storylink|Bumblebee's Dangerous Mission}}

{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|The Big Book of Coloring Fun}}}}

[[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] warned Optimus about a fuel plant the Decepticons were building, so Optimus took the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] in his trailer and, under the guise of having a delivery for [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]], invaded the construction site and defeated the Decepticons. After this victory, Optimus turned his gaze skywards, and thanked Cosmos for his contribution to the Autobot cause. {{storylink|The Autobot Spy in the Sky}}

{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|Hot Rod's Escape}}}}

===Deadly Paradise===
[[File:DeadlyParadise-Optimus and Troops.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|right]]
When Sideswipe was accused and convicted of destroying the [[Nova Suspension Bridge]], Optimus was infuriated that one of his own Autobots could commit such a heinous act. Optimus was tasked to hunt down and deactivate Sideswipe, though the task proved to be easy as Sideswipe did not run, hide or resist. After Optimus had deactivated Sideswipe, he was approached by Prowl, who pointed out that Sideswipe's actions made little sense, as he had committed the crime in broad daylight before many witnesses. Agreeing that the Decepticons might be behind the situation, Optimus allowed Prowl to take a team of Autobots to [[Carob Island]] to clear Sideswipe's name while Optimus and Jazz stayed behind to continue working on human/Autobot relations. Prowl returned with evidence that it was indeed a Decepticon-controlled clone of Sideswipe that had committed the crime. Optimus then presumably reactivated Sideswipe when his name was cleared. {{storylink|Deadly Paradise}}

===Kid Stuff Talking Story Books===
{{voiceactor|? (English)}}
Optimus and Prowl received message from [[Jetfire (G1)|Skyfire]] of a coal transport in [[Africa]], and discovered Megatron was using human slaves. Megatron detonated his coal mines with the world's largest explosion, killing the humans and forging the world's largest diamond — that he would use to as a lens for a [[Crystal satellite|satellite]] to focus the Sun's beams, melting the [[Rocky Mountains]]! Prime ordered Skyfire to attack the satellite, and [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] to build a square mile panel of metal to deflect the beam, blowing the satellite up. {{storylink|Satellite of Doom}} The Decepticons attempted to drain the [[Prudhoe Bay oil reservoir]], causing volcanic eruptions and Russia to approach America, accelerating tensions between the countries. Optimus ordered [[razon gas]] to be pumped into the reservoir, returning the [[oil]] below and raising the Decepticons' aquatic drill. {{storylink|When Continents Collide}}

Accompanied by Prowl, Optimus went to [[Sumatra]] and discovered much of the jungle had been destroyed. The Decepticons tried to destroy the [[Brazil]]ian jungle and take its oil, but once again the Autobots stopped them. {{storylink|Storms of Destruction}} Following a battle between the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobot]]s and the Decepticons, Optimus ordered [[Slag (G1)|Slag]] be repaired by Ratchet at their [[Antarctica|Antarctic]] oil supply. Tracking Slag, Megatron attempted to destroy the base with the [[Crusher (G1)|Crusher]], slicing icebergs off the continent. Optimus ordered [[Autobot superjet]]s to counterattack, but the battle was won when Megatron unwittingly reawakened hundreds of dormant Dinobots beneath the ice. {{storylink|Jaws of Terror}} Optimus and Prowl were baffled by Megatron's next strategy, a series of hit-and-run attacks in the Pacific rim. It emerged it was a distraction from the enslavement of the population of [[Buru]]. Optimus, Prowl and the Dinobots arrived and fought off the [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticons]], foiling the scheme to drain the island's oil. {{storylink|Slaves of the Insecticons}} When Megatron planned to drain the world's largest [[oil tanker|supertanker]], Optimus had the oil tainted with a corrosive acid, sabotaging the Decepticon submersible. The Autobots flew the tanker to [[New York City]], and ordered the few witnesses' memory to be wiped. Wow. {{storylink|Attack of the Decepticons}}

===Big Looker Story Books===
[[File:KidsPrime1.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|And the fluffy kitten played with that yarn all gosh-darn night.]]
After a thousand years of war on Cybertron, the planet was shaken from its orbit and risked being smashed to pieces by an asteroid field. Optimus decided to take a group of Autobots in the Ark and destroy the asteroids, but they were attacked by the Decepticons, and Optimus crashed the ship on Earth. Four million years later, the Ark repaired them, and they encountered [[Sparkplug Witwicky|Sparkplug]] and [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]]. Sparkplug suggested to Prime that the Autobots tap the volcano they'd crashed into for power. The two humans also warned the Autobots of an impending Decepticon attack, and Optimus laid a trap. Unfortunately the Decepticon forces attacked from all directions, and [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]]'s [[null-ray]] put Optimus out of commission. Luckily Sparkplug easily fixed him, and his fast recovery inspired the Autobots to chase the Decepticons off. Optimus vowed to protect this new world. {{storylink|Battle for Cybertron}}

[[File:Car_Rally_Homerun.JPG|left|upright=1.1|thumb]]
When a two-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 [[big black car|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}}

The morning after a particularly vicious battle, Optimus listened to birdsong and pondered life as a giant robot, before asking [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] and [[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] for a damage report. The Autobots were puzzled when the Decepticon [[Seeker (body-type)|Seeker]]s (and [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] and [[Buzzsaw (G1)|Buzzsaw]]) did a flyby on their camp, as the Decepticons were similarly damaged after the battle, but [[Shooting Star]] reported that the Decepticons were trying to distract them while an attempt was made to secure a broken-down oil truck a few miles away. Optimus took a small group to investigate, and successfully aided the [[Abe Walters|humans]] in getting their truck moving. [[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]] was instrumental in stopping the Decepticon attack, and Optimus commended the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobot]] for his valor. {{storylink|Decepticon Hijack}}

On another beautiful day, Optimus sat under a tree with [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] and [[Hound (G1)|Hound]], discussing the Decepticons. A while later, [[Beachcomber (G1)|Beachcomber]] reported that [[Grapple (G1)|Grapple]] had shot at him. Optimus smelled a Decepticon plot and led an assault on their headquarters, only to find that Grapple had been injected with a [[cerebro-shell]], placing him in Decepticon control. Battle commenced, during which Grapple was freed and helped them defeat the Decepticon. Afterward Optimus said it all had been worth it to get Grapple back. {{storylink|Insecticon Attack!}}

===Ladybird Books continuity===
{{voiceactor|[[Blain Fairman]] (English)}}
[[File:Ladybird prime transforms.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.4|The ghost of Optimus Prime possesses...himself?]]
Upon witnessing the incredible power of a lightning storm for the first time, Optimus Prime had Sparkplug Witwicky explain the phenomenon to him. Intrigued by the potential of lightning, Prime put [[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] and [[Gears (G1)|Gears]] to work finding a way to harness its energy, so they could use it to aid in the rebuilding of their spaceship. Huffer constructed a giant lightning rod, and Optimus Prime and the Autobots gathered to watch its first test. They were shocked, however, when a fleet of battered, damaged Decepticons flew out of the mountain housing the antenna and off into the night. The evil robots had attempted to discover the device's secrets and been seriously electrocuted! Once the lightning rod had been checked, Prime vowed to make the lightning-harnessing technology the Autobots' gift to Earth once they had left the planet. {{storylink|Autobots' Lightning Strike}}

When the Decepticons tried to take control of a solar energy station, Prime sent Roller in to investigate. {{storylink|Megatron's Fight for Power}} Later, Prime sent [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] to spy on the Decepticons' latest misdeeds, and the Autobots discovered that they were having trouble with the ion drive of their starship. Prime led the Autobots in an attack on the mine the Decepticons were using to test their propulsion system and routed Megatron's force. {{storylink|Autobots Fight Back}}

Optimus Prime grew concerned when [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] picked up a communication from [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] that indicated the Decepticons had grown interested in a mysterious structure near a human village. Prime and a team of Autobots headed out to investigate, and they battled the Decepticons over the structure, which turned out to be a harmless windmill. {{storylink|Laserbeak's Fury}}

[[File:Ladybird powermaster prime.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|Invisible keyboard solo!]]
At some point, Optimus Prime disappeared under mysterious circumstances, and [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] arrived from Cybertron to take his place as Autobot commander. {{storylink|Galvatron's Air Attack}} Prime eventually returned many centuries later, now sporting a [[Powermaster]] body, and rejoined the Transformers' war after it had moved from Earth to the alien planet of [[Nebulos]].

When [[Highbrow (G1)|Highbrow]] was captured by the Decepticon leader [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]], Optimus Prime agreed to surrender himself to ensure his fellow Autobot's safety. Naturally, though, Prime did not expect Scorponok to hold up his end of the bargain, and he had [[Hosehead (G1)|Hosehead]] and [[Fizzle]] rescue Highbrow while he allowed himself to be imprisoned. Their mission successful, Hosehead and Fizzle then sprang Prime from his cell, and the team beat a hasty retreat. {{storylink|Autobot Hostage}}

After weeks of Decepticon silence, Optimus Prime decided to get proactive and sent out patrols all over the planet to try and flush the villains out. None of the patrols reported back with any success, however, and Prime realized that there was one area of the planet that his troops had deliberately ignored: the mysterious "[[Nebulos Triangle]]". [[Quickswitch]], [[Scoop (G1)|Scoop]] and [[Quickmix (G1)|Quickmix]] were sent into the Triangle, and they did indeed discover and foil the Decepticon plot going on in the area. {{storylink|Decepticons Underground}}
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===Listen 'n Fun audiobooks continuity===
{{voiceactor|? (English)}}
Optimus had [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] and Huffer plant false information to mislead the Decepticons. As the Autobots were in need of a new power source, he sent [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] to find Doctor [[Heath Blaisedale]] and had to apologize to the doctor after Cliffjumper kidnapped her. Persuading her to help them, the Autobots traveled to the solar plant to make use of her solar reactor, only to find the Decepticons were already planning to attack it. While the other Autobots re-energized, Optimus protected them from an attack by [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]], [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] and [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]]. [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] abducted Blaisedale as a diversion, forcing Optimus to lead a team and rescue her. When the team returned, the plant was already under attack and Optimus helped the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] drive them off. Unfortunately the Dinobots totaled the plant in the process, and Optimus promised Blaisedale the Autobots would help her rebuild. In return, Blaisedale organized a meeting with the [[President of the United States]] so the Autobots could forge an alliance. {{storylink|Sun Raid (Listen 'n Fun)}}

===Listen 'n Play audiobooks continuity===
{{voiceactor|? (English)}}
When [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] brought [[Steve Guymo]] to the Autobot base, Optimus and the other Autobots realized that the Decepticons were behind the abduction of humans from airports across the nation. They were able to find the captive humans, whom the Decepticons were intending to ransom to the US government, and free them before engaging Starscream and his squad in battle. With the Decepticons defeated, the Autobots returned to base where Optimus thanked Steve for his help. {{storylink|Sun Raid (Listen 'n Play)}}

===The Special Teams===
After crashing on Earth in the Ark and remaining dormant for millions of years, Optimus, along with Sideswipe and Ratchet, were the first Autobots to awaken after the Decepticons’ own resurrection. These three helped the other Autobots repair themselves with the aid of the Ark’s computer.

Some time later, as the war raged between Autobots and Decepticons on Earth, Optimus had requested the Aerialbots as reinforcements from Cybertron. Though they nearly defected to the Decepticons, Optimus was able to secure the Aerialbots as allies. Later, when a power plant had to be evacuated of its human workers due to the fear of landslides, Optimus posted Denfensor at the location to secure its protection. Optimus then drove off to check up on the rest of his troops who were aiding in the area’s evacuation. Though he passed a military convoy heading towards a plant, he thought nothing of it, unaware that they were the newly created Combaticons in disguise. Optimus then reached the Ark, and from there opened communications with the Aerialbots. Optimus had someone come into the know that the Decepticons were moving in towards the plant. He watched from afar as Defensor and Superion fought Menasor and Bruticus, wary to send more Autobots into the fray while these titans wreaked havoc onto the battlefield. Optimus allowed himself a smile when the Aerialbots and the Protectobots proved themselves superior teams to the Decepticons’, though at the back of his mind, he was wary. After all, Megatron himself had chosen not to add his considerably weight to the battle... {{storylink|The Special Teams}}
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===The Battle for Planet Earth===
{{voiceactor|[[Peter Marinker]] (English)}}
In search of new energy sources, Optimus led a team to central [[South America]]. When they spotted [[Mount Sheelah]], their two human friends [[John Gordon|John]] and [[Tim Gordon]] explained volcanoes, and, believing it to be of possible use, the Autobots went to examine it. During a battle with the Decepticons over the volcano, Optimus was convinced by the two humans to retreat, ultimately saving them when Mount Sheelah erupted. {{storylink|Terror of Mount Sheelah}} After discovering that the Decepticons were kidnapping humans, Optimus sent [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] to scout the Decepticon base. When Bumblebee returned with the Decepticons' [[global crystal]], Optimus was able to use it to blackmail the Decepticons into letting the humans go. {{storylink|Bumblebee to the Rescue (G1)|Bumblebee to the Rescue}}

Using their network of human allies, the Autobots tracked the Decepticons to [[Stanley Lake]]. When Optimus learned that the Decepticons had taken over the hydro-plant, he lured them out into the valley in front of the dam so that [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] and the humans could flood the valley, washing the Decepticons away. {{storylink|Menace at the Dam}} [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] attempted to defect as part of a ploy to get a spy into the Autobots' midst, but Optimus wasn't fooled at all. He and his men concocted a false plan which they shared with Starscream, and while the Decepticons were subsequently on [[Deuterium Orbital Laser Tracing System|a wild goose chase]], Optimus's team smashed the Decepticon base flat. As they let Starscream go, Optimus couldn't help mocking him. {{storylink|Espionage!!!!!}}

====Ask Vector Prime====
[[File:OptimusPrime-SpyChanger-AskVectorPrime.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|Invisible keyboard solo!]]
The Autobots subsequently returned to Cybertron aboard a refueled and repaired ''[[Ark (G1)|Ark]]'' with the defeated Decepticons, taking the Decepticons on Cybertron unawares and quickly capturing control Cybertron. Peace reigned for a time until a series of natural disasters began, the source of which was determined to be the planet [[Moebius]] in [[Gargent 087.0 Kappa|a parallel universe]]. The Autobots assembled a team to travel to this alternate universe and stop the threat; Optimus Prime personally led the team, unwilling to put anyone in more danger than himself. Wheeljack, Hoist, Jazz, Prowl, and Silverstreak comprised the rest of the team; they dubbed themselves [[Spy Changer]]s because they aimed to achieve their goal with stealth and diplomacy. The team modified their bodies to match the native cyborgs using data acquired from the [[Sky Spy]] and traveled to the 22nd Strata but were soon attacked by the local [[Guardian (GoBots)|Guardian]]s, who mistakenly presumed them to be [[Renegade]]s. The Spy Changers were then rescued by the real Renegades, who presumed them to be potential allies and took them back to their flagship, the ''[[Rogue Star]]''. Renegade leader [[Cy-Kill (GoBots)|Cy-Kill]] attempted to court the Spy Changers as allies, but Optimus saw through Cy-Kill's deception. Eventually, the Autobots formed a secret alliance with the Guardians as well as discovered the cause of Cybertron's troubles: Renegade bases on Moebius were draining the planet's energy. The planet's geometry had turned it into a crude [[Dimensional Interfacer]], and Moebius was tapping into Cybertron to sustain itself. Hoist was able to end the crisis by triggering the bases' remote detonation sequence. Cy-Kill was furious, but in the ensuing battle, the Autobot-Guardian alliance triumphed over the Renegades. Optimus Prime and [[Leader-1 (GoBots)|Leader-1]] shook hands as a symbol of the transdimensional friendship, and the Autobots returned to their home reality, secure in the knowledge that they had allies in places as distant as alternate realities. {{Storylink|Ask Vector Prime#Facebook|Ask Vector Prime, 2015/09/30}}

Some time later, Optimus was botnapped by Megatron's [[Renegade Decepticon]]s and taken to another reality. {{storylink|Transformers: Renegade Rhetoric|Renegade Rhetoric (2), 2016/05/02}}
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===Toy pack-in material===
While exploring Cybertron's hemisphere of darkness, Optimus Prime became several damaged, and unable to return to the hemisphere of light. Having been able to send out one last message before his memory was badly damaged, Optimus found himself unable to distinguish friend from foe, and would join (or rejoin) whichever faction found him first. {{storylink|Optimus Prime Is Back}}

Optimus toppled the mighty [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]], stopping the titan from attacking some power-lines. He next moved on to blasting Devastator's back-up, [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]]. {{storylink|Sweepstakes Offer!}}
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===Highway Clash===
{{notemultipath}}
[[File:Highway Clash Optimus.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1]]
Optimus and [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] secretly guarded a shipment of microchips that could be used to imbue sentience onto robots. Posing as the lorry transporting the precious cargo across the Yorkshire Dales, he was attacked by [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] and [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] who sought the microchips to create an army of Decepticons. With [[you]]r help, Optimus may or may not have been successful in keeping the microchips out of the Decepticons' hands. {{storylink|Highway Clash}}
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===Find Your Fate Junior===
More than any other Transformer in these micro-continuity-nexuses, Optimus Prime had to make a ''lot'' of tough decisions. So tough in fact, that he usually needed help...from [[you]]!
{{notemultipath}}

====Dinobots Strike Back====
In the first nexus, when [[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]] reported back to Autobot HQ that the other [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] were being controlled by [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell's]] [[cerebro-shell]]s, Optimus had to decide whether to stop them with an immediate full-scale assault, or consult the Ark's computer. If he led an immediate attack, the cerebro-shells were jolted loose when his troops carried out his order to, "Bring them down fast and hard". If he consulted the computer, he then had to choose between its plan to have [[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]] remove the shells from a distance with his magnetic powers, or go with [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage's]] idea to lure the Dinobots over [[Bandit's Bluff]] with an Optimus Prime hologram. If he chose Mirage's plan, the Dinobots charged over the cliff and into the ocean, where they were salvaged for repairs back at base. If he let Windcharger lead operations at the bluff so he could confer with [[Skids (G1)|Skids]] about some strange activity near [[Dolphin's Bay]], it was out of his hands whether Windcharger accidentally tore the Dinobots to bits, or harmlessly removed the cerebro-shells. The latter outcome led to [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] telling Optimus that Bombshell said controlling them was just part of a larger plan, and the Autobot leader realized that it might tie in to Skids's report. Skids and [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] could investigate in [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack's]] new mini-sub, but should he send [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]] along with them?

If he didn't send Sludge with them, the odds were 2 to 1 that the Autobots would all be destroyed as part of Operation Black Coral. The one possible positive outcome ended with Optimus fighting a duel against [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] atop [[Mount Lomas]] in which Prime (somehow) split into his three components to surround his archenemy. This provoked [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] into "assisting" his leader with an earthquake that destroyed the Decepticons' entire superfuel operation.

If Optimus ''did'' send Sludge to Dolphin's bay, he ensured the Autobots' triumph in four different outcomes! Three of these involved Optimus leading a full-scale assault on the Decepticon base hidden in Mount Lomas, and whether he followed [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl's]] or Windcharger's plan of attack, Operation Black Coral was terminated. {{storylink|Dinobots Strike Back}}
====Battle Drive====
[[File:Battledrivefightingatthebridge.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|"ummm.... Jazz? Why is that thing puking up a Lego piece?" "I don't know prime..."]]
Suspicious at the lack of recent Decepticon activity, Optimus Prime sent Bumblebee out on a scouting mission. When Bumblebee did not return for some time, Optimus began to worry, and sent out Prowl, Hound and Swoop to check up on the little Autobot.

In several versions of the events that unfolded next, Swoop would return to the Autobots' headquarters, and inform Optimus and his troops that the rest of his group was under Decepticon attack, and Optimus would subsequently lead his troops to rescue them.

In an alternate version of the following events, Bumblebee would return to base, reporting that the Decepticons were planning to destroy the humans' farmlands in an attempt to starve mankind and force them into submission. Upon hearing these news, Optimus gathered a squad of Autobots and headed out to stop the evil robots. However, once they found themselves in the open country, they found themselves at the mercy of a Decepticon ambush; Bumblebee had been fed false information! In one iteration of the events that followed, Optimus could have avoided his death if only he had listened to [[you]]r warning! In another iteration, Optimus had to decide whether he should send his Autobots away to the safety of a nearby bridge while he fended off the encroaching Decepticon horde, or if he should remain by the side of his troops as they all made a break for the bridge. Remaining as a single unit would spell their doom, but by sticking together, the Autobots could make it back to the safety of their base. {{storylink|Battle Drive}}
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====Attack of the Insecticons====
[[File:AttackoftheInsecticonsattackStarscream.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb]]
In the third nexus, Optimus oversaw [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] testing [[Sparkplug Witwicky|Sparkplug]]'s latest invention, the [[Sun-Pak]], a miraculous device capable of fuelling a Transformer for an entire Earth day after being charged for only an hour in sunlight. As the trial-run wound down to an end, the Decepticons suddenly burst into the Autobots' secret underground testing facility, forcing Optimus to decide whether to order a tactical retreat, or have his Autobots fight the intruders despite his troops' low energy reserves. If he chose to stand and fight, he had the additional choice to either make the Autobots concentrate on Starscream, who is leading the charge against the Autobots, or divide his troops' attention onto all of the Decepticon assailants. If Optimus chose to attempt to eliminate Starscream once and for all, the Decepticon Seeker would beg for mercy, forcing Optimus into a choice yet again: accept the snivelling Decepticon's surrender, or continue his attempt to end Starscream's evil once and for all. Accepting Starscream's surrender spells victory for the Autobots, whereas ignoring Starscream pleas ultimately leads to Sparkplug being kidnapped by the Decepticons, necessitating Optimus to send Buster, Blaster and Bumblebee on a perilous retrieval mission while the other Autobots recharge at the Autobots' home base.

Alternatively, if Optimus chose to retreat either when initially confronted with the overwhelming Decepticon threat, or after realizing that his troops are too weak to fight after ordering them to concentrate their firepower equally amongst the intruding Decepticons, the ensuing underground adventure can have multiple outcomes; the Autobots become the captive of the Insecticons, forcing Optimus to either entrust Beachcomber with the fate of his troops, or to bargain with the Insecticons for the safe release of his Autobots; or dealing with the theft of the Sun-Pak by either duelling Megatron for the device's ownership, stealing the Sun-Pak back from the Decepticons or charging Mirage and Buster with the device's retrieval. If Optimus duels Megatron for the device, he either wins through brute force or by being more "cunning" than Megatron and destroying the device before the Decepticons can claim it as their victory prize. If Optimus attempts to steal the Sun-Pak under the Decepticons' noses, Optimus is shot by Megatron when the Decepticon leader notices Optimus and Smokescreen skulking towards the Sun-Pak. The Autobots nonetheless retrieve it when Smokescreen blots out the sun with his emission fumes, forcing Megatron to pass the Sun-Pak towards Buzzsaw in order to bypass the Autobots' smog cover, only for Optimus to intercept Megatron's pass and drive away with the Sun-Pak in Autobot possession. Finally, if Optimus has entrusted the Sun-Pak's retrieval to Mirage and Buster, the Autobot leader makes the duo swear not to engage the enemy for fear of their safety. If his Autobots keep their promise to him, Optimus is called in alongside the rest of the Autobots when the Insecticons are discovered, and Optimus leads a successful ambush towards the Insecticons, at the cost of the Sun-Pak itself. {{storylink|Attack of the Insecticons}}

====Earthquake====
[[File:EarthquakeAutobotspanickingtownfolk.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1]]
Optimus was enjoying the lull in Decepticon activity along with the rest of his Autobots, when he recommended that Beachcomber take a vacation. Beachcomber gladly accepted.

In one possible scenario, Optimus was surprised to see Beachcomber return to Autobot headquarters soon after his departure. Beachcomber informed Optimus that he had uncovered the Decepticon's newest hidden fortress, and he suspected that the Decepticons were up to something big. Optimus sent out Beachcomber once more, this time along with Powerglide and Windcharger to investigate the Decepticons' plot further.

Optimus then stood at the ready to send over reinforcements when called upon by Beachcomber’s squad.

In one possible sequence of events, Powerglide was captured and reprogrammed by the Decepticons, leading their army to Autobot headquarters. Taken by surprised, the Autobots were felled one by one until only Optimus remained. As Megatron gloated that he would not kill Optimus, only alter him so as to make him the bane of humanity, Optimus activated the Ark’s self-destruct sequence, taking all of the Decepticons with him in a fiery explosion.

In another possible sequence of events, the trio returned to Autobot headquarters to relate their findings to Optimus Prime. The Decepticons planned to use a Destruction Beam to create a fault line near Center City, which would in turn be exploited by Rumble’s earthquake-inducing abilities to destroy the entire area. The Autobots then decided to split up in two groups, one to attack the Decepticons’ fortress, the other to stop Rumble in Center City. Optimus headed the lead team.

If Optimus decided to send the lead team to attack the Decepticon headquarters, the team managed to infiltrate the Decepticon headquarters by using Beachcomber’s knowledge of the secret doors’ location, and Brawn’s strength to keep the doors opened. The Autobots then stormed the fortress, and Optimus maimed Megatron himself with a shot of his rifle. He then grappled the Decepticon leader, and forced him to lead himself, Inferno and Beachcomber to the Decepticons’ lab. There, the Autobots disabled and destroyed the Destruction Beam device, captured Megatron, and left many Decepticons permanently maimed. Though they later traded Megatron back to the Decepticons for the safe relief of the Autobots captured in Center City, the Autobots were ultimately victorious that day.

If Optimus decided to send the lead team to defend Center City, he carries Cosmos in his trailer, so as not to cause a panic amongst the humans. Miserable in his current position, Cosmos asked Optimus to let him join the secondary team’s attack on the fortress, where he felt he would be more helpful.

If Optimus insisted that Cosmos stay with the group, the Autobots’ next objective would be to meet up with Sparkplug, with whom they consulted on whether the Autobots should enter Centre City in their [[robot mode]]s or in their [[alternate mode|vehicle mode]]s.

If Sparkplug suggested that the Autobots not worry about subtlety, the entire squad transformed and began prowling the streets in search of Decepticons. Oblivious to the panic they were causing, Optimus assumed that the Decepticons were spotted nearby when a police officer declared that the city was under siege by giant robots. Unable to restore order in time to halt the Decepticons’ plot, Optimus and the rest of his team were destroyed in the ensuing earthquake.

If Sparkplug suggested that the Autobots remained in their vehicle modes, he would concoct a plan where the Autobots would help evacuate the entire town in their vehicle modes. With no more than four trips in and out of the city, Optimus and the rest of the team carried out the plan without incident. The Autobots then transformed and engaged the approaching Decepticons, whom they easily dispatched. With the city safe, the Autobots moved out to help their comrades at the Decepticon fortress.

In an alternate scenario, wherein Beachcomber, Windcharger and Powerglide were captured by the Decepticons while snooping around the secret fortress, Optimus was tricked into leading his troops to their doom by a false S.O.S. sent out by Megatron.

In yet another possible scenario, Beachcomber returned from his day off early to inform Optimus that Jessie had been taken prisoner by the Decepticons. Optimus deployed a team of Autobots to go to the girl’s rescue. Shortly before arriving at their destination, the Autobots had to choose their next course of action; they could either storm the Decepticon fortress by force, or try to sneak in through a secret passage Buster had previously discovered.

If they decided to storm the fortress, Beachcomber would become nervous, and urge his fellow Autobots to find a more peaceful way to resolve the situation. Optimus sternly told him that this was not the time for one of his anti-war speeches. This moment of hesitation ultimately cost the Autobots the battle, and the Decepticons triumphed that day.

If they decided a stealthier approach, the Autobots quietly entered the Decepticon base, and set out to shoot down any Decepticons they encountered, save Megatron, whom they planned to capture. After encountering some resistance from their foes, the Autobots came upon branch in the passageway, and had to choose to go left or right.

If they took the right passageway, the group soon happened upon Jessie, whom they freed. Telling them she knew the location of the Decepticons’ lab, Jessie then led the group into a Decepticon trap; she had been brainwashed. The Autobots were captured and Megatron’s plan to destroy Center City came to fruition.

If they took the left passageway, the group happened upon Megatron’s lab. Though Megatron attempted to trick Optimus into activating the Fortress’s self-destruct sequence, Optimus was too clever to be duped. After deactivating both the Destruction beam and the Decepticons themselves, the Autobots found Jessie tied up in a cell. The Autobots then celebrated their victory by guzzling a few quarts of fine-grade oil.

In a final possible path, wherein the Decepticons attempted to turn Beachcomber into a Decepticon double agent but fumbled the process, Optimus made Beachcomber into an Autobot double agent. With his help, the Autobots hoped to soon win their war with the Decepticons. {{storylink|Earthquake (book)|Earthquake}}
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====Desert Flight====
[[File:DesertFlightHookandGravityGun.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|left]]
When the Autobot-Decepticon civil war had yet to expand beyond Cybertron, Optimus had encountered a Decepticon weapon that weakened the gravitational pull within a confined area. The weapon being unreliable, Optimus had always assumed the Decepticons would not bother attempting to use it again.

Now on Earth, Optimus was leading a group of his best scouts on a fuel-finding mission when they heard a tremendous explosion go off nearby. Optimus recognized the sound of the explosion as being Dirge’s concussion missiles. Though Powerglide offered to go investigate the explosion, Optimus opted to send out Cosmos instead.

If Cosmos radioed his findings to Optimus immediately, Optimus’s convoy moved in to investigate a nearby Decepticon base. En route, the Autobots passed near a human town, but began floating in mid-air before being able to reach it. Optimus quickly deduced that this phenomenon was caused by an anti-gravity beam, courtesy of the Decepticons. Worried about the nearby humans also being affected by the lapse in gravity, Optimus had to decide whether he would order his troops to stop and help the townspeople, or to continue forward and attack the Decepticon base.

If Optimus ordered his troops to come to the humans’ aid, they found themselves taking part in a struggle in futility, as the entire town was near-weightless, meaning they couldn’t put the humans anywhere where they wouldn’t float away once more. Then, the Autobots heard Decepticons approaching. Helpless in their current position, the Autobots were quickly eradicated by the Decepticons.

If Optimus ordered his troops to attack the Decepticon base, they soon reached an area free of the anti-gravity beam’s influence. They were then attacked by a small fleet of Decepticons. Optimus targeted their squad leader, Dirge, knowing that by downing him, the Decepticons would be significantly demoralized. Dirge was forced to break-off his attack when his back-up was taken out, knowing he wouldn’t be able to take Optimus on without it. Losing their advantage quickly, the Decepticons retreated. But with the battle over, the Autobots noticed a small human boy at their feet. The boy was [[Buddy]], a stowaway from the nearby town, and though Optimus was displeased with the tag-along, the Autobots could not spare the time to bring him home. Arriving at the Decepticon base, Megatron delivered an ultimatum; if the Autobots did not surrender Optimus Prime to the Decepticons immediately, he would use his gravity beam to have the nearby humans float off into space.

If the Autobots decided to continue with their initial plan to simply attack the Decepticon base, their advance was halted by a force field. Megatron then fired his beam in all directions, causing a ripple effect that sent everything not fastened down to the Earth’s surface to float helplessly out into space.

Alternatively, the Autobots could concoct a plan where Optimus would pretend to allow himself to be taken prisoner, per Buddy’s suggestion. The Decepticons, fooled into thinking they’ve won, took Optimus Prime into their base. Having hidden his troops inside his trailer, Optimus and the Autobots then led a surprise attack on their unsuspecting foes.

In the event that Windcharger successfully turned the Decepticons’ forcefield off, reinforcements burst into the base just as Megatron was strike Optimus from behind. A wayward shot from Megatron then revealed the location of the gravity gun to the Autobots. Optimus ordered his troops to charge the weapon. Hook caught Optimus in the gravity gun’s sights, and sent the Autobot leader floating upwards.

If Buddy came to Optimus’s rescue and toyed with the gravity gun’s control panel just as Hook turned the weapon to full power, the weapon would swivel and catch Megatron in its beam, tearing the Decepticon leader to pieces instead of Optimus. The Autobots then proceeded to defeat the remaining Decepticons and claim victory.

If Buddy instead cowered away, Cosmos came to Optimus’s rescue. Optimus then instructed Cosmos to send him flying towards Hook; the pair took out the Constructicon, and gained control of the gravity beam.

If Buddy and Tracks entered a space-time anomaly created during the battle, the Autobots would lose their stand-off against the Decepticons, and Optimus would be taken prisoner by Megatron.

If Tracks decided that Beachcomber could wait, he helped Optimus overload the anti-gravity gun, starting a chain-reaction that would cause the weapon to explode in a tremendous explosion. Optimus instructed both Tracks and Buddy to run away as he finished tampering with the weapon.

If Buddy lingered in wait for Optimus Prime to finish his task, Dirge flew by and dropped a missile onto Optimus, damaging his leg. Thankfully, Buddy assisted Optimus in repairing his leg. The pair then ran to safety as the anti-gravity gun self-destructed, taking a number of Decepticons with it.

If Buddy ran off as Optimus sabotaged the anti-gravity gun, the boy was captured by Laserbeak, prompting Optimus to turn the gravity beam on the Decepticon to free Buddy.

In a completely different possible sequence of events, wherein Cosmos had taken off to explore the Decepticon base on his own, Optimus was surprised to see two Cosmoses flying back towards his convoy some time later. Both Cosmoses declared themselves to be the real one, and urged Optimus to destroy the other.

If Optimus destroyed the wrong Cosmos, the duplicate obliterated Optimus and his squad with the proton bomb it housed within its body.

If Optimus destroyed the duplicate Cosmos, the real one would inform the Autobots of the Decepticons’ schemes, and the convoy would roll out to take on their adversaries. They were soon met by a squad of flying Decepticons, but were at a strict disadvantage against their adversaries as their vehicle modes possessed no weapons. The Autobots nonetheless managed to fight their way to the Decepticons’ base, one way or another, and defeated the Decepticons by using their own gravity weapon against them. {{storylink|Desert Flight}}
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====Decepticon Poison====
[[File:DecepticonPoisonAutobotVictory.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1]]
Optimus was amongst the Autobots about to be topped up with their latest batch of fuel when Red Alert burst into Autobot headquarters, warning everyone about Ramjet being spotted nearby. Red Alert’s warning came in just in time, as the Autobots’ fuel had been poisoned, and Optimus would have been left unable to transform had he ingested any of it.

Optimus was advised of two plans; Perceptor suggested that the Autobots stay on the defensive while the scientist attempt to come up with a cure, while Prowl wanted the healthy Autobots to go out and try to find out what the Decepticons were up to.

If Optimus went along with Perceptor’s plan, he sent out Sparkplug to fetch the Autobots’ secret stash of emergency fuel. Putting all of his faith in the Autobot scientist to uncover a cure swiftly, Optimus attempted to comfort his troops as they all began to experience sickness pains. Then, Red Alert informed Optimus of a Decepticon attack force moving in on their position, prompting Optimus to ask Perceptor to dispense whatever cure he had been able to concoct, despite it being untested. Perceptor suggested another course of action to Optimus; the tainted fuel the Autobots had left untouched could be used to create a poisonous smog if lit aflame. The Autobots could attempt to poison the Decepticons with their own concoction, or they could risk the untested antidote, despite whatever side-effects it may have.

If Optimus decided to risk Perceptor’s antidote, he stood by as the Autobot scientist attempted to figure out how much antidote was a safe amount to give out to each Autobot.

If Perceptor gave out the right amount of an antidote, the poisoned Autobots were cured. Optimus ordered his troops to ready themselves for the incoming squadron of Decepticons. Perceptor’s antidote did have a side-effect on the Autobots, however; it gave them a fierce battle-fever, making them eager to take on the Decepticons head-on. Prowl suggested to Optimus that they instead opt for a more conniving counterstrike against the Decepticons, and ambush them instead.

If Optimus allowed the cured Autobots to charge headlong into battle, he and the rest of the Autobots who were still running low on fuel stayed behind as back-up to the main charge. The Autobots’ first wave of warriors were quickly overpowered by the arrival of Megatron, prompting Optimus to lead the energy-depleated Autobots into the fray. Optimus’s opening volley struck down Shockwave. Optimus and his troops soon found themselves running on empty, and Optimus called for a retreat. Thankfully, the Decepticons were damaged enough through the course of the battle, causing them to retreat as well.

If Optimus instead followed Prowl’s plan, he instructed his troops to transform into vehicle mode and play dead. The Decepticons, believing the Autobots’ ruse, disarmed themselves in order to carry out the Autobots’ “carcasses.” Now with the element of surprise against unarmed opponent, the Autobots Transformed and were able to easily defeat the evil robots.

In another possible turn of events, Perceptor gave out too much of his antidote to each Autobot. The Autobots who received the antidote soon found themselves falling apart, leaving Optimus and the rest outmatched against the greater number of Decepticons.

Alternatively, if Optimus chose to use the tainted fuel against the Decepticons, he ordered Grapple to carry out the vat outside of headquarters. He then instructed Grapple to lower the vat into a nearby pit, and instructed Jazz to torch the fuel with his flamethrower. He and Jazz waited until the last possible moment to carry out their plan, and once the fuel was lit, they dived to safety inside the Autobot base with the other Autobots. As the toxic cloud successfully turned away the Decepticons, Optimus was surprised to see Sunstreaker once more fully operational. Having been bought enough time, Perceptor was able to successfully cure the poisoned Autobots. Their ranks fully replenished and the Decepticons turning tail meant the Autobots had earned themselves another victory.

In a completely different scenario, Optimus agreed to Prowl’s plan to go on the offensive and try and discover the full extent of the Decepticons’ plans. Optimus nominated Prowl, Bumblebee and Mirage to go along with him on the mission. The group refuelled with the gas that Sparkplug brought back from the Autobots’ secret storage area, and took off. The group soon happened upon the Decepticons’ lab in the middle of a barren, polluted wasteland.

If all four Autobots ventured together into the Decepticons’ lab, they first encountered Laserbeak, only to quickly dispatch him. Venturing further into the lab, the group soon spotted the antidote they were after, and sent Mirage to fetch it. Mirage returned with the beaker and news; he had heard Ramjet and Starscream talking about using a new poison to turn humans into mindless slaves.

In light of this news, if Optimus decided to nonetheless head back directly to Autobot headquarters, his squad returned to find their comrades nearly dead from the poison. But with Ratchet’s help, the antidote was quickly distributed, and the Autobots sprung back to life. Now cured, the Autobots discussed their next course of action; they had to prevent the Decepticons from poisoning the nearby water reservoir.

If Optimus led his troops back to the Decepticons’ poison lab, the convoy happened upon the Decepticons hauling barrels of poison out of the poison lab. Windcharger and Ironhide suggested two different plans to Optimus: Windcharger wanted to use his magnetic powers to cause a confusion, while Ironhide wanted to simply go in for a full frontal assault.

Whether Optimus decided to go with Windcharger or Ironhide's plan, the Autobots successfully destroyed the Decepticons’ lab and returned to base victoriously.

Alternatively, if Optimus decided to head to the water reservoir instead of the Decepticons’ lab, the Autobots reached their destination only to find it already swarming with Decepticons. Powerglide then decided to go ahead on his own to lead the Decepticons away from the reservoir, but Optimus objected.

If Powerglide did not heed Optimus orders, he indadvertedly caused the water supply to be poisoned anyways. If however, Powerglide listened to Optimus’s orders, the Autobots attempted to lure the Decepticons away from the reservoir and into some nearby woods, where the Autobots would have some cover against the Decepticons. Finding themselves under heavy fire before they could reach the treeline, the Autobots were forced to fight back in the open. With Autobots falling beside him, Optimus gritted his teeth and took careful aim at the poison containers the Decepticons were carrying. After taking out both of the planes carrying the poison, Optimus continued to battle Megatron and his Decepticons until nightfall, until the Autobots were finally victorious.

If however Optimus ordered his troops to deal with the Decepticons before returning to base with the antidote, Prowl suggested that he use his incendiary missiles to destroy the poison first, but Optimus thought that course of action might be too risky. He considered dealing with Ramjet and Starscream first.

If the Autobots went along with Prowl’s strategy, the resulting heat from the explosion caused the Autobots’ circuits to overheat, rendering them unconscious. Upon reawakening, the Autobots found themselves captives of Megatron, who informed them that their fellow Autobots would soon perish, and that the humans would be conquered by the Decepticons shortly after.

If Optimus instead decided to deal with Ramjet and Starscream first, his troop easily overpowered the pair, and made them watch as they destroyed their work. Optimus then taunted Ramjet and Starscream, telling them that the Autobots would soon be at full fighting force, before returning to Autobot headquarters with the antidote.

If instead of all heading into the lab together, the Autobots had sent in Bumblebee alone, and Bumblebee subsequently managed to escape with the antidote to the Decepticons’ poison, the Autobots escaped from the [[Decepticon Poison Lab|Valley of Poison]] and returned to Autobot headquarters. Once the other Autobots were cured, they all drank a toast to Bumblebee, to celebrate his part in the mission {{storylink|Decepticon Poison}}
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===Milton Bradley mini-comic===
Optimus was one of the many soldiers fighting under the command of the Autobot leader, [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]]. He was among the Autobots who launched in the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] to clear a path through an asteroid belt. When the Decepticons attacked the ship, he fought a Seeker Decepticon while Jetfire sent the Ark crashing into [[Earth]], knocking everyone aboard offline. Four million years later, they were repaired when the ship's systems were reactivated by a volcanic eruption. {{storylink|In the Transformers}}

===Frito-Lay posters===
{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|The Power Struggle}}}}
Optimus and his Autobots defended important data about the power source of [[Sherman Dam|Boulder Dam]]. He blasted Megatron with full fury! Ultimately, the Autobots were victorious in defending the dam. {{storylink|Battle in the Desert Valley}}
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===''Transformers in 3-D''===
Not long after his resurrection, Optimus was alerted by [[Monitorus]] to an attack on [[Tau-Ursa]]. Optimus's impending speech was interrupted by a Decepticon attack led by [[Sixshot]]. Prime soon discovered that the attack was a diversion, while Galvatron tried out his [[Nullification Cannon]] on Cybertron's Energon supplies. Optimus rushed to the Energon plant, but, after clouting [[Slugslinger (G1)|Slugslinger]] so hard that the Decepticon was left dangling over a precipice, Prime's morals forced him to rescue the Decepticon instead of stopping Galvatron from getting away.

Although Cybertron's Energon stocks were destroyed, the Autobots discovered a recording pointing to the [[Logicon]] planet [[Metascan Alpha]], which had Energon in abundance. Optimus ordered Hot Rod and Ultra Magnus to take a team each to find the planet. The Autobots discovered they were being spied on by the Decepticon [[Clone (subgroup)|Clone]]s, and Optimus swore that Galvatron could pay. He led a team to the derelict space destroyer which the Decepticons were using for a base and fought their leader one-on-one. As he was about to destroy the Nullification Cannon, [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]] took a swing at him which connected instead with the Cannon, obliterating it. Optimus was helped away from the destruction by [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] and [[Sureshot (G1)|Sureshot]]. {{storylink|The War Against the Destructons, Chapter 1 of 3}}

===''Transformers PD Type''===
[[File:PDtype-Matrixattack.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.4|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|Transformers PD Type##1 "You're Great! Optimus Prime!"|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|Transformers PD Type##3 "Don't Cry! Megatron!!"|Don't Cry! Megatron!!}}

In one of his less impressive moments, after running out of ammo during a battle with [[Deathsaurus (Victory)|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 accidentally hurled the Blackball back to the Autobots in a fit of rage. {{storylink|Transformers PD Type##4 "Good Job! Deathsaurus!!"|Good Job! Deathsaurus!!}}
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===The Official ''Transformers: Generation 2'' Annual===
After the Decepticons declared war, junior officer Optimus managed to turn the tide against them in a battle over [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]], and rose up in rank to become Autobot leader. {{storylink|The Official Transformers: Generation 2 Annual|Optimus Prime's ''The Official Transformers: Generation 2 Annual'' profile}} His second-in-command, [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]], once saved his life after a surprise attack rendered him him temporarily non-functional on the battlefront. {{storylink|The Official Transformers: Generation 2 Annual|Jazz's ''The Official Transformers: Generation 2 Annual'' profile}} The war raged for centuries, with Cybertron's fuel sources steadily decreasing. Optimus ordered the construction of the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] to seek out new sources of energy, unaware that Megatron was building a ship of his own. The Ark's first foray into space was interrupted by a Decepticon attack, and all involved were too distracted to notice as they entered an asteroid belt. A collision between two meteorites sent the Transformers crashing into Earth. After countless eons of slumber, the Autobots awoke to a world populated by humans, and once more took up the fight against the Decepticons. {{storylink|From Cybertron to Earth the War Continues...}}

After a long period of stalemate, Prime grew frustrated at the lack of progress his troops were making against Megatron's forces. To remedy the situation, he ordered the creation of several new Transformers who would be perfectly adapted for combat on Earth. The first among these was [[Manta Ray (G2)|Pirhana]]. {{storylink|The Official Transformers: Generation 2 Annual|Piranha's ''The Official Transformers: Generation 2 Annual'' profile}} But one of the Autobots' great victories came not through superior numbers or firepower, but trickery and cunning. As part of a plan devised by Optimus Prime's new second-in-command Prowl, the Autobots allowed [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] to "overhear" that they had uncovered an ancient Cybertronian ship with the means to return to Cybertron. They then stationed themselves around the vessel, atop of [[Table Mountain]] in [[Africa]], and awaited the inevitable Decepticon attack over its possession. Optimus met Megatron in battle, but ordered his troops to withdraw after a brief skirmish, declaring the Decepticons too powerful to hold back. Once the Decepticons claimed their prized and entered the ship, they found themselves locked inside it. The ship then shot up away from the planet, leaving the Decepticons without the means to control it. Though the Autobots knew this wouldn't rid them permanently of the Decepticons, they were satisfied with a brief period of calm while they were off-world. {{storylink|Day of the Decepticons}}

When the Ark's sensors picked up two Transformer power emissions in the [[Brazil|Brazilian]] rain forest of non-Decepticon origin, Optimus headed into the field to investigate, bringing along [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] and [[Fizzle|Blaze]]. Though their search went poorly at first, the surrounding vegetation interfering with their energy trackers, one of the mystery Transformers soon found them! The source of the readings turned out to be two terrifying [[Dinobot (G1)|robot dinosaurs]]! As Optimus charged one of them, [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] and his troops turned up, and blasted the Autobot leader unconscious. He awoke to find the Decepticons fleeing in defeat, and the creatures transformed into their Autobot forms. [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] introduced himself and [[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]], but told Optimus that they wouldn't be following the Autobots back to home-base, as they had two more companions to unearth first. Optimus bid him farewell with a handshake before leaving to carry on the war against Megatron. {{storylink|The Dinobots!}}

When reports from both [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]] and [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] corroborated that the Decepticons were constructing giant rockets to shift Earth out of its orbit, Optimus took to the skies and led his troops on a sabotage mission. Upon their approach, Optimus, Jetfire, and [[Deftwing]] overheard Megatron declare that the engines would fire up in twenty minutes. With little time to prevent the destruction of Earth's biosphere, the more maneuverable air-bound Autobots entered the thruster tubes to destroy the rockets from within. Jetfire and Deftwing were successful in their task, and the Autobots beat a hasty retreat to avoid the resulting lava swell. Optimus heaped praise upon the pair afterwards, embarrassing the bashful Jetfire. {{storylink|Moving Day Planet Earth}}
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===Hero Prime===
====''Comic Bom Bom G-2'' manga====
[[File:G2Hero.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|HE'S LOOKING AT ME, ISN'T HE?]]
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!!}}

====Fun Publications====
[[File:InvasionPrologue-Primes.jpg|left|thumb|Front row, on the left]]

At some point, [[Archforce]] posed a threat to both Optimus Prime and Megatron. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime#Facebook|Ask Vector Prime, 2015/08/10}}

Leaving his home universe, the Optimus Prime of [[Primax 895.0 Gamma]] was gathered in [[Axiom Nexus]] by [[Optimus Prime (TransTech)|its Optimus Prime]], along with a roster of other Optimus Primes and [[Sentinel Maximus|their]] [[Lio Convoy|kin]] in a group known as the [[Convoy (group)|Convoy]], in which he was redubbed "Hero Prime". {{storylink|Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club issue 49|Optimus Prime bio in Club magazine #49}} A multiversal cataclysm in [[Primax 207.0 Epsilon|a universe]] seeded with [[Rarified Energon]] and an invasion by [[Primax -408.24 Epsilon|natives from the negative polarity universe]] had called them into action. Since Matrix bearers were usually never allowed into Axiom Nexus, this was a grave threat indeed! {{storylink|Invasion Prologue}}

Seeking help to protect the [[Origin Matrix]], Hero Prime and "[[Optimus Prime (Armada)#Beast Prime|Beast Prime]]" disguised themselves using cloaks and sought out [[Depth Charge (BW)|Depth Charge]], hoping to make use of his hunting skills. {{storylink|Invasion: Epilogue}}

Hero Prime's name was on a list of Convoy members that [[Cheetor (TransTech)|Commander Cheetor]] gave to [[Andromeda (TransTech)|Andromeda]], which noted Prime's home reality and his moniker. {{storylink|Andromeda - Axiom Nexus News Reporter|Andromeda - Axiom Nexus News, 2015/05/21}}

Hero Prime was present at a meeting of the Convoy after the turmoil caused by the [[Waruder]] invasion of Axiom Nexus. {{storylink|Cybertron's Most Wanted}}

===''Beast Wars'' toy bios===
[[File:Convobat.jpg|thumb|150px|right]]
Formerly a trailer truck, Optimus Prime took on the new identity of "Convobat" along with an appropriate bat mode. In this form, he fought against [[Megatron (G1)#Beast Wars toy bios|Megaligator]]. {{storylink|Optimus Prime (G1)/toys#AmazonConvobat|Amazon Showdown Convobat bio}}

===''Beast Wars'' cartoon continuity===
====''Beast Wars'' cartoon====
[[File:G1Prime BWMegs.jpg|left|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)/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Megatron]], following [[Megatron (G1)|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/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|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)}}
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====''Beast Machines'' cartoon====
[[File:Sparkwar2 Optimus hologram primal.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|Holographic Optimus wants to grab you]]
{{voiceactor|[[Garry Chalk]] (English)|[[Tilo Schmitz]] (German), [[Alfonso Ramírez]] (Latin American)}}

Optimus appeared to have fallen in "the final battle" against the Decepticons. {{storylink|Sparkwar Pt. II: The Search|The Search}}

An enormous [[Optimus Prime memorial|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 (polity)|Iacon]] to confront [[Optimus Primal/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Optimus Primal]], claiming to contain the "essence" of the real Prime that had been stored here since the Final Battle. Primal was conned by this and was tricked by the hologram into accessing the [[Oracle (BM)|Oracle]]. Megatron seized control of the Oracle code and 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|The Search}}
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====3H comics====
[[File:Sparkholderprimevaldawn.jpg|left|upright=1.05|thumb|"Oh, I also have this in me now, too."]]
Before he took the name "Optimus Prime," the future leader of the Autobots took up the banner of his fallen Monark, and rallied the troops around him against the Decepticons, vowing to "never surrender." {{storylink|Herald, Covenant, Schism, Paradox|Covenant}}

[[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] hated Optimus Prime but respected [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus]] though Cyclonus would later taunt that Rodimus couldn't get anything done while not mourning Optimus. {{storylink|Wreckers: Finale Part II}}

After the Beast Wars had ended and the Maximals and Predacons that survived it had headed home, the Vok entered the Ark and removed the Matrix of Leadership from an unconscious Optimus Prime. They used it to create [[Primal Prime]], and then gave the Matrix to their new creation. {{storylink|Primeval Dawn Part 1}} {{storylink|Primeval Dawn II}}

{{note|''Primeval Dawn'' was never completed, but presumably the Matrix was returned to Optimus Prime's body before Primal Prime returned to Cybertron.}}

[[File:Jnwan.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|Massive psychotic breaks with reality are the right of all sentient beings.]]
After the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]], Optimus Prime disappeared with other legends into the mysterious location on Cybertron dubbed [[J'nwan]], where Optimus himself became the "Authority" who spoke on behalf of the others. [[Sandstorm (BW)|Sandstorm]], the leader of a rebellion in a 32nd-century firmly under the heel of the tyrannical [[Shokaract]], entered J'nwan to plead with the heroes of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]'s past for aid. He hoped to convince them to join the fight against the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] warlord. After a mind-crushing journey which left all of his companions dead or deranged, Sandstorm finally found an audience with the Authority and his brethren, but they declined to help, with the Authority stating that their time was past and the war was no longer their war. The Authority then in some way manipulated Sandstorm's trip out of J'nwan such that it was comparatively short and simple. {{storylink|Herald, Covenant, Schism, Paradox|Paradox}}

When the warlord [[Shokaract]], powered by [[Unicron]]'s [[Dark Essence]], traveled into the past to secure his own future, the occupants of J'nwan decided to act. Optimus Prime, Megatron, Soundwave, and Grimlock joined Sandstorm on prehistoric Earth during the time of the [[Beast Wars (event)|Beast Wars]] where the battle with Shokaract had already begun. When the [[Covenant]] arrived to vanquish the Dark Essence and defeat Shokaract, Optimus Prime and the others escaped through portals as that timeline was erased from existence. {{storylink|Terminus (issue)|Terminus}} {{storylink|Departure}}

When [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus]] died, [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] responded to [[Fractyl]]'s attempt to comfort her by stating that it was alright as Rodimus was now with Optimus and the friends who loved and missed him while they were gone. {{storylink|Wreckers: Finale Part II}}

====Dreamwave ''Generation One'' continuity====
{{BW Shell Game}}
While traveling back to Cybertron at the conclusion of the Beast Wars, Optimus Primal reflected on past events. Among these was Megatron's attempt to dispatch Optimus Prime while he was in stasis lock within the Ark. {{storylink|Shell Game issue 1|Shell Game #1}}

====IDW ''Beast Wars'' comics====
Optimus Prime died on Cybertron in [[2035]] during the final days of the Great War, alongside Galvatron. {{storylink|Dawn of the Predacus}}

While [[Magmatron]] was surveying the timestream, he witnessed several key moments taking place during the Beast Wars. Among them was [[Megatron (BW)/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Megatron]] blasting a stasis-locked Optimus Prime in the face. {{storylink|The Gathering issue 1|The Gathering #1}}

====''Beast Wars: Uprising''====
Seven million years ago, Optimus was already a renowned figure, enough that the ruling triumvirate of the planet [[Master (planet)|Rebirth]] named themselves in honor of the "Once and Future" Prime (though apparently they missed the whole "freedom is the right of all sentient beings" thing). {{storylink|A Brush With Infamy}}

After his attack on Optimus Prime, [[Megatron (BW)/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Megatron]] was thrown out of the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] when [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] activated the ship's defense systems. However, he was not thrown far enough and the Predacon managed to reenter the Ark and blast the Autobot leader, decisively erasing the Maximals from the timeline. {{storylink|A Change to the Agenda}} This had the effect of producing [[Primax 209.0 Gamma|a wildly different timeline]].

Optimus was eventually revived by the Autobots when they arrived to liberate [[Master (planet)|Master]] from [[Decepticon]] hands. They found allies in the native [[Cyberdroid]]s—those [[Optimus (faction)|Optimus]] loyalists who had fought the [[Malignus (G1)|Malignus]] insurgency. Autobots and Cyberdroids liberated the deposed triumvirate of [[Apex (Generations)|Apex]], [[Hi-Q]], and [[Diac]]. Hoping to check the power-mad Galvatron and his three Cyberdroid allies, the Autobot leader was revived and [[Binary bonding|binary-bonded]] himself to three Cyberdroids, including [[Overrun|Surge]], and Apex, who formed his head. Thus empowered, "Triple-Threat Prime" battled Galvatron and his forces across Master in a series of epic conflicts. The Autobots were unsuccessful and were forced to retreat. {{storylink|A Brush With Infamy}}

Optimus died (again) at some point before the 24th century. ''How'' exactly is not stated, but Soundwave noted that the triple-binary bonding process took years off a 'bot's life expectancy. {{storylink|A Brush With Infamy}}

[[Eject (G1)|Eject]] lamented that all the great and famous Cybertronians, including Optimus Prime, were long gone by the time Cybertron was controlled by the [[Builder Assembly]]. {{storylink|Broken Windshields}} The Maximal [[Overshoot]] experienced a series of visions from Cybertron's past after discovering the [[Oracle]], including Optimus Prime launching the ''Ark'' during the Great War. {{storylink|Cultural Appropriation}}

While fighting the Vehicons, Galvatron remarked that Nucleon looked worse than Optimus had ''before'' Apex had replaced what was left of his face. {{storylink|Derailment}}

Ten thousand years in the future, the Transformers of that era were uncertain if "Optimus Convoy" had ever really existed, and most believed him to be a mythological hero of folklore. {{storylink|The Inexorable March}}

===''Universe'' comic===
As the [[Universe War]] began, [[Optimus Primal/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Optimus Primal]] was shown a myriad of Transformers from across all timelines that he could choose to recruit into his [[Child of Primus|Children of Primus]] in the battle against the [[Minion of Unicron|Minions of Unicron]]. One such possibility was a Transformer who was either [[Thunder Clash]] or Optimus Prime, but, regardless, Primal chose [[Depth Charge (BW)|Depth Charge]] and [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] instead. {{storylink|Homecoming (Universe)|Homecoming}}

===''Beast Wars Metals'' manga===
[[File:CheetasManga1.jpg|upright=0.55|thumb|Cheetor, that's Prime's Spark, not a toy.]]
Optimus Prime was blasted into pieces by Dragon Megatron. {{storylink|Beast Wars Metals issue 5|Beast Wars Metals #5}} Fortunately, his spark remained perfectly intact—in the remains of his 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. {{storylink|Beast Wars Metals issue 6|Beast Wars Metals #6}}

===''Transformers Legends'' anthology===
In a reality where the Dinobots consisted of [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]], [[Slag (G1)|Slag]], [[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]], and [[Paddles (character)|Paddles]], Optimus won the latter's admiration, so much so that the Dinobot would spout such things as "by the will of Optimus Prime!" to himself. {{storylink|Paddles (story)|Paddles}}

When Bumblebee, Hound and Spike brought a badly-damaged Starscream back to the Ark, Optimus struggled with the ethical implications of allowing Wheeljack and Ratchet to mess with the Decepticon's logic circuits, but gave them the go ahead. Starscream proved to be amnesic, and Optimus was able to take the opportunity to help him as much as possible, even physically preventing Megatron from retrieving his former lieutenant when Starscream opted to stay with the Autobots. Though Starscream left as soon as he regained his memory, Prime reflected that they'd learned that maybe it was possible to reason with a Decepticon. {{storylink|Redemption Center}}

After passing the Matrix to Ultra Magnus and expiring in the aftermath of the [[battle of Autobot City]], Optimus Prime found himself in [[Maccadam's Old Oil House]]. There he encountered Optimus Primal and another [[Optimus Prime (Armada)|Optimus Prime]] from a [[Unicron Trilogy|different universe]]. Together, the four of them overcame the other Optimus Prime's doubts about his leadership, before returning to their respective time lines. {{storylink|Prime Spark (story)|Prime Spark}}

In [[Dreamwave Generation One continuity|one reality]], while the Autobots were boarding the Ark, Optimus voiced his lack of confidence in his leadership, before welcoming aboard [[Geosensus]], who was incapable of transforming to [[robot mode]]. Four million years later, Prime and [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] found the Ark was under attack and defended it with deadly force. In examining the wreckage of the attackers, they realised that the robot Optimus had destroyed was not a Decepticon but Geosensus, who had forced himself to transform in an attempt to fight off the Decepticons. Though Prime was willing to take the rap, Prowl insisted on covering up the mistake to protect Optimus's image as a leader. {{storylink|Parts}}

When Megatron unleashed the power of a weather machine on the Gulf Coast, Optimus sent out Ratchet to retrieve the damaged [[Sky Spy]] to counteract his foe's new weapon. Ratchet eventually did so, allowing Optimus to destroy the weather machine and thwart the Decepticons' plan. {{storylink|Healers, Fighters, and Transformers}}

===''Cybertron'' comic===
When Vector Prime reminisced on some of the highlights of his multiversal career, he remembered many events involving Optimus Prime. Among these events was Optimus Prime [[The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2|using the Matrix of Leadership]] on the [[Hate Plague]], [[Shockwave (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Shockwave]] [[Prime Time!|taunting a disembodied Optimus Prime]], and [[Megatron (BW)/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Megatron]] [[The Agenda (Part III)|firing on the head of Optimus Prime]], creating a time storm that necessitated Vector Prime's intervention to ensure Optimus Prime's survival. {{storylink|Vector Prime: In the Beginning}}
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===''The Beast Within''===
Having been caught unaware by a surprise attack launched by the Decepticons, Optimus led his troops in a losing battle against their mortal enemies. Though Optimus managed to dispatch a few Decepticons, namely Thrust, whom he punched through the chest, he soon found himself crippled and surrounded by enemy forces. Praying to Primus as the Decepticons readied their weapons, Optimus heard Grimlock calling out to his fellow Dinobots to combine, prompting the Autobot leader to yell out a plead to Grimlock to stop. It was too late, however, and [[Beast (G1)|The Beast]] began rampaging, killing Autobots and Decepticons alike. Taking advantage of the situation nonetheless, Optimus tackled Megatron and began beating on the Decepticon leader. The tide of the battle now shifted, Optimus attempted to reach Grimlock’s consciousness within The Beast so that its mindless carnage could come to a halt. It didn't work. {{storylink|The Beast Within}}

As the battle wore on, Optimus attempted to drive the Autobots too wounded to outrun the Beast themselves to safety, carrying them within his trailer. Jetfire showed up in time to rescue most of his passengers, leaving Optimus to deal with The Beast on his own. Seeing a city coming closer over the horizon, Optimus attempted to reach the Dinobots one last time from within The Beast. As his former troops remained unresponsive, Optimus led The Beast to its doom, blasting it a few more times before leading it to fall into a chasm. Optimus himself was rescued from the fall at the last possible moment by Jetfire’s timely return. As the two of them looked on at the Beast’s inert form, Optimus wondered out loud if their battles would truly ever come to an end. {{storylink|The Beast Within Part 2, Consequences}}
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===Dreamwave ''Generation One'' continuity===
{{notekeepers}}
[[File:Optronix optimus.jpg|left|thumb|What? OPTRONIX is evolving!]]
Optimus Prime started life as '''Optronix''' ''('''Orion''' to his friends)'', {{storylink|Transformers: Hardwired|Hardwired}} a data archivist at the [[Vaults]]. 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 Ancients]] 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. After dispatching a Decepticon assassination squad sent to, well, assassinate him, he ordered the Autobots to prepare to evacuate Cybertron, intending to leave the Decepticons to their own devices. {{storylink|The War Within issue 1|The War Within #1}}

As he and Prowl discussed the wisdom of evacuating, a huge explosion obliterated the [[Forum of Enlightenment]]. Optimus led a team there, realising that the destruction was a message from Megatron. Leaving his team, he ventured underground, encountering [[Shrapnel (G1)|Shrapnel]], who blasted him into a pit. {{storylink|The War Within issue 2|The War Within #2}} Exploring the underground, Prime had a strange vision of a transparent version of himself, which warned that he had to grasp Cybertron's significance. Then he was attacked by [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] and the [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticon]]s, whom he was able to easily best by using the labyrinthine environment to his advantage. He then felt himself led to a confrontation against [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]], and both faction leaders met atop of a bridge, overlooking a deep abyss. [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] blasted the bridge Optimus and Megatron were standing on, plunging them into the chasm. {{storylink|The War Within issue 3|The War Within #3}} Recovering, Prime heard another disembodied voice telling him about Cybertron. Before he could look for a way out, Megatron found him, and informed him about the true nature of the Matrix, telling Optimus how it could be used to power Cybertron's planetary engines, transforming it into a space-faring war-world. This spurred Optimus to fight back, but before long, Megatron took control of the battle, smashing his fist into Prime's chest to get at the Matrix. A blaze of light enveloped the pair, who found themselves abruptly on 20th century [[Earth]]. {{storylink|The War Within issue 4|The War Within #4}}

As Megatron explained that the Matrix was giving them a vision of the future, they witnessed themselves battling on [[Sherman Dam]]. The nature of their surroundings established, Megatron resumed the scheduled beating, but a series of setting shifts ended with Optimus reunited with [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]]. Grimlock handed Prime a [[sword]] and suggested he finish Megatron for good. {{storylink|The War Within issue 5|The War Within #5}} Optimus found Megatron again, engaging him in combat and announcing that he was playing the game by Megatron's rules now—without mercy. Though he did not slay Megatron, he inflicted enough damage onto him to expunge from his memory the visions the Matrix had granted him. A short time later, Optimus joined the other Autobots in attacking the Decepticons who were trying to use Cybertron's planetary engines. Grimlock was finally impressed with Prime. Thanks to the combined efforts of Optimus and Grimlock's squad, the Decepticons were driven away and the engines were destroyed before they could tear the planet apart. Afterwards, Optimus's group arrived back at [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]] to find it destroyed. Optimus announced the Autobots were no longer evacuating the planet and threw away the [[Golden Disk (council)|Golden Disk]] full of the knowledge of his predecessors which the council had given him, saying he would choose his own course. {{storylink|The War Within issue 6|The War Within #6}}

Some time into his role as leader, Optimus Prime disappeared in a [[space bridge]] explosion along with Megatron. {{storylink|Fragmentation (G1)|Fragmentation}} {{storylink|The Age of Wrath}}

{{note|Due to [[Dreamwave Productions|Dreamwave]]'s closure, the end of its''War Within'' series was never published. Years later, [[Simon Furman]] released the unpublished scripts to the final three issues. The following would have taken place in said issues:
After having spent an extended period of time lost on [[Quintessa]], Optimus was returned to Cybertron by the Turbomasters during their efforts to retrieve the similarly lost [[Flash (G1)|Flash]], who he had been drawn into [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]]'s [[Dimensional Interface Assembly]]. {{storylink|The Age of Wrath Pt.5}} Though badly damaged, Optimus led an insurrection against the then Megatron-controlled Cybertron, and succesfully overthrew his enemy from power, all the while thwarting a Quintesson invasion. {{storylink|The Age of Wrath Pt.6}}}}

[[File:DWPrimeDirective1 Sparkplug newspaper.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|The disaster was being drawn by Pat Lee.]]
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 [[Magnificent Seven|seven humans]], including Witwicky patriarch [[Sparkplug Witwicky|Sparkplug]]. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 1|Prime Directive #1}} 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. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 2|Prime Directive #2}} But the ship was destroyed as part of a military conspiracy to take control of the Transformers.

Optimus Prime's body was hauled out of the Arctic Ocean by the US military. While a terrorist organization run by the enigmatic [[Lazarus]] was able to seize control of several of the other Transformers that fell back to Earth, the military worked unsuccessfully to reactivate Prime. They eventually called in Spike Witwicky. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 1|Prime Directive #1}} Spike was forced by the project chief, General [[Robert Hallo]], to use his piece of the Matrix to reactivate Prime. Functional again, Prime used the Matrix to reactivate more of his fallen comrades. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 2|Prime Directive #2}}

The Autobots helped repair a [[Smitco Oil Refinery]] site which the Lazarus-controlled Transformers had attacked. Optimus had no answer for Spikes accusation that the Transformers' presence on Earth was responsible for the destruction. When Megatron's activities at Lazarus's base were spotted by the military, Optimus insisted on the Autobots going in without backup. They discovered Megatron in the middle of a plan to reformat Earth into a new Cybertron using a [[cyber-virus]]. Optimus rejected Megatron's suggestion he should just let it happen, but while the two factions fought, the human military unleashed [[Operation Clean-Up]], dropping a bomb on them. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 3|Prime Directive #3}}

The energy of the explosion absorbed by the virus, the Autobots dug themselves out and set about recovering their fellows whom Megatron had used to power the cyber-virus in its early stages. [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] passed on a message from Megatron — there was a surprise in store for the Autobot leader. Optimus and some Autobots including [[Superion (G1)|Superion]] sped to [[San Francisco]], where Megatron had unleashed [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]]. As Prime battled Megatron, he took time to save three humans who were threatened by falling debris, only for the humans to turn on him. The defeat of Superion turned the tide of the battle against the Autobots. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 4|Prime Directive #4}}

[[File:DWPrimeDirective6 Autobots wanttheirheads.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.66|Optimus sets a [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|trend]].]]
Never one to give up, Optimus managed to down Devastator in return, only to find himself at Megatron's mercy. The Decepticon leader pointed out to him the humans' self-obsessed behavior in the face of the devastation, suggesting the fleshlings were worthless, and the Autobots should join the Decepticons in wiping them out. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 5|Prime Directive #5}} The heroic actions of a team of firefighters and other humans proved to Optimus that the humans were worth saving, and the Autobots delivered a smackdown on the Decepticons. The fight was interrupted by the news that a nuclear missile was inbound, and despite Prime's protests, Superion sacrificed himself intercepting it. Prime recovered from the shock wave to find that the Decepticons had fled. He appealed to Grimlock to return to the Autobot ranks, an offer turned down by the Dinobot. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 6|Prime Directive #6}}

{{charstubfiction|[[The Transformers Trilogy]] ({{storylink|Transformers: Hardwired|Hardwired}} / {{storylink|Transformers: Annihilation|Annihilation}} / {{storylink|Transformers: Fusion|Fusion}})}}

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, and brought a team of [[Triple Changer]]s to apprehend them. As Optimus stared down [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]]'s cannon barrel, he was saved by Grimlock, though he subsequently had to order a retreat. Prowl convinced him to let a small team stay as recon while the others returned to the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] and discussed the change in situation. {{storylink|New World Order}} Though Optimus was puzzled by [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] having fallen in with Shockwave, he had little other choice, and surrendered to Magnus. Despite being bound, he took the first opportunity he got to make his feelings clear. Prime and those of his Autobots who had also surrendered were put on a shuttle back to Cybertron, where Shockwave planned to have them deactivated. {{storylink|Brothers' Burden}}

Stewing in a cell, Optimus blamed himself for their predicament, but he and the Autobots were soon rescued by [[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]] and [[Sandstorm (G1)|Sandstorm]]. Sandstorm and Optimus traveled through Cybertron's [[Old Slave Trails]], only to find themselves ambushed by [[Runabout (G1)|Runabout]], who swiftly killed Sandstorm, and then the Decepticon was attacked by a [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticon]], which lunged at Prime. {{storylink|Cold War (issue)|Cold War}} Prime recovered to find himself in the care of a group of Autobot rebels including [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]], [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] and [[Kup (G1)|Kup]]. Though Optimus lashed out at [[Gnaw (G1)|Gnaw]] upon awakening, the other rebels quickly cleared up the misunderstanding, assuring Prime that the Sharkticon was their ally. They revealed to Optimus that Shockwave had been transmitting subliminal signals to increase Transformer aggression, readying them for war against an unseen foe. At this point, another rebel cell joined up with them with dire news: Shockwave had unleashed the [[Guardian robot|Omega Sentinels]] on Iacon! {{storylink|Passive Aggression}}

Optimus was able to rally Autobot factions from across Cybertron to the cause and launch an all-out attack on Shockwave's fortress. He headed the assault himself, but broke rank when he saw the image of Shockwave blasting Ultra Magnus upon one of the many monitor screens planted around the Decepticon's headquarters. Optimus charged in to confront Shockwave, beating down all opposition along the way. Coming upon Shockwave's throne room, Prime was greeted by Ultra Magnus, who pointed him towards a secret passage through which Shockwave had absconded. Leaving his wounded brother to rest, Optimus barged into Shockwave's secret chambers, only to be overpowered and have the Matrix ripped from his chest. With it, Shockwave was finally able to activate Vector Sigma. {{storylink|Countdown to Extinction (issue)|Countdown to Extinction}} Stalling, Prime listened as Shockwave recounted the history of Cybertron, and eventually Ultra Magnus arrived, having recovered, to attack and defeat Shockwave. Prime and Grimlock helped him escape from the fortress as it crumbled to the ground. With Shockwave's defeat, the Autobots would now be able to start rebuilding Cybertron towards true peace... but Optimus remained troubled by Shockwave's motives; he recognized that Shockwave would not be urged to action by mere fancy. Optimus pondered what greater threat awaited Cybertron for Shockwave to so thoroughly plan for its arrival. {{storylink|Revelation (War and Peace)|Revelation}} The injuries Prime took in this conflict necessitated a prolonged restoration period in stasis. Both he and Ultra Magnus were tended to by Perceptor and Hoist as they recuperated. {{storylink|Generation 1 issue 0|Generation 1 #0}} Though Magnus recovered in due course, Optimus's systems had received a more severe shock due to the Matrix being forcefully removed from his frame. Thus, he needed additional time spent in recovery before he could reboot. {{storylink|Black Sunshine}}

{{note|Due to Dreamwave's bankruptcy, its ongoing stories came to a halt. The following would have taken place in [[Unreleased Dreamwave issues|unpublished issues]].}}
Hot Rod came to visit Optimus while he was still off-line and recovering. {{storylink|Unreleased Dreamwave issues#Issue 11|Generation 1 #11}} Soon afterwards Optimus completed his recovery, and was ready to kick bumper! He faced off against the Quintessons and their Sharkticon enforcers. {{storylink|Unreleased Dreamwave issues#Issue 12|Generation 1 #12}}

{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|Transformers Volume 2 Preview}}}}

===''G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers''===
[[File:GIJoevsTFcobraprime.jpg|275px|thumb|G.1. Joe—the real universal hero!]]
In the early stages of the war, Optimus Prime was an archivist, watching the battles from afar and keeping records of them. This all changed when the [[Matrix of Leadership]] chose him to lead the Autobots in battle. {{storylink|The Art of War issue 2|The Art of War #2}} Shortly after he ascended to Primehood, [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]] tried to kill him, but failed. {{storylink|Black Horizon, Part 1 of 2}}

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 (whom they had nicknamed "[[HISS tank|HISS-14]]") mysteriously failed. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 1|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #1}} Later at Cobra's [[Cobra Island|island headquarters]] in the [[Caribbean Sea|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. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 2|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #2}} 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 (team)|G.I. Joe]] who teamed up with Wheeljack and Bumblebee. After Wheeljack broke the remote control over the Transformers, Prime went after [[Cobra Commander]]. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 3|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #3}} More than a bit frightened of a giant robot gunning for him, the human released Megatron, who was trapped in gun mode. Megatron transformed and fought Prime to a standstill until other Autobots came to back him up. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 4|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #4}}

Although he was weak and low on [[energon]], Prime made a last-ditch effort to save the day when he rammed through the wall of Megatron's energon-producing lab. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 5|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #5}} 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 issue 6|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #6}}

[[File:GIJoevstfIIprime1930s.jpg|left|upright=1.55|thumb|Retro 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]], which led to the computer sending several Transformers to [[Earth]] across different time periods. When Optimus Prime saw Jazz get zapped by Teletran 3, he leapt to rescue his soldier, only to be transported away as well. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II issue 1|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II #1}} A team made up of Joes and Cobra agents were sent back and found Optimus Prime and the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]] 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. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II issue 2|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II #2}}

[[File:Optimus GIJoevsTFsII4.jpg|thumb|upright=1.7]]
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 issue 4|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II #4}}

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. {{storylink|The Art of War issue 1|The Art of War #1}} When the team returned to Cybertron and mysteriously vanished in the [[Gladiator Zone]], Prime was prepared to go search for them, but was convinced by Hot Rod to stay behind and organize a peace ceremony. {{storylink|The Art of War issue 2|The Art of War #2}}

Later, at the peace celebration, Prime was watching a procession of Autobots when Decepticons attacked. Optimus ordered [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] into action but the huge Autobot was quickly overcome by [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]], [[Piranacon (G1)|Piranacon]] and [[Predaking (G1)|Predaking]]. {{storylink|The Art of War issue 3|The Art of War #3}} Prime hopped into the fray, saved a [[Optimus Prime's rescuees|civilian]] from getting smushed by the falling Omega, rode [[Sixshot]] into Piranacon's face, smashed [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] into the ground, and carried a [[Optimus Prime's rescuees|wounded civilian]] out of danger.

[[File:Primevsserpentor.jpg|thumb|left|Serpent O.R. soon realized that "This I command!" doesn't work on Optimus Prime.]]
Menasor cut off Prime's escape and handed him the [[Reflector (G1)|Reflector]] trio, who confronted Prime 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. {{storylink|The Art of War issue 4|The Art of War #4}} 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 [[Paradron Medic|female nursebot]], Optimus went back to finishing his paperwork. A leader's job is never done. {{storylink|The Art of War issue 5|The Art of War #5}}

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 [[Bumblebee (G1)|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]].

[[File:Optimus BlackHorizon2.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3]]
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. {{storylink|Black Horizon, Part 1 of 2}} 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 spore]]s 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 (G1)|Eject]] and Firewall by watching some reality TV, and sighed at the banality. {{storylink|Black Horizon, Part 2 of 2}}

===Dreamwave ''Armada'' comic===
[[File:Wc prime.jpg|thumb|left|What is it with Primes and weak stomachs?]]
After their own [[Optimus Prime (Armada)|Optimus Prime]] disappeared, [[Scavenger (Armada)|Scavenger]] and [[Smokescreen (Armada)|Smokescreen]] discovered an alternate version of Optimus Prime lying unconscious and barely alive in [[Autobase]] Earth. Though [[Red Alert (Armada)|Red Alert]] did what he could, the mysterious Prime reactivated only long enough to utter a cryptic statement about the walls crumbling and the coming of chaos, then died. {{storylink|Worlds Collide, Part 1 of 4}}

[[Unicron]] later explained that he sent the alternate Optimus Prime into their universe as a "calling card": a terrifying warning of his imminent arrival. This was probably to tell the uninitiated that Unicron is a jerk. {{storylink|Worlds Collide, Part 4 of 4}}
{{-}}

===''Transformers/G.I. Joe''===
[[File:Optimus and Bumblebee-Transformed.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|"Insert dramatic hair flip." "Um, Optimus, sir... we don't have hair." "Don't question me, Bumblebee. NEVER question a Prime."]]
Optimus Prime and his troops lay deactivated on the [[Fera Islands]] for three million years until [[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]] stumbled upon them one day in [[1939]]. {{storylink|The Line}} The Autobots were reactivated by a [[Sky Spy|repair drone]] and given new disguises, with Optimus Prime being reformatted into an unknown [[World War II]]-era human vehicle. He explained to [[Duke (G.I. Joe)|Duke]] who they were, and learned that [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]'s Decepticons had been reactivated a year prior, and were currently wreaking havoc on [[Europe]] along with [[Cobra]]. While hesitant at first, Optimus Prime soon joined G.I. Joe in their mission to destroy Cobra and the Decepticons. {{storylink|Transformed}} After commanding the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]] to get the [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]] out of the way, Prime advanced across the Fera Islands, but met resistance in the form of [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]]. {{storylink|Trial by Fire}}

As the Autobots were having trouble with Rumble, Optimus Prime told them try to use his earthquakes to their advantage, which led to the end of the Decepticon. Prime subsequently ordered the Aerialbots to [[Superion (G1)|combine]] and save Grimlock and [[Roadblock (G.I. Joe)|Roadblock]] from falling off a cliff. {{storylink|Wolves}} As they got closer to the Cobra [[Terrordrome]], however, Prime started regretting getting the Autobots involved with the humans' war. He offered to carry G.I. Joe across the water separating them from the Terrordrome, but told them that Autobots only fight if they have no choice, and they had no reason to fight anymore. Moments later, he saw that Cobra were using innocent prisoners as human shields, and Duke added that anyone who Cobra ''didn't'' enslave, they murdered. Filled with righteous anger, Optimus Prime ordered his troops to roll out. {{storylink|Trenches}}

[[File:Optimus punches Megatron-The Iron Fist.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.8]]
Shortly after reaching the other shore and taking out [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]], Prime witnessed the gigantic [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]] bust out of the Terrordrome and attack everything around him. With Superion gone, Prime knew that there was only one way to stop this rampaging monster, and ordered his Autobots to evacuate the humans while he went looking for the [[Matrix of Leadership]]. He soon found that [[Snake-Eyes]] was in possession of the artifact, but was under attack from Megatron. Prime attacked Megatron, keeping him at bay while telling Snake-Eyes that destroying the Matrix would kill Bruticus. The ninja complied, only to learn that Optimus had left something out of the story: smashing the Matrix would kill ''all'' the Transformers, including Prime himself. Looking at the Autobot leader's body, the Joes knew that Prime had been aware of this, and had deemed it a necessary sacrifice to save the humans. {{storylink|The Iron Fist}}

Decades later, in 1986, Duke showed [[Flint (G.I. Joe)|Flint]] and [[Spirit]] footage from the battle of the Fera Islands, including Optimus Prime's fight with Megatron. {{storylink|Targets of Opportunity}}

===''Lil' Jerry''===
Unamused by [[Lil' Jerry]]'s decision to wear the Joe fatigues to BotCon, Optimus stepped on the little guy. {{storylink|Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club issue 6|Lil' Jerry's Big BotCon Adventure}}

===''Mini Mayhem!''===
Optimus Prime was thrown a surprised party to celebrate his role in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]''. He was touched that so many of his super-hero friends had remembered the occasion.

In a celebration of the Transformers brand, Optimus Prime showed up as a representative for the "Generation 1" era of the franchise.

Later, Optimus showed a couple of humans that the Transformers were in the midst of doing something really interesting... they were eating a pie! {{storylink|Mini Mayhem!}}

===IDW Generation 1 continuity===
{{main|Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity}}
[[File:OrionridesSpringarm.jpg|thumb|I'm [[Batman]]!]]
Optimus Prime was originally known as Orion Pax, a police captain from [[Rodion]]. An encounter with a pre-[[Decepticon]] [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] would change the course of his life, teaching him that freedom was not just the right of all "civilised" beings, but of all ''sentient'' beings, and causing him to publicly reclaim the name "Autobot", previously used only at Cybertronians as a derogatory term, before the corrupt Senate.

After the rise of the Decepticons and the death of the merciless [[Zeta Prime]], he became the Prime, and entered what would become a millions-of-years-long war of attrition with the Decepticons, which would lead to the death of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] and the spreading of the Cybertronian civil war far beyond their homeworld in a push for resources. With the end of the war and the emptying of the [[Matrix of Leadership]] to restart [[Vector Sigma]] and rebirth Cybertron, he found himself rejected by the returning civilian population, and - secretly gladly - abdicated his rank and returned to his original name of Orion Pax as he travelled through the galaxy.

Roughly two years later, however, [[Dark Cybertron (IDW)|events]] would force him back into the Autobots. After killing [[Nova Prime]] he proudly retook the mantle of Prime, convinced by Rodimus that he had redeemed it, and euthanized Shockwave saving all of time and space. In the aftermath, he reassumed his role as leader of the Autobots.

===''Hearts of Steel''===
[[File:HeartsofSteel 1 Prime Bumblebee.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|"I keep telling you Bumblebee, the Dinobots will never accept you into their clique!"]]
The Autobots and the Decepticons came to [[Earth|a distant world]] in the grip of an ice age. Assuming [[alternate mode]]s based upon the [[Dinosaur (dinosaur)|dominant (though doomed) indigenous creatures]] of this planet, they continued their [[Ice Age Wars|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. {{storylink|Hearts of Steel issue 1|Hearts of Steel #1}} Optimus lay under the [[Mare Rurek Glacier]]. {{storylink|Infestation 2: The Transformers issue 1|Infestation 2: The Transformers #1}} 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|Hearts of Steel #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}}

[[File:TFInfestation2.2 Optimus Prime vs Elder God.jpg|thumb|upright=1.45|Once again, Optimus steals Rodimus Prime's thunder.]]
When a new threat, the [[Elder God]]s, appeared, a group of Autobots acquired the help of [[Tobias Muldoon]] and [[Nikola Tesla]] to travel to the glacier and waken Prime. {{storylink|Infestation 2: The Transformers issue 1|Infestation 2: The Transformers #1}} Tesla's [[Tesla tower]] wasn't enough on its own, so [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]], [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]], [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailblazer]], and [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] gave energy necessary to recharge Optimus Prime. Optimus awoke and revived the other Autobots with his [[energon]] reserves, before traveling to [[Port Cenotaph]], [[Nova Scotia]] where an Elder God had risen from the sea. Diving into the ocean, Optimus cleaved parts off the Elder God until it and its followers returned to the depths. Though Tobias asked if the creature was dead, Optimus wasn't sure, but promised the Autobots would be there to defend Earth if it ever returned. {{storylink|Infestation 2: The Transformers issue 2|Infestation 2: The Transformers #2}} {{storylink|Infestation 2 issue 1|Infestation 2 #1}}

The Autobots continued to guard humanity in secret for many years, until one day in the 21st century when Ratchet was captured by a human group known as [[Skylogic Systems]]. Upon investigating the organization, Optimus Prime and Bumblebee came into contact with the [[Lone Gunmen]], three humans who were also on Skylogic's tail for their role in creating a dangerous virus. Learning from them that Ratchet's DNA was part of the concoction, the Autobots joined forces with the humans and helped track down [[David Simmons]], the man responsible for releasing the virus. One interrogation later and they had the address to the Skylogic base, though Prime's size prevented him from easily infiltrating the building, so he left the rescue mission up to Bumblebee and the Gunmen. Once Ratchet was saved, the Autobots parted company with their new human friends in an attempt to lure away any Skylogic pursuers. {{storylink|The X-Files: Conspiracy: The Transformers}}
{{-}}

===''Classics'' toy bios===
Optimus Prime appointed [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] to the position of City Commander of Autobot City. {{storylink|Ultra Magnus (G1)/toys#Classics|''Classics'' Ultra Magnus vs. Skywarp toy bio}}

===''Music Label''===
In the year 2007, the Autobots discovered that the Decepticon communications officer [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] was attempting to control the minds of humans through hypnotic music broadcast through a series of tiny clones of himself. Optimus Prime upgraded his trailer with a huge pair of speakers, and proceeded to drive around, broadcasting a counter-frequency that undid the villain's brainwashing. {{storylink|Transformers Music Label}}

{{note|The [[Generation 1 cartoon timeline (Japan)|2007 Takara timeline]] placed the events of the ''[[Transformers Music Label|Music Label]]'' storyline in the [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Generation 1 cartoon continuity]], but Optimus Prime's role in the story is therefore made impossible, as he was dead in that universe in 2007. However, given the way the timeline is unhelpfully laid out, it's not impossible that this adventure may take place not in the mainstream timeline, but in the branched-off parallel dimension of the ''[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity#Binaltech|Binaltech]]'' storyline, where Optimus did not die.}}

===''Lil Formers''===
Upon meeting an [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|alternate-universe version of himself]], Optimus remarked that his [[David Kaye|counterpart's voice]] was somewhat unsettling. {{storylink|Lil Formers}}

===''Henkei! Henkei!'' pack-in manga===
Optimus foiled Megatron's attack on 21st century [[Tokyo]] after informing his old foe that wherever he would pop up, the Autobots would be there to thwart his evil intentions. {{storylink|Henkei! Henkei! volume 1}} Optimus and Bumblebee later intervened when [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] attacked [[Shinjuku Station]], using their bodies to shield nearby humans from the destruction the triple-changer brought about. They were unaware that Astrotrain's rampage was really a distraction staged to keep their attention away from Megatron's gathering of energon cubes nearby. {{storylink|Henkei! Henkei! volume 2}} Optimus continued to do battle against Astrotrain until Rodimus showed up to provide the Autobots with additional firepower. {{storylink|Henkei! Henkei! volume 3}}

At a later time, Optimus Prime helped defend a power plant from a Decepticon attack, this time headed by Starscream and a mind-controlled [[Jetfire (G1)|Skyfire]]. During the battle, Skyfire broke free of Starscream's control, and joined up with Optimus and company to repel the Decepticons. {{storylink|Henkei! Henkei! volume 4}}

Megatron used some of the energon he had previously pilfered to transform himself into Galvatron, and would have killed Prime were it not for Ironhide's timely intervention. Following his defeat, Galvatron reverted into Megatron. {{storylink|Henkei! Henkei! volume 7}}
{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|Henkei! Henkei! volume 11}}}}

===2008 ''Universe'' toy bios===
Optimus Prime put [[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]] in charge of the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbot]]s in part to distract Silverbolt from his fear of heights. {{storylink|Silverbolt (G1)#Universe (2008)|''Universe'' Ultra Class Silverbolt toy bio}}

===''Henkei! Henkei!'' Bun Bun manga===
When the legendary [[Energon Cube]] was lost to the reaches of space, Optimus Prime led a small team of Autobots in pursuit of it. The giant energy source crashed on Earth in the Japanese town of [[Hoshinochō]], where it shattered into fragments that were scattered far and wide. Prime and the other Autobots set up a subterranean base below the Cube's impact crater and began their search for the shards, taking the forms of local vehicles to hide their activities. Despite their attempts at remaining unseen, glimpses of the Autobots only magnified the reputation the crash of the Cube (believed by humans to be a meteor) had given Hoshinochō: that of a hotbed of rumored alien and UFO activity, Japan's answer to [[United States of America|America]]'s Roswell. {{storylink|Kingdom of Giants}}

The Autobots gained a human ally in their quest when they befriended Doctor [[Osamu Kihara]] of the Governmental Special Diplomatic Agency, who provided more assistance than they could have imagined when his son, [[Akira Kihara|Akira]], was discovered to be a "[[Booster]]", one of many legendary beings born with the ability to control and detect the energies of the Energon Cube. Alas, the Decepticons had followed Prime's Autobots to Earth, and [[Megatron (G1)#Henkei! Henkei! Bun Bun manga|Megatron]] sought the boy's powers for his own. To protect Optimus Prime and himself, Akira unleashed the full extent of his powers, driving Megatron back, but causing his body to burn out and disintegrate. Prime was wracked with guilt over what had occurred, and it would haunt him afterward. {{storylink|Time of Resurrection}}

Eleven years after their arrival on Earth, Prime and the Autobots made a new human ally in [[Wataru Hoshinoumi]] when he stumbled into the midst of a battle between Prime's team and [[Starscream (G1)#Henkei! Henkei! Bun Bun manga|Starscream]] and [[Ramjet (G1)#Henkei! Henkei! Bun Bun manga|Ramjet]]. {{storylink|Enter! The Transformers}} When Megatron joined the fight soon after, he held [[Bumblebee (G1)#Henkei! Henkei! Bun Bun manga|Bumblebee]] and Wataru hostage, daring Prime to make a move against him. Prime opened fire, but Megatron merely used the defeated Starscream for a shield, then turned his cannon on the younger duo. Prime unleashed his [[ion blaster]] and apparently deflected the blast with a shot of his own, saving Bumblebee and Wataru and prompting the Decepticons to retreat. {{storylink|The Emperor of Destruction Appears!}}

Prime invited Wataru to visit the Autobots' subterranean base, and he gave the boy a personal tour as he carried the injured Bumblebee to the infirmary. Telling him the story of the Energon Cube and the Autobots' coming to Earth, Prime showed Wataru the large chunk of the cube that they had managed to recover. He then turned his attention to repairing Bumblebee's wounds, and as such, did not notice Wataru reaching out to touch the cube sliver. A bizarre energy discharge resulted that not only showed the Autobots images of [[Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Another Time & Place]], but also healed both Autobots' wounds. Prime dived at Wataru and hauled him away from the shard, returning things to normal, but leaving Prime with grave concerns over what the strange occurrence might mean. {{storylink|Kingdom of Giants}}

When Starscream attacked a power plant with the aid of his brainwashed ally, [[Jetfire (G1)#Henkei! Henkei! Bun Bun manga|Skyfire]], Prime carried [[Grimlock (G1)#Henkei! Henkei! Bun Bun manga|Grimlock]] to the scene of the battle on the back of his truck mode. {{storylink|The Enemy from the Arctic}} During the conflict that followed, Prime's suspicions about Wataru were confirmed when the boy manifested a barrier to protect himself and Bumblebee and to help Skyfire overcome the influence of Starscream's mind-controlling helmet. Wataru was a Booster as well! {{storylink|Wataru's Power}} His past experiences naturally made Prime hesitant to put Wataru's power to use, but Osamu Kihara made the point that Wataru's power was invaluable for hunting down shards of the Energon Cube. Prime and Wataru headed out to investigate a local relic that Kihara suspected was a cube shard, and Wataru's powers soon confirmed the doctor's findings. Just as Prime was about to report back to Kihara, however, Megatron struck, demanding that Prime hand over both the shard and Wataru. Prime attempted to feign ignorance of Wataru's powers, but Megatron ignored his bluff and encouraged him to hand the boy over, lest he cost ''another'' Booster their life. Driven into a rage by the stinging barb, Prime violently attacked Megatron with his energon-axe, but as the duel raged, Megatron continued to question Prime's beliefs and his attitude. Unable to deny Megatron's accusation that he had hoped to use Wataru's power to defeat him, Prime lost his concentration and was taken down by the Decepticon leader. Despite what he had learned about a previous Booster dying, Wataru stayed true to Optimus and activated his powers, healing the Autobot's wounds and powering up his energon-axe into a huge sword. Summoning all his energy, Prime took down Megatron with one almighty slash, then collapsed into [[stasis lock]]. {{storylink|Optimus Prime's Secret}}

Prime was brought back to the Autobot base for treatment, but the Decepticons exploited the Autobots' lack of manpower and struck again before Prime recovered. With his men taking a pummeling, the unconscious Prime had a vision of Akira, who spurred him on to awaken and rejoin the battle. With another power boost from Wataru, Prime unleashed a super-charged shot from his ion blaster that took down the fleeing Decepticons. {{storylink|Time of Resurrection}}
{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|Creation! The New Emperor of Destruction!!}} {{storylink|The Threat of Galvatron}} {{storylink|Revenge (Henkei)|Revenge}} {{storylink|A Nightmare, Once Again}} {{storylink|To the Sea of Stars}}}}

===''Henkei! Henkei! Transformers -Visualize-''===
{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|Visualize Shot 1}} {{storylink|Visualize Shot 4}} {{storylink|Visualize Shot 6}} {{storylink|Visualize Shot 7}} {{storylink|Visualize Shot 10}}}}

===''Alternity''===
[[File:Alternity convoy boxart.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|This might take some getting used to. Hand me the instructions again!]]
In 2007, the Optimus Prime of [[universal stream]] [[Primax 109.0 Beta]] encountered a mysterious messenger from another world: [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity#Alternity|another incarnation of himself]] from [[Primax 903.0 Beta|a parallel dimension]] who left him with a warning. Two years hence, Megatron would bring the terrifying super-dimensional lifeform known as the "Beast of Time", the [[Hytherion]], into their dimension to destroy Earth. The only thing that could battle the Hytherion was the power of the super-evolved multi-dimensional race of Cybertronians known as the [[Alternity]]. Prime agreed that when the danger appeared, he would join the Alternity in the fight.

Sure enough, in 2009, when the Hytherion's colossal claw-marks appeared on planets throughout the solar system, Prime's other-dimensional incarnation returned, bringing with him a "Vibrant Red" Vector 109 [[auto-avatar]] with which Prime fused. In that instant, he was reborn as part of the Alternity, a manifold being who encompassed all the different incarnations of Optimus Prime through the multiverse at once. Prime reached his hands heavenward and peeled back the layers of reality, exposing the gargantuan fanged maw of the Hytherion looming above the Autobots. {{storylink|From Here to Alternity}}

Optimus battled alongside the Alternity to fend off the beast, when unexpectedly, [[Megatron (G1)#Alternity|Megatron]] overwrote the beast's higher functions with his own. At first, it seemed that the Hytherion had been killed, but a newly empowered Megatron (in two bodies) appeared and declared that, now possessing a power that rivaled the Alternity's, he challenged his opponents to take him on or see the multiverse itself burn. {{storylink|To Mega Therion}}

As battles between numerous different Primes and Megatrons erupted quite literally all across time and space, another member of the [[Convoy Aggregate]] was later seen battling [[Starscream (G1)#Alternity|Starscream]], who had been empowered by Megatron to serve as leader of his [[Questor]]s. This Prime was so surprised by Starscream's uncharacteristic sports car alternate mode that he left himself open for a blast from Starscream's Retroactive Nullifer cannon, which erased him from the timestream. As he faded out of existence, Prime responded to Starscream's taunts about the death of the Alternity by telling him that they were already well aware of their prophesied end and were well prepared. {{storylink|Foreshadows}}

Optimus was providing cover-fire for a cross-universal battle when he suddenly seized up. Though he rebooted momentarily, he had terrible news for his Protector allies: using the power of the lower-dimensional [[Planicron]]s, Megatron had succeeded in sundering the Alternity's aggregate! Optimus urged his subordinates to not lose hope however, reassuring them that events were still unfolding within the parameters they had foretold. Sure enough, the battle swayed back in the Autobots' favor when [[Thundercracker (G1)#Alternity|Thundercracker]], disgusted by Megatron's reckless use of their power, freed the Planicrons and robbed Megatron of his most powerful weapon. Optimus then tasked [[Arcee (Energon)|Elita Seven]], [[Nemesis Prime (Universe)|the black Convoy]], and [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] to track down the [[Critias Gate|doorway]] that would allow the Planicrons to ascend to the higher-dimensions, putting them on the path to supersede the Alternity as multiversal protectors. While they attended to this task, the rest of the now-former Alternity busied themselves by destroying Megatron's auto-avatars, weakening the villain and disallowing him from interfering further with the Planicrons' destiny.

After this had all come to pass, the Autobots all returned to their proper place in the multiverse. {{storylink|Alternation}}

{{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)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity#Alternity|here]].}}

===''Robot Heroes'' comic===
[[File:IDW I am Optimus Prime battle.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.66|Adorobots VS. Decepticutes.]]
Optimus Prime was given the Matrix by [[Primus]] himself, and used to be friends with Megatron. Prowl is his closest friend and Ratchet is his oldest. Searching for Energon, the Autobots landed on Earth, but were followed by the Decepticons. With the help of their human allies, they bested their foes, and knowing they would return, decided to stay and wait to defend the planet once more. Optimus Prime was proud to be an Autobot. {{storylink|I Am Optimus Prime (Robot Heroes)|I Am Optimus Prime}}
{{-}}

===''Universe'' cartoon===
{{voiceactor|[[Ron Hayden]] (English)}}
[[File:Actionblast1matrix.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.4|Anyone with a history of seizures should leave the room now.]]
Optimus Prime narrated the events of what happened before the Ark crashed on Earth. He became the new leader of a long line of Autobot leaders via the discovery of the Matrix. On their quest for more Energon, the Autobots were chased by Decepticons to the planet known as Earth and crashed on it. When they emerged from the Ark, Optimus Prime scanned his truck altmode, stating that the war would not end on Earth. {{Storylink|Action Blast 1}}

[[File:FfE Optimus Prime Cyclonus.JPG|thumb|upright=1.4|Don't get distracted by your own fist Cyclonus! Do you WANT to lose your face?]]
Both Optimus Prime and Bumblebee raced down a street in an unknown desert while having an argument about Energon. He ordered Bumblebee to scan the surroundings to find the location where the Decepticons were hiding, and to be careful for possible scouts. When Bumblebee noted what the Decepticons were doing, Prime speculated that they might be planning to convert the energy into Energon, and ordered Bumblebee to create a diversion. While Bumblebee and Cyclonus fought, Prime made a surprise attack and took out Cyclonus with his Ion-axe, before turning his attention to Megatron. When both Decepticons fled, Prime told Bumblebee they'd done a good job (in front of a burning Gas station), and both Autobots got back on the move. {{storylink|Fight for Energon}}
{{-}}

===''United''===
Millions of years ago, Megatron thought Optimus Prime to be forever vanquished. He was proven wrong when the Autobot leader rushed into battle against the Decepticons in a surprise attack. In the ages that followed, Megatron and Optimus would battle time and again, often upgrading themselves into new bodies. {{storylink|A New Battle!}}

At some point, [[Darkside Optimus Prime (United)|Darkside Optimus Prime]] was born out of the darkness in Optimus Prime's mind. {{storylink|Darkside Optimus Prime (United)|''United'' Darkside Optimus Prime toy bio}}

After the Autobot [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]]s and [[Targetmaster (technology)|Targetmaster]]s successfully retrieved a cure for a deadly nano-virus from the planet [[Nebulos|Nebulon]], Optimus Prime commended them for their heroic efforts in a ceremony. {{storylink|The Fierce Fighting on Planet Nebulos}}

In response to attacks by Decepticons pretending to be Autobots, Optimus Prime took on a black color scheme to infiltrate the Decepticons. {{storylink|Optimus Prime (G1)/toys#UnitedBlack|''United'' Black Optimus Prime toy bio}}

===''Unit:E'' comic===
Upon approaching the planet [[Earth]], the artificial intelligence [[Synergy]] presented footage of the Autobots to her crew-mate, the young [[Microman|Acroyear]], so that he could learn about his potential allies and enemies on the alien world. Optimus Prime could be seen ordering Bumblebee onward on one of Synergy's view-screens. {{storylink|Unit:E (issue)|Unit:E}}

===''BeCool'' shorts===
{{voiceactor|[[Kōichi Toshima]] (Japanese)}}
'''Trailer''' (トレーラー ''Torērā'') was often sleepy, but was the strongest of the BeCools. He could carry stuff in his trailer. {{storylink|The Self-Introduction Chapter}} When Trailer came across a traffic jam, he crashed into the BeCools holding him up, forcing them to transform into robot mode and realize they could just walk past the jam. {{storylink|The Story of the Surprising and Big Traffic Jam!}} When the same bunch of BeCools were stuck before a hole, Trailer selflessly used his body to act as a bridge for the other BeCools. [[Bumblebee (G1)|Yellow Sports Car]] was so inspired by his heroism that he offered to fill the hole so that Trailer could pass through. Trailer did so and sped away, leaving Yellow Sports Car in the hole. {{storylink|The Story of Mister Trailer's Big Success!}}

In the forest, Trailer observed the lost [[Powerglide (G1)|Red Jet]] and Yellow Sports Car. He wondered why Red Jet didn't just fly out. {{storylink|The Story of the Lost Plane!}} Trailer later played in the ''Quiz! BeCool'' show with [[Megatron (G1)|Tank Lorry]] on his team. The two's answer fumbling and arguments led them to lose the game. Another BeCool, '''Garbage Truck''' (清掃車 ''Seisōsha''), was part of one question. {{storylink|The Story of Quiz! BeCool}} While Yellow Sports Car was explaining BeCool marks to [[you]], Trailer was asleep in his Trailer Base, appropriately displaying his "Zzz..." BeCool mark. {{storylink|The Story of What Do I Know About the BeCool Mark?}}

Garbage Truck was doing his job when he accidentally left a [[banana]] peel on the road. This had catastrophic consequences, with Yellow Sports Car slipping on it and causing a traffic accident. {{storylink|The Story of Protecting the Signal!}}

Trailer took up a job with the fire brigade, hoping to earn some work experience. When they spotted Yellow Sports Car screaming for help on a burning building, they rescued him, only for the whole thing to be revealed as part of the filming of a movie. Garbage Truck witnessed the whole thing. {{storylink|The Story of the Fire Brigade Dispatch!}}

===''Transformers vs. G.I. Joe''===
Before his death, Alpha Trion bequeathed unto Optimus Prime the Matrix of Leadership. {{storylink|Everybody Hates Metroplex}}

[[File:FormFollowsFunction-extradimensionaloptimus.jpg|thumb|right|250px]]
Optimus became the leader of the Autobots for a time, then disappeared, leaving his people to be ruled tyrannically by Megatron.{{storylink|Targetmasters (issue)|Targetmasters}} Megatron never stopped seeking out his old foe, rewarding any of his troops that provided him with information that could lead to Optimus's whereabouts. {{storylink|The Golden Boys}} As for the Autobots, they were uncertain exactly as to why Optimus had disappeared; some believed Optimus had simply abandoned his troops, while other believed he was fulfilling some greater purpose and would return to them in their hour of need. Ultimately, it was [[Snake-Eyes]] and [[Duke (G.I. Joe)|Duke]] who found the Autobot leader, lost in the void between dimensions. {{storylink|Form Follows Function}} There, the three of them became ensnared by the [[Quintesson]]s. They escaped the extra-dimensional entities' mind-probe and made their way back to normal space. En route, Optimus learned from Duke that Bumblebee had traveled to Earth and met his demise there. His human companions went off to help their friends on Cybertron, while Optimus headed for [[T.H.E. P.I.T.]] on Earth, eviscerating numerous [[Coltonbolt]] satellites as he entered the atmosphere. {{storylink|Everybody Hates Metroplex}}

[[File:EverybodyHatesMetroplex-optimusreturns.jpg|thumb|left|250px]]

Within G.I. Joe's headquarters, Optimus found [[Doctor Venom]] controlling a robotic suit made out of the remains of both Bumblebee and Soundwave. The battle between him and the Joes spilled out into the open and into another battle, where Decepticobra was attacking the United Nations. As more factions joined the brawl, Optimus yanked Bumblebee's components free from Soundwave's body and took to the skies, back to Cybertron. {{storylink|Expelled from the Garden}} There, he was able to reunite Bumblebee's body with his head. {{storylink|Headmasters (issue)|Headmasters}}

Megatron came upon Optimus and challenged his old foe to a duel. Optimus managed to gain the upper hand, but hesitated to deliver the killing blow when he discovered that Megatron had married the Matrix to his spark, corrupting it. Several Decepticons then swarmed Optimus, allowing Megatron to blast a hole through his chest. Dead and defeated, Optimus plummeted down into the bowels of Cybertron. {{storylink|Pax Megatronus}} Rodimus and Duke travelled far beneath Cybertron, where they discovered Ultra Magnus- the Autobot god of death -carrying Optimus's body away. {{storylink|Earth: R.I.P.}}

On another plane of existence, Optimus travelled the path to the Matrix, guided by the voice of his old mentor Alpha Trion. The path led him to Grimlock, who had also been killed by Megatron; Prime rescued Grimlock from Kremzeek, the demonic eater of souls. At the gateway to the great beyond, they encountered Bludgeon, who announced that only those who bore the "key to Vector Stigmata" may pass through. Prime realized that the wounds on his body form the key, but the angel insisted that these would grant Prime access. Prime took Grimlock's sword and bestowed the key on Grimlock, allowing the former Autobot King to ascend into the Matrix while Prime stayed behind. {{storylink|Transformers vs. G.I. Joe issue 12|Transformers vs. G.I. Joe #12}}

[[File:TheWarNeverEnds-returnofoptimusprime.jpg|thumb|right|175px]]

Scarlett later used the Brainwave Scanner to contact Optimus's spirit and guide him back to the mortal realm. In the physical world, Ultra Magnus challenged Megatron to a duel on a Dyson sphere surrounding the sun. The Autobot god had not ferried Optimus to the afterlife - he had merely repaired Optimus's body by taking it into himself. During the climatic duel, he allowed Optimus to burst free from within his armor. The reborn Optimus punched Megatron into the sun, then turned his attention to reclaiming the stolen Matrix from the Decepticons. After [[Atlas (G1)|Atlas]] defeated the maddened Primus, Optimus healed Snake-Eyes' injuries. Optimus then turned his attention to returning Primus/Cybertron to its regular orbit. As the planet left the solar system, he departed aboard the ''[[Ark II|Ark 2]]'' alongside a crew of Joes and Autobots, in the hopes of contacting the Makers. {{storylink|The War Never Ends}}

{{-}}
===''Transformers: All Spark''===
{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|Another Episode, Part 1}} {{storylink|Another Episode, Part 2}} {{storylink|The Fated Rival, Once Again...}} {{storylink|To Earth}} {{storylink|Reunion and Parting}} {{storylink|Plans of the Emperor of Destruction}} {{storylink|Revenge (All Spark)|Revenge}} {{storylink|The False Power}} {{storylink|Ray of Hope}} {{storylink|Great Aspirations}} {{storylink|Conclusion}}}}

===''Q-Robo Transformer''===
{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|Q-Robo Transformer}}}}

===''Transformers GT: Mission GT-R''===
In a world where the Transformers' war settled into a series of friendly competitive races known as the [[Transformers GT]], Optimus Prime became the [[GT Transformer]] known as '''GT-R Prime'''. As a racer he was known for his serious but sometimes hot-blooded personality and his skillful use of the [[Impact Wrench Gun]], though he maintained an honorable policy never to fire directly at an opposing racer's body. Like other racers, GT-R Prime put a limit on his own strength by separating his Matrix into a [[GT Sister]], creating his partner [[Misaki]].

====Comic====
GT-R Prime was racing against [[Star Saber (Victory)|GT-R Saber]] and [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|GT-R Maximus]] when they were rudely interrupted by [[Megatron (G1)|GT-R Megatron]], a ruthless racer out to prove his worth by defeating all others. A fight broke out, but Prime interrupted it and convinced Megatron that they all shared the same need for speed, persuading him to settle things with a race instead. {{storylink|Transformers GT: Mission GT-R (comic)|Transformers GT: Mission GT-R}}

====Story pages====
Though Optimus was a master marksman, he had a personal policy against shooting directly at his opponents' bodies during his races. In one such race, he allowed his rival to take the lead so that he could use his favorite weapon, the [[Impact Wrench Gun]], to blast the road beneath the other racer's feet, causing him to lose his balance. {{storylink|Transformers GT: Mission GT-R (story page)|Transform in a gust!}} When GT-R Megatron burst onto the scene, roaring that all previous races had failed to "ignite his warrior's spark," Optimus readied to give him the race of a lifetime. {{storylink|Transformers GT: Mission GT-R (story page)|GT-R Megatron Attacks!}} Like other racers, GT-R Prime attended photo shoots alongside Misaki in order to promote coexistence between humans and Transformers. {{storylink|Transformers GT: Mission GT-R (story page)|The Work of the GT Sister Race Queens?}} When a reincarnated [[Unicron]] attacked the Transformers GT finals and absorbed the huge [[energon]] pool saved up for the final prize, Prime restored his true power by using the "Matrix In" process to recombine with Misaki. Together with the other powered up racers, he fought and defeated Unicron, saving the Earth. {{storylink|Transformers GT: Mission GT-R (story page)|The True TFGT}}

===''Construct-Bots'' cartoon===
Optimus Prime came upon [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] attacking [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]], and so rear-ended the [[Decepticon]]. The impact caused Megatron's parts to come off his chassis. Optimus claimed these components for himself. {{storylink|Toys & App TV Commercial}}

Optimus and Bumblebee snuck into the Decepticons' base, and found their enemies upgrading themselves with [[Autobot]] parts. The pair took offense to this, and Bumblebee set about sabotaging the process. Megatron wound up tripping on some gumballs thanks to the Autobot's mucking about, and Optimus congratulated his fellow Autobot on a prank well done! {{storylink|Intro!}}

Optimus later helped Bumblebee put his parts back on his bare chassis. During the dress-up, Bumblebee managed to accidentally swallow his Autobot badge. Fortunately, Bumblebee managed to soon cough it back out. Unfortunately, Bumblebee then proceeded to sing out of tune, annoying Optimus. {{storylink|Bumblebee Speaks!}}

On another occasion, Optimus got a little carried away with strapping new parts onto Bumblebee. The final piece he attached to the yellow 'bot was a rocket, which activated and sent Bumblebee wheeling through the air. Bumblebee eventually came crashing back down, and Optimus slowly backed away out of embarrassment. {{storylink|Strength!}}

===''Cloud''===
[[File:Cloud Optimus Prime.jpg|thumb|]]

At one time, Optimus Prime worked alongside Megatron, bringing order throughout dimensions with the power of [[SARA]]. But Megatron was ambitious, and sought to use SARA's power for his own ends. Optimus saved Metropolis from Megatron's rebellion, and the Autobots banished Megatron from [[Metropolis]]. Optimus Prime remained behind as the leader of the [[Autobot]]s. {{storylink|Fate}} As head of the space-time guardians residing in [[Cloud World]]'s Metropolis, he was a valiant and powerful leader who commanded the utmost respect from his subordinates. Optimus Prime stood for peace and freedom for all sentient beings in all of time and space. His sense of responsibility in this regard was a bit too great for his own good, as it often left him worrying about things outside of his control.

His weapon of choice was a powerful [[ion blaster]] that transformed into a back-mounted energy unit used to control his movement between dimensions.

Optimus was checking up on the Autobots' ongoing energy collecting campaign when Wheeljack informed him that a disturbance in [[Duel on the Asteroid|Sector 33HM]] of space-time would eventually cause major problems in its time-stream. Optimus assigned the investigation of this disturbance to Bumblebee, then noted that [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rodimus]] had not completed his latest report, communications with the young Autobo having been lost while he was on his own mission. With a brief inspirational speech, he urged his subordinates to redouble their efforts in maintaining harmony throughout reality. Little did Optimus suspect that in his own universe, Megatron was planning a coup against the Autobots... {{storylink|Uprising (Cloud)|Uprising}}

The Decepticons' initial strike came abruptly and brutally, devastating entire districts of Metropolis. Optimus was meeting with Hot Rodimus as this took place, and was nearly overcome with grief when Ratchet informed him of the carnage the Decepticons had wrought. Steeling himself, Optimus coordinated the city's defenses, ordering his troops to be dispatched where they were most needed to repel the invasion. Upon spotting an old enemy on one of the nearby monitors, Optimus geared up to go in the field himself. Arming himself with his favorite pistol, Optimus resolved to take down Megatron. {{storylink|Raid}}

Optimus confronted his archenemy on the battlefield, though he had to knock Starscream aside to get to him first. Due to a nearby explosion that rocked the battlefield, Optimus nearly lost both his stance and his head when Megatron took advantage of the opening. But Optimus's quick reflexes allowed him to shift to vehicle mode and back, dodging Megatron's attack and striking back in the process. As the battle raged on, both combatants found themselves evenly matched. Then Ratchet contacted Optimus with dire news; the Decepticons had managed to abduct SARA! {{storylink|Fate}}

In shock over the news, Optimus could do little more than scream in agony as Megatron and Starscream made their escape. After regaining his senses, the Autobot leader resumed contact with Ratchet, relaying the order that all Autobots were to return to base. There, Optimus tried his best to calm his panicking subordinates. Though he assured them that power reserves would allow their civilization to continue functioning for some time, they remained jittery. Optimus then declared that he would spearhead a counter-invasion of the Underground. Still, the Autobots remained uncertain, with [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] pointing out that the Underground was not only vast and dangerous, but mostly unmapped as well. Taking full responsibility for SARA's abduction onto himself, Optimus suggested that he venture to the Underground alone and track SARA's energy signature. Hot Rodimus, however, was unwilling to allow his leader to take such a dangerous course of action, and volunteered to join him. The rest of the Autobots, finding their courage at last, followed suit. Moved by their devotion, Optimus accepted. He also thanked Hot Rodimus for calling out his foolishness, as Optimus now recognized that he would have made an even greater mistake by diving headlong into a doomed venture. Brawn approached Optimus next, insisting he join the group. Optimus at first refused, as Brawn had gotten badly injured during the invasion, but was convinced by the minibot's resolve. Once they were ready, Optimus issued the order to his Autobots... ROLL OUT! {{storylink|Resolve}}

The Autobots tracked SARA's energy signature to a decrepit old building. While a team headed by [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] stormed the building's main floor as a distraction, Optimus, Hot Rodimus and Brawl infiltrated its basement covertly. Coming upon the Decepticons' inner sanctum, they found Megatron having already wired SARA into his own body! Horrified by this development, Optimus demanded to know what Megatron was planning to do. The true extent of Megatron's megalomania was then revealed; the Decepticon leader planned to use SARA's energy to become ruler of all space-time, even if it meant destroying his home dimension in the process. Both Hot Rodimus and Brawn were knocked aside by Megatron in short order, leaving Optimus with no back-up and few options. Deciding he needed to take down Megatron, even at the cost of his own life, Optimus transformed to vehicle mode and rammed the Decepticon. He then lost consciousness...

Optimus awakened to the sound of [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]]'s voice. Taking in his surroundings, he noted that he was now in an organic forest, surrounded by unfamiliar Cybertronians. It soon dawned on him that he had been transported to the dimension where Megatron had intended to begin his conquest: the [[OG World]]. The 'bots surrounding him were the local counterparts to his own Autobots, including his own doppelgänger! The locals informed him that they had found him thanks to the help of his "companion," a small robotic girl. Before Optimus could puzzle out who this humanoid was, the group came under attack by the local Megatron. Though badly injured, "Cloud Optimus Prime" had the strength to fight alongside "G1 Optimus Prime" against the Decepticons, and protect the girl that had brought the Autobots to him. During the fight, blasts from both Primes' rifles collided with a blast from Megatron's fusion cannon, knocking all of the combatants down. Cloud Optimus Prime ensured that the girl was safe before before his attention was drawn to the horizon by a familiar voice. It was "Cloud Megatron," who had also survived his inter-dimensional trip, and had come to continue his fight against his nemesis. {{storylink|Leap}}

{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|Rampage (Cloud)|Rampage}} {{storylink|Crisis (Cloud)|Crisis}} {{storylink|Transfiguration}} {{storylink|Showdown (Cloud)|Showdown}} {{storylink|Encounter}} {{storylink|Hammer (Cloud)|Hammer}} {{storylink|Return}} {{storylink|Awakening (Cloud)|Awakening}} {{storylink|Wandering}} {{storylink|Eagerness}} {{storylink|Lightwave}} {{storylink|Metamorphosis (Cloud)|Metamorphosis}} {{storylink|Overwhelm}} {{storylink|Concealment}} {{storylink|Struggle}} {{storylink|Fury (Cloud)|Fury}} {{storylink|Transcendence}} {{storylink|TFC-A01}} {{storylink|TFC-A03}} {{storylink|TFC-A04}} {{storylink|Transformers Cloud (issue)|Transformers Cloud}} {{storylink|Legends Comic: Bonus Edition Vol. EX (Deadlock)|Bonus Edition Vol. EX}}}}

===''Transformers × Evangelion''===
{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|Mode "Eva" chapter 1}} {{storylink|Mode "Eva" chapter 2}} {{storylink|Mode "Eva" chapter 3}} {{storylink|Mode "Eva" chapter 4}}}}

===''Angry Birds'' comic===
[[File:ABTF1 Optimus+HeatwavevsShockwave.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.5]]
Optimus and his Autobots were aboard the Ark, on the run from the Decepticons. With him, Optimus had what Megatron was forever seeking; the [[AllSpark]]! With the ship taking heavy damage from the Autobots' pursuers, Optimus ordered Jazz to take them into an emergency quantum jump. Jazz informed Prime that the jump would take longer to initiate than the time the Decepticons would need to board their vessel. As such, Optimus entrusted the AllSpark to Bumblebee while he and the rest of the bridge crew steeled themselves to hold off their enemies. Thanks to Starscream breaking rank in the Decepticons' formation, Optimus was able to hold back Megatron, and with [[Heatwave (G1)|Heatwave]]'s help, repel them from the ship just as it initiated the quantum jump. However, at that moment the AllSpark tumbled off-ship, falling into the quantum tunnel and seemingly being lost for good... {{storylink|Angry Birds Transformers issue 1|Angry Birds Transformers #1}}

Optimus led the search for the AllSpark through space, but he and his troops were unable to locate the artifact. Though the search seemed hopeless, Optimus assured the others that they would not give up until Cybertron's last hope for survival was found... At that moment, a [[Minion Pig|strange green pig]] crashed through one of the ship's windows, with the AllSpark in tow. Optimus stared in bewilderment at the strange creature as it asked for a ride back [[Piggy Island|home]]. {{storylink|Hard Boiled}}

===''Transformers Legends'' comic===
A truck at [[Transformers Celebration 2014]] opened its trailer to reveal a large, speaking bust of Optimus Prime, much to [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]]'s nostalgic pleasure. {{storylink|Legends Bonus Vol.}} Another statue of Prime appeared at a ''[[Q-Transformers]]'' event at the Decks Tokyo Beach shopping center. {{storylink|Deckss × Q-Transformers Collaboration Event Report|Deckss x Q-Transformers}}

===''Combiner Wars'' toy bios===
[[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]]'s legendary status was exceeded only by the legendary status of Optimus Prime. {{storylink|Ultra Magnus (G1)/toys#Generations|''Combiner Wars'' Ultra Magnus toy bio}} Upgraded with the power of combination, Optimus could combine with any bots to form [[Ultra Prime]]. {{storylink|Optimus Prime (G1)/toys#Combiner Wars|''Combiner Wars'' Optimus Prime toy bio}} With mastery over the power of Combiners, the combined courage of Optimus and the Autobots would stop the Decepticon Combiners threatening cities and entire civilizations. {{storylink|Optimus Prime (G1)/toys#BattlelCoreOP|''Combiner Wars'' Battle Core Optimus Prime toy bio}}

===Ask Vector Prime===
In [[Primax 092.0 Beta]], Optimus Prime was a student of [[Hyperdrive (Turbomaster)|Hyperdrive]] at the [[Cybertron Elite Guard|Elite Guard]] academy before the Great War. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime#Facebook|Ask Vector Prime, 2015/07/16}}

Some time later, Optimus, now called Star Convoy, and [[Hot Rod (G1)#Fire Rodimus|Fire Rodimus]] formed Supernova Convoy to vanquish [[Dark Nova|Star Giant]] and [[Megatron (G1)|Ultra Megatron]]. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime#Facebook|Ask Vector Prime, 2015/08/15}}

Later on, Optimus, now called Optimus again, defeated the returned [[Nucleon (substance)|nucleon]]-empowered Megatron, subsequently retiring from leader of the Autobots and passing on the [[Matrix of Leadership]] to Hyperdrive. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime#Facebook|Ask Vector Prime, 2015/07/16}}

===General Optimus===
[[File:GeneralOptimusPrime-CMW.jpg|thumb|right|upright=2.0|"You magnificent bastard, ''I read [[Towards Peace|YOUR BOOK!]]''"]]

General Optimus Prime hailed from [[Primax 096.0 Beta]]. {{Storylink|Ask Vector Prime#Facebook|Ask Vector Prime, 2015/09/06}} During the [[Great War (G1)|third Cybertronian war]], {{storylink|Optimus Prime (G1)/toys#Timelines|General Optimus Prime profile card}} he fought on Earth against [[Megatron (G1)/toys#ATB|Megatron]]: in the Battle of [[Sherman Dam]], the two fought directly but the battle would have gone against the Autobots if not for the arrival of the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]]. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime#Facebook|Ask Vector Prime, 2015/09/06}} In the latter stages of the war, he upgraded himself with heavier armor and weaponry in order to match Megatron's flight and combination upgrade.

At the final battle against the [[Decepticon Empire|Decepticon Star Empire]] on [[Mirtonia]], Prime and his [[Firestormer|Firestormer Squadron]] emerged victorious, though the battle concluded with an experimental energon refinery exploding and blasting the General and [[Hound (G1)|Sergeant Hound]] out of their own reality into [[Nexus 208.0 Epsilon]].

In [[Axiom Nexus]], General Optimus Prime found himself inducted into the [[Convoy (group)|Convoy]], a group of Optimus Primes and their kin dedicated to safeguarding the [[multiverse]]. While the other Convoy members tended to stay in the upper reaches of Axiom Nexus, the General was able to use his unusual appearance for an Optimus Prime to venture in the Offworlder zones without suspicion, a great help to [[Axiom Nexus Security Administration|Offworlder Zone Security Administration]] Commander [[Cheetor (TransTech)|Cheetor]]. The General was also assisted in his new mission by his longtime scout, Sergeant Hound. {{storylink|Optimus Prime (G1)/toys#Timelines|General Optimus Prime profile card}} {{storylink|Hound (G1)/toys#Timelines|Sgt. Hound profile card}}

When Sergeant Hound apprehended a criminal going by the name "[[Megatron (Movie)|C-81]]", rumors that the prisoner was in reality a "Megatron" that had gotten past the TransTechs' security procedures piqued General Optimus Prime's interest. Though Cheetor assured him that it was impossible for a "Megatron" to have been allowed in Axiom Nexus, the General's concerns did not fade. More pressing concerns took over, however, when the entirety of Axiom Nexus, and nearly all of the TransTechs suffered a sudden shutdown due to a surge in the Global Net. General Optimus Prime tasked [[Bruticus (RID)|Bruticus]] with keeping guard over the prison while he and Hound went to investigate the source of the surge, the planet's core.

When Optimus and Hound eventually made their way there, they found that C-81 and his gang of criminals had escaped prison and were combating the [[Waruder]] soldiers responsible for the planetary shutdown. Optimus mistakenly assumed that C-81 and his goons were there on purpose, and joined them in fending off the invaders. They were soon joined by [[Burn Out]] and [[Lift-Ticket (Diaclone)|Lift-Ticket]], who informed the Cybertronians that they had stumbled across the Waruders' main hive. Lift-Ticket explained the Waruders could be repelled if he managed to get a sample of the hive's venom. Optimus was willing to go along with Lift-Ticket's dangerous plan, despite C-81's skepticism. However, the battle came to an end when C-81 managed to grab a hold of the Waruders' [[Beet-Chit|leader]], and forced the bug into peaceful negotiations. Optimus agreed to allow the Waruders to migrate to another Cybertron via C-81's illegal interuniversal gate, in exchange for a venom sample that would be used to create an anti-toxin to revive the TransTech. The General nonetheless impounded C-81's gate afterwards, though he did let the criminals "slip away" as thanks for their part in thwarting the Waruder invasion.

General Optimus Prime later attended a meeting of the Convoy held by [[Starscream (TransTech)|Starscream]]. There, he assured the others present that he had been mistaken about the rumored Megatron's identity. Starscream was convinced, but the rest of the Convoy were savvy to the truth. The other Optimuses supported General Optimus Prime's decision, stating that if C-81 had earned the General's trust, that was good enough for the rest of them. Optimus was later seen hanging out with [[Spy-Eye (Diaclone)|Spy-Eye]] on his off-time. {{storylink|Cybertron's Most Wanted}}

General Optimus Prime led the Convoy in a raid on [[Alpha Trion (SG)|Alpha Trion]]'s old laboratory, which had more recently been appropriated by [[Cy-Kill (GoBots)|Cy-Kill]]. Though the terrorists were gone, the Convoy recovered the long-lost sparks of [[Blackarachnia (TransTech)|Blackarachnia]], [[Nightscream (TransTech)|Nightscream]], and [[Immorticon (TransTech)|Immorticon]]. {{storylink|Rook - Axiom Nexus News: Investigative Journalist|Rook - Axiom Nexus News, 2015/12/02}}

[[Hawk (G.I. Joe)|General Hawk]] stated in an interview that his typical transportation in Axiom Nexus was his Convoy colleagues. As the seats of General Optimus Prime's vehicle mode were manufactured at the same location as the [[VAMP]]s of his universe, Hawk was able to find a degree of familiarity in the strange world of Axiom Nexus. {{storylink|Andromeda - Axiom Nexus News Reporter|Andromeda - Axiom Nexus News, 2016/05/01}}

===e-HOBBY comics===
Optimus was leading his troops against a Decepticon assault when the dimensional intruder [[Grand Scourge]] dropped in via a rip in space-time. Optimus was taken aback by the new arrival's resemblance to himself, and could do little more than stare in bafflement as Grand Scourge forcefully combined with four of the Stunticons while Motormaster fled in terror. While Superion attempted to deal with the now-enhanced Grand Scourge, a [[SARA|disembodied voice]] informed Prime that Grand Scourge was a fiend who hunted down Matrix-bearers throughout the multiverse. Although Optimus had difficulty wrapping his head around the whole scenario, he vowed not to go down without a fight. {{storylink|Decepticon Dark Commander Grand Scourge}}

===''Of Masters and Mayhem''===
In one Universe, Optimus led his Autobots against Megatron's Decepticons until the Cybertronian civil war led to the creation of the monstrous combiner [[Thunder Mayhem]]. Thunder Mayhem turned on his masters, ultimately leading to him rampaging across Cybertron. {{storylink|History}}

{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|The Toxic Transformer}}}}

===''Combiner Wars'' cartoon===
{{voiceactor|[[Jon Bailey]] (English)}}
[[File:TheDuel Windblade and Optimus Prime.jpg|thumb|275px|My ax belongs to your... hey, I should totally try [https://my.ax-semantics.com/#/login MyAX].]]
Coming to the dire realization that the war against the Decepticons had become a never-ending arms race, Optimus Prime challenged Megatron to single-combat, with their troops acting as witnesses to their terrible and final clash. The battle between both faction leaders ended with Megatron beaten down and goading Optimus into delivering the kill shot...

Optimus later found himself a wanderer, no longer leader of the Autobot forces. While traveling through Cybertron's barren wastes, he reminisced on his pivotal duel against his archenemy. {{storylink|Prelude to Transformers: Combiner Wars - Optimus Prime}}

{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|The Fall}} {{storylink|The Council}} {{storylink|The Duel}} {{storylink|Unforgotten}} {{storylink|Homecoming (CW)|Homecoming}} {{storylink|A War of Giants}} {{storylink|Darkest Hour (CW)|Darkest Hour}} {{storylink|Destruction's Dawn}}}}

===''Titans Return'' marketing material===
[[File:HasbroPulse TitansReturn PowermasterOPArt.jpg|right|thumb|250px|]]

When the long-lost [[Titan Master]]s reemerged into modern society and joined the Autobot-Decepticon war, the Optimus Prime was partnered with the Titan Master [[Hi-Q|Apex]], who carried a portion of Prime's spark, boosting the legendary commander's already formidable abilities. {{storylink|Optimus Prime (G1)/toys#Titans Return|''Titans Return'' Apex/Powermaster Optimus Prime toy bio}} On [[Velocitron]], Optimus Prime was present for the biggest race of the year when [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] and [[Squeezeplay (G1)|Crashbash]] arrived and attempted to botnap [[Haywire|Hyperfire]]. Optimus ordered [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime]] and [[Hardhead (G1)|Hardhead]] to battle against them. Later, Optimus was part of a battle on Cybertron against [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]]. During the battle, the Autobots' base [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] transformed to thwart the Decepticon advance. Optimus Prime declared that to defeat the Decepticons, the Autobots would need to master the power of the Titan Masters. {{storylink|Titans Return: The Power of the Titan Masters}}

{{-}}
==Commercial appearances==
Optimus Prime has appeared in more [[Commercial|television commercials]] than any other Transformer... just as with everything else. He has been voiced by [[Peter Cullen]] in every animation segment in which he's had a speaking role. The commercials that had original footage of Optimus Prime include the following:

[[File:Toycommercial-firstPrime.jpg|thumb|My wheels don't disappear!]]
*Optimus Prime arrived 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 struck a rather iconic pose as he transformed and fired. {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 1#The Transformers #1|''The Transformers'' #1}}
{{note|This first commercial used nonfinal versions of the characters' [[character model]]s; Optimus Prime, for example, still had wheels on his legs.}}
*Optimus was later seen charging into battle alongside Prowl, Jazz, and Sideswipe. {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 1#Optimus Prime and Megatron|Optimus Prime and Megatron commercial}}
*During a battle against Megatron, Optimus summoned [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]], [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]], [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]], [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]], [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]], and [[Grapple (G1)|Grapple]] to his side. Megatron responded by calling down [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] and [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]]. {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 1#Thrust and Dirge|Autobot cars plus Thrust and Dirge commercial}}
*Optimus confronted Astrotrain on a desert battlefield, but the Triple-Changer escaped under fire from other Autobots. Shortly afterward, Prime used Perceptor's microscope mode to examine a fragment of Decepticon battle armor. {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 1#Triple Changers and Perceptor|Triple Changers and Perceptor commercial}}
*Optimus Prime was fighting against [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]], [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]], [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]], and [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] when Kup, Hot Rod, and Blurr came to his aid. {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 1#Hot Rod, Kup, Blurr, Cyclonus, Scourge, Rodimus Prime|Hot Rod, Kup, Blurr, Cyclonus, Scourge, and Rodimus Prime commercial}}
[[File:Toycommercial-PowermasterOptimusPrime.jpg|thumb|An integral part of Powermaster Prime's transformation is Joyride shooting lightning bolts through his pointed finger.]]
*Prime was said to be off-planet when [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] led an assault on the Autobots' launch site. Undeterred, Ultra Magnus led a counter-attack in his leader's absence. {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 1#Ultra Magnus|Ultra Magnus commercial}}
*On the rocky plains where practically every Transformer battle ever seems to happen, Prime arrived in his Powermaster body to back up three of his troops against [[Dreadwind (G1)|Dreadwind]] and [[Darkwing (G1)|Darkwing]]. He combined with [[Hi-Q]] and transformed, attacking with his trailer's battle station mode. Optimus then combined with the trailer to become a "Super Powermaster" and continue the attack. Who won? Find out in [[People Power!|Marvel Comics]]! {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 1#Powermasters|Powermasters commercial}}
[[File:OptimusQuickswitchCommercial.jpg|thumb|Optimus Prime is so giving, he even gives other Transformers time in his commercials.]]
*During a battle on the [[Moon (moon)|moon]], [[Quickswitch]] transformed into his gun mode and was wielded by Powermaster Optimus Prime against the Decepticons. {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 1#Quickswitch|Quickswitch commercial}}
*Prime, in his Powermaster body, came under attack in the darkened streets of a city. Thankfully, he was reunited with some of the greatest Transformers ever to help him! Prime welcomed back Bumblebee and Jazz in their Pretender forms, and the three were joined by [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] to take on [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]]. {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 1#Classic Pretenders|Classic Pretenders commercial}}
*Powermaster Prime and [[Piranacon (G1)|Piranacon]] were the representatives from each faction that [[Doubledealer]] doublecrossed! Everyone wondered who that guy was that Prime was talking to... He looked kinda suspicious! {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 1#Doubledealer|Doubledealer commercial}}
*Optimus was seen surrounded by a circle of his troops, and challenged them to give up their transforming powers to become faster, stronger, more alive! {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 1#Action Masters|Action Masters commercial}}
[[File:Hotrodpatrolcommercial.jpg|thumb|Prime wants to know if they can transform, because he sure can't!]]
*Optimus found himself carrying into battle many miniature robots and machines to the battlefield in the palm of his hand. Among these was a Micromaster city, {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 1#Micromaster micro bases|Micromaster micro bases commercial}}, the [[Race Car Patrol]], {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 1#Micromaster Patrols|Micromaster Patrols commercial}} and the [[Hot Rod Patrol]]. He and Jazz checked out the Hot Rod Patrol, and Optimus wondered if they could transform. {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 1#Hot Rod and Construction Patrol|Hot Rod and Construction Patrol commercial}}
*As a battle raged outside an Autobot base, Prime watched impassively as Bumblebee and Jazz pulled two [[Thunder Arrow|captured]] [[Attack Copter|vehicles]] into the base. Prime was the first to notice that the vehicles were transforming and shooting things. {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 1#Micromaster micro bases|Micromaster micro bases commercial}}
*Prime was shown driving down a road in his ''Generation 2'' colored truck mode. He rocket-launched up into the air to transform, then had a brutal fight with [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]]. Despite getting a hole blasted in his chest, he won the fight and fired his gun into the air in triumph. {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 2#Generation 2 comic|Generation 2 comic commercial}}
*Prime transformed and found his head in Megatron's target crosshairs. The two dueled fiercely. {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 2#Megatron|Generation 2 Megatron commercial}}
*Prime delivered a load of shoes to schoolchildren in a South American ad for [[Bata]]'s licensed ''Transformers'' footwear.
*Prime got his own rap segment. He was seen in his "Combat" toy body, waiting for Megatron as he attacked a human subdivision. Prime converted to robot form, blew up Megatron's weapon at point blank range, and slugged it out with him. Apparently emerging victorious, he was next shown sitting next to an identical truck, which kid mistook for the real thing. The real Prime then transformed and picked up the kid, inspecting the human with his cold, lifeless, flashing red optics. {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 2#Combat Heroes|Combat Heroes commercial}}
*Optimus dueled Megatron atop of an overpass in a human city. Though he managed to knock Megatron's cannon loose early in the scuffle, Megatron managed to turn the tables on the Autobot leader, reattach his primary weapon, and blast his old foe. When Megatron moved in for the kill, Optimus got his second wind, and knocked Megatron clear off the overpass. {{storylink|They were always real to me.}}
*Optimus alerted both the [[Protectobot (G1)|Protectobots]] and the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]] that [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] was on the loose, and the Decepticon threat was "bigger than ever." {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 1#2015|Transformers Generations: Combiner Wars commercials}}
*"Bot Shots" Optimus Prime had many confrontations with his Megatron counterpart, crashing into each other in vehicle mode and then slugging it out in robot mode. {{storylink|Commercial#Bot Shots|Battle for the Matrix Bot Shots commercial}} {{storylink|Commercial#Bot Shots|Bot Shots Dragon Track Commercial}} One Bot Shot Optimus and Megatron belonged to neighbours, and taunted one another when their owners left for school. They both burst out of their respective houses, destroying the windows on the way out and colliding in mid-air. {{storylink|Commercial#Bot Shots|Battle for the Matrix Bot Shots commercial}}
*"Bot Shots" Optimus Prime was riding the subway peacefully when [[Scourge (Cybertron)|Scourge]] burst into the car and told the Autobot that it was "Go time!" Optimus responded with "Bring it on!" and both crashed into one another at incredible speeds! {{storylink|Commercial#Bot Shots|Bot Shots Dragon Track Commercial}}
*"Hero Mashers" Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and Grimlock took on Megatron in the middle of a busy city. Optimus came to Bumblebee's help while riding atop of Grimlock, swapping heads with his mount to bite Megatron's arm off, getting a hold of the Decepticon's jetpack at the same time. He attached both pieces to himself, and flew around for a bit before returning to the battle. He thoroughly scrambled his pieces with those of his teammates, then took down Megatron with his "dino-fist." Afterwards, the Autobots returned to their normal configurations (though it took them more than one try to do so!) {{storylink|Commercial#Hero Mashers|Hero Mashers commercial}}

*[[Peter Cullen|Optimus Prime's voice]] narrated numerous commercials, including:
**The [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 1#Dinobots|Dinobots commercial}}
**[[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 1#Omega Supreme|Omega Supreme commercial}}
**[[Rubsign]]s {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 1#Rubsign|Rubsign commercial}}
**[[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 1#Ultra Magnus|Ultra Magnus commercial}}
**Ultra Magnus and [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 1#Ultra Magnus and Galvatron|Ultra Magnus and Galvatron commercial}}
**[[Springer (G1)|Springer]] and [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 1#Springer and Wreck-Gar|Springer and Wreck-Gar commercial}}
**The [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticons]] {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 1#Sharkticon|Sharkticon commercial}}
**The [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]] and [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]] {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 1#Aerialbots and Stunticons|Aerialbots and Stunticons commercial}}
**[[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]] and [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 1#Bruticus and Metroplex|Bruticus and Metroplex commercial}}
**[[Defensor (G1)|Defensor]] and [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 1#Defensor and Trypticon|Defensor and Trypticon commercial}}
**[[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 1#Sky Lynx|Sky Lynx commercial}}

Prime also appeared in later promotional videos for Transformers events:
*Optimus got Megatron's contact information off the internet and invited the Decepticon leader to [[BotCon 2009]]. Though it took some doing, he managed to convince Megatron that the convention would be worth attending. Optimus also planned on going to BotCon, and left for the convention alongside Wheeljack, Mirage, Ironhide, Jazz and Prowl. {{storylink|BotCon 2009!}}
*Optimus grappled with Ramjet once more in a video re-visiting the "Generation 2" era of the Transformers franchise. {{storylink|BotCon 2010 - Generation 2: Redux}}
*Punch reported back to Optimus on what he had learned about the Decepticons as Counterpunch. Mainly, that they were planning on attending [[BotCon 2010]]. Optimus then turned to Teletraan I for more information about BotCon. Upon learning that special honors would be held for him at the convention, Optimus led his troops to BotCon once more. {{storylink|BotCon 2010 Promo}}
{{--}}

==Games==
===Adventure Game: Defeat the Decepticons===
When Megatron and his Decepticons allies held captive the Autobot's [[Mini Vehicle|Minicar]] troops, Optimus Prime entered the Decepticon's maze-like base in order to rescue his friends. {{storylink|Adventure Game: Defeat the Decepticons|Adventure Game: Defeat the Decepticons packaging blurb and game}}

===''The Transformers'' (1985)===
Optimus Prime was among the few remaining Autobots in the wake of the Decepticon creation of ROBO-CLONING technology. With his energy-starved comrades, he desperately sought pieces of the Autobot Energon Cube before the Decepticons could get their hands on them. {{storylink|The Transformers (Commodore 64)|The Transformers}}

===Transformers: Mystery of Convoy===

When a mysterious force killed Optimus Prime, Ultra Magnus rose as Autobot Commander in his place, and went forth to find out what killed Optimus. {{storylink|Transformers: Mystery of Convoy}}

{{note|For an alternate interpretation of these events, see ''[[To Die Game!]]''}}

===''DreamMix TV World Fighters'' video game===
{{voiceactor|[[Tesshō Genda]] (Japanese)}}
As part of [[DreamMix TV]]'s attempt to pull in more ratings, Optimus Prime and his eternal rival Megatron were invited to battle bunches of other beings on the television show ''[[World Fighters]]''. {{storylink|DreamMix TV World Fighters}}

===''The Transformers'' (PS2)===
{{voiceactor|[[Robert Belgrade]] (English)}}
{{charstubgame}}
{{storylink|The Transformers (PS2)|The Transformers}}

===''Transformers Battle Circuit''===
Optimus Prime, one of the "greatest Transformers of all time," was part of an Autobot team that participated in a tournament on Cybertron. If an Decepticon wished to claim the title of tournament champion, Optimus was the last opponent they needed to face. {{storylink|Transformers Battle Circuit}}

===''Revenge of the Fallen'' - The Game (Xbox 360/PlayStation 3/PC)===
[[File:ROTF 360PS3 PC G1OptimusPrime DLC.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|"Freedom is the right of all downloadable beings"]]
{{voiceactor|[[Peter Cullen]] (English)}}

{{Note|On [[August 27]], [[2009]], Optimus Prime was one of a handful of downloadable characters in a DLC pack for Xbox 360 and Sony Playstation 3.}}
{{storylink|Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Xbox 360/PS3/PC)|Revenge of the Fallen}}
{{-}}

===Transformers G1: Awakening===
[[File:Gluawakening optimusprime.jpg|left|upright=0.85|thumb]]
Optimus Prime led a group of Autobots who left [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] aboard the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]], which was shot down over [[Earth]], sending them into stasis for four million years. Optimus was badly damaged in the crash, and the prognosis wasn't great, but he recovered in time to announce the Autobots had no choice but to involve the [[human]]s in their war. Following a battle at [[Dyson Dam]], Prime persuaded [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]] to join the Autobot team. When the Decepticons headed through the [[space bridge]] to Cybertron, Optimus followed, only for him and his team to be ambushed and imprisoned.

He and [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] were soon rescued by [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] and [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] and they promptly escaped back to Earth, just in time to rescue [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] from a Decepticon hit squad. After being misled by a phony distress call, Optimus and his team had to face an assault on the Ark. They repelled the Decepticon attack, but Prime decided that the time was right to go to Cybertron and liberate the Autobots whom [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] had enslaved. The Autobots again used the space bridge to reach Cybertron, and mounted an assault of their own on the Decepticon fortress. After fighting their way through the defenses, Optimus and Bumblebee faced down Shockwave himself, defeating the Decepticon with some help from Grimlock. {{storylink|Transformers G1: Awakening}}
{{-}}

===Transformers Battle Universe===
At the edge of time, when the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]] needed a new host, Optimus Prime was among several warriors (and [[Optimus Prime (disambiguation)|Prime]]s) summoned from the multiverse to battle for control of the prize. {{storylink|Transformers Battle Universe}}

===''Bot Shots Battle Game!''===
[[File:Bsbg-optimus-prime.jpg|thumb|Raise the roof!]]
Optimus participated in numerous one-on-one matches against other Autobots and Decepticons, using his fists, his sword, or his gun to defeat his opponents. Sometimes, he even faced off against himself! {{storylink|Bot Shots Battle Game!}}

===''Transformers Legends''===
Early in the war, when he was still known by the name '''Orion Pax,''' the Autobot who would one day be known as Optimus Prime was ordered by Zeta Prime to escort the Decepticon Prisoners Wrack'n'Ruin in a prisoner exchange, while accompanied by Nightbeat and Alpha Trion. As the group made their way through the [[Rust Sea#IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rust Spot]], they encounter [[Slicer (group)|Slicers]] and had to fend them off. Orion Pax and his group eventually made it to their meeting spot with the Decepticon Bludgeon, only to be ambushed by the Decepticons. In the confusion, Alpha Trion was taken prisonner, and Orion Pax set off to rescue the elderly Autobot. He and Nightbeat succeeded in returning Alpha Trion under the protective custody of Zeta Prime, but Orion was himself captured in turn. Strapped to a shuttle aimed to crash into Iacon, Orion's fate seemed uncertain. {{storylink|Orion's Gambit}}

Later, Orion Pax worked as an archivist in the [[Iacon Archives]], and was friend to Ariel and [[Dion]]. Shortly after the trio encountered a group of time-traveling [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]], the Archives were attacked by Decepticons, and Pax and Ariel were severely injured. The Aerialbots took them to [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]], who rebuilt them into Optimus Prime and Elita One respectively. {{storylink|Golden Age (Legends)|Golden Age}} The [[Matrix of Leadership]] was passed to Optimus Prime following the death of [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime]] at the hands of [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]. {{storylink|The War Within}} During the war on Cybertron, Optimus Prime came to the aid of [[Getaway]], [[Joyride (G1)|Joyride]] and [[Slapdash (G1)|Slapdash]], saving them right as the Decepticons [[Dreadwind (G1)|Dreadwind]] and [[Darkwing (G1)|Darkwing]] were on the verge of destroying them. {{storylink|End of the Road (Legends)|End of the Road}}

Optimus once considered having the unruly Dinobots shut down before they could accidentally cause damage, but they proved their worth during a sudden Decepticon attack. {{storylink|S.O.S. Dinobots (Legends)|S.O.S. Dinobots}} When the Insecticons gained enough power that they'd be able to overrun [[Earth]] in seven days, Optimus Prime was forced to negotiate an alliance with the Decepticons in order to defeat them. {{storylink|Harvest of the Insecticons}} Following the disappearance of [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] and [[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]], Optimus attempted to stop the other three Dinobots from attacking the Decepticon base, and was mauled for his trouble. The distraction at least allowed [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] to take a scan of the rogue Dinobots. {{storylink|Day of the Dinobots - Part 1}}

Optimus was challenged to a duel by Megatron as a distraction while the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] attempted to strike against [[Teletraan I]]. {{storylink|Heavy Metal War - Part 1}} Concerned that the Decepticons might try to steal a new [[Energon]] related technology from a science facility, Optimus sent Blaster to infiltrate and protect the base. {{storylink|Espionage}} Optimus was impressed with [[Grapple (G1)|Grapple]] and [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]]'s plans for a [[Solar Power Tower]], but thought it would be too difficult to defend from the Decepticons. {{storylink|The Master Builders (Legends)|The Master Builders}} Following the return of the Aerialbots from a trip to Cybertron, they told Optimus and Elita One about how they'd encountered Orion Pax and Ariel. {{storylink|Golden Age (Legends)|Golden Age}} Optimus was among the Autobots affected after Megatron sabotaged their [[recharging chamber]]. Turned evil, Optimus was sent to attack [[Rutter U.S. Military Base|Rutter Military Base]] and obtain a solar power satellite. He and the other Autobots were returned to normal by [[Sparkplug Witwicky|Sparkplug]]'s [[attitude exchanger]], and Optimus promised to repair the base. {{storylink|Attack of the Autobots (Legends)|Attack of the Autobots}}

Optimus and Wheeljack returned to Autobot HQ after an absence to find Grimlock had taken leadership. Though they failed to resist him, he soon bored with leading the Autobots and let Optimus take command again. {{storylink|Me, Grimlock, King}} Impressed with Bumblebee's success as team leader, Optimus assigned [[Pipes (G1)|Pipes]] to lead a team. {{storylink|The B-Team Part Deux}} With Optimus badly damaged and without the Matrix, the Autobots were driven off Earth and sought refuge on Cybertron. Once Optimus had recovered, he put together a team which returned to Earth and retook it from the Decepticons, with Optimus badly damaging Megatron in combat. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron (Legends)|All Hail Megatron}}

Optimus led the defenses as the Decepticons mounted a full assault on [[Autobot City (G1)|Autobot City]]. The assault proved overwhelming, and Megatron soon stood over Optimus's defeated form. {{storylink|One Shall Fall...}} Optimus passed on the [[Matrix of Leadership]] before perishing. {{storylink|The Battle for Autobot City}}

When [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]], [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus]], [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]], and [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike]] took cover within the [[Autobot Mausoleum]], retreating from an attack led by [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]], they found Optimus having risen from the dead! Rodimus returned the Matrix of Leadership to Optimus, only for Optimus to abandon his Autobots, and flee back to Cybertron. Optimus, it seems, has returned to the world of the living [[zombie|changed]]. Once on Cybertron, Optimus orders a full-scale assault on the Quintesson base. Thankfully, Optimus managed to come to his senses when his memories of being revived by the Quintessons reemerged. After returning the Matrix to Hot Rod and ordering the Autobots to retreat, sacrificed himself once more by guiding the ship he's piloting into the Quintesson's trap. {{storylink|Dark Awakening (Legends)|Dark Awakening}}

Optimus at some point reverted to the name Orion Pax and searched the galaxy to investigate a growing anomaly related to the [[Dead Universe]]. His investigation took him to an unknown planet populated by [[Mini-Con]]s. {{storylink|Dark Cybertron (Legends)|Dark Cybertron}}

===''Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark''===
{{voiceactor|[[Peter Cullen]] (English)}}
====Console====
While walking through the desert one day, Optimus noticed a purple meteor passing overhead. Recognizing the meteor for [[Dark Spark|what it was]], he stated his fear that this day had come. {{storylink|Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark (console)|Rise of the Dark Spark (console)}}
====3DS====
{{Charstubgames}}
{{storylink|Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark (3DS)|Rise of the Dark Spark}}

===''Construct-Bots Builder''===
The components necessary for building "Construct-Bot" Optimus Prime were accessible within the Cybertron construction zone. Despite it being against protocol, [[you]] could mix his parts with those of Decepticons! (gasp!) {{storylink|Construct-Bots Builder}}

===''Transformers: Battle Tactics''===
Optimus Prime participated in battles against a variety of opponents, both Autobots and Decepticons. Sometimes there were many of him! He appeared in multiple different bodies:
[[File:Battle-Tactics-Optimus-Prime.jpg|thumb|400px|Team buffs are the rights of all sentient beings.]]
*''Optimus Prime'' — This Common character could be recruited by collecting 16 units of Cybermetal.
*''Orion Pax'' — This Uncommon character could be recruited by collecting 90 units of Cybermetal, and 42 units of Transmetal.
*''Optimus Prime (Voyager)'' — This Super Rare promotional character could be recruited through the space bridge for 1000 gold.
*''Laser Optimus Prime'' — This Epic character first appeared in the "Generation 2 Episode 1" event, and could be recruited by collecting 500 units of Cybermetal, 250 units of Transmetal, and 50 cores of this character.
*''Optimus M. (CW)'' — This Epic character was available as a reward in the "Optimus Maximus Awakes!" event.
{{storylink|Transformers: Battle Tactics}}
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
[[File:Battle-Tactics-Orion-Pax.jpg|thumb|400px| .]]
[[File:Battle-Tactics-Laser-Optimus-Prime.jpg|thumb|400px]]
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
[[File:Battle-Tactics-Optimus-Prime-(Voyager).jpg|thumb|400px|Soon I shall be one with the Matrix - and so will everyone else when this game sunsets.]]
[[File:Battle-Tactics-Optimus-M.-(CW).jpg|thumb|400px|I thought you were made of sterner stuff!]]
{{!}}}
{{-}}

===''Transformers: Devastation''===
{{voiceactor|[[Peter Cullen]]}}
Optimus Prime led the Autobots to stop Megatron's attempt to cyberform Earth. After discovering that Megatron's new weapon was the Proudstar, Optimus initially tried to capture it intact to preserve the Cybertronian history preserved on it. Inside the Proudstar, he received a prophecy of his future death, but he merely expressed happiness that his friends would survive. After the Plasma Core was damaged and proved to be too great a threat to Earth, Optimus reluctantly decided to destroy it and the Ferrotaxis in order to preserve humanity's right to forge their own future. When Megatron shot it into space in one last spiteful effort to stop the Autobots, Prime rode an Insecticon swarm into Earth's orbit for a final showdown with Megatron. Once Megatron was again defeated, Optimus called upon the Autobots to stop merely living upon Earth and adopt the planet as their new home.
{{-}}

===''Transformers: Frontiers''===
{{Charstubgames|{{Storylink|Transformers: Frontiers}}}}

===''Transformers Operation Omega''===
{{charstubgames|{{storylink|Transformers Operation Omega}}}}

===''Transformers: Earth Wars''===
[[File:Optimus-Prime-Earth-Wars.jpg|thumb|400px|Gathering resources is the right of all sentient base builders.]]

Optimus Prime needed to get to Earth via the Space Bridge, so he told Ironhide and Jetfire that he needed a [[Quantum Crystal]] to power the Space Bridge and get him over to the other side. {{storylink|Transformers: Earth Wars| Autobot Campaign}}

Optimus needs to get to Earth, but is beaten to the race by Megatron, who gets his hands on a Quantum Crystal. {{storylink|Transformers: Earth Wars| Decepticon Campaign}}

When the other Autobots are weary of the next Decepticon Outpost, Optimus tells them not to worry and leads them in a '''Inspiring Charge''' {{storylink|Transformers: Earth Wars| Lost Map Campaign}}

Optimus preceded to race Megatron to see who could get all the pieces of the Fractal map. Ironhide contacts his agent, [[Sunstreaker (G1)| Sunstreaker]], on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] in order to get some info on the Fractal map. Sunstreaker helps out in the endeavor and finally pinpoints the location of the last piece. {{storylink|Transformers: Earth Wars| Power Play }}

Optimus finally rallies all his missing troops from Cybertron to come to Earth for the final battle. The bots include Grimlock, Ratchet, Blaster, Prowl, and Bumblebee. All of them attack the Outpost and claim the artefact. {{storylink|Transformers: Earth Wars| Codex Showdown Campaign}}

After retrieving the Enigma, he then creates Superion! {{storylink|Transformers: Earth Wars| Combiner Wars Campaign}}

*'''Class:''' Special
*'''Lowest Star Rating:''' 2 star
*'''Weapons:''' Optimus Prime fires a shot from his Ion Blaster before engaging a defense and attacking it with his energy axe.
*'''Ability: Inspiring Charge''' - Rally Autobots to engage the target, then charge in dealing damage to the target and damaging walls along the way.
**'''Cost''': 5 ability points +2 for reuses.

[http://wiki.transformersearthwars.com/character:optimus-prime| Optimus Prime at Transformers: Earth Wars Wiki]
{{-}}

===''Transformers Online'' (2016 video game)===
[[File:G1 Optimus Prime TFO.jpg|thumb|right|300px]]
{{bigquote|Freedom is the fundamental right of all living beings.}}

During the Cybertronian Civil War, Sentinel Prime was killed. Prior to his destruction, he bestowed the Matrix of Leadership to Optimus Prime, who became the new leader of the Autobots. Despite being one of the youngest Cybertronian leaders, Optimus demonstrated extraordinary courage and wisdom in the war against the Decepticons. He: treated all lives with benevolence, fought for freedom and peace, and continues to fight to protect the weak and maintain their beliefs.

In battle, G1 Optimus Prime wielded the "[[Energon-axe|Fusion Axe]]" and the "[[Divine]]" Gatling gun. His active skill was "Heavy Fire Barrier":
*'''Heavy Fire Barrier''' — G1 Optimus Prime temporarily equips a double barreled semi auto machine gun that also activates a shield which protects him from frontal attacks as he dishes out damage from his firearm at max power {{storylink|Transformers Online (2016 video game)|Transformers Online}} <ref>[http://tfol.qq.com/act/a20160726data/hero9.shtml G1 Optimus Prime on the Transformers Online website]</ref>

===''Transformers: Forged to Fight''===
Optimus Prime and his crew crash-landed on a [[New Quintessa|mysterious planet]]. After learning about what was going on, he passed the [[Matrix of Leadership]] to the [[You|Commander]], fearing a Cybertronian would become corrupted by the Quintessons. There are at least a few of him running around! {{storylink|Transformers: Forged to Fight}}

{{-}}

==Toys==
{{main|Optimus Prime (G1)/toys}}

==Merchandise==
{{Main|Optimus Prime (G1)/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" is Latin for "best", therefore his name can be literally translated as "'''Best First'''".)
*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 Ō]]'' No. 114</ref> All Optimus-inspired characters were called variations of Convoy in Japan up until the [[Transformers (film)|2007 ''Transformers'' film]], at which point [[TakaraTomy]] changed their minds and began using the name Optimus Prime as well. Presumably to avoid confusion, this change includes the Generation 1 version of the character as well, who is now called Optimus Prime in newer products and fiction such as ''[[Transformers United]]'' and ''[[Transformers: All Spark]]'', though his name remains Convoy in material aimed at adult collectors such as ''[[Transformers: Alternity|Alternity]]'' and ''[[The Transformers: Masterpiece|Masterpiece]]''.
*"Orion Pax" is composed of "Orion", the huntsman from Greek mythology, and the Latin word "pax", meaning "peace". The original cartoon design for him appears to [[:File:UltraMagnus-FloroDery3rdConcept-OrionPax.jpg|be based on an early Ultra Magnus concept]].
*According to an early ''[[The Transformers Universe|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. And technically ''part'' of him is called "[[Roller (G1)|Roller]]" with some frequency.
*Optimus Prime has fictionally shown a dislike of certain kinds of music and dance. For the [[Marvel Comics continuity]], the [[Letters page (Marvel UK)|letters page]] for [[Still Life!|issue 324]] mentions he hates the music of [[Mötley Crüe]]. In the cartoon continuity, "[[Blaster Blues]]" and "[[Quest for Survival]]" have Optimus react noticeably more passive-aggressively to Blaster's choice of music than the other Autobots. And in the [[Dreamwave Generation One continuity]], ''[[Transformers: Hardwired|Hardwired]]'' features an uncalled for negative remark about Jazz's dance skills.
*According to the staff of ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'', Optimus Prime became a space explorer in the [[Beast Era]].<ref>Page 37, Guest Character and ''G1'' Icons, ''[[Beast Wars Universe]]'' ISBN 978-4766938005</ref>
*Writer [[Bob Skir]] claims that neither the statue from "[[Fires of the Past]]" 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://web.archive.org/web/20080614012630/http://bigbot.com/beast-machines-transformers-bob-skir/Beast-Machines-FAQ/Tue_12_Oct_1999.html Q&A from Bigbot's "bobskir.com"] (archive copy)</ref> We're betting on the latter.
[[File:Optimusprime-mom.jpg|125px|thumb|Prime's mom knows how to write in cursive.]]
*By the time Optimus Prime appeared in ''[[Beast Machines: Transformers (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://web.archive.org/web/20041220175419/http://www.comicden.com/merch/posters.htm "Captimus Primus"], which is tantalizingly close to making some sort of sense.
*The character model of G1 Optimus Prime makes a cameo appearance, along with the original [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]], [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus Prime]], and [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]], as one of the four elders who began the [[space bridge]] project in the ''[[Transformers: Cybertron (cartoon)|Cybertron]]'' episode "[[Balance]]".
*As noted on [http://www.allspark.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=74382 this thread here], Optimus Prime made a surprising (and somewhat awkward) cameo in the [[Calendar|January]] [[2009]] issue of "P.S.: The Preventive Maintenance Monthly" (#674), a monthly magazine issued by the [[United States Army]] that discusses issues in regards to equipment maintenance (scan included in thread; look for post #5).

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Convoy''' (コンボイ ''Konboi''), '''Orion Pax''' (オライオン・パックス ''Oraion Pakkusu''), '''Star Convoy''' (スターコンボイ ''Sutā Konboi''), '''Battle Convoy''' (Laser Optimus Prime, バトルコンボイ ''Batoru Konboi''), '''Super Convoy''' (Nucleon Quest, スーパーコンボイ ''Sūpā Konboi''), '''Optimus Prime''' (オプティマスプライム ''Oputimasu Puraimu'')
*''Armenian:'' '''Optimus Prime''' (Օպտիմուս Փրայմ ''O'ptimows P'raym''; Օպտիմուս Պրայմ ''O'ptimows Praym'')
*''Cantonese:'' '''O Baak Man''' (Hong Kong, 柯柏文)
*''Czech:'' '''Optimus Prime''', '''Optimuse Prima'''
*''Danish:'' '''Primus Optimus''' (first cartoon dub), '''Optimus Prime''' (all other media)
*''French:'' '''Optimus Prime''', '''Optimus Primus''' (Canada)
*''Hebrew:'' '''Optimus Prime''' (אופטימוס פריים ''Awpjimws Priim'')
*''Hungarian:'' '''Optimusz Fővezér''', '''Optimusz Prájm''' ("Optimus Chief")
*''Italian:'' '''Commander'''
*''Mandarin:'' '''Chìh-tsuēn''' (Taiwan, 至尊, "Prime"), '''Orion Pax''' (Taiwan, 奧萊安派斯 ''Ào Lái Ān Pài Ssū''), '''Qíng Tiān Zhù''' (China, 擎天柱, "Pillar that Supports the Sky")
*''Portuguese:'' '''Optimus Supremo''' (Portugal comics, "Optimus Supreme"), '''Líder Optimus''' (Brazil cartoon, "Leader Optimus"), '''Supremus Absolutus''' (Brazil comic)
*''Russian:'' '''Optimus Prime''' (Оптимус Прайм ''Optimus Prajm''), '''Orion Peaceful''' (Орион Мирный ''Orion Mirnyy'')
*''Serbian:'' '''Optimus Prime''' (Оптимус Прајм ''Optimus Prajm'')
*''Taiwanese:'' '''Bô-ti̍k Thīh-gû''' (無敵鐵牛, "Invincible Iron Ox")
*''Ukrainian:'' '''Optimus Najkrashchiy''' (Оптимус Найкращий, "Optimus the Best"), '''Optimus Prime''' (''The Movie'', Оптимус Прайм)

==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Action Masters]]
[[Category:Alternity Autobots]]
[[Category:Armada Autobots]]
[[Category:Autobot leaders]]
[[Category:Beast Machines Autobots]]
[[Category:Beast Wars Autobots]]
[[Category:Beast Wars: Uprising Autobots]]
[[Category:Cloud Autobots]]
[[Category:Combiners]]
[[Category:Convoys]]
[[Category:Dimension hoppers]]
[[Category:Dreamwave Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Generation 2 Autobots]]
[[Category:Generation 2 Go-Bots]]
[[Category:Ghosts]]
[[Category:Gladiators]]
[[Category:GT characters]]
[[Category:Hall of Fame characters]]
[[Category:Henkei! Henkei! Autobots]]
[[Category:Ladybird Books Autobots]]
[[Category:Matrix bearers]]
[[Category:Multi-component Transformers]]
[[Category:Music Label]]
[[Category:Powermasters]]
[[Category:Primes]]
[[Category:Revenge of the Fallen Autobots]]
[[Category:Rise of the Dark Spark Autobots]]
[[Category:Rulers of Cybertron]]
[[Category:Transformers with three modes]]
[[Category:TransTech Autobots]]
[[Category:United Autobots]]
[[Category:Zombies]]

Brainstorm (G1)/2005 IDW continuity

2017-04-10T00:27:53Z

Empuratapharmaa:

{{factions|autobot|decepticon}}
{{suite}}
[[File:Brainstorm swerves the road not taken.jpg|thumb|upright=1.8|...and I've decided I'm not wearing pants today!]]
'''Brainstorm''' is smarter than you. Yeah, ''you''. He doesn't utterly require you to know this and acknowledge him! It's just important for ''your'' sake that you acknowledge his vast intellect and big words! Also, look at this stuff he just built, phwoar, aren't [[Unmentionable|those weapons he made]] so ''shocking'' and ''edgy''?

Also, he's better than [[Perceptor (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Perceptor]], honest.

Underneath this braggado, Brainstorm is... still boastful and a truly dodgy geezer, and a bit of a coward. His weapons have indeed killed an untold humber in horrifying ways and he used to work at [[Zeta Prime]]'s brainwashing [[Institute]] with few qualms. Despite that, he does hold his (very few) friends dear to him and tries his hardest to hold onto them, and despite his job, somehow he's gone four million years without ever actually taking a life himself.

And deep down, he really just wishes someone who barely knew him had loved him.

{{TOCclear}}

==IDW Generation 1 continuity==
{{ongoing}}
[[File:RemembranceDay-Brainstorm.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.67|"We fire the ''whole'' laser beam. That's 65% more laser per laser!"]]
There is conflicting information about the origins of the 'bot who would become Brainstorm, who was a [[Reproduction#IDW Generation 1 continuity|Constructed cold]] Cybertronian originally known as '''Genitus'''. One report placed him among the earliest troops assembled by [[Kup (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Kup]] to serve under [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Orion Pax]] when the Autobots were first formed, {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 13#"Old Ways"|Old Ways}} but by his own account he was an [[M.T.O.]] created for [[Operation: Solar Storm]]. {{storylink|Our Steps Will Always Rhyme}} Whatever his precise origins, he kept the fact he was a cold-constructed "knockoff" a secret from most, and instead pretended to be forged, even going so far as to claim that he participated in the anti-apartheid marches that called for "equal rights for knockoffs!" which took place before he was even created. {{storylink|Remain in Light 1 of 5: The Fecund Moon|The Fecund Moon}}

Genitus was among the young scientists recruited for the [[Institute|New Institute]], and was soon nicknamed "Brainstorm" by his peers. Two of his co-workers received similar nicknames as "[[Chromedome (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Chromedome]]" and "[[Highbrow (G1)|Highbrow]]". {{storylink|The Reluctant Specialist}} Overly eager and far more likely to ask "Can it be done?" rather than "''Should'' it be done?", Brainstorm fit in well with the vaguely (and sometimes, not so vaguely) amoral experiments and research performed by Zeta's staff. {{storylink|Remembrance Day}} Despite the destructive scope of his work, Brainstorm had reservations about directly killing others, and never slew anyone by his own hand. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 3: Predestination: An Expert's Guide|Predestination: An Expert's Guide}}

On one occasion, Brainstorm and Chromedome survived a raid on the New Institute by [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] and [[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]] to rescue [[Soundwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Soundwave]]. {{storylink|Remembrance Day}} Although Chromedome left the New Institute after that near-death experience, he and Brainstorm remained close friends. In fact, Chromedome once remarked that he was Brainstorm's only friend, and Brainstorm didn't correct him. {{storylink|Rules of Disengagement (issue)|Rules of Disengagement}} For all his flaws, Brainstorm stood by the quick-to-love Chromedome as the war went on and he lost three [[Conjunx Endura]]e, even though he felt disappointed in Chromedome for using his mnemosurgery skills to wipe his own painful memories after each loss rather than remember his fallen partners. {{storylink|The Gloaming}}

Brainstorm briefly appeared among the Autobot troops fighting [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] and the Decepticons on Cybertron in the distant past. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 1|All Hail Megatron #1}}

Brainstorm himself was no stranger to loss. He was deeply infatuated with his fellow scientist and co-worker [[Quark]], to the point that he would later describe him as a "one-way" Conjunx Endura; to what extent Quark may have reciprocated Brainstorm's feelings is unknown, and indeed, would go tragically ''forever'' unknown, as he was captured during the fall of [[K'th Kinsere]] and imprisoned at [[Grindcore (prison)|Grindcore]], where he later died. Brainstorm was devastated but not broken, and eventually decided to put his vast intellect to work secretly beginning construction of a paradox trap-exempt time machine with which he planned to save his love. This project took centuries {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 3: Predestination: An Expert's Guide|Predestination: An Expert's Guide}} and would mean that, if he succeeded, Operation: Solar Storm would never happen and he would erase himself from the timeline. {{storylink|Our Steps Will Always Rhyme}}

Once he'd sorted the theory out, he realised the Decepticons would have more of the materials he'd need to build the thing and he became a double-agent in order to get access to them. He kept the Decepticons sweet by spinning old, already known information in different ways to make it seem as if it was new advances (though many didn't quite fall for it and he was a self-proclaimed "worst double agent ''ever''"). {{storylink|slaughterhouse Part 2: The Road Not Taken|The Road Not Taken}} {{storylink|Our Steps Will Always Rhyme}} Over time, however, his time machine took shape. The components of the machine were hidden in his network of [[Time case|briefcases]], the control case of which almost never left his arm. {{storylink|The Custom-Made Now - An Elegant Chaos Prologue|The Custom-Made Now}}

===Working at Kimia===
[[File:AHM15 Brainstorm.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|"They say great science is built on the shoulders of giants. Not here. At Kimia, we do all our science from scratch. No hand holding."]]
He was later stationed at the [[Kimia Facility]], working on lots of experimental technology and weaponry for the Autobot cause, where his designs were often considered the insane standard that all other weapon designers in Kimia held themselves to. More than any other Autobot, he had beaten a path to [[Room 113]] where his creations were time and time again rejected by the [[Ethics Committee]] as violations of the [[Non-Conventional Weapons Act]]. Undaunted by the rejections, Brainstorm continued to dream up more outlandish and dangerous weapons in his time at Kimia. His most daring inventions were referred to as the "[[Unmentionable]]s". {{storylink|Bullets}}

On [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]]'s orders, he (alongside [[Perceptor (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Perceptor]]) used [[Pretender]] technology to rebuild Kup into a sane, rejuvenated 'bot. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 15#"Everything in Its Right Place"|Everything in Its Right Place}}

At [[Ironfist (G1)|Ironfist]]'s request, Brainstorm agreed to go over the gun that misfired the [[cerebro-sensitive bullet]] into Ironfist's skull, looking for what went wrong with the firing mechanism. Brainstorm let the review fall into his backlog for several months, probably because Ironfist neglected to mention the accident had left a bullet in his skull, slowly killing him. Brainstorm finally reported back just as Ironfist was leaving for the [[Wrecker]]s, revealing his findings that showed the gun had been rigged to go off at a certain angle. The saboteur, [[Skyfall (G1)|Skyfall]], wasn't apprehended until nine months later, so Brainstorm apparently did nothing to follow up on his findings after alerting Ironfist. {{storylink|Bullets}}

At some point, Brainstorm worked with [[Kaput]]. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 3: A World Misplaced|A World Misplaced}}

[[File:Brainstorm Chromedome infodump.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.4|"We reject your literary device and substitute our own!"]]
Brainstorm and the other scientists were caught by surprise when [[Cyclonus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Cyclonus]] and the [[Sweep (G1)|Sweeps]] invaded Kimia. {{storylink|Chaos Part One: Lamentations|Lamentations}} He survived and managed to escape before the facility's destruction, leaving in an escape pod together with Chromedome and a number of other Autobots. They were soon rescued by [[Arcee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|"a psychopath in pink armor"]]. {{storylink|Chaos Part Three: Kings|Kings}} From her, they learned that they had to save the universe by stopping [[Galvatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Galvatron]] from letting the [[Dead Universe]] into it. Brainstorm had a hard time grasping all this, and together with Chromedome wondered if any species other than Cybertronians ever had to deal with this kind of problem. {{storylink|Chaos Part Four: Genesis|Genesis}}

[[File:Brainstorm Hangers On.jpg|thumb|upright=1.7|right|"It's come to my attention that over half of our test subjects have only recently awoken from extended relaxation and were unaware that we're testing in space. So there it is: No conspiracy. No twist. We're in a test satellite orbiting the Earth. Commonly available information that absolutely anyone would have told you if you'd bothered to ask. Please stop forming groups of adventuring parties to uncover the big secret, because it's that we're in space."]]
As part of his interest in the Dead Universe, Brainstorm examined [[Hardhead (G1)|Hardhead]], and during the procedure was struck by an energy discharge from [[Nova Prime]]'s corpse, which he'd been keeping in his lab. {{storylink|Black Planet: Dark Cybertron Chapter 11|Black Planet}}

===Joining the ''Lost Light''===

Brainstorm was one of the Autobots who chose to accompany [[Hot Rod/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rodimus]] on his quest to find the [[Knights of Cybertron]]. After some convincing, [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] allowed Brainstorm to board the ''[[Lost Light]]'' without checking his briefcase. But as soon as the ship lifted off, an explosion had sent it into [[Quantum generator|quantum jump]] and had to land on a far, desolate planet. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It|How to Say Goodbye and Mean It}}{{storylink|Last Light}} Brainstorm and Perceptor investigated what had caused the accident. Although they didn't find the exact cause, they did find something interesting. After Rodimus had insulted his intelligence, Brainstorm informed him that they found a [[Duobot]] had stood right next to the [[quantum generator]] when it failed, and was "totally mashed into the generator itself". He then made a joke about their deceased comrade, leaving Rodimus a bit taken aback at Brainstorm's callousness. In turn, this left Brainstorm panicking over the idea [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]] might have heard the joke, but Rodimus just ordered him into the air to join the search for survivors. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 2: Hangers On‎|Hangers On}}

[[File:MTMTE7 inverted Brainstorm.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|left|"Science isn't about WHY! It's about WHY NOT! Why is so much of my science dangerous? Why not invent a special safety door that won't hit [[Chromedome (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|you]] on the butt on the way out, because you are FIRED!"]]
When a [[Sparkeater (creature)|Sparkeater]] was loose aboard the ''Lost Light'', Brainstorm found himself trapped in an elevator with the creature, which had been hunting [[Rung (G1)|Rung]]. Brainstorm cried out that he was too ''smart'' to die and held up his briefcase in an attempt to ward the Sparkeater off. Fortunately for him, the Sparkeater decided to continue chasing Rung, leaving Brainstorm flustered, but unharmed. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 3: The Chaos of Warm Things|The Chaos of Warm Things}}

[[File:BrainstormDJDComeGetHim.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|right|"Hello, test subjects. As you are no doubt aware, the Overlord is being held hostage inside the giant super-prison on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. Every science facility on Cybertron has been tasked with producing a Tough Guy capable of breaking into SuperMaxLantis. That's where YOU come in. I'm nominating myself and I'm gonna need some references. A test associate should be around soon to get a quote off you, so be as glowing as possible."]]

What nobody knew was that the damaged quantum engines had created a ''second'' ship: an exact duplicate (or was ''ours'' the duplicate???), unaware of the other. That ship carried on for quite some time before [[Drift (G1)|Drift]] came clean that [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] was locked up in the basement. When Brainstorm's Decepticon handler got in contact with 'Brainstorm 2', demanding he prove he was still properly loyal to the cause, he panicked and contacted the [[Decepticon Justice Division]] to come kill Overlord as long as they promised not to kill anyone else, half-lying that he was ''soooo close'' to "[[time travel|the jackpot]]". To his horror, the Division decided on a whim to start killing anyway and this Brainstorm was left dead in his lab, a look of misery on his face. {{storylink|slaughterhouse Part 2: The Road Not Taken|The Road Not Taken}} {{storylink|The Permanent Revolution}}{{storylink|Our Steps Will Always Rhyme}}

Soon after receiving a [[Rodimus Star]] (along with his ex-colleagues Highbrow and Chromedome) for helping to save the ''Lost Light'' after it was hit by a piece of [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] debris, an experiment of Brainstorm's went wrong and froze everyone on the ship, except for the forcefield-enclosed [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailcutter]]. Despite the near-disaster this caused when the ship was invaded during this time by a group of [[Titan (IDW)|Titan]]-hunting Decepticons led by [[Lockdown (G1)|Lockdown]] (not to mention the near-death of an away team who had crashed on a planet protected by a [[phobia shield]] and were unable to raise help from the disabled crew {{storylink|The Waiting Game}}), he still received a huge plaque engraved with a stylised Rodimus figure "for exceptional endurance in the face of adversity" along with the rest of the frozen crew, which P.O.ed Trailguy - who had driven the Decepticons off singlehandedly and only received a "normal" Rodimus Star for his effort - no end. {{storylink|The Reluctant Specialist}}

Later, new arrival [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] went loopy and shot down [[Dogfight (G1)|Dogfight]] near Brainstorm, who... protected his briefcase. Of course, he later claimed he had tried to stop Maximus. {{storylink|Interiors}} Following this incident, Rodimus tasked Brainstorm with developing an evasive bullet that would avoid hitting innocent bystanders. Chromedome had Brainstorm to look into the handgun that [[Skids (G1)|Skids]] had been constantly (and unknowingly) carrying with him, but when Brainstorm tried to examine it, the gun exploded in his face. He determined that it only held two cartridges and thus dubbed it a "binary gun", much to Chromedome's annoyance. Brainstorm also offered the opinion that the gun was possibly from the Institute. {{storylink|Rules of Disengagement (issue)|Rules of Disengagement}}

[[File:Brainstorm bets Primus You Me and Other Revelations.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5| "I look this darn good because of science."]]
When a bunch of [[Nanocon]]s mysteriously reactivated inside Ultra Magnus, Brainstorm used his [[Size changing|mass-displacement gun]] to shrink Rodimus and some of the crew members to eliminate them. After the situation was handled, Brainstorm attended Tailgate's Autobot Initiation Ceremony where [[Jackpot (G1)|Jackpot]] placed bets on how long it was going to take for Rodimus to say his famous line, [['Til all are one]]. Brainstorm bet on eight seconds to the gambling bot's surprise. Despite being three seconds ahead, he still won the bet. Upon reaching [[Theophany]], an encounter with the [[Galactic Council]] led to Rodimus and others being teleported to the planet's surface, Brainstorm among them. When they arrived, they found the [[Circle of Light]] missing and [[Crystal City]] in ruins. As they explored the ruins underground, they came across a [[Titan (IDW)|Titan]]. The group discovered the Titan had found Cybertron's "come home" signal but was too low on energy to free himself and return, causing it to scream and try to kill itself by willing its spark to leave its body, which caused the revival of the Nanocons and various deactivated crew members of the Lost Light. With the Galactic Council's troops coming downwards to get them and the ''Lost Light'' under attack, Rodimus decided to set the Titan free to help them out of their situation. Brainstorm used his mass displacement cannon to shrink the Titan and gave the large robot more energy. Now able to move, the Titan was able to teleport the Autobots back to their ship, quantum-jump the ''Lost Light'' to safety and teleport itself to Cybertron. {{storylink|Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations|You, Me, and Other Revelations}}

After previously wondering why the <s>forcef-</s> [[Trailbreaker (G1)|magnawheels guy]] would feel the need for a handheld gun {{storylink|The Reluctant Specialist}}, Brainstorm would ultimately build guns into Trailbreaker's legs, presumably relating to the latter's envy at Fortress Maximus's leg-guns. Soon afterward, he gave a new gun to [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]] to field test, which the mad helicopter dubbed the "[[Shoomer]]" after the noise it made. As soon as [[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]] got his hands on it, he proceeded to accidentally shoot himself in the face. {{storylink|Before & After}} Surprisingly, he survived. As did the luckless [[Pipes (G1)|Pipes]] when shot by Brainstorm's [[existential gun]], despite a near-fatal dose of ennui. {{storylink|Cybertronian Homesick Blues}}

[[File:MTMTE22 tailgate altmode.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.67|"Brainstorm again, just a heads up, you are currently in a tiny test chamber floating around in my Energon. Remember, if you see a giant T-cog, that's mine. Lab boys shrunk it part way down before I could stop 'em. No idea if it was for science or if they're just having one on at ol' Brain, but either way if you don't find that thing pretty soon, I'm gonna have to call Ratchet."]]
Throughout the early months of the voyage of the ''Lost Light'', Brainstorm and several others were interviewed by [[Rewind (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rewind]] for his documentary. Also caught on film was Brainstorm participating in Tailgate's "[[alternate mode|alt-mode]] party," which was just a ruse to figure out what Rung transforms into. {{storylink|Little Victories}} He later collaborated with the psychiatrist to update the Autobots' [[holomatter]] avatars to be more energy-efficient and psychologically intuitive. {{storylink|Signal to Noise}}

When Rewind suffered a near-death experience in battle, Brainstorm and Drift brought Chromedome in on Project: Total Insanity, Brainstorm's helpful nickname for the fact that [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] was secretly on board the ''Lost Light''. He provided Chromedome with the security codes necessary to access the [[slow cell]] attached to the underside of the ship (nicknamed Project: End In Tears). {{storylink|Remembrance Day}} Perhaps because of the prophetic project name, Overlord soon escaped from the slow cell during one of Chromedome's visits to pilfer his memories. Brainstorm was in the middle of chiding Swerve for fooling around with his [[metafictional bomb]] when the alarms sounded, indicating a scene change. {{storylink|Under Cold Blue Stars}}

[[File:Brainstorm brings briefcase to funeral.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|"Science is about doing things others would never be able to ''think'' of! Like bringing your briefcase full of pirated video games to a funeral!"]]
After Overlord's rampage cost the lives of Rewind and many other crew members, Brainstorm was sincerely worried about Chromedome. When the funeral was over, Brainstorm confronted him in his habitation suite about the [[shadowplay]] Chromedome performed on himself after the deaths of his last three [[Conjunx Endura]]e. Brainstorm begged him not to extract his memories of Rewind too, because that would mean Rewind was truly gone. Drawing on his experience with Quark, Brainstorm promised his friend that the pain would one day evolve into something bearable. {{storylink|The Gloaming}} {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 3: Predestination: An Expert's Guide|Predestination: An Expert's Guide}}

At some point, Brainstorm fitted [[Swerve's|Swerve's bar]] with an elaborate defense system and built [[My First Blaster]]™ for the bartender himself, as he was a notoriously poor shot. {{storylink|Remain in Light 2 of 5: House of Ambus|House of Ambus}}

When the ''Lost Light'' travelled through a portal and rediscovered the lost [[Moonbase One|Luna 1]], Rodimus selected Brainstorm to be part of the landing party. On the surface they discovered a reignited "hot spot" of [[spark]]s, including a [[Point One Percenter]] which Brainstorm immediately set about harvesting before they were attacked by [[Lockdown (G1)|Lockdown]]'s [[Titan Hunter]]s. {{storylink|Remain in Light 1 of 5: The Fecund Moon|The Fecund Moon}} Though they fled into a field of deactivated Titans, Brainstorm and the ''Lost Light''ers were captured and imprisoned by the insane [[Tyrest (G1)|Tyrest]] where they found themselves sharing a cell with the mysterious [[Minimus Ambus]], later revealed to be none other than Ultra Magnus. {{storylink|Remain in Light 2 of 5: House of Ambus|House of Ambus}} After Ambus departed to get answers from Tyrest, they were joined in the cell by Skids, Swerve, and [[Getaway]] {{storylink|Remain in Light 3 of 5: The Divided Self|The Divided Self}} who used the spring-loaded clasps from Brainstorm's briefcase to help them escape. Confronting Tyrest, Brainstorm was shot by the traitorous medic [[Pharma (G1)|Pharma]] which separated him from his briefcase. To compound matters, Tyrest activated a "weapon of mass suggestion" based on Getaway's [[thought bullet]] that incapacitated the rest of the ''Lost Light'' crew, leaving them unable to prevent him from activating a [[universal killswitch]] that would kill every Transformer that was [[Reproduction#IDW Generation 1 continuity|constructed cold]]. {{storylink|Remain in Light 4 of 5: Arm the Lonely|Arm the Lonely}} That included Brainstorm, who fell victim to its effects but recovered after Rodimus and Perceptor used half the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]] to reverse the killswitch. {{storylink|Remain in Light 5 of 5: This Calamitous Life|This Calamitous Life}} Upon returning to the ''Lost Light'' he visited Swerve's to try and find out if anyone had opened his briefcase while he was incapacitated {{storylink|The Sound of Breaking Glass}} before secreting himself away in his workshop with the Point One Percenter he had recovered from the Seething Moon. {{storylink|Remain in Light 5 of 5: This Calamitous Life|This Calamitous Life}} He took to carrying the Superspark around in his chest compartment. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 3: Predestination: An Expert's Guide|Predestination: An Expert's Guide}}

[[File:MTMTE23 Brainstorm this and this.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.67|"So, anyway, we're between banks right now, just make those checks out to cash."]]
Brainstorm was on hand to greet Orion Pax and his crew after the ''Lost Light'' snatched their ship from certain doom. {{storylink|Dark Dawn: Dark Cybertron Chapter 1|Dark Dawn}} Intending to venture into the Dead Universe, Pax consulted Brainstorm, who was able to use a [[cyberwraith]] to manufacture personal force fields to protect Pax and his party from the hostile nature of that reality. {{storylink|Black Metal: Dark Cybertron Chapter 2|Black Metal}} When the ''Lost Light'' was later pulled off course, Brainstorm found the source of the problem—Metroplex's thumb pushing against the roof of shuttle bay 3. He talked Ultra Magnus into investigating where it was pointing them to. {{storylink|Winners & Losers: Dark Cybertron Chapter 3|Winners & Losers}} That took them to a water world, where they soon discovered they were surrounded by [[Ammonite]]s. Brainstorm joined Magnus and the others in commandeering the [[Rodpod]] to take the fight to the enemy, and they stumbled on the dormant Metroplex. {{storylink|Into the Abyss: Dark Cybertron Chapter 4|Into the Abyss}}

Acting on a hunch, Brainstorm took a sample of the water and found it was full of [[admium]]. They left the Rodpod in a drydock, but swiftly got lost in the city-bot's interior and ended back at the dry dock, where they were ambushed by an Ammonite who destroyed the Rodpod. {{storylink|No Exit: Dark Cybertron Chapter 6|No Exit}} They survived the explosion when Metroplex's interior rearranged itself on them, and a short time later encountered [[Nautica (G1)|Nautica]] and [[Chromia (G1)|Chromia]]. {{storylink|The Dead Are Not Enough: Dark Cybertron Chapter 7|The Dead Are Not Enough}} As the Ammonites subsequently flooded in, Brainstorm was among those who opted to retreat to Metroplex's brain, where they met [[Windblade (G1)|Windblade]]. Brainstorm helped hook Metroplex up to the ''Lost Light'' remotely, allowing the titan to quantum jump both himself and the ship to Cybertron. {{storylink|Burning Bright: Dark Cybertron Chapter 8|Burning Bright}} When Metroplex appeared to be losing the fight with the [[Necrotitan]], Ultra Magnus suggested Brainstorm open the briefcase. It turned to be unnecessary as an eleventh hour save by Megatron resulted in a victory, and Brainstorm high-fived Nautica as he cracked a situationally relevant joke. {{storylink|Finis Temporis: Dark Cybertron Chapter 9|Finis Temporis}}

Brainstorm later relaxed in Swerve's bar, though he was exceedingly cranky, which he put down to sparkache. {{storylink|The Becoming: Dark Cybertron Chapter 10|The Becoming}} As billions of Ammonites descended on Cybertron as the finale to [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Shockwave]]'s plan, Brainstorm was recruited by [[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]] as part of a team to attack the scientist's lab. After they were teleported there by [[Skywarp (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Skywarp]], Brainstorm suddenly found he didn't feel well and had to watch as the other tackled [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]]. Just as they were losing the fight, the team who had ventured into the Dead Universe popped out of a portal in Brainstorm's chest and lent a hand. {{storylink|Black Planet: Dark Cybertron Chapter 11|Black Planet}} With several members of said team unable to survive outside the Dead Universe, Brainstorm invited them back to his lab for treatment and [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]] suggested he might need to treat himself, as the portal was likely due to his exposure to the Dead Universe. With some encouragement from Rodimus, Brainstorm succeeded in making up a treatment for the injured parties. {{storylink|...And the Damage Done: Dark Cybertron Finale|...And the Damage Done}}

[[File:WorldShutYourMouth1-BrainstormNautica.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|"Yeah, I'm a black belt. Pretty much in everything. Karate, Larate, Jujistu, kickpunching, beltmaking, Tae Kwon Do... bedroom..."]]
Brainstorm opted to rejoin the quest for the Knights after Shockwave's defeat and on the first day, listened in as Perceptor talked to Highbrow about this Quark guy he kinda sort remembered. {{storylink|No Guns, No Swords, No Briefcases}}

On the voyage he spent a large amount of time with Nautica, even loading her wrench with extra features. {{storylink|slaughterhouse}} Less enjoyable for the scientist was watching Chromedome's complete emotional collapse and eventual isolation as the impact of Rewind's death set in. From his friend's misery came an epiphany: Why save ''only'' Quark when steering Megatron away from his supposed destiny as a mass-murdering tyrant could prevent the war altogether and save ''billions''? {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 3: Predestination: An Expert's Guide|Predestination: An Expert's Guide}}

When Nautica returned from investigating the disappearance of several fuel rods, Brainstorm saw fit to punctuate her belated return by leaning gently on the fourth wall. The topic of conversation soon shifted to [[Rung (G1)|Rung]]'s therapy session with the new <s>co-</s>captain, Megatron. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|Towards Peace}} Unbeknownst to anyone else, Brainstorm had a vested interest in the meeting, having slipped a sparkprint capture into one the psychiatrist's model ships with which he hoped to track the Decepticon leader through time and space. As luck would have it, the capture latched onto ''Rung's'' energy instead. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 3: Predestination: An Expert's Guide|Predestination: An Expert's Guide}}

When Rodimus found what appeared to be his own corpse in a mysterious coffin, Brainstorm was called in, along with Chromedome, First Aid, Nautica, Nightbeat, and Skids, to help find out what was going on. Brainstorm's biggest contribution involved using his preemptively preemptive [[Early Early Warning System]] to determine that they were all in trouble, though not quite at the "Run for your life!" threshold yet. Then the ''Lost Light'', destabilized by proximity to an accidental quantum duplicate created during its [[Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It|failed first launch]], started winking out of existence and they were. Though Brainstorm managed to evacuate, {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 3: Predestination: A Beginner's Guide|Predestination: A Beginner's Guide}} he disappeared along with the rest of the original crew as the second ''Lost Light'' forced them into a sort of cosmic abeyance. {{storylink|Twenty Plus One}}

[[File:Slaughterhouse2-BeneathBrainstormsFaceplate.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|"Alright, this next test may involve trace amounts of time travel. So, word of advice: If you meet yourself on the testing track, don't make eye contact. Lab boys tell me that'll wipe out time."]]
The remaining crew eventually discovered the remains of this ''Lost Light'', which had been savagely attacked by the [[Decepticon Justice Division]]. Its Brainstorm's briefcase was found in a lift by Nautica and Nightbeat, {{storylink|slaughterhouse}} and Brainstorm's body was later found in his workshop during a search for his mass-displacement gun. As Nautica mourned, she revealed Brainstorm's face. In a surprise to everyone, Brainstorm had a mouth...and a Decepticon emblem painted on the interior of his detached faceplate. As Nautica attempted to deny it and Megatron stated Brainstorm was unlike the usual double agents the Decepticons recruited, Riptide assumed that this alternate evil Brainstorm drew the D.J.D. to the ship by deactivating Overlord's slow cell, making him detectable. It took [[Ravage (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ravage]] to point out that if this Brainstorm was a traitor, so was the one on their ''Lost Light''. After Megatron and the quantum duplicated Rewind deactivated the second ship's engines and returned the vanished Autobots to normal, Brainstorm chose that time to begin his centuries-long plan in earnest, and began by calmly walking into the crowded Swerve's. Joining Atomizer, he placed his briefcase on the table, only to be reminded of Swerve's "No Briefcases" rule. Brainstorm calmly stated that he could do anything he liked as he opened the briefcase, activating an electro-sensitive poison he had spiked the bar's Engex supply with, causing almost everyone on board to collapse. {{storylink|slaughterhouse Part 2: The Road Not Taken|The Road Not Taken}} {{storylink|The Custom-Made Now - An Elegant Chaos Prologue|The Custom-Made Now}}

===On the Run===
After disabling teetotaler Ultra Magnus with a disaggregator gun, Brainstorm enacted his master plan, using his briefcase network and a link to the ship's [[quantum generator]] to travel back through time and space and prevent Megatron from ever forming the Decepticons...{{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 2: Stet|Stet}} with Megatron believing that Brainstorm was going back to kill Optimus so the Decepticons wouldn't lose the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]]. The ''Lost Light''ers took action under this false assumption. Though both his and the crew's actions were in fact essential to the timeline, a future misstep by Perceptor as he attempted to shut down the time machine inadvertently caused the birth of a [[Functionist Universe|new timeline]] in which the [[Functionist Council]] had never been overthrown slowly began erasing the old one. The result was a blood-soaked nightmarish present-day version of Cybertron dominated by the totalitarian Council. {{storylink|The Custom-Made Now - An Elegant Chaos Prologue|The Custom-Made Now}}

[[File:MTMTE37 megatron under construction.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|"Ever wonder what a parallel universe you might be like? Well, stop wondering, because you're just Megatron. Every parallel universe ever. You. Megatron. We can't figure it out. Anyway, if you meet him in the next test, don't kill him. I know, I know, but trust me, it'd be [[Functionist Universe|bad]]."]]
As the briefcase was most accurate when aiming for socio-temporal hotspots, his first stop was prewar [[Messatine]], home to Megatron in his dissident miner days. Though he hoped to prevent Megatron's reassignment to [[Mining Outpost C-12]] and thus the taking of his first life, his high-energy arrival instead prompted the evacuation of the outpost. {{storylink|Births, Deaths, and Interventions}} With that a bust, he tried to intervene [[Megatron Origin issue 1|before Megatron took his first life]], but, due to being fixed on Rung's spark signature, ended up thousands of miles off course at a psychopathology conference. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 1: All Our Parlous Yesterdays|All Our Parlous Yesterdays}} {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 3: Predestination: An Expert's Guide|Predestination: An Expert's Guide}} Following that, he detoured to the day of Senator [[Sherma]]'s murder, hoping to catch a glimpse of Quark outside [[Maccadam's Old Oil House|Maccadam's New Oil House]]. This wistful episode was interrupted when Brainstorm saw Rung fiddling with a model of the ''Lost Light'' and realized he had been followed. Though Cyclonus and Tailgate gave chase, Brainstorm traveled back a year, hoping to stop the fateful bar brawl that resulted in a certain miner's arrest. Knowing that Rung played some role, he ambushed and incapacitaed past Rung, but was unaware that time-traveling Rung, part of the team after him, had ''always been'' the Rung that accidentally got Megatron arrested.

Finally, desperate and exhausted of all other options, he went back to Megatron's creation with intent to kill. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 2: Stet|Stet}} However, Brainstorm still could not bring himself to directly end a life, and the newly arrived Rodimus and co. took advantage of his indecision and lobbed a [[Grenado]] at him. Though damaged, he was able to regain a bead on his target, but he paused yet again in response to Rodimus' pleas. As Brainstorm attempted to explain his motivations, Rung took note of his apparent dilemma and the millennia of work which must have gone into his plan. Appealing to his better nature, Rung ultimately convinced the scientist to stand down. Brainstorm filled them in on his progress up to that point as Whirl cuffed him, but his injuries and Rewind's murder of Megatron's nascent spark brought an end to the session. Knowing Megatron's death meant eventual victory for the Functionist Council, Whirl nicked Brainstorm's Point One Percenter and placed it in Megatron's spark chamber, restoring the original timeline. While Rodimus and Cyclonus headed out to recharge the Briefcase, Brainstorm explained his motivations to Rewind and admitted that his goals were perhaps a ''little'' lofty. Though he admitted wrongdoing, he professed his desire to stay in the past, a plea which was ignored by the rest of the crew. Brainstorm was then incarcerated upon their return to the present-day ''Lost Light''. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 3: Predestination: An Expert's Guide|Predestination: An Expert's Guide}}

===Retribution===
[[File:Brainstorm's final word Will Always Rhyme.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.5|"Chariots chariots. Whoever this alternate Brainstorm is, he's a jerk. Instead of sending an apology fruit assortment, he just sent a whole bunch of [[Decepticon Justice Division|angry wasps.]] We'll find a way to get back at him, don't you worry. We'll just see who wins this deadly game of cat and other cat."‎]]
Brainstorm was put on trial by the closed-room [[Lost Light Internal Legal Affairs Committee]], with Chromedome as an advocate and moral support. Though he started the proceedings by joking and deflecting, he adamantly pointed out that ''he'' was not the Brainstorm who had betrayed the ship to the DJD, and that in fact, he had never supplied his handler with ''any'' useful information, to the point that his dedication was in doubt. The Committee ruled in his favour in this regard, concluding that his Decepticon days were no longer relevant as the war was over, but that for the poisoning and the attempt to alter time, his time machine would be destroyed and he would placed under strict supervision. Brainstorm was surprised to hear that he would not be kicked off the ship; when asked if he ''wanted'' to be, he replied in the negative, dubbing the ship his home.

[[File:BRAINSTORM IS AN ASS.jpg|thumb|upright=1.7|"If you're allergic to peanuts, you might want to tell me now, because this may turn your blood into peanut water for a few astroseconds. On the bright side, if I can make this happen, [[Hot Rod/IDW Generation 1 continuity|they're]] gonna have to invent a new type of [[Rodimus Star|Nobel Prize]] to give me, so hang in there."]]

At the end of his trial, he realized Nautica had left and abandoned the wrench he'd made her. Behind his back, Ratchet talked to her and had her realise that Brainstorm's actions, while they could not be condoned, were selfless and would have erased him from the timeline. As an attempted apology, Brainstorm programmed the wrench to say "BRAINSTORM IS AN ASS!". {{storylink|Our Steps Will Always Rhyme}} Their relationship repaired, Brainstorm went on to hang out in her quarters with Getaway and Skids, where he upgraded her wrench with a light that could penetrated [[attention deflector]]s. He subsequently visited the''[[Vis Vitalis]]'' to strut his funky stuff on the dancefloor at Thunderclash's "pre-wake," {{storylink|The Sensuous Frame}} then did the same at a disco in Swerve's bar. {{storylink|The Frail Gaze}}

Brainstorm was the head of logistics in the ''Lost Light''ers' mission to find Swerve's [[holomatter]] avatar on [[Swearth|Swerve's life-sized holomatter Earth]]. He assured everyone that projecting their own avatars that distance would hurt and that there was a slight chance of everyone dying. Fun! {{storylink|The One Where They Go to Earth}} He participated in the ''Lost Light''ers' brief trip to various points in the past {{storylink|No Guns, No Swords, No Briefcases}} and a movie night about the fall of [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime]], which Brainstorm converted the ship exhibition hall to host. {{storylink|The Last Autobot}}

Brainstorm attended Megatron's classes on the Knights of Cybertron, during which Megatron and several others were attacked by a psychic weapon. Brainstorm joined "Team Rodimus" as they followed the weapon's signal back to the [[Censere|Necrobot]]'s "[[Necroworld]]," where they immediately came under attack by the Decepticon Justice Division and took shelter inside the Necrobot's fortress. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light: (1) How Bright Their Frail Deeds|How Bright Their Frail Deeds}} The discovery of a quantum teleport chamber within the fortress offered an easy means of escape, but a room full of stasis pods containing living lifeforms that would be left defenseless against the DJD if they fled gave everyone pause. Brainstorm advocated leaving the pods' occupants to be destroyed, believing their heroic actions in the past and possible future to be justification enough, but Megatron passionate speech in favour of staying changed his mind. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 2: The Sun in Flight|The Sun in Flight}}

Thinking they were doomed, Nautica held a ceremony that form an [[Amica Endura]] bond with Brainstorm, Nightbeat, Skids, Rung, and Velocity, singling Brainstorm out for his intellect. Afterward, Brainstorm set to work constructing weapons that would enable them to make the best last stand possible, building gargantuan "Maximus Ambus" armor for Ultra Magnus, and re-building the teleport chamber into a new [[fusion cannon]] for Megatron. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 4: At Close of Day|At Close of Day}} Skids gave up his life to super-charge the sparks of his comrades with the energies release by his death, and Brainstorm gleefully put his new super-strength to use in the battle that followed. Unfortunately, their powers all gave out mid-fight, but Megatron used his new cannon to come to their rescue. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 5: Rage, Rage|Rage, Rage}} He provided scientific observations for the duration of Megatron's final bout with the DJD, analyzing his use of Trailbreaker's forcefield generator and his own [[antimatter]] powers. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 6: Do Not Go Gentle|Do Not Go Gentle}}

===Necroworld and Beyond===
After the battle with the DJD, Brainstorm converted Megatron's cannon back into a teleporter, though now it was more of a "den" than a chamber. After testing it by bringing Nightbeat and Rung back to the planet's surface from their mission into its depths, Brainstorm programmed in the co-ordinates for Cybertron, triple-checked them, and sent Rodimus and his team on their way home. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 1: Some Other Cybertron|Some Other Cybertron}} He grew concerned when he was unable to make contact with Rodimus, but when his captain finally radioed in, the revelation he shared sent Brainstorm into fits of squealing excitement: the team had wound up on the Cybertron of an ''[[Functionist Universe|alternate timeline]]''. Though giddy at the prospect, Brainstorm was quick to deduce that this was not the work of his teleporter, but rather that a [[geobomb]] the [[Galactic Council]] had used on the Necroworld had sent the planet itself into the parallel universe. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 3: A World Misplaced|A World Misplaced}}

==''Recordicons''==
After [[Rewind (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity#INSIRT continuity|Rewind]] died, Brainstorm set Chromedome up on a blind date with [[Eject (G1)#Recordicons|Eject]]. {{storylink|Recordicons#Recordicons #27|Recordicons #27}}

[[Category:Engineers]]
[[Category:IDW Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:IDW Generation 1 Decepticons]]
[[Category:Lost Light crew]]
[[Category:Scientists]]

Tarn (G1)

2017-04-10T00:24:48Z

Empuratapharmaa:

{{factions|decepticon}}
{{disambigm|Tarn (polity)|Glitch|Demus}}
:''Tarn is a [[Decepticon]] from the [[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW portion]] of the [[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[File:MTMTE Tarn Alex Milne.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|He kills you with culture... and also ''violence''.]]
Formerly the [[outlier]] known as '''Damus''' and '''Glitch''', '''Tarn''' is an eloquent [[Decepticon]]. He enjoys nothing more than playing beautiful [[The Empyrean Suite|music]] as he waxes poetic quoting ''[[Towards Peace]]'' and other philosophical works by [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]]. He tends to indulge these pleasures at the same time he's using his specially modulated vocal processor to cause the [[Decepticon Justice Division]]'s latest transgressor's spark to self-destruct. The leader of the D.J.D., Tarn epitomizes the mentality of the team. He is beyond zealous in his devotion to Megatron's cause, going so far as to emboss the Decepticon [[insignia]] onto his own faceplate. No traitor, no coward is capable of escaping his team.

Despite appearances, Tarn is a mess of contradictions. Viewing himself as the central pillar of the D.J.D., he can be as brutally violent as any other Decepticon, but views himself as a bureaucrat and his team as his administration. He believes his actions are entirely justified, yet sometimes his thoughts are a constant stream of self-denigration. He works hard to run a tight but fair ship, and is not above taking in an open-minded, needy stray. On the other hand, for all his thoughts of sophistication and control, Tarn can go from affable to life-threatening at the least provocation. His addictive tendencies have led to him burning out his original [[transformation cog]] years ago, and his reliance on the power-enhancing [[Nucleon (substance)|Nuke]] can lead to his losing himself to the lust for violence. And have no doubt that while he may try and convince himself otherwise, Tarn is a truly sociopathic murderer. Ultimately whether Tarn is a monster or not is irrelevant. His utter devotion to the Decepticon cause means he will ensure the fear of Megatron is put into any that would consider abandoning their noble goals.

{{quote|If you want to break someone—mentally, physically, emotionally—wait until they're happy. Let them live and love and thrive. Once they recognize the value of a life well lived... THAT'S when you move in for the kill. Because you can't take anything from someone who has nothing to lose.|Tarn|"[[The Dying of the Light Part 2: The Sun in Flight|The Sun in Flight]]" teaser}}

==Fiction==
===IDW Generation 1 continuity===
[[File:Ratchet glitch shadowplay.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|Glitch is [[Wolverine (superhero)|the one with the claws]].]]
Damus was [[reproduction|forged]], born an exceptionally powerful [[Point One Percenter]] {{storylink|The Permanent Revolution}} and an outlier who possessed the ability to render non-sentient machinery inoperative by touching it, but with one drawback: the power hurt him every time he used it. Before the [[Great War (G1)|war]], Damus attended the [[Jhiaxian Academy of Advanced Technology]] where they possibly attempted to analyze his brain-wave patterns and kept his outlier status hidden from the [[Senate]] and [[Functionist Council]].

At some point, he crossed the [[Senate]] and was subjected to [[empurata]]: his hands and head replaced to mark him out as someone to shun. After that, to tie in with his power, he started to call himself Glitch. {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 2: Patternism|Patternism}}

When [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Orion Pax]] devised a plan to steal a bomb disguised as the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]] from [[Nominus Prime]]'s corpse his [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Senator friend]] recruited Damus, [[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]] and [[Skids (G1)|Skids]] from the Academy to participate in the heist. Damus's part in the plan was to deactivate the deflector beams above the [[Primal Basilica]] and despite a slight hitch when Damus accidentally jammed Skids's grappling hook by touching his arm, the plan succeeded. {{storylink|Shadowplay (Conclusion): An Intimate Beheading|An Intimate Beheading}}

Following Shockwave's capture and brainwashing by the [[Senate]], the Outliers stuck with Orion Pax and aided him in defending a [[hot spot]] in [[Alyon]] from [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime]]'s forces. By this time Damus had gotten replacement hands and learned to use his power to from a distance, utilizing it to break down [[Cybertron Elite Guard|Elite Guard]] vehicles from afar. With help from a group of time travelers from the ''[[Lost Light]]'' of the future, the group took down a weapons platform sent to irradiate the hot spot's [[spark]]s, then had their memories of the travelers wiped by [[Chromedome (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Chromedome]].

During the whole affair, Orion Pax recommended reading Megatron's treatises around Glitch: "powerful stuff," he said. Considering Megatron's stated reasons for converting him to the Decepticon cause, we can only assume that he listened a little too well. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 1: All Our Parlous Yesterdays|All Our Parlous Yesterdays}}

[[File:PermanentRevolution-Backwards.jpg|left|thumb]]
Exactly how and when Damus joined the Decepticons is unknown, but Megatron would later claim it was done to hurt ''someone'' and prove a point. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 3: Your Fierce Tears|Your Fierce Tears}} He joined early enough to be at the beginning of Megatron's march across Cybertron. Rebuilt under the supervision of [[Lobe]], {{storylink|The Permanent Revolution}} Damus's power and endurance was considered by [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]] to put him on the same level as a [[Phase Sixer]]. {{storylink|Remembrance Day}} His mask was taken as a sign of Decepticon supremacy but, at least so he told himself, it was really so nobody would notice when he closed his eyes around Decepticon brutality. {{storylink|The Permanent Revolution}}

[[File:SpeakMemory2-results.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|"How's it hanging? ... Oh... oh. That dude is ''really'' hanging there. My bad." "Stop it, you uncultured mech. You came here to report, not make puns."]]
Damus became commandant of [[Grindcore (prison)|Grindcore prison]], where he became associated with "[[The Empyrean Suite]]", playing it at maximum volume to drown out the screams of the prisoners he executed via smelting. {{storylink|Speak, Memory: Part 1}} In this, he was trying to deliberately bastardize a song composed by [[Eucryphia]] to celebrate [[Prima]] and the [[Thirteen Tribes]]. {{storylink|The Permanent Revolution}} One of his prisoners, soon after the prison's smelting chamber had malfunctioned, was his old comrade Skids. Damus bargained with Skids to fix it, telling him it was a "teleport chamber" and fifty prisoners would be released from Grindcore for this, and was able to con Skids into thinking that he could be trusted. Skids was relaxed enough around Damus to take praise genuinely and push for more freed prisoners later.

In the end, Damus sent all fifty prisoners to the "teleporation chamber" and forced Skids to watch as it was used to execute a group of prisoners, including Skids's cellmate [[Quark]], melting them down into raw materials for use in the creation of [[M.T.O.]]s. As Skids was made to watch, Damus cruelly used the event to deliberately cripple Skids's religious faith. {{storylink|Speak, Memory: Part 1}} {{storylink|Speak, Memory! (Part 2)}}

After Damus became leader of the D.J.D. as "Tarn" (and would never again use his old name), his powers developed to the point where he could shut down sentient machines using his voice alone. Under him, the group became ''very'' focused on paperwork: the [[Decepticon Empire]] required good administration, in his view.

The Division established a base on the world of [[Messatine]] in order to obtain the "Nuke" superfuel there. {{storylink|The Permanent Revolution}} Tarn coerced [[Pharma (G1)|Pharma]], head surgeon of the planet's Autobot medical facility [[Delphi]], into helping feed his addiction by supplying him with an ever-increasing number of transformation cogs from deceased patients, in exchange for the hospital being unmolested by his team. Pharma would eventually cut off Tarn's supply by orchestrating the facility's shutdown. {{storylink|How Ratchet Got His Hands Back}}

[[File:Tarn transforms MTMTE08.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.1|He's got friends on the other side.]]
Informed by Decepticon spy [[Brainstorm (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Brainstorm]] that high-priority target [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] was aboard the starship ''[[Lost Light]]'', Tarn and the D.J.D. continued to work through their [[The List|list]] of offenders as they waited for Brainstorm to drop the ship's shielding so they could pick up Overlord's signal. {{storylink|The Permanent Revolution}} One such unfortunate was [[Black Shadow (Victory)|Black Shadow]], whom Tarn explosively finished off with his deadly voice, after which the team set course of the planet [[Clemency]] to hunt down Decepticon deserter [[Fulcrum]]. {{storylink|Rules of Disengagement (issue)|Rules of Disengagement}} Arriving on Clemency, the team discovered a mysterious [[stasis pod|stasis tube]] awaiting them; when Tarn investigated, he found it contained a deranged, [[circuit speeder]]-enhanced [[Grimlock (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Grimlock]], unleashed by Fulcrum and his new allies, the [[Scavenger (group)|Scavengers]]. Tarn was soon able to subdue the brain-damaged [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobot]], but was then crushed beneath the foot of a [[Cybernought]] battle-mech that [[Crankcase (G1)|Crankcase]] had activated. Tarn recovered in time to hear Fulcrum deliver a speech to all assembled about Decepticon ideals before apparently committing suicide. At that point, [[Kaon (DJD)|Kaon]] detected Overlord's long-awaited signal, and Tarn ordered the D.J.D. to head out—but not before warning the surviving Scavengers that their names had now made it onto [[The List]]. {{storylink|Scavengers (Part 2): Who's Afraid of the DJD?|Who's Afraid of the DJD?}}

Tracking Overlord's signal, the D.J.D. found the ''Lost Light''—which was, unbeknownst to Tarn and his team, actually one of ''two'' versions of the ship created by a malfunction of its [[quantum generator]]s—near the planet [[Ofsted XVII]]. Despite having promised Brainstorm they would not harm any of the crew, the discovery that the traitor [[Drift (G1)|Deadlock]] was aboard the ship them set the D.J.D. off, and after dealing with him, they set about murdering the rest of the ship. {{storylink|The Permanent Revolution}} Tarn personally destroyed [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]], [[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]], and [[Cyclonus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Cyclonus]], and forced a large portion of the crew to transform before executing them, leaving their transformation cogs warm for location and harvesting. Eventually, Tarn removed a still-restrained and suicidal Overlord's head with a chainsaw, and the D.J.D. left the ship. {{storylink|slaughterhouse}} {{storylink|slaughterhouse Part 2: The Road Not Taken|The Road Not Taken}}

Sometime during the months that followed, Kaon spontaneously began [[universal killswitch|writhing in agony]] right in front of Tarn, who tried to get his teammate to tell him what he could do to help, before the mysterious effect subsided. {{storylink|Remain in Light 4 of 5: Arm the Lonely|Arm the Lonely}} Also during this time, the D.J.D. welcomed a new member—[[Nickel]], last survivor of a Cybertronian colony wiped out by the [[Black Block Consortia]]. At Nickel's insistence, they returned to Ofsted XVII to salvage the quantum engines from the derelict ''Lost Light''. They wound up arriving in the middle of a battle between the Consortia and the [[Galactic Council]], who teamed up against the Cybertronians. Under attack by both sides and faced with additional enemy reinforcements, Tarn was forced to retreat, leaving Vos and Kaon behind. {{storylink|The Permanent Revolution}}

The diminished D.J.D. returned to their duties, though Tarn began to weary of the work. After apprehending the [[Sparkeater (creature)|Sparkeater]]-worshipping [[Blip]], Tarn was about to end his life using his voice, until Blip used his last words to demand that Tarn remove his mask. Affronted, Tarn allowed [[Helex (DJD)|Helex]] and [[Tesarus (DJD)|Tesarus]] to finish Blip instead, averting his gaze beneath his mask. Tarn subsequently ordered performance reviews for the team, and nearly came to blows with Tesarus when he implied that abandoning Vos and Kaon was not the Decepticon thing to do. Calming himself, Tarn explained that they were returning to Ofsted XVII again in order to recover their bodies, but was interrupted by Helex's announcement that Vos and Kaon had returned to the ship safe, sound, and with something unbelievable: a postwar edition of ''[[Towards Peace]]'' that revealed Megatron himself had defected from the Decepticons.

His world shattered by this discovery, Tarn had the D.J.D. return to Messatine, where he attempted to fatally overdose on Nuke. Finding even the sensation of dying disappointing, Tarn opened his eyes to see a distraught Nickel pressed against the glass of his fueling capsule. The sight of her triggered a revelation for Tarn: she was a 'bot who had experienced first-hand the threat the predominantly-organic universe posed to Cybertronians, and who had fully embraced the Decepticon cause despite living her life outside of the war. The cause, Tarn now realized, was bigger than any one 'bot—bigger than Megatron. Galvanized, Tarn set up a meeting with the rogue Decepticon warlord [[Deathsaurus (Victory)|Deathsaurus]] aboard his stolen [[Warworld]]. Knowing full well he was on the D.J.D.'s list, Deathsaurus pre-emptively attacked Tarn upon his arrival, even deactivating his audio receptors to protect himself from Tarn's voice, but Tarn was able to communicate with him and his troops through [[inter-Decepticon radio]] and explained the reason for his presence: he wished them to ally with him, in return for their being taken off The List. Deathsaurus agreed on the condition that Tarn kill the rest of the D.J.D., which Tarn refused to do—which was the response Deathsaurus had been hoping for. With their alliance cemented, Tarn declared their new objective: kill the traitorous Megatron and all of his allies! {{storylink|The Permanent Revolution}}

[[File:YourFierceTears-byebyekaon.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Give me your...you know the drill.]]
The allied forces of Tarn and Deathsaurus proceeded to attack the [[Necroworld|Necrobot's world]], killing [[Censere|its sole inhabitant]] and using his machinery to broadcast a message that lured Megatron and all those aboard the ''Lost Light'' sympathetic to him down to the planet. When they arrived, the villains shot them down and cornered them in the Necrobot's fortress. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light: (1) How Bright Their Frail Deeds|How Bright Their Frail Deeds}} As an act of indirect torture, Tarn had their forces pull back, warning Megatron and his comrades that they would return at sunset, leaving them to stew in their own fear. Returning to the ''[[Peaceful Tyranny]]'', Tarn spent the time showing off his collection of Megatron's writings to Deathsaurus, and discussing tactics with his men; he did not take Tesarus's concerns about the Necrobot's fortress's storm shield seriously, but the discussion was interrupted by a call on Tarn's personal communicator from Megatron himself. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 2: The Sun in Flight|The Sun in Flight}} [[File:MTMTE53FullyArmedBatallion.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|left|'''Cause when push'' ''Comes to shove'' ''I will send a fully armed battalion'' ''To remind you of my love'' <s>for the cause</s>
]] Tarn agreed to a meeting with Megatron alone, whereupon his former leader agreed to surrender in exchange for the rest of the Autobots being allowed to go free. Saddened and disgusted to truly see with his own eyes how far his idol had fallen, Tarn beat him to within an inch of his life, and was just about to deliver the killing shot when [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] suddenly appeared, insisting that it was his right to end Megatron's life. Both refused to stand down, resulting in a bickering battle between the two that gave Megatron the chance to escape. Realizing their folly, Tarn and Overlord agreed to a truce, though Overlord continued to needle Tarn all the way back to the ''Peaceful Tyranny''. The final straw came when a distraught Kaon arrived with the news that the Autobots had kidnapped the D.J.D.'s [[Dominus Ambus|pet sparkeater]]; determined to cut out of both the hearts of himself and his men the compassion that he saw as Megatron's downfall, Tarn slew Kaon on the spot, tearing his head from his shoulders. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 3: Your Fierce Tears|Your Fierce Tears}}

At sundown, Tarn led the Decepticons in their attack, {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 4: At Close of Day|At Close of Day}} playing "The Empyrean Suite" across the battlefield as battle commenced. He initially hung back with Deathsaurus, but joined the fight in earnest after a temporary power-up acquired by the Autobots wore off, ripping [[Ravage (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ravage]] clean in half. Unfortunately, that turned out to be just the thing to bring Megatron out onto the battlefield, cutting swathes through the Decepticon troops. Tarn surreptitiously ordered the D.J.D. to retreat, whilst demanding Deathsaurus's troops enact a suicidal assault on Megatron. When the ex-Decepticon's new fusion cannon was destroyed, he unexpectedly sunk to his knees in panicked defeat, and Tarn and Overlord moved to strike the final blow together. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 5: Rage, Rage|Rage, Rage}}

[[File:mtmte55 goodbye tarn.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|You will die alone. Unmourned. And unloved.]]
Their shots, however, were reflected by the sudden activation of a forcefield by Megatron. Whilst Overlord and Deathsaurus abandoned the planet, unwilling to waste their time and troops respectively on Megatron, Tarn and the other remaining members of the D.J.D. assaulted the forcefield until they could finally force their way in. Unfortunately, this was all according to Megatron's plan–after years of study, he had finally managed to interlink his systems with a black hole to harvest antimatter. With his former enforcers now trapped, Megatron tore through them with tendrils of antimatter, speaking their true names at the moments of their deaths. Tarn was saved for last, his mask ripped off as Megatron called him by his previous name: "Glitch". Tarn first begged for Megatron to be "reasonable", then tried fake bravado, just as many of his own victims had done... And with as little success.

Completing his denouncement of his former enforcer, Megatron informed Damus that "Everything you did was for nothing" and obliterated him with antimatter. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 6: Do Not Go Gentle|Do Not Go Gentle}}
{{-}}

===''Kre-O'' online manga===
[[File:KreO-webcomic-9-Tarn.jpg|upright=0.6|thumb|]]
Tarn was part of [[Bludgeon (Kre-O)|Bludgeon]]'s forces when they uncovered the [[Red Bucket]]. {{storylink|Treasure Competition! Defeat with Block Power!}}

===''TransTech''===
An [[Offworlder]] in [[Axiom Nexus]], Tarn was a judge of ''[[Cybertron's Got Talent]]'' in the wake of [[Ego (TransTech)|Ego]]'s death. Tarn enjoyed calling out sub-par transformations as part of his judging. {{storylink|Andromeda - Axiom Nexus News Reporter|Andromeda - Axiom Nexus News, 2015/05/14}}

==Games==
===''Transformers Legends''===
Tarn and the rest of the DJD pursued Black Shadow for taking bribes from the Autobots. The DJD found their target hiding on planet Clemency, and dispatched them with extreme prejudice as Tarn set course for their next assignment. {{storylink|Rules of Disengagement (Legends)|Rules of Disengagement}}

==Notes==
[[File:Tarn BlackShadow RulesofDisengagement.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.1|"What are you gonna do, talk me to death?" "Yup"]]
*[[Alex Milne]] said in a Facebook interview that his ideal voice for Tarn is [[Keith David]]. That is ''AWESOME''.<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/notes/transformers/transformers-more-than-meets-the-eye-vol-2-alex-milne-interview/395646703838863 Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye vol. 2 Alex Milne interview]</ref>
*Prowl lists Tarn as being on par with the [[Phase Sixer]]s [[Sixshot]] and [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] in "[[Remembrance Day]]". So far there's no official confirmation that Tarn is himself a Sixer, with "[[The Permanent Revolution]]" and the season 2 finale resolution strongly suggesting that his power levels were due to a combination of personal augmentation and the nuke. The same issue confirms Tarn's status as a Point One Percenter, calling out his possessing a "mottled green spark". This makes Tarn the only known case of someone who is both an outlier and a Point One Percenter.
*Like all non-toy robot [[Kreon]]s in the Kre-O comics, Tarn is made from existing Kre-O parts, but extensively "painted". He uses the [[Ratchet (Kre-O)|Ratchet]] helmet, the [[Megatron (Kre-O)|Megatron]] arm-cannon, and some kind of setup to wear the Bludgeon treads on his back.
*For some time, the popular speculation among the readership of MTMTE was that Tarn had originally been [[Roller (IDW)|Roller]]. [[Elegant Chaos Part 1: All Our Parlous Yesterdays#Other trivia|''MTMTE'' #36]] dropped a number of clues to further this theory before the actual revelation in [[The Dying of the Light Part 6: Do Not Go Gentle|issue #55]], which revealed these to be nothing more than red herrings. James Roberts cheekily had Roller reveal himself as still alive and intact on the page right after Velocity asked who Tarn really was and just before the actual unmasking.

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Decepticon leaders]]
[[Category:Fiction-only Transformers]]
[[Category:IDW Generation 1 Decepticons]]
[[Category:Kre-O Decepticons]]
[[Category:Kreons]]
[[Category:Point One Percenters]]
[[Category:TransTech Decepticons]]

Drift (G1)

2017-04-09T20:53:20Z

Empuratapharmaa:

{{factions|decepticon|autobot}}
{{disambig3|Drift}}
{{featured}}
:''Drift is an [[Autobot]] and former [[Decepticon]] from the [[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW portion]] of the [[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''
[[File:AHM 06 CoverA.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|"Oh Drift-chan, you smell awesome, and not at all like feet!"]]
'''Drift''' was not always an Autobot. In fact, he slaughtered quite a few when he was known as the Decepticon '''Deadlock'''. But Deadlock's eyes were opened to what the Transformers' war had become when he stumbled across a lost faction of neutral Transformers long since forgotten. He discarded his ruthless ways, abandoned his guns for swords, and changed his name and appearance.

When Drift returned to the Transformer war to make right what he put wrong, he was a bot of few words and disciplined action. He since went on to be an enthusiastic spiritualist and a self-punishing crusader, all in an attempt to get away from the nasty parts of his personality that are still lurking within him. It doesn't matter what his personality is because with his Decepticon past, Drift isn't well-liked or trusted by [[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|a few]] of the Autobots and [[Hellbat (Victory)|some of]] the Decepticons think he's just ''lying'' about having changed. This hits Drift more than you might think because at the end of the day, despite his loner attitude, Drift ''really'' just wants to be part of something.

In addition to the two swords kept in his hip scabbards, Drift carries a legendary [[Great Sword]]. An ancient weapon that predates modern civilization, the Great Sword draws upon the [[spark]] energy of its bearer, and as such must only be used in the most dire of circumstances.

{{quote|We're going about this the wrong way, '''all''' of us! After countless centuries of fighting ... the Autobots are a '''step''' away from what we were when all this '''started.''' And us—the Decepticons have become something '''worse''' than any of us could have '''imagined'''.|Drift explains his new perception of the war to his [[Turmoil|former commander]]|"[[Spotlight: Drift]]"}}

==Fiction==
===IDW Generation 1 continuity===
{{ongoing}}
[[File:Drift2-renamed.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.66|"Eh....Inferno, tell to Death Blade that if he calling me that again, his name will become DEATH BOT!"]]
Drift was originally a homeless Cybertronian, living on the streets and stealing energon to survive. The hopeless 'bot was befriended by [[Gasket]] {{storylink|Drift issue 2|Drift #2}} but otherwise had no one. During one [[circuit booster|drug trip]] in the [[Dead End (place)|Dead End]], he was assaulted by [[Sonic (G1)|Sonic]] and [[Boom]], who were abducting homeless people for money. Drift was rescued by [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Orion Pax]], who brought him to [[Ratchet (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ratchet]]'s secret clinic in [[Rodion]]. Ratchet saved Drift's life, and told the young robot that he could achieve great things in his life if he tried— he could just ''tell'' Drift was destined for something special. {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 1: Post Hoc|Post Hoc}}

Drift would soon learn what that was, after Gasket was killed by Autobot law enforcement after trying to stop them from executing a thief. Drift exploded with rage, grabbed the nearest gun and killed them all. His knack for violence attracted the attention of the Cybertronian underground, who trained Drift as a killer. Amongst this group, Drift realized the level of corruption in the [[Senate]], and a recruitment rally held by [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] drew Drift in with his talk of equality. Megatron singled Drift out of the crowd, claiming to have heard great things of him, and asked him to join the Decepticons to fight for a better Cybertron. Drift agreed and, after being was hailed by the crowd, was renamed Deadlock by Megatron. {{storylink|Drift issue 2|Drift #2}} Drift rose to become the second-in-command of [[Turmoil]], garnering a reputation as a vicious and merciless fighter. {{storylink|Drift issue 1|Drift #1}}

During their time with [[Megatron (RID)|Gigatron]], Turmoil and Deadlock crashed on a desert world and investigated a nearby stone fortress to find a way out. The two of them would go on to massacre the inhabitants before leaving and Deadlock recorded the presence of a Stone Army on the planet. {{storylink|Drift - Empire of Stone issue 2|Empire of Stone #2}} {{storylink|Drift - Empire of Stone issue 3|Empire of Stone #3}}

[[File:Drift1-Deadlock.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Deadlock prefers to pose so his legs don't block any of the action.]]
Much later, on the planet [[Dabola]], Deadlock led a battalion against an Autobot squadron. The [[Sunstreaker (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Autobots' leader]] called a retreat, and Deadlock's team celebrated. This was spoiled when [[Not Carnivac|one of the soldiers]] pointed out that Deadlock had been ordered to merely observe, and once again had disobeyed orders. When the soldier threatened to inform Turmoil of Deadlock's disobedience, Deadlock killed him. Claiming Turmoil was too cautious and that it was time for new leadership, he called for the other soldiers to follow him, but they summarily captured him and brought him to Turmoil. Turmoil used a stasis lock to trap him in [[robot mode]] and attempted to execute him. Deadlock managed to escape, and after initiating an emergency protocol to cover his escape, stole an escape pod and departed the ship.

Deadlock crashed on an unknown planet. After scaling some, he found a massive structure, but before he could explore, a mysterious cloaked figure appeared, named [[Wing (G1)|Wing]]. Wing offered a deal: help him free the slaves, and he would find Deadlock a ship. Deadlock, introducing himself as "Drift," agreed, but first Drift said he needed guns. Together, they jumped some guards and stole their weapons, however a stray blast stripped Wing of his cloak, revealing him to be Cybertronian. Once they jumped into the complex, Drift automatically fled for the ship, abandoning Wing. Despite this betrayal, when Drift was attacked and nearly killed by one the slavers, Wing brought Drift back with him to a new [[Crystal City]], where he was repaired. {{storylink|Drift issue 1|Drift #1}}

[[File:Drift1-rebuilt.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.66|"We were okay with your old legs. Rest had to go."]]
Wing explained that they were the [[Circle of Light]], a group of Cybertronian scholars and scientists who abandoned the planet during the early days of the war in order to find peace and preserve Cybertron's culture. Wing and Drift were taken to a meeting with Crystal City's leader, [[Dai Atlas (Zone)|Dai Atlas]]. While Drift waited outside, Wing was admonished for bringing a corrupting influence to the city. He was ordered to keep Drift with him at all times. Afterward, Wing brought Drift to an empty room, discarded his swords and asked him what the Decepticon symbol stood for. Drift replied it meant strength, power and conviction, and the belief in the survival of the strongest. Wing offered Drift a chance to earn his freedom by defeating him without guns in combat, but Drift never succeeded. Drift grumbled that he'd never learned to fight without projectile weaponry.

Weeks later, Wing was still dominating Drift. Over time, Drift admitted that Crystal City held everything Drift had ever wanted, while the Decepticons had lost sight of this goal some time ago. Their sparring was interrupted by a summons from Dai Atlas. When they arrived in the control room, he informed them that they had received a coded signal and he thought Drift might be able to translate. Though Drift claimed he could not understand it, that night he snuck out of the city and drove far into the desert. There he met with the slavers, who had used a Decepticon code to offer Drift a deal. The code had been obtained from [[Lockdown (G1)|Lockdown]], a Decepticon sent by Megatron. The deal was simple: hand over the location of the Circle of Light or die. {{storylink|Drift issue 2|Drift #2}}

[[File:Drift4-notdoneyet.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Man, I bet those dumb G2 guys wish they had this kind of endurance.]]
Lockdown reminded "Deadlock" of his high-standing in the Decepticon army. Megatron held Deadlock in high esteem, and by guarding these Transformers Drift stood to lose that. Meanwhile, the head slaver, [[Braid]], required Cybertronian bodies to experiment on, and were willing to take captives from the neutral camp in lieu of Deadlock, in payment for the property he'd damaged earlier. After agreeing to lead the neutral Transformers into an ambush, Drift stumbled back to Crystal City, where he informed the Circle of Light about the pact he'd made with Lockdown and the slavers. Drift argued that they should fight their attackers to preserve their freedom and their way of life, but Dai Atlas sharply disagreed. He would have no fighting at all, even to preserve his own life, and blamed Drift for ruining their civilization. The others did not agree, and supported Drift. A small number of them offered to help fight the slavers while keeping the true number of their population unknown. As they reached the surface with a hastily constructed craft to make it appear as if the Circle of Light had recently crashed there, Drift revealed himself to have been rebuilt head-to-toe to match his new colleagues. With a sword mounted on each hip, Drift announced he was ready. {{storylink|Drift issue 3|Drift #3}}

Soon, Lockdown and the slavers were upon them. After slaying a few of the slavers, Drift realized that he was past the point of no return. Lockdown realized this as well, and asked the former Decepticon why he'd given it all away so easily. "What I've always wanted... the promise of a better Cybertron." But their sparring was interrupted by the death of Wing. Enraged, Drift jumped Braid, Wing's murderer, but he did not accomplish much. He was not as agile a fighter as his late friend, and Braid easily defeated him.

Before the killing blow could be delivered, Crystal City in its entirety rose from the ground, as Wing's death had spurred Dai Atlas into action. With the entirety of the population now fighting the slavers, the tide was quickly turned. Despite his injuries, Drift slew Braid with his Great Sword, while Lockdown, startled at Drift's transformation, cut his losses and left. Though the Circle of Light asked Drift to stay with them, Drift reminded them that he'd promised Wing to return the freed slaves to their homes. Drift was given Wing's Great Sword and given their blessing. {{storylink|Drift issue 4|Drift #4}}

[[File:SpotlightDrift Deadlockisdead.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|He's your horrible fancharacter.]]
Some time after leaving Crystal City and returning the slaves, Drift set off to make a difference in the Autobot/Decepticon Civil War. First, he attempted to free a group of Autobots held captive on the ship he'd previously served aboard. Upon entering Turmoil's ship, his attempt at stealth was successful until the [[Wrecker]]s arrived and blasted their way aboard. Jumping into the battle to assist them, he piqued the interest of a few Autobots. [[Perceptor (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Perceptor]] was injured as Turmoil entered the battle and, recognizing Drift's voice as that of his former lieutenant, attempted to destroy him. However, his attack only resulted in knocking Drift and [[Kup (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Kup]] to another room. The two quickly worked together to program the ship to overload. In his final confrontation with Turmoil, Drift stated his intention was to help, not kill, and left to rescue Perceptor before the ship blew up.

After his arrival on the Autobot ship, Kup invited Drift to join his new unit as an Autobot. {{storylink|Spotlight: Drift}}

[[File:SpotlightDrift-car.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|He thinks he's turning Japanese, he thinks he's turning Japanese, he really thinks so.]]
Now a crew member of the spacecraft ''[[Trion]]'', Drift got to know his new teammate [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] over many friendly games of [[Go (game)|Go]]. Perceptor felt he owed a debt to Drift for saving his life, and so devoted much of his time to upgrading himself for more combat-oriented tasks. While Kup discouraged this, Drift stoically accepted Perceptor's new ambitions. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 15#"Lost & Found"|Lost & Found}}

They were soon baited into a Decepticon ambush over [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. The ''Trion'''s command codes were hacked due to their being sold to the Decepticons by an Autobot traitor, and, left defenseless, it was forced to crash-land on the desolate landscape of the planet. Eventually, the crew were found by [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Optimus Prime]]'s unit, who unfortunately proved to be ''also'' stranded. When [[Mirage (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Mirage]] was revealed by [[Jazz (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Jazz]] to have been standing invisibly among them, Drift was the only one who didn't appear surprised. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 5|All Hail Megatron #5}}

[[File:Allhailmegatron6-omgdriftomg.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|Seriously, you made this guy up when you were eight.]]
When an advance scout of the [[Insecticon swarm|Insecticon Swarm]] discovered the Autobots' base camp, Drift was dispatched to take care of it. Drift stood stock-still as the creature walked up to him, greeting it with a simple, smirking "hello" as the monstrous beast snarled in his face. Finally, he beheaded the scout with a single wave of his sword. A second creature tried to attack Drift from behind, but the smirking Autobot merely tilted his head slightly, allowing Perceptor to kill the beast with some precision sniping. [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] thought the incident was the coolest thing ever. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 6|All Hail Megatron #6}}

After Sunstreaker revealed to [[Ironhide (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ironhide]] that he was the traitor, an army of the Swarm came after them. Drift saved Ironhide while Sunstreaker blew up a bridge, killing himself and the Swarm army. Later, Drift visited Ironhide and claimed that the Decepticons had access to the Autobots' systems in a way that Sunstreaker couldn't possibly have. Ironhide asked if this meant there was a second traitor, but Drift replied that there was simply more to the situation than they knew. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 8|All Hail Megatron #8}}

When Mirage was showing some doubt in the Autobot cause, it was Drift who said that, now more than ever, the Autobots should continue being who they are. [[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]] insinuated that Drift had no right to say something like that, which started an argument that was only stopped by the return of Optimus Prime. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 9|All Hail Megatron #9}}

[[File:Thundercracker Drift.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|"Another of your ill-timed jokes, Drift??" {{-}}
"... You and I are enemies now."]]
Drift took part in the battle against the Swarm and joined the others in escaping Cybertron in Omega Supreme. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 10|All Hail Megatron #10}}. On Earth, he battled the Decepticons, and when [[Thundercracker (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Thundercracker]] volunteered to divert the humans' nuclear bomb, Drift attempted to congratulate his former comrade on seeing the light. Thundercracker called him a traitor, slapping Drift's hand away and claiming he was merely following the Decepticons' ''true'' ideal. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 12|All Hail Megatron #12}}

Two years later, Drift was still with the Autobots, hiding on Earth. {{storylink|...For All Mankind}} After Optimus Prime left the Autobots, Drift decided to stay with the larger group, rather than leave with Rodimus and his fellow defectors. Drift celebrated Bumblebee's election with numerous other Autobots. {{storylink|The Hanging Sword}}

At some point Drift traveled to [[Japan]] and did some drift racing all by himself. {{storylink|Drift issue 4|Drift #4}}

Drift was among the Autobots who confronted [[Galvatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Galvatron]] and his troops when they crashed their ship in [[Las Vegas]], bringing with them a [[zombie]] invasion. {{storylink|The Transformers: Infestation issue 1|Infestation #1}} The Autobots and Decepticons worked together to banish the zombies to the [[Dead Universe]], though Drift himself really just stood silently in the background the whole time. {{storylink|The Transformers: Infestation issue 2|Infestation #2}}

Drift listened to [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] tell tales of, presumably, his time in space and accompanied Optimus Prime and many others to Cybertron aboard [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme's]] rocket form. {{storylink|Space Opera—Final Tableaux: Orphans of the Helix|Orphans of the Helix}} Along the way, he and many others tried to listen in on a conversation between Optimus Prime and a captive Megatron. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1}} Later, Drift accompanied Optimus, Hot Rod, Ironhide, Sunstreaker, and Cliffjumper to Cybertron to confront Galvatron and his army. After a brief skirmish with Galvatron's forces, the landing party returned to the Autobot landing zone. As Drift pointed out that maybe Galvatron was telling the truth and he had been assembling his army for a reason, the Autobots were bathed in a red light... {{storylink| Chaos Part One: Lamentations|Lamentations}} which turned out to be a blast from the orbiting space station [[Kimia Facility|Kimia]], recently commandeered by Galvatron's forces. Optimus Prime handed out orders to combat this new threat, telling Drift and Sunstreaker to establish a base of operations. After the threat of Kimia had ended, Omega Supreme's rocket landed at this base-camp and Rodimus and Drift set out after Optimus Prime and Ironhide, who had left to locate Galvatron. {{storylink|Chaos Part Two: Numbers|Numbers}}

[[File:Drift Chaos Part3 Kings.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|Thanks to the magical power of [[The Sound of Breaking Glass#Continuity notes|retcon]]... that is the wrong sword.]]
At the crater that Kimia's main weapon had blown into the surface of the planet, Drift accompanied Optimus and the others underground. The Autobots finally intercepted Galvatron and [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]] and Optimus Prime demanded their surrender. Galvatron claimed that the core of Cybertron had to be destroyed to save the universe, revealing the glowing [[Darkness (G1)|Heart of Darkness]] within his chest. At this, Drift began spouting gibberish and attacking his comrades in a maddened state, allowing for Galvatron and Jhiaxus to escape. The others attempted to restrain him, but Drift summoned what free will he had left and impaled himself on one of his own blades, much to Ironhide's horror. {{storylink| Chaos Part Three: Kings|Kings}} While Drift survived this, Ironhide told Prime that they'd have to evacuate him immediately for medical attention. {{storylink|Chaos Part Four: Genesis|Genesis}}

[[File:TDOOP-Drift.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|There's no 'Cons in Cyberutopia, and the streets are made of Pocky.]]
After recovering, Drift's near-death experience had reawakened his spiritual side. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 2: Hangers On|Hangers On}} Optimus Prime's return to Autobot camp three weeks later brought the discovery of a map inscribed inside the [[Matrix of Leadership]]. Drift was consumed with the idea that the map gave directions to [[Cyberutopia]], the home of the [[Knights of Cybertron]]. Despite [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]]'s insistence that the Knights of Cybertron never existed, Drift maintained that he had heard all about the Knights of Cybertron from Dai Atlas, and that the stories were true. Drift's passion for this discovery inspired [[Hot Rod/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rodimus]] to assemble a team to leave the planet and find the Knights of Cybertron. {{Storylink|Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime|The Death of Optimus Prime}}

At some point, Drift shed his Earth mode and took a more sleek, Cybertronian form for himself. Rodimus tasked himself with recruiting as many Autobots as he could to take off-planet and find the Knights of Cybertron. He was very good at working a crowd, though admittedly Drift wrote all of his speeches. The guy became the nominal third-in-command because, or so Ratchet said, he told Rodimus what he wanted to hear. Ratchet, older and grumpier than the pre-war days, was on the same ship as Drift and ''really'' had it in for him for everything the 'bot he'd saved had done with the life he'd given him. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It|How to Say Goodbye and Mean It}} {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 2: Hangers On|Hangers On}}

Drift himself found a ship for the quest, purchasing the [[Lost Light|U1]] with the help of [[Riptide (G1)|Riptide]] and [[Pipes (G1)|Pipes]] for ''one billion'' [[Shanix]] from a group of [[Mortilus]]-worshipping NAILs during the [[Festival of Lost Light]], from which the ship got it's new name, the ''Lost Light''. {{storylink|Twenty Plus One}}

Before departing, Rodimus and Drift met with Prowl in his office. Prowl asked Rodimus to bring the captive and near-comatose [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] along on the journey, as part of a plan to create [[Phase Sixer]]s for the Autobots. While Drift strongly advised against this course of action, Rodimus was pressured into it by Prowl. Aside from [[Brainstorm (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Brainstorm]] and the [[Duobot]]s, Overlord's presence on board was kept secret from the rest of the crew. {{storylink|The Sound of Breaking Glass}}

After boarding their new craft, the ''[[Lost Light]]'', Drift had counted 208 total Autobots on board. (He also complimented Rodimus's latest speech.) Drift asked why [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]] appeared displeased (more than usual) with the crew, and Ultra Magnus revealed that he felt most of them were practically criminals. (Drift himself was under high suspicion, though Ultra Magnus didn't say this out loud.) As launch was underway, Drift continued to act as Rodimus's right-hand man, and moments before takeoff, Drift brought to his attention the "[[Whirl (G1)|weapon of mass destruction]]" [[Ratchet (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ratchet]] had apparently brought on board. Something went wrong during takeoff, and the ship [[Quantum generator|quantum jump]]ed before it was ready, placing the ship somewhere random in space, just over a planet. A tear in the hull was expelling Autobots into space, and as the ship stabilized, Drift named off the Autobots they'd lost. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It|How to Say Goodbye and Mean It}}

[[File:Drift MTMTE2 positiveenergy.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.66|"Before I begin, I should clarify that I am not actually Japa-nese! I am from Daytona Beachiryu!"]]
As recovery efforts were undertaken, Drift radioed Ratchet a status update and also to tell the medical officer to make sure the medibay was "buzzing with positive energy" so those injured were "guaranteed a speedy recovery!". After he had signed off, Ratchet and [[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]] shared their annoyance with Drift's new attitude and...''interesting'' theories about the Knights of Cybertron. Later, when Rodimus was deciding how to address the crew about their current situation, Drift cheerfully suggested he focus on the positive. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 2: Hangers On|Hangers On}}

After a [[Sparkeater (creature)|Sparkeater]] had thought to have been let loose aboard the ''Lost Light'', Drift accompanied Rodimus' hand-picked team to investigate. As they examined the creature's [[Shock (G1)|first victim]], [[Chromedome (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Chromedome]] confirmed that it was indeed a Sparkeater and Drift opined that this was a dark omen and that they were being "punished" for the horrific things that must have happened on the ship before it came into their possession, much to Ratchet's skepticism.

While the others searched for the creature, Rodimus and Drift tried to figure out how the previous owners of the ''Lost Light'' kept the Sparkeater contained. They figured out that the Sparkeater had been trapped in the engine rooms and fed [[turbofox]]es to keep it docile. After the Sparkeater made its way back to the engine rooms, chasing [[Rung (G1)|Rung]], Drift helped Rodimus put his plan to kill the creature into action. Utilizing a second quantum jump, Rodimus managed to stuff the Sparkeater into the ship's engine block, where it died after being fused into the mechanism. Drift was awed by Rodimus' quick-thinking and ingenuity. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 3: The Chaos of Warm Things|The Chaos of Warm Things}}

At the "Grand Secret Opening" of [[Swerve's]], Drift shared a drink with Pipes. When the smaller 'bot let on that he was looking for a relationship, Drift offered to introduce him to the similarly diminutive [[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]]... unaware that Tailgate's future self was invisibly listening in via a 'magic window' in time. {{storylink|No Guns, No Swords, No Briefcases}}

[[File:Drift killsDent LifeAfterBigBang.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|The purpose of Drift is to flip out and kill sick people.]]
Drift accompanied Ratchet and Pipes on an investigation of the remote medical facility [[Delphi]]. Drift was subjected to repeated verbal barbs from Ratchet along the way, despite his efforts to get along with the medic. Once they had finally reached Delphi, Pipes impulsively rammed through a door that had the universal "plague" symbol on it. They found themselves in a morgue full of Transformers that had died from a mysterious "[[Red Rust]]" virus. When Drift noticed a [[Dent|shambling, disease-ridden Transformer]] approaching Pipes from behind, he sprung into action and dismembered the poor soul, much to Ratchet's outrage.

[[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]] showed up and explained the situation to them, how five days ago, a mysterious explosion had heralded the outbreak of this rust plague. [[Ambulon]] brought them to [[Pharma (G1)|Pharma]], who had been accidentally locked in a quarantine room when the explosion went off. Suddenly, Pipes began showcasing the symptoms of the virus and staggered toward them, disoriented and terrified. Pipes began vomiting and leaking from his optics, cornering Drift. Ratchet freed Pharma from the quarantine while telling Drift to non-fatally disable Pipes. Drift managed to slip behind his diseased comrade and knock him out with a blow to the head. Ratchet brought Pipes to the emergency ward, seeking to tend to him. By that time, Drift began to exhibit the symptoms as well, assuming he'd been infected by Pipes. {{storylink|Life After the Big Bang}}

[[File:Drift Sparkles Post Hoc.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.6|I sparkle because I'm too beautiful for everything.]]
While being tended to by Ratchet, Drift recalled the [[Shadowplay, Part 1: Post Hoc|time in Rodion before the war]] when the Autobot medic had also been trying to save his life. Drift asked Ratchet to put him out of his misery in the event that the [[Decepticon Justice Division]] showed up, despite having earlier claimed that he wasn't afraid of them. When Pharma was revealed as a traitor, Ratchet had a confrontation with his former friend on Delphi's roof. The stricken Drift made his way up there and managed to save Ratchet from being shot in the back by chopping off Pharma's hands. With Ratchet having obtained a vaccine for the Red Rust virus from Pharma, Drift and the other victims were soon cured. Drift returned to the ''Lost Light'' along with the survivors. {{storylink|How Ratchet Got His Hands Back}}

After the Lost Light was impacted by a discarded thumb from Metroplex, and was subsequently repaired, Drift attended an award ceremony honoring Brainstorm, Chromedome, and Highbrow for their part in saving the ship. He chatted with Rodimus during the celebration, until Whirl and Trailbreaker drew Rodimus's attention. Later, Drift along with nearly everyone on board of the ''Lost Light'' were frozen in place due to one of Brainstorm's experimental weapons accidentally going off. After he recovered, he was awarded a Rodimus Star "for exceptional endurance in the face of adversity." {{storylink|The Reluctant Specialist}}

Drift reported to Rodimus and Ultra Magnus that [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] had locked himself in Rung's office. He was the first to notice both when Rung stared at the camera, and when he tapped on his model of the Ark. After the hostage situation had been resolved, Drift complimented Rodimus on the eulogy he gave for the gravely-injured Rung, even though he hadn't written that particular speech. {{storylink|Interiors}}

[[File:Drift Theophany MTMTEAnnual.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|A fabulous secret [[Titan (IDW)|Titan]] was revealed to Drift the day he held aloft his magic sword and said...]]

En route to [[Theophany]], Drift helped Rodimus prepare for Tailgate's [[Act of Affiliation]] ceremony, and politely pointed out his overuse of the phrase "[['Til all are one]]". When Ultra Magnus interrupted and expressed concern over a lack of radio contact with the Circle Of Light, Drift argued that they knew how to take care of themselves. Later at the ceremony, Rodimus inscribed a message in [[Cybertronian language|Old Cybertronian]] on Tailgate's chest instead of branding him with the Autobot sigil. Drift supposed that it was caused by some sort of possession, which was quickly dismissed by Ratchet as "complete and utter guff".

The ceremony was further interrupted by the arrival of the [[Galactic Council]]'s ship, ''[[The Benign Intervention]]''. Its [[K'gard|captain]] informed them that Theophany was deserted, much to Drift's disbelief. After some red-tape wrangling from Ultra Magnus, Drift and a group of others were allowed to teleport to the planet's surface, where they found Crystal City ruined and abandoned. Confused and agitated, a despairing Drift snapped at [[Rewind (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rewind]] and decked Whirl after the latter mocked him. He attempted to call out to any of the denizens of Crystal City, but when there was no response, Drift drove one of his swords into the ground in frustration. The ground gave way and sent the Autobots plunging underground, where they found [[Metrotitan (Zone)|Metrotitan]], a slumbering [[Titan (IDW)|Titan]]. This discovery led [[Cyclonus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Cyclonus]] to share his [[Guiding Hand|myth of creation]], which triggered a theological debate between Drift and Ratchet, culminating in Drift pulling his sword on Ratchet. Rodimus took Drift for a walk to cool him down, where Drift reaffirmed his faith in Rodimus.

After Chromedome's mnemosurgery reawakened the Titan and made it fire its eye-beams at the ''Benign Intervention'', Drift was among those dispatched to fight off the Galactic Council's troops. The Titan eventually teleported Drift and the others back onto the ''Lost Light'', which then quantum-jumped to safety. {{storylink|Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations|You, Me, and Other Revelations}}

A few days later, Drift and other crew members aided Rewind in helping heal Rung's dormant mind by telling his part in a story of past events. Drift elaborated on the time in Rodion when he was rescued by Orion Pax and treated by Ratchet, being sure to antagonize Ratchet by claiming he had uttered religious praises during that time. All the while, he was being pestered by calls from Rodimus, who finally ordered Drift to meet him in the oil reservoir. Drift arrived there just in time to see [[Grapple (G1)|Grapple]] recover Red Alert's headless body from the reservoir. {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 1: Post Hoc|Post Hoc}}

[[File:Ultra Magnus-Cyclonus-Rodimus and Drift.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.95|Of ''course'' Drift wants to get at the [[Wikipedia:Oni|''oni'']]-looking guy...]]
After the suspected assailant Cyclonus was sent to their makeshift interrogation room, Drift conducted a very hostile interrogation, pointing his sword at Cyclonus in a threatening manner. (Ultra Magnus later suggested Drift's overly enthusiastic interrogation was an unfortunate attempt to impress Rodimus.) The attempt didn't work, as Cyclonus quickly swatted the sword away and smashed Drift into a table. Rodimus and Ultra Magnus were forced to intervene and break the two of them up. {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 2: Patternism|Patternism}} First Aid soon discerned that Red Alert's "accident" was actually a suicide attempt, and Ultra Magnus suggested that the troubled security chief should be left in stasis until they could revive him in a less stressful environment. Rodimus railed against this, but when Drift agreed with Magnus, he sadly acquiesced. {{storylink|Shadowplay (Conclusion): An Intimate Beheading|An Intimate Beheading}}

The crew of the ''Lost Light'' intervened on [[Temptoria]], where a group of Decepticons had invaded and subjugated the local populace. A fierce battle erupted on the planet's surface, in which Drift cut down [[Tailwind (G1)|Tailwind]] and [[Tentakil (G1)|Tentakil]]. He also interrupted Rodimus' battle with [[Snaptrap (G1)|Snap Trap]], shoving a sword through the [[Seacon (G1)|Seacon]]'s face. Rodimus chided him for butting in, but Drift protested that "the ones with swords" were his to fight. {{storylink|Before & After}} In the aftermath of the fight, Drift and Brainstorm revealed to Chromedome that Overlord was aboard, hidden in a specially-constructed room beneath the ship, and the [[mnemosurgery|mnemosurgeon]] agreed to interface with the dormant Phase-Sixer to learn the secret of his power. {{storylink|Remembrance Day}}

[[File:Aquafend swerve drift cybertronian homesick blues.jpg|thumb]]
Drift was teaching Rodimus how to use a sword, forging a deeper friendship with his captain, when a possible security situation interrupted. However, it merely turned out to be Cyclonus singing loudly to Tailgate. Swerve asked Drift if he wanted to be ''his'' roommate but Drift, claiming to prefer solitude, declined. {{storylink|Cybertronian Homesick Blues}} Drift was among those interviewed by Rewind for his documentary on life aboard the ''Lost Light''. When [[Thunder Clash|Thunderclash]] arrived on the ship seeking aid, Rodimus trotted Drift out as an accomplishment of his, claiming he had "rehabilitated" the ex-Decepticon. Drift was puzzled by Rodimus' claims, but impressed by Thunderclash, who greeted him respectfully and in accordance with his religious beliefs. {{storylink|Little Victories}}

[[File:Drift Overlord UnderColdBlueStars.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|left|This can only end well!]]
During a mnemosurgery session, Chromedome was outsmarted by Overlord, who obtained from the Autobot's memory the security codes to his cell that Drift provided. Drift was one of the first Autobots to fight the escaped Overlord outside of the medibay, urging Ratchet to lock himself in. But Ratchet chose to stand with his "friend" and sealed them outside the room. By the time reinforcements arrived, Overlord had severed both of Drift's legs and badly beaten Ratchet. Drift radioed the ship's brig to release Fortress Maximus, but not before his Great Sword was used by Overlord to mortally-wound Ultra Magnus. {{storylink|Under Cold Blue Stars}}

After Overlord had been jettisoned from the ''Lost Light'', Rodimus announced an inquiry to be held, knowing full well who was responsible for the Phase Sixer's presence on the ship. Drift offered to take full blame for the incident, protecting the identities of the other conspirators. He explained to Rodimus that he had a vision back on Cybertron, after he had impaled himself outside of Vector Sigma's chamber. Drift felt sure that Rodimus was essential to finding the Knights of Cybertron and couldn't let him out himself as having knowledge of the Overlord conspiracy. A hesitant and sorrowful Rodimus agreed and "furiously" stripped Drift of his Autobot symbol, exiling him from the ship. As he walked towards the shuttle prepared for him, Drift was knocked down by a piece of debris hurled by an angry crew member. Ratchet helped him up, and Drift departed the ''Lost Light''. {{storylink|The Gloaming}} {{storylink|The Sound of Breaking Glass}}

[[File:mtmte39 tarn sees drift.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Oi oi OI! Are you looking at me bird?!]]

Eighteen months from the ''Lost Light''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s launch, the [[Censere|Necrobot]] had listed Drift as deceased. {{storylink|Scavengers (Part 2): Who's Afraid of the DJD?|Who's Afraid of the DJD?}} The deceased Drift was actually part of a quantum duplicated ''Lost Light'' created by the initial accident at launch. When the [[Decepticon Justice Division]] arrived there to kill Overlord, the presence of Drift—another one on their List—caused them to go on a massive kill spree. Drift died first, killed along with Ratchet and Hound by [[Helex (DJD)|Helex]]. When Megatron later found their corpses an inspection of Drift allowed him to determine who had attacked the ship. {{storylink|The Permanent Revolution}} {{storylink|slaughterhouse}} {{storylink|slaughterhouse Part 2: The Road Not Taken|The Road Not Taken}}

[[File:Empire of Stone 2 Drift Ratchet where is this coming from.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.4|"You look terrible." "Thank you." "So you agree? You think you look terrible?"]]

Meanwhile, the original Drift was defending planets across the outer rim from rogue Decepticons. He'd been left battered by all the fighting, fights made harder as he'd promised to never kill again, but was neglecting to get himself repaired. While handing [[Grit (G1)|Grit]] over to the [[Galactic Council]], he ran into Ratchet: all of the truth of Drift's departure had come out now and the medic had come to take him home. Drift refused. Ratchet stubbornly stuck with him while he tracked down the main Decepticon army—right to the desert planet he'd discovered centuries ago. Both Autobots and Grit were shot down by the army and Drift found himself defending Grit from being killed for suspected treason.

The leader of the army turned out to be Drift's old boss Gigatron {{storylink|Drift - Empire of Stone issue 1|Empire of Stone #1}} who was ignoring the war had ended and was trying to find the Stone Army "Deadlock" had mentioned before. Drift, who knew the army wasn't hidden in the first place, refused until Ratchet's life was threatened and the three bots ended up in the cells. Ratchet's plan to get out was for Drift to pretend to be injured so the guard would open the cell—it was a ''very'' lame attempt but luckily the guard was a friend of Grit. As the robots escaped, Drift tried and failed to get Grit not to kill [[Hellbat (Victory)|Hellbat]] for slighting him: the Decepticon said he was sure in himself and his path in life, and didn't want the man projecting his own issues onto him. The Autobots carried on and found Gigatron hadn't found the army because Hellbat was hiding it from him {{storylink|Drift - Empire of Stone issue 2|Empire of Stone #2}} so he could use them himself to ''kill everything'', having decided to embrace the only thing he believed the Transformers were any good at. When Drift protested that he'd vowed never to kill again, Hellbat sneered and pointed to all the dead monks "Deadlock" had killed years ago.

[[File:Empire of Stone 4 Drift Gigatron FASTBALL SPECIAL.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|SUPERMAN WHEEEEE]]

A battle broke out and Drift found himself fought to a standstill by [[Vanquish (G1)|Vanquish]] before Hellbat activated the Stone Army. Rather than alert Cybertron, Drift felt they had to stop the army here and now and he turned to Gigatron for aid. {{storylink|Drift - Empire of Stone issue 3|Empire of Stone #3}} Together, the Autobots and Decepticons tore through the golems. Drift took the fight to Hellbat (after Gigatron used "maneuver seven", ''throwing'' Drift at Hellbat) and was goaded into killing him. Instead, the Autobot ripped the Stone Army's control device from him... at which point Gigatron went for him and no amount of reasoning could get Gigatron to stand down. Forced to defend himself, Drift dropped the device and Hellbat retrieved it.

Gigatron and Hellbat would kill each other, taking the Stone Army with them, while Drift and Ratchet escaped. When the medic again tried to get Drift back to the ''Lost Light'', the swordsman said he'd spent his whole life struggling to belong to ''something'' but only ever joined as a killer, and the Hellbat affair just reiterated that he didn't want to live a life where all he could offer was death. Ratchet rephrased the offer: instead of coming back as an Autobot, he should come back as his ''friend''. {{storylink|Drift - Empire of Stone issue 4|Empire of Stone #4}}

[[File:YourFierceTears-RatchetDrift.jpg|left|thumb|300px|]]

The two Autobots upgraded their bodies over the course of their adventures and Drift began sporting a [[Cityspeaker]]-style facial tattoo, in honour of the deceased Dai Atlas.<ref>[https://twitter.com/markerguru/status/716702702416355328 Alex Milne on twitter, clarifying the visual]</ref> They eventually ran back into the ''Lost Light'' crew, or some of them, after a mutiny had stranded Megatron, Rodimus, and their assumed loyalists on [[Necroworld|the Necrobot's planet]] and [[Velocity (G1)|Velocity]] had put out a call for help. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 3: Your Fierce Tears|Your Fierce Tears}} In a blaze of action, they saved the robot [[Ten]] from a Decepticon mauling! {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 2: The Sun in Flight|The Sun in Flight}} They very quickly found the Decepticons were a bigger deal than most of their foes and were nearly overrun until Drift spotted how [[Kaon (DJD)|Kaon]] of the D.J.D. was ''really'' protective of "the Pet", a '[[domestication|domesticated]]' beast-mode Transformer. Drift swiftly took "the Pet" hostage, giving them a chance to escape to the Autobot's fortress.

There, Rodimus and Drift had a long overdue discussion. Drift wanted to know ''why'' Rodimus hadn't come looking for him after revealing the truth to the crew, and Rodimus admitted it was out of fear he would hate him. Drift accepted Rodimus's sincere apology—Rodimus pleaded that he ignore his words and focus on his aura, eye colour, or any means Drift had claimed he could 'see', which Drift just smiled at—but doubted his belief that they can all make it out of their present situation alive. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 3: Your Fierce Tears|Your Fierce Tears}} Indeed, Drift even arranged it with Rewind that everyone could record their last wishes and how they wanted their bodies disposed of, to broadcast into space as an act of catharsis and closure. He witnessed very little catharsis when Chromedome almost died trying [[mnemosurgery]] on "the Pet" in front of him and, when the "Pet" was revealed by Rewind to be ''the lost [[Dominus Ambus]]'', he had his sword stolen by Rewind to kill Ambus before Chromedome could die.

When sunrise came, the Decepticons attacked. Rodimus embraced Drift and the others and thanked them for travelling with him, before the group charged into battle. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 4: At Close of Day|At Close of Day}}

{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 5: Rage, Rage|Rage, Rage}} {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 6: Do Not Go Gentle|Do Not Go Gentle}} {{storylink|The Last Autobot}} {{storylink|Dissolution Part 1: Some Other Cybertron|Some Other Cybertron}} {{storylink|Dissolution Part 2: Anomie|Anomie}} {{storylink|Dissolution Part 3: A World Misplaced|A World Misplaced}}}}

===Robot Heroes===
[[File:IAmOptimusPrime-Drift.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|He makes it so hard to like him and then he does this. So confused!]]
Drift was [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Optimus Prime]]'s friend and always let his actions speak louder than words. When the Autobots arrived on Earth, he hid himself in a lake. Upon Optimus's order, he transformed into his car mode to roll out. Later, when the Decepticons attacked, he pushed [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] over a tripwire held by some of the Autobots' [[human|human allies]]. {{storylink|I Am Optimus Prime (Robot Heroes)|I Am Optimus Prime}}
{{-}}

===''United''===
A [[nano-virus]] infected the population of [[Autobot City (G1)|Autobot City]] bar the [[Targetmaster (technology)|Targetmaster]]s and [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]]s. The former Decepticon Drift was able to force off, or at least hold off, the effects of the nano-virus, so he was charged with guarding the city unaided while the other immune Autobots left to retrieve a cure from [[Nebulos]]. When [[Ricochet (Headmasters)|Ricochet]] returned with the anti-virus, Drift was in attendance when Optimus Prime praised the Targetmaster. {{storylink|The Fierce Fighting on Planet Nebulos}}
{{--}}

===IDW ''Angry Birds'' Transformers comic===
[[File:ABTF1 Drift.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|"Wait, this ''is'' a movie universe story, right?"]]
Drift was aboard Optimus Prime's ship transporting the [[AllSpark]] when it came under Decepticon attack. He and [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] tried to stop [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] as the Air Commander chased [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]], but Starscream slipped straight past them. {{storylink|Angry Birds Transformers issue 1|Angry Birds Transformers #1}}
{{--}}

===Wars manga===
[[File:TrainWars Drift.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.1|G1 body, movie colors!]]
When [[The Fallen]] attacked [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] in the hopes of merging with [[Vector Sigma]], [[Overdrive]] sought additional help using the power of his [[Quantum Dial]]. Further empowering the dial with the help of the Oracle, Overdrive reached across space and time to recruit a black-colored Drift and other inter-dimensional warriors. {{storylink|Train Wars}} The Fallen assumed a combination form, however, and managed to impale Drift and the reinforcements using energy spikes. [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]], the [[Trainbot]]s, the [[Sixtrain|Train Team]], and the [[Sixliner|Liner Team]] soon arrived to turn the tide, and the Fallen was ultimately defeated. In the aftermath, Drift was returned home by the [[Omnibot (G1)|Omnibot]]s. {{storylink|Train Wars 2}}
{{-}}

===''Cloud''===
[[File:Cloud Deadlock Fury.jpg|thumb|]]
The Deadlock of [[Cloud World]] was recruited to the Decepticons by [[Megatron (G1)#Cloud|Megatron]] himself, and quickly came to revel in his own blood-thirst on the battlefield. But after one of his missions, [[Lockdown (G1)#Cloud|Lockdown]] informed him that he had botched their objective by slaughtering ''too many'' Autobots, and beat him down to discipline him. Drift swore to kill Lockdown himself for this indignity. {{storylink|Decepticon Jaeger Deadlock}}

{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|Awakening (Cloud)|Awakening}} {{storylink|Eagerness}} {{storylink|Lightwave}} {{storylink|Metamorphosis (Cloud)|Metamorphosis}} {{storylink|Overwhelm}} {{storylink|Concealment}} {{storylink|Struggle}} {{storylink|Fury (Cloud)|Fury}} {{storylink|Transcendence}} }}

[[File:Lockdown and Deadlock.jpg|thumb|left|250px|''Baka deshi!'']]
Deadlock took part in a mission to the 15-[[OGSS World|OGSS]] Spacetime. He and his comrades attacked the human/Autobot facility [[Space Bridge T.R.2]], but the Autobots of Cloud World arrived on the scene in response. After [[Shockwave (G1)#Cloud|Shockwave]] had gathered the data he needed, the Cloud World Decepticons retreated. {{storylink|Transformers Cloud (issue)|Transformers Cloud}}

Some time later, after having fought many battles across many dimensions, Drift wound up alone in a barren wasteland, having been separated from his unit by a spatiotemporal storm. Wandering about, he came upon [[Go Prime]] kneeling in defeat before [[Grand Scourge]]... and Lockdown's carcass strewn on the ground nearby. Enraged, Drift charged Grand Scourge, but found himself to be thoroughly outclassed. Deadlock only managed to avoid being cut down by grabbing hold of a nearby blade to block his opponent's retaliatory attack. Grand Scourge then lost interest and walked off to find his real target, and Deadlock made a new vow, to track down his new opponent and kill ''him'' instead. {{storylink|Decepticon Jaeger Deadlock}}

[[File:Grand Scourge versus Deadlock.jpg|thumb|right|250px|I'm no longer Deadlock, I'm Drift 
*tips fedora* 
I'm not affiliated with either faction 
*draws katanas* ]]
Getting his hands on [[SARA]], Deadlock used her powers to flee to the [[Legends Universe]], where he was surprised that the local [[Waspinator (BW)#Transformers Legends comic|Waspinator]] knew of him. Realizing that all dimensions existed as fictional stories in this dimension, he took to gathering information by consuming their media, and was surprised to find that Transformers throughout the multiverse were extremely similar to their Cloud World counterparts. The [[Zamojin (species)|Zamojin]], creators of the Legends world, then possessed SARA and told Deadlock that he and his compatriots were not the original Transformers, but copies based on beings from other universes. Deadlock was outraged by this concept as it suggested that he was fated to become an Autobot like the "original" Deadlock, and defiantly proclaimed that his fate was his to decide. On the recommendation of [[Skids (G1)#Quantum Operative|Skids]], another interdimensional visitor, he then ended the Zamojin control of SARA by unleashing her powers and opening a gate back to Cloud World, where he lost her to the Autobots. {{storylink|Legends Comic: Bonus Edition Vol. EX (Deadlock)|Bonus Edition Vol. EX}}

{{-}}
===''Q-Transformers'' cartoon===
{{voiceactor|[[Tomoaki Maeno]] (Japanese)}}
{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|The Road to Winning a New Fanbase}}}}

==Games==
===''Transformers: Legends''===
After falling out with his commanding officer, the Decepticon Deadlock found himself on an unfamiliar planet. He encountered the [[Circle of Light]], who helped him defeat [[Lockdown (G1)|Lockdown]] and some local miscreants, and as a result Deadlock changed his name to Drift and joined up with the Circle in their journey to find a peaceful home. {{storylink|Circle of Light (Legends)|Circle of Light}}

At some point Drift joined the Autobot army. Catching wind of a [[Quintesson]] plot to disrupt the [[Galactic Olympics|Galactic Games]], Drift teamed up with [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] to enter the games as a team, and succeeded in uncovering and stopping [[Slipstream (G1)|Slipstream]]. {{storylink|The Galactic Games}}

Drift and his team had to speed a vital component to a power station to prevent it from exploding, and they made it, despite interference from [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]] and [[Wildrider (G1)|Wildrider]]. {{storylink|Rushdown Road}}

===''Transformers: Battle Tactics''===
[[File:BattleTacticsDrift.jpg|thumb|300px|right]]
Drift participated in battles against a variety of opponents, both Autobots and Decepticons. Sometimes there were many of him! He was an Rare character that could be recruited by collecting 90 units of Cybermetal, 45 units of Transmetal, and 25 support cores. {{storylink|Transformers: Battle Tactics}}
{{-}}

===''Transformers: Frontiers''===
{{charstubgame|{{storylink|Transformers: Frontiers}}}}

==Toys==
===Generations===
[[File:Generations Drift toy.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|Comes with a gun that shoots swords.]]
*'''Autobot Drift''' (Deluxe, 2010)
**''Accessories'': Left & right "dual swords", greatsword

:''[[Transformers: Generations|Generations]]'' Drift transforms into a cross between a [[Wikipedia:Nissan Silvia#S15|Nissan Silvia S15]] and a [[Wikipedia:Mitsubishi FTO|Mitsubishi FTO]]. In [[alternate mode|vehicle mode]], Drift's two shorter "dual swords" store inside his doors (which double as his hip sheaths during [[robot mode]]), while the larger sword stores in a set of grooves on the underside of his vehicle (also used in robot mode). It can also be stored (in robot mode) in the doors where the windows fold up. Behind his windshield kibble is his pre-Earth chest design, in a nod to the form Drift had been seen in almost exclusively at the time of the toy's unveiling. Due to his ball jointed wrists, Drift is one of the few Transformers figures that can hold a sword with a two-handed grip. Left unmentioned in the instructions is that the clip that holds his large sword is on a small concealed arm that allows the sword to move away from his back and out of the way of his legs and shoulders. Drift's swords are made from a kid-friendly flexible material, and therefore care must be taken to avoid warping. His hand holes are slightly larger than 5mm, but taper toward the bottom.

:While Drift's Earth mode designs showed him sporting the katakana ドリフト (''Dorifuto'') on his car doors, the toy instead sports the kanji 侍 (''samurai''). The large sword sports the kanji 天下無双 (''tenka musō'', "peerless under heaven", or just "peerless" if you're not feeling idiomatic. It can also mean "armed under providence").

:Drift's mold was [[retool]]ed into ''Generations'' [[Blurr (G1)#Generations|Blurr]] and was [[redeco]]ed, with Blurr's pistols also being included, into [[Drift (SG)#Toys|''Shattered Glass'' Drift]].

:When his eyes are lit up, he has two visible pupils that follow you when you turn him. Freaky.

::*''[http://tfu.info/2010/Autobot/Drift/drift.htm More information on Autobot Drift at TFU.info]''
{{GenerationsDriftMold}}
{{-}}

===United===
[[File:United AutobotDrift toy.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|I am the white void, I am the cold steel, I am the just sword, with blade in hand I shall reap the sins of this world and cleanse it in the fires of destruction! I am Drift, the end has come!]]
*'''Autobot Drift''' (Deluxe, 2010-[[December 25|12-25]])
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''UN-08'''
**''Accessories'': Left & right "dual swords", greatsword

:Part of the first wave of ''[[Transformers United]]'' toys, the [[TakaraTomy]] release of "Autobot Drift" is cast in a brighter white plastic, a cooler gray, and features more paint applications in vehicle mode, and on his head, arms and chest to make him more accurate to his comic book appearances. The light red of the Hasbro version is now more crimson in color and the sword's gray is slightly altered from the Hasbro release.
{{GenerationsDriftMold}}
{{-}}

===Q-Transformers===
[[File:QTransformers Drift.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|Are you sure this is the guy who's supposed to flip out and kill sick people?]]
*'''Drift''' ([[2015]]-[[June 27|06-27]])
**''ID number:'' '''QT-22'''

:''[[Q-Transformers]]'' Drift is a redeco and retool of [[Sunstreaker (G1)#Q-Transformers|QT-12 Sunstreaker]], transforming into a [[super deformed]] Mazda RX-7 FD3S (though as a Sunstreaker redeco, his feet are sculpted to resemble the hood of a Lamborghini Countach). His head features some inspiration from [[Drift (AOE)|''Age of Extinction'' Drift]]'s design, namely the golden crest and samurai helmet neckguard.

{{-}}
===Legends===
[[File:E-Hobby-Transformers-Legends-Deadlock.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|Bot-tousai the Mechslayer.]]
*'''Deadlock''' (Deluxe, 2016-03)
**''ID number:'' '''LG EX'''
**''Accessories'': Left & right pistols, rifle, greatsword

:''[[Transformers Legends (franchise)|Legends]]'' Deadlock is a redeco of ''Generations'' Drift in his black, red, purple, and gold Deadlock color scheme as seen in the ''[[The Transformers: Drift|Drift]]'' miniseries and ''[[Transformers Cloud|Cloud]]'' comics / text stories. He comes with his greatsword in black and replaces the two smaller swords with the two pistols and rifle from the Blurr version of the mold, which can combine into a sniper rifle with a bipod (or a triple-barreled rifle). He features Blurr's minor retooling of his inner doors in order to accommodate the pistols in robot mode. Deadlock is an [[e-HOBBY]] exclusive and comes with two comics, "[[Decepticon Jaeger Deadlock]]" and a [[Legends Comic: Bonus Edition Vol. EX (Deadlock)|volume EX]] of the ''[[Transformers Legends (comic)|Legends: Bonus Edition]]'' comic.
{{GenerationsDriftMold}}

{{-}}

==Notes==
*Commenting on what inspired him to create Drift, writer/creator [[Shane McCarthy]] said that "I wanted a character in AHM that had a particular element to him that I didn't see readily available elsewhere and secondly because, frankly, I thought it would be a great idea for Hasbro to have an Autobot Drift racer."<ref>[http://www.smactalk.com.au/?p=101 Shane McCarthy blogs about Spotlight: Drift.]</ref> He later said he wanted to show what'd happen [[:Category:Turncoats|if a former Decepticon became an Autobot]].<ref>[http://tformers.com/article.php?sid=11723 Podcast interview with Shane McCarthy]</ref> Drift's Japanese overtones are meant to be a tip of the hat "to the country that gave birth to [''Transformers'']."<ref>[http://comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=18585 Comic Book Resources October 27th, 2008 interview with Shane McCarthy]</ref>
*Drift's name is derived from the Japanese driving technique of "[[wikipedia:Drifting (motorsport)|drifting]]," rendered in Japanese as ドリフト走行 (''dorifuto sōkō''). This is also the source of the {{w|katakana}} in Chris Ryall's announcement;<ref>[http://ryalltime.blogspot.com/2008/12/blog-post.html "ドリフト走行*" entry in Chris Ryall's blog]</ref> it is a transliteration of his English name and is not from Japanese fiction.
*Discarded [http://guidoarts.deviantart.com/art/DRIFT-early-sketches-93573360 body designs] and [http://guidoarts.deviantart.com/art/DRIFT-early-head-sketches-93574266 head designs] for Drift can be found on [http://guidoarts.deviantart.com Guido Guidi's DeviantArt page.]
*[[IDW Publishing]] initially claimed that Drift had been solicited by [[Hasbro]] to receive a toy in the ''[[Transformers: Universe (2008 franchise)|Universe]]'' line. This may have been premature, as it was followed several months later with a denial, albeit from Hasbro's Australian offices.<ref>[http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=3438 Ozformers Q&A with Hasbro Australia]</ref> This was rebutted by IDW editor [[Chris Ryall]] at [[New York Comic Con]] 2009, denied again in the March 2009 Hasbro Q&A for Seibertron.com,<ref>[http://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/hasbro-answers-seibertrons-questions/15360 Hasbro March 2009 Q&A on Seibertron.com]</ref> and finally acknowledged by Hasbro at [[BotCon 2009]] when early design sketches were unveiled for Drift's toy. The toy itself was first shown at [[Toy Fair 2010]].
*As may be surmised from this page's captions, the large amount of hype surrounding Drift's initial introduction—along with perceptions that he was little more than a stereotypical badass fan-created character with Japanese samurai/ninja stereotypes added in for maximum awesomeness—led to a considerable backlash against the character when he was first announced. The hype included not only his own ''Spotlight'' issue, followed later by a four-issue mini-series, but also an appearance in "[[I Am Optimus Prime (Robot Heroes)|I Am Optimus Prime]]", a book intended to advertise the ''[[Robot Heroes (toyline)|Robot Heroes]]'' toys... whose ranks don't actually include a Drift figure. The character's actual appearances in fiction, however, have not spawned nearly as much vitriol, and the later (re)interpretation by author [[James Roberts]] actually resulted in many a fan changing their opinion of the character.
*Roberts has said "there's different facets" to Drift and his environment has an impact on how he presents himself.<ref>[http://womenwriteaboutcomics.com/2015/02/26/james-roberts-on-idws-transformers-more-that-meets-the-eye/ Women Write About Comics: "James Roberts on IDW’s Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye" 34:40 - 35:02]</ref> Drift himself says in [[Drift - Empire of Stone issue 3|''Empire of Stone'' #3]] that he dives into new personas, both his brooding loner and his hippie ones, to cover up the parts of himself that he doesn't like.
*A mock-up of a black redeco of ''Generations'' Drift appeared in ''[[Transformers Generations 2014]]'' Vol. 1 as one of ten potential exclusives for Vol. 2. This "Autobot Drift Black Ver." didn't win the poll to determine which of the ten would be produced, however, ending up in fourth place with 12.7% of the votes.<ref>[http://millionhero.sblo.jp/article/101898683.html Poll results at Hero-X]</ref>

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Drift''' (ドリフト ''Dorifuto''), '''Deadlock''' (デッドロック ''Deddorokku'')
*''Mandarin:'' '''Piāoyí''' (漂移, "Drift")

==References==
<references />

[[Category:Cloud Decepticons]]
[[Category:E-Hobby]]
[[Category:Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Generation 1 Decepticons]]
[[Category:Generations]]
[[Category:IDW Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Legends Decepticons]]
[[Category:Lost Light crew]]
[[Category:Q-Transformers characters]]
[[Category:Turncoats]]
[[Category:United Autobots]]

Ratchet (G1)/2005 IDW continuity

2017-04-09T20:46:06Z

Empuratapharmaa:

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[[File:Infiltration3 Ratchet gets poked.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|You're going home as an ambulance!]]
From a wannabe hero to a crotchety old 'Bot looking forward to retirement, '''Ratchet''' has come a long way.
{{quote|Why are we '''''here''''', on this planet? We're here to '''''save lives'''''. Now okay, maybe we're talking mass numbers, a global scale of species saved, but me, I take it '''''one life at a time'''''.|Ratchet earns his permanent place on [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]]'s crap list|[[Infiltration issue 3|''Infiltration'' #3]]}}

==IDW Generation 1 comics==
{{ongoing}}
===Joining the Autobots===
[[File:Patternism-StealTheMatrix.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.5|Turns out the entire trilogy's on DailyMotion!]]
Long before the war, Ratchet and [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Orion Pax]] (the future Optimus Prime) met at the [[Iacon (polity)|Iaconian]] [[Academy of Science and Technology]] and they stayed friends afterwards. When Ratchet became the Autobot's Chief Medical Officer, he found he was unsatisfied and Orion encouraged him to open a free clinic in [[Rodion]]'s [[Dead End (place)|Dead End]] for the [[Empty|derelicts]] (though he kept this secret in case the [[Senate]] disapproved). Ratchet once repaired a destitute robot named [[Drift (G1)|Drift]] who was crashing on [[circuit booster]]s, an encounter both would recall millions of years later. {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 1: Post Hoc|Post Hoc}} Ratchet would distinguish himself over the millennia as the only Autobot who personally saved the life of every [[Prime (rank)|Prime]] since [[Nominus Prime|Nominus]]. His hands possessed a naturally unique skill and dexterity which made them almost hypnotic while in motion.

When Nominus Prime fell victim to a terrorist attack, Ratchet was the one who performed life-saving surgery. Orion, now a "supercop" in Rodion, trusted the medic enough to reveal that he had a [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|friend]] in the Senate who knew members of ''the Senate itself'' had done the deed; Ratchet was not a full believer until Nominus died from a "long-standing [[rust]] infection" that he knew for a fact the Prime didn't have. {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 1: Post Hoc|Post Hoc}} Investigating this, Orion uncovered a Senate plot to plant a bomb in Nominus's body and blame it on the new [[Decepticon]] movement, and so Ratchet joined him in putting a stop to it. {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 2: Patternism|Patternism}} He came with Orion and some [[outlier]]s to the [[Primal Basilica]], where his precise fingers were required to pick the locks holding the bomb in place. {{storylink|Shadowplay (Conclusion): An Intimate Beheading|An Intimate Beheading}}

Following that, Pax and [[Roller (IDW)|Roller]] had to flee and Ratchet stayed behind to look after his patients. He was unable to properly say goodbye to Roller: a recurring problem the medic would have. He'd never see Roller again. {{storylink|Our Steps Will Always Rhyme}}

[[File:Omegasconundrum-awesomerescue.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|left]]
When the Decepticon insurgency went on the rise, Ratchet served with the Security Forces stationed in [[Kaon (polity)|Kaon]]. He was present at the funeral of [[Bumper (G1)|Bumper]] and [[Fastback (G1)|Fastback]]. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 3|Megatron Origin #3}} His skills as a doctor were such that he worked for both [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime]] and [[Zeta Prime]]. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It|How to Say Goodbye and Mean It}} Under Zeta's rule, Ratchet became Chief Medical Officer of the new Autobot army, only to be kidnapped by the Decepticons and held at the [[Rust Sea#IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rust Spot]] as a ploy to capture [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] during a hostage exchange. Fortunately the hostage exchanger was Orion Pax, who managed to save both Ratchet and Trion. {{storylink|Omega's Conundrum}}

During these early days of the war, Ratchet began working at the [[Deltaran Medical Facility]] and became friends with fellow Autobot medic [[Pharma (G1)|Pharma]]. {{storylink|Remain in Light 2 of 5: House of Ambus|House of Ambus}} The two of them accompanied the team who apprehended [[Roadbuster (G1)|Roadbuster]] for brutalizing the cadets under his command to the point of death. Of those cadets, he and Pharma were only able to save [[Hubcap (G1)|Hubcap]]. {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 4}}

[[File:Broadcast-WheeljackandRatchethearPrime.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4]]
Ratchet participated in Orion Pax's uprising against an increasingly corrupt Zeta Prime, and would have repaired Orion after the battle if not for a sudden betrayal by their Decepticon allies. {{storylink|Overthrown}} He was working at the [[technoversity]] of [[Ultirex]] when Orion Pax, now Optimus Prime, broadcast a rallying call for support against [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]]'s dictatorship. {{storylink|Broadcast}}

In the earliest days of his leadership, Optimus Prime sent a team of scientists including Ratchet to the remains of the [[Toraxxis mega-refinery]] to search for traces of energon. {{storylink|Fallout (issue)|Fallout}} Indeed, they did find some in the form of a pool in the caverns beneath the crater, but when an earthquake sent Ratchet falling into the liquid, he went berserk and started attacking his comrades. He quickly regained his composure, but before they could study why the energon had turned him into a mindless beast, the scientists were attacked by monsters living in the caves. As they fled, Ratchet used his [[alternate mode]] to bust into another cavern, where the team found a [[Trypticon (G1)|gigantic sleeping dragon]]. {{storylink|Underworld (IDW)|Underworld}} They reported their findings to Optimus Prime, who told them to find a way to neutralize the creature so the Autobots could make use of the energon, {{storylink|Prey (issue)|Prey}} Ratchet then fought against Trypticon's minions during the monster's rampage across Cybertron. {{storylink|Annihilation}}

Ratchet played a role in curing the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dynobots]] of the effects of the same corrupted energon, {{storylink|Primacy issue 1|Primacy #1}} and shortly afterwards patched [[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]] up during a Decepticon assault on Iacon. {{storylink|Primacy issue 4|Primacy #4}}

As the war went on, the young 'bot Drift that he'd helped would go on to become one of the Decepticon's worst killers. This long rankled the medic.

Ratchet repaired Optimus Prime after his first confrontation with Megatron at [[Sherma Bridge]], a duel which left Prime in so many pieces it took Ratchet over two months to find them all and put them back together. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1|Chaos Theory #1}}

In the early 2000s, [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]] ordered Ratchet to join his covert team on [[Earth]]. Rather than properly say goodbye to Pharma, Ratchet just left when his back was turned. {{storylink|Our Steps Will Always Rhyme}}

===Infiltration on Earth===
[[File:Infiltration3 Ratchet.jpg|left|upright=1.95|thumb|Watch, my headgear will flip colours as you scroll down.]]
In [[2006]], Ratchet's team were several years into fighting the Decepticon insurgency on Earth. Although a loyal warrior, Ratchet's conscience got the better of him when he intercepted a Decepticon pulsewave ordering the elimination of [[Stoker|a human being]]. While he was too late to save that human, he encountered two more—[[Verity Carlo]] and [[Hunter O'Nion]]—who had stumbled upon the Decepticon plot. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 0|Infiltration #0}} Ratchet broke cover to save their lives, subjecting himself to the wrath of Prowl, who threatened disciplinary action. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 1|Infiltration #1}} {{storylink|Infiltration issue 2|Infiltration #2}} {{storylink|Infiltration issue 3|Infiltration #3}} Years later, Ratchet's breaking of cover and place among the original Earth-bound Autobots would be reflected on by [[Joe Colton]]. {{storylink|Secret Raiders: A Revolution Prelude|Secret Raiders}}

Ratchet was seemingly alone in his convictions, until Bumblebee agreed to help him and the humans investigate an abandoned Decepticon bunker in [[Nebraska]]. [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] and [[Skywarp (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Skywarp]] arrived while the humans were reconnoitering and began an aerial bombardment of the bunker, intending to destroy it. Bumblebee and Ratchet engaged the Decepticons in order to buy the humans time to escape the collapsing bunker. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 4|Infiltration #4}}

[[File:Ratchetholomatter.jpg|100px|thumb|Ratchet's holo-matter avatar has no mouth, and he must snark.]]
The Autobots and humans were leaving the Decepticons to finish their work when an enraged Megatron burst from the buried ruins of the bunker. Thankfully for them, Megatron was more concerned with the treachery of Blitzwing and Skywarp, allowing Ratchet and the others to escape with their lives. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 5|Infiltration #5}} Unwilling to risk their safety further, Ratchet subsequently returned the humans to ''[[Ark-19]]'', where they met the newly arrived Optimus Prime. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 6|Infiltration #6}}

[[File:RatchetandMarvel-ManandMachine2.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1]]
Ratchet went with the Autobots to investigate Decepticon activity in the country of [[Latveria]]. There they discovered a heavily shielded "array" that the Decepticons were using as a base. {{storylink|Man and Machine, Part One}} There they skirmished with the humans that were assembled outside who were under the influence of the Decepticons' mind-altering [[Psycho-Prism]]. [[Ms. Marvel]] smashed through Ratchet's window and Ratchet subdued her with his driver-side airbag. After throwing off Ms. Marvel, Ratchet was able to attach an inhibitor device to [[Captain America]] which nullified the effects of the Psycho-Prism. He gave Captain America enough devices for everyone on his team. Now calmed down, the two groups teamed up to destroy the Psycho-Prism. They began attacking the array's defenses which caused the Decepticons to attack. {{storylink|Man and Machine, Part Two}}

During the fight, [[Luke Cage]] and Ratchet discovered a weak spot in the array's defenses and went in. Prowl followed to make sure Ratchet didn't put human interests ahead of Autobot interests, but the human [[Spider-Man]] was held captive inside, so Prowl gave in and let Ratchet and Luke Cage attempt a rescue. The two were surprised by a powered-up Megatron who blasted Ratchet and took Luke Cage hostage. {{storylink|Man and Machine, Part Three}} Ratchet awoke next to Prowl to find Spider-Man had been freed by [[Doctor Doom]]. Prowl and Ratchet decided to use the Decepticons' [[mirror response mode]] equipment to boost their power with Spider-Man's superhuman abilities. [[Wolverine (superhero)|Wolverine]] arrived with Jazz and Bumblebee and suggested they use his abilities instead. They did, then [[orbital jump|orbital bounced]] with Spider-Man back to the battle outside, where their added strength helped defeat Megatron. Wolverine, Jazz, and Bumblebee stayed to destroy the Psycho-Prism. {{storylink|Man and Machine, Part Four}}

[[File:Sixshot-devastation3a.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|I have no idea where that pot came from! I SWEAR!]]
After [[Sunstreaker (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Sunstreaker]] was apparently destroyed by [[Machination|a mysterious human organisation]], {{storylink|Escalation issue 1|Escalation #1}} Ratchet determined that the wreckage the Autobots recovered was a fake. {{storylink|Escalation issue 2|Escalation #2}} {{storylink|Escalation issue 3|Escalation #3}} Later, Ratchet and [[Ironhide (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ironhide]], against orders, accompanied Verity Carlo and [[Jimmy Pink]] to find clues on the missing Sunstreaker's and Hunter's whereabouts while Optimus Prime and the other Autobots went to [[Brasnya]]. {{storylink|Escalation issue 4|Escalation #4}} {{storylink|Escalation issue 5|Escalation #5}} {{storylink|Spotlight: Galvatron}} When the humans set off a trap, the Autobots saved them, though Ironhide was critically injured and Ratchet was forced to abandon him to bring the humans to safety. {{storylink|Escalation issue 6|Escalation #6}}

When the Autobots decided to relocate the ''Ark-19'', they were attacked by [[Sixshot]], who downed the ship in mid-flight. {{storylink|Devastation issue 1|Devastation #1}} Ratchet was ordered to take Verity and Jimmy into an escape pod while the rest of the crew piloted the ship into the ocean. {{storylink|Devastation issue 2|Devastation #2}} Sixshot soon found Ratchet and pursued him relentlessly. Ratchet used the distraction provided by some human jet fighters to escape, hiding among an ambulance pool in [[Pensacola]], Florida. Sixshot soon flushed him out, however, and pursued him out of town, forcing Ratchet to abandon Verity and Jimmy for their own safety. When cornered at the water's edge, Ratchet prepared to make a last stand, but was saved by the timely arrival of the other Autobots. {{storylink|Devastation issue 3|Devastation #3}}

[[File:Devastation5 Ratchet Jazz.jpg|upright=1.1|left|thumb|CLEAR!]]
The humans made their way back to the Autobots to warn them about an air attack by the military, and Ratchet took them with him on an orbital bounce to the ''[[Ark-32]]''. Unfortunately, this killed Verity and Jimmy. {{storylink|Devastation issue 4|Devastation #4}}

Guilt-stricken, Ratchet managed to restart their hearts after more than 5 minutes, though he feared they suffered brain damage. {{storylink|Devastation issue 5|Devastation #5}} Some time later, however, Ratchet was present as the pair were reunited with Hunter. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 5|Maximum Dinobots #5}} He then dropped the young lad back at his sister's home and, still unable to say goodbye, brusquely said he wouldn't keep him and drove off. Unknown to Ratchet, Hunter would be abducted and brutalised by the Decepticons just minutes later. {{storylink|Our Steps Will Always Rhyme}}

[[File:Ratchet Hunter steps will always rhyme.jpg|200px|thumb|You'll miss him [[All Hail Megatron issue 12|when he's gone]].]]
A year later, Ratchet and a number of other Autobots were led by Optimus Prime in an attempt to rid Earth of the Decepticons once and for all. Unfortunately, they fell right into a trap, and Ratchet was injured by a shot to the chest. The Autobots were then thrown into a [[space bridge]] leading to the ruins of Cybertron, where the Decepticons hoped the "[[Insecticon swarm|swarm]]" would eat them. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 7|All Hail Megatron #7}} Whilst hiding from the swarm, Ratchet tended to the critically-damaged Optimus Prime. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 1|All Hail Megatron #1}} After listening to [[Hot Rod/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Hot Rod]]'s tale about how the ''[[Trion]]'' and its crew had crashed on the planet as well, {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 5|All Hail Megatron #5}} Ratchet mingled with him and [[Blurr (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Blurr]]. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 6|All Hail Megatron #6}}

[[File:Ratchetclownwithagun-All Hail Megatron 9.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|left]]
Ratchet later checked up on Sunstreaker, telling him that his separation from Hunter had been a complete success, although the human would never be "fully human" again. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 14|Replay}} Their base soon came under attack from the swarm, however, so the other Autobots formed a perimeter around Ratchet and [[Roadbuster (G1)|Roadbuster]] as they fled elsewhere. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 8|All Hail Megatron #8}} At their new base, Ratchet managed to use a [[CR chamber]] to heal his damaged comrades, although he reported to [[Kup (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Kup]] that the chamber could do nothing to improve their declining morale. In addition, he and Wheeljack were still having trouble repairing Optimus Prime, and Ratchet cursed that [[Perceptor (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Perceptor]] had turned into just another "clown with a gun". Thankfully, they eventually came through and brought Prime back from the brink of death. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 9|All Hail Megatron #9}}

Ratchet and the others finally managed to get off Cybertron thanks to [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]], and returned to Earth to continue their fight against the Decepticons. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 11|All Hail Megatron #11}} He survived the battle in [[New York City]], and cheered with his comrades as the Decepticons fled the planet. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 12|All Hail Megatron #12}}

Later, Ratchet was part of the rescue party that saved Bumblebee from a military attack after the yellow guy abandoned his cover to save some refugees. After repairing Bumblebee, Ratchet told the mini-bot that they found him by monitoring human radio signals. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 16|Hidden}}

At some point, Ratchet had become a fan of "[[Fisitron (G1)|Fisitron]]'s" ''[[Wreckers: Declassified]]'' datalogues. Several years after the fall of Megatron, "Fisitron" (real name Ironfist) died from a severe gunshot. Ratchet would often think afterwards that he could have saved Ironfist's life. {{storylink|How Ratchet Got His Hands Back}}

[[File:RatchetFigueroadesign-For all Mankind.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4]]
Around the same time, Ratchet and the Autobots were still operating on Earth. It served as a meeting point for all Autobots who had survived the great purge the Decepticons had orchestrated throughout the galaxy. {{storylink|Ride-Along}} Not all Autobots were content with the virtually directionless existence Optimus Prime had led them into, however, especially with the human organization known as [[Skywatch]] hunting them and Decepticons alike. Ratchet was present when [[Hot Rod/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Hot Rod]] demanded Prime allow him to stage a rescue operation to recover Prowl after he was captured... and afterwards, when Ironhide came back from the mission as a corpse. He witnessed Optimus Prime abdicate his role as leader, and leave the Autobots to surrender to Skywatch. {{storylink|...For All Mankind}}

In the aftermath of Prime's decision, and the subsequent departure of a splinter faction under Hot Rod's command, Ratchet and the others were left in a state of shock. With the war effectively over and the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]] missing, the line of succession was no longer clear. The Autobots decided to hold an election to see who their new leader would be. No one was more surprised than Bumblebee when HE turned out to be the new chosen leader. Ratchet quickly stepped up as Bumblebee's second, helping shepherd him into his new role. {{storylink|Things Fall Apart, Part 1: "New Arrivals, Old Encounters"|New Arrivals, Old Encounters}} Bumblebee's authority was challenged almost immediately by the arrival of [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]], but Ratchet did his best to support 'Bee before Magnus took off on a mission of his own. {{storylink|Things Fall Apart, Part 2: "A Rude Awakening"|A Rude Awakening}}

[[File:RatchetHoundBlasterbadges-Hanging Sword.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.0]]
Ratchet had his work cut out for him, though. Not only was [[Wheeljack (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Wheeljack]] undermining Bumblebee's authority from the start, Bumblebee himself just couldn't adjust to the role quickly. Still, he supported Bumblebee's decision to form a clandestine alliance with Skywatch through Colonel [[Gordon Horiuchi]], who was acting outside his mandate in the hopes of using the Autobots to stop [[Skywarp (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Skywarp]] and the other Decepticons still loose on Earth. Working in secret with Horiuchi, the Autobots hoped to prove their value and good intentions to Skywatch's higher ups by racking up an impressive number of Decepticon captures. They even began wearing specially-designed Skywatch insignia badges for communication and to mask their activities from Skywatch operatives who weren't "in the loop". After five successful bag-and-tags, however, Horiuchi threw them the first curveball. The Autobots' next target was Blurr, one of their own who had left after Ultra Magnus's arrival. As Ratchet and the others refused to hunt one of their own, Horiuchi demonstrated a hidden feature of the badges — the ability to forcibly revert the Autobots to [[alternate mode|vehicle mode]] at his command. {{storylink|The Hanging Sword}}

Left with no choice, Ratchet and Bumblebee led the Autobots in capturing Blurr. The whole situation was a fiasco, however, and Blurr even fired on Bumblebee during the encounter, damaging his badge. Bumblebee found the courage to defy Horiuchi and refused to turn over Blurr to Skywatch later that day. The colonel tried to mode-lock Bumblebee for his insubordination, but the shot to Bumblebee's badge had rendered it useless. Quick on the uptake, Ratchet whispered to Bumblebee to fake it so Horiuchi didn't realize he'd lost his edge over the Autobot leader. [[File:Ratchetdontknowaboutbadges-Gift Horse.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3]] At Ratchet's prompting, the Autobots pretended the damaged badge had left Bumblebee trapped in vehicle mode permanently, despite Horiuchi's attempts to reverse the mode-lock. With Blurr's help, they recovered another Volkswagen Beetle to use as a ringer, allowing Bumblebee to leave the base and seek a solution for their predicament. Because Skywatch was constantly monitoring their vocal output using the badges, Ratchet and the others couldn't even speak a word of encouragement to 'Bee as he set off on his mission. {{storylink|The Impossible Knot}}

With Bumblebee on the loose, Ratchet continued the ruse of pretending to cooperate with Colonel Horiuchi and his staff, showing them the malfunctioning "Bumblebee" for examination. Meanwhile, he and Wheeljack kept in touch with the real Bumblebee using a text-only comm signal that wouldn't show up on Skywatch's monitoring. Ratchet was named acting leader of the Autobots while "Bumblebee" was off-line, as he and Wheeljack secretly led the real Bumblebee to [[Sanjay Bharwaney]], creator of the badges' control board. Bumblebee needed access to the board's schematics in order to free his friends, but had to manipulate [[Serena Bharwaney|Bharwaney's young daughter]] into helping him. Ratchet had to comfort Bumblebee through "using" the girl for his own purposes. {{storylink|The Gift Horse}}

Unfortunately, the rogue Decepticon Skywarp had also learned of the board, and was coming to Bharwaney's to steal it. Ratchet and the other Autobots were forced to blow their cover to rush to Bumblebee's aid. They were too late, however, and Bumblebee was forced to set off an EMP, knocking him and Skywarp off-line while disabling the control board and the badges as well. As Ratchet brought Bumblebee in for repairs, he reluctantly agreed to upgrade his new commander into a more war-like, combat ready body to fit his new duties. {{storylink|Wings of Wax}}

Soon, Ultra Magnus returned from his scouting mission to challenge Bumblebee's authority again, gathering Ratchet and several other Autobots in the name of the [[Tyrest Accord]] to arrest Hot Rod for colluding with the enemy. Hot Rod's mistake became clear when his "ally", [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]], activated a new Decepticon combiner and unleashed it on the Autobots. {{storylink|Things Fall Apart, Part 4: "Enemies of the System"|Enemies of the System}} After several Autobots were damaged fighting [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]], Ratchet began patching them up as best he could, with the help of Skywatch personnel. He barely finished working on Ultra Magnus before the enforcer stomped off to search for [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]]. {{storylink|Things Fall Apart, Part 5: "Earthworks"|Earthworks}} Following this, the Autobots entered a formal alliance with Skywatch. {{storylink|All His Engines}}

[[File:Ratchet fixes Cliffjumper-The Land Ironclads.jpg|thumb|upright=1.9|left|"Vhen ze patient woke up, his skeleton was missing, and ze doctor vas never heard from again!"]]
Ratchet was part of an Autobot-Skywatch team sent to [[Las Vegas]] once [[Galvatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Galvatron]] showed up with an army of [[zombie]]s in tow. They fought with him until he managed to calm them down and explain that they needed to combine their strength in order to destroy the zombie plague. {{storylink|The Transformers: Infestation issue 1|The Transformers: Infestation #1}} Together with Galvatron and his minions, the Autobots banished the undead hordes and their leader, [[Britt]], to the [[Dead Universe]]. {{storylink|The Transformers: Infestation issue 2|The Transformers: Infestation #2}}

[[File:Ratchet clips wings-Hawk Among the Sparrows.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0]]
Ratchet was helping a human technician repair [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] when [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] showed up and asked for the Autobots' help with defeating the [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticons]] in [[North Korea]]. They accepted, but due to pressure from the [[President of the United States]], they were going to have to do it in disguise. {{storylink|International Incident Part 1: "The Land Ironclads"|The Land Ironclads}} Their initial clash with the Combaticons ended in failure, and Ratchet ended up having to repair [[Jetfire (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Jetfire]] and [[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]]. {{storylink|International Incident Part 2: "Ranks of Bronze"|Ranks of Bronze}} He took to the front lines in their next attack, during which he attempted to saw off [[Vortex (G1)|Vortex]]'s rotor blades. {{storylink|International Incident Part 3: "Hawk Among the Sparrows"|Hawk Among the Sparrows}} The Combaticons were ultimately defeated, but the Autobots' cover had been blown in the process. Sitting over an unconscious Vortex, Ratchet wondered aloud what would happen to the Autobots now that their alliance with Skywatch was public knowledge. {{storylink|International Incident Part 4: "All My Sins Remembered"|All My Sins Remembered}}

On the way back from Korea, the plane carrying the Autobots was shot down over the ocean by a returning Megatron. The occupants survived, however, and made it ashore. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 3: Woken Furies|Woken Furies}} They rolled out to confront the Decepticon leader near [[Albuquerque]], but Optimus Prime ordered Ratchet and the others to stay back while he went ahead alone to confirm what was going on. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 4: Burning Chrome|Burning Chrome}} Most of the Autobots remaining in America had been injured by Megatron, or in Bumblebee's case, rioting humans who still mistrusted the Transformers, and so Ratchet had his hands full repairing them all. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 5: Enemy Mine|Enemy Mine}}

After some six weeks of repairs, Ratchet managed to get Bumblebee back to his normal self, though he was left relying on a cane. That same day, the Autobots learned that Cybertron had been restored to a habitable state only to be have fallen under Galvatron's control. They wasted no time in boarding Omega Supreme's rocket mode and leaving Earth to liberate their home. {{storylink|Space Opera—Final Tableaux: Orphans of the Helix|Orphans of the Helix}}

[[File:Ratchetcouldveanswered-chaos theory 2.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1]]
During the trip, Ratchet aided Perceptor in searching the captured Megatron's body for hidden weapons. He was annoyed by those pesky "laws" that prevented them from just executing their prisoner and also feared his purported ability to syphon [[antimatter]] from [[black hole]]s, but Perceptor dismissed that myth. Later, Ratchet and Wheeljack bet over whether or not Optimus Prime would let them overhear his questioning of Megatron. He wouldn't, and Ratchet walked away 50 [[Shanix]] richer. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1|Chaos Theory #1}} Believing that the Matrix might cloud his judgement regarding how to punish Megatron, Optimus temporarily left Ratchet in charge of the relic. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 2|Chaos Theory #2}}

After arriving on Cybertron, Ratchet participated in the battle against Galvatron's [[Sweep (G1)|Sweep]] army. {{storylink|Chaos Part Two: Numbers|Numbers}} Then Megatron broke loose and summoned his Decepticons, and the Autobots had to fight ''them'' as well. {{storylink|Chaos Part Three: Kings|Kings}} The battle ended with Cybertron restored to a living, "primordial" state and [[NAIL|neutral Transformers]] returning home from all across the galaxy. Ratchet repaired [[Metalhawk (Masterforce)|Metalhawk]], the spokesman of the "NAILs", when he was injured during a NAIL riot against the Autobots being in command. {{storylink|Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime|The Death of Optimus Prime}}

===The ''Lost Light''===
[[File:HangersOn-Ratchetloosensjoints.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5]]
After proving unable to save a NAIL from transforming himself to death in protest, Ratchet confided in Bumblebee that he was worried about getting old and losing his touch as a doctor. In hopes that he could help some more people and maybe find himself a successor, he joined the crew of Rodimus's ''[[Lost Light]]'' which left Cybertron in search of the [[Knights of Cybertron]]. Unfortunately for him, ''Drift'' was on the crew too, having reformed and joined the Autobots. Ratchet almost immediately started to insult the ex-Decepticon to whoever would listen, {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It|How to Say Goodbye and Mean It}} and imply he only had a third-in-command role because he told Rodimus what he wanted to hear.

Ratchet got his hands full right away on the ''Lost Light'', having to repair an ancient crippled [[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]], an armless [[Rung (G1)|Rung]] (who was very impressed with Ratchet's dexterity until he saw the medic smash his own hand with a hammer to loosen some joints), [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]] and all the Autobots who fell out of the ship during its unfortunate launch. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 2: Hangers On|Hangers On}} When [[Shock (G1)|Shock]] was found dead, Ratchet analyzed his body, annoyed by the others blaming the death on a [[Sparkeater (creature)|Sparkeater]] until he concluded that they were right. Once Rodimus defeated the creature at the cost of his arms, Ratchet built him new ones. He was working on Tailgate again when the little guy suddenly revealed that he wanted to be a Decepticon. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 3: The Chaos of Warm Things|The Chaos of Warm Things}}

Unknown to Ratchet, that launch had created a quantum duplicate of the ''Lost Light'' with its own Ratchet. {{storylink|slaughterhouse Part 2: The Road Not Taken|The Road Not Taken}}

[[File:Ratchet life after the big bang.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.4|{{w|Father Ted|This drink is small, but the ones out there are far away...small, far away}}]]
Having received a datalog detailing an unusual death rate among patients at [[Delphi]], Ratchet brought Drift and [[Pipes (G1)|Pipes]] with him to investigate and found that the facility was infected with a deadly [[Red Rust|Red Rust virus]]. While he was trying to figure out what happened by talking to the local medics, [[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]], [[Ambulon]], and [[Pharma (G1)|Pharma]], Pipes and Drift were infected. The Autobots were then attacked by two [[Genericon]]s, but saved by [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]]. {{storylink|Life After the Big Bang}}

[[File:Pharma ratchet how ratchet got his hands back.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Don't worry, kids. He gets better.]]
Ratchet quickly figured out the properties of the virus, leading to the revelation that Pharma was behind the outbreak. Despite being infected himself, he pursued Pharma and learned of his plan about unleashing the virus to escape a deal he had made with the [[Decepticon Justice Division]]. On the roof of Delphi, Ratchet battled Pharma and knocked him to the edge where Drift sliced his hands off, sending him to his doom. Ratchet then used Pharma's vaccine to cure Delphi of its virus and went back to the ''Lost Light'' with Drift, Pipes, the survivors of Delphi and... a new pair of hands. {{storylink|How Ratchet Got His Hands Back}}

Ratchet was testing out equipment in the Lost Light's medical bay when he, along with nearly everyone on board of the ship were frozen in place due to one of Brainstorm's experimental weapons accidentally going off. After he recovered, he was awarded a Rodimus Star "for exceptional endurance in the face of adversity." {{storylink|The Reluctant Specialist}}

After Fortress Maximus went on a shooting spree inside the Lost Light, Ratchet treated the victims with First Aid's help. He noticed a strange pattern between all five casualties: they shared the same colors as Overlord. {{storylink|Interiors}}

First Aid, Ambulon, and Ratchet were instrumental in saving Rung's life after he was accidentally shot in the head by [[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]]. {{storylink|Rules of Disengagement (issue)|Rules of Disengagement}} Later, Ratchet helped Ultra Magnus rid some [[Nanocon]]s inside him and attended Tailgate's Autobot Initiation Ceremony afterwards. He was among the crew members that were teleported down to [[Theophany]] by the [[Galactic Council]] to investigate [[Crystal City]], where they came across a [[Titan (IDW)|Titan]] and Ratchet gave Rodimus a communicator from Ultra Magnus. The Galactic Council troops attacked them after the Titan shot an eye blast at their ship and Ratchet joined a team to hold them off while Rodimus attempted to free the titan. The Titan was freed and teleported the crew back to their ship and quantum-jumped the ship to safety. {{storylink|Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations|You, Me, and Other Revelations}}

[[File:mtmte39 tarn sees drift.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.4|"Do ''not'' touch my Ratchet!" "Your Ratchet???" "Not this again."]]
Around this time, the [[Decepticon Justice Division]] arrived at the other ''Lost Light'' to kill the quantum duplicate of [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] on board. When [[Tarn (DJD)|Tarn]] saw Drift, he attempted to kill the turncoat: Drift tried to defend Ratchet. The DJD followed this up by butchering Ratchet and every other crewmember of the duplocate ship. {{storylink|The Permanent Revolution}} {{storylink|slaughterhouse Part 2: The Road Not Taken|The Road Not Taken}} Ratchet's corpse would have its brain module put inside his mouth by [[Helex (DJD)|Helex]]. {{storylink|slaughterhouse}}

In an attempt to jump-start Rung's brain, Ratchet agreed to tell a story about pre-war events that involved him and Orion Pax; this included the story of how he saved Drift and gave him a pep talk, something both he and Drift long thought about. {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 1: Post Hoc|Post Hoc}} Ratchet later narrated their revelation of the Senate's plans and stated to Whirl that a reason why Megatron went bad was probably due to the triggerhappy bot's past beating on Megatron. {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 2: Patternism|Patternism}} As the story was having no apparent effect on Rung, Ratchet rushed it along until it came to a close, at which point an alarm began ringing and everyone moved to battle stations. {{storylink|Shadowplay (Conclusion): An Intimate Beheading|An Intimate Beheading}}

Following a battle with a group of Decepticons on [[Temptoria]], Ratchet operated on two of the injured, [[Spoke]] and [[Lockstock]]. {{storylink|Before & After}}

When the ''Lost Light's'' alarm system went off, Ratchet was the first to fully engage the escaped [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] in combat. He and Drift held the line for the few moments necessary for Rodimus and the others to reach the battle. {{storylink|Under Cold Blue Stars}} While Overlord was eventually ejected from the ship, he killed at least five crew members before the end. Ratchet did his best to repair those he could, but even the mighty Ultra Magnus was on the verge of death, counting down the number of days until his spark shrank away to nothing. After Drift came forward and claimed responsibility for bringing Overlord on board, he was exiled from the ''Lost Light''. As he departed, grieving Autobots threw trash at the spiritualist, knocking him down, but Ratchet stepped up and helped his friend to his feet before he left. {{storylink|The Gloaming}} He would soon realise how much he'd liked Drift now the 'bot was gone. {{storylink|Our Steps Will Always Rhyme}}

After an accident with the "[[death clock]]" Ratchet ended up diagnosing Tailgate with old-age and [[cybercrosis]], laying the brutal truth out for the little 'bot. Tailgate fled his clinic in tears just as Chromedome walked in, ostensibly to get his arm rebuilt. Later Ratchet was present in the observation deck when the Lost Light hurtled through the space-portal that would eventually lead to [[Moonbase One|Luna 1]]. He was invited by Rodimus to join the landing party on the "Miracle Moon." He became the first of the group to correctly identify their location as a reignited hot-spot, and explained to Tailgate what ''constructed cold'' meant in the scope of Cybertronian reproduction.

The group was ambushed by [[Lockdown (G1)|Lockdown]] and a platoon of Depticons. Ratchet's transport sled was hit with gunfire, and as he picked himself out of the wreckage, he came face-to face with a rebuilt, chainsaw-handed [[Pharma (G1)|Pharma]]! {{storylink|Remain in Light 1 of 5: The Fecund Moon|The Fecund Moon}}

He woke up to find Pharma gloating over him in a well-stocked medical room. Pharma explained with glee how he had been rescued from [[Delphi]] (see: {{storylink|How Ratchet Got His Hands Back}}) by a genius friend who had given Pharma new hands. He also seemed adamant that Ratchet guess what lay in a mysterious box. When Ratchet impatiently refused to guess, Pharma showed Ratchet his ''own body in the box''. All that remained of Ratchet was a head and a spark, bolted to a table. {{storylink|Remain in Light 2 of 5: House of Ambus|House of Ambus}} Ratchet challenged Pharma to a duel, to see who was the best doctor, and the winner could have the hands. Unable to resist a decisive completion, Pharma reinstalled Ratchet in his body, initiating a race to see who could be faster in stitching together 'bots that had been ''cut in half''. But instead of a "worthless Decepticon", Pharma had [[Ambulon]] and [[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]] taken from the Lost Light. Ratchet pleaded to stop the race, but Pharma was committed to the game. Ratchet quickly told the two medibots to re-route their nerve circuits away from their waists to minimise their pain, however Pharma mocked Ratchet, and chain sawed Ambulon in half, ''lengthways''. {{storylink|Remain in Light 3 of 5: The Divided Self|The Divided Self}}

Oddly, Pharma quickly vacated the medibay to leave Ratchet crouched over Ambulon's two halves. Ratchet was haunted by Pharma's claims that ''he'' could save Ambulon, when it was clear Ratchet might not be able to. Watched over by the [[Legislator]]s guarding them, Ratchet quickly went to work, refusing First Aid's assistance. This did not go down well with the former nurse, who criticized Ratchet severely for not letting him help, and quickly upped the argument to blame Ambulon's predicament upon Ratchet, his obsessions with his "stupid hands" and being the "Chief Medical Officer in Perpetuity". Ratchet finally stopped First Aid with the revelation that Ambulon had died half an hour before, then shoved First Aid out of the way to blast the Legislators with a weapon made from the remains of Ambulon's body. Ratchet promised First Aid that if they survived, he would officially hand over the CMO title to First Aid.

They caught up with Rodimus and the others, who had escaped Tyrest's prison. Ratchet had a moment with Tailgate to confirm that Tailgate's increasing paralysis was a result of his cybercrosis, and that despite the nearby medibay, the cure only lay in Pharma's head. The 'Bots teamed up to storm Tyrest's control room, unfortunately to little effect. Ratchet narrowly missed being blasted by Pharma's gun, before being felled - along with the others - by Tyrest's "Weapon of Mass Suggestion". {{storylink|Remain in Light 4 of 5: Arm the Lonely|Arm the Lonely}} Thanks to a heroic action by Tailgate, Ratchet and the others survived to thwart the plot. Unfortunately, that still meant Ratchet had the grim task of looking through Tyrest's notes to find there ''was'' a cure for cybercrosis but Tailgate was too far gone for it to work. Cyclonus was able to use his [[Great Sword]] to keep Tailgate's spark going {{storylink|Remain in Light 5 of 5: This Calamitous Life|This Calamitous Life}} and Ratchet was able to save him.

He took time out to quietly inform Minimus Ambus that, as their medic, he had always known about the Magnus replacements and just never told anyone: he'd seen no point. As far as he was concerned though, Ambus was the 'true' Ultra Magnus. {{storylink|The Sound of Breaking Glass}}

Rodimus informed everyone that ''he'' was responsible for bringing Overlord onboard and held a vote on whether he should step own as captain. Ratchet was one of those who voted against him. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 3: Predestination: A Beginner's Guide|Predestination: A Beginner's Guide}}

Ratchet found himself part of the High Command cabal discussing Megatron's trial. He was uneasy about the idea of a military trial but it would go ahead. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|Towards Peace}} He advised that due to all the internal damage Megatron had recently suffered, it would be cruel and unusual punishment to make him take sedatives. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 5: Rage, Rage|Rage, Rage}} Shortly after Megatron's trial was adjourned on a legal technicality, Ratchet found Rodimus had been given a list of all the Autobots who'd voted against him staying as captain. A furious Ratchet reminded him that this was an illegal act but since ''Megatron'' was now getting to be an Autobot, the medic was willing to turn a blind eye to this far less minor transgression. When Rodimus asked how he knew, Ratchet snapped "because my name's not on it". {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 3: Predestination: A Beginner's Guide|Predestination: A Beginner's Guide}} {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 5: Rage, Rage|Rage, Rage}}

He once again served on the ''Lost Light'', now under the co-leadership of Megatron and Rodimus. (He took the chance to quietly ask him if Megs could ''really'' make black holes come out of his eyes) {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 2: Words Hang in the Air|Words Hang in the Air}} One of his tasks was to administer "Fool's Energon", a sedative designed to sap Megatron's strength. What only he, Rodimus, and Optimus knew was that there was no such thing as Fool's Energon: as Ratchet's own notes said it would be cruel punishment to deliver a real sedative, they were giving him a placebo. If Megatron ever stopped taking it, they'd know he was about to fall off the wagon. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 5: Rage, Rage|Rage, Rage}}

Very soon into it, he found himself examining a coffin ''with another Rodimus in it''. The coffin had [[spectralist]] markings on it, which Ratchet believed meant Drift might have made it. He didn't have time to working out what this meant as the ''Lost Light'' began disappearing around him {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 3: Predestination: A Beginner's Guide|Predestination: A Beginner's Guide}} and left him crammed in a [[Rodpod]] with other panicked Autobots, trying to stop Tailgate from shooting Megatron on general principle. When Autobots started disappearing, Ratchet had time to point out that (as he himself was forged) the phenomenon couldn't just be grabbing 'constructed cold' robots before ''he'' disappeared too. {{storylink|Twenty Plus One}} This was due to the quantum-duplicate ''Lost Light'' being so close and after its engines were turned off, the medic came back. {{storylink|slaughterhouse Part 2: The Road Not Taken|The Road Not Taken}}

[[File:ten tentententen.jpg|upright=1.8|thumb]]
After the trial of Brainstorm, Ratchet decided to finally step down and let First Aid have his job before looking to bring Drift home. Rather than come out and just ''say'' goodbye to his friends, he invented a "super scraplet" outbreak that would allow him to talk to them. Under cover of medical work, he helped Nautica understand Brainstorm, got Rung to talk to [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]], encouraged Skids to talk to ''Rung'', made it clear to Rodimus that Drift had been punished too harshly (especially when Brainstorm had just been given lighter treatment), and tried to help Magnus. He also discovered that [[Ten]], a reprogrammed [[Legislator]], was not just sentient but was an artist who had been making small toys of his favorite crewmembers. Ratchet arranged it so that Ten and Ultra Magnus (Ten's fave) could be friends.

With all his work done, he quietly departed to search for Drift and left a communicator in case "the new Chief Medical Officer" First Aid wanted to talk to him. {{storylink|Our Steps Will Always Rhyme}}
{{-}}

===Drift and Ratchet===
Ratchet finally found Drift at a [[Galactic Council]] outpost, handing over Decepticon prisoners: Drift had been fighting and capturing rogue 'cons across the outer rim, {{storylink|Drift - Empire of Stone issue 1|Empire of Stone #1}} and Ratchet was horrified to find he was letting himself stay damaged and run down. {{storylink|Drift - Empire of Stone issue 2|Empire of Stone #2}} Since Drift was determined to find the main Decepticon force, Ratchet inserted himself into the mission. They tracked the Deceptions to a desert plan only to find themselves shot down and their prisoner [[Grit (G1)|Grit]] escaping... only to be accused of treason for being on an Autobot ship. Ratchet was forced to back up Drift when he went to Grit's defence and all three ended up prisoners of [[Megatron (RID)|Gigatron]], Drift's old boss who'd co-opted an alien castle. {{storylink|Drift - Empire of Stone issue 1|Empire of Stone #1}}

[[File:Empire of Stone 2 Drift Ratchet where is this coming from.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.4|"Look, come on back Drift. Rodimus has started talking to ''me'' now."]]
Ratchet was used to blackmail Drift into finding a "stone army" that Gigatron wanted. After an aborted escape attempt, the Autobots and Grit got chucked in the dungeon (and groused about how it'd been handled) and Ratchet got the truth out of Drift: in his Deadlock days, he'd been to the planet before and seen a vast, slumbering stone army. The medic came up with a plan, the truly lame one of pretending Grit had "killed" Drift so the guard would open the door. An unimpressed [[Knockout (G1)|Knockout]] turned out to be Grit's friend and let them out anyway. The Autobots began to argue after escaping as Drift wanted Ratchet to escape and he was having none of it, asking pointblank why the swordsbot was running himself down. (He didn't answer.) Ratchet and Drift found the stone army, and that it had been hidden from Gigatron by [[Hellbat (Victory)|Hellbat]]. Unfortunately Hellbat found ''them'' {{storylink|Drift - Empire of Stone issue 2|Empire of Stone #2}} and, planning to kill them after, gleefully revealed that he'd been using cannibalised Transformers for spare parts that could activate the army. Ratchet learned that this was necessary because Drift had ''murdered'' all the local monks on his first visit and they couldn't wake the army.

Thanks to an attack by Grit, the Autobots escaped captivity and Ratchet took up arms. He then dropped arms to try and save Grit and Drift with a grappling hook. This was successful (Ratchet rule!) but meant the stone army was activated. While Ratchet wanted to alert Cybertron of the threat, the imminent threat of Hellbat's genocidal campaigns meant the trio had to seek Gigatron's help to stop him. {{storylink|Drift - Empire of Stone issue 3|Empire of Stone #3}} This unlikely teamup did destroy the Stone Army but, as far as Drift and Ratchet knew, left the Autobots at the only survivors.

When the medic again tried to get Drift back to the Lost Light, the swordsman said he'd spent his whole life struggling to belong to ''something'' but only ever joined as a killer, and the Hellbat affair just reiterated that he didn't want to live a life where all he could offer was death. Ratchet rephrased the offer: instead of coming back as an Autobot, he should come back as his friend. {{storylink|Drift - Empire of Stone issue 4|Empire of Stone #4}}

[[File:YourFierceTears-RatchetDrift.jpg|right|thumb|300px|]]

After a series of adventures against minor Decepticons, Ratchet and Drift were alerted to a problem on Necroworld by [[Velocity (G1)|Velocity's]] call for help, using the space-time phone he'd left First Aid. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 3: Your Fierce Tears|Your Fierce Tears}} The two chums landed on Necroworld, just in time to save a brutalised Ten from the Decepticon Justice Division and Deathsaurus's goons. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 2: The Sun in Flight|The Sun in Flight}} The fight went quite badly but just as Ratchet said he wasn't relying on help from above, [[Ravage (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ravage]] arrived in a ship from above to lift them all to safety! At an inpromptu base, they discovered that the Autobots stranded here with Megatron were victims of a mutiny on the ''Lost Light''. Ratchet also learned Velocity had been trying to contact ''First Aid'' and had heard, uh, not very nice things about him from First Aid, all of which she blurted by accident. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 3: Your Fierce Tears|Your Fierce Tears}} Relations were furthered soured when, after patching up a badly wounded Megatron, he started to read a list of what he'd missed while doing the final touches, much to her open dismay. However, they had to focus on patients together and it was Ratchet that identified an issue she'd missed: Tailgate, who'd become a super-strong [[outlier]] after a spark surge, had affected nearby Autobots on the ''Light'' in a way similar to Ultra-Energon, meaning Tailgate could crash badly.

Ratchet assisted with Chromedome's attempt to hack "the Pet", the Division's beast-former sidekick that he and Drift had taken hostage. Ratchet was horrified to realise "the Pet" had been [[domestication|domesticated]]—where beast-formers are ''lobotomised'' and trapped in an unspeaking beast mode, treated as animals—and enraged when Rodimus, despite his angry protests, would not stop Chromedome carrying on despite the risk to him. He urged Chromedome to stand down, in case the process killed him. This gave him a front-row seat for the discovery that the poor unfortunate was the lost [[Dominus Ambus]] and Rewind killing him to save Chromedome from being lost.

At sundown, the Decepticons attacked {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 4: At Close of Day|At Close of Day}} but Velocity had hit on a plan: if someone ''else'' could get traumatised like Tailgate, they could get supercharged too! Ratchet thought little of this idea, knowing how ''badly'' they'd have to traumatise someone but Skids volunteered. As the battle raged, Ratchet fought to keep Skids stable before he could himself join the battle and leave Megatron in charge of the ward. Ratchet continued to needle the ex-Decepticon for not going out until he realised how much Megatron was genuinely afraid of how much he might cut loose. He came clean that Fool's Energon was a conjob and Megatron had ''always'' been at full strength, and had ''chosen'' not to lash out.

[[File:sleep tight, soldier.jpg|thumb||left|upright=1.4|Get up. You cannot sleep there, Drift.]]

Unfortunately, that caused Megatron to believe he could indeed go out to save a wounded Ravage and that meant when Skids came to and took himself off the slab, Ratchet was left alone, screaming unwittingly for Megatron to help him get the Autobot back on the slab before he died. All Ratchet could do was be with Skids as his spark gave out. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 5: Rage, Rage|Rage, Rage}}

{{charstubfiction| {{storylink|Little Victories}} {{storylink|Dark Dawn: Dark Cybertron Chapter 1|Dark Dawn}} {{storylink|Into the Abyss: Dark Cybertron Chapter 4|Into the Abyss}} {{storylink|No Exit: Dark Cybertron Chapter 6|No Exit}} {{storylink|Burning Bright: Dark Cybertron Chapter 8|Burning Bright}} {{storylink|The Becoming: Dark Cybertron Chapter 10|The Becoming}} {{storylink|Winners & Losers: Dark Cybertron Chapter 3|Winners & Losers}} {{storylink|The Dead Are Not Enough: Dark Cybertron Chapter 7|The Dead Are Not Enough}} {{storylink|Finis Temporis: Dark Cybertron Chapter 9|Finis Temporis}} {{storylink|Black Planet: Dark Cybertron Chapter 11|Black Planet}} {{storylink|No Guns, No Swords, No Briefcases}} {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 3: Your Fierce Tears|Your Fierce Tears}} {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 6: Do Not Go Gentle|Do Not Go Gentle}} {{storylink|Last Light}} {{storylink|New Cybertron Part 1: To Walk Among the Chosen|To Walk Among the Chosen}} {{storylink|Dissolution Part 1: Some Other Cybertron|Some Other Cybertron}} {{storylink|Dissolution Part 2: Anomie|Anomie}} {{storylink|Dissolution Part 3: A World Misplaced|A World Misplaced}}}}

==Spotlight: Mirage==
Ratchet was with the Autobots hiding out in the [[Pegasus Star Cluster]], with most of the Autobot forces having been defeated. He tended to the seriously wounded Jetfire injuries, and suggested surrender to the Decepticons to save their fellow Autobot's life. When [[Mirage (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Mirage]] (disguised as Bumblebee) and the Decepticons attacked, he attempted to reason with the Decepticon mercenary about Jetfire's condition, only to be attacked for his trouble. After the Autobots surrendered, he was furious when Mirage betrayed his word and prepared to carry out Megatron's order to execute the Autobots. {{storylink|Spotlight: Mirage}}

This was part of a vision Mirage was having in the main timeline. {{storylink|The Possible Light}}

==The Functionist Universe==
In an [[Functionist Universe|alternate timeline]] where the war never broke out, Ratchet remained close friends with Pharma and the two could be seen having a friendly conversation on Cybertron. {{storylink|The Custom-Made Now - An Elegant Chaos Prologue|The Custom-Made Now}}

==Notes==
*Ratchet was one of the characters who both [[James Roberts]] and [[John Barber]] wanted for their respective books.<ref>[http://forum.idwpublishing.com/viewtopic.php?p=309188#309188 James Roberts:] As for the divvying up, we both started off with two or three characters that had been dictated – actually, that’s the wrong word – by IDW editorial, then came up with a core cast wish list. There were only a few clashes. I would have liked Prowl and Wheeljack and I think John would have liked Magnus and Ratchet. We compromised.</ref>
*James Roberts attributed Ratchet's new attitude in ''More than Meets the Eye'' almost entirely to the imminent failure of his hands.<ref>[http://forum.idwpublishing.com/viewtopic.php?p=309422#309422 James Roberts:] I know that some people think I’ve made Ratchet too crotchety, for example—although in my defense I’d argue that a lot of his grumpiness was the result of watching his hands die before his eyes</ref>
*Ratchet shows no surprise when Overlord appears on the ''Lost Light'' and turns to blind the [[Phase Sixer]] ''without actually seeing him.'' It's possible (and probable) that he saw the Decepticon in the reflection of the datapad he was holding but still...great reflexes for an old timer with replaced hands...

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:IDW Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Lost Light crew]]
[[Category:Medics]]

Hot Rod (G1)/2005 IDW continuity

2017-04-09T20:37:48Z

Empuratapharmaa:

{{factions|autobot}}
{{suite}}
[[File:SpotlightHotRod-HotRodcvrAexcerpt.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|That was my name, but I wore it out.]]
Arrogant, rash, and believes his own press. Call him '''Hot Rod''' or '''Rodimus''', he's got a good spark, but you might need to tread carefully to find it.
{{quote|noquote=true|"I'm angry because I failed the crew." 
"Or maybe... maybe what's '''really''' making you angry is the fact that you didn't defeat Overlord yourself. Fortress Maximus and Chromedome and Rewind—dear Rewind—'''they''' got him off the ship. '''They''' saved everyone; not you. And you hate it, and you hate that you hate it." 
"I think you'd better leave now."|[[Rung (G1)|Rung]] pegs Rodimus just a bit too accurately|"[[The Gloaming]]"}}

__TOC__

==IDW Generation 1 continuity==
{{ongoing}}
===A turbo-revving young punk===
Hot Rod came online in [[Nyon]], 4.2 million years ago. To him it was like "waking up". {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 3: Predestination: A Beginner's Guide}}

Just before the war, Hot Rod was an unaffiliated Cybertronian who stood up against [[Zeta Prime]] and the corrupt [[Senate]], though he refused to join the growing [[Decepticon]] terrorist movement. He and the other Nyon insurgents knew that Autobot captain [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Orion Pax]] was also unhappy with the Senate and wanted him on their side, but first they had to show him Zeta Prime's evils firsthand. {{storylink|Ruins}} To attract Orion's attention, Hot Rod attacked his team with a [[plasma-charge]] during one of their missions. {{storylink|Law and Disorder}} Before long, Zeta Prime ordered the same team to find and arrest him. {{storylink|Cause and Effect}} When Orion Pax and his Autobots found Hot Rod at the [[Acropolex]], he took pot shots at them to get them to follow him to the heart of the building, where they discovered tanks full of [[energon]] that Zeta Prime had drained from Nyon's citizens. Hot Rod then approached them, explaining that this kind of thing was happening all across Cybertron, and asked Orion to join the insurgents. {{storylink|Ruins}} Their talk was interrupted when Zeta suddenly attacked Nyon, and while this ''did'' push Orion Pax into turning on him, he couldn't do anything to save the city from Zeta's marauding [[Guardian robot|Omega Destructors]]. As their homes burned, the insurgents saw no other option but to go with their contingency plan: having Hot Rod destroy the entire city with hidden explosives rather than let Zeta Prime use its population to fuel his war machines. {{storylink|Purge}}

As Orion's Autobots were brought to [[Kaon (polity)|Kaon]] to discuss an alliance with the Decepticons, Rodimus tagged along and confessed to Orion that he deeply regretted having to destroy Nyon. Orion reassured him that he did what he had to do and that making difficult decisions and carrying the burden afterwards was all part of being a leader. {{storylink|Choices}} After Zeta Prime had been assassinated and Orion Pax had been majorly injured and discarded into the [[Undergrid]], [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] took over Cybertron and the Autobots went into hiding along with Hot Rod, who was growing apathetic and seeing factions as irrelevant since the violence would never stop anyway. When they were discovered and arrested by the Decepticons, Hot Rod was separated from the Autobots by [[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]] who suggested he become a Decepticon. {{storylink|Transformation (issue)|Transformation}} He was taken to see Megatron himself, who lauded his actions in Nyon, saying that a true leader acts decisively and without regret. [[Image:Rise-BumblebeeHotRod.jpg|thumb|left|280px]]Upon witnessing Megatron callously ordering the execution of [[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]], however, Hot Rod realized that Megatron was an even worse dictator than Zeta Prime and made his decision to become an Autobot. He quickly broke the other Autobots out of prison and followed them to the ruins of Nyon, where they were shocked to find that Orion Pax had become Optimus Prime and awakened [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]], the true identity of the Acropolex. {{storylink|Rise}}

Once Optimus Prime had formed an army to stand against Megatron, Hot Rod marched with them to the [[Citadel]] where they would fight for control of Cybertron. {{storylink|Broadcast}} Prime engaged Megatron in a one-on-one battle, but at a pivotal moment, Hot Rod observed that [[The Transformers: The Movie|Megatron was feigning defeat in an attempt to reach a fallen weapon]]. Hot Rod tackled Megatron, only to be seized by the Decepticon leader and used as a human (well, robot) shield while he prepared to shoot Prime... only for Hot Rod to transform straight out of his grip, allowing Prime to defeat him. After the battle, Hot Rod turned away Optimus Prime's thanks for saving his life, claiming that he didn't deserve gratitude after Nyon's destruction. Prime retorted that he should be proud for taking a stand and following his heart, telling him to hold his head up since someday, he could be holding the one holding the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]]. {{storylink|Endgame}}

Some time later, Hot Rod joined the Autobots officially through the [[Act of Affiliation]] ceremony, during which Optimus Prime told him... something profound which he ended up forgetting. {{storylink|Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations|You, Me, and Other Revelations}} Shortly after attending [[Autobot Academy]], he ran into [[Slinger]], an old friend from his insurgency days. Slinger was unhappy to see him, however, blaming Hot Rod for the destruction of Nyon and revealing he'd chosen a different path: that of the Decepticons. Returning to Metroplex, Hot Rod was teamed up with a recently cured [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] for a mission to check up on [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]]'s body, though the gruff [[Dinobot (G1)|Dynobot]] leader didn't much appreciate his optimistic outlook. Things got heated between the two when Grimlock, unaware of Hot Rod's regrets over Nyon, accused him of not understanding guilt, but their argument was cut short when they discovered Trypticon was missing. {{storylink|Primacy issue 1|Primacy #1}} Hot Rod was later present at a security meeting in response to Trypticon returning... from space, at a collision course with Metroplex. {{storylink|Primacy issue 2|Primacy #2}}

As Metroplex and Trypticon fell and Megatron initiated a full-scale assault on [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]], Hot Rod took to the frontlines to defend the city from the Decepticon, [[Junkion (species)|Junkion]] and [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticon]] forces. {{storylink|Primacy issue 3|Primacy #3}} During the battle he was attacked by [[Onslaught (G1)|Onslaught]], but saved by none other than Slinger, who had lost his faith in the Decepticon cause. To Hot Rod's horror, however, Slinger was caught in the act by the [[Predacon (G1)|Predacons]], who viciously tore the traitor apart before turning on him. Fortunately, Grimlock arrived with his [[Dinobot (G1)|Dynobots]] to battle the Predacons and prove that there were no hard feelings over their previous argument. {{storylink|Primacy issue 4|Primacy #4}}

===The adventurer===

[[File:SpotlightHotRod rush.jpg|thumb|WHEEEEEEE! AWESOME! TUBULAR! COWABUNGA! REAGANOMICS!]]
Years ago, Hot Rod was put in charge of a mission to the planet [[Ki-Aleta]] to obtain a powerful artifact named the [[Magnificence]] so as to keep it out of the hands of the Decepticons. The mission started off smoothly enough, with [[Gizmo]] using a [[holomatter]] generator to distract the defense systems while the rest of the team went after the Magnificence. Unfortunately, after that everything that could go wrong did go wrong. First, the generator malfunctioned, then [[Download]] tripped the security lasers around the Magnificence itself. Gizmo, Download, and [[Backbeat]] were destroyed by the security systems while Hot Rod and [[Doubledealer|Dealer]] fled. Hot Rod, nearing the exit tunnels they had previously drilled, got a call from Dealer—he had been ambushed by a Decepticon attack squad and needed help. Unfortunately, Hot Rod had been given his own, top secret orders: the Magnificence was to be the top priority of the mission, and placed before all else. With a heavy heart, Hot Rod abandoned Dealer to his fate as he left Ki-Aleta with the Magnificence.

Years later, Hot Rod learned that Dealer had not died that day; he was being held prisoner at the Decepticon penal colony known as [[Styx]]. Hot Rod stealthily infiltrated the prison complex, using a holomatter generator to disguise himself as a guard and then short-circuiting the power grid to cause all the cell doors to unlock. During the chaos he snuck in, extracted Dealer, and took off while the Decepticons were busy getting the prisoners under control. {{storylink|Spotlight: Hot Rod}}

[[File:Escalation6 HotRod Koska.jpg|left|upright=0.95|thumb|Mine!]]
Recently, Hot Rod was called to [[Earth]] to aid the crew of the ''[[Ark-19]]'' in procuring a Decepticon [[facsimile construct]] from [[Brasnya]], a former Soviet state in eastern Europe. {{storylink|Escalation issue 3|Escalation #3}} He and [[Hardhead (G1)|Hardhead]] went down to Earth from the ''[[Ark-32]]'' against [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]]'s wishes, and proceeded to join the battle unannounced. As Hardhead went to support the main battle, Hot Rod went after the facsimile... which led to him colliding with [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]] as they both tried to stop the [[Georgi Koska]] facsimile from letting himself get gunned down by Soviet soldiers. {{storylink|Escalation issue 4|Escalation #4}} Prowl and Hot Rod managed to defuse the situation and secure the facsimile in the end {{storylink|Escalation issue 5|Escalation #5}}, but before he could return to his ship he was attacked by [[Thundercracker (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Thundercracker]] and [[Skywarp (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Skywarp]], unable to defend himself because he had to keep the facsimile alive. After returning to the ''Ark-32'', he had to be put in a [[CR chamber]] to recover. His injuries were for nothing, as the facsimile melted during the bounce. {{storylink|Escalation issue 6|Escalation #6}}

[[File:Devastation6 HotRod Hardhead.jpg|upright=0.95|thumb|Hardhead, I'm with Arcee now. Let it go.]]
After Hot Rod was repaired and reformatted into a Dodge Viper, his "friend" Dealer tried to convince him to pull some strings to get him to Earth, but Hot Rod and [[Wheeljack (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Wheeljack]] had the more important task of rescuing [[Ironhide (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ironhide]]. {{storylink|Devastation issue 1|Devastation #1}} They ran into a bit of trouble with the [[Machination]]'s [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmasters]]. {{storylink|Devastation issue 2|Devastation #2}} They managed to escape temporarily, {{storylink|Devastation issue 3|Devastation #3}} {{storylink|Devastation issue 4|Devastation #4}} but were found and Wheeljack was incapacitated. Hot Rod easily held his own with the Headmasters {{storylink|Devastation issue 5|Devastation #5}}, and noted that for [[Sunstreaker (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|some]] [[Hunter O'Nion|reason]] they had lost their "edge". He received a little help from Hardhead, who was mainly there to take Hot Rod and the others back to the ''Ark-32'' for evacuation to [[Garrus-9]]. Hot Rod refused to go, wanting to see the Headmaster mystery through to the end. Hardhead reluctantly let him go. {{storylink|Devastation issue 6|Devastation #6}}

[[File:SPDHotRodM.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|Oh, Magic 8-Ball, will I ever be Prime in this continuity?]]
Hot Rod's search was interrupted by Dealer's arrival on Earth, with orders for Hot Rod: find the Magnificence and use it to learn what they could about the Expansion. Hot Rod took Dealer to his hiding spot, which turned out to be the planet where they first found the device. As Dealer and Hot Rod closed on the Magnificence, he went over his first visit to the planet in his mind, and how things could have gone so wrong. Eventually he began to have suspicions, and upon locating the Magnificence, asked it the question that haunted him: had Dealer betrayed him? Sadly, it revealed the truth, and Hot Rod was forced to kill Dealer as the traitor attacked. Looking down on his remains, Hot Rod realized the truth had been staring him in the face, he just hadn't wanted to accept it. He then used the Magnificence to find out all he could about the Expansion, and relayed the information to the Autobots. {{storylink|Spotlight: Doubledealer}} {{storylink|Spotlight: Sideswipe}}

[[File:HotRodMaxDino02.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|You're not fooling anyone, [[Judd Nelson|Bender]]. The next screw that falls out will be YOU.]]
Returning to Earth to continue his search, Hot Rod arrived at the gates of the Machination's complex, and Scorponok prepared himself to deal with the intruder. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 1|Maximum Dinobots #1}} Unfortunately, Hot Rod found himself fighting well out of his weight class as he was man handled by Scorponok, who cheerfully bashed his face in, put out one of his optics and snapped his leg. The Headmasters dragged him into Scorponok's control room where, with absolutely no prompting, the big man explained his entire plan for the Dynobots, Skywatch and the Machination. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 2|Maximum Dinobots #2}}

Hot Rod seemed less than impressed with this rather mundane approach, which ticked Scorponok off enough for him to point out that it was obviously just the first stage in his master plan. He was also warned to remained awed or he'd be of no further interest. When the Dynobots and newly arrived [[Monsterbot]]s seemed to turn Scorponok's plan on its head, Hot Rod burst out laughing, at which point, Scorponok ordered him taken out and shot. In the lift to the surface, Hot Rod suddenly erupted in flames, killing his captors, but draining his power supply. Weakened and with a crippled leg, he collapsed on the floor. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 3|Maximum Dinobots #3}}

He made it out of the building and ran into the real Sunstreaker, who blasted the two clones following Hot Rod. Sunstreaker ignored Hot Rod's warning about Scorponok's army and stormed into the building so Hot Rod painfully wired himself to send a distress signal. When Sunstreaker's real head was later disabled by Hunter, the Headmaster clones shut down, which Hot Rod explained to [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]]. The group was surprised by the arrival of [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Shockwave]], but [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]] had heard Hot Rod's distress call and was on his way to Earth. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 4|Maximum Dinobots #4}}

After Scorponok knocked out [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]] and Grimlock tended to him, the remaining Dynobots offered Hot Rod a lift aboard the Monsterbots' ship. He refused though, and made it back into Machination HQ to take care of something "personal". He eventually found Scorponok's real head (and remarked how ugly it was). Hunter also showed up and let Hot Rod know how to disable it, but before he could do so, Scorponok grabbed him. Before Scorponok could crush Hot Rod's head, the Dynobots showed up and began to battle Scorponok. Hot Rod told [[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]] which wires to sever, and he did just that, reducing Scorponok to a catatonic state. Ultra Magnus arrived took everyone back aboard his ship, which later docked with the ''Ark-32''. Within 3 days, Hot Rod was fully repaired, with a new body form design. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 5|Maximum Dinobots #5}}

Some time later, while traveling through space by himself, Hot Rod found himself under attack by the ''[[Torment]]'', a Decepticon warship crewed by [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]] and the [[Pretender Monster]]s. He was shot down, but managed to transmit a distress call to the Autobot starship ''[[Trion]]'', which came to his rescue. After the Decepticons were chased off, Hot Rod joined the crew of the ''Trion''. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 15|Lost & Found}}

[[File:Ironhide punches Hot Rod.jpg|left|upright=1.4|thumb|Ironhide has waited twenty-two years to pay Hot Rod back for [[The Transformers: The Movie|shooting down his shuttle]].]]
When the Decepticons' galaxy-wide assault hit, the ''Trion'' was shot down over Cybertron. Hot Rod sent out a distress signal and was ecstatic when he ran into some other Autobots. They must've come specifically to save his team and... wait, why do you all look surprised about my signal and appear beaten up and resourceless and... ''oh arsebiscuits''! {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 4|All Hail Megatron #4}}

Hot Rod was taken back to base and relayed the story of how he and his other crew-mates from the ''Trion'' arrived on Cybertron, having been diverted there by Decepticon ships and forced to crash land. Once on the surface, Hot Rod sent out his distress signal and was ''so'' sure someone heard it. Kup arrived with the rest of the ''Trion'''s crew at that point, just in time to tell Hot Rod ''of course'' no one heard his message. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 5|All Hail Megatron #5}} {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 6|All Hail Megatron #6}}

After the Autobots narrowly avoided the [[Insecticon swarm]] and Sunstreaker sacrificed himself, Hot Rod jumped to [[Drift (G1)|Drift]]'s defense when he was being insulted by [[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]]. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 8|All Hail Megatron #8}} {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 9|All Hail Megatron #9}} When the Autobots were later rescued by [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]], Hot Rod was glad that he sent out the distress call. He was then ferried to Earth with the other Autobots aboard Omega. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 10|All Hail Megatron #10}}

===The callow leader===
[[File:Ongoing issue 1-Hot Rod has had enough.jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|"Don't talk to me about stuck, Hot Rod, you're the one with that horrible sneer stuck on your face!"]]
For the next two years, the Autobots would remain on Earth as Prime feared the return of the Decepticons. Unfortunately, this led to the capture of a number of Autobots by Skywatch, including [[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]], [[Gears (G1)|Gears]] and Prowl. Hot Rod, already frustrated, lashed out at Optimus, accusing him of keeping the Autobots on the planet because he needed someone to protect and demanding he be allowed to lead a team to rescue Prowl. An admonished Prime agreed to a covert operation, but with Ironhide along to watch over things. While Prowl was freed, it turned out the humans had used him as bait to draw the other Autobots in. However Wheeljack's new shielding protected Hot Rod's team from Skywatch's inhibitors and in a panic the soldiers switched to lethal measures. Hot Rod was targeted and Ironhide was killed protecting him. An enraged Hot Rod turned on the humans, damaging their equipment and machinery.

After returning with Ironhide's body, Hot Rod was shocked as Optimus Prime resigned his position as leader. {{storylink|...For All Mankind}} {{storylink|Ride-Along}} Disgusted with Prime's decision and unimpressed with the indecisiveness of the others, Hot Rod decided to make his own way. He announced his intention to leave planet Earth behind, and invited any of his fellow Autobots to follow him in pursuit of that goal. After leaving the Autobot caves with a half-dozen recruits, Hot Rod went looking for Omega Supreme, in the hopes of convincing the massive Autobot to use his interstellar rocket mode to get them all off-planet. Omega remained resolutely loyal to Optimus Prime, however, and refused to abandon the Earth. At that moment, a small squad of Decepticon stragglers led by [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] staged an attack on Omega Supreme. After some fast and smooth-talking, Swindle convinced Hot Rod that they all wanted the same thing...to go home. The Autobots put it to a vote, and the majority decided to work with the Decepticons to get off of Earth. {{storylink|Things Fall Apart, Part 1: "New Arrivals, Old Encounters"|New Arrivals, Old Encounters}}

The first thing Swindle asked of Hot Rod was help in reviving their incapacitated "brothers"...several Decepticons mode-locked by the humans. Hot Rod convinced [[Jetfire (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Jetfire]] to work on the problem, as there "were no sides anymore", and these other Decepticons were brought back on-line to help with the construction of a new space cruiser. {{storylink|Things Fall Apart, Part 2: "A Rude Awakening"|A Rude Awakening}}

[[File:SeasonsInFlight-RodimusMagnus.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.66|No, don't shoot Swindle! He had some cheap electronics equipment in his van he wanted to sell me!]]
Hot Rod wasn't completely foolish — when Swindle started suggesting they find and revive all the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicon]]s, he remembered how deadly [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] could be, and rejected the idea. Ever the smooth-talker, though, Swindle convinced Hot Rod to let the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]] go after [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]], the last missing member of their unit. He did so by lavishing a ridiculous amount of praise on Hot Rod, calling him Rodimus Prime, the herald of a new age.

The alliance was soon tested when [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]] arrived on the scene, attempting to investigate the death of Ironhide for Autobot Command. When he saw Hot...saw ''Rodimus'' working with Decepticons, and Swindle of all mechs, he freaked out and tried to take the Decepticon ringleader into custody. Rodimus and the other Autobots stood up for Swindle, though, and told Magnus he had to be prepared to fight ''all'' of them if he wanted to take ''one'' of them. Stunned that they did not respect his authority, Magnus retreated and work continued on the star cruiser. {{storylink|Things Fall Apart, Part 3: "Seasons in Flight"|Seasons in Flight}}

What everyone failed to realize, even Ultra Magnus, was that Swindle was not only trading in combiner technology, he knew how to make it work. By the time Magnus came back for Swindle with a posse of Autobots, the Decepticon was prepared to end his alliance with Rodimus. He had forged the Stunticons into [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]], and turned the giant loose on the assembled Autobots. {{storylink|Things Fall Apart, Part 4: "Enemies of the System"|Enemies of the System}}

Rodimus fought alongside Ultra Magnus, Bumblebee, Optimus Prime, and the others against the renewed Decepticon threat. They finally managed to bring down the titan, but the alliance was finished and Rodimus's own comrades turned against him for his poor judgment. Looking to escape his own bad decisions, Rodimus hijacked Ultra Magnus's ship and fled out into space. {{storylink|Things Fall Apart, Part 5: "Earthworks"|Earthworks}}

[[File:Ongoing 13 Rodimus drifting.jpg|thumb|Why must you hurt the one you love, [[Nick Roche|Nick]]??]]
Since trying to talk and reason with people had only led to betrayal Rodimus decided that it was best to simply act on his own. He had a plan to regain the respect he had lost by taking back the Autobot [[Matrix of Leadership]], stolen by [[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]] years earlier. Using the ship's advanced tracking equipment, Rodimus found the Decepticons' asteroid base and hid in one of Ultra Magnus's thickly armored weapons lockers. When the ship was shot down, he emerged from the wreckage unscathed, took out several Decepticon guards and even put [[Razorclaw (G1)|Razorclaw]] under his control by improvising with one of [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]]'s [[cerebro-shell]]s. Rodimus first sent Razorclaw to attack Starscream, but after that failed, he confronted the self-appointed Decepticon leader himself.

Starscream himself was nigh-impervious to damage, but Rodimus improvised again and fired at the Matrix around his neck, having no idea what would happen. The blast caused some sort of energy discharge from the Matrix that knocked Starscream unconscious. Triumphant, Rodimus took the artifact and went looking for an escape craft... only to run straight into [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] himself. He panicked and waved the Matrix threateningly at the massive Decepticon while warning him to "stay back!", but Megatron was unphased and shot him at point blank range, blowing a huge hole in Rodimus's torso and sending him flying into space. With the Matrix still around his neck, Rodimus's lifeless body could only drift through the void... {{storylink|Heart Like a Wheel}} {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 2: Altered Carbon|Altered Carbon}}

Eventually, Rodimus crash-landed on the desolate [[LV-118]]. Fortunately for him, the Matrix had somehow bonded/interfaced with his body and kept him alive. However, he wasn't alone. An [[Ilxian]] warship had also crashed there a long time ago, leaving only three survivors: a lab technician calling himself "The [[Admiral]]" and two custodians. "The Admiral", desperate for a way off the planet, attempted to use the Matrix as a power source for his ship, which he had fully repaired but was lacking sufficient fuel. But when he informed Rodimus that his plan to use the Matrix to power the ship might put him offline permanently, Rodimus broke free from his bonds and surprised the Ilxians by transforming and driving off.

Having escaped from "The Admiral", Rodimus found a cave to hide in and figure out what to do next, only to be attacked by a hostile native creature, the [[Chaosteros]]. Suddenly, strange music began to play, causing the Chaosteros to run off, and Rodimus was surprised to find himself face-to-face with [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]], who had been missing for centuries. Wheelie and Rodimus devised a plan to seize the Ilxian warship. This plan succeeded and the two Autobots, along with one of the Ilxian custodians, [[Garnak]], who had agreed to help them, took off in the warship using the Matrix as a power source. {{storylink|Space Opera Part 1: The Stars My Destination|The Stars My Destination}}

[[File:IDW19 matrix in chest.jpg|left|thumb|450px]]
Rodimus planned to return to Earth and rejoin the other Autobots, however, Wheelie misunderstood his instructions to navigate the warship "home" and took them to Cybertron instead while Rodimus was unconscious from the takeoff (It was implied that the Matrix could not accommodate both the ship and keeping Rodimus's spark alive at the same time; hence the risk when "The Admiral" wanted to use it to power the ship. Fortunately for Rodimus, Wheelie managed to fix him up enough that he could survive without it). Rodimus and Wheelie were reunited with [[Ironhide (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ironhide]] and [[Sunstreaker (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Sunstreaker]] on Cybertron. Sunstreaker informed Rodimus that Cybertron's atmosphere had been processed and the Swarm eliminated, rendering the planet habitable once again. The group was then attacked by one of [[Galvatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Galvatron]]'s [[Sweep (G1)|Sweep]]s, but Rodimus and Wheelie followed the Sweep and spotted Galvatron preparing his army. Having realized that Galvatron had seen them, Rodimus and Wheelie rushed back to the others and took off in the stolen Ilxian warship before the Sweeps could attack. {{storylink|Heart of Darkness issue 4|Heart of Darkness #4}} {{storylink|Space Opera Act 2: Out of the Silent Planet|Out of the Silent Planet}}

As Rodimus, Sunstreaker, Wheelie, Ironhide, and Garnak returned to Earth and joined the other Autobots, he made it his first task to return the Matrix to its rightful owner, Optimus Prime. Seeing that the young Autobot's recent experiences had changed him for the better, Prime declared that he had left his past as the reckless Hot Rod behind him and officially christened him Rodimus, which Rodimus saw as a great honor. After hearing of Galvatron's recent activity on Cybertron, Prime elected to return to his home planet on [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]], and take any of the other Autobots along who volunteered to accompany him, including Rodimus. {{storylink|Space Opera—Final Tableaux: Orphans of the Helix|Orphans of the Helix}}

During the journey back to Cybertron, Rodimus was disturbed when it appeared that Optimus was getting a little too "cozy" with [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]], and voiced his concern during a discussion about the imprisoned Megatron's fate. Later, Optimus asked Rodimus what it felt like to interface with the Matrix. Rodimus revealed that it felt wonderful, in contrast to the pain Optimus felt when he bonded with it. However, Optimus chose not to tell Rodimus this. {{Storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1|Chaos Theory #1}} {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 2|Chaos Theory #2}}

When Omega Supreme arrived in Cybertron's orbit, Rodimus spotted a message from Galvatron sent using binary by ordering his soldiers to shoot off their weapons in a certain order and pattern. The message indicated that Galvatron wanted Optimus to send a landing party with which he could have a civil discussion. Optimus obliged, and Rodimus, along with several other Autobots including [[Drift (G1)|Drift]], Sunstreaker, and [[Ironhide (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ironhide]], accompanied Optimus to the meeting with Galvatron. Galvatron revealed that he was preparing an army to fight against "a threat that could destroy us all", and offered to allow Optimus and his army to join his ranks, but would not relinquish any further details. Rodimus complained that Galvatron's soldiers had attacked him before he'd rendezvoused with the others simply for setting foot on Cybertron, but Galvatron claimed the attack was a mistake. However, Optimus declined Galvatron's offer, and the latter attacked. A battle ensued, but Galvatron eventually retreated to the [[Kimia Facility]], which he had stolen and seized control of earlier. Rodimus and the other Autobots were discussing whether Galvatron should be trusted or not when they were taken by surprise by Galvatron transforming Kimia into a massive laser cannon. {{storylink|Chaos Part One: Lamentations|Lamentations}}

[[File:Rodimus ram raid.jpg|left|thumb|upright=2.2]]
As Galvatron began firing on Cybertron using Kimia, Optimus ordered the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]] to launch an attack on the facility. Rodimus volunteered to take Omega Supreme into orbit, along with [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]], in order to oversee the Aerialbots' attack and gather intel on what Galvatron was up to. Rodimus ordered Trailbreaker to attempt to stop the beam from firing by projecting a force field into the barrel of the laser, but this did not work and Trailbreaker suffered significant damage from the feedback. Rodimus then endeavored to ram the facility with Omega Supreme in an effort to disable the laser and/or knock the facility out of orbit. However, he was not aware that the Autobots who remained trapped within Kimia after Galvatron seized control had a plan of their own: [[Lightspeed (G1 Technobot)|Lightspeed]] blew up the facility from the inside before Omega Supreme could strike it, damaging the latter enough that he could no longer maintain orbit. Besides that fact, Trailbreaker was in need of repairs that only [[Ratchet (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ratchet]] could perform. Rodimus and Omega landed at the base that Sunstreaker had set up on Cybertron. He then asked Sunstreaker where Prime had gone, and when Sunstreaker told him that he and Ironhide had suddenly run off toward the blast crater created by the laser, he and [[Drift (G1)|Drift]] went off to search for them. {{storylink|Chaos Part Two: Numbers|Numbers}}

Drift and Rodimus found Optimus with Ironhide at the blast crater. Confident that Galvatron was headed toward the core of the planet through the hole the laser had made, the four of them went down there after him and confronted him. Galvatron claimed that if he didn't succeed at destroying the core of Cybertron, the universe would be doomed. At that moment, the [[D-Void]] began to take control of all the Decepticons and Sweeps, forcing them to fuse together and form a single giant monstrosity, except for Galvatron and Megatron (who had broken out of his cell on Omega Supreme). The standoff ended and Galvatron slipped past as Optimus, Rodimus, and Ironhide became distracted with Drift, who stabbed himself with his own blade to keep from becoming overwhelmed by the D-Void's mind control.{{storylink|Chaos Part Three: Kings|Kings}}

Through his link to the Matrix, Rodimus realized that Galvatron was planning on fusing [[Vector Sigma]] with the [[Darkness (G1)|Heart of Darkness]] in order to destroy it, as well as the fact that he was delusional because the Heart of Darkness' influence had fooled him into believing that such an action would destroy Cybertron and prevent the D-Void from creating a giant portal to the [[Dead Universe]] at the core of the planet when in fact it would allow him to do just that. He then convinced Ironhide to take an injured Drift back up to the surface for repairs while he and Optimus attempted to stop Galvatron. However, they were too late. Galvatron had already succeeded in fusing the two just before they'd arrived on the scene. Just when it all seemed hopeless, [[Arcee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Arcee]] and [[Hardhead (G1)|Hardhead]] crashed an Autobot battlecruiser into Galvatron, temporarily distracting him and buying Optimus and Rodimus some time. Rodimus knew that using the Matrix was the only way to save Cybertron; however, Optimus was reluctant to risk losing it. Despite his initial hesitation, he finally took Rodimus' advice after Galvatron recovered from being hit by the ship and attacked them again. While Galvatron was again temporarily distracted by [[Cyclonus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Cyclonus]] (who had somehow escaped the D-Void's control and now fought on behalf of Cybertron), Optimus opened the Matrix into Vector Sigma. {{storylink|Chaos Part Four: Genesis|Genesis}}

===The callow-er leader===
After the Heart of Darkness was purged, Cybertron came alive again in a primordial state. Rodimus and the Autobots set up High Command in the remains of the Kimia crash just as Cybertron's long lost civilian population returned to repopulate the planet. A new political landscape began to unfold, with the Autobots coordinating with the captured Decepticons and surly returnees, dubbed Non-Aligned Indigenous Lifeforms (or [[NAIL]]s) by Prowl. Worse, the Matrix was now hollowed out and empty, its power apparently lost forever. Inside its shell, however, [[Perceptor (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Perceptor]] and [[Rewind (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rewind]] found a curious inscription and a photonic starchart...a map. Rodimus and Drift seized upon the idea that the map led to the legendary Cyberutopia of the [[Knights of Cybertron]]. Despite the objections of Bumblebee and Prowl, Rodimus believed that finding the Knights of Cybertron was the best hope for reuniting their fractured people. As he began making plans to pursue the map, Rodimus was bequeathed half the Matrix's shell by Orion Pax, formerly Optimus Prime, who left for deep space in exile to signify the end of the war. {{storylink|Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime|The Death of Optimus Prime}} As part of preparations, Rodimus conspired with Prowl to take [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] in an attempt to extract information from the former Decepticon. {{storylink|Remain in Light 5 of 5: This Calamitous Life|This Calamitous Life}}

[[File:Rodimus Speech to Cybertron.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|Spirit fingers!]]
With Ultra Magnus at his side, Rodimus sent out word to all Autobots and Cybertronians that he planned to search for the Knights, and rallyed more than 200 'bots to join the crew of his new ship, the ''[[Lost Light]]''. Things went wrong from the very start, though. The ''Lost Light'' suffered a freak quantum jump in the upper atmosphere as it launched, catapulting the ship halfway across the galaxy. Roughly 40 crew members fell out into open space as they rematerialized, and fell down to the planet below. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It|How to Say Goodbye and Mean It}}

Rodimus arranged a search and rescue force to recover the fallen Autobots, but nonetheless three crew members were dead almost before the mission had begun. Just as Rodimus was giving news of the casualties to the rest of the crew he got word from [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]], who had found [[Shock (G1)|another]] crew member dead. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 2: Hangers On|Hangers On}} Rodimus later found a Sparkeater was on board and ordered all crew members to their quarters. He then secretly ordered Ultra Magnus to lock them in. Rodimus, [[Chromedome (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Chromedome]], Rewind, Trailbreaker, Drift, Ratchet, and Ultra Magnus examined Shock's body and Ratchet revealed that a Sparkeater had done the damage. Rodimus later uses Rung and Skids to lure the Sparkeater into the engine room. Rodimus then grappled with the creature and positioned it into the engine block and told Perceptor to initiate quantum jump. This merged to creature into the engine block and killed it but Rodimus lost his arms in the process. After Ratchet built him some new ones, he had a tense conversation with Ultra Magnus. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 3: The Chaos of Warm Things|The Chaos of Warm Things}}

Rodimus was informed by Ultra Magnus that Tailgate wanted to be a Decepticon after what he heard from Cyclonus about the Great War. Ultra Magnus stated he was tired of keeping the crew together and when questioned why was he on the ''Lost Light'', he said he had no idea. Rodimus then ordered Rewind to show Tailgate video footage of the Great War from the Autobot side, after which Tailgate became ashamed of his previous announcement about wanting to sympathize with the Decepticons. {{storylink|Life After the Big Bang}}

[[File:ReluctantSpecialist-HighbrowChromedomeBrainstorm.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.7]]
Rodimus took it upon himself to award his crew with "[[Rodimus Star]]s" for any accomplishments he felt were worthy of commendation. He presented [[Highbrow (G1)|Highbrow]], Chromedome and [[Brainstorm (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Brainstorm]] with one such medal each when they helped fix the ship after it impacted with a discarded thumb from Metroplex. During the afterparty, he was approached by Whirl, who asked on Trailbreaker's behalf on why the forcefield specialist wasn't awarded a medal as well, despite being integral to saving the ship. Rodimus noted that since creating forcefields was one of Trailbreaker's natural abilities, he felt it would be inappropriate to reward him for doing what he did. Later, Rodimus along with (nearly) the entire crew of the Lost Light, was frozen in place because one of Brainstorm's experimental weapons accidently went off. Thanks to <s>Trailbreaker</s> Trailcutter's efforts, he was returned to normalcy. Rodimus finally awarded Trailcutter a medal for both rescuing the entire ship and warding off a crew of Decepticons. He also awarded a medal for everyone else aboard however, "for exceptional endurance in the face of adversity." {{storylink|The Reluctant Specialist}}

After Fortress Maximus went on a shooting spree on board the ship and locked himself in Rung's office with both Rung and Whirl, Rodimus was briefed in, and placed a security team near the doors if the need arose. He watched as the situation unfolded but was deprived of audio and had to make decisions based on guesswork. He eventually sent Swerve and Rewind, who were on rivet duty, to take out Maximus using their rivet gun through the porthole. This ended badly, as Swerve missed and hit Rung instead. Afterwards, Rodimus delivered a speech that marked Rung's passing, and was complimented on it by Drift. {{storylink|Interiors}}

When a [[Nanocon]] infestation within Ultra Magnus became active, Rodimus and a small team were shrunk to microscopic size to go in and deal with them. Afterwards Rodimus attempted to conduct Tailgate's [[Act of Affiliation]] ceremony, only for it to be interrupted when Rodimus unconsciously scrawled "Let me out" in Old Cybertronian on the other Autobot instead of drawing an insignia. As more strange events cropped up, the [[Galactic Council]] ship ''[[The Benign Intervention]]'' arrived to protest the ''Lost Light''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> incursion into the sector, however [[K'gard|Captain K'gard]] agreed to let Rodimus and select others visit [[Crystal City]] on [[Theophany]]. Though Rodimus and his team found the city in ruins and the [[Circle of Light]] missing, they also discovered a [[Titan (IDW)|Titan]] trapped under the ruins. They succeeded in freeing it, in return for which it transported them all to safety. Following the adventure, Rodimus became determined to stop winging it and concentrate on finding the Circle of Light. {{storylink|Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations}}

[[File:Ultra Magnus-Cyclonus-Rodimus and Drift.jpg|thumb|upright=2.2|"Sorry, Drift -- TF:TM recreationists only!"]]
Rodimus was quick to blame Cyclonus when Red Alert's headless body was found in the ship's oil reservoir. {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 1: Post Hoc|Post Hoc}} Though he had Drift attempt to interrogate Cyclonus, {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 2: Patternism|Patternism}} Rodimus was disturbed when First Aid broke the news that it was actually a suicide and at first angrily rejected the idea. At Ultra Magnus's suggestion, he put Red Alert in cold storage to hopefully be revived later. {{storylink|Shadowplay (Conclusion): An Intimate Beheading|An Intimate Beheading}}

Following recon work by Ultra Magnus indicating that the Circle of Light might be being held on the planet [[Temptoria]], Rodimus took [[Leading Light|a shuttle]] full of Autobots there to rough up the occupying Decepticons. A bracing battle was had by all, even if Drift did steal one of Rodimus's kills, but rather than the Circle, all they found was that the Decepticons were using [[pink alchemy]] on the natives. Rodimus and his men returned to the ''Lost Light'' to tend to their wounded. {{storylink|Before & After}}

At a stopover above the pleasure planet [[Hedonia]], Rodimus gave his crew shoreleave. He insisted that Ultra Magnus take the opportunity to relax some, and sent Swerve down with him to make the bigger 'bot have fun. {{storylink|Cybertronian Homesick Blues}} Later, Rodimus met with Rung about what happened to Red Alert while the psychoanalyst was recovering in sick bay. When Rung told Rodimus Red's concerns about a noise coming from inside the ship, Rodimus initially dismissed the idea off-hand. After Rung forcibly backed up his patient's observations, though, Rodimus relented and agreed to look into it...eventually. {{storylink|Signal to Noise}}

Rodimus was less than enthusiastic when the ''Lost Light'' was visited by [[Thunder Clash|Thunderclash]], and failed to keep his ego in check when it turned out the more famous Autobot was on the same quest to find the Knights of Cybertron. He later allowed the ship's engines to be used to jump start Thunderclash's ship, the ''[[Vis Vitalis]]''. {{storylink|Little Victories}}

[[File:Rodimus vs Overlord on Lost Light.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.66|My Mary Sue can beat up your Mary Sue.]]
The mysterious noise Red Alert had reported revealed itself: the Decepticon [[Phase Sixer]] called [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] escaped from the [[slow cell]] secretly placed on the ''Lost Light'', and began killing his way through the crew. Despite his gusto, Rodimus barely managed to entertain the Decepticon sadist for a few moments. He was eventually disposed of through the combined efforts of Fortress Maximus, Chromedome, and Rewind, the last of whom gave his life to eject Overlord from the ship. {{storylink|Under Cold Blue Stars}}

In the aftermath, Rung found Rodimus after a tantrum in his office. Ultra Magnus was in critical condition, at least five crew members died, and Rodimus was unable to prevent any of it...all of which he initially claimed to be the reasons for his anger. Rung perceptively pointed out, however, that the real reason Rodimus was upset was that he didn't get to be the hero, the one who saved the day. The cold fury Rodimus displayed at that remark led Rung to leave the office, and quickly, but at the funeral services later Rodimus acknowledged Rewind (and implicitly Rung's remarks) by declaring the little robot the true hero of the day, who saved them all even when Rodimus could not.

Rodimus initially promised an inquiry to find out how Overlord got on board. Instead, Drift came forward and took full responsibility for Overlord's presence. Before the crew, Rodimus stripped Drift of his Autobot insignia and cast him out of the ship, sending him into exile. {{storylink|The Gloaming}}

Rodimus watched a seemingly comatose Ultra Magnus on CCTV suddenly reanimating and floating out to the nearest shuttle. Being Rodimus, he hadn't given the other members of the Lost Light much of a chance of opting out of following the shuttle, and followed it until they passed through a space portal.

[[File:HouseOfAmbus-Rodimuscar.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|"Hop in, loser! We're going shopping!"]]
Once through the portal they discovered the ''Miracle Moon'' of [[Moonbase One|Luna 1]], the moon that previous quests failed to find. Rodimus put together an away-team of fighters and scientists, notably choosing Rung to replace Ultra Magnus as a No-Man, and Cyclonus to bring to the team what Rodimus has lost on exiling Drift. On setting foot upon Luna 1's surface, matrix-carrying Rodimus inexplicably fertilised the billions of unborn sparks in the hot-spot field, lighting up the entire moon. Before he could properly understand what had happened, [[Lockdown (G1)|Lockdown]] appeared with a team of Decepticons, and accused them all of trespassing. {{storylink|Remain in Light 1 of 5: The Fecund Moon|The Fecund Moon}}

Taking flight into a [[Titan (IDW)|Titan]] graveyard didn't help, as Rodimus and his depleted team were quickly captured. The captor revealed himself to be [[Tyrest (G1)|Chief Justice Tyrest]], Ultra Magnus' old boss. Rodimus clashed with Tyrest after being erroneously charged with "Crimes Against Creation" and was imprisoned with Minimus Ambus {{storylink|Remain in Light 2 of 5: House of Ambus|House of Ambus}}, to whom he recounted his tale. {{storylink|Remain in Light 1 of 5: The Fecund Moon|The Fecund Moon}}

While speaking with Ambus, it became evident that Dominus' little brother was hiding something, and after Rung's clever interventions, Minimus revealed to everyone's surprise that he was in fact Ultra Magnus, a smaller robot inside a large robot suit, one of a long line of wearers. Rodimus was accepting and curious about Minimus' reveal. He filled Minimus in on the details of the Lost Light post-Overlord, including Drift’s exile, an answer Rodimus still found trouble articulating.

Minimus had some information of his own to give Rodimus, that the ''Lost Light'' had been harbouring a criminal, Skids. (Rodimus' thoughts immediately went to [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]], [[Lancet]], [[Atomizer]] and [[Ammo]] first, though). Then Minimus finally told Rodimus that for his Crimes Against Creation charge, Tyrest had arranged for Rodimus to be executed. Letting himself out of the cell, Minimus promised he would return with some answers. {{storylink|Remain in Light 3 of 5: The Divided Self|The Divided Self}}

[[File:MTMTE21 Rodimus crucifixion metaphor.jpg|thumb|left|200px]]
Rodimus had the chance to effect an escape when more ''Lost Light'' prisoners joined them, as well as Skids's former partner in the [[Diplomatic Corps]], the escapologist [[Getaway]]. Teaming up with [[Ratchet (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ratchet]] and [[First Aid (G1)#IDW Generation 1 continuity|First Aid]], they gatecrashed Tyrest's control room, only to be struck down by a thought weapon, paralysing them all. Rodimus initially thought that the paralysis was part of Tyrest's [[universal killswitch]] weapon to kill all ''cold constructed'' Cybertronians and was confused that the switch should work on him, as he was forged and not cold constructed. Tyrest then threw the killswitch for real, and Rodimus was forced to listen helplessly to the cold constructed members of his crew dying in agony. He swore he would find and kill Tyrest even as the Chief Justice turned and walked through his portal to Cyberutopia. {{storylink|Remain in Light 4 of 5: Arm the Lonely|Arm the Lonely}} While Tyrest was prevented from escaping by Tailgate, the Autobots were left with the problem of the killswitch. Revealing his part in the Overlord affair, Rodimus allowed himself to be wired to the killswitch in a potentially-fatal attempt to use his half of the Matrix to undo the effects of the device. Fortunately he survived the operation, though the Matrix half was shattered. {{storylink|Remain in Light 5 of 5: This Calamitous Life|This Calamitous Life}} In the aftermath, Rodimus took a more responsible position coordinating the cleanup, and pondered his guilt over exiling Drift, though it had been Drift's idea. They were finally able to contact Cybertron, only to discover Starscream was in charge there. {{storylink|The Sound of Breaking Glass}}

On detecting a distress call warning other ships not to come to the aid, Rodimus correctly surmised it had been sent by Orion Pax and had the ''Lost Light'' pick up Orion's stricken vessel before it could be sucked through a portal to the Dead Universe. Rodimus found himself reunited with a delighted Garnak. {{storylink|Dark Dawn: Dark Cybertron Chapter 1|Dark Dawn}} After preparations were made, Rodimus left Ultra Magnus in charge of the ship and joined Orion's team heading through the portal to the Dead Universe. They were immediately attacked by [[cyberwraith]]s, which eventually retreated, leaving the team to head towards the center of the universe. {{storylink|Black Metal: Dark Cybertron Chapter 2|Black Metal}} As they walked, Hardhead and Rodimus discussed the progress the latter had made in finding the Knights. The discussion was interrupted when they encountered Nightbeat. {{storylink|Into the Abyss: Dark Cybertron Chapter 4|Into the Abyss}} The team puzzled over how Nightbeat was alive when he'd been killed by Hardhead, however that turned out to be a side issue, as Nightbeat was still an agent of Nova Prime, and trapped the party in a containment cube. {{storylink|Finest Hour: Dark Cybertron Chapter 5|Finest Hour}} Rodimus took a back seat as Nova Prime and Orion had a tense confrontation. After killing Hardhead, Nova Prime revealed he had a way to create a space bridge. {{storylink|No Exit: Dark Cybertron Chapter 6|No Exit}}

[[File:MTMTE26 Rodimus taken aback.jpg|thumb|right|280px]]
That way turned out to be Kup. Rodimus fancied the chances of Orion's team against Nova Prime and Nightbeat, however after the team was placed in a cell, Rodimus was able to use the numbers he'd carved into the palm of his hand — the tally from a vote he'd held to retain his captaincy — to force Nightbeat to use his deductive reasoning and break Nova's mind control. {{storylink|The Dead Are Not Enough: Dark Cybertron Chapter 7|The Dead Are Not Enough}} After they battled their way through legions of Sweeps, Rodimus told Orion about the numbers only to be taken aback when Orion insisted he should have resigned instead of holding a vote. The team found Kup, only for Nova to find them. {{storylink|Burning Bright: Dark Cybertron Chapter 8|Burning Bright}} Orion found himself faltering against Nova, Rodimus gave him a pep talk, revealing the fact he'd always looked up to Optimus Prime as an ideal. After Rodimus was knocked down by a blow from Nova, Orion had all the confidence he needed to reclaim the title of Prime and defeat Nova. {{storylink|Finis Temporis: Dark Cybertron Chapter 9|Finis Temporis}}

Unfortunately their exit from the Dead Universe was gone, effectively stranding them there. {{storylink|The Becoming: Dark Cybertron Chapter 10|The Becoming}} Fortunately an alternative exit presented itself — a portal through Brainstorm, who'd unwittingly been infected by the Dead Universe — and Rodimus and the others were able to return to the regular universe. {{storylink|Black Planet: Dark Cybertron Chapter 11|Black Planet}} Finding themselves in the midst of the climax of Shockwave's grand scheme to collapse the universe, Rodimus turned down the chance to be part of confronting Shockwave in order to help Cyclonus and the other members of the party who'd been infected by the Dead Universe, taking them back to Brainstorm's lab for treatment. Afterwards Rodimus captained the ''Lost Light'' once again as they rescued Megatron, Optimus and Magnus from the black hole forming as the result of the defeat of Shockwave's plan. {{storylink|...And the Damage Done: Dark Cybertron Finale|...And the Damage Done}}

Getaway had looked at Rodimus over the course of the Dark Cybertron crisis and found him wanting. The Rodpod alone made him decide that the ''Lost Light'' really needed a better captain. A betterway captain.{{storylink|The Dying of the Light: (1) How Bright Their Frail Deeds|How Bright Their Frail Deeds}}

Though he was keen to return to his quest, Rodimus found offworld travel had been halted while the Megatron issue was dealt with. This involved a trial, which Rodimus fulled expected would end with an execution, and told Megatron as much. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|Towards Peace}} As Rodimus watched the trial unfold, Atomizer presented him with a list of the crew who'd voted for him to go. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 2: Words Hang in the Air|Words Hang in the Air}} He thought long and hard about it but, after seeing the crew gift him a new Rodpod, decided not to do it. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 3: Predestination: A Beginner's Guide|Predestination: A Beginner's Guide}}(Which is handy because Atomizer was part of Getaway's crew and planning to blackmail him over it) {{storylink|The Dying of the Light: (1) How Bright Their Frail Deeds|How Bright Their Frail Deeds}} Rodimus showed the list to Ratchet, who revealed he knew the list was fake because ''his'' name wasn't on it.

He also revealed to Rodimus the news that Megatron was joining the ''Lost Light'' crew, having invoked his right to be tried by the Knights of Cybertron. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 3: Predestination: A Beginner's Guide|Predestination: A Beginner's Guide}}

===Co-captain with an enterprise===
[[File:MTMTE30 Team Rodimus.jpg|thumb|left|350px]]
As the ''Lost Light'' set off again with the aim of finding Thunderclash, {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|Towards Peace}} Rodimus took to skulking in his habsuite as Megatron had been made co-captain. He emerged when the ship picked up a coffin which contained his own dead body and assembled a team to analyze the corpse. Their determination that it was definitely Rodimus almost had him amputating his own arm to avoid what he thought was an inevitable future, however the fact that the ''Lost Light'' was slowly disappearing led him and the rest of the crew to abandon ship. Rodimus evacuated on board the ''Leading Light'' with Magnus. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 3: Predestination: A Beginner's Guide|Predestination: A Beginner's Guide}} Rodimus, along with the shuttle and those aboard, mysteriously vanished in the same manner as the ''Lost Light''. {{storylink|Twenty Plus One}} The remaining ''Lost Light'' crew members, now under Megatron's leadership, discovered the wreck of another ''Lost Light'', the result of quantum duplication when the ship originally left Cybertron. On that vessel, Rodimus had been killed defeating the sparkeater, resulting in his body being ejected into space in a coffin. With this knowledge, Megatron's team were able to shut down the destroyed ship's quantum engines and restore the ''Lost Light'' along with Rodimus and the rest of the crew. {{storylink|slaughterhouse Part 2: The Road Not Taken|The Road Not Taken}}

With the revelation that Brainstorm was a Decepticon and had used a time machine to jump backwards in time, Rodimus and the others tried to work out his end game. {{storylink|The Custom-Made Now - An Elegant Chaos Prologue|The Custom-Made Now}} The assumption was made that Brainstorm intended to kill Orion Pax, so Rodimus assembled a team with compatible sparks to pursue Brainstorm back through time. Their first mission was to help Orion Pax save a field of sparks four million years ago in [[Alyon]], sparks that just happened to be sent to Nyon for a secret activating at the same time a young Hot Rod would come online. Rodimus attempted to avert Trailbreaker's future death by feeding his fellow Autobot subtle information, only for his work to be undone when Chromedome accidentally wiped Trailbreaker's memory of the adventure. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 1: All Our Parlous Yesterdays|All Our Parlous Yesterdays}} Their continued tracking of Brainstorm led Rodimus and his team to become involved in a pivotal brawl in [[Maccadam's Old Oil House|Maccadam's New Oil House]], from which they had to retreat while trying not to change history. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 2: Stet|Stet}} They finally caught up with Brainstorm as he attempted to kill Megatron at the latter's point of construction. Though they, in a roundabout way, prevented Megatron's destruction, the team was left stranded in the past with insufficient power to return to the present. Rodimus and Cyclonus teleported to another section of Cybertron and used a prototype quantum generator to repower Brainstorm's time travel device. Rodimus and his team returned to the present day with Brainstorm a prisoner. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 3: Predestination: An Expert's Guide|Predestination: An Expert's Guide}}

[[File:MTMTE43 Rodimus's holoavatar.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The Eighties called. They want their everything back.]]
Rodimus, along with [[Xaaron]] and Ultra Magnus, presided over Brainstorm's subsequent inquisition and opted not to banish him from the ship. Ratchet later called Rodimus in for an examination, but mainly so he could point out to the co-captain the inconsistency between the treatment of Brainstorm and the earlier treatment of Drift. {{storylink|Our Steps Will Always Rhyme}} The ''Lost Light'' finally caught up with the ''Vis Vitalis'' (Rodimus finally got to strike his gong in celebration) only to find that Thunderclash was on the verge of death. Rodimus, however, was too busy to go to Thunderclash's pre-wake. {{storylink|The Sensuous Frame}} Alerted to a situation on the ''Vis Vitalis'', Rodimus and Megatron arrived in time to overload the [[personality tick]]s with their combined charisma. {{storylink|The Frail Gaze}} Optimus contacted the ''Lost Light'' to invite them back to Cybertron as the lost colony worlds were about to be made contact with. Rodimus declined only the basis you just couldn't take a few days off from a quest. {{storylink|First Contact (IDW)|First Contact}} When one of Swerve's old injuries resulted in the manifestation of a holographic Earth, Rodimus and the rest of the crew projected their holomatter avatars to the fake world in an attempt to locate Swerve's psyche. {{storylink|The One Where They Go to Earth}}

While tidying Rodimus's room, Ultra Magnus made the discovery that Rodimus had been subconsciously carving a copy of the map to Cyberutopia into his desk since they started on the quest. Swerve's injury turned out to be a bullet containing data from [[Dominus Ambus|Agent 113]] which led the crew to find the Necrobot's world. Rodimus and Megatron took a small team down where they met the Necrobot himself, in reality a bot named [[Censere]]. {{storylink|The Not Knowing}}

Returning to the ''Lost Light'' following a three-day excursion to [[Meteorfest]], Rodimus found the ship being prepared for a journey through space controlled by the [[Mauler (G1)|Maulers]]. He and the rest of the crew were forced to spend that leg of the journey in artificial hibernation to avoid detection. {{storylink|Silent Light}}

After Tailgate attempted to kill Megatron, Rodimus accompanied Megatron on a visit to the sick bay to give Cyclonus the news that they'd worked out that Getaway and Atomizer were the ones who put Tailgate up to it. {{storylink|Speak, Memory: Part 1}} Immediately afterwards, Rodimus was one of the crew assaulted by the murderous [[Sunder (G1)|Sunder]] and forced to ''turn himself inside out''. Luckily the day was saved... by Tailgate, and a repaired Rodimus found it very funny that the minibot had turned out to be a super-strong, super durable [[outlier]]. On a serious note, he questioned why Megatron hadn't shot Sunder and was stunned to find out that Megatron had renounced violence completely!{{storylink|Speak, Memory! (Part 2)}}

When a time fissure opened in [[Swerve's]], Rodimus used it to look back at the first day of the second voyage of the ''Light''. Rather than hear Perceptor's guess about when the fissure might re-open, Rodimus toasted surprises. {{storylink|No Guns, No Swords, No Briefcases}}

Shortly after, the ''Light'' liberated the planet of [[Miliarium]]. Rodimus was in the thick of it and snarked that Megatron's newfound pacifism was all about having an excuse to stay on the ship and order them around remotely. After liberating the planet, Rodimus told Megs to lighten up about saving organics instead of 'bots and offered to let him say "[[roll out]]" to cheer him up. And more fun came when a strange signal hit selected members of the ship and the only way to find out why was to follow it in the Rodpod! YEAHHH!

They tracked it to the Necrobot's planet and found an attack squadron of Decepticons, supported by the [[Decepticon Justice Division]] waiting. Rodimus ordered a retreat, found the 'pod teleport engines had been sabotaged, and found the ''Light'' wasn't responding to their distress signals; his next order was to use the Necrobot's temple as a makeshift fortress, where he found Censere dead. Worse, the ''Light'' was contacted and Rodimus learned the crew had mutinied: Getaway had been let out and the whole remaining crew had helped trick him into leaving, as they were sick of having Megatron onboard and considered Rodimus to be ''too friendly'' with him. Getaway was taking them to find the Knights and Rodimus and his crew were going to be left to die. Rodimus swore vengeance {{storylink|The Dying of the Light: (1) How Bright Their Frail Deeds|How Bright Their Frail Deeds}} and then ordered the crew to search for any possible advantage they could get in Censere's home before the enemy fell on them. To his annoyance, there was nothing...

...until Nightbeat unveiled a teleport chamber! But unfortunately, [[Velocity (G1)|Velocity]] had found sleeping organics underneath the building and the Decepticons would surely kill them. Unsure what to do, Rodimus allowed Brainstorm to talk him and the others into having a nice, moral justification for abandoning the helpless but Megatron shamed his co-captain by giving a stirring speech in favour of protecting them, even if he'd die. Rodimus quickly flipped back to positive as they worked out a half-baked way to leave ''with'' the organics, and in private questioned Megatron about ''why'' he was doing this and planning to meet with [[Tarn (DJD)|Tarn]]. Megatron told him how the 'lure' had unlocked his guilt, making him 'hear' all the organics he'd killed. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 2: The Sun in Flight|The Sun in Flight}}

{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 3: Your Fierce Tears|Your Fierce Tears}} {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 4: At Close of Day|At Close of Day}} {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 5: Rage, Rage|Rage, Rage}} {{storylink|Secret Raiders: A Revolution Prelude|Secret Raiders}} {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 6: Do Not Go Gentle|Do Not Go Gentle}}}}

===In the Functionist Universe===

After the battle with the DJD, Rodimus got a new paint job. In [[Spectralism]], his new black, violet, and blue colors expressed both grief for a fallen comrade, but also a promise to kill (specifically Getaway, for what he'd caused). After Brainstorm completed his rebuilt teleporter, Rodimus checked the coordinates with Drift. Soon after, he gathered a team to fetch a ship from Cybertron to gather his stranded crew. They teleported to Cybertron, but it wasn't theirs; they were in an [[Functionist Universe|alternate universe]]!

In a vision seen by Drift, Rodimus, Drift, and Grimlock face [[Pharma (G1)|Pharma]] and an army of [[Worldsweeper]]s and [[sparkeater (creature)|sparkeaters]], with a message etched in the ground. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 1: Some Other Cybertron|Some Other Cybertron}}

{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|Dissolution Part 2: Anomie|Anomie}} {{storylink|Dissolution Part 3: A World Misplaced|A World Misplaced}}}}

==''Regeneration One''==
[[File:WarToEndAllWars5-HotsAndRodsVsDarkMatrix.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.4|Taking lead.]]
In [[Primax 512.5 Gamma|an alternate universe]], another [[Hot Rod (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Hot Rod]] had journeyed to the [[Primus]] chamber at the centre of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] with the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]], where he had a [[Multiverse|multiversal]] out-of-body experience and saw many different versions of himself, including Rodimus. {{storylink|Destiny, Part Three}} When that Hot Rod, now Rodimus Prime, infiltrated [[Zero Space]] to confront the [[Dark Matrix (G1)|Dark Matrix]] creature it summoned three versions of [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]] to defend itself so Rodimus Prime likewise sent ripples throughout the universe, calling forth the various versions of himself. Rodimus took command and ordered them to blast anyone without a "Hot" or "Rod" in their name and they managed to injure the Dark Matrix creature, loosening its hold over Optimus and allowing Rodimus Prime to seal the multiversal breach with the [[Sword of Primus]], returning Rodimus and his counterparts to their home realities. {{storylink|The War to End All Wars, Part 5}}
{{-}}

==Notes==
[[File:Devastation-Hotrod Earth Mode by EJ Su.jpg|thumb]]
*Hot Rod's Earth mode from ''[[The Transformers: Devastation]]'' was based on a [[wikipedia:Dodge Viper|Dodge Viper]]. Rather than a conventional rear wing becoming his trademark [[robot mode]] spoiler, the "spoiler" on his back was actually formed from part of the roof and side panels next to the rear window.<ref>[http://ej-su.deviantart.com/art/Transformers-Hotrod-Earth-Mode-85705546 E.J. Su]: I tried to retain as much of the design elements from Nick Roche's Cybertronian design as possible. Dodge Viper is actually not a very easy vehicle to transform especially if I want to keep much of the original car transformation scheme. Viper has an extremely long hood, which is one of the element that makes the vehicle sexy. After the tranformation, the hood has been shortened quite a bit more than my liking in order to make the robot mode more well-proportioned.</ref>
*Originally, Hot Rod's use of the Magnificence in ''Spotlight: Doubledealer'' was going to come with serious side-effects, but this was dropped, as with much else, with the truncation of ''[[Revelation (IDW)|Revelation]]''.<ref>[http://forum.idwpublishing.com/viewtopic.php?p=107632#107632 Simon Furman:] One story angle I just never got to cover properly in the four-part Revelation arc was the ‘price’ that comes with using the Magnificence. A bit like the Monkey’s Paw scenario, the Magnificence does give you exactly what you want/need, but the information or what information precipitates mostly turns out to be a poisoned chalice. That side-story got sidelined, I’m afraid. Originally, there was going to be a Hot Rod payoff, in which he goes well and truly through the wringer as a consequence of his mining of the Magnificence. There’s an element of that in Maximum Dinobots, though.</ref>
*[[James Roberts]] attributed Rodimus's brief possession by Metrotitan in the MtMtE Annual to his Matrix affinity.<ref>[http://forum.idwpublishing.com/viewtopic.php?p=309015#309015]: ''In the Annual we saw Ore snap back to life, offliners ready to rip out their audio receptors and also... Rodimus' hands taking a life of their own, is this a Marvel Unicron-like possession tie in, that Rodimus is still channeling Matrix energy from when it revived him back in the old ongoing, and again in Vector Sigma's chamber in Chaos?''

I had it in mind that Rodimus was particularly susceptible to the influence of the Metrotitan because he’d carried the Matrix and, yes, been close to Vector Sigma.</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:IDW Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Lost Light crew]]
[[Category:Matrix bearers]]
[[Category:Regeneration One Autobots]]

Ambulon

2017-04-07T02:01:49Z

Empuratapharmaa:

{{factions|decepticon|autobot}}
:''Ambulon is an [[Autobot]] from the [[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''
[[File:AlexMilne-ambulon.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|"[[Pharma (G1)|Poor <s>Kenny</s> Ambulon, he was too young to die and be taken away from us.]]" "Dude, you're the one who ''[[Remain in Light 3 of 5: The Divided Self|cut him in half with a chainsaw.]]''"]]
'''Ambulon''' is the ward manager stationed at [[Delphi]]. He's known to be easily offended, and his fellow Delphi medic [[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]] notes that he can be "a real gearstick sometimes." The gaps in his uneven paintwork reveal evidence of an earlier, buried portion of his life. Hint: He used to be purple.

Ambulon doesn't really have a complete alt mode—he turns into a leg. Just a leg. This unfortunate alt mode stems from his former life, where he was used as a guinea pig for a botched [[combiner]] [[Combicon|project]], which ultimately ended in his defection to the Autobots.

Unsurprisingly, there are four other people in a similar situation.

==Fiction==
===IDW Generation 1 continuity===
Ambulon was a [[Decepticon]] [[M.T.O.]] created for an offensive whose name started with "Operation Split Infin—". {{storylink|The Not Knowing}} As a test subject for the Decepticon [[Combicon]] project, Ambulon got ''a right leg''<ref>http://boards.idwpublishing.com/3/viewtopic.php?p=309412#p309412</ref> as his [[Alternate mode|alt mode]]. To escape the experiment, Ambulon went AWOL and defected to Autobots. {{storylink|How Ratchet Got His Hands Back}} Upon joining the Autobots, he participated in the [[Act of Affiliation]]. {{storylink|Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations|You, Me, and Other Revelations}}

Ambulon and his team of paramedics were on duty when [[Dogfight (G1)|Dogfight]]'s squad arrived at Delphi after a skirmish with the [[Decepticon Justice Division]]. A soldier named [[Schema]] had taken serious fire and was Ambulon's primary concern while staff medic [[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]] examined Dogfight, [[Backstreet (G1)|Backstreet]] and [[Dodger (G1)|Dodger]] for less-serious injuries. When First Aid began touching all their [[insignia]]s, Ambulon looked up from Schema long enough to tell Dogfight's crew that was just the medic's personal quirk. {{storylink|Bullets}}

[[File:Ambulon CLEAR Life After the Big Bang.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|left|"These legs are almost as nice as me. ''Almost''."]]
When the [[Red Rust]] virus was unleashed, [[Pharma (G1)|Pharma]], First Aid, and Ambulon rushed to treat the infected. They were later accompanied by [[Ratchet (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ratchet]], [[Pipes (G1)|Pipes]], and [[Drift (G1)|Drift]] and while First Aid was bringing them up to speed, Ambulon worked on the wounded Backstreet. Later on, when Ratchet, Pharma, and Ambulon were exploring Delphi, they were cornered by the [[Genericon]]s, who had escaped during the outbreak of the virus. They were rescued by an angry Fortress Maximus {{storylink|Life After the Big Bang}} who made short work of the Genericons.

Pharma blamed Ambulon for the Red Rust incident, since he had been a Decepticon, but it was soon revealed that Pharma was behind this. Pharma shot the life support machine and fled through a tunnel in a [[CR chamber]], which had the medics scramble to save the failing patients. After Delphi's inhabitants of the virus were cured with the vaccine, Ambulon left aboard the ''[[Lost Light]]'' with other survivors. {{storylink|How Ratchet Got His Hands Back}} Although Ambulon hoped to keep his embarrassing alternate mode a secret from the rest of the crew, a curious Swerve bonked him in the head, forcing him into his leg mode. {{storylink|No Guns, No Swords, No Briefcases}}

[[File:NoGunsNoSwordsNoBriefcases-Ambulonleg.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.9|"I'm coming, Baby Legs! I'm... Regular... Legs!"]]
Ambulon was working in the lost light's medical bay when he, along with nearly everyone on board of the Lost Light, was frozen in place due to one of Brainstorm's experimental weapons accidentally going off. After he recovered, he was awarded a Rodimus Star "for exceptional endurance in the face of adversity." {{storylink|The Reluctant Specialist}}

Following Fortress Maximus's psychotic episode on board the ''Lost Light'' (during which he shot five of the crew and held [[Rung (G1)|Rung]] and [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]] hostage) Ambulon, along with First Aid and Ratchet, was instrumental in saving Rung's life after he was accidentally shot in the head by [[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]]. {{storylink|Rules of Disengagement (issue)|Rules of Disengagement}} When a number of offline Autobots suddenly awoke and squeezed their audio sensors, Ambulon was assigned to watch over them in the medibay. {{storylink|Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations|You, Me, and Other Revelations}} When [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]]'s deactivated body was retrieved and put on life support, Ambulon assisted First Aid in investigating. {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 2: Patternism|Patternism}}

[[File:IDWMtMtE15-AmbulonLegOfAction.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|left|"Okay, so, ten out of ten for style, but minus several million for good thinking, okay?"]]
Ambulon took care of [[Rewind (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rewind]] following the injuries he'd sustained on [[Temptoria]]. {{storylink|Before & After}} During [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]]'s rampage on the ''Lost Light'', Ambulon crashed a [[Mobile Autobot Repair Bay]] into him. It...lost the ''Lost Light'' a M.A.R.B. {{storylink|Under Cold Blue Stars}} Rewind, a casualty of the battle, stitched together a final message for [[Chromedome (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Chromedome]] using footage from his database, including a recording of Ambulon saying "apart". {{storylink|The Gloaming}}

Following the disappearance of Ultra Magnus from the medibay, Ambulon was questioned as to where the [[Diagnostic Drone|medibot]] had been at the time. {{storylink|Remain in Light 1 of 5: The Fecund Moon|The Fecund Moon}} Along with First Aid, Ambulon gave a pretty good effort in fighting off the [[Legislator]]s when they invaded the ''Lost Light''. {{storylink|Remain in Light 2 of 5: House of Ambus|House of Ambus}} The ship was soon overrun, and both 'bots found themselves teleported to Pharma's new lab on [[Moonbase One|Luna 1]]. Unfortunately for Ambulon, he was to play a part in a med-bot contest between Pharma and Ratchet, a contest precipitated by Ambulon being horrifically sawn in half, ''lengthwise''. {{storylink|Remain in Light 3 of 5: The Divided Self|The Divided Self}} He did not survive the experience, but Ratchet made good use of Ambulon's senseless death. By fashioning a cannon from Ambulon's bisected remains, Ratchet was able to destroy the Legislator assigned to oversee the operation. {{storylink|Remain in Light 4 of 5: Arm the Lonely|Arm the Lonely}}

Before he left the ''Lost Light'' aboard the ''[[O Fortuna]]'', Tailgate gave First Aid a leaving present that contained a photograph of the ship's medical staff—himself, Ratchet, the [[Diagnostic Drone]], and Ambulon. {{storylink|The One Where They Go to Earth}}

Much later, on Luna 1, Red Alert erroneously remembered Ambulon as being in the queue to join the ''Lost Light''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s launch. {{storylink|Last Light}}

===''Kre-O'' online manga===
[[File:Ambulon-Kreon.jpg|thumb]]
When [[Predaking (G1)|Predaking]] attacked Autobot City, Ambulon stood next to [[Optimus Prime (Kre-O)|Optimus Prime]] in facing the giant Decepticon.. {{storylink|Behemoth Combination! But They're Cute? The Predacon Unit}}

===''TransTech''===
A [[Fixit (G1)|Fixit]] in [[Axiom Nexus]] knew of Ambulon and did not want to share his solitary alternate mode. {{storylink|Andromeda - Axiom Nexus News Reporter|Andromeda - Axiom Nexus News, 2015/05/28}}

==Notes==
*According to [[James Roberts]], Ambulon wasn't his original name, but he sticks to it because someone else we know goes by that name too.<ref>Letters page, "[[Under Cold Blue Stars]]"</ref>
*According to James Roberts, Ambulon is the only name he's ever had.<ref>https://twitter.com/jroberts332/status/681996130985484289</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Combiners]]
[[Category:Fiction-only Transformers]]
[[Category:IDW Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:IDW Generation 1 Decepticons]]
[[Category:IDW Generation 1 weapons]]
[[Category:Kre-O Autobots]]
[[Category:Kreons]]
[[Category:Lost Light crew]]
[[Category:Medics]]
[[Category:Turncoats]]