Optimus Prime (Animated)
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| This article is about . For other uses of "Optimus Prime", see Optimus Prime (disambiguation)|The name or term "Optimus Prime" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Optimus Prime (disambiguation).}} |
- Optimus Prime is an Autobot from the Animated continuity family.
A washout from the Cybertron Elite Guard, Optimus Prime was reassigned to space bridge repair duty under the supervision of Ratchet. He is a relatively naive and idealistic young leader, prone to long-winded "inspirational" speeches who leads a small and inexperienced Autobot space bridge maintenance team. Recently, his crew has landed on Earth, adopted jobs as semi-official superheroes and currently live in an abandoned Sumdac Systems warehouse.
Despite his humble "Bot Next Door" persona, he performs his job with a dedicated seriousness. He transforms into a red truck cab that can be fitted with many kinds of "trailer" attachments (most notably one that makes him look like a fire engine) and wields a kick-ass, rocket-propelled, extendable battle axe, as well as multiple arm mounted modifications, including grappler cables, fire extinguishers and bola-whip throwers. Despite his formidable abilities and skills, not everyone thought so highly of the young Prime. Sentinel Prime sneers at Optimus's lowly repair job, and Supreme Commander Ultra Magnus once held the young officer in low regard. More than anything, Prime wanted to be a hero. He's had the speeches, he had the moves...but what was he missing? Maybe The Touch?
But since coming to Earth, Optimus has learned the truth about heroism. It's not about glory and destiny, it's about doing the right thing and going to your limit and beyond. Ratchet, for all his cynicism, knows that Prime is a hero, and after seeing him in action, Ultra Magnus himself admitted that Optimus has excellent leadership skills.
Fiction
[edit]Animated cartoon
[edit]- Voice actor: David Kaye (English), Hiroki Takahashi (Japanese){{#if: Bernd Vollbrecht (German), Krzysztof Korzeniowski (Polish), Marco Balzarotti (Italian), Alexandre Marconatto (Portuguese), Frédéric Popovic (French), Carlos Carvajal (Latin American Spanish, 1st and 2nd season), Javier Rodríguez Castellanos (Latin American Spanish, 3rd season), Iñaki Baliño (Castilian Spanish), Seok-jeong Yang (Korean), Hesham Hamada (Arabic), Sami Kuronen (Finnish), Niclas Ekholm (Swedish)|, Bernd Vollbrecht (German), Krzysztof Korzeniowski (Polish), Marco Balzarotti (Italian), Alexandre Marconatto (Portuguese), Frédéric Popovic (French), Carlos Carvajal (Latin American Spanish, 1st and 2nd season), Javier Rodríguez Castellanos (Latin American Spanish, 3rd season), Iñaki Baliño (Castilian Spanish), Seok-jeong Yang (Korean), Hesham Hamada (Arabic), Sami Kuronen (Finnish), Niclas Ekholm (Swedish)}}
Optimus did his Autobot boot camp training under Kup Minor, who gave him the name "Optimus" because of his cheery, optimistic outlook. Sentinel and Elita-1 were also in this training platoon. The AllSpark Almanac II
During his later training days at the Autobot Academy, Optimus impressed Ultra Magnus with his performance in a computer simulated battle against Megatron. Although Optimus "died" in the battle, causing his boisterous pal Sentinel to make a crack at his expense, Magnus pointed out that Optimus had just scored higher on the test than anyone in Academy history, and let Optimus know he had great hopes for him. Survival Skills
A thousand stellar cycles ago, Optimus and Elita-1 accompanied Sentinel on an unpermitted mission to a forbidden organic planet in search of a lost Decepticon ship rumored to be carrying a huge payload of energon cubes. The mission was declared a wash when the trio discovered that the planet was infested with giant spiders, but the trio found that their retreat was not an easy one. Separated from Sentinel in the chaos of a spider attack, Optimus and Elita found the Decepticon ship and its coveted energon cubes, only to be surrounded by another swarm of spiders. Optimus had Elita download his grappler abilities so that they could bring a giant stalactite down on the creatures, causing the energon cubes to explode in the process. As they attempt to swing their way to safety, however, Elita's download timed out and she plummeted back down into the heart of the conflagration, just as Sentinel arrived to bear witness. Knowing that to go after her would mean death, Optimus held Sentinel back from pursuing Elita and forcibly dragged him back to the surface just before they were caught in the explosion. Along Came a Spider
Sentinel never forgave Optimus for making him leave Elita behind, Predacons Rising and bore a grudge against him for the next thousand years, constantly belittling him and sniping at him. The Elite Guard When the failed mission came to the attention of Ultra Magnus, the two were brought to a military tribunal. Sentinel gladly placed the blame for Elita-1's death at Optimus's feet, and gallantly, Optimus took the fall for leading the mission. He was discharged from the Academy, never to join the Elite Guard. Luckily for Optimus, Magnus thought that maybe the bot he once had such high hopes for still had some potential, and gave him the rank of "Prime" and his own ship... a rusted out junker filled with the incompetent young bots Bumblebee and Bulkhead, plus a crotchety old medic, Ratchet.
During one of their routine space bridge terminal repair missions, Optimus Prime's crew stumbled upon a bot named Prowl who was trying to complete his Cyber-Ninja training. Unfortunately, an energon cube explosion destroyed his ship, so Optimus offered Prowl a place on his crew. The would-be cyber-ninja expressed frustration at the constant curveballs life had thrown at him thus far, and Optimus noted that he could easily relate to that sentiment. Endgame, Part I
Fifty years ago, Prime and his crew came across the AllSpark while repairing a space bridge and brought the artifact aboard their ship. During transport, they were discovered by the Decepticons, and Megatron came after them. He proved too strong to take head on (in spite of his subordinate planting a bomb on his chassis), but when Teletran-1 neared Earth, Prime knocked Megatron overboard. The Autobots stayed in stasis for the next 50 years until they were accidentally awakened by an apparent intruder. Optimus and the Autobots took on Earth vehicles as alternate modes in an attempt to assimilate with what they believed to be the local dominant culture. Prime and his team were able to dispatch a bio-mechanical insectoid that was attacking Detroit. They were hailed as heroes for it. They also befriended the human Sari Sumdac, their first new friend on this strange world.
Over the next several weeks, the Autobots got to learn human culture and customs, doing their best to prevent disasters and save lives. Eventually, Starscream came for the AllSpark, and Optimus found that the schemer could pack quite a punch. The Autobot officer was still able to keep Starscream from getting the artifact, though at the cost of his life. However, he was quickly revived by Sari Sumdac and her AllSpark-influenced key. Later, the Autobots helped rebuild parts of Detroit that were destroyed in their battle with Starscream. Transform and Roll Out Dispatches
Optimus responded to an emergency call concerning the Angry Archer. As he arrived on the scene of the crime, the Archer attempted to hitch a ride atop of his vehicle mode, confident that the police wouldn't stop a fire truck speeding to an emergency. Optimus pointed out one flaw in the Archer's reasoning; HE was the emergency! Optimus then transformed and squared off against the criminal, eventually apprehending him with the help of his bolas projectiles. Optimus's heroic deed was captured on camera as the police caught up to arrest his captive, and later watched on TV by the other Autobots. Later, when Sari came over to have a slumber party with the Autobots, Optimus mostly stood aside, confused at her many antics. As Sari was telling scary stories to the perturbed Autobots, the machinery around them inexplicably came to life and attacked them. Optimus attempted to rescue Bulkhead from being crushed on the assembly line, only to be captured by an electro-magnet. Thankfully, Bumblebee was able to shut all of the haywire systems down. One last act of sabotage was foiled by Prime and his troops, when they noticed a leaking fuel tank about to blow. Optimus, Prowl, Bulkhead and Ratchet worked in tandem to get rid of it. Optimus then noticed a pocketbot scrambling around, and figured that whoever was responsible for the chaos was using it to observe them remotely. Unfortunately, Bulkhead smashed the little bot in his attempt to grab it. Nevertheless, the danger had passed, and so Optimus sat back and watched on as Bumblebee, Prowl, and Sari played a game of Twister™ to relax. Home Is Where the Spark Is
In an attempt to learn more about Earth customs, Optimus, Ratchet, Prowl and Bulkhead gathered around their television set and began flipping through the channels. They happened upon a wrestling program, wherein Prometheus Black pitted his bio-enhanced experiment, Colossus Rhodes against Bumblebee. Optimus and the others were forced to intervene when Rhodes began to run amok. Working together, the Autobots managed to defeat Rhodes. Later, Optimus led his troops out once more, this time to rescue Professor Sumdac from a vengeful Prometheus Black, now mutated into the corrosive "Meltdown". As the Autobots drove to Sumdac Tower, however, their progress was halted by the facility's force-field. As the Autobots figured out how to bypass the shield, Colossus Rhodes showed up and began to wreak havoc once more. Optimus, Prowl, and Bulkhead fought off Rhodes while Bumblebee and Sari managed to enter the tower to rescue the professor. Rhodes had been upgraded since their last encounter, but the Autobots managed to defeat him nonetheless. By striking church's bell to mess with Rhode's sound-sensitive enhancements, he was forced into unconsciousness. The Autobots then rushed in to help rescue Bumblebee and the Sumdacs, the force-field surrounding the tower having since been deactivated. Optimus took the bell along, and tried to use it to trap Meltdown. It didn't work, but Optimus realized that the force-field that had kept the Autobots at bay would work just as well against their opponent. With it, the Autobots managed to finally put a stop to Meltdown's rampage. Total Meltdown
Optimus and the rest of the Autobots watched a news broadcast featuring Prowl and Bumblebee, where the pair inadvertently exposed the Wraith's modus operandi. When Bumblebee asked why the Wraith couldn't just "scan a new alt-mode", Optimus helped clarify that it wasn't that simple for humans. Later, when Bumblebee apprehended Colossus Rhodes, Optimus Prime helped sign autographs for the grateful Detroiters. Later still, when the Autobots saw "Bumblebee" attack Michigan Stadium, Optimus helped clear the little Autobot's name by halting what was really a plot by the increasingly jealous and irrational Wraith. Though the Wraith nearly got away, using his holographic projections to misdirect the other Autobots, Optimus was able to grab him as he fled the stadium. Attention Surplus Disorder
Optimus learned that Sumdac's laboratory had been broken into and the thief, going by the name "Stiletto", had taken off with a powerful laser-scalpel and a new experimental alloy. Optimus assured Professor Sumdac that his Autobots would be on the case, despite Fanzone's insistence that the police work should be left to the police. Sure enough, the Autobots soon entered a confrontation with the industrial saboteur on Michigan's Ambassador Bridge. Though Stiletto proved herself skilled enough to slip out of the grasp of the other Autobots, Optimus managed to apprehend her, using her own stiletto heels to pin her down. Stiletto
Optimus and the other Autobots had to calm Bulkhead down when Porter C. Powell began to market Bulkhead's altmode as a vehicle for the everyday commuter, and further rubbed salt in the wound by using highly-doctored footage to have Bulkhead "promote" the vehicle. Thankfully, Sari and Bulkhead proved that the vehicle was a road hazard, and Optimus would later be seen watching an announcement on television declaring that the Bulkhead line was being recalled. The Insincerest Form of Flattery
Sari invited the Autobots to visit her father's theme-park, "Dino Drive", which featured robotic dinosaurs. Though their first visit ended in disaster for the animatronics, the Autobots' second visit to the park was even more eventful, as the animatronics attacked back! Though the "Dinobots" were subdued, something changed within them during the confrontation... And when Optimus and his team faced them once more, they appeared to have gained some hint of cunning to go along with their sheer brute strength. Little did Optimus suspect that the Dinobots had been granted sparks by Sari's Key. Optimus's fire-extinguishing foam proved useful against the Dinobots' fire-breathing ability, but it wasn't until he had the idea to trap them in a tar pit that the peril they posed to Detroit was negated. Optimus, unaware that Grimlock, Swoop, and Snarl were more than mindless machines, offered no objections to Professor Sumdac's plan to melt them down to slag. Blast from the Past
Unfortunately for Optimus, he had gained a reputation outside of Earth's atmosphere—not as a hero, but as the slayer of Megatron. The Decepticon Blitzwing placed a large bounty on his head, and pretty soon, Lockdown came to collect. He captured Prime and stole his axe and grapplers. Fortunately, Ratchet saved him, finally getting the old bot to open up more. The Thrill of the Hunt
After Optimus was forced to step in and capture the petty thief Nino Sexton when Bumblebee and Bulkhead botched the job, he decided that the both of them could use some training on fighting smarter. He tasked Prowl with teaching the pair on how to better blend in with their environment. True to form, Bumblebee wasn't able to see the training through, and got distracted by a crime-in-progress. When Optimus caught wind that Sexton, now going by the moniker "Nanosec", had robbed Sumdac Laboratories of a highly volatile sample of Destronium, he sped out with his team to intercept the thief. Getting to Nanosec first, Optimus attempted to use negative-friction lubricant and his grapplers to hinder Nanosec's escape. But Nanosec used his incredible speed to run circles around Prime, eventually turning Optimus's own grapplers against him. Though Optimus regained control of the situation, Bumblebee, himself out of control due to an ill-advised rocket booster upgrade, crashed into him, allowing Nanosec to get away. Once Bumblebee regained control of himself (running over Prime in the process), the little Autobot caught Nanosec, and took hold of the Destronium. But Ratchet's scans revealed that the substance could blow at any moment. To prevent Detroit's destruction, Bumblebee was sent up into the upper atmosphere, where the Destronium detonated harmlessly. Optimus and Ratchet worked together to slow down and cool down Bumblebee as he plummeted back down to Earth. Nanosec
During the Autobots' first Halloween on Earth, the Decepticon Blackarachnia ambushed Bumblebee and Bulkhead and kidnapped Sari. When Optimus Prime tried to fight Blackarachnia, she dodged all his moves, as she had trained with him. Prime was shocked to learn that Blackarachnia was his old Autobot Academy classmate Elita-1, who hadn't died but been mutated while fighting off the giant arachnids those many years ago. Blackarachnia tried to use Sari's AllSpark key to remove the organic aspects from her biology, but the key began to drain the life from everything organic around and nearly killed Blackarachnia herself. Prime removed the key, saving Blackarachnia and the organics. Still calling her Elita, Prime tried to convince her to return to the Autobots so they could try and help her. She repaid that kindness by injecting him with venom and telling him that she would never trust him again. Prime was left to reflect on the friend he'd failed not once, but twice. Along Came a Spider
Optimus and the other Autobots attended Sari's eight birthday party. As usual, Optimus found himself confused as to the significance of the many activities the children partook in. Though he wound up entertaining Sari's guests, Sari herself was left behind with Bulkhead. In Optimus's absence, Sari received totally cool dancing robot from her father as a birthday gift. Optimus soon noticed that Bulkhead felt alienated from Sari, as she spent more and more time with her new toy. Optimus consoled the big lug, insisting that a toy and a friend weren't the same thing. Bulkhead nonetheless grew suspicious of the musical 'bot, and Optimus had to intervene when it appeared that Bulkhead was trying to smash Soundwave out of jealousy. As it turns out, Soundwave had been transformed into a malicious Decepticon through repeated uses of the AllSpark Key. Soundwave took control of Detroit's automatons in an attempt to subjugate the human population, and Optimus and the Autobots had to intervene. But between the automatons' sheer numbers and Soundwave interfering with the Autobots' comm-links, they found themselves being overwhelmed. Once Bulkhead smashed Soundwave, the automatons returned to their normal state, and the fighting came to an end. Sound and Fury
When the Decepticons Blitzwing and Lugnut arrived on Earth, the Autobots were quickly bested by the duo. Prime realized that the AllSpark was no longer safe on the planet and decided that they should leave Earth. When the Autobots headed to fix their ship at the bottom of lake Erie, they encountered Blitzwing and Lugnut once more, and went toe-to-toe with the Decepticons underwater, where their enemies' advantage of flight was null and void. Optimus kicked up dirt from the bottom of the lake, which the Autobots used as cover for quick sneak attacks on their opponents. But the cover only lasted so long, and the Autobots were forced to retreat back to their ship... which had thankfully been armed by Ratchet and Sari while Optimus and the others had bought them time. The Decepticons were blown away, and Optimus returned to the factory the Autobots called home for some quick repairs. Lost and Found
Seeing as Sari would likely be a target for the Decepticons in the future, the Autobots decided to train her in combat techniques. The nerve blows she learned from Prowl did little to help her, however, when Swoop abducted her from her room. Receiving a distress call alerting them of Sari's disappearance, Optimus and his group raced off to help search for the girl. Looking over security tapes, Optimus was bewildered to spot the Swoop taking off with her. Prowl and Bulkhead went off on their own to rescue Sari, and did so in short order. In the process, both Fanzone and Sari came to learn that the two Autobots had spirited the Dinobots away to their island in lake Erie, but they all agreed to keep this information from Prime for the time being. Survival of the Fittest
After his latest rescue mission ended in destructive disaster, Bulkhead attempted to pick up painting, to prove he could create as well as destroy. Unfortunately, Optimus didn't "get" the purpose behind reproducing an image with "primitive tools". The rest of the Autobots were as equally confused over Bulkhead's new hobby.
Later, Bulkhead's body was stolen by Henry Masterson, aka "the Headmaster", who threatened to overload the local power plant. Optimus advised Professor Sumdac, Captain Fanzone, and Mayor Edsel to pretend to comply to Masterson's demands, while his Autobots snuck in as "ordinary" emergency vehicles. The sneak attack worked, only as so far that the Autobots were able engage Bulkhead's body, controlled by Masterson. The Headmaster was able to use the big lug's body to its full destructive potential, proving himself a daunting opponent for the Autobots. After an arduous struggle, Masterson fled, leaving Bulkhead's body behind. But at this point, the power plant was ready to blow. Prime volunteered to go in himself to replace the reactor's dampening rods, despite it being a one-way trip. Bulkhead had a better idea; the Autobots worked in tandem to quickly construct an "art-piece" robot that did the job for them, saving the city. Optimus later accompanied Bulkhead to his art show, where he got some inkling of understanding over what art "meant", stating that a portrait of the Autobots standing together made him feel... proud. Headmaster
When Teletraan I detected a non-sentient energy signature outside of Detroit, Optimus sent Sari, Bumblebee and Prowl to investigate it, under the additional pretense that the trip could be a "character-builder" for the trio. When they returned, they reported that the signature had been coming from a colony of mutated space barnacles, that had proved to be a dangerous adversary. Optimus congratulated Sari for her ingenuity during the mission, as she was the one who ultimately had brought an end to the brouhaha that had ensued. Nature Calls
When Decepticon energy signals were detected near the city, the Autobots quickly realized that their options were limited. Bulkhead mentioned that the Dinobots might help, forcing Prowl to reveal how the two moved them to Dinobot Island. Prime's reaction was...displeased, to say the least. Ranting that all he had to command were insubordinate malfunctions, Prime also concluded that the Key was no longer safe with Sari, and he ordered Ratchet to take it from her. As Sari ran off crying, Bumblebee mouthed off that their situation was an indication that Prime was unfit for command.
Heading to Dinobot Island, Prime did not get off to a good start with Grimlock, mostly because Grimlock considered him lunch. After Prowl smoothed things over, Prime tried to convince them to help the Autobots fight the Decepticons, but Grimlock was uninterested. Receiving word from Ratchet that the Key had been stolen, Prime ordered Ratchet to guard the AllSpark while the Autobots headed back for the mainland. Prime himself also began to wonder if he was fit for command, seeing as all his decisions had blown up in his face. When Bumblebee contacted the Autobots to inform them that Starscream was at Sumdac Tower, he refused Prime's order to hold back and went to attack the Decepticon on his own. Prime dryly noted that the day just kept getting better and better.
Then everything pretty much went to Hell when Megatron burst out of Sumdac Tower, to the shock and horror of just about everyone. Megatron Rising - Part 1
Quickly regaining their composure, the Autobots attacked. Megatron beat the slag out of them. Though Optimus fared slightly better, Megatron still brought him down fairly quickly. They were only able to escape when Megatron punished Starscream for his betrayal. Taking refuge within Sumdac Tower, Professor Sumdac explained his role in Megatron's revival and helped repair the Autobots with residual key energy. After Bumblebee called Prime to answer for his earlier assessment of them, Prime admitted he was wrong and asked them for forgiveness. When Ratchet and Sari showed up with Teletran-1, the Autobots took flight, hoping to lure the Decepticons away from Earth to prevent human casualties. Unfortunately, the Decepticons shot down the vessel and caused it to crash on Dinobot Island.
As the Autobots took on the Decepticons, Optimus faced down Megatron, which went as well as the first time. When Megatron got into the Autobots' ship, he took the AllSpark and placed the powerful artifact within him, using it as a weapon against Prime. However, Megatron had dropped the key, and Sari threw it to Prime. The Autobot officer used the key to send a surge of energy through the AllSpark, causing it to disperse while still in Megatron. With the threat passed, Prime apologized to Sari and returned the key, saying it was too important to be trusted with an Autobot. Megatron Rising - Part 2
After the battle with the Decepticons, the Cybertron Elite Guard arrived to take the AllSpark back to Cybertron. Optimus explained that the AllSpark had been dispersed and that the Decepticons had been defeated. Sentinel Prime accused Optimus of lying and took every chance he could to belittle his former friend, but Ultra Magnus decided to investigate their claims. Optimus took them to Dinobot Island, but the Autobots did not make a good impression on the Dinobots. Before they could investigate, they received a message from Ratchet, saying that police drones had gone haywire at a Sumdac Systems manufacturing plant. Optimus managed to get Sari inside and shut off the assembly line, but the key was stuck in the console. Before Optimus could help, Sentinel pushed him aside and promised to see Optimus charged for high treason. Tired of Sentinel's slag, Optimus finally stuck up for himself and told Sentinel where to shove it, destroying the console the key was stuck in and revealing an AllSpark fragment. Ultra Magnus accepted the shard as proof of Optimus Prime's claims. Though Sentinel still refused to believe him, Magnus said that Optimus Prime displayed many qualities that Sentinel himself could use. The Elite Guard
When Sentinel and Optimus were at a press conference with Mayor Edsel, they received a call about a Decepticon sighting in old Detroit. After Sentinel mangled the roads en route, he told Optimus to split up and search on his own. Hours later, Optimus received a communication to from Sentinel to dismiss the police and come to Sentinel's location alone—and not to laugh when he got there. What Optimus found was Sentinel Prime's severed head, with his body having been stolen by the Headmaster. He promised to help Sentinel find his body without letting Ultra Magnus or the other Autobots know, but not before taking a moment or two to enjoy the situation.
Heading for Sumdac Tower, Optimus confronted Porter C. Powell, who denied knowing where Masterson was and told him the Autobots were no longer welcome at the facility. Optimus left, but immediately tapped in on Powell and Masterson's phone conversation, letting Optimus track Masterson to the docks. After encountering mini-Headmasters in the form of Tutor Bot and Sparkplug, Optimus was able to get aboard the ship before it sailed away. Finding the Headmaster with Sentinel Prime's body, Optimus Prime proceeded to beat the living slag out of his attacker, much to Sentinel's discomfort. Finally defeating the mad scientist, Optimus reattached Sentinel's head to his body, but Masterson walked away due to legal technicalities. When Ultra Magnus asked them about it the next day, Optimus covered for Sentinel, saying that Sentinel had volunteered to use himself as bait to capture Masterson, and Magnus praised their bravery. In an awkward moment, Sentinel thanked Optimus for all he'd done, and the two shook hands amicably. The Return of the Headmaster
When word of Decepticon attacks came after learning that Megatron was still alive, Ultra Magnus decided that Optimus and his Autobots would be needed elsewhere repairing damaged space bridges. The Elite Guard also wanted Optimus to...leave out that whole destruction of the AllSpark and Megatron's survival thing for the time being. When they detected an AllSpark shard energy signature in a human train, the Elite Guard went to retrieve it. Detecting Starscream, Optimus realized it was a trap and was forced to place stasis cuffs on Sentinel Prime to leave the Elite Guard's ship. Meeting up with his crew, he helped them remove the shard and save the humans. Magnus and Sentinel, who by now had broken out of his cuffs, were about to rip Optimus a new one for insubordination, assault, and the lack of evidence over the Decepticons—at which point Starscream's body crashed mere meters away from them, having been offlined by Megatron (again). When Starscream knocked out Ultra Magnus, Optimus took command (much to Sentinel's displeasure). He managed to place the stasis-cuffs on Starscream, and Ultra Magnus decided that Optimus Prime and his team would be allowed to stay on Earth, locate the remaining AllSpark shards, and arrest the remaining Decepticons. Mission Accomplished
Optimus helped clear trash from the city of Detroit during a garbage dispute, in an effort to mend strained Autobot/human relations. Noting Ratchet's unpleasant attitude during the job, he assigned Bumblebee and Sari to coach the old 'bot towards projecting a more pleasant disposition. Garbage In, Garbage Out
During the search for an AllSpark fragment, the Autobots encountered the Speed Demons, a group of illegal street racers. A mysterious blue car caused two of the racers to crash, leading Optimus to pause the search in order to aid the crash-victims. But Bumblebee became fixated on out-racing the blue car. He asked Optimus to allow him to re-attach rocket-boosters to his alternate mode to compete against it. Optimus denied Bumblebee's request, but the little 'bot went and raced behind Optimus's back anyways, rockets and all. Bumblebee managed to get a hold of the AllSpark shard the Autobots had detected earlier, a component of a remote control Master Disaster used to fix his Speed Demon races. Optimus confiscated it, and put it away in a safe place. Velocity
Later on, when Bulkhead brought Scrapper and Mixmaster back to Autobot headquarters, Optimus was not impressed with their antics and demanded that they leave. Optimus warned Bulkhead that the duo were not worth spending time with and that they were not capable of learning the ways of an Autobot. After the Constructicons were 'persuaded' by Megatron that their talents would be better utilized in the Decepticon ranks, Prime was furious and despite Bulkhead's insistence that they were his friends, Optimus questioned that they didn't know any better.
Unfortunately, he was proved right when Mixmaster and Scrapper showed up and demanded that they hand over the AllSpark fragments, to which Prime naturally refused. A struggle ensued (in which Ratchet and Bumblebee insisted Prime was 'their dipstick') and Mixmaster held Bumblebee hostage and demands the AllSpark. Prime tried to stall for time and Bulkhead handed over the fragments, to Prime's dismay. Bulkhead then 'had one for the road' and his scheme came to light. With the fragments retrieved, Optimus consoled a distraught Bulkhead and assured him that as long as the Constructicons (now having lost their memory due to the explosion caused by the tainted oil) were not wearing Decepticon badges, they still had a choice. Rise of the Constructicons
After reports of the Dinobots rampaging came to Optimus's attention, he sent out Prowl and Bulkhead to deal with the situation. While the pair were in the field, Optimus received a transmission from Ultra Magnus informing the Autobots that Starscream had escaped from Elite Guard custody. Prowl, also listening to the message, decided to try and capture Starscream on his own, despite Optimus telling him not to do so. Though Prowl eventually managed to capture his quarry (kind of) he got mixed up with Lockdown along the way. Then, Optimus and the others found Prowl tied up in the middle of a street, having been ditched by the bounty hunter. Optimus continued to show concern over Prowl recent brash behavior, but agreed to pursue Lockdown nonetheless. The Autobots ran into another Starscream en route, captured this one for themselves, and brought him along when they confronted Lockdown, then meeting with Megatron. Turns out, both Starscream were sparkless clones, rigged to blow and take half the city with them. Optimus and the others watched Prowl use his newly acquired Samurai armor to launch the clones into the sky, right into the flight path of the fleeing Decepticons. A Fistful of Energon
Optimus took part in a pursuit to catch the villain Nanosec, but the chase came to an end when Bumblebee mysteriously slowed down to a stop... Optimus, Bulkhead and Prowl returned to base afterwards for repairs. Later, Bumblebee alerted the rest of his team that a Decepticon had built a machine that could freeze any electronic machine within its range, just as he had been earlier that day. Optimus and the others sped out to take on the threat. They were all affected by the device's power before they could reach their destination, and were only able to take on Swindle once Sari had deactivated his weapon. SUV: Society of Ultimate Villainy
Optimus and the other Autobots gathered to listen in on an all-points bulletin from Ultra Magnus, alerting them that the criminal Wasp had escaped from prison. Later, Bumblebee told the rest of his team that he had stumbled upon a Decepticon transmission, and they reported his findings to the head of Cybertron Intelligence, Longarm Prime. Autoboot Camp
After learning that the Dinobots helped Meltdown escape, Prime took Prowl and Bumblebee to investigate Dinobot Island. There, he learned that Blackarachnia was manipulating the Dinobots, and had struck a deal with Meltdown to remove her organic half. However, Meltdown needed a genetic modifier. Blackarachnia, having poisoned Prowl and Bumblebee with her venom, told Prime to help Grimlock get the modifier in exchange for the antivenom that would save his Autobots. Though Prime tried to convince Grimlock of Blackarachnia's evil intentions, Grimlock would hear none of it. Returning to the mainland, Prime revoked his "protector of humanity" title long enough for Grimlock to "convince" Porter C. Powell to tell them where the modifier was. When Powell realized it was valuable, Prime was tempted to let Grimlock finish him off, but decided the Autobots didn't have time. On their return to Dinobot Island, however, Meltdown turned the tables on them. He revealed that he planned to remove Blackarachnia's NON-organic half, creating the all-organic Transformer he desired, and sicced his earlier experiments on Prime and Grimlock. With the other Dinobots' help, they sent the mutants packing. Prime then removed the modifier before Meltdown could finish his experiments, and exposure to the modifier caused Meltdown to break apart. Blackarachnia urged Optimus to come closer, but Grimlock's jealousy caused him to attack, allowing Blackarachnia to flee. When Prime went to Prowl and Bumblebee, he found the anti-venom, and saved their sparks. Although Powell tried to have Prime arrested, Fanzone refused to do anything about it. Because she left the anti-venom, however, Optimus Prime was hopeful that somewhere beneath the anger and betrayal of Blackarachnia, there was still something left of Elita-1. Black Friday
When Scrapper and Mixmaster resurfaced, Optimus led the Autobots out to track down the duo before the Decepticons got to them. Though Sari wanted to tag along, Optimus felt that the mission would be too dangerous for her to accompany them. The Autobots looked high and low throughout Detroit for the Constructibots, but without Sari's key to track their AllSpark signatures, the search proved fruitless. Then, Blitzwing dropped out of the sky and took on the whole crew. During the fight, the Autobots learned that Sari was dealing with the Constructibots on her own back at headquarters. Knowing this, Optimus didn't pause to question the Autobots' good fortune when Blitzwing suddenly decided to ditch the battle, and headed back to help Sari immediately. Returning to base, Optimus found out that Sari had taken care of the intruders all by herself. He commended Sari for her bravery... and then found out the girl had pigged out on candy and made a mess in their absence. Sari, No One's Home
When Bulkhead was kidnapped by Megatron, Bumblebee brought home Blurr, an Elite Guard intelligence agent who had been assigned to monitor the Decepticons and investigate Optimus Prime's crew (good odds on the one who gave Blurr his orders). When Blurr revealed where the Decepticons were, and that they were building a space bridge with Isaac Sumdac's help, Prime ordered Ratchet and Sari to get the ship back online, while he and the others went to rescue Bulkhead and stop the Decepticons. Before he left, he admitted that he wasn't sure if Professor Sumdac was willingly cooperating with the Decepticons, but promised Sari that he would bring him home alive. Heading to the mines, they were ambushed by Blitzwing and Lugnut, who were incapacitated by Blurr. Reaching the control room, the Autobots were incapaciated by the Constructicons. Fortunately, the Decepticons were too busy with the sudden arrival of Starscream and his clones to immediately kill them. A Bridge Too Close, Part I
Managing to free himself, Optimus found himself in the odd position of fighting side by side with Megatron. But the battle went against the Autobots, with Blurr and a pair of clones sucked into the space bridge and the other Autobots incapacitated. In typical Decepticon fashion, Megatron used Prime as a human (er, 'bot) shield against the clones. After the battle, Megatron decided to use Prime as a test to see if the space bridge worked, where Prime would be eliminated by Shockwave if it did. Fortunately, Prowl managed to get free from his stasis cuffs and shatter Optimus Prime's, allowing him to grapple Megatron. However, the power cut out, forcing Megatron to use the severed head of Starscream to further power the bridge, causing an overload. Prime managed to slap stasis cuffs on Megatron, taking him into the bridge, but the Autobots were nearly sucked in themselves before Omega Supreme arrived and sacrificed himself to save them. As the bridge self-destructed, the Autobots managed to escape before the mountain came down on top of them. Though mourning the losses of Omega and Blurr, Megatron's plot was foiled, and the Autobots could breathe a collective sigh of relief.
Sighs of relief which turned to gasps of shock and horror when Sari noticed that the skin of her arm had been torn...revealing robotic circuitry underneath! A Bridge Too Close, Part II
Leaving the mine, Optimus carried Sari and Isaac with him as the Professor explained what he knew of Sari's origins: years ago, Sumdac found a body of liquid metal, which he touched, and Sari emerged. Remembering all too well the horror story of human manufacturing, Optimus pointed out several flaws in Isaac's story. Optimus provided the necessary muscle to prevent Porter C. Powell and Henry Masterson from trying anything funny when Isaac returned to Sumdac Tower and fired the two, and was on hand to witness Sari activated some sort of weapons system to eject them. Horrified, Sari decided she was better off with her "fellow machines", and Optimus promised to keep her safe until she was ready to talk. Realizing that she wasn't going to talk, Optimus tricked Sari into going to Burger Bot, alerting Sumdac that they were heading there. Unfortunately, the Headmaster had found his Headmaster unit and Starscream's body, and attacked the trio. After a short battle, Optimus tricked Masterson into transforming, saying that a "n00b" like him couldn't do it. The attack managed to reconcile Isaac and Sari, and Optimus took them home, where Prowl revealed his theory that Sari was a protoform merged with Sumdac's DNA.
Later, Ratchet turned up with an unconscious Bulkhead and claims of a missing Bumblebee. Bulkhead theorized that Bumblebee had activated the plasma dynamic thruster, sending him across the universe, and used a homing beacon generator to bring him home. Unfortunately, Bumblebee was swallowed by a rock-like alien. As the Autobots tried to figure out how to stop the creature without harming Bumblebee, Sari used the Key to upgrade herself into a more powerful mech. She defeated the monster, but overloaded and was unable to control her movements, seriously injuring Bumblebee. The Autobots were able to remove the Key, only to discover Sari kept going and the Key had been drained. Ratchet was forced to deactivate Sari with his EMP generator.
Returning to the plant, Optimus informed Isaac of Sari's condition, deciding that this family was done keeping secrets from each other. Unfortunately, Megatron arrived, commanding Omega Supreme. Optimus and the others led Megatron out of the city, where he and Prowl boarded Omega, removing Megatron's influence. Unfortunately, Starscream took over Omega Supreme, and decided to conquer Cybertron. Optimus latched aboard the departing vessel, and shoved the plasma dynamic thruster into Omega, sending him warping across the galaxy randomly, ending the threats of Megatron and Starscream for a while. TransWarped
While Bulkhead and Professor Sumdac began constructing a space bridge, Optimus and the other Autobots focused on hunting down the remaining Decepticons on Earth. The first one they found was Lugnut, who was defeated and stasis cuffed after a drawn-out battle. Unfortunately, this left the Autobot force trying to pull the massive Decepticon out of the deep crater he had caused during the fight—a daunting task that they spent the rest of the night working on. Before any real progress could be made, Optimus and the others were called away to help Bulkhead, who had been dragged into an oil-stealing scheme by the Constructicons. Upon arriving at the Fossil Fuel oil refinery, Optimus was informed by Professor Sumdac on what was going on. A collision between Scrapper and Mixmaster led to a spark setting fire to a large pool of oil, and the Autobots were forced to transwarp an entire oil tank (with the Constructicons on it) out to Lake Erie, where it exploded. They then returned to finish hauling away Lugnut, only to find he had escaped in their absence. Three's a Crowd
After reprimanding Bumblebee for playing video games while on monitor duty, Optimus led the Autobots out on a search mission when they detected a Cybertronian energy signature. While Optimus was away, he received an emergency call from Bumblebee, revealing that Wasp was at the plant. By the time the Autobots returned, Wasp had switched places with Bumblebee. Unable to convince his teammates of the ruse, Bumblebee fled, and just as Optimus and his remaining Autobots gave chase, Sentinel Prime and Jazz cut them off. Sentinel was unwilling to listen to Optimus's claims that Wasp was innocent and Longarm Prime was the real traitor, and he took off for Wasp. Optimus had their group split up to try and find Wasp first, ordering Ratchet to come with him while Bulkhead and Prowl went to check another section of the city. While searching, Optimus and Ratchet discovered two Cybertronian fliers and assumed they were Decepticons. Only after fighting with the pair did they learn that Jetstorm and Jetfire were Elite Guard members who had been upgraded with flight protocols duplicated from Starscream.
As Optimus, Ratchet, and Jazz watched Sentinel flail about on the wet roads, still ignoring pleas to warn Cybertron about Longarm, Optimus asked how Jazz was able to stand the obnoxious Prime, and was surprised to learn that the Elite Guard ninja ignored "only half" of what Sentinel said. When the jet twins reported to Sentinel that Bulkhead and Prowl were working with Wasp, Sentinel ordered all of Optimus's crew arrested, despite Optimus putting it as simply as possible: Wasp wasn't a double agent, so Bulkhead and Prowl couldn't be his fellow double agents. Once they reached the others, Optimus had to deal with Sentinel's insistence on arresting them all to let Ultra Magnus sort them out, despite Prowl and Bulkhead now believing that Wasp and Bumblebee had switched places. Overruling Sentinel's demands, Optimus had everyone return to the plant, as that's where Wasp had to be if 'Bee's story was true. By the time they returned, Wasp had read up on Bumblebee's files and so was able to relate a number of 'Bee's adventures to "prove" he was the real deal. When Bulkhead had Bumblebee and Wasp play Ninja Gladiator to see who the real one was, Prime had no better suggestion. Wasp choked under the pressure and fled, and Jazz finally realized that Optimus had been telling the truth about Longarm being a double agent. An oblivious Sentinel asked why they hadn't told him this in the first place, and Optimus sighed in exasperation. Where Is Thy Sting?
With the Elite Guard remaining on Earth, the Autobots began a search for the rest of Megatron's Decepticons. During one search, Optimus saw an unfamiliar shadow with a strange helmet. Following it, Optimus, Prowl, and Jazz discovered Sentinel Prime had captured Sunstorm without making a sound. Despite his notorious ego, Sentinel refused to elaborate on the capture, and even bolted the clone's mouth shut when he started to talk. Returning to the Elite Guard ship, Optimus discovered that Sentinel had also captured Blitzwing and Swindle, as well, and was equally vague on the details. After helping Prowl investigate the mysterious helmeted figure, Optimus returned to the ship where he, Jazz, and Prowl were shocked to discover that Sentinel had captured Lugnut. Now convinced that Sentinel was lying to them, Optimus and the others eventually followed him to Tigatron Stadium, where they discovered a stasis-cuffed Sentinel, the Liar Starscream, Lockdown (wearing the mysterious helmet), and that Sentinel had been having Lockdown capture the Decepticons in exchange for parts of the Elite Guard ship. After a battle, the clone was captured, but Lockdown escaped. Returning to the Elite Guard ship, the Autobots made contact with Cybertron, learning that Shockwave had attacked Ultra Magnus and stolen the Magnus Hammer in the process. Optimus decided not to inform Cybertron Command of Sentinel's misconduct, but instead gave Prowl all the credit for the captures. Sentinel expressed annoyance that he didn't get any credit for the captures, and Optimus told his former friend that when the smoke cleared, there would be a reckoning between the two Primes. Five Servos of Doom
However, Sentinel remained on Earth, convinced that Wasp knew something about the attack on Ultra Magnus. Efforts to locate Wasp were hampered by Sentinel's refusal to recognize Optimus's authority on Earth, claiming he was the primer Prime. Things came to a head when the Dinobot Swoop captured Wasp and took him to Dinobot Island. Realizing that Blackarachnia might be involved, Optimus tried to warn Sentinel about her, but he refused to listen, as usual. Reaching the island, Optimus found Blackarachnia draining Sentinel of his powers, and offered himself in Sentinel's place. Blackarachnia didn't care; as far as she was concerned, she had every right to slag them both for abandoning her. She also revealed that she had made Wasp into the technorganic Waspinator in the hopes that if she could change him back, she could change herself back into Elita-1. However, Waspinator heard this, and tried to attack Blackarachnia. Reaching critical mass, Blackarachnia wrapped herself and Waspinator into a cocoon to contain the transwarp explosion. The Autobots were barely able to avoid the blast radius, which appeared to destroy most of Dinobot Island. Optimus concluded that Blackarachnia sacrificed herself to save them, but Sentinel thought that she sacrificed Waspinator to escape. Although Sentinel did not press the issue, Optimus could see that he was deeply hurt by what he had experienced.
A short time later, the Elite Guard were preparing to leave, and Optimus Prime's crew were seeing them off. Optimus actually defended Sentinel when the twins poked fun at him, saying that for all his flaws, Sentinel was a good bot at spark. Sentinel later came out to talk to Optimus privately, and Optimus apologized, both for not telling Sentinel about Elita's survival, and for not letting Sentinel go back to try and rescue her. In turn, Sentinel apologized for coming up with the idea to go to the planet, but admitted that the time was past for apologies. Optimus ended the conversation on a lighter note, saying that Cybertron needed a leader, and for better or worse, Sentinel Prime was that leader. Sentinel agreed, and the two Primes finally appeared to bury the hatchet. Predacons Rising
Optimus Prime's mood soon soured as the Christmas season rolled in, and the latest must-have product from Porter C. Powell was advertised all over the city—the all-singing, all-dancing Soundwave! After following a lone Soundwave and almost getting decapitated by a train, he decided he was obsessing over nothing and rejoined the other Autobots for some oilnog... not realizing it had been spiked by another Soundwave, forcing Optimus and the others into taking an early stasis nap.
As Optimus woke up the next morning, he discovered, to his horror, that he and the others had inexplicably become human. Despite his hopes, Ratchet could find no rational explanation for their transformation. Deciding the best course of action was to head to Sumdac Tower, the Automen set off into the city. A quick stop at the Burger Bot turned to them fleeing from an attacking Decepticon armada, followed by Optimus and Prowl saving a woman and her son from a burning building, to (badly) fighting off an attacking Starscream and finally—perhaps worst of all—having to take public transportation to Sumdac Tower. However, no sooner had they arrived at their destination then they witnessed the tower blasted to ruins... by a Megatron-controlled Cybertron!
But just as the Autobots seemed on the brink of destruction, Optimus came to a realization—none of what they had experienced was real, but a virtual reality simulation! They took out the Decepticons together with superhuman feats, Optimus destroying Megatron himself with a well aimed axe into his cannon. As the dust settled and the Decepticons disappeared, they "imagined" themselves into their real forms once again. But as soon as they had made the transformation, a giant Soundwave scooped them up into the sky, blasting them all with energy.
In the real world, Optimus and his crew were all prisoners of the real Soundwave in the basement of the Autobot hideout, as part of the sonic warrior's plan to reprogram them into being Decepticons. As their captor started to accelerate the reprogramming, Optimus opened his eyes to reveal them glowing red... Human Error, Part I
A wire from an attack Sari had made on Soundwave disrupted the connection, but after a failed escape attempt by Prowl, Soundwave reverted all the Autobots to their human forms and used his toy replica drones scattered around Detroit to begin hypnotizing the human population.
Looking for a way to interface with Soundwave to escape and locating it in the form of his vehicle mode, Optimus gave the order to pursue the Decepticon utilizing the conveniently placed vehicles on which their own alternate modes were based. Unfortunately, Optimus didn't know how to drive extremely well. He still was able to pursue Soundwave, albeit with the fire hose out of control.
When Optimus and his group finally cornered Soundwave, it was revealed to be a trap: Hundreds of Soundwave's vehicle modes surrounded the Automen, and when the Autobots attempted to escape, their vehicles' seat belts wrapped around them as Soundwave began to reprogram them again.
Controlling the reprogrammed Autobots like puppets, Soundwave used them in a battle with Sari and the Substitute Autobots, whom at first they soundly defeated. When Sari ordered the Substitute Autobots to attack all the Autobots at once, however, Soundwave began having trouble multitasking, until he decided to use just Optimus against them. Optimus soundly defeated the Substitute Autobots again and was about to kill Sari when the freed Prowl used his shuriken to blast Ratbat out of Soundwave's hands, liberating the rest of the Autobots. Optimus then grabbed Laserbeak, forced him into guitar mode, and engaged in a brief (epic) Battle of the Bands scenario before using Laserbeak to slice Soundwave and Ratbat in half, destroying the Decepticon's control over the citizens of Detroit. He and Sari then exchanged mutual new appreciation of each other's daily difficulties, Sari better understanding the stresses of command, Optimus now realizing the rigors of being human. Human Error, Part II
Optimus later congratulated Professor Sumdac and Bulkhead for completing a space bridge terminal in record time, and he was amazed when Sari single-handedly and expertly recalibrated the transwarp sequencers. However, he soon received a message from Sentinel Prime, who had accidentally freed several Decepticon prisoners on the Elite Guard ship, which decrypted to "Broken Lance", the coded distress call Sentinel used to use in their Academy days. Using the space bridge terminal to get to the ship, Optimus promptly emerged from Swindle's chest, having arrived in the pocket dimension which Swindle used to hold all his stock. Taking an elevator to the ship's energon storage chamber, Optimus slightly destabilized some energon cubes by perforating them with his axe, then put them in the elevator car and sliced the cables, so it exploded near the bottom just as the Decepticons pried open the doors. Slightly charred from the backblast, Optimus entered one of the service ducts and worked his way back to the brig area, grumbling as he did so.
Soon after, Prime freed his fellow Autobots and told Jazz to rewire the decontamination unit on the bridge as a freezing chamber to trap the Decepticons. At the same time, taking a cue from Sentinel's coded transmission, he made his Autobot symbol blink in Cybertronian Optical Code to tell Jazz that the decontamination chamber would be the only part of the bridge not to get frozen. After convincing the Elite Guard to surrender to the Decepticons (but not before using Sentinel as a slingshot against Lugnut), he endured Blitzwing locking them in the decontamination chamber and gloating all the while—until Blitzwing pressed the button and all the Decepticons on the bridge were frozen. Sentinel offered Optimus the Elite Guard spot that would be left when Sentinel became Magnus, but Prime declined, saying that he still had plenty to do on Earth. Optimus then returned to Earth on the Elite Guard's ship, and he and Sentinel traded salutes before they went their separate ways. Decepticon Air
When Bulkhead detected Omega Supreme on the Moon, Ratchet tried to convince Optimus to use the Magnus Hammer against Megatron to rescue Omega and Arcee. Optimus felt unworthy due to his discharge from the Autobot Academy and ban from the Elite Guard, and instead requested that Ratchet build him a modification to let him fly. As part of a counter to Ratchet's protest that "Autobots don't fly", Prowl volunteered his boosters to use as a basis for Optimus's mods. When Ratchet ran into trouble on the jetpack, Sari used her Allspark powers to find the problem, and Ratchet soon had an attachable winged jetpack for Optimus to test out. Optimus loved the new ability to fly, shouting "Yessssss!" as he slipped the surly bonds of Earth, but he was shot down by Slipstream. With a jetpack that didn't even give him an advantage over a Starscream clone, and with Megatron's Lugnut Supremes fast approaching, Optimus decided he no longer had a choice and picked up the Magnus Hammer, ready to stand up in this darkest hour. Endgame, Part I
Though hesitant about taking to the air given his previous performance, Optimus took to the skies with Prowl to drive the Lugnut Supremes away from Sumdac Tower while Ratchet, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, and Sari went to the Moon to sever Megatron's access to Omega Supreme. After a little trouble, Optimus was able to use the Magnus Hammer to cause a tornado that threw the clones to Dinobot Island, damaging one and rendering the other two unable to fly. However, they were still online and resumed their march to Sumdac Tower. Optimus instructed Prowl and Jazz to enter the clones and remove their AllSpark fragments while he himself fought Megatron. Unfortunately, when Omega was severed from the clones, it activated their hidden function as Starscream clones, complete with bombs capable of destroying everything within one hundred square miles. Omega returned in time to destroy one clone, and Prowl and Jazz used processor-over-matter to assemble stray AllSpark fragments and power a shield strong enough to contain the remaining clone.
Meanwhile, Optimus and Megatron continued to duke it out mid-air; Megatron, having apparently recognized Optimus as a worthy foe, finally called the Autobot by his proper name, to which Prime bitterly responded that the Decepticon leader could remember his name after all. Eventually, the dueling pair were encased in the shield with the third clone. As the final clone's bomb began to detonate, a flash of light removed Optimus from the blast. He was found minutes later by the Autobots, and they were exultant until they saw the price of victory: Prowl had merged his spark with the AllSpark fragments to save them all. As Optimus ran toward his fallen comrade, Megatron appeared and blasted the Autobot captain. Ratchet tossed the Magnus Hammer to Optimus, who beat the Decepticon leader down. Megatron goaded Optimus to finish him, but Optimus instead destroyed Megatron's fusion cannon, saying that the Decepticon leader didn't deserve the "easy way out". Instead, Optimus Prime and his crew, along with Sari and Omega Supreme, returned to Cybertron with Megatron, Shockwave, and Lugnut as prisoners, before cheering crowds (and a not-so-cheery Sentinel Prime) who hailed them as heroes. Endgame, Part II
Optimus Prime's victory over the Decepticons led to him being celebrated as "Cybertron's greatest hero". Sentinel Magnus kept up good relations with Optimus in public, even inviting him as a personal guest to The Motor Master's Stunt Convoy, a daredevil stunt show performed under Megatron's watchful eye right outside Trypticon Prison.
Optimus was interviewed by Iacon Central officers Sideswipe and Cheetor about the alleged theft of his ultra-axe, only to learn the "thief" was peddling a knock-off reproduction from the Stunt Convoy. Iacon's finest annoyed Sentinel with their questioning of Motor Master's crew, but Optimus's suspicions were raised as well. He used electronic paint to pose as the Convoy's member Toxitron and infiltrate the show. Optimus learned the Stunt Convoy were actually StuntiCONS planning to break Megatron out of prison. After learning the truth, Optimus brought the house down on the Stunticons. The Stunti-Con Job
Optimus Prime and Jazz came to the Cyber-Ninja Dojo to use the AllSpark Matrix to restore the Blurr cube to his normal body. The Return of Blurr
Toy bios
[edit]Optimus Prime prefers to fight fairly and in the open. At the same time, he knows bad guys don't, so he utilizes his "night mode" to sneak up on them without being seen. Good lesson, there. Nightwatch Optimus Prime When the Autobots were preparing for an all-out assault on the Decepticons, Optimus ordered everyone to get their armor upgraded. Ratchet helped him install armor so strong that it can take fusion blasts with ease. Armor Up Optimus Prime
Be the Hero books
[edit]Prime Suspect
[edit]After saving a human child from being run over by an out-of-control truck, Optimus found that he was being pursued by Captain Fanzone and a squad of police. Some investigation turned up the fact that he was accused of breaking into HomeTech's laboratory, and they had him doing so on security tape. Rendezvousing at the laboratory, Prime got Sari and the kid from earlier to go in and look for the footage. Though ultimately unsuccessful, a clue was found that led the Autobots to HomeTech's main warehouse. Within, Prime encountered the Decepticon who had framed him, Blitzwing, and the two battled at length until the other Autobots helped him taken Blitzwing down. With the deception exposed, Prime was confident his name was cleared. Prime Suspect
Quest for the AllSpark
[edit]Optimus and Ratchet came up with a surefire plan when Megatron took over Detroit's robot workforce in an attempt to get his hands on the AllSpark. The Autobots made false AllSparks and went to hide them around the city. Prime was intercepted by the clearance 'bot Crush-A, and called in the rest of the Autobots, ultimately defeating their foe. Quest for the AllSpark
Web of Deception
[edit]When the Autobots' ship on the bottom of Lake Erie was struck by Sparkseeker torpedoes, Optimus was knocked offline and abducted by Lockdown. He found himself strapped to an explosive device alongside one of the giant spiders from Archa Seven. Fortunately Ratchet was able to track him down and rescue him before the bomb could be triggered. Web of Deception
Time-Quake
[edit]Optimus and the other Autobots scoured Detroit, searching for the source of some strange temporal anomalies that had begun plaguing the city. Eventually they were able to track down the time machine that was responsible for the disturbances, and Optimus led his team in apprehending the culprit. Time-Quake
Titan Magazines
[edit]
Optimus was swiftly overpowered by Starscream and his army of clones, as were all the Autobots. The Dinobots arrived to save the day in return for lodgings during a rainy spell, leaving Optimus to ask Ratchet desperately for the weather forecast every day (the forecast being rain, rain, rain...). Dino-MIGHT!
Later, Detroit was hit by severe earthquakes, and Optimus led the Autobots in a rescue operation, personally holding up a collapsing bridge all by himself. These earthquakes turned out to be the work of the supervillain Quake-Maker. Optimus fought him but was easily beaten up—but forget Optimus, because the awesome Elite Guard operative Afterburn arrived, swiftly taking control of the Autobots and taking the villain down. Optimus was left a bit upset that Afterburn was so much better than him. Burnout
He was apparently so upset that he didn't bother turning up afterwards, letting Afterburn dominate things. Prime's big contribution was to give everyone the day off. Crossroads!
Later on, he ran afoul of the angry and impressively moustached General Macadam, who was throwing a fit over Swoop buzzing a USAF jet. Optimus gave the Dinobot a grilling over this...realising too late that Swoop, having been booted from Dinobot Island, had come for a job. Later on, Prime was very amused when Macadam angrily asked for help stopping the hijacked Wraith-X, and had Bumblebee bring in Swoop for it.
There was no time to celebrate, though, as Megatron assaulted their headquarters! Divebomb It turned out Afterburn, whom Megatron slaughtered, was a Decepticon infiltrator—and a sparkless drone one, at that—and he'd given their location away! Optimus and the gang held off a full Decepticon assault. In the aftermath, Optimus tried to boost Bumblebee's spirits by telling him he'd been a true hero in fighting Megatron, and that Afterburn hadn't been a real Transformer, so his death was no biggie. It was quite dodgy how easily Optimus wrote the guy off, to be frank... Megatron's Revenge
Optimus later went to watch a race at Crazy Coyote Canyon to find the "King of Speed", and he permitted Bulkhead to join in if he wanted. He probably regretted this when Bulkhead won and Prime had to carry him in a victor's lap... The Race
TransTech
[edit]- Voice actor: David Kaye (English){{#if: |, {{{2}}}}}
Isaac Sumdac presented his newest creation to Optimus, Bumblebee, and Sari; the "Bi-directional Unified Transit Terminal". The professor explained that his B.U.T.T. could easily shoot them all off to Cybertron... in theory. Though Optimus wasn't particularly eager to return to his home world, he agreed to test drive the device anyways. The B.U.T.T. malfunctioned, sending Optimus, Sari, and Bumblebee to Axiom Nexus instead of their intended destination. The trio soon encountered officer Flareup, who informed them that Optimus was breaking the law by virtue of simply being a "Prime" in Axiom Nexus. After being through 17 grueling hours of processing, Optimus and Sari were put in the care of Shockwave. The morally-ambiguous scientist planned to operate on them to assess their planetary threat-level. Though Optimus was chained to a table and put through an invasive "Matrix check", he did get the chance to exchange some witty banter with his captor, so there's that.
Bumblebee, Flareup, and their newfound ally "Joe" eventually burst in to rescue Prime and Sari. Unfortunately, Joe then betrayed the group, revealing himself to be a "Megatron" with plans of conquest! Using Sari's Key, Megatron turned Shockwave's lab equipment into a miniature army. Unable to take on the newly awakened robots through force, Optimus, Sari, Bumblebee, Flareup, and Shockwave instead devised a means to turn them against their master; bureaucracy! They convinced Megatron's army that the amount of paperwork they'd need to go through for simply being born was a huge hassle, causing the robots to turn on their master.
Shockwave was so annoyed by Optimus and his friends that he decided to use his authority to quickly deport them from his dimension. Relieved to be back home, Optimus made everyone promise to never speak of their inter-dimensional adventure again. Bee in the City
Lil Formers
[edit]Upon meeting an alternate-universe version of himself, Optimus explained to his counterpart that he found his own battle axe to be a more versatile weapon than the other's blaster. Lil Formers
The Cool comic
[edit]
Upon discovering the Allspark, Optimus Prime and his crew fled from Megatron's ship into a space bridge gate and wound up before the planet Earth. Unfortunately, Megatron was already aboard the Autobots' vessel, and although he had gotten one of his arms mutilated in combat, had managed to take down the entirety of the ship's crew, with the exception of Optimus himself. Engaged in fierce melee combat with his foe, Optimus jettisoned the Decepticon out of the cargo bay day just, decrying Megatron's wish to rule the universe. Visibly strained from combat, Optimus then put himself and his crew in stasis to await the day he would have to face Megatron once more. The Cool Extra #3
To protect the AllSpark, Optimus Prime led his crew of Autobots to the Earth city of Detroit. The Decepticons Starscream, Lockdown and Blackarachnia followed and attacked. Prime rescued Sari Sumdac from an explosion, protecting her with his body, then pitted himself against Starscream. The Cool Episode 1
Starscream succeeded in seizing the AllSpark, but Prime refused to let him keep it. Driving off a ramp and attacking him in the sky, Prime opened the AllSpark, dispersing its energy, killing himself in the process. Luckily, Sari's key was able to revive him. The Cool Episode 2
Prime then led the Autobots in defense of Dinobot Island, but was unable to counter Soundwave's sonic attacks and Lugnut's aerial bombardments. The Dinobots arrived and drove the villains off, but then attempted to drive the Autobots off, too! Prime and Grimlock sorted their issues out and parted on good terms. The Cool Episode 3
Back in Detroit, Prime was attacked by Blackarachnia, who demanded to know why he'd abandoned her to die years ago. Prime explained that he and Sentinel had immediately formed a rescue party but could not locate her. Freeing himself from her webbing, Prime vowed to help her restore her body no matter what. Their touching moment was interrupted by an attack from Blackout, which buried Prime in rubble. By the time the other Autobots could free him, Blackarachnia had already retreated with the other Decepticons, asking never to be called "Elita-1" again. Prime screamed furiously at this. The Cool Episode 4
Optimus was present outside Sumdac Systems headquarters to greet the revived Megatron, who politely remembered Prime's name. Megatron made short work of Prime, slamming him to the ground by the throat and blasting away the Autobots with his fusion cannon. Refusing to give up, Prime drew his axe and clashed with Megatron's swords. Later, Prime survived the battle to greet Ultra Magnus and the Elite Guard, who were demanding an explanation for why he and his crew had yet to return to Cybertron. The Cool Episode 5
Optimus Prime later joined Prowl in a battle against Clone #2716057. Though Prowl defeated the clone, Optimus berated him for being "too flashy" about it and destroying an entire park in the process. Prime then escorted the clone to a warehouse where Lockdown was meeting with Megatron. Optimus demanded Megatron hand over his clone, but sang a different tune after it was revealed that the clones were packed with explosives. Prowl managed to send the explosives flying into the sky, and Prime complimented him on his quick thinking. The Cool Episode 6
Some time after that, Prime managed to find the location of the near-complete Decepticon space bridge and launched a surprise attack. After kicking Mixmaster in the stomach, Prime once again clashed melee weapons with Megatron. The foes were forced to fight together, however, when Starscream arrived with his Clone Army. The pair fought well side by side until Slipstream fired a shot at Megatron's head. The Decepticon leader blocked the shot by using Prime as a living shield, injuring the Autobot near-fatally. The Cool Episode 7
As the Space Bridge overloaded, sucking everything into itself, Optimus Prime recovered. Rushing the distracted Megatron, Prime slapped a pair of stasis cuffs on him and then kicked him square in the jaw, sending the Decepticon hurtling into the vortex. After the battle, Prime joined the other Autobots in bidding farewell to the fallen Omega Supreme. The Cool Episode 8
When Starscream attacked Detroit in Omega Supreme's body, Optimus went off...somewhere, and when he came back, he had his Wing Blade armor and the Magnus Hammer, having received the hammer as per Ultra Magnus's wish The Cool Extra issue 1. Optimus combined his power with Megatron's to defeat Starscream. After ordering Prowl to remove all traces of Starscream from Omega's body, he set his sights next on Megatron. Optimus and Megatron agreed to conclude their rivalry with a final battle and flew off into the sky, clashing hammer with sword. The Cool Episode 9
Outmatched, Megatron fought back by powering his fusion cannon with Starscream's AllSpark fragment. The humongous blast shredded Optimus, who was then impaled through the spark chamber by Megatron's sword. Refusing to die, Optimus declared that his spark would shine until his last breath. Somehow, this caused the AllSpark fragment to be drawn to Optimus, where it immediately powered him up. Now endowed with a Heavenly aura and apparent invincibility, Optimus choke-slammed Megatron into unconsciousness. Later, Optimus and his crew returned to Cybertron with the shackled Megatron in tow, where they were hailed as heroes. The Cool Episode Final
Legends World
[edit]
In the Legends World, Optimus Prime was a fictional character featured in a popular cartoon and toyline. An actor dressed as him was present at Tokyo Toy Show 2014, where he would play soccer with children. Those who scored a goal against him would win a toy of another Optimus Prime, a feat Minor succeeded at. Tokyo Toy Show 2014 Report When Rhinox turned into Tankor and tried to revert the world back to how it was in the '80s, Rattrap attempted to stop him by telling him there were plenty of great modern-day Transformers, such as Animated Optimus Prime. LG05 Whirl
When Majin Zarak invaded their home dimension, the toys of the Legends World revealed themselves to be real Transformers. A Wingblade Optimus Prime toy helped to defend Tokyo. Legends World in Imminent Danger! Part Two
Precursor World
[edit]
A Warrior of the Seven Lights resembling a red Optimus Prime was a member of the Red Order of the Primus Vanguard. He cheered on the Order's diminutive cannoneer when their commander Red Sentinel Prime bade him fire the Order's holy Matrix Buster at the marauding interdimensional pirate Terrormander in defense of the Red Planet. God Neptune comic 1
End of G1 Universe
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Games
[edit]Transformers Animated: The Game
[edit]- Voice actor: David Kaye (English){{#if: Patrick Borg (French)|, Patrick Borg (French)}}
Optimus decided that Bulkhead and Bumblebee could do with some more training, despite Bumblebee's assertion that video games counted. He had Prowl turn the Autobot hideout into an obstacle course for himself, Bulkhead and Bumblebee to practice on. Not long after, word came in that the robots at a Sumdac Systems factory had gone haywire, and the three Autobots headed there to investigate. While they were bashing their way through the drones, Ratchet and Prowl got hold of a Decepticon Transmitter Drone, which they used to intercept a transmission indicating that Megatron was looking for AllSpark fragments to power his Space Bridge. Though Optimus was keen to stop the Decepticon, Sari pointed out there were still rogue drones at the factory. After finding the AllSpark fragment that was causing the drones to malfunction, Prime had to take to the road to hunt down some more drones that were heading for Detroit.
Another transmission indicated that Megatron had all the fragments he needed to power his Space Bridge, so Optimus returned to the factory, where he, Bumblebee and Bulkhead tracked down another fragment. Optimus then chased the Transmitter Drone back to its point of origin — Megatron's mine lair. The three Autobots fought their way into the mine and confronted Megatron at the mouth of his Space Bridge. After a short battle, Megatron transwarped out, and the three Autobots attempted to follow him. Only Optimus and Bulkhead arrived on Cybertron, and had to search fruitlessly for Megatron until Bumblebee arrived. A transmission led them to the Space Bridge Nexus where they found Megatron. A protracted fight ensued, at the end of which Megatron transwarped out to parts unknown. Optimus was commended by Ultra Magnus and offered a place in the Elite Guard. He turned it down in favor of returning to Earth, where Ratchet wondered if he needed to examine Optimus's processor. Transformers Animated: The Game
Transformers Animated: Action Packs
[edit]Transformers Animated: Action Packs
Transformers Battle Universe
[edit]At the edge of time, when the Matrix needed a new host, Optimus Prime was among several warriors (and Primes) summoned from the multiverse to battle for control of the prize. Transformers Battle Universe
Toys
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Merchandise
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Notes
[edit]
- The twin cylinder-shaped protrusions connected to Optimus's small antennae are inspired by the head design of the 2007 movie rendition of Optimus Prime, as opposed to the traditional single cylinder.
- Optimus Prime features design elements from two different incarnations of Optimus Primal. The "skin" color of his face (and to a lesser extent, the presence of a retractable faceplate) is taken from Primal's first Beast Wars body, while the way his lips are drawn is inspired by Primal's Beast Machines body. Derrick J. Wyatt thought since Prime is more of an inexperienced leader, he wanted to infuse some elements from Primal's design, who had a similar role in his series.<ref>Derrick Wyatt Q&A at the tf_animated livejournal community</ref>
- His chest windows resemble those of Star Convoy, the incarnation of Optimus in Return of Convoy, while his jetpack wings look like God Ginrai's.
- His Cybertronic form, on the other hand, bears a strong resemblance to Orion Pax. The toy takes this even further, with large shoulder-mounted wheels that also pay homage to Optronix.
- Optimus was killed off after only one episode (three if you want to get technical) and revived 1 minute and 15 seconds later. That's gotta be a new record.
- At the end of "Transform and Roll Out", Prime's spark is contained in the same place ordinarily reserved for the Matrix in other continuities.
- Despite nominally being a fire truck, Prime's alt mode features a detachable cab that can mount a number of different trailers, such as a lookalike of Generation 1 Optimus's trailer and a dump truck. Presumably, this would make his alt mode not a fire truck, but a semi-truck outfitted as a fire truck. Score one for the old fans!
- Like his Generation 1 counterpart, this Optimus's trailer almost invariably disappears COMPLETELY when he transforms, assuming it's there to begin with. This even happens when it isn't his trailer, such as in "Garbage In, Garbage Out". Even Prime himself is just as confused as to where it goes, as evidenced by "Career Day". Subspace shunting? Unicron Singularity? Or...something more?
- Optimus Prime's bio on his Happy Meal toy at McDonald's says he is a FIRE TRUCK CAB.
- None of Optimus's toys ever came with his trademark 'grappler launcher' weapons.
- According to the packaging call-outs for Cybertron Mode, DVD two-pack and Voyager Optimus Prime, his weapon is an "Ion-Axe" (or "Ion Axe"). However, on Roll Out Command Optimus Prime, Optimus's weapon is an "Ultra-Axe". The AllSpark Almanac labels it a solitarium weapon. The Japanese dub not only embraced the term "Ultra-Axe", but also added the "Ultra-" prefix to Prime's net (now the "Ultra-Net"), grappling hook (the "Ultra-Anchor"), and... jumping ability ("Ultra-Jump").
- TakaraTomy marketing director, Masahiko Yamazaki, has claimed that the Japanese version of Transformers Animated takes place within the continuity of the live-action film franchise, thus making Animated Optimus Prime the same character as Movie Optimus Prime. Some of Yamazaki's other statements regarding this have been contradicted (primarily regarding Bulkhead), so take with a grain of salt.
- A round of punny Japanese. During the "next episode" preview at the end of "A New Chapter! Transformers", Bumblebee complains that the name "Oputimasu Puraimu" (as the natives pronounce it) is too long and difficult to remember. His renaming suggestions include: "Convoy", "Oputi", "Opura", and "Pupu". Obviously, Optimus rejects all of them, saying that "Oputi" is more suited for a cute dog, "Opura" just sounds weird, and "Pupu", while cute, would be hard not to laugh at.
- According to
David KayeMegatron, he (like any Autobot) sucks at golf.<ref>David Kaye at BotCon 2008</ref> - In the Transformers Animated profile shorts, Optimus is introduced to the audience by Ratchet in "Meet Optimus Prime" and likewise introduces both Bulkhead and Megatron in "Meet Bulkhead" and "Meet Megatron" respectively.
- Optimus is normally depicted with his faceplate up in official artwork, even though in the cartoon he only wears it in battle.
- Had season 4 been produced, Prime's colors would have had flames on his ankles, the thighs and crotch reversing colors, a gold chest star not unlike Star Convoy's, and a new unique Autobot insignia shoulder. He would have also worn the Magnus Hammer on his back and later, gained a new set of God Ginrai-styled "Powermaster" armor that would have acted as a Super Mode.
Foreign names
[edit]- Japanese: Optimus Prime (オプティマスプライム Oputimasu Puraimu)
- Korean: Optimus Prime (옵티머스 프라임 Optimeoseu Peuraim)
- Mandarin: Qíng Tiān Zhù (擎天柱, "Pillar that Supports the Sky")
References
[edit]<references />