Editing Optimus Prime (Armada)

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{{disambig3|Optimus Prime}}{{suite}}
:''Optimus Prime is the [[Autobot]] leader from the [[Unicron Trilogy]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:ArmadaOptimusPrime dvd.jpg|right|350px|thumb|Prime, Prime, and [[Sparkplug (Armada)|Prime]].]]
'''Optimus Prime''' fights for truth, justice, and the Autobot way. He has led the search for the [[Mini-Con]]s, faced the resurrection of a [[Unicron|dark god]], and now aims to stop [[Megatron (Armada)|Megatron]] from obtaining the  [[Cyber Planet Key]]s. He's also died a couple times, and tends to find a second-in-commandy-type to combine with to form a super robot.

He learns martial arts from [[Scavenger (Armada)|whoever]] turns into a [[Landmine (Energon)|bulldozer]], thinks [[Hot Shot (Armada)|Hot Shot]] has leadership potential and tends to recruit teenage children.

Also, he wants to make sure you don't sit too close to the TV screen.<ref>It's true! In a pre-show warning screen before every episode of ''Super Link'' (the Japanese version of ''Energon''), Optimus Prime would appear in still frame, telling kids to make sure they watch the show in a well-lit room, and not to sit too close to the screen. This isn't particularly uncommon in anime...not after, well. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denn%C5%8D_Senshi_Porygon You know.]</ref>

==Fiction==
===Toy pack-in comics===
[[Image:Armada V1 Optimus Prime.jpg|thumb|Special power: The ability to speak three languages at once.]]
Optimus Prime assigned [[Hot Shot (Armada)|Hot Shot]] and [[Jolt (Armada)|Jolt]] the task of destroying an energy-draining device. {{Storylink|Armada Volume 1}} He later checked on [[Scavenger (Armada)|Scavenger]] when he was building a satellite dish that would help find [[Megatron (Armada)|Megatron]]. {{Storylink|Armada Volume 2}} After the [[Air Defense Mini-Con Team (Armada)|Air Defense Mini-Con Team]] saw a distress signal from [[Sparkplug (Armada)|Sparkplug]], Optimus Prime ordered them to not run off till they had backup. Nevertheless, the three [[Mini-Con]]s went and fell into a trap by [[Megatron (Armada)|Galvatron]], who combined them into the [[Star Saber (Armada)|Dark Saber]]. Optimus Prime combined with [[Jetfire (Armada)|Jetfire]] and kicked Galvatron to the sky, saving the Mini-Cons. {{storylink|Armada Volume 3}}

On [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], Optimus Prime defeated Galvatron. While transporting him, Optimus Prime and [[Overload (Armada)|Overload]] were attacked by [[Tidal Wave (Armada)|Tidal Wave]], who freed and combined with Galvatron. The battle was put to a pause when [[Unicron]] arrived. {{Storylink|Armada Volume 4}}

[[Image:Energon V4 Optimus Prime.jpg|thumb|left|Teamwork is using somebody else's fist to punch people.]]

Later, Optimus Prime battled [[Scorponok (Energon)|Scorponok]], [[Starscream (Armada)|Starscream]], and [[Battle Ravage]] with [[Skyblast (Energon)|Skyblast]] and Hot Shot. At a later point, [[Landmine (Energon)|Landmine]] asked Optimus for permission to plant an [[energon tower]] on a hill, but the commander rejected the plan, citing [[Decepticon]] activity in the area. {{Storylink|Energon Volume 2}}

Optimus Prime would find himself beaten in battle, where he was besieged by Megatron, [[Cyclonus (Armada)|Snow Cat]], [[Shockblast]], [[Tidal Wave (Armada)|Mirage]], and [[Demolishor (Armada)|Demolishor]]. Before they could strike, [[Wing Saber (Energon)|Wing Saber]] leaped to Optimus's rescue, and the two combined. With their teamwork, they defeated the Decepticons. {{Storylink|Energon Volume 4}}
{{-}}

===Dreamwave comics continuity===
====Dreamwave ''Armada'' comic====
[[Image:DWArmadaPreview OptimusPrime ouch.jpg|left|200px|thumb| Oh slag. There goes my bonus.]]
One million years ago, Optimus Prime was in the satellite room of the [[Loop]] in [[Cyber City]] when [[Hot Shot (Armada)|Hot Shot]] unexpectedly arrived, carrying unsettling news of an attack on the [[Mini-Con]] Village D-10 by Transformers calling themselves "[[Decepticon]]s". {{storylink|Dreamwave Armada issue 1|Armada #1}} While the Autobots investigated the remains of Mini-Con Village D-52, Optimus Prime demanded that they find clues as to what had occurred, as he did not know why the Mini-Cons had been taken and feared that these Decepticons had started a civil war. Soon afterwards, [[Megatron (Armada)|Megatron]] and his Decepticons invaded Cyber City and declared that the inhabitants now belonged to him. The Autobots arrived to defend the city, but were soundly beaten by the Mini-Con augmented Decepticons. Realizing that they were no match for the Decepticons, Optimus Prime ordered a retreat, for if they stayed and fought, they would die.  {{storylink|Dreamwave Armada issue 2|Armada #2}} 

Over the next million years, the Mini-Con empowered Decepticons steadily conquered the planet. Concerned that the conflict could escalate and put other worlds at risk, the [[Universal Peacekeeping Committee]] sent the famed mediator [[Fflaxl]] to the relatively unknown [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] in an attempt to settle the dispute between the Autobot and Decepticon "tribes" peacefully. However, just as he arrived, Megatron and Optimus Prime were in the midst of a battle, and Optimus Prime was sent flying, eventually landing on [[Bix]], Fflaxl's bodyguard. The diplomat, seeing the scale of the war and its participants, decided that some conflicts were best left untouched and that everything would work out in the end. {{storylink|Armada Preview}} Meanwhile, the [[Exodus (Armada)|Mini-Con escape ship]] crash landed on a distant world known as [[Earth]], dispersing the occupants all over the planet. A member of the indigenous [[human]] species, [[Rad White]], stumbled upon the crash site and inadvertently activated the Mini-Con homing device, where it was detected by both Autobot and Decepticon forces. Optimus Prime resolved to go to this planet Earth, believing that this might be their second chance to being back justice to their home. {{storylink|Dreamwave Armada issue 3|Armada #3}} 

[[Image:DWArmada4 OptimusPrime bruteforcelecture.jpg|right|200px|thumb| Oh no they DIDN'T!]]
The Autobots led by Optimus Prime used the [[space bridge]] to travel to Earth, unfortunately appearing right in front of a [[Ruby|group of human children]] on a field trip to the [[Allspark Power Generator Station]]. Optimus Prime quickly decided that stealth was of the utmost importance and that they should minimize contact with the local inhabitants, a policy that was questioned by [[Smokescreen (Armada)|Smokescreen]] and [[Scavenger (Armada)|Scavenger]], who just wished to tear through the planet to find the Mini-Cons, as their own troubles were of greater concern. This brought on them an angry rebuke from Optimus who declared that they weren't about to endanger Earth or its inhabitants to serve Autobot interests, but he also understood their frustration, telling them to save their anger for the Decepticons. Meanwhile, the Decepticons had also arrived on Earth and were giving chase to Rad, [[Alexis Thi Dang|Alexis]], [[Carlos Lopez|Carlos]] and their Mini-Con friends, [[Sparkplug (Armada)|Sparkplug]] and the [[Street Action Mini-Con Team (Armada)|Street Action Team]]. As [[Starscream (Armada)|Starscream]] and [[Cyclonus (Armada)|Cyclonus]] caught up to the fugitives, Optimus Prime and Scavenger appeared and knocking them out of the sky. {{storylink|Dreamwave Armada issue 4|Armada #4}} 

When Megatron arrived on the scene, Optimus Prime bided his time while Smokescreen got into position and distracted his enemy by trash talking, mocking that for all of Megatron's Mini-Con-enhanced power, he had continually failed to defeat the Autobots. Alexis thought that he was a "big red blabbermouth" while Carlos opined that it was like watching a wrestling match due to all the talking they were doing before fighting. Suddenly, Smokescreen pulverised the cliff Megatron was perched upon, burying the Decepticon leader in rubble. At first, Prime was able to beat on Megatron, but the Decepticon's Mini-Con advantage proved too much, and Megatron [[Powerlinx]]ed with all of his Mini-Cons, intending to obliterate all of Prime's circuits for his disrespect. Fortunately, [[Jolt (Armada)|Jolt]]'s team of Mini-Cons arrived, saving Rad and the others, then Powerlinking with the Autobots to force the Decepticons into retreat. The Mini-Cons requested an alliance with the Autobots, on the condition that they were equals in partnership. Optimus Prime agreed, stating the Autobots desperately needed the Mini-Cons' powers, but it was ultimately the choice of the diminutive robots to make. With the alliance formed, Optimus Prime ordered the Autobots to find suitable Earth vehicle modes and the construction of a local headquarters, for he had a feeling they were going to stay on this alien world for a long time. {{storylink|Dreamwave Armada issue 5|Armada #5}} 

[[Image:DWArmada7 OptimusPrime StarSaber.jpg|left|350px|thumb| Shut up dude, I'm TRYING to get it out of the stone!]]
Later, Optimus Prime sought out the kids at the [[Black Hills]] to tell them goodbye, as he felt they had been dragged into their war too deeply already. He wanted Sparkplug's support in the decision, but before the Mini-Con could fully voice his opinion, he received an emergency transmission from [[Sonar (Armada)|Sonar]] of the [[Air Defense Mini-Con Team (Armada)|Air Defense Mini-Con Team]], who were under attack by the Decepticons in [[Rapid City]], [[South Dakota]]. Sparkplug proposed a covert rescue operation, but Optimus Prime flatly refused, fearing the Autobot Mini-Cons could be captured by the Decepticons. Fed up with Prime telling them what they could and couldn't do, the Mini-Cons and the kids went on their own.  {{storylink|Dreamwave Armada issue 6|Armada #6}} Meanwhile, Megatron had modified and forced the Air Defense Team to powerlink together to form the mighty [[Star Saber (Armada)|Star Saber]], and used it to attack the [[Autobase]] in [[Nebraska|Lincoln]]. During the ensuing battle, Optimus Prime implored for the Air Defense Team to resist Megatron's manipulations and free themselves, as the power came from the three of them, not the one weapon, a concept that Megatron found unfathomable, as all he cared about was controlling the power. Sparkplug and the others returned to make amends, powerlinking with the Autobots to give them the edge they needed. Now on equal footing, Optimus fought back, telling Megatron and the Air Defense Team that it was about ''respect'': respect for the power and for the individual. The Air Defense Team broke free of their bonds and attacked the Decepticon leader. After the Decepticons retreated, so too did the [[Land Military Mini-Con Team|Land Military Team]] and the Air Defense Team. Prime felt that because there was now a balance to the war, the non-aligned Mini-Cons were right to leave and not tip the balance for either side.  {{storylink|Dreamwave Armada issue 7|Armada #7}} 

[[Image:DWArmada10 OptimusPrime Illbeback.jpg|right|200px|thumb| Optimus Schwarzenegger.]]
Soon afterwards, a monolith crashed in [[Tranquility, Kansas|Tranquility]], [[Kansas]] and sent out a signal which summoned all Mini-Cons on Earth to converge at the monolith's location. [[Red Alert (Armada)|Red Alert]] was not especially concerned considering the Autobot Mini-Cons could come and go as they pleased and that they might have just needed some time to cool off, but Optimus Prime was worried: after the situation with the Air Defense Team, he was unsure of what they might do next. While the Mini-Cons were in their trance-like state, the Decepticons arrived, intent on claiming all of Earth's Mini-Cons for themselves. Rad used Sparkplug's communications systems to call Optimus Prime for help, which soon arrived. Unfortunately, while the Autobots and Decepticons fought amongst themselves, the Mini-Cons (and Rad) entered the monolith and blasted off into space.  {{storylink|Dreamwave Armada issue 8|Armada #8}} As the Autobots left for home, Optimus Prime explained to the kids the significance of the giant Mini-Con symbol that had been burned into the ground and that Rad had been taken to the [[Moon (moon)|Moon]]. He also told them the story about how the Mini-Cons had escaped Cybertron and eventually crashed their ship on the Moon, breaking it in half and sending the bow to Earth. Optimus' only plan was to wait for Megatron to make his move, and try to stop them, for they had no options for reaching the Moon that would not require specialised equipment or actions that would compromise their security on Cybertron. However, an opportunity provided itself when the majority of the Decepticon left for the Moon, {{storylink|Dreamwave Armada issue 9|Armada #9}} allowing Hot Shot and Red Alert to erase any Decepticon sensor logs while Optimus Prime used the space bridge to travel to the Autobase on Cybertron. Unfortunately, [[Jetfire (Armada)|Jetfire]] had his hands full and resented Optimus Prime not leading the Autobots on Cybertron. However, Optimus did manage to get his hands on an [[Autobot shuttle|Autobot Transport Gunship]],  {{storylink|Dreamwave Armada issue 10|Armada #10}} which he used to travel to the Moon. Unbeknownst to Optimus, however, the selfish and cruel [[Destruction Mini-Con Team|Destruction Team]] leader [[Dualor (Armada)|Dualor]] had strapped Rad into one of the space mines protecting to Moon, and now Optimus was preparing to destroy the minefield, but he hesitated. While Sparkplug's Mini-Con friends and the [[Space Mini-Con Team|Space Team]] were working on rescuing Rad, Optimus Prime realised an itchy trigger finger would be disastrous. Optimus correctly deduced that [[Sky Blast]] meant no harm and allowed him to dock with the gunship whilst towing the dummy mine containing Rad. After blasting Cyclonus into pieces for attacking their ship, Optimus thanked Sky Blast for his help, and gave those back on the [[Mini-Con Fortress Base]] transportation to Earth promising them that he and his compatriots were in for a lot of changes in how the Autobots treated them. {{storylink|Dreamwave Armada issue 11|Armada #11}}

[[Image:DWArmada13_Autobots_Mini-Cons.jpg|thumb|left|350px|]]

Prime's word was soon tested when two crises occurred at the same time: Scavenger and Smokescreen had detected the Decepticons building some sort of rocket launch facility in Death Valley, [[California]], and a Mini-Con escape pod from the Moon had been detected in northern [[Alaska]]. At first, the Autobot leader preferred to deal with the Decepticon situation, until Sparkplug convinced him that if he didn't assist the Mini-Cons, the ones in the Autobase would be walking out. With political concerns in mind, Optimus Prime offered the full resources of the Autobots in mounting a rescue mission, which seemed to satisfy the fractious Mini-Cons. {{storylink|Fire & Ice}} Unfortunately, additional problems presented themselves when [[Cyclonus (Armada)|Cyclonus]], overjuiced on the full power of the Destruction Team, began attacking any and all targets while Megatron was blasting them with his [[Solar Scalpel]], a superweapon deployed from the rocket in Death Valley. With little choice, Optimus asked Sparkplug to powerlink with him at maximum power, enabling the Autobot to defeat Cyclonus. With the crisis averted and the Mini-Cons rescued, a disappointed Optimus asked Sparkplug why he had been holding back on him, as he thought they trusted one another. As Sparkplug told him the legend of the Mini-Cons having the power to save the universe or destroy it, Optimus was suddenly taken to Cybertron, where he witnessed its destruction... {{storylink|Dreamwave Armada issue 13|Armada #13}} 

[[Image:WorldsCollide4_JetOptimus.jpg|thumb|250px|—a [[Furmanism|FURMANISM]]!]]

While the Autobots tried to figure out what had happened to him, Optimus wandered across the blasted ruins of Cybertron, he discovered [[Spinister (G1)|a lone survivor]], who had been reduced to a gibbering wreck. {{Storylink|Worlds Collide, Part 1 of 4}} Optimus Prime refused to believe the confused, fragmented story the survivor told: Prince of Nothingness came, the heavens opened up, and their final judgment was pronounced. All those who fought perished and everything was destroyed. {{Storylink|Worlds Collide, Part 2 of 4}} As [[Unicron]], the devourer of worlds closed in on Cybertron, Optimus begged the survivor to tell him of any way to fight back against the monster. {{Storylink|Worlds Collide, Part 3 of 4}} Sadly, the survivor was beyond help, allowing himself to be sucked into the oblivion of Unicron's maw, despite Optimus' pleas for him to resist. Unicron noticed the lone Cybertronian and took the form of the survivor, proclaiming that like this reality's [[Optimus Prime (Worlds Collide)|Optimus Prime]], the Autobot would fall and his universe would be consumed - the gateway was being prepared by his heralds. Suddenly, Jetfire appeared, having jumped through a space bridge portal after destroying the Decepticon space bridge nexus that Unicron's heralds were using to open up space for their master to enter that reality. As this fallen Cybertron crumbled, Sparkplug, [[Comettor (Armada)|Comettor]] and the mysterious Mini-Con [[Over-Run (Armada)|Over-Run]] appeared, having crossed realities to find the Autobot leader. Over-Run handed Optimus the [[Mini-Con Matrix]], the essence of this doomed Cybertron's Mini-Cons, giving the two Autobots the power to transform and combine into Jet Optimus. With one mighty blast, Jet Optimus delivered a broadside to Unicron, giving them enough time to escape back to their reality. {{Storylink|Worlds Collide, Part 4 of 4}}

With the fate of their universe at stake, Optimus called on the Mini-Cons scattered on Earth to join the Autobots and Decepticons in fighting Unicron. As Cybertron's general, Optimus stood as the bulwark against the Chaos Bringer's onslaught, leading their combined forces until the Mini-Cons united their power to deliver an almighty blast at Unicron, sending him back into the unknown. Though victorious, Optimus Prime considered that with such pure evil, [[Furmanism|it may never be over]], and they must be eternally vigilant. {{Storylink|The End}}
{{-}}

====''Energon'' comic====
[[Image:Alphatrionsigomega.jpg|thumb|left]]
Ten years later, Optimus Prime found himself uncomfortable with the [[Autobot]]s' unpreparedness for war and requested the [[Autobot High Council|High Council]] to put resources into [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]'s defense. [[Levitacus]] expressed the Council's decision that such an action would sap the little [[energon (fuel)|energon]] they had and would instigate the Autobot-[[Decepticon]] conflict all over again. Dejected, Optimus Prime went to see [[Over-Run (Armada)|Over-Run]] with his concerns about [[Unicron]]. Over-Run replied that he could simply "ask" his planet for the answers he sought, suggesting that he understand himself before he can understand the Adversary. The [[Mini-Con]] pointed Optimus to an [[uplink platform]], where the Autobot went with [[Ironhide (Energon)|Ironhide]] and [[Hot Shot (Armada)|Hot Shot]]. Upon touching the structure, Optimus was pulled into the [[Hub (Energon)|Hub]], where he met [[Alpha Trion (Energon)|Sig-Omega]] and was granted a vision current events on Unicron that involved the [[Terrorcon (Energon)|Terrorcons]]. The voice of [[Megatron (Armada)|Megatron]] called out to Optimus and asked for assistance in freeing him from the spark core of Unicron. In exchange, Megatron promised to use his knowledge in the defeat of Unicron. He was pointed to [[Earth]], where [[energon (fuel)|energon]] that Unicron desired lay. {{storylink|This Evil Reborn}}

[[Image:Optimus Prime Energon reformat.jpg|thumb]]

With those revelations, Optimus Prime returned to the High Council, but the Council was again reluctant. Still, they agreed to Optimus's mission to Earth, on one condition: that he go alone. His preparation was interrupted when [[Unicron's Four Horsemen]] attacked. {{storylink|What Lies Beneath}} In the ensuing battle, Optimus was beaten and battered  by the powerful [[Rhinox (Armada)|War]]. Just as War was about to crush Optimus's head, the [[Omnicon]]s, on Over-Run's orders, rushed to his rescue. [[Strongarm (Energon)|Strongarm]] explained to Optimus that, as the [[Prime (rank)|Prime]], he had the innate ability to access the Hub at any location. Accessing the Hub, Optimus Prime again met Sig-Omega, who facilitated the reformatting of Optimus Prime to contain the [[Spark of Combination]]. He was granted a team of [[Prime Force|drones]], who he could [[Powerlinx]] with. Using his super mode, Optimus was able to fight off the Horsemen, who left the scene as they were ordered elsewhere. Soon after, Levitacus brought news that the High Council was informed by Cybertron itself that Unicron had begun moving again and was focusing his attentions on Earth. {{Storylink|What Lies Beneath, Part Two}} In response to a distress call, Optimus Prime and a team of Autobots rushed through the [[space bridge]] to Earth, where they confronted [[Scorponok (Energon)|Scorponok]] and his Terrorcons, who were raiding the planet for its energon. Their power proved too much for the Autobots to handle, but the fallen heroes were saved when [[Carlos Lopez|Carlos]] destroyed an energon stockpile and Scorponok proved more concerned about safeguarding the remaining energon than in destroying the Autobots. While Optimus composed himself after his beating, Megatron's voice reached him again, declaring that he was ''ready'', having attained a new body constructed in Unicron. {{Storylink|What Lies Beneath, Part Three}}

[[Image:Cybercord Treaty.jpg|thumb|left]]

Recovered, the Autobots ran into [[Rad White|Rad]] and [[Alexis Thi Dang|Alexis]]. After some reintroductions with their old [[human]] friends, the Autobots fought the Decepticons again at the [[Gregory Salt Sea]]. Now with [[energon weapon]]s from the Omnicons, the Autobots fared better this time, and the Decepticons were forcibly pulled back to Unicron through portals. Knowing the threat Earth was now under, Optimus Prime promised to defend the planet from Unicron and the Terrorcons. {{Storylink|What Lies Beneath, Part Four}} To his end, he established the [[Cybercord Treaty]] with the [[United Nations]]. {{Storylink|Multiplicity}} Optimus started with establishing Cybertron-constructed [[energon tower|shield towers]] on Earth. {{Storylink|Aftershock (issue)|Aftershock}} However, his attempts to connect to the human populace were frustrated when the Omnicons nearly destroyed [[Chicago]] while trying to mine some energon they had detected. He assigned Hot Shot the task of acclimating the Omnicons to Earth, starting by having them attend to the shield tower in the [[Yukon|Yukon Territory]]. Further Autobot infrastructure required reinforcements from Cybertron, so Optimus personally entered the space bridge, only to be diverted to Unicron's core to face the still-trapped Megatron. {{Storylink|Omni-Potent}} Despite persuasion from the disembodied Megatron, Optimus refused to release the tyrant. In an attempt to show just how bleak the Autobots's situation was and how much Optimus needed him, Megatron called up a literal bird's eye view of the massive Terrorcon attack on Earth. {{storylink|Multiplicity}}

[[Image:Optimus Prime comes to be cancelled.jpg|thumb]]

Pushed to desperation by the sheer devastation of Earth, Optimus Prime travelled deep into Unicron. Just as he was about to release Megatron's spark, he was bound by Unicron's defenses, despite being assured by Megatron that he would be kept invisible to Unicron's internal sensors. {{storylink|Multiplicity, Pt. 2}} Realizing that Megatron was afraid of alerting [[Alpha Quintesson]] to his presence, Optimus Prime managed to rip himself from Unicron's tentacles and free Megatron's spark, allowing him to enter his new body and join the battle on Earth, {{storylink|Multiplicity, Pt. 3}} leaving behind Optimus in Unicron's bowels. {{Storylink|Multiplicity, Pt. 4}} Nevertheless, Optimus Prime managed to arm himself, warning Unicron that "Ready or not, Unicron... here I come!" {{Storylink|No Exit}}

{{note|In unreleased issues:<br/>As Alpha Quintesson neared completion of Unicron's activation, Optimus Prime found less places to hide. Realizing that Unicron was gaining more resources than Optimus Prime could destroy, Optimus resolved to cut off the flow of energon into the planet's systems. Tapping into a low-priority sub-processor, Optimus hoped to cut off the supply chain, but instead discovered that it was [[Nervissa]], not Earth, that was being sapped. The Autobots had concentrated their defenses and attention on the wrong planet! {{Storylink|Armageddon Part 1}} This revelation prompted Optimus to travel to the surface to establish a beacon to inform the Autobots of what he just learned, but his journey was stopped when a [[seismic-shock warhead]] materialized in front of him and began counting down. {{Storylink|Armageddon Part 3}} Nevertheless, he pressed ahead and succeeded at sending an signal to the Autobots on Earth. [[Jetfire (Armada)|Jetfire]], Autobot commander in Optimus Prime's absence, took off to aid his leader. {{storylink|Armageddon Part 4}}<br/><br/>

On Unicron, both Optimus Prime and Jetfire were beset by Terrorcon drones and nearly consumed. They are saved when Megatron, who had returned to Unicron, rips through his interior, drawing attention away from the Autobots. The two fled to Cybertron, where Optimus used his connection to the Hub to allow the Omnicons access to the planet's energon core. He recalled all of his warriors to Cybertron, endowing some with the Spark of Combination. Optimus Prime had his army delay Unicron, who had been reactivated, still the seismic-shock warhead detonated, exploding Unicron to smithereens. However, they were soon faced with a new threat: a [[Unicron Singularity|giant black hole]] that formed from the foiling of Alpha Quintesson's plans. {{Storylink|Armageddon Part 5}} }}

===Cartoon continuity===
{{cleanup|February 2012|Needs severe pruning.}}

====''Armada'' cartoon====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Garry Chalk]] (English), [[Tōru Ōkawa]] (Japanese), [[Luis Miguel Perez]] (Latin America), [[Guilherme Briggs]] (Portuguese), [[Pierre-Peters Arnold]] (German), [[Niclas Ekholm]] (Swedish) [[Dariusz Odija]] (Polish)

[[Image:Pre-arm-scavenger.JPG|left|250px|thumb|"Maybe we shouldn't have fired lasers at the mirrors."]]
[[MYA|Millions of years ago]], a young Optimus Prime fought with a great Decepticon warrior known as [[Scavenger (Armada)|Scavenger]]. So frequent were their clashes, and so familiar were they to each other, the pair eventually became friends, and Scavenger signed up with the Autobots. Seeing great potential in the young Autobot leader, Scavenger taught Optimus Prime how to fight in hand-to-hand combat. {{storylink|Trust (Armada)|Trust}} Later, veteran Autobot [[Landmine (Energon)|Landmine]] trained Optimus in [[metallikato]] shortly before leaving [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] with [[Rodimus (Energon)|Rodimus]]. Optimus later notes that their training made him the warrior and soldier he is today.{{fact}}

[[Image:FirstEncounter_Prime.jpg|right|180px|thumb|He's part Optimus Prime, part [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]], part [[Optimus Prime (RID)|Optimus Prime]] and all Optimus Prime.]]

Millennia later, in the year 2010, Optimus Prime led a small Autobot unit consisting of [[Hot Shot (Armada)|Hot Shot]] and [[Red Alert (Armada)|Red Alert]] to [[Earth]] in response to the activation of a homing beacon that informed them of the reawakening of the Mini-Cons, long missing after they departed Cybertron a million years prior. Leaving his [[second-in-command]] [[Jetfire (Armada)|Jetfire]] in charge of the Autobot forces on Cybertron, {{storylink|Prehistory}}, Prime departed for Earth via [[space bridge]], appearing on the planet only moments behind Megatron. {{storylink|First Encounter}} Optimus immediately engaged Megatron in batle, buying time for the villain's three human targets—[[Rad White]], [[Carlos Lopez]], and [[Alexis Thi Dang]]—and the Mini-Con they had befriended, [[High Wire (Armada)|High Wire]], to escape. Megatron and Optimus's troops proceeded to warp in to join the battle, but the Decepticons soon retreated, and both sides were left to set up bases and scan alternate modes in order to begin their search for Mini-Cons. The three children, now having awakened the entire [[Street Action Mini-Con Team (Armada)|Street Action Mini-Con Team]], were the Decepticons' first targets, but Optimus and the Autobots came to their rescue again. {{storylink|Metamorphosis}} Optimus used his Super Mode's firepower to see the Decepticons off, and brought the children back to the Autobots' base to explain the history of the Transformers and their mission on Earth. {{storylink|Base}} 

[[Image:Arm ep 4 supermode prime max burst.jpg|left|250px|thumb|You feel lucky, punk?]]

Soon afterward, a Mini-Con activation signal drew the Autobots and Decepticons to the [[Grand Canyon]], where Prime found himself outmatched by Megatron thanks to the additional power of the Decepticon's Mini-Con partner. Thanks to an intervention from the Street Action Team in their combined form of [[Perceptor (Armada)|Perceptor]], Optimus was able to activate the Mini-Con panel, revealing that its occupant was his old Mini-Con partner and friend, [[Sparkplug (Armada)|Sparkplug]]. Together they Powerlinked, activating Optimus' powerful Maximum Blast which sent the Decepticons into retreat. {{storylink|Comrade}} The Autobots' next mission took them to [[Antarctica]], though they suffered a bit of a false start when Prime's drive system failed upon arrival, and he needed Red Alert to repair it. As the Autobots then split up to search for the Mini-Con, Optimus was absent for most of the battle with the Decepticons that erupted, but his late arrival into the fray tipped the scales in the Autobots' favor. {{storylink|Soldier (episode)|Soldier}}

Unable to haul his trailer through the forest that was the hiding place of the next Mini-Con panel, Optimus left it in the care of Sparkplug while he and the other Autobots began their search. Unsurprisingly, the Decepticons soon turned up and set the forest aflame, leaving the Autobots unable to fire back due to Optimus's concern that they would damage the environment. The kids and Mini-Cons were able to extinguish the forest fire by hooking Optimus's trailer up to a nearby lake, and although the Autobots failed to keep the Mini-Con out of Decepticon hands, Optimus assured them all that they had done the right thing. {{storylink|Jungle}} Sadly, the Autobots' next battle, in the [[Sahara]] desert, also ended in failure. {{storylink|Palace}}

A different challenge would face Optimus when Rad and Carlos' schoolyard antagonists [[Billy (Armada)|Billy]] and [[Fred (Armada)|Fred]] were kidnapped by the Decepticons and ransomed for all the Autobots' Mini-Cons. Optimus was forced to agree to the exchange, and although Megatron reneged on the deal, Hot Shot managed to win the day by freeing the kids. With their cover blown, Optimus and the Autobots accepted Billy and Fred into their circle of human friends. {{storylink|Confrontation (episode)|Confrontation}} It was then back to Mini-Con hunting, this time in the subway tunnels of a large city, whose maze-like construction confused Optimus and nearly led him into a head-on collision with a speeding train. Unfortunately, Optimus's team once again lost the Mini-Con to the Decepticons, but they gained a new team member: [[Smokescreen (Armada)|Smokescreen]], who had gotten lost during the space bridge transit to Earth, and who protected the kids from [[Cyclonus (Armada)|Cyclonus]]. {{storylink|Underground}} Next, Optimus carried the kids inside his watertight cabin when the Autobots headed into the ocean depths on the quest for a Mini-Con lost in the ruins of an ancient [[Atlantis]]-like civilization. When the Decepticons attacked, a blast from Megatron ruptured Prime's seal, but he was able to get the kids to safety inside the ruins before returning to the fight. Prime and Megatron's battle proceeded to carry inside the ruins, into the chamber containing the Mini-Cons, where once again, the Decepticons emerged victorious and escaped with the panel. {{storylink|Ruin}} 

After telling Rad a more detailed account of the history of the Transformers' war, Optimus led the Autobots to a volcanic island in search of their next Mini-Con, using his trailer's firepower to fend off the Decepticons as he headed into a narrow tunnel to recover the panel. A sudden volcanic eruption opened a fissure beneath the Autobot leader's feet, but this allowed him to avoid the lava flow that covered the island's surface and get the drop of the Decepticons, allowing the Autobots to at last claim another Mini-Con for themselves. {{storylink|Prehistory}} As with one of the other panels they had recovered, however, this Mini-Con would not awaken because it was part of a set of three. The Decepticons were in possession of the third panel, and soon invaded the Autobot base to complete their collection. Forced to order a shut down of the internal defense lasers to protect their human allies, Optimus gathered up the panels in his hands and tired to get them to safety, only for Megatron to catch up to him, awakening and combining the Mini-Cons into the [[Star Saber (Armada)|Star Saber]] sword. Optimus was able to blast the blade from Megatron's hands, and Hot Shot used it to beat the Decepticons into retreat. {{storylink|Swoop (episode)|Swoop}}

[[Image:Conspiracy-Welcome back.jpg|right|250px|thumb|]]

When Optimus's old tutor Scavenger arrived on Earth, it was not a happy reunion: his friend had now taken on a new life as a mercenary, and was now selling his serves to the Decepticons. {{storylink|Overmatch}} The Autobots also soon gained a new member in [[Sideways (RID)|Sideways]], who helped Optimus's team recover the Mini-Con [[Spiral]] in a highway battle. {{storylink|Gale}} Unfortunately, appearances were deceiving: while Optimus and Smokescreen were searching for a Mini-Con during the next battle, Hot Shot and Sideways were inadvertently warped away to the Decepticons' moonbase, where Sideways revealed himself to be a traitor and stole the Star Saber for the Decepticons. {{storylink|Credulous}} Fortunately, the next battle proved that Scavenger's alleged Decepticon alliance was also a ruse: Optimus had actually been employing him as a spy within the Decepticon ranks, and as that mission had now come to an end, Optimus welcomed him back into the Autobot ranks. {{storylink|Conspiracy}} Prime's trust did not immediately assuage the misgivings of the other Autobots, but Scavenger soon proved himself to them on the battlefield when he saved Prime from plummeting into a chasm during the Autobots' next Mini-Con hunt. {{storylink|Trust (Armada)|Trust}}

When the Autobots went on vacation to a lake only to be caught up in a flood, Optimus Prime helped saved some human lives by blocking the flow of water with his body. {{storylink|Vacation}} Soon after welcoming the antisocial Blurr to the team, {{storylink|Reinforcement}} Optimus was challenged to a pitched battle in the desert by Megatron, now wielding both the Star Saber and the [[Skyboom (Armada)|Skyboom Shield]]. Though helplessly outmatched by the power the Mini-Con weapons conveyed on his eternal enemy, Optimus fought bravely, and was able to use a distraction to disarm Megatron of the Skyboom, but was then nearly run through by the enraged Decepticon leader. At the last moment, Sparkplug threw himself between the combatants and summoned the Skyboom to protect Prime; when shield and sword collided, an incredible reaction resulted, producing a beam of light that shot off into space. With the shield in Autobot hands, the Decepticons retreated. {{storylink|Decisive Battle}}

Prime barred the kids from the Autobot base while he concocted a strategy that would allow the team to use the Skyboom against the Decepticons, but his plans were pre-empted when the Decepticons lured the Autobots into a trap, splitting them up by warping them individually to different locations of past battles. In the Sahara once more, Optimus was confronted by Megatron and a small legion of Mini-Cons; chastened by Rad's warnings, Optimus was unwilling to fire back at the attacking Mini-Cons, and this act of restraint was enough to convince the Mini-Cons to turn on Megatron. {{storylink|Vow}} It was not long before Prime and Megatron met in battle again, though the outcome of that partner clash went undocumented. {{storylink|Rebellion}}

The sudden deactivation of [[Laserbeak (Armada)|Laserbeak]] prompted Optimus to break off a battle to return to base and discover what had happened to the kids. Discovering that they had been sucked into cyberspace by Sideways, the Autobots safely extricated them, but their tale of an encounter with another evil force within the cyber-realm deeply perturbed Optimus. {{storylink|Chase (episode)|Chase}}

After Optimus used the Skyboom to help secure another Autobot victory, the Decepticons' new tactician [[Thrust (Armada)|Thrust]] put together a plan to lure the Autobots into a valley, separating Prime from the group and wiping him out. The scheme would have succeeded, if not for the sudden arrival of Jetfire on Earth, who foiled Thrust's plans. {{storylink|Tactician}} Jetfire took over leadership of the Autobots while Optimus's injuries were being repaired, but his cocksure attitude soon saw him lured into another of Thrust's traps. In defiance of his wounds, Prime warped into the battlefield, where he and Jetfire [[Powerlinx|powerlinked]] to form "Jet Prime" and sent the Decepticons packing. {{storylink|Linkup}}

{{storylink|Detection}}{{storylink|Awakening}}{{storylink|Desperate}}{{storylink|Runaway}}{{storylink|Past}}{{storylink|Past II}}{{storylink|Sacrifice}}{{storylink|Regeneration}}{{storylink|Rescue}}{{storylink|Mars (episode)|Mars}}{{storylink|Crack (episode)|Crack}}{{storylink|Threaten}}

{{charstubfiction}}

Through the treachery of [[Sideways (RID)|Sideways]] and [[Thrust (Armada)|Thrust]], the Decepticons managed to secure all three of the [[Star Saber (Armada)|legendary]] [[Skyboom (Armada)|Mini-Con]] [[Requiem Blaster (Armada)|weapons]] that form the [[Hydra Cannon]], the most powerful weapon in the universe. Mounting their new doomsday device aboard a starship, Megatron decided to wipe out the Autobot base on Earth, regardless of the massive collateral damage to the planet itself. Optimus Prime and Jetfire launched a pre-emptive strike against the warship in the hopes of disabling the weapon and rescuing the Mini-Cons. However, they were outnumbered, forcing a desperate Optimus to throw himself into the path of the cannon and use the [[Matrix of Leadership]] to save Earth, but at the cost of his life.  {{storylink|Crisis}}

Under the leadership of Hot Shot, the other Autobots gave chase to the Decepticons aboard the [[Axalon (Armada)|Axalon]]. During a confrontation with their enemies, the Mini-Cons reached out to each other and resurrected Optimus from within the Matrix. There was little time to rejoice, as the Autobots pursued the Decepticons on their way back to Cybertron.  {{storylink|Miracle}}

{{storylink|Puppet}}{{storylink|Uprising}}{{storylink|Dash (episode)|Dash}}{{storylink|Drift (episode)|Drift}}{{storylink|Portent}}

After returning to Cybertron, Optimus learned of the existence of [[Unicron]] from the Mini-Cons. He would plead with Megatron, now Galvatron, to unite their armies to face this new threat. Galvatron was only convinced after both Thrust stole the [[Requiem Blaster (Armada)|Requiem Blaster]] and the [[Skyboom (Armada)|Skyboom Shield]], and [[Starscream (Armada)|Starscream]] sacrificed himself to let Galvatron see that uniting the armadas was the only hope for the Transformers to survive.  {{storylink|Cramp}}

After uniting the armadas, Optimus and Galvatron continued to co-lead the strikes against Unicron. {{storylink|Alliance}} After many losses, the duo decided that they would venture into Unicron to weaken him from within, but were both captured by Unicron. {{storylink|Union}} Unicron would continue to try to persuade Prime into merging with him or face destruction. Thankfully, however, the kids were able to free the Mini-Cons under Unicron's control, who in turn attacked Unicron, critically damaging him. {{storylink|Origin}} 

[[Image:Armada 52 - Prime with tread piece.jpg|left|250px|thumb|My God, it's full of stars...]]
After Unicron's apparent defeat, both Optimus Prime and Galvatron succumbed to their base natures and had one last battle within the Chaos Bringer. Fighting each other to a standstill, both were surprised when Unicron suddenly came back to life, feeding off their hate for each other. Galvatron was drawn toward Unicron's maw, with Prime holding onto his tank treads, telling him to hold on. His nemesis then made the decision to sacrifice his life, giving Prime a final victory, so that Unicron might be destroyed and their race would survive. 

In the aftermath, Optimus Prime reflected that he didn't deserve the [[Matrix of Leadership]] and left both the Autobots and Cybertron for places unknown. {{storylink|Mortal Combat}}

{{-}}

====''Energon'' cartoon====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Garry Chalk]] (English), [[Katsuyuki Konishi]] (Japanese), [[Luis Miguel Perez]] (Latin America), [[Niclas Ekholm]] (Swedish) [[Dariusz Odija]] (Polish)

[[Image:EnergonOptimusForms.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Me, myself, and I... and ''me'']]
8,000 eons ago, Optimus Prime stayed on Cybertron to continue its defense, even as Rodimus led a group of Transformers away from the planet, into space, in search of a new home.   {{storylink|The Legend of Rodimus}}

A few years after the defeat of Unicron, Optimus Prime returned from his self-imposed exile to a newly-unified Cybertron where Autobots and Decepticons lived side-by-side in peace. Reassuming leadership of the Autobots, Prime took on a new body and established a dialogue with Earth's governments with the help of his human friends. [[Brian Jones (Energon)|Doctor Brian Jones]] came to Cybertron to meet with Prime and discuss potential new energy endeavours the two races could work together on, but his son [[Kicker Jones|Kicker]] was frightened by the robots and ran away. Prime followed the boy to an abandoned part of Cybertron, and discovered him in the chamber of the reawakened [[Primus]], the creator-god of the Transformers, who endowed Kicker with the ability to sense [[energon]]. Using Kicker's powers to detect energon deposits, the united Autobot-Decepticon-human federation set up numerous [[Cybertron City (city)|Cybertron Cities]] in Earth's [[solar system]] over the next few years to mine the mineral. Sometime after this, Primus bestowed upon Optimus the [[Spark of Combination]], giving him the ability to combine with his new drone vehicles, the [[Prime Force]]. Prime began personally training new Autobot recruits, including the hotheaded young [[Ironhide (Energon)|Ironhide]].

In 2020, Optimus Prime personally led a team to investigate attacks on the Cybertron Cities in the [[asteroid belt]] and on [[Mars (planet)|Mars]]. Finding no life remaining on Mars, his unit then moved to Earth, where Prime saved Kicker and [[Ocean City]] from an attack by the culprits, the bestial [[Terrorcon (Energon)|Terrorcons]], who had been sent to steal the cities' energon. {{storylink|Cybertron City (episode)|Cybertron City}} Fearing future attacks, Prime agreed to the evacuation of Ocean City, then led a counterattack against the Terrorcons when they assaulted [[Lunar City]] on the [[Moon (moon)|Moon]]. Before the battle, he assigned the headstrong Kicker to be partners with Ironhide, suspecting that the experience would be difficult but beneficial for both of them. {{storylink|Energon Stars}}  

As attacks on Earth continued, Prime led the Autobots in battling the Terrorcons at [[Desert City]], but he was dismayed to find that the Decepticon troops under his command had begun to abandon the cause of unity, having been promised the resurrection of Megatron in return for their service. {{storylink|Scorpinok}} A second attack on Mars City forced Prime to make a difficult call, leaving the Autobots there to fight alone out of fear that the Earth would be attacked if his team left to help. His suspicion was proven correct when the Terrorcons besieged  [[Plains City]]; during the battle, Prime discovered that the Terrorcon leader [[Scorponok (Energon)|Scorponok]] was wielding a [[Energon Sword|sword]] that was pulsing with the evil essence of Megatron, leading him to fear that his old enemy was indeed still alive. {{storylink|Megatron's Sword}}  

[[Image:Raidsword.jpg|250px|thumb|left|]]

With Terrorcon attacks continuing, Optimus had his Prime Force drones upgraded by Doctor Jones. {{storylink|Cybertron City (episode)|Cybertron City}} This upgrade proved timely, as it was not long before Optimus again found himself face-to-face with Megatron, reborn through the power of energon. {{storylink|Megatron Resurrected}}  In a subsequent battle at Ocean City, the two threw down with all their power, but Optimus was able to emerge triumphant when the [[Omnicon]]s provided him with a copy of Megatron's sword. {{storylink|Megatron Raid}} Megatron was not the only old foe to return, however: Optimus soon found himself stalked by the ghostly Starscream, sent to assassinate him by the Terrorcons' creator [[Alpha Quintesson|Alpha Q]]. To prevent interference or collateral damage, Prime lured Starscream to the moon, and in the battle that followed, he learned of Starscream's master's plan to revive Unicron. Badly wounded by Starscream, Prime was knocked unconscious, but an infusion of energon from [[Skyblast (Energon)|Skyblast]] revived him and interacted with the Matrix of Leadership, generating a [[Energon Blaster|powerful blaster]] that Prime used to drive off his opponent. {{storylink|Starscream the Mysterious Mercenary}} 

On edge and battle-ready after the assassination attempt, Prime was quick to lead his team into the asteroid belt when he suspected the Decepticons were operating from a mobile base there. Though the Autobots' destroyed the base, its similarity to Unicron only worried Prime more. {{storylink|Battle of the Asteroid Belt}} The need for Prime and the Autobots to leave the Earth and investigate the potential return of Unicron fortunately coincided with Doctor Jones's development of [[Energon Tower]]s, which could project a grid of energon that would protect Earth in the Autobots' absence. {{storylink|Energon Tower}} Constructing the towers was not the easiest task: during the endeavour, Optimus Prime was forced to order a detonation that wiped out Jungle City and some ancient archaeological ruins to fend off the attacking Decepticons, {{storylink|Crisis in Jungle City}} battled Megatron once again at Lunar City, {{storylink|Kicker Beware!}} and led a space-based defense against several giant "comets" that Megatron had created to destroy Earth, which was ultimately saved by the final completion of the energon grid. {{storylink|Energon Grid}}  

With Earth secure, Optimus decided to lead his team into space, to pursue and destroy Unicron before Megatron could revive the planet-eater. {{storylink|Rodimus Friend or Foe?}} As the Autobots prepared to leave Earth's [[solar system]] aboard the ''[[Miranda II]]'', the Decepticons attacked once more; struggling with Megatron, Optimus narrowly avoided getting caught by the ship's energon grid.  Demolishor wasn't so lucky.   {{storylink|Go for Unicron!}}

Optimus had his team follow Kicker's energon-finding instincts, leading them to a misadventure on a frozen planet.   {{storylink|The Return of Demolishor}}  Soon after, Optimus was confronted by Rodimus—who shocked him with the proposal that Unicron must not be destroyed, but rather restored!  Optimus wasn't convinced, and Rodimus went his own way.   {{storylink|A Tale of Two Heros}}  Optimus soon was forced to carry out his plan to lure Unicron into the space bridge and to Cybertron, where Rad assaulted Unicron with the planet's energon grid, massively damaging him.  {{storylink|Battle Stations}}

With Unicron repulsed, Optimus led a team to Cybertron's surface, where the Decepticons were in rebellion.   {{storylink|Alpha Q: Identity}}  They soon learned that the Decepticon criminal [[Shockblast]] had escaped, and pursued him to the very chamber of Primus.  Shockblast escaped, however, and Optimus soon had other concerns: Kicker was returning to Cybertron, with the head of Unicron!  {{storylink|Shockblast: Rampage}}

At Kicker's insistence, Optimus met with the alien Alpha Q and heard his story.  Moved, he agreed to help Alpha Q revive his planets, but the defense of Cybertron remained his top priority.  When Unicron began lashing out at his captors, it was Optimus who recognized the actions as blind survival instinct.  {{storylink|Survival Instincts}}

Prime returned to Cybertron's surface to lead the planet's defense as Megatron attacked again.  He was present to witness Wing Dagger's death at the hands of Shockblast.  {{storylink|Each One Fights...}}  He subsequently led his team in a direct counter-attack against Unicron, seeking to infiltrate it and defeat Megatron inside.   {{storylink|Unicron Unleashed}}  Prime was fully prepared to face down his enemy in a one-on-one showdown, but instead was ambushed by a vengeful Shockblast and left damaged.  Alone and facing two Decepticons, he was revived and saved by the arrival of an energon infusion from Earth.   {{storylink|Open Fire!}}

[[Image:Optimusprimewingsaber.jpg|250px|thumb|right|]]Wing Dagger, now rebuilt as [[Wing Saber (Energon)|Wing Saber]], arrived and revealed that he and Optimus could combine, greatly enhancing their power.  Prime rallied his troops to complete their mission of destroying Megatron.  Before it could happen, however, Megatron triggered a catastrophic energon reaction, ripping [[Rift (Energon)|a hole in the fabric of space]] and fleeing into it.  Optimus gamely led a team in pursuit of him.  {{storylink|Ripped Up Space}}

On the other side of the rift, the Autobots found [[Alpha Q's Realm|Alpha Q's solar system]] being reborn as recreations of his original homeworlds slowly grew through the power of energon. Optimus' team made it their priority to protect these fledgling worlds against the Decepticons' attacks as they pillaged them for energon to once again revive Unicron. The battles started immediately; when Kicker and Ironhide went to investigate [[Iron Planet]] after sensing energon there, Optimus' team went to search after them, only to run into Shockblast. Optimus let Wing Saber loose to avenge the death of [[Padlock]], resulting in Shockblast's recapture. Scorponok, found and brainwashed by Megatron, then led a Terrorcon assault which Optimus' team repulsed. {{storylink|Protection}} Soon after, Inferno - who was left to guard Shockblast - was ambushed by the Decepticons. While Megatron tortured the sniper, installing him with Decepticon programming, Optimus was held up by Mirage. Optimus arrived too late to fend off Megatron, but managed to fly the injured Inferno off the battlefield.{{storylink|Imprisoned Inferno}}

The next target of Decepticon attack was the [[Jungle Planet (Energon)|Jungle Planet]]. While Optimus and his team personally investigated the rift, the Decepticons began their assault. When he got wind of the situation, Optimus and his team returned, only to be forced to battle in outer space so the Terrorcons could continue their pillaging. Upon the arrival of [[Bulkhead (Energon)|Bulkhead]], [[Downshift (Energon)|Downshift]], and [[Cliffjumper (Energon)|Cliffjumper]] the Autobots turned the tide enough that, combined with Wing Saber, Optimus managed to break through into the atmosphere, only to be bombarded endlessly by Megatron. While Inferno fended off both Scorponok and his Decepticon programming below, Optimus carried on the fight with Megatron, finally blowing him out of the sky and teaching him a lesson about how the Autobots' teamwork granted them greater power. {{storylink|Jungle Planet (episode)|Jungle Planet}} 

The arrival of Bulkhead's team through the rift signalled to the Autobots that it was possible to retrieve more energon towers from Cybertron. Optimus sent Hot Shot and Downshift to Dr. Jones to receive a new batch so as to set up energon grids across the planets; but in the interim, the Terrorcons successfully managed to suck Iron Planet dry and destroy it. Hurrying to defend Jungle Planet, Optimus led a successful resistance against Decepticon invasion, giving the Autobots enough time to establish a new tower there. {{storylink|Bulkhead (episode)|Bulkhead}} More towers were soon sent through to Alpha Q's system and set in place, though Mirage managed to take out a tower on [[Ocean Planet]] via underwater attack. While Inferno volunteered to draw out Megatron and distract him from attack in space, Optimus' team ferried in a new tower to the water world. Upon discovering the ruse, Megatron returned to the planet, where he dueled the [[Energon Saber]]-wielding Prime. The planet was successfully defended, but at the expense of Inferno's life. {{storylink|Farewell Inferno}}

Following these depressing events, the Autobots decided to use Alpha Q's [[Circuit Planet]] for a little R&R. Optimus was surprised when he learned that his troops had halted their duties to hold the [[Autobot Grand Prix]], but when Rodimus stated that he'd signed off on it, Prime decided to join the event himself. Combined with Wing Saber, Optimus threw himself into the race as the final obstacle on the track. He proved enough of an obstacle to both Hot Shot and Ironhide that [[Misha]], riding atop [[Arcee (Energon)|Arcee]], finished first. {{storylink|Crash Course}}

Prime was soon contacted by Dr. Jones, who informed him of the awakening of the legendary warrior [[Omega Supreme (Energon)|Omega Supreme]] on Cybertron. Knowing that the Decepticons would soon have enough energon to revive Unicron, Prime requested more energon towers be sent and had the Miranda II set course for Unicron himself. Omega Supreme and [[Roadblock (Energon)|Roadblock]], the reborn Inferno, arrived from beyond the rift with energon towers in tow, hurling them at Unicron, but only causing minor damage. {{storylink|Omega Supreme (episode)|Omega Supreme}} Having discovered that the sun in which Alpha Q resided was in actuality Unicron's head, Megatron moved Unicron to reclaim it. Optimus ordered the energon grid to be activated to stop him, but Megatron threw Unicron's whole body against the grid to break through it. Prime, Rodimus, and Wing Saber daringly landed on Unicron and tried to enter him, but the heat from his burning body forced the latter to retreat; Optimus attempted to go it alone but eventually went into stasis from damage. With Unicron on the brink of explosion, Omega Supreme swooped in to rescue Optimus, whom the Autobots restored. To their surprise, Omega Supreme revealed that he could link up with Optimus. Megatron, meanwhile, successfully reclaimed Unicron's head, killing Alpha Q and fully restoring the body of the Chaos Bringer. {{storylink|A Heroic Battle}} 

Shockblast then attempted to usurp Megatron, placing himself on the throne and siphoning Unicron's power. While the regrouped Autobots attacked from space, Shockblast steered Unicron towards [[Blizzard Planet]]. But the dark god's power proved too much for Shockblast, who not only grew in size but lost his mind, violently rampaging through the deity's innards. He turned his attention to the Autobots, blasting Optimus and Omega Supreme down to the planet and following after them, where even the combined Optimus Supreme could barely handle him. Optimus showered Shockblast with ice and tried to bring his true nature back to the surface, reminding him that he was a proud warrior. When Shockblast finally broke Unicron's control, he hurled a beam up at the god, only to be crushed and annihilated by Unicron's massive fist. {{storylink|The Power of Unicron}}

[[Image:itsover.jpg|250px|thumb|left|]]With Unicron reawakened and Megatron slowly falling under his sway, the situation became dire. The dark god beat back the Autobots and began to destroy Blizzard Planet, absorbing it in chunks. Leading the charge, Optimus Supreme attempted with all his might to push Unicron away, but to no avail; instead, Unicron simply blew up what remained of Alpha Q's snow world, damaging the Autobots in the field. Striking out on his own, Optimus Supreme launched another unsuccessful attack on Unicron. Hot Shot, Jetfire, Ironhide, and Cliffjumper joined in, but all were grievously injured when Unicron blew apart Circuit Planet. Fueled by anger at the sight of his men put out of commission and the destruction of Alpha Q's planets, Optimus made one last daring attack, to no effect. But when all seemed lost, a beam of energon - sent straight through the void by Primus, who had mustered all the strength he could - bathed the damaged Autobots and Optimus Supreme in dazzling light. The Autobots caught in its path were immediately restored and upgraded, while Optimus Supreme grew to enormous planetary sizes. {{storylink|Optimus Supreme}} The champion of Primus, the empowered Optimus Supreme faced off against the dark god on a vast disk of energon created in space by the beam. While the upgraded Autobots strafed Unicron and kept the fleeing Decepticons at bay, the two titans brawled in a divine battle. As the Autobots set up and powered up energon towers along Alpha Q's planets to protect them  from Unicron's stray blasts, Optimus took the brunt of the demon's assault straight on. Drawing on the power of Primus and the strength in his spark stemming from the courage of his friends, Optimus unleashed a massive laser barrage, his Final Impact, blowing Unicron to pieces and destroying the god's corporeal form. But unbeknownst to the Autobots, not only did Unicron's spark survive in the distant reaches of space, but Megatron survived the blast as well and carried within him Unicron's very essence. {{storylink|Unicron Perishes}}

With the remaining Decepticons arrested and Cybertron back in Autobot control, Optimus was left to rest in a CR tank. Soon, however, Megatron returned, scouring the planet with the Terrorcons. As Megatron, Scorponok, and Starscream headed for [[Center City]], the humans and Autobots scrambled. Awoken, Optimus headed after the Miranda II with Jetfire. {{storylink|Ambition}} While Megatron, guided by Unicron, searched underground for the legendary super energon temple and his crew was broken out of jail, Optimus and his team battled Terrorcons on the surface. Suddenly, Megatron - now upgraded into Galvatron by the power of [[Super Energon|super energon]] - emerged with the equally powered up Starscream, displaying their superior power when Optimus' blasts had no effect on them. The two began destroying energon towers, unleashing green energon gas, toxic to Autobots. While trying to save Kicker from the gas, Optimus collapsed, though he would be saved by Jetfire and repaired by the unlucky guardian of the super energon pool, [[Superion Maximus]], who asked to join the team. {{storylink|Wishes}}

Aboard the Miranda II, the Autobots plotted to send Kicker and the Omnicons, the only ones aboard, down to the planet to shut off the energon gas. At the same time, Galvatron ordered his new subordinate [[Six Shot]] - the brother of Shockblast, who harbored great resentment for Optimus Prime due to thinking he had slain his brother - to use the energon towers as engines and push Cybertron through the space bridge to Alpha Q's realm. While doing so, Six Shot noticed the Miranda II and took a shot, earning the ire of his master for acting without orders. Nonetheless, Galvatron went to attack it and engaged Prime in battle. Six Shot then took another shot, severely damaging the ship and knocking the Omnicons out of the docking bay towards the planet. With the ship crashing, the furious Galvatron returned to Cybertron; Optimus went to help Cliffjumper, who tried to steer the ship into a controlled crash, but when that failed the two were rescued by Omega Supreme and Superion Maximus. {{storylink|Galvatron!}} Stuck hovering in space, Optimus' crew waited patiently for the Omnicon advance team to shut down the energon gas. When they finally got a signal, they headed in, dropping through a hole in the gas cloud caused by the explosion of an energon tower. Once on the ground, another battle between Prime and Galvatron erupted, prematurely ending when Six Shot released energon gas on them all. The Autobots fled, meeting up with the underground resistance. {{storylink|Break Through}}

At some point, the Autobots played a training simulation game which pit them against each other and Decepticons in a fighting tournament. Though Optimus and Wing Saber lost to Rodimus and Hot Shot, Optimus and Omega Supreme easily defeated the Decepticon combiners. In the final round, Optimus again faced off against Rodimus and Hot Shot - but following a flashy combination sequence with Omega Supreme that ended in the two landing outside the ring, they were immediately disqualified. Rodimus and Hot Shot won and were forced to battle a Unicron simulation in the bonus round. {{storylink|Distribution}}

[[Image:Primemeteorattackmode.jpg|250px|thumb|right|]]On Cybertron, Optimus' team was chased by the Maximus combiners but managed to evade them, running into Wing Saber's resistance. Optimus split his team in two, ordering Kicker, Hot Shot, and Omega Supreme to rescue the Jones family while Ironhide was to take a [[Rhyming Omnicon fanboys|squad of young Omnicons]] to rescue Bulkhead from a medical facility. Following this, Optimus and Superion Maximus fought the Maximus combiners again, as well as Scorponok, to buy the two new teams time to escape. Six Shot then attempted to take another shot at Prime with the energon grid but was beaten by Galvatron for insubordination, allowing Prime and Superion to escape. {{storylink|The Omega Train}} Optimus later sent Superion ahead to aid Kicker, linking up with Wing Saber to continue his own mission. Galvatron and Starscream then attacked; but Six Shot, still obsessing over killing Prime, finally succeeded in blasting him with the energon grid, knocking Prime out of the sky to the surface of Cybertron and disconnecting him from Wing Saber. Galvatron, furious, sent Scorponok and Constructicon Maximus to find Prime's body. But before he could be attacked again, Prime was rescued by Superion, who bought time while Optimus' drone team arrived. Having linked with his drones, Optimus fought back against Galvatron, finally recombining with Wing Saber and using his drones in Meteor Attack Mode to cause a huge explosion. Galvatron withstood it, but when he ordered Six Shot to unleash energon gas on Optimus, the disgruntled sharpshooter refused, and Galvatron was forced back to headquarters to deal with his insubordinate soldier. {{storylink|Decepticon Army}}

Optimus' team continued on to the spaceport, where they briefly fought with Scorponok and the Maximus combiners. But, needing Scorponok to retake control of a group of mutated [[Insecticon (Energon)|Insecticons]], Galvatron had Starscream recall the Terrorcon leader, leaving Prime to the combiners. Six Shot was then given the go ahead to release energon gas on the Autobots, but - just in time - Dr. Jones managed to shut off the flow of gas from the super energon temple, allowing Optimus' crew to escape. Seeing the gas clearing, Rodimus and Cliffjumper headed down to the planet's surface to rendezvous with Optimus, just as Galvatron and his soldiers arrived. At the same time, Ironhide's team had broken through Scorponok's defenses - sacrificing their lives in the process - to deliver energon to the planet's core, reviving Primus. With the god of light reawakened, Optimus' Spark of Combination glowed red, and he was once again able to combine with Omega Supreme. Using a whirlwind attack, Optimus cleared the battlefield of Decepticons. {{storylink|Ironhide Team}}

[[Image:Giantoptimus.jpg|250px|thumb|left|]]Cybertron finally emerged from the space bridge into Alpha Q's realm. Attempting to fix the energon grid, Six Shot caused a massive explosion of pent-up energon gas, blowing the Autobots into space and bringing about a new gas cloud. With most of the Autobots but himself and those within the core damaged, Optimus stared on in disbelief as Misha reported that Cybertron was accelerating and on course to destroy Plains Planet. As the planet passed other worlds, the green energon gas emanating from Cybertron reacted with them, permeating their young and unstable atmospheres and causing them to explode. Optimus hastened to Cybertron, but was held up by Galvatron in the green gas-infused atmosphere. Sensing Unicron's presence, Optimus demanded to know why Galvatron had kept the dark god alive, only for Galvatron to deny it. Calling on Primus for help, Optimus was then enveloped by a bright light which also sucked the spreading energon gas back into Cybertron and nearly knocked Primus out again in the process. Now almost half as tall as Cybertron itself, Optimus Supreme laid into the planet, smashing into it to halt its progress while Six Shot boosted energon tower output even more. With towers exploding all around, the Autobots and Decepticons fled. As Prime struggled to hold the planet still, Galvatron began to sense in the great Autobot leader the very essence of Unicron himself. As the towers shut down, the planet came to a stop - but Prime, still fueled by not only Primus' light but the angry power of Unicron within him, again smashed violently into the planet. Rodimus cried out to Optimus to stop, breaking through to him, and Prime dissolved in a green light to his normal size. {{storylink|Formidable}} Following this, Optimus relocated to Ocean Planet, where Jetfire - arriving with the rescued [[Sally Jones]] - delivered energon to him. After recharging, Optimus set out to return to Cybertron, where Galvatron, who had now killed Six Shot, had begun growing to planetary sizes himself by absorbing as much super energon as possible. {{storylink|Galvatron Terror}}

Optimus arrived via space bridge with his crew, just in time to see Galvatron growing magnificently huge. Prime sent Jetfire away to Primus and ordered Omega Supreme to powerlink with him to stop Galvatron; Omega disagreed since Primus was once again asleep and they would thus be unable to do so, but Optimus stated that he would bring about the combination by relying on the power of Unicron within him. Drawing on the dark god's strength, Optimus and Omega Supreme combined and began attacking the gigantic Galvatron to little effect. Galvatron launched into space, towing the planet by a cable of super energon, and the Autobots followed closely behind. {{storylink|Destructive Power}} 

[[Image:Energon-Colossal-Cel-Optimus-VS-Galvatron.jpg|250px|thumb|right|]]Sensing that he was being pulled to the same location as Galvatron, who by now was out of his mind and controlled by the essence of Unicron, Optimus headed off to his final battle, ordering Rodimus to take command if he died. He then delinked from Omega Supreme, stating that the battle was between him and Galvatron alone. Drawing on Unicron's power even more, Optimus once again grew to gigantic heights and attacked Galvatron, knocking him down to the surface of Jungle Planet. There the two rivals fought, but not as usual - both were possessed by Unicron's essence, battling savagely without nobility. Sensing the presence of Unicron within both of them, Kicker was able to determine the location of Unicron's spark in space and ordered Jetfire to take him there. Meanwhile, Optimus managed to break through Unicron's spell and proposed to Galvatron that he could do the same if he became an Autobot; falling into Optimus' trap, Galvatron became so enraged at the suggestion that he too broke through Unicron's influence. Preparing for their final attacks, Galvatron and Optimus both unveiled new heights of their powers, growing even larger, with Optimus gaining the appearance of Optimus Supreme combined with the Prime Force drones. The two titanic leaders battled until Prime, in a last attempt to seal away Unicron's influence within Galvatron, opened his Spark of Combination and absorbed from Galvatron Unicron's essence. With that, the two dissolved to their normal sizes. Nearly dead, Optimus collapsed; Galvatron staggered away, promising to return, but setting off to find Unicron's spark to kill his tormenter once and for all. {{storylink|Spark (episode)|Spark}}

[[Image:Energon-Optimus-Primus-VS-Galvicron.jpg|250px|thumb|left|]]Nearly dead, Optimus' spark called out to the other Autobots, drawing them to Jungle Planet where their Sparks of Combination glowed in unison. All but Omega Supreme, who had headed to find Unicron's spark, gave up their own sparks, combining them with Optimus and restoring him to life. Meanwhile, Omega arrived at the site of Unicron's spark and confronted Galvatron, who wished to destroy it. Omega told him that he could do no such thing, as Unicron existed in all Transformers as the chaotic force that drove the universe. Easily beating him aside, Galvatron made his move on Unicron's spark - only to find that he himself was possessed by it, returning Unicron to life once more. Suddenly, Optimus appeared from across the galaxy in a glowing ball of light, shining from the power of all the Autobots' combination sparks. At last, Omega Supreme gave up his Spark of Combination, combining with Optimus and making him glow a brilliant blue as Optimus Supreme. While Primus readied a new energon sun for Alpha Q's planets from the remaining super energon and the last of his strength, Optimus Supreme battled the Unicron-possessed Galvatron, intending to throw both of them into the star. But Galvatron, too proud to admit defeat, broke out of Unicron's control and pushed away from Optimus, determined to finish Unicron himself. After giving a final speech to his loyal troops, Galvatron cried his last words: "Glory to Decepticons!" With that, he plunged himself into the energon sun while Optimus watched. With Galvatron and Unicron's death, the Autobots delinked from Optimus, each Spark of Combinaton rematerializing into each Autobot's regular corporeal form. Rodimus stated that things were finally over; Optimus replied that it was a new beginning of a new universe. {{storylink|The Sun}}

====''Cybertron'' cartoon====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Garry Chalk]] (English), [[Taitem Kusunoki]] (Japanese), [[Luis Miguel Perez]] (Latin America), [[Eberhardt Haar]] (German) [[Dariusz Odija]] (Polish)

[[Image:CybertronPrime finalbattlepose.jpg|left|180px|thumb|"Weapons Primed..."]]
Primus' plan to trap Unicron inside an energon sun failed, and this star collapsed into a [[Unicron Singularity|massive black hole]]. Optimus Prime faced the greatest test in his existence when his home planet was threatened with destruction, but realised there was no choice but to evacuate the population to Earth. As they made plans to leave, a mysterious time-travelling Transformer named [[Vector Prime]] appeared, advising Optimus to search for the [[Cyber Planet Key]]s, the only means of restoring Primus' spark, and the only way they can save Cybertron and the rest of the universe from oblivion.  {{storylink|Fallen (episode)|Fallen}}

Arriving on Earth, Optimus Prime was forced to break his own strict orders to hide from the human population when he rescued the injured [[Landmine (Energon)|Landmine]] and three human children from [[Thundercracker (Armada)|Thundercracker]]. Befriending the children, named [[Coby Hansen|Coby]], [[Bud Hansen|Bud]] and [[Lori]], he relied on them to educate the Autobots about their new home and how to blend into the environment as Robots in Disguise.  {{storylink|Inferno (episode)|Inferno}}  {{storylink|Hidden}}

Soon afterward, the children's hometown of Boulder, Colorado was threatened. The newest tunnels in a recently-dug gold mine had destabilized a mountain, making its collapse imminent. This alone would only have damaged the mountain's immediate area, but matters were complicated when Autobot scans revealed the presence of an underground reservoir that would be forced out by the collapse, causing flooding. Coby had the idea of using Optimus Prime's pumping equipment to drain the reservoir, allowing [[Scattorshot (Cybertron)|Scattorshot]] to shatter the mountain with his largest missiles and collapse it safely, averting disaster.  {{storylink|Collapse}}  He would later travel to the [[Sahara]] To uncover what they believed to be the Omega Lock, but was in fact a fake.  {{storylink|Time}}   He would later allow the civilian Autobots to help in the search for the Omega Lock.  He would later battle under water in the Bermuda Triangle to keep Megatron from obtaining the Omega Lock.  {{storylink|Deep}}  He would also battle Megatron aboard the [[Atlantis|Starship Atlantis]] for possession of the [[Omega Lock]], and emerged victorious.  {{storylink|Ship}}  He later traveled to [[Velocitron]] to acquire the Cyber Planet Key said to be the Planet cup racing trophy, but learned he would only be able to get it if [[Override (Cybertron)|Override]] was beaten in a race. Despite Hot Shot having disobeyed Prime's orders to not get involved with the locals, Optimus ultimately agreed with him after confronting the stubborn Override that the only way to retrieve Velocitron's Cyber Planet Key would be by winning the Planet Cup. Though Hot Shot was clearly the only Autobot who could have a chance at winning, Optimus, Landmine, Red Alert, and the new friends [[Brakedown (Cybertron)|Brakedown]] and [[Clocker (Cybertron)|Clocker]] joined the race as well. {{storylink|Hero}}   

Knowing that he had no real shot at winning, Optimus stayed in the background during the first round of the race, blocking the Decepticon duo of [[Ransack (Cybertron)|Ransack]] and [[Crumplezone (Cybertron)|Crumplezone]]. They managed to jump ahead in the race, however, when Ransack attached himself to Prime with a spring and flung himself to the front, followed by Crumplezone under cover of a smokescreen. When late in the race the two blew up a bridge, Prime turned himself into a ramp for Hot Shot by driving off the edge and unfolding his cannons. {{storylink|Race}} Out of the race, Optimus instead put his skills to good use in the second round by putting out a fire caused by Ransack and Crumplezone.{{storylink|Detour}}

[[Image:Savageclawmode.jpg|right|250px|thumb|]]While Hot Shot trained for the third leg of the race, Red Alert relayed a message to Optimus - unknowingly sent by the sneaky Sideways - that claimed that [[Overhaul (Cybertron)|Cybertron]] was in danger in his mission on [[Jungle Planet (Cybertron)|Jungle Planet]]. Primes Optimus and Vector set off to the beast world, where they were immediately assaulted by a giant, monstrous plant. Overhaul, having been reformatted as Leobreaker, arrived to save them, and [[Backstop (Cybertron)|Backstop]] and [[Snarl (Cybertron)|Snarl]] explained to the Cybertronians their friend's transformation. The dictatorial [[Scourge (Cybertron)|Scourge]] soon arrived, however, and demanded that Snarl be handed over for treason; Optimus refused and pleaded with Scourge to listen peacefully to his request for the Cyber Planet Key. When Megatron and his cronies arrived, Scourge proposed that the Autobots and Decepticons battle to determine if he would grant Prime's request or not. Optimus refused this, but when Snarl was carried away, Leobreaker jumped to his rescue, setting off a battle. Leobreaker's anger at Megatron tapped into the power of the Jungle Planet's key, and both he and Optimus were engulfed in a burst of energy. The two combined, as Leobreaker became a massive arm for Optimus in his Savage Claw Mode. Easily one-shotting Megatron, Optimus forced  the Decepticons to flee. Impressed, Scourge decided to let Snarl go. {{storylink|Savage}}

Later, Sideways, who noticed Scourge's desire to fight Optimus, engineered a battle between the Autobots and Decepticons by sending fake signals to both sides. Realizing it was a trap, Leobreaker and Optimus again combined and quickly took out Scourge so that they could search for Sideways. Upon finding him, the Autobots interrogated their battle's engineer; Sideways tried to fool the Autobots into thinking he was an undercover spy researching Megatron's ambitions but escaped when Optimus became distracted by a call from Landmine informing him of the results of the third leg of the race on Velocitron. It was then that Optimus learned that Coby had snuck into the Autobot camp on the racing planet, and though surprised, he allowed the child's presence due to Hot Shot's request. {{storylink|Sand}}

With Coby's help, Hot Shot went on to win the Planet Cup. But when the trophy was to be given to him, Megatron attacked and attempted to steal it; unfortunately for him, Optimus, Leobreaker, and Vector Prime had followed him from Jungle Planet. Optimus and Leobreaker once again combined and took down Megatron, with Override saving the trophy and asking for permission to join the Autobots, which Optimus granted. {{storylink|Champion}}

Afterwards, Optimus, Leobreaker, and Vector Prime returned to Jungle Planet, where they quickly dispatched Ransack and Crumplezone and made their way to Scourge's temple. {{storylink|Ice}} Upon arrival, Optimus and Leobreaker combined to assume a respectable form before Scourge, but rather than fight asked for dialogue. Scourge refused, again telling them that to have an audience they would have to beat him in battle. Leobreaker disengaged from Prime and attacked but was easily beaten. He sulked for a time while Snarl confronted him about his actions, telling him the story of Scourge's past at the same time that Backstop told it to Optimus and Vector Prime. Leobreaker, realizing his foolishness, told Snarl of how Optimus once saved him when he was caught under rubble on a planetoid, and apologized to his leader. Optimus meanwhile finally decided to give in and act in accordance with Jungle Planet's customs and challenge Scourge to a duel. He sent Backstop to deliver the message. {{storylink|Honor}}

Optimus briefly returned to Earth to get tuned up by Red Alert, inviting Override while there to join them on Jungle Planet in case he needed another planetary leader to dialogue with Scourge. Override agreed and also petitioned for [[Lori]] to come along as an Earthen representative. Returning to Jungle Planet, the Autobots were ambushed by Starscream, Thundercracker, Ransack, and Crumplezone, who were sent by Megatron to halt the battle with Scourge. Instead, they were easily beaten, though this made the Autobots late for the duel, enraging Scourge. Lori tried to stop the fight by pleading with Scourge to work with the Autobots. Though startled by the human, Scourge ultimately refused anything but battle with Prime, even granting him the help of another Autobot to prove the pointlessness of teamwork. Optimus and Leobreaker combined and the battle began. Scourge quickly threw the Autobots off balance by damaging their combination joint and forcing a separation, but Prime and Leobreaker recombined on the opposite side, with Leobreaker as the left arm. The two leaders charged at and punched each other - Optimus was left standing as Scourge crumpled to his knees. But going against Scourge's expectations, Prime refused to kill him. Scourge handed over the cyber planet key, hidden in the form of the beast totem in his temple, as well as leadership of Jungle Planet, but while Optimus took the former he turned down the latter. {{storylink|Primal}}

Megatron's forces then attacked, hoping to snatch the key. To protect it, Optimus had the key placed in a box and the Autobots scattered about with multiple boxes, hoping to confuse the Decepticons. While the others fled, Prime put out a fire at the temple started by Thundercracker. He then was confronted by Megatron, who believed him to have the true box, only to find out that Prime's box was a ruse and that the real one was held by Leobreaker. Megatron scoffed at Prime's trust in his subordinates and chased after the beast warrior. Before Megatron could steal Leobreaker's box, however, Prime arrived and combined with him. The two bested Megatron but were cut down by Starscream, allowing Megatron to snatch the key. But before he could kill Prime, the Matrix interacted with the key to open a space bridge, transporting the rest of the Autobots to Jungle Planet guns ablaze. With Megatron pinned by laser fire, Optimus returned to battle and beat him once again, retaking the key as the Decepticons fled. Tired of all the newcomers, Scourge then ordered the Autobots off-planet, and they returned to Earth. {{storylink|Trust (Cybertron)|Trust}}

Once returned to their Earth base, the Autobots prepared to add the Jungle Planet's key to the Omega Lock. Optimus proposed that Snarl do the honors, but the Jungle Planet native suggested instead that Leobreaker might be more fitting. When the deed was done, the Autobots were suddenly engulfed in the light of Primus himself, and the light god spoke through Jolt to rely the message: "Protect the balance, until all are one." Alarms, however, soon alerted the Autobots to the presence of something important in the North Pole. Optimus, Jetfire, Leobreaker, and Landmine headed there and discovered the containment site of ancient Decepticon colonists lost on Earth, formerly protected by [[Crosswise (Cybertron)|Crosswise]]. But Starscream, who had trapped Megatron in an orb in outer space, suddenly appeared and defeated the three land-based Autobots, unleashing the Decepticons as his personal army and collapsing the icy tunnel in on the Autobots. {{storylink|Trap}} Jetfire struggled to free the others, but before he could use his cyber key power on the tunnel, his comrades arrived and stopped him, fearing Optimus and the others would be completely covered by the rubble. They got to work on breaking through the ice wall, finally rescuing Prime, Landmine, and Leobreaker. After recovering, they all headed out to take down Starscream, who had begun an invasion of Earth, seeking its cyber planet key. {{storylink|Invasion}}

[[Image:Primemissileblock.jpg|left|250px|thumb|]]When Coby suggested revealing their presence on Earth now that the Transformers were out in the open, Optimus rejected it, knowing that humanity would turn on the Autobots if it knew they had been hiding among them. The Autobots faced down Starscream, but Optimus was forced to throw himself in the way of a blast to protect Evac and Crosswise. With their leader down, the Autobots retreated until Red Alert could fix him up. {{storylink|Invasion}} The Autobots returned to base to halt all communications to prevent their location from being discovered. Finding the kids and the Mini-Cons - who had been caught and interrogated by [[Colonel Franklin]] - missing, Optimus sent out Hot Shot and Landmine to search for them, only for the escaped humans to show up later with Dr. Suzuki in tow. Finally having devised a plan, Optimus proposed abandoning Earth and taking its planet key - protected and retrieved by the Earth-based [[Evac (Cybertron)|Evac]] - to Velocitron via space bridge. The Autobots rolled out along the space bridge, but Starscream caught wind of the plan and assaulted them. With his glorious future so nearly within his grasp, Starscream single-handedly powered through the entire Autobot squad in his pursuit of the Omega Lock and the keys. Only Optimus, combined with Leobreaker in Savage Claw Mode, at last stood in his path as Starscream clutched the Lock. Prime smashed Starscream out of the sky, chasing the dropped Lock - but in one final dastardly act, Starscream launched a missile at Coby and his friends. Optimus disengaged his pursuit of the Lock to throw himself in the missile's path, protecting the humans at the loss of the Omega Lock and the Cyber Planet Keys. Starscream fled while Optimus and the other Autobots promised to steal the keys back. {{storylink|Retreat}}

Colonel Franklin then told the Autobots his true reasoning for tailing them - that he had been saved by Evac as a child and wanted to prove the existence of the Transformers. He offered Prime all the military resources at his command. But suddenly, a series of events rapidly occurred. A space bridge opened above Earth displaying the black hole; an energy burst from Cybertron, decrypted by Vector Prime and Scattorshot, demanded that the Omega Lock and Keys be returned to the planet; and Megatron, escaped from his imprisonment, arrived in Niagara Falls. Optimus had the refugee Autobots evacuate the area of humans and a camouflage shield established in the vicinity, and the Autobots headed there to battle, needing to deal with the crisis before they could go off to find Starscream. Optimus and Megatron battled, but when Leobreaker and Snarl were pinned by Scourge, the trio of Hot Shot, Red Alert, and Scattorshot ganged up on Megatron so Prime could save the others. Enraged at their ability to fend him off, Megatron summoned the power of Earth's Cyber Planet Key and gained a new machine gun, with which he mowed down the three Autobots. {{storylink|Revelation}} Optimus charged Megatron but was blocked by Scourge. Combining with Leobreaker, Optimus beat him away, but was then blocked off by a cliff that Megatron collapsed before him. While Evac and Override distracted Megatron, Vector Prime transported the wounded Autobots to safety. Megatron tried to escape via portal, but Optimus forced him to stay by putting it out with his water cannons. The battle between the two continued as Hot Shot, Red Alert, and Scattorshot was saved from death by channeling the power of Primus and gaining new forms. Before Megatron could finish Prime, the three returned through a warp gate and attacked. Meanwhile, Optimus received a message from Jolt that the Air Force had located Starscream's island base due to an energy surge from the Omega Lock. Vector Prime opened a gate, and Optimus, Evac, and Override jumped through. {{storylink|Critical}}

[[Image:Cyb_ep30_sonic_wing_mode.jpg|right|250px|thumb|]]At Starscream's volcanic island hideout, Optimus took on a slew of ancient Decepticons until Crosswise showed up to handle them, giving him the go ahead to pursue Starscream. Coby then alerted Prime that a fireball from space was heading towards Earth - but Optimus had more urgent matters at hand, as Megatron arrived via warp gate and headed for Starscream as well. Alongside the also-arrived Vector Prime, Optimus found himself trapped by Sideways amid  flames. Megatron took advantage of the situation to shoot at Optimus, but Vector Prime hurled himself in the way of the blast. Before Megatron could take a second shot, he was pounded by the incoming fireball, which proved to be Wing Saber! Having received the signal from the Omega Lock, Wing Saber hurried to Earth to help the Autobots - but in the intervening years since his last stint on Prime's team, he had grown irreverent. Though he irked some of the other Autobots, there were more pressing concerns to deal with, as Coby reported that the black hole was growing more unstable. At Vector Prime's suggestion, Optimus sent Hot Shot, Red Alert, and Scattorshot as a vanguard, the Cybertron Defense Team, to clear the way for returning the Omega Lock once it was retrieved. They set off via space bridge for their homeworld. {{storylink|Assault}} The two Primes meanwhile continued heading into the volcano, where they battled Sideways and Scourge. But when the Omega Lock burst with power and shook the foundations of the volcano, all the Autobots inside abandoned it, witnessing the emergence of a gigantically-grown Starscream. Vector Prime managed to steal away the Omega Lock, but Optimus was smashed into the ground by the titanic self-proclaimed ruler of the universe. {{storylink|Starscream (episode)|Starscream}}

With the Omega Lock in Autobot hands, Prime decided to remove it from the battlefield to safety and sent Leobreaker, Override, and Evac to rendezvous with the Cybertron Defense Team with the Lock in tow. Seeing these three leave via space bridge, Megatron decided to ditch the fight and chase after them. Starscream, meanwhile, threw up a barricade of flying rocks to keep Prime away. Flying through the rocks proved too difficult for both Prime and Wing Saber, who told his commander that they should attempt to combine as they last did in the Chaar asteroid belt, where they had to save the life of a wayward astronaut. Despite a faulty start and Optimus' doubts that it would work, the two combined into Sonic Wing Mode, darting through the rock barrier and bringing Starscream to his knees. Sideways quickly teleported his fallen leader away while Optimus proclaimed that the Autobots would now head to Cybertron. {{storylink|United}}

[[Image:Primeinhell.jpg|left|250px|thumb|]]Arriving through the space bridge, Prime's team dropped in on Megatron just in time to stop him from destroying the advance guard. Prime and Wing Saber again combined, battling Megatron, who had stolen the Omega Lock from Leobreaker. As Megatron fled into the fire dimension, Optimus chased after him. Their battle continued on in the inferno, where Megatron withstood Prime's blows, regenerating each time due to the [[Armor of Unicron]]. Finally, Prime and Megatron hit each other so hard that an explosion tore the dimension itself open. Prime escaped with the Omega Lock, ordering Vector Prime at once to open a warp gate across the tear, causing the fire dimension to collapse in on itself. Megatron, channeling the demonic power of the Armor of Unicron, managed to hold the tear in space itself open as Scourge and Thunderblast abandoned him, but when Optimus and Vector Prime combined the powers of the Omega Lock and [[Rhisling]] to blast Megatron, he gave in and was crushed to death by the collapsing dimension. With victory at hand, the Autobots placed the Omega Lock in an altar, initiating a pulsating wave which coursed across the planet. Cybertron itself began to break apart, causing the Autobots to panic and fear that they had, rather than save the planet, actually destroyed it. Escaping to one of the planet's moons, the Autobots stared down at their home world, only to learn from Vector Prime that Cybertron was not breaking apart - it was transforming, revealing it to be the body of Primus himself! {{storylink|Cybertron (episode)|Cybertron}}

Primus proceeded to speak through Jolt, telling the Autobots that the black hole was caused by the implosion of Unicron and the resultant lack of balance between good and evil in the universe. As only Primus could restore the balance, the four Cyber Planet Keys would need to be placed in the Omega Lock to fully restore his spark, allowing him to gain enough power close the black hole. The fourth Key, however, lay with the Gigantions, whose colony ship had been sucked into an alternate dimension, hence why even the Decepticons' planet map could not locate it. But before Primus could tell the Autobots how to find the planet, he went offline. Starscream and Sideways returned, and while Sideways kidnapped the Mini-Cons - who, as natives of Gigantion, he hoped would know how to reach it - Optimus and Wing Saber combined to fight Starscream. Starscream, however, ditched the fight to vainly attack Primus himself, getting blasted by the god's defensive systems and dropping the planet map, which Vector Prime recovered. {{storylink|Balance}}

Megatron, meanwhile, returned from the dead, preserved by the Armor of Unicron. While his specter amazed everyone on the field, Vector Prime noticed that the Mini-Cons and human children, who had chased after them, had vanished, though he did not know that they had all warped with Sideways onto the Atlantis. Busy fighting Scourge, Optimus could not deal with the problem. He was given another problem immediately afterwards, when the rematerialized Megatron unveiled his own dark clone of Leobreaker, [[Nemesis Breaker]], and combined with it to form Dark Claw Mode. Combining with Leobreaker, Prime challenged Megatron; the clash of the two Claws produced such a huge explosion that it could be seen from space. The resultant explosion gave the Decepticons cover to try and steal the Omega Lock. {{storylink|Darkness}}. Optimus fought Megatron to prevent him from claiming it, resulting in another gigantic collision between the two Claws. Meanwhile, Starscream departed the Atlantis to steal the Omega Lock while the others were busy battling. {{storylink|Memory}} Eventually, Prime and Leobreaker determined that Megatron, combined with Nemesis Breaker, was on too equal a footing with them and fled. Luckily for them, Thunderblast, on orders from Starscream, distracted Megatron by shooting him. Starscream himself then arrived, at the same time that Optimus returned combined with Wing Saber. Vector Prime, meanwhile, discovered that the kids were aboard the Atlantis and informed Prime that he was heading after them; when Megatron found out about the Atlantis, he quit the battle to chase after it as well. Starscream likewise headed back to his ship, activating the warp drive and fleeing. While Coby, Lori, and Six-Speed managed to be rescued, Bud, Jolt, and Reverb remained stranded on the Atlantis as it warped away. {{storylink|Escape}}

Vector Prime assured the children that should Bud and the Mini-Cons be taken through the dimensions to Gigantion, their flexible minds would protect him, though larger Transformers, with rigid and computer-like minds would cause problems. He and Red Alert therefore set about making a vaccine based on the powers of Rhisling and Optimus' Matrix to allow large Transformers passage through the dimensions in preparation for their eventual voyage. Prime remained on Cybertron with most of the other Autobots to clear it of Scrapmetal drones while Landmine escorted the kids to Earth, but finally broke his secrecy protocol when he returned with Vector Prime to back the children up when they revealed the truth of the Transformers and Bud's kidnapping to their parents. Prime extolled the virtues of his human comrades and requested that Coby and Lori be allowed to travel to Gigantion with him. Stunned, their parents agreed. {{storylink|Family}}

While Vector Prime studied the planet map to find the location of a wormhole leading to Gigantion, the other Autobots decided to combine the powers of the Matrix with the three Keys to stabilize the black hole before departure. Optimus used the Matrix to activate the Omega Lock and reactivate Primus, who summoned his energy to shoot a beam into the black hole. When Starscream sensed the revived Primus' power, he warped the Atlantis back into orbit and threw himself in the path of the beam, hoping to finish absorbing the energy of Primus as he had started to on Earth. Growing to the size of Primus himself, Starscream began to wail on the defenseless god, whose energies were entirely focused on the black hole. The Autobots set up a forcefield around him and rerouted his power, allowing him to fight back at the expense of continuing the beam. Optimus could do nothing but stand and watch as the planet-sized villain broke through the force field and attacked Primus. But the creator demonstrated his power to his children by lassoing his own moons and using them to beat Starscream into a nearby planet, which exploded; Starscream, drained of his energy, shrunk to his normal size and was warped away by Sideways. {{storylink|Titans}}

[[Image:Cyb_ep38_full_blast.jpg|right|250px|thumb|]]As the Autobots prepared to depart, Optimus watched Coby working on a dead Scrapmetal, knowing that he was keeping his mind off Bud. Vector Prime, announcing that he'd discovered Gigantion's location, explained that the wormhole in the [[Skeleton Nebula]] leading to it would only be open a few days a year and required all voyagers to maintain positive emotions and thoughts. After Override returned from Velocitron with the colony ship [[Ogygia]], the Autobots entered the wormhole, only to be assaulted by the Atlantis and unable to return fire due to Bud and the Mini-Cons being onboard. When the Ogygia was hit and sank towards the edge of the wormhole, Optimus sent Coby, Red Alert, and Six-Speed to fix the engines. It worked, but put them on course with an unavoidable asteroid, and with the ship's power draining, they could not blast it away. Prime led his team onto the hull of the ship, where they combined their Cyber Key powers to blast a hole straight through the asteroid, giving the Ogygia safe passage into the alternate universe. {{storylink|Warp}}

Upon landing on Gigantion, the Autobots split up to search for any inhabitants that they could talk to, only to find that the entire surface seemed to be barren of life. [[Safeguard (Cybertron)|Safeguard]] showed them a giant rock blocking a doorway, which Optimus ordered everyone to fire on with Cyber Key-enhanced weaponry, blowing it apart, but revealing only an empty control room behind it. They split up again and continued the search. Suddenly, a city rose out of the ground, with a few Gigantions hard at work building. When a gigantic i-beam nearly crushed the kids, Landmine and Optimus stepped in the way to hold it up and were helped out by the friendly [[Metroplex (Cybertron)|Metroplex]], who took the Autobots to his bunker, where he introduced them to his building partner [[Quickmix (Cybertron)|Quickmix]]. The Autobots told the Gigantions of their mission, and Quickmix told them that he had heard of the Cyber Planet Key, believing it to be in the central layer of the planet, which - according to Metroplex - was off limits according to custom. Just then, Megatron arrived alongside his new allies [[Menasor (Cybertron)|Menasor]] and [[Soundwave (Cybertron)|Soundwave]]. Optimus merged with Wing Saber to challenge them and took to the skies to fight Soundwave while everyone else battled. Metroplex easily beat Megatron with his [[Sparkdrinker]] axe, destroying Nemesis Breaker and forcing the Decepticons to flee. Seeing the difference between the two groups of Cybertronians, Metroplex and Quickmix decided to throw their lot in with the Autobots, even if it meant breaking tradition in heading back to old cities. {{storylink|Giant}}

Optimus asked Metroplex to guide the Autobots to the central layer, but the Gigantion leader explained that due to their custom of abandoning old cities to continually construct, they also deleted old data associated with those cities, and thus did not know how to reach the central layer of the planet. The Autobots decided to search for remaining data, and Vector Prime used the Omega Lock to hone in on the location of the Key. At the same time, Megatron - furious at his loss to Metroplex - pushed himself to the [[Image:Cyb_ep40_prime_vs_galvy.jpg|left|250px|thumb|]]limit, calling out to the Gigantion cyber key to the point of breaking his spirit from his body to reach out to it. Galvatron's interference with the key allowed Vector Prime to pinpoint its location in the center, and Optimus had the Autobots split into groups to search for routes to find it. Unfortunately for the Autobots, this made them easy targets for the powered-up Decepticon leader, who quickly cornered and defeated each group. When Optimus found the beaten Override, she warned him of Megatron and Optimus immediately recalled his remaining troops. Megatron soon beat the Cybertron Defense Team, Wing Saber, and Evac while Jetfire tried to get Coby to run away, though Coby was intent on nabbing a piece of data he'd found; Optimus threw himself in harm's way to distract Megatron and buy them time. With Optimus down, the dark lord announced that he had once again been transformed into Galvatron. Metroplex again took a swing at him, but this time his axe was stopped by a single finger of Galvatron's and he was hurled back, displaying the Decepticon's amazing new might. When Galvatron again tried to attack the children, Optimus blocked him, going Super Mode to fight him. Metroplex hurled him Sparkdrinker, and Optimus used his Cyber Key to power it up. Optimus and Galvatron struck each other at the same moment - Optimus fell first, damaged, but Galvatron did not escape unscathed, plagued by explosions. The Decepticons retreated, leaving the Autobots to marvel at the gigantic hole that Galvatron had torn in the planet when he made contact with the world's cyber key and the Atlantis in it. {{storylink|Fury}}

Knowing that Bud remained on the Atlantis, they decided to infiltrate it. Optimus and Wing Saber combined to draw out Sideways while Override, the Cybertron Defense Team, and Coby in his [[Cobybot|secretly-modified Scrapmetal]] snuck in. Soundwave arrived to bail out Sideways while Bud was rescued. Angered, Starscream attempted to power up the main cannons of the ship, but Quickmix pumped the surrounding hole full of cement, blocking off the guns. Back on Ogygia, Optimus gave his approval of the Cobybot and jokingly gave Coby the advice to tell out "TRANSFORM!" when transforming to psyche himself up. He then checked Coby's data and discovered that there were four routes leading to the planet's central layer. The Autobots split up again, with Optimus taking Vector Prime, Metroplex, Bud and the Mini-Cons along with him. Prime's team was followed by Ransack and Crumplezone, who would soon find themselves often acquainted with pain by Optimus' hand. First they attempted to snatch Jolt, who was displaying the route's map on his back. Optimus and Vector Prime tried to pursue but could not attack for fear of hitting Jolt. Luckily for them, Coby in the Cobybot arrived in a Prime-approved dramatic entrance and bested the Decepticons, who out of fear tossed Jolt at Evac. Prime grabbed Sparkdrinker and bashed them away, proceeding afterwards to thank Coby for his invention's great help once again. {{storylink|City}} As Optimus' team traveled through the planetary layers, they were blocked by the Decepticon duo, who they simply ran over. Ransack and Crumplezone then tried a third time to halt Prime's progress but Optimus blasted them off into the distance. {{storylink|Ambush}} Humiliated by their triple defeat, Ransack and Crumplezone again found themselves in Optimus' path when they fell through a floor and landed before the traveling Autobots. Optimus, seeking to keep them out of his path for good, went Super Mode and blasted them far off into the distance. But the gruesome twosome refused to give in and planted themselves in front of Prime later on int he path. Prime finally dispatched them when he combined with Wing Saber and blew the two sky high. {{storylink|Challenge}}[[Image:Cyb_ep41_angry_optimus.jpg|right|250px|thumb|]]

Optimus and Jetfire's teams met up; when Lori heard about how Scourge had beaten Leobreaker and Snarl in battle during their search, she became enraged, but Optimus quieted her. The team opened a doorway to another deeper level of the planet, where they found a hallway with images of Mini-Cons. Lori accidentally triggered a switch that opened a secret passage that Bud and the Mini-Cons fell through, and when she wanted to go after them Optimus told her it would be safer to stay together. Bud and the Mini-Cons, it turned out, had fallen into the Mini-Cons' hometown, a secret hidden city for the wee folk of Gigantion. When Optimus and his team finally found their way in, they found Bud lecturing Scourge - who had also ended up there - on how to be a good leader without having to resort to violence. Much to Bud's confusion, Scourge challenged the Autobots to a duel. He first squared off with Metroplex, who easily beat him with his axe. Vector Prime then faced him and likewise defeated the Jungle Planet leader. Optimus was his final opponent and, combined with Wing Saber, he took down Scourge, though was a bit wounded himself. Collapsing but happy, Scourge admitted defeat. The Autobots drove off and continued their search. {{storylink|Scourge}}

Optimus' team finally reached the lowest layer of the planet, and upon opening its doorway they found a lush and leafy world - the original planet as the Gigantions had discovered it during colonization. Wing Saber and Override rushed off to find the [[Lemuria]], the name of the colony ship according to Metroplex, and located it crashed in a lake. But before they could do anything, Galvatron and Menasor crashed through the false sky ceiling and attacked. Optimus and Wing Saber combined to battle Galvatron, who taunted Optimus about defeating the Cybertron Defense Team, telling him that he might finally learn that troops are to be sacrificed. He hit Optimus hard enough to separate him from Wing Saber, and worrying for Wing Saber's safety, Optimus refused to allow him to recombine. Galvatron pummeled Optimus, beating him into the ground with his superior power; Evac prevented the other Autobots from interfering, thinking that Optimus would call them if he needed their help. Galvatron broke off his assault to go steal the Cyber Planet Key and the Autobots gave chase, only to be beaten back by Galvatron. While Coby and Landmine had managed to make their way into the Lemuria to take the Key - with Landmine finally getting his rematch with Starscream in the process - Optimus collapsed outside, fearing that he'd put all his troops lives in danger. Vector Prime smacked reality back into him, telling Optimus to shape up, as he would only be a bad leader if he did not care about his troop's safety. He should trust his troops, Vector Prime told Optimus, because his troops trusted him. Seeing all the Autobots fighting against Galvatron to stop him from stealing the key, Optimus' confidence was restored. With the Matrix glowing in his chest, Optimus took Sparkdrinker and blasted Galvatron into the sky. {{storylink|Optimus}}

Landmine, having beaten Starscream in battle and acquired the Key, presented it to Optimus aboard the Lemuria. They put it in the Omega Lock, causing the ship to activate and Gigantion's security systems to power down. As the planet's layers opened to the surface, the Autobots saw a space bridge open in the sky and received through it a transmission from Colonel Franklin, telling them that the black hole's influence was growing. Just then, Scourge arrived, thanking Optimus for his help and stating that - having seen through the space bridge what chaos was happening on Jungle Planet - he had to return to his home world. Snarl reconciled with him and the two left for Jungle Planet. But before the Autobots could escape through the space bridge, Galvatron reappeared and stole the Omega Lock. Starscream then appeared, having healed himself through pure will, and challenges Galvatron to a final battle. While the two unleashed massive amounts of power and energy in the sky, the Autobots could only watch on and take cover. Sideways and Soundwave prevented Optimus from interfering as he tried to head for the Omega Lock. In the end, Starscream and Galvatron unleashed unreal amounts of power, punching each other so hard that it caused a dimensional fissure; Starscream, Soundwave, and Sideways were blown into another world, while Galvatron stood triumphant with the Omega Lock. He mocked Starscream for his incompetence one final time and fled through the space bridge, which began to disintegrate, trapping the Autobots on Gigantion. {{storylink|Showdown}}

[[Image:Cyb_ep47_primes_handshake.jpg|left|250px|thumb|]]As the Autobots panicked, Optimus suggested building a new space bridge generator. Scattorshot determined that it should be possible if they pooled together the power of their three colony ships, and soon a generator was constructed. When they flipped it on, though, the resultant space bridge unleashed a horde of [[Laserbeak drone]]s from [[Planet X]]. Unable to defeat the swarm, the Autobots were forced to shut down the space bridge. The Autobots thought there was no way out, but Vector Prime reminded them that there was one: he could turn back time to allow the Autobots to pass through the warp gate they came through when it was still open. But when Jolt, fearful for what this would do, explained to Bud that turning back time by such an amount would kill Vector Prime, Optimus immediately vetoed the idea, refusing to let him sacrifice himself. Jetfire proposed moving everyone from their universe to Gigantion's, letting their home universe be consumed. But Vector Prime then revealed to the Autobots something he had held back from them: the Unicron Singularity would never stop at one universe, but would consume time itself, and thus the entire multiverse would be destroyed. Resolved to die, Vector Prime explained to the Autobots how he had lived through countless eons, always watching the cycle of time but disconnected from it - but now that he had entered into it, he understood the true meaning of time because of the friends he had made. Jolt consoled Bud by telling him that Vector Prime wouldn't really die since he would continue to exist outside the time stream and Vector Prime gave the human child the planet map to keep. While the Autobots boarded their ships, Primes Optimus and Vector shared a somber moment on a mountainside at sunset, saying goodbye and thanking each other for their partnership. The colony worlds took off, Vector Prime alongside them. Channeling the ship's energies into Rhisling, Vector Prime turned back time and opened the warp gate. Quickly exhausted, he faltered at one point, but gave the last full measure of his power to ensure safe passage into the regular universe. With that, Vector Prime disintegrated in space and Optimus led the Autobots in salute for their great comrade. {{storylink|Guardian}}

Finally returned, the Autobots split up; while the Lemuria and Atlantis went searching for Galvatron, Optimus led the Ogygia to Primus, who was by now low on power from trying to stabilize the black hole. Unknown to the Autobots, Galvatron was in fact within the black hole, using the Omega Lock to control its effects; he grabbed Jungle Planet with black tendrils and dragged it through a space bridge, intent on consuming it. The Autobots activated a space bridge to Jungle Planet to evacuate its inhabitants, and most escaped, though Scourge, Snarl, and Backstop would have been left behind if not for the sudden emergence of the planet's own colony ship, the [[Hyperborea]]. Galvatron and his crew arrived to attack Primus while he was weak. Optimus combined again with Wing Saber but was no match for the powered-up Galvatron, who prepared to finish him off once and for all at point blank range, when Transformers from all the planets arrived, forcing the Decepticons to retreat. Primus' light then shined on Optimus as the deity declared that all would become one. The four colony worlds then fused into a massive ship-weapon, [[Ark (Cybertron)|the Ark]]. {{storylink|Homecoming}}

[[Image:Cyb_ep49_vector_ghost.jpg|right|250px|thumb|]]Galvatron brushed this impressive feat off, thinking himself even more powerful. He used the power of the Omega Lock to turn his followers into giants and struck at Primus. While his followers held off the Autobots, Galvatron headed for the center of the black hole with the Lock. Thundercracker fought Optimus until the Cybertron Defense Team arrived to relieve him, at which point Optimus, the other planet leaders, and the kids in their Mini-Con companions joined him. They all pursued Galvatron, who finally revealed his plan: to watch the universe be destroyed and then by the power of the Omega Lock rebuild it in is own image! The planet leaders all blasted Galvatron in unison, taking him down; determined to destroy the universe if he could not have it, Galvatron lobbed the Lock into the Singularity's core. As the keys came loose, each planet leader went to grab one while Optimus - with Coby acting as another set of eyes - chased down the Omega Lock before it could reach the core. When all seemed lost, Vector Prime's spirit emerged, guiding Optimus Prime's hand towards the Lock and helping him grasp it. The Lock and the Keys then combined with Primus, fully restoring his spark. Taking the Ark, he unleashed a blast of truly godly proportions at the Unicron Singularity, closing it off once and for all. Primus then transformed into Cybertron, fully restored into a technorganic paradise. {{storylink|End}}

[[Image:Cyb_ep50_final_blow.jpg|left|250px|thumb|]] A little time later, with the Decepticons seemingly defeated, the humans frolicked on Cybertron. Optimus, however, remained pensive, knowing that Galvatron remained somewhere in the void of space. The Autobots began construction of a giant engine to propel Jungle Planet back to its proper location in space, and Scourge thanked Prime for his help. But just then, Galvatron - who had experienced a vision from the mocking Starscream - swooped down to damage the engine, retreating to the Autobot command center on Cybertron in the hopes of drawing out Optimus for one final battle. While the Autobots - and even the Decepticons, who were tired of losing - scrambled to prop up the rocket and ultimately succeeded in doing so by drawing on the power of Primus, Optimus confronted Galvatron on Cybertron. There the two dueled a ferocious final battle, with Galvatron unleashing a new cannon on Optimus. Handily beating his Autobot rival, Galvatron began taunting Optimus by saying he would make sure to kill all his underlings once he was done with him. Enraged, Optimus drew up the strength from within him to grab Galvatron and fly him to one of Cybertrons's moons, where Galvatron could see Jungle Planet being restored to its rightful place. Just then, the other Autobots arrived, only to be fried by Galvatron's lightning. With his troops all downed, Optimus too soon faced the end as Galvatron cut off one of his wings and knocked him to the ground, preparing to deliver the killing blow. Before Galvatron's energy blade could strike, Vector Prime's planet map dislodged itself from Bud's pocket and hurled itself in the sword's path, saving Optimus. It unleashed a great light and Optimus once again found himself in the presence of Vector Prime's spirit. Vector Prime reminded him that he was watching from beyond time and space and had, this time, brought a gift. While Galvatron looked on incredulously, Optimus pulled out the gigantic blade Rhisling from the planet map. Optimus gave one great final speech, excoriating Galvatron for his evil ways and declaring this to be his final attack. Glowing gold with the power of the Matrix, Optimus charged at Galvatron, who summoned up his own demonic aura and flung himself towards his great rival. The two collided, and while Optimus' face mask was broken, Galvatron - screaming in pain - was impaled on the ancient blade. A huge explosion enveloped the two, leaving everyone on the battlefield tense and wondering who had survived. When the dust cleared, Optimus stood triumphant as Galvatron, run through with Rhisling, sat crumpled on his knees. But Galvatron would not give up; declaring that his war would not end while his spark still burned, Galvatron raised his fist to Prime's chest and slowly disintegrated into dust. Optimus bid his rival farewell and fell to his knees, assuring his troops he was alright. {{storylink|Unfinished}}

[[Image:CobyLoriWedding.jpg|right|250px|thumb|]] Some time later, Optimus called for an intergalactic peace conference among the Transformers' colony worlds. With all the planet leaders - plus Colonel Franklin as Earth's representative - attending, Optimus proposed that rather than seal away the Omega Lock and Cyber Planet Keys, they fulfill their ancestors' dream of building the universal space bridge. All agreed except for Jetfire, who Optimus declared the new commander on Cybertron. The other Autobots reassured Jetfire that he would do a good job, and Jetfire - long second-in-command - finally accepted the role of leadership.  While the other planets sorted out who their new leaders would be - Jungle Planet with a bout, Velocitron with a race, etc. - the other Autobots, and even some Decepticons like Thundercracker, helped out in the reconstruction effort on Earth. Finally, the Autobots assembled in their colony ships on Earth and prepared to set off. Goodbyes were said and tears were shed. Even Rad, Carlos, Alexis, and Kicker attended the departure. Just before liftoff, however, Wing Saber - who had opted out of the project to go solo - sent a message that he'd stumbled upon a lead to Starscream's location. Landmine, still itching to pummel him further, asked to be let go and Optimus granted him permission. Bud gave Optimus the planet map and asked him to return it to Vector Prime if they ever met again, and Optimus assured him that he would. With that, Optimus ordered the ships to lift off, and they launched into space. While Optimus held the planet map, it glowed once more, and Prime saw out in the sea of stars the face of Vector Prime. Optimus called for the engines to be put at full throttle, and the Transformers blasted off into deep space. Finally, all were one.

Years later, Optimus Prime would attend the wedding of Coby and Lori on Earth. {{storylink|Beginning}}

====''Cybertron'' comic====

===Panini ''Armada'' comic===
In the early stages of the war, Optimus Prime was shocked to learn of a full-scale Decepticon assault on the [[Autobot Command HQ]]. As he organized the defenses, he was contacted by the [[Mini-Con]] [[Sparkplug (Armada)|Sparkplug]], who warned him that [[Dualor (Armada)|Dualor]] had planted explosives around the base in order to lure [[Megatron (Armada)|Megatron]] in and destroy him. Prime subsequently ordered for the evacuation of the base before Dualor blew it up. {{storylink|Panini Armada issue 9|Counter-Strike!}} He and his troops were still fighting the Decepticons a few million years later, but it was a losing battle. Even if most of the Mini-Cons had left Cybertron, the Decepticons still had a few of them, and the Autobots were outclassed. Despite this, Optimus Prime knew the Mini-Cons leaving had been a good thing, and hoped that he would never find out where they went. However, his hope did him no good, as the Mini-Cons were soon found on [[Earth]], and he had to travel there to save them from Megatron. {{storylink|First Encounter!}}

Having gone to Earth alone to scout ahead without any backup, Optimus Prime was quickly defeated by the Mini-Con augmented Megatron. Thankfully, a few of the free Mini-Cons and the [[human]] [[Rad White]] distracted Megatron from finishing Prime off, giving him time to recover and summon [[Hot Shot (Armada)|Hot Shot]] and [[Red Alert (Armada)|Red Alert]] through a [[space bridge]]. As the free Mini-Cons decided to aid the Autobots, Sparkplug power-linked with Optimus Prime and granted him the power needed to punch Megatron in the face. After the Decepticons retreated, Prime thanked the Mini-Cons and Rad for their help. {{storylink|Panini Armada issue 2|Friends and Foes!}} He soon realized that Rad and his [[Carlos Lopez|two]] [[Alexis Thi Dang|friends]] weren't very large contributors to their war effort, as they spent most of the time playing around. Reminding them that Megatron was a deadly threat, he sent them to recover the [[locator log]] from the Mini-Cons' crashed ship whilst he and the Autobots stood guard. They log ended up being destroyed due to interference from [[Demolishor (Armada)|Demolishor]], but Optimus Prime figured that maybe it was for the best. {{storylink|Panini Armada issue 3|Deep Trouble!}}

[[Image:DevicesandDesires-yourownsize.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Suffer my cliches, Decepticreep!]]
Prime decided that the best way to keep their Mini-Con allies out of the Decepticons' hands was to send them back to Cybertron, despite complaints from Sparkplug and the humans. When the process was interrupted by a Decepticon attack, the Mini-Cons refused to leave the Autobots behind and power-linked with them again. While the Decepticons were driven off, they still blew up the Autobots' space bridge, stranding them on Earth. {{storylink|Panini Armada issue 4|No Way Back!}} Some time later, Optimus Prime and his troops saved the [[Air Defense Mini-Con Team (Armada)|Air Defense Team]] from getting captured by [[Starscream (Armada)|Starscream]]. In the aftermath, the Mini-Cons shot down Prime's offer to join the Autobots, but he still assured them he would help them whenever they needed him. {{storylink|Panini Armada issue 5|Devices and Desires!}} Next, Optimus Prime learned from [[Laserbeak (Armada)|Laserbeak]] that the Decepticons had gone to search for Mini-Cons on the [[Moon (moon)|Moon]]. With his own space bridge still in pieces, he had no choice but to contact [[Jetfire (Armada)|Jetfire]] on Cybertron for aid. While Jetfire sent troops to deal with the Decepticons, Prime watched as Sparkplug sent a probe to the Moon to activate any Mini-Cons there. After the probe was successful, Optimus Prime manifested as a hologram on the Moon's surface and taunted Megatron that he was too late. {{storylink|Panini Armada issue 6|Between Two Worlds!}}

When Starscream got his hands on the [[Star Saber (Armada)|Star Saber]] and failed to keep its power in check, Optimus Prime appeared out of nowhere to stop the sword from going wild and ripping the world apart. He grabbed the weapon from Starscream's hands and urged the Air Defense Team to separate, which they did. {{storylink|Panini Armada issue 7|The Two-Edged Blade}} The threat of the Moon soon came up again, as the Decepticons prepared to fire missiles at the Autobots' base from their new lunar base. While the Autobot space bridge was still down, Optimus Prime had a plan and ordered Hot Shot to hurry and repair it. While the Mini-Cons bought them some time by pretending to surrender, the Autobots fixed their space bridge and linked it to the Decepticons' one on the moon. And so, when the Decepticons eventually did fire their missiles, the Autobots simply used the space bridge to warp them straight back into the enemy base. {{storylink|Panini Armada issue 8|Earthshaker!}}

===''Transformers Legends''===
Early in the war, Optimus confronted Megatron in [[Yellowstone National Park]], warning the Decepticon leader that the area they were in was geologically unstable and warfare could aggravate things catastrophically.  Megatron ignored him and almost defeated Prime, until the intervention of [[Riptide]], [[QuickFire]] and [[Jake Williams]].  The unlikely team managed to see Megatron off, albeit with the loss of Williams's [[Starheart|beloved '57 Ford pickup]] into a mud pit.  Optimus promised to retrieve and restore the truck, and suggested that Riptide and QuickFire return to hiding, to prevent the Decepticons from capturing them. {{storylink|Lonesome Diesel}}

Following his destruction by the Hydra Cannon, Optimus Prime found himself in [[Maccadam's Old Oil House]] on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], where he encountered an [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] from [[Generation 1 continuity family|another universe]], and two versions of [[Optimus Primal]] from that same universe.  After establishing the possibility that alternate universe existed, the other three were able to help Optimus Prime overcome some of his doubts over his leadership abilities.  That done, Optimus returned to life in time to save [[Hot Shot (Armada)|Hot Shot]] from [[Megatron (Armada)|Megatron]]. {{storylink|Prime Spark}}

===''Galaxy Force'' comic===
{{charstubfiction}}
{{storylink|Touchdown! Optimus Prime}} {{storylink|The Devil's Dogfight! Coby's Courage}} {{storylink|Deep Sea Discovery! Vector Prime}} {{storylink|The Temple of Hell! Overhaul}}

===Bendon ''Armada'' books===
The kids successfully talked Optimus into letting them explore some nearby caves for mini-con crystals. While they were away, Optimus found himself having to fend off a Decepticon sneak attack via ramming Demolishor while in truck mode and later pushing Megatron back. {{storylink|Cave Catastrophe}} 

After the kids and their Mini-Cons leave themselves exposed to danger, Optimus saves them from being killed by Megatron... by ramming him while in truck mode. There seems to be a trend here. {{storylink|Race to Disaster}}

==Games==
===''Transformers Armada: The Energon Within''===
As Optimus and Hot Shot prepare to escort a truckload of energon away from a mine, the Decepticons launch a full scale assault.  Their objective is to steal 100 energon cubes.  Though they eventually succeed, the cost is high and the mine remains in Autobot hands.

As Optimus and Hot Shot prepare to escort a truckload of energon away from a mine, the Decepticons launch a full scale assault.  Their objective is to steal 100 energon cubes.  Before they can succeed, Hot Shot inadvertently blows up the mine.  {{storylink|Transformers Armada: The Energon Within}}

===''Transformers'' (PS2)===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Garry Chalk]] (English)

Optimus Prime was dueling with Megatron atop a very high building just before Megatron received the Mini-Con beacon. Following his nemesis to prevent him from using the Mini-Cons for evil, Prime arrived on a new planet: Earth.

Arriving in the Amazon, he familiarized himself with the territory before going and recovering the first Mini-Con Panel. (Which Mini-Con it is varies with the game difficulty, with [[Lock-On]] being released on the first two difficulty levels). He then traversed a [[Scale|disproportionate]] bridge, had a brawl inside a temple, and scaled a pathway up a cliff face before arriving at a run-down temple and encountering Cyclonus. Cyclonus (sporting a fanciful, comic British accent) ordered a [[Heavy Unit]] to attack him, declaring Earth as "Decepticon property". Prime took care of the Heavy Unit, and Hot Shot and Red Alert joined him.  Soon they discovered their old Mini-Con partners. (Sparkplug remains with Optimus for the remainder of the game, activating a rather pointless "Powerlinx" Max Payne-esque bullet time mode which drains Prime's health.)

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===''Transformers Quest''===

Optimus Prime travelled to Earth, Speed Planet and Jungle Planet in search of the Cyber Planet Keys. {{storylink|Transformers Quest}}

===''Roll Out''===
Optimus Prime battled [[Ransack (Cybertron)|Ransack]], [[Crumplezone (Cybertron)|Crumplezone]] and [[Dirt Boss (Cybertron)|Dirt Boss]] for possession of the Speed Planet Key. {{storylink|Roll Out (online game)|Roll Out}}

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

==Notes==
===''Armada''===
[[Image:MonsterConvoy.jpg|right|100px|thumb|Arise, Bigfootimus Prime.]]
* According to the [[Transformers (PS2)|''Armada'' Playstation 2 game]] instruction booklet, Optimus Prime's ''Armada'' body has the following statistics:

:Mass: 18,960 lbs
:Robot height: 22' 11"
:Robot top speed: 31 mph
:Vehicle height: 8' 3"
:Vehicle top speed: 125 mph
:Vehicle power: 700 hp @ 2500 rpm

* One of the earliest ''Armada'' Optimus Prime concepts depicts him as being an ENORMOUSLY HUGE MONSTER TRUCK.  Makes one wonder about the origins of the "Monster Convoy" inscription on Super Base Optimus Prime's tires.
* Super-Con Optimus Prime and Over-Run, who never appeared specifically in the western Armada cartoon, do appear briefly in a stock footage montage in the first Japanese opening.

===''Energon''===
* For at least part of the ''Energon'' animated series, the CGI model for Optimus Prime's handgun resembled an oversized six-shooter rather than the actual toy's chamber-less handgun.

* Energon Prime's non-super mode CGI model is always animated with his knees being ''much'' higher up on the leg than they are on the toy.  Interestingly, Prime's toy ''does'' have a joint in that very same spot, but it is totally blocked off for unknown reasons.  Beyond ''that'', the CGI model also has the antennae on Prime's super mode helmet as perpendicular to the helmet's folded "cheek guard" sections when stored on his back.  Again, the toy's antennae show signs of being able to be configured the same way at one point, but the final toy has blocked off curves and a pointless slot on the bottom of each antenna as well as unnecessary ball joints.

===''Cybertron''===
* ''Cybertron'' Optimus Prime has some design similarities to GaoGaiGar from ''[[wikipedia:The_King_of_Braves_GaoGaiGar|The King of Braves GaoGaiGar]]'', such as the chin protrusion and cheekguards. In addition, his [[Super Mode]] resembles ChoRyuJin from the same series (having the same chest and cannons), and his combination with [[Leobreaker]] recalls GaoGaiGar's combination with Goldymarg. His combination with Wing Saber also invokes the image of Galeon's head on GaoGaiGar's chest. This would not be the [[Optimus Prime (RID)|first such GaoGaiGar reference]] Transformers would see... [[Safeguard_(Animated)|or the last]].
** Said Super Mode also evokes [[Optimus Prime (G1)/toys|Powermaster Optimus Prime]].
* The toy instructions for Super Mode position Prime's massive cannons over his shoulders.  However, in the cartoon, Super Mode instead has the cannons slung ''under'' his arms.  The toy can go either way (or, indeed, have one up and one down).
*''Cybertron'' Prime sported some different colors in his preliminary design, which accidentally found its way into a few shots in the [[Fallen_(episode)|first episode]].
* Vector Prime has stated in [[Ask Vector Prime]] that Optimus could not combine with Wing Saber and Leobreaker at the same time: The power is too much for him!

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''[[Convoy (rank)|Convoy]]''' (コンボイ ''Konboi''), '''Grand Convoy''' (''Super Link'', グランドコンボイ ''Gurando Konboi''), '''Galaxy Convoy''' (''Galaxy Force'', ギャラクシーコンボイ ''Gyarakushī Konboi'')
*''Hungarian:'' '''Optimusz Prájm''', '''Első Optimusz''' (''Energon'', ''Cybertron'', "[[Optimus Prime vs Megatron: The Ultimate Battle]]", "Optimus, the First")
*''Polish:'' '''Optimus Pierwszy''' ("Optimus First")

==Footnotes==
<references />

[[Category:Armada Autobots]]
[[Category:Autobot leaders]]
[[Category:Combiners]]
[[Category:Cybertron Autobots]]
[[Category:Dimension hoppers]]
[[Category:Energon Autobots]]
[[Category:Hall of Fame]]
[[Category:Matrix bearers]]
[[Category:Rulers of Cybertron]]
[[Category:Transformers with multiple modes]]
[[Category:Transformers with three modes]]