Prima

This article is a featured article, and considered to be one of the most informative on this wiki.

Prima? What? It's a manly name.

Prima (aka Prima Prime) is the first Transformer. Created by Primus, he was appointed the Warrior of Light and given the legendary Star Saber sword with the Matrix of Leadership in its hilt. Chosen to lead the Thirteen against their eternal enemy Unicron, he and the rest of the Thirteen were made stewards of Primus' planetary form, Cybertron.

It is uncertain what relationship Prima has, if any, to Primon, another early Matrix bearer.

We are Primus. We are Prima. We are Prime Nova. We are Sentinel Prime. We are Optimus Prime.The essence of the Primes, "Dark Creation"

Fiction

Generation 1 continuity family

The Transformers cartoon

I am Sparktacus!

Voice actor: Neil Ross (English)

The Generation 1 cartoon incarnation of Prima was never named on-screen, and was identified only with the descriptor of "Powerful Robot" in the dialogue script for "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4". An edition of Ask Vector Prime in The AllSpark Almanac II retroactively dubbed this character Prima.

Prima was created from the corpse of another robot which the Quintessons deactivated for its underperformance in its tasks. The robot was instantly smelted down and reformed into Prima, who, through unknown circumstances, became the second documented bearer of the Matrix of Leadership. Prima was unusual amongst his consumer goods brethren in that he was equipped for combat, and was made to battle in the Quintessons' gladiatorial pits. He found the endless fighting repellent, and, after a battle with Sentinel Major, decided to strike back at his masters, leaping at the group of Quintessons that had been watching the match. He was blasted out of the air, and fell to the ground in a smoking wreck, apparently deceased. He was succeeded as Matrix-bearer by Prime Nova.

When Rodimus Prime journeyed inside the Matrix, Prima was the second guide he encountered, and told him the story of the Quintessons' gladiatorial matches. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4

Marvel Comics continuity

Marvel The Transformers comics

Prima. For reals.

After Primus had imprisoned his and Unicron's astral forms in asteroids, he reshaped his new body into the planet Cybertron. From the material of this world was born the first Transformer, Prima. Prima and his fellow Transformers were given the gift of transformation, an ability that mirrored Unicron's own powers, so that one day they would be able to unite against him and defeat him. Prima was given the Genetic Matrix, a powerful artifact endowed with Primus's own life essence, which would allow Prima to create further generations of Transformers. The Primal Scream

It is not known what Prima's fate was, but Prime Nova is recorded as the next Matrix bearer. Dark Creation

Marvel Generation 2 comic

Upon Prima's first emergence from primordial Cybertron, he didn't need to use the Matrix's power to bring forth new Transformers. The first few generations of Cybertronians could replicate themselves through a process known as "budding." However, the method of reproduction distilled Primus's essence with each generation. This process reached a pre-programmed end, and Primus's progeny lost both their ability to bud, and all memory of the process. The Power and the Glory

Classics

Ultra Mammoth's team learned of the nature of the multiverse, including that the multiverse had only one set of Prima and his siblings. Falling into Place

3H comics

The Matrix was passed from Primon unto Prima, who subsequently bequeathed it to Prime Nova. Covenant

2005 IDW continuity

First appearance: The Transformers #23 (statue)

He also spent his free time writing strategy guides for video games.

Prima was one of the Primes who led the Thirteen Tribes that rose to prominence on Cybertron following the departure of the Knights of Cybertron from the planet, and fancied himself as the last of the Knights. Like four others, he was attracted to the Crystal City alliance, Origin Myths where he emerged as the leader of the Thirteen. Solus Prime eventually forged the Star Saber which Prima came to wield.

Urged on by Onyx Prime, Prima oversaw a mission of colonization to expand the Pax Cybertronia, sending the Titan Nemesis to colonize the neighboring world of Antilla. Despite his claims that the Cybertronians had only sought to bring the "light" of their perfect civilization to the galaxy, the colonialist ambitions of Cybertron were laid bare, and as a result Cybertron came to be shunned and hated by the inhabitants of the galaxy. Prima laid the blame for this at Megatronus's feet and was eventually attacked by his fellow Prime in revenge, only being saved through Solus's sacrifice. This act sparked the First Cybertronian Civil War, and while Megatronus managed to flee, Prima surmised Liege Maximo who was eventually exiled aboard Vigilem.

Prima's brief foray into 1000-degree knife videos ended in disaster.

Aboard the Titan Emissary, Prima led Onyx and Alpha Trion to hunt down Megatronus and bring him to justice, eventually locating him on Tsiehshi. When Prima found his adversary, Megatronus promptly seized the Star Saber and turned it back on its wielder, bisecting him. Prima would never learn that the 'bot he had known as "Onyx Prime" was actually a convenient disguise assumed by a time displaced Shockwave from ten million years in the future, who proceeded to behead Megatronus before recounting to Alpha Trion a romanticized version of the battle that claimed Prima and Megatronus, now known as the Fallen, had slain one another.

The loss of his master caused Emissary to become distraught. After returning Onyx and Trion to Cybertron, Emissary interred Prima's remains within himself and set off for deep space, eventually crash-landing on prehistoric Elonia as a result of his systems being sabotaged by Shockwave. The First Who Was Named

In Prima's absence, his former seat of power, the Citadel of Light came under siege by Onyx's bestial hordes. After Nova Major and Galvatron had managed to beat back the invaders, Alpha Trion arranged it so that Nova Major became Nova Prime. The Crucible In the era that followed, Prima was regarded as having been the greatest of the Primes. Lagrange

Transformers Vault is popular reading in the Grand Imperium.

Before the Great War, statues of Prima wielding his sword oversaw the Senate chamber within the Grand Imperium, Chaos Theory Part 2 and the Primal Basilica. An Intimate Beheading

In early 2018, once the timeline had caught up with Shockwave's machinations, the scientist returned to Cybertron. After binding Optimus Prime, he explained his journey to his old friend, including Prima's true fate. The First Who Was Named

Transformers vs. G.I. Joe

Prima was among the spirits of former Autobot leaders who resided in the Matrix and haunted Megatron after he stole the artifact. Transformers vs. G.I. Joe #12

Power of the Primes toy bios

Prima's Spark passed into the possession of one of the twelve Prime Masters; hidden within a suit of decoy armor, they safeguarded the abilities of the Primes until the present day. By uniting with a larger Transformer, the Prime Master could channel the powers of Prima's Spark and grant them unique abilities that varied with each new partner. Power of the Primes

For a list of every permutation of Prima's abilities, see this link.

Live-action film series continuity

Revenge of the Fallen film

After the Fallen was caught trying to harvest a star from a system with life, he turned on the other Primes and made war on them. In order to prevent the Fallen from harvesting the star, the remaining Primes (including Prima) hid the key to the harvester inside a tomb made of their own bodies and sealed it with their own life essence. Revenge of the Fallen

Prima's involvement in the preceding events, or events mostly similar, were also chronicled in the novel Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Where the comics had used the "Protoform Optimus Prime" toy to represent Prima, this design is not used in the film, so identifying which one is Prima is not possible.

IDW movie comics

Optimus got his father's everything.

Prima proposed to the Dynasty of Primes that they should make it a rule to not destroy the stars from systems with life. He also renamed the Fallen after the latter intentionally destroyed such a system. When the Fallen attempted this again on Earth, the original seven Primes battled him and fell one by one, until only Prima was left. Prima let the Fallen chase him around the planet until he was weakened by overusing space bridges, allowing Prima to gather his brothers' bodies and use their remaining power to banish the Fallen to his sarcophagus. Tales of the Fallen #4

Prima presumably created a tomb from his and his brothers' bodies to hide the Matrix of Leadership, giving his own spark to seal it from within. Though the Fallen's evil would return to Cybertron to kill the rest of the Dynasty, it would be his orphaned descendant who would be hidden away. Revenge of the Fallen #3

Aligned continuity family

The Covenant of Primus

Whoever lives by the sword shall die by the sword.

As the first of the Thirteen created, Prima was cast in the mold of Primus himself, a warrior of great virtue and nobility who placed the greater good above all else. Though self-aware enough to not be a pompous leader to his siblings, he tended to take too much weight upon his shoulders, and his persistent conviction that he was always right made him difficult to deal with. He tended to clash with Megatronus, who served as his opposite among the Thirteen, a warrior of darkness who represented a natural counterbalance to Prima's role as the warrior of light. Such arguments characterized their interactions while the Thirteen trained and prepared to take on the menace of Unicron.

In the course of the battle with Unicron, Prima lost his grip upon his Star Saber when the chaos-bringer assaulted the group with torturous visions. Although the Thirteen were able to shut Unicron down soon thereafter, they did not manage to do so before he had seized the convulsing Prima, put him in his mouth, bitten down, and spat his crushed body out.

Prima survived the experience, and the Thirteen turned to the business of building the beginnings of a civilization and society on Cybertron. Prima worked primarily with Vector Prime and Alpha Trion, but their clique was treated with some degree of resentment by some of their siblings, as it was thought they were trying to control the actions of the others. Prima continued to grow even more detached as they continued their work, spending his time theorizing about the nature of the Thirteen, and categorizing them; he considered himself and other early members of the group to be forces of lawful good, but looked upon the last that had been created—chiefly, Megatronus and Liege Maximo—as chaotic and potentially evil. When Maximo discovered the writings Prima had made about this and then told Megatronus, a physical altercation between Prima and his dark opposite resulted, a permanent wedge driven between brothers. Prior to this, like Vector and Trion Prima was confused by the blossoming love between Megatronus and Solus, but at the very least recognised it was something beautiful and that it made the pair happy, and for a time that was enough for him.

"You think three on one will do any good? Do you have any power to defeat me?"

Some time later, when Prima discovered that Megatronus and Liege Maximo were working on a secret project of their own, creating a race of robotic creatures, he demanded it be shut down, suspecting them of having a sinister ulterior motive even if he could not see it. He forced the rest of the Thirteen into a vote on the matter and emerged victorious. This was to be the catalyst for the final falling out between the Primes: furious that she had voted against him, Megatronus subsequently argued with and inadvertently killed Solus. He retreated to the wilderness of Cybertron, but Prima and the others tracked him down and brought him back to face justice, only for it to become apparent that Maximo had set Megatronus up. Things quickly devolved into a chaotic free-for-all fight between the siblings, which ended with Maximo dead by uncertain hands. Megatronus was exiled for his crimes, and (with Solus' death still weighing heavily on him) requested Vector Prime to open a portal to send him to some far-off world where he would never do harm again. Prima instead offered him a ship that they'd been working on, expressing hope that perhaps if he traveled he might find some measure of peace or a way to suitably honour her. Megatronus was surprised by the conciliatory gesture and hoped Prima was right before taking his leave. Prima took custody of the Requiem Blaster and cast it into the depths of space.

As the rest of the Thirteen spread out into the universe, Prima was among those who decided to remain on Cybertron to guide the new race of beings that emerged from the Well of All Sparks after they interred the deceased Solus within it. Prima dubbed the more primitive and bestial of the creatures that emerged "Predacons". He defended the more advanced, bipedal robots that came from the Well against the powerful Predaking once. Prima fought Predaking to a standstill, and declared the bipeds off limits for Predaking's feasting. His show of strength cowed the Predaking into submitting to Prima's will, the only example of such submission in Predaking's long history. Predaking would occasionally catch sight of Prima observing from afar, but as he kept his word and no longer preyed on the bipedal Cybertronians Prima was apparently content to simply keep an eye on things.

After the Great Cataclysm, Prima vanished from the annals of history, and was no longer seen walking among the people of Cybertron. The surviving Cybertronians soon forgot about the Thirteen, remembering them only as the heroes of ancient folklore. The Covenant of Primus

Aligned novels

After Solus Prime created the Requiem Blaster for Megatronus, debate erupted among the Thirteen over whether so powerful a weapon should be allowed to exist. When the argument threatened to turn violent, Prima called for a vote on the matter; Megatronus won by one vote. Exiles

When Optimus Prime received the Matrix from the Core of Cybertron, he recognized it as the jewel from the hilt of Prima's Star Saber. Upon accepting the talisman into himself, Optimus had a vision of all its previous holders, all the way back to Prima himself. Exodus

Prime cartoon

He's the leader of the bunch. You know him well.

According to legend, at the beginning of time, Unicron and Primus battled each other for eons, with neither side remaining victorious for long. Till, that is, Primus created the Thirteen. These Thirteen defeated Unicron and cast him into space. One Shall Rise, Part 1

At some point statues of Prima and his brothers were made. They were placed in the chamber of the High Council. One Shall Rise, Part 3

Fun Publications

Vector Prime described Prima as distant from his siblings in the Thirteen, weighed down by the responsibilities of the multiverse. Vector wished he had known his brother better. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/06/14 When the Thirteen visited ancient Greece, the holomatter avatar Prima used to interact with the natives inspired the myth of Zeus. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/07/20 During this time, he observed the animosity brewing between Liege Maximo and Solus Prime (who had manifested as Aphrodite and Hephaestus, respectively) and "bonded" them together in hopes they could work out their differences. His plan didn't succeed. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/08/08

Prima wielded the Star Saber in the Thirteen's clashes with Unicron. When Megatronus began acting for evil causes, his siblings resolved to keep Prima's Star Saber out of Megatronus's hands, so Solus shattered it with her Forge. Nexus Prime volunteered to hide fragments throughout the multiverse. Nexus Prime's profile Ask Vector Prime, 2015/05/18/5

When Nexus Prime united the Terminus Blade and the Star Saber, Prima and the other members of the Thirteen were drawn to witness the event. Time and space were rewritten that day, as the walls between universal streams grew stronger and less permeable. A consequence of strengthening the multiverse's properties was that Prima and the original Thirteen could no longer continue to exist as multiversal singularities, and so they were splintered and scattered throughout the multiverse. And so the one became many, sentient reoccurring themes each appearing in their own way, if at all, in all the worlds of the multiverse. Out of the One, Many

Cyberverse cartoon

Half sunk, a shattered visage lies.

A statue of Prima was present in the Grand Imperium. Once the Great War had ravaged Cybertron, Optimus Prime and Bumblebee met in front of Prima's toppled statue to reflect on their planet's sorry state and the mistake Optimus had made in launching the AllSpark. Matrix of Leadership

When the Ark entered unspace, Wheeljack swore by Prima. The Crossroads

Toys

Transformers (2007)

File:Movie ProtoformOptimusPrime toy.jpg

Guess who ya gotta buy now to finish your Thirteen collection?

• Protoform Optimus Prime (Deluxe Class, 2007)
  • Japanese ID number: MA-05
  • Accessories: Gun with flame attachment

Prima was repurposed from Protoform Optimus Prime in Tales of the Fallen #4.

Based upon the "Protoform" (Cybertronian) appearances of the Transformers in the 2007 movie, Transformers "Protoform Optimus Prime" transforms into his "entry" mode. This mode somewhat resembles a cybertronic truck, with false wheels sculpted onto the sides and Optimus Prime's trademark windows in front. A flame decoration piece fits to the back of the "vehicle", creating the illusion of a flaming comet's tail. The bottom of the vehicle has small wheels to roll the toy across smooth surfaces. Oddly, it has NO Automorph Technology gimmick at all, a feature most main-line figures have.

In robot mode, he resembles previous Optimus characters: His angular chest windows are reminiscent of Cybertron Optimus Prime, while his near-animalistic limbs and color scheme are evocative of Beast Wars Optimus Primal. He has excellent articulation due to his many ball joints, and is armed with a rifle. The flame attachment can fit onto the end of the (non-firing) gun barrel.

Some packaging variants of this figure (perhaps a Wal-Mart exclusive) included a free movie poster depicting a Cybertronian eye overlooking Earth. While an added sticker to the outer plastic bubble says "Exclusive movie poster!", it is more of a preview of upcoming figures.

This mold was also used to make Movie Advanced Series Protoform Optimus Prime.

• More information on Protoform Optimus Prime at TFU.info

Generations

"There's no such thing as a Prima Prime!"

• Throne of the Primes (Leader Class, 2018)
  • Japanese ID number: PP-43

Power of the Primes "Prima Prime" (ha ha, yes, Hasbro went with this naming) is retooled from Solus Prime sans decoy armor. As a Prime Master, Prima can store inside any of the Decoy Armor, or plug into any decoy armor's weapon form, or replace the Matrix core of a Power of the Primes Leader Class figure. He can also ride Legends Class figures, or attach to Deluxe Class figures' chest armor, Voyager Class figures' bucklers, or Voyager Class figures' combined modes.

Coming with the San Diego Comic-Con 2018-exclusive Optimus Primal toy, Prima Prime (and with the other three Prime Masters) can also mount onto the included Scepter of Sparks accessory.

"It's a real term! Look it up!"

• Punch-Counterpunch (Special Edition, 2018)

Power of the Primes "Special Edition" Prima Prime is a translucent redeco of the above figure, packaged with Punch-Counterpunch in commemoration of the third iteration of the Prime Wars Trilogy.

This set was an Amazon exclusive in the United States, initially revealed via preorder listing without any prior announcement from Hasbro. It was also available at general retail in Singapore.

Notes

• Prima, like all members of the Thirteen, was once a multiversal singularity who existed as one being throughout all of time and space, but that is no longer the case.
• Prima's Generation 1 cartoon character model appears to use Cyclonus as a base, with heavily-re-worked details.
• In a 1989 Marvel UK issue, Dreadwind told a reader "I don't think anyone knows who was actually the first ever Transformer. Correct me if I'm wrong though." It took many years but someone finally did!
• According to ABN in Recordicons #9, Vector Prime "always lies about Five Faces of Darkness". If true, this would mean that the guy from Five Faces is not necessarily Prima; we're keeping this page as-is because there's no objective evidence either way, and Prima is more convenient as a page title than "Powerful Robot".
• An idea from the Binder of Revelation—which has not made it into any fiction, and has been evinced only in the binder's profile page for Optimus Prime published in Transformers Vault—posits that individual Transformers possess a "polarity" that indicates which of the Thirteen they can trace their lineage to. Based on Optimus's profile, Transformers descended from Prima possess a "Primian" polarity—but then, Optimus would later be revealed to actually be one of the Thirteen in Aligned continuity, so good luck figuring that one out.
• Hasbro representatives at BotCon 2010, BotCon 2011, and HasCon 2017 pronounced Prima's name "Pree-muh" despite Prima's name being one along the lines of "Primus" and "Prime". When his name was spoken by the Mistress of Flame in the Titans Return cartoon episode "Overlord and Emissary"—which was also the first time his name was ever uttered in an animated Transformers work—it was pronounced more appropriately as "Prime-uh".

Foreign names

• Japanese: Prima Prime (プライマプライム Puraima Puraimu)

Footnotes

	"Five Faces of Darkness" spirit guides
Primon Prima Prime Nova Guardian Prime Zeta Prime Sentinel Prime Optimus Prime