Optimus Prime (Animated)

The name or term "Optimus Prime" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Optimus Prime (disambiguation).

Optimus Prime is an Autobot in the Transformers Animated continuity family.

"Freedom... Yeesss..."

A washout from the Elite Guard, Optimus Prime was reassigned to space bridge repair duty under the supervision of Ratchet. He is a relatively naive and idealistic young leader, prone to long-winded "inspirational" speeches who leads a small and inexperienced Autobot space bridge maintenance team. Recently, his crew has landed on Earth, adopted jobs as semi-official superheroes and currently live in an abandoned Sumdac Systems warehouse.

Despite his humble "Bot Next Door" persona, he performs his job with a dedicated seriousness. He transforms into a red truck cab that can be fitted with many kinds of "trailer" attachments (most notably one that makes him look like a fire engine) and wields a kick-ass, rocket-propelled, extendable battle axe, as well as multiple arm mounted modifications, including grappler cables, fire extinguishers and bola-whip throwers. Despite his formidable abilities and skills, not everyone thought so highly of the young Prime. Sentinel Prime sneers at Optimus's lowly repair job, and Supreme Commander Ultra Magnus once held the young officer in low regard. More than anything, Prime wanted to be a hero. He's had the speeches, he had the moves...but what was he missing? Maybe The Touch?

But since coming to Earth, Optimus has learned the truth about heroism. It's not about glory and destiny, it's about doing the right thing and going to your limit and beyond. Ratchet, for all his cynicism, knows that Prime is a hero, and after seeing him in action, Ultra Magnus himself admitted that Optimus has excellent leadership skills.

So, this is what it feels like to be a hero...Optimus upon his death, "Transform and Roll Out"

Fiction

Animated cartoon

Voice actor: David Kaye (English), Bernd Vollbrecht (German), Krzysztof Korzeniowski (Polish)

During his training days at the Autobot Academy, Optimus impressed Ultra Magnus with his performance in a computer simulated battle against Megatron. Although Optimus "died" in the battle, causing his boisterous pal Sentinel to make a crack at his expense, Magnus pointed out that Optimus had just scored higher on the test than anyone in Academy history, and let Optimus know he had great hopes for him. Survival Skills

"Whoa-oh! Surprise hug from Mr. Freaky-Big!"

A thousand stellar cycles ago, Optimus and Elita-1 accompanied Sentinel on an unpermitted mission to a forbidden organic planet in search of a lost Decepticon ship rumored to be carrying a huge payload of energon cubes. The mission was declared a wash when the trio discovered that the planet was infested with giant spiders, but the trio found that their retreat was not an easy one. Separated from Sentinel in the chaos of a spider attack, Optimus and Elita found the Decepticon ship and its coveted energon cubes, only to be surrounded by another swarm of spiders. Optimus had Elita download his grappler abilities so that they could bring a giant stalactite down on the creatures, causing the energon cubes to explode in the process. As they attempt to swing their way to safety, however, Elita's download timed out and she plummetted back down into the heart of the conflagration, just as Sentinel arrived to bear witness. Knowing that to go after her would mean death, Optimus held Sentinel back from pursuing Elita and forcibly dragged him back to the surface just before they were caught in the explosion. Along Came a Spider

Sentinel never forgave Optimus for making him leave Elita behind, and bore a grudge against him for the next thousand years, constantly belittling him and sniping at him. When the failed mission came to the attention of Ultra Magnus, the two were brought to a military tribunal. Sentinel gladly placed the blame for Elita-1's death at Optimus' feet, and gallantly, Optimus took the fall for leading the mission. He was discharged from the Academy, never to join the Elite Guard. Luckily for Optimus, Magnus thought that maybe the bot he once had such high hopes for still had some potential, and gave him the rank of "Prime" and his own ship...a rusted out junker filled with the incompetent young bots, Bumblebee and Bulkhead, plus a crotchety old medic, Ratchet.

During one of their routine Space Bridge terminal repair missions, Optimus Prime's crew stumbled upon a bot named Prowl who was trying to complete his Cyber-Ninja training. Unfortunately, an energon cube explosion destroyed his ship, so Optimus offered Prowl a place on his crew. The would-be cyber-ninja expressed frustration at the constant curveballs life had thrown at him thus far, and Optimus noted that he could easily relate to that sentiment. Endgame, Part I

Call me Captainimus Prime!

Fifty years ago, Prime and his crew came across the AllSpark while repairing a space bridge and brought the artifact aboard their ship. During transport, they were discovered by the Decepticons, and Megatron came after them. He proved too strong to take head on (in spite of his subordinate planting a bomb on his chassis), but when Teletran-1 neared Earth, Prime knocked Megatron overboard. The Autobots stayed in stasis for the next 50 years until they were accidentally awakened by an apparent intruder. Optimus and the Autobots took on Earth vehicles as alternate modes in an attempt to assimilate with what they believed to be the local dominant culture. Prime and his team were able to dispatch a bio-mechanical insectoid that was attacking Detroit. They were hailed as heroes for it.

Insert what where?!

Over the next several weeks, the Autobots got to learn human culture and customs, doing their best to prevent disasters and save lives. Eventually, Starscream came for the AllSpark, and Optimus found that the schemer could pack quite a punch. The Autobot officer was still able to keep Starscream from getting the artifact, though at the cost of his life. However, he was quickly revived by Sari Sumdac and her AllSpark-influenced key. Later, the Autobots helped rebuild parts of Detroit that were destroyed in their battle with Starscream. Transform and Roll Out

Unfortunately for Optimus, he had gained a reputation outside of Earth's atmosphere—not as a hero, but as the slayer of Megatron. The Decepticon Blitzwing placed a large bounty on his head, and pretty soon, Lockdown came to collect. He captured Prime and stole his axe and grapplers. Fortunately, Ratchet saved him, finally getting the old bot to open up more. The Thrill of the Hunt

Optimus Prime is all left feet, but that's still not as many as Blackarachnia.

During the Autobots' first Halloween on Earth, the Decepticon Blackarachnia ambushed Bumblebee and Bulkhead and kidnapped Sari. When Optimus Prime tried to fight Blackarachnia, she dodged all his moves, as she had trained with him. Prime was shocked to learn that Blackarachnia was his old Autobot Academy classmate Elita-1, who hadn't died but been mutated while fighting off the giant arachnids those many years ago. Blackarachnia tried to use Sari's AllSpark key to remove the organic aspects from her biology, but the key began to drain the life from everything organic around and nearly killed Blackarachnia herself. Prime removed the key, saving Blackarachnia and the organics. Still calling her Elita, Prime tried to convince her to return to the Autobots so they could try and help her. She repaid that kindness by injecting him with venom and telling him that she would never trust him again. Prime was left to reflect on the friend he'd failed not once, but twice. Along Came a Spider

When Decepticon energy signals were detected near the city, the Autobots quickly realized that their options were limited. Bulkhead mentioned that the Dinobots might help, forcing Prowl to reveal how the two moved them to Dinobot Island. Prime's reaction was...displeased, to say the least. Ranting that all he had to command were insubordinate malfunctions, Prime also concluded that the Key was no longer safe with Sari, and he ordered Ratchet to take it from her. As Sari ran off crying, Bumblebee mouthed off that their situation was an indication that Prime was unfit for command.

Dumbasses!

Heading to Dinobot Island, Prime did not get off to a good start with Grimlock, mostly because Grimlock considered him lunch. After Prowl smoothed things over, Prime tried to convince them to help the Autobots fight the Decepticons, but Grimlock was uninterested. Receiving word from Ratchet that the Key had been stolen, Prime ordered Ratchet to guard the AllSpark while the Autobots headed back for the mainland. Prime himself also began to wonder if he was fit for command, seeing as all his decisions had blown up in his face. When Bumblebee contacted the Autobots to inform them that Starscream was at Sumdac Tower, he refused Prime's order to hold back and went to attack the Decepticon on his own. Prime dryly noted that the day just kept getting better and better.

Then everything pretty much went to Hell when Megatron burst out of Sumdac Tower, to the shock and horror of just about everyone. Megatron Rising - Part 1

Quickly regaining their composure, the Autobots attacked. Megatron beat the slag out of them. Though Optimus fared slightly better, Megatron still brought him down fairly quickly. They were only able to escape when Megatron punished Starscream for his betrayal. Taking refuge within Sumdac Tower, Professor Sumdac explained his role in Megatron's revival and helped repair the Autobots with residual key energy. After Bumblebee called Prime to answer for his earlier assessment of them, Prime admitted he was wrong and asked them for forgiveness. When Ratchet and Sari showed up with Teletran-1, the Autobots took flight, hoping to lure the Decepticons away from Earth to prevent human casualties. Unfortunately, the Decepticons shot down the vessel and caused it to crash on Dinobot Island.

"Now, light our darkest hour!"

As the Autobots took on the Decepticons, Optimus faced down Megatron, which went as well as the first time. When Megatron got into the Autobots' ship, he took the AllSpark and placed the powerful artifact within him, using it as a weapon against Prime. However, Megatron had dropped the key, and Sari threw it to Prime. The Autobot officer used the key to send a surge of energy through the AllSpark, causing it to disperse while still in Megatron. With the threat passed, Prime apologized to Sari and returned the key, saying it was too important to be trusted with an Autobot. Megatron Rising - Part 2

After the battle with the Decepticons, the Cybertron Elite Guard arrived to take the AllSpark back to Cybertron. Optimus explained that the AllSpark had been dispersed and that the Decepticons had been defeated. Sentinel Prime accused Optimus of lying and took every chance he could to belittle his former friend, but Ultra Magnus decided to investigate their claims. Optimus took them to Dinobot Island, but the Autobots did not make a good impression on the Dinobots. Before they could investigate, they received a message from Ratchet, saying that police drones had gone haywire at a Sumdac Systems manufacturing plant. Optimus managed to get Sari inside and shut off the assembly line, but the key was stuck in the console. Before Optimus could help, Sentinel pushed him aside and promised to see Optimus charged for high treason. Tired of Sentinel's slag, Optimus finally stuck up for himself and told Sentinel where to shove it, destroying the console the key was stuck in and revealing an AllSpark fragment. Ultra Magnus accepted the shard as proof of Optimus Prime's claims. Though Sentinel still refused to believe him, Magnus said that Optimus Prime displayed many qualities that Sentinel himself could use. The Elite Guard

Ha Ha! Decapitation.

When Sentinel and Optimus were at a press conference with Mayor Edsel, they received a call about a Decepticon sighting in old Detroit. After Sentinel mangled the roads en route, he told Optimus to split up and search on his own. Hours later, Optimus received a communication to from Sentinel to dismiss the police and come to Sentinel's location alone—and not to laugh when he got there. What Optimus found was Sentinel Prime's severed head, with his body having been stolen by the Headmaster. He promised to help Sentinel find his body without letting Ultra Magnus or the other Autobots know, but not before taking a moment or two to enjoy the situation.

Heading for Sumdac Tower, Optimus confronted Porter C. Powell, who denied knowing where Masterson was and told him the Autobots were no longer welcome at the facility. Optimus left, but immediately tapped in on Powell and Masterson's phone conversation, letting Optimus track Masterson to the docks. After encountering mini-Headmasters in the form of Tutor Bot and Sparkplug, Optimus was able to get aboard the ship before it sailed away. Finding the Headmaster with Sentinel Prime's body, Optimus Prime proceeded to beat the living slag out of his attacker, much to Sentinel's discomfort. Finally defeating the mad scientist, Optimus reattached Sentinel's head to his body, but Masterson walked away due to legal technicalities. When Ultra Magnus asked them about it the next day, Optimus covered for Sentinel, saying that Sentinel had volunteered to use himself as bait to capture Masterson, and Magnus praised their bravery. In an awkward moment, Sentinel thanked Optimus for all he'd done, and the two shook hands amicably. The Return of the Headmaster

Jay Leno VS. Bruce Campbell, Battle of chins.

When word of Decepticon attacks came after learning that Megatron was still alive, Ultra Magnus decided that Optimus and his Autobots would be needed elsewhere repairing damaged space bridges. The Elite Guard also wanted Optimus to...leave out that whole destruction of the AllSpark and Megatron's survival thing for the time being. When they detected an AllSpark shard energy signature in a human train, the Elite Guard went to retrieve it. Detecting Starscream, Optimus realized it was a trap and was forced to place stasis cuffs on Sentinel Prime to leave the Elite Guard's ship. Meeting up with his crew, he helped them remove the shard and save the humans. Magnus and Sentinel, who by now had broken out of his cuffs, were about to rip Optimus a new one for insubordination, assault, and the lack of evidence over the Decepticons—at which point Starscream's body crashed mere meters away from them, having been offlined by Megatron (again). When Starscream knocked out Ultra Magnus, Optimus took command (much to Sentinel's displeasure). He managed to place the stasis-cuffs on Starscream, and Ultra Magnus decided that Optimus Prime and his team would be allowed to stay on Earth, locate the remaining AllSpark shards, and arrest the remaining Decepticons. Mission Accomplished

Later on, when Bulkhead brought Scrapper and Mixmaster back to Autobot headquarters, Optimus was not impressed with their antics and demanded that they leave. Optimus warned Bulkhead that the duo were not worth spending time with and that they were not capable of learning the ways of an Autobot. After the Constructicons were 'persuaded' by Megatron that their talents would be better utilized in the Decepticon ranks, Prime was furious and despite Bulkhead's insistence that they were his friends, Optimus questioned that they didn't know any better.

Unfortunately, he was proved right when Mixmaster and Scrapper showed up and demanded that they hand over the AllSpark fragments, to which Prime naturally refused. A struggle ensued (in which Ratchet and Bumblebee insisted Prime was 'their dipstick') and Mixmaster held Bumblebee hostage and demands the AllSpark. Prime tried to stall for time and Bulkhead handed over the fragments, to Prime's dismay. Bulkhead then 'had one for the road' and his scheme came to light. With the fragments retrieved, Optimus consoled a distraught Bulkhead and assured him that as long as the Constructicons (now having lost their memory due to the explosion caused by the tainted oil) were not wearing Decepticon badges, they still had a choice. Rise of the Constructicons

At the end of this day, one shall stand, one shall melt.

After learning that the Dinobots helped Meltdown escape, Prime took Prowl and Bumblebee to investigate Dinobot Island. There, he learned that Blackarachnia was manipulating the Dinobots, and had struck a deal with Meltdown to remove her organic half. However, Meltdown needed a genetic modifier. Blackarachnia, having poisoned Prowl and Bumblebee with her venom, told Prime to help Grimlock get the modifier in exchange for the antivenom that would save his Autobots. Though Prime tried to convince Grimlock of Blackarachnia's evil intentions, Grimlock would hear none of it. Returning to the mainland, Prime revoked his "protector of humanity" title long enough for Grimlock to "convince" Porter C. Powell to tell them where the modifier was. When Powell realized it was valuable, Prime was tempted to let Grimlock finish him off, but decided the Autobots didn't have time. Returning to Dinobot Island, Meltdown turned the tables on them, revealing that he planned to remove Blackarachnia's organic half, and sicced his experiments on Prime and Grimlock. With the other Dinobots help, they sent the mutants packing. Prime then removed the modifier before Meltdown could finish his experiments, and exposure to the modifier caused Meltdown to break apart. Blackarachnia urged Optimus to come closer, but Grimlock's jealousy caused him to attack, allowing Blackarachnia to flee. When Prime went to Prowl and Bumblebee, he found the anti-venom, and saved their sparks. Although Powell tried to have Prime arrested, Fanzone refused to do anything about it. Because she left the anti-venom, however, Optimus Prime was hopeful that somewhere beneath the anger and betrayal of Blackarachnia, there was still something left of Elita-1. Black Friday

When Bulkhead was kidnapped by Megatron, Bumblebee brought home Blurr, an Elite Guard intelligence agent who had been assigned to monitor the Decepticons and investigate Optimus Prime's crew (good odds on the one who gave Blurr his orders). When Blurr revealed where the Decepticons were, and that they were building a space bridge with Isaac Sumdac's help, Prime ordered Ratchet and Sari to get the ship back online, while he and the others went to rescue Bulkhead and stop the Decepticons. Before he left, he admitted that he wasn't sure if Professor Sumdac was willingly cooperating with the Decepticons, but promised Sari that he would bring him home alive. Heading to the mines, they were ambushed by Blitzwing and Lugnut, who were incapacitated by Blurr. Reaching the control room, the Autobots were incapaciated by the Constructicons. Fortunately, the Decepticons were too busy with the sudden arrival of Starscream and his clones to immediately kill them. A Bridge Too Close, Part I

Managing to free himself, Optimus found himself in the odd position of fighting side by side with Megatron. But the battle went against the Autobots, with Blurr and a pair of clones sucked into the space bridge and the other Autobots incapacitated. In typical Decepticon fashion, Megatron used Prime as a human shield against the clones. After the battle, Megatron decided to use Prime as a test to see if the space bridge worked, where Prime would eliminated by Shockwave if it did. Fortunately, Prowl managed to get free from his stasis cuffs and shatter Optimus Prime's, allowing him to grapple Megatron. However, the power cut out, forcing Megatron to use the severed head of Starscream to further power the bridge, causing an overload. Prime managed to slap stasis cuffs on Megatron, taking him into the bridge, but the Autobots were nearly sucked in when Omega Supreme arrived and sacrificed himself to save them. As the bridge self-destructed, the Autobots managed to escape before the mountain came down on top of them. Though mourning the losses of Omega and Blurr, Megatron's plot was foiled, and the Autobots could breathe a collective sigh of relief.

Sighs of relief which turned to gasps of shock and horror when Sari noticed that the skin of her arm had been torn...revealing robotic circuitry underneath! A Bridge Too Close, Part II

Leaving the mine, Optimus carried Sari and Isaac with him as the Professor explained what he knew of Sari's origins: years ago, Sumdac found a body of liquid metal, which he touched, and Sari emerged. Remembering all too well the horror story of human manufacturing, Optimus pointed out several flaws in Isaac's story. Optimus provided the neccessary muscle to prevent Porter C. Powell and Henry Masterson from trying anything funny when Isaac returned to Sumdac Tower and fired the two, and was on hand to witness Sari activated some sort of weapons system to eject them. Horrified, Sari decided she was better off with her "fellow machines", and Optimus promised to keep her safe until she was ready to talk. Realizing that she wasn't going to talk, Optimus tricked Sari into going to Burger Bot, alerting Sumdac that they were heading there. Unfortunately, the Headmaster had found his Headmaster unit and Starscream's body, and attacked the trio. After a short battle, Optimus tricked Masterson into transforming, saying that a "n00b" like him couldn't do it. The attack managed to reconcile Isaac and Sari, and Optimus took them home, where Prowl revealed his theory that Sari was a protoform merged with Sumdac's DNA.

Later, Ratchet turned up with an unconcious Bulkhead and claims of a missing Bumblebee. Bulkhead theorized that Bumblebee had activated the plasmadynamic thruster, sending him across the universe, and used a recall beacon generator to bring him home. Unfortunately, Bumblebee was swallowed by a rock like alien. As the Autobots tried to figure out how to stop the creature without harming Bumblebee, Sari used the Key to upgrade herself into a more powerful mech. She defeated the monster, but overloaded and was unable to control her movements, seriously injuring Bumblebee. The Autobots were able to remove the Key, only to discover Sari kept going and the Key had been drained. Ratchet was forced to deactivate Sari with his EMP generator.

Returning to the plant, Optimus informed Isaac of Sari's condition, deciding that this family was done keeping secrets from each other. Unfortunately, Megatron arrived, commanding Omega Supreme. Optimus and the others lead Megatron out of the city, where he and Prowl boarded Omega, removing Megatron's influence. Unfortunately, Starscream took over Omega Supreme, and decided to conquer Cybertron. Optimus latched aboard the departing vessel, and shoved the plasmadynamic thruster into Omega, sending him warping across the galaxy randomly, ending the threats of Megatron and Starscream for a while. TransWarped

After reprimanding Bumblebee for playing video games while on monitor duty, Optimus led the Autobots out on a search mission when they detected a Cybertronian energy signature. While Optimus was away, he received an emergency call from Bumblebee, revealing that Wasp was at the plant. By the time the Autobots returned, Wasp had switched places with Bumblebee. Unable to convince his teammates of the ruse, Bumblebee fled, and just as Optimus and his remaining Autobots gave chase, Sentinel Prime and Jazz cut them off. Sentinel was unwilling to listen to Optimus's claims that Wasp was innocent and Longarm Prime was the real traitor, and he took off for Wasp. Optimus had their group split up to try and find Wasp first, ordering Ratchet to come with him while Bulkhead and Prowl went to check another section of the city. While searching, Optimus and Ratchet discovered two Cybertronian fliers and assumed they were Decepticons. Only after fighting with the pair did they learn that Jetstorm and Jetfire were Elite Guard members who had been upgraded with flight protocols duplicated from Starscream.

As Optimus, Ratchet, and Jazz watched Sentinel flail about on the wet roads, still ignoring pleas to warn Cybertron about Longarm, Optimus asked how Jazz was able to stand the obnoxious Prime, and was surprised to learn that the Elite Guard ninja ignored "only half" of what Sentinel said. When the jet twins reported to Sentinel that Bulkhead and Prowl were working with Wasp, Sentinel ordered all of Optimus's crew arrested, despite Optimus putting it as simply as possible: Wasp wasn't a double agent, so Bulkhead and Prowl couldn't be his fellow double agents. Once they reached the others, Optimus had to deal with Sentinel's insistence on arresting them all to let Ultra Magnus sort them out, despite Prowl and Bulkhead now believing that Wasp and Bumblebee had switched places. Overruling Sentinel's demands, Optimus had everyone return to the plant, as that's where Wasp had to be if 'Bee's story was true. By the time they returned, Wasp had read up on Bumblebee's files and so was able to relate a number of 'Bee's adventures to prove he was the real deal. When Bulkhead had Bumblebee and Wasp play Ninja Gladiator to see who the real one was, Prime had no better suggestion. Wasp choked and escaped, and Jazz finally realized that Optimus had been telling the truth about Longarm being a double agent. An oblivious Sentinel asked why they hadn't told him this in the first place, and Optimus sighed in exasperation. Where Is Thy Sting?

With the Elite Guard remaining on Earth, the Autobots began a search for the rest of Megatron's Decepticons. During one search, Optimus saw an unfamiliar shadow with a strange helmet. Following it, Optimus, Prowl, and Jazz discovered Sentinel Prime had captured Sunstorm with out making a sound. Despite his notorious ego, Sentinel refused to elaborate on the capture, and even bolted the clone's mouth shut when he started to talk. Returning to the Elite Guard ship, Optimus discovered that Sentinel had also captured Blitzwing and Swindle, as well, and was equally vague on the details. After helping Prowl investigate the mysterious helmeted figure, Optimus returned to the ship where he, Jazz, and Prowl were shocked to discover that Sentinel had captured Lugnut. Now convinced that Sentinel was lying to them, Optimus and the others eventually followed him to Tigatron Stadium, where they discovered a stasis-cuffed Sentinel, the Liar Starscream, Lockdown (wearing the mysterious helmet), and that Sentinel had been having Lockdown capture the Decepticons in exchange for parts of the Elite Guard ship. After a battle, the clone was captured, but Lockdown escaped. Returning to the Elite Guard ship, the Autobots made contact with Cybertron, learning that Shockwave had attacked Ultra Magnus and stolen the Magnus Hammer in the process. Optimus decided not to inform Cybertron Command of Sentinel's misconduct, but instead gave Prowl all the credit for the captures. Sentinel expressed annoyance that he didn't get any credit for the captures, and Optimus told his former friend that when the smoke cleared, there would be a reckoning between the two Primes. Five Servos of Doom

Hail hail, the gang's all here!

However, Sentinel remained on Earth, convinced that Wasp knew something about the attack on Ultra Magnus. Efforts to locate Wasp were hampered by Sentinel's refusal to recognize Optimus's authority on Earth, claiming he was the primer Prime. However, things came to a head when the Dinobot Swoop captured Wasp and took him to Dinobot Island. Realizing that Blackarachnia might be involved, Optimus tried to warn Sentinel about her, but he refused to listen, as usual. Reaching the island, Optimus found Blackarachnia draining Sentinel of his powers, and offered himself in Sentinel's place. Blackarachnia didn't care; as far as she was concerned, she had every right to slag them both for abandoning her. She also revealed that she made Wasp into the technorganic Waspinator in the hopes that if she could change him back, she could change back into Elita-1. However, Waspinator heard this, and tried to attack Blackararchnia. Reaching critical mass, Blackarachnia wrapped herself and Waspinator into a cocoon to contain the transwarp explosion. The Autobots were barely able to avoid the blast radius, which appeared to destroy most of Dinobot Island. Optimus concluded that Blackarachnia sacrificed herself to save them, but Sentinel thought that she sacrificed Waspinator to escape. Although Sentinel did not press the issue, Optimus could see that he was deeply hurt by what he had experienced.

A short time later, the Elite Guard were preparing to leave, and Optimus Prime's crew were seeing them off. Optimus actually defended Sentinel when the twins poked fun at him, saying that for all his flaws, Sentinel was good bot at spark. Sentinel later came out to talk to Optimus privately, and Optimus apologized, both for not telling Sentinel about Elita's survival, and for not letting Sentinel go back to try and rescue her. In turn, Sentinel apologized for coming up with the idea to go to the planet, but admitted that the time was past for apologies. Optimus ended the conversation on a lighter note, saying that Cybertron needed a leader, and for better or worse, Sentinel Prime was that leader. Sentinel agreed, and the two Primes finally appeared to bury the hatchet. Predacons Rising

Optimus Prime's mood soon soured as the Christmas season rolled in, and the latest must-have product from Porter C. Powell is advertised all over the city—the all-singing, all-dancing Soundwave! After following a lone Soundwave and almost getting decapitated by a train, he decided he was obsessing over nothing and rejoined the other Autobots for some oilnog... not realizing it has been spiked by another Soundwave, forcing Optimus and the others into taking an early stasis nap.

Worst. Hangover. Ever!

As Optimus woke up the next morning, he discovered, to his horror, that he and the others had inexplicably become human. Despite his hopes, Ratchet could find no rational explanation for their transformation. Deciding the best course of action to be to head to Sumdac Tower, the Automen set off into the city. A quick stop at the Burger Bot turned to them fleeing from an attacking Decepticon armada, followed by Optimus and Prowl saving a woman andher son from a burning building, to (badly) fighting off an attacking Starscream and finally—perhaps worst of all—having to take public transportation to Sumdac Tower. However, no sooner had they arrived at their destination then they witnessed the tower blasted to ruins... by a Megatron-controlled Cybertron!

But just as the Autobots seemed on the brink of destruction, Optimus came to a realization—none of what they have experienced was real, but a virtual reality simulation! They take out the Decepticons together with superhuman feats, Optimus destroying Megatron himself with a well aimed axe into his cannon. As the dust settled and the Decepticons disappeared, they "imagined" themselves into their real forms once again. But as soon as they had made the transformation, a giant Soundwave scooped them up into the sky, blasting them all with energy.

In the real world, Optimus and his crew were all prisoners of the real Soundwave in the basement of the Autobot hideout, as part of the sonic warrior's plan to reprogram them into being Decepticons. As their captor started to accelerate the reprogramming, Optimus opened his eyes to reveal them glowing red... Human Error, Part I

"I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!"

A wire from an attack Sari had made on Soundwave disrupted the connection, however, and after a failed escape attempt by Prowl, Soundwave reverted all the Autobots to their human forms, and used his toy replica drones scattered around Detroit to begin hypnotising the human population.

Looking for a way to interface with Soundwave to escape, and locating it in the form of his vehicle mode, Optimus gave the order to pursue him, in conveniently-placed vehicles on which their own alternate modes were based. Unfortunately, Optimus didn't know how to drive extremely well, but was able to pursue Soundwave, albeit with the fire hose out of control.

Having finally located Soundwave, it was revealed to be a trap - hundreds of Soundwave's vehicle modes surrounded the Automen and, when he attempted to escape, the vehicle mode seat belts wrapped around the Autobots as Soundwave began to reprogram them again.

Controlling the reprogrammed Autobots like puppets, Soundwave used them in a battle with Sari and the Substitute Autobots, whom at first they soundly defeated, but when Sari ordered the Substitute Autobots to attack all the Autobots at once, Soundwave began having trouble multitasking, until he decided to just use Optimus against them. Optimus soundly defeats the Substitute Autobots again, and is about to kill Sari when the freed Prowl used his shuriken to blast Ratbat out of Soundwave's hands, freeing the Autobots. Optimus then grabbed Laserbeak, forced him into guitar mode, and then engaged in a brief (epic) Battle of the Bands scenario before using Laserbeak to slice Soundwave and Ratbat in half, freeing his control over the citizens of Detroit. Sari says she has a better appreciation for what Optimus goes through being in command, while OPtimus says he now understands the rigors of being human. Human Error, Part II

"GIVE ME YOUR FACE!"

Optimus congratulated Professor Sumdac and Bulkhead for completing a space bridge terminal in record time, and was amazed when Sari single-handedly and expertly recalibrated the transwarp sequencers. However, he soon recieved a message from Sentinel Prime - who had accidentally freed several Decepticon prisoners on the Elite Guard ship - which decrypts to "Broken Lance" - the coded distress call Sentinel used to use in their Academy days. Using the space bridge terminal to get to the ship, he promptly emerged from Swindle's chest, having arrived in the pocket dimension which Swindle uses to hold all his stock. Taking an elevator to the ship's energon storage chamber, Optimus deestabilised some energon cubes slightly by perforating them with his axe, destabilizing them just enough, and then put them in the elevator car and sliced the cables, so it exploded near the bottom just as the Decepticons pried open the doors. Slightly charred from the backblast, Optimus entered one of the service ducts and worked his way back to the brig area, grumbling as he did so.

Soon after, Prime freed his fellow Autobots, and told Jazz to rewire the decontamination unit on the bridge as a freezing chamber to trap the Decepticons - his Autobot symbol, meanwhile, blinking in Cybertronian Optical Code to tell Jazz that the decontamination chamber would be the only part of the bridge not to get frozen. Surrendering to the Decepticons (but not before using Sentinel as a slingshot against Lugnut), Blitzwing then locked them in the decontamination chamber, gloating all the while - before he pressed the button and all the Decepticons on the bridge were frozen. Sentinel offered Optimus the Elite Guard spot that would be left when Sentinel becomes Magnus, but Prime declined the offer, saying that he still had plenty to do on Earth. Optimus then returned to Earth on the Elite Guard's ship, with he and Sentinel trading salutes before they went their seperate ways. Decepticon Air

Optimus cannot fly!! What is happening?

When Bulkhead detected Omega Supreme on the moon, Ratchet tried to convince Optimus to use the Magnus Hammer against Megatron to rescue Omega and Arcee. Optimus felt unworthy due to his discharge from the Autobot Academy and ban from the Elite Guard, and instead requested that Ratchet build him a modification to let him fly. When Ratchet protested that "Autobots don't fly", the team quickly responded with three corrections: Jetfire and Jetstorm, Prowl in his samurai armor, and Sari's jetpack—Prowl even volunteered his boosters for Ratchet to base the mods off of. When Ratchet ran into trouble on the jetpack, Sari used her Allspark powers to find the problem, and Ratchet soon had an attachable winged jetpack for Optimus to test out. Optimus loved the new ability to fly, shouting "Yessssss!" as he slipped the surly bonds of Earth, but was shot down by Slipstream. With a jetpack that didn't even give him an advantage over a Starscream clone, and with Megatron's Lugnuts Supreme fast approaching, Optimus decided he no longer had a choice, and picked up the Magnus Hammer, ready to stand up in this darkest hour. Endgame, Part I

Though hesitant about taking to the air given his previous performance, Optimus took to the skies with Prowl to drive the Lugnut Supremes away from Sumdac Tower, while Ratchet, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, and Sari went to the Moon to sever Megatron's access to Omega Supreme. After a little trouble, Optimus was able to use the Magnus Hammer to cause a tornado that threw the clones to Dinobot Island, damaging one and rendering the other two unable to fly. However, they were still online and resumed their march to Sumdac Tower. Optimus instructed Prowl and Jazz to enter the clones and remove their AllSpark fragments while he himself fought Megatron. Unfortunately, when Omega was severed from the clones, it activated their hidden function as Starscream clones, complete with bombs capable of destroying everything within one hundred square miles. Prowl and Jazz retreated to Sumdac Tower, intending to use their processor-over-matter to call other stray AllSpark fragments together to power a shield that could contain the clone that Omega Supreme was unable to destroy. Optimus and Megatron continued to duke it out, eventually being encased in the shield with the third clone. As the final clone's bomb began to detonate, a flash of light removed Optimus from the blast. He was found minutes later by the Autobots, and they were triumphant until they saw the price of victory: Prowl had merged his spark with the AllSpark fragments to save them all. As Optimus ran toward his fallen comrade, Megatron appeared and blasted Optimus. Ratchet tossed the Magnus Hammer to Optimus, who beat the Decepticon leader down. Megatron goaded Optimus to finish it, but Optimus instead destroyed Megatron's fusion cannon, saying that killing him would be too easy. Instead, Optimus Prime and his crew, along with Sari and Omega Supreme, returned to Cybertron with Megatron, Shockwave, and Lugnut as prisoners, before cheering crowds (and a not-so-cheery Sentinel Prime) who hailed them as heroes. Endgame, Part II

Toy bios

Optimus Prime prefers to fight fairly and in the open. At the same time, he knows bad guys don't, so he utilizes his "night mode" to sneak up on them without being seen. Good lesson, there. Nightwatch Optimus Prime

Titan Magazines

No Country For Old Toys.

Optimus was swiftly overpowered by Starscream and his army of clones, as were all the Autobots. The Dinobots arrived to save the day in return for lodgings during a rainy spell, leaving Optimus to desperately ask Ratchet for the weather forecast every day. (The forecast being rain, rain, rain...) Dino-MIGHT!

Later, Detroit was hit by severe earthquakes and Optimus led the Autobots in a rescue operation, himself holding up a collapsing bridge all by himself. These earthquakes turned out to be the work of the supervillain Quake-Maker. Optimus fought him but was easily beaten up — but forget Optimus, because the awesome Elite Guard operative Afterburn arrived, swiftly taking control of the Autobots and taking the villain down. Optimus was left a bit upset that Afterburn was so much better than him. Burnout

He appears to have been so upset that he didn't bother turning up afterwards, letting Afterburn dominate things. Prime's big contribution was to give everyone the day off. Crossroads!

Later on, he ran afoul of the angry and impressively-moustached General Macadam, who was throwing a fit over Swoop buzzing a USAF jet. Optimus gave the Dinobot a grilling over this... realising too late that Swoop, having been booted from Dinobot Island, had come for a job. Later on, Prime got very amused when Macadam angrily asked for help stopping the hijacked Wraith-X, and had Bumblebee bring in Swoop for it.

There was no time to celebrate though, as Megatron assaulted their headquaters! Divebomb It turned out Afterburn, who Megatron usually slaughtered, was a Decepticon infiltrator and a sparkless drone one at that, and he'd given their location away! Optimus and the gang held off a full Decepticon assault. In the aftermath, Optimus tried to boost Bumblebee's spirits by telling him he'd been a true hero in fighting Megatron, and that Afterburn hadn't been a real Transformer so his death was no biggie. It was quite dodgy how easily Optimus wrote the guy off, to be frank... Megatron's Revenge

Optimus would go on to watch the race at Crazy Coyote Canyon to find the "King of Speed", and told Bulkhead he could join in if he wanted. He probably regretted this when Bulkhead won and Prime had to carry him in a victor's lap... The Race

Toys

Animated

File:TFAnimated Deluxe CybertronPrime toy.jpg

"I'm a lumberjack, and I'm okay. I sleep all night and I work all day."

• CYBERTRON Mode Optimus Prime (Deluxe, 2008)
  • Accessories: Ion-axe

Based on his pre-Earth Cybertronian look, the first version of Animated Optimus Prime transforms into a half-track Cybertronic truck loosely based on the Mitsubishi Fuso Hybrid concept truck with some heavy sci-fi influences. As a half-track, instead of rear wheels, he has molded, caterpillar-linked tracks with smaller wheels inside for rolling along smooth surfaces. The hitch assembly becomes his axe, which can be wielded with one blade (for the rocket-boosted look) or have the single blade split to form a double-bladed axe. The truck roof can be mounted on his left arm as a shield or spread apart and attached to the axe to become giant energon blades.

Prime's axe weapon is stored by partially folding the axe at the grey hinge near the handle peg, then placing the handle peg in a hole on the back of the cab (actually his two fists' holes, thus helping them hold it in position) with the blade facing down and a grey peg facing up, acting as a "fifth wheel" (known as a trailer hitch among fans), should one find a suitable trailer to attach onto it. The peg also resembles the rocket thruster on the back of Prime's axe in robot mode. The figure's superb range of articulation and long axe-handle actually allow Optimus to wield his weapon two-handed. This is sheer awesomeness.

And he "axed" him for help...

• Optimus Prime vs. Megatron: The Battle Begins (Entertainment Pack, 2008)
  • Accessories: Ion-Axe

The Deluxe-class Earth Mode Optimus Prime has a very similar engineering design to the Deluxe-class Cybertron Mode Optimus Prime figure. He has a battle-damaged deco and comes with a Deluxe-class Cybertron Mode Megatron figure as well as a DVD featuring the first episode of Transformers Animated. He has a distinctively more "Generation 1" look than other Animated Primes, given the addition of smokestacks (a detail absent from the animation model) and a lack of black beneath the silver stripes. Like deluxe Megatron, he features a punching/axe slashing gimmick, where twisting his spring-loaded waist will make it snap back for a "robot punch." There are actually 4 wheels on his legs, so that the tires are always on the outside. Unfortunately, he can't skate on them like in the show. His axe (which is the most show-accurate out of all of his toys) stores in his aft section. As with Cybertron Mode Optimus, this figure even has enough articulation to hold his long-handled axe two-handed and raise it over his head for a massive chop. Brilliant.

If you want to be pedantic about it, the battle implied by the battle-pack pairing is technically a timeline impossibility, insofar as it depicts Earth Mode Optimus versus Cybertron Mode Megatron. It is also scaled incorrectly, as Megatron was shown as being notably larger than Optimus in Transform and Roll Out!

This toy was later re-released without changes in a 2-pack with Blackarachnia.

File:TFAnimated Activators EarthPrime toy.jpg

Domo-arigato, mister roboto!

• Optimus Prime (Activators, 2008)

Part of the second wave of Activators, this toy is a smaller-scale Optimus Prime with a push-button, spring-loaded auto-transformation from vehicle to robot mode. He has no axe accessory. Aww...

Hey, whatever happened to that mouthplate?

• Optimus Prime (Voyager, 2008)
  • Accessories: Ion Axe/backpack, water cannon

Part of the second wave of Voyager class toys, this Optimus transforms into a futuristic Earth-mode fire truck (well, the front half of one, at least). His rear portion includes a giant extinguisher cannon, which can become a hand weapon and really squirts water. His trailer also transforms into a giant, very non-show-accurate double-bladed ion axe. These weapons can store on his back, giving the appearance of wings and a jet pack. Like his deluxe-class toys, Prime can also hold his axe two-handed, albeit not as easily acieved compared to the deluxe versions. The toy features a mouthplate which can slide up to cover his face or retract down below. He also has an Automorph feature: Pressing a button on his...butt...flips down and rotates his...crotch...into the proper position for robot mode. Please, Hasbro, no more features in those areas.

Voyager Optimus is the most show-accurate of the various Animated Optimuses (apart from his weapons, although his fist-holes are the same size as the Deluxe versions, so he can "borrow" their more accurate axes), and certainly the most scale-accurate when displayed alongside other figures that only exist in one primary size class like Prowl or Blackarachnia. The original release of this toy was notable amongst Animated figures for its lack of a faction symbol in either mode; later waves of the figure, however, have included a silver-on-white Autobot sigil on the robot mode's left shoulder to more closely reflect the animation model's detailing.

• Wingblade Optimus Prime (Voyager, 2010?)
  • Accessories: 'Wingblade' jetpack, Magnus Hammer

Wingblade Optimus Prime is a retool of Deluxe The Battle Begins Two-pack Optimus Prime in much the same style as Hydrodive Bumblebee and Samurai Prowl. This retool is designed to represent Optimus as he appeared in Endgame Part I and II, and as such has his Jetpack, and instead of the character's signature axe, a slightly scaled down version of the Magnus hammer. In vehicle mode the Wingblade jetpack folds down to become Optimus' firetruck trailer, but it is currently unknown how the hammer is stored. One can guess that it stores the same way as the two Deluxe Optimus' axes do - inbetween his legs. His Wingblade jetpack and Magnus Hammer are compatible with the original Voyager Class toy in robot mode, but obviously the vehicles are distinctly different shapes.

Be sociable, have a Pepsi!

• Roll-Out Command Optimus Prime (Supreme, 2008)
  • Accessories: Ultra-Axe

This super-sized Prime figure is sculpted around one major gimmick: Rolling the toy forward in vehicle mode causes the cab to spin around, slowly unfolding into the robot mode torso. The legs are subsequently transformed manually, completing the robot mode. Pressing the Autobot insignia between Prime's windows and the lights on his roof both activate assorted electronic effects, including red LEDs in his lightbar, yellow LEDs in his headlights and eyes, and sound effects including engine revving noises, a siren, and four speech clips featuring the voice of David Kaye. In robot mode, Prime's (non-retractable) mouthplate jiggles up and down in time with his speech.

Prime is armed with a particularly cartoon-accurate axe, which can be held in either hand, but which specifically interacts with his right one. Placing the axe in his fist and pressing the button on the back of his hand triggers the axe's pop-out translucent blades and rocket jet. Pushing down on the tab built into the back of his right shoulder extends the arm out fully, and releasing it lets Prime swing his axe down, accompanied by an electronic slashing noise. The left arm has a similar effect, except pushing the tab thrusts his arm forward in a punch, with accompanying sound effect.

While Prime's legs have a high range of articulation like most Animated toys, his torso is heavily beholden to its gimmicks and features no effective articulation whatsoever; the only manipulable part of his body above his waist that isn't part of a gimmick is his right elbow.

Many (all?) copies of this figure have the moving mouthplate default to the "down" position when not moving, rather than "up" or "at rest" as the box photography would indicate. This leads to the unfortunate impression that Optimus is either always mid-sentence...or a slack-jawed yokel.

• Bumper Battlers Optimus Prime (Bumper Battlers, 2008)

Like all Bumper Battlers is a simple one-step Transformer aimed at younger kids. He transforms by pushing the front bumper of his truck mode, which flips up a robot torso and upper thighs. Yup, that's right -- if you smash him into a wall or other toys he will transform. Good luck finding a loose, mint version of this toy when you're on your nostalgia trip 10 years from now.

In robot mode he actually has some limited articulation in his wrists, and his neck. Plus he's holding an adorable little axe in one hand.

The toy has a sound chip that can be activated in either mode. It has two massive strings of phrases, battle sounds and voice effects, actived by either pressing his Autobot insignia or pressing his bumper (which also transforms him). Some phrases are recombined for more variation.

• Optimus Prime (McDonald's Happy Meal toys, 2008)

A simple version of Optimus Prime with a very simple transformation sequence. You transform him by pulling down the legs, pulling out the arms from his back and flipping up the head. Rather unusual amongst the Animated McDonald's toys, which typically have one show-accurate mode and one non-show-accurate mode, Optimus manages to pull off both modes with reasonable show-accuracy. He too is deprived of an axe, as is generally the case with McDonald's toys lacking accessories.

• Stealth Lockdown (Animated 3-pack, 2008)

A Universe Legends-class Optimus Prime came packaged with this version of Lockdown, as well as a Legends Bumblebee.

• Nightwatch Optimus Prime (Bumper Battlers, 2008)

Able to enter the Gloom at will.

A redeco of the original Bumper Battlers toy in dark purple and black with lime green windows and accents. The sound effects are new, and seemingly utilize an actor who is not David Kaye.

• The Revenge of Blackarachnia (Deluxe 2-pack, 2008)

This two-pack features an unchanged Battle Damaged Deluxe Optimus, from the Battle Begins two-pack, and an unchanged Deluxe Blackarachnia.

Universe (2008)

File:Universe2008-toy LegendsAniPrime.JPG

• Optimus Prime (Legends, 2008)

Part of the 2008 Universe series, this Legends-class version of Optimus is a simple version of the larger Earth-mode Optimus design. He is part of the third wave of Legends-class figures. He joins Activator Optimus and McOptimus in the axeless Primes club.

This toy can also be found as part of the Animated Stealth Lockdown three-pack with Legends Bumblebee, and as part of a Universe three-pack with Legends Bumblebee and Legends Prowl.

Merchandise

Animated

• Optimus Prime Battle Blaster (2008)

This toy is a simple fire truck which transforms into a thing with a nominal resemblance to a gun and can be fitted around one's hand.

Notes

• The twin cylinder-shaped protrusions connected to Optimus's small antennae are inspired by the head design of the 2007 movie rendition of Optimus Prime, as opposed to the traditional single cylinder.

• Optimus Prime features design elements from two different incarnations of Optimus Primal. The "skin" color of his face (and to a lesser extent, the presence of a retractable faceplate) is taken from Primal's first Beast Wars body, while the way his lips are drawn is inspired by Primal's Beast Machines body. Derrick Wyatt thought since Prime is more of an inexperenced leader, he wanted to infuse some elements from Primal's design, who had a similar role in his series.

• Optimus was killed off after only one episode (three if you want to get technical) and revived 1 minute and 15 seconds later. That's gotta be a new record.

• At the end of "Transform and Roll Out", Prime's spark is contained in the same place ordinarily reserved for the Matrix in other continuities.

• Despite nominally being a fire truck, Prime's alt mode features a detachable cab that can mount a number of different trailers, such as a lookalike of Generation 1 Optimus's trailer and a dump truck. Presumably, this would make his alt mode not a fire truck, but a semi-truck outfitted as a fire truck. Score one for the old fans!

• Like his Generation 1 counterpart, this Optimus's trailer almost invariably disappears COMPLETELY when he transforms, assuming it's there to begin with. This even happens when it isn't his trailer, such as in "Garbage In, Garbage Out". Even Prime himself is just as confused as to where it goes, as evidenced by "Career Day" Subspace shunting? Unicron Singularity? Or...something more?

• Optimus Prime's bio on his Happy Meal toy at McDonald's says he is a FIRE TRUCK CAB.

• According to the packaging call-outs for Cybertron Mode, DVD two-pack and Voyager Optimus Prime, his weapon is an "Ion-Axe" (or "Ion Axe"). However, on Roll Out Command Optimus Prime, Optimus's weapon is an "Ultra-Axe".

External links

• Optimus Prime at TFU.info