Optimus Primal (BW)

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

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

Optimus Primal is a Maximal and an Autobot in the Beast Era portion of the Generation 1 continuity family and an Autobot-aligned Maximal from the future in the Robots in Disguise continuity family. He is also sometimes known as Optimal Optimus (not to mention Boss Monkey, Bigbot, Fearless Leader, etc.).

Next one of you says "trukk not munky" gets it in the FACE.

Young and untested, Optimus Primal was a mere captain of an exploration ship when he and his crew were diverted off-course to pursue a stolen Predacon ship under the leadership of some crook named Megatron. The rest, they say, is (literally) history.

Though he does have a penchant for stuffy speeches, Optimus Primal is much more down-to-cybertron than his legendary namesake. He is committed to the Maximal codes of honor and moral judgment, but he does view them with some irreverence, and is not above finding loopholes or administering unorthodox solutions if necessary. ("Sometimes, crazy works," he says.) He is eternally loyal to his friends and respectful to his enemies. He is brave and selfless in battle. However, he is so committed to helping others that he can withdraw into a deep depression when he feels he has let them down. This is the only time he is self-absorbed.

Optimus Primal is extraordinary for not only being able to distinguish himself despite living in the shadow of Optimus Prime, but for perhaps even surpassing him, seeing as he saved the life of his namesake and ushered in a new technorganic Cybertron. It is possible Optimus Primal is the greatest Cybertronian hero who has ever lived.

Come on, let's hear it, the usual destiny and honor speech.Megatron, "Nemesis Part 2"

Speech this!Optimus as he punches Megatron in the face, "Nemesis Part 2"

Japanese name (Beast Wars): Convoy, Convobat (bat), Metals Convoy (Transmetal), Powered Convoy (Optimal Optimus)

Japanese name (Robot Masters): Beast Convoy

Japanese joke name (Beast Machines)Yvonco (イボンコ, Ibonko)

European name: Black Jack

Italian name: Black Jack, Metal Gorilla (Transmetal), Optimus Primal (Optimal Optimus)

Polish name: Optimus Naczelny ("Optimus Primal")

Chinese name (Taiwan): Jīn-gāng Wáng (金剛王, "King King Kong" or "King Vajra")

Russian name (first Beast Wars dub): King Kong

Russian name (second Beast Wars dub): Optimus Comandeer ("Optimus the Commander")

Cantonese name: Odim (奧狄武 Ou Dik Mou)

Latinamerican name: Optimus Primitivo ("Optimus Primal")

Fiction

Optimus Primal vs Megatron!

Under the eerie shadows of a full moon Optimus Primal, a gigantic bat, Cheetor, a swift-stalking cheetah, and Razorbeast, a fearsome wild boar, hunt purposely through the depths of a jungle. Soon Optimus detects the thermal emissions and fusion activity from a building, which mean they've found their target. His motion sensors register what appears to be a harmless Earth creature below.

Before Optimus realizes his mistake the alligator lashes out with as smashing swipe of its tail, knocking Optimus into the swampy waters. The beast transforms and Megatron towers above him. The building ahead is the Predacons' genetics lab and he'll never let Optimus reach the secrets inside. He orders his troops to attack and everyone transforms to robot mode. The gigantic arthropods Tarantulas and Waspinator engage Razorbeast and Cheetor respectively while Optimus and Megatron face off.

Optimus brags that the Maximal "bio-genetic morphing process has allowed us to create the perfect fusion of organic musculature and Transformers technology!" Megatron responds that his side did all that too, so nan-neh, but used the DNA of Earth's most vicious predators. When Optimus notes that the Maximals seem to be getting the upper hand, Megatron immediately detonates the lab and escapes, vowing to return with new forms and new plans when the Maximals least expect it. The Beast Wars have just begun! Optimus Primal vs Megatron!

This comic, along with the on-package bios of the first wave of Beast Wars toys, predate the development of the Beast Wars cartoon and its backstory. Instead they seem to present the characters as a direct continuation of the previous Autobot/Decepticon conflict, with Optimus Primal actually being a new form of Optimus Prime and Megatron being his Generation 1 counterpart, and their battles taking place on present day, human-inhabited Earth, rather than in the distant past. Once the cartoon launched, the toyline adjusted itself to match that continuity instead, relegating this one to an aborted micro-continuity.

Cartoon continuity

Dawn of Future's Past

Pre-fur Primal, Maximal nobody.

Optimus Primal is a veteran of the last Great War, one waged between the Maximals and the Predacons. He is a distinguished graduate of the Maximal Military Academy, where he was a diligent student of the accomplishments of past generations, both militaristic and scientific.

Captain of the ship Axalon, Optimus Primal and his crew had been stuck on a space station for weeks while awaiting additional cargo. Finally, they were leaving and ready to return to embarking on their mission of exploration, but the Maximal Defense Command Center had a different idea. The Golden Disk had been stolen by Megatron and a group of rogue Predacons, and Optimus Primal's ship was closest to intercept.

They closed in on Megatron's stolen ship, the Darksyde, and shots were fired back and forth. Suddenly, not one but two ships joined their battle. One was sent by the Tripredacus Council and was commandeered by secret operatives Laserbeak and Buzzsaw. Another, the Chromia 10 was crewed by its Maximal owner and Unit 2, a member of the Maximal Command Security Force. Both of these ships were ultimately destroyed, but Primal ordered the Maximals on board the Chromia-10 be downloaded into blank stasis pods to save their lives.

Via transmission, Megatron taunted Optimus Primal and his crew. The Darksyde opened a transwarp portal and jumped through. The Axalon followed. Dawn of Future's Past

Beast Wars cartoon

Voice actor: Garry Chalk (English), Takehito Koyasu (Japanese), Guilherme Lope (Portuguese), Ben Hecker (German)

File:OptimusPrimal BW1.jpg

Shadows?! I don't need no stinkin' shadows!

Optimus Primal was the captain of the exploration ship Axalon. When his crew got word that the Predacon criminal Megatron had stolen the Golden Disk and a ship with transwarp capabilities, Primal's ship was the closest vessel that also possessed a transwarp drive, so Axalon was sent to chase Megatron's crew.

Primal followed the Predacons through a transwarp portal and appeared above a mysterious planet, but both ships were damaged in the ensuing space battle, and before both ships crashed into the planet's surface below, Primal ordered that the stasis pods carrying the rest of his crew to be ejected into orbit.

The planet was rich with energon — so much so that prolonged exposure would short out their bodies, so the Maximals and Predacons were forced to take organic forms from the local creatures. Primal took the form of a silverback gorilla. Primal remarked that his new form was "interesting" upon exit from the CR chamber. Estranged from his comrades, the Predacon Dinobot challenged Primal to a duel soon after their arrival, seeking command of the Maximals so he could, in turn, defeat Megatron. However, the Predacons saw the duel and tried to kill them both. Dinobot joined the Maximals after Optimus risked his life to stop him from dropping to his death. Dinobot later repaid him by saving him from a missile fired at him by Megatron. (That did cause the energon-laced mountain where they were to explode, but nobody got killed). Optimus earned Dinobot's respect, but the ex-Predacon would never admit to respecting him out loud. Beast Wars (Part 1) Beast Wars (Part 2)

Both sides entrenched themselves on their new world, and the "Beast Wars" began. Strange unnatural sites and artifacts were discovered, leading Primal and the others to believe that aliens had seeded the primitive planet with experiments and traps. One such trap, the Standing Stones, ensnared Primal's body for a short time, during which the Maximals scrambled to ascertain their chain of command. In his absence, the Maximals squabbled and fought over leadership, until finally his core consciousness was able to speak to them and name Rattrap as his replacement. Primal's body was subsequently retrieved from the Standing Stones, and he resumed command.

File:OptimusPrimal Transmetal.jpg

Transmetal Rippedimus Primal.

When Inferno discovered evidence of the Vok's imminent arrival, Megatron called a truce, to which Primal reluctantly agreed. While investigating a newly-created Vok installation, Primal was tortured and captured by the aliens, who spoke to him (in the form of Unicron) and told him of their plans to "sterilize" the planet. Barely escaping the Vok base, Primal returned to the Axalon to find it overrun by Tarantulas and Blackarachnia, who had turned a space stasis pod into an escape ship in order to flee the doomed planet. As the planet's second moon was converted into a Planet Buster, Primal took the ship to do battle with the superweapon, against the objections of his crew. Primal planned to detonate the ship's transwarp cell when in range of the weapon, after ejecting to safety. The plan worked—with the exception of the "ejecting" part. Megatron remotely seized control of the vessel, overriding Primal's ejection commands. The Predacon commander taunted Primal as he futilely beat his fists against the pod, until the detonation obliterated the pod, the Planet Buster, and Primal, reducing them all to so much space junk. Other Voices, Part 2

File:OptimalOptimus Opsituation feralscream1.jpg

Trukk and munky...and playne.

Primal's Spark journeyed to the Matrix, where it was soon recovered by Rhinox and placed in a blank protoform, which became his new Transmetal body. Primal now transformed into a mechanical gorilla with a gorilla-on-a-hoverboard third mode, which he used to kick the crap out of the Predacons. Coming of the Fuzors (Part 2)

Continuity error!

Later on, Primal was captured and imprisoned in yet another Vok base, this one controlled by his archnemesis Megatron. During a daring rescue attempt by the Maximals and Tarantulas, Optimus engaged in a furious battle with Megatron, destroying both the Metal Hunter and the alien disc. The Maximals then suffered a number of setbacks, including the death of Dinobot, the destruction of Transmutate, and Megatron's acquisition of the deadly Rampage. However, the Maximals were soon greeted with good news: the realization that the transwarp wavefront created by the destruction of the Planet Buster would lead Cybertron to them, making a rescue operation possible. Help arrived soon enough, but in the unexpected form of the rebuilt Ravage, who had come to arrest Megatron for his crimes against the Pax Cybertronia. In the midst of this, Primal was forced to chastise new recruit Silverbolt for his dangerous relationship with Blackarachnia. Primal assisted Ravage in arresting Megatron, but was soon betrayed by the ex-Decepticon, allowing Megatron to escape and reach the Ark in an attempt to assassinate Optimus Prime. The Agenda (Part III)

Primal was forced to take the great Autobot's spark inside himself to keep it protected. This caused his body to grow larger and stronger, gaining ground and air vehicle modes along with his previous gorilla form. Megatron sardonically dubbed him "Optimal Optimus" (ironically, no one else ever used that name). In his new form, he successfully protected Prime's spark until it could be returned to his repaired body, thus saving history and the future from destruction.

With the location of the Ark revealed and Megatron now desperate to end the war at any cost, Primal was forced to move his Maximals into the volcano where the Ark's hull lay. Optimal Situation This new, defensive war was much more difficult to fight, and disadvantaged the Maximals severely, even with his new four-mode body and enhanced firepower. With the loss of their defense system, Sentinel, Changing of the Guard the arrival of the rebellious and embittered Depth Charge, Deep Metal the awkward and violent maturation of Cheetor, Feral Scream Part 2 proto-humans to guard, Cutting Edge the theft of the original Megatron's spark and the ensuing mutation of the Beast Wars' Megatron, Master Blaster the introduction of the previously treacherous and morally ambiguous Blackarachnia into their ranks and her imminent Transmetallization, Crossing the Rubicon Optimus Primal had more than his share of problems to deal with.

The tide was finally turned when the Vok resurrected and combined Airazor and Tigatron into the mighty Tigerhawk, who obliterated the Predacon base. Other Victories In the end, Primal's forces defeated Megatron's, and with the captured Predacon leader strapped to the roof of a borrowed Autobot shuttle, the Maximals at last headed home. Leaving the planet and memorializing his fallen comrades, Optimus Primal declared that the Beast Wars were over. Nemesis Part 2

Japanese cartoon continuity

Beast Wars II cartoon

All these compliments are making me blush.

Optimus Primal was summoned across time by Lio Junior to help Lio Convoy destroy Majin Zarak. Optimus Primal became Burning Convoy by joining the power of his matrix with Lio Convoy's.

After Majin Zarak's destruction, Optimus Primal returned to ancient Earth. Lio Convoy in Imminent Danger

It's not clear when during the Beast Wars Optimus Primal was taken.

Robot Masters

Voice actor: Yūto Kazama (Japanese)

Optimus Primal chased Megatron in yet another time warp into the Generation 1 era. There, he met and joined forces with Optimus Prime. Together, their special attack was a massive energon tornado called Double Convoy Tornado. Fight! The Group of the Strongest Commanders!

The Double Convoy Tornado would come to be countered by Beast Megatron's and Rebirth Megatron's Double Megatron Tornado, but emerge victorious with the addition of Lio Convoy's Lio Typhoon Arrow, creating Triple Convoy Tornado Link attack. The Lio Convoy Typhoon Enters

He also had a temporary virus-induced Black Body form.

Since both were known as simply "Convoy" in their respective Japanese series, Optimus Prime was designated "G1 Convoy" while Optimus Primal was designated "Beast Convoy".

Beast Wars Reborn

This story takes place after the events of Beast Machines.

Rebirth control.

Both Megatron and Optimus Primal awoke inside a bizare temple-like spaceship which was hurtling through space. Neither had any memory of who they were or how they got there, only their own names and a feeling of discomfort between one another. The pair went about investigating the ship in search of answers. While Megatron's memory was lost, his personality remained mostly intact: he was more concerned with seizing control of the ship before Primal did in order to gain the upper hand.

They eventually found a data log and discovered that their sparks had been taken and they were reborn into new bodies (unbeknownst to them, bodies identical to their original forms). However, their memories were intentionally not uploaded into their new bodies. While searching the log they discovered that the ship's main power source was a Golden Disk lodged within a giant pillar. Megatron immediately raced to obtain the Disk and Primal followed him. The closer they got to the disk the more the ship attempted to thwart their advance by manipulating its atmosphere conditions.

Once they reached the chamber, the ship's environment suddenly morphed to that of a decaying planet littered with the corpses of robots. The corpses came to life and began shambling toward them, intent on eating their sparks. They made short work of the zombies, leaving Megatron to obtain the Golden Disk and Primal with a feeling that he shouldn't entirely trust Megatron.

From another dimension beyond time and space, Primus recognized that something was amiss and sent one of his messengers to meet Primal and Megatron within the spaceship. The Mysterious Temple in Space

Binaltech

Optimus Primal sent his spark back in time and took over Dr. Arkeville's recently completed Nemesis Prime body frame. The black Optimus Prime clone, imbued with the good spark of Primal, then warped out and set about rescuing the collapsing Binaltech timeline by splitting it from and restoring the original timeline.

When questioned by the Autobots, "Black Optimus" revealed only that the "Protector" was responsible for ensuring the continuation of the Binaltech universe, a universe that was the key to the Alternity. Primal's spark was summarily ejected, and the clone to his original evil programming, then quickly escaped.

As the Autobots sought to shut down the rogue Binaltech projects happening around the world, Optimus Prime faced off against Nemesis Prime. The battle looked to be short-lived, as Prime found himself outmatched by Nemesis Prime's power. However Optimus Primal's spark merged with Optimus Prime—something Prime had vague memories of experiencing previously. The power resulting from this fusion enabled Optimus Prime to deflect Nemesis Prime's attack, ultimately destroying the clone.

Optimus Primal is not named in the Binaltech story. The identity of the Protector was originally speculated to be Rodimus Prime due to his function (detailed on his tech spec card) and future leadership role. However, in addition to Optimus Prime's memory of spark fusion, the Protector's words to him, spark-to-spark, about the "seeds of the future" clearly establish the Protector to be Optimus Primal.

Beast Machines cartoon

Voice actor: Garry Chalk (English), Takehito Koyasu (Japanese), Guilherme Briggs (Portuguese), Tilo Schmitz (German)

File:Optimusprimalbm.jpg

Release the warrior! Also, um, the jetpack.

Seemingly minutes after the shuttle departed for transwarp space, Optimus Primal suddenly found himself back in his original, organic gorilla body and thrust into a dangerous situation on an eerily deserted Cybertron, unfamiliar with how he arrived there and pursued by an army of tank drones. Cornered by the mechanical terrors, Primal attempted to Maximize, but his parts only shifted painfully and his body was tortured by electric shocks. Using his ape-mode body's agility, he swung out of reach, and suddenly received a vision of a monorail-vehicle nearby. Swinging into the train car, he found Rattrap, afflicted by the same transformation lock virus as Primal. Rattrap suggested "taking off these fur suits", but there was not time, for another squadron of tank drones caught them. It would have been the end for Primal and Rattrap, had the timely arrival of Cheetor not saved them. Once again, Primal received a vision, showing a pit. Heading (well, falling) into the hole, he and his companions were caught on a familiar spiderweb, courtesy of Blackarachnia, who was back in her Season 1 spider form and severely weakened. Heading underground, Primal led the weakened Maximals to the depths of ancient Cybertron on Blackarachnia's webs. Falling into darkness, Primal threw a piece of scrap metal and discovered what appeared to be a wall of fire. He had, in reality, awakened the powerful and legendary Oracle. As the other three Maximals watched, Primal entered into the bowels of the computer, within which he was granted visions he could not yet comprehend, including the prophetic statement that "the seeds of the future lie buried in the past." The Oracle then began to "reformat" Primal. Primal emerged in a new, technorganic beast mode and urged the other dying Maximals to complete their "reformatting" as well. Shortly after this was achieved, the group was attacked by an underground army of Cycle Drones. During the ensuing fight, Primal was the first to master the "art" of transformation as he plunged into a deep pit. Flying out, Primal grabbed the nearest drone and demanded answers, but lost his concentration, causing him to revert to beast mode. The Reformatting

Primal began to teach the three other Maximals the lost art of transformation, which was mastered by achieving an inner calmness and finding their spiritual centers. Though Cheetor and Blackarachnia were successful off the bat, Rattrap badgered him just to "give us the command codes." Primal and the others were attacked by a Mole Drone, which broke their concentration and caused them to revert to their beast modes, so they fled. Primal also had to save Cheetor and Blackarachnia from a squadron of Aero-drones shortly after. Master of the House Eventually, Primal and his allies learned that Megatron had broken free during their transwarp flight home and so arrived on Cybertron before them. Megatron had then conquered the planet and laid a trap for Primal's crew and any other Transformers returning to Cybertron.

We Animal Mechanical can!

A short time later, Primal's crew came across the bat-mode Cybertronian Nightscream, who seemed to suffer from the same transformation lock virus that Primal had upon arrival. Nightscream led them to an underground tree, where Primal, Rattrap, and Blackarachnia ate the fruit and began to revert to their animal instincts. When Nightscream was injured in a Vehicon attack, Primal showed a new talent granted by the Oracle, reformatting the youth into a new, techno-organic body. However, Optimus was critically weakened by this and requested the over-eager Cheetor to take command in his absence. Forbidden Fruit. No longer the inexperienced scientist of his youth, Primal was constantly haunted by the losses of Rhinox and Silverbolt, and many of Rattrap's quips would send him into despair. During the events that followed, Optimus Primal came to be much more in touch with his spiritual side than he ever was before, due to an almost mystical connection to the Oracle. This granted him visions and intuitions, guiding him to complete its designs, though he had some trouble at first comprehending just what the Oracle wanted and how to go about it. Misinterpreting the Oracle's intentions led Primal into extremism, believing that he was meant to purge the technological from Cybertron, turning it into a fully organic world. Such was Primal's obsession with his "mission", that he was even ready to reformat an unwilling Megatron. However, Rhinox/Tankor took advantage of his reliance on the Oracle's visions, cutting him off from them, leaving Primal both confused and uncertain.

Optimus Primal and the Maximals began to probe deeper into Cybertron and discovered a chamber of fossils and a strange, organic liquid. As the liquid flowed through the chamber, palm-like plants sprang up, revealing Cybertron's organic roots. When Tankor gained control of the Key to Vector Sigma, he infected the verdant orchard, transforming it and Nightscream into "technomatter". While Blackarachnia kept Nightscream under control, the others searched for a mole drone to drill deeper into the core and produce enough liquid to reverse the transformation. The Key

Primal later found the Plasma Energy Chamber, a device lethal to technological beings. While Megatron readied the planetwide pulse of Vector energy, Primal began to harness the energies of the Chamber to destroy all technological life on Cybertron. As the two forces clashed, Primal's spirit was transported into the Matrix, the Transformers' afterlife. End of the Line As he and Megatron fought in the void, he pondered if this was his destiny, to fight his nemesis for eternity. Before him, he saw the faces of his comrades, the Maximals, berate him for his poor leadership and near-genocidal behavior. He then found himself back on prehistoric Earth, where a red-eyed copy of Primal attacked him, scolding him for his fanatical behavior. Finding himself back in space, he saw the collective sparks of Cybertron.

"Yesss, I've skinned you and I'm wearing your head as a hat."

Meanwhile, the other Maximals journeyed downwards once more, speaking to Primal via the Oracle. Although Primal originally refused to lead the Maximals, he relented and returned. Around him, a forest of techorganic trees sprang up as he realized that his mission was not to destroy technology, but to create a balance, in the same way the Oracle had done for him.

As the Battle for the Sparks continued, the Maximals cultivated an orchard around the Oracle, but the plants fared poorly and began to wither. Worried, Primal wondered if the orchard was to be in vain. When an extraterrestrial shuttle crashed into Cybertron, it was Primal who led the Maximals toward the site. Discovering organic matter inside, the team was attacked by a strange plant-creature. Pursuing the beast towards the Oracle, Optimus reformatted the creature into a techno-organic plant. The plant introduced itself as Botanica, a fellow Maximal scientist, and tended to the dying orchard, restoring it to vigorous life.

In the ultimate conflict between Primal and Megatron, Optimus sacrificed his life, plunging with Megatron into the heart of Cybertron and ushering in the reformatting that returned the deactivated population to life and gave birth to the new, technorganic Cybertron. As the surviving Maximals looked out over their new home, Primal and the Oracle spoke to Cheetor, and Primal departed with the words "Transform, and Transcend", as his Spark joined the Matrix. Endgame Pt. III: Seeds of the Future

Universe comic

Look, up in the sky! It's... an ape?

Voice actor: Garry Chalk (English, script reading)

As the denizens of post-Vehicon Cybertron just began to settle into their peaceful, technorganic world that Optimus Primal had given his life to create, Unicron unexpectedly struck from afar. He teleported several Transformers into himself, a handful of the countless victims across the multiverse whom he pitted against each other in order to harvest their energon radiation and, eventually, sparks. Decimated in some unknown battle and trapped between dimensions, Unicron sought to revitalize himself in this fashion.

Deep within Cybertron, Primus and Alpha Trion summoned Optimus Primal back from the dead and sent him on a raid to free Unicron's captives. Abduction Once inside the Chaos-Bringer, he found allies in the form of a Grimlock and even a Megatron from variant timelines. OTFCC Live-Action Drama But he also found himself discolored by sinister radiation that threatened not only his body, but also his spark. Nevertheless, he was quite successful in his mission, battling Unicron's Minions until he had freed dozens of abductees. Then, still within Unicron, he sent them back to their home dimensions by the power of prayer.

Returning to Cybertron, Primal was glad for his victory, but he wondered if his own resurrection could bring about Megatron's return as well. Escape More pressingly, Primal was unable to convince the Maximal High Council that any of this was actually happening, so he ended up turning to the dead for new troops. Primus gave him a selection of fallen warriors to choose from, and he picked Rhinox and Depth Charge. They were to launch more raids within Unicron while an orbital defense platform was being constructed above Cybertron. But Depth Charge refused to take part in more violence, so Alpha Trion took a cue from Unicron and transported Omega Prime into their dimension to fight in his place. Homecoming

The tale of the Universe war was halted here for a time, as Hasbro had revoked 3H's license to the Transformers property. But the story would be continued in Fun Publications' Cybertron comic.

Cybertron comic

"Did I say Matrix of Purification? I meant Fist."

Optimus Primal took Omega Prime and others on raids within Unicron's internal "prison cities," freeing more captives. Primal then embarked on an even more proactive venture, leading teams to other dimensions in anticipation of Unicron's strikes and setting up defensive measures before the Chaos-Bringer could gather more victims. Despite gaining more followers in this process, Primal and other veterans were being worn down by Unicron's corruptive influence. Certainly those who had been abducted and reformatted by Unicron were affected, but some (such as Primal himself) who had been exposed to Unicron's nanotech virus and its accompanying radiation were also suffering. In order to avert madness and death, Primus reformatted Primal and several of his comrades. Not only was his new form immune to the virus and radiation, but it also possessed the Matrix of Purification, which could heal others of Unicronian corruption.

It's 11:00pm. Do you know where your Beast Wars cast is?

Months passed as the competing armies grew, their battles raging on a level comparable to the Great Wars. Cybertron itself remained stable, but only for a time. The planet fell victim to a massive invasion, later called "the Culling," in which Unicron's Minions swept across the globe in a killing frenzy, the sparks of their victims feeding the Chaos-Bringer. Primal's army fended the invaders off, but in the chaotic aftermath, Primal's earlier fears were realized as Megatron returned to lead the Predacons back to glory. He initially fought Primal, but he eventually called a truce to better face their common foe.

Continued raids saved many more captives and brought the Minions to near-defeat. Then as one raiding party including Primal and Omega Prime battled their way out, Unicron suddenly began to disappear. The raiders rapidly teleported away, but Omega Prime did not materialize with the rest. He was pulled in mid-teleport by Over-Run into the Cybertron of the Unicron Singularity, which had been the cause of the Unicron-war Unicron's disappearance. Presumably Optimus Primal made it back to his own dimension safely, but this is unconfirmed. Revelations Part 1 Revelations Part 2

Manga continuity

Beast Wars II comic

When Lio Convoy goes nuts and grows to giant proportions, wreaking havoc across the landscape, Optimus Primal is summoned across time by the power of the Matrix to heal him.

Beast Wars Metals comic

It's on like a reanimated cyborg Donkey Kong!

Following the Quantum surge, Primal was left dead. Within Transwarp space, he found himself being dragged into the afterlife by a horde of monsters. Suddenly, Rhinox arrived and attempted to return him to life. Primal at first refused, saying he wished to move on. Rhinox then smacked some sense into him, reminding him of his duty to his Maximals. Brought back to his senses, Primal left Transwarp space, his spark being blasted from a laser cannon of Rhinox's design.

Over at the Predacon base, the Hindenburg, Megatron had recovered Primal's sparkless, rampaging body and imprisoned it in shackles. Using a voodoo ceremony of Tarantulas's design, Megatron intended to turn Primal's body into a Predacon slave. Before he could apply his mutant blood and finish the ceremony, Primal's spark reunited with his body and upgraded into a Transmetal.

None too pleased, Primal proceeded to make short work of Tarantulas, Terrorsaur and Megatron's army of drones. He then defeated Megatron and escaped the Hindenburg, rescuing an injured Airazor in the process. Raise the Curtain for Beast Wars Metals!!

In another adventure, he fed his head to Rampage. (Don't worry, he had a spare; the head that was eaten had a bomb in its mouth, anyway.) Later, he ate Optimus Prime's spark in order to become Optimal Optimus.

Robots in Disguise toy bio

When a spirit guide was needed to counsel an Optimus Prime of the past, Optimus Primal rose to the task.

Universe CD-ROM

"Pardon me, just passing through."

On some alternate Cybertron, that universe's Optimus Primal was leading the Autobots Snarl, Silverbolt, and Striker against Reptillion, Obsidian, Tankor, Razorclaw, and Blackarachnia in the most intense day of fighting that year. Just as the combatants were really starting to beat the slag out of each other, they were interrupted by a mysterious spaceship that swooped down, sucked the Decepticons up on beams of light, and flew away. Primal and his troops were left dumbfounded, unaware that the ship had been a tool of Unicron in his quest to build an army for a grand war. Universe CD-ROM

This comic shows no signs of being intended to mesh with any other Universe fiction. Given that Universe is entirely ABOUT alternate dimensions, it could still be a side note to the greater storyline... but no matter how you look at it, there's no way that this Primal can be the same Primal in the main Universe comic.

Devil's Due G.I. Joe vs. Transformers comics continuity

When Serpent O.R. plugged himself into Soundwave's deactivated head to download information on the history of Cybertron, he skimmed past some facts on Optimus Primal. The Art of War issue 1

3D Battle-Card Game

Optimus Primal leads a motley crew of Autobots from (potentially) disparate timelines against the forces of Megatron. He is probably getting tired of having to do this.

Toys

There's a lot more where these came from!

Notes

• The design of Optimus Primal's bat form is an homage to Batman, an action figure license also held at the time by Kenner.

• Primal's gorilla mode, paired against Megatron's t-rex mode, was inspired by the showdown in King Kong.

• Indeed, gorilla Primal's original tech specs (which belong to the micro-continuity that takes place on modern-day Earth) seems to strongly imply that Primal is a building-scaling ape of Kong-like stature. As speculated in the Beast Wars volume of the Cybertronian action figure guide, this may have been intended to explain why he is in the same scale as Megatron, a Tyrannosaurus Rex. This would also make somewhat greater sense in the context of the toyline itself, wherein the leader characters were of a much larger "Ultra" size-class than their minions, unlike their eventually much smaller depictions in the CG cartoon.

• According to a guide book published in conjunction with the Beast Wars II theatrical film, Optimus Primal's original body had the following technical specifications. The veracity of these numbers in relation to anything actually featuring Primal, of course, is questionable.

Height: 2.8m (9.19 feet).

Weight: 2 tons.

Running Speed: 60km (37.28 mph, beast mode), 50km (31.07 mph, robot mode).

Airspeed: Mach 7.

Maximum Power Output: 1,000,000 horsepower.

• According to his Robots in Disguise bio, Optimus Primal is from "the future", suggesting the events of Robots in Disguise are somehow part of the Beast Era's past.

• According to his bio in the end of the comic "Dawn of Future's Past", Optimus Primal graduated near the top of his class at the Maximal Military Academy.

• In his Transmetal form, Optimus Primal's spark chamber is on a hinge in his chest to swing down to the opening in his abdomen. In his Optimal Optimus form, he stored Prime's spark in his vehicle mode cockpit.

• "Powered Convoy", Optimal Optimus' Japanese name, is Ultra Magnus' pre-Transformer name in the Diaclone toyline.

• According to the control art of Optimus Primal's toy, his chest originally seemed to be a kind of launcher instead of being an homage to the Matrix.

• According to the diagram of Optimus Primal on the catalog packed with "TM-SP DX Convoy", his spark chamber is Matrix-shaped. Oh lord.

External links

• Optimus Primal at TFU.info