Nemesis Prime (G1)

This article is about evil clones of Optimus Prime. For the corrupted Dead Universe version of Nova Prime from the IDW comics, see Nova Prime. For a list of other meanings, see Nemesis Prime (disambiguation).

Nemesis Prime is a Decepticon from the Generation 1 continuity family.

THIS, I COMMAND!

Nemesis Prime is the dark mirror of Optimus Prime, a clone of the Autobot leader imbued with many of his abilities but lacking all moral restraint.

Fiction

Alternators toy bio

Doctor Arkeville spent years personally constructing Nemesis Prime piece by stolen piece, hiding his handiwork from both Concurrence agents and the Decepticons. Designed to be the ultimate military commander, he had arguably the mightiest Binaltech Transformer body ever constructed, but it remained without a life-force. Dr. Arkeville planned to acquire one by tapping into an amazingly powerful extra-spatial source that the Autobot Translink Project had uncovered. It is unknown whether this final step ever came to fruition.

This is the only known Alternators fiction. While it is clearly based on the Binaltech storyline, borrowing elements with no precedent in English-language canon, it differs from Binaltech's "Black Convoy" bio in some details and may be considered a separate continuity.

Story of Binaltech

Dr. Arkeville, seeking to create an evil leader greater than Megatron, used a subspace impulse cloner to duplicate Optimus Prime (with a snazzy black-and-teal paint job). To this end, Arkeville twisted Prime's imported essence to evil with a rewriting program, but the clone still lacked life. He experimented with a subspace linkup to channel a life force, but the operation was interrupted: A time warp suddenly appeared and produced a mysterious orb which touched the clone body, causing the clone to both activate and vanish.

Meanwhile, on Dinobot Island, the Autobots were enacting Operation: Distant Thunder to undo the changes that Ravage had wrought upon the timeline. The Autobots had just send a drone into the past with the intent of restoring the correct timeline, expecting reality to change around them, returning to its proper state. Instead, the successful restoration of the correct flow of history caused their alternate timeline to become undone, as all of their reality was torn apart by warp holes. At that moment, Arkeville's clone appeared before them, extending his hands as an orb of light engulfed first the island, then the entire world. The warp holes were extinguished, and the clone announced that it had used the power of the spark that now inhabited it to preserve the "Binal-Time" that the Autobots inhabited. The Autobots continued questioning this "Black Optimus", who explained that he was a spark who had been sent back in time from the distant future, referring to himself only as "the Protector". His mission was to preserve the Binaltechs, as their existence would, in the future, bring about the Alternity, a "great existence" involving beings who would ensure prosperity and protection across the multiverse.

When these explanations were done, the clone's core AI suddenly asserted itself, and he began taunting the Autobots, even manifesting a Decepticon symbol on his body. Using what remained of the Protector's power, the clone rejected his foreign spark and formed a warp portal back to Arkeville's lab. Reduced to an automated state, the clone still was able to leap through the portal to its creator. There, the doctor initiated another subspace translink experiment, this one succeeding in connecting the clone to an ancient, evil, greedy life force. At last, Arkeville's creation became Nemesis Prime.Binal Time

What happened to Dr. Arkeville after that is unknown, but soon after activation, Nemesis Prime began to make his move. When Megatron's forces attacked the Earth Defense Command base on Mars, Nemesis Prime appeared to block any further progress by the Decepticon leader, refusing to let him dominate Earth's solar system, which Nemesis Prime desired for himself. Megatron was disgusted that an Earth-born machine would wear the Decepticon insignia, but just as they were about to battle, across the galaxy, on Cybertron, Mirage accomplished his mission to activate the Quintesson-created killswitch, deactivating all non-Binaltech Transformers. Megatron was frozen, and Nemesis Prime calmly seized the opportunity to take power, ordering Shockwave to gather as many Decepticon bodies as possible. Seeing the logic in this order, Shockwave complied. Nemesis Prime sat on Megatron's throne and plotted future moves. Kill Switch

Seeking to make himself a true match for Optimus Prime, Nemesis Prime schemed to create an artificial Matrix by using a device to wrench minds from their bodies and combine them in a crystalline storage unit. Attempting a test run in a human settlement in Australia, Nemesis Prime was thwarted by a contingent of Autobots led by Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus. The two Primes went one-on-one during the ensuing battle, but when Optimus was sent tumbling into a riverbank, the Protector's spark flew to his aid and fused with him, lending Prime its power. Supercharged by the power of the Protector's spark, Optimus absorbed Nemesis Prime's next attack and redirected it upon his dark twin, who was engulfed and finally destroyed as his body exploded into shards. Unfinished Business, Part 4

Universe Classic Series toy bio

"They'll never guess I'm evil."

Nemesis Prime was the product of a mad plan by Straxus, who put a lowly, unknown warrior through an excruciating rebuilding process, tortuously reforging him into the very image of Optimus Prime. Through forcible data uploads and brainwashing, the Decepticon was imbued with memories and skills culled from many sources, giving him much of Optimus Prime's knowledge and combat algorithms. This, however, cost him not just his sense of identity, but also any framework with which to process this knowledge. His creator having since perished, Nemesis Prime became a threat to all, skulking in the dark parts of Cybertron and targeting both Autobots and Decepticons in his murderous insanity.

Toys

Alternators

In Australia, I'm a shelf-warmer.

• Nemesis Prime (2006)
  • Alternators ID number: 24
  • Accessories: Engine/blaster

Nemesis Prime is a black redeco of Alternators/Kiss Players Optimus Prime with red translucent windows and blue paint detail. Like Optimus, he transforms into a Dodge Ram SRT-10 at 1:24 scale, with opening doors, hood, and tailgate, plus an open passenger compartment. His engine transforms into a handgun.

He was initially sold exclusively at San Diego Comic-Con 2006 and limitedly at Hasbro Toy Shop, selling out roughly an hour after its 2pm sales debut. Prior to that, he was released in large quantities at regular retail in various Asian countries, becoming a shelfwarmer there, ironically.

Later, he was offered in Australia through online stores. A few weeks later he showed up in massive numbers in the Australian retail store Toy World for half the price.

• More information on Nemesis Prime at TFU.info

Binaltech

I am the evil clone of an evil clone! How do you beat this?

• Black Convoy (2007)
  • Japanese ID number: BT-17
  • Accessories: Engine/blaster

Black Convoy is the first Binaltech release since Skids in early 2006, and was available exclusively in Japan at the winter Wonder Festival in 2007. His plastic colours are different from Nemesis Prime's, with grey plastic replacing the black on his shins, waist, shoulders and forearms. In addition, Nemesis Prime's windows are tinted red, but Black Convoy's windows are completely clear. His paint deco is based upon Kiss Players Convoy's, arranged in the same patterns but using teal, and he has vacuum-metallized wheels and front grill. The paint deco on his head is meant to evoke that of Car Robots Black Convoy. Perhaps the most important differences are that he has die-cast metal parts, and most of his truck body panels are coated in gloss black paint.

Perhaps due to cost-cutting, this toy was released in the large bubble-on-a-tray packaging also used in the Alternators line. However, he came with no character or packaging art.

This figure was later repurposed into a new body for Optimus Primal in the Alternity fiction.

Universe (2008)

Straxus died before he could finish my trailer.

• Nemesis Prime (Voyager, 2008)
  • Accessories: 2 smokestacks/"Stellar Converter Cannon", wind vane/"Disruptor Cannon"

Nemesis Prime is a redeco of Classics Optimus Prime, transforming into a modern cab-over style truck of made up model, dominated by a large aero fairing on his roof. Premiering as San Diego Comic Con 2008 exclusive, it later saw wider release via Hasbro Toy Shop as part of the Classics Series of the 2008 Universe toyline. He was not designed to pull a trailer, and subsequently does not come with one. The figure largely follows the same paint application map as the original figure, with some minor omissions as well as new paint applications. As well, it features metallic purple and silver tampographs of the Decepticon symbol on its forearm and shoulder, as well as red paint blocking the light-piping feature in the figure's head.

In robot mode, his aero fairing transforms into a large "Disruptor Cannon", and his smokestacks transform into a smaller "Stellar Converter Cannon". Additionally, both can combine together to form a back-mounted shoulder weapon.

This mold was also used to make Classics Ultra Magnus and the evil "Shattered Glass" Optimus Prime. In fact, counting the Henkei! Henkei! redecos, this is the sixth version of this mold released within two years. You milk those completists, Hasbro/TakaraTomy, you milk 'em good.

• More information on Universe Nemesis Prime at tfu.info.

Merchandise

Titanium Series

• Nemesis Prime (3" Robot Masters)
  • Accessories: Ion Blaster, display stand

Had it been released, this toy would have been a repaint of War Within Optimus Prime. His unpublished bio described a character much like the Universe version mentioned above, but without reference to Straxus or any type of origin story. As a redeco of a War Within toy, this Nemesis would presumably—but not necessarily—have been part of the Dreamwave comics continuity.

Your bargaining posture is highly dubious. Proceed on your way to oblivion. This item has been canceled, with no current plans for release.

Notes

• The author of Nemesis Prime's Alternators bio has said that the "extra-spatial source" that Arkeville tapped into was actually a pocket dimension that served as Unicron's power battery—and that Unicron gave Arkeville exactly what he wanted, in the form of a spark fragment from Unicron's own attempt at cloning an Optimus Prime.

• Nemesis Prime's Universe bio seems directly inspired by the Marvel UK "Two Megatrons!" storyline, which revealed that Straxus had rebuilt a "hapless trooper" into a Megatron clone, complete with copied brain patterns. Unlike Nemesis Prime, however, this clone became a repository for Straxus's consciousness after Straxus's botched attempt to invade the original Megatron's mind.

• According to Hasbro copy writer Forest Lee, this reference to Straxus was mentioned in Comic-Con 2008 Nemesis Prime's bio entirely to make David Willis happy.

• Stellar Converter Cannons are also weapons found on the Cybertron Primus toy.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Black Convoy (ブラックコンボイ Burakku Konboi)