Optimus Prime (Movie)
| 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 the Autobot leader from the live-action film continuity family. He has sometimes used the codename 10-22.
Optimus Prime is the leader of the Autobots. Long ago, he was the humble leader of Cybertron's science division, which studied the AllSpark, and were protected by Lord High Protector Megatron's military. When Megatron was corrupted by The Fallen, Optimus discovered that he was the last of the Dynasty of Primes, hidden away when The Fallen destroyed their lineage. In response to Megatron's attempts to seize the AllSpark and conquer other worlds, Optimus assumed his proper title and rallied the Autobots to stand against the Decepticons.
As obsessively as Megatron strives to achieve his objective, Optimus is equally as dedicated to stopping him, even at the cost of his life, his world, and—if necessary—his own people. It was on his order that the AllSpark was jettisoned into space, dooming Cybertron to a slow death and his people to a nomadic life. The sacrifices he has made weigh heavily on his spark, but they must be done, for there is no other choice. He knows the ambitions that lurk in Megatron's spark, and they must never see the light of day. Lives must be kept free from the threat of Megatron's tyranny, no matter the cost. This obsession with the defeat of Megatron has robbed Optimus of some of his early idealism. This has created a certain ruthlessness beneath his otherwise honest and caring personality. Prime is not one for second chances and is willing to consider any action that might lead to victory, short of directly sacrificing those he cares about.
| “ | You just wanna die for the guy! That's leadership... or brainwashin', or somethin'. | ” |
| “ | No... that's Optimus Prime. | ” |
—Crosshairs and Drift on their leader, Age of Extinction | ||
Fiction
Movies
Transformers film
- Voice actor: Peter Cullen (English), Tesshō Genda (Japanese), Guilherme Briggs (Brazil), Guy Nadon (French-Canadian), Reiner Schöne (German), Alessandro Rossi (Italian), Jung Goo Lee (Korean), Andrei Yaroslavtsev (Russian), Blas Garcia (Latin-American Spanish), Jordi Boixaderas (Spain-Spanish)
| “ | A necessary sacrifice to bring peace to this planet. We cannot let the humans pay for our mistakes. | ” |
—Optimus Prime on sacrificing his life to destroy the AllSpark | ||
Optimus Prime and his Autobots were forced to depart from their homeworld of Cybertron thousands of years ago, after the life-giving Allspark was lost to the far reaches of space. In the year 2007, Optimus and his troops came to Earth shortly after Bumblebee sent his comrades a message that the cube had ended up on the small, blue world. Upon atmospheric reentry, Prime managed to land outside of Tranquility's inhabited areas. While Sam and Mikaela watched, Optimus transformed and left his landing place. From atop a hill, he quickly scanned the form of an Earth truck, thus configuring his body to transform into it. Prime, Jazz, Ratchet, and Ironhide met up with Bumblebee and his human friends, Sam Witwicky and Mikaela Banes in an alley. Prime assumed his robotic form before the stunned humans. After confirming Sam's identity, Prime introduced himself and his team. When Sam asked how they could speak English, Prime told them that they scanned Earth's languages on the world wide web. When Mikaela asked of the Autobots' intentions, Prime explained the search for the AllSpark, the betrayal of his ancient enemy Megatron, and why Sam was important to their search.
Glasses that belonged to Sam's ancestor, Captain Archibald Witwicky, contained the location of the AllSpark encoded across its lenses, so Optimus Prime ordered his troops to wait outside Sam's house while Sam and Mikaela searched inside for the glasses. Much to Sam's exasperation, Optimus Prime, in his impatience, clumsily ruined his parents' garden using some very expressive apologies, and the Autobots' heavy footsteps convinced them there was an earthquake. Prime's attempts to hide, such as having the Autobots transform into vehicle mode right in the backyard, were also less than satisfactory. Ultimately, Sam came so close to a panic attack that Prime was forced to order the Autobots to fall back. As Prime lectured his team on their supposed inability to remain quiet, Ratchet got himself shocked by walking into some powerlines, causing further problems. When the parents came to investigate, Prime's attempt to avoid discovery caused the house to shake, though this was to their benefit, as the father assumed that the damage to the yard was the result of an earthquake. Ironhide suggested that they kill the parents, but Optimus scolded his old friend. Despite all this, their presence remained undetected until Sector Seven arrived (in a convoy of GMC Yukons) and abducted Sam, Mikaela, and Sam's parents.
Optimus Prime sent the Autobots in pursuit of the SUV that contained Sam, Mikaela, and Sector Seven's director, Agent Simmons. Prime intercepted the vehicle carrying their young human friends, ripping the roof of the vehicle off, with the other Autobots disarming the agents, and made it perfectly clear to Simmons how pissed off he was at him for trying to apprehend the two children, regarding this as a bad move on Simmons' behalf. Optimus then ordered his comrades to relieve the agents of their weapons, and attempted to interrogate Simmons. The agents' lack of surprise at their appearance indicated that they had seen Cybertronians before, but Simmons refused to reveal any information. With a Sector Seven backup team en route, Prime ordered the Autobots to scatter, while he took Sam and Mikaela. While hiding under a bridge, Mikaela and Sam slipped and fell off Prime's shoulder. Bumblebee managed to catch them before impact, but was captured, and Sam and Mikaela recaptured, by the organization after their retreat. Now in possession of the glasses which could tell him the location of the AllSpark, Optimus remorsefully left Bumblebee in Sector Seven's hands, knowing that if they went after him, they would have to use deadly force.
After regrouping the next day, Prime used the glasses to locate the AllSpark. Jazz again raised objections to leaving Bumblebee behind, but Prime remained firm in his belief of not harming the humans. Ironhide seemed okay with using deadly force, stating the humans were too violent, but Prime countered that when their time had come, the Cybertronians had been little different. Going on to explain the potential he saw in the humans, as well as reminding them that "freedom is the right of all sentient beings", Prime revealed to the Autobots his real plan for the AllSpark: if they could not defeat the Decepticons, Prime intended to merge the Cube with his spark. Though this would destroy the AllSpark, Ratchet cautioned Prime against this, as it would also kill him. Prime believed that this was acceptable, vowing not to let another race suffer the mistakes of the Transformers. The glasses placed the AllSpark at Hoover Dam where, luckily, Bumblebee and the young humans were taken.
Optimus Prime's team met up with Sector Seven, Bumblebee, Sam, and Mikaela en route, who had planned to hide the AllSpark in nearby Mission City. While on the highway, he was attacked by Bonecrusher, who managed to tackle Optimus and drag him over the edge of a freeway overpass. During the battle, Optimus struck the rage-filled Transformer so hard his optic popped out. As the Decepticon swung his claw wildly, Optimus drew his sword from his right arm and sliced off one of Bonecrusher's arms, before brutally finishing off his enemy by driving the blade through Bonecrusher's neck, severing his head.
Optimus arrived at Mission City just in time to observe Megatron discarding the remains of Jazz, and challenged him. Millennia in the ice had done nothing to lessen Megatron's hatred of his brother, and he launched himself in jet mode at the Autobot leader. Optimus leaped and grabbed hold of the wings, which was a really bad idea, as Megatron drove himself and Prime through an office block. As they flew out of the building onto the street below, Megatron transformed and leapt on top of Prime, declaring the humans undeserving of life. Prime rejected his claims, saying that they deserved to choose for themselves. Megatron threw Prime across the street, declaring that if he wished to defend the humans, Prime could die with them. He then formed his fusion cannon from his forearms. The power up time allowed Prime to draw his ion blaster and fire, hitting Megatron in the shoulder. The Decepticon shrugged off the attack and used the fusion cannon to blast Prime across the street into another building. Megatron then resumed the hunt for Sam and the AllSpark.
Tracking Megatron to the deserted building, Prime barely managed to catch Sam after Megatron knocked him off the roof. Telling the boy to hold onto the Cube, Prime attempted to scale down the building, but Megatron jumped on Prime, causing them both to fall down hard onto the street below. Sam survived, however, and Optimus told the boy that if he could not defeat Megatron, Sam must put the AllSpark into his chest which would destroy it. As Sam sought cover, Optimus faced down Megatron, and informed him that, "At the end of this day, one shall stand, one shall fall". Unfortunately, Megatron, even after years of stasis, proved to be far too powerful for Prime to defeat alone. The unit led by Lennox and the Raptor squadron laid down suppressing fire as Megatron reached for the AllSpark, until Optimus finally took him down by sweeping his legs. Still, Megatron continued, crawling toward the cube. Believing he had lost, Optimus implored Sam to put the AllSpark into his chest. Sam instead thrust it into Megatron's chest, killing the Decepticon leader and destroying the AllSpark.
As Optimus watched his brother die, he regretfully said there was little other choice. He also told Sam he owed him a debt of gratitude for saving his life, but was then informed that Jazz had not survived. Prime briefly eulogized his comrade, then commented that they had gained new comrades in the humans, and was honored by their bravery. Bumblebee, who had finally regained his voice, requested permission to remain with Sam Witwicky, to which the young human eagerly agreed, and Optimus approved. He noticed a fragment of the AllSpark in Megatron's chest cavity and removed it, then permitted the humans to dispose of the Decepticon corpses by dumping them into the deepest part of the ocean.
Though Megatron was killed and his Decepticons were defeated, the AllSpark was destroyed, leaving the Autobots unable to restore Cybertron. The Autobots elected to remain on Earth, and Prime sent a message into deep space to any surviving Autobots in the Galaxy to come to their new home on Earth, their long years of searching having finally having come to an end. As the other Autobots rested (and watched Sam and Mikaela make out on Bumblebee's hood) Optimus Prime looked to the sky, hoping his message had been heard. Transformers
Revenge of the Fallen film
- Voice actor: Peter Cullen (English), Tesshō Genda (Japanese), Guilherme Briggs (Brazil), Guy Nadon (French-Canadian), Reiner Schöne (German), Alessandro Rossi (Italian), Jung Goo Lee (Korean), Andrei Yaroslavtsev (Russian), Blas Garcia (Latin-American Spanish), Jordi Boixaderas (Spain-Spanish)
After the events in Mission City two years ago, Optimus Prime and the Autobots became part of a Transformer/human military group called NEST, which hunted down the remaining Decepticons across the world. When Demolishor and Sideways were detected in Shanghai, NEST was deployed there, including the Autobots Sideswipe, Ironhide, Arcee, Skids and Mudflap. Once Demolishor made himself known by transforming into robot mode and crushing dozens of cars along the highway, Sergeant Epps radioed an overhead C-17 to release the Autobot leader. Optimus Prime parachuted out of a NEST cargo plane and landed in vehicle mode. He leapt off a bridge onto the Decepticon's head as he plowed through it. When the massive Constructicon refused his order to pull over, Optimus unleashed several blasts of his ion blaster into Demolishor's head. These shots, coupled with Ironhide destroying his tires, sent the titan crashing to the ground and into a warehouse. As he and Ironhide approached the dying Decepticon, Optimus asked if he had any last words. With his dying breath, the Constructicon stated that The Fallen would rise again. Optimus responded in the negative and unceremoniously executed him.
Returning to Diego Garcia, Prime entered a briefing with Theodore Galloway, the National Security Adviser who had been appointed liaison by the President, and General Morshower, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who was watching by satellite feed. Prime relayed the warning of The Fallen to them, but Galloway made no effort to conceal his hostility toward the Autobots. He noted that while they had given them intelligence and the sole remaining AllSpark fragment, Galloway took issue with their refusal to share weapons technology and their continued sending of transmissions into space. Prime told Galloway that the Autobots were aware of humanity's history of warfare, and Morshower said that all the transmissions had been vetted by NEST officers. Galloway also pointed out that despite Megatron's death and burial in the Laurentian Abyss and the destruction of the AllSpark, the Decepticons had not left Earth as Optimus had hoped, leading him to conclude that the Autobots were the ones who the Decepticons were after. When asked if the Autobots would leave Earth peacefully if told to, Optimus replied that they would honor their request, but warned Galloway to consider what would happen if the Autobots left but the Decepticons did not.
Unknown to Prime, the Decepticon Soundwave had been monitoring transmissions and spied on the briefing. Dispatching Ravage to the island, he had his agent steal the remaining AllSpark fragment, killing several soldiers in the process. The incident left the Autobots with rather chilly relations with the United States. Seeking outside help, Optimus dispatched Bumblebee to retrieve Sam Witwicky from college in an effort to secure his testimony on the Autobots' behalf. Meeting Sam at an abandoned cemetery near his college, Optimus explained the situation. Sam was not receptive; in fact, he was quite hostile, saying that he had just started college and was trying to have a normal life. Knowing that fate often called at inconvenient times, Optimus impressed upon Sam the importance of what was going on, but Sam reiterated that the Cybertronian War was not his, and that they didn't need him. Optimus relayed his fear that it soon would be, and silently said that they needed him more than he realized.
Prime's fear soon came to pass, but in the last way he could imagine: the Decepticons had used the AllSpark shard to resurrect Megatron, who had learned that the knowledge of the AllSpark had been passed to Sam by a fragment Sam had touched, and soon captured him, Mikaela, and Sam's college roommate Leo Spitz. Heading to rescue the three humans, Optimus and Bumblebee ambushed the Decepticons in the abandoned industrial complex where the teens were being held, just as Scalpel was about to perform fatal neurosurgery on Sam. Knocking Megatron and Starscream out of the building, Optimus managed to whisk Sam away from the plant. Optimus made it as far as the nearby forest when Megatron arrived. Going one-on-one with the Decepticon leader, Prime managed to hold his own, all the while trash-talking Megatron. Megatron then called for Starscream and Grindor, who quickly arrived. Prime was forced to run interference between Megatron and Starscream, who pursued Sam.
Rumble is blue,
this poem doesn't rhyme,
NOW GIVE ME YOUR FACE !
As the battle raged, Megatron told Prime that the boy was the key to finding another energon source, then shattered his mouthplate and sent him flying backwards with a point blank shot from his fusion cannon. Megatron asked if the boy's life was greater than the future of their race, but Prime knew that he would never stop with a single life. Declaring that he'd take them all on, Optimus Prime unsheathed his Dual Energon Swords and fought a ferocious three-on-one fight against the Decepticons. Surprisingly, not only did he manage to hold his own, he was actually winning, managing to stab Megatron multiple times, slice off Starscream's right arm and use it as a club, and rip apart Grindor's head. However, Megatron eventually managed to stab his own sword through Optimus Prime's chest, following with a point blank shot through his injured back. Critically injured, Optimus implored the still-observing Sam to run. Although the rest of the Autobots soon arrived and drove off Megatron and Starscream, Optimus Prime was dead.
"Then why have I spent this whole fight kicking your a—"*BOOM*
Soon after, The Fallen made his presence known and demanded Sam Witwicky be turned over to him or the world would be destroyed. Galloway used this as a reason to shut down NEST and ordered the Autobots returned to Diego Garcia under guard, along with Prime's corpse (which Galloway callously denounced as a pile of scrap metal). Fortunately, Bumblebee, and the Twins managed to spirit Sam, Mikaela, and Leo away before The Fallen made his announcement. With help from their former enemy Seymour Simmons and the Decepticon-turned-Autobot Wheelie, the group discovered that Sam's mind contained the Language of the Primes, to which group The Fallen had once belonged. The human/Autobot group managed to locate the Seeker Jetfire, who told them of how the Dynasty of Primes forged a Star Harvester to use a star's energy to replenish the AllSpark, and the Matrix of Leadership, needed to activate the harvester, until they were betrayed by The Fallen, who tried to harvest Sol in defiance of the Primes' rule of the sanctity of life. Sam hit upon the idea to use the Matrix to restore Optimus to life, similar to how the Decepticons had used the AllSpark fragment to resurrect Megatron. Having been teleported to Egypt by Jetfire, the group managed to relay the information to Major Lennox and Sergeant Epps, who faked engine trouble over Petra, where the Tomb of the Primes was located. Unfortunately, the Matrix had turned to dust in the thousands of years since its entombment, but Sam still believed that it could be used to revive Optimus.
However, the Decepticons were still looking for the Harvester and the Matrix needed to activate it. Sam was technically killed in the battle, during which he communed with the six Primes from the tomb, who restored the Matrix. Jamming it in the fallen Autobot's chest, Sam used the Matrix to restore Optimus Prime to life. Unfortunately, The Fallen soon arrived. He stole the Matrix, and stomped on Optimus, sending him back to the ground. Having been fatally injured by Scorponok, Jetfire offered his parts to Optimus, as only a Prime could defeat The Fallen, and snuffed out his own spark. After Ratchet and Jolt finished attaching Jetfire's wings and thrusters to Prime's body, Optimus hurried to the Great Pyramid of Giza, which had been constructed around the harvester, and damaged the machine before it could destroy Earth's sun.
Optimus Prime then faced Megatron and the Fallen on the ground. This against the odds battle went far better for Optimus, as he used Megatron's own fusion cannon to shoot off half his face and his afterburners to send him through some ruins. Optimus then battled the Fallen, using his Energon Sword to slice through his face. The Fallen countered by ripping off his left wing and striking him with it, but Optimus managed to grab the Fallen's own spear and impale him with it. Telling the traitorous Prime he had picked the wrong planet, Optimus used the spear to rip off The Fallen's face plate. As The Fallen tried to flee, Optimus Prime punched through his abdomen and crushed his spark core, killing The Fallen and forcing Megatron and Starscream to retreat.
"Okay, I'll tell you."*cuts to credits*
On the return voyage home, Optimus thanked Sam for saving his life, as the boy thanked the Autobot leader for believing in him. Following this, Optimus Prime sent another transmission into space, detailing recent events so that the pasts of both races would be remembered, and also declaring that Humanity and the Autobots would face the future together. Revenge of the Fallen
Dark of the Moon film
- Voice actor: Peter Cullen (English), Tesshō Genda (Japanese), Reiner Schöne (German), Andrei Yaroslavtsev (Russian), Blas Garcia (Latin American-Spanish), Alfredo Martínez (Spain-Spanish)
Three years after Operation: Firestorm and the death of the Fallen, the Autobots and NEST took to dealing with human conflicts in the absence of the Decepticons. After receiving a tip from Alexi Voskhod he and Ratchet arrived with NEST operatives in Chernobyl to investigate a report about the presence of Cybertronian technology on site. However, this investigation was interrupted by Shockwave and his tamed Driller, attempting to steal the component. After driving them off and cutting off one of the Driller's tentacles, Shockwave revealed himself before retreating. Optimus became disturbed to see Shockwave on Earth but was more horrified to see that the piece of technology, to his disbelief, was a fuel cell from the Ark.
Optimus returned to NEST headquarters and refused to transform or speak to anyone until National Intelligence Director Charlotte Mearing arrived. It wasn't until Ironhide hit him on the roof that he transformed rather violently and demanded an explanation from Mearing, which she offered along with the corroborating testimony from Buzz Aldrin that the information had been known by a select few. Optimus explained that the Ark carried important technology that would have given the Autobots a clear victory in the Cybertronian Civil War, and was piloted by his predecessor and mentor, Sentinel Prime. Optimus mounted an expedition to the Moon aboard the Xantium with Ratchet to explore what was left of the Ark.
The two Autobots explored the ship and opened the crash vault in which Sentinel Prime had locked himself. Optimus pulled Sentinel from the vault and brought his former mentor back to Earth where he used the Matrix of Leadership to revive Sentinel. The former Prime awoke and attacked in confusion. After calming his mentor down, Optimus explained that they recovered five pieces of his technology, but Sentinel was disturbed by this news, explaining that purpose of the "pillars" was to form a space bridge. Optimus declared their peaceful uses to the humans, but Director Mearing objected, citing possible uses like transporting weapons and troops to the planet. The pillars were placed in human custody.
After this meeting, Optimus took Sentinel for a tour on the countryside at sunset, during which Sentinel commented on the peace and beauty of Earth. Optimus bowed and offered the Matrix of Leadership to him, declaring him the rightful Autobot leader. Sentinel refused, saying that while he was Optimus's master on Cybertron, here on Earth, Optimus was the more experienced of the two. After learning from Sam that the Decepticons were targeting Sentinel because he alone could control the pillars, the Autobots were ordered to protect him. Running behind the group, Optimus returned to the NEST base only to find that Sentinel had betrayed the Autobots and NEST, murdered Ironhide, and escaped with the pillars. Mearing declared the subterfuge and defeat as the fault of the Autobot leader. Clearly shocked by his mentor's hideous deed, Optimus voiced no defense at this accusation.
Optimus subsequently tracked his treacherous mentor to the National Mall reflecting pool after learning of his deal with Megatron. Optimus confronted Sentinel and pleaded with him to stop, but Sentinel was unmoved and opened the Space Bridge, through which an army of Decepticon emerged and launched a vicious attack on the city. In the chaos that followed, Optimus tried to fight Sentinel; Sentinel defeated him but spared his life, commenting that Optimus would come around to his way of thinking. Optimus refused to be part of Sentinel's plan.
Later, Sentinel denounced Prime and his Autobots as rebels, and demanded that human beings exile them. Fearing an attack from at least 200 hidden and entrenched Decepticon troops, human leaders ordered the Autobots off the planet. Prime complied with the order and gathered his troops to leave Earth immediately in the Xantium. Despite Sam's pleadings to reveal his plan to fight back (and inform the Decepticons who had bugged him), Optimus replied they had no plan. He reminded Sam that the human was his friend and the fight against the Decepticons would now be his own. As he boarded the ship he told Bumblebee to make his farewell with Sam short. Shortly after takeoff, Starscream attacked and destroyed the ship. Optimus and the Autobots were presumed dead.
However, the Autobots had hid themselves in one of the disengaged boosters and survived, thanks to the Xantium's builders, the Wreckers. Optimus and the other Autobots headed for Decepticon-controlled Chicago and arrived there just in time to rescue Sam, Epps, and a team of former NEST soldiers from a Decepticon fighter ship. Optimus explained that the Decepticons would never leave Earth in peace, and that Earth's leaders needed to believe they had gone so that they could see the truth. As the other Autobots arrived on-scene, Optimus announced that they were going to take the battle to the Decepticons in the name of freedom. The Autobots then transformed and drove into the city as Sam and Bumblebee using the Assault Carrier went to rescue Sam's girlfriend Carly Spencer. They arrived after the Carrier crashed and told Sam to get ready for battle.
En route to Sentinel's location and that of the control pillar, Optimus and the Autobots were ambushed from below by Shockwave and his Driller. The Driller disengaged Optimus's trailer, but the Wreckers distracted the Decepticon assassin. Optimus managed to recover the flight tech from his trailer and attack the Driller from the air just as it prepared to eliminate Sam, Carly, Epps and his soldiers. Optimus swooped through a building and punched a fatal blow through the Driller. Shockwave, angered by the destruction of his pet, shot at Optimus from the street. Optimus fell through a nearby unfinished building and was caught up in the wires of a construction crane. While the Wreckers tried to get him loose, Sentinel engaged the pillars and started to transport Cybertron into Earth's Solar System.
The Wreckers managed to free their leader, who swooped into the main battlefield and killed eleven Decepticons single-handed. Charging toward Shockwave, who had already been damaged by NEST soldiers, Optimus then ran his spiked fist through his side and tore out his eye. He then used his enemy's cannon to blast the control pillar, temporarily stalling the transportation of Cybertron.
Optimus then demanded that Sentinel face him; his one-time mentor complied and the two dueled, but when Optimus started to get the upper hand, Sentinel called upon Decepticon fighters ships to fire at his former pupil. Pinned down by the enemy fire, Optimus was prevented from attacking until the fighters were destroyed. Optimus engaged Sentinel again, but this time the elder Prime cut off Optimus's right arm after a lengthy sword fight. However, as Sentinel prepared to deliver the killing blow, Megatron ambushed the treacherous Prime and severely wounded him, having realized that he would never be able to remain leader of the Decepticons as long as Sentinel was at large. Megatron then slyly proposed a truce to Optimus on the condition that he would be in charge again. After all, as Megatron put it, "who would you be without me, Prime?" Realizing that Megatron could not be trusted, Optimus replied that it was "time to find out." He swung his axe at Megatron, disarmed him and took the axe to Megatron's head and ripped it out, taking Megatron's spine with it, killing his eternal foe.
The damaged and helpless Sentinel begged for mercy, claiming all he ever wanted was their race's survival, which was why he had betrayed his former pupil. Optimus refused and told Sentinel he had betrayed himself and the values he was thought to have upheld as a Prime. Despite his former master's plea for mercy, Optimus fired two shots from Megatron's fusion shotgun, executing Sentinel. With Cybertron now presumably destroyed by the deactivation of the space bridge, Prime, Bumblebee, Ratchet, Dino, Sideswipe, and the Wreckers finally accepted Earth as their new home, and Optimus declared that the Autobots would never forsake the defense of Earth or its people. Dark of the Moon
Age of Extinction film
- Voice actor: Peter Cullen (English), Tesshō Genda (Japanese), Reiner Schöne (German), Alfonso Ramírez (Latin American Spanish)
Following the battle in Chicago and the termination of the NEST program, the US government continued granting Optimus and the other Autobots asylum on Earth, in spite of the negative reputation the Autobots had gained. The White House believed that Harold Attinger was working alongside Optimus Prime to hunt down the last of the Decepticon fugitives; what the President didn't know was that Attinger's Cemetery Wind taskforce had began hunting down Autobots and terminating them. Learning of the betrayal, Optimus broadcast an urgent message to the Autobots on Earth, ordering his troops to cut off all contact with humans and go into hiding. The embittered Optimus successfully evaded Cemetery Wind for several years, but was eventually pinned down in Mexico, caught in an ambush set by Attinger's lieutenant James Savoy and Lockdown.
Optimus managed to throw off his pursuers by scanning a dilapidated cab-over truck, but took numerous artillery rounds to the chest before he could escape. Prime fled north to Paris, Texas and hid in an abandoned movie theater, forced into stasis by his grevious injuries. He remained inert until aspiring roboticist Cade Yeager visited the theater for salvage. Hoping to strip the seemingly ordinary truck and sell the parts, he purchased Optimus and towed him home to his workshop, to the chagrin of his daughter Tessa Yeager. After examining the truck's abnormal amount of damage and its unusual inner workings, Cade realized he had discovered a Transformer.
Though his daughter Tessa and his assistant Lucas wanted to turn in Optimus for a cash reward, Cade argued against it, wanting to increase his technical expertise by studying Optimus' systems further. To prove that the Transformer was "dead" and unable to retaliate, Cade opened the truck up and discovered a live missile from the truck's inner workings. When the missile was removed, Optimus suddenly awoke and transformed into robot mode. However, the wounded Autobot leader was still in a bad state, to say the least. A confused and disoriented Optimus pulled his shotgun on the humans who had woken him, roaring at them to stay back or he'd kill them, and accidentally wounded Lucas as he swung his weapon around the barn. Cade was able to calm down the panicked Optimus, who, once lucid, worried for the fate of his Autobots, who were still being hunted down. Though he initially tried to set out to find them, Optimus accepted Cade's aid and safe harbor until he could be repaired. Cade realized Optimus had been struck very close to his Spark, which they came to refer to as his "soul". Still wary, Optimus questioned Cade why he would help him, and Cade simply said because he trusted him.
Yeager had only just begun repairing Optimus when Savoy's forces stormed the farm, searching for Optimus, who hid himself underneath the barn. Cade almost convinced Savoy to leave until he made the critical error of referring to the missing truck as a "he". Optimus silently contemplated risking his life once again for his new allies until Savoy moved to kill Tessa in a ruthless attempt to force the truth out of Cade. Before Savoy could pull the trigger, Prime burst out from the barn, distracting Savoy long enough for Tessa to get to safety. While Prime briefly held off Savoy's men, the Yeagers fled the property with Shane Dyson.
Optimus peeled out of the farm, but he was pursued by Lockdown and a fleet of helicopters. Optimus tried to shake them off by taking to the highway, but was eventually herded into an abandoned factory along with the Yeagers. Lockdown and Prime grappled with one another on the factory roof, but Prime was able to break off to rescue the humans. Though the group escaped with Prime, Lucas was caught in the blast when Lockdown's grenade detonated. The four survivors took temporary shelter in the desert at an abandoned gas station. Prime offered his condolences for Lucas' death, but left the group temporarily, to make sure that nobody had followed them. The next morning, after a pit stop in which Cade failed to use his credit card, Optimus summoned the surviving Autobots to regroup in the desert. While en route to the rendezvous point, Prime scanned a passing truck and took on a new alternate mode with his original paint scheme, in the process repairing his injuries.
Optimus reunited with Bumblebee, Drift, Crosshairs, and Hound, announcing that their approach to dealing with humans had changed just as the humans' approach to them had. The toll of Optimus' absence was obvious, as the Autobots were in disarray and on very bad terms with each other. Optimus had to restrain his men from killing the humans and each other, though the mood was sobered when they realized they were the last Autobots remaining. Optimus vowed to kill the man responsible for their suffering, breaking his old vow of never killing humans. The Autobots also learned of Leadfoot's demise, and allied themselves with the Yeager family to infiltrate KSI.
Back in Chicago, the group had a brief moment of peace in which Optimus admitted to Cade that raising Bumblebee had been as much of a handful as the human was having raising his daughter. The Autobots subsequently waited while Cade and Shane learned what they could from inside KSI headquarters. However, they learned of a horrifying truth: slain Autobots and Decepticons were being melted down for raw material to produce KSI's own Transformers. Optimus was enraged to learn that his old friend Ratchet had recently suffered this gruesome fate, and snapped into action. Optimus furiously led the Autobots in an attack on KSI, angrily roaring that he would kill the human responsible, despite Cade's protests. The grief-stricken Autobot leader confronted Joshua Joyce, head of KSI, declaring that the Transformers were not technology for the humans to use. Optimus likely would've given the order to execute Joyce on the spot for his atrocities had Joyce not declared they had advanced past the Transformers. A solemn Optimus ordered a retreat, declaring the Autobots to be "done." Attinger ordered Galvatron and Stinger to be sent after them, and Optimus ended up having to carry the humans by himself when they attacked. Optimus faced off with Galvatron, declaring the creation had no soul. Galvatron retorted that it left him fearless, triggering another terrible realization: Galvatron was a rebuilt Megatron. Before the battle could conclude, Lockdown shot down Optimus, and informed him that his "creators" wanted him back.
Aboard Lockdown's ship, Optimus was placed in a high security vault in a ship that could separate from the whole. The ship was once owned by ancient "knights", who Optimus was familiar with and whom Lockdown had stolen the ship from. Optimus could only dangle by his foot until the Autobots arrived and rescued him. Optimus ordered Hound to commandeer the smaller ship, and the two and Drift soon escaped Lockdown's ship without the bounty hunter's knowledge. After the team regrouped, Brains unveiled Galvatron's scheme to use the Seed now owned by Attinger to wipe out humanity. Optimus initially ordered the Autobots to abandon Earth for good, but they were swayed into staying long enough to recover the Seed. The group flew to Hong Kong, but en-route, Cade questioned Optimus' lack of faith in humanity. Optimus bitterly asked how many Transformers would die before things could be set right. Cade asked Optimus to have faith in humanity, or at least in their potential. Upon arrival to Hong Kong, Galvatron had already rebelled against KSI, and shot down their ship.
In the Wulong Valley with Crosshairs and Drift, Optimus was alerted by Hound of the incoming Decepticon attack, and though Crosshairs advocated his desire to leave the humans to their face, Optimus decided the time had come to satisfy their need for reinforcements. Being a knight himself, he took one of their swords and shields from the ship and freed the ancient Dinobots. Not having any time to waste, he offered them either a chance at freedom under his command, or death under his foot. Grimlock challenged him, but Optimus triumphed, and asked once more for the Dinobots to help his family or die on the spot. Grimlock conceded defeat, and allowed Optimus to ride him into battle. The Autobot-Dinobot alliance raced to the battle raging in Hong Kong over the Seed, and quickly wiped out the drone army, forcing Galvatron to retreat. The group rolled out to a bridge should the seed detonate, but Lockdown returned to Earth, utilizing a tractor beam to reclaim his prey. After dodging debris falling and rising as well, Optimus found himself being pulled up to the ship with the Dinobots. Optimus opened fire on the ship, destroying it's tractor beam and freeing them. Optimus ordered the Dinobots, Autobots and humans to retreat while he fought Lockdown one-on-one. Although Lockdown put up a ferocious fight, Optimus ultimately had the upper hand, but Cade came to his aid and was cornered by Attinger. Optimus broke away from the battle to save Cade and shot Attinger dead, honoring his promise to avenge his slain comrades. Lockdown admonished him for choosing to save Cade's life over his, and impaled Optimus on his own sword. Bumblebee, Tessa and Shane arrived, and while Bumblebee and Cade held off Lockdown, the two young adults extracted Optimus' sword from his chest and returned it to him, enabling him to finally kill Lockdown. Before flying the humans to safety, Optimus armed one of Lockdown's grenades which finished off the remaining KSI drones. Galvatron watched from afar, promising to fight Optimus another day.
Look to the western sky!
As someone told me lately
Everyone deserves a chance to fly!
Optimus regrouped with the Dinobots, Autobots, and their other human allies. Optimus parted with the Dinobots on good terms, informing them they were now free from anyone's control. Optimus announced he would venture into space, as he still had a price on his head placed by the mysterious "Creators". He also desired to not only remove the Seed from Earth, but to find out who and what he was as well. Optimus admitted to Cade he did not know if they would ever meet again, but asked his family to think of one of the stars above as his "soul." Optimus ordered the Autobots to guard the Yeagers and their allies, in reparation for their own protecting them. Optimus implored them to defend all the humans could be as he departed Earth.
As he left the planet, Optimus sent a message to whoever his "Creators" were: leave Earth alone, because he was coming for them... Age of Extinction
Novels
Ghosts of Yesterday
Before coming to Earth, Optimus Prime led the search for the AllSpark in the transport vessel, the Ark. In 1969, Earth-time, in an abandoned solar system, Prime and the crew discovered a vessel of strangely Cybertronian design, which they pursued to a nearby planet. Prime dispatched Bumblebee to the surface to investigate the ship while he and the other Autobots battled Decepticons from the Nemesis; Prime personally took on and defeated Blackout, Scorponok, and Frenzy. Contact having been lost with Bumblebee during the fight, Prime headed down to the planet to join him, where a joint attack by Starscream and the alien ship sent the two Autobots tumbling into a subterranean cavern network.
Fleeing an attack by indigenous worm-creatures, Optimus Prime and Bumblebee came across the alien vessel, which Prime deduced was trying to surrender. Lines of communication were opened, and Prime realized that Starscream had duped the little aliens into attacking him. However, the creatures, who called themselves "humans", explained that they held Megatron, whom they called the Ice Man, on their home world, Earth. Realizing the destruction Megatron would wreak upon the defenseless humans if he escaped, Prime vowed to see them return to their world to warn it.
Prime blasted a way out of the caverns, but on the way back to the Ark, the Decepticons attacked again, and Prime found himself in the difficult position of fighting Starscream and protecting the human ship. Speared by Bonecrusher's tail, Optimus seemed doomed to perish at Starscream's hand until the humans interceded, opening fire on Starscream. The Decepticon destroyed the humans and their ship in retaliation, but Optimus Prime, inspired by their courage and sacrifice, resolved to locate Earth—and the AllSpark which he speculated had come to rest there—before the Decepticons did... and hopefully before Megatron came back online. Ghosts of Yesterday
The Veiled Threat
| “ | I know Megatron. I know all of you. You would not have taken the AllSpark and left this world in peace. You would have subdued it and made slaves of its people. Even in the absence of the AllSpark, my conscience and that of my friends could not have allowed that. | ” |
—Optimus Prime to Macerator | ||
Following the battle for the AllSpark in Mission City and the formation of NEST, Optimus and Lennox led a team of Autobots to investigate a Decepticon sighting in Zambia. They found a trap waiting for them, which resulted in Optimus being dragged over Victoria Falls by the Decepticon Macerator; Prime saved himself by grabbing an outcropping and was hauled to safety by rookie Autobot Beachbreak's tow line, but Starscream then killed Beachbreak in retaliation. Prime took the Autobot's death personally, regarding it as a failure of his leadership. The team proceeded to hunt down their Decepticons prey, and after a lengthy fight at the Kariba dam, Optimus decapitated Macerator. The other Decepticons escaped however, and Optimus prevented Ironhide from firing after Dropkick for fear of harming nearby humans.
Another mission to Australia saw Optimus and his team spend days searching the outback for Decepticons, during which they discussed the possibility that the Decepticons might be hunting for energy to resurrect Megatron. Optimus doubted there was an energy source on the planet that could do so. They eventually encountered Kickback, Trample and Tread, three Constructicons mining for minerals. Optimus found Kickback's sonic charge weapon to be a challenge, but with some help from Lennox, killed the Decepticon.
The narrow streets of Rome proved a challenge for Optimus's truck mode to navigate when NEST travelled there to hunt down Deadend and Swindle. After Knockout dealt to the two Decepticons, a furious Starscream challenged Optimus to one-on-one combat in the nearby Colosseum. Naturally it was a trap — Starscream had allied himself with a human, Bruno Carrera, and together they trapped Optimus in a pit and set Barricade on him. With the help of four humans, Optimus broke free, threw Barricade into the pit and sealed him there. He then had only to show his face outside to where Starscream was fighting Ironhide, Ratchet and Salvage, and the would-be Decepticon leader fled. The Veiled Threat
Classified
After the massive battle in Egypt and the defeat of The Fallen, NEST continued to hunt Decepticons around the Earth. When a trio of Decepticons attacked the United States Air Force Nevada Test and Training Range, Optimus Prime and Ironhide responded; Optimus attempted to talk Dropshot into abandoning the Decepticon cause, but was forced to kill him when he attempted to kill some human soldiers. Likewise, when Bombshock threatened to blow up some humans, Optimus and Ironhide took him down with a pincer movement they had practised during the war back on Cybertron, in the Battle of Polyhex. Returning to base, Optimus took part in a meeting of some generals, though he had to talk his way into doing so, as they were initially reluctant to include the aliens. Optimus disagreed that the Decepticons' target was Area 51 and correctly deduced it to be Hawthorne Army Depot. When he arrived there with Ironhide, Bumblebee and Ratchet were already engaged in a battle with Reverb, however the Decepticon's personal force field made him impossible to hit and he did substantial damage to Prime. Once the shield was eliminated, Optimus defeated Reverb. Though Reverb asked Optimus to finish him off, Optimus instead took him prisoner. He also talked General Marcus into allowing Kevin Bowman to join NEST. Switching Gears
After supervising a test of a prototype Hyperdynamix tank, Optimus returned to the NEST Rapid Response Base for a briefing on a new Cybertronian storehouse detected at Battle Mountain. Before they had a chance to investigate, Optimus was forced to go defend Hyperdynamix against Decepticon attackers and was kept busy there trying to find the three aggressors. Battle Mountain
During a visit to Hyperdynamix Aerospace to learn about the HODDIS station intended to track incoming Cybertronians, and the satellite with which Dr Porter intended to wipe out the Decepticons, incoming meteoroids were detected. Optimus and his team went to the crash site in Idaho, and found themselves having to fight the giant robot centipedes which came out of the meteoroids. Despite suffering major damage, Optimus was able to dispatch two of them on his own. Satellite of Doom
IDW movie comics
Optimus Prime was the last surviving descendant of the Dynasty of Primes, orphaned and hidden away to protect him from the evil of The Fallen. Revenge of the Fallen #3 Optimus grew up with no knowledge of who he was, and was eventually found by Sentinel Prime, who claimed to be descended from Primus himself. Joining Sentinel's tribe of "Autobots", Optimus worked with his teacher and other pupils Megatron and Elita-One to restore order to an energy-starved Cybertron by helping to locate the lost AllSpark, buried far beneath Cybertron's surface. Re-energized by a star harnessed by the science of Wheeljack, the AllSpark restored life and energy to Cybertron, unifying the planet once more, but the old and weary Sentinel Prime had no desire to lead this new, united populace. At last, he revealed to Optimus the secret of his heritage, and that he, as "Optimus Prime", ought to succeed him as leader. Foundation #1 Unable to believe that he was a Prime, Optimus turned the role down, proposing instead that he investigate Cybertron's history, in an attempt to bring some of the good the Primes created back to the world. Accordingly, Sentinel redrew his plans for Cybertron, having Optimus lead the archaeological Science Division, while placing Megatron in charge of Cybertron's Defense Force. Foundation #2 Alas, neither Sentinel nor Optimus realized that Megatron had eavesdropped on their conversation. Foundation #1 Megatron was consumed with anger and jealousy at the knowledge that he was Sentinel's second choice, and further lost all respect for Prime because he had turned down an incredible birthright. Foundation #2 Never the less, the pair were able to govern Cybertron together for two generations, their two personalities creating a balance; Prime was fair while Megatron was firm. Movie Prequel #1 When Malcontent activity opposing Sentinel's order began escalating, however, Megatron intimidated Optimus into giving him supreme power in defense of the planet. Foundation #2
When Lord High Protector Megatron toured a Science Division excavation site near the AllSpark temple at Simfur, he and Optimus clashed over several issues; all Megatron cared about was whether the site contained power similar to the AllSpark, while Optimus insisted on taking things slowly with the reminder that it was his division was in charge of the proceedings. Subsequently, after the dig uncovered a mysterious relic, Optimus and Megatron's argument over what should be done with it was interrupted by an attack from aliens from the neighbouring Eshems Nebula. Megatron ordered that the relic be taken to his personal quarters for protection during the battle, and Optimus could not argue. Defiance #1 After the aliens were repelled, Optimus ordered his science teams to help the survivors of the attack while he went to confer with Megtron, only to nearly come to blows with the High Protector when he demanded that Optimus marshal the Science Division for war against the aliens. Fear that Megatron sought to divide Cybertron, Optimus called a meeting of the Science Division and appealed to all those who served under him not to join Megatron on his crusade, asking them instead to stay by his side and continue on with their mission of peaceful research. Defiance #2 With help from closest confidants Prowl and Jazz, Optimus broke into Megatron's quarters in search of some clue to his brother-in-arms' sudden compulsion towards war, but only had time to observe that the enigmatic relic had somehow been restored to pristine condition before he was forced to leave to avoid detection. Defiance #3
Returning to Science Division headquarters, Optimus was greeted with a stunning discovery: Ratchet, Elita-One and Arcee had uncovered other ancient artefacts, each of which bore a symbol that matched one on Optimus's helmet: a symbol that proved Optimus was indeed a descendant of the Dynasty of Primes. Prime went with Arcee and Ratchet to the excavation site, where they discussed the ramifications of this new information, only for the group to be apprehended for treason by an unwilling Prowl, forced to do so on the orders of Megatron. This turned out to be a trap, however: while they were being escorted to the city of Metrotitan, Megatron's forces ambushed them with intent to kill. Optimus bested Starscream and collapsed Metrotitan on top of the attackers, Defiance #3 then raced back to the embattled excavation site to usher Elite-One, Sentinel Prime and Wheeljack to safety, with a little help from Elita's sister Chromia. Optimus informed Sentinel of the marking on his head that proved his mentor had been right all along: now, he was Optimus Prime. Foundation #3 All those loyal to Optimus regrouped at Burthov, where Optimus was recognized as the leader of the group, with Prowl serving as his lieutenant.
Captain Ironhide—a former member of Megatron's Defense Force, who had now christened themselves the "Decepticons"—informed Optimus of the huge starship Nemesis that Megatron was building, and the newly-christened Prime began working toward equipping his own side with similar vessels. Though the Autobots found themselves at an advantage when the Nemesis left Cybertron with the balance of the Decepticon forces, it was then that true war finally broke out between Optimus's and Megatron's forces. Defiance #4
The war raged for thousands of years, with no end in sight until Sentinel came up with a solution: a "torch" that could bring the conflict to an end without the mass murder of the Decepticons. Contact with the AllSpark was required to activate it, so the Autobots made for Simfur Temple, Foundation #3 where Optimus held off Megatron so that Elita-One could activate the torch and deliver it to Sentinel. Sentinel loaded the torch aboard the Autobots' ship, the Ark, but to Optimus and Megatron's disbelief, Starscream blew the ship out of the air. Consumed with grief and rage at the apparent death of his mentor, Optimus ordered Wheeljack to use the second, remaining Ark to transport the AllSpark away Simfur, then declared he would be going on a suicide mission to kill Megatron. Foundation #4 Concerned for their friend, Ironhide and Elita-One stayed by Prime's side as he made his way through the soldiers guarding Megatron's citadel. Foundation #1 Foundation #2 Optimus demanded Megatron face him, but the Decepticon leader responded by dropping the smelting pool on him. Ironhide saved Prime from the fiery rain, and Optimus then entered Megatron's chamber alone, to discover his former ally surrounded by hungry hatchlings, confident that the "weak" Optimus would not harm the infants to get to him. Foundation #3 At that point, Wheeljack's team removed the AllSpark from its temple, plunging Cybertron into darkness. Optimus escaped, leaving Megatron to fend off his ravenous hatchlings, and joined Ironhide in fending off Starscream and Shockwave. Returning to oversee the AllSpark's transportation, Optimus recognized that the drastic actions he had taken had forever fractured his relationship with Elita-One, and observed he still had a long way to go to being a great leader. Foundation #4
To put the AllSpark's power beyond Megatron's reach, Optimus Prime made preparations to send it off-planet. Allowing word to reach the Decepticons that the cube was being held at Simfur, Prime and the main force of his Autobots occupied their enemies in battle there, while a small team led by Bumblebee guarded the AllSpark's true hiding place, Tyger Pax. The cube was launched into space, and Megatron immediately gave chase. Movie Prequel #1 Movie Prequel #2 Optimus was immediately regretful of his decision, feeling that in buying the Autobots some time in the war, he had sentenced their world to death, but Prowl insisted he had made the right choice, and that he had turned death into a fighting chance to live. Bolstered by Prowl's words, Prime and his Autobots took off after the AllSpark and Megatron aboard the Ark, hopeful that they could defeat the Decepticon leader while he was alone, and bring the cube back to heal their homeworld. The Reign of Starscream #1
Following Optimus and the Autobots' arrival on Earth, and the subsequent battle of Mission City and the destruction of Megatron and the AllSpark, Transformers: Movie Adaptation Optimus Prime helped eliminate the remaining AllSpark Mutations skittering around the city, then requested the help of William Lennox and his men in getting the Autobots out of the city before other, less trustworthy humans could arrive. They located a trailer that Prime could use to transport the deceased body of his first lieutenant Jazz, and, equipped with a hologrammatic driver to avoid suspicion on the road, Prime led his Autobots in rolling out. Sector Seven's Seymour Simmons would later exploit this friendship between Prime and Lennox when, a month later, he convinced Lennox to request assistance from Prime and the Autobots in transporting the Decepticons' remains. Alliance #1 Prime's team was to escort a Sector Seven convoy from their Nevada base to a naval base at San Diego, California, from whence the Decepticons and Jazz's remains would be buried at sea. Before departing Nevada, he entrusted the remaining AllSpark fragment to Professor Vine for safekeeping, but had second thoughts soon after leaving, and ordered Bumblebee and Ironhide to turn around and retrieve it. Alliance #2 The two returned to discover that the base had been attacked in their absence by Decepticons Wreckage and Starscream; Prime soon arrived back to retake ownership of the shard. Alliance #3
Weeks later, following the aquatic interment of Jazz and the Decepticons, Optimus and Lennox agreed to a formal alliance between the Autobots and humans as the first line of offense and defense against the Decepticons. The team trained on the island of Diego Garcia, their mutual respect for one another growing, and soon word came in of new Decepticon sightings around Earth. Alliance #3 For their first mission, NEST was deployed to San Francisco to take out the Decepticons Deadend and Swindle, the former of whom was quickly dispatched by Prime via a head-on collision. Swindle's last words caused Prime concern, as they suggested more Decepticons would soon be coming to search the Earth for something; Lennox feared it might be Sam Witwicky, and Prime, sadly convinced the boy was destined to be a part of the conflict, decided to send Bumblebee to resume his role as Sam's guardian. Alliance #4
Knowing that Lennox's superiors held little trust in the Autobots, Optimus Prime dedicated himself and his Autobots to working harder to prove their goodwill through continued success. NEST proceeded to hunt for Decepticons around the world over the next year, with Optimus Prime personally destroying Jetstorm, Dropkick and Incinerator. NEST's ranks continued to grow, with Autobot refugees even arriving on Earth in response to the message Optimus had sent into space, including Prime's old friend Elita-One. Alliance #4 One particular new arrival proved a little troublesome, however: in November 2008, Sideswipe caused chaos in Uruguay when he recklessly pursued his old Decepticon foe Demolishor towards Buenos Aires. Prime assured Admiral Morshower that they would forcibly bring Sideswipe in if necessary, but fortunately, Ironhide was able to calm the rampaging Autobot down. Tales of the Fallen #2 Demolishor escaped, but was tracked to Shanghai by NEST the following year, and Prime's team headed out to finally take the giant Decepticon down. Alliance #4
After Optimus's death and rebirth during the conflict with The Fallen, Revenge of the Fallen movie adaptation NEST resumed its day-to-day business of hunting down rogue Decepticons. Optimus was dissatisfied with their present reactive state, however, insisting that they begin proactively rooting out Decepticons before they struck. With NEST low on resources, Optimus deployed several new Autobot arrivals to deal with a Decepticon attack on Kingdom Petrochemicals. Nefarious #1 The presence of unknown humans at the petrochemical plant gave Prime and Lennox something to puzzle over, and soon after, when NEST was tipped off to Decepticon activity in Utah, the pair believed things to be connected. Optimus went to Ironhide and Sideswie's aid in Utah, besting Soundwave and taking him into Autobot custody in order to learn everything he knew about the enigmatic human organization. Nefarious #2 Optimus oversaw the preparations of the facilities for holding Soundwave, rather than face having to tell Major Lennox what they'd done, but this proved the wrong choice: when the plane carrying Soundwave was shot down by Buzzsaw, Prime's off-the-record actions meant that Lennox was unable to call in any help. Nefarious #3
When Theodore Galloway got too close to discovering the actions of the Initiative, the mysterious human group, they sent the mind-controlled Decepticon Ransack to eliminate him. Optimus sent Skids and Mudflap to help him, after which Soundwave returned and proposed an alliance between himself and the Autobots to stop the Initiative for good. Nefarious #4 Soundwave led the Autobots to the location of the Initiative base in California, but the mobile headquarters had moved on by the time they arrived. Following its trail to Utah, Optimus sensed the power of something very like the AllSpark upon approach, and began to realize what they were up against—though he did not expect that the Autobots would then find themselves facing brainwashed Transformers, including some of their own comrades! Nefarious #5 During the battle, Optimus demanded their foe surrender the artifical AllSpark they possessed, but Carter Newell, head of the Initiative, responded by trying to use the artifact to terminate all Cybertronian life. An injury courtesy of Reedman aborted the attempt, and Newell tried to flee, forcing Optimus to ram the truck he was in. From the wreck, Optimus pulled the rapidly-destabilizing faux-AllSpark, and was ready to feed it his own spark to stop the deadly chain reaction building within it. Luckily that turned out to be unnecessary, as Fortress—a Seeker who had long been the Initiative's captive—took the AllSpark from him and carried it into space, where it exploded safely. In the aftermath, Optimus noted that the Initiative databanks had been picked clean by Soundwave, and feared the possibility that anyone else might attempt to recreate the AllSpark. Nefarious #6
The Autobot refugees rescued from the Initiative were eager to get back in the field, but Optimus encouraged them to take more time to recuperate, as they were clearly not fully healed. The havoc the Initiative wrought had convinced Optimus that the Autobots had to refocus their efforts on a new objective: ensuring that no other humans could exploit Cybertronian technology. A team inducing Elita-One and her sisters was deployed to recover Cybertronian weapons from an arms dealer; upon their return to Diego Garcia, Prime shared a quiet moment with Elita, learning more about the new symbiotic bond that had recently been forged between her and her sisters, and growing fearful of the violent streak she had developed. Rising Storm #1
When word reached NEST that Sam Witwicky had come under attack from Decepticons in Philadelphia, Optimus mobilized the Autobots to respond. With Arcee having been injured on the previous mission, he initially wanted her and her sisters to stay behind, but they insisted on going. Rising Storm #2 During the flight to Philadelphia, Optimus tried once more to have Arcee sit out of the mission, but Elita reinforced her need for revenge—a sentiment that only opened old wounds between her and Prime, reminding both of the time in the past when Prime let his rage get the better of him.
Elita's anger over Prime's abandonment of her on Cybertron, and the fact that her death and reunion with him had only led to more fighting and killing, boiled over, and she and her sisters angrily departed on their own mission: to infiltrate what the Autobots believe to be the Decepticons' base of operations in upstate New York. Rising Storm #3 Optimus and the rest of the team proceeded on to Philadelphia, where they engaged and contained the Decepticons, but after a while, Elita reappeared, attempting to warn them that the whole thing was a trap laid by Shockwave. No sooner had she spoken his name, the cyclopean Decepticon himself rocketed down out of the air and crushed the life out of her. Driven into a rage by her death, Optimus Prime took Shockwave on one-on-one, and would have killed him had Shockwave's pet Driller not came to save his master. Rising Storm #4
Shockwave had also ravaged the Diego Garcia base and killed all the Autobots stationed there, requiring it to be shut down and NEST operations moved to Washington, D.C. Optimus oversaw the decommissioning of the facility, Dark of the Moon #1 which was soon followed by the return and betrayal of Sentinel Prime. Dark of the Moon adaptation
Transformers: Beginnings
- Voice actor: Peter Cullen
Bumblebee remembered Optimus Prime's orders that they must launch the AllSpark into space, for it was better to lose it to the depths of space than allow Lord Megatron to corrupt it with his evil. For wherever there is hope, there is life. Transformers: Beginnings
Titan movie comics
When war broke out, Optimus Prime studied the entire history of intergalactic warfare from any datatrack he could find—he studied whole campaigns to desperate last stands, gaining a focused "playbook" of warfare strategy. He understands warfare on a practical and psychological level, and in desperate battles knows to show no mercy to opponents beyond a swift death. Autobot VS Decepticon Smackdown!
While preparing to launch the AllSpark into space, Optimus hesitated before pressing the fateful button, fearful that he was condemning his world to a slow death. Before he could reach a conclusion, Prime came under attack from a drone sent by Megatron to kill him, and instructed his assistant Arctus to launch the AllSpark if he had not returned from the fight within ten cycles. When Prime's battle with the drone carried them both into the AllSpark chamber, the drone attempted to alert Megatron to the cube's location, forcing a desperate Prime to transform into his cometary protoform and cannonball directly into his opponent. The drone was successfully blown it pieces, but Prime was knocked out by the impact, and experienced a prophetic vision of a battle on another world. Realizing that the AllSpark's ejection could spread the Transformers' war to other planets, Prime awoke too late to change the course of fate, and could only watch as the AllSpark rocketed off into the sky... Prelude: Optimus Prime
Prime and his Autobots pursued the AllSpark to Earth and battled the Decepticons for it. Almost immediately after triumphing over their foes, however, Optimus and his men had to face them again when they somehow rose as zombies. Despite having no idea how they could be stopped and having had his power drained by fighting Megatron, Optimus continued to fight the monsters rather than let them run amok. Fortunately, Ratchet deduced that they had been reanimated by energies scavenged from the AllSpark by Starscream, enabling the Autobots to target their power sources and slay them once more. Starscream's Militia
With the formation of NEST, Optimus found he had to strive daily to gain credibility with the human powers-that-be. Reversal of Fortune Working diligently to root out Decepticon threats around the globe, Prime was too busy to meet with new Autobot arrivals Skids and Mudflap, who claimed to have important information for him, though Ironhide noted that the twins had cried wolf so many times, even Optimus had trouble believing their stories these days. Learning Curve While in Australia on NEST business, Prime went into action alongside Arcee to apprehend Sideways; the two Autobots found the terrain down under to be a challenge, while Sideways was in his element, so Prime elect to just blow up the terrain instead. Taking the captive Sideways back to Diego Garcia, Prime was greeted on arrival with the sight of Skids and Mudflap brawling on the runway. He bawled them out over improper conduct, but before he could go further, Scorponok made an attack. In the firefight that followed, Optimus tripped over Skids, and by the time he had righted himself, Scorponok and Sideways had both escaped. Knowing that the enemy could not have got this close without NEST security being compromised, Optimus was convinced by Sideswipe's argument that the twins had turned traitor and had them taken away for questioning. Reversal of Fortune
When the twins were sprung by Decepticons, Prime agreed with Theodore Galloway that the Autobots would make finding the twins a number one priority. However, Optimus was left suspicious when a mysterious "friend" tipped the Autobots off about the twins. Outlaw Blues
Soon, it came out that the twins were being framed and by tracking the two, Optimus and his men found out about a Decepticon base near Mars. Optimus led a raid on it, taking down the drone army stationed there. But he never did get to hear Skids and Mudflap's intel, about a mysterious threat known as The Fallen... Back-to-Back
Following The Fallen's attack on Earth, Optimus continued operations against the Decepticons. Jolt's over-enthusiasm began to muck that up, causing damage and getting NEST into trouble, despite Optimus' attempts to point this out to him. Optimus had to confine him to base. Culture Shock Soon after that, he was drawn out into a trap by Trophy White and the Free Men, who wanted to take his head as a trophy. Optimus worked out their plan and allowed himself to be captured by the deranged hunter, in order to keep the fight away from civilians. He pretended to be securely chained down and listened to White's sociopathic ravings, before (at the moment he considered funniest) breaking free and taking White prisoner. Shockingly, he found keeping the severed heads of animals as trophies to be bad, and destroyed Trophy's trophies. Bring Me the Head of Optimus Prime
When several Decepticons escaped from NEST's Bloemfontein, South Africa holding facility, Optimus ordered his men to let the prisoners flee: a battle outside a major sports event would cause unacceptable civilian casualties. Inside Out! This led to a major collapse in Autobot popularity, and open battles with Decepticons in cities were just risking further alienation. In response, Prime created a secret covert unit (even under NEST's radar) that would monitor the Decepticons, wait for windows of opportunity out of the public eye, and then hit hard and fast. While this worked, Optimus was left disquieted: the tactics he was using were too akin to the Decepticons, and a fine line was being walked. Shadow War Tracking the Decepticons, led by Bludgeon, to a base in Russia, Optimus led a strike team in, unaware that Wheelie had sold them all out to Bludgeon and that they were walking into an ambush. Divided Loyalties "Luckily," Megatron arrived to destroy Bludgeon in punishment for running a rival faction; rather than engage Optimus, Megatron departed with the omnious warning that a day of reckoning was coming soon. A Short, Sharp Lesson!
When a relic of an unknown UFO was discovered in Fiesole, Italy, Optimus led a NEST team to secure the find. Starscream launched a surprise attack to claim it: Optimus ordered the human archaeologist to keep digging and fought the Decepticon, taking two blows before overpowering and thrashing him. But Starscream kept fighting, asking Optimus if there were things worth dying for. Optimus agreed and said he was willing to die to save Earth from Decepticons... at which point Starscream suckerpunched him and stole the artifact. Optimus was left concerned about what the 'cons were up to Fight for Fiesole but found himself distract by two minor plots of Soundwave's, first fighting him to stop him crashing the Earth's economy Blood And Gold and then in Spain after he'd drawn Robert Epps and Bumblebee into an ambush. With Bumblebee near death, Optimus agreed to fight Soundwave without weapons if it would mean his comrade's survived, and he nearly died in the resulting fight. However, he managed to use Soundwave's sonic blasts and the local environment against his foe and emerged victorious. Dealing with the Devil
When Ratchet contacted NEST to let them know there was trouble at the Tech Museum of Innovation, Optimus himself turned out to help chase off Starscream and Barricade. He later tried to convince the anti-Cybertronian protesters that the Autobots were here to help, but Ratchet and Ironhide's actions during the fight had already convinced them of that, and their leader, Marcus Castor, was already producing anti-Decepticon T-shirts. Automatic for the People
In the aftermath of the battle for Chicago, Optimus and Decepticon defector Drift were cleaning up Ark debris on the moon. Optimus was bemused that Drift would rather be hunting down Decepticons instead, asking if he really wanted to fight his former allies, and pointing out this was necessary work. Soon after, Drift was horrified to find the corpse of his old comrade Knucklehead. He recounted a story involving them and the murderer, Lockdown, and Prime said he was sorry for the loss. Adrift in Time and Space
A while later, Optimus, Bumblebee, and Crosshairs engaged a trio of Decepticon survivors in Jakarta, Indonesia. When their charges retreated, Optimus suggested that the three Autobots follow together, but Crosshairs insisted that he go it alone. After giving permission for this action, Prime commanded Bumblebee to keep a watchful eye on the new arrival and relay any findings back to him. With the three Decepticons located and single-handedly defeated by Crosshairs on the island of Pulau Bidadari, Optimus informed Crosshairs that he was more than combat ready, but he had the feeling that they may have missed something... Thousand Island Flight
When Stinger impersonated Bumblebee, Optimus found himself training his weapons on both of the 'bots, confident that the true Bumblebee would be able to prove his identity. He did not have long to wait, as Bumblebee saved a human who had fallen from a nearby burning building, and Optimus quickly overpowered Stinger and ordered him to get out of his sight, repulsed by his artificial nature. Accept No Substitutes!
Hearing a news report suggesting a potential Transformer threat in the town of Cullum, Optimus Prime investigated alongside Crosshairs, and discovered that the area was being menaced by a powerful turbofox. Crosshairs had once lost an entire platoon to a pack of turbofoxes and struggled to overcome his fears in order to help Prime battle the creature, but fortunately, just as Prime was about to become fox-food, Crosshairs got his head in order and blasted the beast. Optimus congratulated him on conquering his fear, and hoped that humankind would be able to do the same and become allies of the Autobots' once again. Creature of Chaos
Alternate timeline
In a parallel universe, the battle of Mission City turned out very differently—Optimus was defeated and captured by Megatron, and the AllSpark fell into Decepticon hands. The Decepticons proceeded to conquer North America, and by the start of 2008, had begun a plan to cyberform the Earth using the AllSpark's energies. Working with Mikaela Banes and Tom Banachek, the Autobots staged a plan to rescue Prime, who they knew was being held in Sector Seven's old Hoover Dam base, repurposed by the Decepticons as their new headquarters... but when Bumblebee and Mikaela infiltrated the base, they did not expect to find Prime frozen solid by the liquid nitrogen cooling system previously used to imprison Megatron. Twilight's Last Gleaming, Part: 1 While Bumblebee distracted Megatron, Mikaela began her attempt to deactivate the system, Twilight's Last Gleaming, Part: 2 but soon came under attack herself by Frenzy. Twilight's Last Gleaming, Part: 3 Fortunately, she was able to dupe Frenzy into rupturing the liquid nitrogen tanks with his blades, damaging the system to the point where Prime began to thaw out. The revived Prime challenged Megatron to a duel, Twilight's Last Gleaming, Part: 4 but as they fought, Optimus learned that Megatron's link to the AllSpark allowed his old enemy to instantly heal any damage Prime managed to inflict. Luckily, Bumblebee and Mikaela saved the day, hitting the distracted Megatron with an old Sector Seven nanovirus, which destroyed him from within. Simultaneously, Autobots elsewhere destroyed the AllSpark to halt its cyberforming of Earth, but despite this success and the death of Megatron, Prime could take no satisfaction in victory: this battle was won, but the war remained... Twilight's Last Gleaming, Part: 5
Surveying the damage done to Earth, Prime became resigned to the fact that Humanity, battered by Decepticon occupation, would view both Autobot and Decepticon as hostile invaders. Worse yet, although a fragment of the AllSpark had survived the cube's destruction, Optimus feared its contact with Megatron had corrupted it beyond all hope. In spite of these concerns, Prime was quick to order his men to protect a human shelter against Decepticon attack, but the Autobots' defense was misinterpreted as hostile action, and they came under attack from a NATO unit. Aftermath, Part 1 Optimus refused to allow his men to return fire, but fortunately, the crisis soon passed when the human who had ordered the attack was freed from the Decepticon mind-control that had guided his actions. Optimus surrendered to the humans, beginning an alliance between the Autobots and the United States government. Aftermath Part 2
After examining a particularly volatile spot of geological flux brought on by the AllSpark's energy in Okeechobee, Florida alongside Tom Banachek and recently-appointed President Theodore Allen, Optimus Prime returned to the Autobots' base in Savannah, Georgia, where he was shocked to discover that Ratchet had used the AllSpark fragment that Prime had entrusted to him to resurrect Jazz. Prime assigned Ratchet and Jazz to monitor the Okeechobee situation, but warned Ratchet to keep a close eye on Jazz, fearing what the potentially-tainted AllSpark had done to him. Unfortunately, Prime's fears proved true, and Jazz soon revealed himself to have been left corrupted and amoral by the shard's power. Dark Spark
"What was that?"
"I SAID I'M GONNA KILL YA"
Optimus Prime soon worked out that while the AllSpark's transformation of Earth had been halted, the damage had been done: the infection had reached the planet's core, and the organic Earth and the technological transformation were now fighting for supremacy, killing the planet in the process. While he arranged for a specialist team to investigate and limit the damage, Prime reported his findings to President Allen, but refrained from telling him of the back-up plan he was putting into action lest humanity's hopes be unduly raised: a team led by Ironhide was to retrieve Nucleon from the dead Cybertron in the hope it could be used to save Earth. Return to Cybertron, Part 1 Planetary surveyor Camshaft was appalled when Prime revealed the plan to him, knowing how unstable Nucleon could be, Return to Cybertron, Part 2 and the bad news continued to pour in when a distress call from Ironhide's team reported that a band of Decepticons led by Stockade's already had control of Cybertron's Nucleon. Optimus led the entirety of the Earth-bound Autobots (save Camshaft's team) to Cybertron as back-up, but was surprised to see Cybertron coming to them, possessed by the evil entity Unicron. Return to Cybertron, Part 3 Shot down by Unicron, Prime's team abandoned ship and made it to Cybertron using their cometary protoforms. Forming an alliance with Stockade, Prime formed a plan to drain off the Nucleon so Unicron couldn't use it as a power source, while the bulk of the Transformers provided a distraction by going underground and shooting up Unicron's body. The plan worked, Nucleon was secured for Earth, and Optimus extended an offer for Stockade to join them on Earth whenever he wished. Optimus was left optimistic that Autobots and Decepticons had come together in a common cause. Return to Cybertron: Part 4
On returning to Earth, Prime found the Decepticons had seized the Autobot base and surrounding area; he made the decision to withdraw to Washington, D.C., knowing that this meant leaving Mikaela in Decepticon hands. Upon landing at an air base, the Decepticon-controlled President Allen lured him into a trap, and he found himself fighting Jazz, now a Decepticon hired gun. Optimus lured him away from humans and prepared to engage him, but when a second assassin named Kullt turned up, Jazz gunned it down out of annoyance. Optimus had viewed Jazz as a lost cause but now stated there was still some Autobot in him: he could have let Kullt do the work for him and then killed him, but he saved Prime instead. Hard Target Prime then took the Autobots to rescue Mikaela; he himself went first, launching himself in protoform mode to land in Savannah like a bomb and tearing his way through drone hordes. He was quickly gunned down by aerial units and about to be killed by Starscream, but this whole flashy attack had been a diversion—allowing other Autobots a chance to hit the distracted air forces and nab Mikaela. The Decepticon Who Haunted Himself
Optimus seemed to quickly bond with General Seward, his military liaison at Andrews Air Base, but that didn't help when the mind-controlled President Allen had the government order the Autobots out of America. Revolution, Part One However, having deduced that Allen was under Decepticon control following his clash with Jazz, Prime had anticipated this. As expected, Allen attempted to nuke the Autobots' ship as it departed, but he only succeeded in blowing up a decoy ship Prime had had Ironhide and Bumblebee prepare. Revolution, Part Three Believed dead, the Autobots went undercover on Cybertron, making another deal with Stockade to have his team protect Earth in their absence, kicking off a Decepticon Civil War. Optimus didn't trust Stockade to not renege on the deal and just take control of Earth for himself, Revolution, Part Two but he ensured the Decepticons were set up for the Autobot's final strike: forcibly teleporting all of the enemy to Cybertron via Unicron's leftover teleportational engines, then stranding Cybertron in a remote solar system. Optimus led the troops to Earth and witnessed Megatron's return from the dead, but this proved no impediment to the Autobots' plan: Prime briefly distracted Megatron so he could be tagged with a teleporter like the other Decepticons, and the next minute, both Megatron, Stockade, and their entire armies were all teleported away. This left the Autobots stranded on Earth and with a lot of clean-up to do... but at long last, Optimus Prime had finally brought the war to an end. Revolution, Part Three
Toy bios
The truck Optimus Prime trans-scanned upon arrival on Earth was the coolest thing he ever saw. Robo-Vision Optimus Prime
When the AllSpark was destroyed in Mission City, Optimus was bathed in its power and became a living receptacle: he could destroy or heal with the merest thought. He still remained dedicated to peace, and altered his exterior decorations to match the ones he bore as a young leader, before the beginning of the war. First Strike Optimus Prime When Starscream came out of hiding, Prime teamed with Arcee to hunt him down, Arcee, Starscream & Optimus Prime but as more Decepticons under Starscream's command began appearing on Earth, Prime had to use the AllSpark power within him to alter his body into a new sensor-transparent, super-silent form for stealth missions. Prime considered it dishonourable, but knew had to be done. Nightwatch Optimus Prime Unfortunately, Starscream followed his lead and also modified himself for stealth so he could target Prime personally. Nightwatch Optimus Prime vs. Stealth Starscream
Once the Decepticons were beaten on Earth, Optimus was provided with intelligence by Sector Seven about Decepticon bases on Mars. After assuming new colors, he headed to the red planet. Fire Blast Optimus Prime As it turned out, though, the Decepticons would soon strike at Earth again; Prime upgraded his sensor suite and trained with Ironhide to better track their enemies. Revenge of the Fallen Voyager Optimus Prime
Following the battle with The Fallen in Egypt, Optimus made a particular point of tracking down Starscream, Hunt for the Decepticons Leader Optimus Prime and enhanced his arsenal with weapons designed to take on airborne Decepticons. Unfortunately, these new weapons were not a great help in battling hypnotic Decepticon Mindwipe, who prevented Prime from opening fire by attacking him with mind-controlled humans. Defender Optimus Prime Prime had more luck against Banzaitron, who mistakenly believed that Optimus won his fights through raw power; in actuality, Prime's decades of training made him one of Cybertron's most skilled fighters, and Banzaitron held little challenge for him. Battle Blades Optimus Prime
Optimus was known to team up with Comettor for lunar missions. Optimus Prime & Comettor It was on the lunar surface that lost Autobot leader Sentinel Prime was found, and the team-up of these two Primes meant the Decepticons didn't stand a chance! Walmart Deluxe Optimus Prime Optimus continued to combat threats to the Autobots with various new upgrades like armor reinforced with Cybertanium Lunarfire Optimus Prime and Tritanium, Tritanium Optimus Prime, MechTech weapons that included a powerful Cybertanium battle axe Fireburst Optimus Prime and the combining Mega Striker cannon, Striker Optimus and the incredible Omega Combat Armor. Ultimate Optimus Prime
Eventually the human alliances came into question. As Earth still needed him, Optimus altered his form so he could move around unrecognised and commit covert strikes on Decepticons. Evasion Mode Optimus Prime
Beast Wars Diorama Story
Under mysterious circumstances, Optimus Prime, Ironhide, Jazz, Ratchet and Starscream were transported through a warp in space and time and deposited on the prehistoric Earth of another universe, smack into the middle of the "Beast Wars" between Optimus Primal's Maximals and Megatron's Predacons. Prime made fast friends with Primal; they joined their forces and double-teamed the injured Starscream, who had just taken a blast to the face from Tigatron. The two Optimuses commemorated their accomplishment of teamwork by shaking hands, while the Maximals and Ratchet looked on in approval. Tigatron Chapter
Starscream allied with the Predacons, and was soon joined by Blackout, his own Megatron, Gimlet Chapter and Brawl who all also travelled through the warp. The two Megatrons combined their troops into a fearsome force against the Autobots and Maximals. Fortunately for the Autobots and Maximals, Motorarm arrived to assist. The two factions then took formation against each other with the intention of combining their energies to attack the opposing side. With Motorarm leading the charge, the Maximals and the Autobots attacked first. Motorarm Chapter
Cyber Missions
- Voice actor: Eric Edwards (English), Blas Garcia (Latin-American Spanish)
During NEST's ongoing hunt for the Decepticons after the death of The Fallen, Optimus Prime recorded some information on the Autobot-Decepticon war for preservation in Vector Sigma. Bumblebee and Ironhide were reviewing the data when Bludgeon and Soundwave launched an attack on NEST command. Cyber Missions 1 The next morning, Optimus had been informed of the attack and Soundwave's capture, and he ordered Ironhide to wait for reinforcements to assist in pursuing Bludgeon. Bludgeon made that difficult for Ironhide. Cyber Missions 2 Later, Optimus contacted Ratchet to inform him that Lockdown was causing chaos in Mission City, and he reminded the Autobot medic to be careful. Cyber Missions 3
Optimus and Sideswipe tracked Megatron to a disused factory, but the Decepticon leader eluded them by cloaking his spark signature. The hidden Megatron ambushed the two Autobots, and Optimus brought his swords to bear in battle, though he tried appealing to Megatron to surrender. Megatron's response came in the form of a blast that brought the fatory's roof down on the two Autobots, and though Megatron escaped, Optimus promised that he would no longer be able to hide. Cyber Missions 4
When Ironhide went missing after the incident with Bludgeon, Optimus searched for him, following directions from Bumblebee to a cave loaded with Energon. That cave turned out to be the hiding place of Decepticon hypnotist Mindwipe, who had Ironhide in his thrall, and tried to do the same to Optimus. The Autobot leader was able to resist Mindwipe's mesmerizing powers with a little help from his blaring truck horns, and defeated him, leaving a confused Ironhide to wonder what was going on. Cyber Missions 5
Reports of Smolder attacking a building in Scramble City resulted in Optimus dispatching Bumblebee and Ratchet to investigate. He filled them in on the situation en route. Cyber Missions 9 During another mission, Optimus warned Sideswipe and Ratchet that they were being tracked, moments before the pair were attacked by Starscream and Mindwipe. Cyber Missions 10
Bumblebee reported to Optimus that he'd managed to pinpoint the location where Megatron and Starscream were meeting, leading Optimus to confront the two Decepticons in an Arctic region. When Megatron expressed surprise that he'd come to fight them without backup, Optimus assured him that the Autobots were never far from their leader's side. While Starscream went to attack the others, Optimus and Megatron continued to fight, with Optimus emerging the eventual victor. As Megatron tried to goad him into finishing the fight, Optimus announced that the Autobots protected all sentient life, and that included the Decepticons. He subsequently allowed Megatron to flee. Cyber Missions 12
Prime set up an elaborate trap involving a hologram of Soundwave to lure the Decepticons to a spot in the wilderness. The ploy worked, and Optimus attacked Megatron while his men attacked Megatron's troops. At one point during the battle, Megatron threw a train car at him, and he simply somersaulted along its length. Though Megatron boasted that the Decepticons would win through sheer determination, Optimus knocked him to the ground and gave a speech about building alliances, which was the cue for the humans to turn up in force and surround the Decepticons. Optimus informed Megatron that he could either leave the planet peacefully or be destroyed. Once the rest of the Decepticons fled, Megatron delivered a final threat before taking off. Prime celebrated with another speech, before admiring the huge Autobot insignia Bumblebee had stomped into the ground. Decepticons Attack
Transformers Annual 2011
During NEST's global hunt for Decepticons in the time period between the battle of Mission City and The Fallen's attack on Earth, an alert of Decepticon activity in Tokyo sent Optimus, Ironhide, Ratchet and Sideswipe to investigate. Prime intervened in Sideswipe and Barricade's battle to lift the Decepticon into the air, only to find himself under attack by Grindor. Ordering Sideswipe and Ratchet to cover him, Optimus scaled the side of a nearby office block so he could punch the helicopter out of the air. Standing over the two Decepticons, Optimus was surprised when they informed him that they were simply providing a diversion. Optimus realised that Sam was in danger, and rushed back to America in time to find Starscream attempting to abduct the boy. He jumped on Starscream's back, causing the Decepticon to flee and saving Sam from a kidnapping. Sam in Danger
I Can Read! books
Optimus met up with Ironhide, Sideswipe and Bumblebee in a desert to train. He and Ironhide tackled a rough off-road trail, only for their training to be interrupted by a nearby dam bursting open. The two Autobots sealed up the dam using rocks from a nearby quarry. They met back up with Bumblebee and Sideswipe afterwards, who admitted to have encountered their own "natural disaster." The source of the disturbances soon revealed itself to be Megatron and Starscream tunneling underground. Though the two Decepticons attempted to ambush the Autobots, Optimus and the others were able to send them running thanks to the training they had gone through that day. Training Day
Optimus came upon Starscream attacking Sam and Mikaela, while Bumblebee and Wheelie argued with one another nearby on how to defeat the Decepticon. Optimus knocked out Starscream with a single punch before chastising both his subordinates for allowing their feelings get in the way of their mission to protect the humans. Sam and Mikaela attempted to have Wheelie and Bumblebee reconcile, but the two Autobots were too stubborn to apologize to one another. Optimus suggested that the humans give Bumblebee and Wheelie time to work things out. But Starscream suddenly regained consciousness, prompting Optimus to order Wheelie and Bumblebee to work together to defeat him while he protected the humans. The two Autobots managed to put their differences aside and accomplished their task. Optimus looked on with pride as the two friends thanked each other afterwards. Buddy Brawl
Hunt for the Decepticons storybooks
Optimus had assigned Skids and Mudflap to watch over Sam while Bumblebee was away on a mission. When he asked the Twins for their report on the situation, they informed him that they suspected the new lab assistant working at Sam's university to be a Decepticon spy. Optimus ordered the two Autobots to continue their vigil over Sam. The Twins' hunch turned out to be correct, and the Decepticon spy sent Optimus a false distress signal through Sam's computer. Optimus sped to meet Sam at his university, where he encountered Megatron. Using a supermagnet within the University lab, Megatron was able to lock Optimus in his vehicle mode. Megatron would have destroyed Optimus if not for Sam's timely intervention. Sam used the supermagnet on Megatron, allowing Optimus to escape, and get repaired by Ratchet. Prime Target
Optimus received word from human authorities that Buzzsaw and Ratbat were causing trouble. But thanks to Soundwave's tampering with communications, he and his Autobots wound up driving to an empty warehouse miles away instead of the location of the conflict. Upon arriving at the warehouse, Optimus and his troops quickly realized that they had been tricked. Thankfull, Sam and Bumblebee met them there, and led them to the correct location. Optimus took care of both Decepticons by himself, sending them fleeing. Optimus then met with the human military, and informed them of Soundwave in Earth orbit. Together, they managed to have the satellite to which Soundwave was attached to self-destruct, sending the Decepticon tumbling off into outer space. Sam later thanked Sam for his help in the mission. Satellite Meltdown
Spot the 'Bots
While on a mission to find Decepticons, Optimus found Megatron hiding behind a tree. Megatron tried to scamper away, but Optimus and his Autobots gave chase. A small group of both factions then met at an old warehouse, and they began to duke it out for the fate of the Earth! Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Spot the 'Bots
Unite for the Universe
In the wake of The Fallen's defeat, NEST initiated Project Unite to find a way of modifying Jetfire's parts so that Optimus could use them again. Unaware of the project's objective, but knowing that it held a great power, Starscream attacked the Unite facility to try stealing its fruits for himself, only to find a successfully powered-up Optimus Prime ready and waiting to take him on. The Secret of Project: Unite Starscream fled, but immediately began plotting on how he could take Optimus's new power for himself. Ambition Instigated
When word came in of another Starscream sighting on the Greek island of Delos, Optimus used his new abilities to fly there personally, where Sideswipe briefed him on what the Autobots had deduced: Starscream had managed to replicate the Unite process using the bodies of dead Decepticons, and was making a play for power. Knowing that Starscream did not have the necessary neural interface protocols to handle the Unite upgrade and would soon be driven mad, Optimus led the Autobots in tracking him to Taipei, Taiwan for a confrontation... only for Megatron himself to show up, also dedicated to bring Starscream to heel! On the Road of Destruction Tempting as it was to stand back and watch Megatron and Starscream duke it out, Optimus could not risk the Unite technology falling into Megatron's hands, and soon interceded in the Decepticons' battle. While Optimus kept Megatron busy, Ratchet hit Starscream with a scrambler weapon that burned out Starscream's new cyber-genetic sequencing, rending the Unite tech useless; Megatron departed, vowing vengeance. Optimus sadly reflected that in striving to create new and better weapons, the Autobots had almost handed the Decepticons victory, and swore that fortitude and valour would be the only weapons he relied on henceforth. The Strongest Weapon
The Creation Revoltech!
At the mercy of Megatron and the powerful Revocube, Optimus Prime, at Ratchet's urging, called upon the power of the Revoltech universal joint. As the Wreckers watched, Prime surged with energy—and guns!—and prepared to renew the fight. The Creation Revoltech!
How to Ride Your Dinobot
Cartoon
Optimus found trying to ride Grimlock was far from an easy task, which wasn't helped by his notably impatient attitude. First, Grimlock flung him into a wall when he first tried to get him to move. After receiving a cast on his leg following the incident, he again lost his patience when trying to get his steed to move. However, it was all for naught, as now it was time for Grimlock to ride on Optimus' shoulders. Optimus could only groan in pain as he carried the massive Dinobot around, who was having a much better day than he was. How to Ride
Comic
Intending to teach his Autobots the fine art of Dinobot-riding, Optimus Prime led his men through a Chinese forest to the Dinobots' stomping ground—though he refrained from telling the Autobots where he was taking them, so they couldn't say no! Hound and Bumblebee had little luck taming Slash and Strafe, but when Drift and Crosshairs managed to saddle up atop Slug and Scorn, Optimus cautioned them against overconfidence, but suggested they try practising combat scenario. It did not go well. Bruised and tired, Hound pointed out that Optimus hadn't done any riding, but Optimus professed that he didn't need to, since he was already an expert. Grimlock evidently didn't get the message, as he flipped the unsuspecting Optimus onto his back, then took off running. Optimus called to the Autobots that Grimlock had picked up the scent of Decepticons, and instructed them all to RIDE OUT! How to Ride a Dinobot!
Yokohama Decepticon Secret Base
Two versions of Optimus Prime were hanging out at the Transformers Expo in Yokohama at the same time—one in his original Earth body, the other in his Age of Extinction form—when the evil clone of a different Optimus Prime, Nemesis Prime, came crashing into the building. The Primes attacked him alongside Bumblebee, at which point Nemesis was backed up by some of the other Expo attendees: a second Nemesis Prime (this one Optimus's own evil duplicate) and Nemesis Grimlock! They glared at each other a bit, until suddenly, the combined energies of the AllSpark, the Matrix of Leadership and the seed—all on display at the Expo, naturally—began reacting with the Dark Energon withing the first Nemesis Prime. This was all part of a complicated plot by Unicron, but fortunately, Nemesis resisted the dark urges within himself, and channelled all the Dark Energon into the stickers his creator Doctor Arkeville had used to make him evil. Nemesis ripped the stickers off and hurled them into the air, where all the Autobots and Decepticons—and even the Expo's human attendees, using their cell phones—blasted them and stopped the chain reaction.
It was a super weird day. Yokohama Decepticon Secret Base
Cheetos/Age of Extinction comic
Discovering that the Decepticons were increasing their strength through artifacts from the Cheetos galaxy, Optimus Prime and the Autobots recruited your help to acquire the power-enhancing objects. Cheetos/Transformers: Age of Extinction
Q-Transformers cartoon
- Voice actor: Yoshimasa Hosoya (Japanese)
In this world, Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and Lockdown were aware that they were toys: specifically, Q-Transformers, a new line of cute-looking Transformers merchandise produced to tie-in with the 30th anniversary of the Transformers brand. Optimus sometimes changed his look to match other Optimus Prime toys, but his "default" form was that of a toy based on his Age of Extinction look. They hanged out at different famous service areas on Japanese expressways, and talked about the Mystery of Convoy video game, and the remake produced as a tie-in with their toyline, Mystery of Convoy Returns.
Discussing the ins and outs of their cute designs, Optimus and his pals explained that they were created for the purpose of appealing to non-Transformers fans; Optimus suggested plush Transformers could be another way of tapping that market. Mystery of the 30th Anniversary Merchandise When the trio talked about and how terrible Mystery of Convoy was, Optimus huffed, insisting that, at the very least, it wasn't unbeatable. Discussing traits that they thought made games bad, Optimus voiced a dislike for games without different difficulty settings. Mystery of Reliably Crappy Games
Lockdown suggested that re-releasing such a terrible game was like rubbing salt in a wound; Bumblebee didn't understand the expression, since, as Optimus pointed out, they were robots, and it didn't mean anything to them. While trying to come up with situations the phrase was applicable to, Lockdown suggested "accidentally sending your father an "I love you" text instead of your boyfriend or girlfriend"; the trio joked about what sort of response the father would send, and Optimus silenced everyone with the thoughtful answer: "I know". Mystery of Smearing Salt in the Open Wound The group then talked about the rubbish stage bosses in Mystery of Convoy, particularly the floating Decepticon insignia, and wondered what sort of fictional scenarios it could be used in. Mystery of the Stage Bosses
Prime and company began being joined by their friends to discuss facets of the game. Prowl participated in a talk about the differences between the original and the remake, Mystery of the Wittily Similar Circumstances while Wheeljack highlighted the tonal "gap" between the cute character designs and the very un-cute action in the game. Everyone tried to think of examples of similar "gaps": Optimus suggested a stylish young dude wearing unfashionable underwear, and started sweating when everyone laughed. Mystery of the Gap of Unpopular Men Sunstreaker and Sideswipe joined them to talk about classic terrible games, which turned into a discussion about adventure and exploring, and the comforts an explorer might like to have with them on such a journey. Mystery of a Certain Explorer Bluestreak and Smokescreen also talked about some famously awful old games, seguing into a discussion about psychokinetic powers; Optimus remembered seeing a guy on TV who had the power to magnetize cutlery to his body. Mystery of a Certain Psychic
When Tracks came along to share his thoughts on points of commonality among famously awful games, the group talked about the technical advancements of video games, but when Optimus wanted to talk about motion capture technology, he got confused and mixed it up with a CAT scan! Mystery of Game Balance Red Alert also had some opinions on the common themes of bad games, but Bumblebee and Optimus's willingness to settle for less frustrated Lockdown. Mystery of the Lowest Possible Standards
Optimus had changed his look to match that of his Transformers GT incarnation when Jazz dropped in. They talked about the changing faces of Optimus Prime through history, and how he used to be called "Convoy" in Japan, then Lockdown compared "Optimus Prime" and "Convoy" to the Mario Brothers. Everyone had a good chuckle when Jazz specified that Optimus would be the "Luigi" of the pair. Mystery of Convoy Bumblebee later told Hot Rod and Ultra Magnus about Optimus's fondness for Mystery of Convoy. Mystery of Mystery of Convoy
When Megatron turned up to join the argument over just how bad Mystery of Convoy was, the shocked Optimus quickly switched bodies, taking on the form of his Generation 1 self. They argued back and forth for a bit, discussing other ways the game could have been remade, until Optimus proposed the most drastic rebranding he could think of: calling it "Mysteryvoy of Con". Mystery of Return of Convoy
Transformers Legends comic
In the "Legends Universe", Optimus Prime was just a fictional character featured in a series of popular movies and toylines. When the newest film, Age of Extinction came out, Rattrap and the other employees of the Axalon Trading Company went crazy for the new toys. Silverbolt got the Leader-class figure, TF4 Toys Part 1 while Rhinox, being more of a fan of the Generation 1 series, instead opted for the "Evasion Mode" figure, with its Generation 1-inspired alternate mode. He was disgusted to discover that such a classic, 80s-looking toy transformed into Optimus's movie-based robot mode design, and was even more put out when Silverbolt had the figure ride the new Grimlock toy. TF4 Toys Part 2
A new Optimus Prime toy was on show when the Axalon gang went to the 2014 Tokyo Toy Show during the summer. Tokyo Toy Show 2014 Report Part 2 Six months later, Nightscream spent Christmas enjoying Prime's exploits in the new Age of Extinction DVD. Christmas When Rhinox turned into Tankor and tried to revert the world back to how it was in the '80s, Rattrap attempted to stop him by singing the praises of modern-day Transformers, including the movie incarnation of Optimus. Bonus Edition Vol. 5
When Sky-Byte arrived in the Legends Universe and found that "Optimus Prime" was the English name of his enemy, Fire Convoy, he sought to ruin his reputation by dressing up as the Age of Extinction version of the character. The masses of adoring young fans that showed up made Sky-Byte unable to bring himself to crush their dreams. Bonus Edition Vol. 6
At Tokyo Toy Show 2015, Scourge appeared and took down Optimus Prime, or somebody in an Optimus Prime costume. Bonus Edition Vol. EX
Bot on the Street
Optimus was asked if Frenzy was red or blue, but as far as he was concerned, Frenzy was silver. Bot on the Street
Games
Commercial appearances
- As part of the hype buildup to the first movie's release, Optimus Prime made a brief cameo at the 2007 MTV Movie Awards, interacting with host Sarah Silverman. The scene spliced Silverman into pre-existing movie footage, but featured new dialogue recorded for the event by Peter Cullen. Prime heavily hinted that he wanted to present an award, but was rejected for a regular MTV fan.
- According to a tie-in advertisement for Burger King, Prime likes his Whoppers with no onions, no cheese, extra pickles, with a side of ????. However, due to a cruel twist of fate, he can never enjoy the sweet taste of beefy victory (and all because he needed a driver for him to receive his order). He saved the world from the Decepticons, and still he can't even have it his way? Where's the justice?
- Optimus Prime (in truck mode) made an appearance at BotCon 2007, alongside the Sector Seven Mobile Command Unit. He was available for pictures all weekend. He made a second appearance at BotCon 2009.
- Optimus threw a trailer during his appearance on an M&M's commercial.
- During the 2009 NBA Finals, a commercial aired where Optimus made a slam dunk and shattered the backboard.
- On July 6th 2009, Optimus appeared on The Late Show With David Letterman to declare the "Top Ten Things That Sound Cool When Said By A Giant Robot". Optimus said it was nice to be there, although David was clearly concerned by having an 28-feet tall robot in the studio because of a bad history of robots messing up the place, and during the presentation Letterman decided there was something about Prime he didn't like. Anyway, the top ten was:
- "Jergens lotion leaves my hands silky smooth."
- "Do you have these khakis in size 114?"
- "My perfect night involves a pint of Haagen-Dazs and season three of Sex and the City."
- "Man do I love me some 'taters."
- "It was so hot in Central Park today, I saw a squirrel rubbing sunblock on his nuts."
- "You seemed a little pitchy, dawg."
- "Brody Jenner has added you as a friend on Facebook."
- "Live from New York, it's Saturday night."
- "My parents wanted me to be a Rabbi."
- "All the slammin' shorties in the house say 'Yeah'."[1]
- To promote the DVD and Blu-ray release of Revenge of the Fallen, Paramount set up a website where US fans could request Optimus call up their friends, warning them of Starscream's attempts to recruit human civilian allies.
- In the Discovery Channel promo, "The World Is Just Awesome," Optimus made a brief cameo, singing the words "boom-de-ya-da, boom-de-ya-da."[2]
- Prime (voiced by Cullen, but not animated by ILM) appeared to promote a NASA competition to vote for videos made by children about NASA's impact on commonplace technology.[3]
- Optimus appeared in truck mode at Toy Fair 2011. He got a $115 parking ticket.[4]
- Optimus was seen firing a basketball from his blaster in an ESPN commercial with Mark Cuban.[5]
- To promote Age Of Extinction, Optimus appeared on screen during the 2014 Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards to warn Mark Wahlberg that he was in danger of being slimed.
Toys
Merchandise
Notes
Transformers
- When Optimus' design was first revealed, many fans of the Generation 1 series objected to the flames seen on Prime's body. When asked in an interview why he put the flames on, Michael Bay claimed he liked them because it was "cool". It was later revealed on a special featurette on the DVD that the flames were added because, apparently, red is not very good to film on camera, so Bay chose a blue truck but used the flames so that when Optimus transformed, the layout would result in maintaining his iconic red chest.
- In the director's commentary of the 2007 Transformers DVD, Michael Bay said that he had told the animators to seek inspiration from Liam Neeson in creating Optimus Prime's body language. Awesome
- Optimus Prime's truck mode is apparently intended to haul a flatbed trailer, based on the presence of the large silver "headache rack", a piece of optional equipment that protects the driver in case a flatbed load breaks free during braking. It is generally not installed on trucks hauling enclosed container trailers.
- TakaraTomy officially recognizes Optimus Prime's vehicle mode as a Kenworth W900 truck, even though the vehicle used for filming was a modified Peterbilt 379, a different model from a different brand, although both are made by the PACCAR company.[6]
- When Optimus Prime scans a truck for his new body, the passing truck has what appears to be an Autobot sigil on its grill, but the actual truck that Prime turns into at the end of the scene has a much wider, flatter symbol on the grill, which looks rather more like that of Peterbilt. Then, Prime has an Autobot sigil on his grill while driving to meet the other Autobots.
- According to the free trading cards from the Boston Globe, Optimus is 28 feet tall, weighs 4.3 metric tons, and his primary weapon is an ion blaster. (Considering Optimus's height, however, this weight would seem implausible.)
- The Milton Bradley Transformers Battling Card Game depicts Prime with a unique a magnetic grapple attack, fired from the side of his arm. It also declares his forearm gun to be a chain gun (it's an ion blaster in other sources), and has him using a "judo kick", which... while it may not be out of the realm of plausibility for Prime to have learned an Earth martial art, judo does not actually use kicks, being focused on throwing moves. Oops.
- Optimus Prime's Rise of the Chevy Autobots codename, "10-22", is CB radio slang for "report in person to." As in "Bumblebee, 10-22 to 10-22." Cute, huh?
- The Optimus Prime computer generated model consisted of 10,108 individual parts, 1,830,898 polygons, 27,744 rig nodes, and 2336 texture maps. The volume of all pieces combined came to 5445 cubic feet.[7]
- The Autobots DS game notes that Megatron killed Optimus's father. Considering several pieces of movie tie-in fiction treat Optimus and Megatron as brothers, it's entirely possible that he killed his own father too. Dark of the Moon may have unintentionally (given the obscurity of the four-year-old tie-in game) retconned this, as Optimus believed Sentinel Prime, the mentor figure to both of them, had perished during a Decepticon attack as he tried to escape from Cybertron.
Revenge of the Fallen
- Optimus was supposed to combine with a trailer for Revenge of the Fallen, something for which Ben Procter and Josh Nizzi drew up designs. In the end, Nizzi designed the combination with Jetfire. However, the idea of Optimus combining with his trailer was not forgotten, and showed up on screen in Dark of the Moon.
Dark of the Moon
- In Dark of the Moon, Optimus has Faux-parts, when he transforms inside of the NEST base facing Mearing and Lennox. It is noticeable that the Optimus robot truck parts are not the same as that of the actual truck mode body parts (or at least not all of them). Notice the red chest panels are in fact hidden under the truck nose panels and his arm appears (God knows from where) already with its red/blue flames parts; meanwhile the rest of the front of the vehicle fragments and hides into the robot. This is the only Optimus transformation that occurs this way. In the other in-movie conversions some of his alternate mode's appearances seem to be absorbed into his body or outright disappear.
Age of Extinction
- The overwhelming majority of Age of Extinction toys and promotional images for Optimus, not to mention his RotDS in-game model, are based on a preliminary design for the character, not used in the final film. The differences are most noticeable on the chest, although there are minor design variations across pretty much the entire body. TakaraTomy's later release schedule for their version of the line allowed them to somewhat remedy this situation – their Battle Command Optimus Prime toy appears to have had its chest and feet retooled before release to match the newer design, and their 'Armor Knight' re-release of the Leader Class toy features extensive retooling to similar effect.
- Optimus's "evasion mode" body possesses one of the more cheatsy transformation schemes in the series. Not only does Optimus manage to turn into a fairly small truck while retaining his normal robot mode height and mass, his windows and grille rather conspicuously change size whenever he transforms.
- On September 30, 2014, Optimus Prime was immortalized on the Hollywood Walk of Fame with a cement printing ceremony outside Grauman's Chinese Theater. In lieu of hand prints, Optimus provided tire prints. Peter Cullen was also in attendance and provided hand prints alongside his alter ego.
Other notes
- According to TakaraTomy marketing director Masahiko Yamazaki, for the Japanese dub of Transformers Animated, the Optimus featured in that show would become a young version of this one. Ultimately, this didn't make it into the end product as the show went largely unchanged.
Foreign names
- Japanese: Optimus Prime (オプティマスプライム Oputimasu Puraimu)
- Cantonese: O Baak Man (Hong Kong, 柯柏文)
- Hungarian: Optimusz Fővezér ("Prime Leader Optimus")
- Indonesian: Optimus Prime (Sang Ketujuh ("The Seventh") (In Indonesian Optimus is known as the seventh Prime) or Pemimpin Para Autobot ("The Leader of the Autobots")
- Mandarin: Khē Pó Wén (Taiwan, 柯博文), Qíng Tīan Zhù (China, 擎天柱, "Pillar that Supports the Sky")
- Ukrainian: Optimus Naikrashchiy (Оптимус Найкращий, "Optimus the Best")
References
- ↑ Lateshow CBS archive video of Optimus's guest spot.
- ↑ Discovery commercial on YouTube.
- ↑ NASA Optimus Prime
- ↑ Daily Mail article on Prime's fine.
- ↑ Mark Cuban looking for Optimus Prime to be his new "big man." Transformers 3 ESPN
- ↑ Article at Edmunds.com on some of the vehicles used in the movie
- ↑ Robertson, Barbara (2007). Heavy Metal. Computer Graphics, 30(7), 12-17.
- Pages with image sizes containing extra px
- Character stubs missing fiction
- Autobot leaders
- Age of Extinction Autobots
- Beast Wars Autobots
- Classified Autobots
- Convention guests
- Cyber Missions characters
- Dark of the Moon Autobots
- Hall of Fame characters
- Live-action film ARG characters
- Matrix bearers
- Movie Autobots
- NEST
- Primes
- Revenge of the Fallen Autobots
- Rulers of Cybertron
- Rise of the Dark Spark Autobots
