Prima

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Prima is the first Transformer. Created by Primus, he was appointed the Warrior of Light and given the legendary Star Saber sword with the Matrix of Leadership in its hilt.^[1]^[2] Chosen to lead the Thirteen against their eternal enemy Unicron, he and the rest of the Thirteen were made stewards of Primus' planetary form, Cybertron. He was once a multiversal singularity who existed as one being throughout all of time and space, but that is no longer the case.

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

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

Fiction

Generation 1 continuity family

The Transformers cartoon

Voice actor: Neil Ross (English)

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

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

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

Marvel The Transformers comics

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

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

3H comics

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

IDW Generation 1 continuity

*Transformers Vault* is popular reading in the Grand Imperium.

Prima was one of the Thirteen Primes who led the Thirteen Tribes that arose on Cybertron following the departure of the Knights of Cybertron from the planet. He wielded the Star Saber, forged by his sister Solus Prime, and he and his tribe lived in the Citadel of Light.

Ten million years ago, Prima and his fellow Primes were betrayed by Megatronus and Liege Maximo, resulting in the First Cybertronian Civil War among the Thirteen and their tribes. Near the end of the war, Prima and the rest of the Primes left Cybertron after Nexus Prime's death at the hands of Galvatron revealed that the belief that only a Prime could kill another Prime was false. After the war ended, with Alpha Trion's blessing, Prima's former subordinate Nova Major took the title "Prime" and became leader of Cybertron. The Crucible

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

Live-action film series continuity

IDW movie comics

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

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

Revenge of the Fallen film

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

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

Aligned continuity family

The Covenant of Primus

Whoever lives by the sword shall die by the sword.

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

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

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

Some time later, when Prima discovered that Megatronus and Liege Maximo were working on a secret project of their own, creating a race of robotic creatures, he demanded it be shut down, suspecting them of having a sinister ulterior motive even if he could not see it. He forced the rest of the Thirteen into a vote on the matter and emerged victorious. This was to be the catalyst for the final falling out between the Primes: furious that she had voted against him, Megatronus subsequently argued with and inadvertently killed Solus. He retreated to the wilderness of Cybertron, but Prima and the others tracked him down and brought him back to face justice, only for it to become apparent that Maximo had set Megatronus up. Things quickly devolved into a chaotic free-for-all fight between the siblings, which ended with Maximo dead by uncertain hands. Megatronus was exiled for his crimes, but despite their differences, Prima provided him a ship and bade him farewell. Prima took custody of the Requiem Blaster and cast it into the depths of space.

As the rest of the Thirteen spread out into the universe, Prima was among those who decided to remain on Cybertron to guide the new race of beings that emerged from the Well of All Sparks after they interred the deceased Solus within it. Prima dubbed the more primitive and bestial of the creatures that emerged "Predacons" and defended the more advanced robots that came from the Well against them, including the powerful Predaking. The Covenant of Primus

Aligned novels

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

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

Prime cartoon

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

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

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

Fun Publications

Vector Prime described Prima as distant from his siblings in the Thirteen, weighed down by the responsibilities of the multiverse. Vector wished he had known his brother better. Ask Vector Prime, 14/6/15 When the Thirteen visited ancient Greece, the holomatter avatar Prima used to interact with the natives inspired the myth of Zeus. Ask Vector Prime, 20/7/15 During this time, he observed the animosity brewing between Liege Maximo and Solus Prime (who had manifested as Aphrodite and Hephaestus, respectively) and "bonded" them together in hopes they could work out their differences. His plan didn't succeed. Ask Vector Prime, 8/8/15

Prima wielded the Star Saber in the Thirteen's clashes with Unicron. When Megatronus began acting for evil causes, his siblings resolved to keep Prima's Star Saber out of Megatronus's hands, so Solus shattered it with her Forge. Nexus Prime volunteered to hide fragments throughout the multiverse. Nexus Prime's profile Ask Vector Prime, 18/5/15

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

Toys

Transformers (2007)

File:Movie ProtoformOptimusPrime toy.jpg

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

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

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

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

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

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

More information on Protoform Optimus Prime at TFU.info

Notes

Prima's Generation 1 cartoon character model appears to use Cyclonus as a base, with heavily-re-worked details.
In a 1989 Marvel UK issue, Dreadwind told a reader "I don't think anyone knows who was actually the first ever Transformer. Correct me if I'm wrong though."^[4] It took many years but someone finally did!
According to ABN, Vector Prime "always lies about Five Faces of Darkness". Recordicons #9 If true, this would mean that the guy from Five Faces; we're keeping this page as-is because there's no objective evidence either way, and Prima is more convenient as a page title than "Powerful Robot".
An idea from the Binder of Revelation—which has not made it into any fiction, and has been evinced only in the binder's profile page for Optimus Prime published in Transformers Vault—posits that individual Transformers possess a "polarity" that indicates which of the Thirteen they can trace their lineage to. Based on Optimus's profile, Transformers descended from Prima possess a "Primian" polarity—but then, Optimus would later be revealed to actually be one of the Thirteen in Aligned continuity, so good luck figuring that one out.