Mistress of Flame
- The Mistress of Flame is a Camien leader from the IDW portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.
The Mistress of Flame is the spiritual leader of Caminus. Her religion believes that the original Thirteen Transformers were gods, and that each inhabitant of Caminus possesses a piece of the spark of Solus Prime. The legendary Matrix of Leadership is believed to have been the hilt of the Star Saber, an artifact of Prima, and the living life force of Primus himself. She and the Forgefire Parliament hold these stories to be true without question, and she rules the dying world of Caminus accordingly.
Fiction
IDW Generation 1 continuity
The Mistress of Flame had ruled Caminus for centuries; in the distant past, before the energon shortages made space travel impossible, she and the Torchbearers visited the dead colony world of Antilla.
Following a disastrous Torchbearer mission where both Praesidia Magna and Fastbreak were killed in action, the Mistress met with Pyra, who was experiencing recurring nightmares of her commander's death on Antilla. The Mistress recounted her discovery of Antilla, but accepted Praesidia's death as part of the will of the Primes. Though Pyra was still uneasy about the circumstances behind her commander's death, she remained a member of the Torchbearers, taking command of the group and becoming "Pyra Magna". Ghost Stories
Immediately following the reintroduction of Cybertron to Caminus by way of a violent rampage by Menasor and his defeat by Superion, Windblade requested an audience with the Mistress of Flame. Presumably, the Cityspeaker explained that Optimus Prime, keeper of the Matrix of Leadership, was visiting, and all that that implied, as subsequently she arrived to greet the former Autobot commander. Upstaging Starscream's attempt at first contact with Caminus's ruling body, Optimus Prime displayed that he was a Matrix bearer as the Mistress of Flame and the others bowed before him. The Sum and Its Parts The Mistress became convinced that Optimus was none other than "The Arisen": the incarnation of the legendary Thirteenth Prime. The Medium and the Message
The wheels quickly came off when the sacred Prime showed up to a meeting with reporters, saying "the people" had a right to know what was going on. To the Mistress's appalled confusion, the Prime kept talking about democracy and the blasphemous idea of letting people choose instead of telling them what was best, as was his duty as the infallible divine font. He even went to risk his life on the surface! She was rebuked when she protested and was left angry. The Possible Light
After the messy first contact and the formation of the Council of Worlds, the Mistress of Flame called Windblade to a meeting. The Cityspeaker warned her that Starscream still had control over all the combiners and she was unsure why the Prime had asked her to accept Rattrap as Cybertron's council representative. In response, the Mistress advised her that a true servant of Solus Prime needs to keep going forward and working: "the forging is where impurities are removed ... and all that remains is the burning heart of truth itself." All That Remains
The Mistress of Flame believed she knew the true name of "the Arisen", one of the two anonymous members of the Thirteen Primes. One of her Torchbearer groups, under Pyra Magna, considered this blasphemous and abandoned her for it. Lagrange
Optimus eventually asked the Mistress of Flame to tell her followers to stop worshipping him. Instead, she berated him for ignoring his legacy as a Prime and the legends of a Pax Cybertronia, that the ascension of Cybertron didn't have to mean tyranny. She pushed him into snarling that he defended Earth because all sentient beings defend freedom and then confronted him with how this was the word of Primus; his role was to bring freedom to all and he could surely bring more of it to Earth, provide it resources and topple its tyrants. To her, it seemed that Optimus had seen so much corruption and war that he could not believe "anyone would act altruistically. Optimus mulled this over and casually tried to see if Windblade could vouch for the Mistress as trustworthy. Aphelion
Her words led him down the path to annexing Earth into the Council as an Autobot protectorate. He was haunted by a vision of Aileron as a new Mistress of Flame Once Upon a Time on Earth and nightmares in which the incumbent decried him for sacrificing others for his ambition, and he decided to open up communications to the Mistress of Flame, Starscream, and Soundwave to discuss what to do. Edge of the Earth Optimus travelled to Caminus to meet with the Mistress, where she expounded on her theory that Earth was one of the thirteen lost colonies... and that Optimus Prime was the Arisen, destined to rule Earth as the ancient Primes had once governed their respective colony worlds. The Medium and the Message
When a horde of undead Titans threatened Cybertron, the Mistress organized the evacuation efforts as the Transformers relocated their sick and wounded to Caminus. Ping Windblade was gravely injured during the subsequent crisis, and as a result the Mistress temporarily filled in for her on the Council. Behind My Bleeding Back As Starscream–struggling to cope with the threat of a released Liege Maximo–mulled over his next moves with representatives from the colonies, the Mistress of Flame agreed with Elita One's belief that news of the Liege Maximo's escape should be concealed from the public for fear of inciting widespread panic, though ultimately Chancellor Starscream made the final decision. The Mistress stayed behind to discuss Chromia's recent exploits, requesting that she be released into Camien custody. After some soul-searching, Starscream did so, but on the condition that she be released to hunt down and kill the Liege Maximo. Heavy
The Mistress was still subbing for Windblade on the Council when Starscream met with Optimus to discuss sharing technology with the recently-arrived Junkions on Earth. Though the Camien leader vouched for Optimus, noting that he'd divinely "proved" Earth's status as a Transformer world, Starscream ultimately shot down the proposal, citing a violation of the Tyrest Accords. Behind My Bleeding Back
The Mistress was still sitting on the Council when Earth officially joined the Council of Worlds. She vocally protested Elita's dismissive attitude towards Optimus Prime. First Strike #4
Prime Wars Trilogy cartoons
- Voice actor: Lana McKissack (English)
she dies at the hands of [Overlord]
Notes
- The Mistress of Flame isn't the first person to have a fire-themed religious connection to the Matrix of Leadership.
