Birth of Optimus Prime R5

Canon/Transformers »
"Birth of Optimus Prime R5" オプティマスプライムR5の誕生 (Optimus Prime R5 no Tanjō)
Publisher	TakaraTomy
First published	February 25, 2023
Written by	Hirofumi Ichikawa
Packaged with	Optimus Prime R5

After their leader undergoes an unexpected transformation, the Autobots investigate a mysterious camera.

Synopsis

Unable to retrieve the sacred treasure known as the AllSpark, the Autobots on Earth return to meet with their friend, the human ambassador known as Spike Witwicky. He asks just what this "AllSpark" is and Optimus Prime responds that it is not native to their universe, having come from the Cybertron of a different dimension. There, it gave life to machines and was needed to maintain the planet's life-sustaining environment. It was stolen by the Decepticon Refraktor and brought to this world, threatening the integrity of the alternate Cybertron. Optimus Prime suddenly transforms into a camera fit for human hands—which the Autobot leader explains is a EOS R5, made by Japanese company Canon.

As a result of cooperation with Canon, they are able to work towards solving the current mysteries. Autobot scout Bumblebee projects images—a series of photographs of the struggle for the AllSpark—onto a screen, explained as having been took onsite by a human and automatically uploaded to SNS by an automatic transfer protocol. One of the photographs, taken minutes after the AllSpark exploded, shows the machinery in the area becoming unknown Transformers, which Wheeljack surmises is the result of the camera. Yet another photograph shows Optimus Prime and Refraktor together, which they believe caused their leader's mysterious change; the camera must have different effects on already-living machines. Believing this camera will help them find the AllSpark, Optimus transforms from his new alternate mode into a new robot mode, expanding as he does. Bumblebee reports that the possessor of the camera has been abducted by men in suits and the posted photographs deleted. This camera, now codenamed "Focus One", has come to the attention of numerous intelligence agencies, which are all now scrambling for the device.

Emphasizing the need for to not cause unnecessary trouble, Optimus Prime proposes using his new alternate mode to evade detection, with the support of expert spy Bumblebee, who gladly volunteers for the task. The Omnibot Overdrive steps in to add another important detail: Refraktor was only able to obtain the AllSpark due to having stolen the dimensional transfer device known as the Quantum Dial in the first place. Spike sheepishly admits that it's humanity's fault, as they had borrowed the Dial briefly to research dimensional travel and it was on their watch that the Decepticon stole the device. To make up for it, Spike promises to assign an agent from the Earth Defense Command to man Optimus's camera functions. Optimus expects that they'll encounter Refraktor during their operation and takes on the codename of "Optimus Prime R5" for the mission.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots	Humans
Optimus Prime (2) Bumblebee (3) Wheeljack (4) Overdrive (5)	Spike Witwicky (1)

External links

• Optimus Prime R5 manual (PDF)
• Complete text of "Birth of Optimus Prime R5"