Optimus Prime (G1)/2005 IDW continuity
Optimus Prime did a lot of things to help shape the IDW Generation 1 continuity!
IDW Generation 1 continuity
Orion Pax: Supercop
Before the war, Optimus was known as Orion Pax of Iacon. In intellectual pursuits he excelled, graduating from the Institute for Higher Programming and enrolling in the Academy of Science and Technology, while in the religious quarter he proved a skeptic, doubting the existence of the Knights of Cybertron. Chaos Theory #2 Post Hoc He went on to become a rising star in Cybertron's police force who served as an inspiration to his fellow officers, eventually becoming captain of the Rodion police force. Chaos Theory #1 He was notably liberal in his duties, even convincing his old Academy friend Ratchet to run a free clinic in the city's Dead End. Post Hoc
When the manual class miner Megatron was arrested for assault, Orion was intrigued by his treatise on non-violent resistance. After doing some investigation and discovering he wasn't guilty, Orion had Megatron released and told him that he had read his work and to keep working for change. Chaos Theory Part 1 In addition, Orion had his officer Whirl locked up for abusing Megatron while he was in jail—an action that made the Senate very unhappy, as they had actually orchestrated Megatron's arrest in order to silence his voice of dissent. A gang of Senate thugs tried to coerce Orion into releasing Whirl, and when he refused, they returned to break Whirl out and kill Orion. Convinced now that Megatron's belief in the corruption of the Senate was true, Orion took his attackers down with a mix of righteous fury and tactical skills, and then forced his way into the Grand Imperium. There, he made a defiant speech to the Senate, saying his eyes had been opened by Megatron, only to be forcibly removed from the building. But Orion's speech had succeeded in reaching one of the Senate's members: Senator Shockwave, who had for some time been searching for prospective new candidates to help free Cybertron from the Senate's corrupt stranglehold. Arranging for Orion's release, Shockwave had his injuries repaired and a cavity for the Matrix of Leadership added to his body, and the pair began working together in secret. Chaos Theory Part 2
In the dark times that followed, as the Senate initiated the Clampdown, and the Decepticon movement inspired by Megatron's writings grew in strength, Orion continued to do his duties the best he could. After saving the derelict Drift from some thugs and delivering him to Ratchet's clinic, Pax witnessed a news report on the death of the current Matrix bearer Nominus Prime, allegedly the victim a rust infection. Calling a meeting with Shockwave, Orion learned from him that the Senate were truly responsible for Nominus's death, and that a plan involving the Decepticons was currently in motion. Post Hoc With Decepticon sympathizer Senator Sherma having recently been murdered, Shockwave feared that fellow sympathizer Momus was in danger, and Pax rushed into action. Unfortunately, he arrived too late, and found Momus dead and officers Prowl and Tumbler fighting his murderer. Pax took out the killer, and upon discovering that he had been using a borrowed body from a Relinquishment Clinic, sent the other two officers to follow the lead. Pax himself, meanwhile, responded to a summons from Garrus-1, where an imprisoned Whirl, seeking revenge against the Senate that had abandoned him, informed Orion of a bombing plot Senator Proteus was masterminding. Regrouping with Prowl and Tumbler—who had discovered the Institute that the Senate was using to brainwash troublemakers—Pax and his allies realised that the Senate had planted a bomb inside Nominus Prime's corpse, intending to blame the destruction on the Decepticons, thereby allowing the Senate to send them all to The Institute to be corrected. Patternism
Recruiting some super-powered "Outliers" from Shockwave's Academy of Advanced Technology to lend their powers to the effort, Pax led his team in removing the bomb—hidden in the form of a fake Matrix—from Nominus's body as it lay in state, though Pax had to defer to Ratchet in the actual bomb removal, which was wired in with complex locks. The theft successfully completed, the team departed, but, having not been contacted by Roller at the appointed time, Pax sped on ahead to investigate, returning just in time to find that Senate thugs Kroma, Macabre and the Heavies had attacked their safehouse to capture Shockwave. Pax took out one of the Heavies, but Shockwave agreed to surrender when Kroma threatened Roller's life. The remaining Heavy, Anvil, stayed behind to finish off Pax, but Pax used the Matrix-bomb to destroy his attacker. Believing that Shockwave would have been taken to the Institute, Pax had Tumbler lead him there, but they discovered the facility deserted: merely one of many Institutes, with no way of knowing in which Shockwave was being held. An Intimate Beheading When next Orion saw Shockwave, he had undergone not only empurata, but a complex form of Shadowplay that stripped him of his emotions. Though Pax believed that Shockwave could overcome what had been done to him, the "new" Shockwave told him that he was not the same 'bot who had befriend him, and to give up on him. It would take some time for the truth to sink in that Shockwave really didn't care any more. Shockwaves
Orion and Zeta
Sentinel Prime, the Senate's chief enforcer and part of the senatorial faction who'd whacked Nominus, wanted Orion Pax dead for interfering. Pax, Roller, and the outliers went on the run. Luckily, he'd made contact with one of Shockwave's other allies and disciples: Zeta of Sistex, who became his newest mentor and backer. All Our Parlous YesterdaysAn Intimate Beheading
In 1st cycle 502, Zeta and Pax got wind of a new spark "hot spot" in the Alyon region: one the Senate were keeping secret as it was in the shape of a hand, the mythical digits of Primus pressing the planet into shape. Rather than allow the religious Functionist Council to use that for a power grab, the Senate were likely to kill the newborns. Pax and his crew fought to stop that, beating the snot out of the Elite Guard troops Sentinel kept sending. He requested reinforcements from Zeta and got... well, time travellers pretending to be Zeta's men. In the process, Orion found himself unwittingly talking to a future Megatron. He was confused by the maudlin talk and, when asked why he didn't try to tear down the Senate he knew was corrupt, he told Megatron he belived reform was the answer of revolution: they needed to course-correct. (Megatron found that very funny)
Pax's "reinforcements" informed him that a Senate ship was bombarding the hot spot with radiation as part of an experiment (one that would kill many sparks). His team went out to prevent that and secretly transport the sparks to somewhere safe—in the process, Roller was badly wounded and MIA. An enraged Pax ended the threat by having Tailbreaker put a forcefield round him and Windcharger throw him at the Senate ship. Unfortunately, the time travellers erased Pax's short term memories to cover their tracks and this meant he forgot Roller had gone missing. All Our Parlous Yesterdays
You're working for the clampdown!
After the Decepticons killed Sentinel and most of the Senate with him Megatron Origin issue 4, Zeta became Zeta Prime and formed the New Senate. Orion Pax stood by him as a friend and loyal soldier: he believed things were slowly changing for the better under Zeta. Together, they reformed the former senate's security forces into an army to combat the Decepticon insurgency; Orion named them the "Autobots", having previously decided to "reclaim" this pejorative term that other alien races used refer to Cybertronians. Omega's Conundrum Chaos Theory Part 2 While reviewing new recruits gathered for the Autobot forces by Kup, Orion was called out by an ornery veteran civil militia soldier named Ironhide, who didn't believe that a highly decorated police officer knew anything of real warfare, and had no business leading an army. Pax invited the old warhorse to teach him. Old Ways
When Ratchet was captured by the Decepticons, Zeta had Orion upgraded into a new body so that he could carry out a prisoner exchange, though he lamented the loss of his lucky faceplate. Guided to the exchange point in the Rust Spot by Alpha Trion, Pax and hostage negotiator Nightbeat fended off an attack by the Slicers; the battle broke Pax's trailer open, revealing that the hostages they were carrying were two grunts named Rack and Ruin, who Orion encouraged to abandon the Decepticon cause. Proceeding to the Decepticon base, the team discovered that the whole exchange had been a ruse by Bludgeon to capture Alpha Trion. Pax fought back long enough for to allow the others to escape, and as punishment, Bludgeon strapped him to a shuttle and launched it at the nearest population center. Orion improvised by using an "instantaneous transformation" trick picked up from Rack and Ruin to break his bonds, allowing him to take control of the shuttle and crash it into an unpopulated area. Omega's Conundrum
Some time later, still in his upgraded form, Orion Pax, Kup, Ironhide and their team were on a mission to thwart an assassination attempt on Zeta Prime. Disenchanted racer Blurr stumbled into the midst of a firefight between the two units; as the Decepticon unit pulled out to continue its mission, Orion petitioned Blurr for help, asking him to use his speed to get word to Zeta before it was too late. The former celebrity balked, but ultimately the young soldier helped Blurr find what really drove him to race, and thus recruited him to the Autobot cause. Curiously, Kup was heard to refer to Orion as "Optimus" during this adventure. Spotlight: Blurr
Becoming Prime
Eventually, back in his original body once again, Orion became the commander of his own six-bot counter-insurgency unit working directly under Zeta Prime, though he had grown angry and detached from his experiences. During a mission to arrest the arms dealer Swindle in Nyon, he lost his temper and almost beat the Decepticon to death in front of horrified onlookers. Law and Disorder He later admitted to Ultra Magnus that he was frustrated with his own failures and uncertain if they were really on the right side, since so many civilians seemed to hate them and the government. Parasites Dispatched by Zeta Prime to hunt down the spy Soundwave, Orion succeeded in defeating the Decepticon in spite of Frenzy's attempts to turn the fear and paranoia of bystanders against him. Before he could capture him, however, several other Decepticons arrived, taking his subordinate Bumblebee hostage and telling him Megatron wanted an audience with him. The Hunt for Soundwave Brought to a bar in Kaon, Orion listened as Megatron tried to talk him into siding with the Decepticons, claiming that Zeta was planning to drain energon from civilians, and had only sent Orion's team into Nyon in the hopes that they would die, giving him an official reason to attack the city. Orion stalled the conversation long enough that his allies could break in and rescue him and Bumblebee, then returned to Iacon and confronted Zeta with Megatron's claims. Zeta only told him not to question his motives before sending him on his next mission to capture the insurgent Hot Rod. Cause and Effect
Tracking Hot Rod to the Acropolex in Nyon, Orion Pax and his men followed him into the depths of the building, where they discovered tanks of energon drained from the city's population by Zeta Prime, just as Megatron had claimed. Having seen the truth with his own eyes, Orion decided to turn on the corrupt government just as Zeta began attacking Nyon with his Omega Destructors. Ruins Leaving Hot Rod to evacuate the city, he and his unit tried and failed to defeat one of the Destructors. As they tried to escape, Nyon began to explode, and Orion realized that Zeta had set everything up to force Hot Rod's insurgents into self-destructing their own city. As Zeta arrived in person, Orion tried to fight him but was quickly dispatched by his vamparc ribbon. Purge Before Zeta could execute them, Orion and his team were saved by none other than Megatron and his Decepticons, who brought them back to Kaon for repairs. Though he still didn't trust Megatron, Orion Pax now knew he had told the truth about Zeta and agreed to join forces against him. Choices
As their soldiers invaded Zeta Prime's Citadel, Orion Pax and Megatron were air-dropped into his chamber and confronted him in person. Though Orion lost an arm in the battle, he managed to destroy Zeta's weapon, and the corrupt Prime was finally killed by Megatron. As soon as everything was over, however, Megatron betrayed the Autobots and shot Orion in the back, casting him into the Undergrid beneath the citadel. Overthrown Left for dead, Orion was drawn towards a distant light which turned out to be the hiding place of the long-missing Matrix of Leadership. As a voice called out for him to take the artifact, he did so and was suddenly overcome with the pain, fear, and loneliness felt by all living Cybertronians. Imbued with new clarity and wisdom, he realized that the Autobots were not ment to fight for unity—since in the eyes of the Matrix, all were one—but rather for the freedom of all sapient beings. As the Matrix repaired his body, Orion Pax declared that he was giving up his identity for his people: he was now Optimus Prime. Transformation Guided by the Matrix back to the ruins of Nyon, Optimus reunited with his allies amidst the wreckage. Revealing the Matrix and his new goals and desires to his friends, he then used talisman to awaken an ancient, slumbering life force he could sense beneath the city: Metroplex. Rise
To raise the army he needed to defeat Megatron—who had seized control of Cybertron in his absence—Optimus recruited the aid of news broadcaster Blaster, who put out a rallying call for aid across Iaconian Newsfeed Service. Joined by thousands of freedom-seeking Transformers, Prime marched on Iacon. Broadcast While Metroplex handled Megatron's "vamparc annihilator" weapon, Optimus engaged Megatron himself in a duel and emerged victorious with some timely aid from Hot Rod, though Megatron escaped with the vow that the war was just beginning. Vowing not to make the same mistakes as Zeta, Prime ordered a cache of illegal weapons discovered in the Undergrid destroyed, and thanked Hot Rod for his help. The younger 'bot was unsure if he deserved the gratitude, given his destruction of Nyon, but Prime assured him of his heroism, speculating that even he could bear the Matrix one day. Endgame
In the wake of the Decepticons' defeat, Optimus Prime inaugurated the Grand Convocation, calling on representatives of all the planet's various guilds and groups to work together toward peace. Former senator Dai Atlas loudly objected to his leadership based on his past as a combatant, and a weary Optimus conferred with Alpha Trion on how best to proceed. Derelicts Pax called Dai Atlas to a private meeting to hash out their differences, Faces of Darkness but news of an attack on the Toraxxis mega-refinery interrupted their discussion, and both 'bots responded to the alarm. At the refinery, they discovered Grimlock's Dinobots facing off against the Decepticons, now under the command of Scorponok. Losing control of his monstrous alternate mode, Grimlock was ready to blow the entire refinery to destroy himself and all present, but Optimus was able to talk him down, only for Scorponok to trigger the explosion instead. Rage
Though Prime and his men survived the refinery explosion, thousands died in the blast. Prime delivered a eulogy for the fallen, but the catastrophe was a turning point for Cybertron, as, under Dai Atlas's leadership, huge portions of the planet's population evacuated to seek new worlds. Optimus refused to abandoned his homeworld, and sent a science team to explore the refinery blast crater in hopes of finding a new energon source. Fallout Prime himself then called Kup in for information on the Dynobots, reviewing classified files that revealed that, on their last missions, they had adopted monstrous new alternate modes based on creatures they discovered in the caverns beneath Toraxxis. Underworld The science team soon returned to report their own meeting with these beasts, along with a reservoir of tainted energon and a colossal reptilian Transformer guarding it. Prey Prime presented these findings to the Grand Convocation upon their next meeting, they were not enough to sway Dai Atlas from his course. To make matters worse, a riot erupted amongst the evacuating civilians at Starsreach Spaceport that Prime had to quell in person; no sooner had he done so, and the exodus resumed, than the Decepticons launched an attack. Massacre The attack caused Grimlock, who had come to turn himself to Prime, to loose control and adopt his feral beast form; after he drove the Decepticons back, Optimus calmed the Dinobot down and got him under control. The Dinobots were impressed with Optimus, but despite his pleas, they still insisted on leaving the planet. Unleashed
Returning to his quarters to vent some of his anger, Optimus was soon summoned by Bumblebee with more bad news: the Decepticons had activated the giant beast from Toraxxis. Prime asked Metroplex for his aid, but the city-bot had become so long on energy that he could not transform, and could merely offer Prime information, such as the beast's name: Trypticon. Prime organized a heavy weapons assault against Trypticon, The Illusion of Control but the barrage failed, and when Prime tried to intimidate the giant with the sight of the Matrix itself, it simply stomped on him. As Prime watched, however, the Dynobots came dropping out of the sky to join the battle, followed quickly by Megatron, returning from a recent off-planet escapade of his own. Prime passed out before he could see Megatron and Grimlock be swallowed by Trypticon, Annihilation and so did not witness them deactivating it from within. During the battle, Bumblebee and Ultra Magnus went to Prime's aid, replacing the Matrix—knocked from him by Trypticon's attack—in his chest. Belly of the Beast
Taking advantage of a temporary lull in the war, Optimus Prime took a brief sabbatical and travelled to the Grav-Haraan glacier with Ironhide. They eventually picked up an unusual energy signature, and discovered that it belonged to an Omega Sentinel, who claimed to be awaiting the return of Nova Prime. Optimus revealed that Nova had long since vanished and that he now bore the Matrix. Although saddened, the Sentinel offered to carry the two Autobots back to civilization, and introduced himself as Omega Supreme. Primacy issue 1 Prime informed Alpha Trion about his discovery, but Trion warned him that Omega Supreme might feel out of place after spending so much time in isolation. Things took a turn for the worse after Optimus and the Autobots detected a mysterious object approaching Cybertron, which turned out to be a reinvigorated Trypticon, heading straight for Metroplex! Optimus ordered an evacuation and then commanded Metroplex to transform, so as to meet Trypticon head on. Primacy issue 2 Although Metroplex was able to outfight Trypticon, the other Autobots were unprepared for the army of Junkions and a sudden flood of coolant, turning the battleground into a Sharkticon-infested deathtrap. Optimus ordered Omega Supreme into battle; the Sentinel revealed that he was waiting to kill Nova Prime for disgracing the legacy of the Primes, but confided to Optimus that would stand alongside Optimus. Primacy issue 3 Optimus rolled out to take on Megatron, and easily ran Motormaster off the road along the way. He finally confronted Megatron, who begged Optimus to kill him so as to spare him the mental torture of Pentius, the Quintesson who had fused his spark to Megatron's. Optimus instead used the Matrix to purify Megatron's spark and destroy the Quintesson presence. Megatron swore that he still ahted Prime even after the Autobot leader saved his life, forcing the saddened Autobot leader to knock out Megatron with a single punch. Megatron was left imprisoned and Optimus broadcast the news across Cybertron, calling for an end to the fighting and promising to hunt down the surviving Decepticon troops. Primacy issue 4
War without end
Megatron would later incorrectly claim that his and Prime's first meeting took place during the Rorsha Campaign, when they battled on Sherma Bridge. Prime's side lost 5000 men but he sliced off the tyrant's cannon arm with his energon axe before he lost and got thrown off the bridge. Every Autobot and Decepticon stopped fighting to witness their duel. Chaos Theory Part 1
As the war bore on, Optimus and Ironhide's student-and-teacher relationship evolved. Prime grew willing to go against Ironhide's counsel, once doing so to save the Autobots from Trypticon waiting in ambush, while also learning the benefit of sticking to your guns like the stubborn old soldier did, once insisting on saving Ironhide's life after a booby-trap left them badly damaged and hanging over a cliff-edge. Down the years, Ironhide developed a respect and awe for his protege, Old Ways eventually taking on the position of his official bodyguard. It was in this capacity, four million years ago, that Ironhide saved Optimus when he was ambushed by Soundwave and his cassettes while attempting to stop a Decepticon energon convoy. With Ironhide covering him from afar, Prime then proceeded to talk the convoy into surrendering without having to fire a single shot. During a party to celebrate this win, Prime declined Prowl's request to address the troops, and went out to converse with Kup and Ironhide, privately confiding in them that he foresaw the war going on without end. As the party continued, Decepticon assassin Axer made an attempt on Prime's life, but Ironhide saved him, throwing himself in the path of the blast. The Iron Age
Prime's actions during the long course of the war were many. As the conflict spread across the galaxy, he commanded the Autobot armed forced from the Autobot Orbital Command Hub. Stormbringer He was part of the 113th Battalion when they battled Black Shadow. Rules of Disengagement During the Simanzi Massacre, he prevented over a thousand Autobots and neutrals from falling into The Crucible. Pyro's Autopedia entry He was also involved in preventing the Black Epoch. Last Stand of the Wreckers #4 At some point, Optimus had to berate Grimlock personally, insisting that the Dynobot let go of a grudge he had against Shockwave after the later botched one of Grimlock's energon-gathering missions. Grimlock didn't listen. Spotlight: Shockwave Optimus battled Megatron many times, on multiple worlds: he lost half his face to Megatron's energon mace during the Battle for Hell's Point and retaliated by using Tremorcons' Geo-Scoop to drop a city block on his opponent, and he was nearly destroyed during the Siege of Massunstrad when Megatron trapped him in an anti-matter chamber. Optimus would get in his licks too, however; during the Vorsk Offensive, he nearly sliced Megatron in half; at Rada Mor, Prime nearly destroyed Megatron while defending some "sentient explosives". Chaos Theory Part 1 At the war's zenith, Optimus sealed himself in an Omniglobe to absorb the relentless flood of data coming in from countless fronts. Rules of Disengagement
700 stellar cycles ago, Prime and Megatron joined forces to battle Thunderwing. Driven by his belief that the already badly-degenerated Cybertron would soon become completely uninhabitable, Thunderwing had, through polydermal grafting, inadvertently turned himself into a monster whose subsequent rampage only accelerated the planet's collapse. In a final, futile stand at Thunderhead Pass, Optimus could only watch as Cybertron itself swallowed Thunderwing. Stormbringer #1 Although this ultimately brought the planet to a point of no return, forcing all the Transformers to leave their world behind, Prime refused to allow Megatron to go through with his plan to destroy Cybertron itself to ensure Thunderwing was no more. Stormbringer #2
In 2005, while on the Orbital Command Hub, Prime received a communication from Ironhide, presently stationed on the planet Earth as part of a unit led by Prowl. Ironhide's message warned the local Decepticon infiltration cell under Starscream had broken their infiltration methods and enacted siege mode prematurely, and Prime ordered the situation to be monitored. Infiltration #3Stormbringer #1 Soon afterward, when the Autobot science vessel Calabi-Yau sent a distress signal from above Thunderhead Pass, Prime decided to investigate personally, upgrading himself additional armor and armaments and ordering the Wreckers to meet him on Cybertron. Stormbringer #2 Venturing into the planet's depths, Prime's team discovered that Thunderwing had been restored by Bludgeon and his followers. Stormbringer #3 Faced with the planet-ravaging monster once again, Prime found himself willing to succumb to Megatron's way of thinking this time, and considered destroying Cybertron to remove the threat. Fortunately, it did not come to that: studying Bludgeon's files, Jetfire discovered that he had reanimated Thunderwing with an exceptionally powerful "Ultra-Energon" that would burn out in short order. His conscience still guilty over the past, Prime took on Thunderwing personally for the final exchange of the battle, unleashing massive amounts of firepower at monster, forcing it to exhaust its power reserves and ultimately, its life. Stormbringer #4
Earth and back again
Continuing to investigate Bludgeon's files, Jetfire learned that the mysterious new Energon used to revive Thunderwing had originated on Earth. Linking this to Ironhide's message, Prime headed straight for the planet. Stormbringer #4 He arrived while most of Prowl's unit were out on a mission, and when they returned, they were met by their leader, freshly reformatted with a new Earth truck body. Infiltration #6 After ordering that Ironhide and Sunstreaker return the humans the Autobots had befriended to their homes, Prime took some time to take in reports from other Autobots elsewhere in the galaxy, and was beamed further findings by Jetfire that worryingly indicated Decepticons had been active on Earth for many years. Escalation #1
It became apparent that the Decepticons had initiated Phase Two of their infiltration protocol when news reached Prime and the Autobots of suddenly accelerated unrest between the small European nations of Latveria and Symkaria. Tracing the cause to Decepticon array that was broadcasting an aggression-enhancing signal, Prime took his team into action, only to have them run into the superhero team known as the Avengers. Man and Machine, Part One With the human heroes also suffering the effects of the aggression wave, a short battle erupted between the two teams, which was halted by Ratchet and a quickly-created inhibitor device that brought the Avengers back to their senses. The united Autobot/Avenger team launched an attack on the array, but were soon met in combat by the Decepticons; Optimus was injured by a disproportionately powerful blast from Thundercracker, unaware that the Decepticons had boosted their powers using energy drawn from the captive Spider-Man. Man and Machine, Part Two The super-charged Decepticons were beaten back when Prime, Bumblebee and Jazz linked their systems to Iron Man's Transformer-sized armor, giving him the power necessary to end the fight. Megatron attempted to force Prime to surrender by revealing that he had captured several of the Avengers, but Prime instead ordered a quick destruction of the array, prompting Megatron to emerge to join the battle. Man and Machine, Part Three The Decepticon leader refrained from engaging Prime directly, however, electing to save their conflict for a more personal moment; Prime instead joined his Autobots and the Avengers in bombarding Megatron with an overwhelming barrage of firepower, finally taking him down. Megatron teleported out, and Prime led his Autobots in withdrawing. Man and Machine, Part Four
When word came in from Ironhide that Sunstreaker had been slain by an attack from an enigmatic human organization, Optimus Prime took Jazz and Wheeljack to recover their comrade's car-form remains from the civilian impound lot they were being held in. They arrived just as Sunstreaker's attackers were attempting to remove his body; their vehicle did not survive a head-on collision with Prime's shin. Subsequent examination of Sunstreaker's body by Ratchet proved that the remains were, in fact, not Sunstreaker, but rather a facsimile the humans had created to throw Prime's team off the trail. Escalation #2 Ironhide was eager to hunt down Sunstreaker's attackers, but Prime refused to let him, instead calling in reinforcements in the form of Hot Rod, Nightbeat and Hardhead. Spotlight: Nightbeat Escalation #3
Soon after, Prowl discovered that the Decepticons were causing political instability in the breakaway Soviet state of Brasnya and Prime ordered the Autobots into action. Escalation #3 While reconning the area, Prime left his Combat Deck to monitor the surroundings; it picked up Blitzwing, who thought he had got the drop on Prime, and Roller took out the unsuspecting Decepticon with a single shot. Megatron proceeded to orbital bounce directly into Prime's path, at last ready for them to battle one-on-one. Escalation #4 The fight went well at first, with Prime blowing Megatron's fusion cannon clean off, but the increased strength and stamina granted the Decepticon by Earth's Ultra-Energon allowed him to prevail, actually punching through Prime's body and crushing his spark casing. Escalation #5 Spotlight: Ramjet Prime only managing to survive by transferring his consciousness into his trailer, leaving Megatron to believe him dead. Recalling the circumstances of Thunderwing's defeat, Prime directed his troops to bombard Megatron with a hail of firepower, then returned to his body in time to deliver the final, point-blank blast that drained the last of the Decepticon leader's power reserves. Escalation #6
Prime's near-death experience left him somewhat unsettled; while his consciousness had been in transitional infraspace downloading to his trailer, he had sensed a presence of dread—the visage of his long-missing predecessor, Nova Prime. Looking for answers, Optimus Prime left Earth to visit Nova's contemporary, Omega Supreme. From Omega, he learned of Nova's belief that Transformers were a superior race that should remake the universe in their image, and he faced down the rampaging Monstructor, a legacy of Nova's tenure seeking revenge against Omega Supreme for locking him away. Appalled at Omega's actions as much as he was Nova's, Prime attempted to appeal Monstructor, but the deranged beast refused to listen, and Prime took him down hard. Spotlight: Optimus Prime
After Prime returned to Earth, he organized the Autobots in proactive maneuvers against the mysterious human group that had been bedeviling them of late, permitting the relocation of their base the Ark-19 and calling in further reinforcements from Cybertron in the form of a unit led by Hound. In mid-transit, however, the Ark-19 was attacked by the latest addition to Megatron's forces, Sixshot. Devastation #1 Prime co-ordinated the evacuation of their human allies and the self-destruction of the craft to ensure it didn't fall into enemy hands, and while it appeared that he and his Autobots did not make it out of the ship before it blew Devastation #2 they soon revealed they had survived and prepared to take on Sixshot. Devastation #3 Optimus and the Autobots held Sixshot at bay, but battle ended in stalemate when both parties orbital jumped out to avoid an air strike from the U.S. military. Devastation #4 Spotlight: Grimlock
Regrouping on Ark-32, Prime received a communication from Jetfire informing him that Monstructor had been liberated from the Garrus-9 penitentiary. Considering the threat he posed if unleashed greater than that posed to Earth by the Decepticons, Prime ordered the Autobots to depart the planet to deal with this new crisis, Devastation #5 redirecting Hound's unit to meet his team at Garrus-9. Devastation #6
Upon arrival at the prison, Prime and Prowl conferred with Jetfire and warden Fortress Maximus, then received a worrying report from Ultra Magnus, who, along with Hound's crew, had encountered Cyclonus and Thunderwing on Corata-Vaz. Recalling his out-of-body experience in Brasnya, Prime realized that recent events were somehow connected to Nova Prime; Spotlight: Cyclonus a theory that gained traction as more information began to come in from Jetfire and Omega Supreme. Seeking information, Prime dispatched Hot Rod and Dealer to recover the all-knowing Magnificence from Ki-Aleta, Spotlight: Hardhead but in their absence, Prime's speculation was proven accurate when Nova Prime himself attacked Garrus-9. Optimus engaged his predecessor personally, discovering that he was now "Nemesis Prime", having been transformed into an undead monster by the power of the Dead Universe and its, "Anti-Matrix", the Darkness. Spotlight: Doubledealer In the course of their battle, however, Nova's secret fear proved true: like the Matrix, the Darkness sought to pass onto the current Prime. Nova refused to let the Darkness leave him and savagely attacked Optimus, but, just as victory seemed within his grasp, he was shot in the back and killed by his treacherous comrade Galvatron. With Nova's death, the Darkness leapt into Optimus, who struggled against its evil emanations. Galvatron offered Optimus a choice: kill himself by plunging into the prison's solar pool, or pass on the Darkness to Galvatron, who had coveted it for so long. Optimus seemed to choose the later, taking Galvatron's hand and passing the Darkness to him, but after doing so, he did not release his grip on the villain, instead hurling him into the solar pool to his apparent destruction. Concurrent with this, the other Autobots using the information gained from the Magnificence to thwart Nova's plan to merge the living and dead universes, and as Optimus gazed upon Nova's dead body, he told himself he could not mourn the elder Prime's death, as Nova had truly died long ago. Spotlight: Sideswipe Heart of Darkness #1
When Ultra Magnus brought the human Hunter O'Nion and Sunstreak aboard the Ark-32 (as well as many other bots and humans enrolled in their recent adventures) Optimus was present to witness Ratchet giving O'Nion a clean bill of health. Maximum Dinobots #5
Offline in exile
In the weeks and months that followed, Optimus Prime led a larger squad of Autobots back to Earth to deal with the Decepticon threat they had left behind. Everything in Its Right Place Upon their return, however, they discovered that while they had been away, the Decepticons had become splintered following an apparent power struggle between Megatron and Starscream. After a prolonged period of searching, Prime led the Autobots to a location where Starscream's "group" was, only to be ambushed by a unified Decepticon force, including a brand new gestalt, Devastator. The combiner sealed the Autobots' defeat, and Megatron tore the Matrix of Leadership from Prime's chest. The captured Autobots were led to a space bridge that would return to them to Cybertron, where they would be left to the mercies of the Insecticon swarm the Decepticons had populated the planet with. However, once his troops were through, Prime, last in line, quickly turned his weapons on the bridge machinery, destroying it. As the portal begin to close, Prime was hurled into it by a barrage of Decepticon fire, causing a catastrophic reaction that fried his circuits and knocked him offline. All Hail Megatron #7 Left stranded on Cybertron with their leader comatose, the Autobots were forced to leave Earth to the Decepticons. All Hail Megatron #1 All Hail Megatron #5
One year after Nova Prime's defeat, Prime's unit were joined on Cybertron by a team led by Kup, who brought with them enough energon for Ratchet to restore Prime to full functionality. He awoke just as Sideswipe was chastizing the demoralized Autobots on the self-destructive nature of their war, and delivered a rousing speech affirming his pride in his warriors and his unfazed intent to win the war. All Hail Megatron #9 Prime took a moment to reconnect in particular with his old teacher, Ironhide, who had been hit especially hard by his brush with death, and the reunited pair then joined the other Autobots in plunging into battle against the Insecticon swarm. The timely arrival of Omega Supreme saved the Autobots, and he then ferried them to Earth for a showdown with Megatron's forces. All Hail Megatron #10
The Autobots returned to an Earth than had been devastated by the Decepticons in their absence, arriving at New York City just as the Decepticons were fending off attacks from a European air squad. Prime and Megatron faced off with each other once again, but rather than immediately clash, Megatron was puzzled by his old enemy's actions; both leaders had always maintained a policy of acceptable losses, and Prime had already abandoned Earth once, proving he held the planet in no particular regard.
Prime claimed he had changed; no more would he allow their cold war to endanger innocent lifeforms. Megatron merely scoffed, revealing that the "innocents" Prime wanted to protect were about to drop a nuclear bomb on the city. All Hail Megatron #11 Battle then erupted between the two, with Megatron emerging victorious after a fierce exchange of blows, but just before he and the Decepticons departed, human soldier Spike Witwicky landed a critical shot with an experimental weapon made from a Transformer. Prime finished the job by slamming Megatron in the head with his own fusion cannon, taking him offline. The Decepticons fled, leaving the Autobots to face nuclear destruction, until the bomb was stopped by the disenchanted Thundercracker. Prime then met with Spike, and proposed that the Autobots and human military work together to repair the damage done to the Earth. Spike was not confident that such an alliance was possible. All Hail Megatron #12
Some time later, Optimus met with Ironhide to discuss the elder Autobot's resignation from Prime's forces. Ironhide no longer trusted his own judgement following some bad decisions made during Prime's time offline, and Prime respected Ironhide too much to argue. Instead, the pair shared a drink and some reminiscence, and with some honest, emotional confession of much the Autobots needed him and how much he would personally miss him, Optimus convinced Ironhide to stay. Old Ways
Optimus later took a moment to lament the state in which their war left the City of New York, before deciding to protect the Earth while in disguise. Ride-Along When Bumblebee got separated from the rest of the Autobots in the ruins of New York, and subsequently outed himself by rescuing some humans in danger, Optimus and the rest of the Autobots retrieved him. Hidden
Leader no more
Unable to work directly with humankind, and with Omega Supreme too low on energy to take the Autobots off-world, Optimus Prime had the Autobots go into hiding for the next two years. Many Autobots chafed under this order, and eventually, things erupted in an angry Hot Rod accusing Prime of allowing both his guilt and his need to protect something to trap the Autobots on a world that didn't want them anymore. Unable to defend against the claims, Prime was forced to allow Hot Rod to lead a mission to rescue the captive Prowl from the clutches of Skywatch; the mission went catastrophically wrong, resulting in Ironhide's death. Forced by this disastrous turn of events of re-evaluate his leadership in recent years, Prime concluded that he had led the Autobots down a self-destructive path, resigned his post as Autobot leader, surrendered himself to Skywatch. ...For All Mankind
Prime was brought to Skywatch's base by incredulous troopers and placed in transformation stasis, but was shortly freed by Spike Witwicky, who wished to talk with him. New Arrivals, Old Encounters Suspicious of the questions Spike asked about the other Autobots and his supposed desire to help them, Prime refused to divulge any information about his comrades and was moved to a holding cell. As leverage, Spike captured and brought in Hoist, Tracks and Beachcomber, suggesting that Prime start talking to help them, if not to help himself. A Rude Awakening
Prime explained his motivations for abdicating as Autobot leader to the human, expressing his hope that, without him, his men would learn to evolve and move beyond his mistakes—something that he had observed humans possessed a much greater capacity for than Transformers. Enemies of the System Presently, news came in of a battle involving the other Autobots and the Decepticons' newest combiner, Menasor. Spike convinced Optimus to help Skywatch prevent loss of innocent lives, and Prime heroically battled Menasor. After the combiner was defeated, however, the Autobots looked to him for leadership, only for him to declare that he was not retaking command, but returning himself to Skywatch's custody. Earthworks
The Autobots—now under Bumblebee's command—and Skywatch began working together to hunt down the Decepticons remaining on Earth. Spike's father, General Daniel Witwicky, was skeptical of the plan, despite the thanks Optimus extended him for his work fighting the Decepticons three years prior. All His Engines In one of their earliest missions together, the united Autobot/Skywatch team responded to Transformer activity in Las Vegas, discovering that Galvatron had returned, and had inadvertently brought an interdimensional zombie infestation with him. Prime had the Autobots seal off Las Vegas to prevent the spread of the plague, The Transformers: Infestation #1 but the zombie leader Britt then began infecting Prime and the others themselves with the zombie virus. It was through Kup's intervention that they were saved, as he dragged Britt through a portal to the Dead Universe. Galvatron then demanded the Autobots submit to his authority so they could ready for a coming battle against a much greater enemy; when they unsurprisingly refused, Galvatron departed, leaving Prime to worry about what was lurking in the future. The Transformers: Infestation #2 Heart of Darkness #4
A few months later, when the Combaticons publicly allied themselves with North Korea, Spike recruited Optimus and the Autobots to fight against them. The Land Ironclads Unfortunately due to an edict by the President of the United States forbidding any countries to collaborate with Cybertronians, the Transformers had to be transported to Korea in vehicle mode, in shipping crates, so that their activities could remain hidden from the government. They even had to attempt battling the Combaticons in vehicle mode, which did not go well for them. Ranks of Bronze After temporarily disabling the satellites watching the area, the Autobots were able to transform for their second engagement with the Combaticons, during which Prime smashed into Vortex and managed to bring the Combaticons' leader Onslaught to his knees. All was going well until the arrival of the Predacons, who had fallen in with the People's Republic of China. Hawk among the Sparrows Prime tried the diplomatic approach, trying to convince the Predacons to stand down, and although they were insulted by his dismissive attitude towards their partnership with China, they agreed to move on... until Onslaught shot Rampage in the back. A brawl between all parties ensued, but Prime took control of the situation by having Thundercracker, temporarily working with the Autobots again, destroy China and North Korea's energon production facilities, ensuring the Decepticons would have no reason to work with the humans any more. All My Sins Remembered
While they were still overseas, word reached Prime's team of an assassination attempt on Bumblebee by a human wielding an advanced weapon. As they raced back to America aboard a Skywatch jet, Prime quieted arguments between the anxious Autobots and their human comrades, but remained quietly angry himself, insisting that there were endemic problems that needed to be addressed. Moments later, their jet was blown out of the sky, The Demolished Man but Prime and company survived the crash and completed the last leg of the journey home underwater in their vehicle modes. Woken Furies The team soon received a transmission that revealed the author of their current woes: Megatron had returned. Tracing Megatron and Soundwave to Albuquerque, Prime confronted his old enemy alone, only to find that one-on-one combat was not Megatron's plan: instead, he had dumped the captive Autobots in Albuquerque and flooded the city with an arsenal of Cybertronian weapons that controlled the minds of the humans wielding them. Prime was able to outsmart Megatron by deducing that Soundwave was linked to the weapons and shot him in the head to disable that connection. Megatron withdrew, Burning Chrome but a tracking chip Ultra Magnus had planted on Soundwave allow Prime to follow them to their foxhole, air-dropping in and dramatically crashing through the roof. Prime proposed taking the fight outside as a means of allowing Skywatch to drop a kinetic harpoon on Megatron; alas, even this incredible weapon failed to do much damage to the Decepticon leader's powerful new body, and the resultant fistfight between the two ended badly for Prime, as Megatron incapacitated him and dumped him on the Autobots' doorstep. When Optimus awoke, however, it was to a surprising revelation: Megatron had surrendered himself to the Autobots' custody. Prime could fathom no reason for Megatron to have done this, and Megatron himself offered no answers, save for the taunting revelation that Spike Witwicky had secretly gone off-grid and executed Scrapper. A shaken Prime charged Prowl with investigating this claim, then retreated into his private quarters to contemplate the chaos he found himself facing. Enemy Mine
A short time later, Hot Rod returned from a sojourn in space, during which he had finally recovered the Matrix of Leadership from Decepticon clutches. He returned the talisman to Optimus, who in return dubbed him "Rodimus" as a sign of his maturation. But Rodimus also brought dread tidings: through the ministrations of Alpha Trion, Cybertron had become habitable again, but was being used as a staging base by Galvatron and his army. Refusing to see his homeworld conquered by the madman, Optimus announced to the Autobots that he was returning to Cybertron, and invited any who wished to accompany him. Most of the Autobots chose to join him, and they soon left aboard Omega Supreme's rocket with Megatron aboard; Orphans of the Helix just before departing, Prime gave Prowl "five minutes" to interrogate Megatron for information on his investigation into Spike. Police Action: Prologue
During their trip, Optimus questioned Megatron further about why he surrendered, even releasing him from his bonds and having a civil conversation with him recalling their many past encounters and dueling ideologies. The other Autobots were more concerned with coming to a decision on what to do with Megatron, and cast doubt on Optimus's ability to make the right choice after how "cozy" the pair had been during their talk. An angry Prime returned to speak to Megatron again, but this time, the Decepticon leader smugly goaded Prime into shocking him with the variable voltage harness he was strapped into. Chaos Theory Part 1 Disgusted by his own actions, Prime talked with Ratchet and Rodimus about the Matrix and the weight of expectation it placed upon him. To prove to himself that he still had the wisdom to make the right decision on his own, Prime removed the Matrix from his chest and left it in Ratchet's care so that he could reach his conclusion free of its influence. Prime decided to leave the choice between imprisonment or death up to Megatron himself; Megatron chose death. Chaos Theory Part 2
Arriving on Cybertron, Prime left Megatron to stew in his cell while he took his men out to approach Galvatron peacefully. As before, Galvatron proposed they put themselves under his command to battle a mysterious coming enemy, and when Prime refused, battle promptly began. Lamentations When Galvatron brought the captured Kimia Facility into play, turning its weapons on the planet from orbit, Prime flawlessly co-ordinated the Autobot response. When he realised that Galvatron was not shooting at the Autobots, but blasting a pathway into the planet, Prime rolled out to head him off at the pass. Numbers Alongside Ironhide, Rodimus and Drift, Prime pursued Galvatron down into the planet's depths, but during the chase, the enemy Galvatron had warned of finally emerged: the Dead Universe entity known as D-Void. This alien intelligence possessed Galvatron's army and the Decepticons (who had been teleported to Cybertron by Megatron, this being the reason he had surrendered) and merged them into a giant "Deceptigod". Galvatron intended to stop its emergence by feeding the Darkness into Vector Sigma and destroying the planet, Kings but upon doing so, discovered that he had been played by D-Void all along—destroying Cybertron would allow it to complete its emergence into the living universe. Optimus Prime plunged himself into Vector Sigma and released the power of the Matrix of Leadership, purifying the mega-computer and stopping D-Void in its tracks. Genesis
The return of Orion Pax
Prime awoke in a barren wasteland, the Matrix lying before him, its crystal core split in two and its energies depleted. Genesis After briefly believing that he had died and passed on to the Afterspark, Prime realised that he was on Cybertron, but a Cybertron surging with primordial energies. Trekking across the wilderness, Prime found a shanty town made of spaceships where Iacon should have been, where after an altercation with some unfamiliar Cybertronians, he was approached by Sideswipe and Whirl. The pair brought him to Rodimus and Bumblebee, who explained that the purification of Vector Sigma had "rebooted" Cybertron, reverting it to a primeval state and sending out a signal that summoned the many Cybertronians who had left the planet millions of years ago back home. Unfortunately, tensions were running high, as these so-called "NAILs" look upon Prime and the Autobots as symbols of the war they had left the planet to escape. A full-blown riot soon consumed the city, which Prime quelled with a proclamation he delivered to the crowd: if the NAILs would allow the other Autobots to stay, he, the figurehead of the war, would leave the planet forever. Bestowing the two Matrix halves to Rodimus and Bumblebee, Prime departed at last truly feeling free and beholden to no-one. Optimus Prime was dead. Orion Pax was reborn. The Death of Optimus Prime
After voyaging through space for some time, Orion was contacted by Hardhead with some strange news: a distress signal from the planet Arduria had awoken Hardhead's formerly-catatonic prisoner, Jhiaxus, who began screaming Orion's name. Investigating the Ardurian signal, Orion and Hardhead found that they had been lured into a Decepticon trap when they were attacked by Monstructor. His knowledge of the combiner from their past fight availed Orion little, as the monster's weak spot had been removed, and Monstructor was able to keep them busy long enough for his new master Bludgeon to free Jhiaxus. Realizing that Jhiaxus and Bludgeon were intending to hunt down all the planets that had been targeted by Shockwave's Regenesis program, Orion and Hardhead set course for the Lenocinium Velnero System and gave chase. Syndromica (1)
Arriving in the LV system, Pax's ship crossed paths with a Decepticon vessel that crashed on the world of LV-117, a planet unhinged from the flow of linear time by Ore-1, a product of Shockwave's Regenesis program. Following it down to the planet's surface, Pax's team explored the ship and discovered a mysterious sphere in its hold. Little did Pax realise that this sphere was a time machine, which, when he reached out to touch it, sent him on a confusing journey through LV-117's past and future. After briefly jumping into the near future, where he witnessed Jhiaxus, Bludgeon and Monstructor stealing the Decepticon ship and escaping, Pax was hurled into LV-117's past and began moving forward, heading back to the present day, encountering Bludgeon in each time period he arrived in. Pax encountered the Decepticon warmonger Turmoil abducting many of the planet's natives and rescued one, named Varta, and then found himself facing the end of LV-117 itself, destroyed by forces unknown. In this time period, he encountered Wheelie and an older Varta, and realized that he had been encountering Bludgeon in reverse-order, with the Decepticon traveling in the opposite direction through time to him. This meant since he had already seen Bludgeon and his comrades escape the planet, then it had already happened for them, so Pax could not stop it. His time-shifting journey at an end, Prime reappeared in the relative "present" after the villains had already departed, and gathered up his crew to follow them toward Gorlam Prime. Syndromica (2)
Lineage of the Primes
Pax's team appeared to beat Jhiaxus to Gorlam Prime, and they ventured underground to explore the caverns that had previously held a portal to the Dead Universe, also coming upon a mysterious ruined city. Returning to the surface, the team were approached by Waspinator, who was being pursued by the Monstructor Six, and came to his aid. Waspinator explained that they were after the subterranean city, which was, in fact, one of Metroplex's Metrotitan brethren. Pax awoke the Titan, but at that point, Waspinator revealed that he was actually working for Jhiaxus, and took control of the Titan, spiriting it away to Cybertron. Worse still, the giant's transformation had destabilized Gorlam Prime, causing the spread of the death-inducing Ore-2 previously confined to the underground caverns. Their ship had been destroyed in the fight, seeming dooming Pax's team, but Pax revealed that his own ship, the Skyroller, had been following in their wake all along. Homecoming They quickly boarded the craft and blasted off, but seemed as though they would be unable to escape the gravity of the collapsing Gorlam Prime until the Lost Light, the starship of misfits crewed by Rodimus, appeared to rescue them. Welcomed in eagerly, Pax was given a tour of the vessel, but arrived on the bridge just as bad news was coming in—Starscream, who had been elected leader of Cybertron in Pax's absence—reported that a portal to the Dead Universe was forming in the skies over their homeworld. Dark Dawn
Realizing that they would have to venture into the Dead Universe themselves to investigate, Pax tasked Brainstorm with jury-rigging a method of protecting themselves from its ravages while he shared a drink and a moment of dark reflection with Rodimus and Ultra Magnus. Shielded by forcefields of Brainstorm's design, Pax then led Rodimus, Hardhead and Cyclonus into the Dead Universe through the portal that Gorlam Prime had collapsed into, where they were immediately set upon by some native cyberwraiths. The creatures fled when Cyclonus, claimed by the Dead Universe again thanks to his forcefield generator breaking, moved to confront them, Black Metal but the stoic ancient Cybertronian refused Pax's offer of medical aid and insisted they continue on their mission to find the point that the Dead Universe was contracting towards. On the way, the team were unexpectedly met by Nightbeat, who had perished during the original Dead Universe incident, and was revealed to have been sustained by the undead realm's power. Nightbeat volunteered to lead the group to the Dead Universe's contraction point, Into the Abyss but it soon transpired that he had been brainwashed by Nova Prime, who had secretly survived his previous clash with Pax, and had led Orion's team into a trap. Finest Hour Sealed with a containment cube, Orion managed to crack their prison with a mighty punch, then pretended to lose his temper and staged a fight with Rodimus in order to distract Nightbeat from it. When Nova Prime subsequently arrived, Hardhead exploited the crack to smash his way out, but the cube re-sealed before Orion and the others could escape, and they could only watch as Nova destroyed Hardhead. No Exit
Transported by Nova to his citadel, Orion's team discovered that the evil Prime had Kup captive, and was in the process of turning him into a space bridge to escape to the living universe. Nova intended to use Orion and the others' sparks to energize the bridge, but fortunately, Rodimus was able to break Nightbeat's brainwashing with some odd numbers engraved into his palm, and he set them free. The Dead Are Not Enough As they set about liberating Kup, Rodimus explained the significance of the numbers to the perplexed Orion: they were the number of Lost Light crewmembers who had voted to have him removed from captaincy after recent catastrophic misdeeds. Orion surprised the younger 'bot with the angry declaration that Rodimus should have resigned outright, rather than take a vote. Any further discussion was halted when Nova appeared and challenged Orion to a final battle. Burning Back Nova taunted Pax psychologically by using his mastery of the Dead Universe to shape-shift into the forms of past Primes, before assuming the shape of Orion himself, professing to show him what he could become if he embraced the true legacy of the Primes. Orion was shaken, but a speech from Rodimus rallied him: though many had held the title before him, Orion had made the name of "Prime" synonymous with himself, and with goodness and decency, despite the evil actions of those who had come before him. Energized by Rodimus's words, Orion rechristened himself Optimus Prime once more, and slew Nova once and for all. Finis Temporis
With the Dead Universe collapsing all around them, Optimus and his team were in dire need of a way out, and found one when they heard singing emerging from Nova Prime's corpse. The Becoming Realizing that it was coming through from the living universe, they used Nova's technology to turn him into space bridge ...And the Damage Done and travelled through it, back to Cybertron, emerging through the unsuspecting Brainstorm's chest. Black Planet They arrived just in time to join the effort to stop Shockwave's plan to collapse all of reality into a black hole using his Regenesis ores; Optimus fought side-by-side with Megatron against the rogue scientist, and tried to reason with his old senator friend. His words had little effect, so Megatron opted for a more audacious method: recent experiences having opened his mind to a new way of thinking, he donned an Autobot insignia and declared that he was switching factions. Confusion and distracted, Shockwave lost control of the time machine powering his plot, setting his mind adrift in time and causing his old pre-Shadowplay self to re-emerge. Horrified at what he had become, Senator Shockwave petitioned Optimus Prime to kill him, and Prime complied, with the vow to always remember his old friend as he had been. With Shockwave's dead, the time machine collapsed into a singularity that threatened to consume them. Prime and Megatron made what appeared to be a hopeless dash for safety, but were rescued at the last moment by the Lost Light. ...And the Damage Done
Retaking Command
Along with Jetfire, he bore witness to Megatron melting his iconic fusion cannon in a pit of acid to prove he had given up on the war. slaughterhouse
In light of Megatron's defection to the Autobots, Optimus questioned what should be done with him and called Prowl, Magnus, Ratchet, Rodimus and Starscream for advice. As leader of the NAILs, Starscream petitioned for a trial which Optimus agreed to. He also announced that he would be "Chief Justice" in the absence of Tyrest and subsequently appointed Prowl as prosecutor and Magnus as speaker for the defence. He then talked with Rodimus about his quest only to learn that the Matrix half he held had been destroyed and that they were seeking help from Thunderclash or "The Greatest Autobot Ever". Knowing that the trial could theoretically last centuries and having urgent matters to attend to Optimus tried to talk Megatron into letting Chromedome extract memories to use as evidence and speed up the trial, which the former Decepticon refused. At the trial he heard Megatron quietly plead guilty to all the charges Prowl read against him. Towards Peace Optimus listened to Gripper give testimony regarding the Decepticon Justice Division, following which Starscream spoke, not without grandstanding that Magnus and Prime reprimanded him for. Starscream stated that Megatron was an inept leader who started a revolution that he could not hope to control which devolved into a full blown war. The Cybertronian leader stated that Megatron did not deserve death but pity. Megatron then requested to speak to Magnus personally and Optimus allowed a thirty-minute recess. During this time Slamdance gave Optimus the news that Autobot approval ratings were way up due to the trial. When the trial resumed, Magnus informed Prime that Megatron now pleaded "not guilty". Words Hang in the Air According to Magnus, Megatron protested that an Autobot trial could not be a fair one, least of all if the defendant and judge were arch-rivals. After beating up a few loyal Decepticons who tried to free Megatron, the former Decepticon leader invoked his right to be tried by the Knights of Cybertron. Optimus arranged for Megatron to be made co-captain of the Lost Light, which ticked off Rodimus. At the height of the trial, Megatron gave an impassioned speech denouncing the Decepticons and their ideals, up-holding his deal with Prime. Prime then visited Megatron in his cell and commended him on his change, noting that they could very well be trying to kill each other. As Optimus, left satisfied he failed to notice Megatron bury his head in his hands. Predestination: A Beginner's Guide
Shortly after the trial concluded Optimus gathered a small group of Autobots to go back to Earth and find Alpha Trion following a message passed onto him by Windblade. Before leaving he reminded Starscream that he ruled the people who lived in Metroplex and that Metroplex was himself an Autobot with the additional reminder that Ironhide and Windblade would be monitoring him Hello Cruel World He also told Chromia to contact him immediately if Starscream started scheming during his absence. Windblade issue 2 Prowl then raged at Optimus for the trial's outcome, only for Prime to make him realize he was angry because of Bumblebee's death and the fact that no-one noticed he was being controlled by Bombshell. He then invited Prowl to Earth, reminding him of his change on the planet. Detonation Boulevard. He then spoke to Arcee about Hardhead's death and that his killer was dead. Arcee then asked to join him on Earth. The Mind Bomb Prime also invited his old friend Jazz to come along, saying he didn't hold Jazz's past on Earth against him. Full Fathom Five
Arriving in Earth's orbit, the Ark-7 was immediately attacked by Cybertronian-like weapons. Optimus opted to take a small force of Arcee, Kup, Jazz and Sideswipe onto the planet leaving the Ark in orbit. The group found Thundercracker and after an information exchange, Decepticons led by Galvatron burst in and turned Prime over to the EDC. Hello Cruel World. Attempts to reason with the EDC failed almost instantly and Prime gave the order for his men to attack the humans but not to inflect casualties while he fought Galvatron. When the battle was going south he ordered a retreat and went down Prowl's escape route. This led them into Poverty Flat. Surrounded by Decepticons, Prime suggested it was in the best interest of both parties to relocate the battle... only for a Prowl-controlled Devastator to jump into play. Detonation Boulevard.
Mid-battle a "Mind Bomb" stunned all the Decepticons and the Autobots retreated to the Ark aboard Sky Lynx. Optimus was ticked that Prowl had endangered humans and stunned to find that Prowl thought the EDC might kill the townsfolk to cover up Devastator. Prime refused to believe that humans were their enemies but Prowl and Jetfire showed him that the missiles that attacked Ark 7 were based on Cybertronian biology specifically their neurology, leading Prowl to suspect that the EDC had Alpha Trion's brain for study. The Mind Bomb
Having tracked the "Mind Bomb"'s signal, Prime ordered Jazz to scout the Marshall Islands and while he waited aboard Sky Lynx reminded Prowl of the chain of command. Jazz reported in that he found Alpha Trion's shuttle proving Prowl's theory. Leaving Prowl on Sky Lynx after another chewing out, Prime led his troops through the EDC's defences and stormed the beach only for Galvatron's ship to appear above them. Full Fathom Five The Autobots were saved when Prowl interfaced with the EDC's defence grid and destroyed the Decepticon ship. Prime's group was soon rejoined by the Constructicons, Prowl and Jazz, where Scavenger revealed he was a re-doubled agent feeding false data to Soundwave. While Devastator provided cover, Prime had his men retrieve Trion and quickly retreat aboard Sky Lynx. Once en route, Prime chewed out Prowl who countered with perfect logic. Prowl then showed Prime the data he had recovered from the EDC and that he knew just who to find if they were to solve the mystery of the EDC's actions. I Dream of Wires Unknown to the Prime, Scoop transmitted images of the battle to Starscream back on Cybertron.The World of Tomorrow
Per Trion's request, Optimus took him to the lunar surface for a private discussion. Trion revealed that he was one of the Original Thirteen Primes of Cybertron and recounted the events that led to the end of the First Cybertronian Civil War. Optimus was enraged to find out that Trion had, not only allowed but, encouraged Nova to become a Prime which eventually led to functionism and the Second War. Trion was unfazed by these accusations and told Optimus that the other members of the Thirteen had fled Cybertron in fear because Galvatron had murdered Nexus Prime. He also knew that Galvatron had stolen Nexus' Enigma of Combination and launched it off world to Earth but didn't know whether he meant to or not. Regardless Shockwave had known where it had landed and planted Ore-13 there. Shockwave also knew where the Primes had fled to and sent his other Ores there. Optimus pondered the full implications of the Enigma's power when Trion revealed the chilling information that the Prime Galvatron once served was called Megatronus, prompting the two Primes to wonder if Cybertronian history was repeating itself.The Crucible Optimus searched Earth for weeks trying to find the Enigma but found nothing. He later spoke of this to Trion before having to leave to Cybertron. Officially he left to research the Enigma and check on Starscream but was actually going to celebrate his anniversary of becoming a Prime. Before leaving he chewed out Prowl once more and warned him not to take pre-emptive action against the Decepticons or the humans.Signals, Calls, and Marches Optimus now has his own combiner form or rather, is a part of a Combiner team called Optimus Maximus!
In a vision of the future seen by Ironhide and Jhiaxus during the reformatting of Cybertron, fifteen million years hence, Ironhide looked back on the war and wondered if Optimus Prime was still out there, and was assured by Alpha Trion that he was. Pax Cybertronia A Better Tomorrow
Spotlight: Mirage
Template:NoteSLMirage In an unknown place and time, the self-serving mercenary Mirage dreamed of Optimus Prime and the Autobots being attacked en masse by the Decepticons, and of Starscream stabbing Prime through the chest with a metal pole. But Mirage knew that to be only a dream; in reality, Prime commanded one of the last remaining pockets of Autobot resistance, hiding out in the Pegasus Star Cluster. While awaiting the arrival of Bumblebee's team, he and Hound tried to work out how to convert Zodiac Energy for their consumption. "Bumblebee's" arrival proved to be their downfall, as it was really Mirage, who destroyed the bunker security systems, allowing the Decepticons inside. Optimus Prime refused to surrender during the ensuing struggle, until Mirage used the critically injured Jetfire as a hostage, forcing Prime to back down. When Megatron refused to pay Mirage unless he killed the Autobots, Prime tried to reason with the mercenary, appealing to his former friendship with Hound...until Mirage killed Hound in defiance. Furious, Optimus Prime broke free of his captors and tackled Mirage into the Zodiac Energy chamber. Spotlight: Mirage
Notes
- Simon Furman's original intent for IDW Optimus Prime was that he did not carry the Matrix of Leadership, as the Matrix would have "been gone from the IDW/TF-verse for a long time".[1] Instead, Nova Prime was to have taken it to the Dead Universe (as Galvatron appears to note in his titular Spotlight), where it would have become corrupted with the rechristened "Nemesis Prime," and its' return would "not necessarily be a thing of celebration"[1] This changed as a result of Shane McCarthy being hired as lead writer and promptly establishing the war was "all about the Matrix", which Optimus had always carried, resulting in the creation of the Darkness to fill the same role in Furman's truncated Revelation.
- Multiple writers have contributed details to Prime's backstory. This has led to a few glaring clashes, like Ironhide and Optimus meeting for the first time and the young Prime learning from him in Old Ways, while Autocracy has Ironhide as his happy subordinate in the pre-Prime days. But if you're not used to that by now, you've not read a comic. (The wiki has chosen to ignore one line of dialogue and just stick Old Ways before Autocracy, screw you authorial intent!)
- According to E. J. Su, Optimus Prime's Holomatter avatar is modeled after Ulysses S. Grant.[2]
- As of All Hail Megatron #13, Optimus has a mouth underneath that faceplate of his.
- A robot clearly intended to be Orion Pax was drawn into Bumper and Fastback's funeral in Megatron Origin #3, but was retconned away years later when More than Meets the Eye #36 established Pax to be opposed to Sentinel Prime's forces at that time. He's not unique in this regard—see Chromia's appearance in the same scene.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Simon Furman, Dec 2007: Well, we’ve yet to actually meet the Matrix in the IDW/TF-verse. So we may be getting ahead of ourselves here. What do we know about it so far? Well, according to Spotlight Galvatron, the Matrix was (and maybe is) “carried” by Nova Prime, and he (Nova Prime) disappeared into the Dead Universe (along with the Matrix, we assume). Nova describes a bottomless well and a resonant tug on the Matrix. What happened next we don’t know (yet). But what is the Matrix (hm, that sounds familiar somehow)? Not telling. Not yet. But ’08 holds the answers: what it is, where it came from, what is does (then and now!). The Matrix (and what it’s become) will figure large in all that happens post-Devastation. The Matrix has been gone from the IDW/TF-verse for a long time, and its return will not necessarily be a thing of celebration.
- ↑ Idea: Holomatter Projection
