Optimus Prime (Tyran)


 * ''Optimus Prime is the Autobot leader from the Movie continuity family.

Optimus Prime is the leader of the Autobots. Once, long ago, he was co-ruler of Cybertron together with his brother, Lord High Protector Megatron, but Megatron grew greedy and attempted to claim the All Spark for himself. Optimus rose to stand against him. As obsessively as Megatron strives to achieve his objective, Optimus is equally as dedicated to stopping him, even at the cost of his life, his world, and—if necessary—his own people. It was on his order that the All Spark was jettisoned into space, dooming Cybertron to a slow death and his people to nomadism. The sacrifices he has made weigh heavily on his spark, but they must be done, for there is no other choice. He knows the ambitions that lurk in Megatron's spark, and they must never see the light of day. Lives must be kept free from the threat of Megatron's tyranny, no matter the cost.

"A necessary sacrifice to bring peace to this planet. We cannot let the humans pay for our mistakes."

- Optimus Prime on sacrificing his life to destroy the All Spark, Transformers


 * Hungarian name: Optimusz Fővezér ("Prime Leader Optimus")
 * Chinese name (Taiwan): Kē Bó Wén (柯博文)
 * Cantonese name (Hong Kong): O Baak Man (柯柏文)

Prime Directive prequel comics


For two generations, Optimus Prime ruled Cybertron side-by-side with Megatron. The two personalities created a balance; Prime was fair while Megatron was firm. However, when Megatron revealed his intentions to steal the All Spark and use it for evil, selfish gain, Prime reacted accordingly. He formed the Autobots, a militia from the civilians around him, but they fared terribly against Megatron's armies, the Decepticons. Ultimately, Prime was forced to eject the All Spark into space to keep it from his nemesis. Unfortunately, Megatron tracked the All Spark to Tyger Pax, where Bumblebee's unit was trying to slow down the Decepticons. Prime and the Autobots were held up in Simfur, and unable to come assist. Fortunately, Bumblebee's unit succeeded, and the All Spark was ejected into space, but Cybertron was sentenced to a slow death. The Autobots were forced to abandon the planet.

Thus the focus of the war between Autobot and Decepticon shifted. The All Spark's ejection was only a stall. No longer did Prime have to keep Megatron from stealing the All Spark, instead Prime and his Autobots must hunt down the All Spark, wherever in the universe it landed, before Megatron could.

Transformers: Beginnings

 * Voice actor: Peter Cullen

Titan Magazines
When war broke out, Optimus studied the entire history of intergalactic warfare from any datatrack he could find - he studied whole campaigns to desperate last stands, gaining a focused "playbook" of warfare strategy. He understands warfare on a practical and psychological level, and in desperate battles knows to show no mercy to opponents beyond a swift death.

Optimus was the focus of constant attacks by assassin drones and killed them all. In the aftermath of one, he witnessed a prophetic vision of the Mission City battle and realised the All Spark's ejection could spread war to other planets—but too late to stop the launch...

Almost immediately after the final battle against Megatron, Optimus Prime had to lead the Autobots against a horde of zombie Decepticons. Despite having no idea how they could be stopped and having had his power drained by fighting Megatron, Optimus continued to fight the monsters rather than let them run amok. Ratchet worked out a solution just in time before Optimus fell.

In the alternate reality of Twilight's Last Gleaming, Megatron defeated Optimus and took the All Spark at Mission City. Prime's body was now partially frozen and in Decepticon hands. He was the last and only hope of the Earth resistance, and so Bumblebee and Mikaela Banes were not happy to find him offline. She thawed him out while Bumblebee distracted Megatron, and the revived Prime challenged Megatron to a solo duel... Unfortunately, Megatron's link to the All Spark meant Optimus could not do any lasting damage and was never going to win. Luckily, Bumblebee and Mikaela saved the day, hitting the distracted Megatron with an old Sector Seven nanovirus. (Which means they were the last and only hope, but oh well.) Despite Megatron dying as a result and the All Spark being destroyed elsewhere, Prime could take no satisfaction in victory: this battle was won, but the war remained...

He became resigned to the fact that Humanity, battered by Decepticon occupation, would view both Autobot and Decepticon as hostile invaders. When NATO was manipulated into attacking the Autobots, Optimus refused to allow his men to return fire, and after the crisis passed, he was sure that the Decepticons' unknown new commander was up to something bigger. Optimus has also placed the last All Spark fragment in the care of Ratchet, though he's worried exposure to Megatron may have corrupted it.

Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday prequel novel
Optimus Prime led the search for the All Spark in the Ark, a transport vessel. When they came across an abandoned solar system, they located a vessel of strangely Cybertronian design, seemingly of Decepticon make. When the vessel fled to the surface of a planet, Prime dispatched Bumblebee to investigate while he and the other Autobots battled Decepticons from the Nemesis. Prime managed to defeat Blackout, Scorponok, and Frenzy all on his own. After losing touch with Bumblebee, Prime went down to locate him on the planet, where they were attacked by Starscream and the alien ship. They fell into a cavern network, where they were further attacked by indigenous worms.

During their flight from the creatures, Optimus Prime and Bumblebee came across the alien vessel. Prime realized that they were trying to surrender, so the Autobots communicated with its crew. Optimus explained that they came in peace, "freedom is the right of all sentient beings," Starscream tricks everyone, and so on. However, the creatures, who called themselves "humans", explained that they held Megatron, whom they called the Ice Man, on their home world, Earth. Realizing the destruction Megatron would wreak upon the humans if he escaped, and that the humans would be unable to defend themselves effectively, Prime vowed to see them return to their world to warn it. Prime was able to blast an opening in the cavern, and the group escaped. As they returned to the Ark, Prime began to speculate that the All Spark was what drew Megatron to Earth.

In the ensuing battle with the Decepticons, Prime was in the difficult position of fighting Starscream and protecting the human ship. His distractions allowed Bonecrusher to spear him with his tail. The difficult state nearly gave Starscream the chance to kill him, but the humans saved Prime's life by damaging Starscream, who destroyed them. Optimus Prime was inspired by their courage and sacrifice, and resolved to locate Earth before the Decepticons did—and hopefully before Megatron came back online.

Transformers (2007) film

 * Voice actor: Peter Cullen (English), Tesshō Genda (Japanese), Guilherme Briggs (Brazil), Reiner Schöne (German)



The leader of the Autobots, Optimus Prime came to Earth shortly after Bumblebee sent his comrades a beacon. Upon atmospheric reentry, Prime managed to land outside of Tranquility's inhabited areas. While Sam and Mikaela watched, Optimus transformed and fled his landing place. From atop a hill, he quickly scanned the form of an Earth truck, thus configuring his body to transform into it. Prime, Jazz, Ratchet, and Ironhide met up with Bumblebee and his human friends, Sam Witwicky and Mikaela Banes in an alley. In one of the most extended transformations in the multiverse, Prime assumed his robotic form before the stunned humans. After confirming Sam's identity, Prime introduced himself and his team. When Mikaela asked of the Autobots' intentions, Prime explained the search for the All Spark, the betrayal of Megatron, and why Sam was important to their search.



Glasses that belonged to Sam's ancestor, Captain Archibald Witwicky, contained the location of the All Spark encoded across its lenses, so Optimus Prime ordered his troops to wait outside Sam's house while Sam and Mikaela searched inside for the glasses. Much to Sam's exasperation, Optimus Prime, in his impatience, clumsily ruined his parents' garden, and the Autobots' heavy footsteps convinced them there was an earthquake. Prime's attempts to hide, such as having the Autobots transform into vehicle mode right in the backyard, were also less than satisfactory. Ultimately, Sam came so close to a panic attack that Prime was forced to order the Autobots to fall back. As Prime lectured his team on their supposed inability to remain quiet, Ratchet got himself shocked by walking into some powerlines, causing further problems. When the parents came to investigate, Prime's attempt to avoid discovery caused the house to shake, though this was to their benefit, as the father assumed that the damage to the yard was the result of an earthquake. Ironhide suggested that they kill the parents, but Optimus scolded his old friend. Despite all this, their presence remained undetected until Sector Seven arrived (in a convoy of GMC Yukons) and abducted Sam, Mikaela, and Sam's parents.

Optimus Prime sent the Autobots in pursuit of the SUV that contained Sam, Mikaela, and Sector Seven's director, Agent Simmons. Prime intercepted the vehicle carrying their young human friends, ripping the roof of the vehicle off, with the other Autobots disarming the agents, and made it perfectly clear to Simmons how pissed off he was at him for trying to apprehend the two children, regarding this as a bad move on Simmons' behalf. Optimus then ordered his comrades to relieve the agents of their weapons, and attempted to interrogate Simmons. The agents' lack of surprise at their appearance indicated that they had seen Cybertronians before, but Simmons refused to reveal any information. With a Sector Seven backup team en route, Prime ordered the Autobots to scatter, while he took Sam and Mikaela. While hiding under a bridge, Mikaela and Sam slipped and fell off Prime's shoulder. Bumblebee managed to catch them before impact, but was captured, and Sam and Mikaela recaptured, by the organization after their retreat.

Optimus Prime, now in possession of the glasses which could tell him the location of the All Spark, regretfully left Bumblebee in Sector Seven's hands, knowing that if they went after him, they would have to use deadly force. After regrouping the next day, Prime used the glasses to locate the All Spark. Jazz raised objections to leaving Bumblebee behind, but Prime remained firm in his belief of not harming the humans. Ironhide seemed okay with using deadly force, stating the humans were too violent, but Prime countered that when their time had come, the Cybertronians had been little different. Going on to explain the potential he saw in the humans, as well as reminding them that "freedom is the right of all sentient beings", Prime revealed to the Autobots his real plan for the All Spark: if they could not defeat the Decepticons, Prime intended to merge the Cube with his spark. Though this would destroy the All Spark, Ratchet cautioned Prime against this, as it would also kill him. Prime believed that this was acceptable, vowing not to let another race suffer the mistakes of the Transformers. The glasses placed the All Spark at Hoover Dam where, luckily, Bumblebee and the young humans were taken.

Optimus Prime's team met up with Sector Seven, Bumblebee, Sam, and Mikaela en route, who had planned to hide the All Spark in nearby Mission City. While on the highway, he was attacked by Bonecrusher, who managed to tackle Optimus and drag him over the edge of a freeway overpass. During the battle, Optimus struck the rage filled Transformer so hard his optic popped out. As the Decepticon swung his claw wildly, Optimus drew his sword from his right arm and sliced off one of Bonecrusher's arms, before brutally finishing off his enemy by driving the blade through Bonecrusher's neck, severing his head, proving how much of a bad idea it is to screw with him. Seriously. Just don't.

Optimus arrived at Mission City just in time to observe Megatron discarding the remains of Jazz, and challenged him. Millennia in the ice had done nothing to lessen Megatron's hatred of his brother, and he launched himself in jet mode at the Autobot leader. Optimus leaped and grabbed hold of the wings, which was a really bad idea, as Megatron drove himself and Prime through an office block. As they flew out of the building onto the street below, Megatron transformed and leapt on top of Prime, declaring the humans undeserving of life. Prime rejected his claims, saying that they deserved to choose for themselves. Megatron threw Prime across the street, declaring that if he wished to defend the humans, Prime could die with them. He then formed his fusion cannon from his forearms. The power up time allowed Prime to draw his ion blaster and fire, hitting Megatron. The Decepticon used the momentum to spin around, then used the fusion cannon to blast Prime across the street into another building, making him go "URRAGH." Megatron then resumed the hunt for Sam and the All Spark.

Tracking Megatron to the deserted building, Prime (who ran past two falling helicopters NOT bothering to SAVE the doomed pilots) barely managed to catch Sam after Megatron knocked him off the roof. Telling the boy to hold onto the Cube, Prime attempted to scale down the building, but Megatron jumped on Prime, causing them both to fall down hard onto the street below. Sam survived, however, and Optimus told the boy that if he could not defeat Megatron, Sam must put the All Spark into his chest which would destroy it. As Sam sought cover, Optimus faced down Megatron, and informed him that, "At the end of this day, one shall stand, one shall fall". Unfortunately, Megatron, even after years of stasis, proved to be far too powerful for Prime to defeat alone. The unit led by Lennox and the Raptor squadron laid down suppressing fire as Megatron reached for the All Spark, until Optimus finally took him down by sweeping his legs. Still, Megatron continued, crawling toward the cube. Believing he had lost, Optimus implored Sam to put the All Spark into his chest. Sam instead thrust it into Megatron's chest, killing the Decepticon leader and destroying the All Spark, leaving Optimus to wonder why that hadn't been the plan from the start.

As Optimus watched his brother die, he regretfully said there was little other choice. He also told Sam he owed him a debt of gratitude for saving his life, but was then informed that Jazz had not survived (Jazz was flapping around disrespectfully like a ragdoll during this sequence). Prime briefly eulogized his comrade, then commented that they had gained new comrades in the humans, and was honored by their bravery. It's assumed that Jazz's body was tossed into a compactor somewhere and forgotten. Bumblebee, who had finally regained his voice, requested permission to remain with Sam Witwicky, to which the young human eagerly agreed, and Optimus approved. He noticed a fragment of the All Spark in Megatron's chest cavity and removed it, then permitted the humans to dispose of the Decepticon corpses by dumping them into the deepest part of the ocean.

Though Megatron was killed and his Decepticons were defeated, the All Spark was destroyed, leaving the Autobots unable to restore Cybertron. The Autobots elected to remain on Earth, and Prime sent a message into deep space to any surviving Autobots in the Galaxy to come to their new home on Earth, their long years of searching having finally having come to an end. As the other Autobots rested (and watched Sam and Mikaela make out on Bumblebee's hood) Optimus Prime looked to the sky, hoping his message had been heard. Then he walked off, somewhere, to do God knows what.

Transformers The Game

 * Voice actor: Peter Cullen

Optimus Prime provides intelligence and missions to Bumblebee in his search for the All Spark. Eventually, the clues lead the Autobot to Sam Witwicky. After saving Sam from Barricade, Bumblebee finally completes preparations for the Autobots to arrive on Earth.

Once on Earth, and having informed the two teenagers of their mission, Prime and the Autobots are discovered by Sector 7. Optimus sends Jazz on a high-speed destruction distraction mission, then sends Ironhide to rescue Jazz from a double-threat posed by the government agents and various Decepticon scouts.

When Bumblebee is captured, Prime transforms and chases the chopper which from which the small Autobot is tied. After a lengthy chase, Prime manages to catch the net, only to be thrown off by another Cybertronian meteor. As Bumblebee is carried away, Optimus promises he will not fail him again. Jazz informs him that the meteor is not an Autobot. Prime confronts the new threat, who turns out to be the Decepticon triplechanger Shockwave. The two battle it out across Tranquility before Optimus finally destroys him. But not without overhearing Starscream's transmission revealing the location of the All Spark.

Optimus then returns to an intel role as he guides Bumblebee in his mission to retrieve the All Spark from Hoover Dam. Unfortunately, the Decepticons manage to free Megatron, leading to the final battle in Mission City.

As the Autobots battle it out with the Decepticons to protect Sam and the All Spark, things seem to take a turn for the worst as Megatron finally arrives. But before he can claim the cube, Optimus attacks him.

The two battle it out until Megatron is finally on the ground, seemingly devoid of life. Optimus then kneels to take the All Spark as Sam hands it to him. Megatron however awakens, leaping at Optimus with his chain-flail out, and making one last attempt at defeating his adversary. Optimus grabs the chain, pulling Megatron in closer, and with the All Spark clutched in his fist, delivers a punch through Megatron's spark. As Megatron dies, Optimus reflects on the losses and rewards of this battle, as the Autobots have a new home. Optimus plans to guard the humans in secret, "For freedom is the right of all sentient beings."

Note: If played in Decepticon mode, Optimus is beaten to the ground, and as he crawls for the All Spark, Megatron smashes his head with his flail before using the cube to destroy humanity.

Transformers: Autobots

 * Voice actor: Peter Cullen

Arriving late on Earth, Optimus meets up with the other Autobots to give further commands to his troops. Create-A-Bot, the new rookie, is eager to help in the cause, but Optimus tells him to sit back while the grown-ups take care of business. Getting fed up with the bureaucracy, Create-A-Bot finally defies orders and completes a mission against Optimus's council. After nearly getting himself and the other Autobots killed, Create-A-Bot apologizes to Optimus personally. Taking pity on the newcomer, Optimus lets him off with a stern warning, and they move out together to face Megatron. During the fight, Create-A-Bot sacrifices himself to save his commander. Megatron defeated, Optimus commends the young Autobot as a war hero, and sends out an interstellar message to any Cybertronians living among the stars.

Transformers: Decepticons

 * Voice actor: Peter Cullen

Landing on Earth, Optimus quickly joins the other Autobots to attempt to stop the Decepticons. He doesn't actually appear, however, until Megatron himself is released and Starscream escapes with the AllSpark. He steps in to thwart the maniacal leader of the Decepticons, but alas, is struck down, left in the streets while Megatron gives chase to his traitorous second-in-command. You can ironically cheat by jumping on a building and shoot him then.

Trivia

 * When Optimus' design was first revealed, many fans of the Generation 1 series objected to the flames seen on Prime's body. When asked in an interview why he put the flames on, Michael Bay claimed he liked them because it was "cool". It was later revealed on a special featurette on the DVD that the flames were added to give Prime's red colour a brighter tone, as apparently red is not very good to film on camera.


 * The announcement of Peter Cullen as Prime's voice actor in the movie is credited by some fans as alleviating many fan tensions about the movie. Not all tensions, mind you, as there are some who just can't forgive, but it put the fans in a good mood.


 * Takaratomy officially recognizes Optimus Prime's vehicle mode as a Kenworth W900 truck, even though the vehicle used for filming was a modified Peterbilt 379, a different model from a different brand, although both are made by the PACCAR company.


 * Unlike most of the other truck-mode Optimus Primes in other continuities, Movie Optimus Prime does not pull a trailer of any sort. However, if he did, it would most likely be a flatbed trailer, as the rear of Prime's sleeper cabin is protected by a large silver "headache rack", a piece of optional equipment installed in trucks that haul heavy loads on flatbed trailers. The rack protects the driver in case the load breaks free during braking.


 * When Optimus Prime scans a truck for his new body, the passing truck has what appears to be an Autobot badge on its grill, but the actual truck that Prime turns into at the end of the scene has a much wider, flatter symbol on the grill which looks rather more like that of Peterbilt. Then, Prime has an Autobot badge on his grill while driving to meet the other Autobots.


 * As part of the hype buildup to the movie's release, Optimus Prime made a brief cameo at the 2007 MTV Movie Awards, interacting with host Sarah Silverman. The scene spliced Silverman into pre-existing movie footage, but featured new dialogue recorded for the event by Peter Cullen.  Prime heavily hinted that he wanted to present an award, but was rejected for a regular MTV fan.


 * According to the free trading cards from the Boston Globe, Optimus is 8.5m (28 feet) tall, weighs 4.3 metric tons, and his primary weapon is an ion blaster. (Considering Optimus's height, however, this weight would seem implausible. However, it is worth noting that a Peterbuilt 379 actually does weigh 4.3 metric tons. Make of that what you will.)


 * According to a tie-in advertisement for Burger King, Prime likes his Whoppers with no onions, no cheese, and with extra pickles on the side. However, due to a cruel twist of fate, he can never enjoy the sweet taste of beefy victory. He saved the world from the Decepticons, and still he can't even have it his way? Where's the justice? Freedom is the right of all Sentient Beings damn it!!!


 * The Optimus Prime computer generated model consisted of 10,108 individual parts, 1,830,898 polygons, 27,744 rig nodes, and 2336 texture maps. The volume of all pieces combined came to 154 cubic metres (5445 cubic feet).


 * Sadly enough, Optimus was only able to shoot his gun ONCE in the movie. He makes up for it by using the awesome energy blade, though.


 * Out of the other existing continuities, this Optimus Prime is probably the most aggressive incarnation, based on how he speaks to government officials and how he deals with enemy combatants. Though considering who directed the movie, this doesn't seem too shocking.


 * Optimus Prime (in truck mode) made an appearance at BotCon 2007, alongside the Sector Seven Mobile Command Unit. He was available for pictures all weekend.


 * It said in the Autobots game in the DS, Prime's father was killed by Megatron. However, since it is also widely known that Prime and Megatron were brothers, Megatron killed his own dad.  Not that this is surprising, though.


 * Prime's initial plan to end the war: unite the All Spark with his own spark, destroying it and himself (Not much of a surprise if he did gone through with that plan), leaving the Autobots leaderless and further reducing their already dangerously low ranks, and leaving a planet full of squishy, carbon-based life forms at the mercy of a psychotically violent Decepticon conqueror who wouldn't think twice about obliterating the remaining Autobots, the planet and every living creature on it, and perhaps Starscream just for good measure...yeah. Really thought that one through, didn't ya, Prime?


 * In the Transformers: Destiny issue, Prime's holographic driver is modeled after Peter Cullen. Yep, thats right, Prime drives himself.