One of the most well-known pop culture franchises, even among the general population, is the Transformers series. Since his 1984 debut in the animated Transformers series, Optimus Prime has consistently been a fan favorite.
He is the leader of the Autobots. The background and origins of this powerful Autobot, who led his team valiantly even in the face of oppression, are, however, mostly unknown. Let us go into his tale and investigate everything related to the fabled Optimus Prime!
Optimus Prime – the mainstay of the animated universe
In the world of the Transformers, Optimus Prime, an Autobot from the planet Cybertron, was the brash leader of the Autobots. A hybrid of biological development and cutting-edge technical innovation, the Cybertronian species had the appearance of robotic life forms. Another group of Cybertronians, Megatron and his Decepticons, frequently waged war with Optimus Prime and his Autobots.
Optimus Prime has been the star of numerous Transformers media throughout the years, and he has been voiced by a variety of actors, including Peter Cullen, Ron Hayde, Neil Kaplan, and others. He was presented as a member of the ‘Dynasty of Primes,’ an ancient race of Transformers, and Optimus was also known as ‘The Last Prime.’
He was the final of the first transformers made by “Primus,” and “Transformers: Covenant of Primus” explains some of his history. At that time, the Chaos Bringer “Unicron” posed a menace to every Prime created by Primus. Even though the Primes won this conflict, it signaled the end of their age and the introduction of a new race of Transformers. After all of his previous memories were obliterated, Optimus Prime decided to be resurrected with this new race in the “Well of All Sparks” and adopted the name “Orion Pax.”
When Megatron and his army of Decepticons jeopardized Cybertron’s destiny in this new life, Orion was given the “Matrix of Leadership” duty. Orion battled Megatron in the Great War in the guise of “Optimus Prime” once more.
Optimus Prime has the ability to morph into a “Freightliner FL86 cab over semitruck” in the first generation [G1] of the Transformers franchise. Although he was introduced as the Autobots’ leader, not much was known about his past during the Generation 1 era. The direction of Optimus Prime’s life was altered when Megatron radically altered the timeline by using a time machine to eliminate the presence of the “Aerialbots” in the future.
In the beginning, Prime used to work as a dock worker and went by the name “Orion Pax” millions of years ago. Orion had a sweetheart named “Ariel” and a close friend named “Dion” during the heyday of his home planet. Orion and his friends attempted to approach the new species of robots that had appeared on their planet after Megatron traveled back in time since they had been impressed by them.
Megatron ultimately made his way to the dock warehouse where Orion and his companions worked, and after asking whether he might use the facility for his own gain, he assaulted them. Orion was found by the Aerialbots, who then chose to transport him to “Alpha Trion” in the hopes that he could assist Orion.
He was one of the oldest transformers, who had lived right from the times when Cybertron came into existence. Alpha Trion used his extensive knowledge to attempt a new reconstruction process on Orion, which rebuilt the Autobot with a stronger, battle-ready persona. Orion Pax then became ‘Optimus Prime,’ a warrior of the Autobots who led them into their civil war against the Decepticons.
Optimus Prime held this position for nine million years and even led their missions to find a new energy source after Cybertron’s resources were depleted. On one of these missions, Prime’s aircraft ‘Ark’ was attacked by Megatron’s ship ‘Nemesis’, and Megatron ended up breaking and entering the Autobot’s spaceship. Prime and Megatron launched into a fight, and this caused the ship to lose balance and crash on ‘Earth.’ The Transformers all fell into emergency statis during the fall, and they were awakened after four years when their ship’s computer came back to life and reactivated them.
The computer first reactivated the Decepticons, and then Starscream tried to destroy the Autobot’s ship. Starscream’s attack caused a landslide, and the Autobot’s ship started vibrating as a result of being caught in this landslide. Finally, Optimus Prime fell in the path of his ship’s restoration beam and came back to life.
In the next two decades, the Decepticons managed to seize control over Cybertron and the Autobots had no option but to operate from their base city on Earth and two of Cybertron’s moons. In 2005, Megatron launched an attack on the Autobot’s city on Earth in order to capture this place as well.
Optimus Prime fought until the very last second to fend for their city against Megatron, and succeeded in defending the Autobots. However, he suffered some fatal wounds and ended up dying. He made sure to pass the Matrix to ‘Ultra Magnus’ before he died, but the Autobot ‘Hot Rod’ got his hands on the Matrix and decided to become the new leader.
Hot Rod appointed Ultra Magnus as his second-in-command, but they soon discovered that Optimus Prime had been resurrected. Hot Rod returns the Matrix to Prime, but they realize that their leader is acting differently and seems to be under someone’s control. Hot Rod decides to confront Prime, who then has a flashback of being resurrected by the Quintessons, an enemy race of aliens who reprogrammed Prime to sabotage the Autobots.
However, the Matrix’s influence helps Prime undo the reprogramming done by the Quintessons, and he returns to normal. Prime does not get a lot of time to catch his breath, as he is once again killed in an explosion set up by the Quintessons.
Prime’s death in the Transformers movie did not fare well with the audiences, which is why he was brought back to life later in the third season of the Transformers series. In the Generation 1 Transformers, this movie was released after the second season of the Transformers series, and the story was continued in the next season titled ‘Transformers: Rebirth’. The writers revived Prime in the third season’s finale, titled ‘The Return of Optimus Prime.’
Here, it was shown that humans retrieved Prime’s body after the explosion, but it was contaminated with strange particles. A scientist, who was against the Transformers’ agenda, then tried to weaponize these particles, thereby leading to a ‘hate plague’ that soon started to spread rapidly.
Hot Rod then came up with a plan to rescue a Quintesson, hoping that a good deed on their part would bring Optimus back to life. Surprisingly, this plan worked, and Optimus soon returned to life and reclaimed the Matrix of Leadership. He realized that he can counter this plague by using wisdom, and Prime then decided to sacrifice all his knowledge of the Matrix to restore all the victims of the plague.
Though ‘Transformers: Rebirth’ was the last Generation 1 Transformers media released in the U.S. in 1987, there were three exclusive spin-off series produced in Japan that followed the events that took place after ‘Rebirth.’
The first spin off titled ‘Transformers: The Headmasters’ followed the Autobots after they defeated the Decepticons and began working closely with Earth. The Autobots then went on to capture planets such as ‘Athenia’, where Optimus Prime stationed himself.
Prime soon realized the consequences of releasing the Matrix’s energy to cure the plague and its effect on the universe’s stability. Without the Matrix, the powerful ‘Vector Sigma’ computer had become destabilized, which enabled the return of the Decepticons. The Decepticons were assaulting Cybertron again, and Prime and the Autobots headed back to their home planet to defend it from the Decepticons and find a way to restabilize the Vector Sigma.
Back at Cybertron, Prime looked for Vector Sigma in the depths of their planet with some guidance from the spirit of ‘Alpha Trion.’ He managed to locate the computer, but found himself surrounded by Decepticons. At the same moment, Hot Rod appeared at the scene with Alpha Trion, who re-energized the Matrix. Now that the Matrix was back in working conditions, it transformed Hot Rod into ‘Rodimus Prime’, marking the first time that both Rodimus Prime and Optimus Prime fought against the Decepticons together.
They defeat Galvatron, and Optimus Prime once again sacrifices his life in order to restore the balance on their planet. Before Rodimus could use the Matrix to stabilize the Vector Sigma, Optimus himself merged with the computer and stabilized it even if it meant dying only a few months after his rebirth.
However, Prime later made one final appearance in the G1 Transformers, in the ‘Battlestars: Return of Convoy’ in 1991.
In 2010, a different version of Optimus Prime was the lead protagonist of an animated ‘Transformers: Robot in Disguise’ series. Here, he was voiced by Neil Kaplan, and this version of Prime could transform into a fire engine. The show was based on a concept that the Autobots were hidden vehicles in disguise on Earth when Megatron’s forces attack Earth in order to steal energy sources. Prime led the Autobots to fight against Megatron, and this series marked Prime’s first transformation into a ‘Fire Engine.’
Optimus Prime was also a leading character in the ‘Unicron Trilogy’ that consisted of three movies named Transformers: Armada, Transformers: Energon and Transformers: Cybertron. This version of Prime is different from the others in the sense that he had one strange belief about how interacting with other cultures would do them harm.
As a result, Prime prohibited the Autobots from interacting with any locals on Earth, Velocitron or any other planet. However, he soon realizes that this approach would not do him any good and that he needs to play by the rules of the Velocitronians and Animatronians, if he wants to find what he is looking for.
The 2008 ‘Transformers Animated’ series introduced a younger version of Optimus Prime. Here, Prime could transform into a red semi-trailer truck, and also had the ability to change any part of his body into a robotic tool. Prime used to study at the Autobot Academy with Sentinel Prime and Elita One in this version, but he soon left the academy after he left Elita behind on a mission. He then met Bumblebee, Ratchet, and Bulkhead, and led a ‘Space Bridge’ repair crew.
Prime was also a part of the animated ‘Transformers: Prime’ series released on the Hub in 2010, and this series followed the same origins story as G1 Optimus Prime.
Origins of Optimus Prime were recently revealed
Optimus Prime’s origins were recently revealed in the 25th issue of the Transformers comics in 2019. The comic covers Orion Pax’s transformation into Optimus Prime, and gives us insight into the back story behind Prime becoming the leader of the Autobots.
When Sentinel Prime was fatally wounded in an attack, he asked for Ultra Magnus’ presence, because he wanted to hand Magnus the responsibility of protecting the Matrix and killing Starscream. Just as the Sentinel dies, Orion Pax approaches his body to retrieve the Matrix and hand it over to Magnus. However, the Matrix immediately latches itself to Orion’s body and embeds itself into his chest.
Orion then falls unconscious, and his subconscious takes him to the ‘AllSpark,’ which is considered to be the afterlife in the Transformers universe. In the AllSpark, Orion comes across the hate plague and other such memories from the Transformer’s universe and he learns that everything is still in the AllSpark. All incidents and events are remembered here, and it is a place rich in history.
Finally, Orion is given the choice of becoming the next Prime, and the AllSpark stresses that they need a great leader to bear the Matrix, especially after Sentinel’s death. Though Orion is initially resistant, he accepts this position and becomes the next Prime. Back in the real world, he regains consciousness and introduces himself as ‘Optimus Prime’ and not Orion Pax.
Exploring his role in the cinematic universe
In the cinematic universe, Optimus Prime played a lead role in the Transformers films and also appeared in the Bumblebee reboot. This Optimus Prime was the counterpart of his Generation 1 version, and he led the Autobots to Earth after Cybertron became a barren wasteland.
Michael Bay directed the first live-action Transformers, and it was released in 2007. Later, Michael Bay directed the next four Transformers films until the release of ‘The Last Night’ in 2017.
In the first Transformers, Optimus Prime and his team of Autobots, including Jazz, Ironhide, and Ratchet, arrived on Earth after a signal sent by Bumblebee. Bumblebee had been living on Earth in the disguise of a ‘Chevrolet Camaro’ that had been bought by a human named Sam Witwicky. Bumblebee helped Sam ask his crush ‘Mikaela’ out, and the two soon became very good friends. After having made allies on Earth, Bumblebee signaled the Autobots to come to Earth, and he was soon reunited with Optimus Prime and the Autobots.
Optimus Prime explains their history to Sam and Mikaela and tells them about the civil war between the Autobots and the Decepticons. Prime explains that the Autobots wanted to find the ‘AllSpark,’ which was the source of all Cybertronian life, in order to rebuild their home planet and end the war. However, Megatron wanted the AllSpark to destroy the Autobots, and the evil villain had already located the Allspark on Earth.
Megatron traveled to Earth to get his hands on the AllSpark but ended up crash-landing in the Arctic Circle. His body was then discovered by Sam’s father, Archibald Witwicky, who accidentally activated Megatron’s navigation system. As a result, the AllSpark’s location was imprinted on Archibald’s glasses, and Optimus Prime needed Sam to break into his house and find his father’s glasses for him.
Megatron’s frozen body was taken to the Sector Seven facility, where he was reverse engineered to boost human technology. The Sector Seven officials also discovered the AllSpark, and constructed the ‘Hoover Dam’ around it to conceal its energy.
Back in the present, Optimus Prime and the Autobots conceal themselves as vehicles and follow Sam and Mikaela to Sam’s house. They send Sam to retrieve his father’s glasses, but their plan goes astray when the Sector Seven agents detect the Autobot’s presence and arrive at Sam’s house. Agent Simmons abducts Sam’s family and Mikaela, and Optimus sends the Autobots to follow his S.U.V. and intercept it.
Optimus then frees the two children from the captivity of the Sector Seven agents and orders the Autobots to seize the Agent’s weapons. Optimus then tries to talk to Agent Simmons one-on-one but does not get any information. Soon, Sector Seven’s backup reinforcements started showing up, and the Autobots scrambled before they could be captured.
While Optimus gets his hands on Archibald’s glasses, Bumblebee stays back to ensure the two kids’ safety and ends up getting captured by Sector Seven. Optimus and the Autobots regroup later, and Prime reveals his plan of merging the AllSpark with his spark, in case they cannot defeat the Decepticons. Though merging the AllSpark would most certainly kill him, Prime was willing to take that risk to ensure no further harm to any other races caused due to the Transformers.
Prime then uses the glasses to find the AllSpark’s location and leads the Autobots to Hoover Dam, which is also revealed to be the base of Sector Seven.
Meanwhile, the Decepticons led by ‘Blackout’ and ‘Frenzy’ had located Megatron’s body at Hoover Dam. Frenzy disguises himself as a mobile phone to free Megatron from his current frozen state.
At the Sector Seven headquarters, Agent Simmons warns the other agents about the Decepticons’ conspiracy and demonstrates the power of the AllSpark. Sam also tries to convince Simmons to free Bumblebee and let him handle the AllSpark.
Meanwhile, Optimus Prime makes his way to Hoover Dam and comes across Megatron, who is also trying to locate Sam and the AllSpark. They soon find Sam, and Optimus tries to shield him from Megatron, who immediately launches at Sam in order to get the AllSpark. In a flurry of actions, Prime realizes that Sam has to fend for himself against Megatron, and he advises the boy to ram the AllSpark into Megatron’s chest to destroy it and even kill Megatron.
Optimus then tries to salvage a fragment of the AllSpark from Megatron’s chest, but he realizes that it is beyond repair. He then comes to the realization that Cybertron cannot be restored anymore and that they have a home on Earth now. As this movie comes to an end, Optimus sends a signal to all the Autobots in the universe to come to Earth, where they will have a new home.
In the second movie, ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,’ we get some information about the history of the Decepticons. The original Autobots known as ‘Primes’ got their energy from sun harvesters, which were machines that destroyed stars to harness energy. The Autobots had vowed to never destroy any star that sustains human life. However, one of the original Primes broke this rule by attempting to build a sun harvester on Earth, for which he was sent to prison by the other Primes. This Autobot then became ‘The Fallen,’ the very first Decepticon in the Transformers universe.
In 2009, Optimus Prime and the Autobots settled on Earth and established a peace treaty with humans. They also created a task force to eliminate any Decepticons on Earth. Some members of the task force fought the Decepticons, and one of these Decepticons named ‘Demolisher’ warned the task force that the Fallen was coming.
In a different part of Earth, the Fallen and the Decepticons resurrected Megatron with a stolen shard of the AllSpark. The Fallen then sent Megatron and his second-in-command ‘Starscream’ to capture Sam Witwicky and kill Optimus Prime.
Sam, who was now a college student, had been seeing Cybertronian symbols ever since his last encounter with the Decepticons. He was also holding onto a shard of the AllSpark, and this shard tried to kill his family and even cause strange things to happen around his house. Sam then handed this shard to his girlfriend ‘Mikaela,’ and the Decepticons later captured Sam, Mikaela, and Sam’s roommate ‘Leo.’
Optimus Prime single-handedly fought against Megatron, Starscream, and a third Decepticon named ‘Grindor’ in order to free Sam and his friends. Prime managed to free Sam and then ordered him to stay hidden while he battled Megatron in the midst of a forest with his Energon swords.
The three Decepticons cornered prime, and Megatron even questions why Prime is willing to sacrifice himself and the future of the Cybertronian race over just some human life. Prime then got enraged and used his twin Energon blades to launch a full-blown attack on the Decepticons. He asked Sam to run to safety, while Megatron finally got to Prime and impaled him with a sword.
The Autobots came to Prime’s rescue, and the Decepticons retreated away. Optimus was then taken to Egypt at Sam’s request, and Sam then received the rebuilt the ‘Matrix of Leadership.’ Sam shoved this Matrix in Optimus’s chest, which immediately healed him and brought him back to life.
In the movie’s finale, Optimus and the Autobots finally came face to face with ‘The Fallen’ and the Decepticons and the ‘Battle of Egypt’ soon began. Optimus blew up the Star Harvester that was being installed on Earth and even defeated the Fallen by stabbing him and ripping his face off.
In the third installment of the franchise titled ‘Transformers: Dark of the Moon,’ Optimus Prime discovered a part of their spaceship ‘Ark’ on a mission in Chernobyl. He confronted the humans who worked with them at N.E.S.T., who told him that very few people knew about the Ark’s crash on the moon.
Optimus and Ratchet then traveled to the moon to investigate the wrecked Ark, where they found the Sentinel Prime in a static state. The Sentinel was locked here with five of their transport devices known as ‘Pillars’ that came together to form a space bridge. Prime returned to Earth with the Pillars and the Sentinel and then used the Matrix to revive the Sentinel Prime.
Prime then returned to their base to discover that the Sentinel had sided with the Decepticons now and had even stolen the Pillars. Moreover, the Sentinel was bringing in hundreds of Decepticons on Earth, and Optimus tried to confront the Sentinel but failed to defeat him.
The Sentinel then approached the United Nations and managed to expel the Autobots from Earth. Optimus and the others left in the ‘Xantium,’ which was later destroyed by Starscream.
With no alternative, the Autobots landed in Chicago, where they fought the Decepticons and rescued Sam, Epps, and other humans.
Optimus then heads into the city to find the pillars, especially the ‘Control Pillar.’ The Autobots faced the Decepticons and tried to subdue them when finally Optimus found himself at the mercy of the Sentinel. Just as the Sentinel was about to kill Optimus, Megatron intervenes and fatally attacks the Sentinel.
Megatron asks for a truce and declares that he does not wish to fight the Autobots under the leadership of Sentinel. However, Optimus lunges into an attack on Megatron, and the two briefly fight each other when the Sentinel intervenes. He tries to explain to Optimus why he betrayed the Autobots, but Optimus refuses to hear his excuses and kills him using Megatron’s fusion cannon.
In ‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’ released in 2014, the Autobots struggle with their image on Earth after the battle in Chicago. The public views them as a dangerous species who must be destroyed, and rogue C.I.A. officers form the ‘Cemetery Wind’ task force to kill all Autobots. Optimus finds allies in the Dinobots, another species of Transformers who had been residing on Earth. Together, they try to evade the C.I.A. agents and another enemy force known as the ‘Creators.’
The Creators were an alien species who were also intent on destroying the Autobots, and they had hired a Cybertronian assassin named ‘Lockdown’ to find Optimus Prime. Optimus also learns about the Creator’s devices known as ‘Seeds’ which can cover the Earth with an alloy called Transformium that can create Transformer drones. The Creators had also promised to give one Seed to the Cemetery Wind task force, if they managed to capture Optimus.
The movie mostly follows Optimus and the Autobots as they try to evade ‘Lockdown’ and the task force, and eventually, Optimus manages to kill Lockdown. He then sends a message to the ‘Creators’ and threatens them by saying that he is coming for them.
The fifth movie in the Transformers franchise was titled ‘Transformers: The Last Knight,’ and it begins with Optimus Prime arriving on the remains of Cybertron to meet Quintessa. She brainwashes Optimus into thinking that he solely caused Cybertron’s destruction and then sends him back to Earth to get ‘Merlin’s Staff.’ The staff had the power to restore Cybertron but at the cost of absorbing the Earth’s energy. Optimus Prime then came back to Earth in the form of ‘Nemesis Prime’ and was determined to get his hands on Merlin’s staff.
Back on Earth, the Transformers were being hunted down by a ‘Transformers Reaction Force,’ [T.R.F.], and they remained in hiding. Bumblebee gets his hands on a mechanical talisman from a dying Transformer, and Megatron then allies with the U.S. government to retrieve this talisman. While the Decepticons hunt down the Autobots, Bumblebee and his companions seek Sir Edmund Burton and then visit an Oxford Professor ‘Viviane Wembly’ to learn more about the talisman.
Burton tells them that this talisman can lead them to Merlin’s staff, which is buried deep in a Cybertronian spacecraft under the sea. Viviane then reveals that she is a direct descendant of Merlin and that only she has the power to activate the staff. The group then makes their way to the Royal Navy Museum to find a submarine that will take them to the Cybertronian ship, and they evade the T.R.F. and the authorities while escaping the museum. They manage to find Merlin’s staff, and Viviane awakens the Knights of Iacon while activating the staff.
Finally, they are faced with Nemesis Prime, who orders the Autobots to hand over the staff. Bumblebee ends up fighting this version of Optimus, who finally breaks free from Quintessa’s control and returns to his senses.
The Autobots then face the Decepticons in a battle to obtain the staff, and they get some help from the Knights of Iacon.
We also learn that the Decepticons want Merlin’s staff to activate it at Merlin’s tomb at Stonehenge, which would drain the Earth’s life sources.
Edmund Burton singlehandedly tries to prevent Megatron from activating the staff at Merlin’s tomb but ends up dying at the hands of the Decepticon.
In a jarring finale, the remains of ‘Cybertron’ clash with the Earth, and a final battle takes place among the Transformers. Optimus Prime defeats Megatron in this battle, while Bumblebee fights against Quintessa, who has also made her way to Earth. The battle ends when Viviane steps up and removes the staff from Stonehenge, saving both Earth and Cybertron from further damage. Optimus Prime, along with the Autobots, leaves Earth to return to their home planet in an attempt to rebuild it.
Optimus Prime was also a part of the spin-off Bumblebee movie in 2018, and he is set to return in ‘Rise of the Beasts’, which is scheduled for release in 2023!
What makes Optimus Prime so powerful?
Optimus Prime was one of the most potent Cybertronians in the Transformers universe and possessed a great deal of powers and abilities.
Prime had superhuman strength and durability and could effortlessly withstand powerful attacks by the Decepticons.
Optimus had the ability to fly, and even withstand extreme temperature conditions in space for a period of time. Prime had superhuman speed, and he transformed into a truck whenever he needed to act speedily in the face of calamity. He had supreme reflexes, and he reacted to situations faster than most beings. Prime could detect danger and dodge attacks at the speed of light.
Prime is also skilled in hand-to-hand combat and has an array of weapons at his disposal, if needed. Optimus’ preferred weapons are the Ion Blaster, Energon Swords, and Shield Cannon, but his skills extend beyond just using these weapons, and he is also a proficient marksman.
Prime used to be the head scientist of Cybertron’s scientific division and had contributed significantly to the development of Cybertronian technology. Optimus is an excellent leader to the Autobots and a master tactician who always knows how to target his enemy’s weakness. He has a genius-level intellect and is also multilingual.
Conclusion
To sum it up, Optimus Prime was and will always be one of the most loved pop-culture heroes. His presence in the Transformers universe has been nothing but legendary, and Prime’s values of honor and integrity definitely make him a true role model!