Optimus Prime is a character in the Transformers universe. He is the commander of the Autobots, a faction of heroic Transformers from the planet Cybertron who wage their battles against the evil forces of the Decepticons for control of their homeworld, and by extension, peace in the universe. Optimus Prime is depicted as a heroic, brave and compassionate character who puts all his talent to use to improve the world around him. Optimus has a strong sense of justice and righteousness, and has dedicated himself to the protection of all life, particularly the inhabitants of Earth; he will battle his foes with unyielding resolve to uphold this belief.

The original Optimus Prime transforms into a cab over semi truck. The truck's cab transforms into the robot mode of Prime himself, with vast strength and armed with a laser rifle. Contained within his chest is the mystic talisman known as the Autobot Matrix of Leadership (or Creation Matrix), carried by all Autobot leaders and passed down through the ages. The truck's trailer disconnects and transforms into the Combat Deck, a mobile battle-station/command headquarters with an "Auto-Launcher" robot armed with assorted artillery and beam weapons. It can also serve as a radio antenna for battlefield communications between the Autobots. The Combat Deck can launch Prime's third component, Roller, a mobile scout buggy that can easily slip behind enemy lines. Optimus' senses are tied into Roller's, and can perceive what Roller does. Injury to one component is felt by each of the others, and while Prime could survive the destruction of either, despite the slight degree of autonomy they possess, the Combat Deck and Roller would not be able to survive without him.

Additional powers included (somewhat inconsistently) in the animated series and comics are short-range optic blasts, holographic map projections, and deployable hydro-foils designed by Wheeljack which allowed Prime and the other Autobots to traverse bodies of water with ease. One of Prime's more memorable abilities from the animated series was the ability to retract his right hand and replace it with a glowing energon axe; although used only once, the axe proved popular enough to be rendered in toy form several times in recent years, and made further appearances in both the Dreamwave Productions and Devil's Due Publishing comic series, and in the 2007 live action feature film.

Across the assorted continuities of the original Transformers universe, there have been various interpretations of Optimus Prime. One of Prime's most notable characteristics in any form was his adamant commitment to leadership by example, and avoidance of any hypocrisy in his command, but beyond this, the animated series leaned towards Optimus Prime as a straightforward, wise and essentially upbeat battlefield general. The Marvel Comics series, on the other hand, in addition to these more obvious characteristics, suggested a Prime secretly plagued by self-doubt and, more importantly, a conflicted sense of pacifism that often made him an extremely reluctant warrior. It was occasionally implied that the conflict with the Decepticons lasted as long as it did primarily because of his unwillingness to take a more aggressive stance

The leader of the Autobots in most continuities. Generally considered the opposite to Megatron, leader of the Decepticons.

Cartoon Bio (US):

Originally created by the Quintessons as part of their consumer goods line of robots. First named Orion Pax, he admired the Decepticons, unaware of the full extent of their plans. Just prior to the first Cybertronian Civil War, Orion was critically injured in a Decepticon attack. Transfered into a new body by Alpha Trion, he was renamed Optimus Prime. Sometime afterwards, he became the uncontested Autobot Leader. During his 4-million year deactivation period, other Autobots took his place on Cybertron, but upon his return, the leadership was given back to him.

Presumably, when he became Autobot Leader, the Autobot Matrix of Leadership was passed on to him from the previous commander.

Optimus Prime died in 2005 after a fierce battle with Megatron during a Decepticon invasion of Autobot City. The Matrix was passed to Ultra Magnus only seconds before Prime's death. He was reanimated temporarily by the Quintessons in 2006 for the express purpose of leading the Autobots into a trap. During this time, Rodimus Prime, the present Autobot Leader, returned the Matrix to him. Soon after, the Quintesson plot was revealed and Optimus, in an attempt to save the Autobots from the trap, piloted a ship to certain destruction after giving the Matrix once again to Rodimus.

Some time after, Optimus's body was discovered by a team of human scientists testing out a new form of shielding. His body was brought back to Earth, where strange spores were found on his body. The spores were soon found to cause madness and violence in those infected. One of the scientists, a man who blamed the Transformers for his daughter's need for bionic implants, infected the robots with the spores, but also inadvertantly caused every being in the galaxy to fall prey to the same illness, called the "Hate Plague" by those uninfected. After Rodimus was infected as well, Sky Lynx sought the aid of the Quintessons so they could reanimate Optimus Prime, whom they hoped could regain the Matrix in order to combat the plague. Prime, protected by the same shielding that was being tested when he was found, was revived and sent after Rodimus. After a brief battle, Optimus took back the Matrix and released its energy, causing the madness to dissipate. Optimus has remained Autobot Leader, and holder of the now powerless Matrix, ever since.

Article submitted by Francisco Cividanes.

Beast Wars Addendum:

Sometime after the Ark had crashed, but before human civillization, Megatron II and Blackarachnia located and entered the Ark. While the Maximals tried to get inside, Megatron II flew into the room containing Optimus Prime, who was enormous in comparison to the diminuitive Predacon. Hoping that killing Prime would change history to favor the Decepticons, he fired at full power into Optimus Prime's head.

Addendum based on submission by Nick Peron.

Comic Bio (US):

Vehicle mode of Lt. Optimus Prime Nothing is currently known about Optimus Prime before the Cybertronian Civil Wars started. During the war, Optimus rose in rank and was already considered a great leader by the time he became a lieutenant.

Vehicle mode of Optimus Prime c.4 million BC Sometime after, he became Autobot Leader, and inherited the Creation Matrix, a program with the power to instill life into and control non-sentient machines. When it was discovered that Cybertron would soon pass through an asteroid field (presumably that of the Sol system), Optimus was called upon to take an elite team of Autobots in the starship Ark to clear a path through it. Immediately after completing their task, the Decepticons, led by Megatron, attacked them. Low on energon, Optimus sent the Ark plummeting into the Earth. 4 million years later, all aboard awoke and renewed their conflict. The Autobots were soundly defeated when Shockwave, who was not aboard the Ark when it crashed, joined the battle.

With his cranial unit (head) separated from his body, Optimus could do little as Shockwave utilized the Matrix within him to create the Constructicons. However, Prime managed to transfer the Matrix temporarily to Buster Witwicky to thwart Shockwave. Following his rescue, Prime managed to create several more Transformers, including the Aerialbots and, unintentionally, the Stunticons.

In a simulated battle with Megatron, Optimus was forced to compromise his principles to defeat Megatron, who was cheating via a software "back door". As a result, Prime forfeited the victory, allowing himself to be destroyed as per the pre-arranged agreement. Unknown to anyone, the human who oversaw the simulation,Ethan Zachary , saved Prime's personality to a floppy disk.

Later, Zachary discovered that Optimus's personality survived the transfer to disk, but did not realize he was alive and sentient. The disk was taken to Nebolus, where Hi-Q, a scientist was able to create a new body for Optimus. Because Nebulan fuel had been made poisonous to Transformer life, Hi-Q underwent the Powermaster process and binary-bonded himself to Prime, thus creating Powermaster Optimus Prime.

Despite having lost the Matrix (now encased in a physical shell) in his old body, Optimus was still able to sense the approach of Unicorn, the planet-sized demigod. He ordered a search for the Matrix, which, he was convinced, was the only force capable of stopping Unicron. The Decepticon Thunderwing was able to obtain the Matrix, which had been tainted by evil, for himself. Although driven nearly insane by the overwhelming power, Thunderwing was able to grasp his sanity just long enough to allow himself to be impaled by an Autobot harpoon and flung into space.

Prime, believing the Matrix to be destroyed in the battle, surrendered the Autobot Army to the Decepticon Leader Scorponok for the sole purpose of uniting the Transformer race against Unicron. Scorponok reluctantly agreed, and all the Earth-bound Transformers were teleported to Cybertron by Primus. There, they were almost immediately attacked by Unicron. Optimus, fearing the worst, released Hi-Q to escape the carnage. At this time, Thunderwing, who had been repaired by the Matrix, returned to Cybertron. Prime managed to take the Matrix from him, and then flew into Unicron to release its energy. The resulting explosion destroyed Unicron, but Prime's body was caught in the energies and ripped apart as well.

After the battle, Hi-Q was attacked by ancient Cybertronian creatures who were apparently brought to the surface by the death of Primus during the fighting. While the Dinobots protected him, Grimlock found himself paralyzed by the experimental Nucleon fuel in his body. Realizing that Grimlock's body was undergoing a metamorphasis, Hi-Q tapped into that power and unintentionally caused himself to merge minds with Optimus Prime. Eventually, he discovered the Last Autobot, a Transformer of immense age and power who was able to rejuvenate Cybertron and even bring dead Autobots back to life. He recreated Hi-Q/Optimus into a new body (Actionmaster Prime), who in turn convinced the Decepticons to leave and promise not to return.

Years later, Bludgeon (predictably) did return and ordered his Decepticons to attack Earth to lure Optimus into a trap. Facing another threat which required help from his enemies, Prime went to Earth to talk to Bludgeon. However, Bludgeon was destroyed by Megatron on Earth, who had been rebuilt with far more power than before. Optimus was torn apart by the far superior Megatron, who then took the Matrix from him.

Ironically, Optimus was eventually given back the Matrix by Starscream, who realized that whoever possessed the Matrix would eventually be turned to the side of good. Prime then allowed himself to be consumed by the Swarm, an offshoot of the Transformer race. In touching the Matrix, the Swarm became benevolent and recreated Optimus's body into his Combat Hero form.

Article submitted by Francisco Cividanes.