VOICE ACTOR: Peter Cullen
ALLEGIANCE: Autobots
FUNCTION: Supreme Commander
1ST APPEARANCE: TRANSFORMERS: MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE
OPTIMUS PRIME first came into existance as Orion Pax. Orion Pax worked with his freinds Ariel and Dion at a factory just before the start of the Cybertronian Wars. Orion and his friends were in awe over the Decepticons. Orion met MEGATRON and took him on a tour of the place where he worked. MEGATRON attacked Orion Pax and his friends and proceeded to loot the place. Orion Pax and Ariel were saved by the time traveling AERILBOTS, who took them to ALPHA TRION. ALPHA TRION rebuilt Orion Pax into OPTIMUS PRIME. (Ariel was rebuilt into ELITA-1) OPTIMUS PRIME defeated MEGATRON, thus started their ages old rivalry.
OPTIMUS PRIME went on to recieve the MATRIX OF LEADERSHIP and became the leader of the Autobots. He led several of the best warriors on a quest for energy resources. Their ship was ambushed by MEGATRON and had to crash land on Earth. Millions of years later, an explosion of the volcano the ship had crashed into awakened all the Transformers in the ship. OPTIMUS led his warriors in an attempt to stop the Decepticons. In the process he saved the lives of Sparkplug and SPIKE, who went on to become their biggest human supporters.
OPTIMUS PRIME led the battle on Earth for years. At one point, the Decepticons had gravely wonuded him in a sneak attack. The other Autobots risked their lives to save him. Later OPTIMUS was forced to help MEGATRON bring Cybertron to Earth or their homeworld would be destroyed. OPTIMUS then worked nonstop to see everything restored. After that, MEGATRON challenged OPTIMUS to a duel. OPTIMUS was beaten and had to exile himself to deep space. However, it was discovered that MEGATRON cheated. With their deal now no longer valid, OPTIMUS attacked MEGATRON and blasted him down with one shot.
A year later, MEGATRON convinced the earthlings the Autobots were evil. The people of Earth demanded the Autobots leave. OPTIMUS agreed but when the decepticons took over the planet and tried to kill the Autobots, OPTIMUS saved his warriors and led them in a successful attempt to free the Earth. OPTIMUS also reunited with ELITA-1 for an adventure which also revealed to him the connection ALPHA TRION had to his creation.
By 2005, OPTIMUS PRIME was leading the Autobots from Cybertrons moons in an attempt to free their world from Decepticon subjigation. He sent IRONHIDE on a mission to Autobot City on Earth. IRONHIDE'S shuttle was ambushed and the crew killed by the Decepticons. OPTIMUS recieved a distress signal from BLASTER about the attack on Autobot City and left with the Dinobots to go help. He arrived in the nick of time and manged to knock out several Decepticon warriors. He then fought MEGATRON in a battle to the death. MEGATRON severly wounded OPTIMUS but PRIME pulled all he had into one punch which sent the Decepticon leader slamming several stories into the ground. His valiant effort won the day but at a terrible price. OPTIMUS PRIME died from his wounds. The MATRIX was given to ULTRA MAGNUS and OPTIMUS was buried in a funeral barge in space.
OPTIMUS PRIME'S spirit appeared several times. The first was when HOT ROD was transformered by the MATRIX. OPTIMUS gave him the new name RODIMUS PRIME. Later OPTIMUS told his successor about the history of the Transformers. His spirit was among the other Autobot Leaders who demanded GALVATRON return the MATRIX after he had two STUNTICONS steal it.
OPTIMUS PRIME was revived by the QUINTESSONS in an attempt to destroy the Autobots. At first the Autobots were glad to have their leader back and RODIMUS even returned the MATRIX. However the QUINTESSON scheme was soon revealed and OPTIMUS and HOT ROD had to do battle to prevent OPTIMUS from leading his freinds into a supernova. OPTIMUS regained his senses and sacrificed his life in order to save his friends. However, two scientists found PRIME and brought him back to Earth. One of them, GREGORY SWAFORD, hated him because he was scarred by a battle PRIME had with MEGATRON. SWAFORD and another scientist named MARK MORGAN used PRIME in a scheme to to infect all Transformers with a HATE PLAGUE. The plan went out of control and PRIME was revived agian by a QUINTESSON, but this time it was to help cure the PLAGUE. PRIME succeded in regaining the MATRIX from an infected RODIMUS PRIME and used its energys to cure the galaxy.
OPTIMUS PRIME returned to being Autobot leader. His known last mission saw him witnessing the rebirth of Cybertron's golden age.
(Note: OPTIMUS PRIME dies again in the Japanese HEADMASTER cartoon. He returns as a Power Master in the SUPERGOD MASTERFORCE cartoon series. He goes through several deaths and rebirths in the American comic and its sequel.)
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