Optimus Prime (Transformers Animated)

As the Transformers franchise has grown, other characters have appeared with the name Optimus Prime. One of these characters is a lead character in the Transformers Animated TV series.

Transformers Animated
Optimus Prime appears in the Transformers Animated series in 2008 as a red semi-trailer truck, able to be fitted with many "trailer" attachments, most notably one that effectively makes him a fire truck. Unlike the other Optimus Primes, this one is much younger.

This Optimus Prime is usually called "Boss-bot" by Bulkhead and "Big Bot" by Bumblebee (possibly a reference to Beast Wars).

Optimus has the ability to change any part of his robotic body into a tool or gadget. He has swing lines in his wrists. His wrists can also fire capture bolas. His arsenal includes a grappler, fire extinguisher and a negative friction spray. It is interesting that, unlike all the previous series, his face can almost always be seen, because his mouthplate is retractable like in the 2007 live action film.

Animated Optimus Prime, in an Earth-based fire truck mode, appears as a hidden character in the Transformers Netjet video game by Hasbro.

Instead of being leader of the Autobots, Prime was actually a washout from the Elite Guard. Despite no longer being a member, he maintains his military ranking of "Prime".

The scale chart released for the series indicates Optimus Prime stands about 22 feet tall.

It should be noted that in the Japanese translation of this series, the story has been changed to make it a prequel to the 2007 Transformers live-action film. This makes this version of Optimus Prime an earlier version of the film character.

Animated series
Optimus Prime was originally in the Autobot Academy, depicted as being friends with Sentinel Prime and Elita One. He lost Elita on a planet dominated by giant spider-like aliens. He blamed himself for leaving her behind, supposedly to her death in the explosion of a wrecked Decepticon warship loaded with Energon. Sentinel never forgave him for losing her. Optimus took full responsibly for Elita's demise as Ultra Magnus, who had high hopes for him, expelled him and thus barred from any position of the Elite Guard. However, Magnus pulled some strings so that Optimus would be captain of a strange Space Bridge repair crew composed of old grumbler Ratchet, little yellow fledgling Bumblebee, ex-ninja Prowl and awkward simpleton Bulkhead, as well as given command of a starship, which was in fact Omega Supreme.

The series begins when Optimus and his crew were sent to clear rubble from a Space Bridge passage. Here the Autobots stumbled upon the Allspark before being immediately set upon by Megatron's battle cruiser, the Nemesis. Through treachery by Megatron's second-in-command Starscream, fragged Megatron and the Autobots crashed on Earth in the early 21st century. Being left in stasis under Lake Erie for 50 years, the Autobots awakened in Detroit of the near future, where they immediately discovered humans in need and became heroes of the city. During the battle for the possession of the Allspark, Optimus went offline after defeating Starscream, only to be revived by Sari Sumdac and her Allspark-infused key.

In the episode "Home is Where the Spark is", Optimus captured the Angry Archer, who had committed a robbery. Afterward, he and his group survived an attack from their hideout's old machinery secretly activated by Megatron's head.

In the episode "Thrill of the Hunt", the Decepticon bounty hunter Lockdown captured Optimus, who had a bounty on his head for the supposed death of Megatron (even though the Decepticons were unaware that Starscream was responsible for the said incident). He was freed by Ratchet, who also recovered an EMP generator stolen from him millions of years ago.

In the episode "Along Came a Spider", Optimus discovered that Elita did survive the ordeal with the giant spiders and was transformed into the technorganic Decepticon Blackarachnia. He offered to try and help her, but was turned down violently as Blackarachnia has still not forgiven him. However, when she nearly died trying to use the Allspark key to purge her organic half, Optimus saved her and repeated his offer to help her. She stung him instead, forever never to trust him. In the end, Optimus still regrets not saving Blackarachnia.

In the two-part episode "Megatron Rising", Optimus lost his composure over the recent numerous Decepticon attacks, coupled with the fact that Prowl secretly placed the Dinobots on an island off the coast of Detroit when they were to be destroyed. He also had Ratchet confiscate the Allspark key from Sari. Unfortunately, Ratchet lost possession of the key when he was ambushed by Blitzwing. Optimus also failed to stop a newly-resurrected Megatron from acquiring the Allspark. However, he defeated Megatron by overloading the Allspark in his chest with Sari's key. In the process, the Allspark shattered into countless pieces, scattering all across Detroit (later it appeared that one of them struck Starscream in the head and restored him to life).

In "The Elite Guard", the Autobot Elite Guard, composed of Ultra Magnus, Jazz and Sentinel Prime, arrived on Earth to reclaim the Allspark. Optimus' story about the Decepticons was disbelieved, with Sentinel Prime wishing to have him court-martialled. When a fragment of the Allspark caused a production line to go haywire, Optimus finally stood up to Sentinel, and retrieved the fragment, earning praise from Ultra Magnus.

In "Return of The Headmaster", Sentinel's body was hijacked by Henry Masterson and his Headmaster unit. Optimus, amused at his rival's predicament, reluctantly regained Sentinel body for him, which prompted Sentinel to actually thank him.

In "Mission Accomplished", Optimus was pressured by Sentinel into telling Ultra Magnus that his story about the Decepticons was untrue, which he refused to do. Meanwhile the on-board computer plotted a train infused with a shard of the Allspark. When Ultra Magnus and Jazz set off there, Optimus suspected the Decepticons luring them in ambush and rushed to their help, though Sentinel Prime tried to detain him. At first Ultra Magnus disbelieved him again, but some minutes later Optimus was proven right when Starscream fell from the sky very nearly right to their heads after being blasted by Megatron (much to Sentinel Prime's astonishment and fright). However, Starscream turned out to be quite alive and even inflicted injury on Ultra Magnus. But Optimus took the whole affair into his own hands momentarily and, with some Sentinel's aid, managed to apprehend the Decepticon. While Sentinel Prime beat off Starscream's shots with his power-shield, Optimus succeeded in taking the latter by surprise and in handcuffing him. Then, after the shackled Starscream was delivered to the Elite Guard spaceship, Ultra Magnus admitted Optimus Prime was right and allowed him to stay on Earth in order to seek the other fragments of the Allspark.

In "A Fistful of Energon" Optimus Prime was informed by Ultra Magnus about Starscream's escape from prison. He was upset very much  when he had heard that Prowl set out in search of the gaol-breaker on his own. He ordered Prowl to return, but the latter disobeyed him. Later Prowl was bound and abandoned by Lockdown who wanted himself to get the bounty which Megatron had set on Starscream. But Optimus Prime, together with Bulkhead and Ratchet, succeeded in discovering and releasing Prowl.

In "Black Friday", Optimus was blackmailled by Blackarachnia into helping Grimlock steal Meltdown's genetic modifier, so that he could use it to remove her organic half. However, Meltdown doublecrossed her, and Optimus and Grimlock worked together to save her.

In "Transwarped," after Sari realized that she wasn't human, Optimus attempted to have Prof. Isaac Sumdac and Sari reconcile with each other when they encountered Masterson, who was piloting his Headmaster unit on Starscream's decapitated body. He defeated Masterson by tricking him to transform into vehicle mode, which was impossible due to the Headmaster unit being too big for Starscream's body. Later on, during a melee with a rock creature that found its way to Earth when Bumblebee returned from his accidental transwarp, Optimus struggled to stop Sari, who went out of control after using her key to upgrade herself.

In "Predacons Rising" Bumblebee, Jetfire, Jetstorm, Optimus and Sentinel chased down the fugitive Wasp, but lost him to Swoop while bickering about what to do with him. They went after Wasp, only to find out that Blackarachnia had captured him and turned him into Waspinator. When Waspinator malfunctioned and exploded due to the instability of the transwarp field that mutated him, Blackarachnia contained the blast with her webs, resulting in the explosion consuming them both. Optimus was saddened by this, not knowing that she and Waspinator are still alive on another planet inhabited by animals.

In "Human Error" Parts 1 and 2, Soundwave captured the Autobots with the help of his minions, Laserbeak and Ratbat, so he could brainwash them into his pawns. Part of Soundwave's elaborate scheme consisted of tricking the Autobots into thinking they have turned human. Optimus Prime's human form was a male caucasian in his early 20s and wearing a red jacket. Sari formed a group of "Substitute Autobots", which consisted of Scrapper, Wreck-Gar, and Snarl to rescue them. They freed the Autobots from Soundwave's control, and Optimus grabbed Laserbeak to engage in a guitar vs. keytar battle with Soundwave, who used Ratbat. Optimus smashed Soundwave and Ratbat into pieces using Laserbeak in guitar mode, but Laserbeak grabbed Soundwave's surviving component and fled.

In "Decepticon Air", Optimus received a secret distress call from the Elite Guard ship that was carrying Decepticon prisoners. During the flight, the ship entered an electrical storm, which revived an inactive Swindle and had him free the other prisoners to take over the ship. Transwarping to the ship via Swindle's personal transport field, Optimus joined forces with the Elite Guard, rounding up most of the Decepticons in the end.

In "Endgame" 2-parter, Ratchet built Optimus a jetpack attachment, to help in the coming battle against the Decepticons. After some initial difficulty, Optimus was able to get the hang of the device, only to be shot down by Starscream's female clone Slipstream. Though Ratchet urged Optimus to use the Magnus Hammer, he was reluctant to do so, given his past with Ultra Magnus. In the end, he wielded the weapon as the Lugnut-controlled Omega Supreme clones landed on Earth. During the fight, Optimus managed to master the Magus Hammer's power as he overwhelmed Megatron to the point of being acknowledged by him in name. After a devastating battle, the last remaining Omega clone was about to self-destruct due to Starscream's intervention. With Prowl's sacrifice, the Allspark was rebuilt into one as it formed a barrier around the Omega clone, along with Optimus and Megatron. Prowl's spirit pulled Optimus from the bubble just as the clone self-destructed with Megatron still trapped inside. Prime lamented Prowl's passing, but before defeating a heavily-damaged Megatron and sparing him the deathblow, saying Megatron doesn't deserve the "easy way out." He returned with his team to Cybertron with Omega Supreme, the captured Decepticons, and Prowl's body, and was greeted as the hero he had wished to be so long ago. Around his neck appeared to be the reconstructed Allspark, now contained within a structure similar to the G1 incarnation of the Autobot Matrix of Leadership.

Fun Publications
Optimus appeared in the 2008 BotCon voice actor play "Bee in the City", voiced by David Kaye. In this story Professor Sumdac attempted to create a teleportation system to get the Autobots to Cybertron, but an interaction with Sari's key ended up transporting Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and Sari to Transtech Cybertron, where they met Flareup and were detained by Shockwave. Bumblebee teamed up with Beast Wars Megatron to free his comrades, but then had to stop Megatron from taking the key for himself. Afterwards the Autobots and Sari returned to their own dimension.

IDW Publishing
Set shortly after the events of "Total Meltdown" was the Transformers: Animated comic issue #2 by IDW Publishing. In it Bumblebee and Prowl apprehended the Angry Archer as the villain attempted to steal money from a used car salesman. In doing so they revealed the holographic trickery of the Detroit super hero known as The Wraith. With the secret of his power revealed The Wraith lost much of the respect he used to command in Detroit. The Wraith attempted to stop Cyrus "The Colossus" Rhodes from escaping prison, but was unable to fool the villain now that the secret was public, forcing the Autobots to stop the Rhodes and making The Wraith look foolish. The Wraith then attempted to discredit Bumblebee at a college football game by trapping the Autobot with a car boot and using his holograms to make a fake Bumblebee attack the stadium. Bumblebee eventually escaped and the other Autobots helped capture The Wraith and he was placed in a mental institution.

Other media
Optimus Prime appears among the characters in Re-Unification, the 2010 TFCon voice actor play prelude comic.

Video games
Optimus Prime is one of the playable characters in the 2008 Transformers Animated video game for the Nintendo DS.

Toys

 * Animated McDonald's Happy Meal Optimus Prime (2008)
 * A small, simple transforming Optimus Prime toy packaged as a prize with McDonald's Happy Meals.


 * Animated Bumper Battlers Optimus Prime (2008)
 * A Deluxe class toy truck for younger children. When the front end hits an object, it opens to transform into Optimus Prime.


 * Animated Bumper Battlers Nightwatch Optimus Prime (2008)
 * A purple redeco of Bumper Battler Prime.


 * Universe Animated Legends Optimus Prime (2008)
 * A Micro class toy released in the Universe Legends line. Unlike all Animated releases of the character, this version had Tech Spec numbers on the package.
 * This figure, along with Legends Bumblebee, was also bundled with Deluxe Stealth Lockdown.


 * Animated Activators Optimus Prime (2008)
 * A simple scout-class version of the character with a push-button transformation.
 * This toy is about 1:62 scale.
 * Also sold in Japan as part of the "Super Collection Vol. 1" gift set alongside Activators Ratchet, Megatron and Lockdown.


 * Animated Deluxe Cybertron Mode Optimus Prime (2008)
 * A Deluxe class figure that transforms from Cybertronian truck to robot. Comes with a foldable axe that stows at the rear of the truck mode. The truck's roof becomes Prime's shield or can attach to the axe to become a larger axe.
 * This toy is about 1:44 scale.


 * Animated Deluxe Optimus Prime with Battle Damage (2008)
 * An Earth mode remold of the Cybertron Mode Optimus Prime with battle damage. Has a show-accurate gigantic axe and appears to be based on G1 Optimus Prime. Originally bundled with Deluxe Cyberton Mode Megatron in "The Battle Begins" 2-pack set, this toy was sold later in a Walmart exclusive 2-pack with Blackarachnia..


 * Animated Voyager Optimus Prime Earth Mode (2008)
 * A Voyager class figure that transforms from semi-trailer truck to robot. Head features retractable face plate. The figure's main gimmick is a spring-loaded mechanism that spins the lower torso during transformation to robot mode. Trailer detaches and transforms into a giant Ion Axe or jet pack. Prime's gun can be filled with a small amount of water. Some variants of the figure come with the Autobot symbol printed on his left shoulder while others do not.


 * This toy is about 1:39 scale.


 * Animated Supreme Roll Out Command Optimus Prime (2008)
 * A Supreme sized version of Optimus Prime, based on the Voyager class figure design. When pushed forward, the upper torso spins and transforms, with the transformation sound indicating the completion of the process. The right arm has an axe-swinging action while the left arm has a punching action. Includes show-accurate battle axe that features retractable blades and a spinning jet flame. Also features sound effects and pre-recorded dialogue ("My name is Optimus Prime!", "Let's go!" and "Bring it on!"), as voiced by David Kaye.
 * This toy is about 1:22 scale.


 * Animated Activators Armor Up Optimus Prime (2009)
 * A redeco of the Activators figure with a silver head and a paint scheme made to resemble Star Convoy.


 * Animated Voyager Wingblade Optimus Prime (not yet released)
 * A redeco of Deluxe Earth Mode Optimus Prime with the jet pack attachments and a smaller version of Ultra Magnus' Mass Hammer, as seen in the "Endgame" series finale. The Wingblade attachments will also be compatible with Voyager Optimus Prime.


 * Animated TA-01 Voyager Optimus Prime (Takara Tomy) (2010)
 * The 2010 Japan release by Takara Tomy features a metallic paint finish, as opposed to the original's matte finish.
 * Also bundled with TA-06 Voyager Megatron.


 * Animated DiaBlock Optimus Prime (Kawada) (2010)
 * A Japan-exclusive transformable toy of Optimus Prime assembled out of blocks similar to Lego.


 * Animated TA-01 Voyager Black Optimus Prime (Takara Tomy) (2010)
 * A black/teal redeco (a la Nemesis Prime) of the Voyager figure sold exclusively at the Transformers Museum in Japan. Only 300 units will be available at the event itself, while the second production run will have 1,000 units ready by the end of the year.


 * Animated Sons of Cybertron Deluxe Translucent Optimus Prime (Takara Tomy) (2010)
 * A translucent remold of the Deluxe Earth Mode Optimus Prime bundled with Rodimus in the Japan-exclusive Sons of Cybertron boxed set.


 * Animated TA-01 Voyager Elite Guard Optimus Prime (Takara Tomy) (2010)
 * A Million Publishing exclusive in Japan, offered for sale to those who purchase the Transformers Animated Encyclopedia. The figure is a metallic red/black/gold redeco with the Elite Guard insignia on the left side of the chest.


 * Animated Deluxe Golden Optimus Prime (Takara Tomy) (not yet released)
 * A Japan exclusive, to be released in a limited number of 1,000 with the first DVD volume of the series. The figure is repainted in a gold chrome finish.


 * Animated Mini EZ Collection Optimus Prime (Takara Tomy) (not yet released)
 * A new mold that stands at 60 mm tall, shorter than the regular Legends/EZ Collection figures.


 * Animated TA-38 Voyager Wingblade Optimus Prime (Takara Tomy) (not yet released)
 * While it is unknown if this figure will be released by Hasbro, the Japanese version by Takara Tomy is set to be released on September 2010. This version differs completely from the Hasbro version, wherein it will use a translucent remold of the Voyager figure instead of the Deluxe figure.


 * Animated TA-41 Optimus Prime Light & Sound (Takara Tomy) (not yet released)
 * The Japan release version of Supreme Rollout Command Optimus Prime by Takara Tomy is scheduled for release on October 2010. It will have a metallic repaint and come with an exclusive Optimus Prime Sega Kids card.


 * Animated VS-F Deluxe Cybertron Mode Optimus Prime (Takara Tomy) (not yet released)
 * A metallic redeco of the Deluxe figure exclusive in Japan. Bundled with Deluxe Cybertron Mode Megatron.


 * Animated Activators Crystal Optimus Prime (Takara Tomy) (not yet released)
 * A Japan mail-in exclusive clear remold of the Activators figure, to be offered through Kerokero Ace magazine, which publishes the Transformers Animated: The Cool manga.