Optimus Prime

Optimus Prime is a character from the Transformers franchise. Optimus is the main hero character in most iterations of the Transformers cartoon and is arguably the most popular character in the series. Optimus is set to appear as a playable character in the upcoming Platinum game Transformers Devastation.

Profile
Optimus Prime is the awe-inspiring leader of the Autobot forces. Selfless and endlessly courageous, he is the complete opposite of his mortal enemy Megatron. Originally a mere civilian, he was chosen by the Matrix to command, the first in a number of heavy burdens he has been forced to bear. Another is his bringing of theTransformers' conflict to Earth. Every casualty, human or Cybertronian, weighs heavily on his spark. He does not show this side to his soldiers, and he never succumbs to despair. The Autobots need a decisive, charismatic leader, and that is what he gives them. It was that leadership which turned the tide of the Great War.

On the battlefield, there are few who rival Optimus Prime's prowess. He is easily the strongest of any Autobot his size, and his ion blaster and his energon-axe are deadly weapons. He would sacrifice his life to protect his fellow Autobots or those under their care, and does so on a regular basis. His compassion for other sentient beings is his only real weakness, and one the Decepticons have taken advantage of time and again... though it's also the source of his strength!

Gameplay
To be added...

Early Life
Optimus Prime began his life as an Autobot named Orion Pax during the Golden Age of Cybertron nine million years ago. Together with his girlfriend Ariel and his best friend Dion, Orion was a dock-worker at a storage yard who had the simple job of unloading and storing shipments of energy that came from a power plant up-river. But the times in which Orion lived were strange ones: A new breed of robot had recently appeared on the planet, with strange robot mode flight powers that led Orion and Dion to idolize them. Ariel wasn't so sure, having heard rumors that the flying robots' leader had recently perpetrated an attack on an outer city.

One day, Orion was going about work as usual when an unfamiliar group of five robots arrived on the docks, and Orion, wondering if they were new workers, introduced himself and his friends. At that moment, all attentions turned skyward as a group of the flying robots soared by overhead. Both Ariel and the newcomers urged caution in dealing with the fliers, but Orion waved off their concerns, and returned to work. Before long, Orion was shocked when he was approached by Megatron, leader of the flying robots, who claimed to be looking for a place to store his wares. Overcome, Orion showed Megatron around the warehouses and explained that they were used for storing energy... at which point Megatron ordered his followers, the Decepticons, to attack and steal it all! When Orion took a shot to the shoulder from the Decepticon leader, Ariel rushed to his defense, but was hit by another blast from Megatron. The enraged Orion lunged at Megatron, but was shot down by yet another blast from the Decepticon's cannon.

While Megatron and his troops set about pillaging the warehouses, the five robots Orion had met earlier carried his body away, in hopes of finding someone to repair him. They came upon the Cybertronian machinesmith Alpha Trion, who reluctantly decided to subject Orion to a new reconstruction process he had developed, which would rebuild the Autobots' frail bodies into battle-hardy configurations so that they could battle the Decepticons on even footing. Thus it was that Orion Pax became Optimus Prime, the new leader of the Autobots, and was given the Matrix of Leadership, which Alpha Trion had kept safe since Megatron had killed its previous holder. While Alpha Trion set to work on rebuilding Ariel into "Elita One" using Prime's schematics as a basis, Prime confronted Megatron, introducing himself as the Decepticon's "worst nightmare". A mighty battle ensued, which came to an end when the warehouse's fuel stockpiles were blown up by the five enigmatic Autobots, who disappeared.

The Great War/Crash landing on Earth
Over the following five million years, Optimus Prime led the Autobots in a steady war of attrition that gradually drained Cybertron of almost all of its energy. In order to continue the fight, Prime arranged for an interstellar expedition to search for energy on other planets. Loading his best and brightest aboard a huge spacecraft, Prime was the last to board, but was stopped by a cry from Elita One, who came running up to the launch platform. Prime told her that he would return for her as soon as he could, but Elita was intent on joining Prime on the mission. No debate was to be had, however, as a Decepticon attack on the platform caused an explosion that seemingly destroyed Elita. Crestfallen, Prime boarded the spacecraft and ordered a take-off, unaware that Elita had, in fact, survived.

The Autobots' spacecraft had a troubled flight. After navigating a treacherous asteroid field, the ship was caught in a tractor beam from a Decepticon space cruiser that had been shadowing them, under the command of Megatron himself. Megatron's forces swarmed the Autobot ship, and the two leaders grappled until the G-force of the nearby planet Earth took hold of the craft, and dragged it down. Although Prime tried valiantly to pull the ship up, it collided with a mountain so violently that all the Autobots and Decepticons were knocked offline.

Four million years later, in 1984, a volcanic eruption jarred the ship's computer, Teletraan I, back online, and it set about reviving the Transformers indiscriminately, beginning with the Decepticons. The evil robots soon departed the Ark, but thanks to a tremor caused by a petty parting shot upon the ship from Starscream, the inactive form of Optimus Prime was jostled into the path of Teletraan I's restoration beam. Reconfigured by the computer to transform into a tractor trailer, Prime thanked Teletraan for its efforts with a thumbs-up, and quickly saw to the reactivation of all his fellow Autobots.

Transformers Devastation
The details of Devastation's story are currently unknown but it is confirmed that the game takes place after the Autobots and Decepticons reawaken in 1984.

Trivia
According to screenwriter Buzz Dixon, Optimus Prime was to have a cameo in My Little Pony: The Movie. He was to be asked by one of the Ponies for aid against their antagonist, only to disappoint them for some reason, leaving the Pony no recourse but to try and enlist the aid of a drunken Shipwreck from G.I. Joe. Prime's (and Shipwreck's) scene was cut from the script at Hasbro's behest.

Main Article
For more information on Optimus Prime and his many different incarnations please visit our friends at the Transformers Wikia.