Ironhide

Ironhide originated as a toy before the actual Transformers toyline began, in a line called Diaclone. As with many Diaclone toys, the vanette (the term mini-van would not be used until the first Dodge Caravans were sold in 1984) toy was released in 1984 as a new character called Ironhide. Not being designed to be a sentient robot in the Diaclone line (he was piloted by a tiny driver figure who sat in the driver's seat), the toy of Ironhide did not have a proper head, instead having a pilot's seat behind his windscreen. A sticker with a face on applied to the seat was to represent the head. This toy was not the most suited to be a Transformer but the character of Ironhide went on to become one of the best-known identities in Transformers. According to store listings there were plans to reissue Trailbreaker and Ironhide as commemorative toys in 2005, but due to poor sales of the line, they were never released.
Like his fellow Autobot Inferno, Ironhide speaks with a Southern drawl.
The character designers for the cartoon redesigned Ironhide's body, which is now the best-known of all his appearances. Despite being known for being part of the Autobot security detail and Optimus Prime's bodyguard, Ironhide was most often seen in the capacity of a warrior, often fighting in battle without Optimus Prime, or a specific worksite/person/cargo to protect. He was also used as an officer, leading a team of Autobots just as would Optimus's advisors, Prowl and Jazz. Ironhide seemed to develop a bond with the Autobots' human allies, engaging with them on a friendly basis as much as protecting them. Ironhide was good friends with the female Autobot Chromia.

In the "More Than Meets The Eye" three parter that launched the animated series Ironhide was shown assisting Bumblebee in stopping a Rumble created flood. Later, tired of being constantly a step behind the Decepticons, Ironhide impetuously took off after them - only to be brought back down to Earth with a bump by a teleporting Skywarp. Ironhide's most prominent appearance was in the second season episode The Immobilizer. Distracted by the human Carly (who was a big fan of the Autobots)while on guard duty, Ironhide inadvertently allowed the Decepticons to steal Wheeljack's latest invention - a weapon that could freeze anything it fired at, including Transformers. Guilt-ridden and believing himself to be too old to be of any further use Ironhide resigned from active service, against the wishes of Optimus Prime. However, when Carly was captured by the Decepticons trying to make up for what had happened to Ironhide, the veteran Autobot went to her rescue and saved her from the Decepticon base. After been frozen and unfrozen by the Immolizer (after Carly and Brawn sabotaged it) Ironhide personally destroyed the device and returned to active duty.

In The Search for Alpha Trion, when Optimus Prime returned to Cybertron alone to save Elita One, Ironhide leads Inferno and Powerglide after him. On Cybertron the Autobots are briefly reunited with Chromia, Moonracer and Firestar, defeat the Decepticons and save Elita.

Ironhide is killed in The Transformers: The Movie, as the Decepticons invade an Autobot shuttle, in which Ironhide and several other Autobots are traveling to Earth. Before the shuttle departed, Spike asked Ironhide to tell his son, Daniel, that he misses him, and that he'll be coming home as soon as they 'kick Megatrons tail clear across the galaxy. Despite his "heavily concentrated armor in his front section", he falls as result of several shots to the chest from Megatron in his 'gun' mode, wielded by Starscream. When Megatron reveals to Starscream how he is going to attack Autobot City on Earth and wipe them out forever, a wounded Ironhide clutches at Megatron's leg and yells, "No!!!". Megatron answers with the famous words: "Such heroic nonsense", and kills Ironhide offscreen with a point-blank blast to the head from his fusion cannon. Despite his death, he is mistakenly shown a few scenes later fighting during the Decepticon attack on Autobot city.

It is speculated by some that Ironhide may have formerly been Dion, the best friend of worker robot Orion Pax, who was himself rebuilt into Optimus Prime by the ancient Autobot, Alpha Trion. Their apparent longstanding relationship could be seen to support this idea, but it was never officially touched upon. Ironhide was, at least, an established character at the time of the episode War Dawn (unlike Ultra Magnus who is also seen as a likely Dion). Still, Magnus has many points in favor of his being Dion as well (including an official recognition/homage to the idea in the second Dreamwave G1 miniseries) and in the end, the issue remains unresolved.

Ironhide
Affiliation	Autobot
Sub-Group	Autobot Cars Deluxe Vehicles Go-Bots Power Masters
Function	Security Military Strategist
Motto	"High tech circuitry is no replacement for guts." "Being fast is an asset, but nothing replaces guts!" "I grind Decepticons into garbage any way I can."
Alternate Modes	Cybertronian Truck Nissan Onebox Cherry Vanette Ford Pick-Up Truck Hummer Cobra HiSS
Series	Transformers: Generation 1 Transformers: Generation 2 Transformers: Timelines
Voiced by	Peter Cullen (English) Sho Hayami (Japanese)

Tracks

Tracks is somewhat of a rarity amongst the Autobots in that he prefers his new Earth car mode to his original Cybertronian form. His concern over his appearance has led to some friction with his fellow Autobots, as they think he should be less concerned with his looks and more on the battle with the Decepticons.
Tracks first appeared in the second season of the original animated series during the episode "Dinobot Island Part 2". He would go on to make regular appearances. He was the star of two connected episodes - "Make Tracks" and "Auto-Bop". In the former he was one of the Autobots assigned to New York to combat a spate of car-jackings. Tracks quickly fell in love with the city, but after chasing some car-jackers, ended up crashing and being stolen by a street youth named Raul. The two soon came to an understanding and helped each other discover what the stolen cars were really being used for - to make an army of drones for the Decepticons. The two stopped the scheme, and Tracks put his friend to work fixing the drone cars as a punishment for stealing him in the first place. In "Auto-Bop" he and Blaster encountered Raul again. Raul tipped them off that a local disco was being used to brainwash people. The Autobots investigated and soon found the culprits - Starscream and Soundwave. While Blaster and Soundwave duelled with sonics, Tracks used his flying car mode to pursue and shoot down Starscream, ending the threat.

Tracks made a number of other notable appearances. When Omega Supreme ignored a giant space creature in order to pursue his vendetta against the Constructicons, Tracks was one of the airborne Autobots who valiantly attempted to stop the beast. He was one of those captured by big game hunter Lord Chumley in order to lure in Optimus Prime. Later, Tracks was one of a team of Autobots sent to stop the newly created Stunticons. However, he underestimated their anti-gravity abilities and ended up being smashed out of the air.

Tracks had another prominent appearance in "Trans-Europe Express" a charity auto race from Paris, France to Istambul, Turkey was held. The Autobots Bluestreak, Bumblebee, Sideswipe, Smokescreen, Sunstreaker, Tracks and Wheeljack participated along side several human racers including Augie Canay. However, the race was sabotaged by the Stunticons, who had been sent by Megatron to obtain one of the racers' cars in order to gain its metal to make a control device for a Cybertronian weather controller. Tracks was run off the road by the Stunticons again, but later managed to stop the Decepticons by destroying the Pearl itself, before escaping the vengeful Menasor.
Like many other season 2 Autobots, Tracks was gradually phased out for season 3

Tracks
Allegiance	Autobot (Cybertron)
Sub-Group	Autobot Cars Action Masters
Function	Warrior
Motto	"Looking good is what life is all about."
Alternate mode	(Flying) Chevrolet Corvette Cybertronian Shuttle Craft
Series	Transformers: Generation 1 Transformers: Alternators
Voice actors	Michael McConnohie (English) Sho Hayami, Masashi Ebara (Japanese)

Jazz

Jazz is the "very cool, very stylish, very competent" member of the Autobots in the Transformers television and comic series based on the popular toy line produced by Takara and Hasbro. His original vehicle mode is a Martini Porsche 935 Turbo racing car. Self-possessed, calm, and utterly collected, Jazz is head of Special Operations, with his own dedicated roster of agents. He often gives the most dangerous assignments to himself. It's not a matter of ego—he just really is the coolest head for the toughest missions. Jazz's ease extends to whatever environment he finds himself in, no matter how weird or wonderful. He effortlessly tunes in to the local culture, assimilating and improvising, and making creative command decisions, making him an indispensable right-hand bot to Optimus Prime.

Jazz remains one of the more popular and well-remembered characters from the original series. Because of problems with trademarking the name Jazz, some later releases of Jazz are called Autobot Jazz.
Jazz was among the Autobots who followed Optimus Prime on his mission on board the Ark. They were attacked by Megatron's ship, the Nemesis, and crash landed on Earth, where all on board were preserved in emergency stasis. Four million years later, in 1984, a volcanic eruption awakened the Ark's computer, Teletran-I, and it repaired all on board. It reformatted Jazz in the form of an Earth race car.

In the episode "The God Gambit" Cosmos collected data in space on a potential new power source, but was attacked by Astrotrain, Thrust and Starscream. Crashing on the Saturn's moon Titan, the local priests worshiped the Decepticons as "Sky Gods", but rebels were able to reactivate Cosmos and call for aid from the Autobots. Optimus Prime sent Omega Supreme along with Perceptor and Jazz. Astrotrain set himself up as the chief god of the moon and forced the natives to gather energy crystals. The trip to Titan drained Omega of most of his energy, but Perceptor and Jazz were able to gather enough crystals to reactivate Omega and defeat the three Decepticons. Vowing to not let the Autobots gain the crystals, Astrotrain set up a chain reaction destroying them. The Autobots aided the natives to escape the explosion and helped them settle in another area of the moon.

In the episode "Prime Target" the big game hunter Lord Chumley captured a secret Soviet jet, leading to panic of possibly war. Chumley then set his sights on the ultimate trophy, the head of Optimus Prime. In order to lure Optimus, in Chumley captured the Autobots Tracks, Bumblebee, Jazz, Beachcomber, Blaster and Inferno. Windcharger and Huffer were able to avoid being trapped. When Cosmos learned of the location Chumley was keeping the captured Autobots, Optimus Prime accepted Chumley's challenge to meet him alone. Although interrupted by Astrotrain and Blitzwing's attempt to ally the Decepticons with Chumley, Optimus defeated the big game hunter and freed the Autobots. Chumley and the stolen jet were given over to the Soviets by the Autobots as punishment for his actions.

When Starscream was exiled from the Decepticons and created the Combaticons (in "Starscream's Brigade", his first act was to capture the Autobots Cliffjumper and Jazz during the unveiling of a statue of Optimus Prime.

Towards the end of 1985, Jazz was among the team of five Autobots who disguised themselves as the Stunticons in "Masquerade". (Jazz, a Porsche 935, was made to resemble Dead End, the Stunticon Porsche 928.) Penetrating the Decepticons' camp, the Autobots ran into trouble when the real Stunticons arrived, trying to prove their identities by forming Menasor. With a combination of Windcharger's magnetic powers and Mirage's illusion-creating ability, the Autobots were able to appear as Menasor too. Though the deception was soon revealed, they were still able to thwart the Decepticons' plans.

In The Transformers: The Movie, set in the year 2005, Jazz was assigned to Moonbase One along with Cliffjumper. Jazz was responsible for monitoring Decepticon activity on Cybertron using the base as a secret staging ground for planning the liberation of Cybertron. After the Autobot City invasion of Earth, Moonbase One came under attack by the planet eater, Unicron. Jazz radioed to Earth for assistance and his faint signal was received by the Autobot Blaster who relayed the distress signal to Ultra Magnus. Jazz and Cliffjumper attempted to escape, however the shuttle could not achieve escape velocity and was swallowed by Unicron. During the assault on Unicron lead by Hot Rod and Ultra Magnus, Daniel Witwicky encountered a smelting pit inside Unicron, where other Transformer-like beings were being sent to be melted into a liquid substance. Jazz, Cliffjumper, Bumblebee and Spike were about to be cast into the pit but Daniel managed to rescue them in the nick of time. Jazz and the others escaped Unicron before the planet-sized Transformer exploded from the effects of the Autobot Matrix.

During the time between the movie's release and the start of season 3 of the TV show, Jazz's voice actor Scatman Crothers died, which the movie release was the last time Jazz Spoke, but Jazz made minor cameos throughout the season in the episodes "Five Faces of Darkness" where he fought along side Perceptor and Rodimus Prime.

In the episode "Dark Awakening", he briefly stood beside the re-incarnated Optimus Prime. In the episode "Forever Is a Long Time Coming" he appeared in another race and in the episode "Call of the Primitives", he was seen for the final time. It is assumed that Jazz was left to patrol Cybertron and was around to witness its new golden age.

After the animated series ended in the U.S. Jazz appeared in animated form in the commercials for the Classic Pretenders and Action Masters.

Jazz
Affiliation	Autobot
Japanese name	Meister
Sub-Group	Pretenders Action Masters Laser Cycles Spy Changers
Rank	8
Function	Special Operations, Saboteur
Motto	"Do it with style or don't bother doing it."
Alternate Modes	Cybertronian Car Porsche 935 Turbo Motorcycle Mazda RX-8
Series	Transformers: Generation 1 Transformers: Generation 2 Transformers: Universe Transformers: Alternators Transformers: Titanium
English voice actor	Scatman Crothers Wally Burr (episode "Kremzeek!")
Japanese voice actor	Kōki Kataoka Masato Hirano (Headmasters)

Bumblebee

Bumblebee (known as Bumble in Japan, Moscardo in Portugal) is the "little brother" of the heroic Autobot faction, constantly striving to prove himself in the eyes of the taller, stronger robots that he idolises - especially his commander, Optimus Prime. So strong is this desire, he often takes risks that put him in danger. Although a bit of a wise-cracker, he is a capable and reliable messenger and spy, his small size allowing him to go places that his larger comrades cannot. He is highly fuel efficient, has great visual acuity, is particularly adaptable to undersea environments and transforms into a Volkswagen Beetle. He was later reconstructed in a stronger, more mature form as Goldbug.

Bumblebee is established as the smallest of the first year Autobots, but his actual size varies greatly in the various media, ranging from the same size as other Autobot cars to barely taller than a human. His only official height was in an early issue of the Marvel comics where it is stated he is 15 feet tall.

Bumblebee's primary function in the original Transformers animated series and comics was to serve as the "young" character with whom the youthful viewing audience could identify, and he would befriend the Autobots' primary human ally - the young son of the Witwicky family (Buster in the Marvel comic - see issue #1 - and Spike in the cartoon) - to this end, a concept that persists into the 2007 live-action film. Although a well-known character because of this, Bumblebee is quite unusual in that, unlike many other Transformers, his name has not been re-used and applied to unrelated characters throughout the ensuing twenty years of Transformers media, due to the loss of the trademark until recently. His role as the "young yellow character", however, has inspired other Transformers characters with the same role such as Cheetor and Hot Shot.
Earth. He and Spike were reunited for an old-school adventure when the ghost of Starscream invaded the city in order to steal the eyes of the giant Autobot Metroplex, but they were unable to stop the villain from accomplishing his task.

When the body of the deceased Optimus Prime was recovered from space by a pair of Transformer-hating human scientists who intended to use it to lure the Autobots into a trap, Bumblebee was part of the rescue team lead by Rodimus Prime to recover it. Entering the lab, some of the Transformers were exposed to rage-inducing alien spores that caused them to run wild, and although Bumblebee avoided infection, he was seriously damaged by the rampaging Superion. A member of the alien race called the Quintessons subsequently repaired and restored Optimus Prime to life in order to stop the "Hate Plague", and also worked his technical wizardry on Bumblebee. The little Autobot had been so severely damaged, however, that he required an entire reconstruction. In his new, shiny body, he commented that he had gone beyond just being Bumblebee, and was now a "gold bug", prompting Optimus Prime to redub him "Goldbug." As Goldbug, Bumblebee traveled with Optimus Prime to the planet of Chaar in order to secure a heat resistant alloy that could protect him from the plague, only to be infected on the mission and later cured when Prime used the power of the Matrix to purge the plague.

Goldbug also enjoyed a brief appearance in the fourth and final season of the series, defending Autobot City and Cybertron against a massive Decepticon attack. Because of a scene showing Bumblebee instead of Goldbug, it still makes him one of only nine characters to appear in all four seasons of the show.

After the animated series ended in the U.S. Bumblebee appeared in animated form in the commercial for the Classic Pretenders.

Bumblebee
Affiliation	Autobot
Sub-Group	Mini-bots Throttlebots (as Goldbug) Pretenders Action Masters Go-Bots Deluxe Vehicles
Rank	7
Function	Espionage Espionage Director Spy
Motto	"The least likely can be the most dangerous." (Bumblebee) "To know others you must know yourself first." (Goldbug) "Data is power." (Classic)
Alternate Modes	Cybertronian Car Volkswagen Beetle AMC Pacer Motorcycle and Sidecar Train Engine Chrysler ME 412 (Classic Legends) Chevrolet Camaro
Series	Transformers: Generation 1 Transformers: Generation 2 Transformers: Titanium Transformers: Classics Transformers: Attacktix
English voice actor	Dan Gilvezan
Japanese voice actor	Yoku Shioya

Optimus Prime

Optimus Prime, Optimus or Prime for short, is a fictional commander of the heroic Autobots and the main protagonist from the Transformers universes. Called "Convoy" in Japan due to his leading a convoy of vehicles, he has become the most recognizable Transformer of the series.
He is the commander of the Autobots, a faction of heroic robots from the planet Cybertron who wage their battles to destroy the evil forces of the Decepticons, for control of their homeworld, and by extension, peace in the universe. The immensely kind and compassionate Prime puts all his talent to use to improve the world around him, 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. In power and intelligence, Optimus Prime has no equal, known as one of the greatest heroes on both Cybertron and Earth.

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; when Roller is present somewhere, it is as if Prime is there himself. 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 the Devil's Due Publishing comic series.

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, and it was occasionally implied that the conflict with the Decepticons lasted as long as it did primarily due to his unwillingness to take a more aggressive stance.

A tragic constant of the character is his predilection for self-sacrifice - across several continuities, Prime (and later, his modern namesakes) is almost sure to meet his end and later return to life (sometimes more than once). This trend was even the victim of a bit of gentle spoofing in the Beast Wars animated series, when the Megatron of that universe noted that Optimuses "do love to sacrifice" themselves.


Optimus Prime began his life as a robot named Orion Pax, a mostly defenseless dock worker during the Golden Age of Cybertron nine million years ago, with a girlfriend named Ariel, and a best friend named Dion. At the time, a new breed of robot had recently appeared on the planet with new flight capabilities in robot mode that made Orion idolize them. Unfortunately for Orion, when Megatron, the leader of the new group robots, approached him with inquiries about using one of the dock warehouses, Orion was swayed by Megatron, and he and Ariel were severely wounded when Megatron and his forces then attacked in order to claim the energy stored there. Searching for someone to help them, the time-displaced Aerialbots took Orion and Ariel to the ancient Autobot, Alpha Trion, who used them as the first subjects for the new reconstruction process he had developed - rebuilding the frail Autobot frames into battle-hardy configurations. With this reconstruction, Orion Pax became Optimus Prime, the first of the Autobot warriors, who took the mantle of leadership as the civil war against the Decepticons erupted, and would remain in that position for the next four million years. Ariel was rebuilt into Elita One, the commander of the Autobot resistance on Cybertron.

As leader of the Autobots, Prime headed up the Autobots' mission to search out new worlds with new sources of energy to revitalize the depleted Cybertron. Optimus vowed to Elita that he would return from his mission for her, but just before the launch of the Ark Optimus was mistakenly led to believe Elita was killed. Shortly after its launch, the Autobots' craft was attacked by the Decepticons' space cruiser, the Nemesis, and boarded by Megatron and the Decepticons. In the ensuing struggle, the G-forces of a nearby planet pulled both craft down, and the Autobots' ship crashed into a volcano, thrusting all the occupants into emergency stasis. Four million years later, in the Earth year A.D. 1984, a volcanic eruption jarred the ship's computer, Teletraan I back to life, and it reactivated the Decepticons, programming them with new Earth-based disguise modes. As a parting gesture, Starscream fired upon the Autobot ship, creating a landslide. The vibrations from that landslide knocked Prime into the path of the computer's restoration beam, restoring him to life, and beginning the war anew on Earth.

Prime was perpetually at the forefront of the action throughout the early years of the war on Earth, usually confronting Megatron, and, in some rare instances, being forced to team up with him for the greater good (or the lesser evil) - such as against the Insecticon controlled Decepticons or the Combaticons. He has suffered his fair share of battlefield scrapes, almost meeting his end when his vital cosmotron component was critically damaged by the Decepticon jets and Laserbeak, having his body be disassembled and turned into Decepticon trophies (such as turning much of his body into a pet "alligaticon" and one of his arms into a defense laser), and suffering a severe - though unfair - defeat when Megatron challenged him to one-on-one combat while imbued with the different abilities of all the Decepticons. The loser would leave Earth. However, Teletraan I discovered the deception in time and the Autobots were able to drive the Decepticons off.

Generally, Prime acted in a commanding role as part of larger battles and events, but played prominent and solo roles in a few, also. In 1985, Megatron created a virtually perfect duplicate of him, leaving the Autobots unable to differentiate between the two until the clone disregarded the safety of their human companion, Spike Witwicky, exposing the deception.

One of Prime's most prominent appearances came in the episode "Prime Target", where the big game hunter Lord Chumley captured a secret Soviet jet, leading to panic of a possible war. Chumley then set his sights on the ultimate trophy, the head of Optimus Prime. In order to lure Optimus Chumley captured the Autobots Tracks, Bumblebee, Jazz, Beachcomber, Blaster and Inferno. Windcharger and Huffer were able to avoid being trapped. When Cosmos learned of the location where Chumley was keeping the captured Autobots, Optimus Prime accepted Chumley's challenge to meet him alone. Although interrupted by the Decepticons Astrotrain and Blitzwing's attempt to ally the Decepticons with Chumley, Optimus defeated the big game hunter and freed the Autobots. Chumley and the stolen jet were given over to the Soviets by the Autobots as punishment for his actions.

The same year also saw Elita One captured by the Decepticons on Cybertron and used to lure Prime there alone; although knowing it was a trap, he ventured in solo and was defeated by the Decepticons and nearly destroyed, until Elita's stasis-field abilities froze time long enough for them to escape. Prime was forced to seek out Alpha Trion to save the wounded Elita's life, and in the process, rediscovered his forgotten connection to his creator. In the episode "Starscream's Brigade'" the Autobots were honored when a memorial statue of Optimus Prime was unveiled. Cliffjumper and Jazz attended the ceremony, but it was interrupted by Starscream and the Combaticons. Swindle shot up the statue.

In the episode "Masquerade", towards the end of the year, Prime was among the team of five Autobots who disguised themselves as the Stunticons, with Prime’s alternate mode making him the perfect choice to masquerade as Motormaster. Penetrating the Decepticons’ camp, the Autobots ran into trouble when the real Stunticons arrived, trying to prove their identities by forming Menasor. With a combination of Windcharger’s magnetic powers and Mirage’s illusion-creating ability, the Autobots were able to appear as Menasor too, but the deception was soon revealed, though they were still able to thwart the Decepticons’ plans.
Optimus Prime and Jazz in The Transformers: The Movie
Optimus Prime and Jazz in The Transformers: The Movie

Over the course of the next twenty years, the Decepticons succeeded in seizing control of all of Cybertron, forcing the Autobots to operate from their new city on Earth, and from two bases on Cybertron's moons. In the Earth year A.D. 2005, Prime was stationed on Moonbase One, and dispatched troops to Earth to acquire energy for an upcoming strike on Cybertron. The Decepticons, however, got wind of the plan and used the shuttle run to attack Autobot City; a distress call summoned Prime and support troops to Earth, and in the fearsome ensuing fight with Megatron, Optimus Prime sustained fatal injuries, but not before turning the tide of battle and forcing the Decepticons to flee. Despite the efforts of Perceptor, Optimus Prime died. The Matrix, and with it leadership of the Autobots, fell into the hands of Ultra Magnus, Galvatron, and subsequently to Rodimus Prime. His last words were "Until the day...'till all are one."

Prime's body was entombed in a massive deep-space mausoleum with the many other fallen Autobots, but his corpse was desecrated by the Quintessons in 2006, when they reanimated it as part of an attempt to destroy the Autobots by using Prime to lure their space fleet into a trap. However, the Matrix was able to purify Prime of the Quintesson influence, and he ordered the other Autobots to clear out while he piloted his flagship into the Quintessons' detonator, triggering the explosion of a nearby sun.

Prime was believed to have been destroyed in the explosion. According to The Return of Optimus Prime, Prime's body was recovered from the craft by two human scientists, Jessica Morgan and Gregory Swofford, just minutes before the explosion. However, as their ship departed, it was coated with solar spores released by the explosion of the sun. Jessica's father, Mark Morgan, loathed the Transformers (both Autobot and Decepticon), and his hatred only grew when an attempt by the Decepticons to steal a heat-resistant alloy he had developed resulted in Jessica being paralyzed. Swofford and Morgan reconstructed Optimus Prime's body in an attempt to use it as a delivery system for the spores, which induced enmity and madness in every sentient being they came into contact with, in order to destroy the Transformers. However, when they could not reanimate him, they used his body as a lure instead, bringing the Autobots to their lab, where they were infected. As this "Hate Plague" proceeded to spread across the galaxy, Sky Lynx retrieved a Quintesson, who fully restored Optimus Prime to life. Coating himself in Morgan's heat-resistant alloy, Prime reclaimed the Matrix from Rodimus and unleashed its concentrated wisdom to destroy the Hate Plague.

In 2006, Prime began to suffer from visions following the release of the Matrix's energy, which foretold a great transformation for Cybertron. Events began with the Decepticons' theft of the key to the Plasma Energy Chamber, which forced Prime to consult Alpha Trion within Vector Sigma, and Prime learned that the mega-computer had orchestrated events in order to restore Cybertron's Golden Age. When the Plasma Energy Chamber was opened and threatened to drive Earth's Sun supernova, Spike Witwicky and the Nebulans who had become involved in the conflict as a result of these events were able to drain off the excess solar energy and revitalize Cybertron.

The seldom-seen fifth season of the show featured previous episodes' stories retold by a stop-motion Powermaster Optimus Prime to the live-action youngster Tommy Kennedy. No real back story was ever established for Prime becoming a Powermaster, but the new sequences were said to take place after the four previous seasons, indicating that in the original Sunbow continuity at least, Prime became a Powermaster at some point.

Although the animated series ended in the U.S. after The Rebirth, Optimus Prime continued to appear in animated sequences in the Transformers toy commercials, progressing from Powermaster to Action Master, and even appearing as a CGI Combat Hero Optimus Prime.

Optimus Prime
Affiliation	Autobot
Japanese name	Convoy
Sub-Group	Convoys Powermaster Action Master Go-Bots Autorollers
Rank	10
Function	Autobot Commander
Partner	Roller Hi-Q Apex Bomber Marissa Faireborn
Motto	"Freedom is the right of all sentient beings." (Generation 1) "No sacrifice is too great in the service of freedom." (Classics)
Alternate Modes	Freightliner Cab-over-engine Class 8 tractor (Later forms have usually been variants of the original). Marvel and Dreamwave comics have depicted him in a variety of Cybertronian truck forms. In Devil's Due comics he has had several forms including that of a Cobra Sentry Missile System tank and a 1920's truck. Lamborghini Diablo as a Go-Bot. Dump truck as an Autoroller.
Series	Transformers: Generation 1 Transformers: Generation 2 Machine Wars Transtech Robot Masters Transformers: Titanium Transformers: Alternators Transformers: Classics
English voice actor	Peter Cullen, Roger C. Carmel in the installment Masquerade only, Gary Chalk
Japanese voice actor	Tesshō Genda

The Autobots

The Autobots are the protagonists in the Transformers Universe, a collection of various toys, graphic novels, paperback books, cartoons and movies first introduced in 1984. In all Transformer continuities, the Autobots are the "good guys," "Heroic Autobots" fighting the "Evil Decepticons", who are the antagonists of the various series.
In all continuities of Transformers, the Autobots and their adversaries, the Decepticons, originated on the planet Cybertron. The planet is almost always described and/or shown as a purely metallic body.[1] The capital of Cybertron is Iacon. In later issues of the Marvel comic line, Cybertron had weather, such as rain.
In the original U.S. cartoon line, Autobots were the descendants of a line of robots created as consumer goods by the Quintessons on the planet Cybertron. Their bodies were forged by the Plasma Energy Chamber and given intelligence by the mega-computer Vector Sigma in order for the work to be carried out. Eventually, they developed sentience and rebelled against their creators. However, A-3, the resistance leader was displaced from time by Quintessons from the future in order to stop the insurgency. The resistance had help from future Autobots (whose transformation technology frightened them) and A-3 returned to turn the tide by activating his coda-remote which deactivated the Quintessons' Dark Guardian robots.

With the Quintessons cast off and forgotten, Cybertron was at peace. The consumer goods and military hardware bots renamed themselves as Autobots and Decepticons. However, the Decepticons wanted war. No match for the superior firepower and battle prowess of the Decepticons , the Autobots developed transformation technology (possibly with the help of the Dark Guardians) to win the war, bringing about the Golden Age of Cybertron. Eventually, the Decepticons also developed transformation and begun the third Cybertronian War. They would have succeeded in completing their conquest had not more time-displaced Autobots blown up an energy warehouse and brought its workers to A-3, now renamed Alpha Trion, as the new defenders of Cybertron.

For forty million years, the Cybertronians warred over the remaining energy that was left. With this crisis, the Autobots, headed by Optimus Prime, made an expedition to find new energy sources. But the Decepticons intercepted them, causing the Autobot ship Ark to crash-land on Earth.

Four million years later in 1984, the volcano that the Ark was wedged in erupted, jarring the Ark's main computer Teletraan I back online. Through use of Spy Satellites, Teletraan created new alternate forms for the Transformers out of earth vehicles. The Decepticons were revived first and then the Autobots due to Starscream's carelessness. The Autobots made an alliance with the local humans, thus beginning the Great War.

After waging the war for 21 years, the Autobots created Autobot City as their main base of operations while the Decepticons got complete control of Cybertron. In 2005, the Decepticons launched an attack on the city, resulting in the death of Optimus Prime. Optimus managed to pass the Matrix of Leadership to Ultra Magnus before his passing. The city then received messages from the bases on Cybertron's moons being devoured by the transformer demi-god Unicron. After another Decepticon attack, the Autobots were scattered to two planets, Junk and Quintessa. Forming new allies on those planets, the Autobots headed for Cybertron. A young Autobot named Hot Rod used the recovered Matrix of Leadership from Galvatron (formerly Megatron) to destroy Unicron and became Rodimus Prime. With the Decepticons in disarray, the Autobots reclaimed Cybertron, bringing about a new age of peace and prosperity.

In 2006, the Great War still raged. But both sides rediscovered the existence of the Quintessons. After numerous battles, the Hate Plague was unleashed. Rodimus ordered the unaffected Autobots to search for a Quintesson to revive Optimus Prime. Using the Matrix, Optimus cured the galaxy of the plague.

After one year of peace, Galvatron gained access to the Plasma Energy Chamber. He planned to move Cybertron to Earth and use the Chamber's energies to overload the sun. However, all this was planned by Vector Sigma who wanted to restore Cybertron's Golden Age. Thanks to Spike Witwicky and the allied-Nubulons, Cybertron regained its golden hue. Optimus knew that there will always be Decepticons and the Autobots will always stop them.

Three centuries later, the Autobots and Decepticons upgraded themselves to more energy-conservative form, calling themselves Maximals and Predacons. (See Maximals) Leadership is evolved from one leader to a triumvirate.

On the cartoon, all of the Autobots had a blue eye color, while all of the Decepticons had a red eye color.

The Decepticons

The Decepticons (known as Destrons or on occasion Deathtrons in Japan) are the enemies of the Autobots, and the villains in the fictional universe of the Transformers toyline and related comics and cartoons. The villains take many forms, and have many different origins and stories across the numerous different Transformers media, but in almost all incarnations, they are led by Megatron. They are typically represented by the colour purple.
Other terms for the Decepticons are Decepticans (in France), Distructors (in Italy), Robotikus (in Malaysia) and Bedragarna (in Sweden) and Shakranikim.