I am so high, I can hear heaven.
Character Information
Character Name: Optimus Prime
Fandom: Transformers: Animated
Source: “Auto-uh... men. Transfor- errr... uh... Roll- uh... ah... Let’s just go.”
Character History: A born leader, Optimus was once a promising cadet at the Autobot Academy on Cybertron. Aspiring to become a member of the Elite Guard, he managed to impress even Ultra Magnus in a simulated battle against Megatron - While he was, like all cadets, ‘killed’ during the training exercise, his score was higher than any other student before him. The Magnus went so far as to tell the stunned Autobot that he had great hopes for his future career (much to the chagrin of his over-ambitious ‘friend,’ Sentinel).
At the prompting of Sentinel, Optimus joined an ‘extra-curricular’ mission to investigate the prohibited organic planet, Archa Seven, in search of a long abandoned Decepticon Warship. Along with Elita-1, the trio hoped to discover an important piece of war history (or, in a particular greedy case, a Decepticon Energon horde) - which would be ample excuse for their blatant breaking of Academy rules.
The party quickly learned that their goal would not be an easy one to achieve; only minutes after their arrival, they were plummeted into an underground cavern full of over-sized spiders. When Elita and Optimus become separated from Sentinel, they stumbled across the Decepticon ship - As rumoured, it was packed full of Energon cubes... and, unfortunately, another pack of vicious arachnids.
Allowing Elita to temporarily download his grappling cables, Optimus devised an escape plan; together, they would bring one of the cave’s stalactites down on the monstrous creatures and detonate the Energon, while they used the grapplers to climb to safety. It would have been successful had Elita-1’s download not expired at the last second, plunging her back into the cavern. Sentinel arrived in time to witness her fall, but Optimus forcibly dragged him to safety, knowing that the volatile Energon would explode at any moment.
After the dust had cleared, all scans revealed that Elita-1’s energy signature had vanished - It would seem that the explosion had offlined her. Sentinel resented Optimus for the loss of Elita, blaming him for stopping him from rescuing her. To this day, he continues to hang on to his grudge, taking every opportunity to belittle Optimus with a constant barrage of insults and underhanded comments.
When the subject of the botched mission was brought before the military tribunal, Optimus willingly took the fall for their mistakes. Claiming responsibility for Elita’s death, as he was the senior cadet of the group, he neglected to mention that it was Sentinel’s idea to go to the planet, even when directly questioned. Left with no other choice, Ultra Magnus expelled Optimus from the Autobot Academy, disappointedly stating that heroism ‘may not have been in his programming after all.’
Through a stroke of luck, the impression that the young cadet had made on Ultra Magnus was a lasting one - and after pulling a few strings, Ultra Magnus provided Optimus with his own ship to command, upgrading his rank to ‘Prime.’
The ship itself appeared to be a piece of scrap, barely holding together, and its crew left much to be desired. He had been saddled with a cantankerous war veteran, Ratchet, and two of the Academy’s most inept, Bulkhead and Bumblebee. But despite it all, Optimus was grateful for the opportunity, if not silently frustrated at the lot life had given him.
While performing maintenance on a space bridge, Bulkhead and Bumblebee stumbled across a meditating Prowl - who unfortunately became stranded thanks to a stray Energon cube destroying his ship. Optimus offered the cyber ninja a position on his ship in exchange for his help, to which Prowl furiously commented on how twisted the path of his fate had become - something that the former-cadet could easily relate to.
It was on another such routine repair job that the crew stumbled upon the long lost AllSpark - A source of great power that had been hidden during the war. The spike in energy that resulted in its discovery attracted the attention of a Decepticon warship, leaving the maintenance bots with no other option but to bring the artifact aboard for protection.
When Optimus received no help from Ultra Magnus and those of the Elite Guard, he attempted to formulate his own plan to protect the AllSpark. Unfortunately, their inability to fight as a team and the overwhelming strength of Megatron proved too great for the Autobots - even with the intentional sabotage plotted by Starscream. It was only when Optimus managed to eject the Decepticon leader from the ship that they escaped; however, they were already on a crash course with the planet Earth. Steering the ship passed the populated region of Detroit, toward Lake Eerie, Optimus and crew placed themselves into emergency stasis lock.
They remained in stasis for the next half a century, until a freak accident in one of Sumdac’s labs created a techno-organic monster. When a piece of the creature invaded their ship at the bottom of the lake, the Autobots were awakened from their frozen sleep by the alarm of Teletraan-1. Puzzled by the current situation, they utilized the ship’s communication system to observe their surroundings and spied the battle taking place between Detroit Police and the monster on the docks above them. Taking on the guises of nearby Earth vehicles, they rose to the surface so they might help defeat the creature.
Still struggling to work as a team, the Autobots were forced to assume their natural forms, revealing themselves to the humans. They managed to defeat the monster in the end, but nearly at the expense of one of their own - Prowl was heavily damaged in the process, thanks to being practically devoured by the over-sized insectoid.
In their rush to return to base, Optimus failed to notice that they were accompanied by the young Sari Sumdac, who had hidden inside of Bumblebee. When the AllSpark powered the girl’s key seemingly by accident, the Autobots are startled to discover its miraculous healing abilities - abilities which were able to drag Prowl back from the brink of death, restoring him to perfect health.
After returning Sari to her father, the Autobots were hailed as heroes. They continued to live among the people of Detroit, offering assistance where they were able. While Prime was more than happy to do so, he comments to Ratchet that he did not feel anymore heroic saving the organics from fires and small-time criminals than he had when he was repairing space bridges.
It is only a matter of weeks before their presence is discovered by Starscream, who strikes the Autobots during a public event. Taking several hostages, including Isaac Sumdac and Bumblebee, he demands that the AllSpark be handed over in exchange for their lives.
It is only through the combined planning and teamwork of the Autobots and Sari that the people are saved and Optimus manages to keep Starscream from taking the AllSpark at the expense of his own life. As he goes offline, he claims that ‘this must be what it feels like to be a hero,’ having finally achieved his goal of protecting others. He is then revived only moments later thanks to Sari and her Key, marking possibly the shortest lasting death of Optimus Prime in all continuities. :|
Unbeknownst to those on Earth, his actions during his descent to Earth had earned Optimus a bounty on his head, courtesy of the Decepticon, Blitzwing. He was captured by a bounty hunter by the name of Lockdown, who has a penchant for collecting modifications from his victims, which he keeps as trophies - which in Prime’s case, were his grapplers and his axe. Fortunately, Optimus is rescued by Ratchet, who had faced off against Lockdown in the past - and his modifications are returned to him, as well as earning him a closer bond with the old veteran.
While Prime continues to earn his title as ‘hero’ in the city, he is surprised to encounter a techno-organic by the name of Blackarachnia, when she ambushes two of his teammates on Halloween. Her abilities and knowledge of Optimus are unnerving, and he soon learns the horrifying truth - Blackarachnia is his former friend, Elita-1. When she fell to the bottom of the chasm, she was infected by the organic venom of the spiders, mutating her into a mechanical organic hybrid.
When the femme attempts to purge her systems of their organic traits using Sari’s Key, she sets off a chain reaction that begins to destroy all biological life around her. Optimus manages to retrieve the Key before it can kill her, and asks that she return to the Autobots so that they might find a cure for what was done to her. Feigning affection, Blackarachnia tricks him and injects him with her venom so that she might escape, claiming that it would be a long time before she could trust an Autobot, particularly Optimus.
When Blitzwing and Lugnut arrived on Earth, Optimus was reminded of the danger they had brought to the planet and declared that the best course of action would be to take the AllSpark elsewhere. He ordered that Sari and Ratchet repair their ship, which would unfortunately take time -Which, with the impending resurrection of Megatron, they do not seem to have.
Bulkhead let slip that the Dinobots might possibly help their situation, forcing Prowl to reveal that they had directly disobeyed orders, transporting the potentially dangerous robots to an island and hiding their presence. Prime was less than pleased by the revelation, proclaiming that his Autobots were a bunch of sorry malfunctions, and that the Key is no longer safe in the hands of Sari. Ignoring the protests of both the young girl and Ratchet, Optimus demanded that the medic relieve her of it. As a teary Sari fled the base, Bumblebee followed, snapping that if this situation demonstrated anything, it was Optimus’ inability to lead.
With Ratchet on his way to the ship, Optimus took the two remaining Autobots to Dinobot Island to speak to Grimlock - who was clearly not in a listening mood. Even after Prowl intervened, utilizing his past experience with the Dinobots to appease the tyrannosaur’s temper, Grimlock gruffly insisted that they had no reason to help fight the Decepticons.
As if matters couldn’t get any worse, Prime then received a message from Ratchet - He had been intercepted by Decepticons, and the Key had been stolen. With nearly every decision he had made turned sour, even Optimus was left questioning his leadership abilities; doubts which were not eased by a transmission from Bumblebee, who was ignoring direct orders and intercepting Starscream at Sumdac Tower.
Thinking that his luck could not get any worse, Optimus was horrified to learn that he was wrong - They arrived at the Tower in time for a rejuvenated Megatron to burst forth, in a new, AllSpark-made body.
With no other options left, the Autobots engaged the newly returned Decepticon leader - A fight which did not last long. They were easily dispatched, and while Optimus managed to hold out the longest... that wasn’t saying much. It was only thanks to a timely intervention by Starscream that Prime managed to escape intact, as Megatron was too busy punishing the traitor to notice their retreat.
Professor Sumdac was able to offer a temporary sanctuary to the Autobots within the Tower, guiltily explaining his role in the revival of Megatron. As they affected repairs, Optimus attempted to think of the best way they could deal with their situation as a team, at which Bumblebee obnoxiously reminded him of his earlier judgment of the repairbots’ abilities. Significantly humbled, Prime apologized and admitted that he had been wrong in saying that.
Sari and Ratchet joined them at the tower with their recently repaired ship, which they hoped could be used to lure the Decepticons away from the densely populated metropolis - A plan which was excellent in theory, but did not work out. They were shot down by the more experienced fliers, crash landing in the mountainside of Dinobot Island.
While his team dealt with Blitzwing and Lugnut, Optimus attempted once more to face off against Megatron - and failed for a second time. Unable to stop him from obtaining the AllSpark from their ship’s cargo bay, it was only by fluke that he managed to survive; Sari found her Key, which had been dropped by the Decepticon leader. Throwing the key to the pinned Autobot, Optimus jammed it into the AllSpark, which was then housed in Megatron’s chest, and dispersed the artifact’s energies - and in turn, temporarily defeated Megatron.
With the day saved for the moment, Prime returned the Key to Sari, claiming that with the ‘destruction’ of the AllSpark, it was then the most powerful remaining artifact. As such, it was far too important to be kept in the hands of an Autobot - the exact opposite of what he had said when the situation had begun. He explained to Sari that the AllSpark had not actually been obliterated, but its energy had been dispersed - not that it helped them at the moment.
Megatron, while badly damaged, managed to escape, taking Professor Sumdac captive. He took refuge in an underground base, knowing that the rock would shield both his and his Decepticons’ energy signatures from any scanners, Earthly or alien.
In the meantime, the Autobots began to help restore the city of Detroit, which had been badly damaged in their original brawl with Megatron.
Character Personality: If you were expecting Optimus Prime, the heroic leader of the Autobots from your childhood - you had best look elsewhere.
This Optimus has only ever aspired to be a hero, dreaming of becoming a member of the Elite Guard - Dreams which were suddenly out of reach, thanks to his expulsion of the Academy.
While he possesses the combat skills, the planning, and the ability to deliver the inspiring and, dare I say, heroic speeches, this incarnation of Optimus still seems to be missing something. It may simply be the seasoning of experience, but it is a noticeable gap all the same - he just isn’t quite the leader that his name implies.
He is a genuinely decent person, believing in doing what is right - even if it is not what is best for him (or even particularly smart). Optimus will readily sacrifice himself for the greater good and has done so in the past - which includes protecting his teammates. He will always be the first to enter the battle and the last to leave, prioritizing their safety above his own.
His time on Earth has taught him a lot, and continues to do so. He is not yet well versed in organics; however, Sari is steadily teaching him (and mentally scarring him with talk of procreation). It has also allowed him to discover the true nature of being a hero - as desperately as he wished to be one, it is not about glory or receiving recognition for his deeds, but about giving everything he has for what he believes is right, as he did when he kept the AllSpark from Starscream.
While he takes his position and duties very seriously, he is still quite young by Cybertronian standards. He manages to retain his sense of humour and is sweet to others. His patience is not limitless, but it takes a great deal to push him over the edge - he is not the type of leader that must shriek orders or abuse his authority to earn respect. Even when he does snap at his teammates, he will humbly admit his mistake in doing so and apologize.
Powers: Aside from the obvious being a two storey robot, Optimus is capable of transforming into a red, futuristic looking truck. While it is described as a fire truck, he is capable of attaching various different trailers as demonstrated throughout the series, including a transport trailer and a dump truck attachment.
He has advanced firefighting skills, which make the fire truck a suitable choice in alternate form. In his robot mode, he can still utilize a high powered spray of foam, capable of putting out fires, distracting and blinding enemies, or making a general mess of things, should he so desire. (He’d probably feel responsible and mop it up later)
Along with his foam blaster, he possesses two other arm modifications - high powered grapplers and bola-whip throwers. The grapplers are versatile in that they can be used for anything from saving Prime himself from a particularly nasty fall, capturing foes, catching items, or... Megatron can turn the grapplers against him and tie him up with them.
... Competence comes with experience, after all.
Likely his primary weapon is a rocket-powered, extendable ion axe. It has a laser-powered blade that can cut through reinforced steel, as well as solid rock. The handle can grow in length to be used as a staff, to shield himself from attack, or to vault himself at a distant target or enemy. Its rocket boosters allow for a powerful punch.
Possibly the most dangerous weapon in his arsenal however, is his resourceful use of these tools. He has a creative processor, and can use what is available to him to great effect in a dire situation.
Samples
First person:
Greetings, citizens of... er... this city.
My name is Optimus Prime, of the planet Cybertron. Please, I mean you no harm - I only have a few questions, I hope that someone on this network may be able to answer.
I believe that I’ve been here for a while, due to the recent upgrade to my comm link, however, the last memory that I have is of the clean up Detroit. So far as I can tell, we are no longer on Earth, so my first question is if anyone could offer any details on the nature of this planet? Or more importantly, how I got here?
While I appreciate your hospitality, it’s important that I return home as soon as possible. Your assistance in this is appreciated.
Third Person:
Optimus had never been a believer in the ‘no win’ scenario.
.... That was, until Bulkhead got it into his processor that baking a cake for Sari’s birthday was a good idea.
He had begun to wonder if perhaps it was simply beyond a Cybertronian’s capacity to create such complex human fuel, or maybe it was just beyond Bulkhead’s capacity... But as the soot-stained oven clicked to announce it had reached the appropriate temperature, Optimus couldn’t help but feel that perhaps this was a lost cause.
After all, this marked the Autobot’s seventh attempt.
“You know, Bulkhead, I believe that the humans have stores that sell this sort of... er... fuel,” Optimus explained, a large hand over his optics.
He didn’t understand why Bulkhead couldn’t simply paint an image as an offering to their human companion, or perhaps give her one of his sculptures - He’d already managed to inadvertently create one with Cake Attempt #4, when he’d placed the entire plastic bowl into the oven. (It had been then that Optimus had become involved with the process, forced to use his foam to extinguish the molten remains so they could remove them from the oven rack.)
“Don’t worry, Bossbot,” the other insisted, attempting to disentangle himself from the cord on the electric mixer. “I’ve got it this time. Uhh... I think.”
Somehow, that didn’t seem all that reassuring.
With a soft sigh of air from his intakes, Optimus lifted the cardboard box to examine the instructions yet again. How these items combined could possibly create what was depicted on the front cover, the Autobot had not yet surmised. He assumed that there must have been some hidden function during the heating process that caused a chemical reaction...
“It says that you should add that powdered substance, followed by the oil, water, and three ‘eggs,’” he explained wearily, no longer even bothering to read the exact measurements. They both had them memorized by now, not that it seemed to make a difference.
Watching as the green Autobot stirred the motor oil in with the three whole eggs, Optimus placed a hand to his chin thoughtfully. He thought it was strange that humans would include oil in their recipes, when they used it to fuel their automobiles... Particularly when one considered that the ‘batter’ was meant to be put into an oven and heated. He would have to ask Sari the reasoning behind this-
“Uh... Bossbot?”
He blinked, snapping out of his thoughts in time to see the flames. Bulkhead was fanning the cake pan anxiously, trying to put them out, but to little avail.
“I... don’t think it’s s’pposed to do that.”
No kidding.
Raising an arm, he focused a powerful burst of flame-retardant foam, coating the oven, the cake, and incidentally, Bulkhead, and effectively smothering the small fire.
... And their seventh cake attempt as well, the thick, sludge like batter looking a little charred beneath the generous layer of foam icing. It bubbled and oozed from the pan, thickly dripping over the side, blackened bits of broken egg shell nearly invisible underneath the foam.
“Perhaps we should take Sari to the Burger Bot instead,” Prime admitted finally, his shoulders slumping as he shuttered his optics. “A milkshake could be an appropriate way to celebrate her... err... day of creation.”
It also had the benefit of not burning their base to the ground in the process.