Does Optimus Prime Have a Transformers Family Tree? (2024)

Optimus Prime is undoubtedly the most iconic character in the entire Transformers franchise. He never fails to make an appearance, no matter the continuity. His reputation as the Autobots' noble leader has remained a franchise staple for nearly forty years. Optimus Prime is one in a long line of Primes spanning the millennia of Transformers history, dating back to the dawn of life on Cybertron.

The Primes have helped shape the history of Cybertron for millions of years, acting as great leaders or cruel tyrants. This honored legacy has weighed heavily on the humble Optimus, playing a big role in transforming him into the legendary leader he is today. Each member inspires him with their heroics or acts as a grim warning on how not to lead.

Updated on July 2, 2024 by Timothy Blake Donohoo: The Transformers franchise is most known for characters such as Optimus Prime, with that hero being the leader of the Autobots. In the world of the Transformers, Primes are those with immense power and presence, with Optimus being just one of them. The anime Transformers: Cybertron was an example of this, though various comic books in the franchise further fleshed out Optimus Prime's family tree.

13 The Original Thirteen United Against Unicron

Created by the deity Primus, the first Thirteen Primes were the primordial Cybertronians tasked with defending the universe from the all-consuming hunger of the dark god, Unicron. While their roster has changed over the years, the most consistent grouping of the Thirteen has Prima as the first-born, followed by Vector Prime, Alpha Trion, Solus Prime, Micronus Prime, Alchemist Prime, Nexus Prime, Onyx Prime, Quintus Prime, Liege Maximo, Megatronus Prime and the enigmatic Thirteenth Prime who has either been depicted as Autonomous Maximus, The Arisen or sometimes Optimus Prime himself.

• The Thirteen Primes were initially known as the "original 13 Transformers"

Each of the Thirteen Primes wielded a powerful weapon bestowed upon them by Primus himself, all of which have become legendary relics worthy of myth in the modern day. Liege Maximo and Megatronus Prime were seduced by the power of Unicron, causing a rift between the Thirteen and leading to the deaths of some of its members and the ultimate disbandment of the team. This left the mantle of Prime to be passed on instead of being held by a collective.

12 Septimus Prime Was One of the First Members of Optimus Prime's Family Tree

The earliest known Cybertronian to inherit the title of Prime after the Original Thirteen appeared under the name of Septimus Prime during the IDW run. He existed during a period of Cybertron's history when the Thirteen were still active, but unlike his brethren, he was not a devotee of Primus. Instead, he worshipped the god Solomus and introduced gladiator sports to the City of Protohex as a way to pay tribute to the deity.

• "Septimus" means "seventh," which is his rank among the Primes in Optimus Prime's family tree

It was a common consensus among the Thirteen Primes that Septimus Prime was not considered "one of them," hence why they did not become the Fourteen Primes when Septimus was born. Ultimately, his malignant rule over Protohex and profane worship of Solomus led to Megatronus Prime executing Septimus to take Protohex as part of his own territory on Cybertron.

11 Prime Nova Was The First Official Successor Of The Thirteen

The first official successor of the Original Thirteen Primes, Prime Nova was given the Matrix of Leadership by Prima and officially declared leader of the Cybertronians. Unfortunately, his tenure as Prime occurred during the Quintessons' occupation of Cybertron, wherein all Cybertronians were turned into a slave race, with the ability to even construct new Cybertronians under the control of the hostile alien race.

• Prime Nova is not to be confused with Nova Prime

This led Prime Nova to start a massive resistance movement to remove the Quintesson Occupation from Cybertron; this resistance would become known as the First Great War of Cybertron, becoming the first chapter in Cybertron's infamous history of warfare. Sadly, Prime Nova would never live to see the resistance succeed, as he was killed before the end of the Great War, leading to a new Prime taking on the Matrix of Leadership. This aspect of his character was seen in the original Transformers cartoon.

10 Primon Was an Enigmatic Prime

Primon was the leader of the Ancient Autobots at some point in Cybertron's ancient past. During the Transformers: Generation One cartoon episode "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4," Primon guided the young Rodimus Prime as he journeyed within the Matrix of Leadership to learn the harrowing truth that the Autobots and Decepticons were created by the alien Quintessons.

• Primon's forehead bears a crest resembling an early version of the Autobot symbol

The initial origin of Primon actually had him predating Prima, which contradicted the later concept that Prima was the First Prime. As such, Dreamwave Publishing's Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye series later retconned that Primon was the Prime who succeeded Prime Nova and was later succeeded by Guardian Prime.

An Ancient Autobot with a suspicious resemblance to fan-favorite Hot Rod, Guardian Prime succeeded Prime Nova and Primon as Cybertron's leader after the Quintesson Occupation's end. Unfortunately, the removal of the Quintessons did not lead to a lasting peace within Cybertron, as soon the Cybertronians were divided thanks to a civil war between the Ancient Autobots and the Cybertronian military class that would later become the Ancient Decepticons.

• Guardian Prime's presence showcases how Hot Rod was destined to become Rodimus Prime

Before a peaceful resolution could be found, Guardian Prime was shot, dying of his mortal wounds just moments after he was able to pass the Matrix of Leadership on to a successor. In the original Transformers: Generation One cartoon, this successor was Zeta Prime, however, numerous continuities afterward have expanded the Lineage of Primes between Guardian and Zeta, chiefly IDW Publishing's continuity.

8 Amazon & Regulus Prime are Mysterious Members of Optimus Prime's Family Tree

Not much is known about the two Primes, Amazon and Regulus. Their time as Cybertron's leaders and the circ*mstances that led them to bear the Matrix of Leadership are completely esoteric to the fandom. As the history after Guardian Prime has been dramatically expanded since the original Transformers: Generation One cartoon, Amazon and Regulus likely ruled sometime after Guardian Prime's death, but this is speculation.

• Along with The Transformers vs G.I. Joe, Tom Scioli also worked on Go-Bots for IDW

All that is known is that when Megatron briefly possessed the Matrix of Leadership in IDW's The Transformers vs. GI Joe comic series, Amazon and Regulus' spirits haunted the Decepticon Leader, recounting his sins and attempting to demoralize him. Their goading of Megatron provoked him so much that he attempted to shoot at the ghosts with his fusion cannon, to no avail.

7 Nova Prime Resembled Another Member of Optimus Prime's Family Tree

The leader of Cybertron during the Great Expansions, it is unknown who proceeded Nova Prime. However, what is known is that his ambition knew no bounds, wanting Cybertron to become a galaxy-spanning empire through colonizing/conquering dozens of star systems. However, after his pride led him to believe he could also conquer the multiverse, Nova Prime was trapped in the Dark Universe for millions of years, with the corrupt energy of the dimension turning him into the demonic entity known as Nemesis Prime.

• Nova Prime was hinted as a potential antagonist in the ultimately unmade Transformers: Devastation sequel

Within IDW Publishing's Transformers comic series, Nemesis Prime returned to Cybertron on several occasions, each time requiring the Autobots and Decepticons to band together to stop Nemesis from effectively causing Armageddon. Nova Prime has been partially retconned into the Transformers: Generation One continuity thanks to the Transformers: Devastation video game, which merged many key elements of IDW Publishing's expanded lore into a G1-inspired setting.

6 Nominus Prime Was a False Prime

When the Matrix of Leadership was lost with Nova Prime's disappearance, it appeared the Line of Primes had been broken. The absence of a true Prime led to the ascension of the first Faux-Prime, Nominus Prime, christened with a fake Matrix. Under the rulership of Nominus Prime, Cybertron fell into a sharp decline, creating a rigid --almost totalitarian-- class system as the ruling Cybertronian Senate was filled with directionless, bickering autocrats.

• A False Matrix has been explored through ideas such as the Decepticon Matrix of Leadership

It was during Nominus Prime's reign that Megatron was radicalized into starting the early political movements that would lead to the creation of the Decepticons, a manner greatly inspired by the Russian Revolution. Ultimately, Nominus was assassinated by the Cybertronian Senate after it was revealed that his Matrix was a fake, and a new Senate-appointed Prime took over the leadership of Cybertron.

5 Sentinel Prime Is Sometimes a Rival of Optimus Prime

Sentinel Prime's history has been heavily reworked and altered throughout Transformers' long history. In some versions, he was a member of the Thirteen Primes, and other times, the Dynasty of Primes, and he even served as both the rival and mentor of future Autobot leader Optimus Prime. Originally, Sentinel Prime was also a veteran of the Quintesson Occupation, dying in the line of battle and passing the Matrix of Leadership over to Prime Nova.

• The toy for Transformers: Animated Sentinel Prime was retroactively used as a figure for his G1 counterpart

However, most modern continuities favor depicting him as the Prime who immediately predated (or penultimately predated) Optimus Prime. Sentinel Prime acted as a stern militaristic leader whose rule—in the same vain as Nominus—resulted in increased hostilities with the Decepticons, resulting in an all-out civil war famously known as the Autobot-Decepticon War. Another version was seen in the cartoon Transformers: Animated, where he was Optimus Prime's rival and former friend.

4 Zeta Prime Many Times Preceded Optimus Prime

While many continuities have Sentinel Prime as the direct predecessor to Optimus Prime, some, such as the Aligned, Legends, and IDW continuities, gave Zeta Prime that honor. As the original Autobot Military Leader during the early Autobot-Decepticon War, Zeta Prime's aggressive military exploits held the Autobot line against the Decepticons for many years.

• Zeta Prime in the Aligned Continuity resembles Transformers: Animated Sentinel Prime

Either because his militarism went too far or because Megatron managed to track him down, Zeta was eventually killed. This left the Autobots leaderless and vulnerable, leading to Optimus Prime's iconic ascension. Thus, Zeta Prime's place in Optimus Prime's family tree is only important as a stepping stone.

3 Optimus Prime Is the Greatest Autobot Leader of All Time

The bot, the myth, the legend: Born under the name Orion Pax, he was chosen by Alpha Trion, one of the Original Thirteen, to lead the Autobots in their darkest hour, becoming known as Optimus Prime. The war on Cybertron waged on for thousands of years until a planet-wide resource depletion forced Optimus to make the critical decision to leave his home planet and find refuge on the planet Earth alongside his fellow Autobots.

• The original Optimus Prime toy was simply a new release for the "Battle Convoy" figure from the Diaclone franchise

Within this new frontier, Optimus had the Autobots adopt a new mission to protect Earth and humanity against the Decepticons, who'd seek only to plunder and enslave the planet. While his stories have veered in countless different directions spanning dozens of different continuities, the spirit of Optimus Prime and the hope he inspires endures.

2 Rodimus Prime Is the Autobots' Next Leader

What remains one of the most iconic yet shocking parts of Transformers history happened during 1986's The Transformers: The Movie. Optimus Prime was killed in a heroic final battle with his eternal foe, Megatron. The future of the Autobots was a complete unknown, especially when the demonic Unicron threatened to devour their home planet of Cybertron.

• An unmade Japanese Transformers toy upgraded Hot Rod again into "New Rodimus"

Thankfully, in their darkest hour, the plucky Autobot rookie known as Hot Rod took up the Matrix of Leadership, becoming Rodimus Prime and defeating the dark deity before he could consume Cybertron. While some fans look upon Rodimus with scorn, there is no denying that he is the definitive successor to Optimus Prime, something very few can claim. He later became Hot Rod again following Optimus' return, however.

1 The Primals

While not in the same prestigious position as the Primes of old, the Primal titles used by the Maximals three hundred years after the Autobot-Decepticon War acted as the spiritual successors of the Primes.Introduced in Beast Wars: Transformers, they became inspirational leaders and great warriors in their fight against the nefarious Predacons. As seemed to be the case with most of the Primals, most notably Optimus Primal and 3H Comics' Onyx Primal, it was a tradition for them to hold the historic names of former Primes as a way to give tribute to the great leaders of the past and acting as a promise to hold their values.

• Optimus Primal briefly merged with Optimus Prime's spark in Beast Wars: Transformers, becoming "Optimal Optimus"

In the case of other Primals, such as Primal Prime, they became a living conduit for the will of the Matrix of Leadership, though these cases were exceedingly rare. Regardless, the Legacy of the Primes ends with the installment of the Primals, acting as a replacement to the position, but also a tribute to their history and the great importance the title once served.

Transformers

Transformersis a mediafranchiseproduced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the heroic Autobots and the villainous Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms, such as vehicles and animals.

First Film

Transformers

Latest Film

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

First TV Show

The Transformers

Latest TV Show

Transformers: EarthSpark (2022)

Cast

Peter Cullen , Wil Wheaton , Shia LaBeouf , Megan Fox , Luna Lauren Velez , Dominique Fishback