Optimus Prime

Optimus Prime is a prominent and popular character in the Transformers franchise. He leads the heroic Autobots in the majority of Transformers continuities. 
Megatron, leader of the Decepticons, is seen as his arch-enemy and moral opposite.
==Canon Background==
Optimus Prime is the wise and noble leader of the Autobots in the 1984 original cartoon series. He was originally named Orion Pax before gaining the title of "Optimus Prime" from the Matrix of Leadership, which sits in his chest. He can turn into a six-wheeled truck and has a bed that can transport the other Autobots around. 
Infamously, he was killed during the series' 1986 movie, and his role as Autobot leader was replaced by Rodimus Prime and Ultra Magnus. This was very controversial. Many of the children watching the original series considered him a surrogate father figure, which added to the audience-traumatizing nature of his death in the movie. This set a precedent for Optimus to die in canon, often to be revived shortly thereafter. For more information, see on the TFWiki. 
Beast Wars introduced Optimus Primal, the descendant of the original Optimus, who transformed into a gorilla. This sparked significant fan ire at the time, mostly by those already opposed to Beast Wars as a concept.TFWiki's page on the fan reaction to Optimus Primal: http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Trukk_not_munky 
Other canons interpret his position differently, but keep his personality largely the same. Optimus in Transformers Animated is not an Autobot leader, with "Prime" being an actual military rank which was below "Magnus." Optimus in Transformers: Prime is the leader of the Autobots, but only a handful of them, as the war for Cybertron had utterly devastated their planet and its population. 
===Major Appearances===
*The Transformers TV series
*The Transformers Generation One Marvel Comics
*The Transformers Generation One IDW Comics
*Transformers Beast Wars
*Transformers Robots in Disguise (2001)
*The Transformers Unicron Trilogy
*Transformers Bay Movies
* Transformers Animated
*Transformers Aligned (Prime) Continuity
*Transformers Cyberverse
*Transformers Earthspark
* Transformers One 
See on TFWiki.net for more of his appearances.
== Popular Tropes & Fanon ==
TBA
== Subjects of Fannish Interest & Meta ==
Optimus Prime has become emblematic of the franchise. While Bumblebee has usurped this role to some extent since 2007, with the first Micheal Bay Transformers movie and other TF media such as Transformers Cyberverse, Optimus is still a highly recognizable character.
==Relationships==
Popular pairings with Optimus are Optimus/Megatron and Elita One/Optimus Prime, which pairs him with Elita One and is canonical in the 1984 original cartoon series. Other common pairings vary greatly depending on the canon. 
This is purposefully an incomplete list, as Optimus Prime is shipped with many of the other Transformers. He's also popular for self-insert shipping. 
Please add any notable relationships in fanworks if they are missing.
Primary Canon	With... 	Who is a(n)...	Full Label 	Type	Ship Name(s) 	Information
various 	Megatron 	Decepticon 	Megatron/Optimus Prime 	M/M 	MOP | メガコン | コンメガ | メガオプ | オプメガ 	Enemies and moral opposites; may start as rekindled friends
various 	Megatron 	Decepticon 	Megatron & Optimus Prime 	Gen 	(n/a) 	Often former friends both in canon and in fanworks
various 	Ratchet 	Autobot 	Optimus Prime/Ratchet 	M/M 	RatchOp | オプラチェ | ラチェオプ 	Loyal to one another and often very close
various 	Ratchet 	Autobot 	Optimus Prime & Ratchet 	Gen 	(n/a) 	Often old friends both in canon and in fanworks
G1 Cartoon 	Elita One 	Autobot 	Elita One/Optimus Prime 	F/M 	コンエリ | オプエリ 	Canonical in the 1984 original cartoon series
G1 Cartoon 	Starscream 	Decepticon 	Optimus Prime/Starscream 	M/M 	オプスタ | スタオプ 	Starscream defecting to the Autobots AU is common
various 	Bumblebee 	Autobot 	Bumblebee & Optimus Prime 	Gen 	(n/a) 	Most common Bee relationship
various 	Bumblebee 	Autobot 	Bumblebee/Optimus Prime 	M/M 	コンバン | オプビ 	Close allies
Bayverse 	Cade Yeager 	Autobot ally 	Cade Yeager/Optimus Prime 	M/M 	Barn Husbands 	Close allies
various 	Prowl 	Autobot 	Optimus Prime/Prowl 	M/M 	オププロ | プロオプ 	Close allies
various 	Jazz 	Autobot 	Jazz/Optimus Prime 	M/M 	マイコン | コンマイ 	Close allies
various 	Jazz 	Autobot 	Jazz & Optimus Prime 	Gen 	(n/a) 	Close allies
various 	Jazz, Prowl 	Autobot x2 	Jazz/Optimus Prime/Prowl 	Poly	Jazzprowlop 	All three non-poly versions of this ship are popular
IDW Comics 	Shockwave 	Decepticon 	Optimus Prime/Shockwave 	M/M 	ShockOp 	Former friends in the IDW canon before the war
Prime 	Soundwave 	Decepticon 	Optimus Prime/Soundwave 	M/M 	SoundOp 	Can be interpreted in many ways depending on the canon
Prime 	Ultra Magnus 	Autobot 	Optimus Prime/Ultra Magnus 	M/M 	OpMag | Magnimus | MagnusOp 	May be superior/understudy depending on the canon
G1 Cartoon 	Ironhide 	Autobot 	Ironhide/Optimus Prime 	M/M 	OpHide 	Loyal to one another and often very close
various 	Megatron, Starscream	Decepticon x2 	Megatron/Optimus Prime/Starscream	Poly	Megopstar 	All three non-poly versions of this ship are popular
Prime 	Smokescreen 	Autobot 	Optimus Prime/Smokescreen 	M/M 	SmokeOp 	(n/a)
Bayverse 	Mikaela Banes 	Autobot ally 	Mikaela Banes/Optimus Prime 	F/M 	(n/a) 	(n/a)
various 	Elita One, Megatron 	Autobot x2 	Elita One/Megatron/Optimus Prime 	Poly	Megoplita 	Combines the popular Megatron/OP and Elita One/OP
Animated 	Blackarachnia 	Decepticon 	Blackarachnia/Optimus Prime 	F/M 	OPBA 	Variant of Elita One/Optimus Prime in Animated
Beast Wars 	Dinobot 	Maximal 	Dinobot/Optimus Primal 	M/M 	ダイコン | コンダイ 	(n/a)
various 	Nemesis Prime 	Decepticon 	Nemesis Prime/Optimus Prime 	M/M 	(n/a) 	(n/a)
==Notable Optimus-Centric Fanworks and Communities==
===Fan Communities/Fan Events===
* , a club on DeviantArt
* , a club on DeviantArt
===Wikis===
* on PixivEncyclopedia
* on PixivEncyclopedia
* on PixivEncyclopedia
* on the TFWiki
===Fan Fic===
===Fan Art===
===General Fanworks===
==== Fan Mixes ====
* (2013)
==== Memes ====
* (2018)
===Meta===
==== IDW ====
* (2024)
* (2022)
* (2024)
==References==
Category:Transformers Characters