Optimus primal

Optimus Primal is one of Thomas's adventure chronicles

He is a direct descendant of legendary Autobot leader Optimus Prime who, like his namesake, started from humble beginnings with no idea that his destiny would be tied to the fate of Cybertron and all Transformer kind.

## History

Primal and his active crew survived the crash and found that the planet was rich with crystallized energon. In this raw form and in such abundance, the energon radiation proved to be detrimental to the Transformers' functions. In order to remain functional, Primal and his crew scanned their surroundings, seeking to adopt partially organic alternate forms that would insulate them from the energon radiation. Primal himself took on the form of a gorilla

With energon resources abundant on this planet, the Maximals feared that Megatron was planning to harvest it in order to start another Great War. They had no idea what his true intentions were. The Beast Wars raged as both sides fought over energon, stasis pods containing Maximal protoforms and strange alien relics left behind by unknown beings which would later be identified as the Vok. Among these alien artifacts was a disk similar to the one Megatron had stolen on Cybertron which contained information relating to the aliens' activities on the planet.

Not long after the discovery of multiple alien artifacts on the planet, both the Maximals and Predacons became aware of a significant threat. One of the twin moons orbiting the planet was artificial and was, in fact, a weapon of mass destruction powerful enough to destroy the entire planet. In order to protect the planet, Optimus used a stasis pod that had been converted into an escape ship by the Predacon Tarantulas, fitted it with a transwarp cell and attempted to fly it into the Vok planet-buster. The transwarp cell's detonation would be powerful enough to destroy the planet-buster, but Megatron remotely hijacked the pod's controls, keeping it sealed and preventing Optimus from ejecting. The pod collided with the false moon and detonated, destroying it and Optimus as well.

Optimus' spark had become one with the Matrix but it would not remain there. When the transwarp cell detonated, it created an opening into transwarp space. Rhinox attempted to exploit the transwarp window to project his own consciousness into the Matrix so that he could retrieve Primal's spark and place it into a blank protoform. His endeavour posed great risk, but he succeeded and Optimus was reborn in a new Transmetal body.

The Beast Wars would take another dramatic turn when Ravage - an agent of the Tripredacus Council - arrived on ancient Earth under orders to assist the Maximals in arresting Megatron. However, after Megatron was captured, the Predacon rogue showed Ravage the content of a fragment of the shattered Golden Disk: a partial message from the original Megatron, Ravage's old commander. The message was a back-up plan in case the Decepticons were defeated by the Autobots, which they were, and was intended to inspire Megatron's descendants into ensuring Decepticon victory by altering history. Realising that Decepticon dominance could yet be achieved, Ravage switched sides and joined Megatron, using his ship to attack the Maximals and destroy their base. However, Ravage and his ship were destroyed from within by the Maximal Rattrap.

Megatron had escaped from Ravage's ship before it was destroyed and Optimus and the Maximals followed, believing that the Predacon leader had discovered the location of the Ark, the original Autobot starship containing the inactive bodies of both the Autobots and Decepticons. The Maximals attempted to enter the vessel, but were kept out by its defensive cannons. This gave Megatron the chance to alter history by assassinating Optimus Prime who was still in stasis-lock, thereby assuring that the Decepticons would win the Great War. Primal was forced to take the great Autobot's spark inside himself to keep it protected. This caused his body to grow larger and stronger (seemingly roughly as large as his Autobot ancestors), gaining ground and air vehicle modes along with his previous gorilla form. Megatron sardonically dubbed him "Optimal Optimus"). In his new form, he successfully protected Prime's spark until it could be returned to his repaired body, thus saving history and the future from destruction at the cost of the *Axalon*.

With the location of the *Ark* revealed and Megatron now desperate to end the war at any cost, Primal was forced to move his Maximals into the volcano where the *Ark'*s hull lay. This new, defensive war was much more difficult to fight, and disadvantaged the Maximals severely, even with Optimus' new four-mode body and enhanced firepower. With the loss of their defence system, Sentinel, the arrival of the rebellious and embittered Depth Charge, the awkward and violent maturation of Cheetor, proto-humans to guard, the theft of the original Megatron's spark and the ensuing mutation of Megatron II (which Optimus had been unwillingly responsible for due to Tarantulas and Quickstrike's brainwashing him with a mechanized suit as he possessed the access codes for the *Ark* and thus Megatron), the introduction of the previously treacherous and morally ambiguous Blackarachnia into their ranks and her imminent Transmetallization, Optimus Primal had more than his share of problems to deal with.

The tide was finally turned when the Vok resurrected and combined Airazor and Tigatron into the mighty Tigerhawk, who obliterated the Predacon base. In the end, Primal's forces defeated Megatron's, and with the captured Predacon leader strapped to the roof of a borrowed Autobot shuttle, the Maximals at last headed home. Leaving the planet and memorializing his fallen comrades, Optimus Primal declared that the Beast Wars were over. Little did Primal know, however, that he had merely traded one war for a nightmare worse than he could imagine.

## Persona

Optimus Primal shares his namesake's love of honour, life, peace and freedom. His loyalty to his friends is matched only by the respect he gives his enemies and he is dedicated to working for the betterment of others, so much so that he might even become depressed if he cannot accomplish it. Optimus Primal's most repeated quote is "*Well, that's just prime*".

Always willing to sacrifice his own life for the greater good, he would never give an order that he would be unwilling to carry out himself. To some of his friends, his methods may seem unorthodox at times, but as Optimus once said, "sometimes crazy works." He would do anything to protect his friends no matter how high the stakes are and is not ready to surrender just yet unless he has no other choice.

## Forms

### Basic form

After arriving on ancient Earth, Primal and the other Transformers were forced to take on semi-organic beast modes and remain in these forms long-term whilst the presence of energon radiation remained abundant. Primal took on the form of a silverback gorilla, a fitting shape for a Maximal of his nobility and raw strength. In robot mode, he was equipped with twin maces for battering opponents and dual-barrelled cannons on his forearms. He can also launch rockets from his shoulders and is equipped with jets on his back that grant him flight.

### Transmetal form

After his original body was destroyed by the detonation of the Vok planet-buster, Optimus was restored to life in a new Transmetal body. As well as being physically stronger, this new body afforded Optimus a variety of new weapons and enhanced abilities. His flight ability was re-assigned to his beast form and he rode the skies on what appeared to be a rocket-propelled surfboard. In robot mode, he retained his twin maces, though his shoulder rockets were replaced by heavy plasma cannons fitted to an over-the-shoulders harness. He also carried a new sidearm, a cone-shaped handgun that fired concussive blasts.

### Optimal Optimus

Optimus Primal's most powerful form. This Transmetal 2 form was acquired when Primal temporarily joined his spark with that of his ancestor Optimus Prime. Even after returning Prime's spark to his body, Primal retained this awesomely powerful form.

Optimal Optimus was huge compared to the other Maximals, his size rivalling that of the Cybertronians of old. He was large and strong enough to squash most of the Predacons underfoot and his armoured body was resistant to most weapons. His arsenal consisted of heavy automatic cannons and missiles which could be used in any of his alternate modes. His beast mode was seldom used and differed little from his robot mode. He sported two vehicle modes: one an armoured tank, the other a powerful aerial gunship.

## Gallery

Primal's Normal FormPrimal's Transmetal formPrimal's Optimal Optimus Form
## Trivia

* he design of Optimus Primal's bat form is an homage to Batman, an action figure license also held at the time by Kenner.[1]

* Optimus was given the rank of "Maximal General" on his punch-out card for Mcdonald's original Beast Wars promotion.

* Primal's gorilla mode, paired against Megatron's *T. rex* mode, was inspired by the showdown in *King Kong*.[2]

* Indeed, gorilla Primal's original tech specs (which belong to the micro-continuity that takes place on modern-day Earth) seems to strongly imply that Primal is a building-scaling ape of Kong-like stature. As speculated in the *Beast Wars* volume of the *Cybertronian* action figure guide, this may have been intended to explain why he is in the same scale as Megatron, a *Tyrannosaurus rex*. This would also make somewhat greater sense in the context of the toyline itself, wherein the leader characters were of a much larger "Ultra" size-class than their minions, unlike their eventually much smaller depictions in the CG cartoon.

* In the *Beast Wars II* issue "All Hands, Make a Special Attack on the Evil Planet!", Tasmania Kid calls Optimus Primal "**Mr. Gorilla**" (ゴリさん *Gori-san*). Optimus likes th