It's hard to imagine a giant red and blue robot that can transform into a large truck becoming one of the most charismatic leaders in fictional historyಌ. But that's exactly what happened with Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. Even though he's got less of an ability to control his facial expression than Winnie-the-Pooh, Optimus worked his way into our hearts with his caring and noble demeanor. (Seriously, who would have thought that a robot whose arms can turn into blasters could be so eloquent?)

Optimus and the Transformers series have gone through many iterations. (There are actually separate universes, where characters have different origin stories and even different names sometimes.) It can get complicated. It is understandably difficult to follow all those timelines and keep them straight in your head. (Unless you have oodles of time to devote to the study of Transformers. Sadly, I don't.) But through them all, Optimus Prime remains a central figure to the stor💃y. He's the fighter who doesn't want to fight, the leader who was born to lead, and the one who always makes the sacrifice play.

Since he's such a vital character to the series, we thought it would be a good idea to look at all the interesting and terrifying facets about his creation, history, and continuation. (And by terrifying, we just mean really, really impressive. So impressive, it's kꦬind of chilling.) Optimus Prime, while not the most easygoing of the Autobots, is definitely the most famous and prolific. Read on if you want to know some tidbits about him that you might not haꦕve known before.

25 Gone Again, Come Again ಌ 🐲

Any serious Transformers fan knows that Optimus Prime's funeral is as commonplace as seeing clouds in the sky. Optimus has passed from this world across several of the Transformers continuities (and there are a lot of those). It's almost like a rite of passage for a Transformers series.

All in all, he has "gone towards the light" over twenty-five times.

It's a running gag now among fans. Usually, he bites the big one when he sacrifices himself for the♌ greater good. (Oh, that is such an Optimus thing to do.) As soon as he's gone, a new character replaces him for a bit (and we get a new toy based off of this new character) or Optimus is resurrected (and he looks a tad different, so we get a new toy based off of his new get-up).

24 ꦚ When Transformers Gets𝔉 Weird

I know Marissa Faireborn as a tough-as-nails woman who can hold her own against even the meanest Decepticon. She would use martial arts know-how to defeat them in single combat, and she was braver than some of the Autobots. Of course, the many versions of the Transformers series ensured that in other timelines, Marissa would not be the same woman I knew 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:from the cartoon I watched. In one particular version, Marissa meets Optimus when she's a young girl, and she develops a very strong attachment to him. When he once again passes away (typical), Marissa is able to bring him back with a... kiss. If you must know, the comic where this occurs is called Kiss Players. Optimuꦬs and Marissa actually went on dates in this thing.꧂ Optimus Prime has, as you can already tell, a very diverse history.

23 Allied Forಞces 🍨

When you own two popular toy lines, it makes absolute sense that you'd want to mash them together in a crossover. Hasbro has done that on several occasions with the Transformers and G.I. Joes. Optimus Prime and his Autobots have worked alongside Duke and the other Joes to varying degrees of success. They've fought Cobra, Unicron, and other villains that were too much for them to take on separately. Honestly, the Joes and the Autobots are a bunch of honorable do-gooders. Aside from misunderstandings that got easily resolved, the two groups got alonꦺg well with each other. How can you have conflict between good guys? They were like hot chocolate and whipped cream.

22 ꦜ 🐟Sound The Fire Alarm

We're used to seeing Optimus Prime transform into that recognizable, red-and-blue truck, but he's explored different looks for himself in the past. Most notably, at one point, Optimus' vehicular form was that of a fire engine, complete with extendable ladder. In the Robots in Disguise 🍰story-line, Optimus operated on Earth, protecting his residence in Metro City while also hiding out there. A fire truck is a fairly reassuring form to take, so it makes sense why Optimus would choose it; he's a reassuring kind of guy (robot). But I have 🍃to admit, there's nothing quite as awesome as seeing Optimus in his original red-and-blue glory. That's how I've always seen him, and while not as useful as a fire engine, it definitely suits him better.

21 No Choice In Th🧸e Matter

The most tr🐻agic aspect of Optimus Prime is that he constantly finds himself in situations he would rather not be in. Optimus, in case you did not know, is a pacifist. He would rather spare lives whenever possible, and he is always ready to believe that a person has good intentions (even the villains). This might be odd to hear regarding a giant robot that can turn his hand into a sword, but it's the truth.

Optimus' pacifism is constantly put to the test.

Despite yearning for peace, Optimus Prime is an accomplished, formidable fighter. He can hold his own against numerous foes, and he can go toe-to-toe with anybody in a fair fight. But he loathes th𓂃e fight itself. His heart (or his spark) is just not into it.

20 ꦺ Childhood Is Gon🍬e

Hasbro was unprepared for the shockwave that rippled through scores of children at the passing of Optimus Prime in Transformers: The Movie. Hundreds of kids watched in horror as the leader of the Autobots passed on the Matrix of Leadership to Hot Rod, and was then simply gone. He did not reappear for the rest of the movie. It was traumatic. Tears were solemnly shed by children watching the movie in theaters as their hero just left them. Most likely, Hasbro did not expect such a huge reaction, but come on! What did they expect? That we would just laugh along with our lives and buy a bunch of Hot Rod toys?! No. Kids that day took a stand and ꧃showed those Hasbro execs that they cared more about Optimus than some new, flashy young hero. (Yes, crying is a form of taking a stand.)

19 ♑ Mouse Trap

It's not often that Optimus Prime displays his cunning. His nobility, sure, he shows that off a dozen times an episode. But his intelligence? I feel that Optimus gets tricked more often than the average Autobot. It's rare when writers give him the chance to prove to viewers how smart he can be. A good example of Optimus using his noggin was when he tricked the Decepticons into thinking the Autobots really needed to board a certain spaceship. The Decepticons tripped over themselves trying to get onto the ship, and once they were all in there, Optimus locked them in and shot them into space. Eventually, the Decepticons make it back to Earth, but 🌃hey, using his smarts, Optimus was able to give humans and Autobots a reprieve from the De🏅cepticon hassle.

18 Prime Descendan🔜t

For casual fans of Transformers, it might surprise you to know that, despite having exceedingly similar names, Optimus Primal is not the same robot as Optimus Prime. Optimus Primal is a descendant of Optimus Prime. (Well, at least in most continuities. These Transformers timelines can really get your head spinning.) Unlike Optimus Prime, Optimus Primal morphs into a giant gorilla using a new bio-mechanical morphing process. So where Optimus Prime's truck form is usually confined to roadways, Optimus Primal can roam jungles and wildlife-filled areas in his gorilla form. (For tho🗹se of you who did not know that a Transformer could transform into animals, let this be the beginning of your education i🦂nto the convoluted paths of Transformer biology. Err, I mean mechanics?)

17 Teenage-Angst Optimus ♍ 𒈔

Have you ever gotten tired of plain old Optimus Prime? Have you ever wished that instead of a battle-hardened, responsible leader, you could see an Optimus Prime that is young, hot-headed, and struggling with a leadership role? Look no farther, because Transformers Animated is the show for you. Optimus not only sounds like a young robot in this show, he behaves like a young robot too. If the show had continued past a cancelled fourth season, maybe we would have seen Optimus Prime grow into the Autobot we all know him to be. As the show stands, Optimus was still in the caterpillar stages of his growth into a leader. In my opinion, the show is not as bad as some claim it is, but it's not the cream of the crop when it comes to Transformers cartoons.

16 𝕴 𒀰 From Pax To Prime

One of the coolest things about Optimus Prime is his name. Hands down, he's the number one best-named hero. Optimus Prime. Just say it one more tim🍸e. Optimus Prime. In some continuities, he did not alwa𓆉ys start out with such a cool name.

Originally, Optimus Prime was called Orion Pax.

He was just your average, ordinary Autobot (in one continuity, Orion Pax was a cop, and in another, he was a dock worker) until he was rebuilt to become Optimus Prime. Bear in mind, this only happens in some continuities. In others, he was always Optimus Prime. In yet others, he was called Optronix. I feel a better list than facts about Optimus Prime would be a list of how many gosh-darned flubbing continuities there are within the Transformers world.