Shockwave 75
03-04-2010, 05:06 PM
Inspired by a discussion in the Showcase your collection (http://www.cybertron.ca/boards/showthread.php?t=2162&page=78) thread, I decided to post my attempt to unify all the disparate continuities into one.
Now this revolves around my leader displays (wihich you can see in the above linked thread), and I have not updated it yet with Star Convoy or Sky Garry, neither are the movie or Ani bots in it as I have yet to figure out how to reconcile their wildly differing design aesthetics.
So lets start with the good guys.
THE CYBERTRON COUNCIL
Optimus Prime
Originally known as Orion Pax, he was foreman in an energy warehouse during the first Golden Age of Cybertron along with his best friend Dion and his girlfriend Ariel. It was there that he first met the time displaced Aerialbots, and the evil Megatron. Megatron wanted the energy that was stored in the warehouse and virtually destroyed Orion and his friends to get it.
Thanks to the quick thinking of the Aerialbots he was taken to Alpha Trion, who rebuilt Orion Pax into Optimus Prime, the first of Cybertron’s defenders. Optimus was able to take Megatron by surprise and keep him occupied while the Aerialbots destroyed the warehouse, preventing him from gaining the energy he needed to conquer Cybertron.
The first form he adopted upon awakening on Earth was that of a Freightliner cab-over semi truck. He had this body until his death at the hands of Megatron during the battle of Autobot City.
Some time later he was resurrected using the Powermaster technology to combat the Hate Plague that threatened to throw the entire galaxy into chaos.
His personality had been found saved on a computer disk and was taken to the Nebulan scientist Hi-Q, who, with the assistance of a rogue Quintesson scientist, created a new body for Prime based on a set of previously existing schematics. He then used himself as Prime’s Powermaster, and the great leader returned to lead his people.
There are some detractors, even among the Autobots, who claim that this new Optimus Prime isn’t the real Optimus, just a copy. They make this claim because the Matrix wasn’t involved in his creation. However, the Autobot warrior Hot Rod, who was in possession of the Matrix as Rodimus Prime at the time, claims that at the time when Powermaster Optimus came on line he felt an odd disturbance in the Matrix. He postulates that this was Optimus’s spark leaving the Matrix to enter his new body.
Others say that whether Hot Rod’s theory is true or not, the detractor’s claims become irrelevant because Optimus would have gotten his spark back as soon as he took possession of the Matrix again.
However, to defeat the Hate Plague Optimus had to use all of the Matrix energy to snap the galaxy out of its Plague induced frenzy, completely draining it.
He gained his next form when he was critically wounded during the Unicron Wars. Before going offline Optimus had the empty Matrix taken to the Vector Sigma chamber for safe keeping and to get recharged.
Through some as yet unknown means Hi-Q and Optimus’s personalities had merged, so in essence Optimus Prime was now a human being. However no one would believe him/them. It was only through the intervention of the being known simply as The Last Autobot that he/they were given a new form. This new Cybertronian form, called Actionmasters for some unknown reason, was completely non-transforming but immensely powerful.
It was in this form that he halted the destruction of Cybertron that had been triggered by the incredible amount of damage that Unicron had inflicted during his attack, and with the help of the Nebulans and the Autobot’s long time human friend and ally Spike Witwicky, he thwarted Galvatron’s latest scheme to destroy Cybertron and Earth, and brought about the second Golden Age of Cybertron.
Afterwards, Optimus decided not to reclaim the Matrix since no one knew what its incredible power would do when mixed with new Actionmaster technology, so he returns it to the Vector Sigma chamber.
Some time after the signing of the Pax Cybertronia, Optimus is returned to a form more resembling his original Earth mode, for which he has an affinity, he still retains all the powers and abilities of all his previous forms.
He is now jokingly called by some, such as Bumblebee, Masterpiece Prime.
Now returning to Earth after so long, Optimus has chosen to use the Translink Interface, developed by Wheeljack, to control two new bodies while he and the Matrix remain on Cybertron. They both still transform into trucks, though neither have trailer components. The first is less technologically sophisticated so that it can be sacrificed in battle with no great loss and can be easily replaced. Its alternate mode has a rear mounted pulse machine gun that he can fire himself, or can be manned by someone else. It is also usable in robot mode. The second is far more technologically advanced and much more powerful. It is armed with two formidable weapons that can both be integrated into its vehicle mode for transport, though neither is usable. Though both bodies are essentially drones, Optimus is oddly fond of the second one, and a little more reluctant to throw it into battle.
THE GENERALS
During the time of Optimus Prime’s death there were many Autobot commanders who valiantly continued the struggle against the Decepticons.
Those who follow were the greatest of these, and they still serve as valued advisors and generals under Optimus Prime to this day and are the only non-Primes to sit on the Council.
Grimlock
Promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander by Optimus Prime, and placed in command of the Autobot forces while Prime was on Cybertron before Ultra Magnus’ arrival.
Grimlock commanded well during his brief stint as Autobot commander, however he faced some harsh criticism from both Prowl and Jazz who both said that while he is an effective battlefield leader, too often he would just rush head-long into battle without formulating any sort of strategy, and he frequently failed to listen to any concerns that were voiced by anyone other than his fellow Dinobots.
Optimus Prime values Grimlock’s input, especially where battle is concerned, but he feels that Grimlock needs to learn to be a little less bloodthirsty and a little more strategic. Deep down is his spark Grimlock knows he’s right.
Shortly after being damaged catastrophically and taken off-line after a classified series of events involving Megatron and Starscream, Grimlock returns to active duty as a Pretender. His shell, like the other Pretender shells, allows him to blend in with, and pass for human, it also augments his strength and has a built in jet pack for limited flight. Unlike the others, his has the ability to repair any kind of injury, no matter how severe, and will maintain his life while repairs are under way if necessary. There are only 3 other Pretender shells of this nature in existence, the occupants of which are also classified.
Grimlock truly despises his Pretender shell due to its human appearance, and can’t wait until he can be rid of it.
Sometime later during one of the Decepticons more clandestine plans, Grimlock and all of the other “primitive” Autobots (those with beast modes) were rendered completely savage and unreasonable due to the Decepticons using an alien species known only as The Unleashers to affect their mental processors. The Autobots had to battle their allies and almost destroy them to stop their rampage. Just before he went into stasis lock Grimlock told Optimus that he would do whatever it took to get back at the Decepticons. Optimus immediately ordered Wheeljack to include Grimlock in a new experiment being conducted by the Autobots and the human automotive industry to repair and improve fallen Autobot warriors called Project: Binaltech. Wheeljack took all the innovations and improvements that had been made since the projects inception and applied them all to Grimlock, making him the ultimate Binaltech warrior.
Grimlock, of course, hated his new automotive body and constantly tormented the reconstruction team all through the process.
Eventually the Binaltech Autobots, lead by “Masterpiece” Prime (the nickname Bumblebee gave to Optimus’ new form), were able to defeat the Decepticons and free the Unleashers from their control.
With the threat of the Unleashers gone, the Autobots set about repairing and reviving their “primitive” comrades starting with Grimlock. He has been given a new body based on the alternate mode of his old one but with many improvements. His new T-Rex mode is no longer as heavy and bulky as the original due to the new ultimantium armour. It is virtually impervious to physical damage and absorbs all forms of energy attack.
After his reconstruction, Grimlock made some sort of sarcastic, but good natured, comment about his new body before leaving the repair bay, on his way out he heard one of the Autobots say: “You know, it’s good to have ‘Classic’ Grimlock back.”
Once again, Grimlock is up-graded, this time using the “Masterpiece” technology. His new body is identical to his original T-Rex mode, only much more advanced. It incorporates all of the technological advancements made over the past few vorns. He can also use the Translink Interface technology to control his Binaltech and “Classic” bodies remotely either on the battlefield or from as far away as Cybertron.
Ultra Magnus
Originally knows as Dion, Ultra Magnus would not be the Autobot he is today if not for his friend Orion Pax, who would later become Optimus Prime.
Dion was a free-wheeling road racer, more interested in speed and fun than anything else. One day, while racing through Cybertron’s Sonic Canyons, Dion lost control and crashed. He was so severely damaged that he could not even call for help let alone transform. He had been missing for so long that most had given him up for dead, but Orion refused to give up on his friend. Risking his own life by going into the most treacherous part of the Sonic Canyons, Orion eventually found Dion who was on the brink of going off-line permanently.
During his recuperation Dion recognised the error of his ways and had himself re-formatted into a cargo truck and joined Orion working at the energy warehouse.
Critically wounded during the Decepticon attack, Dion was found and taken to Alpha Trion, who used the schematics of Optimus Prime to rebuild him into Ultra Magnus. Though because he was growing short on supplies; Alpha Trion was unable to make Magnus as powerful as Optimus, so he augmented him with strength enhancing battle armour.
Ultra Magnus became the commander of Autobot City and the warrior who Optimus Prime selected to lead the Autobots when he passed the Matrix to him on his deathbed following his battle with Megatron at Autobot City.
Ultra Magnus is regarded with as much respect by his fellow Autobots as Optimus Prime was. He is almost as powerful and just as effective a warrior as Optimus.
Many say that Magnus and Optimus’ origins are linked; some even speculate that they may be brothers due to the fact that under Magnus’ battle armour he is practically identical to Optimus.
Even though his stint as leader was short he remains a respected and valued part of the Autobot hierarchy and Optimus Prime’s second in command.
While transporting the Overload weapons system and its Minicon component Knockout back to Cybertron for a systems up-grade, Ultra Magnus came under attack by Decepticons and crashed on the planet of Junk.
The Junkions found Ultra Magnus barely functional and Knockout was off line, so they decided to rebuild Magnus by using the Overload system as his new body. Since Magnus’ body was smashed beyond repair the Junkions took his spark and transferred it into the body of Knockout. It was then that as odd thing happened; when Magnus came back on-line, the colour of his new Minicon body changed to match that of his old body, and when he combined with the Overload system it too changed to match the colour of his old battle armour.
Ultra Magnus was re-born stronger and more powerful than before! He could even transform into the same massive weapon that Overload did and combine with Armada Prime. He has also partnered with three Minicons: Cosmoscope, Powerload, and Skyfire, the Stealth Space Team; who combine into a blaster of incredible destructive power.
Since the destruction of Unicron he has resumed his duties as the commander of Autobot City.
Rodimus Prime
After Ultra Magnus fell at the hands of Galvatron, the young Autobot warrior Hot Rod recovered the Matrix and was transformed into Rodimus Prime.
He was an adequate leader for the Autobots during the relative peace following the death of Optimus Prime and the scattering of the Decepticon army. But his effectiveness was hampered due to his reluctance to accept the burdens of command.
After a series of titanic battles that culminated in the partial destruction of Cybertron, Rodimus Prime, along with Kup and Blurr, set off on a mission to try and find either a new home world for his people, or means to make Cybertron whole again. Eventually Rodimus was led, sub-consciously by Primus, to a new world that he had created for the Transformers to live on. The only difference is that this new Cybertron has a living organic core.
After he returned the Matrix to Optimus Prime and was Hot Rod once again he decided to start taking the war much more seriously and took on some command responsibilities to better prepare himself should he ever be called upon to become Rodimus Prime again.
After many battles during the Great War, Hot Rod matured into an illustrious warrior and a distinguished leader.
After the Pax Cybertronia was broken, Optimus Prime convinced him to take a Matrix fragment and become Rodimus Prime again, in addition to being given a Combination Spark. It is speculated that the blending of the two is why his appearance differs from the last time he became Rodimus Prime.
With his small platoon of warriors he patrols the outer territories of the galaxy, often aiding Energon Prime in his battles against Decepticon raiding parties.
As with all of the few Great War leaders who survived that era, Rodimus is looked at with great reverence; it is even speculated that he will one day be chosen as Optimus Prime’s successor as head of the Council.
He has recently become aware that Override, the leader of Velocitron, has issued a challenge to him. He was intrigued by this and by Override herself. He may have finally found an equal with which to spend his time with.
Fortress / Brave Maximus
Long ago, Fortress Maximus fled Cybertron and went to Nebulos because he was tired of the war. Unfortunately the war followed him there. He and his first Headmaster partner Galen, and all the rest of the Autobots then left Nebulos for Earth hoping that Scorponok and his Decepticons would follow them and leave Nebulos in peace. Arriving on Earth he was under the command of Rodimus Prime for a time, until Rodimus left to find a new Cybertron leaving Fort Max in command. During his tenure as Autobot leader his first partner Galen was killed and he eventually bonded with the Autobots human friend and ally, Spike. Eventually he was able to drive the Decepticons off of Earth and made the decision that the Autobots should pursue them in the hopes that the Decepticons would never return there and Erath could finally have peace.
After many more decades of unceasing combat Fort Max couldn’t take it any more. He altered his appearance, had his star ship mode up-graded with the new transwarp technology and used it to seek refuge in Earth’s past. His Headmaster component, Spike, had chosen to go with him since he no longer had any ties to this era because his wife and son had both been killed during the course of the war. What they hadn’t counted on was that the transwarp conduit they travelled through actually took them to an alternate reality, one where Earth had never had any contact with Cybertron. And there they lived out their days in peace. Spike eventually reached the end of his life and had his consciousness transferred into a robot body and re-named himself Plasma.
Eventually the canyon where they lived caved in on them, and they decided to go into stasis lock rather than dig themselves out. There they remained until Prometheus Prime and the Cybertron Dimensional Patrol discovered them in that reality’s year 2001.
Still only semi-conscious, they fell victim to Devil Gigatron who drained away much of their power and used it to terrorize the world. Ultimately Prometheus Prime was able to defeat Devil Gigatron and Fort Max returned to Cybertron with the Dimensional patrol and their Destron captives.
Now calling themselves Brave Maximus, they have reclaimed their role as the guardians of Nebulos, and have vowed to never retreat from the war again until it is won.
Landmine/Lander
Commander of the Autobot Pretenders, Landmine’s was originally an asteroid miner. He was selected to lead the new Pretender regiment whose primary function is infiltration. However his first mission was to safeguard the computer disk containing the personality of Optimus Prime during it’s transport to Nebulos.
His basic protoform mode is augmented with a Pretender shell which he can use to mass-shift himself down to human size at will. The shell is highly durable and increases his strength greatly. While out of the shell he can either shunt it to a sub-space pocket where it remains hidden until he needs it or he can control it remotely.
He and two of his fellow Pretenders, Cloudburst and Waverider, were recruited by the newly formed Cybertron Dimensional Patrol, under the command of Metalhawk, another Pretender. They had received information that 3 of the Decepticon Pretenders: Sub Marauder, and Skull Grin, led by Bomb-Burst, had uncovered evidence that a powerful ancient Decepticon, known only as Devil Z: The Powermaster, had crashed on Earth long ago and was still there, dormant, so they travelled back in time to rescue him. Landmine and the other followed. They managed to intercept and defeat the Decepticons before they could reach Devil Z and entombed them in different places around the Earth.
On Earth the four Pretenders remained; in human form, adopting human names and lives (Landmine’s human name was Mr. Lander), blending into our society for centuries. Keeping vigil should the Decepticons ever free themselves. They couldn’t even reveal their presence to the Autobots when they awoke in 1984. Their superior technology could be used to turn the tide of the war and change the timeline, perhaps even causing a paradox that could destroy everything.
After the time when the Transformers left Earth, the Decepticon Pretenders did eventually free themselves and Devil Z. After numerous battles the Decepticons were again driven off Earth, and the all the Autobots except Metalhawk pursued them into space and rejoined the Autobot army.
Due to his great success as an infiltrator Landmine has become the head of Cybertronian intelligence. So respected are his skills and intelligence, that all on the Council believe that if Landmine says it’s so, it’s so.
Ginrai
Ginrai was a truck driver during the time when the Transformers had vacated Earth. He had come into possession of the first Powermaster body that had been created for Optimus Prime that had been stolen and hidden on the planet by a rogue group of Decepticons lead by the Powermaster Overlord who was under the command of an ancient Decepticon entity simply known as Devil Z.
Through unknown means, Ginrai found a pair of bracelets inside the truck that allowed him to transform and merge with it. And even though he looked and sounded like Optimus Prime, the great Autobot’s personality was not present in the body. These Powermasters are totally unlike the Cybertronian / Nebulan Powermasters. The latter are partners and enhancements to the Transformers they combine with, whereas Ginrai and his men are the robots they combine with. They are, in effect, robotic suits of armour that the humans control completely.
Leading a squad of Autobot Pretenders and some other Headmasters and Powermasters like himself, he defeated the Decepticons and drove them from the planet.
Afterwards, in a process that has yet to be explained, the robotic forms of Ginrai and the other Powermasters copied and retained the personalities of the humans who operated them and became separate individuals from their human counterparts. They then followed the Decepticons into space to guard the planet from further Decepticon incursions.
Star Sabre
In response to the latest Decepticon incursion to Earth, the EDC, the Earth Defence Command, was expanded into the SDC, the Space Defence Command. A league of planets allied against the Decepticon threat across the galaxy.
Already a great commander in the Autobot army, Star Sabre distinguished himself when lead the Autobot forces, including Ginrai, who repelled the Decepticon’s next attempt to conquer the Earth, lead by the malevolent and self styled Emperor, Deszarus.
So respected a warrior is Star Sabre he that he has become a very important figure among the Autobot hierarchy, and among the few to turn down the honour of becoming a Prime.
Countdown
Commander of the Micromaster forces, Countdown is one of the few Micromasters who used to be a full sized Transformer, but agreed to undergo the experimental procedure designed to reduce both size and energy consumption.
Countdown was given the task of tracking down and combating the Decepticon expansionist forces throughout the galaxy. He has been to more worlds than he can even name, and because of this he is a fervourent supporter of the Autobots getting involved in combating evil and injustice in all it’s forms, not just the Decepticons.
Dai Atlas
Dai Atlas is the Autobot general who finally gained the respect and allegiance of the rebellious Micromaster legion. With their help he discovered a power source known simply as “Zone Energy” and used it to defeat the Decepticon generals who were under the command of an entity known as Dark Nova, who many believe was the non-corporeal essence of Unicron.
So great and decisive was his victory that his voice carries tremendous weight on the Prime Council.
GENERATION 2
After the defeat of Dark Nova and the return of Optimus Prime, somehow Megatron has returned more powerful than ever and both Autobots and Decepticons are threatened by an invasion from a second generation of Decepticons from beyond the galaxy.
Optimus Prime
To combat the new Megatron, Optimus Prime takes possession of the Matrix from Vector Sigma and is reformatted into a form almost identical to the one he took when he first came online on Earth long ago, only much more powerful.
It quickly became apparent that due to their technical superiority the next generation Decepticons were a threat to both Autobot and Decepticons alike. Optimus then had himself upgraded to a more compact and energy efficient form that was more combat oriented to fight off the G2 Decepticon threat.
Optimus Prime has taken the final step; his new form is practically a war machine. He is now equipped with shoulder mounted blasters, a hand held double barrelled canon, and a laser sword. His trailer unit now opens to reveal a battle platform armed with surface to air missiles, a laser disk launcher, and can launch long range ballistic missiles.
Optimus doesn’t really care for this new form, but he realises that it is a necessity to finally end the G2 Decepticon menace.
Leader-1
Among the many “New Cybertrons” created by the G2 Decepticons that the Autobots had discovered, they found one that was actually a colony of Cybertronians that had left Cybertron before the Great War. They called their world Gobotron, and they and their world look much like Cybertron and it’s inhabitants did many eons ago. They too had split into two factions much like their Cybertronian cousins had: the peaceful Guardians, and the evil Renegades.
Knowing that Cy-Kill would seize the chance to join the Decepticons, Leader-1, the leader of the Guardians, welcomed the presence of the Autobots and he and his troops immediately merged their forces with them.
Leader-1 now feels a much greater sense of belonging; that the Gobots are no longer alone in the universe, though it saddens him to know that his people’s progenitors are also embroiled in a civil war like his own.
Boulder
During a mission in space, the Guardians, who are now Autobots, literally run into a race of beings who transform into rocks and other organic materials. Their home world is mired in a civil war and they ask for the Autobots help.
After contact with the Autobots, Boulder, the leader of the peaceful beings and rightful ruler of the planet, discovers that his arch nemesis Magmar has allied himself with the Decepticons and intends to use their technology to overthrow him and rule their planet. Much as it pains him to involve outsiders in their strife, Boulder asks to Autobots for help. So swift and decisive is their victory that Boulder pledges that he and his followers will forever be friends and allies to the Autobots. Leader-1 dubs them honorary Autobots; and eventually Boulder becomes as respected a leader in the Cybertronian ranks as any Autobot, and is the only completely organic being to hold seat on the Council.
THE BEAST ERA
300 Vorns have passed since the end of the great Cybertronian wars and the Pax Cybertronia peace treaty has been passed. Cybertron has been given over to the care of the Autobots and Decepticons descendants, the Maximals and the Predacons. Two new factions developed at the end of the war as an offshoot of Micromaster and Pretender technology.
The remaining Autobots withdrew to Earth and its colonies while the Decepticons went back to Charr and formed the Destron Nation.
Optimus Primal
While still on Cybertron during the war against the Quintessons and their mindless Vehicon drone army now known as the Machine Wars, he took the name Optimus and an alternate mode similar to that of the great Optimus Prime whom he idolized.
Optimus was a well respected member of the Maximal Starfleet and served with distinction on various missions as a junior officer gaining him rapid promotion through the ranks eventually getting command of his own crew and exploratory vessel, the Axalon.
While on his first mission as captain, Optimus got an urgent communiqué from Maximal High Command that a rogue group of Predacons, whose leader called himself Megatron, stole a precious Cybertronian artefact, the Golden Disk, and he and his crew were the only ship close enough to give chase through transwarp.
They wound up crashing on a strange alien world that had incredibly high energon levels, ejecting the majority of his crew in stasis pods in orbit. The energon levels were so high in fact that Optimus and his crew had to use the CR Chamber technology to take alternate modes that resembled the local indigenous life forms to shield them from the energon radiation.
The first form he took on this world was that of a gigantic bat. It allowed him the advantage of flight, but its form was extremely fragile and he was severely damaged in his first pitched battle with Megatron.
It was also Megatron, with a sense of historical irony who labelled him Optimus Primal.
His second and much sturdier form was that of a gorilla. He could no longer fly in his alternate mode, but he could hang in a fire fight much longer.
Through many battles he and his crew kept the Predacons from gaining control of the planet’s plentiful energon reserves. They even encountered an enigmatic alien race known as the Vok, who were using the planet for some unknown experiment. They viewed the presence of the Cybertronians as a contamination and decided to sterilize the experiment, by detonating the planet’s energon resulting in its destruction.
Optimus flew a modified stasis pod into the heart of the planet killing machine, planning to eject before a transwarp explosion destroyed it. Unfortunately Megatron had tampered with it, preventing him from escaping. Optimus was destroyed along with the planet killer.
The explosion of the planet killer resulted in three events; a massive radiation wave mutated many of the Maximals into new more powerful Transmetal forms, it caused the remaining stasis pod to crash, and it revealed that they were in fact on prehistoric earth.
Optimus’ chief science officer Rhinox took a blank protoform and used a machine to travel to the other side of the Matrix to find Optimus’ spark. He was successful and Optimus returned to life in a new, more powerful Transmetal form.
After learning that Megatron had discovered the location of the Ark, the ancient spacecraft that first brought the Autobots and the Decepticons to Earth, and still contained them frozen in stasis lock, until they awaken in 1984.
Megatron had decided to destroy Optimus Prime while he slept so that he could not lead the Autobots to victory, and thusly the Decepticons would rule. He very nearly succeeded. Megatron had destroyed Optimus Primes’ head.
The Maximals managed to put Prime on life support, but he was too unstable to attempt repair, so Primal decided to take Prime’s spark, and the Matrix into his own body.
Doing this caused the Matrix to reformat Primal’s body so that it could contain its power, changing him into (as Megatron called him) Optimal Optimus.
Now a hybrid of Autobot and Maximal, OpOp now towered over his Maximal crewmates with the height and power of an Autobot, as well as two vehicle modes in addition to his beast mode.
They succeeded in repairing Optimus Prime and replaced the Matrix back into him, restoring him to life.
The Maximals spent the rest of their time on Earth guarding the Ark until they finally managed to defeat Megatron and took him back to Cybertron.
Optimus awoke on Cybertron to find it deserted and neither he nor his crew could remember how they got there. Somehow Megatron had gotten back ahead of them and had managed to conquer the planet and steal the spark of every Cybertronian there.
Primal and what remained of his crew were transformed into a strange blending of organics and technology. Their new mission, given to them by Vector Sigma, was to restore the balance of organics and technology to Cybertron.
Primal and crew were trying grow technorganic plants while Megatron and his Vehicon drone army tried to stop them.
Eventually they were successful when during their final battle Megatron and Optimus fell into the organic core of Cybertron. The resulting explosion released all the sparks, restoring all the Cybertronians to life and covering the planet with a lush technorganic garden.
Many think that Primal died as a result of this battle, this is not so, he is now the Cleric of Primus. Optimus Primal now has the unique gift to be able to commune directly with Primus, making him a valuable asset to the Council.
Having sensed the return of his nemesis, Optimus Primal’s spark created a new body for himself on Animatros. Now a gigantic robotic gorilla, he is still dedicated to stopping Megatron 2 from creating the kind of genocide that he has previously attempted. Primal has also found an ally on Animatros in the form of Backstop, who greatly reminds him of his old friend Rhinox.
Together they return to Cybertron where Primal is honoured with a Matrix shard and a seat on the Council. He has also gathered together all of his old comrades from the Beast Wars to join him on his new quest to stop their old enemy.
Icebird
Icebird is the leader of the Mutant faction. The Mutants were the first victims of Megatron’s transformation lock virus while it was still experimental. It did not go as planned. Instead of locking the four Fuzors into their beast modes, it altered them so they no longer had a robot mode and could now only transform between the two animals that had comprised their beast modes; in Icebird’s case these were a polar bear and a snowy owl.
Icebird and the Mutants were deeply scarred mentally by this turn of events. They came to believe that they were the next evolution of the Transformer race, a purely organic being. They believe this so much that they refused to be returned to Cybertron.
Now that Cybertron has been reformatted, the Mutants now occupy one of the planet’s technorganic forests. Icebird only leaves the forest reluctantly to meet with the Council.
Primal Prime
Created by the Matrix from a control suit once used to manipulate Optimal Optimus, Primal Prime is the Matrix incarnate. His personality is made up of pieces of past and present Primes. Once the leader of a rag tag group of Autobots, Decepticons, Maximals, and Predacons called the Wreckers, together they uncovered a plot by the Quintessons and their allies to manipulate Vector Sigma, influencing Optimus Primal to eradicate all technology from Cybertron and to replace it with purely organic life.
Primal Prime now acts as the guardian of Vector Sigma ensuring that no one else will ever tamper with it again.
As the Matrix incarnate he can communicate through it with any Matrix bearer, guiding them in times of great strife.
He is now embroiled in a secret war against agents of Unicron who are attempting to re-energize the Chaos Bringer.
Sometime after the Pax Cybertronia Optimus Prime decided that he never wanted to empty the Matrix of its power ever again, so he began the fragmenting of the Matrix crystal and the creation of other Primes.
Each of these “minor” Primes have a small fragment of the Matrix that will grow as their knowledge and experience grows. It will also be up to them who their Matrix will be passed to in the event of their deaths.
These events all take place during Megatron 2’s conquest of Cybertron.
Sentinel Prime
The first of these new Primes is Sentinel Prime, who took his name in honour of the Prime who came before Optimus.
After the Axalon vanished, Sentinel Prime was sent on Primal’s original mission: Go to the planet Gaea and investigate the strange energy readings.
Once there they were ambushed by a Destron star ship under the command of the Destron, Galvatron II.
Badly damaged, their ship crashed on the planet and they were forced to take beast modes due to the corrosive atmosphere.
They discover that the energy, called “Argonmoa”, is in fact the energy that was released by the destruction of Unicron.
In their final battle Galvatron and his troops are apparently destroyed, and Sentinel Prime and his crew vanished.
Sentinel Prime and crew reappear much later to help Maximus Prime and Magmatron fight the Unicron possessed Galvatron. Victorious, the Cybertrons return home.
Maximus Prime
Maximus was by nature a “lone wolf”, often called the One Robot Army. Even after receiving his Matrix he preferred to work alone.
The Cybertron Council decided that since he was now a Prime he needed to learn to be the leader they all sensed he could be. So he was assigned a crew of raw recruits.
He too is sent to Gaea to complete the as yet unfinished study.
There he encounters more Destrons lead by Magmatron, with whom he has a long standing rivalry.
They have a series of battles over the energy with each side trying to gather more than the other.
Finally though, they must join forces to defeat Galvatron, who claims to be Unicron resurrected.
They are joined by Sentinel Prime and his crew who were trapped in subspace since the Argonmoa explosion.
Magmatron apparently vanishes during the battle and Sentinel Prime and Maximus Prime defeat Unicron and return to Cybertron and begin its restoration.
Prometheus Prime
Before becoming a Prime he had battled on countless worlds, saving countless lives. Once he was chosen to be a Prime he was given the name of the Titan, Prometheus, because of his love for all life forms and his willingness to go “above and beyond” to help them. There is also a hint of irony in his naming since the Titan Prometheus gave fire to mankind, and Prometheus Prime transforms into a fire truck.
Prometheus Prime commands the Cybertron Dimensional Patrol, formed to keep others from attempting what Megatron II attempted when he tried to kill Optimus Prime.
He and his Patrol followed the Destron general Gigatron through transwarp into another dimension where he and his followers were attempting to steal energy from an Earth that had never encountered Transformers before.
Arriving before Gigatron, Prometheus and his troops integrated themselves into the society by posing as ordinary vehicles; some of them even had owners and “jobs”. Prometheus himself worked with that Earths Tokyo Fire Department posing as an ordinary fire truck.
Their ruse worked and Gigatron was taken completely by surprise when he arrived and found the Cybertrons waiting for him.
During their battles a lost expedition of Cybertrons was found by Gigatron, unfortunately Prometheus was unable to prevent him from reprogramming them into Destrons. They even found the long lost Cybertron, Fortress Maximus; the very thing that the lost expedition was searching for when they vanished.
After defeating and imprisoning Gigatron and his troops aboard the Maximus ship, the Cybertrons returned them to Cybertron. Under interrogation some of Gigatron’s followers revealed the existence of the underground Destron movement called the True Path, of which Galvatron II, was a lead member with Megatron II, Magmatron, and Gigatron under him. They could not discover how many more Destrons belong to the True Path or who the leader of the organization is.
Omega Prime
The combination of Prometheus Prime and his brother Magnus, unlike the other combinations any of the other Primes undergo is a true combination; Omega Prime is whole new being created by the combination of Prometheus and Magnus.
No one knows how this fusion is accomplished since neither Prometheus nor Magnus were designed to combine with each other.
An effective and extremely powerful warrior, he can use any weapons and skills that his two components possess, but he also has the unique ability to shape the power of the Matrix that he carries into the physical form of the Matrix Sword; an unstoppable weapon of incredible power.
Omega has the potential to be a great leader; unfortunately the fusion that creates him usually doesn’t last longer than it needs to since Prometheus and Magnus don’t get along very well.
THE SECOND UNICRON WAR
The Chaos Bringer Unicron has returned for vengeance. Having brought one of his bodies from an alternate reality he is headed for Cybertron to finally destroy his nemesis Primus and his creations.
Armada Prime
After serving with distinction as a commander in the Cybertron military he was critically wounded in battle. The Cybertron Council decided that they did not want to loose such an effective leader so they decided not to simply rebuild him, but to make him a Prime. Thusly Armada Prime was born.
Given the dissolution of the Pax Cybertronia, he took the name Armada since he is in charge of the Cybertronian battle fleet.
Heavily armoured and extremely powerful, he was a top student under Maximus Prime at the Cybertron Military Academy, and much like his teacher, is a force to behold in battle.
Like most Cybertrons, Armada Prime would rather not fight, but is an effective warrior none the less. He is also the first in a grand experiment, the first non-combiner to receive the Combination Spark. He and a selected few within his command structure have been re-engineered to be able to combine to increase Armada Prime’s combat abilities, though they are not true combiners in the sense that they do not form a gestalt mind when combined.
Since the renewal of hostilities due to the rise of the new Megatron and his new Decepticon army, along with the discovery of the lost third race, the Minicons, the war has reached heights not seen since the Great War.
Armada Prime eventually had to join forces with Megatron and his Decepticons in order to defeat Unicron. Unicron was not destroyed however; he was heavily damaged and retreated through a space fold to avoid destruction. It appeared that Megatron made the ultimate sacrifice in keeping Unicron’s defences busy while the combined army could retreat and keep from getting pulled along with Unicron.
After the apparent defeat of Unicron a brief state of peace returned to the galaxy until a Decepticon warlord calling himself Scorponok and his hoard of Terrorcon drones start attacking energon mining outposts in order to re-energize Unicron so that he can continue to cut a swath of destruction across the universe
Energon Prime
Faced with increased power consumption due to the war the best energon miner in the Cybertron Energy Consortium was commissioned as Energon Prime. He and his force of warrior miners operate almost completely autonomously in search of new sources of energon. Sometimes they are so far from established lines of communication that only Primal Prime can contact him through his Matrix.
Due to the success of the Combination Spark experiment with Armada Prime, Energon Prime and all his troops were given them as well. Energon Prime can combine with his mining drones to give him increased mining and combat abilities as well be able to combine with a select few of those under his command.
He has also granted the Combination Spark to his troops so that they can combine with each other as well to increase their combat abilities. He felt that this move was necessary since due to their mining activities they are usually in possession of large amounts of energon, making them likely targets for Decepticon attack.
Unicron is gone. His dark creation Galvatron, swelling with power, finally broke free of his influence and forced the Dark God through a dimensional rift apparently destroying himself in the process.
Unfortunately the result of this was the creation of a gigantic black hole that not only threatens to destroy Cybertron and our galaxy, but perhaps the entire universe as well.
Now there is a race to find the lost Planet Keys and the Omega Lock to awaken Primus and save the universe.
Vector Prime
Summoned by Primus, one of his first creations, Vector Prime, has travelled through space and time to aid the Cybertronians in saving the universe. Unfortunately he had the bad luck to encounter Megatron first. Somehow he had survived the destruction of Unicron and retained some of the Chaos Bringers power and physical attributes.
Megatron duped him and stole Vector Prime’s map to the keys.
Ashamed and betrayed, Vector Prime went to the Cybertron Council and explained who he was and what had happed.
Reeling from the revelation that Megatron still lived, the Council understood how he could have been deceived since Vector Prime came from a time before the creation of the different factions.
Vector Prime is teamed with Galaxy Prime and his crew to go out into the galaxy to find the Planet Keys.
Galaxy Prime
The most technologically advanced Prime in existence; Galaxy Prime’s mandate was to resurrect the deep space exploration wing of the Cybertron Starfleet that had lapsed due to the war. Regrettably his exploration duties must take a back seat to the directive to seek out and find the lost Cybertronian colonies that may contain the Cyber Planet Keys.
Guided by Vector Prime’s wisdom and experience, he hopes to find the keys before the Decepticons can use their power to dominate the galaxy.
Override
Override channelled her frustration at being beaten by both Megatron and Hot Shot into the search for the Planet Keys. Tempered by a race for something greater than a mere trophy, she returns to Velocitron a new robot. She has upgraded her systems with components based on the technology of both Earth and Cybertron. With her body thus enhanced, she has come back to Velocitron to reclaim her place as leader so that she may rule with compassion and justice learned from the Autobots.
She has since become infatuated with Rodimus Prime and has extended a challenge to him to come to Velocitron and race her. Secretly she wants him to come to her planet and stay there with her.
Evac
Evac loves flying on Earth almost as much as he loved soaring over the epic skylines of Cybertron. He’s been in hiding on Earth since guardianship of the Planet Key was passed to him millions of vorns ago. He feels a keen affection for the people of Earth, whose history he has observed from it’s very beginnings.
Courageous, determined, and gentle, Evac avoids fighting when he can, but if forced into combat he can be a very tough opponent. He is dedicated to the protection of other life in all it’s forms.
Metroplex
Massive, quiet, and extremely protective of his home and its inhabitants, Metroplex is a kind, intelligent leader of his people, and guardian of Gigantian’s Planet Key. His huge size and quiet ways mask a swift intelligence capable of analyzing the most sophisticated difficulties and arriving at a course of action in seconds, though some have made the mistake of thinking him slow and stupid. He was, at one time, an eager and hideously dangerous warrior who developed his soft-spoken and carefully considered demeanour in an attempt to leave that part of himself behind. Because of this, Metroplex is slow to anger, but when he converts to combat mode he becomes one of the most fearsome opponents any transformer has ever faced.
Now this revolves around my leader displays (wihich you can see in the above linked thread), and I have not updated it yet with Star Convoy or Sky Garry, neither are the movie or Ani bots in it as I have yet to figure out how to reconcile their wildly differing design aesthetics.
So lets start with the good guys.
THE CYBERTRON COUNCIL
Optimus Prime
Originally known as Orion Pax, he was foreman in an energy warehouse during the first Golden Age of Cybertron along with his best friend Dion and his girlfriend Ariel. It was there that he first met the time displaced Aerialbots, and the evil Megatron. Megatron wanted the energy that was stored in the warehouse and virtually destroyed Orion and his friends to get it.
Thanks to the quick thinking of the Aerialbots he was taken to Alpha Trion, who rebuilt Orion Pax into Optimus Prime, the first of Cybertron’s defenders. Optimus was able to take Megatron by surprise and keep him occupied while the Aerialbots destroyed the warehouse, preventing him from gaining the energy he needed to conquer Cybertron.
The first form he adopted upon awakening on Earth was that of a Freightliner cab-over semi truck. He had this body until his death at the hands of Megatron during the battle of Autobot City.
Some time later he was resurrected using the Powermaster technology to combat the Hate Plague that threatened to throw the entire galaxy into chaos.
His personality had been found saved on a computer disk and was taken to the Nebulan scientist Hi-Q, who, with the assistance of a rogue Quintesson scientist, created a new body for Prime based on a set of previously existing schematics. He then used himself as Prime’s Powermaster, and the great leader returned to lead his people.
There are some detractors, even among the Autobots, who claim that this new Optimus Prime isn’t the real Optimus, just a copy. They make this claim because the Matrix wasn’t involved in his creation. However, the Autobot warrior Hot Rod, who was in possession of the Matrix as Rodimus Prime at the time, claims that at the time when Powermaster Optimus came on line he felt an odd disturbance in the Matrix. He postulates that this was Optimus’s spark leaving the Matrix to enter his new body.
Others say that whether Hot Rod’s theory is true or not, the detractor’s claims become irrelevant because Optimus would have gotten his spark back as soon as he took possession of the Matrix again.
However, to defeat the Hate Plague Optimus had to use all of the Matrix energy to snap the galaxy out of its Plague induced frenzy, completely draining it.
He gained his next form when he was critically wounded during the Unicron Wars. Before going offline Optimus had the empty Matrix taken to the Vector Sigma chamber for safe keeping and to get recharged.
Through some as yet unknown means Hi-Q and Optimus’s personalities had merged, so in essence Optimus Prime was now a human being. However no one would believe him/them. It was only through the intervention of the being known simply as The Last Autobot that he/they were given a new form. This new Cybertronian form, called Actionmasters for some unknown reason, was completely non-transforming but immensely powerful.
It was in this form that he halted the destruction of Cybertron that had been triggered by the incredible amount of damage that Unicron had inflicted during his attack, and with the help of the Nebulans and the Autobot’s long time human friend and ally Spike Witwicky, he thwarted Galvatron’s latest scheme to destroy Cybertron and Earth, and brought about the second Golden Age of Cybertron.
Afterwards, Optimus decided not to reclaim the Matrix since no one knew what its incredible power would do when mixed with new Actionmaster technology, so he returns it to the Vector Sigma chamber.
Some time after the signing of the Pax Cybertronia, Optimus is returned to a form more resembling his original Earth mode, for which he has an affinity, he still retains all the powers and abilities of all his previous forms.
He is now jokingly called by some, such as Bumblebee, Masterpiece Prime.
Now returning to Earth after so long, Optimus has chosen to use the Translink Interface, developed by Wheeljack, to control two new bodies while he and the Matrix remain on Cybertron. They both still transform into trucks, though neither have trailer components. The first is less technologically sophisticated so that it can be sacrificed in battle with no great loss and can be easily replaced. Its alternate mode has a rear mounted pulse machine gun that he can fire himself, or can be manned by someone else. It is also usable in robot mode. The second is far more technologically advanced and much more powerful. It is armed with two formidable weapons that can both be integrated into its vehicle mode for transport, though neither is usable. Though both bodies are essentially drones, Optimus is oddly fond of the second one, and a little more reluctant to throw it into battle.
THE GENERALS
During the time of Optimus Prime’s death there were many Autobot commanders who valiantly continued the struggle against the Decepticons.
Those who follow were the greatest of these, and they still serve as valued advisors and generals under Optimus Prime to this day and are the only non-Primes to sit on the Council.
Grimlock
Promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander by Optimus Prime, and placed in command of the Autobot forces while Prime was on Cybertron before Ultra Magnus’ arrival.
Grimlock commanded well during his brief stint as Autobot commander, however he faced some harsh criticism from both Prowl and Jazz who both said that while he is an effective battlefield leader, too often he would just rush head-long into battle without formulating any sort of strategy, and he frequently failed to listen to any concerns that were voiced by anyone other than his fellow Dinobots.
Optimus Prime values Grimlock’s input, especially where battle is concerned, but he feels that Grimlock needs to learn to be a little less bloodthirsty and a little more strategic. Deep down is his spark Grimlock knows he’s right.
Shortly after being damaged catastrophically and taken off-line after a classified series of events involving Megatron and Starscream, Grimlock returns to active duty as a Pretender. His shell, like the other Pretender shells, allows him to blend in with, and pass for human, it also augments his strength and has a built in jet pack for limited flight. Unlike the others, his has the ability to repair any kind of injury, no matter how severe, and will maintain his life while repairs are under way if necessary. There are only 3 other Pretender shells of this nature in existence, the occupants of which are also classified.
Grimlock truly despises his Pretender shell due to its human appearance, and can’t wait until he can be rid of it.
Sometime later during one of the Decepticons more clandestine plans, Grimlock and all of the other “primitive” Autobots (those with beast modes) were rendered completely savage and unreasonable due to the Decepticons using an alien species known only as The Unleashers to affect their mental processors. The Autobots had to battle their allies and almost destroy them to stop their rampage. Just before he went into stasis lock Grimlock told Optimus that he would do whatever it took to get back at the Decepticons. Optimus immediately ordered Wheeljack to include Grimlock in a new experiment being conducted by the Autobots and the human automotive industry to repair and improve fallen Autobot warriors called Project: Binaltech. Wheeljack took all the innovations and improvements that had been made since the projects inception and applied them all to Grimlock, making him the ultimate Binaltech warrior.
Grimlock, of course, hated his new automotive body and constantly tormented the reconstruction team all through the process.
Eventually the Binaltech Autobots, lead by “Masterpiece” Prime (the nickname Bumblebee gave to Optimus’ new form), were able to defeat the Decepticons and free the Unleashers from their control.
With the threat of the Unleashers gone, the Autobots set about repairing and reviving their “primitive” comrades starting with Grimlock. He has been given a new body based on the alternate mode of his old one but with many improvements. His new T-Rex mode is no longer as heavy and bulky as the original due to the new ultimantium armour. It is virtually impervious to physical damage and absorbs all forms of energy attack.
After his reconstruction, Grimlock made some sort of sarcastic, but good natured, comment about his new body before leaving the repair bay, on his way out he heard one of the Autobots say: “You know, it’s good to have ‘Classic’ Grimlock back.”
Once again, Grimlock is up-graded, this time using the “Masterpiece” technology. His new body is identical to his original T-Rex mode, only much more advanced. It incorporates all of the technological advancements made over the past few vorns. He can also use the Translink Interface technology to control his Binaltech and “Classic” bodies remotely either on the battlefield or from as far away as Cybertron.
Ultra Magnus
Originally knows as Dion, Ultra Magnus would not be the Autobot he is today if not for his friend Orion Pax, who would later become Optimus Prime.
Dion was a free-wheeling road racer, more interested in speed and fun than anything else. One day, while racing through Cybertron’s Sonic Canyons, Dion lost control and crashed. He was so severely damaged that he could not even call for help let alone transform. He had been missing for so long that most had given him up for dead, but Orion refused to give up on his friend. Risking his own life by going into the most treacherous part of the Sonic Canyons, Orion eventually found Dion who was on the brink of going off-line permanently.
During his recuperation Dion recognised the error of his ways and had himself re-formatted into a cargo truck and joined Orion working at the energy warehouse.
Critically wounded during the Decepticon attack, Dion was found and taken to Alpha Trion, who used the schematics of Optimus Prime to rebuild him into Ultra Magnus. Though because he was growing short on supplies; Alpha Trion was unable to make Magnus as powerful as Optimus, so he augmented him with strength enhancing battle armour.
Ultra Magnus became the commander of Autobot City and the warrior who Optimus Prime selected to lead the Autobots when he passed the Matrix to him on his deathbed following his battle with Megatron at Autobot City.
Ultra Magnus is regarded with as much respect by his fellow Autobots as Optimus Prime was. He is almost as powerful and just as effective a warrior as Optimus.
Many say that Magnus and Optimus’ origins are linked; some even speculate that they may be brothers due to the fact that under Magnus’ battle armour he is practically identical to Optimus.
Even though his stint as leader was short he remains a respected and valued part of the Autobot hierarchy and Optimus Prime’s second in command.
While transporting the Overload weapons system and its Minicon component Knockout back to Cybertron for a systems up-grade, Ultra Magnus came under attack by Decepticons and crashed on the planet of Junk.
The Junkions found Ultra Magnus barely functional and Knockout was off line, so they decided to rebuild Magnus by using the Overload system as his new body. Since Magnus’ body was smashed beyond repair the Junkions took his spark and transferred it into the body of Knockout. It was then that as odd thing happened; when Magnus came back on-line, the colour of his new Minicon body changed to match that of his old body, and when he combined with the Overload system it too changed to match the colour of his old battle armour.
Ultra Magnus was re-born stronger and more powerful than before! He could even transform into the same massive weapon that Overload did and combine with Armada Prime. He has also partnered with three Minicons: Cosmoscope, Powerload, and Skyfire, the Stealth Space Team; who combine into a blaster of incredible destructive power.
Since the destruction of Unicron he has resumed his duties as the commander of Autobot City.
Rodimus Prime
After Ultra Magnus fell at the hands of Galvatron, the young Autobot warrior Hot Rod recovered the Matrix and was transformed into Rodimus Prime.
He was an adequate leader for the Autobots during the relative peace following the death of Optimus Prime and the scattering of the Decepticon army. But his effectiveness was hampered due to his reluctance to accept the burdens of command.
After a series of titanic battles that culminated in the partial destruction of Cybertron, Rodimus Prime, along with Kup and Blurr, set off on a mission to try and find either a new home world for his people, or means to make Cybertron whole again. Eventually Rodimus was led, sub-consciously by Primus, to a new world that he had created for the Transformers to live on. The only difference is that this new Cybertron has a living organic core.
After he returned the Matrix to Optimus Prime and was Hot Rod once again he decided to start taking the war much more seriously and took on some command responsibilities to better prepare himself should he ever be called upon to become Rodimus Prime again.
After many battles during the Great War, Hot Rod matured into an illustrious warrior and a distinguished leader.
After the Pax Cybertronia was broken, Optimus Prime convinced him to take a Matrix fragment and become Rodimus Prime again, in addition to being given a Combination Spark. It is speculated that the blending of the two is why his appearance differs from the last time he became Rodimus Prime.
With his small platoon of warriors he patrols the outer territories of the galaxy, often aiding Energon Prime in his battles against Decepticon raiding parties.
As with all of the few Great War leaders who survived that era, Rodimus is looked at with great reverence; it is even speculated that he will one day be chosen as Optimus Prime’s successor as head of the Council.
He has recently become aware that Override, the leader of Velocitron, has issued a challenge to him. He was intrigued by this and by Override herself. He may have finally found an equal with which to spend his time with.
Fortress / Brave Maximus
Long ago, Fortress Maximus fled Cybertron and went to Nebulos because he was tired of the war. Unfortunately the war followed him there. He and his first Headmaster partner Galen, and all the rest of the Autobots then left Nebulos for Earth hoping that Scorponok and his Decepticons would follow them and leave Nebulos in peace. Arriving on Earth he was under the command of Rodimus Prime for a time, until Rodimus left to find a new Cybertron leaving Fort Max in command. During his tenure as Autobot leader his first partner Galen was killed and he eventually bonded with the Autobots human friend and ally, Spike. Eventually he was able to drive the Decepticons off of Earth and made the decision that the Autobots should pursue them in the hopes that the Decepticons would never return there and Erath could finally have peace.
After many more decades of unceasing combat Fort Max couldn’t take it any more. He altered his appearance, had his star ship mode up-graded with the new transwarp technology and used it to seek refuge in Earth’s past. His Headmaster component, Spike, had chosen to go with him since he no longer had any ties to this era because his wife and son had both been killed during the course of the war. What they hadn’t counted on was that the transwarp conduit they travelled through actually took them to an alternate reality, one where Earth had never had any contact with Cybertron. And there they lived out their days in peace. Spike eventually reached the end of his life and had his consciousness transferred into a robot body and re-named himself Plasma.
Eventually the canyon where they lived caved in on them, and they decided to go into stasis lock rather than dig themselves out. There they remained until Prometheus Prime and the Cybertron Dimensional Patrol discovered them in that reality’s year 2001.
Still only semi-conscious, they fell victim to Devil Gigatron who drained away much of their power and used it to terrorize the world. Ultimately Prometheus Prime was able to defeat Devil Gigatron and Fort Max returned to Cybertron with the Dimensional patrol and their Destron captives.
Now calling themselves Brave Maximus, they have reclaimed their role as the guardians of Nebulos, and have vowed to never retreat from the war again until it is won.
Landmine/Lander
Commander of the Autobot Pretenders, Landmine’s was originally an asteroid miner. He was selected to lead the new Pretender regiment whose primary function is infiltration. However his first mission was to safeguard the computer disk containing the personality of Optimus Prime during it’s transport to Nebulos.
His basic protoform mode is augmented with a Pretender shell which he can use to mass-shift himself down to human size at will. The shell is highly durable and increases his strength greatly. While out of the shell he can either shunt it to a sub-space pocket where it remains hidden until he needs it or he can control it remotely.
He and two of his fellow Pretenders, Cloudburst and Waverider, were recruited by the newly formed Cybertron Dimensional Patrol, under the command of Metalhawk, another Pretender. They had received information that 3 of the Decepticon Pretenders: Sub Marauder, and Skull Grin, led by Bomb-Burst, had uncovered evidence that a powerful ancient Decepticon, known only as Devil Z: The Powermaster, had crashed on Earth long ago and was still there, dormant, so they travelled back in time to rescue him. Landmine and the other followed. They managed to intercept and defeat the Decepticons before they could reach Devil Z and entombed them in different places around the Earth.
On Earth the four Pretenders remained; in human form, adopting human names and lives (Landmine’s human name was Mr. Lander), blending into our society for centuries. Keeping vigil should the Decepticons ever free themselves. They couldn’t even reveal their presence to the Autobots when they awoke in 1984. Their superior technology could be used to turn the tide of the war and change the timeline, perhaps even causing a paradox that could destroy everything.
After the time when the Transformers left Earth, the Decepticon Pretenders did eventually free themselves and Devil Z. After numerous battles the Decepticons were again driven off Earth, and the all the Autobots except Metalhawk pursued them into space and rejoined the Autobot army.
Due to his great success as an infiltrator Landmine has become the head of Cybertronian intelligence. So respected are his skills and intelligence, that all on the Council believe that if Landmine says it’s so, it’s so.
Ginrai
Ginrai was a truck driver during the time when the Transformers had vacated Earth. He had come into possession of the first Powermaster body that had been created for Optimus Prime that had been stolen and hidden on the planet by a rogue group of Decepticons lead by the Powermaster Overlord who was under the command of an ancient Decepticon entity simply known as Devil Z.
Through unknown means, Ginrai found a pair of bracelets inside the truck that allowed him to transform and merge with it. And even though he looked and sounded like Optimus Prime, the great Autobot’s personality was not present in the body. These Powermasters are totally unlike the Cybertronian / Nebulan Powermasters. The latter are partners and enhancements to the Transformers they combine with, whereas Ginrai and his men are the robots they combine with. They are, in effect, robotic suits of armour that the humans control completely.
Leading a squad of Autobot Pretenders and some other Headmasters and Powermasters like himself, he defeated the Decepticons and drove them from the planet.
Afterwards, in a process that has yet to be explained, the robotic forms of Ginrai and the other Powermasters copied and retained the personalities of the humans who operated them and became separate individuals from their human counterparts. They then followed the Decepticons into space to guard the planet from further Decepticon incursions.
Star Sabre
In response to the latest Decepticon incursion to Earth, the EDC, the Earth Defence Command, was expanded into the SDC, the Space Defence Command. A league of planets allied against the Decepticon threat across the galaxy.
Already a great commander in the Autobot army, Star Sabre distinguished himself when lead the Autobot forces, including Ginrai, who repelled the Decepticon’s next attempt to conquer the Earth, lead by the malevolent and self styled Emperor, Deszarus.
So respected a warrior is Star Sabre he that he has become a very important figure among the Autobot hierarchy, and among the few to turn down the honour of becoming a Prime.
Countdown
Commander of the Micromaster forces, Countdown is one of the few Micromasters who used to be a full sized Transformer, but agreed to undergo the experimental procedure designed to reduce both size and energy consumption.
Countdown was given the task of tracking down and combating the Decepticon expansionist forces throughout the galaxy. He has been to more worlds than he can even name, and because of this he is a fervourent supporter of the Autobots getting involved in combating evil and injustice in all it’s forms, not just the Decepticons.
Dai Atlas
Dai Atlas is the Autobot general who finally gained the respect and allegiance of the rebellious Micromaster legion. With their help he discovered a power source known simply as “Zone Energy” and used it to defeat the Decepticon generals who were under the command of an entity known as Dark Nova, who many believe was the non-corporeal essence of Unicron.
So great and decisive was his victory that his voice carries tremendous weight on the Prime Council.
GENERATION 2
After the defeat of Dark Nova and the return of Optimus Prime, somehow Megatron has returned more powerful than ever and both Autobots and Decepticons are threatened by an invasion from a second generation of Decepticons from beyond the galaxy.
Optimus Prime
To combat the new Megatron, Optimus Prime takes possession of the Matrix from Vector Sigma and is reformatted into a form almost identical to the one he took when he first came online on Earth long ago, only much more powerful.
It quickly became apparent that due to their technical superiority the next generation Decepticons were a threat to both Autobot and Decepticons alike. Optimus then had himself upgraded to a more compact and energy efficient form that was more combat oriented to fight off the G2 Decepticon threat.
Optimus Prime has taken the final step; his new form is practically a war machine. He is now equipped with shoulder mounted blasters, a hand held double barrelled canon, and a laser sword. His trailer unit now opens to reveal a battle platform armed with surface to air missiles, a laser disk launcher, and can launch long range ballistic missiles.
Optimus doesn’t really care for this new form, but he realises that it is a necessity to finally end the G2 Decepticon menace.
Leader-1
Among the many “New Cybertrons” created by the G2 Decepticons that the Autobots had discovered, they found one that was actually a colony of Cybertronians that had left Cybertron before the Great War. They called their world Gobotron, and they and their world look much like Cybertron and it’s inhabitants did many eons ago. They too had split into two factions much like their Cybertronian cousins had: the peaceful Guardians, and the evil Renegades.
Knowing that Cy-Kill would seize the chance to join the Decepticons, Leader-1, the leader of the Guardians, welcomed the presence of the Autobots and he and his troops immediately merged their forces with them.
Leader-1 now feels a much greater sense of belonging; that the Gobots are no longer alone in the universe, though it saddens him to know that his people’s progenitors are also embroiled in a civil war like his own.
Boulder
During a mission in space, the Guardians, who are now Autobots, literally run into a race of beings who transform into rocks and other organic materials. Their home world is mired in a civil war and they ask for the Autobots help.
After contact with the Autobots, Boulder, the leader of the peaceful beings and rightful ruler of the planet, discovers that his arch nemesis Magmar has allied himself with the Decepticons and intends to use their technology to overthrow him and rule their planet. Much as it pains him to involve outsiders in their strife, Boulder asks to Autobots for help. So swift and decisive is their victory that Boulder pledges that he and his followers will forever be friends and allies to the Autobots. Leader-1 dubs them honorary Autobots; and eventually Boulder becomes as respected a leader in the Cybertronian ranks as any Autobot, and is the only completely organic being to hold seat on the Council.
THE BEAST ERA
300 Vorns have passed since the end of the great Cybertronian wars and the Pax Cybertronia peace treaty has been passed. Cybertron has been given over to the care of the Autobots and Decepticons descendants, the Maximals and the Predacons. Two new factions developed at the end of the war as an offshoot of Micromaster and Pretender technology.
The remaining Autobots withdrew to Earth and its colonies while the Decepticons went back to Charr and formed the Destron Nation.
Optimus Primal
While still on Cybertron during the war against the Quintessons and their mindless Vehicon drone army now known as the Machine Wars, he took the name Optimus and an alternate mode similar to that of the great Optimus Prime whom he idolized.
Optimus was a well respected member of the Maximal Starfleet and served with distinction on various missions as a junior officer gaining him rapid promotion through the ranks eventually getting command of his own crew and exploratory vessel, the Axalon.
While on his first mission as captain, Optimus got an urgent communiqué from Maximal High Command that a rogue group of Predacons, whose leader called himself Megatron, stole a precious Cybertronian artefact, the Golden Disk, and he and his crew were the only ship close enough to give chase through transwarp.
They wound up crashing on a strange alien world that had incredibly high energon levels, ejecting the majority of his crew in stasis pods in orbit. The energon levels were so high in fact that Optimus and his crew had to use the CR Chamber technology to take alternate modes that resembled the local indigenous life forms to shield them from the energon radiation.
The first form he took on this world was that of a gigantic bat. It allowed him the advantage of flight, but its form was extremely fragile and he was severely damaged in his first pitched battle with Megatron.
It was also Megatron, with a sense of historical irony who labelled him Optimus Primal.
His second and much sturdier form was that of a gorilla. He could no longer fly in his alternate mode, but he could hang in a fire fight much longer.
Through many battles he and his crew kept the Predacons from gaining control of the planet’s plentiful energon reserves. They even encountered an enigmatic alien race known as the Vok, who were using the planet for some unknown experiment. They viewed the presence of the Cybertronians as a contamination and decided to sterilize the experiment, by detonating the planet’s energon resulting in its destruction.
Optimus flew a modified stasis pod into the heart of the planet killing machine, planning to eject before a transwarp explosion destroyed it. Unfortunately Megatron had tampered with it, preventing him from escaping. Optimus was destroyed along with the planet killer.
The explosion of the planet killer resulted in three events; a massive radiation wave mutated many of the Maximals into new more powerful Transmetal forms, it caused the remaining stasis pod to crash, and it revealed that they were in fact on prehistoric earth.
Optimus’ chief science officer Rhinox took a blank protoform and used a machine to travel to the other side of the Matrix to find Optimus’ spark. He was successful and Optimus returned to life in a new, more powerful Transmetal form.
After learning that Megatron had discovered the location of the Ark, the ancient spacecraft that first brought the Autobots and the Decepticons to Earth, and still contained them frozen in stasis lock, until they awaken in 1984.
Megatron had decided to destroy Optimus Prime while he slept so that he could not lead the Autobots to victory, and thusly the Decepticons would rule. He very nearly succeeded. Megatron had destroyed Optimus Primes’ head.
The Maximals managed to put Prime on life support, but he was too unstable to attempt repair, so Primal decided to take Prime’s spark, and the Matrix into his own body.
Doing this caused the Matrix to reformat Primal’s body so that it could contain its power, changing him into (as Megatron called him) Optimal Optimus.
Now a hybrid of Autobot and Maximal, OpOp now towered over his Maximal crewmates with the height and power of an Autobot, as well as two vehicle modes in addition to his beast mode.
They succeeded in repairing Optimus Prime and replaced the Matrix back into him, restoring him to life.
The Maximals spent the rest of their time on Earth guarding the Ark until they finally managed to defeat Megatron and took him back to Cybertron.
Optimus awoke on Cybertron to find it deserted and neither he nor his crew could remember how they got there. Somehow Megatron had gotten back ahead of them and had managed to conquer the planet and steal the spark of every Cybertronian there.
Primal and what remained of his crew were transformed into a strange blending of organics and technology. Their new mission, given to them by Vector Sigma, was to restore the balance of organics and technology to Cybertron.
Primal and crew were trying grow technorganic plants while Megatron and his Vehicon drone army tried to stop them.
Eventually they were successful when during their final battle Megatron and Optimus fell into the organic core of Cybertron. The resulting explosion released all the sparks, restoring all the Cybertronians to life and covering the planet with a lush technorganic garden.
Many think that Primal died as a result of this battle, this is not so, he is now the Cleric of Primus. Optimus Primal now has the unique gift to be able to commune directly with Primus, making him a valuable asset to the Council.
Having sensed the return of his nemesis, Optimus Primal’s spark created a new body for himself on Animatros. Now a gigantic robotic gorilla, he is still dedicated to stopping Megatron 2 from creating the kind of genocide that he has previously attempted. Primal has also found an ally on Animatros in the form of Backstop, who greatly reminds him of his old friend Rhinox.
Together they return to Cybertron where Primal is honoured with a Matrix shard and a seat on the Council. He has also gathered together all of his old comrades from the Beast Wars to join him on his new quest to stop their old enemy.
Icebird
Icebird is the leader of the Mutant faction. The Mutants were the first victims of Megatron’s transformation lock virus while it was still experimental. It did not go as planned. Instead of locking the four Fuzors into their beast modes, it altered them so they no longer had a robot mode and could now only transform between the two animals that had comprised their beast modes; in Icebird’s case these were a polar bear and a snowy owl.
Icebird and the Mutants were deeply scarred mentally by this turn of events. They came to believe that they were the next evolution of the Transformer race, a purely organic being. They believe this so much that they refused to be returned to Cybertron.
Now that Cybertron has been reformatted, the Mutants now occupy one of the planet’s technorganic forests. Icebird only leaves the forest reluctantly to meet with the Council.
Primal Prime
Created by the Matrix from a control suit once used to manipulate Optimal Optimus, Primal Prime is the Matrix incarnate. His personality is made up of pieces of past and present Primes. Once the leader of a rag tag group of Autobots, Decepticons, Maximals, and Predacons called the Wreckers, together they uncovered a plot by the Quintessons and their allies to manipulate Vector Sigma, influencing Optimus Primal to eradicate all technology from Cybertron and to replace it with purely organic life.
Primal Prime now acts as the guardian of Vector Sigma ensuring that no one else will ever tamper with it again.
As the Matrix incarnate he can communicate through it with any Matrix bearer, guiding them in times of great strife.
He is now embroiled in a secret war against agents of Unicron who are attempting to re-energize the Chaos Bringer.
Sometime after the Pax Cybertronia Optimus Prime decided that he never wanted to empty the Matrix of its power ever again, so he began the fragmenting of the Matrix crystal and the creation of other Primes.
Each of these “minor” Primes have a small fragment of the Matrix that will grow as their knowledge and experience grows. It will also be up to them who their Matrix will be passed to in the event of their deaths.
These events all take place during Megatron 2’s conquest of Cybertron.
Sentinel Prime
The first of these new Primes is Sentinel Prime, who took his name in honour of the Prime who came before Optimus.
After the Axalon vanished, Sentinel Prime was sent on Primal’s original mission: Go to the planet Gaea and investigate the strange energy readings.
Once there they were ambushed by a Destron star ship under the command of the Destron, Galvatron II.
Badly damaged, their ship crashed on the planet and they were forced to take beast modes due to the corrosive atmosphere.
They discover that the energy, called “Argonmoa”, is in fact the energy that was released by the destruction of Unicron.
In their final battle Galvatron and his troops are apparently destroyed, and Sentinel Prime and his crew vanished.
Sentinel Prime and crew reappear much later to help Maximus Prime and Magmatron fight the Unicron possessed Galvatron. Victorious, the Cybertrons return home.
Maximus Prime
Maximus was by nature a “lone wolf”, often called the One Robot Army. Even after receiving his Matrix he preferred to work alone.
The Cybertron Council decided that since he was now a Prime he needed to learn to be the leader they all sensed he could be. So he was assigned a crew of raw recruits.
He too is sent to Gaea to complete the as yet unfinished study.
There he encounters more Destrons lead by Magmatron, with whom he has a long standing rivalry.
They have a series of battles over the energy with each side trying to gather more than the other.
Finally though, they must join forces to defeat Galvatron, who claims to be Unicron resurrected.
They are joined by Sentinel Prime and his crew who were trapped in subspace since the Argonmoa explosion.
Magmatron apparently vanishes during the battle and Sentinel Prime and Maximus Prime defeat Unicron and return to Cybertron and begin its restoration.
Prometheus Prime
Before becoming a Prime he had battled on countless worlds, saving countless lives. Once he was chosen to be a Prime he was given the name of the Titan, Prometheus, because of his love for all life forms and his willingness to go “above and beyond” to help them. There is also a hint of irony in his naming since the Titan Prometheus gave fire to mankind, and Prometheus Prime transforms into a fire truck.
Prometheus Prime commands the Cybertron Dimensional Patrol, formed to keep others from attempting what Megatron II attempted when he tried to kill Optimus Prime.
He and his Patrol followed the Destron general Gigatron through transwarp into another dimension where he and his followers were attempting to steal energy from an Earth that had never encountered Transformers before.
Arriving before Gigatron, Prometheus and his troops integrated themselves into the society by posing as ordinary vehicles; some of them even had owners and “jobs”. Prometheus himself worked with that Earths Tokyo Fire Department posing as an ordinary fire truck.
Their ruse worked and Gigatron was taken completely by surprise when he arrived and found the Cybertrons waiting for him.
During their battles a lost expedition of Cybertrons was found by Gigatron, unfortunately Prometheus was unable to prevent him from reprogramming them into Destrons. They even found the long lost Cybertron, Fortress Maximus; the very thing that the lost expedition was searching for when they vanished.
After defeating and imprisoning Gigatron and his troops aboard the Maximus ship, the Cybertrons returned them to Cybertron. Under interrogation some of Gigatron’s followers revealed the existence of the underground Destron movement called the True Path, of which Galvatron II, was a lead member with Megatron II, Magmatron, and Gigatron under him. They could not discover how many more Destrons belong to the True Path or who the leader of the organization is.
Omega Prime
The combination of Prometheus Prime and his brother Magnus, unlike the other combinations any of the other Primes undergo is a true combination; Omega Prime is whole new being created by the combination of Prometheus and Magnus.
No one knows how this fusion is accomplished since neither Prometheus nor Magnus were designed to combine with each other.
An effective and extremely powerful warrior, he can use any weapons and skills that his two components possess, but he also has the unique ability to shape the power of the Matrix that he carries into the physical form of the Matrix Sword; an unstoppable weapon of incredible power.
Omega has the potential to be a great leader; unfortunately the fusion that creates him usually doesn’t last longer than it needs to since Prometheus and Magnus don’t get along very well.
THE SECOND UNICRON WAR
The Chaos Bringer Unicron has returned for vengeance. Having brought one of his bodies from an alternate reality he is headed for Cybertron to finally destroy his nemesis Primus and his creations.
Armada Prime
After serving with distinction as a commander in the Cybertron military he was critically wounded in battle. The Cybertron Council decided that they did not want to loose such an effective leader so they decided not to simply rebuild him, but to make him a Prime. Thusly Armada Prime was born.
Given the dissolution of the Pax Cybertronia, he took the name Armada since he is in charge of the Cybertronian battle fleet.
Heavily armoured and extremely powerful, he was a top student under Maximus Prime at the Cybertron Military Academy, and much like his teacher, is a force to behold in battle.
Like most Cybertrons, Armada Prime would rather not fight, but is an effective warrior none the less. He is also the first in a grand experiment, the first non-combiner to receive the Combination Spark. He and a selected few within his command structure have been re-engineered to be able to combine to increase Armada Prime’s combat abilities, though they are not true combiners in the sense that they do not form a gestalt mind when combined.
Since the renewal of hostilities due to the rise of the new Megatron and his new Decepticon army, along with the discovery of the lost third race, the Minicons, the war has reached heights not seen since the Great War.
Armada Prime eventually had to join forces with Megatron and his Decepticons in order to defeat Unicron. Unicron was not destroyed however; he was heavily damaged and retreated through a space fold to avoid destruction. It appeared that Megatron made the ultimate sacrifice in keeping Unicron’s defences busy while the combined army could retreat and keep from getting pulled along with Unicron.
After the apparent defeat of Unicron a brief state of peace returned to the galaxy until a Decepticon warlord calling himself Scorponok and his hoard of Terrorcon drones start attacking energon mining outposts in order to re-energize Unicron so that he can continue to cut a swath of destruction across the universe
Energon Prime
Faced with increased power consumption due to the war the best energon miner in the Cybertron Energy Consortium was commissioned as Energon Prime. He and his force of warrior miners operate almost completely autonomously in search of new sources of energon. Sometimes they are so far from established lines of communication that only Primal Prime can contact him through his Matrix.
Due to the success of the Combination Spark experiment with Armada Prime, Energon Prime and all his troops were given them as well. Energon Prime can combine with his mining drones to give him increased mining and combat abilities as well be able to combine with a select few of those under his command.
He has also granted the Combination Spark to his troops so that they can combine with each other as well to increase their combat abilities. He felt that this move was necessary since due to their mining activities they are usually in possession of large amounts of energon, making them likely targets for Decepticon attack.
Unicron is gone. His dark creation Galvatron, swelling with power, finally broke free of his influence and forced the Dark God through a dimensional rift apparently destroying himself in the process.
Unfortunately the result of this was the creation of a gigantic black hole that not only threatens to destroy Cybertron and our galaxy, but perhaps the entire universe as well.
Now there is a race to find the lost Planet Keys and the Omega Lock to awaken Primus and save the universe.
Vector Prime
Summoned by Primus, one of his first creations, Vector Prime, has travelled through space and time to aid the Cybertronians in saving the universe. Unfortunately he had the bad luck to encounter Megatron first. Somehow he had survived the destruction of Unicron and retained some of the Chaos Bringers power and physical attributes.
Megatron duped him and stole Vector Prime’s map to the keys.
Ashamed and betrayed, Vector Prime went to the Cybertron Council and explained who he was and what had happed.
Reeling from the revelation that Megatron still lived, the Council understood how he could have been deceived since Vector Prime came from a time before the creation of the different factions.
Vector Prime is teamed with Galaxy Prime and his crew to go out into the galaxy to find the Planet Keys.
Galaxy Prime
The most technologically advanced Prime in existence; Galaxy Prime’s mandate was to resurrect the deep space exploration wing of the Cybertron Starfleet that had lapsed due to the war. Regrettably his exploration duties must take a back seat to the directive to seek out and find the lost Cybertronian colonies that may contain the Cyber Planet Keys.
Guided by Vector Prime’s wisdom and experience, he hopes to find the keys before the Decepticons can use their power to dominate the galaxy.
Override
Override channelled her frustration at being beaten by both Megatron and Hot Shot into the search for the Planet Keys. Tempered by a race for something greater than a mere trophy, she returns to Velocitron a new robot. She has upgraded her systems with components based on the technology of both Earth and Cybertron. With her body thus enhanced, she has come back to Velocitron to reclaim her place as leader so that she may rule with compassion and justice learned from the Autobots.
She has since become infatuated with Rodimus Prime and has extended a challenge to him to come to Velocitron and race her. Secretly she wants him to come to her planet and stay there with her.
Evac
Evac loves flying on Earth almost as much as he loved soaring over the epic skylines of Cybertron. He’s been in hiding on Earth since guardianship of the Planet Key was passed to him millions of vorns ago. He feels a keen affection for the people of Earth, whose history he has observed from it’s very beginnings.
Courageous, determined, and gentle, Evac avoids fighting when he can, but if forced into combat he can be a very tough opponent. He is dedicated to the protection of other life in all it’s forms.
Metroplex
Massive, quiet, and extremely protective of his home and its inhabitants, Metroplex is a kind, intelligent leader of his people, and guardian of Gigantian’s Planet Key. His huge size and quiet ways mask a swift intelligence capable of analyzing the most sophisticated difficulties and arriving at a course of action in seconds, though some have made the mistake of thinking him slow and stupid. He was, at one time, an eager and hideously dangerous warrior who developed his soft-spoken and carefully considered demeanour in an attempt to leave that part of himself behind. Because of this, Metroplex is slow to anger, but when he converts to combat mode he becomes one of the most fearsome opponents any transformer has ever faced.