Quote:
Originally Posted by Einstein
Again, it's fine for people to like other characters and see them as great and even be their favourite, but we all know the honest to god's truth of the matter is without Optimus Prime there never would have been any Transformers.
He is without a doubt the greatest one of them all.
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Did the Optimus Prime toy come out by itself in 1984 and based on its success all the others were made?
The early issues of Marvel thrust Ratchet to the forefront, while relegating Optimus to a secondary role. I think I could even argue that Blaster saw more action in the first 20 issues of that comic than Optimus did.
In Japan Headmasters, Masterforce, Victory - these all came along with little to no focus on Optimus Prime. They didn't even call him Optimus Prime in Japan. Beast Wars and Beast Machines had very limited reference to him as well.
I think it is very safe to say Optimus is the most popular character in the history of the franchise - I just don't know if that makes him the greatest character ever. A lot might depend on how one defines that.
Saying their would not have been a franchise without him is a bit of a stretch to me. At best it is speculation, not logic.
I just think there is a bit more room for debate than you are allowing for.