Optimus Prime: Astounding Facts About the Autobot Leader
Optimus Prime has had such a rich and colorful history in the Transformers Universe that it will take us days just to brief you on everything.
Here are the most interesting facts about Optimus Prime of the Autobots that will definitely pique your interest.
The US Army Used Him as a Portable Battery Charger
We are not even kidding here. The US Army had a weird use for the Autobot leader.
Since 1951, the United States Army published a comic book style monthly magazine called the PS, The Preventive Maintenance Monthly.
It started out as a supplementary magazine during the Korean War and was created by THE Will Eisner him-self.
In the January 2009 issue, Optimus Prime was mentioned within the magazine under the heading “Transform the Charger”.
A grim and rugged man begins the metaphor by using Optimus Prime’s name, claiming – “Like Optimus Prime, the PP-8498/U Soldier portable battery charger is transforming all the time.”
The Man in charge is next seen sitting on the shoulders of Optimus Prime on the very next page.
Optimus then explains that the battery upgrade is a software patch.
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He Has Fought the Taliban
The United States Armed Forces are not the only military cool enough to make pop culture references.
The Canadians are also hot on their tails to capture that flag.
Optimus Prime has been a part of the Canadian Special Forces Segment for a long time.
He is so famous that a specific Canadian Special Forces Operation in Afghanistan was given the title “Op Timis Preem”.
The operation was extremely successful and helped take down key Talivbban figures and religious fanatics.
The British Prime Minister is an Avid Fan
After the Americans and the Canadians, the next country to adopt Optimus Prime into their daily global affairs is the British.
To be precise, Optimus Prime played a huge role in the formative years of New Age British Politics in the House of Commons in the British Parliament.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown referenced Optimus prime in his speeches when he was the Prime Minister during 2009.
While making a public announcement on a radio, the topic of Optimus Prime and the Transformers came along.
Gordon Brown openly said that he would like to meet Optimus Prime since he is able to solve most of the world’s problems very easily unlike the British Politicians.
His Multiple Nick Names That Were Never Used
Optimus Prime has multiple nicknames. These names were never used in any official merchandise or live-action as well as animated projects.
The names are – Roller, Autobot Commander, Big Boss, and Chief. The reason Roller was never used is obvious.
It is also the name of the scout vehicle that lives inside Optimus’ Trailer module.
There have been other nicknames that were developed for specific crossovers. During the G.I Joe vs. Transformers comic book arc, Cobra Commander activated multiple Transformers he found within the arc.
It also included Optimus Prime. Cobra used him as a tank, giving him the code name HISS-114.
In the Beast Wars universe, Optimus [rime is referred to as the Big Mack. Yeah, they clearly do not have McDonald’s there to sue them for copyright infringement.
China’s Huge Optimus Prime Statues
The Chinese have a way of doing things. They like something they make it in their own country. And they make it with style and grandeur.
There is a huge fan base for the Transformers in the country. And to show their appreciation for the Autobot, the Chinese have taken to building gigantic statues.
In the year of 2010, a 10 Meter Tall Statue of Optimus was erected near the Beijing National Stadium.
It was a life-size model that had the same dimensions as the movie version of the character.
To top it off, the Chinese made it out of recycled materials. Two years later, another Optimus Prime statue was built in Shenyang City.
It was 11 meters tall and weighed more than 20 Tons. But the tallest statue was built in China way back in 2005.
It was a marketing stunt at a Toyota Dealership in the Yunnan Province. It was 12 meters tall.
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Hates Rap Music
For a leader who is supposed to be the embodiment of compassion and kindness, Optimus Prime sure does have a lot of inhibitions.
Optimus Prime hates Rap as well as Jazz music. Considering he actually has a right-hand man with the very name Jazz, it is saying something.
In Marvel’s The Transformers #76, Transformers forbids Blaster from playing Dr. Feelgood, a classic from Motley Crue.
There are many things we knew about Optimus Prime. But the fact that he hates such quality music makes us second guess his nobility.
Inspired by Liam Neeson
Well, not the comic book or animated versions but the movie version of the Bay-Formers franchise sure has a lot of resemblance with the way Liam Neeson carries himself in front of a camera.
In the DVD commentary for the 2007 Transformers movie, Michael Bay went on record to say that he personally asked the CGI specialists and animators to look for Liam Neeson for inspiration.
The animators were forced to watch many Liam Neeson movies (which is not exactly a punishment, to be honest) and then create the movie version of Optimus Prime.
No wonder Optimus Prime is a bad-ass. He is like an inter-galactic Brian Mills from Taken.
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Has 13 Different Transformation Modes
Since he is a leader of the Autobots, it would be logical to think there is more than just the one Truck transformation for Optimus.
But you would be astounded when we say that he has not two or three but thirteen different modes.
In the live-action series, he is still a semi-truck. In the official canon universe, we see in the comic books, Optimus has transformed into a fire truck, a dump truck, a Cybertronian Truck, and a Pick-Up Truck.
In the Japanese Unicorn Trilogy, he could merge with Jetfire to form an aircraft.
He briefly transformed into a T-Rex in Rescue Bots. He could also become an all-terrain vehicle.
If you include Optimus Primal, he could also transform into a giant bat and a gorilla.
He is a Pacifist who kills
Optimus Prime is in the wrong line of duty. He considers himself a pacifist.
If there is a way around violent tactics, we will take it. But here’s the thing. He seldom does. Given the leads a faction of the Transformers to protect the universe against the scourge of Decepticons.
Optimus Prime has to kill to fulfill his roles and responsibilities.
This makes Prime a paradox since he kills so easily without remorse if it’s a Decepticon.
So how come he is a pacifist? Or is he just masquerading as one??
