The following contains spoilers for Transformers One, now playing in theaters
Transformers Onebrings the original Primes to the big screen and plays with the lore in interesting ways. The animated prequel to the largerTransformersfranchise,Transformers Onefocuses on the story of Orion Pax and D-16, best friends and miners before they became Optimus Prime and Megatron. The film is focused on their evolution from regular citizens of Cybertron to leaders of two warring factions, as well as the growth of Bumblebee and Elita-1 into heroes in their own right. Along the way, the film introduces plenty of deep-cut robots that fit easily amongTransformers One’s cast of characters.
Some of the most important to the overarching plot of the film are the Primes, a group of ancient heroes who are held up as the greatest defenders of their world. The Primes have a lot of connections to the lore ofTransformersin several different iterations, with their fates differing between versions. This is no different inTransformers One’s ending, which plays with expectations in interesting ways. It even changes the identity of the traitor who doomed them, playing into the film’s big villain twist. Here ishowTransformers One’s version of the original Primes compares to previous iterations.
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The Original Primes In Transformers Canon Explained
The Elder Primes Have Been Important In Many Different Continuities
The Primes are the highest ranking members of Cybertronian society, which is reflected in Transformers One’s reinvention of the concept. In almost all versions ofTransformers, certain characters eventually earn the title of “Prime” as an indicator of their skill level, importance, and strength. In many iterations of Transformers, the Elder Primes are the thirteen first Cybertronians created by the godly figure Primus, serving as forerunners of the entire robotic race.Transformers Onereflects this by introducing the thirteen as legendary heroes of Cybertron, created by Primus long before any other Cybertronians and tasked with guarding the Matrix of Leadership.
Alchemist Prime
Amalgamous Prime
The Primes are treated as heroes inTransformers Oneby the overall population of Cybertron, who mysteriously disappeared fifty cycles before the events of the film after falling in battle. They were the primary fighting force holding back the ambitions of theTransformersvillains known as the Quintessons, until they were lured into a trap and killed by them and Sentinel.Transformers Onedoesn’t give all of them a showcase, but does reinforce their importance. The film reveals they all exist as one with Primus, briefly bringing Orion Pax to the Realm of Primes while upgrading him to Optimus Prime.
Transformers One’s 13 Elder Primes: All Known Members
The Thirteen Elder Primes, Explained
The Elder Primes inTransformers Oneplay a minor but important role in the film, as their disappearance (along with the Matrix of Leadership held by Zeta) has led to the lack of naturally flowing Energon on Cybertron. Within the film’s narrative, only a handful actually play important roles. By the events of the film,only Alpha Trion is still alive. The others, including Zeta Prime, Megatronus, Prima, Onyx, Alchemist, and the rest are long dead. A few moments in the film showcase all thirteen Elder Primes, with eagle-eyed fans identifying all of them by their appearance and color scheme.
The thirteen Primes who appear in the film consist of Alpha Trion, Megatronus Prime, Micronus, Zeta Prime, Prima Prime, Vector Prime, Onyx Prime, Quintus Prime, Liege Maximo, Solus Prime, Amalgamous Prime, Nexus Prime, and Alchemist Prime. Notably, Zeta isn’t always considered a Prime in other versions ofTransformerslore.The identity of the 13th Prime is a long-standing mystery in other versions of the canon, with some continuities revealing Optimus is actually the mysterious 13th Prime reborn as Orion Pax. However, the narrative ofTransformers Onemade that largely impossible, so Zeta was upgraded to Prime status in his absence.
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Sentinel Prime Is Not One Of Transformers One’s Elder Primes
How Sentinel Stole His Title As A Prime
In some continuities, Sentinel Prime is one of the true heirs to the Primes' role as leaders of the Cybertronians, taking on a leadership role. Even in his role as the villain ofTransformers: Dark of the Moon, Sentinel’s darker actions are done in the name of advancing Cyberton.This is a far cry from the Sentinel Prime who appears inTransformers One, who actually turns out to be the film’s central antagonist. In-universe, Sentinel has spent fifty cycles convincing the citizens of Iacon City that his fellow Primes died to keep the Matrix of Leadership away from the Quintessons.
However,Sentinel was never actually a Prime. He was actually their long-suffering assistant, who grew tired of serving. This led Sentinel to betray their trust and lure the Primes into a trap. Although the Quintessons were initially held back by the Primes, Sentinel was able to use the chaos to dispatch each of them. The flashback reveals this truth highlights how this new version of Sentinel is a genuine villain, even when compared to the ruthless anger of embittered Transformers like Megatron and Starscream. Alpha Trion confirms this toTransformers One’s main heroes, setting off the rest of the plot.
Transformers One’s Elder Primes Compared To Michael Bay’s Movies
The Dynasty Of Primes Is Different FromTransformers One’s Version Of The Primes
The approach to the Primes in the live-actionMichael BayTransformersmovies was different than inTransformers One, which treated “Prime” as a title bestowed by Primus. By contrast, the Dynasty of Primes was actually implied to be more hereditary based. In that version ofTransformerslore, they were the first of their race but gave their lives to stop the Fallen — that continuities' version of Megatronus Prime — from claiming the Allspark. In that setting,Optimus was part of that group of ancient Primes,and was actually the last of their family line, making him capable of slaying the Fallen.
The betrayal of a “Prime” being the catalyst for the deaths of the others is a shared element between the differing live-actionTransformersandTransformers One, butthe actual betrayal is very different.Transformers Oneactually subverted expectations by having Megatronus Prime die a hero instead of becoming corrupted into the Fallen. It also further explored what it means to be a Prime highlighting the honorable actions needed to prove one’s self worthy as a Prime.Transformers Onemade some big tweaks to the lore surrounding the Primes, but they fit the narrative of the new animated film very well.
Transformers One
Cast
Transformers One is an animated action-adventure movie that marks the first animated feature-length film for the series in decades. The film will be a prequel to the franchise, and will tell the story of Optimus Prime and Megatron in their early years, how they met, and a closer look at the war on their home planet, Cybertron.
