Thirteenth Prime

After years of neglect from the X-Men writers, Chamber began moonlighting as a Transformers character.

The Thirteenth Prime, also known simply as 13, is the last of the Thirteen original epic warriors of Cybertron. Cloaked in mystery even more than his fellow Primes, this nameless warrior's legacy is carried forwards in the Autobot leaders of the present day.

Fiction

Aligned continuity family

Main article: Optimus Prime (WFC)

The Thirteenth Prime was Optimus Prime, the mediator and visionary of the Primes, who united them by being the first of their number to raise a hand in greeting. After the Thirteen were torn apart by internal conflict, Optimus chose to be reborn as an ordinary Cybertronian through the Well of All Sparks, losing memory of his past and becoming known as Orion Pax. Pax would eventually take up the Matrix of Leadership to become Optimus Prime once again, and—after sacrificing his life to restore Cybertron—rejoined his brethren in the Realm of the Primes, where they trained him for a mission to Earth in order to defeat his fallen brother Megatronus.

2005 IDW continuity

"This outfit makes you want to lurk in the shadows, waiting for a turn in the spotlight."

Main article: The Arisen

The Thirteenth Prime—whose name was eventually forgotten, with Cybertron remembering him only as the Arisen—was one of the leaders of the Thirteen Tribes, who came together with his fellow Primes in Crystal City to build a new civilization. Millions of years later, the Mistress of Flame would come to believe that Optimus Prime was the Arisen, a belief that Optimus exploited to affect change on Earth; and Shockwave named Optimus as the Arisen while in the guise of Onyx Prime. At the end of his life, Optimus would claim to be the Arisen but perish before he could explain the statement. Later on however, Arcee would come to the conclusion that the Arisen's true name hadn't mattered compared to the heroic legacy he'd left behind.

Titans Return cartoon

Main article: Sentinel Prime (G1)

During the clash between Metroplex and Trypticon, the Mistress of Flame prayed to Sentinel Prime and the other Primes, asking for his wisdom to help them solve the crisis. Overlord and Emissary

Power of the Primes marketing material

The Prime Master of the Thirteenth formed the core of the Matrix of Leadership, which selected Optimal Optimus as its bearer. Throne of the Primes packaging

Cyberverse cartoon

Main article: Optimus Prime (Cyberverse)

In a darker timeline, Optimus Prime was slain in his initial confrontation with Megatron and his spirit came to rest as the Thirteenth Prime within the accumulated wisdom of the Matrix of Leadership. When the Matrix was stolen away to another universe and pierced by a psychic shard of the native Windblade, Optimus' spirit guided her to destroy the Matrix so she could save her own universe. Optimus was presumably laid to rest for good when Windblade followed his orders and destroyed the talisman from within. The Other One

2019 IDW continuity

When the Matrix of Leadership merged with Orion Pax, its Mediator program explained that, although the talisman had been carried by a number of Cybertronians over the years, they were but stewards until the Matrix found the Thirteenth Prime, its true bearer. Prime

One film

Main article: Zeta Prime (One)

The Thirteenth Prime was Zeta Prime, the first bearer of the Matrix of Leadership. After many years fighting against the Quintessons, Zeta and his brethren were lured into a trap by their aide Sentinel, who had betrayed them to their enemies. Sentinel personally killed Zeta with Nexus Prime's sword and took the Matrix from his corpse, only for it to crumble in his hands, Primus having deemed Sentinel unworthy. Zeta's spirit would eventually appear to Orion Pax within Cybertron's core, he and his fellow Primes bearing witness to Orion's reformatting as the Matrix's newest bearer, Optimus Prime.

Games

Transformers: Forged to Fight

sorry these days I go by "bestest number one"

Megatronus immediately recognized Optimus Prime as 13, a fellow original Prime, and asked him to accept the truth of his past. Optimus Prime didn't really seem to understand what Megatronus was talking about. Forged to Fight

Transformers: Earth Wars

Main article: Nova Prime

Toys

Power of the Primes

"This Matrix has the spark with it!"

• Throne of the Primes (Leader Class, 2018)
  • TakaraTomy ID number: PP-43

Power of the Primes "The Thirteenth" is a retool of the Vector Prime/Metalhawk inner robot, replacing that toy's blue parts with newly molded parts based on Prima's appearance in the Marvel Generation 1 comic, packaged in the Throne of the Primes set.

This toy has identical features to the other Prime Masters in the line. The Titan Master-like robot can store inside decoy armor or ride Legends Class figures in vehicle mode, and is fully compatible with toys from the previous Titans Return line. The "Power Swap" gimmick means its spark form can plug onto any decoy armor's weapon form (which has a 5 mm post to be held by larger figures), Deluxe Class figures' chest armor, Voyager Class figures' bucklers, Leader Class figures' Matrix (in place of their Matrix core), combiners' torsos (in place of their Enigma of Combination), or the included Scepter of Sparks or Halo of Primus accessories. With the power of your imagination, this bestows the Prime Master's unique power on the larger figure.

This set debuted at San Diego Comic-Con 2018, and was later sold via Hasbro Toy Shop online. It was also available at general retail in Taiwan.

Age of the Primes

And why don't we rewrite the stars?
Changin' the world to be ours

Main article: Optimus Prime (G1)/Generations toys#Age of the Primes

• Star Optimus Prime (Titan Class, 2025)

• Accessories: MT-13 Micro Trailer, 2-part tread unit, rifle, ammo clip, swivel turret/blaster, Matrix/hilt, shoulder cannons, Zodiac orb, 14 blast effects
• Known designers: Mark Maher (Hasbro), Shuhei Umezu (TakaraTomy)^[1]

For the Age of the Primes toyline, the Thirteenth Prime is represented by "Star Optimus Prime," a Titan Class update of Optimus Prime's Star Convoy design. His included artifact is the Zodiac.

This item is currently scheduled for release, but is not yet available at mass retail.

Notes

"Identity theft is not a joke, Jim!"

• The "Multiversal" Thirteen established by Fun Publications in Ask Vector Prime do not seem to have an especially significant thirteenth member.
• It's not entirely explicit what's going on with The Thirteenth in Power of the Primes, but context clues seem to indicate that he's in some way the embodiment of the Matrix of Leadership itself: he isn't mentioned in the description of the Halo of Primus, which only mentions the "12 Prime Masters", but shows The Thirteenth as the core of the Matrix, and the exclusive Prime Master collector card marked with his symbol only describes how the Matrix has chosen Optimal Optimus to lead Cybertron into a new era.^[2] This would seem to line up with comments made by Hasbro representatives at San Diego Comic-Con 2017 that the Thirteenth Prime was whoever bore the Matrix of Leadership.
• The Prime Master of The Thirteenth is visually based on Prima as he appeared in the Marvel Transformers comics.

Foreign names

• Japanese: The Thirteen (ザ・サーティーン Za Sātīn)

References