What started out as a line of toys quickly grew into a media franchise which would span over television, live action movies, and video games. The concept behind Transformers was quite simple, a bunch of robots which had the ability to transform into different things like cars, weapons, or other everyday items. While the idea was simple yet unique, it quickly caught on and garnered a huge fan following. Characters were developed for the franchise and two factions, Autobots and Decepticons were created representing good and evil respectively. The leader of the good guys was named Optimus Prime while that of the bad guys came to be known as Megatron.

Since then, Optimus Prime has become one of the most popular characters and the Transformers franchise has enjoyed popularity all over the world. Optimus Prime has always been represented to show courage and wisdom even in the most difficult of time. This is one reason why many kids who grew up watching Transformers were so attached to the character. Still, even the wisest among us resort to cheating when it means that it will give us an edge over our enemy and Optimus Prime is no exception to this. So, we did our research and came up with a list of 15 instances where the mighty leader of the Autobots decided to cheat his way to victory. Massive spoiler alert here as almost all of the entries reveal crucial plot points about their respective series.

15 He Combined With Jetfire – Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen

The second Transformers movie heavily focused on the concept of the thirteen primes, one of which was the fallen. According to Transformers mythology, only a prime can kill The Fallen which meant that this responsibility was on the shoulders of Optimus Prime.

Near the end of the movie, however, a lengthy battle plays out between the Autobots and the Decepticons during which Jetfire is critically injured while Optimus Prime is brought back to life by the matrix of leadership since he was pretty much dead after the forest battle with Megatron. This is when The Fallen decides to step in and steal the matrix, kicking down Optimus in the process. So, what does the leader of the autoboots do to even the odds? He combines with Jetfire, who is now dead, to form Power Up Optimus Prime which is the Transformers equivalent of going Super Saiyan. This allows him to basically slaughter both The Fallen and Megatron with relative ease.

14 He Was Revived With The Matrix Of Leadership – Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen

The Transformer movies are famous for their action sequences even if people absolutely hate the plot that they follow. One of the most notable ones was the forest fight scene in Revenge of The Fallen where Optimus Prime fought Megatron and his cronies. Unfortunately, this encounter didn’t end well for him as he was blasted through the chest by Megatron’s fusion cannon, resulting in his death.

Now, anyone even remotely familiar with Transformers would’ve guessed that this wasn’t permanent since a Transformers movie seems pretty much pointless without Optimus Prime and also because of the fact that only he can kill The Fallen. That is exactly what happened when Sam used the matrix of leadership to bring Optimus back to life which essentially means that you can’t really destroy the leader of the Autobots.

13 His Trailer Transformed Into A Jetpack – Transformers: Dark Of The Moon

There have been very few Autobots that have possessed the ability to fly throughout the history of Transformers which is one of the reasons why Decepticons have always had an edge over them. This also includes Optimus Prime who is known to transform into a red and blue truck. However, he always figures out a way to make himself capable of flight.

During the second movie, he was granted the ability to fly by combining with Jetfire, but there were no combiners in the third movie. So, how did Optimus obtain the power of flight here? It turns out that the trailer he tows with him not only houses weapons but also transforms into a huge jetpack with the help of which he was able to destroy Shockwave’s driller and go on a rampage, killing every Decepticon in his path.

12 He Killed Megatron When He Was Out Of Ammo – Transformers: Dark Of The Moon

Sentinel Prime’s betrayal of the autoboots was the biggest plot twist in Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Since Sentinel was a mentor to Optimus at one point, it came as no surprise that he was able to dominate much of the final fight between the two during the invasion of Chicago.

Sentinel was able to severely injure Optimus, ripping the right arm off the autoboot leader in the process and as he was about to deliver the final blow, Megatron stepped in, blasting Sentinel with his shotgun and saving the life of Optimus Prime. The Decepticon leader then proposed a truce but Optimus had other plans in mind. Aware of the fact that Megatron was out of ammo and would need to reload for another shot, Optimus picked up the axe with his remaining arm and killed Megatron.

11 He Recruited The Dinobots To Fight – Transformers: Age Of Extinction

Take any Transformers series and you will see that the odds have never been in the favor of our good guys. They are usually outnumbered and lack some of the features that Decepticons have such as the power of flight. Still, this doesn’t mean that the Autobots don’t have a few tricks up their sleeve, specifically Optimus Prime.

While Galvatron and his army are wreaking havoc across the city, Optimus leaves behind his fellow transformers to recruit some very powerful allies. These turn out to be none other than the Dinobots. Look, we know that Michael Bay didn’t exactly do a great job correctly representing one of the most famous groups of Transformers but there is no doubt about the fact that Grimlock and Co. are some of the most powerful creatures in existence and bringing them into a fight is plain unfair.

10 Humans Helped Him Kill Lockdown – Transformers: Age Of Extinction

There is no doubt about the fact that Optimus Prime is one of the most capable fighters among the Autobot ranks, after all, he’s their leader. Most of his fighting skills and knowledge were developed after he gained the matrix of leadership. Despite all of this, however, his foes seem to outmatch him in every single movie.

The final battle between Lockdown and Optimus Prime seemed to be going in favor of the bounty hunter, but before he delivers the final blow, Bumblebee and the rest of the humans decide to step in and join the fight. Tessa and her boyfriend are able to free Optimus right as Lockdown is about to kill Cade, and Optimus takes this opportunity to drive his sword through Lockdown, killing him in the process.

9 Bumblebee Helped Him Defeat Quintessa – Transformers: The Last Knight

Transformers: The Last Knight was hyped quite a bit before release, but sadly it turned out to be quite mediocre. Still, the action sequences were yet again some of the best among the Transformers franchise. The main threat here was Quintessa, who also likes to refer to herself as the “Prime of Life.”

Since she is pretty much God tier in the Transformers universe, it doesn’t take much effort for her to put Optimus Prime under mind control and change him to Nemesis Prime. Once again, Optimus Prime is severely outmatched against Quintessa, so he decides to hatch a plan to take her down. Optimus distracts Quintessa by attacking her and while she’s busy subduing Optimus, Bumblebee sneaks up on her and shoots her in the back, seemingly destroying her.

8 He Used Metroplex To Crush The Decepticons – Transformers: Fall Of Cybertron

War for Cybertron and Fall of Cybertron were perhaps one of the best Transformer games ever made. They did an excellent job of exploring the era of the Autobot and Decepticon civil war and how both of the factions ended up on Earth.

During Fall of Cybertron, the Autobots decide to leave the home planet, but their preparations are spoiled by the Decepticons, who launch a massive assault to stop their departure. Amidst the chaos, Optimus Prime stumbles upon Metroplex, a giant Autobot capable of transforming into a gigantic city. This quickly turns the tide of the war as Metroplex basically steps on everything in his path and even crushes Megatron to death. In the end, Metroplex also sacrifices himself to provide energon for The Ark, a ship that the Autobots use to leave Cybertron.

7 The Forge Of Solus Prime Upgraded His Arsenal – Transformers Prime

Transformers Prime is hands down one of the best Transformers series to be created on TV. One of the reasons behind its success was a compelling storyline and the excellent quality of animation. During the episode “Darkest Hour,” Megatron successfully attacks the Autobot hideout and destroys it with an energy blast from his ship, which not only destroys the hideout but also critically injures Optimus.

When all hope seems lost, Smokescreen returns and manages to pull Optimus out of the debris and moves him to safety. Optimus is still wounded but before he can die, Smokescreen is able to get his hands on the Forge of Solus Prime, a powerful artifact capable of creating or repairing anything. He uses it on Optimus who is not only fixed but also upgraded.

6 Bumblebee Saved His Life – Transformers Prime

Though Optimus is one of the wisest characters to ever exist, even he needs to cheat a bit every once in a while, in order to get that extra edge over the more powerful Decepticons. In the final showdown between Optimus Prime and Megatron, a large battle takes place between both factions of Transformers.

During the fight, Megatron fatally shoots Bumblebee who is trying to help Optimus. The now enraged Autobot leader attacks Megatron and is about to beat him when the latter grabs his Dark Star Saber and attacks Optimus with it. The tide quickly turns and Megatron has the upper hand in the battle. As he is about to deliver the killing blow, Bumblebee returns and stabs Megatron, killing him once and for all while saving Optimus’s life in the process.

5 He Used The Hammer Of Ultra Magnus – Transformers Animated

In the Transformers: Animated universe, the Magnus Hammer is considered as a very powerful weapon and relic, so powerful in fact that it was used to forge the container for housing the AllSpark. During the series, Ratchet was able to get his hands on the Magnus Hammer, keeping it successfully away from the hands of the Decepticons.

Megatron eventually unveiled his plan of controlling Omega Supreme while also building three Lugnut Supremes to launch a massive attack on Earth. Knowing that it would be impossible to stop the giants and Megatron, Optimus decided to use the Magnus Hammer and was not only able to destroy one of the Lugnut Supremes but also defeat Megatron in the final battle.

4 He Always Activates Powerlinx Before A Big Fight – TF Energon

Transformers Energon was part of the Unicorn Trilogy which was a popular anime series featuring Unicorn as the main threat in one way or the other. This style and concept of Transformers was a bit different than what most fans were used to after the G1 series.

The Autobot leader, Optimus Prime, was given additional vehicles to accompany him during his missions. Normally these would be stored in the trailer. But here’s the catch point. These additional vehicles were also capable of linking up with Optimus Prime to form a super mode. This meant that throughout the series when Optimus Prime would face a stronger foe, he would always use powerlinx which would give him an extra edge in battle. Other combinations were also heavily featured throughout the series such as that with Wing Saber and other Autobots.

3 He Combined With Omega Supreme To Form Optimus Supreme – Transformers Energon

The ability to power link was heavily focused on during Transformers Energon which was not just limited to Optimus. Other Autobots also had the capability of linking up to form more powerful robots. The main threat during the series was Unicron, a being so powerful that he could wipe out entire solar systems in the blink of an eye.

A normal power link wasn’t enough to stop the titan, that is, until Omega Supreme came along. Known as one of the most powerful Autobots to ever exist, Omega Supreme offered his assistance to Optimus Prime in the form of a new power link mode known as Optimus Supreme. This, along with the help from Primus ensured that the combination would match the power of Unicron. In a decisive battle, Optimus Supreme was able to successfully defeat Unicron and put an end to his tyranny.

2 He Used Vector Prime’s Sword To Defeat Galvatron – Transformers Cybertron

The defeat of Unicron in Transformers Energon resulted in the creation of a massive black hole that threatened to devour the entire universe. This puts Cybertron at risk once again, and the only way to save the planet is to find the omega lock and all four cyber planet keys.

After a long journey, the mission is a success, but Megatron, who had now evolved into Galvatron challenges Optimus to a fight in a decisive battle that determines which of the two is the strongest. Galvatron manages to injure Optimus and is about to deliver the final blow when Vector Prime’s orb floats in front of Galvatron to block the attack. The orb then offers Vector Prime’s sword to Optimus using which Galvatron is finally defeated.

1 He Actually Cheated Death – Transformers Generation 1

Optimus Prime has died and been brought back to life more times than we can count. Before any of the Michael Bay movies came around, an original titled Transformers: The Movie was released in 1986.

For the movie, Hasbro made the decision to kill off some of the most popular characters. This also included Optimus Prime who was mortally wounded after his fight with Megatron. The decision backfired, however, as most kids who went to watch the movie were absolutely devastated. Hasbro had underestimated the popularity of Optimus Prime so they decided to do the only thing that they could which was to revive Optimus in the next season. This essentially meant that Optimus Prime had cheated death and would keep cheating death as long as the Transformers universe survived because it was crucial for the company’s revenues.