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The exact character himself has been left out of a lot of media (until the movie made him popular again) but expies of him include Hotshot and Cheetor. His role is the Autobot scout and he is entrusted by Optimus for some of their most vital missions.
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His original form was a Walther P38 pistol modeled after the variant created for The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Often portrayed as one of the most powerful Decepticons alive, but usually mad and brilliant at the same time. He is often a megalomaniac whose thirst for power is unmatched and orchestrated the civil war when the Autobots wouldn't just accept him as their leader, though some versions of him invoke He Who Fights Monsters or Fallen Hero. Even his counterparts in the Beast Era like Optimus Primal (a gorilla), Lio Convoy (a lion) and Big Convoy (a woolly mammoth) have design elements from him despite the very different alternate modes. His impact was so great that many leader-type characters take cues from him, such as having a trailer attachment, a faceplate and a heroic red, white and blue colour scheme. His typical alternate form is some sort of heavy vehicle like a semi-truck or a fire engine. Optimus Prime is often portrayed as a conflicted pacifist shouldering the burden of military leadership. Some incarnations have him merely being supreme commander of the military (this was the case in the original Marvel comics until his civilian superiors were massacred) or simply in command of a small force as opposed to the whole faction. In the original cartoon continuity he appeared to be the supreme leader of all Autobots by a sort of divine right and was shown to have the "Matrix of Leadership," a mystical artifact that has been passed down for generations of Cybertronian leaders.
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The piecemeal origins of the individual toys are largely responsible for the enormous disparity in scale and style of the early toys, as it paired regular road vehicles, large military gear and household items together. The original toy line sold in America came about when Hasbro imported several disparate Japanese toy lines, primarily Takara's "Diaclone" from 1980 and "Microchange" lines from the "Microman" toy franchise of 1974-84. Considering its origins as a toy line, the franchise is highly Merchandise-Driven, each incarnation serving to pimp a line of transforming toys.
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