Thirteen Primes

In the fictional Transformers universe, there were Thirteen Primes created by the Transformer deity Primus before he went on to create the rest of the Transformers race. In the live-action movie series, they were created by the All Spark, and were called the "Dynasty of Primes".

History

Before going on to create the Transformer race, Primus experimented with a group of twelve robots known as the Covenant. Based on the zodiac, these twelve robots were: Leonicus (leader), Aries, Piscor, Libras, Scorpius, Aquator, Taurotron, Cancix, Geminator, Sagittarii, Virgol and Capricurn. They existed in secret training for the Omega Point. The Omega Point was a potential event that Unicron would attack at a point that there was no Prime. After the Omega Point, time was reverted and the instance never happened.

Primus later created a group of thirteen Transformers, each with special powers, to fight against Unicron. This is the basic, communal origin for Cybertron and the Transformers across many continuities. Although the 2009 movie has The Fallen as the main villain, it does not seem to follow the Primus creation story. Like Primus and Unicron, each of the thirteen are multiversal singularities - one entity throughout reality. During their first big battle against Unicron, many of the 13 were killed and the Fallen was drawn into a black hole, where he remained trapped in a lower dimensional level.

Revenge of the Fallen

In Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, there were seven original Transformers who formed the "Dynasty of Primes", scattering throughout the galaxy looking for planets where they could build Sun Harvesters. These Sun Harvesters, powered by the Matrix of Leadership, were capable of harvesting a sun's energy to produce Energon. The Dynasty of Primes had one rule: Sun Harvesters were not to be used in solar systems containing life. The Fallen, ignoring this rule, arrived on Earth 17,000 BC and started building a new Sun Harvester with other Cybertronians.^[1] This sparked a war, with the Fallen defeated by the rest of the Dynasty of Primes as they sacrificed themselves to seal the Matrix. When Sam dies, he has a vision of the Dynasty and they tell him he has earned the Matrix and this was always his destiny. The Dynasty then resurrects Sam, who in turn brings back Optimus Prime. Optimus then kills the Fallen.

Transformers: Prime

Novels

In Transformers: Exodus – The Official History of the War for Cybertron, the following of the Thirteen were mentioned - Prima, the Liege Maximo and Megatronus Prime. Alpha Trion was the only one still remaining on Cybertron. The Matrix of Leadership was once the jewel in the hilt of Prima's Star Saber, and Sentinel Prime once bore the sigil of Vector Prime.

In Transformers: Exiles, the following members of the Thirteen were mentioned - Solus Prime, Nexus Prime, Megatronus Prime, the Liege Maximo, and Amalgamous Prime. Optimus meets with a holographic representation of Solus Prime, before meeting with Vector Prime in a pocket dimension created by said Prime, and later encounters Nexus Prime, who briefly gives him the Star Saber so that he can battle Megatron's forces, who had come to briefly possess the Requiem Blaster. Alpha Trion's chronicles in the Covenant are interspersed throughout the novel, detailing events occurring on Cybertron since the departure of Optimus and Megatron into deep space as they search for the All-Spark. He is also responsible for Nexus Prime's brief reappearance, sending one of his component bodies, an Autobot named Chaindrive, to meet with a number of others who then recombine into Nexus.

Animated Series

The Fallen was mentioned. It was later mentioned by Optimus Prime that the Thirteen Primes helped Primus defeat Unicron.

Members

Not all of the Thirteen have been identified - the only Transformers explicitly named as part of the group are:

• Prima, the very first Transformer born from Cybertron. The leader of the Thirteen, called the Warrior of Light. Originally wielded the Star Saber before it was broken up, and was the first bearer of the Matrix of Leadership.
• Vector Prime, guardian of time and space.
• Megatronus Prime,^[2] later known as "the Fallen". The guardian of entropy, and called the Warrior of Darkness, in contrast to Prima.^[3]
• Nexus Prime, the guardian of Rarified Energon. Nicknamed "the Wizard of Forms," he is the archetype of combiner Transformers. Nexus is said to have had a relationship (possibly a romance) with Solus Prime, which earned him the hatred of the Fallen and the Liege Maximo. In one reality, Nexus agreed to have Alpha Trion and Vector Prime divide him into five pieces, each piece becoming a separate Transformer and carrying a fragment of the Star Saber. The five Transformers he was divided into were:
  • Breakaway, guardian of the Caretaker in the 2006 Classics toyline.
  • Heatwave, a Decepticon from the Shattered Glass franchise.
  • Landquake, a Decepticon from the Transformers: Cybertron universe.
  • Skyfall, a Velocitronian.
  • Topspin,^[4] a Cybertronian in the Generation 2 timeline.

In another reality, Nexus hid the Cyber Caliber. After reviving to assist Optimus Prime, Nexus divided once again. The following five were given charge of the Cyber Caliber:

• • Clocker, a Velocitronian from Transformers: Exiles.
  • Mainspring, a Velocitronian from Transformers: Exiles.
  • Chaindrive, a Cybertronian sent by Alpha Trion to join Optimus at the Tomb of Solus from Transformers: Exiles.
  • Cannonspring, from Transformers: Exiles.
  • Pinion, a Junkion from Transformers: Exiles.
• Alpha Trion,^[2] the chronicler. He maintains a close relationship with Primus through Vector Sigma.
• Solus Prime, the weaponsmith. Creator of many of the various weapons and artifacts possessed by or relating to the Thirteen. The archetype for female Transformers. Wielded a hammer. Killed by an enraged Fallen; her tomb was later visited by Optimus Prime, where a hologram of her appeared and imparted advice.^[5]
• Amalgamous Prime, the trickster. Archetype of the "shapeshifter" sub-species Transformers, like Makeshift.
• Alchemist Prime; one of the last of the Thirteen to remain on Cybertron, helping to oversee the development of the Transformers race with Alpha Trion.
• One of the Thirteen is the archetype of Beast Mode Transformers.^[6]
• One of the Thirteen is the archetype of Minicons.^[7]
• The Liege Maximo,^[2] the ultimate evil counterforce of good. Considered more despicable than even the Fallen by Alpha Trion. He had a fierce rivalry with Nexus Prime. He fled into the stars, but was still pursued by Nexus.

Artifacts of the Primes

Known/referenced artifacts of the Thirteen Primes include:

• The Star Saber
• The Matrix of Leadership
• The Requiem Blaster
• The Blades of Time
• The Quill
• The Covenant of Primus
• The Chimera Stone
• The Apex Armor
• The Proton Spear
• The Cyber Caliber - Note: the Cyber Caliber and the Star Saber may be the same weapon.
• The Chaos Edge
• The Omni Saber
• The Infinite Combinatoric

References

1. ^ Chris Mowry (w), Carlos Magno (p), Moose Baumann (i). Tales of the Fallen issue 3 Transformers: Tales of the Fallen issue 3 (October 21, 2009), IDW Publishing
2. ^ ^{a b c} Irvine, Alexander (2010). Exodus: The Official History of the War for Cybertron. Del Rey Books. p. 288. ISBN 034551985X. 
3. ^ Furman, Simon (2004). Transformers: The Ultimate Guide. Dorling Kindersley Publishing, INC.. p. 144. ISBN 0756603145. 
4. ^ Forest Lee (w), Dan Khanna (p), Jake Isenberg (i). Crossing Over: Part 6 Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club issue 18 (December 2007/January 2008), Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club
5. ^ "The Thirteen - Transformers Prime". TFW2005. http://www.tfw2005.com/resources/tf-prime-humans-and-other-459/the-thirteen-5976/#additional. Retrieved 2011-10-30. 
6. ^ "Botcon 2011 Transformers Brand Panel! - The Allspark Forums". Allspark.com. 2011-06-05. http://www.allspark.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=79726. Retrieved 2011-10-30. 
7. ^ 03:00 PM. "Botcon 2011 Hasbro Story Building Panel - Transformers News". TFW2005. http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/conventions-15/botcon-2011-hasbro-building-panel-172316/. Retrieved 2011-10-30. 

External links

• The Thirteen at TFWiki.net, the Transformers Wiki