Thirteen (Transformers)

Thirteen Primes
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics, Dreamwave Productions, IDW Publishing, 3H Enterprises, Fun Publications
First appearance	"Covenant" (July 2000, as the Covenant of Primus) Transformers: The Ultimate Guide (May 2004, as the Thirteen original Transformers) Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (June 2009, as the Dynasty of Primes)
Created by	Simon Furman (original) Justina Robson (revival)
In-story information
Base(s)	Cybertron (home-planet)
Leader(s)	Leonicus (Covenant of Primus) and Prima (Aligned Thirteen, Multiversal Thirteen)
Agent(s)	Primon Covenant of Primus: Ariex, Piscor, Libras, Scorpius, Aquator, Taurotron, Cancix, Geminator, Sagittarii, Virgol and Capricurn. Aligned Thirteen: Megatronus/The Fallen, Alpha Trion, Vector Prime, Nexus Prime, Solus Prime, Liege Maximo, Alchemist Prime, Amalgamous Prime, Onyx Prime, Micronus Prime, Quintus Prime and Optimus Prime. Dynasty of Primes: Seven unnamed Primes, Megatronus Prime/The Fallen. Multiversal Thirteen: Liege Maximo, Megatronus (The Fallen), Vector Prime, Logos Prime, Nexus Prime, Onyx Prime, Solus Prime, Alchemist Prime, Epistimus, Solomus, Autonomous Maximus and Micronus Prime.

The Thirteen Original Transformers (sometimes referred to as the Thirteen Primes, the Dynasty of Primes or simply the Thirteen) are thirteen fictional characters in the Transformers toy and entertainment franchise created by Hasbro. They are usually portrayed as the first thirteen living beings created by Primus, the creator of the Transformers and their home planet of Cybertron. In Transformers live-action series, their back-story is slightly modified, with there only being seven members who were created by the Allspark. The story concept of the Thirteen, as well as three of their members (Prima, Liege Maximo and The Fallen), were created by comic book writer Simon Furman.

Concept history

It was originally revealed in the Botcon story "Covenant" that before going on to create the Transformer race, Primus experimented with a group of twelve robots known as the Covenant of Primus. 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 in that timeline. "Ask Vector Prime" later indicated that the Covenant was preceded or followed by Primon, who in "Covenant" was listed as the first holder of the Matrix of Leadership, and that he and the Covenant later inspired Primus to create the Thirteen; however, it was also indicated that this history might have been fabricated by Liege Maximo.

In 2004, it was revealed in The Ultimate Guide that 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.

Alternately, in Revenge of the Fallen , the original Transformers formed the Dynasty of Primes, scattering throughout the galaxy looking for planets where they could build Sun Harvesters. They debuted in IDW Publishings' comics when they published Transformers: Destiny , a prequel comic to the film.

In the Exodus , Exiles and Retribution novel trilogy, the following of the Thirteen were mentioned - Prima, the Liege Maximo, Megatronus Prime, Solus Prime, Nexus Prime, and Amalgamous Prime. The book Transformers: The Covenant of Primus would shed further light on the concept of the Thirteen by introducing all thirteen members. It was later retconned that the Aligned continuity was separate from the rest of the Transformers multiverse when Optimus Prime was revealed to be the final member.

Less than a year later, the Transformers: Generation 1 -based IDW Publishing comics story "The Crucible" established that many of the Prime Thirteen characters introduced in The Covenant of Primus had multiversal counterparts, and in this reality, the Thirteen existed as the third generation of Cybertronians rather than the first.

During the next year, The Complete AllSpark Almanac and the BotCon 2015 Facebook blog "Ask Vector Prime" revealed that there were both multiversal singularity and non-multiversal singularity versions of the Thirteen, and that the two iterations of the Thirteen were starting to blend together. Consequently, Vector Prime used the blog to officially introduce the members of the "Multiversal Thirteen" after a decade of being introduced as a concept. He would also introduce additional elements, such as histories of the Thirteen in certain universes and their interactions with humanity using holo-avatars that inspired the gods of Greek mythology: Prima became Zeus, Nexus Prime was Hera, Liege Maximo inspired Aphrodite, Solus was dubbed Hephaestus, Megatronus became Ares, Vector Prime was Hermes, and so on.

Fictional team history

Primus creation story

According to Transformers lore, before the dawn of time, Order and Chaos existed within an extra-dimensional entity known as The One. To explore the fledgling universe, he created the astral being known as Unicron, and then subdivided him, creating his twin, Primus. Both brothers were multiversal singularities, unique in all realities, but where as Unicron could only exist in one universe at a time, moving between them at will, Primus existed simultaneously in all realities at once. It is suggested, in fact, that the two brothers embody the basic concepts of reality—good and evil, order and chaos—and that their continued existence is necessary for the stability of the multiverse. As Unicron and Primus ventured through the cosmos, it became apparent to Primus that Unicron was a corrupt being, and he eventually confronted the threat his sibling posed. In combat, Primus was no match for Unicron, and their feud threatened to destroy the universe. In cunning, however, Primus proved himself to be his brother's superior when he shifted their battle to the astral plane, and then back to the physical world once more, sacrificing most of his strength to manifest their essences within metallic planetoids, leaving them both trapped. It was with this act of sacrifice that Primus hoped to contain the evil force forever. Unfortunately, over time, Unicron learned to physically shape his prison into a giant metallic planet, and Primus followed suit, becoming the mechanical world of Cybertron.

When Unicron then learned to transform his planetary form even further, into a gigantic robot form, Primus could also, but adapted the idea, and created The Thirteen, a group of robotic beings that possessed the ability to change shape, like Unicron. ^[1] The war between Unicron and Primus came to its seeming end during a climactic battle in which one of the Thirteen, Megatronus Prime, who would forever afterwards be known as The Fallen, betrayed Primus and became an acolyte of Unicron. The battle ended when the Fallen and Unicron were sucked into a black hole and disappeared from reality. With Unicron gone for now, Primus entered an eons-long slumber, preventing Unicron from detecting him through the mental link the brothers shared. ^[2]

Retellings and Revisions

The Primus/Unicron backstory has evolved and been rewritten a number of times since it first originated in the Marvel Comics series. The version recounted above is the current iteration, which has slowly solidified across a wide swath of media (beginning around the time of Transformers: Armada ). Before the Primus/Unicron mythos reached its present form it went through several distinct versions in the Marvel Generation 1 comics and elsewhere. In Beast Wars: Reborn, a text story set after the events of Beast Machines , a new character known as Logos Prime was introduced. Abducting Optimus Primal and Megatron, he let them wander his temple in the hopes that one of them would prove a worthy successor to his power. He was subsequently confronted by the arriving Vector Prime, who recognized Logos as a former comrade.

In that story, The Ancients (エンシェント Enshento) were the original clan of Transformers created by Primus before he became Cybertron, and possessed extraordinary powers over space and time. One of them, Logos Prime, lost sight of his objective and memory of him faded away. He would return under the name of Soundblaster, abducting Optimus Primal and Megatron so he could apparently appoint Megatron as his successor. Vector Prime was sent by Primus to stop the plot and was taken aback when confronted with his fellow Ancient who he thought lost. While Vector Prime and what remained of Logos Prime fought on the astral plane, Soundblaster revealed the Zeonomicon, the key to his power, and had Optimus and Megatron hunt it down on Animatron to decide who would inherit his power.

IDW Publishing - Movie

IDW Publishing would introduce two alternate versions of the story of the Thirteen Primes. The first was introduced in the Revenge of the Fallen comics which shows the original Transformers forming the Dynasty of Primes, beings that were created eons ago by the AllSpark. These thirteen beings were the first Cybertronians and had the ability to move between dimensions. They soon realized that the AllSpark's power, though vast, was not infinite, and required the energy of stars to be replenished. Once a nearby star went nova, the AllSpark created a worker race, the Transformers, who would assist the Dynasty in replenishing the AllSpark. One of the thirteen, later known as the Fallen, believed the AllSpark was talking to him and that it wanted him to harvest any sun, local lifeforms or no local lifeforms, rather than spend ages searching. He harvested the sun of a living world behind his brother's backs, only to be caught and told off. This didn't stop him and eventually, the Dynasty ruled that all seven of them would decide on the harvester's use. In response, the Fallen assembled his own army, the Decepticons, and deliberately built a harvester on Earth in order to draw his brothers into a trap. ^[3] These Sun Harvesters, powered by the Matrix of Leadership, were capable of harvesting a sun's energy to produce Energon. A great battle erupted as the Fallen fought to gain the AllSpark's power for himself.

However, once he had destroyed his twelve brothers' sarcophagi, he still had to face the final survivor, Prima, who tricked him into running out of power and then used the remaining power in the Dynasty's corpses to imprison the Fallen in his own sarcophagus. The last Prime then built a tomb for the Matrix out of the corpses and sacrificed himself to close it. Knowledge of the thirteen faded and the Dynasty of Primes became little more than a myth. Thousands of years later, the Science Division discovered the Fallen's sarcophagus and the remains of the other Twelve's sarcophagi. As the Fallen influenced Lord High Protector Megatron, the members of the Science Division, under the direction of their leader Optimus Prime, studied the remains of the other relics and discovered the symbol of the Primes. This was the first proof that they had found of the Dynasty, and what's more, the symbol was etched on the head of the Science Division's leader, and he was soon dubbed Optimus Prime by his fellow scientists. After the Autobots refused to follow Megatron's Decepticons, the term Prime came to denote Optimus as leader of the Autobots. ^{[4] [5] [6]}

Aligned continuity

In the "Aligned continuity" (in which the storylines of media such as Transformers: War for Cybertron and Transformers: Prime take place), Alpha Trion recounts the creation of the Thirteen by Primus prior to his entering a state of slumber. Created to battle the evil Unicron, the Thirteen spent a considerable amount of time preparing for conflict with him. They succeeded in defeating him but were stained with touches of his evil that later led to division. Following Solus Prime's murder at the hands of Megatronus, known from that time on as the Fallen, the group fractured, its members scattering. Prima, Alpha Trion, and Alchemist Prime were known to have remained on Cybertron, where they watched over the emerging Cybertronian race while dealing with threats like that posed by the original Predaking. ^[7] 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. ^[8] 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 Cyber Caliber 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. After aiding the Autobots in battle, Nexus Prime takes back the Cyber Caliber and breaks back into his various components: Cannonspring, Chaindrive, Clocker, Mainspring, and Pinion. The five then scatter across space. ^[9] By the time of Transformers: Prime , many of the Thirteen apparently have perished, though their respective artifacts and relics were protected by Alpha Trion during the War and eventually sent to Earth for the Autobots to find. An ensuing battle would take place on Earth for these Artifacts, and not long after Cybertron would be reborn. The Thirteen would subsequently play a role in Transformers: Robots in Disguise , in which many of them inhabit a mysterious place known as the Realm of the Primes. Here Optimus, following his sacrifice to restore Cybertron, would undergo training under the supervision of others of the Thirteen, while also making occasional contact with Bumblebee when the Primes deemed it critical. This training would eventually see Optimus sent to Earth to counter the arrival of the Fallen, receiving portions of the Sparks of six of the Thirteen to grant him additional power for the battle.

Following Megatronus' apparent destruction at the hands of Optimus and a team of Earth-based Autobots led by Bumblebee, the Thirteen would reclaim their power from him, leaving him somewhat weakened.

IDW Publishing - Generation 1

The second version was introduced in IDW Publishing's Transformers: Generation 1 comic continuity, which would introduce the Guiding Hand, five ancient deities created by Primus. They are featured in one of the more prominent myths regarding the creation of the planet Cybertron and its native people. Members included: Primus, the Light-giver and Life-giver; Mortilus, the Death-bringer; Solomus, Wisdom Incarnate; Epistemus, Knowledge Personified; and Adaptus, Blessed with an Infinity of Shapes. According to a religious story related by Cyclonus, the Guiding Hand were formed after the creation of the planet Cybertron when Primus the First Light stood forth on the miracle planet. At the time, he felt a nest of sparks within him and he split his essence into five other vessels. They became a remote but nurturing presence on early Cybertron and populated it with a gesture, thus creating the Transformer race. Under their reign came the First Golden Age of Cybertron which was shattered when Mortilus believed that the Guiding Hand should become a fist against the rest of the universe. As Mortilus stood against Primus, all of Cybertron became divided in a conflict that saw the planet shudder and its first moon being ripped asunder. The Death-bringer was ultimately destroyed in the struggle but the conflict left the remaining members of the Guiding Hand mortally wounded. ^[10]

The Knights of Cybertron are fabled as the original children of Primus and the other four gods of the Guiding Hand, making them the original Cybertronians. Religion says that after the god, Mortilus, warred with the others ten million years ago, the early Transformers were rendered immortal and wise, and formed the Knights. After creating a paradise on their homeworld, they then left Cybertron to spread enlightenment throughout space.

After the departure of the Knights of Cybertron, the remaining Transformers formed the Thirteen Tribes: each united under a separate Prime, a warrior-leader who built a distinct civilisation. There was balance until Megatronus Prime, plotting with the Liege Maximo, betrayed Prima. A resulting civil war between the tribes tore the planet apart. Ten million years ago, Galvatron slew Nexus Prime after destroying his Headmasters, despite persistent rumors that a Prime could only be killed by another Prime. Said other Primes fled the planet for other worlds, with the exception of Alpha Trion. The war finally ended when Galvatron and Nova Major routed the bestial hordes of Onyx Prime/Shockwave and, with Trion's aid and blessing, united the tribes as one planet under Nova Prime. Only Galvatron and Trion were left aware of what had happened to the Thirteen until Shockwave learned about them and sent his ores off to where he thought the twelve had gone. ^[11]

Transformers: Timelines

The Thirteen later massed as one of their number, Nexus Prime, attempted to safeguard creation by creating barriers that would separate the various reality streams in the multiverse from each other. Some came to help while others came to oppose, but he succeeded regardless, and the multiversal streams became more firmly differentiated, greatly hampering interdimensional travel and isolating worlds such as the Axiom Nexus. This event also caused the Thirteen's various manifestations across reality to be separated from each other, each Prime ceasing to be a multiversal singularity.

Members

In the fictional narrative of the Transformers universe, the Prime lineage began with the Thirteen Original Transformers created when the universe began by Primus to aid him in his battle against Unicron. They went on to become the foundation of life on Cybertron. The story concept of the Original Thirteen, as well as three of their members (Prima, Liege Maximo and The Fallen), were created by comic book writer Simon Furman.

Within the multiverse in which most Transformers fiction occurs, the Thirteen are multiversal singularities—across all the different universal streams, only one incarnation of each of the Thirteen exists, moving between worlds. Within the Aligned continuity family, which was once considered to be "separate" from the rest of the Transformers multiverse and consists of the television series Transformers: Prime and its related media, each member of the Thirteen possess a special artifact of great power that is tied to their identity and role in Primus's plan. The following nine are members of the Thirteen in all incarnations:

Character name	Description
Prima	Described as a warrior of light, and the "First Made", Prima is the first Transformer created by Primus, is the original holder of the Matrix of Leadership, and wields a legendary sword called the Star Saber. He first appeared in the Marvel Transformers comic books in 1989. In the Aligned continuity Prima is the leader-albeit unelected-of the Thirteen, and continued to defend Cybertron even after the group separated. While a dedicated and highly competent leader, he was portrayed in the Prime continuity as extremely orthodox and paranoid. Consequentially, he was highly suspicious of several of his fellow Primes. After the War of the Primes, he continued to protect and guide the new inhabitants of Cybertron, but disappeared after the Cataclysm.
Vector Prime	The guardian of time and space, and interdimensional traveler. He wields a sword named "Rhisling", and is able to travel across time and between dimensions. He first appeared in the animated television series Transformers: Cybertron in 2005. His artifact in the Aligned continuity is the Blades of Time, by which he traveled to a pocket dimension in order to escape the turmoil of the main universe.
Solus Prime	The only female member of the Original Thirteen. She is a weapon-smith who crafted many of the groups weapons, and wields a mystical hammer called the Forge of Solus Prime, which is capable of crafting weaponry and Transformer body components from basic machinery. While Solus' only appearance in fiction as of 2013 is in Transformers: Exiles, the Forge features prominently in the second and third seasons of Transformers: Prime. The Covenant of Primus stated that she was accidentally killed by Megatronus, with whom she had shared a romantic relationship, while Robots in Disguise indicates that he intentionally murdered her. In the movie continuity, he murdered his fellow Primes before being imprisoned in another dimension.
Micronus Prime	The first Mini-Con, and known as "the Catalyst". His artifact is the Chimera Stone, which he used to increase the abilities of his fellow Primes (a nod to the power of Mini-Cons in Transformers Armada ). He was one of four Primes whose talents leaned more towards tactics than battle-his comrades in this group consisted of Alpha Trion, the Liege Maximo, and Quintus Prime. After the War of the Primes, he accompanied his friend Onyx Prime to the Well of All Sparks to keep him company. He would subsequently appear in Robots in Disguise as one of Optimus Prime's trainers, displaying a somewhat arrogant attitude while still attempting to help prepare Optimus for future challenges.
Alchemist Prime	Known as "the Elemental", his artifact was the Lenses, which was built into his optic sensors. As of 2013, Alchemist Prime has not appeared in any Transformers toy line or fiction, and all that is known about the character is detailed in Transformers: Exiles. In the novel, Alpha Trion reveals he and Alchemist oversaw the development of early civilization on Cybertron, but Alchemist eventually left the planet to track down Liege Maximo for his crimes. However, The Covenant of Primus indicates that Maximo perished on Cybertron, thus leaving any purpose Alchemist had in departing Cybertron unknown. Transformers: Timelines features a version of Alchemist Prime who resembles Maccadam, indicating that they may be the same being.
Nexus Prime	The First Combiner, capable of separating his body into several smaller Transformers which can function individually from each other. He first appeared in the Fun Publications Transformers comic books in 2009, and later appeared as a major character in Transformers: Exiles. The former story saw his components separated across various reality before reuniting and regaining their memory of their nature as a Prime before setting out to secure the dimensions of the multiverse by recovering the Star Saber and Terminus Blade. The latter saw his components scattered from Cybertron to various colony worlds before reuniting to aid the Autobots against the Decepticons and Star Seekers. In the Fun Publications comic books, Nexus' components are called Heatwave, Skyfall, Landquake, Topspin and Breakaway, while in Exiles their names are Clocker, Pinion, Cannonspring, Chaindrive and Mainspring. In the IDW comics he was the only Prime known to be deceased, having been killed by Galvatron. His artifact is the Enigma of Combination, and he wields several swords, including the Omni Saber and the Chaos Edge.
Onyx Prime/Shockwave	Known as the Spirit Warrior, he was the first Transformer to have a Beast Mode. His artifact is the Triptych Mask, which he would later use to give form to new Transformers as they emerged from the Well of All Sparks. Onyx entered the Well permanently after being mortally wounded during the War of the Primes, and was kept alive by the presence of Primus' Spark. In doing so, he was able to use his powers to create new life on Cybertron. The IDW continuity saw him become closer in character to the Aligned version of Predaking, who really is Shockwave ruling over an army of bestial Transformers.
Liege Maximo	Also known as "the Manipulator", he was considered to be the ultimate evil and a natural counterforce to the heroic Prima, Liege Maximo plotted against the Thirteen and tried to overthrow them, but he failed and was cast out. He first appeared in Marvel's Transformers: Generation 2 comic books in 1994, in which he was the original Decepticon. In the Prime continuity, he is stated to be charismatic, manipulative, and was able to convince others in various ways into agreeing with his line of thought. In the Prime continuity, there are conflicting stories as to his demise: the Covenant of Primus indicates that he died during the War of the Primes on Cybertron, while Exiles indicates that he fled into space and was eventually hunted down and imprisoned by Alchemist Prime. His artifact was the Liegian Darts, and his arm is believed to be the one used by Megatron in Prime to wield Solus Prime's Forge.
Megatronus Prime	Described as the guardian of entropy and a warrior of darkness. Like Liege Maximo, there are conflicting accounts in the Prime continuity with Exiles stating that Megatronus was cast out of the group after murdering Solus Prime, and afterwards was referred to as "The Fallen". Meanwhile, in the Covenant of Primus, he is portrayed as an arrogant and misunderstood warrior who was secretly ashamed of his inner nature and exiled himself while adopting his new name in penance for the unintended death of his beloved, Solus Prime. The Aligned animated series Robots in Disguise more closely followed the Exiles story, and featured him being banished to an alternate universe that led to him seeking escape and revenge on both Earth and Cybertron. In this series he dubs himself "The First Decepticon" and claims to have been empowered by some unknown party or force even mightier than his former comrades. The Fallen first appeared in the Dreamwave comic book series Transformers: The War Within in 2002, and later appeared as the primary villain in the 2009 film Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen . His artifact was the Requiem Blaster, but he was known for possessing a considerable arsenal.
Transformers: Prime
Alpha Trion	An archivist who writes down historic and future events in a book called the Covenant of Primus with the Quill. He first appeared in the second season of The Transformers in 1985, and for many years was portrayed merely as a wise and elderly Autobot with no connection to the Thirteen. This was until Hasbro retroactively made him a member in 2010, for the Aligned Continuity. He was also included as a member of the IDW version of the Thirteen but it was confirmed that he wasn't a member of the Multiversal incarnation. While he is not a multiuniversal singularity, most of his incarnations are portrayed with the same characterization (the obvious exception being Shattered Glass, where an evil mirror version of the character appeared).
Amalgamous Prime	Known as "the Shape-shifter", since he is the first Shifter, a rare type of Transformer able to transform into anything, notably into perfect duplicates of other Transformers. His artifact is the Transformation Cog, which later T-Cogs would be modeled after. Along with Prima, Vector Prime, Megatronus, and Onyx Prime, he was considered a warrior Prime. In "Ask Vector Prime" he was identified with Adaptus of the G1 Comics' Guiding Hand. [12]
Quintus Prime	Known as "the Experimental Dreamer" and a scientist, he was the creator of the Quintessons. While Quintus himself has yet to appear in any Transformers toy line or fiction, the Quintessons first appeared in The Transformers: The Movie in 1986, and featured as recurring villains in the third season of The Transformers. His artifact is the Emberstone, which he presumably used to give life to the Quintessons. Unfortunately, it is believed that his creations destroyed him after he ceased to be of use to them.
Optimus Prime	Optimus Prime is the thirteenth prime, Optimus Prime was one of the Thirteen created by Primus, or better known as the "Last of the Primes". In the Prime continuity, Optimus Prime, was stated to be "The Visionary" and served as a source of morale and unity amongst the Thirteen with his vision and his words "All are One" until the civil war between the Primes. Afterwards, Optimus Prime volunteered to enter the Well of All Sparks to be reborn as Orion Pax in Transformers prime, Primus seeing the nobility in Orion Pax, own Primus gave him the matrix of leadership, Orion Pax returned to be Optimus Prime again, the Last of the Primes. After the defeat of Unicron, Optimus reverted to Orion Pax and was forced by Megatron to decrypt the Iacon database. After learning of Optimus from the Decepticon warship, Orion engaged Megatron. Then after Jack Darby returned the Matrix of Leadership's energy to Orion, Optimus he regained his memories and power. Optimus ultimately sacrificed himself in the Well of AllSparks to restore Cybertron. Years later after merging with the AllSpark, Optimus would later return in Robots in Disguise, having been chosen by his fellow Primes to contend with the threat of Megatronus' return. After undergoing training with Micronus, he would receive power from him and five of the other Primes-led by Vector Prime-in order to prepare him to face Megatronus, as well as receiving the Prime Decepticon Hunter.
Multiversal Singularities
Logos Prime	In Beast Wars: Reborn, a text story set after the events of Beast Machines , a new character known as "Soundblaster" was introduced. Abducting Optimus Primal and Megatron, he let them wander his temple in the hopes that one of them would prove a worthy successor to his power. He was subsequently confronted by the arriving Vector Prime, who recognized him as his former comrade Logos Prime. He later appeared among the versions of the Thirteen who tried to prevent Nexus Prime from dividing the multiverse.
Epistemus	A Transformer deity who lived during the earliest period on Cybertron and was renowned for his unconventional intellect. Long ago, the Light God Primus created the miracle planet of Cybertron, after which he split his essence into five avatars. These avatars became a pantheon of deities called the Guiding Hand. Epistemus embodied knowledge personified, standing alongside his brethren, consisting of: Solomus, Adaptus, Mortilus, and Primus himself. Together, they brought about the first Golden Age of Cybertron until it was shattered by Mortilus, who desired to strike against the universe.
Autonomous Maximus	According to Vector Prime, he took up a solitary vigil, awaiting "the inevitable" and renouncing his name, becoming "The Last Autobot". He is the legendary Autobot warrior and essentially the Transformers equivalent of a king in the mountain. He appeared in a story arc that marked the end of the American Marvel G1 Transformers comic where he was depicted as having been dormant at the center of Cybertron for millions of years, until he was finally called upon to defeat the Decepticons on the planet Klo. The series was later revived, but the Last Autobot was revealed to have been murdered by the Decepticons during the interlude.
Solomus	A wise Transformer deity who lived during the earliest period of Cybertron, Solomus was a member of the Thirteen. Vector Prime fondly remembered his brother's kindness and wisdom. Competing memories tell him that the guy had been long departed when Vector was around, a nod to the character's status as a member of the Pre-Thirteen Guiding Hand in the G1 IDW continuity. Solomus was named for the biblical king Solomon, who was noted for his wisdom; Vector Prime implied that he might be the same entity as Alpha Trion.

Artifacts of the Primes

Created at the dawn of time by Primus to battle his ancient foe Unicron, the Thirteen original Transformers employed many powerful weapons and icons in their battles. Many of these were crafted by Solus Prime, the smith of the Thirteen, while others were made by Primus himself. Many of the relics are re-imagined versions of the special abilities, relics, or combinations the Mini-Cons had the ability to form in Transformers: Armada . These artifacts include: the Star Saber, the Requiem Blaster, and the Skyboom Shield.

Homages to artifacts include the Dark Saber, an evil version of the Star Saber created in the comics when Galvatron made use of the Air Defense Mini-Con Team. This weapon was re-imagined as the "Dark Star Saber", a similar weapon featured in Transformers: Prime created by Megatron from Dark Energon using the Forge of Solus Prime. The Dark Star Saber also appeared as a weapon used by Nemesis Prime in Transformers: Devastation . The full list of known/referenced artifacts of the Thirteen include:

Artifact name	Description
The Star Saber	Prima's sword, it can slice through mountains and throw waves of energy; it was forged by Solus Prime. It is a homage to the Victory's main character, who shares the same name, as well as the identically named weapon from Transformers: Armada . The blade was destroyed by Megatron's Dark Star Saber, though the hilt remained with the Autobots, until they used the Forge of Solus Prime to restore the blade to its former glory. Optimus used it briefly before it was taken by the Decepticons from the rubble of the Autobots' destroyed base and placed aboard the Nemesis as a trophy. The Autobots later recovered it, and it was used by Bumblebee to kill Megatron; Optimus later used it in the ceremony elevating Bumblebee to warrior class, and it presumably remained in the Autobots' keeping on Cybertron. In Transformers: Timelines , the Star Saber was entrusted to Nexus Prime, who set out to find it after reuniting all his components and regaining his lost identity. He later used it in combination with the Terminus Blade to strengthen the barriers between the different multiversal streams, thus splitting multiversal singularities like himself and the other thirteen into separate beings across the multiverse.
The Matrix of Leadership	A talisman that was originally stored in the hilt of the Star Saber. As its name suggests, it is a symbol of leadership, and is passed down to new leaders of the Autobots, the Transformers' franchise's main protagonists. Holds the collective wisdom of the Primes but did not receive its name from them.
Key to Vector Sigma	Grants access to Vector Sigma, a supercomputer created by the Primes that serves as a repository for their combined knowledge and wisdom. In Transformers: Prime, the Key can be used to copy this information and reload it into the Matrix if it is ever emptied, as when Optimus Prime used its power to defeat Unicron. In the Generation 1 continuity-which included Beast Machines -the Key to Vector Sigma was a necessary component to giving life to Transformers through the medium of Vector Sigma. It also possessed the power to drain energy from matter and convert it into metal, a property used by the original Megatron, Predacon Megatron, and Tankor.
Requiem Blaster	An immensely powerful weapon wielded by Megatronus/The Fallen, crafted for him reluctantly by Solus Prime. It has enough power-which it draws from black holes, stars, and other forces-to destroy entire mountains and reduce them to ashes. After creating it, Solus called for a vote on whether or not it should be destroyed, as she feared its corrupting influence and destructive power. A vote of seven to six resulted in its preservation, and Solus subsequently expressed confidence in Megatronus' ability to use it without falling victim to it. After it was used in the battle against Unicron and in the War of the Primes, the Fallen lost it to his former brothers, who sent it into space where its gravity attracted space junk. This resulted in the creation of the planetoid known as Junkion, which was later broken up when the Decepticons learned of the Blaster and extracted it. They were forced to jettison it, and it became a target of the Star Seeker pirates. Its abilities to draw power from stellar phenomena may have been inspired by Megatron's G1 biography. The Requiem Blaster appeared in Transformers Armada as one of three weapons composed of three Mini-Cons joining together, and was essential to the restoration of Unicron.
The Blades of Time	A device broken into pieces and spread across the universe by Nexus Prime. Each of the pieces were carried by the individual parts of Nexus, who also served as their protectors. Together, the Blades of Time have the power to open portals in time and space, allowing Vector Prime or others to cross vast distances or travel between dimensions. He left it behind upon deciding to leave the main universe, and in Transformers: Exiles, Optimus Prime uses the Blades to visit Vector Prime's pocket dimension.
The Covenant of Primus	A digital book in which Alpha Trion writes down past, present and future events. The Covenant first appeared in the Beast Wars two-part episode "Nemesis". The real-life book Transformers: The Covenant of Primus is supposed to be a translated version of the fictional book, translated for "human audiences" by Alpha Trion.
Quill	Used by Alpha Trion to write down things in the Covenant of Primus. Can be used to affect future events, however because the flow of timeline is always changing these events do not always last.
Apex Armor	A full-body suit of indestructible armor that expands from a small disc. It was created by Solus Prime at the request of Liege Maximo, and her refusal to give it to Megatronus Prime invoked the rage that led him to murder her. It eventually ended up in the Vaults of Iacon and was sent to Earth by Alpha Trion, eventually coming into the possession of Starscream. He later lost it to the Autobots, only for Arcee to surrender it after the Decepticons took a number of human hostages during the battle for the Omega Lock. Starscream reclaimed it, only for it to fall into the hands of the human girl Miko Nakadai, who employed it twice in battle against Decepticons. In the Generation 1 comics, the Apex Armor was a suit of battle armor utilized by Sentinel Prime.
Chimera Stone	Micronus Prime's artifact that allowed him to link up with his siblings and enhance their powers.
Proton Spear	TBA
Cyber Caliber	A sword shattered by the battle that broke up the Thirteen and scattered with the components of Nexus Prime. In Transformers: Exiles, a reformed Nexus gives the Cyber Caliber to Optimus Prime to aid in his fight against the Decepticons on Junkion. Optimus has a sense of wielding the sword previously; it is later returned to Nexus who separates it-and himself-back into five separate parts that scatter across the universe. The Cyber Caliber was created for Nexus by Solus Prime, and could be segmented into several smaller blades with various uses. According to "Ask Vector Prime," one version was transformed by him into Rhisling using knowledge obtained from Amalgamous Prime/Adaptus. [12]
Chaos Edge	Another one of Nexus Prime's swords, imbued with such great power that Nexus hesitated to use it in battle with the Decepticons. Among its powers are opening portals that allow one to travel instantaneously from one point to another.
Omni Saber	Another one of Nexus Prime's swords, a completely black blade that reflects no light.
Infinite Combinatoric/Enigma of Combination [13]	An artifact belonging to Nexus Prime that has the ability to grant-or force upon-other Transformers the power to combine.
Emberstone	Quintus Prime's artifact that gave him ability to create life, specifically the Quintessons.
Liegian Darts	Toxin-loaded weapons of Liege Maximo.
Phase Shifter	A watch-like device that allows the wearer to pass through anything or the other way around. Wielded by Amalgamous Prime in the battle against Unicron, it was preserved in the vaults of Iacon before being sent to Earth by Alpha Trion. Here it came into the possession of the Autobots, Smokescreen in particular, though it occasionally fell into the hands of the Decepticon Knockout briefly before being reclaimed.
Forge of Solus Prime	Solus Prime's hammer which is capable of forging powerful weapons such as Prima's Star Saber and Megatron's Dark Star Saber. It is also capable of recreating a transformers biological organs such as a T-Cog or voice box. It will only work in the hands of a Prime. In Prime , Megatron has the right hand of Liego Maximo surgically attached to his body and is able to use the Forge to create the Dark Star Saber from a chunk of Dark Energon. After Dreadwing secretly returns the Forge of Solus Prime to the Autobots after his parley with them, Optimus uses it to turn their base's Ground Bridge into a Space Bridge, as well as reforge the Star Saber. After the Autobot base was destroyed, the Decepticons took it to their warship. Smokescreen got the Forge of Solus Prime back to Optimus with the help of the Phase Shifter and puts it on Optimus's hand, which than remade him into a more powerful body. Ultra Magnus would subsequently employ the depeleted Forge as a melee weapon until it was shattered by Predaking following his transformation into robot mode.
Omega Keys	Four powerful keys that are said to have the power to restore life to the Transformers' homeworld Cybertron by unlocking the Omega Lock, which is a link to the AllSpark. They are heavily based on the four Cyber Planet Keys featured in Transformers Cybertron, but unlike those artifacts are only useful in locating and activating the Omega Lock, possessing no other known powers.
Triptych Mask	Onyx Prime's artifact, consisting of three faces that grant him various powers of astral projection and communication with other beings. As implied by its name, it included three components: Farsight, which allowed him to view other places-real and fictional-in time and space; the Predator, which enabled him to connect with any creature; and Mournsong, which had the ability to peer into the Transformer afterlife. It was also this artifact which he used to create the various Transformers varieties that came to inhabit Cybertron.
Terminus Blade	A weapon in the Timelines storyline that was created by the Primes to enable them to travel between universes, but was discarded after it became obsolete. It was briefly possessed by Shattered Glass Ultra Magnus, whose mad scheming led to the destruction of the Classics universe, before being reclaimed by Nexus Prime, who used it in conjunction with the Star Saber to separate the various dimensions of the multiverse and prevent travel between them.
Prime Decepticon Hunter	A powerful sword given to Optimus by the other Primes during the events of Robot in Disguise. While it may possibly possess the ability to transform into various weapons like other Decepticon Hunters, Optimus always employs it as a sword. It is useful both as a melee weapon and for long-range attacks, as it can launch powerful energy blasts capable of downing most opponents.

Media appearances

Transformers Cinematic Universe

In the Revenge of the Fallen film, there were only Seven Primes who were the first wielders of the Matrix and used it to power a Sun Harvester. After learning that Earth contained intelligent life, they refused to use it and The Fallen (voiced by Tony Todd) fought them over it. He was too powerful for them in battle so they stole it from him and sacrificed themselves to hide it. In the present day, Sam Witwicky sets out to find the Matrix after learning that its energy may be able to restore Optimus Prime to life- Optimus having recently sacrificed himself in battle to save Sam- but the Matrix apparently crumbled to dust in his hands after he located the temple where it had been hidden. However, in a vision he experiences after an attack by the Decepticons nearly kills him, the Dynasty gave it to him to wield as he proved worthy of it, telling him that the Matrix is something that must be earned not found. After being revived, Sam used it to resurrect Optimus, but The Fallen took it before it completely healed Optimus and used to power the Sun Harvester. After being powered up by Jetfire, Optimus kills the Fallen and destroys the harvester. The unnamed members of the Dynasty that appear in Sam's vision are voiced by Michael York, Kevin Michael Richardson and Robin Atkin Downes.

Television

In Transformers: Prime , the following of the Thirteen were mentioned by name - Alpha Trion, Solus Prime and Megatronus Prime/The Fallen, while the whole team appears in a flashback in the episode "One Shall Rise, Part 1". Alpha Trion (voiced by George Takei) is the only member to eventually appear in the episode "Alpha/Omega" and even speak in a message to Optimus, and in "Rebellion", through the "Well of All Sparks." In the former episode, Liege Maximo would appear, having been long dead ^{[ citation needed ]}. His face was not seen, nor was he named, but his right arm was amputated by Megatron to use for himself to activate the Forge of Solus Prime to create the Dark Star Saber out of a chunk of Dark Energon to evenly match him with Optimus Prime who had recently obtained Prima's Star Saber. Technically, as it was later established that Optimus Prime (voiced by Peter Cullen) was a member of the Thirteen, his presence as a main character in the series adds to the small list of appearances members of the team have made throughout the media.

In Transformers: Robots in Disguise (an animated sequel to Transformers: Prime), the Thirteen Primes are shown to reside in the Realm of the Primes which is where Optimus Prime is currently residing. In "Out of Focus," Micronus Prime (voiced by Adrian Pasdar) appears where he trains Optimus Prime as he prepares himself for an evil that would threaten both Cybertron and Earth. Micronus Prime used some generic Mini-Cons in his training. After some difficulty, Optimus Prime managed to pass Micronus Prime's training exercise. A number of members of the Thirteen Primes appear in "Battlegrounds, Part 1", including Vector Prime (voiced by Troy Baker), who expressed doubt in Optimus's readiness to battle Megatronus/The Fallen. Despite this, Micronous sends Optimus to Earth, presumably resurrecting him in the real world, where he arrives in time to battle Megatronus (voiced by Gil Gerard). After the Fallen is apparently killed, Optimus decides to stay with Bumblebee's Team on Earth at his request, though Optimus states that it will only be if he is his equal rather than leader. In "Overload, Part 1" Micronus appears again briefly to recover the additional power the Primes had provided to Optimus for his battle with Megatronus.

See also

• Matrix of Leadership
• List of Autobots
• Prime (Transformers)
• List of Primes and Matrix holders

References

1. Transformers: The Ultimate Guide
2. Transformers: The War Within
3. 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
4. Transformers: Dynasty
5. Transformers: Alliance
6. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
7. Transformers: The Covenant of Primus
8. Transformers: Exodus
9. Transformers: Exiles
10. Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations
11. The Crucible
12. "Ask Vector Prime". www.facebook.com.
13. "Ask Vector Prime". www.facebook.com.

External links

• The Thirteen at TFWiki.net, the Transformers Wiki