Sunday, June 29, 2014

Being a Hero: Lessons From Optimus Prime

Okay, I make no apology for saying that I am not simply a fan of Optimus Prime, but I believe!

I believe in heroes. I believe that good does win over evil. I believe the greatest act is the one we put forth that embraces the notions that 'We are All in this Together' and 'All is One'.

I believe we all have a little of Optimus Prime in us: to become brave, powerful, wise and compassionate leaders who puts our talents to use improve others around us.





Optimus Prime is a character from the Transformers franchise. Prime is the leader of the Autobots, a faction of transforming robots from the planet Cybertron. The Autobots are constantly waging war against a rival faction of transforming robots called Decepticons. He is depicted as a brave, powerful, wise and compassionate leader who puts his talent to use improving the universe around him. Optimus is portrayed as having a strong sense of justice and righteousness and has dedicated himself to the protection of all life, particularly the inhabitants of Earth.[1] According to Bob Budiansky, co-writer of the Transformers series, Dennis O'Neil was responsible for his name.
In the narrative of his fictional universe, Optimus Prime was the last born of the original Thirteen Transformers. His spark was the most like their progenitor Primus, its frequency nearly identical. He was the mediator and visionary of the group, passing among them all as a calm, inspiring, thoughtful, unifying and well-liked friend. It was his unique spark and his inspiring reassurance that "All are One" that allowed the Primes to rally and succeed in their battle against the Chaos Bringer Unicron. When tragedy at last ended the era of the Primes and brought forth the new race of lesser descendant Transformers he alone chose to be reborn in the Well of All Sparks as one of them, that he might know them and their needs more completely.
All memory of his past life gone, he took the name Orion Pax and sought his way like any other robot on the new world. Eventually he found his place as a simple data clerk (dock worker in G1 cartoon), satisfied with his job. He was always anxious of the inequality amongst cybertronians and thus, after gaining inspiration from an outspoken gladiator named Megatron's call for an upheaval of Cybertron's society, took a stand to rid the oppressive caste system which hindered the freedom of all the sentient beings on Cybertron. Little did he realize that his instructor, the master archivist Alpha Trion, was also one of the Thirteen and knew of the secret within the data clerk. Once Pax and Megatron discovered they did not have as much in common as they once believed, the lowly data clerk was promoted by the High Council to be the next Prime. With the claiming of the Matrix of Leadership Orion Pax became Optimus Prime once more, regaining his memory and rising to lead his people. Over the centuries, loss and war have led Optimus to appear stern and serious to most. But beneath the surface, he's an individual who greatly cares for his fellow living beings, with a warmth and kindness his closest friends can rely on. He'll also find regret over the loss of a comrade to darkness, and the faintest glimmer of hope that he can be saved. Optimus Prime is primarly voiced by Peter Cullen, who voiced him in the original series. Following the production of the 2007 film, Cullen reprised his role for the sequels and supporting media and would even voiced Optimus in later series such as Transformers: Prime.

A believer -
Peter Thomas Senese



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