Thirteen (Transformers)

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 the live-action Transformers film trilogy, 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. All of the Thirteen have been revealed by Hasbro.

History

3H Enterprises

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.

Dreamwave Productions

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.

IDW Publishing

Eons ago, the AllSpark created thirteen beings, the first Cybertronians, who 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. 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, who 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.

Revenge of the Fallen movie

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.

Video games

The Fallen (voiced by James Arnold Taylor) appears in the official game adaptation of the film. He is not a playable character, but is the final boss of both campaigns, except in the Nintendo DS versions where the final boss is Optimus Prime or Megatron. In most versions of the game, the Cairo intro explains the story of the Dynasty of Primes. In the Autobot campaign, Jetfire tells of the Fallen betraying them. In the Decepticon campaign, the Fallen says he was the only one willing to do what was necessary.

Books

In Transformers: Exodus, the following of the Thirteen were mentioned - Prima, the Liege Maximo and Megatronus. 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, 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 Thirteen appear in a flashback in the Transformers: Prime episode "One Shall Rise, Part 1", with various members of the faction being mentioned in later (or earlier) episodes. Sor far, the following members of the Thirteen were mentioned - The Fallen/Megatronus Prime, Solus Prime and Alpha Trion. Alpha Trion makes a number of appearances at the end of season 2, and early in season 3, but only via flaskbacks, messages left in the Star Saber for Optimus to receive, or in Optimus's visions of the Allspark.

Members

As of 2012, all of the Thirteen have been given official names and identities.

1. 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.
2. 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 is the Blades of Time.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Micronus Prime - The first Mini-Con, and known as "the Catalyst". His artifact is the Chimera Stone.
6. Alchemist Prime - Known as "the Elemental", his artifact was the Lenses. 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 civilisation on Cybertron, but Alchemist eventually left the planet to track down Liege Maximo for his crimes.
7. 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. 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. His artifact is the Enigma of Combination.
8. Onyx Prime - Known as the Spirit Warrior, he was the first Transformer to transform into a beast. His artifact is the Triptych Mask. As of 2013 he has not appeared in any Transformers toy-line or fiction.
9. Amalgamous Prime - Known as "the Shape-shifter", since he is the first Shifter, a rare type of Transformer able to transform into anything. As of 2013, Amalgamous has not appeared in any Transformers toy line or fiction. His artifact is the Transformation Cog, which later T-Cogs would be modeled after.
10. 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.
11. 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. His artifact was the Liegian Darts.
12. Megatronus/The Fallen - Described as the guardian of entropy and a warrior of darkness, Megatronus was cast out of the group after murdering Solus Prime, and afterwards was referred to as "The Fallen". 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.
13. Optimus Prime - The thirteenth and final member of the group created by Primus. He is described as a great motivational speaker and Visionary, who kept the Original Thirteen together as a group and settled internal disputes. He would later be reborn as Orion Pax and regain his memories of being Optimus Prime with the Matrix of Leadership.

Artifacts of the Primes

Known/referenced artifacts of the Thirteen include:

• 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. The blade was destroyed by Megatron's Dark Star Saber, though the hilt remains with the Autobots, until they use the Forge of Solus Prime to restore the blade to its former glory.
• 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.
• Key to Vector Sigma - Grants access to Vector Sigma.
• Requiem Blaster - An immensely powerful weapon wielded by Megatronus/The Fallen. It has enough power to destroy entire mountains and reduce them to ashes.
• 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. 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".
• 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.
• The Apex Armor - A full-body suit of indestructible armor that expands from a small disc.
• Chimera Stone - Micronus Prime's artifact that allowed him to link up with his siblings and enhance their powers.
• Proton Spear
• Cyber Caliber - One of Nexus Prime's swords. In Transformers: Exiles, Nexus gives the Cyber Caliber to Optimus Prime to aid in his fight against the Decepticons on Junkion.
• Chaos Edge - Another one of Nexus Prime's swords.
• Omni Saber - Another one of Nexus Prime's swords.
• Infinite Combinatoric
• Emberstone - Quintus Prime's artifact that gave him ability to create life.
• 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.
• 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, however in Transformers: Prime Megatron has the right hand of a Prime surgically attached to his body and is able to use the Forge to create the Dark Star Saber from the blood of Unicorn (Dark Energon). At the season 2 semi-finale, Dreadwing secretly returns the Forge to Autobots. Optimus then uses it to turn their base's Ground Bridge into a Space Bridge, as well as reforge the Star Saber. The Forge was in the Autobots base when it was destroyed leaving if it survived unknown. In the premiere of Beast Hunters is shown that it survived and the decepticons have taken it to their warship. Smokescreen set out to get Forge hoping Optimus can repair himself with it. But when Smokescreen got the Forge back to Optimus, it is revealed that he wants Smokescreen to use the energy remaining in the Forge to rebuild the Omega Lock and restore Cybertron. In "Rebellion" when Optimus goes into limbo, Smokescreen puts the Forge of Solus Prime on Optimus's hand, which than remade him into a more powerful body. But after the fighting it is revealed that the Forge is out of energy and Ratchet tells Smokescreen that he made the right choice on using the remaining power on Optimus.
• The 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.

References

External links

• The Thirteen at TFWiki.net, the Transformers Wiki