That last hot rod thread got me thinking about prime and rodimus as leaders.

Looking back at the two leaders and the times they were leader in the American cartoon got me wondering about who did the best in the times they are leader? Prime was leader for 1000 of years or less if you count them deactivated all those years. Rodimus was leader for about what two years till prime comes back.

To me prime is the one I liked as a kid and still like him now but this isn't about if I like prime or hot rod but what they did as leader. (note this is g1 cartoon only)


What did prime do in those 1000 years as leader? Cybertron wasted and autobots stuck in hiding and fighting for scraps then forced off planet. Ended up starting autobot city and making peace with humans. Prime knew how to fight and had a good heart. Saved earth from blowing up (however he was the one who sent cyberton to earth in the first place in ultimate doom!) and saved everyone from the hate virus. Later would be used to restore cybertron but really did nothing other then repeat what alpha trion told him to do.

What did hot rod do as leader in two years? Got cybertron back up again and set up ways to keep the planet where galvatron had to sneak on to get on it and it was risky, set up with earths goverments and set up with other planets helping start a universe peace force and autobots would help other planets and earth is now allowed to be part of a bigger universe. He also kept getting rebooted back to the "self doubt" rodimus and when he gets over it prime comes back! He would sometimes go into battle without thinking leaving it up to luck. Got into trouble at times.

So both have good and bad but who did the best accomplishments as leader? Again this isn't a like or don't like it's who did more as their time as leader?​

 

Came to say essentially what you said. Rodimus finished in two years what Optimus couldn't do with centuries.

 

I feel as though Optimus was more competent at maintaining the status quo. He kept the Autobots alive and healthy and kept Earth safe without being particularly proactive. For lack of a better term, he lacked ambition.

Hot Rod/Rodimus was the opposite, ushering in more change and building a better life for Autobots and the Universe. Only problem was this was often difficult and unpredictable, but like you said the Autobots were in a much different, and better, situation at the end because of the work Rodimus put in.

Honestly it's a shame the two rarely coexisted on screen, as they seem to compliment each other well. Rodimus would be the shot caller moving things forward, and Optimus would be the man in the field making sure it all went smoothly.

 

When Optimus became Autobot leader (War Dawn) there wasn't really a war going on yet. The planet was still ruled by the Autobots and attacks by Megatron's Decepticons had been nothing but stories and rumours. Then, in MTMTE part 1, the Decepticons are openly parading around on the surface, while the Autobots are forced underground. When Optimus and the others leave, Optimus doesn't put anyone in charge of the Autobot forces (thus none remained), while Megatron appoints Shockwave as the Decepticon guardian of the planet. This suggests that for the Autobots there was nothing left, while the Decepticons remained in control. (And indeed, except for the aged Alpha Trion and some female Autobots skulking around, the planet is run by SHockwave.) On Earth, Optimus scores victories in battles, but the Decepticon succeed in stealing energon. By the time of the movie Megatron is in full control of Cybertron and has begun repairing the planet. The Autobots hide on the two moons. On Earth they seem to be more present as in having a city.

Throughout Optimus his leadership, the Autobots are slowly but steadily losing the war. Ultimate defeat was a matter of time.


Rodimus becomes leader. No doubt helped by Unicron's attack, but all Decepticons are driven from the planet and the war is effectively over. Even after Galvatron returns (and later his sanity), the Decepticons never rise above being a nuisance instead of a threat. Under Rodimus his leadership the planet is repaired (continuing the work begun under Megatron), the Autobots succeed in making Cybertron self dependent again, and they take up a role in galactic affairs, mediating in wars between other races.


Optimus returns and cures the hate plague (and depletes the matrix). Even though he's been fearing something major, he has taken no precautions and thanks to a series of strategical blunders on Optimus his part, Cybertron is conquered by the Decepticons and the Autobots defeated and closed to killed. Only thanks to chance and dumb luck, the planet and Earth isn't destroyed. Instead thanks to Vecotr Prime the planet is magically restored into a new golden age.

 

Cartoon Rodimus offered Blitzwing a chance to join the Autobots after Galvatron kicked him out, was willing to work with Octane once he was an outcast, and did something that Optimus never even thought of: offered to work with Starscream to betray Galvatron/Megatron. If it weren't for the need to maintain the status quo, Galvatron would've been killed there, instead of only half-killed.

Comic Rodimus would kill Decepticons when he had the opportunity, but he would also berate the other Autobots if they started seeing killing their enemies as a good thing. As he told Kup, yes, they were Decepticons, but they were still living beings. It might sound hypocritical, but I've always seen it as someone who understood that you have to kill in a war, but was strict to try and keep the Autobots from ever enjoying taking a life, even if it were the worst villains out there. Comic Optimus committed suicide because he killed some NPCs in a game.

 

Optimus Prime as leader of the Autobots equals one of the biggest phenomenon of the the 1980s, Transformers and G.I. Joe we're the two biggest cartoon and toylines of the 80s. Then came Rodimus Prime whose toy sucked and he Fed it up for everyone. Transformers went from being the most watch and have thing to who give a rat's ass, and the brand died.

 

Didn't think about that one but that is true. Rodimus had cybertron more or less off limits for the decepticons unless they snuck in or used a alien or item or sneaks in with a small group for two years and as soon as prime came back as leader the first thing is galvaton lands all his forces on cybetron (did prime get rid of all the guns and traps? How the heck did they all get on cybetron?) and they lose cybetron right away! That did not make prime look good.

This is not about if you like prime or hot rod or not it's who did the most as leader in the time they were leader. Liking them or hating them has nothing to do with it.

 

Another controversial accomplishment of Rodimus Prime is he blew up the planet Paradron rather than leave it in the hands of the Decepticons. Paradron was an energy rich planet that would have revitalized the Decepticon forces, rekindling another protracted Cybertronian war, all while Cybertron and the Autobots were still recovering from the last war. Rodimus chose a solution that denied the Decepticons energy, preventing a new planetary war from starting up and bolstered Cybertron's population with the Paradronians. A pretty heavy decision for a situation with no good options to choose from.

 

Optimus saved several worlds and civilizations
Led the autobots and anyone else who was allied with him
Made friends and allies all over the place
Stopped the hate plague
Repowered Cybertron
Had to bring his weary carcass back to life to once again take the mantle of Prime
Kicked D-con ass

Rodimus wrested control from the Cons
Kicked their asses
Defeated Unicron
Aand that was it

 

.....I’m sorry,over the years I seen several people post similar statements, going on about all Rodimus accomplished, but I just don’t see it

It seemed to me that after Megatron drove the autobots off Cybertron , he must have initiated a rebuilding program, not to mention energy in resource gathering/production because what we see of cybertron at the start of the film seems to indicate the planet was thriving and their population growing

Between Unicrons attack and the list of leadership, the decepticons fled cybertron, and while I’m sure there was Plenty of damage, it didn’t look the the planted was devastated......much of the work done under Megatrons time ruling would have still been in place

So what did Rodimus really do, maybe some rebuilding of the Infrastructure work initiated under Megatrons rule,

Sure he beat Galvatron causing the decepticons to fall apart, but even that can be said to be the result of actions of others

I see him more as the inheritor of those accomplishments

 

In my opinion.....

That's why the matrix chose Hotrod over Magnus...Arguably, Magnus is "Better",stronger,wiser,more competent at leading...a leader.....just like Optimus prime....That's why Optimus himself chose him to be the leader...in a sense yes he was the leader....but not the leader that the matrix wanted...because he is too much like Optimus....Remember that everything happen for a reason( vector sigma).....so in my mind...the matrix refuses Magnus (the old way...optimus way) and chose Rodimus who is different than both Prime and Magnus ....not a military general...its true that Rodimus was the one who held the matrix...but he led under Magnus guidings (Optimus like guiding) ...there was an episode where Rodimus abandoned the matrix and the leadership.....Magnus was there to set things right.......to me Rodimus wasn't the only leader after the movie ......Magnus and Rodimus both were the leaders....

 

Orion Pax becomes Optimus in the early days of the Great War. The Autobots still mostly hold Cybertron, but against Megatron they are fighting a long defeat.

Rodimus took back Cybertron and held the planet for two years. There were no successful Decepticon invasions during Rodimus's tenure. At best, the Decepticons had become a nuisance, albeit a dangerous one.

Optimus comes back and what happens next? The Decepticons successfully invade Cybertron, reconquer the planet, move it into Earth's orbit, and almost destroy the entire Solar System. Optimus runs around like a headless chicken not knowing what to do. Spike Witwicky saves the day without any help from Optimus. Had Rodimus remained in command, this invasion wouldn't have happened.

 

Rodimus accomplished more victories, but Optimus kept the Autobots fighting when everything was against them.
Both have merrits.

 

Optimus tried to fight a war while being incredibly naive. His situation with Megatron is comparable to Batman's with the Joker, where their idealism results in far more deaths in the end.

 

Rodimus had the benefit of no more pesky 'cons causing mischief.

Optimus didn't become supreme leader to battle the 'con menace at the beginning. And the Autobots weren't built for combat as Huffer mentioned in the original pilot. It was like 1 'con for every 10 Autobot advantage.

 

This doesn't seem like a fair comparison because Optimus was leader for much longer he's obviously accomplished a lot more.

Rodimus Prime didn't really do much of anything. He constantly doubted himself and relied far too much on Ultra Magnus and the Deus Ex Machina known as the Autobot Matrix of Leadership.

Honestly I like Rodimus more, he felt like a more interesting character because he was still learning to be leader. I've always been a big fan of his design. Optimus is just kinda boring... except for that one episode we see Orion Pax, he normally seems like a wise old leader who everyone looks up to but we don't really see much of how he got to that position. We know he wasn't always like that but characters tend to seem a little boring and one note when you don't really get to see their journey.

Rodimus also never really gets a chance to make a name for himself as Optimus ends up coming back and Rodimus becomes Target Master Hot Rod. So his entire run as leader was spent in the shadow of Optimus Prime. I think if Optimus never came back or refused to take the Matrix back from Rodimus then he could have developed something like RID2015 Bumblebee.

It is kinda cool to see Optimus and Rodimus together so I would like to keep Optimus' return but just not have him take the Matrix back. Imagine having both Primes trying to lead the Autobots until Optimus finally sees that he's not needed to lead anymore. But Rodimus would also need to grow into a more confident leader to make that work. He could still start out the way he was but eventually he needs to realize that he doesn't need to be exactly like Optimus to lead, he just needs to be confident in his own leadership skills and do his own thing. Maybe have him gradually doing things on his own and not relying so much on Matrix visions and Ultra Magnus.

I'd really just love to see them try to do Rodimus Prime again in the modern day. I think a big part of why he didn't work back in the G1 cartoon is because of how the character was written... and because he kinda appeared out of no where just to replace Optimus. But if Hot Rod had been around from the start and developed more as a character over time he might of been more widely accepted.

 

Accomplishments:

Optimus: Through reckless behavior, allowed the Autobots to go leaderless for MILLIONS of years, allowing the war to drag out longer than any war in the history of the universe, leading to the Autobots losing Cybertron completely not to mention doubtlessly to countless deaths over those millions of years while the Decepticons ruled Cybertron pretty much uncontested.

Rodimus: From the time he received the Matrix and became leader, he ended the entire war in less than 5 minutes, retook Cybertron for the Autobots, and expelled the Decepticons from their homeworld completely.

Clear Winner: Rodimus Prime

Optimus Prime has a cool design and a great voice, and that blinds a lot of people to the clear facts.

 

Is Rodimus getting too much "credit " for right place / right time behind Optimus? I feel like Rodimus was leader for millions of years, by the end he would be old and worn - ready to be replaced by someone new.

 

Really? Because I saw the Cons causing plenty of trouble after Roddy-boy inherited the matrix. There were new ones too.

 

Optimus Prime: Cybertronian Naptime Champion, 8 million BC - 1984 AD