Say Optimus isn’t careful enough and accidentally trips down a mountain. Who’s best in charge? Or, who would make the best leader?

 

What's the question here? Who is next in the chain of command, who would make the best leader, or who is most likely to try and become leader?

 

In terms of character, Rodimus definitely needs to make a comeback, since I always found him interesting as a character.

But the reason why he's such a great character is because he is a very flawed leader and is very reluctant, so if there is someone that is more qualified to be the leader, that would be Jazz.

So yeah, for me, it's between those two (though Rodimus edges out because his struggle with leadership really makes him a bit more interesting).

 

I mean, Jazz was originally conceived as the second-in-command of the Autobots, so logically he's next in the chain of command.
Otherwise I'd go with Magnus or Prowl, who also usually hold similar positions.

 

Who would make the best leader.

 

The matrix goes to whom ever is the Autobot Leader's closest (as in distance.) best bud before his death, like in the movie, and Five Faces Of Darkness. And, that's the one I like best. Because it means any Autobot can become the next leader. And, that it means the Decepticons have a bigger reason to eliminate all Autobots.

Being a good leader isn't something you're born with, nor created with. It is something you have to learn through life experiences. And, none of us knows exactly how great of a leader we will be until it is thrust upon us. Those who want to be leader, typically make the worst leaders. Those who reluctantly accept it as a responsibility, tend to make the best leaders.

The whole 13 primes, and last prime thing, all makes it sound like a monarchy, and I'm not a huge fan of those. So, to me, it should be exactly like what happened to in the G1 Toon. Whomever the dying leader chooses between the Bots currently around him, as he lays dying. It's a last wish, sort of thing. "I pass the matrix on to you, my friend, as it was passed on to me." (Paraphrasing it.) seems to work really well. Plus, it means that eventually Optimus Prime could pass the matrix on to someone else, while he is not dying, and retire.

Kind of like how in the Return Of Optimus Prime, Optimus gives the now empty matrix back to Hot Rod, rather than keeping it for himself. (Even if Rebirth undoes that whole thing, it still clearly happens.) Thus, allowing Hot Rod to stay leader, and Optimus filling the mentor role that Alpha Trion was once to him. One can imagine this is how Optimus Prime got the matrix from Alpha Trion. Either from Alpha Trion himself, who may or may not have housed it himself, or Alpha Trion stored it until he could find a bot he deemed worthy of the Matrix.

This would also mean, that technically, a Decepticon could receive the Matrix. Like, one who fights a battle along side Optimus, as Optimus falls, he passes the Matrix upon to the Decepticon, calling him friend.

It just leads to more interesting writing options, in my opinion. That is how I prefer it to be. Open to everyone from Cybertron.

 

It depends.

 

It depends on the setting and the lineup and the scenario. There isn't a one-size-fits-all or best/most likely answer because it'll depend on the environment the show is set in and what roles the surrounding Autobots play in the story. For example, not every version of Grimlock is suited for a leadership role. It worked in Marvel G1 because that Grimlock was portrayed as violent and angry, but not stupid the way Sunbow cartoon Grimlock was.

 

Idk, I think in the hands of a good writer, and great characterization, even stupid Grimlock could grow into a great leader.

 

Star Saber. Obviously.

I think he was just polite and let Optimus believe he was the leader fighting his war on the one planet, while Star Saber was handling every other planet. Kinda like how Metalhawk didn't even bother to blow his secret identity Highlander lifestyle and join up with Optimus after the Ark crew awoke to restart their conflict after he'd been defending Earth against Decepticons for the prior 60,000 years and continued to do so decades afterwards.

 

 

(If Optimus dies these days he'll be back before the end of the episode so it doesn't really matter.)

The question of course is: in what universe? Because with the exception of Sideswipe (unless something recently has changed that I'm blissfully unaware off), they all qualify in different universes.

- Bumblebee: in recent fiction he's clearly become the go to TF to be the leader after Optimus. He became leader in IDW and clearly was growing in that role in one of the RiD series.
- Hot Rod: outside of Rodimus Prime, as Hot Rod he was clearly high ranking in Rebirth, acting as XO at the start of Headmasters, and recently in IDW
- Jazz: okay, never really felt this one. I also disagree that Jazz was portrayed as XO in the cartoon. He's Special Ops, not command, and I see him assembling a strike team in the pilot of the G1 cartoon as part of his Special Ops function: an unknown planet, an unknown attack...who best to decide to go into battle than the Special Ops guy who specialises in operation in unknown territories?
- Ultra Magnus: outside of being big and powerfull, he's often depicted as a high ranking, very capable commander.
- Prowl: according to his G1 techspecs, he was intended to be the XO in G1 and when Optimus was prisoner in Marvel, he took command.
- Ironhide: basically the de facto XO in the G1 cartoon: whenever Optimus was out of the picture, he was in command.
- Jetfire: the official XO during Armada, Energon and Cybertron.
- Grimlock: became leader in Marvel and even though this wasn't a success, Optimus named him the new leader when Optimus died again.


I really liked how Marvel handled this the first time. Optimus had died without appointing a new leader, and the Autobot senior officers came together to determine what qualities their new leader should have. Next they would've voted on someone, but "events, dear boy, events" resulted in Grimlock being appointed (although he did at that moment display all the requested characteristics). Democracy, not someone appointed by the old leader or some mystic talisman.

 

Assembling a strike force would also be the duty of an XO, though, wouldn't it?

So, I could see this applying to both an XO and a special operations officer.

His XO would just be his highest ranking officer on Earth, wouldn't it?

Not necessarily the highest ranking Autobot of all of Cybertron. It's not like he took them all with them. Just most of them. And, perhaps, some of the Autobots didn't make the crash. So, maybe even Jazz replaced the highest ranking officer in Optimus Prime's command, just simply because he was the next highest ranking officer. Thus, becoming XO.

 

Ironhide never came across to me as an XO or even a command type, more of as the grizzled SNCO or chief enlisted among the Autobots that the officers such as Optimus Prime or Prowl could turn to for advice and to feel out the rest of the lower ranks of the Autobots as far as their emotions, thoughts, and concensus.

It's a similar role that Kup filled for Rodimus Prime and Ultra Magnus. Think Tom Sizemore's role as Sergeant Horvath from Saving Private Ryan. Their other job was to keep the other Bots in line (instill discipline, etc.) and enforce command decisions, but not actually make them.

I do agree that Jazz was sort of the de facto second in command for the Bots in the G1 cartoon (even if his role as Special Ops took him out into the field a lot) but their command structure was always a bit more loose and flexible based on specific function, rather than personal power or such like the Decepticons.

Prowl seemed like a better fit to me with his strategist's mindset and function as Intelligence officer, if the G1 cartoon show hadn't basically relegated his character to the background before killing him off in the animated movie. Other than him, it did seem like Ultra Magnus was a natural choice as successor though the Matrix ended up rejecting him in favor of Hot Rod.

 

Correct. But then the question is: did Jazz ever have a command role in the cartoon outside of this one time assembling the strike force? Did he ever take command when Optimus was absent/incapacitated. Did he lead large missions or organise things at the base? The answer in my recollection, is no. And in the Marvel comics command automatically went to Prowl. Dreamwave? Prowl and Jazz once lead a special mission team. IDW? Prowl was in command after Optimus, until AHM suddenly placed Jazz in command (due to special circumstances) which was then later series again reversed to Prowl being the XO.

The XO is the second in command. That can be for the whole army, but also just for the current (continuous) location/mission on Earth. In Armada Jetfire was his second in command, his XO, and in the comics he stayed on Cybertron and took command of those troops (with his own XO just for those troops)

That was no doubt the intent, but several times in the cartoon when Optimus is absent or incapable of taking command, it seemed Ironhide took command of the group. -- most notable in A Prime Problem, but also in other episodes. (No doubt because they're the same voice actor.)

 

The Chosen One.

 

Rodimus

 

OptiNext in Line

 

Here's the thing though, assembling a strike force, IS a command thing. Whether or not he was in command after that, or before that, really doesn't matter. He was in a command role in that point in time.

 

You refer to the one who will bring balance to the Force?

 

My time in the military (as an NCO myself) must have colored my view on Ironhide and Kup, I must admit.