Optimus prime, one of the most iconic heroes in fiction, has died in every continuity at least once. And several have shown potential to replace him if he dies. So I want to know who do you think is a good replacement for optimus prime

 

More dificult than with Megatron.

Rodimus Prime would be an excellent successor to Optimus, as proven in the cartoon where he lead them into an era of peace, taking their place in the Galaxy and restoring Cybertron (without the deus ex machina of Rebirth). He has everything that a leader needs -- charisma, strength, tactical insight, abilities -- but has to learn to accept himself as leader. Once he does, he would be an excellent leader. Also, despite disliking the bureaucratic element of command (endless meetings) and craving for action, he turned out to be an excellent peace time commander who unlike Optimus was fully willing to delegate so to capitalise on the abilities and talents of his troops.

Marvel Grimlock is often considered to be a failure as a leader, but discussing his tenure in the comic forum recently the conclusion was that he was very succesful in what he wanted to do: keep the Autobots safe. Earth was a bad place to be and the Autobots had suffered many casualties by either the Decepticons or the humans (military, RAAT and a thief). Under Grimlock's command there were no injuries or fatalities and all troops were repaired and functional. They were also self-sufficient. On the downside, the Autobots let the Decepticons run free which likely would've come back to them later. Later, having learned his lesson, in the UK run Grimlock wanted the Autobots to be more pro-active and not responsive. Also, Grimlock turned into a dictator in order to keep them safe, and could badly handle a challenge to his command while during his second stint he was a bit too overeager to leap into battle. I do think Grimlock would be a very good choice for a leader: he would work hard to keep the Autobots safe and he would bring the war to the Decepticons, actively attacking them and preventing them from setting up any kind of base or operation, which would end the war much quicker in an Autobot victory. On the downside, this would militarise the Autobots and many aren't soldiers.

Fortress Maximus just doesn't cut it. In Headmasters he was an aweful leader (two planets were destroyed because of him and vital tactical information was handed to the Decepticons without any precaution). Marvel Fort Max when still bonded to Galen would make a good commander (strong, inspiring and a skilled politician), but sadly he died and Spike took over...which severly damaged his body and resulted in poor decision after poor decision.

Ultra Magnus is too limited in his views. Too much a military commander and too unwilling to take charge.

 

Hot Rod or Bumblebee. The young should lead. What good is there in replacing an old guy with another old guy?

My alternative pick is Ultra Magnus since he seems like a tough guy, but he seems to be better suited for being a military commander than a leader.

 

Rodimus. I feel he deserves another chance in the limelight without being mishandled.

 

Star Saber

 

Here’s an unpopular opinion but ratchet should be the next leader of the autobots

 

Man this is tough. I dont think any 1 person could replace Optimus. I personally would like to see several leader fill the role. For example, Rodimus takes the matrix and keeps the autobots moral and handles diplomacy, Magnus is in direct control of the military aspect, and I guess Grimlock would handle black ops. To me it seems more interesting then just haveing a single successor. But if I had to choose 1 I'd choose Ultra Magnus. It's a war, you'd be better haveing an experienced and good general be a president than the 19 year old kid with self esteem issues.

 

I just don't see Ratchet being leader. Sure, he beat Megatron with brains instead of brawn in the Marvel comics, but even then, even he admits that he is just a medic and not a warrior. So I don't think he would be able to be a leader.

With the several leaders aspect, I would personally switch Magnus and Rodimus around. Magnus did show that he could handle diplomatic relations well, but Rodimus really struggled with those (but then again, that is one of the many things that made him so compelling for me, because he was thrust into a position that he wasn't prepared to take). Rodimus was more of a man of action and could beat the crap out of his opponents, but he wasn't that good with handling politics and doing speeches. So yeah, for me, Rodimus would be the action and black ops guy while Magnus handles the speeches and politics.

 

Rodimus is my pick. The matrix deemed him worthy. He defeated Galvatron and put the Decepticons in hiding. He is the Supreme Commander who finally reclaimed Cybertron His time as leader in the G1 show pretty successful. He held sporting events and entered Earth into the council. When danger showed up he was still ready to fight it. His flaw of self doubt as leader wasn’t very different from Optimus. There were many occasions in G1 where he probably thought he had failed the Autobots, but he had years to grow. Hot Rod had one. He also doesn’t crave leadership like Dai Atlas or Headmasters Fortress Maximus. He even tried to get rid of the Matrix in The Burden Hardest to Bear. Rodimus is just as smart, resourceful, good at fighting, and good at talking as Optimus is praised to be.

Left field choice would be Hound, Jazz, or Star Saber. Maybe Cybertron Jetfire.

 

Nobody mention Blaster yet? Didn't he lead for a bit in the comics? How successful was he compared to the other leaders?

 

I considered mentioning him based on Marvel.

Blaster was never commander/leader in the Marvel comics. He was Perceptor's second in command on Cybertron (of a small group), although in many ways the de facto leader because of his abilities. On Earth he and Goldbug deserted and he lead a small group of rebels (i.e. the Throttlebots), making the other Autobots consider him as replacement leader for Grimlock. This never happened because he surrendered to Grimlock to save children, but later did fight him. And when Optimus returned Blaster had some authority, but wasn't in a command position (Fort Max and Grimlock were Optimus his XO's).

And truth be told, Marvel Blaster wasn't suited to be leader. Yes, he was a good fighter and protective about humans feeling that the Autobots should fight the Decepticons, but he was harsh to his troops and unable to see the bigger picture. Still, he was learning his lessons and he became better at it and perhaps someday in the future he would be, but he was still far from being there. Quite a few other Autobots would be suited to lead before him.

 

I'm not sure but I'm going with Hot Rod/Rodimus.

 

Big Bang.



Why? Why not?! He looks pretty trustworthy.

 

Anyone except Ultra Magnus. He's botched it too completely, too many times. Even he knows he's a soldier and not a leader. I'd even take Prowl before Ultra Magnus.

 

Windblade.

 

Hot Shot.

 

Rodimus seems to have the best results when it comes to being leader of the Autobots following Optimus. He's also the most obvious if you don't look at Magnus, who has a history of just not being very good at the job.

If we would go a little off the wall, I think Hound or Arcee would qualify. Not in the brawn department (unless they got the Matrix, I suppose) but they are both some of the most overtly compassionate Autobots who have good will and experience attached to them on the field. Hound was a member of Optimus' original crew and has regularly interacted with humans. The latter also applies to Arcee. I think she had unique characteristics such as her maternal protectiveness and battle spirit that is sometimes described which would be useful on the field and emulate the role filled by Optimus quite well.

 

Star Saber. One hundred percent.

I mean, come on! Is that not leader material?

 

star saber