Optimus Prime is supposed to be a paragon of goodness throughout the Transformers franchise. From the big-budget movies to the large variety of animated TV shows and other media that the franchise has been a part of, the Transformers world is an expanding one with Optimus usually at the center.
However, he hasn’t always been the absolute hero that the franchise tries to paint him as. There have been many occasions when Optimus Prime has done things that would make the Autobots that look up to him blanch. From vile acts during the war to breaking all sorts of rules, Optimus Prime is an iconic character who has done some terrible things.
7 Cold-Blooded Murder
Optimus Prime has been in a lot of battles and has ended up killing several enemy warriors. But there is a difference between killing a foe in battle and what humans would consider a war crime. Optimus has, on multiple occasions in Michael Bay Transformers movies, murdered Decepticons in more cruel scenarios.
In Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Optimus goes around helping the US Government kill off Decepticon refugees, even if they are unwilling or unable to fight Optimus murders them. In Dark of the Moon, Optimus refuses in a terrifyingly cruel manner to listen to the surrendering pleas of either Megatron or Sentinel Prime, and he kills them both even though they are already clearly beaten.
6 Murderous Obsession
Optimus Prime usually only cares about one thing in any Transformers media and that is killing Decepticons. While the Transformers on both sides are generally quite a warlike species, other Autobots like Bumblebee seem to be less focused at times on engaging only in battle with their rivals than Prime is.
Perhaps having become desensitized as the leader of his faction in the war after all this time, Optimus can be excused somewhat. However, when other races like the humans are thrown into the mix and Optimus constantly allows them to get hurt in his obsession with focusing on the Decepticons, the gray area becomes a little darker and Optimus seems more like an uncaring warmonger.
5 Abandoning Earth
Optimus Prime in Transformers: Dark of the Moon, simply vanishes from Earth alongside the other Autobots. It is all part of a plan to show Earth how deadly the Decepticons were, but having already known that, Optimus just let a lot of humans die to prove a very simple point. It’s the act of a vindictive robot that wanted to come back and help, but only after getting to say he told you so.
The unnecessarily complicated plan that explains his actions doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense in the film. Prime again proved after returning where his priorities lay by saying “We Will Kill Them All” before finally engaging in battle. His priorities are on murder and victory, not saving lives.
4 Forcing Dinobots Into Submission
In Transformers: Age of Extinction, Optimus never really seems like that great of a guy. He is seen regretting giving humanity help and talking more about revenge for dead Autobots than anything else. However, it is the Dinobots and his treatment of them that is perhaps the most egregious of his sins this time around. Of course, other animalistic factions are appearing animalistic factions appearing in Rise of the Beasts.
After the Dinobots are freed and can roam the Earth, Optimus defeats Grimlock, the T. Rex Transformer, while trying to insist he is giving them freedom. This scene ends with Optimus holding a sword up to Grimlock and telling the Dinobot that he will “defend my family or die” which is forcing non-soldiers into a war for his own needs, enslaving the Dinobots was one of the most villainous moments Optimus has had under the guise of doing good.
3 Torture
Other war crimes have been committed by Optimus throughout the Michael Bay movies, but one occasion where Prime was equally monstrous in other media was in the IDW Transformers comic book series. It was on those pages that Prime tortured Megatron in a very villainous manner.
Using a “voltage harness” Prime tortured his nemesis to levels that could easily have killed Megatron. Optimus didn’t even stop until other Autobots came to him and convinced him to leave off, which proves that there are few limits to what Prime is willing to do against his enemies. It is easy to say that he has become nearly as bad as the Decepticons throughout fighting them.
2 Being A Bad Leader
There is no question that Prime is a powerful Autobot and is likely the strongest among them, maybe even the strongest Transformer there is. However, he is often shown to be a poor leader, one who allows his friends and allies to be killed without much thought or remorse over the deaths.
Despite being caught continuously in a war, Optimus doesn’t act throughout the Transformers movies and in some of the other media like someone desperate to save lives. Deaths like Ironhide’s in Dark of the Moon and Ratchet’s in Age of Extinction could have potentially been stopped if Optimus had been around to help, or proven himself a more reliable leader. Constantly blinded by hatred and unable to see the positive side, this character should not be leading anyone.
1 Turning Evil
It wasn’t “technically” the fault of Optimus that he turned evil and became Nemesis Prime. However, their decision of Optimus to go off alone to seek out the Creators was a misguided one which was sure to lead to bad consequences. Having created their species, there was no reason for Prime to think he could take the Creators on, never mind do it alone.
His misguided actions, clearly led by hubris, left his former allies trapped on Earth fighting for their lives as refugees without a leader. When he returned, as Nemesis, he only caused them more problems and nearly led to the destruction of the Autobots and Earth.