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TRANSFORMERS: THE BASICS on OPTIMUS PRIME'S AXE

Chris McFeely

104,841 views

If you're anything like my brother, then you came away from "Transformers One" wondering what the story was behind that big glowing axe Optimus Prime busted out in the final battle. In truth, it's one of the Autobot leader's signature weapons, going right back to the original G1 cartoon - but it hasn't always been widely represented onscreen! Learn its history in The Basics on Optimus Prime's Energon Axe!

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Logo by Liam Shalloo: Twitter: LiamShalloo
Profile pic by Cody Laine

Background music: Aitech Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
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End card music: "Tech Live" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
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20 Comments

@Absolute_Trash_Mammal 1 year ago

I feel like an axe is more reflective of Prime as a character. Where a sword is a weapon designed for one thing and one thing only, an axe is a tool with multiple applications. It's more pragmatic than a killing instrument.

@darrenheideman2546 1 year ago

The sword may be the most default weapon for the "heroic" characters, but the axe is a powerful symbol in its own right.

@SJBroadside 1 year ago

I really love that Optimus's signature weapon is an axe. So often, the main hero of an action series will have a sword, but an axe - just like a truck - is a tool, not just a weapon. The way that Animated Optimus used it as part of his firefighter motif was a great new twist on it!

@jamiewalsh3349 1 year ago

I wonder if Megatron's Fusion Cannon will get it's own video one day.

@TheHumbleFellow 1 year ago

I will always be sad that Overwatch 2 didn't give Reinhardt an axe for his Optimus skin when they did their Transformers collab last year. The rockets would've been a great callback to Animated.

@Frozen-Ice 1 year ago

"Yo bro, has optimus always had this axe?"

"Aight, bet. Lemme make a 10m vid rq."

@KeyanCarlile 1 year ago

This is such a fun premise. And that story about your brother is such a good anecdote, because I'm so used to Prime having an axe that I don't think I really thought anything of that scene when he unearthed it in the movie.

@madskillz808 1 year ago (edited)

Given the often cited inspiration for Optimus being "having the personality of Abraham Lincoln," I have always liked the idea that the axe was a reference to Abe's history as a wood cutter. Megatron dethroning Lincoln is also a nice touch.

Likewise, the flail has always suited Megs. His cannon is broad and devastating. His gun mode sharp and concentrated, only to be yeilded by the ones he trusts to get the job done. Then on the rare occasion, he busts out the flail as a means to get wild and violent.

As usual you have highlighted something so inocullous, that i didnt realise there was so much behind it.

Tell your bro we thank him 👊

@davidwhatsthatabout7404 1 year ago

It’s interesting how in the original canon he was given an axe, not because a sword suits a warrior better but because Optimus had the warrior / soldier title bestowed on him. With that being said, an axe isn’t inherently used for combat. It’s primarily used for everyday outdoor tasks and saving lives but can be used for combat if needed. Optimus is a big rig. Imposing, but not a tool for destruction. So I really like how Optimus whole M.O is that he has great power and chooses to do good with it

@SupremeFanKai 1 year ago

I loved how Animated Optimus changed the weapon used for war into a tool to save lives and used it in both roles well.

@MaxLoy 1 year ago

I would love to see a Basics series answering questions from non-fans, really get into stuff the entrenched like us take for granted.

@joestacey6185 1 year ago

The axe is iconic enough to be included with the Lego Optimus Prime.

@Cyberlink420 1 year ago

Quite the handy…axe-cessory.

@YashaSkaven 1 year ago

Very funny given the symbolism of an axe - a tool in addition to a weapon that is incredibly useful in many situations - to megatron's traditional flail - a weapon that is not only mostly ceremonial and thus all flash, and not even an actually good weapon in practice, either!

@secondbeamship 1 year ago

Axes (chiefly wielded by Optimus in the franchise) and hammers (chiefly wielded by Ultra Magnus in the franchise), which aren’t initially designed as weapons, ironically, were considered “unbalanced” and thus villainous by many authors. The flail actually descends from a farming tool but it can make a poor weapon that can backfire on the wielder. This reflects Megatron’s character well.

@Elite-0Zero 1 year ago

I feel like we could dig a bit deeper into the one-off hand gadgets seen in the G1 cartoon. I recall Jazz's grappling hook appearing more than once and Sideswipe always gets piledriver hands in deluxe toy releases

@inesatt1313 1 year ago

What I like is how the Axe represents Optimus' efforts

@TenNoZeorymer72 1 year ago

That was always something that saddened me in G1 and later series was the initial introduction of special abilities (Prime's axe, Skywarp's teleportation, Mirage's invisibility, Elita's time stop) that then get mostly forgotten. That would be a neat concept...a showcase of individual abilities.

@secondbeamship 1 year ago

I appreciate Transformers One giving the Energon Axe the ability to shoot flying energy beams, reminiscent of the Star Saber from Transformers Prime.

@LegoTFGuy 1 year ago

I knew TFA Optimus was the first one to regularly use an axe, but I hadn't realized that his being hand-held with a blue blade was so influential on future incarnations. Just goes to show that no matter how a big of a fan you are there's always something new to learn!