The leader of the Autobots and the hero of planet Earth against the Decepticons, Optimus Prime is one of the last remaining primes from the planet of Cybertron. When not in his Autobot form, he is often depicted as a giant cargo truck and in other versions, the cargo box itself. Along with Sam Witwicky, he and his band of “good” robots are often caught in a war against the deceitful Decepticons led by Megatron.

As the leader of the Autobots and the steward of peace for the citizens of Cybertron, Optimus Prime is often seen negotiating with important people such as the President (according the a comic book episode) and other world leaders to alert them of Megatron’s plans.

Optimus Prime is one of the strongest Transformers since he is a prime himself. His weapons include an energy axe, a laser rifle and other laser guns common to most robots. On his chest; however, rests the strongest weapon that is also sought after by Optimus Prime’s archenemy, Megatron. The Autobot Matrix of Leadership is a special talisman given to all Autobot leaders and passed down from one leader to his successor. Although Megatron is the de facto leader of his band of “evil” robots, he was not chosen by Alpha Trion to lead and thus, cannot have the talisman.

Although Optimus Prime has fought so many battles against the Decepticons, he is still vulnerable to the powers of Hollywood; and in 2007 and 2008, he became an action-movie hero when he starred in Transformers: The Movie and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

Michael Bay gave Optimus Prime’s outer appearance a little revamping and instead of his box-like body parts, Bay gave him a sleeker and darker look. Despite the new designs of the characters and the highly-different plot, Transformers became a huge success in 2007 and again in 2008.

In the movie version, we first meet Bumblebee who was saved by Sam Witwicky from the junk shop. The two later created a powerful kind of unusual friendship and had dodged attacks from the Decepticons together. In one part of the movie, we also see Bumblebee attempting to awaken his fellow Autobots and to warn them of the Decepticons’ rising.

If you are a big fan of the Transformers series but haven’t tried going to Halloween in an Optimus Prime costume, now is your chance. Making this costume from scratch will be challenging since you can’t salvage the helmet and the boxy outer-layer from anywhere; the next best option would be getting a ready-made Optimus Prime costume at a cheap, affordable price.