In 1986 the Transformers movie came out to an awesome story, great new characters and the tear-filled eyes of almost every child who watched.

With the death of Optimus Prime at the hands of Megatron a new leader for a new generation had to be born to not only lead the heroic Autobots against the evil Decepticons but also to sell the new line of toys to the masses.

Rodimus Prime was this bot and he was “stepped on” from the time he installed the Autobot Matrix of Leadership into his crankcase.

Originally Hot Rod–Autobot Cavalier and young upstart in the ranks of good, Hot Rod was voiced by Judd Nelson in the movie with excellent results.
Constantly bored and ready for battle at the drop of a pin, Hot Rod fought with little to no fear throughout the movie all-the-while learning about life and leadership through Kup an old and weathered warrior.

At the finale of the Transformers movie, Hot Rod ousted the rebuilt Megatron–now known as Galvatron and took possession (or it chose him) of the Matrix and became more than just another car to put into the trailer of Optimus Prime–Hot Rod was now Rodimus Prime and in this form he was now a futuristic truck with detachable trailer that became a small battle station. Sporty and covered with flames, Rodimus Prime was quite bad-ass and had the status to back it up.

The cartoon that came after the movie featured a mixture of stories and a lot of people called it the end of the series–I liked a lot of the episodes, but Rodimus could have been better featured.
How was Rodimus Prime “stepped on” you might ask? Well, they didn’t give him much air time due to the fact that they re-birthed Optimus Prime a short time after the beginning of Rodimus Prime’s reign as leader of the Autobots.

Rodimus Prime is best remembered for who he is and what kind of vehicle he is, but in the cartoon, he is best remembered in a certain episode featuring “The Snake” or Cobra Commander from G.I. Joe. This episode featured Rodimus Prime, Ultra Magnus, Springer and Arcee being turned into humans and having to use their new forms to not only defeat the villains, but to also restore themselves as transforming robots. One of the best parts was when they drove themselves as vehicles.

Another episode which was a “finding yourself” story was where Rodimus Prime started off by failing the humans he was trying to protect following the movie story where Galvatron crashes to Earth, destroying a chunk of city in the process. Rodimus is unable to handle the responsibility so he gets rid of the Matrix and goes on a fast ride once again as Hot Rod. Scourge takes control of the Matrix to evil results and an ass-kicking by Galvatron in the end.

The action figure for Rodimus Prime is quite bitch’in and features him in all his glory.
In 2003 Rodimus Prime was re-issued as part of the Transformers Commemorative Series, he came with a cool book-style, window box package and was the same mold as the original.
As with all 80’s Transformers he was built with stiff joints and basic forms of changing. Rodimus Prime featured cast metal feet and everything that he came with back in the 80’s. The trailer opened up to reveal a large gun with armored shields which were detachable. Also included was his large rifle and his wing/spoiler was removable.
Rodimus Prime had rubber wheels and a sticker sheet making his figure more of a repackage than a re-issue!

Missing are the classic stat reader in red plastic and the cryptic status card and profile, but the back of the box has all of that none-the-less.

For fans of the Masterpiece collection, Rodimus Prime will be able to stand next to Optimus Prime in super vast detail, he is also larger than the standard toy. This figure was featured at a convention in Japan and is still awaiting release, something tells me that it won’t be on the market very long and more will sell than are available.

As much as all of us love Optimus Prime for different reasons, IE: the toy was awesome, he’s a cool character, ect… Rodimus Prime stood for quite a lot in the Transformers universe; a new beginning, a temporary change, or simply just a cool character. Either way, Rodimus Prime and Hot Rod will always be remembered–after all, the prices for any of the toys reflect the characters fan base.

This is what makes Rodimus Prime totally rad!

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