| abstract | - When Optimus Prime and his elite squad crashed into the Earth almost five million years ago, the celebrated leader made what humans call a near-catastrophic "rookie mistake": he didn't appoint a successor. What's worse, the one thing that may prove instrumental in ending the Autobot/Decepticon war, the Matrix of leadership, was on board the fated Ark spacecraft - and was feared lost for millions of years. After a few brushes with mortality since being revived, Optimus Prime has begun to take steps to ensure a proper successor to him can quickly assume the awesome power of this vessel in the even that Optimus Prime should meet his end. For the past 25 years, Optimus Prime has privately tried to mentor a few candidates that he (and the Matrix) feels best suited for such a responsibility. Due to its power, Optimus has opted not to use a typical "second in command" approach, since that would include some Autobots who may possess some traits in spades, but vastly lack in others (see Grimlock's massive strength, but near zero capacity for compassion, or Sky Lynx's superior intelligence, which is easily offset by his seeming inability to relate to the common Autobot). So far, the top candidates to receive the Matrix of Leadership are Ultra Magnus and Elita One. However, Optimus Prime has also included such Earthbound veterans like Jazz and Prowl in the short list for potential successors.
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