Thirteen (Transformers)

The Thirteen Original Transformers (sometimes referred to as the Thirteen Primes, the Dynasty of Primes or simply the Thirteen) are thirteen fictional characters in the Transformers toy and entertainment franchise created by Hasbro. They are usually portrayed as the first thirteen living beings created by Primus, the creator of the Transformers and their home planet of Cybertron. In the live-action Transformers film trilogy, their back-story is slightly modified, with there only being seven members who were created by the Allspark. The story concept of the Thirteen, as well as three of their members (Prima, Liege Maximo and The Fallen), were created by comic book writer Simon Furman. So far, only nine members of the Thirteen have been officially named and revealed by Hasbro: Prima, Vector Prime, Liege Maximo, Solus Prime, Amalgamous Prime, Alpha Trion, The Fallen/Megatronus, Alchemist Prime and Nexus Prime. As well as this, Hasbro has also revealed two other members that have not been given official names, one that transforms into some kind of animal, and the other being the original Mini-Con.

History
Before going on to create the Transformer race, Primus experimented with a group of twelve robots known as the Covenant. Based on the zodiac, these twelve robots were: Leonicus (leader), Aries, Piscor, Libras, Scorpius, Aquator, Taurotron, Cancix, Geminator, Sagittarii, Virgol and Capricurn. They existed in secret training for the Omega Point. The Omega Point was a potential event that Unicron would attack at a point that there was no Prime. After the Omega Point, time was reverted and the instance never happened.

Primus later created a group of thirteen Transformers, each with special powers, to fight against Unicron. This is the basic, communal origin for Cybertron and the Transformers across many continuities. Although the 2009 movie has The Fallen as the main villain, it does not seem to follow the Primus creation story. Like Primus and Unicron, each of the thirteen are multiversal singularities - one entity throughout reality. During their first big battle against Unicron, many of the 13 were killed and the Fallen was drawn into a black hole, where he remained trapped in a lower dimensional level.

The Dynasty of Primes appears in the film Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

In Transformers: Exodus, the following of the Thirteen were mentioned - Prima, the Liege Maximo and Megatronus. Alpha Trion was the only one still remaining on Cybertron. The Matrix of Leadership was once the jewel in the hilt of Prima's Star Saber, and Sentinel Prime once bore the sigil of Vector Prime.

In Transformers: Exiles, the following members of the Thirteen were mentioned - Solus Prime, Nexus Prime, Megatronus, the Liege Maximo, and Amalgamous Prime. Optimus meets with a holographic representation of Solus Prime, before meeting with Vector Prime in a pocket dimension created by said Prime, and later encounters Nexus Prime, who briefly gives him the Star Saber so that he can battle Megatron's forces, who had come to briefly possess the Requiem Blaster. Alpha Trion's chronicles in the Covenant are interspersed throughout the novel, detailing events occurring on Cybertron since the departure of Optimus and Megatron into deep space as they search for the All-Spark. He is also responsible for Nexus Prime's brief reappearance, sending one of his component bodies, an Autobot named Chaindrive, to meet with a number of others who then recombine into Nexus.

The Thirteen appear in a flashback in the Transformers: Prime episode "One Shall Rise, Part 1".

Members
As of 2012, only nine of the Thirteen have been given official names and identities.


 * Prima - Referred to as a warrior of light, Prima was the very first living being created by Primus, and the original bearer of The Matrix of Leadership. Rather than storing it in his chest cavity like later primes though, Prima stored the Matrix in the hilt of a legendary sword called The Star Saber. Prima first appeared in the Marvel Transformers comic books in 1989.
 * Megatronus Prime/The Fallen - Referred to as the guardian of entropy and a warrior of darkness, Megatronus was cast out after killing Solus Prime and betraying his fellow Primes, and ever since he has been referred to as "The Fallen". The Fallen first appeared in the Dreamwave comic book series Transformers: The War Within in 2002, as an antagonist and herald of Unicron, and later appeared as the primary villain in the 2009 film Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
 * Alpha Trion - An archivist who writes down historical and future events in a legendary book called The Covenant of Primus. Alpha Trion first appeared in the original Transformers cartoon in 1985, and for many years had nothing to do with The Thirteen. This was until Hasbro retroactively made him a member in 2010, in the novel Transformers: Exodus by Alex Irvine, which is a tie-in to the Transformers: War for Cybertron video game.
 * Nexus Prime - The archetypal Combiner, Nexus Prime is able to split his body into separate segments that are able to transform and function individually. In his original appearance in the Fun Publications Transformers comic books in 2009, the five robots that comprised Nexus Prime are named Skyfall, Landquake, Topspin, Heatwave and Breakaway. In Transformers: Exiles, Nexus Prime's components are named Cannonspring, Chaindrive, Clocker, Pinion and Mainspring.
 * Vector Prime - Appointed by Primus to be the guardian of time and space, Vector Prime wields a sword named Rhisling and has the ability to travel across time and between dimensions. Vector Prime first appeared in the Japanese cartoon series Transformers: Galaxy Force (named Transformers: Cybertron in English) in 2005.
 * Solus Prime - The only female member of The Thirteen, Solus Prime is a weapon-smith who crafted many of the Thirteen's weaponry, such as the Star Saber and The Fallen's Requiem Blaster. She wields a large hammer called "The Forge of Solus Prime", which has the ability to craft weaponry and Transformer body components from basic machinery with a single strike. In the novel Transformers: Exiles (the sequel to Transformers: Exodus) by Alex Irvine, it was heavily implied that Solus had romantic ties with Nexus Prime, and The Fallen killed her in a fit of jealous rage.
 * Amalgamous Prime - Described as a mischievous trickster, Amalgamous Prime has the ability to change his appearance into anything he wants. Transformers: Exiles states that he is the original "Shifter", a rare type of Transformer that can transform into anything. As of 2012, the character has never appeared in any Transformers toy line or fiction, and the only Shifter to appear in fiction is Makeshift, a Decepticon spy in the 2011 cartoon series Transformers: Prime.
 * The Liege Maximo - Considered by many as the ultimate evil and a natural counterforce to the heroic Prima, The Liege Maximo plotted against his fellow Primes after Megatronus killed Solus, but was exposed and chased across the galaxy by Alchemist Prime. The Liege Maximo first appeared in Marvel's Transformers: Generation 2 comic books in 1994, but he has never made a full appearance in any other medium. In the Generation 2 comics, The Liege Maximo is the original Decepticon, with Megatron and every other Decepticon being descended from him.
 * Alchemist Prime - Very little has been revealed about Alchemist Prime, and as of 2012 he has never appeared in any Transformers toy line or fiction. All that is known about the character comes from Transformers: Exiles. In the novel, Alpha Trion explains that he and Alchemist oversaw the development of early civilization on Cybertron, the home planet of the Transformers, but Alchemist soon left Cybertron to hunt down The Liege Maximo for his crimes.
 * A member of the Thirteen transforms into some type of animal, and is the archetype of Transformers with animal forms, such as Laserbeak, Ravage, the Insecticons and the Dinobots. As of 2012, this character has not been given an official name.
 * A member of the Thirteen is the original Minicon. As of 2012, this character has not been given an official name.

Artifacts of the Primes
Known/referenced artifacts of the Thirteen include:


 * The Star Saber - Prima's sword, it can slice through mountains and throw waves of energy; it was forged by Solus Prime. It is a homage to the Victory's main character, who shares the same name. The blade was destroyed by Megatron's Dark Star Saber, though the hilt remains with the Autobots, until they use the Forge of Solus Prime to restore the blade to its former glory.
 * The Matrix of Leadership - A talisman that was originally stored in the hilt of the Star Saber. As its name suggests, it is a symbol of leadership, and is passed down to new leaders of the Autobots, the Transformers' franchise's main protagonists. Holds the collective wisdom of the Primes.
 * Key to Vector Sigma - Grants access to Vector Sigma.
 * Requiem Blaster - An immensely powerful weapon wielded by Megatronus/The Fallen. It has enough power to destroy entire mountains and reduce them to ashes.
 * The Blades of Time - A device broken into pieces and spread across the universe by Nexus Prime. Each of the pieces were carried by the individual parts of Nexus. In Transformers: Exiles, Optimus Prime uses the Blades to visit Vector Prime's pocket dimension.
 * The Covenant of Primus - A digital book in which Alpha Trion writes down past, present and future events. The Covenant first appeared in the Beast Wars two-part episode "Nemesis".
 * Quill - Used by Alpha Trion to write down things in the Covenant of Primus. Can be used to affect future events, however because the flow of timeline is always changing these events do not always last.
 * The Apex Armor - A full-body suit of indestructible armor that expands from a small disc.
 * Chimera Stone
 * Proton Spear
 * Cyber Caliber - One of Nexus Prime's swords. In Transformers: Exiles, Nexus gives the Cyber Caliber to Optimus Prime to aid in his fight against the Decepticons on Junkion.
 * Chaos Edge - Another one of Nexus Prime's swords.
 * Omni Saber - Another one of Nexus Prime's swords.
 * Infinite Combinatoric
 * Forge of Solus Prime - Solus Prime's hammer which is capable of forging powerful weapons such as Prima's Star Saber and Megatron's Dark Star Saber. It is also capable of recreating a transformers biological organs such as a T-Cog or voice box. It will only work in the hands of a Prime, however in Transformers: Prime Megatron has the right hand of a Prime surgically attached to his body and is able to use the Forge to create the Dark Star Saber from the blood of Unicorn (Dark Energon). At the season 2 semi-finale, Dreadwing secretly returns the Forge to Autobots. Optimus then uses it to turn their base's Ground Bridge into a Space Bridge, as well as reforge the Star Saber.
 * The Omega Keys - Four powerful keys that are said to have the power to restore life to the Transformers' homeworld Cybertron by unlocking the Omega Lock, which is a link to the AllSpark.