Nova Prime

This subject of this article goes by multiple names that apply to other articles as well. See Nova Prime (disambiguation), Nemesis Prime (disambiguation).

Nova Prime is a Transformer from the Generation 1 continuity family.

Nova Prime was the predecessor to Nominus Prime. Once the elite soldier Nova Major, he led the unification of a divided Cybertron, ascending to leadership of his people. An expansionist and a supremacist, Nova Prime believed that Transformers were the greatest among all life forms and that they should bring their glory to the myriad of lesser races throughout the universe.

After being sucked into the Dead Universe, Nova was chosen to be the host for the Darkness, an otherworldly counterpart of the Matrix of Leadership which worked by transforming the inhabitants of the Dead Universe into undead wielders of anti-life. Upon merging, Nova was reborn as the sinister and extremely powerful Nemesis Prime. He now sees it as his mission to fulfil the Darkness' imperative by expanding the Dead Universe's hold into the living realm.

Nemesis may seem to hold sway over both his troops and the Darkness, but nothing could be further from the truth. The powerful Galvatron sees the Darkness as his rightful inheritance. And then, there is the fear. The fear that the Darkness has more in common with the Matrix than Nemesis is comfortable with. He feels he has earned this power, and isn't willing to see it follow its natural path. It is for this reason he must eliminate Optimus Prime. And it is for this reason he fears to face his successor.

“	Nova was forever seeking, forever testing the limits of science and faith. He had a certain moral...ambiguity about the Cybertronian ideal.	”
—Omega Supreme, "Spotlight: Optimus Prime"

Contents 1 Fiction 1.1 2005 IDW continuity 1.1.1 The Functionist Universe 1.2 2019 IDW continuity 2 Games 2.1 Transformers Legends 2.2 Transformers: Devastation 2.3 Transformers: Battle Tactics 2.4 Transformers: Frontiers 2.5 Transformers: Earth Wars 3 Toys 3.1 Timelines 3.2 Legacy 4 Notes 4.1 Foreign names 5 References

Fiction

2005 IDW continuity

First appearance: Escalation #6

Long ago in Cybertron's past, there was a great war (no, not that one) and Nova Major fought for his tribe's leader Prima. Ten million years ago, Prima flew the coop and Nova was left as the last soldier standing at the Siege of the Citadel of Light until Galvatron arrived out of the wilderness. The two fought against the beast hordes and drove them back, turning the siege into a by-word for courage. Alpha Trion, the last Prime on the planet, was the one who brought them together in the hope that they could end the war.

Realizing the Primes were gone, Nova went out and united the tribes (starting with the beasts) to create a unified Cybertronian society, one for all Cybertronians and where everyone would be "in their place." Trion later claimed that this did not sound sinister at the time.

With Trion's blessing, Nova took the mantle of Prime. The Crucible With the war over, he and his closest friends and advisors Galvatron, Jhiaxus, Cyclonus, and Dai Atlas went on a quest in Cybertron's underground, hoping to rediscover the lost principles of their gods, the Guiding Hand. Nova found the Hand's old home: Crystal City, with its guardian Omega Supreme. Omega joined Nova's crew and they worked to bring about the legendary Golden Age. All Good Things

Soon, Nova's ambition grew and he secretly began planning the Expansion, the Cybertronian conquest of the universe. Obsessed with the Hand's prophecy that "all shall be one", he intended to enslave all other lifeforms in order to "free" them from their individual wills and make them part of something greater—Nova's empire. He formed the Primal Vanguard for off-world peacekeeping and began work on the first Ark, claiming it was meant for trade and exploration when it was in truth the first step of the Expansion. Hangers On All Good Things However, his plans hit a snag when Vector Sigma's flow of new sparks began to cease. Fearing that his Expansion would be impossible with a limited population of Cybertronians at his disposal, Nova had a team of scientists led by Tyrest tap into the Matrix of Leadership and use its power to create new life, a process that was covered up as a "population augmentation program" that made use of "spark splicing". Patternism The Divided Self Nova Prime also wished to evolve Cybertronians in preparation for their destiny as rulers of the universe, and against Omega's wishes, he had Jhiaxus re-engineer six Transformers to be able to combine into a being of higher intellect and strength, in hopes of uncovering the secret of Nexus Prime's Enigma of Combination. However they were driven mad by the merging, and they devolved into a monster that tore through Crystal City before they were stopped. Nova didn't care about the destruction though, feeling the city had outlived its usefulness. Spotlight: Optimus Prime All Good Things The Crucible

Nova Prime and his closest comrades boarded the Ark to enact the Expansion, making their way to the Benzuli Expanse where they discovered a portal to the Dead Universe. Seeing it as just another universe to conquer, Nova ordered the ship to pass through, not worried at all by the fact that the portal itself was pulling them in. Dark Dawn The ship never reappeared and the crew was presumed dead, but Nova's aggressive intentions never came to light, and the Transformers honored his memory with a statue. Megatron Origin #3 The Matrix he once carried remained on Cybertron, hidden in the Undergrid Transformation, with a fake one (that everyone believed was real) left behind for his successor, Nominus Prime. Post Hoc Meanwhile, his population expansion had left Cybertron with energon shortages and caused an outburst of racism, complete with a period of apartheid, against the constructed Transformers created by his spark splicing program. Patternism

The Prime was thought dead but countless years later, when Optimus Prime downloaded himself into infraspace to survive an attack from Megatron, he sensed the presence of Nova Prime... and was filled with an incredible sense of dread. Escalation #6 These feelings led Optimus Prime to seek information from Omega Supreme, and shared with him his belief that Nova might still be alive, and his feelings of dread. In turn, Omega told Optimus of Nova's story, and later learned of Monstructor. Optimus was left with the knowledge that the Prime lineage had been corrupt from the start, and it gave the Autobot leader something to ponder about. Spotlight: Optimus Prime

It was later learned that Optimus Prime's assessment was right: Nova Prime was still functioning, though in a strange half-dead state in the Dead Universe, and was now the fearsome figure known as Nemesis Prime, powered by the almighty mind-altering anti-Matrix, the Darkness, which ruled the Dead Universe. His grand plan, the Expansion, was now intended to merge the Dead Universe with the real one, allowing him to both return home at long last and direct the merged universe into a new, more ordered era.

He already had an outpost and minions on Gorlam Prime, ready to direct his coming Expansion. He had Nightbeat captured by some of his minions and programmed Spotlight: Nightbeat to assassinate Optimus Prime at a set time, Spotlight: Hardhead as he subconsciously knew the Darkness would behave like the Matrix and jump from him to Optimus if given the chance. Spotlight: Sideswipe

With that secured, Nemesis Prime decided that the Expansion was ready to begin. He dispatched Galvatron to Cybertron in a mission to secure Thunderwing, kill the Autobots guarding him, and bring the Pretender to the Dead Universe. Galvatron secured Thunderwing, but spared the Autobots, viewing it as a small rebellion against Nova. Spotlight: Galvatron After observing the Reapers about to destroy Earth, he ordered Galvatron there to stop them, since the Earth was part of their expansion plan. Devastation #3 Galvatron performed his task well, but Prime remarked to Jhiaxus that he was aware that Galvatron had his own agendas and secrets. Devastation #6

After Cyclonus secured the Nega-Core and activated its guardian, Nemesis Prime initiated the Expansion with the rest of the Dead Universe crew. Spotlight: Cyclonus

Nemesis Prime was found by Jhiaxus on the remains of the Ark, thinking back on old times and planning for the future. Upon receiving the latest intelligence on both Cyclonus and Nightbeat, he dismissed the former and requested Jhiaxus take care of the Nightbeat situation personally. When Jhiaxus reported Nightbeat's death, Nemesis was unmoved, deciding he would take over Nightbeat's mission and deal with Optimus Prime himself. Spotlight: Hardhead

Nemesis Prime attacked the prison facility on Garrus-9 while Optimus Prime was inspecting it. The Autobot defense forces were helpless against him: Nemesis was immune to all their firepower and used his deadly decaying touch to instantly snuff out their lives. Seeing that conflict was futile, Optimus Prime ordered all the defenders to retreat, then faced Nemesis Prime directly. Nemesis gloated about the upcoming Expansion, then revealed to Optimus Prime the nature of the Darkness and channeled it as a weapon against Optimus Prime. Spotlight: Doubledealer

Unfortunately for Nemesis, the Darkness did want to leap to Optimus as he had feared, and it would do so if he either used it or touched Optimus. Enraged, Nemesis backed off and resorted to firing a torrent of normal energy. Optimus was able to withstand the blast however, but their fight ended abruptly when Nemesis, distracted by the battle, was shot in the back and killed by Galvatron, as part of his plan to claim the Darkness for himself. Though Optimus Prime soon destroyed the Darkness-infused Galvatron (or so he thought), Optimus remarked that he could not mourn his predecessor, noting that Nova Prime was long dead. Spotlight: Sideswipe

Nemesis's body was taken back to Cybertron, where Brainstorm took custody of it and began studying it in his lab in hopes of finding out more about the Dead Universe. He eventually came to speculate that Nemesis had not actually perished, but rather, that his life-essence had returned to the Dead Universe. What Brainstorm was not aware of, however, was the bolt of energy that had leapt from Nemesis's corpse to his own body, leaving him in a living-dead state of his own. Black Planet

Brainstorm's supposition was proven correct when Nemesis Prime reappeared on the planet Dykayra, emerging from a portal to the Dead Universe to confront Galvatron. His wounds pulsating with dark energy, he now served the greater being of which the Darkness had always been but a small part: the D-Void. Heart of Darkness #3 Apparently seeking to retake the Darkness from Galvatron, Nemesis briefly battled him and his army, brushing off their firepower and destroyed several of Galvatron's minions by devouring their energy. He then mutated into a gigantic, horrible monster, seemingly falling under the D-Void's direct control in the process, and continued the fight against Galvatron. In the end, Galvatron was able to summon his army and force the malformed Nemesis Prime back through the portal, which he then destroyed. Heart of Darkness #4

As it transpired, however, Nemesis had not sought to reclaim the Darkness, but had rather only been used a pawn by D-Void in its attempts to motivate Galvatron into using the Darkness to destroy Cybertron. Following the D-Void's destruction and Galvatron's own consignment to the Dead Universe, Nemesis was at last free of its influence, and reverted to being "Nova Prime" in name and appearance once more. Working with Galvatron, he made contact with Jhiaxus and his old pupil Shockwave in the living universe, and began an apparent plot to conquer Cybertron and return it to Nova's leadership. Dark Dawn Initially hoping to use the space bridge of Shockwave's Necrotitan as transport out of the Dead Universe, Black Metal Nova and Galvatron were forced to use Megatron's personal space bridge when that plan faltered. Into the Abyss However, as Nova was about to emerge in the living universe, the united forces of Bumblebee's Autobots and Soundwave's Decepticons attacked Shockwave's lair, and in the chaos, Nova was punched by Ironhide back into the Dead Universe.

Trapped yet again, Nova Prime directed his rage upon a group of intruders who had entered the Dead Universe while he had been occupied: Orion Pax and his band. Finest Hour Amused with Orion's choice to no longer call himself a Prime, Nova proceeded to mock Cyclonus, claiming that his former crewmate had been nothing but a hanger-on. After Hardhead broke out of the containment field Nova had sealed the group in, Nova destroyed his protective forcefield generator, allowing the Autobot to be consumed and disintegrated by the Dead Universe. No Exit Demonstrating his growing ability to manipulate the energies of the Dead Universe, Nova took the remainder of the group to his citadel, where he kept Kup, whom he had been attempting to convert into a living spacebridge. In the energy of his captives' sparks, Nova Prime finally saw a chance to escape the universe. The Dead Are Not Enough

However, the prisoners were able to liberate Nightbeat, still under Nova's control after all these years, and he then helped them escape their cage. Confronting them, Nova Prime took the opportunity to challenge his successor to battle once more. Burning Bright Nova employed some psychological warfare on Pax, using his control of the Dead Universe to make himself shape-shift into each member of the Prime lineage to mock Orion with its tainted legacy. After Nova became a mirror image of him, Pax sank into temporary despair as Nova began gaining the upper hand. However, Rodimus delivered a pep talk that got Pax back on his feet, just before being blasted by Nova. Re-accepting his role as Prime and his duty to brighten that dark lineage, Optimus promptly tore Nova's arm off and finally slew his evil predecessor with a punch clear through the villain's chest. Upon expiring, Nova Prime's crumbling body reverted to its natural appearance. Finis Temporis

Unfortunately, unbeknownst to Orion, this was exactly what Shockwave had wanted all along; with Nova dead, the Dead Universe's energies were now Shockwave's to control as part of his true plan to end all life in the universe. The Becoming Nova's corpse had one final use to serve, though: when Optimus's team heard singing emanating from it, they realized that it contained a link back to the living universe, and used the technology of his citadel to convert his body into a space bridge home. They emerged through a portal in Brainstorm's own chest, thanks to his own living-dead link to the Dead Universe. Black Planet

Starscream later cited Nova Prime—along with Sentinel and Zeta—as examples of the corrupt lineage of the Primes, to discredit Optimus and sway the opinion of the Council of Worlds. The Medium and the Message After being removed from power and receiving a life sentence, Starscream defended his reign of Cybertron to Bumblebee by bringing up Nova Prime trying to destroy the universe multiple times. Surfeit of Primes

The Functionist Universe

In an alternate timeline where the Functionist Council overthrew Nominus Prime and ruled Cybertron, they discovered the truth behind Nova Prime's spark splicing program and declared it heresy. A World Misplaced

2019 IDW continuity

At some point during Cybertron's history, Nova Prime held the Matrix. When he inherited the talisman, Orion Pax glimpsed Nova's spirit along with his other predecessors during a trip through the Allspark. Prime

Games

Transformers Legends

The peace of Nova Prime's rule over Cybertron was shattered by the arrival of a future version of himself named Nemesis Prime. Though Nova Prime rallied Topspin and Roadbuster in an attempt to quell this future shade, Nemesis Prime triumphed over the Autobots. Prime Evil

Transformers: Devastation

Nova Prime was known as the conqueror of the Benzuli Expanse, greatest Autobot to bear the Matrix, and all around great guy. He inspired Bad Bots to be good and Good Bots to be better. It was he who led the Mission of Cybertronian Expansion, hoping to create colonies on cyberformed planets for future Cybertronians to inhabit, thereby preserving their culture forever.

The mission started out as a tremendous success. The crew would find uninhabited planets and using the Ferrotaxis, a Plasma Core, and the Insecticon Swarm aboard Nova Prime's ship, the Proudstar, a planet could be quickly cyberformed and ready for colonization. After Lithone had been cyberformed, resources began to wane and the Proudstar made a supply run on a mysterious planet. As the crew resupplied, a darkness fell over them and their ship, causing them to become corrupt and mad. Before the crew left the planet, Nova Prime pointed it in the direction of Cybertron. As the Proudstar sailed through the galaxy, the darkness began to grow in Nova Prime, with righteous pride, as opposed to once peaceful intentions, beginning to guide his mission. Nova Prime eventually began targeting inhabited planets for cyberforming, wiping out several civilizations. One of these planets was Earth where, thanks to some sabotage courtesy of a guilt-ridden Kranix, the Proudstar crashed into the surface and trapped its crew and resources in stasis. Unaware of what had transpired on his fateful mission, the populace of Cybertron declared Nova Prime as missing in action while heralding him as one of the greatest heroes their race had ever produced.

In the late 20th century, Megatron discovered the Proudstar and tried to use it to cyberform Earth only for his plot to be foiled by Nova's eventual successor Optimus Prime. Though Optimus had believed the Proudstar to be offline once again, some unseen power supply still thrummed deep within its bowels and, within a broken stasis pod, reawakened Nova Prime! Devastation

Transformers: Battle Tactics

Nova Prime participated in battles against a variety of opponents, both Autobots and Decepticons. Sometimes there were many of him! He was a an Epic character who was available in the (last) February Daily Campaign, and could be recruited by collecting 20 Alpha cores, 20 Beta Cores, 20 Omega cores, and 10 cores of this character. Transformers: Battle Tactics

Transformers: Frontiers

The Game Full of Death and Suffering...! This character article is a stub and is missing information on their video game appearances. You can help Transformers Wiki by expanding it. Transformers: Frontiers

Transformers: Earth Wars

An aggressive seeker of advancement of the Cybertronian race, Nova Prime observed many realities, frustrated that in none of them did Cybertronians unite to take their rightful place as leaders of the universe. To change destiny, Nova Prime instigated a Time Vortex in one universe to trap the Ark and Nemesis in 1984, which would gradually unravel the entire fabric of reality, allowing him to conduct his own Great Resetting.

Upon arriving in normal spacetime, Nova Prime retrieved the Terrorcons from a slow-time bubble and recruited them to his cause, leaving behind Ravage others who refused to follow anyone but Megatron. Mayhem: Enemy of My Enemy Bringing his new acolytes to inner space, Nova Prime maintained the other Terrorcons in stasis, instead assigning Sinnertwin alone to retrieve Sinnertwin's own Megatron, preferably intact. Nova Prime arrival The opposition concluded that to stop a Prime's gambit, they would need a Prime's tool, the Forge of Solus Prime. History Repeating

Toys

Timelines

• Nova Prime (Deluxe Class, 2015)

• Accessories: "Quantum Fusion cannon", "G-Metal Battle Axe"

The first of two Transformers Collectors' Club exclusives for 2015, Nova Prime is a redeco of that same year's member incentive figure, Lio Convoy. Both were retooled from Thrilling 30 Orion Pax and feature a new head. Nova still comes with the blaster and axe, which can store via a 5mm peg on either side of the vehicle mode. Although not depicted on the instructions, the Quantum Fusion cannon can also peg into the hole on the larger blade of the Energon Axe.

The foam insert in Nova Prime's box features an extra slot to store either the aforementioned incentive figure Lio Convoy, or the BotCon 2015 customization class exclusive Galva Convoy, both of whom are featured in the exterior package art.

This figure officially doubles as Shattered Glass Nova Prime. This mold was also used to make Galva Convoy.

Legacy

• Nova Prime (Leader Class, 2023)

• Accessories: Armor pieces, 2 missile launchers, laser cannon/truck cannon barrel, 2 front wheels/armguards
• Known designers: Evan Brooks (Hasbro), Takashi Kunihiro (TakaraTomy)^[1]

Part of the Amazon-exclusive Pre-Cybertronian War Collection imprint, Legacy: Evolution Nova Prime is a retool and redeco of War for Cybertron: Siege Galaxy Upgrade Optimus Prime, itself an extensive retool of Siege Ultra Magnus, based on Nova's appearance in Transformers: Devastation. He transforms into a heavily-armed, futuristic truck.

Compared to Optimus, Nova has new wings, new shoulders, a new headsculpt, and a new chest, all in "super" mode. He includes all of Optimus's accessories, redecoed into Nova's regular color scheme. Being a retool of the Siege Magnus/Optimus mold, Nova is compatible with either of the two's armor sets, and Optimus and Magnus likewise are more or less compatible with Nova's armor pieces. The stock images (seen on the right) released after his reveal show a broken sample, where the figure's right ear tip is shown to be broken.

Like Galaxy Upgrade Optimus Prime, Nova Prime also features flip-out support struts on the leg armor to compensate for the back's weight. While they're hardly needed since the armor's bulk is heavy enough to support the weight, the pieces also prevent the leg armor from standing flat when folded in.

In vehicle mode, the trailer does not actually attach to the truck in a way that keeps its wheels lined up and consequently part of the trailer/armor section risks scraping if pushed across a surface.

Nova Prime was revealed at San Diego Comic-Con on July 20, 2023, and went up for pre-order on Amazon the following day, with Hasbro Pulse also receiving a limited supply of the figure.

Siege mold: Ultra Magnus

Version 1: Hasbro/TakaraTomy: Siege WFC-S13 Ultra Magnus War for Cybertron Trilogy Ultra Magnus (Spoiler Pack) Premium Finish PF WFC-03 Ultra Magnus Version 2: Hasbro/TakaraTomy: Siege WFC-S40 Galaxy Upgrade Optimus Prime Hasbro: Legacy Nova Prime Version 3: Hasbro/TakaraTomy Kingdom Ultra Magnus Anti-Gravity Pedestal Tenseg Base Optimus Prime Set (cab only) Hasbro: Shattered Glass Collection Ultra Magnus

Notes

• Nova Prime's design began life as an Optimus Prime toy concept that artist Don Figueroa had drawn for Hasbro, but ultimately went unused. In fact, part of the combined "Super Mode" concept art was first seen on the BotCon 2005-exclusive cover for Infiltration #0 (and the full art was seen in Spotlight: Optimus Prime). Figueroa credits Simon Furman for the creation of Nova Prime as a character and reused the unused Optimus Prime design for Nova as he was not aware a new character needed to be designed before receiving the script for Spotlight: Optimus Prime;^[2] given enough time, Figueroa would have made Nova's vehicle mode more Cybertronian.^[3] The head design, which had appeared prior as a vision in Escalation #6, is by E. J. Su.^[4]

Foreign names

• Japanese: Nova Prime (ノバ・プライム Noba Puraimu, ノヴァ・プライム Nova Puraimu), Nemesis Prime (ネメシス・プライム Nemeshisu Puraimu)
• Korean: Nova Prime (노바 프라임 Noba Peulaim)
• Mandarin: Yào Tiān Wēi (耀天威, "Sky-deterrence Shine" ), Xīnghuáng (Earth Wars, 星皇 "Star Emperor")
• Russian: Nova Prime (Нова Прайм Nova Praym)

References

	Lineage of the Primes in the 2005 IDW continuity
The Thirteen Nova Prime Nominus Prime Sentinel Prime Zeta Prime Optimus Prime

	The Thirteen
Primary roster Prima Vector Prime Alpha Trion Solus Prime Micronus Prime Alchemist Prime Nexus Prime Onyx Prime Amalgamous Prime Quintus Prime Liege Maximo Megatronus The Thirteenth Prime Alternate members Autonomous Maximus Logos Prime Solomus Epistemus Adaptus Mortilus Sentinel Prime Zeta Prime Nova Prime