>An Optimus with an actual personality/character arc
>Starts out as what seems to be a peaceful leader forced to war to protect not just his race but all races due to his belief in freedom for all
>in the process of protect a different species his own gets more and more fucked, and the species barely shows any thanks because at first they go unaccredited, and when they are recognized for what they do it is demonization for the destruction they've caused and the fact that it seems to the species the Autobots are attracting the attention that brings that destruction
>prime slowly losing his reservations and peaceful attitude, the reality of the results of his efforts to protect showing him he might have been wrong, maybe these people aren't worth standing up for, maybe they don't WANT to be saved
>while progressively losing patience and sanity it develops to the point he abandons hope for the species and has already lost all hope in returning his own to glory and piece and after the destruction of his home planet
>Would sooner kill a human than have to deal with any more of this
>A violently depressed ex-war leader who has been forced to abandon his morals because of harsh reality
>And this has all lead up to him becoming a begrudging bad guy, now fighting against the side he once protected to try and restore his own honor and his own home planet and species
This Optimus started out cookie-cutter peace and freedom like the rest of them do, but has slowly become probably one of the best villains in TF history, the kind of villain whose own agenda and morals and reasons and goals are, frankly, as understandable as the heroes
