Optimus Primal is a future leader of the Maximals in the Beast Wars Transformers universe. In Japan, he was called Convoy

Taking the name in honor of Optimus Prime, he commanded a group of Maximals, the descendants of the Autobots, against the Beast Wars Megatron (not the original Megatron) and his group of Predacons, the descendants of the Decepticons.

It is unknown what his original alt mode was, however his initial form upon reaching prehistoric Earth (see Beast Wars) became that of a fully natural-looking Gorilla. Primal died at the end of season 1 but was brought back by Rhinox in a Transmetal body at the start of season 2. Later, he carried Optimus Prime's spark, which changed his body into a larger ape/robot with two alternate modes besides the beast mode. In this mode he was given the nickname "Optimal Optimus".

In Beast Machines, Primal is again reformatted into an transorganic silverback. His Optimal Optimus body{minus beast mode} was used as the basis for Megatron's robot body in the final battle of that Transformers timeline.

Optimus Primal was voiced by Gary Chalk(English) & Takehito Koyasu (Japanese).

Toys

There were a total of four different versions of Optimus Primal available in the toyline:

• Original Optimus Primal. This toy was Optimus Primal's smallest form and transformed into a bat rather than a gorilla. It was available in a two-pack together with the original Megatron, who transformed into a crocodile rather than a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Neither of these toys were ever seen in the TV show.
  • The original Optimus Primal toy was recoloured black as a convention-exclusive toy called Onyx Primal .
• Optimus Primal. This was the most famous version of Optimus Primal, and the largest Maximal toy at the time. This version transformed into a natural-looking black-haired gorilla.
• Transmetal Optimus Primal. This version was slightly smaller than the previous Optimus Primal, and coloured blue instead of black. The toy had three modes: robot, gorilla, and gorilla on a hoverboard.
• Optimal Optimus. This version was the biggest toy in the entire toyline, even inventing a whole new size category (Super). It had four modes (robot, gorilla, car and aeroplane) and battery-operated lights.