Vector Prime

Vector Prime is Primus's appointed guardian of time and space. Though recorded history pegs him as 25 million years old,[1]  he has identified himself as 9 billion years old,[2]  making the clockwork-covered Transformer one of the Thirteen. Despite his age, Vector Prime is very powerful, and can warp both space and time, though excessive use of this power can severely weaken him.

Vector Prime was once a holder of the Matrix of Leadership[2]  before he left Cybertron to guard space and time, a lonely job which isolated him from Cybertronian culture for tens of millions of years. Though he has rejoined the timestream on occasion to protect it from large-scale dangers,[3]  his extraordinary exile has left him emotionally, culturally, and politically disconnected from his race. He speaks in archaic terminology steeped in chivalry from an age long past and is unfamiliar with the Autobot/Decepticon war. Despite this disconnect, Vector Prime never forgets that these strange modern creatures are the reason he guards space and time so fiercely. It is the miracle of time that allows these precious lives to continue.

Vector Prime has a "Guardian Mini-Con" called Safeguard, and is also responsible for the Recon Mini-Con Team.

Bio
Appearing in the skies over Cybertron, Vector Prime immediately made contact with Optimus Prime and his Autobot team, making them aware of the Cyber Planet Keys and how they could stop the black hole. As Vector Prime then synchronised his map of the keys’ locations to the current arrangement of the cosmos, he was approached by the evil  Megatron, who exploited Vector Prime's diminished memory of the Autobot/Decepticon conflict and convinced him to hand over the map. Alas, Vector Prime realized his mistake just as the other Autobots arrived to attack Megatron. The villain made good his escape, but not before his lieutenant Starscream  caused Autobot warrior  Landmine  to be caught in the black hole’s gravitational pull, forcing Vector Prime to open a portal to save him, transporting him to  Earth.

Vector Prime joined with  Optimus Prime 's Autobots in relocating to Earth in pursuit of Landmine, who had been befriended by three human children. Upon meeting these humans, Vector Prime recognised a symbol decorating the t-shirt of the female,  Lori, as the pattern of the Omega Lock, the device that focused the power of the Cyber Planet Keys, and deduced that it lay in hiding somewhere on Earth. Further studies of duplicate patterns around the world failed to locate it, but did yield the co-ordinates of  Velocitron, the Speed Planet, resting place of the first Cyber Planet Key. Later, the lock was apparently discovered buried in the desert, but the Decepticons were hot on their tails. The battle had catastrophic consequences when Megatron's attack killed the Mini-Cons, and Vector Prime drew on his powers for the first time in ages to rewind time and save their lives. The resulting drain on his systems left him too weak to continue fighting, allowing the Decepticons to escape with the lock. The lock in question was proven to be a fake, but the genuine article was soon discovered and acquired by Vector Prime, the Mini-Cons and the humans aboard the  Atlantis —an ancient Cybertronian spaceship that had crashed on Earth and inspired the legend of the sunken continent.

Vector Prime subsequently journeyed to Velocitron to observe  Hot Shot  try to win the world’s Cyber Planet Key in a racing tournament.

He did not actually participate-mainly because his vehicle mode lacked wheels-but he offered encouragement and advice when he could. The races were intense enough to get even him worked up, although he did his best to restrain his enthusiasm-to Optimus Prime's mild amusement. While Hot Shot trained for a particularly grueling track, the Autobots received a transmission urging them to come to the Jungle Planet to help Overhaul, sent there in advance to seek out the second Cyber Planet Key. Landmine offered to go, but Vector Prime and Optimus decided to make the trip, as they could open the dimension gate necessary to go there anyway. When they arrived, they were attacked by a massive plant monster, but Overhaul-now in the form of Leobreaker-saved them with his claws. Vector Prime joined Optimus in explaining the black hole's threat to Leobreaker's new friends, Snarl and Backstop, but was confused to learn that they had not, in fact, sent a distress signal at all. He then joined the others in confronting world leader Scourge, battling Sideways (who had sent the distress signal simply to watch the factions battle) and witnessing Optimus and Leobreaker's first combination into Savage Claw Mode.

While most of the Autobots went back to Earth to investigate a disturbance created by the Omega Lock, Vector Prime returned to the Jungle Planet with Optimus Prime and Leobreaker, intending to secure the second Cyber Planet Key. Their attempt to reason with Scourge failed miserably, leading to Leobreaker separating from Optimus mid-speech and futilely attacking the dragon-bot himself. With the lion storming off in a huff, Vector Prime accompanied Optimus back to Backstop's cave, where he learned of Scourge's beginnings as a student of Backstop's. Vector Prime was also present at the volcano Leobreaker had chosen to seclude himself in, and witnessed his reconciliation with Optimus Prime, the latter at last deciding to face Scourge in battle. The Autobots ran into a Decepticon ambush en route to Scourge's temple, and Vector Prime had to use his sword to free the beast 'bots and Hot Shot from a net. He later stood back and watched Optimus and Leobreaker finally defeat Scourge in battle, winning the right to take the Cyber Planet Key. Soon after, Vector Prime and the other Autobots met Scourge and Megatron's forces in another battle, tricked into a canyon thanks to Sideways' trickery. He was also among the 'bots who watched Leobreaker's attempted interrogation of the two-faced trickster when the battle ended, and returned to Velocitron in time to stop Megatron from stealing the Planet Cup after Hot Shot defeated Override in the final race.

Unfortunately, Megatron led his Decepticons on an immediate counterattack, desperate to obtain the Planet Key. While most of the Autobots fended off Starscream and Thundercracker, Vector Prime came up with a plan to splinter the Decepticons. He distributed boxes amongst the Autobots, with the key's location unknown to even them, and bade them scatter to force the Decepticons to spread out. Vector Prime himself came face-to-visor with Sideways, intent on acquiring the "key". The enigmatic jet managed to steal the box, warping around Vector Prime and bypassing Safeguard with his faction-switching abilities, but learned it was a fake when he found naught but a rock inside. He later joined the rest of the Autobots in fending off Megatron and Starscream's attempted theft of the true key. The insertion of the Jungle Planet Key into the Omega Lock transported the Autobots into a strange dimension that Vector Prime identified as the consciousness of Primus. The god himself briefly spoke to them through the Mini-Cons before fading away, and a signal again alerted them to something in the North Pole. Unfortunately, what came out of the North was Starscream, Sideways, and legions ofAncient Decepticons, hell-bent on finding the Cyber Planet Key hidden on Earth. Vector Prime soon joined the fray, using his sword to warp in the main Autobot forces to back Snarl up. The Autobots were eventually forced to fall back, but made two new allies in the form ofCrosswise and Evac.

Knowing that Starscream would come looking for the Omega Lock and the other two Keys, the Autobots established a communications blackout, using a direct link to the human telephone network to keep the refugee Autobots calm. Vector Prime soon brought up another worry, however-the children and Mini-Cons were missing! The kids soon returned, bringing the eccentric scientist Lucy Suzuki with them, but Jolt's advance transmission about the government's knowledge of the Autobots allowed Sideways to find the Autobot's base. With no other option, Optimus Prime led a full retreat to Velocitron while Evac retrieved the Cyber Planet Key of Earth, but Starscream followed them up the space bridge and launched a one-bot assault to claim the artifacts for himself. Vector Prime was the last to stand in the Decepticon's way, vowing to give up his spark before he relinquished the Lock. Despite being blackened and battered from previous attacks, Starscream still managed to take down the ancient guardian of time, stealing the Lock and all three Planet Keys.

Vector Prime was present at the Autobot's base when it received a strange signal after Starscream inserted the third Cyber Planet Key. Enlisting the aid of Red Alert to decrypt it, he reported that it came from Cybertron itself, instructing them to return the Lock and Keys to the planet itself. Unfortunately, the part about what happens when the Lock is returned was lost due to interference from the black hole-and worse yet, Megatron's Decepticons were on their way to Earth to settle their own grudge with Starscream. Vector Prime generated a warp to speed his allies' trip to Niagara Falls, and found himself battling the traitorous Autobot Mudflap. He was shocked to discover that Landmine had practically raised the disgruntled warrior back on Cybertron...and even more dismayed to see Megatron cut down Hot Shot, Red Alert, and Scattorshot with a single volley from his newly-unlocked Cyber Key machine gun. While others kept Megatron busy, Vector Prime evacuated the fallen warriors, assuring the pessimistic Scattorshot that they'd be fine. Upon returning to the battlefield, however, he grimly informed Optimus Prime that the situation of the trio was dire at best. Thankfully, Hot Shot, Scattorshot, and Red Alert recovered and reformatted, returning as the powerful Cybertron Defense Team. They kept the Decepticons occupied while Vector Prime warped Optimus, Override, and Evac to Starscream's newly-discovered island base.

Megatron's forces soon made a break for the island, causing Vector Prime to warp the rest of his team into the fray as well. He and Optimus pursued Megatron into a volcano, and Vector Prime saved Optimus' life by blocking Megatron's shots with his own body. They would have both met their ends nonetheless, had Wing Saber not chosen that moment to join the party as well. In response to Coby's warning that the black hole was distorting the space around Cybertron, Vector Prime would suggest sending an advance team to clear a path for the return of the Omega Lock.

The two Primes continued their descent into the volcano, soon joined by Leobreaker. Vector Prime used a small warp to redirect one of Sideways' traps, hitting Scourge instead of them. When they finally met Sideways in battle, Vector Prime had the novel idea of attaching Safeguard to the warping enigma's back, allowing him to detect where Sideways would appear. When Starscream manifested himself as a giant, courtesy of Primus' stolen power, Vector Prime was trapped in the volcano, unable to move and with his sword out of reach. Wing Saber came to his rescue, and the pair escaped with the Omega Lock after fending off  Thunderblast. After seeing the Lock off with Leobreaker, Evac, and Override, he continued fighting against Starscream, and witnessed Optimus' combination with Wing Saber into Sonic Wing Mode to defeat the behemoth.

With Starscream defeated, Vector Prime joined the rest of the Autobots in crossing the space bridge to Cybertron. They engaged Megatron, who managed to escape with the Omega Lock, but Optimus Prime battled him for possession of the Lock and keys within Megatron's personal firey dimension. At Optimus' order, Vector Prime used his portal-generating abilities to collapse the dimension in upon itself, forcing Megatron to use all his power just to keep it open. Combining his own power with that of the Lock, Vector Prime fired a beam straight into the occupied Decepticon, apparently destroying Megatron. Vector Prime later encouraged Optimus to place the Lock within Cybertron-and the planet started coming apart beneath their feet. After evacuating the team to a nearby moon, Vector Prime realized that the planet wasn't separating; it was transforming into Primus himself!

After Primus revealed that the fourth Cyber Planet Key rested on Gigantion, homeworld of the Recon Mini-Con Team, Vector Prime recounted how he met the diminutive Transformers when they were lost playing hide-and-seek. He joined his friends in confronting the Decepticons (tenuously led by Scourge), and then joined everyone in gaping at Starscream's brazen attack on Primus himself. Vector Prime doubted Starscream's sanity for daring to attack their creator, but Primus' disposal of the treacherous jet allowed Vector Prime to finally regain the Planet Map.

Sadly, a series of problems presented themselves after this small victory; Megatron returned in a mysterious ghost-like form, and the Mini-Cons seemingly disappeared along with the children. Vector Prime left to investigate the latter development, and reviewed the security camera footage at their headquarters. Discovering that Sideways had stolen the Mini-Cons and that the children had pursued him, Vector Prime requested Scattorshot and Red Alert's aid in locating them. Continuing to work as the battle raged outside, they finally received a signal from the kids, reporting that they were trapped on the Atlantis in the shadow of Earth's moon. Vector Prime led Scattorshot and Red Alert through a warp gate to the ship and caught an escape pod carrying Coby, Lori, and Six-Speed. Unfortunately, the other pod (carrying Bud, Jolt, and Reverb) was caught in the warp field of the Atlantis before the Autobots could retrieve it and was teleported away to parts unknown.

Predicting that the Atlantis will be heading for Gigantion, Vector Prime reassured Coby and Lori that their friends would be fine in the warp gate to the planet, thanks to their flexible minds. Transformers, however, are not so flexible, and so Red Alert began working on a stablizing program, partially based on Vector Prime's sword. Vector Prime would join Optimus Prime in convincing the kids' doubting parents to allow Coby and Lori to join them on the trip to Gigantion. He also denied their fathers' wish to go as well, citing the requirement of an open mind (which the adults had just proven they lacked), but joined Optimus in promising to protect the children with his life.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19px;font-family:sans-serif;">With the children's assistance cemented, Vector Prime began rigorously studying the Planet Map for the location of the dimensional rift that led to Gigantion. He discovered the gate just after Primus defeated a superpowered Starscream, informing the others that the gate is open for only a few days every year. After again reminding Coby and Lori about their immunity to the warp's effects, he helped load supplies onto the newly-arrived Ogygia starship. After receiving his copy of the stabilizing program via injection (and observing Primus shooting down Jetfire's attempt to avoid getting one), Vector Prime boarded the Ogygia as it entered the warp, warning everyone that even the slightest moment of doubt or fear could destabilize the tunnel. After an unpleasant encounter with the Starscream-controlled Atlantis, he joined his comrades in blasting a hole through a massive asteroid in the Ogygia's path before finally arriving in the dimension of Gigantion.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19px;font-family:sans-serif;">After landing on the Giant Planet, Vector Prime joined the search for the Cyber Planet Key, and came up empty-handed. When the Autobots met planet leader Metroplex and his lieutenant Quickmix, neither of whom allowed them access to the lower levels of the planet, Vector Prime attempted to create a warp, but found he could not due to security measures around the planet. After a confrontation with Megatron's goons, now including rebellious Gigantion native Menasor and enigmatic impersonator Soundwave, Metroplex and Quickmix were more willing to cooperate,  but admitted that they deleted all data on the lower levels from their memories to escape their past.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19px;font-family:sans-serif;">Undeterred, the team set up equipment to help Vector Prime determine the general location of the Cyber Planet Key. Using the Omega Lock, Vector Prime found the Key, but also realized that someone else had drawn power from it. Fearing the worst, the Autobots split into teams, with Vector Prime accompanying Optimus and Metroplex. Unfortunately, this allowed them to be picked off by Megatron, who had used the Cyber Planet Key to upgrade himself. By the time Optimus's team caught up with the Decepticon leader, he had dealt with every other Autobot, completed his transformation, and renamed himself Galvatron! In this state, he struck down Vector Prime with a single blow, and only the combined strength of Optimus Prime and Metroplex was enough to force his retreat.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19px;font-family:sans-serif;">When Scattorshot determined that there were four potential routes to the Cyber Planet Key, the Autobots again split up to cover all of the paths. Vector Prime teamed up with Optimus, Metroplex, Bud, and the Mini-Cons to travel down one of the trails. He joined Optimus in pursuit of Ransack and Crumplezone when the bumbling lackeys snatched Jolt, unable to fire for fear of hurting his friend, and gave Coby an approving thumbs-up when he dramatically transformed his personal mech to save Jolt. After that, the journey was mostly uneventful, save for watching the Velocitronian partners in grime get beaten up and sent off (repeatedly),  and meeting up with Lori and Override.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19px;font-family:sans-serif;">When Bud and the Mini-Cons accidentally fell down a secret passage, Vector Prime remained with the group, as Optimus claimed they would be more effective as a team searching for their lost comrades. When they found their small friends, Bud had given Scourge an eye-opening talk, and the Jungle Planet leader immediately challenged them all to a duel (for reasons only they seemed to understand). Vector Prime was the second opponent, and easily defeated the dragon, who nonetheless challenged the next comer with enthusiasm. <p style="line-height:19px;font-family:sans-serif;">At last, the Autobots reached the central, organic layer of Gigantion, where the Cyber Planet Key rested in the ancient starship Lemuria. Unfortunately, both Galvatron and Starscream chose that moment to make their appearances, and the former's taunts were enough to force Optimus into a breakdown of self-doubt. Finding his best logic to the contrary useless, Vector Prime was forced to drastic measures: punching Optimus in the face. Berating his peer for his arrogance, Vector Prime explained that Optimus' men trust him with their lives, but he has to trust them to do their jobs. His words snapped Prime out of his momentary funk, and the duo continued on in time to see a super-sized Landmine defeat Starscream and engage Galvatron. The combined strength of the Autobots was enough to send the Decepticon leader into retreat, leaving Optimus to claim the Cyber Planet Key and thank Vector Prime for his support (and comment on his mean right hook).

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19px;font-family:sans-serif;">Vector Prime personally inserted the final key into the Omega Lock, opening a path to their home universe (via opening the planet layers and creating a space bridge). Barring their path, however, was Galvatron, intent on taking the now-completed Lock and achieving his dark plans. Vector Prime moved to stop him, but was aghast to learn that Galvatron could warp-as well as summon a massive blast that sent all the Autobots sprawling. With the Lock in Decepticon hands, Vector Prime made a final attempt to take it back, but Galvatron simply electrocuted the ancient Transformer through his own sword and knocked him back. Perhaps due to this beating, Vector Prime was only able to watch Galvatron's apocalyptic confrontation with Starscream and subsequent escape through the space bridge. He theorized that Starscream (and the two Planet X survivors also caught in the final clash of superpowered Decepticons) had been blasted into another dimension rather than destroyed, but bigger concerns arose when the gate between universes closed, leaving the Autobots stranded on Gigantion. <p style="line-height:19px;font-family:sans-serif;">In the wake of this shock, Vector Prime was the only Autobot with any ideas on what to do, but Jolt, seemingly aware of what was coming, insisted against it. Instead, an attempt to create a space bridge generator was made, but Vector Prime was forced to destroy it after it released hordes of bird-like drone robots. Optimus assured Vector Prime that he had done the right thing, but it was realized by all that the only way back was through the warp, which would not open again for a year. With no other options, Vector Prime revealed the only way to get back to Cybertron was for him to reverse time to the point where the warp to Gigantion was open. Jolt cut in to point out that the effort would be enough to destroy him-in the conventional sense, anyways. Despite this, Vector Prime was adamant, knowing that the black hole would destroy all of time itself if left unchecked. In preparation for this final act, he released Safeguard, telling his old partner to live on Cybertron with the other Mini-Cons, gave his Planet Map to Bud, and told Optimus Prime that it was an honor to work with him. As the three Autobot starships took off, Vector Prime gave it his all to get his allies back to Cybertron, finally returning them to their own dimension before his energy gave out and his body dissolved into green particles of light. <p style="line-height:19px;font-family:sans-serif;">However, as Vector Prime had already explained to the Autobots, since he had existed for most of his life outside of time, he would always exist there, able to observe the passage of time, even though he could now no longer enter the linear universe. He swore to always watch over Optimus Prime and the Autobots, and would be there for them in spirit when their need was greatest. The first such moment came during Optimus Prime's pivotal moment within the black hole, as he appeared alongside the Autobot leader as he reached for the Omega Lock.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19px;font-family:sans-serif;">Subsequently, the black hole was sealed, but Galvatron was not yet through, and challenged Prime to a final one-on-one duel. During the battle, as Galvatron stood poised to deliver the final blow, Vector Prime's Planet Map flew from the pocket of the watching Bud and moved between the two combatants, blocking Galvatron's blow. Vector Prime spoke to Optimus once more, promising to always be there for him, and bestowing upon him the greatest of gifts—his own sword,Rhisling, with which Optimus Prime defeated and destroyed Galvatron once and for all.Not long afterwards, as the Autobots departed on a mission across the universe to create a new space bridge, Vector Prime appeared to Optimus once more, smiling at his old friend.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19px;font-family:sans-serif;">Vector Prime was last seen dueling Galvatron in an existence after death.

Trivia

 * Vector Prime made his first appearance in Trainsformers: The Alien Invaders.