njb902 wrote:I'm not even going to try to explain how wrong you are. You should be ashamed at generalizing so many good men and women.
Yeah, I see I worded that pretty badly. I meant to say that he's more fatherly and less by-the-book than a more orthodox military figure would be like in real life.
Ultra Markus wrote:even though hes not star of the show hes still their leader! however in animated even though optimus was the star and has his own troops optimus still showed ultramagnus the respect.
and as i recall optimus did give reprimands to his fellow autobots who disobey orders so what 30yrs have shown he is a leader first and foremost and he would have to be condescending or stuck up as a real life military officer is to keep his fellow autobots in line maybe not has bad and ruthless as megatron sure, but optimus has to be that rock that everyone relies on for support and wisdom even if its taken as condescending or stuck up!
Thing is, Optimus is their
back up here. This isn't his fight nor his turf. The Swordbots have been fighting the Predacons here since the series began, and Optimus has come in to offer them his help, as they're the more experienced ones with the better familiarity to the situation. He's there to provide support for
them, not the other way around.
In fact, now that I think about it, when he first made contact with both of the Swordbot teams back in the two Episode 2s, he was addressed as only the Swordbots' "comrade" rather than "leader", suggesting that the Swordbots might not serve under Optimus's authority despite his still being the Autobot Commander. The Swordbots could be like the Wreckers, being two autonomous units of Autobots who will work
with the Commander but not
for the Commander.
In a way, Optimus's presence in this show is almost like that of Alpha Trion's presence in G1, being a wise and well-respected Autobot who offers his help and advice to the main cast, but not overshadowing the authority positions of the main heroes.