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Description
It's not a secret that I'm a fan of the Marvel Ultimate comics, especially of the Ultimates. I love all the reimagings, both visual and story wise.

I began to wonder what an Ultimate Transformers comic would be like, so I decided to draw out a concept of Prime. There are a few things different, though.
One: Yes, he looks like a technorganic creature, but don't worry, he's not. His body is 100% mechanical, though he's made up of nanobots, and all Cybertronians can manipulate those at will. Also, their bodies are just casings for their true selves, the Sparks.

Two: Sparks are the true Cybertronian beings in this imagined little universe. Sparks are intelligent hybrids of a bacteria-esque creature and pure energy. However, they need a body to talk, see, hear and interact with their enviroment. Otherwise, they're just small, tentacled, floating orbs of energy which get around by 'sensing' things, and which communicate on a basic telepathic level (this ability is lost when the Sparks are in their bodies).

Three: Prime and the other Cybertronians transform a bit different then from the previous shows. The vehicle armor transforms in the normal way, but the body itself withdraws into the chest, compressing itself into a tiny metal orb that rests somewhere inside the vehicle. So yes, they radically mass-size shift when transforming. However, the mass stays the same, so it's impossible for a human to remove the Spark Casing and carry it around.
When transforming back into robot mode, the orb expands again before reforming. However, you don't actually see this. Instead, you for example see the legarmor completing it's transformation before the actual leg slides into it.
The helmets are also compressed into the metal orb, but they don't combine immediately, instead first letting the head reform before sliding onto it as solid shapes.

Four: Cybertronians need large amounts of energy because of the mass-size shifting used during reforming, not to mention the energy used when the nanobots repair damage (medics are used to increase the healing process or repair severe wounds). When no energy is present the Spark will be used for energy, which brings the Cybertronian more in touch with it's body but also puts it through the feeling of being starved and eaten from the inside out.

Five: Like the text beneath the fully armored Prime says, Decepticons don't look the same as the Autobots. Instead, they have two layers of armoring. The first layer covers the entire body, and looks different with each Decepticon. The second layer is the standard vehicle armor. Because of this, most Decepticons are slower then the faster Autobots, giving the good guys a much needed advantage.
The text also explains why the Autobots look more uncovered then the Decepticons, so I won't go into that further. Instead, I'll give you a visual comparison to make the two points obvious.
Autobots: Mad Max-esque armours, though a bit more functional.
Decepticons: Spartan (Halo)-esque armours, though a lot less overpowered.

Six: Why do the Sparks have machinical bodies if they can only sense other things and not fully touch them? This goes back to the Age of the Quintessons. The Quintessons were a cruel and ancient race, which enslaved entire worlds, colonized planets not their own and waged devastating wars with any who opposed them. Their bastion was Quintessa, but the planet was destroyed in a crippling, desperate attack by a now extinct species. The Quintessons regrouped and went off to search for a different planet and eventually found one suitable to their needs.
They turned the world into a giant capital, but the Quintessons were puzzled when they found a strange native species, which was unlike any other species they had yet encountered. The Quintessons named these creatures Sparks because of their appearance, and could think of no use for the docile and hard to kill creatures. Eventually the Quintessons discovered that the Sparks came from various pools, which were located all around the world and which seemed to extend deep into the planet's crust, and each pool seemed to spawn different kinds of Sparks. After a few years the Quintessons discovered these Sparks could manipulate nanobots, so they put the Sparks into nanobot bodies to have a seemingly infinite number of soldiers and workers.
But the Quintessons could have never expected that the Sparks were actually intelligent, and were slowly but surely becoming sentient with the help of their overseeër computer, the Vector Sigma (which eventually revolted against the Quintessons because they mistreated those it was tasked to protect). The Sparks eventually became fully sentient and waged war with their former masters. Most of both species were wiped out in mere weeks, but eventually the remaining Cybertronians (still a considerable number) figured that they had to seek the help of the other species the Quintessons waged war with. An intergalactic alliance was formed, and together they wiped out the Quintessons once and for all (though none realized that the last remaining Quintesson had launched the Galactus drone in a final act of revenge, which would eventually multiply into a scourge that would wipe out entire worlds).
The newly self-declared Cybertronians helped the other species rebuild their worlds to make up for their errors when they were enslaved, and in return the species helped the Cybertronians rebuild the Quintesson Capital into Cybertron. And all was well for a long time as the Golden age started, until the Great War broke out.

Seven: They actually have a reason to fight, other then the basic good/evil excuse. At first the Cybertronian civilization flourished, and they were one of the major races in the galaxy. The Cybertronian civilization was split into two basic 'factions':
-The Autobots, who were diplomats, daily life workers, police officers and builders and who were led by the House of Prime.
-The Decepticons, who were soldiers, security guards, and builders, who were lead by the House of Tron.
But soon their need for energy began to take it's toll, which eventually lead to a loss of energy sources. The Autobots tried to think of a solution, while the Decepticons saw an easy one...Take what they needed from other races.
It was a logical choice to the Decepticons. They were superior in every way to other races, and those they could not beat in strength, they would outwit with brilliant strategies, courtesy of their Lord Megatron.
However, the Autobots did not want this. It reminded them to much of the way the Quintessons (their former masters) had operated, though most Decepticons did not want to unleash mindless slaughter on the galaxy. All Cybertronians cherished their freedom, and this is why the Autobots didn't want those of other sentient beings taken away.
Eventually this conflict led to a war between the two factions, until it was discovered that the Autobot leader, Sentinel Prime, was in the possession of an ultimate energy source all this time: The Allspark Matrix.
This object was once used by the Quintessons to power Cybertron, and if drained, it could create Nucleon, a powersource much more effective then standard Energon. However, Sentinel Prime knew that the planet would die without it, and inscribed runes warned that the Matrix would destroy itself if used incorrectly.
Sentinel Prime didn't want to hand over the Matrix to Megatron because of this, even warning his ally, but eventually Megatron grew tired of this. Megatron called out for a temporary cease fire, but only so that he could seek out Optronix, an old but good friend of Megatron which he had met in his gladiator days (when he was still Megaplex), where the Autobot had taken care of administrations. One day Sentinel Prime had come to the arenas out of amusement and had met the young Optronix, which he then took under his wing to become his personal archivist.
When contacted by Megatron Optronix was happy to hear that his old friend wished to discuss a peace treaty with Sentinel Prime. Optronix organized it with Sentinel's help, and all three of them were present at the secret discussions preliminary to the signing of the treaty. Megatron, however, slaughtered Sentinel with his bare hands when the Autobot leader didn't wish to give Megatron access to the Matrix. Megatron let Optronix live before going to the Matrix chambers, but what Megatron didn't expect was to see Optronix steal the Matrix in front of his eyes and escape. Optronix spent the next few days on the run from the Decepticon army, but was soon found by Sentinel's bodyguard, Ironhide.
Ironhide brought Optronix to a meeting of Autobot generals, and there it was decided that Optronix was to be the new Prime (something General Grimlock wasn't exactly pleased with). Optronix couldn't believe it and refused his new role, but Ironhide convinced Optronix by showing him a secret message from the deceased Sentinel Prime.
Sentinel Prime hadn't trust Megatron when he claimed he wanted to discuss the peace treaty, but that he had to go along with it in the small chance that the two Lords could work something out, to stop this senseless war. But, should anything happen to him, then Optronix would be declared the new Prime because the archivist was one of the descendants of the Prime Spark Pool.
With this new information, Optronix accepted his role, and after a hefty discussion with the Generals, he decided the best course of action was to order the Autobots to escape Cybertron, knowing the planet was no longer safe as long as Megatron was after the Matrix.
The renamed Optimus Prime and a small group of Autobots left the planet on the Autobot flagship, the Ark, and escaped Cybertron. However, Megatron had found this out, and gave chase in the Nemesis (his flagship). Eventually the Nemesis caught up, and after a furious chase through another solar system the two heavily damaged ships crashed onto the third planet: Earth.
After hundreds of thousands of years the two ships were found, and the crew reactivated by the eager humans. Both factions escaped, assumed new disguises and started a global guerilla war, all so that Megatron could get his hands on the Matrix and use the still functional Ark to escape the planet and head back to Cybertron.

Eight: Cybertronian society works with caste-systems, decided by several of the Spawning Pools. Each pool actually brings forth a different Spark race, with each race specialized in a certain task, though it is not known why they're organized like this. Exploration of the Pools is STRICTLY forbidden, in fear of disrupting the birth/surfacing of new Sparks. The most rare Spawn Pools are that of the Prime and Tron Houses. Each of the two palaces is build ontop of these pools, where specialized 'riests' catch each Prime/Tron Spark that comes to the surface. After the Sparks are given bodies, they are send to lower castes, where they grow up until it's time for them to become the new High Lords when the previous ones have died. Leadership comes naturally to these Sparks once they learn of their heritage, but previous experience definately enhances the results.

.......WOW. That was a LOT more then I had planned. o_O D'OH.

Description
It's not a secret that I'm a fan of the Marvel Ultimate comics, especially of the Ultimates. I love all the reimagings, both visual and story wise.

I began to wonder what an Ultimate Transformers comic would be like, so I decided to draw out a concept of Prime. There are a few things different, though.
One: Yes, he looks like a technorganic creature, but don't worry, he's not. His body is 100% mechanical, though he's made up of nanobots, and all Cybertronians can manipulate those at will. Also, their bodies are just casings for their true selves, the Sparks.

Two: Sparks are the true Cybertronian beings in this imagined little universe. Sparks are intelligent hybrids of a bacteria-esque creature and pure energy. However, they need a body to talk, see, hear and interact with their enviroment. Otherwise, they're just small, tentacled, floating orbs of energy which get around by 'sensing' things, and which communicate on a basic telepathic level (this ability is lost when the Sparks are in their bodies).

Three: Prime and the other Cybertronians transform a bit different then from the previous shows. The vehicle armor transforms in the normal way, but the body itself withdraws into the chest, compressing itself into a tiny metal orb that rests somewhere inside the vehicle. So yes, they radically mass-size shift when transforming. However, the mass stays the same, so it's impossible for a human to remove the Spark Casing and carry it around.
When transforming back into robot mode, the orb expands again before reforming. However, you don't actually see this. Instead, you for example see the legarmor completing it's transformation before the actual leg slides into it.
The helmets are also compressed into the metal orb, but they don't combine immediately, instead first letting the head reform before sliding onto it as solid shapes.

Four: Cybertronians need large amounts of energy because of the mass-size shifting used during reforming, not to mention the energy used when the nanobots repair damage (medics are used to increase the healing process or repair severe wounds). When no energy is present the Spark will be used for energy, which brings the Cybertronian more in touch with it's body but also puts it through the feeling of being starved and eaten from the inside out.

Five: Like the text beneath the fully armored Prime says, Decepticons don't look the same as the Autobots. Instead, they have two layers of armoring. The first layer covers the entire body, and looks different with each Decepticon. The second layer is the standard vehicle armor. Because of this, most Decepticons are slower then the faster Autobots, giving the good guys a much needed advantage.
The text also explains why the Autobots look more uncovered then the Decepticons, so I won't go into that further. Instead, I'll give you a visual comparison to make the two points obvious.
Autobots: Mad Max-esque armours, though a bit more functional.
Decepticons: Spartan (Halo)-esque armours, though a lot less overpowered.

Six: Why do the Sparks have machinical bodies if they can only sense other things and not fully touch them? This goes back to the Age of the Quintessons. The Quintessons were a cruel and ancient race, which enslaved entire worlds, colonized planets not their own and waged devastating wars with any who opposed them. Their bastion was Quintessa, but the planet was destroyed in a crippling, desperate attack by a now extinct species. The Quintessons regrouped and went off to search for a different planet and eventually found one suitable to their needs.
They turned the world into a giant capital, but the Quintessons were puzzled when they found a strange native species, which was unlike any other species they had yet encountered. The Quintessons named these creatures Sparks because of their appearance, and could think of no use for the docile and hard to kill creatures. Eventually the Quintessons discovered that the Sparks came from various pools, which were located all around the world and which seemed to extend deep into the planet's crust, and each pool seemed to spawn different kinds of Sparks. After a few years the Quintessons discovered these Sparks could manipulate nanobots, so they put the Sparks into nanobot bodies to have a seemingly infinite number of soldiers and workers.
But the Quintessons could have never expected that the Sparks were actually intelligent, and were slowly but surely becoming sentient with the help of their overseeër computer, the Vector Sigma (which eventually revolted against the Quintessons because they mistreated those it was tasked to protect). The Sparks eventually became fully sentient and waged war with their former masters. Most of both species were wiped out in mere weeks, but eventually the remaining Cybertronians (still a considerable number) figured that they had to seek the help of the other species the Quintessons waged war with. An intergalactic alliance was formed, and together they wiped out the Quintessons once and for all (though none realized that the last remaining Quintesson had launched the Galactus drone in a final act of revenge, which would eventually multiply into a scourge that would wipe out entire worlds).
The newly self-declared Cybertronians helped the other species rebuild their worlds to make up for their errors when they were enslaved, and in return the species helped the Cybertronians rebuild the Quintesson Capital into Cybertron. And all was well for a long time as the Golden age started, until the Great War broke out.

Seven: They actually have a reason to fight, other then the basic good/evil excuse. At first the Cybertronian civilization flourished, and they were one of the major races in the galaxy. The Cybertronian civilization was split into two basic 'factions':
-The Autobots, who were diplomats, daily life workers, police officers and builders and who were led by the House of Prime.
-The Decepticons, who were soldiers, security guards, and builders, who were lead by the House of Tron.
But soon their need for energy began to take it's toll, which eventually lead to a loss of energy sources. The Autobots tried to think of a solution, while the Decepticons saw an easy one...Take what they needed from other races.
It was a logical choice to the Decepticons. They were superior in every way to other races, and those they could not beat in strength, they would outwit with brilliant strategies, courtesy of their Lord Megatron.
However, the Autobots did not want this. It reminded them to much of the way the Quintessons (their former masters) had operated, though most Decepticons did not want to unleash mindless slaughter on the galaxy. All Cybertronians cherished their freedom, and this is why the Autobots didn't want those of other sentient beings taken away.
Eventually this conflict led to a war between the two factions, until it was discovered that the Autobot leader, Sentinel Prime, was in the possession of an ultimate energy source all this time: The Allspark Matrix.
This object was once used by the Quintessons to power Cybertron, and if drained, it could create Nucleon, a powersource much more effective then standard Energon. However, Sentinel Prime knew that the planet would die without it, and inscribed runes warned that the Matrix would destroy itself if used incorrectly.
Sentinel Prime didn't want to hand over the Matrix to Megatron because of this, even warning his ally, but eventually Megatron grew tired of this. Megatron called out for a temporary cease fire, but only so that he could seek out Optronix, an old but good friend of Megatron which he had met in his gladiator days (when he was still Megaplex), where the Autobot had taken care of administrations. One day Sentinel Prime had come to the arenas out of amusement and had met the young Optronix, which he then took under his wing to become his personal archivist.
When contacted by Megatron Optronix was happy to hear that his old friend wished to discuss a peace treaty with Sentinel Prime. Optronix organized it with Sentinel's help, and all three of them were present at the secret discussions preliminary to the signing of the treaty. Megatron, however, slaughtered Sentinel with his bare hands when the Autobot leader didn't wish to give Megatron access to the Matrix. Megatron let Optronix live before going to the Matrix chambers, but what Megatron didn't expect was to see Optronix steal the Matrix in front of his eyes and escape. Optronix spent the next few days on the run from the Decepticon army, but was soon found by Sentinel's bodyguard, Ironhide.
Ironhide brought Optronix to a meeting of Autobot generals, and there it was decided that Optronix was to be the new Prime (something General Grimlock wasn't exactly pleased with). Optronix couldn't believe it and refused his new role, but Ironhide convinced Optronix by showing him a secret message from the deceased Sentinel Prime.
Sentinel Prime hadn't trust Megatron when he claimed he wanted to discuss the peace treaty, but that he had to go along with it in the small chance that the two Lords could work something out, to stop this senseless war. But, should anything happen to him, then Optronix would be declared the new Prime because the archivist was one of the descendants of the Prime Spark Pool.
With this new information, Optronix accepted his role, and after a hefty discussion with the Generals, he decided the best course of action was to order the Autobots to escape Cybertron, knowing the planet was no longer safe as long as Megatron was after the Matrix.
The renamed Optimus Prime and a small group of Autobots left the planet on the Autobot flagship, the Ark, and escaped Cybertron. However, Megatron had found this out, and gave chase in the Nemesis (his flagship). Eventually the Nemesis caught up, and after a furious chase through another solar system the two heavily damaged ships crashed onto the third planet: Earth.
After hundreds of thousands of years the two ships were found, and the crew reactivated by the eager humans. Both factions escaped, assumed new disguises and started a global guerilla war, all so that Megatron could get his hands on the Matrix and use the still functional Ark to escape the planet and head back to Cybertron.

Eight: Cybertronian society works with caste-systems, decided by several of the Spawning Pools. Each pool actually brings forth a different Spark race, with each race specialized in a certain task, though it is not known why they're organized like this. Exploration of the Pools is STRICTLY forbidden, in fear of disrupting the birth/surfacing of new Sparks. The most rare Spawn Pools are that of the Prime and Tron Houses. Each of the two palaces is build ontop of these pools, where specialized 'riests' catch each Prime/Tron Spark that comes to the surface. After the Sparks are given bodies, they are send to lower castes, where they grow up until it's time for them to become the new High Lords when the previous ones have died. Leadership comes naturally to these Sparks once they learn of their heritage, but previous experience definately enhances the results.

.......WOW. That was a LOT more then I had planned. o_O D'OH.