Even if you’re a casual Transformers fan, it’s pretty clear to you that they’re much older than us humans, and their mythology has been in the making for millions of years.
But of course, that doesn’t mean that Optimus Prime, Megatron, and our favorite Transformers are that old… or does it?
How Old Are The Transformers?
Most iconic Transformers are 4 million years old or older. And some recent entries in the Transformers series age them as 10s of millions of years old.
That is a general answer of course, as it is a broad question. To fully understand the age of the Transformers, It would help if we covered a few other things such as what are the stages in the Cybertronian Lifecycle? How important are these stages? How long is the estimated lifespan of a Transformer?
The Youngest Transformers
Starting from the bases created by G1 and IDW comics, we must begin with the youngest, who are leaving their adolescent stage to reach young adulthood. The most popular Cybertronian in this phase is Bumblebee, as he has always been represented as the youngest of Optimus Prime’s squadron and with certain childish behaviors.
This is also the case with the twins Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, whose size and fun personality suggest that they are much younger than the rest, even Bumblebee.
Therefore, the ultimate formula to differentiate teenagers from young adults is to look at the fact that the younger ones usually have a mentor whom they accompany everywhere, and without them, they can get into a lot of trouble.
A young adult, on the other hand, continues to work with their mentor, although they are much more independent and are prepared to stand up for themselves.
But that leaves us with another question…
How Long Are These Stages Of Life?
G1 doesn’t specify much on that topic, but we know that both Autobots and Decepticons were stranded on Earth for approximately 4 million years in a state of stasis, and they battled for a long time on Cybertron, we can calculate that adult Transformers exceed that figure while the younger ones are closer to those 4 million years.
Later on, Hot Rod was introduced, a Transformer that can be considered a “child” or teenager because of what was said above, although his age was never specified. The same case happened with Alpha Trion, the oldest Transformer of all.
In general, the franchise has never given exact data about the age of each character, but certain references help to guide us.
The only exception to this rule was in the IDW comics, where we discovered that Hot Rod is 4.2 million years old and Blurr a little less. Taking into account their personalities, we can indicate that these numbers represent the beginning of adulthood for a Cybertronian.
What about everyone’s favorite Transformer?
How Old Is Optimus Prime In The Transformers?
In the Transformers universe, Autobot leader Optimus Prime is 9 million years old. But he is still not the oldest Transformer.
Who Is The Oldest Transformer?
Alpha Trion is the oldest Transformer in canon. While his exact age is never given he is at least 11 million years old and may be way older.
While there are others who are maybe around the same age, we know a little more about the history of Alpha Trion as he is the one who created Optimus Prime and with his old-man beard, he is one of the only Cybertronians to show signs of aging.
The Age Limit For Transformers
As we have seen, in G1 the adult cybertronians surely oscillate the 10 million years, at least according to the chapter of “War Dawn”, in which we met Orion Pax, who in 9 million years is known as the legendary Optimus Prime.
However, IDW continuity has its own rules, stating that Transformers have a limit of 6 million years, but some could live less depending on certain factors:
- Having unique gifts of longevity like Alpha Trion.
- Mock the rules of the universe as Galvatron and Nova Prime did.
- Reanimate the life energy of the inner Spark.
Are Any Of The Transformers Immortal?
Speaking of the last point, is not too crazy to say that Transformers can be immortal, since having a robotic body but a “soul” thanks to their spark, they can transfer to new bodies and thus continue until the end of time. This makes a lot of sense since they all come from Primus, and as long as he lives, there will be Transformers for a long time.
A Timeless Franchise
As a kid watching the original cartoon, I was aware that these mechanical beings were ancient, but I would never have thought that they were many millions of years old. It takes a lot of conviction to sustain a war for so long. That makes clear Megatron’s thirst for conquest, while Optimus just wants peace, but is willing to fight for eternity until he gets it.
