Once again, we see things differently. And I didn't know this was under debate either. Luckily I'm not the only one... as this guy puts it much better than I could in an article (and there are others) :
"Prime usually seeks out a peaceful alternative to the problems of the Autobots, their war with the Decepticons, and the home planet of Cybertron. In the graphic novel "Transformers War Within", this is proved. Optimus Prime is willing to turn over Cybertron to Megatron shortly after Sentinel Prime is killed and he takes over. He does this because he fears Cybertron will be turned into a wasteland after all the wars. Many Autobots are displeased with this, and question Prime's leadership abilities (as he was just an archivist). The Autobots had been fighting the Decepticons over Cybertron for ages and are unwilling to give it up just like that. Prime's views change after a battle with Megatron. He begins to think not just in the scope of his homeworld Cybertron, but other cultures. What if the Decepticons went on to conquer more planets? He decides to make a stand on Cyberton.
War Within Prime is substantially different from previous incarnations of Prime. Optimus in the cartoon also wasn't a librarian (record keeper) like he was in War Within. So lets be clear, War Within is not the cartoon, its a comic written nearly two decades after the cartoon ended by a company (Dreamwave) which has no connection to the people at Sunbow.
Also the explanation given in WW for leaving the planet is not the same as the one given in the cartoon (actually there wasn't one really ever given in the cartoon since it starts when the Autobots are preparing to leave, not when they are planning).
Also Marvel comics, just so you don't start using that road was a soujorn into space to clear some asteroids. Not to escape the war. Prime was actually far more violent in the comics, once even having Hot Rod bluff that he would kill Lord Zarack (a humanoid) if they did not cease their fight. Prime also killed one of Bludgeon's troops on Klo (bashed his head in), and allowed for the death of Starscream. Violence certainly wasn't something he enjoyed, but he committed acts of it knowingly as he saw it as necessary in their fight.
Again, Prime is a peaceful warrior. As can be seen in his epic fight with Megatron in the first Transformers movie, he gave Megatron every chance to survive the fight. He only ended Megatron's life when he had to. Of course, no one stays dead in these kinds of stories."
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/268437/optimus_prime_deconstructed_a_short.html
The epic fight where he beats the crap out of Megatron. Yep real hippie pacificist. Given someone open ended opportunities to walk away is not the same as being a pacifist, it's called showing mercy. Optimus still however was quiet willing to punch the ever living bejesus out of Megatron before doing so. Also Optimus wasn't one to back down from a fight accepting Megatron's challenge in "Heavy Metal War" and then issuing his own challenge at the end of the episode after all the other Decepticons had been beaten. Plus as I said he had a big gun, and HE USED IT. Whoever wrote that article must have forgot how Optimus killed 5 Decepticons before battling Megatron in the first place (all 5 miracluously survived unscathed...even though that's visibly not the case).
And just to jog your memory, a pacifist wouldn't have initiated the fight with Megatron....Optimus most certainly did.
See if you can pick out all the "pacifist things" he does in the clip
A defunct decidely uncool car
Which was heavily recognizable at the time.
... used as the INTRODUCTION to the robots.
The first Transformer seen and speaking was Wheeljack. The second was Bumblebee, who at the time Transformed into some Cybertron thing. Optimus Prime was the first to make contact with humans in the cartoon.
Hound was the first to give Spike and ride and the first to talk to Spike one on one. He was also the first to take Spike along on a mission, and the first to rescue Spike.
If I was Hasbro I would have slapped Jim Shooter, Denny O' Neil, and Bob Budiansky upside the head for not using one of the "cooler" cars in the lineup. Anybody who thinks Beetles were cool in 1984 are "re-writing" history. They weren't. Trans-am's, Dodge Chargers, etc were.
Jazz, Hound, Bumblebee, Wheeljack and Optimus were all used interchangibly as companions to Spike. Bumblebee was used primarily in some cases because his size made him more relateable to humans, and he could easily fit in most places they could. "I'm the smallest so I have the best chance of not being seen" as Bumblebee puts it. Remember also that Bumblebee was the spy of the Autobots, which was a job shared by the humans.
And as for the comic, Buster (who was the comics "Spike")was not the companion to the robots as he was in the show.
And Optimus, the giant semi, not Bumblebee was the main character. Bumblebee, in the comics, was in fact a bit player for most of it. Ratchet was the sole Autobot left following the end of the miniseries. Skids would be the focus of the next major arc. Following Skids the focus would shift to Blaster and Goldbug (the reformated Bumblebee). And finally Fortress Maximus would command and take the lead for several stories. Grimlock was also an oft used favorite.
No, they defended the entire planet. Doesn't get more hippie than that.
No, they defended America. They hardly ever were seen in other countries, and on the rare occasion they were it was a country whose ideals jived with America. Remember this is the same show that caused one of their own stars, Casey Kasem, to quit because it mocked and ridiculed arab society. And they defended the western world with guns, typically lethal guns with rocket launchers attached...not very hippie at all.
If you ignore the guns and all the fighting they are pacifists, but since the whole show was guns and fighting (as was the comic) your whole point kinda goes flying out the window faster than Lazerbeak after being spotted. Pacifists are people who DON'T FIGHT and DON'T ENGAGE IN VIOLENCE, this certainly applies to no one but First Aid the first Autobot ever to literally refuse to fight on moral grounds. Optimus, if anything, supported violence as a means to end conflict as he led an entire faction that had and was still using violence to end a conflict.
