Matris of Leadership

The Autobot Matrix of Leadership (also known as the Creation Matrix or rarely, the Autobot Matrix of Power or the Matrix of Light) is an artifact of great power, traditionally carried by the leader of the Autobots. Although its appearance differs slightly from universal stream to universal stream, it generally appears as a glowing crystal sphere encased within a hollow metal shell, with a handle on either side.

By most accounts, the Matrix is a conduit for the power of Primus, the creator-god of the Transformers, serving as a means of access to the Allspark, the "afterlife" of the Transformer race, through which it can either bestow new Transformer life, or provide its wielder with a means of communicating with the deceased leaders who have come before them. These divine powers put it at the centre of much Autobot religion, spirituality and prophecy; while many Decepticons are less inclined to believe in its divinity, they certainly covet the increased physical power it is known to convey upon its holders, and several have made obtaining the Matrix one of their primary goals. As one of the embodiments of the power of Primus, the Matrix is antithesis to Unicron, and one of the very few things the chaos-bringer fears.

All these powers that the Matrix has displayed have made it a revered religious and spiritual icon to the Autobots, though the Decepticons have never been so inclined to believe in its divinity. That, of course, hasn't stopped some of them from trying to usurp the Matrix's power for themselves, though in most media it has been shown that Decepticons cannot open the Matrix or use its power, but some Decepticons have known this and tried to take it anyway solely so that the Autobots can't have it.

Early History
The Matrix was held by Prima, but eventually wound up with Primus in the Core. The Matrix became an object of legend among Cyberton. Several had dreams of reclaiming it and becoming the Prime that would lead Cybertron to a new Golden Age. When the High Council named Orion Pax the new Prime and gave him the task of finding the Matrix for himself, Megatron was enraged and vowed to find it for his personal use first.

When Primus was reaching to a critical state, Orion Pax went to Cybertron's core and tried to help Primus. Sensing potential and nobility within Orion, Primus gave him the Matrix, thus turning Orion Pax into Optimus Prime. The Matrix would subsequently guide and aid him through a number of adventures, including continued battles with Megatron and the Decepticons and conflicts with new foes such as the Star Seekers and the Quintessons. During the clash with the latter, Optimus would be forced to contend with the Quintessons' use of a Matrix Replica.

Transformers: Prime
In One Shall Rise, Part 3, Megatron and Optimus Prime ventured to Unicron's spark in order to release the Matrix's energy directly into the chaos bringers spark. Although they succeeded, the energy that made Orion Pax into Optimus was gone and hence Optimus was once again his former self. Megatron took advantage of this and tricked his old friend into working with the deceptions.

Jack ventured to Cybertron with Arcee to refill the matrix using Vector Sigma. Using its key as a storage medium, they downloaded the collective wisdom of the Primes as well as all of Optimus' memories. When they returned to Earth, Orion was defying Megatron and about to be executed but Arcee held him off long enough for Jack to refill the Matrix and bring back Optimus Prime.

After the destruction of the old base, Optimus was severely damaged under the rubble. Smokescreen was able to rescue Optimus and shelter him in an underground cavern. There, they lay low and Smokescreen tried to comfort Optimus. After Smokescreen retrieved the Forge from the Decepticons, Optimus told him to use the hammer to restore Cybertron. Smokescreen insisted that he use it to restore Optimus, but Optimus said that the fate of their kind was more vital than saving Optimus's life. Optimus told Smokescreen that the time for a new leader was upon them and that Smokescreen was Optimus's choice. This left Smokescreen puzzled for a few moments and Optimus was close to dying. The Matrix opened up and Smokescreen quickly used the Forge to restore Optimus in a new body.

In Predacons Rising, Optimus used the Matrix to hold the energy of the AllSpark, fearing that Unicron almost devoured it whole. After defeating Unicron, Optimus told his team that they have acted as a Prime, with or without the Matrix. As the team sadly watched Optimus fly into the Core, sparks flew out of the Well.

Capabilities

 * Transcendent Energy Manipulation
 * Powers Via Object
 * Giant Weapon Proficiency
 * Knowledge Embodiment/Logic Embodiment
 * Life Creation/Life Inducement
 * Impurity Destruction/Purification Augmentation
 * Physical Augmentation/Power Augmentation
 * Potential Realization
 * Almighty Link/Transcendent Connection
 * Light Embodiment
 * Leadership Intuition
 * Transcendent Empowerment