This comparison comes 5 years late!

But better late than never I say! To say the design they gave Bayverse Optimus changed between 2009 and 2014 is an understatement. To say the two Leader Transformers were different is a gross understatement. People were comparing poor AOE Optimus to ROTF Optimus in 2014 and it was not pretty. Honestly though, it was pretty unfair.

Why do I say that? ROTF Leader Optimus was the second try Hasbro/Takara had on the Bayverse design at Leader size. AOE Leader Optimus was their first take at the design. Well not really but apparently the two Leader size AOE Optimuses were designed at the same time by two different teams. It would be a better comparison to take AOE Leader Optimus and put him against Movie 2007 Leader Optimus.

Suddenly AOE Optimus doesn’t look so bad, right?

I don’t have Movie 2007 Leader Optimus yet though. So let’s compare ROTF Optimus with AOE Optimus anyway!

Vehicle modes

Surprisingly enough, AOE Optimus holds his own against ROTF Optimus in truck mode. In fact, AOE Optimus is better than ROTF Optimus in a few areas.

AOE Optimus shows up AOE Optimus a bit because he’s got chrome parts. Bling does help you look better if you use it correctly. Another thing is that AOE Optimus has actual rubber tyres which is a nice touch that ROTF Optimus doesn’t have.

The last thing that AOE Optimus has over ROTF Optimus is that he has no visible kibble behind his windscreen while ROTF Optimus has his Mech Alive gears visible. It’s a small thing, but a thing nonetheless.

It’s not all in AOE Optimus’s favour though. The back of his truck is gappy and hollow while ROTF Optimus’s one is filled in very nicely. Another thing is, I flat out prefer the truck that ROTF Optimus turns into. But that last one is personal preference.

Transformation

This one is going to be very polarising. If you’re in the camp that wants their transformations to be as complex and intricate as possible, ROTF Optimus wins no contest. However, if you’re in the camp that wants to get to and from modes as fast as possible, AOE Optimus is the winner.

Personally, I vary between the two depending on my mood. Sometimes I want to be amazed by the engineering put into the Transformer. Other times, I just want my truck to turn into a robot fast.

Robot modes

Sorry, but this is no contest. ROTF Optimus is absolutely the better of the two Transformers. This is regardless of which on-screen design you think is better. There’s seriously no contest here. I stand by what I said, that AOE Optimus is a good Transformer. ROTF Optimus however is just way, way better.

First and most obvious. ROTF Optimus has a screen accurate backpack. And it actually has to hold stuff. Two AA batteries exactly. Meanwhile, AOE Optimus is just… carrying the back half of his truck. Barely transformed. It’s still better than the awful FE Optimus but that’s faint praise.

There’s also a bunch of little details that just put ROTF Optimus above AOE Optimus. Like how his side windows fold to the front for extra accuracy and how the arm panels can move forward or back depending on how you want to pose him. Not that AOE Optimus doesn’t have any. His leg filling panels are a nice touch. But that’s pretty much all AOE Optimus has.

In terms of posability, the fight is pretty close. They’re actually a pretty even match but have some key differences. AOE Optimus has a waist joint and no wrist swivels. ROTF Optimus has wrist swivels but no waist joint. Both can pull off a lot of poses regardless of what they lack.

Gimmicks

AOE Optimus has chrome and rubber tyres. Also, he has a posable scabbard that angles his sword over his right shoulder.

ROTF Optimus has spring loaded deploying blades, moving internal bits in his chest and arms as well as lights and sounds in both modes. And a transformation noise.

Gimmicks are a very subjective matter. You either love them or hate them. But ROTF Optimus certainly has more of them than AOE Optimus. And they’re some of the best executed gimmicks on any Transformer ever.

Closing

Like I said earlier, it is a bit unfair to make the comparison but AOE Optimus is absolutely nothing compared to ROTF Optimus.

Basically here’s the difference between the two of them.

AOE Optimus is a good Transformer and I still think you should give him a chance.

ROTF Optimus is a marvel of engineering that still stuns almost a decade later and is a Transformer everyone should have in some shape or form.