As it turns out, Optimus Prime never had a chance. What with his being born on Cybertron. I'm sure that an exception could be made for an entity that has been in America since before it was even the New World, several million years before, in fact. Or perhaps Transformers would have been treated like other inhabitants who were here before Europeans claimed the continent as their own: herded onto a few acres of land and forced to run casinos. Such a fate should never befall a proud and noble culture like the Autobots... Optimus would never stand for it. Transform and roll out!