Hot Rod is a character from The Transformers. First introduced in Transformers: The Movie, where he is voiced by Judd Nelson. He transforms into a red sports car, with flames painted on the hood and doors. Hot Rod has a youthful attitude, and serves as an older brother figure to Spike’s son Daniel Witwicky. Hot Rod appears to have an affinity with the Autobot Matrix of Leadership, with which he becomes Rodimus Prime and leader of the Autobots. Apparently the Matrix is required for Hot Rod to be a Prime, as he reverts to being Hot Rod when he twice passes the Matrix back to Optimus Prime.

Appearance in Transformers: The Movie

At the beginning of the movie, he is stationed at Autobot City on Earth. Along with Daniel Witwicky, the son of Spike, he discovers the Decepticon's secret attack on the city. Just before the Decepticons are driven off, he gets in the way of a battle to the death between Optimus Prime and Megatron, when he eagerly attempts to protect Optimus Prime. Instead, he succeeded only in blocking Optimus's line of fire, allowing Megatron to fatally shoot Optimus Prime.

Shortly after the battle, Megatron, in his new form of Galvatron, attacks Autobot City again. At this point the Autobots were split into two groups. Hot Rod and Kup go aboard a shuttle with the Dinobots. During their journey to Cybertron, they are attacked by Galvatron's underling, Cyclonus . Their ship is critically damaged, and they crash on the planet Quintessa, where they are captured by the Quintessons, who sentence them to death by being torn apart by Sharkticons . Hot Rod and Kup manage to hold their own against them, and with the arrival of the Dinobots and a new Autobot, Wheelie, they turn the Sharkticons against their masters, and depart the planet to reunite with the other Autobots on Junkion.

From Junkion, the Autobots launched an attack on Unicron. Hot Rod piloted the Quintesson's ship into Unicron's right eye, but in the ensuing crash, he was separated from the other Autobots, and encountered Galvatron alone. Galvatron, who never intended to give Unicron the Matrix, preferring instead to enslave him with it, offered to make an alliance with Hot Rod to defeat Unicron. Unicron, however, sensing the danger Hot Rod posed, ordered Galvatron to kill him immediately. During the battle that unsued, Hot Rod took the Matrix from Galvatron, and was transformed into the Autobots' new leader, Rodimus Prime. He threw Galvatron out of Unicron's body and deep into space, opened the Matrix, which started a chain reaction that destroyed Unicron, then took command of the Autobots as they fled his body, and led them back to Cybertron.