Omega Keys

Omega Keys are important relics in Cybertronian culture, dating back to before the onset of the Great War and the time of the Ancients. Among the most powerful of the artifacts held in the Iacon vaults, they are highly sought after by both Autobots and Decepticons and give whoever uses them supreme power over Cybertron itself.

Prime cartoon
While sending the Omega Keys to Earth, Alpha Trion recorded a message urging Optimus Prime to locate the four keys and use them to revitalize Cybertron. After receiving the message many years later, Optimus set about decoding the coordinates of the Omega Keys, and Arcee and Smokescreen were dispatched to Egypt to find the first of them. The pair were intercepted by Megatron who took the key and challenged Optimus to a duel. Despite the destruction of the Star Saber, Optimus was able to take back the Omega Key with Smokescreen's help.

A second Omega Key was found near a lake, and Knock Out managed to snatch it while keeping Arcee and Bumblebee at bay with the Resonance Blaster. The third, in a forest, was obtained by Starscream when he rendered Smokescreen out-cold. Optimus and Soundwave both decoded the last set of coordinates, only to find they were an image of Smokescreen, whom the Decepticons soon captured.

Knock Out used the phase shifter to extract the Omega Key from Smokescreen, but the Autobot was able to get the shifter back and steal both of the keys possessed by the Decepticons. He returned them to the Autobot base, but a short time later Starscream executed a plan, enabling him to swipe the three Omega Keys from the Autobot's store. With all four in his possession, he bridged aboard the Decepticon warship intending to present them to Megatron as a peace offering.

Through experimentation and hitting them on tables, Knock Out and Starscream were able to combine the keys, revealing a map of Cybertron with the location of the Omega Lock. Megatron took the keys with him to access the lock, but they were taken from him by the Autobots, who intended to use them in the Omega Lock themselves. They reached the Omega Lock, and the keys glowed, causing the lock to activate in readiness to receive the keys.

The Decepticons used the three kids as bargaining tools to make the Autobots turn over the keys, before using them to activate the Omega Lock. When Megatron revealed his plan to use the Omega Lock to cyberform Earth as well as Cybertron, Optimus used the Star Saber to destroy both the lock and its keys.

War for Cybertron
"The Omega Key grants access to the Core of Cybertron."

- Soundwave

In the closing years of the Great War, the Decepticons staged a daring raid against an orbital space station above their homeworld that was rumored to contain a powerful, dangerous energy source known as Dark Energon. After Megatron gained control of the facility and his new Sky Commander Starscream activated the Geosynchronous Energon Bridge, Dark Energon began flowing into the Decepticon ranks. Seeking to gain complete control over Cybertron, Megatron sought access to the Core of the planet itself; however, the way was blocked by the massive Omega Gate. Unable to pierce the defenses even with his newly-empowered forces, Megatron realized that he had to find the Omega Key to complete his plans.

Megatron's search for the Omega Key led him to the Autobots' sacred vaults, which was personally defended by the Autobot leader Zeta Prime. Megatron successfully defeated Zeta Prime and took what he thought was the Omega Key from him. To Megatron's surprise, "the Omega Key" started to blink and beep, prompting a laughing Zeta Prime to reveal the truth: the device's activation only awakened the actual Omega Key, which was none other than Omega Supreme, who was now coming to attack Megatron.

Since the device would lead them to Omega Supreme, Megatron and two other Decepticons used a dropship to search Iacon, only for Omega Supreme to find them. Having no further use for the false Omega Key, Megatron discarded it.