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The seven O-Parts^[1] are Cybertronian artifacts designed as part of a complex system for reactivating the Autobot battle station, Fortress Maximus.

Fiction

2001 Robots in Disguise cartoon

The O-Parts were sent to Earth at the same time as Fortress Maximus; Optimus Prime would remark that he had not seen their like since the Golden Age of Cybertron. While the dormant fortress was buried beneath the surface of the Earth, the keys to his reactivation were scattered all across the Earth. The seven O-Parts and the other items necessary for the process were sealed away—although it was never explained who did this, they would eventually be found within atypical ancient monuments such as statues and pyramids, suggesting that the ancient civilizations of Earth may have had a hand in hiding them.

In the course of his work, archaeologist Doctor Kenneth Onishi happened upon the trail that led to Fortress Maximus, and mapped the locations of the O-Parts. When Predacon leader Megatron came to Earth seeking to acquire Fortress Maximus's power for his own, he kidnapped Onishi, and used the psycho-probe to wrench from his mind the secrets of the O-Parts.

Information from Onishi's mind led the Predacons to the Cave of the Dragon in China, where a movie was being filmed at the time. The special effects employed had convinced the Predacons that some form of super robot was active in the area—a belief that the Autobots used to send them into retreat by posing as that same robot. After the battle, as the Autobots surveyed the statues that lined the cave, a slight seismic disturbance jarred one of the figures loose, and the jewel embedded in its forehead was dislodged. Picking up the "gem," Optimus Prime recognized it as one of the O-Parts. The Ultimate Robot Warrior

Sometime later, when Sky-Byte attempted to ransom a tower of human hostages to the Autobots in exchange for the O-Parts, Optimus Prime indicated that they had more than one in their possession. He attempted to deliver the O-Parts to Sky-Byte to trade for the hostages, but despite facing opposition from the Decepticons, the tower was saved and O-Parts remained in the Autobots' possession. Sky-Byte Saves the Day

Later still, Megatron sent Sky-Byte on a mission to locate the remaining O-Parts by digging for them in the ground, but which unbeknownst to the gullible shark was instead a ruse set up by the Decepticons to lure the Autobots into a trap. Unfortunately for the Decepticons, their plan was intercepted by the newest and most powerful Autobot arrival, Ultra Magnus, who thwarted their plans and sent them into retreat with some backup from Optimus. Sky-Byte, however, remained so focused on his "mission" to find the O-Parts that he hadn't noticed the fight going on above ground. Ultra Magnus Eventually, Sky-Byte's efforts proved unsuccessful, having only uncovered random bits of junk instead of any O-Parts, and so gave up his task to call it a day. Ultra Magnus: Forced Fusion!

After the dormant form of Fortress Maximus was eventually discovered beneath Metro City, Fortress Maximus Sky-Byte's attempts to learn more caused Doctor Onishi to be set free. Koji Gets His Wish Reunited with his son, Koji, who had become an ally of the Autobots, Onishi was able to resolve the O-Parts situation very quickly, giving the Autobots scanners that would allow them to track down the remaining five. The Autobots made a game out of it, with the Autobot Brothers competing against the Build Team to see who could acquire the most, but the Predacons and Decepticons soon got involved as well, with Scourge using his special ability to personally detect the O-Parts, and Sky-Byte using dummy parts to fool everyone. Eventually, the Build Team came out on top, at which point Megatron himself attacked, only for Sky-Byte's fake parts to become mixed up with the real ones, causing enough confusion that Omega Prime was able to see the villains off. At last, all seven O-Parts were in the Autobots’ possession. A Friendly Contest

They are the world.

When brought together, the O-Parts generated a holographic globe of Earth, with each of the continents represented by one of the parts. T-AI merged with the globe to scan its data, and discovered that it led the way to the Orb of Sigma, the next link in the chain to awaken Fortress Maximus. Unfortunately, T-AI became trapped within the globe, and the Autobots headed to the Sahara Desert and unearthed the Orb of Sigma from the subterranean pyramid it lay within, in hopes that bringing the two spheres together would free T-AI. In fact, the O-Parts merged with the Orb of Sigma, putting T-AI's continued existence in danger, particularly since the Predacons and Decepticons then arrived to steal the orb. Megatron almost got his hands on it before Side Burn snatched it away, leaving Megatron to be trapped in the collapsed remains of the pyramid. The orb was reconnected with the Autobot base computer, liberating T-AI, while the energies that had been released within the pyramid by its formation transformed Megatron into Galvatron. Peril from the Past

The unified Orb of Sigma was itself another map, pinpointing the location of Cerebros, the Headmaster component of Fortress Maximus and the key to reawakening the sleeping giant. The Autobots freed Cerebros from his resting place within a statue inside some ancient ruins. Maximus Emerges

Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity

The OOPArts were created by Vector Sigma, The Final Key? Farewell, Ai who was an incarnation of Primus. Brave Maximus was created by the god to defend the Angolmois Energy within Earth, and the OOPArts were one key to activating the giant robot as needed by the planet's future defenders. Ruination Chapter, Part One

Prevenge

The Decepticon Wind Sheer attacked a breakfast cereal packing plant in hopes of finding an O-Part hidden inside one of the plant's specially marked cereal boxes. The Autobot Spychangers Hot Shot and Ironhide engaged him in battle in an attempt to stop the Decepticon. After Wind Sheer ruptured a storage tank and buried the two Autobots in thirty tons of shredded wheat, he reached into one of the cereal boxes and was dismayed to find that the prize was not an O-Part but instead a maze printed on the back of the box. Prevenge

Notes

• The O-Parts derive their name from the real-world cryptozoologist term, OOPArt, an acronym for "Out Of Place Artifact", used to describe just that–archaeological artifacts found in unusual locations, which sums up Robots in Disguise's O-Parts to a tee. This etymology was likely lost on the English dub team, which just straightforwardly spelled the term phonetically as "O-Part". (Bud Hansen uses the term in its original context during the Cybertron episode "Ice".)
• The story of the O-Parts was thoroughly skewed by Robots in Disguise's disrupted airing schedule in the US. Although the first O-Part appeared in "The Ultimate Robot Warrior", it was not referred to by name. Later, the O-Parts were not brought up again until their name was revealed in "Sky-Byte Saves the Day"... which did not air in the U.S. due to post-9/11 sensitivity (as that episode focused on a tower threatening to fall over). With the absence of this episode, U.S. viewers were suddenly dropped into the O-Parts story beginning with "Ultra Magnus", and with little build-up and no real explanation. In what would appear to have been an attempt to explain that the object from "The Ultimate Robot Warrior" was an O-Part, the scene from that episode featured in the clip show "Hope for the Future" was re-dubbed with completely different dialogue to have the object identified as an O-Part on the spot. However, this clip show wasn't created until much later in the series than where it is set, chronologically (between "The Ultimate Robot Warrior" and "The Decepticons"), and didn't first air until one day before the debut of "Fortress Maximus", a mere three episodes before the end of the O-Parts story.
• A number of characters are familiar with them, either personally or by reputation (Optimus can recognize them on sight). The Predacon Trio and Sky-Byte, however, have not heard of them, nor know their mission on Earth is related to them.
• When the first OOPArt is found in the original Japanese Car Robots version, Optimus Prime (well, Fire Convoy) is surprised that an OOPArt could exist "during this time", in the year 2000. This suggests that Fire Convoy is more familiar with the OOPArts existing in another time period, one that would make their existence in the year 2000 an unlikely occurrence. Fire Convoy's dialogue is likely a reference to the backstory of Car Robots that has the Transformers originating in the future; something the show never touched upon outside of this scene.
• The Car Robots version of "Peril from the Past" also reveals that the OOPArts were created by Vector Sigma. While this was omitted from the English version, this bit of info is most likely the source of the dub's naming the Orb of Sigma.

Foreign names

• Japanese: OOPArts (オーパーツ Ōpātsu)
• Italian: Componente O ("O Component")

References