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Transformers Universes

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The Transformers Universe is a series of stories set in the universe of the configuration-changing robots known as Transformers. Since 1984, various stories have been written, causing a very fragmented storyline. The U.S. animated television series varied greatly from the U.S. and U.K. comics books while the early Japanese cartoons and later Canadian cartoons such as "Beast Wars" and "Beast Machines" are worlds apart. 


Every G1 character ever released (or depicted) in America.

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Every G1 character ever released (or depicted) in America.









A Transformer is an intelligent machine that is able to "transform", reconfiguring itself into a common and innocuous form, such as a car, aircraft, or animal.  The taglines "More Than Meets the Eye" and "Robots in Disguise" reflect this ability.


Transformers originally featured two main factions warring for control of their home planet, Cybertron. The heroic Autobots (Cybertrons in the Japanese version) were led by Optimus Prime (known in the Japanese version as Convoy), and their opponents, the Decepticons (Destrons in the Japanese version), were led by Megatron. The Autobots were mainly cars in warm colors while the Decepticons were planes in cool colors, with some exceptions.


The Transformers universe is in fact a multiverse. Whilst the G1, G2 and Beast Era are connected to each other as a history, the comics and TV show merely run parallel to one another. The later Unicron trilogy has no connection whatsoever. The Dreamwave G1 comic uses the G1 Marvel comic as a vague history to draw upon, with classic characters intact rather than re-created. The new IDW comic is a reimaging of the original G1 characters, a la Marvel's Ultimate line.





Contents





Generation One animated series

The term Generation 1 originated as an unofficial fan term, retroactively coined after the releasing of the Generation 2 toyline. In the 2000s, however, the term "Generation 1" entered into official use with Hasbro's "commemorative series" re-release toys and Dreamwave's comic books.''




53 episodes of The Transformers were later repackaged as Transformers: Generation 2, broadcast in no particular order with added CGI borders and effects.



Japanese Generation One


Japanese Generation One continuity follows the American animated continuity, adding to it, and in some small cases, taking away. Some episodes of the series were not widely broadcast on Japanese television, appearing only in certain areas, with some debuting on Laserdisc. The episodes were not aired in any particular order respective to their original American order, and several new episodes, which combined footage from other episodes, were created. Some character names are different in Japan, most notably the Autobots and Decepticons, known there as the Cybertrons and Destrons.


The first Japanese-exclusive Transformers animated project was the direct-to-video Scramble City, a short OVA introducing Metroplex and focusing on the combining teams, playing up the interchangeability of their limbs. The next exclusive was the Transformers: Headmasters series, which supplanted the fourth and final American season and serves as the branching-off point of Japanese continuity, featuring a depiction of the title characters different to their Western selves.


Following Headmasters was the wildly different Super-God Masterforce, creating a new story for Powermasters and Pretenders different from the American take on the concepts which revolved around Transformers who could disguise themselves as humans and humans who could use Transformer battle suits known as Transtectors. Following this, a return to more traditional action was obvious in Victory, which features toys and characters which are almost uniquely Japanese.


The final animated cartoon, Zone, was intended to be a direct-to-video series, but was cancelled after one episode, and had the remainder of its story played out in manga (Japanese comic book or graphic novel) format. Zone told the story of Dai Atlas, an Autobot who became a massive jet, fighting nine of the mightiest Decepticon generals in the service of the villain, the insectiod Violenjiger. Subsequently, the Japanese resurrected Optimus Prime yet again as Star Convoy in the Battlestars: Return of Convoy toyline. The supporting fiction comprised only one chapter of manga, with the remainder of its tale being told via color spreads in the Japanese publication, TV Magazine, and shows Star Convoy lead the Battlestars forces against Megatron, recreated as Super Megatron by the evil Dark Nova.


The story of the final Japanese G1 line, Operation Combination, was told only through colour spreads, featuring Guard City and Battle Gaea - repaints of Defensor and Bruticus - along with the new Micromaster combiners and the Autobot Rod Army and Decepticon Jet Army Corps (direct imports of the UK-exclusive Turbomasters and Predators). The final villain of Operation Combination, Scrash, was left unrevealed, but it seems apparent that he was intended to be an import of the UK Predator figure, Skyquake.



Marvel Comics


In the United Kingdom, the American comic series was reprinted in a fortnightly magazine which soon began to run the risk of getting ahead of the US and running out of material to reprint. So to fill in the blanks, original material began to be produced for the UK comic, which began to come into its own after the inclusion of time-travel and elements taken from the future era introduced in . Some parts of the U.S. comics were re-written for UK audiences, and the G.I. Joe crossover is not part of its continuity. The UK comic ran to 332 issues before ending. A few years later, there was a short-lived attempt to reprint the G2 comics, which began with two issues of original UK material to replace the G.I. Joe story that preceded it, and then three mores issues of US reprints before it was cancelled.


In the comic books, the stories of the  and third series become a mere alternate future.


Although a clear-cut continuation of the existing series, the G2 comic had some continuity hiccups - it was launched with a crossover from Marvel's G.I. Joe series (which had previously been seen to share continuity with the U.S. G1 comics), and Joe characters continue to make appearances as late as issue 6. However, later events, including the orbital bombardment of earth by Bludgeon (issue 4), Megatron's assault on Washington D.C. (issue 6) and the destruction of San Francisco by Jhiaxus (issue 11), are never mentioned in G.I. Joe continuity.



Beast Era




The 1990s CGI animated series, Beast Wars and its sequel, Beast Machines, exist in the same universe as "a" Generation One. It is important to note that they do not directly follow on from either the cartoon or the Marvel comic versions of G1, but rather have unofficially been stated to come from a universe that contains aspects of both - essentially, enabling the writers of the series to treat G1 as a kind of mythological history for Beast Wars, from which they could pick and choose the aspects they best liked.


However, beyond the use of the comics-only term "Ark" and a few sparing mentions to the comic-only deity, Primus, mentions to G1 lore in both Beast Wars and Beast Machines are entirely confined to the cartoon, with the Ark and the Nemesis appearing as they did in that series, references to the speech impediment of the Insecticon, Shrapnel, and appearances by Starscream's Ghost (possessing Waspinator), Ravage (who survived G1, was given a normal 'robot' mode and could now speak), Vector Sigma, the Plasma Energy Chamber, the line "For the love of my great-aunt Arcee", used by Rattrap and the Hate Plague.


The storyline of Transformers: Universe sees characters from many assorted alternate continuities - including existing and new ones - encounter each other. The story, told entirely in an unfinished comic book exclusive to the Official Transformers Collectors' Convention, bases the action in a post-Beast Machines era.


Beast Wars: The Gathering, a comic book by IDW Publishing, is set during the events of the Beast Wars series, featuring the toy characters who did not appear in the animated series itself.



Japanese Beast Era


After the first season of Beast Wars (comprising 26 episodes) aired in Japan, the Japanese were faced with a problem - the second Canadian season was only 13 episodes long, not enough to warrant airing on Japanese TV. So, while they waiting for the third Canadian season to be completed (thereby making 26 episodes in total when added to season 2), they produced two exclusive cel-animated series of their own, Beast Wars II (also called Beast Wars Second) and Beast Wars Neo, which centre on the quest for the mysterious Angolmois Energy. 


"Lio Convoy's Crisis" was the first theatrical Transformers feature since the original American movie. It comprised three separate acts - the first was an abridged retelling of the first season of Beast Wars, told through combined clips of the series, and the third was the Beast Wars Metals episode, "Bad Spark." Between these two, the second act was a unique, newly-animated story in which Optimus Primal was pulled through time to team up with LioConvoy against the threat of Majin Zarak.


In Second, LioConvoy leads his Cybertrons against Galvatron's Destrons in the quest for the energy, which at the end of the series is sealed in capsules and scattered across the galaxy. Neo sees the new Cybertron commander, Big Convoy, battle Magmatron to recover the capsules, but they soon find themselves opposed by a new, third faction - the Blendtrons. Eventually, it is revealed that they are servants of Unicron, and that the Angolmois Energy is his lifeforce, which they are collecting in order to recreate him.


After these two shows aired, the final two seasons of the Canadian Beast Wars show were aired as Beast Wars Metals. The sequel series, Beast Machines, which aired in the US in 1999-2000, would not reach Japan until 2004, when it was released as Beast Wars Returns.



The /Car Robots Universe

A stand-alone universe with no current ties or repercussions to any other storyline, comprising one 39-episode animated series. In this version, Optimus Prime (Fire Convoy) was a fire engine and Megatron (Gigatron) a six-changer. Some of the characters from Robots in Disguise did eventually make appearances in Transformers: Universe, including Optimus Prime, Sideburn and Prowl.


See the series' own page for details.




Having obtained the Transformers license in 2002, comics company Dreamwave have created a new Generation One continuity which draws on aspects of various past continuities. It comprises:



  • "Transformers: Generation One" Vol. 1 (six issues), Vol. 2 (six issues) and Vol. 3 (ten issues)
  • "Transformers: The War Within" (six issues) and two further six-issue miniseries, The Dark Ages and The Age of Wrath telling tales from Cybertron's past.
  • "Micromasters" (four issues)

A profile series, "Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye," has also been released for this universe, and the Dorling Kindersly book, "Transformers: The Ultimate Guide" treats it as the main G1 timeline. Three novels have been released set in this timeline, and a Beast Wars comic was planned that would make the events of the cartoon series part of Dreamwave's universe, but unfortunately, the company went bankrupt and closed before this series could be released, leaving the plot threads of the G1 ongoing dangling, and The Age of Wrath only half-completed, along with a never-completed Energon MTMTE to match the G1 and Armada guides..



Unicron Trilogy




These three lines, dubbed "The Unicron Trilogy" by Transformers designer Aaron Archer, are co-productions between Hasbro and Takara, simultaneously released in both countries.


In Japan, the series “Transformers Galaxy Force” has shown no ties to the Micron Legend/Super Link timeline, telling its own story. The American version, Cybertron, is linked directly to Armada/Energon. Plot elements have been changed from the Japanese story into references to the previous shows to enhance continuity, but they largely only add up to mentioning Unicron once or twice.



Unicron Trilogy Comics


Just as Marvel produced a companion comic to Generation One, Dreamwave produced companion comics to the new cartoon series.




Unfortunately, Dreamwave went bankrupt and ceased all publications before the storyline could be completed.



(2003-2006)

This toy line of repaints had a storyline which followed directly during and after the events of Beast Machines, as well as ties to nearly all previous Transformers lines. No Universe television series was made, but it did have a story in a short lived comic book series and as voice actor plays at Botcon.







Transformers Perceptor, Bumblebee, Grimlock and Arcee meet G.I. Joe in the pages of Devil's Due comics crossover between the two popular series.

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Transformers Perceptor, Bumblebee, Grimlock and Arcee meet G.I. Joe in the pages of Devil's Due comics crossover between the two popular series.






Two separate continuities have arisen from this concept, one published by Dreamwave Publications, and one by Devil's Due Publishing. Devil's Due's comprises:



  • G.I. Joe vs. Transformers (six issues)
  • G.I. Joe vs. Transformers II (four issues)
  • G.I. Joe/Transformers: The Art of War (six issues)

This universe takes as its starting point the idea that the Cobra Organization uncovered the Transformers' spacecraft and took control of them, giving the series its basis - redesigned Transformers which assumed the forms of established Cobra vehicles. The second series then played with many period alt. modes as G.I. Joe was sent throughout time to recover various lost Transformers to save both their worlds. The third series will be published in March 2006.


Dreamwave's crossover, meanwhile, includes:



  • Transformers/G.I. Joe (six issue miniseries)
  • Transformers/G.I. Joe - Divided Front (six issues planned, only one published)

Similar to Devil's Due's approach, Cobra discovers the Transformers' craft and makes and alliance with the Decepticons, except here, the action is set during World War II, with the Transformers redesigned to transform into contemporary war-era vehicles and weapons. Its sequel series, set in the present day, did not make it beyond its first issues before Dreamwave closed.



IDW Publishing Comics

Since Dreamwave's bankruptcy, the Transformers license has been acquired by IDW Publishing. They have begun publication with a new version of the Generation One universe, focusing heavily on the "disguise" aspect. This six-issue mini-series (preceded by a #0 preview issue), titled , is currently being released.


Whereas Dreamwave drew upon the Marvel G1 as a source, IDW's G1 is a true reimagining, like Ultimate Marvel. They have promised the possibility of finishing the incomplete Dreamwave stories in a separate comic.


In addition to their TV-series-compatible Beast Wars: The Gathering comic (mentioned above), IDW are also exploring numerous alternate reality stories for the Transformers in the series Transformers: Evolution beginning with Hearts of Steel, a six-issue story which sets the action in the Victorian era.



Transformers film (2007)





Main article: Transformers (2007 film)


Like most comic book movies the live-action film is expected to be based on previous incarnations to form its own unique story, mostly based on G1.


The film will feature classic Transformers looking for the Energon crystal on Earth, with humanity in the balance.


Characters included are Optimus Prime, Megatron, Bumblebee, Starscream, Jazz, Soundwave, Ironhide, Scorponok, Ratchet, Devastator, Brawl, Bonecrusher and Vortex.



See also





External links













 





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