Marvel Comics timeline
From Transformers Wiki
A timeline for the events of the Generation 1 Marvel Comics universe(s). Thanks to time-travel stories and a continuity break between the later UK and US strips, it has multiple 'branches' leading out of it.
This timeline just features stories published by Marvel Comics and a handful of Ask Vector Prime posts that are explicitly set in/about the published comics, but this continuity saw spinoffs in Condor Verlag's Transformers Comic-Magazin, Fleetway's Generation 2, Fun Publications Classics tie-ins, and IDW's Regeneration One. (Plus an unofficial convention story "Alignment" that counts/doesn't count depending on how we feel that day)
Contents |
The Dawn of Time
The universe is created. According to Primus, it was born from the remains of the old universe that Unicron had eaten. The Void!
Prehistory
Life gradually evolved throughout the cosmos, eventually and miraculously bringing forth sentient beings. Energy beings so powerful we'd consider them gods used to dominate the cosmos, Transformers: The Facts The Legacy of Unicron! while organic life evolved through carbon bonding. According to one account, mechanical life (including Transformers and Quintessons) evolved through the interaction of naturally occurring gears, levers, and pulleys. The Transformers The Big Broadcast of 2006 (US)
At some point, the beings Primus and Unicron have a punch-up.
Accounts differ on the specifics. One account is they were leaders of the Light Gods and the Dark Gods respectively, leading their forces into battle with each other; The Legacy of Unicron! another that they were the last of their pantheons (Unicron's being the Lords of Chaos[1]) and Primus needed to beat Unicron to join the Omniversal Matrix; The Primal Scream another that Primus was called forth by the universe itself as a unique entity to prevent Unicron from destroying it, just as the Chaos-Bringer had done to the previous universe. The Void!
In any case, Primus could only win by tricking Unicron into trapping his spirit in a barren asteroid—Primus was trapped in a second. Unicron turned his into a new body, while Primus turned his into the planet Cybertron and birthed the Transformers to battle Unicron in his place. The Legacy of Unicron! The Primal Scream
The earliest of their kind rose from the guts of the planet itself The Power and the Glory and were led by Prima, the first bearer of the Primus-born Creation Matrix. Dark Creation Left out of the history books was the second born: the Liege Maximo, created as a 'balance', evil where Prima was good. He too would create Transformers. A Rage in Heaven!
At some point, Demons inhabited Cybertron, but they were eventually imprisoned by Primus in the planet's depths. According to Transformer legend, they were the "flipside" of the Transformers. Dawn of Darkness Still Life!
In olden times, Transformers reproduced by "budding", where a Transformer grows a new one: producing a mass of liquid metal that grows out of their chest and eventually forms another. As this diluted the essence of Primus, their slumbering god made his creations 'forget' they could do this once they hit a desired population number The Power and the Glory and the Creation Matrix was used instead.
Prime Nova replaced Prima. Dark Creation
Overlords
From an unknown point of time, Cybertron was ruled by the Overlords, a governing council of absolute rulers. Over time, their power and number dwindled, until Cybertron was composed of multiple city-states who were constantly clashing with each other; the key three powers were Vos, Tarn and Iacon. While all the major cities were using their might to pork energy at the expense of others, Iacon did ration theirs out to neighbouring smaller cities. Tarn and Vos, by comparison, built up vast armies. State Games
Sentinel Prime passed the Matrix on to Optimus, Dark Creation a sports champion and notable figure from Iacon. Sureshot's Transformers Universe entry Needlenose's Transformers Universe entry
State Games
In an attempt to lessen growing hostilities caused by the splintering governments and the dwindling resources on Cybertron, the last Overlord started the Games: an inter-city gladiatorial tournament. This allowed the population to exorcise their hostilities, and soon the vicious athlete Megatron had a cult of personality based around him and his feats. He built this up, quietly planning to unite Cybertron under his own rule and turn it into a mighty cosmic dreadnought! One of his great rivals was Optimus Prime, the champion of Iacon.
In 1st Cycle 549,[2] Vos — ruled by a Starscream-headed criminal syndicate — sent its athletic team to bomb Tarn (ruled by Shockwave) and finger Iacon as the culprit. As with all plans by Starscream, this cocked up — Tarn realised Vos had attacked it, and war broke out that devastated both cities. Iacon happily let its rivals beat on each other. During the conflict, Optimus Prime tries to get the Overlord to safety but Megatron secretly ensures the leader starves to death; once the war ended, Megatron used his fame and charisma to convince the war's survivors that Iacon was at fault for not stepping in to prevent the war, and that Iacon was the enemy. This angry mass became the first Decepticons. State Games
War on the Horizon
The Decepticons were considered harmless cranks to be humored, but ultimately ignored. Megatron crafted the malcontent group into a more formidable organization Legion of the Lost! with Shockwave and Soundwave as his most significant officers Datafile: Megatron and they soon had bases in Autobot cities. In secret, the Decepticons armed themselves and were given the ability to transform into war machines — and then hit an unprepared Cybertron without warning! The Transformers (comic issue)
Early Great War
Megatron leads the Decepticons, gaining more and more ground while the Autobots continue to fall; The Transformers simultaneously, his old rival Optimus Prime rises in the Autobot ranks. He starts off as head of the six-strong[3] Elite Flying Corps. He clashes with his subordinate Divebomb, The Icarus Theory made worse when he saves Divebomb from being killed by a Decepticon who pinches his name. (Divebomb changes it to "Swoop" and never talks about being saved.) Grudge Match! Later, Prime is transferred to the Autobot Fourth Computerized Division and is swiftly promoted to Lieutenant Commander. The Flames of Boltax! Other war legends include the Magnificent Six, who end up reduced to five traumatised wrecks after being captured by Megadeath at Yuss. The Magnificent Six!
Megatron and Optimus first clash in battle over the powerful Underbase, the creation of the neutral scientist Boltax. Tragically, it was Optimus' own visit to Boltax that caused the clash: Optimus had willingly violated a neutrality agreement, putting neutrals at risk and not just giving Megatron a justification for attacking, but showing him how to evade the Underbase's defences. All of Boltax's followers were killed and in order to prevent this mighty database being captured, Optimus launched it into space. This 'victory' helped make his career but he knew he'd been driven by pride and glory-seeking. The shame of what he'd done always remained with him. The Flames of Boltax!
Optimus became an iconic general, the only one with the skill and firepower to properly rally the army,The Transformers and he was given field command of the whole thing. The Council of Autobot Elders still pulled the strings but he carried out unsanctioned plans behind their back. Optimus Prime datafile
By 1st Cycle 820[4] Megatron has pushed the Autobots to Iacon itself, and Optimus Prime was at the front line, rallying outnumbered and exhausted Autobots to drive back a larger Decepticon army. Surrender! The Decepticons advanced once more and began entering the city, but Optimus led a successful defensive, turning them back. During that battle, Emirate Xaaron has the Iacon government grant Optimus full control of the armed forces and the ability to do what he wants without needing to go to them — which he was doing anyway! And There Shall Come...a Leader!
Under Optimus, the Autobots retake, rebuild, and fortify their city-states. The war becomes evenly matched, though the very planet itself is blasted out of its orbitThe Transformers as Megatron, obsessed with that cosmic dreadnought plan, builds planet-engines and triggers one. Legion of the Lost!
In one of many battles, a terrified Longtooth found himself surrounded by corpses and the near-dead; a passing Optimus gave him a piece of the Matrix to heal an ally, but Longtooth kept it to give himself a potential extra life. Whose Lifeforce Is It Anyway?
1st Cycle 931 (Cybertronian dating)
A thousand years into the war,[5][6] the wonky orbit eventually takes Cybertron far too close to an asteroid belt, which will destroy it utterly; Optimus leads a team of the Autobots' finest in the Ark (along with backup warriors' minds, encoded in crystals, and five others, the future Dinobots) to clear the path of rocks. Following this, he intends to make peace gestures to the Decepticons... who then attack in force and board the Ark, causing Optimus to crash the ship into some uninhabited planet to end Megatron's threat. The Transformers
Shotly after the crash, Shockwave attempted to assist the Decepticons on the Ark, but his ship's guidance systems malfunctioned and he crashed in what would eventually be known as the Savage Land. The dying Ark detected this, and reactivated five Autobots to combat him. They were given the forms of the Savage Land's natives, and became the Dinobots. They faced off, but the battle was a stalemate until Snarl brought down the mountain they were on, trapping all six in a tar pit.
Post-Ark launch
The Autobots are left distraught by the loss of the Ark, and the Council has to retake control of the military. The Decepticons quickly gain a new leader in the brutal Trannis and the war begins going their way once again. Cybertron: The Middle Years! The Autobots hold Kalis long enough that university student Flame can propose using one of Megatron's lost world engines, hidden in the city, to themselves move the planet. Xaaron rejects the plan and Flame is left bitter. Legion of the Lost! Unfortunately they are eventually pushed back to Iacon. Cybertron: The Middle Years!
Eventually Trannis just gets bored and has Iacon bombed to slag. The Autobots only survive due to Emirate Xaaron having prepared for the army to go underground, and a long-lasting insurgency begins. The commando group Wreckers kill Trannis, but this just leaves Straxus in charge. Cybertron: The Middle Years! He starts chucking all Autobots, neutrals, empties, failed Decepticons and the postman into the Smelting pool. The Smelting Pool!
Meanwhile, a bunch of Decepticons unlock the key to biomorphic reproduction, the pre-Matrix way of reproducing. The Power and the Glory This new second generation of Decepticons, including Jhiaxus, happily throw themselves into the war but eventually become bored with it; they leave Cybertron behind to colonise space (exterminating any organic life on said colony worlds in the process) under the aegis of the Cybertronian Empire. Neither the Autobots nor Straxus's Decepticons notice this, carrying on a war Jhiaxus and Co believe is irrelevant. War Without End!
In time, these offshoots would encounter the monstrous Liege Maximo and come under his command. A Rage in Heaven!
Ten thousand years ago, the planet Nebulos is almost destroyed by war. The original World Watchers are able to defuse the situation and the planet buried its weapons, dedicating itself to pacifism. Ring of Hate!
At some point, the Autobots send Navigator to find the lost Ark. His ship crashes on Earth but the wrong part entirely. By this point, humans have evolved and developed a feudal system. In 1017 AD local time, Navigator's companion first went looking for the Ark; he accidentally scared off Godwin the Strongarm's army away from Stansham Castle and was dubbed "the Man of Iron" by the terrified locals. He'd pop up two more times before the 20th century. Man of Iron With no word coming back, the Autobots of Cybertron gave up the Ark for dead and its crew. The Smelting Pool!
The Quintessons rule Cybertron. They were driven off "centuries ago". The Big Broadcast of 2006 (US)
Kup grows weary of the war and leaves Cybertron, but an encounter with the boisterous Hot Rod revives his spirits. Kup's Story!
Autobot astronomers worked out that the lost Underbase would make its way to Earth in a few hundred years. They sent Grand Slam and Raindance to warn the Autobots there,[7] with all relevant data encoded on their cassette alt modes, but they were badly damaged in the crash and lay locked and insensate as tapes. In the 18th century, a pirate ship found them but was itself lost at sea. Club Con!
In the 1950s of Earth, the United States of America was at war with North Korea. Sergeant Irving William Stanislas Sparkplug Witwicky was taken prisoner and forced to fix North Korean vehicles. He secretly sabotaged them, costing the enemy men and materiel . Prisoner of War! The Last Stand
By this point, Cybertron is a mostly dead world: resource starved and ravaged, with the few remaining neutral civilians at constant risk of being killed for sport . The Smelting Pool! The pub Maccadam's Old Oil House is one of the few neutral spots on the planet, allowing anyone in if they can pay. Target: 2006
20th century onwards
Early 1980s
With morale at a low ebb, the Elders running the Cybertronian resistance decide to build a figurehead warrior to inspire troops: Ultra Magnus. It will take years to build. #81's Ultra Magnus profile
1984/5
A volcanic eruption reactivates Teletraan I, the internal computer of the Ark. The Autobots and the Decepticons awaken, and restart the Great War. The Transformers
The Decepticons kidnap the mechanic Sparkplug Witwicky, and force him to adapt their systems to earthen fuel. Prisoner of War!
After some battles, Man of Iron The Enemy Within! Raiders of the Last Ark the Decepticons launch a final attack on the Autobots. When the Decepticons have the upper hand, they fall due to Witwicky making the fuel poisonous for them. However, the Autobots' victory is short-lived, because of the arrival of Shockwave, who defeats the remaining Autobots. The Last Stand
Shockwave assumes command of the Decepticons (beating the snot out of Megatron to cement this) and deactivates all of the Autobots except Ratchet, who was absent at the time of the attack, and Optimus Prime, who is kept alive as a disembodied head. Prime secretly passes the Creation Matrix, a life-giving power, onto human ally Buster Witwicky. The New Order The Worse of Two Evils!
Ratchet retrieves the Dinobots from the Savage Land and, with their help, takes down Megatron. Repeat Performance! With their help, the Ark is secured and the Autobots reactivated (sans Prime who's a prison of Shockwave), but at the seeming cost of Swoop's life. The Dinobots go AWOL. The Wrath of Guardian! The Wrath of Grimlock!
Jazz secures a mutual-benefit alliance with G.B. Blackrock, solving the Autobot fuel concerns. DIS-Integrated Circuits! Shockwave uses Optimus's Creation Matrix to give life to the Constructicons, The Next Best Thing to Being There! but later the Autobots recover their commander despite severe injuries. Shockwave is left MIA, and the Matrix returned to Optimus; he uses it to bring life to Decepticon construct Jetfire, who joins the Autobots. Prime Time!
Buster Witwicky introduces the recovering Autobots to the concept of Christmas, which Prime takes a bit too far. Christmas Breaker!
1986
Optimus briefly suffers from doubts and second-guessing due his ordeal, recovering in time to end Autobot divisions. Soundwave assumes Decepticon command. Crisis of Command! Swoop is recovered and reactivated by disgruntled scientist Professor Morris, leading to the discovery that the Dinobots are suffering mental deterioration. The Icarus Theory The Autobots begin a Dinobot Hunt, in which Jetfire proves himself as an Autobot, but Soundwave's interference leads to multiple Autobots being injured and an unopposed fuel raid—a major Decepticon victory. Dinobot Hunt! Wheeljack almost makes a deal with Ravage out of desperation over the wounded, ...Perchance to Dream and the Dinobots remain offline even when repaired. Victory! Meanwhile, small-time criminal Joey Slick finds Megatron (locked in gun-mode) and briefly becomes a notorious super-criminal. Megatron is reactivated. Shooting Star!
Shockwave returns and retakes command. The Autobots, desperate to bolster troop numbers due to the mass of injuries, activate the warriors whose minds were encoded on crystals. Rock and Roll-Out! Government agency Intelligence and Information Institute attempts to calm public fears by creating a "Robot-Master" figure who they pretend really controls the Transformers. Megatron, now backed by Soundwave and his cassettes, captures the Robot Master (Donny Finkleberg) and uses him to spread anti-Autobot propaganda. I, Robot-Master! Soon after, Shockwave attempts (and fails) to capture Bumblebee. Plight of the Bumblebee!
Buster Witwicky tries to prove his worth to the Autobots by trying to fight the Decepticons in robot armour, and is nearly killed by Shockwave. Robot Buster! Shockwave determines that affection for Buster is an Autobot weakness to exploit, but an attack on Buster is called off when it becomes clear the lad is having visions from the Matrix he once carried. Devastation Derby! The Autobots try to decipher the visions, with the Decepticons tapping in; both sides see the Matrix's vision of Special Teams. This prompts Megatron to make a play for Decepticon command again; Soundwave is forced to step in, getting Megatron and Shockwave to share command. A new Decepticon base is established in Wyoming. The Dinobots are reactivated. Second Generation!
On Cybertron, both an Autobot resistance cell and Decepticon leader Straxus pick up a signal from Earth, becoming aware of the war there. Straxus builds the space bridge to link the two planets, using information taken from scientist Spanner, but the Autobots prevent the Decepticons crossing in force and destroy Straxus's body, at the cost of being stuck on Earth. The Smelting Pool! The Bridge to Nowhere! They are rapidly captured by RAAT, and Circuit Breaker. Heavy Traffic!
Meanwhile, the Earth Autobots and Decepticons deal with the effects of the PARD device. To a Power Unknown! Deciding to go on the offensive, Optimus has Omega Supreme built and steals combiner technology from the Decepticons; the Decepticons suffer heavy losses, though Megatron regains full command, while the Autobots lose Skids. Command Performances! He is tempted to remain AWOL and avoid the war, but eventually rejoins—taking Finkleberg with him to inform the Autobots about the arrivals from Cybertron. Showdown! The Dinobots, bored from lack of action, assist journalist Joy Meadows in blowing open the Robot Master hoax; both Triple-I and the Decepticons attempt to prevent this. While the Dinobots are helped by Centurion (really controlled by Professor Morris), the Decepticons still succeed. In the National Interest The Dinobots go AWOL with Centurion.
The Cybertron resistance, led by Emirate Xaaron, plan Operation: Volcano—a major strike on the Decepticon forces. But the arrival of time-travelling Decepticons Galvatron, Cyclonus and Scourge, which causes Optimus, Ratchet and Prowl to be sent to Limbo and Megatron to be offlined, throws the Autobots into a command crisis and has Volcano upset as Xaaron sends the recently activated Ultra Magnus to Earth to investigate. The confused Autobots suffer a humiliating defeat and turn to Megatron and Soundwave for leadership. Despite this, they lose again and Ultra Magnus has to step in to assist. Galvatron is eventually tricked into returning to the future by other time travellers, and Magnus goes home; a number of Autobots remain wounded. Volcano is called off when the Insecticons are seconded to Earth under Megatron's orders, ruining Volcano's first strike; Autobot Wreckers leader Impactor is killed, however. Target: 2006 The six Transformers stuck in Limbo, fall prey to the native parasites. They eventually escape them. Distant Thunder!
Optimus oversees the creation of the Aerialbot Special Team, who battle the Insecticons and new Decepticon jets over the Hoover Dam; it's a near failure due to flaws with Superion. Aerialbots over America! Still, the Aerialbots are sent on another mission to test them once more—their phobias and flaws cause disaster, but Jetfire didn't witness this and so they're forced to struggle with their problems on their own. The Return of the Transformers Because of these flaws, Optimus KILLS AND REMAKES THEIR MINDS (bloody hell!) to fix them. Bombshell lands a cerebro-shell in Prime's wound, and channels Matrix energy from him to make the Stunticon Special Team. Skids and Finkleberg are sent to investigate the lost "Cybertron Seven", getting caught in an Aerialbot-Stunticon-RAAT battle. Finkleberg betrays Skids to RAAT for money. Heavy Traffic!
Back on Cybertron,[8] rebel leader Fortress Maximus has grown tired of the constant warfare and takes his squad, and anyone else who wishes to join, to the peaceful planet of Nebulos where they can avoid war. Unfortunately, the first encounter with a native goes badly wrong and the paranoid Lord Zarak begins stirring up the population for a pre-emptive attack on the 'invaders'. Conflict almost breaks out but is defused when Fortress Maximus not only surrenders to World Watchers leader Galen, he and five others remove their heads as a gesture of complete faith in Nebulan mercy. Ring of Hate!
After two tricky missions over the Christmas holidays, Jetfire visits Buster for some advice. The Gift
1987
RAAT continues to hunt down Autobots while Megatron enlists the Battlechargers to Earth. Their nationwide rampage forces Circuit-Breaker to cut a deal with RAAT's Autobot prisoners; in return for their help defeating the Battlechargers, they're released. Donny Finkleberg also cuts his RAAT ties. Decepticon Graffiti!
Optimus Prime, worried how badly the Autobots did without him against Galvatron, works with Wheeljack to fake his own death as a test. However, when Megatron enlists the Predacons to Earth to kill Optimus — and they actually try to kill him too, on Shockwave's behalf — both leaders end up warped by Space Bridge to Cybertron, leaving the Autobots believing Optimus dead. Prey! Insult to injury, Megatron uses the Cybertronian Decepticon's spy networks to spread a rumour of an Optimus impersonator; Prime is thus targeted by the Wreckers and Ultra Magnus, only surviving because they witness his concern for a wounded Outback and realise he's the real deal. Megatron, meanwhile, is undermining Lord Straxus' command with his presence and madness, but Straxus is plotting to swap his mind with the crippled Lord's, giving Straxus a new body. ...The Harder They Die! Under Fire! Distant Thunder!
On Earth, Galvatron has returned to the 1980s once more — displacing Skids into Limbo. He viciously damages Centurion and gives the Cybertron Seven and Dinobots a pasting before the Decepticons drive him off: Shockwave does not want the competition. Fallen Angel Blaster's crew arrive at the Ark to find the Autobots in mourning, while Prime himself rejuvantes the Cybertronian resistance and leads them to new victories. Straxus makes his move — and it goes wrong, as Megatron fights him off but is left mentally deranged. When Optimus returns to Earth by space bridge, Straxus' right-hand man Ratbat makes sure Megatron is sent away with him (and, accidentally, Ultra Magnus is sent too). Resurrection! Straxus' defeated consciousness flees into a cloned Megatron body, his elaborate contingency plan, and waits his chance. Two Megatrons! The Autobots celebrate Prime's return Resurrection! but in a cruel twist of fate, Optimus dies shortly after on a mission with the newly built Protectobots.
To prevent a destructive battle, the Autobots, Megatron and the new Combaticons agree to have a proxy fight in the video game Multi-World, with the losing leader being destroyed by explosives. When Optimus wins the game by sacrificing the "lives" of its characters, he is left distraught at abandoning his principles and considers himself the loser. Unknown to the Transformers, game creator Ethan Zachary made a back-up copy of Prime's mind. Afterdeath! This comes in handy for Shockwave when his next attempt to kill Megatron — who is still mentally fragile and violently paranoid that Optimus faked his death — fails. A bluff causes Megatron to realise Optimus was backed up and he flees across the space bridge in a panic, blowing it up as he goes and seemingly dying. Gone but Not Forgotten! Instead he ends up in Cybertron in an amnesiac state, wandering around for years as an Empty. The Resurrection Gambit! Shockwave is now in charge of Earth but quickly finds himself dependent on Ratbat, a more hands-on Cybertronian leader. King of the Hill!
The Autobots hold Optimus's funeral, launching his body into space Funeral for a Friend! (not realising the Matrix is still in it) Deathbringer and a group of top officers try to work out who should replace him. Grimlock and his Dinobots make a return to the Ark, intent on taking the job; he is initially rejected, but shows the skills necessary for leadership when he fights off Trypticon. King of the Hill!
During all this, Galvatron has been working on a new plan: a power siphon over an active volcano (Mount Verona), which will draw the energy off the Earth's core into himself — devastating the North America west coast. Ultra Magnus is drawn into this when he tries saving a human, Cindy Newell, from Galvatron's fire barrier and gets himself beaten into submission. Luckily, a team of future Autobots under Rodimus Prime have arrived. Burning Sky! Unfortunately, so did a 2007 mercenary called Death's Head, looking for the reward money on Galvatron; he blew up Bumblebee to cover his tracks. Wanted: Galvatron — Dead or Alive!
Goldbug goes back to the Ark to find Grimlock is not handling power well, to the extent of wearing a crown. The new commander orders Grimlock and Blaster to recover stolen Autobot tech from a human supervillain called the Mechanic, authorising the loss of human lives if necessary. When the Mechanic escapes, the Autobots decide to go AWOL rather than stay with Grimlock Mechanical Difficulties! and decide to fight Decepticons on their own. Their first solo mission leads them to a crashed Decepticon ship which is infected with Scraplets. Both they and the Decepticon Triple Changers are infected, with Goldbug and a human ally fleeing for a cure. Luckily, the cure turns out to be water. Even more luckily, Ratbat intervened by forcing the rebel Throttlebots to go to Earth and kill all the infected (so he won't have to scorch the whole planet). With the extra numbers, the Scraplets are defeated and the fugitives now have a larger gang. Unfortunately, the ship's cargo has survived and the Decepticons brainwashed G.B. Blackrock Crater Critters into using it to create car washes that brainwash humans into handing their fuel over to the Decepticons. Buster Witwicky and the Car Wash of Doom Back at the Ark, the Autobots are getting more and more disgruntled at Grimlock's command, and especially with the Dinobot wasting so many Autobot's time by sending them after the fugitives. Ancient Relics!
Word reaches Straxus' cloning team that Megatron is dead, so they send Straxus in his cloned body down to Earth (under London) to take advantage. Unfortunately for Straxus, his consciousness was 'infected' with Megatron's: the clone believes he's Megatron and suppresses Straxus within himself. Two Megatrons! This Megatron goes on a rampage, opposed by both the human Action Force counter-terrorists and a handful of Autobots, thanks to Blades and Grimlock mistaking Megatron's signal for Goldbug and Blaster. The battle is only won when Centurion sacrifices himself to keep Megatron in the path of a missile strike. Ancient Relics!
Ratbat arrives on Earth and takes full command away from Shockwave, while his car wash plan is rolled out across the United States; the second phase is to permanently brainwash all the patrons. Luckily, the Autobot's old friend Buster Witwicky discovers the plot by accident and is able to free Blackrock from mind control. Buster Witwicky and the Car Wash of Doom
The Dinobot Swoop and the Predacon Divebomb duke it out once more, but the humiliation of having to be saved by the others causes Swoop to man up and admit to his friends that he'd had to be saved by Prime the first time round. (Grimlock has known for months but deliberately kept quiet) Grudge Match! In Oregon, Galvatron's remains are found and Shockwave orders him destroyed by the Combaticons; Cindy Newell recruits Joy Meadows and archaeologist Susan Hoffman to help her stop them and save the vulnerable Magnus, with last-minute aid from the Throttlebots. Nobody realises the battle woke Galvatron up. Ladies' Night
Over at Nebulos, the increasingly destructive war is causing the people and the Council of Peers to grow disgruntled with the Autobots as well as the Decepticons. Zarak makes a deal with Scorponok: in exchange for his life and in the hope of making Nebulos safe, he will help the Decepticons replicate the Headmaster process (and become Scorponok's own partner). Unprepared for this and concerned with protecting the Nebulans, the Autobot Headmasters are captured and the planet convinced that Zarak had saved the Peers. Love and Steel! Scorponok's more brutal instincts begin to override Zarak's own, and his war against the Autobots only increases the destruction. Brothers in Armor!!
Out for revenge, the Combaticons chase Blaster and the Throttlebots across the country, with RAAT (who've worked out the Autobot-Blackrock link) setting ambushes at every Blackrock petrol station. The fugitives take refuge at a used car lot but are betrayed by the owner, who sells them out to RAAT. The Throttlebots are all captured, while the Protectobots intervene to 'save' Blaster for his court martial at the Ark. Used Autobots They then leave him in mode-lock while they engage the Combaticons. A group of human children find and save Blaster, and with their help Blaster saves the Protectobots. A grateful Hot Spot decides to let Blaster "escape", and the rebel lets the humans take a ride on a mode-locked Blast Off. That turns out to be a mistake: it's noticed by the Ark Child's Play and Blast Off, with the young "Spacehikers", is captured. The Autobots are willing to rebel against Grimlock now, as long as Blaster is willing to lead them, but he's forced to surrender rather than let the children be hurt. Spacehikers!
A wandering Starscream learns the meaning of Christmas but doesn't care. Stargazing
1988
Galvatron tricks Shockwave into attacking him first by acting as shifty as possible, then lies to the Decepticons that he'd only been coming to talk but now they've made him an enemy: thus undermining his rival. A rattled Shockwave decides to find Megatron's body and use him as a disposable anti-Galvatron asset. (The Cybertron Decepticons try to recruit Galvatron and the Sparkabots try to stop this happening, but Galvatron doesn't give a toss about either of them) Enemy Action! Ratbat, meanwhile, is getting things done: the Decepticons no longer have any Autobots on Earth to stop them and he's having them openly loot whatever they want. RAAT, still refusing to notice factions exist, threaten to execute the Throttlebots unless the Decepticons stop (so of course they don't). Walter Barnett realises the truth and smuggles their processors out in toy cars, and turns to Buster Witwicky for help in contacting the Autobots. Buster and Goldbug reach Mount St. Hilary and use the abandoned equipment to send out an SOS, but Ratbat catches up with them and gleefully captures the teenager, his old enemy. RAAT have publicly learned the difference in factions and take a public beating, Toy Soldiers! and now Buster is used as a hostage to prevent them attacking the Decepticon island base. The Desert Island of Space!
The SOS reaches Nebulos, right as the war ramps up with the creation of the next binary bonded partners: the Targetmasters, Nebulan freedom fighters who turn into weaponry. The first battle sees the destruction of the Nursery, forcing Zarak to realise he's being changed for the worse. Aghast, he releases the Autobot Headmasters. Brothers in Armor!! After another brief battle Worlds Apart! Galen/Fortress Maximus decide they should answer the SOS in the hope that, if the Autobots leave Nebulos, the Decepticons will follow. Brothers in Armor!! After they arrive at Earth, they encounter Spike Witwicky: Buster's older brother, out to find his sibling. When the Decepticons follow, Galen is killed in battle against Scorponok; Spike's bravery and resourcefulness in the battle see him chosen to be Maximus' new Headmaster partner. Trial by Fire!
His first mission is to rescue Buster from the Earth Decepticon's base. He fails but defeats Shockwave, sending the villain plummeting through the atmosphere. Ratbat allows Shockwave to be lost The Desert Island of Space! but Shockwave survives, gathers some troops at the abandoned Fortress Sinister, and has 'Megatron's' body salvaged. Straxus's consciousness battles Megatron's for control, and loses. The Sparkabots simultaneously dig Ultra Magnus out of Mount Verona; the warrior is traumatised by his experiences but recovers in time to force Galvatron into retreat, the first time he's ever won that battle. Salvage! Maximus's Autobots learn about Ethan Zachary and his back-up of Optimus Prime's mind: while the back-up is sentient, it believes it's a video game character. The backup is used to help the Autobots steal Scorponok's new Pretender technology, giving both sides a Pretender squad. RAAT are humiliated yet again Pretender to the Throne! and the government scraps them for their failures. The Human Factor!
Meanwhile on Cybertron,[9] two events have happened: Thunderwing has risen to prominence and the resource-starved Autobot resistance have created the Micromaster process. The Battle Patrol are the first Autobots to downsize. A Small War!
The mad scientist Flame reactivates Megatron's old planetary engine under Kalis. In order to protect his plan, he turns every corpse in the city into a zombie; Kalis is abandoned and the Wreckers and Xaaron captured. Three weeks later, the Sparkabots and Magnus — unaware of the crisis — return to Cybertron and, with the help of both their fellow rebels and the Decepticons, defeat Flame before his experiments can destroy Cybertron. City of Fear! Legion of the Lost! Meltdown! Magnus intends to return to Earth with the Wreckers to stop Galvatron, but he's distracted by shutting down alien-run deathmatches in Tyrest. Deadly Games! Making matters worse, the Wreckers warp to Earth to find Galvatron in a human city, with Cyclonus and Scourge — who want his time-jump device so they can go home — present. They're forced to withdraw. Cyclonus and Scourge, worried about Galvatron, seek sanctuary from Shockwave. Wrecking Havoc
While this goes on[10]Thunderwing tricks the Battle Patrol into an ambush and uses them to create Decepticon Micromasters. Roadhandler is sent to kill the Battle Patrol to prevent this but his team ignore the order, and Xaaron admits it had been made in error. A Small War!
Unable to rebuild Optimus Prime, Maximus decides to approach Grimlock for aid. Grimlock refuses to give it or share any command, and it's arranged for him to fight Blaster (standing in for Maximus) to decide leadership. Instead, the two are forced to work together when Ratbat's army attacks mid-fight, almost wiping out the Autobots. Grimlock agrees to work with others and Maximus has Goldbug go to Nebulos for help with Prime. Totaled! The Nebulans have poisoned all fuel sources to keep the Transformers out, but the bitter scientist Hi-Test created the Powermaster process — a form of binary bonding where a Nebulan becomes an engine — and Darkwing and Dreadwind ravage the planet. Goldbug's three teammates become Autobot Powermasters to compensate, thanks to Hi-Q; more importantly, Optimus Prime is successfully resurrected but, out of necessity, has to be turned intn a Powermaster. People Power! Optimus Prime was secretly left disconnected from his old life: he remembered everything but did not emotionally understand it. Cold Comfort and Joy! On their way back to Earth, the Autobots rescue the Spacehikers and their friend Sky Lynx from the Cosmic Carnival. The Cosmic Carnival
A Wreckers recon team is sent to Earth in advance of a second attack on Galvatron. Firebug! Unfortunately, things spiral out of control when Shockwave learns that Cyclonus and Scourge will kill him in 2008. He sics the brainwashed Megatron on them and has Cyclonus killed: dying before he was created is a paradox that damages space-time itself. Dry Run! Megatron is then sent after Galvatron... just as Galvatron wanted. He convinces his past self to team up with him. Altered Image! Meanwhile, Shockwave's attempts to understand the paradoxes and his death cause him to go steadily insane. Dry Run!
While the Autobots are stranded on the moon, Scorponok's faction increase their operations on Earth. They create the Z Foundation front to raise money for anti-Transformer activity and spread anti-robot hate, Ca$h and Car-nage! and send the Pretender Skullgrin to scout for energy. Skullgrin achieves this by (we're not joking) becoming a media celebrity. Both plans go wrong when Circuit-Breaker blows Skullgrin's cover Monstercon from Mars! and the Z Foundation's hired mercs, the Roadjammers, blow that cover. Ca$h and Car-nage! Things go even worse when the Autobots do get back to Earth and Scorponok targets Highbrow: the Autobot is able to successfully rip off his head, leaving a paralysed Zarak in his custody. All in the Minds!
Optimus Prime regained control of the Earth Autobot force, sweet-talking a reluctant Grimlock into giving up power. The Quest! He learned that Ratbat's Decepticons had not only declared their island base as a sovereign nation with Buster as its monarch, ensuring it was protected from human action by international law, they'd set up a holiday resort there to have an endless stream of human shields. This enabled them to search that part of the sea for two lost Mini-Cassette and their data on the Underbase. The Autobots sent Buster's girlfriend Jesse in as a "tourist" so she could smuggle Blaster in but while they learned the plot, they could not get the data themselves. Ratbat and Starscream (and a watching Buster) learned the Underbase would soon arrive in Earth's solar system, and Starscream began a-plotting. Club Con! The Flames of Boltax!
On Christmas, the Wreckers accidentally hurt humans in an attempt to join in their celebrations. This caused the resurrected Prime to realise his obsessive duty towards Earth was down to guilt that he brought war to them. Cold Comfort and Joy! Soon after this, the time rift caused by Cyclonus's death began to reach both Earth and Cybertron. Time Wars
1989
The new year started with the time rift causing natural disasters across Earth. The Autobots worked out Galvatron was responsible but were distracted first by the arrival of Scorponok's Decepticons, successfully retrieving their leader's head, and the arrival of future Transformers (which sent Optimus to limbo). Eventually, the present and future Bot/Cons agreed to work together against the mutual threat. Meanwhile, the Wreckers had teamed up with their Decepticon counterparts, the Mayhem Attack Squad, but had been massacred by the Megatron-Galvatron teamup. When other allied forces arrived, Galvatron had gone completely insane from conflicting memories (causing Megatron to simply walk off in disgust). Eventually the time rift devoured Galvatron; Scourge, just wanting the madness to end, sacrificed himself; and Shockwave, talked out of madness by Ravage, arrived with Cyclonus' body. With all three gone, the rift ended. Mayhem leader Carnivac ignored his orders to kill the remaining Wreckers. Time Wars Megatron stealing the Mayhem's ship left both special ops teams stranded on Earth, while Galvatron's departure meant Skids was finally returned to Earth from Limbo. Survivors!
Starscream manipulated Scorponok and Ratbat's factions into a disastrous meeting, then Buster into summoning the Autobots (who would unite the 'Cons by arriving and be brutalised): all so he could get the Underbase himself. Cold War! By the time the Transformers had stopped fighting, Starscream had got to the power source. The Decepticon's island base was destroyed and the armies only survived because the newly godlike Starscream, boasting about the first Earth cities he'd level, couldn't be bothered to kill them. The Autobot-Decepticon force pursued him and learned, too late, that only binary-bonded and Pretender Transformers were immune to the Underbase powers: by the time Starscream and the Underbase were destroyed, almost all of the 'traditional' Transformers were dead, Soundwave and Ratchet being rare exceptions. Scorponok (who had killed Ratbat during the crisis) and Optimus Prime parted with their losses. Dark Star
With Buster safe, Spike Witwicky decided to retire as a Headmaster: costing the Autobots' Fortress Maximus. Optimus reluctantly let him go. However, the two were still mentally bonded. This was handy when Scorponok hired Carnivac and Snarler to kill off the human and Spike used their psychic link to summon Maximus for aid. The Man in the Machine! The remaining Autobots, reeling from their losses, tried searching for new sources of parts to rebuild their troops. The Pretenders Cloudburst and Landmine tried to get black market microchips but unfortunately, the main suppliers were the Mecannibals: robots that devoured other robots and kept the microchips after. Unable to stomach (ho ho) this, and their identities as tasty robots exposed, the Autobots instead forced the Mecannibals to rebuild many of their meals. On their way out, they managed to steer the killers towards the Decepticons Darkwing and Dreadwind. Guess Who the Mecannibals Are Having for Dinner? Recipe for Disaster!
Meanwhile on Cybertron, there was a further leader shakeup when Megatron deposed the decadent and lazy Triumverate. He was now confident, calm, and able to control his bloodlust, 'knowing' he was to become the unbeatable Galvatron so why worry? The Fall and Rise of the Decepticon Empire.
The original Megatron, wandering half-dead and insane around the Dead End, regains his mind when he sees Autobots cornering Blackjack. The Resurrection Gambit! He hired Darkwing and Dreadwind to track down the corpse of Starscream for use in a scheme. The Triggerbots shadowed them as they arrived in Earth's orbit on the 24th April[11] and pursued them to Peru. Starscream's corpse was walking around, powered by Underbase energy, and the Autobots hoped to save the 'base but were unable to stop the Decepticons killing it and taking the body. Race with the Devil
The surviving members of the Wreckers and Mayhem Attack Squad, still stranded on Earth weeks after and believing they were being written off, met up. Carnivac proposed they team up and in doing so, they saved Skids from the monstrous hordes of Limbo. Snarler threatened to kill Carnivac for treason. Survivors! At this point on Cybertron[12], the Straxus-clone Megatron is suffering a breakdown as Straxus's mind tries to take over again; the real Megatron arrives in a moment of weakness. When the clone realises the truth, he kills himself to defeat Straxus, leaving Megatron secretly in charge. Two Megatrons! Elsewhere on Cybertron, a newly formed Mayhem Attack Squad under Bludgeon (and including Snarler) have formed to kill Carnivac The Hunting Party and the Decepticon High Council decide to test Thunderwing to see if he was fit to take control of the (apparently) now-leaderless Cybertronian forces.[13] Thunderwing's test saw him hunt down Autobots on Earth, but the new Headmaster Nightbeat was able to stop him, using one of the Autobot victim's corpses to incinerate their killer. The Big Shutdown!
In need of reinforcements, Optimus Prime requested aid from Cybertron and got the Micromaster Off Road Patrol and Race Car Patrol. The crews had an attitude problem and little respect for Prime, and after successfully thwarted Scorponok's plot to absorb lightning to power his new New Jersey base, they broke ties to set up shop in New York City all on their own. With the help of reporter Cecilia Santiago, they gained human favour by fighting crime, teaching defence classes to kids, and Roadhandler becoming a pro-wrestling career. Lord Zarak put a stop to this by threatening to kill innocent humans in Roadhandler's fan club unless he 'took a dive' in a match against a Decepticon. Rather than keep risking innocents, Roadhandler insulted his fan club and publicly quit to severe all ties, returning to Prime's team afterwards. King Con! The Interplanetary Wrestling Championship!
Doubledealer used his two robot modes to con Optimus and Scorponok for personal profit. (Double) Deal of the Century! Soon after, Optimus admitted to his troops that the Matrix had been accidentally left inside his original corpse and, having been shot into space, could not be used to bring them back. Coincidentally enough, that day a Matrix-powered Deathbringer landed in Colorado and went on a rampage until Nightbeat talked it into suicide: losing them a chance to find the Matrix. Deathbringer Further tragedy hit when Carnivac, briefly storming away from the Survivors, was cornered by the Mayhems and chased from Texas into Mexico. Unwilling to let humans die (after he had allowed others to die so he could escape Texas), Carnivac gave up but was saved... only for Catilla to be killed in his place. Carnivac swore vengeance. Way of the Warrior Survival Run A Savage Place!
Thunderwing reactivated and went on a brutal rampage until the Decepticons found him, requesting he come back to Cybertron. He instead pressganged them into a brazen attack on the Ark, out for revenge for his past humiliation; Ruckus had to get him to back down. However, this single-mindedness and ambition meant that the Decepticon High Council approved him as the new leader. Rage! Assault on the Ark! His first act was to abolish all neutral territory, which among other things meant Maccadam's Old Oil House became a Decepticon-only place. Out to Lunch!
Ratchet was on the verge of a breakdown by the demands to repair the many Autobots, making him easy prey for Megatron: while the Air Strike Patrol drew the Autobot forces into a battle with Scorponok, the Sports Car Patrol infiltrate the Ark pretending to be Autobots and take him to Cybertron to use its medical tech. Once there, Megatron forces him to rebuild Starscream as a Pretender, threatening to blow up the Ark if not, and sends the new, reprogrammed Starscream to bring Earth to heel for him. The plan went awry when Prime talked to Lord Zarak and pointed out they were being manipulated, leaving them in a stronger position to resist Starscream; and Ratchet had not just sabotaged the Decepticon's reprogramming so his loyalty would end mid-fight, he'd secretly used Megatron's Pretender shells to fix Grimlock, Jazz, and Bumblebee (Ratchet just liked him better than Goldbug). In an act of sacrifice, Ratchet used a trans-time dimensional portal to warp the explosives off the Ark and into Megatron's base, seemingly killing them both Back from the Dead The Resurrection Gambit! All the Familiar Faces! Skin Deep but actually merging them into a pain-ridden fusion in dimensional space. Eye of the Storm
The loss of Ratchet sent Optimus into a depressive episode. Yesterday's Heroes! The loss of Megatron left Darkwing and Dreadwind unemployed, and they drowned their sorrows at Maccadam's (never noticing the Mecannibals had followed them and were fighting Quickswitch. Out to Lunch! The resurrected Starscream also fell into depression, believing he was a laughing stock (even as Scorponok's men freaked out when they saw him). Fallen Star! Meanwhile, the Autobot Classic Pretenders were left stranded on Cybertron and fell in with Xaaron's rebels.
Three Autobot Military Academy cadets messed around in the Underworld, with only Tailgate coming back alive. Their fight with the mutants had woken up some of the Demons that lurked under Cybertron and they committed an attack on Decepticons that was so horrible, it drove Seawatch catatonic and meant the Classic Pretenders had to prove it wasn't an Autobot killing to prevent reprisals. While the demons were eventually killed, Xaaron worried that there may be thousands more waiting to emerge. Underworld! Demons! Dawn of Darkness
Beating up Autobots got Starscream out of his funk and scheming againFallen Star! at the worst time for Scorponok, as the Decepticons were angry that he was allowing the bastard responsible for the Underbase massacre to stick around. The Primal Scream Meanwhile, the Autobots grew worried that after more than a week of his growing funk,[14] Prime may actually just give up on the war entirely. An amok Guardian droid cleared his head; when he saw it attacking Autobots, he decided that to give up now would dishonour the dead. On Cybertron, the Classic Pretenders proved such a boost for the Autobots that after eight days of fuel raids Thunderwing ordered the Mayhem Attack Squad to take them out. Ironically, the Mayhems attacked when the Autobots were being warped back to Earth and ended up sending the whole group deep into Cybertron...
...right to the centre, where the face of the slumbering god Primus was. The Keeper, guardian of the chamber, berated the arrivals and recounted the origins of the Transformers, warning that if Primus woke then Unicron would be alerted to his presence. Unfortunately the Mayhems, not hearing the warning, launched a second attack and a ricochet from Octopunch did indeed wake their god. His primal scream blasted the Transformers back to Earth, shook the planet... and alerted Unicron to Cybertron's whereabouts, years earlier than he would have otherwise learned it. The Primal Scream
In the run-up to Christmas, the Autobots began arranging a desperate "Matrix Quest": it was clear to all that their only hope against Unicron was the Creation Matrix, alleged source of Primus' power. Bird of Prey! Longtooth wasn't paying much attention to the briefings, finally succumbing to guilt for keeping a piece of the Matrix, a get-out-of-death-free card, when others did not. He sent it to Optimus Whose Lifeforce Is It Anyway? who pondered on Christmas Day which of the Autobots he should use it to resurrect. After seeing the destruction caused to a forest by a Transformer battle, he instead used the fragment to repair some of the damage they'd brought to Earth. The Greatest Gift of All!
1990-91
The Autobots narrowed down the Matrix's location to a part of the galaxy and sent four teams to search for it. Unfortunately, Thunderwing detected them and personally led a squad (of his old "Assault on the Ark" crew) to find out what was going on. Bird of Prey! Meanwhile, on Earth, the Air Strike Patrol still ran amok in America's southern states while the Autobots were distracted. The American government hired Blackrock to form a more effective counter-Transformer team than RAAT and he decided to recruit the rare few superhumans into a 'superhero' team called the Neo-Knights because of course. The Human Factor!
Nightbeat's team were able to save Pz-Zazz from an apocalypse, only to be gunned down, taken prisoner, and interrogated by the Decepticons. Bird of Prey! Thunderwing soon decided to acquire the Matrix for himself, even as Optimus Prime tried to make contact with the Matrix and instead saw visions of darknessKings of the Wild Frontier. as the Matrix had been quite corrupted by exposure to the Deathbringer, a minor parasite, and the intoxicating sensation of murder and evil. Its "Matrixspawn" slaughtered an entire astronaut team. Dark Creation
The Triggerbots were almost lost at Cheyne, manipulated and fed on by psychic parasites, until the Decepticons inadvertently cleared Dogfight's mind by beating him for information. Kings of the Wild Frontier. Longtooth's team had more luck, investigating the return of an extinct animal on Pequod that was caused by a Matrix fragment; Longtooth himself went nuts after the Klud ripped his leg off, allowing the Decepticons to steal a lead and track the fragment to the moon of VsQs. Deadly Obsession The Classic Pretenders reached VsQs first but Thunderwing tore through them, and the Matrixspawn proved a distraction for all concerned. In the end it was Thunderwing who gained the Matrix and it gave itself to him. He went to the Ark Dark Creation and began to slaughter the Autobots, who were restricted in their defence for fear of damaging the Matrix. Once the Decepticon was damaged enough, however, the Matrix took control of him and manifested a demonic form, making it clear things had gone too far. Nightbeat, escaped from his cell, ended up blasting the Decepticon into space and the Matrix with it.
Luckily, only three were killed. Sixty billion died as Unicron devoured the planet Ghennix, creating some minions from three 'lucky' survivors All Fall Down and sending them to an alternate dimension to "recruit" the local Galvatron, Rhythms of Darkness! forcing him to act as an advance guard against Cybertron. Eye of the Storm
After the superhuman "Dynamo" had obliterated the Air Strike Patrol team around January/February,[15] Blackrock had his newly minted Neo-Knights go off to try and recruit him; so did an AWOL Starscream, hoping to use him as a Powermaster so he could challenge Scorponok; and Circuit-Breaker, looking for her own ally. In the end, Blackrock recruited both Dynamo and a reluctant Circuit-Breaker, while Starscream found himself recruited by a resurgent Shockwave The Human Factor! who'd been spying on Scorponok for a while and saw an opening to seize control. All Fall Down As well as losing the support of troops, Scorponok's Headmaster partner, Zarak, was becoming the dominant mind (to the extent of no longer considering himself/them the 'real' Scorponok).
While the bulk of the Autobots relaxed, Grimlock—bitter Thunderwing defeated him and that he is the only living Dinobot—went AWOL to go to Hydrus Four, hoping to use its bizarre new 'miracle fuel' Nucleon to bring back the Dinobots. After fighting his way past demented creatures to get Nucleon, he learned it could bring back his comrades but with potentially hideous side effects; he tested it on himself and, when it didn't immediately do anything bad, decided to risk it. The Decepticons too suffered AWOL troops as Scorponok's authority suffered, said troops being pressganged into Shockwave's new army; and Prime's own authority suffered when he announced there'd be an unconditional surrender to Scorponok to start an anti-Unicron alliance. When Ratchet was retrieved from interdimensional space and found to be merged with Megatron, this would undermine his attempts to save the merged creature. Kup threatened to invoke the Crisis Act unless it was killed and while this didn't happen, nobody was happy when Optimus ordered Ratchet saved even though it meant saving Megatron. Eye of the Storm The Pri¢e of Life!
Scorponok agreed to accept Prime's surrender as part of anti-Unicron negotiations but began to put all that off, too aware that this surrender was keeping his leadership afloat. While Zarak felt guilty about screwing them over, Optimus had to break out and confront him—while he was able to get through to Zarak, Shockwave launched his attack that very moment. The two rival leaders fought all the way into Manhattan, forcing the President of the United States to call out the Neo-Knights; desperate to stop this new conflict stopping the fight against Unicron, Optimus led the Autobots in Scorponok's defence and a three-way battle broke out until Circuit-Breaker attack Shockwave in a long-awaited revenge and Scorponok was convinced to stand down.
Meanwhile, the new Galvatron had led Hook, Line, and Sinker in tearing through the Autobot rebels on Cybertron. Galvatron pursued Xaaron into the bowels of Cybertron... and stopped attacking when he learned Unicron could also be stopped if every child of Primus came together. While Galvatron killed his fellow Heralds to keep Xaaron safe, the aged leader made contact with Primus and every active Transformer on Earth and Cybertron (plus the Neo-Knights by accident) was warped to the same place. Surrender! ...All This and Civil War 2 Out of Time!
(The Dinobots came back to find the Ark abandoned, shrugged, and started Nucleoning all the dead guys. Grimlock certainly wasn't suffering random paralysis as a side effect!)...All This and Civil War 2 The Void!
Primus appointed Optimus as the combined leader (of course!), knowing this would draw out Unicron's sleeper agents. This, his ignoring that the Knights wanted to go home (and Circuit-Breaker had gone catatonic at the sight of so many robots), and the fact Xaaron appeared to no longer exist gave Optimus the creeps. Their god seemed not so interested in the Transformers' actual lives.
As Optimus and Scorponok bonded and prepared to tell Primus where to go, Unicron made his attack The Void! after shutting himself down to 'drift' to Cybertron without Primus detecting him. The Transformers...
...ran away in absolute terror as this gigantic THING tore into Cybertron. Primus tried to rally them but died, not having the available power to do shit. Eventually it came down to Galvatron—noticed only as an "unknown Decepticon"—to do it, shooting Unicron and inspiring others to start up. The Transformers and Neo-Knights fought bravely, doing damage but taking heavy casualties, and Zarak/Scorponok finally got past his shaky confidence and died in a hero. Reinforcements arrived with the Ark, all its dozens of casualties brought back by Nucleon. The corrupted Matrix joined the battle but, due to its corruption, was blasted; Optimus was able to grab it and, free from doubt, purge the artifact of darkness. Circuit Breaker's sanity was irrevocably ended to give Optimus an opening to use the Matrix, leaving Hi-Q behind as he made a suicide run at the Chaos-Bringer.
In the aftermath, the Demons rose up again On the Edge of Extinction! and the Transformers picked through their dead and wounded. The dying Optimus Prime appointed Grimlock as his successor before passing away. (Bludgeon, meanwhile, quietly snuck into the vacant Decepticon leadership.) Still Life! Unknown to anyone but himself, Hi-Q's mind is a merged version of him and Optimus Prime: the Powermaster process had been merging them into one being!The Last Autobot?
When Grimlock is paralysed, Hi-Q/Optimus is able to accelerate the Dinobot's nucleon transformation and with a new, mightier form, he sends the Demons packing. Unfortunately, he's left unable to transform. Still Life! More unfortunately, Cybertron is dying: without Primus's lifeforce, it cannot stay together. Prowl is unable to hold the alliance together (Grimlock doesn't care and Bludgeon wants it to fall) as tensions explode. The Transformers have to evacuate but Bludgeon sabotages the Autobot ships, leaving them to die, and stirs up the fatigued Decepticons with a grand speech and a plan of new conquest! Exodus! Luckily, Grimlock had a secret stash of ships and the Autobots are able to pursue the Decepticons. Barely noticed by the Autobots (who think he's kray-kray), OptiHi-Q has revealed his true identity and recruits the ignored Neo-Knights to find a "Last Autobot", last chance of Cybertron. A Savage Circle The search goes badly though, leaving them worried they'll die on a foreign world . The Last Autobot?
"RAAAAAAA"
Shockwave and Starscream have already stolen the Ark, with Galvatron as a stowaway and Megatron and Ratchet both awaken. After a fight, Megatron and Galvatron decide to team up; the hero Ratchet stops them the only way he can, crashing the Ark into Earth once more. Exodus! A Savage Circle A raging Galvatron survives and tears through the Canadian wilds. A reluctant Spike Witwicky is (half of) the only Autobot on Earth and bonds once more with Fortress Maximus. It goes badly until they make peace and, unified, take down Galvatron II for good. The Last Autobot?
On Cybertron, Dynamo's powers manage to lead Hi-Qimus Prime and chums to the slumbering Last Autobot. Elsewhere, with just two days lead, the Decepticons have completely subjugated Klo and, as Grimlock is using stolen Decepticon ships, they detect the incoming Autobots . The Last Autobot? Bludgeon exploits Grimlock's gung-ho attitude and lures the army into a brutal ambush. Grimlock leads the handful of survivors in a never-say-die last stand but they're saved by the arrival of the Last Autobot... who has not only created a new body for the new Optimus Prime, but is resurrecting the dead Autobots! Bludgeon accepts defeat, promising a voluntary exile (he's lying).
Optimus reveals the Last Autobot had been Primus' safeguard for when the god died: he's used his power to not just save Cybertron, but restore it.
"We can go home!" End of the Road!
1991-3
With the war over, the Autobots begin to repair and resurrect many of their dead. Those that had lost their ability to transform were fixed.
Many Autobots, however, grow bored of the peace and form little gangs to go out into space, searching for new conflicts. (Why yes, Grimlock formed one of those gangs!) War Without End! Unknown to the Autobots, this peace is just a temporary thing: Bludgeon's army are quietly reorganising and building a horrific battleship called the Warworld! Primal Fear!
Meanwhile, on Earth, Spike Witwicky continues to check up on Fortress Maximus' body now and again. Final Transformations He's sadly not around when a half-dead Megatron wakes up... Unfoldings!
1993-94
Grimlock's militia start running into the Cybertronian Empire's eco-structuring crews: to their horror, they find seventeen planets have been wiped out and reformatted into little Cybertron's. They're able to save Nexus Seven through extreme violence and Grimlock puts out a call to Optimus Prime. The Empire's Liege Centuro Jhiaxus, however, is hunting for them and Optimus is suffering recurring nightmares of a corpse-strewn wasteland. War Without End! Meanwhile, on Earth, Megatron is cutting a deal with Cobra: they give him a new body and let him 'borrow' weapons designer Sidney Biggles-Jones, and he'll grant them Cybertronian tech. Megatron's involvement is spotted by G.I. Joe and they put out a call to Cybertron; Optimus dispatches a squad to investigate Realignments Goin' South while he meets Grimlock at a liberated planet.[16]
Unfortunately, Jhiaxus swiftly captures the Autobots. He attempts to 'reason' with Optimus, declaring the Autobot-Decepticon war was a minor squabble that Empire have moved on from, and that they've left behind destruction for construction (except for all the organics they call but organics don't count, right?). The Autobots have none of it and escape, pursued by the Cybertronians; Optimus is left worried that he's still having the nightmares, believing it to be a warning of a new apocalyptic threat on the way. War Without End! Simultaneously on Earth, the Autobots under Hot Spot intervene in the Megatron/Cobra/Joe battle and it goes horribly wrong: four dead, the Ark taking off under Megatron's control, and Biggles-Jones captured. Final Transformations Hot Spot himself kills himself in an all-or-nothing raid to destroy all of Cobra's Cybertronian parts. Luckily, Skydive had been smuggled onto the Ark and finds Spike Witwicky, better late than never, is also onboard and reactivating Fortress Maximus. Only able to hold back Megatron so Skydive and Biggles-Jones can escape, Spike and Maximus make the supreme sacrifice to blow up the Ark (and themselves with it). All or Nothing! Megatron will survive though: he rebuilt Starscream and was able to make his escape...
Optimus' small band try to raid an ancient alien weapons cache to use against Jhiaxus, having a fight with Bludgeon's Decepticons who want the same thing; both bands are chased away by a powerful alien guardian. Ghosts With that a bust, they try to lose Jhiaxus in the K'tord Nebula and they do manage it! Though that's because the place is seething with psychic parasites that drive you psychotically insane and everyone has to stop fighting in order to escape. Jhiaxus is left permanently rattled by the incident, as it removed his icy control and reminded him that he was a sadistic butcher. Speaking of sadistic butchers, Bludgeon has finally completed his Warworld and has constructed a 'second generation' of Decepticons: all he needs is the Matrix to activate them. Primal Fear!
The Autobots set up a new Autobase on a remote asteroid and call in reinforcements, but Optimus decides to wait until he deciphers his visions before any action is taken. Grimlock does as Grimlock does and goes AWOL with a strike force to blow up Jhiaxus' flagship: Red Alert and Mirage are killed as a direct result and the Autobots captured. Optimus is able to save them from being deported to "the Liege Maximo" and, believing Grimlock has learned better, leaves him in charge Devices and Desires! while he goes to Cybertron. There, the Venerable Ones help him commune with the Matrix and see visions of the Cybertronian Empire's origin, and the 'budding' process they used to replicate. Optimus ends the vision early and doesn't see the key bit: the replication also created a form of dark energy, the Swarm. The Power and the Glory
Unknown to the Autobots, Bludgeon had decided the best way to lure out Optimus and steal the Matrix is by attacking Earth. The Warworld rains down indiscriminate fire and the Pretender leads a raiding party in sacking the city, and lures out... Megatron and Starscream, wanting Decepticon leadership back! Bludgeon fights back and is killed, Tales Of Earth Part One Tales of Earth Part Two and insult to injury is that Megatron co-opts his plan. (With an army back, he's thinking Starscream has outlived his usefulness - as is every other Decepticon!) Earth's superpowers are routed and Skydive, working with G.I. Joe, calls out for Autobot aid . Tales Of Earth Part Three That aid, however, is just Optimus Prime: to Hawk's horror, he wants to talk to Megatron and convince him to unite against the Cybertronian Empire, rather than fight him off. Megatron instead sucker-punches Prime and tears the Matrix from him, and in an ironic role reversal Prime is saved by Grimlock, who disobeyed orders and took an Autobot force down to Earth after all . The Gathering Darkness
Mankind survives by bestial acts!
Megatron created the new Rotor Force and Laser Rod Decepticons and led them in a brutal raid to capture rheanimum. It was all good times until the Empire butchered a recon team led by Skullgrin and when the Decepticons launched a reprisal attack, they got flattened and Megatron personally near-killed by Jhiaxus. Desperate for revenge, he headed for the Autobots New Dawn to accept that team-up offer after all. Tales of Earth, Part Five It came in time as Jhiaxus was expanding the Empire's operations, hoping to draw out the Autobots through so much genocide Prime couldn't ignore it. (Starscream took the opportunity to mysteriously vanish) The first Autobot-Decepticon combined operation took place on Ethos and to Prime's disquiet, the battle was only won because of the fast, brutal tactics of Megatron's forces. Worse still, Megatron's brand of evil was at least understandable while the Empire showed a total lack of emotion or interest in the damage they did. Escalation!
It turned out Prime's visions were about something worse than the Empire: the Swarm, a ravenous cloud-like mass creating by the Cybertronian's "budding" process that tore through worlds and peoples in an attempt to 'complete' itself. The Autobot-Decepticon alliance learned its true nature after analysing the remains of its last meal, J'asik, and resolved to deal with it. Unfortunately, by this point the Swarm had eaten its first Imperials elsewhere and was now certain it wanted Transformers.
Just as unfortunately, Starscream had shopped them to Jhiaxus and Autobase Earth came under massed attack. Swarm The Cybertronians captured the Warworld but their first wave on Earth was, against all odds, repulsed by their 'ancestors'. Jhiaxus angrily sent in a second wave and ordered all his battalions to head for Earth (thus the Swarm did, after eating Battalion Xerxes). While Grimlock led the battle in Nevada, Optimus Prime and Megatron departed the battle to retrieve the Matrix from the Warworld... which Starscream had just got his mitts on (nice one Jhiaxus), merging himself with it and the Warworld. He wiped out most of the Cybertronian fleet in a display of power and let Prime and Megatron enter Total War! so he could have fun torturing them. Jhiaxus flew into a rage when he found out, personally taking command and making it clear he'd gone beyond nuts; his sub-commander Rook departed to report to the Liege Maximo. When Optimus did manage to fight his way through the Warworld—a horrified Starscream realised the Matrix was turning him good—he contacted Jhiaxus, proposing an alliance against the Swarm. Dark Shadows!
Jhiaxus begins bombarding Earth in a display of pique. San Francisco is wiped out in seconds.
Luckily, the Matrix-corrupted Starscream is influenced to defend Earth from further attack. Unluckily, that's when the Swarm arrives Tales of Earth Part Eight and a brief moment of grace ends when Jhiaxus futilely opens fire. Optimus reclaims the Matrix and heads to Jhiaxus' flagship to assist, while Megatron takes the rheanimum down to Earth where the allied forces are digging in for an expected attack. Defences fail and casualties mount until the rheanimum is used to reinforce their metal. Jhiaxus has completely descended into madness, almost killing Optimus before the Swarm devours him too. Optimus Prime, however, has a plan: he allows the Swarm to devour him and the Matrix with it.
With the essence of Primus inside them, the Swarm are turned into a force for life. They depart Earth, recreating Optimus in a new body, and the victorious Transformers celebrate victory and their new unity. Deep in space, however, the Liege Maximo judges the alliance weak and plots a counterstrike. A Rage in Heaven!
Future events
Over time, the Transformers would battle Mogahn the Mass and the Ebon Knights, have a horrific battle at Pinea Omicron, and finally face the Liege Maximo. In the end, the old Autobot-Decepticon war would be replaced with the Beast Wars. Ask Vector Prime
123/9/005
Sometime within six gluxins after the Autobot-Decepticon war ended,[17] Theturisan student Dicet Alpha-zero used time travel to spy on it for a dissertation. (To future Theturis, the war was well documented, relatively recent, and considered "small") He accidentally startled Ultra Magnus at Mount Verona, but was relieved to see events later didn't seem to have been changed by his blunder... not realising he was seeing a different ending to the Time Wars. Minor discrepancies on Theturis made Dicet worry time had been changed in unknown ways. The Quest!
Marvel UK future timelines
Original future
1986-9
Various big events take place, including the rise to prominence of the Decepticon general Scorponok and the creation of Autobot hero Ultra Magnus; the war reaching Nebulos; and the development of the binary bonding and Pretender technology.
A smaller scale event is the death of Firebolt, Hot Rod's Nebulan partner, on Earth. Headhunt
1990
Megatron was in command of a large number of Decepticons. He uncovered and executed Autobot deep-cover agent Warmonger. Aspects of Evil!
A Decepticon Civil War - between Megatron, Shockwave and Scorponok - kicks off here. Aspects of Evil!
1991
The Civil War raged on before ending with Megatron victorious. While Shockwave would be absorbed into Megatron's army, Scorponok was left wounded, alone and hunted; he only survived by forcing the Autobots to intervene against his pursuers. Aspects of Evil!
1995
To improve relations with human feminists, Optimus Prime creates Arcee, the first Female Transformer. It... doesn't work very well. Prime's Rib! Earth has weather control systems. Target: 2006
2003
Plans are drawn up for an Autobot City on Earth, funded with help from Earth's governments. Ultra Magnus is commanding the Ark at this point. Ark Duty
2004
Autobot City is completed. Shockwave attacks the opening ceremony, intending to shatter Autobot-human relations and use this victory to usurp control from Megatron. It fails badly. Aspects of Evil!
2006
By this point, the Decepticons rule Cybertron; the Autobots reside in moon bases and Autobot City . Time travel technology is possessed by both factions.
Megatron starts the Battle of Autobot City. As a result, Optimus Prime is killed and Ultra Magnus becomes the new Autobot Commander; the monstrous Unicron turns up, reformatting a dying Megatron into Galvatron. The Transformers: The Movie
Deciding he doesn't want to work for Unicron, Galvatron, Cyclonus and Scourge time-travel back to 1986 inadvertently creating a new parallel timeline. Unicron mentally steers Hot Rod, Kup and Blurr to bring him back, and tortures Galvatron back into obedience when they have. Target: 2006
Unicron attacks Cybertron. Hot Rod opens the Matrix and becomes Rodimus Prime, who hurls Galvatron into space, destroys Unicron, and leads the Autobots in reclaiming Cybertron. The Transformers: The Movie Shockwave takes command of the shattered Decepticons, while Galvatron is missing (he crosstime-jumped to 1986 at the moment of defeat). Rodimus, concerned about Galvatron, sends the Autobots searching across space to find the guy. Wanted: Galvatron — Dead or Alive!
Unicron's severed head goes on to crash on Junk, where he mind-controls the Junkions into building him a new body... The Legacy of Unicron!
2007
With the Autobot army stretched, Shockwave was able to re-organise the Decepticon army and retake half of Cybertron. Stalemate ensued; Rodimus, out of desperation, puts a dead-or-alive bounty on Galvatron's head, something that backfires when it causes Death's Head to crosstime-jump to 1987 looking for the bounty. Wanted: Galvatron — Dead or Alive! Rodimus, Kup, Blurr and (accidentally) Wreck-Gar went after him Burning Sky! and brought him back, but failed to secure Galvatron.
Shockwave, wanting to cement his power, set it up so Death's Head would kill Rodimus, Cyclonus and Scourge. All three lived, but the latter two would be fleeing Death's Head for the rest of the year. Headhunt
2008
Death's Head catches up with Cyclonus and Scourge on Junk in the New Year, but all three end up mentally enslaved by Unicron. He has them kill Shockwave and send the entire Decepticon army at the Autobots, a pointless battle that'll decimate both sides in advance of his arrival. Rodimus, however, has been alerted of Unicron's presence, and leads a strike-team to stop him. Thanks to Rodimus, Wreck-Gar, and Death's Head, Unicron's head is destroyed and his mind trapped in the Matrix, while Scourge and Cyclonus end up sent back in time. Soundwave takes command of the Decepticons and ends the battle. The Legacy of Unicron!
A time rift appears in 2008, causing the destruction of the Quintesson homeworld. They investigate many mechanical planets for emergency colonisation, eventually settling on Cybertron; Wreck-Gar comes into possession of these plans. The Quintessons launch a devastating attack on Autobot City on Earth, drawing out Rodimus so they can steal the Matrix; simultaneously, they trick the Decepticons on Cybertron into heading into an ambush. The Earth forces are slaughtered by Metroplex and the Cybertron force undone by Soundwave calling in the Autobots to help. Wreck-Gar broadcasts the Quintessons plans to every planet on their list, forewarning them and ensuring the surviving Quintessons will be hunted fugitives. Space Pirates!
The rift gets worse, now threatening Earth and Cybertron. Time Wars
2009
On New Year's Day, the Terrorcons attack Earth with the intention of draining its energy before it was destroyed; the Autobots wrecked that plan. The Autobots also became aware that the source of the time rift was 1989, and a small team was sent back to that year to end the crisis. Time Wars
Post-Time Wars future
1989
Megatron—well, his Straxus clone—seizes control of a large number of Decepticons. Knowing he will become Galvatron, he decides to work more patiently. The Fall and Rise of the Decepticon Empire.
A Decepticon Civil War - between Megatron, Shockwave and Scorponok - kicks off, with all factions having an Earth-bound presence. Megatron is actively working with his future-as-Galvatron in mind. Trigger-Happy!
Grimlock does something to bring the Dinobots back from the dead at some point.
1992
Snarl has contracted the wasting disease Corrodia Gravis at some point. The Dinobots head for the Savage Land, where (due to no other option) they have to transfer Snarl's mind into a real Stegosaurus. Destiny of the Dinobots![18]
2006
Megatron starts the Battle of Autobot City. As a result, Optimus Prime is killed and Ultra Magnus becomes the new Autobot Commander; the monstrous Unicron turns up, reformatting a dying Megatron into Galvatron. The Transformers: The Movie
This time, Galvatron doesn't go back in time but sticks around to remain being Decepticon Commander after Unicron's destruction. He leads a conquest of Cybertron. Aspects of Evil!
2009
Rodimus Prime and his team return home from the Time Wars to find the present day for them is altered. Galvatron has conquered Cybertron. Aspects of Evil! They either join or establish a resistance group on Cybertron, which is quickly defeated; Galvatron uses Rodimus's rage to give the Matrix-trapped Unicron an opening. Aspects of Evil! The Autobot forces — numbering 430 — flee Cybertron to the stronghold of Autobot City on Earth, with a goodwill gesture of Energon. The Void! Edge of Impact
2010
On New Year's Day 2010,[19] as the Autobots are in transit to Earth, Unicron uses the Matrix to possess Rodimus's body. The possessed Rodimus first sabotages the ship and then tries to kill all the Autobots; reinforcements are called in from Autobot City but it's clear they can't stop him without killing Prime. Luckily, Prime is able to defeat Unicron within the Matrix, but Kup, thinking he's helping, rips the Matrix out of Rodimus Prime's body before he can exorcise it. This means another fight, against a prepared Unicron, will be needed. The Void! Edge of Impact Shadow of Evil White Fire
It goes poorly and Unicron possesses Rodimus again later in the year. This time he recreates his old body and tears through Cybertron (burying Galvatron and possibly killing him) before being sucked back into the Matrix. As Autobots arrive, Rodimus screams at them that it's not safe to approach him. Aspects of Evil!
2356
The war is over, but Rodimus and the Matrix still contain Unicron. Rodimus has physically decayed and is kept in a medbay in Autobot City. Rodimus is visited by a student, whom Unicron's presence is able to corrupt towards evil; Prime realises the Chaos-Bringer is making another bid for freedom. Aspects of Evil!
Big Broadcast future
2006
The Autobots, under the command of Rodimus Prime have made their base on Cybertron and formed an alliance with the Junkions. The Decepticons are now under the leadership of Galvatron have a base on Chaar. The Quintessons, enemies of both sides, attempt to brainwash the Junkions in order to retrieve a lost artifact. The Big Broadcast of 2006 (US)
In a bizarre cosmic coincidence, the Wreck-Gar of a different timeline had to lie about events and somehow invented the very events from this future! UK reprintsAsk Vector Prime
Earthforce timeline
1989 and early 1990
Just like in the main timeline, Catilla was killed by the Mayhem Attack Squad; the Classic Pretenders are brought back; Grimlock used Nucleon to bring the Dinobots back from the dead; Shockwave is forming a splinter faction; and, unfortunately, the Primal Scream alerts Unicron to Cybertron's whereabouts and he summons Galvatron II to this timeline.
The big difference is Megatron is not in dimensional space, instead having slinked off to Earth in secret to form a Decepticon splinter faction. Starting Over! Scorponok, meanwhile, leaves the planet with his forces;[21] Mindwipe is kicked out for an attempted coup. The Living Nightlights! The Constructicons have somehow lost the ability to combine. Desert Island Risks!
1990
The Ark is deserted for reasons unknown; Galvatron II[22] breaks in to find a number of Underbase-killed Autobots that he can rejuvenate and turn evil. Prowl, Ironhide, Sunstreaker, Wheeljack, and Silverbolt are awakened, and go on to take him down. ...Perchance to Dream
Prowl and Wheeljack both start feeling their age, as the Transformer arms race wearies them. Starting Over! Optimus, meanwhile, is focusing more and more on the threat of Unicron, considering this takes priority over Earth . Break-Away! Skydive is somehow brought back too.
Shockwave attempts but fails to force Grimlock to reveal how he brought the Dinobots back, hoping to bring back deceased Decepticons. A disagreement between Optimus and Grimlock Two Steps Back! cause Grimlock to threaten to leave the Autobots on the 24th March,[23] believing Optimus is not doing enough for Earth. It's decided to put Grimlock in charge of a separate Earthforce (numbering the revived Autobots, the Dinobots, and the Classic Pretenders) to handle the Decepticons here. Break-Away! Meanwhile, Megatron attempts to deploy a satellite that will alter Earth's temperature, but Prowl and Wheeljack intervene, Starting Over! calling for back-up from the other Autobots. Break-Away! After an initial pep talk to his new troops, one not-so-subtly designed to encourage them to chuck out the Autobot Code, Grimlock orders them into battle. Once upon a Time...
Prowl is missing presumed dead after personally trying to bring the satellite down. Life in the Slow Lane Bumblebee and Ironhide, while looking for him, destroy the Decepticon's new Devastator. Desert Island Risks! The Autobots and Megatron and Shockwave's two Decepticon groups eventually find the satellite, and the Decepticons turn on each other; Prowl, alive, has in fact disarmed the satellite ages ago though. Life in the Slow Lane Prowl goes on to become Grimlock's second-in-command.
At some point, Wheeljack sets up a Body Shop based around an Automated Construction Unit: a top-of-the-line facility for repairing Autobots. Makin' Tracks! The other Aerialbots will be among those brought back online. The House that Wheeljack Built!
Big important issue! The Dinobots inflict April Fools' Day on Grimlock! (While Shockwave's Decepticons fail to find the Autobot base.) Snow Fun! Prowl prevents Megatron from bolstering his forces by using time travel to alter the events of the Underbase battle. Flashback! And then Wheeljack and Skydive act really dumb. Mystery!
With a Decepticon Civil War about to break out and Earthforce holding a strategic advantage, the rival factions call an Enclave to stop the struggle, but the Autobots sabotage it by faking that Shockwave tried to kill Megatron. The Bad Guy's Ball! The Decepticon Mindwipe, gone rogue from Scorponok's crew, is prevented from conquering the Earth by two Earthforce members. The Living Nightlights!
Carnivac gets brutal revenge on the Mayhem Attack Squad for killing Catilla, taking down three of them. The Survivors, trying to rescue Carnivac, unify with Earthforce in return for aid; as a result, Bludgeon, Octopunch, and Stranglehold are taken prisoner. Cry Wolf! Wolf in the Fold! Where Wolf?
Meanwhile, Soundwave is playing both sides of the civil war against each other, and frames Wildrider for it so as to avoid detection. Secrets Starscream finds out and uses that to get Soundwave to help him in a master plan: get both Shockwave and Megatron to fight each other and sic Earthforce on them, then seize command of the two Decepticon factions themselves, and unite them. (Both, of course, plan to backstab the other and seize sole command) Bugged! Internal Affairs! The Autobots complete their new base, but are forced to deactivate its security system, The House that Wheeljack Built! at which point the full Decepticon army attacks. Starscream carries out the second objective of seizing an oil tanker while the Autobots are occupied, but Prowl had the Survivors out on patrol and Starscream is driven off. Soundwave uses the defeat to rally support for him being sole commander. Divide and Conquer!
Optimus Prime inspects Earthforce, unfortunately at the same time Slag has gone insane; the Dinobots barely cover it up. The 4,000,000 Year Itch! During Prime's stay, he oversees the rebuilding of Tracks, not knowing Grimlock is desperately trying to keep him from being rebuilt; of course, Grimlock fails and Tracks is placed under his command. Makin' Tracks! The remaining Mayhems escape from their cells. Shut Up! Jazz takes action to stop Octane endangering humans for fun. Manoeuvres!
Megatron and Shockwave try to regain control of their armies by putting hits out on Starscream and Shockwave. Their attempt is defeated by Earthforce, who are forced to keep Starscream alive after Snarl contracts Corrodia Gravis and only the Seeker is a suitable transplant donor. Starscream agrees to donate, but only if Earthforce keep Megatron and Shockwave off his back. Assassins External Forces! The Lesser Evil!
Soon after that, the Decepticons take control of Superion and send him on a rampage; he's only stopped thanks to human journalist Irwin Spoon. Inside Story! In exchange, the Autobots let Irwin do a big report on the Earthforce. In order to prevent the Autobots from being seen as human allies, the Decepticons abduct Iriwn Front Line!; the Autobots rescue him, but don't realise Irwin has had a cerebro-shell planted in his mind and will now only write smears about them. End of the Road!
With the Matrix irrecoverable and alliance impossible, Optimus sends six of the Earthforce - Prowl, Jazz, Sunstreaker, Wheeljack, Inferno, and Silverbolt - to Yuss to locate the former Underbase site, hoping to use it as a weapon as a last-ditch defence against Unicron. There, they came into conflict with the mad Decepticon known as Megadeath, who tortured and humiliated all bar Silverbolt in times past. Facing up to personal demons, they defeated him and continue on to the Underbase site. The Magnificent Six!
Rhythms of Darkness timeline
2006-09
Megatron starts the Battle of Autobot City. As a result, Optimus Prime is killed and Ultra Magnus becomes the new Autobot Commander; the monstrous Unicron turns up, reformatting a dying Megatron into Galvatron. The Transformers: The Movie
Hot Rod gains the Matrix and becomes Rodimus Prime, but not in time to stop Unicron from devouring Cybertron. Unicron grants Galvatron freedom to command the Decepticons and conquer Earth. Rhythms of Darkness! Unknown to anyone, Primus' essence has now been scattered among his surviving children: no longer amoral because of the lack of Primal essence, the Cybertronian Empire undergo a reformation. Ask Vector Prime
The Autobots and the Americas' militaries are steadily annihilated, with Rodimus Prime falling in battle, until the last few soldiers fight a doomed last stand at New York City. Rhythms of Darkness!
2009
By this point, all of the Americas are under Decepticon control and much of them have been wiped out; a mere seven demoralised Autobots work with the remaining American resistance; and the European Crisis Coalition are preparing to launch a nuclear assault, not realising the Decepticons will absorb the resulting energy. The American human-Autobot resistance make a defiant public gesture, getting the attack called off. Galvatron is abducted by three unknown figures. Inspired, humanity and the last three Autobots began a long uprising against the Decepticons. Rhythms of Darkness!
2010 onwards
Earth goes on to liberate Decepticon-held planets, starting with Nebulos, and forms the Confederation of Terran Worlds. The surviving Autobots become the Trio, an advisory body.
Unicron discovers the Cybertronian Empire and attempts to destroy it. The Empire strikes back and, remembering the prophecy that the enemy can be beaten when all are one, send envoys to the Trio on Earth and the Decepticon prisoners in Styx. Together, the Transformers sacrifice many of their number to destroy Unicron's physical form and the Liege Maximo sacrifices himself to defeat the monster on the astral plane. The Cybertronian Empire and Confederation of Terran Worlds become staunch allies. Ask Vector Prime
Another Time and Place
1991
The Autobots began to recreate society on the rebuilt Cybertron. Unfortunately, the majority of those brought back by nucleon lost their ability to transform; all the sufferers, including Optimus, felt emasculated. Grimlock, ashamed, went into hiding. Eventually he heard that there may be a cure on Hydrus Four but Optimus forbid him to go in case the Decepticons followed him, learning how to resurrect their own dead. The Dinobots went anyway and were swiftly captured by Decepticons. Optimus, terrified of the war breaking out again, initially ignored the situation for fear of renewed hostilities.
Bludgeon's plan on Hydrus Four was to resurrect Megatron and he came quite close, but Optimus had snapped out of his funk and joined an assault team that rescued the Dinobots. Bludgeon and zombie-Megatron were killed, a nucleon cure was found, and the war was now quite officially over. Another Time & Place
Many years later
On peacetime Cybertron, Optimus is alerted to the existence of a new, more powerful generation of Decepticons. The war is about to break out again... Another Time & Place
Peace
2510
The war continues into the early 26th Century, when the penultimate Decepticon is finally killed.[24] A fatigued Rodimus Prime is in charge of a much reduced Autobot force (only the Wreckers, Ultra Magnus, Blurr, and the Technobots are in evidence). When Prime tries to stand down, a Decepticon double agent sparks off all the underlying tensions & friction among the Autobots and Rodimus breaks down as the Autobot civil war begins. Peace
References
- ↑ Dread Tidings, issue 282
- ↑ Datafile: Megatron
- ↑ Soundwaves, issue 54 refers to it as having five members, not including Optimus.,
- ↑ Datafile: Optimus Prime
- ↑ The Quest!
- ↑ The length of the war is given as "over a thousand years" in Marvel Comics #1, but it's said to be just a hundred years in Marvel UK's Legion of the Lost!, Part 1.
- ↑ They shouldn't know there are Autobots there, unless Navigator or the Man of Iron was talking to them (but then why were they left on Earth and never retrieved?)
- ↑ Grimlock says Fortress Maximus left in 1986, which is why he refers to Optimus Prime never returning to Cybertron, and the Headmasters issues run from there to 1987. Grim Grams, issue 142 (We count it to the start of 1988 to fit in "Stargazing")
- ↑ Part One, published on the 19th August 1989, says it's "14 months ago" (i.e. June) but the Micromasters have clearly been built shortly before then
- ↑ That whole "fourteen months" thing would strictly mean "A Small War" takes place during "Deadly Games" and "Wrecking Havoc"
- ↑ The date's given in Part 1 (and contradicted in Part 3 but never mind that!)
- ↑ This is a best guess by the wiki: Megatron's clone has to die before the Air Strike Patrol arrive on Earth, the following UK story to "Survivors!" is the in-another-timeline "Aspects of Evil!", and "(Double) Deal of the Century!" requires Micromasters to be with Prime.
- ↑ Strictly speaking, this story should run before the fourteen-months-earlier-set "A Small War" but the subsequent run of Thunderwing stories are clearly meant to run now-ish. It also makes more sense for it to happen after Megatron or Megatron's clone are dead, so... basically the wiki is cheating a bit.
- ↑ Thunderwing will say the Classics have been carrying out raids for eight days. Add in a few extra to give them time to fall in with Xaaron and you've got the length of time Prime's been despondent.
- ↑ Blackrock dates "Back From The Dead"-"Skin Deep" to "a month or so ago" in "The Human Factor"
- ↑ "Goin' South" and "War Without End!" both show G.I. Joe sending out a call, but the former has Optimus hearing the message (but never doing anything himself) and the latter has it when Optimus is captured. To limit clashes, we're splitting the difference: Optimus heard the message and then went off to "War Without End!". This also means the Earth-based stories are happening at pretty much the same time was "War Without End!"
- ↑ This is the date given in "The Quest!" but what that means in our dating system is not clear
- ↑ This story can fit in the later Earthforce run. As it was written before then and was set in "the future", we're placing it with the other future stories here but other wiki pages place it with Earthforce.
- ↑ The strip set the story in 2009 but this was corrected in #258's letters page.
- ↑ "[...] because (if I’m brutally honest) I didn’t try too hard to make it work in the first place. By that point, I was just trying to tell a bunch of fun UK stories that didn’t necessarily impact on the larger (US) storyline. How was I to know 15 or so years later people would be trying to reconcile it all?"—Simon Furman, TransFans.co.uk, 2004 (archive link)
- ↑ Not explicitly said but he's definitely not there in any stories
- ↑ He just says he's a "different Galvatron" to the one in the Time Wars in the original strip, but the Titan Books trade of Dinobot Hunt calls him Galvatron II
- ↑ "The time: NOW."
- ↑ Dreadwind implies this is an alternate timeline in #212's letters page, in continuity with "Aspects of Evil!" in #236's letters page, and that it's "just a story about the stupidity of war" in #264's letters page.
