1984-1992: Generation One
The original, and still the best. This is the incarnation that most people still think of when someone talks about Transformers - the one where giant robots turn into vehicles, dinosaurs, cassette tapes and all manner of other unassuming objects when they're not beating the crap out've each other. It's also the one that brought the world this classic piece of music:

1992-1995: Generation 2
Essentially a reboot of the original toyline with characters and figures based on the originals, but with details and colors changed to make them both safer and, theoretically, more toy-friendly. Theoretically, in the same continuity as the original G1 line, and notable for having advertisements demonstrating some truly basic CGI:


Somewhere, a young Michael Bay saw this and thought "One day... I'll do that. But better."

1996-1998: Beast Wars


A full-out reboot of the franchise (until they started bringing in G1 characters and concepts, but that was retconning the reboot, and things get muddy from that point on), with Autobots and Decepticons replaced by Maximals and Predacons, and Primal and Megatron replacing Optimus Prime and... um... Megatron as the main characters (Honestly, the two Megatrons are different characters). Unlike the majority of the original Transformers, these characters don't transform into vehicles or objects, but animals.

1999-2001: Beast Machines
A continuation of Beast Wars, but this time the Predacons are replaced by the Vehicons, as Megatron replaces his henchbots with... well, new henchbots, but these ones turn into (other) machines, instead of animals.

2001-2001: Robots In Disguise
A curious (and short-lived) mix of G1 and Beast Wars, this line set the Autobots versus the Predacons, who then created the Decepticons out of former Autobots because... Oh, I'm still not sure. All that you really need to know what that the animated series was as if someone had wanted to remake the original for the Pokemon audience, and was every bit as enjoyable as that sounds:

2002-2004: Armada/2004-2005: Energon/2005-2006: Cybertron (AKA: The Unicron Trilogy)


A four year line co-produced by Hasbro and Japanese manufacturer Takara, this revision of the franchise started with Armada hewing closely to G1 concepts, but with the added bonus that certain characters could essentially "power up" by partnering with a power-enhancing smaller robot called a "Mini-Con".


Energon took place 20 years after Armada, with Transformers settling on Earth (including building giant robot cities to live in) and having developed the ability to combine with each other to form even larger giant robots.


Cybertron followed from Energon, but only in America - The Japanese version of the line (called Galaxy Force) was another continuity reboot - and saw the Transformers travel the galaxy looking for "Cyber Planet Keys" that could... unlock a black hole and stop the destruction of Cyberton. Hey, I didn't come up with the idea.

2002- : Transformers Universe
Pretty much a re-release line from Hasbro, Universe has featured toys from every Transformers line repainted and reissued. Lacking a cartoon series of its own, the Universe continuity as such consists of a Collectors Club-only comic that explains that this incarnation sees Transformers from different times and different parallel earths brought together to defend a peaceful, post-Beast Machines-era Cybertron from the invading Unicron.

2007- : Movies
The Transformers go mainstream, thanks to Michael Bay. To all intents and purposes, the first movie is a revised version of the classic G1 continuity, right down to the use of "Whitwicky" as the surname of the human hero... just with added Bayhem. By the second movie, it's beginning to build its own mythology, and picking and choosing which era of toys to add to the mix.

2008-2009: Transformers Animated

Yet another reboot, and one that deages Optimus Prime (as much as one can de-age a robot) into something approaching a teenager, making him the leader of five Autobots stranded on Earth, fighting Decepticons and, oddly enough, human supervillains in a future Detroit.

And don't forget...
Alternators - A toyline where the robots turned into accurate cars licensed from real world car manufacturers.
Robot Masters - A Japanese toyline accompanying Energon and Cybertron, but set in G1 continuity.
Star Wars Transformers/Marvel Transformers/Disney Transformers - A toyline where robots turn into licensed characters or vehicles from other franchises.

Wonder what the Transformers origin has to do with G.I. Joe and the tallest, most hated man in comics? Whether or not Transformers are actually alive, and just why they have gender characteristics? Or maybe you just have trouble knowing your Beast Machines from your Robots In Disguise... We cover it all in this short Backgrounder, to make sure that you'll know everything you need to - and more - when watching Michael Bay's latest example of cybernetic bayhem:

Transformer Origins
They didn't really come from Cybertron, you know. Learn about the cross-continent (and cross-corporation) origins of the robots in disguise.

Know Your Transformer Generations
Being around for 25 years requires plenty of reinvention. Here's your guide to knowing which Transformer incarnation was the one you grew up with.

Those Transformer Questions You Were Afraid To Ask
How did Cybertron get built, anyway? Why did the Transformers come to Earth? And why does Spike Whitwicky have such a foul mouth? We give you the basics.

Why Are They On Earth?
Again, it depends on which version of the franchise you're asking about. In every version other than the movie, they're here by accident; the original characters crashlanded here in prehistoric times, an origin that has stayed (almost) intact ever since. According to the movie, however, they're here intentionally, tracking down the cosmic McGuffin the All Spark, which ended up here after Optimus Prime tossed it into space to make sure that Megatron would never get his hands on it.

Why Do They Transform?
Because that's the entire point of the toy. Duh. If you're looking for an in-story reason, it's so that the robots can go about their business of Trying To Take Over The World/Trying To Save The World/Trying To Defeat Their Enemy (delete as applicable) without getting noticed too much. In some incarnations, after the robots crash-landed on Earth, they were given the ability to transform by their damaged spacecraft, looking out for their needs apart from that whole "crashing on Earth" thing; in the movie, the origin of the robots' ability seems to be as part of the side-effect of being brought to life by the All Spark, although that does raise the question of what the Transformers were before they were giant robots.

How Does A Transformer Get Born, Anyway?
In all versions of the franchise other than the movies and Transformers: Animated, the Transformers were created by a being known as Primus, who distilled his life-force into something called the Matrix, which is used to bring a Transformer into life. In movie continuity, the Matrix and Primus are replaced by the All Spark, a cube of unknown origin that can turn any object into a living, transforming robot.

Do The Transformers Have Gender?
Apparently so, as the existence of Arcee (and a surprising number of others) proves. Quite why alien robots have gender was left unaddressed until IDW's 2008 Transformers Spotlight: Arcee comic, wherein it was revealed that a Transformers called Jhiaxus, the "Chief Theoretical Strategist" of all Transformers tasked with remaking and improving their race, had introduced gender as part of his experimentation.

Does The 1986 Cartoon Movie Really Have A Character Swear In It?

"Oh, shit, what're we gonna do now?" indeed.

Launched in 1980 by Japanese toy company Takara Toys, the Diaclone line was made up of robots that transformed into futuristic vehicles piloted by figures spun-off from their successful Microman line. The Microman line, imported into America by Mego as Micronauts, was in turn spun-off from a Takara line called Henshin Cyborg, which was itself spun-of from their Combat Joe line... which was made up from toys created from Hasbro's G.I. Joe line (See how it all comes together? Don't worry; Joe will pop up again later). In 1982, Takara expanded both the Microman and Diaclone lines by adding more transforming robots - except these new robots, branded Micro Change (for Microman) and Car Robots (for Diaclone), changed into more contemporary forms, like regular cars, planes and cassette players.

A year later, representatives from Hasbro attended the 1983 Tokyo Toy Fair. They were feeling good - their G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero line, launched a year earlier, was a big success, and they were looking for the next big thing. And, as soon as they saw Takara's Car Robots and Micro Change toys, they thought they'd found it. It wasn't as simple as all of that, however; for one thing, Hasbro didn't want to launch two separate lines onto the market at the same time, and so decided to consolidate the two together under the name Transformers. Having learned from their experience with G.I. Joe, they also knew that kids wanted a story to play along with, instead of just faceless toys, and so they decided to do exactly what they'd done before, and tell someone else to come up with one.

A little-known fact about the Transformers that we know and love: Their entire backstory was created by one of the most reviled men in the comic industry alongside the man who oversaw a phone vote to kill Robin the Boy Wonder. By 1983, Hasbro had built a close working relationship with Marvel Comics through their joint work on G.I. Joe, where Marvel editor Larry Hama was responsible for naming the characters and writing the backstory for each one (as well as the monthly Joe comic), so the toy company asked Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter and editor Dennis O'Neil to come up with an entire Transformers universe prior to launching the toys, and they tried... only to see a lot of their ideas shot down by Hasbro as inappropriate. Frustrated, they gave the job to Bob Budiansky, whose revisions not only created Transformers canon, but also landed him the job of Transformers comic writer for years afterwards.

A huge success when launched in 1984, Transformers was almost too successful for Hasbro; to keep up with demand for new toys, they exhausted the Takara toys and started licensing figures from other companies, before finally coming up with original toys in 1986. While fading popularity led to the line being axed in the US in 1990, new Transformers were released internationally until 1993, when the entire line was relaunched internationally... and ever since then, they've remained in constant production under a variety of guises.

Interviewed by The Advertiser, an Australian newspaper, Weaving says he's already recorded the voice for Megatron in the new movie, and adds that it's a huge secret. Which he's now given away. Asked how Megatron can be back after dying in the first movie, Weaving says:

I think in the last one, doesn't Optimus Prime pick up a little bit of, a shard of the cube, or the thing that's left, and he takes it with him. Maybe there's something there… but I don't know. [Laughs]

After Weaving came clean, director Michael Bay posted on his site's forum and admitted that, yes, Megatron really is back:

Okay cat is out of the bag. Megatron is back —-- but you will only get to see him from the long lost past. We go way back in time as this movie explains the mythology of the Primes. He is not a tank like everyone suggests, but an alien vehicle. But sadly he does not has much screen time.

[via Seibertron and SciFi Cool]

Yes, all the toy spoilers were right. Megatron is in the new movie, despite all the claims to the contrary. But he still hasn't addressed the crucial "Dinobots in Transformers 3" question, because he wants all the Dinobot-lovers to keep suffering. Megatron concept art from Josh Nizzi, via Film School Rejects. [TFW2005, via Transformers Movie Chronicles]

To everyone who was a kid in 1984, Megatron was the toy that you wanted. Operating on the universal understanding that bad guys were inherently cooler than good guys (Exhibit A: Darth Vader. I rest my case), it made a lot of sense that Megatron — leader of the evil Decepticons, who were so evil they even based their name on the word "deception" just to fuck with your head — was easily the coolest of the bad guys. Watching the cartoon, it was easy to have this idea reinforced:

So, imagine the excitement of any redblooded American child who — unlike someone in my home country (or Canada), where Megatron was banned because he turned into a gun (which, yes, made him even cooler. Because, come on. What is more awesome to a child than a toy that's apparently too dangerous for you to actually own?)* — found this waiting for them under the religious iconography gift identifier of their choice:

And then, imagine their disappointment when the proud, strong, evil Megatron actually turned out to look like this:

Where to start with what is wrong with this picture? How about the fact that he looks both overweight and stricken with skinny leg disease? Or the phallic imagery of the gun made even moreso by the fact that his robot crotch is pointing right out at you? His very large forehead, perhaps, may have drawn your attention, or perhaps you were distracted by his apparent shortness?

Maybe it's for the best that Megatron The Toy never made it to the UK; I'm pretty sure that the law over there is such that something that was advertised as the thing on the left, yet looked like the thing on the right, may have opened someone up to legal action under the Trade Descriptions Act.

* I have since been informed numerous times by commenters that this is entirely untrue, and that Megatron was available in both the UK and Canada in the '80s. So much for my faulty memory and urban myths. Sorry, all.

The 9 Transformers Toys Who Looked Nothing Like Their Cartoon Counterparts [Topless Robot]

The images, which may or may or may not be genuine, would appear to support the spoiler that Megatron will be back as a tank in the Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen - or, at least, have a toy that does so. And isn't that the main thing?

New Transformers Revenge Of The Fallen Megatron Pictures [TFW2005]

Talking last Thursday, Rattner unveiled his plan to use Intel's vast technological empire to create real-life Decepticons:

He explained that Intel researchers are working to figure out how to harness millions of miniature robots, called catoms, so they could function as shape-shifting swarms.

"What if those machines had a small amount of intelligence, and they could assemble themselves into various shapes and were capable of movement or locomotion?" he said. "If you had enough of them, you could create arbitrary shapes and have the assembly of machines that could take on any form and move in arbitrary ways."

The basic idea is that the catoms, which one day should be about the size of a grain of sand, could be manipulated with electromagnetic forces to cling together in various 3D forms. Rattner said that Intel has been expanding on research work done by Seth Goldstein, an associate professor at Carnegie Mellon University.

"We're actually doing it for real," Rattner said. He added that Intel started "at the macro scale," with catoms that were "inches across." The robots had microprocessors associated with them and could attract or repel one another via electromagnetism or the use of electrostatic charges, according to Rattner. "It's programmable matter," he said.

Sure, it's programmable now, but just wait - All it takes is one of those things to get exposed to the All-Spark, and then... well, you know what's about to happen.

Intel's Future: Real Transformers and Power by Wi-Fi [PCWorld]

The future-Galvatron's problem all started when Canada refused to import the "MP-5 Destron Leader Megatron" toy, because he transforms into a replica Walther model P-38 semi-automatic pistol... which is officially classified as a prohibited device, as replica firearms can't be brought into the country. Thankfully, the Mounties stepped in to investigate:

The border agency hired an RCMP firearms expert to prepare a report, which found the toy gun was in fact about 30-per-cent larger and contained "added elements" when compared to the actual Walther P-38 pistol.

With the authorities stating that, essentially, Megatron was too big to be a real replica gun - never mind that whole "he transforms into a robot" thing - the Canadian International Trade Tribunal stepped in to rule that it was time to end Canada's long and cruel embargo against the 'Tron. Of course, now the poor would-be metallic dictator has to carry the weight of knowing that he's been downgraded from being prohibited andbeing told that he's looking a little bigger than he should. Those Canadians are bastards.

Transformers action toy not a restricted weapon [Canada.com]

As the creator of Dream In Pink, Shinju-chan, prepares to open up the site to other artists, she reflects on the entire world of Transformer Yaoi:

Contrary to what some people might believe, Transformers yaoi is NOT a new concept. I actually read and shared TF slash back in the mid-1980's while the original series was still yet on the air. The only reason why it seems so ‘fresh’ now is due to the fact we have the internet which offers far more greater exposure than localized fan groups swapping ideas and the mail-order fanzines of old. We also didn’t refer to it ‘yaoi’ back then either. As a matter of fact, I don’t believe we dubbed it anything at all —-other than robots being very gay.

Still, in all of slash-dom, there is no other show I can think of that seems to rival all the ‘taboo’ that surrounds Transformers related slash. If it’s not the irregular homophobic fans you’ll encounter who’ll argue that you are —quote— ‘Raping my childhood!’ and ‘How dare you do such a thing!’, you also have the other side of the fan community that are in fact into TF slashing, but have totally different ideas and separate opinions as to how those sexual acts are performed by giant mechs... Some fans feel that ‘sex’ among the robots is purely mechanical in it’s nature; attaching cables, buttons, and pushing keys. Some slash fans enjoy adding a more human-like element by having phalluses and such. Still yet, there’s another part of the Trans-slashdom who appreciate the ‘Transformers human’ concept that depict the robots in a human form (Such as based on the G1 Season 3 episode of ‘Only Human’) engaged in sexual acts. That part of the community has another fraction to it all of it’s very own that include Transformers involved in sexual acts with human beings! The majority of this concept seems to have it’s roots laid thick in Japan where the Transformer/Human idea is a very prevalent one. The KISS Alternators product line for instance.

Shinju is more of a classicist, however; her strip Confessions has a very simple plot: Optimus Prime beats Megatron in battle... and then rapes him. Apparently, the seemingly morally-upright leader of the Autobots really was more than meets the eye, after all.

[Dream In Pink]

The poster first appeared online at the Seibertron message board, who were very quick to distance themselves from the source:

We do not know about the validity of this source, but a poster has been seen that supposedly advertises the now filming Transformers live action movie picture, "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen". The picture is distorted, but be wary of possible spoilers if legit.

"Distorted" is a polite way of describing the small grainy shot, but even the low-resolution pic was enough to get fans at the TFormers message boards into detective mode:

I think it's a photoshop...the face is TOO much Bay-like. Namely, that one CG image of Megatron you see anywhere. Note the way the eyes and cheeks line up.

A comparison is provided and, sure enough, they do look very similar:

Others aren't so convinced:

That is real. The head is Galvatron. Behind him is Unicron going towards Earth (Unicron below Galvatron's head and Earth behind his head).

Leave it to the movie's screenwriter, Robert Orci, to wrap everything up:

never seen [the poster] before.

Of course, that doesn't mean that it's definitely a fake... What if Orci has been recruited into the disinformation campaign as well...?

Transformers ROTF Promotional Poster Rumor [Seibertron]

Darth Vader

Godzilla

The Daleks

Skeletor

Megatron

The Borg

Thanks to Lauren Davis for life-saving research help.

The 12-part series is, according to McCarthy, the beginning of a new direction for the comic part of the multi-media franchise. While next year's movie will continue to offer the traditional clash between Autobots and Decepticons, the metallic good guys will be conspicuous by their absence in All Hail Megatron:

Where are the Autobots and Prime? In no place or position to help us in any way, that's for sure. What we're looking at here is a civil war that has raged for millions of years finally coming to an end. It's over. The good guys lost. After millions of years of struggle, heartache and death it's all come down to this. We're the spoils of war.

Are the Autobots dead? Is Optimus Prime completely out of the picture? Will they never be in a position to come to our rescue? How did it all come to this? Well, that's what All Hail Megatron is all about...

The impact of all of this is a big feature in the book and starts with the inevitable downfall of the US. How will the rest of the world react to the fall of America? What does this mean for us as a species and what chance do we have of fighting back? ...Seriously, this is the kind of thing comics were made for. If you've ever been a fan of Transformers you'll want to pick this up.

Shane McCarthy on All Hail Megatron [Newsarama]