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Movie timeline

2011-06-27T17:50:57Z

220.132.215.232: /* 21st Century */

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[[Image:Defiance4 history spread.jpg|450px|thumb|
''You who I called brother'' 
''How could you have come to hate me so?'' 
''Is this what you wanted?'' 
''Then let my heart be hardened'' 
''And never mind how high the cost may grow'' 
''This will still be so:'' 
''I will never let your people go''...]]
As was bound to a great peril when multiple licensees were producing unrelated pieces of fiction, the '''timeline of the [[live-action film series]]''' is rife with contradictory stories, some minor that a [[John Barber|talented writer]] could overcome if he so chose, and some insurmountable. This timeline is of what are essentially the "main" components: the films themselves, naturally, followed by those pieces of fiction that have over time actively attempted to keep continuity with one another, such as the novels and [[IDW Publishing]]'s assorted comic books, and assorted helpful nuggets of info from a myriad of other minor sources. That is not to say that there are ''no'' contradictions to be found here, but time has papered over many of them, and this article relates details as generally as possible to minimize any confusion, with footnotes to explain any particularly egregious instances.

Elements actively excluded from in this timeline are those from the [[Sector Seven (game)|Sector Seven alternate reality game]], because it is set in a parallel reality that represents the films and associated media not as fiction, but as a [[Hungry Dragon|fictionalization of a real-life-event]], and information from all but the earliest of the UK's ''[[Transformers (Titan Magazine)|Transformers Comic]]'', which is mostly either actively set in a parallel timeline, or is otherwise utterly irreconcilable with the more prominent pieces of media. See [[#Alternate timelines|Alternate timelines]] below for these separate chronologies.

==Prehistory==
[[Image:Defianceissue4-creation.jpg|left|thumb|125px]]
According to legend, the Transformer race begins when the [[AllSpark]] falls from the sky onto the barren world that will become [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], giving life to the planet, and to the first Cybertronian, [[Primus]]. {{storylink|Foundation issue 2|Foundation #2}} From Primus and the cube come the [[Dynasty of Primes]], a race of trans-dimensional beings able to walk across space and time through the use of [[sarcophagus|sarcophagi]]. The Primes live in contentment until the distressing revelation that the AllSpark's power is not infinite, requiring the energy of suns in order to sustain its constant flow of [[Energon (fuel)|Energon]]. Despite their powers, the Dynasty find themselves unable to find any stars to sacrifice to the AllSpark, and so the AllSpark responds to their need, giving life to the next generation of Cybertronians. These new creations are able to transform their bodies into [[alternate mode]]s that will enable them to aid the Dynasty in their task: [[Seeker (ROTF)|Seekers]] to search for suns, and [[Constructicon (ROTF)|construction drones]] to build the [[star harvester]]s that will absorb and convert the stars' energy into Energon. [[Image:TalesoftheFallen4-theyshallpay.jpg|right|thumb|150px|Fallen in the Hiz-ouse!]] {{storylink|Defiance issue 4|Defiance #4}} The AllSpark creates the [[Matrix of Leadership]], the key that will activate these harvesters. {{storylink|Revenge of the Fallen (novel)}}

One of the Primes comes to believe that the AllSpark is "speaking" to him, and in his pursuit of power, he breaks the Dynasty's one law: he destroys the sun of a life-bearing world. This prompts the Dynasty to establish a new restriction, requiring them all to be present for the activation of a harvester. Undeterred, the renegade Prime secretly handpicks a selection of Cybertronians to be part of a new faction under his leadership, the [[Decepticon]]s, and builds a facsimile Matrix to carry on his work. His counterfeit Matrix proves inferior when his next star-harvesting attempt backfires and floods his body with primal energies, driving him to total insanity. For his repeated infraction, the Prime is cast out of the Dynasty by his brethren and dubbed "[[The Fallen]]". {{storylink|Tales of the Fallen issue 4|Tales of the Fallen #4}}
{{--}}
===17,000 BC to 10,000 BC===

[[Image:TOTF4 fallen vs dynasty.jpg|left|thumb|225px]]

Circa 17,000 BC, The Fallen brings his Decepticons to [[Earth]] and begins the construction of a star harvester, knowing that this attack on a life-bearing world will draw his brothers into the trap he has prepared. One of the Fallen's Seekers, [[Jetfire (ROTF)|Jetfire]], unable to countenance his master's dark acts any longer, rebels, prompting the Fallen to warp him and several of his other Decepticons away to battle elsewhere. {{storylink|Tales of the Fallen issue 3|Tales of the Fallen #3}} Subsequently, the Primes arrive to stop The Fallen's plan, but find themselves unprepared for his strength, and are slaughtered in quick succession until only [[Prima|one]] remains. The last survivor uses the combined lifeforce of his departed fellows to banish The Fallen to another plane of reality, sealing his sarcophagus to prevent him from returning. For his final act, the last Prime gives up his own life to fuse his body, and the bodies of his brothers, into a [[Tomb of the Primes|tomb]] that will serve as the resting place of the Matrix. {{storylink|Tales of the Fallen issue 4|Tales of the Fallen #4}} The Fallen's Seekers begin searching the planet for the Matrix, but bereft of their master, their mission eventually degenerates into a series of interpersonal conflicts and challenges. {{storylink|Nefarious issue 5|Nefarious #5}} The march of time eventually sends most (if not all) of them into stasis, but not before they are able to find a riddle that points the way to their objective. {{storylink|Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen}}
[[Image:Foundation1 freedom.jpg|right|thumb|200px|We stand united for all time! Right guys? Guys? For all time? Guys?]]
Over the following 7,000 years, with none to tend the AllSpark, Cybertron's energy supply steadily diminishes, leading the Cybertronians to split into various warring factions, fighting over what little they had left. {{storylink|Foundation issue 1|Foundation #1}} The ferocity of this war wipes out any remaining traces of the Prime Dynasty and its descendants, save two: a young robot with no knowledge of his heritage named [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus]], hidden away to keep him safe, {{storylink|Revenge of the Fallen issue 3|Revenge of the Fallen #3}} and the elderly [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]], the only robot who knows the stories of the Dynasty and the AllSpark to be anything more than legends. Recovering Optimus from hiding, Sentinel Prime rallies a small group to his side, including [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]], [[Elita-One (Movie)|Elita-One]] and [[Shockwave (Movie)|Shockwave]], and with their aid, he uncovers and raises the lost AllSpark from beneath the planet's surface. The scientific skill of [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Wheeljack]] is employed to teleport a sun into Cybertronic space, which proves able to feed the AllSpark without being absorbed, thereby restoring energy and peace to Cybertron. The AllSpark is enshrined in a temple at [[Simfur]], built by the [[Thetacon (tribe)|Thetacons]]. Sentinel reveals Optimus's heritage to him and offers him the position of leader of the new unified Cybertron, but Optimus does not believe that he is a Prime, and turns the offer down. {{storylink|Foundation issue 1|Foundation #1}} Instead, a dual leadership system is employed, with Optimus in charge of the archaeological [[Science Division]], and Megatron in command of the militaristic [[Defense Force]]. {{storylink|Foundation issue 2|Foundation #2}} However, Megatron had overheard Sentinel and Optimus's conversation, and begins to resent his brother-in-arms thanks to the knowledge that he was always "second best" in Sentinel's eyes. {{storylink|Foundation issue 1|Foundation #1}}

Around the same time, Shockwave and Megatron rescue [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] from a [[Driller]], one of Cybertron's indigenous subterranean lifeforms. {{storylink|Foundation issue 2|Foundation #2}} Shockwave becomes fascinated with the creature, and is eventually able to trap and tame one. {{storylink|Dark of the Moon (film)|Dark of the Moon}}

[[Image:Defiance4 Megatron TheFallen.jpg|left|thumb|250px|[[Wiki:Johnny The Homocidal Maniac|Megatron needs to feed his wall blood]].]]

Optimus and Megatron successfully lead Cybertron together for two generations, until the rise in activity of [[Malcontent]]s who oppose the current government gives Megatron's rage and resentment an outlet, allowing him to claim the primary position of power in the name of protecting Cybertron. {{storylink|Foundation issue 2|Foundation #2}} Not long after, a dig by Optimus's Science Division uncovers The Fallen's intact sarcophagus. {{storylink|Defiance issue 1|Defiance #1}} Through its eyes, the renegade Prime sees in Megatron the making of an apprentice, and he makes contact with him after he has been badly wounded following a battle with invading [[Eshems alien|aliens]] from the nearby [[Eshems Nebula]]. {{storylink|Defiance issue 2|Defiance #2}} Under The Fallen's influence, Megatron reshapes his Defense Force into a military dictatorship that becomes the new incarnation of the Decepticons. Simultaneously, further archaeological discoveries lead Optimus to realize that Sentinel was correct, and that he is indeed descended from the Primes. Galvanized by this realization, he raises a small army of followers, the [[Autobot]]s, to stand against Megatron. {{storylink|Defiance issue 3|Defiance #3}} Following The Fallen's direction, Megatron has the starship ''[[Nemesis (ROTF)|Nemesis]]'' constructed; learning of this, the Autobots refurbished an older craft, the [[Ark (Movie)|Ark]], in preparation for Megatron's next move. Soon, the ''Nemesis'' leaves the planet, captained by [[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]] and with The Fallen's sarcophagus on board, to seek out Earth and the Matrix. {{storylink|Defiance issue 4|Defiance #4}}

===10,000 BC onwards===
[[Image:Foundation3 sentinels torch.jpg|right|thumb|200px|"...and he that increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow."]]
As the war worsens, Sentinel Prime invents a "torch" that will somehow end the conflict, and the Autobots ready for its mysterious use by preparing a second [[Ark (DOTM)|Ark]]. The torch must make contact with the AllSpark in order to be activated, so a large Autobot force mounts an attack on the Simfur temple. {{storylink|Foundation issue 3|Foundation #3}} While most of the Autobots keep the Decepticons busy, Elita-One and her sisters [[Arcee (Movie)|Arcee]] and [[Chromia (ROTF)|Chromia]] successfully reach the AllSpark and activate the torch. Elita brings it to Sentinel Prime, who boards the Ark and goes to pick up Optimus and the others from Simfur. Alas, Sentinel's Ark is attacked by Starscream upon arrival, and vanishes in an explosion, leaving the Autobots to believe Sentinel, the torch and all others aboard have been destroyed. {{storylink|Foundation issue 4|Foundation #4}} Unbeknownst to any present, however, the Ark has not been destroyed: the explosion actually inadvertently activates the ship's [[space bridge]] technology, and teleports it away through space and time, with all on board knocked into statis. {{storylink|Dark of the Moon (film)|Dark of the Moon}}

Consumed with rage at the death of his mentor, Optimus Prime resolves to kill Megatron outright, and storms his fortress with aid from Ironhide. {{storylink|Foundation|Foundation #1-3}} Concurrently, Wheeljack leads the rest of the Autobots in a second strike on Simfur, where they are able to overcome the weakened Decepticons and capture the AllSpark, removing it from the machine that brought Cybertron its sun. The sun disappears, plunging the planet into darkness, and Prime breaks off his confrontation with Megatron to save Ironhide from Shockwave and Starscream. Although he did not cross the line of no return, Optimus's actions forever taint his relationship with Elita-One, driving a wedge between the two friends. {{storylink|Foundation issue 4|Foundation #4}}

[[Image:TitanMag-BumblebeeMegatronAllSpark.jpg|thumb|left|200px|]]

Resolving to keep the power of the captive AllSpark out of Megatron's hands, Optimus Prime has it moved to various locations around the planet before deciding to launch it into space. In an effort to disguise his plan, most of the Autobots are stationed at Simfur as misdirection, with only a small unit led by [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]] guarding its true hiding place at [[Tyger Pax]]. Unfortunately, Megatron is able to sense the AllSpark's true location and attacks Tyger Pax, crushing Bumblebee's vocal processor during the ensuing battle and robbing him of the ability to speak. {{storylink|Movie Prequel issue 1|Movie Prequel #1}} Simultaneously, at Simfur, Optimus Prime is attacked by a drone sent by Megatron before he can launch the AllSpark, so he entrusts the task to his assistant, [[Arctus]]. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 1|Prequel: Optimus Prime}} Observing the AllSpark as it takes off, Megatron immediately pursues it into space, {{storylink|Movie Prequel issue 1|Movie Prequel #1}} but is delayed by an Autobot tractor beam before he can stop it from plunging into the [[Alkaris Anomaly]]. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 2|Prequel: Megatron}} Cosmically drawn to the location of the star harvester left behind by The Fallen, {{storylink|Defiance issue 4|Defiance #4}} the cube is disgorged in the [[Solar System]] and crash-lands on Earth, in what will become [[Colorado]]. Megatron summons [[Brawl (Movie)|Devastator]] to occupy the Autobots delaying him, {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 2|Prequel: Megatron}} and follows the cube into the anomaly, but is spat out in the far reaches of the galaxy. {{storylink|Movie Prequel issue 2|Movie Prequel #2}}

Megatron and the AllSpark are not the only ones scattered across space: the overzealous Devastator detonates a [[foldspace warhead]] that warps himself, [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]], [[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]] and [[Jazz (Movie)|Jazz]] to the four corners of the universe. Ratchet helps quell an alien civil war, {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 3|Lost in Space 1}} Devastator defeats psychic apparitions of his worst fears, {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 4|Lost in Space 2}} Ironhide encounters digital "ghosts" on a derelict ship with some kind of ancient connection to the AllSpark {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 5|Lost in Space 3}} and Jazz is nearly overwhelmed by the lure of a planet of pure information {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 6|Lost in Space 4}} before they are able to return to Cybertron. But their return proves a short-lived one: without the AllSpark and the energy it provided, Cybertron begins to atrophy, and many of the Transformers depart the planet to find the AllSpark and restore life to their world. {{storylink|Transformers (2007)|Transformers}} Optimus Prime's best and brightest depart aboard the Ark, while [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] takes a large force aboard a second ship christened the ''[[Nemesis (Movie)|Nemesis]]'', [[Image:MoviePrequel2-Megatrondownfall.jpg|thumb|right|[[Wiki:Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes|YOU LEFT HULK IN THE POOL!]]]] including most of Megatron's elite troops, {{storylink|The Reign of Starscream issue 1|The Reign of Starscream #1}} leaving [[Shockwave (Movie)|Shockwave]] in charge of the Decepticons in the planet. {{storylink|Rising Storm issue 2|Rising Storm #2}} The Ark and ''Nemesis'' crews pass the majority of the next twelve thousand years in stasis aboard their ships. {{storylink|Ghosts of Yesterday}}

Out in space, the original ''Nemesis'' and Sentinel's Ark (still jinking through space and time) zero in on the energy signature of the AllSpark, and are both crippled when the Ark blindly teleports directly into the same physical space as the ''Nemesis''. The Ark makes one final jump, leaving a lingering space bridge portal in its wake; after setting the ruined ''Nemesis'' down on the dead moon of a nearby gas giant, the Decepticons board the smaller ship ''[[Longshot (DOTM)|Longshot]]'' and follow the Ark through the portal at The Fallen's urging. Both ships are hurled into the future. {{storylink|Convergence chapter 1}}

Eventually, after "countless solar spans" of searching, Megatron zeroes in on the AllSpark's resting place on Earth. While on the approach, he detects a distress signal being broadcast by the crashed ''Nemesis'' and detours to investigate, but is commanded by his furious master to carry on his course. {{storylink|Defiance issue 4|Defiance #4}} Upon entering Earth's atmosphere, however, Megatron's navigation system malfunctions, causing him to crash in the [[Arctic]], where he is frozen solid, trapped in stasis.<ref>The Wal-Mart exclusive "Beginnings" story claims Megatron crash-landed on Earth "four million years" ago, which is in stark contradiction to the dates included everywhere else, including the films themselves.</ref> {{storylink|Movie Prequel issue 2|Movie Prequel #2}}

The earliest [[human]] civilizations form on Earth, and build their monuments over remains of Transformer activity on the planet. Around 2560 BC, construction of the [[Great Pyramid of Giza]] around the solar harvester is completed, then later, in 1200 BC, the Tomb of the Primes is hidden beneath Al Khazneh at [[Petra]]. {{storylink|Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen}}
{{-}}

==19th Century==

[[Image:Movie2007 Megatron ArchibaldWitwicky.jpg|thumb|250px|left]]

In the year [[1897]], [[Archibald Witwicky|Captain Archibald Witwicky]] of the [[National Arctic Circle Expedition]] discovers Megatron when the Arctic ice gives way under his feet and he tumbles into the cavern that holds Decepticon's frozen form.<ref>A document briefly seen while Frenzy hacks [[Air Force One]] in the film itself dates Witwicky's discovery of Megatron to September 7th, 1985, but is contradicted in dialogue by Sam, who dates his great-grandfather's voyage to 1897 during his class presentation. All tie-in media has supported Sam's version of events!</ref> Witwicky's inadvertent entry into the cave triggers Megatron's navigation system, causing the release of a beam of light that imprints the AllSpark's co-ordinates onto Witwicky's spectacles. Witwicky is rescued by his crew, but once on their way home, the full extent of Megatron's beam on the captain's mind and body is revealed: his sanity slowly begins to slip away, and he is eventually rendered blind. {{storylink|Movie Prequel issue 2|Movie Prequel #2}} {{storylink|Transformers (2007)|Transformers}}
[[Image:Sector71 first seven.jpg|right|thumb]]
Upon their return to shore, Witwicky's first mate [[Reginald Danco]] brings his captain to the [[Boston Secure Hospital]], where his ramblings catch the attention of the United States government. On New Year's Day, [[1898]], gentleman adventurers [[Walter Simmons]] and [[Theodore Joseph Wells]] are drafted by [[President of the United States|presidential order]] to investigate his claims. After "interviewing" the raving Witwicky, they, Danco, and a team of [[First Seven|four other men]]—[[Billy North]], [[Theodore Grant]], [[Philippe Bowen]] and [[Jack Arden]]—head for the Arctic to see Megatron first-hand. {{storylink|Movie Prequel issue 2|Movie Prequel #2}} {{storylink|Original}} The group arrives in the Arctic in February, where their entry into Megatron's cave trips another of the Decepticon's systems, causing him to send out an energy pulse that is detected by Jetfire, who had been in hiding on Earth for millennia. Believing the signal to be The Fallen himself and desiring revenge, Jetfire sheds his disguise as a portion of the cruiser [[United States Navy#U.S.S. Maine (ACR-1)|USS Maine]] (inadvertently starting the Spanish-American War in the process) and flies to the Arctic, resulting in a confrontation with Simmons's group that culminates in the humans blasting the ice out from underneath the Seeker, sending him to the ocean's depths. North does not survive the battle, and his death convinces the group to dedicate itself to protecting Earth against future Cybertronian threats. {{storylink|Original}} Simmons takes charge of the operation to excavate and study the frozen "Mega-Man", as he calls it, and an environment dome is constructed around the site by [[1899]], which is eventually expanded to become a fully-manned base which serves as the group's [[Sector Seven High Arctic Base|Alpha Command Post]]. {{storylink|Movie Prequel issue 2|Movie Prequel #2}}
{{--}}

==20th Century==
===1900s===
[[Image:RisingStorm2-ShockwaveAllSpark.jpg|thumb|left|225px|]]
Sent on a mission to Tianjin, China by the President just after the turn of the century to recover a mysterious scepter, Theodore Wells finds himself embroiled in the middle of the [[Boxer Rebellion]]. He is saved from death at the hands of rebels by American expatriates and intelligence agents [[Herbert Hoover]] and his wife [[Lou Hoover|Lou]]. {{storylink|Irreplaceable}}

In [[1902]], the AllSpark is discovered at the bottom of the Colorado River by Simmons's group. {{storylink|Movie Prequel issue 2|Movie Prequel #2}} News of this discovery reaches Wells and the Hoovers in China, and Wells brings his new allies into the organization, hoping that their mining and metallurgical skills will help in excavating and analyzing the find. Herbert puts into motion an extensive plan to redirect the river around the cube. {{storylink|Irreplaceable}}

When divers are sent to examine the cube, it unleashes a cosmic "scream" of sorts, which echoes across space and is felt by Shockwave, just after he has killed Chromia in the middle of a battle on Cybertron. Appointing [[Dreadwing (Movie)|Dreadwing]] leader in his absence, Shockwave immediately departs for Earth aboard a faster-than-light vessel, reaching Earth on [[June 30]], [[1908]]. Unfortunately, he arrives at such speed that he loses control of his ship and crashes in Tunguska, [[Russia]], causing the [[Tunguska event]] and knocking himself into [[stasis lock]]. {{storylink|Rising Storm issue 2|Rising Storm #2}}
{{--}}

===1910s===
[[Image:Sector72_allspark_mutations.jpg|right|thumb|150px]]
The diversion of the Colorado River is successfully completed in [[1913]], but the attempted excavation of the AllSpark by Simmons, Wells, the Hoovers and new junior member [[Roy Thompson]] is interrupted by Jetfire, who has tracked the cube down through a series of subterranean tunnels he has spent over a decade trapped in. At Jetfire's touch, the cube releases a surge of Energon which overloads his systems and [[AllSpark Mutation|brings to life]] a [[Four original AllSpark Mutations|crane, a car, a radio and a gun]]. Jetfire escapes via [[space bridge]], while the humans are forced to break open the dam holding back the river to "drown" the AllSpark Mutations and the cube. The [[Bonnie and Clyde's car|car]] survives, and escapes into the desert. {{storylink|Irreplaceable}}

Having seen how Simmons's obsession with Cybertronian threats had consumed him, Wells convinces Simmons's wife [[Clara Simmons|Clara]] to elope with him. {{storylink|Irreplaceable}}

In [[1919]], the inert Shockwave is unearthed by the military forces of the burgeoning [[Soviet Union]]. Unable to master the technological secrets of his body, the Soviets keep the Decepticon in cold storage at a gulag in the Siberian wastes. {{storylink|Rising Storm issue 2|Rising Storm #2}}
{{--}}

===1920s===
[[Image:Nefarious6 carter and fortress.jpg|left|thumb|250px]]
By [[1924]], Archibald Witwicky has been relocated to the [[Psychopathic Institute for the Long-Term Insane]] in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, his delusions and visions having progressed to the point that he is somehow experiencing visions of the future. {{storylink|Movie Prequel issue 3|Movie Prequel #3}}

In [[1927]], Herbert Hoover formally dubs Simmons's group "[[Sector Seven]]", {{storylink|Transformers (2007)|Transformers}} named after the stable sector of ground along the Colorado riverbed to which they plan to move the AllSpark. The following year, Herbert begins his run for presidency, with a view to using the power the position would convey to arrange for the construction of a permanent housing for the AllSpark. {{storylink|Irreplaceable}}

In [[1929]], a battle between a Seeker known as [[Fortress (ROTF)|Fortress]] and another of his kind over the latest potential lead to the location of the Matrix results in the accidental death of two civilians, and the crippling of their son, [[Carter Newell]]. Carter goes on to dedicate the next eighty years of his life to hunting down Transformers, founding the [[Initiative]] and capturing many of them, including the Seeker [[Ransack (ROTF)|Ransack]] and Fortress himself. {{storylink|Nefarious issue 5|Nefarious #5}}
{{--}}

===1930s===
[[Image:Hoover dam.jpg|right|thumb|150px]]
By [[1934]], Walter Simmons's estranged daughter [[Margaret Simmons|Margaret]] has married and given birth to a child, [[Bill Simmons|Billy]]. Following her separation from her husband (be it through death, divorce or something else), Margaret is given a low-level position in Sector Seven by her father, and together with Roy Thompson, she hunts down and destroys the [[Bonnie and Clyde's car|AllSpark Mutation]] that went missing in 1913, which had fallen in with outlaws [[Bonnie Parker|Bonnie]] and [[Clyde Barrow|Clyde]]. {{storylink|Together}}

Construction of Herbert Hoover's proposed enclosure for the AllSpark, the [[Hoover Dam]], is completed in [[1935]], including a subterranean facility that becomes Sector Seven's Beta Command Post. Walter Simmons visits the dam in the closing stages of construction, preparing to retire once Megatron is transported from there from the Arctic for study in conjunction with the cube. {{storylink|Movie Prequel issue 3|Movie Prequel #3}} A malfunction in the cryo-blocks that will keep Megatron frozen delays the move, and the subsequent outbreak of [[World War II]] tables both Megatron's relocation and Simmons's retirement indefinitely. {{storylink|Weapon (issue)|Weapon}}

Archibald Witwicky dies on [[August 13]], [[1938]]. He is survived by his son [[Clarence Witwicky|Clarence]]. {{storylink|Movie Prequel issue 3|Movie Prequel #3}}
{{--}}

===1940s===
[[Image:Sector7_4_jetfire_panzer_simmons.jpg|left|thumb|]]
At the height of World War II, Jetfire is captured by Nazi scientists, who reverse-engineered his body to create assorted transforming mecha bonded with human pilots. In [[1944]], after learning of this, Walter Simmons forcibly drafts his grandson Bill into Sector Seven for a mission behind enemy lines to destroy all traces of the technology. Bill proves the only survivor of the mission, but winds up freeing rather than destroying Jetfire upon discovering his true nature. Having previously actively eschewed following in his mother and grandfather's footsteps, the experience convinces Bill to permanently transfer to Sector Seven. {{storylink|Weapon (issue)|Weapon}}
{{--}}

===1950s===
[[Image:Sector7 5 megatron breaks free.jpg|thumb|300px|Would Barber care to explain where my nose has run to?]]
Bill proceeds to make quite a name for himself in Sector Seven, not least of all by leading a campaign to have scientist [[Robert Oppenheimer]] discredited and ejected from the organization on allegations of Communism. In [[1953]], Bill marries fellow agent [[Tova Anael Fischer|Anne Fischer]] in a secret ceremony, and close to the end of the year, Anne becomes pregnant with their son, [[Seymour Simmons]]. {{storylink|Frozen}}

Reginald Danco's grandson [[Joe Danco|Joe]], jealous of how his family has become sidelined in history in favour of the Simmons line, defects to the Communist Party. In February [[1954]], acting as an undercover agent, he sabotages the cooling system at Sector Seven's Arctic base, planning to use the escape of Megatron to cover his theft of Sector Seven data and flight to Russia. Walter Simmons calls for liquid nitrogen bombs to be dropped on the facility to stop Megatron from thawing out, at the expense of the lives of the base personnel, which includes his grandson Bill. This prompts Jetfire to intervene, but the Seeker proves able only to save the lives of Anne Fischer and [[Philip Nolan]]. {{storylink|Frozen}}
[[Image:RisingStorm2_danco_commie.jpg|left|thumb]]
Unbeknownst to Sector Seven, both Bill and Danco survive: Danco flees deeper into the tunnels and Bill pursues, but Bill is captured by a Soviet extraction team who have come to recover Danco. He is taken back to Russia for interrogation, and spends eight years being moved from facility to facility, often escaping, always being recaptured, but never breaking under torture. {{storylink|Convergence chapter 2}} The data stolen by Danco, meanwhile, allows the Soviets to finally utilize the technology taken from the captive Shockwave, and with it, they create the world's first nuclear power plant, the Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant, which is activated in June, 1954. {{storylink|Rising Storm issue 2|Rising Storm #2}} {{storylink|Frozen}}

Seymour Simmons is born later in 1954. At Walter's wishes, Anne leaves Sector Seven in an effort to keep the child from ever learning of the legacy of obsession and death that has defined his family, changes her name to "Tova Simmons", and opens a delicatessen. {{storylink|Frozen}} But Seymour proves to be every inch his father's son, and as he grows older, he takes to sneaking out of the house, setting up a secret room in the basement of his mother's deli where he studies the paranormal and develops an ardent belief in the presence of aliens on Earth. {{storylink|Convergence chapter 3}}
{{--}}

===1960s===

Sentinel Prime's Ark and the ''Longshot'' emerge from the space bridge in the vicinity of Earth in early [[1961]]. The Ark violently crash-lands on Earth's [[Moon (moon)|Moon]], and after examining the wreckage, Soundwave determines to keep the vessel out of the hands of the humans on the planet below. {{storylink|Convergence chapter 1}} The crash is detected by both the United States and the Soviet Union, and a "space race" begins to be the first to reach the Moon and plunder this alien treasure. {{storylink|Dark of the Moon (film)|Dark of the Moon}} Incorrectly believing Bill Simmons can tell them something about the moon event and America's plans, the Soviets relocate their prisoner to holding facilities at [[Soviet Research Station Oktober]] at the beginning of [[1962]], where he is held for three and a half-years. {{storylink|Convergence chapter 2}}

As part of Soundwave's plans, the Decepticons' [[Alice|Pretender]] operative kills Soviet Spetsnaz agent [[Alisa Morozov]] and adopts her form in [[1964]]. {{storylink|Convergence chapter 2}} That same year, the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird jet makes its first flight. At an unknown point in time during the next three decades, one of the jets malfunctions and crashes on top of Jetfire while he is wandering through a desert, and he adopts its form. {{storylink|Tales of the Fallen issue 3|Tales of the Fallen #3}}

In the summer of [[1965]], the Soviets launch the [[Luna 6]] probe to investigate the wreck of the Ark. Using her Morozov disguise, the Pretender penetrates Research Station Oktober and massacres the scientists there, in order to prevent any data being obtained from the probe. Joe Danco also dies in the attack, but Bill Simmons is able to escape. Convinced by the Pretender that humans can be used as a means to their ends, Soundwave makes a deal with the sole surviving scientist, [[Voskhod]], to curtail Soviet investigations into the Ark. {{storylink|Convergence chapter 2}}

Two months later, Bill Simmons successfully returns to the United States, but when he attempts to contact Sector Seven, Soundwave zeroes in on his position and sends the Pretender to take him out. Bill locates his wife's deli during the night, where he meets Seymour for the first time, on another of his midnight sneak-outs. When the Pretender arrives, Bill leaves the boy with contact information for Sector Seven, and disappears in an explosion, the Pretender hot on his heels. Seymour subsequently makes contact with Sector Seven and meets his great-grandfather Walter; now knowing that his long-held beliefs about aliens are true, Seymour grows up to join the organization as one of its most prestigious agents. The fate of Bill Simmons remains unknown. {{storylink|Convergence chapter 3}}

[[Image:Dotm-Arkreflection.jpg|right|thumb|200px|]]
In July [[1969]], [[NASA]] carries out the [[Apollo 11]] mission, successfully sending astronauts [[Neil Armstrong]] and [[Buzz Aldrin]] to the Moon. {{storylink|Dark of the Moon (film)|Dark of the Moon}} A strategic twenty-one-minute blackout is staged by Sector Seven at NASA command to keep the true purpose of the moon landing a secret, and Walter Simmons directs the men in their investigation of the Ark. {{storylink|Dark of the Moon issue 1|Dark of the Moon #1}}

Simultaneously, Sector Seven also exploits the fact that the eyes of the entire world are focused on Apollo 11 to stage two additional concurrent operations. First, they initiate the test flight of their own spacecraft, the ''[[Ghost 1]]'', created from Megatron's reverse-engineered Cybertronian technology. The ship is inadvertently sucked through a wormhole and deposited in a distant solar system, where Optimus Prime's Autobot and Starscream's Decepticons detect its arrival and clash over it. The battle concludes with the destruction of the ship and its crew, but in the course of events, both factions learn that Megatron and the AllSpark are on Earth. {{storylink|Ghosts of Yesterday}}
[[Image:Movie-Megatronfrozen.jpg|thumb|left|250px|]]
For their second operation, Sector Seven finally carry out the much-delayed move of Megatron form the Arctic to Hoover Dam. Further Soviet sabotage causes the convoy transporting Megatron to crash, resulting in damage to the cooling systems that allows the Decepticon leader to thaw out. Philip Nolan sacrifices his own life to re-freeze him with liquid nitrogen, {{storylink|Ghosts of Yesterday}} and he is successfully delivered to Hoover Dam. {{storylink|Rising Storm issue 2|Rising Storm #2}}

One further manned moon landing is carried out in November of 1969, to continue excavation and research of the remains of the Ark. {{storylink|Dark of the Moon (film)|Dark of the Moon}}
{{--}}

===1970s===
[[Image:RisingStorm2_soundwave_arrives.jpg|right|thumb|350px]]
From [[1970]] to [[1972]], four further manned missions land on the moon to continue plundering the Ark. {{storylink|Dark of the Moon (film)|Dark of the Moon}}

Soundwave continues his manipulations of Voskhod as late as [[1973]]. {{storylink|Rising Storm issue 2|Rising Storm #2}}

Continuing their use of Shockwave's technology to further their nuclear agenda, the Soviet Union spend most of this decade creating the [[Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant]]. The United States also continue with the construction of more nuclear facilities, including the [[Three Mile Island]] power plant. A botched experiment with the energy of the AllSpark at this facility on [[March 28]], [[1979]] leads to a partial core meltdown. {{storylink|Movie Prequel issue 4|Movie Prequel #4}}

That same year, the Witwicky home in [[Springfield]], [[Missouri]], is sold by Clarence Witwicky's son [[Herbert Witwicky|Herbert]], and the proceeds are shared between his daughter and five sons, including [[Ben Witwicky|Ben]] and [[Ron Witwicky|Ronald]]. {{storylink|Interlude}}

===1980s===

The Chernobyl disaster occurs on [[April 26]], [[1986]].

===1990s===

[[Sam Witwicky]] is born to [[Ron Witwicky|Ronald]] and [[Judy Witwicky]].<ref>Hasbro's [http://www.hasbro.com/transformers/en_US/discover/cybertronian-database.cfm#/timeline/sam_witwicky%27s_birth Vector Sigma timeline] states Sam was born [[October 10]], [[1990]]. However, Sam's driving license in ''Revenge of the Fallen'' reads [[September 13]] [[1991]]. Presumably, Sam's date of birth was adjusted so he would be 18 when he enrolled at college in 2009.</ref>

In [[1998]], Jetfire takes advantage of the SR-71 Blackbird's retirement from service to hole up in the [[Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum]] and goes into stasis in vehicle mode. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 2.8|Jetfire's profile}}

==21st Century==
===2003 to 2007===
Having followed the trail of the AllSpark to Earth's Solar System and learning of its supposed location from the Ghost-1, Bumblebee is sent out as a scout while the Ark (I) continues to search from above. Bumblebee briefly touches down on Mars, where the Hubble Space Telescope captures an image of his arrival. Designating him "N.B.E.-2", Sector Seven tracks him to his landing site in Virginia, but the Autobot scout avoids capture by adopting a local alternate mode. Discovering the history of Archibald Witwicky via the internet, Bumblebee sets out to track down the man's descendants.

Hot on the Ark (I) and Bumblebee's trail, Starscream's Nemesis (II) arrives on Mars, where an encounter with the Beagle 2 Rover prompts Starscream to lead a small group to the rover's planet of origin. Making planetfall in Afghanistan, the group attacks a local military base, where they learn of Sector Seven's "Project Iceman". In the course of the brief battle, Wreckage is disabled by an electromagnetic pulse, and after burying his body, the remaining Decepticons disseminate in disguise to carry out their quest.

While tracking Archibald Witwicky's descendants across the country, Bumblebee clashes with both Sector Seven agents led by Seymour Simmons and the Decepticons, before finally tracking the Witwicky lineage to Sam, who has inherited his great grandfather's glasses, along with the secret of the AllSpark printed upon them. The Decepticons are able to track down Bumblebee, but let him go in order to take advantage of what he may have found pertaining to the AllSpark’s location in the time he had before they arrived.

===2007===

Wreckage's body is recovered from its desert resting place by Sector Seven and brought to their Nevada base for experimentation. Reactivated by the organization, Wreckage trades information for his survival and provides Sector Seven with the means to create their L.M.-1 drones, but is taken offline when he declines to co-operate any further and attempts escape.

Four months later, Blackout and Scorponok attack the SOCCENT Forward Operations Base in Qatar to discover the location of Megatron and the AllSpark, but they do not succeed. A small group of survivors, under Captain William Lennox, wander through the desert and are followed by Scorponok. With the Decepticons now closing in on Sam Witwicky, Bumblebee makes his move, positioning himself in a used car lot to ensure that he will be purchased as the boy's first car. Unbeknownst to Sam, the car begins to bond with him, and helps him begin to woo Mikaela, his crush. Sam is unaware of the fact that Bumblebee is an alien, until he witnesses Bumblebee transform and send out a homing signal for the rest of the Autobots.

At the Pentagon, Defense Secretary John Keller oversees the investigation into the attack in Qatar. After Blackout's failure, Frenzy infiltrates Air Force One and attempts to download all information relating to "Project Iceman". However, Maggie Madsen, one of the technicians studying the Decepticon infiltration signal, discovers Frenzy's actions and convinces the Pentagon to take down the Defense Network, halting Frenzy's download. When Air Force One makes an emergency landing, Frenzy slips into Barricade’s car form, and discusses his discovery of Archibald Witwicky, who has seen their language. Using an internet search, they discover that Sam's glasses will lead the Decepticons to the AllSpark. Frenzy and Barricade begin tracking Sam's location. Back in Qatar, the army rangers are attacked by Scorponok, and take refuge in a nearby village. Calling the Pentagon and getting air support, they discover that the Decepticons are vulnerable to high heat weaponry, such as sabot rounds. Using this information, the soldiers inform the Pentagon that they now have a weapon and to prepare the sabot rounds in all the guns.

Meanwhile, Barricade finds and confronts Sam, demanding Archibald's glasses. Bumblebee, who is following Sam, transforms and battles Barricade while Barricade sends Frenzy after Sam. Mikaela, who is also following Sam, is caught in the crossfire, but Bumblebee is able to defeat Barricade, while Mikaela decapitates Frenzy. Frenzy is still functioning however, and hides in Mikaela's purse as her cell phone. Bumblebee takes Sam and Mikaela to rendezvous with the rest of the Autobots. The Autobots Optimus Prime, Jazz, Ironhide, and Ratchet land on Earth and take on the forms of several Earth vehicles. They all meet in an alley, where they transform in front of the two amazed humans, introduce themselves, and tell them of the reasons they had to come to Earth. Meanwhile, Maggie made a copy of the intrusion signal and shows it to her hacker friend, Glen Whitmann, who discovers a message with the signal about Sector Seven, Captain Witwicky, and Project Iceman. However, the government finds out about her copy of classified information and the FBI arrives and arrests Glen and Maggie, who desperately try to convince them not to go to war with the wrong country.

Sam, Mikaela, and the Autobots then return to Sam's home to retrieve the glasses. However, agents from Sector Seven arrive to take Sam and Mikaela into custody. Seymour Simmons, the agency's director, reveals that Mikaela has a criminal record and threatens Sam with life imprisonment, at which point the Autobots disable the convoy and rescue the teens. During the retreat though, Sam and Mikaela are recaptured, and Bumblebee is also apprehended. Prime orders the Autobots to let them go, unwilling to use deadly force against the humans. At the Pentagon, a virus Frenzy uploaded during the Air Force One hack causes a global communications blackout, while Keller is finally informed of the Decepticons by Sector 7’s Tom Banacheck. After Bumblebee's capture, Optimus uses the glasses to locate the AllSpark at the Hoover Dam, and declares that if they cannot defeat the Decepticons, he will merge the cube with his spark, sacrificing himself to save all life from the dangers Megatron would pose if he were to obtain the AllSpark.

Sam, Mikaela, Keller, Maggie, Glen, and Lennox's unit are brought to the Hoover Dam, where they are shown the frozen Megatron and the AllSpark, while Frenzy slips away. Locating the AllSpark, he sends out an alert to Starscream, who mobilizes the rest of the Decepticons. Starscream attacks the base, allowing Megatron to thaw come back online, as Sam convinces the Sector Seven agents to release Bumblebee so that he can get the AllSpark to Optimus Prime. The Decepticons chase the Autobots, who now possess the AllSpark, into Mission City. On the way, Optimus stops to fight Bonecrusher, the largest immediate threat, and decapitates him, while Ironhide causes Barricade to crash into a barrier, becoming incapacitated.

Glen, Maggie, Keller, and Simmons manage to contact the Air Force and direct F-22s to Mission City. An ensuing battle results in casualties for both sides, including Jazz, who is killed by Megatron, while Bumblebee is crippled in an explosion. During the battle, Lennox orders Sam to take the AllSpark to a building to be removed from the city, under escort from Ironhide and Ratchet. Megatron and Optimus then meet in battle, while the soldiers remain to fight Brawl. Mikaela drags the injured Bumblebee away from the battle with a tow truck, but goes back to help, driving while Bumblebee uses his weapons to kill Brawl. Ironhide and Ratchet are incapacitated by Starscream, and Megatron joins in pursuit, following Sam to the top of the building.

The helicopter arriving to get the cube from Sam is destroyed by Starscream, and Megatron attacks Sam when he refuses to give him the AllSpark, sending Sam plummeting off of the building. Prime catches Sam, but is closely followed by Megatron, and they all fall to the ground. They all survive, and Optimus challenges Megatron. The battle is fierce and dominated by Megatron. Blackout attempts to assist Megatron, but is killed by Lennox and the Air Force before he can engage. After, Starscream hides among the raptor squadron, destroying three fighters. Despite this, the Air Force and Lennox's rangers manage to inflict serious damage on Megatron, who, badly damaged, begins heading toward the Cube. With both Prime and Megatron weakened, Prime beckons Sam to shove the AllSpark into his chest, destroying them both, but Sam instead shoves the AllSpark into Megatron's chest, killing him and leaving only a small fragment of the cube behind. Optimus thanks Sam for his courage and for saving his life, while Bumblebee, who has regained his voice, asks permission to remain with Sam, which is granted.

Having seen the human destroy Megatron, Starscream vows that he will pay. He is then attacked by a group of jets, and enraged, he destroys them all before fleeing and going to find Barricade. Barricade is badly hurt, but informs Starscream that Frenzy has detailed files on the AllSpark and Sam. Starscream orders Barricade to continue reconnaissance on the Autobots when he has recovered, and to refer to him now as Lord Starscream. Starscream then travels to the Hoover Dam to recover Frenzy and prepares to attack the humans there.

Meanwhile, back at Mission City, Ironhide, Captain Lennox, Sergeant Epps and a few other soldiers track down and destroy the AllSpark mutations that came about during the battle, while, Ratchet reattaches Bumblebee's leg. Optimus Prime asks Lennox for a favor, helping them leave the city before humans he doesn't consider trustworthy show up. After placing the remains of Jazz in a truck trailer Prime can haul, the Autobots set out to leave the city. Lennox gives Ironhide his cell phone so Sam can call Epps when they have left the city. Shortly afterward, Agent Simmons and his fellow Sector Seven agents show up to retrieve the remains of the fallen Decepticons and the AllSpark mutations. Simmons asks Lennox for Sam's location, but Lennox claims he doesn’t know where he is. Simmons wants to recruit Lennox and Epps for Sector Seven, but Lennox would prefer to return home to his wife and daughter. Just then, Epps's cell phone rings and Sam informs them that they have left the city, but because of the bad connection, he's yelling into the phone, loud enough for Simmons to hear him as well. Caught in his lie, Lennox asks Simmons for a vacation before he agrees to accept the offer.

Concurrently, Starscream arrives at the Hoover Dam and finds a number of soldiers there to meet him. He gives them a chance to surrender, but they open fire. Starscream retaliates with his cluster bombs, but even so, the humans' assault starts to overwhelm him. More irritated than injured, Starscream's priority is nevertheless to find Frenzy, and he flies into the dam's interior to do so. Once inside, Starscream can sense residual AllSpark energy, and is amused by how Megatron must have been driven insane by its close proximity during his captivity. He can also sense Frenzy nearby, but is unable to pinpoint him due to interference from nearby soldiers shooting at him. He exterminates this annoyance and continues deeper into the dam, through narrow corridors that almost hinder his search, but not quite.

Outside, Sector Seven Agent Salazar contacts his troops. After ensuring that Agents Simmons, Banachek, and Secretary Keller are out of the area, he tells them to get out of the dam now that "N.B.E.-3" is apparently trapped. At this time, Starscream has reached the dam's radio room. He detaches his hand from his arm, his wrist stretching out into little more than ropy wires, and reaches into the room, pulling out Frenzy, as well as two human scientists. He allows the two scientists to live, providing they give up Frenzy without a fight. They comply, and Starscream stores the little spy in his cockpit before rocketing quickly upwards out of the dam.

Outside, Sector Seven is waiting. Starscream cannot waste anymore time or energy fighting. He intends to run, but one of the humans addresses him by name, surprising him. Agent Salazar orders Starscream to stand down. Starscream is angered, but still cannot risk a fight. Just then, Salazar unleashes a "secret weapon": L.M.-1. Starscream senses an odd energy signature from the vehicle and realizes what it must be as it begins to transform. Even though it cannot complete its transformation, Starscream's curiosity gets the better of him, and he lowers his guard, giving Sector Seven a window in which to attack. Berating himself, Starscream pounces on Salazar's jeep, captures it and the agent, and takes off into the sky. Starscream's energy reserves begin to recharge as he flies off. Using this time to his advantage, he tosses the jeep back to Earth and begins his interrogation of Salazar, but he refuses to talk. With fighter jets appearing on the horizon, Starscream can no longer waste time asking questions, and he shoves Salazar into his cockpit, intending to take him back to the Decepticon headquarters now in place on Mars. Starscream exits the atmosphere and begins his trip to Mars, but the pressures of space are too much for Salazar and he is killed.

The next morning, after his talk with Lennox and Epps, Simmons is in the Sector Seven facility in Nevada, overseeing the arrival of the Decepticon remains. He informs the scientist that he has received orders to dump the robot bodies into the ocean, so they only have one month to conduct their research. The scientist replies that Wreckage has not been active since Salazar shut him down a few weeks earlier. With Salazar gone, Simmons suggests calling Lennox to help wake Wreckage up.

During the events of the Autobots time on Earth, some of the other Autobots who were aboard the Ark (I) and were scattered across the galaxy in their search of the AllSpark have reconvened on Mars. As Starscream begins to approach the Nemesis (II) on Mars, he is spotted by one such Autobot, Cosmos, who is floating in orbit. Having been informed by one of the ground forces (Ironhide) that Starscream may be the only survivor, Cosmos assumes it is him and reports the information to the rest of the Autobots on the other side of Mars, where they make plans to attack and finish the fight. As Starscream approaches, he hopes his subordinates aboard the Nemesis (II) have made themselves useful, theorizing that it's only a matter of time before they are discovered. Almost out of energy, Starscream arrives at the Nemesis (II) just in time, and Thundercracker is there to help him. Starscream has no time to waste answering questions and is quickly taken to the regeneration device. After his recovery, while comfortably seated in his command chair, Starscream muses to his fellow Decepticon on how interesting humans are, capable of great achievements, like destroying Megatron and the AllSpark. Thundercracker expresses confusion at this, since Starscream had relayed information that he actually had the AllSpark. Belittling his subordinate for stupidity, Starscream explains that he does not have the AllSpark itself, but rather a way to recreate it and Cybertron, under his rule, using the data in Frenzy's memory to do so. Starscream orders Thundercracker to plug in Frenzy and start transmitting the data to Cybertron, and asks if a space bridge terminal has been constructed. A view outside confirms that one has been, but due to their distance from Cybertron, it will not be a straight trip, but rather a connection through multiple space bridges. This makes no difference, as Frenzy's data can be sent back to Cybertron ahead of Starscream as he makes the trip himself. He is confident that with Optimus Prime on Earth, nobody will be able to stop his conquest of Cybertron.

The Autobots on Mars, including Arcee, Smokescreen, Camshaft, Cliffjumper, and Air Raid, begin moving on the Decepticons’ Mars base, and are spotted by Hardtop, who informs the Starscream of their approach. As Starscream's Decepticons await the Autobots' incoming attack on their base on Mars, they send out their drones as a welcoming party. Smokescreen temporarily disables the first attack wave, while Cliffjumper and Camshaft destroy a few of them. Hardtop prepares to snipe Smokescreen, but is instead sniped himself by Arcee. But just as the Autobots appear to gain the upper hand, a heavily damaged Air Raid is dropped by Thundercracker, who attacks the Autobots with a sonic blast. Thundercracker makes his way through the Autobots, slicing Camshaft in half and knocking down Cliffjumper. Just as he is about to kill Cliffjumper too, Arcee, guilt-ridden for having failed to prevent Bumblebee's mutilation at the hands of Megatron, attacks Thundercracker, inflicting decent damage on him and then continues to attack him together with Cliffjumper. However, Cliffjumper is suddenly shot in the back by Starscream, who then transforms and proceeds to blow up Smokescreen, who is trying to carry the wounded Air Raid to safety. Starscream returns to Arcee, who is tending a heavily wounded Cliffjumper, and takes her out with one punch. Starscream then returns to his base and prepares a ship for launch, setting course back to Cybertron. Soon after, Arcee comes to and sees that Thundercracker and Starscream are preparing to leave. Going against common sense, she grabs onto a piece of the landing gear as their ship is taking off. Arcee had hoped to break into the ship before the beam from the space bridge connected with the ship, because she thought anything not fused to the ship would not teleport. She turned out to be wrong and managed to hitch a ride back to Cybertron.

Meanwhile, on a base in the Nevada desert, an arriving Sector Seven commander is informed about Starscream's abduction of Agent Salazar and in turn provides a theory about how the Transformers create weapons from their own bodies. Unbeknownst to them, Barricade is eavesdropping on them as per Starscream’s orders on the ridge above. The Sector Seven commander instructs his people that the President of the United States wants to have the vehicles that were given life by the AllSpark in Mission City destroyed.

Shortly after, Starscream's Decepticons return to Cybertron, landing in the city of Trypticon. Arcee sneaks off and Starscream and Thundercracker are greeted by Ramjet, while Dreadwing prepares to transfer the data retrieved from Frenzy's body. Starscream makes some "renovations" by destroying a giant sculpt of Megatron's head when he's informed by Stockade that construction of a new AllSpark is progressing on schedule.

As the new AllSpark cube nears completion, Starscream continues to make preparations to rebuild the planet of Cybertron. In the process of chiseling the hieroglyphics on the cube, Grindcore, one of the captured Autobot slave workers, collapses from exhaustion. Warpath, concerned about the well-being of his comrade, tries to help him up, but is immediately incapacitated by two Payload Drones. Warpath begins to express his discontent when Stockade shows up and kicks him. He tells the Payload drones to get him back to work and make more room on the line because Dreadwing is gathering more help. Elsewhere, Signal Flare flees for his life through a desolate wasteland when Dreadwing warps in front of him and knocks him out with a single punch. He then contacts Starscream via a built-in communicator and informs him of the new "test subject" that he just acquired. Starscream commends Dreadwing for his excellent work and informs him that they are almost ready to begin.

Meanwhile, back in Trypticon, as two drones disembark from a space cruiser, Arcee ambushes them, taking them both out before they can relay the message of an intruder. She muses on being back home, but doesn't like the feeling, and begins to think that it may have been best for her to have remained on Mars. In the midst of her self-loathing due to her recent failure to prevent the destruction of four of her Autobot comrades, Arcee goes off in search of a safe zone, or a place where she would be able to regroup with an Autobot. Most of the Autobots had left with Optimus, but some Autobots had chosen to stay behind, and she hopes to find them.

Back at Lord Starscream's palace, Starscream is condemning Wreckage (who had been rebuilt by Sector Seven for their own purposes) for telling Sector Seven everything about Cybertronians. Starscream begins to wonder just how many more have betrayed the Decepticon cause. Dreadwing walks in and informs Starscream that he has returned and that the cube is finally ready, and Starscream decides that the time to activate it has come. Meanwhile at the cube construction site the enslaved Autobots try to negotiate their release with their Decepticon captors. Ramjet bluntly states that if any of them try to run, they will be liquefied. Starscream, Thundercracker, and Dreadwing arrive at the construction site. Starscream impatiently asks where Payload is and that he should have the generator by now. Elita-One attempts to beg Lord Starscream for mercy, only to find that Starscream has none to dispense. Payload finally arrives with the generator, apologizing for the delay, stating that Dreadwing's drones weren't much help, and some of his comrades weren't cut out for hard work. Crankcase doesn't respond well to that remark. Having grown tired of Crankcase's incessant nagging, Starscream promptly puts an end to it by destroying his vocal processor. Ramjet places Crankcase with the other test subjects.

As the cube is being prepared, Arcee comes upon the ruins of an old training facility to look for a weapon, but instead chances upon Clocker. Arcee briefs him on the dismal events that led up to her return, including the death of Megatron and Starscream declaring himself the new leader of the Decepticons. They are joined by Crosshairs. Surprised to see that he is still alive, she asks of the whereabouts of Elita-One and the others. Crosshairs tells her that they were lost in a raid not too long ago, and that he, Clocker, and the others who stayed behind are planning a rescue. Back in Simfur, at the cube construction site, Starscream prepares to greet the masses of Cybertron with the newly constructed AllSpark cube. As the Autobots reach Simfur, Arcee is shocked to find that Starscream has the new AllSpark cube and that the captured Autobots, including Crankcase, are strapped to it. Arcee and her crew contemplate their next move in saving their friends. Crosshairs suggests that they split into two teams: one to head back to Trypticon and cause a diversion, while the rest take on the rescue. Strongarm, Breakaway and Wingblade volunteer for the former, while Armorhide agrees to take a team to provide cover for the rescue party.

Down at the temple, Starscream addresses the crowd, putting down the efforts of their previous leaders, and how he has returned to rebuild Cybertron for them. All he asks is that they swear allegiance to him and his cause, to which the entire crowd readily does. After that, he explains the purpose of the prisoners shackled to the new AllSpark; the five of them will give their sparks to reactivate the cube, and restore Cybertron to its former glory. Elita-One pleads with him to stop, calling his plan insane. But Starscream is resolute in his actions, and with the push of a button, the five "criminals" are terminated. Their spark energy is stored and, with another flick of a switch, Starscream activates the new AllSpark... only to find it's not working. Starscream has little time to contemplate why it has failed, before he realizes that Dreadwing is leading a mutiny as he calls in his drones to surround the confused bot. Payload and Ramjet also show their true colors, siding with Dreadwing as he explains his actions. He saw the data from Frenzy, and decided he wanted it for himself. He brags about the size of his forces, and how easy it was to form this little coup. Starscream quickly rebukes him, calling Dreadwing a novice and regretting ever saving him. However, Dreadwing doesn't let it faze him and orders his drones to seize Starscream and his remaining followers.

Arcee and members of the rescue party watch in disbelief from the outskirts; their job has just become a little harder. Clocker and Crosshairs theorize that the master switch to the drones must be at Trypticon, and send Breakaway to deactivate it. Arcee makes her move, using her rifle to take out the fake AllSpark with a mighty explosion. Dreadwing is not pleased, sending Ramjet and the drones to deal with the new intruders. Crosshairs and Armorhide hold the line, and Ramjet nearly runs the latter through before Crosshairs decapitates him.

Meanwhile, back at the temple, Starscream has had enough. He's furious that he let his lust for power blind him, as it did Megatron, and goes on the offensive. With the help of Thundercracker and Stockade, he takes out numerous drones before he notices Dreadwing escaping. Starscream leaves the clean up to his subordinates and goes after the traitor. Admiring the valiant efforts of the Autobots fighting below, he intercepts Wingblade's message to Arcee about having deactivated the drones. His path now clear, he searches Trypticon until he finds the traitor. Dreadwing has boarded a starship, and plans to escape to the atmosphere and reactivate the drones. His plans are put on hold as Starscream arrives and cripples the ship before boarding, threatening to kill Dreadwing before the ship crashes. Dreadwing states he only did what Starscream never had the bearings to do to Megatron, but Starscream is not swayed. Below them, Arcee pulls her team out of Trypticon to avoid the collision. However, as the ship tumbles out of control, Dreadwing activates the Space Bridge and teleports away from the enraged Starscream. His screams of the traitor's name are cut short as the ship collides. The explosion turns the Decepticon city into a smoldering crater before it's absorbed into the wormhole. Trypticon has fallen, and Starscream is gone.

Outside the city limits, Arcee and her crew observe the destruction. She notes that this could be the turning point in the war, but knows that if Starscream survived the explosion, he could turn everything around again. She vows to find him, and seeing Thundercracker fleeing, knows that she is not the only one.

Far away from Cybertron, back on Mars, the disused Space Bridge antenna activates. The remains of the starship as well as the explosion come crashing through the wormhole, obliterating it. While this happens, Dreadwing emerges. He marvels at his miraculous escape just long enough for Starscream to sneak up, tear his head off and crush his spark core. The traitor addresses him as "Lord Starscream" before he finally goes quiet. A damaged Starscream takes a moment to think about all that has happened. Dreadwing is dead, but his plan has failed. As he reflects on his betrayal and the destruction of the AllSpark, he adorns himself in the symbols of the ancient warriors of Cybertron to reflect that, like them, he is still powerful and fierce.

Meanwhile, back on Earth, the Mission City incident is covered up by the government with a cover story that claims the Transformers were rampaging robotic constructs created by the company McClaren Robotics. One month after their meeting with Simmons, Lennox and Epps have a secret meeting with Optimus, Ratchet and Ironhide (but not Bumblebee as he is continuing his assignment as Sam's guardian). The Autobots mention having been followed by a police car, which Lennox suggests might have been Barricade. Lennox informs Prime that the Decepticons' remains are about to be dumped into the ocean, and they want the Autobots to escort the transport. Unbeknownst to them, however, they are secretly being spied on by Barricade, who transmits his newly gained information, which is picked up by Starscream now on Mars. Though unsure whether Barricade might end up betraying him as well, Starscream decides that the opportunity of disposing of Optimus Prime, Megatron and Wreckage all at the same time would be too good to ignore.

Soon after, in Nevada, the day has come to move the Decepticon remains, and Vine and Simmons are still packing. They lament the loss of their new source of information as they wait for their escort to arrive. They also discuss Wreckage (N.B.E.-03), who still hasn't woken since Agent Salazar pulled the plug on him. The Autobots (including Bumblebee given the importance of this mission), soon arrive, and Optimus Prime insists on accompanying Jazz's remains. He then leaves the AllSpark shard with Vine to guard while they dispose of the remains. As the caravan leaves, Lennox leaves one of his men, Salani, in charge of the others. The soldiers and Autobots then speed toward the waiting aircraft carrier.

On Mars, Soundwave who had returned to the Nemesis (I) with his crew sometime after his mysterious action at the Soviet Research Station Oktober and received orders from the relic to search for the Matrix and the solar harvester on the human homeworld of Earth, arrives and examines the wreckage left from Starscream’s “reign.” He is unaware of the recent events, but is soon able to piece together the mystery and looks toward Earth for further answers.

Back in Nevada, the AllSpark shard is brought underground, where any stray Decepticons won't be able to detect it. However, as soon as they pass Wreckage's chamber, the shard flies out of their hands, and into Wreckage's chest. Wreckage is reactivated and rampages through the base; Salani lays down cover fire as Vine and Simmons escape. Wreckage soon bursts onto the surface, looking for revenge against Salazar and the location of Megatron. Suddenly, three of the Landmine units, now functioning, attack. Simmons realizes they must have been brought online by the shard as well, and Vine goes to look for it as the battle rages on. Wreckage is surprised that they can transform, but quickly dispatches the Landmine units. Wreckage is about to squash the scientist when a missile strike from above slams into him, and Starscream descends on him. The two titans clash, each shouting accusations of betrayal: Wreckage for working with Sector Seven, Starscream for leaving him to die. During the battle, Wreckage knocks Frenzy's remains out of Starscream's chest where they land near Simmons.

Meanwhile, Optimus Prime changes his mind about leaving the AllSpark fragment with Vine, and he sends Bumblebee and Ironhide back to retrieve it. Bumblebee speeds ahead and is able to arrive at the base just in time to see attack and reinforce his allies. As Wreckage begins to gain the upper hand, Bumblebee fires at him. Starscream immediately takes advantage of the distraction to rip out the Wreckage's Spark, then turns against the humans and Autobot. He downs Bumblebee, robbing him of his voice once more, and is about to finish the job, when he receives a surprising communication from Soundwave, who Starscream believed to be dead, on Mars.

Starscream immediately blasts off into space, now with renewed confidence, and informs his compatriot of the death of Megatron, the loss of the AllSpark, and the apparent alliance between the Autobots and humans. The recently arrived Decepticon asks what threat this poses, but Starscream is confident they can defeat it, and becomes even more confident when he learns that reinforcements (from the abandoned Nemesis (I)) are heading toward Earth (to give support and search for the Matrix and solar harvester), with even more being held in stasis on the ship. As several transition-form Decepticon comets streak toward Earth, Starscream asks for the ship’s coordinates, planning to retrieve these soldiers and return to Earth en mass. Soundwave cooperates, but does not accompany Starscream, claiming that he still has orders to follow on Earth until Starscream returns.

All around the world—in Italy, San Francisco, Africa, China, the South American rain forest and Australia—Decepticons land on Earth in comet form. On the devastated Sector Seven base in the Nevada desert, Ironhide has arrived and is tending to Bumblebee, while Salani is retrieving injured Sector Seven operatives. Agent Simmons is sitting nearby, silently complaining about the robots. When Salani calls him, Simmons hides Frenzy's head, which was lying nearby, in his jacket. Salani informs Simmons that many Sector Seven personnel have been killed, among them Professor Vine. Simmons, however, is mostly interested in finding the AllSpark fragment. At this moment, Lennox, Epps, Optimus Prime and Ratchet arrive at the devastated base, delaying their mission to dispose of the remains due to the attack and new orders from Defense Secretary Keller. Lennox hands Simmons a radio that connects him to Keller, who informs Simmons that Sector Seven has been disbanded with immediate effect, and that Lennox has been put in charge of the operation. Simmons drives off, keeping Frenzy's head with him. Shortly afterward, Salani returns with the AllSpark fragment, which he has found in the lab, and hands it back to Optimus Prime. The remains of Wreckage and the Landmine units are loaded onto flatbed trucks.

Two weeks later, Lennox and the Autobots are on board of an aircraft carrier ship. Lennox has to explain himself to his superiors via video conference, because he wants to cooperate with the Autobots. The military is concerned though, and reluctantly agree to let them work together, but place the responsibility solely on Lennox. The operation to dump the Decepticon remains finally convenes. First though, a crane dumps Optimus Prime's trailer in the ocean, which contains the remains of Jazz. Optimus thanks the soldier for participating in his first lieutenant's funeral. Afterwards, the Decepticons' remains are submerged in the Laurentian Abyss. Back under deck, Lennox informs Optimus that many comets have entered Earth's atmosphere recently. Lennox's superiors want the Autobots and the US armed forces to form a defense alliance against the Decepticons. As a basis for their cooperation, Lennox demands mutual trust, which Optimus willingly agrees to. Soon after, Optimus Prime broadcasts a message into space, encouraging other Autobots to join his team on Earth.

Meanwhile, in Italy, a racing car breaks through the barrier of a military base, followed by two Decepticons in robot form. Fracture informs her two partners that she has found suitable alternate modes for them. At the same time, Decepticons also destroy military bases in other parts of the world and scan new disguises—Overcast in Japan, Jetstorm in the Middle East, and Dropkick and Incinerator in Florida. Back in Italy, Gunbarrel and Reverb have assumed their new Earth forms and join Fracture, who informs the other Decepticons that they will need a distraction while they search for Megatron. In San Francisco, Swindle and Dead End are driving on the Golden Gate Bridge, letting each other know how much they hate each other, and prepare for the distraction Fracture asked about.

Concurrently, the joint human-Transformer taskforce is has been dubbed the Non-Biological Extraterrestrial Species Treaty, or "NEST", and is headquartered on the island of Diego Garcia, where the AllSpark fragment is now stored. On the island, Lennox, Epps and other soldiers are training together with the Autobots. While there is some tension, both sides learn to work together, and a promoted Major Lennox discusses the future of their alliance with Optimus Prime. When Lennox asks Optimus about the Autobots he called to Earth, Optimus replies that he hopes they will arrive soon. Suddenly, Lennox receives a distress call: an explosion has occurred at a gas station in San Francisco, and footage from a surveillance camera shows a Decepticon whom Ironhide instantly identifies as Swindle. Lennox promptly orders his team to roll out for their first mission.

En route to San Francisco, the Autobots and NEST soldiers converse about their mission. Once they land, Team 3 is to serve as perimeter defense, Team 2 will set up the trap, and Team 1 (consisting of Lennox, Optimus Prime, and Bumblebee) will flush them out. Lennox once again lays down the plans, with a chemical spill used as cover for their operations, as they need as much secrecy as possible. In downtown San Francisco, the area has been cordoned off and the civilians moved out, so Team 2 is cleared to go. Ratchet picks up energy readings, when Swindle and Deadend crash through a sliding wall and Team 2 picks up the chase. As the Decepticons begin to run, Optimus appears out of nowhere and runs over Deadend, killing him. Swindle runs off, but Bumblebee and Lennox follow him to the Golden Gate Bridge. When they reach the bridge, Swindle transforms, blasts at them, then beats up Bumblebee. Lennox fires at Swindle, and he turns his attention to Lennox, but before he can do anything, Bumblebee blasts him. Dying, Swindle declares: "None of you are safe. We'll find it," but shuts down before he says anything more. Lennox considers the mission a success, and Epps thinks they pulled off the secrecy thing.

Hours later, during the trip back to base, Optimus Prime notes that Lennox looks tired, but Lennox says that he was wondering if things are about to get worse, and is worried about what Swindle said and about Sam Witwicky, who Prime thinks is going to become involved somehow. They agree that the boy will need protection, and Optimus decides to send Bumblebee back to be his guardian. When the team lands back at the base, Epps meets with Lennox, who tells him that something's going on out there. Epps tells him that they're ready for anything, but Lennox questions this, saying that for all their training, they weren't clean during the day's mission. Epps thinks it could have been worse, but Lennox says that it might get worse, especially since Bumblebee will be leaving the team to once again guard Sam. Later, Lennox is debriefed by the Army on the day's mission. Lennox tells them about the incident at the Golden Gate Bridge; the commander debriefing the team isn't pleased though and expects the rules to be followed in the missions that will be coming. When the conversation ends, Lennox is upset at the commander, saying that he's impossible to work with. Prime says that the team will have to work harder, but Lennox thinks that the problem is the army still doesn't trust the Autobots.

The next day, Bumblebee is reassigned from frontline combat to live with Sam Witwicky and says his brief good-byes to the group. Later, the team is briefed by the army. There have been multiple Decepticon sightings all over the globe. Lennox lets Optimus Prime talk to the army, and Prime believes that, given Swindle's comments, the Decepticons are looking for something, be it Megatron's remains, Sam's house, or something else. The commander asks if they aren't spreading out for another attack, but Prime thinks these Decepticon soldiers are acting more like scouts. The commander gives them new orders; they are to find these Decepticon scouts, engage, hunt down, and eliminate them. As more and more Decepticons make planetfall on Earth's surface, Soundwave assumes the form of a satellite and silently observes their operations from orbit.

===2007 to 2009===
The Autobots begin searching for the Decepticons, and, when found, destroy them immediately. Decepticon sightings and attacks continue around the world, and the Autobots repeatedly engage them month after month, obliterating all opposition. As months go by, NEST's human forces train and get better, and soldiers from all over the world sign up. Together, they destroy Overcast in Europe, Fracture in Italy, and Dropkick and Incinerator in Florida (though Barricade was able to escape in this same battle). They are never able to get any information from the Decepticons though, as they either don’t last long enough or they get away. Around this time, Autobots Knock Out and Beachbreak arrive on Earth in response to Optimus Prime's summons and join NEST; two AllSpark Mutations from the Mission City incident previously contained by Sector Seven take the names Longarm and Salvage and also join the organization.

Concurrently with all of this, Starscream has returned with more soldiers, and Decepticon activity continues across Earth, with Starscream’s forces continuing their commander's pursuit of power, while those directed by The Fallen, via Soundwave, take on a secondary objective: (locating the Matrix and harvester, and now also) the acquisition of large amounts of energy to facilitate the resurrection of Megatron. As the NEST team returns to their base on Diego Garcia following a previous mission, they meet with cybernetics expert Kaminari Ishihara, and then they all enter a briefing to discuss a new threat: the sighting of Starscream in Zambia. They discuss the matter and hatch a plan for Optimus to confront him.

Having returned from the Nemesis (I), Starscream is now in Africa to continue his pursuit of power by gaining control over local rebel groups, which he is doing by using his internal synthesizers to create gold coins. He and some of his Decepticon companions (including Macerator) soon attack a local dam construction site, making short work of the security forces, where they proceed to steal mass quantities of explosives. The NEST team soon arrives in Africa with Prime, Ironhide, and Ratchet as well as new arrivals Salvage and Beachbreak (who transforms into a commando jet ski). The Autobots soon engage Starscream’s soldiers in the Zambezi River. However, this is all part of Starscream’s brilliant plan, as the Autobots soon discover that the current is pushing them towards Victoria Falls. Everyone but Prime and Macerator gets out in time, and the dueling pair go over the side. Starscream swoops in to save Macerator while Prime dangles helplessly. Eventually the NEST team manages to haul Prime up using Beachbreak’s tow-cable, but the celebration is short lived as Starscream swoops in and knocks the diminutive Beachbreak off the falls and to his death.

The Autobots and their human allies soon realize that Starscream may try and destroy a series of dams along the Zambezi and head off after the fleeing Decepticons. At one of the dams, the ground-based Decepticons attack. Payload heads to the valley floor to try and crack the dam with repeated blasts while Macerator and others fend off the arriving Autobots. After a short scuffle, Prime manages to knock Macerator over the side of the dam before dispatching his dangling foe with his built-in sword. Ratchet takes repeated hits from Payload while trying to melt the fissures in the cracking dam back together. Both Ratchet and the dam are ultimately saved when the humans enter the dam and open the flood gates, knocking Payload downriver and out of the picture. The other Decepticons escape and everyone returns to Diego Garcia.

Back at NEST headquarters, two more Decepticon presences are detected and a pair of teams is readied to head out and take care of them. Epps and Russian scientist Petr Andronov accompany Longarm and impetuous young motorcycle Knockout to Peru to find Decepticons that have been detected in the deep jungles. On a steep mountain pass, the party is attacked by Decepticons Ruination and Blademaster. Despite inexperienced and risky behavior by Knockout, both are severely damaged and driven off. Simultaneously, Lennox, Ishihara, Optimus, Ironhide, and Salvage arrive in the Western Australian Outback and begin searching for Decepticons. Lennox soon realizes that the Decepticons are attacking sites with energy reserves, oil and coal in Peru and uranium in Australia. The team decides that there is a second group of Decepticons not under Starscream’s command, harvesting massive amounts of energy in an attempt to revive Megatron.

Arriving at a uranium mining site, the NEST team discovers a trio of construction vehicles which, naturally, turn out to be Decepticons. The leader, Kickback, confirms the team's suspicions on attempting to revive Megatron, but also mention that there is an ancient power on the rise. Kickback takes Prime on and is quickly run through with the Autobot leader’s sword. The other two, Tread and Trample, are quickly killed through the combined efforts of the rest of the team. Back at Diego Garcia, a small crab Decepticon infiltrates the base and hacks into the NEST computers before sneaking back into the sea. Despite the break-in, the NEST team continues their business of discussing different ways the Decepticons could draw massive quantities of power to revive Megatron.

In Italy, Starscream enters into a deal with an Italian criminal named Bruno Carrera to help destroy Optimus Prime in exchange for dominion over Europe when the Decepticons triumph. A plan is hatched and a Swindle drone and Deadend begin ripping through the streets of Rome, causing general chaos and trying to draw the Autobots out. After an extended chase where Knockout proves he has what it takes and more, Starscream challenges Prime to single combat inside the Coliseum. Prime and the Autobots enter the ancient structure, and Prime promptly falls through a trap door to a subway tunnel extension and into a strong set of restraints arranged by Carrera. Starscream then proceeds to attack the remaining Autobots while a helpless Prime is confronted by a vengeful Barricade. Before the Decepticon can dispatch Prime, the humans attack Barricade and Prime manages to work himself free. He easily defeats Barricade and returns to the surface where Starscream has fled. On his way though, Starscream takes time to visit Carrera at his villa, where he pays him back for his "failure." Seeing the growing power of the Autobots and the humans, Starscream returns to the Nemesis (I) to help spawn a new army of hatchlings that will be sustained by the Energon obtained once the Decepticons find the Matrix and harvester.

During all of the NEST events, Seymour Simmons begins experimenting with Frenzy's head, bringing the Decepticon back online in order to gain information from him. Not particularly lucid, Frenzy causes a surge in Simmons's apartment building's electrical wiring, forcing Simmons to deactivate him and move the head to the basement of his mother's deli, where he has been working since Sector Seven's disbanding.

Elsewhere, on an unknown planet, demented Decepticon Flatline begins conducting experiments to create a new breed of soldier under the supervision of Thundercracker. Among the victims of his ministrations are the Autobot Twins Skids and Mudflap, whose processors are scrambled by the experience. Arcee, after her last battle on Cybertron, has left in a ship in an attempt to get back to Earth. However, en rout, she is captured when Thundercracker shoots her ship down. She is taken and prepared for experimentation alongside her deceased sisters, Elita-One and Chromia, whose remains have been claimed by Flatline. The Decepticon doctor uses Arcee's spark to reignite her siblings' lifeforces, bringing them back to life as a tripartate being bonded at the spark. When he leaves the room to bring in a hatchling to continue his experiments, Arcee shoots the control box locking Skid and Mudflaps cell, and they in turn free the sisters. The sisters then use their new combined strength and thought process to overpower Thundercracker and escape their captors, departing the planet in the Twins' ship. Picking up Optimus Prime's signal, they follow it to Earth and arrive at the same time as Sideswipe in late 2008, upon which they are quickly inducted into NEST.

Sideswipe gets off to an ignominious start on Earth when he learns that his old foe, Demolishor, is in hiding somewhere on the planet, and on November 17, 2008, tears up Montevideo, Uruguay, searching for him. The chase leads to Buenos Aires, where Ironhide, Sideswipes old teacher, attempts to talk Sideswipe down in order to prevent human military incursion. However, Demolishor is tearing up Buenos Aires to goad the Autobots and Sideswipe takes the bait, leaving Ironhide to try and shelter civilians as best he can. The two rivals come at each other with intent to kill, but the Argentine Air Force is entering the fray, and thanks to Sideswipe, all three Transformers are seen as hostiles. The missile salvo stops the battle and downs all three Transformers, and Sideswipe finally recognizes, and respects, the humans. Optimus Prime and NEST soon arrive, calling in for the Air Force to back off. Demolishor hobbles off declaring there will be another battle of his choosing, and, having learned his lesson, Sideswipe fights off his urge to pursue and gets medical aid for Ironhide instead.

Seeking the surviving fragment of the AllSpark as a new means to revive Megatron, the Decepticons begin targeting Sam Witwicky as he is making preparations to go to college. With Bumblebee back with Sam, Sam simply continues a normal life and continues in his relationship with Mikaela which formed back in Mission City. Bumblebee drives them around, but becomes reckless in his time away from the other Autobots. Unsure whether Sam can or will take Bumblebee to college with him, and having his parents refuse to let Bumblebee stay in the garage, he decides to walk to Mikaela’s house to cool off and think. However, Barricade abducts him and ransoms him for the fragment, but he is rescued by Bumblebee. Consequently, subtler methods are soon employed, with the spy Wheelie being assigned to watch the Witwicky home, while the human-form Pretender Alice is installed at Sam's school in advance of his arrival.

===2009===
Word reaches NEST of a fresh sighting of the fugitive Demolishor, hiding out in Shanghai, China, and a strike team is sent in to take care of him. A region of Shanghai is evacuated to allow NEST to deploy with a cover-up of a toxic chemical spill occurring. As soldiers probe the region, they find the heat signature of the Decepticon, who transforms and wreaks havoc on the roadways. His discovery prompts his partner, Sideways, to escape as well. Sideways is pursued by the Arcee sisters, Skids, and Mudflap, although Sideswipe, waiting for the Decepticon, eventually slices him lengthwise in half. Optimus Prime is airlifted to Shanghai and chases Demolishor through the city with Ironhide. Optimus shoots Demolishor several times in the head, while Ironhide shoots out his wheels, causing him to crash and fall off a bypass, badly injuring himself in the process. Before Optimus kills him, Demolishor delivers the cryptic message: "The Fallen shall rise again."

Meanwhile, Sam Witwicky is preparing for his move to college and his father are packing for a holiday in Paris. Sam talks to Mikaela about wanting her to come with him, when he finds a splinter of the AllSpark lodged in his "D-Day shirt". When he picks it up, he experiences a brief flash of images before the splinter burns him. Dropping it, Sam sees the floor catch fire as the splinter burns its way down to the kitchen, where it brings numerous kitchen devices to life. These appliancebots make their way to Sam's room and attack. He escapes to the garden, when Bumblebee arrives and destroys the kitchen bots. Sam goes back to retrieve the splinter and hands it to Mikaela. His mother demands Bumblebee leaves. Sam then tells Bumblebee to join the other Autobots, as both of them need to move on. Sam and Mikaela say good bye, and Sam leaves for college. Wheelie witnesses the event from the lawn, and detecting the splinter, he signals Soundwave, who is still stationed in orbit around Earth. Soundwave orders the truck to follow the girl.

Meanwhile, NEST is in a video briefing with General Morshower, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, when they are visited by National Security Advisor Theodore Galloway, who has been dispatched to relay the President's concerns over the casualties in Shanghai. As Optimus relays the warning of "The Fallen", Soundwave takes control of the satellite transmitting the message. Galloway dismisses the threat, convinced that the only reason the Decepticons are interested in Earth is because of the presence of the Autobots. Therefore, he suggests that they may want them to leave the planet. Optimus says that, yes, they will if asked, but also warns Galloway to think about what would happen if he is wrong. During the conversation, Galloway reveals the location of the AllSpark shard Optimus Prime had picked up after killing Megatron, and the location of Megatron's remains in the Laurentian Abyss. Soundwave overhears the entire conversation, and dispatches his minion Ravage to Earth, where he infiltrates the NEST base on Diego Garcia. Ravage sends a swarm of microcons into a ventilation outlet, and they swarm down to the chamber where the AllSpark shard is being held. There they combine into Reedman, who steals the shard and joins Ravage in a rapid escape.

While all of this happens, Sam arrives at college with his parents and meets his roommate, Leo Spitz, who operates a conspiracy website and is convinced that alien robots are hiding on Earth. Sam feigns ignorance and goes to see if he can get another room, but his hunt is interrupted by his parents. Sam’s parents leave and Sam begins to get settled in, and although he's due to have a webcam date with Mikaela, he is dragged to at a frat party by Leo. He suffers some sort of attack, seeing alien symbols which he begins writing on a table when he's approached by Alice, who attempts to seduce him. When Bumblebee shows up, she takes a ride with Sam, but Bumblebee does everything he can to force her to leave. Bumblebee then takes Sam to Optimus Prime, who tells him of the theft of the AllSpark shard and asks Sam to speak with the government on their behalf. Sam refuses, saying that he has his own problems and does not believe that he is the right person for this task.

At the Laurentian Abyss, Ravage meets up with several Constructicons, who have placed themselves aboard a cargo ship, then dives with them to the bottom of the ocean, where the US military has dumped Megatron's remains. Using the shard and spare parts from one of the Constructicons (who is sacrificed for his parts), "The Doctor" is able to revive Megatron, who promptly travels to one of Saturn's moons, where the Nemesis (I) is being used as a base by the Decepticons. He is awaited by Starscream, who is overseeing the failed attempts of spawning hatchlings to form a new army of Decepticons. After beating Starscream for leaving him to die, Megatron presents himself to his master, The Fallen, who has been able to escape his sarcophagus as the location of the harvester has been located, but, still weakened, is left on a life support system. Although Megatron believes he has failed, The Fallen reveals that when the Cube was destroyed, the knowledge within the AllSpark was instead transferred to Sam, and with it the means to locate the harvester. The Fallen commands Megatron to retrieve the boy and to kill Optimus, the last of the Primes and the only person who can defeat The Fallen when the Matrix is now found and he returns to his full power.

As Sam sits in Professor Colan's astronomy class, Sam suddenly reads through the entire reference book in a matter of seconds, before interrupting the Professor's lecture to scrawl more of the strange symbols on a blackboard and deliver a speed lecture on higher physics. After the Professor throws him out, he realizes that the effects he's been experiencing may be linked to touching the AllSpark shard. When he calls Mikaela to warn her not to touch it, the Wheelie tries to steal the shard, but Mikaela captures the tiny Decepticon. Mikaela promptly boards a plane to see Sam.

Alerted to multiple Decepticon contacts, NEST mobilizes, but the Autobots are already on their way to find Sam, and are refusing to answer calls from their human comrades. Meanwhile, Leo and Alice find Sam in the dorm room, covering the walls with glyphs. Alice pushes Leo outside, and when Mikaela arrives, she finds Sam and Alice in what appears to be an intimate moment. It soon turns out, however, that Alice is a Decepticon as well, and was attacking Sam. Mikaela, Sam and Leo flee as Alice chases after them, devastating the campus library. Mikaela eventually defeats her by slamming her into a pole with a hotwired car. The three humans try to get away but are captured by Grindor and delivered to the waiting Megatron in an abandoned building. Megatron orders "The Doctor" to remove Sam's brain in order to access the information from the AllSpark shard, but Optimus Prime and Bumblebee arrive to free the three humans. Prime takes Sam and flees, but is soon overtaken by Megatron, Starscream and Grindor. In the subsequent battle, Prime kills Grindor but is impaled by Megatron and dies. The other Autobots arrive, saving Sam and causing Megatron and Starscream to retreat.

With the Decepticons unable to locate Sam on their own, Megatron decides that a show of force is in order to compel the humans to turn Sam over to him. Soundwave relays the mobilization order to the Nemesis (I) and then tracks down Ron and Judy Witwicky in Paris. Decepticons, joined by The Fallen, enter Earth and cause massive damage in their transition forms, destroying a naval carrier in the Atlantic Ocean and attacking Paris, kidnapping Sam's parents. In a hijacked TV broadcast around the world, The Fallen reveals his existence to the world's public and demands Sam be surrendered to him. A manhunt for Sam is launched. Sam, meanwhile, is hiding out with Mikaela, Leo, Bumblebee, Skids and Mudflap as they mourn the loss of Optimus. The other Autobots return to the NEST base, where they are surrounded by the military. Galloway tells them that he has been placed in charge of NEST, which is to cease all activities relating to the Decepticons. NEST is being stood down, and they are all to return to Diego Garcia, while the military draws up a coordinated multinational strategy, buying time by negotiating with the Decepticons. Though Lennox tries to argue, it's futile as Galloway pulls rank. Ratchet says the Autobots should leave Earth altogether, but Ironhide points out that it's not what Optimus would want.

Feeling guilty for Prime's death, Sam decides to solve the mystery of the symbols he's been seeing. The Autobots identify the symbols as Cybertronian, but since the language predates their existence, they cannot translate them. Leo eventually suggests they may ask his rival, "Robo-Warrior", owner of a competing website, for help. To everyone's surprise, Robo-Warrior turns out to be none other than Seymour Simmons. Simmons reveals that the Transformers were on Earth some time ago, as symbols similar to those Sam is obsessed with have been found on numerous excavation sites around the world, and that Sector Seven discovered evidence that several Transformers stayed on Earth for some time. However, in order to read the symbols, they may need a Decepticon. Mikaela then interrogates Wheelie, who identifies the symbols as the language of the Primes, and suggests they may track down one of the ancient Seekers, the Transformers believed to be on Earth. Wheelie identifies one as being nearby.

In Washington, D.C., at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, they discover Jetfire, still disguised as an SR-71 Blackbird. After some initial confusion on his part, Jetfire explains he has defected to the Autobots, inspiring Wheelie to follow suit. When Sam finishes writing down the symbols, Jetfire says that they were part of the Seekers' mission, and he opens a space bridge and teleports himself as well as Sam, Mikaela, Leo, Simmons, Bumblebee and the Twins to Egypt. He explains that thousands of years ago, the Transformers arrived on Earth on an exploratory mission under their original leaders, the Primes. The Primes had come to build a star harvester, a device which can create Energon, the Transformers fuel, by destroying suns. The Primes had a single rule of never destroying a star with a living bearing world, but one of the Primes, forever known as The Fallen, despised the humans and tried to activate the machine. The Primes were unable to defeat their brother, but instead stole the Matrix of Leadership, the key needed to activate the harvester, and gave their lives to seal it in a tomb made of their own bodies. Jetfire further explains that only a Prime can hope to defeat The Fallen, and with the death of Optimus, they are doomed. Sam suggests that they may use the Matrix to revive Optimus Prime, which is backed up by Jetfire. They head towards Giza, dodging Egyptian police on the way.

In New Jersey, NEST is loading up to return to Diego Garcia when Simmons contacts Lennox to relay information about the new quest, and co-ordinates where they can drop Optimus's body. Lennox and Epps decide to trust the new information and go against their orders. Sam and his group reach the Pyramids of Giza, where they pick up the next clue, pointing to Jordan, but as Sam's group passes through a checkpoint, Soundwave pinpoints their location.

On the NEST aircraft, en route to Egypt, Lennox tricks Galloway into parachuting from a supposed malfunctioning plane. Back in the US, General Morshower receives a communiqué from Lennox, and arranges to have assets in the target area.

In Petra, Sam's group discovers the Tomb of the Primes. Inside, Sam finds the Matrix, which instantly crumbles into dust into his hands. Sam collects the dust regardless, and he and Mikaela return outside where Simmons and Leo have spotted the NEST team parachuting into Egypt to begin preparing for battle near the pyramids. Before Sam and the others can get back to Lennox and his people, the Decepticons start their attack. Bumblebee, Simmons, Leo, and the Twins draw their fire while Sam and Mikaela make a break for the soldiers. The Constructicons merge into Devastator, who proceeds to swallow Mudflap. Mudflap, however, is able to free himself, and together with Skids, they try to slow Devastator down. While the Autobots and NEST fight the Decepticons, Starscream leads several other Constructicons in a search for Sam, intending to use Sam's parents to lure him into a trap. Falling into the trap, Sam offers to hand over the Matrix dust to the Constructicon Rampage, but only to stall for time until Bumblebee is able to attack and destroy the Decepticon. Ravage attacks Bumblebee from behind, but is killed as well. Sam then orders Bumblebee to get his parents to safety while he and Mikaela try to reach Optimus's body. A remote drone relays pictures back to Morshower, who launches Operation: Firestorm, ordering an immediate launch of everything they can muster.

In the meantime, Devastator has begun to take apart the pyramid that has been built around the Harvester. Simmons calls a navy ship off the coast of Egypt and orders the use of a railgun. Meanwhile, Sam finally meets up with Lennox and Epps, but they're pinned down by Mixmaster. Jetfire arrives and kills Mixmaster and Scorponok, but is mortally wounded by the smaller Decepticon. Simmons relays Devastator's coordinates to the Navy, who score a direct hit on the giant with their railgun. Devastator is torn to pieces and topples from the pyramid. After an air strike takes out most of the other Decepticons, Sam makes a dash for Prime's body, but is caught in the blast of a shot fired by Megatron. While paramedics try to reanimate him, the Matrix dust gets spilled across his hand, and Sam encounters the dead Primes in a vision. The Primes tell him that he was destined to find the Matrix and save the life of the last Prime. Sam returns to life, and the dust in his hand turns back into the Matrix, which he is able to use to revive Optimus Prime.

Just then, The Fallen teleports himself next to Optimus Prime, grabs the Matrix, and teleports himself to the pyramid, where he uses the Matrix to activate the harvester. The soldiers and armored vehicles begin firing on the pyramid, but The Fallen raises the heavy weaponry with his telekinetic powers and destroys it all. Dying, Jetfire offers his parts to Optimus Prime, and then rips out his own Spark. Ratchet and Jolt then proceed to turn Jetfire's remains into battle armor for Optimus Prime, who is then able to destroy the Harvester. Optimus then faces Megatron and the Fallen. After a brief but intense battle, Optimus defeats Megatron and kills The Fallen. After the death of his master, Megatron, whose face has been severely damaged in the battle, follows Starscream's suggestion and retreats.

With the battle won, the Autobots, NEST, Sam and his friends return to the USA on board an aircraft carrier. Upon his return, Sam continues to attend college, while Optimus Prime sends another message detailing recent events, so the shared past of Humanity and the Autobots will not be forgotten as it was before.

===2009 to 2011===
Megatron returns to the Nemesis (I) to tend to the protoform hatchlings there. Sam Witwicky meets Carly Miller under unknown circumstances while at the White House. Either before or after this, Mikaela Banes breaks up with him for reasons unknown.

NEST initiates Project: Unite, seeking to re-engineer the deceased Jetfire's parts into a form that will allow Optimus Prime to sustain his powered-up combined form, but work on the project is slow going as Optimus is often needed elsewhere for NEST operations. Soundwave meanwhile maintains surveillance of Earth. More Autobots and Decepticons continue to arrive from space, some managing to join up with their respective factions, others becoming captives of Carter Newell's Initiative without their comrades ever knowing.

Several months after the battle in Egypt, still orbiting the Earth, Soundwave is gathering information about the planet's inhabitants from their various news broadcasts. The space-faring Decepticon's eye is caught by police pursuing an apparently stolen RV in Seattle. The involvement of the NEST forces under the command of Major Lennox tips off that a Cybertronian is involved in this pursuit, something which is quickly confirmed by the sight of Alice, having survived her earlier attack, driving the RV whilst the terrified owners cower away from the sinister Pretender, hiding in the back of the vehicle. Skids & Mudflap are deployed to deal with Alice. The Twins box the RV in, limiting the destruction Alice can cause, but the Pretender shows no sign of slowing down for an upcoming roadblock, forcing Sideswipe to enter the fray and attempt to ram the RV. At the last possible moment, Sideswipe transforms and stabs Alice in the face through the windshield of the RV.

With the confrontation over, Soundwave focuses his spying on Theodore Galloway, roaming the corridors of power. It seems that Mr. Galloway is doing all he can to dismantle NEST and the Autobot-military alliance, still upset at his forced deplaning at the hands of Lennox. Soundwave is happy that the human is doing his work for him, and that if other members of the global infrastructure act in this manner, then by the time Megatron is combat-ready, Soundwave will have already conquered the Earth by stealth.
Also following the battle in Egypt, the Initiative has recovered and reanimated the remains of Ravage, who had died during the conflict. Ravage is sent outside of Guantanamo Bay, searching for a "new target." Breaking in, he finds the remains of the appliancebots and appropriates them. His presence at the base is detected and he is forced to make a run for it, dodging helicopters and soldiers before escaping into the ocean. The military mobilizes several jets to track him down. Ravage, meanwhile, emerges on a beach near MacDill Air Force Base and appears confused, having no recollection of the commands from his a mysterious new master. He curls up on the ground to await further instructions, however, the military tracks him down. Ravage destroys several helicopters before being surrounded by soldiers and jeeps. He unleashes Reedman, and although the smaller robot is eventually taken down by electric prods, he provides the distraction needed to allow Ravage to escape into a petrochemical plant. Officials at the White House get permission to level the plant.

In space, still linked to the US satellite, Soundwave is shocked and outraged that Ravage's remains have been tampered with, but also shocked that he does not know as he strongly felt the sensation of Ravage’s death. Ravage makes a run for it as several jets close in on the plant. As they cut loose, he attempts to blast his way through the ground but the missiles detonate, demolishing the plant and throwing Ravage's battered body into a pit. As the news reports blame a faulty intake valve for the explosion, his damaged but still online form settles in to wait for new instructions, surrounded by the remains of the appliancebots. Following the commotion, a pair of mysterious trucks is allowed through a security checkpoint onto the grounds of Kingdom Petrochemicals. Once through, the trucks disgorge some yellow ground attack vehicles and a number of people wearing military-style hazard suits.

Back at Diego Garcia, Optimus Prime is discussing the success of the previous mission with NEST, but both sides note that without some way of knowing how many other Decepticons are active on the planet, Alice's capture means very little. Lennox notes that due to Galloway's actions, NEST doesn't have the funding for the required level of vigilance that they need. Following this, Bumblebee, Knock Out, Dune Runner and Jolt are dispatched to Kingdom Petrochemicals to monitor five unknown spark traces, with Breakaway acting as air support. As the Autobot patrol heads towards the plant, Breakaway reaches the destination ahead of them and spots the mysterious, seemingly military involvement. Bumblebee orders him to merely observe the proceedings and not to engage.

Unbeknownst to the Autobots, Buzzsaw and Soundwave’s other animalistic minions are also observing the scene. The Decepticon condor reports back to Soundwave about this new group of humans. Concerned by this unknown factor, Soundwave sends them to bring him a survivor for interrogation and to eradicate the rest. The humans detect this new Decepticon threat and respond with force immediately, gaining the upper hand much to Soundwave's astonishment. Soundwave is forced to take direct action and enters Earth's atmosphere, where he is confronted by Breakaway. Soundwave brusquely tells the Autobot that the current situation is not their business, but Soundwave kills him as he refuses to back off. Bumblebee's team witnesses this as they arrive at the plant, and, upon the death of their teammate, the Autobots open fire on the Decepticons. The mysterious human group, caught in the crossfire of an inter-Cybertronian battle, withdraws, realizing that they cannot complete their mission in these circumstances. Soundwave and his forces also withdraw. Shortly after, the Initiative members meet in holographic form to discuss the results of this mission. Before retreating, their forces were able to drain the animating energies of the AllSpark from the appliancebots, which were then used to feed an artificial AllSpark construct they have created. It was an incomplete success though, as not enough energy was extracted to feed the group's “infant.”

Following the battle at Kingdom Petrochemicals, Galloway is prepared to shut down NEST, explaining that with the Decepticon threat level down, they are no longer needed. Meanwhile, a team of investigators led by Agent Highland is inspecting the sight at Kingdom Petrochemicals. While searching through the ground, they discover a sub-level, and as they investigate, Buzzsaw and Ravage both emerge violently from the ground, scattering the team. Soundwave orders Ravage to find a safe place to hide until he arrives, while he sends Buzzsaw to rendezvous with a strike team in Wendover, Utah to investigate a location downloaded from Ravage's memory.

While these events unfold, the people at Initiative are testing their newly reconstructed AllSpark. Carter Newell believes it will give them the power of gods, but Hank Kirkpatrick warns that if things go wrong, Earth could be destroyed. Newell tells him to shut up, and that everything will be fine. Meanwhile, three Decepticons proceed to destroy a farm in Utah, looking for something to do with Ravage. They spy a sub-level in the farm, but they see a flashing red light, and flee just as the whole place explodes. The Initiative registers the destruction of their facility, and at Newell's ordered, N.E.S.T. is subtly tipped off to the Decepticon activity. Lennox orders the deployment of Ironhide's team, as they are the closest to the Utah location, and they engage the Decepticons. The Autobots fare pretty well against the Decepticons, killing two of them and causing Dirt Boss to surrender, but then Soundwave attacks. He unleashes Ravage to attack Ironhide, but he is quickly dispatched. Just as Soundwave is about to use his saw on Ironhide, Optimus Prime comes parachuting down from the sky, and quickly defeats him. Soundwave then tries to convince the Autobots not to cryo-freeze him, as he is a valuable asset to them if they need to investigate the third party working against them. Agreeing, Optimus Prime chooses to only arrest him. In return, however, he has to tell them everything he knows. Just then, Galloway discovers that the Hoover Dam has been removed from government watchlists and decides to head there to find out why, unaware that the blackout is cover for an Initiative operation.

Back in Utah, Bumblebee receives a communiqué from Optimus, who is with Ironhide in a disused nuclear shelter in Texas awaiting their arrival. Optimus informs him that the Autobots are ready and that Soundwave can be brought in at Bumblebee's discretion. As he is being transported in a NEST cargo plane, Soundwave smugly intones that the Autobot patrol has a mere twenty-two minutes left to live, as unbeknownst to them, Buzzsaw begins tailing the plane. Knock Out dismisses it as head games, but Jolt and Dune Runner are less sure. As the twenty-two minutes passes, Buzzsaw destroys both of the cargo plane's starboard engines, leading to a fiery crash.

At the NEST plane's crash site in New Mexico, the joint human/Autobot unit is checking their wounds. Not able to send out a message, they realizes they are sitting ducks, so Bumblebee and his patrol race away, dragging the still-restrained Soundwave along for the ride. Bumblebee is seriously questioning the wisdom of transporting Soundwave when Buzzsaw, Beastbox, Rumble, Dirt Boss, Ratbat and Ravage show up to aid Soundwave. During the ensuing melee, Soundwave orders Ravage to free him from his restraints. Ravage goes to obey, but before he can do so, he is once more under the control of the Initiative. Soundwave expresses his disgust at this development. Meanwhile, Bumblebee decides that this team isn't fighting to the death, and surmising it's Soundwave's freedom or more Autobot casualties, Bumblebee blasts the Decepticon prisoner's restraining sled and abandons him to the desert as they flee the area.

During these same events, over at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, Theodore Galloway boards a helicopter to the Hoover Dam and tells its crew to disregard any order they might have received barring them from conducting any reconnaissance over at Sector Seven's old location. The flight personnel acquiesce to Director Galloway and the two helicopters leave for the dam. Inside the dam, some Initiative personnel are beginning a drilling operation that will lead them to the residual AllSpark energy, which they can use to continue feeding their artificial AllSpark. Somewhere in the region of Inyokern, California, Initiative-1 AKA Carter Newell, is bemoaning the amount of time it's taking to drill through the reinforced concrete, while assuring Kirkpatrick that he will deal with Galloway. Newell immediately contacts Woolf in "Deep-Freeze," where their captured transformers are kept, and asks Woolf for the fast thaw of an airborne unit. Soon after, in the airspace near the Hoover Dam, the other helicopter radios Captain Cox that there's an unknown aircraft on an intercept course, right before exploding. Cox's helicopter takes evasive actions but is still hit by the unknown assailant. Soon Galloway makes visual contact with the attacker, seeing that it is a WWI-era biplane, just before they crash to the ground.

Following their crash, they are still under attack from an Initiative-controlled Ransack, whilst over in Inyokern, California, Carter Newell and Ingrid are remotely observing the carnage. Ingrid asks Carter why he has such hatred for the Cybertronians, then asks to know what's in Isolation-1, an Initiative subdivision that only Carter has access to, but despite their family connections, Newell cuts her off. At the same time, Carter & Ingrid are updated on the progress of their operation at the Hoover Dam. It's tight, which worries Kirkpatrick, because without receiving the flow of energy it needs, their imitation AllSpark would cause complete galactic annihilation. Meanwhile, things continue to go from bad to worse for Galloway's group, with Frank having his stomach impaled by a piece of debris thrown up in the chaos. Galloway searches the body of their helicopter pilot and finds a radio. He radios an urgent help request to the NEST Tactical Base.

Five minutes earlier at that base, Optimus Prime and Major Lennox were discussing how Soundwave's escape has left the trail that they were following completely cold, which, combined with how far off-book they went to achieve Soundwave's capture in the first place, means that Galloway could effectively shut NEST down completely. As this grim possibility is being pondered, the base receives Galloway's emergency radio call. Optimus dispatches the only Autobots in the area, Skids and Mudflap, to come to Galloway's aid. Ironhide isn't entirely sure Galloway deserves to be helped, but Prime's order is relayed. As Ransack is closing in on the dying Frank, Galloway breaks cover and draws the Decepticon's attention away. As Ransack chases and fires at the NEST director, Skids and Mudflap finally arrive and start blasting at Ransack. Outgunned, Ransack transforms back to his bi-plane mode and flies off. Unfortunately for the Seeker, his escape is cut short by a squadron of NEST gunship helicopters, who promptly blast Ransack out of the sky, effectively neutralizing the threat. As Galloway's helicopter crew is extracted and a medic tends to Frank, Galloway reports to Lennox that someone tried to kill them all because they had gotten too close to something at the Hoover Dam. This prompts the group to head over to the Dam, where they note signs of forced entry. The Twins surmise that whoever forced the entry was going after the AllSpark.

Concurrently, in Eastern California, following his escape, Soundwave and his minions, accompanied by Dirt Boss, are investigating an operational base located within restricted airspace, using data from Ravage to trace down his new handlers. Soundwave thinks they may have prepared a trap, but ignoring this Dirt Boss charges forwards, exposing a gap in the humans' outer perimeter by tripping an explosive. Buzzsaw and Ratbat penetrate the gap opened by Dirt Boss, but are forced back and conquered by automated defenses. Soundwave orders Beastbox and Rumble to face the oncoming military vehicles, but they, too, are quickly subdued and destroyed by the human forces. Forced to go in by himself, Soundwave claims to have taken good measure of the foe. He is quickly proven wrong as the military vehicles raise up and disgorge two more Initiative-controlled Transformers, who fire at Soundwave, rendering him unable to continue the attack, and he retreats. Soon after, back at the Odessa base, an enemy contact is detected and closing in fast. Prime sends out Ironhide and a squad of humans to investigate the new arrival. It turns out to be Soundwave, who tells the welcoming committee to lower their weapons, as he is there to propose an alliance.

During this, over at the Initiative, musing on Ingrid’s words, Carter is in Isolation-1, talking to the head of Fortress about how he hates the robots as they took everything that he cared about (referring to his family, whose death Fortress was responsible for many years before). Since that time, he's dedicated his whole life to humbling all robots, and he claims that soon all robot-kind will know his revenge.

Following Soundwave's lead, the Autobots and NEST arrive at the site of the Initiative's base in Inyokern, California, only to discover that the base has completely disappeared. Suspecting some kind of mobile/modular headquarters, Optimus Prime's fear that their enemies have access to Cybertronian technology continues to grow, and Soundwave, seeking to maintain the upper hand in their uneasy alliance, refrains from confirming Prime's suspicions by telling them about the mind-controlled Transformers he battled previously. While the NEST team preps for departure and Galloway gives Lennox some uncharacteristic words of encouragement, Ironhide escorts Soundwave to a nearby cellular tower, where the spymaster uses his abilities to track the Initiative down.

The Initiative base, meanwhile, has relocated to Crater Lake in Oregon, where the facsimile AllSpark has been briefly stabilized by the infusion of the residual energy harvested from Hoover Dam. Exploiting this lull, Carter Newell uses a technological apparatus to link himself into the cube's energies, finally giving him control of them. Soon after, when the Initiative's board of directors convenes in their virtual reality boardroom, the directors announce their intention to force Carter out, to which Carter responds by transmitting AllSpark energy through the virtual systems, into the board members offices, where it brings various pieces office equipment to life. The feral AllSpark mutations kill all the board members, leaving Carter in sole control of the Initiative and Project: Nefarious.

The surge of AllSpark energy released by Carter is felt from afar by Optimus Prime as he, the Autobots, and NEST home in on the Initiative's new location. The group divides to attack the base from every side, and the Initiative's human troops quickly fall before their superior opponents. Carter demands that every Transformer the Initiative has captured over the years be thawed out to join the battle, as he activates the counterfeit AllSpark to supply them with the necessary power. The Autobots react in horror to the sight of familiar friends and foes emerging from the Initiative base, but a greater horror is realized, as the energy demands Carter has placed upon the AllSpark prove too much, and it begins to go into meltdown.

As this happens, Carter descends further and further into insanity, intent on using the facsimile AllSpark to exterminate all Transformer life, beginning with Optimus Prime and his Autobots. Outside the Initiative base, the Autobots struggle in their battle against the Initiative-controlled Autobots and Decepticons; unable to fight to their fullest extent due to their unwillingness to hurt their friends, they are forced instead to subdue them, allowing Ratchet to cut them off from the controlling energies of the artificial AllSpark.

With the AllSpark entering meltdown, Hank Kirkpatrick attempts to stop the madman, only to have Carter blast him with the AllSpark's energies, reducing him to a pile of smoking bones. This horrific sight prompts Ingrid to race to the isolation unit where Fortress’s head resides, agreeing to liberate the Transformer if he explains what is happening and if he agrees to stop Carter. The robot explains that he is a Seeker named Fortress, one of many left abandoned on Earth by The Fallen thousands of years beforehand. In 1929, a reckless contest between Fortress and another Seeker for information on the location of the Tomb of the Primes led to the young Carter Newell's parents being killed in a car crash, and Carter himself being crippled. Carter has hated the Transformers ever since, and has used his parents' wealth to build the Initiative for the goal of destroying them.

Back at the battle, Soundwave is able to exploit the chaos of the battle to regain control of Ravage from the Initiative, and has him deploy the Microcons. Just as Carter is using the power of the AllSpark to inflict pain upon Prime and the Autobots through their very sparks, the tiny robots sneak up behind the human and form Reedman, grievously wounding him before they are destroyed by an AllSpark-powered blast. Believing the AllSpark will heal his wounds in time, Carter disconnects a portion of the mobile base and flees with the cube, only to be pursued by Optimus Prime, Buzzsaw (at Soundwave's command), and Fortress himself, who has been freed by Ingrid and has reconstituted his body from the remains of the abandoned mobile base. Prime is forced to propel Carter's escape vehicle off the road, plucking the cube from the wreckage and attempting to bring it under control by feeding it the energies of his own spark. Carter emerges from the rubble and is about to use the cube to destroy Prime, when he is killed by a cannon barrage from Buzzsaw. At that point, Fortress arrives and convinces Prime to give him the cube, teleporting away with it to a far-off corner of the cosmos, where it explodes harmlessly, taking no lives but Fortress's own.

In the aftermath of the battle, the Autobots and NEST arrest the surviving Initiative personnel and comb through the base's computers, but information on the full extent of Newell's organization and his operations remains elusive. Prime fears that everything Carter did could all happen again, just as Soundwave completes his upload of the Initiative's databanks.
Following all of this, NEST takes in all the brain-damaged Autobots controlled by the Initiative for rehabilitation, while the Decepticons are likewise able to recover their warriors and put them back on the front lines before long. Some time following this, Optimus returns to the NEST Advanced Research Facility in the Hida Mountains of Japan, to continue work on Project: Unite.

However, Megatron soon learns of Project: Unite from aboard the Nemesis (I). He charges Bludgeon with obtaining its secrets for him, in return for command of the Earth-based Decepticon forces. Starscream objects and attempts to beat Bludgeon to the punch, fouling up his mission, and in the process obtaining a portion of the project's data. Starscream sends Skystalker and Ravage to recover the deceased bodies of Decepticons currently in NEST custody, and then replicates the Unite process with their remains, giving himself a power-up. The Autobots and Bludgeon track him to his base among the Cyclades Islands, but both parties arrive too late to stop him, and he begins cutting a swathe of destruction across Earth, his mental state rapidly deteriorating due to his failure to obtain the neural upgrades necessary to process the strain of the combination on the mind. Neither the Autobots nor the Decepticon contingent scrambled by Soundwave can match his power, but they provide enough of a delay for Megatron to return to Earth for a showdown. During their ensuing battle, the Autobots fear Megatron obtaining the secrets of Project: Unite, so Optimus calls in Ratchet to use an experimental weapon. Ratchet uses the weapon on Starscream, which instantly burns out his newly combined parts and leaves him unconscious. Seeing no further gain from sticking around, Megatron then flees, and Optimus, seeing that the project almost gave Megatron an ultimate power, decides to give up the power himself for fear of it turning into the wrong hands, and Project: Unite is disbanded.

After a series of failed attempts at appropriating Energon from around the world, Megatron is abandoned by the vast majority of his disenfranchised Decepticon followers and ordered to depart Earth by Optimus Prime.) (Naturally, this is not an instruction Megatron takes to heart; instead, he forgoes his pride and finally adopts an Earth alternate mode to remain hidden on the planet, holing up in the deserts of Namibia, Africa. Although he is joined there by Starscream, it is not long before the two have yet another altercation, prompting Starscream to finally break away from Megatron and reorganize the scattered Decepticons under his own command. He begins with Space Case, a member of Soundwave's Nemesis (I) crew who has been bumbling around Earth for a while, and soon has him attack Arcee, Bumblebee and Sam, who are saved by Ratchet.

To put his house back in order, Megatron brings the hatchlings from the Nemesis to Namibia, and then, learning of Shockwave’s captivity on Earth, liberates him from his Soviet prison, and charges him with forcing his errant troops back into line. Shockwave called Astrotrain in to help him, and to serve a role in the duplicitous scheme he unfolded. Together with Shockwave, Astrotrain attacks an oil processing plant in China, killing the Autobots Salvage and Longarm in the process, then begins salvaging raw materials from the wreckage which takes to upstate New York to build a cage for Shockwave's pet Driller.

Meanwhile, back at NEST headquarters on Diego Garcia, Optimus tries to convince the Autobot refugees rescued from the clutches of the Initiative that they need more time to recuperate before returning to the battlefield. Armorhide attempts to refute this, but only winds up proving Optimus's point when he accidentally calls him "Sentinel Prime", and has to stop mid-flow to remind himself they are no longer on Cybertron. The exchange punctuates how important it is that the Autobots stop any more humans from exploiting Cybertronian technology, which is the purpose of the mission currently under way in eastern California. There, Theodore Galloway, having had a change of heart after the Initiative affair, is posing as an arms dealer intending to purchase weapons from Starscream's representatives, Skystalker, Divebomb and Fearswoop, but his act is less than convincing, and the Decepticons realize they had been led into a trap just as Skids, Mudflap, Arcee, Elita-One, Chromia, and NEST's human forces spring into action. Robert Epps and William Lennox try to get Galloway to safety, but when the sisters destroy the misogynistic Skystalker, Divebomb rips open the humans' vehicle and prepares to shoot them if any of the Autobots make a move. Unfortunately for the Decepticon, he does not spot Ironhide coming up behind him, and is blown to fragments by the Autobot weapons-master. Fearswoop surrenders, and the team takes him back to Diego Garcia, where the wounded Arcee receives medical attention and Elita-One briefs Prime on the mission's outcome. Prime's concern extends beyond Decepticon weapon-dealing, though, as he fears for the new vicious streak his old friend Elita now displays and the ramifications of the strange new bond between her and her sisters.

Unbeknownst to any of the combatants, Shockwave observed the battle in California from afar, dubbing all involved "idiots". He contacts Astrotrain for an update on his construction project, then tracks Divebomb's radiation trail back to Starscream's current base of operations, in a junkyard on the outskirts of Mexico City. Blasting his way through the Decepticons unwise enough to try defending Starscream, Shockwave informs the treacherous air commander that Megatron has "requested his services". Before the conversation can go any further, Astrotrain radios Shockwave with some bad news: the "brain unit" scrap drone that held the control software for the machine he is constructing has gone AWOL, displaying a self-awareness it was not programmed for and absconding upon overhearing that it was to be destroyed after its task was done. Shockwave charges Starscream and his followers with recovering the drone.

Meanwhile, the brain unit, now calling itself "Brains", has made its way to Philadelphia, hoping to get some help from a native. Brains unwittingly tries questioning a Cybertronian, but when it doesn’t respond, he angrily kicks the nearest it, at which point it transforms, revealing itself to be Bumblebee. As the Autobot draws his weapons on the little drone, Sam Witwicky emerges from a nearby fast food joint, and Brains sheepishly introduces himself.

Sam Witwicky and Bumblebee bring the renegade Decepticon brain unit to Sam's college, where Wheelie realizes that this "Brains" is a scrap drone like him. Wheelie aids in getting everyone on the same page by helping Brains to understand the concept of organic life, but just as Brains starts to explain his back-story, Barricade comes smashing through the wall, intent on recovering the little bot. Bumblebee holds him off, but as Sam, Wheelie and Brains try to flee, they find their escape cut off by a huge Decepticon attack force led by Starscream. Sam contacts NEST for aid, and the Autobots quickly mobilize. The injured Arcee insists that she come with Prime's strike force, while Jolt's team of much-chagrined rookies are ordered to stay behind on Diego Garcia to guard Fearswoop, while Galloway co-ordinates a cover story.
Back in Philadelphia, Sonar has gained the upper hand in his battle with Bumblebee, but is suddenly felled by the flaming energy-blade of an unseen combatant. From the smoke and flames, Wheeljack emerges to introduce himself to Sam, along with his invisible blade-wielding ally Mirage, who now fades into view and dares the Decepticons to face him.

Back at the NEST base on Diego Garcia, all is quiet with the majority of soldiers en route to help Sam. While Knock Out plays cards with the soldiers, Jolt and Dune Runner chat with Theodore Galloway about the Autobot refugees rescued from the Initiative, but Galloway's inability to keep track of which Transformer is which gets on Jolt's nerves, and he goes to check on their Decepticon prisoner, Fearswoop. Tensions are running considerably higher, meanwhile, among the large Autobot strikeforce on their way to aid Sam Witwicky and Bumblebee against the Decepticons' massive attack. Optimus Prime again advocates allowing the wounded Arcee to remain behind, but her spark-bonded sister Elita-One reinforces her need for revenge, a sentiment that only opens old wounds between her and Prime, recalling the time on Cybertron when Prime let such an emotion overcome him. Elita's anger over Prime's abandonment of her on Cybertron, and the fact that her death and reunion with him has only led to more fighting and killing, boils over, and she and her sisters angrily depart on their own mission: to infiltrate what the Autobots believe to be Starscream's base of operations in upstate New York and plant explosives.

In Philadelphia, the newly-arrived Autobot advance reinforcements Wheeljack and Mirage manage to give the Decepticons a tough time, with Wheeljack projecting a forcefield to protect Sam and Wheelie, and Mirage using his invisibility powers to vex Bludgeon, tricking him into destroying Storm Surge. In the chaos, the object of the Decepticons' attack, Brains, becomes separated from the others, and while attempting to escape the clutches of Space Case, stumbles across Carly Miller. Sam distracts Space Case to prevent him from taking out both Carly and Brains, giving Carly time to use the fallen Storm Surge's cannons to blast Space Case, neutralizing the target.

Back in New York, Elita-One, Arcee and Chromia silently approach the objective, only to discover that it is not Starscream's base, but rather a construction site created by Astrotrain. Overhearing a communication between the Triple-Changer and his master Shockwave, and realizing that Astrotrain has built a cage to contain Shockwave's "pet", a Driller he has brought with him from Cybertron, the horrified sisters immediately try to radio Optimus Prime and inform him of the unexpected situation. Unfortunately for them, Soundwave is nearby and is blocking all transmissions. He then launches an attack on the sisters with his menagerie. The fractured, shared mind of Elita and her sisters is pulled in different directions as Arcee and Chromia's desire to warn Optimus is counteracted by Elita's bloodthirst, but the two sisters win out and convince Elita to deliver the message while they hold Soundwave's beasts off. Unfortunately, Astrotrain is hot on her tail.

As the battle continues to rage on in Philadelphia, things come to a head when Starscream corners Sam, Carly and Brains, demanding the brain unit be handed over. Just then, Optimus Prime's Autobots arrive in force, and Starscream panics, contacting Shockwave to find out what became of his assurances that the Autobots would be too busy to interfere. It transpires that this is all part of Shockwave's plan: he played Starscream as a pawn, using him as a distraction to draw the Autobots out and leave Diego Garcia undermanned. Shockwave shuts off the communication and descends from the skies over the island, killing Knock Out, smashing into the NEST base, and slaughtering his way through Jolt and Dune Runner. Shockwave demands the commanding officer identify himself, and Galloway bravely steps forward, only to be reduced to a charred skeleton by a blast from Shockwave's cannon, along with all of the soldiers around him.

Back in Philadelphia, Optimus Prime and his Autobots lay siege to the panicking forces of Starscream's Decepticons. Little moments of relative calm are found on the battlefield though: Wheelie welcomes an overwhelmed Brains into the Autobot ranks, while Sam Witwicky and Carly Miller trade barbs over how well Carly is taking the whole experience, which she credits to her new boss, who makes this all seem mediocre. However, there is no such merriment to be found back at NEST's headquarters on Diego Garcia: Jolt, badly injured, tries to radio Prime to let him know that Shockwave has attacked the base, freed Fearswoop, and slaughtered all the personnel, both human and Autobot, but his transmission breaks up before Prime can comprehend his meaning, and Shockwave delivers a killing blow.

Concurrently, in upstate New York, Chromia and the wounded Arcee battle with Soundwave and his minions, attempting to buy Elita-One time to reach Prime and tell him that they have all been played for dupes by Shockwave. The fleeing Elita, meanwhile, is pursued into a city by Astrotrain, where she believes she will be able to elude him in his train-form by scaling buildings and driving over their roofs. Unfortunately, Astrotrain unveils his triple-changing powers and adopts a flight mode, keeping pace with Elita and convincing her that she will have to fight him before she can continue with her mission.

With Jolt’s message not received, the battle in Philadelphia seems to be going in the Autobots' favor, until Lennox and Ironhide realize that their opponents aren't actually fighting back, but are rather trying to escape. A suspicious Prime orders Wheeljack to expand his forcefield and keep the Decepticons trapped inside so he can get some answers. Suddenly though, a battered Elita crests the horizon, fresh from victory over Astrotrain, and screaming a warning of the trap. Alas, no sooner has the word "Shockwave" crossed her lips, than the cyclopean Decepticon himself rockets out of the air, landing on top of Elita and crushing the life out of her.

In the Adirondacks, Chromia and Arcee scream as they feel their sister die through their spark-bond. Believing that what they have fought for has been meaningless in the face of this outcome, Chromia triggers the explosives they have brought with them, intending to take Soundwave out along with herself and Arcee. At the last moment, though, Arcee overcomes her injuries and transforms, pulling her sister free from the flames, telling her that if all their struggles only bought Elita a few more minutes to live, then it was still a battle worth fighting, because all they can do now is fight for life.

Shockwave's arrival in Philadelphia though plunges the battlefield into chaos, and Wheeljack and Mirage are quickly downed by the monstrously powerful Decepticon. Fearswoop comes flying in low to share a cruel joke with Shockwave, but is abruptly cut off when he collides with Wheeljack's invisible forcefield and explodes. Shockwave's moment of triumph is suddenly no more with the realization that he is trapped inside the field with a ferocious Optimus Prime, who proceeds to brutally pummel Shockwave to within an inch of his life. It is only the sudden arrival of Shockwave's tunneling, subterranean pet Driller that saves his life, as it emerges to snatch its master from the jaws of death and drag him away to safety underground. Prime bellows into the tunnel in rage, tortured by the death of Elita. Things then go from bad to worse as Sam informs him that Ratchet has made contact with Diego Garcia and learned of the massacre there. Wheeljack and Mirage, badly injured, but still alive, can be rebuilt, which brings some good news, as well as word from the still-functioning Arcee and Chromia, but the battle has shaken everyone. Epps decides its time to retire, while Bumblebee and Sam part ways, for Bumblebee to resume work with NEST in the wake of these new threats, and for Sam to continue in his life.

Following the battle, at Megatron's temporary base in Namibia, Africa, the Decepticon leader quiets Starscream's howls of protest over being used as bait with the promise that this has only been a rising storm, and that true darkness is about to fall.

Sometime after this, Sam and Carly, having met again in the battle, begin a relationship and move to Washington, D.C. to live together, with Wheelie and Brains accompanying them. New director of NEST, Charlotte Mearing, revokes Bumblebee's permission to live with Sam. Robert Epps retires from active duty and takes a consulting job. Having been critically damaged during the battle in Philadelphia, Shockwave, Mirage and Wheeljack's bodies are rebuilt into new forms.

==Alternate timelines==

*[[Sector Seven ARG timeline]]—Detailing the history of the "alternate reality" that presents Transformers as real beings, and the fiction associated with them a cover story propagated by Sector Seven.
*[[Titan Magazines movie timeline]]—Covering the UK take on the live-action movie universe, which diverges following the events of the first film. Also includes a timeline of the parallel universe where the events of the movie turned out differently.

==Footnotes==
<references />

[[Category:Chronologies]]
[[Category:Live-action film series]]

Movie timeline

2011-06-27T17:40:01Z

220.132.215.232: /* 20th Century */

Movie timeline

2011-06-27T17:35:15Z

220.132.215.232: /* 19th Century */

Movie timeline

2011-06-27T17:34:21Z

220.132.215.232: /* Prehistory */