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Megatron (G1)/2005 IDW continuity

2018-11-09T15:45:25Z

Egg:

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[[File:IDWMegatron.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|Megatron A, Megatron B, Megatron Retailer's Incentive, Megatron Dynamic Forces Exclusive variant, and Megatron (Second Printing).]]
'''Megatron''' waged a battle to destroy the evil forces of the [[Senate]]! Then he ''continued'' to wage a war against the evil forces of freedom, organic life, and the very idea of an Autobot living. After [[Dark Cybertron (IDW)|some life-changing events]], he waged a war against the evil forces of his own past [[Decepticon Justice Division|legacy]]. Currently, however, Megatron's revolution has come full circle, waging a war against the evil forces of the [[Functionist Council]]!

Megatron is a master planner, constantly a step ahead of any opponent and even ahead of what he wants ''now'', preparing for anything he may want in the future. He has the physical might to overpower most foes but it's his mind who has one-upped three Primes and rival Decepticons. But his cold clinical nature is a front he has to struggle to keep up, as he's quick to anger and quicker to use excessive violence as his answer to any problem. Megatron's trying to change but he's spent such a long time revelling in violence, it may have been a lost cause from the start.

:*''First Appearance:'' [[Infiltration issue 4|''Transformers: Infiltration'' #4]]

{{quote|Because in the final analysis, I would happily wade across a river of corpses, chest-deep in rust and grease and engine oil, just to crush the spark of the last Autobot standing. And I would not do so simply as a means to an end. No. I'd do it, Prime, because it would give me '''pleasure'''.|Megatron to Optimus Prime|"[[Chaos Theory Part 1]]"}}

{{quote|And the thing is, when those words were in my head I didn't think I meant them; but when they left my mouth, I realized that I '''did'''. If the world thinks you're a monster, what does it matter? The world is '''wrong'''. But when you start to think of '''yourself''' as a monster...|Megatron on the previous quote|"[[slaughterhouse]]"}}

__TOC__
==IDW Generation 1 comics==
===Birth of a tyrant===
[[File:Mtmte17-point one percenter spark.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|right|Not so tough without a body, are ya?]]
'''Megatron of [[Tarn (polity)|Tarn]]''' was the first "hybrid" Transformer, a powerful forged superspark in a constructed cold body. His [[spark]] came to life in the middle of a field full of newborn sparks, a so-called "[[hot spot]]", on [[Moonbase One|Luna 1]], the "Seething Moon". The hot spot remained dormant for ages until it was finally fertilized when [[Hot Rod (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rodimus]] and [[Rung (G1)|Rung]] set foot on the ground in the "present" day. Within an instant, the entire moon lit up, as a billion sparks suddenly flared to life all over its surface. [[Cyclonus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Cyclonus]] was the first to point out that one of the sparks was glowing green, which [[Brainstorm (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Brainstorm]] recognized as a "superspark"—a vanishingly rare, insanely powerful [[Point One Percenter]]. Despite [[Perceptor (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Perceptor's]] horrified protestations, Brainstorm immediately began to excavate and harvest the spark, taking it with him for future use. {{storylink|Remain in Light 1 of 5: The Fecund Moon|The Fecund Moon}}

[[File:MTMTE37 megatron under construction.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.0|Megatron (Work in progress)]]
Megatron's original body, on the other hand, was one of the many "knock off" Transformers [[reproduction|constructed cold]] during the [[Silver Harvest]], specifically built in the 1st Cycle 012, millions of years in the past, in [[Con Facility 113]] ("Con" being short for "constructed cold"). The spark originally intended for this body was one generated from the [[Matrix of Leadership]] by [[Solomus|Tyrest]], but this spark was destroyed by [[Rewind (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rewind]], who had travelled back in time alongside several other [[Autobot]]s, originally to ''prevent'' a time-travelling Brainstorm from killing Megatron and thereby unwittingly creating a [[Functionist Universe|dystopian alternate timeline]] in which the [[Functionist Council]] would rule [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. After Rewind had "killed" Megatron in order to prevent the destruction he knew the latter would come to wreak upon the universe, fellow time-travelling Autobot [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]], who loathed the Functionists, took it upon himself to fix the timeline, taking advantage of a temporary distraction by nabbing the harvested Point One Percenter spark Brainstorm had taken with him back in time and placing it inside Megatron's now sparkless body—and thus Megatron was ''truly'' born. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 3: Predestination: An Expert's Guide|Predestination: An Expert's Guide}}

Megatron desired to be a medic, {{storylink|The Becoming: Dark Cybertron Chapter 10|The Becoming}} but alas, he lived in a time of functionism, where one's [[alternate mode]] denoted one's role in society, and one's role determined one's rights. As such, the true nature of his exceptionally rare spark apparently unknown, Megatron was assigned the task for which he had been built: that of [[energon]] miner, a member of the lower class, toiling in a mine under [[Nova Point]]. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|Towards Peace}}

[[File:ChaosTheory1 megatron symbol creation.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|... And thus the "Silica Fracturism" art movement was born.]]
An idealist, intellectual, and poet, Megatron was sickened by the caste-ridden social apartheid of [[Nominus Prime]]'s Cybertron, and so he wrote [[After the Ark: Nominus Prime and the Illusion of Progress|a treatise]] on how pacifist dissent and the exchange of ideas could change things. It was while he was sharing this work with his miner friend [[Impactor (G1)|Impactor]] over a drink in [[Maccadam's Old Oil House|Maccadam's New Oil House]] that the event occurred which would change the course of his life, as Impactor wound up being drawn into a bar brawl with some of the city's upper classes (inadvertently caused by a time-travelling Rung), and Megatron, who himself had actually ''not'' been involved in the brawl, instead cowering underneath a table, was among those arrested after the fracas. Megatron's writings had been growing in popularity and inspiring some dissent against the current regime, so in order to silence him, the [[Senate]] arranged for a police officer on their payroll, [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]], to kill him. Before Whirl could finish the job, however, police captain [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Orion Pax]], having discovered Megatron's innocence thanks to the bartender's testimony, arranged for his release. Despite Pax expressing support for the message of his writings, Megatron now found himself filled with rage and hate, disillusioned with his former ideology and realizing the power of applied violence. Angrily hurling the datapad on which he had written his treatise through a public info-screen, Megatron observed the jagged shape of the shattered glass, and later turned it into a [[insignia|symbol]] for his cause. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1|Chaos Theory #1}}

[[File:MTMTE34 what you might call a thinker.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|When considering the Grand Cybertronian Taxonomy, one question remains unanswered. Why am I always pictured with phallic-shaped items in awkward positions?]]
Megatron's samizdat writings began to circulate in Cybertron's underground, spawning the "[[Decepticon]]" movement, its name derived from its own slogan, "You are being deceived", warning the common 'bot of the Senate's true nature. Knowing that, at this stage, assassinating Megatron would merely make him a martyr, the Senate instead elected to relocate him off-planet, reassigning him to a mining facility on the world of [[Messatine]] while they tried their own schemes to defuse the growing Decepticon movement. {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 1: Post Hoc|Post Hoc}} It was there that Megatron met [[Terminus (G1)|Terminus]], an elderly fellow miner who encouraged him to keep writing, and who, in addition to proofreading his works for him, smuggled each new tract back to Cybertron, helping to continue the spread of the Decepticon movement. When Terminus was maimed in a mining accident and had his fuel rations cut off, Megatron kept him alive by sharing his own [[energon]] with the old 'bot. Eventually, Senate agents [[Froid]] and [[Trepan]] were dispatched to Messatine to perform mind-altering [[Shadowplay]] upon Megatron, in order to cut his writings off at the source. Tased into submission and strapped to Trepan's operating table, Megatron was helpless to stop the [[mnemosurgery|mnemosurgeon]] from beginning his vile work. Though the arrival of Froid's rival psychopathologist [[Rung (G1)|Rung]] fortunately forced Trepan to stop before Megatron's personality was altered, the experience left the miner with a lifelong fear of mnemosurgery. Subsequently, a mysterious surge of energy deep within the mine (inadvertently caused by a time-travelling Brainstorm) forced an evacuation of the facility; Megatron raced back to his quarters to carry Terminus to safety, but found his friend was not there. With time running out and no sign of Terminus anywhere, Megatron instead chose to save the stack of datapads containing his unpublished works—a decision that would haunt him. {{storylink|Births, Deaths, and Interventions}}

[[File:MegatronOrigin1 first kill.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|"You know, sometimes I think I was born with a leak, and any goodness I started with just slowly spilled out of me and now its all gone. And I'll never get it back in me. It's too late."]]
Megatron was relocated to [[Mining Outpost C-12]], and continued to seethe with hate and frustration in his new workplace. His discontent reached a peak when, some time later, [[Decimus|Senator Decimus]] arrived to announce that the mine was being automated and the workers would be relocated. When one of the Senator's guards killed a worker for insubordination and claims of Senate corruption, Megatron's fury boiled over and he hurled his pickaxe at Decimus. In turn, he was attacked by the Senator's guard, whom he killed by smashing his head to fragments—the first time he had ever taken a life. A riot erupted around him, but Megatron himself could only sit amongst the chaos, staring at his fuel-stained hands in abject horror, which allowed him to be easily pacified and rounded up with the other miners as the mayhem was quickly suppressed. En route to [[Penal Facility H-3|imprisonment]] back on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], however, [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] and [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] broke free and started a riot aboard [[Longshot (G1)|their ship]]. Megatron joined in their effort, and together, they overpowered their guards, took control of the ship, and disappeared into the [[Kaon (polity)|Kaon]] underground. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 1|Megatron Origin #1}}

[[File:MegsOrigin2 Cykill.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.4|Battle of the Awesome Voices!]]
After evading law enforcement, Megatron joined a team of underworld gladiators under the tutelage of [[Clench (G1)|Clench]]. Initially repulsed by killing his opponents, the games eventually turned him more brutal and excessive, and he took control of the entire operation from Clench. The opportunistic Senator [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]], after seeing how much money there was in the underworld matches, covertly sent his agent [[Soundwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Soundwave]] to offer Megatron weaponry and technology to upgrade himself and his comrades. Their meeting was spied upon by [[Bumper (G1)|Bumper]] and [[Fastback (G1)|Fastback]], agents from the Senate's forces, who Megatron slew. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 2|Megatron Origin #2}} Subsequently, impressed by how he treated his animal-form [[Decepticon Mini-Cassette|cassette partners]] as equals (in contradiction to the teachings of his Senate masters), Megatron invited Soundwave back to the gladiator pits and gave him permission to use his mind-reading abilities on him. Within Megatron's mind, Soundwave saw his honest desire for all Cybertronians to be true equals, and was so moved by it that he joined Megatron's cause. {{storylink|Soundwaves (issue)|Soundwaves}}

Gradually, Megatron used the gladiatorial games to drum up an army of violent malcontents, sending Soundwave to recruit more and more warriors to his cause. Such recruits included [[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]], [[Thundercracker (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Thundercracker]] and [[Skywarp (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Skywarp]], who he was presented with while having an arm he lost in a brawl replaced with a new limb that incorporated an [[energon mace]], {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 3|Megatron Origin #3}} and the disenfranchised warrior [[Drift (G1)|Drift]], who was personally asked by Megatron to fight at his side when he attended a Decepticon rally, and whom Megatron rechristened "Deadlock," {{storylink|Drift issue 2|Drift #2}} and transformed into a capable Decepticon warrior. {{Storylink|Drift issue 3|Drift #3}} A wave of terrorism and sabotage spread across Cybertron at his command: bombings, wrecking factories and fuel plants, shutting down transport links, a mass poisoning to tank a corporation, and a very public kidnapping of Senator Decimus. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 3|Megatron Origin #3}}

Seeking to enhance his army even further, Megatron reached out to [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Senator Shockwave]], offering to supply him the resources he required to carry out his own mysterious experiments in exchange for his using the teachings of his lost mentor [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]] to create a [[combiner]] that would serve the Decepticons. Shockwave cautioned that it could take some time, but Megatron was content to wait. {{storylink|Shockwaves}}

[[File:Apexthrone.JPG|upright=1.4|thumb|You should have gone to IKEA.]]
Despite all his efforts, Megatron believed that the Senate was still not taking the Decepticons seriously, so Soundwave formulated a plan for a declaration of intent that could be not denied: lure the Senate to Kaon and murder them. {{storylink|Soundwaves (issue)|Soundwaves}} In preparation for this scheme, Megatron offered to restore Shockwave's lost hands—a victim of [[empurata]]—believing that doing so might speed his work. {{storylink|Shockwaves}} The following day, in accordance with Soundwave's plan, Megatron and the Decepticons allowed themselves to be arrested by Sentinel Prime's men, after which Soundwave was freed on Ratbat's orders, while Starscream would ensure his own release by pretending to defect. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 3|Megatron Origin #3}} Together, Soundwave and Starscream exterminated the entire Senate, then liberated Megatron and the rest of their comrades, in the process granting their leader the gift of a [[fusion cannon]] liberated from the Senate forces' armory. Megatron led his army against Sentinel Prime's men, killed Sentinel himself, and took control of Kaon, now ready to turn his insurgency into a full-blown war. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 4|Megatron Origin #4}}

When Sentinel's head went missing, Megatron (unaware) was blamed for it. {{storylink|The Last Autobot}}

===Early days of war===
Megatron formally declared war on "[[Declaration Day]]" when he delivered a stirring speech from [[Nova Point|Nova Peak]]. {{storylink|Rules of Disengagement (issue)|Rules of Disengagement}} The self-described "second order" he ever gave was that under no circumstances was any Decepticon to kill Whirl—Megatron wanted his old tormentor for himself. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|Towards Peace}} The growing Decepticon forces swiftly spread across six [[Polities of Cybertron|Torus-States]], {{storylink|Parasites}} and to combat them, Cybertron's new leader [[Zeta Prime]] assembled a new military force, the "[[Autobot]]s", led by Megatron's old acquaintance [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Orion Pax]]. Researching his new opposite number, Megatron was intrigued to discover that his now-abandoned treatise had been a source of inspiration for Pax, who had even quoted from it when he confronted the Senate and openly accused them of corruption. {{storylink|Cause and Effect}} Early into the war, [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]] would admit to Pax that Megatron talked about him sometimes, when he was tired. When Pax asked what was said, Bludgeon told him that it would make "both of us feel ''uncomfortable''". {{storylink|Omega's Conundrum}}

[[File:Autocracy4 backroom meeting.jpg|upright=1.66|left|thumb|Megatron Delightful Destuction Exclusive Variant]]
When Orion Pax came close to Kaon during a mission, Megatron saw it as a chance to speak to him and had his Decepticons bring him in. {{storylink|The Hunt for Soundwave}} Megatron attempted to convince him that Zeta Prime was even worse than he appeared—that he had planned to let Orion die in [[Nyon]] so that he could use his death as pretext to invade the rebel-infested city and drain the citizens of their energon—and proposed they work together against him, but Orion refused to hear him and then escaped. Knowing the doubts he'd placed in his head would only serve to damage the Autobot cause, Megatron let him go. {{storylink|Cause and Effect}}

[[File:Autocracy8 megs and pax together.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|"Megatron, let's roll." "What you thinking?" "...Pub?"]]
Megatron continued to keep an eye on Orion Pax's activities, spying on his encounter with the Nyon insurgent [[Hot Rod (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Hot Rod]]. {{storylink|Ruins}} When Zeta Prime's [[Guardian robot|Omega Destructor]]s suddenly attacked Nyon, Megatron was surprised by how zealously the new Prime fought against the city's rebels, but his real interest still lay on how Orion would handle the crisis. {{storylink|Purge}} Orion turned on Zeta, who in turn attempted to kill him, prompting Megatron to intervene and force the Prime to retreat. Taking Orion back to Kaon, he again offered that they work together against Zeta's corruption, and this time the Autobot officer accepted. {{storylink|Choices}} As their combined forces invaded the [[Citadel]] in Iacon, Megatron and Orion Pax made their way inside and fought Zeta Prime in person. The battle ended with Megatron killing the Prime with a head shot, and with his objective complete, he then betrayed the injured Orion by shooting him in the back. {{storylink|Overthrown}} This moment lived in infamy as the point at which Megatron revealed his true colors, no longer couched in ideology; {{storylink|Dinobot Hunt (IDW)|Dinobot Hunt}} though curiously, an alternate report incorrectly implied he had assassinated Zeta from afar, sniping him with the rifle alternate mode of [[Vos (DJD)|Vos]]. {{storylink|Bullets}} {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 3: The Chaos of Warm Things|The Chaos of Warm Things}}

[[File:Autocracy12 no you dont megatron.jpg|upright=1.4|left|thumb|I can't be the only one with deja vu here.]]
With Zeta dead, Megatron conquered Iacon and declared himself ruler of Cybertron. His soldiers patrolled the planet's streets to "keep the peace", mostly by hunting down and capturing any remaining Autobots who opposed him. {{storylink|Transformation (issue)|Transformation}} During his rule, Megatron attempted to sway the neutral Hot Rod into joining the Decepticons, but he decided otherwise upon witnessing Megatron ordering the execution of several Autobot prisoners. {{storylink|Rise}} Megatron was shocked to learn that Orion Pax had survived the betrayal and was organizing a rebellion against him under the name "Optimus Prime", and even more shocked that people actually had the courage to listen to him. He wasted no time in striking back against the rebels approaching the Citadel with the full force of his army. {{storylink|Broadcast}} During the battle, Megatron unleashed Zeta Prime's energy-draining [[vamparc ribbon|vamparc annihilator]], but when the gigantic [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] took out the cannon, Megatron fell to the streets and was confronted by Optimus Prime himself. He lost the ensuing [[The Transformers: The Movie|familiar-looking duel]] and was badly wounded after a failed attempt to defeat Prime by holding Hot Rod hostage, forcing him to escape aboard Astrotrain. As he fled, he warned Optimus that he hadn't won, he had only started a war unlike any Cybertron had ever seen. {{storylink|Endgame}}

[[File:Monstrosity3 Megatron and Pentius.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|Megatron insists on wearing his Darksiders cosplay when he's walking his pet Quintesson.]]
Before Megatron could recover from his injuries, he was betrayed by [[Scorponok (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Scorponok]], who was gunning for the position of Decepticon leader (with aid from Starscream). As punishment for his failure to hold Iacon, Scorponok banished the wounded Megatron to the hell-world of [[Junkion (planet)|Junkion]]. {{storylink|Derelicts}} Further injured in battle with some [[Junkion (species)|cannibalistic natives]], he stubbornly refused to give up and used the trash littering the world to patch himself up, leaving him with a mismatched, monstrous appearance. {{storylink|Wreckage (issue)|Wreckage}} While searching for a way off Junkion, Megatron entered the wreckage of a starship and found a trapped [[Quintesson]] named [[Pentius]], who had mapped the planet and knew of an area known as the [[Pillar of Rust]] where starships may land and take off. Megatron freed the alien to guide him there, while also putting him in chains to serve as his slave. {{storylink|Faces of Darkness}}

[[File:Monstrosity7 megatron takes pentius spark.jpg|upright=1.4|left|thumb|"Thanks for turning me into the psychopath I've been the whole time!"]]
While crossing the [[Acid Sea]] on the way to the Pillar, Megatron was attacked by [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticons]] who pulled him into the depths. {{storylink|Rage (IDW)|Rage}} For reasons unknown he was then released, the creatures having allowed him to live. As he emerged, Pentius was waiting with a history lesson, telling him that Junkion was once a prosperous world until its inhabitants drained it of resources, leaving it the broken husk it is today: a fate that may also await Cybertron. Megatron rejected this possibility, declaring that under his rule, Cybertron—and his legacy—would last forever. {{storylink|Fallout (issue)|Fallout}} On arrival at the Pillar of Rust, Megatron was met by the [[Terrorcon (G1)|Terrorcons]], who had come to Junkion to finish what Scorponok had started by killing him. He was able to fight off several of his attackers, but [[Hun-Gurrr (G1)|Hun-Gar]] was too much for him to handle in his injured state. Egged on and taunted by Pentius, Megatron realized he had one last resource left to use: the Quintesson himself. Telling Pentius that his legacy would live on within him, he tore out the alien's [[spark]] and used it to fuel himself, granting him enough power to defeat Hun-Gar. He spared the Terrorcons in exchange for their loyalty, then returned to Cybertron on their ship to take revenge on Scorponok and take back control of the Decepticons. {{storylink|Prey (issue)|Prey}}

[[File:Monstrosity12 strange turns.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb]]
Megatron returned to a Cybertron in chaos, as the ancient reptilian [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] had been unleashed by Scorponok and was in the midst of razing Iacon. After reasserting his leadership of the Decepticons by beating Scorponok nearly to death, he had Shockwave restore his body to its original shape and condition, {{storylink|The Illusion of Control}} and set out to investigate the Trypticon situation alone, unwilling to risk his soldiers in the face of the beast's uncontrolled fury. Finding an injured Optimus Prime on the battlefield, Megatron lectured him, but opted to leave him alive so that he could watch as the Decepticon leader defeated the enemy that Prime could not. Megatron was attacked by [[Grimlock (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Grimlock]], but as they grappled, they were swallowed by Trypticon. {{storylink|Annihilation}} Within the giant, the pair set their differences aside to fend off the [[cyber-morphic predator]]s that populated his interior, and together, they destroyed Trypticon's internal power cell, taking him offline. A tense standoff between the Autobots and Decepticons followed as the two warriors emerged from within Trypticon, but both sides agreed to go their separate ways for the time being. Not long after the battle, however, Megatron removed Pentius's spark from within himself and installed it within Trypticon. {{storylink|Belly of the Beast (issue)|Belly of the Beast}}

[[File:Primacy4 megatron imprisoned.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.4]]
After being fully repaired following his ordeals, Megatron roused Trypticon by exploiting the connection they now shared thanks to both having borne Pentius's spark. Discovering that Trypticon now possessed the consciousness of Pentius, Megatron was immediately suspicious of the Quintesson's potential treachery and was staggered by the visions of undiluted evil he saw in the aliens' past via their spark-link, but Trypticon assured him that he was dedicated to their shared goal of breaking a world. {{storylink|Primacy issue 1|Primacy #1}} Using Trypticon's city-ship alternate mode, Megatron took to the stars, rounding up the scattered Decepticon army and even recruiting Junkions and Sharkticons. {{storylink|Primacy issue 2|Primacy #2}} Returning to Cybertron in force, Megatron was content to wait and watch from the sidelines while his troops viciously tore into Iacon. Trypticon was defeated in battle by Metroplex, at which point Megatron's folly was revealed: through their link, Pentius mockingly revealed his intention to use Trypticon consume Cybertron once the Autobots and Decepticons had weakened each other. {{storylink|Primacy issue 3|Primacy #3}} Leaving his men with orders to burn Iacon to the ground if he failed in order to spare it such a fate, Megatron set off for Trypticon's fallen body in hopes that he would be able to remove Pentius's spark before the giant revived. Confronted atop Trypticon by Optimus Prime, Megatron tried to goad the Autobot leader into destroying him, believing that Pentius would be destroyed with him thanks to their link. Refusing to accept death as the answer, Optimus instead used the [[Matrix of Leadership]] to purify Megatron, burning Pentius's spark away; Megatron, however, vowed that he would never stop hating Optimus in spite of what he had done for him. Sadly resigned to the fact that the once-noble revolutionary he had admired was now lost, Optimus knocked out the weakened Megatron and took him into custody. {{storylink|Primacy issue 4|Primacy #4}}
{{-}}

===The spreading conflict===
[[File:MTMTE14 megatron vs overlord.jpg|upright=1.4|left|thumb]]
Escaping Autobot custody under as-yet-unrevealed circumstances, Megatron continued to wage the war. Early in the continuing conflict, he wrote ''[[Towards Peace]]'', a new treatise to replace ''After the Ark'', in which he described continuing to fight the war until the very notion of conflict was literally inconceivable. Then and only then would he finally give up his fusion cannon. {{storylink|Rules of Disengagement (issue)|Rules of Disengagement}} The earliest edition of the work featured a dedication to Terminus, which Megatron would later remove to reflect the lesson his friendship with Terminus had taught him: not to get attached. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|Towards Peace}} Friendships were a weakness, and Megatron exploited this in the cruelest way possible: by corrupting Optimus Prime's old friend [[Tarn (DJD)|Damus]], turning him into one of the most vicious, dedicated Decepticons of all, a devoted worshiper at the altar of Megatron, purely to hurt Prime. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 3: Your Fierce Tears|Your Fierce Tears}}

Megatron oversaw the creation of a class of super-warriors known as the [[Warriors Elite]], selecting only his most powerful troops to undergo the torturous upgrade, including [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]], a brilliant sadist and frequent opponent of his from his pit-fighting days who had developed an obsession with Megatron after the Decepticon leader dealt him his first ever defeat. {{storylink|Remembrance Day}} At some point, he also created the [[Decepticon Justice Division]] to deal with traitors, and appointed Damus—now code-named "Tarn"—as its leader, {{storylink|Rules of Disengagement (issue)|Rules of Disengagement}} though he elected not to send them after Deadlock when he defected, valuing the warrior enough to instead dispatch [[Lockdown (G1)|Lockdown]] to bring him in. {{storylink|Drift issue 2|Drift #2}} He would reportedly spend "half the war" searching for a way to remotely access a [[black hole]], in order to use [[antimatter]] for power, but never succeeded. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 6: Do Not Go Gentle|Do Not Go Gentle}}

[[File:ChaosTheory prime vs megatron montage.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|Good times, bad times.]]
Megatron would personally clash with Optimus Prime many times; Optimus grew to respect and fear Megatron as a calm, calculating and measured opponent, while Megatron himself respected Prime's sheer power and his skill as a tactician and as a leader. {{storylink|Escalation issue 5|Escalation #5}} Megatron would later incorrectly recall their battle on [[Sherma Bridge]] during the [[Rorsha Campaign]] as the first time they met. Said battle was certainly momentous—every Autobot and Decepticon stopped fighting to witness their duel, during which Megatron's cannon arm was sliced off by Prime's [[energon-axe]], and he claimed revenge by throwing the Autobot leader off the bridge. As the war spread to other planets, they would meet again and again: during the [[Siege of Massunstrad]], Megatron sealed Prime in an anti-matter chamber; on [[Rada Mor]], Prime reduced Megatron to ashes with sentient explosives; and in the midst of the [[Vorsk Offensive]], Megatron was nearly sliced in half by Prime. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1|Chaos Theory #1}} Though he resisted [[Solomus|Tyrest]]'s attempts to find a "Two City-State Solution" to the war, he did agree to abide by the [[Tyrest Accord]]. {{storylink|Remain in Light 2 of 5: House of Ambus|House of Ambus}}

Megatron took on a new pistol alternate mode for the [[Battle for Hell's Point]], during which he was used by [[Heretech]] to blast [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]]. {{storylink|The Gloaming}} During the same skirmish, Megatron took off half of Prime's face with his energon mace, but had a city block dropped on him by Prime in retribution, which shattered his [[transformation cog]] and trapped him in gun mode for two years. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1|Chaos Theory #1}} Prime was not the only old face that Megatron would see again during the war: during a battle on an aerial drilling platform over the [[Manganese Mountains]], Megatron came face-to-face with his old friend Impactor, and stood poised to execute him until Impactor gave him a moment's pause by recalling his old fondness for poetry. In this moment, Megatron was knocked from the platform by [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] and sent plummeting to the mountains below. {{storylink|Zero Point}}

[[File:LastStandoftheWreckers2-teleconference.jpg|upright=1.66|left|thumb|"We attack the Rice Krispies guys at dawn! Assuming Judd Hirsch delivers the goods."]]
At the war's zenith, Megatron sealed himself in an [[Omniglobe]] to absorb the relentless flood of data coming in from countless fronts. {{storylink|Rules of Disengagement (issue)|Rules of Disengagement}} With total war going nowhere, he would go on to develop a six-stage [[infiltration protocol]] to be used for conquering targeted planets. The sixth phase called for outright planetary razing, and Megatron selected three of his Warriors Elite for this task: [[Sixshot]], {{storylink|Devastation issue 5|Devastation #5}} Overlord, and [[Black Shadow (Victory)|Black Shadow]]. He informed this trio of his decision via teleconference, but Overlord, tired of being used as someone else's weapon, refused. Megatron threatened to hunt Overlord down for his disobedience, {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2|Last Stand of the Wreckers #2}} but while the powerful warrior spent the rest of his life preparing for this conflict, Megatron never followed up and left him to stew in his own obsession. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|Last Stand of the Wreckers #5}}

[[File:Stormbringer1 get up and fight.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|You don't gotta go home Prime but you can't stay here.]]
Deducing that the Autobot/Decepticon war would culminate in an energy crisis that would threatened the stability of Cybertron itself, Shockwave left Cybertron to secretly pursue alternate energy sources. Around 10,000 years ago, when Shockwave did not return, Megatron ordered Bludgeon to investigate his files, {{storylink|Spotlight: Shockwave}} secretly assigning Soundwave to investigate Bludgeon {{storylink|Spotlight: Soundwave}} and probe deeper into whatever it was Shockwave had created. {{storylink|Shockpoint}}

Shockwave's prediction soon proved accurate, and Cybertron found itself in the throes of an energy shortage. Decepticon scientist [[Thunderwing (G1)|Thunderwing]] came to Megatron with a revolutionary, controversial plan to stave off this energy death by [[Pretender|polydermal grafting]], a process where they encased themselves in "symbiotic carapaces", or shells created from living tissue. When Megatron dismissed him angrily and cut him down, Thunderwing did not abandon his research; instead, he experimented on himself. {{storylink|Stormbringer issue 3|Stormbringer #3}} {{storylink|Stormbringer issue 4|Stormbringer #4}} The process gave him immense power, but drove him insane. He became so dangerous that Megatron had to join forces with Optimus Prime to stop him. This battle at [[Thunderhead Pass]] accelerated the apocalypse destined to befall Cybertron, leaving it an uninhabitable, radioactive husk and forcing both armies to continue their war on other worlds. {{storylink|Stormbringer issue 1|Stormbringer #1}} Megatron advocated that they simply destroy Cybertron to ensure that Thunderwing was destroyed, but Prime refused, and threatened to stop Megatron if he tried. Megatron agreed not to destroy the planet, but warned Prime that whatever happened was on his head. Shortly after the last big push by the Decepticons, Cybertron was abandoned by both factions. {{storylink|Stormbringer issue 1|Stormbringer #2}}

In the mid-19th century, Starscream reported to Megatron regarding a failed alliance with the [[Dire Wraith]]s and their unfeasibility as allies. Megatron congratulated Starscream...for finding yet another way to disappoint him. {{storylink|Shining Armor issue 5|Shining Armor #5}}

===Breaking protocol===
[[File:Infiltration4 enter megatron.jpg|upright=1.3|left|thumb|Megatron (Second Printing Preview)]]
In the early 21st century, when word reached Megatron that the infiltration unit led by [[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]], stationed on the planet [[Earth]], had broken protocol, he headed for the planet to investigate. Examining the unit's abandoned bunker in [[Nebraska]] for information, he discovered that Starscream had stumbled across [[Ore-13]]—an incredible energy source that (unbeknownst to Megatron) was the end result of Shockwave's experiments—and was planning to use it to usurp Megatron's command. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 4|Infiltration #4}} While studying the bunker's files, he was contacted by [[Razorclaw (G1)|Razorclaw]] with some distressing news: Bludgeon's investigations of Shockwave's files had led him to revive Thunderwing. Megatron ordered the [[Predacon (G1)|Predacons]] to Cybertron, authorizing them to do whatever was necessary to destroy Thunderwing, including the destruction of their homeworld itself. {{storylink|Stormbringer issue 3|Stormbringer #3}} Just as he was handing down this order, Megatron was happened upon by [[Verity Carlo]], a human ally of the Autobot unit active on the planet, {{storylink|Infiltration issue 4|Infiltration #4}} but he utterly ignored her. The bunker was then leveled by an airstrike courtesy of [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] and [[Skywarp (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Skywarp]], who were merely covering their unit's tracks and unaware of Megatron's presence; when their leader furiously emerged from the wreckage, Skywarp attempted to explain their ignorance, but Megatron simply responded by blasting him out of the sky. Blitzwing favored opening fire rather than attempting explanations, so Megatron beat the stuffing out of him too, then set off for Starscream's new bunker in [[Oregon]]. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 5|Infiltration #5}}

[[File:Infiltration6 takeyourpunishment.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|Those librarians are getting really strict on late returns.]]

{{quote|You will stand down. If you fight, you ''die''. There is no room anymore for mercy. In the end, you are ''all'' expendable. Choose.|Megatron's ultimatum to Starscream's renegade troops|[[Infiltration issue 6|''Infiltration'' #6]]}}

[[Orbital jump]]ing to Oregon, Megatron called Starscream out and ordered the team to stand down, disgusted to see such power games being played amongst his troops. His brief, chilling speech was enough to take the fight out of all but Starscream, who, powered-up on Ore-13, took Megatron on himself. Though the new power source made Starscream a formidable adversary, Megatron was still more deadly than he, and Starscream was taken out by a point-blank fusion cannon blast through his torso. Megatron ordered the Decepticons to ensure that Starscream survived, and then, observing the Autobots who had been watching the battle, announced that it was time to begin phase two. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 6|Infiltration #6}}

In light of the discovery of Ore-13, Megatron took stock of Starscream's progress on Earth and elected to get the infiltration protocol back on track himself, calling a meeting to make Starscream's former troops and making them aware, in no uncertain terms, that any further insurrections would be met with deadly force. {{storylink|Escalation issue 1|Escalation #1}} He continued to order his troops on Earth directly, {{storylink|Escalation issue 2|Escalation #2}} and was even able to revisit his past gun alternate mode, once again able to achieve the [[size changing|mass displacement]] the mode required thanks to the extra energy Ore-13 provided. {{storylink|Escalation issue 3|Escalation #3}}

[[File:Megsandspidy.jpg|left|upright=1.4|thumb|Megatron/Spiderman #1 Retailer's Incentive]]
With his forces joined by [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]], a new arrival who Megatron suspected of having ulterior motives, {{storylink|Man and Machine, Part Two}} the Decepticon leader initiated phase two of infiltration protocol by destabilizing relations between the European nations of [[Latveria]] and [[Symkaria]] through use of an aggression-inducing [[Psycho-Prism]], stolen from Latverian dictator [[Doctor Doom]]. When the superhero team known as the [[Avengers]] investigated the array the Decepticons' were using to broadcast the prism's signal, Megatron abducted the arachnid-powered [[Spider-Man]] to use as a subject for their [[mirror response mode]], {{storylink|Man and Machine, Part One}} draining the hero's powers and infusing himself and the other Decepticons with them. {{storylink|Man and Machine, Part Two}} He proceeded to forge a brief alliance with Doctor Doom, who helped him defeat and capture the allied Autobot/Avenger team who snuck inside the Decepticons' array, but when Doom's suggestion to threaten the captives in order to force the other heroes to lay down their arms failed, Megatron violently dissolved the partnership. {{storylink|Man and Machine, Part Three}} Emerging from the confines of the array to take on the Autobots and Avengers himself, Megatron refrained from engaging Prime, foreseeing a more intimate confrontation between the two of them in the near future, and instead turned his attention to destroying [[Iron Man]]'s Transformer-sized armor. The tables soon turned, however, when Doctor Doom freed the captive Autobots and used the Decepticon's mirror response technology to empower them. Defeated by these enhanced Autobots and with the Psycho-Prism destroyed by [[Wolverine (superhero)|Wolverine]], Megatron used the last of his extra power to teleport the Decepticons out with an [[emergency warp-out]]. He refrained from departing alongside his warriors, intending to slaughter the Avengers for their interference, but when he was immobilized by Spider-Man's webbing, knocked to the ground by [[Luke Cage]], and rattled by a hail of Autobot fire, he finally warped-out with a final taunt to Optimus Prime of the battle yet to come between them. {{storylink|Man and Machine, Part Four}}
[[File:Escalation3-Massdisplacement.jpg|upright=2.2|thumb]]
With phase two of [[infiltration protocol]] properly underway, Megatron recognized that he ''should'' rightly withdraw and install a new unit commander on Earth, but could not resist the chance to try out his new Ore-13 empowered body, selecting the nation of [[Brasnya]], where Decepticon subterfuge was already underway, as his testing ground. {{storylink|Escalation issue 2|Escalation #2}} Allowing the Decepticon's [[facsimile construct]] [[Georgi Koska]] to wield him in pistol mode, Megatron had Koska use him to first sever a [[Russia]]n oil pipeline, and then to fire upon the soldiers who came to investigate, furthering the political and military tensions already brewing in the region. When word came through from Blitzwing that Optimus Prime and the Autobots had arrived, {{storylink|Escalation issue 3|Escalation #3}} Megatron at last engaged Optimus directly, {{storylink|Escalation issue 4|Escalation #4}} and although Prime was able to destroy his fusion cannon, the extra strength afforded Megatron by Ore-13 allowed him to physically beat Prime into submission, punching directly into his chest and crushing his [[spark]]. {{storylink|Escalation issue 5|Escalation #5}} {{storylink|Spotlight: Optimus Prime}} [[File:Escalation5 prime vs megs.jpg|upright=1.4|left|thumb|''I got me a shovel I'm digging a ditch...'']] The horrified Autobots moved into a full but ineffective counterattack, their only edge being that Megatron had no long-range guns left. It turned out that Prime's apparent death was a desperate ruse when the Autobot leader countered with a surprise attack on Megatron, able to exploit Ore-13's weakness—the more it's used, the faster it burns itself out. Megatron almost collapsed from power loss and was forced to have Skywarp take him to safety before the Autobots could kill him. {{storylink|Escalation issue 6|Escalation #6}}

Furious over the embarrassing defeat, Megatron threw protocol out the window and ordered that Sixshot be summoned to the planet. {{storylink|Escalation issue 6|Escalation #6}} He took out some of his anger on Ramjet, who he discovered had been busy cooking up a plot to overthrow him; without saying a word, he beat the attempted traitor to death before tearing him apart and keeping his head as a trophy. {{storylink|Spotlight: Ramjet}}
[[File:Devastation5 decepticons attack.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|''And I'm gonna fight for this four square feet of land Like a mean old son of a bitch'']]
Upon Sixshot's arrival, Megatron ordered him to utterly destroy the Autobots, and although the [[Phase Sixer]] questioned his early deployment, he was happy to go along with the abandonment of the phase structure. The other Decepticons, on the other hand, were worried that Megatron was losing his grip—and since they were too scared to tell him that, they decided to revive Starscream to do it for them. {{storylink|Devastation issue 1|Devastation #1}} {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 1|Maximum Dinobots #1}} Megatron monitored Sixshot's attack on the Autobots' [[Ark-19]], ordering him to pursue the escape pod that broke away from the crashing craft, {{storylink|Devastation issue 2|Devastation #2}} but before he could obliterate the Autobots, Megatron was forced to recall him to deal with a new threat assaulting the Decepticon base—the alien [[Reaper]]s. {{storylink|Devastation issue 4|Devastation #4}} Unfortunately, the Reapers convinced Sixshot to side with them, and when an Ore-13 powered Starscream entered the fray to take Sixshot down, Megatron realized his troops had been conspiring against him. He decided not to punish them '''yet''', due to greater threat posed by the Reapers, {{storylink|Devastation issue 5|Devastation #5}} and entered battle alongside them all, even allowing Starscream to wield him in pistol mode against the aliens. After the invaders were dead, however, he turned on his men, starting with Blitzwing—but was forced to realize that they needed to remain united when it became apparent that their battle with the Reapers had made humanity inescapably aware of their existence {{storylink|Devastation issue 6|Devastation #6}} {{storylink|Spotlight: Grimlock}}
{{-}}

===All Hail Megatron===
[[File:AHM7 megs rips out matrix.jpg|upright=1.1|left|thumb|[[The Becoming: Dark Cybertron Chapter 10|"I don't think I'd have made a good medic. No patience."]]]]
While the Decepticons were occupied fighting the Reapers, the Autobots had left Earth to deal with the greater threat of an incursion by the [[Dead Universe]]. Exploiting their enemies' absence, Megatron and his men went to ground; when Autobots returned, they could find no trace of the Decepticons, who kept one step ahead of them for months. Secretly abducting [[Hunter O'Nion]], former [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]] partner to the Autobot [[Sunstreaker (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Sunstreaker]], Megatron and his men returned to Cybertron, where Megatron had [[Deluge (G2)|Deluge]] conduct experiments that bred a [[Insecticon swarm|swarm]] of monstrous [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticons]]. The experiments culminated in the creation of [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]], who Megatron employed in a series of key tasks in his plan: the Insecticon obtained from Hunter's mind various Autobot secrets and codes, completed Shockwave's long-gestating combiner process, granting the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] the ability to combine into [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]], and created a working [[space bridge]] {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 7|All Hail Megatron #7}} based on designs sold to them by Sixshot in exchange for his freedom. {{storylink|Spotlight: Metroplex}}

Returning to Earth, the Decepticons staged a phony schism within their ranks, allowing the Autobots to believe that they had "disappeared" as a result of a power struggle that had split their ranks into two camps, one led by Megatron and one by Starscream. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 7|All Hail Megatron #7}} Starscream then approached Sunstreaker, whose experience as a Headmaster had left him bitter and jaded, with the proposition that the Autobots join with his forces against Megatron, {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 8|All Hail Megatron #8}} but when the Autobots arrived at the designated time and place, they were instead confronted by the united Decepticon army and quickly defeated by Devastator. After personally tearing [[Matrix of Leadership]] from Optimus Prime's chest, Megatron marched the captive Autobots through the space bridge back to Cybertron, where the Insecticon swarm waited for them. Prime, however, was able to damage the bridge, causing it to deposit the Autobots a safe distance from the swarm, but in the process, fried his own circuits and left himself comatose. Though the Autobots had escaped the fate he had intended for them, Megatron had successfully exiled his enemies to their dead homeworld; moreover, using information and codes gained from Sunstreaker and Hunter, he concurrently orchestrated the event that would later be known as [[Surge (event)|The Surge]], as Decepticons stormed Autobot installations all across the galaxy, achieving total victory. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 7|All Hail Megatron #7}}

[[File:AHM1 decepticons attack.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|Megatron's urban renewal program was off to a flying start.]]
With galaxy-wide domination accomplished, one year after the Decepticons' battle with the Reapers, Megatron chose Earth to become the new Decepticon homeworld. Together with his men, Megatron stormed [[New York City]], humiliating Starscream with a display of his greater capacity for destruction. When the US Air Force retaliated, Megatron shrugged off their fire and ordered the other Decepticons to engage them; when one damaged jet threw itself toward him in a suicide run, Megatron, outraged at the [[DJ (G1)|pilot]]'s temerity, destroyed it and its occupant with a furious swipe of his hand. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 1|All Hail Megatron #1}} When US Army forces arrived, Megatron ordered [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] dispatched to deal with them, then sent Devastator to destroy the subway tunnels leading out of the city. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 2|All Hail Megatron #2}} With New York secured, Megatron directed the Constructicons to begin building a new space bridge in the city's heart, and had a candid talk with Starscream, revealing his belief that the [[Seeker (body-type)|Seeker]]'s attitude and actions marked him as the embodiment of the Decepticon cause, even if he was blind to seeing it himself. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 3|All Hail Megatron #3}} After a series of further attacks on major American cities saw the country firmly crushed under the Decepticons' collective heel, Megatron made a propaganda speech to his men in the ruins of New York. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 4|All Hail Megatron #4}} As night fell upon the city, Megatron withdrew to privately gloat over the Matrix. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 5|All Hail Megatron #5}}

[[File:AHM6MegatronVsIsrael.jpg|left|upright=1.66|thumb|Starscream just told Megatron that AHM is going to go on for another six issues. He's taking it pretty well, all things considered.]]
As the Decepticons began attacking other countries around the globe, Megatron was questioned by Starscream on what the next step in his plan was. A recalcitrant Megatron merely informed him that it was merely time to savor their victory, but Starscream accused him of not ''having'' any plans post-victory, and was merely allowing his men to run wild to distract them from any notion of taking power for themselves. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 6|All Hail Megatron #6}} What Starscream did not realize was that Megatron did indeed have a plan: to defeat the Autobots, he had created an army of killers and monsters, but in order to create his perfect rule, that army would have to be destroyed, the dissenting, distasteful elements obliterated before Megatron's peace could dawn. Megatron was not distracting his warriors... he was ''waiting'' to see which of them would question and turn on him. Silently sorrowful to already know that such dissent would begin with Starscream, an otherwise-model Decepticon, {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 10|All Hail Megatron #10}} Megatron withdrew to [[Israel]] for some silent reflection amid wholesale devastation. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 6|All Hail Megatron #6}}

[[File:AHM10 megs vs devastator.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb]]
Some time later, Megatron surveyed the space bridge Bombshell and the Constructicons had built in New York. He congratulated Bombshell on his work, but revealed that he had always foreseen Bombshell's intellect as a danger—had always known he and his fellow Insecticons would side with Starscream when the time came. His gambit exposed, Starscream made his move and attacked, but the Insecticons proved no match for Megatron's might. The Decepticon leader had failed to anticipate one thing, however: he did not foresee the Constructicons siding with Starscream, and found himself having to fight the mighty Devastator. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 10|All Hail Megatron #10}} The in-fighting was halted by a last-ditch attack by the mustered might of what remained of the human resistance, forcing Megatron and Starscream to put their differences aside momentarily and organize a defense. This attack came as no surprise to Megatron, but the same could not be said for the next entrants onto the battlefield: the Autobots had returned.

After assuring Starscream that he would be leader in the future, when his time was done, Megatron confronted Optimus Prime, surprised not so much that his old foe had survived, but that he had bothered to return to Earth. Both leaders had always maintained a policy of acceptable losses through their millennia-long war, so Megatron assumed Prime had come back for selfish reasons, to reclaim the Matrix, but Prime insisted that he had changed, and would no longer allow their cold war to endanger innocent lives on this scale. [[File:AHM12 prime vs megs.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.66|Like Homer Simpson putting on his pants, the struggle between Optimus Prime and Megatron remains eternal. [[...And the Damage Done: Dark Cybertron Finale|Almost.]]]] Megatron scoffed at the notion, reavling that Prime's supposedly "innocent" humans were planning to nuke New York, killing millions of their own just to get rid of the Decepticons, {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 11|All Hail Megatron #11}} but Prime retorted that it wasn't ''just'' about the humans, but also about the difference between Autobots and Decepticons. The two came to blows, but Megatron triumphed in short order and commanded the Decepticons to depart, leaving the Autobots to be killed by the humans' nuke... but just before they withdrew, he was shot in the face by human soldier [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]], wielding a powerful weapon reverse-engineered from Cybertronian technology. Injured and disoriented by the blast, Megatron was finished off when Prime smashed his face in with his own fusion cannon. As he wanted to ''take'' leadership rather than just have it fall in his hands, Starscream picked up his damaged leader and ordered the Decepticons to retreat. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 12|All Hail Megatron #12}}

[[File:AllHisEngines-Megatron.jpg|thumb|Pretty sure when you float in a bacta tank you're supposed to be wearing a diaper.]]
The Decepticons departed Earth aboard Astrotrain, where the gravely wounded Megatron was put on life support and tended to by Soundwave and his cassettes. With Megatron's life signs only at ten percent capacity, Starscream attempted to appeal to Soundwave's sense of logic and have him shut down so that leadership could be his, but Soundwave refused. Starscream was soon able to take command, however, when he recovered the Matrix of Leadership and professed to have been chosen by it. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 13|Uneasy Lies the Head}}

===New body, new powers===
The Decepticons eventually settled on a desolate asteroid, where Megatron was installed in a [[CR chamber|CR tank]]. Retaining some level of awareness of the events occurring around him during his convalescence, he was forced to watch as his army languished in inactivity, their energy slowly ebbing away until they were reduced to cannibalism. {{storylink|All His Engines}} After a year of trying to free his leader from this living death, Soundwave was finally forced to conclude that Megatron's body was beyond repair, and recruited the recently returned Shockwave, whom Starscream had provided with the majority of the Decepticons' resources to create a space bridge, to help build a new body for Megatron's consciousness to inhabit. The operation succeeded and Megatron was reborn in a deadly new body, powered by Ore-13, armed with a devastatingly powerful rail gun, and even equipped with space bridge nodes stolen from Metroplex, which gave him the ability to open space bridge portals on his own. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 2: Altered Carbon|Altered Carbon}} {{storylink|Spotlight: Megatron}}

[[File:IDWongoing15 megatrons new body.jpg|left|thumb|275px|"Uh, it's like...did anyone ever see the movie ''Tron''?"]]
Back in action, Megatron devised a plan to destabilize the relationship between the humans and Autobots on Earth. Together with Soundwave and Shockwave, he chopped up his old body and used it to create human-scaled replicas of his former gun mode, containing small pieces of his own consciousness. When Starscream caught them in the act, Megatron elected to table his plan for the moment, as he considered it folly to go against Starscream's wishes for the moment since the Seeker was still in possession of the Matrix of Leadership. Megatron had never truly understood what the talisman ''did'', but it served as a threat merely by being an unknown variable. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 2: Altered Carbon|Altered Carbon}} Fortunately, for Megatron this variable was soon removed from the equation when Hot Rod, estranged from the Earthbound Autobots, infiltrated the Decepticons' asteroid base and recovered the Matrix from Starscream. Megatron seized his chance, intercepting the Autobot and blasting him and the Matrix out into the void of space. {{storylink|Heart Like a Wheel}}

[[File:SLMegatron stealth bomber mode.jpg|thumb|275px|Behold... the ''Bomberang!'']]
With Starscream's trump card now gone, Megatron had the Decepticons gathered so he could address them. Distrustful of Shockwave's motives for preparing his new body, wary of Soundwave's constant surveillance, and repulsed by the state of his once fearsome Decepticon war machine, Megatron decided that he needed to unequivocally reestablish dominance over the now Matrix-less Starscream. He intended to beat Starscream near to death as a means of letting them both work out their frustrations with Starscream's inability to lead effectively during Megatron's absence, but Starscream did not want to fight—spiritually broken by his failures, he simply wanted Megatron to kill him. Rather than accept this, Megatron instead goaded Starscream into opening fire upon him. This began a running battle between the two, with Megatron pursuing the fleeing Seeker in his new stealth bomber alternate mode, continuing to bait Starscream every time he appeared willing to give up the fight. Incensed by Starscream's accusation that he did not know what it felt like to see everything he had worked for fall apart, when that was exactly what Starscream's pitiful leadership had done to the empire he had created, Megatron pummeled him to within an inch of his life, then paused to explain why he kept a schemer like Starscream around: as a constant reminder to watch his back. The brutal display galvanized the languid Decepticons, and Megatron was ready to begin his scheme. {{storylink|Spotlight: Megatron}}

[[File:IDWongoing14 megatron guns.jpg|upright=1.66|left|thumb|Megatron doesn't support the NRA. He IS the NRA.]]
Roughly two years after the Decepticons' defeat on Earth, Megatron used his space bridge powers to dispatch a container full of the guns made from his old body to Earth, where they were found by South American gun-runners and illegally disseminated amongst an increasingly paranoid public seeking ways to protect themselves against Transformers. This allowed Megatron's consciousness to spread across North America, until it was focused enough to contact one particular owner of a Megatron gun: [[Joe Gladki]]. He deceived and manipulated the paranoid human, and eventually convinced him to perform an assassination attempt on [[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]], the new Autobot leader. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 2: Altered Carbon|Altered Carbon}} In their ignorance, the Autobots then mistook Gladki's gun for Megatron himself and held it captive. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 1: The Demolished Man|The Demolished Man}}

[[File:IDWongoing16 megatron vs autobots.jpg|upright=1.2|thumb|Not the [[Realignments|first time]] he's traded his [[fusion cannon]] for a [[rail gun]].]]
With the Autobots in chaos, Megatron started the next phase of his plan and returned to Earth personally, where he used his new stealth bomber mode to shoot down a plane carrying Optimus Prime and several other Autobots. He then hunted down the remaining Autobots, effortlessly defeating them and their new temporary leader Ultra Magnus with his powerful new body, and killing some of their [[Skywatch]] allies. Magnus tried to draw Megatron's attention from the humans, claiming the Autobots were the ones he really wanted, but Megatron assured him that humanity was his real target. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 3: Woken Furies|Woken Furies}} Taking the defeated Autobots captive, Megatron dumped them in a city and directed three of his mind-controlled human puppets to kill them. Contacting Prime directly, Megatron summoned him to the city's outskirts and revealed his plan: crush Prime's spirit and destroy the Autobots' alliance with humanity by forcing them to choose between fighting the humans or allowing them to kill them. Prime found the hole in Megatron's plan, however, when he realized that Soundwave was maintaining the connection between Megatron and his guns, and shot him in the head. His connection to his pawns severed, Megatron scooped up Soundwave and withdrew. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 4: Burning Chrome|Burning Chrome}} Thanks to a tracker Ultra Magnus had slipped on Soundwave, though, Prime was able to follow the Decepticons to their bolthole and called Megatron out for a full and proper confrontation. In actuality, Prime had lured Megatron outside so Skywatch could drop a [[kinetic harpoon]] on him, but even a weapon dropped from orbit barely proved able to put a scratch in Megatron's mighty new exostructure. Megatron proceeded to beat Prime senseless, but then returned him to the Autobots, and to their great shock, surrendered to their custody. After recovering, Optimus demanded to know why he had surrendered, but Megatron merely taunted him by revealing that Spike Witwicky had murdered a Decepticon in cold blood. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 5: Enemy Mine|Enemy Mine}} Prime immediately had Prowl begin investigating Spike and Skywatch, and Prowl interrogated the Decepticon leader for information, which he provided after a little verbal sparring. {{storylink|Police Action: Prologue}}

[[File:ChaosTheory1 megatron imprisoned.jpg|upright=1.5|left|thumb|Megatron and Optimus Prime can't agree on a safe word.]]
When Rodimus returned to Earth and warned the Autobots that [[Galvatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Galvatron]] had taken control of Cybertron, Optimus decided to lead the Autobots in reclaiming their homeworld. In the name of Earth's safety, he elected to bring Megatron and the confiscated guns made from his old body with them. {{storylink|Space Opera—Final Tableaux: Orphans of the Helix|Orphans of the Helix}} On the way to Cybertron aboard [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]], Prime again attempted to discern why Megatron had surrendered, even releasing his old foe from his bonds and having a civil conversation with him about their past together and their dueling ideologies. Optimus tried to reach out to Megatron, offering him the chance to end the war once and for all with a handshake; Megatron appeared to consider it for a moment but ultimately remained silent. With Megatron returned to the confines of the [[variable voltage harness]], the other Autobots pressured Optimus for a decision on his fate: execution or imprisonment. Trying to come to a conclusion, Prime asked Megatron if he regretted any of his actions, but the Decepticon leader remarked that he only regretted not killing ''more'' Autobots. He taunted Prime with the notion that even he was thankful for the war, as it had raised him from a nobody to the greatest Autobot in history, and a furious Prime activated the harness, electrocuting Megatron. The jolt would have killed Megatron if Omega Supreme had not cut the power in time and Megatron, struggling to stay conscious, offered Prime his thanks for saving his life all those years ago in Rodion. Shocked by his actions, Prime realized that Megatron wanted to die and wanted Prime to be the one to kill him. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1|Chaos Theory #1}} Eventually, Prime decided to let Megatron choose his own fate, and Megatron calmly replied that he chose death. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 2|Chaos Theory #2}}

[[File:Chaos2 armored megatron.jpg|upright=1.3|thumb|...Again...?]]
As Omega drew close to Cybertron, Megatron demanded to know who or what was threatening their homeworld, but Optimus Prime refused to provde him with any information. {{storylink| Chaos Part One: Lamentations|Lamentations}} The Autobots subsequently engaged Galvatron's forces in battle, and while they were occupied, Megatron put into motion the ace he had up his sleeve: taking remote control of the numerous "Megatron guns" aboard Omega, Megatron summoned them to him and combined with them into a new armored mode. Breaking free from his restraints, he headed out to confront Galvatron, intent that nobody would take his world from him. {{storylink|Chaos Part Two: Numbers|Numbers}} As he tore through the Sweeps, Megatron also revealed the reason for his surrender: now that he was back on Cybertron, he could open a space bridge that would allow the massed forces of the Decepticons on Earth to return to their home planet as well. Unfortunately, not long after the Decepticons arrived on the battlefield, Galvatron's secret puppet master, the Dead Universe entity known as the [[D-Void]], seized control of their minds and those of the Sweeps, merging them into a gigantic, monstrous avatar. With Prime occupied pursuing Galvatron into Cybertron's depths, Megatron was left to face this "[[Deceptigod]]" alone. {{storylink|Chaos Part Three: Kings|Kings}} Fighting against the D-Void's attempts to ensnare his own mind and make him part of the collective, Megatron was gravely wounded and even lost an arm to the beast, but succeeded into destroying it, blasting it apart with one massive beam from his weapons. {{storylink|Chaos Part Four: Genesis|Genesis}}

===The long game===
Even as the Deceptigod disintegrated back into its component Decepticons, Megatron could see the potential the creature embodied—the D-Void had, in essence, created the perfect combiner by means of utterly obliterating free will. With Cybertron reverting into a primordial wasteland around him—a result of Optimus Prime purifying [[Vector Sigma]] with the Matrix to stop Galvatron and the D-Void—Megatron chose to withdraw to experiment with the possibilities this presented. He informed Shockwave, the sole Decepticon who had not been made part of the Deceptigod, of his plans, and Shockwave in turn revealed them to Soundwave and Bombshell. {{storylink|Shockpoint}} While Megatron hid in the wilderness, his Decepticons were left to live as second-class citizens in the new [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]] that the Autobots built; Optimus Prime left Cybertron two weeks after the D-Void's defeat to calm tensions with "NAILs"—other unaffiliated Cybertronians—who had returned to their homeworld, but even as he did so, he mused that Megatron must still be out there somewhere. {{storylink|Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime|The Death of Optimus Prime}}

[[File:RID11 megatron in wilderness.jpg|left|thumb|225px|Megatron can't find anyone who wants to join his nudist colony to save his skin.]]
In the months of study and experimentation that followed, Megatron discerned that the combination of Ore-13 and space bridge technology in his body somehow gave him the ability to manipulate the natural energy of Cybertron that the D-Void had used to merge the Decepticons into the Deceptigod. After experiments on [[turbofox]]es created larger, more ferocious beasts, Megatron stepped up trials when the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]] seceded from the shaky government Bumblebee, [[Metalhawk (Masterforce)|Metalhawk]] and Starscream were building in Iacon and ventured into the wilderness. The signal Megatron had created from the combination energy first drove the Aerialbots mad, before uniting them in body and mind, spontaneously merging them into the gestalt [[Superion (G1)|Superion]], but this newborn Autobot combiner was considered hopelessly insane by Megatron and left to die in the wilderness. The madness aspect of the signal afforded him the chance to revive some of the principles of the infiltration protocol, however, as he blanketed the wastelands in it, forcing the Autobots, Decepticons and NAILs to stay in Iacon, causing natural conflict among them to snowball, providing a useful cover for his actions. To gain a pawn within Autobot high command, Megatron even provided Bombshell with the energy to use in conjunction with his own mind-controlling [[cerebro-shell]]s, ensnaring the mind of Prowl. With the resources and cover control of Prowl provided, Shockwave, Soundwave and Bombshell were able to use Megatron's findings to perfect the combination process, rebuilding the Constructicons with new modular designs that would allow them to merge into a perfect Devastator. The endgame was for Megatron himself to form the head of the combiner, but before risking his own mind and body, Megatron decided that Prowl would be used first as a test subject. {{storylink|Before the Dawn}}

[[File:RID12 kill him.jpg|upright=1.95|thumb]]
The appearance of [[Metrotitan (Zone)|Metrotitan]] on Cybertron who declared that Starscream was the "Chosen One" threatened Megatron's ability to easily re-take leadership of his Decepticons, forcing him to step up his schedule. Through Prowl, he had his inner circle gathered together in the secret "[[Black Room]]", then boldly strode into Iacon for all to see. {{storylink|The End of the Beginning of the World}} His body shattered and skeletal, he professed to come in peace, but Bumblebee did not accept his surrender and ordered his Autobots to kill him. Indeed, Megatron could possibly have died there and then had Iacon's Decepticons not stepped in, insisting that Megatron's defense of Cybertron during the D-Void's attack marked him a hero and that he be taken into custody instead. {{storylink|City on Fire}} After [[Wheeljack (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Wheeljack]] got through examining him to prove his body concealed no weapons, Starscream approached the imprisoned Megatron and attempted to explain that he was not far away from taking complete power in the government, ensuring a Decepticon victory of a different kind. Megatron merely smiled silently at the notion, terrifying his ex-lieutenant with his grin. Presently, the Decepticons rose up in an angry mob and marched on Autobot high command to insist on Megatron's release; the situation quickly devolved into a riot, during which a squad led by [[Needlenose (G1)|Needlenose]] stormed the prison and freed Megatron. {{storylink|The Verge}}

[[File:RID14 new body redux.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.55|New body or not, Megatron may want to think twice about standing [[:File:Devastator-ROTFenemyscrotum.jpg|underneath Devastator's legs.]]]]
Megatron brought Starscream and the captured Bumblebee and Metalhawk to the Black Room, where he explained his plans and had himself transferred into a pre-prepared new body that could combine with the Constructicons' new forms. At his command, the Constructicons and Prowl combined into the new Devastator, who immediately set about razing Iacon. {{storylink|Before the Dawn}} Even the return of Superion seemed unable to stop the powerful new combiner, until help came from an unexpected quarter—Prowl's secret assassin [[Arcee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Arcee]] killed Bombshell, taking out Prowl's controller and causing Devastator to shut down. This was no real impediment to Megatron, however, as the successful function of the new combiner process had been proven, and he set out to take ''his'' place as Devastator's head. Before Megatron could reach the fallen gestalt, though, Devastator awoke, possessed of his own unique, united consciousness for the first time, and resumed tearing into Iacon. {{storylink|Plan for Everything}}

[[File:RID20 megatron in forcefield.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|You know you can't catch a break when you find yourself trapped inside a novelty plasma lamp from Spencer's.]]
Still Megatron remained unfazed, calmly fending off Autobot attacks and waiting for the inevitable moment when the heroes would take Devastator down. When [[Ironhide (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ironhide]] succeeded in doing so by managing to reach Prowl, Devastator separated, and Megatron immediately stepped in, re-initiating the combination with himself in control. Seconds before uniting with the Constructicons, though, his plan was foiled by Bumblebee, Ironhide and Prowl's activation of a secret failsafe: Wheeljack had integrated a forcefield generator into Megatron's spark casing during his examination of him, and when it was triggered, he was completely paralyzed in mid-transformation. {{storylink|Heavy Is the Head}}

In the fallout of the battle, Starscream killed Metalhawk, took control of Iacon and banished the Autobots and Decepticons from the city. He took custody of the immobilized Megatron, and silently gloated over the victory he had accomplished by using guile and politics, rather than Megatron's ways of brute force and firepower. {{storylink|Three Monologues}}

===A new approach===
Megatron would not remain incapacitated for long. That night, as the end result of millennia-long secret machinations by Shockwave, an [[Necrotitan|undead Metrotitan]] appeared on Cybertron and opened a portal to the Dead Universe in the planet's skies. Through the portal, Shockwave made contact with Galvatron and his master, the exiled Cybertron despot [[Nova Prime]], but was unable to bring them through to Cybertron thanks to the unexpected disappearance of the Titan's space bridge system. Intending to use the space bridge within Megatron as a replacement, {{storylink|Black Metal: Dark Cybertron Chapter 2|Black Metal}} Shockwave reanimated the deceased Metalhawk with a wave of necrotic energy from the Titan and had him liberate Megatron and bring him to his secret lab in [[Crystal City]]. {{storylink|Winners & Losers: Dark Cybertron Chapter 3|Winners & Losers}}

[[File:RID24 i remember you.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.4|Somewhere in the multiverse, [[Override (G1)|Override]] and [[Jazz (Movie)|Jazz]] are smiling.]]
Shockwave hoped that Megatron would comply with his plans willingly, but the Decepticon leader refused and Shockwave forcibly activated the space bridge technology in Megatron's body. {{storylink|Into the Abyss: Dark Cybertron Chapter 4|Into the Abyss}} The opening of the bridge in his chest caused Megatron agony, but his screams were heard by Soundwave, who led the united forces of the exiled Autobots and Decepticons to Shockwave's lab to free his leader. Nova Prime and Galvatron attempted to squeeze their way through the space bridge despite this interference, but Ironhide was able to punch Nova back through into the Dead Universe. Just then, Shockwave's "Necrotitan" came crashing into the subterranean city, and in the chaos, Megatron was freed from the restraints holding him. No sooner had Megatron carried Ironhide to the safe hands of the other Autobots, however, than he was ripped in half from behind by Galvatron, who had successfully emerged through the portal {{storylink|Finest Hour: Dark Cybertron Chapter 5|Finest Hour}} — a briefer battle, no doubt, than the one Shockwave had foreseen between the pair in a vision at the outset of his scheme. {{storylink|Dark Dawn: Dark Cybertron Chapter 1|Dark Dawn}}

[[File:MTMTE26 megs and bee.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|I smell a sitcom!]]
After the battle was over, Galvatron and [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] lugged Megatron's bisected remains back into Crystal City, only to find their way barred by the unlikely form of Bumblebee, who demanded they hand Megatron over. Galvatron attacked the Autobot, at which point Megatron revealed that he was fine, as he took down Waspinator and knocked Galvatron out with a barrage of fusion cannon fire. {{storylink|The Dead Are Not Enough: Dark Cybertron Chapter 7|The Dead Are Not Enough}} Bumblebee lugged Megatron back to Iacon, currently being razed by the Necrotitan, where the Decepticon leader announced to the assembled Autobots, Decepticons and NAILs his plan to withdraw to [[Moonbase Two|Luna 2]], summon the Decepticon Justice Division and other scattered troops, and strike back. Bumblebee rejected Megatron's notion of retreating, and struck a nerve within him by questioning his entire philosophy: Megatron had ''long'' ago abandoned any notion of fighting for freedom and equality, Bumblebee attested, and merely used the claim to ideology as an excuse for his actions. {{storylink|Burning Bright: Dark Cybertron Chapter 8|Burning Bright}} Fortunately, fighting back suddenly got a lot easier when Metroplex and the ''[[Lost Light]]'' space-bridged to Cybertron. During the battle between the Titans, Megatron observed Metroplex reaching for the ''Lost Light''; when the ship's crew explained that they had Metroplex's severed thumb aboard, Megatron had Bumblebee carry him to it, whereupon he realized that the thumb contained one of Shockwave's [[Regenesis]] ores. Megatron used his internal space bridge to teleport the thumb back to Metroplex, and the ore provided the giant with the power boost to defeat the Necrotitan. {{storylink|Finis Temporis: Dark Cybertron Chapter 9|Finis Temporis}}

[[File:DCFinale megatron the autobot.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.95|ಠ_ಠ]]
At Bumblebee's order and under protest, [[Ratchet (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ratchet]] repaired Megatron's injuries and reattached his legs, reminding Megatron of his desire in youth to be a medic. His recent string of failures, the success of ''Starscream'', of all 'bots, and Bumblebee's stinging words had turned the Decepticon leader introspective, and he realized he had forgotten something very important that had driven his writings in his early years: winning meant turning people to your way of thinking, not dominating them. {{storylink|The Becoming: Dark Cybertron Chapter 10|The Becoming}} Subsequently, when Shockwave initiated his millennia-long plan to collapse all reality into a universal black hole, Megatron placed himself and the Decepticons under Bumblebee's command to co-ordinate a counter-strike, and journeyed with his uneasy new "friend" into Shockwave's [[Crystal City]] base to confront their shared enemy. There, they found the weakened Galvatron, who Megatron prepared to destroy for past indignities, until Bumblebee talked him down, convincing him that blood did not have to be repaid with blood. At that moment, Shockwave struck, slaying Bumblebee with a blast, and driving Megatron into a rage. {{storylink|Black Planet: Dark Cybertron Chapter 11|Black Planet}} Empowered by his various ores and the energy of the Dead Universe, Shockwave was a formidable opponent and it was all Megatron could do to hold his own against him until Optimus Prime arrived to join the fight. Prime attempted to reason with Shockwave and remind him of the kindly senator he had once been, but his words had little effect, so Megatron opted for a more object lesson: removing the fallen Bumblebee's insignia, he placed it upon his chest and declared himself an Autobot. The stunned Shockwave lost control of the time machine powering his plot, causing his old pre-[[Shadowplay]] memories to emerge. Horrified at what he had become, he allowed Megatron and Prime to kill him, which caused the time machine to collapse into a singularity. Megatron and Prime made what seemed to be a futile dash for freedom, but were saved from the singularity's pull at the last moment by the timely arrival of the ''Lost Light''. {{storylink|...And the Damage Done: Dark Cybertron Finale|...And the Damage Done}}

===Crimes against the Species===
{{quote|I don't want to be acquitted. I want to '''make amends'''|Megatron on his new goal in life|"[[World, Shut Your Mouth Part 3: Predestination: A Beginner's Guide|Predestination: A Beginner's Guide]]"}}
[[File:DCFinale this is not a trick.jpg|thumb|upright=1.95|Optimus apparently decided a sincere Megatron was a cue for mood lighting.]]
In a private meeting between Optimus Prime and Megatron a short time after Shockwave's defeat, Megatron affirmed that his change of heart was genuine, and Optimus assured him that he could see past his wartime deeds and remember the well-intentioned 'bot he had started out as. {{storylink|...And the Damage Done: Dark Cybertron Finale|...And the Damage Done}} The rest of Cybertron, however, demanded a trial; Autobot High Command agreed, realizing that the Decepticon leader's fate had to be decided in public. Before the trial, Megatron was approached by Optimus, [[Chromedome (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Chromedome]] and Rodimus in an attempt to extract some of the Decepticon's memories as evidence in hopes of expediting the proceedings, but a horrified Megatron refused, considering the sanctity of his mind all he had left. After Optimus departed, Rodimus remained to taunt Megatron with the certainty of his execution; in return, the impassive Decepticon simply asked Rodimus to deliver a [[communicube]] to Optimus, {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|Towards Peace}} containing a request to have the trial moved to the [[Raskol Arena]] on Luna 2, in order, he alleged, to accommodate the huge number of spectators that would inevitably attend. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 3: Predestination: A Beginner's Guide|Predestination: A Beginner's Guide}}
[[File:MTMTE28 megatron pleads guilty.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.95|I agreed to this trial on the condition of meeting Matlock.]]
Megatron's trial lasted five months. At the outset of the proceedings, Megatron pled guilty to "Crimes against the Species", {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|Towards Peace}} but things changed when Starscream took the stand and gave a testimony that presented Megatron as an incapable leader who was unable to control the Decepticon forces under his command, a powerful brute lacking in the qualities of true leadership who led his followers down an ultimately self-destructive path. His treacherous lieutenant's words struck home, and Megatron stunned the assembled crowd by changing his plea to "not guilty". {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 2: Words Hang in the Air|Words Hang in the Air}} Just as his defender, Ultra Magnus, was reading a statement declaring this, the trial was dramatically interrupted by a small army of Decepticons led by [[Snaptrap (G1)|Snap Trap]] and [[Hun-Gurrr (G1)|Hun-Grr]], who had escaped from the brig on the ''Lost Light''. The invading force attempted to teleport Megatron away to safety, but he refused to escape and the uprising was quickly quelled. During the recess that followed, Optimus confronted Megatron over his true motives: he had requested that the trial be held on Luna 2 in order to exploit the moon's different legal system in the event that he felt the trial was unjust. Caused by Starscream's speech to realize that, were he to submit to execution now, his legacy would be one only of pain and death, Megatron invoked one of the moon's forgotten laws: an individual who had committed sufficiently heinous crimes could request he be judged by the long-lost [[Knights of Cybertron]]. Megatron requested that he be allowed to join the ''Lost Light'' in their search for the Knights and their homeworld of [[Cyberutopia]], thus ensuring that ''that'' would be his legacy, after which he would submit to whatever punishment was deemed necessary. Optimus agreed on the condition that Megatron read a prepared speech denouncing the Decepticon cause and asking all active Decepticons to stand down. Megatron did so, at great personal pain. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 3: Predestination: A Beginner's Guide|Predestination: A Beginner's Guide}} Hurt and angry over this perceived abandonment, Soundwave used Megatron's change of faction as evidence to forge a new allegiance of his own, decamping to Earth and working with the [[Earth Defense Command]] to create a new home for Decepticons there. {{storylink|Earthfall Part 2: Detonation Boulevard|Detonation Boulevard}}
[[File:MTMTE30 cocaptains.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|O captain, my co-captain.]]
Megatron was assigned co-captaincy of the ''Lost Light'' alongside Rodimus, who immediately hated the idea and everything about it, leading to a particularly antagonistic relationship between the two. Megatron was permitted only to fuel himself with "[[Fool's Energon]]", which left him substantially weakened. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 3: Predestination: A Beginner's Guide|Predestination: A Beginner's Guide}} Shockwave's machinations had left his internal organs a tortured Gordian knot of space bridge wormholes from which it was impossible to extract his spark; his outward appearance changed between the end of his trial and his co-captaincy, suggesting that his armor was rebuilt around him, or his entire internal structure was transplanted into a new body. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|Towards Peace}} Megatron would later lament that his body did not graft to his spark like past chassis, which he considered a sign of his waning age. {{storylink|slaughterhouse}} Optimus would see Megatron off on his voyage before he himself headed off to Earth, a meeting Prowl found deeply disturbing. {{storylink|Earthfall Part 1: Hello Cruel World|Hello Cruel World}}

===Towards Peace===
[[File:MTMTE28 megatron head examined.jpg|left|thumb|275px|"So Megatron, tell me about your mother." "She was hot."]]
The ''Lost Light'' warped back out to the Galactic Rim and set off on the trail of [[Thunder Clash|Thunderclash]], who they considered their best lead on the location of the Knights. A month into the journey, Megatron agreed to a therapy session with ship's psychoanalyst Rung, during which he espoused his current thinking on personal history, and one's ability to selectively edit or abandon entirely previously-held truths. Following the session, Megatron discovered that the door to his quarters had been graffitied, was almost immediately attacked by the culprit, Whirl. During the fight—which Whirl deemed "inevitable"—the ex-Wrecker punched Megatron in the stomach, only to find his hand teleported away by the space bridge tangle inside his body. This took the fight out of Whirl, and Megatron offered to forget the incident if the graffiti was removed from his wall. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|Towards Peace}} Through his internal space bridge, Megatron could sense that Whirl's arm had been teleported into the vicinity of a black hole, and—ever the forward planner, preparing even for the unlikely eventuality that he might change his mind about what he wanted—Megatron was inspired to revive his wartime plan to remotely channel antimatter.{{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 6: Do Not Go Gentle|Do Not Go Gentle}}

Megatron subsequently oversaw the bringing onboard of a mysterious coffin the ''Lost Light'' found floating in space. A short time later, a drunken dare gone awry resulted in [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailcutter]] accidentally cracking the coffin open with his forcefield. Megatron reprimanded him by permanently engaging his fuel intake moderation chip, and assigned him the role of Security Director in order to focus his mind. The pair then turned their attention to the opened coffin, which was revealed to contain the body of another Rodimus! {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 2: Words Hang in the Air|Words Hang in the Air}} A brief analysis suggested that the body was of Rodimus from the future, but before the matter could be settled, the crew of the ''Lost Light'' were forced to abandon the ship as it suddenly began disappearing around them. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 3: Predestination: A Beginner's Guide|Predestination: A Beginner's Guide}}

[[File:MTMTE32 i came to hate the person id become.jpg|thumb|275px|Lolcat is watching you deprecate.]]

Megatron found himself on the [[Rodpod]] with a score of other 'bots, but when ''they'' then began to vanish too, [[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]] accused Megatron of being responsible. A tense standoff ensued, which was brought to a surprising end when [[Ravage (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ravage]] was discovered to have been hiding on the pod, having secreted himself on the ''Lost Light'' in order to spy on Megatron for Soundwave. {{storylink|Twenty Plus One}} The weirdness continued as the remaining crew of the Rodpod—Megatron, Ravage, Nightbeat, [[Skids (G1)|Skids]], [[Nautica (G1)|Nautica]], [[Riptide (G1)|Riptide]], and [[Getaway]]—discovered the wreckage of a second ''Lost Light'', point of origin for the mystery second Rodimus, orbiting the planet [[Ofsted XVII]]. Still believing that the duplicate ship hailed from the future, Skids accused Megatron of being responsible for the devastation, and, realizing that the recent huge changes he had made in his life left him devoid of any surety in his future actions, Megatron allowed himself and Ravage to be imprisoned until the truth could be determined. Locked in a supply closet with Ravage, Megatron had a heart-to-heart with his angry ex-subordinate, justifying his decisions and unable to offer Ravage any consolation. When power returned to the ship, the pair discovered the dead bodies of Ratchet, [[Drift (G1)|Drift]] and [[Hound (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Hound]] in the closet with them, sporting injuries that allowed Megatron realize the Decepticon Justice Division were responsible for the slaughter. The team prepared to immedaitely withdraw until an even stranger discovery was made: Autobot archivist [[Rewind (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rewind]], who had died months beforehand... still alive, the only survivor of the D.J.D.'s attack! {{storylink|slaughterhouse}}

[[File:MTMTE33 megatron skids right there.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.4|"...But you're not the [[Skyfall (G1)|worst]] [[Zeta Prime|guy]] [[Star Saber (Victory)|to]] [[Getaway|wear]] the badge. So keep trying."]]
Nautica and Nightbeat were able to deduce that the duplicate ''Lost Light'' and its crew, including the second Rodimus, were actually quantum duplicates created in the explosion of the [[quantum generator|quantum engines]] during the ship's original launch two years prior. To make matters worse, the [[quantum foam]] leaking from the engines was threatening to destroy Ofsted XVII, but Megatron had no compunctions about getting to safety and leaving the planet to its fate until Skids called him out, forcing him to face up to the fact that choosing to be an Autobot meant reflecting it in one's actions. Megatron used his old mass-displacement ability to shrink his robot form down, enabling him to safely make it through the foam and deactivate the engines, saving Ofsted XVII, "cancelling out" the duplicate ''Lost Light'', and reinstating their own. As they made their way back to the returned ''Lost Light'', Megatron invited Ravage to remain at his side. {{storylink|slaughterhouse Part 2: The Road Not Taken|The Road Not Taken}}

[[File:MTMTE38 send me back.jpg|thumb|upright=1.75|"AND I WANT YOUR LUNCH MONEY TOO NERD!"]]
Back aboard "their" ''Lost Light'', Megatron discovered the DJD had killed Trailcutter. {{storylink|The Custom-Made Now - An Elegant Chaos Prologue|The Custom-Made Now}} Though depressed by his death, Megatron was not above removing Trailcutter's forcefield generators from his body in another instance of forward planning. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 6: Do Not Go Gentle|Do Not Go Gentle}} Subsequently, the realization that Brainstorm had used his mysterious [[Time case|briefcase]] to travel back in time caused Megatron to have a mini-breakdown over how ''ridiculous'' the whole situation was, but he soon got ahold of himself, and theorized that Brainstorm was attempting to change history by killing Orion Pax. {{storylink|The Custom-Made Now - An Elegant Chaos Prologue|The Custom-Made Now}} Rodimus led a squad back in time in pursuit, which led to Megatron having a cross-time conversation with the young Orion Pax via Rodimus's "[[time phone]]" communicator. Pretending to be his own younger self during the call, Megatron found the young 'bot's optimism for the future a mixed source of both affirmation and tragic amusement. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 1: All Our Parlous Yesterdays|All Our Parlous Yesterdays}} After Rodimus's team made several further jumps, Megatron deduced that the dates they were travelling to were not important moments in Pax's life, but Megatron's own. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 2: Stet|Stet}} Realizing that Brainstorm intended to kill ''him'' at the moment of his creation, he flew into a panicked rage, attacking [[Perceptor (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Perceptor]] and demanding the scientist send him back in time to save himself, until Ultra Magnus restrained him and the pair talked him down. As events in the past played out, Megatron was visibly shaken to hear that Rewind had been the one to pull the trigger that destroyed the original spark in his body, and that the universe would truly be a better place had he never existed. Although Whirl subsequently set the timeline to rights, Megatron did not join in the celebrations when everyone returned from the past, retiring to his quarters. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 3: Predestination: An Expert's Guide|Predestination: An Expert's Guide}}

[[File:MTMTE43 the old man.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.4|"Oh my Primus! WHAT IS THAT?! SOME ONE GET RATC-?!?! ... Oh, wait. Nevermind. False alarm. It's my hand. Almost had me there guys." *tries to look relaxed, and nails it*]]

In silent isolation, Megatron reached out with his mind, trying to make contact with Whirl's arm through his space bridge. If he could teleport the arm ''back'', it would mean he would finally having a working two-way connection to a black hole. After days of trying, however, he still failed to succeed, {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 6: Do Not Go Gentle|Do Not Go Gentle}} and established another contingency plan by having Ravage recover one of Brainstorm's time-machine briefcases for him before they were all destroyed, thinking he might use it to escape his fate by travelling back in time. Megatron also dedicated some of his spare time to writing poetry, but his works remained largely unappreciated- a single poetry reading at [[Mirage (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Mirage]]'s bar, [["Visages"]], was enough to empty the bar of its patrons. {{storylink|Our Steps Will Always Rhyme}} He, Rodimus, and Magnus answered a call from Optimus Prime inviting the ''Lost Light'' back to Cybertron for first contact with the colony world of [[Caminus]], but they declined. {{storylink|First Contact (IDW)|First Contact}}

While the rest of the crew attended a party aboard the ''[[Vis Vitalis]]'', Rodimus and Megatron refrained from going. {{storylink|The Sensuous Frame}} The pair soon received an S.O.S. alerting them to an infestation of emotion-eating [[personality tick]]s on the ship; they headed over to help, and their combined charisma proved strong enough to "overdose" and kill the ticks as soon as they stepped into the room. {{storylink|The Frail Gaze}} Soon after, when [[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]]'s dying mind created a holomatter duplicate of Earth, Megatron took part in the voyage to the artificial plant to help save the metallurgist. The journey required him to project a holomatter avatar for the first time, which led him to note the fragility—but not weakness—of humans when his avatar was cut by broken glass. {{storylink|The One Where They Go to Earth}}

[[File:MTMTE44-MegatronLookAtTheFlowers.jpg|upright=2|right|thumb|"I see a great hand reaching out of the stars. The hand is your hand. And I hear sound; the sound of billions of people calling your name." 
"My followers?" 
"Your victims."]]

When it was discovered that Swerve's life-threatening injuries had been caused by a bullet lodged in his body by the Autobot deep-cover spy [[Dominus Ambus|Agent 113]], Megatron and Magnus studied the bullet together, and discovered that it contained a map to [[Necroworld]], base of operations of the supposedly-mythical [[Mortilus|Necrobot]]. Rodimus proceeded to barge into the room to announce that he had unconsciously drawn a complete map to Cyberuptopia on his desk, and Megatron, unsettled to realize that this mean his day of judgement was now actually on the horizon, announced that, before following said map, they would first detour to investigate Necroworld. Megatron privately confided in Ravage that he wished to stave off his day of reckoning as long as possible... but found that such thoughts rudely pushed from his mind when he bore witness to the massive field of flowers the Necrobot had planted in his honor, representing the countless lives he had taken. {{storylink|The Not Knowing}} With the weight of his history laid out before him so beautifully and terribly, Megatron realized that the future could not be avoided, and that any attempt to hide in the past was pointless. He buried the time-case Ravage had stolen for him amid the flowers. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 6: Do Not Go Gentle|Do Not Go Gentle}}

Megatron's fear of mnemosurgery would once again plague him when he awoke to find little Tailgate trying to perform mnemosurgery on him—part of a plot from [[Getaway]] to provoke Megatron into killing the little guy, in order to have Megatron either executed or imprisoned. The panicked Megatron almost fulfilled Getaway's plan for him, until [[Cyclonus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Cyclonus]] interceded by running Megatron through with his [[Great Sword]]. {{storylink|The Lopsided Triangle}} Once Getaway's plot had been foiled, Megatron was patched up and made amends with Cyclonus. {{storylink|Speak, Memory: Part 1}} The whole experience proved to be the last straw; determined to break from his old ways, Megatron renounced all violence and became a pacifist. He chose a poor time to do it, unfortunately, as the halls of the ''Lost Light'' were soon stalked by the serial killer [[Sunder (G1)|Sunder]]. Megatron's attempts to talk the murderer into surrendering met with failure, and he had to be saved by Tailgate, whose recent traumatic experiences had induced a mutation in his spark that gave him super strength. {{storylink|Speak, Memory! (Part 2)}} Intrigued, Megatron wondered if ''pain'' was the factor that would give his spark the power to complete his black hole quest. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 6: Do Not Go Gentle|Do Not Go Gentle}}

When the ''Lost Light'' was preparing to sneak through Mauler-inhabited space, Megatron and Ultra Magnus set about preparing the ship and the crew for the crossing. When a [[Scraplet]]-controlled [[Magnus Armor]] came shambling towards him, Megatron panicked, believing Magnus had come for a hug, before Swerve, Nautica and Whirl arrived to save him. {{storylink|Silent Light}} Not long after, Megatron joined the crew in a brief excursion into the past via "time windows" left over from Brainstorm's time-trip, which they used to honor the fallen crew members of the ''Lost Light''. {{storylink|No Guns, No Swords, No Briefcases}} In the days that followed, unable to think of a reason ''not'' to go, Megatron reluctantly accepted Whirl's invitation to "movie night," which turned out to be a screening of a documentary about his defeat of Sentinel Prime. Megatron disliked the whole production, especially the allegation that he had desecrated Senntinel's remains by ordering the theft of his head. {{storylink|The Last Autobot}}

===Do Not Go Gentle===
[[File:MTMTE50 megatron class dismissed.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.5|This is why we don't let you stay up all night listening to "''Instruments of Destruction''", Megs.]]
Megatron oversaw the ''Lost Light'''s campaign to liberate [[Miliarium]] from [[Rust Giant]]s, though he refrained from setting foot on the planet itself in order to maintain his vow of non-violence. He was irked to learn that that the crew had withheld the information the inhabitants of the planet were organic, but he softened when he was given the chance to finally use the "[[roll out]]" command. Subsequently, during one of a series of classes Megatron had begun holding on the subject of the Knights of Cybertron, the ''Lost Light'' was attacked by a kind of "psychic weapon" that made multiple crew members experience terrible visions. Megatron heard the sound of every organic he had ever killed screaming, and momentarily driven mad, he lashed out at Minimus Ambus, who had come to his aid, and was horrified a moment later when he realized he'd reflexively forgotten his pacifism. Megatron and Rodimus led a team aboard the Rodpod to track the signal back to its source; it turned out to have actually been bait in a trap luring them back to Necroworld, where they were attacked by the Decepticon Justice Division, out to claim revenge on Megatron for renouncing Decepticonism. The Autobots took refuge in the Necrobot's fortress and re-established contact with the ''Lost Light'', only to learn that Getaway had staged a mutiny and taken control of the ship in their absence, and had alerted the [[Galactic Council]] to their location. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light: (1) How Bright Their Frail Deeds|How Bright Their Frail Deeds}}

[[File:RageRage-Megatronappears.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.67|You can practically hear "Instruments of Destruction" playing.]]

Searching for weapons to fight the D.J.D., the Autobots found a teleport chamber and a room full of helpless organics in stasis pods. Brainstorm advocated using the chamber to escape, but Megatron—now truly realizing how alike organic and mechanical life was thanks to the trauma of the psychic attack—delivered a stirring speech that convinced everyone to stay to defend the pods. At Ravage's suggestion, Megatron went out to meet with Tarn one-on-one, and offered to surrender to surrender on the condition none of the others would be harmed. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 2: The Sun in Flight|The Sun in Flight}} As the two talked, Megatron expressed regret for "corrupting" who Tarn had been, and even for the fact Brainstorm's attempt to kill him hadn't succeeded. Disgusted to see his hero having "fallen" thus, Tarn began viciously beating Megatron, but Megatron refused to fight back; he even laughed at the irony of how Fool's Energon might have been changing his nature, and he didn't even care. Before Tarn could finish Megatron off, however, Overlord arrived, allied with the Galactic Council in pursuit of his own chance to kill Megatron. Tarn and Overlord fought, giving Megatron a chance to escape. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 3: Your Fierce Tears|Your Fierce Tears}}

Though patched up, Megatron still refused to take part in the Autobots' battle with the D.J.D, rejecting the gift of a new fusion cannon Brainstorm had built from the teleport chapter for him, and urging the group to cherish what time they had left rather than waste it in battle. Megatron declared himself too weak and afraid to fight, {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 4: At Close of Day|At Close of Day}} fearful that if he gave into violence, he would lose control and be unable to stop himself from once again becoming the monster he had been in the past. As the others went out to fight, Ratchet attempted to allay Megatron's fears by disclosing that Fool's Energon was only ever a placebo—Megatron had, in fact, been in control of himself all along. [[File:mtmte 55 antimatter.jpg|thumb|upright=1.7|left|"I'll light our [[Darkest hour]] the only way I know how! With more darkness!"]] This revelation, coupled with the sight of Ravage being torn in half by Tarn out on the battlefield, spurred Megatron to action. Pain was, indeed, the trigger he had sought; in that moment, he successfully managed to draw Whirl's arm back through his space bridge, forging a functioning link with the black hole. Donning his new fusion cannon, he stormed out onto the battlefield and took on the D.J.D. single-handed while the other Autobots took Ravage back to the safety of the fortress. The fire in Megatron's belly seemed short lived, however, when a well-placed shot from Tarn destroyed his cannon, and he dropped to his knees in the middle of the battlefield, {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 5: Rage, Rage|Rage, Rage}} but this quickly proved to be nothing more than a feint to draw the D.J.D. in, to trap them within a forcefield created by the generators Megatron had taken from Trailbreaker's body. Dropping his charade, Megatron unleashed the full power of the black hole's antimatter on the D.J.D., slaughtering each and every one of them. Before ending Tarn, he snatched his Decepticon-insignia facemask and slapped it onto his own chest; he would allow the antimatter to destroy him, and he would die as a Decepticon. Fate had a different path planned for Megatron, however; using the time-case Megatron had buried on the planet, which had been recovered by the Necrobot, Rodimus teleported into the forcefield and whisked Megatron away to safety before the antimatter detonated.

Reappearing in the fortress, Megatron was able to be by Ravage's bedside as he died from his injuries, with a final entreaty to Megatron that he "not change back." Megatron flew into a rage and almost turned his cannon on the Autobots before regaining control of himself. Realizing what he had done, Megatron tried to leave, only for [[Terminus (G1)|Terminus]] to suddenly appear to bar his way—one of the occupants of the pods, who were ''not'' organics, but causalities of conflict rescued from throughout time by the Necrobot using the case. Pulled back from the brink at the last moment, Megatron dropped his cannon and embraced his old friend. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 6: Do Not Go Gentle|Do Not Go Gentle}}

When [[Scarlett]] and [[Joe Colton (Dire Wraith)|Joe Colton]] discussed the Cybertronian influence on [[Earth]], Megatron's infiltration unit as well as his devastating invasion of Earth were key points. In light of Optimus Prime's recent actions, Colton seemed to have his doubts on whether or not Megatron had truly been the 'evil' one. {{storylink|Secret Raiders: A Revolution Prelude|Secret Raiders}}
{{-}}

===A New World===

Terminus' reappearance was down to the Necrobot time-travelling to rescue 'missing in action' robots, and the "organics" in the basement had in fact been those robots in disguise.{{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 6: Do Not Go Gentle|Do Not Go Gentle}} Megatron tried to fill in his old friend about the war, much as he doubted his objectivity. This was a disrupted by a minor quake which shook the whole planet. Deciding to finish his story later, Megatron paid his last respects to Ravage before [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]] and [[Rung (G1)|Rung]] burst free from the ground. The two explained the quake as a [[Geobomb|geobomb]] sent by the [[Galactic Council]] but had seemingly burnt itself out. Megatron joined the group to return to Cybertron and collect a new ship, mainly to see Starscream's face when he revealed he was still alive. When Terminus said that Iacon was beautiful, Megatron began to correct him before he saw a bustling metropolis. Before the crew could process what happened, [[Twelve-of-Twelve]] showed up to arrest them. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 1: Some Other Cybertron|Some Other Cybertron}}

[[File:anomie jabbing megs.jpeg|right|thumb|upright=1.4|Hey. Put it away before I take it away.]]

Rewind quickly managed to deduce that the crew had been sent into [[Functionist Universe|another universe]], one where Megatron had never come online and the Functionists still ruled. After trading wits with the councillor, Megatron ordered the crew to surrender in the hope of reasoning with the Council. As the crew was marched through Iacon, the rebel [[Anti-Vocationist League]] tried to save them and got their arses kicked by [[Functionary|Functionaries]] in short order. Rodimus talked Megatron into action who, with a weary sigh, casually broke out of his stasis cuffs and directed the battle without even lifting a finger, much to Terminus' pride and amazement. The moment was ruined when [[Six-of-Twelve]] appeared on every TV on Cybertron, telling everyone they would see what the "Useless One", Rung, was actually ''for''. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 2: Anomie|Anomie}} The crew was brought to [[Kalis|Adaptica]] where [[Clicker]] explained why the Council had to grant the refugees safe haven before they were greeted by the sympathetic [[Nine-of-Twelve]]. Megatron abstained from the following meeting to meet with those who had removed their optics in protest of the Council using them as spies. Megatron approved. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 3: A World Misplaced|A World Misplaced}}

Even when [[Moonbase Two|Luna 2]] suddenly returned, Megatron continued to watch Six-of-Twelve's broadcast and began fearing for the future when it was announced the Council was going to try and get to [[Vector Sigma]]. Megatron went to collect everyone so as to rescue both Rung and Vector Sigma. Before that discussion could continue, Luna 2 grew new craters and began sucking up people with its [[tractor beam]]s. Megatron quickly demanded details from Nine-of-Twelve (lest they decide he was complicit in this) who quickly offered them. Rodimus however was more interested in the moon's teleporter which Megatron called him out on for being more interested in chasing down the ''[[Lost Light]]'' than saving people. Rodimus in turn accused Megatron of wanting to stay in the Functionist timeline so as to not be judged by the [[Knights of Cybertron]] and laughing that Megatron wanted to do good after killing so many. Minimus Ambus halted their argument and Rodimus agreed to Megatron's plan to rescue Rung but on the condition that they would leave once they'd saved the day. Megatron told Nine-of-Twelve to rally the troops only for the councillor to inform him they had no troops. When he asked about offensive capabilities, Megatron learnt that most of the more powerful weapons hadn't been invented in the current timeline. He made due with putting what few weapons he had in the best positions before ordering Nine-of-Twelve to lead the evacuations. Megatron managed a small smile when he learnt that Ambus didn't share Rodimus' belief that Megatron was running from his trial. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 4: Bad Moon Rising|Bad Moon Rising}}

With Megatron's tactics, the beleaguered defenders were able to distract Luna 2 long enough for the refugees to escape. As Megatron and [[Roller (IDW)|Roller]] discussed the conspicuous absence of the native Orion Pax, the tractor beams increased in intensity prompting Terminus to call the two to evacuate. After Roller made his way out, Terminus attempted to convince Megatron to stay in the Functionist Universe, an idea Megatron admitted to entertaining, but ultimately refused to do, citing his need to make amends back home and that his friends aboard the ''Lost Light'' were the conscience he had to answer to. At the point, the statue they were in was sucked up by the tractor beams. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 5: Modes of Production|Modes of Production}}

[[File:LostLight6MegatronEnding.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.4|A brand new autobiography. Same title. Different words.]]

Though the beams began ripping Megatron apart, Terminus managed to free himself and saved his protege by firing at the tractor beam emitters, though accidentally shooting down the commandeered [[Cog (base)|Cog]] in the process. As the native Rung super-sized himself to attack the moon, Megatron assured [[Clicker]] that Rung's own choices were open defiances of Functionism. At that moment, Rodimus came with the news that they could head home and save this Cybertron. Terminus revealed his intent to stay behind with Megatron requesting a moment to say goodbye to his mentor, his serious demeanour convincing Rodimus to grant it. As Megatron and Terminus said their final words, Terminus got a call and quickly ushered Megatron to a [[matter transporter]] only to find it abandoned. As Megatron ran back out to tell Terminus, Luna 2 teleported away to Megatron's shock and horror. Deciding to make the most of his new situation, went on a "speaking tour", visiting the [[Anti-Vocationist League]]'s scattered cells, all over the planet, uniting them via his rhetoric and his new slogan of "Peace Through Empathy". After speaking at his old stomping ground of [[Nova Point]], Megatron went outside to contemplate the night sky before being interrupted by the chime of his communicator... having been contacted by the native Orion Pax. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 6: This Machine Kills Fascists|This Machine Kills Fascists}}

===Legacy===
Among [[Agonizer]]'s rare knick-knacks was an unfinished poem by Megatron. {{storylink|An Axe to Break the Ice}} When questioned by Bumblebee on why he insisted on remaining alone in the world, Starscream brought up the many beatings he'd received at Megatron's hand as a life lesson to remain alone and constantly on guard. {{storylink|The Price of You}} Such was Starscream's fear of his former leader that the Seeker seized up with fear when [[Vigilem]] assumed Megatron's form as he was when leading the Decepticons. Using the image of Megatron, Vigilem came within a hair's breath of destroying Starscream's mind, all the while the Seeker being too terrified to fight back. {{storylink|Your First Mistake}} Despite Megatron's defection, [[Soundwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Soundwave]] still considered him a wise man and quoted his writings to incite a [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticon]] rebellion. {{storylink|New Cybertron Part 5: Future Glories Lost|Future Glories Lost}}

When [[Jazz (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Jazz]] was interviewed by the human news, he remembered Megatron's invasion of Earth. {{storylink|What It's Really Like}} [[Sideswipe (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Sideswipe]] also remembered Megatron making a deal with Sunstreaker that preceded the invasion. {{storylink|The Life of Sideswipe}}

When Earth was properly inducted into the [[Council of Worlds]], [[Scarlett]] remembered the devastation Megatron had brought to Earth and wondered whether or not Earth was out of its weight class against Cybertronians as well as if Earth was truly ready to join the Council. {{storylink|First Strike issue 1|First Strike #1}} While in jail on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], Scarlett confessed to Optimus Prime that she had primarily come to Cybertron to save [[Joe Colton]] from himself, something which Optimus sympathized with, having gone through similar experiences with Megatron. {{storylink|First Strike issue 4|First Strike #4}} When justifying his genocidal campaign to Scarlett, Joe Colton claimed Earth was "one more Megatron" away from complete extinction. {{storylink|First Strike issue 6|First Strike #6}}

In [[Thundercracker (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Thundercracker]]'s [[Starscream: The Movie (film)|biopic]] of Starscream, Megatron was portrayed by [[Tankor (BM)|Tankor]]. Thundercracker admitted he'd taken some creative liberties with Megatron's bodily appearance but felt those changes would help an unfamiliar audience more readily recognize the characters. {{storylink|Starscream: The Movie (comic)|Starscream: The Movie}}

After receiving a life sentence, Starscream defended his reign to Bumblebee by stating that, unlike Megatron, he hadn't plunged Cybertron into four million years of war. {{storylink|The Falling, Chapter 1: Surfeit of Primes|Surfeit of Primes}}

After seemingly dying and being sent to the [[Transformer afterlife|Afterspark]] had sent Rodimus into a mild depression, [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]] rhetorically asked "What Would Megatron Do?", threatening Rodimus's fragile ego enough to rally him into action. {{storylink|The Everlasting Voices (1): Metastasis|Metastasis}}

===The Great Return===
[[File:LL21 Megatron Returns.jpg|thumb|left|200px|"Did'ja miss me?"]]
Megatron subsequently became leader of the AVL, drawing both Orion and [[Impactor (G1)|Impactor]] into the fold, while also taking time to fulfill his original ambition of becoming a medic. Megatron also found the discarded ''Unitrex-1'' and claimed it as the flagship of the AVL, dubbing it the ''[[Last Light (ship)|Last Light]]''. When the Functionist Council built a set of [[planetary engine]]s onto Cybertron to compensate for Luna 2's loss, the AVL followed them through the [[Warren]], warning many alien populations of the Functionists' genocidal intentions and allowing them to evacuate in time. The Functionists responded to this by engineering Cybertron with a robot mode cast in the likeness of [[Primus]]. Megatron's heroism eventually drew the attention of the Functionists who took great pride in killing his closest allies before eventually believing to have slain the ex-tyrant at [[Perseppalae]]. {{storylink|Crucible (Part 4): The Return of the King|The Return of the King}}

In truth, both Megatron and the ''Last Light'' had survived and continued to follow the Functionist recon ships. When the [[Adaptus|Grand Architect]]'s [[God Gun]] opened a portal back into Megatron's native universe, the ''Last Light'' was caught up in the rush, emerging ahead of the enemy fleet. Detecting his friends' spark signatures, Megatron immediately called Rodimus. {{storylink|Crucible (Part 3): Farsickness|Farsickness}} Though the Autobot initially believed that Megatron was the one staging the invasion, Megatron was quick to correct him, drawing their attention to the planet-sized Primus effigy, before requesting their coordinates for rescue. Once the ''Last Light'' shook off the recon ships, Megatron ordered his friends freed, recovering most of them from the Architect's clutches ([[Scavenger (group)|and a few Decepticons too]]) before he caught them all up on what had transpired since they'd parted ways. When the [[Epistemus|Magnificence]] proposed blowing up "Primus", Megatron immediately shot down the idea, noting the billions of innocent Cybertronians still trapped on their homeworld. {{storylink|Crucible (Part 4): The Return of the King|The Return of the King}} After Rodimus had freed himself and reclaimed his ship, the two ships set down to compare notes with everyone transferring over to the ''Lost Light''. Despite the Magnificence's boasts of intelligence, Megatron still refused to blow up "Primus". His devotion to saving the citizenry proved the catalyst for a group brainstorm to come up with a plan to simultaneously open ''twelve'' [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrices of Leadership]], one each of the the planet's [[hot spot]]s, to overload Vector Sigma and kill the Functionists merged with the computer. At this, the Magnificence spoke in the unholy voice of the [[Omega Guardian]]s, revealed to have been manipulating events and needing "Primus" to explode, who swore to return and "eat everything". Megatron made an impassioned speech to the aliens, swearing to stop them, and distracting them long enough for [[Nickel]] to simply crush the Magnificence. The distraction however meant that the ''Last Light'' was left unattended when the Functionists finally turned their attention to the last Cybertron, violently dying with the planet. When the ''Lost Light'' took off, Megatron ordered the ship turned around so they could save the universe. {{storylink|Crucible (Part 5): The Unremembering|The Unremebering}}

[[File:LL24 Megatron GNNN!.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Megatron is forced to admit that he'll never truly have [[The Touch]].]]
After [[Fortress Maximus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Fortress Maximus]] showed up and slammed [[Moonbase One|Luna 1]] into the gargantuan robot's [[neural cluster]] to convert it back into planet mode, Megatron coordinated with [[Flame (Marvel)|Flame]] to properly ally with the Grand Architect's remaining troops. With Rodimus, Megatron made his way to the [[Nova Point]] hot spot where they were beset upon by legions of [[Functionary|Functionaries]]. To complicate matters, the Matrices refused to open, prompting Megatron to rally Rodimus into giving a final speech to the crew and reaffirm their morality. Though the speech had the desired effect, it left Rodimus open to having his left arm blown off before he could open his own Matrix. Megatron took over and tried to open the talisman himself, but his lingering doubts and guilt meant it refused to open for him. The weakened Rodimus then requested the artifact, managing to open it by substituting his missing limb with his teeth, the energies of all twelve destroying the Functionists and reigniting Luna 1's dormant hot spot. {{storylink|Crucible (Part 6): A Spark Among Embers|A Spark Among Embers}}

{{spoiler|How To Say Goodbye And Mean It: Part 2|December 7}}

[[File:MegatronGoodbye.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.5]]

As the crew took stock, [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]] arrived to inspect "New Cybertron" before declaring that, since the [[Knights of Cybertron]] didn't exist, Megatron would once again have to stand trial, this time with the [[Galactic Council]] presiding. Over Rodimus's protests, Megatron agreed to go quietly but was nonetheless allowed to join the ''Lost Light'' for one last "victory lap" cruise. As the crew prepared to quantum jump home, the science team proposed the risky gamble of recreating the malfunctioning launch, thereby quantum duplicating themselves before then shunting the duplicates into a parallel universe to ensure that the ''Lost Light''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s adventures would never truly end. When the time to jump came, the crew simply wound up back on Cybertron.

As they all settled into ''Swerve's'' for a last drink, Magnus recited his favorite poem, which Megatron revealed to have written under a pseudonym. Adding that it was Impactor's favorite too, Megatron lamented that he'd wasted his life. Not wanting to leave it at that, Magnus gave a toast to all the friendships and bonds they'd forged... before construction cranes killed the moment and began dissembling the ship.

With Ultra Magnus once again acting as his defense orator, Megatron stood trial, Rodimus even falsely testifying that Megatron had been the one to open the duplicate Matrix. As the jury debated between infinite imprisonment and outright execution, Rodimus and Megatron had one last discussion, with Megatron revealing he'd always held onto his [[Rodimus Star]], before Magnus led him away. On their way to the sentencing chamber, Magnus revealed he was going to follow Megatron's advice and destroy the [[Magnus Armor]].

Years later, when Ratchet had passed, Rodimus placed Megatron's withered Rodimus Star on his tomb.

And far away, in some distant corner of the multiverse, the duplicate ''Lost Light'' materialized, ready to set sail for an infinity of new adventures. {{storylink|How To Say Goodbye And Mean It: Part 2}}
[[File:Theadventureisforever.jpg|thumb|400px|center|]]

===Pax Cybertronia===
In a vision of the future seen by Ironhide and Alpha Trion during the reformatting of Cybertron, fifteen million years hence, Ironhide still believed Megatron to be alive and promised a young Autobot they would defeat him again if he ever returned. {{storylink|Pax Cybertronia (issue)|Pax Cybertronia}} {{storylink|A Better Tomorrow}}
{{-}}

==''Spotlight: Mirage''==
[[File:SLMirage all in good time.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5]]
Somewhere, in an unknown time or place, the self-serving mercenary Mirage dreamed of Megatron and his Decepticons launching a massive attack on the Autobots. But Mirage knew that to only be a dream; in reality, the Autobots were almost eradicated, and Megatron had hired him to hunt down the last of their number. Megatron was outraged by the mercenary's demand for a majority share in all energon mining operations as payment, but it proved to be fuel well spent, as he soon succeeded in locating Optimus Prime and forcing him to surrender. Megatron demanded the prisoners be executed despite Mirage's promise to spare Autobot lives. Seeing Mirage's hesitation, Megatron appealed to his greed. {{storylink|Spotlight: Mirage}}
{{--}}

==Ask Vector Prime==
[[File:Megatron cam.jpg|left|150px|thumb|I think this is a killing joke!]]
In [[Primax 708.10-R Lambda]], Megatron cracked the codes to an Autobot forward listening outpost. He walked in, shot [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]], and then laughed and took a photo of what he had done. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime#Facebook|Ask Vector Prime, 2015/08/06}}
{{-}}

==Notes==
[[File:MegatronOrigin2 Megs hair.jpg|thumb|100px]]
*In [[Megatron Origin issue 2|''Megatron Origin'' #2]], we see that Megatron's helmet is, in fact, a helmet and not part of his head (at least in his original body). Upon removing his helmet, Megatron then briefly unfurls a crest. The significance of this moment is not explained, but it is briefly revisited in [[Remembrance Day|''More than Meets the Eye'' #14]] when a helmetless Megatron spars with [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]].
[[File:MTMTE Megatron Alt.jpg|thumb|left|200px]]
*Apparently, the stealth bomber Megatron design used in IDW for a while was created by artist [[Don Figueroa]]. However, he created the design as part of a story pitch to editor [[Andy Schmidt]]; a pitch the editor rejected. Schmidt proceeded to use the design for this comic, but without compensation or credit to Figueroa; something the artist was highly displeased about.<ref>[http://www.seibertron.com/energonpub/don-figueroa-designed-idw-s-stealth-bomber-megatron-but-wasn-t-compensated--t96022s0.php archive of Figueroa's post on the subject at Seibertron forum]</ref>
*Megatron's post-[[Dark Cybertron (IDW)|Dark Cybertron]] body was never seen transformed into its alt mode, although it was revealed in concept art released after being written out of ''Lost Light'' that he transformed into a heavy tank. As this tank design would have required Megatron's signature Fusion Cannon, which had been discarded prior, it would have been left largely unhelpful anyway. The retailer incentive cover for [[Dissolution Part 3: A World Misplaced|issue #3]] however showcases a different tank design, using a different cannon.
*In "[[How To Say Goodbye And Mean It: Part 2]]", it is revealed that Megatron (under a pseudonym) wrote Ultra Magnus', and Impactor's, favorite poem, "Afterlight". ''"You flare, you flicker, you fade. And in the end, all your tomorrows become yesterdays."''

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Anti-Vocationist League]]
[[Category:Combiners]]
[[Category:Decepticon leaders]]
[[Category:IDW Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:IDW Generation 1 Decepticons]]
[[Category:Gladiators]]
[[Category:Lost Light crew]]
[[Category:Point One Percenters]]
[[Category:Rulers of Cybertron]]
[[Category:Turncoats]]

2005 IDW timeline

2018-09-05T19:21:05Z

Egg:

[[File:ChaosTheory1 montage.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Let's see how far we've come.]]

Beginning as a simple reimagining of the traditional [[Generation 1 continuity family]] under the pen of [[Simon Furman]], the [[IDW Generation 1 continuity]] has evolved over the course of thirteen years into the single longest-running continuity in the history of the brand, spanning numerous ongoings, miniseries, and one-shots. Almost every work ties into the overarcing '''timeline''', telling a single unified story that starts at the dawn of time, moves through to the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]] and eventually into a new era of post-war reconstruction. Naturally, such a long-running work of fiction is bound to contain occasional storytelling and artistic inconsistencies, though [[John Barber|certain writers]] have actively sought to correct these mistakes over the course of their careers.

In 2016, [[IDW Publishing]] announced the formation of the [[Hasbro Universe]], a shared comic continuity retroactively encompassing the Transformers, [[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]], other Hasbro properties such as [[Rom|Rom the Space Knight]], and, in a stranger development, the events of the largely forgotten ''[[Hearts of Steel]]'' miniseries. This chronology focuses largely on the adventures of the Transformers as they relate to the timeframe of the larger Hasbro Universe, with characters from other properties only dealt with in passing.

{{quote|The story never ends, Ironhide. It just changes into something else.|[[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]], having a nice [[Furmanism]]|[[Pax Cybertronia (issue)|Pax Cybertronia]]}}

==1,000,000+ years ago==
{{ongoing}}
===5 billion BCE===
[[File:MtMtEAnn2012-TheGuidingHand.jpg|thumb|right|300px|First, there was color.]]
According to legend, [[Primus]] creates [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] {{storylink|Crisis Intervention}} and splits himself into the [[Guiding Hand]], a benevolent pantheon of deities encompassing himself, [[Mortilus]], [[Adaptus]], [[Solomus]], and [[Epistemus]]. {{storylink|Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations|You, Me, and Other Revelations}}

===4.5 billion BCE===
The planet [[Earth]] forms. {{storylink|Crisis Intervention}}

===16 million BCE===
The [[Stentarian]] civil war begins, pitting the heroic [[Terradore]]s against the villainous [[Ammonite]]s. {{storylink|Little Victories}} Their war precipitates the disastrous [[Shattering]], necessitating the creation of the [[Galactic Council]] to stabilize the galaxy and govern the planets who join its ranks. {{storylink|Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations|You, Me, and Other Revelations}}

===12 million BCE===
Cybertronian religion holds that the first Transformers were created around this time by the Guiding Hand. {{storylink|Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations|You, Me, and Other Revelations}} According to legend, the very first Cybertronian, in the land that will one day become [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]], realizes that he can [[Transformation|transform]]. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It|How to Say Goodbye and Mean It}} The creation and subsequent proliferation of the Transformer race leads to the planet's first golden age. {{storylink|Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations|You, Me, and Other Revelations}} Primus supposedly delivers the [[Prime Pastoral]] at the future site of [[Crystal City]]. {{storylink|Origin Myths}} One myth holds that, in ancient times, Primus battled against "his opposite", bolstered by three gigantic Transformers known as [[Titan (IDW)|Titan]]s: [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]], [[Metrotitan (Zone)|Metrotitan]], and [[Chela]]. {{storylink|Origin Myths}}

In other religious circles, the devout believe that [[Mortilus]]' ambition sparked a "war between the gods", pitting himself against the other members of the Guiding Hand. The conflict is supposedly great enough to tear [[Moonbase One|Luna 1]] from its orbit and send the moon hurtling away through space, and though Mortilus is killed, the gods are left weakened by the conflict. Supposedly, Solomus's prison becomes the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]], Epistemus and Adaptus become the [[brain module]] and the [[transformation cog]] respectively, and Primus himself retreats into the core of Cybertron to become [[Vector Sigma]]. From these sacrifices, the Cybertronian race gains sentience, wisdom, intellect, change, and immortality. The first generation of Cybertronians present to witness these supernatural feats supposedly go on to become the mythical [[Knights of Cybertron]], {{storylink|Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations|You, Me, and Other Revelations}} who go on to turn the planet into a paradise. Among their many feats involve defeating the monstrous [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]], rumored to be a creation of Mortilus, {{storylink|The Transformers: Salvation|Salvation}} alongside [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]], the First [[Titan (IDW)|Titan]]. Trypticon's body is sealed away beneath the [[Toraxxis Plains]]. {{storylink|The Illusion of Control}}

Eventually, after turning Cybertron into a utopian haven for both the mind and spirit, the Knights leave Cybertron to spread enlightenment aboard a fleet of [[Titan (IDW)|Titan]]s, and subsequently vanish from history. {{storylink|Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations|You, Me, and Other Revelations}} Whether or not the Knights really existed has yet to be determined; either way, only a handful of artifacts and texts from this time are known to exist, {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 3: Predestination: A Beginner's Guide|Predestination: A Beginner's Guide}} though some evidence suggests that the Knights split into different clans during their voyage across the galaxy to found the mythical [[Cyberutopia]]. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light: (1) How Bright Their Frail Deeds|How Bright Their Frail Deeds}}

Most successive generations of Cybertronians do not believe in the Knights as concrete beings, instead viewing them as mythological folk heroes. {{storylink|Dark Dawn: Dark Cybertron Chapter 1|Dark Dawn}}

[[File:Heavy-TheThirteen.jpg|thumb|left|300px|...and then there was not.]]

With the benevolent influence of the Knights no longer guiding its progress, Cybertronian civilization reverts to a primitive state, and a new dark age of barbarism falls as the formerly-unified planet splinters into a multitude of smaller tribes and societies. {{storylink|Origin Myths}} As a result of the destruction of his [[chronal drive]], the [[Decepticon]] [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Shockwave]] is flung twelve million years into the past from the moment of his defeat in the year [[#2012-2013|2013]]. Grievously injured, he spends years wandering the barbarian land until he is found by a peaceful "shepherd" named [[Onyx Prime|Onyx]], who Shockwave recognises as the Cybertronian who will one day be known as Onyx Prime. Shockwave murders Onyx and takes on his identity; he also takes control of Onyx's "flock" of mostly [[beast mode|beast-mode Cybertronians]], taking one particularly fearless individual under his wing as a student and naming him "[[The Fallen|Megatronus]]". Inspired by [[#10,000 BCE|a previous encounter]] in his youth, Shockwave uses his knowledge of future events to manipulate history on a grand scale, guiding it along the course he learned in his youth, while simultaneously manipulating those around him in the hopes of analyzing why his species falls to civil war. {{storylink|The Falling, Interlude: The First Who Was Named|The First Who Was Named}} Prominent tribal leaders soon arise, chief among them the [[Prime (rank)|Primes]]. Five of these Primes—[[Solus Prime|Solus]], [[Nexus Prime|Nexus]], [[Alchemist Prime|Alchemist]], [[Vector Prime|Vector]], [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] and their followers—join forces to commemorate Primus by founding the small village of Crystal City.

Around the same time, Megatronus—now a powerful warlord in his own right—aims to expand his territory of the [[Darklands]], and after invading and annexing [[Protihex|Protohex]] he recruits the twin gladiators [[Galvatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Galvatron]] and [[Arcee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Arcee]], who slay their capricious master [[Septimus Prime]] and pledge allegiance to Megatronus. His legions conquer the [[Forgotten Plains]], but when Megatronus marches on the Crystal City, he is met by the armies of the Primes, bolstered by the [[Liege Maximo]] and Onyx Prime's bestial legions. Their fighting awakens the original three Titans before Onyx "realizes" that their enemy is his "old friend" Megatronus, leading to ceasefire and a truce—all of which Onyx planned, having unleashed Megatronus on Cybertron to force an alliance between the tribes that would build Cybertronian society. To celebrate the new alliance, Onyx Prime creates a new flag for Cybertron, supposedly based on the visage of Primus himself, but actually based on his foreknowledge of the symbol of the [[Autobot]]s. {{storylink|Origin Myths}} {{storylink|The Falling, Interlude: The First Who Was Named|The First Who Was Named}}

The alliance is joined by five more Primes, and together they become known as the [[Thirteen]], {{storylink|The Crucible}} each ruling a group of followers that come to be known as the [[Thirteen Tribes]] and commanding the loyalty of gigantic Titans and diminutive [[Titan Master]]s. {{storylink|White Light}} The Primes become the archetypes for future Cybertronians to pattern themselves after, {{storylink|Heavy}} but it doesn't take long before the Thirteen grow drunk on their own arrogance and begin to think themselves above other Cybertronians: indeed, it soon becomes common belief that the Primes are so powerful that only a Prime can kill another Prime. {{storylink|The Crucible}} {{storylink|Origin Myths}}
{{-}}

===8 million BCE===
[[File:TheMindBomb-GalvatronKillsHeadmasters.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Off with his Headmaster.]]
As the Primes govern their planet peacefully, Shockwave, in the guise of Onyx, advises [[Prima]] to spread Cybertron's "enlightenment" to other worlds, with the expedition being the first to leave the planet since the Knights of Cybertron. The first planet they land on ends in brutal conflict, and Prima blames Megatronus for the expedition's failure; acting on Onyx's orders, Liege Maximo stokes Megatronus's resentment, leading him to turn on Prima. Solus Prime intervenes in the fight to save Prima's life, but is killed by Megatronus with the Star Saber. {{storylink|The Falling, Interlude: The First Who Was Named|The First Who Was Named}} The betrayal ignites tensions between the thirteen tribes and escalates into the [[First Cybertronian Civil War]]. {{storylink|The Crucible}} {{storylink|Heavy}} Megatronus flees the planet, while Liege Maximo is captured by the Primes and imprisoned within his titan, [[Vigilem]], whom the other Titans deem unworthy of remembrance and exile into space. A repentant splinter of Liege Maximo's old tribe agree to keep their former leader and his Titan permanently interred, renaming their dormant Titan "[[Vigilem|Carcer]]". {{storylink|Rubicon}} {{storylink|Heavy}} {{storylink|The Falling, Interlude: The First Who Was Named|The First Who Was Named}}

Onyx Prime allies first with [[Micronus Prime]], {{storylink|White Heat}} and later, [[Nexus Prime]]. Onyx and Nexus utilize the [[Enigma of Combination]] to create an army of [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmasters]]: [[combiner]]s between beast-bots and humanoid Transformers. {{storylink|The Crucible}} {{storylink|Earthfall Chapter 3: The Mind Bomb|The Mind Bomb}} The joint faction proves powerful, and the Headmasters see action on distant worlds such as [[Spindrift]]. {{storylink|Heart of Darkness issue 3|Heart of Darkness #3}}

Onyx Prime and Prima hunt down Megatronus aboard Prima's Titan [[Emissary (IDW)|Emissary]], finding him on the planet [[Tsiehshi]]; Megatronus kills Prima before being slain by Onyx, his usefulness to Shockwave's machinations at an end. Emissary carries Prima's body to the stars, but Onyx ensures that he will crash on [[Elonia|a faraway planet]]. On returning, Onyx tells Alpha Trion that Megatronus and Prima slew each other in final battle. Megatronus's name is soon forgotten by history, and he becomes known only as "the Fallen". {{storylink|The Falling, Interlude: The First Who Was Named|The First Who Was Named}}

Disgusted by this fusion between beast-bots and his own kind, [[Galvatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Galvatron]] deserts his post in Megatronus's army to begin his own campaign against the Headmasters—a campaign that ends with him killing Nexus Prime. {{storylink|The Crucible}} Disgusted by the idea of combination, Galvatron conceals the Enigma to prevent any future combiners from coming into being. {{storylink|Earthfall Chapter 3: The Mind Bomb|The Mind Bomb}} {{storylink|The Crucible}} The realization that they are not as invulnerable as they thought provokes many of the Primes to flee Cybertron, with the exception of [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]]. {{storylink|The Crucible}} Nexus Prime's most devoted servant, a diminutive Titan Master named [[Infinitus]], vows revenge for his master's death and swears allegiance to Onyx Prime before going into hiding. {{storylink|White Light}}

With the war over and the Primes gone, Trion brings together Galvatron and [[Prima]]'s follower [[Nova Prime|Nova Major]] in hopes of reuniting Cybertron. Nova Major agrees, noting that under the principles of [[functionism]], everyone will "know their place". {{storylink|The Crucible}}

[[File:Windblade1 Caminus.jpg|thumb|left|300px|The lack of tail fins was a dissapointment.]]

During this time, an office worker named [[Censere]] leaves his original job to retrain as a forensic pathologist. The death of [[Tusk|an old friend of his]] goes unreported; as a result, Censere did not discover it until years later. The incident moves him to begin a lifelong mission: chronicling the deaths of every Cybertronian. After losing his hometown in the war, he relocates to a [[Necroworld|distant planet]] where he sets up a base of operations, equipped with a [[teleport chamber]] to allow him to record every fatality. {{storylink|The Not Knowing}}

Shortly afterwards, the remaining twelve Titans leave Cybertron, each one the former servant of a Prime. {{storylink|First Contact (IDW)|First Contact}} They embark on millennia-long deep space voyages, intending to find and colonize distant worlds in an attempt at spreading [[Pax Cybertronia]] across the cosmos. {{storylink|Conquerors Part 1: Aphelion|Aphelion}} Subsequent expeditions succeed in colonizing far-flung worlds that will one day be known as [[Caminus]], [[Velocitron]], and [[Devisiun]]. {{storylink|A 'Bot and Her City}} {{storylink|Windblade vol. 2 issue 6|Windblade vol. 2 #6}} Eventually, however, the [[space bridge]] network between the Titans fails and the colonies are permanently cut off from Cybertron and each other. In their absence, the colonists begin developing their own societies that invariably venerate the Thirteen—and, by extension, all Primes—as deities. {{storylink|Conquerors Part 1: Aphelion|Aphelion}}
{{-}}

===7 million BCE===
[[File:AllGoodThings-NovaPrimeAndFriends.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The Pastel Age was a soothing time.]]
Alpha Trion and Metroplex work together to explore the surface of Cybertron, {{storylink|Omega's Conundrum}} until the Titan eventually goes dormant beneath the city of [[Nyon]]. {{storylink|Ruins}}

Nova Major declares himself "Nova Prime". Accompanied by Galvatron, [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]], [[Cyclonus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Cyclonus]], and [[Dai Atlas (Zone)|Dai Atlas]], he embarks on a quest into the planet's lowermost reaches. There, they discover the ancient [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]], who allies himself with the Prime in the hopes of returning their wartorn planet to its former glory. With Omega Supreme's aid, Major Prime ushers in Cybertron's "Golden Age". {{storylink|Primus: All Good Things|All Good Things}} Under his direction, the Cybertronian empire expands into space, with the [[Primal Vanguard]] serving as offworld peacekeepers. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 2: Hangers On|Hangers On}}

At some point following the departure of the colony Titans, [[female Transformer]]s disappear from Cybertron under unknown circumstances. {{storylink|Onyx Interface Part Three: ONoffON|ONoffON}} Aiming to reintroduce female Transformers to the now "genderless" Cybertronian species, Jhiaxus experiments on his follower [[Arcee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Arcee]], altering her CNA and giving her a "maelstrom of contradictory sensory input", as well as impelling other Transformers to use feminine pronouns to refer to her. Though Jhiaxus is successful in his primary objective, Arcee is left disoriented and homicidal by the process, and the scientist abandons her. {{storylink|Spotlight: Arcee}}

===6.7 million BCE===
[[File:Tyrest and the matrix.jpg|thumb|left|250px|"It consisted of our Top Bots."]]

Nova Prime aims to further expand the reach of the Cybertronian race and, inspired by the legends of the Knights of Cybertron, begins planning what he calls the "[[Expansion]]", a massive wave of interplanetary colonization and conquest aimed at establishing "[[Pax Cybertronia]]" across the known galaxy. {{storylink|Primus: All Good Things|All Good Things}} To do so, he requires a fresh generation of new Cybertronians, but, around this time, the life-giving, [[hot spot]]-igniting pulse waves of Vector Sigma slow down. Nova tasks a team of scientists, led by [[Tyrest (G1)|Tyrest]], with extracting new sparks from the [[Matrix of Leadership]], exponentially boosting the Cybertronian population and dividing Cybertronians along [[Reproduction#IDW Generation 1 continuity|"forged" or "cold constructed"]] lines. A "first wave" of new Transformers is created; additional Sparks are stored until bodies can be created for them.

The process ends after a scientist has a crisis of conscience, steals the Matrix, and replaces it with a forgery while hiding the real one underground. The team simply assumes that they have bled the Matrix dry and the project is abandoned. {{storylink|Remain in Light 3 of 5: The Divided Self|The Divided Self}} {{storylink|Twenty Plus One}}

Hoping to rediscover the lost art of combination, Nova Prime conspires with Jhiaxus in an attempt to replicate combiner technology, seeking a process that allows sentient minds to be merged into one in the pursuit of peace—eliminating all free will save his own, a society where "all are one". {{storylink|Primus: All Good Things|All Good Things}} Galvatron, still opposed to the existence of combiners, secretly launches Nexus's [[Enigma of Combination]] into space to put it beyond Jhiaxus's reach. It lands on [[Earth]], in the region that will one day be known as [[Mesopotamia]]. {{storylink|The Crucible}}

In deep space, Onyx Prime and his Titan [[Chela]] make planetfall on [[Eukaris]], an uninhabited jungle world. Using the [[hot spot]] within his Titan, Onyx oversees the development of a new civilization of [[beast mode]] Transformers, free to live without the stigma surrounding beast modes. He eventually departs, but instructs Chela to guard his colony from any intruding "standard-formers". {{storylink|Windblade vol. 2 issue 6|Windblade vol. 2 #6}}

Aware of Galvatron's gambit from his past experiences as Shockwave, Onyx correctly deduces that Nexus's artifact has landed on Earth and dispatches a Titan Master named [[Sovereign]] to find the artifact and summon the Prime when he had found it. {{storylink|Conquerors Part 3: Helden|Helden}} {{storylink|The Falling, Interlude: The First Who Was Named|The First Who Was Named}}

Abandoning his colony Titan, [[Prion]], [[Micronus Prime]] creates and then retreats into the sub-atomic realm of [[Microspace]]. {{storylink|White Heat}} {{storylink|O Ship of State}} {{storylink|Crisis Intervention}}

===6.5 million BCE===
With the Cybertronian population growing exponentially under [[Nova Prime]]'s program of expansion, Jhiaxus's student [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Shockwave]] begins planning for an inevitable energon shortage by developing a [[Ore-14|self-regenerating energy source]]. {{storylink|Shockwaves}}

===6 million BCE===
[[File:AllGoodThings-Monstructor.jpg|thumb|right|200px|They did, in fact, ask for this.]]
After a long period of experimentation, Jhiaxus creates [[Monstructor (G1)|Monstructor]] from six volunteers. Though physically powerful, Monstructor is also violently insane as a result of the crude combination process, and Nova Prime's enthusiasm for the creature prompts Omega Supreme and [[Dai Atlas (Zone)|Dai Atlas]] to turn on him. {{storylink|Primus: All Good Things|All Good Things}}

While Omega Supreme is occupied battling the beast, Nova Prime and Jhiaxus depart Cybertron in the first ''[[Ark (G1)|Ark]]'' to begin their work, with notable crew members Galvatron, {{storylink|Spotlight: Galvatron}} [[Cyclonus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Cyclonus]], [[Straxus (G1)|Straxus]], [[Grindcore (G1)|Grindcore]], {{storylink|Spotlight: Cyclonus}} and [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]]. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 14|Rebirth}} A young 'bot named [[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]], born only two weeks previously, is part of the crew responsible for cleaning out the craft's coolant tubes before take-off. {{storylink|Cybertronian Homesick Blues}} He runs late and tries taking a shortcut across the fragile [[Mitteous Plateau]], which results in him falling into stasis underground for several million years. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It|How to Say Goodbye and Mean It}}

[[File:DarkCybertron01-setcoursefortheanomaly.jpg|thumb|left|250px|"We'll simply set a new course, for that empty region over there, near that blackish, hole-ish thing."]]

After a prolonged battle, Omega defeats Monstructor and locks him away in an inter-dimensional prison {{storylink|Spotlight: Optimus Prime}} and entrusts [[Metrotitan (Zone)|Metrotitan]], one of two remaining Titans on Cybetrtron, to Dai Atlas. {{storylink|Primus: All Good Things}} The [[Crystal City]] is destroyed, but not before Shockwave plants a seed of [[Ore-14]] within. The defeat of Monstructor allows Shockwave to realize that his old teacher had flaws of his own; Shockwave takes up the mantle of his teacher, striving to study and better his erstwhile master's works. {{storylink|Shockwaves}} Around this time he begins to investigate the history of ancient Cybertron. {{storylink|The Crucible}}

Nova Prime's ''Ark'' is subsequently lost in the [[Benzuli Expanse]], transported to the [[Dead Universe]]. All aboard perish and are resurrected as undead creatures to serve the will of the [[D-Void]]. {{storylink|Spotlight: Galvatron}} {{storylink|Chaos Part Four: Genesis|Genesis}}

With Nova Prime gone, Cybertron enters a brief period known as the [[Interregnum]]. Unaware that it's a fake, [[Delta Magnus]] of the Primal Vanguard safeguard the Matrix of Leadership until a new bearer can be found. {{storylink|Shadowplay (Conclusion): An Intimate Beheading|An Intimate Beheading}} Cybertron suffers from a lack of energy in the wake of Nova's expansion program, and tensions emerge.

Those who were constructed cold face institutionalized apartheid; {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1}} although this eventually ends due to mounting public pressure, including mass protests and marches. {{storylink|Twenty Plus One}} However, intrinsic prejudice against constructed cold Transformers persists in among a sizable percentage of the population. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1}}

After a period of unrest, [[Nominus Prime]] becomes the next Matrix-bearer, though by this point the office of "Prime" is largely subordinate to the new, but increasingly corrupt, [[Senate]]. {{storylink|Interiors}} {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1}} {{storylink|Life After the Big Bang}} At some point around this time, Cybertronian datekeeping switches to a [[New Calendar]]. {{storylink|Before & After}} [[Functionism|Functionist]] sentiment becomes an institution of society overseen by the [[Functionist Council]], with robots expected to stick to a single job determined by their [[alternate mode]]. [[Militant Monoform Movement|Monoformers]], those without alt mode, face shape-hate. {{storylink|Interiors}} {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1}} {{storylink|Life After the Big Bang}} Unable to determine what [[Rung (G1)|Rung]] does, the Council classifies him as an "[[Ornament class|ornament]]". {{storylink|Little Victories}}

[[File:RID17 senator shockwave.jpg|thumb|right|250px|You can tell it's advanced because it's glowing.]]
The Senate use the sinister network of secret facilities known as the [[Institute]] root out and quash dissent through [[mnemosurgery|mnemosurgical]] techniques like [[shadowplay]]. The Functionist Council becomes fond of subjecting criminals to a barbaric head-and-hand replacement ritual known as [[empurata]]. {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 2: Patternism|Patternism}} Shockwave joins the Senate in the hopes of precipitating real change on Cybertron and founds the [[Jhiaxian Academy of Advanced Technology]] in memory of his old teacher. {{storylink|Shockwaves}}

As a result of their increasingly stagnant and moribund society, neighboring alien races start calling the Cybertronians "Autobots": an insult, meaning "automatons". {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 2}}
{{-}}

===5 million BCE===
[[File:MTMTE37 megatron under construction.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Would you kill baby Megatron?]]
The experimental ship ''[[Lost Light|Unitrex-1]]'' is commissioned and constructed in the city of [[Unitrex]], designed to house a prototype [[quantum generator]]. Before it can launch, [[time travel]]ling [[Autobot]]s from the future infiltrate the vessel, searching for a way to recharge their [[time case|time machine]]. Hoping to use the ship’s engine to provide the necessary jump-start, [[Hot Rod (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rodimus]] uses [[Perceptor (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Perceptor]]'s knowledge of future quantum science to upgrade the ''Unitrex-1''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s generator so that it can perform the task, and retroactively creates the very first quantum generator. A reaction between the case and generator causes the vessel to quantum jump away through time and space. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 3: Predestination: An Expert's Guide|Predestination: An Expert's Guide}} {{storylink|No Guns, No Swords, No Briefcases}}

A watchmaker named [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]] attempts to leave the [[Aerial Corps]] and follow his true passion as a awatchmaker. Though initially successful due to a moderate functionary pemitting the change, the Council catches word of his blasphemy and engineer his downfall via a local criminal syndicate. In the aftermath, he is subjected to [[empurata]], leaving him destitute, and, eventually, he is convinced to join the Senate's security forces. {{storylink|Interiors}} {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 2: Patternism|Patternism}} {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 2: Stet|Stet}}
[[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] is constructed cold in [[Tarn (polity)|Tarn]], intended to house a spark from the Matrix of Leadership. The same Autobots from the future interfere with his development, extinguishing the original spark. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 3: Predestination: An Expert's Guide|Predestination: An Expert's Guide}}

The time travel misadventure creates a [[Functionist Universe|divergent timeline]] where Megatron was never constructed at all. Before this alternate universe can overwrite reality, the future Whirl replaces Megatron's spark with a forged [[Point One Percenter]] spark harvested from the future. This action returns history to its proper course and gives rise to the first and only "hybrid" Transformer. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 3: Predestination: An Expert's Guide|Predestination: An Expert's Guide}}

Megatron spends his early life hoping to become a medic, {{storylink|The Becoming: Dark Cybertron Chapter 10|The Becoming}} but the tenets of Functionism means that he instead becomes a miner, working at [[Nova Point]]. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|Towards Peace}} Sickened by the caste-based brutality of Nominus Prime's Cybertron, Megatron writes a [[After the Ark: Nominus Prime and the Illusion of Progress|treatise]] arguing in favor of non-violent dissent and the peaceful exchange of ideas. His ideas prove popular among Cybertron's menial classes, attracting a growing movement that threatens the sovereignty of the Senate. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1}}

While discussing his ideas with his friend [[Impactor (G1)|Impactor]] at [[Maccadam's Old Oil House|Maccadam's New Oil House]], the two are caught in a bar brawl {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1}} accidentally caused by the same time-hopping Autobots from the future. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 2: Stet|Stet}} The fight sees both Megatron and Impactor arrested; hoping to use the event to silence Megatron, the Senate send Whirl to visit Megatron's cell to permanently silence him. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1}}

[[File:ChaosTheory2 orion addresses senate.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Lend me your audio receptors.]]
Local police captain [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Orion Pax]] manages to arrange for Megatron's release before Whirl can finish him off, saving his life. Orion discovers Megatron's readings, and, moved by them, decides to confront the Senate, deciding to 'reclaim' the slur Autobot as short for "autonomous robot". Orion's diatribe inspires Shockwave, who has been searching for promising young Cybertronians, to befriend the police captain in the hopes of nudging him into bearing the Matrix of Leadership. Shockwave arranges for his release and repair, adding a new Matrix chamber to his chest in the repair process. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 2}}

Megatron, however, comes to the realization that peaceful dissent will not be enough to unseat the Senate—and that violence makes a more powerful statement. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1}}

Shortly afterwards, several Senators make a grab for more power by ordering an attack on Nominus Prime, using it as an excuse to obtain the Matrix of Leadership and enforce more control over an increasingly unruly Cybertronian populace. During the [[Primal Procession]], Nominus is attacked by a suicide bomber and rendered comatose. The public is told that Nominus is merely in hiding while the Senate investigate the comatose Prime, hoping to use their head of security [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel]] to tap into the power of the Matrix. {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 1: Post Hoc|Post Hoc}} {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 3: The Chaos of Warm Things|The Chaos of Warm Things}} Unbeknownst to all, "Sentinel" is, in reality, a false identity constructed by [[Infinitus]], using his [[Titan Master]] powers to disguise himself as a normal Cybertronian. {{storylink|Last Light}}

Sentinel's attempts prove fruitless, but expose an ancient secret: Nominus Prime's "Matrix" is a fake holdover from the days of Nova Prime's reign. Realizing this, the Senate sees no use keeping the Prime around and kill him, releasing a cover story that he passed away from a [[rust]] infection.
Thus bolstered, the Senate impose the [[Clampdown (event)|Clampdown]], limiting the rights and social mobilities of all Cybertronians. Ostensibly, this is to root out terrorists and tighten security, in reality, it is an opportunity for Senators to track down and silence those who contest their rule. The injustice proves useful for the growing "[[Decepticon]]" movement, basing themselves off Megatron's [[w:Samizdat|samizdat]] writings.

[[File:MTMTE34 what you might call a thinker.jpg|thumb|left|250px|"I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man."]]
As part of attempts to limit any future Decepticon uprisings, the Senate has Megatron transferred to an offworld mine on [[Messatine]] to limit his influence. {{storylink| Shadowplay, Part 1: Post Hoc|Post Hoc}} There, he meets [[Terminus (G1)|Terminus]], an elderly miner who encourages him to keep writing. Terminus helps smuggle each new work back to Cybertron, continuing the spread of the Decepticon movement. The Senate eventually tries to cut the problem off at the source, deploying [[Froid]] and [[Trepan]] to try and rewire Megatron's mind through shadowplay. Megatron escapes the procedure due to a nearby explosion and subsequent evacuation—in reality, the explosion is caused by [[Brainstorm (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Brainstorm]] jumping backwards through time. {{storylink|Births, Deaths, and Interventions}} Afterwards Megatron publishes his magnum opus, ''[[Towards Peace]]'', which will eventually become the Decepticon manifesto. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|Towards Peace}}

[[File:Shadowplay3-SenatorWho.jpg|thumb|right|250px|We can rebuild him. Better than he was before. Better. Stronger. More logical.]]
As part of a complicated plan to eliminate the threat the Decepticons pose to their social order, Senator [[Proteus]] promises to recognize the Decepticons as a legitimate political entity if 10,000 of them register as such, actually a method of gathering names for future shadowplay. {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 2: Patternism|Patternism}} To discredit the growing movement, the Senate intends to stage a bombing that will be pinned on the Decepticons. The scheme is foiled by Orion Pax, [[Ratchet (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ratchet]], and a trio of [[outlier]]s comprising [[Skids (G1)|Skids]], [[Tarn (DJD)|Damus]] and [[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]]. They succeed, but as a repercussion, his friend Senator Shockwave is brainwashed and subjected to empurata and shadowplay by the Institute. {{storylink|Shadowplay (Conclusion): An Intimate Beheading|An Intimate Beheading}} Realizing that he has been "liberated" from the constraints of emotions, Shockwave continues his [[Regenesis|energy research]] in secret. {{storylink|Shockwaves}}

Thanks to the influence of the Senate, Sentinel is installed as the new Matrix-bearer and becomes “Sentinel Prime”. {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 2: Patternism|Patternism}} Sentinel reorganizes the Senate's security forces into the [[Cybertron Elite Guard#IDW Generation 1 continuity|Elite Guard]], a collection of thuggish bruisers. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 1: All Our Parlous Yesterdays|All Our Parlous Yesterdays}} Infinitus quietly uses his Titan Master talents to assemble a legion of sleeper agents that will join his side should the need arise, including [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]]. [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]] joins his security services and eventually becomes Sentinel's second-in-command. {{storylink|Last Light}}

Hoping to take out the bot responsible for the heist, Sentinel Prime's forces try to track down Orion Pax and his friends, forcing them to go on the run. While on the lam, he meets the ambitious [[Zeta Prime|Zeta]], another of Shockwave's handpicked wunderkind. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 1: All Our Parlous Yesterdays|All Our Parlous Yesterdays}}
{{-}}

===4.2 million BCE===
On [[Moonbase Two|Luna Two]], [[Thymesis Energon mining facility]] workers [[Frak]] and [[Rushcut]] uncover a [[Point One Percenter]] [[spark]] beneath the moon's surface, the first in ten generations. The spark will become [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]]'s. {{storylink|Remembrance Day}}

===4 million BCE===
[[File:BirthsDeathsAndInterventions-OutlawPax.jpg|thumb|left|250px|"You seem familiar. Ain't I killed you before?"]]
By this time, Cybertronian society is growing increasingly secular, and as a result the role of the Functionist Council in society has greatly diminished. When the Senate catches wind of a new hand-shaped [[hot spot]] in [[Alyon]] that seemingly proves the existence of the supernatural Guiding Hand, they send the Elite Guard to secure the site, cover its existence from prying Functionist eyes, and use the newborn sparks within for experimentation. Orion Pax and his fugitives clash with the Senate for control of the hot spot, and with the help of some time-travelling Autobots they are successful in defending the location. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 1: All Our Parlous Yesterdays|All Our Parlous Yesterdays}}

With Messatine abandoned, Megatron is transferred to [[Mining Outpost C-12]] on [[Croteus 12]]. Growing increasingly frustrated with his life, he works there for a period of time until Senator [[Decimus]] automates the mine, leaving the miners unemployed. When Decimus and his thuggish police force arrives to announce the closure of the facility, the reaction sparks a riot—and in the chaos, Megatron takes his first life. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 1|Megatron Origin #1}} Megatron and his fellow miners escape in a shuttle to join the illegal [[Gladiatorial combat|gladiatorial games]] beneath the city of [[Kaon (polity)|Kaon]]. Megatron takes over the games and is approached by [[Soundwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Soundwave]], an emissary of Senator [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]], to cause terror throughout Cybertron. Thousands of new Decepticons join the cause, including the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicon]]s, who help rebuild the motley collection of gladiators into full-on warriors. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 2|Megatron Origin #2}}

During this period, Shockwave is approached by Starscream, who brings him before Megatron. Realizing that Shockwave has a goal of his own, but with no interest in what it actually ''is'', Megatron offers the former senator the freedom and resources that the Senate cannot provide. In exchange, Shockwave will use his scientific talents to study and improve on Jhiaxus's technology in the hopes of creating a functioning [[combiner]] for the Decepticons. Shockwave accepts the offer, though he notes that it will take a very long time. {{storylink|Shockwaves}}

[[File:Apexthrone.JPG|thumb|right|250px|"I could make a giant purple griffin out of stolen automobiles..."]]
Megatron unites his gladiators under the Decepticon banner and arranges their "capture" by Sentinel Prime's forces. Once captured, [[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]] and Soundwave's forces massacre the Senate, and release the Decepticons from prison so they can overrun the security force's HQ. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 3|Megatron Origin #3}} News of the Decepticon uprising reaches Sentinel Prime, and the Prime dons his [[Apex Armor (G1)|Apex Armor]] to make a final stand against the Decepticons in Kaon. He loses the ensuing duel with Megatron, and the Decepticon leader fashions his defeated enemy's armor into a throne. With Kaon now a Decepticon stronghold, the security forces withdraw to [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]]. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 4|Megatron Origin #4}}

Sentinel Prime's body is laid to rest within the [[Primal Basilica]]... but while "Sentinel Prime" has publicly perished, ''Infinitus'' lives on, and the tiny head-bot abandons his old body and goes into hiding underneath Kaon. Neither the Senate nor the Decepticons are able to explain the mysterious loss of the corpse's head. {{storylink|The Last Autobot}}

Zeta subsequently steps up as the next Prime. {{storylink|Omega's Conundrum}} His leadership—relying heavily on pageantry and theatrical displays of force—restores a semblance of order to Cybertron, forcing the Decepticons back underground for the time being. Orion Pax returns to the force, helping to keep the peace in these troubled times; {{storylink|New Cybertron Part 1: To Walk Among the Chosen|To Walk Among the Chosen}} he asks [[Ironhide (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ironhide]] to teach him how to be a ''soldier'' and not just a cop. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 13|Old Ways}}

Orion Pax and Zeta help to reshape Cybertron's disorganized security forces into a counter-terrorism army dubbed the "[[Autobot]]s". {{storylink|Spotlight: Blurr}} Zeta begins reorganizing Cybertron in ways large and small, "pushing Cybertronian society as fast as it can go". {{storylink|New Cybertron Part 5: Future Glories Lost|Future Glories Lost}} Among other things, he gives more rights to members of the [[disposable class]], a political move spurred in part by the writings and campaigning of noted adventurer and rhetorician [[Dominus Ambus]]. {{storylink|Before & After}} Under his leadership, Zeta brings back the Senate as the "New Senate", but he also secretly resuscitates the [[Institute]] and turns it into "The New Institute" for his own uses. {{storylink|Remembrance Day}}

With the Decepticon movement now publicly recognized as a terrorist movement, Zeta takes numerous actions to root out illegal activity, which eventually leads to shutting down popular venues like racetracks. This temporarily puts star racer [[Blurr (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Blurr]] out of the spotlight. {{storylink|Spotlight: Blurr}} Orion Pax later oversees a hostage exchange with the Decepticons. This is a trick to capture the wise [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]], so the Decepticons can use him to find a Titan and gain spacebridge technology. Pax prevents this. {{storylink|Omega's Conundrum|Spotlight: Orion Pax}}

[[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] is stranded in the [[Rust Sea|Rust Spot]] and develops a fear of solitude. {{storylink|The Waiting Game|Spotlight: Hoist}} Blurr gets caught in Autobot/Decepticon crossfire, but Orion convinces him to turn his self-confidence to the Autobot cause. {{storylink|Spotlight: Blurr}}

[[File:DanceAmongTheShadows-zetaprime.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Ah, I could just look at myself all day.]]
On the Decepticon side of things, growing tension causes ideological rifts among the community. a sizeable portion of Decepticons maintain that their movement should be one of pacifism, but others—bolstered by Megatron's recent actions—begin preparing for all-out war by amassing weapons from offworld. {{storylink|New Cybertron Part 3: Behind My Bleeding Back|Behind My Bleeding Back}} Decepticon gunrunner [[Hefter]] finds himself on the wrong side of the law when Zeta's forces crack down on the Decepticons, and his death in police custody sparks a larger inquiry that involves Orion Pax. {{storylink|New Cybertron Part 1: To Walk Among the Chosen|To Walk Among the Chosen}} With the help of [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]] and conflicted Decepticon pacifist [[Jetfire (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Jetfire]], Orion succeeds in uncovering exposing [[Needlenose (G1)|Needlenose]] and [[Horri-Bull]]'s Decepticon cell, but his experiences leave him embittered and ready to go to war against the Decepticons. {{storylink|New Cybertron End: Feel Safe Without Regrets|Feel Safe Without Regrets}}

A young Cybertronian named [[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]] joins the Autobots after the Decepticons trick him into delivering explosives through his dreams. {{storylink|Ghost Stories}}

With war looming on the horizon, Prowl forms an alliance with the neutral scientist [[Tarantulas (BW)|Mesothulas]]. {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 3|Sins of the Wreckers #3}} Together, they create many weapons and devices that will see use in the upcoming conflict, but Prowl eventually has a crisis of conscience and recruits Impactor to dispose of his increasingly depraved comrade. Impactor does so in exchange for having [[Roadbuster (G1)|Roadbuster]] released, but finds himself unable to kill "Ostaros", an artificial Cybertronian created in the lab. Instead, he inducts the young "Transformer" into the Autobots as "[[Springer (G1)|Springer]]". {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 5|Sins of the Wreckers #5}}

Megatron holds [[Declaration Day]], officially announcing the commencement of the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]]. Zeta and Orion work to fight back against the Decepticons, but Zeta Prime's ruthlessness pushes him to create the [[vamparc ribbon]], which drains energon from his own citizens and other insurgents. Horrified by his leader, Orion Pax turns on him and forges an alliance with Megatron to overthrow the tyrannical Prime. {{storylink|The Transformers: Autocracy|Autocracy}}

[[File:Autocracy9 pax becomes prime.jpg|thumb|right|250px|He's getting The Touch.]]
They succeed, and Megatron kills Zeta in an action later remembered as "the gunshot that killed a civilization". {{storylink|Life After the Big Bang}} Megatron immediately betrays Orion, casts him into the depths of Cybertron, and declares himself ruler of the planet. Lost underground, Orion discovers the long-lost true Matrix and is turned into [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Optimus Prime]]. Optimus uses his new connection with the Matrix to awaken the dormant Metroplex and rally a new army against Megatron's dictatorship. The new army of Autobots drive the Decepticons out of Iacon, setting the stage for all-out war. {{storylink|The Transformers: Autocracy|Autocracy}}

[[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] is finally (reluctantly) accepted for a scouting mission and crashlands on [[LV-117]]. He spends a period of time getting beaten up by giant spiders, picking his arm out of giant lizard dung, and sending a distress signal.<ref>In "[[Space Opera Part 1: The Stars My Destination]]", Rodimus claims that Wheelie disappeared shortly after Rodimus joined the Autobots, which he did in ''Autocracy''.</ref> {{storylink|Spotlight: Wheelie}}

Megatron is overthrown and exiled to [[Junkion (planet)|Junkion]] by [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]], who destroys Cybertron's last major source of energon and awakens the ancient monster [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]]. Aided by the [[Quintesson]] [[Pentius]], Megatron is able to return and defeat the beast alongside [[Grimlock (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Grimlock]]. {{storylink|The Transformers: Monstrosity|Monstrosity}}

[[File:Drift2-somewhereinconspicuous.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Are you ''sure'' this is the Heleus Cluster?]]
Alarmed by the energon crisis and escalating hostilities, numerous Cybertronians began evacuating the planet in the [[Exodus (G1)|Exodus]], a mass diaspora of neutrals, conscientious objectors, and other non-participants in the war. Dai Atlas and Tyrest oversee the safe evacuation of approximately 10-20 million refugees. {{storylink|Fallout (issue)|Fallout}} Among the evacuees are the [[Circle of Light]], who secretly depart Cybertron aboard [[Metrotitan (Zone)|Metrotitan]] and establish a hidden city on the planet of [[Theophany]]. {{storylink|Drift issue 2|Drift #2}} A group of [[Mortilus]]-worshiping neutrals discover the drifting ''Unitrex-1'' near [[Vela Pulsar]]. {{storylink|Twenty Plus One}} They take custody of the abandoned ship for the duration of the war, keeping a mutated [[Sparkeater (creature)|Sparkeater]] aboard docile by feeding it [[turbofox]]es. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 3: The Chaos of Warm Things|The Chaos of Warm Things}}

Megatron revives Trypticon using Pentius's spark and gathers the scattered Decepticon forces for a full-scale assault on the Autobots, but Optimus Prime cleanses him of the Quintesson's influence and captures him. {{storylink|The Transformers: Primacy|Primacy}}

At some point after this, the original [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]] dies under mysterious circumstances. Hoping to keep the legend of the immortal lawman alive, Tyrest creates the [[Magnus Armor]] and recruits [[Point One Percenter|load-bearer]] Autobots to wear it, effectively becoming Ultra Magnus. {{storylink|The Gloaming}}

With both sides searching for a way to bolster their numbers, Cybertronians discover reserves of cryogenically frozen [[Spark]]s created via Nova Prime's Matrix bleeding. These new sparks are used to create new Transformers which become known as "[[M.T.O.|Made to Order]]" soldiers for specific campaigns in what is later termed the "Silver Harvest". {{storylink|Twenty Plus One}}

The Decepticons move to conquer several nearby cities, and their string of major victories is remembered as the [[Fall of the First Five Cities]] —the conquests of [[Vos (polity)|Vos]], [[Tarn (polity)|Tarn]], [[Helex (polity)|Helex]], Kaon, and [[Tesarus (polity)|Tesarus]]. {{Storylink|Life After the Big Bang}} These cities become the inspiration for the [[Decepticon Justice Division]], who name their five operatives after the cities. {{storylink|Rules of Disengagement (issue)|Rules of Disengagement}}

Optimus Prime and Megatron repeatedly clash over the course of the war; their very first showdown at the Battle of [[Sherma Bridge]] (2nd Cycle 087) becomes legendary. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1}} Early into the war, Optimus Prime turns down Megatron's first and only invitation for an Autobot surrender. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It|How to say Goodbye and Mean It}}

[[Ironhide (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ironhide]] is injured saving Optimus Prime from an [[Axer (G1)|assassin]]. {{storylink|The Iron Age}}
Tyrest attempts to broker peace between the two sides. His efforts ultimately fail, but do result in the creation of the [[Tyrest Accord]], limiting the spread of Transformer technology to other races. {{storylink|Remain in Light 2 of 5: House of Ambus|House of Ambus}}

[[File:ALonelyPillarOnThePlain-BattleOfJunkion.jpg|thumb|right|250px|You weren't there, man. You don't know.]]

The Autobot-Decepticon war expands beyond Cybertron and encompasses many other worlds, and thousands of battles occur both on and off Cybertron over a period of time. During this period, Soundwave leads a detachment back to Junkion in order to recruit the natives. They are opposed by Prowl; the struggle goes on, neither side able to gain an advantage over the other, until one faction decides to detonate the planet entirely to keep it out of the other's hands. The surviving Junkions, led by [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] and [[Rum-Maj]], flee the destruction of their home aboard a [[Quintesson Cruiser|gigantic vessel]] and become galactic nomads. {{storylink|New Cybertron Part 2: A Lonely Pillar on the Plain|A Lonely Pillar on the Plain}}
{{-}}

===3 million BCE===
A battle takes place on the planet [[Clemency]] for control of the [[Nightmare Engine]], and a flight of [[K-Class]] Decepticons succeed in killing a bearer of the Magnus Armor. {{storylink|The Gloaming}}

The early phases of the war culminate in the destructive [[Simanzi Massacre]], a cataclysmic battle over the [[Crucible]]. Details are unclear, but the fallout from the conflict irradiates a sizeable percentage of the planet whiele cutting the Cybertronian population in half. Among the casualties is a bearer of the Magnus Armor. {{storylink|The Gloaming}} The Simizani Massacre leads to the [[Forced Flood]] and the [[Endless Retaliation]]. {{storylink|Twenty Plus One}}

[[File:Omniglobes.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Electrohamster balls were a popular accessory for the well-equipped commanding officer.]]
Bolstered by their victories, the Decepticons form the [[Constellate]], marking the peak of Decepticon power. In this brief period, the Decepticons conquer and colonize many worlds, using grandiose weapons of war like the gigantic [[Worldsweeper]]-class warships. {{storylink|Scavengers (Part 2): Who's Afraid of the DJD?|Who's Afraid of the DJD?}} The devastation visited on other races is enough to prompt the [[Galactic Council]] to permanently blacklist the Cybertronian race, {{storylink|Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations|You, Me, and Other Revelations}} and develop anti-Cybertronian weapons to safeguard their member worlds from future destruction. {{storylink|The Waiting Game}}

With both sides now defending on-planet and offworld footings, the conflict enters a state of total war as both sides pour all available resources into defeating the other. Optimus and Megatron seal themselves inside [[omniglobe]]s to direct the war effort. {{storylink|Rules of Disengagement (issue)|Rules of Disengagement}} Eventually, the Constellate collapses, marking the decline of the Decepticon's imperial phase. Imperial assets are recalled to Cybertron to fight on the home front. {{storylink|Rules of Disengagement (issue)|Rules of Disengagement}}

[[File:Mtmte 48 grindcore.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Comes with its own cheerful [[The Empyrean Suite|theme tune]]!]]
Skids joins the Autobots as a "bomb negotiator", disabling [[anti-personal mine]]s. One negotiation session goes wrong and lands him in the notorious [[Grindcore (prison)|Grindcore prison]]. {{storylink|Speak, Memory: Part 1}} There, he befriends [[Quark]] and catches the attention of Decepticon Damus—Skids's old friend, now a Decepticon. Damus plays a sadistic game where the Autobot repairs the camp's "teleporter", in reality a smelting chamber, and then kills the fifty Autobots he promised to send away, including Quark. The experience proves traumatic enough for Skids to suppress the memory. {{storylink|Speak, Memory! (Part 2)}} At some point after this, Damus is promoted and joins the [[Decepticon Justice Division]] as "Tarn". {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 6: Do Not Go Gentle|Do Not Go Gentle}}

Skids eventually escapes prison and joins the Autobot [[Diplomatic Corps]], working to persuade other races to support the Autobot cause. {{storylink|Scavengers (Part 2): Who's Afraid of the DJD?|Who's Afraid of the DJD?}}

After several other Magnus Armor wearers succumb to battlefield injuries or ailments, [[Minimus Ambus]] becomes the latest and longest-serving bearer of the Armor. {{storylink|Remain in Light 3 of 5: The Divided Self|The Divided Self}} {{storylink|The Sound of Breaking Glass}}
{{--}}

==100,000+ years ago==
===650,000 BCE===
Shockwave realises Cybertron will soon die and fully launches [[Regenesis]]; using [[energon]] as a catalyst, he launches thirteen specific ores at thirteen distant planets, including [[Elonia]], [[LV-117]], [[Arduria]], [[Caminus]], [[Devisiun]], [[Eukaris]], [[Gorlam Prime]], [[Prion]], [[Tsiehshi]], [[Velocitron]], and [[Earth]].<ref>"Six Hundred Thousand Meta-Cycles Ago"</ref> {{storylink|Spotlight: Shockwave}} Unbeknownst to the younger Shockwave, each of these planets possesses a connection to one or more members of the [[Thirteen]], a paradox set up years beforehand by his future self in the guise of "Onyx Prime." {{storylink|The Falling, Chapter 4: The Hallowing}}

===500,000 BCE===
Shockwave leaves Cybertron to begin examining the fruits of Regenesis. Over the ensuing thousands of years, he discovers that the ores that have formed on the different planets have taken on wildly different attributes, and begins formulating a scheme to use them in conjunction to achieve his dream of fuelling Cybertron forever. {{storylink|Syndromica (1)}} Alpha Trion takes Metroplex off Cybertron to keep him out of Megatron's hands and investigate Shockwave's plot. {{storylink|Earthfall Part 1: Hello Cruel World|Hello Cruel World}}

Still searching for usable Titan technology, Megatron has a team of Decepticons led by [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]] search outer space for Metroplex. Crew member [[Thundercracker (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Thundercracker]] finds the Titan, but has a crisis of conscience and ends up letting him go. {{storylink|The Hunting Party (IDW)|The Hunting Party}} Another member, [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]], is able to find and injure [[Necrotitan|another Titan]], causing it to teleport to [[Gorlam Prime]] where it goes dormant. {{storylink|Homecoming (IDW)|Homecoming}}

===18,000 BCE===
The Maximal ship ''[[Axalon (BW)#IDW Generation 1 continuity|Axalon]]'', headed by [[Domitius Major]], departs on a deep-space mission to locate the [[Enigma of Combination]] at the behest of Onyx Prime {{storylink|Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook issue 1|Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook #1}} Believing the mysterious [[Talisman (G1)|Talisman]] will provide the crew with protection against an unidentified threat, Onyx entrusts it to Domitius. {{storylink|Strange Visitors}} {{storylink|Ghost in the Machine (IDW)|Ghost in the Machine}}

===10,000 BCE===
[[File:StrangeVisitors-IceAgeWars.jpg|thumb|left|250px|''All this has happened before All this shall happen again'']]
The [[Dinobot (G1)|Dynobots]] attack a Decepticon-held Energon silo in [[Sub-Sector-Nine]]. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 1}} Later, they depart Cybertron to hunt down Shockwave in pursuit of revenge for a past defeat. {{storylink|Spotlight: Shockwave}}

The ''Axalon'', needing to refuel, stops by prehistoric Earth after tracking the energon surges from Shockwave's experiments. Shockwave, present to check on his work, shoots them down, and the crash scrambles their memories. As an experiment, he brainwashes and retrofits the crew to think they are prominent Autobots and Decepticons so he can run the "[[Ice Age Wars]]", a control experiment of the Great War while he studies the Talisman.<ref>A caption says [[Centurion (IDW)|Centurion]] hasn't been on the ''Axalon'' for "twenty thousand years", which clashes with ''Spotlight: Shockwave'' but does put this nicely in the Ice Age.</ref> {{storylink|Hearts of Steel issue 1|Hearts of Steel #1}} {{storylink|Strange Visitors}}
{{-}}

===8390 BCE===
[[File:Shockwaveg1idw.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|"A six-inch retractable claw, like a razor, on the the middle toe. He doesn't bother to bite your jugular like a lion, say... no no. He slashes at you here, or here..."]]
The Ice Age has ended<ref>The real Ice Age ended several thousand years earlier.</ref> and Ore-13 has started to grow unstable. Shockwave abandons his miniature Great War to stabilize Ore-13 but the Dynobots—seeking revenge and sporting energon-shielded beast modes—have finally tracked him down, and they engage him in combat. While he defeats them, he is deactivated by a failsafe set by Grimlock, as the Dynobots' ship triggers a volcanic eruption which buries all six in what would later become [[Eureka]], [[Nevada]].<ref>Shockwave specifies in [[Maximum Dinobots issue 5|''Maximum Dinobots'' #5]] that he has been waiting for "ten thousand, three hundred and ninety-six years, two months and three days".</ref> {{storylink|Spotlight: Shockwave}} The abandoned ''Axalon'' crew fight on for a time, but low energon levels eventually force them all into hibernation in secluded regions. {{storylink|Strange Visitors}} Megatron assigns Bludgeon to investigate Shockwave's projects {{storylink|Spotlight: Shockwave}}—and Soundwave to watch over Bludgeon. {{storylink|Spotlight: Soundwave}}

[[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] is rescued from the [[Predacon (G1)|Predacons]] by an [[Jazz (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|unknown Autobot]]. {{storylink|Spotlight: Jazz}}

[[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] crashlands on an unnamed planet and spends a period of time there watching over young aliens named [[Kita]] and [[Coll]] until Kita dies when Cliffjumper is discovered by Decepticons. {{storylink|Spotlight: Cliffjumper}}

A Decepticon named [[Drift (G1)|Deadlock]] leaves [[Turmoil]]'s command when he feels disillusioned by what the civil war had become, and he stumbles across the Circle of Light. {{storylink|Drift issue 1}} His coming prompts the Circle to raise their hidden city above ground. {{storylink|Drift issue 4}}

===3000 BCE===
At some point before this period of time, ancient humans discover the Enigma of Combination. The influence of the Enigma "combines" their thoughts and ideas, allowing them to to work together and found the city of [[Uruk (Earth)|Uruk]].<ref> Issue 37 of ''The Transformers'' claims that this only happened 2000 years ago, which contradicts historical events alluded to in later issues ''and'' real life; Uruk existed as far back as 4000 years ago, and was far from the first civilization. </ref> {{storylink|Onyx Interface Part Three: ONoffON|ONoffON}}

Sumerians develop an early civilization. {{storylink|Crisis Intervention|Revolutionaries #1 timeline}}

===2560 BCE===
The [[Pyramid]]s are constructed. {{storylink|Crisis Intervention|Revolutionaries #1 timeline}} Around this time, the Talisman somehow winds up underneath the [[Tomb of Altomec]] in [[Dahshur]], [[Egypt]]. {{storylink|The Secret of the Mummy's Tomb}}

==100+ years ago==
[[File:GhostStories-onyxprime.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.3|[[Tirac|Tirek]] got a big makeover for his ''[[My Little Pony|Friendship is Magic]]'' appearance.]]
Over time, the colony world of Caminus runs low on resources and energon, becoming increasingly isolated from the rest of the galaxy. {{storylink|Windblade issue 3|Windblade #3}} At an indeterminate point in time, while Caminus still has functioning interstellar ships, the inhabitants detect an emergency beacon from the planet [[Antilla]]; however, the explorers find the planet dead and rusted, and inhabited only by Onyx Prime and his army. {{storylink|The Falling, Chapter 1: Surfeit of Primes|Surfeit of Primes}} The surviving explorers flee back to Caminus, but after some years are followed back there by Onyx, who attacks the village [[Parvus Oppidum]] and claims the life of [[Praesidia Magna]], leader of the [[Torchbearer]]s and one of the explorers. Her subordinate [[Pyra Magna|Pyra]] steps up as leader, {{storylink|Ghost Stories}} while the [[Mistress of Flame]] covers up the attack. {{storylink|The Falling, Chapter 2: Another Mine|Another Mine}}

===603 BCE===
The [[Predator (subgroup)|Predator]]s put down local resistance in the [[Skomiloch Territories]]. They remain while [[Skyquake (G1)|Skyquake]] rules a mini-empire there. {{storylink|The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers|Snare's personnel evaluation}}

===27 BCE===
Octavian establishes the Roman Empire as {{w|Emperor Augustus}}. {{storylink|Crisis Intervention|Revolutionaries #1 timeline}}

===220===
The Han Dynasty in Ancient [[China]] ends. {{storylink|Crisis Intervention|Revolutionaries #1 timeline}}

===1320===
[[Dante Alighieri]] publishes ''{{w|The Divine Comedy}}''—in reality, an allegorical warning about the ancient conspiracy [[Cobra]] and its long-term goals. {{storylink|Crisis Intervention|Revolutionaries #1 timeline}}

===1408===
Fortress Maximus is instated as warden of [[Garrus-9]]. {{storylink|Last Light}}

===1516===
Runaway [[blacksmith]] turned adventurer-archeologist [[Anode]] and her conjunx endura [[Lug (IDW)|Lug]] travel to [[Moonbase Two|Luna Two]] at the behest of their employer, the mysterious "[[Grand Architect]]", in search of a rare piece of "[[Living metal #IDW Generation 1 continuity|widowed metal]]". They run afoul of a Decepticon [[Cybernought]], but [[Censere]], as the "Necrobot", intervenes. He spirits Anode away through time and space, but Lug is left behind and perishes. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 1: Some Other Cybertron|Some Other Cybertron}}

===1550===
[[File:Thunderwingwhathaveyoudone.jpg|thumb|250px|{{w|Pod People}}.]]
Decepticon scientist [[Thunderwing (G1)|Thunderwing]] comes to the conclusion that Cybertron—between ever-dwindling supplies of energon and the fallout caused by millennia of warfare—will soon be entirely uninhabitable. Believing that the Transformers must find a way to adapt to changing planetary conditions, he develops an upgrade based off of "[[Pretender|polydermal grafting]]" procedures. Unfortunately, he uses himself as a test subject for the process and, driven mad, he ends up destroying the planet even faster before perishing.<ref>700 stellar-cycles ago, so if a stellar cycle is ~7.5 months, then presumptively ~437 years ago.</ref> {{storylink|The Transformers: Stormbringer |Stormbringer}}

Shortly after Thunderwing's rampage, Soundwave uses [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]] to take control of [[Beachcomber (G1)|Beachcomber]]. Beachcomber attempts to assassinate [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]], leaving him adrift in space. The Decepticons began a massive offensive against the demoralized Autobots. {{storylink|Spotlight: Blaster}} It's all for naught anyway as the planet is soon abandoned, a lifeless, radiation-saturated wreck. With Cybertron now completely uninhabitable, the war does not abate, but moves permanently off-planet. {{storylink|The Transformers: Stormbringer |Stormbringer}}

Following the loss of Cybertron, the nature of the war changes, becoming a series of cloak-and-dagger operations on alien worlds. The Decepticon war machine reorganizes around the [[infiltration protocol]], a step-by-step process by which Decepticons covertly infiltrate a planet's society and manipulate events to bring it down from within. As part of this process, three of the [[Warriors Elite]] are promoted to [[Phase Sixer]]s, including [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]]—who promptly deserts from the Decepticon army. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2|Last Stand of the Wreckers #2}}
{{-}}

===1586===
[[United Kingdom|England]] creates the original [[Action Man]] Programme. {{storylink|Crisis Intervention|Revolutionaries #1 timeline}}

===1610===
{{w|Galileo Galilei|Galileo}} charts the moons of [[Jupiter]]. {{storylink|Crisis Intervention|Revolutionaries #1 timeline}}

===1700s===
Incumbent Magnus Armor wearer Minimus Ambus is critically injured in the line of duty, requiring him to step down as Ultra Magnus for a prolonged period. He is replaced as the armor's wearer by [[Convoy (G1)|Convoy]], a hot-headed Autobot with a disdain for organic life. {{storylink|Shining Armor issue 5|Shining Armor #5}}

Around this time, the [[Prysmos]]ian sorcerer [[Merklynn]], disgusted by his home planet's technological advancements, plots to reverse their technological development and does so by casting a spell that brings the system's three suns into alignment with one another, shutting down machinery across the planet. {{storylink|Cybertron No More}} In the ensuing "Age of Magic", he and his "[[Visionaries]]" keep the peace until Merklynn's own miscalculations turn fatal: as the suns move back out of alignment, the gravitational forces unleashed tear the world apart, and only a handful of Prysmosians escape its destruction. Merklynn goes out into the galaxy in the hopes of finding a new world to colonize: a quest that, eventually, leads him to [[Earth]]. {{storylink|Schismatic}}

===1800===
Following the destruction of his homeworld [[Elonia]] at the hands of the evil [[Dire Wraith]]s, [[Rom|Rom K'atsema]] joins the [[Solstar Order]]. {{storylink|Crisis Intervention|Revolutionaries #1 timeline}}

Shortly afterwards, the Dire Wraiths discover Earth, drawn to Shockwave's supplies of [[Ore-13]] to amplify their powerful dark magic. {{storylink|The New Colossus}} Using their shapeshifting talents, Dire Wraith scouts begin infiltrating the worlds' governments and militaries, preparing for an eventual encounter with the Space Knight. {{istorylink|Earthfall: Part Three}}

===1830s===
[[File:Shining Armor 4 - Ultra Vekktral vs Starscream.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|"Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!"]]
A Galactic Council ship destroys a Camien vessel in the [[Gray Area]]. One protoform survives, recovered by [[Rom]] and taken to the Solstar Order, where the protoform matures into [[Stardrive]]. After some years the Cybertronian joins the Order's Space Knights as a cadet, though she is often excluded and made to feel unwanted thanks to anti-Cybertronian prejudice.

The [[energon synthesizer]] the Order have developed for Stardrive draws the attention of [[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]], whose Decepticons ally with the Dire Wraith [[Vekktral]] and attack the attack the [[Orchid Crossing]] space station in order. The battle draws the attention of an Autobot ship commanded by Convoy's Ultra Magnus. {{storylink|Shining Armor issue 1|Shining Armor #1}} The ensuing fight sees the Autobots team up with the Solstar Knights to counter the Decepticon/Dire Wraith alliance as both parties battle it out on the frozen world of [[Xetaxxis]], Wraith leader [[Vekktral]] using his [[magic]] to create monstrous Wraith-Cybertronian hybrids. {{storylink|Shining Armor issue 3|Shining Armor #3}} The battle ends with Starscream destroying the energon synthesizer and sterilizing half of the planet in the process, forcing the heroes to retreat and wiping out Vekktral and his Dire Wraiths. The experience leaves Stardrive unwilling to continue fighting in the Space Knights' war; abandoning her allies, she takes up residence on a distant planet... unaware that she has been infected by a fragment of Wraith biomatter.

Bumblebee returns with the Magnus Armor to the Autobot fleet, where Minimus Ambus—recovered from his injuries—takes up the mantle once more. The Galactic Council and the Solstar Order formally decide to keep to their own sectors of space rather than getting caught up in each others' wars, while Starscream determines that the Dire Wraiths are too dangerous to risk allying with—and the Wraiths themselves decide to rely on their magic rather than turning to technology in future. {{storylink|Shining Armor issue 5||Shining Armor #5}}

===1867===
[[File:BeeandJohnHenry-HOS2.jpg|thumb|right|250px|''John Henry was a man just six feet high Nearly two feet and a half across his breast He'd hammer with a nine-pound hammer all day And never get tired and want to rest'']]
Still believing themselves to be the Autobots and Decepticons, the lost Maximals are roused from their slumber by [[human]] activity sometime in the late 19th century.<ref>The ''Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook'' would lay down that the events of ''Hearts of Steel'' took place 150 years before the present date. This date contradicts real-world historical information; In the story, Mark Twain lives in San Francisco, as he did from 1864 to 1866, but refers to a daughter in [[Hearts of Steel issue 4|issue #4]], who would not be born in the real world until 1872.</ref> [[Centurion (IDW)|Centurion]] (believing himself Bumblebee) awakens to the sound of [[John Henry]] laying railroad track. While Centurion takes the form of a steam locomotive and makes contact with John Henry and his friends, the brainwashed "Shockwave" fools disgraced scientist [[Tobias Muldoon]] into helping him create a "Golden Age" of progress. {{storylink|Hearts of Steel issue 1|Hearts of Steel #1}} {{storylink|Hearts of Steel issue 2|Hearts of Steel #2}}

Muldoon realizes he's been tricked in time and manages to alert mankind by reaching [[Mark Twain]], helped by "Ravage" following him and Twain defeating him. {{storylink|Hearts of Steel issue 3|Hearts of Steel #3}} Human industrialists [[Vanflint]] and [[Jacob Lee Bonaventure]] collaborate with the Decepticons in Muldoon's place, while John Henry and his friends join the Autobots in heading out to stop the Decepticon's "[[Astrotrain (G1)#Hearts of Steel|Astrotrain]]" reaching [[New York City]] (running through [[United States Army]] blockades). The Autobots fight a running battle down the railroad tracks before knocking the Astrotrain, and the human collaborators riding it, off a cliff. With the threat over, the "Autobots" return to their slumber. {{storylink|Hearts of Steel issue 4|Hearts of Steel #4}} {{storylink|Strange Visitors}}

===1887===
Dormant Maximals are found by the [[fish people|Deep Ones]] that lurk in our oceans and taken to their unearthly city to join the forces of a slumbering [[Elder God]]. {{storylink|Infestation 2: The Transformers issue 1|Infestation 2: The Transformers #1}}

===1888===
[[File:TFInfestation2.2 Optimus Prime vs Elder God.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Iä! Iä! Optimus primhagn!]]
Shipping is being sunk by the fishy foes and their "Seacon" slaves, and "Ironhide" (riding the [[USS Miskatonic|USS ''Miskatonic'']] identifies the threat. The steam-powered "Autobots" are rallied again and seek 1,000,000 volts to power up "Optimus Prime" (actually Domitius Major) with the help of Muldoon and [[Nikola Tesla]], but [[Port Cenotaph]], [[Canada]] is overrun before they reach it. {{storylink|Infestation 2: The Transformers issue 1|Infestation 2: The Transformers #1}} Domitius Major is awoken just as a combined naval fleet of the world's powers reaches Port Cenotaph and runs into the Elder God. Domitius Major joins the battle and wounds the Elder God badly enough to provoke a retreat, leaving the Royal Navy bemused and questioning Tesla and Muldoon. {{storylink|Infestation 2: The Transformers issue 2|Infestation 2: The Transformers #2}}
{{--}}

==1900s==
[[File:SpotlightHotRod rush.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Wheeeeeee!]]
Over the course of his travels, [[Sixshot]] is challenged by the alien [[Reaper]]s. He refuses to join them. {{storylink|Spotlight: Sixshot}}
[[Hot Rod (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Hot Rod]] leads a team to secure the [[Magnificence]]. [[Doubledealer]], posing as an Autobot, sabotages the raid. Hot Rod hides the Magnificence. He later infiltrates the Decepticon penal colony [[Styx]] to rescue "Dealer", who befriends him. {{storylink|Spotlight: Hot Rod}}

Meanwhile, [[Kup (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Kup]] and [[Outback (G1)|Outback]] crash-land on the planet [[Tsiehshi]], one of Shockwave's Regenesis test planets. The barren, uncharted planet is covered with radioactive crystals of [[Ore-8]]. Outback is killed in the crash, and Kup is slowly driven insane by the radiation. {{storylink|Spotlight: Kup}}

The massacre at [[Babu Yar]] takes place, which sees the deployment of the controversial bioweapon [[Gideon's Glue]] against [[Flame (Marvel)|Flame]]'s Autobots. {{storylink|Bullets}}

===1914-1919===
The Maximal Autobots are, by this time, slowly dying off, though several beginning to shake off their reconditioning and realizing that they are not who they believed themselves to be. Several of the Maximals try to find the Talisman and perish in the attempt. [[World War I]] breaks out on Earth, and Domitius Major and Centurion stumble on a battleground. Seeing real conflict causes their artificial memories of the Great War to unravel; Domitius perishes, but Centurion, confused and enraged, dedicates the remainder of his life to hunting down and killing the remaining Maximals on Earth. {{storylink|Strange Visitors}}

===1941===
[[Merklynn]]—who has arrived on Earth at some point before this time—has forged a [[human]] disguise and a new alter-ego as "Garrison Kreiger". Hoping to plot a new course, he joins the [[United States Army|US army]] at the beginning of [[World War II]]. {{storylink|The Origins of Evil, Part Five: One Unholy Machine|One Unholy Machine}}

[[Sgt. Savage|Robert Steven Savage]] also joins the military; after going above and beyond the call of duty in [[Galibi]], he receives a crack team of his own to command: the elite [[Screaming Eagles]]. {{storylink|Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook issue 2|Sgt. Savage profile}}

===1943===
With Garrison "Blitz" Kreiger now serving as an officer on the Screaming Eagles, the unit is deployed to fight in [[Kalistan]]. They are startled to find [[IRON Trooper|robot drones]]—in reality, creations of the Talisman—fighting for the Axis. [[Merklynn|Garrison Kreiger]], recognizing them as the work of alien magic, becomes fascinated by them. {{storylink|The Secret of the Mummy's Tomb}}

===1944===
[[File:StrangeVisitors-CenturionVsFakeShockwave.jpg|thumb|left|250px|''We're leaving together, but still it's farewell'']]

In the winter of 1944, Centurion tracks the last of the ''Axalon'' crew—"[[Maximal Shockwave|Shockwave]]"—to his hiding place in [[France]]. The two battle one another, and are witnessed by the Screaming Eagles, who have arrived in France to help out the local resistance. Centurion defeats his foe and takes his gun as a trophy. Centurion asks for their help in tracking down his old starship so that he can die in peace, and although Kreiger is horrified at the prospect of the "mechanical hell" the Maximals embody, he convinces Savage to assist the alien... and so that he can learn more about the IRON Troopers.

The trio eventually locate the ''Axalon''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s frozen remains in [[Brasnya]], but are unprepared for an IRON Trooper ambush, or the sight of the robots puppeteering Domitius's corpse to attack the group. Though Centurion defeats his reanimated commander, energies unleashed by the Talisman caused the ship to vanish, with taking [[Sgt. Savage]] with it. A confused and upset Centurion agreed to assist Kreiger, who spends the next several decades grooming him as he begins a decades-long search for the Talisman. {{storylink|Strange Visitors}}
{{-}}

===1960s===
Disabled amateur sleuth [[Atomic Man|Mike Power]] accidentally stumbles on a ring of Brasnyan spies smuggling alien technology into the United States. Their plan is foiled by British super-spy [[Action Man]], who offers Power some words of encouragement. Bolstered by this praise, he goes on to study some of the technology he surreptitiously recovers from their base and eventually builds himself a new set of prostheses. {{storylink|Power and Glory}}

===1982===
[[File:Adventure Team Revolution.jpg|thumb|right|300px|"If it is there, at Tanis, then it is something that man was not meant to disturb."]]
After serving with the [[Green Berets]], [[Joe Colton|Joseph B. "Joe" Colton]] is selected to join the [[Adventure Team]], an crack team of American operatives. {{storylink|Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook issue 1|Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook #1}} He serves alongside elite military assets such as [[Stalker (G.I. Joe)|Stalker]] and [[Miles Mayhem|Miles "Mayhem" Manheim]]. {{storylink|Secret Raiders: A Revolution Prelude|Secret Raiders}} They are eventually joined by superpowered operatives including [[Bulletman]] and Mike Power, now calling himself the "[[Atomic Man]]". {{storylink|The Secret of the Mummy's Tomb}} {{storylink|Power and Glory}} As "G.I. Joe", Colton and the Adventure Team enjoy numerous globetrotting escapades, on one occasion meeting Action Man. {{storylink|Secret Raiders: A Revolution Prelude|Secret Raiders}}

===1984===
Soundwave is sent to investigate Bludgeon's activities on Earth {{storylink|Spotlight: Soundwave}} but first makes a detour to Egypt to investigate unusual energy readings.

Kreiger, having spent decades scouring the Earth for alien artifacts, finally tracks the Talisman to its resting place in the [[Tomb of Amtoltec]] and goes to retrieve it, disposing of his [[Elliot Marsh|guide]] along the way. A few days later, the Adventure Team is deployed to rescue him. The team battles IRON Troopers and runs afoul of Soundwave before before discovering Kreiger and the Talisman. The Talisman upgrades Mike Power's cybernetic limbs; thus empowered, the team is able to see the Decepticon off and recover the Talisman, entrusting it to British intelligence. {{storylink|The Secret of the Mummy's Tomb}}

Soundwave returns to his main mission on Earth, but is deactivated when Bludgeon, after some of Shockwave's Regenesis ore—which he calls "ultra-energon"—triggers the eruption of [[Mount St. Helens]].<ref> In real life, the volcano erupted four years earlier.</ref> {{storylink|Spotlight: Soundwave}}

===1985===
[[File:SpotlightSoundwave infoispower.jpg|thumb|left|Decepticonism killed the radio star.]]
Soundwave, [[Ravage (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ravage]] and [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] are excavated by [[Skywatch]]. Interest is taken in the cassettes, found in "[[robot mode]]", but Soundwave, in cassette player mode, is apparently discarded. {{storylink|Spotlight: Soundwave}}

===1988===
[[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]] lands on the backwater planet [[Nebulos]]. The latest in a series of flagrant violation of the Tyrest Accords, he develops a working relationship with [[Zarak (G1)|Mo Zarak]] and the [[Zarak Consortium]] as part of his ''modus operandi''. The duo develop a variation of the [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]] process involving hybridizing [[Nebulan]]s and Cybertronians. Ultra Magnus tracks Scorponok to [[Nebulos]], but despite taking severe damage, the Decepticon escapes.<ref>29 stellar cycles ago, or 18 years</ref> {{storylink|Spotlight: Ultra Magnus}}

[[Tyrest (G1)|Tyrest]] constructs the supercomputer/judging machine [[Aequitas]], based off of [[Tarantulas (BW)|Mesothulas]]' old designs. {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 3|Sins of the Wreckers #3}} The [[Aequitas trials]] begin, a catalog of Autobot atrocities. {{storylink|Remain in Light 2 of 5: House of Ambus|House of Ambus}} What nobody but Tyrest knows is that every Autobot on trial is "[[Reproduction#IDW Generation 1 continuity|constructed cold]]", a process he'd help develop. The revelation is enough to gnaw at his conscience, and eventually Tyrest vanishes from the public eye. {{storylink|Remain in Light 3 of 5: The Divided Self|The Divided Self}}

Skids eventually moves to Prowl's covert [[Special Operations]], necessitating faking his own death. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 2: Hangers On|Hangers On}} Partnered with [[Getaway]], he is sent to "assassinate" the rogue Tyrest by using a [[nudge gun]] to implant the impulse to resign in the Chief Justice's increasingly disturbed mind. The plan fails, and Skids barely manages to escape. Aboard his escape craft, he uses the gun to erase his own memory before setting the shuttle to hone in on the coordinates of his handlers, the [[Duobot]]s. {{storylink|Remain in Light 4 of 5: Arm the Lonely|Arm the Lonely}}

===1990===
Obsessed with defeating [[Squadron X]], the [[Wrecker]]s track them down to the planet [[Pova]]. After capturing them, [[Impactor (G1)|Impactor]] is ordered to release them due to a technicality. Instead, he executes the prisoners, and as a consequence is himself imprisoned in [[Garrus-9]]. Springer subsequently takes over leadership of the Wreckers. {{storylink|The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers|Last Stand of the Wreckers}} {{storylink|Bullets}}

After a disastrous mission, a despairing Mike Power turns to Kreiger to further upgrade his limbs. Power disappears from the public eye as Kreiger, hoping to use Power for his own ends, experiments on him further. {{storylink|Power and Glory}} Though deprived of their most powerful member, Joe Colton reorganizes the team into the totally radical "Adventure Force". {{storylink|When Eagles Scream}}

===1994===
Kreiger eventually manage to upgrade Power's physiology to the point where he can interface with the Talisman; in doing so, he accidentally returns the ''Axalon'' to the timestream, along with a temporally displaced Sgt. Savage. {{storylink|When Eagles Scream}} Adventure Force storms the base, and in the crossfire, Mike Power is assumed dead. {{storylink|When Eagles Scream}}

Thrust fifty years into the future, Sgt. Savage joins up with that era's Action Man, forming "Team Extreme". {{storylink|When Eagles Scream}}

===1997===
[[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] and Metroplex return to Cybertron. Hoping to return the planet to habitability, Alpha Trion slowly begins cleaning Cybertron's polluted atmosphere.<ref>12 meta-cycles ago, or 13 years</ref> {{storylink|Any Old Iron}}

==2000s==
===2001===
[[File:What Its Really Like - Jazz likes jazz.jpg|thumb|right|250px|"The music was ''dope''."]]
The current era of Transformer activity on Earth begins. Starscream heads a unit on Earth as part of the now-standardized infiltration protocol, and the Autobots retaliate by deploying an Autobot cell led by Prowl. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 1|Infiltration #1}} Advance scout [[Jazz (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Jazz]] is the first Autobot to make planetfall, {{storylink|What It's Really Like}} and is eventually joined by the rest of Prowl's team aboard the ''[[Ark-19]]''. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 1|Infiltration #1}}

Conspiracy theorists like [[Hunter O'Nion]] begin searching for evidence of extraterrestrials after the anomalous "Buchanan crop manifestations" in [[Iowa]]. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 1|Infiltration #1}}

The Cybertronians discover that Earth is not as unaware of their presence as they might have thought—the Decepticons become aware of the [[Machination]]. In reality, this is merely a front for Scorponok's latest operation, intending to build off his Headmaster research on Nebulos in the hopes of supplying himself, by this point reduced to little more than a ruined head, with a new body. {{storylink|The Transformers: Escalation|Escalation}}

===2006-7===
[[File:Infiltration6 starscream on ultraenergon.jpg|thumb|left|200px|This is your Starscream on drugs.]]

Shockwave's hand is discovered in an excavation in Nevada. {{storylink|Spotlight: Shockwave}} News of the dig reaches the conspiracy theorists but is considered a fringe theory, the "paleo-purists". {{storylink|Infiltration issue 1|Infiltration #1}}

[[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]] is founded by General [[Hawk (G.I. Joe)|Hawk]]. {{storylink|Crisis Intervention}} Skywatch discovers Bludgeon's volcano base and investigate the Transformers within, successfully reactivating [[Bugly (G1)|Bugly]]. As part of [[Project Hot House]], they retrofit the Cybertronian bunker into a Skywatch research lab. Joe Colton joins forces with Joshua Red to investigate the Talisman and whether it can be weaponized. Lured to Oregon by a false distress beacon, Savage encounters G.I. Joe, Bugly, and Centurion, who lead him into Skywatch's base. As part of Colton's experiments, Savage is saturated with more Talisman energy and thrust into the future once again. {{storylink|When Eagles Scream}}

From the Dead Universe, [[Galvatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Galvatron]] lures [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]] to the rapidly-evolving world of [[Gorlam Prime]] and implants a device in his brain. {{storylink|Spotlight: Nightbeat}}

On Earth, Starscream's infiltration unit discover ripe samples of Shockwave's Regenesis ore, dubbing it "Ore-13". In [[Arizona]], wandering drifter [[Verity Carlo]] steals a [[SM-40|palm computer]] from a travelling businessman, unaware that her victim is really an agent of the Machination. Possessing a record of Cybertronian activity on Earth makes her, Hunter, and [[Jimmy Pink]] targets of the Decepticons, prompting Ratchet to intervene. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 0|Infiltration #0}} {{storylink|Infiltration issue 1|Infiltration #1}} Ratchet brings them back to the Autobot base, and, learning that the Decepticons have preemptively initiated "siege mode", brings the humans along to investigate their abandoned base in [[Nebraska]]. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 4|Infiltration #4}}

[[File:Thunderwing stormbringer.jpg|thumb|right|200px|''The thunder of guns Tore me apart You've been Thunderstruck!'']]

The humans discover that Megatron has come to Earth; Megatron learns from the base's old files that Starscream plans on overthrowing his leader using Ore-13. Disgusted by the power games—and infuriated when [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] and [[Skywarp (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Skywarp]] accidentally bomb their old base with him inside—Megatron sets off to the new command bunker in [[Oregon]] to retake command. Megatron quickly puts down Starscream's insurrection and announces the beginning of "phase 2". {{storylink|Infiltration issue 6|Infiltration #6}}

Orbiting the dead husk of Cybertron, the crew of the ''[[Calabi-Yau]]'' pick up an anomalous energy burst. Jetfire and several [[Technobot (G1)|Technobot]]s investigate the strange readings and discover that Bludgeon has used his "ultra-energon" to reanimate Thunderwing's corpse. {{storylink|Stormbringer issue 1|Stormbringer #1}} Thunderwing lays waste to Nebulos and overruns the Decepticon cell already located on the planet before returning to Cybertron. {{storylink|Stormbringer issue 3|Stormbringer #3}} Optimus Prime calls in the Wreckers to combat the threat, and bringing their full firepower to bear the Autobots blast Thunderwing until he runs out of energon. Jetfire analyzes Bludgeon's files and discovers information related to Earth and the Regenesis project. {{storylink|Stormbringer issue 4|Stormbringer #4}} The news prompts Optimus to set course for Earth, and he arrives shortly after Megatron removes Starscream from command. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 6|Infiltration #6}}

Meanwhile, Soundwave, still trapped in his alternate mode, is purchased from a pawn shop. {{storylink|Spotlight: Soundwave}}
Springer orders a costly mission to rescue the stranded and demented [[Kup (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Kup]], whose Spark is beginning a fatal meltdown. They eventually succeed, but not without taking significant losses at the hands of the elderly Autobot, who mistakes his rescuers for [[zombie]]s. {{storylink|Spotlight: Kup}}

[[File:Megsandspidy.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Canon status: questionable. Awesomeness: ''extremely''.]]
Shortly after Megatron arrives on Earth, [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] joins the Decepticon's Earth unit. Megatron initiates a plan to increase political unrest on Earth using [[Psycho-Prism|technology]] stolen from [[Doctor Doom]]. Facing resistance from the Autobots and [[Avengers]], the Decepticons initiate [[mirror response mode]] and boost their powers by tapping into [[Spider-Man]]'s superhuman abilities. Megatron's plan is thwarted by the Autobots and Avengers, helped in part by Ramjet's increasing disloyalty to Megatron. {{storylink|New Avengers/Transformers|Man and Machine}}

While returning the humans to their normal lives, Machination forces successfully tail and capture [[Sunstreaker (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Sunstreaker]] and Hunter O'Nion while incapacitating [[Ironhide (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ironhide]] {{storylink|Escalation issue 1|Escalation #1}} Prime, Jazz, and [[Wheeljack (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Wheeljack]] join Ironhide to search for the attackers. Meanwhile, the Decepticons proceed to phase two by activating numerous [[Facsimile construct|facsimile]] sleeper agents within world governments to further destabilize human society. {{storylink|Escalation issue 1|Escalation #1}}

The Decepticons use their facsimiles to, among other things, escalate tension between [[Brasnya]] and [[Russia]]. The Autobots intervene, and Prime summons Hot Rod, [[Hardhead (G1)|Hardhead]], and [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]] to Earth. {{storylink|Escalation issue 3|Escalation #3}} During the battle, Prime is nearly killed and encounters the form of [[Nova Prime]] within [[infraspace]] as he shunts his consciousness into his trailer. {{storylink|Escalation issue 6|Escalation #6}}

Ironhide, Ratchet, Jimmy, and Verity continue to search for Sunstreaker's disappearance, but Ironhide is severely damaged in the process and left behind. Unbeknownst to them, Sunstreaker and Hunter are sent to surgical prep to test the Machination's [[binary bonding]] process. {{storylink|Escalation issue 4|Escalation #4}}

Skywatch takes over the excavation of Shockwave and the Dinobots, while also reactivating and reprogramming Ravage and Laserbeak into loyal Skywatch operatives. {{storylink|Escalation issue 5|Escalation #5}}

[[File:SLOptimus prime vs monstructor.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Quickly, give him your face and he'll go away!]]
With Megatron's other forces busy, Ramjet initiates an ambitious plan to overthrow the Decepticon leader and sieze control of the Decepticons, involving, among other things, a group of jive-talking [[Mini-Constructicon]]s. His bungled plan ends when Megatron returns from Brasyna, beats him to death, and throws his parts across the globe. {{storylink|Spotlight: Ramjet}}

[[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] is found drifting in space and returned to the Autobot fold. As he reintegrates into the Autobot command structure, he helps free [[Beachcomber (G1)|Beachcomber]] from Decepticon control. {{storylink|Spotlight: Blaster}}

Optimus Prime briefly leaves Earth to meet with the ancient warrior [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]], from whom he learns more about Nova Prime and the nature of Nova's original quest. Optimus winds up defeating and capturing Monstructor, and he sends the "Monstructor Six" into the care of [[Fortress Maximus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Fortress Maximus]] on [[Garrus-9]]. {{storylink|Spotlight: Optimus Prime}} Around this time, Wheelie's original distress signal from LV-117 finally reaches Autobot space… only to be ignored due to more pressing concerns. {{storylink|Spotlight: Wheelie}}

Galvatron briefly leaves the Dead Universe to travel to Cybertron to retrieve Thunderwing's body, defeating [[Hound (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Hound]]'s unit on the way. He takes his trophy to [[Gorlam Prime]]. {{storylink|Spotlight: Galvatron}}

[[Banzai-Tron (G1)|Banzaitron]] initiates an attack on the Autobot prison facility at [[Garrus-9]] in an attempt to free the long-imprisoned Monstructor team. Realizing that they need another of Jhiaxus's creations to track down the unpredictable escapees, Fortress Maximus takes a gamble by releasing [[Arcee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Arcee]] and sending the warrior-bot after them. {{storylink|Spotlight: Arcee}}

His defeat at the hands of Optimus Prime turns Megatron's behavior increasingly erratic, and so the Earth-bound Decepticons reactivate Starscream to help deal with the problem. Hoping to get an edge over Optimus Prime, Megatron summons Sixshot to Earth, violating the infiltration protocol. Sixshot, though internally conflicted, follows orders and opens fire on the Autobot assets stationed on the planet, destroying the ''Ark-19''. He is, however, followed by the Reapers. {{storylink|Devastation issue 1|Devastation #1}}

[[Wheeljack (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Wheeljack]] and Hot Rod attempt to rescue Ironhide but are attacked by the Machination's army of mass-produced [[Sunstreaker clone]]s. With Hardhead's help, they defeat them and rescue Ironhide. {{storylink|Devastation issue 5|Devastation #5}} {{storylink|Devastation issue 6|Devastation #6}}

[[File:Devastation03-HeadmasterHunter.jpg|thumb|left|250px|"And I have freakishly long fingers now too!"]]
Meanwhile, Hunter awakens at Machination headquarters and finds Sunstreaker's head. He undergoes the Headmaster process as [[Abraham Dante]] does the same with [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]]. Stealing a spare clone body, he links with Sunstreaker's mind to become a Headmaster and uses his new body to escape the facility. However, the Machination takes Sunstreaker's real head. The hybrid Sunstreaker/O'Nion entity agrees to search for Sunstreaker's real head in the hopes of undoing the process. {{storylink|Devastation issue 6|Devastation #6}}

From the [[Dead Universe]], Nova Prime orders Galvatron to Earth to deal with the Reapers, whom Sixshot has aligned with, before Starscream shuts him down using a failsafe trigger. {{storylink|Devastation issue 5|Devastation #5}} The other Decepticons engage the Reapers, losing the [[Battlecharger]]s, before being covertly assisted by Galvatron. Triumphant in his mission, he returns to the Dead Universe with Sixshot's body. {{storylink|Devastation issue 6|Devastation #6}}

Learning of the breakout at Garrus-9, the majority of the Autobots prepare to leave Earth, though Hot Rod and Sunstreaker remain. Concurrently, Skywatch is notified of the battle and prepares to deploy their latest and most powerful asset: Grimlock. {{storylink|Devastation issue 6|Devastation #6}} After he is awoken, he escapes from Skywatch and refuses an offer to join forces with Scorponok. {{storylink|Spotlight: Grimlock}}

On Cybertron, [[Cyclonus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Cyclonus]] arrives and attacks Hound's crew as revenge for the devastation wrought by the war. His attack is interrupted by Ultra Magnus, and he is forced to retreat to [[Corata-Vaz]]. After activating the [[Nega-Core]], Cyclonus is again set upon, and activates the Nega-core's reanimated guardian, Thunderwing. He is forced to return to the Dead Universe as his body has been in the "living" world too long. {{storylink|Spotlight: Cyclonus}}

[[File:SpotlightCyclonus DeadUniversetransformers.jpg|thumb|right|300px|"Death walks among you."]]
In the wake of the attack, Optimus and his crew arrive at Garrus-9. They meet with [[Jetfire (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Jetfire]] and [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] and head back to the ''Ark-32''. {{storylink|Spotlight: Cyclonus}}

The forces of the Dead Universe—including Jhiaxus, Galvatron, Straxus and Grindcore—leave the Dead Universe to begin the [[Expansion]]. Leading the charge is Nova Prime, now calling himself "Nemesis Prime". {{storylink|Spotlight: Cyclonus}}

Nightbeat and Hardhead travel to [[Gorlam Prime]] to investigate Nightbeat's missing memories, and they encounter a large group of [[Micromaster]]s trying to impede their progress. The pair makes it to the Dead Universe portal and Jhiaxus takes control of Nightbeat, forcing Hardhead to kill him, and dive into the portal himself. {{storylink|Spotlight: Hardhead}} Jetfire decides to use [[Pretender]] technology to enable [[Cloudburst]], [[Landmine (G1)|Landmine]], [[Groundbreaker]], and [[Waverider]] to survive the Benzuli Expanse. {{storylink|Spotlight: Hardhead}}

Optimus receives a transmission from Dealer, who says that he's been monitoring the current situation, and he thinks that all of the answers they seek lie in the [[Magnificence]]. {{storylink|Spotlight: Hardhead}} Hot Rod agrees and both travel to [[Ki-Aleta]], the planet where Hot Rod had hidden it earlier. Using the oracle, Hot Rod discovers that Dealer betrayed him, and sends the traitor to his death moments before he could do the same to him. The Magnificence later provides useful info to Ultra Magnus about the machinations of Nemesis Prime. {{storylink|Spotlight: Doubledealer}}

On Earth, Straxus and Grindcore mine energon in [[China]]. {{storylink|Spotlight: Doubledealer}} They are prevented doing this by Hound's team, primarily Sideswipe. {{storylink|Spotlight: Sideswipe}}

[[File:IDWAutobotPretenders.jpg|thumb|left|250px|To infinity and beyond!]]
Galvatron and Cyclonus attack the ''[[Mirror-Manifold]]'', the ship of Cloudburst and crew. {{storylink|Spotlight: Doubledealer}} They are beamed out seconds before their ship explodes by the Technobots in the ''[[Nightbird (ship)|Nightbird]]'', who present them with their own personal Pretender carapaces. Using these, they battle Galvatron and Cyclonus, defeating one and allowing the other to escape. Using their shells as temporary shields, they cross into the Dead Universe and manage to seal the gate to the Dead Universe. {{storylink|Spotlight: Sideswipe}}

Nemesis Prime arrives on Garrus-9, and is faced by Optimus Prime. Optimus is attacked, using the [[Darkness (G1)|Darkness]]. {{storylink|Spotlight: Doubledealer}} However, the Darkness reaches out to Optimus as a successor. Nemesis continues the attack but is blasted in the back by Galvatron and falls dead. The Darkness enters Optimus Prime. Galvatron offers Prime a choice: kill himself in the nearby Solar Pool, or willingly pass on the Darkness to him. Prime does both, passing on the Darkness ''and'' tossing Galvatron into the pool. {{storylink|Spotlight: Sideswipe}} Meanwhile, Arcee manages to track down Jhiaxus beneath Gorlam Prime, and with some help from an undead Hardhead, defeats him. With Jhiaxus rendered functionally immortal due to the energies of the Dead Universe portal, Arcee gleefully kills him over, and over, and over, and over… {{storylink|Spotlight: Sideswipe}}

Above ground, the residents of Gorlam Prime finally complete their evolution into wholly mechanical beings. In honor of their great leap forward, they rename their planet… ''Cybertron''. {{storylink|Spotlight: Sideswipe}}

[[File:GrimlockMaxDino01.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Because "Skree-onk" was copyrighted.]]
Back on Earth, Grimlock and the other Dynobots end up fighting Sunstreaker clones in [[Fallon]], [[Nevada]] in an event orchestrated by Scorponok and the Machination. Hoping to repair their ship, the ''[[Skyfire (ship)|Skyfire]]'', Grimlock calls the [[Monsterbot]]s for help. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 1|Maximum Dinobots #1}}

Hot Rod takes on Scorponok and fails, while Sunstreaker and Hunter try to reclaim Sunstreaker's original head. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 2|Maximum Dinobots #2}} The Monsterbots arrive on Earth just in time to rescue the bedraggled Dynobots. The Dynobots begin to have misgivings about Grimlock's increasingly unstable leadership—feelings which come to a head when it appears [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]] has died from a blast by Scorponok. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 3|Maximum Dinobots #3}}

Soundwave, Shockwave, Laserbeak, and Ravage plot together and free themselves from Skywatch's control; {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 4|Maximum Dinobots #4}} Shockwave involves himself in the battle with Scorponok, and both are ultimately are defeated by Grimlock and the Dynobots. Ultra Magnus arrives to arrest the group. Though Grimlock willingly goes with Ultra Magnus, the other four Dynobots walk free thanks to his sacrifice. Shockwave, Scorponok, and Grimlock are all sent to Garrus-9 after a trial, though Grimlock's sentence is shortened thanks to bringing in two wanted Decepticons. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 5|Maximum Dinobots #5}}

===2008===
[[File:Slowmotionmoviewalkahm5.jpg|thumb|left|250px|He's your huckleberry.]]
Hoping to bolster the Decepticon ranks, Megatron and [[Deluge (G2)|Deluge]] create the [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticon]]s. The process is highly imperfect, however, and the thousands upon thousands of failed clones are abandoned on Cybertron to become the feral "[[Insecticon swarm|Swarm]]". {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 7|All Hail Megatron #7}}

Shortly after their creation, scientist [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]] completes Shockwave's project regarding Jhiaxus's combination technology. The end result is [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]]: a mentally stable, combat-ready combiner using the like-minded [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicon]]s. {{storylink|Before the Dawn}} {{storylink|Shockpoint}}

Perceptor rebuilds Kup using [[Pretender]] technology, reversing the deleterious effects of Ore-8 on his mind. At Prowl's insistence, however, Perceptor also adds technology into Kup's new body that will allow Prowl to take control of the elderly Autobot. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 15|Everything in Its Right Place}} With his new lease on life, Kup organizes a team to rescue captured Autobots. They receive assistance from former Decepticon Deadlock, now known as [[Drift (G1)|Drift]]. {{storylink|Spotlight: Drift}} On their first mission, they rescue Hot Rod from Bludgeon and the Monster Pretenders; Perceptor is injured and upgrades himself into a sniper. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 15|Lost & Found}}

Sixshot, freed from the Dead Universe following the defeat of Nemesis Prime, attacks [[Orvus Base]] to recover secret Autobot scientific research, only for the [[Throttlebot]]s to escape to the nearby planet [[Salvvatan VIII]]. Though Sixshot pursues them, they are rescued by Metroplex, who transforms from the city mode he was hiding as on the planet and stomped the six changer, temporarily incapacitating him. However, Metroplex immediately takes off with the object that he was on the planet to protect, leaving the Throttlebots on Sakvvatan VIII. {{storylink|Spotlight: Metroplex}} Unfortunately, Sixshot soon recovers and damages the team's shuttle as they try to leave; though the remaining Throttlebots believe they manage to kill the Decepticon before taking off, they soon crash land on the planet [[Botanica (planet)|Botanica]]. {{storylink|The Dead Come Home, Part 1 (of 2)|The Dead Come Home, Part 1}}

On Earth, Ratchet succeeds in separating Sunstreaker and Hunter. Horrified and disgusted by what humans did to him, Sunstreaker makes a Faustian deal with [[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]] to help him take out Megatron in exchange for the Autobots permanently abandoning Earth. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 7|All Hail Megatron #8}} Ratchet returns Hunter to his house and leaves, unaware that Bombshell is preparing to abduct the young human to gain access to the Headmaster technology still implanted in his body. {{storylink|Our Steps Will Always Rhyme}}

[[File:LastStandoftheWreckers1-Overlord.jpg|thumb|right|250px|"I come in peace. Shoot to kill."]]

Using Autobot access codes acquired from Sunstreaker, Megatron launches "[[Surge (event)|The Surge]]": across the galaxy, Decepticons abandon infiltration protocol and launch an all-out attack on every major Autobot outpost. {{storylink|Bullets}} The Autobots on Earth are led into a Decepticon trap and are soundly defeated, leaving Optimus Prime in critical condition. Megatron takes the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]] and exiles them back to Cybertron while he and his Decepticons run amok on Earth. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 7|All Hail Megatron #8}}

During the Surge, [[Skyquake (G1)|Skyquake]]'s [[Predator (subgroup)|Predator]]s assault [[Garrus-9]]. Rogue former Decepticon [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] kills Skyquake and takes over the prison, turning it into an arena for his own amusement. Former warden Fortress Maximus is lobotomized and repeatedly tortured. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 1|Last Stand of the Wreckers #1}} As part of a deal, Overlord releases Shockwave and restores him operational status; in return, Shockwave removes the [[Achilles virus]] implanted in Overlord's body as a failsafe. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 3|Last Stand of the Wreckers #3}}

Knowing that he is being targeted by the Decepticon Justice Division, Shockwave selects a crew consisting of ''other'' Decepticons on their "list", and offers them as a trade for his life when the DJD tracks him down; however, Tarn rejects his offer, intent on following the list in order despite its inefficiency. Unaware that the DJD is only there for Scorponok, three members of Shockwave's crew—Scorponok, Flame and Flywheels—eject themselves into space before Shockwave manages to shut off the transmission of Tarn's lethal voice. {{storylink|The Ties That Bind}} Flywheels is found by the crew of the [[Weak Anthropic Principle]] (aka the "Foragers"), while Scorponok and Flame are found and claimed by the Grand Architect, manifesting as an enormous spacebound heiroglyph. {{storylink|Kill All 'Cons}}

[[File:AHM2Devastator.jpg|thumb|left|200px|YOU—ARE NOT—PREPARED.]]

On [[May 29]], 2008, the Earth-based Decepticons make their presence known to humankind. Their combined forces demolish [[New York City]] and easily defeat the US military. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 1|All Hail Megatron #1}} [[Sparkplug Witwicky|Colonel Daniel Witwicky]] is brought to New York to aid in its defense, though his troops can do little to defeat the onslaught. The Decepticons rampage across America and annihilate major cities across the nation. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 2|All Hail Megatron #2}} Within a matter of hours, [[Washington, D.C.]] falls. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 3|All Hail Megatron #3}} College student [[Marissa Faireborn]], in New York as part of the {{w|Occupy Wall Street}} movement, has her worldview shaken by the scope and horror of the invasion. {{storylink|Earthfall Chapter 3: The Mind Bomb|The Mind Bomb}}

Mercy Gale, head of intelligence for the [[Action Man Programme]]—and, in secret, the AMP's greatest nemesis [[Doctor X]]—makes her own arrangements that prevent the Decepticon invasion from touching the [[United Kingdom]]. {{storylink|The Origins of Evil, Part One: Redcliffe Club|Redcliffe Club}}

Over the next few days, the Autobots and humans struggle to get back on their feet while the Decepticons continue to ravage cities across the globe. On Cybertron, Kup's team crash-lands on the planet and joins the stranded Autobots, who are fighting off the Swarm. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 4|All Hail Megatron #4}} On Earth, Colonel Witwicky appoints a team lead by his son [[Spike Witwicky (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Spike]] to take out Megatron. Spike's team is killed by Ratbat and Spike is the only survivor. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 5|All Hail Megatron #5}}

Without the Autobots, the Decepticons quickly grow bored and start squabbling among themselves. The [[European Union]] decides to end the threat by deploying nuclear weapons against New York. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 6|All Hail Megatron #6}} Frustrated by Megatron's sudden listlessness, Starscream plots with the Insecticons. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 8|All Hail Megatron #8}}

On Cybertron, the Autobots decide to use their remaining energon to repair Prime. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 6|All Hail Megatron #6}} The Autobots struggle to elude the Swarm, but Perceptor is injured. Guilt ridden, Sunstreaker makes the ultimate sacrifice and detonates a bomb to blow up a bridge (and himself) to keep the Swarm away from the other Autobots. Just before he does so, he reveals to Ironhide that it was he who brokered the deal with Starscream that betrayed the Autobots. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 8|All Hail Megatron #8}}

Sarah and Bridge run into Spike, and are later joined by [[Charles (G1)|Charles]], seeking revenge against [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] for killing his son. With a weapon reverse-engineered from Shockwave, Spike brings Rumble down with the help of his new friends. On Cybertron, Optimus Prime is repaired, along with the remaining Autobots. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 9|All Hail Megatron #9}}

Bombshell builds a [[space bridge]] and reveals that he helped hack into the Autobots' defenses using technology gained by dissecting Hunter O'Nion. Starscream teams up with the Insecticons and Constructicons to attack Megatron, but they are not successful. The Autobots on Cybertron are saved by the arrival of [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] and taken back to Earth. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 10|All Hail Megatron #10}}

===2009===
{{note|According to "[[Ride-Along]]", the events of ''All Hail Megatron'' spanned over a year, though it's unclear exactly when the transition to 2009 happened.}}

[[File:AHM12 prime vs megs.jpg|thumb|right|250px|One Shall...oh, you know the drill.]]
The Autobots arrive on Earth and battle the Decepticons. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 11|All Hail Megatron #11}} Megatron gets the upper hand against Prime and orders a retreat, leaving the Autobots to be nuked by the humans… but Spike Witwicky, welding a powerful weapon reverse-engineered from Transformer technology, shoots Megatron in the face, allowing Prime to smash Megatron in the face with his own fusion cannon. With Megatron grievously wounded, Starscream takes command and orders a retreat.

The Decepticons do so, but [[Thundercracker (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Thundercracker]] stays behind to dispose of the EU's bomb. He succeeds, but [[Skywarp (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Skywarp]] blasts him out of the sky for his efforts.

Discovering that his brother's old Headmaster partner has been horrifically mutilated under Bombshell's custody, Sideswipe mercifully terminates the vegetative Hunter. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 12|All Hail Megatron #12}} In the aftermath, Optimus Prime talks Ironhide out of retiring. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 13|Old Ways}}

Believing the Matrix to be purely symbolic and now devoid of any power it might have once held, Starscream prepares to dump it into space. When [[Shrapnel (G1)|Shrapnel]] reminds him that the Autobots use it to choose their leaders, Starscream declares that with Megatron incapacitated, he will use the Matrix to lead the Decepticons to victory once more. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 13|Uneasy Lies the Head}}

Though the Decepticons have been defeated and mostly driven off-planet, Earth is largely in ruins. More than a billion people have died worldwide from the invasion, and most major cities are left utterly devastated by the Decepticons. Military assets begin hunting for Decepticon stragglers; as part of these early missions, Spike defeats Ravage, but is injured. Faced with a persistent Decepticon threat, Skywatch is heavily reorganized, going from a clandestine paramilitary organization into a international peacekeeping unit designed to hunt down and eliminate rogue Transformers on Earth, wielding reverse-engineered Cybertronian technology. Sparkplug is made head of Skywatch and recruits Spike to work for him. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 16|The Man of Steel}} This new incarnation of Skywatch does not differentiate between factions, and hunts both Autobots and Decepticons indiscriminately. Bumblebee briefly breaks cover to save some humans and is injured for his efforts. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 16|Hidden}}

[[File:SeasonsInFlight thundercracker discovers tv.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Eight years later and we still haven't gotten him off the couch.]]
Over the next two years, humans and Cybertronians alike struggle to recover from the Surge. With their infrastructure across the galaxy in shambles, many Autobots seek shelter on Earth. Humanity slowly repairs the damage caused by the invasion, but are enraged at the Cybertronians that remain on their planet. After witnessing a defenseless [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] executed by a group of police officers, Prowl decides that with their numbers so reduced by war, all Cybertronian life—even Decepticons—needs to be protected. {{storylink|Ride-Along|Spotlight: Prowl}}

Thundercracker survives his ordeal, but is badly damaged and unable to transform or fly. Stranded in the ruins of New York, Thundercracker takes refuge in an abandoned building and watches [[television]] to pass the time until he's rescued. {{storylink|Things Fall Apart, Part 3: "Seasons in Flight"|Seasons in Flight}}

[[File:Crashsuitsandtransports.jpg|thumb|right|250px|''Geronimo!'']]
Skywatch continues its anti-Transformer operations, reverse-engineering Cybertronian technology to produce new weapons to safely combat rogue Transformers on Earth; this initiative culminating in the development of the unit's signature [[crash suit]]s. What Skywatch doesn't know is that this technology is secretly being provided to Skywatch via Spike Witwicky, whose disregard for the rules drives him to cut a deal with [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]]. {{storylink|Police Action Part 3: A Second Chance at Eden|A Second Chance at Eden}} [[Gears (G1)|Gears]] and [[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]] are amongst those captured. {{storylink|...For All Mankind}}

[[Dominus Ambus]], now a mole within the [[Decepticon Justice Division]], reports that the Decepticons have lost contact with [[Garrus-9]] and DJD scouting parties do not return. [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]] authorizes [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] to assemble a new team of [[Wrecker]]s. Their mission is twofold—to rescue any Autobot prisoners and to download data from the [[Aequitas]] supercomputer. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 1|Last Stand of the Wreckers #1}} {{storylink|Bullets}} At some point after this, the other four members of the DJD discover the mole in their organization and subject Dominus to "[[domestication]]", reducing him to a feral "Pet". Another Decepticon thus steps up to become the next "[[Vos (DJD)|Vos]]". {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 4: At Close of Day|At Close of Day}}

Still marooned on LV-114, [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] discovers a Decepticon shipwreck with surviving crewmembers [[Spectro]] and [[Spyglass]] ([[Viewfinder]] alas, didn't make it.) He saves an [[Varta|alien]] from them and in the process blows them and his escape ship to pieces. And so, he waits... {{storylink|Spotlight: Wheelie}}

At some point after Gorlam Prime's transformation, the malevolent Dead Universe entity known as the [[D-Void]] lures the entire population of the planet into his domain and devours their [[spark]]s. {{storylink|Heart of Darkness issue 2|Heart of Darkness #2}}

===2010===
[[File:Ongoing Issue 1-Optimus Surrenders.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Botkind, well, that was another story.]]
Thundercracker is rescued by a rag-tag team of Decepticons led by [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]]. He discovers, however, that he has lost his taste for fighting, having come to respect humanity and its culture. {{storylink|Things Fall Apart, Part 3: "Seasons in Flight"|Seasons in Flight}}

Prowl is captured by Skywatch, and Hot Rod's rescue mission leads to Ironhide's death. Depressed, Optimus Prime resigns as Autobot leader and surrenders to Skywatch. {{storylink|...For All Mankind}} Frustrated by recent events, Hot Rod and a group of like-minded Autbots make preparations to leave Earth. They decide to join forces with Swindle's Decepticons, while the other Autobots chose to remain on Earth, and Bumblebee is elected the new Autobot leader. {{storylink|Things Fall Apart, Part 1: "New Arrivals, Old Encounters"|New Arrivals, Old Encounters}}

[[File:LastStandoftheWreckers1-newrecruits.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Cue the A-Team [[theme song|theme]].]]

Eight months after Dominus Ambus's report, the [[Wrecker]]s—bolstered by new recruits [[Verity Carlo]], [[Pyro (G1)|Pyro]], [[Rotorstorm (G1)|Rotorstorm]], [[Guzzle (G1)|Guzzle]], ascended fanboy [[Ironfist (G1)|Ironfist]], and lead by a returned Impactor—arrive at Garrus-9 and begin their assault. Overlord retaliates by ordering the death of all Autobot prisoners upon the Wreckers' arrival save Grimlock, who has vanished. The Wreckers take heavy casualties over the course of their mission, but succeed in capturing Overlord and securing the data from [[Aequitas]]. Overlord is captured and the remaining Decepticons scatter, glad to be free of Overlord's oppression. The [[data slug]] that contains the various records from the Aequitas trials are entrusted to Prowl. {{storylink|The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers|Last Stand of the Wreckers}}

After dropping off the Wreckers on Garrus-9, Ultra Magnus arrives on Earth to investigate the death of Ironhide and surrender of Optimus Prime. Afraid of being arrested by Magnus, [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]], [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]], [[Beachcomber (G1)|Beachcomber]] and Blurr leave to join Hot Rod, but all except Blurr are captured by Skywatch and used as leverage by Spike for Optimus Prime to talk. Magnus leaves to find Hot Rod. {{storylink|Things Fall Apart, Part 2: "A Rude Awakening"|A Rude Awakening}}

Bumblebee's feelings of inadequacy, combined with the derision he faces from his fellow Autobots, pushes him into making a reckless deal with Colonel [[Gordon Horiuchi]]. Horiuchi promises the Autobots protection from Skywatch if they capture Decepticons, but at the price of being immobilized if they disobey. Skywatch quickly forces Bumblebee's troops to capture other ''Autobots'', starting with [[Blurr (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Blurr]]. After Bumblebee's immobilizing badge is damaged, he locates the [[Sanjay Bharwaney|creator]] of the badges and personally destroys them, defeating Skywarp and proving his worth as leader of the Autobots in the process. {{storylink|The Transformers: Bumblebee}}

Ultra Magnus shows up and tries to arrest Swindle, but Rodimus defends his ally. {{storylink|Things Fall Apart, Part 3: "Seasons in Flight"|Seasons in Flight}} Ultra Magnus takes several Autobots from Bumblebee's group with him to help him detain Swindle and the rebellious Rodimus. Swindle uses the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticon]]s to test some experimental [[combiner]] technology, and when Ultra Magnus arrives Swindle betrays Rodimus and unleashes [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] to kill the Autobots. {{storylink|Things Fall Apart, Part 4: "Enemies of the System"|Enemies of the System}}

Spike releases Optimus Prime to battle Menasor, but the combiner is undone after the Stunticons fail to unite their minds into a workable gestalt. The battle prompts Spike to realize that the Autobots are not part of the problem. Skywatch forges a new alliance with Bumblebee's Autobots, while Rodimus steals Ultra Magnus's spaceship and strikes off on his own. {{storylink|Things Fall Apart, Part 5: "Earthworks"|Earthworks}}

The space-bound Decepticons fare little better than their Earth-bound counterparts; Starscream's poor leadership, combined with dwindling fuel sources, leads to the collapse of the Decepticon faction. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 2: Altered Carbon|Altered Carbon}} On a desolate asteroid, the Decepticons scrounge for fuel and cannibalize each other for Energon and parts, {{storylink|All His Engines‎}} a barbaric practice encouraged by [[Predacon (G1)|Predacon]] general [[Razorclaw (G1)|Razorclaw]], who travels to space following a failed combiner experiment. {{storylink|The Iron Klaw}} The other Predacons remain on Earth, where they eventually join the government of [[China]] as border guards. {{storylink|International Incident Part 3: "Hawk Among the Sparrows"|Hawk Among the Sparrows}}

[[File:Ongoing Issue 13 - Megatron.jpg|thumb|left|200px|''Well, I'm back, back Well, I'm back in black Yes, I'm back in black'']]

Tiring of Starscream's bungled leadership, Soundwave and Shockwave revive Megatron in a new body equipped with [[Titan (IDW)|Titan]]-derived [[Space bridge|spacebridge]] technology. His old body is used to create replicas of his old gun mode, which contain small pieces of the Decepticon leader's consciousness. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 2: Altered Carbon|Altered Carbon}}

Rodimus arrives at the Decepticons' asteroid base, intending to retrieve the Matrix. He succeeds in stealing it back from Starscream, but is confronted by the newly upgraded Megatron who blasts him and the Matrix into space. {{storylink|Heart Like a Wheel}}

In his new body, Megatron retakes leadership of the Decepticons {{storylink|Spotlight: Megatron}} and sends the Megatron guns to Earth, where they quickly spread amongst unsuspecting humans with anti-Transformer sentiments. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 2: Altered Carbon|Altered Carbon}}

Spike disobeys orders and goes rogue, hunting down and executing [[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] in an attempt to prevent Devastator from ever being formed again. {{storylink|Scrapper (issue)|Scrapper}}

On Cybertron, Alpha Trion continues his project to clean the desolate world, though these efforts are threatened by the increasingly ravenous Insecticon swarm. Trion decides to resurrect a copy of the one Autobot most suited for the job: Ironhide. The confused duplicate lacks all of Ironhide's memories from the war, but does his job well. He also recovers Sunstreaker, having survived his sacrifice years earlier. Alpha Trion and Metroplex take off for parts unknown, leaving Ironhide and Sunstreaker on the planet to finish off the Swarm. Over the course of their campaign, Sunstreaker adopts one of the failed clones as a pet, which he nicknames "[[Bob (IDW)|Bob]]". {{storylink|The Transformers: Ironhide}}

As Rodimus floats through space, the Matrix bonds with him, saving his life. He crashes on the planet [[LV-118]], where he meets Wheelie. Together with him and the alien [[Garnak]], Rodimus steals a ship and heads to Cybertron. {{storylink|Space Opera Part 1: The Stars My Destination|The Stars My Destination}}

[[File:TFInfestation2-BrittKup.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Alas, neither a pirate nor a ninja.]]

Galvatron frees himself from the solar pool, fully fused with the Darkness. He tracks down the Dead Universe Transformers trapped on Gorlam Prime, Cyclonus and Scourge. Using his new powers, he revives Scourge, using him to create a personal guard in the form of the [[Sweep (G1)|Sweep]]s. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 14|Rebirth}} They investigate the planet's missing inhabitants, {{storylink|Heart of Darkness issue 1|Heart of Darkness #1}} and upon learning about the D-Void's plans to destroy all Transformers, set out to raise an army to oppose it.<ref>The point at which Galvatron escapes the solar pool is never made explicit, but it can be inferred from several pieces of evidence: it occurs after ''[[The Transformers: All Hail Megatron|All Hail Megatron]]'' (per ''[[Revelation (IDW)|Revelation]]'''s epilogue), Autobot guards are present on Garrus-9, and it has been "years" since Galvatron's defeat.</ref> {{storylink|Heart of Darkness issue 2|Heart of Darkness #2}}

Galvatron and his men discover a block of ice in space, unaware that it contains a [[zombie]] virus brought from another dimension by the extradimensional vampire-zombie [[Britt]]. Several of Galvatron's crew members are infected by the zombie virus, and his ship crash-lands on Earth in [[Las Vegas]], forcing the Autobots and Skywatch to pitch in and contain the infestation. Kup is infected by the virus and transformed into a zombie, but uses Prowl's mental link to thwart the swarm and warp Britt, her virus, and himself through time and space to the dawn of the Dead Universe. The Autobots refuse to join Galvatron's army. {{storylink|Infestation (IDW)|Infestation}}

Though physically unharmed by his experience, Kup is stranded within the Dead Universe and spends the next several billion years on a barren asteroid. {{storylink|Earthfall Part 1: Hello Cruel World|Hello Cruel World}} He encounters the similarly stranded Nova Prime, who tries and fails to turn his body into a space bridge back into the living world. {{storylink| No Exit: Dark Cybertron Chapter 6|No Exit}}

Galvatron takes his new army to Cybertron, declaring it the first line of defense against the D-Void. Rodimus also arrives on the planet where he meets Ironhide and Sunstreaker and learns of Galvatron's presence. The assorted Autobots leave Cybertron to warn Optimus Prime. {{storylink|Heart of Darkness issue 4|Heart of Darkness #4}} {{storylink|Space Opera Act 2: Out of the Silent Planet|Out of the Silent Planet}}

Four months later, [[North Korea]]n leader [[Kim Jong Du]] strikes a deal with three of the [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticons]], providing them with energon in exchange for their services. Under his orders, the Combaticons attack [[South Korea]], prompting the United States government to declare the employment of Cybertronians equivalent to the use of weapons of mass destruction. {{storylink|International Incident Part 1: "The Land Ironclads"|The Land Ironclads}} Skywatch and the Autobots move out to defeat the Combaticons. To keep the public from learning that the US also employs Cybertronians, the Autobots remain in their vehicle modes throughout the battle, and are easily defeated. {{storylink|International Incident Part 2: "Ranks of Bronze"|Ranks of Bronze}}

[[File:TheDemolishedMan-BumblebeeGetsShot.jpg|thumb|left|200px|"NOTHING BAD EVER HAPPENED. ''EVVVVER''."]]

Bumblebee meets with Thundercracker, who is now only interested in watching TV, and convinces him to help them. [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] hacks the spy satellites above Korea, allowing the Autobots to fight in [[robot mode]]. Backed up by these resources, the Autobots defeat the Combaticons. {{storylink|International Incident Part 3: "Hawk Among the Sparrows"|Hawks Among the Sparrows}} As the Autobots are attacked by the [[Predacon (G1)|Predacons]], who have a similar contract with [[China]], Skywatch agent [[Sandra (G1)|Sandra]] breaks the encryption on one of the satellites. The secret alliance between Skywatch and the Autobots is revealed to the world, and [[Russia]] attempts to nuke the Transformers, though Cosmos saves them. The energon factories in North Korea and China are destroyed, ending the threat from the Combaticons and Predacons. {{storylink|International Incident Part 4: "All My Sins Remembered"|All My Sins Remembered}}

The incident turns into a PR nightmare for both Skywatch and the Autobots. Bumblebee holds a press conference, but fails to contain the unruly crowd and is grievously injured by [[Joe Gladki]]. {{storylink|International Incident Part 4: "All My Sins Remembered"|All My Sins Remembered}} Megatron's Decepticons return to Earth, attacking the Autobot-Skywatch base and freeing the Decepticon captives within. The plane carrying Optimus Prime, Spike Witwicky and the rest of the Korea team is shot down over the Pacific Ocean. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 1: The Demolished Man|The Demolished Man}} Ultra Magnus takes charge and has the base evacuated. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 2: Altered Carbon|Altered Carbon}} He and his troops attempt to regroup, but are defeated by Megatron himself. Meanwhile, Starscream tries and fails to convince Thundercracker to return to the Decepticons. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 3: Woken Furies|Woken Furies}}

After two days, Optimus Prime's team emerge from the oceans alive. Prime confronts Megatron, who is holding Magnus hostage, and causes him to flee by injuring Soundwave. Jazz is forced to kill [[John Powell|a human]] in order to save his comrades, furthering Autobot distrust among human civilians. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 4: Burning Chrome|Burning Chrome}} After another meeting with Prime, Megatron surrenders himself so that he can watch from the inside as the Autobots are crushed by the humans they protect. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 5: Enemy Mine|Enemy Mine}}
{{-}}

===2011===
[[File:PoliceActionPrologue-Prowl.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Prowl discovered his "Summon Leggy Dame" spell had failed.]]
Six weeks later, Rodimus and his crew arrive on Earth and return the Matrix to Optimus Prime. Learning about Galvatron's invasion of Cybertron, Optimus takes most of the Autobots and Megatron with him, Prime leaves Earth on Omega Supreme. Bumblebee, Prowl, Ultra Magnus, and several others remain behind to investigate Megatron's claims that Spike murdered Scrapper. {{storylink|Space Opera—Final Tableaux: Orphans of the Helix|Orphans of the Helix}}

Prowl investigates Spike by following him around. {{storylink|Police Action: Part 1}} While investigating the site of Scrapper's death, he is attacked by [[Brawl (G1)|Brawl]], but defeating and interrogating yields nothing about his motives. The Autobots bring in Sandra, who enlightens them on Spike's sociopathic past. {{storylink|Police Action Part 2: Only Forward|Only Forward}} Bumblebee and the other Autobots keep busy by tracking down rogue Decepticons, and Bumblebee singlehandedly takes down a Decepticon plot to activate a space bridge. {{storylink|The Question}} The defeat proves so humiliating that [[Wildrider (G1)|Wildrider]] quits the Stunticons forever. {{storylink|First Contact (IDW)|First Contact}}

After four months of investigation, {{storylink|Police Action Part 2: Only Forward|Only Forward}} Spike shamelessly admits to killing Scrapper, but Prowl's fair share of questionable actions makes him unsure on what to do about it. During an attempted arrest of anti-Autobot pundit [[Ben Simpson]], the Autobots learn that he was a [[Facsimile construct|facsimile]] created by Swindle. Under interrogation, Swindle reveals that he had been selling weapons to Skywatch via Spike for years. The alliance between Skywatch and the Autobots quickly dissolves and Spike becomes an international fugitive. {{storylink|Police Action Part 3: A Second Chance at Eden|A Second Chance at Eden}}

En route to Cybertron, Optimus Prime must choose life imprisonment or execution for Megatron's punishment in anticipation of his future trial. He tries to talk to his nemesis, but is only goaded into torturing him. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1}} When he asks Megatron what he would choose, Megatron chooses death. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 2}}

Cyclonus and the Sweeps take over [[Kimia Facility]]. The Autobots arrive on Cybertron, where Optimus Prime again declines to join Galvatron's army, causing Galvatron to responds with violence. {{storylink|Chaos Part One: Lamentations|Lamentations}} In order to reach Cybertron's core, Galvatron uses Kimia to fire on the planet's surface until the facility is destroyed from within. As the Autobots fight Galvatron's army, Megatron escapes from captivity and powers himself up using his Megatron-guns. {{storylink|Chaos Part Two: Numbers|Numbers}}

[[File:Deceptigod Chaos part3 Kings.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Excuse me sir, do you have a moment to talk about our lord and savior Deceptigod?]]

Megatron uses the space bridge technology in his body to summon his Decepticon army to Cybertron. The D-Void, acting through Galvatron's [[Darkness (G1)|Heart of Darkness]], mind-controls them into combining with Galvatron's troops to form the "[[Deceptigod]]". {{storylink|Chaos Part Three: Kings|Kings}} While Megatron fights and defeats the Deceptigod, Galvatron reaches [[Vector Sigma]] and inserts the Heart of Darkness into it, hoping this will stop the D-Void from entering the universe when in truth it does the opposite. Optimus Prime stops the D-Void from turning Cybertron into a portal to the Dead Universe by opening the Matrix of Leadership into the planet's core, emptying the artifact completely. {{storylink|Chaos Part Four: Genesis|Genesis}}
Galvatron and his forces are defeated, and the cleansing of Vector Sigma has the unexpected side effect of "resetting" Cybertron back to a living, primordial state. Though the planet is habitable once again, it is also wild and untamed, and all indications of Transformer civilization have been lost. Every Cybertronian in the universe receives a simple message, courtesy of Vector Sigma: "come home". With the Decepticons in shambles and Megatron missing, the Great War is considered over, though the Autobot victory proves pyrrhic. {{storylink|Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime|The Death of Optimus Prime}}

Over the next three weeks, Bumblebee's team returns to Cybertron, taking care to remove every piece of Cybertronian technology they can find on Earth before they depart. {{storylink|Secret Raiders: A Revolution Prelude|Secret Raiders}} Joining up with the other Autobots on Cybertron, they successfully inter the weakened and disoriented Decepticons within the wreckage of the Kimia satellite and plant them with [[Inhibitor/deterrence chip|I/D chips]] to keep them docile. Before they can begin rebuilding society, however, they are joined by tens of thousands of neutrals, deserters, refugees, and other assorted noncombatants. Prowl dubs the hordes of civilians "[[NAIL]]s".

[[File:DoOP matrix bequeathed.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Remember to share, kids. Peace, I'm out.]]

Tensions between the three groups grow until Optimus Prime, having inadvertently time-jumped three weeks forward following his defeat of Galvatron, arrives in the shantytown that was once Iacon. The Autobots bring him up to speed, though ex-Autobot [[Metalhawk (Masterforce)|Metalhawk]], ''de facto'' speaker for the NAILs, makes it clear that his people want neither the Autobots nor Decepticons on "their" planet. When riots break out in the streets due to his presence, Prime departs the planet and entrusts the empty Matrix halves to Bumblebee and Rodimus, who are split on whether to stay and rebuild Cybertronian society, or go in search of the [[Knights of Cybertron]] in the hopes of starting anew on [[Cyberutopia]] . Prime leaves, and declares that, without the Matrix, he is "Orion Pax" once more—and that Optimus Prime is dead. {{storylink|Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime|The Death of Optimus Prime}}

Though the Cybertronians have left Earth alone for the time being, the effect they have on the shellshocked planet is profound. Embroiled in controversy, Skywatch is considered defunct and is shut down by the United States government. Several operatives are shunted into its successor, the international [[Earth Defense Command]], headed by [[Marissa Faireborn]]. {{storylink|Earthfall Part 2: Detonation Boulevard|Detonation Boulevard}} {{storylink|The Iron Klaw}} Determined not to let another invasion happen on her watch, Faireborne and the EDC reverse-engineer what technology they can find, producing new anti-Cybertronian weaponry such as [[mind bomb]]s and particle-based warheads. {{storylink|Earthfall Chapter 3: The Mind Bomb|The Mind Bomb}} Around this time, eccentric tech industrialist [[G.B. Blackrock|Garrison Blackrock]] comes to prominence, head of the [[Onyx]] software and engineering firm. Unbeknownst to anyone on Earth—including ''himself''—Blackrock is a false identity constructed by [[Sovereign]]. As "Blackrock", Sovereign succeeds in collecting dozens of Transformer artifacts from their recent conflicts on Earth, including the corpses of [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] and [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] and the Enigma of Combination. {{storylink|Onyx Interface Part Three: ONoffON|ONoffON}} From the former two artifacts, he creates an army of [[Seeker clone]]s for the EDC, which are augmented to combine through the energies of the Engima. {{storylink|Earthfall Chapter 5: I Dream of Wires|I Dream of Wires}}

[[File:SecretRaiders-GIJoe.jpg|thumb|left|250px|"It is well that war is so terrible, otherwise we should grow too fond of it."]]

Among their many anti-Transformer initiatives is "Project Spectrum", a series of experimental weapons designed to use the Transformers' chameleonic natures against them. Following the mysterious loss of Cornelius Trakker, Adventure Team alumni [[Miles Mayhem]] steps up and refines it into the "[[M.A.S.K.]]" program. {{storylink|O Ship of State|Matt Trakker profile in Revolution #3}}

The Transformer war is soon overshadowed by a new crisis on Earth: the threat of [[Cobra]], an omniscient human conspiracy centuries in the making. Joe Colton becomes the head of a [[G.I. Joe (team)|special missions team named in his honor]]. G.I. Joe's victory turns pyrrhic when their conflict leads to the nuclear devastation of [[Nanzhao]], remembered as second only to the destruction of New York in modern history. Though Cobra is no more, G.I. Joe is mothballed shortly afterwards, with some operatives like [[Ayana Jones]] transferred into the ranks of the EDC. {{storylink|Secret Raiders: A Revolution Prelude|Secret Raiders}}
{{-}}

===2012-2013===
[[File:Mtmte-01-liarsatod-p19-panel345-boom.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Wait for it...wait for it...]]
Rodimus gathers a crew of two hundred Autobots and purchases the ''Unitrex-1'' during the [[Festival of Lost Light]]. The event inspires him to rename the vessel the ''[[Lost Light]]''. Hoping to learn more about the secrets behind creating [[Phase Sixer]]s, Prowl manages to convince Rodimus to take Overlord with them in the hopes of using [[Chromedome (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Chromedome]]'s [[mnemosurgery|mnemosurgical]] skills to probe the Decepticon's memories. {{storylink|Remembrance Day}} {{storylink|The Sound of Breaking Glass}} Before they depart, Chromedome, his [[Conjunx Endura]] [[Rewind (G1)|Rewind]], and Ratchet discover Tailgate and take him aboard. The ''Lost Light'' departs Cybertron shortly afterwards... but the quantum engines malfunction shortly after the ship launches due to a mishap involving Overlord's slow cell {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 3: The Chaos of Warm Things|The Chaos of Warm Things}}, and the vessel vanishes in a fiery explosion. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It|How to Say Goodbye and Mean It}}

[[File:TheAutonomyLesson-spaceport.jpg|thumb|left|250px|"You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy."]]
The loss of the ''Lost Light'' causes ructions between the Autobots, Decepticons, and NAILs; the latter faction believing that the Autobots are now publically discouraging anyone from leaving their shantytown. Having made the difficult choice to release the Decepticons to help keep the peace, Bumblebee is forced to put down [[Horri-Bull]] when the Decepticon oversteps his authority. {{storylink|The Autonomy Lesson (issue)|The Autonomy Lesson}}

Around this time, war hero and all-around do-gooder [[Thunder Clash|Thunderclash]] decides to strike out on his own search for the Knights of Cybertron aboard his own ship, the ''[[Vis Vitalis]]''. He discovers the lost colony of [[Caminus]] and recruits three of the inhabitants—[[Windblade (G1)|Windblade]], [[Chromia (G1)|Chromia]], and [[Nautica (G1)|Nautica]]—to join him on his quest. {{storylink|Burning Bright: Dark Cybertron Chapter 8|Burning Bright}} {{storylink|A 'Bot and Her City}}

An attempt on Bumblebee's life via [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] leads to the latter's death and prompts Starscream to start working with Bumblebee's Autobots in their efforts to rebuild a functioning government. {{storylink|The World & Everything in It}} [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]] secretly continues Shockwave's old combiner experiments, which results in Prowl, at the end of his tether and increasingly emotionally closed-off, seemingly executing him. {{storylink|Devisive}} Ironhide salvages the situation by petitioning to have the [[inhibitor/deterrence chip|I/D chips]] installed in the Decepticons deactivated. {{storylink|A Better Tomorrow}}

After [[Barrel Roll]] dies, [[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]] and his crew of [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]] leave Iacon to start anew in the wilderness beyond. {{storylink|Stick Together}} Ironhide then recruits the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] to try and find the missing fliers; they discover that the lands beyond Iacon have a disorienting effect on Cybertronians. {{storylink|Dinobot Hunt (IDW)|Dinobot Hunt}}

[[File:Sparkeater rips The Chaos of Warm Things.jpg|thumb|right|250px|''HEEEEERE'S JOHNNY!'']]

Meanwhile in space, the ''Lost Light'' rematerializes, ''twice''; the peculiar quantum engines mean that the explosion creates a duplicate ''Lost Light'', one on-course and one off-course. The on-course ''Lost Light'' and its duplicate crew embark on a series of improbable adventures that ends when the [[Decepticon Justice Division]], on the trail of the traitorous Overlord and tipped off to his location by conflicted double agent [[Brainstorm (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Brainstorm]], kill everyone aboard save Rewind. {{storylink|slaughterhouse Part 2: The Road Not Taken|The Road Not Taken}}

The ''other'' ''Lost Light'', however, materializes near the edge of the galaxy, where the crew meets Skids and contends with the Sparkeater. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 2: Hangers On|Hangers On}} {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 3: The Chaos of Warm Things|The Chaos of Warm Things}} The Sparkeater's rampage accidentally damages the [[slow cell]] containing Overlord, which alerts paranoid security director Red Alert to the stowaway. {{storylink|How Ratchet Got His Hands Back}}

[[File:MTMTE ROE Grimlock.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Grimlock in stained glass.]]

On Cybertron, Wheeljack investigates a mysterious time machine brought to the planet by [[Turmoil]]. {{storylink|Interference Patterns}} This has repercussions across the galaxy; far away from Cybertron, Orion Pax, Hardhead, [[Garnak]], and Wheelie discover that Jhiaxus, Bludgeon, and Monstructor are carrying out a part of Shockwave's Regenesis program to alter the future using the chronologically-destabilized world of [[LV-117]], a plan involving Turmoil's time machine. Thought they thwart Jhiaxus's scheme, the planet is destroyed. {{storylink|Syndromica (1)}} {{storylink|Syndromica (2)}}

On the planet [[Clemency]], a [[Scavenger (group)|band of misfit Decepticons]]—the former Foragers—stumble on [[Fulcrum]], a cowardly [[K-Class]] suicide bomber. Together, they investigate an anomalous [[Worldsweeper]] ship containing numerous strange experiments and a brain-damaged Grimlock, whom they reactivate to battle the [[Decepticon Justice Division]]. The Scavengers reluctantly take him on. {{storylink|Scavengers (Part 2): Who's Afraid of the DJD?|Who's Afraid of the DJD?}}

Shortly afterwards, the ship chances on the planet [[Theophany]], former home of the now-missing [[Circle of Light]]. The crew discovers [[Metrotitan (Zone)|Metrotitan]], and help the struggling Titan return to Cybertron by using Brainstorm's [[mass-displacement gun]] to shrink him to a manageable size so he can safely teleport away. {{storylink|Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations|You, Me, and Other Revelations}}

[[File:RID16 heavyisthehead.jpg|thumb|right|200px|This can't end well.]]

Metrotitan materializes within the ruins of [[Crystal City]], where his arrival interrupts the search for the missing Autobots. Starscream investigates, and the Titan proclaims him the "chosen one" before his destabilized molecules explode and teleport him away {{storylink|Primus: All Good Things|All Good Things}} to [[Monument Valley]] on Earth. {{storylink|All Hail Optimus Part 5: As Above...So Below|As Above... So Below}} Before Starscream can use his new standing to tip upcoming elections in his favor, Iacon is thrown into chaos when Megatron returns. {{storylink|City on Fire}}

Having experimented with [[combiner]] technology in the wake of the D-Void's defeat, Megatron has secretly collaborated with several Decepticons to perfect the process and create a new, more powerful Devastator from the remaining Constructicons... and using Prowl, who has been under Bombshell's mind control all along, as a guinea pig. {{storylink|Heavy Is the Head|Heavy Is The Head}}

The new Devastator lays waste to Iacon, but is defeated by Ironhide, the Dinobots, and the Aerialbots, the latter group having accidentally combined into a new combiner named [[Superion (G1)|Superion]]. {{storylink|The End of the Beginning of the World}} Wheeljack sacrifices himself to neutralize Megatron, while Superion helps defeat Devastator and return Prowl to his senses. Starscream kills Metalhawk to exploit the NAILs and uses the political leverage to declare himself as the sole ruler of the "[[Republic of Cybertron]]", casting both Autobots and Decepticons out into the wilderness. {{storylink|Heavy Is the Head|Heavy Is The Head}} Starscream recruits [[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]] as his second-in-command and finds a useful stooge in the religiously-inclined [[Scoop (G1)|Scoop]] {{storylink|Three Monologues}} after taking custody of the comatose Superion and secretly placing Wheeljack into stasis. {{storylink|Heavy Is the Head|Heavy Is The Head}}

A subsequent stopover on [[Hedonia]] {{storylink|Cybertronian Homesick Blues}} brings the ''Lost Light'' crew into contact with a group of [[Ammonite]]s, and a game of one-upmanship goes wrong when [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]] annihilates [[Terradore]] commander [[Imperius Drax]]. With Drax's successor pushing the Terradores towards a dangerous conclusion, the Ammonites join forces with Shockwave. {{storylink|The Dead Are Not Enough: Dark Cybertron Chapter 7|The Dead Are Not Enough}} Megatron's defeat pushes Shockwave into accelerating the development of his Regenesis program—having evolved into an ambitious plan to end the universe so Cybertron can live forever. {{storylink|Shockwaves}}

Not far away, Metroplex detects [[Ore-7]], and Shockwave dispatches his Ammonite army to reclaim the sample. The Ammonites prove incapable of bringing the Titan down, but ''are'' successful in incapacitating him with a sample of [[Ore-2]]. Having contracted an [[alchemical virus]] from exposure to the deadly ore, a grievously wounded Metroplex jettisons his thumb and the Ore-7 sample before splashing down beneath the oceans of [[Hydrophena]] to recuperate. {{storylink|The Becoming: Dark Cybertron Chapter 10|The Becoming}}

Metroplex's thumb impacts the ''Lost Light'', leaving a reluctant [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] to fight off [[Lockdown (G1)|Lockdown]] and his crew of [[Titan Hunter]]s. {{storylink|The Reluctant Specialist}} Meanwhile, [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] and a crew of Autobots cope with a leftover [[phobia shield]]. {{storylink|The Waiting Game}}

[[File:ThisCalamitousLife-legislatorfight.jpg|thumb|left|250px|";"]]

When Rewind is grievously injured in a battle on [[Temptoria]], the possibility of losing his beloved sends Chromedome into a grief spiral that eventually sees him tapping Overlord's memories. {{storylink|Remembrance Day}} Unfortunately, Chromedome accidentally allows Overlord to escape, and Rewind has to sacrifice himself to jettison the monster from the ship. {{storylink|Under Cold Blue Stars}} Not wanting to jeopardize a great destiny he has forseen for Rodimus, Drift volunteers to take the fall for the incident and is exiled from the ship. {{storylink|The Gloaming}} Overlord's drifting body is found and taken in by the [[Galactic Council]], who rebuild and recruit him into their service. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 3: Your Fierce Tears|Your Fierce Tears}}

Ultra Magnus is also fatally wounded in the battle, but his body disappears from the ship's Medibay. The crew track the Magnus Armor and discover lost moon of [[Moonbase One|Luna 1]], {{storylink|Remain in Light 1 of 5: The Fecund Moon|The Fecund Moon}} where they discover Chief Justice Tyrest, who has gone rogue and constructed a [[universal killswitch]] designed to eliminate all Transformers who were constructed cold in an act of religious genocide, helped by mad doctor [[Pharma (G1)|Pharma]] and knight Templar [[Star Saber (Victory)|Star Saber]]. The crew discovers the secret of [[Minimus Ambus]] and eventually defeat Tyrest by using their half of the Matrix to overwrite the killswitch, sacrificing their map to Cyberutopia in the process. {{storylink|Remain in Light 5 of 5: This Calamitous Life|This Calamitous Life}}

[[File:BurningBright-Windblade.jpg|thumb|right|250px|''They're Windblade and the Brain Windblade and the Brain One is a Titan, the other's a plane!'']]

Alpha Trion makes contact with Thunderclash and persuades him to send his Camien crew members to Hydrophena, where [[Windblade (G1)|Windblade]] uses her [[cityspeaker|cityspeaking]] talents to tend to Metroplex's many injuries. {{storylink|Burning Bright: Dark Cybertron Chapter 8|Burning Bright}}

Believing that Shockwave's plans will involve the [[Enigma of Combination]], Alpha Trion correctly deduces it to be on Earth. He travels there to retrieve it, but his vessel is shot down by the [[Earth Defense Command]] and he is taken hostage to forward the development of the EDC's weaponry. {{storylink|The Crucible}} {{storylink|Earthfall Chapter 4: Full Fathom Five|Full Fathom Five}}

With his pieces in place, Shockwave puts the final pieces of his plan into play. At the request of his old student, [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]] manipulates Orion Pax into awakening a Titan slumbering beneath [[Gorlam Prime]] and transports it to Cybertron, transforming it into a [[zombie|undead]] "[[Necrotitan]]" that lays waste to Iacon by unleashing a "death plague" that brings the dead back to life, including Metalhawk. {{storylink|Dark Dawn: Dark Cybertron Chapter 1|Dark Dawn}} {{storylink|Winners & Losers: Dark Cybertron Chapter 3|Winners & Losers}}

[[File:BlackPlanet-bigfight.jpg|thumb|left|250px|"Our arrows will blot out the sun!" "Good; then we will fight in the shade."]]

Shockwave creates a portal to the [[Dead Universe]] to summon Nova Prime and his ancient Cybertronians. {{storylink|Dark Dawn: Dark Cybertron Chapter 1|Dark Dawn}} Bumblebee makes an alliance with Soundwave to stop this, but their strike on Shockwave's base proves only partially successful, as Galvatron reemerges before they can close the gate. {{storylink|Finest Hour: Dark Cybertron Chapter 5|Finest Hour}} Gorlam Prime collapses into a Dead Universe portal, and Orion and his crew are saved by the ''Lost Light''. Orion and Hardhead venture into the rift to stop Shockwave's plot. {{storylink|Black Metal: Dark Cybertron Chapter 2|Black Metal}} Though Hardhead perishes, Orion succeeds in rescuing both Nightbeat and Kup from the thrall of the Dead Universe. In the ensuing fight against Nova Prime, Prime finally kills his villainous predecessor and retakes the title of "Optimus Prime". {{storylink|Finis Temporis: Dark Cybertron Chapter 9|Finis Temporis}}

With the ''Lost Light'' on Jhiaxus's tail, the ship makes a detour to [[Hydrophena]], where they encounter Metroplex's body, {{storylink|Winners & Losers: Dark Cybertron Chapter 3|Winners & Losers}} his Camien caretakers, {{storylink|The Dead Are Not Enough: Dark Cybertron Chapter 7|The Dead Are Not Enough}} and an army of Ammonites. {{storylink|Into the Abyss: Dark Cybertron Chapter 4|Into the Abyss}} The crew use their ship's engines to power up the Titan and return him to Cybertron. In the ravaged remains of Iacon, Bumblebee and Megatron form a strange alliance, {{storylink|Burning Bright: Dark Cybertron Chapter 8|Burning Bright}} and the Decepticon leader uses his internal space bridge to teleport Metroplex's thumb back to its rightful owner, giving Metroplex the energy to kill the Necrotitan and counter the plague. {{storylink|Finis Temporis: Dark Cybertron Chapter 9|Finis Temporis}}

Unfortunately, all of this plays right into Shockwave's metaphorical hands; having lured all of the elements in his final plan to Cybertron—and having eliminated Nova Prime's control over the Dead Universe—Shockwave begins his final endgame, using Jhiaxus's [[chronal drive]] and the power of all fourteen ores to collapse all of reality into a singularity that will feed Cybertron for all eternity. {{storylink|Finis Temporis: Dark Cybertron Chapter 9|Finis Temporis}} {{storylink|The Becoming: Dark Cybertron Chapter 10|The Becoming}}

[[File:DCFinale megatron the autobot.jpg|thumb|right|250px|WHAT.]]

Prime, Bumblebee, and Megatron confront Shockwave beneath Crystal City {{storylink|Black Planet: Dark Cybertron Chapter 11|Black Planet}} while Metalhawk sacrifices himself once again to destroy the Ammonite army. {{storylink|...And the Damage Done: Dark Cybertron Finale|...And the Damage Done}} Shockwave shoots Bumblebee {{storylink|Black Planet: Dark Cybertron Chapter 11|Black Planet}} but the Autobot's sacrifice moves Megatron—having slowly realized the error of his ways—to announce that he is changing sides. Shockwave's incredulity breaks the shadowplay, and, horrified at what he has become, he allows Optimus Prime to put him down. Crystal City collapses into a singularity and drags Bumblebee's body with it. {{storylink|...And the Damage Done: Dark Cybertron Finale|...And the Damage Done}} Unbeknownst to anyone, however, Shockwave is not dead, instead having been sent [[#12 million BCE|twelve million years back in time]], to the dawn of Cybertronian civilisation. {{storylink|The Falling, Interlude: The First Who Was Named|The First Who Was Named}}

Though the Transformers have saved reality, the events of the crisis have changed Cybertron forever. In the aftermath, Autobot Megatron allows himself to stand trial for his crimes against the species, {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|Towards Peace}} while the three Camiens struggle to adjust to their new lives. With the Decepticons left betrayed and rudderless, a new warrior steps up to take command... [[Galvatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Galvatron]]. {{storylink|Earthfall Part 1: Hello Cruel World|Hello Cruel World}}
{{-}}

===2014===
[[File:MTMTE28 megatron pleads guilty.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Cast in the name of Primus.]]
Megatron's trial in the [[Raskol Arena]] lasts for five months, and though Megatron initially pleads guilty, Starscream's blustering testimony convinces him to change his plea to "not guilty". {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 2: Words Hang in the Air|Words Hang in the Air}} The ex-Decepticon escapes immediate sentencing on a technicality. Requesting to be judged by the Knights of Cybertron, he joins the crew of the ''Lost Light'' as co-captain alongside an annoyed Rodimus. Before leaving Cybertron, he announces that the Decepticon cause has failed and that all active Decepticons are to stand down. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 3: Predestination: A Beginner's Guide|Predestination: A Beginner's Guide}}

[[File:DetonationBoulevard-galvatronandedc.jpg|thumb|right|200px|''Awkward!'']]

Those Decepticons still loyal to the cause rally under Galvatron's new banner. Soundwave joins Galvatron's splinter group, announcing that they will follow the ''true'' Decepticon path and seek peace. Galvatron leads his new troops to [[Earth]], where they meet with [[Sparkplug Witwicky|General Witwicky]] and [[Marissa Faireborn|Director Faireborn]]. The neo-Decepticons convince the skeptical humans of their good intentions by telling them that Megatron has defected to the Autobots, though Galvatron openly chafes under the idea of working alongside humans. {{storylink|Earthfall Part 2: Detonation Boulevard|Detonation Boulevard}} In exchange for aid against the Autobots, G.B. Blackrock sponsors the construction of [[Sanctuary Station]] in orbit around Jupiter, which will house the new Decepticon movement. {{storylink|Earthfall Chapter 4: Full Fathom Five|Full Fathom Five}}

As the Autobots and their new allies settle in, Optimus Prime decides to lead a small crew of Autobots (and Prowl's Constructicon hangers-on) back to Earth aboard the ''[[Ark-7]]'' in search of Alpha Trion. {{storylink|Earthfall Part 1: Hello Cruel World|Hello Cruel World}} {{storylink|Earthfall Part 2: Detonation Boulevard|Detonation Boulevard}}

Metroplex transforms into his city mode and links up with the ruins of Iacon, providing housing, power, and infrastructure for any in need. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|Towards Peace}} In time, a "ghetto" of Decepticons springs up around his outskirts, while the Autobots and NAILs live inside the Titan. {{storylink|First Contact (IDW)|First Contact}} Though alive, Metroplex is barely functional, and over several months Windblade slowly nurses him back to health. {{storylink|A 'Bot and Her City}} As Metroplex recovers, he begins searching for his Titan brethren, scattered throughout the galaxy. Eventually, he locates [[Navitas]] on [[Velocitron]], [[Chela]] on [[Eukaris]], the remains of the dead Titan on [[Devisiun]], {{storylink|Windblade issue 4|Windblade #4}} and [[Vigilem|Carcer]], disguised as Metroplex’s lost brother [[Tempo]]. {{storylink|Rubicon}} Though most of the colonies have survived their millennia of isolation unscathed, one world is not so lucky: [[Micronus Prime]]'s colony world of [[Mini-Con]]s is sterilized by the robophobic [[Black Block Consortia]]. The sole survivor, a young female named [[Nickel]], joins the [[Decepticon Justice Division]] when they happen on the planet days after the attack. {{storylink|The Permanent Revolution}}

[[File:ABotAndHerCity-metroplexsbrain.jpg|thumb|left|250px|''They're Windblade and the Brain Yes, Windblade and the Brain Their robotic campaign, is easy to explain'']]

[[Chromia (G1)|Chromia]] comes to the conclusion that Cybertron is too dangerous for Windblade to stay, and engineers a public crisis that will allow her access to Metroplex's space bridge by surreptitiously bombing districts within Metroplex. {{storylink|Windblade issue 4|Windblade #4}} Windblade investigates and repeatedly clashes with Starscream {{storylink|A Long Way Down}}, who has by this point established the [[Badgeless]] troopers as enforcers of his will. {{storylink|Windblade issue 3|Windblade #3}} Windblade is horrified when she learns the truth, but strikes an uneasy deal with Starscream in the name of the greater good: in exchange for keeping Chromia's crimes hidden, Windblade will allow Starscream to contact the ''other'' lost colony worlds, help her impoverished home and rebuild the Cybertronian empire with himself at the helm. Though her friend walks free, Windblade is left conflicted by her friend's duplicity and her own moral compromise. {{storylink|Windblade issue 4|Windblade #4}}

[[File:Full Fathom Five Alpha Trion.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Old Primes never die, they just get to be lab rats.]]

Entering Earth's orbit, the ''[[Ark-7]]'' runs up against post-invasion humanity, who deploy sophisticated orbital defense systems derived from Cybertronian technology against them. Sneaking to Earth aboard Sky Lynx, Optimus, Kup, and Jazz encounter [[Thundercracker (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Thundercracker]], who has gone native on Earth and turned his love of television into a career as an aspiring screenwriter. Thundercracker and his new pet [[Buster (IDW)|Buster]] are bait, however, and the Earth Defence Command arrives to arrest the Autobots. {{storylink|Earthfall Part 1: Hello Cruel World|Hello Cruel World}} The Autobots flee to the town of [[Poverty Flat]], where Prowl and the Constructicons deploy Devastator against their foes. {{storylink|Earthfall Part 2: Detonation Boulevard|Detonation Boulevard}} The Autobots escape custody and return to their ship, where they trace the development of the "[[mind bomb]]" to an EDC base on [[Marshall Islands|Bikini Atoll]]. The Autobots manage to infiltrate the facility, where they discover and free Alpha Trion. In the conflict, Galvatron kills General Witwicky. {{storylink|Earthfall Chapter 4: Full Fathom Five|Full Fathom Five}}

Trion explains the sordid history behind the Enigma of Combination, prompting the Autobots under Prowl's command to search for it {{storylink|The Crucible}} while Optimus returns to Cybertron. {{storylink|Onyx Interface Part One: Signals, Calls, and Marches|Signals, Calls, and Marches}}
A globetrotting chase across the world ensues as Prowl's Autobots race Galvatron's Decepticons to find the artifact before the Decepticon leader can destroy it. {{storylink|Onyx Interface Part Two: Vs.|Vs.}} {{storylink|Onyx Interface Part Three: ONoffON|ONoffON}} As they close on the Enigma, Prowl and his Constructicons form an unlikely alliance with Spike Witwicky to infiltrate Blackrock's Onyx facility in [[China]]. Devastator's hatred of Spike jeopardizes the mission and causes him to lose control of the Enigma to the Decepticons… who in turn, lose it to Starscream's double-agent Scoop, who has been working within the Decepticons as a mole. {{storylink|Onyx Interface Part Three: ONoffON|ONoffON}} {{storylink|The Onyx Interface Conclusion: The Obliterati|The Obliterati}}

[[File:TheRoadNotTaken-ChromedomeRewind.jpg|thumb|left|250px|''[Feels intensify]'']]

In deep space, Megatron continues to grapple with his legacy while dealing with the less-than-accepting crew of the ''Lost Light'', including his old nemesis [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]]. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 3: Predestination: A Beginner's Guide|Predestination: A Beginner's Guide}} A freak transmission and a mysterious coffin causes the ''Lost Light'' and its crewmembers to start disappearing, a phenomenon caused by their approach to the quantum duplicate of the ''Lost Light''. {{storylink|Twenty Plus One}} The ''Lost Light'' crew investigates the wreckage of the ship and discovers the "other" Rewind, who is reunited with his beloved Chromedome. {{storylink|slaughterhouse}} {{storylink|Slaughterhouse Part 2: The Road Not Taken|The Road Not Taken}} Immediately afterwards, Brainstorm, who has been perfecting the development of a portable [[time case]], takes the ''Lost Light'' crew out of commission and escapes backwards through history with the intention of talking Megatron out of starting the war and saving [[Quark]] from his eventual fate. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 1: All Our Parlous Yesterdays|All Our Parlous Yesterdays}} A team of Autobots chase Brainstorm across time to prevent a [[Functionist Universe|alternate timeline]] from overwriting reality entirely and succeed in preventing the increasingly desperate scientist from killing Megatron at the moment of his creation—but not without creating some critically important time loops along the way. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 3: Predestination: An Expert's Guide|Predestination: An Expert's Guide}}

[[File:ThePermanentRevolution-goingtowar.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Good god, y'all.]]

Ratchet decides, after some soul-searching, to leave the ''Lost Light'' and go off in search of his friend [[Drift (G1)|Drift]]. {{storylink|Our Steps Will Always Rhyme}} He tracks the wayward Autobot to the outer rim of the [[galaxy]], and joins Drift in confronting his old commander [[Megatron (RID)|Gigatron]] and [[Hellbat (Victory)|Hellbat]] over an [[Stone Army|army of ancient automatons]]. Ratchet agrees to help Drift, but only if he promises to return to the ''Lost Light'' at the conclusion of their adventure. {{storylink|The Transformers: Drift - Empire of Stone|Drift: Empire of Stone}}

Learning of Megatron's defection from a postwar edition of his [[Towards Peace|manifesto]], Tarn briefly despairs, but his grief hardens into a resolve to kill Megatron, whom he considers a traitor. He joins forces with [[Deathsaurus (Victory)|Deathsaurus]]'s troops in preparation for all-out war against Megatron. {{storylink|The Permanent Revolution}}

With Windblade's repairs on Metroplex nearing completion, Optimus arrives on Cybertron and helps bring Autobot serial killer [[Sandstorm (G1)|Sandstorm]], who has been exerting vengeance on war criminals who went unpunished, to justice. {{storylink|The Transformers: Punishment|Punishment}}
{{-}}

===2015===
[[File:TheSumAndItsParts-OptimusMatrix.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Starring: Space Jesus, Space Peter, and Space Judas.]]
Starscream resuscitates Wheeljack to help repair Superion with the help of the Enigma and aid Windblade on Metroplex's space bridge. {{storylink|The World of Tomorrow}} Having established a stable link between the two worlds, Cybertron prepares to make official "first contact"with Caminus after millions of years of mutual isolation. Starscream uses both Menasor and Superion to stage a combiner attack on the planet to win them over, but discovers that the Camiens, like most colonists, consider Optimus Prime to be a divine being, and immediately fall behind him on learning of his existence. {{storylink|The Sum and Its Parts}} Caminus's leader, the [[Mistress of Flame]], comes to believes that Optimus is the "Arisen", the legendary Thirteenth Prime, a belief not held by Pyra Magna or her Torchbearers. {{storylink|All Hail Optimus Part 3: The Medium and the Message|The Medium and the Message}}

[[File:Optimusmaximus.jpg|thumb|right|200px|"You have failed. We will find another way."]]

Windblade and Optimus collaborate to undermine Starscream's imperialism from within, and manipulate him into announcing the formation of the "[[Council of Worlds]]", a democratic parliament where Cybertron and its colonies will all have an equal voice. {{storylink|The Possible Light}} Infuriated by news of Starscream's scheme, Prowl and the Constructicons arrive on Cybertron to forcibly cut the planet off from the rest of the galaxy, but Starscream stops them by creating [[Defensor (G1)|Defensor]] from the [[Protectobot (G1)|Protectobots]], a group of ''Lost Light'' delegates. {{storylink|Mistakes and Mayhem}} Starscream takes custody of Devastator and rebuilds him to incorporate Scoop, forcing the combiner into obeying him. Rattrap, who is secretly a double agent working for Prowl, releases Prowl from prison and gives him the Enigma. {{storylink|You, Me, and the Universe}}

When Devastator and Menasor go berserk, Prowl uses the Enigma on himself, Prime, and several other Autobots to create [[Optimus Maximus (G1)|Optimus Maximus]], who battles Devastator in a fight that spans across the lost colonies. Swindle leads a riot at Metroplex's space bridge; he is shot and presumed dead,{{storylink|All That Remains}} but Rattrap and Wheeljack secretly hide the brain-damaged Cybertronian, knowing that he has incriminating information on Starscream. {{storylink|Things We Said We'd Never Do}} The rogue combiners are defeated, paving the way for the creation of the Council of Worlds. Across the other colonies, the inhabitants are alerted to the fact that Cybertron still exists, and prepare for their own first contacts with their ancestral homeworld. {{storylink|All That Remains}} Optimus visits Prowl to try and reconcile, but the increasingly unstable tactician rejects his attempts. Their disagreement escalates into a full-on fistfight, and Rattrap has no choice but to spirit Prowl's broken body to safety. On Earth, Galvatron and Arcee arrange a clandestine meeting, where Galvatron reveals the otherworldly source behind [[G.B. Blackrock]]'s Onyx operating code. {{storylink|Now and On Earth}}

[[File:TheWillOfTheFew-councilofworlds.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Bots of the Square Table.]]

Arcee travels to Cybertron and steals the Enigma, hoping to ensure that nobody else can be changed against their will. Windblade and Chromia track her to the [[Rust Sea]], where they encounter Pyra Magna's group of Torchbearers. An accident leads to the creation of [[Victorion]], the first Camien combiner. The Enigma is returned to its proper place, with Starscream none the wiser, while the Torchbearers opt to remain in the Rust Sea. {{storylink|An Uneventful Night}} Starscream and Windblade race each other to try and recruit more colonies into the Council of Worlds; after some adventuring, they succeed in convincing the citizens of [[Velocitron]], [[Devisiun]], [[Eukaris]], and "[[Vigilem|Carcer]]" to join. {{storylink|The Will of the Few}}

In space, a visit to the Vis Vitalis for Thunderclash's "pre-wake" sees the legendary Autobot, and the Camien medic [[Velocity (G1)|Velocity]], join the Lost Light's crew after they save the other ship from an infestation of "[[personality tick]]s". {{storylink|The Frail Gaze}} A series of whimsical events leads to the ''Lost Light'' crew braving the holographic "[[Swearth]]" in search of Swerve {{storylink|The One Where They Go to Earth}}, which, in turn, leads them to the [[Necroworld]], where they meet [[Censere]]. {{storylink|The Not Knowing}} A discussion regarding the Necrobot's passivity inspires Censere to use one of Brainstorm's discarded [[time case]]s to start travelling back in time and rescuing the "Disappeared" before they can vanish from history, storing them in stasis pods before they can overcome their timesickness. Among those brought to the present are [[Anode]] and [[Roller (IDW)|Roller]]. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 6: Do Not Go Gentle|Do Not Go Gentle}}

[[File:SinsoftheWreckers3-Tarantulasspider.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Come into my Noisemaze, said the spider to the bot.]]

At some point after this, Prowl is kidnapped by his old comrade [[Tarantulas (BW)|Mesothulas]], who has escaped from the [[Noisemaze]] and recruited [[Mayhem Attack Squad|Mayhem]], a post-war terrorist group sporting experimental biomechanical [[beast mode]]s, to capture a terminally ill [[Verity Carlo]] and [[Stakeout (G1)|Stakeout]] for the Aequitas data they carry. Prowl's capture necessitates the return of the Wreckers, who assemble to rescue the disgraced strategist. Their mission takes them into the Noisemaze, where Prowl rejects Tarantulas's offer of an alliance. The Wreckers manage to free Prowl; Kup and Arcee finally sever ties with him and return to the ''Ark-7''. {{storylink|The Transformers: Sins of the Wreckers|Sins of the Wreckers}}

Aboard the ''Lost Light'', crewmember [[Getaway]] decides that enough is enough and makes a move to incriminate Megatron by grooming Tailgate into performing a suicide mission. {{storylink|The Lopsided Triangle}} In case this fails, he also plans a large-scale mutiny, taking advantage of the crew's resentment of Megatron's presence and Rodimus's increasingly erratic leadership; Getaway also convinces them that the captains plan to have him locked up on trumped-up charges, which results in the crew having doubts when he is imprisoned for his attempt to manipulate Tailgate into his death. {{storylink|The Plotters' Club (Part 2): Filling in the Blanks|Filling in the Blanks}} {{storylink|Speak, Memory! (Part 2)}} A subsequent encounter with [[Froid]] and [[Sunder (G1)|Sunder]] results in a super-powered Tailgate, while Megatron decides to permanently lay down arms in the name of pacifism. {{storylink|Speak, Memory: Part 1}} {{storylink|Speak, Memory! (Part 2)}}
{{-}}

===2016===
[[File:AHO-earthannexed.jpg|thumb|left|200px|''Got tired of whining A grander scheme with silver lining For every boy and girl'']]
The formation of the Council of Worlds brings great changes to Cybertron; Transformers from all five colonies start immigrating to Iacon, and the mix of cultures and traditions bolsters the rebuilding city. {{storylink|Conquerors Part 1: Aphelion|Aphelion}} {{storylink|Choose Me}} This new optimism has little effect on the increasingly frazzled Starscream, who starts experiencing recurring hallucinations of Bumblebee—who, unbeknownst to anyone, still lives within the Crystal City singularity. {{storylink|Conquerors Part 1: Aphelion|Aphelion}} {{storylink|Ghost Stories}} Unsure of his place in this rapidly changing society, Optimus Prime finds a sympathetic ear in [[Aileron]], a young Camien who persuades him to seek out the Torchbearers. They do so, and Pyra Magna vows to build the agnostic Optimus into a worthy Prime. {{storylink|Conquerors Part 1: Aphelion|Aphelion}} At the same time, Galvatron begins recruiting new Decepticons on Cybertron, intending to restart the war on Earth via the space bridge network. {{storylink|The Transgressors}}

The Dinobots accept a secret mission from Camien-turned-Decepticon sympathizer [[Swift (G1)|Swift]]: transporting a payload of Sparks into the Cybertronian wilderness. They contend with [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]]'s latest wave of experiments and succeed in reigniting [[Alyon]]'s old hot spot, gaining [[Strafe (IDW)|Strafe]] as the newest member of their team. {{storylink|The Transformers: Redemption|Redemption}}

[[File:RageRage-Megatronappears.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The old man's back again.]]

The faith the colonists place in Optimus pushes him into making ever more reckless decisions, and when Galvatron launches a unilateral attack on Earth, Optimus responds by using his authority to annex Earth into the Council of Worlds, permanently placing it under Cybertronian protection {{storylink|All Hail Optimus Part 1: Once Upon a Time on Earth|Once Upon a Time on Earth}} His actions throw both worlds into chaos; on Earth, the Earth Defense Command forms an alliance with the [[People's Liberation Army Mecha Force]] to prepare for total war against the Cybertronians, while on Cybertron, Starscream galvanizes the Council against Prime's actions. {{storylink|All Hail Optimus Part 3: The Medium and the Message|The Medium and the Message}} Blackrock, his status as a mechanical imposter fully revealed, forges an alliance of convenience with Galvatron's Decepticons. {{storylink|All Hail Optimus Part 4: It's Beginning To And Back Again|It's Beginning To And Back Again}} Seeking a new advantage, Optimus travels to Sanctuary Station and blackmails Soundwave's Decepticons into joining him and taking down Galvatron. The Autobots battle the Decepticons underwater, where Galvatron uses the powers of the Enigma against his foes before Superion sacrifices himself by de-combining for good to neutralize Blackrock's Enigma code. {{storylink|All Hail Optimus Part 5: As Above...So Below|As Above... So Below}}

On Earth, events come to a head in [[Monument Valley]], where Optimus, at Alpha Trion's urging, uses his control over Titans to summon Metrotitan. Optimus summoning a holy Titan convinces the colonists that Prime is, indeed, the Thirteenth Prime, and that Earth is a lost colony of Cybertron, which swings public opinion back his way. Prime, Arcee, and Soundwave subsequently pursue Galvatron to [[Jupiter]], where Prime finally kills the ancient warrior. Hoping to repair relations with humankind, Optimus orders Metrotitan to transform and dubs the Titan "[[Autobot City (G1)#IDW Generation 1 continuity|Autobot City]]", an embassy for Cybertronians on Earth. {{storylink|All Hail Optimus Part 6: No Fair Fights|No Fair Fights}}

In space, the mutinous crew of the ''Lost Light'' make their move against Rodimus and his crew by luring them to the [[Necroworld]] under the guise of a psychic attack and stranding them there. What they ''don't'' know is that Getaway has made a deal with the [[Galactic Council]] to hand over Megatron—and even he is unaware that the Decepticon Justice Division has finally tracked down Megatron, and that the Decepticon forces have assembled to take out the traitor and his allies. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light: (1) How Bright Their Frail Deeds|How Bright Their Frail Deeds}} {{storylink|The Plotters' Club (Part 2): Filling in the Blanks|Filling in the Blanks}} The Galactic Council arrives and deploys their new asset Overlord against Megatron. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 3: Your Fierce Tears|Your Fierce Tears}} With the help of the returned Ratchet and Drift—and through Skids's own self sacrifice—the crew manage to repel Deathsaurus's troops; Megatron renounces his pacifism and takes up arms once more to finally put down the DJD for good. In the aftermath, the crew discovers the fate of the time-hopping "Disappeared". Megatron is finally reunited with his old friend [[Terminus (G1)|Terminus]]... moments before a GC [[geobomb]] detonates inside the planet. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 6: Do Not Go Gentle|Do Not Go Gentle}}

On the Lost Light, the crew are shocked to learn both about Getaway's deal with the council and that he used his nudge gun to erase the memories of those who would not agree to the coup. Getaway pacifies them by lying that the council promised not to harm anyone but Megatron, but his subsequent efforts to alter the terms of the deal ends in failure. {{storylink|The Plotters' Club (Part 2): Filling in the Blanks|Filling in the Blanks}}

[[File:ModesOfProduction-tractorbeam.jpg|thumb|left|300px|They're heeeere!]]

The detonation of the geobomb shunts the entire Necroworld into an [[Functionist Universe|alternate reality]] created by Brainstorm's time-travel misadventures. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 4: Bad Moon Rising|Bad Moon Rising}} Rodimus and a small crew of Autobots attempt to teleport back to Cybertron, only to find themselves on the wrong Cybertron! {{storylink|Dissolution Part 1: Some Other Cybertron|Some Other Cybertron}} The [[Functionism|Functionist]] Cybertron stands on the brink of extermination, and the arrival of the Autobots threatens to push the uneasy peace completely over the brink. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 3: A World Misplaced|A World Misplaced}} The [[Functionist Council]] eventually deploy their [[Moonbase Two|ultimate weapon]] against Cybertron, and Megatron steps up to lead the counterattack and rallies the [[Anti-Vocationist League]]. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 5: Modes of Production|Modes of Production}} Most of the Autobots return to their home universe, but Megatron and Terminus are accidentally left behind. Megatron joins the League and begins again, this time basing his revolution on "peace through empathy". On Necroworld, Anode—having been hallucinating Lug still being alive thanks to her timesickness—manages to resurrect her using the widowed metal "snowflake" and traces of Lug's spark energy in Necroworld's flowers. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 6: This Machine Kills Fascists|This Machine Kills Fascists}}

On the "real" Cybertron, Windblade and the other Council members continue to keep the peace {{storylink|07:00:00}} while Starscream hires exiled [[Eukaris|Eukarian]] [[Fateweaver]] [[Airachnid (G1)|Airachnid]] to search for Swindle's body in the hopes of permanently silencing the loose end. {{storylink|The Price of You}} {{storylink|Things We Said We'd Never Do}} Increasing tensions between the [[Badgeless]] and the civilians prompt [[Ironhide (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ironhide]] to step up and reform Cybertronian security. {{storylink|Applicable Skills}} Chromia and Windblade continue to search for Swindle's body as Airachnid surreptitiously racks up a mnemosurgical murder spree, while [[Blast Off (G1)|Blast Off]] joins the Badgeless to bring down their organization from within. {{storylink|Things We Said We'd Never Do}} Their inquiry ends when Rattrap and Wheeljack reveal the location of Swindle's body. The Combaticons use the Enigma to probe Swindle's mind and merge into [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]], who attacks Iacon. Ironhide's new recruits bring down the combiner, but in the aftermath Chromia confesses to her old crimes and is sent to jail. {{storylink|The Line Between Us}}

Prompted by Getaway, Perceptor manages to find "the [[Warren]]", a series of quantum tunnels that the Lost Light crew can use to reach Cyberutopia, but this "victory" is stymied by the Lost Light finally receiving the "last will and testament" of the crew, broadcast from Necroworld, which reveals their apparent imminent deaths at the hands of the Decepticon Justice Division. Despite Getaway's flustered insistence that the transmission is a fake, the crew is horrified and wants to go back for them, leading Getaway to use his nudge gun to memory-wipe Thunderclash and Riptide, though—unbeknownst to him—it fails on the latter. Getaway has Froid and Sunder released from the ship's brig so that Sunder can use his remote mnemosurgery abilities to trap Thunderclash in a memory loop and make the crew forget the transmission; though Getaway initially balks at Sunder's demand for twenty-five [[life cord]]s to feast on in exchange, he quickly comes around. {{storylink|The Plotters' Club (Part 2): Filling in the Blanks|Filling in the Blanks}}

The [[President of the United States]], furious at the EDC's recent failures, dissolves the organization in favor of [[Joe Colton (Dire Wraith)|Joe Colton]], leading a revitalized team of [[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]] veterans. {{storylink|White Light}} What she doesn't know is that Joe Colton and several G.I. Joe troopers have been replaced by [[Dire Wraith]]s. {{storylink|Concorde Hymn}} The real Colton, having survived the Dire Wraith attack, takes on the identity of Baron Ironblood and joins up with Garrison Kreiger, intending to solve the Cybertronian problem by other means. {{storylink|Ghost in the Machine (IDW)|Ghost in the Machine}}

[[File:WhiteLight-bodyjackinginfinitus.jpg|thumb|right|250px|"SHUT UP, DAMMIT!"]]

Metrotitan broadcasts a message to the galaxy at large... a message that reaches Cybertron and awakens [[Infinitus]] from his long slumber beneath [[Kaon (polity)|Kaon]]. Disgusted at what Cybertron has become, "Sentinel Prime" returns to life and rampages through Iacon before bridging to Earth. {{storylink|The Last Autobot}} There, he captures G.B. Blackrock and forcibly awakens his "Sovereign" persona {{storylink|White Light}} before leaving for [[Prion]] with Soundwave and Optimus. Claiming to be the herald of Onyx Prime's return, Sentinel attempts and fails to convince Optimus to stand with him. {{storylink|White Light}} Subsequently, Infinitus and Sovereign travel to [[Moonbase One|Luna One]], where Infinitus uses his powers to reactivate the Titan graveyard and send them to "cleanse" Cybertron. Infinitus perishes and Fortress Maximus, Red Alert, and Prowl manage to send his fleet of Titans off-course so that it will take months for them to reach Cybertron. {{storylink|Last Light}}

On Necroworld, the stranded ''Lost Light''ers prepare to attempt re-contact with Cybertron using a [[Skip|convenient alt-mode]] they found amongst the dead Decepticons. Tailgate accepts treatment for his [[Outlier|hyperactive spark]], but a vengeful [[Fangry (G1)|Fangry]] buries him for another six million years {{storylink|After Megatron (A Dissolution Epilogue)|After Megatron}} before taking control of the Necrobots with his fellow Decepticon Disappeared, until Fortress Maximus and his team arrive in response to Team Rodimus's "last will and testament". {{storylink|Sardines}}

The "Rod Squad"'s first stop is [[Troja Major]], where they seek to obtain a new map to Cyberutopia from [[Nautica (G1)|Nautica]]'s contact [[Agonizer]]; however, Nautica has an ulterior motive for travelling to the planet, seeking to use the [[Carthasian]] [[Mengel]]'s Resus Cradle to resurrect Skids from his brain module. Meanwhile, Anode and Lug meet up with her old co-worker [[Wipe-Out]], but soon find themselves under attack from both the Black Block Consortia and the forces of the [[Grand Architect]], led by [[Flame (Marvel)|Flame]]. {{storylink|An Axe to Break the Ice}} Anode, Lug and Wipe-Out escape, and Flame's troops instead pursue their more important target—a newborn Transformer known as the "[[Infinite]]", capable of turning into anything—to Mengel's lab. Nautica manages to break out of Mengel's siphon and escape from the Grand Architect's men before losing her friendship with Velocity, which Mengel had demanded as payment for Skids's resurrection, but loses her emotional connection to her memories of Skids in the process. Flame and his men recover the Resus Cradle, which is actually the Magnificence, and deliver it to Scorponok. {{storylink|Chasing the Infinite}}

[[File:TheNewColossus-thisendsnow.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Behold the power of brand synergy*! (* [[Synergy]] not included.)]]

Several months pass, and humanity and Cybertronians uneasily coexist on Earth in spite of the Autobot's continued humanitarian efforts. {{storylink|Concorde Hymn}} All this changes when extradimensional warlord [[Baron Karza]], hailing from [[Micronus Prime]]'s dying dimension of [[Microspace]], sets his sights on Earth's ample supplies of [[Ore-13]], which he can use to save his universe. {{storylink|The New Colossus}} He cuts a deal with the [[Dire Wraith]]s and [[Miles Mayhem]] and begins transporting supplies of the ore into his dimension, which has the side effect of destabilizing the ore on Earth and threatening the planet with nuclear annihilation. {{storylink|Concorde Hymn}} Believing the Cybertronians at fault, “Colton” seeks out Miles Mayhem, who gears up to deploy [[M.A.S.K.]] in the field by using his captive [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] as a source of scientific development. {{storylink|Secret Raiders: A Revolution Prelude|Secret Raiders}}

Colton deploys G.I. Joe in [[Portland]] against Jazz and Arcee; during the battle, [[Rom]] arrives and immediately kills the false Colton. {{storylink|Concorde Hymn}} The Autobots pursue Rom while [[Windblade (G1)|Windblade]] relocates to Earth to deal with the malfunctioning Metrotitan, and a [[Cityspeaker|cityspeaking]] session catapults her into Microspace. {{storylink|Informed}} Thundercracker defends the President from a Dire Wraith incursion {{storylink|Thundercracker & Buster Save the World}} while [[Action Man]] leads a daring heist to rescue Kup from MASK captivity. {{storylink|The Modern World}} The heroic [[Micronaut]]s cut a deal with their nemesis Karza and travel to our dimension. {{storylink|The New Colossus}}

[[File:ValleyForge-MonsterKarza.jpg|thumb|right|250px|"''Enerchange''."]]
The Scavengers briefly stop by Earth, where they befriend washed-up G.I. Joe recruit [[MP3]] and Crankcase's [[CONS4EVA|online boyfriend]]—in reality a pacifistic Dire Wraith—as part of a mystical "[[Crossover]]". {{storylink|Nothing Will Ever Be the Same Again!}} Abandoned by Galvatron's Decepticons, Skywarp throws his lot in with the newest incarnation of G.I. Joe, a grudging alliance until the humans can repair the Seeker's onboard teleportation systems. {{storylink|D.T.A.}}

Miles Mayhem, M.A.S.K., and the Dire Wraiths launch an assault on Autobot City, which turns into a free-for-all when Baron Karza arrives. Only by teaming up do the heroes manage to force the villain back into Microspace and neutralize Earth's remaining stores of Ore-13. In the aftermath, Optimus Prime and his new allies realize that they will have to defend Earth together, as equals. {{storylink|Valley Forge}}

[[File:Desperate Times - Depth Of My Pettiness.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Nothing more need be said.]]

Windblade returns to Cybertron just in time for Sentinel Prime's fleet of [[zombie|undead]] titans to make planetfall on Cybertron. The Republic of Cybertron musters its defenses and prepares to fight back… {{storylink|Ping}} but their efforts aren't enough, and as a result Starscream orders his troops to storm [[Vigilem|Carcer]] against the wishes of its commander [[Elita One (G1)|Elita One]] and force the Titan to transform. {{storylink|Desperate Times}} Windblade joins the infiltration team, but is horrified when she learns she has awoken Vigilem after years of slumber. {{storylink|Desperate Measures (Till All Are One)|Desperate Measures}} Vigilem destroys the zombie Titans, but proves too much for Windblade to control. Metroplex releases Chromia to help her, and Elita One manages to kill the Titan… but not before Vigilem disgorges Liege Maximo, the Prime teleporting away to places unknown. {{storylink|Rubicon}}

Baron Karza, having built a new army after being sent back to Microspace, invades Earth to create a new home for his people; Enerchanging with Micronus Prime's body, Karza uses its power to defeat and capture Optimus Prime, Arcee and Jazz, while his forces neutralise M.A.S.K. and G.I. Joe. {{storylink|Wrath of Karza issue 1|Wrath of Karza #1}} Though his armies almost manage to conquer the planet, he is stopped by the Micronauts, who release the Autobots from Karza's orbital prison to fight him. {{storylink|Wrath of Karza issue 4|Wrath of Karza #4}} Karza is forced to team up with the Autobots when his wife, [[Shazraella]], starts using the power of the Entropy Cloud that has consumed Microspace, but they are unable to defeat her. Shazraella is eventually stopped when the Micronauts' leader, [[Oziron Rael]], ascends to become one of the Time Travelers and separates her from the source of her power; the Time Travelers arrange to have spacebridges created between Microspace and Earth, with Optimus pledging to help welcome any ambassadors of Microspace to the planet. {{storylink|Wrath of Karza issue 5|Wrath of Karza #5}}
{{-}}

===2017===
[[File:ToWalkAmongTheChosen-NewAutobots.jpg|thumb|right|250px|They'll let anyone be 'chosen' these days.]]
Optimus Prime's adventures prove inspirational enough to recruit a whole new generation of idealistic Autobots, recruited from the colonies and religiously devoted to their leader. With his new recruits, Prime and the Autobots continue their mission of global peacekeeping while preparing Earth to join the Council. This uneasy status quo is thrown into doubt when the [[Junkion (species)|Junkion]]s arrive on Earth, hoping to rebuild their world using Earth's supplies of Ore-13. {{storylink|New Cybertron Part 1: To Walk Among the Chosen|To Walk Among the Chosen}} A series of mutual misunderstandings caused by Prime's increasing ruthlessness escalate the crisis to the point of all-out war between the Transformers and Junkions, as Soundwave uses Megatron's ''original'' words to turn the Junkions' servant [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticons]] against their masters, {{storylink|New Cybertron Part 5: Future Glories Lost|Future Glories Lost}} but Optimus salvages the situation at the last moment by convincing his troops to lay down arms. {{storylink|New Cybertron End: Feel Safe Without Regrets|Feel Safe Without Regrets}}

The Junkions relocate to an abandoned EDC base to start the construction of "[[Little Cybertron]]", but [[Slide]], who has lost her brother [[Oiler]] in the hostilities, is unable to forgive the Junkions and finds herself being groomed by an increasingly ambitious Pyra Magna, who has grown tired of Prime's leadership, {{storylink|What It's Really Like}} even as Optimus and Pyra tentatively bury their hatchet...for now. {{storylink|Ghost Stories}} Jazz, in an effort to increase understanding between humans and Cybertronians, agrees to an interview with [[Hector Ramirez]], but the interview is used as a trap by G.I. Joe, who seek to apprehend him for his killing of John Powell years before. Jazz escapes thanks to a tip-off from Optimus Prime. {{storylink|What It's Really Like}}

[[File:LostLight12 smite the abomination.jpg|thumb|left|260px|Who would win? a) A powerful gestalt being formed of six Autobots through mystical and ancient technology b) One sword-wielding boi]]
After months in space,<ref>James Roberts intended the time-span between "The Dying of the Light" and "[[Sardines]]" to be only three weeks, but that is ''right'' out; as "Sardines" takes place parallel to [[the Mutineers Trilogy]] and "[[The Ties That Bind]]"/"[[Kill All 'Cons]]", it has to be after ''[[Revolution]]'', which is set months after the events of "All Hail Optimus" and "The Dying of the Light".</ref> the Protectobots and [[Mirage (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Mirage]] catch up with the ''Lost Light'' where they are all, First Aid in particular, caught off guard by the change in command and the resulting changes aboard ship as well the myriad of suspicious activities and attitudes. At a private meeting, they are approached by [[Riptide (G1)|Riptide]] who confesses the truth behind the mutiny against Rodimus and his role therein. Simultaneously however, Getaway and his loyalists corner them forcing the Protectobots into a running firefight to try and escape the ship only to be subdued and placed within a memory loop, {{storylink|The Plotters' Club (Part 1): Full Circle|Full Circle}} while Riptide is forced into the ship's oil reservoir, which has been filled with [[scraplet]]s. {{storylink|The Plotters' Club (Part 2): Filling in the Blanks|Filling in the Blanks}} To secure his control of the ship, Getaway contacts Star Saber, hiring him as an enforcer.

In order to deal with his co-conspirator [[Atomizer]]'s growing doubts, Getaway forces him to execute the comatose [[Rook (Generations)|Rook]] to prevent the Protectobots from forming Defensor; however, Riptide, who survived his dip in the oil reservoir, awakens the comatose Autobots to help them escape. The Protectobots retrieve the corpse of Ambulon from the ship's morgue to use as the combiner's leg, but even the combined might of Thunderclash, Mirage and Defensor is no match for Star Saber, who cuts them down where they stand. Thunderclash, Riptide and First Aid are able to escape the ship thanks to Atomizer turning on Getaway, but the captain murders Atomizer with his bare hands in response. {{storylink|The Plotters' Club (Part 3): Journey's End|Journey's End}}

During a misadventure on the planet [[Frayus]], the Scavengers are caught in a three-way fight between the Galactic Council, the Black Block Consortia, and Deathsaurus and Nickel's Decepticons. They are rescued by Agonizer, who uses a portal to bring them to Troja Major, with Nickel inadvertently being brought with them. {{storylink|The Plotters' Club (Part 3): Journey's End|Journey's End}} Agonizer hires the Scavengers to retrieve the Magnificence from Flame on the planet [[Confluence]], but after they arrive they are captured by Flame's master Scorponok, who renders Grimlock unconscious with a word. When Grimlock is reawakened, the enraged Autobot attacks the Scavengers, {{storylink|The Ties That Bind}} but Nickel realizes that Grimlock is more communicative in dinosaur mode, and is able to have Spinister surgically replicate the effect in his robot form, restoring Grimlock to his "old self". Cornering Scorponok, the Scavengers learn that he has created an organic baby called the [[Firstborn]], the first of a race of "organic Decepticons" containing Cybertronian sparks; when Flame calls for reinforcements, the Scavengers take the Firstborn and the Magnificence and flee to the ship's transmat suite to escape. However, when the Magnificence informs them that the transmat process would be lethal to the Firstborn, Grimlock takes the baby to protect it and shoves the others through the portal, before destroying the device so that Scorponok's men cannot follow. {{storylink|Kill All 'Cons}} The portal takes the group to [[Mederi]], an ancient medical facility designed to allow terminally ill patients to die happy through an telepathic "happy ending"; the illusion leads the Scavengers to perceive the facility as Grimlock's cell in Garrus-9. {{storylink|The Everlasting Voices (3): You Are Here|You Are Here}}

[[File:LostLight17 Who the Hell are You.jpg|thumb|right|200px|''[[Avengers|Infinity War]]'' is looking great!]]
Aboard Skip, tensions start to flare during a prank war between the bored Swerve and Anode; things come to a head when the crew recieve news from Fortress Maximus on Necroworld that Tailgate has apparently spontaneously combusted, leading a grief-stricken Cyclonus to inadvertently wound Rewind with his Great Sword. As fighting breaks out aboard the ship, Skip's [[Size changing|mass-shifting]] begins wearing off, causing the dead Decepticon to shrink, threatening to crush the crew. {{storylink|Sardines}} Ten, having suddenly and inexplicably gained the ability to speak, attempts to rally the other Autobots to save the de-materializing Ratchet by plotting a course for Mederi, but the mass-displacement fails and the Autobots are exposed to the [[compressed space]] outside, causing them to crash on the artificial moon; because of Cyclonus's desire to see Tailgate again, the facility presents itself to them as the [[Transformer afterlife|Afterspark]], complete with illusory versions of their dead friends to welcome them. {{storylink|The Everlasting Voices (1): Metastasis|Metastasis}} {{storylink|The Everlasting Voices (3): You Are Here|You Are Here}}

However, the Mederi illusion is imperfect; Nautica's loss of her connection to Skids allows her to walk into the Scavengers (causing the illusion to fail when they see conflicting environments), while Ratchet's scepticism leads him, Rodimus, Drift and Ultra Magnus to the device controlling the illusion, which they destroy. {{storylink|The Everlasting Voices (2): The God War}} {{storylink|The Everlasting Voices (3): You Are Here|You Are Here}} Realising where they are, Rodimus's group figures out what happened, and Rodimus comes to the conclusion that Mederi ''is'' Cyberutopia, the dying Knights having been fooled by the illusion into believing that they had found a new, perfect Cybertron. Ultra Magnus manages to inform the crew of the truth in time to prevent all of them except for Nightbeat and Ten from being killed by "ascension", causing all of the "ghosts" to fade away — except Tailgate, revealed to still be alive — but as soon as the three groups reunite (with the intention of returning to Cybertron), they are set upon by the mutineers of the ''Lost Light'', transformed into monstrous Sparkeaters. {{storylink|The Everlasting Voices (3): You Are Here|You Are Here}}

On Cybertron, Starscream—increasingly "haunted" by the "ghost" of Bumblebee {{storylink|Ghost Stories}}—picks up the pieces from the leftover Titan crisis; as part of a deal between himself and the Mistress of Flame, he releases Chromia into the Mistress's custody so that she can hunt down and kill Liege Maximo. {{storylink|Heavy}} He subsequently has Airachnid alter the memories of the Combaticons and turn them into loyal bodyguards for his own purposes. {{storylink|The Price of You}} Meanwhile Bludgeon reawakens Trypticon, intending to lay waste to the galaxy in the name of Cybertron; the Dinobots, Sandstorm, and Trypticon defeat him, sparks Bludgeon had harvested from the Alyon hotspot subsequently developing into a wave of newborn protoforms within the belly of the beastial Titan. Starscream takes Bludgeon into custody, and manages to revive Slug—who was killed by Sandstorm while hunting Bludgeon—using a corrupted Sweep spark. {{storylink|The Transformers: Salvation|Salvation}} {{storylink|The Dead Come Home, Part 1 (of 2)|The Dead Come Home, Part 1}}

[[File:StrangeVisitors-CenturionMeetsTheAutobots.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Remember me, from two-thirds up the page? I still exist!]]

In the country of [[Schleteva]], G.B. Blackrock investigates the Talisman and provokes a crisis aboveground when his recklessness transforms civilians into Dire Wraiths. {{storylink|Crisis Intervention}} He, [[Action Man]], [[Ayana Jones]], and Kup team up to chase the Talisman across the globe and beyond in the hopes of returning Ayana's G.I. Joe comrades to normal, encountering a villainous alliance—the [[Iron Ring]]—of foes such as [[Joe Colton|Baron Ironblood]], the [[Predacon (G1)|Predacon]]s, {{storylink|The Iron Klaw}} and [[Centurion (IDW)|Centurion]], the last of the living Maximal Autobots... even as the frozen corpse of Domitius Major is examined by the forces of Ironblood and [[Merklynn|Garrison Kreiger]]. {{storylink|Strange Visitors}} The Revolutionaries break into Kreiger's [[Project Ice Man]] compound and capture Kreiger while also reuniting with the time lost [[Sgt. Savage]]. {{storylink|Power and Glory}} Before they can transfer the Talisman and Kreiger over to G.I. Joe however, Baron Ironblood attacks with Savage unmasking him as Joe Colton. {{storylink|When Eagles Scream}} Blackrock proves able to use his connection to the Talisman and his Titan Master powers to heal the infected the mutates Verenyans via Metrotitan's Space Bridge, a wave that somehow releases the consciousness of the deceased [[Atomic Man|Mike Power]] into the body of Centurion. Nonetheless, Colton's alliance proves able to escape with the Talisman with it sending another mutagenic wave that the new Centurion shields Action Man from before returning to life and explaining his recovery. {{storylink|Ghost in the Machine (IDW)|Ghost in the Machine}}

[[Windblade's doctor]] informs Starscream of his discovery that Vigilem downloaded his mind into Windblade's before his death, and that it is slowly killing her. After some deliberation, Starscream has Airachnid connect his mind to Windblade's so that he can save her, despite the risk to his own life. {{storylink|If I Know You}} Entering Windblade's mind, he intervenes to stop Vigilem from killing her, but Vigilem begins to take control of Starscream's body. However, on looking into Starscream's memories, Windblade sees his creation through cold construction; in response, she "forges" Starscream's spark to create a projection of his"true form"—the form he would have taken had he been forged, rather constructed cold. With Starscream forcing Vigilem back into Windblade's mind, she destroys the Titan within her spark, allowing the two to awaken. {{storylink|Your First Mistake}}

With Sideswipe's health increasingly deteriorating, the Autobots humanely shut down his CR chamber. {{storylink|The Life of Sideswipe}} Soon afterwards, Alpha Trion recounts the origin of the Autobot symbol to Optimus Prime, Starscream and Pyra Magna before the President calls to announce that [[Marissa Faireborn]] has been chosen to represent Earth on the Council of Worlds. {{storylink|Origin Myths}}

[[File:FirstStrike6-Merklynn.jpg|thumb|right|270px|"I turned myself into an alien wizard, Colton! Boom! Big reveal!"]]
At the official induction ceremony, Colton's alliance attacks {{storylink|First Strike issue 1|First Strike #1}} before heading into the depths of [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] to deploy the Talisman, {{storylink|First Strike issue 2|First Strike #2}} leaving behind their army of [[Iron Grenadier]]s, [[Dreadnok]]s and [[Red Shadows]], with [[Doctor Mindbender]] in the Baron Ironblood costume as a distraction. {{storylink|First Strike issue 3|First Strike #3}} During the attack, the mercenary [[Colditz]] and a trio of Red Shadows are sent to retrieve the Centurion/Mike Power hybrid, who apparently willingly rejoins his side, kidnapping Blackrock in the process. Arcee and the remaining "[[Revolutionaries (team)|Revolutionaries]]" head into the Cybertronian wilderness after them. {{storylink|Unification Day: Dawn}} Centurion actually intends to take revenge on Kreiger, but Colditz has actually been ordered to take him into the wilderness to ensure that he doesn't interfere with the villain's plans with his connection to the Talisman. The Revolutionaries manage to talk the overloading Centurion down, but he is left in [[stasis lock]] and unable to help them against the Iron Ring. {{storylink|Unification Day: Dusk}}

Meanwhile on Earth, [[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]] and [[M.A.S.K.]] contact [[Soundwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Soundwave]] to reach Cybertron and stop Colton, {{storylink|First Strike issue 2|First Strike #2}} only to be thrown in jail under charges of suspicion by Starscream. Sunstreaker and Ironhide head underground to try and kill Colton but the human general manages to outmaneuver them and escape Metroplex. {{storylink|First Strike issue 4|First Strike #4}} Optimus Prime breaks the Joes out of prison, to Windblade's disappointment, and—along with Soundwave and a returning Arcee—head to the core of Cybertron, managing to beat the villains there. {{storylink|First Strike issue 5|First Strike #5}} Despite the intervention of Starscream, Elita One and Obsidian, who attempt to arrest or kill everyone present, Colton's alliance is prevented from reaching the core; however, Kreiger—actually the alien wizard Merklynn—activates the device where they are, using it to magically alter the whole planet's energon and transform a portion of Cybertron into [[New Prysmos|a replica]] of his lost homeworld [[Prysmos]], from which he intends to conquer the galaxy. A broken, defeated Colton and his allies are taken into custody on Cybertron. {{storylink|First Strike issue 6|First Strike #6}}

In response to Merklynn's actions, Cybertron uses almost half its energy to beam a signal—"Welcome. Death."—into space, where it finds its target in the orbit of a black hole: [[Unicron/Generation 1|Unicron]]. {{storylink|First Strike issue 6|The Signal}}

[[File:OP13 prowl and the gang.jpg|thumb|left|150px|There's a war going on! And it's time that you knew Every lad in this land has his duty to do.]]
While G.I. Joe and the Cybertronians deal with Colton's attack, [[Aileron]] leads a team of colonists to search for the missing Jazz on Earth, eventually finding him under attack by humans in [[Oaxaca]]. {{storylink|Primeless, Part 1}} Though Jazz and the colonists succeed in tracking the Cybertronian weapons the humans were using to their source ([[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] and [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]], posing as humans via [[holomatter]] avatars), Jazz is angry and upset that Optimus Prime didn't attempt to find him or deal with the weapons, and heads off on his own once more. {{storylink|Primeless, Part 2}} Meanwhile, other villains take advantage of the absence of G.I. Joe and Autobot City's leadership, such as [[V.E.N.O.M.]] (now under the employ of Cobra) {{storylink|G.I. Joe: First Strike}} and the Dire Wraiths. {{istorylink|Micronauts: First Strike}}

Discovering from Centurion that protoforms once again exist on Cybertron, Optimus and his allies confront Starscream over his knowledge of the active hot spot. Starscream takes Prime to see the resurrected Slug, who agrees to help track down the Dinobots and the protoforms; however, when Optimus's team finds Centurion, the Dinobots and Sandstorm in the wilderness, Bludgeon uses his [[Void Scepter]] from afar to drive Slug into a murderous rage over his teammates working with his killer. {{storylink|The Dead Come Home, Part 1 (of 2)|The Dead Come Home, Part 2}} After Slug is calmed down, Trypticon, wishing to protect the protoforms, emerges from the ground to demand an end to the fighting; this prompts Optimus to declare Trypticon to be the Earth embassy on Cybertron, preventing him from having to turn the protoforms over to Starscream's government. Meanwhile, Prowl and his allies rescue the surviving Throttlebots on Regalis V from Onyx Prime's beast army in the ''[[Peaceful Revolution]]'', acting on intelligence provided by Pyra Magna. {{storylink|The Dead Come Home, Part 2 (of 2)|The Dead Come Home, Part 2}}

{{-}}

===2018===
Thundercracker's attempts to write a biopic of G.I. Joe agent [[Chuckles]] are interrupted by Starscream, who asks Thundercracker to make a film about his life. Thundercracker eagerly sets to the task, though he is stymied by the seemingly impossible task of portraying Starscream both positively and honestly. {{storylink|Starscream: The Movie (comic)|Starscream: The Movie}}

[[File:TheChosenOne-imsorry.jpg|thumb|right|300px|"[[Bulkhead (Animated)|Oops. My bad.]]"]]
On returning to her seat on the Council of Worlds, Windblade is outraged to learn that the council have not yet told the public about Liege Maximo's escape, and informs the planet of the truth herself. Though she is expelled from the council, when Starscream calls free elections as demanded by Elita One, she agrees to run for office. Starscream, meanwhile, is haunted by his experience within Windblade's mind and the vision of what he could have been, and when the electoral debate comes, he confesses to his crimes in full for all to hear. Starscream, along with his co-conspirators Airachnid, Rattrap and the Combaticons, are all arrested, and Windblade goes on to win the election and be declared the "first delegate", the new ruler of Cybertron. {{storylink|The Chosen One}}

Thundercracker, on learning of Starscream's arrest, is not dissuaded from his filmmaking, seeing it as the perfect ending to the movie. Not wanting the fairly-accurate-but-kind-of-terrible film released, the imprisoned Starscream has a message sent to two Badgeless, who attempt to kill Thundercracker to prevent the film's release. Thundercracker manages to kill his two attackers, and returns to Earth... where he finds out that all interest in the film is dead in the water. {{storylink|Starscream: The Movie (comic)|Starscream: The Movie}}

[[File:OP17 Everything is Shockwave's fault.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.6|"IT'S ME, OPTIMUS! IT'S ME, OPTIMUS! IT WAS ME ALL ALONG, OPTIMUS! YOU ALL BOUGHT IT! YOU ALL BOUGHT IT—HOOK, LINE, AND SINKER! EVEN [[Liege Maximo|MY FAMILY]]—EVEN [[The Fallen|MY IMMEDIATE FAMILY]] BOUGHT IT!"]]
Optimus Prime, Marissa Faireborn and the President of the United States inaugurate an Ore-13 mine in Kentucky, staffed by human, Cybertronian, and Junkion alike; the ore is refined into energon and shipped to Cybertron, compensating for Merklynn's magical tainting of their fuel supply. However, the arrival of the first shipment is overshadowed—quite literally—by the arrival of Onyx Prime's enormous eyeball-shaped ship [[Nemesis (BWII)|''Nemesis'']] in the skies above Iacon. Onyx Prime, with a chained Liege Maximo at his feet, demands to speak to Optimus Prime, who he calls "the Arisen". {{storylink|The Falling, Chapter 1: Surfeit of Primes|Surfeit of Primes}} While Soundwave attempts and fails to read the mind of Liege Maximo, arguing breaks out between Onyx, the Council of Worlds, and Optimus; things reach a head when Soundwave enters the council chambers, and is enraged to see Optimus defending Onyx. Just as Alpha Trion realises the truth of Onyx's identity, an explosion rips through the [[Spire]] and kills Trion, which Onyx blames on Soundwave. {{storylink|The Falling, Chapter 2: Another Mine|Another Mine}} Liege Maximo vanishes from captivity in the chaos, while Onyx stokes dissent and confusion by impugning Optimus's allies, revealing the truth that Soundwave killed Horri-Bull to the furious Decepticons.

With fighting breaking out in the city streets, Onyx boards his skiff to return to the ''Nemesis''; meanwhile, Devastator forms to forcibly "rescue" Starscream from prison, while Metrotitan travels from Earth to Cybertron and submits to the command of the "chosen one", firing on Onyx's vessel. As the situation gets further out of control, Metrotitan refuses to obey Optimus's orders to stand down and fires on him and Windblade, sending Optimus falling to the ground; Onyx catches him aboard the skiff and has the ''Nemesis'' return fire, knocking Metrotitan to the ground. After subduing the furious Optimus, Onyx tears his "face" off, revealing his true identity as Shockwave. {{storylink|The Falling, Chapter 3: The Ground|The Ground}}

Explaining what happened to him and how he became "Onyx" to Optimus, Shockwave has the ''Nemesis'' take them to the Crystal City singularity and throws Optimus in so that he may share Shockwave's enlightenment. {{storylink|The Falling, Interlude: The First Who Was Named|The First Who Was Named}} With the discovery of his "true self" and the prophecies surrounding him seemingly adding up into a chance to become the savior Cybertron needs, Starscream has Devastator carry him to the fallen Metrotitan, where for one moment he believes he really ''does'' have some grand destiny... only for Shockwave to show up and mock him with the revelation that the entire prophecy was the result of his manipulations to place a fool like Starscream on the throne of Cybertron, before murdering Metrotitan. Within the singularity, Optimus — now finding himself in [[infraspace]] once more — reunites with Bumblebee, whose ghostly form is dragged away from Starscream to meet with his old leader. {{storylink|The Falling, Chapter 4: The Hallowing|The Hallowing}}

With Shockwave's machinations having sowed chaos across Iacon, Scoop's religious faith drives him and the other Constructicons on as Devastator, taking on Victorion out of a sheer single-minded intent to prove that Starscream is a reincarnation of the treacherous [[The Fallen|Megatronus]]. In the meantime,Optimus devises a means of escaping from Infraspace, using the Matrix as a means of generating an escape back to the real world. {{storylink|The Falling, Chapter 5: Endless Forever|Endless Forever}} Ultimately, Arcee succeeds in killing Liege Maximo, Victorion triumphs over Devastator, and the minds of Optimus and Bumblebee come to inhabit Pyra Magna's body. Ultimately, Shockwave is taken prisoner, and Pyra is treated to disentangle the minds of Optimus and Bumblebee from her own. {{storylink|The Falling, Chapter 6: Unforgivable|Unforgivable}}

During Optimus's convalescence, Ironhide and Kup are sent to attempt diplomatic negotiations with the [[Prysmosian]] inhabitants of [[New Prysmos]]. While Wheeljack discovers that the Talisman is tunnelling towards Cybertron's core and threatening to finish what Merklynn started, a faction of Visionaries called the [[Darkling Lord]]s—covertly urged on by Merklynn—attempt to conquer Cybertron for themselves, their leader [[Virulina]] murdering Kup with magic. [[Leoric]] and his [[Spectral Knight]]s oppose Virulina's plan, and ally with Ironhide's team to stop them; though they succeed in preventing the Darkling Lords' conquest, a reaction between [[Galadria]]'s magics and Wheeljack's bomb rockets New Prysmos to the surface of Cybertron and surrounds it with a swathe of organic grass. Merklynn is imprisoned for his misdeeds, and is left dejected and fatalistic by his realisation that all he did was for naught, as his actions have summoned Unicron. {{storylink|Transformers vs. Visionaries}}

Learning of Kup's death, Springer and Verity Carlo attempt to meet up with Impactor, but are embroiled in Mayhem's anti-faction scheme in the process — which, in turn, causes Verity's kidnapping by Overlord, who has been working on Earth with Tarantulas on the [[Timemaze]], a gateway allowing access to other times and alternate timelines. Though Impactor sacrifices himself to save Springer and Verity, Overlord is dealt with by sending the two halves of his body into different time periods, and Tarantulas dies in the arms of his "son". Leaving a message to the surviving Wreckers and their allies asking that they make sure nobody has to do what the Wreckers did again, Springer departs into the Timemaze in the hope of changing history for the better by preventing the war. {{storylink|Transformers: Requiem of the Wreckers|Requiem of the Wreckers}}

==Alternate timelines==
===''Spotlight: Mirage''===
[[File:SLMirage prime stabbed.jpg|thumb|right|200px|"Megatron's greatest mistake was in ever allowing you to ''live'', Prime!"]]
The [[Decepticon]] [[Mirage (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Mirage]] tracks the ailing Autobots to the [[Pegasus Star Cluster]], where he briefly succeeds in taking Optimus Prime hostage before perishing. {{storylink|Spotlight: Mirage}}

{{note|The issue is vague on whether this sequence of events is merely a dream by the "real" Mirage or a supernatural glimpse into a true alternate timeline. [[Mistakes and Mayhem|A later issue]] would go on to explain Mirage’s hallucination as a side-effect from a long-running medical condition. However, in that same issue, he experiences several accurate premonitions of future events, which leaves the original question up in the air.}}
{{-}}

===Hail and Farwell===
====2008====
Two years after becoming a Headmaster, [[Hunter O'Nion]] continues to have adventures with his partner Sunstreaker, their minds permanently fusing into a new, singular entity. {{storylink|Hail and Farewell}}

{{note|"Hail and Farewell" was declared canonical when it was first published online. However, the subsequent truncation of author [[Simon Furman]]'s intended story arcs and the subsequent ''All Hail Megatron'' storyline, which among other things, saw Hunter horribly tortured and killed, means that this sequence of events is incompatible with the mainstream timeline.}}
{{-}}

===Pax Cybertronia===
====15 million CE====
[[File:PaxCybertronia-IronhideAndKids.jpg|thumb|right|200px|And stay off his lawn.]]
In a far-distant future, the Great War is over and the Decepticons have perished. An ancient [[Ironhide (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ironhide]], the last surviving veteran of the Great War, tells war stories to a [[Autobot youth|new generation]] of Cybertronians on [[Gorlam Prime]] alongside [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]]. {{storylink|Pax Cybertronia (issue)|Pax Cybertronia}}

{{note|This sequence of events was later established to be a vision that both Ironhide and Jhiaxus experienced during the reformation of Cybertron following the events of the ''Chaos'' miniseries, calling into question if it was a definite glimpse of the future or merely a vision of what might be. The apparent destruction of Gorlam Prime in the main timeline suggests that this particular future may not ever come to pass.}}
{{-}}

===Functionist timeline===
{{main|Functionist Universe}}
====5 million BCE====
[[File:AWorldMisplaced-TheTakeover.jpg|thumb|right|250px|"So this is how liberty dies; with thunderous applause."]]
Megatron perishes on the date of his cold construction. Without Megatron's writings to upheave Cybertronian society, the Senate grows increasingly controlling, and eventually clashes with the Functionist Council regarding the use of Nova Prime's spark stockpiles. When the Senate seals [[Vector Sigma]] behind a wall of impenetrable [[ununtrium]], the Council overthrows the Senate, kills Nominus Prime, and institutes hardline Functionism across Cybertron, {{storylink|Dissolution Part 3: A World Misplaced|A World Misplaced}} periodically altering the [[Grand Cybertronian Taxonomy]] to declare "[[mass recall]]s" of "obsolete" Transformers. {{storylink|The Custom-Made Now - An Elegant Chaos Prologue|The Custom-Made Now}}

====2014====
Following the dissolution of the [[Primal Vanguard]], Minimus Ambus returns to Cybertron to find [[Dominus Ambus|his brother]] an [[empurata]] victim. Rewind dies in a mass recall. {{storylink|The Custom-Made Now - An Elegant Chaos Prologue|The Custom-Made Now}}

====2016====
[[File:ThisMachineKillsFascists-GiantRung.jpg|thumb|left|Rung digs giant robots.]]
A [[geobomb]] accident sends the crew of the ''Lost Light'' to Functionist Cybertron. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 1: Some Other Cybertron|Some Other Cybertron}} They battle the forces of the Council with the [[Anti-Vocationist League]] in their quest to return home, as the Council deploys [[Moonbase Two|Luna 2]] to "harvest" Cybertronians for reforging into [[M.T.O.|crusaders]] to cleanse the universe of everything not having a role in the eyes of Primus. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 5: Modes of Production|Modes of Production}} The crew manages to return to the main timeline victorious, but Megatron and Terminus are accidentally left behind. Megatron takes command of the League and prepares to start his revolution anew, as it always ''should'' have been. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 6: This Machine Kills Fascists|This Machine Kills Fascists}}
{{-}}

==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Chronologies]]
[[Category:Generation 1 history]]
[[Category:IDW Generation 1| ]]

Minimus Ambus

2018-08-02T19:29:22Z

Egg: Moved the altmode line

{{factions|autobot}}
{{disambig2|the Generation 1 Autobot|the ''Robots in Disguise'' Decepticon|Minitron}}
:''Minimus Ambus is an [[Autobot]] from the [[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW portion]] of the [[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[File:MTMTE18 minimus ambus.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|I'm here to subvert your [[Dreamwave Productions|Dreamwave]]-spawned expectations.]]
'''Minimus Ambus''', true to his name, is a tiny dude. This diminutive robot has always had big dreams, however, wishing to be the kind of venerated Autobot who holds the line against evil and serves as a soldier in the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]]. Despite his small stature, Minimus Ambus is a type of [[Point One Percenter]]. As a "load-bearer", he has a specially-empowered [[spark]] that allows his body to survive drastic physical augmentations.

He is the spark brother of [[Dominus Ambus]], with whom he shares their [[House]]'s [[Facial hair|distinctive facial insignia]] and presumably his birthplace, [[Ambustus Minor]]. While Minimus does love his brother, he's also always felt overshadowed by Dominus's long string of accomplishments. It probably doesn't help that Minimus is usually a stiff, laconic sort, not very good at expressing what feelings he has.

{{TOCclear}}

==Fiction==
===IDW Generation 1 continuity===
{{main|Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity}}

{{first|[[Escalation issue 1|''Escalation'' #1]] (as Ultra Magnus); [[Remain in Light 1 of 5: The Fecund Moon|''More than Meets the Eye'' #17]] (as Minimus Ambus)}}

[[File:Ambus Unveiled.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.15|I'm full of tinier mes!]]

Having devised the [[Magnus Armor]] as a way to keep the legend of the "immortal lawman" [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]] alive after his passing, Chief Justice [[Tyrest (G1)|Tyrest]] selected Minimus Ambus to be the latest Autobot to wear it and serve as the duly-appointed enforcer of the [[Tyrest Accord]]. As Magnus, Minimus had many adventures, incluing hunting [[Scorponok (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Scorponok]] across the galaxy and helping co-ordinate the counterattack against the encroaching forces of the [[Dead Universe]]. Following the end of the war, he befriended the human [[Verity Carlo]] and travelled with her for a time, but when Magnus transported the [[Wrecker]]s on their disastrous mission on [[Garrus-9]], she left him to take part in the action.

Magnus rejoined the Autobots on Earth, causing ructions as he attempted to arrest [[Hot Rod (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rodimus]] for working with Decepticons. After a failed assassination attempt on [[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]], Magnus took command of the Earthbound Autobots as they dealt with the return of [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]]. When Optimus Prime took most of the group back to Cybertron to handle the threat of [[Galvatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Galvatron]], Magnus remained on Earth with a few other law-enforcement Autobots to investigate [[Spike Witwicky (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Spike Witwicky]] and his secret dealings with [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]].

When Cybertron was reborn and Rodimus declared his intentions to seek out the [[Knights of Cybertron]], Magnus signed up for the mission, becoming second-in-command of the ship ''[[Lost Light]]''. Unfortunately, an inability to deal with peacetime led him to suffer a nervous breakdown; he became increasingly obsessive-compulsive about ridiculously minor things, and made life hell for all aboard the ship. The existence of Minimus Ambus was revealed to all aboard the vessel when Magnus was critically injured by the rogue [[Decepticon]] [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]], and the recall trigger built into the Magnus armor returned his body to Tyrest on [[Moonbase One|Luna 1]]. Though healed by the lawmaker, he realized his former superior had gone insane, and helped thwart his plan to exterminate all [[reproduction|Constructed Cold]] Cybertronians. His identity now exposed to his shipmates, Minimus grappled with the fact that he felt they had lost respect for him, but with a little help from [[Ratchet (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ratchet]] and new admirer [[Ten]], he has come to accept his change in circumstance and now splits his time between wearing the Magnus Armor and publicly going without it. Regardless of who he might be underneath the armor, to his friends and crewmates, he is still, and has always been, ''the'' Ultra Magnus.
{{--}}

====The Functionist Universe====
[[File:CustomMadeNow-Minimus.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.67|left|Sharp-looking Ambus, but can he transform?]]
In [[Functionist Universe|an alternate timeline]], Minimus never had to become Magnus and served as a soldier in the [[Primal Vanguard]]. After two million years offworld, keeping in touch with his brother Dominus by video, he finally returned home after a peace deal. He was sickened to see the oppression and casual genocide of Cybertron, and to see his brother had been made an [[empurata]] victim for speaking out, but was unsure about whether to become a full-on rebel. Minimus was not given the chance to decide as a few hours later, the Council began the "mass recall" of all memory sticks.

He drove through streets littered with Cybertronian corpses to warn Rewind and found Dominus's vocabulary had been deleted by the Functionists. Via Dominus's face, the Council taunted him that they'd replaced his optics with cameras on his flight home and he'd been unwittingly spying on his brother. {{storylink|The Custom-Made Now - An Elegant Chaos Prologue|The Custom-Made Now}}
{{-}}

===''Beast Wars: Uprising''===
'''Minimum''' Ambus was goalie for the [[Throttlebot Wanderers]] and a [[Cyberdroid]] from [[Master (planet)|Master]]. He was saddened by the news that Cyberdroids could not play in the [[Maximal]]/[[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] [[Games]], instead being restricted to the Micro Division. {{Storylink|Broken Windshields}}

===Ask Vector Prime===
Various versions of Minimus Ambus across the [[multiverse]] were [[Nebulan]]s, [[Cyberdroid]]s, [[Mini-Con]]s, and [[Micromaster]]s. One Cyberdroid Minimum Ambus underwent the [[Bravemaster]] process to [[Binary bonding|binary bond]] with Ultra Magnus. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime#Facebook|Ask Vector Prime, 2015/07/15}}

==Toys==
===Generations===
====Combiner Wars====
[[File:CombinerWarsMinimusAmbus.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|Judge me by my size, do you?]]
*'''Ultra Magnus''' (Leader Class, [[2015]])

:Minimus Ambus is a ''very'' small mini-figure that comes with ''[[Combiner Wars (toyline)|Combiner Wars]]'' [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/toys#Generations|Ultra Magnus]]. Despite its tiny size, it is based on his "middle" augmentation armor rather than the tiny innermost robot. In robot mode, Minimus can "pilot" the Ultra Magnus robot; he even "wears" the Magnus head like a helmet. He cannot remain inside when the "Magnus Armor" is transformed, but he can transform into a Cybertronian hovercar which can then tab into a set of three grooves on the lower level of the Ultra Magnus trailer.

:[[Andrew Griffith]] worked on the design of the figure and its "cockpit".<ref>https://twitter.com/glovestudios/status/566697537730408449</ref> Many Ultra Magnus toys feature Minimus toys with poor joint tolerances, causing his arms to pop off with minimal resistance.

:He was redecoed into ''[[Transformers Legends (franchise)|Legends]]'' [[Alpha Trion (G1)#Legends|Alpha Trion]].
{{-}}

====Platinum Edition====
[[File:TF-Platinum-Edition-Autobot-Heroes-Minimus-Ambus.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|He was in the movie, he was just inside Ultra Magnus the whole time.]]
*'''Autobot Heroes''' (5-pack, 2016)
**''Accessories'': Springer's weapons (dual missile launcher, two missiles, rotor blades/sword), Arcee's weapons (2 swords), Kup's "laser musket" rifle/exhaust pipe, Ultra Magnus' 2 guns, Blurr's weapons (Sniper rifle, left & right pistols), Minimus Ambus figure

:Part of Hasbro's ''[[Transformers: Platinum Edition|Platinum Edition]]'' offerings for 2016 intended to commemorate the 30th anniversary of ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'', Minimus Ambus (who ''never appeared in the movie'', due to not having been conceived as a character until 2013) is a minor redeco of his original version that was available with ''Combiner Wars'' Leader Class Ultra Magnus. Like the white parts of the redeco of Ultra Magnus he comes with, he is cast in white plastic that is now truly ''white'', compared to the more creamy color of the original version. In addition, he features more light and dark green paint operations on his torso than the original release, both of which are considerably darker and more saturated than the original's lighter, "pearly" green paint operations.

:Ultra Magnus and Minimus Ambus were released as part of 5-pack with [[Arcee (G1)/toys#Platinum Edition|Arcee]], [[Springer (G1)/toys#Platinum Edition|Autobot Springer]], [[Kup (G1)/toys#Platinum Edition|Sergeant Kup]] and [[Blurr (G1)/toys#Platinum Edition|Blurr]]. The set also included a recreation of the theatrical poster for the 1986 movie. In the United States, this set was officially a [[Target]] exclusive, but was only available via the company's website, never sold in stores. It was also released in Singapore, although it's currently unknown whether it was exclusive to any particular stores there or not. In Canada, it was available via the Canadian [[Walmart]] website but never found in sold, whereas in the United Kingdom, it was available via the UK [[Toys"R"Us]] website but again never sold in stores. In Spain, it was available via the Spanish subsidiaries of both [[Amazon (website)|Amazon]] and Carrefour, as well as the department store chain El Corte Inglés, supposedly also only available online. In Germany, it was available via retailer Real and specialty store Rappelkiste Ahlen, also only available online.
{{-}}

==Notes==
*In [[The Custom-Made Now - An Elegant Chaos Prologue|''More than Meets the Eye'' #35]], Minimus is shown capable of transforming into a minesweeper while wearing his secondary augmentation layer. When ''completely'' stripped of all optional equipment however, his design appears far more human-shaped, having absolutely no kibble whatsoever, calling into question whether or not he has an alt mode. His loadbearer spark-brother Dominus Ambus's innermost robot form [[The Dying of the Light Part 4: At Close of Day|DID have an alt mode]], though, so it seems likely Minimus does too.
**Minimus shares his alt mode with his brother, being greener and smaller in size.<ref>https://twitter.com/jroberts332/status/1025042597679714304?s=19</ref>
*Minimus served in the Primal Vanguard in the Functionist timeline but it's not specified if he also served in the main timeline.
*In Latin, "minimus" means "the least, smallest" and "ambus" probably comes from the prefix "ambi-" and so would mean either "both" or "around," thus resulting in a name meaning something like "around the least" or "the smallest of both." Either way, his name contrasts starkly with "Ultra Magnus," which translates to "beyond great."

{{magnusarmor nav}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Beast Wars: Uprising Autobots]]
[[Category:Combiner Wars]]
[[Category:Generation 1 Mini-Cons]]
[[Category:IDW Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Law enforcement]]
[[Category:Micromasters]]
[[Category:Nebulans]]
[[Category:Platinum Edition]]
[[Category:Point One Percenters]]
[[Category:Primal Vanguard]]

Minimus Ambus

2018-08-02T19:27:17Z

Egg: Altmode from Roberts's Twitter

{{factions|autobot}}
{{disambig2|the Generation 1 Autobot|the ''Robots in Disguise'' Decepticon|Minitron}}
:''Minimus Ambus is an [[Autobot]] from the [[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW portion]] of the [[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[File:MTMTE18 minimus ambus.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|I'm here to subvert your [[Dreamwave Productions|Dreamwave]]-spawned expectations.]]
'''Minimus Ambus''', true to his name, is a tiny dude. This diminutive robot has always had big dreams, however, wishing to be the kind of venerated Autobot who holds the line against evil and serves as a soldier in the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]]. Despite his small stature, Minimus Ambus is a type of [[Point One Percenter]]. As a "load-bearer", he has a specially-empowered [[spark]] that allows his body to survive drastic physical augmentations.

He is the spark brother of [[Dominus Ambus]], with whom he shares their [[House]]'s [[Facial hair|distinctive facial insignia]] and presumably his birthplace, [[Ambustus Minor]]. While Minimus does love his brother, he's also always felt overshadowed by Dominus's long string of accomplishments. It probably doesn't help that Minimus is usually a stiff, laconic sort, not very good at expressing what feelings he has.

{{TOCclear}}

==Fiction==
===IDW Generation 1 continuity===
{{main|Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity}}

{{first|[[Escalation issue 1|''Escalation'' #1]] (as Ultra Magnus); [[Remain in Light 1 of 5: The Fecund Moon|''More than Meets the Eye'' #17]] (as Minimus Ambus)}}

[[File:Ambus Unveiled.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.15|I'm full of tinier mes!]]

Having devised the [[Magnus Armor]] as a way to keep the legend of the "immortal lawman" [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]] alive after his passing, Chief Justice [[Tyrest (G1)|Tyrest]] selected Minimus Ambus to be the latest Autobot to wear it and serve as the duly-appointed enforcer of the [[Tyrest Accord]]. As Magnus, Minimus had many adventures, incluing hunting [[Scorponok (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Scorponok]] across the galaxy and helping co-ordinate the counterattack against the encroaching forces of the [[Dead Universe]]. Following the end of the war, he befriended the human [[Verity Carlo]] and travelled with her for a time, but when Magnus transported the [[Wrecker]]s on their disastrous mission on [[Garrus-9]], she left him to take part in the action.

Magnus rejoined the Autobots on Earth, causing ructions as he attempted to arrest [[Hot Rod (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rodimus]] for working with Decepticons. After a failed assassination attempt on [[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]], Magnus took command of the Earthbound Autobots as they dealt with the return of [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]]. When Optimus Prime took most of the group back to Cybertron to handle the threat of [[Galvatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Galvatron]], Magnus remained on Earth with a few other law-enforcement Autobots to investigate [[Spike Witwicky (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Spike Witwicky]] and his secret dealings with [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]].

When Cybertron was reborn and Rodimus declared his intentions to seek out the [[Knights of Cybertron]], Magnus signed up for the mission, becoming second-in-command of the ship ''[[Lost Light]]''. Unfortunately, an inability to deal with peacetime led him to suffer a nervous breakdown; he became increasingly obsessive-compulsive about ridiculously minor things, and made life hell for all aboard the ship. The existence of Minimus Ambus was revealed to all aboard the vessel when Magnus was critically injured by the rogue [[Decepticon]] [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]], and the recall trigger built into the Magnus armor returned his body to Tyrest on [[Moonbase One|Luna 1]]. Though healed by the lawmaker, he realized his former superior had gone insane, and helped thwart his plan to exterminate all [[reproduction|Constructed Cold]] Cybertronians. His identity now exposed to his shipmates, Minimus grappled with the fact that he felt they had lost respect for him, but with a little help from [[Ratchet (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ratchet]] and new admirer [[Ten]], he has come to accept his change in circumstance and now splits his time between wearing the Magnus Armor and publicly going without it. Regardless of who he might be underneath the armor, to his friends and crewmates, he is still, and has always been, ''the'' Ultra Magnus.
{{--}}

====The Functionist Universe====
[[File:CustomMadeNow-Minimus.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.67|left|Sharp-looking Ambus, but can he transform?]]
In [[Functionist Universe|an alternate timeline]], Minimus never had to become Magnus and served as a soldier in the [[Primal Vanguard]]. After two million years offworld, keeping in touch with his brother Dominus by video, he finally returned home after a peace deal. He was sickened to see the oppression and casual genocide of Cybertron, and to see his brother had been made an [[empurata]] victim for speaking out, but was unsure about whether to become a full-on rebel. Minimus was not given the chance to decide as a few hours later, the Council began the "mass recall" of all memory sticks.

He drove through streets littered with Cybertronian corpses to warn Rewind and found Dominus's vocabulary had been deleted by the Functionists. Via Dominus's face, the Council taunted him that they'd replaced his optics with cameras on his flight home and he'd been unwittingly spying on his brother. {{storylink|The Custom-Made Now - An Elegant Chaos Prologue|The Custom-Made Now}}
{{-}}

===''Beast Wars: Uprising''===
'''Minimum''' Ambus was goalie for the [[Throttlebot Wanderers]] and a [[Cyberdroid]] from [[Master (planet)|Master]]. He was saddened by the news that Cyberdroids could not play in the [[Maximal]]/[[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] [[Games]], instead being restricted to the Micro Division. {{Storylink|Broken Windshields}}

===Ask Vector Prime===
Various versions of Minimus Ambus across the [[multiverse]] were [[Nebulan]]s, [[Cyberdroid]]s, [[Mini-Con]]s, and [[Micromaster]]s. One Cyberdroid Minimum Ambus underwent the [[Bravemaster]] process to [[Binary bonding|binary bond]] with Ultra Magnus. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime#Facebook|Ask Vector Prime, 2015/07/15}}

==Toys==
===Generations===
====Combiner Wars====
[[File:CombinerWarsMinimusAmbus.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|Judge me by my size, do you?]]
*'''Ultra Magnus''' (Leader Class, [[2015]])

:Minimus Ambus is a ''very'' small mini-figure that comes with ''[[Combiner Wars (toyline)|Combiner Wars]]'' [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/toys#Generations|Ultra Magnus]]. Despite its tiny size, it is based on his "middle" augmentation armor rather than the tiny innermost robot. In robot mode, Minimus can "pilot" the Ultra Magnus robot; he even "wears" the Magnus head like a helmet. He cannot remain inside when the "Magnus Armor" is transformed, but he can transform into a Cybertronian hovercar which can then tab into a set of three grooves on the lower level of the Ultra Magnus trailer.

:[[Andrew Griffith]] worked on the design of the figure and its "cockpit".<ref>https://twitter.com/glovestudios/status/566697537730408449</ref> Many Ultra Magnus toys feature Minimus toys with poor joint tolerances, causing his arms to pop off with minimal resistance.

:He was redecoed into ''[[Transformers Legends (franchise)|Legends]]'' [[Alpha Trion (G1)#Legends|Alpha Trion]].
{{-}}

====Platinum Edition====
[[File:TF-Platinum-Edition-Autobot-Heroes-Minimus-Ambus.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|He was in the movie, he was just inside Ultra Magnus the whole time.]]
*'''Autobot Heroes''' (5-pack, 2016)
**''Accessories'': Springer's weapons (dual missile launcher, two missiles, rotor blades/sword), Arcee's weapons (2 swords), Kup's "laser musket" rifle/exhaust pipe, Ultra Magnus' 2 guns, Blurr's weapons (Sniper rifle, left & right pistols), Minimus Ambus figure

:Part of Hasbro's ''[[Transformers: Platinum Edition|Platinum Edition]]'' offerings for 2016 intended to commemorate the 30th anniversary of ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'', Minimus Ambus (who ''never appeared in the movie'', due to not having been conceived as a character until 2013) is a minor redeco of his original version that was available with ''Combiner Wars'' Leader Class Ultra Magnus. Like the white parts of the redeco of Ultra Magnus he comes with, he is cast in white plastic that is now truly ''white'', compared to the more creamy color of the original version. In addition, he features more light and dark green paint operations on his torso than the original release, both of which are considerably darker and more saturated than the original's lighter, "pearly" green paint operations.

:Ultra Magnus and Minimus Ambus were released as part of 5-pack with [[Arcee (G1)/toys#Platinum Edition|Arcee]], [[Springer (G1)/toys#Platinum Edition|Autobot Springer]], [[Kup (G1)/toys#Platinum Edition|Sergeant Kup]] and [[Blurr (G1)/toys#Platinum Edition|Blurr]]. The set also included a recreation of the theatrical poster for the 1986 movie. In the United States, this set was officially a [[Target]] exclusive, but was only available via the company's website, never sold in stores. It was also released in Singapore, although it's currently unknown whether it was exclusive to any particular stores there or not. In Canada, it was available via the Canadian [[Walmart]] website but never found in sold, whereas in the United Kingdom, it was available via the UK [[Toys"R"Us]] website but again never sold in stores. In Spain, it was available via the Spanish subsidiaries of both [[Amazon (website)|Amazon]] and Carrefour, as well as the department store chain El Corte Inglés, supposedly also only available online. In Germany, it was available via retailer Real and specialty store Rappelkiste Ahlen, also only available online.
{{-}}

==Notes==
*In [[The Custom-Made Now - An Elegant Chaos Prologue|''More than Meets the Eye'' #35]], Minimus is shown capable of transforming into a minesweeper while wearing his secondary augmentation layer. When ''completely'' stripped of all optional equipment however, his design appears far more human-shaped, having absolutely no kibble whatsoever, calling into question whether or not he has an alt mode. His loadbearer spark-brother Dominus Ambus's innermost robot form [[The Dying of the Light Part 4: At Close of Day|DID have an alt mode]], though, so it seems likely Minimus does too.
*Minimus served in the Primal Vanguard in the Functionist timeline but it's not specified if he also served in the main timeline.
*In Latin, "minimus" means "the least, smallest" and "ambus" probably comes from the prefix "ambi-" and so would mean either "both" or "around," thus resulting in a name meaning something like "around the least" or "the smallest of both." Either way, his name contrasts starkly with "Ultra Magnus," which translates to "beyond great."
*Minimus shares his alt mode with his brother, being greener and smaller in size.<ref>https://twitter.com/jroberts332/status/1025042597679714304?s=19</red>

{{magnusarmor nav}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Beast Wars: Uprising Autobots]]
[[Category:Combiner Wars]]
[[Category:Generation 1 Mini-Cons]]
[[Category:IDW Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Law enforcement]]
[[Category:Micromasters]]
[[Category:Nebulans]]
[[Category:Platinum Edition]]
[[Category:Point One Percenters]]
[[Category:Primal Vanguard]]

Anode

2018-06-16T21:04:12Z

Egg: "Femme" isn't a word that describes female characters unless you're speaking french or she's a feminine lesbian.

{{factions|grandarchitect}}
{{featured}}
:''Anode is an unaligned [[Transformer]] from the [[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW portion]] of the [[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''
[[File:LL5 subcvrA.jpg|upright=1.5|thumb|Anode demonstrates a shocking lack of self-awareness by desperately reaching out for a special snowflake.]]
'''Anode''' gets into trouble. Originally a [[blacksmith]], Anode was a specialist who is able to—with training—sculpt a malfunctioning [[protoform]] into its intended working order. However, for reasons she long refused to disclose, the sharp-tongued and irreverent Anode fled this life and declared herself instead an archaeologist, treasure-hunter, and adventurer. From [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] to [[Caminus]] and beyond, there's no large, menacing creature she's not willing to tick off (either on purpose or by accident) and no artifact too risky for her to retrieve. Her partner and spouse [[Lug (IDW)|Lug]] can be a calming influence, but, when push inevitably comes to shove, she loves every obnoxious circuit in Anode's body.

{{quote|Welcome to life with Anode. I defy anyone to spend an afternoon with her and not end up '''dead'''.|[[Lug (IDW)|Lug]]|[[An Axe to Break the Ice]].}}

==Fiction==
===IDW Generation 1 continuity===
{{ongoing}}
Anode was born assigned male on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. While certain members of the [[Primal Vanguard]] began identifying as "she" after off-world missions and encounters with organic races, Anode became bemused by the very concept of gender, and did not understand the significance of the pronouns until she left Cybertron when the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]] broke out. After meeting several organic races, Anode decided she felt more comfortable as a "she" and she had her chassis rebuilt into a more feminine form. {{storylink|An Axe to Break the Ice}}

[[File:LL4 sculpt the metal.jpg|thumb|left|upright=2]]
Some time in the past, Anode made her way to Caminus, over five hundred years before [[Thunder Clash|Thunderclash]] reestablished regular interplanetary ties among Cybertronian worlds. A daring risk-taker from an early age, she began honing her natural skills as a [[blacksmith]] in the [[Lighthouse]], helping newborn protoforms by sculpting their [[Living metal|sentio metallico]]. Unfortunately, Anode's brash nature led her into performing a live sculpting on a struggling protoform before she was truly ready, and the protoform subsequently died. Though the other members of the Lighthouse were understanding and forgiving, Anode couldn't bring herself to quit, so instead she fudged the facility's records to make it look like she'd stolen the facility's supplies of sentio metallico, then fled Caminus forever. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 4: Bad Moon Rising|Bad Moon Rising}}

[[File:Anode some other cybertron.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|You shall not pass!]]
Five hundred years ago, Anode and Lug travelled to [[Moonbase Two|Luna 2]] at the behest of the mysterious [[Grand Architect]] (who she called "Techy") in search of a piece of rare [[Living metal|widowed metal]]. They found themselves on the wrong side of a [[Decepticon]] [[Cybernought]]; although Anode deployed a forcefield, Lug was convinced that they were going to die. Anode was spared by the machinations of the [[time travel]]ling [[Censere|Necrobot]]; as part of his efforts to rescue the "[[Disappeared]]", he took Anode to the future and stored her in a [[stasis pod]] until she could recover from the disorienting effects of the time-skip.

In the present day, Anode woke up on the [[Necroworld]] along with the dozens of other refugees the Necrobot had collected. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 1: Some Other Cybertron|Some Other Cybertron}} However, her senses were still scrambled by the effects of the time jump, and as a result she began hallucinating that Lug had arrived with her, holding regular conversations between herself and "Lug." {{storylink|Dissolution Part 5: Modes of Production|Modes of Production}}

Anode attended a debriefing held by [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]] to help bring the disoriented time-travelers up to speed on recent events. Anode was less than impressed by the Autobot's boring delivery. The two then were accosted by [[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]], who annoyed them with some nonsensical questions under the pretense of conducting "background checks." When she told Swerve to leave, the red [[Autobot]] sarcastically mentioned that she should see [[Velocity (G1)|Velocity]] for "timesickness"—remembering Velocity from their time together on Caminus, Anode tried to leave the Necroworld via [[Teleport chamber|teleporter]] before Velocity could track her down. [[Hot Rod (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rodimus]] and [[Drift (G1)|Drift]] caught her before they could escape; although she received a reprimand for almost wasting the one-use teleporter, Anode was fascinated to see Drift's [[Great Sword]]. Rodimus and his allies decided to use the teleporter to head back to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] to pick up another ship, and Anode stayed behind with the other time-displaced Cybertronians. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 1: Some Other Cybertron|Some Other Cybertron}}

[[File:BadMoonRising-Anodealtmode.jpg|left|thumb|upright=2|I see dead people.]]
Anode and "Lug" later reconvened by the Necrobot's monument to the disappeared, where they discussed recent events and what the future held for them. Though Anode professed an aloofness regarding her new friends, she eventually confessed that she was interested in their quest for [[Cyberutopia]], though "Lug" joked that she would be more interested in plundering its treasures than starting a new life there. Her one-sided conversation was interrupted by [[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]]'s fight with [[Fangry (G1)|Fangry]], and over the course of the battle she was sent flying and impaled on a piece of debris. [[Kaput]] tended to her wounds before Velocity arrived to discuss what had transpired when Anode fled Caminus. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 2: Anomie|Anomie}} Anode explained that she'd falsified her records before fleeing; realizing that she'd never heard the story, "Lug" was unable to conceal her sense of betrayal and fled back to the memorial. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 3: A World Misplaced|A World Misplaced}} Anode caught up with her, where "Lug" revealed that she'd always thought that ''she'' was the reason why Anode had fled her homeworld. Anode revealed her history as a blacksmith and noted that she needed a reason for her coworkers to hate her, unable to live with the guilt. Anode apologized, but realized that her friend had vanished...{{storylink|Dissolution Part 4: Bad Moon Rising|Bad Moon Rising}}

Anode returned to the medibay to search for Lug, only to realize that nobody had any idea who she was talking about. Anode's explanation prompted the staff to reveal security tapes of her emerging alone from her stasis pod; after scanning the list of names on the Necrobot's monument, she realized that Lug hadn't travelled to the future with her, and was merely a timesickness-induced hallucination. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 5: Modes of Production|Modes of Production}} Kaput then took her, Nautica, and Velocity to Lug's flower where he explained how Lug had died. Realizing that the Necrobot had preserved some of Lug's Spark energy inside the flower, Anode had a brainwave and rushed back to the fortress. She explained her plan to resurrect Lug by using the snowflake as a receptacle for Lug's Spark. It was touch and go for a second there but the new protoform stabilized and Anode showed off her "new" backpack to [[Roller (IDW)|Roller]] when the group returned to their own universe. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 6: This Machine Kills Fascists|This Machine Kills Fascists}} After Lug had fully grown, Anode confessed the truth behind the Lighthouse. The two snuggled up afterwards. As Lug played with Roller, Anode questioned Nautica (since they were now besties!) on her eye-patch. Anode boarded the [[Skip|ship]] when the group left Necroworld. {{storylink|After Megatron (A Dissolution Epilogue)|After Megatron}}

[[File:AnAxeToBreakTheIce-survivalpresent.jpg|thumb|upright=2]]
When the ladies stopped off at [[Troja Major]]'s [[Howling Town]], Anode asked to borrow money from Nautica only to learn ten thousand [[Shanix|shanix]] was still considered a lot of money so she decided to steal the mood pipes she wanted instead. After fleeing from a displeased (and quite scary looking) [[Rust Giant]], Anode began smelling [[Living metal|sentio metallico]] and followed it to a warehouse where she flung open a coffin to try and find the new body. As it turned out, the coffin ''was'' [[Infinite|a mech]]. The mech tried to attack Anode and Lug only for Anode to realize he was a newborn and reacting on instinct. The three were then ambushed by the [[Black Block Consortia]] who demanded Anode and Lug step aside and hand over the mech. Unwilling to do so, the organics opened fire only for Lug to tackle Anode to safety but allowing the newborn to die. As Anode grieved, [[Wipe-Out]] suddenly made himself known and motioned for the two to follow him. As the three escaped, Wipe-Out revealed that the blacksmiths were under threat and being targeted. At a bar, the three compared notes (namely who the Black Block Consortia was and Anode and Lug's genders) before Techy's troops, led by [[Flame (Marvel)|Flame]] teleported into the bar and cornered them. {{storylink|An Axe to Break the Ice}}

Anode took this in stride and happily greeted Flame...only for Wipe-Out to inform her that Flame ''wasn't'' the Grand Architect. After enduring Flame's annoyingly euphemistic phrases, Anode attempted a heroic punch but soon decided to flee, turning to jet mode while having Lug and Wipe-Out grab her. She flew back to the funeral compound where they'd fist found the coffin mech and procured a leftover sample of his ''sentio metallico'' for Wipe-Out to analyze who found the metal held the blueprints for millions of alternate modes. Suddenly getting a call from Velocity, the trio walked to [[Mengel]]'s compound where Nautica's super-sized alternate mode burst out before the group made a brisk getaway. After said getaway, Anode offered Wipe-Out a place in their adventures but he turned it down. {{storylink|Chasing the Infinite}}
{{-}}

====The Functionist Universe====
[[File:AWorldMisplaced-Anode.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1]]
In an [[Functionist Universe|alternate timeline]] where the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]] never occurred, Anode was a qualified blacksmith who had abandoned her comfortable life in favor of joining the [[Anti-Vocationist League]] in fighting the totalitarian [[Functionist Council]]. In this capacity she worked alongside rogue Council member [[Nine-of-Twelve]]. Through circumstances untold, she had adopted a feminine identity and chassis like her main timeline counterpart.

When a group of castaways from an alternate universe arrived and immediately ran afoul of the local [[Functionary|Functionaries]], Anode watched as the group returned to their headquarters in [[Kalis|Adaptica]], and later observed a live feed of the Functionist Council revealing the "true purpose" of [[Rung (G1)|Rung]]. The group's musings were interrupted by the sudden return of [[Moonbase Two|Luna 2]]. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 3: A World Misplaced|A World Misplaced}} Anode and Nine-of-Twelve watched in abject horror as the now-weaponized moon began laying waste to their city using tractor beams. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 4: Bad Moon Rising|Bad Moon Rising}}
{{--}}

==Notes==
*An {{w|anode}} is a polarized electrical device.
*Anode was originally going to appear by running into [[Getaway]]'s ''Lost Light'' crew. When ''[[The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More Than Meets The Eye]]'' became ''[[The Transformers: Lost Light|Lost Light]]'', Roberts changed that to the Necrobot taking her to Necroworld so any new readers could meet the characters and concepts alongside Anode.<ref>[https://boroughcon.com/2017/04/revealing-greatness-with-james-roberts/ Interview with Boroughcon]</ref>
*Anode's [[transformation]] scheme is patterned on ''[[Titans Return (toyline)|Titans Return]]'' [[Mindwipe (G1)#Generations|Mindwipe]].

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Comic-only Transformers]]
[[Category:Disappeared]]
[[Category:Female Transformers]]
[[Category:IDW Generation 1 Transformers]]

Magrada

2018-03-20T01:40:46Z

Egg: Gave her a profile pic

:''Magrada is a [[Caminus|Camien]] from the [[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW portion]] of the [[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''
[[File:OP15 Magrada.jpg|thumb|right|250px]]

'''Magrada''' was a skilled Camien linguist. She also had an amazing sense of style.

==Fiction==
===IDW Generation 1 continuity===
When [[Caminus]] still retained the ability for interstellar travel, they detected a Cybertronian beacon from the planet [[Antilla]]. Accompanied by the "Matriarch of Incaendium"—the future [[Mistress of Flame]]—and [[Praesidia Magna|Praesidia]], Magrada was sent to decode the message at the source. Upon arrival, Magrada found an unnatural mechanical mountain. Despite Magrada's warning, the Matriarch approached and the mountain split open to reveal an enormous [[Sensor|optic]] and the ruler of the land: [[Onyx Prime]]. The [[Prime (rank)|Prime]] leapt down from his perch and instantly beheaded Magrada.

In 2018, the Mistress of Flame recounted the story of Magrada's death to [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]]. {{storylink|The Falling, Chapter 1: Surfeit of Primes|Surfeit of Primes}}

[[Category:Caminus]]
[[Category:Comic-only Transformers]]
[[Category:Female Transformers]]
[[Category:Fiction-only Transformers]]
[[Category:IDW Generation 1 Transformers]]

File:OP15 Magrada.jpg

2018-03-20T01:36:22Z

Egg: Magrada puts on her snazzy goggles to better see in Antilla's rust storms. {{art |lineart=Kei Zama |colors=Josh Burcham |from=Optimus Prime #15, "The Falling, Chapter 1: Surfeit of Primes" }}

[[Magrada]] puts on her snazzy goggles to better see in [[Antilla]]'s rust storms.

{{art
|lineart=[[Kei Zama]]
|colors=[[Josh Burcham]]
|from=[[Optimus_Prime_(comic)|Optimus Prime]] #15, "[[The Falling, Chapter 1: Surfeit of Primes]]"
}}

Prime Master/Combinations

2018-02-17T00:08:19Z

Egg: Added Alchemist Tailgate

{{suite}}
{{source}}
{{TOCclear}}

The ''[[Power of the Primes (toyline)|Power of the Primes]]'' toyline was notable for introducing the [[Prime Master]] gimmick highlighting the titular "power of the [[Prime (rank)|Primes]]". Like the rest of the ''[[Prime Wars Trilogy]]'', each toy included a small packaged card based off the character; unlike its last predecessor, which used the classic [[Tech Spec]]s, the ''Power of the Primes'' toyline included one of twelve randomly packed cards for each toy, each highlighting the additional powers or personality changes that a Prime Master can impart on the character in question.

{|class="wikitable" border="10" style="width:100%" align="center"
|-
! scope="col" width="10%" | '''Transformer'''
! scope="col" width="10%" | '''[[Prima]]'''
! scope="col" width="10%" | '''[[Vector Prime|Vector]]'''
! scope="col" width="10%" | '''[[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]]'''
! scope="col" width="10%" | '''[[Solus Prime|Solus]]'''
! scope="col" width="10%" | '''[[Micronus Prime|Micronus]]'''
! scope="col" width="10%" | '''[[Alchemist Prime|Alchemist]]'''
! scope="col" width="10%" | '''[[Nexus Prime|Nexus]]'''
! scope="col" width="10%" | '''[[Onyx Prime|Onyx]]'''
! scope="col" width="10%" | '''[[Amalgamous Prime|Amalgamous]]'''
! scope="col" width="10%" | '''[[Quintus Prime|Quintus]]'''
! scope="col" width="10%" | '''[[Liege Maximo]]'''
! scope="col" width="10%" | '''[[The Fallen|Megatronus]]'''
|-
|'''[[Beachcomber (G1)#Generations|Beachcomber]]'''
|A valiant warrior for peace.
|[[Time travel|Time-travels]] to prevent extinction-level events.
|Teaches the wisdom of avoiding conflict.
|Creates tools to harvest valuable resources.
|Power-links to share his geological sensors.
|Transmutes metal to create remarkable resources.
|Combines with geological material to power up.
|Fearless feral defender of nature.
|Takes natural forms to camouflage himself.
|Shapes geological formations.
|Convinces enemies to put down their weapons.
|Seizes resources to create [[Autobot]] stockpiles.
|-
|'''[[Battleslash]]'''
|
|Time travels to Decepticon victories to gloat.
|Rewrites history to put himself on top.
|Forges helicopter blades that function in the void of space.
|Power-links with allies to share his strength.
|Develops a chemical that strips bots of the will to fight.
|Combines to form a [[Duocon]] with any bot.
|Casts his mind across space to taunt enemies.
|Takes the form of Roadtrap so it seems there are two of him.
|Creates bullybots to overrun Autobot strongholds.
|Convinces comrades and foes to bow to him.
|Toys with enemies to increase his legend.
|-
|'''[[Darkwing (G1)#Generations|Blackwing]]'''
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|Seeds life on desolate planets to watch it suffer.
|Convinces enemies to lose hope and surrender.
|
|-
|'''[[Blot (G1)#Generations|Blot]]'''
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|'''[[Cindersaur (G1)#Generations|Cindersaur]]'''
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|'''[[Cutthroat (G1)#Generations|Cutthroat]]'''
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|'''[[Dreadwind (G1)#Generations|Dreadwind]]'''
|Fights to free others from fear.
|Goes back in time to see past Autobot defeats.
|Studies history's most evil warriors… to top them.
|Forges armor that cloaks him in darkness.
|Power-links to share his immunity to pain.
|Activates a [[shadow spark]] in other bots.
|Spreads sinister gloom to bots he combines with.
|Casts his [[spark]] in ghostly form to haunt others.
|Takes ominous airborne forms.
|Creates vile and menacing creatures.
|Weaves tales of fear to demoralize enemies.
|Calculates strikes to deliver maximum suffering.
|-
|'''[[Elita One (G1)#Generations|Elita-1]]'''
|Powers up to battle the hordes of Unicron.
|Freezes and accelerates time without draining her energy.
|Reconstructs fallen bots to forge epic warriors.
|Forges epic weapons to bring down Decepticon Combiners.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|Seeds intricate misdirections to disguise Autobot missions.
|
|-
|'''[[Grimlock (G1)/toys#Power of the Primes|Grimlock]]'''
|Inspires allies with courage and might.
|Peers into future to see when Grimlock king.
|Analyzes brilliant victories to enhance his tactics.
|Demolishes enemies with the Sparkbreaker battering ram.
|Links with faster bots to combat his only weakness.
|Enhances the power in allies' circuits.
|Combines with teammates to make them stronger.
|Channels his willpower to the spark of other bots.
|Takes smaller forms to test his strength.
|Seeds worlds with bots of unimaginable strength.
|Speaks truths his enemies don't want to hear.
|Unleashes harsh justice on those who abuse power.
|-
|'''[[Hun-Gurrr (G1)#Generations|Hun-Gurrr]]'''
|
|
|A brilliant leader whose armies leave nothing in their wake.
|
|
|Harvests molecular nutrients to feed in barren environments.
|Forms a better Abominus with intelligence to guide his rage.
|
|Shapeshifts to an insatiable mass of mouths and stomachs.
|Creates parasitic armies that devour planetary resources.
|
|
|-
|'''[[Inferno (G1)#Generations|Inferno]]'''
|
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|-
|'''[[Jazz (G1)/toys#Power of the Primes|Jazz]]'''
|Circuits register zero fear in the face of extreme danger.
|Travels through time to experience all music.
|Memorizes every top Earth hit ever.
|Forges the universe's most epic speakers.
|Power-links to share his sound-disruptor ability.
|Defeats enemies by spontaneous matter disruption.
|Some call it a [[Combiner]]. He forms a combo.
|A daredevil fighter with razor-sharp instincts.
|Shifts modes like a DJ mixing songs.
|Evolves life in unexpected ways.
|The universe's smoothest talker.
|Undercuts the [[Decepticon]]s with extreme sabotage.
|-
|'''[[Moonracer (G1)#Generations|Moonracer]]'''
|
|Can aim her blaster down the time stream.
|
|
|Power-links to grant bots a sharpshooter's aim.
|
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|-
|'''[[Firestar (G1)#Generations|Novastar]]'''
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|-
|'''[[Optimus Primal (BW)/toys#Power of the Primes|Optimus Primal]]'''
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|-
|'''[[Optimus Prime (G1)/toys#Power of the Primes|Optimus Prime]]'''
|Powers up to battle the hordes of [[Unicron]].
|Time-travels to fight where hope is lost.
|Speaks with insight directly from [[Primus]].
|Forges an invincible [[Energon-axe|Energon axe]].
|Power-links to share the wisdom of the Primes.
|Distills the essence of courage from the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]].
|Harnesses the power of an army of Combiners.
|Casts his spark across the beyond to guide allies.
|Takes enemy forms to broker peace from within their ranks.
|Imparts great wisdom to new life.
|Outwits enemies with prescient strategic vision.
|Harnesses [[The Fallen]]'s strength for noble purpose.
|-
|'''[[Outback (G1)#Generations|Outback]]'''
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|-
|'''[[Rippersnapper (G1)#Generations|Rippersnapper]]'''
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|Forges weapons with the shredding power of his teeth.
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|-
|'''[[Roadtrap]]'''
|
|Lays traps for enemies across time.
|Rewrites history to fill it with deception.
|Forges inescapable snares and prisons.
|
|Develops a chemical that sabotages enemy systems.
|Combines to form a Duocon with any bot.
|Casts his mind across space to steal Autobot secrets.
|Takes the form of Battleslash so it seems there are two of him.
|Creates microbots to invade Autobot circuitry.
|Convinces enemies to sabotage their own systems.
|Toys with enemies to make them suffer.
|-
|'''[[Hot Rod (G1)/toys#Power of the Primes|Rodimus Prime]]'''
|A noble knight unrivaled in strength and courage.
|Rides the time stream to where he's needed most.
|Leads with the knowledge of a true commander.
|Crafts an indestructible armor of fire.
|Power-links to fill others' sparks with confidence.
|Alters enemies' systems to overheat their power core.
|Single-handedly battles Decepticon Combiners.
|Beasts out as a fiery cyber-phoenix.
|Takes the form of past Autobot leaders.
|Fills new life with boundless energy.
|Perfectly balances action and cunning.
|Uncontrollable and unstoppable.
|-
|'''[[Hot Rod (G1)/toys#RodimusUnicronus|Rodimus Unicronus]]'''
|Uses the connection Prima has to the Matrix to track its wielder.
|
|Corrupts the databanks of Cybertronian super computer [[Vector Sigma]].
|
|Power-links with bots to consume their spark.
|Distills the essence of evil from the [[Matrix of Conquest|Matrix of Chaos]].
|Combines with bots whose abilities advance his mission.
|Traps sparks in the [[spirit realm]] so they canot return to [[Primus]].
|Takes the shape that brings maximum destruction.
|Extracts Energon from planets so new life cannot grow.
|Spreads dark prophecies to destroy the will of bots.
|Vows to destroy Unicron and take his place.
|-
|'''[[Shrapnel (G1)#Power of the Primes|Skrapnel]]'''
|Uses his electrical ability to power civilizations.
|Travels through time to horde {{sic}} [[Energon]].
|Writes his version of recorded history, history.
|Forges electric weapons with infinite potential.
|Power-links to share his electro-charge ability.
|Can travel through electrical pathways.
|Forms ruthless [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticon]] Combiners.
|Unites the Insecticons under his rule.
|Takes the form of lightning.
|Revives fallen allies by jumpstarting their circuits.
|Can charm a starving bot out of their last drop of Energon.
|Steals Energon just to watch others starve.
|-
|'''[[Sinnertwin (G1)#Generations|Sinnertwin]]'''
|
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|-
|'''[[Sludge (G1)#Power of the Primes|Sludge]]'''
|
|
|
|Crafts a planet-sized simulation chamber so bots can train.
|
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|-
|'''[[Slag (G1)#Power of the Primes|Slug]]'''
|Charges into battle with a blinding white light.
|Time-travels to challenge history's greatest warriors.
|Uses his strength to stop conflict, not incite it.
|Forges weapons from the melted metal of his enemies.
|Power-links to share his [[fire-breath|fire breathing]] ability.
|Lowers the melting point of any substance.
|Combines with others to do maximum damage.
|A loyal guardian who fiercely defends allies.
|Shifts shape as fluidly as fire.
|Gives life ability to rise from the ashes.
|Can goad anyone into a fight.
|Erases enemies from existence.
|-
|'''[[Slash (Generations)#Generations|Slash]]'''
|Finds the good in all she encounters.
|Rips holes in space-time to access any point in history.
|Seeks the deepest hidden secrets of the universe.
|Forges undetectable weapons for quick escape.
|Power-links to share her tracking ability.
|Secretly alters energy signatures to make any bot trackable.
|Locates bots who can form flawless Combiners.
|Unleashes maximum raptor beast power.
|Hides in forms no one expects, ready to strike.
|Revives species from fossilized remains.
|Convinces bots to give up locations of their allies.
|Finds and eliminates deep cover targets.
|-
|'''[[Snarl (G1)#Power of the Primes|Snarl]]'''
|
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|Harnesses brute force to challenge any opponent.
|
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|-
|'''[[Starscream (G1)/toys#Power of the Primes|Starscream]]'''
|Learns great power is best used wisely.
|Alters the past to turn his failures into victories.
|Catalogs the weaknesses of every Decepticon.
|Boosts his [[null-ray]] power to unfathomable levels.
|Links with others to learn how to blackmail them.
|Distorts the atoms of his foes with magnetic wind.
|Combines with any bot who will make him more powerful.
|Gains the patience of a vulture.
|Mimics the forms of others in order to deceive.
|Gives life to an army of his own.
|Twists the words of those around him.
|Relentlessly seeks vengeance on any who wrong him.
|-
|'''[[Swoop (G1)/toys#Power_of_the_Primes|Swoop]]'''
|Soaring champion of justice.
|Precision time-strikes alter events and destinies.
|Knows the weak point of any target.
|Forges devices to help others fly.
|Power-links to share his flying ability.
|Plants disorienting fear inside enemy circuits.
|Forms [[flight|flying]] [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobot]] Combiners.
|A warrior with wings invunerable to enemy fire.
|Takes the form that strikes the most fear in enemies.
|Seeds prehistoric life across the universe.
|Charms his way into, or out of, any situation.
|Aims less. Attacks more.
|-
|'''[[Tailgate (G1)#Generations|Tailgate]]'''
|
|Travels back to a time when Cybertronians were truly free.
|Catalogs every injustice of bots being forced to obey speed limits.
|Forges a magnetic beam to draft off others from long range.
|Power-links to share his magnetic power.
|Refines Energon to create a nearly limitless fuel source.
|Combines with slow bots to share his speed.
|Relentlessly pursues his targets until their systems give out.
|Chooses the fastest form for every mission.
|Seeds life on distant moons, where bots can be free.
|Negotiates the removal of speed limits on Earth.
|Imprisons enemies in rust garages to let them rot.
|-
|'''[[Windcharger (G1)#Power of the Primes|Windcharger]]'''
|Instantly chooses the noble path.
|Time-hops in short bursts to change the course of battle.
|Pinpoints information in the blink of an eye.
|Forges weapons that shred enemy magnetic fields.
|Power-links to share his acceleration ability.
|Reverses polarity of objects to repel enemies.
|Magnetizes other bots to quickly form Combiners.
|Charges through enemies with unstoppable force.
|Becomes massive objects with huge gravitational pull.
|Accelerates evolution to create advanced life.
|Inspires bots with his magnetic personality.
|Vanquishes enemies swiftly and decisively.

|}

Your First Mistake

2018-02-16T16:53:56Z

Egg: /* Transformers references */ Added info about Seekers and Outliers

{{Comicstory
|seriesissue=''[[The Transformers: Till All Are One|The Transformers: Till All Are One]]'' #12
|prev=If I Know You
|next=The Chosen One
|image=TAAO12 cvrA.jpg
|caption=Shhh, Screamer, baby. It will all be over before you know it.
|title="Your First Mistake"
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[August 9]], [[2017]]
|coverdate=July 2017
|written by=[[Mairghread Scott]]
|art by=[[Sara Pitre-Durocher]]
|colors by=[[Joana Lafuente]]
|letters by=[[Tom B. Long]]
|editor=[[Carlos Guzman]]
|continuity=[[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline|Current era]]
}}

'''Starscream joins Windblade's mental battle with Vigilem, but time is running out for all three of them, and only the truth will set them free.'''

==Synopsis==
Within [[Windblade (G1)|Windblade]]'s mind, the [[cityspeaker]] defends her brain against takeover by [[Vigilem]], preferring to die with him than allow him to return to the conscious world. Vigilem splits his mental projection into three in an attempt to overpower Windblade, but her control of her mindscape remains strong, and she is able to hold him off by pinning his three forms with pylons she extrudes from the matter of the "world" around them. Vigilem smashes through the pylons and lunges at her, but is suddenly struck by a blast from behind—[[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]] has linked his mind to Windblade's and come to aid her in expelling the evil [[Titan (IDW)|Titan]]! Alas, Windblade is not grateful; she does not believe expelling Vigilem is ''possible'', and rather than help her, Starscream's presence only affords Vigilem another avenue of escape. Adopting the form of [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] to overwhelm Starscream with fear, Vigilem smashes through from Windblade's mind into Starscream's own, the landscape of which takes the form of the decaying [[Kaon (polity)|Kaon]]. Vigilem pummels Starscream, stripping layer after layer from his mental projection until his [[spark]] is exposed... but at the last second, just before Vigilem can extinguish it, Windblade swoops in and snatches his spark out of his "body" to safety.

Confident that Starscream is mentally beaten, Vigilem begins to overwrite his mind, in order to take control of his body and return to the waking world. This affords Windblade time to turn her own thoughts inward, peering into Starscream's memories and witnessing the moment of his birth. Starscream was one of the countless Transformers produced via [[reproduction|cold construction]], a process that does not exist on [[Caminus]], the sight of which is horrifying to Windblade; sparks placed into pre-designed bodies, their metal never able to adopt the true shape meant for them by [[Primus]]. Recalling the words of the [[Mistress of Flame]] on the subject of forging a singular truth, Windblade mentally generates a replica of [[Solus Prime]]'s [[Forge of Solus Prime|forging hammer]] and begins to "forge" Starscream's spark. With each strike of the hammer, the spectral form of a Transformer from Starscream's life manifests before them, until a small army of robots stands between Windblade and Vigilem—all those who left indelible marks on Starscream's memory. Vigilem tries to intervene, but the specters pile atop him, holding him down until Windblade can complete her work—until, with the hammer's final strike, the substance of Starscream's mindscape reforms around his spark, and takes a ''new'' form. Towering over everything, Starscream is born anew in his ''true'' form, the form he would have taken had the circumstances of his birth been different... and with a single stomp of his titanic foot, Starscream forces Vigilem out of his mind and back into Windblade's. There, realizing the secret to defeating Vigilem, Windblade assumes a giant form of her own and picks up the weakened Titan, lifting him into her own spark chamber. Just as the forge of Starscream's spark burned away everything until the singular truth of his being was revealed, Windblade uses her spark as a forge to burn away Vigilem until all that remains is ''his'' single truth... but there is no truth to be found in the heart of the Titan that serves [[Liege Maximo]], Prime of Lies, and he is incinerated in the fires of her soul.

With a start, Windblade and Starscream awaken back in the real world. Attending physician [[Airachnid (G1)|Airachnid]] gives them both the all-clear, but Starscream quickly orders her out of the room so he and Windblade can speak privately. Starscream insists the experience they have just shared changes nothing between them, but Windblade entreats him not to be so foolish; Starscream has literally just glimpsed the perfect truth of his own being, the life he was meant to have, and ''that'' should change ''everything''. But that is for Starscream to decide: Windblade has been changed by the experience too, and has come to a decision. No longer will she just serve as a mouthpiece for others, holding back her own thoughts: she has found her own truth as well, and now all of Cybertron is going to hear what she has to say.

==Featured characters==
Characters in ''italic text'' appear only in flashbacks, and mental illusions and images. 
{{Featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Windblade (G1)|Windblade]] (1)
*''[[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]]'' (7)
*''[[Ironhide (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ironhide]]'' (11)
*''[[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Optimus Prime]]'' (13)
*''[[Wheeljack (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Wheeljack]]'' (14)
*''[[Jetfire (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Jetfire]]'' (16)
*''[[Chromia (G1)|Chromia]]'' (18)

|c2=
*''[[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] (4)
*''[[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Shockwave]]'' (10)
*''[[Ravage (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ravage]]'' (15)
*''[[Soundwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Soundwave]]'' (17)

|c4=
*[[Vigilem]] (2)
*[[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]] (3)
*''[[Mistress of Flame]]'' (5)
*''[[Solus Prime]]'' (6)
*''[[Elita One (G1)|Elita One]]'' (8)
*''[[Metalhawk (Masterforce)|Metalhawk]]'' (9)
*''[[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]]'' (12)
*[[Airachnid (G1)|Airachnid]] (19)

}}

==Quotes==
"You're not real. You can't hurt me. I know that." 
"Are you sure, Starscream? After all, there are so many kinds of pain."
:—Fear overcomes '''Starscream''' as '''Vigilem''' takes on the form of Megatron

"So vain, Starscream. Wrapping yourself in all these facades. Maximo always said to beware of 'bots who changed their skin too often. They're always trying to hide a rotten core."
:—'''Vigilem'''

"The act of creation is sacred above all things, but no task is most costly than the building of something new. Every new alliance, new weapon, new world is forged and reforged in the burning heart of truth until all slag falls away. It is only the purest servant of Solus Prime who can keep forging until they reach the real miracle... the creation of a single true thing."
:—'''Mistress of Flame'''

"A spark is shaped by all who touch it, but the first hand meant to is Primus'; sparks are meant to be forged in the design of his divine choosing... but not for you. What is this horror? This cold construction? 'Bots not born, but built. Never allowed to find their true shape. Instead forged and formed to the specifications of another's greed. Is that what you were truly seeking, Starscream? Escape from a foreign skin? The belonging you thought was lost forever? Did you forget that it was here all along?"
:—'''Windblade''' views Starscream's birth

"I'm going to do what I came here to do. I'm going to build a better future. And I'm not going to let you or anyone else stop me. (...) I'm done hiding. I'm done holding back. And I'm done speaking for the Mistress of Flame, or Metroplex, or you, or anyone else. Solus and Primus gave me truth, too, and I'm going to speak it with my own voice from now on. I hope you agree with what I have to say."
:—'''Windblade''' finds her own truth

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
*The three forms Vigilem takes in this issue are his original form (seen in flashbacks in [[Rubicon|issue #8]]), his present-day appearance, altered by years of his inhabitants replacing parts of his body (first seen when he transformed, also in #8), and the corrupted form of Windblade herself, portending his takeover of her body, which he used last issue.
*Windblade pins Vigilem's three forms to the wall with pylons she extrudes from the floor of her mental arena, mirroring when she had [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] do the same thing to Starscream back in [[Windblade issue 4|''Windblade'' #4]].
*When Vigilem takes the form of Megatron, he appears with the body-design used by the Decepticon leader circa ''[[The Transformers: All Hail Megatron|All Hail Megatron]]''. Of course, it's no surprise that this would be the form that Starscream would most fear, but we did get an overt reminder of his relationship with Megatron last issue when he noted he would "beat the truth back into him" on the reg.
*Windblade remarks that the real-life Kaon looks only marginally better off than Starscream's mental projection of it; the abandoned Kaon was rediscovered in the [[The Last Autobot|''Titans Return'' one-shot]] and is still awaiting repopulation.
*As Vigilem strips layers off of Starscream, the ex-Decepticon is reduced to a previous body-design each time, including his recently-discarded "Combiner Wars" look (adopted in [[The Possible Light|''The Transformers'' #40]], based on the 2015 ''[[Combiner Wars (toyline)|Combiner Wars]]'' Leader-class figure), his "Armada" design (introduced in [[Dark Dawn: Dark Cybertron Chapter 1|''Dark Cybertron'']], based on the 2014 [[Transformers: Generations|''Generations'']] Deluxe-class figure), and finally his original, classic F-15 form (which Starscream used in this continuity during ''All Hail Megatron'').
*Starscream's status as a cold-constructed Transformer was established in [[Remain in Light 4 of 5: Arm the Lonely|''More than Meets the Eye'' #20]].

===Transformers references===
*Jetfire is one of the spectral figures who emerges during Windblade's forging of Starscream's spark, in an allusion to the characters' history as friends and colleagues in a lot of Transformers media, which began with the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Generation 1 cartoon]] episode "[[Fire in the Sky]]". However, this relationship has not yet been shown to exist between the two characters in IDW continuity.
*An unnamed Transformer is seen inserting Starscream's spark into one of a series of identical cold-constructed [[Seeker (body-type)|Seeker]] bodies. This is inherently a reference to the ubiquity of the bodyform in Transformers, so frequently redecoed and retooled as it is. However, the fact that Skywarp (and possibly Thundercracker) are [[Outlier]]s and therefore Forged Cybertronians raises questions about the origin of this body-type.
** Indeed, before IDW introduced Forged vs. Constructed Cold, Skywarp attested in [[All Hail Megatron issue 6|''All Hail Megatron'' #6]] that Seekers are identical because they take the form of their commander in homage and respect to him. In ''[[Megatron Origin issue 3]]'', the trio also appeared in mildly distinct body-types before [[Hook (G1)|Hook]] retrofitted them at Megatron's command into identical warriors.
*** The question of Cold Constructed Outliers, and specifically Skywarp, has been raised to James Roberts before. His answer on [https://twitter.com/jroberts332/status/650570537022955521 Twitter] suggests that it is possible that the Senate succeeded in some form in their experiment to create Outliers.

===Other trivia===
*This issue's name doesn't appear in the issue, but was [https://twitter.com/MairghreadScott/status/895320165302247424 provided] by Mairghread Scott on Twitter.
*Solicited for release in July, this issue arrives just a little late, early in August.
*Windblade's speculation that Starscream changes bodies so often because he's subconsciously rejecting them due to them not being his "true" body may at least partially explain why some characters suddenly change bodies for no apparent reason.

===Covers (3)===
*'''Cover A:''' Starscream and Windblade, by [[Sara Pitre-Durocher]]; fourth and final in a series of themed two-character covers for this arc by Pitre-Durocher.
*'''Cover B''' The specter of Windblade haunts Starscream, by [[Priscilla Tramontano]].
*'''Retailer incentive cover:''' Windblade by [[Zerob]].

<gallery>
File:TAAO12 cvrA.jpg|Killing him with kindness.
File:TAAO12 cvrB.jpg|"Bah, humbug!"
File:TAAO12 cvrRI.jpg|Peace out!
</gallery>

===Advertisements===
*[[Shining Armor issue 1|''Rom vs. Transformers: Shining Armor'' #1]]
*"The Hasbro Tribune" editorial page promoting July's [[Hasbro Universe]] titles, including this issue, [[G.I. Joe vol. 5 issue 8|''G.I. Joe'' #8]], [[Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook issue 3|''Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook'' #3]], [[The Life of Sideswipe|''Optimus Prime'' #9]], [[Ghost in the Machine (IDW)|''Revolutionaries'' #8]], [[Shining Armor issue 1|''Rom vs. Transformers: Shining Armor'' #1]], and [[An Axe to Break the Ice|''Lost Light'' #8]].
*''[[Star Trek]]: Boldly Go''
*''Diablo House''
*''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Usagi Yojimbo''

==External links==
*[http://www.comicosity.com/preview-transformers-till-all-are-one-12/ Preview]

[[Category:Till All Are One issues]]

Revolutionaries

2018-01-06T06:26:17Z

Egg: Added main colorist credit

[[File:Revolutionaries1 subcvrB clean.jpg|thumb|right|250px|<s>Marvel</s> IDW Team-Up.]]

'''''Revolutionaries''''' is an eight-issue comic book series published in 2017 by [[IDW Publishing]]. Spinning out of the ''[[Revolution]]'' event, the series sees several supporting characters from ''[[The Transformers: Robots in Disguise|The Transformers]]'' join forces with [[Action Man]] in an adventure involving multiple characters and events from across IDW's [[Hasbro Universe]], featuring numerous rotating "guest stars" drawn from different corners of the new universe. It runs alongside sister titles ''[[Optimus Prime (comic)|Optimus Prime]]'', ''[[The Transformers: Lost Light|Lost Light]]'', and ''[[The Transformers: Till All Are One|Till All Are One]]'', basically an honorary "fourth" ''Transformers'' title.

The series sets up the events of 2017's ''[[First Strike]]'' maxi-series, bringing together some of the [[human]] supervillains working under the command of [[Joe Colton|Baron Ironblood]] and his ultimate weapon: the [[Talisman (G1)|Talisman]].

{{chapters|title=''Revolutionaries'' issues|align=center|prev=Revolution|next=First Strike|content=
*[[Crisis Intervention|#1]]
*[[Enter The Shadow|#2]]
*[[The Secret of the Mummy's Tomb|#3]]
*[[The Iron Klaw|#4]]
*[[Strange Visitors|#5]]
*[[Power and Glory|#6]]
*[[When Eagles Scream|#7]]
*[[Ghost in the Machine (IDW)|#8]]
*[[Unification Day: Dusk|First Strike]]
}}

==Overview==
Searching for more information about his recently-revealed Cybertronian [[Titan Master]] heritage, [[G.B. Blackrock|Garrison Blackrock]] investigates a mysterious [[Talisman (G1)|Talisman]] in [[Schleteva]], which sparks an international crisis when its energies accidentally transform all the humans in the city of [[Verenya]] into [[Dire Wraith]]s. [[Ayana Jones|Mayday]]'s [[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]] squad teams up with [[Rom]] to investigate, discovering that Ian Noble, Britain's latest [[Action Man]], and his new pal [[Kup (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Kup]] are also on the case. Hoping to use the Talisman in a genocidal attack on Cybertron, [[Joe Colton|Baron Ironblood]]'s [[Iron Ring]] recruit the [[Oktober Guard]], who steal the artifact and teleport it — and Ian — to a [[Section Sabine|temporary base]] on the [[Moon (moon)|moon]].

Hoping to rescue Action Man and learn more about the Talisman, the unlikely heroes make a deal with the dimensionally-marooned [[Micronaut]]s. Together, they storm Ironblood's repurposed [[Cobra]] moonbase, rescuing both Action Man and the Talisman. After learning that the Talisman has ties to the dimension of [[Microspace]], Ian uses his contacts in the [[Secret Intelligence Service|SIS]] to dig up files on the men who discovered the Talisman in the 1980s: [[Joe Colton]] and his globetrotting [[Adventure Team]]. A meeting with [[Bulletman|Richard Ruby]] turns into a history lesson when the retired adventurer recounts the team's 1980s adventure to [[Egypt]], their chance encounter with [[Soundwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Soundwave]], and the unusual effect the Talisman had on disabled superhero [[Atomic Man|Mike "Atomic Man" Power]]'s mechanical limbs. From Ruby, the heroes learn that the Talisman passed into the possession of the missing [[Garrison Kreiger]], founder of [[I.R.O.N.]]

Armed with this knowledge, the team heads off to investigate Kreiger's number-two shareholder in [[Kalistan]]: malevolent dictator Count van Rani, better known as the [[Iron Klaw]]. Infiltrating van Rani's Kalistanian [[Iron Castle|castle]] with the help of [[Snake-Eyes|Snake Eyes]], they discover that Kreiger is still alive, having forcibly enslaved and experimented on the [[Predacon (G1)|Predacon]]s to produce the [[combiner]] "[[Predaking (G1)|Predaking]]." Though the Revolutionaries succeed in putting down Predaking for good, their interference leads Ironblood to scrub their patsy [[Tomax and Xamot|Tomax Paoli]] and turn his mission to retrieve data on "[[Project Ice Man|Prject: Ice Man]] into a trap for the heroes.

Arriving in [[San Francisco]], the team attempts to apprehend Paoli, but are unprepared for his secret bodyguard [[Centurion (IDW)|Centurion]], a lost [[Eukaris|Eukarian]] Transformer who awoke in the 19th century and allied with Kreiger following the death of his [[Domitius Major|commander]]. Learning of this forgotten Transformer incursion, the heroes take in Tomax and convince Centurion to stand down as they set course for [[Brasnya]] to investigate the mystery of the missing Atomic Man. A subsequent meeting with [[Stalker (G.I. Joe)|Stalker]] sees the Revolutionaries join forces with [[M.A.S.K.]] in their fight; storming the Ice Man bunker, the Revolutionaries spring Kreiger's trap and contend with the Talisman-empowered Mike Power, Kreiger's [[IRON Trooper]]s, and [[I.R.O.N. Cybertronian|reanimated Cybertronian corpses]]. Action Man's words inspire a moment of self-reflection in the cyborg superhero, who chooses to take his own life. His passing energizes the Talisman one last time, which, in turn, disgorges a surprising occupant: [[Sgt. Savage]], thought dead since his disappearance in [[World War II]].

In [[Buenos Aires]], the Revolutionaries take stock of their recent adventures as they prepare to turn over the captured Kreiger to G.I. Joe custody. But Centurion is still loyal to Kreiger, and backstabs Kup to allow Baron Ironblood's forces an avenue in. In the chaos, Savage — remembering a previous adventure in the 1990s that saw him catapulted further into the future — tackles Ironblood and rips his helmet off, revealing Joe Colton! The subsequent fracas sees Blackrock use his Titan Master abilities to return the afflicted Verenyans to normal while Colton's alliance escapes with the Talisman, but not before using it to unleash a final wave of mutagenic energy. Centurion throws himself into the energy to protect the humans, sacrificing his life to save theirs... only for him to spring back to life, now a fusion between Centurion and Mike Power's consciousness, preserved within the Talisman. Though the Revolutionaries have let the Talisman escape, they vow to work harder than ever to keep the Earth and its inhabitants safe.

==Creative team==
[[John Barber]] continues as writer from ''Revolution'', with [[Fico Ossio]] and [[Sebastian Cheng]] continuing in art and colors respectively.<ref>http://www.cbr.com/barber-ossios-revolutionaries-expands-the-idwhasbro-universe/</ref>

==Collections==
*'''''Revolutionaries, Volume 1: Crisis Intervention''''' TPB ([[August 2]], [[2017]]) ISBN 1631409212 / ISBN 978-1631409219
:Contains issues 1–4
:Bonus material consists of art from most covers.

*'''''Revolutionaries, Volume 2: Power and Glory''''' TPB ([[November 1]], 2017) ISBN 1684050154 / ISBN 978-1684050154
:Contains issues 5–8
:Bonus material CURRENTLY UNKNOWN

<gallery>
File:Revolutionaries-V1.jpg|Volume 1 cover by [[Fico Ossio]] and [[Sebastian Cheng]]
File:Revolutionaries-V2.jpg|Volume 2 cover by [[Pierre Droal]]
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{i|Revolutionaries}} at the IDW Hasbro Wiki

[[Category:Generation 1 comic series]]
[[Category:IDW titles]]
[[Category:Revolutionaries issues| ]]

Schismatic

2018-01-06T06:21:12Z

Egg: Added the acute accent to the i in Garcia for the colorist's name

{{comicstory
|seriesissue=''[[Transformers vs. Visionaries]]'' #1
|prev=First Strike issue 6
|prev2=The Chosen One
|prev3=
|next=Transformers vs. Visionaries issue 2
|image=Visionaries1_cvrA.jpg
|caption=
|title="Schismatic"
|caption=
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[January 3]], [[2018]]
|coverdate=December 2017
|written by=[[Magdalene Visaggio]]
|art by=[[Fico Ossio]]
|colors by=[[David García Cruz]]
|letters by=[[Gilberto Lazcano]]
|assistant editor=[[David Mariotte]]
|editor=[[Sarah Gaydos]] and [[Carlos Guzman]]
|continuity=[[IDW Generation 1 continuity]]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline|Current era]]
}}

'''Ironhide and Kup enter into talks with Cybertron's newest residents, the magic-wielding Visionaries of New Prysmos, but it is a time when magic is more powerful than science...'''

==Synopsis==
Long ago, on the world of [[Prysmos]], [[magic]] had fallen into the realm of legend as technology took hold. The wizard [[Merklynn]] schemed to undo this and begin a new age of magic by casting a spell that brought Prysmos's three suns into alignment, their combined rays bathing the planet and causing all technological devices to cease functioning. Prysmos fell into a feudal state, and in this new world he had created, Merklynn was a figure of respect once more, who bestowed magical gifts upon two groups of "[[Visionaries]]," the heroic [[Spectral Knight]]s and evil [[Darkling Lord]]s. But Merklynn had been hasty in preparing his spell; its effects were not permanent, and when the suns moved out of alignment, Prysmos was literally torn apart. A small group of survivors was able to escape the planet, but millions perished, including [[Darkstorm]], leader of the Darkling Lords. Promising that he would find them a new world, Merklynn arrived on Earth and adopted the identity of [[Garrison Kreiger]], and after decades, eventually discovered and mastered the mysterious, mystical [[Talisman (G1)|Talisman]], intending to use it to terraform [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] into a new home for his people. His efforts were stymied, however, and he was only able to reshape a small portion of the planet's underground, creating the city of [[New Prysmos]].

Today, several weeks later, the displaced population of Prysmos have arrived on Cybertron and taken up residence within New Prysmos. For his crimes against Cybertron, Merklynn is held prisoner within the city, as the Visionaries debate how to proceed. Spectral Knight leader [[Leoric]] advocates caution and peace, as they had not expected to find themselves on an ''inhabited'' planet, but the Darkling Lords' new leader [[Virulina]] does not see the Transformers as living beings and proposes simply destroying them all and taking Cybertron for themselves. Leoric chastises her for adhering to Darkstorm's violent ways; regardless of their disagreements, Virulina insists they must work together to protect New Prysmos.

The pair's argument is mirrored by [[Autobot]]s [[Ironhide (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ironhide]] and [[Kup (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Kup]], who arrive to meet with Leoric and Virulina to discuss where the Transformers and Visionaries go from here. As security officer, Ironhide sees the sudden appearance of an alien "refugee camp" on Cybertron in the wake of a failed invasion as a threat to the already energy-starved planet, but Kup is in favor of keeping an open mind. Granted access to the city by [[Tankor (BM)|Fat Tankor]], who is manning the portal through the energy shield surrounding New Prysmos, the pair take in its streets and sights as they make their way to their meeting, which begins with Kup hailing the Visionaries with the [[universal greeting]], to their utter confusion. Unfortunately, things only get worse from there: Virulina finds the Transformers' terms for their continued presence on Cybertron unacceptably oppressive, and Ironhide has no time for her attitude, telling her that they can either take the deal, or get nothing. Ironhide and Virulina storm out of the meeting, leaving Kup to console Leoric with his belief that everyone will come around in time.

At the gates of New Prysmos, [[Wheeljack (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Wheeljack]] arrives with [[Breakdown (IDW)|Breakdown]], having been authorized to examine the Talisman inside in an attempt to learn more about it. As they wait to be granted access, Breakdown spots a glint of light coming from a crack in the cavern floor, but when he reaches out to touch it, the energy causes his arm to rapidly decay and die. Moving quickly, Wheeljack surgically removes Breakdown's arm to prevent the "infection" from spreading—and none too quickly, as the severed limb soon disintegrates into dust.

Virulina reports the outcome of the failed talks with Kup and Ironhide to the other Darkling Lords at their monastery, where the intellectual [[Cindarr]] tells her the news about Breakdown's encounter with the Talisman's energy. Realizing that the Transformers are vulnerable to magic, Virulina sees a way to take Cybertron from them, but Cindarr has some other interesting news about the Talisman to tell her...

After examining Breakdown, Wheeljack shares the conclusions he has reached with Kup and Ironhide: despite the energy wall surrounding New Prysmos, the energy of the Talisman is beginning to spread outside the city. Worse yet, he has discovered that the Talisman itself has begun to burrow into the planet, heading straight for its core, [[Vector Sigma]], apparently poised to complete Merklynn's original plan to terraform the entirety of Cybertron.

Armed with this new information, Ironhide, Kup, Virulina, and Leoric meet once more. Kup tries to be diplomatic, but Ironhide can't contain his anger, exploding with fury when it becomes apparent Virulina was aware of the Talisman's movements, and kept the information from Leoric. He hurls the conference table aside, but his aggression is met in kind by Virulina, who deploys a bladed staff charged with magic energy, and leaps at him. At the last second, Kup pushes Ironhide out of the way and is stabbed by Virulina's blade in his stead—and as Ironhide and Leoric watch in horror, the magic of the weapon ravages his body, decaying and disintegrating it, killing Kup on the spot.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Ironhide (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ironhide]] (5)
*[[Kup (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Kup]] (6)
*[[Wheeljack (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Wheeljack]] (14)

|c2=
*[[Tankor (BM)|Fat Tankor]] (4)

|h3=[[Spectral Knight]]s
|c3=
*[[Leoric]] (3)
*[[Arzon]] (7)
*[[Galadria]] (11)
*[[Witterquick]] (13)

|h4=[[Darkling Lord]]s
|c4=
*[[Cindarr]] (8)
*[[Virulina]] (9)
*[[Cravex]] (10)
*[[Lexor]] (12)

|h5=Others
|c5=
*Cybertronian guards (1)
*[[Merklynn]] (2)
*[[Breakdown (IDW)|Breakdown]] (15)
}}

==Quotes==
"Right now, we're deciding what kind of a people we're going to be. '''I'd''' rather not be a Decepticon."
:—'''Kup'''

"That's the problem with you Spectral Knights. You always fetishized peace over strength."
:—'''Virulina'''

"It's hard to stop fighting when you feel you've got something to '''lose.'''"
:—'''Kup'''

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
*This series takes place some time after the conclusion of [[First Strike issue 6|''First Strike'' #6]], in which Merklynn created New Prysmos. The Visionaries and other New Prysmosians did not actually appear in that comic, however, and it remains unclear from this issue if they were magically "teleported" in upon the city's creation, or only arrived at some point between the two issues; Kup mentions they have been there for "weeks." (There's kind of a storytelling gap between the two series that reads like this series was written without clear understanding of exactly how much setup ''First Strike'' would be doing ahead of time.)
*The deadly effect of the Talisman's energy (aka "magic") on Transformers was a key plot point in ''First Strike'', having first been established in [[First Strike issue 0|issue #0 of that series]] (though if certain comics had been released ''on time'', it would have been in [[When Eagles Scream|''Revolutionaries'' #7]]).
*The events of the [[The Chosen One|2017 ''Till All Are One'' annual]] have also occurred between ''First Strike'' and this series, with a few references being made to the fact that [[Windblade (G1)|Windblade]] has ascended to the position of ruler of Cybertron, as seen in that story. That issue also included a reference to the "creatures underground," indicating the Visionaries had arrived by the time it took place.
*Kup notes he's seen the Talisman "do a lotta crazy things," which is a good, if brief, way to sum up the eight-issue ''[[Revolutionaries]]'' series!
*As noted in a footnote, Kup previously used the universal greeting to communicate with the [[Micronaut]]s in [[Enter The Shadow|''Revolutionaries'' #2]].

===Visionaries references===
*During the Visionaries' initial meeting, reference is made to the absent Spectral Knight [[Cryotek (Visionaries)|Cryotek]], who has refused to attend because he considers it "shameful." This might be some kind of jokey reference to the fact that, unique among the Visionaries, Cryotek's name was later [[Cryotek (disambiguation)|re-used in the ''Transformers'' franchise]].
*A statue of the Darkling Lords' former leader Darkstorm appears in their monastery. Unlike the rest of the cast, he has ''not'' undergone an extensive redesign, and is drawn to match his classic cartoon character model.
*As a one-year wonder, ''Visionaries'' didn't have a sprawling cast, but even so, not all its characters appear in this series. Those chosen to appear or be referenced (including Cryotek and Darkstorm) are specifically all the members of the two factions who wielded "power staffs" in the original series, plus the two female members, Galadria and Virulina. The other (male) characters who did not have such weapons are nowhere to be seen, though art previews released by Fico Ossio ahead of time reveal that others — such as the Spectral Knight Feryl — ''will'' make appearances in subsequent issues.
*This is a reinvention of ''Visionaries'', obviously, so not everything is going to be the same, but we think we'd be remiss if we didn't highlight Cindarr, a pipe-smoking intellectual called out on the "roll call" page as a "thinker." To say this is in sharp contrast to the original dunderheaded Cindarr is putting it mildly, to an extent so great even in comparison to the rest of the cast that we have to wonder if there's a story brewing here.

===Errors===
*On the "roll call" page, Breakdown's name is misspelled "Breakdow'''m'''."
*The energy wall surrounding New Prysmos is treated as if it is a security field the Transformers are in control of, with Tankor manning a control booth that lets him open a portal in it, and reference being made to it being supposed to "contain" the Talisman's energy. But per ''First Strike'' #6—and indeed, the recap page of this issue—the wall was created by Merklynn when he created the city, and was designed to shut outsiders ''out'' of New Prysmos.
*The events of ''First Strike'' #6, where the Talisman was activated and formed New Prysmos, took place right outside the chamber containing the core of Cybertron. So how can it be ''tunneling downward'' to the planet's core...?
*In editor David Mariotte's letter after the main story (see "Other trivia," below), [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]]'s named is misspelled "Trailblazer."

===Other trivia===
*Previously only identified in-story as "[[Knock Out (G1)|Knock Out]]'s [[Conjunx Endura]]," this issue sees Breakdown referred to by name for the first time. The reluctance to use the name (shared with the [[Breakdown (WFC)|''Transformers: Prime'' character]] on whom he is directly based) has been due to the fact that there's [[Breakdown (G1)|''already'' a "Breakdown" in this continuity]], but hey, we've got two Tankors, so it ain't a big thing.
*This issue's story is followed by a letter from assistant editor David Mariotte telling the readers that, yes, Kup is definitely dead and that it was a great idea to kill him, and a two-page "In memoriam" segment for the old Autobot to try validating it even more. Good luck workin' that angle, guys!
**Indeed, Visaggio [https://twitter.com/MagsVisaggs/status/948538116817805312 clarified on Twitter] that his death was a plot point requested by the publisher rather than one she decided to include, and that she "Tried to do it the best [she] could".

===Covers (4)===
*'''Cover A:''' Virulina stabs Ironhide through the head, by [[Fico Ossio]]
*'''Cover B:''' Virulina shoots a blast of magic, by [[Andrew Griffith]]
*'''Cover RI-A:''' Kup and Leoric, by [[Brenden Cahill]] and [[Lauren Bennett]]
*'''Cover RI-B:''' Ironhide's dismembered torso hangs from the ceiling above Merklynn, by [[Angel Hernandez]] and [[Esther Sanz]]

<gallery>
File:TFvsVisionaries1 cvrA.jpg|
File:TFvsVisionaries1 cvrB.jpg|
File:TFvsVisionaries1 cvrRIA.jpg|
File:TFvsVisionaries1 cvrRIB.jpg|
</gallery>

===Advertisements===
*''Transformers vs. Visionaries'' #2
*[[The Chosen One|''Till All Are One'' 2017 Annual]]
*''[[Rom]] & the [[Micronaut]]s''
*''[[Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook]]'' TPB
*''Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'' Graphic Novel Adaptation

==External links==
*[https://www.cbr.com/exclusive-transformers-vs-the-visionaries-1/ Preview]

[[Category:Transformers vs. Visionaries issues]]

Talk:Shining Armor issue 1

2017-11-28T17:51:03Z

Egg: /* Stardrive's gender */ hope I'm doing this right

In the MTMTE Annual, K'gard's species were shown to tower over Ultra Magnus, but here they're shown to be significantly shorter than Starscream/Astrotrain. Does that qualify as an error, or...? --[[User:Riptide|Riptide]] ([[User talk:Riptide|talk]]) 18:02, 19 July 2017 (EDT)
:I say note it as a potential error, and alternatively species variety. [[User:S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent 47|S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent 47]] ([[User talk:S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent 47|talk]]) 18:13, 19 July 2017 (EDT)
::Alex Milne clarified on TFW2005 he's on offshoot of K'gard's species. [http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/threads/rom-vs-transformers-shining-armor-1-ibooks-preview.1114693/page-2#post-14804901/ Source]. [[User:Jcbynum1|Jcbynum1]] ([[User talk:Jcbynum1|talk]]) 18:21, 19 July 2017 (EDT)

==Stardrive's gender==
Think we need to open some discussion here, because I don't agree with the recent edit's assessment. Stardrive would ''not'' have been "assigned male" on Cybertron, because she would never have been born there. Whatever term you want to use to describe her, be it that she has a "female bodyform," or that she's "cisgender," or your terminology of choice, Stardrive is a "type" of female Transformer - one who identifies as female, and whose bodyform is outwardly, naturally female - that does not exist naturally on Cybertron in the present day, only on colony worlds. - [[User:Chris McFeely|Chris McFeely]] ([[User talk:Chris McFeely|talk]])
:I agree with Riptide and Chris. Stardrive naturally (insofar as social sentients can do) from an exceptionally young age developed a female identity, including a chassis, unopposed and in line with the society that raised her. In this timeframe that would not have happened on Cybertron. The note is therefore relevant for this issue to account for her somewhat jarring existence to Cybertron-born Cybertronians. [[User:S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent 47|S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent 47]] ([[User talk:S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent 47|talk]]) 21:05, 24 October 2017 (EDT)
::Yeah, Stardrive is from Caminus, so what she'd be assigned on Cybertron is immaterial. Plus the mention of "we see female cameos" doesn't potentially mean anything other than these are likely the people Anode was describing as having gotten chassis refits such as her own to match her self image. --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] ([[User talk:ItsWalky|talk]]) 21:31, 24 October 2017 (EDT)
:::Tossing in my vote here for, well, everyone above's take. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 16:17, 25 October 2017 (EDT)
::::Joining late (didn't even know this was here but thanks Chris!). The thing that continues to bother me is the focus on body shape, despite there being canon evidence that Cybertronians don't have similar distinctions (Firestar doesn't register as "female" to Skids, neither Nautica to Rewind). What appears to be "a female physical form" is an out-of-universe view, something that the audience sees. (The current edit is also wrong about the definition of cisgender, which means a gender identity that matches with the one assigned at birth, not a correlation between body shape and gender.) The transgender bots on Cybertron could have been born with the "female body shape", and still been assigned male due to the planet's current policies. Even if Anode changed her body, it doesn't mean everybody did, and it wouldn't make sense for Vector Sigma to suddenly stop producing certain shapes conveniently when the Golden Age began (female body shapes existed before, as we've seen in flashbacks). For Cybertronian Transformers, body doesn't dictate assigned gender. We don't know about the colonies, but this is what I'm basing my claims on. Using human essentialism on alien robots without physical sex nor uniform views of gender is silly. [[User:Egg|Egg]] ([[User talk:Egg|talk]]) 12:51, 28 November 2017 (EST)

Deathsaurus (G1)

2017-11-28T17:26:50Z

Egg: Made Esmeral, his wife, a bit more present in the article

{{factions|decepticon}}
{{featured}}
{{disambig3|Deathsaurus}}
:''Deathsaurus is a [[Decepticon]] from the [[Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers: Victory (franchise)|Victory portion]] of the [[Generation 1 continuity family]].''

[[File:Deathsaurus1.jpg|325px|thumb|Spell it right or you're kickbanned, buster.]]

'''Deathsaurus''' (デスザラス ''Desuzarasu'', aka '''Deszaras''' and '''Dezarus''') began terrorizing the galaxy long before ascending to the position of Decepticon [[Emperor of Destruction]]. For thousands of years, this savage and cruel dictator has spread terror throughout the universe, and has now set his sights upon the Earth as a source of energy to power his terrifying superweapon, the [[Planet-Destroying Fortress]]. And if [[Star Saber (Victory)|Star Saber]] should get in his way, so much the better: Deathsaurus bears the Autobot [[Supreme Commander]] a bitter grudge, and relishes any opportunity to destroy him that presents itself.

Deathsaurus is a [[Breastforce]] warrior, partnered with two transforming chestplates that become the [[Breast Animal]]s [[Tigerbreast]] and [[Eaglebreast]]. He wields a deadly spiked flail, and the [[Living-Metal-Destroying Cannon]], which erodes the living metallic cells of super-robot lifeforms. The bladed wings of his creature mode absorb sunlight, converting it into dark energy, and he can then launch these energized blades at his opponents in an attack known as his "Death Wing". Despite all of these terrifying powers, however, Deathsaurus is a surprisingly "hands off" leader, who is perfectly happy to allow his subordinates to formulate their own plans and schemes to gather energy for him—but if they should fail, he'll always be there to berate and brutalize them. Even when the plans are his own, Deathsaurus is content to watch and command from a distance, rather than dirty his own hands—but he'll rarely waste a chance to engage Star Saber on the battlefield, and if that occurs, woe betide anyone who gets in Deathsaurus's way.

Not without a soft side, Deathsaurus permits himself one distinctive, unusual foible: although he despises most humans, he has a surprising soft spot for children. He is also husband to [[Esmeral_(Victory)|Esmeral]], who resides in the Planet-Destroying Fortress.

In some universes, he can combine with the ''Destron'' team to form [[Liokaiser]], replacing Leozack & Jallguar.

{{quote|I will not forgive this, Star Saber! I swear! I swear I will crush you with my bare hands! I swear, you worm! With my bare hands!|Deathsaurus tells you all you'll ever need to know about him|"[[Resurrection!? The Decepticon Fortress]]"}}

==Fiction==
===Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity===
====''Super-God Masterforce'' cartoon====
Clips of Deathsaurus were seen when [[Shūta Gō|Shūta]] and [[Grand Maximus]] were talking about the new [[Supreme Commander]] [[Star Saber (Victory)|Star Saber]]. {{storylink |Shūta and Grand's Masterforce Super-Secrets!}}

====''Victory'' cartoon====
{{voiceactor|[[Takeshi Aono]] (Japanese)|[[Rik Thomas]] (English, Omni Productions dub), [[Víctor Mares]] (Latin American Spanish)}}

[[File:Deathsaurus fortress.jpg|left|thumb|225px|By the power of Grayskull!]]

500,000 years ago, striving to become the Decepticons' new Emperor of Destruction, Deathsaurus created a gigantic battle fortress capable of destroying planets, but an attack by the young Autobot commander Star Saber saw the fortress de-powered and trapped in a gravity cell at the heart of the region of space known as [[Dark Nebula]]. This began the enmity between Star Saber and Deathsaurus, and as both combatants rose through the ranks of their respective armies, Deathsaurus vowed to eventually liberate his fortress and use it to destroy Star Saber. {{storylink|Resurrection!? The Decepticon Fortress}}

Some years prior to 2025, after the conclusion of the [[Masterforce War]] on Earth, Deathsaurus succeeded [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] as Decepticon leader and achieved his dream of becoming Emperor of Destruction. {{storylink|#Toys|Deathsaurus's ''Victory'' toy bio}} Under his command, the Decepticons began seeking a planet that they could call their own and invaded worlds all across the galaxy. To counteract Deathsaurus's campaign of terror, the Autobots—now with Star Saber serving as their Supreme Commander—and many other sentient races formed the [[Galactic Peace Alliance]], and struck back at the Decepticons with their [[Galactic Peace Alliance|Galactic Defense Force]]. As time passed and this conflict continued, Deathsaurus began focusing his attacks on "Sector One" of the galaxy, containing the planet Earth, until 2025, when the severity and frequency of the attacks forced Star Saber to take command of the Defense Force unit in that area himself. {{storylink|The Brave Hero of the Universe - Star Saber}}

[[File:Deathsaurus starsaber moonbattle.jpg|thumb|225px|Parry on regardless.]]

When Deathsaurus's [[Dinoforce]] attacked the [[Lunar Base (Victory)|Lunar Base]] on Earth's [[Moon (moon)|moon]], Star Saber raced to aid his fellow [[Brainmaster]]s in battle there, only to find his way barred by Deathsaurus. Hoping to distract Star Saber long enough for the Dinoforce to finish their job, Deathsaurus engaged his old foe in battle, but Star Saber broke off the fight as quickly as he could and headed on toward the moon with Deathsaurus hot on his heels. After Star Saber defeated the Dinoforce, Deathsaurus caught up to him and unleashed his Breast Animals upon the Autobot in both beast and weapon forms. Star Saber eventually won out, defeating both the creatures and besting Deathsaurus in a swordfight, forcing the Decepticon leader to summon up his craft, the ''[[Thunder Arrow]],'' and flee aboard it. {{storylink|The Brave Hero of the Universe - Star Saber}}

[[File:Deathsaurus throne.jpg|left|thumb|225px|THRONE'D!]]

Recognizing the Earth as a rich source of energy that he could use to power up his Planet-Destroying Fortress, Deathsaurus centered most of his subsequent attacks on the planet, summoning the Breastforce to aid in the campaign. {{storylink|Sneak Attack! Dinoking}} {{storylink|Attack! Leozack}} {{storylink|Unite!! Multiforce}} Deathsaurus was entirely aware of the fact that the Breastforce's leader [[Leozack]] had designs on leadership of the Decepticons for himself, {{storylink|Move Out! Rescue Team}} but he was amused enough by it to let him slide by, allowing Leozack to believe that he was oblivious to his schemes. Residing on the Thunder Arrow as it hopscotched around the planet and solar system, Deathsaurus was content to watch as his troops staged numerous attacks on Earth. {{storylink|Infiltration... The Uranium Mine}} {{storylink|Explosion!! The Energy Base}}

[[File:Deathsaurus beastmode.jpg|thumb|225px|Not to be confused with the [[w:Robot Chicken|Adult Swim]] show of the same name.]]

Deathsaurus finally decided to join his troops on a mission when the Decepticon began draining electrical energy from an American subway system. While the Breastforce snuck through the subway tunnels, Deathsaurus himself targeted the power distribution center, where he was confronted by Star Saber. The true cunning of Deathsaurus's scheme was revealed when he let loose his Breast Animals, and Star Saber proved no match for the creatures in the small confines of the underground complex. Unfortunately for Deathsaurus, he had overlooked the fact that with both Breast Animals deployed, his own chest was left unprotected, leaving it open to an attack from Star Saber's Saber Blade. Wounded, Deathsaurus recalled his Breast Animals and fled, but not without successfully taking the energy he had managed to steal beforehand. {{storylink|Big City - Underground Terror}}

When the Breastforce were joined by [[Hellbat (Victory)|Hellbat]], the newcomer also adopted designs on the Decepticon throne. {{storylink|The New Warrior - Hellbat}} Deathsaurus was even less concerned with Hellbat's ambitions than he was with Leozack's, though, since the two would-be traitors were always too busy fighting with each other to pose a serious threat to him. In their constant games of one-upmanship, Leozack and Hellbat crafted numerous failed schemes of their own, eventually forcing Deathsaurus to step in and give his minions a mission of his own devising. Deathsaurus had the Decepticons hide in the asteroid belt and capture human shuttlecraft in order to use drain their energy and use them to create an energy alloy. Star Saber soon got wise to the villains' evildoings and arrived to put a stop to them, but again, Deathsaurus successfully escaped with his amassed energy. {{storylink|A Fierce Battle!! The Asteroid}}

[[File:Starsaber living metal destroying cannon.jpg|left|thumb|Say hello to my little friend...]]

While the Breastforce were busy on planet [[Micro]], Deathsaurus and the Dinoforce took the Thunder Arrow into the Dark Nebula, where Deathsaurus emptied his stockpile of energy into his inactive fortress. The giant structure briefly flared back to life, but soon shut down once more; Deathsaurus was unfazed, having only sought to confirm whether or not the fortress could even be reactivated. On the trip back to Earth, the Decepticons crossed paths with Star Saber and the [[Rescue Patrol Team]], and Deathsaurus engaged Star Saber in battle with his Living-Metal-Destroying Cannon. Although Deathsaurus was actually able to pull the trigger on what would have been a fatal blast, he discovered that he had expended too much of his energy supply reactivating his fortress, and his weapons systems shut down before he could end Star Saber's life, necessitating his tactical withdrawal. {{storylink|Resurrection!? The Decepticon Fortress}}

[[File:Deathsaurus vs leozack.jpg|thumb|Tell me, what was the color of Napoleon's White horse?]]

Deathsaurus next clashed with Star Saber in Antarctica, only stepping onto the battlefield after the Breastforce, combined as [[Liokaiser]], had severely weakened Star Saber. Deathsaurus took over the fight, intent on being the one to deliver the final blow, but Star Saber was able to turn the battle around, and forced Deathsaurus into retreat. {{storylink|Fight to the Death!! Antarctic Battle}} In a later battle atop the Thunder Arrow, deep in the desert, Star Saber again humbled Deathsaurus, this time with the aid of [[Greatshot]], but the fight left both the Supreme Commander and [[Blacker]] badly wounded. {{storylink|Crisis! Ambush in the Desert}} Capitalizing on the Autobots' reduced manpower, Deathsaurus stepped up the Decepticons' attacks across the planet, and removed another annoyance by finally calling Leozack out on his treachery. Easily besting the traitorous Breastforcer in combat, Deathsaurus forced him to swear total loyalty to him, or face death. Leozack made the logical choice, and then, combined with his fellow Breastforcers as Liokaiser, joined with his leader in staging an ambush for Star Saber in a subterranean cave in Asia. Disguising himself as a Terracotta Army-esque statue, Deathsaurus was able to get the drop on Star Saber when Liokaiser lured him into the cave, and again unleashed the Living-Metal-Destroying Cannon on his enemy. Once more, Deathsaurus stood poised to kill Star Saber with the weapon, until the last-minute arrival of [[Ginrai (robot)|God Ginrai]], who took the fatal shot. Liokaiser had to persuade the incensed Deathsaurus to retreat as more Autobots arrived, {{storylink|A Deadly Battle}} but the Decepticon leader soon clashed with Star Saber once more in a later battle at a solar power station. Deathsaurus emerged victorious in that fight when Star Saber was forced to flee upon receiving news of Ginrai's deteriorating condition. {{storylink|Ginrai Dies!!}} Ginrai's life was saved, however, when he was rebuilt into the powerful new warror, [[Victory Leo]]. {{storylink|Fight!! Victory Leo}}

Next, Deathsaurus began bombarding the Earth with missiles from an orbital weapons platform, as a means of staying the Autobots' hands while his forces gathered energy across the planet. Star Saber and Victory Leo were able to thwart his plan by combining into the mighty Victory Saber; Deathsaurus's missile launch system had been programmed based on Star Saber's speed, but with the added power of Victory Leo, the Autobot hero was able to outrace the missiles, destroy the launcher and defeat Deathsaurus in an outer space battle. {{storylink|The Tide Is Turned! The Ultimate Weapon, the Victory Unification}}

[[File:Victory37 finalblow.jpg|left|thumb|Who says robots don't bleed?]]

Following an attempt to destroy the Autobots with the metal-eating [[Doriya]] insects, {{storylink|The Death-Bringing Space Insects!!}} Deathsaurus was informed by Hellbat that he had discovered the location of the sunken continent of [[Atlantis]], which could provide the raw energy to reactivate his fortress. Deathsaurus risked all or nothing to obtain Atlantis's energy, using up the Thunder Arrow's entire energy stockpile to raise the continent, but the plan proved a success, as the Autobots were too busy dealing with the devastating tidal waves caused by the rise of Atlantis to stop him from absconding with enough energy to bring his fortress back online. {{storylink|The Terror of the Giant Tidal Waves}} Having no further use for the bumbling Dinoforce, Deathsaurus abandoned them on Earth and headed back to the Dark Nebula with the Breastforce, where he successfully re-energized his fortress and began moving it towards Earth. {{storylink|The Wrath of the Resurrected Giant Fortress!}}

[[File:Victory37 deadsaurus.jpg|thumb|With my last breath, I curse Zoidberg!]]

Intent on learning from the failures of all past Decepticon leaders, Deathsaurus chose not to conquer Earth, but to utterly destroy the planet, eradicting from Decepticon history the humiliating stain of defeat the planet represented. As the fortress rained destruction down upon Earth with meteor bombs, even Victory Saber could not stand up to its power. Soon, however, a resentful Dinoforce supplied information on the fortress's weak spot to Star Saber's adopted human son, [[Jan Minakaze|Jan]], who then used his own [[Illumina II|personal mech]] to enter the fortress and strike at this vulnerability. As he did so, Deathsaurus and Star Saber engaged in a vicious final battle, during which Deathsaurus lost an eye, and was eventually stopped when Star Saber broke his sword off in the villain's chest. Gushing fuel and fluid, Deathsaurus vowed to have the last laugh as he set the crippled fortress on a collision course with Earth and blew himself out an airlock, vowing to return again and again. But, as his body drifted off into space, no sign of life was visible from the conquered emperor. Victory Saber was able to subsequently destroy the fortress before it collided with Earth, but Deathsaurus was not heard from again. {{storylink|Showdown! The Fortress vs the Victory Unification}}
{{-}}
{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|Attack the Shuttle Base!!}} {{storylink|Tanker Hijack Operation}} {{storylink|Rescue Jan!!}} {{storylink|Unite! Liokaiser}} {{storylink|Battle Up of Wrath!!}} {{storylink|Jan - Defend the Campus!!}} {{storylink|A Mystery?! The Deception of the Base Bombs}}}}

====''Zone'' catalog====
[[File:DarkEmperorDeathsaurusZone01.jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|What is it with Decepticon emperors and their absurd weapons?]]

Through means unknown, Deathsaurus was resurrected as the "[[Emperor of Destruction|Dark Emperor]]" and once again lead the Decepticons in an attack on the Autobots. This time, it was a full-on assault on planet [[Micro|Zone]] in an attempt to seize the Micro Zone's [[Energon Z]]. The [[Micromaster]]s repelled his attack and sent Deathsaurus into retreat. What became of him afterward is unknown. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers: Zone (story page)#Catalogue story page 1|Zone Project Story}}
{{-}}

===''Victory'' manga===
[[File:MangaYoungDeathyStarSaber.jpg|left|thumb|225px|"Come back here and help me put some sense in this image!"]]
Deathsaurus and Star Saber's rivalry began 500,000 years ago when they were both children, and according to Star Saber, "argued all the time". {{storylink|The Star of Friendship, Jan and Star Saber!}} In his "adult" years, Deathsaurus took [[Esmeral (Victory)|Esmeral]] as his wife, and in order to keep both her and the families of his fellow Decepticons safe aboard his "Space Stronghold", Deathsaurus began attacking Earth, in order to obtain the planet's energy and use it to keep the stronghold fully powered-up. {{storylink|Heroic! The Victory War}}

During one of his early attacks on Earth, Deathsaurus took pity on an infant human named [[Solon Kitakaze (Victory)|Solon Kitakaze]], whose parents had died in the assault. Deathsaurus "adopted" Solon and turned him into a cyborg, raising him as his own son, just as Star Saber did with the human child Jan Minakaze. As Star Saber and Deathsaurus had been rivals in their youth, so too would Solon and Jan become rivals when, in 2025, Deathsaurus's campaign against Earth intensified.

Deathsaurus and Star Saber's first major battle in this campaign was a brief one, with Deathsaurus being felled by a single swipe of Star Saber's Saber Blade, {{storylink|Magnificent! Our Friend, Star Saber!}} but the Emperor of Destruction had a better showing in their next clash, during which he absorbed enough energy from a forest fire to best Star Saber, Road Caesar and Landcross all together. Deathsaurus's unusual compassion for children proved to be his downfall in this battle when he was distracted by the sight of Solon, gripping Jan in a hold that threatened the boy's life. While Deathsaurus's attention was occupied with striking Solon as punishment, Star Saber blindsided and defeated him with a Super Saber Meteor Spin. {{storylink|Great Turn-Around! Star Saber}}

Deathsaurus later sent Solon to study in school on Earth, in order to learn more about humans, thereby making it easier to conquer them. {{storylink|Leozack Rumbles Violently!}} While Solon was on Earth, he and Jan were approached by former Autobot human allies [[Shūta Gō]] and [[Cab (human)|Cab]], {{storylink|Warrior of Love, Star Saber!}} and with Jan, they formed the "Autobot Boy Team" known as the [[Victories]]. Seeking to counter this group with a team of his own, Deathsaurus had [[Yokuryu]] capture Jan and bring him to the ''Thunder Arrow'', where he attempted to bribe the boy into joining the Decepticons' group with toys, a [[Family Computer|Famicom]], candy and cash. When an enraged Star Saber soon came tearing into the ''Thunder Arrow'', Deathsaurus crossed swords with the Autobot leader, but was then distracted by Jan distracting who exploited the Decepticon's bizarre fear of caterpillars by dangling one in his face. The cowering Deathsaurus was promptly bested in dramatically explosive fashion by Star Saber's "Planetary Impulse Sword" technique, and realised with hindsight that Solon was the only kid he needed. {{storylink|Watch Out, Jan! Hurry, Star Saber!}} Deathsaurus was apparently left so badly injured by this clash that he couldn't participate in the next battle, given that he was only seen lying in bed, coughing, with Solon resting a giant ice-pack on his head. {{storylink|The Star of Friendship, Jan and Star Saber!}}

[[File:Kingsaurus.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|The mighty Kingsaurus. Mighty.]]

Rested and healthy again, Deathsaurus joined with [[Dinoking]] and Liokaiser in going up against Star Saber together, and perhaps not entirely surprisingly, the badly outnumbered Autobot was defeated by the three Decepticons. Before they could deliver the killing stroke, however, Star Saber was saved by the sudden arrival of Victory Leo, with whom he combined to form Victory Saber. The merged pair defeated the trio of Decepticons in one blast of their "Flash Victory" attack. {{storylink|The Strongest Partners, the Combination of Victory!}} Deathsaurus immediately sought out away to combat Star Saber's new power, and developed a Transformer-sized mech for Solon named "King Solon," with which he could combine to form "Kingsaurus". In this new form, Deathsaurus battled Victory Saber on the planet [[Guard]], with neither combatant getting the upper hand in over three hours of fighting. When [[Patty Minakaze]]'s mentioned the word "mother", however, something of Solon's past was stirred in the boy's mind, and he was distracted long enough for Victory Saber to destroy the King Solon mech components with his Victory. The burning Solon tumbled to the ground, where Patty tended his wounds despite his protestations. Perhaps wary of Solon's confused emotional state, Deathsaurus reminded him that while he was a human child, he was a Decepticon's son by fate. {{storylink|Mighty! Victory Saber}}

[[File:Starsaber deathsaurus truce.jpg|left|225px|thumb|"So, we both agree that the childhood friendship thingie made no sense at all?" "Yes! Oh, what a glorious day!"]]

As it turned out, Deathsaurus was right to be wary—in the midst of a later battle with Star Saber and Road Caesar, Solon turned against Deathsaurus and sided with the Victories, opening fire on his "father" and declaring that he would fight to protect the Earth, instead of destroy it. Now with Solon on their side, the Victories were able to channel their power into the Autobots, and the Decepticons were sent fleeing by the "Five Stars of Victory" attack. {{storylink|Shine! The Five Stars of Victory}} Deathsaurus led the Decepticons back to the Space Stronghold and began bombarding the Earth with meteor bombs, prompting the Autobots to attack it. Deathsaurus left the Breastforce to man the fortress while he engaged Star Saber in a final battle in the void of space, but had not reckoned with the treachery of Leozack, who fired on his emperor with the fortress's main cannon. To save himself, Deathsaurus was forced to return fire on the fortress, and Star Saber followed suite, smashing into the fortress's control chamber and taking Leozack down. As Leozack begged the Autobots not to destroy the fortress, the wounded Deathsaurus arrived and revealed to the Autobots the presence of the Decepticons' families aboard the vessel. After his wife, Esmeral, explained to the Autobots that the Decepticons' had only done what they had in the name of their families' safety, Star Saber decided that it was time for the two leaders to follow the example set by their sons and lay down their arms. Deathsaurus and Star Saber shook hands, and the [[Victory War]] came to an end, bringing peace to everyone—the truest victory of all! {{storylink|Heroic! The Victory War}}
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===''Transformers PD Type'' comic===
[[File:PDType Deathsaurus blackball.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4]]
Out of ammo, the Autobots started throwing things at Deathsaurus, including a [[Blackball]]! Gloating, Deathsaurus began to plan his conquest of the galaxy, only to become so annoyed at the rocks bouncing off his head that in frustration he threw the Blackball at the Autobots. {{storylink|Transformers PD Type##4 "Good Job! Deathsaurus!!"|Good Job! Deathsaurus!!}} Right when Star Saber was ready to finish him, Deathsaurus brought in Liokaiser. The two Decepticons were soon hunting for their enemy as he frantically tried to contact Victory Leo. {{storylink|Transformers PD Type##5 "Don't Lose! Star Saber!!"|Don't Lose! Star Saber!!}}

Deathsaurus and [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] were pounced on by Victory Leo until Megatron was able to distract the lion with a huge ball of yarn, allowing the Decepticons to escape. {{storylink|Transformers PD Type##6 "Tough as Nails! Victory Leo!"|Tough as Nails! Victory Leo!}} After a lengthy mid-air battle with Star Saber, Deathsaurus fell from the sky and ended up with [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] chewing on his head. {{storylink|Transformers PD Type##8 "Me Strongest! Me Grimlock!"|Me Strongest! Me Grimlock!}}
{{--}}

===Dreamwave ''Generation One'' continuity===
[[File:Deathsaurus dreamwave.jpg|left|thumb|125px|Polish Me!]]
Deathsaurus was an [[Destron (G1)|ancient Transformer]] from Cybertron's lost past. While searching for clues about the planet's history, Megatron stumbled across a hidden chamber beneath the planet's surface containing two massive statues of Deathsaurus and [[Dai Atlas (Zone)|Dai Atlas]], holding a [[Golden Disk (ancient)|golden disk]] between them. This chamber apparently told of a vast Cybertronian Empire that ended prior to recorded history. {{storylink|The Route of All Evil}}
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===Descent into Evil===
[[File:Deathsaurustimelines.jpg|thumb|Deathsaurus orchestrates the rise of a New Decepticon Empire, or NAMBLA.]]

Using a clone lab on [[Ceti Alpha Seven]], Deathsaurus wished to revive the fading [[Decepticon Empire]] with a vast [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticon]] army. After the first batch of [[Virulent Clone|clones]] was completed, his operation was interrupted by a team of [[Autobot]] commandos under the command of [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]]. Deathsaurus overpowered and captured the first wave himself, and soon faced Ironhide one-on-one, while [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] attempted to rescue the fallen Autobots. Due to the assistance of Tripredacus Agent [[Flamewar (G1)|Flamewar]], these two were defeated and captured as well.

They woke up bound inside Deathsaurus's clone lab. The Emperor of Destruction appeared on a television screen, declaring that his use for the lab was completed and was prepared to detonate it remotely with the Autobots inside. Unfortunately for Deathsaurus, the Autobot espionage agent [[Ricochet (Timelines)|Ricochet]] not only freed the Autobots before the explosion occurred, but also seeded the remaining clones with a virus, leaving Deathsaurus with nothing to show for his work. {{storylink|Descent into Evil}}
{{-}}

===Theft of the Golden Disk===
Years later, towards the end of the Great War, the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] [[Cryotek (Universe)|Cryotek]] worked under Deathsaurus as a supply manager. When the final defeat of the Decepticons at last came, Cryotek led his fellow Predacon workers in a rebellion against Deathsaurus, and used the materials he stole from his depot to begin his own criminal empire. {{storylink|Transformers Collectors' Club|Cryotek's "Theft of the Golden Disk" profile}}

===''Wings Universe''===
Deathsaurus's origins are unknown, but he quickly rose within the ranks of the Decepticons after the uprisings began. He established himself as one of the fourteen leading [[Decepticon Warlord|Warlord]]s in the Decepticon cause and gathered a small inner circle of followers including [[Falcon (G1)|Falcon]], [[Vanquish (G1)|Vanquish]], and [[Lyzack (Victory)|Lyzack]]. {{storylink|Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club issue 34|Deathsaurus's profile in Club magazine #34}} He had managed to recuit the latter as his personal servant by promising to aid Lyzack in liberating her [[Leozack|brother]] from the Autobots. {{storylink|Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club issue 40|Lyzack's profile in Club magazine #40}} Deathsaurus preferred to lead from his throne room, directing others to carry out his strategies from a distance. He accumulated a great deal of ill-gotten wealth from his forces' assaults on high-ranking generals and aristocrats in the Autobot hierarchy, while carrying on his own experiments into the areas of [[Triple Changer|multiple alternate modes]] and [[Combiner|combination technology]]. {{storylink|Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club issue 34|Deathsaurus's profile in Club magazine #34}}

Following a raid against the Autobot general [[Traachon]], Deathsaurus sat in his throne room enjoying the fruit of his labors, and the finest oil reserves from the good general's private stash. He updated himself on [[Rage (G1)|Rage]]'s final fate at [[Median]] thanks to his deep cover source, [[Flip Sides (G1)|Flip Sides]]. Reviewing the details of the conflict with the [[Cybertron Elite Guard|Elite Guard]], a plan began to form in his diabolical processor regarding the reported victors, the [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticon]]s. {{storylink|Flames of Yesterday}}

[[File:TheComingStorm4-LordDeathsaurus.jpg|left|thumb|upright=2.2|He wasn't quite sure whether he was hiring [[Leozack]] or [[Lyzack (Victory)|Lyzack]] to serve him drinks.]]

Seeing the possibility of swaying the Combaticons to his cause, Deathsaurus had [[Onslaught (G1)|Onslaught]] and his men captured and brought to his headquarters. In his throne room Deathsaurus wove a complicated web of deceit, half-truths, and temptations to bring the Elite Guardsmen under his control. [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] and [[Vortex (G1)|Vortex]] were easy, as their respective greed and love of fine oil was easy to satisfy. To earn their trust, Deathsaurus offered to fix up the Combaticons' armor due to the "mistaken" injuries they suffered at the hands of his soldiers, and he also offered to upgrade them in the process. The lonely [[Blast Off (G1)|Blast Off]] was quick to jump at the idea of having both land and space modes, letting him remain active and useful on the ground. [[Brawl (G1)|Brawl]]'s anger could not be easily cooled, so Deathsaurus merely redirected it, suggesting the Combaticons could not fight properly without the Elite Guard backing them up. After that comment, Brawl was more than willing to fight the Elite Guard to prove he was tougher.

Onslaught was the most difficult to manipulate, and so Deathsaurus appealed to his pride, intimating that Onslaught's strategic skill had waned since his days at the top of [[Omnihelix Academy]]. Instead, Deathsaurus posited that Onslaught could reach his full potential once freed from the shackles of the Elite Guard. By defeating the Guard, the Combaticons could prove they were better than Autobot and Decepticon alike, and become a new symbol of power on post-war Cybertron. Unwilling to appear weak, and lured by the notion of personal power and recognition, Onslaught relented. At this point, the Combaticons were all suitably mollified, ready to follow Deathsaurus's commands while still believing it was ''their'' decision to do so. Deathsaurus sealed the deal with his newly completed combiner technology blueprints, and left Onslaught to plan his attack. {{storylink|The Coming Storm: Part 4}}

As the Combaticons prepared for an attack against their former allies, Deathsaurus turned his attention to other matters. Although he had a seat on the Decepticon War Council, Deathsaurus rarely if ever chose to attend the meetings. Instead, he sent his spokesman, Falcon in his place. With the Council in disarray after the capture of [[Gutcruncher (G1)|Gutcruncher]] and the merger of the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicon]]s and [[Photon]]s with Megatron's forces, Deathsaurus decided it was time to act. He sent the unwitting Falcon to the council meeting with a bomb and detonated it, killing his faithful lieutenant and five of the remaining Warlords. With one well-timed explosion, Deathsaurus ensured that only he and [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] remained as Decepticon Warlords and rivals for power. Deathsaurus then turned to continue planning with Falcon's replacement, his newly appointed lieutenant and head of the [[Seeker (body-type)|Skyraider-Seeker Brigade]].

His name was [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]]. {{storylink|A Team Effort}}

[[File:BattleLines3-makeyoupay.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|Dude, just use a [[Robo-Smasher]] and spare yourself the effort.]]

Starscream was happy to report to Deathsaurus that the Combaticons, in their new combined form of [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]], had successfully vanquished the Elite Guard, and that the turncoats were on their way back to Deathsaurus' lair. Despite their victory, Starscream chafed at his commander's plan to welcome them into the Decepticons proper. Starscream feared that the Combaticons were not true Decepticons, but instead using their new allegiance to further their own quest for power. Deathsaurus countered that was what made them the perfect Decepticons, and reminded his new lieutenant that ambition is what separates the Decepticons from the stagnation and complacency of the Autobots. Starscream acquiesced and was ordered by Deathsaurus to help Lyzack prepare the medical bay for the arriving Combaticons. {{storylink|Battle Lines, Part 1}}

Deathsaurus observed as the Combaticons were repaired, and ordered Constructicons to concentrate on repairing them to the point that they could form Bruticus at Deathsaurus's will. After Bruticus proved to wild to control and was shut down, Starscream admired Deathsaurus's forethought in adding an override to the Combiner. He also warned the Warlord of an Elite Guard squad approaching their base. Deathsaurus ordered Starscream to call the troops to arms. {{storylink|Battle Lines, Part 2}} He himself took part in the fight, exchanging blows with [[Magnum]] and informing the Autobot that he had done nothing to the Combaticons' minds other than convince them they would be better served by the Decepticon cause. Outraged, Magnum renewed his attack on the self-proclaimed emperor. {{storylink|Battle Lines, Part 3}}

[[File:BattleLines5-istillfunction.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.66|"Did I do... good?" "Look, stop stealing other guys' lines!"]]

The Warlord pointed out mockingly that Magnum's backup appeared to be falling flat, at which point the Autobot blasted him in the chest. Magnum took a battering from Lyzack, and Deathsaurus picked himself up to find Magnum and [[Thunder Clash|Thunderclash]] right where he could finish them off. Unfortunately that was when [[Sprocket (G1)|Sprocket]] jumped on him, demanding a [[zap-pony]] ride, and then shot him in his already damaged chest. Deathsaurus ordered a retreat, however the greatest indignity was still to come, as when he got home, he found his throne had been claimed by Megatron. {{storylink|Battle Lines, Part 4}}

Deathsaurus was chained and led into the gladiatorial arena to face Megatron in a ritual contest to decide leadership of the Decepticons. Deathsaurus bitterly observed that if Megatron wanted this to be a fair fight, he would allow him to first repair the injuries that were dealt by Magnum and Sprocket—but Megatron laughed off the notion that he could ever want a fair fight. Megatron defeated Deathsaurus in melee combat, clawed his face off, then blasted him with his fusion cannon at point-blank range for good measure—emerging as the unquestioned leader of the Decepticons. As the troops rallied around their new leader, Lyzack approached her fallen emperor and found that, despite his tremendous damage, he still functioned. The humbled Deathsaurus said he had no choice but to go into exile, and Lyzack agreed to accompany him. {{storylink|Battle Lines, Part 5}}
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===''Kre-O'' online manga===
[[File:KreO-webcomic-5-Deathsaurus.jpg|100px|thumb]]
Deathsaurus was part of a massive Decepticon invasion force intended to ruin the Autobots' picnic. However, [[Optimus Prime (Kre-O)|Optimus Prime]] plowed through them with his truck and left them scattered... and then left. Returning to the scene after.. ''ahem'', taking care of some pressing business, Optimus gathered up the still-wiped-out Kreons, bound them up on a flatbed trailer, and took them to the picnic. {{storylink|Emergency! Hurry to the Base, Optimus!}}
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===IDW Generation 1 continuity===
[[File:PermanentRevolution-Deathsaurus.jpg|thumb|His twisted twin obsessions are global domination and the provision of exceptional pension plans to all employees.]]
Deathsaurus was born a [[Decepticon]] during the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]]. He enjoyed a successful career [[Eco-structuring|cyberforming]] planets, but grew tired of [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]]'s seeming apathy towards the well-being of his troops. Eventually, Deathsaurus broke away from his command and, using a stolen [[Warworld]], led a contingent of his own troops to ravage worlds. Deathsaurus's betrayal placed him on the [[Decepticon Justice Division]]'s [[The List|List]].

When the DJD eventually came, albeit to offer a deal, a disbelieving Deathsaurus tried to preemptively blow up [[Tarn (DJD)|Tarn]]. Deathsaurus switched off his audio receptors to avoid Tarn's weaponized conversation—but Tarn tapped into the Warworld's [[inter-Decepticon radio]] and bought enough time to offer Deathsaurus a deal: join the DJD in preserving the Decepticon dream and eliminating the then-[[Autobot]] Megatron, in exchange for removing his and his soldiers' names from the List. As a condition, Deathsaurus told Tarn to slay the other members of the DJD as payback for all their past victims, and Tarn refused... which was all Deathsaurus needed to see. Satisfied that his test had proven that Tarn was not so callous about his soldiers' lives as Megatron had been, Deathsaurus agreed to join forces. {{storylink|The Permanent Revolution}}

Months later, the Decepticons ambushed Megatron and his Auto-chums at the [[Censere|Necrobot]]'s [[Necroworld|planet]] {{storylink|The Dying of the Light: (1) How Bright Their Frail Deeds|How Bright Their Frail Deeds}} but, under Tarn's command, they backed off to return at sunset. While being shown Tarn's collection of literary miner corpses (and professing ignorance of early rebel [[Terminus (G1)|Terminus]]), Deathsaurus expressed his troops' frustration that they hadn't just ''killed'' the enemy already. Tarn told him this was an act of psychological torture. Later, he joined the Division in discussing how best to make the final assault. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 2: The Sun in Flight|The Sun in Flight}} When Tarn appeared with [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] in tow, Deathsaurus was more than surprised. Overlord immediately started trying to put him off, until he was shut down by [[Kaon (DJD)|Kaon]]'s death. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 3: Your Fierce Tears|Your Fierce Tears}} [[Image:Tarn's library.jpg|thumb|250px|left|I prefer moleskins.]] Along with the rest of the army, Deathsaurus amassed outside the fortress. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 4: At Close of Day|At Close of Day}} In the following battle, Deathsaurus noticed the vigor the Autobots were fighting with and when Megatron arrived, he commented on the fact that Megatron found his fire. Despite the fact that Megatron was decimating his men, Deathsaurus reluctantly followed Tarn's order to send all his troops at Megatron. A well placed shot from Nickel neutralised him, and the three generals gathered round the ex-Decepticon and opened fire. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 5: Rage, Rage|Rage, Rage}}

At that very moment Megatron activated a panic shield, deflecting their blasts. A psychic attack gave Deathsaurus a moment of conscience, and seeing the deaths of his troop he was responsible for, withdrew his forces from the [[Necroworld]]. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 6: Do Not Go Gentle|Do Not Go Gentle}}
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==Games==
===''Transformers Ultimate Allstars''===
{{Charstubgames}}
===''Transformers: Earth Wars''===
[[file:DeathsaurusEarthWars.jpg|thumb|upright=1.75|RAAAR!! I am the embodiment of death! The Emperor of Destruction! Fear me! ... Where'd my Breastforce partner go anyways?]]
A tyrant and despot - more than often a rogue one - who can rival Megatron, Deathsaurus wields a deadly spiked flail, a destructive energon sword, and a Living-Metal Destroying cannon. {{storylink|Transformers: Earth Wars|Deathsaurus Bio}}

Deathsaurus was on his usual en route to conquer and oppress when [[Star Saber (Victory)#Transformers: Earth Wars|Star Saber]] engaged him in a mid-space duel. He ended up trapped and frozen in his own Planet-Destroying Fortress, much to his amusement. {{storylink|Transformers: Earth Wars|Deathsaurus Research}}

When the Decepticons were attempting to breach the inner sanctum of a Deception Fortress in the Arctic, they found Deathsaurus guarding it. He declared that "the universe is arena, and Autobots and Decepticons alike are merely contestants." His appearance scared away Brawl and Starscream. To Starscream's retreat he replied, "Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste death but once!" before returning back into the fortress's halls. {{storylink|Transformers: Earth Wars|Arctic Saga - What Lies Beneath}}

The Decepticons soon re-approached him, this time with Megatron and the Constructicons.

Megatron attempted to order Deathsaurus to activate the fortress, intending for them to conquer Earth together. But Deathsaurus replied that Megatron overvalues his contribution and worth, and walks away. He then overloaded the energy levels of his fortress, initiating its self-destruction. He then started laughing maniacally, while the rest of the Decepticons and Autobots in the fortress evacuated. {{storylink|Transformers: Earth Wars|Arctic Saga - The Monster Within}}

After Deathsaurus arrived at the Decepticon Base, Starscream confrontationally demanded to know who he was. Deathsaurus was not impressed, citing that he had faced off against the likes of Megatron and Galvatron, and the former achievement piqued Starscream's interest. Deathsaurus subsequently ordered Starscream to help him find his [[Living-Metal-Destroying Cannon]] and his spiked flail, explaining that he had lost it in space somewhere over the [[Arctic|Arctic Circle]]. After failing to get Deathsaurus to agree to quid pro quo help, Starscream groaned that it was going to be a long night.

During their search, Deathsaurus admitted that he had lost his cannon quite a few times. Starscream then asked if he has something like a car beeper. At first, Deathsaurus was surprised, but then intrigued and wanted to know more.

Soon he encountered Star Saber, and Star Saber immediately assumed he was after Earth and challenged him to a duel. Starscream upon seeing the Autobots took off, and Star Saber's companions left him to let them settle their "legendary" battle. {{storylink|Transformers: Earth Wars|Deathsaurus Research}}

*'''Class:''' Special
*'''Lowest Star Rating:''' 2 star
*'''Weapons''': He uses a sword to chop up and destroy his foes, and a shield to bash them!
*'''Ability: Blazing Storm''': Rush in, spreading electrical fire in a large radius. All targets in the radius are disabled for 6 seconds (even Shock Towers!), and take some damage.
**'''Cost''': ''12'' ability points + 3 for reuses.

[http://wiki.transformersearthwars.com/character:deathsaurus| Deathsaurus at Transformers: Earth Wars Wiki]

==Toys==
===Victory===
[[File:Deathsaurus g1toy.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|"Aaawrk! Deathy shouldn't be!"]]
*'''Deszaras''' {{sic}} (Large Breastforce, 1989)
**''Japanese ID number'': '''D-336'''
**''Accessories'': Tail/shield, rifle, Tigerbreast & Eaglebreast "Breast Animals"
:"Deszaras" transforms into a blue and grey dragon-like monster styled after traditional Japanese "kaijū"–though he also looks somewhat like a giant mutant space chicken, and in fact the animators would play up the bird-like features significantly more than the reptilian aspects in the cartoon. Unusual for late Generation 1 toys, he has [[die-cast]]-metal feet in [[beast mode]].

:Deathsaurus comes packaged with his Breast Animal partners, Tigerbreast and Eaglebreast, which transform from creatures into hand-held weapons for Deathsaurus, and a pair of breastplates which lock into a spring-loaded socket on the toy's body to form elaborate torso armor for the Deathsaurus's [[robot mode]]. Eaglebreast is inserted first, then Tigerbreast fits on top, concealing it; the figures can also be attached while Deathsaurus is in beast mode, which leaves them on his creature mode's back. Deathsaurus comes with armament in addition to his Breast Animals, including a light blue laser rifle—which, despite what the boxart and cartoon would have you believe, does not have a removable flail—that can be wielded by both an ordinary handle, and a second peg on its butt that allows it to be brandished like a staff or blade of some kind, and his "Death Tailer" shield, which mounts on either of his biceps, and transforms into his beast mode tail.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1989/Destron/Deathsaurus/deathsaurus.htm More information on Deathsaurus at TFU.info]''
{{-}}

===Timelines===
[[File:Deathsaurusbotcontoy.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|If you squint, he could still be [[Megatron (RID)|Megatron]].]]
*'''Descent into Evil''' (multi-pack, 2005)
**''Accessories'': 2 launchers, 2 Energon blade missiles

: Part of the [[BotCon 2005]] "Descent into Evil" boxset, Deathsaurus is a blue and black [[retool]] of [[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2001 toyline)|2001 ''Robots in Disguise'']] [[Megatron (RID)#Robots in Disguise (2001)|Megatron/Galvatron]]. He comes with a pair of swords that can launch their blade-missiles through a pressure-launch mechanism, as well as combine at their bottom ends to form a large double-blade weapon. The blade-missiles are rounded off [[for safety reasons]] like the other [[Hasbro]] uses of the mold. His head is a new sculpt based on Deathsaurus's appearance in the ''Victory'' anime (though Deathsaurus's face seems to be copied from Megatron's).

:Deathsaurus's mold was originally a ten-changer, though the "gargoyle"/bat mode was neutered for this release due to the dropping of the bat snout piece, required to give his new head enough space inside his chest cavity for other modes. He still retains the other nine modes (robot, dragster, jet, [[Popular beast alternate modes|two-headed dragon]], hand, mammoth, hydrofoil, one-headed dragon, and winged griffin). His instructions, however, assign him the six modes of the original RID Megatron, ''including'' the gargoyle and omitting the boat, griffin, mammoth and flying dragon. His tail-piece was removed for in-box storage, but easily popped back on since it's on a ball-and-socket joint.

:Eleven years later, he was retooled again into [[BotCon 2016]]'s ''[[Combiner Wars (toyline)|Combiner Wars]]'' [[Megatron (BW)/toys#Generations|Megatron]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2005/Decepticon/BCDeathsaurus/deathsaurus.htm More information on BotCon Deathsaurus at TFU.info]''
{{--}}

===Generations===
[[File:TF-Platinum-Edition-Combiner-Wars-Deszarus.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|Hop on the dinosaur astrotrain.]]
*'''Liokaiser''' (Platinum Edition Collection Pack, 2016)
**''Accessories'': 2 pairs of Weapon/Combiner extremities (both white & dark gray), 2 Sword-rifles, 2 pairs of double-barreled guns (both white & dark gray), Ironbison's Tank cannon/gun, Drillhorn's Drill-gun, Ion Scythe

:''[[Transformers: Generations|Generations]]'' ''[[Combiner Wars (toyline)|Combiner Wars]]'' "Dezarus" is a redeco/retool of ''Combiner Wars'' Voyager Class [[Sky Lynx (G1)#Generations|Sky Lynx]], transforming from a winged dinosaur thing into a space shuttle. His dino head/shuttle nose has been retooled with new eyes and a new fin, and colored to resembled the original Deathsaurus's beast mode head. His torso mode's combiner head has also been retooled, now sporting a new Liokaiser face beneath its feline helmet. The rest of his deco, meanwhile, mostly draws from Leozack and Jallguar, whom he replaces as Liokaiser's torso. As a ''Combiner Wars'' Voyager Class figure, he is able to combine with any Deluxe Class toys released as part of the same subline but is, of course, intended to be combined with his pack-in [[Breastforce|Destron]]s to form Liokaiser.

:Dezarus was only available as part of a boxed [[Liokaiser#Generations|Liokaiser]] [[giftset]], the only ''Combiner Wars'' "Collection Pack" that's [[co-branding|co-branded]] as part of the ''[[Transformers: Platinum Edition|Platinum Edition]]'' range. In the United States, this set was officially exclusive to online retailer Entertainment Earth, but was also stocked by competitor [[BigBadToyStore]], which obtained its stock through Asian vendors. In Hasbro's Asian markets such as Hong Kong and Singapore, it was available at general retail. Additionally, it was also solde at Ripley stores in Chile and at Myer stores in Australia, whereas in Canada, it was available vthe Canadian [[Walmart]] website, but never sold in stores.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2016/Decepticon/CWDezarus/dezarus.htm More information on ''Platinum Edition'' Dezarus at TFU.info]''
{{-}}

==Merchandise==
===Transformers Gum===
[[File:Tfgum deszaras.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Deathsaurus got his Prime on it.]]
*'''Deathsaurus''' (1989)
**''Accessories:'' Tail/shield, rifle

:Part of the twelfth wave of [[Kabaya]]'s ''[[Transformers Gum]]'' series of [[candy toy]]s, this Deathsaurus figure is a snap-together model kit cast in blue, red, and grey plastic. Although lacking in any paint applications, the figure feature stickers for detail, and retains most of the accessories and features of the actual Deathsaurus toy, though not his Breast Animal partners. It comes with a stick of something that might be gum.
{{-}}

{{anchor|2012}}
[[File:KabayaGumDeathsaurus.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4]]
*'''Deathsaurus''' (2012)
**''Accessories:'' Tail/shield, rifle, Tigerbreast, Eaglebreast

:Part of the fifth wave of the "modern" revival of the Transformers Gum series, Deathsaurus once again makes an appearance as a snap-together transforming model kit with stickered detail. It is an entirely new mold featuring much better color-matching with the full-scale toy. Uniquely, this version also incorporates his transformable Breast Animal partners - though they are actually sold separately, with [[Tigerbreast#Transformers Gum|Tigerbreast]] packed in with [[Optimus Prime (WFC)#Transformers Gum|''War for Cybertron'' Optimus Prime]] and [[Eaglebreast#Transformers Gum|Eaglebreast]] included with [[Hot Spot (G1)#Transformers Gum|Hot Spot]].
{{-}}

===Parody Deformed===
[[File:Deathsaurus pd model.jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|Hurff.]]
*'''Deathsaurus''' (1990)

:A small, blue, white and red, non-transforming [[super deformed]] model kit of Deathsaurus was available as part of [[Kabaya]]'s "[[Parody Deformed]]" line of candy toys. The fourth figure in the series, he came with a "[[Transformers PD Type]]" comic about himself, "Good Job! Deathsaurus!!", and more of that alleged "gum".
{{-}}

===Super Figure Collection===
[[File:Deathsaurus scfs.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Take it all off!]]
*'''Deathsaurus''' (2002)
:A PVC figurine of Deathsaurus was released in the seventh Victory-centric "act" of Takara's ''[[Heroes of Cybertron|Super Collection Figure]].'' Deathsaururs was available in both standard full-color version and metallic silver "pewter" versions; the pewter version came packaged with the wings of Victory Saber, one of several extra pieces packed with the various figures from the wave which could combine with the act's Star Saber figure to turn it into Victory Saber. The wings were available in both standard full color (at a rate of eight out of every ten cases) and rare pewter (only two in every ten).

*'''Deathsaurus with Eaglebreast''' (2002)
:Also available in the seventh wave was a rare "chase" version of the Deathsaurus PVC, available at a rate of one in every ten cases, featuring the character with his inner Breast Animal partner, Eaglebreast, on display, rather than the normal version's Tigerbreast.
{{-}}
===Timelines===
[[File:Deathsauruspin.jpg|thumb|75px|Deathstickus]]

*'''Deathsaurus pin''' (2005)

: The first 100 BotCon 2005 Primus-package preregistrants received an exclusive Deathsaurus pin as part of their registration package.
{{--}}
===Robot Heroes===
[[File:Robot Heroes Victory Saber Dessaras.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|The face that launch'd a thousand ships.]]
*'''Victory Saber''' / '''Dessaras''' (unreleased)

:A surprise entry in the ''[[Robot Heroes (toyline)|Robot Heroes]]'' series, this [[super deformed]] figurine of Deathsaurus also sports a name variant that hearkens back to his original Japanese moniker, only missing the spelling by one letter. Originally discovered amongst [[Walmart]] store computer listings in mid-2008, he would have come packaged with an equally-adorable Victory Saber, but alas, the two-pack failed to materialize before the ''Robot Heroes'' line was canceled.
{{canceledtoy}}

{{--}}

==Notes==
[[File:DeathsaurusAndRedGeist.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Definitely not toy-accurate, but definitely awesome.]]

*While often called a [[dragon]] or occasionally a [[griffin]], and hilariously, a "bigbird" on his original Japanese [[bio]] card, Deathsaurus is most likely styled after traditional Japanese "kaijū", such as [[Godzilla]] or Rodan.
*The original Deathsaurus mold was redecoed into the non-living "Red Geist" (レッドガイスト ''Reddo Gaisuto'') mech for [[TakaraTomy|Takara]]'s ''[[Brave (franchise)|Brave of Legend Da Garn]]'' toyline, which lacked the Eaglebreast partner. Although the character design in the television show for the line was significantly modified from that of Deathsaurus (see image at right), including replacing Tigerbreast's tiger mode with a jet mode, the Red Geist toy itself was not retooled. [http://tfbaka.de-blog.jp/1dai/2008/08/post_6871.html More on Red Geist at a Japanese toy photoblog.]
*Like all non-toy robot Kreons in the ''Kre-O'' manga, Deathsaurus is made from existing ''Kre-O'' parts. He uses the [[Inferno (G1)/toys#Kre-O|Inferno]] helmet, the [[Starscream (Kre-O)|Starscream]] wing-pack, a thick rifle, a 2x4 "wing" plate attached (somehow) to his arm to replicate the tail-shield... and then there's his chestplate. The plate itself is a 1x1 plate with twin bars and a pair of Starscream arm-guns attached... but it's "connected" to a 2x2 harness piece, which can only be done by adding a 1x2 center-peg plate in between them which is kind of unnecessary since there's a 1x1 harness piece that will do the job nicely, no middle-brick required.

===His stupid name===
Deathsaurus's name is the source of a long-lasting argument. The phonetic Japanese reading of the name is: "Desuzarasu". This is represented in English on his toy packaging and tech specs as "Deszaras." English-speaking fans would long debate the "proper" [[romanization]] of the name, interpreting it as Deszaras, Deathzaras, Deathsaurus, Death Czarus, Death Czaras, and many others. "Deathsaurus" had a tendency to be the most popular and well-known (on account of it actually ''meaning'' something), which led to it being used on the character's first Western toy in 2005, making it his official American name.

At [[BotCon 2015]], after ''decades'' of such back-and-forths, the designer of the original toy, [[Kōjin Ōno]], confirmed that the name was indeed always supposed to have been "Deathsaurus"… during a panel presentation that rendered the name as "Dethzarasu". It is anyone's guess as to why the original Japanese lettering did not read "saurusu" or "zaurusu," as had already been done with [[Trypticon (G1)|Dinosaurer]] and [[Saur]], rather than "zarasu". As such, in the years before that revelation was made clear, the character had continued to be called "Deszaras" on the [[Metrodome]] and [[Madman Entertainment]] DVD boxsets of the ''Victory'' cartoon.

At one point Hasbro appeared to be trying to steer things back in that direction with the cancelled [[Robot Heroes (toyline)|Robot Heroes]] figure, named "Dessaras". Only one letter off, there, guys! When Hasbro introduced ''Combiner Wars'' [[Liokaiser#Generations|Liokaiser]], they used the spelling "Dezarus".

===Foreign names===
*''Arabic:'' '''Deathsandar''' (دثساندر ''Dithsāndar'')
*''English:'' '''Deathsanras''' ([[Omni Productions]] dub)
*''Mandarin:'' '''Shènglā''' (Taiwan, 盛拉), '''Dà Kǒnglóng Sàlāsī''' (China, 大恐龙萨拉斯, "Big Dinosaur Saras"), '''[[Leozack|Sàng Shī]]''' (China, ''Combiner Wars'', 丧狮, "Mourning Lion")
*''Russian:'' '''Smertonosets''' (Смертоносец, "Death bringer")
*''Spanish:'' '''Zan Rás''' (America)
*''Ukrainian:'' '''Smertelnyi Sanraz''' (Смертельний Санраз)

[[Category:Beast Wars Decepticons]]
[[Category:BotCon exclusives]]
[[Category:Breastforce]]
[[Category:Candy toys]]
[[Category:Combiner Wars]]
[[Category:Decepticon leaders]]
[[Category:Dreamwave Generation 1 Transformers]]
[[Category:Emperors]]
[[Category:Generation 1 Decepticons]]
[[Category:IDW Generation 1 Decepticons]]
[[Category:Kre-O Decepticons]]
[[Category:Kreons]]
[[Category:Platinum Edition]]
[[Category:Timelines characters]]
[[Category:Wings Universe Decepticons]]

Shining Armor issue 1

2017-10-24T23:04:47Z

Egg: /* Continuity notes */ Stardrive would've been assigned male on Cybertron. TFs don't have assigned sexes as humans do. Female-looking TFs were assigned male, as cameos show. Trans female TFs have always existed as LL8 tells us. Gender isn't a problem

{{Comicstory
|seriesissue=''[[Rom vs. Transformers: Shining Armor]]'' #1
|prev=
|next=Shining Armor issue 2
|image=RomvsTF1 cvrA.jpg
|title=
|caption=
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[July 19]], [[2017]]
|coverdate=July 2017
|written by=[[John Barber]] and [[Christos Gage]]
|art by=[[Alex Milne]]
|colors by=[[Josh Perez]]
|letters by=[[Tom B. Long]]
|editor=[[Carlos Guzman]]
|continuity=[[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline|Mid-19th century]]
}}

'''Stardrive is a 'bot of two worlds, orphan from a Cybertronian colony planet raised by the Solstar Order. But when the Decepticons team up with the order's ancient enemies the Dire Wraiths, on which side of the conflict will Stardrive fall?'''

==Synopsis==
In the [[Gray Area]], the border region of space between the areas of the galaxy governed by the [[Galactic Council]] and the [[Solstar Order]], a [[Galactic Council]] vessel pursues a fleeing ship from a [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertronian]] colony world. The Cybertronian ship is shot down by the Council and crashes on an asteroid, but the scene is witnessed by the Solstar Order's [[Rom]] the Space Knight, who demands the Council explain themselves. Uninterested in justifying their hatred of Cybertronians to the Space Knight, but nevertheless unwilling to risk conflict with the Order, the Council ship warps away when Rom is distracted by signs of life from the Cybertronian wreckage. Picking through the debris, he discovers a lone still-functional [[protoform]], still in the process of taking shape.

At the insistence of Rom, doctors of the Solstar Order repair the protoform, which is kept fueled and healthy by [[energon]] the Order is able to synthesize based on a sample recovered from the wreckage of the ship. The protoform takes the form of a female Cybertronian and is enrolled in school, where she is taught the destructive history of her own race, and is dubbed "[[Stardrive]]" by her classmates for her car [[alternate mode]]. One day, on a class field trip to the planet [[Mato Grosso (planet)|Mato Grosso]], Stardrive is attacked by a [[Dire Wraith]], one of the shape-shifting alien wizards who are the Solstar Order's greatest enemies. Once more, she is saved by Rom and a team of Space Knights, and though the Wraith is able to escape, the encounter convinces Stardrive to join the ranks of the Space Knights.

Five years later, Rom, fellow knight [[Livia]], and cadets [[Auxin]] and [[Sata]] arrive on [[Mining Colony 25-6-41]] in the [[Farouko Cluster]]. Though they inform the colony personnel that they are on a routine visit, Rom privately notes that the mission is a dangerous one, and orders Sata to stay with their ship (about which the young knight-in-training is not happy). Using their Analyzers, the Knights soon locate numerous Dire Wraiths hiding amongst the populace of the colony; as battle breaks out, Auxin takes off alone after a Wraith that attempts to escape, only to be lured into an ambush in an alleyway. Unfortunately for the Wraiths, they have overlooked the unattended car sitting nearby—which reveals itself to be Stardrive in disguise as she transforms and takes them all out! Despite the fact Stardrive has likely just saved his life, Auxin is angry at being deprived of the honor of his first Wraith-kill, but Stardrive just about manages to restrain her own annoyance at his attitude. However, she fails to hold her tongue when Livia proposes that they destroy the entire colony to ensure the Wraith infestation has been wiped out, and speaks out against the idea. Rom agrees with her, and orders the Knights to withdraw.

With Stadrive now joining them aboard their ship, the Knights head off on their next mission, but it is not a pleasant journey for Stardrive; she has never been truly accepted by any of the Knights besides Rom, and as Livia and Rom argue (the former fearing the latter has been softened by Stardrive's naive idealism, the latter believing the former has become too bloodthirsty), Sata and Auxin badmouth her behind her back. Presently, the group arrives on Solstar Order station [[Orchid Crossing]], orbiting the planet [[Xetaxxis]]. As Stardrive recharges, Rom and Livia explain to her the full reason for their presence on the station. As the Solstar Order pushes them back further and further, the Dire Wraiths are increasingly likely to flee into Galactic Council, or even Cybertronian space. As the Knights must be free to pursue them, the Order intends to open negotiations with the Galactic Council after years of avoidance, in order to secure passage for the Knights into Council space, and to prevent potential interference from them in any dealings that may become necessary with Cybertronians. Representatives of the Council will be arriving at the station he next morning, and Stardrive is there to serve as proof of the fact that the Solstar Order is capable of keeping Cybertronians "in their place."

When the Council representatives arrive the next morning, pleasantries are short and they immediately begin pouring scorn upon Stardrive and the very notion of working peacefully with Cybertronians. But disrespect for one of their Knights soon proves to be the least of the Order's worries when the Council representatives reveal that they are, in fact, Dire Wraiths, and that their ship is the Cybertronian [[Decepticon]] [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]]! As Auxin perishes under an onslaught on Astrotrain's firepower, a team of Decepticons led by [[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]] comes blasting through the station walls, and joins the Wraiths in assaulting the Knights. Stardrive appears to be the reason for this alliance of evil, as the Wraith leader [[Vekktral]] points her out to Starscream; Stardrive in turn recognizes the Wraith as the one who attacked her on Mato Grosso, and fights to overcome her fear. Before she can get her wits together, she is seized by Starscream, who quickly realizes that she has never seen another Cybertronian in person before, and tries to tempt Stardive over to their side. When she refuses, Starscream kicks her through a wall, revealing the true object of his interest on the other side: the [[energon synthesizer]] Stardrive uses to recharge, which Starscream had deduced the Order must possess. Before anyone can make another move, however, another hole is blasted in the station's hull as [[Autobot]]s [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]] and [[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]] arrive to stop Starscream's plans!

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]] (21)
*[[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]] (22)

|c2=
*[[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (13)
*[[Ursa Major (G1)|Ursa Major]] (14)
*[[Doomwings (G1)|Doomwings]] (15)
*[[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] or [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] (16)
*[[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] (17)
*[[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] or [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] (18)
*[[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]] (19)
*[[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] (20)

|h3=[[Solstar Order]]|c3=
*[[Rom]] (4)
*[[Stardrive]] (5)
*[[Nikomi]] (7)
*[[Livia]] (8)
*[[Orphion]] (9)
*[[Sata]] (10)
*[[Auxin]] (11)

|c4=
*[[Caminus|Camien]] colonists (1)
*[[Galactic Council]] captain (2)
*Galactic Council ship's crew (3)
*[[Vekktral]] (6)
*Assorted [[Dire Wraith]]s (12)
}}

==Quotes==
"You've been '''enchanted''' by a '''machine woman''' as '''soft''' as you. You cling to '''emotions''' we should '''rise above.'''" 
"A hard heart does not elevate us, it '''lowers''' us. We must not become like the '''Wraiths''' we fight."
:—'''Livia''' and '''Rom'''

"There, Starscream! There is the Cybertronian, as promised!" 
"You know what, '''Vekktral?''' I could actually '''tell''' which one wasn't '''six feet tall''' and made of '''flesh.'''"
:—'''Vekktral''' and '''Starscream'''

"Organics live but a '''fleeting moment,''' then fade away. But '''we''' have eternity."
:—'''Starscream''' extols the virtues of Cybertronians in an attempt to sway Stardrive

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
*This story takes place "around 175, 180 years in the past," according to Christos Gage. This places it in the little-explored period of time after Cybertron was rendered uninhabitable and the Transformers scattered to the stars, devoid of any sources of true energon, as originally explored in ''[[The Transformers: Stormbringer|Stormbringer]]'', but before significant modern-day Transformer activity on Earth. Starscream and Bumblebee both appear here before their eventual relocation to Earth, where they were stationed in ''[[The Transformers: Infiltration|Infiltration]]''. It's not immediately clear if the Ultra Magnus in this story is [[Minimus Ambus]] inside the armor, though that will be clarified further next issue...
*Which of the multiple known Transformer colony worlds Stardrive hails from is left unsaid in the story, though John Barber clarified on Twitter<ref>[https://twitter.com/TheJohnBarber/status/887466438033686528 Twitter post] by John Barber</ref> that it was [[Caminus]], which is supported in-story by her energon being blue (a distinction from normal, pink-purple Cybertronian energon originally made in the [[The Last Autobot|''Titans Return'' one-shot]]). The dictates of continuity necessitate that she is from a colony world rather than Cybertron itself, because she starts out as a protoform, a "natural" Cybertronian birth, the like of which has most recently been described as not occurring on Cybertron since over four million years ago, per [[Ghost Stories|the 2017 ''Transformers'' annual]].
*The Galactic Council captain in this issue at first appears to be of the same race as [[K'gard]], another Galactic Council captain introduced in [[Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations|the 2012 ''More than Meets the Eye'' annual]], which was also the first appearance of the Council itself. However, [http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/threads/rom-vs-transformers-shining-armor-1-ibooks-preview.1114693/page-2#post-14804901/ per Alex Milne], they're actually a related-but-distinct species: K'gard towered over Ultra Magnus in the annual, while the captain here is small enough that Astrotrain is capable of transforming into a shuttle for him and his crew.
*As members of the species are quite hard to tell apart, it's not clear if the captain of the Galactic Council vessel who shoots down the ship carrying Stardrive's protoform at the beginning of the story, and the being whose form Vekktral has stolen years later, are one and the same individual, or different members of the same race. But that said, the Council ship warps off for the sinister-sounding "Shadow System" after their run-in with Rom; could they have encountered and been taken over by Wraiths there?
*The masked bear and snake-like knight who are present when Rom and Livia rescue Stardrive from Vekktral go unnamed here, but they are [[Nikomi]] and [[Orphion]], pre-existing characters from IDW's ''ROM'' series.
*Livia mentions the death of Rom's family at the hands of the Dire Wraiths, a story told in {{i|Cold Fire|the 2017 ''Rom'' annual}}.
*Like the other knights, Stardrive dons crystalline armor, which becomes bonded to her. The ''Rom'' annual explained this armor is formed from a symbiotic ore, and given that ''[[Revolution]]'' implied a connection between the armor and [[Ore-13]], the implication is that it is one of [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Shockwave]]'s other [[Regenesis]] ores.
*As established in {{i|Earthfall: Part Four|''ROM'' #4}}, the Dire Wraiths have never acquired a [[Neutralizer]] and are eager to examine the weapon.

===Transformers references===
*The planet Xetaxxis originally appeared in the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Generation 1 cartoon]] episode "[[The Quintesson Journal]]."
*Blitzwing has a pair of "goggles" on his helmet that evoke the design of his [[Blitzwing (Animated)|''Animated'' counterpart]].
*The two other Decepticons accompanying the more famous squad of Starscream, the Triple Changers, and the [[Conehead]]s are, in fact, ''not'' [[generic]]s, but a pair of characters from the defunct Chinese MMO [[Transformers Online (2012 video game)|Transformers Online]]. The green one, [[Ursa Major (Prime)|Ursa Major]] is identified by name when he is quickly killed by Livia; the other, in purple and peach, is [[Doomwings (Prime)|Doomwings]]. They had Chinese-language names in the game, but were later given these English ones by "[[Ask Vector Prime]]"—a rare, if not the actual first, example of something from that feature crossing over into "mainstream" Transformers fiction.

===Real-life references===
*The planet Mato Grosso is named after the {{w|Mato Grosso|real-life Brazilian state}}. Its name means "thick bushes" in Portuguese.
*Stop us if you think we're reaching on this one, but it seems like Mining Colony 25-6-41 is named in reference to June 25, 1941, the date on which {{w|Executive Order 8802}} was signed into law by [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|President Roosevelt]]. The order prohibits racial discrimination in the military-industrial complex, which sure seems relevant to Stardrive and the obvious racism she is a victim of while serving in the Solstar Order's equivalent of the military.
*The "W" logo of the [http://avp.wikia.com/wiki/Weyland-Yutani_Corporation Weyland-Yutani Corporation] from the {{w|Alien (franchise)|''Alien'' film series}} can be seen on the side of a building on the colony on page 7. Among the ships docked at the colony is the ''{{w|Discovery One}}'' from the movie ''{{w|2001: A Space Odyssey (film)|2001: A Space Odyssey}}''.
*In keeping with Rom's name being derived from {{w|read-only memory}}, Stardrive's fellow cadets also have names taken from computer terminology: Sata from {{w|Serial ATA|SATA connections}} and Auxin from "aux-in" electrical connectors.
*Trinkets and toys on Stardrive's "bedside table" include the starships {{w|Enterprise (NX-01)|''Enterprise'' (NX-01)}} and {{w|USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)|USS ''Enterprise'' (NCC-1701)}} from ''[[Star Trek]]'', Super [[GoBots|GoBot]] action figure [[Zeemon]], and a kabuki mask that looks rather like the one worn by the villain Amon from ''{{w|The Legend of Korra}}'' animated series.
*Among the crowd in Stardrive's flashbacks are individuals coloured like a [[Stormtrooper (SW)|Stormtrooper]], an [[X-wing Fighter|X-Wing]] pilot, and a {{w|Kamen Rider}}.

===Covers (5)===
*'''Cover A:''' Space Knights, Autobots, and Wraiths, by [[Alex Milne]] and [[Josh Perez]]
*'''Cover B:''' Starscream and the Dire Wraiths versus the lone Rom, by [[Nick Roche]] and [[Josh Burcham]]
*'''Cover C:''' Rom and Stardrive, by [[Paolo Villanelli]] and [[Alessandra Alexakis]]
*'''Retailer incentive cover:''' Rom versus Bumblebee, by [[David Lafuente]] and [[Lovern Kindzierski]]
*'''Convention exlusive cover:''' Partially black-and-white version of Cover C, available from IDW's booth at various 2017 conventions
<gallery>
File:RomvsTF1 cvrA.jpg|
File:RomvsTF1 cvrB.jpg|
File:RomvsTF1 cvrC.jpg|
File:RomvsTF1 cvrRI.jpg|
File:RomvsTF1 concvr.jpg|
</gallery>

===Advertisements===
*''Shining Armor'' #2
*"The Hasbro Tribune" editorial page promoting July's [[Hasbro Universe]] titles, including this issue, [[G.I. Joe vol. 5 issue 8|''G.I. Joe'' #8]], [[Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook issue 3|''Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook'' #3]], [[The Life of Sideswipe|''Optimus Prime'' #9]], [[Ghost in the Machine (IDW)|''Revolutionaries'' #8]], [[An Axe to Break the Ice|''Lost Light'' #8]], and [[Your First Mistake|''Till All Are One'' #12]].
*''[[G.I. Joe vol. 5|G.I. Joe]]'' Vol. 1 TPB
*''[[Revolutionaries]]'' Vol. 1 TPB
*IDW ''{{i|Clue (comic)|Clue}}'' comic
*''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Usagi Yojimbo'' one-shot

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.cbr.com/rom-vs-transformers-shining-armor-1-exclusive-preview/ Preview]

[[Category: Shining Armor issues]]

Shining Armor issue 1

2017-10-23T17:24:35Z

Egg: /* Continuity notes */ Removed an irrelevant bit about gender. Due to being found by aliens, Stardrive could've been assigned anything. On Cybertron she would've been assigned male.

Impactor (G1)

2017-07-29T22:32:20Z

Egg: /* IDW Generation 1 continuity */ Sins of the Wreckers #4 write-up, added to SOTW#2, added image

{{factions|autobot|wreckers}}
{{disambig3|Impactor}}
:''Impactor is an [[Autobot]] from the [[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[File:Impactor Autopedia.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|Madeup leader of the nobody squad.]]
'''Impactor''' is the legendary former leader of the [[Wrecker]]s, an elite [[Autobot]] strike team, and as such is a deadly force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. His body is covered with weaponry, from the tank cannon on his shoulder, to the missiles hidden in his chest,<ref>[https://twitter.com/NickRoche/status/727425912287928320 Nick Roche's twitter]</ref> to the handgun strapped to his leg, and finally his signature harpoon weapon that replaces his right hand. His audacity and resolve is what puts him in the history books, for better or for worse.

Impactor's first officer, [[Springer (G1)|Springer]], is inevitably his replacement, once terrible things occur. Springer's feelings regarding his filling of Impactor's immense shoes are always a source of angst. Just when Springer thinks these emotions are dealt with and buried, Impactor somehow returns to mix things up again. In one timeline, he has the nickname '''Kiloton'''.

Sometimes, Impactor combines with his fellow [[Wrecker]]s to form [[Wreckage (G1)|Wreckage]].

{{TOCclear}}

==Fiction==
===Marvel ''The Transformers'' comics===
{{noteukexclusive|Impactor}}
[[File:Impactorfearless.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|[[Macabre]] who?]]
After the departure of [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]], [[Megatron (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Megatron]] and their troops from the war, [[Xaaron|Emirate Xaaron]] assigned the Wreckers to assassinate the warlord [[Trannis]], who came into power in Megatron's absence. Impactor was chosen to lead this team. Though the assassination attempt was successful, other leaders quickly sprung up to take Trannis' place.

[[File:Xaaronimpactor.jpg|thumb|Impactor carries a gun barrel around for those (*ahem*, Xaaron) who invade his personal space.]]
Though Impactor was dedicated to his troops, he was not so dedicated to his superiors, and was not above directly insulting them. Emirate Xaaron took this attitude in stride, and could give as well as he received. Impactor referred to the Autobot resistance leader as a "wily old buzzard," as he was often surprised by Xaaron's blunt yet indirect ways of making his point and getting what he wanted. Despite this, their difficulties masked a genuine friendship.

Countless years later, after Optimus Prime and his Autobots had awoken on [[Earth]], Impactor and the Wreckers were responsible for executing [[Operation: Volcano]], a planned ambush of the [[Ten Deadliest Killers|Decepticons' fiercest warriors]] using Xaaron as bait. [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Ultra Magnus]] was assigned to the Wreckers to help them bolster their ranks for the mission, but he was quickly needed to travel to Earth to investigate the disappearance of Optimus Prime. Impactor's commitment to the mission wavered and he at first refused to deploy his team without Magnus there as back-up, but he changed his mind after a conversation with Xaaron. Impactor's doubts were further quelled when Xaaron convinced him that [[Springer (G1)|Springer]], [[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]], and [[Sandstorm (G1)|Sandstorm]] were an adequate replacement for Magnus, which Xaaron accomplished by having them disguise themselves as Decepticons and beat Impactor up. Operation: Volcano was once again on track.

Xaaron, the bait for the Wreckers' trap, was placed according to plan, but suddenly Megatron called his warriors to Earth, overriding all other commands, including the planned ambush on Xaaron. Disappointed that their trap was ruined, the Wreckers let down their guard long enough to allow an assassin named [[Macabre]], ignoring Megatron's orders, to fire upon Xaaron. Impactor was the first to react and pushed Xaaron out of the way, taking the shots meant for the Autobot underground resistance leader. Immediately, the other Wreckers turned and fired upon Macabre, killing him, but Impactor was fatally wounded. With his last words he named Springer the next leader of the Wreckers before dying in Xaaron's arms, again calling him a "wily old buzzard." {{storylink|Target: 2006}}

[[File:Impactorzombie.jpg|left|thumb|Brains!]]
Impactor's death would haunt several other Autobots for some time to come. Though he sought to deny it, Ultra Magnus felt guilty for not returning to Cybertron in time, and this led to his taking an excessive approach when dealing with Optimus Prime, whom intelligence reports stated was a traitor. {{storylink|Under Fire!}} Subsequently Magnus found a fight with Megatron proved the opportunity to release his pent-up aggression over Impactor's death. {{storylink|Resurrection!}} Even after that, the sight of a volcano on Earth left him uneasy, and cause him to flashback to Impactor's death. {{storylink|Burning Sky!}}

Springer was also severely affected by Impactor's death, and felt inadequate in the shadow of his legacy. So when a rogue Autobot scientist named [[Flame (Marvel)|Flame]] discovered a way to reanimate dead Transformers, Springer was crippled from action when he was met with the reanimated corpse of Impactor. After being captured by the zombies' controller, the mad scientist [[Flame (Marvel)|Flame]], the Wreckers were put in an underground cell, guarded by their former team leader. Managing to find his courage once more, Springer made use of his leaping abilities to escape, but Impactor grabbed a hold of him, dragging him outside of the cell as well. Springer reluctantly fought his predecessor until he managed to jar Impactor into remembering his past life. Confused, Impactor wandered away while Springer pursued his mission to foil Flame's machinations. {{storylink|Legion of the Lost!}} Eventually, Impactor shambled into Flame's inner sanctum, where the rest of the Autobots were facing off both against the crazed scientist, and what remained of his zombie horde. As Flame lunged for Xaaron, Impactor launched his harpoon, impaling the Flame through the forehead and killing him. But though Flame had now been dealt with, his machines were overloading, threatening to take the whole planet with them in a chain reaction. The only means to shut them down was to enter a control room bathed in deadly radiation. Though Xaaron had initially planned to sacrifice himself, Impactor took his place, arguing he was already dead anyways. In his second death, Impactor saved [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] once more. {{storylink|Meltdown!}}
{{-}}

===IDW Generation 1 continuity===
[[File:Ongoing22 MaccadamsNewOilHouse.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|"Let's see: 'I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness. Starving, hysterical, naked...' Nah, it's never gonna catch on, Megs."]]
Impactor was [[Reproduction#IDW Generation 1 continuity|constructed cold]] before the war. {{storylink|Remain in Light 3 of 5: The Divided Self|The Divided Self}} He worked as a miner near Nova Point, and befriended a fellow mine grunt, [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] there. The two became best friends<ref>[https://twitter.com/jroberts332/status/681985702821793794 James Roberts' MTMTE2015 twitter Q&A]</ref> despite their differences, and were together when miners were shipped to [[Moonbase Two|Luna 2]] when Cybertron's need for energy rose. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1|Chaos Theory #1}} {{storylink|Shockwaves}} Impactor thought Megatron's nonviolent solutions to Cybertron's class warfare were cute, and reminded him that there would always be a pecking order, no matter how large or small the equation. Megatron's naïveté was underscored when the lowly [[Rung (G1)|Rung]] was ganged up on by a much larger pair of military cadets and tossed across their table. Impactor, drunk, got up to deal with them the only way he thought mattered. Megatron was put off by the violence and stayed out of the fight, but was arrested anyway; Impactor was taken to [[Deltaran Medical Facility]], but not before he'd torn the cadet's legs off and shoved them into a garbage grinder. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1|Chaos Theory #1}} {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 2: Stet}}

When [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]] was arrested for the beating he gave Megatron during the latter's brief incarceration, Impactor ended up being his cellmate on [[Garrus-1]]. Impactor proceeded to beat up Whirl to the brink of fade-out, leaving him in critical condition. {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 2: Patternism|Patternism}}

At some point after war broke out, Impactor joined the Wreckers, when they were not yet the war heroes they would come to be known as, but merely a rumor. {{storylink|Zero Point}} During this time, he was approached by [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]] who had formed a partnership with the depraved scientist [[Tarantulas (BW)#IDW Generation 1 continuity|Mesothulas]]. In exchange for releasing his friend [[Roadbuster (G1)|Roadbuster]] from prison early, Impactor would take down Mesothulas and destroy everything they had built together. Clad in a suit of early [[Anti-rad armor]], Impactor did just that, shoving the scientist into his own [[Noisemaze|experimental weapon]] and annihilated Mesothulas's various weapons. Impactor found, however, that neither he nor Prowl could bring themselves to kill Mesothulas's pet project: an artificial Cybertronian named Ostaros. Instead, they enlisted him as an Autobot under the name "[[Springer (G1)|Springer]]". {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 3|Sins of the Wreckers #3}} {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 5|Sins of the Wreckers #5}}

[[File:RulesofDisengagement-BlackShadowvsWreckers.jpg|thumb|left|upright=2.4|Only extraordinary Decepticons get to brag about kicking Impactor in the face.]]
He battled [[Black Shadow (Victory)|Black Shadow]] in the 11th iteration of the team, under the command of [[Crest]]. {{storylink|Rules of Disengagement (issue)|Rules of Disengagement}} He would go on to become leader of the Wreckers in turn and still holds the record as their longest-serving member to present day. It was ''he'' who coined the phrase "Wreck and Rule!" while saving [[Xaaron]] at the [[Sonic Canyons]]. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2}} He left an impact on Springer at [[Sherma Bridge]], when he took control of a flaming Decepticon shuttle pod by disposing of its headless pilot, landing it safely. The incident would inspire Springer to sign up for the Wreckers reservists. {{storylink|Zero Point}} In a minor incident at the Vosian Citadel, Impactor also unknowingly inspired [[Ironfist (G1)|Ironfist]] to become a major Wreckers fanboy and hagiographer. {{storylink|Bullets}}

Much later, Impactor personally approached Springer at [[Toxic Sludge Swamps]] to recruit him into the 17th line-up of the Wreckers. With his entrance, he took down eight hidden Decepticons. Springer was impressed but didn't realise at the time that it was all a scripted part of the Wreckers mythology and that Impactor never gave him a choice. {{storylink|Dead Men's Boots}} Impactor took Springer under his wing, and the two shared a close bond not much unlike brothers. He even nicknamed Springer "my little green circuit booster" after the effect he had on him with his speeches. But during Impactor's leadership as the war got dirtier and dirtier, so did the Wreckers. His Wreckers were barely Autobots at that point—they would abuse prisoners, cause unnecessary pain unto their enemies and kill Decepticons even when not needed.

When Megatron responded with [[Squadron X]], that sent Impactor into a single-minded rage. As any Autobot would, he hated Squadron X but for him it was personal as he saw an echo of the Wreckers in the team. Impactor then proceeded to chase the enemy team across nine star systems, ignoring significant war events such as the [[Black Epoch]], the [[Simanzi Massacre]], and the [[Crucible]], and the "Rise of the [[Dethroner]]". {{storylink|Zero Point}}

[[File:Gloaming-battle-for-hells-point.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|He gave it a shot; turns out that two hands are for chumps.]]
He was among the Autobots fighting atop a Decepticon warcruiser during the [[Battle for Hell's Point]], {{storylink|The Gloaming}} where he picked up the nickname "Kiloton" for the number of Decepticons he slaughtered during the battle. Over time, his mental state became increasingly unstable, something both his superiors and his fellow Wreckers chose to ignore. Impactor was inspired to replace his hand with a harpoon weapon after a run-in with a dimension-hopping "[[Death's Head (G1)|freelance peacekeeping agent]]". After a long string of suicide missions, Impactor became an alarmingly obsessed individual, especially regarding Squadron X, the team Megatron assembled in answer to the Wreckers. Impactor felt indirectly responsible for the atrocities Squadron X committed. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|Impactor's psych-screening}}

As described in Ironfist's [[Wreckers: Declassified|''The Wreckers' Air Attack'']], Impactor met his old friend Megatron at the [[Manganese Mountains]] where they fought on a drilling platform. Eventually, Impactor lost his hand, chin, and had Megatron's fusion cannon pressed to his head. Before giving the killing blow, Megatron gave a poetic speech of Impactor's coming death. Even with no power to lift his harpoon, Impactor replied by scratching the words "NOT MORE POETRY" on the platform, and gave Megatron pause. (That moment, at least, appears to be entirely factual as Fisitron is unaware of why these "random" words affected Megatron) At that window of opportunity, Springer used a sky sled to knock Megatron down, sending him to fall thousands of feet into the Mountains.

After gathering his mouth, Impactor proceeded to inform Springer what they'd have to do in four minutes: save Xaaron, rescue [[Sandstorm (G1)|Sandstorm]] from his antimatter duplicate, deactivate [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]]'s necrocannon and stop the platform they were on from crashing into a nucleon reactor. Springer was unsure if they could manage all that in the given time so Impactor told him that they actually had two minutes, but assured him that he had a plan. Years later, [[Roadbuster (G1)|Roadbuster]] would consider this account full of embellishments and fabrications, but the essence was true.{{storylink|Zero Point}}

[[File:LastStandoftheWreckers5-squadronexxed.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|They were like that when I got here!]]
After chasing Squadron X across the galaxy, the Wreckers' rivalry with them came to an end on the planet [[Pova]]. The Wreckers, however, found themselves in a bad way after Impactor's first officer, Springer, was trapped under some collapsed rubble. Despite Springer's pleas, Impactor used Springer's own body as a shield against Squadron X's advancing troops, firing through it. This helped turn the tide, and the Wreckers rounded up all of Squadron X for transport offworld. Unfortunately, Impactor snapped when Prowl told him that Pova was neutral territory, and that he was ordered to set them free or else the Autobots would face diplomatic repercussions. Impactor personally executed every member of Squadron X while they were restrained. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|Last Stand of the Wreckers #5}}

When the Wreckers were on their way back from Pova, they stopped at [[G'th Semane]]. Springer made a call to [[Autobot High Command]], and gave Impactor in. The mech he was talking to had been waiting for the opportunity to arrest Impactor for hundreds of years. Impactor detached his harpoon, passive, much to Springer's surprise. {{storylink|Zero Point}}

Springer testified against Impactor, and the disgraced Wreckers leader was imprisoned on [[Garrus-9]]. A cover story for what happened on Pova was released which involved Springer suggesting Impactor fire through his torso and Squadron X later escaping their restraints, necessitating their execution. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 4}} As extra punishment for refusing to show remorse for what he'd done, Impactor was not granted the mercy of spark removal, and instead was imprisoned normally. In jail, they called him "the Autobot that went ''too far''". {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2|Last Stand of the Wreckers #2}} As Impactor was dragged to his cell, Springer said something he didn't want to hear, something he would dwell upon for the length of his incarceration: Squadron X deserved to die, but that didn't give Impactor the right to kill them. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|Last Stand of the Wreckers #5}}

[[File:LastStandoftheWreckers1-Impactor post boom.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|Give him a hand, folks!]]
Twenty years later, [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] seized control of G-9, and Springer's Wreckers were sent to liberate it. Springer was trying hard not to think of Impactor. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 1|Last Stand of the Wreckers #1}} However, the Decepticon [[Snare]], wanting Overlord gone, released Impactor from his cell in the hope he could escape the planet and get help. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2|Last Stand of the Wreckers #2}} As the current-day Wreckers arrived at Garrus-9, a decrepit Decepticon dropship blocked their path. It exploded before their eyes, but not before the battered form of Impactor ejected from the craft. Appearing before the shocked Wreckers, Impactor sneered, requesting to be let aboard. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 1|Last Stand of the Wreckers #1}}

He filled the new Wreckers in on the situation and how he'd escaped, while continuing to clash with Springer. He not only refused to recognize his former soldier was now in charge, he snarled that he used to think Springer would've done the same thing Impactor himself did on Pova...and was now sickened that Springer ''wouldn't''. Conflict aside, Springer knew Impactor was needed for the mission. Given a new harpoon/hand, he was placed in Springer's drop-team and deployed to G-9...and he recognized, with visible glumness, the name of their secondary objective, "[[Aequitas]]".

Descending towards G-9 in two ejected escape pods, they met with tough Decepticon resistance. Despite their maneuvering, Impactor's ship was the first to go down, though the other wasn't far behind. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2|Last Stand of the Wreckers #2}} After their crash-landing, Impactor led them towards where the Autobot prisoners were being held. Cell Block G was directly below him, best he recalled, but [[Twin Twist]]'s drilling only sent them tumbling into a large, empty chamber. At the bottom, Impactor found the twisted remains of [[Kick-Off (G1)|Kick-Off]], whom he regarded as one of the few guards who treated G-9's prisoners with respect. Their presence in this chamber signaled G-9's defenses, and after he, Springer, and Twin Twist were electrocuted, they woke up strapped to tables in the care of [[Stalker (G1)|Stalker]]. A sadist, Stalker grabbed his tools of torture and gleefully went to work on them. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 3|Last Stand of the Wreckers #3}}

[[File:LastStandoftheWreckers4-fivewords.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.66|He makes that same face when he doesn't want to eat his peas.]]
Unlike Springer and Twin Twist, Impactor had grown used to the Decepticons' methods in the time since their takeover of G-9, so he alone managed to stay online during Stalker's "work". Twin Twist was looking terrible and mangled, and Springer had just woken up when he and Impactor began talking about their murky past. Impactor accused Springer of betraying the Wreckers with the testimony against him, while Springer was surprised to learn that Impactor still had no remorse for what he'd done. So long as Impactor refused to realize that he'd done wrong, their feelings were at an impasse.

Stalker returned with a [[endoscopic claw|new torture device]] but his work on Twin Twist was interrupted when his brother Topspin sacrificed his own life elsewhere, extinguishing both sparks. Disappointed, Stalker turned his attentions to Impactor, but was again interrupted. [[Kup (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Kup]], [[Guzzle (G1)|Guzzle]], and the turncoat Decepticon Snare blasted into Stalker's lair. Snare was mortally wounded in the following skirmish, and Stalker was killed. As Snare lay dying, Impactor questioned him, wondering why the Decepticon had saved them. Snare told them that Overlord was on his way and asked that he himself be killed, which Impactor did curtly before Snare could finish his final words.

True to Snare's last warning, Overlord arrived with a boom. Unknown to them, elsewhere, the other half of the Wreckers had completed their objective by hacking the supercomputer judge Aequitas and downloading it into Ironfist's brain. They were surrounded by Decepticons whom they could easily deal with if they simply signaled all the deterrence chips in their heads, killing them. But they knew this would also kill Impactor, who was also an ex-prisoner, and so his and their fate came to a vote. Perceptor voted for killing him for the sake of many, Pyro voted against, and...Ironfist, Impactor's greatest fanboy and new host to Aequitas's judgment of Impactor, came to the sad realization that his hero very much deserved to die. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 4|Last Stand of the Wreckers #4}}

[[File:LastStandoftheWreckers5-finishhimoff.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Surprise! He's a tank. Surprise! He's gonna kick your ass.]]
Fortunately for Impactor (and the Wreckers), [[Verity Carlo]] convinced the others to spare Impactor. After Overlord pulled Guzzle apart and used the pieces to put Kup down, Impactor removed Overlord's eye with his harpoon. In response, Overlord stomped Impactor into the ground, forcing him offline.

When Impactor came to, Overlord had been reduced to a flaming skeleton facing only the fragile Verity Carlo. Impactor blasted Overlord's arm off and attacked him, but Overlord had lost the will to fight, as he'd learned that Megatron had perished, robbing Overlord of his final showdown with him. Overlord beckoned Impactor to kill him, but Impactor refused. In honor of Springer, whom Impactor thought had died, the former Wreckers commander promised that Overlord would serve trial as a criminal, and himself finally came to terms with the crimes he committed on Pova.

Impactor was pardoned in exchange for his help retaking Garrus-9, and he immediately left for parts unknown on a shuttle with the repaired Guzzle. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|Last Stand of the Wreckers #5}}

Things didn't go well for the new pair: Guzzle became increasingly violent and obsessed with racking up a bodycount, something that struck Impactor too close to home, and which got him captured in a rescue mission against Decepticon Harvesters. The fact Impactor cared about Guzzle and the alien hostages enough to rescue them was a sign that he was improving... but when the hostages were killed, Impactor allowed himself to succumb to bloodlust once more, realising to his horror that he could not escape it. {{storylink|Escape (G1)|Escape}} Eventually, Impactor balked and had Guzzle imprisoned at Debris for butchering prisoners, something that a raging Guzzle felt was hypocritical. All Impactor could now do was wile away his days with Roadbuster, lamenting the state of the Wreckers and their lack of purpose. Roadbuster comforted Impactor by pointing out he ''didn't'' join the killing and was trying to care for a comrade. Such caring was a point of contention between the two as Impactor felt it was wrong for his teammate to keep Springer alive, after years of no mental activity, and tried to drag Debris administrator [[Hubcap (G1)|Hubcap]] into the debate.

Shortly after, Springer did in fact regain consciousness: just in time for the Wreckers to be gathered once again to try and rescue a captured Prowl. {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 1|Sins of the Wreckers #1}}

On Earth, Impactor and the Wreckers found Prowl's old collaborator [[Arcee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Arcee]] hunting for him, after he went missing en route to Verity Carlo and her copy of the [[Aequitas]] [[data slug]], a gift from Ironfist. When a "[[Stampy (BWN)|rabbit]]" stole the data slug, Impactor and Guzzle took off after the creature, but soon encountered several [[Chimeracon]]s, robots in disguise as Earth creatures. Their leader, [[Carnivac]], disabled Springer. Impactor came to Springer's aid, and Carnivac began talking to him; how he's being used by Prowl, how 'bots like them still had to do the dirty jobs. Unable to convince Impactor to join him, he fled when Guzzle finished his ally. A massive Chimeracon name [[Tidal Wave (G1)|Tidal Wave]] appeared, and the Wreckers surmised that Prowl was being held inside him. While Springer led a squad into the 'bot, Impactor Kup and Guzzle remained outside to draw fire and divert their other attackers. {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 2|Sins of the Wreckers #2}}

[[File:SOTW4_ImpactorCarnivac_drinks.jpg|thumb|left|Just threatening and flirting with a furry, as usual.]]The three fought Tidal Wave, stuck mid-transformation, and several other Chimeracons until Tidal Wave was ordered to retreat. Impactor was going to follow, but Kup told him of the mind-link Prowl had installed in him, eliciting an angry response from Impactor. Kup forwarded the message Prowl sent, and upon hearing of [[Noisemaze]], Impactor immediately knew who they were dealing with. Without wasting any time, he told Kup they must return to Debris.

Now back on the ship and with Guzzle asleep, Impactor began to dig his own grave, literally, while briefing Kup on what they were up against. While unnerved by ''how'' Impactor knew such details of Noisemaze, he and Impactor managed to hatch a plan. When done with digging, Impactor's grave revealed a gate to the Noisemaze. {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 3|Sins of the Wreckers #3}}

Prowl, Arcee, Roadbuster, Springer and Verity now trapped in Tarantulas' dungeon due to Hubcap's betrayal, were introduced to [[Impetus]], a super-computer that extracts guilt. On Debris, Impactor tried to knock Kup out cold, failing the first three times for not hitting hard enough, to allow him to connect Prowl through the mindlink. Just as Tarantulas tried to force Prowl into the machine, he heard Kup, and the message of their rescue. Kup came by as the Debris breached Noisemaze, and Impactor went over the plan with him and Guzzle one more time; make the Noisemaze crash with Debris after their rescue is complete. Guzzle however rushed ahead, itching to get into the action despite Impactor's warnings.

As Impactor and co. jumped off their ship, Mayhem was already in waiting. Even Tidal Wave began to join in, somehow making his way into the Noisemaze, further destabilizing it. While Carnivac was distracted by his teammate, Impactor dropkicked him. The two engaged in battle, Carnivac again trying to seduce him to his side, but Impactor wasn't having it. He came out on top, ready to finish off the Chimeracon, but Tidal Wave arrived and distracted Impactor. With the tip of his foot to Impactor's groin, Tidal Wave sent him flying, straight into the [[Tor]]--Tarantulas' lair at the heart of the Noisemaze.

[[File:sotw4 undeserved.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|]]Now inside, Impactor searched for Prowl, and found him escaping with Hubcap. Hubcap tried to convince Prowl not to kill him, that they could change, Prowl decided not to shoot Hubcap; and Impactor took the matter in his own hands, deciding that the risk to keep him around was too great, that the deaths of his comrades would'be been for nothing if the Aequitas data ever leaked. Cynically he stated that nothing would change, that guys like Prowl would always have someone like Impactor to pull the trigger for them.

Soon Springer and the others caught up to them, and Impactor let them know he'd eliminated Hubcap, not Prowl, as Springer first accuses. Noticing that Roadbuster was missing from the group, Impactor knew what had happened to his friend. The joined group began to hatch a plan to destroy the Noisemaze and Tor for good, Prowl and Springer leading with forcing Tidal Wave to transform to destabilize the maze to a critical point. Impactor added the [[Obtenteum|super-fuel]] to the mix, citing how it amps up a 'bot for the worse. The team arrives into the main room, and Impactor and Springer rush into the central column holding the obtenteum, ready to take the fuel and lay down bombs to detonate the place.{{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 4|Sins of the Wreckers #4}}

{{charstubfiction| {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 5|Sins of the Wreckers #5}} {{storylink|Last Light}}}}

When Kup was equipped with a rocket pack for travel to the [[Moon (moon)|Moon]], he stated in elation, "If only Impactor and the guys could see me now!" {{storylink|Enter The Shadow}}

===''Wings Universe''===
Impactor led the Wreckers during their campaign against Squadron X on [[Frellus IV]]. There, he willingly sacrificed members of the [[Hasmata]] in order to flee from Squadron X’s siege. Impactor and the Wreckers then stole Squadron X’s ship to escape the planet. {{storylink|Tornado - Decepticon Saboteur|Tornado - Decepticon Saboteur, 2014/05/15}}

===''Cloud''===
{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|TFC-A04}}}}

===''Of Masters and Mayhem''===
[[File:TheTruthWeMake ImpactorCounterpunch.jpg|thumb|right|250px|]]
Impactor was the leader of the Wreckers, with missions such as [[Operation: Volcano]], the Battle of [[Hell's Point]], and the [[Garrus-9|Garrus 9]] Incursion being the stuff of legend among Autobots and Decepticons alike. The story of Impactor and his Wreckers was cut short, however, when [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] was left ravaged by [[Decepticon]] [[combiner]] [[Thunder Mayhem]]. Vowing revenge, Impactor set out across the planet to build a new team with which to destroy the apocalyptic gestalt. {{storylink|Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club issue 68|Impactor's profile in Club magazine #68}}

His first recruit was the spy [[Punch (G1)|Punch]], who Impactor found critically injured in the ruins of an Autobot outpost on [[Gargoid]] {{storylink|The Truth We Make}} and then took to [[Paradron]] for medical care. Impactor was initially outraged that [[Lifeline (G1)|Lifeline]] could only save one of Punch's robot forms, but after storming out, he had second thoughts. {{storylink|Insight}} It was also on Paradron that Impactor installed some medical equipment with lethal capabilities into himself. {{storylink|Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club issue 68|Impactor's profile in Club magazine #68}}

After the spy awoke, he gave Impactor the shocking news that Punch had been the fiction and Counterpunch the true identity all along. The Wrecker leader was angry at this long-term deception, but put this aside to make Counterpunch an offer: join him the Wreckers and stop the monster that destroyed Cybertron. {{storylink|The Truth We Make}}

Impactor and Counterpunch subsequently followed a distress signal to [[Chicxulania|a mysterious planet]] where they found found a small group of Cybertronians who had taken on bestial [[alternate mode]]s. After donating a universal translator from Paradron to help the "[[Raptoricon]]s" clear up their relations with the planet's local lifeforms, Impactor recruited their newest associate, [[Decepticon]] geochemist [[Fractyl]], to the Wreckers. {{storylink|Life Finds a Way}}

{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|The Toxic Transformer}} {{storylink|Foundation and Wreckage Part 1: Deadly Aim|Deadly Aim}} {{storylink|Lively Pursuit}}}}

==Games==
===''Transformers Legends''===
Impactor was the leader of the fearless Wreckers squad which liberated Garrus-9 from the grip of [[Dreadwind (G1)|Dreadwind]] and the [[Air Strike Patrol]], though they destroyed most of the facility in the process. {{storylink|The Wreckers}}

==Toys==
===Generations===
[[Image:Generationstoy-Impactor.JPG|thumb|right|300px|You always were a wily old GIANT HEAD INSIDE MY CHEST.]]
*'''Impactor''' (Deluxe, 2013)
**''Series / Number'': '''01 / #014'''
**'''PART 1 OF 5!'''
**''Accessories'': Dual cannon, harpoon launcher, harpoon [[missile]]

: Part of the fourth wave of 2012-onwards ''[[Transformers: Generations|Generations]]'' Deluxe Class toys, ''Fall of Cybertron'' Impactor is an orange and purple [[redeco]] and [[retool]] of ''Fall of Cybertron'' [[Onslaught (WFC)#Generations|Onslaught]], with a new robot head sculpt based on [[Nick Roche]]'s rendition of Impactor in [[IDW Publishing|IDW]]'s ''[[The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers|Last Stand of the Wreckers]]'', and a new combiner head based on [[Xaaron|Emirate Xaaron]]. He transforms into a [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertronian]] "missile carrier" truck.

:Impactor comes with a twin-barreled cannon that can be attached to two small pegs on top of the vehicle mode, completing his "missile carrier" mode, and a brand new spring-loaded missile launcher accessory (with the missile shaped to resemble a harpoon) that can be attached on top of the twin-barreled cannon. Both weapons can be held via [[5mm post]], and feature additional pegs and peg-holes for mounting/storage.

:In addition to his robot and vehicle modes, Impactor can also combine with his fellow Wreckers into Ruination, serving as the gestalt torso. The twin-barreled cannon can either be combined with the other Wreckers' weapons into a huge "phase cannon" for Ruination to wield, or the twin-barreled cannon can be attached to Ruination's back. As the result of a [[design flaw]], two small tabs that are used to attach the cannon more securely are very prone to showing stress marks, and eventually breaking.

:In addition to a [[tampograph]]ed orange regular Autobot [[insignia]] on his lower chest, Impactor also sports a tampographed light blue version of the "Wreckers" insignia from [[3H Productions|3H]]'s [[Transformers: Universe (comic)|''Wreckers'' and ''Universe'' comics]]. Oddly, even though both the official Hasbro [[stock photography|stock photos]] that depict a hand-painted [[prototype]] (which are also featured on the back of the [[packaging]]) and the ones that depict a (pre)-production sample show the Wreckers insignia, at least one specimen from Asia sports a light blue regular Autobot insignia instead.<ref name="taiwan">[http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-toy-discussion/929782-generations-foc-wreckers-ruination-pics.html TFW2005 thread] with a Taiwan-based fan's photos of the Wreckers, depicting Impactor with a light blue regular Autobot insignia</ref>, thus matching the one on display at [[Toy Fair 2013]].<ref name="toyfair2013">[http://www.tfu.info/HasbroFanMediaEvent/2013/Generations/index.htm Hasbro Fan Media Event 2013] at TFU.info.</ref>

:The original version of this mold was also used to make ''[[Transformers: Generation 2 (toyline)|Generation 2]]'' [[Onslaught (G1)#G2BoxSet|Onslaught]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2013/Autobot/FOCImpactor/impactor.htm More information on Impactor on TFU.info]''

{{anchor|TFSS}}
[[File:CombinerWarstoy-Impactor.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|Now I finally have a toy; maybe people will stop buying up those third-party Wreckers, right? ...right?]]
*'''Impactor''' (Deluxe Class, [[2016]])
**''Accessories'': Clamp weapon, combiner hand/foot, assorted hand attachments

:Part of the [[Transformers Figure Subscription Service#Series 4.0 (2016)|Figure Subscription Service 4.0]], Impactor is a [[retool]] of ''[[Combiner Wars (toyline)|Combiner Wars]]'' [[Rook (Generations)#Generations|Rook]] with a new head. He transforms into an armored personnel carrier, and can also form an arm or leg for any compatible ''Combiner Wars'' and ''Unite Warriors'' Voyager figure (or into one of [[Godbomber#Legends|''Legends'' Godbomber's]] legs). One of his hands is unpainted purple so as to replicate the character's traditional one-handed appearance. He includes the mold's [[5mm post|5mm]] clamp weapon, along with redecos of ''[[Transformers: Generations|Generations]]'' [[Arcee (G1)/toys#Generations|Arcee]]'s four accessories. Of those, the swords are intended to be used to recreate Impactor's traditional harpoon-hand, whilst the larger pistol is decoed to resemble his shoulder cannon.

:The original version of this mold was [[redeco]]ed into ''[[Transformers Unite Warriors|Unite Warriors]]'' [[Roller (G1)#Toys|Wandering Roller]], slightly retooled into [[BotCon 2016]] [[Tarantulas (BW)#Combiner Wars|Predacon Tarantulas]], and heavily retooled into ''Combiner Wars'' [[Swindle (G1)#CombinerWars|Swindle]] and [[Hound (G1)/toys#CombinerWars|Hound]], and ''even further'' retooled into [[Nosecone (G1)#Unite Warriors 2|''Unite Warriors'' Nosecone]]. Additionally, this mold also served as the basis of the non-toy ''[[Transformers: Shattered Glass (franchise)|Shattered Glass]]'' version of [[Brawn (SG)|X-Brawn]].
{{CWRookMold}}

{{-}}

==Notes==
*According to [[Dreadwind (G1)|Dreadwind]] in [[Survivors!|issue #221]]'s [[Letters page (Marvel UK)|letters page]], Impactor transformed into an "earth-boring vehicle". In the letter page to [[Survival Run|issue #238]], Dreadwind clarified that he transformed into a drill tank but didn't have an earth mode. Later, in ''[[The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers|Last Stand of the Wreckers]],'' he transformed into a non-drill tank. Later still, but [[Chaos Theory Part 1|earlier in IDW's timeline]], he gained a drill replacement for his hand.
*In the Marvel comics, Impactor's right hand can be interchanged for a harpoon. This emulates the wrist-launcher gimmick found in many ''[[Diaclone]]''-based toys. He is frequently seen carrying a club which looks an awful lot like a gun barrel, and which may be a gun attachment for his right arm; but being Impactor, he only ever uses it to smack guys around.
*Impactor was the one Wrecker in ''Last Stand'' who was ''never'' going to die! <ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9DPbginVXE Moonbase 2's AA2010 interview], 21:22</ref>
*"[[Remain in Light 3 of 5: The Divided Self|The Divided Self]]" revealed that all the Aequitas defendants were [[Reproduction#IDW Generation 1 continuity|"constructed cold"]]: their sparks taken from the Matrix itself and slapped into a body. That same issue also said Impactor was a [[Point One Percenter]], i.e. ''not'' constructed cold, causing some confusion until James Roberts confirmed that was a mistake.<ref name="moonbase2">[http://www.fullmetalhero.com/t14540/ moonbase2 interview with James Roberts]</ref> The trade paperback snips Impactor's name from the Point One line.
*In IDW's Generation 1 continuity, Impactor was once a friend of Megatron, and later gains the nickname Kiloton. In reference to this, [[Ask Vector Prime]] christened [[Kiloton|Megatron's unnamed friend]] from the ''Generation 2'' manga "Kiloton."

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://transfans.co.uk/comics_guide_detail.php?id=257&page=13 Transformers #221 Letters Page on Transfans.co.uk]
*[http://transfans.co.uk/comics_guide_detail.php?id=291&page=14 Transformers #238 Letters Page on Transfans.co.uk]

[[Category:Cloud Autobots]]
[[Category:Combiner Wars]]
[[Category:Combiners]]
[[Category:European-original Transformers]]
[[Category:IDW Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Marvel Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Wings Universe Autobots]]
[[Category:Wreckers]]
[[Category:Zombies]]

File:SOTW4 ImpactorCarnivac drinks.jpg

2017-07-29T22:15:55Z

Egg: Egg moved page File:Carr.jpg to File:SOTW4 ImpactorCarnivac drinks.jpg: Wrong filename

{{IDWG1interior
|description=[[Impactor (G1)|Impactor]] straddles [[Carnivac]], coolly turning down his invitation to make [[Mayhem Attack Squad|Mayhem]]'s future "theirs". Before he finishes his banter, they're joined by [[Tidal Wave (G1)|Tidal Wave.]]
{{art|lineart=[[Nick Roche]]|colors=[[Josh Burcham]]|script=Nick Roche|letters=[[Tom B. Long]]}}
|series=sotw
|issueno=4
|pageno=14
|panelno=1
|year=16}}

[[Category:Images by Josh Burcham]]
[[Category:Images by Nick Roche]]
[[Category:Images by Tom B. Long]]

File:SOTW4 ImpactorCarnivac drinks.jpg

2017-07-29T22:10:06Z

Egg: {{IDWG1interior |description=Impactor straddles Carnivac, coolly turning down his invitation to make Mayhem's future "theirs". Before he finishes his banter, they're joined by [[Tidal Wave (G1)|Tidal Wave.]...

Conjunx Endura

2017-07-29T17:05:08Z

Egg: Added Lug and Anode + added Junxies

[[File:TheGloaming-iloveyou.jpg|thumb|300px|Also when are you going to take out the trash?]]
A '''Conjunx Endura''' is a [[Transformer]]'s significant other, an individual that they deeply [[Transformer romance|love]]. In [[human]] terms, Conjunx Endurae<ref>Official plural form used by Sentinel Prime in [[Last Light|''More than Meets the Eye'' #57]]; in ''real'' Latin, it would be "Conjuges."</ref> are the equivalent of spouses; for example, when the life of a Transformer is threatened to the point of unconsciousness, it falls upon their Conjunx Endura to make medical decisions on their behalf.<ref>"[[Before & After]]"</ref> Traditionally, a Transformer chooses a prospective partner through the ritual known as the '''Conjunx Ritus''': four acts of affection and mutual kindness which cement the bond between the two individuals.<ref>"[[The Lopsided Triangle]]"</ref> A bonded pair may be referred to as '''Junxies''' as an affectionate nickname.<ref>"[[Elegant Chaos Part 2: Stet]]"</ref>

Some Transformers think close relationships like these are embarrassing. Bluntly asking a stranger about their Conjunx is considered a bit gauche.<ref>"[[slaughterhouse]]"</ref>

{{bigquote|I've always been terrified that you'd die before I did, because you and me apart strikes me as intensely wrong.|Part of [[Rewind (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rewind]]'s final message to [[Chromedome (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|his Conjunx Endura]]|"[[The Gloaming]]"}}

==Fiction==
===IDW Generation 1 continuity===

Back in [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime's]] day, the concept of Conjux Enduras was known as "Sparkmates". {{storylink|Last Light}}

Few Transformers have more than one Conjunx Endura in their lifespan, and many don't even have one. [[Chromedome (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Chromedome]] was an exception, having had at least four. This may be a unique case as every time one of his Conjunx Endurae died, Chromedome used his abilities as a [[mnemosurgery|mnemosurgeon]] to remove all his memories of [[Scattergun]], [[Mach (Victory)|Mach]] and [[Pivot]] in turn, making it as if they had never existed in order to spare himself the pain. Each time [[Brainstorm (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Brainstorm]] objected and each time Chromedome appeared to agree to hold off, before performing the procedure the moment Brainstorm left the room. This had the side effect of leading Chromedome to believe he was "born dry," the only person in history born without [[innermost energon]]. In fact, he had taken part in the ceremony of leaving a vial of innermost energon next to a friend or loved one so often, he literally had nothing left to give. {{storylink|The Gloaming}}

When [[Rewind (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rewind]] died, {{storylink|Under Cold Blue Stars}} Chromedome planned to remove the memory again, over Brainstorm's by-then ritualistic objections, but a final message from Rewind convinced him not to go through with it. {{storylink|The Gloaming}}

Before the war, [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] would needle [[Needlenose (G1)|Needlenose]] by saying his brother's friend [[Horri-Bull]] was his Conjunx. Needlenose denied it at the time but millions of years later, he'd angrily tell Tracks that Horri-Bull was the only one he'd ever loved. It is unknown if Horri-Bull returned his feelings however. {{storylink|The Transgressors}}

[[File:ChooseMe-engagement.jpg|thumb|left|300px]]

Some Transformers on the thirteen colony worlds maintained the tradition. Two such planets are [[Caminus]] {{storylink|slaughterhouse}} and [[Velocitron]]. [[Knock Out (G1)|Knock Out]]'s Conjunx Endura was an atypically slow Velocitronian. {{storylink|Windblade vol. 2 issue 4|Windblade vol. 2 #4}} The [[Torchbearer]]s [[Dust Up]] and [[Jumpstream]] were Conjunx Endurae. {{storylink|Ghost Stories}} [[Tigatron]] and [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] are portrayed in a romantic relationship (as usual), but it is unknown if the inhabitants of [[Eukaris]] would refer to this bond as a Conjunx Endura. {{storylink|Windblade vol. 2 issue 6|Windblade vol. 2 #6}} The Camien [[Lightbright (G1)|Lightbright]] formed a bond of affection with the [[Firecon]] [[Sparkstalker]], leading the latter to ask her to become his Conjunx Endura, which she agreed to. {{storylink|Choose Me}}

[[Getaway]] described a preliminary set of rituals that would lead to becoming Conjunx Endurae, but as he was trying to manipulate Tailgate at the time, the validity of these rituals is dubious. {{storylink|The Lopsided Triangle}}

[[Lug_(IDW)|Lug]] noted that [[Anode]] had made [[Drift (G1)|Drift]] "collapse in front of his Conjunx Endura." Drift was with [[Hot Rod (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rodimus]] at the time but awoke in the arms of [[Ratchet (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ratchet]]. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 2: Anomie}} Lug and Anode themselves were later confirmed to be bonded through a "previously in" recap. {{storylink|An Axe to Break the Ice}}

===Ask Vector Prime===
The songwriter [[Feedback]] of the [[Rock Bot (G1)|Rock Bots]] had three sequential Conjunx Endura relationships since achieving interstellar stardom. His [[syk]]-addiction may have something to do with the rapid spousal turnover. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime#Facebook|Ask Vector Prime, 2015/09/28}} [[Vector Prime]] and [[Scorpia (TransTech)|Scorpia]] became Conjunx Endurae on their voyage to Nebulos. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime#Facebook|Ask Vector Prime, 2016/02/14}}

===''Beast Wars: Uprising''===
The [[Cyberdroid]]s [[Nucleon (Generations)|Nucleon]] and [[Kari]] were Conjunx Endurae. {{storylink|A Brush With Infamy–Prologue}}

[[Bazooka (BWN)|Bazooka]] and [[Crazybolt (BWN)|Crazybolt]] had developed a close bond during their adventures on [[Metascan Omega]], leading acting-captain [[Magmatron]] to wonder if he would have to perform a Conjunx Ritus in the near future. {{storylink|Intersectionality}}

==Notes==
*[[James Roberts]] found that both IDW and Hasbro were "supportive and indeed encouraging" about having Chromedome and Rewind as an explicit couple.<ref>[http://www.fullmetalhero.com/t14540/ Moonbase2's second interview with James Roberts - 01:40:47 to 01:41:24]</ref>
*"Conjunx" is Latin for "spouse".
*An alternate term for essentially the same concept, "'''fembot lifebond partner'''", was given with the [[Cyber Key Codes]]-unlocked bonus content for ''[[Transformers: Cybertron (franchise)|Cybertron]]'' [[Downshift (Energon)|Downshift]].

==See also==
*[[Amica Endura]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Beast Wars: Uprising Transformer culture]]
[[Category:IDW Generation 1 Transformer culture]]

Transformer romance

2017-07-29T16:41:16Z

Egg: Added Lug and Anode to TF-TF couples

[[File:Orionpax.jpg|upright=2.2|thumb|"I'll spend the rest of my existence trying to save his afterburner, then he finally returns the favor by [[#Sex|plugging into me]] while I am unconscious. Ours is a healthy relationship."]]
Some will vehemently refuse to admit it exists. Others ''really'' don't care about [[Transformers brand|the brand]] beyond it. Regardless of [[Fandom|opinions]], [[Transformer]]s engaging in or pursuing interaction of a '''romantic nature''' is a well-established element in pretty much every continuity. For the most part, Transformers are observed searching for romantic partners amongst their own kind, but attraction to organic lifeforms and even non-living objects has been documented as well.

Some wonder why a species that likely does not [[Reproduction|reproduce]] sexually would participate in behavior that in other creatures exists as a means to promote sex and thereby new life. While a definitive answer to this has yet to be given, the question as to why Transformers become romantically involved with one another can be approached from a different angle. Transformers are a highly social species. This is shown through their very human-like society, interpersonal interactions, [[Relatives|familial relationships]], and even the fairly common practice of merging [[Combiner|bodies]] and minds. If these are not frowned upon, then why should social connections of the romantic kind be regarded much differently, if at all? Perhaps there is no reason for them to engage in romance, but then there is equally no reason for them not to.

Though rather obscure, there is even an official term for two Transformers in a relationship: "[[spark]]mates". Existing as a [[Fan fiction|fan term]] mostly, it has been used in two official sources, the end-of-game [[bio]] for [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]], in reference to her and [[Tigatron]], in the Nintendo 64 version of the "[[Transformers: Beast Wars Transmetals (N64)|Beast Wars Transmetals]]" video game<ref>''Beast Wars Transmetals'' end-of-game bios - [http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/756a36c7076a7195?dmode=source transcription]</ref> and again in [[Venus (magazine)|Venus]]. In addition, [[Downshift (Energon)|Downshift]]'s [[Cyber Key Codes|Cyber Key Code info]] appears to refer to Transformer marriage in stating that he and [[Joyride (Cybertron)|his lifebond partner]] "joined together under the [[Covenant of Primus]]".

Most recently the [[IDW Generation 1 continuity]] ongoing series, ''[[The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More Than Meets The Eye]]'', refers to a Transformer in a committed, intimate partnership as a "[[Conjunx Endura]]". In issue #38 of this series, Brainstorm uses the term "sparkmate" when he addresses Rewind about his Conjunx Endura.

==Orientation==
[[File:Gayforgalvatron.jpg|center|1000px|thumb|<center>[[Thunderblast (Decepticon)|It will forever be a shame he wasn't in ''Cybertron'']].</center>]]
The most common observation of Cybertronian romance is between a male and a [[female Transformer]]. {{fact}} Considering the general scarcity of female Transformers, and perhaps the absence of [[Reproduction|sexual reproduction]], this is a rather interesting if odd situation. Second to that are the number of noted relations between a Transformer and an organic, equally so almost solely between a (nominally) male and female. These become more frequent as the gender balance becomes less even, even if that is a direct result of Transformers allegedly being genderless. Third in line come "couples" that consist of a Transformer fawning over a not-living object, often regarding it as of the opposite gender.

Until recently, same-gender interests were comparatively rare. The Japanese version of ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'' had [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] as a male, making ''his'' relation with [[Tigatron]] the first known instance of a homosexual Transformer couple.<ref name="Airazorboy">The reason the Japanese ''Beast Wars'' dub had Airazor male was because Takara hoped to increase toy sales that way. Therefore, the relationship with [[Tigatron]] was initially played off somewhat differently to avoid complaints of homosexuality. Tigatron was presented as a samurai retainer with protective feelings towards his young ward, their closeness addressed in a "brotherly" sort of way. Despite that, there was still enough innuendo left over for the gender-bending to become noticeable. The end of the matter came with the sequence in "[[Other Visits (Part 1)]]" when Airazor and Tigatron stare into each other's eyes while holding hands and slowly leaning in for a kiss. Since little could be done with that scene, the dub team had Airazor fully "come out" and begin to express his affection for Tigatron just before the two of them were abducted by the Vok. Japanese magazine editors, responding to letters from confused young fans, gently explained that "some people are just like that".</ref> At a distance follow ''Energon'' [[Tidal Wave (Armada)|Mirage]], who had the (unrequited) hots for [[Megatron (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Galvatron]], and Generation 1 [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]], who may have been gay in the [[Dreamwave Generation One continuity]].<ref>[http://tinyurl.com/2ugos3 Matt Moylan reveals a little secret about Sunstreaker at tfw2005.com]</ref> ([[Dick Gautier]] jokingly "confirmed" that [[Hot Rod/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus Prime]] is gay at [[BotCon 2002]], in response to panel-mate [[Michael McConnohie]] being asked if [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] was. This is obviously not canon.)

Transformer/organic relations are not any richer in this regard. [[Paddles (character)|Paddles]] had a clear fondness of the humans [[Randall]] and [[Ed (student)|Ed]], and [[Magnificus (G1)|Magnificus]] and [[Ga'mede]] ''might'' have something going between them, but that's about it. A note could be made on the fair chance that Tigatron's [[beast mode]] represents a female tiger and was scanned from his partner [[Snowstalker]], yet that is speculation at best.

[[File:2 Transformers at the Ark-1 Memorial Statue.jpg‎|left|thumb|upright=1.66|Bender from ''Futurama'' finds a friend at the Ark 1 Memorial Statue...]]
The real-world explanation for the overall scarcity of anything specific between two of the same gender is that ''Transformers'' above all exists [[to sell toys]] to children and so has to play in on the wishes and expectations of the assumed general audience. Even if attitude is improving, heterosexuality is still the default assumption and least controversial option in all-ages fiction. Outside of an accident in translation<ref name="Airazorboy" /> and a few [[Knock Out (Prime)|sneaked-in jokes]] for older viewers, the default is still for writers to haul up Arcee or insert a new female (Transformer) to fill the romance niche than play up that sort of interaction in same gender context.

However, the [[IDW Publishing|IDW]] comics have a traditionally older audience. This led to the glass ceiling being shattered when ''[[The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More than Meets the Eye]]'' depicted [[Chromedome (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Chromedome]] and [[Rewind (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rewind]] in a millennia-long relationship, in which they were named as each other's "significant other"... and this relationship was not the first either have had, and Chromedome may or may not have been dating ''[[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]]'' before that.<ref>[http://theunderbase.libsyn.com/the-underbase-deconstructs-shadowplay "The Underbase Podcast Deconstructs Shadowplay"], 17:17 - 14:58</ref> The relationship is perhaps not out-and-out romance as humans would think or feel it, but author [[James Roberts]] has commented that this is because he imagines Transformers ''don't'' have relationships in exactly the same way humans do; he leaves no doubt that "Chromedome and Rewind each regard the other as the most important person in their life."<ref>[http://forum.idwpublishing.com/viewtopic.php?t=12651&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=20 James Roberts on Chromedome and Rewind on the IDW forums]</ref> That Rewind out-and-out says "I love you" in a message to Chromedome only hammers it home. Hasbro has been totally cool with IDW doing this.<ref>[http://www.fullmetalhero.com/t14540/ Moonbase2's second interview with James Roberts - 01:40:47 to 01:41:24]</ref> This measure was later followed up by the introduction of the first same-gender female couple in Transformers history, as well as the first example of attraction between members of different genders in IDW {{storylink|The Sensuous Frame}}

(And yes, there is the fact that IDW has previously established that Transformers are genderless in their continuity, but let's not kid ourselves about what we're seeing here.)
{{-}}

==Sex==
[[File:KP001.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|"Oh, Convoy! Your shift lever is dirty," Marissa exclaims. "It must be from when I spilled soft serve ice cream on you before. I will wipe it clean for you now." (''NOTE: We didn't make that up. That actually, [[canon]]ically happened.'')]]

The [[Unofficial guidebooks#Prime Targets|hints]] are few and far between, but ''Transformers'' is not devoid of the possibility Transformers might engage in sexual activities (for recreational purposes). [[Kiss]]ing is a regularly observed sign of affection and in [[Transformers: The Headmasters (cartoon)|''The Headmasters'' episode]] "[[Return of the Immortal Emperor]]", [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] was rather thrilled he got to see [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] transform. Nevertheless, ''Beast Wars'' was the first to pick up the subject in a more direct manner: in the episode "[[The Agenda (Part 1)]]", [[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]] offers to take [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] to what sounds like a Cybertronian version of a strip club, and later slyly makes a double entendre regarding Silverbolt's suspected kinky activities with [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]].

Rape euphemisms are commonly inserted in the Japanese dubs of Western ''Transformers'' programs for, ''uh'', "humor". The Japanese dub of "[[Maximal, No More#Foreign localization|Maximal, No More]]" has Rattrap, thinking himself about to be stabbed by [[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]], ask his attacker to penetrate him "gently, because I've heard the first time can hurt." The Japanese dub of "[[Predatory#Foreign localization|Predatory]]", reworked from a slasher movie homage to a parody of Pepe Le Pew cartoons, has [[Airachnid (Prime)|Airachnid]] spewing a lengthy string of sexual declarations (some thinly veiled, some not-so-much) as she amorously pursues [[Jack Darby|Jack]] (including singing a Japanese folk song about a woman raping a man).

References and innuendoes have become increasingly more common in recent years. [[Scarlett]] and [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] had a suggestive conversation about "riding" him in "[[Wolves]]", and in "[[The Art of War issue 3]]", Arcee promised Bumblebee to "rotate his tires" if he could beat her, to which he responded with a most enthusiastic "Wooo-Hooo!". In the Dreamwave issue "[[Infestation (Dreamwave)|Infestation]]", [[:File:Infestation crotchrot.jpg|one remark from Sunstreaker]] might suggest the existence of Transformer S.T.D.'s. In the ever-questionable ''[[Transformers: Kiss Players (franchise)|Kiss Players]]'' double-entendres ran rife, with one of the most disturbing involving Optimus Prime deriving pleasure from [[Marissa Faireborn]] polishing his stick shift and rubbing the rim of his gas tank, which are pretty clear metaphors for... well... y'know.

And that's about as far as we're going to broach the subject. If you ''really'' want to know more on the matter of Transformer sex, an exciting world of [[fan fiction]] awaits you. Take note that doing so will be at your own risk, and [[Main Page|TFWiki]] accepts no liability for any psychological trauma incurred.

{{See also|Reproduction#Sexual reproduction|l1=Sexual Reproduction}}

==Transformer - Transformer==
{{bigquote|But me Grimlock still taller than ''you''. That why Spider-Lady like me Grimlock best.|[[Grimlock (Animated)|Grimlock]], making sure no one else tries a move on his love interest|"[[Black Friday (episode)|Black Friday]]"}}

Most commonly, Transformers stick to their own kind when becoming romantically entangled. This is to be expected, as those of their own kind share the cultural and bio-technological mindset that makes their personalities more likely to be compatible. Despite the low number of female Transformers, most relations seen thus far are between a female and a male. What this means for Transformer culture - Are relations something rare? Is there programming or something that only connects a male to a female and vice versa? And if so, why does it exist? - goes unexplained.

In one universe, a Transformer can designate another Transformer their [[Conjunx Endura]], or significant other.

===Cases===
====Generation 1====
[[File:Disclosure CSSB-16 Devcon & co.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|"I didn't know giant robots '''had''' testosterone."]]
*[[Elita One]] (Ariel) - [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (Orion Pax)
*[[Chromia (G1)|Chromia]] - [[Ironhide (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ironhide]] {{storylink|The Search for Alpha Trion}}
*[[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] - [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]]
*Arcee - [[Springer (G1)|Springer]]
*Arcee - [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] {{storylink|Transformers: The Headmasters (cartoon)|The Headmasters}}
*Arcee - [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers: The Art of War|The Art of War}}
*[[Nancy]] - [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] {{storylink|The Big Broadcast of 2006 (episode)|The Big Broadcast of 2006}}
*[[Octane]] once tried to tune in an image of a [[Cheesecake robot|disturbingly sexualized unnamed female robot]]. Make of that what you will. {{storylink|Starscream's Ghost}}
*Technically or something, [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] is married to [[Giga|him]]/[[Mega|her]]self. {{storylink|Transformers: Super-God Masterforce (franchise)|Super-God Masterforce}}
*[[Esmeral (Victory)|Esmeral]] - [[Deathsaurus (Victory)|Deszaras]] who, unique to other Transformers relationships, are explicitly stated to be husband and wife. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers: Victory (manga)|Victory}}
*[[Clipper (Victory)|Clipper]] - [[Holi]] {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers: Victory (cartoon)|Victory}}
*[[Star Saber (Victory)|Star Saber]] blushed and was a little lost on words when Clipper complimented him. Holi didn't like this. {{storylink|Planet Micro - The Mysterious Warrior}}
*[[Rescue Patrol Team|The rest of Holi's team]] is sad they don't have girlfriends. {{storylink|Resurrection!? The Decepticon Fortress}}
*[[Devcon (G1)|Devcon]] found himself some [[Devcon's galpal|pleasant company]] on [[Spaceport CSSB-16]]. {{storylink|Disclosure}}
*[[San D-Go]] once had plans to marry [[Discharge]], apparently directly inspired by that aspect of [[human]] culture. Whether there was an actual romantic relationship involved is unknown. {{storylink|San D-Go|San D-Go's Micromaster toy bio}}
*[[Raker]] is a shameless flirt to female robots. {{storylink|Raker|Raker's Micromaster toy bio}}
*[[Overkill (G1)|Overkill]] is planning on getting himself a whole harem of girl-bots. {{Storylink|The Art of War issue 5}}
*[[Magnum]] has a [[:File:Magnumsgirlfriend.jpg|girlfriend]]. {{storylink|Wings of Honor}}
*[[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] had parents when he crashed on [[Quintessa]]. {{storylink|The Story of Wheelie, the Wild Boy of Quintesson}}
*[[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] once dated [[Thunderblast (G1)|Thunderblast]], and is a bit of a skirt-chaser in general. {{storylink|Flames of Yesterday}}
*[[Side Burn (RID)|Side Burn]] has a thing for fembots (specifically ones in red) and isn't above impersonating [[Dion|an elite guardsman]] to get sympathy. {{storylink|Battle Lines, Part 1}}
**And thinks [[Lyzack (Victory)|Lyzack]], a femicon with a sword, is hot. {{storylink|Battle Lines, Part 3}}
*[[Rewind (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rewind]] - [[Dominus Ambus]] {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 2: Words Hang in the Air|Words Hang in the Air}}
*[[Chromedome (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Chromedome]] - [[Pivot]] {{storylink|The Gloaming}}
*Chromedome - [[Mach (Victory)|Mach]] {{storylink|The Gloaming}}
*Chromedome - [[Scattergun]] {{storylink|The Gloaming}}
*Chromedome - [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]] {{storylink|Shadowplay (disambiguation)|Shadowplay}} (possibly)
*Chromedome - Rewind {{storylink|Before & After}}
*[[Brainstorm (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Brainstorm]] had an unreciprocated love for [[Quark]]. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 3: Predestination: An Expert's Guide|Predestination: An Expert's Guide}}
[[File:ChooseMe-engagement.jpg|thumb|right||upright=1.66]]
*[[Proxima (G1)|Proxima]] - [[Acceleron]] {{storylink|The Sensuous Frame}}
*[[Sparkstalker]] - [[Lightbright (G1)|Lightbright]] {{storylink|Choose Me}}
*[[Needlenose (G1)|Needlenose]] - [[Horri-Bull]] {{storylink|The Transgressors}}
*[[Greenlight]] - [[Lancer]] {{storylink|The Will of the Few}}
*[[Swift (G1)|Swift]] - [[Barricade (G1)|Barricade]]
*[[Strafe (IDW)|Strafe]] assumed [[Slag (G1)|Slug]] was hitting on her {{storylink|The Transformers: Redemption}}.
*[[Knock Out (G1)|Knock Out]] - "[[Breakdown (IDW)|Breakdown]]" {{storylink|Windblade vol. 2 issue 4}}
*[[Blast Off (G1)]] - [[Onslaught (G1)]] {{storylink|The Price of You}}
*[[Anode]] - [[Lug (IDW)|Lug]] {{storylink|An Axe to Break the Ice}}

====Beast Era====
[[File:ScyllaMolest1.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|Bad touch is good humor if done by a girl.]]
*[[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] - [[Tigatron]]
*[[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] - [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]]
*[[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]], [[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]] and [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] all had crushes on [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]]. [[Tarantulas (BW)|Tarantulas]] had feelings towards her that we'll leave to the imagination.
*[[Botanica (BM)|Botanica]] - [[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]]
*[[Strika (BM)|Strika]] - [[Obsidian (BM)|Obsidian]]<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20071202095128/http://bigbot.com/beast-machines-transformers-bob-skir/Beast-Machines-FAQ/Wed_19_Jan_2000.html ''Transformers: Beast Machines Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)'' Wed, 19 Jan 2000], by [[Bob Skir]]</ref>
*[[Scylla]] and [[Artemis]] both fancy [[Scuba]]. In turn, [[Bighorn]] has a crush on Scylla, while Artemis also likes [[Starscream (BWII)|Starscream]].
*While technically not a Transformer, [[DNAVI]] is in love with [[Guiledart]].
*[[Rāge]] - [[Stampy (BWN)|Stampy]] {{storylink|To Jellyfish with Love! Cry Out, Stampy Blade}}
*[[Z Grill]] and [[Kitte Shūshū]] fell in love and made a [[Stampy (BWN)|kid]]. {{storylink|Andromeda - Axiom Nexus News Reporter|Andromeda - Axiom Nexus News, 10/5/2015}}

====Unicron Trilogy====
*[[Tidal Wave (Armada)|Mirage]] displays romantic interest in [[Megatron (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Galvatron]]. {{storylink|Transformers: Energon (cartoon)|Energon}}
*[[Downshift (Energon)|Downshift]] - [[Joyride (Cybertron)|Joyride]] {{storylink|Cyber Key Codes|Downshift's Cyber Key Code info}}
*[[Shortround]] fancies [[Thunderblast (Decepticon)|Thunderblast]]. Naturally, she does not reciprocate.
*[[Thunderblast (Decepticon)|Thunderblast]] - [[Megatron (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Just about anybody]] [[Starscream (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|who's big and powerful]].
*[[Ransack (Cybertron)|Ransack]] is quite the skirt chaser. He used to have a relation with a "cute scooter",<ref>From context, the best guess is [[Crumplezone (Cybertron)|Crumplezone]] was talking about a Transformer.</ref> but eventually dumped her. {{storylink|Landmine (episode)|Landmine}} He also harbored a secret crush on [[Override (Cybertron)|Override]], {{storylink|Cyber Key Codes|Ransack's Cyber Key Code info}} and tried to win over Thunderblast by winning the [[Speedia|Speedia 500]]. {{storylink|Beginning}}
*[[Buzzsaw (Cybertron)|Buzzsaw]] tried to cheer up the ''[[Upstart]]'''s crew by reminding them of the perks of seeking out the colony worlds. Starting his list came "naive small planetoid femme-bots." ...Yes. Let's hope that when he closed his speech with "all of it untouched for centuries or more... until we show up," he was only talking about the energon reserves at the end of the list. {{storylink|Force of Habit}}
*[[Vector Prime]] and his bodyguard [[Scorpia (G2)|Scorpia]] had a love that bypassed rank but, in the end, his duty meant he had to leave her. Answering questions about this leave him quiet, and sad. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime}}

====Live-action film series====
*[[Jetfire (ROTF)|Jetfire]] claims to have a mother and a father. Primus knows what [[Relatives|that]] means, but we might as well try to be complete about this list. {{storylink|Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen}}
*In her spare time, [[Arcee (Movie)|Arcee]] runs a lonely-hearts ad column called Arcee's soulmates. Many 'bots write letters in for it mostly expecting replies from other 'bots. {{storylink|Star Screams}}
*In the letters page of the comic of the films, [[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]] flirts right back with a cop-cycle OC called Hotwire.

====Transformers Animated====
[[File:TFA Black Friday ME GRIMLOCK IN LOVE.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|In case you needed visual recognition that he has the hots for her.]]
*[[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Prime]] used to date [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Elita-1]] until, [[Along Came a Spider|well...]] {{storylink|Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac|The AllSpark Almanac}}
*[[Grimlock (Animated)|Grimlock]], [[Snarl (Animated)|Snarl]], [[Swoop (Animated)|Swoop]] and [[Wasp|Wasp/Waspinator]] each have (had) a one-sided crush on [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]].
*Blackarachnia and [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] seem to have feelings for each other. {{storylink|Along Came a Spider}}
*[[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]] flirted with [[Slipstream (Animated)|his female clone]] upon meeting her. {{storylink|A Bridge Too Close, Part I}}
*[[Sari Sumdac (Animated)|Sari Sumdac]] once considered [[Afterburn]] dreamy. It is unclear if this opinion is to be attributed to her dormant Transformer half though. {{storylink|Transformers Animated (Titan)|Transformers Animated}}
*[[Strika (Animated)|Strika]] - [[Lugnut (Animated)|Lugnut]]. {{storylink|Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club issue 24|Strika's tech spec bio}} {{storylink|Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac|The AllSpark Almanac}}
*[[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] has an unnamed girlfriend from [[Crystal City]]. {{storylink|Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac|The AllSpark Almanac}}
*[[Wreck-Gar (Animated)|Wreck-Gar]] once believed [[Sari Sumdac (Animated)|Sari Sumdac]] wanted to go steady with him. {{storylink|Human Error, Part II}}
*[[Botanica (Animated)|Botanica]] - [[Rattletrap]]. {{storylink|Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II|The AllSpark Almanac II}}
*[[Flareup (Animated)|Flareup]] - [[Warpath (Animated)|Warpath]]. {{storylink|Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II|The AllSpark Almanac II}}
*[[Glyph (Animated)|Glyph]] and [[Volks (Animated)|Volks]] used to date long ago. And Volks is something of a Ladiesbot217-type. {{storylink|Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II|The AllSpark Almanac II}}

====TransTech====
*[[Jackpot (G1)|Jackpot]] is obsessed (but very unlucky) with fembots. Among his unsuccessful projects are [[Roulette (Universe)|Roulette]] and [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]]. {{storylink|Gone Too Far}}
*[[Crystal Widow]] had an unnamed lover before becoming stuck in [[Axiom Nexus]]. {{storylink|Withered Hope}}
*One of the ways [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] can be bribed is by "providing her with a handsome companion", according to Crystal Widow. {{storylink|Withered Hope}}
*[[Swindle (G1)#TransTech|Swindle]]s of [[Swindle, Swindle and Swindle]] has hinted that all three of the Swindles are in some kind of polyamorous relationship. One of them tried dating a different [[Swindle (Animated)|Swindle]], but one of the other Swindles took a dislike to the newcomer and the relationship went nowhere. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime#Swindle's Spiel|Swindle's Spiel}}

====Shattered Glass====
*[[Elita-One (SG)|Elita-One]] - [[Rodimus (SG)|Rodimus]] {{storylink|Blitzwing Bop}}
{{-}}

====Prime====
*[[Breakdown (WFC)|Breakdown]] once expressed feelings for [[Airachnid (Prime)|Airachnid]]. {{storylink|Stronger, Faster}} Looks like even Cybertronian love hurts too. {{storylink|Crossfire}}
*Ratchet, in a [[Synthetic Energon]]-induced daze of strength and adrenaline, flirtatiously winked at Arcee, causing a very awkward response from the latter. {{storylink|Stronger, Faster}}
*[[Bumblebee (WFC)|Bumblebee]] and [[Arcee (WFC)|Arcee]] hinted at an infatuation between each other until [[Starscream (WFC)|Starscream]] killed the moment. {{storylink|Predacons Rising (Prime)|Predacons Rising}}

====''Aligned'' Novels====
*[[The Fallen|Megatronus]] and [[Liege Maximo]] had feelings for [[Solus Prime]] {{storylink|Transformers: Exiles|Exiles}}. She returned Megatronus's feelings{{storylink|Covenant of Primus|Covenant of Primus}}, but may have had eyes for [[Nexus Prime]] as well.

==Transformer - organic==
{{bigquote|We don't have to be the same outside to share the same feeling inside.|[[Alana]] speaks words every Autobot Commander dreads|"[[Sea Change]]"}}

Perhaps because [[reproduction]] does not seem to be a motivation for them to become romantically involved or perhaps because finding a proper partner among their own kind is not always an easy task, more than one Transformer at one point in their life made nice with an organic lifeform. However, virtually nothing is known about how the long-term cases worked out, what with physical differences such as size, [[Life cycle|lifespan and aging]], and [[Transformer#Culture|cultural differences]] - up front the constant influence of the war.

As to why organic lifeforms sometimes get head-over-heels for beings that can't fulfill the very reason they seek out partners, is another matter. In the case of humans, [[fan fiction|several authoritative works]] have been written on relevant aspects of their biology. Readers are advised to seek them out for further reference.

===Cases===
====Generation 1====
[[File:Pgalove.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|[[Powerglide (G1)|PG]][[Astoria Carlton-Ritz|A]] PDA]]
*[[Skids (G1)|Skids]] and [[Charlene (cowgirl)|Charlene]] {{storylink|Showdown!}}
*[[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]] took a deep liking to [[Joy Meadows]] {{storylink|The Transformers (Marvel comic)|UK Marvel comics}}
*[[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] believed [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]]'s care for [[Cindy Newell]] was of the "nudge. nudge. wink. wink." variety. {{storylink|Fire on High!}}
*[[:File:Nomates.jpg|While Cloudburst clumsily tried to explain the First One ''why'' he wasn't interested in her]], [[Landmine (G1)|Landmine]] got cozy in the next room with several other [[Femax]]ians. {{storylink|Recipe for Disaster!}}
*[[Stranglehold]] had a dream involving two ladies there for his affections. They are supposedly organic-based, because while Stranglehold's humanoid appearance is his [[Pretender]] shell, female Transformers officially don't exist in the Marvel continuity, so it's not likely they are Pretenders. {{storylink|End of the Road! (US)|End of the Road!}}
*[[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] - [[Astoria Carlton-Ritz]] {{storylink|The Girl Who Loved Powerglide}}
*[[Seaspray (G1)|Seaspray]] - [[Alana]] {{storylink|Sea Change}}
*[[Michelle]] totally got it on with [[Hot Rod/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus Prime]]. Though to be fair, he was human at the time. {{storylink|Only Human}}
*[[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] had a thing for [[Papika]]. {{storylink|Head Formation of Friendship}}
*[[Lander]] once was in the middle of a date but unceremoniously ditched [[Madonna (Masterforce)|his partner]] after he got an emergency-call from [[Metalhawk (Masterforce)|Metalhawk]]. {{storylink|Rise Up!! Pretenders}}
*[[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] quite fell for [[Jenny (G1)|Jenny]]'s charms. {{storylink|Full Throttle Scramble Power!}}
*[[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] - [[Marissa Faireborn]] {{storylink|Transformers: Generation 1 (Dreamwave)|Generation One}}
*[[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] - [[Scarlett]] {{storylink|Transformers/G.I. Joe}}
*[[Glide (OC)|Glide]] is known to pick up cute human girls and give them rides on his motorcycle mode. {{storylink|Glide (OC)|Glide's Micromaster toy bio}}
*[[Autorooper]] - [[Atari Hitotonari]] {{storylink|Transformers: Kiss Players (franchise)|Kiss Players}}
*[[Hot Rod]] - [[Shaoshao Li]] {{storylink|Transformers: Kiss Players (franchise)|Kiss Players}}
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] - [[Marissa Faireborn]] {{storylink|Transformers: Kiss Players (franchise)|Kiss Players}}
*[[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] drives faster if he smells [[Kelly (RID)|Junko Shiragami]]'s marigold-scented hair. Make of that what you will. {{storylink|The Transformers: Binaltech Asterisk|Binaltech Asterisk}}
*[[Paddles (character)|Paddles]] took a deep liking to [[Randall]] and [[Ed (student)|Ed]]. {{storylink|Paddles (story)|Paddles}}
*[[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] - [[Cover Girl]] {{storylink|The War Never Ends}}
*[[Rapticon]] - [[Ne'll]] <ref> As Ne'll is stated to be a cybernetically enhanced specimen of humanity, it's unclear just how much of her body is still organic, which makes this something of a borderline case. </ref> {{storylink|The Inexorable March}}

====Beast Era====
*[[Tigatron]] - [[Snowstalker]]
*''Possibly, [[Optimus Primal/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Optimus Primal]] once fell for a female gorilla.'' {{storylink|A Greater Ape}}
*When [[Diver (BWII)|Diver]] was singing, he attracted a lot of female frogs out of his expectation. {{storylink|Demolish the Superdreadnought Tank!}}

====Unicron Trilogy====
*[[Starscream (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Starscream]] - [[Alexis Thi Dang|Alexis]]. {{storylink|Transformers: Armada (cartoon)|Armada}}

====Live-action film series====
[[File:ROTF-Wheeliedryhumpsaleg.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|See it like this: rather a leghugger than a [[Matrixspawn|facehugger]].]]
*[[Wheelie (ROTF)|Wheelie]] thought that [[Mikaela Banes]] was hot. {{storylink|Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen}}
*He later shifted his attentions to [[Carly Spencer]]. {{storylink|Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)|Dark of the Moon}}

====''Prime''====
*In the Japanese dub, [[Airachnid (Prime)|Airachnid]] is head-over-heels in love with [[Jack Darby|Jack]], even going so far as to aggressively propose marriage to him (Jack, incidentally, does not reciprocate the affection). {{storylink|Predatory#Foreign localization|Mystery Insect Transformation! Forest of the Spider Woman!}}
{{--}}

==Transformer - non-living object==
{{bigquote|And when we get back home, I want Bumblebee to meet my brother's convertible. We call her Juanita, and I think the two of them will get along just fine.|[[Luisa]], quite likely one of the very few humans who does not find this an awkward subject|"[[Fire on the Mountain (episode)|Fire on the Mountain]]"}}

While the ability to at least exchange thoughts can explain the interest some Transformers have for beings not belonging to their own kind, that pretty much doesn't go for the interest some of them have for non-living objects. Unless the fact they often treat them as if alive has something to do with it. This is possibly not as odd as it seems: Transformers are, after all, [[Alternate mode|part object themselves]], some even having been upgraded from a mere piece of machinery. In that sense, it is perhaps harder to understand why it doesn't happen more often. Fancy that sleek piece of car? Oh, so it's one of those ''not'' talking back? [[Sacred implement|Nothing that can't be helped!]] Or alternatively, it comes very close to the real thing and one can be certain not to be rejected by it.

===Cases===
====Generation 1====
*[[Luisa]] wanted to introduce [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] to her brother's convertible "Juanita". Bumblebee seemed to appreciate that plan. {{storylink|Fire on the Mountain (episode)|Fire on the Mountain}}
*[[Iguanus (G1)|Iguanus]] and [[Pretender|his own Pretender shell]] {{storylink|Iguanus (G1)|Iguanus's toy bio}}
*[[Rook (Universe)|Rook]] and the [[Running Cogs Award for Captivating Journalism]] {{storylink|Around Cybertron #17}}

====Robots in Disguise====
[[File:Sideburn's Obsession Sideburntricycle.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|'Burn tricycle]]
*[[Side Burn (RID)|Side Burn]] has a thing for pretty red sportcars.

====Unicron Trilogy====
*[[QuickFire]] - [[Starheart]] {{storylink|Lonesome Diesel}}

====Live-action movies====
*Dialog from their [[trans-scan]] of new [[alternate mode]]s may suggest [[Skids (ROTF)|Skids]] and [[Mudflap (ROTF)|Mudflap]] had sexual thoughts towards their new alternate modes.<ref>Mudflap: "This is my booty call right here. Time to get my sexy on with the green. (beatboxes)" {{storylink|Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen}}</ref>

====Transformers Animated====
*[[Scrapper (Animated)|Scrapper]] and [[Mixmaster (Animated)|Mixmaster]] like sportcars almost as much as Side Burn does. {{storylink|Rise of the Constructicons}}
{{--}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Transformer culture]]

Sata

2017-07-29T16:00:52Z

Egg: Added gender pronouns: https://twitter.com/markerguru/status/888127103656275968

:''Sata is an [[alien]] [[Space Knight]] from the [[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW portion]] of the [[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[File:Sata.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Rage against the machine.]]

The four-armed '''Sata''' is a young [[Space Knight]] cadet in the service of the [[Solstar Order]]. Though slightly more down-to-earth than her fellow cadet [[Auxin]], Sata shares Auxin's distaste for working alongside [[Transformer|Cybertronian]] cadet [[Stardrive]], believing "the machine" lacks the necessary attributes to become a worthy Space Knight.

==Fiction==
===IDW Generation 1 continuity===
Sata and Auxin were deployed to [[Mining Colony 25-6-41]] alongside senior Knights [[Rom]] and [[Livia]] to investigate reports of a [[Dire Wraith]] infestation. She remained on the ship while Auxin accompanied the full-fledged Knights to the planetoid. The Knights returned to their ship with [[Stardrive]], who had earned the ire of Auxin for interfering with his first Wratih kill.

En route to [[Orchid Crossing]] to meet with the [[Galactic Council]], the two cadets continued to snipe at Stardrive as they arrived. The next morning, the five Knights made contact with the Council embassy - only to learn that they had been lured into a trap by a Dire Wraith-[[Decepticon]] alliance. Sata watched in horror as Auxin perished at [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]]'s hands. {{storylink|Shining Armor issue 1|Shining Armor #1}}

==Notes==
* In keeping with Rom's name being derived from read-only memory, Stardrive's fellow cadets also have names taken from computer terminology. Sata is a punny name derived from {{w|Serial ATA|serial ATA}}, or "SATA", computer interfaces.

[[Category:Aliens]]
[[Category:Comic-only characters]]
[[Category:Solstar Order]]

An Axe to Break the Ice

2017-07-28T20:03:52Z

Egg: /* Continuity notes */ Arcee's gender situation has been handled in Optimus Prime. Genderometer is bullshit, Skids also corrected Rewind on Nautica's pronouns in MTMTE 33. Wipe-Out just knew them as he's before.

{{Comicstory
|seriesissue=''[[The Transformers: Lost Light|The Transformers: Lost Light]]'' #8
|prev=After Megatron (A Dissolution Epilogue)
|next=
|image=LL8 cvrA.jpg
|title="An Axe to Break the Ice"
|caption=Not included: {{w|Ashes to Ashes (David Bowie song)|a message from the}} [[Action Man]].
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[July 26]], [[2017]]
|coverdate=July 2017
|written by=[[James Roberts]]
|art by=[[Priscilla Tramontano]]
|colors by=[[Joana Lafuente]]
|letters by=[[Tom B. Long]]
|editor=[[Carlos Guzman]]
|story consultant=[[Rachel Stevens]]
|continuity=[[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline|Current era]]
}}
'''Amid the markets of Troja Major, Nautica pursues a secret objective, while the past comes back to haunt Anode and Lug.'''

==Synopsis==
''Years ago, on the planet [[Caminus]], [[Firestar (G1)|Firestar]] chews out [[Nautica (G1)|Nautica]] for her disinterest in the performing arts, slowly growing angrier and angrier as Nautica ignores her criticisms, until another 'bot soaks her with a jet of water from a nearby fountain and sends her stomping off in a huff. The 'bot introduces herself to Nautica as [[Velocity (G1)|Velocity]], and with that, a fast friendship is born. Velocity gets Nautica interested in quantum mechanics, while Nautica helps her study for the latest in a series of medical exam resits. Velocity eventually has to leave to study off-planet at the [[Mederi Center]], but she and Nautica are reunited years later aboard the ''[[Lost Light]]'', and become [[Amica Endura]]e.''

In the present day, Nautica (still wearing her protective eyepatch), Velocity, [[Anode]], and [[Lug (IDW)|Lug]] trawl the markets of [[Troja Major]]. They have been dropped off by the rest of the crew at Nautica's suggestion, to investigate the possibility of acquiring a map to [[Cyberutopia]] from Nautica's old contact, the ex-Decepticon antiquarian [[Agonizer]]—but the two Camiens are growing impatient with Anode and Lug holding them up as they browse the stalls. Having no money of her own, Anode tries to wheedle some out of Nautica, but when she refuses, Anode simply steals the [[mood pipe]]s she wants, which brings the [[Rust Giant]] stall owner she pilfers them from chasing after the group. After they manage to shake him, Anode laughs the whole experience off, while Lug remarks on how much the markets have changed since their old days on the planet, running jobs there for their client "Techy." Velocity explains that the settlement was discovered to rest on a spiritual ley line, turning it into a popular funeral plot, so its commerce was reshaped to focus around grief and bereavement. Punctuating this, a sinister cloaked figure suddenly appears, who attempts to ''buy'' Lug's grief, but Nautica forcefully shoos him away. Anode hasn't noticed any of this, though: she is distracted by a strange smell in the air, and when she decides she can't ignore it any longer, Nautica and Velocity are only too happy to let her and Lug go off in search of its source, so they can actually get to their meeting.

The smell—"like [[living metal|sentio metallico]], but wrong"—leads Anode and Lug to a compound full of coffins, and once they have snipped their way through the wire fence surrounding it, Anode quickly opens one, over Lug's protestations. She is puzzled to find it empty, having expected that the smell was coming from a body... only for the coffin to suddenly ''transform'' into the robot who is the source of the odor! It briefly lashes out, but when it collapses from exhaustion, the pair realize it is terrified, and barely a week old. Before they can puzzle out the situation, a laser blast wings Lug's shoulder, as armed troops of the [[Black Block Consortia]] appear to demand the robot be turned over to them. Anode refuses their order to get out of the way, and Lug is only just able to tackle her to safety as the Consortia troops open fire, killing the robot where it stands. Anode and Lug are horrified by the sight, but their attention is caught by a shout from nearby; the pair turn to see a familiar face, that of fellow [[blacksmith]] [[Wipe-Out]], who beckons for them to follow him to safety.

Nautica and Velocity meet Agonizer (aka "The Curator") at his [[Museum of Curios and Rumored Objects]], where Velocity quickly realizes that Nautica has not been entirely honest about her motives in coming to the planet. Nautica already ''knows'' Agonizer does not have a map to Cyberutopia; she is seeking something ''else'' associated with the knights. As she searches Agonizer's archives, Velocity takes in a symbology display, which includes the mysterious gear-like hieroglyph that has repeatedly reoccurred throughout the ''Lost Light'' crew's adventures. Agonizer has deduced that it, and the other symbols in the display, each represent one of five clans that the Knights divided up into on their journey across the galaxy. Finally, Nautica asks Agonizer outright about the "[[Resus Cradle]]," which she had heard he had obtained. Agonizer corrects her; it is not ''he'' who holds the cradle, but a [[Catharsian]] merchant on the other side of town. Nautica drags Velocity off in that direction, ignoring Agonizer's warnings...

Anode and Lug disappear into the market crowds with Wipe-Out, who tells them that he was summoned to Troja Major by Techy—or as he is properly known, the "[[Grand Architect]]." Upon arrival, Wipe-Out found two other blacksmiths, [[Rocket]] and [[Scammer]], dead, and has concluded that someone is killing practitioners of their shared art. The trio takes refuge in a bar, where Wipe-Out gets corrected on Anode and Lug's pronouns; he knew them as male in the past, but the pair explain that they've "reclassified" as female after encountering other races and gaining a broader understanding of gender that did not exist on the insulated Cybertron in their time, dubbing it a "better fit" for them. With that out of the way, and drinks downed to calm their nerves, the group unpacks the grisly sight they have just witnessed, and realizes that, despite first appearances, it can't be the Black Block Consortia who is killing blacksmiths, since the 'bot they killed ''wasn't'' one, and they had offered Anode the chance to step aside before they fired. Wipe-Out realizes that only one 'bot knew they were all even ''on'' the planet—the Grand Architect himself—and though Anode initially dismisses the allegation, the appearance in the sky over the bar of a [[Worldsweeper]] (an outdated mode of travel the Architect is famously known for still using), seems to put the lie into her words. A moment later, a squad of the Architect's men beam down into the bar, right in front of the trio—a squad led by [[Flame (Marvel)|Flame]], who all wear the mysterious gear-symbol on their chests...

Nautica and Velocity find the Catharsian merchant's shop, where Velocity slowly becomes horrifyingly aware of what Nautica is planning. The Resus Cradle in the Catharsian's possession is said to be able to revive a dead Cybertronian, even without a [[spark]], so long as there are some remains to work with. Nautica lifts her eyepatch to reveal that there is no "injury" beneath it... and instead, inside her optic cavity, she has been hiding [[Skids (G1)|Skids]]'s salvaged [[brain module]]!

==Featured characters==
Characters in ''italic text'' appear only in flashback. 
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Nautica (G1)|Nautica]] (1)
*[[Velocity (G1)|Velocity]] (3)
*''[[Skids (G1)|Skids]]'' (4)

|c4=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*''[[Firestar (G1)|Firestar]]'' (2)
*[[Lug (IDW)|Lug]] (5)
*[[Anode]] (6)
*[[Rust Giant]] (7)
*[[Catharsian]] pedlar (8)
*Coffin-robot (9)
*[[Black Block Consortia]] troops (10)
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Agonizer|Agonizer/"The Curator"]] (11)
*[[Wipe-Out]] (12)
*[[Rocket]] (13)
*[[Scammer]] (14)
*[[Flame (Marvel)|Flame]] (15)
*Grand Architect's troops (16)
*Catharsian merchant (17)
{{!}}}
}}

==Quotes==
"Well? Aren't you going to say anything?" 
"Effervescent hedges bestow cosmic secretions upon my granular milk wives." 
"'''What?'''" 
"Random words in a random order. Why make an effort to '''make sense''' when nothing I say is going to change your opinion of me one iota?"
:—'''Firestar''' and '''Nautica'''

"Tell me your name. I want to worship you like a god." 
"I'm '''Velocity'''. And I'll settle for the occasional sacrifice."
:—'''Nautica''' and '''Velocity'''

"'''Ten thousand shanix?!''' Who do you think I am, '''Cyclonus'''?"
:—'''Nautica''' is taken aback by Anode's request for money

'''Anode:''' "Well, '''that''' was exhilarating!" 
'''Nautica:''' "When did 'exhilarating' become a byword for ''''<nowiki>'</nowiki>unexpected and traumatic?<nowiki>'</nowiki>'''" 
'''Lug:''' "Welcome to life with Anode. I defy anyone to spend an afternoon with her and not end up '''dead'''. Believe me, I speak from experience." 
'''Nautica:'''"I got nicked! He nicked me!" 
'''Anode:''' "Treasure it. Every wound tells a story." 
'''Nautica:'''"Not every story's worth telling."
:—'''Nautica''' and '''Anode'''

"I've decided I'm going to warn you against doing things less often, in the hope that when I '''do''' protest, it has more of an impact."
:—'''Lug''', to Anode

"Lug's a she now. Me too. It's just a better fit. The further you get from Cybertron—the more people you meet—the more you realize that as a race we've been '''limiting''' ourselves unnecessarily. You know before the war, when the '''Primal Vanguard''' used to come home between campaigns? There'd always be a few who had '''reclassified themselves'''—a few 'she's' amongst the 'he's'. They tended to stick together. He to she. I didn't understand the significance. What difference did it make? But after we left Cybertron and started to meet so many other races... yeah. '''Then''' it made sense. It made '''perfect''' sense."
:—'''Anode'''

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
*Nautica's troubled friendship with Firestar, and her lack of acumen in the performing arts, were previously established in [[The Sensuous Frame|''More than Meets the Eye'' #41]]-[[The Frail Gaze|42]]. Among the montage that begins this issue is the scene of Nautica and Velocity's reunion from the former issue.
*Also part of the montage is Nautica conducting the [[Amica Endura]] ceremony from [[The Dying of the Light Part 4: At Close of Day|''More than Meets the Eye'' #53]].
*Troja Major and its "[[Howling Town]]" were first referenced in [[World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|''More than Meets the Eye'' #28]], in which Nautica's acquisition of the copy of ''[[Towards Peace]]'' she mentions here was detailed. Agonizer and his museum were later mentioned in [[Some Of My Best Friends Are Autobots|issue #45]], and (as we surmised at the time) are here revealed to have indeed been where Nautica obtained it from. The "Howling Town" nomenclature is explained to be derived from the fact that "public outpourings of grief" are a specialty of the local commerce.
*When Anode asks her for money, Nautica retorts (as quoted above) that the exorbitant sum is the kind of cash only Cyclonus would have. The idea that Cyclonus is filthy rich (thanks to "[[Tetrahex]]ian real estate") was originally introduced in [[Signal to Noise|''More than Meets the Eye'' #13]], but it ''was'' [[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]] who said it, and he was in the middle of his "lying to everyone" phase, so Cyclonus might not be as moneyed as everyone else thinks he is.
*The merchant Anode steals from is a Rust Giant, previously seen in [[The Dying of the Light: (1) How Bright Their Frail Deeds|''More than Meets the Eye'' #50]]. The physical similarities between him and creatures seen in the issue are loose enough that you might not be convinced, but the nickname Anode gives him—"Rusty"—clinches the deal.
*Several references are made this issue to something called the "[[Old Order]]," a long-gone kind of clan or organization with spiritual overtones. This was first mentioned in ''More than Meets the Eye'' #50, in which Nautica noted (and here restates) that it is Agonizer's specialized field of study.
*Members of the Black Block Consortia, first mentioned in [[Into the Abyss: Dark Cybertron Chapter 4|''More than Meets the Eye'' #24]], finally appear on panel for the first time. They are revealed to be an offshoot of the [[Galactic Council]], who are engaged in a turf war with them; the conflict between the Consortia and the Council was previously evidenced in [[The Permanent Revolution|''More than Meets the Eye'' #39]].
*Agonizer offers Nautica a map to the birthplace of the [[Omega Guardian]]s, mysterious creatures originally seen allll the way back in ''[[Spotlight: Hot Rod]]'', and the uncensored draft of the [[Autobot Code]], first described as "censored" in [[Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 4|''Last Stand of the Wreckers'' #4]].
*We don't need to run down the history of the mysterious gear-like hieroglyph again; suffice to say, it keeps cropping up on our heroes' adventure. It was acknowledged and deduced to be a crest associated with one of the Knights' clans in ''More than Meets the Eye'' #50, a conclusion reached partially based on information Nautica acquired from Agonizer. In that same issue, [[Thunder Clash|Thunderclash]] observed that he had seen other, similar symbols in his visions of Cyberutopia; here we learn that there are five symbols in all, representing five clans.
*Anode and Lug are revealed to be the first explicitly self-defined transgender Cybertronians in mainstream Transformers fiction, with Anode connecting her new look to her self-realization ("new shape, new me"), while Lug seems to be comfortable without physical changes. This resolves the question of their planet of origin, which their gender initially meant was in question. Anode also notes that there were a handful of other male-assigned Cybertronians whose off-world encounters with other races while serving in the [[Primal Vanguard]] led them to do them same before her; a sweeping remark that cleverly tidies up the few incongruous crowd-scene appearances of female-presenting Transformers on the planet that have occured throughout IDW history, and which have stood out as continuity errors until now, like those seen in ''[[The Transformers: Megatron Origin|Megatron Origin]]'' or most recently, [[Ghost Stories|the 2017 ''Transformers'' annual]]. (Contrast this with [[Arcee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Arcee]], whose gender's origin was initally attributed to experiments performed against her will by Jhiaxus, but later stories have come to imply that she had always known she was a she, and it was only the surgery that Jhiaxus betrayed her on. (Arcee's history would appear to be a central subject of the forthcoming [[''Optimus Prime'' #10]], so more light may be thrown on this in the near future.)
*Anode and Lug's contact, "Techy," was first mentioned in [[Dissolution Part 1: Some Other Cybertron|issue #1]]. The name is here revealed to be a nickname, short for "the Grand Architect," and this is where everything starts coming together. The "Grand Architect" was previously referenced by a pair of mysterious robots seen in [[Animals|''More than Meets the Eye'' #46]], who wore the gear-hieroglyph and traveled via Worldsweeper—and both those robots reappear at the end of this issue, part of the squad of the Grand Architect's troops. This sinister group's fingerprints have been all over the ''More than Meets the Eye/Lost Light'' mytharc from very early on; there can be no doubt at this point that the Worldsweeper found in [[Rules of Disengagement (issue)|''More than Meets the Eye'' #7]] is connected to them (not least of all because it contained Grimlock, and Grimlock was then shown drawing the gear-symbol in ''More than Meets the Eye'' #46). The Worldsweeper in #7 contained aborted [[protoform]]s, and #46 made clear the group are doing ''some'' kind of experiments on living beings, which begins to explain why they have an interest in life-shaping blacksmiths, and further, why Techy would have sent Anode and Lug to obtain sentio metallico (the stuff protoforms are made of) for him in the first place, as seen in ''Lost Light'' #1.
*Leading the Grand Architect's troops is the ex-Autobot scientist [[Flame (Marvel)|Flame]]. Originally a character from the [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|Marvel UK comic book]], he previously appeared in IDW continuity (with this specific body design) in [[Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|''Last Stand of the Wreckers'' #5]]. He's a guy with a history of tampering with life and death, but it's not clear from this issue if he actually ''is'' the Grand Architect or not...
*Nautica donned her eyepatch last issue, which seemed suspicious from the off; the injury she sustained to her eye in ''More than Meets the Eye'' #50 had been repaired prior to the start of ''Lost Light''.

===Transformers references===
*Nautica quizzes Velocity on the disease [[Corrodia Gravis]], an ailment from the [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|Generation 1 Marvel comic]], with which [[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]] was stricken. It's received a few namechecks in Roberts-penned IDW stories; in particular, [[Ammo]] was noted to suffer from "early onset" Corrodia Gravis in [[Twenty Plus One|''More than Meets the Eye'' #31]], which Nautica here specifically notes is a controllable condition.
*Agonizer is based on the body-design of [[Sixshot|Generation 1 Sixshot]], with a green and blue color scheme.
*Wipe-Out is an original character from the Marvel comic. There, he functioned as [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]]'s gofer, a sort of stand-in for the big guy's traditional partner [[Full-Tilt]], and looked like Tailgate as a result of some kind of art-and-or-toy mix-up.

===Real-life references===
*The title of this issue is taken from the lyrics to {{w|David Bowie}}'s "{{w|Ashes to Ashes (David Bowie song)|Ashes to Ashes}}," making this the [[The Life of Sideswipe|second ''Transformers'' title]] to reference the dearly departed Bowie this month.
*The "Mederi" medical center derives its name from Latin; "mederi" is the present infinitive of "medeor," meaning "I heal." No need to explain the relevance, obviously!
*The Catharsians, meanwhile, take their name from the word "catharsis," meaning a release of (and consequent relief from) strong or repressed emotions. No need to explain that one either!
*And the "Resus" in "Resus Cradle" is from "resuscitation," obvious-like.
*A goggle-wearing [http://rickandmorty.wikia.com/wiki/Gromflomites Gromflomite] from ''{{w|Rick and Morty}}'' can be spotted in the background of page 5.
*"Milk wives" was a fandom injoke involving Roberts from the unofficial TFNation convention.

===Errors===
*As in the original release of ''More than Meets the Eye'' #53, flashback Nautica uses the singular "amica endur'''a'''" instead of the correct plural "amica endur'''ae'''."

===Other trivia===
*Though most readers had probably sped ahead to the conclusion already, this issue's "previously in" recap page explicitly states that Anode and Lug are [[Conjunx Endura]]e.

===Soundtrack===
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPtr7VAQa2c Mahal Kita]" by {{w|Emmy the Great}}
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LswvtH_IQAY Get Up]" by {{w|The Blow}}
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t5gGm3NWU4 I Know a Place]" by {{w|Muna (band)|MUNA}}
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDFIN2vE91w Sad Stories]" by {{w|Would-Be-Goods}}

===Covers (4)===
*'''Cover A:''' Our heroes amid the crowds of Troja Major, by [[Jack Lawrence]] and [[Joana Lafuente]]
*'''Cover B:''' Nautica looks pensive among the markets, by [[Nick Roche]] and [[Josh Burcham]]
*'''Cover C:''' Megatron by [[Tom Whalen]]; one of several "art deco" covers produced by Whalen for various IDW July titles
*'''Retailer incentive cover:''' Nautica tearfully recalls the memory of Skids, by [[Alex Milne]] and [[Josh Perez]]
<gallery>
File:LL8 cvrA.jpg|
File:LL8 cvrB.jpg|
File:LL8 cvrC.jpg|
File:LL8 cvrRI.jpg|
</gallery>

===Advertisements===
*''Lost Light'' #9
*"The Hasbro Tribune" editorial page promoting July's [[Hasbro Universe]] titles, including this issue, [[G.I. Joe vol. 5 issue 8|''G.I. Joe'' #8]], [[Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook issue 3|''Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook'' #3]], ''Revolutionaries'' #8, [[Shining Armor issue 1|''Rom vs. Transformers: Shining Armor'' #1]], [[The Life of Sideswipe|''Optimus Prime'' #9]], and ''Till All Are One'' #12.
*Hero Initiative exclusive [[Rob Liefeld]] variant cover for ''The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide'' #47
*4-page preview of [[First Strike issue 1|''First Strike'' #1]] (previously seen in [[First Strike issue 0|''First Strike'' #0]])
*National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month
*''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Usagi Yojimbo'' one-shot

==External links==
*[http://www.comicosity.com/preview-transformers-lost-light-8/ Preview]

[[Category: Lost Light issues]]

Lug (IDW)

2017-07-28T19:39:17Z

Egg: Moved some text around to fit timeline better, wrote some new stuff, changed some gender-related text

{{disambig2|the treasure hunter|the Nebulan Headmaster|Lug (G1)}}
:''Lug is a [[Transformer]] from the [[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW portion]] of the [[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[File:LugIDW.jpg|right|thumb|300px|]]
A geologist born on Cybertron, Lug and her [[Conjunx Endura]], [[Anode]], did not stick around for the war, and instead began adventuring the galaxy, their treasure-hunting leadin them to places such as the Terralese Acid Wastes, the Nightmare Spires, Killtopia, and [[Caminus]], all of which Lug deems less dangerous than Cybertron. Being the much more cautious of the two, Lug often tries, and fails, to stop Anode from leading them to danger. But such is the life with Anode, and Lug wouldn't have it any other way. She transforms into a backpack, which allows Anode to carry her around, and stores multiple tools for archaeology in her chest. She likes [[mood pipes]].

==Fiction==
===IDW Generation 1 continuity===
{{ongoing}}
'''Lug of [[Celestica Tetracornacapria]]''' {{storylink|Dissolution Part 6: This Machine Kills Fascists|This Machine Kills Fascists}} was born on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] before the war, and was friends with the blacksmith [[Wipe-Out]]. At some point of time, Lug met Anode, and Anode met Lug. Like Anode, she was initially assigned "male", like everyone else on Golden Age Cybertron, but would later realize during her and Anode's travels that the male pronouns had been limiting them. They weren't the first to "reclassify" themselves from he's to she's, however; before the war the [[Primal Vanguard]] had encountered alien races with diverse gender, and some of the 'bots returning from service changed their pronouns, now aware that ''this'' is who they are. While many other transgender Cybertronians have accompanied their transition to female with a body change, Lug hasn't seen the need. {{storylink|An Axe to Break the Ice}} She was one of the many 'bots to abandon the planet due to the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]] and swear never to return. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 1: Some Other Cybertron|Some Other Cybertron}}

During their travels Lug and Anode met many dangers together, but they got separated when Anode went on to train in her profession at a [[Lighthouse|Camien medical facility]].
Some time later, Anode left Caminus and came back to Lug. Anode told her that she missed her too much, and that's why she quit. Lug would come to feel tremendous guilt for the event, thinking that she had ruined Anode's career.
{{storylink|Dissolution Part 4: Bad Moon Rising|Bad Moon Rising}}
[[File:LL1 Lug.jpg|thumb|left|400px]]
Five hundred years ago, Lug and Anode travelled to [[Moonbase Two|Luna 2]] at the request of a client named [[Grand Architect|Techy]]. They found themselves being attacked by a [[Decepticon]] [[Cybernought]]; although Anode successfully deployed a forcefield, Lug was still convinced they were going to die. The time-travelling [[Censere|Necrobot]] arrived, attempting to rescue them both from what would have been their presumed deaths (as was his habit).

After recovering from the time jump in a stasis capsule, Anode awoke on the [[Necroworld]], and suggested to Lug that they'd been rescued. They were informed of recent events they had missed by [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]]. After this, the two were met by [[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]], who asked them some nonsensical questions under the guise of "background checks". After Anode was alarmed by hearing [[Velocity (G1)|Velocity's]] name uttered by Swerve, the duo attempted to leave by way of the teleporter, but were stopped by [[Hot Rod (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rodimus]] and [[Drift (G1)|Drift]].

When Rodimus and a small group of Transformers decided to use the teleporter to head back to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] to pick up another ship, Anode stayed behind with the other time-displaced Cybertronians. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 1: Some Other Cybertron|Some Other Cybertron}} Lug sat by the Memorial to the Disappeared and played some music to relax before Anode tracked her down, and when questioned where she has been, she explained she had been repairing diplomatic relations following Anode's insulting of Ultra Magnus. The two discussed their plans for the future and whether or not they owed the Autobots anything, before [[Fangry (G1)|Fangry]] interrupted the discussion by being violenty thrown into the memorial by [[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]]. When Anode tried to calm the minibot, he backhanded her, sending her flying, and to be impaled on a piece of debris. Panicking, Lug called for help and [[Kaput]] soon arrived. Lug was by Anode's bedside when she awoke and watched as Velocity tried (and failed) to perform a citizen's arrest on Anode before the medic demanded to discuss the [[Lighthouse]]. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 2: Anomie|Anomie}}

Anode explained she was a [[Blacksmith|blacksmith]] and the snowflake was a piece of [[Living metal|sentio metallico]] but that she hadn't stolen any as the records said. She'd falsified them to have a pretext to leave the planet. Realizing that she'd been left in the dark about this, Lug rushed out of the room, {{storylink|Dissolution Part 3: A World Misplaced|A World Misplaced}} and fled back to the memorial. Anode followed her back and Lug confessed her feelings of betrayal as she'd always believed ''she'' was the reason that Anode had abandoned her apprenticeship. Anode revealed the role she'd played in the death of a [[Protoform|protoform]] and faked a theft as an excuse to flee despite her co-workers being understanding and sympathetic. Lug believed that Anode needed to feel hated for what she'd done. Anode offered an apology but when she looked up, Lug was gone...{{storylink|Dissolution Part 4: Bad Moon Rising|Bad Moon Rising}}

...because Lug hadn't ever ''been'' with her on Necroworld. She was just a hallucination that Anode had developed as a result of timesickness; a look at the security camera footage showed Anode exiting her [[Stasis pod|stasis pod]] alone and talking to thin air. A despondent Anode checked the names on the Memorial to the Disappeared and mournfully concluded that Lug had not survived the explosion the Necrobot had saved her from. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 5: Modes of Production|Modes of Production}}

[[File:This Machine Kills Fascists - Lug Mark 2.jpg|thumb|right|200px|''She lives, she dies, she lives again!'']]
A disheartened Anode was taken by Kaput, [[Nautica (G1)|Nautica]], and Velocity to where Lug's memorial flowers grew on Necroworld, and Kaput, having made a hobby of studying Censere's archives, explained that after saving Anode he had returned to find Lug barely still alive, allowing him to perform the [[Rites of Transition]] on her. Anode's explosive fury at the violation of her friend's lack of religiousness was cut off by Kaput's continuing: when the Necrobot found someone ''before'' they died, he would transfer the last flicker of their actual Spark into one of his flowers...a flower Kaput now offered to Anode. It only took a moment for Anode to realize the possibilities this and the sentio metallico, returned to her by Nautica, opened, and she bolted for the Necrobot's fortress.

Reaching a laboratory, she recruited Kaput into helping her transfer the Spark-flicker into the "snowflake" to create a protoform, noting that in principle it was no different than an assisted birth. The process seemed to go smoothly, until the new protoform's temperature began to precipitously drop, reminding Anode of her past failings at her calling - failings she determined not to repeat, as she desperately worked to save/revive her friend...successfully, as later she showed off her "new backpack" jubilantly to the returning [[Roller (IDW)|Roller]]. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 6: This Machine Kills Fascists|This Machine Kills Fascists}} After regrowing, Anode confessed the truth to Lug about the lighthouse. After the two made up and shared an embrace on the field, Lug went to make friends, leading her to play with Roller. She was later part of the group that left Necroworld. {{storylink|After Megatron (A Dissolution Epilogue)|After Megatron}}

{{spoiler|An Axe to Break the Ice|August 26}}

When the Rod Squad took a stop at [[Troja Major]], Lug and Anode joined Velocity and Nautica in traversing the town. Nautica found them irritable, complaining how Lug's and Anode's detours slowed them down. Lug was complicit in Anode stealing mood pipes from a [[Rust Giant]]. After fleeing for their lives, she received the stolen item as a survival gift from her conjunx, and was successfully enamored. Lug commented on how much the market had changed in the past five centuries which Velocity explained was due to a spiritual ley line the market was built on, leading Troja Major to a rebranding as the bereavement capital of the galaxy. After Nautica shooed away a [[Catharsian]] merchant praying on Lug, intending to buy her grief, she followed Anode on the trail of some [[Living metal|sentio metallico]].

The couple found a newborn mech (with a coffin alternate mode) before they were ambushed by the [[Black Block Consortia]]. Lug was shot on her shoulder, and when Anode refused to step aside from the Black Block Consortia's way, Lug tackled her to safety which allowed the Consortia a clean shot at the newborn, killing him. As Anode grieved, their old friend Wipe-Out made himself known and spirited the two away to a bar where the three of them could compare notes. When Wipe-Out misgendered Lug, having known her a long time ago, Lug corrected him, and Anode explained their pronoun change. While Wipe-Out explained the seeming hunt for [[Blacksmith|blacksmiths]] and who the Black Block Consortia was. When the trio concluded the [[Grand Architect]] was on their tail again, they tried to cheese it only for his troops to teleport into the bar. {{storylink|An Axe to Break the Ice}}

{{-}}

==Notes==
*Lug's [[transformation]] scheme is patterned on ''[[Titans Return (toyline)|Titans Return]]'' [[Rewind (G1)#Generations|Rewind]].
*Her name is a type of {{w|electrical connector}}.

[[Category:Comic-only Transformers]]
[[Category:Female Transformers]]
[[Category:IDW Generation 1 Transformers]]

Female Transformer

2017-07-28T17:26:19Z

Egg: /* IDW Generation 1 continuity */ Some tidying up of language around gender

{{disambig2|female Transformers in general|the Autobot resistance group led by Elita One|Female Autobots}}

{{quote|Well, I remember bringing up that question early on with Hasbro, "are any of these female?" And then I think Hasbro's attitude was, 'this is a boy toy. We don't wanna have, you know, girl robots.' So, I said, "OK, just want to clarify that."|[[Bob Budiansky]]|[http://rustingcarcass.yuku.com/topic/954 Rusting Carcass interview]}}

[[File:MCA-Arcee.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|Arcee, the most famous female Transformer, poses for the boys. Way to set an example there.]]

Despite being robotic lifeforms with generally non-sexual methods of [[reproduction]], the [[Transformer]] species has almost always been shown to include both male and female gender analogues, at least mentally if not physically.

'''Female Transformers''' were originally depicted as an anomaly, specifically called out as either a thought-to-be-extinct subgroup or simply never existing in the first place. (Thanks, 1980s! Always so sensitive!) But over the course of decades, while they are still comparatively rare, they have increased greatly in numbers, prominence and overall fairness of representation, and are considered an official part of the [[Transformers brand|''Transformers'' brand]] in pretty much every continuity. Nowadays, female Transformers are basically considered a normal part of the Cybertronian population.

There's still a long way to go, since they ARE still pretty dang rare compared to the "guys" and as [[Mairghread Scott]] pointed out, this can inadvertently make any given female Transformer and their stories seem like a comment on real women.<ref>[http://mscottwrites.tumblr.com/post/71325530812/what-are-your-thoughts-on-the-idw-arcee-origin-that Shotgun Mermaid (Mairghread Scott's tumblr), December 27 2013]: specifically, arguing that IDW Arcee being driven insane by her gender change can imply the women-are-hysterical stereotype "because she is the ONLY women [sic]" in the story, being one of the few female Autobots in G1 at all.</ref> That's part of a ''way'' bigger argument for gender equality in entertainment and society at large that's a bit beyond this wiki's scope to fully explore.

A '''[[list of female Transformers]]''' from all continuities is available.

==Fandom and Terminology==
Almost assuredly as a consequence of their rarity in official fiction and toylines, female Transformers are popular in [[fan fiction]], where the term "'''femme'''" is often used to describe them, with "'''mech'''"<ref>While "femme" obviously is related to the French word for "woman", it's occasionally claimed that the use of "mech" as a name for male Transformers is derived from "mec", the French word for "guy" or "dude". This is probably more coincidence than anything, though.</ref> likewise being applied to "male" Transformers. Both terms have recently appeared in a piece of official fiction: [[Venus (magazine)|Venus]] magazine. This is the first instance "mech" has been used to specifically refer to a male Transformer, whereas the term has been used as a gender-neutral common noun for Transformers in various stories.

Alternative words to denote a female Transformer, all used about twice in canon, include: '''femme-bot''',<ref>"Just imagine all the colony worlds: naive small planetoid femme-bots, unsuspecting targets, Unguarded Energon Reserves..." -[[Buzzsaw (Cybertron)|Buzzsaw]], "[[Force of Habit]]" p4 ([[2008]])</ref> '''fembot''',<ref>[[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]] refers to [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]] as "Ya emasculatin' fembot!" after she cuts the tip from his tail/sword in "[[Nemesis Part 2]]", while ''[[Transformers Animated (cartoon)|Animated]]'' [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] wonders in "[[Endgame, Part II]]" what chance he has in flying combat against the [[Lugnut Supreme|Lugnuts Supreme]] if he "couldn't handle [[Slipstream (Animated)|Starscream's fembot clone]]" on [[Endgame, Part I|his test run]].</ref> '''girl-bot'''<ref>"When we take over Cybertron, I'm gonna have a whole harem of girl-bots! Blue ones, red ones..." - [[Overkill (G1)|Overkill]], "The Art of War issue 5"</ref> '''robot dame''',<ref>In [[This Is Why I Hate Machines]] Captain Fanzone refers to Arcee as a "robot dame in a room"</ref> and ''perhaps'' '''robotessa'''.<ref>In "[[Enter the Nightbird]]", "Robotessa" is the word missing from the line "Say good night to your [Robotessa], Megatron!"</ref>

==Appearance==
[[File:LegendsBusinessTrip11-heroladies.jpg|right|thumb|"Of course there's variety! Some of us aren't pink!"]]
[[File:BMStrika.jpg|left|upright=0.95|thumb|Our mechanics assure us this is a woman.]]
The appearance of female Transformers in most continuities would seem to suggest a level of "sexual" dimorphism is present in at least the more humanoid members of the Transformers species (the term sexual is used in a gender-based, rather than physical sense, see the reproduction link above for that whole kettle of robo-fish). In almost all cases female Transformers are portrayed as comparatively more graceful of form, and more rounded and curved in general, than their male counterparts. Often they have a more than passing resemblance to a slender human female made of metal and wearing armor and [[kibble]].

There are exceptions to this rule. Characters with toys could have been bulky and less overtly human-female-like, which was seen in the [[Unicron Trilogy]] series and some latter expansions of the [[The Transformers (franchise)|Generation 1]] series out of Japan, when the characters are often assigned to pre-existing "masculine" toys. Perhaps the best counter-example of this type is [[Strika (BM)|Strika]], who is female yet neither looks nor acts stereotypically feminine at all. This, however, has dropped away in more recent years as toy technology changes. Numerous female characters from the [[Aligned continuity family|Aligned]] and [[Movie (franchise)|Movie]] lines would turn into motorbikes, giving them thinner, daintier dimensions in robot mode. There are some exceptions, most notably the recently introduced [[Strongarm (RID)|Strongarm]] and her distinctly boxy shape.

The main real-world reason for all this can be seen from [[IDW Publishing]]'s plans to introduce more women in 2014. Plans were afoot to make two look less visually 'female' and more like "the default Cybertronian design" so readers wouldn't know they were female until their dialogue. That was dropped to make it more visually clear that ''these'' were the female characters.<ref>[http://womenwriteaboutcomics.com/2015/02/26/james-roberts-on-idws-transformers-more-that-meets-the-eye/ Women Write About Comics: "James Roberts on IDW’s Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye" 10:00 - 11:21]</ref> Humans are just conditioned to associate certain looks like certain genders. When the ''[[Transformers: Cybertron (cartoon)|Cybertron]]'' dubbers wanted to make a male character into a female one, it's probably not a surprise that they went with [[Override (Cybertron)|the (relatively) sleek racing car]].<ref>[http://www.camphortree.net/tf/tidbits/botcon2005.txt Steve-o Stonebraker's BotCon 2005 Notes, Version 2 at his Transformers site]</ref>

{{--}}

==Fiction==
===Generation 1===
====''The Transformers'' cartoon====
[[File:G1femmes.jpg|upright=2.5|thumb|A bunch of Female Autobots from the G1 toon and Alpha Trion. His pimp cane was removed in post-production.]]
Within this continuity, female Transformers are a rarity, but established to have been around from the species' start. A female named [[Beta (G1)|Beta]] existed back in the slave days under [[Quintesson]] rule, and thus it seems clear females were produced alongside the males as part of the Quintessons' product lines.

No females were explicitly shown to exist among the Decepticon ranks, although the introduction of [[Nightbird (G1)|Nightbird]] and implications of an eventual upgrade didn't raise any questions or remarks, suggesting that female Decepticons exist (or that the Decepticons royally don't care about a soldier's gender).

[[The Search for Alpha Trion|27 episodes after Nightbird's appearance]], female Transformers were introduced formally through the [[Female Autobots]]. [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] at various points expresses surprise they aren't extinct, which would seem to imply females were thought to be no longer part of the Cybertronian race. While at the time a decent (though certainly not perfect) explanation for the scarce appearances of female Transformers, it didn't stop more females from showing up in the movie and season 3. Possibly Shockwave's "statement" could be considered as [[retcon]]ned and overwritten, or one of the following explanations applies:
# They were all built/"discovered" after the events of "The Search for Alpha Trion".
# Shockwave constantly calls them Autobots, never Transformers or Cybertronians. It is possible female [[Neutral]]s' (and the aforementioned female [[Decepticon]]s') existence was never thought over... and that none of them changed allegiance any time recently.
# "Female Autobot" is not used as a description, but as the team's name.
# This is the Generation 1 cartoon. You're not watching it for the flawless storytelling.

Females can be seen here and there among the [[Junkion (species)|Junkion tribe]], mostly sharing [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]]'s model. [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] has a "[[Nancy|Junkion lady]]" companion according to "[[The Big Broadcast of 2006 (episode)|The Big Broadcast of 2006]]". Just how relationships function in this isolated, media-based Transformers society is unclear, although it's notable that Wreck-Gar and his lady friend "slept" sitting up next to each other on giant thrones between television broadcast cycles. The lady's character model is actually that of a female [[Lithone (species)|Lithone]], another mechanical race, but whether this is meaningful in any way or simple model recycling is uncertain.

In [[Misconceptions and urban legends about Transformers#European Generation 1 fiction|the French dub]] of ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'' (but not in the TV series), both [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] and [[Shrapnel (G1)|Shrapnel]] were referred to as female, with [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] calling Starscream "une imbecile" at one point (French articles are gendered), and Shrapnel referred to as "Mademoiselle". The reason for this gender-switch was never fully explained, though it is possible that Starscream's and Shrapnel's rather high-pitched voices were mistaken for women's voices.
{{-}}

====''Super-God Masterforce''====
[[File:Esmeral-manga.jpg|upright=0.85|thumb|This is an official Transformers character. No, really.]]
A female Transformer was created through the introduction of [[Minerva (Masterforce human)|Minerva]] to the ranks of the [[Headmaster Junior]]s. The [[transtector]] she was bonded to [[A Battle... and Then...|eventually]] evolved into a being of ''her'' own.

Meanwhile, the [[Godmaster (lifeform)|Godmaster]] [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] existed out of two humans before becoming sapient: husband [[Giga]] and wife [[Mega]]. Despite the double gender, Overlord is regarded a "he".

====''Victory''====
In the manga, [[Decepticon]] females make their first (yet still to this day very rare) appearance in official fiction as [[Esmeral (Victory)|Esmeral]] ([[Deathsaurus (Victory)|Deszaras]]'s wife) and [[Lyzack (Victory)|Lyzack]] ([[Leozack]]'s [[Relatives|sister]]). Both show up to show the Autobots just what it is Deszaras and his crew have been fighting for all this time: their poor families back home. This spares the Decepticons' lives in the final battle between the two forces. This certainly casts an odd light on the matter of Transformer [[reproduction]] (and on [[Masumi Kaneda|the manga author]]).

Meanwhile, in the animated series, the [[Micromaster]] [[Holi]] is shown to have a girlfriend on the planet [[Micro]], [[Clipper (Victory)|Clipper]].

====''Operation Combination''====
''[[Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers: Operation Combination (franchise)|Operation Combination]]'' introduced a total of 24 Micromasters, none of which got a [[bio]]. Ten years later, ''[[The Transformers: Micromaster|Micromaster]]'' did provide them, and the Micromasters [[Windy (OC)|Windy]] and [[Discharge]] were established as females.

====Marvel Comics continuity====
[[File:Nomates.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|And what will happen is like this.]]
No female ''Transformers'' are ever seen or referred to in the US stories. In "[[Recipe for Disaster!]]", [[Cloudburst]] is pressured into a relationship with the beautiful [[First One]] of [[Femax]], but he explains that Transformers, as a species, have no gender. The UK stories corroborate this and [[Simon Furman]], who wrote the bulk of Marvel's comics, had made it clear he didn't see why robots would have a gender.

The letters page for #53, where "Recipe" ran, further stated that Transformers have no gender and that they use gendered terms because they picked it up from us, and "most have characteristics that are commonly associated with males" while a rare number like [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] have traits we'd associate with women.<ref>"Transformers have no gender! Since the Transformers do not reproduce sexually, they have no need to be male or female. Most have characteristics that are commonly associated with males, so they are referred to as “he’s”. On a rare occasion, one might come across as female and is referred to as a “she”. Arcee fits into this latter category, but referring to themselves as “he’s” and “she’s” is a convention the Transformers probably picked up from hanging around Earthlings too long."</ref>

[[File:Arceeprimesrib.jpg|right|upright=1.3|thumb|You can't shoot Squeezeplay just because he's a bloke.]]

Furman didn't have that letters page and came up with an alternative explanation for Arcee, who'd appeared in UK's post-[[The Transformers: The Movie|film]] future stories. As detailed in "[[Prime's Rib!]]", she was intentionally created by the Autobots in 1995 to be the sole female Transformer in an attempt to placate [[human]] [[feminist mob|feminists]]. (See her picture above for a hint of how well that went over.)

In "[[Ladies' Night (issue)|Ladies' Night]]" and "Prime's Rib", the Autobots don't 'get' gender or humanity's gender relations and sterotypes. This lasted two minutes once Arcee was created: Optimus asked Arcee to hang back, she grumped about men, and Hot Rod went "phwoar!". In "Prime's Rib" this is played for laughs but in "[[Space Pirates!]]", Rodimus Prime can be ambushed by wanting to help Arcee first.

Despite the Transformers having 'no gender', the Marvel continuity was actually the first in introducing a female ''Cybertronian'': [[Aunty]], the onboard computer of the ''[[Ark (G1)|Ark]]'', who was introduced in [[The Transformers (issue)|the very first issue]]. "[[Raiders of the Last Ark]]" gave her a feminine holographic 'face'.

The [[Letters page (Marvel UK)|UK letter pages]] mentioned another two females: Decepticon Powermaster [[Clio]] and presumed Autobot [[Karmen]], who is Blaster's sister. Provided they are real and [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] didn't just make them up, they're unlikely to have been built à la Arcee (unless the 'Cons ''really'' care about gender representation) and could be taken as falling under that 'characteristics' approach. Or the 'Blaster' staffer didn't care.

Two continuations of Marvel would introduce female Transformers. [[BotCon]]'s ''[[Transformers: Classics|Classics]]'' fiction, while not including the UK material, introduced [[Elita One]] in "[[Games of Deception]]", in a manner similar to UK Arcee; and in Furman's ''[[The Transformers: Regeneration One|Regeneration One]]'', [[Botanica (BM)|Botanica]] is the first of the second generation of Transformers.

{{-}}

====Dreamwave ''Generation One'' continuity====
According to DK's ''[[Transformers: The Ultimate Guide]]'' (written by Simon Furman), "Transformers are inherently non-gender specific, and only some quirk of their timelost origins can account for [female Transformers'] difference in appearance and attitude." [[Dreamwave Productions|Dreamwave]] was [[Unreleased Dreamwave issues|in the process]] of introducing more female Transformers and explicating their links to the Quintessons in this continuity when it went out of business.

====IDW Generation 1 continuity====
[[File:Spotlight Arcee b.jpg|left|upright=1.2|thumb|Information: you are ALL going to DIE.]]

{{quote|what do 'he' and 'she' pronouns connote in a TF context? Do they connote *exactly*the same things as they do in a human context? I don't know. It hasn't been properly explored yet. All that said, let's assume that a Transformer who adopts a particular personal pronoun is doing so for the same reasons that a human would.|James Roberts [http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1sj9u8i on TwitLonger]}}

IDW comics are aimed at older readers, so this is where it gets complicated.

Originally [[Simon Furman]] stated that he would not use female Transformers in the IDW continuity until he came up with a reason for them to exist that made logical sense to him. He did not rule out doing so, as he said he had found a similar justification for the [[Pretender]]s, which led to the ''[[The Transformers: Stormbringer|Stormbringer]]'' miniseries.

Despite this, in ''[[The Transformers: Megatron Origin|Megatron Origin]]'', [[Alex Milne]] drew what were intended to be female Transformers in a good number of "easter egg" cameo appearances. (Cameos included female ''[[GoBots]]'' character [[Crasher (G1)|Crasher]], [[Elita One]], [[Chromia (G1)|Chromia]], and a number of generic background characters.)

Gender came to the fore for the first time in in "[[Spotlight: Arcee]]", where it was revealed that the malevolent Golden Age Cybertronian scientist [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]] had 'apparently' introduced gender to the Cybertronian species just to see what would happen by tampering with the [[CNA]] of [[Arcee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|the titular character]] to make her into his idea of a female. Exactly what these alterations entailed is unknown and will likely remain so. All that is known is that Arcee fell short of Jhiaxus' ideal for "female". Thus, Jhiaxus discarded his experiment, only to find she had an inherent homing instinct for his creations. The nature of the experiments did not leave Arcee with the warmest of feelings towards Jhiaxus, spurring a rampage of revenge that cut across the galaxy.

This... did not sit well with quite a few people, wondering just what all this was saying about women, transgender or otherwise.

[[File:Windblade2coverplain.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|[[:File:MarvelUS-19.jpg|You Asked For Her - You GOT Her]]!]]

When [[James Roberts]] and [[John Barber]] took the reins of the universe in early [[2012]], they repeatedly considered adding female Transformers into the universe as early as "[[The Death of Optimus Prime]]", which would have seen feminine Transformers among the waves of [[NAIL]] refugees. For one reason or another, these plans fell through and were indefinitely shelved until 2014 <ref>John Barber Q&A at TFCon 2017</ref>, when Hasbro introduced a new <s>toy</s> female Transformer called [[Windblade (G1)|Windblade]] and a [[The Transformers: Windblade|tie-in IDW comic advertising the character.]] Writer [[Mairghread Scott]] made it clear that Windblade wouldn't have gender by accident or sinister design, and that female Transformers would have a new type of origin.<ref>[http://mscottwrites.tumblr.com/post/71211861958/hey-congrats-on-the-new-comic-i-voted-for-a-lady-robot Scott's tumblr: "That’s not how it works for biological women on Earth and that’s not how it’s gonna work on Cybertron. Anybody has a problem with that, you know where I am."]</ref> (This led to [[Spotlight: Arcee#Trivia|a brief conflict]] as Furman initially read this as a personal attack on his work.) Windblade's arrival was used as leverage to double the number of girls to a shocking ''four'' as her friends Chromia and new Autobot [[Nautica (G1)|Nautica]] showed up with her in [[Burning Bright: Dark Cybertron Chapter 8|Chapter 8]] of the ''[[Dark Cybertron (IDW)|Dark Cybertron]]'' crossover.

Originally as presented in [[A 'Bot and Her City|the first issue]] of ''[[The Transformers: Windblade]]'', the existence of both male and female Transformers on the planet/[[Titan (IDW)|Titan]] [[Caminus]] was treated as a form of allopatric evolution, with females developing in isolation from Cybertron. Other generic female Transformers besides the three that first showed up in ''Dark Cybertron'' are shown or implied. (A running gag showed up where people like [[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]] would ask about their gender and be ignored.) Barber and Scott both worked together on developing Caminus' background and culture to avoid falling into the opposite stereotype of a woman-only planet, emphasizing that on Caminus, Transformers of both genders peacefully coexisted.<ref>John Barber Q&A at TFCon 2017</ref>

Later on [[Nautica (G1)|Nautica]] was given a "estriol-positive" spark-type, implying that female Transformers had a special spark-type. James Roberts asked this to be edited to ferrum-positive in the trade paperback as an error, after deciding it was unnecessary and "potentially offensive" to imply that female and male bots were fundamentally different. Estriol in particular was a weird choice, due to it being a hormone, when other spark-types related to inorganic concepts.<ref>[http://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/12/18/no-little-bots-james-roberts-retcons-estriol-female-transformers/ Bleeding Cool: "No Little ‘Bots? James Roberts Retcons ‘Estriol’ In Female Transformers"]</ref>

The various IDW series then together revealed that more than one gender was present on ancient Cybertron, explaining its continued presence in the colonies and strongly implying that modern Cybertron is the exception rather than the standard. [[The Crucible|Issue #34]] of ''[[The Transformers: Robots in Disguise]]'' made the first mention of a G1 version of [[Thirteen]] member [[Solus Prime]], the first female Cybertronian in the Aligned continuity family. In [[Onyx Interface Part Three: ONoffON|issue #37]] while speaking with Arcee, the ancient Cybertronian and recent Decepticon convert [[Galvatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Galvatron]] stated, "we lost much from the ancient days", implying that Jhiaxus's experiments were meant to ''restore'' a lost element of Cybertronian society, rather than to ''create'' a new element. Later stories implied that Arcee had, in fact, ''consented'' to Jhiaxus's experiments to some capacity, claiming that her old identity had always been a "lie." The [[The Sum and Its Parts|first issue]] of ''Windblade'' Volume 2, part of the "[[Combiner Wars (comic)|Combiner Wars]]" crossover, then revealed that IDW [[Solus Prime]] departed Cybertron with Caminus to his namesake colony.

[[File:DanceAmongTheShadows-butyoudontbelieve.jpg|thumb|left|350px|More than half of the Autobots in this image are female! Can YOU guess who they are? <ref> [[Pyra Magna]], [[Skyburst]], [[Rust Dust]], [[Stormclash]], [[Jumpstream]] and [[Dustup]] are new members of the all-female [[Torchbearer]] team,. while [[Aileron]] is an entirely new character. Other continuity-jumping new arrivals alongside mainstay Transformer female [[Arcee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Arcee]] include [[Roulette (Universe)|Roulette]] and [[Slide]]; the latter is an odd case where the character had been previously depicted as male. Even so, that's ten girls to eight boys - a new record! </ref>]]

The [[All That Remains|finale]] of the "Combiner Wars" event showed that female Transformers were indeed alive and well on the rest of the colonies with a series of cameos, followed by a slew of fan-created female Transformers. Fans voted for the female [[combiner]] [[Victorion]] and her six components: [[Pyra Magna]], [[Stormclash]], [[Skyburst (G1)|Skyburst]], [[Dust Up]], [[Jumpstream]], and [[Rust Dust]]. Victorion brings the number of female combiners up to a grand total of [[Heavy Metal (SL)|two]].<ref>Some female characters such as [[Sureshock (Armada)|Sureshock]] serve as combiner components, although the resulting personality identifies itself as a male.</ref>

At this point, post-''Combiner Wars'' and with the colonies giving an easy-out, female Transformers became just 'a thing' and were frequently added as nothing special. Existing G1 characters like [[Moonracer (G1)|Moonracer]] and Elita One (including backgrounders [[Greenlight]] and [[Lancer]]), previously non-G1 characters like [[Override (BW)|Override]] and [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]], new ones like [[Nickel]] (the first female Decepticon in IDW) and [[Velocity (G1)|Velocity]], and previously male characters like [[Slide]] have all shown up.

''Years'' after the fact, [[James Roberts]] would eventually introduce a way to explain the various cameos of female Cybertronians in the post-[[Thirteen]], pre-[[Council of Worlds|Council]] era: occasionally, members of the off-world [[Primal Vanguard]] peacekeeping force would come into contact with races with more than one gender and decide that female pronouns fit them better, some of them also changing their body to compliment the transition. From this revelation, we got [[Anode]] and her partner [[Lug (IDW)|Lug]]: the first two definitively, canonically, transgender Transformer characters.

Several "male" Transformers who make use of [[holomatter|holomatter avatars]] to blend into human(oid) societies do so via female forms: we've seen this done by [[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]], [[Sunstreaker (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Sunstreaker]], [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]], and [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]], the latter replicating his one-time [[human]] traveling partner [[Verity Carlo]]. (The only time anyone treats this as unusual is when Magnus's companions wonder aloud why the legendarily-uptight cop specifically chose free-wheeling, lawbreaking, rules-ignoring ''Verity'' as a template.) This was mostly glossed over, but then fan speculation about [[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]]'s gender—always presented as male—broke out across Tumblr when a ''[[The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More than Meets the Eye]]'' promo called him [[:File:MTMTEpromo tailgate.jpg|"The Ingénue"]], a term for a ''female'' stock character.<ref>As debated [http://konora.tumblr.com/post/84182229574 here], [http://konora.tumblr.com/post/84182229574 here], [http://raelling.tumblr.com/post/84200154095 here]...</ref> (The male version is spelt "ingénu".) This was completely unintentional on [[James Roberts|James Roberts']] part but he was happy to learn what he'd done.<ref>[http://womenwriteaboutcomics.com/2015/02/26/james-roberts-on-idws-transformers-more-that-meets-the-eye/ Women Write About Comics: "James Roberts on IDW’s Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye" 18:00 - 18:08]</ref> He's since run with the idea of playing with the gender of male characters. He first said that [[Cyclonus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Cyclonus]] would have had a female avatar,<ref>[https://twitter.com/jroberts332/status/390899735919611904 "Not in the comic, so maybe inadmissible as evidence, but I've said that Cyclonus' avatar is female"]</ref>(and a "stern Victorian schoolmarm" <ref>[http://womenwriteaboutcomics.com/2015/02/26/james-roberts-on-idws-transformers-more-that-meets-the-eye/ Women Write About Comics: "James Roberts on IDW’s Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye" 19:12 - 19:24]</ref>), then that Tailgate's baby avatar could have been female as well,<ref>https://twitter.com/jobot935/status/391053739487805441</ref> and then that it ''was'' a baby girl at Autoassembly, before finally stating: "I absolutely think it's the case that there are male-coded TFs who self-identify as female and preferred to be called 'she', and female-coded TFs who self-identify as male and prefer to be called 'he'. I also think there's scope for a TF to adopt a different pronoun if they so choose." (We eventually got to see both of these holomatter avatars in action during [[The One Where They Go to Earth|issue #43]] of ''More Than Meets the Eye'', along with several other female holomatter avatars created by "male" characters). Roberts also said that the specifics of Transformer gender (and what terms meant) had not been explored yet.<ref>[http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1sj9u8i James Roberts on TwitLonger: "TFs and gender. A clarification."]</ref>
[[File:MTMTE35 Female Protester.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|right|''Do you hear the people sing? Singing the songs of angry men...'']]

In an [[Functionist Universe|alternate timeline]] created by [[Brainstorm (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Brainstorm]]'s [[time travel]], at least one [[Female protester|female-identifying Transformer]] exists. It's possible that this Transformer may have changed her appearance and/or gender expression; James Roberts has not discounted the possibility of transgender Transformers.<ref>[http://positronicwoman.tumblr.com/post/87833950888/you-guysssssssss Roberts on the possibility of transgender Transformers on Twitter]</ref> Alternately, it could be that she was born on one of the colony worlds, and subsequently emigrated to Cybertron; this theory is supported by the presence of the Camien city-speaker [[Hot Shot (Henkei!)|Hot Shot]] on Cybertron and further solidified by the appearance of the runaway blacksmith [[Anode]] as [[Six-of-Twelve]]'s second in command. It is also possible that the factors that led to the disappearance of female Cybertronians in our universe were simply not present, or as strong in the new universe.

{{-}}

===Beast Wars===
====''Beast Wars'' cartoon====
[[File:CrossingtheRubicron-newbody.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|She was extremely popular with fans, I wonder why...]]

Female Transformers seem to be common here, with no one showing any surprise over their presence. [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] and [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] both engage in romances with male [[Maximal]]s, the former blatantly and the latter far more subtly. [[Transmutate (character)|Transmutate]] is genderless but [[Transmutate (episode)#Notes|deliberately given "a face that vaguely indicates it is female" in script]]. (Airazor was made female by the writer's insistence.)

[[File:BA Silverbolt Agenda3.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|"I tried to commit genocide four episodes ago."]]

[[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] has an old-school human-style view of women as a fairer and more vulnerable gender, as he refuses to fight Blackarachnia out of <s>lust</s> chivalry.{{storylink|Tangled Web}} {{storylink|Bad Spark}} Most of the other Transformers seem unconcerned about this but [[Optimus Primal]] sees it as part of his nobility. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part 2)}} Blackarachnia herself used to find it ''bloody annoying'', beating up Silverbolt to try and get him to fight back already. {{storylink|Bad Spark}} She is eventually won over when he keeps following her and telling her what she's really like when she yells at him to go away. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part 2)}} {{storylink|The Agenda (Part III)}} Some Transformers have another old-school human view, considered those strange fillies to be quite inscrutable: [[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]] and [[Tarantulas (BW)|Tarantulas]] being two. {{storylink|Tangled Web}}

For the purposes of humour, over the course of the show characters will make innuendos that suggest that, at least by that era, there may have been something sex-like between Transformers. [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] dismays Blackarachnia with teenage slobbering {{storylink|Crossing the Rubicon}}, she flirts with him regarding his body for info {{storylink|Feral Scream Part 2}}, [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] is blunt that he knows Tarantulas had "ulterior motives" for making her a spider {{storylink|Double Jeopardy}}, Blackarachnia is involved in a castration joke... {{storylink|Nemesis Part 2}}

Boy, they sure like doing this with Blackarachnia. Odd that.

Throughout the show [[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]] makes ''numerous'' innuendos, especially involving Silverbolt and Blackarachnia's relationship, including the rather seedy "find any new ''positions''?" after Silverbolt's been scouting the enemy (cough). {{storylink|The Agenda (Part 2)}} He also makes references to a bar on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] where the wait-staff go "without their torso-plates on"... which frankly sounds like it'd be really messy. He didn't want young Cheetor to overhear this. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part 1)}}

====''Beast Wars II'' cartoon====
[[Scylla]] is the impetus for a big ridiculous love triangle of hilarity and embarrassment in both the animated and manga continuities. She is in love with the squid-bot [[Scuba]], who wants nothing to do with her. Meanwhile, the Maximal [[Bighorn]] is in love with Scylla, who wants nothing to do with him.

The non-Transformer female robot [[Artemis]] harbors a crush on both Scuba (poor guy) and [[Starscream (BWII)|Starscream]].

====''Beast Wars Neo'' manga continuity====
The young Maximal [[Stampy (BWN)|Stampy]] has a [[Kitte Shūshū|mother]]. The actual genetics of this was not explained, but we also see a picture of a rabbit with a mustache on the wall behind her, implying a father and sexual reproduction. Just how in the hell an entire planet-wide race of breeding rabbit-robots arose from [[Tasmania Kid]], who was a Tasmanian devil, is ''also'' never explained.

Later, it was explained and it very much was sexual reproduction. {{storylink|Andromeda - Axiom Nexus News Reporter}}

====IDW ''Beast Wars'' comics====
In the spin-off comics, [[Manta Ray (BW)|Manta Ray]] and [[Sonar (BW)|Sonar]] are female Transformers, though the latter was previously established in the [[3H Productions]] [[Transformers: Universe (comic)|''The Wreckers'' comic]]. Neither character was specifically given a gender in their toy bios and this was seized upon as a way to get extra women in.

====''Beast Machines'' cartoon====
''[[Beast Machines: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Machines]]''' [[technorganic]] reformatting raises even further questions about what it means to be a "female transformer". It is possible that the technorganic female Transformers, being merged organic and technological life to a cellular level, might actually be ''physically'' female (or their "physical" properties bear no effects to gender, like before, as Rattrap's alt mode is still a female rat and he's as male as always).

[[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]] and [[Botanica (BM)|Botanica]] end up in a romantic relationship towards the end of ''Beast Machines'' ("So, I'm a tree-hugger!" Rattrap remarks). What this means for his bar-hopping days is never explored. Innuendo makes a big return when [[Botanica (BM)|Botanica]] and Rattrap argue about whether he'd rather insert his tail into a computer or be "plowing your little field of dreams". {{storylink|Spark of Darkness}} Yeah.

[[File:Sparkofdarkness-strikacloseup.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.4|"You gonna make body jokes to my face? No? Didn't ''think'' so."]]

The [[Vehicon general]] [[Strika (BM)|Strika]] is referred to as the "consort" of [[Obsidian (BM)|Obsidian]], and has been serving by his side, seemingly as an equal, for centuries. Some have taken this to mean the two have a romantic interest in each other, but the show itself does not offer any hints to this. This is the first time in Transformers fiction where a female robot has a high rank; where Elita One got to run a small rebel group, we're told Strika is a famous officer who has overseen and won numerous wars. {{storylink|Sparkwar Pt. I: The Strike}}

Story editor [[Bob Skir]] also wanted main character [[Nightscream (BM)|Nightscream]] to be a young female Transformer, patterned after the girl "Newt" from the movie ''[[wikipedia:Aliens (film)|Aliens]]''. (When the Powers That Be nixed that, Nightscream ended up becoming [[wikipedia:John Connor|John Connor]] in ''[[wikipedia:Terminator 2: Judgment Day|Terminator 2: Judgment Day]]'' instead.)<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20071202095033/http://bigbot.com/beast-machines-transformers-bob-skir/Beast-Machines-FAQ/Fri_03_Dec_1999.html Bob Skir Q&A 3 December 1999] (archive copy)</ref> This would've given us a Transformers cartoon with a shocking ''four'' female main characters out of sixteen speaking bots!

===''Robots in Disguise'' (2001)===
Females are seemingly rare in the [[Viron]] [[Universal stream|universal cluster]] as none appear on-screen, if one doesn't count the female Cybertronian intelligence computer, [[T-AI]]. We know they have gender and gender relations due to both the aforementioned T-AI and [[Side Burn (RID)|Side Burn's]] obsessive lust for red sports cars. He was even able to plausibly pretend he had old girlfriend cars in "[[Sideburn's Obsession]]", only getting tripped up by lying it was on Earth.

In 2015, [[Ask Vector Prime]] said that the [[Spy Changer]] [[Optimus Prime (RID)#Spy Changer continuity|Optimus Prime]] from [[Viron 1103.12 Gamma]], and thus [[Scourge (RID)#Spy Changer continuity|Scourge]], as well as the [[Nightcruz (RID)|Nightcruz]] from [[Viron 102.0 Beta]], were female.

===Unicron Trilogy===
[[File:Linkage7 Twirl-Baby.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|But she's got your altmode!]]
The existence of female Transformers throughout the [[Unicron Trilogy]] is portrayed as slightly uncommon (it is a fiction aimed at young boys, after all), but hardly remarkable. They just exist, as do "males", and no special attention is called to them. Quite a few appear in various places in "[[Joyride (Cybertron)|civilian]]" roles, as [[Autobot nurse|nurses]], and even on [[Velocitron band|colony worlds]].

There are examples and hints of romantic interest between males and females in both ''[[Transformers: Armada (franchise)|Armada]]'' ([[Redline]] and [[Falcia]] in the [[Linkage (comic)|''Linkage'' comics]], plus [[Nightscream (Armada)|Nightscream]]'s eagerness to appease and defend his [[bulk]] partner [[Airazor (Armada)|Airazor]]), and ''[[Transformers: Cybertron (franchise)|Cybertron]]'' stories (most obviously [[Thunderblast (Decepticon)|Thunderblast]]'s intense infatuation with [[Megatron (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Megatron]], [[Ransack (Cybertron)|Ransack's]] secret crush on [[Override (Cybertron)|Override]], plus [[Downshift (Energon)|Downshift]] reportedly has an unnamed "fembot life partner" lost somewhere on [[Earth]]). This too is treated as a fairly common event.

[[File:Cyb ep6 overrides challenge.jpg|left|thumb|225px|''Why do robots have to have gender?'' thought Override. ''Bloody masculinists.'']]

There are female Transformers in positions of very high power as well: in the [[Transformers: Energon (cartoon)|''Energon'' cartoon]], [[Arcee (Energon)|Arcee]] is the leader of the entire [[Omnicon]] race, while in ''Cybertron'', Override is the leader of the planet [[Velocitron]]. The Unicron Trilogy is the first ''Transformers'' continuity to explicitly ''give'' female Transformers that level of responsibility... but the only other one (so far) does so via a ''direct'' analogue of ''Cybertron'' (see [[#Aligned|the "Aligned" continuity]] below for more on that).

However, in the original Japanese, Override (called Nitro Convoy) is a male Transformer. [[Cartoon Network]], the channel with the airing rights to the dub, felt it needed more female presence in the main cast and Override was chosen to change genders.<ref>[http://www.camphortree.net/tf/tidbits/botcon2005.txt Steve-o Stonebraker's BotCon 2005 Notes, Version 2 at his Transformers site]</ref>

In the French version of the ''Energon'' cartoon, Arcee is dubbed by a man. ''Why'' she was is currently unknown.
{{-}}

===Live-action film series===
====2007 ''Transformers'' film====
[[File:Arceemovie.jpg|thumb|Comic artists ''cry'' when they see this model sheet.]]

[[Arcee (Movie)|Arcee]] was originally going to be featured as part of the cast of the [[Transformers (film)|''Transformers'' film]], but was cut early on in the movie's development. The script writers felt they would need to explain the presence of a female in an entirely robotic race, and there was not enough time in the film to do so. Arcee was replaced in the movie by [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]]. Even so, Arcee was featured in IDW's [[Transformers: Movie Prequel|''Movie Prequel'' comics]] and remains in the movie toyline as both Deluxe and Scout-class toys.

One other female Autobot is featured in the movie continuity family, another Scout-class toy, [[Elita-One (Movie)|Elita-One]]. Both Elita and Arcee, however, are featured in [[Transformers (Titan Magazine)|Titan Magazine's]] alternate reality stories as regular characters, with Arcee getting more prominence. Both also appear in IDW's Movie Sequel comic series ''[[Transformers: The Reign of Starscream|The Reign of Starscream]]'', with Arcee playing quite a prominent leadership role. Surprisingly, Elita-One does not fare as well as her sister-in-arms, dying at the claws of [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] himself. Although it is unusual for a female Transformer to die in fiction ([[To sell toys|compared to how often Transformer death happens in general]]), it has [[Manta Ray (BW)|happened]] [[Sonar (BW)|before]].

As for Decepticons, [[Fracture (Movie)|Fracture]], based off of the aforementioned Crasher, was recently added to the end of the movie toyline as a Wal-mart exclusive. She has been featured in Titan Magazine's comics, as of issue 18, and in IDW's ''[[Transformers: Alliance|Alliance]]'' series as of issue 3.

In all the comics where female Transformers do appear in the Movie continuity, their gender is never considered an issue. This raises questions about just how necessary "explaining" them would be in [[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|future]] [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)|movies]].

====''Revenge of the Fallen'' film====
And apparently, two years later gender was no longer an issue at all, as ''Revenge of the Fallen'' featured [[Arcee (Movie)|Arcee]], who now inexplicably existed in three separate bodies, as well as [[Alice]], a Decepticon [[Pretender]]. No comment was given on the subject of the characters' femininity. Frankly, not explaining Pretenders is a bigger oversight than not explaining robot gender.

{{-}}

===''Animated''===
[[File:Animated females.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.1|Did you ever feel like the only original designs in a sea full of homages?]]
Female Transformers were present in ''[[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Transformers Animated]]'' from the very beginning of the cartoon, starting with [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]]. What this meant for the state of females in the continuity at large was not immediately apparent; in "[[Along Came a Spider]]", both [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] and [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] expressed confusion as to ''what'' Blackarachnia was. Though they were referring to her [[Technorganic|partially organic]] nature, [[Sari Sumdac (Animated)|Sari]] jokes "Duh, she's a girl" as a nod to the rarity of female Transformers.

As the series proceeded, multiple lady-bots were progressively introduced, among which were a [[Slipstream (Animated)|female clone]] of [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]], the obligatory [[Arcee (Animated)|Arcee]] and many more. Although they remain distinctly outnumbered by the male Transformers, this makes it clear that while female Transformers may be relatively uncommon, they aren't considered very remarkable or noteworthy—unless you're a young, male Autobot who's spent ''waaaaayy'' too much time fixing space bridges.

[[Image:Blackarachnia Venus Mag by BillForster.jpg|200px|thumb|right]]

Despite Optimus's confusion over where organic babies come from in "[[Transform and Roll Out]]", implying that there is no Cybertronian equivalent to [[Reproduction|sexual reproduction]] in ''Animated'', Transformer ''relationships'' are implied to be a possibility, as in "[[Along Came a Spider]]" and "[[Black Friday (episode)|Black Friday]]", respectively, Blackarachnia takes advantage of [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]]'s and the [[Dinobot (Animated)|Dinobots]]' obvious interest in her, especially [[Grimlock (Animated)|Grimlock]]'s. There's also the fact that [[Strika (Animated)|Strika]] is said to be the "consort" of [[Lugnut (Animated)|Lugnut]].

[[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]]'s role as the Autobot medical officer was originally supposed to be assigned to a character named [[Red Alert (Animated)|Red Alert]], who was originally designed as a female, but then turned male. When brought in at the start of Season 3, Red Alert was female once again as an homage to the original design.

Because Sari was originally a Cybertronian protoform, she could be considered a female technorganic Transformer, although her origins were not revealed until Season 3.

{{-}}

===''Shattered Glass''===
While in most universes the number of females on the side of good is significantly larger than the number on the side of evil, this universe has more evil ladies as a result of its status as a mirror universe. The first two introduced were [[Arcee (SG)|Arcee]] and [[Crasher (SG)|Crasher]]—an (evil) Autobot and a (good) Decepticon respectively—but since then the balance has tilted.

It would seem that female Transformers in this universe are as they are in most: few in numbers, but nothing remarkable. Crasher appeared bewildered when [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] (who hails from a [[#Generation 1 Marvel Comics continuity|Marvel Comics-derived universe]]) tried to tell her that he thought her feminine shape was unusual, and no one else seems to regard the females as something noteworthy.

===Aligned continuity family===
[[File:Arcee Prime stockimage.jpg|thumb|right|170px|But ignore all the names we're listing, cos 50% of all female appearances are Arcee.]]

One-thirteenth of Cybertron's population identify as female, and are descended from [[Solus Prime]].<ref>According to [https://twitter.com/DiscFamilyDay/status/87976495074639872 @HubTVNetwork] and comments made at [[BotCon 2011]].</ref>

In ''[[Transformers: The Covenant of Primus|The Covenant of Primus]]'', [[Alpha Trion (WFC)|Alpha Trion]] expounds on the nature of gender among Cybertronians. He mentions that Transformers are technically asexual, but divide themselves into two distinct categories based on how they process information. He speculated that Solus Prime required this unique cognitive structure in order to properly utilize her [[Creation Lathe]]. Before making contact with gendered aliens, Cybertronians used a single pronoun to refer to all individuals. After taking a greater role in the galactic community, they began incorporating gendered pronouns into their culture, to demonstrate that they recognized and celebrated differences among themselves while maintaining their equality (here, Alpha Trion breaks the [[Wikipedia:fourth wall|fourth wall]] to apologize to any readers who might feel insulted by Cybertron's 1:12 gender ratio).

Before the war, [[Ratchet (WFC)|Ratchet]] worked with a female [[Arachnicon]] doctor named [[Cogwheel]]. The female Transformers [[Azimuth]] founded the [[Patterner]] movement. The leader of the [[Mutacon]]s is the female Transformer [[Mercury (COP)|Mercury]]. The ruler of [[Velocitron]], [[Override (Prime)|Override]], and the Decepticon soldier [[Slipstream (WFC)|Slipstream]] are also female. Additionally, [[Chromia (Prime)|Chromia]] and [[Firestar (Prime)|Firestar]] are leaders of underground cities which are destroyed when Cybertron is restored. [[Ser-Ket (Prime)|Ser-Ket]], a female member of the [[Forged]], was one of the main antagonists of the ''[[Transformers Prime: Rage of the Dinobots|Rage of the Dinobots]]'' miniseries. [[Ripclaw (Prime)|Ripclaw]] and [[Flamewar (Prime)|Flamewar]] were both toy-only female characters, their only fiction consisting of character bios or roles in prose stories packaged with toys. [[Elita One (COP)|Elita One]], [[Moonracer (COP)|Moonracer]], and [[Akiba Prime]] also exist in the Aligned continuity family as female Transformers.

====''Prime'' cartoon====
The only female Transformers portrayed as cast members are [[Arcee (WFC)|Arcee]] and [[Airachnid (Prime)|Airachnid]]. Solus Prime is also briefly mentioned when her [[Forge of Solus Prime|hammer]] is discovered by the Decepticons, and momentarily seen in a flashback.
Showing up in [[Arms Micron Theater]] segments are [[Arc]], [[Arcee Blade]], and [[Ida]].

====''Transformers Online''====
''[[Transformers Online (2012 video game)|Transformers Online]]'' introduced numerous female Transformers for both factions. Yes, the Chinese MMO that lasted about a year, in the continuity family where female Transformers are canonically rare, introduced more female characters than any single other source in ''years''.

====''Transformers Universe''====
The Decepticons have the female warriors [[Astraea]], [[Diabla]], and [[Duststorm (Prime)|Duststorm]] on their side, while the Autobots have [[Cameo]] and [[Catapult]].

====2015 ''Robots in Disguise'' cartoon====
The Autobot cadet [[Strongarm (RID)|Strongarm]] is a member of Bumblebee's team, with [[Windblade (RID)|Windblade]] later assisting the team. Among the many rogue Decepticons are [[Filch]], [[Slink]], and [[Zizza]], who sports a notably un-stereotypical body shape. The tie-in comic also introduced [[Retrofit]] and [[Overhead]].

==Toys==
[[File:Airazorbwtfmtoy1.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|Windblade stands on the extremely pointy shoulders of giants.]]

Though many female Transformers were featured in the fiction from the early days of ''Generation 1'', for many years they tended to either: a) not have toys made of them at all, or, b) for those very few that did get a release, end up as repaints of other molds clearly not designed with a female aesthetic in mind. Budiansky told you why that was up at the top there. There were [[Arcee (G1)#Generation 1|three separate plans]] to have toys of Arcee during G1 and all three were scrapped.

''[[Transmetal]]'' [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] is the first Transformer toy designed to intentionally represent a female character that actually came out. Ironically, Airazor was written out of the show in the same year!

The big turning point for female characters came when Hasbro held a "Fan-Built Bot" programme in 2013. Gender was one of the things fans could choose and the fans voted "female", giving us [[Windblade (G1)|Windblade]]. This worked out well enough that Hasbro had another contest for [[Combiner Wars (toyline)|Combiner Wars]] in 2015 and fans voted for female Tranformers again: this time ''six'' that made up the gestalt [[Victorion]].

Fans having chats with Hasbro people at conventions have mentioned one bar to more girl toys: they still don't sell as well. Large companies can also be skittish about changing the way they do things unless they're very sure the new way is more lucrative than the old way. Female Transformers selling more toys will beget new toys and, [[to sell toys|of course]], get more major characters in fiction. So go buy [[Strongarm (RID)|Strongarms]].

==Notes==
{{quote|Could we/should we have done more, especially in the depiction of female Transformers? Almost certainly, but it was a different age and our audience was ninety-nine percent male.|Simon Furman, talking to Vice in 2016 (he's wrong by the way, female fans have been around since the very beginning)<ref>[https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/comic-writer-simon-furman-discusses-three-decades-of-transformers-and-new-game-earth-wars-707 Vice interview on Earth Wars]</ref>}}
[[File:G1RatchetSexchange.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|On the other hand, maybe a medic who enjoyed getting skunked on tainted 40-weight [[oil]] wasn't the best example, either...]]
*It's worth comparing the original G1 to ''[[GoBots]]'', its big competitor. Our very own [[Chromedome (G1)|tumblr]] crunched the numbers and found ''GoBots'' turns out to have more prominent female robots, all with toys, and we had to include [[Nancy]] to have the same ''number'' of talking fembots. That's right: the GoBots were ''better'' than G1 at something.<ref>[http://tfwiki.tumblr.com/post/112170089613/if-someone-asks-why-we-need-more-diverse TF Wiki Tumblr: If Someone Asks Why We Need More Diversity]</ref> More recent franchises lagging behind ''GoBots'' is more depressing.
*Several modern writers have worked to get more women into the fiction, in particular Scott, Barber, and Roberts at IDW. [[Jim Sorenson]] openly stated he would work to get women into his fiction as often as he possibly could to tip the balance.<ref>[http://www.allspark.com/forums/topic/133737-beast-wars-uprising-ama/?p=3360055 Beast Wars Uprising AMA at Allspark]</ref>
*In the [[Shout! Factory]] Matrix of Leadership Special Edition DVD set, an interview with [[Bob Budiansky]] features close-ups of his original handwritten notes for several characters. Intriguingly, these notes refer to [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] as "her" and the Autobots' "go-to gal" for repairs. While this obviously was not the final direction the character took, it does show that female characters were being considered for inclusion in the cast before someone at Hasbro told Budiansky otherwise.
*In 2013, Hasbro ran a "Fan Built Bot" poll as part of the "[[Thrilling 30]]" celebration, in which fans chose between numerous options to "build" a brand new character-toy for the 30th anniversary retail line, and "male / female" was one of the options. "Female" [[Windblade (G1)|won!]]
*In 2015, another "Fan Built Bot" poll was held for the "[[Combiner Wars (toyline)|Combiner Wars]]" toyline. Femmes won again and we got our first ever [[Torchbearer|all female combiner team!]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Female Transformers| *]]
[[Category:Generation 1]]
[[Category:Transformer culture]]

An Axe to Break the Ice

2017-07-26T13:33:22Z

Egg: Some minor changes in language around gender.

{{Comicstory
|seriesissue=''[[The Transformers: Lost Light|The Transformers: Lost Light]]'' #8
|prev=After Megatron (A Dissolution Epilogue)
|next=
|image=LL8 cvrA.jpg
|title="An Axe to Break the Ice"
|caption=Not included: {{w|Ashes to Ashes (David Bowie song)|a message from the}} [[Action Man]].
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[July 26]], [[2017]]
|coverdate=July 2017
|written by=[[James Roberts]]
|art by=[[Priscilla Tramontano]]
|colors by=[[Joana Lafuente]]
|letters by=[[Tom B. Long]]
|editor=[[Carlos Guzman]]
|story consultant=[[Rachel Stevens]]
|continuity=[[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline|Current era]]
}}
'''Amid the markets of Troja Major, Nautica pursues a secret objective, while the past comes back to haunt Anode and Lug.'''

==Synopsis==
''Years ago, on the planet [[Caminus]], [[Firestar (G1)|Firestar]] chews out [[Nautica (G1)|Nautica]] for her disinterest in the performing arts, slowly growing angrier and angrier as Nautica ignores her criticisms, until another 'bot soaks her with a jet of water from a nearby fountain and sends her stomping off in a huff. The 'bot introduces herself to Nautica as [[Velocity (G1)|Velocity]], and with that, a fast friendship is born. Velocity gets Nautica interested in quantum mechanics, while Nautica helps her study for the latest in a series of medical exam resits. Velocity eventually has to leave to study off-planet at the [[Mederi Center]], but she and Nautica are reunited years later aboard the ''[[Lost Light]]'', and become [[Amica Endura]]e.''

In the present day, Nautica (still wearing her protective eyepatch), Velocity, [[Anode]], and [[Lug (IDW)|Lug]] trawl the markets of [[Troja Major]]. They have been dropped off by the rest of the crew at Nautica's suggestion, to investigate the possibility of acquiring a map to [[Cyberutopia]] from Nautica's old contact, the ex-Decepticon antiquarian [[Agonizer]]—but the two Camiens are growing impatient with Anode and Lug holding them up as they browse the stalls. Having no money of her own, Anode tries to wheedle some out of Nautica, but when she refuses, Anode simply steals the [[mood pipe]]s she wants, which brings the hulking monster of a stall owner she pilfers them from chasing after the group. After they manage to shake him, Anode laughs the whole experience off, while Lug remarks on how much the markets have changed since their old days on the planet, running jobs their for their contractor "Techy." Velocity explains that the settlement was discovered to rest on a spiritual ley line, turning it into a popular funeral plot, so its commerce was reshaped to focus around grief and bereavement. Punctuating this, a sinister cloaked figure suddenly appears, who attempts to ''buy'' Lug's grief, but Nautica forcefully shoos him away. Anode hasn't noticed any of this, though: she is distracted by a strange smell in the air, and when she decides she can't ignore it any longer, Nautica and Velocity are only too happy to let her and Lug go off in search of its source, so they can actually get to their meeting.

The smell—"like [[living metal|sentio metallico]], but wrong"—leads Anode and Lug to a compound full of coffins, and once they have snipped their way through the wire fence surrounding it, Anode quickly opens one, over Lug's protestations. She is puzzled to find it empty, having expected that the smell was coming from a body... only for the coffin to suddenly ''transform'' into the robot who is the source of the odor! It briefly lashes out, but when it collapses from exhaustion, the pair realize it is terrified, and barely a week old. Before they can puzzle out the situation, a laser blast wings Lug's shoulder, as armed troops of the [[Black Block Consortia]] appear to demand the robot be turned over to them. Anode refuses their order to get out of the way, and Lug is only just able to tackle her to safety as the Consortia troops open fire, killing the robot where it stands. Anode and Lug are horrified by the sight, but their attention is caught by a shout from nearby; the pair turn to see a familiar face, that of fellow [[blacksmith]] [[Wipe-Out]], who beckons for them to follow him to safety.

Nautica and Velocity meet Agonizer (aka "The Curator") at his [[Museum of Curios and Rumored Objects]], where Velocity quickly realizes that Nautica has not been entirely honest about her motives in coming to the planet. Nautica already ''knows'' Agonizer does not have a map to Cyberutopia; she is seeking something ''else'' associated with the knights. As she searches Agonizer's archives, Velocity takes in a symbology display, which includes the mysterious gear-like hieroglyph that has repeatedly reoccurred throughout the ''Lost Light'' crew's adventures. Agonizer has deduced that it, and the other symbols in the display, each represent one of five clans that the Knights divided up into on their journey across the galaxy. Finally, Nautica asks Agonizer outright about the "[[Resus Cradle]]," which she had heard he had obtained. Agonizer corrects her; it is not ''he'' who holds the cradle, but a [[Catharsian]] merchant on the other side of town. Nautica drags Velocity off in that direction, ignoring Agonizer's warnings...

Anode and Lug disappear into the market crowds with Wipe-Out, who tells them that he was summoned to Troja Major by Techy—or as he is properly known, the "[[Grand Architect]]." Upon arrival, Wipe-Out found two other blacksmiths, [[Rocket (IDW)|Rocket]] and [[Scammer]], dead, and has concluded that someone is killing practitioners of their shared art. The trio takes refuge in a bar, where Wipe-Out gets corrected on Anode and Lug's pronouns; he knew them as male in the past, but the pair explain that they've "reclassified" as female after encountering other races and gaining a broader understanding of gender that did not exist on the insulated Cybertron in their time, dubbing it a "better fit" for them. With that out of the way, and drinks downed to calm their nerves, the group unpacks the grisly sight they have just witnessed, and realizes that, despite first appearances, it can't be the Black Block Consortia who is killing blacksmiths, since the 'bot they killed ''wasn't'' one, and they had offered Anode the chance to step aside before they fired. Wipe-Out realizes that only one 'bot knew they were all even ''on'' the planet—the Grand Architect himself—and though Anode initially dismisses the allegation, the appearance in the sky over the bar of a [[Worldsweeper]] (an outdated mode of travel the Architect is famously known for still using), seems to put the lie into her words. A moment later, a squad of the Architect's men beam down into the bar, right in front of the trio—a squad led by [[Flame (Marvel)|Flame]], who all wear the mysterious gear-symbol on their chests...

Nautica and Velocity find the Catharsian merchant's shop, where Velocity slowly becomes horrifyingly aware of what Nautica is planning. The Resus Cradle in the Catharsian's possession is said to be able to revive a dead Cybertronian, even without a [[spark]], so long as there are some remains to work with. Nautica lifts her eyepatch to reveal that there is no "injury" beneath it... and instead, inside her optic cavity, she has been hiding [[Skids (G1)|Skids]]'s salvaged [[brain module]]!

==Featured characters==
Characters in ''italic text'' appear only in flashback. 
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Nautica (G1)|Nautica]] (1)
*[[Velocity (G1)|Velocity]] (3)
*''[[Skids (G1)|Skids]]'' (4)

|c4=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*''[[Firestar (G1)|Firestar]]'' (2)
*[[Lug (IDW)|Lug]] (5)
*[[Anode]] (6)
*[[Catharsian]] pedlar (7)
*Coffin-robot (8)
*[[Black Block Consortia]] troops (9)
*[[Agonizer|Agonizer/"The Curator"]] (10)
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Wipe-Out]] (11)
*[[Rocket (IDW)|Rocket]] (12)
*[[Scammer]] (13)
*[[Flame (Marvel)|Flame]] (14)
*Grand Architect's troops (15)
*Catharsian merchant (16)
{{!}}}
}}

==Quotes==
"Well? Aren't you going to say anything?" 
"Effervescent hedges bestow cosmic secretions upon my granular milk wives." 
"'''What?'''" 
"Random words in a random order. Why make an effort to '''make sense''' when nothing I say is going to change your opinion of me one iota?"
:—'''Firestar''' and '''Nautica'''

"Tell me your name. I want to worship you like a god." 
"I'm '''Velocity'''. And I'll settle for the occasional sacrifice."
:—'''Nautica''' and '''Velocity'''

"'''Ten thousand shanix?!''' Who do you think I am, '''Cylconus'''?"
:—'''Nautica''' is taken aback by Anode's request for money

'''Anode:''' "Well, '''that''' was exhilarating!" 
'''Nautica:''' "When did 'exhilarating' become a byword for ''''<nowiki>'</nowiki>unexpected and traumatic?<nowiki>'</nowiki>'''" 
'''Lug:''' "Welcome to life with Anode. I defy anyone to spend an afternoon with her and not end up '''dead'''. Believe me, I speak from experience." 
'''Nautica:'''"I got nicked! He nicked me!" 
'''Anode:''' "Treasure it. Every wound tells a story." 
'''Nautica:'''"Not every story's worth telling."
:—'''Nautica''' and '''Anode'''

"I've decided I'm going to warn you against doing things less often, in the hope that when I '''do''' protest, it has more of an impact."
:—'''Lug''', to Anode

"Lug's a she now. Me too. It's just a better fit. The further you get from Cybertron—the more people you meet—the more you realize that as a race we've been '''limiting''' ourselves unnecessarily. You know before the war, when the '''Primal Vanguard''' used to come home between campaigns? There'd always be a few who had '''reclassified themselves'''—a few 'she's' amongst the 'he's'. They tended to stick together. He to she. I didn't understand the significance. What difference did it make? But after we left Cybertron and started to meet so many other races... yeah. '''Then''' it made sense. It made '''perfect''' sense."
:—'''Anode'''

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
*Nautica's troubled friendship with Firestar, and her lack of acumen in the performing arts, were previously established in [[The Sensuous Frame|''More than Meets the Eye'' #41]]-[[The Frail Gaze|42]]. Among the montage that begins this issue is the scene of Nautica and Velocity's reunion from the former issue.
*Also part of the montage is Nautica conducting the [[Amica Endura]] ceremony from [[The Dying of the Light Part 4: At Close of Day|''More than Meets the Eye'' #53]].
*Troja Major and it's "Howling Town" were first referenced in [[World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|''More than Meets the Eye'' #28]], in which Nautica's acquisition of the copy of ''[[Towards Peace]]'' she mentions here was detailed. Agonizer and his museum were later mentioned in [[Some Of My Best Friends Are Autobots|issue #45]], and (as we surmised at the time) are here revealed to have indeed been where Nautica obtained it from. The "Howling Town" nomenclature is explained to be derived from the fact that "public outpourings of grief" are a specialty of the local commerce.
*When Anode asks her for money, Nautica retorts (as quoted above) that the exorbitant sum is the kind of cash only Cyclonus would have. The idea that Cyclonus is filthy rich (thanks to "[[Tetrahex]]ian real estate") was originally introduced in [[Signal to Noise|''More than Meets the Eye'' #13]], but it ''was'' [[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]] who said it, and he was in the middle of his "lying to everyone" phase, so Cyclonus might not be as moneyed as everyone else thinks he is.
*Several references are made this issue to something called the "[[Old Order]]," a long-gone kind of clan or organization with spiritual overtones. This was first mentioned in [[The Dying of the Light: (1) How Bright Their Frail Deeds|''More than Meets the Eye'' #50]], in which Nautica noted (and here restates) that it is Agonizer's specialized field of study.
*Members of the Black Block Consortia, first mentioned in [[Into the Abyss: Dark Cybertron Chapter 4|''More than Meets the Eye'' #24]], finally appear on panel for the first time. They are revealed to be an offshoot of the [[Galactic Council]], who are engaged in a turf war with them; the conflict between the Consortia and the Council was previously evidenced in [[The Permanent Revolution|''More than Meets the Eye'' #39]].
*Agonizer offers Nautica a map to the birthplace of the [[Omega Guardian]]s, mysterious creatures originally seen allll the way back in ''[[Spotlight: Hot Rod]]'', and the uncensored draft of the [[Autobot Code]], first described as "censored" in [[Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 4
|''Last Stand of the Wreckers'' #4]].
*We don't need to run down the history of the mysterious gear-like hieroglyph again; suffice to say, it keeps cropping up on our heroes' adventure. It was acknowledged and deduced to be a crest associated with one of the Knights' clans in ''More than Meets the Eye'' #50, a conclusion reached partially based on information Nautica acquired from Agonizer. In that same issue, [[Thunder Clash|Thunderclash]] observed that he had seen other, similar symbols in his visions of Cyberutopia; here we learn that there are five symbols in all, representing five clans.
*Anode and Lug are revealed to be the first explicitly self-defined transgender Cybertronians in mainstream Transformers fiction, with Anode connecting her new look to her self-realization ("new shape, new me"), while Lug seems to be comfortable without physical changes. This resolves the question of their planet of origin, which their gender initially meant was in question. Anode also notes that there were a handful of other male-assigned Cybertronians whose off-world encounters with other races while serving in the [[Primal Vanguard]] led them to do them same before her; a sweeping remark that cleverly tidies up the few incongruous crowd-scene appearances of female-presenting Transformers on the planet that have occured throughout IDW history, and which have stood out as continuity errors until now, like those seen in ''[[The Transformers: Megatron Origin|Megatron Origin]]'' or most recently, [[Ghost Stories|the 2017 ''Transformers'' annual]].
*Anode and Lug's contact, "Techy," was first mentioned in [[Dissolution Part 1: Some Other Cybertron|issue #1]]. The name is here revealed to be a nickname, short for "the Grand Architect," and this is where everything starts coming together. The "Grand Architect" was previously referenced by a pair of mysterious robots seen in [[Animals|''More than Meets the Eye'' #46]], who wore the gear-hieroglyph and traveled via Worldsweeper—and both those robots reappear at the end of this issue, part of the squad of the Grand Architect's troops. This sinister group's fingerprints have been all over the ''More than Meets the Eye/Lost Light'' mytharc from very early on; there can be no doubt at this point that the Worldsweeper found in [[Rules of Disengagement (issue)|''More than Meets the Eye'' #7]] is connected to them (not least of all because it contained Grimlock, and Grimlock was then shown drawing the gear-symbol in ''More than Meets the Eye'' #46). The Worldsweeper in #7 contained aborted [[protoform]]s, and #46 made clear the group are doing ''some'' kind of experiments on living beings, which begins to explain why they have an interest in life-shaping blacksmiths, and further, why Techy would have sent Anode and Lug to obtain sentio metallico (the stuff protoforms are made of) for him in the first place, as seen in ''Lost Light'' #1.
*Leading the Grand Architect's troops is the ex-Autobot scientist [[Flame (Marvel)|Flame]]. Originally a character from the [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|Marvel UK comic book]], he previously appeared in IDW continuity (with this specific body design) in [[Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|''Last Stand of the Wreckers'' #5]]. He's a guy with a history of tampering with life and death, but it's not clear from this issue if he actually ''is'' the Grand Architect or not...
*Nautica donned her eyepatch last issue, which seemed suspicious from the off; the injury she sustained to her eye in ''More than Meets the Eye'' #50 had been repaired prior to the start of ''Lost Light''.

===Transformers references===
*Nautica quizzes Velocity on the disease [[Corrodia Gravis]], an ailment from the [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|Generation 1 Marvel comic]], with which [[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]] was stricken. It's received a few namechecks in Roberts-penned IDW stories; in particular, [[Ammo]] was noted to suffer from "early onset" Corrdia Gravis in [[Twenty Plus One|''More than Meets the Eye'' #31]], which Nautica here specifically notes is a controllable condition.
*Agonizer is based on the body-design of [[Sixshot|Generation 1 Sixshot]], with a green and blue color scheme.
*Wipe-Out is an original character from the Marvel comic. There, he functioned as [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]]'s gofer, a sort of stand-in for the big guy's traditional partner [[Full-Tilt]], and looked like Tailgate as a result of some kind of art-and-or-toy mix-up.

===Real-life references===
*The title of this issue is taken from the lyrics to {{w|David Bowie}}'s "{{w|Ashes to Ashes (David Bowie song)|Ashes to Ashes}}," making this the [[The Life of Sideswipe|second ''Transformers'' title]] to reference the dearly departed Bowie this month.
*The "Mederi" medical center derives its name from Latin; "mederi" is the present infinitive of "medeor," meaning "I heal." No need to explain the relevance, obviously!
*The Catharsians, meanwhile, take their name from the word "catharsis," meaning a release of (and consequent relief from) strong or repressed emotions. No need to explain that one either!
*And the "Resus" in "Resus Cradle" is from "resuscitation," obvious-like.
*A goggle-wearing [http://rickandmorty.wikia.com/wiki/Gromflomites Gromflomite] from ''{{w|Rick and Morty}}'' can be spotted in the background of page 5.

===Other trivia===
*Though most readers had probably sped ahead to the conclusion already, this issue's "previously in" recap page explicitly states that Anode and Lug are [[Conjunx Endura]]e.

===Soundtrack===
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPtr7VAQa2c Mahal Kita]" by {{w|Emmy the Great}}
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LswvtH_IQAY Get Up]" by {{w|The Blow}}
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t5gGm3NWU4 I Know a Place]" by {{w|Muna (band)|MUNA}}
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDFIN2vE91w Sad Stories]" by {{w|Would-Be-Goods}}

===Covers (4)===
*'''Cover A:''' Our heroes amid the crowds of Troja Major, by [[Jack Lawrence]] and [[Joana Lafuente]]
*'''Cover B:''' Nautica looks pensive among the markets, by [[Nick Roche]] and [[Josh Burcham]]
*'''Cover C:''' Megatron by [[Tom Whalen]]; one of several "art deco" covers produced by Whalen for various IDW July titles
*'''Retailer incentive cover:''' Nautica tearfully recalls the memory of Skids, by [[Alex Milne]] and [[Josh Perez]]
<gallery>
File:LL8 cvrA.jpg|
File:LL8 cvrB.jpg|
File:LL8 cvrC.jpg|
File:LL8 cvrRI.jpg|
</gallery>

===Advertisements===
*''Lost Light'' #9
*"The Hasbro Tribune" editorial page promoting July's [[Hasbro Universe]] titles, including this issue, [[G.I. Joe vol. 5 issue 8|''G.I. Joe'' #8]], [[Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook issue 3|''Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook'' #3]], ''Revolutionaries'' #8, [[Shining Armor issue 1|''Rom vs. Transformers: Shining Armor'' #1]], [[The Life of Sideswipe|''Optimus Prime'' #9]], and ''Till All Are One'' #12.
*Hero Initiative exclusive [[Rob Liefeld]] variant cover for ''The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide'' #47
*4-page preview of [[First Strike issue 1|''First Strike'' #1]] (previously seen in [[First Strike issue 0|''First Strike'' #0]])
*National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month
*''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Usagi Yojimbo'' one-shot

==External links==
*[http://www.comicosity.com/preview-transformers-lost-light-8/ Preview]

[[Category: Lost Light issues]]

Anode

2017-05-15T08:32:37Z

Egg: Undo revision 1177953 by Jalaguy (talk) https://twitter.com/jroberts332/status/863355520266141696, Anode being on the list of Disappeared,which lists Cybertronians, and in Functionist Universe

:''Anode is a [[Caminus|Camien]] [[Transformer]] from the [[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW portion]] of the [[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[File:Anode some other cybertron.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|You shall not pass!]]
'''Anode''' was born a [[blacksmith]], a specialist who is able to -- with training -- sculpt a malfunctioning [[protoform]] into its intended working order. However, for reasons she refuses to disclose, the sharp-tongued and irreverent Anode fled this life and declared herself instead an archaeologist, treasure-hunter, and adventurer. There's no artifact too risky for Anode to retrieve... even if her partner [[Lug (IDW)|Lug]] begs to differ.

==Fiction==
===IDW Generation 1 continuity===
{{spoiler|Dissolution Part 5: Modes of Production|May 31}}
{{ongoing}}
[[File:LL4 sculpt the metal.jpg|thumb|left|300px]]
Over five hundred years ago, Anode discovered Caminus, well before [[Thunder Clash|Thunderclash]] did.<ref>https://twitter.com/jroberts332/status/863355520266141696</ref> A daring risk-taker from an early age, she began honing her natural skills as a [[blacksmith]] in the [[Lighthouse]], helping newborn protoforms by sculpting their [[sentio metallico]]. Unfortunately, Anode's brash nature led her into performing a live sculpting on a struggling protoform before she was truly ready, and the protoform subsequently died. Though the other members of the Lighthouse were understanding and forgiving, Anode couldn't bring herself to quit, so instead she fudged the facility's records to make it look like she'd stolen the facility's supplies of sentio metallico, then fled her homeworld forever. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 4: Bad Moon Rising|Bad Moon Rising}}

[[File:LL1 sentio metallico bloom.jpg|thumb|right|250px]]

Five hundred years ago, Anode and Lug travelled to [[Moonbase Two|Luna 2]] at the behest of prospective client [[Techy]] in search of a piece of rare [[widowed metal]]. They found themselves on the wrong side of a [[Decepticon]] [[Cybernought]]; although Anode deployed a forcefield, Lug was convinced that they were going to die. Anode was spared by the machinations of the [[time travel]]ling [[Censere|Necrobot]]; as part of his efforts to rescue the "disappeared", he took Anode to the future and stored her in a [[stasis capsule]] until she could recover from the disorienting effects of the time-skip.

In the present day, Anode woke up on the [[Necroworld]] along with the dozens of other refugees the Necrobot had collected. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 1: Some Other Cybertron|Some Other Cybertron}} However, her senses were still scrambled by the effects of the time jump, and as a result she began hallucinating that Lug had arrived with her, holding regular conversations between herself and "Lug." {{storylink|Dissolution Part 5: Modes of Production|Modes of Production}}

Anode attended a debriefing held by [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]] to help bring the disoriented time-travelers up to speed on recent events. Anode was less than impressed by the Autobot's boring delivery. The two then were accosted by [[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]], who annoyed them with some nonsensical questions under the pretense of conducting "background checks." When she told Swerve to leave, the red [[Autobot]] sarcastically mentioned that she should see [[Velocity (G1)|Velocity]] for "timesickness" – remembering Velocity from their time together on Caminus, Anode tried to leave the Necroworld via teleporter before Velocity could track her down. [[Hot Rod (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rodimus]] and [[Drift (G1)|Drift]] caught her before they could escape; although she received a reprimand for almost wasting the one-use teleporter, Anode was fascinated to see Drift's [[Great Sword]]. Rodimus and his allies decided to use the teleporter to head back to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] to pick up another ship, and Anode stayed behind with the other time-displaced Cybertronians. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 1: Some Other Cybertron|Some Other Cybertron}}

[[File:BadMoonRising-Anodealtmode.jpg|left|thumb|300px]]

Anode and "Lug" later reconvened by the Necrobot's monument to the disappeared, where they discussed recent events and what the future held for them. Though Anode professed an aloofness regarding her new friends, she eventually confessed that she was interested in their quest for [[Cyberutopia]], though "Lug" joked that she would be more interested in plundering its treasures than starting a new life there. Her one-sided conversation was interrupted by [[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]]'s fight with [[Fangry (G1)|Fangry]], and over the course of the battle she was sent flying and impaled on a piece of debris. [[Kaput]] tended to her wounds before Velocity arrived to discuss what had transpired when Anode fled Caminus. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 2: Anomie|Anomie}} Anode explained that she'd falsified her records before fleeing; realizing that she'd never heard the story, "Lug" was unable to conceal her sense of betrayal and fled back to the memorial. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 3: A World Misplaced|A World Misplaced}} Anode caught up with her, where "Lug" revealed that she'd always thought that ''she'' was the reason why Anode had fled her homeworld. Anode revealed her history as a blacksmith and noted that she needed a reason for her coworkers to hate her, unable to live with the guilt. Anode apologized, but realized that her friend had vanished...{{storylink|Dissolution Part 4: Bad Moon Rising|Bad Moon Rising}}

Anode returned to the medibay to search for Lug, only to realize that nobody had ay idea who she was talking about. Anode's explanation prompted the staff to reveal security tapes of her emerging alone from her stasis pod; after scanning the list of names on the Necrobot's monument, she realized that Lug hadn't travelled to the future with her, and was merely a timesickness-induced hallucination. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 5: Modes of Production|Modes of Production}}

====The Functionist Universe====
[[File:AWorldMisplaced-Anode.jpg|thumb|right|200px]]
In an [[Functionist Universe|alternate timeline]] where the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]] never occurred, Anode was a qualified blacksmith who had immigrated to a Cybertron under the control of the totalitarian [[Functionist Council]]. She eventually abandoned her comfortable life in favor of joining the [[Anti-Vocationist League]], working alongside rogue Council member [[Nine-of-Twelve]].

When a group of castaways from an alternate universe arrived and immediately ran afoul of the local [[Functionary|Functionaries]], Anode watched as the group returned to their headquarters in [[Kalis|Adaptica]], and later observed a live feed of the Functionist Council revealing the "true purpose" of [[Rung (G1)|Rung]]. The group's musings were interrupted by the sudden return of [[Luna 2]]. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 3: A World Misplaced|A World Misplaced}} Anode and Nine-of-Twelve watched in abject horror as the now-weaponized moon began laying waste to their city using tractor beams. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 4: Bad Moon Rising|Bad Moon Rising}}

{{-}}

==Notes==
*An {{w|anode}} is a polarized electrical device.

[[Category:Caminus]]
[[Category:Comic-only Transformers]]
[[Category:Female Transformers]]
[[Category:IDW Generation 1 Transformers]]

Lug (IDW)

2017-05-14T16:07:50Z

Egg: /* IDW Generation 1 continuity */ Some chronological additions

Anode

2017-05-14T15:33:43Z

Egg: /* IDW Generation 1 continuity */ Anode is not Camien, and found the lost colony before Thunderclash.

:''Anode is a [[Caminus|Camien]] [[Transformer]] from the [[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW portion]] of the [[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[File:Anode some other cybertron.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|You shall not pass!]]
'''Anode''' was born a [[blacksmith]], a specialist who is able to -- with training -- sculpt a malfunctioning [[protoform]] into its intended working order. However, for reasons she refuses to disclose, the sharp-tongued and irreverent Anode fled this life and declared herself instead an archaeologist, treasure-hunter, and adventurer. There's no artifact too risky for Anode to retrieve... even if her partner [[Lug (IDW)|Lug]] begs to differ.

==Fiction==
===IDW Generation 1 continuity===
{{spoiler|Dissolution Part 5: Modes of Production|May 31}}
{{ongoing}}
[[File:LL4 sculpt the metal.jpg|thumb|left|300px]]
Over five hundred years ago, Anode discovered Caminus, well before [[Thunder Clash|Thunderclash]] did. A daring risk-taker from an early age, she began honing her natural skills as a [[blacksmith]] in the [[Lighthouse]], helping newborn protoforms by sculpting their [[sentio metallico]]. Unfortunately, Anode's brash nature led her into performing a live sculpting on a struggling protoform before she was truly ready, and the protoform subsequently died. Though the other members of the Lighthouse were understanding and forgiving, Anode couldn't bring herself to quit, so instead she fudged the facility's records to make it look like she'd stolen the facility's supplies of sentio metallico, then fled her homeworld forever. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 4: Bad Moon Rising|Bad Moon Rising}}

[[File:LL1 sentio metallico bloom.jpg|thumb|right|250px]]

Five hundred years ago, Anode and Lug travelled to [[Moonbase Two|Luna 2]] at the behest of prospective client [[Techy]] in search of a piece of rare [[widowed metal]]. They found themselves on the wrong side of a [[Decepticon]] [[Cybernought]]; although Anode deployed a forcefield, Lug was convinced that they were going to die. Anode was spared by the machinations of the [[time travel]]ling [[Censere|Necrobot]]; as part of his efforts to rescue the "disappeared", he took Anode to the future and stored her in a [[stasis capsule]] until she could recover from the disorienting effects of the time-skip.

In the present day, Anode woke up on the [[Necroworld]] along with the dozens of other refugees the Necrobot had collected. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 1: Some Other Cybertron|Some Other Cybertron}} However, her senses were still scrambled by the effects of the time jump, and as a result she began hallucinating that Lug had arrived with her, holding regular conversations between herself and "Lug." {{storylink|Dissolution Part 5: Modes of Production|Modes of Production}}

Anode attended a debriefing held by [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]] to help bring the disoriented time-travelers up to speed on recent events. Anode was less than impressed by the Autobot's boring delivery. The two then were accosted by [[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]], who annoyed them with some nonsensical questions under the pretense of conducting "background checks." When she told Swerve to leave, the red [[Autobot]] sarcastically mentioned that she should see [[Velocity (G1)|Velocity]] for "timesickness" – remembering Velocity from their time together on Caminus, Anode tried to leave the Necroworld via teleporter before Velocity could track her down. [[Hot Rod (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rodimus]] and [[Drift (G1)|Drift]] caught her before they could escape; although she received a reprimand for almost wasting the one-use teleporter, Anode was fascinated to see Drift's [[Great Sword]]. Rodimus and his allies decided to use the teleporter to head back to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] to pick up another ship, and Anode stayed behind with the other time-displaced Cybertronians. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 1: Some Other Cybertron|Some Other Cybertron}}

[[File:BadMoonRising-Anodealtmode.jpg|left|thumb|300px]]

Anode and "Lug" later reconvened by the Necrobot's monument to the disappeared, where they discussed recent events and what the future held for them. Though Anode professed an aloofness regarding her new friends, she eventually confessed that she was interested in their quest for [[Cyberutopia]], though "Lug" joked that she would be more interested in plundering its treasures than starting a new life there. Her one-sided conversation was interrupted by [[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]]'s fight with [[Fangry (G1)|Fangry]], and over the course of the battle she was sent flying and impaled on a piece of debris. [[Kaput]] tended to her wounds before Velocity arrived to discuss what had transpired when Anode fled Caminus. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 2: Anomie|Anomie}} Anode explained that she'd falsified her records before fleeing; realizing that she'd never heard the story, "Lug" was unable to conceal her sense of betrayal and fled back to the memorial. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 3: A World Misplaced|A World Misplaced}} Anode caught up with her, where "Lug" revealed that she'd always thought that ''she'' was the reason why Anode had fled her homeworld. Anode revealed her history as a blacksmith and noted that she needed a reason for her coworkers to hate her, unable to live with the guilt. Anode apologized, but realized that her friend had vanished...{{storylink|Dissolution Part 4: Bad Moon Rising|Bad Moon Rising}}

Anode returned to the medibay to search for Lug, only to realize that nobody had ay idea who she was talking about. Anode's explanation prompted the staff to reveal security tapes of her emerging alone from her stasis pod; after scanning the list of names on the Necrobot's monument, she realized that Lug hadn't travelled to the future with her, and was merely a timesickness-induced hallucination. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 5: Modes of Production|Modes of Production}}

====The Functionist Universe====
[[File:AWorldMisplaced-Anode.jpg|thumb|right|200px]]
In an [[Functionist Universe|alternate timeline]] where the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]] never occurred, Anode was a qualified blacksmith who had immigrated to a Cybertron under the control of the totalitarian [[Functionist Council]]. She eventually abandoned her comfortable life in favor of joining the [[Anti-Vocationist League]], working alongside rogue Council member [[Nine-of-Twelve]].

When a group of castaways from an alternate universe arrived and immediately ran afoul of the local [[Functionary|Functionaries]], Anode watched as the group returned to their headquarters in [[Kalis|Adaptica]], and later observed a live feed of the Functionist Council revealing the "true purpose" of [[Rung (G1)|Rung]]. The group's musings were interrupted by the sudden return of [[Luna 2]]. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 3: A World Misplaced|A World Misplaced}} Anode and Nine-of-Twelve watched in abject horror as the now-weaponized moon began laying waste to their city using tractor beams. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 4: Bad Moon Rising|Bad Moon Rising}}

{{-}}

==Notes==
*An {{w|anode}} is a polarized electrical device.

[[Category:Caminus]]
[[Category:Comic-only Transformers]]
[[Category:Female Transformers]]
[[Category:IDW Generation 1 Transformers]]

Starscream (G1)/2005 IDW continuity

2017-05-12T13:57:00Z

Egg: /* IDW Generation 1 comics */ two typos fixed

{{factions|decepticon}}
{{suite}}
[[File:StarscreamIDWF22-Infiltration4cvrA.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|"BANZAAAAI KICK!"]]
Ambitious. Treacherous. Opportunistic. '''Starscream'''''.

{{quote|Starscream... He's never '''''known''''' a good greater than his own well-being. He's pure '''''ambition''''' with no '''''ideology'''''–not even '''''Decepticon ideology'''''|[[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]] damns the winner|"[[Heavy Is the Head]]"}}
__TOC__
==IDW Generation 1 comics==
{{ongoing}}

===There at the beginning===
[[File:MegOrigin3 seekers.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.4]]
Starscream was [[Reproduction|constructed cold]]. {{storylink|Remain in Light 4 of 5: Arm the Lonely|Arm the Lonely}} Four million years ago, Starscream was a fan of gladiatorial games, and witnessed the earliest fights by the rising star and famous political activist [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]]. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 2|Megatron Origin #2}} He idolised Megatron for teaching that Transformers didn't ''have'' to [[Functionism|accept their lot]] in life. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 10}} When they were approached by [[Soundwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Soundwave]], Starscream and his comrades [[Skywarp (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Skywarp]] and [[Thundercracker (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Thundercracker]] believed that they were being recruited to join Megatron's team in the arena, and though startled by the sight of the damaged Megatron undergoing repairs, Starscream proclaimed his allegiance to his new master and thanked him for the opportunity. It was then that Megatron explained his true purpose in seeking them out: his [[Decepticon]] movement required air support as they made the move from activists to insurgents and beyond. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 3|Megatron Origin #3}}

Early on, the charismatic and cunning Starscream was tasked with recruitment of others to the Decepticon cause; significantly, he was the one assigned to approach the disenfranchised [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Senator Shockwave]] and bring him into the fold. {{storylink|Shockwaves}} Starscream was also given another key Senate-related task when he and his fellow Seekers were ordered to capture Senator [[Decimus]], who would then supposedly be executed at Megatron's next recruitment rally. When security forces intervened in the rally and arrested the Decepticons, Starscream bargained for his freedom by offering to reveal all of Megatron's plans. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 3|Megatron Origin #3}} However, this turned out to have ''been'' Megatron's plan—brought before an emergency assembly of the Senate for questioning, Starscream, together with Soundwave, executed the Senators, then freed every prisoner in the building. He proceeded to round up a variety of weapons for the Decepticons, presenting Megatron with the mighty [[fusion cannon]] that would become his signature weapon, then joined in their attack on [[Kaon (polity)|Kaon]], during which he bested [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]]. The battle culminated in Megatron's defeat of [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime]], whose body Starscream dumped in front of Sentinel's men in a fly-by. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 4|Megatron Origin #4}}

[[File:SLBlurr starscream recruits blurr.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4]]
With war now definitively declared, Starscream continued in his recruitment duties; he was unable to convince the youthful [[Hot Rod/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Hot Rod]] to join the Decepticons {{storylink|Ruins}}, and had similarly bad luck with racing champion [[Blurr (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Blurr]] despite a very pointed effort. Not long after, Starscream was part of a unit that tried to stop Blurr from couriering a message to new planet leader [[Zeta Prime]]. {{storylink|Spotlight: Blurr}} At some point after Zeta Prime's ascent to leadership, Starscream participated alongside [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] and Thundercracker in a mission to rescue Soundwave from the [[Institute|New Institute]]. {{storylink|Remembrance Day}} His identity evidently unknown to most, Starscream was also positioned as a delegate to the new Senate that was formed by Zeta Prime, though exactly who or where he was masquerading as the delegate ''of'' is unclear. While attending one of Zeta's security sessions, he brought a disguised Soundwave with him to record the Senate's newest plans for how to stop the growing Decepticon menace. When Zeta expressed surprise at how easily Starscream accepted his idea of draining energy from civilians to power [[vamparc ribbon|weapons]], he almost let slip that he'd done worse things in Megatron's name. To cover up his blunder, he drew attention to the spy in their midst, giving Soundwave a cue to reveal himself and stage an escape, distracting Zeta. {{storylink|Parasites}}

Since turning down Starscream's offer to join the Decepticons, Hot Rod had carried out some insurgent activities of his own, and Megatron and Starscream monitored the situation through [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] with some degree of pleasure as [[Autobot]] leader [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Orion Pax]] hunted him down. {{storylink|Ruins}} In Orion's absence, Zeta Prime then attacked [[Nyon]]'s population with his vamparc ribbons and [[Guardian robot|Omega Destructors]]—an action Starscream compared to Megatron's own tactics, though, Megatron assured him he was capable of much more. {{storylink|Purge}} In spite of Starscream's opinion that Megatron was a "stubborn wreck" for his repeated attempts to sway Orion Pax to his cause, they were successful, and the Decepticons joined forces with Orion's Autobots against Zeta Prime. {{storylink|Choices}} Together, they attacked Zeta Prime and his Omega Destructors, with Starscream personally leading the Seekers as air support. {{storylink|Overthrown}}
[[File:Autocracy9 take them away.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.95]]
After Zeta Prime was defeated, Megatron betrayed Orion and installed himself as ruler of Cybertron, then had the Decepticons hunt down all remaining Autobots. Starscream led a force to raid an Autobot hiding place in [[Ultrix]] and took special interest in Hot Rod, once again offering him the chance to join the Decepticons. {{storylink|Transformation (issue)|Transformation}} Starscream also tortured and interrogated Bumblebee, but learned little for his efforts. {{storylink|Rise}} Orion soon returned, however, having become [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Optimus Prime]], and with new warriors at his side, he led the Autobots in an attack on Megatron's citadel. Starscream and the Seekers were ordered to take them out but were intercepted by the Aerialbots. {{storylink|Broadcast}}

[[File:Devastation5-StarscreamAchinglyNaive.jpg|thumb|225px]]
Megatron was subsequently defeated by Optimus Prime, and Starscream conspired with [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]] to overthrow him and have him exiled to [[Junkion (planet)|Junkion]]. {{storylink|Derelicts}} While Scorponok became the new Decepticon leader, Starscream seemingly preferred to stay in the background and showed no signs of being his second-in-command in public. {{storylink|Wreckage (issue)|Wreckage}} He annoyed Scorponok by urging him to take action rather than just hold grandiose speeches, causing Scorponok to let him in on his plan to capture the [[Toraxxis mega-refinery]] for the Decepticons. Starscream participated in this attack by leading his Seekers to the refinery. {{storylink|Faces of Darkness}} Scorponok ordered him to keep the Autobot defenders busy while he left to deal with [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] personally. {{storylink|Rage (IDW)|Rage}} The plan ended disastrously when the refinery exploded, killing thousands and leaving the planet cripplingly low on [[energon]]; Starscream berated Scorponok for his actions, unable to see any point in staying on the dying planet himself. {{storylink|Massacre}} Fortuntely, Megatron soon returned from his exile and retook Decepticon command. Starscream attempted to welcome him back, but was quickly silenced. {{storylink|The Illusion of Control}}

There was a brief lull in the war {{storylink|Primacy issue 1}} before Megatron regrouped the scattered Decepticons for an all-out attack on Iacon. Starscream went to [[Canis Tor]] to inform the [[Predacon (G1)|Predacons]] that Megatron was back and after that, bribed the Combaticons into coming home. {{storylink|Primacy issue 2}} He fought during the siege of Iacon but it led in a Decepticon rout. {{storylink|Primacy issue 3}}{{storylink|Primacy issue 4}}

As the war bore on, Starscream was present when Megatron faced Optimus Prime in open battle on [[Sherma Bridge]], {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1|Chaos Theory #1}} witnessed [[Hot Shot (Henkei!)|a yellow Autobot]] get destroyed in an Decepticon-Autobot crossfire in another of the war's countless battles, {{storylink|Drift issue 2|Drift #2}} and stood side-by-side with the Decepticon Deadlock in many other combat scenarios. {{storylink|Drift issue 3|Drift #3}} He would later admit that at one point, he had genuinely looked up to Megatron, but that changed when he realized that he ''feared'' the Decepticon leader, rather than ''respected'' him {{storylink|Infiltration issue 6|Infiltration #6}} and was disgruntled that Megatron was leading them into a seemingly endless war. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 10}} That epiphany evidently led to further attempts to take leadership from Megatron, but in time, these power plays ceased, and Megatron hoped that it meant he had moved beyond such things. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 6|Infiltration #6}} Starscream would even eventually end up as Megatron's bodyguard, and developed a mutual hatred with [[Sixshot]], professing that he would not be able to defend Megatron against such a powerhouse. {{storylink|Devastation issue 5|Devastation #5}} But Starscream's appointment to this position was largely for show—Megatron could, of course, protect himself, and would later reveal that he kept Starscream close by despite his predilection for treachery as a reminder to himself to always watch his back. {{storylink|Spotlight: Megatron}}

===Earth and Ore-13===
[[File:Infiltration6 starscream on ultraenergon.jpg|left|thumb|225px]]
Millions of years later, after the war had resulted in Cybertron becoming uninhabitable and the Autobots and Decepticons had spread out across the galaxy, Starscream came to be in command of one the small Decepticon units that secretly infiltrated planets across the galaxy. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 0|Infiltration #0}} Learning through undisclosed means of at least some of the secrets behind Shockwave's [[Regenesis]] program and the super-powerful [[energon]] [[Ore-13]] that the scientist had seeded on [[Earth]], {{storylink|Shockpoint}} and seeing in it the potential to challenge Megatron for Decepticon leadership once again, Starscream took his unit to that planet. There, they set about destabilizing Earth's governing organizations and create global anarchy in accordance with the strict [[infiltration protocol]] the Decepticons now operated to, all the while searching for Ore-13. After around four years, their search bore fruit when a seam of Ore-13 was uncovered in [[Nebraska]], but later, the discovery of an even purer source of the ore in [[Oregon]] prompted Starscream to step outside traditional infiltration protocols and move the Decepticons' base of operations to the new site, establishing a fortified "siege mode" bunker well in advance of the standard timeline. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 3|Infiltration #3}} Unfortunately for Starscream, the abandoned Nebraska bunker was then infiltrated by [[Stoker]], an agent of the human organization known as the [[Machination]], necessitating that both he and the data he gathered—including images of Starscream himself—be eliminated by the Decepticons. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 1|Infiltration #1}} Starscream sent Thundercracker, [[Runabout (G1)|Runabout]] and [[Runamuck (G1)|Runamuck]] after Stoker, and although they were successful in slaying the human, Starscream failed to count on [[Verity Carlo|another human]] obtaining Stoker's [[SM-40]] computer and falling in with the Autobot counter-insurgency unit also operating on the planet. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 0|Infiltration #0}}

[[File:Infiltration6 takeyourpunishment.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|Starscream, seen here actually getting off easy!]]
{{bigquote|Thanks to Ore-13, Megatron, I have evolved... beyond you! I am the ''future!''|Starscream|[[Infiltration issue 6]]}}
Concurrently with the search for Stoker, Starscream and [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] successfully mined the first batch of Ore-13 from the Oregon seam. Starscream urged speed, aware that breaking protocol the way they had was sure to elicit a response from Megatron. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 2|Infiltration #2}} As he waited for the ore to process, Starscream ordered [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] and Skywarp to cover the Decepticons' tracks by destroying all evidence of Stoker's travels, including what remained of the Nebraska bunker. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 3|Infiltration #3}} Unfortunately for them, Megatron himself had arrived on Earth and was ''in'' the bunker, catching up on what Starscream had been up to, when they attacked. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 5|Infiltration #5}} Starscream emerged from the infusion capsule brimming with the incredible power of Ore-13 just as a furious Megatron arrived at the Oregon bunker and offered the Decepticons a choice: stand down, or be destroyed. Every one of his men surrendered, but the super-powered Starscream roared into battle and unleashed his full fury against Megatron. Alas, the power conveyed by Ore-13 proved insufficient to destroy the Decepticon leader, and Megatron blasted Starscream with his fusion cannon at point-blank range, virtually obliterating him. Megatron left Starscream's remains to be tended to by the Decepticons, unconcerned if he lived or died. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 6|Infiltration #6}}

[[File:Starcasm idw dev6.jpg|left|upright=1.95|thumb|Sarcasm from Starscream?? NO!]]
Starscream was placed in a [[CR chamber]] for extensive repairs but even with him out of the picture, the power of Ore-13 convinced Megatron to continue Starscream's subversion of infiltration protocol. The last straw for the other Decepticons came when Megatron called Sixshot in early, leading Astrotrain to propose reactivating Starscream so that he could challenge Megatron's actions. {{storylink|Devastation issue 1|Devastation #1}} Blitzwing and Astrotrain proceeded to bring Starscream back online, but no sooner was he back on his feet than the alien [[Reaper]]s attacked the Decepticon base. {{storylink|Devastation issue 4|Devastation #4}} With Megatron unaware he had been reactivated, Starscream initially decided to hold back and allow the Reapers to cause trouble first, but when Sixshot arrived, Starscream emerged from base and called the hated Six-Changer out. Starscream's appearance caused the living weapon to decide to accept the Reapers' offer to join their ranks... at which point Starscream promptly activated Sixshot's shutdown command, sending him crashing to the ground. Starscream then turned his weapons on the Reapers, causing Megatron to agree to take the fight to the aliens. {{storylink|Devastation issue 5|Devastation #5}} {{storylink|Spotlight: Grimlock}} Starscream once again accepted Megatron as his liege, and together they teamed up to destroy the alien invaders, with Starscream wielding Megatron in his Ore-13 empowered pistol mode to devastating effect. As the battle came to an end, Starscream stopped Megatron from punishing Blitzwing for going behind his back with the observation that a fleet of human jet fighters had arrived, and that the Decepticons' existence was now known to humanity. {{storylink|Devastation issue 6|Devastation #6}}

===The Decepticon ideal===
[[File:AHM8 starscream and sunstreaker.jpg|thumb|upright=1.95]]
While the Decepticons were occupied battling the Reapers, the Autobots had left Earth to deal with an incursion by the [[Dead Universe]]. Exploiting their enemies' absence, Starscream and the Decepticons went into hiding; when Autobots returned, they could find no trace of the villains, who kept one step ahead of them for months. They secretly returned to Cybertron, where Starscream stood by his leader's side as he received updates from scientist [[Deluge (G2)|Deluge]] on his experiments to create a monstrous [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticon]] [[Insecticon swarm|swarm]]. Upon returning to Earth, the Decepticons then staged a phony schism within their ranks, allowing the Autobots to believe that they had "disappeared" as a result of a power struggle that had split their ranks into two camps, one led by Megatron and one by Starscream. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 7|All Hail Megatron #7}} To complete their plot, Starscream approached the disenfranchised Autobot [[Sunstreaker (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Sunstreaker]] with the proposition that the Autobots join with his fictitious forces against Megatron. Sunstreaker accepted, {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 8|All Hail Megatron #8}} but when he led the Autobots to the designated time and place, they were instead confronted by the united Decepticon army and promptly defeated. Starscream stood by Megatron's side and watched as the bested Autobots were exiled back to Cybertron through a [[space bridge]]. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 7|All Hail Megatron #7}}

[[File:AHM3Starscream.JPG|left|upright=1.4|thumb|Hey, I just spotted the janitor from ''Futurama''!]]
With a year now passed since their battle with the Reapers, and with their enemies disposed of, the Decepticons began to lay waste to the Earth with the intention of taking it for their new homeworld. Starscream headed up the attack on [[New York City]] with glee, though he objected to Skywarp's insinuation that he could not sow destruction and terror on the same level as Megatron; Megatron soon arrived to prove him wrong. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 1|All Hail Megatron #1}} After joining in the efforts to beat back military attacks and bomb the city's bridges, {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 2|All Hail Megatron #2}} Starscream headed for [[Washington, D.C.]], where he personally shot down the fleeing [[Air Force One]]. That task done, he returned to New York, to join Megatron in savoring their victory. Megatron mused that it was fitting to have a long-serving a Decepticon at Starscream beside him; Starscream believed he was being sarcastic, but Megatron's praise was genuine, going so far as to describe Starscream as the living embodiment of the Decepticon ideal, but a step short of full embracing it due to his own blindness to that fact. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 3|All Hail Megatron #3}}

With the conquest completed, Starscream stood at Megatron's side as he addressed the gathered Decepticons. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 4|All Hail Megatron #4}} However, as time passed and Megatron made no further new moves, content to allow his troops to wreak havoc around the world, Starscream began to suspect that Megatron ''had'' no further plan, and was merely giving his troops free reign as a distraction to keep them from turning on them. He confronted Megatron with this knowledge, and taunted him with the fact it was essentially his own fault for assembling an army of sociopaths and monsters in the first place. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 6|All Hail Megatron #6}} Legitimately disheartened to see the leader he had once looked up to go so far astray, having led them through an endless war with no vision for what lay beyond, Starscream began secretly meeting with the other Decepticons, recruiting those who shared his feelings in preparation for a coup. After winning over the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]], he approached the [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticons]], and also successfully convinced them to join him. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 8|All Hail Megatron #8}}

[[File:AHM11 all hail megatron.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4]]
Starscream made his move a short while later, sending the Insecticons to attack Megatron, but the Decepticon leader summarily defeated them and revealed that he had known about Starscream's plans all along; he had, in fact, been doing nothing in order to allow the dissenting element of his army to weed themselves out. He had, however, failed to predict that the Constructicons would take Starscream's side. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 10|All Hail Megatron #10}} As fate would have it, Starscream's uprising was suddenly cut short when the Decepticons came under attack, first from human jets arrived from [[Europe]], and then the returning Autobots. Starscream was forced to team up with Megatron, who assured him that someday he would get be in charge, someday after the Decepticons won, after he successfully crushed Megatron in the way that the taking of leadership required... but not today. After giving this some thought, Starscream organized his troops to fight back, hailing Megatron's name. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 11|All Hail Megatron #11}}

Megatron was subsequently defeated by Optimus Prime, but as the Autobot leader moved to inspect his fallen body, Starscream stepped in and picked up his injured leader, refusing to let the Autobots finish him off. For the moment, Megatron's words had struck home: Starscream told Prime that he now knew leadership had to taken by force, not gained through chance. Starscream led the Decepticons in withdrawing from the planet, though as he left, he reminded Prime that though the Autobots had won a battle, the Decepticons still reigned throughout the galaxy. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 12|All Hail Megatron #12}}

===Leadership of the Decepticons===
[[File:AHM13 starscream and matrix.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.67]]
Along with a few other Decepticons, Starscream took off into space aboard Astrotrain. Despite what he had told Prime, he was not pleased that Soundwave was keeping Megatron on life support, but his attempts to dissuade the loyalist were met with failure. Afraid of the uncertainty that simply tossing Megatron out and airlock would result in, Starscream was ready to give up, knowing that the Decepticons had no real reason to follow him, and that the faction would fall to infighting as soon as others challenged his rule. All he had was the Autobot [[Matrix of Leadership]], which Megatron had seized from Optimus Prime earlier, but he had failed to find any supposed "ultimate power" within it, and prepared to throw it away. Caught in the act by [[Shrapnel (G1)|Shrapnel]], Starscream was reminded of the talisman's significance to the Autobots by the Insecticon, and had the idea to use its reputation for his own ends. Gathering the Decepticons, he professed that the Matrix had chosen him to light their [[darkest hour]], but as they began hailing his name in the face of this alleged holy appointment, he stepped from the room already regretting his decision. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 13|Uneasy Lies the Head}}

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Starscream took the Decepticons to a barren asteroid that they could use as a staging base to regroup, but as more and more soldiers began arriving, circumstances quickly spiraled out of his control. With most of their limited resources tied up by Shockwave, who he had assigned the task of building a space bridge, Starscream charged [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]] with finding a way to fabricate energon to feed his starving troops. When no breakthrough ensued, and the energy-deprived Decepticons turned to cannibalizing each other's bodies to survive, Starscream stormed into Insecticon's lab to discover he had been spending his time working on mind-controlling [[cerebro-shell]]s. Though initially angry, Starscream conceded that he could use these devices after he employed one to take out a rebellious [[Quake (G1)|Quake]]. {{storylink|All His Engines}} Later, visiting Shockwave for an update on his progress, Starscream discovered the scientist working with Soundwave to cut open Megatron's body and make weapons from his remains. Just as Starscream began to express fake outrage about this presumed "coup", Megatron himself appeared, revealing that the two had built him a new body with a built-in space bridge. He grudgingly admitted he knew Megatron would be back sooner or later, though Megatron neglected to take back leadership as long as Starscream had the Matrix, which he considered a possible threat. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 2: Altered Carbon|Altered Carbon}}

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His leadership a complete failure, Starscream became sullen and withdrawn, lost in distant contemplation of the unknowable mysteries within the Matrix that hung around his neck and lashing out at any Decepticons who attempted to touch the talisman. After Starscream ignored his warning that an Autobot ship had crashed on the asteroid, Bombshell tried to remove the Matrix in hopes of snapping him out of his stupor, but was violently struck for his trouble. As it turned out, the wrecked ship had contained [[Hot Rod/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rodimus]], on a quest to take back the Matrix. After first using a cerebro-shell on [[Razorclaw (G1)|Razorclaw]] to make him attack Starscream, he confronted the Decepticon leader on his own. Starscream was unimpressed, having used his rank to give himself nigh-impenetrable armor, only to be taken by surprise when Rodimus shot the Matrix around his neck instead, causing it to release a burst of energy and incapacitate Starscream. Rodimus snagged the Matrix, but both he and it were then blasted out into space by Megatron. {{storylink|Heart Like a Wheel}} With the threat of the Matrix now removed, Megatron re-established himself as leader of the Decepticons, and decided to inaugurate his return by beating the living daylights out of Starscream. The Seeker, however, had lost the will to continue: he would not rise to Megatron's mockery, and when the Decepticon leader aimed his fusion cannon at him, Starscream simply held it to his chest and demanded he fire. But Megatron kept pushing, eventually causing Starscream to snap and open fire with his own weapons, only to immediately regret the decision and attempt to flee in [[alternate mode|jet mode]]. A vicious dogfight above the asteroid ensued, culminating in a pained Starscream questioning how Megatron could understand what it felt like to have his dream crumble so completely. This inquiry only enraged Megatron further—his dream was the Decepticon faction itself, and Starscream had utterly destroyed it in his absence. But Megatron was not without mercy, and after pummeling Starscream to within an inch of his life, he offered him the chance to return to the fold as his subordinate. Meekly, Starscream accepted. {{storylink|Spotlight: Megatron}}

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As Megatron put his new plans into action and had the Decepticons return to Earth, Starscream went off on his own to meet with Thundercracker, who had abandoned the Decepticon cause following their previous defeat. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 2: Altered Carbon|Altered Carbon}} He tried to convince his fellow Seeker to join with him and overthrow Megatron again, seeing him as obsessed with petty revenge on humanity and lacking long-term goals. When Thundercracker refused, Starscream lost patience and gunned him down, but before he could finish the job he was attacked by [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]]. Starscream denied Brawn's accusation that he had been responsible for shooting down a plane carrying Optimus Prime, pleading for his life by suggesting he would be more valuable as a hostage. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 3: Woken Furies|Woken Furies}} Fortunately for him, Brawn chose to carry Thundercracker to safety rather than capture him. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 4: Burning Chrome|Burning Chrome}} Starscream returned to the other Decepticons and watched Optimus Prime confront Megatron in a one-on-one battle. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 5: Enemy Mine|Enemy Mine}}

Megatron subsequently surrendered to the Autobots and had himself transported back to Cybertron, in order to use his built-in space bridge to teleport the Decepticons back to their homeworld. Starscream and the other Decepticons gathered at a Native American settlement to await the bridge's opening, but were found by Bumblebee at the last minute. Starscream ordered the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]] to dispose of the Autobot, while he led the other Decepticons through the bridge. {{storylink|The Question}} Emerging on Cybertron in the midst of the Autobots' battle with [[Galvatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Galvatron]]'s army of [[Sweep (G1)|Sweeps]], Starscream and the Decepticons soon found themselves entranced by Galvatron's unseen puppetmaster, the [[D-Void]], who merged their bodies and minds together with the Sweeps to form a huge monster. {{storylink|Chaos Part Three: Kings|Kings}} Once this "[[Deceptigod]]" was defeated, the weakened component Decepticons were captured by the Autobots and outfitted with [[Inhibitor/deterrence chip|I/D chips]]. {{storylink|Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime|The Death of Optimus Prime}}

===The Chosen One===
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Two weeks after the Deceptigod's defeat, the Decepticons were still imprisoned, and Starscream was growing increasingly tired of [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]]'s attempts to control the situation. Realizing that it was better to go along with the Autobots' orders for now rather than push back against them, Starscream joined most of his fellow Decepticons in serving as an enforcer, helping to put down a riot by [[NAIL]]s—unaffiliated Cybertronians who had recently returned to Cybertron and objected to Autobot governance. {{storylink|Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime|The Death of Optimus Prime}} He lurked in the background when [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]] visited the Decepticon camp to lecture Ratbat, {{storylink|The Autonomy Lesson (issue)|The Autonomy Lesson}} then finally elected to depart the Decepticon camp after an argument with the new self-appointed Decepticon leader. Considering Ratbat's methods and goals regressive and seeking a new approach to power, Starscream paid a visit to Autobot high command with a legitimate desire to talk with Bumblebee about the future, only to be shocked by the distrusting Autobot's taser-cane and taken into custody for his troubles. Interrogated by Prowl, Starscream explained that Ratbat was planning to assassinate Bumblebee during the memorial ceremony for the ''Lost Light''. While the Autobots dealt with that threat, Starscream proceeded to gate-crash the ceremony himself and announced to the gathered masses his desire to be part of the planet's new government. {{storylink|The World & Everything in It}}

Naturally, all the Autobots were suspicious, but Starscream did his best to prove his good faith: he helped Prowl to cover up [[Arcee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Arcee]]'s assassination of Ratbat, then worked with [[Wheeljack (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Wheeljack]] to rescue some NAILs from a series of mysterious explosions. Wheeljack spoke up in his favor, convincing Bumblebee to let him join the government; the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]] were so disgusted that they ceded from Bumblebee's leadership, and while Starscream expressed his regret to 'Bee in private later, he assured him the Autobot he would not regret his choice. {{storylink|Stick Together}} That proved untrue almost immediately, as Bumblebee, Starscream, and NAIL representative [[Metalhawk (Masterforce)|Metalhawk]] soon held a public assembly to introduce their joint governance, and Starscream talked rings around both of them. {{storylink|Devisive}} Soon afterwards, Starscream approached [[Onslaught (G1)|Onslaught]] to buy his services as he made his play for Iacon's leadership. In exchange for protecting him from those like the [[Decepticon Justice Division]] or unruly bots, Starscream would allow Onslaught a position of power when the time came. {{storylink|Applicable Skills}}

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Starscream joined Metalhawk in greeting ex-Decepticon [[Sky-Byte (RID)|Sky-Byte]] when he returned to Cybertron, but the new arrival's obvious distaste for his former faction prompted Starscream to step back and leave the welcoming to his fellow leaders. {{storylink|A Better Tomorrow}} Given his genuine desire to see the new government work out, Starscream was just as suspicious of the next returnee as his fellow leaders—noted Decepticon warmonger [[Turmoil]], claiming altruism, no less. Turmoil immediately began to foment distrust among the government by planting more doubts about the Autobots in Metalhawk's mind, so Starscream took the NAIL to [[Maccadam's Old Oil House]] to talk the matter out, calling upon bar owner Blurr to recount his own experiences with Turmoil as evidence for the prosecution. {{storylink|Interference Patterns}}

Not long after the Turmoil incident, Starscream and Metalhawk paid a visit to Autobot High Command to pester Bumblebee about setting up elections. {{storylink|Dinobot Hunt (IDW)|Dinobot Hunt}} That night, the pair returned to High Command, this time to check on the recently injured Wheeljack and to offer their assistance in locating [[Ironhide (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ironhide]] and the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]], who had gone missing in the wilderness earlier that evening. Fearing that Starscream could leverage a successful rescue to his advantage during the elections, Bumblebee refused their offer. {{storylink|Night and the City}}

[[File:RIDannual the chosen one.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.67]]
That, however, didn't stop the pair from setting out regardless at dawn the next day. They watched as Blurr, also out searching, was caught in an explosion which revealed a subterranean cavern, but were prevented from entering the cave by the quick arrival of Prowl's security team. To put pressure on the Autobots, Starscream rounded up a crowd of NAILs and Decepticons and demanded that Prowl explain the situation to them. The Autobot was forced to admit that the cavern was home to the abandoned [[Crystal City]], and that [[Metrotitan (Zone)|Metrotitan]] had teleported into the abandoned city, injuring itself in the process such that the surrounding area would shortly be destroyed. As Prowl returned to Wheeljack, at work in the cavern, Starscream snuck in after him, and a brief chase with the security officer led them to the Titan's face. Suddenly, it awoke, and lauded Starscream as a conqueror who would unite Cybertron, something witnessed by the entire crowd, who had followed them down into the city. The group fled to escape the Titan's detonation, and on the way back to Iacon, the divinely blessed Starscream was held aloft by NAILs and Decepticons. {{storylink|Primus: All Good Things|All Good Things}}

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Being a 'bot of little faith, Starscream didn't actually ''believe'' Metrotitan's words, but he knew how to exploit ''everyone else's'' belief to virtually guarantee himself victory in the upcoming elections. He attempted to get an endorsement from [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] live on television, but Omega had greater matters to ponder; however, that night, Omega was the victim of a bombing that Starscream presumed to be the actions of the other Decepticons attempting to ruin his aspirations for political power. Finding that public opinion was already turning against him by association, Starscream confronted Shockwave over the attack, but received only an ambiguous warning to keep out of the one-eyed Decepticon's way. As he was leaving the Decepticon pen, Starscream was approached by [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] and [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]], who sought to trade information on Prowl's recent shady dealings in exchange for sanctuary from the coming storm. Starscream accepted, and used the info to blackmail Prowl into disposing of Shockwave's Decepticons for him. He was feeling quite pleased with himself, until a one-two punch of bad news took him down a peg: first, Arcee revealed she knew exactly where he had secreted Dirge away, meaning his bargaining chip was essentially useless... and second, Megatron returned. {{storylink|The End of the Beginning of the World}}

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Starscream alerted the Autobot to Megatron's approach on the city, and watched as Bumblebee and the Autobots gunned him down and took him into custody. Starscream tried to dissuade the other Decepticons from marching on high command to call for Megatron's release with a stirring speech about discarding the old ways, but it failed rather spectacularly, so Starscream decided to visit the medical center and appeal to Megatron directly. {{storylink|City on Fire}} This "chat" was very one-sided as Megatron offered no response to Starscream's word save a smile—though that alone was enough to terrify the Seeker. The Decepticons' march subsequently turned into a riot, during which the prison was stormed and Megatron was liberated. The Decepticon leader dragged Starscream along to the [[Black Room]], where it was revealed that Prowl, mind-controlled by Bombshell, had been working for Megatron all along. {{storylink|The Verge}} Bumblebee and Metalhawk were soon brought to the Black Room as well, and Starscream tried to explain to them that he had had no part in Megatron's scheme; Megatron verified that, save to note that Starscream's political machinations had provided a useful distraction. {{storylink|Before the Dawn}}

[[File:RID16 heavyisthehead.jpg|thumb|225px|Oh no, nothing's worse than <s>Cartman</s> Starscream with ''authoritah''!]]Megatron then began his endgame, unleashing a perfected Devastator upon Iacon, and forcing Starscream to watch, professing that any political victory he had won would have been one of compromise, rather than a true Decepticon triumph. {{storylink|Plan for Everything}} Rendered near-paralytic with the seeming totality of his defeat, Starscream was dragged through the streets by Megatron, until the Autobots and Metalhawk surprised him by coming to his rescue. Separated from the main fight, Starscream and Metalhawk were confronted by Turmoil, and the re-energized Starscream killed him using Metalhawk's severed arm as a blade. The Autobots then foiled Megatron's scheme, and Starscream saw his moment to strike: though he admitted to Metalhawk that he genuinely was his friend, he used Turmoil's cannon to kill him, and presented his body to the crowd as a victim of the fighting. He called for the abandonment of factions, and the majority of the population rallied behind him, appointing him their leader {{storylink|Heavy Is the Head}} and cheering for the banishment of all those who didn't renounce their faction.

The Autobots attempted to fight this, first pointing to their wounded needing care, but Starscream promised they'd be fixed up. And hey, you didn't ''have'' to leave. All you had to was just... stop being an Autobot or Decepticon.

You're almost all leaving? Such a shame. {{storylink|Second Exodus}}

===Starscream the First===

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Starscream's first night of leadership was a troubled one as the city of Iacon struggled to deal with the aftermath of Megatron's attack. One of the many problems he had to deal with was the blackouts that the city was suffering from. This was only made worse for Starscream by [[Scoop (G1)|Scoop]] and his construction patrol vowing to repair the city. He then visited the Medical Center to check on Dirge's condition but he was rebuffed by the former seeker. During an interview with Circuit on how he was planning to deal with the city's problems the power was restored by Scoop, it was at this moment that [[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]] approached him with the revelation that the power grid had been sabotaged with phosphex. As Scoop repaired the communication array he attempted to open his toolbox and instead found out that Scoop was a "religious nut" who believed Metrotitan's prophecy. When Rattrap tripped over Scoop, Starscream soon took the opportunity to accuse him of sabotaging the power grid, however Starscream later revealed that he was fully aware that Rattrap had planted the phosphex in Scoop's toolbox. {{storylink|Three Monologues}}

Soon afterwards, [[Tyrest (G1)|Tyrest]]'s [[universal killswitch]] was activated, and Starscream was among those affected, and Starscream wondered if Megatron was causing it. {{storylink|Remain in Light 4 of 5: Arm the Lonely|Arm the Lonely}} However Starscream was saved thanks to Rodimus and Perceptor's {{storylink|Remain in Light 5 of 5: This Calamitous Life|This Calamitous Life}} He later succeeded in getting a "pep" talk from Wheeljack's headless body - who had survived being shot by Prowl earlier. {{storylink|Three Monologues}} Starscream was the one who answered when the ''Lost Light'' when they called Cybertron with Tyrest's communication system; by this point, he'd started calling the place the [[Republic of Cybertron]]. {{storylink|The Sound of Breaking Glass}} Having successfully risen to power, Starscream reneged on his deal with Onslaught. {{storylink|Applicable Skills}}

[[File:DarkCybertron1-Starscream.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Even the Mini-Cons have abandoned me.]]
After being rebuilt into a new body, Starscream's secluded admiration of his new form was interrupted by Rattrap's worries about an unidentified glow just over the horizon. A scan of the phenomenon revealed a classified-but-familiar reading, that of the [[Dead Universe]], causing Starscream to seek out the crew of the ''[[Lost Light]]'' for expertise, particularly that of [[Cyclonus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Cyclonus]]. {{storylink|Dark Dawn: Dark Cybertron Chapter 1|Dark Dawn}} Subsequently, an [[Necrotitan|undead Titan]] suddenly burst free from the ground, and so Starscream rounded up some weaponry in order to take out the behemoth, but Rattrap instead suggested caution. Starscream decided to visit Scoop in his cell, and the zealot pronounced Starscream as the dark answer to a prophesy hidden in the [[Covenant of Primes]]. {{storylink|Black Metal: Dark Cybertron Chapter 2|Black Metal}} Next Starscream visited the dead body of Metalhawk, succeeding in getting a "pep talk" out of his "old friend" as Rattrap eavesdropped. On his way out of the building, Starscream reassured his citizens that he could handle the ongoing situation—after all, he handled Megatron—and flew out towards the Necrotitan. Meanwhile, Scoop confided in Rattrap that while Starscream was the Chosen One, he may have been chosen to destroy everything. Starscream landed on the Necrotitan's shoulder and tried to start a conversation, but suddenly its eyes flashed and a deadly, chaotic wave of energy burst forth from its body. Starscream desperately tried to beat the wavefront home, but arrived just before it lay waste to the city. The wavefront had a strange and inconsistent effect on everyone, to the point that it reanimated the dead body of Metalhawk. Metalhawk beat down his murderer and abducted the captured body of Megatron, leaving with it for elsewhere. In the chaos that followed the city's destruction, Starscream soon found himself the subject of everyone's ire. {{storylink|Winners & Losers: Dark Cybertron Chapter 3|Winners & Losers}} The wave also left a strange black mark on Starscream's chest that Scoop believed was a message from [[Primus]]—Starscream was the cause of Iacon's problems. {{storylink|Into the Abyss: Dark Cybertron Chapter 4|Into the Abyss}}

He later had the mark checked out at the Iacon Medical Center by Flatline and used this as an opportunity to check on the casualties of the Necrotitan's wave. This merely led to him being berated by [[Tankor (BM)|Tankor]] on how he was letting the population down—only for the Necrotitan to then smash its way into the medical center. {{storylink|No Exit: Dark Cybertron Chapter 6|No Exit}} Starscream then received another berating, this time from Scoop, on how the fact he was the "Chosen One" was a responsibility to the people of Cybertron. {{storylink|The Dead Are Not Enough: Dark Cybertron Chapter 7|The Dead Are Not Enough}} He was later approached by Rattrap and the remaining Autobots and Decepticons and merely lamented that all hope of defeating Shockwave was lost while Prowl explained his plan. He did however inform Prowl of the situation at the medical center as Flatline and Fixit "teamed up", he was then present when Megatron explained his alternative plan on defeating Shockwave. {{storylink|Burning Bright: Dark Cybertron Chapter 8|Burning Bright}}

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Later, Starscream was further lamenting about the hopelessness of the situation when the Lost Light arrived with Metroplex. He was observing the battle between the Necrotitan and Metroplex when Scoop started to recite the "Dark Cybertron" prophecy and was later cured when Metroplex released the [[Ore-7]] stored within his thumb. {{storylink|Finis Temporis: Dark Cybertron Chapter 9|Finis Temporis}} Starscream was later gloating to Scoop about how the prophecy was not fulfilled when he learnt its true origin—Shockwave. It was just at this moment when Metalhawk appeared with Skywarp and [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] and shot him. It was at this moment that Shockwave started to reveal his endgame to Galvatron and ''70 billion'' Ammonites appeared in the sky above Cybertron. {{storylink|The Becoming: Dark Cybertron Chapter 10|The Becoming}} Starscream then provided Bumblebee's group with a way of reaching Shockwave's base by revealing that Skywarp was still alive. He elected to take Waspinator along (much to Waspinator's objections) as the group required someone who knew the layout of the base, however he was nearly driven catatonic by the fact that Scoop willingly volunteered to remain behind instead of helping to defeat Shockwave with rest of the group. When he recovered he attacked Jhiaxus but the reactive armor Jhiaxus was wearing provided him with all of Starscream's new body's abilities. {{storylink|Black Planet: Dark Cybertron Chapter 11|Black Planet}} Starscream was not impressed by the reactive armor however (even going so far as accusing Jhiaxus of [[Fandom|cosplaying]] as him) and continued to fight Jhiaxus, even though Jhiaxus had the advantage due to him knowing everything that his new body contained and could do. He beat Jhiaxus by using the swords that were integrated into his body. He was later unfazed by Rattrap's claim that he would have difficulty maintaining control due to Metalhawk sacrificing himself to defeat the Ammonites by claiming that by killing them Metalhawk was a "genocidal despot" {{storylink|...And the Damage Done: Dark Cybertron Finale|...And the Damage Done}}

Starscream attended a meeting on the subject of what was to be done with Megatron to represent the People of Cybertron—who wanted a trial. Rodimus was not impressed with Starscream's rule of Cybertron. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|Towards Peace}} He was later called to provide a statement where he claimed to be "High Chancellor of the Refulgent Cybertronian Dynasty, Emperor Perpetua and Defender of the Realm". His statement on Megatron claimed that the former Decepticon leader was addled and impotent with a lack of control over his forces and that he deserved pity. Starscream was pleased with his statement as it increased his approval ratings with only one downside—the ratings of the Autobots increased as well. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 2: Words Hang in the Air|Words Hang in the Air}} Starscream's testimony had also convinced Megatron that he needed to leave behind a better legacy, and changed his plea to not guilty while invoking one of the forgotten laws of Luna-2. Starscream, fearing that Megatron wouldn't be executed as he hoped, protested, however Optimus would allow Megatron freedom of movement and shared command of the ''Lost Light''. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 3: Predestination: A Beginner's Guide|Predestination: A Beginner's Guide}}

Some time after Megatron's trial, Starscream approached Prowl and [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] to gloat about his control of Cybertron, only to be reminded by Optimus Prime that [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] was an Autobot and that Ironhide and [[Windblade (G1)|Windblade]] were keeping a close eye on him as well; upon being asked if he had any further comments on the situation by Circuit, he merely claimed that he couldn't feel better. {{storylink|Earthfall Part 1: Hello Cruel World|Hello Cruel World}} Some time after Metroplex started acting as a city for Cybertrons population, Starscream began mining operations on the Titan's filtration systems in an attempt to retrieve one of Shockwave's ores from the Titan, and hired some of the [[Terrorcon (G1)|Terrorcons]] as guards. {{storylink|Windblade issue 2|Windblade vol. 1 #2}}

Six months after the events of Dark Cybertron, Starscream maintained a less than healthy relationship with Windblade due to Metroplex's constant systems failures. He confronted Windblade on the constant blackouts Metroplex was suffering with the claim that the population was blaming him for the system failures, he then threatened Windblade with serious consequences if she didn't solve the problem and left with Rattrap to discuss the rebuilding Iacon again. Starscream later claimed the blast that damaged Windblade was caused by poor maintenance and later entered her recovery room uttering the phrase "Well. Look who isn't dead". {{storylink|A 'Bot and Her City}} The ruler of Cybertron then went on to insist on how the explosion was a fortunate accident as Windblade had survived it with only minor injuries. He then threatened the cityspeaker again by claiming that she would probably not be able to cheat death twice before being kicked out of the room. Starscream then asked Rattrap to ensure that he was in the clear before Windblade made a move... {{storylink|Windblade issue 2|Windblade vol. 1 #2}}

Starscream later oversaw the capture of Windblade and the group she had taken into Metroplex to expose his mining operations. With the group in his custody, Starscream attempted to obtain confessions to prove that Windblade was trying to undermine his regime as well as revealing the [[Badgeless]]- his new anonymous enforcers. He then tried to find out Windblade's try purpose on Cybertron as he believed that she was deliberately trying to sabotage Metroplex to gain further power. Starscream was last seen confronting Blurr and Slug as Windblade and Chromia escaped from his prison. {{storylink|Windblade issue 3|Windblade vol. 1 #3}} As Chromia and Windblade rushed towards Metroplex's brain, Starscream fought Slug and Blurr, he easily defeated them thanks to his handy shoulder cannons and then left to pursue the Camiens. Catching up to them at Metroplex's brain, Starscream was then attacked by Chromia as the fembot tried to buy more time for Windblade to merge with Metroplex. Starscream, however, managed to quickly dispatch Chromia and wound Windblade, before the Cityspeaker managed to successfully merge with the Titan. Despite this, Windblade still managed to merge with Metroplex and activate the Titan's defenses while she made one last attempt to find out who the mystery bomber was.

While Chromia attempted to convince Windblade to use Metroplex's space bridge to jump to [[Caminus]], a desperate Starscream cried out that jumping while Metroplex still served as a city would kill all those who were not completely within the Titan's borders. Deciding to not make the jump, Windblade revealed to Starscream that there were other colonies formed by the ancient Titans and offered the use of Metroplex's space bridge to the leader of Cybertron to unite the colonies in return for not revealing any of the events surrounding the bombing to anyone else. Agreeing to the deal, Starscream left Windblade to deal with the aftermath. {{storylink|Windblade issue 4|Windblade vol. 1 #4}}

With Monstructor still on the loose and Devastator causing trouble on Earth, Starscream became aware of his own military shortcomings. To this end, he reactivated Wheeljack, in the hopes of bringing Megatron's failed experiment [[Superion (G1)|Superion]] back into fighting shape for the sake of his regime. Still struggling to come to terms with the vastly changed Cybertron, Wheeljack reluctantly agreed and began repairing the gestalt. A Decepticon ghetto had also grown up outside Metroplex, made up of 'Cons who were disgruntled with the status quo and loathed Starscream as a sellout. {{storylink|The World of Tomorrow}}

A series of murders took place in the Decepticon ghetto, which Starscream was willing to dismiss as just one of them things but allowed his passionate officer [[Barricade (G1)|Barricade]] to investigate. Starscream then left to welcome Optimus back to Cybertron after a six-month absence and, with Windblade, talk him through the new status quo. The Prime's social conscience saw them both walking the ghetto {{storylink|City of Steel (issue)|City of Steel}} and sparking a riot. Mid-riot, they watched the murderer kill [[Heavy Barrel (G1)|Heavy Barrel]]. {{storylink|Fight or Flee (issue)|Fight or Flee}} Eventually, Starscream settled on the [[Firecon]]s as the obvious scapegoats culprits and joined Optimus in capturing them: a mission that went disastrously wrong thanks to brutality by [[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]] and [[Sandstorm (G1)|Sandstorm]]. {{storylink|Quest for Fire}} Optimus went on to suspect the Dinobots.

When the murderer followed up by killing ''Autobots'', Starscream told Optimus he'd been dumb and decided to raze the ghetto: the public would accept Decepticon murders but would want harsh action for Autobot ones. Barricade refused the order and went on to find a crucial clue {{storylink|The Killing Jar (issue)|The Killing Jar}} and Optimus talked Starscream into helping him with a plan: faking a fight with the Dinobots to draw out the real killer, who turned out to be Sandstorm all along. {{storylink|Forever Is a Long Time Coming (issue)|Forever Is a Long Time Coming}}

After Windblade repaired Metroplex's space bridge, Starscream hatched a plan to turn Caminus back into a protectorate of Cybertron- a plan that involved the recently purloined [[Enigma of Combination]]. Starscream recruited Swindle and the Stunticons for the job. While he bided his time, Starscream decided to pick out a new body for himself, although he was interrupted by Optimus Prime. The two bickered for a while about using Superion as a weapon (it's part of planetary security, honest) drawing up a truly representative government for Cybertron (as if!). Starscream finally shot down Optimus by pointing out that the people of Cybertron had chosen him as leader, although Optimus insisted that if Cybertron contacted its colonies, the governing body needed a council, not an empire.

On his orders, Swindle used the Enigma on the Stunticons and Starscream's mole [[Blackjack]], combining them together and re-creating [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]]. Now, however, Blackjack's short temper amplified Menasor's already prominent anger problems, creating a completely uncontrollable monster. Starscream sicced Menasor and Swindle on Caminus, intending to use the similarly revived Superion to swoop in, save the day, and win the permanent adoration of the Camiens. {{storylink|First Contact (IDW)|First Contact}} Unfortunately word got out to Optimus Prime and Windblade, forcing him to deploy Superion early on. Starscream just couldn't win, especially after Optimus- a holy figure to the people of Caminus- upstaged Starscream in front of the [[Mistress of Flame]]. {{storylink|The Sum and Its Parts}}

In the lull, Starscream took the opportunity to upgrade into his new body before overseeing the first contact ceremony between Caminus and Cybertron. While he was there, he bragged about Superion and how the combiner would keep them all safe. With that done, Starscream let Swindle take the fall for his actions by throwing him in his secret prison. But then, at the Space Bridge, Optimus Prime announced on live TV that Starscream intended to build a democratic [[Council of Worlds]], throwing a wrench in Starscream's imperialistic plans and forcing him to go through. Starscream ''really'' just couldn't win. {{storylink|The Possible Light}} Starscream, Prime, and some Camiens set about hammering out a legislation, although things didn't go particularly well - mostly because Starscream knew that the Camiens would always follow Optimus Prime's vote. The meeting was quickly adjourned after Mirage brought word of an attack on the space bridge. It turned out that Prowl wasn't happy about the situation, and had decided to form Devastator and just smash the Space Bridge. Not even Superion managed to defeat him, so Starscream used the Enigma to resuscitate the defeated Aerialbots. Realizing that Superion couldn't do the job alone, Starscream zapped a recently arrived group of representatives from the ''Lost Light'', fusing them together into [[Defensor (G1)|Defensor]]. The two combiners trounced Devastator, and in the aftermath Starscream had Prowl dragged off to a public jail. Not the Constructicons, though; he had plans for them... {{storylink|Mistakes and Mayhem}}

[[File:CombinerWars5-disappointed.jpg|right|thumb|300px|'''YOU!''' Where the '''SLAG''' is your '''CHIN?''']]

Starscream stationed both of his combiners on Caminus to keep the peace and guard the space bridge before heading back to his secret prison, where he had stashed the Constructicons. Hoping to turn Devastator back to his side, Starscream used the Enigma on Scoop and the Constructicons. This new version of Devastator, while still temperamental, was willing to go along with the commands of his "Chosen One" thanks to Scoop's mental influence. After an escaped Menasor sparked a Decepticon riot, Starscream deployed Devastator to calm things down. Defensor wound up attacking Devastator, who in turn went postal and started wrecking up Caminus. Oops. {{storylink|You, Me, and the Universe}} With no other recourse, Starscream and his Badgeless troops put in a personal appearance at the space bridge, helping to keep down the non-combined Decepticons while Devastator and the newly born [[Optimus Maximus (G1)|Optimus Maximus]] tumbled from colony to colony. With Devastator defeated, Starscream's snide remarks convinced Optimus Maximus to separate so that Prowl could be arrested. {{storylink|All That Remains}} Starscream later permitted Devastator to reform so that the Constructicons could be safely removed from Caminus. {{storylink|Now and On Earth}}

===A weakening grip===
{{quote|''Look'' at this place. I spent ''how long'' on dank battlefields, or huddled inside ''Astrotrain'' gathering troops for ''somebody else's'' cause? I ''made'' it, goldenrod.|Starscream, "[[The Transgressors]]"}}

Despite finally starting to bring the colonies together, Starscream was bitter and frustrated that nobody believed he could do it and that people were talking about him behind his back... so he said to ''a hallucinated ghost Bumblebee'', who he demanded recognise that he'd finally ''made it''. Arcee, unaware of what was going on, arrived with a captured Badgeless and executed him in front of Starscream to make a point. She informed him of a growing problem with the Decepticons, who Starscream needed to keep happy on Cybertron to avoid an uprising and invasion of other planets, and that he was the only one keeping the planet together so he better try harder. {{storylink|The Transgressors}}

[[File:ChooseMe_starscreamiest_grin.jpg|left|thumb|200px|The three words that best describe you are as follows, and I quote: Stink, stank, stunk!]]
With Caminus in the Council, Starscream turned his attention to the next Titan colony: [[Velocitron]]. To this end he met with delegates [[Knock Out (G1)|Knock Out]] and [[Moonracer (G1)|Moonracer]], although Knock Out wasn't particularly impressed with Cybertronian culture. Starscream was disturbed by the extremely hostile planet he'd glimpsed through the Space Bridge, and mentioned to Rattrap that he wouldn't set foot on the planet if he was paid. This might be why negotiations broke down. {{storylink|Windblade vol. 2 issue 4|Windblade vol. 2 #4}} After Windblade decided to sneak off to Velocitron to convince them to join the Council, Starscream recruited Superion for a secret jaunt of his own: a trip to the planet [[Devisiun]]. The tiny modular colonists were very impressed by Superion's combiner technology, and sent [[Fireshot (G1)|Fireshot]] and [[Vanquish (G1)|Vanquish]] as delegates. Windblade had had enough of the secret power plays, though, so after a heated debate the two agreed to travel to the next colony together. That planet turned out to be [[Eukaris]], a planet colonized by xenophobic [[beast mode]] Transformers, who were less than thrilled to have vehicle-based Transformers set foot on their planet. Their Titan, [[Chela]], was even ''less'' thrilled than they were, so unhappy that he decided to just blow them up and be done with it. Starscream thought otherwise, and flew into his brain module, where he shot the Titan dead in spite of Windblade's protests. At least Eukaris decided to join the council. {{storylink|Race Against the Light}} {{storylink|Windblade vol. 2 issue 6|Windblade vol. 2 #6}}

Windblade and Starscream bickered some more after returning from Eukaris, although Starscream maintained that he had done the right thing- even saved Windblade from certain death. The next day, the two headed out to the final colony Metroplex had discovered, a spaceborne Titan he identified as [[Tempo]], crewed by philosophers. As it turned out, the ship was actually staffed by a well-armed military dictatorship. Captain [[Elita One]] claimed that their Titan was actually named [[Vigilem|Carcer]]. Starscream tried to convince them to join the council, but his remarks just made Elita angry, and she threatened to kill him. Windblade managed to salvage the situation at the last minute, convincing them to join the council so as to counter Starscream's growing influence. {{storylink|The Will of the Few}}

In a conversation with dead Bumblebee, a bitter and lonely Starscream decided to get some of the goodwill felt by the colonies' return and declared a new holiday, "[[Chosen One Day]]". While he intended for everyone to remember they owed their goodwill to ''him'' and show him some, it was misread as a holiday to show your loved ones goodwill instead. This worked in his favour as everyone assumed he'd done that deliberately. Wheeljack, Windblade, and the Council members showed up to toast him and honour him with a night of friendship. {{storylink|Choose Me}}

During a broodfest, [[Needlenose (G1)|Needlenose]] showed up with his fellow Decepticons to ''oh so politely'' ask for a 'favour': they wanted Starscream to look the other way while they used the spacebridge later. {{storylink|Conquerors Part 1: Aphelion|Aphelion}} Rather than cause trouble, Starscream allowed it and when [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] at the space port noticed the Decepticon movement, Starscream told him not to "overreact" to "a stroll". Later, unsure and talking it through with 'Bumblebee', he let an actual moment of ''conscience'' decide his actions and informed Windblade of the Decepticon movement. But a bit too late! {{storylink|Conquerors Part 2: Lagrange|Lagrange}} Starscream headed in with reinforcements to help in the form of Badgeless and Superion and was pissed to find Optimus there already with [[Victorion|his ''own'' combiner]], pulling rank again. He ordered all the defeated Decepticons rounded up for later and agreed to get the spacebridge up and running to allow Optimus to stop Galvatron on Earth. {{storylink|Conquerors Part 4: Perihelion|Perihelion}} The situation swiftly went terrible again as the Decepticons started fighting again as soon as Victorion was gone and when Starscream called in Devastator, he only trashed the place and let fugitives escape. Man, how could this get worse—Optimus declaring Earth a protectorate? Yeah, that'd do it. {{storylink|All Hail Optimus Part 1: Once Upon a Time on Earth|Once Upon a Time on Earth}}

[[File:NewWorldsOrder-WindbladeStarscream.jpg|thumb|300px]]
After Windblade, Optimus et al. had kept hinting he was a dodgy neo-imperialist, Starscream was ''utterly livid'' when Optimus ''actually'' annexed a planet and part of the Council of Worlds, all without talking to anyone else. He said they couldn't give Prime a seat and justify conquest, and was left distraught when Windblade agreed but said they should give Prime the ''benefit of the doubt''. In a conversation with dead Bumblebee, Starscream compared Prime's actions to Megatron's and warned that this would go the same way. {{storylink|New Worlds Order}} Shortly after, Starscream witnessed a broadcast from the ''Lost Light'' of crew members about to be executed. He watched with fear as he knew they were victims of the [[Decepticon Justice Division]]. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light: (1) How Bright Their Frail Deeds|How Bright Their Frail Deeds}}

Following a series of mnemosurgical attacks on Decepticons around Iacon, Starscream oversaw a meeting of councillor [[Obsidian (BM)|Obsidian]]'s Justice Committee. The Carcer delegate proposed Ironhide be appointed to investigate possible Badgeless involvement in the crimes, and Starscream reluctantly agreed to consider the proposal. After Badgeless officers shot a drunk Decepticon under suspicious circumstances later that day, Windblade accused Starscream of orchestrating the murders in an attempt to locate the seemingly missing corpse of Swindle, but the sovereign of Cybertron threatened her in return with his knowledge of Chromia's bomb plot. Immediately afterwards, Starscream was aghast to discover that video footage of the murder had surfaced and was being broadcast on the city news. {{storylink|07:00:00}}

A mob of angry citizens quickly formed outside Starscream's residence. After being needled by dead Bumblebee, the ruler of Cybertron was dragged to an emergency meeting of the Council of Worlds, where he immediately proposed that the Decepticon ghetto be locked down by the Badgeless. The other councillors quickly shot down the idea, and Starscream in return refused Rattrap's proposal to summons Victorion from Earth. He went on to explain his fear that events were being manipulated by his former ally [[Onslaught (G1)|Onslaught]], out for revenge, before eventually agreeing to a plan for the situation: appoint Ironhide the new head of the Badgeless, to carry out a full investigation of recent events. As they watched Ironhide, Starscream confided in Windblade that he didn't possess Swindle's body, before blackmailing the Cityspeaker into taking responsibility for dealing with Onslaught and his [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticons]]. {{storylink|Applicable Skills}}

Several weeks later, Starscream caught Windblade on the way out of a council session to demanded a report, and was told that Onslaught was, by all appearances, not carrying out any scheme or plan. They were interrupted by an incoming message for the Cityspeaker, but Starscream refused to let her answer it until he was certain she was carrying out his bidding, again dangling his knowledge of Chromia's misdeeds in front of Windblade. {{storylink|Things We Said We'd Never Do}} As it happened, the call had been from Chromia, who had now witnessed the Combaticons use the Enigma of Combination to merge with the brain-dead Swindle into [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]]. As security forces evacuated the councillors, Starscream attempted to blackmail Windblade into helping kill the rampaging combiner. Ultimately, however, Ironhide took down Bruticus, whilst Chromia admitted to her crimes on a live news broadcast, as an unhappy Starscream looked on. {{storylink|The Line Between Us}}

Optimus (who'd been haunted by dreams of Starscream accusing him of hypocrisy) finally contacted Starscream, along with the Mistress of Flame and Soundwave, proposing to meet with each of them to discuss recent events. {{storylink|All Hail Optimus Part 2: Edge of the Earth|Edge of the Earth}} When Prime arrived on Cybertron for his meeting with Starscream and the Council of Worlds, the ex-Decepticon took a moment to revel in the Autobot leader's newfound bad reputation before arriving fashionably late. Accusing Optimus of starting an interstellar war, Starscream dismissed Optimus as another tyrannical [[Prime (rank)|Prime]] who ''took'' power rather than being ''chosen'' like he was. Citing the general populace's loss of faith in Optimus, Cybertron's leader announced that the council would not stand with Optimus, before striding away. The next morning, Starscream summoned the news team of [[Circuit (G1)|Circuit]] and [[Longtooth]] for a special task – travelling to Earth to show everybody firsthand what Optimus Prime's actions had wrought. {{storylink|All Hail Optimus Part 3: The Medium and the Message|The Medium and the Message}}

This plan worked out rather nicely for Starscream, who watched with joy as live footage of human military forces attacking Optimus Prime's troops was beamed back to Cybertron. Dead Bumblebee insisted Prime's refusal to retaliate would show his heroism, but Cybertron's leader was confident he could spin any outcome to his advantage. {{storylink|All Hail Optimus Part 4: It's Beginning To And Back Again|It's Beginning To And Back Again}} When the humans finally surrounded Prime, Starscream was ecstatic, but moments later, was taken aback when the Autobot raised Metrotitan, thought dead, from the ground! {{storylink|All Hail Optimus Part 5: As Above...So Below|As Above...So Below}} The ex-Decepticon was quickly called to an emergency council meeting by Windblade. Prime's holy act changed the group's tune, and they soon decided to declare Earth a colony world. Looking out over his planet, Starscream sulked about the decision whilst Bumblebee said "I told you so" – Optimus Prime had come out on top. {{storylink|All Hail Optimus Part 6: No Fair Fights|No Fair Fights}}

When a massive energy discharge was detected at the former site of Kaon, Starscream was roped into investigating personally by Windblade. Shockingly, they found the city intact within a crater, but this matter was quickly forgotten when the pair were called back to Iacon, where none other than the long-dead Sentinel Prime was on a rampage! Starscream fired on the false Prime, but got a [[spark disruptor]] thrown onto his chest for his troubles. Luckily for the ex-Decepticon, Windblade was able to jump the disruptor onto her own spark, where its detonation was non-fatal thanks to the differing frequency of Camien sparks. The pair quickly flew to regroup with the forces fighting Sentinel Prime at the space bridge. {{storylink|The Last Autobot}}

Discussing recent events, General [[Joe Colton]], [[Scarlett]] and [[Miles Mayhem|Miles Manheim]] recalled Starscream's part in the [[Transformer]]s' early battles over Ore-13 on Earth. {{storylink|Secret Raiders: A Revolution Prelude|Secret Raiders}} When Windblade merged with Metrotitan's mind, she saw glimpses of all her possibles pasts and futures, many of which included Starscream. {{storylink|Informed}}

{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|Ping}} {{storylink|Desperate Times}} {{storylink|New Cybertron Part 3: Behind My Bleeding Back|Behind My Bleeding Back}} {{storylink|Ghost Stories}} {{storylink|New Cybertron Part 5: Future Glories Lost|Future Glories Lost}}}}

==Spotlight: Mirage==
At the war's end, Starscream and a small team of Decepticons accompanied the mercenary [[Mirage (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Mirage]] to the [[Pegasus Star Cluster]]. He led the Decepticons into the Autobot bunker after Mirage destroyed the Autobot security system, but stood back during the ensuing fight. After Megatron ordered the Autobot prisoners executed, Starscream held [[Ratchet (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ratchet]] back as Mirage prepared to kill [[Hound (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Hound]].

But it was all Mirage's dream... or was it? {{storylink|Spotlight: Mirage}}

==Notes==
[[File:Wfc-starscream-0.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb]]
*Starscream's appearance in ''[[The Transformers: Robots in Disguise|Robots in Disguise]]'' seems to be based more on this concept drawing of him for the ''[[Transformers: War for Cybertron (games)|War for Cybertron]]'' game, rather than his actual appearance in either of the two games. This is most noticeable when looking at his pelvic region and thighs.
*Also, the crown he occasionally wears in later issues of the comic is based on the crown he sports in ''[[Transformers: Fall of Cybertron|Fall of Cybertron]]'', which in itself is based on the crown he wears in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]''.

==References==

[[Category:Decepticon leaders]]
[[Category:IDW Generation 1 Transformers]]
[[Category:Matrix bearers]]
[[Category:Neutrals]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:Rulers of Cybertron]]
[[Category:Seekers]]
[[Category:Turncoats]]

Wheeljack's Bizarre Invention! Optimus Power Up!?

2017-03-28T13:19:33Z

Egg: /* Synopsis */

{{comicstory
|seriesissue=''[[Kre-O Transformers (comic)|Kre-O Transformers]]'' #4
|prev=A Reliable Warrior!? Vortex the Lookout from Hell
|next=Emergency! Hurry to the Base, Optimus!
|image=Kre-O JP comic 4.jpg
|caption=
|title="Wheeljack's Bizarre Invention! Optimus Power Up!?"
|japanese=ホイルジャックの珍発明! オプティマスがパワーアップ!?
|romaji=Wheeljack no Chin Hatsumei! Optimus ga Power Up!?
|publisher=[[TakaraTomy]]
|date=October [[2013]]
|by=[[Hayato Sakamoto]]
}}

'''Oh, that Wheeljack!'''

==Synopsis==
[[Wheeljack (Kre-O)|Wheeljack]] has invented "[[Skeletron]]", an amazing... drink? pellet?... that gives Kreons "See-Through Power". [[Optimus Prime (Kre-O)|Optimus Prime]] is thoroughly embarrassed by his new see-through torso, but Wheeljack insists he use this power to defeat the Decepticons, much to Optimus's confusion. Turns out that with this new power, one punch is now all it takes for Optimus to lay [[Megatron (Kre-O)|Megatron]] flat.

Back at the Decepticon base, Megatron throws a tantrum over his own desire for See-Through Power, commanding [[Knock Out (Kre-O)|Knock Out]] to come up with something. The doctor's solution? Put Megatron in see-through clothes. More specifically, a pink see-through negligee. Optimus is a bit relieved to no longer have the most embarrassing look, and the Autobots all have a hearty laugh at a mortified Megatron.

Back at the Decepticon base again, Megatron knocks out Knock Out with one punch, prompting [[Vortex (Kre-O)|Vortex]] to declare "See-Through Power" amazing.

[[Tailgate (G1)|That boy ain't right]].

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Wheeljack (Kre-O)|Wheeljack]] (3)
*[[Optimus Prime (Kre-O)|Optimus Prime]] (4)
*[[Minerva (Masterforce robot)|Minerva]] (5)
*[[Ironhide (Kre-O)|Ironhide]] (11)
*[[Grimlock (Kre-O)|Grimlock]] (12)
*[[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]] (13)
*[[Devcon (G1)|Devcon]] (14)

|c2=
*[[Megatron (Kre-O)|Megatron]] (6)
*[[Waspinator (Kre-O)|Thrustinator]] (7)
*[[Sideways (Armada)|Sideways]] (8)
*[[Knock Out (Kre-O)|Knock Out]] (9)
*[[Breakdown (WFC)|Breakdown]] (10)
*[[Vortex (Kre-O)|Vortex]] (15)

|c3=
*[[Sari Sumdac (Animated)|Sari Sumdac]] (1)
*"Sazae-san" (2)

|c4=
}}

==Notes==
* As per usual with this series, multiple [[Kreon]]s appear in this story who do not exist as toys. While the [[human]] Kreons have unique heads, all of the robot Kreons use existing ''Kre-O'' parts in their builds.
* "Skeletron", rendered スケルトロン (''sukerutoron'') in Japanese, is a bit of a pun on ''sukesuke'', the Japanese word for "see-through".
* "Skeletron" is also the name of one of the monster mini-figures in the ''Kre-O Cityville Invasion'' toyline. Coincidence? With [[Hayato Sakamoto]]'s sense of humor, hard to tell.

===Transformers references===
[[File:Carnival sparkplug and sazae.jpg|right|thumb|WHERE ARE THE CHEESE SANDWHICHES, LARRY?]]
* The blonde human girl in the first panel with Sari, holding the fish, is a Kreon version of an unnamed crowdfiller character munching on a fish from the [[Transformers: Armada (cartoon)|''Armada'']] episode "[[Carnival]]", who was designed after the title character of the Japanese comic strip ''[[Wikipedia:Sazae-san|Sazae-san]]'' (so that's what we've called her here). Sakamoto didn't specifically source her for inclusion from this one-second appearance (because dude, ''seriously''), but rather from an explanatory sidebar in ''[[Micron Densetsu Year Book 2003]]'' that called her out.
* Wheeljack's desk has tiny versions of the [[Wheeljack's unnamed invention|unnamed MacGuffin]] from "[[Hoist Goes Hollywood (episode)|Hoist Goes Hollywood]]" and the [[Wheeljack Instant Immobilizer]] on it.
* This is, of course, an "ad" for the extra clear-plastic torso-pieces that come with the second-year ''Kre-O Transformers'' sets.
* Though it's hard to tell since Optimus's torso is deco-less, he's in his ''[[Transformers: Prime (franchise)| Prime]]''-styled Kreon body. The black hands and waist are a big giveaway.

===Errors===
* Knock Out's waist-piece is incorrectly colored red, where the actual toy has black, though this is consistent with the miscolored [[:File:Kreon Knockout wallpaper.jpg|promotional render of Kreon Knock Out]].

==External links==
*[http://i.imgur.com/2uSw7qn.jpg Translation of "Wheeljack's Bizarre Invention! Optimus Power Up!?"]

[[Category:Kre-O issues]]

Impactor (G1)

2017-03-27T14:58:07Z

Egg: /* IDW Generation 1 continuity */ Sins of the Wreckers issue 3 written

{{factions|autobot|wreckers}}
{{disambig3|Impactor}}
:''Impactor is an [[Autobot]] from the [[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[File:Impactor Autopedia.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|Madeup leader of the nobody squad.]]
'''Impactor''' is the legendary former leader of the [[Wrecker]]s, an elite [[Autobot]] strike team, and as such is a deadly force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. His body is covered with weaponry, from the tank cannon on his shoulder, to the missiles hidden in his chest<ref>[https://twitter.com/NickRoche/status/727425912287928320 Nick Roche's twitter]</ref> , to the handgun strapped to his leg, and finally his signature harpoon weapon that replaces his right hand. His audacity and resolve is what puts him in the history books, for better or for worse.

Impactor's first officer, [[Springer (G1)|Springer]], is inevitably his replacement, once terrible things occur. Springer's feelings regarding his filling of Impactor's immense shoes are always a source of angst. Just when Springer thinks these emotions are dealt with and buried, Impactor somehow returns to mix things up again. In one timeline, he has the nickname '''Kiloton'''.

Sometimes, Impactor combines with his fellow [[Wrecker]]s to form [[Wreckage (G1)|Wreckage]].

{{TOCclear}}

==Fiction==
===Marvel ''The Transformers'' comics===
{{noteukexclusive|Impactor}}
[[File:Impactorfearless.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|[[Macabre]] who?]]
After the departure of [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]], [[Megatron (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Megatron]] and their troops from the war, [[Xaaron|Emirate Xaaron]] assigned the Wreckers to assassinate the warlord [[Trannis]], who came into power in Megatron's absence. Impactor was chosen to lead this team. Though the assassination attempt was successful, other leaders quickly sprung up to take Trannis' place.

[[File:Xaaronimpactor.jpg|thumb|Impactor carries a gun barrel around for those (*ahem*, Xaaron) who invade his personal space.]]
Though Impactor was dedicated to his troops, he was not so dedicated to his superiors, and was not above directly insulting them. Emirate Xaaron took this attitude in stride, and could give as well as he received. Impactor referred to the Autobot resistance leader as a "wily old buzzard," as he was often surprised by Xaaron's blunt yet indirect ways of making his point and getting what he wanted. Despite this, their difficulties masked a genuine friendship.

Countless years later, after Optimus Prime and his Autobots had awoken on [[Earth]], Impactor and the Wreckers were responsible for executing [[Operation: Volcano]], a planned ambush of the [[Ten Deadliest Killers|Decepticons' fiercest warriors]] using Xaaron as bait. [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Ultra Magnus]] was assigned to the Wreckers to help them bolster their ranks for the mission, but he was quickly needed to travel to Earth to investigate the disappearance of Optimus Prime. Impactor's commitment to the mission wavered and he at first refused to deploy his team without Magnus there as back-up, but he changed his mind after a conversation with Xaaron. Impactor's doubts were further quelled when Xaaron convinced him that [[Springer (G1)|Springer]], [[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]], and [[Sandstorm (G1)|Sandstorm]] were an adequate replacement for Magnus, which Xaaron accomplished by having them disguise themselves as Decepticons and beat Impactor up. Operation: Volcano was once again on track.

Xaaron, the bait for the Wreckers' trap, was placed according to plan, but suddenly Megatron called his warriors to Earth, overriding all other commands, including the planned ambush on Xaaron. Disappointed that their trap was ruined, the Wreckers let down their guard long enough to allow an assassin named [[Macabre]], ignoring Megatron's orders, to fire upon Xaaron. Impactor was the first to react and pushed Xaaron out of the way, taking the shots meant for the Autobot underground resistance leader. Immediately, the other Wreckers turned and fired upon Macabre, killing him, but Impactor was fatally wounded. With his last words he named Springer the next leader of the Wreckers before dying in Xaaron's arms, again calling him a "wily old buzzard." {{storylink|Target: 2006}}

[[File:Impactorzombie.jpg|left|thumb|Brains!]]
Impactor's death would haunt several other Autobots for some time to come. Though he sought to deny it, Ultra Magnus felt guilty for not returning to Cybertron in time, and this led to his taking an excessive approach when dealing with Optimus Prime, whom intelligence reports stated was a traitor. {{storylink|Under Fire!}} Subsequently Magnus found a fight with Megatron proved the opportunity to release his pent-up aggression over Impactor's death. {{storylink|Resurrection!}} Even after that, the sight of a volcano on Earth left him uneasy, and cause him to flashback to Impactor's death. {{storylink|Burning Sky!}}

Springer was also severely affected by Impactor's death, and felt inadequate in the shadow of his legacy. So when a rogue Autobot scientist named [[Flame (Marvel)|Flame]] discovered a way to reanimate dead Transformers, Springer was crippled from action when he was met with the reanimated corpse of Impactor. After being captured by the zombies' controller, the mad scientist [[Flame (Marvel)|Flame]], the Wreckers were put in an underground cell, guarded by their former team leader. Managing to find his courage once more, Springer made use of his leaping abilities to escape, but Impactor grabbed a hold of him, dragging him outside of the cell as well. Springer reluctantly fought his predecessor until he managed to jar Impactor into remembering his past life. Confused, Impactor wandered away while Springer pursued his mission to foil Flame's machinations. {{storylink|Legion of the Lost!}} Eventually, Impactor shambled into Flame's inner sanctum, where the rest of the Autobots were facing off both against the crazed scientist, and what remained of his zombie horde. As Flame lunged for Xaaron, Impactor launched his harpoon, impaling the Flame through the forehead and killing him. But though Flame had now been dealt with, his machines were overloading, threatening to take the whole planet with them in a chain reaction. The only means to shut them down was to enter a control room bathed in deadly radiation. Though Xaaron had initially planned to sacrifice himself, Impactor took his place, arguing he was already dead anyways. In his second death, Impactor saved [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] once more. {{storylink|Meltdown!}}
{{-}}

===IDW Generation 1 continuity===
[[File:Ongoing22 MaccadamsNewOilHouse.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|"Let's see: 'I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness. Starving, hysterical, naked...' Nah, it's never gonna catch on, Megs."]]
Impactor was [[Reproduction#IDW Generation 1 continuity|constructed cold]] before the war. {{storylink|Remain in Light 3 of 5: The Divided Self|The Divided Self}} He worked as a miner near Nova Point, and befriended a fellow mine grunt, [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] there. The two became best friends<ref>[https://twitter.com/jroberts332/status/681985702821793794 James Roberts' MTMTE2015 twitter Q&A]</ref> despite their differences, and were together when miners were shipped to [[Moonbase Two|Luna 2]] when Cybertron's need for energy rose. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1|Chaos Theory #1}} {{storylink|Shockwaves}} Impactor thought Megatron's nonviolent solutions to Cybertron's class warfare were cute, and reminded him that there would always be a pecking order, no matter how large or small the equation. Megatron's naïveté was underscored when the lowly [[Rung (G1)|Rung]] was ganged up on by a much larger pair of military cadets and tossed across their table. Impactor, drunk, got up to deal with them the only way he thought mattered. Megatron was put off by the violence and stayed out of the fight, but was arrested anyway; Impactor was taken to [[Deltaran Medical Facility]], but not before he'd torn the cadet's legs off and shoved them into a garbage grinder. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1|Chaos Theory #1}} {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 2: Stet}}

When [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]] was arrested for the beating he gave Megatron during the latter's brief incarceration, Impactor ended up being his cellmate on [[Garrus-1]]. Impactor proceeded to beat up Whirl to the brink of fade-out, leaving him in critical condition. {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 2: Patternism|Patternism}}

At some point after war broke out, Impactor joined the Wreckers, when they were not yet the war heroes they would come to be known as, but merely a rumor. {{storylink|Zero Point}} During this time, he was approached by [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]] who had formed a partnership with the depraved scientist [[Tarantulas (BW)#IDW Generation 1 continuity|Mesothulas]]. In exchange for releasing his friend [[Roadbuster (G1)|Roadbuster]] from prison early, Impactor would take down Mesothulas and destroy everything they had built together. Clad in a suit of early [[Anti-rad armor]], Impactor did just that, shoving the scientist into his own [[Noisemaze|experimental weapon]] and annihilated Mesothulas's various weapons. Impactor found, however, that neither he nor Prowl could bring themselves to kill Mesothulas's pet project: an artificial Cybertronian named Ostaros. Instead, they enlisted him as an Autobot under the name "[[Springer (G1)|Springer]]". {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 3|Sins of the Wreckers #3}} {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 5|Sins of the Wreckers #5}}

[[File:RulesofDisengagement-BlackShadowvsWreckers.jpg|thumb|left|upright=2.4]]
He battled [[Black Shadow (Victory)|Black Shadow]] in the 11th iteration of the team, under the command of [[Crest]]. {{storylink|Rules of Disengagement (issue)|Rules of Disengagement}} He would go on to become leader of the Wreckers in turn and still holds the record as their longest-serving member to present day. It was ''he'' who coined the phrase "Wreck and Rule!" while saving [[Xaaron]] at the [[Sonic Canyons]]. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2}} He left an impact on Springer at [[Sherma Bridge]], when he took control of a flaming Decepticon shuttle pod by disposing of its headless pilot, landing it safely. The incident would inspire Springer to sign up for the Wreckers reservists. {{storylink|Zero Point}} In a minor incident at the Vosian Citadel, Impactor also unknowingly inspired [[Ironfist (G1)|Ironfist]] to become a major Wreckers fanboy and hagiographer. {{storylink|Bullets}}

Much later, Impactor personally approached Springer at [[Toxic Sludge Swamps]] to recruit him into the 17th line-up of the Wreckers. With his entrance, he took down eight hidden Decepticons. Springer was impressed but didn't realise at the time that it was all a scripted part of the Wreckers mythology and that Impactor never gave him a choice. {{storylink|Dead Men's Boots}} Impactor took Springer under his wing, and the two shared a close bond not much unlike brothers. He even nicknamed Springer "my little green circuit booster" after the effect he had on him with his speeches. But during Impactor's leadership as the war got dirtier and dirtier, so did the Wreckers. His Wreckers were barely Autobots at that point—they would abuse prisoners, cause unnecessary pain unto their enemies and kill Decepticons even when not needed.

When Megatron responded with [[Squadron X]], that sent Impactor into a single-minded rage. As any Autobot would, he hated Squadron X but for him it was personal as he saw an echo of the Wreckers in the team. Impactor then proceeded to chase the enemy team across nine star systems, ignoring significant war events such as the [[Black Epoch]], the [[Simanzi Massacre]], and the [[Crucible]], and the "Rise of the [[Dethroner]]". {{storylink|Zero Point}}

[[File:Gloaming-battle-for-hells-point.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4]]
He was among the Autobots fighting atop a Decepticon warcruiser during the [[Battle for Hell's Point]], {{storylink|The Gloaming}} where he picked up the nickname "Kiloton" for the number of Decepticons he slaughtered during the battle. Over time, his mental state became increasingly unstable, something both his superiors and his fellow Wreckers chose to ignore. Impactor was inspired to replace his hand with a harpoon weapon after a run-in with a dimension-hopping "[[Death's Head (G1)|freelance peacekeeping agent]]". After a long string of suicide missions, Impactor became an alarmingly obsessed individual, especially regarding Squadron X, the team Megatron assembled in answer to the Wreckers. Impactor felt indirectly responsible for the atrocities Squadron X committed. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|Impactor's psych-screening}}

As described in Ironfist's [[Wreckers: Declassified|''The Wreckers' Air Attack'']], Impactor met his old friend Megatron at the [[Manganese Mountains]] where they fought on a drilling platform. Eventually, Impactor lost his hand, chin, and had Megatron's fusion cannon pressed to his head. Before giving the killing blow, Megatron gave a poetic speech of Impactor's coming death. Even with no power to lift his harpoon, Impactor replied by scratching the words "NOT MORE POETRY" on the platform, and gave Megatron pause. (That moment, at least, appears to be entirely factual as Fisitron is unaware of why these "random" words affected Megatron) At that window of opportunity, Springer used a sky sled to knock Megatron down, sending him to fall thousands of feet into the Mountains.

After gathering his mouth, Impactor proceeded to inform Springer what they'd have to do in four minutes: save Xaaron, rescue [[Sandstorm (G1)|Sandstorm]] from his antimatter duplicate, deactivate [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]]'s necrocannon and stop the platform they were on from crashing into a nucleon reactor. Springer was unsure if they could manage all that in the given time so Impactor told him that they actually had two minutes, but assured him that he had a plan. Years later, [[Roadbuster (G1)|Roadbuster]] would consider this account full of embellishments and fabrications, but the essence was true.{{storylink|Zero Point}}

[[File:LastStandoftheWreckers5-squadronexxed.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|They were like that when I got here!]]
After chasing Squadron X across the galaxy, the Wreckers' rivalry with them came to an end on the planet [[Pova]]. The Wreckers, however, found themselves in a bad way after Impactor's first officer, Springer, was trapped under some collapsed rubble. Despite Springer's pleas, Impactor used Springer's own body as a shield against Squadron X's advancing troops, firing through it. This helped turn the tide, and the Wreckers rounded up all of Squadron X for transport offworld. Unfortunately, Impactor snapped when Prowl told him that Pova was neutral territory, and that he was ordered to set them free or else the Autobots would face diplomatic repercussions. Impactor personally executed every member of Squadron X while they were restrained. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|Last Stand of the Wreckers #5}}

When the Wreckers were on their way back from Pova, they stopped at [[G'th Semane]]. Springer made a call to [[Autobot High Command]], and gave Impactor in. The mech he was talking to had been waiting for the opportunity to arrest Impactor for hundreds of years. Impactor detached his harpoon, passive, much to Springer's surprise. {{storylink|Zero Point}}

Springer testified against Impactor, and the disgraced Wreckers leader was imprisoned on [[Garrus-9]]. A cover story for what happened on Pova was released which involved Springer suggesting Impactor fire through his torso and Squadron X later escaping their restraints, necessitating their execution. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 4}} As extra punishment for refusing to show remorse for what he'd done, Impactor was not granted the mercy of spark removal, and instead was imprisoned normally. In jail, they called him "the Autobot that went ''too far''". {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2|Last Stand of the Wreckers #2}} As Impactor was dragged to his cell, Springer said something he didn't want to hear, something he would dwell upon for the length of his incarceration: Squadron X deserved to die, but that didn't give Impactor the right to kill them. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|Last Stand of the Wreckers #5}}

[[File:LastStandoftheWreckers1-Impactor post boom.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|Give him a hand, folks!]]
Twenty years later, [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] seized control of G-9, and Springer's Wreckers were sent to liberate it. Springer was trying hard not to think of Impactor. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 1|Last Stand of the Wreckers #1}} However, the Decepticon [[Snare]], wanting Overlord gone, released Impactor from his cell in the hope he could escape the planet and get help. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2|Last Stand of the Wreckers #2}} As the current-day Wreckers arrived at Garrus-9, a decrepit Decepticon dropship blocked their path. It exploded before their eyes, but not before the battered form of Impactor ejected from the craft. Appearing before the shocked Wreckers, Impactor sneered, requesting to be let aboard. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 1|Last Stand of the Wreckers #1}}

He filled the new Wreckers in on the situation and how he'd escaped, while continuing to clash with Springer. He not only refused to recognize his former soldier was now in charge, he snarled that he used to think Springer would've done the same thing Impactor himself did on Pova...and was now sickened that Springer ''wouldn't''. Conflict aside, Springer knew Impactor was needed for the mission. Given a new harpoon/hand, he was placed in Springer's drop-team and deployed to G-9...and he recognized, with visible glumness, the name of their secondary objective, "[[Aequitas]]".

Descending towards G-9 in two ejected escape pods, they met with tough Decepticon resistance. Despite their maneuvering, Impactor's ship was the first to go down, though the other wasn't far behind. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2|Last Stand of the Wreckers #2}} After their crash-landing, Impactor led them towards where the Autobot prisoners were being held. Cell Block G was directly below him, best he recalled, but [[Twin Twist]]'s drilling only sent them tumbling into a large, empty chamber. At the bottom, Impactor found the twisted remains of [[Kick-Off (G1)|Kick-Off]], whom he regarded as one of the few guards who treated G-9's prisoners with respect. Their presence in this chamber signaled G-9's defenses, and after he, Springer, and Twin Twist were electrocuted, they woke up strapped to tables in the care of [[Stalker (G1)|Stalker]]. A sadist, Stalker grabbed his tools of torture and gleefully went to work on them. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 3|Last Stand of the Wreckers #3}}

[[File:LastStandoftheWreckers4-fivewords.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.66|He makes that same face when he doesn't want to eat his peas.]]
Unlike Springer and Twin Twist, Impactor had grown used to the Decepticons' methods in the time since their takeover of G-9, so he alone managed to stay online during Stalker's "work". Twin Twist was looking terrible and mangled, and Springer had just woken up when he and Impactor began talking about their murky past. Impactor accused Springer of betraying the Wreckers with the testimony against him, while Springer was surprised to learn that Impactor still had no remorse for what he'd done. So long as Impactor refused to realize that he'd done wrong, their feelings were at an impasse.

Stalker returned with a [[endoscopic claw|new torture device]] but his work on Twin Twist was interrupted when his brother Topspin sacrificed his own life elsewhere, extinguishing both sparks. Disappointed, Stalker turned his attentions to Impactor, but was again interrupted. [[Kup (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Kup]], [[Guzzle (G1)|Guzzle]], and the turncoat Decepticon Snare blasted into Stalker's lair. Snare was mortally wounded in the following skirmish, and Stalker was killed. As Snare lay dying, Impactor questioned him, wondering why the Decepticon had saved them. Snare told them that Overlord was on his way and asked that he himself be killed, which Impactor did curtly before Snare could finish his final words.

True to Snare's last warning, Overlord arrived with a boom. Unknown to them, elsewhere, the other half of the Wreckers had completed their objective by hacking the supercomputer judge Aequitas and downloading it into Ironfist's brain. They were surrounded by Decepticons whom they could easily deal with if they simply signaled all the deterrence chips in their heads, killing them. But they knew this would also kill Impactor, who was also an ex-prisoner, and so his and their fate came to a vote. Perceptor voted for killing him for the sake of many, Pyro voted against, and...Ironfist, Impactor's greatest fanboy and new host to Aequitas's judgment of Impactor, came to the sad realization that his hero very much deserved to die. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 4|Last Stand of the Wreckers #4}}

[[File:LastStandoftheWreckers5-finishhimoff.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Surprise! He's a tank. Surprise! He's gonna kick your ass.]]
Fortunately for Impactor (and the Wreckers), [[Verity Carlo]] convinced the others to spare Impactor. After Overlord pulled Guzzle apart and used the pieces to put Kup down, Impactor removed Overlord's eye with his harpoon. In response, Overlord stomped Impactor into the ground, forcing him offline.

When Impactor came to, Overlord had been reduced to a flaming skeleton facing only the fragile Verity Carlo. Impactor blasted Overlord's arm off and attacked him, but Overlord had lost the will to fight, as he'd learned that Megatron had perished, robbing Overlord of his final showdown with him. Overlord beckoned Impactor to kill him, but Impactor refused. In honor of Springer, whom Impactor thought had died, the former Wreckers commander promised that Overlord would serve trial as a criminal, and himself finally came to terms with the crimes he committed on Pova.

Impactor was pardoned in exchange for his help retaking Garrus-9, and he immediately left for parts unknown on a shuttle with the repaired Guzzle. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|Last Stand of the Wreckers #5}}

Things didn't go well for the new pair: Guzzle became increasingly violent and obsessed with racking up a bodycount, something that struck Impactor too close to home, and which got him captured in a rescue mission against Decepticon Harvesters. The fact Impactor cared about Guzzle and the alien hostages enough to rescue them was a sign that he was improving... but when the hostages were killed, Impactor allowed himself to succumb to bloodlust once more, realising to his horror that he could not escape it. {{storylink|Escape (G1)|Escape}} Eventually, Impactor balked and had Guzzle imprisoned at Debris for butchering prisoners, something that a raging Guzzle felt was hypocritical. All Impactor could now do was wile away his days with Roadbuster, lamenting the state of the Wreckers and their lack of purpose. Roadbuster comforted Impactor by pointing out he ''didn't'' join the killing and was trying to care for a comrade. Such caring was a point of contention between the two as Impactor felt it was wrong for his teammate to keep Springer alive, after years of no mental activity, and tried to drag Debris administrator [[Hubcap (G1)|Hubcap]] into the debate.

Shortly after, Springer did in fact regain consciousness: just in time for the Wreckers to be gathered once again to try and rescue a captured Prowl. {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 1|Sins of the Wreckers #1}}

On Earth, Impactor and the Wreckers found Prowl's old collaborator [[Arcee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Arcee]] hunting for him, after he went missing en route to Verity Carlo and her copy of the [[Aequitas]] [[data slug]], a gift from Ironfist. When a "[[Stampy|rabbit]]" stole the data slug, Impactor and Guzzle took off after the creature, but soon encountered several [[Chimeracon]]s, robots in disguise as Earth creatures. A massive Chimeracon name [[Tidal Wave (G1)|Tidal Wave]] appeared, and the Wreckers surmised that Prowl was being held inside him. While Springer led a squad into the 'bot, Impactor Kup and Guzzle remained outside to draw fire and divert their other attackers. {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 2|Sins of the Wreckers #2}}

The three fought Tidal Wave, stuck mid-transformation, and several other Chimeracons until Tidal Wave was ordered to retreat. Impactor was going to follow, but Kup told him of the mind-link Prowl had installed in him, eliciting an angry response from Impactor. Kup forwarded the message Prowl sent, and upon hearing of [[Noisemaze]], Impactor immediately knew who they were dealing with. Without wasting any time, he told Kup they must return to Debris.

Now back on the ship and with Guzzle asleep, Impactor began to dig his own grave, literally, while briefing Kup on what they were up against. While unnerved by ''how'' Impactor knew such details of Noisemaze, he and Impactor managed to hatch a plan. When done with digging, Impactor's grave revealed a gate to the Noisemaze. {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 3|Sins of the Wreckers #3}}

[[File:sotw4 undeserved.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|]]

{{charstubfiction| {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 4|Sins of the Wreckers #4}} {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 5|Sins of the Wreckers #5}} {{storylink|Last Light}}}}

When Kup was equipped with a rocket pack for travel to the [[Moon (moon)|Moon]], he stated in elation, "If only Impactor and the guys could see me now!" {{storylink|Enter the Shadow}}

===''Wings Universe''===
Impactor led the Wreckers during their campaign against Squadron X on [[Frellus IV]]. There, he willingly sacrificed members of the [[Hasmata]] in order to flee from Squadron X’s siege. Impactor and the Wreckers then stole Squadron X’s ship to escape the planet. {{storylink|Tornado - Decepticon Saboteur|Tornado - Decepticon Saboteur, 2014/05/15}}

===''Cloud''===
{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|TFC-A04}}}}

===''Of Masters and Mayhem''===
[[File:TheTruthWeMake ImpactorCounterpunch.jpg|thumb|right|250px|]]
Impactor was the leader of the Wreckers, with missions such as [[Operation: Volcano]], the Battle of [[Hell's Point]], and the [[Garrus-9|Garrus 9]] Incursion being the stuff of legend among Autobots and Decepticons alike. The story of Impactor and his Wreckers was cut short, however, when [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] was left ravaged by [[Decepticon]] [[combiner]] [[Thunder Mayhem]]. Vowing revenge, Impactor set out across the planet to build a new team with which to destroy the apocalyptic gestalt. {{storylink|Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club issue 68|Impactor's profile in Club magazine #68}}

His first recruit was the spy [[Punch (G1)|Punch]], who Impactor found critically injured in the ruins of an Autobot outpost on [[Gargoid]] {{storylink|The Truth We Make}} and then took to [[Paradron]] for medical care. Impactor was initially outraged that [[Lifeline (G1)|Lifeline]] could only save one of Punch's robot forms, but after storming out, he had second thoughts. {{storylink|Insight}} It was also on Paradron that Impactor installed some medical equipment with lethal capabilities into himself. {{storylink|Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club issue 68|Impactor's profile in Club magazine #68}}

After the spy awoke, he gave Impactor the shocking news that Punch had been the fiction and Counterpunch the true identity all along. The Wrecker leader was angry at this long-term deception, but put this aside to make Counterpunch an offer: join him the Wreckers and stop the monster that destroyed Cybertron. {{storylink|The Truth We Make}}

Impactor and Counterpunch subsequently followed a distress signal to [[Chicxulania|a mysterious planet]] where they found found a small group of Cybertronians who had taken on bestial [[alternate mode]]s. After donating a universal translator from Paradron to help the "[[Raptoricon]]s" clear up their relations with the planet's local lifeforms, Impactor recruited their newest associate, [[Decepticon]] geochemist [[Fractyl]], to the Wreckers. {{storylink|Life Finds a Way}}

{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|The Toxic Transformer}} {{storylink|Foundation and Wreckage Part 1: Deadly Aim|Deadly Aim}} {{storylink|Lively Pursuit}}}}

==Games==
===''Transformers Legends''===
Impactor was the leader of the fearless Wreckers squad which liberated Garrus-9 from the grip of [[Dreadwind (G1)|Dreadwind]] and the [[Air Strike Patrol]], though they destroyed most of the facility in the process. {{storylink|The Wreckers}}

==Toys==
===Generations===
[[Image:Generationstoy-Impactor.JPG|thumb|right|300px|You always were a wily old GIANT HEAD INSIDE MY CHEST.]]
*'''Impactor''' (Deluxe, 2013)
**''Series / Number'': '''01 / #014'''
**'''PART 1 OF 5!'''
**''Accessories'': Dual cannon, harpoon launcher, harpoon [[missile]]

: Part of the fourth wave of 2012-onwards ''[[Transformers: Generations|Generations]]'' Deluxe Class toys, ''Fall of Cybertron'' Impactor is an orange and purple [[redeco]] and [[retool]] of ''Fall of Cybertron'' [[Onslaught (WFC)#Generations|Onslaught]], with a new robot head sculpt based on [[Nick Roche]]'s rendition of Impactor in [[IDW Publishing|IDW]]'s ''[[The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers|Last Stand of the Wreckers]]'', and a new combiner head based on [[Xaaron|Emirate Xaaron]]. He transforms into a [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertronian]] "missile carrier" truck.

:Impactor comes with a twin-barreled cannon that can be attached to two small pegs on top of the vehicle mode, completing his "missile carrier" mode, and a brand new spring-loaded missile launcher accessory (with the missile shaped to resemble a harpoon) that can be attached on top of the twin-barreled cannon. Both weapons can be held via [[5mm post]], and feature additional pegs and peg-holes for mounting/storage.

:In addition to his robot and vehicle modes, Impactor can also combine with his fellow Wreckers into Ruination, serving as the gestalt torso. The twin-barreled cannon can either be combined with the other Wreckers' weapons into a huge "phase cannon" for Ruination to wield, or the twin-barreled cannon can be attached to Ruination's back. As the result of a [[design flaw]], two small tabs that are used to attach the cannon more securely are very prone to showing stress marks, and eventually breaking.

:In addition to a [[tampograph]]ed orange regular Autobot [[insignia]] on his lower chest, Impactor also sports a tampographed light blue version of the "Wreckers" insignia from [[3H Productions|3H]]'s [[Transformers: Universe (comic)|''Wreckers'' and ''Universe'' comics]]. Oddly, even though both the official Hasbro [[stock photography|stock photos]] that depict a hand-painted [[prototype]] (which are also featured on the back of the [[packaging]]) and the ones that depict a (pre)-production sample show the Wreckers insignia, at least one specimen from Asia sports a light blue regular Autobot insignia instead.<ref name="taiwan">[http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-toy-discussion/929782-generations-foc-wreckers-ruination-pics.html TFW2005 thread] with a Taiwan-based fan's photos of the Wreckers, depicting Impactor with a light blue regular Autobot insignia</ref>, thus matching the one on display at [[Toy Fair 2013]].<ref name="toyfair2013">[http://www.tfu.info/HasbroFanMediaEvent/2013/Generations/index.htm Hasbro Fan Media Event 2013] at TFU.info.</ref>

:The original version of this mold was also used to make ''[[Transformers: Generation 2 (toyline)|Generation 2]]'' [[Onslaught (G1)#G2BoxSet|Onslaught]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2013/Autobot/FOCImpactor/impactor.htm More information on Impactor on TFU.info]''

{{anchor|TFSS}}
[[File:CombinerWarstoy-Impactor.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|Now I finally have a toy; maybe people will stop buying up those third-party Wreckers, right? ...right?]]
*'''Impactor''' (Deluxe Class, [[2016]])
**''Accessories'': Clamp weapon, combiner hand/foot, assorted hand attachments

:Part of the [[Transformers Figure Subscription Service#Series 4.0 (2016)|Figure Subscription Service 4.0]], Impactor is a [[retool]] of ''[[Combiner Wars (toyline)|Combiner Wars]]'' [[Rook (Generations)#Generations|Rook]] with a new head. He transforms into an armored personnel carrier, and can also form an arm or leg for any compatible ''Combiner Wars'' and ''Unite Warriors'' Voyager figure. One of his hands is unpainted purple so as to replicate the character's traditional one-handed appearance. He includes the mold's [[5mm post|5mm]] clamp weapon, along with redecos of ''[[Transformers: Generations|Generations]]'' [[Arcee (G1)/toys#Generations|Arcee]]'s four accessories. Of those, the swords are intended to be used to recreate Impactor's traditional harpoon-hand, whilst the larger pistol is decoed to resemble his shoulder cannon.

:The original version of this mold was [[redeco]]ed into ''[[Transformers Unite Warriors|Unite Warriors]]'' [[Roller (G1)#Toys|Wandering Roller]], slightly retooled into [[BotCon 2016]] [[Tarantulas (BW)#Combiner Wars|Predacon Tarantulas]], and heavily retooled into ''Combiner Wars'' [[Swindle (G1)#CombinerWars|Swindle]] and [[Hound (G1)/toys#CombinerWars|Hound]], and ''even further'' retooled into [[Nosecone (G1)#Unite Warriors 2|''Unite Warriors'' Nosecone]]. Additionally, this mold also served as the basis of the non-toy ''[[Transformers: Shattered Glass (franchise)|Shattered Glass]]'' version of [[Brawn (SG)|X-Brawn]].
{{CWRookMold}}

{{-}}

==Notes==
*According to [[Dreadwind (G1)|Dreadwind]] in [[Survivors!|issue #221]]'s [[Letters page (Marvel UK)|letters page]], Impactor transformed into an "earth-boring vehicle". In the letter page to [[Survival Run|issue #238]], Dreadwind clarified that he transformed into a drill tank but didn't have an earth mode. Later, in ''[[The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers|Last Stand of the Wreckers]],'' he transformed into a non-drill tank. Later still, but [[Chaos Theory Part 1|earlier in IDW's timeline]], he gained a drill replacement for his hand.
*In the Marvel comics, Impactor's right hand can be interchanged for a harpoon. This emulates the wrist-launcher gimmick found in many ''[[Diaclone]]''-based toys. He is frequently seen carrying a club which looks an awful lot like a gun barrel, and which may be a gun attachment for his right arm; but being Impactor, he only ever uses it to smack guys around.
*Impactor was the one Wrecker in ''Last Stand'' who was ''never'' going to die! <ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9DPbginVXE Moonbase 2's AA2010 interview], 21:22</ref>
*"[[Remain in Light 3 of 5: The Divided Self|The Divided Self]]" revealed that all the Aequitas defendants were [[Reproduction#IDW Generation 1 continuity|"constructed cold"]]: their sparks taken from the Matrix itself and slapped into a body. That same issue also said Impactor was a [[Point One Percenter]], i.e. ''not'' constructed cold, causing some confusion until James Roberts confirmed that was a mistake.<ref name="moonbase2">[http://www.fullmetalhero.com/t14540/ moonbase2 interview with James Roberts]</ref> The trade paperback snips Impactor's name from the Point One line.
*In IDW's Generation 1 continuity, Impactor was once a friend of Megatron, and later gains the nickname Kiloton. In reference to this, [[Ask Vector Prime]] christened [[Kiloton|Megatron's unnamed friend]] from the ''Generation 2'' manga "Kiloton."

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://transfans.co.uk/comics_guide_detail.php?id=257&page=13 Transformers #221 Letters Page on Transfans.co.uk]
*[http://transfans.co.uk/comics_guide_detail.php?id=291&page=14 Transformers #238 Letters Page on Transfans.co.uk]

[[Category:Cloud Autobots]]
[[Category:Combiners]]
[[Category:European-original Transformers]]
[[Category:IDW Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Marvel Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Timelines characters]]
[[Category:Wings Universe Autobots]]
[[Category:Wreckers]]
[[Category:Zombies]]

Debris

2017-03-27T14:03:07Z

Egg: /* IDW Generation 1 continuity */ Added Hubcap info

:''Debris is the [[Wrecker]]s' base from the [[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[File:RG1-LooseEnds1-DebrisBarracks.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4]]
'''Debris''' is the secret base used by the [[Wrecker]]s when they are not hanging out with the other [[Autobot]]s in any of the [[Autobase|regular bases]].

==Fiction==
===Marvel ''The Transformers'' comics===
{{noteukexclusive|Debris}}
Debris was located on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. When the Autobot [[Triple Changer]]s were done posing as [[Decepticon]]s and beating up [[Impactor (G1)|Impactor]], they left for Debris. [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] told Impactor they would see him there later, leaving the latter confused as, outside of the Wreckers, no one knew about Debris. [[Xaaron|Except...]] {{storylink|Target: 2006}}

===IDW Generation 1 continuity===
''Debris'' was an old, crumbling space station used as a containment facility before it became the Wreckers' headquarters. It was equipped with advanced security systems and medical equipment, and the bodies of deceased Wreckers were interred there in the [[Zone of Remembrance]]. {{storylink|Zero Point}} When [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] was picking out new Wreckers for [[Operation: Retrieval]], ''Debris'' was in orbit around [[Klo]]. {{storylink|Bullets}} Following the loss of most Wreckers in said operation, it was moved to [[Hydrus 5]] and was crewed by [[Roadbuster (G1)|Roadbuster]] and [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]] as they watched over a comatose Springer, until Whirl's attempt to euthanise his leader led to Roadbuster kicking him out of both the station and the Wreckers, {{storylink|Interiors}} leaving Roadbuster alone there to read [[Ironfist (G1)|Fisitron]]'s [[Wreckers: Declassified|datalogs]] aloud in the hope they would jar Springer's "zero point" and allow his [[spark]] to recover. {{storylink|Zero Point}}
Some time after the war ended, [[Hubcap (G1)|Hubcap]] became an administrator on Debris, accompanying Impactor, Roadbuster, and comatose Springer for a while. {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 1}} Ultimately working for [[Tarantulas (BW)|Tarantulas]], Hubcap would continue digging for dirt on Prowl right from the Wreckers' base. {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 4}}

===''Regeneration One''===
{{noterg1}}
Debris Barracks were located in the [[Iacon (polity)|Iaconian]] border regions, and contained a [[Strategy-Tank]], a [[solid light simulation]] room where [[Kup (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Kup]] was seen taking on holograms of [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]], [[Galvatron II|Galvatron]], and [[Megatron (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Megatron]] until Springer interrupted.

Later, Kup announced to the assembled Wreckers there that he intended to go AWOL to deal with the "loose ends" of the Transformers' war on [[Earth]], [[Nebulos]], and elsewhere, and was shocked when every single one of them chose to join him. {{storylink|Loose Ends, Part 1}}

[[Category:Autobot bases on Cybertron]]
[[Category:IDW Generation 1 locations]]
[[Category:Marvel Generation 1 locations]]
[[Category:Regeneration One locations]]
[[Category:Space stations]]

New Cybertron Part 5: Future Glories Lost

2017-03-23T16:55:58Z

Egg: /* Continuity notes */ Rewrote and added a bit of notes on Arcee. I think the previous assumptions were a bit incorrect regarding Arcee's willingness to be experimented on.

{{Comicstory
|series=op|issueno=5
|prev=New Cybertron Part 4: Dance Among the Shadows
|next=New Cybertron Part 6
|caption=
|image=OP5 regcvr.jpg
|title="New Cybertron Part 5: Future Glories Lost"
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[March 22]], 2017
|coverdate=March 2017
|written by=[[John Barber]]
|art by=[[Kei Zama]]
|colors by=[[Josh Burcham]]
|letters by=[[Tom B. Long]]
|editor=[[Carlos Guzman]]
|continuity=[[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline|Current era]]
}}

'''As Optimus Prime leads the counter-attack against the Junkions, Soundwave employs a subtler form of combat to turn the tide of the battle.'''

==Synopsis==
In [[Mexico City]], [[Jazz (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Jazz]] continues to shadow the human woman he recently encountered, still hoping that he can open up lines of communication for their mutual benefit. She remains uninterested; even his presence is making her a target, she argues, as she has begun to suffer online harassment over her apparent association with him. Jazz is forced to concede that she may have a point when, suddenly, the sky rips open and [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticons]] begin spilling through the portal and into the city, eating everything in sight!

Above the [[Matterhorn]], the [[Junkion (species)|Junkions]] plunge the pointed tip of their [[Quintesson Cruiser|corkscrew spaceship]] straight into [[Metrotitan (Zone)|Metrotitan]], causing chaos down on the [[Titan (IDW)|Titan]]'s deck. While [[Aileron]] and [[Jetfire (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Jetfire]] evacuate the visiting human delegates and [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] transports the comatose [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] to safety, [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Optimus Prime]] awes his colonist followers by calling upon Metrotitan to partially transform and seize the Junkion ship to prevent it from escaping. With the ship held firmly in place, Prime orders the Autobots to begin an all-out counter-attack against the Junkions. [[Pyra Magna]] expresses some discontent in the violent, ruthless order, but nevertheless orders the [[Torchbearer]]s to combine into [[Victorion]] to take part in the fight.

''Four million years ago, Orion Pax and [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]] fit Jetfire with a "wire" that will record his impending meeting with Decepticon gun-runners [[Horri-Bull]] and [[Needlenose (G1)|Needlenose]]. Though the operation has the potential to mark him as the hero who separated true Decepticon ideology from terrorist violence, Jetfire is hardly ebullient, wishing that he could just have his normal life back. Worse still, when he finally meets with Needlenose and his cohorts, he discovers that the weapons they are selling were provided by [[Soundwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Soundwave]] himself, which means his claims that he was unconnected to the gunrunners were lies.''

Flung from the Junkion ship just before the beginning of the battle, the badly-wounded [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] is safely recovered by Soundwave and undergoes treatment at the hands of [[Sanjay Bharwaney|Hi-Tech]] at the [[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]] encampment on the Matterhorn. As Cosmos weakly recounts the sight of the cramped pen that held the Sharkticons aboard the Junkion ship, Soundwave has a realization: the Sharkticons are the Junkons' ''servants'', and Soundwave knows ''exactly'' how to rile up an underclass. Flying up into the midst of the Sharkticon swarm, Soundwave addresses the creatures and quotes from one of [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]]'s old pre-war texts, urging them to understand that they are oppressed, and have the power to cast off their own shackles.

''Soundwave meets with [[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]] to discuss the plan the latter has brewing. Soundwave is concerned that the scheme will result in the death of loyal Decepticons, but Starscream is perfectly willing to carry out such a sacrifice; yet another reason for Soundwave to doubt the tactics the Decepticons are employing in the name of their beliefs. Whatever doubts Soundwave may have, however, are far eclipsed by Orion Pax's fury at learning the Decepticon communicator lied to him. Prowl is unsurprised and tries to calm the angry Orion, but this act of dishonesty seems to the last straw for Cybertron's "hero cop"—his sympathy for the Decepticons has evaporated, and he is out to bring them all in, regardless of consequences.''

As the battle between the Autobots and Junkions continues to rage, [[Oiler]] meets his end when his head is cut in half by a Junkion's sword. Seeing her brother's death sends [[Slide]] into a fit of rage, and she unleashes a barrage of firepower that annihilates the Junkion. The escalation of the conflict leads the Junkions to realize that the Cybertronians are more dangerous than they had expected, and [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] decides to sneak away, his heart never having truly been in the fight in the first place. As he tries to slip into the shadows, though, he is confronted by [[Arcee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Arcee]], who demands that he take her to the [[positron core]] that he previously offered the Autobots so she can use it to repair Sideswipe. The babbling Wreck-Gar insists that he ''can't''... but only because, as he reveals a moment later, he doesn't have to ''take'' her anywhere, since he's got it on his person already.

Back in Mexico City, Jazz tries to hold off the Sharkticons, while the woman angrily laments that situations like this are proof that her employer is wrong, and that the Autobots don't need another platform to spread their message. Jazz is intrigued to find out what she does for a living, but notes he'll have to wait until after the fight before they can talk about it... at which point, the Sharkticons all stop attacking. Soundwave's speech has worked, and as one, the Sharkticons all turn on the Junkions!

==Featured characters==
Characters in ''italic text'' appear only in flashbacks. 
{{Featuredcharacters
|c1=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Jazz (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Jazz]] (2)
*[[Metrotitan (Zone)|Metrotitan]] (4)
*[[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] (5)
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Optimus Prime/''Orion Pax'']] (6)
*[[Pyra Magna]] (7)
*[[Aileron]] (8)
*[[Jetfire (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Jetfire]] (10)
*[[Arcee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Arcee]] (16)
*[[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] (17)
*[[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] (18)
*[[Skyburst (G1)|Skyburst]] (20)
*[[Stormclash]] (21)
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Midnight Express (RID)|Midnight Express]] (22)
*[[Roulette (Universe)|Roulette]] (23)
*[[Rust Dust]] (24)
*[[Bump]] (25)
*[[Slide]] (26)
*[[Oiler]] (27)
*[[Dust Up]] (28)
*[[Jumpstream]] (29)
*[[Gimlet]] (30)
*''[[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]]'' (31)
*[[Victorion]] (35)
{{!}}}
|c2=
*[[Soundwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Soundwave]] (13)
*''[[Horri-Bull]]'' (32)
*''[[Needlenose (G1)|Needlenose]]'' (33)
*''[[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]] (38)

|h3=[[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]]|c3=
*[[Zilong Qian|Talon]] (14)
*[[Spike Witwicky (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Spike]] (15)
*[[Mainframe (G.I. Joe)|Mainframe]] (36)
*[[Sanjay Bharwaney|Hi-Tech]] (37)

|c4=
*Conspicuously Unnamed Mexican Woman (1)
*[[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticons]] (3)
*[[President of the United States]] (9)
*[[Rum-Maj]] (11)
*[[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] (12)
*[[D.0.C.]] (19)
*Various [[Junkion (species)|Junkions]] (34)
}}

==Quotes==
'''Cosmos: Disagreed With Something That Ate Him.'''
:—Cosmos's post-Sharkticon-encounter ID caption

"Protect the humans at all cost! '''That's''' why we came here!" 
"Ah, the '''decisive orders''' one would expect from the '''killer of Galvatron.'''"
:—'''Optimus''' is trying, '''Pyra Magna''', could you just... could you just ''not'', for once?

"My daddy used to say, 'you never go wrong with killing the robots.'"
:—'''Spike''', could ''you'' also not, thanks?

"What, did you think you'd joined a '''book club?'''"
:—'''Needlenose''' reacts to Jetfire's surprise at the sight of weapons

"These Sharkticons '''serve''' the Junkions. They are an '''underclass.''' And fortunately for us, '''class warfare''' is my '''specialty.'''"
:—'''Soundwave'''

"Think this '''through''', Orion." 
"What '''is''' there to think through? We were '''wrong'''. The Decepticons '''are''' running guns." 
"We don't have any reason to think '''Hefter''' was involved." 
"Maybe he should have picked '''better friends.'''"
:—'''Prowl''' witnesses '''Orion Pax's''' turn to the dark side

"We pray to '''Primus''' or whoever... we ask for '''change.''' We think it matters what we '''want'''. But 'Primus' is just a '''thermodynamic reaction''' set in motion at the beginning of time. When we place our faith in '''others''', real or imaginary, we set ourselves up for that '''ultimate fall.''' Words can '''inspire'''... but where inspiration meets reality, '''desperation''' rules. '''Thermodynamics''' set in motion at the '''beginning of time''' can corrupt the '''noblest thoughts'''... until the final truth is revealed: '''only the strong survive.'''"
:—'''Arcee''' lays out her beliefs

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
*In her narration, Arcee reveals that she hails from the "[[Darklands]]," the region of ancient Cybertron that [[Earthfall Chapter 3: The Mind Bomb|''Robots in Disguise'' #30]] noted was the home of [[Galvatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Galvatron]]. That would suggest that Arcee (who it's easy to forget is ''super'' old) was a member of [[The Fallen|Megatronus]]'s tribe back during the era of the [[Thirteen|Primes]].
*Having being previously alluded to in [[All Hail Optimus Part 3: The Medium and the Message|''The Transformers'' #52]] and [[Sins of the Wreckers issue 3|''Sins of the Wreckers'' #3]], Arcee again makes some veiled references to having been an ally of [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]] and the rest of Galvatron and [[Nova Prime]]'s group when they rebuilt Cybertronian society after the end of the first war. In the same breath, as in #52, the circumstances of Arcee's questionable "transition" are gently prodded again, as she notes that "even I was just a lie I told myself," and that she "truly became herself" much later. This can be interpreted in many ways, ''one'' being that she had been living as a gender she was uncomfortable with. Cybertron was all-male in the [[Golden Age]], after all. This in turn would mean that the surgery Jhiaxus subjected her to wasn't traumatic due to having her gender "changed", but because of him experimenting on, forcing his own ideas of "female" on her, and leaving her plagued by the same madness as his other subjects.
*Soundwave quotes from the unnamed work of Megatron's seen being composed in [[Births, Deaths, and Interventions|''More than Meets the Eye'' #34]].
*Orion's turning point in this issue shows how he went from the optimistic guy from earlier stories like "Chaos Theory" and "Shadowplay" to the jaded, skull-busting cop seen in ''[[The Transformers: Autocracy|Autocracy]]''.
*Arcee talks again about her friendship with [[Hardhead (G1)|Hardhead]] while they lived on [[Gorlam Prime]] together, between ''[[Revelation (IDW)|Revelation]]'' and ''[[The Transformers: Heart of Darkness|Heart of Darkness]]'', and Hardhead's death in [[No Exit: Dark Cybertron Chapter 6|''More than Meets the Eye'' #25]].

===Transformers references===
*As in their debut appearance in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'', the Sharkticons are "defeated" not through force, but by being convinced to turn against their masters. Soundwave accomplishes it with a little more finesse than [[Grimlock (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Grimlock]]'s roaring and foot-stomping.
*Rum-Maj swears by "the sacred voice of [[Weirrall]]," a reference to [["Weird Al" Yankovic]], who provided the Junkion song "[[Dare to Be Stupid]]" for the movie soundtrack, and voiced the [[Wreck-Gar (Animated)|''Animated'' incarnation of Wreck-Gar]].

===Real-life references===
*As with all chapters of "New Cybertron," this issue's subtitle is taken from the lyrics to the {{w|Covenant (band)|Covenant}} song, "Babel."
*"Junkionisms" used by Wreck-Gar this issue include:
**"Now what's what I call a counterattack, volume eleven!" — A reference to the multi-volume ''{{w|Now That's What I Call Music!}}'' album series. The "volume eleven" part might also be a reference to the movie ''{{w|This Is Spinal Tap}}'', and its famous speakers with volume knobs that "go up to eleven."
**"Tune in same Wreck-Time, same Wreck-Channel." — The famous closing narration of the 1966 {{w|Batman (TV series)|''Batman'' television series}}.
*The few Sharkticons that are shown transformed into robot mode have very similar proportions to and weapons like the then-currently available [[Gnaw#Generations|Gnaw]] toy, though none of them are identified as individuals.

===Covers (4)===
*'''Regular cover:''' Arcee lays into Wreck-Gar, by [[Kei Zama]] and [[Josh Burcham]]
*'''Subscription cover A:''' Optimus, Arcee, and Victorion watch as the Sharkticons descend, by [[Casey Coller]] and [[John-Paul Bove]]
*'''Subscription cover B:''' Buster watches a Sharkticon chow down on Michelangelo's ''David'', by [[Andrew Griffith]] and [[Josh Perez]]
*'''Retailer incentive cover:''' Optimus Prime by [[E. J. Su]]; connects to the Su cover of [[Dissolution Part 4: Bad Moon Rising|''Lost Light'' #4]] to form a complete image, which homages Su's connecting covers to [[Infiltration issue 5|''Infitration'' #5]] and [[Infiltration issue 6|6]].

<gallery>
File:OP5 regcvr.jpg|
File:OP5 subcvrA.jpg|
File:OP5 subcvrB.jpg|
File:OP5 cvrRI.jpg|
</gallery>

===Advertisements===
*''Optimus Prime'' #6
*"The Hasbro Tribune" editorial page promoting March's [[Hasbro Universe]] titles, including this issue, [[G.I. Joe vol. 5 issue 4|''G.I. Joe'' #4]], [[Dissolution Part 4: Bad Moon Rising|''Lost Light'' #4]], and ''Revolutionaries'' #4.
*''[[Transformers vs. G.I. Joe: The Movie Adaptation]]''
*''[[Transformers vs. G.I. Joe]]: The Quintessential Collection'' hardcover
*2017 ''Deviations'' one-shots

==External links==
*[http://www.cbr.com/optimus-prime-5-exclusive-preview/ Preview]

[[Category:Optimus Prime issues]]

Female Transformer

2017-03-19T22:07:39Z

Egg: Undo revision 1169052 by Jalaguy (talk) Lug lacks any female gender identifiers that Strongarm has, round thighs, slanted chest, lipstick, eyelashes. Many fans thought she was male first.

{{disambig2|female Transformers in general|the Autobot resistance group led by Elita One|Female Autobots}}

{{quote|Well, I remember bringing up that question early on with Hasbro, "are any of these female?" And then I think Hasbro's attitude was, 'this is a boy toy. We don't wanna have, you know, girl robots.' So, I said, "OK, just want to clarify that."|[[Bob Budiansky]]|[http://rustingcarcass.yuku.com/topic/954 Rusting Carcass interview]}}

[[File:MCA-Arcee.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|Arcee, the most famous female Transformer, poses for the boys. Way to set an example there.]]

Despite being robotic lifeforms with generally non-sexual methods of [[reproduction]], the [[Transformer]] species has almost always been shown to include both male and female gender analogues, at least mentally if not physically.

'''Female Transformers''' were originally depicted as an anomaly, specifically called out as either a thought-to-be-extinct subgroup or simply never existing in the first place. (Thanks, 1980s! Always so sensitive!) But over the course of decades, while they are still comparatively rare, they have increased greatly in numbers, prominence and overall fairness of representation, and are considered an official part of the [[Transformers brand|''Transformers'' brand]] in pretty much every continuity. Nowadays, female Transformers are basically considered a normal part of the Cybertronian population.

There's still a long way to go, since they ARE still pretty dang rare compared to the "guys" and as [[Mairghread Scott]] pointed out, this can inadvertently make any given female Transformer and their stories seem like a comment on real women.<ref>[http://mscottwrites.tumblr.com/post/71325530812/what-are-your-thoughts-on-the-idw-arcee-origin-that Shotgun Mermaid (Mairghread Scott's tumblr), December 27 2013]: specifically, arguing that IDW Arcee being driven insane by her gender change can imply the women-are-hysterical stereotype "because she is the ONLY women [sic]" in the story, being one of the few female Autobots in G1 at all.</ref> That's part of a ''way'' bigger argument for gender equality in entertainment and society at large that's a bit beyond this wiki's scope to fully explore.

A '''[[list of female Transformers]]''' from all continuities is available.

==Fandom and Terminology==
Almost assuredly as a consequence of their rarity in official fiction and toylines, female Transformers are popular in [[fan fiction]], where the term "'''femme'''" is often used to describe them, with "'''mech'''"<ref>While "femme" obviously is related to the French word for "woman", it's occasionally claimed that the use of "mech" as a name for male Transformers is derived from "mec", the French word for "guy" or "dude". This is probably more coincidence than anything, though.</ref> likewise being applied to "male" Transformers. Both terms have recently appeared in a piece of official fiction: [[Venus (magazine)|Venus]] magazine. This is the first instance "mech" has been used to specifically refer to a male Transformer, whereas the term has been used as a gender-neutral common noun for Transformers in various stories.

Alternative words to denote a female Transformer, all used about twice in canon, include: '''femme-bot''',<ref>"Just imagine all the colony worlds: naive small planetoid femme-bots, unsuspecting targets, Unguarded Energon Reserves..." -[[Buzzsaw (Cybertron)|Buzzsaw]], "[[Force of Habit]]" p4 ([[2008]])</ref> '''fembot''',<ref>[[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]] refers to [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]] as "Ya emasculatin' fembot!" after she cuts the tip from his tail/sword in "[[Nemesis Part 2]]", while ''[[Transformers Animated (cartoon)|Animated]]'' [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] wonders in "[[Endgame, Part II]]" what chance he has in flying combat against the [[Lugnut Supreme|Lugnuts Supreme]] if he "couldn't handle [[Slipstream (Animated)|Starscream's fembot clone]]" on [[Endgame, Part I|his test run]].</ref> '''girl-bot'''<ref>"When we take over Cybertron, I'm gonna have a whole harem of girl-bots! Blue ones, red ones..." - [[Overkill (G1)|Overkill]], "The Art of War issue 5"</ref> '''robot dame''',<ref>In [[This Is Why I Hate Machines]] Captain Fanzone refers to Arcee as a "robot dame in a room"</ref> and ''perhaps'' '''robotessa'''.<ref>In "[[Enter the Nightbird]]", "Robotessa" is the word missing from the line "Say good night to your [Robotessa], Megatron!"</ref>

==Appearance==
[[File:LegendsBusinessTrip11-heroladies.jpg|right|thumb|"Of course there's variety! Some of us aren't pink!"]]
[[File:BMStrika.jpg|left|upright=0.95|thumb|Our mechanics assure us this is a woman.]]
The appearance of female Transformers in most continuities would seem to suggest a level of "sexual" dimorphism is present in at least the more humanoid members of the Transformers species (the term sexual is used in a gender-based, rather than physical sense, see the reproduction link above for that whole kettle of robo-fish). In almost all cases female Transformers are portrayed as comparatively more graceful of form, and more rounded and curved in general, than their male counterparts. Often they have a more than passing resemblance to a slender human female made of metal and wearing armor and [[kibble]].

There are exceptions to this rule. Characters with toys could have been bulky and less overtly human-female-like, which was seen in the [[Unicron Trilogy]] series and some latter expansions of the [[The Transformers (franchise)|Generation 1]] series out of Japan, when the characters are often assigned to pre-existing "masculine" toys. Perhaps the best counter-example of this type is [[Strika (BM)|Strika]], who is female yet neither looks nor acts stereotypically feminine at all. This, however, has dropped away in more recent years as toy technology changes. Numerous female characters from the [[Aligned continuity family|Aligned]] and [[Movie (franchise)|Movie]] lines would turn into motorbikes, giving them thinner, daintier dimensions in robot mode. There are some exceptions, most notably the recently introduced [[Strongarm (RID)|Strongarm]] and her distinctly boxy shape.

The main real-world reason for all this can be seen from [[IDW Publishing]]'s plans to introduce more women in 2014. Plans were afoot to make two look less visually 'female' and more like "the default Cybertronian design" so readers wouldn't know they were female until their dialogue. That was dropped to make it more visually clear that ''these'' were the female characters.<ref>[http://womenwriteaboutcomics.com/2015/02/26/james-roberts-on-idws-transformers-more-that-meets-the-eye/ Women Write About Comics: "James Roberts on IDW’s Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye" 10:00 - 11:21]</ref> Humans are just conditioned to associate certain looks like certain genders. When the ''[[Transformers: Cybertron (cartoon)|Cybertron]]'' dubbers wanted to make a male character into a female one, it's probably not a surprise that they went with [[Override (Cybertron)|the (relatively) sleek racing car]].<ref>[http://www.camphortree.net/tf/tidbits/botcon2005.txt Steve-o Stonebraker's BotCon 2005 Notes, Version 2 at his Transformers site]</ref>

{{--}}

==Fiction==
===Generation 1===
====''The Transformers'' cartoon====
[[File:G1femmes.jpg|upright=2.5|thumb|A bunch of Female Autobots from the G1 toon and Alpha Trion. His pimp cane was removed in post-production.]]
Within this continuity, female Transformers are a rarity, but established to have been around from the species' start. A female named [[Beta (G1)|Beta]] existed back in the slave days under [[Quintesson]] rule, and thus it seems clear females were produced alongside the males as part of the Quintessons' product lines.

No females were explicitly shown to exist among the Decepticon ranks, although the introduction of [[Nightbird (G1)|Nightbird]] and implications of an eventual upgrade didn't raise any questions or remarks, suggesting that female Decepticons exist (or that the Decepticons royally don't care about a soldier's gender).

[[The Search for Alpha Trion|27 episodes after Nightbird's appearance]], female Transformers were introduced formally through the [[Female Autobots]]. [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] at various points expresses surprise they aren't extinct, which would seem to imply females were thought to be no longer part of the Cybertronian race. While at the time a decent (though certainly not perfect) explanation for the scarce appearances of female Transformers, it didn't stop more females from showing up in the movie and season 3. Possibly Shockwave's "statement" could be considered as [[retcon]]ned and overwritten, or one of the following explanations applies:
# They were all built/"discovered" after the events of "The Search for Alpha Trion".
# Shockwave constantly calls them Autobots, never Transformers or Cybertronians. It is possible female [[Neutral]]s' (and the aforementioned female [[Decepticon]]s') existence was never thought over... and that none of them changed allegiance any time recently.
# "Female Autobot" is not used as a description, but as the team's name.
# This is the Generation 1 cartoon. You're not watching it for the flawless storytelling.

Females can be seen here and there among the [[Junkion (species)|Junkion tribe]], mostly sharing [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]]'s model. [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] has a "[[Nancy|Junkion lady]]" companion according to "[[The Big Broadcast of 2006 (episode)|The Big Broadcast of 2006]]". Just how relationships function in this isolated, media-based Transformers society is unclear, although it's notable that Wreck-Gar and his lady friend "slept" sitting up next to each other on giant thrones between television broadcast cycles. The lady's character model is actually that of a female [[Lithone (species)|Lithone]], another mechanical race, but whether this is meaningful in any way or simple model recycling is uncertain.

In [[Misconceptions and urban legends about Transformers#European Generation 1 fiction|the French dub]] of ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'' (but not in the TV series), both [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] and [[Shrapnel (G1)|Shrapnel]] were referred to as female, with [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] calling Starscream "une imbecile" at one point (French articles are gendered), and Shrapnel referred to as "Mademoiselle". The reason for this gender-switch was never fully explained, though it is possible that Starscream's and Shrapnel's rather high-pitched voices were mistaken for women's voices.
{{-}}

====''Super-God Masterforce''====
[[File:Esmeral-manga.jpg|upright=0.85|thumb|This is an official Transformers character. No, really.]]
A female Transformer was created through the introduction of [[Minerva (Masterforce human)|Minerva]] to the ranks of the [[Headmaster Junior]]s. The [[transtector]] she was bonded to [[A Battle... and Then...|eventually]] evolved into a being of ''her'' own.

Meanwhile, the [[Godmaster (lifeform)|Godmaster]] [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] existed out of two humans before becoming sapient: husband [[Giga]] and wife [[Mega]]. Despite the double gender, Overlord is regarded a "he".

====''Victory''====
In the manga, [[Decepticon]] females make their first (yet still to this day very rare) appearance in official fiction as [[Esmeral (Victory)|Esmeral]] ([[Deathsaurus (Victory)|Deszaras]]'s wife) and [[Lyzack (Victory)|Lyzack]] ([[Leozack]]'s [[Relatives|sister]]). Both show up to show the Autobots just what it is Deszaras and his crew have been fighting for all this time: their poor families back home. This spares the Decepticons' lives in the final battle between the two forces. This certainly casts an odd light on the matter of Transformer [[reproduction]] (and on [[Masumi Kaneda|the manga author]]).

Meanwhile, in the animated series, the [[Micromaster]] [[Holi]] is shown to have a girlfriend on the planet [[Micro]], [[Clipper (Victory)|Clipper]].

====''Operation Combination''====
''[[Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers: Operation Combination (franchise)|Operation Combination]]'' introduced a total of 24 Micromasters, none of which got a [[bio]]. Ten years later, ''[[The Transformers: Micromaster|Micromaster]]'' did provide them, and the Micromasters [[Windy (OC)|Windy]] and [[Discharge]] were established as females.

====Marvel Comics continuity====
[[File:Nomates.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|And what will happen is like this.]]
No female ''Transformers'' are ever seen or referred to in the US stories. In "[[Recipe for Disaster!]]", [[Cloudburst]] is pressured into a relationship with the beautiful [[First One]] of [[Femax]], but he explains that Transformers, as a species, have no gender. The UK stories corroborate this and [[Simon Furman]], who wrote the bulk of Marvel's comics, had made it clear he didn't see why robots would have a gender.

The letters page for #53, where "Recipe" ran, further stated that Transformers have no gender and that they use gendered terms because they picked it up from us, and "most have characteristics that are commonly associated with males" while a rare number like [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] have traits we'd associate with women.<ref>"Transformers have no gender! Since the Transformers do not reproduce sexually, they have no need to be male or female. Most have characteristics that are commonly associated with males, so they are referred to as “he’s”. On a rare occasion, one might come across as female and is referred to as a “she”. Arcee fits into this latter category, but referring to themselves as “he’s” and “she’s” is a convention the Transformers probably picked up from hanging around Earthlings too long."</ref>

[[File:Arceeprimesrib.jpg|right|upright=1.3|thumb|You can't shoot Squeezeplay just because he's a bloke.]]

Furman didn't have that letters page and came up with an alternative explanation for Arcee, who'd appeared in UK's post-[[The Transformers: The Movie|film]] future stories. As detailed in "[[Prime's Rib!]]", she was intentionally created by the Autobots in 1995 to be the sole female Transformer in an attempt to placate [[human]] [[feminist mob|feminists]]. (See her picture above for a hint of how well that went over.)

In "[[Ladies' Night (issue)|Ladies' Night]]" and "Prime's Rib", the Autobots don't 'get' gender or humanity's gender relations and sterotypes. This lasted two minutes once Arcee was created: Optimus asked Arcee to hang back, she grumped about men, and Hot Rod went "phwoar!". In "Prime's Rib" this is played for laughs but in "[[Space Pirates!]]", Rodimus Prime can be ambushed by wanting to help Arcee first.

Despite the Transformers having 'no gender', the Marvel continuity was actually the first in introducing a female ''Cybertronian'': [[Aunty]], the onboard computer of the ''[[Ark (G1)|Ark]]'', who was introduced in [[The Transformers (issue)|the very first issue]]. "[[Raiders of the Last Ark]]" gave her a feminine holographic 'face'.

The [[Letters page (Marvel UK)|UK letter pages]] mentioned another two females: Decepticon Powermaster [[Clio]] and presumed Autobot [[Karmen]], who is Blaster's sister. Provided they are real and [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] didn't just make them up, they're unlikely to have been built ala Arcee (unless the 'Cons ''really'' care about gender representation) and could be taken as falling under that 'characteristics' approach. Or the 'Blaster' staffer didn't care.

Two continuations of Marvel would introduce female Trasformers. [[BotCon]]'s ''[[Transformers: Classics|Classics]]'' fiction, while not including the UK material, introduced [[Elita One]] in "[[Games of Deception]]", in a manner similar to UK Arcee; and in Furman's ''[[The Transformers: Regeneration One|Regeneration One]]'', [[Botanica (BM)|Botanica]] is the first of the second generation of Transformers.

{{-}}

====Dreamwave ''Generation One'' continuity====
According to DK's ''[[Transformers: The Ultimate Guide]]'' (written by Simon Furman), "Transformers are inherently non-gender specific, and only some quirk of their timelost origins can account for [female Transformers'] difference in appearance and attitude." [[Dreamwave Productions|Dreamwave]] was [[Unreleased Dreamwave issues|in the process]] of introducing more female Transformers and explicating their links to the Quintessons in this continuity when it went out of business.

====IDW Generation 1 continuity====
[[File:Spotlight Arcee b.jpg|left|upright=0.85|thumb|Information: you are ALL going to DIE.]]

{{quote|what do 'he' and 'she' pronouns connote in a TF context? Do they connote *exactly*the same things as they do in a human context? I don't know. It hasn't been properly explored yet. All that said, let's assume that a Transformer who adopts a particular personal pronoun is doing so for the same reasons that a human would.|James Roberts [http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1sj9u8i on TwitLonger]}}

IDW comics are aimed at older readers, so this is where it gets complicated.

Originally [[Simon Furman]] stated that he would not use female Transformers in the IDW continuity until he came up with a reason for them to exist that made logical sense to him. He did not rule out doing so, as he said he had found a similar justification for the [[Pretender]]s, which led to the ''[[The Transformers: Stormbringer|Stormbringer]]'' miniseries.

Despite this, in ''[[The Transformers: Megatron Origin|Megatron Origin]]'', [[Alex Milne]] drew what were intended to be female Transformers in a good number of "easter egg" cameo appearances. (Cameos included female ''[[GoBots]]'' character [[Crasher (G1)|Crasher]], [[Elita One]], [[Chromia (G1)|Chromia]], and a number of generic background characters.)

This was finally "resolved" in "[[Spotlight: Arcee]]", where it was revealed that the malevolent Golden Age Cybertronian scientist [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]] (re)introduced gender to the Cybertronian genome just to see what would happen. Tampering with the [[CNA]] of [[Arcee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|the titular character]] to make her into his idea of a female, he at some point discarded his experiment, only to find she had an inherent homing instinct for his creations. For some reason, being subjected to surgery and experimenting against her will did not leave Arcee with the warmest of feelings towards Jhiaxus, spurring a small rampage of revenge that cut across the galaxy.

This... did not sit well with quite a few people, wondering just what this was saying about women, transgender or otherwise.

While the story implies that she is something very rare and unique it does not say that she was the ''only'' female Transformer Jhiaxus created, merely the first, leaving it open for the cameos in ''Megatron Origin'' to be either other experiments, or simply male bots with more feminine looks.

Jhiaxus specifically alters Arcee's CNA to make her female and introduce gender to the species. Exactly what these alterations were, or if her form was designed to match a female of another species is unknown and will likely remain so. All that is known is that Arcee fell short of Jhiaxus' ideal for "female".

Another seemingly female Transformer appears in a flashback to Sunstreaker's glory days in "[[All Hail Megatron issue 14|Replay]]", staring up at him in doe-eyed adoration.

[[File:Windblade2coverplain.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|[[:File:MarvelUS-19.jpg|You Asked For Her - You GOT Her]]!]]

By Hasbro edict, IDW introduced a new <s>toy</s> female Transformer called [[Windblade (G1)|Windblade]] in 2014. Writer [[Mairghread Scott]] made it clear that Windblade wouldn't have gender by accident or sinister design, and that female Transformers would have a new type of origin.<ref>[http://mscottwrites.tumblr.com/post/71211861958/hey-congrats-on-the-new-comic-i-voted-for-a-lady-robot Scott's tumblr: "That’s not how it works for biological women on Earth and that’s not how it’s gonna work on Cybertron. Anybody has a problem with that, you know where I am."]</ref> (This led to [[Spotlight: Arcee#Trivia|a brief conflict]] as Furman initially read this as a personal attack on his work.) Windblade's arrival was used as leverage to double the number of girls to a shocking ''four'' as her friends Chromia and new Autobot [[Nautica (G1)|Nautica]] showed up with her in [[Burning Bright: Dark Cybertron Chapter 8|Chapter 8]] of the ''[[Dark Cybertron (IDW)|Dark Cybertron]]'' crossover.

Originally as presented in [[A 'Bot and Her City|the first issue]] of ''[[The Transformers: Windblade]]'', the existence of both male and female Transformers on the planet/[[Titan (IDW)|Titan]] [[Caminus]] was treated as a form of allopatric evolution, with females developing in isolation from Cybertron. Other generic female Transformers besides the three that first showed up in ''Dark Cybertron'' are shown or implied. (A running gag showed up where people like [[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]] would ask about their gender and be ignored.) Later on [[Nautica (G1)|Nautica]] was also given a "estriol-positive" spark-type, implying that female Transformers had a special spark-type. James Roberts asked this to be edited to ferrum-positive in the trade paperback, after deciding it was "potentially (if unintentionally) offensive" to imply that female and male bots were fundamentally different. Estriol in particular was a weird choice, due to it being a hormone, when other spark-types related to inorganic concepts.<ref>[http://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/12/18/no-little-bots-james-roberts-retcons-estriol-female-transformers/ Bleeding Cool: "No Little ‘Bots? James Roberts Retcons ‘Estriol’ In Female Transformers"]</ref>

The various IDW series then together revealed that more than one gender was present on ancient Cybertron, explaining its continued presence in the colonies and strongly implying that modern Cybertron is the exception rather than the standard. [[The Crucible|Issue #34]] of ''[[The Transformers: Robots in Disguise]]'' made the first mention of a G1 version of [[Thirteen]] member [[Solus Prime]], the first female Cybertronian in the Aligned continuity family. In [[Onyx Interface Part Three: ONoffON|issue #37]] while speaking with Arcee, the ancient Cybertronian and recent Decepticon convert [[Galvatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Galvatron]] stated, "we lost much from the ancient days", implying that Jhiaxus's experiments were meant to ''restore'' a lost element of Cybertronian society, rather than to ''create'' a new element. The [[The Sum and Its Parts|first issue]] of ''Windblade'' Volume 2, part of the "[[Combiner Wars (comic)|Combiner Wars]]" crossover, then revealed that IDW [[Solus Prime]] departed Cybertron with Caminus to his namesake colony. [[File:TF54 cvrRI.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Progress!]] The [[All That Remains|finale]] of the "Combiner Wars" event showed that female Transformers were indeed alive and well on the rest of the colonies with a series of cameos, followed by a slew of fan-created female Transformers. Fans voted for the female [[combiner]] [[Victorion]] and her six components: [[Pyra Magna]], [[Stormclash]], [[Skyburst (G1)|Skyburst]], [[Dust Up]], [[Jumpstream]], and [[Rust Dust]]. Victorion brings the number of female combiners up to a grand total of [[Heavy Metal (SL)|two]].<ref>Some female characters such as [[Sureshock (Armada)|Sureshock]] serve as combiner components, although the resulting personality identifies itself as a male.</ref>

At this point, post-''Combiner Wars'' and with the colonies giving an easy-out, female Transformers became just 'a thing' and were frequently added as nothing special. Existing G1 characters like [[Moonracer (G1)|Moonracer]] and Elita One (including backgrounders [[Greenlight]] and [[Lancer]]), previously non-G1 characters like [[Override (BW)|Override]] and [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]], new ones like [[Nickel]] (the first female Decepticon in IDW) and [[Velocity (G1)|Velocity]], and previously male characters like [[Slide]] have all shown up.

Several "male" Transformers who make use of [[holomatter|holomatter avatars]] to blend into human(oid) societies do so via female forms: we've seen this done by [[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]], [[Sunstreaker (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Sunstreaker]], [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]], and [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]], the latter replicating his one-time [[human]] traveling partner [[Verity Carlo]]. (The only time anyone treats this as unusual is when Magnus's companions wonder aloud why the legendarily-uptight cop specifically chose free-wheeling, lawbreaking, rules-ignoring ''Verity'' as a template.) This was mostly glossed over, but then fan speculation about [[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]]'s gender—always presented as male—broke out across Tumblr when a ''[[The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More than Meets the Eye]]'' promo called him [[:File:MTMTEpromo tailgate.jpg|"The Ingénue"]], a term for a ''female'' stock character.<ref>As debated [http://konora.tumblr.com/post/84182229574 here], [http://konora.tumblr.com/post/84182229574 here], [http://raelling.tumblr.com/post/84200154095 here]...</ref> (The male version is spelt "ingénu".) This was completely unintentional on [[James Roberts|James Roberts']] part but he was happy to learn what he'd done.<ref>[http://womenwriteaboutcomics.com/2015/02/26/james-roberts-on-idws-transformers-more-that-meets-the-eye/ Women Write About Comics: "James Roberts on IDW’s Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye" 18:00 - 18:08]</ref> He's since run with the idea of playing with the gender of male characters. He first said that [[Cyclonus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Cyclonus]] would have had a female avatar,<ref>[https://twitter.com/jroberts332/status/390899735919611904 "Not in the comic, so maybe inadmissible as evidence, but I've said that Cyclonus' avatar is female"]</ref>(and a "stern Victorian schoolmarm" <ref>[http://womenwriteaboutcomics.com/2015/02/26/james-roberts-on-idws-transformers-more-that-meets-the-eye/ Women Write About Comics: "James Roberts on IDW’s Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye" 19:12 - 19:24]</ref>), then that Tailgate's baby avatar could have been female as well,<ref>https://twitter.com/jobot935/status/391053739487805441</ref> and then that it ''was'' a baby girl at Autoassembly, before finally stating: "I absolutely think it's the case that there are male-coded TFs who self-identify as female and preferred to be called 'she', and female-coded TFs who self-identify as male and prefer to be called 'he'. I also think there's scope for a TF to adopt a different pronoun if they so choose." (We eventually got to see both of these holomatter avatars in action during [[The One Where They Go to Earth|issue #43]] of ''More Than Meets the Eye'', along with several other female holomatter avatars created by "male" characters). Roberts also said that the specifics of Transformer gender (and what terms meant) had not been explored yet.<ref>[http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1sj9u8i James Roberts on TwitLonger: "TFs and gender. A clarification."]</ref> With the first issue of [[Dissolution Part 1: Some Other Cybertron|Lost Light]], he presented us the first male-coded but female-identifying bot in the form of [[Lug (IDW)|Lug]].

[[File:MTMTE35 Female Protester.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|right|''Do you hear the people sing? Singing the songs of angry men...'']]

In an [[Functionist Universe|alternate timeline]] created by [[Brainstorm (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Brainstorm]]'s [[time travel]], at least one [[Female protester|female-identifying Transformer]] exists. It's possible that this Transformer may have changed her appearance and/or gender expression; James Roberts has not discounted the possibility of transgender Transformers.<ref>[http://positronicwoman.tumblr.com/post/87833950888/you-guysssssssss Roberts on the possibility of transgender Transformers on Twitter]</ref> Alternately, it could be that she was born on one of the colony worlds, and subsequently emigrated to Cybertron; this theory is supported by the presence of the Camien city-speaker [[Hot Shot (Henkei!)|Hot Shot]] on Cybertron and further solidified by the appearance of the runaway blacksmith [[Anode]] as [[Six-of-Twelve]]'s second in command. It is also possible that the factors that led to the disappearance of female Cybertronians in our universe were simply not present, or as strong in the new universe.

{{-}}

===Beast Wars===
====''Beast Wars'' cartoon====
[[File:CrossingtheRubicron-newbody.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|She was extremely popular with fans, I wonder why...]]

Female Transformers seem to be common here, with no one showing any surprise over their presence. [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] and [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] both engage in romances with male [[Maximal]]s, the former blatantly and the latter far more subtly. [[Transmutate (character)|Transmutate]] is genderless but [[Transmutate (episode)#Notes|deliberately given "a face that vaguely indicates it is female" in script]]. (Airazor was made female by the writer's insistence.)

[[File:BA Silverbolt Agenda3.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|"I tried to commit genocide four episodes ago."]]

[[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] has an old-school human-style view of women as a fairer and more vulnerable gender, as he refuses to fight Blackarachnia out of <s>lust</s> chivalry.{{storylink|Tangled Web}} {{storylink|Bad Spark}} Most of the other Transformers seem unconcerned about this but [[Optimus Primal]] sees it as part of his nobility. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part 2)}} Blackarachnia herself used to find it ''bloody annoying'', beating up Silverbolt to try and get him to fight back already. {{storylink|Bad Spark}} She is eventually won over when he keeps following her and telling her what she's really like when she yells at him to go away. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part 2)}} {{storylink|The Agenda (Part III)}} Some Transformers have another old-school human view, considered those strange fillies to be quite inscrutable: [[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]] and [[Tarantulas (BW)|Tarantulas]] being two. {{storylink|Tangled Web}}

For the purposes of humour, over the course of the show characters will make innuendos that suggest that, at least by that era, there may have been something sex-like between Transformers. [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] dismays Blackarachnia with teenage slobbering {{storylink|Crossing the Rubicon}}, she flirts with him regarding his body for info {{storylink|Feral Scream Part 2}}, [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] is blunt that he knows Tarantulas had "ulterior motives" for making her a spider {{storylink|Double Jeopardy}}, Blackarachnia is involved in a castration joke... {{storylink|Nemesis Part 2}}

Boy, they sure like doing this with Blackarachnia. Odd that.

Throughout the show [[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]] makes ''numerous'' innuendos, especially involving Silverbolt and Blackarachnia's relationship, including the rather seedy "find any new ''positions''?" after Silverbolt's been scouting the enemy (cough). {{storylink|The Agenda (Part 2)}} He also makes references to a bar on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] where the wait-staff go "without their torso-plates on"... which frankly sounds like it'd be really messy. He didn't want young Cheetor to overhear this. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part 1)}}

====''Beast Wars II'' cartoon====
[[Scylla]] is the impetus for a big ridiculous love triangle of hilarity and embarrassment in both the animated and manga continuities. She is in love with the squid-bot [[Scuba]], who wants nothing to do with her. Meanwhile, the Maximal [[Bighorn]] is in love with Scylla, who wants nothing to do with him.

The non-Transformer female robot [[Artemis]] harbors a crush on both Scuba (poor guy) and [[Starscream (BWII)|Starscream]].

====''Beast Wars Neo'' manga continuity====
The young Maximal [[Stampy (BWN)|Stampy]] has a [[Kitte Shūshū|mother]]. The actual genetics of this was not explained, but we also see a picture of a rabbit with a mustache on the wall behind her, implying a father and sexual reproduction. Just how in the hell an entire planet-wide race of breeding rabbit-robots arose from [[Tasmania Kid]], who was a Tasmanian devil, is ''also'' never explained.

Later, it was explained and it very much was sexual reproduction. {{storylink|Andromeda - Axiom Nexus News Reporter}}

====IDW ''Beast Wars'' comics====
In the spin-off comics, [[Manta Ray (BW)|Manta Ray]] and [[Sonar (BW)|Sonar]] are female Transformers, though the latter was previously established in the [[3H Productions]] [[Transformers: Universe (comic)|''The Wreckers'' comic]]. Neither character was specifically given a gender in their toy bios and this was seized upon as a way to get extra women in.

====''Beast Machines'' cartoon====
''[[Beast Machines: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Machines]]''' [[technorganic]] reformatting raises even further questions about what it means to be a "female transformer". It is possible that the technorganic female Transformers, being merged organic and technological life to a cellular level, might actually be ''physically'' female (or their "physical" properties bear no effects to gender, like before, as Rattrap's alt mode is still a female rat and he's as male as always).

[[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]] and [[Botanica (BM)|Botanica]] end up in a romantic relationship towards the end of ''Beast Machines'' ("So, I'm a tree-hugger!" Rattrap remarks). What this means for his bar-hopping days is never explored. Innuendo makes a big return when [[Botanica (BM)|Botanica]] and Rattrap argue about whether he'd rather insert his tail into a computer or be "plowing your little field of dreams". {{storylink|Spark of Darkness}} Yeah.

[[File:Sparkofdarkness-strikacloseup.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.4|"You gonna make body jokes to my face? No? Didn't ''think'' so."]]

The [[Vehicon general]] [[Strika (BM)|Strika]] is referred to as the "consort" of [[Obsidian (BM)|Obsidian]], and has been serving by his side, seemingly as an equal, for centuries. Some have taken this to mean the two have a romantic interest in each other, but the show itself does not offer any hints to this. This is the first time in Transformers fanfiction where a female robot has a high rank; where Elita One got to run a small rebel group, we're told Strika is a famous officer who has overseen and won numerous wars. {{storylink|Sparkwar Pt. I: The Strike}}

Story editor [[Bob Skir]] also wanted main character [[Nightscream (BM)|Nightscream]] to be a young female Transformer, patterned after the girl "Newt" from the movie ''[[wikipedia:Aliens (film)|Aliens]]''. (When the Powers That Be nixed that, Nightscream ended up becoming [[wikipedia:John Connor|John Connor]] in ''[[wikipedia:Terminator 2: Judgment Day|Terminator 2: Judgment Day]]'' instead.)<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20071202095033/http://bigbot.com/beast-machines-transformers-bob-skir/Beast-Machines-FAQ/Fri_03_Dec_1999.html Bob Skir Q&A 3 December 1999] (archive copy)</ref> This would've given us a Transformers cartoon with a shocking ''four'' female main characters out of sixteen speaking bots!

===''Robots in Disguise'' (2001)===
Females are seemingly rare in the [[Viron]] [[Universal stream|universal cluster]] as none appear on-screen, if one doesn't count the female Cybertronian intelligence computer, [[T-AI]]. We know they have gender and gender relations due to both the aforementioned T-AI and [[Side Burn (RID)|Side Burn's]] obsessive lust for red sports cars. He was even able to plausibly pretend he had old girlfriend cars in "[[Sideburn's Obsession]]", only getting tripped up by lying it was on Earth.

In 2015, [[Ask Vector Prime]] said that the [[Spy Changer]] [[Optimus Prime (RID)#Spy Changer continuity|Optimus Prime]] from [[Viron 1103.12 Gamma]], and thus [[Scourge (RID)#Spy Changer continuity|Scourge]], as well as the [[Nightcruz (RID)|Nightcruz]] from [[Viron 102.0 Beta]], were female.

===Unicron Trilogy===
[[File:Linkage7 Twirl-Baby.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|But she's got your altmode!]]
The existence of female Transformers throughout the [[Unicron Trilogy]] is portrayed as slightly uncommon (it is a fiction aimed at young boys, after all), but hardly remarkable. They just exist, as do "males", and no special attention is called to them. Quite a few appear in various places in "[[Joyride (Cybertron)|civilian]]" roles, as [[Autobot nurse|nurses]], and even on [[Velocitron band|colony worlds]].

There are examples and hints of romantic interest between males and females in both ''[[Transformers: Armada (franchise)|Armada]]'' ([[Redline]] and [[Falcia]] in the [[Linkage (comic)|''Linkage'' comics]], plus [[Nightscream (Armada)|Nightscream]]'s eagerness to appease and defend his [[bulk]] partner [[Airazor (Armada)|Airazor]]), and ''[[Transformers: Cybertron (franchise)|Cybertron]]'' stories (most obviously [[Thunderblast (Decepticon)|Thunderblast]]'s intense infatuation with [[Megatron (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Megatron]], [[Ransack (Cybertron)|Ransack's]] secret crush on [[Override (Cybertron)|Override]], plus [[Downshift (Energon)|Downshift]] reportedly has an unnamed "fembot life partner" lost somewhere on [[Earth]]). This too is treated as a fairly common event.

[[File:Cyb ep6 overrides challenge.jpg|left|thumb|225px|''Why do robots have to have gender?'' thought Override. ''Bloody masculinists.'']]

There are female Transformers in positions of very high power as well: in the [[Transformers: Energon (cartoon)|''Energon'' cartoon]], [[Arcee (Energon)|Arcee]] is the leader of the entire [[Omnicon]] race, while in ''Cybertron'', Override is the leader of the planet [[Velocitron]]. The Unicron Trilogy is the first ''Transformers'' continuity to explicitly ''give'' female Transformers that level of responsibility... but the only other one (so far) does so via a ''direct'' analogue of ''Cybertron'' (see [[#Aligned|the "Aligned" continuity]] below for more on that).

However, in the original Japanese, Override (called Nitro Convoy) is a male Transformer. [[Cartoon Network]], the channel with the airing rights to the dub, felt it needed more female presence in the main cast and Override was chosen to change genders.<ref>[http://www.camphortree.net/tf/tidbits/botcon2005.txt Steve-o Stonebraker's BotCon 2005 Notes, Version 2 at his Transformers site]</ref>

In the French version of the ''Energon'' cartoon, Arcee is dubbed by a man. ''Why'' she was is currently unknown.
{{-}}

===Live-action film series===
====2007 ''Transformers'' film====
[[File:Arceemovie.jpg|thumb|Comic artists ''cry'' when they see this model sheet.]]

[[Arcee (Movie)|Arcee]] was originally going to be featured as part of the cast of the [[Transformers (film)|''Transformers'' film]], but was cut early on in the movie's development. The script writers felt they would need to explain the presence of a female in an entirely robotic race, and there was not enough time in the film to do so. Arcee was replaced in the movie by [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]]. Even so, Arcee was featured in IDW's [[Transformers: Movie Prequel|''Movie Prequel'' comics]] and remains in the movie toyline as both Deluxe and Scout-class toys.

One other female Autobot is featured in the movie continuity family, another Scout-class toy, [[Elita-One (Movie)|Elita-One]]. Both Elita and Arcee, however, are featured in [[Transformers (Titan Magazine)|Titan Magazine's]] alternate reality stories as regular characters, with Arcee getting more prominence. Both also appear in IDW's Movie Sequel comic series ''[[Transformers: The Reign of Starscream|The Reign of Starscream]]'', with Arcee playing quite a prominent leadership role. Surprisingly, Elita-One does not fare as well as her sister-in-arms, dying at the claws of [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] himself. Although it is unusual for a female Transformer to die in fiction ([[To sell toys|compared to how often Transformer death happens in general]]), it has [[Manta Ray (BW)|happened]] [[Sonar (BW)|before]].

As for Decepticons, [[Fracture (Movie)|Fracture]], based off of the aforementioned Crasher, was recently added to the end of the movie toyline as a Wal-mart exclusive. She has been featured in Titan Magazine's comics, as of issue 18, and in IDW's ''[[Transformers: Alliance|Alliance]]'' series as of issue 3.

In all the comics where female Transformers do appear in the Movie continuity, their gender is never considered an issue. This raises questions about just how necessary "explaining" them would be in [[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|future]] [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)|movies]].

====''Revenge of the Fallen'' film====
And apparently, two years later gender was no longer an issue at all, as ''Revenge of the Fallen'' featured [[Arcee (Movie)|Arcee]], who now inexplicably existed in three separate bodies, as well as [[Alice]], a Decepticon [[Pretender]]. No comment was given on the subject of the characters' femininity. Frankly, not explaining Pretenders is a bigger oversight than not explaining robot gender.

{{-}}

===''Animated''===
[[File:Animated females.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.1|Did you ever feel like the only original designs in a sea full of homages?]]
Female Transformers were present in ''[[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Transformers Animated]]'' from the very beginning of the cartoon, starting with [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]]. What this meant for the state of females in the continuity at large was not immediately apparent; in "[[Along Came a Spider]]", both [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] and [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] expressed confusion as to ''what'' Blackarachnia was. Though they were referring to her [[Technorganic|partially organic]] nature, [[Sari Sumdac (Animated)|Sari]] jokes "Duh, she's a girl" as a nod to the rarity of female Transformers.

As the series proceeded, multiple lady-bots were progressively introduced, among which were a [[Slipstream (Animated)|female clone]] of [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]], the obligatory [[Arcee (Animated)|Arcee]] and many more. Although they remain distinctly outnumbered by the male Transformers, this makes it clear that while female Transformers may be relatively uncommon, they aren't considered very remarkable or noteworthy—unless you're a young, male Autobot who's spent ''waaaaayy'' too much time fixing space bridges.

[[Image:Blackarachnia Venus Mag by BillForster.jpg|200px|thumb|right]]

Despite Optimus's confusion over where organic babies come from in "[[Transform and Roll Out]]", implying that there is no Cybertronian equivalent to [[Reproduction|sexual reproduction]] in ''Animated'', Transformer ''relationships'' are implied to be a possibility, as in "[[Along Came a Spider]]" and "[[Black Friday (episode)|Black Friday]]", respectively, Blackarachnia takes advantage of [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]]'s and the [[Dinobot (Animated)|Dinobots]]' obvious interest in her, especially [[Grimlock (Animated)|Grimlock]]'s. There's also the fact that [[Strika (Animated)|Strika]] is said to be the "consort" of [[Lugnut (Animated)|Lugnut]].

[[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]]'s role as the Autobot medical officer was originally supposed to be assigned to a character named [[Red Alert (Animated)|Red Alert]], who was originally designed as a female, but then turned male. When brought in at the start of Season 3, Red Alert was female once again as an homage to the original design.

Because Sari was originally a Cybertronian protoform, she could be considered a female technorganic Transformer, although her origins were not revealed until Season 3.

{{-}}

===''Shattered Glass''===
While in most universes the number of females on the side of good is significantly larger than the number on the side of evil, this universe has more evil ladies as a result of its status as a mirror universe. The first two introduced were [[Arcee (SG)|Arcee]] and [[Crasher (SG)|Crasher]]—an (evil) Autobot and a (good) Decepticon respectively—but since then the balance has tilted.

It would seem that female Transformers in this universe are as they are in most: few in numbers, but nothing remarkable. Crasher appeared bewildered when [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] (who hails from a [[#Generation 1 Marvel Comics continuity|Marvel Comics-derived universe]]) tried to tell her that he thought her feminine shape was unusual, and no one else seems to regard the females as something noteworthy.

===Aligned continuity family===
[[File:Arcee Prime stockimage.jpg|thumb|right|170px|But ignore all the names we're listing, cos 50% of all female appearances are Arcee.]]

One-thirteenth of Cybertron's population identify as female, and are descended from [[Solus Prime]].<ref>According to [https://twitter.com/DiscFamilyDay/status/87976495074639872 @HubTVNetwork] and comments made at [[BotCon 2011]].</ref>

In ''[[Transformers: The Covenant of Primus|The Covenant of Primus]]'', [[Alpha Trion (WFC)|Alpha Trion]] expounds on the nature of gender among Cybertronians. He mentions that Transformers are technically asexual, but divide themselves into two distinct categories based on how they process information. He speculated that Solus Prime required this unique cognitive structure in order to properly utilize her [[Creation Lathe]]. Before making contact with gendered aliens, Cybertronians used a single pronoun to refer to all individuals. After taking a greater role in the galactic community, they began incorporating gendered pronouns into their culture, to demonstrate that they recognized and celebrated differences among themselves while maintaining their equality (here, Alpha Trion breaks the [[Wikipedia:fourth wall|fourth wall]] to apologize to any readers who might feel insulted by Cybertron's 1:12 gender ratio).

Before the war, [[Ratchet (WFC)|Ratchet]] worked with a female [[Arachnicon]] doctor named [[Cogwheel]]. The female Transformers [[Azimuth]] founded the [[Patterner]] movement. The leader of the [[Mutacon]]s is the female Transformer [[Mercury (COP)|Mercury]]. The ruler of [[Velocitron]], [[Override (Prime)|Override]], and the Decepticon soldier [[Slipstream (WFC)|Slipstream]] are also female. Additionally, [[Chromia (Prime)|Chromia]] and [[Firestar (Prime)|Firestar]] are leaders of underground cities which are destroyed when Cybertron is restored. [[Ser-Ket (Prime)|Ser-Ket]], a female member of the [[Forged]], was one of the main antagonists of the ''[[Transformers Prime: Rage of the Dinobots|Rage of the Dinobots]]'' miniseries. [[Ripclaw (Prime)|Ripclaw]] and [[Flamewar (Prime)|Flamewar]] were both toy-only female characters, their only fiction consisting of character bios or roles in prose stories packaged with toys. [[Elita One (COP)|Elita One]], [[Moonracer (COP)|Moonracer]], and [[Akiba Prime]] also exist in the Aligned continuity family as female Transformers.

====''Prime'' cartoon====
The only female Transformers portrayed as cast members are [[Arcee (WFC)|Arcee]] and [[Airachnid (Prime)|Airachnid]]. Solus Prime is also briefly mentioned when her [[Forge of Solus Prime|hammer]] is discovered by the Decepticons, and momentarily seen in a flashback.
Showing up in [[Arms Micron Theater]] segments are [[Arc]], [[Arcee Blade]], and [[Ida]].

====''Transformers Online''====
''[[Transformers Online (2012 video game)|Transformers Online]]'' introduced numerous female Transformers for both factions. Yes, the Chinese MMO that lasted about a year, in the continuity family where female Transformers are canonically rare, introduced more female characters than any single other source in ''years''.

====''Transformers Universe''====
The Decepticons have the female warriors [[Astraea]], [[Diabla]], and [[Duststorm (Prime)|Duststorm]] on their side, while the Autobots have [[Cameo]] and [[Catapult]].

====2015 ''Robots in Disguise'' cartoon====
The Autobot cadet [[Strongarm (RID)|Strongarm]] is a member of Bumblebee's team, with [[Windblade (RID)|Windblade]] later assisting the team. Among the many rogue Decepticons are [[Filch]], [[Slink]], and [[Zizza]], who sports a notably un-stereotypical body shape. The tie-in comic also introduced [[Retrofit]] and [[Overhead]].

==Toys==
[[File:Airazorbwtfmtoy1.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|Windblade stands on the extremely pointy shoulders of giants.]]

Though many female Transformers were featured in the fiction from the early days of ''Generation 1'', for many years they tended to either: a) not have toys made of them at all, or, b) for those very few that did get a release, end up as repaints of other molds clearly not designed with a female aesthetic in mind. Budiansky told you why that was up at the top there. There were [[Arcee (G1)#Generation 1|three separate plans]] to have toys of Arcee during G1 and all three were scrapped.

''[[Transmetal]]'' [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] is the first Transformer toy designed to intentionally represent a female character that actually came out. Ironically, Airazor was written out of the show in the same year!

The big turning point for female characters came when Hasbro held a "Fan-Built Bot" programme in 2013. Gender was one of the things fans could choose and the fans voted "female", giving us [[Windblade (G1)|Windblade]]. This worked out well enough that Hasbro had another contest for [[Combiner Wars (toyline)|Combiner Wars]] in 2015 and fans voted for female Tranformers again: this time ''six'' that made up the gestalt [[Victorion]].

Fans having chats with Hasbro people at conventions have mentioned one bar to more girl toys: they still don't sell as well. Large companies can also be skittish about changing the way they do things unless they're very sure the new way is more lucrative than the old way. Female Transformers selling more toys will beget new toys and, [[to sell toys|of course]], get more major characters in fiction. So go buy [[Strongarm (RID)|Strongarms]].

==Notes==
{{quote|Could we/should we have done more, especially in the depiction of female Transformers? Almost certainly, but it was a different age and our audience was ninety-nine percent male.|Simon Furman, talking to Vice in 2016<ref>[https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/comic-writer-simon-furman-discusses-three-decades-of-transformers-and-new-game-earth-wars-707 Vice interview on Earth Wars]</ref>}}
[[File:G1RatchetSexchange.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|On the other hand, maybe a medic who enjoyed getting skunked on tainted 40-weight [[oil]] wasn't the best example, either...]]
*It's worth comparing the original G1 to ''[[GoBots]]'', its big competitor. Our very own [[Chromedome (G1)|tumblr]] crunched the numbers and found ''GoBots'' turns out to have more prominent female robots, all with toys, and we had to include [[Nancy]] to have the same ''number'' of talking fembots. That's right: the GoBots were ''better'' than G1 at something.<ref>[http://tfwiki.tumblr.com/post/112170089613/if-someone-asks-why-we-need-more-diverse TF Wiki Tumblr: If Someone Asks Why We Need More Diversity]</ref> More recent franchises lagging behind ''GoBots'' is more depressing.
*Several modern writers have worked to get more women into the fiction, in particular Scott, Barber, and Roberts at IDW. [[Jim Sorenson]] openly stated he would work to get women into his fiction as often as he possibly could to tip the balance.<ref>[http://www.allspark.com/forums/topic/133737-beast-wars-uprising-ama/?p=3360055 Beast Wars Uprising AMA at Allspark]</ref>
*In the [[Shout! Factory]] Matrix of Leadership Special Edition DVD set, an interview with [[Bob Budiansky]] features close-ups of his original handwritten notes for several characters. Intriguingly, these notes refer to [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] as "her" and the Autobots' "go-to gal" for repairs. While this obviously was not the final direction the character took, it does show that female characters were being considered for inclusion in the cast before someone at Hasbro told Budiansky otherwise.
*In 2013, Hasbro ran a "Fan Built Bot" poll as part of the "[[Thrilling 30]]" celebration, in which fans chose between numerous options to "build" a brand new character-toy for the 30th anniversary retail line, and "male / female" was one of the options. "Female" [[Windblade (G1)|won!]]
*In 2015, another "Fan Built Bot" poll was held for the "[[Combiner Wars (toyline)|Combiner Wars]]" toyline. Femmes won again and we got our first ever [[Torchbearer|all female combiner team!]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Female Transformers| *]]
[[Category:Generation 1]]
[[Category:Transformer culture]]

Megatron Origin issue 2

2017-03-19T09:39:26Z

Egg: /* Continuity issues */ Addition to the "gender issues"

{{comicstory
|series=megsorigin|issueno=2
|prev=Megatron Origin issue 1
|next=Megatron Origin issue 3
|image=MO 2 a.jpg
|caption=$39.95 on Pay Per View
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[July 25]], [[2007]]
|coverdate=July 2007
|written by=[[Eric Holmes]]
|art by=[[Alex Milne]] (pages 1-11, 20-22) and [[Marcelo Matere]] (pages 12-19)
|colors by=[[Josh Perez]]
|letters by=[[Chris Mowry]] and [[Robbie Robbins]]
|edits by=[[Chris Ryall]]
|chronology=''[[IDW timeline|Megatron Origin]]''
|continuity=[[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW continuity]]
}}
'''The former miner decides to kill other guys for the hell of it.'''

==Synopsis==
[[File:MegatronOrigin2 Megs hair.jpg|left|thumb|AND I'M PRETTY]]
[[Kaon (polity)|Kaon]]. The [[Forge]]. During an underground [[gladiatorial combat]], the escaped convict [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] fights against [[Cy-Kill (G1)|a familiar opponent]]. His enemy displays the remarkable ability to continue fighting once impaled, but is crippled after being run over by Megatron in [[alternate mode|vehicle mode]]. For the satisfaction of the ring master and the audience, he executes his opponent. As the crowd cheers at the death, Megatron removes his helmet, exposing his long metal panels (ahem).

Meanwhile, Senator [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] dismisses the concerns of his meager assistant to attend to more important matters. In privacy, he manipulates world events for personal gain. But a report on the underground combat circuit piques his interest. He sends his servant to handle it.

Megatron rises through the ranks of the illegal gladiatorial bloodsport and eventually finds himself fighting alongside [[Clench (G1)|Clench]]. Megatron takes the opportunity to better his position in the organization by killing Clench and taking over.

[[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]] shows footage of the battle to his team, who are eager to put a stop to the unlawful violence. [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime]] arrives and announces that there have already been several efforts in a plan to catch the delinquents.

[[Bumper (G1)|Bumper]] and [[Fastback (G1)|Fastback]] stake out a location suspected to be the grounds for the next session of murders. They witness the arrival of the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] who begin to assemble that night's arena, which includes tossing an [[Wheezel (G1)|Empty]] to drown in [[Smelting pool|hot metal]]. Megatron arrives on the scene and immediately receives a technology and weaponry sales offer from one who introduces himself as [[Soundwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Soundwave]]. The two [[Autobot]]s witness the transaction and are ambushed by Ravage, Laserbeak, and Buzzsaw.

Bumper awakens to see Megatron stomp the life out of Fastback. Next, Soundwave uses [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] to pry data from Bumper's mind. Megatron cancels the battle and expresses satisfaction with Soundwave's service—he agrees to do business with Soundwave's master and then kills Bumper.

==Featured characters==
{{Featuredcharacters
|h1=Security Services
|c1=
*[[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] (19)
*[[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]] (20)
*[[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] (21)
*[[Hound (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Hound]] (31)
*[[Bumper (G1)|Bumper]] (32)
*[[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] (33)
*[[Blades (G1)|Blades]] (34)
*[[Roadbuster (G1)|Roadbuster]] (35)
*[[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]] (36)
*[[Jazz (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Jazz]] (37)
*[[Fastback (G1)|Fastback]] (38)
*[[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime]] (39)
*[[Perceptor (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Perceptor]] (40)
*[[Wheeljack (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Wheeljack]] (41)
*[[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] (42)
*? (43)
*[[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] (56)
*[[Ironhide (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ironhide]] (57)
|c4=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] (1)
*[[Cy-Kill (G1)|Cy-Kill]] (2)
*[[Clench (G1)|Clench]] (3)
*[[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (4)
*[[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] (5)
*[[Monstructor (G1)|Monstructor]] (see continuity issues) (6)
*? (7)
*[[Crasher (G1)|Crasher]] (see continuity issues) (8)
*[[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]] (9)
*[[Skyquake (G1)|Skyquake]] (10)
*[[Air Raid (G1)|Air Raid]] (11)
*[[Seawing (G1)|Seawing]] (12)
*[[Spinister (G1)|Spinister]] (13)
*[[Sunstreaker (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Sunstreaker]] (14)
*[[Slugslinger (G1)|Slugslinger]] (15)
*[[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] (16)
*[[Full-Tilt]] (17)
*[[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] (18)
*[[Soundwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Soundwave]] (19)
*[[Tankor (BM)|Tankor]] (22)
*[[Blot (G1)|Blot]] (23)
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Hun-Gurrr (G1)|Hun-Grrr]] (24)
*? (25)
*[[Tantrum (G1)|Tantrum]] (26)
*[[Sideswipe (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Sideswipe]] (27)
*[[Zetar (G1)|Drill Powerdasher]] (28)
*[[Betabear]] (29)
*[[Stalker (G1)|Stalker]] (30)
*[[Scrounge (G1)|Scrounge]] (44)
*[[Wheezel (G1)|Wheezel]] (45)
*[[Telus and Rotorbolt's buddy]] (46)
*[[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] (47)
*[[Mixmaster (G1)|Mixmaster]] (48)
*[[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]] (49)
*[[Hook (G1)|Hook]] (50)
*[[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] (51)
*[[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] (52)
*[[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] (53)
*[[Buzzsaw (G1)|Buzzsaw]] (54)
*[[Ravage (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ravage]] (55)
{{!}}}
}}

==Quotes==
''"Finish Him!"''
:—'''Clench'''

''"[['Til all are one]]!"''
:—''Spectators'' at the execution of Cy-Kill

==Notes==
*The markings on Cy-kill... err, Megatron's opponent's shoulder possibly represent the number of kills he has.
*During the first fight, Megatron wears an emblem around his neck that resembles what might become the [[Decepticon]] insignia.
*In a moment perhaps best forgotten, Megatron takes off his buckethead helmet to unfurl elaborate decorative panels on his head, in a scene mimicking modern "historical epic" type movies where the hero takes off his helmet to flick his hair around like it's a shampoo commercial.
*Two of the gladiators on Megatron's team appear to be the UK-released [[Skyquake (G1)|Skyquake]] and [[Stalker (G1)|Stalker]], though they are unnamed.
*Clench and Frenzy mention the departed [[Betabear]]. Since he was in a combat arena for robots, we can assume Betabear is a godless killing machine.
*The weapons which Soundwave offers to Megatron include the usual [[Energon mace|energon flail]], a [[Seeker (body-type)|Seeker]]'s [[null-ray]], and [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Shockwave]]'s blaster hand.

===Later retcons===
In [[James Roberts]]'s stories:
*Megatron is a famous political activist and not just some random guy. That means three things:
**Ratbat would know who Megatron is when he decides to arm and fund him on the quiet. Before it wasn't clear if he wanted to profit off the gladiatorial matches or profit off instability, but these retcons mean it's definitely the latter.
**Sentinel Prime and the Security Services would know who he is. When Sentinel takes control not long after Megatron becomes leader and talks about crushing "cult[s]" and saying "''that'' one will ''hang''", it's no longer the bloodsports themselves that concern him!
**The one gladiator who just thinks he's a "newbie" is one dumb son.
*His lost friend [[Terminus (G1)|Terminus]] had advised him that violence may be necessary to achieve his political goals and that he needed to make himself a figurehead. Instead of ''accidentally'' becoming a leader, Megatron can now be read as deliberately becoming one and making himself an army.
*Megatron's goal is to emancipate the manual classes. Killing Cy-Kill means murdering a manual worker for the greater good.
*Sunstreaker is shown to be a law enforcer in "[[Liars, A to D Part 3: The Chaos of Warm Things|The Chaos of Warm Things]]". And yet there he is in the stands, watching the very matches (and fighting in them in [[Megatron Origin issue 3|#3]]) that his bosses and co-workers are trying to stop!
*Whirl is a [[Chaos Theory Part 1|long-time cop]] and basically [[Shadowplay, Part 2: Patternism|forced]] to work for the Senate and Sentinel. He's not in the Security Service scenes by choice!

===Continuity issues===
*Several [[female Transformer]]s appear in the background of scenes. The release of ''[[Spotlight: Arcee]]'' a year later would make this a potential continuity problem. This would be made into a ''definite'' continuity problem years later when "[[Dark Cybertron (IDW)|Dark Cybertron]]" made it explicit that female Transformers were not present on modern Cybertron (but numerous on other colonies).
**The simple answer to this "problem" is that the characters in question are simply feminine males.
*The new anti-gravity technology which Ratbat learns of is likely responsible for the Decepticons' ability to fly in robot form.... which, until AHM, did not exist in IDW continuity.
*Among the crowd of enthralled fans thirsty for blood is [[Monstructor (G1)|Monstructor]]. While this does seem like his kind of scene...isn't he currently [[Spotlight: Optimus Prime|trapped in a dimensional prison]] somewhere?

===Covers (3)===
*'''Cover A:''' Megatron in arena, by [[Alex Milne]] (pencils) and [[Josh Perez]] (colors)
*'''Cover B:''' Megatron roars over over a dead Cy-Kill, by [[Marcelo Matere]] (pencils) and [[Andrew Elder]] (colors)
*'''Cover RI-A:''' Uncolored cover A

<gallery>
File:MO 2 a.jpg|
File:MO 2 b.jpg|lol go-bots suck amirite?
File:MO 2 RI.jpg|
</gallery>

=== Advertisements ===
*[[Megatron Origin issue 3|''Megatron Origin'' #3]]
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*''[[Transformers (film)|Transformers]]'' [[Transformers: Movie Adaptation|movie comic adaptation]]
*[http://www.cgccomics.com/ CGC: Certified Guaranty Company]
*Transformers posters
*Manga-sized collections of ''[[The Transformers: Stormbringer|Stormbringer]]'' and ''[[Transformers, Beast Wars: The Gathering|Beast Wars: The Gathering]]''
*IDW trade paperbacks (''[[The Transformers: Infiltration|Infiltration]]'', ''Stormbringer'', ''The Gathering'', ''[[Hearts of Steel]]'', [[War and Peace|''Transformers: Generation 1'' vol. 2: War and Peace]], ''[[The Transformers: Generations|Generations]]'')
*''[[The Transformers: Greatest Battles of Optimus Prime and Megatron|Greatest Battles of Optimus Prime and Megatron]]''
*''[[The Transformers: Cover Gallery Volume 2]]''
*''[[Star Trek]]: Year Four''
*''[[The Transformers: Devastation|Devastation]]'' (back cover)

===Reprints===
*[[2007]] — ''[[The Transformers: Megatron Origin]]''
*[[2010]] — ''[[The Transformers: The IDW Collection Volume One]]''

Female Transformer

2017-03-19T09:33:37Z

Egg: /* IDW Generation 1 continuity */ Wording, some bits altered to consider gender presentation. Removed bit claiming Jhiaxus based Arcee on organic species as the claim seems baseless. Fixed bit about Estriol to be more accurate.

{{disambig2|female Transformers in general|the Autobot resistance group led by Elita One|Female Autobots}}

{{quote|Well, I remember bringing up that question early on with Hasbro, "are any of these female?" And then I think Hasbro's attitude was, 'this is a boy toy. We don't wanna have, you know, girl robots.' So, I said, "OK, just want to clarify that."|[[Bob Budiansky]]|[http://rustingcarcass.yuku.com/topic/954 Rusting Carcass interview]}}

[[File:MCA-Arcee.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|Arcee, the most famous female Transformer, poses for the boys. Way to set an example there.]]

Despite being robotic lifeforms with generally non-sexual methods of [[reproduction]], the [[Transformer]] species has almost always been shown to include both male and female gender analogues, at least mentally if not physically.

'''Female Transformers''' were originally depicted as an anomaly, specifically called out as either a thought-to-be-extinct subgroup or simply never existing in the first place. (Thanks, 1980s! Always so sensitive!) But over the course of decades, while they are still comparatively rare, they have increased greatly in numbers, prominence and overall fairness of representation, and are considered an official part of the [[Transformers brand|''Transformers'' brand]] in pretty much every continuity. Nowadays, female Transformers are basically considered a normal part of the Cybertronian population.

There's still a long way to go, since they ARE still pretty dang rare compared to the "guys" and as [[Mairghread Scott]] pointed out, this can inadvertently make any given female Transformer and their stories seem like a comment on real women.<ref>[http://mscottwrites.tumblr.com/post/71325530812/what-are-your-thoughts-on-the-idw-arcee-origin-that Shotgun Mermaid (Mairghread Scott's tumblr), December 27 2013]: specifically, arguing that IDW Arcee being driven insane by her gender change can imply the women-are-hysterical stereotype "because she is the ONLY women [sic]" in the story, being one of the few female Autobots in G1 at all.</ref> That's part of a ''way'' bigger argument for gender equality in entertainment and society at large that's a bit beyond this wiki's scope to fully explore.

A '''[[list of female Transformers]]''' from all continuities is available.

==Fandom and Terminology==
Almost assuredly as a consequence of their rarity in official fiction and toylines, female Transformers are popular in [[fan fiction]], where the term "'''femme'''" is often used to describe them, with "'''mech'''"<ref>While "femme" obviously is related to the French word for "woman", it's occasionally claimed that the use of "mech" as a name for male Transformers is derived from "mec", the French word for "guy" or "dude". This is probably more coincidence than anything, though.</ref> likewise being applied to "male" Transformers. Both terms have recently appeared in a piece of official fiction: [[Venus (magazine)|Venus]] magazine. This is the first instance "mech" has been used to specifically refer to a male Transformer, whereas the term has been used as a gender-neutral common noun for Transformers in various stories.

Alternative words to denote a female Transformer, all used about twice in canon, include: '''femme-bot''',<ref>"Just imagine all the colony worlds: naive small planetoid femme-bots, unsuspecting targets, Unguarded Energon Reserves..." -[[Buzzsaw (Cybertron)|Buzzsaw]], "[[Force of Habit]]" p4 ([[2008]])</ref> '''fembot''',<ref>[[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]] refers to [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]] as "Ya emasculatin' fembot!" after she cuts the tip from his tail/sword in "[[Nemesis Part 2]]", while ''[[Transformers Animated (cartoon)|Animated]]'' [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] wonders in "[[Endgame, Part II]]" what chance he has in flying combat against the [[Lugnut Supreme|Lugnuts Supreme]] if he "couldn't handle [[Slipstream (Animated)|Starscream's fembot clone]]" on [[Endgame, Part I|his test run]].</ref> '''girl-bot'''<ref>"When we take over Cybertron, I'm gonna have a whole harem of girl-bots! Blue ones, red ones..." - [[Overkill (G1)|Overkill]], "The Art of War issue 5"</ref> '''robot dame''',<ref>In [[This Is Why I Hate Machines]] Captain Fanzone refers to Arcee as a "robot dame in a room"</ref> and ''perhaps'' '''robotessa'''.<ref>In "[[Enter the Nightbird]]", "Robotessa" is the word missing from the line "Say good night to your [Robotessa], Megatron!"</ref>

==Appearance==
[[File:LegendsBusinessTrip11-heroladies.jpg|right|thumb|"Of course there's variety! Some of us aren't pink!"]]
[[File:BMStrika.jpg|left|upright=0.95|thumb|Our mechanics assure us this is a woman.]]
The appearance of female Transformers in most continuities would seem to suggest a level of "sexual" dimorphism is present in at least the more humanoid members of the Transformers species (the term sexual is used in a gender-based, rather than physical sense, see the reproduction link above for that whole kettle of robo-fish). In almost all cases female Transformers are portrayed as comparatively more graceful of form, and more rounded and curved in general, than their male counterparts. Often they have a more than passing resemblance to a slender human female made of metal and wearing armor and [[kibble]].

There are exceptions to this rule. Characters with toys could have been bulky and less overtly human-female-like, which was seen in the [[Unicron Trilogy]] series and some latter expansions of the [[The Transformers (franchise)|Generation 1]] series out of Japan, when the characters are often assigned to pre-existing "masculine" toys. Perhaps the best counter-example of this type is [[Strika (BM)|Strika]], who is female yet neither looks nor acts stereotypically feminine at all. This, however, has dropped away in more recent years as toy technology changes. Numerous female characters from the [[Aligned continuity family|Aligned]] and [[Movie (franchise)|Movie]] lines would turn into motorbikes, giving them thinner, daintier dimensions in robot mode. There are some exceptions, most notably the recently introduced [[Strongarm (RID)|Strongarm]] and her distinctly boxy shape.

The main real-world reason for all this can be seen from [[IDW Publishing]]'s plans to introduce more women in 2014. Plans were afoot to make two look less visually 'female' and more like "the default Cybertronian design" so readers wouldn't know they were female until their dialogue. That was dropped to make it more visually clear that ''these'' were the female characters.<ref>[http://womenwriteaboutcomics.com/2015/02/26/james-roberts-on-idws-transformers-more-that-meets-the-eye/ Women Write About Comics: "James Roberts on IDW’s Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye" 10:00 - 11:21]</ref> Humans are just conditioned to associate certain looks like certain genders. When the ''[[Transformers: Cybertron (cartoon)|Cybertron]]'' dubbers wanted to make a male character into a female one, it's probably not a surprise that they went with [[Override (Cybertron)|the (relatively) sleek racing car]].<ref>[http://www.camphortree.net/tf/tidbits/botcon2005.txt Steve-o Stonebraker's BotCon 2005 Notes, Version 2 at his Transformers site]</ref>

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==Fiction==
===Generation 1===
====''The Transformers'' cartoon====
[[File:G1femmes.jpg|upright=2.5|thumb|A bunch of Female Autobots from the G1 toon and Alpha Trion. His pimp cane was removed in post-production.]]
Within this continuity, female Transformers are a rarity, but established to have been around from the species' start. A female named [[Beta (G1)|Beta]] existed back in the slave days under [[Quintesson]] rule, and thus it seems clear females were produced alongside the males as part of the Quintessons' product lines.

No females were explicitly shown to exist among the Decepticon ranks, although the introduction of [[Nightbird (G1)|Nightbird]] and implications of an eventual upgrade didn't raise any questions or remarks, suggesting that female Decepticons exist (or that the Decepticons royally don't care about a soldier's gender).

[[The Search for Alpha Trion|27 episodes after Nightbird's appearance]], female Transformers were introduced formally through the [[Female Autobots]]. [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] at various points expresses surprise they aren't extinct, which would seem to imply females were thought to be no longer part of the Cybertronian race. While at the time a decent (though certainly not perfect) explanation for the scarce appearances of female Transformers, it didn't stop more females from showing up in the movie and season 3. Possibly Shockwave's "statement" could be considered as [[retcon]]ned and overwritten, or one of the following explanations applies:
# They were all built/"discovered" after the events of "The Search for Alpha Trion".
# Shockwave constantly calls them Autobots, never Transformers or Cybertronians. It is possible female [[Neutral]]s' (and the aforementioned female [[Decepticon]]s') existence was never thought over... and that none of them changed allegiance any time recently.
# "Female Autobot" is not used as a description, but as the team's name.
# This is the Generation 1 cartoon. You're not watching it for the flawless storytelling.

Females can be seen here and there among the [[Junkion (species)|Junkion tribe]], mostly sharing [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]]'s model. [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] has a "[[Nancy|Junkion lady]]" companion according to "[[The Big Broadcast of 2006 (episode)|The Big Broadcast of 2006]]". Just how relationships function in this isolated, media-based Transformers society is unclear, although it's notable that Wreck-Gar and his lady friend "slept" sitting up next to each other on giant thrones between television broadcast cycles. The lady's character model is actually that of a female [[Lithone (species)|Lithone]], another mechanical race, but whether this is meaningful in any way or simple model recycling is uncertain.

In [[Misconceptions and urban legends about Transformers#European Generation 1 fiction|the French dub]] of ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'' (but not in the TV series), both [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] and [[Shrapnel (G1)|Shrapnel]] were referred to as female, with [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] calling Starscream "une imbecile" at one point (French articles are gendered), and Shrapnel referred to as "Mademoiselle". The reason for this gender-switch was never fully explained, though it is possible that Starscream's and Shrapnel's rather high-pitched voices were mistaken for women's voices.
{{-}}

====''Super-God Masterforce''====
[[File:Esmeral-manga.jpg|upright=0.85|thumb|This is an official Transformers character. No, really.]]
A female Transformer was created through the introduction of [[Minerva (Masterforce human)|Minerva]] to the ranks of the [[Headmaster Junior]]s. The [[transtector]] she was bonded to [[A Battle... and Then...|eventually]] evolved into a being of ''her'' own.

Meanwhile, the [[Godmaster (lifeform)|Godmaster]] [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] existed out of two humans before becoming sapient: husband [[Giga]] and wife [[Mega]]. Despite the double gender, Overlord is regarded a "he".

====''Victory''====
In the manga, [[Decepticon]] females make their first (yet still to this day very rare) appearance in official fiction as [[Esmeral (Victory)|Esmeral]] ([[Deathsaurus (Victory)|Deszaras]]'s wife) and [[Lyzack (Victory)|Lyzack]] ([[Leozack]]'s [[Relatives|sister]]). Both show up to show the Autobots just what it is Deszaras and his crew have been fighting for all this time: their poor families back home. This spares the Decepticons' lives in the final battle between the two forces. This certainly casts an odd light on the matter of Transformer [[reproduction]] (and on [[Masumi Kaneda|the manga author]]).

Meanwhile, in the animated series, the [[Micromaster]] [[Holi]] is shown to have a girlfriend on the planet [[Micro]], [[Clipper (Victory)|Clipper]].

====''Operation Combination''====
''[[Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers: Operation Combination (franchise)|Operation Combination]]'' introduced a total of 24 Micromasters, none of which got a [[bio]]. Ten years later, ''[[The Transformers: Micromaster|Micromaster]]'' did provide them, and the Micromasters [[Windy (OC)|Windy]] and [[Discharge]] were established as females.

====Marvel Comics continuity====
[[File:Nomates.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|And what will happen is like this.]]
No female ''Transformers'' are ever seen or referred to in the US stories. In "[[Recipe for Disaster!]]", [[Cloudburst]] is pressured into a relationship with the beautiful [[First One]] of [[Femax]], but he explains that Transformers, as a species, have no gender. The UK stories corroborate this and [[Simon Furman]], who wrote the bulk of Marvel's comics, had made it clear he didn't see why robots would have a gender.

The letters page for #53, where "Recipe" ran, further stated that Transformers have no gender and that they use gendered terms because they picked it up from us, and "most have characteristics that are commonly associated with males" while a rare number like [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] have traits we'd associate with women.<ref>"Transformers have no gender! Since the Transformers do not reproduce sexually, they have no need to be male or female. Most have characteristics that are commonly associated with males, so they are referred to as “he’s”. On a rare occasion, one might come across as female and is referred to as a “she”. Arcee fits into this latter category, but referring to themselves as “he’s” and “she’s” is a convention the Transformers probably picked up from hanging around Earthlings too long."</ref>

[[File:Arceeprimesrib.jpg|right|upright=1.3|thumb|You can't shoot Squeezeplay just because he's a bloke.]]

Furman didn't have that letters page and came up with an alternative explanation for Arcee, who'd appeared in UK's post-[[The Transformers: The Movie|film]] future stories. As detailed in "[[Prime's Rib!]]", she was intentionally created by the Autobots in 1995 to be the sole female Transformer in an attempt to placate [[human]] [[feminist mob|feminists]]. (See her picture above for a hint of how well that went over.)

In "[[Ladies' Night (issue)|Ladies' Night]]" and "Prime's Rib", the Autobots don't 'get' gender or humanity's gender relations and sterotypes. This lasted two minutes once Arcee was created: Optimus asked Arcee to hang back, she grumped about men, and Hot Rod went "phwoar!". In "Prime's Rib" this is played for laughs but in "[[Space Pirates!]]", Rodimus Prime can be ambushed by wanting to help Arcee first.

Despite the Transformers having 'no gender', the Marvel continuity was actually the first in introducing a female ''Cybertronian'': [[Aunty]], the onboard computer of the ''[[Ark (G1)|Ark]]'', who was introduced in [[The Transformers (issue)|the very first issue]]. "[[Raiders of the Last Ark]]" gave her a feminine holographic 'face'.

The [[Letters page (Marvel UK)|UK letter pages]] mentioned another two females: Decepticon Powermaster [[Clio]] and presumed Autobot [[Karmen]], who is Blaster's sister. Provided they are real and [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] didn't just make them up, they're unlikely to have been built ala Arcee (unless the 'Cons ''really'' care about gender representation) and could be taken as falling under that 'characteristics' approach. Or the 'Blaster' staffer didn't care.

Two continuations of Marvel would introduce female Trasformers. [[BotCon]]'s ''[[Transformers: Classics|Classics]]'' fiction, while not including the UK material, introduced [[Elita One]] in "[[Games of Deception]]", in a manner similar to UK Arcee; and in Furman's ''[[The Transformers: Regeneration One|Regeneration One]]'', [[Botanica (BM)|Botanica]] is the first of the second generation of Transformers.

{{-}}

====Dreamwave ''Generation One'' continuity====
According to DK's ''[[Transformers: The Ultimate Guide]]'' (written by Simon Furman), "Transformers are inherently non-gender specific, and only some quirk of their timelost origins can account for [female Transformers'] difference in appearance and attitude." [[Dreamwave Productions|Dreamwave]] was [[Unreleased Dreamwave issues|in the process]] of introducing more female Transformers and explicating their links to the Quintessons in this continuity when it went out of business.

====IDW Generation 1 continuity====
[[File:Spotlight Arcee b.jpg|left|upright=0.85|thumb|Information: you are ALL going to DIE.]]

{{quote|what do 'he' and 'she' pronouns connote in a TF context? Do they connote *exactly*the same things as they do in a human context? I don't know. It hasn't been properly explored yet. All that said, let's assume that a Transformer who adopts a particular personal pronoun is doing so for the same reasons that a human would.|James Roberts [http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1sj9u8i on TwitLonger]}}

IDW comics are aimed at older readers, so this is where it gets complicated.

Originally [[Simon Furman]] stated that he would not use female Transformers in the IDW continuity until he came up with a reason for them to exist that made logical sense to him. He did not rule out doing so, as he said he had found a similar justification for the [[Pretender]]s, which led to the ''[[The Transformers: Stormbringer|Stormbringer]]'' miniseries.

Despite this, in ''[[The Transformers: Megatron Origin|Megatron Origin]]'', [[Alex Milne]] drew what were intended to be female Transformers in a good number of "easter egg" cameo appearances. (Cameos included female ''[[GoBots]]'' character [[Crasher (G1)|Crasher]], [[Elita One]], [[Chromia (G1)|Chromia]], and a number of generic background characters.)

This was finally "resolved" in "[[Spotlight: Arcee]]", where it was revealed that the malevolent Golden Age Cybertronian scientist [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]] (re)introduced gender to the Cybertronian genome just to see what would happen. Tampering with the [[CNA]] of [[Arcee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|the titular character]] to make her into his idea of a female, he at some point discarded his experiment, only to find she had an inherent homing instinct for his creations. For some reason, being subjected to surgery and experimenting against her will did not leave Arcee with the warmest of feelings towards Jhiaxus, spurring a small rampage of revenge that cut across the galaxy.

This... did not sit well with quite a few people, wondering just what this was saying about women, transgender or otherwise.

While the story implies that she is something very rare and unique it does not say that she was the ''only'' female Transformer Jhiaxus created, merely the first, leaving it open for the cameos in ''Megatron Origin'' to be either other experiments, or simply male bots with more feminine looks.

Jhiaxus specifically alters Arcee's CNA to make her female and introduce gender to the species. Exactly what these alterations were, or if her form was designed to match a female of another species is unknown and will likely remain so. All that is known is that Arcee fell short of Jhiaxus' ideal for "female".

Another seemingly female Transformer appears in a flashback to Sunstreaker's glory days in "[[All Hail Megatron issue 14|Replay]]", staring up at him in doe-eyed adoration.

[[File:Windblade2coverplain.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|[[:File:MarvelUS-19.jpg|You Asked For Her - You GOT Her]]!]]

By Hasbro edict, IDW introduced a new <s>toy</s> female Transformer called [[Windblade (G1)|Windblade]] in 2014. Writer [[Mairghread Scott]] made it clear that Windblade wouldn't have gender by accident or sinister design, and that female Transformers would have a new type of origin.<ref>[http://mscottwrites.tumblr.com/post/71211861958/hey-congrats-on-the-new-comic-i-voted-for-a-lady-robot Scott's tumblr: "That’s not how it works for biological women on Earth and that’s not how it’s gonna work on Cybertron. Anybody has a problem with that, you know where I am."]</ref> (This led to [[Spotlight: Arcee#Trivia|a brief conflict]] as Furman initially read this as a personal attack on his work.) Windblade's arrival was used as leverage to double the number of girls to a shocking ''four'' as her friends Chromia and new Autobot [[Nautica (G1)|Nautica]] showed up with her in [[Burning Bright: Dark Cybertron Chapter 8|Chapter 8]] of the ''[[Dark Cybertron (IDW)|Dark Cybertron]]'' crossover.

Originally as presented in [[A 'Bot and Her City|the first issue]] of ''[[The Transformers: Windblade]]'', the existence of both male and female Transformers on the planet/[[Titan (IDW)|Titan]] [[Caminus]] was treated as a form of allopatric evolution, with females developing in isolation from Cybertron. Other generic female Transformers besides the three that first showed up in ''Dark Cybertron'' are shown or implied. (A running gag showed up where people like [[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]] would ask about their gender and be ignored.) Later on [[Nautica (G1)|Nautica]] was also given a "estriol-positive" spark-type, implying that female Transformers had a special spark-type. James Roberts asked this to be edited to ferrum-positive in the trade paperback, after deciding it was "potentially (if unintentionally) offensive" to imply that female and male bots were fundamentally different. Estriol in particular was a weird choice, due to it being a hormone, when other spark-types related to inorganic concepts.<ref>[http://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/12/18/no-little-bots-james-roberts-retcons-estriol-female-transformers/ Bleeding Cool: "No Little ‘Bots? James Roberts Retcons ‘Estriol’ In Female Transformers"]</ref>

The various IDW series then together revealed that more than one gender was present on ancient Cybertron, explaining its continued presence in the colonies and strongly implying that modern Cybertron is the exception rather than the standard. [[The Crucible|Issue #34]] of ''[[The Transformers: Robots in Disguise]]'' made the first mention of a G1 version of [[Thirteen]] member [[Solus Prime]], the first female Cybertronian in the Aligned continuity family. In [[Onyx Interface Part Three: ONoffON|issue #37]] while speaking with Arcee, the ancient Cybertronian and recent Decepticon convert [[Galvatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Galvatron]] stated, "we lost much from the ancient days", implying that Jhiaxus's experiments were meant to ''restore'' a lost element of Cybertronian society, rather than to ''create'' a new element. The [[The Sum and Its Parts|first issue]] of ''Windblade'' Volume 2, part of the "[[Combiner Wars (comic)|Combiner Wars]]" crossover, then revealed that IDW [[Solus Prime]] departed Cybertron with Caminus to his namesake colony. [[File:TF54 cvrRI.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Progress!]] The [[All That Remains|finale]] of the "Combiner Wars" event showed that female Transformers were indeed alive and well on the rest of the colonies with a series of cameos, followed by a slew of fan-created female Transformers. Fans voted for the female [[combiner]] [[Victorion]] and her six components: [[Pyra Magna]], [[Stormclash]], [[Skyburst (G1)|Skyburst]], [[Dust Up]], [[Jumpstream]], and [[Rust Dust]]. Victorion brings the number of female combiners up to a grand total of [[Heavy Metal (SL)|two]].<ref>Some female characters such as [[Sureshock (Armada)|Sureshock]] serve as combiner components, although the resulting personality identifies itself as a male.</ref>

At this point, post-''Combiner Wars'' and with the colonies giving an easy-out, female Transformers became just 'a thing' and were frequently added as nothing special. Existing G1 characters like [[Moonracer (G1)|Moonracer]] and Elita One (including backgrounders [[Greenlight]] and [[Lancer]]), previously non-G1 characters like [[Override (BW)|Override]] and [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]], new ones like [[Nickel]] (the first female Decepticon in IDW) and [[Velocity (G1)|Velocity]], and previously male characters like [[Slide]] have all shown up.

Several "male" Transformers who make use of [[holomatter|holomatter avatars]] to blend into human(oid) societies do so via female forms: we've seen this done by [[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]], [[Sunstreaker (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Sunstreaker]], [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]], and [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]], the latter replicating his one-time [[human]] traveling partner [[Verity Carlo]]. (The only time anyone treats this as unusual is when Magnus's companions wonder aloud why the legendarily-uptight cop specifically chose free-wheeling, lawbreaking, rules-ignoring ''Verity'' as a template.) This was mostly glossed over, but then fan speculation about [[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]]'s gender—always presented as male—broke out across Tumblr when a ''[[The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More than Meets the Eye]]'' promo called him [[:File:MTMTEpromo tailgate.jpg|"The Ingénue"]], a term for a ''female'' stock character.<ref>As debated [http://konora.tumblr.com/post/84182229574 here], [http://konora.tumblr.com/post/84182229574 here], [http://raelling.tumblr.com/post/84200154095 here]...</ref> (The male version is spelt "ingénu".) This was completely unintentional on [[James Roberts|James Roberts']] part but he was happy to learn what he'd done.<ref>[http://womenwriteaboutcomics.com/2015/02/26/james-roberts-on-idws-transformers-more-that-meets-the-eye/ Women Write About Comics: "James Roberts on IDW’s Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye" 18:00 - 18:08]</ref> He's since run with the idea of playing with the gender of male characters. He first said that [[Cyclonus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Cyclonus]] would have had a female avatar,<ref>[https://twitter.com/jroberts332/status/390899735919611904 "Not in the comic, so maybe inadmissible as evidence, but I've said that Cyclonus' avatar is female"]</ref>(and a "stern Victorian schoolmarm" <ref>[http://womenwriteaboutcomics.com/2015/02/26/james-roberts-on-idws-transformers-more-that-meets-the-eye/ Women Write About Comics: "James Roberts on IDW’s Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye" 19:12 - 19:24]</ref>), then that Tailgate's baby avatar could have been female as well,<ref>https://twitter.com/jobot935/status/391053739487805441</ref> and then that it ''was'' a baby girl at Autoassembly, before finally stating: "I absolutely think it's the case that there are male-coded TFs who self-identify as female and preferred to be called 'she', and female-coded TFs who self-identify as male and prefer to be called 'he'. I also think there's scope for a TF to adopt a different pronoun if they so choose." (We eventually got to see both of these holomatter avatars in action during [[The One Where They Go to Earth|issue #43]] of ''More Than Meets the Eye'', along with several other female holomatter avatars created by "male" characters). Roberts also said that the specifics of Transformer gender (and what terms meant) had not been explored yet.<ref>[http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1sj9u8i James Roberts on TwitLonger: "TFs and gender. A clarification."]</ref> With the first issue of [[Dissolution Part 1: Some Other Cybertron|Lost Light]], he presented us the first male-coded but female-identifying bot in the form of [[Lug (IDW)|Lug]].

[[File:MTMTE35 Female Protester.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|right|''Do you hear the people sing? Singing the songs of angry men...'']]

In an [[Functionist Universe|alternate timeline]] created by [[Brainstorm (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Brainstorm]]'s [[time travel]], at least one [[Female protester|female-identifying Transformer]] exists. It's possible that this Transformer may have changed her appearance and/or gender expression; James Roberts has not discounted the possibility of transgender Transformers.<ref>[http://positronicwoman.tumblr.com/post/87833950888/you-guysssssssss Roberts on the possibility of transgender Transformers on Twitter]</ref> Alternately, it could be that she was born on one of the colony worlds, and subsequently emigrated to Cybertron; this theory is supported by the presence of the Camien city-speaker [[Hot Shot (Henkei!)|Hot Shot]] on Cybertron and further solidified by the appearance of the runaway blacksmith [[Anode]] as [[Six-of-Twelve]]'s second in command. It is also possible that the factors that led to the disappearance of female Cybertronians in our universe were simply not present, or as strong in the new universe.

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===Beast Wars===
====''Beast Wars'' cartoon====
[[File:CrossingtheRubicron-newbody.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|She was extremely popular with fans, I wonder why...]]

Female Transformers seem to be common here, with no one showing any surprise over their presence. [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] and [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] both engage in romances with male [[Maximal]]s, the former blatantly and the latter far more subtly. [[Transmutate (character)|Transmutate]] is genderless but [[Transmutate (episode)#Notes|deliberately given "a face that vaguely indicates it is female" in script]]. (Airazor was made female by the writer's insistence.)

[[File:BA Silverbolt Agenda3.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|"I tried to commit genocide four episodes ago."]]

[[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] has an old-school human-style view of women as a fairer and more vulnerable gender, as he refuses to fight Blackarachnia out of <s>lust</s> chivalry.{{storylink|Tangled Web}} {{storylink|Bad Spark}} Most of the other Transformers seem unconcerned about this but [[Optimus Primal]] sees it as part of his nobility. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part 2)}} Blackarachnia herself used to find it ''bloody annoying'', beating up Silverbolt to try and get him to fight back already. {{storylink|Bad Spark}} She is eventually won over when he keeps following her and telling her what she's really like when she yells at him to go away. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part 2)}} {{storylink|The Agenda (Part III)}} Some Transformers have another old-school human view, considered those strange fillies to be quite inscrutable: [[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]] and [[Tarantulas (BW)|Tarantulas]] being two. {{storylink|Tangled Web}}

For the purposes of humour, over the course of the show characters will make innuendos that suggest that, at least by that era, there may have been something sex-like between Transformers. [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] dismays Blackarachnia with teenage slobbering {{storylink|Crossing the Rubicon}}, she flirts with him regarding his body for info {{storylink|Feral Scream Part 2}}, [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] is blunt that he knows Tarantulas had "ulterior motives" for making her a spider {{storylink|Double Jeopardy}}, Blackarachnia is involved in a castration joke... {{storylink|Nemesis Part 2}}

Boy, they sure like doing this with Blackarachnia. Odd that.

Throughout the show [[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]] makes ''numerous'' innuendos, especially involving Silverbolt and Blackarachnia's relationship, including the rather seedy "find any new ''positions''?" after Silverbolt's been scouting the enemy (cough). {{storylink|The Agenda (Part 2)}} He also makes references to a bar on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] where the wait-staff go "without their torso-plates on"... which frankly sounds like it'd be really messy. He didn't want young Cheetor to overhear this. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part 1)}}

====''Beast Wars II'' cartoon====
[[Scylla]] is the impetus for a big ridiculous love triangle of hilarity and embarrassment in both the animated and manga continuities. She is in love with the squid-bot [[Scuba]], who wants nothing to do with her. Meanwhile, the Maximal [[Bighorn]] is in love with Scylla, who wants nothing to do with him.

The non-Transformer female robot [[Artemis]] harbors a crush on both Scuba (poor guy) and [[Starscream (BWII)|Starscream]].

====''Beast Wars Neo'' manga continuity====
The young Maximal [[Stampy (BWN)|Stampy]] has a [[Kitte Shūshū|mother]]. The actual genetics of this was not explained, but we also see a picture of a rabbit with a mustache on the wall behind her, implying a father and sexual reproduction. Just how in the hell an entire planet-wide race of breeding rabbit-robots arose from [[Tasmania Kid]], who was a Tasmanian devil, is ''also'' never explained.

Later, it was explained and it very much was sexual reproduction. {{storylink|Andromeda - Axiom Nexus News Reporter}}

====IDW ''Beast Wars'' comics====
In the spin-off comics, [[Manta Ray (BW)|Manta Ray]] and [[Sonar (BW)|Sonar]] are female Transformers, though the latter was previously established in the [[3H Productions]] [[Transformers: Universe (comic)|''The Wreckers'' comic]]. Neither character was specifically given a gender in their toy bios and this was seized upon as a way to get extra women in.

====''Beast Machines'' cartoon====
''[[Beast Machines: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Machines]]''' [[technorganic]] reformatting raises even further questions about what it means to be a "female transformer". It is possible that the technorganic female Transformers, being merged organic and technological life to a cellular level, might actually be ''physically'' female (or their "physical" properties bear no effects to gender, like before, as Rattrap's alt mode is still a female rat and he's as male as always).

[[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]] and [[Botanica (BM)|Botanica]] end up in a romantic relationship towards the end of ''Beast Machines'' ("So, I'm a tree-hugger!" Rattrap remarks). What this means for his bar-hopping days is never explored. Innuendo makes a big return when [[Botanica (BM)|Botanica]] and Rattrap argue about whether he'd rather insert his tail into a computer or be "plowing your little field of dreams". {{storylink|Spark of Darkness}} Yeah.

[[File:Sparkofdarkness-strikacloseup.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.4|"You gonna make body jokes to my face? No? Didn't ''think'' so."]]

The [[Vehicon general]] [[Strika (BM)|Strika]] is referred to as the "consort" of [[Obsidian (BM)|Obsidian]], and has been serving by his side, seemingly as an equal, for centuries. Some have taken this to mean the two have a romantic interest in each other, but the show itself does not offer any hints to this. This is the first time in Transformers fanfiction where a female robot has a high rank; where Elita One got to run a small rebel group, we're told Strika is a famous officer who has overseen and won numerous wars. {{storylink|Sparkwar Pt. I: The Strike}}

Story editor [[Bob Skir]] also wanted main character [[Nightscream (BM)|Nightscream]] to be a young female Transformer, patterned after the girl "Newt" from the movie ''[[wikipedia:Aliens (film)|Aliens]]''. (When the Powers That Be nixed that, Nightscream ended up becoming [[wikipedia:John Connor|John Connor]] in ''[[wikipedia:Terminator 2: Judgment Day|Terminator 2: Judgment Day]]'' instead.)<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20071202095033/http://bigbot.com/beast-machines-transformers-bob-skir/Beast-Machines-FAQ/Fri_03_Dec_1999.html Bob Skir Q&A 3 December 1999] (archive copy)</ref> This would've given us a Transformers cartoon with a shocking ''four'' female main characters out of sixteen speaking bots!

===''Robots in Disguise'' (2001)===
Females are seemingly rare in the [[Viron]] [[Universal stream|universal cluster]] as none appear on-screen, if one doesn't count the female Cybertronian intelligence computer, [[T-AI]]. We know they have gender and gender relations due to both the aforementioned T-AI and [[Side Burn (RID)|Side Burn's]] obsessive lust for red sports cars. He was even able to plausibly pretend he had old girlfriend cars in "[[Sideburn's Obsession]]", only getting tripped up by lying it was on Earth.

In 2015, [[Ask Vector Prime]] said that the [[Spy Changer]] [[Optimus Prime (RID)#Spy Changer continuity|Optimus Prime]] from [[Viron 1103.12 Gamma]], and thus [[Scourge (RID)#Spy Changer continuity|Scourge]], as well as the [[Nightcruz (RID)|Nightcruz]] from [[Viron 102.0 Beta]], were female.

===Unicron Trilogy===
[[File:Linkage7 Twirl-Baby.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|But she's got your altmode!]]
The existence of female Transformers throughout the [[Unicron Trilogy]] is portrayed as slightly uncommon (it is a fiction aimed at young boys, after all), but hardly remarkable. They just exist, as do "males", and no special attention is called to them. Quite a few appear in various places in "[[Joyride (Cybertron)|civilian]]" roles, as [[Autobot nurse|nurses]], and even on [[Velocitron band|colony worlds]].

There are examples and hints of romantic interest between males and females in both ''[[Transformers: Armada (franchise)|Armada]]'' ([[Redline]] and [[Falcia]] in the [[Linkage (comic)|''Linkage'' comics]], plus [[Nightscream (Armada)|Nightscream]]'s eagerness to appease and defend his [[bulk]] partner [[Airazor (Armada)|Airazor]]), and ''[[Transformers: Cybertron (franchise)|Cybertron]]'' stories (most obviously [[Thunderblast (Decepticon)|Thunderblast]]'s intense infatuation with [[Megatron (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Megatron]], [[Ransack (Cybertron)|Ransack's]] secret crush on [[Override (Cybertron)|Override]], plus [[Downshift (Energon)|Downshift]] reportedly has an unnamed "fembot life partner" lost somewhere on [[Earth]]). This too is treated as a fairly common event.

[[File:Cyb ep6 overrides challenge.jpg|left|thumb|225px|''Why do robots have to have gender?'' thought Override. ''Bloody masculinists.'']]

There are female Transformers in positions of very high power as well: in the [[Transformers: Energon (cartoon)|''Energon'' cartoon]], [[Arcee (Energon)|Arcee]] is the leader of the entire [[Omnicon]] race, while in ''Cybertron'', Override is the leader of the planet [[Velocitron]]. The Unicron Trilogy is the first ''Transformers'' continuity to explicitly ''give'' female Transformers that level of responsibility... but the only other one (so far) does so via a ''direct'' analogue of ''Cybertron'' (see [[#Aligned|the "Aligned" continuity]] below for more on that).

However, in the original Japanese, Override (called Nitro Convoy) is a male Transformer. [[Cartoon Network]], the channel with the airing rights to the dub, felt it needed more female presence in the main cast and Override was chosen to change genders.<ref>[http://www.camphortree.net/tf/tidbits/botcon2005.txt Steve-o Stonebraker's BotCon 2005 Notes, Version 2 at his Transformers site]</ref>

In the French version of the ''Energon'' cartoon, Arcee is dubbed by a man. ''Why'' she was is currently unknown.
{{-}}

===Live-action film series===
====2007 ''Transformers'' film====
[[File:Arceemovie.jpg|thumb|Comic artists ''cry'' when they see this model sheet.]]

[[Arcee (Movie)|Arcee]] was originally going to be featured as part of the cast of the [[Transformers (film)|''Transformers'' film]], but was cut early on in the movie's development. The script writers felt they would need to explain the presence of a female in an entirely robotic race, and there was not enough time in the film to do so. Arcee was replaced in the movie by [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]]. Even so, Arcee was featured in IDW's [[Transformers: Movie Prequel|''Movie Prequel'' comics]] and remains in the movie toyline as both Deluxe and Scout-class toys.

One other female Autobot is featured in the movie continuity family, another Scout-class toy, [[Elita-One (Movie)|Elita-One]]. Both Elita and Arcee, however, are featured in [[Transformers (Titan Magazine)|Titan Magazine's]] alternate reality stories as regular characters, with Arcee getting more prominence. Both also appear in IDW's Movie Sequel comic series ''[[Transformers: The Reign of Starscream|The Reign of Starscream]]'', with Arcee playing quite a prominent leadership role. Surprisingly, Elita-One does not fare as well as her sister-in-arms, dying at the claws of [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] himself. Although it is unusual for a female Transformer to die in fiction ([[To sell toys|compared to how often Transformer death happens in general]]), it has [[Manta Ray (BW)|happened]] [[Sonar (BW)|before]].

As for Decepticons, [[Fracture (Movie)|Fracture]], based off of the aforementioned Crasher, was recently added to the end of the movie toyline as a Wal-mart exclusive. She has been featured in Titan Magazine's comics, as of issue 18, and in IDW's ''[[Transformers: Alliance|Alliance]]'' series as of issue 3.

In all the comics where female Transformers do appear in the Movie continuity, their gender is never considered an issue. This raises questions about just how necessary "explaining" them would be in [[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|future]] [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)|movies]].

====''Revenge of the Fallen'' film====
And apparently, two years later gender was no longer an issue at all, as ''Revenge of the Fallen'' featured [[Arcee (Movie)|Arcee]], who now inexplicably existed in three separate bodies, as well as [[Alice]], a Decepticon [[Pretender]]. No comment was given on the subject of the characters' femininity. Frankly, not explaining Pretenders is a bigger oversight than not explaining robot gender.

{{-}}

===''Animated''===
[[File:Animated females.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.1|Did you ever feel like the only original designs in a sea full of homages?]]
Female Transformers were present in ''[[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Transformers Animated]]'' from the very beginning of the cartoon, starting with [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]]. What this meant for the state of females in the continuity at large was not immediately apparent; in "[[Along Came a Spider]]", both [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] and [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] expressed confusion as to ''what'' Blackarachnia was. Though they were referring to her [[Technorganic|partially organic]] nature, [[Sari Sumdac (Animated)|Sari]] jokes "Duh, she's a girl" as a nod to the rarity of female Transformers.

As the series proceeded, multiple lady-bots were progressively introduced, among which were a [[Slipstream (Animated)|female clone]] of [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]], the obligatory [[Arcee (Animated)|Arcee]] and many more. Although they remain distinctly outnumbered by the male Transformers, this makes it clear that while female Transformers may be relatively uncommon, they aren't considered very remarkable or noteworthy—unless you're a young, male Autobot who's spent ''waaaaayy'' too much time fixing space bridges.

[[Image:Blackarachnia Venus Mag by BillForster.jpg|200px|thumb|right]]

Despite Optimus's confusion over where organic babies come from in "[[Transform and Roll Out]]", implying that there is no Cybertronian equivalent to [[Reproduction|sexual reproduction]] in ''Animated'', Transformer ''relationships'' are implied to be a possibility, as in "[[Along Came a Spider]]" and "[[Black Friday (episode)|Black Friday]]", respectively, Blackarachnia takes advantage of [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]]'s and the [[Dinobot (Animated)|Dinobots]]' obvious interest in her, especially [[Grimlock (Animated)|Grimlock]]'s. There's also the fact that [[Strika (Animated)|Strika]] is said to be the "consort" of [[Lugnut (Animated)|Lugnut]].

[[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]]'s role as the Autobot medical officer was originally supposed to be assigned to a character named [[Red Alert (Animated)|Red Alert]], who was originally designed as a female, but then turned male. When brought in at the start of Season 3, Red Alert was female once again as an homage to the original design.

Because Sari was originally a Cybertronian protoform, she could be considered a female technorganic Transformer, although her origins were not revealed until Season 3.

{{-}}

===''Shattered Glass''===
While in most universes the number of females on the side of good is significantly larger than the number on the side of evil, this universe has more evil ladies as a result of its status as a mirror universe. The first two introduced were [[Arcee (SG)|Arcee]] and [[Crasher (SG)|Crasher]]—an (evil) Autobot and a (good) Decepticon respectively—but since then the balance has tilted.

It would seem that female Transformers in this universe are as they are in most: few in numbers, but nothing remarkable. Crasher appeared bewildered when [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] (who hails from a [[#Generation 1 Marvel Comics continuity|Marvel Comics-derived universe]]) tried to tell her that he thought her feminine shape was unusual, and no one else seems to regard the females as something noteworthy.

===Aligned continuity family===
[[File:Arcee Prime stockimage.jpg|thumb|right|170px|But ignore all the names we're listing, cos 50% of all female appearances are Arcee.]]

One-thirteenth of Cybertron's population identify as female, and are descended from [[Solus Prime]].<ref>According to [https://twitter.com/DiscFamilyDay/status/87976495074639872 @HubTVNetwork] and comments made at [[BotCon 2011]].</ref>

In ''[[Transformers: The Covenant of Primus|The Covenant of Primus]]'', [[Alpha Trion (WFC)|Alpha Trion]] expounds on the nature of gender among Cybertronians. He mentions that Transformers are technically asexual, but divide themselves into two distinct categories based on how they process information. He speculated that Solus Prime required this unique cognitive structure in order to properly utilize her [[Creation Lathe]]. Before making contact with gendered aliens, Cybertronians used a single pronoun to refer to all individuals. After taking a greater role in the galactic community, they began incorporating gendered pronouns into their culture, to demonstrate that they recognized and celebrated differences among themselves while maintaining their equality (here, Alpha Trion breaks the [[Wikipedia:fourth wall|fourth wall]] to apologize to any readers who might feel insulted by Cybertron's 1:12 gender ratio).

Before the war, [[Ratchet (WFC)|Ratchet]] worked with a female [[Arachnicon]] doctor named [[Cogwheel]]. The female Transformers [[Azimuth]] founded the [[Patterner]] movement. The leader of the [[Mutacon]]s is the female Transformer [[Mercury (COP)|Mercury]]. The ruler of [[Velocitron]], [[Override (Prime)|Override]], and the Decepticon soldier [[Slipstream (WFC)|Slipstream]] are also female. Additionally, [[Chromia (Prime)|Chromia]] and [[Firestar (Prime)|Firestar]] are leaders of underground cities which are destroyed when Cybertron is restored. [[Ser-Ket (Prime)|Ser-Ket]], a female member of the [[Forged]], was one of the main antagonists of the ''[[Transformers Prime: Rage of the Dinobots|Rage of the Dinobots]]'' miniseries. [[Ripclaw (Prime)|Ripclaw]] and [[Flamewar (Prime)|Flamewar]] were both toy-only female characters, their only fiction consisting of character bios or roles in prose stories packaged with toys. [[Elita One (COP)|Elita One]], [[Moonracer (COP)|Moonracer]], and [[Akiba Prime]] also exist in the Aligned continuity family as female Transformers.

====''Prime'' cartoon====
The only female Transformers portrayed as cast members are [[Arcee (WFC)|Arcee]] and [[Airachnid (Prime)|Airachnid]]. Solus Prime is also briefly mentioned when her [[Forge of Solus Prime|hammer]] is discovered by the Decepticons, and momentarily seen in a flashback.
Showing up in [[Arms Micron Theater]] segments are [[Arc]], [[Arcee Blade]], and [[Ida]].

====''Transformers Online''====
''[[Transformers Online (2012 video game)|Transformers Online]]'' introduced numerous female Transformers for both factions. Yes, the Chinese MMO that lasted about a year, in the continuity family where female Transformers are canonically rare, introduced more female characters than any single other source in ''years''.

====''Transformers Universe''====
The Decepticons have the female warriors [[Astraea]], [[Diabla]], and [[Duststorm (Prime)|Duststorm]] on their side, while the Autobots have [[Cameo]] and [[Catapult]].

====2015 ''Robots in Disguise'' cartoon====
The Autobot cadet [[Strongarm (RID)|Strongarm]] is a member of Bumblebee's team, with [[Windblade (RID)|Windblade]] later assisting the team. Among the many rogue Decepticons are [[Filch]], [[Slink]], and [[Zizza]], who sports a notably un-stereotypical body shape. The tie-in comic also introduced [[Retrofit]] and [[Overhead]].

==Toys==
[[File:Airazorbwtfmtoy1.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|Windblade stands on the extremely pointy shoulders of giants.]]

Though many female Transformers were featured in the fiction from the early days of ''Generation 1'', for many years they tended to either: a) not have toys made of them at all, or, b) for those very few that did get a release, end up as repaints of other molds clearly not designed with a female aesthetic in mind. Budiansky told you why that was up at the top there. There were [[Arcee (G1)#Generation 1|three separate plans]] to have toys of Arcee during G1 and all three were scrapped.

''[[Transmetal]]'' [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] is the first Transformer toy designed to intentionally represent a female character that actually came out. Ironically, Airazor was written out of the show in the same year!

The big turning point for female characters came when Hasbro held a "Fan-Built Bot" programme in 2013. Gender was one of the things fans could choose and the fans voted "female", giving us [[Windblade (G1)|Windblade]]. This worked out well enough that Hasbro had another contest for [[Combiner Wars (toyline)|Combiner Wars]] in 2015 and fans voted for female Tranformers again: this time ''six'' that made up the gestalt [[Victorion]].

Fans having chats with Hasbro people at conventions have mentioned one bar to more girl toys: they still don't sell as well. Large companies can also be skittish about changing the way they do things unless they're very sure the new way is more lucrative than the old way. Female Transformers selling more toys will beget new toys and, [[to sell toys|of course]], get more major characters in fiction. So go buy [[Strongarm (RID)|Strongarms]].

==Notes==
{{quote|Could we/should we have done more, especially in the depiction of female Transformers? Almost certainly, but it was a different age and our audience was ninety-nine percent male.|Simon Furman, talking to Vice in 2016<ref>[https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/comic-writer-simon-furman-discusses-three-decades-of-transformers-and-new-game-earth-wars-707 Vice interview on Earth Wars]</ref>}}
[[File:G1RatchetSexchange.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|On the other hand, maybe a medic who enjoyed getting skunked on tainted 40-weight [[oil]] wasn't the best example, either...]]
*It's worth comparing the original G1 to ''[[GoBots]]'', its big competitor. Our very own [[Chromedome (G1)|tumblr]] crunched the numbers and found ''GoBots'' turns out to have more prominent female robots, all with toys, and we had to include [[Nancy]] to have the same ''number'' of talking fembots. That's right: the GoBots were ''better'' than G1 at something.<ref>[http://tfwiki.tumblr.com/post/112170089613/if-someone-asks-why-we-need-more-diverse TF Wiki Tumblr: If Someone Asks Why We Need More Diversity]</ref> More recent franchises lagging behind ''GoBots'' is more depressing.
*Several modern writers have worked to get more women into the fiction, in particular Scott, Barber, and Roberts at IDW. [[Jim Sorenson]] openly stated he would work to get women into his fiction as often as he possibly could to tip the balance.<ref>[http://www.allspark.com/forums/topic/133737-beast-wars-uprising-ama/?p=3360055 Beast Wars Uprising AMA at Allspark]</ref>
*In the [[Shout! Factory]] Matrix of Leadership Special Edition DVD set, an interview with [[Bob Budiansky]] features close-ups of his original handwritten notes for several characters. Intriguingly, these notes refer to [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] as "her" and the Autobots' "go-to gal" for repairs. While this obviously was not the final direction the character took, it does show that female characters were being considered for inclusion in the cast before someone at Hasbro told Budiansky otherwise.
*In 2013, Hasbro ran a "Fan Built Bot" poll as part of the "[[Thrilling 30]]" celebration, in which fans chose between numerous options to "build" a brand new character-toy for the 30th anniversary retail line, and "male / female" was one of the options. "Female" [[Windblade (G1)|won!]]
*In 2015, another "Fan Built Bot" poll was held for the "[[Combiner Wars (toyline)|Combiner Wars]]" toyline. Femmes won again and we got our first ever [[Torchbearer|all female combiner team!]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Female Transformers| *]]
[[Category:Generation 1]]
[[Category:Transformer culture]]

Ghost Stories

2017-03-09T20:29:51Z

Egg: /* Errors */ Added a coloring error on page 28

{{comicstory
|seriesissue=''Transformers'' Annual 2017
|prev=New Cybertron Part 6
|next=Optimus Prime issue 7
|image=TFAnnual2017_regcvr.jpg
|caption=
|title="Ghost Stories"
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[March 8]], 2017
|coverdate=February 2017
|written by=[[John Barber]]
|art by=[[Priscilla Tramontano]]
|colors by=[[Thomas Deer]] (framing sequence, pgs 1-4, 20-21, 37-40), [[Josh Perez]] (Bumblebee story, pg 5-19), [[John-Paul Bove]] (Pyra story, pg 22-38)
|letters by=[[Chris Mowry]]
|editor=[[Carlos Guzman]]
|continuity=[[IDW Generation 1 continuity]]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline|Current era]] (framing sequence), [[Zeta Prime]] era (Bumblebee story), indeterminate past (Pyra story)
}}

'''Optimus Prime tells Pyra Magna the story of how he met Bumblebee, while Pyra tells him the tale of how she came to lead the Torchbearers.'''

==Synopsis==
Hoping to put aside his differences with [[Pyra Magna]], [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Optimus Prime]] asks her to join him in travelling to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. Their arrival is detected by [[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]], who secretly follows them as they head out to the [[Rust Sea|Sea of Rust]]. With the "ghost" of [[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]] offering his usual annoyingly-upbeat commentary all the while, Starscream watches as Optimus and Pyra regard the miniature singularity at the heart of the Sea of Rust, created from the collapse of [[Crystal City]], and begin to talk of the past. At Pyra's request, Optimus tells her the story of how he met Bumblebee, who died on that same spot...

''One of the last generation of [[reproduction|forged]] Transformers, the friendly and popular Bumblebee works as a courier, and enjoys attending the [[Cybertronian sport#races|races]] with his friends [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] and [[Hubcap (G1)|Hubcap]]. When his sleep becomes disturbed by horrible nightmares of the undead, his work and life suffer, until he realizes that the dreams are pointing the way to a particular location on Cybertron. There, hidden away in some wreckage, Bumblebee discovers a box. Afraid that nobody will believe him, or worse, that they will think him insane and abandon him, he keeps his discovery a secret and follows the directions of his dreams to deliver the box to the [[Iacon (polity)|Iaconian]] civics center. This strange, supernatural "courier job" done, life seems to return to normal for the little 'bot... until the nightmares begin again, and he finds himself direct to locate and deliver more and more strange packages. Things finally come to a head when one of his "deliveries" turns out to be a bomb that destroys the [[Tygun factory]].''

''Bumblebee immediately turns himself into the authorities and explains everything that has been happening, but is naturally met with some skepticism from officer [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]]. [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Orion Pax]] is more sympathetic, however, and as Bumblebee begins to suffer a waking nightmare, Orion takes him in his arms and comforts him, telling him that he believes him and will help. At Prowl's request, [[Jetfire (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Jetfire]] scans the room and deduces that Bumblebee is not "dreaming"—the visions are actually being projected into his mind by a subtle high-frequency signal. Inspired by Orion's words, Bumblebee is determined to accompany the two officers as they track the signal back to its source.''

''The signal turns out to be the work of [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Shockwave]], broadcast into Bumblebee's brain by [[Soundwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Soundwave]]. When Orion, Prowl, and Bumblebee locate the Decepticons' bolthole, battle breaks out, and the two officers are surprised to see Bumblebee charge right into the fray, tackling Soundwave despite never having been in combat before. 'Bee accuses Soundwave of betraying the Decepticons' vow to fight "for the people"; Soundwave repulses him with a sonic blast and evacuates the self-destructing facility alongside Shockwave, [[Ferak]], and [[Ravage (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ravage]], but Bumblebee's words have struck home—Soundwave vows to change minds only through reason, not trickery, in the future. Orion, Prowl, and Bumblebee escape the burning building, and Bumblebee, having seen the good that can be done when people help and look out for one another, requests to join Orion's security force.''

As Starscream rolls his eyes at the saccharine moral of Bumblebee's "origin story," Optimus points out its relevance to his and Pyra's situation, as 'Bee learned the importance of working with others and not believing you are the only one with answers. Pyra has her own counterpoint: what if you ''are'' the one with the answer, but nobody will listen? To illustrate, she tells Optimus her own history...

''Long ago on [[Caminus]], Pyra serves as a member of the [[Torchbearer]]s under team leader [[Praesidia Magna]]. Responding to a call for help from the desolate mining town of [[Parvus Oppidum]] to defend it against raids by bandit marauders, the group is met by natives [[Jumpstream]] and her [[Conjunx Endura]], Torchbearer fangirl [[Dust Up]]. Dust Up takes Pyra to a subterranean storehouse to show her the town's meager energon reserves, and explains that she killed one of the bandits herself during their last attack, but before Pyra can examine the body, a call from Praesidia alerts her to the marauders' return. Pyra speeds back to the surface, but is not fast enough to prevent the strange, animal-form attackers from killing Praesidia and their fellow Torchbearer [[Fastbreak (G1)|Fastbreak]]. With her final breath, Praesidia calls a warning to Pyra, alerting her to the appearance of a winged monster, the largest and most powerful of the attackers, which seizes Pyra in its claws. As the battle continues, the ground begins to crumble under the combatants' feet and a strange black sphere emerges from beneath the town—a singularity that begins drawing in everything around it. Jumpstream, Dust Up, and the other Torchbearers get as many to safety as they can, but Pyra is still locked in combat with the creature, which proves so ''impossibly'' strong that it can even fight the singularity's pull. Pyra looks the beast in the eyes and blacks out.''

''Pyra comes to some time later to find that the town has been destroyed, and that the monsters and the singularity have disappeared. Haunted by her failure, she suffers a nightmare in which the winged monster returns, reciting an ancient poem from a Camien religious text that speaks of a far off world of rust. Perturbed, Pyra seeks solace in companionship and begins spending time with fellow Torchbearer [[Rust Dust]], whose name is derived from that same poem, and whose optimistic personality proves a counter to Pyra's current downheartedness. As the dreams continue, the world spoken of in the poem appears before Pyra in her dreams—a dead world of rust deserts, orbiting a black singularity-star, where Praesidia Magna begs for help, beseeching Pyra not to "leave her like [[Antilla]]." Pyra asks the [[Mistress of Flame]] for insight, lying and claiming that "Antilla" was the last word Praesidia said in life; the Mistress explains that Antilla was a dead colony world she and Praesidia once found, consumed by rust. The Mistress is saddened to hear Praesidia died with such sorrow in her heart, but accepts it as the will of the Primes... something that Pyra herself finds she has trouble with. The nightmares do not relent, but as Pyra is forced to watch as the monster kills Praesidia over and over, the identity of this "black angel" becomes apparent at last—it is none other than [[Onyx Prime]], lord of beasts, one of the legendary [[Thirteen|Thirteen Primes]] of Cybertron. This revelation leads Pyra to a further epiphany: if it truly was Onyx she fought in Parvus Oppidum, and he and his beasts fled while she was unconscious—fled because he ''feared'' further combat—that means that the Primes cannot be the infallible deities Camien religion claims.''

''Now filled with new purpose, Pyra seeks to rebuild the Torchbearers into their six-strong configuration in order to pursue her new goals, and visits Dust Up to confirm some suspicions. The attacker Dust Up killed was one of a pair; she deliberately let the other go so it could lead the other marauders back to Parvus Oppidum, then called the Torchbearers, confident they could stop them all. Pyra decides to bring Dust Up and Jumpstream into the Torchbearers to replace Praesidia and Fastbreak, and Pyra herself ascends to the leadership role as "Pyra Magna," ready to stand against the coming danger posed by the Primes—even if it means going against the Mistress.''

Optimus Prime realizes he has heard similar warnings to Pyra's from [[G.B. Blackrock|Garrison Blackrock]] and [[Galvatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Galvatron]] which indicate that Onyx Prime is indeed still alive and soon to return, though he still struggles to accept that Pyra's belief in her cause is rooted in little more than a dream and a poem. Pyra repeats her previous accusation that Optimus is a ''user'' of belief, rather than a believer himself; Optimus admits that while he is not religious, he still believes the lived experiences of others, and takes Pyra at her word. The pair make an uneasy peace, with Optimus promising to try and not let his past deeds weigh on him if Pyra will not let the future she believes is destined to come to pass weigh on her. Starscream, meanwhile, scoffs at the whole thing and takes his leave before they can spot him, dismissing dreams and hallucinations—like the "ghost" of Bumblebee—as just figments of one's imagination, created by guilt, fear, and doubt.

Or are they? For, little does Starscream realize, deep within the Sea of Rust's singularity, Crystal City still stands... and Bumblebee still lives.

==Featured characters==
''All characters bar Optimus, Pyra, Bumblebee, and Starscream appear only in the flashback stories. Listings below reflect other characters' allegiances at the time the stories takes place.'' 
{{Featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Optimus Prime/Orion Pax]] (1)
*[[Pyra Magna|Pyra Magna/Pyra]] (2)
*[[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]] (4)
*[[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]] (11)
*[[Jetfire (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Jetfire]] (12)

|c2=
*[[Soundwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Soundwave]] (13)
*[[Ferak]] (14)
*[[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Shockwave]] (15)
*[[Ravage (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ravage]] (16)

|c4=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]] (3)
*[[Seaspray (G1)|Seaspray]] (5)
*[[Scrounge (G1)|Scrounge]] (6)
*[[Hubcap (G1)|Hubcap]] (7)
*[[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] (8)
*[[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] (9)
*[[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] (10)
*[[Stormclash]] (16)
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Praesidia Magna]] (17)
*[[Fastbreak (G1)|Fastbreak]] (18)
*[[Skyburst (G1)|Skyburst]] (19)
*[[Rust Dust]] (20)
*[[Jumpstream]] (21)
*[[Dust Up]] (22)
*[[Onyx Prime]] (23)
*[[Mistress of Flame]] (24)
{{!}}}
}}

==Quotes==
"You're as curious as I am to see if '''Optimus''' is poking around with that Camien '''lunatic.'''" 
"For a guy hearing '''voices''' of the '''dead''', you've got a pretty '''insensitive view''' of '''mental health.'''"
:—'''Starscream''' and '''Bumblebee'''

"I don't know who '''you''' are - but you look like you could use a '''hand!'''" 
"Oh, no - he's one of '''those''' guys. The kind that '''quips.'''"
:—'''Bumblebee''' meets Shockwave, and '''Prowl''' is disappointed

"<nowiki>'Stronger</nowiki> '''together''' than '''apart'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>. ''Ugh.''" 
"'''What?'''" 
"It's so... '''squooshey.''' Who '''talks''' that way?" 
"I don't know—'''nice people?'''"
:—'''Starscream''' and '''Bumblebee'''

"If Cybertron be your home 
Far away, never roam 
Hear my message, listen and fear 
Danger comes, the end is near 
Just like us, you soon will rust 
All shall be turned to dust."
:—'''Onyx Prime''' recites a passage from the ''Light of the Forgefire''

"I understood the '''Way of Flame'''. But now I understood '''more.''' The hexagonal lattice of [[Solus Prime]]'s '''Forge''' begat the '''[[Star Saber (Prima)|Star Saber]]''', which begat the '''Matrix.''' But '''I''' was the light of the '''Forge''' made '''manifest.''' All I needed was my '''lattice'''. We '''six''' were stronger '''together''' than '''apart.''' And I understood—what is the opposite of '''flame'''... of '''light'''... but '''onyx'''?"
:—'''Pyra Magna'''

"I '''know''' you're my '''imagination.''' You're my way of '''dealing''' with the '''guilt''' of killing '''[[Metalhawk (Masterforce)|Metalhawk]]'''... my '''fear''' that '''[[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]]''' will come back... and my '''self-doubt''' that now I have what I always '''wanted''', I'll '''screw it up.''' '''You''' had Cybertron and you '''lost''' it. Of '''course''' I'd imagine '''you''' giving me advice, Bumblebee. Then I know to do just the '''opposite.'''"
:—'''Starscream'''

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
*The events of this story take place following those of the six-part "New Cybertron" story arc that opens the ''[[Optimus Prime (comic)|Optimus Prime]]'' series. Prime makes reference to him and Pyra Magna "turning to anger too quickly"; they had a bust-up in [[New Cybertron Part 4: Dance Among the Shadows|issue #4]], in which Pyra accused Optimus of using others' beliefs for his own purposes. The Bumblebee story likewise takes place after the flashback story about Orion, Prowl, and Jetfire told through those six issues, and prior to the events of ''[[The Transformers: Autocracy|Autocracy]]''.
*Bumblebee, of course, died at Shockwave's hands (er, hand) in [[Black Planet: Dark Cybertron Chapter 11|''Robots in Disguise'' #27]], and his body disappeared into the singularity created by the collapse of Crystal City in [[...And the Damage Done: Dark Cybertron Finale|''Dark Cybertron Finale'']]. Since appearing to Starscream as a "ghost"/hallucination (from [[The Transgressors|''The Transformers'' #44]] onward), 'Bee has been in his ''[[Transformers: War for Cybertron (franchise)|War for Cybertron]]'' design (used for the first 16 issues of ''Robots in Disguise''), but by the time of his death, he had been modified into his "[[Bumblebee (G1)/toys#Goldfire|Goldfire]]" design, which is how he appears on the last page of this issue.
*Bumblebee is noted to be one of the "last generation forged before the primal wellspring ran dry," referring to the cessation of [[hot spot]] ignitions that was established to have happened at some point in Cybertron's past in [[Remain in Light 3 of 5: The Divided Self|''More than Meets the Eye'' #19]].
*Bumblebee warns Scrounge not to spend the cash he gives him on [[Simultronic]], a kind of addictive virtual reality seen in ''[[Spotlight: Blurr]]''. That issue also introduced the racetracks and Blurr's occupation as a celebrity racer, also seen in this issue.
*Soundwave is shown to have a face beneath his helmet; we knew this already from his earliest chronological appearance in [[Soundwaves (issue)|''Robots in Disguise'' #22]].
*Decepticon engineer [[Ferak]] previously appeared on-panel in [[The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers|''Last Stand of the Wreckers'']]. He is impressed by Shockwave's "nightmare transmitter"; this alludes to his eventual creation of the [[Nightmare Engine]], a construct mentioned in his ''Last Stand'' profile and several further times in subsequent stories, which evidently saw him refine the single-target system of this story into a wider-ranging weapon.
*Pyra's dream is not unique: in [[Conquerors Part 2: Lagrange|''The Transformers'' #47]], [[G.B. Blackrock|Garrison Blackrock]] revealed that he too had dreamed of a "black angel" who showed him "a world of rust deserts orbiting an infinite darkness." Optimus Prime refers to Blackrock's warning, and to that delivered by Galvatron in [[All Hail Optimus Part 6: No Fair Fights|issue #55]] that Onyx Prime would soon return...
*Back in the [[An Uneventful Night|''Combiner Hunters'' one-shot]], the Torchbearers' first combination into [[Victorion]] allowed Jumpstream to learn a secret that Dust Up had been keeping from her. We weren't told what it was at the time, and this issue does not explicitly state it, but logically, Jumpstream must have learned about Dust Up's role in the events of this story.

===Transformers references===
*The idea that Bumblebee was one of the last generation of Transformers born before Cybertron ceased to yield new life seems to be derived from the backstory of the [[Bumblebee (WFC)|"Aligned" version of the character]], whose similar origins were noted in the [[Transformers: Exodus|''Exodus'' novel]].
*A [[Vehicon (Prime)|''Transformers: Prime'' Vehicon]] can be spotted among the crowd at the raceway. Other familiar body-types in the crowds include a red [[Conehead]] and a purple and black [[Disposable class|memory stick]].
*A [[Sound Wave]] toy from ''[[Transformers Animated (cartoon)|Animated]]'' is seen among the garbage on page 9, panel 3.
*The Tygun factory shares its name with the [[Tygun Span]], a roadway featured in [[Dreamwave Productions]]' ''[[Transformers: War Within: The Dark Ages|War Within: The Dark Ages]]'' comic.
*Ferak's appearance is based directly on his [[Ferak#Toys|Botcon 2014 ''Timelines'' action figure]], a redeco of [[Cyclonus (G1)/toys#Universe (2008)|''Universe'' Cyclonus]], which was itself inspired by how similar to Cyclonus Ferak appeared in ''Last Stand of the Wreckers''. It all comes back around!
*Jumpstream's pre-Torchbearer colors are based on those of [[Gingham]], while Dust Up's are based on [[Holi]] (presumably as a nod to the relationship between Holi and [[Clipper (Victory)|Clipper]], who Gingham resembles).
*A former member of the Torchbearers named "[[Crash Test]]" is mentioned. This was a preliminary name for Dust Up, and was seen in use in an early version of a panel from ''Combiner Hunters'' shown during a presentation at San Diego Comic Con 2015.
*Both the colony world of [[Antilla]] and the poem that Onyx Prime recites are derived from the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Generation 1 cartoon]] episode "[[Cosmic Rust (episode)|Cosmic Rust]]." The poem is inscribed on the Torchbearers' toys; when it is recited on page 36, each line appears in the same panel as the character on whose toy it is written (but see "Errors").
*[[Victorion]]'s sword, which has yet to appear in the comic as part of the combiner it was packaged with, can be seen on the wall of Pyra's room.

===Real-life references===
*On page 5, panel 1, a Transformer can be seen walking robotic dog {{w|K9 (Doctor Who)|K9}} from ''[[Doctor|Doctor Who]]''.
*In the foreground of the same panel are two Transformers designed to resemble {{i|Kimber Benton}} and {{i|Stormer}} from ''[[Jem|Jem and the Holograms]]''.
*Also seen in the trash heap on page 9 are Kraang from ''{{W|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles}}'' and a Proton Pack from ''{{W|Ghostbusters}}''.

===Errors===
*There are some very female-looking Transformers living on Cybertron during a time period there weren't supposed to be any- considering that a couple of them are an easter egg reference to Jem and the Holograms (and the fact that gender presentation =/= gender identity), probably not worth getting too hung up on.
*The cops who interrogate Bumblebee before Prowl and Orion arrive are drawn as [[Functionary|Functionaries]], as they appeared in the parallel [[Functionist Universe]]. This doesn't feel right; though we know from [[Elegant Chaos Part 2: Stet|''More than Meets the Eye'' #37]] that Functionaries do exist in the "main" universe, this is not a role they should be performing, as they were merely enforcers of the [[Functionist Council]]'s policies (which are no longer law by this point in time), rather than armed officers of the law who would be involved in investigating a bombing. These guys should probably be more in the [[Springarm]]/[[Wheelarch]] mold, a body-type shared by numerous officers in this era.
*Prowl appears with the present-day Cybertronian body he used in the latter part of ''[[The Transformers: Robots in Disguise|Robots in Disguise]]''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s first "season."
*On page 28, Fastbreak is coloured like Dust Up when grabbing Jumpstream.
*On page 31, Praesidia's speech bubble ("Don't leave me like Antilla...") is coming from Pyra.
*On page 36, Dust Up and Jumpstream's lines of the poem are switched.

===Other trivia===
*Originally solicited for release in February 2017, this issue arrives a little late, slipping into the first week of March. One of several [[Hasbro Universe]] Annuals released in early 2017, it is only labelled a "Transformers" annual, representing the whole brand, rather than any one of the three ongoing ''Transformers'' titles. That said, being that it's written by John Barber, stars Optimus Prime and Pyra Magna dealing with their issues from ''Optimus Prime'', directly addresses the plot bubbling under in that series about the return of Onyx Prime, and ends with an advert for the next issue of that series, it's basically the ''Optimus Prime'' annual under a less-specific name.
*This issue is presented with a "mirrored" layout; the first and last page have the same number of panels in the same layout, as do the second and second-to-last, and so on, all the way up until they meet the middle.
*Backmatter for this issue includes reprints of the profiles for Optimus Prime, Victorion, and Soundwave, previously published in ''[[Revolution]]'' [[Valley Forge|#5]], [[O Ship of State|#3]], and [[The New Colossus|#4]], respectively.

===Covers (2)===
*'''Regular cover:''' A stained-glass window depicting the legend of Bumblebee, by [[Priscilla Tramontano]]; one of the panes shows him rescuing some [[Urtuskian]]s, as seen in ''[[The Hunting Party (IDW)|Spotlight: Thundercracker]]''.
*'''Subscription cover:''' A heavily-armed Orion Pax, Prowl, and Bumblebee, by [[Andrew Griffith]] and [[Josh Burcham]]

<gallery>
File:TFAnnual2017 regcvr.jpg|
File:TFAnnual2017 subcvr.jpg|
</gallery>

===Advertisements===
*''Optimus Prime'' #5
*"The Hasbro Tribune" editorial page promoting February's [[Hasbro Universe]] titles, including this issue, [[Dissolution Part 3: A World Misplaced|''Lost Light'' #3]], [[New Cybertron Part 4: Dance Among the Shadows|''Optimus Prime'' #4]], ''Till All Are One'' #8, ''Revolutionaries'' #3, and [[G.I. Joe vol. 5 issue 3|''G.I. Joe'' #3]].
*IDW at the NC Comicon

==External links==
*[http://www.cbr.com/transformers-annual-2017/ Preview]

[[Category: IDW Generation 1 issues]]

Praesidia Magna

2017-03-09T20:10:25Z

Egg: Small grammar fixes and wording changes

:''Praesidia Magna is a [[Caminus|Camien]] from the [[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW portion]] of the [[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[File:PraesidiaMagna.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1]]

'''Praesidia Magna''' was a [[Torchbearer]], and [[Pyra Magna]]'s immediate predecessor as leader of the group.

==Fiction==
===IDW Generation 1 continuity===
Long ago, before Caminus had lost the ability to travel the stars, Praesidia Magna and the [[Mistress of Flame]] discovered the rust consumed world of [[Antilla]], answering a distress beacon that had been activated by one of the planet's former inhabitants. The memory of seeing this dead world would end up haunting Praesidia.

Praesidia Magna and her [[Torchbearer|Torchbearers]] were sent on a mission to [[Parvus Oppidum]], a mining town that had recently been beset by bandits after their energon. As they left their ship, Praesidia was greeted by [[Jumpstream]], whose [[Conjunx Endura]], [[Dust Up]], had called them in the first place. While Dust Up showed Praesidia's second in command [[Pyra Magna|Pyra]] the town's energon supply, the bandits suddenly returned and began attacking the Torchbearers. Though she did her best to rally her troops, her leadership skills had always left something to be desired and she was mortally wounded by one of the marauders. Clutching at her wound, she attempted to warn Pyra of the dark figure that had appeared behind her. She was then sucked into a black hole that had opened up underneath the town.

After the events at Parvus, Pyra began to be plagued by constant, repeated dreams of Praesidia trapped on Antilla, begging her former second in command to save her before being killed by [[Onyx Prime]], who Pyra now recognized as the same figure she'd fought against at Parvus. Pyra later took command of the team, inheriting the title of "Magna" from her predecessor.

Years later, Pyra Magna recounted the tale of Praesidia's last mission to [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Optimus Prime]], opining that Praesidia was never cut out for command. {{storylink|Ghost Stories}}

==Notes==
"Praesidia Magna" roughly translates from Latin to "great protector".

[[category:Caminus]]

Dissolution Part 2: Anomie

2017-02-02T15:37:23Z

Egg: /* Covers (4) */ it's Cybertron, not a brain. Asked Roche on twitter

{{Comicstory
|seriesissue=''[[The Transformers: Lost Light|The Transformers: Lost Light]]'' #2
|prev=Dissolution Part 1: Some Other Cybertron
|next=Dissolution Part 3
|image=LL2_regcvr.jpg
|title="Dissolution Part 2: Anomie"
|caption=
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[February 1]], [[2017]]
|coverdate=January 2017
|written by=[[James Roberts]]
|art by=[[Jack Lawrence]]
|colors by=[[Joana Lafuente]]
|letters by=[[Tom B. Long]]
|editor=[[Carlos Guzman]]
|continuity=[[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline|Current era]]
}}
'''While Rodimus's team gets to grips with the Functionist Universe, Tailgate's increasingly aggressive behavior lands Anode in hot water.'''

==Synopsis==
Confronted by [[Twelve-of-Twelve]] and his [[Functionary|Functionaries]], [[Hot Rod (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rodimus]] and company realize they have wound up in the [[Functionist Universe|alternate universe]] previously glimpsed by [[Rewind (G1)|Rewind]]—a world ruled by the [[Functionist Council]], where [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] never lived to start the war. Believing them to be members of the [[Anti-Vocationist League]], like the other prisoners currently in his clutches, Twelve-of-Twelve has them arrested; Megatron instructs everyone to go along peacefully, hoping the rest of the council can be reasoned with. After a Functionary destroys their "teleport den," the group is paraded through the streets, where Megatron observes in disgust as the populace fawns over Twelve-of-Twelve. Rodimus is naturally in a bad mood about the whole situation, and [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Minimus Ambus]] only succeeds in annoying him more when he tries to sympathize. [[Drift (G1)|Drift]] and [[Ratchet (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ratchet]] observe several large screens around the city displaying countdown clocks and wonder how they are connected to the "Day of Revelation" mentioned by their captor, but Drift's attention is soon diverted to a colossal, building-sized statue of [[Primus]], bearing the inscription "Survive and Thrive" at its base. Haunted by the phrase, Drift tells Ratchet about the vision he experienced just before they left: a vision that included [[Pharma (G1)|Pharma]], [[Grimlock (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Grimlock]], [[Sparkeater (creature)|sparkeaters]], the legendary "[[Phantom Fleet]]" of lost [[Worldsweeper]]s... and those words, and many others, scrawled in multiple ancient dialects. Drift also begins to describe the "rain" in his vision, but before he can finish, a grenade clatters into the street and blows up in the faces of the Functionaries leading the group. The Anti-Vocationist League has arrived to save its captive members!

On [[Necroworld]], [[Anode]] finds [[Lug (IDW)|Lug]] lounging by the Memorial to the Disappeared, relaxing after the difficult business of apologizing to everyone for Anode's lack of a social filter. Anode claims not to care what any of them think, but Lug knows she's lying, as she hid her original function from [[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]] when asked. After a bit of poking, Anode admits that she's interested in the quest for [[Cyberutopia]], thinking it might be nice to settle down there; Lug retorts with a laugh that Anode isn't interested in "settling down," but in plundering its treasures. Just then, the body of [[Fangry]] comes flying through the air and crashes into the memorial, followed swiftly by a furious [[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]], who has beaten Fangry to a pulp for his attack on [[Cyclonus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Cyclonus]]. Anode attempts to intervene, but Tailgate backhands her away, inadvertently hurling her against a chunk of debris that impales her through the torso. As Fangry's fellow Decepticons beat a hasty retreat when Tailgate snarls at them, Cyclonus arrives on the scene and reproaches the little 'bot for his actions. In an attempt to make Tailgate understand the enormity and severity of the change his new powers represent, Cyclonus takes him to the site of the group's battle with the [[Decepticon Justice Division]], still littered with the bodies of the many, ''many'' Decepticons Tailgate killed. Tailgate thinks he is merely attempting to make him feel guilty for causing so much death, and argues that it was kill-or-be-killed; Cyclonus tries to make him understand that it is evidence of how much his strength is growing, potentially to a point beyond his control, and how fast his increasing powers are burning through his [[energon]]. Tailgate tries to argue otherwise... at which point, his energon reserves deplete and he collapses.

Back in the [[Censere|Necrobot]]'s fortress, Anode awakes with a start in the med-bay, roused by nightmarish recollections of her old life. Her wounds have been patched by another of the "Disappeared," [[Kaput]], who responded to Lug's calls for help. But no sooner has the medic introduced himself than [[Velocity (G1)|Velocity]] storms into the med-bay and pins Anode down, announcing that she is making a citizen's arrest. Just as Anode had feared, Velocity remembers her—as a thief. While [[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]] goes to check the life-support pods and make sure there aren't any other late-to-revive stragglers like Anode and Lug in them (with a strange remark to [[Nautica (G1)|Nautica]] on the way out, tapping his neck and saying he "needs another" something when he gets back because he is "starting to feel it again"), Velocity produces the "snowflake" treasure previously found by Anode and demands they talk about "the Lighthouse..."

The Anti-Functionist League, it turns out, are a bunch of total wimps who can't put up any kind of fight against the Functionaries. At Rodimus's urging, Megatron breaks his bonds, frees the rest of the team, then takes command of the situation, directing everyone in a brief, dramatic, one-sided battle that sees them emerge victorious. Twelve-of-Twelve boasts that they still cannot stop the broadcast that is about to begin, but when [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] snags him around the throat with a chain, all his bravado disappears and he puts in a distress call to be teleported out. As he vanishes, [[Terminus (G1)|Terminus]] marvels over Megatron's leadership skills, while Rodimus asks the AVL leader [[Clicker]] what the next step of his plan is. Clicker explains they will be using a concealed matter transporter nearby to relocate to the AVL's base of operations: Cyberutopia. Rodimus stares gape-mouthed at Clicker, but before he can ask any questions, the countdown timers all reach zero, and are replaced on the screens with an image of Functionist Council member [[Six-of-Twelve]]. The Day of Revelation has come, Six-of-Twelve tells everyone watching: the day on which the Functionists reveal to the world what the alternate mode of "The Useless One"–their prisoner, the rebel icon [[Rung (G1)|Rung]]–is for!

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Drift (G1)|Drift]] (2)
*[[Hot Rod (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rodimus]] (4)
*[[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] (5)
*[[Rewind (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rewind]] (6)
*[[Ratchet (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ratchet]] (9)
*[[Chromedome (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Chromedome]] (13)
*[[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Minimus Ambus]] (14)
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]] (18)
*[[Kaput]] (23)
*[[Velocity (G1)|Velocity]] (25)
*[[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]] (26)
*[[Nautica (G1)|Nautica]] (27)
{{!}}}
|c2=
*[[Fangry]] (12)
*[[Rapidfire]] (20)
*Two other "Disappeared" Decepticons (19, 21)
*[[Jack-Knife]]'s corpse (24)

|c4=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Roller (IDW)|Roller]] (1)
*[[Terminus (G1)|Terminus]] (3)
*[[Twelve-of-Twelve]] (7)
*Multiple [[Functionary|Functionaries]] (8)
*[[Anode]] (10)
*[[Lug (IDW)|Lug]] (11)
*Two [[Lunabot]]s (15)
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*Other [[Anti-Vocationist League]]rs (16)
*[[Clicker]] (17)
*[[Cyclonus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Cyclonus]] (22)
*[[Six-of-Twelve]] (28)
*Functionist Universe [[Rung (G1)|Rung]] (29)
{{!}}}
}}

==Quotes==
"Be careful. When you lie to me, you lie to '''God.'''"
:—'''Twelve-of-Twelve''' threatens our heroes

"The ''Lost Light''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s been stolen; we're '''once again''' without a map to Cyberutopia; and now, to top it all, we're trapped in entirely the wrong universe. We've never been further from our goal. '''Ever.''' In fact, it's hard to escape the conclusion that we'd be closer to finding the '''Knights of Cybertron''' if we hadn't started looking for them in the first place." 
"What was that? What was that supposed to be? The opposite of a '''pep talk,''' that's what that was. God! I was angry, now I'm angry and '''depressed.''' Can I be chained to someone else, please?"
:—'''Minimus Ambus''' gets on '''Rodimus'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s nerves

"Ah. Okay. Oooh-kay. I get it. Bad guy or not, he was a '''person.''' Point taken. Lesson learned. Except '''no.''' Because it was '''him or me''', Cyclonus, I didn't kill him for '''fun!''' And if I'm '''honest?''' I don't think you get to play that card. I mean, how many people have '''you''' killed? '''Innocent''' people. How often do you think about '''them?'''" 
"Every day."
:—'''Tailgate''' and '''Cyclonus'''

"I'm making a '''citizen's arrest.'''" 
''(beat)'' 
"Who knows how to make a citizen's arrest?"
:—'''Velocity'''

"The '''A.V.L.''' would have you believe that not everyone has a purpose; that Primus built some of us - '''one''' of us - without a specific function in mind. 'All Hail The Useless One'. No more. Because today...today we tell you what the Useless One is ''for''."
:—'''Six-of-Twelve''' chews the scenery.

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
*Rewind references the "Black Box Consortia," the Functionist Universe version of the [[Black Block Consortia]] who were previously mentioned in [[The Custom-Made Now - An Elegant Chaos Prologue|''More than Meets the Eye'' #35]]. This finally confirms that wasn't just a typo!
*Oddly enough, Tailgate and Cyclonus' current relationship parallels their dynamic from the beginning of the comic. But this time, it's ''Tailgate'' who's the violent and powerful bot that needs to calm down.
*Primus's statue renders the character as he appeared in [[Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations|the ''More than Meets the Eye'' 2012 annual]].
*Drift mentioned having another vision recently last issue; we here learn that he was not referring to his original vision, which inspired him to join the ''[[Lost Light]]'' crew, but rather to a new premonition that guided him and Ratchet to Necroworld, which took place off-panel prior to [[The Dying of the Light Part 2: The Sun in Flight|''More than Meets the Eye'' #51]].
*The Worldsweepers seen in Drift's vision last issue are identified by him as the [[Phantom Fleet]], which disappeared in the [[Dark Nebula]]. The Nebula was previously mentioned in [[Nothing Will Ever Be the Same Again!|the ''More than Meets the Eye: Revolution'' one-shot]] as the home of the [[Dire Wraith]]s.
*The Anti-Vocationist League members seen in this issue include two [[Lunabot]]s, as seen before in issue #35.
*Kaput previously appeared in [[Omega's Conundrum|''Spotlight: Orion Pax'']]. His inclusion among the "Disappeared" tells us that the Necrobot didn't keep his list in chronological order, because Kaput was known to be active until just a few years ago, having helped to repair [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] following the events of ''[[The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers|Last Stand of the Wreckers]]'', according to "[[Zero Point]]."
*Swerve's remarks to Nautica as he leaves indicate he is undergoing a process that temporarily keeps him from "feeling" something. After last issue drew attention to how he didn't appear to be feeling any sadness over [[Skids (G1)|Skids]]'s death, that's rather worrying...
*When Six-of-Twelve previously appeared in issue #35, he had a normal-shaped head, but as Chromedome notes, it has since been redesigned to resemble the [[Matrix of Leadership]]. The fate of the Matrix is unknown in the Functionist Universe; without the war to bring [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Orion Pax]] to prominence, it presumably must still reside in the [[Undergrid]] where it was concealed millennia ago, per [[Remain in Light 3 of 5: The Divided Self|''More than Meets the Eye'' #19]].

===Transformers references===
*Continuing with the standard set by issue #35 the crowd scenes set within the Functionist Universe feature easter egg appearances by lots of characters from the [[Unicron Trilogy]], including [[Inferno (Energon)|''Energon'' Inferno]], [[Smokescreen (Armada)|''Armada'' Smokescreen]], [[Strongarm (Energon)|''Energon'' Strongarm]], [[Metroplex (Cybertron)|''Cybertron'' Metroplex]], [[Scavenger (Armada)|''Armada'' Scavenger]], [[Quickmix (Cybertron)|''Cybertron'' Quickmix]], [[Menasor (Cybertron)|''Cybertron'' Menasor]] (with a proper face), [[Landmine (Energon)|''Cybertron'' Landmine]], and [[Smokescreen (Armada)|''Armada'' Hoist]], as well as [[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2001 franchise)|''Robots in Disguise'']] characters [[Grimlock (RID 2001)|Grimlock]] and [[Hightower (RID)|Hightower]]. The two Lunabots seen among the Anti-Vocationist League remain based on [[Jetfire (Armada)|''Energon'' Jetfire]], just as the one seen in issue #35 was.
*The two nameless Decepticons who flee Tailgate's wrath alongside [[Rapidfire]] are based on the [[Divebomb (Energon)|''Energon'' Divebomb]] and [[Hardtop (Cybertron)|''Cybertron'' Hardtop]] molds, with new color schemes. As a dune buggy, "Hardtop" seems to be in [[Beachcomber (G1)|Beachcomber]]-blues-and-greys.

===Real life references===
*The title of this issue, "Anomie," is a word meaning the "lack of the usual social or ethical standards in an individual or group."

===Errors===
*On the regular cover, Cyclonus's [[Great Sword]] is ''way'' too short. He's not holding it an angle that would induce foreshortening.
*Twelve-of-Twelve gives the date as "1st Cycle 3041," but that's way off. The present era is something closer to 3819, per the date on the post for ''Information Creep'' in [[slaughterhouse Part 2: The Road Not Taken|issue #33]]. In fact, 3041 would predate even the [[Simanzi Massacre]], which took place in 3178, per [[The Gloaming|issue #16]].
*On page 5, panel 1, there's a little 'bot standing on the rooftop with a crane-arm on his back. The tip of his crane arm is cut off where it meets the edge of the roof, because the roof was apparently "pasted" onto the art.
*On page 13, panel 2, the edge of Tailgate's first speech balloon isn't properly aligned with the edge of the panel.

===Other trivia===
*Originally solicited for release in January 2017, this issue arrives a little late, slipping into the first week of February.

===Soundtrack===
For all of "Dissolution":
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEI75kn9FTc Neither Here Nor There]" by {{w|Lost in the Trees}}

For this issue alone:
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYigyIuY8to It Ended on an Oily Stage]" by {{w|British Sea Power}}
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTS5jXKLGkQ Optimo]" by {{w|Liquid Liquid}}
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G21swi--fc Lille]" by {{w|Lisa Hannigan}}

===Covers (4)===
*'''Regular cover:''' Cyclonus defends Swerve, Tailgate, and [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]], by [[Jack Lawrence]] and [[Joana Lafuente]]
*'''Subscription cover A:''' Our heroes at the wrong ends of an array of blasters, by [[Alex Milne]]; one of a series of black-and-white "Artist's Edition" covers on IDW's January titles.
*'''Subscription cover B:''' Megatron reaches for Cybertron, by [[Nick Roche]] and [[Josh Burcham]]
*'''Retailer incentive cover:''' Rodimus stares out at an alien world, by [[Joana Lafuente]]; one of a series of retailer incentive variants by Lafuente on January's ''Transformers'' titles.

<gallery>
File:LL2 regcvr.jpg|
File:LL2 subcvrA.jpg|
File:LL2 subcvrB.jpg|
File:LL2 cvrRI.jpg|
</gallery>

===Advertisements===
*''Lost Light'' #3
*"The Hasbro Tribune" editorial page promoting January's [[Hasbro Universe]] titles, including this issue, [[New Cybertron Part 3: Behind My Bleeding Back|''Optimus Prime'' #3]], [[Desperate Measures|''Till All Are One'' #7]], ''Revolutionaries'' #2, and [[G.I. Joe vol. 5 issue 2|''G.I. Joe'' #2]].
*2017 IDW Annuals
*''[[Action Man]]'' trade paperback
*''[[Revolution]]'' trade paperback
*IDW on Comixology Unlimited

==External links==
*[http://www.cbr.com/transformers-lost-light-2-exclusive-preview/ Preview]

[[Category: Lost Light issues]]

Dissolution Part 1: Some Other Cybertron

2017-02-02T15:18:19Z

Egg: /* Transformers references */ Lug's pronoun

{{Comicstory
|seriesissue=''[[The Transformers: Lost Light|The Transformers: Lost Light]]'' #1
|prev=Nothing Will Ever Be the Same Again!
|next=Dissolution Part 2: Anomie
|image=LL1_regcvr.jpg
|title="Dissolution Part 1: Some Other Cybertron"
|caption=
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[December 14]], [[2016]]
|coverdate=December 2016
|written by=[[James Roberts]]
|art by=[[Jack Lawrence]]
|colors by=[[Joana Lafuente]] (pg. 1-4) and [[John-Paul Bove]] (pg. 5-20)
|letters by=[[Tom B. Long]]
|editor=[[Carlos Guzman]]
|continuity=[[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline|Current era (2016)]]
}}
'''The stranded ''Lost Light''ers take stock following their victory.'''

==Synopsis==
On [[Moonbase Two|Luna 2]], [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertronian]] treasure-hunters [[Anode]] and [[Lug (IDW)|Lug]] find themselves under attack by a [[Decepticon]] [[Cybernought]]. Anode activates a forcefield to protect them while she digs up the artifact they've come looking for, which they intend to sell to a buyer named [[Techy]]. Lug is quite convinced they are about to die; fortunately for them, moments before the Cybernought breaks through the forcefield, the [[Censere|Necrobot]] appears before them and spirits them away to the future.

Five hundred years later, Anode and Lug awaken from their stasis capsules on [[Necroworld]], just two of the many believed-dead 'bots the Necrobot has rescued from throughout time. The last to wake, they belatedly join a "debriefing" held by [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]], who gets them up to speed, explaining what has happened to them, and about the Autobots' recent battle with and victory over the [[Decepticon Justice Division]]—though he and the energetic Anode immediately butt heads when she complains about his dry delivery. Anode and Lug head out to mingle, where they are intercepted by [[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]], who has allegedly been assigned to carry out "background checks." Anode begins to suspect otherwise as the little bartender's questions become more and more ludicrous, so she changes the subject to ask about his [[Autobot]] [[insignia]], now black in color. Swerve explains he and the others are in mourning for [[Skids (G1)|Skids]]; Anode remarks that he doesn't ''seem'' very upset, to which Swerve rightly takes umbrage, and stomps off, sarcastically remarking that Anode should have [[Velocity (G1)|Velocity]] check her for "timesickness." Anode realizes too late the harshness of her words, but is immediately more concerned to hear Velocity's name...

Elsewhere in the crowd, [[Rewind (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rewind]] introduces [[Roller (IDW)|Roller]] to Velocity and [[Nautica (G1)|Nautica]], but the medic has to rush off and drags Nautica with her. Nearby, Decepticons [[Rapidfire]] and [[Fangry]] watch this exchange, suspicious and discontented with the news that the war is over, and spoiling for a fight. Fangry suggests they pick a fight with the toughest 'bot in the room to establish dominance, and eyes the super-strong [[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]] as he shows off for the crowd, lifting Roller over his head and describing his various feats in the recent battle. As the wary [[Cyclonus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Cyclonus]] drags Tailgate aside to tell him off for grandstanding, Fangry saunters over and deliberately shoulders them as he goes past.

Meanwhile, [[Drift (G1)|Drift]] applies a new paintjob to [[Hot Rod/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rodimus]], replacing his reds, yellows, and oranges with black, blue, and purple—colors that, in the [[Spectralism]] doctrine, express both grief for a fallen comrade, and a "promise to kill." Rodimus implies this dual intent is intentional and that he is quite willing to kill [[Getaway]] for everything he has done to them when they get back to the ''[[Lost Light]]'', but before he can say it aloud, a tremor shakes the whole fortress.

The quake is also felt out in the Necrobot's flower fields by [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]], who has been telling his old friend [[Terminus (G1)|Terminus]] about the war, much as he might doubt his own objectivity on the matter. Before heading back, Megatron pauses at the plinth of [[Ravage (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ravage]]'s now-deactivated holographic statue, and bids his departed friend farewell... whereupon [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]] and [[Rung (G1)|Rung]] suddenly burst out of the ground beneath his feet! They all return to the fortress, where [[Brainstorm (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Brainstorm]] explains that he teleported the pair back from the depths of the planet (just not ''quite'' all the way to the surface!) using the Necrobot's teleportation chamber, which he has rebuilt back out of the [[fusion cannon]] he turned it into. Nightbeat relates what he and Rung discovered, as well as the appearance of the [[Galactic Council]]'s [[geobomb]]—which apparently just burned out without effect, causing the earlier tremor. Rung, meanwhile, learns of Skids's fate from [[Ratchet (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ratchet]], and sorrowfully goes to pay his last respects to his friend. As he grieves by Skids's bedside, however, a shaft of light unexpectedly bursts out of Rung's chest and he retches into his hand...

Tailgate awakens from a recharge to find that Cyclonus has been badly beaten. Suspecting Fangry is to blame, Tailgate storms off to find him, despite Cyclonus's pleas to the contrary. Concurrently, Anode and Lug attempt to use the teleporter; though Lug doesn't know the story behind it, Anode and Velocity apparently know one another, and Anode needs to get away from her as fast as possible. They are caught in the act by Rodimus and Drift, who explain that there's only enough energy for one use of the device... but Anode has already gone off on another tangent, fascinated by Drift's [[Great Sword]]. When she attempts to analyze it, he pushes her away, but the instant he makes contact, Drift collapses to the ground, and sees a terrifying vision of [[Pharma (G1)|Pharma]] leading an army of [[sparkeater (creature)|sparkeaters]] and [[Worldsweeper]]s, all bearing down on himself, Rodimus, and [[Grimlock (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Grimlock]], and a mysterious message etched in the ground!

Keeping his vision a secret, Drift subsequently joins the rest of the selected team—Rodimus, [[Minimus Ambus]], Ratchet, [[Chromedome (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Chromedome]], Rewind, Megatron, Terminus, and Roller—in using the teleporter to return to Cybertron so they can obtain a ship and then go back and collect everyone else. The machine appears to function perfectly, though it doesn't survive the trip... but as the group looks out over where [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]] should be and sees a glittering metropolis, rather than the half-rebuilt city they left behind, they begin to suspect that something has gone wrong. A moment later, they are confronted by [[Twelve-of-Twelve]] of the [[Functionist Council]] and his [[Functionary]] enforcers, and Rewind realizes what has happened—they ''are'' on Cybertron... but they're in an [[Functionist Universe|alternate universe]]!

==Featured characters==
Character in ''italic text'' appear only in Drift's vision. 
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus/Minimus Ambus]] (5)
*[[Velocity (G1)|Velocity]] (8)
*[[Rewind (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rewind]] (9)
*[[Nautica (G1)|Nautica]] (10)
*[[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]] (13)
*[[Wavelength (G1)|Wavelength]] (14)
*[[Syphon]] (16)
*[[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]] (17)
*[[Hot Rod/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rodimus]] (18)
*[[Drift (G1)|Drift]] (19)
*[[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] (21)
*[[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]] (22)
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Rung (G1)|Rung]] (23)
*[[Brainstorm (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Brainstorm]] (24)
*[[Ratchet (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ratchet]] (25)
*[[Skids (G1)|Skids]]'s body (27)
*''[[Pharma (G1)|Pharma]]'' (28)
*''[[Grimlock (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Grimlock]]'' (30)
*[[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]] (31)
*[[Chromedome (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Chromedome]] (32)
{{!}}}
|c2=
*[[Rapidfire]] (11)
*[[Fangry]] (12)
|c4=
*[[Anode]] (1)
*[[Lug (IDW)|Lug]] (2)
*[[Cybernought]] pilot (3)
*[[Censere]] (4)
*Miscellaneous unnamed "Disappeared" (6)
*[[Roller (IDW)|Roller]] (7)
*[[Cyclonus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Cyclonus]] (15)
*[[Terminus (G1)|Terminus]] (20)
*[[Ten]] (26)
*''Multiple [[Sparkeater (creature)|sparkeaters]]'' (29)
*Multiple [[Functionary|Functionaries]] (33)
*[[Twelve-of-Twelve]] (34)
}}

==Quotes==
"In my experience, no matter how bad the problem, no matter how insurmountable the odds, if you '''stand around''' long enough, someone else will sort it out."
:—'''Anode'''

"I think I speak for everyone here—particularly those of us who've spent the last 50 slides trying to '''punch ourselves to death'''—when I say: next time, just skip to that bit. The bit you said just now. The end bit. And maybe a few '''jokes''' to spice things up. Because that was so '''dull''' it made my '''life''' cry." 
"Those were '''statements''', not questions. I asked for questions. Do you have any?" 
"Does this count?"
:—'''Anode''' and '''Ultra Magnus'''

"'''Magnus?''' Last time he gave a speech, people '''died'''." 
"I know. The only winner that day was '''medical science'''. We finally know what happens when the brain is totally deprived of stimulus."
:—'''Rodimus''' and '''Drift'''

"Goodbye, dear friend. The universe is emptier now, but you live on in its echoes."
:—'''Megatron''' bids farewell to Ravage

'''Brainstorm:''' "'kay, so, bear in mind that when you turn something into something else and then '''reverse''' the process you have to make some... '''aesthetic compromises.'''" 
''(The teleport chamber is revealed to be a ramshackle half-pipe lying on the floor.)'' 
'''Rodimus:''' "It's a '''den''', Brainstorm. You've built a '''den.'''" 
'''Ultra Magnus:''' "Does it work? As a teleporter, I mean. Not a den. I'm not qualified to pass judgement on a den."

"Whirl, I'm—" 
"—putting me in charge? '''Finally'''." 
"'''You'''? I wouldn't put you in charge of your own '''legs.'''" 
"Ouch. Lucky for you I respect people who hurt my feelings."
:—'''Rodimus''' and '''Whirl'''

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
*After a five-month gap in real-world time, we rejoin Team Rodimus on the Necroworld directly following on from the end of [[The Dying of the Light Part 6: Do Not Go Gentle|''More than Meets the Eye'' #55]]. That issue saw the defeat of the DJD, the death of Ravage, the return of the "Disappeared" Transformers, recovered from throughout time by the Necrobot (including Roller and Terminus), and the ''apparent'' detonation of the Galactic Council's geobomb.
*Cybernought battle suits were introduced in [[Scavengers (Part 2): Who's Afraid of the DJD?|''More than Meets the Eye'' #8]].
*Anode suspects Swerve's questions aren't genuine; of course, he's holding his own self-governed "Crewditions" again, asking silly questions, like he did back in [[World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|''More than Meets the Eye'' #28]]. All Swerve's "checks" reference the escapades of his various ship-mates: Brainstorm time-travelled to save someone he loved ([[Quark]]); Ultra Magnus is a [[loadbearer]] in disguise (in the form of [[Minimus Ambus]]); Megatron attempted to take over the universe (on numerous occasions); Skids had a dark secret (that he was responsible for Quark's death, as well as hundreds more); Tailgate had suppressed powers (triggered by a quantum-filled mutation). The reference to "villainous ex-partners" probably refers to the recurring theme of various characters reuniting with old friends and co-workers who are revealed to be traitors, including Getaway, [[Pharma]], [[Tyrest]], and [[Froid]]. It also could be Chromedome—whose ex-partner [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]] put [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] on the ship.
*The crew are all wearing black Autobot insignias in memory of Skids, who died in [[The Dying of the Light Part 5: Rage, Rage|''More than Meets the Eye'' #54]].
*Rung's reaction to Skids's death is understandable, if due a little more exploration; he and Skids had grown closer over the last year of ''More than Meets the Eye'', and they shared a notably awkward parting for unclear reasons in [[The Dying of the Light Part 4: At Close of Day|issue #53]].
*Drift's vision features various separate but interlinked components of the primary over-arcing mystery of ''More than Meets the Eye''. Grimlock was found aboard a Worldsweeper in [[Rules of Disengagement (issue)|issue #7]], and it was revealed in [[Animals|issue #46]] that the ships are connected to a group of robots who wear the mysterious gear-like hieroglyph that has repeatedly appeared throughout the series, including on the surface of Luna-2, and on [[Thunder Clash|Thunderclash]]'s map to [[Cyberutopia]]. This symbol was identified in [[The Dying of the Light: (1) How Bright Their Frail Deeds|issue #50]] as a coat-of-arms linked to the [[Knights of Cybertron]]. Pharma, meanwhile, was last seen in [[Remain in Light 5 of 5: This Calamitous Life|issue #21]] when his dead body was dragged through an experimental spacebridge by forces unknown; on the other side of this bridge Skids briefly encountered a gigantic [[spark]] that spoke only in images, which included the symbol. Finally, the message Drift finds etched into the ground (see "Transformers references" below) translates to "PREPARE, CONFRONT, REPEL"—the same message Grimlock was shown to have written under a drawing of the glyph in issue #46. None of this seems to bode well for the true fate of the supposedly great and legendary Knights of Cybertron.
*Drift refers to the "last time" he had a vision. We never saw it happen, but, as revealed in the prose backup story from issue #21, "[[The Sound of Breaking Glass]]," this occurred when he stabbed himself with his [[Great Sword]] in [[Chaos Part Three: Kings|issue #28]] of the [[The Transformers (IDW)|2009-2011 ongoing series]], giving him a vague glimpse of the future that inspired his dedication to Rodimus.
*Our heroes have wound up in the parallel [[Functionist Universe]], an alternate timeline where Megatron never lived to start the war, introduced in [[The Custom-Made Now - An Elegant Chaos Prologue|''More than Meets the Eye'' #35]]. That issue featured the debut of [[Twelve-of-Twelve]], the [[Functionist Council]]'s [[Functionary]] enforcers, and the advanced form of [[Empurata]] that sees a 'bot's head replaced with a screen, as one of the councilman's retinue seen here has been subjected to. A "chest cavity search" is mentioned which was also seen in that issue, consisting of an examination of a 'bot's [[transformation cog]]. Rewind recognizes the universe from his previous glimpse of it, granted when his database was slowly overwritten when history was changed.
*The Empurata-afflicted 'bot is holding captive three other smaller robots, who are evidently protesters of the same kind as seen in issue #35—ones who have modified the appearance of their bodies to look like Rung, an individual who the disenfranchised in Functionist society have rallied around for his mysterious, apparently purposeless alternate mode. In [[Elegant Chaos Part 3: Predestination: An Expert's Guide|issue #39]], however, Functionist council member [[One-of-Twelve]] told that universe's captive Rung that they had figured out the mystery of his alt mode at last... which, coupled with Rung's intriguing physical reactions to the death of Skids this issue, indicates this long-standing puzzle may soon be solved!
*The two protestors whose faces we can see appear to have black, bleeding, empty eye-sockets. This is almost certainly connected to the Functionist Council's plan to install cameras in the eyes of everyone on Cybertron, detailed in issue #35.
*The screen-face bot's color scheme is similar to that of [[Skystalker (G1)|Skystalker]]. Whether this bot ''is'' Skystalker is yet unclear.

===Transformers references===
*Lug turns into Anode's backpack. Her transformation scheme is based on that of the ''[[Titans Return (toyline)|Titans Return]]'' [[Rewind (G1)#Generations|Rewind]] toy.
*A few of the generic "Disappeared" Transformers look to have stolen the color schemes of other characters, including [[Greejeeber|''Adventure'' Greejeeber]], [[Ricochet (Headmasters)|Ricochet]], [[Waspinator (BW)/toys#TM1|Transmetal Waspinator]], and [[Smokescreen (Prime)|''Beast Hunters'' Smokescreen]]/"[[Bluestreak (Masterpiece)|Blue Bluestreak]]". Another one shares strikingly similar hues to [[Fireshot (G1)|Fireshot]]/[[Vanquish (G1)|Vanquish]].
*Rodimus's new color scheme is based on the [[e-HOBBY]] exclusive character, [[Black Rodimus Convoy]].
*The sword Grimlock is holding in Drift's vision is the [[Grimlock (WFC)|''Fall of Cybertron'' Grimlock]] toy's.
*The message Drift sees in his vision is written in "[[Cybertronian language|Ancient Autobot]]," a substitution cypher/font created by [[Jim Sorenson]], based loosely on the hieroglyphics seen in the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Generation 1 cartoon]] episode "[[Cosmic Rust (episode)|Cosmic Rust]]."
*Upon arrival in the Functionist Universe, the Autobots are met by what Twelve-of-Twelve calls a [[Sky Spy|Sky-Spy]], after the Autobot satellite from the Generation 1 cartoon. Rather than share its design with that device, though, (as the Sky Spies that appeared in [[Shadowplay (Conclusion): An Intimate Beheading|''More than Meets the Eye'' #11]] did), its appearance is that of a ''[[Beast Machines: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Machines]]'' [[Diagnostic Drone]], a design previously used by the ''Lost Light''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s medical drone, seen in multiple issues.

===Real life references===
*Any significance it might have to the story going forward notwithstanding, the "treasure" Anode digs up on Luna 2 sure looks like a [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Special%20Snowflake%20Syndrome special snowflake].
*When Rewind realizes what has happened at the end of the issue, he quotes Arthur Dent from the ''{{w|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy}}'' novel ''{{w|Mostly Harmless}}'' when he remarks "Right planet, wrong universe."

===Errors===
*Tailgate's insignia is mourning-black on page 9, but red on page 15. Brainstorm and Megatron's, meanwhile, are consistently colored red, even on pages where other characters' are black, so that might be deliberate. We mean, Brainstorm ''is'' a bit of an arsehole...
*Rong's eyebrows are coloured orange on the last panel of page 14, as opposed to their usual gray.
*The overview/recap of the crew's adventures so far blames the events of [[Dark Cybertron (IDW)|Dark Cybertron]] on [[D-Void]], not Shockwave. Not even IDW themselves understand what that crossover was about, we suppose....
*The recap also claims that Fortress Maximus was the one to accidentally shoot Rung in [[Interiors]], when it was actually Swerve.

===Other trivia===
*''Lost Light'' takes the place of ''[[The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More than Meets the Eye]]'' on the IDW schedule, and remains written by James Roberts, continuing on the story begun in the previous title's pages. This issue's story is followed by a five-page recap of the ''More than Meets the Eye'' story so far.
*Would you believe this is Fangry's first appearance in IDW continuity? I know! Talk about overdue!

===Soundtrack===
For all of "Dissolution":
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEI75kn9FTc Neither Here Nor There]" by {{w|Lost in the Trees}}

For this issue alone:
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rFfRo0SRAg This Is Why We Fight]" by {{w|The Decemberists}}
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxT0cUFbJyw Magic In Here]" by {{w|The Go-Betweens}}
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcE8YWdGtnI Water From the Same Source]" by {{w|Rachel's}}

===Covers (9)===
*'''Regular cover:''' Rodimus, Ratchet, Drift, and Nautica, by [[Jack Lawrence]] and [[Joana Lafuente]]
*'''Subscription cover A:''' Rodimus and the ''Lost Light'', by [[Nick Roche]] and [[Josh Burcham]]
*'''Subscription cover B:''' [[Getaway]] and the mutineers, by [[Andrew Griffith]] and [[Josh Perez]]
*'''Subscription cover C:''' Blank cover for sketches

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*'''Retailer incentive cover A:''' Graffiti of Megatron, Rodimus, and Nautica by [[Sara Pitre-Durocher]]; part of a series of "graffiti" variants by Pitre-Durocher which combines with covers from [[New Cybertron Part 1: To Walk Among the Chosen|''Optimus Prime'' #1]], [[Crisis Intervention|''Revolutionaries'' #1]], {{i|M.A.S.K. issue 1|''M.A.S.K.'' #1}}, and {{i|G.I. Joe Vol 5 issue 1|''G.I. Joe'' #1}} to form a complete image.
*'''Retailer incentive cover B:''' Megatron by [[Sonny Liew]]; one in a series of variants by Liew on the above-mentioned issues.
*'''Retailer incentive cover C:''' Megatron by [[Paul Pope]]; one in a series of variants by Pope on the above-mentioned issues.
*'''Bad Wolf Comics exclusive cover:''' Rodimus and the spectre of Megatron's past self, by [[Sajad Shah]] and [[Juan Fernandez]]; available exclusively from [http://www.badwolfcomics.com/ Bad Wolf Comics].
*'''Ript Apparel exclusive cover:''' the cast recreate the movie poster for ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'', by [[Ninjaink|Timothy Lim]]. In a cute touch, Rodimus and Magnus's spots are swapped, meaning Rodimus gets to stand front and center while Magnus is way off to the side, in the distance, in vehicle mode. Available exclusively from [https://www.riptapparel.com/ Ript Apparel].

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===Advertisements===
*''Lost Light'' #2
*"Hasbro Tribune" promoting November's [[Hasbro Universe]] "[[Reconstruction]]" titles, including this issue

==External links==
*[http://www.cbr.com/transformers-lost-light-1/ Preview]

[[Category: Lost Light issues]]

Impactor (G1)

2016-11-27T20:10:27Z

Egg: /* IDW Generation 1 continuity */ moved battle with Black Shadow to fit timeline better, minor text changes her and there

{{factions|autobot|wreckers}}
{{disambig3|Impactor}}
:''Impactor is an [[Autobot]] from the [[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[File:Impactor Autopedia.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|Madeup leader of the nobody squad.]]
'''Impactor''' is the legendary former leader of the [[Wrecker]]s, an elite [[Autobot]] strike team, and as such is a deadly force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. His body is covered with weaponry, from the tank cannon on his shoulder, to the missiles hidden in his chest<ref>[https://twitter.com/NickRoche/status/727425912287928320 Nick Roche's twitter]</ref> , to the handgun strapped to his leg, and finally his signature harpoon weapon that replaces his right hand. His audacity and resolve is what puts him in the history books, for better or for worse.

Impactor's first officer, [[Springer (G1)|Springer]], is inevitably his replacement, once terrible things occur. Springer's feelings regarding his filling of Impactor's immense shoes are always a source of angst. Just when Springer thinks these emotions are dealt with and buried, Impactor somehow returns to mix things up again. In [[IDW continuity|some universes]], he has the nickname '''Kiloton'''.

Sometimes, Impactor combines with his fellow [[Wrecker]]s to form [[Wreckage (G1)|Wreckage]].

{{TOCclear}}

==Fiction==
===Marvel ''The Transformers'' comics===
{{noteukexclusive|Impactor}}
[[File:Impactorfearless.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|[[Macabre]] who?]]
After the departure of [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]], [[Megatron (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Megatron]] and their troops from the war, [[Xaaron|Emirate Xaaron]] assigned the Wreckers to assassinate the warlord [[Trannis]], who came into power in Megatron's absence. Impactor was chosen to lead this team. Though the assassination attempt was successful, other leaders quickly sprung up to take Trannis' place.

[[File:Xaaronimpactor.jpg|thumb|Impactor carries a gun barrel around for those (*ahem*, Xaaron) who invade his personal space.]]
Though Impactor was dedicated to his troops, he was not so dedicated to his superiors, and was not above directly insulting them. Emirate Xaaron took this attitude in stride, and could give as well as he received. Impactor referred to the Autobot resistance leader as a "wily old buzzard," as he was often surprised by Xaaron's blunt yet indirect ways of making his point and getting what he wanted. Despite this, their difficulties masked a genuine friendship.

Countless years later, after Optimus Prime and his Autobots had awoken on [[Earth]], Impactor and the Wreckers were responsible for executing [[Operation: Volcano]], a planned ambush of the [[Ten Deadliest Killers|Decepticons' fiercest warriors]] using Xaaron as bait. [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Ultra Magnus]] was assigned to the Wreckers to help them bolster their ranks for the mission, but he was quickly needed to travel to Earth to investigate the disappearance of Optimus Prime. Impactor's commitment to the mission wavered and he at first refused to deploy his team without Magnus there as back-up, but he changed his mind after a conversation with Xaaron. Impactor's doubts were further quelled when Xaaron convinced him that [[Springer (G1)|Springer]], [[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]], and [[Sandstorm (G1)|Sandstorm]] were an adequate replacement for Magnus, which Xaaron accomplished by having them disguise themselves as Decepticons and beat Impactor up. Operation: Volcano was once again on track.

Xaaron, the bait for the Wreckers' trap, was placed according to plan, but suddenly Megatron called his warriors to Earth, overriding all other commands, including the planned ambush on Xaaron. Disappointed that their trap was ruined, the Wreckers let down their guard long enough to allow an assassin named [[Macabre]], ignoring Megatron's orders, to fire upon Xaaron. Impactor was the first to react and pushed Xaaron out of the way, taking the shots meant for the Autobot underground resistance leader. Immediately, the other Wreckers turned and fired upon Macabre, killing him, but Impactor was fatally wounded. With his last words he named Springer the next leader of the Wreckers before dying in Xaaron's arms, again calling him a "wily old buzzard." {{storylink|Target: 2006}}

[[File:Impactorzombie.jpg|left|thumb|Brains!]]
Impactor's death would haunt several other Autobots for some time to come. Though he sought to deny it, Ultra Magnus felt guilty for not returning to Cybertron in time, and this led to his taking an excessive approach when dealing with Optimus Prime, whom intelligence reports stated was a traitor. {{storylink|Under Fire!}} Subsequently Magnus found a fight with Megatron proved the opportunity to release his pent-up aggression over Impactor's death. {{storylink|Resurrection!}} Even after that, the sight of a volcano on Earth left him uneasy, and cause him to flashback to Impactor's death. {{storylink|Burning Sky!}}

Springer was also severely affected by Impactor's death, and felt inadequate in the shadow of his legacy. So when a rogue Autobot scientist named [[Flame (Marvel)|Flame]] discovered a way to reanimate dead Transformers, Springer was crippled from action when he was met with the reanimated corpse of Impactor. After being captured by the zombies' controller, the mad scientist [[Flame (Marvel)|FLame]], the Wreckers were put in an underground cell, guarded by their former team leader. Managing to find his courage once more, Springer made use of his leaping abilities to escape, but Impactor grabbed a hold of him, dragging him outside of the cell as well. Springer reluctantly fought his predecessor until he managed to jar Impactor into remembering his past life. Confused, Impactor wandered away while Springer pursued his mission to foil Flame's machinations. {{storylink|Legion of the Lost!}} Eventually, Impactor shambled into Flame's inner sanctum, where the rest of the Autobots were facing off both against the crazed scientist, and what remained of his zombie horde. As Flame lunged for Xaaron, Impactor launched his harpoon, impaling the Flame through the forehead and killing him. But though Flame had now been dealt with, his machines were overloading, threatening to take the whole planet with them in a chain reaction. The only means to shut them down was to enter a control room bathed in deadly radiation. Though Xaaron had initially planned to sacrifice himself, Impactor took his place, arguing he was already dead anyways. In his second death, Impactor saved [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] once more. {{storylink|Meltdown!}}
{{-}}

===IDW Generation 1 continuity===
[[File:Ongoing22 MaccadamsNewOilHouse.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|"Let's see: 'I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness. Starving, hysterical, naked...' Nah, it's never gonna catch on, Megs."]]
Impactor was [[Reproduction#IDW Generation 1 continuity|constructed cold]] before the war. {{storylink|Remain in Light 3 of 5: The Divided Self|The Divided Self}} He worked as a miner near Nova Point, and befriended a fellow mine grunt, [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] there. The two became best friends<ref>[https://twitter.com/jroberts332/status/681985702821793794 James Roberts' MTMTE2015 twitter Q&A]</ref> despite their differences, and were together when miners were shipped to [[Moonbase Two|Luna 2]] when Cybertron's need for energy rose. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1|Chaos Theory #1}} {{storylink|Shockwaves}} Impactor thought Megatron's nonviolent solutions to Cybertron's class warfare were cute, and reminded him that there would always be a pecking order, no matter how large or small the equation. Megatron's naïveté was underscored when the lowly [[Rung (G1)|Rung]] was ganged up on by a much larger pair of military cadets and tossed across their table. Impactor, drunk, got up to deal with them the only way he thought mattered. Megatron was put off by the violence and stayed out of the fight, but was arrested anyway; Impactor was taken to [[Deltaran Medical Facility]], but not before he'd torn the cadet's legs off and shoved them into a garbage grinder. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1|Chaos Theory #1}} {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 2: Stet}}

When [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]] was arrested for the beating he gave Megatron during the latter's brief incarceration, Impactor ended up being his cellmate on [[Garrus-1]]. Impactor proceeded to beat up Whirl to the brink of fade-out, leaving him in critical condition. {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 2: Patternism|Patternism}}

[[File:RulesofDisengagement-BlackShadowvsWreckers.jpg|thumb|left|upright=2.4]]

At some point after war broke out, Impactor joined the Wreckers, when they were not yet the war heroes they would come to be known as, but merely a rumor. {{storylink|Zero Point}} During this time, he was approached by [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]] who had formed a partnership with the depraved scientist [[Tarantulas (BW)#IDW Generation 1 continuity|Mesothulas]]. In exchange for releasing his friend [[Roadbuster (G1)|Roadbuster]] from prison early, Impactor would take down Mesothulas and destroy everything they had built together. Clad in a suit of early [[Anti-rad armor]], Impactor did just that, shoving the scientist into his own [[Noisemaze|experimental weapon]] and annihilated Mesothulas's various weapons. Impactor found, however, that neither he nor Prowl could bring themselves to kill Mesothulas's pet project: an artificial Cybertronian named Ostaros. Instead, they enlisted him as an Autobot under the name "[[Springer (G1)|Springer]]". {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 3|Sins of the Wreckers #3}} {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 5|Sins of the Wreckers #5}}

He battled [[Black Shadow (Victory)|Black Shadow]] in the 11th iteration of the team, under the command of [[Crest]]. {{storylink|Rules of Disengagement (issue)|Rules of Disengagement}} He would go on to become leader of the Wreckers in turn and still holds the record as their longest-serving member to present day. It was ''he'' who coined the phrase "Wreck and Rule!" while saving [[Xaaron]] at the [[Sonic Canyons]]. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2}} He left an impact on Springer at [[Sherma Bridge]], when he took control of a flaming Decepticon shuttle pod by disposing of its headless pilot, landing it safely. The incident would inspire Springer to sign up for the Wreckers reservists. {{storylink|Zero Point}} In a minor incident at the Vosian Citadel, Impactor also unknowingly inspired [[Ironfist (G1)|Ironfist]] to become a major Wreckers fanboy and hagiographer. {{storylink|Bullets}}

Much later, Impactor personally approached Springer at [[Toxic Sludge Swamps]] to recruit him into the 17th line-up of the Wreckers. With his entrance, he took down eight hidden Decepticons. Springer was impressed but didn't realise at the time that it was all a scripted part of the Wreckers mythology and that Impactor never gave him a choice. {{storylink|Dead Men's Boots}} Impactor took Springer under his wing, and the two shared a close bond not much unlike brothers. He even nicknamed Springer "my little green circuit booster" after the effect he had on him with his speeches. But during Impactor's leadership as the war got dirtier and dirtier, so did the Wreckers. His Wreckers were barely Autobots at that point—they would abuse prisoners, cause unnecessary pain unto their enemies and kill Decepticons even when not needed.

When Megatron responded with [[Squadron X]], that sent Impactor into a single-minded rage. As any Autobot would, he hated Squadron X but for him it was personal as he saw an echo of the Wreckers in the team. Impactor then proceeded to chase the enemy team across nine star systems, ignoring significant war events such as the [[Black Epoch]], the [[Simanzi Massacre]] and the [[Crucible]], and the "Rise of the [[Dethroner]]". {{storylink|Zero Point}}

[[File:Gloaming-battle-for-hells-point.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4]]
He was among the Autobots fighting atop a Decepticon warcruiser during the [[Battle for Hell's Point]], {{storylink|The Gloaming}} where he picked up the nickname "Kiloton" for the number of Decepticons he slaughtered during the battle. Over time, his mental state became increasingly unstable, something both his superiors and his fellow Wreckers chose to ignore. Impactor was inspired to replace his hand with a harpoon weapon after a run-in with a dimension-hopping "[[Death's Head (G1)|freelance peacekeeping agent]]". After a long string of suicide missions, Impactor became an alarmingly obsessed individual, especially regarding Squadron X, the team Megatron assembled in answer to the Wreckers. Impactor felt indirectly responsible for the atrocities Squadron X committed. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|Impactor's psych-screening}}

As described in Ironfist's [[Wreckers: Declassified|''The Wreckers' Air Attack'']], Impactor met his old friend Megatron at the [[Manganese Mountains]] where they fought on a drilling platform. Eventually, Impactor lost his hand, chin, and had Megatron's fusion cannon pressed to his head. Before giving the killing blow, Megatron gave a poetic speech of Impactor's coming death. Even with no power to lift his harpoon, Impactor replied by scratching the words "NOT MORE POETRY" on the platform, and gave Megatron pause. (That moment, at least, appears to be entirely factual as Fisitron is unaware of why these "random" words affected Megatron) At that window of opportunity, Springer used a sky sled to knock Megatron down, sending him to fall thousands of feet into the Mountains.

After gathering his mouth, Impactor proceeded to inform Springer what they'd have to do in four minutes: save Xaaron, rescue [[Sandstorm (G1)|Sandstorm]] from his antimatter duplicate, deactivate [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]]'s necrocannon and stop the platform they were on from crashing into a nucleon reactor. Springer was unsure if they could manage all that in the given time so Impactor told him that they actually had two minutes, but assured him that he had a plan. Years later, [[Roadbuster (G1)|Roadbuster]] would consider this account full of embellishments and fabrications, but the essence was true.{{storylink|Zero Point}}

[[File:LastStandoftheWreckers5-squadronexxed.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|They were like that when I got here!]]
After chasing Squadron X across the galaxy, the Wreckers' rivalry with them came to an end on the planet [[Pova]]. The Wreckers, however, found themselves in a bad way after Impactor's first officer, [[Springer (G1)|Springer]], was trapped under some collapsed rubble. Despite Springer's pleas, Impactor used Springer's own body as a shield against Squadron X's advancing troops, firing through it. This helped turn the tide, and the Wreckers rounded up all of Squadron X for transport offworld. Unfortunately, Impactor snapped when [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]] told him that Pova was neutral territory, and that he was ordered to set them free or else the Autobots would face diplomatic repercussions. Impactor personally executed every member of Squadron X while they were restrained. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|Last Stand of the Wreckers #5}}

When the Wreckers were on their way back from Pova, they stopped at [[G'th Semane]]. Springer made a call to [[Autobot High Command]], and gave Impactor in. The mech he was talking to had been waiting for the opportunity to arrest Impactor for hundreds of years. Impactor detached his harpoon, passive, much to Springer's surprise. {{storylink|Zero Point}}

Springer testified against Impactor, and the disgraced Wreckers leader was imprisoned on [[Garrus-9]]. A cover story for what happened on Pova was released which involved Springer suggesting Impactor fire through his torso and Squadron X later escaping their restraints, necessitating their execution. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 4}} As extra punishment for refusing to show remorse for what he'd done, Impactor was not granted the mercy of spark removal, and instead was imprisoned normally. In jail, they called him "the Autobot that went ''too far''". {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2|Last Stand of the Wreckers #2}} As Impactor was dragged to his cell, Springer said something he didn't want to hear, something he would dwell upon for the length of his incarceration: Squadron X deserved to die, but that didn't give Impactor the right to kill them. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|Last Stand of the Wreckers #5}}

[[File:LastStandoftheWreckers1-Impactor post boom.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|Give him a hand, folks!]]
Twenty years later, [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] seized control of G-9, and Springer's Wreckers were sent to liberate it. Springer was trying hard not to think of Impactor. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 1|Last Stand of the Wreckers #1}} However, the Decepticon [[Snare]], wanting Overlord gone, released Impactor from his cell in the hope he could escape the planet and get help. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2|Last Stand of the Wreckers #2}} As the current-day Wreckers arrived at Garrus-9, a decrepit Decepticon dropship blocked their path. It exploded before their eyes, but not before the battered form of Impactor ejected from the craft. Appearing before the shocked Wreckers, Impactor sneered, requesting to be let aboard. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 1|Last Stand of the Wreckers #1}}

He filled the new Wreckers in on the situation and how he'd escaped, while continuing to clash with Springer. He not only refused to recognize his former soldier was now in charge, he snarled that he used to think Springer would've done the same thing Impactor himself did on Pova...and was now sickened that Springer ''wouldn't''. Conflict aside, Springer knew Impactor was needed for the mission. Given a new harpoon/hand, he was placed in Springer's drop-team and deployed to G-9...and he recognized, with visible glumness, the name of their secondary objective, "[[Aequitas]]".

Descending towards G-9 in two ejected escape pods, they met with tough Decepticon resistance. Despite their maneuvering, Impactor's ship was the first to go down, though the other wasn't far behind. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2|Last Stand of the Wreckers #2}} After their crash-landing, Impactor led them towards where the Autobot prisoners were being held. Cell Block G was directly below him, best he recalled, but [[Twin Twist]]'s drilling only sent them tumbling into a large, empty chamber. At the bottom, Impactor found the twisted remains of [[Kick-Off (G1)|Kick-Off]], whom he regarded as one of the few guards who treated G-9's prisoners with respect. Their presence in this chamber signaled G-9's defenses, and after he, Springer, and Twin Twist were electrocuted, they woke up strapped to tables in the care of [[Stalker (G1)|Stalker]]. A sadist, Stalker grabbed his tools of torture and gleefully went to work on them. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 3|Last Stand of the Wreckers #3}}

[[File:LastStandoftheWreckers4-fivewords.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.66|He makes that same face when he doesn't want to eat his peas.]]
Unlike Springer and Twin Twist, Impactor had grown used to the Decepticons' methods in the time since their takeover of G-9, so he alone managed to stay online during Stalker's "work". Twin Twist was looking terrible and mangled, and Springer had just woken up when he and Impactor began talking about their murky past. Impactor accused Springer of betraying the Wreckers with the testimony against him, while Springer was surprised to learn that Impactor still had no remorse for what he'd done. So long as Impactor refused to realize that he'd done wrong, their feelings were at an impasse.

Stalker returned with a [[endoscopic claw|new torture device]] but his work on Twin Twist was interrupted when his brother Topspin sacrificed his own life elsewhere, extinguishing both sparks. Disappointed, Stalker turned his attentions to Impactor, but was again interrupted. [[Kup (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Kup]], [[Guzzle (G1)|Guzzle]], and the turncoat Decepticon Snare blasted into Stalker's lair. Snare was mortally wounded in the following skirmish, and Stalker was killed. As Snare lay dying, Impactor questioned him, wondering why the Decepticon had saved them. Snare told them that Overlord was on his way and asked that he himself be killed, which Impactor did curtly before Snare could finish his final words.

True to Snare's last warning, Overlord arrived with a boom. Unknown to them, elsewhere, the other half of the Wreckers had completed their objective by hacking the supercomputer judge Aequitas and downloading it into Ironfist's brain. They were surrounded by Decepticons whom they could easily deal with if they simply signaled all the deterrence chips in their heads, killing them. But they knew this would also kill Impactor, who was also an ex-prisoner, and so his and their fate came to a vote. Perceptor voted for killing him for the sake of many, Pyro voted against, and...Ironfist, Impactor's greatest fanboy and new host to Aequitas's judgment of Impactor, came to the sad realization that his hero very much deserved to die. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 4|Last Stand of the Wreckers #4}}

[[File:LastStandoftheWreckers5-finishhimoff.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Surprise! He's a tank. Surprise! He's gonna kick your ass.]]
Fortunately for Impactor (and the Wreckers), [[Verity Carlo]] convinced the others to spare Impactor. After Overlord pulled Guzzle apart and used the pieces to put Kup down, Impactor removed Overlord's eye with his harpoon. In response, Overlord stomped Impactor into the ground, forcing him offline.

When Impactor came to, Overlord had been reduced to a flaming skeleton facing only the fragile Verity Carlo. Impactor blasted Overlord's arm off and attacked him, but Overlord had lost the will to fight, as he'd learned that Megatron had perished, robbing Overlord of his final showdown with him. Overlord beckoned Impactor to kill him, but Impactor refused. In honor of Springer, whom Impactor thought had died, the former Wreckers commander promised that Overlord would serve trial as a criminal, and himself finally came to terms with the crimes he committed on Pova.

Impactor was pardoned in exchange for his help retaking Garrus-9, and he immediately left for parts unknown on a shuttle with the repaired Guzzle. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|Last Stand of the Wreckers #5}}

Things didn't go well for the new pair: Guzzle became increasingly violent and obsessed with racking up a bodycount, something that struck Impactor too close to home, and which got him captured in a rescue mission against Decepticon Harvesters. The fact Impactor cared about Guzzle and the alien hostages enough to rescue them was a sign that he was improving... but when the hostages were killed, Impactor allowed himself to succumb to bloodlust once more, realising to his horror that he could not escape it. {{storylink|Escape (G1)|Escape}} Eventually, Impactor balked and had Guzzle imprisoned at Debris for butchering prisoners, something that a raging Guzzle felt was hypocritical. All Impactor could now do was wile away his days with Roadbuster, lamenting the state of the Wreckers and their lack of purpose. Roadbuster comforted Impactor by pointing out he ''didn't'' join the killing and was trying to care for a comrade. Such caring was a point of contention between the two as Impactor felt it was wrong for his teammate to keep Springer alive, after years of no mental activity, and tried to drag Debris administrator [[Hubcap (G1)|Hubcap]] into the debate.

Shortly after, Springer did in fact regain consciousness: just in time for the Wreckers to be gathered once again to try and rescue a captured Prowl. {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 1|Sins of the Wreckers #1}}

On Earth, Impactor and the Wreckers found Prowl's old collaborator [[Arcee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Arcee]] hunting for him, after he went missing en route to Verity Carlo and her copy of the [[Aequitas]] [[data slug]], a gift from Ironfist. When a "[[Stampy|rabbit]]" stole the data slug, Impactor and Guzzle took off after the creature, but soon encountered several [[Chimeracon]]s, robots in disguise as Earth creatures. A massive Chimeracon name [[Tidal Wave (G1)|Tidal Wave]] appeared, and the Wreckers surmised that Prowl was being held inside him. While Springer led a squad into the 'bot, Impactor and Kup remained outside to draw fire and divert their other attackers. {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 2|Sins of the Wreckers #2}}

[[File:sotw4 undeserved.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|]]

{{charstubfiction| {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 3|Sins of the Wreckers #3}} {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 4|Sins of the Wreckers #4}} {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 5|Sins of the Wreckers #5}} {{storylink|Last Light}}}}

===''Wings Universe''===
Impactor led the Wreckers during their campaign against Squadron X on [[Frellus IV]]. There, he willingly sacrificed members of the [[Hasmata]] in order to flee from Squadron X’s siege. Impactor and the Wreckers then stole Squadron X’s ship to escape the planet. {{storylink|Tornado - Decepticon Saboteur|Tornado - Decepticon Saboteur, 2014/05/15}}

===''Cloud''===
{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|TFC-A04}}}}

===''Of Masters and Mayhem''===
Impactor was the leader of the Wreckers, with missions such as [[Operation: Volcano]], the Battle of [[Hell's Point]], and the [[Garrus-9|Garrus 9]] Incursion being the stuff of legend among Autobots and Decepticons alike. The story of Impactor and his Wreckers was cut short, however, when [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] was left ravaged by [[Decepticon]] [[combiner]] [[Thunder Mayhem]]. Vowing revenge, Impactor set out across the planet to build a new team with which to destroy the apocalyptic gestalt. {{storylink|Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club issue 68|Impactor's profile in Club magazine #68}}

His first recruit was the spy [[Punch (G1)|Punch]], who Impactor found critically injured in the ruins of an Autobot outpost on [[Gargoid]] {{storylink|The Truth We Make}} and then took to [[Paradron]] for medical care. Impactor was initially outraged that [[Lifeline (G1)|Lifeline]] could only save one of Punch's robot forms, but after storming out, he had second thoughts. {{storylink|Insight}} It was also on Paradron that Impactor installed some medical equipment with lethal capabilities into himself. {{storylink|Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club issue 68|Impactor's profile in Club magazine #68}}

After the spy awoke, he gave Impactor the shocking news that Punch had been the fiction and Counterpunch the true identity all along. The Wrecker leader was angry at this long-term deception, but put this aside to make Counterpunch an offer: join him the Wreckers and stop the monster that destroyed Cybertron. {{storylink|The Truth We Make}}

Impactor and Counterpunch subsequently followed a distress signal to [[Chicxulania|a mysterious planet]] where they found found a small group of Cybertronians who had taken on bestial [[alternate mode]]s. After donating a universal translator from Paradron to help the "[[Raptoricon]]s" clear up their relations with the planet's local lifeforms, Impactor recruited their newest associate, [[Decepticon]] geochemist [[Fractyl]], to the Wreckers. {{storylink|Life Finds a Way}}

{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|The Toxic Transformer}} {{storylink|Foundation and Wreckage Part 1: Deadly Aim|Deadly Aim}} {{storylink|Lively Pursuit}}}}

==Games==
===''Transformers Legends''===
Impactor was the leader of the fearless Wreckers squad which liberated Garrus-9 from the grip of [[Dreadwind (G1)|Dreadwind]] and the [[Air Strike Patrol]], though they destroyed most of the facility in the process. {{storylink|The Wreckers}}

==Toys==
===Generations===
[[Image:Generationstoy-Impactor.JPG|thumb|right|300px|]]
*'''Impactor''' (Deluxe, 2013)
**''Series / Number'': '''01 / #014'''
**'''PART 1 OF 5!'''
**''Accessories'': Dual cannon, harpoon launcher, harpoon [[missile]]

: Part of the fourth wave of 2012-onwards ''[[Transformers: Generations|Generations]]'' Deluxe Class toys, ''Fall of Cybertron'' Impactor is an orange and purple [[redeco]] and [[retool]] of ''Fall of Cybertron'' [[Onslaught (WFC)#Generations|Onslaught]], with a new robot head sculpt based on [[Nick Roche]]'s rendition of Impactor in [[IDW Publishing|IDW]]'s ''[[The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers|Last Stand of the Wreckers]]'', and a new combiner head based on [[Xaaron|Emirate Xaaron]]. He transforms into a [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertronian]] "missile carrier" truck.

:Impactor comes with a twin-barreled cannon that can be attached to two small pegs on top of the vehicle mode, completing his "missile carrier" mode, and a brand new spring-loaded missile launcher accessory (with the missile shaped to resemble a harpoon) that can be attached on top of the twin-barreled cannon. Both weapons can be held via [[5mm post]], and feature additional pegs and peg-holes for mounting/storage.

:In addition to his robot and vehicle modes, Impactor can also combine with his fellow Wreckers into Ruination, serving as the gestalt torso. The twin-barreled cannon can either be combined with the other Wreckers' weapons into a huge "phase cannon" for Ruination to wield, or the twin-barreled cannon can be attached to Ruination's back. As the result of a [[design flaw]], two small tabs that are used to attach the cannon more securely are very prone to showing stress marks, and eventually breaking.

:In addition to a [[tampograph]]ed orange regular Autobot [[insignia]] on his lower chest, Impactor also sports a tampographed light blue version of the "Wreckers" insignia from [[3H Productions|3H]]'s [[Transformers: Universe (comic)|''Wreckers'' and ''Universe'' comics]]. Oddly, even though both the official Hasbro [[stock photography|stock photos]] that depict a hand-painted [[prototype]] (which are also featured on the back of the [[packaging]]) and the ones that depict a (pre)-production sample show the Wreckers insignia, at least one specimen from Asia sports a light blue regular Autobot insignia instead.<ref name="taiwan">[http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-toy-discussion/929782-generations-foc-wreckers-ruination-pics.html TFW2005 thread] with a Taiwan-based fan's photos of the Wreckers, depicting Impactor with a light blue regular Autobot insignia</ref>, thus matching the one on display at [[Toy Fair 2013]].<ref name="toyfair2013">[http://www.tfu.info/HasbroFanMediaEvent/2013/Generations/index.htm Hasbro Fan Media Event 2013] at TFU.info.</ref>

:The original version of this mold was also used to make ''[[Transformers: Generation 2 (toyline)|Generation 2]]'' [[Onslaught (G1)#G2BoxSet|Onslaught]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2013/Autobot/FOCImpactor/impactor.htm More information on Impactor on TFU.info]''

{{anchor|TFSS}}
[[File:CombinerWarstoy-Impactor.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|Now I finally have a toy; maybe people will stop buying up those third-party Wreckers, right? ...right?]]
*'''Impactor''' (Deluxe Class, [[2016]])
**''Accessories'': Clamp weapon, combiner hand/foot, assorted hand attachments

:Part of the [[Transformers Figure Subscription Service#Series 4.0 (2016)|Figure Subscription Service 4.0]], Impactor is a [[retool]] of ''[[Combiner Wars (toyline)|Combiner Wars]]'' [[Rook (Generations)#Generations|Rook]] with a new head. He transforms into an armored personnel carrier, and can also form an arm or leg for any compatible ''Combiner Wars'' and ''Unite Warriors'' Voyager figure. One of his hands is unpainted purple so as to replicate the character's traditional one-handed appearance. He includes the mold's [[5mm post|5mm]] clamp weapon, along with redecos of ''[[Transformers: Generations|Generations]]'' [[Arcee (G1)/toys#Generations|Arcee]]'s four accessories. Of those, the swords are intended to be used to recreate Impactor's traditional harpoon-hand, whilst the larger pistol is decoed to resemble his shoulder cannon.

:The original version of this mold was [[redeco]]ed into ''[[Transformers Unite Warriors|Unite Warriors]]'' [[Roller (G1)#Toys|Wandering Roller]], slightly retooled into [[BotCon 2016]] [[Tarantulas (BW)#Combiner Wars|Predacon Tarantulas]], and heavily retooled into ''Combiner Wars'' [[Swindle (G1)#CombinerWars|Swindle]] and [[Hound (G1)/toys#CombinerWars|Hound]], and ''even further'' retooled into [[Nosecone (G1)#Unite Warriors 2|''Unite Warriors'' Nosecone]]. Additionally, this mold also served as the basis of the non-toy ''[[Transformers: Shattered Glass (franchise)|Shattered Glass]]'' version of [[Brawn (SG)|X-Brawn]].
{{CWRookMold}}

{{-}}

==Notes==
*According to [[Dreadwind (G1)|Dreadwind]] in [[Survivors!|issue #221]]'s [[Letters page (Marvel UK)|letters page]], Impactor transformed into an "earth-boring vehicle". In the letter page to [[Survival Run|issue #238]], Dreadwind clarified that he transformed into a drill tank but didn't have an earth mode. Later, in ''[[The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers|Last Stand of the Wreckers]],'' he transformed into a non-drill tank. Later still, but [[Chaos Theory Part 1|earlier in IDW's timeline]], he gained a drill replacement for his hand.
*In the Marvel comics, Impactor's right hand can be interchanged for a harpoon. This emulates the wrist-launcher gimmick found in many ''[[Diaclone]]''-based toys. He is frequently seen carrying a club which looks an awful lot like a gun barrel, and which may be a gun attachment for his right arm; but being Impactor, he only ever uses it to smack guys around.
*Impactor was the one Wrecker in ''Last Stand'' who was ''never'' going to die! <ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9DPbginVXE Moonbase 2's AA2010 interview], 21:22</ref>
*"[[Remain in Light 3 of 5: The Divided Self|The Divided Self]]" revealed that all the Aequitas defendants were [[Reproduction#IDW Generation 1 continuity|"constructed cold"]]: their sparks taken from the Matrix itself and slapped into a body. That same issue also said Impactor was a [[Point One Percenter]], i.e. ''not'' constructed cold, causing some confusion until James Roberts confirmed that was a mistake.<ref name="moonbase2">[http://www.fullmetalhero.com/t14540/ moonbase2 interview with James Roberts]</ref> The trade paperback snips Impactor's name from the Point One line.
*In IDW's Generation 1 continuity, Impactor was once a friend of Megatron, and later gains the nickname Kiloton. In reference to this, [[Ask Vector Prime]] christened [[Kiloton|Megatron's unnamed friend]] from the ''Generation 2'' manga "Kiloton."

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://transfans.co.uk/comics_guide_detail.php?id=257&page=13 Transformers #221 Letters Page on Transfans.co.uk]
*[http://transfans.co.uk/comics_guide_detail.php?id=291&page=14 Transformers #238 Letters Page on Transfans.co.uk]

[[Category:Cloud Autobots]]
[[Category:Combiners]]
[[Category:European-original Transformers]]
[[Category:IDW Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Marvel Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Timelines characters]]
[[Category:Wings Universe Autobots]]
[[Category:Wreckers]]
[[Category:Zombies]]

Talk:Megatronia

2016-10-01T13:23:42Z

Egg: Romanization for Megatronia's sword

About the sword's name.
Is there some reason to call it Destopia instead of Deathtopia?
[[User:Egg|Egg]] ([[User talk:Egg|talk]]) 09:23, 1 October 2016 (EDT)

Judge Pickel

2016-10-01T13:08:21Z

Egg: /* Notes */ It's probably the Japanese meaning for the name instead of German.

:''Judge <s>Pickle</s> Pickel is a weapon from the [[Transformers Unite Warriors|Unite Warriors]] portion of the [[Generation 1 continuity family]].''

[[Megaempress]] wields the mighty '''JUDGE PICKEL''' (ジャッジピッケル ''Jajji Pikkeru''), which she presumably uses for hacking and chopping and soforth.

==Fiction==

{{stub}}

==Notes==
* Judge Pickel is the best name for any weapon ever, and may indeed go down one of the greatest names in ''Transformers'' history.
* "Pickel" is the Japanese word for [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_axe ice axe].

[[Category:Generation 1 weapons]]
[[Category:Unite Warriors]]

Lancer

2016-08-30T18:12:05Z

Egg: /* IDW Generation 1 continuity */ Fixed wording, there was no hitting on anyone

{{disambigr|Lancer|other uses of the word|Lancer (disambiguation)}}
{{faction|autobot}}
:''Lancer is an [[Autobot]] from the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|cartoon portion]] of the [[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''
[[File:Femaleautobot orange.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|We barely even knew her!]]

'''Lancer''', back when she was impetuous and untested, was once one of Cybertron's most promising young scientists. She's thought about putting in an application at the [[Cybertron Elite Guard|Elite Guard]], but she always gets too nervous.

==Fiction==
===Generation 1 cartoon continuity===
====''The Transformers'' cartoon====
[[File:Femaleautobots.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.1|Check out my shoulder!]]

Lancer is a member of the [[Female Autobots]]. She was holding a clipboard within the team's secret underground headquarters when [[Chromia (G1)|Chromia]] and her team returned from their energy-stealing mission. Later, when their headquarters was located and destroyed, she and [[Greenlight]] freed [[Moonracer (G1)|Moonracer]] from the debris. Sticking with the rest of the team, she did her share in the fight against the Decepticons and could again later be seen manning a series of monitors in the team's new base. {{storylink|The Search for Alpha Trion}}
{{-}}

====''Wings Universe''====
{{Wingsnote}}
Lancer was understudy to the archaeometrist, [[Glyph (Universe)|Glyph]]. She and her friend [[Greenlight]] worked with Glyph on an historical dig in [[Median]] alongside [[Flip Sides (G1)|Flip Sides]] and [[Strika (BM)|Strika]]. When they uncovered some potentially life-threatening treasures, the historians requested support from the Elite Guard in case the Decepticons showed interest in their find. Lancer was thrilled at the idea, and eagerly made friends with the proud warriors who arrived to defend them. She joined Strika in working alongside the Elite Guard when the Decepticon [[Stormtrooper (G1)|Stormtrooper]]s made their attempt to raid Median's dig. Lancer acted as a lure, drawing the Decepticons in through a hole in the fortifications, where the Elite Guard were waiting to ambush them.

The thrill of the situation faded for Lancer when [[Rage (G1)|Rage]] and [[Aquablast]] penetrated the inner perimeter and reached the spot where the other historians were hiding. Aquablast killed Glyph for being uncooperative and was about to kill Greenlight as well. Lancer was forced to shoot him in the back, killing an enemy in the line of duty.

Briefly shaken up by the incident, Lancer still chose to join the Elite Guard in pursuing Rage and the other Decepticons after they made off with the [[Heart of the Dragon]]. They managed to infiltrate the [[Metrotitan (Zone)|Metrotitan]] and survived battle with [[Brimstone (G1 Decepticon)|Brimstone]], the Heart of the Dragon given life and form. After the mission concluded, Lancer returned to Strika and Greenlight, and together they planned a memorial service for the fallen Glyph. {{storylink|Flames of Yesterday}}

When the Autobots' current reserve of energies was dangerously low, Lancer joined her comrades still on Cybertron in stasis hibernation as an energy-saving measure. {{storylink|Battle Lines, Part 6}}

===IDW Generation 1 continuity===
[[File:TheWillOfTheFew-lancer.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Comrade <s>Napoleon</s> Obsidian is always right!]]
Lancer served aboard the permanently spacefaring Titan [[Carcer]], under the command of [[Elita One]]. During a recent roll call, Lancer opted not to pay attention, instead focusing her attention (and hands) onto [[Greenlight]]. This earned the couple the mind-numbing job of guarding Carcer's spacebridge. Greenlight complained that no one had come through the portal in weeks, and wasn't even sure that the [[Devastator (G1)|two]] [[Optimus Maximus (G1)|combatants]] who had briefly fallen through the [[space bridge|spacebridge]] were even Cybertronian. Lancer assured her that [[Obsidian (BM)|Obsidian]] had said they were, and he never lied. Proving Lancer correct, the spacebridge activated! As she quickly radioed the ship's bridge, her partner, along with several of their shipmates, trained their weapons on the arriving 'bots. {{storylink|The Will of the Few}}

[[File:0700-greenlightandlancer.jpg|thumb|left|250px]]

After Carcer's inhabitants had joined the Council of Worlds, many of them emigrated to Cybertron while Carcer himself was being repaired, Lancer among them. She and [[Greenlight]] were trying to enjoy a quiet drink together at Maccadam's when a [[Drunkatron|drunk Decepticon]] began harassing them. After Lancer told him he wasn't making any sense, Greenlight stated that the couple were from Carcer, anyway, and that he should get lost. {{storylink|07:00:00}}

{{-}}

==Notes==
* Lancer was only known as the "unnamed orange Female Autobot" for a good 25 years until she was named in the ''[[Transformers Timelines (fiction)|Timelines]]'' text story, "[[Flames of Yesterday]]", as well as a handful of other previously-unnamed female Autobots.
* The Club Udon special edition cover to ''[[G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers: The Art of War]]'' [[The Art of War issue 2|#2]], which is dedicated to the ladies of the two brands, surprisingly features what appears to be Lancer with Greenlight's colors. This is the only instance during the 25 years between the airing of "The Search for Alpha Trion" and the publication of "Flames of Yesterday" that these characters have been referenced.
* In IDW continuity, Lancer and Greenlight are a romantic couple, the first on-panel female couple shown in a Transformers story, though [[Proxima]] and [[Acceleron]] were the first mentioned.

[[Category:Female Transformers]]
[[Category:Fiction-only characters]]
[[Category:Generation 1 cartoon Autobots]]
[[Category:Scientists]]
[[Category:Wings Universe Autobots]]

Transformer romance

2016-08-30T16:50:23Z

Egg: /* Generation 1 */

[[File:Orionpax.jpg|upright=2.2|thumb|"I'll spend the rest of my existence trying to save his afterburner, then he finally returns the favor by [[#Sex|plugging into me]] while I am unconscious. Ours is a healthy relationship."]]
Some will vehemently refuse to admit it exists. Others ''really'' don't care about [[Transformers brand|the brand]] beyond it. Regardless of [[Fandom|opinions]], [[Transformer]]s engaging in or pursuing interaction of a '''romantic nature''' is a well-established element in pretty much every continuity. For the most part, Transformers are observed searching for romantic partners amongst their own kind, but attraction to organic lifeforms and even non-living objects has been documented as well.

Some wonder why a species that likely does not [[Reproduction|reproduce]] sexually would participate in behavior that in other creatures exists as a means to promote sex and thereby new life. While a definitive answer to this has yet to be given, the question as to why Transformers become romantically involved with one another can be approached from a different angle. Transformers are a highly social species. This is shown through their very human-like society, interpersonal interactions, [[Relatives|familial relationships]], and even the fairly common practice of merging [[Combiner|bodies]] and minds. If these are not frowned upon, then why should social connections of the romantic kind be regarded much differently, if at all? Perhaps there is no reason for them to engage in romance, but then there is equally no reason for them not to.

Though rather obscure, there is even an official term for two Transformers in a relationship: "[[spark]]mates". Existing as a [[Fan fiction|fan term]] mostly, it has been used in two official sources, the end-of-game [[bio]] for [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]], in reference to her and [[Tigatron]], in the Nintendo 64 version of the "[[Transformers: Beast Wars Transmetals (N64)|Beast Wars Transmetals]]" video game<ref>''Beast Wars Transmetals'' end-of-game bios - [http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/756a36c7076a7195?dmode=source transcription]</ref> and again in [[Venus (magazine)|Venus]]. In addition, [[Downshift (Energon)|Downshift]]'s [[Cyber Key Codes|Cyber Key Code info]] appears to refer to Transformer marriage in stating that he and [[Joyride (Cybertron)|his lifebond partner]] "joined together under the [[Covenant of Primus]]".

Most recently the [[IDW Generation 1 continuity]] ongoing series, ''[[The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More Than Meets The Eye]]'', refers to a Transformer in a committed, intimate partnership as a "[[Conjunx Endura]]". In issue #38 of this series, Brainstorm uses the term "sparkmate" when he addresses Rewind about his Conjunx Endura.

==Orientation==
[[File:Gayforgalvatron.jpg|center|1000px|thumb|<center>[[Thunderblast (Decepticon)|It will forever be a shame he wasn't in ''Cybertron'']].</center>]]

The most common observation of Cybertronian romance is between a male and a [[female Transformer]]. Considering the general scarcity of female Transformers, and perhaps the absence of [[Reproduction|sexual reproduction]], this is a rather interesting if odd situation. Second to that are the number of noted relations between a Transformer and an organic, equally so almost solely between a (nominally) male and female. These become more frequent as the gender balance becomes less even, even if that is a direct result of Transformers allegedly being genderless. Third in line come "couples" that consist of a Transformer fawning over a not-living object, often regarding it as of the opposite gender.

Until recently, same-gender interests were comparatively rare. The Japanese version of ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'' had [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] as a male, making ''his'' relation with [[Tigatron]] the first known instance of a homosexual Transformer couple.<ref name="Airazorboy">The reason the Japanese ''Beast Wars'' dub had Airazor male was because Takara hoped to increase toy sales that way. Therefore, the relationship with [[Tigatron]] was initially played off somewhat differently to avoid complaints of homosexuality. Tigatron was presented as a samurai retainer with protective feelings towards his young ward, their closeness addressed in a "brotherly" sort of way. Despite that, there was still enough innuendo left over for the gender-bending to become noticeable. The end of the matter came with the sequence in "[[Other Visits (Part 1)]]" when Airazor and Tigatron stare into each other's eyes while holding hands and slowly leaning in for a kiss. Since little could be done with that scene, the dub team had Airazor fully "come out" and begin to express his affection for Tigatron just before the two of them were abducted by the Vok. Japanese magazine editors, responding to letters from confused young fans, gently explained that "some people are just like that".</ref> At a distance follow ''Energon'' [[Tidal Wave (Armada)|Mirage]], who had the (unrequited) hots for [[Megatron (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Galvatron]], and Generation 1 [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]], who may have been gay in the [[Dreamwave Generation One continuity]].<ref>[http://tinyurl.com/2ugos3 Matt Moylan reveals a little secret about Sunstreaker at tfw2005.com]</ref> ([[Dick Gautier]] jokingly "confirmed" that [[Hot Rod/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus Prime]] is gay at [[BotCon 2002]], in response to panel-mate [[Michael McConnohie]] being asked if [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] was. This is obviously not canon.) The current IDW Ongoing Comic [[The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More Than Meets The Eye]] introduced several current and past romantic relationships that centred around mnemosurgeon [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]], as well as floating the potential for other "canon couples" in the title.

Transformer/organic relations are not any richer in this regard. [[Paddles (character)|Paddles]] had a clear fondness of the humans [[Randall]] and [[Ed (student)|Ed]], and [[Magnificus (G1)|Magnificus]] and [[Ga'mede]] ''might'' have something going between them, but that's about it. A note could be made on the fair chance that Tigatron's [[beast mode]] represents a female tiger and was scanned from his partner [[Snowstalker]], yet that is speculation at best.

[[File:2 Transformers at the Ark-1 Memorial Statue.jpg‎|left|thumb|upright=1.66|Bender from ''Futurama'' finds a friend at the Ark 1 Memorial Statue...]]

The real-world explanation for the overall scarcity of anything specific between two of the same gender is that ''Transformers'' above all exists [[to sell toys]] to children and so has to play in on the wishes and expectations of the assumed general audience. Even if attitude is improving, heterosexuality is still the default assumption and least controversial option in all-ages fiction. Outside of an accident in translation<ref name="Airazorboy" /> and a few [[Knock Out (Prime)|sneaked-in jokes]] for older viewers, the default is still for writers to haul up Arcee or insert a new female (Transformer) to fill the romance niche than play up that sort of interaction in same gender context.

However, the [[IDW Publishing|IDW]] comics have a traditionally older audience. This led to the glass ceiling being shattered when ''[[The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More than Meets the Eye]]'' depicted [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] and [[Rewind (G1)|Rewind]] in a millennia-long relationship, in which they were named as each other's "significant other"... and this relationship was not the first either have had, and Chromedome may or may not have been dating ''[[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]]'' before that.<ref>[http://theunderbase.libsyn.com/the-underbase-deconstructs-shadowplay "The Underbase Podcast Deconstructs Shadowplay"], 17:17 - 14:58</ref> The relationship is perhaps not out-and-out romance as humans would think or feel it, but author [[James Roberts]] has commented that this is because he imagines Transformers ''don't'' have relationships in exactly the same way humans do; he leaves no doubt that "Chromedome and Rewind each regard the other as the most important person in their life."<ref>[http://forum.idwpublishing.com/viewtopic.php?t=12651&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=20 James Roberts on Chromedome and Rewind on the IDW forums]</ref> That Rewind out-and-out says "I love you" in a message to Chromedome only hammers it home. Hasbro has been totally cool with IDW doing this.<ref>[http://www.fullmetalhero.com/t14540/ Moonbase2's second interview with James Roberts - 01:40:47 to 01:41:24]</ref> This measure was later followed up by the introduction of the first same-gender female couple in Transformers history, as well as the first example of attraction between members of different genders in IDW {{storylink|The Sensuous Frame}}

(And yes, there is the fact that IDW has previously established that Transformers are genderless in their continuity, but let's not kid ourselves about what we're seeing here.)
{{-}}

==Sex==
[[File:KP001.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|"Oh, Convoy! Your shift lever is dirty," Marissa exclaims. "It must be from when I spilled soft serve ice cream on you before. I will wipe it clean for you now." (''NOTE: We didn't make that up. That actually, [[canon]]ically happened.'')]]

The [[Unofficial guidebooks#Prime Targets|hints]] are few and far between, but ''Transformers'' is not devoid of the possibility Transformers might engage in sexual activities (for recreational purposes). [[Kiss]]ing is a regularly observed sign of affection and in [[Transformers: The Headmasters (cartoon)|''The Headmasters'' episode]] "[[Return of the Immortal Emperor]]", [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] was rather thrilled he got to see [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] transform. Nevertheless, ''Beast Wars'' was the first to pick up the subject in a more direct manner: in the episode "[[The Agenda (Part 1)]]", [[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]] offers to take [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] to what sounds like a Cybertronian version of a strip club, and later slyly makes a double entendre regarding Silverbolt's suspected kinky activities with [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]].

Rape euphemisms are commonly inserted in the Japanese dubs of Western ''Transformers'' programs for, ''uh'', "humor". The Japanese dub of "[[Maximal, No More#Foreign localization|Maximal, No More]]" has Rattrap, thinking himself about to be stabbed by [[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]], ask his attacker to penetrate him "gently, because I've heard the first time can hurt." The Japanese dub of "[[Predatory#Foreign localization|Predatory]]", reworked from a slasher movie homage to a parody of Pepe Le Pew cartoons, has [[Airachnid (Prime)|Airachnid]] spewing a lengthy string of sexual declarations (some thinly veiled, some not-so-much) as she amorously pursues [[Jack Darby|Jack]] (including singing a Japanese folk song about a woman raping a man).

References and innuendoes have become increasingly more common in recent years. [[Scarlett]] and [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] had a suggestive conversation about "riding" him in "[[Wolves]]", and in "[[The Art of War issue 3]]", Arcee promised Bumblebee to "rotate his tires" if he could beat her, to which he responded with a most enthusiastic "Wooo-Hooo!". In the Dreamwave issue "[[Infestation (Dreamwave)|Infestation]]", [[:File:Infestation crotchrot.jpg|one remark from Sunstreaker]] might suggest the existence of Transformer S.T.D.'s. In the ever-questionable ''[[Transformers: Kiss Players (franchise)|Kiss Players]]'' double-entendres ran rife, with one of the most disturbing involving Optimus Prime deriving pleasure from [[Marissa Faireborn]] polishing his stick shift and rubbing the rim of his gas tank, which are pretty clear metaphors for... well... y'know.

And that's about as far as we're going to broach the subject. If you ''really'' want to know more on the matter of Transformer sex, an exciting world of [[fan fiction]] awaits you. Take note that doing so will be at your own risk, and [[Main Page|TFWiki]] accepts no liability for any psychological trauma incurred.

{{See also|Reproduction#Sexual reproduction|l1=Sexual Reproduction}}

==Transformer - Transformer==
{{bigquote|But me Grimlock still taller than ''you''. That why Spider-Lady like me Grimlock best.|[[Grimlock (Animated)|Grimlock]], making sure no one else tries a move on his love interest|"[[Black Friday (episode)|Black Friday]]"}}

Most commonly, Transformers stick to their own kind when becoming romantically entangled. This is to be expected, as those of their own kind share the cultural and bio-technological mindset that makes their personalities more likely to be compatible. Despite the low number of female Transformers, most relations seen thus far are between a female and a male. What this means for Transformer culture - Are relations something rare? Is there programming or something that only connects a male to a female and vice versa? And if so, why does it exist? - goes unexplained.

In one universe, a Transformer can designate another Transformer his [[Conjunx Endura]], or significant other.

===Cases===
====Generation 1====
[[File:Disclosure CSSB-16 Devcon & co.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|"I didn't know giant robots '''had''' testosterone."]]
*[[Elita One]] (Ariel) - [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (Orion Pax)
*[[Chromia (G1)|Chromia]] - [[Ironhide (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ironhide]] {{storylink|The Search for Alpha Trion}}
*[[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] - [[Hot Rod]]
*Arcee - [[Springer (G1)|Springer]]
*Arcee - [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] {{storylink|Transformers: The Headmasters (cartoon)|The Headmasters}}
*Arcee - [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers: The Art of War|The Art of War}}
*[[Nancy]] - [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] {{storylink|The Big Broadcast of 2006 (episode)|The Big Broadcast of 2006}}
*[[Octane]] once tried to tune in an image of a [[Cheesecake robot|disturbingly sexualized unnamed female robot]]. Make of that what you will. {{storylink|Starscream's Ghost}}
*Technically or something, [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] is married to [[Giga|him]]/[[Mega|her]]self. {{storylink|Transformers: Super-God Masterforce (franchise)|Super-God Masterforce}}
*[[Esmeral (Victory)|Esmeral]] - [[Deathsaurus (Victory)|Deszaras]] who, unique to other Transformers relationships, are explicitly stated to be husband and wife. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers: Victory (manga)|Victory}}
*[[Clipper (Victory)|Clipper]] - [[Holi]] {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers: Victory (cartoon)|Victory}}
*[[Star Saber (Victory)|Star Saber]] blushed and was a little lost on words when Clipper complimented him. Holi didn't like this. {{storylink|Planet Micro - The Mysterious Warrior}}
*[[Rescue Patrol Team|The rest of Holi's team]] is sad they don't have girlfriends. {{storylink|Resurrection!? The Decepticon Fortress}}
*[[Devcon (G1)|Devcon]] found himself some [[Devcon's galpal|pleasant company]] on [[Spaceport CSSB-16]]. {{storylink|Disclosure}}
*[[San D-Go]] once had plans to marry [[Discharge]], apparently directly inspired by that aspect of [[human]] culture. Whether there was an actual romantic relationship involved is unknown. {{storylink|San D-Go|San D-Go's Micromaster toy bio}}
*[[Raker]] is a shameless flirt to female robots. {{storylink|Raker|Raker's Micromaster toy bio}}
*[[Overkill (G1)|Overkill]] is planning on getting himself a whole harem of girl-bots. {{Storylink|The Art of War issue 5}}
*[[Magnum]] has a [[:File:Magnumsgirlfriend.jpg|girlfriend]]. {{storylink|Wings of Honor}}
*[[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] had parents when he crashed on [[Quintessa]]. {{storylink|The Story of Wheelie, the Wild Boy of Quintesson}}
*[[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] once dated [[Thunderblast (G1)|Thunderblast]], and is a bit of a skirt-chaser in general. {{storylink|Flames of Yesterday}}
*[[Side Burn (G1)|Side Burn]] has a thing for fembots (specifically ones in red) and isn't above impersonating [[Dion|an elite guardsman]] to get sympathy. {{storylink|Battle Lines, Part 1}}
**And thinks [[Lyzack (Victory)|Lyzack]], a femicon with a sword, is hot. {{storylink|Battle Lines, Part 3}}
*[[Rewind (G1)|Rewind]] - [[Dominus Ambus]] {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 2: Words Hang in the Air|Words Hang in the Air}}
*[[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] - [[Pivot]] {{storylink|The Gloaming}}
*[[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] - [[Mach (Victory)|Mach]] {{storylink|The Gloaming}}
*[[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] - [[Scattergun]] {{storylink|The Gloaming}}
*[[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] - [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]] {{storylink|Shadowplay (disambiguation)|Shadowplay}} (possibly)
*[[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] - [[Rewind (G1)|Rewind]] {{storylink|Before & After}}
*[[Brainstorm (G1)|Brainstorm]] had an unreciprocated love for [[Quark]] {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 3: Predestination: An Expert's Guide|Predestination: An Expert's Guide}}
*[[Proxima (G1)|Proxima]] - [[Acceleron]] {{storylink|The Sensuous Frame}}
*[[Sparkstalker]] - [[Lightbright (G1)|Lightbright]] {{storylink|Choose Me}}
*[[Needlenose (G1)|Needlenose]] - [[Horri-Bull]] {{storylink|The Transgressors}}
*[[Greenlight]] - [[Lancer]] {{storylink|The Will of the Few}}
*[[Swift]] - [[Barricade (G1)|Barricade]]
*[[Strafe (IDW)|Strafe]] assumed [[Slag (G1)|Slug]] was hitting on her {{storylink|The Transformers: Redemption}}.

====Beast Era====
[[File:ScyllaMolest1.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|Bad touch is good humor if done by a girl.]]
*[[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] - [[Tigatron]]
*[[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] - [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]]
*[[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]], [[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]] and [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] all had crushes on [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]]. [[Tarantulas (BW)|Tarantulas]] had feelings towards her that we'll leave to the imagination.
*[[Botanica (BM)|Botanica]] - [[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]]
*[[Strika (BM)|Strika]] - [[Obsidian (BM)|Obsidian]]<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20071202095128/http://bigbot.com/beast-machines-transformers-bob-skir/Beast-Machines-FAQ/Wed_19_Jan_2000.html ''Transformers: Beast Machines Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)'' Wed, 19 Jan 2000], by [[Bob Skir]]</ref>
*[[Scylla]] and [[Artemis]] both fancy [[Scuba]]. In turn, [[Bighorn]] has a crush on Scylla, while Artemis also likes [[Starscream (BWII)|Starscream]].
*While technically not a Transformer, [[DNAVI]] is in love with [[Guiledart]].
*[[Rāge]] - [[Stampy (BWN)|Stampy]] {{storylink|To Jellyfish with Love! Cry Out, Stampy Blade}}
*[[Z Grill]] and [[Kitte Shūshū]] fell in love and made a [[Stampy (BWN)|kid]]. {{storylink|Andromeda - Axiom Nexus News Reporter|Andromeda - Axiom Nexus News, 10/5/2015}}

====Unicron Trilogy====
*[[Tidal Wave (Armada)|Mirage]] displays romantic interest in [[Megatron (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Galvatron]]. {{storylink|Transformers: Energon (cartoon)|Energon}}
*[[Downshift (Energon)|Downshift]] - [[Joyride (Cybertron)|Joyride]] {{storylink|Cyber Key Codes|Downshift's Cyber Key Code info}}
*[[Shortround]] fancies [[Thunderblast (Decepticon)|Thunderblast]]. Naturally, she does not reciprocate.
*[[Thunderblast (Decepticon)|Thunderblast]] - [[Megatron (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Just about anybody]] [[Starscream (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|who's big and powerful]].
*[[Ransack (Cybertron)|Ransack]] is quite the skirt chaser. He used to have a relation with a "cute scooter",<ref>From context, the best guess is [[Crumplezone (Cybertron)|Crumplezone]] was talking about a Transformer.</ref> but eventually dumped her. {{storylink|Landmine (episode)|Landmine}} He also harbored a secret crush on [[Override (Cybertron)|Override]], {{storylink|Cyber Key Codes|Ransack's Cyber Key Code info}} and tried to win over Thunderblast by winning the [[Speedia|Speedia 500]]. {{storylink|Beginning}}
*[[Buzzsaw (Cybertron)|Buzzsaw]] tried to cheer up the ''[[Upstart]]'''s crew by reminding them of the perks of seeking out the colony worlds. Starting his list came "naive small planetoid femme-bots." ...Yes. Let's hope that when he closed his speech with "all of it untouched for centuries or more... until we show up," he was only talking about the energon reserves at the end of the list. {{storylink|Force of Habit}}
*[[Vector Prime]] and his bodyguard [[Scorpia (G2)|Scorpia]] had a love that bypassed rank but, in the end, his duty meant he had to leave her. Answering questions about this leave him quiet, and sad. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime}}

====Live-action film series====
*[[Jetfire (ROTF)|Jetfire]] claims to have a mother and a father. Primus knows what [[Relatives|that]] means, but we might as well try to be complete about this list. {{storylink|Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen}}
*In her spare time, [[Arcee (Movie)|Arcee]] runs a lonely-hearts ad column called Arcee's soulmates. Many 'bots write letters in for it mostly expecting replies from other 'bots. {{storylink|Star Screams}}
*In the letters page of the comic of the films, [[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]] flirts right back with a cop-cycle OC called Hotwire.

====Transformers Animated====
[[File:TFA Black Friday ME GRIMLOCK IN LOVE.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|In case you needed visual recognition that he has the hots for her.]]
*[[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Prime]] used to date [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Elita-1]] until, [[Along Came a Spider|well...]] {{storylink|Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac|The AllSpark Almanac}}
*[[Grimlock (Animated)|Grimlock]], [[Snarl (Animated)|Snarl]], [[Swoop (Animated)|Swoop]] and [[Wasp|Wasp/Waspinator]] each have (had) a one-sided crush on [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]].
*Blackarachnia and [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] seem to have feelings for each other. {{storylink|Along Came a Spider}}
*[[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]] flirted with [[Slipstream (Animated)|his female clone]] upon meeting her. {{storylink|A Bridge Too Close, Part I}}
*[[Sari Sumdac (Animated)|Sari Sumdac]] once considered [[Afterburn]] dreamy. It is unclear if this opinion is to be attributed to her dormant Transformer half though. {{storylink|Transformers Animated (Titan)|Transformers Animated}}
*[[Strika (Animated)|Strika]] - [[Lugnut (Animated)|Lugnut]]. {{storylink|Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club issue 24|Strika's tech spec bio}} {{storylink|Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac|The AllSpark Almanac}}
*[[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] has an unnamed girlfriend from [[Crystal City]]. {{storylink|Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac|The AllSpark Almanac}}
*[[Wreck-Gar (Animated)|Wreck-Gar]] once believed [[Sari Sumdac (Animated)|Sari Sumdac]] wanted to go steady with him. {{storylink|Human Error, Part II}}
*[[Botanica (Animated)|Botanica]] - [[Rattletrap]]. {{storylink|Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II|The AllSpark Almanac II}}
*[[Flareup (Animated)|Flareup]] - [[Warpath (Animated)|Warpath]]. {{storylink|Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II|The AllSpark Almanac II}}
*[[Glyph (Animated)|Glyph]] and [[Volks (Animated)|Volks]] used to date long ago. And Volks is something of a Ladiesbot217-type. {{storylink|Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II|The AllSpark Almanac II}}

====TransTech====
*[[Jackpot (G1)|Jackpot]] is obsessed (but very unlucky) with fembots. Among his unsuccessful projects are [[Roulette (Universe)|Roulette]] and [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]]. {{storylink|Gone Too Far}}
*[[Crystal Widow]] had an unnamed lover before becoming stuck in [[Axiom Nexus]]. {{storylink|Withered Hope}}
*One of the ways [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] can be bribed is by "providing her with a handsome companion", according to Crystal Widow. {{storylink|Withered Hope}}
*[[Swindle (G1)#TransTech|Swindle]]s of [[Swindle, Swindle and Swindle]] has hinted that all three of the Swindles are in some kind of polyamorous relationship. One of them tried dating a different [[Swindle (Animated)|Swindle]], but one of the other Swindles took a dislike to the newcomer and the relationship went nowhere. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime#Swindle's Spiel|Swindle's Spiel}}

====Shattered Glass====
*[[Elita-One (SG)|Elita-One]] - [[Rodimus (SG)|Rodimus]] {{storylink|Blitzwing Bop}}
{{--}}

====Prime====
*[[Breakdown (WFC)|Breakdown]] once expressed feelings for [[Airachnid (Prime)|Airachnid]]. {{storylink|Stronger, Faster}} Looks like even Cybertronian love hurts too. {{storylink|Crossfire}}
*Ratchet, in a [[Synthetic Energon]]-induced daze of strength and adrenaline, flirtatiously winked at Arcee, causing a very awkward response from the latter. {{storylink|Stronger, Faster}}
*[[Bumblebee (WFC)|Bumblebee]] and [[Arcee (WFC)|Arcee]] hinted at an infatuation between each other until [[Starscream (WFC)|Starscream]] killed the moment. {{storylink|Predacons Rising (Prime)|Predacons Rising}}

==Transformer - organic==
{{bigquote|We don't have to be the same outside to share the same feeling inside.|[[Alana]] speaks words every Autobot Commander dreads|"[[Sea Change]]"}}

Perhaps because [[reproduction]] does not seem to be a motivation for them to become romantically involved or perhaps because finding a proper partner among their own kind is not always an easy task, more than one Transformer at one point in their life made nice with an organic lifeform. However, virtually nothing is known about how the long-term cases worked out, what with physical differences such as size, [[Life cycle|lifespan and aging]], and [[Transformer#Culture|cultural differences]] - up front the constant influence of the war.

As to why organic lifeforms sometimes get head-over-heels for beings that can't fulfill the very reason they seek out partners, is another matter. In the case of humans, [[fan fiction|several authoritative works]] have been written on relevant aspects of their biology. Readers are advised to seek them out for further reference.

===Cases===
====Generation 1====
[[File:Pgalove.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|[[Powerglide (G1)|PG]][[Astoria Carlton-Ritz|A]] PDA]]
*[[Skids (G1)|Skids]] and [[Charlene (cowgirl)|Charlene]] {{storylink|Showdown!}}
*[[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]] took a deep liking to [[Joy Meadows]] {{storylink|The Transformers (Marvel comic)|UK Marvel comics}}
*[[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] believed [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]]'s care for [[Cindy Newell]] was of the "nudge. nudge. wink. wink." variety. {{storylink|Fire on High!}}
*[[:File:Nomates.jpg|While Cloudburst clumsily tried to explain the First One ''why'' he wasn't interested in her]], [[Landmine (G1)|Landmine]] got cozy in the next room with several other [[Femax]]ians. {{storylink|Recipe for Disaster!}}
*[[Stranglehold]] had a dream involving two ladies there for his affections. They are supposedly organic-based, because while Stranglehold's humanoid appearance is his [[Pretender]] shell, female Transformers officially don't exist in the Marvel continuity, so it's not likely they are Pretenders. {{storylink|End of the Road! (US)|End of the Road!}}
*[[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] - [[Astoria Carlton-Ritz]] {{storylink|The Girl Who Loved Powerglide}}
*[[Seaspray (G1)|Seaspray]] - [[Alana]] {{storylink|Sea Change}}
*[[Michelle]] totally got it on with [[Hot Rod/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus Prime]]. Though to be fair, he was human at the time. {{storylink|Only Human}}
*[[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] had a thing for [[Papika]]. {{storylink|Head Formation of Friendship}}
*[[Lander]] once was in the middle of a date but unceremoniously ditched [[Madonna (Masterforce)|his partner]] after he got an emergency-call from [[Metalhawk (Masterforce)|Metalhawk]]. {{storylink|Rise Up!! Pretenders}}
*[[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] quite fell for [[Jenny (G1)|Jenny]]'s charms. {{storylink|Full Throttle Scramble Power!}}
*[[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] - [[Marissa Faireborn]] {{storylink|Transformers: Generation 1 (Dreamwave) |Generation One}}
*[[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] - [[Scarlett]] {{storylink|Transformers/G.I. Joe}}
*[[Glide (OC)|Glide]] is known to pick up cute human girls and give them rides on his motorcycle mode. {{storylink|Glide (OC)|Glide's Micromaster toy bio}}
*[[Autorooper]] - [[Atari Hitotonari]] {{storylink|Transformers: Kiss Players (franchise)|Kiss Players}}
*[[Hot Rod]] - [[Shaoshao Li]] {{storylink|Transformers: Kiss Players (franchise)|Kiss Players}}
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] - [[Marissa Faireborn]] {{storylink|Transformers: Kiss Players (franchise)|Kiss Players}}
*[[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] drives faster if he smells [[Kelly (RID)|Junko Shiragami]]'s marigold-scented hair. Make of that what you will. {{storylink|The Transformers: Binaltech Asterisk|Binaltech Asterisk}}
*[[Paddles (character)|Paddles]] took a deep liking to [[Randall]] and [[Ed (student)|Ed]]. {{storylink|Paddles (story)|Paddles}}

====Beast Era====
*[[Tigatron]] - [[Snowstalker]]
*''Possibly, [[Optimus Primal/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Optimus Primal]] once fell for a female gorilla.'' {{storylink|A Greater Ape}}
*When [[Diver (BWII)|Diver]] was singing, he attracted a lot of female frogs out of his expectation. {{storylink|Demolish the Superdreadnought Tank!}}

====Unicron Trilogy====
*[[Starscream (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Starscream]] - [[Alexis Thi Dang|Alexis]]. {{storylink|Transformers: Armada (cartoon)|Armada}}

====Live-action film series====
[[File:ROTF-Wheeliedryhumpsaleg.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|See it like this: rather a leghugger than a [[Matrixspawn|facehugger]].]]
*[[Wheelie (ROTF)|Wheelie]] thought that [[Mikaela Banes]] was hot. {{storylink|Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen}}
*He later shifted his attentions to [[Carly Spencer]]. {{storylink|Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)|Dark of the Moon}}

====''Prime''====
*In the Japanese dub, [[Airachnid (Prime)|Airachnid]] is head-over-heels in love with [[Jack Darby|Jack]], even going so far as to aggressively propose marriage to him (Jack, incidentally, does not reciprocate the affection). {{storylink|Predatory#Foreign localization|Mystery Insect Transformation! Forest of the Spider Woman!}}

{{--}}

==Transformer - non-living object==
{{bigquote|And when we get back home, I want Bumblebee to meet my brother's convertible. We call her Juanita, and I think the two of them will get along just fine.|[[Luisa]], quite likely one of the very few humans who does not find this an awkward subject|"[[Fire on the Mountain (episode)|Fire on the Mountain]]"}}

While the ability to at least exchange thoughts can explain the interest some Transformers have for beings not belonging to their own kind, that pretty much doesn't go for the interest some of them have for non-living objects. Unless the fact they often treat them as if alive has something to do with it. This is possibly not as odd as it seems: Transformers are, after all, [[Alternate mode|part object themselves]], some even having been upgraded from a mere piece of machinery. In that sense, it is perhaps harder to understand why it doesn't happen more often. Fancy that sleek piece of car? Oh, so it's one of those ''not'' talking back? [[Sacred implement|Nothing that can't be helped!]] Or alternatively, it comes very close to the real thing and one can be certain not to be rejected by it.

===Cases===
====Generation 1====
*[[Luisa]] wanted to introduce [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] to her brother's convertible "Juanita". Bumblebee seemed to appreciate that plan. {{storylink|Fire on the Mountain (episode)|Fire on the Mountain}}
*[[Iguanus (G1)|Iguanus]] and [[Pretender|his own Pretender shell]] {{storylink|Iguanus (G1)|Iguanus's toy bio}}
*[[Rook (Universe)|Rook]] and the [[Running Cogs Award for Captivating Journalism]] {{storylink|Around Cybertron #17}}

====Robots in Disguise====
[[File:Sideburn's Obsession Sideburntricycle.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|'Burn tricycle]]
*[[Side Burn (RID)|Side Burn]] has a thing for pretty red sportcars.

====Unicron Trilogy====
*[[QuickFire]] - [[Starheart]] {{storylink|Lonesome Diesel}}

====Live-action movies====
*Dialog from their [[trans-scan]] of new [[alternate mode]]s may suggest [[Skids (ROTF)|Skids]] and [[Mudflap (ROTF)|Mudflap]] had sexual thoughts towards their new alternate modes.<ref>Mudflap: "This is my booty call right here. Time to get my sexy on with the green. (beatboxes)" {{storylink|Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen}}</ref>

====Transformers Animated====
*[[Scrapper (Animated)|Scrapper]] and [[Mixmaster (Animated)|Mixmaster]] like sportcars almost as much as Side Burn does. {{storylink|Rise of the Constructicons}}
{{--}}
==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Transformer culture]]

Impactor (G1)

2016-05-22T15:09:35Z

Egg: /* IDW Generation 1 continuity */ Pre-war info from JRo's twitter Q&A.

{{factions|autobot|wreckers}}
{{disambig3|Impactor}}
:''Impactor is an [[Autobot]] from the [[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[File:Impactor Autopedia.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|Madeup leader of the nobody squad.]]
'''Impactor''' is the legendary former leader of the [[Wrecker]]s, an elite [[Autobot]] strike team, and as such is a deadly force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. His body is covered with weaponry, from the tank cannon on his shoulder, to the missiles hidden in his chest<ref>[https://twitter.com/NickRoche/status/727425912287928320 Nick Roche's twitter]</ref> , to the handgun strapped to his leg, and finally his signature harpoon weapon that replaces his right hand. His audacity and resolve is what puts him in the history books, for better or for worse.

Impactor's first officer, [[Springer (G1)|Springer]], is inevitably his replacement, once terrible things occur. Springer's feelings regarding his filling of Impactor's immense shoes are always a source of angst. Just when Springer thinks these emotions are dealt with and buried, Impactor somehow returns to mix things up again. In [[IDW continuity|some universes]], he has the nickname '''Kiloton'''.

{{TOCclear}}

==Fiction==
===Marvel ''The Transformers'' comics===
{{noteukexclusive|Impactor}}
[[File:Impactorfearless.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|[[Macabre]] who?]]
After the departure of [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]], [[Megatron (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Megatron]] and their troops from the war, [[Xaaron|Emirate Xaaron]] assigned the Wreckers to assassinate the warlord [[Trannis]], who came into power in Megatron's absence. Impactor was chosen to lead this team. Though the assassination attempt was successful, other leaders quickly sprung up to take Trannis' place.

[[File:Xaaronimpactor.jpg|thumb|Impactor carries a gun barrel around for those (*ahem*, Xaaron) who invade his personal space.]]
Though Impactor was dedicated to his troops, he was not so dedicated to his superiors, and was not above directly insulting them. Emirate Xaaron took this attitude in stride, and could give as well as he received. Impactor referred to the Autobot resistance leader as a "wily old buzzard," as he was often surprised by Xaaron's blunt yet indirect ways of making his point and getting what he wants. Despite this, their difficulties masked a genuine friendship.

Countless years later, after Optimus Prime and his Autobots had awoken on [[Earth]], Impactor and the Wreckers were responsible for executing [[Operation: Volcano]], a planned ambush of the [[Ten Deadliest Killers|Decepticons' fiercest warriors]] using Xaaron as bait. [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] was assigned to the Wreckers to help them bolster their ranks for the mission, but he was quickly needed to travel to Earth to investigate the disappearance of Optimus Prime. Impactor's commitment to the mission wavered and he at first refused to deploy his team without Magnus there as back-up, but he changed his mind after a conversation with Xaaron. Impactor's doubts were further quelled when Xaaron convinced him that [[Springer (G1)|Springer]], [[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]], and [[Sandstorm (G1)|Sandstorm]] were an adequate replacement for Magnus, which Xaaron accomplished by having them disguise themselves as Decepticons and beat Impactor up. Operation: Volcano was once again on track.

Xaaron, the bait for the Wreckers' trap, was placed according to plan, but suddenly Megatron called his warriors to Earth, overriding all other commands, including the planned ambush on Xaaron. Disappointed that their trap was ruined, the Wreckers let down their guard long enough to allow an assassin named [[Macabre]], ignoring Megatron's orders, to fire upon Xaaron. Impactor was the first to react and pushed Xaaron out of the way, taking the shots meant for the Autobot underground resistance leader. Immediately, the other Wreckers turned and fired upon Macabre, killing him, but Impactor was fatally wounded. With his last words he named Springer the next leader of the Wreckers before dying in Xaaron's arms, again calling him a "wily old buzzard." {{storylink|Target: 2006}}

[[File:Impactorzombie.jpg|left|thumb|Brains!]]
Impactor's death would haunt several other Autobots for some time to come. Though he sought to deny it, Ultra Magnus felt guilty for not returning to Cybertron in time, and this led to his taking an excessive approach when dealing with Optimus Prime, whom intelligence reports stated was a traitor. {{storylink|Under Fire!}} Subsequently Magnus found a fight with Megatron proved the opportunity to release his pent-up aggression over Impactor's death. {{storylink|Resurrection!}} Even after that, the sight of a volcano on Earth left him uneasy. {{storylink|Burning Sky!}}

Springer was also severely affected by Impactor's death, and felt inadequate in the shadow of his legacy. So when a rogue Autobot scientist named [[Flame (Marvel)|Flame]] discovered a way to reanimate dead Transformers, Springer was crippled from action when he was met with the reanimated corpse of Impactor. {{storylink|Legion of the Lost!}} His route to the kidnapped Wreckers and Xaaron blocked, he reluctantly fought his predecessor until Springer managed to jar Impactor into remembering his past life. Impactor sacrificed his life again when he stopped Flame's reactors from destroying [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. {{storylink|Meltdown!}}
{{-}}

===IDW Generation 1 continuity===
[[File:Ongoing22 MaccadamsNewOilHouse.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|"Let's see: 'I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness. Starving, hysterical, naked...' Nah, it's never gonna catch on, Megs."]]
Impactor was [[Reproduction#IDW Generation 1 continuity|constructed cold]] before the war. {{storylink|Remain in Light 3 of 5: The Divided Self|The Divided Self}} He worked as a miner near Nova Point, and befriended a fellow mine grunt, [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] there. The two became best friends<ref>[https://twitter.com/jroberts332/status/681985702821793794 James Roberts' MTMTE2015 twitter Q&A]</ref> , and were together when miners were shipped to [[Moonbase Two|Luna 2]] when Cybertron's need for energy rose. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1|Chaos Theory #1}} {{storylink|Shockwaves}} Impactor thought Megatron's nonviolent solutions to Cybertron's class warfare were cute, and reminded him that there would always be a pecking order, no matter how large or small the equation. Megatron's naïveté was underscored when the lowly [[Rung (G1)|Rung]] was ganged up on by a much larger pair of military cadets and tossed across their table. Impactor, drunk, got up to deal with them the only way he thought mattered. Megatron was put off by the violence and stayed out of the fight, but was arrested anyway; Impactor was taken to [[Deltaran Medical Facility]], but not before he'd torn the cadet's legs off and shoved them into a garbage grinder. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1|Chaos Theory #1}} {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 2: Stet}}

When [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]] was arrested for the beating he gave Megatron during the latter's brief incarceration, Impactor ended up being his cellmate on [[Garrus-1]]. Impactor beat up Whirl to the brink of fade-out, leaving him in critical condition. {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 2: Patternism|Patternism}}

[[File:RulesofDisengagement-BlackShadowvsWreckers.jpg|thumb|left|upright=2.4]]
At some point after war broke out, Impactor joined the Wreckers, when they were not yet the war heroes they would come to be known as, but merely a rumor. He battled [[Black Shadow (Victory)|Black Shadow]] in the 11th iteration of the team, under the command of [[Crest]]. {{storylink|Rules of Disengagement (issue)|Rules of Disengagement}} He would go on to become leader of the Wreckers in turn and still holds the record as their longest-serving member to present day. It was ''he'' who coined the phrase "Wreck and Rule!" while saving [[Xaaron]] at the [[Sonic Canyons]]. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2}} He left an impact on Springer at [[Sherma Bridge]], when he took control of an flaming Decepticon shuttle pod by disposing of its headless pilot, and landed it safely. The incident would inspire Springer to sign up for the Wreckers reservists. {{storylink|Zero Point}} Much later, Impactor personally approached Springer at [[Toxic Sludge Swamps]] to recruit him into the 17th line-up of the Wreckers. With his entrance, he took down eight hidden Decepticons. Springer was impressed but didn't realise at the time that it was all a scripted part of the Wreckers mythology and that Impactor never gave him a choice. {{storylink|Dead Men's Boots}}

Impactor took Springer under his wing, and the two shared a close bond not much unlike brothers. He even nicknamed Springer "my little green circuit booster" after the effect he had on him with his speeches. But during Impactor's leadership as the war got dirtier and dirtier, so did the Wreckers. His Wreckers were barely Autobots at that point—they would abuse prisoners, cause unnecessary pain unto their enemies and kill Decepticons even when not needed.

When Megatron responded with [[Squadron X]], that sent Impactor into a single-minded rage. As any Autobot would, he hated Squadron X but for him it was personal as he saw an echo of the Wreckers in the team. Impactor then proceeded to chase the enemy team across nine star systems, ignoring significant war events such as the [[Black Epoch]], the [[Simanzi Massacre]] and the [[Crucible]], and the "Rise of the [[Dethroner]]". {{storylink|Zero Point}}

[[File:Gloaming-battle-for-hells-point.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4]]
He was among the Autobots fighting atop a Decepticon warcruiser during the [[Battle for Hell's Point]], {{storylink|The Gloaming}} where he picked up the nickname "Kiloton" for the number of Decepticons he slaughtered during the battle. Over time, his mental state became increasingly unstable, something both his superiors and his fellow Wreckers chose to ignore. Impactor was inspired to replace his hand with a harpoon weapon after a run-in with a dimension-hopping "[[Death's Head (G1)|freelance peacekeeping agent]]." After a long string of suicide missions, Impactor became an alarmingly obsessed individual, especially regarding Squadron X, the team Megatron assembled in answer to the Wreckers. Impactor felt indirectly responsible for the atrocities Squadron X committed. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|Impactor's psych-screening}}

As described in [[Wreckers: Declassified|''The Wreckers' Air Attack'']], Impactor met his old friend Megatron at the [[Manganese Mountains]] where they fought on a drilling platform. Eventually, Impactor lost his hand, chin, and had Megatron's fusion cannon pressed to his head. Before giving the killing blow, Megatron gave a poetic speech of Impactor's coming death. Even with no power to lift his harpoon, Impactor replied by scratching the words "NOT MORE POETRY" on the platform, and gave Megatron pause. At that window of opportunity, Springer used a sky sled to knock Megatron down, sending him to fall thousands of feet into the Mountains.

After gathering his mouth, Impactor proceeded to inform Springer what they'd have to do in four minutes: save Xaaron, rescue [[Sandstorm (G1)|Sandstorm]] from his antimatter duplicate, deactivate [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]]'s necrocannon and stop the platform they were on from crashing into a nucleon reactor. Springer was unsure if they could manage all that in the given time so Impactor told him that they actually had two minutes, but assured him that he had a plan. {{storylink|Zero Point}}

[[File:LastStandoftheWreckers5-squadronexxed.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|They were like that when I got here!]]
After chasing Squadron X across the galaxy, the Wreckers' rivalry with them came to an end on the planet [[Pova]]. The Wreckers, however, found themselves in a bad way after Impactor's first officer, [[Springer (G1)|Springer]], was trapped under some collapsed rubble. Despite Springer's pleas, Impactor used Springer's own body as a shield against Squadron X's advancing troops, firing through it. This helped turn the tide, and the Wreckers rounded up all of Squadron X for transport offworld. Unfortunately, Impactor snapped when [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]] told him that Pova was neutral territory, and that he was ordered to set them free or else the Autobots would face diplomatic repercussions. Impactor personally executed every member of Squadron X while they were restrained. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|Last Stand of the Wreckers #5}}

When the Wreckers were on their way back from Pova, they stopped at [[G'th Semane]]. Springer made a call to [[Autobot High Command]], and gave Impactor in. The mech he was talking to had been waiting for the opportunity to arrest Impactor for hundreds of years. Impactor detached his harpoon, passive, much to Springer's surprise. {{storylink|Zero Point}}

Springer testified against Impactor, and the disgraced Wreckers leader was imprisoned on [[Garrus-9]]. A cover story for what happened on Pova was released which involved Springer suggesting Impactor fire through his torso and Squadron X later escaping their restraints, necessitating their execution. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 4}} As extra punishment for refusing to show remorse for what he'd done, Impactor was not granted the mercy of spark removal, and instead was imprisoned normally. In jail, they called him "the Autobot that went ''too far''". {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2|Last Stand of the Wreckers #2}} As Impactor was dragged to his cell, Springer said something he didn't want to hear, something he would dwell upon for the length of his incarceration: Squadron X deserved to die, but that didn't give Impactor the right to kill them. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|Last Stand of the Wreckers #5}}

[[File:LastStandoftheWreckers1-Impactor post boom.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|Give him a hand, folks!]]
Twenty years later, [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] seized control of G-9, and Springer's Wreckers were sent to liberate it. Springer was trying hard not to think of Impactor. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 1|Last Stand of the Wreckers #1}} However, the Decepticon [[Snare]], wanting Overlord gone, released Impactor from his cell in the hope he could escape the planet and get help. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2|Last Stand of the Wreckers #2}} As the current-day Wreckers arrived at Garrus-9, a decrepit Decepticon dropship blocked their path. It exploded before their eyes, but not before the battered form of Impactor ejected from the craft. Appearing before the shocked Wreckers, Impactor sneered, requesting to be let aboard. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 1|Last Stand of the Wreckers #1}}

He filled the new Wreckers in on the situation and how he'd escaped, while continuing to clash with Springer. He not only refused to recognize his former soldier was now in charge, he snarled that he used to think Springer would've done the same thing Impactor himself did on Pova...and was now sickened that Springer ''wouldn't''. Conflict aside, Springer knew Impactor was needed for the mission. Given a new harpoon/hand, he was placed in Springer's drop-team and deployed to G-9...and he recognized, with visible glumness, the name of their secondary objective, "[[Aequitas]]".

Descending towards G-9 in two ejected escape pods, they met with tough Decepticon resistance. Despite their maneuvering, Impactor's ship was the first to go down, though the other wasn't far behind. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2|Last Stand of the Wreckers #2}} After their crash-landing, Impactor led them towards where the Autobot prisoners were being held. Cell Block G was directly below him, best he recalled, but [[Twin Twist]]'s drilling only sent them tumbling into a large, empty chamber. At the bottom, Impactor found the twisted remains of [[Kick-Off (G1)|Kick-Off]], whom he regarded as one of the few guards who treated G-9's prisoners with respect. Their presence in this chamber signaled G-9's defenses, and after he, Springer, and Twin Twist were electrocuted, they woke up strapped to tables in the care of [[Stalker (G1)|Stalker]]. A sadist, Stalker grabbed his tools of torture and gleefully went to work on them. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 3|Last Stand of the Wreckers #3}}

[[File:LastStandoftheWreckers4-fivewords.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.66|He makes that same face when he doesn't want to eat his peas.]]
Unlike Springer and Twin Twist, Impactor had grown used to the Decepticons' methods in the time since their takeover of G-9, so he alone managed to stay online during Stalker's "work". Twin Twist was looking terrible and mangled, and Springer had just woken up when he and Impactor began talking about their murky past. Impactor accused Springer of betraying the Wreckers with the testimony against him, while Springer was surprised to learn that Impactor still had no remorse for what he'd done. So long as Impactor refused to realize that he'd done wrong, their feelings were at an impasse.

Stalker returned with a [[endoscopic claw|new torture device]] but his work on Twin Twist was interrupted when his brother Topspin sacrificed his own life elsewhere, extinguishing both sparks. Disappointed, Stalker turned his attentions to Impactor, but was again interrupted. [[Kup (G1)|Kup]], [[Guzzle (G1)|Guzzle]], and the turncoat Decepticon Snare blasted into Stalker's lair. Snare was mortally wounded in the following skirmish, and Stalker was killed. As Snare lay dying, Impactor questioned him, wondering why the Decepticon had saved them. Snare told them that Overlord was on his way and asked that he himself be killed, which Impactor did curtly before Snare could finish his final words.

True to Snare's last warning, Overlord arrived with a boom. Unknown to them, elsewhere, the other half of the Wreckers had completed their objective by hacking the supercomputer judge Aequitas and downloading it into Ironfist's brain. They were surrounded by Decepticons whom they could easily deal with if they simply signaled all the deterrence chips in their heads, killing them. But they knew this would also kill Impactor, who was also an ex-prisoner, and so his and their fate came to a vote. Perceptor voted for killing him for the sake of many, Pyro voted against, and...Ironfist, Impactor's greatest fanboy and new host to Aequitas's judgment of Impactor, came to the sad realization that his hero very much deserved to die. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 4|Last Stand of the Wreckers #4}}

[[File:LastStandoftheWreckers5-finishhimoff.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Surprise! He's a tank. Surprise! He's gonna kick your ass.]]
Fortunately for Impactor (and the Wreckers), [[Verity Carlo]] convinced the others to spare Impactor. After Overlord pulled Guzzle apart and used the pieces to put Kup down, Impactor removed Overlord's eye with his harpoon. In response, Overlord stomped Impactor into the ground, forcing him offline.

When Impactor came to, Overlord had been reduced to a flaming skeleton facing only the fragile Verity Carlo. Impactor blasted Overlord's arm off and attacked him, but Overlord had lost the will to fight, as he'd learned that Megatron had perished, robbing Overlord of his final showdown with him. Overlord beckoned Impactor to kill him, but Impactor refused. In honor of Springer, whom Impactor thought had died, the former Wreckers commander promised that Overlord would serve trial as a criminal, and himself finally came to terms with the crimes he committed on Pova.

Impactor was pardoned in exchange for his help retaking Garrus-9, and he immediately left for parts unknown on a shuttle with the repaired Guzzle. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|Last Stand of the Wreckers #5}}

Things didn't go well for the new pair: Guzzle became increasingly violent and obsessed with racking up a bodycount, something that struck Impactor too close to home, and which got him captured in a rescue mission against Decepticon Harvesters. The fact Impactor cared about Guzzle and the alien hostages enough to rescue them was a sign that he was improving... but when the hostages were killed, Impactor allowed himself to succumb to bloodlust once more, realising to his horror that he could not escape it. {{storylink|Escape (G1)|Escape}} Eventually, Impactor balked and had Guzzle imprisoned at Debris for butchering prisoners, something that a raging Guzzle felt was hypocritical. All Impactor could now do was wile away his days with Roadbuster, lamenting the state of the Wreckers and their lack of purpose. Roadbuster comforted Impactor by pointing out he ''didn't'' join the killing and was trying to care for a comrade. Such caring was a point of contention between the two as Impactor felt it was wrong for his teammate to keep Springer alive, after years of no mental activity, and tried to drag Debris administrator [[Hubcap (G1)|Hubcap]] into the debate.

Shortly after, Springer did in fact regain consciousness: just in time for the Wreckers to be gathered once again to try and rescue a captured Prowl. {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 1|Sins of the Wreckers #1}}

On Earth, Impactor and the Wreckers found Prowl's old collaborator [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] hunting for him, after he went missing en route to Verity Carlo and her copy of the [[Aequitas]] [[data slug]], a gift from Ironfist. When a "rabbit" stole the data slug, Impactor and Guzzle took off after the creature, but soon encountered several Chimericons, robots in disguise as Earth creatures. A massive Chimericon name [[Tidal Wave (G1)|Tidal Wave]] appeared, and the Wreckers surmised that Prowl was being held inside him. While Springer led a squad into the 'bot, Impactor remained outside to draw fire and divert their other attackers. {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 2|Sins of the Wreckers #2}}

{{charstubfiction| {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 3|Sins of the Wreckers #3}} {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 4|Sins of the Wreckers #4}}}}

===''Wings Universe''===
Impactor led the Wreckers during their campaign against Squadron X on [[Frellus IV]]. There, he willingly sacrificed members of the [[Hasmata]] in order to flee from Squadron X’s siege. Impactor and the Wreckers then stole Squadron X’s ship to escape the planet. {{storylink|Tornado - Decepticon Saboteur}}

===''Of Masters and Mayhem''===
Impactor was the leader of the Wreckers, with missions such as [[Operation: Volcano]], the Battle of [[Hell's Point]] and the [[Garrus-9|Garrus 9]] Incursion being the stuff of legend among Autobots and Decepticons alike. The story of Impactor and his Wreckers was cut short, however, when [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] was left ravaged by [[Decepticon]] [[combiner]] [[Thunder Mayhem]]. Vowing revenge, Impactor set out across the planet to build a new team with which to destroy the apocalyptic gestalt. {{storylink|Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club issue 69|Impactor profile}}

His first recruit was the spy [[Punch (G1)|Punch]], who Impactor found critically injured in the ruins of an Autobot outpost on [[Gargoid]] {{storylink|The Truth We Make}} and then took to [[Paradron]] for medical care. Impactor was initially outraged that [[Lifeline (G1)|Lifeline]] could only save one of Punch's robot forms, but after storming out, he had second thoughts. {{storylink|Insight}} It was also on Paradron that Impactor installed some medical equipment with lethal capabilities into himself. {{storylink|Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club issue 69|Impactor profile}}

After the spy awoke, he gave Impactor the shocking news that Punch had been the fiction and Counterpunch the true identity all along. The Wrecker leader was angry at this long-term deception, but put this aside to make Counterpunch an offer: join him the Wreckers and stop the monster that destroyed Cybertron. {{storylink|The Truth We Make}}

Impactor and Counterpunch subsequently followed a distress signal to a mysterious planet where they found found a small group of Cybertronians who had taken on bestial [[alternate mode]]s. After donating a universal translator from Paradron to help the "[[Raptoricons]]" clear up their relations with the planet's local lifeforms, Impactor recruited their newest associate, [[Decepticon]] geochemist [[Fractyl]], to the Wreckers. {{storylink|Life Finds a Way}}

{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|The Toxic Transformer}} }}

==Games==
===''Transformers Legends''===
Impactor was the leader of the fearless Wreckers squad which liberated Garrus-9 from the grip of [[Dreadwind (G1)|Dreadwind]] and the [[Air Strike Patrol]], though they destroyed most of the facility in the process. {{storylink|The Wreckers}}

==Toys==
===Combiner Wars===
[[File:Timelinestoy-Impactor.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|Now I finally have a toy; maybe people will stop buying up those third-party Wreckers, right? ...right?]]
*'''Impactor''' (Deluxe Class, [[2016]])
**''Accessories'': Clamp weapon, combiner hand/foot, assorted hand attachments

:Part of the [[Transformers Figure Subscription Service#Series 4.0 (2016)|Figure Subscription Service 4.0]], Impactor is a [[retool]] of ''[[Transformers: Generations#Combiner Wars|Combiner Wars]]'' [[Rook (Generations)#Generations|Rook]] with a new head. He transforms into an armored personnel carrier, and can also form an arm or leg for any compatible ''Combiner Wars'' Voyager figure. One of his hands is unpainted purple so as to replicate the character's traditional one-handed appearance. He includes the mold's [[5mm post|5mm]] clamp weapon, along with ''[[Transformers: Generations|Generations]]'' [[Arcee (G1)#Generations|Arcee]]'s four accessories. Of those, the swords are intended to be used to recreate Impactor's traditional harpoon-hand, whilst the larger pistol is decoed to resemble his shoulder cannon.

:The original version of this mold was [[redeco]]ed into ''[[Transformers Unite Warriors|Unite Warriors]]'' [[Roller (IDW)#Toys|Wandering Roller]], slightly retooled into [[BotCon 2016]] [[Tarantulas (BW)#Combiner Wars|Predacon Tarantulas]], and heavily retooled into ''Combiner Wars'' [[Swindle (G1)#CombinerWars|Swindle]] and [[Hound (G1)#Generations|Hound]]. This mold also served as the basis of the non-toy ''[[Transformers: Shattered Glass (franchise)|Shattered Glass]]'' version of [[Brawn (SG)|X-Brawn]].
{{CWRookMold}}

{{comingsoontoy}}
{{-}}

==Notes==
*According to [[Dreadwind (G1)|Dreadwind]] in [[Survivors!|issue #221]]'s [[Letters page (Marvel UK)|letters page]], Impactor transformed into an "earth-boring vehicle". In the letter page to [[Survival Run|issue #238]], Dreadwind clarified that he transformed into a drill tank but didn't have an earth mode. Later, in ''[[The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers|Last Stand of the Wreckers]],'' he transformed into a non-drill tank. Later still, but [[Chaos Theory Part 1|earlier in IDW's timeline]], he gained a drill replacement for his hand.
*In the Marvel comics, Impactor's right hand can be interchanged for a harpoon. This emulates the wrist-launcher gimmick found in many [[Diaclone]]-based toys. He is frequently seen carrying a club which looks an awful lot like a gun barrel, and which may be a gun attachment for his right arm; but being Impactor, he only ever uses it to smack guys around.
*Impactor was the one Wrecker in ''Last Stand'' who was ''never'' going to die! <ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9DPbginVXE Moonbase 2's AA2010 interview], 21:22</ref>
*"[[Remain in Light 3 of 5: The Divided Self|The Divided Self]]" revealed that all the Aequitas defendants were [[Reproduction#IDW Generation 1 continuity|"constructed cold"]]: their sparks taken from the Matrix itself and slapped into a body. That same issue also said Impactor was a [[Point One Percenter]], i.e. ''not'' constructed cold, causing some confusion until James Roberts confirmed that was a mistake.<ref name="moonbase2">[http://www.fullmetalhero.com/t14540/ moonbase2 interview with James Roberts]</ref> The trade paperback snips Impactor's name from the Point One line.
*In IDW's Generation 1 continuity, Impactor was once a friend of Megatron, and later gains the nickname Kiloton. In reference to this, [[Ask Vector Prime]] christened [[Kiloton|Megatron's unnamed friend]] from the ''Generation 2'' manga "Kiloton."

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://transfans.co.uk/comics_guide_detail.php?id=257&page=13 Transformers #221 Letters Page on Transfans.co.uk]
*[http://transfans.co.uk/comics_guide_detail.php?id=291&page=14 Transformers #238 Letters Page on Transfans.co.uk]

[[Category:European-original Transformers]]
[[Category:IDW Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Marvel Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Timelines characters]]
[[Category:Wings Universe Autobots]]
[[Category:Wreckers]]
[[Category:Zombies]]

Impactor (G1)

2016-05-22T14:44:05Z

Egg: Roche confirmed Impactor's boob bombs

{{factions|autobot|wreckers}}
{{disambig3|Impactor}}
:''Impactor is an [[Autobot]] from the [[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[File:Impactor Autopedia.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|Madeup leader of the nobody squad.]]
'''Impactor''' is the legendary former leader of the [[Wrecker]]s, an elite [[Autobot]] strike team, and as such is a deadly force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. His body is covered with weaponry, from the tank cannon on his shoulder, to the missiles hidden in his chest<ref>[https://twitter.com/NickRoche/status/727425912287928320 Nick Roche's twitter]</ref> , to the handgun strapped to his leg, and finally his signature harpoon weapon that replaces his right hand. His audacity and resolve is what puts him in the history books, for better or for worse.

Impactor's first officer, [[Springer (G1)|Springer]], is inevitably his replacement, once terrible things occur. Springer's feelings regarding his filling of Impactor's immense shoes are always a source of angst. Just when Springer thinks these emotions are dealt with and buried, Impactor somehow returns to mix things up again. In [[IDW continuity|some universes]], he has the nickname '''Kiloton'''.

{{TOCclear}}

==Fiction==
===Marvel ''The Transformers'' comics===
{{noteukexclusive|Impactor}}
[[File:Impactorfearless.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|[[Macabre]] who?]]
After the departure of [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]], [[Megatron (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Megatron]] and their troops from the war, [[Xaaron|Emirate Xaaron]] assigned the Wreckers to assassinate the warlord [[Trannis]], who came into power in Megatron's absence. Impactor was chosen to lead this team. Though the assassination attempt was successful, other leaders quickly sprung up to take Trannis' place.

[[File:Xaaronimpactor.jpg|thumb|Impactor carries a gun barrel around for those (*ahem*, Xaaron) who invade his personal space.]]
Though Impactor was dedicated to his troops, he was not so dedicated to his superiors, and was not above directly insulting them. Emirate Xaaron took this attitude in stride, and could give as well as he received. Impactor referred to the Autobot resistance leader as a "wily old buzzard," as he was often surprised by Xaaron's blunt yet indirect ways of making his point and getting what he wants. Despite this, their difficulties masked a genuine friendship.

Countless years later, after Optimus Prime and his Autobots had awoken on [[Earth]], Impactor and the Wreckers were responsible for executing [[Operation: Volcano]], a planned ambush of the [[Ten Deadliest Killers|Decepticons' fiercest warriors]] using Xaaron as bait. [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] was assigned to the Wreckers to help them bolster their ranks for the mission, but he was quickly needed to travel to Earth to investigate the disappearance of Optimus Prime. Impactor's commitment to the mission wavered and he at first refused to deploy his team without Magnus there as back-up, but he changed his mind after a conversation with Xaaron. Impactor's doubts were further quelled when Xaaron convinced him that [[Springer (G1)|Springer]], [[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]], and [[Sandstorm (G1)|Sandstorm]] were an adequate replacement for Magnus, which Xaaron accomplished by having them disguise themselves as Decepticons and beat Impactor up. Operation: Volcano was once again on track.

Xaaron, the bait for the Wreckers' trap, was placed according to plan, but suddenly Megatron called his warriors to Earth, overriding all other commands, including the planned ambush on Xaaron. Disappointed that their trap was ruined, the Wreckers let down their guard long enough to allow an assassin named [[Macabre]], ignoring Megatron's orders, to fire upon Xaaron. Impactor was the first to react and pushed Xaaron out of the way, taking the shots meant for the Autobot underground resistance leader. Immediately, the other Wreckers turned and fired upon Macabre, killing him, but Impactor was fatally wounded. With his last words he named Springer the next leader of the Wreckers before dying in Xaaron's arms, again calling him a "wily old buzzard." {{storylink|Target: 2006}}

[[File:Impactorzombie.jpg|left|thumb|Brains!]]
Impactor's death would haunt several other Autobots for some time to come. Though he sought to deny it, Ultra Magnus felt guilty for not returning to Cybertron in time, and this led to his taking an excessive approach when dealing with Optimus Prime, whom intelligence reports stated was a traitor. {{storylink|Under Fire!}} Subsequently Magnus found a fight with Megatron proved the opportunity to release his pent-up aggression over Impactor's death. {{storylink|Resurrection!}} Even after that, the sight of a volcano on Earth left him uneasy. {{storylink|Burning Sky!}}

Springer was also severely affected by Impactor's death, and felt inadequate in the shadow of his legacy. So when a rogue Autobot scientist named [[Flame (Marvel)|Flame]] discovered a way to reanimate dead Transformers, Springer was crippled from action when he was met with the reanimated corpse of Impactor. {{storylink|Legion of the Lost!}} His route to the kidnapped Wreckers and Xaaron blocked, he reluctantly fought his predecessor until Springer managed to jar Impactor into remembering his past life. Impactor sacrificed his life again when he stopped Flame's reactors from destroying [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. {{storylink|Meltdown!}}
{{-}}

===IDW Generation 1 continuity===
[[File:Ongoing22 MaccadamsNewOilHouse.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|"Let's see: 'I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness. Starving, hysterical, naked...' Nah, it's never gonna catch on, Megs."]]
Impactor was [[Reproduction#IDW Generation 1 continuity|constructed cold]]. {{storylink|Remain in Light 3 of 5: The Divided Self|The Divided Self}} Before the war, he was friends with fellow mine grunt, [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] (and suffered his poetry) and the two worked together at [[Moonbase Two|Luna 2]]. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1|Chaos Theory #1}} {{storylink|Shockwaves}} Impactor thought Megatron's nonviolent solutions to Cybertron's class warfare were cute, and reminded him that there would always be a pecking order, no matter how large or small the equation. Megatron's naïveté was underscored when the lowly [[Rung (G1)|Rung]] was ganged up on by a much larger pair of military cadets and tossed across their table. Impactor, drunk, got up to deal with them the only way he thought mattered. Megatron was put off by the violence and stayed out of the fight, but was arrested anyway; Impactor was taken to [[Deltaran Medical Facility]], but not before he'd torn the cadet's legs off and shoved them into a garbage grinder. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1|Chaos Theory #1}} {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 2: Stet}}

When [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]] was arrested for the beating he gave Megatron during the latter's brief incarceration, Impactor ended up being his cellmate on [[Garrus-1]]. Impactor beat up Whirl to the brink of fade-out, leaving him in critical condition. {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 2: Patternism|Patternism}}

[[File:RulesofDisengagement-BlackShadowvsWreckers.jpg|thumb|left|upright=2.4]]
At some point after war broke out, Impactor joined the Wreckers, when they were not yet the war heroes they would come to be known as, but merely a rumor. He battled [[Black Shadow (Victory)|Black Shadow]] in the 11th iteration of the team, under the command of [[Crest]]. {{storylink|Rules of Disengagement (issue)|Rules of Disengagement}} He would go on to become leader of the Wreckers in turn and still holds the record as their longest-serving member to present day. It was ''he'' who coined the phrase "Wreck and Rule!" while saving [[Xaaron]] at the [[Sonic Canyons]]. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2}} He left an impact on Springer at [[Sherma Bridge]], when he took control of an flaming Decepticon shuttle pod by disposing of its headless pilot, and landed it safely. The incident would inspire Springer to sign up for the Wreckers reservists. {{storylink|Zero Point}} Much later, Impactor personally approached Springer at [[Toxic Sludge Swamps]] to recruit him into the 17th line-up of the Wreckers. With his entrance, he took down eight hidden Decepticons. Springer was impressed but didn't realise at the time that it was all a scripted part of the Wreckers mythology and that Impactor never gave him a choice. {{storylink|Dead Men's Boots}}

Impactor took Springer under his wing, and the two shared a close bond not much unlike brothers. He even nicknamed Springer "my little green circuit booster" after the effect he had on him with his speeches. But during Impactor's leadership as the war got dirtier and dirtier, so did the Wreckers. His Wreckers were barely Autobots at that point—they would abuse prisoners, cause unnecessary pain unto their enemies and kill Decepticons even when not needed.

When Megatron responded with [[Squadron X]], that sent Impactor into a single-minded rage. As any Autobot would, he hated Squadron X but for him it was personal as he saw an echo of the Wreckers in the team. Impactor then proceeded to chase the enemy team across nine star systems, ignoring significant war events such as the [[Black Epoch]], the [[Simanzi Massacre]] and the [[Crucible]], and the "Rise of the [[Dethroner]]". {{storylink|Zero Point}}

[[File:Gloaming-battle-for-hells-point.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4]]
He was among the Autobots fighting atop a Decepticon warcruiser during the [[Battle for Hell's Point]], {{storylink|The Gloaming}} where he picked up the nickname "Kiloton" for the number of Decepticons he slaughtered during the battle. Over time, his mental state became increasingly unstable, something both his superiors and his fellow Wreckers chose to ignore. Impactor was inspired to replace his hand with a harpoon weapon after a run-in with a dimension-hopping "[[Death's Head (G1)|freelance peacekeeping agent]]." After a long string of suicide missions, Impactor became an alarmingly obsessed individual, especially regarding Squadron X, the team Megatron assembled in answer to the Wreckers. Impactor felt indirectly responsible for the atrocities Squadron X committed. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|Impactor's psych-screening}}

As described in [[Wreckers: Declassified|''The Wreckers' Air Attack'']], Impactor met his old friend Megatron at the [[Manganese Mountains]] where they fought on a drilling platform. Eventually, Impactor lost his hand, chin, and had Megatron's fusion cannon pressed to his head. Before giving the killing blow, Megatron gave a poetic speech of Impactor's coming death. Even with no power to lift his harpoon, Impactor replied by scratching the words "NOT MORE POETRY" on the platform, and gave Megatron pause. At that window of opportunity, Springer used a sky sled to knock Megatron down, sending him to fall thousands of feet into the Mountains.

After gathering his mouth, Impactor proceeded to inform Springer what they'd have to do in four minutes: save Xaaron, rescue [[Sandstorm (G1)|Sandstorm]] from his antimatter duplicate, deactivate [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]]'s necrocannon and stop the platform they were on from crashing into a nucleon reactor. Springer was unsure if they could manage all that in the given time so Impactor told him that they actually had two minutes, but assured him that he had a plan. {{storylink|Zero Point}}

[[File:LastStandoftheWreckers5-squadronexxed.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|They were like that when I got here!]]
After chasing Squadron X across the galaxy, the Wreckers' rivalry with them came to an end on the planet [[Pova]]. The Wreckers, however, found themselves in a bad way after Impactor's first officer, [[Springer (G1)|Springer]], was trapped under some collapsed rubble. Despite Springer's pleas, Impactor used Springer's own body as a shield against Squadron X's advancing troops, firing through it. This helped turn the tide, and the Wreckers rounded up all of Squadron X for transport offworld. Unfortunately, Impactor snapped when [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]] told him that Pova was neutral territory, and that he was ordered to set them free or else the Autobots would face diplomatic repercussions. Impactor personally executed every member of Squadron X while they were restrained. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|Last Stand of the Wreckers #5}}

When the Wreckers were on their way back from Pova, they stopped at [[G'th Semane]]. Springer made a call to [[Autobot High Command]], and gave Impactor in. The mech he was talking to had been waiting for the opportunity to arrest Impactor for hundreds of years. Impactor detached his harpoon, passive, much to Springer's surprise. {{storylink|Zero Point}}

Springer testified against Impactor, and the disgraced Wreckers leader was imprisoned on [[Garrus-9]]. A cover story for what happened on Pova was released which involved Springer suggesting Impactor fire through his torso and Squadron X later escaping their restraints, necessitating their execution. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 4}} As extra punishment for refusing to show remorse for what he'd done, Impactor was not granted the mercy of spark removal, and instead was imprisoned normally. In jail, they called him "the Autobot that went ''too far''". {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2|Last Stand of the Wreckers #2}} As Impactor was dragged to his cell, Springer said something he didn't want to hear, something he would dwell upon for the length of his incarceration: Squadron X deserved to die, but that didn't give Impactor the right to kill them. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|Last Stand of the Wreckers #5}}

[[File:LastStandoftheWreckers1-Impactor post boom.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|Give him a hand, folks!]]
Twenty years later, [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] seized control of G-9, and Springer's Wreckers were sent to liberate it. Springer was trying hard not to think of Impactor. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 1|Last Stand of the Wreckers #1}} However, the Decepticon [[Snare]], wanting Overlord gone, released Impactor from his cell in the hope he could escape the planet and get help. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2|Last Stand of the Wreckers #2}} As the current-day Wreckers arrived at Garrus-9, a decrepit Decepticon dropship blocked their path. It exploded before their eyes, but not before the battered form of Impactor ejected from the craft. Appearing before the shocked Wreckers, Impactor sneered, requesting to be let aboard. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 1|Last Stand of the Wreckers #1}}

He filled the new Wreckers in on the situation and how he'd escaped, while continuing to clash with Springer. He not only refused to recognize his former soldier was now in charge, he snarled that he used to think Springer would've done the same thing Impactor himself did on Pova...and was now sickened that Springer ''wouldn't''. Conflict aside, Springer knew Impactor was needed for the mission. Given a new harpoon/hand, he was placed in Springer's drop-team and deployed to G-9...and he recognized, with visible glumness, the name of their secondary objective, "[[Aequitas]]".

Descending towards G-9 in two ejected escape pods, they met with tough Decepticon resistance. Despite their maneuvering, Impactor's ship was the first to go down, though the other wasn't far behind. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2|Last Stand of the Wreckers #2}} After their crash-landing, Impactor led them towards where the Autobot prisoners were being held. Cell Block G was directly below him, best he recalled, but [[Twin Twist]]'s drilling only sent them tumbling into a large, empty chamber. At the bottom, Impactor found the twisted remains of [[Kick-Off (G1)|Kick-Off]], whom he regarded as one of the few guards who treated G-9's prisoners with respect. Their presence in this chamber signaled G-9's defenses, and after he, Springer, and Twin Twist were electrocuted, they woke up strapped to tables in the care of [[Stalker (G1)|Stalker]]. A sadist, Stalker grabbed his tools of torture and gleefully went to work on them. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 3|Last Stand of the Wreckers #3}}

[[File:LastStandoftheWreckers4-fivewords.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.66|He makes that same face when he doesn't want to eat his peas.]]
Unlike Springer and Twin Twist, Impactor had grown used to the Decepticons' methods in the time since their takeover of G-9, so he alone managed to stay online during Stalker's "work". Twin Twist was looking terrible and mangled, and Springer had just woken up when he and Impactor began talking about their murky past. Impactor accused Springer of betraying the Wreckers with the testimony against him, while Springer was surprised to learn that Impactor still had no remorse for what he'd done. So long as Impactor refused to realize that he'd done wrong, their feelings were at an impasse.

Stalker returned with a [[endoscopic claw|new torture device]] but his work on Twin Twist was interrupted when his brother Topspin sacrificed his own life elsewhere, extinguishing both sparks. Disappointed, Stalker turned his attentions to Impactor, but was again interrupted. [[Kup (G1)|Kup]], [[Guzzle (G1)|Guzzle]], and the turncoat Decepticon Snare blasted into Stalker's lair. Snare was mortally wounded in the following skirmish, and Stalker was killed. As Snare lay dying, Impactor questioned him, wondering why the Decepticon had saved them. Snare told them that Overlord was on his way and asked that he himself be killed, which Impactor did curtly before Snare could finish his final words.

True to Snare's last warning, Overlord arrived with a boom. Unknown to them, elsewhere, the other half of the Wreckers had completed their objective by hacking the supercomputer judge Aequitas and downloading it into Ironfist's brain. They were surrounded by Decepticons whom they could easily deal with if they simply signaled all the deterrence chips in their heads, killing them. But they knew this would also kill Impactor, who was also an ex-prisoner, and so his and their fate came to a vote. Perceptor voted for killing him for the sake of many, Pyro voted against, and...Ironfist, Impactor's greatest fanboy and new host to Aequitas's judgment of Impactor, came to the sad realization that his hero very much deserved to die. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 4|Last Stand of the Wreckers #4}}

[[File:LastStandoftheWreckers5-finishhimoff.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Surprise! He's a tank. Surprise! He's gonna kick your ass.]]
Fortunately for Impactor (and the Wreckers), [[Verity Carlo]] convinced the others to spare Impactor. After Overlord pulled Guzzle apart and used the pieces to put Kup down, Impactor removed Overlord's eye with his harpoon. In response, Overlord stomped Impactor into the ground, forcing him offline.

When Impactor came to, Overlord had been reduced to a flaming skeleton facing only the fragile Verity Carlo. Impactor blasted Overlord's arm off and attacked him, but Overlord had lost the will to fight, as he'd learned that Megatron had perished, robbing Overlord of his final showdown with him. Overlord beckoned Impactor to kill him, but Impactor refused. In honor of Springer, whom Impactor thought had died, the former Wreckers commander promised that Overlord would serve trial as a criminal, and himself finally came to terms with the crimes he committed on Pova.

Impactor was pardoned in exchange for his help retaking Garrus-9, and he immediately left for parts unknown on a shuttle with the repaired Guzzle. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|Last Stand of the Wreckers #5}}

Things didn't go well for the new pair: Guzzle became increasingly violent and obsessed with racking up a bodycount, something that struck Impactor too close to home, and which got him captured in a rescue mission against Decepticon Harvesters. The fact Impactor cared about Guzzle and the alien hostages enough to rescue them was a sign that he was improving... but when the hostages were killed, Impactor allowed himself to succumb to bloodlust once more, realising to his horror that he could not escape it. {{storylink|Escape (G1)|Escape}} Eventually, Impactor balked and had Guzzle imprisoned at Debris for butchering prisoners, something that a raging Guzzle felt was hypocritical. All Impactor could now do was wile away his days with Roadbuster, lamenting the state of the Wreckers and their lack of purpose. Roadbuster comforted Impactor by pointing out he ''didn't'' join the killing and was trying to care for a comrade. Such caring was a point of contention between the two as Impactor felt it was wrong for his teammate to keep Springer alive, after years of no mental activity, and tried to drag Debris administrator [[Hubcap (G1)|Hubcap]] into the debate.

Shortly after, Springer did in fact regain consciousness: just in time for the Wreckers to be gathered once again to try and rescue a captured Prowl. {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 1|Sins of the Wreckers #1}}

On Earth, Impactor and the Wreckers found Prowl's old collaborator [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] hunting for him, after he went missing en route to Verity Carlo and her copy of the [[Aequitas]] [[data slug]], a gift from Ironfist. When a "rabbit" stole the data slug, Impactor and Guzzle took off after the creature, but soon encountered several Chimericons, robots in disguise as Earth creatures. A massive Chimericon name [[Tidal Wave (G1)|Tidal Wave]] appeared, and the Wreckers surmised that Prowl was being held inside him. While Springer led a squad into the 'bot, Impactor remained outside to draw fire and divert their other attackers. {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 2|Sins of the Wreckers #2}}

{{charstubfiction| {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 3|Sins of the Wreckers #3}} {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 4|Sins of the Wreckers #4}}}}

===''Wings Universe''===
Impactor led the Wreckers during their campaign against Squadron X on [[Frellus IV]]. There, he willingly sacrificed members of the [[Hasmata]] in order to flee from Squadron X’s siege. Impactor and the Wreckers then stole Squadron X’s ship to escape the planet. {{storylink|Tornado - Decepticon Saboteur}}

===''Of Masters and Mayhem''===
Impactor was the leader of the Wreckers, with missions such as [[Operation: Volcano]], the Battle of [[Hell's Point]] and the [[Garrus-9|Garrus 9]] Incursion being the stuff of legend among Autobots and Decepticons alike. The story of Impactor and his Wreckers was cut short, however, when [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] was left ravaged by [[Decepticon]] [[combiner]] [[Thunder Mayhem]]. Vowing revenge, Impactor set out across the planet to build a new team with which to destroy the apocalyptic gestalt. {{storylink|Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club issue 69|Impactor profile}}

His first recruit was the spy [[Punch (G1)|Punch]], who Impactor found critically injured in the ruins of an Autobot outpost on [[Gargoid]] {{storylink|The Truth We Make}} and then took to [[Paradron]] for medical care. Impactor was initially outraged that [[Lifeline (G1)|Lifeline]] could only save one of Punch's robot forms, but after storming out, he had second thoughts. {{storylink|Insight}} It was also on Paradron that Impactor installed some medical equipment with lethal capabilities into himself. {{storylink|Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club issue 69|Impactor profile}}

After the spy awoke, he gave Impactor the shocking news that Punch had been the fiction and Counterpunch the true identity all along. The Wrecker leader was angry at this long-term deception, but put this aside to make Counterpunch an offer: join him the Wreckers and stop the monster that destroyed Cybertron. {{storylink|The Truth We Make}}

Impactor and Counterpunch subsequently followed a distress signal to a mysterious planet where they found found a small group of Cybertronians who had taken on bestial [[alternate mode]]s. After donating a universal translator from Paradron to help the "[[Raptoricons]]" clear up their relations with the planet's local lifeforms, Impactor recruited their newest associate, [[Decepticon]] geochemist [[Fractyl]], to the Wreckers. {{storylink|Life Finds a Way}}

{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|The Toxic Transformer}} }}

==Games==
===''Transformers Legends''===
Impactor was the leader of the fearless Wreckers squad which liberated Garrus-9 from the grip of [[Dreadwind (G1)|Dreadwind]] and the [[Air Strike Patrol]], though they destroyed most of the facility in the process. {{storylink|The Wreckers}}

==Toys==
===Combiner Wars===
[[File:Timelinestoy-Impactor.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|Now I finally have a toy; maybe people will stop buying up those third-party Wreckers, right? ...right?]]
*'''Impactor''' (Deluxe Class, [[2016]])
**''Accessories'': Clamp weapon, combiner hand/foot, assorted hand attachments

:Part of the [[Transformers Figure Subscription Service#Series 4.0 (2016)|Figure Subscription Service 4.0]], Impactor is a [[retool]] of ''[[Transformers: Generations#Combiner Wars|Combiner Wars]]'' [[Rook (Generations)#Generations|Rook]] with a new head. He transforms into an armored personnel carrier, and can also form an arm or leg for any compatible ''Combiner Wars'' Voyager figure. One of his hands is unpainted purple so as to replicate the character's traditional one-handed appearance. He includes the mold's [[5mm post|5mm]] clamp weapon, along with ''[[Transformers: Generations|Generations]]'' [[Arcee (G1)#Generations|Arcee]]'s four accessories. Of those, the swords are intended to be used to recreate Impactor's traditional harpoon-hand, whilst the larger pistol is decoed to resemble his shoulder cannon.

:The original version of this mold was [[redeco]]ed into ''[[Transformers Unite Warriors|Unite Warriors]]'' [[Roller (IDW)#Toys|Wandering Roller]], slightly retooled into [[BotCon 2016]] [[Tarantulas (BW)#Combiner Wars|Predacon Tarantulas]], and heavily retooled into ''Combiner Wars'' [[Swindle (G1)#CombinerWars|Swindle]] and [[Hound (G1)#Generations|Hound]]. This mold also served as the basis of the non-toy ''[[Transformers: Shattered Glass (franchise)|Shattered Glass]]'' version of [[Brawn (SG)|X-Brawn]].
{{CWRookMold}}

{{comingsoontoy}}
{{-}}

==Notes==
*According to [[Dreadwind (G1)|Dreadwind]] in [[Survivors!|issue #221]]'s [[Letters page (Marvel UK)|letters page]], Impactor transformed into an "earth-boring vehicle". In the letter page to [[Survival Run|issue #238]], Dreadwind clarified that he transformed into a drill tank but didn't have an earth mode. Later, in ''[[The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers|Last Stand of the Wreckers]],'' he transformed into a non-drill tank. Later still, but [[Chaos Theory Part 1|earlier in IDW's timeline]], he gained a drill replacement for his hand.
*In the Marvel comics, Impactor's right hand can be interchanged for a harpoon. This emulates the wrist-launcher gimmick found in many [[Diaclone]]-based toys. He is frequently seen carrying a club which looks an awful lot like a gun barrel, and which may be a gun attachment for his right arm; but being Impactor, he only ever uses it to smack guys around.
*Impactor was the one Wrecker in ''Last Stand'' who was ''never'' going to die! <ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9DPbginVXE Moonbase 2's AA2010 interview], 21:22</ref>
*"[[Remain in Light 3 of 5: The Divided Self|The Divided Self]]" revealed that all the Aequitas defendants were [[Reproduction#IDW Generation 1 continuity|"constructed cold"]]: their sparks taken from the Matrix itself and slapped into a body. That same issue also said Impactor was a [[Point One Percenter]], i.e. ''not'' constructed cold, causing some confusion until James Roberts confirmed that was a mistake.<ref name="moonbase2">[http://www.fullmetalhero.com/t14540/ moonbase2 interview with James Roberts]</ref> The trade paperback snips Impactor's name from the Point One line.
*In IDW's Generation 1 continuity, Impactor was once a friend of Megatron, and later gains the nickname Kiloton. In reference to this, [[Ask Vector Prime]] christened [[Kiloton|Megatron's unnamed friend]] from the ''Generation 2'' manga "Kiloton."

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://transfans.co.uk/comics_guide_detail.php?id=257&page=13 Transformers #221 Letters Page on Transfans.co.uk]
*[http://transfans.co.uk/comics_guide_detail.php?id=291&page=14 Transformers #238 Letters Page on Transfans.co.uk]

[[Category:European-original Transformers]]
[[Category:IDW Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Marvel Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Timelines characters]]
[[Category:Wings Universe Autobots]]
[[Category:Wreckers]]
[[Category:Zombies]]

Wreckers

2016-03-31T14:17:07Z

Egg: /* IDW Generation 1 continuity */ Changed wording to be bit more informative

{{factions|autobot|wreckers}}
{{featured}}
{{disambig3|Wrecker}}
[[File:Wreckers symbol.png|thumb|Wreck & Rule]]
The '''Wreckers''' are a special task force, generally composed of the best and the toughest die-hard fighters around. Its ranks include a veritable who's-who of the obscure; mechs you've never heard much about, mostly because the Wreckers are often called in to fight when the odds of success are slim. Bluntly, they tend to burn through their roster at a frightening rate. The Wreckers are a close-knit group that's more concerned with bursting in, guns-blazing, and doing their Thing, than they are concerned with, say, strategy. Despite their disregard for planning and the bodycount their team mounts, the Wreckers are amazingly successful. If it's a lost cause, the Wreckers will be there, winning the day with sheer guts and determination.

Perhaps the most celebrated leader of the Wreckers is [[Springer (G1)|Springer]], though the memory of his former leader, [[Impactor (G1)|Impactor]], hangs over his head. The team also has vague ties to [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] and the [[Maximal]] future will bring leaders such as [[Apelinq (BM)|Apelinq]] and [[Primal Prime]].

They're associated with Autobots like the [[Deluxe Vehicle]]s and [[Jumpstarter]]s, but when times [[Target: 2006|get]] [[Transformers: Universe (comic)|really]] [[The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers|desperate]], they'll grab ''anyone'': newly modified Autobots, [[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]], squishy [[human]]s, and even former [[Decepticon]]s or the [[Ironfist (G1)#IDW Generation 1 continuity|dying]].

{{bigquote|Never a dull moment when you're a Wrecker.|[[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]]|[[Stormbringer issue 4|''Stormbringer'' #4]]}}

==Fiction==
===Generation 1 continuity family===
====Marvel ''The Transformers'' comics====
{{noteukexclusive|The Wreckers}}
[[File:Wreckersoriginallineup.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|They always smile after a nice massacre.]]
The Wreckers were [[Emirate]] [[Xaaron]]'s special ops squad, first being heard from during [[Trannis]]'s dread advances. Their first mission was to assassinate Trannis himself and they succeeded (and that meant [[Straxus (G1)|Straxus]] took over, whoops). {{storylink|Cybertron: The Middle Years!}}

In [[1986]], the roster of the Wreckers consisted of Impactor (the leader), Roadbuster, Whirl, Twin-Twist, Topspin, and Rack'n'Ruin. They were later joined by Broadside, Sandstorm, and Springer (who became the team's leader after Impactor's death). The team were set to be at the business end of [[Operation: Volcano]], killing ten of the most deadly Decepticons as they converged on a staged conference. Without [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] around to help, however, they would have been massacred soon after and they came close to backing out, only to decide to do their duty. The Autobot [[Triple Changer]]s were sent in as a replacement.

However, when [[Megatron (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Megatron]] called off the Decepticons' advance (truth be told, he didn't seem to know or care about it), the Wreckers' plans were also cancelled. As was Impactor's life, as one of the Decepticons, [[Macabre]], had stayed behind to kill [[Emirate]] [[Xaaron]], and Impactor took the 'bullet' for him. Impactor named Springer his successor as he lay dying. {{storylink|Target: 2006}}

Later, the team and Ultra Magnus were misled into trying to kill [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]] upon his return to Cybertron. Decepticons had planted misinformation that Prime was in fact a Decepticon made up to ''look'' like Prime. Fortunately for the Wreckers' record, Magnus and Xaaron uncovered the truth before anyone could kill the Autobots' Greatest Leader. {{storylink|Distant Thunder!}} During his stay on Cybertron, Optimus Prime led the Wreckers on a number of fruitful raids on [[Decepticon fuel store]]s. {{storylink|Resurrection!}}

[[File:Technician wreckers legion of the lost.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.95]]
After Optimus Prime returned to Earth, [[Autobase]] in [[Kalis]] was rocked by a huge explosion caused by the venting of an active nuclear reactor. Xaaron told the Wreckers of Megatron's ancient plan to turn Cybertron into a vast mobile battle station and that Autobase was potentially built on top of the engine room. Springer led the Wreckers to try to find the entrance to the sub-terranean facility but they were unable to locate it. Upon their return Autobase was attacked by hoards of undead Transformers including their former leader, Impactor. Once the Wreckers and Xaaron were imprisoned, [[Flame (Marvel)|Flame]] revealed himself to be behind the explosion as well as the reanimation of the dead. Though shaken by recent events Springer managed to escape the cell taking Impactor with him. The current Wrecker leader did enough to reawaken some sense of self in the zombified Impactor before reaching the surface where he met Ultra Magnus and the [[Sparkabot|Sparkler Mini-Bots]]. Meanwhile the other Wreckers had escaped and headed for the armory and, aided by a curious and vengeful Impactor, managed to reach the weapons necessary to defeat Flame's undead minions. With [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]]'s assistance, the Wreckers broke through to the main control room where Xaaron was preparing to sacrifice himself in order to reach the reactor shut down control. Under orders to leave, the Wreckers fought their way past more reanimated corpses, leaving Impactor to save Xaaron twice again, firstly by killing Flame and then entering the radioactive chamber himself to deactivate the reactor. Xaaron made it to safety and gave thanks for the bravest being he had ever met. {{storylink|Legion of the Lost!}} {{storylink|Meltdown!}}

[[File:WreckingHavoc-yourfoe.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|Sandstorm and Broadside are on good terms with Galvy.]]
In [[1988]] the Wreckers were tasked to bring down [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]. Both Xaaron and Springer had concerns about the mission but deemed it necessary due to the danger posed by the future Decepticon leader. The team transported through an unstable dimensional portal, unwittingly landing in a small mid-western town, to be confronted not only by Galvatron but also his two former lieutenants, [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] and [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]]. Unable to fight all three Deceptions as well as defend the human population, Springer managed to lure Cyclonus and Scourge away. Faced with a choice of allowing Galvatron to escape or aid their leader the Wreckers chose to help Springer. Galvatron was able to escape but the Wreckers vowed to return to finish the job. {{storylink|Wrecking Havoc}}

In an effort to reduce further risk to human life Xaaron sent an Advance Surveillance Unit, consisting of Broadside, Sandstorm, and Inferno, to set up a reconnaissance base. Though their primary mission was to observe and not interfere, the two Wreckers and Inferno could not help put go to the aid of a local town when a [[Firebug (G1)|Firebug]] crash landed nearby and started multiple blazes. {{storylink|Firebug!}}

[[File:Megatron wreckers time wars.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.66|The Wreckers look on as Megatron goes Dreamwave on them.]]
The unit tracked Galvatron as he stockpiled equipment and supplies and discovered his subterranean base. With space and time [[time rift|ripping themselves apart]] due to the future Decepticon's presence, Xaaron sent reinforcements in the shape of a Decepticon [[Decepticon heavy transport|spacecraft]] carrying the rest of the Wreckers and the [[Mayhem Attack Squad]], who had formed a crisis alliance. The two teams made their way to Galvatron's unguarded base and were able to walk straight in. Unfortunately Galvatron had formed his own alliance with [[Megatron (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Megatron]] (or at least, [[Straxus (G1)|his clone]]) and they attacked the two elite squads, who quickly began to fall beneath the might of the crazed duo. Topspin was one of the first to fall, victim of Megatron's [[fusion cannon]]. Cracks soon showed in the alliance as Springer and [[Carnivac (G1)|Carnivac]] almost came to blows, blaming each other for the disastrous plan. They were interrupted by Scourge and [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]], who had also allied themselves to Galvatron. Fortunately Springer was able to sow seeds of doubt about the cause of the space/time rift in Scourge's mind, distracting him, Springer then jumped him while Ravage was taken out by Carnivac. The Wreckers leader sounded the retreat and Carnivac reluctantly ordered his Mayhems to do the same.

[[File:TimeWars-frakamm.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4]]
The teams re-grouped at the Decepticon ship with Galvatron and Megatron hot on their heels. Galvatron announced his arrival by destroying Sandstorm with his [[Particle cannon]], enraged Roadbuster fetched an experimental [[Pathblaster]] and managed to blow half of Galvatron's face off. However the weapon was unstable and exploded, killing Roadbuster before he could use it again. Galvatron was only further enraged by his injury ripping off Twintwist's head and blasting Rack'n'Ruin. The remaining Wreckers were only saved by the arrival of reinforcements of Autobots and Decepticons from both the future and present day. With most of their members offline and the rest injured the Wreckers did not play any further part in the battle. {{storylink|Time Wars}}

After the Time Wars, the few survivors (Springer, Broadside and Inferno) joined together with other "outsiders"—both Autobot and Decepticon. The Decepticon ship they had used to reach Earth was stolen by Megatron and they were seemingly abandoned by High Command, with these new circumstances they ceased to use the Wreckers title and formed part of the (aptly named) [[Survivors]]. {{storylink|Survivors!}}
{{-}}

=====Marvel UK future timelines=====
[[File:Rodimus technobots wreckers peace.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.66||...have granted me the right to join two Cybertronians in holy matrimony. You sure about your best man Magnus?]]
In an alternate future of [[2510]], the Wreckers killed the last Decepticon in battle, signifying the end of the [[Great War (G1)|war]]. Upon learning this news, [[Hot Rod/Marvel Comics continuity|Rodimus Prime]] called together his warriors at Autobase to announce that he was stepping down as Autobot leader and selected Springer as his replacement. Triton, a Decepticon double agent who had infiltrated the ranks of the [[Technobot (G1)|Technobots]], sought to sow dissent in the Autobot ranks and questioned Rodimus's choice, suggesting that Ultra Magnus would make a better leader.

The resulting argument quickly escalated when [[Scattershot (G1)|Scattershot]] shot Roadbuster, blowing his head clean off. Sandstorm retaliated by killing Triton and soon the Autobots had split into factions fighting a whole new war, to Rodimus Prime's great despair. {{storylink|Peace}}
{{-}}

'''Known members:'''
{{collist|3|
*[[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]]
*[[Impactor (G1)|Impactor]] (first leader)
*[[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]]
*[[Rack'n'Ruin]]
*[[Roadbuster (G1)|Roadbuster]]
*[[Sandstorm (G1)|Sandstorm]]
*[[Springer (G1)|Springer]] (second leader)
*[[Topspin (G1)|Topspin]]
*[[Twin Twist]]
*[[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]]
}}

*Both Roadbuster and Whirl were absent during the Flame incident and initial Galvatron mission. Roadbuster reappears and dies during the Time Wars but Whirl is never seen again. As Springer states that the rest of the Wreckers are with him on the Decepticon heavy transport ship, this may indicate that Whirl either left the Wreckers or was killed in action.
*Dialogue in "[[Firebug!]]" suggests Inferno was not a Wrecker at this point. Later, in "[[Survivors!]]" and an [[Transformers Annual 1991|annual bio]], he was considered an ex-Wrecker. There is no indication of when he joined, most likely prior to "[[Time Wars]]".
*Rack'n'Ruin and Inferno are missing from the alternate future roster in "[[Peace]]".

=====''Regeneration One''=====
{{noterg1}}
[[File:Wreckers loose ends.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66| [[Great War (G1)|Great War?]] What Great War? Sorry, must have missed the call to arms. Did you make a mess? ]]
Twenty-one years after the battle of [[Klo]], Springer led a team of soldiers known as the Wreckers. Loosely under the jurisdiction of Ultra Magnus, the Wreckers were apparently separate from the standard [[Cybertronian Civil Defense]] rank-and-file. They stopped a terrorist act on Cybertron and later accompanied Kup to visit planets affected by the Great War. On their first stop, Earth, they discovered it had been devastated some time ago. Before they had chance to fully take in the devastation their ship was promptly blown out of the sky by Megatron. {{storylink|Loose Ends, Part 1}}

The unit managed to bail out of the ship in escape pods, crash landing on Earth. Somewhat battered, the Wreckers had little chance to fully take stock before Whirl delivered the news that reanimated Decepticons were on their way. Heading out Springer decided to try to contact Cybertron and aid the safe approach of reinforcements. Leaving the injured at a safe distance the remaining Wreckers attempted to reach the [[Deep Space Network]] at [[Goldstone]]. Sandstorm, Roadbuseter and Leadfoot tried to keep the zombie Decepticons distracted while Kup, Springer and Whirl made a dash for the transmitter. The former trio were not totally successful so Kup turned to assist to allow his team mates to send the message. Unfortunately he was taken by surprise by [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]], knocked unconscious and quickly taken to Megatron. Meanwhile a group of human survivors stumbled across Rack'n'Ruin and the injured Wreckers. Assuming the worse the humans attempted to flee, Rack'n'Ruin tried to go after them but was held off by [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Circuit Smasher]] {{storylink|Loose Ends, Part 2}}

Though initially distrustful, Circuit Smasher eventually allied himself with the Wreckers and explained how human interference with the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] had led to the reactivation of Megatron. Somehow the Decepticon leader managed to turn the planet's defenses on itself, reactivated his fallen warriors and in a matter of hours had all but wiped out the Earth. Circuit Smasher took the Wreckers to meet [[G.B. Blackrock]] who told them that the Ark should be their key target as it formed the basis of Megatron's technology and defensive capabilities. However, before they could make any specific plans their meeting was interrupted by a call from Megatron who informed them that he had given Kup [[Scraplet]]s. {{storylink|Loose Ends, Part 3}}

Springer once again split the Wreckers, while he, Sandstorm and Whirl went to meet Megatron the remaining bots and their human allies would assault the Ark. Both teams took heavy fire, Springer's squad were soon grounded by weight of numbers and the others got past the first wave of Ark defenses only to face a troupe of [[Guardian (Marvel)|Guardian Units]]. Megatron was about to execute Springer when Optimus Prime arrived with reinforcements, the distraction allowing the zombie Starscream to tell Kup to kill [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]]. {{storylink| Loose Ends, Part 4}}

Prime demanded the Megatron let Springer go, however the Decepticon leader merely goaded his nemesis by glibly blasting Springer's head off at point blank range. Blinded with rage Prime attacked leading Megatron to reveal that he had programmed [[Aunty|Auntie]], the Ark's computer, to launch every missile on the planet once their battle was done. At the Ark the Wreckers kept the Guardians busy so that Circuit Smasher could deal with Auntie. Kup managed to arm himself and make his way to Megatron's [[Battle sled]] to kill Ratchet and with him Megatron with whom the medic had become fused both in body and mind. Considering it a mercy killing Kup shot Ratchet giving Prime the chance he needed to rip out Megatron's [[Spark]]. Fortunately by this time Circuit Smasher had deactivated Auntie and the planet was saved from further destruction. {{storylink| Loose Ends, Part 5}}

In addition to Springer's death, [[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]] and [[Leadfoot (G2)|Leadfoot]] were left in critical condition because of their injuries. {{storylink|Natural Selection, Part One}} After returning to Cybertron, {{storylink| Natural Selection, Part Five}} the Wreckers acted as a security force for [[Hot Rod/Marvel Comics continuity|Hot Rod]]. When a group of Neo-Decepticons led by [[Fang]] blockaded the bridge [[Auto-artery RG1]], Kup led the Wreckers to detain them. When Kup started to come to blows with Fang, Roadbuster pulled him aside, suggesting they do things the way Springer would have, going so far as suggesting that Kup ''himself'' was making things worse by giving the populace something to hate. As they argue, two Cybertronians try to sneak past the blockade, attacking Fang, and causing a fight to break out. {{storylink| Destiny, Part Two}}

The Wreckers' next foray into action came in the form of a raid. Remotely coordinated by [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]], they raided [[Fort Scyk]] in order to find apprehend [[Soundwave (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Soundwave]] and his Neo-Decepticons. However, having anticipated this, the Decepticons had abandoned the place and wired it to explode. Unsurprisingly, all of the Wreckers survived virtually unscathed, and Kup proceeded to report in to Magnus on the situation. {{storylink|Destiny, Part Three}}

When [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]] launched an all out attack on Cybertron, Kup tried to convince [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] to let the Wreckers take the front lines. Prowl refused, saying that the Wreckers needed to be applied strategically, he just didn't know ''where''. This frustrated Kup. {{storylink|Destiny, Part Four}}

The Wreckers were eventually dispatched aboard a ship to infiltrate Bludgeon's base of operations the [[Warworld]]. Bludgeon, fully aware of their presence, launched a solo attack on them, slaughtering them with his mastery of [[Metallikato]]. As the Wreckers tried to stand against him, Kup escaped to destroy the reservoir of Matrix energy powering the Warworld, but Bludgeon, having swiftly defeated all of the other Wreckers, pursues him. After catching him, Bludgeon proceeded to beat Kup to within an inch of his life, and the old-timer was only saved by the arrival of the newly christened [[Hot Rod/Marvel Comics continuity|Rodimus Prime]]. As the new Prime soundly defeated Bludgeon and disabled the ship, Kup, along with his fellow Wreckers and Rodimus fled the ship as it was destroyed. {{storylink|Destiny, Part Five}}

When a more successful attack against the Autobots was launched by [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]], and Rodimus, along with a good number of the Autobot's forces were captured, the Wreckers (with Broadside now fully recovered from his wounds on Earth) carried on the fight on their own, single-handedly fending off thousands of [[Cybertronian (faction)|Cybertronians]] while also desabalizing Jhiaxus's [[Hub (G2)|Hub Network]]. All while looking totally badass. When Rodimus and the others managed to free themselves, Autobot and Wrecker alike fled from the Hub as it began to disintegrate. {{storylink|The War to End All Wars, Part 4}}

Returning to Cybertron, the Autobots find the planet abandoned. Or so it seemed, as they were suddenly attacked by [[Shadow-leech]]es. As the Autobots held off the monsters, Perceptor came to the horrifying revelation that the Shadow-leeches were actually Cybertron's missing inhabitants, having been transformed by the Matrix's dark energy. As the Autobots' forces split up to cover multiple fronts, the Wreckers travel to Earth to recruit their human allies and team up to finally the up all lose ends. Upon successfully recruiting the humans, the Wreckers return through the space bridge they arrived in, taking the humans to Nebulos, where they dispatched a rampaging [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]], who had been possessed by the corrupted Matrix entity. Elsewhere, Rodimus defeated the Dark Matrix entity by sealing off their own universe from the rest of the multiverse, disconnecting them from Primus for good, causing the entity to die. However, without a connection to Primus, the Transformers' lifespans became decidedly finite, and over the eons all of the remaining Autobots and Decepticons, including the Wreckers, eventually died out from old age, a thing previously impossible due to their now-severed connection with Primus. {{storylink|The War to End All Wars, Part 5}}

'''Known members:'''
{{collist|3|
*[[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]]
*[[Kup (G1)|Kup]] (second leader)
*[[Leadfoot (G2)|Leadfoot]]
*[[Rack'n'Ruin]]
*[[Roadbuster (G1)|Roadbuster]]
*[[Sandstorm (G1)|Sandstorm]]
*[[Springer (G1)|Springer]] (first leader)
*[[Topspin (G1)|Topspin]]
*[[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]]
}}

====3H comics====
[[File:Wreckers3hlineup.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|Now taking applications for: [[Cyclonus (G1)|Traitors]], [[Fractyl|Wimps]], and [[Alpha Trion (G1)|People Who Shouldn't Be Here]].]]
After the end of the war, the [[Maximal High Council]] called the Wreckers back into service to protect the fragile peace that existed between [[Maximal]] and [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]]. The war veteran and gifted engineer Apelinq was assigned to be a squad commander of this new iteration of the legendary Autobot strike force, and several of his former comrades were also drafted. [[Hot Rod|Rodimus Major]] was also added to the ranks of the Wreckers in a commanding role. {{storylink|Disclosure|Apelinq's extended profile}} By 316 A.U., there were were at least seven Wrecker Squadrons. {{storylink|The Wreckers: Finale Part 1}}

All but Rodimus and Apelinq were lost to [[Megatron (BW)/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Megatron]]'s [[Vehicon (BM)|Vehicon forces]] and its [[transformation virus]]; by the time the foe was identified, many of the Wreckers had already fallen and Rodimus took the remainders bar Apelinq in a last-ditch strike in 316.247 AU. Rodimus' Matrix history left him immune to the virus and meant Apelinq could develop an inoculant, and meant they had a chance to find and save any survivors. Luckily, their depleted ranks were filled with a new horde of battle-hardened survivors, some rescued by Apelinq from the [[Beast Wars (event)|Beast Wars]]! Prime himself took command {{storylink|Apelinq's War Journals}} In this troubled time, [[Decepticon]]s and [[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]] were accepted into their ranks, including the Great War veterans [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] and [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]]. {{storylink|Departure}}

[[Cryotek (Universe)|Cryotek]] and the [[Quintesson]]s plotted to exploit this: the [[Oracle (BM)|Oracle]] [[shell program]] was placed on [[Vector Sigma]], allowing them to give false commands to any survivors and have Cybertron turned [[technorganic]], easier to conquer. Cyclonus was secretly working for them! {{storylink|Betrayal}} {{storylink|Disclosure}} (The technorganic shift was, in fact, part of [[Primus]]'s plan) {{storylink|Wreckers: Finale Part II}} The Wreckers were part of the many groups conned, sent off on a quest that would require fighting their way through the [[Vehicon (BM)|Vehicon]] guards at [[Shuttle Complex Ohm]]. A staggered batch of reinforcements turned a likely trap into victory {{storylink|Departure}} to the annoyance of the enemy conspirators, but Cyclonus successfully bombed their ship in secret to impair them.

Five Wreckers died because of [[Packrat]] cowardly sacrificing them. This contributed to growing tension in the team. They made it to [[Akalo|Archa Nine]], home of the [[Divine Light]] power source that Cryotek coveted, and the team were so focused on Packrat that they didn't see Cyclonus coming! With the power source gone, the Wreckers could pretty much just mope. {{storylink|Betrayal}} Primal Prime took them on another quest, thinking he had an Oracle vision, and they found themselves on a planet where the Quintesson [[Al-Badur]] lived in exile. There, they learned of the true threat (and that ''Vector Sigma'' had sent Prime the message) and they'd need to get the hell back to Cybertron! {{storylink|Disclosure}}

[[File:Chromutated.jpg|left|upright=1.4|thumb|"We don't ''like'' out-of-towners!" "WE PUNCH WHAT WE DON'T UNDERSTAND!!"]]
The Wreckers made it back in time to find the newly technorganic planet was facing an all-out Quintesson invasion and they joined the army in fighting back. They took the fight to Cryotek, who successfully used the Divine Light to gain access to Primus' power; luckily, his first act of demigodhood was to accidentally merge Apelinq and Primal Prime into [[Sentinel Maximus]]! {{storylink|The Wreckers: Finale Part 1}} While the two leaders threw down, the rest of the Wreckers fought Cyclonus, [[Chro]], and the Sharkticons. Mid-battle, [[Tap-Out (Universe)|Tap-Out]] and Skywarp went [[Cauldron|missing]] but the Wreckers still triumphed over these other foes. In the end, Cryotek was defeated by forcing him into an extradimensional portal and the Divine Light's divine power was drained off. The cost was Rodimus' life and Sentinel Maximus being lost along with Cryotek.

The battle over, they mourned their lost comrades and went their seperate ways in a new, peacetime Cybertron. {{storylink|Wreckers: Finale Part II}} (Well, ''briefly'' peacetime) {{storylink|Transformers: Universe (comic)|Universe}}

'''Known members:'''
{{collist|3|
*[[Apelinq (BM)|Apelinq]]
*[[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]]
*[[CatSCAN]]
*[[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]]
*[[Devcon (G1)|Devcon]]
*[[Dillo]]
*[[Fractyl]]
*[[Mol]]
*[[Packrat]]
*[[Primal Prime]]
*[[Ramulus]]
*[[Rav (BM)|Rav]]
*[[Hot Rod|Rodimus]]
*[[Rotorbolt (Universe)|Rotorbolt]]
*[[Sentinel Maximus]]
*[[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]]
*[[Sonar (BW)|Sonar]]
*[[Spittor (BW)|Spittor]]
*[[Tap-Out (Universe)|Tap-Out]]
*[[Tigatron]]
}}

====Dreamwave ''Generation One'' continuity====
[[File:Wreckersdw.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|The Wreckers: Featuring Ultra Magnus' Crotch.]]
The Wreckers split from the Autobot forces after the disappearance of [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] in a [[space bridge]] explosion. Led by Springer, they clashed with [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]]'s [[Ultracon]]s in the [[Tagan Heights]] for a time {{storylink|Transformers: War Within: The Dark Ages|War Within: The Dark Ages}} before reuniting with the Autobots and the [[Lightning Strike Coalition]] immediately prior to the Age of Internment. {{storylink|Transformers: War Within: The Age of Wrath|War Within: The Age of Wrath}}

'''Known members:'''
{{collist|3|
*[[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]]
*[[Roadbuster (G1)|Roadbuster]]
*[[Sandstorm (G1)|Sandstorm]]
*[[Springer (G1)|Springer]] (leader)
*[[Topspin (G1)|Topspin]]
*[[Twin Twist]]
*[[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]]
}}

Later on, during Shockwave's reign on Cybertron, the Wreckers whittled down to small but elite task force of Autobots dedicated to keeping the peace wherever (and however) necessary. The [[Triple Changer]]s left the group and Ultra Magnus stepped in to lead.

'''Known members:'''
{{collist|3|
*Topspin
*Twin Twist
*Roadbuster
*[[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] (leader)
*Whirl
}}

When the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]] were released from imprisonment in Cybertron's [[Detention Banks]], the Wreckers responded in kind. This, however, was after [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] had already wiped out the [[Omnibot (G1)|Omnibots]] and defeated [[Defensor (G1)|Defensor]]. In the battle, both Whirl and Roadbuster were apparently killed before Ultra Magnus took charge and brought Menasor down. {{storylink|War and Peace}}

====IDW Generation 1 continuity====
{{ongoing}}
{{quote|What do you '''mean''', it's a lost cause? Of '''course''' it's a lost cause. That's why we're '''here!'''|[[Springer (G1)|Springer]], [[Stormbringer issue 2|Stormbringer #2]]}}

{{quote|They give the Autobots something to ''believe in!'' And it's all thanks to [[Ironfist (G1)|you]]. Without Fisitron and his datalogs, the Wreckers would be nothing more than a bunch of ''thugs with a death wish.''|[[Verity Carlo]], "[[Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|Last Stand of the Wreckers #5]]}}

[[File:LastStandoftheWreckers4-triumphoverevil.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.66|This roster feels familiar.]]
The Wreckers are the Autobots who get called in when the odds of success are non-existent, but the job needs to be done anyway. The origin of the group is unknown, and for the longest time their existence was no more than a rumor, even among the ranks of their fellow Autobots. {{storylink|Zero Point}} Because of the extreme nature of their missions, the Wreckers have a low survival rate, around 38% to 42%, depending on who you ask. {{storylink|Dead Men's Boots}} All of the founding members have died (with one deliberately ignored exception), and the group's roster has gone through at least eighteen iterations. Although every active member isn't always present for every mission, Springer once said Wreckers only leave the group ''for good'' in three ways: death, dementia, or dishonorable discharge. In fact, the one rule this "No Rules" team abides by is The Veto: any Wrecker can remove any other Wrecker from the roster at any time. {{storylink|Interiors}}

The Wreckers' exploits have been lionized in the eyes of the rank and file by their unofficial biographer, "[[Ironfist (G1)|Fisitron]]", and his ''[[Wreckers: Declassified]]'' datalogs. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 1|Last Stand of the Wreckers #1}} Before his death, Fisitron produced 331 datalog adventures for his heroes, cobbled together from data requests, mission reports and [[Autopedia]] bios about the Wreckers and their history. Many Autobots in the fleet subscribed to Fisitron's datalogs. They were an inspiration to the Autobots, heroes of daring exploits who never leave each other behind and always save the day... or so ''Wreckers: Declassified'' and the official line would tell them.

[[File:Animals-RadarGatoraider.jpg|thumb|upright=1.8]]
Among the many adventures chronicled by Fisitron were the Wreckers' battles with [[The Anguished]], an event involving Broadside and some [[Rada Mor|psychic explosives]], {{storylink|Bullets}} the [[Roadbuster affair]] (during which Roadbuster, high on [[Syk]], ripped out [[Radar]]'s spine and made him eat it), {{storylink|Animals}} Impactor rescuing Xaaron from the [[Sonic Canyons]] (at which point he coined the battle cry of "Wreck and rule!", while flying a [[sky-sled]] into a drilling platform) {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2|Last Stand of the Wreckers #2}} and the [[Siege of T'Muk]]. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 1|Last Stand of the Wreckers #1}} Another episode involved Impactor rescuing hostages on the verge of an event horizon. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2|Last Stand of the Wreckers #2}}

[[File:RulesofDisengagement-BlackShadowvsWreckers.jpg|thumb|left|upright=2.2|Oh, and remember when Black Shadow blasted us all new ones? Good times.]]
The earliest observed Wreckers team was the 11th iteration, led by Crest and consisting of Hyperion, Impactor, Valve, Piston, Rack, and at least one more member. They battled the Warriors Elite genocide specialist named [[Black Shadow (Victory)|Black Shadow]], and three Wreckers died in combat, including their leader Crest and Piston. {{storylink|Rules of Disengagement (issue)|Rules of Disengagement}} Hyperion, a known former Wreckers leader, likely succeeded Crest as commander.

The roster continued to evolve, as Hyperion stepped down for reasons unknown, and Impactor went on to become the team's longest serving member and leader. The last surviving founding member, Valve, abandoned the Autobot cause and joined up with the Decepticons. He was responsible for founding and leading the Wreckers' opposite number, [[Squadron X]]. His betrayal cut so deep that the Wreckers collectively refuse to acknowledge his history with the group. {{storylink|Zero Point}} The reason for Valve's betrayal hasn't been explained, although considering that around this time the Wreckers recruited Whirl (a loose cannon indirectly responsible for the death of Valve's brothers, [[Wheelarch]] and [[Springarm]]), one could make an educated guess.

Following the battle of [[Sherma Bridge]], Impactor recruited Springer into the 17th iteration of the Wreckers. Springer rose quickly in the ranks, becoming Impactor's first officer and nicknamed "his little green circuit booster" after his knack for rallying the team's spirits. Unfortunately, the horrors of war began to weigh on Springer, as he saw the Wreckers straying further and further from the [[Autobot Code]]. He ignored the "slips" for some time, but as Impactor's hatred of Squadron X became more bittered and obsessive, Springer's resolve began to shake. {{storylink|Zero Point}}

After Springer was recruited, another Wrecker named Blocker succumbed to dementia and began cannibalizing his best friend. He was removed from the roster and replaced by Sandstorm. {{storylink|Zero Point}}

Twenty years before the [[Surge (event)|Surge]], the vendetta between Impactor and Squadron X came to an end on the neutral planet of [[Pova]]. The roster by this time included Springer, Roadbuster, Sandstorm, Whirl, Broadside, and the now conjoined Rack'n'Ruin. After being pursued across nine star systems, Squadron X was caught off-guard refueling their ship, the ''[[Pale Fire]]''. A battle ensued, and Impactor made the winning move by shooting through trapped Springer's back, taking the Squadron by surprise. The entire roster was captured and fitted with inhibitor claws by the Wreckers. Impactor proudly called in his catch to [[Autobot High Command]], but [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]] told him the unthinkable: they had to let Squadron X go. A non-interference pact made with the Povans made the capture illegal and a potential political nightmare, so Prowl ordered Impactor to release the Decepticons. Instead, Impactor took Roadbuster's gun and put himself in a room with the prisoners, executing each of them one at a time with a bullet through the brain module. Springer was nearly crippled by injuries he suffered during the fight, but as he dragged himself over to room, he saw Impactor standing over the bodies. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|Last Stand of the Wreckers #5}}

Springer reported his superior officer to High Command, and Impactor was arrested under the [[Tyrest Accord]] for violating the Autobot Code and killing helpless prisoners. At the [[Aequitas]] trials, Springer's testimony sank any chances Impactor had of release, and he was sentenced to [[Garrus-9]]. A cover story was released that Impactor had been locked away for selling circuit boosters to the [[Chomskian]]s. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2|Last Stand of the Wreckers #2}}

Springer became the Wrecker leader after Impactor's arrest. He'd been asked to by the other Wreckers and thought that he could correct their increasingly immoral course; what he didn't know was that the other members were trying to cover up their collusion with Impactor's murders. They lavished praise on Springer in the hopes that he wouldn't demand they be prosecuted, too. {{storylink|Zero Point}} Some time after Springer took command, Rack'n'Ruin lost their lives. {{storylink|Dead Men's Boots}}

Decades later, the Wreckers were assigned to [[Varas Centralus]] after the Decepticon [[Infiltration protocol|infiltration unit]] on that planet went to [[Phase Sixer|Phase Six]]. They were pulled out and sent back to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] at the order of [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Optimus Prime]] when the Autobot leader suspected that [[Thunderwing (G1)|Thunderwing]] might have been behind the disappearance of the [[Calabi-Yau]]. {{storylink|Stormbringer issue 2|Stormbringer #2}}

[[File:Wreckersstormbringer.jpg|left|upright=1.5|thumb|The Wreckers are so hardcore they don't even need a spaceship. Except for when they [[Xantium (G1)|do]].]]
The Wreckers arrived just in time to save [[Nosecone (G1)|Nosecone]] and [[Afterburner (G1)|Afterburner]]. They then proceeded to take [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]]'s team apart without breaking a sweat. {{storylink|Stormbringer issue 3|Stormbringer #3}} Thunderwing was ''slightly'' more challenging, but the Wreckers suffered no apparent casualties. {{storylink|Stormbringer issue 4|Stormbringer #4}}

When Thunderwing popped up again guarding a cave on [[Corata-Vaz]], Optimus Prime sent for the team once again. {{storylink|Spotlight: Cyclonus}} While they did not succeed in stopping Thunderwing themselves, they managed to survive until he was rendered inert by [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]]. {{storylink|Spotlight: Sideswipe}}

Sometime later, some of the Wreckers were captured by the Decepticons. They were rescued by the remaining Wreckers, now led by [[Kup (G1)|Kup]], [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]], and [[Drift (G1)|Drift]], who was acting independently. After this, Kup decided to form a new team that included Wreckers [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] and [[Roadbuster (G1)|Roadbuster]]. {{storylink|Spotlight: Drift}}

After the great push by Megatron, Kup and [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] were made into Wreckers, with Ultra Magnus and [[Verity Carlo]] providing them with transport. A few years later, Wrecker reservists [[Guzzle (G1)|Guzzle]], [[Pyro (G1)|Pyro]], [[Rotorstorm (G1)|Rotorstorm]], and [[Ironfist (G1)|Ironfist]] were added to the team. Springer was becoming weary of assembling these teams, only to see them blown apart.

The first mission by the new team was to travel to [[Garrus-9]] and bring it back under Autobot control. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 1|Last Stand of the Wreckers #1}} After the arrival of a battered Impactor, however, they discovered that the sociopathic [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] had seized control of the facility and the whole place had gone mental. A report from Prowl also stated they needed to find "[[Aequitas]]". Splitting into two teams, the Wreckers made planetfall {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2|Last Stand of the Wreckers #2}} and soon became separated from each other. Perceptor's team were tasked to find Aequitas, but Springer abruptly changed strategy and split his group into two: one to find the prisoners, the other to "get help" from a maximum security cell. Perceptor's team succeeded—albeit with the loss of Rotorstorm to Overlord—but Springer, Impactor and Twin Twist were captured. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 3|Last Stand of the Wreckers #3}}

[[File:LastStandoftheWreckers5- Ironfist Perceptor Verity.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.5|]]

Topspin willingly sacrificed himself to activate Aequitas, simultaneously killing Twin Twist due to their branched spark. Kup and Guzzle failed to find the help they were looking for, but managed to save Springer and Impactor from death by torture. As Springer's team faced down Overlord himself, the other Wreckers finished their mission by downloading Aequitas's data into Ironfist. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 4|Last Stand of the Wreckers #4}} Perceptor's group then went to aid the others in the battle against Overlord, with Pyro sacrificing himself in the process. Overlord effortlessly defeated most of the remaining Wreckers, but was eventually taken down thanks to Ironfist's connection to Aequitas. Garrus-9 was liberated, and miraculously, no further Wreckers had been killed in the fight with Overlord... though Springer was in a critical condition and Ironfist succumbed to a workplace injury and died on the way home. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|Last Stand of the Wreckers #5}}

Convinced that their leader, Springer, was a goner, Whirl used Roadbuster's [[Sparkeater (weapon)|Sparkeater]] to attempt to euthanize Springer. Instead he was caught in the act by Roadbuster and kicked out of the Wreckers. {{storylink|Interiors}} [[Rung (G1)|Rung]] later suggested to Roadbuster that reading something emotional could reactivate the leader of the Wreckers, so Roadbuster read datalogs from the ''Wreckers: Declassified'', to no avail. However, after Roadbuster confessed to Springer what the other Wreckers felt about what Impactor did, and called Springer their best leader, the comatose Autobot began showing signs of life. {{storylink|Zero Point}}

Pardoned after Garrus-9, Impactor continued to wreck with Guzzle. The latter became increasingly blood-thirsty and large, and even Impactor who'd made progress on giving up his overly violent ways succumbed again.{{storylink|Escape (G1)|Escape}}

[[File:Sins of the Wreckers2-everybody's unhappy.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.4|Ha, you expected that cool splash of the group from ''Sins'' #1? Tough luck, buster, you get a more accurate depiction of the Wreckers!]]

Five years after Garrus-9, Prowl was abducted by the insane [[Tarantulas (BW)|Tarantulas]] and to get him back, a rejuvenated Springer assembled a new Wreckers team out of old guys and whoever happened to be around. For most members, this was more about keeping Prowl's secrets like the Aequitas data out of the public eye. {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 1|Sins of the Wreckers #1}} In true Wreckers fashion, this went horribly wrong for most people involved and the team were rapidly faced with their own psychological issues: Kup learning how he'd killed Autobots while mad, Guzzle in constant battle fury, and Roadbuster proving still willing to torture. Backing Tarantulas up were [[Mayhem Attack Squad|Mayhem]], whose leader [[Carnivac (G1)|Carnivac]] felt Springer should be with them. {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 2|Sins of the Wreckers #2}} Half the team invaded the [[Noisemaze]] to cut to Tarantulas' base and were immediately defeated by its maddening environment, with the exception of Verity (human) and the frequency-blocking Hubcap. The latter was then seen with Tarantulas, while Springer, Arcee, and Roadbuster were plugged into the guilt-extracting [[Impetus]] to relive their worst sins.

Impactor and Kup, meanwhile, had gone back to Debris: Impactor knew a little about the Noisemaze and had a 'backdoor' to it buried under his own in-waiting grave! {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 3|Sins of the Wreckers #3}}

{{-}}

[[File:LastStandoftheWreckers1-newrecruits.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|"What's your name, soldier?" "Parts, sir! Private Parts!"]]
'''Known members:'''
{{collist|3|
*[[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] (by association)
*[[Blocker (G1)|Blocker]]
*[[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]]
*[[Crest]] (second known leader)
*[[Guzzle (G1)|Guzzle]]
*[[Hubcap (G1)|Hubcap]]
*[[Hyperion (G1)|Hyperion]] (third known leader)
*[[Impactor (G1)|Impactor]] (fourth known leader)
*[[Ironfist (G1)|Ironfist]]
*[[Kup (G1)|Kup]]
*[[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]]
*[[Piston (Wrecker)|Piston]]
*[[Pyro (G1)|Pyro]]
*[[Rack'n'Ruin]]
*[[Roadbuster (G1)|Roadbuster]]
*[[Rotorstorm (G1)|Rotorstorm]]
*[[Sandstorm (G1)|Sandstorm]]
*[[Scoop (G1)|Scoop]]
*[[Springer (G1)|Springer]] (fifth known leader)
*[[Stakeout (G1)|Stakeout]] (by association)
*[[Threnody]] (first known leader)
*[[Topspin (G1)|Topspin]]
*[[Twin Twist]]
*[[Valve]]
*[[Verity Carlo]]
*[[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]]
}}

{{-}}

====''Cloud''====
The Wreckers of [[Cloud World]] were a special Autobot unit tasked with defending the entire world of space-time from dangerous threats. Numerous harsh missions caused many of them to develop rather bad tempers.

'''Known members:'''
{{collist|3|
*[[Ironfist (G1)|Ironfist]]
*[[Roadbuster (G1)|Roadbuster]]
*[[Topspin (G1)|Topspin]]
*[[Twin Twist]]
*[[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]]
}}

====''Wings Universe''====
At some point during the Great War, the Wreckers were Autobot elite commandos led by [[Impactor (G1)|Impactor]], who served as the opposite number to [[Macabre]] and his Decepticons in [[Squadron X]]. Their long struggle came to an unexpected end when Macabre set an ambush for the Wreckers on [[Torax Prime]] which they never walked into. Instead, the various members of Squadron X slowly turned against Macabre or went completely insane waiting for the Wreckers to show up. Impactor's squad eventually came to Torax Prime only after hearing about a massive explosion, caused when [[Earthquake (G1)|Earthquake]] strapped a couple of bombs to his chest and rushed Macabre in a demonstration of his dissatisfaction with the current mission. {{storylink|Tornado - Decepticon Saboteur}}

The Wreckers' activities are largely undocumented beyond that, although centuries later, one group of Wreckers was led by [[Primal Prime]] during a [[Quintesson]] invasion. Shortly before or during [[2984]], [[Cheetor (BW)|Alpha Trizer]] recently reformed the Wreckers under Primal Prime's command and given the ship ''[[Rodimus Major]]'' to patrol distant corners of the galaxy in the name of peace (and give some of the more aggressive personalities on peacetime Cybertron an outlet). {{storylink|BotCon 2014|Primal Prime's customization class booklet}} {{storylink|Tornado - Decepticon Saboteur|Apelinq's personal logs}}

Primal Prime invited [[Flareup (G1)|Flare-Up]] to join the Wreckers, but [[Ginrai]] had already recruited her for the [[Cybertronian Knight]]s.

As the Knights responded with dread to an impending mandatory meditation session and lecture from Alpha Trizer, [[Devcon (G1)|Devcon]] quipped that the Wreckers had refused the assignment.

When Ginrai called a red alert for what turned out to be a space fender-bender at a [[Nebulos]] spaceport, Apelinq reported that the Wreckers were two systems away. {{storylink|Tornado - Decepticon Saboteur|Apelinq's personal logs}}

While journeying to check up on a Predacon colony near the [[Dark Nebula]], the ''Rodimus Major'' was caught in the gravity well of a wormhole anomaly. {{storylink|BotCon 2014|Primal Prime's customization class booklet}} With no hope of breaking free, Primal Prime ordered [[Fireflight (Universe)|Fireflight]], the only Wrecker with personal FTL capability, to return at top speed to Cybertron with their logs. {{storylink|Tornado - Decepticon Saboteur|Apelinq's personal logs}}

'''Known members: '''
{{collist|3|
*[[Backstop (G1)|Backstop]]
*[[Buzz Saw (BW)|Buzzsaw]]
*[[Devcon (G1)|Devcon]]
*[[Drop Zone]]
*[[Fireflight (Universe)|Fireflight]]
*[[Impactor (G1)|Impactor]]
*[[Night Viper]]
*[[Primal Prime]] (leader)
*[[Quickstrike (BM)|Quickstrike]]
*[[Hot Rod/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus Major]]
*[[Stockade (Universe 2003)|Stockade]]
*[[Tap-Out (Universe)|Tap-Out]] (second-in-command)
*[[Tripwire (G1)|Tripwire]]
*[[Wide Scope]]
}}

====Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity====
The Wreckers were formed in 2004 after [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]] brought over [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]] and [[Roadbuster (G1)|Roadbuster]] from [[Legends Universe|another dimension]] and recruited them into the Autobots. {{storylink|Legends Comic: Bonus Edition Vol. 7|Bonus Edition Vol. 7}}

'''Known members:'''
{{collist|3|
*[[Roadbuster (G1)|Roadbuster]]
*[[Springer (G1)|Springer]]
*[[Topspin (G1)|Topspin]]
*[[Twin Twist]]
*[[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]]
}}

===''Shattered Glass''===
The Wreckers were a band of mercenaries led by [[Rodimus (SG)|Rodimus]], who spent their time looting and pillaging the countryside. They approved of [[Optimus Prime (SG)|Optimus]]'s campaign of conquest, but initially preferred to remain autonomous.

That is, until one fateful day when Optimus hired the Wreckers to fight alongside his Autobots at the battle of [[Praxus-Delta]]. The battle was brutal and resulted in every Wrecker except Rodimus meeting the fate of most Wreckers across the [[multiverse]] at the hands of the Decepticons. Rodimus impressed Optimus by remaining in the fight regardless, in order to fulfill the contract. Thanks to his efforts the Autobots escaped without further losses, and Optimus was so impressed that he offered Rodimus leadership of the [[Seeker (SG)|Seekers]], which the former Wrecker accepted. {{storylink|Rodimus (SG)|BotCon 2008 Rodimus profile card}}

After the [[Mayhem Suppression Squad]] had successfully turned back one of the Autobots' raids, [[Side Burn (SG)|Side Burn]] reminded Prime that he ''had'' recommended reforming the Wreckers as their best counter to the Squad.

Later, when trying to convince [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] and [[Sideswipe (SG)|Sideswipe]] to leave the Decepticons and join up with one of his power-grabbing schemes, Rodimus hearkened back to what was likely the Wreckers' old motto, when he told them that they'd have "a whole planet ready to ''wreck-and-ruin''!" {{storylink|Dungeons & Dinobots}}

===''Animated'' cartoon===
During the [[Great War (Animated)|Great War]], the Wreckers were a major problem for the Decepticons, operating behind their lines as a commando unit. They are noted for interrupting supply lines, destroying the mainframe on [[Bk'n]], and demolishing the shipyards of [[Salvvatan VI]]. They operated from the [[Omega Sentinel (Animated)|Omega Sentinel]] ship ''[[Zeta Supreme|Xantium]]'', which was bonded to [[Impactor Major]], apparently the leader of the team. Megatron created the [[Decepticon Heavy Brigade]] specifically to hunt down the Wreckers. When they finally met in battle, [[Blackout (Animated)|Blackout]] was the only survivor on either side. {{storylink|Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II|The AllSpark Almanac II}}

===Aligned continuity family===
{{bigquote|Wreckers don't call for backup. They call for clean-up!|[[Wheeljack (Prime)|Wheeljack]] and [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]]|"[[Loose Cannons]]"}}

[[File:ChainOfCommand Wreckers.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|On the count of three, everybody say Whirl sucks.]]
The Wreckers were [[Autobot High Council|Council Guardians]]. {{storylink|Transformers: Exodus|Exodus}} [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] and [[Wheeljack (Prime)|Wheeljack]] were also members, though early on in the war Bulkhead left to join [[Team Prime]]. {{storylink|Con Job}} Wheeljack left when [[Ultra Magnus (WFC)|Ultra Magnus]] was appointed to lead the squad {{storylink|Chain of Command (Prime)|Chain of Command}} by [[Optimus Prime (WFC)|Optimus Prime]] with the hopes Magnus would be able to give the squad some discipline. {{storylink|Project Predacon}} The Wreckers took part in the siege of the [[Hydrax Plateau]]. Afterwards, they were all that stood between [[Devastator (WFC)|Devastator]] and the [[Tagan Heights]] before [[Defensor (WFC)|Defensor]] arrived. They guarded the [[Well of All Sparks]] when [[Optimus Prime (WFC)|Optimus Prime]] descended through it to free the [[core]] of its suffocation by [[Dark Energon]]. Ultra Magnus, [[Springer (WFC)|Springer]], and other team members opted to remain behind to distract [[Trypticon (WFC)|Trypticon]] when the ''[[Ark (WFC)|Ark]]'' launched, gaining invaluable allies in [[Jetfire (WFC)|Jetfire]], [[Omega Supreme (WFC)|Omega Supreme]], and [[Alpha Trion (WFC)|Alpha Trion]]. {{storylink|Transformers: Exodus|Exodus}}

After Cybertron went dark, Wheeljack traveled the stars and eventually found Bulkhead on [[Earth]]. {{storylink|Con Job}} He left shortly after their reunion and continued to search the galaxy. He eventually found [[Seaspray (Prime)|Seaspray]], but [[Dreadwing (Prime)|Dreadwing]] had found them both and promptly destroyed Seaspray's ship, killing the Wrecker. When Dreadwing made his way to Earth, Wheeljack followed to get his revenge. {{storylink|Loose Cannons}} The [[Insecticon (WFC)|Insecticon]] [[Hardshell (Prime)|Hardshell]] noted that he had off-lined several Wreckers when fighting Bulkhead. {{storylink|Toxicity}} Miko was inducted as a Wrecker by Wheeljack after she off-lined Hardshell. {{storylink|Hurt}} At some point, [[Cybertron Elite Guard]] graduate [[Smokescreen (Prime)|Smokescreen]] had studied every battle the Wreckers had been involved in. {{storylink|The Human Factor}} After arriving on Earth, Ultra Magnus again attempted to instill some discipline into Bulkhead and Wheeljack, but this only led to Wheeljack temporarily quitting the team. {{storylink|Chain of Command (Prime)|Chain of Command}} The Wreckers served as a vital asset to Team Prime during the twilight days of the war, usually handling large swaths of enemies on their own {{storylink|Evolution}} and proved instrumental in securing the ''[[Trypticon (WFC)|Nemesis]]'' during the final battle of the war. {{storylink|Deadlock}}

'''Known members:'''
{{collist|3|
*[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]]
*[[Fisitron (Timelines)|Fisitron]]
*[[Hot Shot (Prime)|Hot Shot]]
*[[Impactor (Prime)|Impactor]]
*[[Kup (WFC)|Kup]]
*[[Miko Nakadai]]
*[[Moonracer (COP)|Moonracer]]
*[[Pyro (Prime)|Pyro]]
*[[Rack n' Ruin]]
*[[Roadbuster (Prime)|Roadbuster]]
*[[Rodimus (WFC)|Rodimus]]
*[[Rotorstorm (Prime)|Rotorstorm]]
*[[Ruination (FOC)|Ruination]]
*[[Seaspray (Prime)|Seaspray]]
*[[Springer (WFC)|Springer]]
*[[Topspin (FOC)|Topspin]]
*[[Twintwist]]
*[[Ultra Magnus (WFC)|Ultra Magnus]] (leader)
*[[Wheeljack (Prime)|Wheeljack]]
*[[Whirl (FOC)|Whirl]]
}}

===Live-action film series===
{{bigquote|We don't let them off the base much 'cause they're assholes.|[[Charlotte Mearing]]|''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)|Dark of the Moon]]''}}

[[File:DOTM-Leadfoot-Topspin.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|How am I gonna stop some big, mean Mother Hubbard from tearing me a structurally superfluous new behind? The answer, use a gun. And if that don't work? Use more gun.]]

The Wreckers, [[Leadfoot (DOTM)|Leadfoot]], [[Roadbuster (DOTM)|Roadbuster]] and [[Topspin (DOTM)|Topspin]], were a trio of engineering geniuses who came to Earth aboard the Autobot spaceship ''[[Xantium (DOTM)|Xantium]]''. The Wreckers rarely left the secret Autobot launch facility at Cape Canaveral, partially because caring for the ship dominated their time, and partially because they were assholes. The Wreckers helped engineer the Autobots' feigned exile from Earth and assassination by [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]], and later participated in the battle for [[Chicago]]. They proved effective, if vicious, fighters, dismantling their fair share of Decepticons, challenging [[Shockwave (Movie)|Shockwave]] and rescuing [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] from an embarrassing situation. All three of them would continue fighting and would be among the surviving Autobots, accepting Earth as their true home. {{storylink|Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)|Dark of the Moon}}

After the Battle of Chicago, [[Harold Attinger]] formed a secret faction of the CIA known as "[[Cemetery Wind]]" to hunt down all Transformers regardless of faction. Leadfoot was among the many casualties of the hunt, and his death was revealed to the surviving Autobots by [[Cade Yeager]]. [[Hound (Movie)|Hound]] sadly took off his hat in respect for his fallen friend, and Optimus Prime vowed to kill the person responsible for Leadfoot and the other's deaths. {{storylink|Transformers: Age of Extinction (film)|Age of Extinction}}

'''Known members:'''
{{collist|3|
*[[Roadbuster (DOTM)|Roadbuster]]
*[[Leadfoot (DOTM)|Leadfoot]]
*[[Topspin (DOTM)|Topspin]]
}}

====''Bot Shots''====
The Wreckers were an elite Autobot fighting force famed for their habit of not fighting fair. {{storylink|Topspin (DOTM)|Topspin's online bio}}

'''Known members:'''
{{collist|3|
*[[Roadbuster (DOTM)|Roadbuster]]
*[[Leadfoot (DOTM)|Leadfoot]]
*[[Topspin (DOTM)|Topspin]]
}}

==Notes==
===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Wreckers''' (レッカーズ ''Rekkāzu'')
*''Mandarin:'' '''Léi Tíng Zhěng Jiù Duì''' (China, 雷霆拯救队, "Lightning Rescue Team")
*''Hungarian:'' '''Rontók''' (''Dark of the Moon'', "Ruiners")
*''Indonesian'' '''Wreker''' (왜러긄 ''Wrecker'')
*''German:'' '''Schrotter''' (''Prime'', "Wrecker(s)")
*''Italian:'' '''Demolitori''' (''Dark of the Moon'' comic adaptation and ''Prime'', "Demolishers")
*''Korean:'' '''Wreckers''' (레커즈 ''Wreckers'')

[[Category:Animated subgroups]]
[[Category:Autobot subgroups]]
[[Category:Beast Machines]]
[[Category:Dark of the Moon subgroups]]
[[Category:Fall of Cybertron subgroups]]
[[Category:Generation 1 subgroups]]
[[Category:Prime subgroups]]
[[Category:Shattered Glass subgroups]]
[[Category:Subgroups]]
[[Category:Universe (2003)]]
[[Category:Wreckers| ]]
[[Category:War for Cybertron subgroups]]
[[Category:Wings Universe subgroups]]

New Worlds Order

2016-03-31T13:42:00Z

Egg: /* Synopsis */ fixed typo; beneft -> benefit

{{Comicstory
|series=exrid|issueno=50
|prev=All Hail Optimus Part 1: Once Upon a Time on Earth
|next=All Hail Optimus Part 2: Edge of the Earth
|caption=
|image=TF50 subcvrC.jpg
|title="New Worlds Order"
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|published in=[[The Transformers issue 50|''The Transformers'' #50]]
|date=[[February 24]], [[2016]]
|coverdate=February 2016
|written by=[[John Barber]]
|pencils by=[[Casey Coller]]
|inks by=[[Jamie Snell]]
|colors by=[[Joana Lafuente]]
|letters by=[[Tom B. Long]] and [[Chris Mowry]]
|editor=[[Carlos Guzman]]
|continuity=[[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline|Current era]]
}}

'''In the wake of Optimus Prime's world-shaking announcement, the EDC, the Decepticons, and the Council of Worlds all debate on what must be done next.'''

==Synopsis==

[[Marissa Faireborn]] and [[Ayana Jones]] are en route to [[Washington, D.C.]] to meet with a very unhappy [[President of the United States|President]]. Faireborn is anxious, but Jones tries to get her to focus... though the sight of two of [[G.B. Blackrock|Garrison Blackrock]]'s Decepticon clones standing guard on the [[White House]] lawn does not fill her with confidence.

En route to [[Sanctuary Station]], [[Needlenose (G1)|Needlenose]] is not showing a lot of remorse over the fact that his idea to side with [[Galvatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Galvatron]] has blown up in his and the other Decepticons' faces. [[Swift]] is horrified to realize she helped fight a ''Prime'' based on what he had told her, but as they arrive at the station, Needlenose goes on to explain that ''that'', at least, was the right course of action. All Primes are oppressors—a sentiment [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] agrees with, though right now, he is more concerned with never allowing anyone like Galvatron to manipulate his dream again.

On [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], the [[Council of Worlds]] convenes to discuss [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Optimus Prime]]'s actions. Starscream refuses to permit Optimus a seat, and nobody actually disagrees; rather, [[Windblade (G1)|Windblade]] advocates that they simply give Optimus time to state his case once he contacts them. Once the meeting is over, Starscream stalks the halls, grumbling about how everyone is giving Optimus the benefit of the doubt, yet they never extend the same courtesy to him despite the fact he was ''legally elected''. Talking with the imaginary figure of [[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]], he expresses his genuine concern that Optimus has made the wrong move, and that it is only inevitable that his good intentions will become corrupted and lead him down the same path as [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]].

Aboard the ''[[Nemesis (G1)|Nemesis]]'', somewhere beneath Earth's oceans, [[Mindwipe (G1)|Mindwipe]] vivisects Blackrock to verify Galvatron's belief: he is, indeed, an incredibly advanced robot who appears human in every way! The news is rather alarming to Blackrock himself, but Galvatron insists that the knowledge of his true nature is a gift he has given to the once-and-former "human." And of course, Blackrock has given Galvatron a gift in return: the [[Onyx]] source code, and access to all devices running it...

In the White House, the President gives Marissa a dressing-down that would be bad enough on its own, but which pales in comparison to the news that [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] has been pardoned and his military rank reinstated, and will now serve as the President's EDC liason, just as [[Zilong Qian]] will be the liason from China's [[People's Liberation Army Mecha Force]].

Watching the meeting through Onyx-enabled security cameras in the Oval Office, Galvatron laughs at the notion that humanity will be able to save themselves. Mankind's time is coming to an end... and it will be Optimus Prime who causes it.

==Featured characters==
{{Featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Windblade (G1)|Windblade]] (15)
*[[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]]'s "ghost" (21)

|c2=
*[[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (5)
*[[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] (6)
*[[Needlenose (G1)|Needlenose]] (8)
*[[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] (9)
*[[Mindwipe (G1)|Mindwipe]] (22)
*[[Galvatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Galvatron]] (24)

|c3=
*[[Ayana Jones]] (1)
*[[Marissa Faireborn]] (2)
*[[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (25)
*The [[President of the United States]] (26)
*[[Zilong Qian]] (27)

|c4=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] clone (3)
*[[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] clone (4)
*[[Swift]] (7)
*[[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]] (10)
*[[Fireshot (G1)|Fireshot]] (11)
*[[Vanquish (G1)|Vanquish]] (12)
*[[Moonracer (G1)|Moonracer]] (13)
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Knock Out (G1)|Knock Out]] (14)
*[[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]] (16)
*[[Obsidian (BM)|Obsidian]] (17)
*[[Strika (BM)|Strika]] (18)
*[[Tigatron]] (19)
*[[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] (20)
*[[G.B. Blackrock#IDW Generation 1 continuity|Garrison Blackrock]] (23)
{{!}}}
}}

==Quotes==
'''Swift:''' "'''Needlenose'''—you didn't '''know''' it was a '''bad idea''' to follow an '''ancient warlord''' who—I saw a '''documentary''' about this when I moved to Cybertron—who tried to use Cybertron to '''eat''' the entire '''universe'''... twice?" 
'''Needlenose:''' "Well... it was a '''real long war'''. Mistakes were made." 
'''Swift:''' "What!? I mean... I just helped you idiots fight a '''Prime!'''" 
'''Rumble:''' "'''Boo!'''" 
'''Frenzy:''' "In '''name''' only!"

"This is no different than '''Megatron''' conquering a planet of '''organics''' and demanding a seat." 
"Well, once difference is '''these''' organics are still alive."
:—'''Starscream''' and '''Windblade'''

"Look, I can be '''disingenuous-'''" 
"Your vocabulary is improving." 
"I bought a '''dictionary calendar.'''
:—'''Starscream''' and '''Bumblebee's''' "ghost"

"I have a lot on my '''mind.'''" 
"I can '''see''' what you have on your mind. It looks like a ''transuranic'' alloy casing."
:—'''Blackrock''' and '''Mindwipe'''

"Naive little creatures. I have '''battleaxes''' older than their '''civilization.'''"
:—'''Galvatron''', on humanity

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
*Swift refers to Galvatron's two previous plans to use Cybertron to destroy the universe, in "[[Chaos (IDW)|Chaos]]" and "[[Dark Cybertron (IDW)|Dark Cybertron]]" respectively. Though in fairness to Galvatron, neither was actually his plan; the first time he was tricked by the [[D-Void]], and the second time, he was just a cog in [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Shockwave]]'s plan.
*Frenzy remarks that he and Rumble were "born to be mining equipment," referring to their early lives as seen in [[The Transformers: Megatron Origin|Megatron Origin]]''.
*Swift recalls [[Barricade (G1)|Barricade]]'s death from ''[[The Transformers: Redemption|Redemption]]''.
*Starscream recalls how [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime]] was the last Cybertronian to "lay claim to a populated world." This ''might'' just be referring to how Sentinel was the last Prime who took power before the Decepticon uprising took place (as seen in ''Megatron Origin,'' again), but the way Starscream phrases it, it sounds like he could be talking about another planet entirely, which isn't something we've heard about before.
**Sentinel Prime, you say? Doing something ''mysterious'' you say?? '''''[[Transformers: Generations#Titans Return|WHY EVER]]''''' would we want to have ''that'' put in our minds right now???
*Mindwipe declares Blackrock to be far more advanced than a [[holomatter]] avatar or a [[facsimile construct]]—the two types of "phoney humans" the Transformers have used to interact with the people of Earth in the past.

===Transformers references===
*One of the generic Decepticons on the shuttle heading back to Sanctuary looks like he's stolen the [[Scrambling neon Decepticon|scrambling neon <strike>Decepticon</strike> NAIL]]'s color scheme.

===Real-life references===
*When Marissa tries to talk the President out of pardoning Spike, calling him a "loose cannon," the President accuses her of being a movie cliche, and compares her to Dean Wormer from ''{{w|Animal House}}''.

===Errors===

*Mindwipe is colored like [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] throughout this story, complete with golden detailing that evokes the cassette's weapons.
*On page 6, "simulacrum" is misspelled "simulcrum."
*If the Mecha Force use the same ranking structure as the Chinese Air Force (which has Airman First Class), then the squadron-commanding Zilong Qian would just be a junior enlisted airman.

===Other trivia===
* [[Onyx Interface Part Two: Vs.|Issues #36]] and [[Conquerors Part 4: Perihelion|#49]] referred to the real-life {{w|Xi Jinping}} as President of China. This story, however, establishes the current President of the U.S. as a fictitious woman and not the real-life {{w|Barack Obama}}.

Female Transformer

2016-02-19T07:59:28Z

Egg: /* Beast Machines cartoon */

{{disambig2|female Transformers in general|the [[Autobot]] resistance group led by [[Elita One]]|Female Autobots}}

{{quote|Well, I remember bringing up that question early on with Hasbro, "are any of these female?" And then I think Hasbro's attitude was, 'this is a boy toy. We don't wanna have, you know, girl robots.' So, I said, "OK, just want to clarify that."|[[Bob Budiansky]]|[http://rustingcarcass.yuku.com/topic/954 Rusting Carcass interview]}}

[[File:MCA-Arcee.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|Arcee, the most famous female Transformer, poses for the boys. Way to set an example there.]]

Despite being robotic lifeforms with generally non-sexual methods of [[reproduction]], the [[Transformer]] species has almost always been shown to include both male and female gender analogues, at least mentally if not physically.

'''Female Transformers''' were originally depicted as an anomaly, specifically called out as either a thought-to-be-extinct subgroup or simply never existing in the first place. (Thanks, 1980s! Always so sensitive!) But over the course of decades, while they are still comparatively rare, they have increased greatly in numbers, prominence and overall fairness of representation, and are considered an official part of the [[Transformers brand|''Transformers'' brand]] in pretty much every continuity. Nowadays, female Transformers are basically considered a normal part of the Cybertronian population.

There's still a long way to go, since they ARE still pretty dang rare compared to the "guys" and as [[Mairghread Scott]] pointed out, this can inadvertently make any given female Transformer and their stories seem like a comment on real women.<ref>[http://mscottwrites.tumblr.com/post/71325530812/what-are-your-thoughts-on-the-idw-arcee-origin-that Shotgun Mermaid (Mairghread Scott's tumblr), December 27 2013]: specifically, arguing that IDW Arcee being driven insane by her gender change can imply the women-are-hysterical stereotype "because she is the ONLY women [sic]" in the story, being one of the few female Autobots in G1 at all.</ref> That's part of a ''way'' bigger argument for gender equality in entertainment and society at large that's a bit beyond this wiki's scope to fully explore.

A '''[[List of female Transformers]]''' from all continuities is available.

==Fandom and Terminology==
Almost assuredly as a consequence of their rarity in official fiction and toylines, female Transformers are popular in [[fan fiction]], where the term "'''femme'''" is often used to describe them, with "'''mech'''"<ref>While "femme" obviously is related to the French word for "woman", it's occasionally claimed that the use of "mech" as a name for male Transformers is derived from "mec", the French word for "guy" or "dude". This is probably more coincidence than anything, though.</ref> likewise being applied to "male" Transformers. Both terms have recently appeared in a piece of official fiction: [[Venus (magazine)|Venus]] magazine. This is the first instance "mech" has been used to specifically refer to a male Transformer, whereas the term has been used as a gender-neutral common noun for Transformers in various stories.

Alternative words to denote a female Transformer, all used about twice in canon, include: '''femme-bot''',<ref>"Just imagine all the colony worlds: naive small planetoid femme-bots, unsuspecting targets, Unguarded Energon Reserves..." -[[Buzzsaw (Cybertron)|Buzzsaw]], "[[Force of Habit]]" p4 ([[2008]])</ref> '''fembot''',<ref>[[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]] refers to [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]] as "Ya emasculatin' fembot!" after she cuts the tip from his tail/sword in "[[Nemesis Part 2]]", while ''[[Transformers Animated (cartoon)|Animated]]'' [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] wonders in "[[Endgame, Part II]]" what chance he has in flying combat against the [[Lugnut Supreme|Lugnuts Supreme]] if he "couldn't handle [[Slipstream (Animated)|Starscream's fembot clone]]" on [[Endgame, Part I|his test run]].</ref> '''girl-bot'''<ref>"When we take over Cybertron, I'm gonna have a whole harem of girl-bots! Blue ones, red ones..." - [[Overkill (G1)|Overkill]], "The Art of War issue 5"</ref> '''robot dame''',<ref>In [[This Is Why I Hate Machines]] Captain Fanzone refers to Arcee as a "robot dame in a room"</ref> and ''perhaps'' '''robotessa'''.<ref>In "[[Enter the Nightbird]]", "Robotessa" is the word missing from the line "Say good night to your [Robotessa], Megatron!"</ref>

==Appearance==
[[File:LegendsBusinessTrip11-heroladies.jpg|right|thumb|"Of course there's variety! Some of us aren't pink!"]]
[[File:BMStrika.jpg|left|upright=0.95|thumb|Our mechanics assure us this is a woman.]]
The appearance of female Transformers in most continuities would seem to suggest a level of "sexual" dimorphism is present in at least the more humanoid members of the Transformers species (the term sexual is used in a gender-based, rather than physical sense, see the reproduction link above for that whole kettle of robo-fish). In almost all cases female Transformers are portrayed as comparatively more graceful of form, and more rounded and curved in general, than their male counterparts. Often they have a more than passing resemblance to a slender human female made of metal and wearing armor and [[kibble]].

There are exceptions to this rule. Characters with toys could have been bulky and less overtly human-female-like, which was seen in the [[Unicron Trilogy]] series and some latter expansions of the [[The Transformers (franchise)|Generation 1]] series out of Japan, when the characters are often assigned to pre-existing "masculine" toys. Perhaps the best counter-example of this type is [[Strika (BM)|Strika]], who is female yet neither looks nor acts stereotypically feminine at all. This, however, has dropped away in more recent years as toy technology changes. Numerous female characters from the [[Aligned continuity family|Aligned]] and [[Movie (franchise)|Movie]] lines would turn into motorbikes, giving them thinner, daintier dimensions in robot mode. There are some exceptions, most notably the recently introduced [[Strongarm (RID)|Strongarm]] and her distinctly boxy shape.

The main real-world reason for all this can be seen from [[IDW Publishing]]'s plans to introduce more women in 2014. Plans were afoot to make two look less visually 'female' and more like "the default Cybertronian design" so readers wouldn't know they were female until their dialogue. That was dropped to make it more visually clear that ''these'' were the female characters.<ref>[http://womenwriteaboutcomics.com/2015/02/26/james-roberts-on-idws-transformers-more-that-meets-the-eye/ Women Write About Comics: "James Roberts on IDW’s Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye" 10:00 - 11:21]</ref> Humans are just conditioned to associate certain looks like certain genders. When the ''[[Transformers: Cybertron (cartoon)|Cybertron]]'' dubbers wanted to make a male character into a female one, it's probably not a surprise that they went with [[Override (Cybertron)|the (relatively) sleek racing car]].<ref>[http://www.camphortree.net/tf/tidbits/botcon2005.txt Steve-o Stonebraker's BotCon 2005 Notes, Version 2 at his Transformers site]</ref>

{{--}}

==Fiction==
===Generation 1===
====''The Transformers'' cartoon====
[[File:G1femmes.jpg|upright=2.5|thumb|A bunch of Female Autobots from the G1 toon and Alpha Trion. His pimp cane was removed in post-production.]]
Within this continuity, female Transformers are a rarity, but established to have been around from the species' start. A female named [[Beta (G1)|Beta]] existed back in the slave days under [[Quintesson]] rule, and thus it seems clear females were produced alongside the males as part of the Quintessons' product lines.

No females were explicitly shown to exist among the Decepticon ranks, although the introduction of [[Nightbird (G1)|Nightbird]] and implications of an eventual upgrade didn't raise any questions or remarks, suggesting that female Decepticons exist (or that the Decepticons royally don't care about a soldier's gender).

[[The Search for Alpha Trion|27 episodes after Nightbird's appearance]], female Transformers were introduced formally through the [[Female Autobots]]. [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] at various points expresses surprise they aren't extinct, which would seem to imply females were thought to be no longer part of the Cybertronian race. While at the time a decent (though certainly not perfect) explanation for the scarce appearances of female Transformers, it didn't stop more females from showing up in the movie and season 3. Possibly Shockwave's "statement" could be considered as [[retcon]]ned and overwritten, or one of the following explanations applies:
# They were all built/"discovered" after the events of "The Search for Alpha Trion".
# Shockwave constantly calls them Autobots, never Transformers or Cybertronians. It is possible female [[Neutral]]s' (and the aforementioned female [[Decepticon]]s') existence was never thought over... and that none of them changed allegiance any time recently.
# "Female Autobot" is not used as a description, but as the team's name.
# This is the Generation 1 cartoon. You're not watching it for the flawless storytelling.

Females can be seen here and there among the [[Junkion (species)|Junkion tribe]], mostly sharing [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]]'s model. [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] has a "[[Nancy|Junkion lady]]" companion according to "[[The Big Broadcast of 2006 (episode)|The Big Broadcast of 2006]]". Just how relationships function in this isolated, media-based Transformers society is unclear, although it's notable that Wreck-Gar and his lady friend "slept" sitting up next to each other on giant thrones between television broadcast cycles. The lady's character model is actually that of a female [[Lithone (species)|Lithone]], another mechanical race, but whether this is meaningful in any way or simple model recycling is uncertain.

In [[Misconceptions and urban legends about Transformers#European Generation 1 fiction|the French dub]] of ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'' (but not in the TV series), both [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] and [[Shrapnel (G1)|Shrapnel]] were referred to as female, with [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] calling Starscream "une imbecile" at one point (French articles are gendered), and Shrapnel referred to as "Mademoiselle". The reason for this gender-switch was never fully explained, though it is possible that Starscream's and Shrapnel's rather high-pitched voices were mistaken for women's voices.
{{-}}

====''Super-God Masterforce''====
[[File:Esmeral-manga.jpg|upright=0.85|thumb|This is an official Transformers character. No, really.]]
A female Transformer was created through the introduction of [[Minerva (Masterforce)|Minerva]] to the ranks of the [[Headmaster Junior]]s. The [[transtector]] she was bonded to [[A Battle... and Then...|eventually]] evolved into a being of ''her'' own.

Meanwhile, the [[Godmaster (lifeform)|Godmaster]] [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] existed out of two humans before becoming sapient: husband [[Giga]] and wife [[Mega]]. Despite the double gender, Overlord is regarded a "he".

====''Victory''====
In the manga, [[Decepticon]] females make their first (yet still to this day very rare) appearance in official fiction as [[Esmeral (Victory)|Esmeral]] ([[Deathsaurus (Victory)|Deszaras]]'s wife) and [[Lyzack (Victory)|Lyzack]] ([[Leozack]]'s [[Relatives|sister]]). Both show up to show the Autobots just what it is Deszaras and his crew have been fighting for all this time: their poor families back home. This spares the Decepticons' lives in the final battle between the two forces. This certainly casts an odd light on the matter of Transformer [[reproduction]] (and on [[Masumi Kaneda|the manga author]]).

Meanwhile, in the animated series, the [[Micromaster]] [[Holi]] is shown to have a girlfriend on the planet [[Micro]], [[Clipper (Victory)|Clipper]].

====''Operation Combination''====
''[[Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers: Operation Combination (franchise)|Operation Combination]]'' introduced a total of 24 Micromasters, none of which got a [[bio]]. Ten years later, ''[[The Transformers: Micromaster|Micromaster]]'' did provide them, and the Micromasters [[Windy (OC)|Windy]] and [[Discharge]] were established as females.

====Marvel Comics continuity====
[[File:Nomates.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|And what will happen is like this.]]
No female ''Transformers'' are ever seen or referred to in the US stories. In "[[Recipe for Disaster!]]", [[Cloudburst]] is pressured into a relationship with the beautiful [[First One]] of [[Femax]], but he explains that Transformers, as a species, have no gender. The UK stories corroborate this and [[Simon Furman]], who wrote the bulk of Marvel's comics, had made it clear he didn't see why robots would have a gender. [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] was an exception after [[The Transformers: The Movie|the film]] has put in the UK strip's future and eventually "[[Prime's Rib!]]" would explain where she cam from: she was intentionally created by the Autobots to be the sole female Transformer in an attempt to placate [[human]] [[feminist mob|feminists]]. (See her picture above for a hint of how well that went over.)

[[File:Arceeprimesrib.jpg|right|upright=1.3|thumb|You can't shoot Squeezeplay just because he's a bloke.]]

In "[[Ladies' Night (issue)|Ladies' Night]]" and "Prime's Rib", the Autobots don't 'get' gender or humanity's gender relations and sterotypes. This lasted two minutes once Arcee was created: Optimus asked Arcee to hang back, she grumped about men, and Hot Rod went "phwoar!". In "Prime's Rib" this is played for laughs but in "[[Space Pirates!]]", Rodimus Prime can be ambushed by wanting to help Arcee first.

Despite the Transformers having 'no gender', the Marvel continuity was actually the first in introducing a female ''Cybertronian'': [[Aunty]], the onboard computer of the ''[[Ark (G1)|Ark]]'', who was introduced in [[The Transformers (issue)|the very first issue]]. [[CatSCAN|Theoretically, she is not that different from other Cybertronians]] and one can only guess how to combine her existence and the "no <s>girls</s> gender"-statements.

The [[Letters page (Marvel UK)|letter pages]] mentioned another two females: Decepticon [[Clio]] and presumed Autobot [[Karmen]]. Provided they are real and [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] didn't just make them up, they might have been built after Arcee's example.

Two continuations of Marvel would introduce female Trasformers. [[BotCon]]'s ''[[Transformers: Classics|Classics]]'' fiction, while not including the UK material, introduced [[Elita One]] in "[[Games of Deception]]", in a manner similar to UK Arcee; and in Furman's ''[[The Transformers: Regeneration One|Regeneration One]]'', [[Botanica (BM)|Botanica]] is the first of the second generation of Transformers.

{{-}}

====Dreamwave ''Generation One'' continuity====
According to DK's ''[[Transformers: The Ultimate Guide]]'' (written by Simon Furman), "Transformers are inherently non-gender specific, and only some quirk of their timelost origins can account for [female Transformers'] difference in appearance and attitude." [[Dreamwave Productions|Dreamwave]] was [[Unreleased Dreamwave issues|in the process]] of introducing more female Transformers and explicating their links to the Quintessons in this continuity when it went out of business.

====IDW Generation 1 continuity====
[[File:Spotlight Arcee b.jpg|left|upright=0.85|thumb|Information: you are ALL going to DIE.]]

{{quote|what do 'he' and 'she' pronouns connote in a TF context? Do they connote *exactly* the same things as they do in a human context? I don't know. It hasn't been properly explored yet. All that said, let's assume that a Transformer who adopts a particular personal pronoun is doing so for the same reasons that a human would.|James Roberts [http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1sj9u8i on TwitLonger]}}

IDW comics are aimed at older readers, so this is where it gets complicated.

Originally [[Simon Furman]] stated that he would not use female Transformers in IDW continuity until he came up with a reason for them to exist that made logical sense to him. He did not rule out doing so, as he said he had found a similar justification for the [[Pretender]]s, which led to the ''[[The Transformers: Stormbringer|Stormbringer]]'' miniseries.

Despite this, in ''[[The Transformers: Megatron Origin|Megatron Origin]]'', [[Alex Milne]] drew what are clearly intended to be female Transformers in a good number of "easter egg" cameo appearances. (Cameos included female ''[[GoBots (franchise)|GoBots]]'' character [[Crasher (G1)|Crasher]], [[Elita One]], [[Chromia (G1)|Chromia]], and a number of generic background femmes.)

This was finally "resolved" in "[[Spotlight: Arcee]]", where it was revealed that the malevolent Golden Age Cybertronian scientist [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]] introduced gender to the Cybertronian genome just to see what would happen. Tampering with the [[CNA]] of the titular character at her creation to make her Female, he discarded his experiment once he was finished, only to find she had an inherent homing instinct for his creations. Arcee's systems were severely messed up by this experiment, causing her to become tremendously unstable to the point of psychosis and fixated on getting revenge on Jhiaxus.

This... did not sit well with quite a few people, wondering just what this was saying about women, transgender or otherwise.

While the story implies that she is something very rare and unique it does not say that she was the ''only'' female Transformer Jhiaxus created, merely the first, leaving it open for the cameos in ''Megatron Origin'' to remain in continuity.

Jhiaxus specifically alters Arcee's CNA to make her female and introduce gender to the species. Exactly how deep these alterations went, how closely her form was designed to match the females of organic species on which she was based (particularly in relation to reproduction) is unknown and will likely remain so.

Another female Transformer appears in a flashback to Sunstreaker's glory days in "[[All Hail Megatron issue 14|Replay]]", staring up at him in doe-eyed adoration. She is presumably less killy than Arcee.

[[File:Windblade2coverplain.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|[[:File:MarvelUS-19.jpg|You Asked For Her - You GOT Her]]!]]

By Hasbro edict, IDW introduced a new <s>toy</s> female Transformer called [[Windblade (G1)|Windblade]] in 2014. Writer [[Mairghread Scott]] made it clear that Windblade wouldn't have gender by accident or sinister design, and that female Transformers would have a new type of origin.<ref>[http://mscottwrites.tumblr.com/post/71211861958/hey-congrats-on-the-new-comic-i-voted-for-a-lady-robot Scott's tumblr: "That’s not how it works for biological women on Earth and that’s not how it’s gonna work on Cybertron. Anybody has a problem with that, you know where I am."]</ref> (This led to [[Spotlight: Arcee#Trivia|a brief conflict]] as Furman initially read this as a personal attack on his work) Windblade's arrival was used as an excuse to double the number of girls to a shocking ''four'' as her friends Chromia and new Autobot [[Nautica]] showed up with her in [[Burning Bright: Dark Cybertron Chapter 8|Chapter 8]] of the ''[[Dark Cybertron (IDW)|Dark Cybertron]]'' crossover.

Originally as presented in [[A 'Bot and Her City|the first issue]] of ''[[The Transformers: Windblade]]'', the existence of both male and female Transformers on the planet/[[Metrotitan (body-type)|Metrotitan]] [[Caminus]] was treated as a form of allopatric evolution, with females developing in isolation from Cybertron. Other generic female Transformers besides the three that first showed up in ''Dark Cybertron'' are shown or implied. (A running gag showed up where people like [[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]] would ask about their gender and be ignored.) [[Nautica]] was also given a "estriol-positive" spark-type, implying that Transformer gender went spark-deep—but James Roberts asked this to be edited to ferrum-positive in the trade paperback, after deciding it was "potentially (if unintentionally) offensive" to imply gender was biological.<ref>[http://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/12/18/no-little-bots-james-roberts-retcons-estriol-female-transformers/ Bleeding Cool: "No Little ‘Bots? James Roberts Retcons ‘Estriol’ In Female Transformers"]</ref>

The various IDW series then together revealed that gender was present on ancient Cybertron, explaining its continued presence in the colonies and strongly implying that modern Cybertron is the exception rather than the standard. [[The Crucible|Issue #34]] of ''[[The Transformers: Robots in Disguise]]'' made the first mention of a G1 version of [[Thirteen]] member [[Solus Prime]], the first female Cybertronian in the Aligned continuity family. In [[Onyx Interface Part Three: ONoffON|issue #37]] while speaking with Arcee, the ancient Cybertronian and recent Decepticon convert [[Galvatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Galvatron]] stated, "we lost much from the ancient days", implying that Jhiaxus's experiments were meant to ''restore'' a lost element of Cybertronian society, rather than to ''create'' a new element. The [[The Sum and Its Parts|first issue]] of ''Windblade'' Volume 2, part of the ''[[Combiner Wars]]'' crossover, then revealed that IDW [[Solus Prime]] departed Cybertron with Caminus to his namesake colony. Meanwhile, [[The Permanent Revolution|issue #39]] of ''[[The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye]]'' introduced [[Nickel]], the first female Decepticon in the IDW G1 continuity and the sole survivor of a colony world founded by the Metrotitan [[Prion]]. The [[All That Remains|finale]] of the ''[[Combiner Wars]]'' event showed that female Transformers were indeed alive and well on the rest of the colonies. Cameos include [[Moonracer (G1)|Moonracer]] and [[Override (BW)|Override]] on the planet [[Velocitron]], [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]], Blackarachnia, [[Sonar (BW)|Sonar]], and [[Manta Ray (BW)|Manta Ray]] on [[Eukaris]] and [[Greenlight]], [[Lancer]], Elita One and Strika on [[Carcer]].

''Combiner Wars'' also introduced a slew of fan-created female Transformers. Fans voted for the female [[combiner]] [[Victorion]] and her six components: [[Pyra Magna]], [[Stormclash]], [[Skyburst (G1)|Skyburst]], [[Dustup]], [[Jumpstream]], and [[Rust Dust]]. Victorion brings the number of female combiners up to a grand total of [[ Heavy Metal (Energon)|two]].<ref>Some female characters such as [[Sureshock (Armada)|Sureshock]] serve as combiner components, although the resulting personality identifies itself as a male. </ref>

Several "male" Transformers who make use of [[holomatter|holomatter avatars]] to blend into human(oid) societies do so via female forms: we've seen this done by [[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]], [[Sunstreaker (G1)#IDW Generation 1 continuity|Sunstreaker]], [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]], and [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]], the latter replicating his one-time [[human]] traveling partner [[Verity Carlo]]. (The only time anyone treats this as unusual is when Magnus's companions wonder aloud why the legendarily-uptight cop specifically chose free-wheeling, lawbreaking, rules-ignoring ''Verity'' as a template.) This was mostly glossed over, but then fan speculation about [[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]]'s gender—always presented as male—broke out across Tumblr when a ''[[The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More than Meets the Eye]]'' promo called him [[:File:MTMTEpromo tailgate.jpg|"The Ingénue"]], a term for a ''female'' stock character.<ref>As debated [http://konora.tumblr.com/post/84182229574 here], [http://konora.tumblr.com/post/84182229574 here], [http://raelling.tumblr.com/post/84200154095 here]...</ref> (The male version is spelt "ingénu".) This was completely unintentional on [[James Roberts|James Roberts']] part but he was happy to learn what he'd done.<ref>[http://womenwriteaboutcomics.com/2015/02/26/james-roberts-on-idws-transformers-more-that-meets-the-eye/ Women Write About Comics: "James Roberts on IDW’s Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye" 18:00 - 18:08]</ref> He's since run with the idea of playing with the gender of male characters. He first said that [[Cyclonus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Cyclonus]] would have had a female avatar,<ref>[https://twitter.com/jroberts332/status/390899735919611904 "Not in the comic, so maybe inadmissible as evidence, but I've said that Cyclonus' avatar is female"]</ref>(and a "stern Victorian schoolmarm" <ref>[http://womenwriteaboutcomics.com/2015/02/26/james-roberts-on-idws-transformers-more-that-meets-the-eye/ Women Write About Comics: "James Roberts on IDW’s Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye" 19:12 - 19:24]</ref>), then that Tailgate's baby avatar could have been female as well<ref>https://twitter.com/jobot935/status/391053739487805441</ref> , and then that it ''was'' a baby girl at Autoassembly, before finally stating: "I absolutely think it's the case that there are male-coded TFs who self-identify as female and preferred to be called 'she', and female-coded TFs who self-identify as male and prefer to be called 'he'. I also think there's scope for a TF to adopt a different pronoun if they so choose." (We eventually got to see both of these holomatter avatars in action during [[The One Where They Go to Earth|issue #43]] of ''More Than Meets the Eye'', along with several other female holomatter avatars created by "male" characters). Roberts also said that the specifics of Transformer gender (and what terms meant) had not been explored yet.<ref>[http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1sj9u8i James Roberts on TwitLonger: "TFs and gender. A clarification."</ref>

[[File:MTMTE35 Female Protester.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|left|''Do you hear the people sing? Singing the songs of angry men...'']]

(To sum up, Tumblr loves IDW.)

In an [[Functionist Universe|alternate timeline]] created by [[Brainstorm (G1)|Brainstorm]]'s [[time travel]], at least one [[Female protester|female-identifying Transformer]] exists. It may be that in this timeline, female Transformers never disappeared from Cybertron as they did in the "main" timeline, or that she may have changed her appearance and/or gender expression; James Roberts has not discounted the possibility of transgender Transformers<ref>[http://positronicwoman.tumblr.com/post/87833950888/you-guysssssssss Roberts on the possibility of transgender Transformers on Twitter]</ref>. A third possibility is that she was born on one of the colonies, which were connected to Cybertron in universe (supported by the presence of the Camien city-speaker [[Hot Shot (Henkei!)|Hot Shot]] on Cybertron).

{{-}}

===Beast Wars===
====''Beast Wars'' cartoon====
[[File:CrossingtheRubicron-newbody.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|She was extremely popular with fans, I wonder why...]]

Female Transformers seem to be common here, with no one showing any surprise over their presence. [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] and [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] both engage in romances with male [[Maximal]]s, the former blatantly and the latter far more subtly. [[Transmutate (character)|Transmutate]] is genderless but [[Transmutate (episode)#Notes|deliberately given "a face that vaguely indicates it is female" in script]]. (Airazor was made female by the writer's insistence)

[[File:BA Silverbolt Agenda3.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|"I tried to commit genocide four episodes ago."]]

[[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] has an old-school human-style view of women as a fairer and more vulnerable gender, as he refuses to fight Blackarachnia out of <s>lust</s> chivalry.{{storylink|Tangled Web}} {{storylink|Bad Spark}} Most of the other Transformers seem unconcerned about this but [[Optimus Primal]] sees it as part of his nobility. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part 2)}} Blackarachnia herself used to find it ''bloody annoying'', beating up Silverbolt to try and get him to fight back already. {{storylink|Bad Spark}} She is eventually won over when he keeps following her and telling her what she's really like when she yells at him to go away. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part 2)}} {{storylink|The Agenda (Part III)}} Some Transformers have another old-school human view, considered those strange fillies to be quite inscrutable: [[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]] and [[Tarantulas (BW)|Tarantulas]] being two. {{storylink|Tangled Web}}

For the purposes of humour, over the course of the show characters will make innuendos that suggest that, at least by that era, there may have been something sex-like between Transformers. [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] dismays Blackarachnia with teenage slobbering {{storylink|Crossing the Rubicon}}, she flirts with him regarding his body for info {{storylink|Feral Scream Part 2}}, [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] is blunt that he knows Tarantulas had "ulterior motives" for making her a spider {{storylink|Double Jeopardy}}, Blackarachnia is involved in a castration joke... {{storylink|Nemesis Part 2}}

Boy, they sure like doing this with Blackarachnia. Odd that.

Throughout the show [[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]] makes ''numerous'' innuendos, especially involving Silverbolt and Blackarachnia's relationship, including the rather seedy "find any new ''positions''?" after Silverbolt's been scouting the enemy (cough). {{storylink|The Agenda (Part 2)}} He also makes references to a bar on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] where the wait-staff go "without their torso-plates on"... which frankly sounds like it'd be really messy. He didn't want young Cheetor to overhear this. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part 1)}}

====''Beast Wars II'' cartoon====
[[Scylla]] is the impetus for a big ridiculous love triangle of hilarity and embarrassment in both the animated and manga continuities. She is in love with the squid-bot [[Scuba]], who wants nothing to do with her. Meanwhile, the Maximal [[Bighorn]] is in love with Scylla, who wants nothing to do with him.

The non-Transformer female robot [[Artemis]] harbors a crush on both Scuba (poor guy) and [[Starscream (BWII)|Starscream]].

====''Beast Wars Neo'' manga continuity====
The young Maximal [[Stampy (BWN)|Stampy]] has a [[Kitte Shūshū|mother]]. The actual genetics of this was not explained, but we also see a picture of a rabbit with a mustache on the wall behind her, implying a father and sexual reproduction. Just how in the hell an entire planet-wide race of breeding rabbit-robots arose from [[Tasmania Kid]], who was a Tasmanian devil, is ''also'' never explained.

Later, it was explained and it very much was sexual reproduction. {{storylink|Andromeda - Axiom Nexus News Reporter}}

====IDW ''Beast Wars'' comics====
In the spin-off comics, [[Manta Ray (BW)|Manta Ray]] and [[Sonar (BW)|Sonar]] are female Transformers, though the latter was previously established in the [[3H Productions]] [[Transformers: Universe (comic)|''The Wreckers'' comic]]. Neither character was specifically given a gender in their toy bios and this was seized upon as a way to get extra women in.

====''Beast Machines'' cartoon====
''[[Beast Machines: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Machines]]''' [[technorganic]] reformatting raises even further questions about what it means to be a "female transformer". It is possible that the technorganic female Transformers, being merged organic and technological life to a cellular level, might actually be ''physically'' female (or their "physical" properties bear no effects to gender, like before, as Rattrap's alt mode is still a female rat and he's as male as always).

[[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]] and [[Botanica (BM)|Botanica]] end up in a romantic relationship towards the end of ''Beast Machines'' ("So, I'm a tree-hugger!" Rattrap remarks). What this means for his bar-hopping days is never explored. Innuendo makes a big return when [[Botanica (BM)|Botanica]] and Rattrap argue about whether he'd rather insert his tail into a computer or be "plowing your little field of dreams". {{storylink|Spark of Darkness}} Yeah.

[[File:Sparkofdarkness-strikacloseup.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.4|"You gonna make body jokes to my face? No? Didn't ''think'' so."]]

The [[Vehicon general]] [[Strika (BM)|Strika]] is referred to as the "consort" of [[Obsidian (BM)|Obsidian]], and has been serving by his side, seemingly as an equal, for centuries. Some have taken this to mean the two have a romantic interest in each other, but the show itself does not offer any hints to this. This is the first time in Transformers fanfiction where a female robot has a high rank; where Elita One got to run a small rebel group, we're told Strika is a famous officer who has overseen and won numerous wars. {{storylink|Sparkwar Pt. I: The Strike}}

Story editor [[Bob Skir]] also wanted main character [[Nightscream (BM)|Nightscream]] to be a young female Transformer, patterned after the girl "Newt" from the movie ''[[wikipedia:Aliens (film)|Aliens]]''. (When the Powers That Be nixed that, Nightscream ended up becoming [[wikipedia:John Connor|John Connor]] in ''[[wikipedia:Terminator 2: Judgment Day|Terminator 2: Judgment Day]]'' instead.)<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20071202095033/http://bigbot.com/beast-machines-transformers-bob-skir/Beast-Machines-FAQ/Fri_03_Dec_1999.html Bob Skir Q&A 3 December 1999] (archive copy)</ref> This would've given us a Transformers cartoon with a shocking ''four'' female main characters out of sixteen speaking bots!

===''Robots in Disguise'' (2001)===
Females are seemingly rare in the [[Viron]] [[Universal stream|universal cluster]] as none appear on-screen, if one doesn't count the female Cybertronian intelligence computer, [[T-AI (RID)|T-AI]]. We know they have gender and gender relations due to both the aforementioned T-AI and [[Side Burn (RID)|Side Burn's]] obsessive lust for red sports cars. He was even able to plausibly pretend he had old girlfriend cars in "[[Sideburn's Obsession]]", only getting tripped up by lying it was on Earth.

In 2015, [[Ask Vector Prime]] said that the [[Spy Changer|Spychanger]] [[Optimus Prime (RID)#Spy Changer continuity|Optimus Prime]] from [[Viron 1103.12 Gamma]], and thus [[Scourge (RID)|Scourge]], as well as the [[Nightcruz (RID)|Nightcruz]] from [[Viron 102.0 Beta]], were female. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime}}

===Unicron Trilogy===
[[File:Linkage7 Twirl-Baby.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|But she's got your altmode!]]
The existence of female Transformers throughout the [[Unicron Trilogy]] is portrayed as slightly uncommon (it is a fiction aimed at young boys, after all), but hardly remarkable. They just exist, as do "males", and no special attention is called to them. Quite a few appear in various places in "[[Joyride (Cybertron)|civilian]]" roles, as [[Autobot nurse|nurses]], and even on [[Velocitron band|colony worlds]].

There are examples and hints of romantic interest between males and females in both ''[[Transformers: Armada (franchise)|Armada]]'' ([[Redline]] and [[Falcia]] in the [[Linkage (comic)|''Linkage'' comics]], plus [[Nightscream (Armada)|Nightscream]]'s eagerness to appease and defend his [[bulk]] partner [[Airazor (Armada)|Airazor]]), and ''[[Transformers: Cybertron (franchise)|Cybertron]]'' stories (most obviously [[Thunderblast (Decepticon)|Thunderblast]]'s intense infatuation with [[Megatron (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Megatron]], [[Ransack (Cybertron)|Ransack's]] secret crush on [[Override (Cybertron)|Override]], plus [[Downshift (Energon)|Downshift]] reportedly has an unnamed "fembot life partner" lost somewhere on [[Earth]]). This too is treated as a fairly common event.

[[File:Cyb ep6 overrides challenge.jpg|left|thumb|225px|''Why do robots have to have gender?'' thought Override. ''Bloody masculinists.'']]

There are female Transformers in positions of very high power as well: in the [[Transformers: Energon (cartoon)|''Energon'' cartoon]], [[Arcee (Energon)|Arcee]] is the leader of the entire [[Omnicon]] race, while in ''Cybertron'', Override is the leader of the planet [[Velocitron]]. The Unicron Trilogy is the first ''Transformers'' continuity to explicitly ''give'' female Transformers that level of responsibility... but the only other one (so far) does so via a ''direct'' analogue of ''Cybertron'' (see [[#Aligned|the "Aligned" continuity]] below for more on that).

However, in the original Japanese, Override (called Nitro Convoy) is a male Transformer. [[Cartoon Network]], the channel with the airing rights to the dub, felt it needed more female presence in the main cast and Override was chosen to change genders.<ref>[http://www.camphortree.net/tf/tidbits/botcon2005.txt Steve-o Stonebraker's BotCon 2005 Notes, Version 2 at his Transformers site]</ref>

In the French version of the ''Energon'' cartoon, Arcee is dubbed by a man. ''Why'' she was is currently unknown.
{{-}}

===Live-action film series===
====2007 ''Transformers'' film====
[[File:Arceemovie.jpg|thumb|Comic artists ''cry'' when they see this model sheet.]]

[[Arcee (Movie)|Arcee]] was originally going to be featured as part of the cast of the [[Transformers (film)|''Transformers'' film]], but was cut early on in the movie's development. The script writers felt they would need to explain the presence of a female in an entirely robotic race, and there was not enough time in the film to do so. Arcee was replaced in the movie by [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]]. Even so, Arcee was featured in IDW's [[Transformers: Movie Prequel|''Movie Prequel'' comics]] and remains in the movie toyline as both Deluxe and Scout-class toys.

One other female Autobot is featured in the movie continuity family, another Scout-class toy, [[Elita-One (Movie)|Elita-One]]. Both Elita and Arcee, however, are featured in [[Transformers (Titan Magazine)|Titan Magazine's]] alternate reality stories as regular characters, with Arcee getting more prominence. Both also appear in IDW's Movie Sequel comic series ''[[Transformers: The Reign of Starscream|The Reign of Starscream]]'', with Arcee playing quite a prominent leadership role. Surprisingly, Elita-One does not fare as well as her sister-in-arms, dying at the claws of [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] himself. Although it is unusual for a female Transformer to die in fiction ([[To sell toys|compared to how often Transformer death happens in general]]), it has [[Manta Ray (BW)|happened]] [[Sonar (BW)|before]].

As for Decepticons, [[Fracture (Movie)|Fracture]], based off of the aforementioned Crasher, was recently added to the end of the movie toyline as a Wal-mart exclusive. She has been featured in Titan Magazine's comics, as of issue 18, and in IDW's ''[[Transformers: Alliance|Alliance]]'' series as of issue 3.

In all the comics where female Transformers do appear in the Movie continuity, their gender is never considered an issue. This raises questions about just how necessary "explaining" them would be in [[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|future]] [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)|movies]].

====''Revenge of the Fallen'' film====
And apparently, two years later gender was no longer an issue at all, as ''Revenge of the Fallen'' featured [[Arcee (Movie)|Arcee]], who now inexplicably existed in three separate bodies, as well as [[Alice]], a Decepticon [[Pretender]]. No comment was given on the subject of the characters' femininity. Frankly, not explaining Pretenders is a bigger oversight than not explaining robot gender.

{{-}}

===''Animated''===
[[File:Animated females.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.1|Did you ever feel like the only original designs in a sea full of homages?]]
Female Transformers were present in ''[[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Transformers Animated]]'' from the very beginning of the cartoon, starting with [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]]. What this meant for the state of females in the continuity at large was not immediately apparent; in "[[Along Came a Spider]]", both [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] and [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] expressed confusion as to ''what'' Blackarachnia was. Though they were referring to her [[Technorganic|partially organic]] nature, [[Sari Sumdac (Animated)|Sari]] jokes "Duh, she's a girl" as a nod to the rarity of female Transformers.

As the series proceeded, multiple lady-bots were progressively introduced, among which were a [[Slipstream (Animated)|female clone]] of [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]], the obligatory [[Arcee (Animated)|Arcee]] and many more. Although they remain distinctly outnumbered by the male Transformers, this makes it clear that while female Transformers may be relatively uncommon, they aren't considered very remarkable or noteworthy—unless you're a young, male Autobot who's spent ''waaaaayy'' too much time fixing space bridges.

[[Image:Blackarachnia Venus Mag by BillForster.jpg|200px|thumb|right]]

Despite Optimus's confusion over where organic babies come from in "[[Transform and Roll Out]]", implying that there is no Cybertronian equivalent to [[Reproduction|sexual reproduction]] in ''Animated'', Transformer ''relationships'' are implied to be a possibility, as in "[[Along Came a Spider]]" and "[[Black Friday (episode)|Black Friday]]", respectively, Blackarachnia takes advantage of [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]]'s and the [[Dinobot (Animated)|Dinobots]]' obvious interest in her, especially [[Grimlock (Animated)|Grimlock]]'s. There's also the fact that [[Strika (Animated)|Strika]] is said to be the "consort" of [[Lugnut (Animated)|Lugnut]].

[[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]]'s role as the Autobot medical officer was originally supposed to be assigned to a character named [[Red Alert (Animated)|Red Alert]], who was originally designed as a female, but then turned male. When brought in at the start of Season 3, Red Alert was female once again as an homage to the original design.

Because Sari was originally a Cybertronian protoform, she could be considered a female technorganic Transformer, although her origins were not revealed until Season 3.

{{-}}

===''Shattered Glass''===
While in most universes the number of females on the side of good is significantly larger than the number on the side of evil, this universe has more evil ladies as a result of its status as a mirror universe. The first two introduced were [[Arcee (SG)|Arcee]] and [[Crasher (SG)|Crasher]]—an (evil) Autobot and a (good) Decepticon respectively—but since then the balance has tilted.

It would seem that female Transformers in this universe are as they are in most: few in numbers, but nothing remarkable. Crasher appeared bewildered when [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] (who hails from a [[#Generation 1 Marvel Comics continuity|Marvel Comics universe]]) tried to tell her that he thought her feminine shape was unusual, and no one else seems to regard the females as something noteworthy.

===Aligned continuity family===
[[File:Arcee Prime stockimage.jpg|thumb|right|170px|But ignore all the names we're listing, cos 50% of all female appearances are Arcee.]]

One-thirteenth of Cybertron's population identify as female, and are descended from [[Solus Prime]].<ref>According to [https://twitter.com/DiscFamilyDay/status/87976495074639872 @HubTVNetwork] and comments made at [[BotCon 2011]].</ref>

In ''[[Transformers: The Covenant of Primus|The Covenant of Primus]]'', [[Alpha Trion (WFC)|Alpha Trion]] expounds on the nature of gender among Cybertronians. He mentions that Transformers are technically asexual, but divide themselves into two distinct categories based on how they process information. He speculated that Solus Prime required this unique cognitive structure in order to properly utilize her [[Creation Lathe]]. Before making contact with gendered aliens, Cybertronians used a single pronoun to refer to all individuals. After taking a greater role in the galactic community, they began incorporating gendered pronouns into their culture, to demonstrate that they recognized and celebrated differences among themselves while maintaining their equality (here, Alpha Trion breaks the [[Wikipedia:fourth wall|fourth wall]] to apologize to any readers who might feel insulted by Cybertron's 1:12 gender ratio).

Before the war, [[Ratchet (WFC)|Ratchet]] worked with a female [[Arachnicon]] doctor named [[Cogwheel]]. The female Transformers [[Azimuth]] founded the [[Patterner]] movement. The leader of the [[Mutacon]]s is the female Transformer [[Mercury (COP)|Mercury]]. The ruler of [[Velocitron]], [[Override (Prime)|Override]], and the Decepticon soldier [[Slipstream (WFC)|Slipstream]] are also female. Additionally, [[Chromia (Prime)|Chromia]] and [[Firestar (Prime)|Firestar]] are leaders of underground cities which are destroyed when Cybertron is restored. [[Ser-Ket (Prime)|Ser-Ket]], a female member of the [[Forged]], was one of the main antagonists of the ''[[Transformers Prime: Rage of the Dinobots|Rage of the Dinobots]]'' miniseries. [[Ripclaw (Prime)|Ripclaw]] and [[Flamewar (Prime)|Flamewar]] were both toy-only female characters, their only fiction consisting of character bios or roles in prose stories packaged with toys. [[Elita One (COP)|Elita One]], [[Moonracer (COP)|Moonracer]], and [[Akiba Prime]] also exist in the Aligned continuity family as female Transformers.

====''Prime'' cartoon====
The only female Transformers portrayed as cast members are [[Arcee (WFC)|Arcee]] and [[Airachnid (Prime)|Airachnid]]. Solus Prime is also briefly mentioned when her [[Forge of Solus Prime|hammer]] is discovered by the Decepticons, and momentarily seen in a flashback.
Showing up in [[Arms Micron Theater]] segments are [[Arc]], [[Arcee Blade]], and [[Ida (Prime)|Ida]].

====''Transformers Online''====
''[[Transformers Online]]'' introduced numerous female Transformers for both factions. Yes, the Chinese MMO that lasted about a year, in the continuity family where female Transformers are canonically rare, introduced more female characters than any single other source in ''years''.

====''Transformers Universe''====
The Decepticons have the female warriors [[Astraea]], [[Diabla]], and [[Duststorm (Prime)|Duststorm]] on their side, while the Autobots have [[Cameo]] and [[Catapult]].

====2015 ''Robots in Disguise'' cartoon====
The Autobot cadet [[Strongarm (RID)|Strongarm]] is a member of Bumblebee's team, with [[Windblade (RID)|Windblade]] later assisting the team. Among the many rogue Decepticons are [[Filch]], [[Slink]], and [[Zizza]], who sports a notably un-stereotypical body shape.

==Toys==
[[File:Airazorbwtfmtoy1.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|Windblade stands on the extremely pointy shoulders of giants.]]

Though many female Transformers were featured in the fiction from the early days of ''Generation 1'', for many years they tended to either: a) not have toys made of them at all, or, b) for those very few that did get a release, end up as repaints of other molds clearly not designed with a female aesthetic in mind. Budiansky told you why that was up at the top there. There were [[Arcee_%28G1%29#Generation_1|three separate plans]] to have toys of Arcee during G1 and all three were scrapped.

''[[Transmetal]]'' [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] is the first Transformer toy designed to intentionally represent a female character that actually came out. Ironically, Airazor was written out of the show in the same year!

The big turning point for female characters came when Hasbro held a "Fan-Built Bot" programme in 2013. Gender was one of the things fans could choose and the fans voted "female", giving us [[Windblade (G1)|Windblade]]. This worked out well enough that Hasbro had another contest for [[Combiner Wars]] in 2015 and fans voted for female Tranformers again: this time ''six'' that made up the gestalt [[Victorion]].

Fans having chats with Hasbro people at conventions have mentioned one bar to more girl toys: they still don't sell as well. Large companies can also be skittish about changing the way they do things unless they're very sure the new way is more lucrative than the old way. Female Transformers selling more toys will beget new toys and, [[to sell toys|of course]], get more major characters in fiction. So go buy [[Strongarm (RID)|Strongarms]].

==Notes==
[[File:G1RatchetSexchange.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|On the other hand, maybe a medic who enjoyed getting skunked on tainted 40-weight [[oil]] wasn't the best example, either...]]
*It's worth comparing G1 to [[GoBots (franchise)|''GoBots'']], its big competitor. Our very own [[Chromedome (G1)|tumblr]] crunched the numbers and found ''GoBots'' turns out to have more prominent female robots, all with toys, and we had to include [[Nancy]] to have the same ''number'' of talking fembots. That's right: the GoBots were ''better'' than G1 at something.<ref>[http://tfwiki.tumblr.com/post/112170089613/if-someone-asks-why-we-need-more-diverse TF Wiki Tumblr: If Someone Asks Why We Need More Diversity]</ref> More recent franchises lagging behind ''GoBots'' is more depressing.
*In the [[Shout! Factory]] Matrix of Leadership Special Edition DVD set, an interview with [[Bob Budiansky]] features close-ups of his original handwritten notes for several characters. Intriguingly, these notes refer to [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] as "her" and the Autobots' "go-to gal" for repairs. While this obviously was not the final direction the character took, it does show that female characters were being considered for inclusion in the cast before someone at Hasbro told Budiansky otherwise.
* In 2013, Hasbro ran a "Fan Built Bot" poll as part of the "[[Thrilling 30]]" celebration, in which fans chose between numerous options to "build" a brand new character-toy for the 30th anniversary retail line, and "male / female" was one of the options. "Female" [[Windblade (G1)|won!]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Female Transformers| *]]
[[Category:Generation 1]]
[[Category:Transformer culture]]