MediaWiki - User contributions [en]

Trukk not munky

2013-05-17T10:17:49Z

Kilby:

:''Optimus prime has gone from a mack truck to a damn gorilla. Every transformer fan I know almost wants to cry when they go into a store and see what Transformers have become.''
:[http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/322e8b0f8a567b71?dmode=source — rob "the choda" smith, November 1996]

'''"Trukk not Munky"''' (or '''"Truk not Munky"''') is a phrase used by Transformers fans derisively towards those that complain about changes to the mythos.

How did this phrase come into use? The answer is surprisingly hard to find; history is quickly lost online. Some records do exist, however, such as the [[alt.toys.transformers]] archives.

During ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (franchise)|Beast Wars]]'', very serious posts bemoaning that "Optimus should be a [[Optimus Prime (G1)|truck]], not a stupid [[Optimus Primal|monkey]]" were not uncommon, as indicated by the Usenet quote above. They took various forms, and were quickly parodied. Rob Powers was particularly fond of these parodies, which he usually formed as variations on the phrase "Why is Optimus a stupid monkey instead of a cool truck", with assorted intentional misspellings and cacography for humorous effect. By June of 2000<ref>[http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/browse_thread/thread/b4fbda74bb0f9456 The original post]</ref>, his parody seems to have become fairly standardized in form, but it was not "TRUKK NOT MUNKY" yet.

This condensed form first appeared in early 2001 (the single-K form seems a few months older, but the doubled K soon eclipsed it). The new phrase was a further condensing of the earlier forms, apparently conceived by Recharge in an IRC-related search for a band name.<ref>[http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/browse_thread/thread/934abde071b00b3d The original post]</ref> Immediately thereafter a song titled "TRUKK NOT MUNKY" was recorded by Brian Kilby and appeared on [http://www.tfradio.net Radio Free Cybertron].<ref>[http://www.tfradio.net/storage/mp3/tnm2full.mp3 The song in mp3 format]</ref> Being brief, easily understood by most fans, and amusing, "TRUKK NOT MUNKY" quickly became the go-to sarcastic reply.

Since the Beast Era has ended, the term's usage has been generalized to indicate knee-jerk reactionary complaints of a "it's not what we had before (even if we did) so it's bad" nature.

Of course, the whole point is rendered moot when you realize that Optimus Primal's [[alternate mode]] is actually an ape, specifically a gorilla, not a monkey.<ref>Optimus Prime never turned into a ''Mack'' truck, either.</ref> (This has been understood by the humorous users of the term all along, and adds approximately 34.5% of the snide.)

==See also==
*[[GEEWUN]]
*[[Pokeformers]]

==Footnotes==
<references />

[[Category:Fan terminology]]
[[Category:Fandom]]

Trukk not munky

2010-01-27T14:39:58Z

Kilby:

:''Optimus prime has gone from a mack truck to a damn gorilla. Every transformer fan I know almost wants to cry when they go into a store and see what Transformers have become.''
:[http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/322e8b0f8a567b71?dmode=source — rob "the choda" smith, November 1996]

'''"Trukk not Munky"''' (or '''"Truk not Munky"''') is a phrase used by Transformers fans derisively towards those that complain about changes to the mythos.

How did this phrase come into use? The answer is surprisingly hard to find; history is quickly lost online. Some records do exist, however, such as the [[alt.toys.transformers]] archives.

During ''[[Beast Wars (franchise)|Beast Wars]]'', very serious posts bemoaning that "Optimus should be a [[Optimus Prime (G1)|truck]], not a stupid [[Optimus Primal|monkey]]" were not uncommon, as indicated by the Usenet quote above. They took various forms, and were quickly parodied. Rob Powers was particularly fond of these parodies, which he usually formed as variations on the phrase "Why is Optimus a stupid monkey instead of a cool truck", with assorted intentional misspellings and cacography for humorous effect. By June of 2000 [[http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/browse_thread/thread/b4fbda74bb0f9456 the original post]], his parody seems to have become fairly standardized in form, but it was not "TRUKK NOT MUNKY" yet.

This condensed form first appeared in early 2001 (the single-K form seems a few months older, but the doubled K soon eclipsed it). The new phrase was a further condensing of the earlier forms, apparently conceived by Recharge in an IRC-related search for a band name. [[http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/browse_thread/thread/934abde071b00b3d the original post]] Immediately thereafter a song titled "TRUKK NOT MUNKY" was recorded by Brian Kilby and appeared on [http://www.tfradio.net Radio Free Cybertron]. [[http://www.tfradio.org/mp3/tnm2full.mp3 The song in mp3 format]] Being brief, easily understood by most fans, and amusing, "TRUKK NOT MUNKY" quickly became the go-to sarcastic reply.

Since the Beast Era has ended, the term's usage has been generalized to indicate knee-jerk reactionary complaints of a "it's not what we had before (even if we did) so it's bad" nature.

Of course, the whole point is rendered moot when you realize that Optimus Primal's [[alternate mode]] is actually an ape, specifically a gorilla, not a monkey.<ref>Optimus Prime never turned into a ''Mack'' truck, either.</ref> (This has been understood by the humorous users of the term all along, and adds approximately 34.5% of the snide.)

==See also==
*[[Geewun]]
*[[Pokeformers]]

==Footnotes==
<references />

[[Category:Fandom]]

Universe War

2009-11-03T20:27:53Z

Kilby:

{{disambig2|the historical event within the fiction|the real-world franchise|Universe (2003 franchise)}}
:''The Universe war is a conflict spanning multiple continuities, but rooted in the [[Universe (2003 franchise)|Universe]] franchise.''

[[Image:UnicronDeathstarII.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Oh, I'm afraid the deflector shield will be quite operational when your friends arrive.]]

The '''Universe war''' began when a massively-damaged [[Unicron]], stranded in some realm between dimensions (said to be "in the distant future")<ref>Packaging blurb on many ''Universe'' toys</ref>, sought to revitalize himself by pitting [[Transformer]]s against each other within his own body and absorbing [[energon radiation]] from their battles, then eventually consuming their [[spark]]s.

He plucked his abductees from across the [[Continuity|multiverse]], which of course did not fail to catch [[Primus]]' attention. That rival god then assembled his ''own'' army on the [[technorganic]] [[Cybertron (planet)#Beast Machines cartoon|Cybertron]]. These "[[Child of Primus|Children of Primus]]" battled Unicron's loyal "[[Minion of Unicron|Minions]]" in a war that raged across the multiverse for months, perhaps longer. Then it all came to an abrupt end when the Chaos-Bringer vanished due somehow to the [[Unicron Singularity]].

{{note|The term "Universe war" is never used in the fiction. It's based on two statements in the packaging blurb ("a final war for ultimate control of the Universe" and "the biggest war the Universe has ever seen"). We use it here for lack of a [[canon]] alternative.}}

==Fiction==
===Pack-in CD-ROM comic===
[[Image:UnivCDROM_TractorBeam.jpg|thumb|left|200px|"DO YOU WANT SOME CANDY"]]

Once a year, Unicron sent a spaceship to a certain alternate Cybertron to abduct [[Decepticon]]s for his army. He always picked the day of most violent battle, which in one case saw that universe's [[Optimus Primal]] leading the [[Autobot]]s [[Snarl (BM)|Snarl]], [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]], and [[Striker]] against the Decepticons [[Reptilion]], [[Razorclaw (Universe)|Razorclaw]], [[Obsidian (BM)|Obsidian]], [[Tankor (BM)|Tankor]], and [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]]. The ship hovered over the battlefield, sucked the Decepticons up on beams of light, and left the Autobots dumbfounded as it sped away. Meanwhile, deep within Cybertron, Primus formulated plans to recruit his own army of Autobots. {{storylink|Universe CD-ROM}}

[[Image:Unicron_tfu_cdrom.jpg|thumb|rightt|125px|"WHAT, COUGH COUGH, I'M STILL SICK, HONEST"]]

{{note|This comic shows no signs of being intended to mesh with other ''Universe'' fiction. Unicron's kidnapping method and purpose have differences from their depictions in the main comic series, and his body appears much more intact. Also, all of the characters have continuity conflicts (though [[Obsidian (BM)|a few]] [[Tankor (BM)|of the]] [[Razorclaw (Universe)|abductees]] could be made to fit if you squint and tilt your head). Given that ''Universe'' is entirely ABOUT alternate dimensions, it's up to the reader to decide if this is a side note to the main storyline or a completely separate continuity from head to toe.}}

{{-}}

===3H ''Universe'' comic===
[[Image:Pit_universe1.jpg|thumb|left|200px|It's a ''good'' kind of hurt.]]

In the mainstream [[Beast Era]] timeline, the [[Beast Machines (franchise)|Vehicon era]] had just come to an end, and Transformers of all walks were adjusting to the peace of the newly-technorganic Cybertron. This tranquility was dealt a blow, however, when Silverbolt, Blackarachnia, [[Roulette]], [[Shadow Striker]], [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]], [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]], and [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] vanished in flashes of light, victims to Unicron's new wave of interdimensional kidnapping. The hapless victims found themselves physically and mentally altered within an area of Unicron called the "[[Pit]]". As their darkest emotions came to the fore, they were rounded up by the Chaos-Bringer's Minions and forced to pit their re-formed bodies against one another in an arena called the "[[Cauldron]]".

Meanwhile, within technorganic Cybertron, Primus (manifested as a holographic head) conversed with [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]], sharing his observations of Unicron. Primus could feel whenever a spark was consumed, since they were pieces of himself. In fact, he worried that this would eventually make him too weak to fight Unicron, so he made a move in the offensive against his rival by resurrecting Optimus Primal. {{storylink|Abduction}} Primal was sent into Unicron, where his body was discolored in a similar manner to the kidnappees'. His mission was to rescue as many captives as he could - which ended up being in the dozens. Blackarachnia, however, stayed behind, her mind most easily corrupted into thralldom. {{storylink|Escape (issue)|Escape}} [[Tarantulas]], having returned to Unicron after the [[Beast Wars (event)|Beast Wars]], recruited her to lead a mission to Cybertron to sabotage Primus' ability to communicate with his Children. Meanwhile, Primal found himself unable to convince the [[Maximal High Council]] that any of this was actually ''happening,'' and he ended up turning to the dead for new troops. Primus gave him a selection of fallen warriors to choose from, and he picked [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] and [[Depth Charge (BW)|Depth Charge]]. They were to launch more raids within Unicron while an orbital defense platform was being constructed above Cybertron. But Depth Charge refused to take part in more violence, so Alpha Trion took a cue from Unicron and transported [[Omega Prime]] into their dimension to fight in his place. {{storylink|Homecoming (issue)|Homecoming}}

[[Image:Otfcc2004scriptreading.jpg|thumb|right|125px|This one goes out to all you RID fans listening tonight.]]

Unlike his fellow resurrectee, Rhinox did take part in the anti-Unicron movement, turning his engineering talents to the construction of a device to deflect Unicron's attempted teleportations in different universes. The device succeeded at least twice, but only partially: The potential abductees were still transported, just to an icy, barren world instead of Unicron. A [[Rattrap|team]] [[Silverbolt (BW)|of]] [[Waspinator (BW)|Children]] and [[Reptilion|a]] [[Ruination (RID)|team]] [[Sunstorm (Universe)|of]] [[Perceptor (Universe)|Minions]] raced to that planet, while a side-effect of Rhinox's device caused an shuttle full of [[Bumblebee (G1)|Autobots]] [[Tracks (G1)|from]] [[Cosmos (G1)|the past]] to be warped into the mix as well. As the transported Transformers [[Landfill (RID)|were]] [[Side Burn (RID)|all]] [[Prowl (RID)|Autobots]] ([[Optimus Prime (Universe Spychanger)|albeit]] [[Ultra Magnus (Universe Spychanger)|from]] [[Prowl (Spychanger)|different]] [[Ironhide (Universe)|dimensions]]), the Minions found themselves outnumbered and quickly routed. The ancient Autobots returned to their own time, but it's unclear whether the dimensional travelers stayed or left. {{storylink|OTFCC 2004 Live-Action Script Reading}}

{{note|The tale of the Universe war was halted here for a time, as [[Hasbro]] had revoked [[3H Productions|3H]]'s license to the ''Transformers'' property. But the story would be continued in [[Fun Publications]]' [[Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club (magazine)|''Cybertron'' comic]].}}

{{-}}

===Fun Publications ''Cybertron'' comics===

[[Image:Optimusprimaluniverseend.jpg|thumb|left|200px|And so on and so forth.]]

Despite the Universe war being quite unlike his own dimension, Omega Prime could not refuse the call to fight against evil.<ref>[[Optimus Prime (RID)|Optimus Prime]]'s bio in the [[Revelations Part 2|Transformers Collectors' Club comic #8]]</ref> He accompanied Primal on raids within Unicron's internal "prison cities," freeing more captives. Primal then took an even more proactive step, leading teams to other dimensions in anticipation of Unicron's strikes and setting up defensive measures before the Chaos-Bringer could gather more victims. Despite gaining more followers in this process, Primal and other veterans were being worn down by Unicron's corruptive influence. Certainly those who had been abducted and reformatted by Unicron were affected, but some (such as Primal himself) had been exposed to a [[Unicron virus|nanotech virus]] with similar results. In order to avert madness and death, Primus [[reformat]]ted Primal and several of his comrades. Not only was his [[Optimus Primal#Beast Wars 10th Anniversary|new form]] immune to both the Unicron virus and the accompanying "Unicron radiation," but it possessed the [[Matrix of Purification]], which could heal others of Unicronian corruption.

Months passed as the competing armies grew, their battles raging on a level comparable to the [[Cybertronian Civil Wars|Great Wars]]. Cybertron itself remained stable, but only for a time. The planet fell victim to a massive invasion, later called "the Culling," in which Unicron's Minions swept across the globe in a killing frenzy, the sparks of their victims feeding the Chaos-Bringer. Primal's army fended the invaders off, but in the chaotic aftermath, [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] somehow returned to lead the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]]s back to glory. He initially fought Primal, then he eventually called a truce to better face their common foe.<ref>Optimus Primal's bio in the [[Revelations Part 3|Transformers Collectors' Club comic #9]]</ref>

Continued raids saved many more captives and brought the Minions to near-defeat. But as one raiding party including Primal and Omega Prime battled their way out, Unicron suddenly began to disappear. The raiders rapidly teleported away, but Omega Prime did not materialize with the rest. He was pulled in mid-teleport by [[Over-Run (Armada)|Over-Run]] into the Cybertron of the Unicron Singularity, which had been the cause of the Unicron-war Unicron's disappearance. {{storylink|Revelations Part 1}} {{storylink|Revelations Part 2}}

{{-}}

==Characters==
[[Image:Jhiaxustfu.jpg|thumb|left|150px|[http://www.tfradio.net/storage/Ravage_3_Bodies_Evolution.htm "JHIAXUS, how is it possible that you live, I thought you died in the TF Generation 2 comics #11.]]]

The ''Universe'' franchise cast a very wide net for [[:Category:Universe characters|its roster]]. Right off the bat, the comic utilized characters outside of the ''Universe'' toyline, filling Cybertron and Unicron with cameos from all generations. Some were even given bios dubbing them "Children of Primus" or "Minions of Unicron," effectively making them ''Universe'' characters instead of, for instance, ''[[Robots in Disguise (franchise)|Robots in Disguise]]'' (as many of their toys had been labeled).<ref>Various bios in 3H's ''Official Transformers Collectors' Club Magazine''</ref> The [[Universe (2003 toyline)|''Universe'' toyline]] itself would outlast the fiction, so there ended up being more toys released than had the opportunity to show up in the comics. Even the packaging blurbs vanished over time. For the purposes of this Wiki, though, we consider all toys released under the ''Universe'' banner to represent characters somehow involved in the Universe war, especially if they have no other defining fiction.

However, that statement does ''not'' apply to characters in the [[Universe (2008 franchise)|2008 Universe relaunch]]. The new ''Universe'' is an umbrella franchise that continues [[Robot Heroes|several]] [[Classics (2006)|other]] [[Armada (franchise)|series]] with no reference to the original ''Universe'' franchise, which we consider to be [[Furmanism#IT IS OVER -- FINISHED!|OVER -- FINISHED]].

{{-}}

==Notes==
* There is some evidence that Universe-warriors began to adopt "Autobot" and "Decepticon" labels regardless of their previous allegiances. For example, Optimus Primal's Fun Publications [[bio]] is headlined with "AUTOBOT" and a big Autobot symbol, though his function is "Maximal Military Operations Commander." Likewise, Obsidian's 3H bio describes its subject as once having been an Autobot, yet the word "DECEPTICON" and a Decepticon symbol also appear (and Tankor's bio in the same issue flat-out calles Obsidian a "fellow Decepticon"). This is not a universal Child/Minion pattern; according to his own bio, [[Sunstorm (G1)|Sunstorm]] is a Decepticon Child of Primus. Also, the new 'Bot and 'Con identifiers appear ''only'' in bios, never being acknowledged in comic dialogue or narration. The real-world explanation for this is that the ''Universe'' toys did not have Child/Minion labels; "good guys" were sold as Autobots, "bad guys" as Decepticons, and that was that. So this was halfheartedly incorporated into the fiction, but the details of how this ''worked'' were never addressed.

==References==
<references />

[[Category: Universe (2003)]]
[[Category: Unicron]]
[[Category: Primus]]
[[Category: History]]
[[Category: Planet Cybertron]]
[[Category: 3H]]

Fandom

2009-11-01T14:06:56Z

Kilby: /* Before the internet */

[[Image:Transformers-cosplayers.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Typical fans. A Sunday.]]
{{bigquote|These fools worship Transformers!|[[Astrotrain]], "[[The God Gambit]]"}}

The community of Transformers fans is referred to as a '''fandom'''. While the term technically encompasses any group of kids coming together to talk about Transformers in a sandbox, it is commonly used to refer to the people from college-age and up who participate in the online fandom. The fandom has long played a role in the [[Transformers timeline|history of the franchise]]. Most notably, [[BotCon]] is their [[wikipedia:Mardi_Gras|Mardi Gras]], an official convention geared almost totally to adult fans.

Individually, or as a group, Transformers fans can be referred to as '''Transfans'''. This may [[wikipedia:Transexual|raise eyebrows]] among the uninitiated, but it sure beats "Trannies."

==History==
===Before the internet===
The earliest form of interaction between ''Transformers'' fans that went beyond the usual schoolyard talks was the [[Letters page|Letters Pages]] in the [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|''Generation 1'' comics]] by [[Marvel Comics|Marvel]]. In addition, the [[S.T.A.R.S.]] fan club can be viewed as the first form of an officially organized "fandom", although interaction between individual members was still limited at best.

Unofficial fanclubs were formed as early as 1986. One of them, the [http://www.transmasters.org/ Transmasters] club, even got a shoutout in the letters pages in [[The Last Autobot?|issue 79]] of the Marvel US G1 comic (published in 1991), leading to a huge influx of new members, soon growing to 300 members globally. The original organizers of the club soon began to crumble under the weight, leaving matters to new members who would take over responsibilities. A British branch of the club was also formed. The club was even officially recognized by [[Hasbro]] in 1991, legally giving them permission to use the ''Transformers'' likeness for non-profit purposes.

===The early days of online fandom===
As fans grew older, those few that did not outgrow their hobby (like most children do) eventually found a form of communicating with each other on the internet. Emerging from comic-centric bulletin boards such as the CCC (Comics Collectors' Club), a mailing list was created in April of 1993, coinciding with early rumors about the impending launch of the [[Generation 2 (toyline)|''Generation 2'' toyline]]. Later that year, still before the ''Generation 2'' toyline was launched, the mailing list was abandoned in favor of a text-only [[wikipedia:Usenet|Usenet]] newsgroup named [[alt.toys.transformers]] (a.t.t.), which was launched on September 11, 1993. Many of the members of the mailing list and a.t.t. had previously also been members of the Transmasters fanclub, which was now rendered somewhat anachronistic by the internet.

Because Usenet is one of the oldest parts of the internet (dating from 1979), a.t.t. functioned as a central hub where all members of the then-small fandom interacted together. Indeed, it would not be unfair to say that for most of the 1990s, a.t.t. ''was'' the online fandom. ''[[Beast Wars (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'' showrunners [[Bob Forward]] and [[Larry DiTillio]] later also used a.t.t. as a means of communicating with the fans, and even recruited one of them, [[Ben Yee]] (who had also started out with the Transmasters club), to work as a consultant for the show.

Another form of online fan interaction was the text-based [[MUSH]], a shared online role-playing environment. Many MUSHers were also ATTers.

===Rise of the World Wide Web===
During the late 1990s, the first individual fan sites were launched on the World Wide Web. Most of them started out as personal collector showcase/information sites, and while many of them have either disappeared from the web since then or not been updated in a decade, some still exist to this very day, such as [http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~sstoneb/tf/ Steve-o Stonebraker's site] (launched in 1995, currently semi-abandoned), [http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/BW/index.shtml Dave Van Domelen's site] (launched in 1996), Ben Yee's [http://www.bwtf.com/ BWTF.com] (originally launched as beastwars.net in 1997, recently reconstructed) and the Lukis Bros. [http://www.unicron.com/ Unicron.com] (launched in 1997, moved to its top level domain in 1998).

[http://www.tfarchive.com/ The Transformers Archive] was originally also launched as a private site in 1996 and eventually moved to its current domain in 1999. Its sister site, [http://www.transfans.net/ Transfans.net], was originally launched as Transfans.com in 1998. Both sites gained message boards in late 2000, but were mostly known for offering downloads of old cartoon episodes and scanned comic book pages for years, a practice Hasbro still silently tolerated at that time—until a cease and decist order in January of 2003. Since then, TFArchive has started to focus mostly on comic and toy reviews, while Transfans is mostly known for interviews these days. Both sites have comparably small, but stable communities.

Aside from the British fandom, Scandinavian fans were among the most active non-Americans in the online ''Transformers'' fandom during the late 1990s. In 1998, several Scandinavian ''Transformers'' fans decided to form their own fanclub, the Nordic Transfan Association, which eventually got its own website, [http://www.ntfa.net/ NTFA.net], in 2001. NTFA remains one of the largest European ''Transformers'' fan communities to this very day.

===Early message boards and tensions in the fandom===
Some of these early sites, particularly Ben Yee's, also featured message boards, which were used as an alternative to a.t.t. by some fans. While Ben Yee soon closed his board again due to frequent trolling and lack of moderation, another fan named Renaud Lefebvre launched his own site, [http://www.bigbot.com/ Bigbot.com], in 1998, which also featured downloads and a message board, Bottalk.

Even though Renaud was in contact with ''[[Beast Machines (cartoon)|Beast Machines]]'' showrunner [[Bob Skir]], thus briefly making Bottalk ''the'' primary Transformers discussion hub during that time, his tight-handed way of moderating his board eventually led to mass bannings, coupled with a mass exodus to a newly created board, named The Allspark, in November of 1999. Due to the backlash from his moderating style, Lefebvre has maintained an isolationist stance for Bottalk, ignoring the existence of other Transformers-related websites (with the occasional content copied and images hotlinked from the official Hasbro website). In return, Bottalk is ignored by the rest of the fandom, yet continues as a small but active board.

The Allspark eventually encountered internal friction itself—when the community, under a new owner, moved to the new domain [http://www.allspark.com/ Allspark.com] in 2001, several members stayed behind and turned the old board into a ''second'' Allspark community (now also available under [http://www.allspark.net/ Allspark.net]). The .com site remains the much larger of the two Allsparks to this very day, whereas the other board has faded into obscurity.

This era also saw the launch of the first ''Transformers'' podcast, [http://www.tfradio.net Radio Free Cybertron], in September 1999, which was also one of the first podcasts ''ever'', existing at a time before the term existed.

===The Big Bang===
In the early 2000s, the World Wide Web exploded with new ''Transformers'' fan sites. This coincided with the onset of the "nostalgia boom," when numerous properties from the 1980s were relaunched in various forms—in the case of ''Transformers'', these were the ''[[Robots in Disguise (franchise)|Robots in Disguise]]'' and ''[[Armada (franchise)|Armada]]'' lines and the [[Dreamwave Productions|Dreamwave]] comics. This caused a growth spurt for the fandom, with new arrivals eschewing the outdated Usenet and instead using web-based message boards.

[http://www.seibertron.com/ Seibertron.com] was launched in 2000, originally as an informational website, later expanded to include toy galleries and a message board. These days, the site views itself as one of the biggest ''Transformers'' fan communities.

Its biggest competitor is [http://www.tfw2005.com/ TFW2005.com], which was originally launched as a private fan site named [http://www.angelfire.com/bc2/transformers/ Transformer World 2005] in early 2000. It first moved to its current domain in May 2000, added a message board and soon started to offer downloads of Japanese ''[[Robots in Disguise (cartoon)|Car Robots]]'' episodes. In July of 2001, TFW2005 merged with two other sites, [http://transformers.pitas.com/ Transformers News] and the Matrix Magazine, to form a new super-site, Transfandom.com. The honeymoon didn't last long, as frictions among the merged site's staff caused TFW2005 (including its boards) to return to its old domain in January of 2003, while Transfandom (now with its own board) continued alternatively under the domains Transfandom.net and Transfandom.com again, ultimately fading into obscurity and eventually disappearing from the internet altogether in the fall of 2007. Meanwhile, TFW2005 is said to have close ties with Hasbro (albeit only unofficially), and is also often the go-to site for representatives of other official parties, such as screenwriter [[Roberto Orci]].

Another site that would eventually become large was originally launched in 2001 as [http://tfexchange.com/ TFExchange.com]. In May of 2002, a hostile takeover by a URL sniper caused the site to move to its current domain, [http://tformers.com/ TFormers.com]. These days, TFormers is part of the Entertainment News International network that includes [http://toynewsi.com/ Toy News International], [http://jediinsider.com/ Jedi Insider] and [http://enewsi.com/ Entertainment News International]. Similar to Bigbot, TFormers also prefers to pretend that other fan sites don't exist. The biggest rival for TFormers is TFW2005, which dates back to Hasbro employee [[Aaron Archer]] blaming TFormers for causing his superiors to order Aaron to cease posting at TFW2005's boards.

In addition to these considerably large sites, there are countless smaller sites, some of them being mostly collector showcase sites run by individuals, while others have their own message board communities. Fan communities not based in the United States have also emerged in considerable numbers, with sites often concentrating on a single country, or at least a clearly defined area (such as the aforementioned Scandinavian NTFA), many of them also operating in other languages than English.

The large boom of Transformers fan sites on the World Wide Web also had an effect on the established Usenet newsgroup alt.toys.transformers. Activity on the group dropped off, leading many of its members to venture beyond its confines and into the message board world. Given the large number of different boards, the preferences of the users, and the enmities that formed between sites, it was no longer really possible to "know everyone," as it was in a.t.t.'s heyday.

The situation remains the same today, only more so, as the [[Transformers (2007)|live-action movie]] has turned a perennially strong franchise into a runaway powerhouse, attracting countless fans young and old, new and nostalgic, across the globe.

{{-}}

==Mindset==
[[Image:Improsonedinferno.jpg|thumb|250px|right|There are very few things all Transformers fans can agree on. Not even the ''trolls'' have ever tried to defend ''this'' one.]]
Describing the general mindset of Transformers fandom is difficult, if not outright impossible, due to its extremely diverse nature. It's often claimed that the fandom hates everything and generally [[Ruined FOREVER|rejects any notion of "change"]]<ref name="change">Which is ironic, considering the entire ''premise of the [[Transformers brand|brand]]'' is "change".</ref>, but even that is not entirely true.

What ''is'' probably true, however, is that the fandom can't ''agree'' on anything...well, almost anything. Even [[Transformers (2007)|''Transformers'' movie]] producer [[Don Murphy]], who repeatedly postulated that the fandom can't agree on anything, admitted that the vast majority of the fandom was supportive of [[Peter Cullen]] and [[Frank Welker]] being the best, if not the only, reasonable choices for the voice actors of [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]] in the movie, respectively.<ref name="cullenwelker">Ultimately, only Cullen was actually signed on by director [[Michael Bay]], while [[Hugo Weaving]] was cast as Megatron, much to the dismay of many fans. Welker later got to voice [[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]] in the sequel, ''[[Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'', however.</ref> Other rare instances of the fandom largely agreeing on something were the overwhelmingly positive reaction to ''[[Shattered Expectations]]''<ref name="shattered">Much to the surprise of [[Trent Troop|its]] [[Greg Sepelak|creators]], who had penned the comic as an April Fools joke, not expecting anyone besides their closest friends actually to ''enjoy'' their wicked sense of humor.</ref> and the general rejection of the [[Energon (cartoon)|''Energon'' cartoon]], or at least its lackluster English dub by [[Voicebox Productions|Voicebox]].<ref name="kiss">And yes, there ''are'' quite a few people who defended ''[[Kiss Players (franchise)|Kiss Players]]''.</ref> Furthermore, following the demise of [[Dreamwave Productions|Dreamwave]], fans almost unanimously despise [[Pat Lee]] as a human being, with those who initially oppose this notion usually changing their opinion as soon as they learn about his business practices.<ref name="funana">Opinions about his [[dull surprise|art style]], however, are still mixed.</ref>

[[Image:SunstreakerComparison.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Bring out the pitchforks... and get me some popcorn. This is going to be an entertaining afternoon.]]Other than that, there have been numerous instances of fans preferring one of the myriad incarnations of the ''Transformers'' mythos over another one (or all other ones), even going so far as accusing fans who disagree with them of not being "[[true fan]]s". In the early days of the ''Transformers'' online fandom, disagreements centered around the question of whether the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|original cartoon]] or the [[Marvel Comics|Marvel]] [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|comic]] represented the "true" [[canon]], and whether the portrayal of characters in the cartoon (such as their [[FIRRIB|coloration]]) should be [[show-accuracy|given priority]] over their [[toy]]s. Then came the ''[[Beast Wars (franchise)|Beast Wars]]'', which split the fandom into those who [[Trukk not munky|rejected the new series]] (without even having seen it yet) and those who were at least willing to give it a chance.

Subsequent series such as ''[[Beast Machines (franchise)|Beast Machines]]'', ''[[Armada (franchise)|Armada]]'', the [[live-action film series]] and ''[[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Animated]]'' were met with equally mixed (and vocal, from both sides of the spectrum) reactions, [[Pokeformers|each for its own reasons]]. Furthermore, there are even fans of the newer series who [[GEEWUN|reject]] [[Generation 1 (franchise)|the original series]] (or, in some cases, at least its vocal fans). And lastly, the debate over whether [[Hasbro]] or [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] [[Misconceptions and urban legends about Transformers#Other|makes the better toys]] will probably rage on for the rest of eternity.

Aside from these radically polarized positions, however, there are also a large number of fans who have [[personal canon|personal preferences]] for one aspect of the ''Transformers'' brand over others—toys over cartoons, cartoons over comics, Japanese fiction over Western fiction, [[IDW Publishing|IDW]] over Dreamwave—while at least tolerating the rest (and its fans), if not actually enjoying it to some degree. Lastly, some fans who once belonged to a "hater" camp in a fandom debate have later become more tolerant towards the aspect of the brand against which they were once so outspoken, or have even entirely changed their opinion on the matter in retrospect.

==Quotes==

{{quote|The fan base is really vocal.|[[Andy Schmidt]]|[http://www.usatoday.com/life/comics/2009-09-14-transformers_N.htm 'Transformers' comic creator sees 'a richer, deeper portrait'] @ USAToday.com, September 15, 2009}}

{{quote|The fans are very vocal and we listened.|[[Michael Bay]]|[http://www.transformersclub.com/tfrof-intv09.cfm TFCC Toy Fair 2009 ''Revenge of the Fallen'' interview], February 17, 2009}}

{{quote|To their credit, [[Hasbro]] tried to warn us. They told us there was a huge and rabid fan base out there that cared ''deeply'' about all things TF.|[[Bob Forward]]|foreword to the ''[[Matrix Quest (Titan)|Matrix Quest]]'' trade paperback, 2002}}

{{quote|With ‘Transformers’ we had this really rabid following. To be frank, I wanted to have some way where we could at least hear what people think.|2=[[Don Murphy]]|3=[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/09/business/media/09fans.html?_r=2&oref=slogin Fans Get to Talk About ‘Transformers,’ and the Knives Are Unsheathed], ''The New York Times'', July 9, 2007}}

{{quote|Transformers fans aren't the folks who just casually pick up an issue, and then read it, shrug and move on to the next thing, indifference radiating from them as they do. No, these fans care about the property and the characters. I mean they ''really'' care.|[[Chris Ryall]]|foreword to [[The Reign of Starscream]] trade paperback, 2008}}

{{quote|It is amazing how wonderful and loyal the fans have been to us "Transformer" actors...I know Peter Cullen and I have both talked about this at length. I am happy the fans felt it was important.|[[Frank Welker]]|[http://movieblog.ugo.com/movies/frank-welker-interview Interview with UGO.com], September 14, 2009}}

{{quote|I’m happy that people care enough about this brand to voice their opinions – for better or worse.|[[Eric Siebenaler]]|[http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-news-rumors/156231-tfw2005-interview-hasbro-designer-eric-siebenaler.html "TFW2005 Interview with Hasbro Designer Eric Siebenaler"], November 4, 2007}}

==References==
Many references to the fandom have been made in official Transformers fiction.

===Beast Wars===
The story editors of the [[Beast Wars (cartoon)|''Beast Wars'' cartoon]], [[Bob Forward]] and [[Larry DiTillio]], interacted with the fandom via alt.toys.transformers, and worked numerous "shout-outs" into the series.

* In "[[Dark Designs (episode)|Dark Designs]]", a loopy [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] declared that he was "Not wacko, Wonko! Wonko the Sane!" In addition to being the name of a character in ''[[Wikipedia:The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'', "Wonko the Sane" was a screen name used by [[Ben Yee]].

* In "[[Before the Storm]]", the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] computer informed [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] of a "code A-T-T alert," and Megatron later initiated a "voice code A-T-T override," both references to alt.toys.transformers.

* Also in "Before the Storm", Megatron mused that "There is a storm coming. A storm of such power, such magnitude, it is beyond imagination!" This was a reference to the website of fan James Hooks, called "Beyond Imagination" (itself named after a tagline for ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]''.

* In [[Nemesis Part 2]], [[Optimus Primal|Optimus Primal's]] line "encoding transmission M Sipher" refers to the screen name of [[Greg Sepelak]].

* Also in "Nemesis Part 2," Megatron instructs [[Dinobot II]] to fire on "targeting grid 3H," referring to [[3H Enterprises]].

* Numerous locations throughout the series were references to the names (both screen and real) of fans:
**[[Grid Darcerin]]
**[[Grid Joona]]
**[[Grid Scylla]]
**[[Sector Tallories]]
**[[Subsector Hooks]]
**[[Tengu Sector]]

===Universe===
* The ''[[Universe (2008 franchise)|Universe]]'' Ultra Class [[Onslaught (G1)|Onslaught]] toy's [[Paint operation|painted deco]] features a reference to long-time Transformer fan [[User:Monzo|Monzo]]'s screen-name and birthday. Jealousy sold separately.
* [[Acid Storm]]'s [[bio]] personality and "Hyperion-3" blasters are also references to Monzo.
* The 2008 [[Hot Shot (Armada)|Hot Shot]] toy's license plate and [[bio]] made the character's fan-propogated love of "[[JaAm]]" official.

==Adopted fan terminology==
Several terms initially used only by fans have been adopted by writers of official Transformers materials, thus becoming a part of the [[canon]].

*[[Bumper (G1)|Bumper]]
*[[Darksyde|Darkside]]
*[[Combiner|Gestalt]]
*[[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]]
*[[Seeker (body-type)|Seeker]] (Technically, this one originated in a 1984 J.C. Penney catalog, but widespread usage within the fandom is what led to its official use.)
*[[Rainmaker|Rainmakers]] (The term was actually used by [[Bluestreak]] in [[Divide and Conquer]], but only as a colloquial description of their actions. As with "Seekers", repeated fan usage ultimately led to its adoption as an official group name.)
*[[Lugnut]]'s "[[Punch of Kill Everything]]"

==Fans gone official==
Many members of the online fandom have gone on to contribute to Transformers in an official capacity. One of the most prolific ones is probably [[Ben Yee|Benson "Ben" Yee]], who started out as an active fan (under the screenname "Wonko the Sane") and defended the [[Beast Wars (cartoon)|''Beast Wars'' cartoon]] in its early phase at [[alt.toys.transformers]]. Ben was eventually hired to work as a consultant for the show. Later, he was made a member of the [[Transformers Collectors' Club]]'s Advisory Board and has since written officially licensed ''Transformers'' comic book stories for both [[IDW Publishing]] and [[Fun Publications]].

Another name widely recognized among fan circles is [[Don Figueroa]], who gained early fandom fame for his fan comic ''Macromasters'', which featured original robot designs created by him. Don also created large transformable, scratch-built toys based on his characters. He was later hired by [[Dreamwave Productions]] as a comic book artist and developed the comic series ''[[The War Within]]'' together with writer [[Simon Furman]], and also developed pre-Earth designs for every single character that appeared in the comic. Don continuted to draw Transformers comics for Dreamwave, IDW Publishing and Fun Publications and even worked as a toy designer for Hasbro (including some designs for the ''[[Classics (2006)|Classics]]'' line and major work on the ''[[Titanium Series]]'' line), but eventually announced his departure from official Transformers work in late 2007.

Aside from Don, other artists were also recruited by Dreamwave and IDW from within the fandom, among them [[Guido Guidi]], [[Joe Ng]], [[Alex Milne]] and [[Nick Roche]], although not all of them were active participants in the Transformers fandom prior to going official. Meanwhile, Dreamwave writer [[Adam Patyk]] had been an active participant in discussions at ATT during the 1990s.

Other international fans also started doing official work that made their names known outside their domestic fandoms, such as Japanese super-fan [[Hirofumi Ichikawa]], who wrote and drew the ''[[Linkage (comic)|Linkage]]'' manga as well as various other mangas, wrote the ''[[Alternators (toyline)|Binaltech]]'' backstory and worked as a toy designer for Takara on occasion.

Some of Hasbro's ''Transformers'' toy designers were also originally active members of the fandom, such as [[Andrew Frankel]] (aka "Swiper" or "Sideswipe"), [[Joseph Kyde]] or [[Alex Androski]].

Other fans who have done official work for Hasbro, Takara, comic book companies or other third party licensees include:

* [[Fumihiko Akiyama]]
* [[Adam Alexander]] (aka "Botch")
* [[Aaron Black]] (aka "Delta Star")
* [[Mark Bristow]] (aka "Bodycount")
* [[Josh Burcham]] (aka "DCJosh", aka "GodFireConvoy")
* [[Kris Carter]] (aka "Drivaaar")
* [[Stuart Denyer]]
* [[Jordan Derber]] (aka "Buster Darkwings")
* [[Doug Dlin]]
* [[Tim Finn]]
* [[Bill Forster]]
* [[Rob Gerbracht]] (aka "Tengu")
* [[Jon Hartman]]
* [[Karl Hartman]]
* [[Chris Ho]] (aka "Vangelus")
* [[Dan Khanna]]
* [[Shaun Knowler]] (aka "White Rabbit" or "Beachcomber")
* [[Matt Kuphaldt]] (aka "Jackpot")
* [[Joana Lafuente]]
* [[Nick Leffler]]
* [[Chris McFeely]]
* [[Frank Milkovich]] (aka "Crobot91")
* [[Josh Nizzi]]
* [[Raksha]]
* [[Daniel Ross]] (aka "Mouth04")
* [[Greg Sepelak]] (aka "M Sipher")
* [[Liam Shalloo]]
* [[Pete Sinclair]]
* [[Jim Sorenson]]
* [[Chris Tang]] (aka "Ravestrike")
* [[Brandie Tarvin]]
* [[Frank Todaro]] (aka "Broadcast")
* [[Trent Troop]]
* [[Josh van Reyk]] (aka "Richter")
* [[Graham Weaver]] (aka "Liquid Velcro!")
* [[David Willis]] (aka "Walky")
and others....

==Footnotes==
<references/>

[[Category:Fandom| ]]

User talk:Kilby

2009-11-01T13:00:01Z

Kilby:

I'm pretty awesome.[[User:Kilby|Kilby]] 08:00, 1 November 2009 (EST)

User:Kilby

2009-11-01T12:33:57Z

Kilby:

<blockquote>"Well, I discovered girls but they didn't discover me so I still have all my TFs." - Me, October 19th, 1998.</blockquote>

I created [http://www.tfradio.net Radio Free Cybertron], which has the distinction of being one of the world's first podcasts. I didn't create this with the grand intention of shaping the face of media, I just wanted to talk about Transformers.

You can find me on [http://www.twitter.com/BKilby Twitter] and [http://www.facebook.com/briankilby Facebook].

Hasbro Q&A/October 2009: Question submission

2009-09-30T13:38:38Z

Kilby: /* October 2009 questions */

Transformers Wiki participates in [[Hasbro]]'s roughly-every-other-month [[Hasbro Q&A|Question & Answer]] session. Our site will be allowed to submit '''three''' questions to Hasbro's Transformers team for answering. If you're a registered user at our site, please add your question below!

Keep in mind that Hasbro is not likely to tell us about future product they are not ready to reveal, so keep those sorts of questions to a minimum. Please be as thoughtful about your question as possible! We will similarly reject questions like, "Hasbro, why do you suck so much?" The better and more useful the question, the more likely the admins will choose it to be one of the three submitted. We also reserve the right to edit your question for clarity if need be.

Each registered user can ask '''one''' question at this time. Please bullet and sign your question. The deadline for your questions is the evening of '''TBA''', and answers will be sent back on '''TBA'''. If you're a registered member and for some reason you can't edit this page, ask your question on the [[Talk:Hasbro Q&A/October 2009: Question submission|discussion page]], then I or [[User:Monzo|Monzo]] will move it here.

Thanks!
--[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] 09:22, 30 September 2009 (EDT)

==October 2009 questions==
<strike>Will we see a Human Alliance Optimus Prime/Tommy Kennedy?</strike> --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] 09:24, 30 September 2009 (EDT)

*What was the reasoning behind making Universe/ROTF Blast Off a tank? Was this intentional, or just a mistake that wasn't noticed early enough? --[[User:-Blackout-|-Blackout-]] 09:34, 30 September 2009 (EDT)

*What are the chances that Transformers 3 will end with Bob Newhart waking up to realize that the whole Movieverse was nothing more than a dream? --[[User:Kilby|Kilby]] 09:38, 30 September 2009 (EDT)

==October 2009 answers==
* [[Hasbro Q&A/October 2009: Answers]]

{{-}}
[[Category:Hasbro Q&A]]

Bill Forster

2009-08-21T02:56:06Z

Kilby:

[[Image:Bill forster mugshot.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Raksha? No, never heard of her, why?]]

'''Bill Forster''' is an author and artist with [[IDW Publishing]]. Along with [[Jim Sorenson]], he restored and did layouts of character designs in the ''Ark'' books. He hails from [[universal stream]] ''Quadwal -3760.925'', where he and Jim Sorenson were incarcerated for a period of time (don't ask) before being recruited by [[Porter C. Powell]] to put together the [[AllSpark Almanac]].

[[Image:Bill forster tattoo.jpg|left|100px|thumb|Forty-three species of parrots! Slugs! Nipples for men! Are we not in the hands of a lunatic?]]He also, with full licensing from Hasbro, got a tattoo of [[Victory Leo]] as part of the television show called L.A. Ink on the Discovery channel.<ref>[http://boltax.blogspot.com/2009/06/post-no-bills-premier-edition-la-ink.html Blog post describing his tattoo experience]</ref>. The original air date of Bill receiving the tattoo was August 20th, 2009.
{{-}}
== IDW ==
* ''[[The Ark: A Complete Compendium of Character Designs|Transformers: The Ark]] — A Complete Compendium Of Transformers Animation Models''
* ''[[The Ark II — A Compendium of Japanese Character Designs|The Ark II]] - A Compendium of Japanese Character Designs''
* ''[[The Complete Ark|Transformers: The Complete Ark]]''
* ''[[Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac]]''

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Fandom]]

Universe War

2009-07-22T03:54:11Z

Kilby:

{{disambig2|the historical event within the fiction|the real-world franchise|Universe (2003 franchise)}}
:''The Universe war is a conflict spanning multiple continuities, but rooted in the [[Universe (2003 franchise)|Universe]] franchise.''

[[Image:UnicronDeathstarII.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Oh, I'm afraid the deflector shield will be quite operational when your friends arrive.]]

The '''Universe war''' began when a massively-damaged [[Unicron]], stranded in some realm between dimensions (said to be "in the distant future")<ref>Packaging blurb on many ''Universe'' toys</ref>, sought to revitalize himself by pitting [[Transformer]]s against each other within his own body and absorbing [[energon radiation]] from their battles, then eventually consuming their [[spark]]s.

He plucked his abductees from across the [[Continuity|multiverse]], which of course did not fail to catch [[Primus]]' attention. That rival god then assembled his ''own'' army on the [[technorganic]] [[Cybertron (planet)#Beast Machines cartoon|Cybertron]]. These "[[Child of Primus|Children of Primus]]" battled Unicron's loyal "[[Minion of Unicron|Minions]]" in a war that raged across the multiverse for months, perhaps longer. Then it all came to an abrupt end when the Chaos-Bringer vanished due somehow to the [[Unicron Singularity]].

{{note|The term "Universe war" is never used in the fiction. It's based on two statements in the packaging blurb ("a final war for ultimate control of the Universe" and "the biggest war the Universe has ever seen"). We use it here for lack of a [[canon]] alternative.}}

==Fiction==
===Pack-in CD-ROM comic===
[[Image:UnivCDROM_TractorBeam.jpg|thumb|left|200px|"DO YOU WANT SOME CANDY"]]

Once a year, Unicron sent a spaceship to a certain alternate Cybertron to abduct [[Decepticon]]s for his army. He always picked the day of most violent battle, which in one case saw that universe's [[Optimus Primal]] leading the [[Autobot]]s [[Snarl (BM)|Snarl]], [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]], and [[Striker]] against the Decepticons [[Reptilion]], [[Razorclaw (Universe)|Razorclaw]], [[Obsidian (BM)|Obsidian]], [[Tankor (BM)|Tankor]], and [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]]. The ship hovered over the battlefield, sucked the Decepticons up on beams of light, and left the Autobots dumbfounded as it sped away. Meanwhile, deep within Cybertron, Primus formulated plans to recruit his own army of Autobots. {{storylink|Universe CD-ROM}}

[[Image:Unicron_tfu_cdrom.jpg|thumb|rightt|125px|"WHAT, COUGH COUGH, I'M STILL SICK, HONEST"]]

{{note|This comic shows no signs of being intended to mesh with other ''Universe'' fiction. Unicron's kidnapping method and purpose have differences from their depictions in the main comic series, and his body appears much more intact. Also, all of the characters have continuity conflicts (though [[Obsidian (BM)|a few]] [[Tankor (BM)|of the]] [[Razorclaw (Universe)|abductees]] could be made to fit if you squint and tilt your head). Given that ''Universe'' is entirely ABOUT alternate dimensions, it's up to the reader to decide if this is a side note to the main storyline or a completely separate continuity from head to toe.}}

{{-}}

===3H ''Universe'' comic===
[[Image:Pit_universe1.jpg|thumb|left|200px|It's a ''good'' kind of hurt.]]

In the mainstream [[Beast Era]] timeline, the [[Beast Machines (franchise)|Vehicon era]] had just come to an end, and Transformers of all walks were adjusting to the peace of the newly-technorganic Cybertron. This tranquility was dealt a blow, however, when Silverbolt, Blackarachnia, [[Roulette]], [[Shadow Striker]], [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]], [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]], and [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] vanished in flashes of light, victims to Unicron's new wave of interdimensional kidnapping. The hapless victims found themselves physically and mentally altered within an area of Unicron called the "[[Pit]]". As their darkest emotions came to the fore, they were rounded up by the Chaos-Bringer's Minions and forced to pit their re-formed bodies against one another in an arena called the "[[Cauldron]]".

Meanwhile, within technorganic Cybertron, Primus (manifested as a holographic head) conversed with [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]], sharing his observations of Unicron. Primus could feel whenever a spark was consumed, since they were pieces of himself. In fact, he worried that this would eventually make him too weak to fight Unicron, so he made a move in the offensive against his rival by resurrecting Optimus Primal. {{storylink|Abduction}} Primal was sent into Unicron, where his body was discolored in a similar manner to the kidnappees'. His mission was to rescue as many captives as he could - which ended up being in the dozens. Blackarachnia, however, stayed behind, her mind most easily corrupted into thralldom. {{storylink|Escape (issue)|Escape}} [[Tarantulas]], having returned to Unicron after the [[Beast Wars (event)|Beast Wars]], recruited her to lead a mission to Cybertron to sabotage Primus' ability to communicate with his Children. Meanwhile, Primal found himself unable to convince the [[Maximal High Council]] that any of this was actually ''happening,'' and he ended up turning to the dead for new troops. Primus gave him a selection of fallen warriors to choose from, and he picked [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] and [[Depth Charge (BW)|Depth Charge]]. They were to launch more raids within Unicron while an orbital defense platform was being constructed above Cybertron. But Depth Charge refused to take part in more violence, so Alpha Trion took a cue from Unicron and transported [[Omega Prime]] into their dimension to fight in his place. {{storylink|Homecoming (issue)|Homecoming}}

[[Image:Otfcc2004scriptreading.jpg|thumb|right|125px|This one goes out to all you RID fans listening tonight.]]

Unlike his fellow resurrectee, Rhinox did take part in the anti-Unicron movement, turning his engineering talents to the construction of a device to deflect Unicron's attempted teleportations in different universes. The device succeeded at least twice, but only partially: The potential abductees were still transported, just to an icy, barren world instead of Unicron. A [[Rattrap|team]] [[Silverbolt (BW)|of]] [[Waspinator (BW)|Children]] and [[Reptilion|a]] [[Ruination (RID)|team]] [[Sunstorm (Universe)|of]] [[Perceptor (Universe)|Minions]] raced to that planet, while a side-effect of Rhinox's device caused an shuttle full of [[Bumblebee (G1)|Autobots]] [[Tracks (G1)|from]] [[Cosmos (G1)|the past]] to be warped into the mix as well. As the transported Transformers [[Landfill (RID)|were]] [[Side Burn (RID)|all]] [[Prowl (RID)|Autobots]] ([[Optimus Prime (Universe Spychanger)|albeit]] [[Ultra Magnus (Universe Spychanger)|from]] [[Prowl (Spychanger)|different]] [[Ironhide (Universe)|dimensions]]), the Minions found themselves outnumbered and quickly routed. The ancient Autobots returned to their own time, but it's unclear whether the dimensional travelers stayed or left. {{storylink|OTFCC 2004 Live-Action Script Reading}}

{{note|The tale of the Universe war was halted here for a time, as [[Hasbro]] had revoked [[3H Productions|3H]]'s license to the ''Transformers'' property. But the story would be continued in [[Fun Publications]]' [[Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club (magazine)|''Cybertron'' comic]].}}

{{-}}

===Fun Publications ''Cybertron'' comics===

[[Image:Optimusprimaluniverseend.jpg|thumb|left|200px|And so on and so forth.]]

Despite the Universe war being quite unlike his own dimension, Omega Prime could not refuse the call to fight against evil.<ref>[[Optimus Prime (RID)|Optimus Prime]]'s bio in the [[Revelations Part 2|Transformers Collectors' Club comic #8]]</ref> He accompanied Primal on raids within Unicron's internal "prison cities," freeing more captives. Primal then took an even more proactive step, leading teams to other dimensions in anticipation of Unicron's strikes and setting up defensive measures before the Chaos-Bringer could gather more victims. Despite gaining more followers in this process, Primal and other veterans were being worn down by Unicron's corruptive influence. Certainly those who had been abducted and reformatted by Unicron were affected, but some (such as Primal himself) had been exposed to a [[Unicron virus|nanotech virus]] with similar results. In order to avert madness and death, Primus [[reformat]]ted Primal and several of his comrades. Not only was his [[Optimus Primal#Beast Wars 10th Anniversary|new form]] immune to both the Unicron virus and the accompanying "Unicron radiation," but it possessed the [[Matrix of Purification]], which could heal others of Unicronian corruption.

Months passed as the competing armies grew, their battles raging on a level comparable to the [[Cybertronian Civil Wars|Great Wars]]. Cybertron itself remained stable, but only for a time. The planet fell victim to a massive invasion, later called "the Culling," in which Unicron's Minions swept across the globe in a killing frenzy, the sparks of their victims feeding the Chaos-Bringer. Primal's army fended the invaders off, but in the chaotic aftermath, [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] somehow returned to lead the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]]s back to glory. He initially fought Primal, then he eventually called a truce to better face their common foe.<ref>Optimus Primal's bio in the [[Revelations Part 3|Transformers Collectors' Club comic #9]]</ref>

Continued raids saved many more captives and brought the Minions to near-defeat. But as one raiding party including Primal and Omega Prime battled their way out, Unicron suddenly began to disappear. The raiders rapidly teleported away, but Omega Prime did not materialize with the rest. He was pulled in mid-teleport by [[Over-Run (Armada)|Over-Run]] into the Cybertron of the Unicron Singularity, which had been the cause of the Unicron-war Unicron's disappearance. {{storylink|Revelations Part 1}} {{storylink|Revelations Part 2}}

{{-}}

==Characters==
[[Image:Jhiaxustfu.jpg|thumb|left|150px|[http://www.briankilby.net/Ravage_3_Bodies_Evolution.htm "JHIAXUS, how is it possible that you live, I thought you died in the TF Generation 2 comics #11.]]]

The ''Universe'' franchise cast a very wide net for [[:Category:Universe characters|its roster]]. Right off the bat, the comic utilized characters outside of the ''Universe'' toyline, filling Cybertron and Unicron with cameos from all generations. Some were even given bios dubbing them "Children of Primus" or "Minions of Unicron," effectively making them ''Universe'' characters instead of, for instance, ''[[Robots in Disguise (franchise)|Robots in Disguise]]'' (as many of their toys had been labeled).<ref>Various bios in 3H's ''Official Transformers Collectors' Club Magazine''</ref> The [[Universe (2003 toyline)|''Universe'' toyline]] itself would outlast the fiction, so there ended up being more toys released than had the opportunity to show up in the comics. Even the packaging blurbs vanished over time. For the purposes of this Wiki, though, we consider all toys released under the ''Universe'' banner to represent characters somehow involved in the Universe war, especially if they have no other defining fiction.

However, that statement does ''not'' apply to characters in the [[Universe (2008 franchise)|2008 Universe relaunch]]. The new ''Universe'' is an umbrella franchise that continues [[Robot Heroes|several]] [[Classics (2006)|other]] [[Armada (franchise)|series]] with no reference to the original ''Universe'' franchise, which we consider to be [[Furmanism#IT IS OVER -- FINISHED!|OVER -- FINISHED]].

{{-}}

==Notes==
* There is some evidence that Universe-warriors began to adopt "Autobot" and "Decepticon" labels regardless of their previous allegiances. For example, Optimus Primal's Fun Publications [[bio]] is headlined with "AUTOBOT" and a big Autobot symbol, though his function is "Maximal Military Operations Commander." Likewise, Obsidian's 3H bio describes its subject as once having been an Autobot, yet the word "DECEPTICON" and a Decepticon symbol also appear (and Tankor's bio in the same issue flat-out calles Obsidian a "fellow Decepticon"). This is not a universal Child/Minion pattern; according to his own bio, [[Sunstorm (G1)|Sunstorm]] is a Decepticon Child of Primus. Also, the new 'Bot and 'Con identifiers appear ''only'' in bios, never being acknowledged in comic dialogue or narration. The real-world explanation for this is that the ''Universe'' toys did not have Child/Minion labels; "good guys" were sold as Autobots, "bad guys" as Decepticons, and that was that. So this was halfheartedly incorporated into the fiction, but the details of how this ''worked'' were never addressed.

==References==
<references />

[[Category: Universe (2003)]]
[[Category: Unicron]]
[[Category: Primus]]
[[Category: History]]
[[Category: Planet Cybertron]]
[[Category: 3H]]

User:Kilby

2009-05-29T20:50:58Z

Kilby: New page: I, for one, like Transformers.

I, for one, like Transformers.