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The Great War is a historical event that is a prominent feature of the Generation 1 continuity family.

In the Great War (sometimes also known as the Third Cybertronian War), Autobots wage their battles to destroy the evil forces of the Decepticons.

Fiction

Generation One continuity family

Marvel The Transformers comics

Events from the UK-only comic stories are in italics.

The Great War came after a long period of tension between city-states and energy shortage, and a devastating war that wiped out Vos and Tarn. Iacon had deliberately left its rivals to burn and the last Overlord had died in the ruins, allowing Megatron (who had let the Overlord die) to form an army, the Decepticons, from the disgruntled Vos/Tarn survivors. State Games They were ignored as cranks. Legion of the Lost!

After eons of planning, plotting, and building up strength, Megatron and the Decepticons finally attacked, setting off global conflict of staggering proportions. The Decepticon plan was to conquer the world and turn it into a mobile "cosmic dreadnought" that would conquer the galaxy! The Transformers Legion of the Lost! Decepticon tactics were well-orchestrated, and Autobot casualties continued to mount until Optimus Prime arose from the Autobot ranks to become a warrior of great firepower and leader of great skill. With his help, Autobots were able to hold their own against the Decepticons The Transformers and he was given full command of the Autobot forces after the successful defence of Iacon: halting the Decepticon's then-unstoppable advance. And There Shall Come...a Leader!

The very planet was knocked out of orbit, requiring the Autobots to clear its way through an asteroid field. The Decepticons attacked them as soon as it was done, leading to both Prime and Megatron to be lost. Before this happened, Optimus had been talking about the need to make peace with the Decepticons. The Transformers This would not happen: the war continued under Decepticon leader Trannis, who conquered the Prime-less planet but failed to crush the Autobot resistance. Cybertron: The Middle Years! Four million years later, the war on Cybertron still raged on and when Optimus and Megatron awoke on Earth, they carried on too.

Marvel UK future timelines

In the year 2510, the last Decepticon was killed. The next Great War, between embittered Autobot factions, broke out immediately after. Peace

Generation 1 cartoon continuity

The Transformers cartoon

The Great War is known by some chroniclers of Cybertronian history as the Third Cybertronian War. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4 It was during a time of peace known as the Golden Age of Cybertron that Megatron re-organized the Decepticons for the purpose of challenging the Autobots for control of Cybertron. War Dawn

Wings Universe

Wings Universe is based on the Generation 1 cartoon, but deviates from it in cosmetic ways and continuity points.

Nine million years ago, the Autobot High Command was keeping an eye on a nascent unorganized group of rogues called the Decepticons. However, open war erupted when the Decepticon movement became organized and conducted actions such as shooting down the Van De Graaff. After saving the precious cargo of the Van De Graaff from the Decepticons, the crew of the Eight Track, including Kup, was inducted into the newly formed Elite Guard to fight the Decepticons. Wings of Honor

Within 10 years of the war's commencement, the Decepticons were led by the Decepticon Warlords. However, Deathsaurus ensured that he and Megatron remained the only rivals for power by assassinating the rest of the Warlords with an unwitting suicide bomber. A Team Effort Megatron later became the sole leader of the Decepticons by defeating Deathsaurus in an unfair duel. Battle Lines, Part 5 Meanwhile, after being mostly massacred by the turncoat Combaticons, The Coming Storm: Part 6 the Elite Guard was replaced by the new Autobot military led by Optimus Prime. Battle Lines, Part 1 The war later cooled down for a time as energy became scarce on Cybertron, prompting many Autobots and Decepticons to go enter stasis hibernation pods or to go offworld aboard the Ark and Nemesis. Battle Lines, Part 6

Millions of years later, the Great War finally came to an end in 2013 C.E. with the signing of the Pax Cybertronia by the Autobots, Decepticons, and Jhiaxus's clones at Autobot City on Earth. The peace treaty had come about in part due to the actions of Jhiaxus: in starting the Machine Wars to achieve peace on Cybertron by exterminating all "First Generation" Transformers, he had unintentionally gotten Autobot and Decepticon alike to fight with each other rather than against each other. A Common Foe Unfortunately for the Decepticon commando unit Squadron X, their location in deep space meant that they did not receive word of the war's end until it was too late. Setting a trap on Torax Prime for their foes the Wreckers, who never came because they got word of the war's end, the members of Squadron X eventually killed each other off due to boredom. Tornado and Ferak were left as the unit's sole survivors. Tornado - Decepticon Saboteur

Beast Wars cartoon continuity

Beast Wars cartoon

The key turning point in the Great War was when the Ark crew reactivated in 1984, on Earth. The Predacons Megatron and Blackarachnia stated the Great War started in 1984. The Agenda (Part III)

Shortly after the war began, Megatron would encode a message to Cybertron on the [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Voyager Golden Record|{{#if:||Voyager Golden Record}}]] (also known as the Golden Disk) just in case he lost. The Agenda (Part 2) The Agenda (Part III) Over time, he was reformatted into Galvatron by and the monster Unicron. Possession In the end, in large part thanks to help from the humans, the Autobots would win the Great War. Code of Hero

The Great War was officially ended by the forming of the Pax Cybertronia with the Autobots the victors and the Decepticons placed under heavy restrictions. A number of Decepticons were granted amnesty and retired. The Agenda (Part 2) Many records were restricted Possession and most of the Ark crew were considered legendary figures in the time of Predacons and Maximals.

A period of uneasy peace followed with the Predacons biding their time in preparation for their chance to challenge the supremacy of the Maximals and start the Great War again, something that Optimus Primal couldn't understand. It was three hundred years after Pax Cybertronia when Primal was drawn into one such challenge. Beast Wars (Part 1)

Beast Machines cartoon

When Megatron impersonated Optimus Prime, he claimed that the Autobot leader had perished in the final battle of the war. The Search

3H comics

When Galvatron failed the Decepticons and the Great War ended, Cyclonus turned his loyalty to the gangster Cryotek. Wreckers: Finale Part II

Dawn of Future's Past

The events of "Dawn of Future's Past" are also integrated into the Wings Universe.

At the end of the Third Cybertronian War, the Decepticons ceased to be a viable threat to the Autobots. Razorclaw then led the emergent Predacons to become the main opposition to Autobot rule of Cybertron until he was assassinated by the Tripredacus Council. BotCon 2009 Razorclaw profile card

Buzzsaw was one of Megatron's most loyal soldiers during the Great War. BotCon 2006 Buzzsaw profile card

Waspscream continuity

Obsidian was an Autobot general during the Great War. Universe Obsidian profile

Beast Wars Neo manga

Longrack mentioned that Unicron was a terrifying lifeform killed by the Transformers in the Great War twenty million years ago. Double Cross

Dreamwave Generation One continuity

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2005 IDW continuity

The seeds for the Great War (though it was not the first "great" war) were planted through many years of social stratification by an increasingly entitled upper class, who exploited everyone below them with the aid of a rigid and corrupt police system. The spark to the powder keg was provided when factions within the Senate, the corrupted government of Cybertron, arranged for an attack upon the leading Prime, Nominus Prime. By doing this, in a failed attempt to gain access to the Matrix of Leadership which had been secreted away centuries before, they also gained an excuse to introduce the "Clampdown", a planet-wide security regime which let them crack down on anyone who opposed them. Chaos Theory Part 1 As such, Kup considered the Matrix to be the root cause of it all. All Hail Megatron #6 During the Clampdown, the Autobots served as the Senate's peace-keeping force, enforcing their draconian rules. This caused frictions to rise even more and politically minded Transformers spoke out loudly against it, only to be silenced brutally; and even within the Senate itself, some - such as Ratbat - tried to exploit the extreme social unrest for personal gain. An energon miner turned fugitive from justice turned underground gladiator named Megatron rallied a force of gladiators, escaped convicts, and other bots dissatisfied with the current leadership of Cybertron to rebellion based out of the city-state of Kaon, naming his faction the Decepticons after their rallying cry of "You are being deceived." Megatron Origin After Megatron's defeat of Sentinel Prime, and the routing of the corrupt Senate, peace seemed possible when Zeta Prime took over command of the security forces and became the de facto leader of Cybertron; however he revealed himself as the most ruthless dictator of all. Orion Pax and Megatron found themselves working together to stop his army of Omega Sentinels, equipped with weapons of mass destruction, but after Megatron destroyed Zeta Prime with the proverbial 'Shot that started the war', the treaty ended...and the war truly began as Orion Pax - now Optimus Prime, after gaining the Matrix - and Megatron both strove to control Cybertron. Autocracy

The war continued for over four million years, turning Cybertron into a lifeless husk until the "Chaos War" against Galvatron, which ended with the planet's restoration. Most Decepticons were imprisoned, thousands of neutral Transformers who had fled during the war began returning home, and the Great War was considered over. The Death of Optimus Prime

Beast Wars: Uprising

The Great War, also known as the Third Cybertronian War, began eleven million years ago and ended in 2031 after the apocalyptic battle later dubbed "the Scouring of Nebulos". The Human Confederacy, along with other races in the galaxy, forcibly imposed an armistice on the battered combatants and restricted them to a small Allowed Zone consisting of Cybertron and nine colonies. Micro-Aggressions

After scrounging up some new Cyberdroid recruits from the backwater colony world of Master, Galvatron attempted to re-ignite the war by first taking out humanity in the Great Push. A Brush With Infamy–Prologue The battle against the Human Confederacy was a humiliating defeat for the Transformers, and as punishment the humans sterilized four colonies. Intersectionality Micro-Aggressions Thunderwing brought the war to a close after absorbing the Underbase, driving him mad and prompting him to launch the Grand Mal; the Autobots and Decepticons formed a temporary truce to take down their mutual enemy. Not All Megatrons

Too decrepit to continue the war but unwilling to completely let old grudges go, the Autobots and Decepticons renamed themselves the Builders of Cybertron and used the energon matrix to create their successors, the Maximals and Predacons. They then crafted a system of gladiatorial Games that Maximals and Predacons would have to participate in, functioning as proxies for the Autobots and Decepticons' old grudge forever and providing endless entertainment for the mostly immobile Builders. That is, until Guardian of Order Lio Convoy, holder of the energon matrix, had his eyes opened to the injustice of the status quo. Publicly exposing the Builders' conspiracy, he set the Fourth Cybertronian War, the Grand Uprising, in motion. Broken Windshields

Timelines

In Primax 096.0 Beta, General Optimus Prime led the reconstituted Firestormer Squadron in the final battle of the third Cybertronian war against Megatron's Decepticon Star Empire at Mirtonia. The Autobots emerged victorious when the Decepticons accidentally blew up an experimental energon refinery and themselves with it. However, the massive explosion also blasted General Optimus Prime and Sergeant Hound out of their own reality and into Nexus 208.0 Epsilon. General Optimus Prime profile card Sgt. Hound profile card

Of Masters and Mayhem

While the cause of the Great War is unknown, it swept across Cybertron in a fury, wiping away any trace of the once glorious civilization that had existed. The Decepticon aggressors quickly proved the better fighters, keeping the former Autobot ruling class on the back foot. As the war ground on, it began to spread to other planets, The Truth We Make with some combatants from both factions choosing to abandon Cybertron and live elsewhere in the galaxy. Life Finds a Way

Facing defeat, the Autobots undertook Project: Ark as a means of carrying their hopes beyond Cybertron, and their desire to see the war end. The Toxic Transformer An installation was also established on the planet Athenia where the Autobots worked on a project that was their last hope of winning the war. This facility was attacked and destroyed by Counterpunch, though footage of this found its way to Autobot High Command. The Truth We Make

Combiners were a valued asset in the war, both sides devoting great time and resources to fuelling them. The Decepticons eventually managed to create the combiner that called itself Thunder Mayhem, its destructive power bringing a decisive end to the Great War by razing the surface of Cybertron and the near-extinction of the Cybertronian race. Deadly Aim

Live action movie continuity

The Great War was a conflict between the heroic Autobots and the tyrannical Decepticons. Mainly centered around the powerful and life giving cube artifact, the AllSpark, it was a bloody conflict that claimed countless generations of Cybertronians and ultimately resulted in the Autobots' defeat and Cybertron becoming a lifeless husk.

{{#if:Optimus Prime"Transformers"|

“	Before time began, there was the Cube. We know not where it comes from, only that it holds the power to create worlds and fill them with life. That is how our race was born. For a time, we lived in harmony, but like all great power, some wanted it for good, others for evil. And so began the war, a war that ravaged our planet until it was consumed by death, and the Cube was lost to the far reaches of space.	”
{{#if:Optimus Prime| —Optimus Prime{{#if:"Transformers"|, "Transformers"}} }} }}

Movies

The six movies are the primary component of the live-action movie continuity family. Their events should be taken as canon for all other pieces of fiction listed below, unless otherwise specified.

The war started a considerable time after 17000 BC Revenge of the Fallen and before 484 AD. The Last Knight

Optimus Prime narrated that the war was fought over the possession of the AllSpark. While Autobots wanted it for benevolent reasons, Decepticons wanted it for evil purposes. He further stated that the war first started when the Decepticon commander Megatron betrayed the Cybertronian empire and that he, together with his army, killed everyone who stood in his way. Transformers

At some point in time during the war, Sentinel Prime, who was the Autobot commander before Optimus, made a secret deal with Megatron in order to save their planet that saw the two converging on Earth. However, during The war's final days, Sentinel's ship, the Ark, seemingly under wrong orders, was shot by a Decepticon carrier, which resulted in the ship disappearing into outer space. As the ship was carrying a secret cargo that would have turned the tide of war and greatly help the losing Autobot cause, who were overmatched and outnumbered, the Decepticons eventually won. Dark of the Moon

At some point, AllSpark was lost in space. The Autobots and the Decepticons eventually left their dead planet and scattered around the galaxy. At least some of them were searching for the lost Cube, Autobots with the intent of bringing it back to Cybertron and breath life back into their dead planet, while the Decepticons wanting to harness its power to conquer other worlds and presumably repair their world. Transformers

Optimus told Sam Witwicky of the many generations lost in the war on Cybertron in an effort to make Sam grasp the potential fate of Earth now that the Autobot and Decepticons war on Earth. Revenge of the Fallen

When Sentinel was revived on Earth, he shortly after asked Optimus of the war, with Optimus informing him of the Autobots having had lost the war and Cybertron being a then-currently dead planet. Dark of the Moon

While holding Optimus captive, Quintessa stated that his war was the cause of Cybertron's destruction. Optimus protested that it was Megatron who started the war, but Quintessa responded that Optimus himself was the one responsible for the destruction of their homeworld. The Last Knight

IDW movie comics

Before the war, Optimus and Megatron were the two governors of Cybertron, with Optimus heading the Science Division, while Megatron was in charge of the Defense Force. During an Autobot archeological excavation led by Optimus, they stumbled upon the sarcophagus of The Fallen, of whom the then current generation had virtually no knowledge about. Immediately upon seeing the artifact, Megatron ordered Optimus to bring it to his quarters without giving a reason. Around the time he gave this order, Ejoornians from the Eshems Nebula, wanting to claim the AllSpark for their own, launched an attack on Cybertron. During the battle, Megatron got heavily injured. As The Fallen subconsciously called for him from the sarcophagus inside Megatron's home, he barely made it home. Defiance issue 1 As Megatron lay near dead, The Fallen healed his wound. Defiance issue 2 Megatron became loyal to The Fallen as the latter promised Megatron more power. Defiance issue 3 Under Fallen's influence, Megatron ordered Optimus to gather his team and declared that they were to go to war with the Ejoornians. Optimus, believing that this went against their society's moral code, advised his team not to join Megatron. During the time Megatron was away battling the Ejoornians, Optimus and some of his team broke in to Megatron's quarters and examined the sarcophagus, though they left sometime after as they learned that Megatron was coming back home victorious. Further examination of the remaining fragments at the site the sarcophagus was found led Optimus's team to come to the conclusion that Optimus was a Prime. Meanwhile, coming home victorious, Megatron was informed by the Fallen of the uninvited guests to his home. The Fallen manipulatively told Megatron that others like Sentinel and Optimus wanted the AllSpark for their own ends. Megatron decided that they had to be dealt with permanently. As Megatron sent an assassination team to assassinate Optimus and Sentinel, he renamed the Defense Force to become the next generation of Decepticons, which was an ancient almost-if-not-completely forgotten cause once led by the Fallen. Foundation issue 3Defiance issue 2 Defiance issue 3

The Fallen ordered Megatron to build Nemesis in order to search for the Matrix of Leadership and the Star Harvester. As the majority of the Decepticons left with the ship, Autobots exploited the chance and started recruiting citizens wishing to be free from Megatron's control. Autobots first started fighting back by raiding Decepticon munitions and storage facilities. As the scale of the war grew, its effects on Cybertron started becoming more noticeable. Defiance issue 4

At some point, Sentinel made a deal with Megatron in order to save their planet. Dark of the Moon (film) Dark of the Moon issue 3

As the two sides were in a stalemate with no end in sight to the battle, Optimus made the hard choice of secretly ordering the AllSpark to be launched into deep space, away from Megatron and the Decepticons' hands. As he was planning to launch the AllSpark, he falsely told his followers that he was going to take the Cube with them in the ship they were going to use to leave the planet. The reason for him to launch the AllSpark separately was to leave more room for more survivors of the war. Defiance issue 4 Around this time, Sentinel Prime invented the Space Bridge technology, which he claimed would guarantee a decisive Autobot victory. In order for the technology to be activated, a torch had to make contact with the AllSpark, the temple of which it was inside was in a heavily guarded Decepticon stronghold. Elita-One went to the temple to do the deed, while Optimus and his team provided distraction. Elita-One successfully powered the torch and brought it back to Sentinel but she failed to shake Starscream off while getting there. Sentinel got into his ship, which was also intended to later carry Autobots off-planet after launching the AllSpark, to take it to the temple for Optimus and his team in there. As the ship was on its way, unaware of Megatron's secret deal, Starscream seemingly destroyed the ship. Foundation issue 4 Unbeknownst to the witnesses to the destruction, the triggered Space Bridge technology inside the ship teleported the Ark away through time and space and kept doing it over and over. Convergence chapter 1

AllSpark was successfully launched and most Autobots and Decepticons left the planet in search of it. Movie Prequel issue 1 The Reign of Starscream issue 1 Defiance issue 4

Animated continuity

You weren't there, man. You don't know.

In the distant past, Autobots and Decepticons battled for supremacy of Cybertron in a conflict known as the Great War. It was the fourth of many large wars to engulf the populace of Cybertron.

{{#if:History vid"Transform and Roll Out"|

“	Many millions of years ago, war raged between the forces of the heroic Autobots and the brutal Decepticons for control of the planet Cybertron. The Autobots battled valiantly in the name of honor—their courageous exploits bringing hope and glory to a beleaguered war-torn planet, and inspiring countless generations of robots yet to come on-line.	”
{{#if:History vid| —History vid{{#if:"Transform and Roll Out"|, "Transform and Roll Out"}} }} }}

Animated cartoon

Arcee served in the Great War as an Autobot intelligence officer. Also present was Ratchet, while Prowl actively avoided it. The Thrill of the Hunt Five Servos of Doom Ultra Magnus was commander of the Autobot forces during the conflict. TransWarped

The war went against the Decepticons when the Autobots sent the AllSpark through a Space bridge to a corner of the galaxy where it wouldn't be found. Transform and Roll Out This was followed up with Project Omega: the creation of titanic walking WMDs, the Omega Sentinels, bonded to Autobots. Ratchet was the partner and tutor to the first, Omega Supreme. In the final battle, Omega drove back the Decepticons. TransWarped The Decepticons were defeated, but not destroyed.

Millions of years later, Ratchet, then a veteran of the Great War, had a cynical attitude regarding history vids on the subject. He recounted how the war ended. Transform and Roll Out

See also: Transformers Animated timeline

Major events of the Great War

Where available, dates are given in millions of stellar cycles ago (MSCA).

• 12 MSCA - Ultra Magnus, recently appointed as Magnus, passes the Decepticon Registration Act.
• 10 MSCA - Great War begins with the Great Uprising.
• The Software Wars occur.
• The creation of space bridges halts the Decepticon advance.
• The Decepticons begin bombing Cybertron, demanding the AllSpark be turned over lest the bombing continue. The Autobots respond by hiding the AllSpark from both sides.
• Project Omega creates the first of the Omega Sentinels.
• Silvart War.
• Zeta Supreme and the Wreckers fight the Decepticon Heavy Brigade; Blackout is the only survivor.
• Ambush of Floron III destroys the Decepticon space fleet.
• The Autobots begin a major planet hopping campaign, which ends at the Battle for Omnitron with all disputed territory returned to Autobot control.
• Megatron sends his troops to Cybertron at sub-light velocity, avoiding detection, in what is known as the False Calm.
• 2 MSCA - The Battle for Iacon results in Autobot victory, though at the cost of all surviving Omega Sentinels.
• 2 MSCA - The Tyrest Accord ends the war with the Decepticons accepting exile in exchange for amnesty.

Aligned continuity family

The Great War was the first and most violent outburst of fighting on the planet Cybertron, between the newly christened Autobots and Decepticons. It was started by Megatron's initial drive to overthrow the caste system, although this noble goal was corrupted by his jealousy of Orion Pax's ascension to Prime. Fighting between the two forces lasted for several million stellar cycles. By its end, however, Cybertron was a barren and uninhabitable wasteland, devoid of pure Energon, forcing Prime to enact the Great Exodus. Though the conflict left the dead Cybertron, it continued on other worlds, notably when Prime and Megatron came to Earth, which turned out to be the staging ground for the next landmark event in the Cybertronian race's history.

War breaks out

"I hearby declare The Touch to be our new national anthem."

After heightened tensions among the populace and scattered terrorist attacks including an amusement park bombing and the kidnapping of the Prime, the war broke out in full after a fateful summit at the High Council. The Council appointed Orion Pax as the next Prime, enraging Megatron, who murdered Councillor Halogen before storming out with his new Decepticon army. The early war was quite chaotic, with numerous sudden battle occurring across the planet. One of the first was the assault on Fort Scyk, whose lethargic garrison was initially overwhelmed before a force of Council Guardians headed by Ultra Magnus took the fort back. The Decepticons later took the Hydrax Plateau, an immensely strategic victory that netted them the planet's entire eastern hemisphere for the war's duration, as well as gaining other victories in battles such as the one at Polyhex's Satellite Command Center. The Autobot armies would not manage to secure any major victories until the conflict at Kalis, a battle won in no small part thanks to the Decepticons' usual air support not turning up for the battle. The war's paradigm is soon shifted by the emergence of gestalt technology on both sides. The first battle to see deployment of such weaponry was the razing of the Crystal City, where the Constructicons utilized their "Devastator" gestalt formation for the first time in the war. Other gestalts included Bruticus Maximus who took part in the battle of Kalis, and the first Autobot gestalt Defensor, created at the Tagan Heights and quickly deployed against a Devastator unit. The war's rising crescendo was quickly resulting in massive devastation planetwide. Bruticus Maximus initiated a massacre at Nova Cronum that ended in the deaths of every sentient being stationed there. Shockwave's forces occupied the cities of Tarn and Vos, and were set against each other by the scientist, resulting in the former's destruction. Shockwave sould later engineer the end of Vos as well, an act that severely lessened Starscream's base of influence within the Decepticon forces and allowed Shockwave to rise to the station of second in command. The city of Praxus was leveled in a fight so brutal that neither side ever managed to determine the true victor, and whose destruction spurred residents Prowl and Ironhide to join the Autobot army. Eventually, Optimus Prime determined that in order to stave off Decepticon victory, the AllSpark had to be removed from the planet. This maneuver was completed, but before the artifact was launched it birthed one final generation of Transformers, a generation that overwhelmingly joined the Autobot side and included the bot known as Bumblebee. Exodus

Consuming Shadows

Deciding that his armies required a new tactical advantage to turn the war's tide, Megatron learned of the mythical substance known as Dark Energon held within Trypticon Station and forcibly took control of the station from Starscream, beginning the process of empowering his soldiers with it. He soon ordered Starscream's Seekers to located the long-abandoned Geosynchronous Energon Bridge deep beneath the planet's surface so that pure Energon could be beamed up to the station for conversion into its darker counterpart.

Major events of the Great War

Allow me to introduce myself: I am the galactically feared and universally despised... they call me Ivan Ooze.

• Seeking a new edge in the war, Megatron storms Trypticon Station and wrests control of it from Starscream, empowering himself and other Decepticons with the Dark Energon stored there. Exodus
• The Seekers travel deep underneath Cybertron in search of the long-abandoned Geosynchronous Energon Bridge beneath the ruins of Crystal City, which will allow the manufacture of new Dark Energon for the Decepticons' use. Exodus
• Megatron leads a final attack on Iacon and attempt to travel to Cybertron's core. Though Sentinel Zeta Prime and Omega Supreme stand in his way, the Decepticons defeat them both. Because of this, the Decepticon leader manages to reach Cybertron's core and corrupt it with Dark Energon—a critical blow against the Autobots. Exodus War For Cybertron
• The Autobots manage to drive the Decepticons from Iacon. Exodus War For Cybertron
• Optimus and his inner circle lead a raid on the prison, but they cannot save Sentinel. Optimus now truly assumes leadership of the Autobot cause. Exodus War For Cybertron
• Heading down through Cybertron's inner layers, Optimus finds much of the planet to have been thoroughly infected. Optimus is given the Matrix of Leadership by the Core, a fragment of Prima's powerful sword that contains a portion of Cybertron's spark. Exodus War For Cybertron

CRUUUUSSSHHHH
ZEUUUUUUUUSSSS

• Optimus orders the Great Exodus of all Cybertronians, though a small portion of the Autobots stay behind under his direct command, and the same transpires for Megatron's Decepticons. Exodus War for Cybertron During the exodus's final days, Megatron is temporarily killed by the mighty Metroplex until he is revived by Soundwave. The Autobots depart Cybertron in the Ark while the Decepticons do so in the Nemesis. Fall of Cybertron Some stay behind, including Shockwave, the Dinobots, and Ultra Magnus and his Wreckers. Rage of the Dinobots
• After several adventures through the cosmos, Optimus clashes with Megatron on Earth, following which, the Decepticon leader departs into space to search for an army. While the Autobots ally themselves with the United States of America, Starscream is left in command and lays low, leaving the smaller conflict stagnant until he kills Cliffjumper three years into their stay on Earth. Three human children, Jack Darby, Miko Nakadai, and Raf Esquivel are caught up in the conflict and become members of Optimus's unit. Megatron soon returns and brings Dark Energon to Earth, officially renewing the war. Darkness Rising
• The Autobots and Decepticons ally to defeat Unicron, who is revealed to be Earth's core. One Shall Stand
• After a lengthy arms race over relics scattered on Earth, both factions battle over the right to revive Cybertron through the Omega Lock, but when forced into a corner, Optimus destroys it, dooming Cybertron to remain lifeless. The Autobots are dealt a crushing defeat by Megatron in retaliation, Darkest Hour but eventually successfully regain lost ground when Ultra Magnus arrives on Earth. Rebellion

Well, at least I don't have to pay the power bill for this stupid insignia anymore!

• On the verge of creating a new army of cloned Predacons, the Decepticons lose more than half of their military strength thanks to a mishap involving a Terrorcon infestation, severely weakening their war effort. Thirst This coupled with Predaking revealing his sentience causes Megatron to terminate the cloning scheme, and he resolves to repair the Omega Lock. Evolution Minus One
• When the Omega Lock is completed, the Autobots attack the Nemesis, killing Megatron and reviving Cybertron, effectively ending the Great War with an Autobot victory. Deadlock After reclaiming the AllSpark, Optimus returns to Cybertron to find Unicron attacking the planet, and seals the Chaos Bringer away. Optimus sacrifices himself to restore the AllSpark to the Core of the planet, while a revived Megatron dissolves the Decepticon movement. Predacons Rising

Cyberverse continuity family

The Great War is a historical event from the Cyberverse continuity family.

A long, as in more than 66 million years, and brutal conflict, the Great War saw the collapse of Cybertronian civilization across both the species' ancestral homeworld and its colonies, heralding a new Dark Age for the Transformers.

Cyberverse cartoon

The Great War began when Megatron gathered a large number of followers, who dubbed themselves the Decepticons, in response to the corruption practiced by the ruling class of Cybertron. As time passed however, it became clear that Megatron only served his own powerlust, plunging Cybertron into war for control of the planet. Megatron Is My Hero One of the opening acts of the war was Megatron murdering the High Council. Matrix of Leadership

Early on in the war, some of Cybertron's colonies, such as Caminus, were untouched by the conflict, prompting Chromia to try and have Windblade return home. Maccadam's

Well into the war, Megatron conspired to use Vector Sigma to reprogram the AllSpark and have it birth an endless legion of Decepticons, Megatron Is My Hero only for the Autobots to launch the artifact off Cybertron. Allspark As a result of this, Cybertron's condition began to decline, prompting Optimus Prime to commission the Ark so the Autobots could locate the AllSpark and bring it home. Matrix of Leadership

Some 66 million years later, the Great War seemed to have turned into a more "cold war" state, at least from the Decepticons' point of view, with the Autobots reduced to a small resistance on Cybertron as the Decepticon fleet travelled the galaxy in search of the AllSpark. Fractured Sabotage

When the crew of the Ark reawoke on Earth in the year 2007, and the Nemesis arrived, the Great War resumed on the planet, Sea of Tranquility for a brief period before both Autobots and Decepticons returned to Cybertron. Escape From Earth

Following the Autobots returning the AllSpark to the Well of the AllSpark, the Great War was considered over, Battle For Cybertron IV though factional divides remained in Cybertronian society. Enemy Line

Alternate universes

In another reality, Megatron killed Optimus in the early stages of the Great War and claimed the Matrix of Leadership. Without Prime leading the Autobots, the Decepticons quickly won the war with Megatron using the AllSpark to create his Decepticon supersoldiers. The Other One

Notes

Live action films

• This is chronologically the second known Cybertronian war. The first one was the war between the Seven Primes, which saw the formation of the Decepticon cause by The Fallen.
• The war was officially named the Great War in Transformers: The Movie Guide.

Animated

• There seem to be several parallels between World War II and the Great War, notably the Ambush of Floron III / the Battle of Midway and the Autobot's planet hopping campaign against the Decepticons and the Allies island hopping campaign against the Japanese.
• Footage from the Transformers episodes "War Dawn" and "More than Meets the Eye, Part 1" is used in the video detailing the events of the first Great War, millions of years prior. Generation 1 character cameos include:

{{ #if: {{#ifexpr: 3 }}

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3

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• Transport drones & warriors
• Megatron
• Wheeljack
• Bumblebee
• Skywarp
• Thundercracker
• Guardian robots
• Dion

}}

• Since the histories of Animated and Generation 1 are mutually exclusive (one created by the AllSpark, the other by Quintessons—and that's just for starters), one should not assume that these history clips imply that Animated is somehow a sequel to Generation 1. Rather, the Animated archival footage depicts past Animated characters and events that, by pure happenstance, visually resemble some characters and events from Generation 1. Vector Prime explained this as a "quantum harmonic resonance". Ask Vector Prime, 2015/09/02

Foreign names

Generation One

• Japanese: Great War (グレートウォー Gurēto Wō)
• Indonesian: Perang Besar (Great War)

Animated

• Japanese: Great War (グレートウォー Gurēto Wō)