Editing Character

{{picsneeded|Preferably side-by-side photos of toys of the same character under different names, toys of different characters using the same name and such.}}
A '''character''' is a fictional depiction of a [[Transformer]], a [[human]], an alien or another entity that might or might not have a [[toy]] representation. If there is a toy, the character is usually, but not always, based on the toy and intended as a [[to sell toys|means of promoting said toy]].

Over the course of the numerous ''Transformers'' series and toy lines, some characters have changed their names, while in other cases, characters have appeared that share a name with another character but are separate individuals. Many characters also have counterparts in other [[continuity|continuities]] they may or may not share a lot of similarities with.

[[Hasbro]]'s attitude towards the importance of characters has changed a lot since the launch of the [[Transformers brand]] in [[1984]].

==Character depiction==
A character can be depicted in several ways. One of the simplest forms is the [[bio]] often featured on the back of a toy's packaging, which is usually a brief write-up of the character's personality and abilities.

Characters are also featured in supporting media such as comics, TV shows, movies, video games or books. In the case of characters based on a toy, the depiction of the character will often be consistent across the various media—in theory, at least.

Often, characters not based on existing toys may be created specifically for supporting media. They may be [[human]]s, but may also be Transformers or other aliens. In some cases, the same non-toy character appears in several different supporting media. Some of them might be turned into toys later on, due to the (often unexpected) popularity of those characters.

The reverse is possible as well: Some toy-based characters are featured as "main" characters in the primary fiction, some are reduced to a status as supporting characters, and some may even be mere toy-only characters.

==Relevance==
[[File:PowermasterOptimusPrime toy.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|right|Hey, didn't I already have a toy?]]
Originally, Hasbro didn't put as much emphasis on outstanding characters for the ''Transformers'' toy line from a marketing standpoint as they do today. Toys were supposed to have a shelf life of two years at maximum, to be replaced by new toys, which would be entirely new characters. As a consequence, Hasbro only bothered to register a small number of [[trademark]]s in the 1980s, such as "[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]]"<ref name="opuspto">[http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=73496873 United States Patent and Trademark Office file for the trademark "Optimus Prime"], filed in 1984, registered in 1985.</ref> or "[[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]]".<ref name="swuspto">[http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=73496875 United States Patent and Trademark Office file for the trademark "Soundwave"], filed in 1984, registered in 1985.</ref>

Hasbro didn't originally realize how much of a crucial part recognizable characters had played in the success of the original ''Transformers'' series until they were facing the viewer backlash following Optimus Prime's death in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]''. Following that, more and more toys were designed to resemble—and named after—existing toys/characters. Starting with the ''[[Transformers: Generation 2 (toyline)|Generation 2]]'' toy line, Hasbro began basing many toys from nearly every new line on existing "classic" characters.

In later years, the same character would get toy releases in multiple [[size class]]es in a very short period of time, especially if they were main characters in the primary fiction. In addition, a [[redeco]] of a toy is often a new version of the same character released under the same name (sometimes with an additional prefix or suffix such as "Cybertron Defense" or "GTS"), with an explanation for the color change given in the character [[bio]], and sometimes also in the supporting media fiction.

==Same or different character?==
Considering the large number of different Transformers [[toy]]s, toy lines and [[continuity|continuities]], there have been many instances where a character has used a different name, two or more characters shared the same name, and a character has different incarnations in different continuities. Figuring out whether two characters are actually one and the same or not may sometimes be a difficult task even for longtime fans, and in some instances people's views on the matter may differ.

===According to fiction===
====Same universe, same character, different name====
[[File:DVDbox3d1.jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|left|Arise, Hot Rodimus Major Prime!]]
Sometimes a single character [[renaming|might have multiple names]]. Typically, this happens when Hasbro wants to release a [[Generation 1 reissues|reissue]] of an old toy, or a new toy based on an existing character, but the [[trademark]] for the old toy's name is no longer available. They will most often choose a different yet similar name for the new toy, even though it's very obvious it's still intended to be the same character. [[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak's]] modern toys have been released under the new name "Silverstreak" (though this is presumably going to change now), [[Hot Rod]]'s new toys first became "Rodimus Major" and later simply "Rodimus", and [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]] has been recently renamed "Hardshell".

Sometimes, a character changes his name in a very short span of time. A frequent reason for this is that Hasbro and Takara plan to release a new toy that represents an "upgraded" form of the original toy/character, and the new name puts more emphasis on this change. Hot Rod was upgraded into Rodimus Prime in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'' (1986), and ''[[Transformers: Cybertron (franchise)|Cybertron]]'' [[Overhaul (Cybertron)|Overhaul]] later became Leobreaker.

Usually those name changes are reflected in the accompanying fiction. Sometimes a name change is also exclusively used in fiction to explain the "origin" of a character: The [[Marvel Comics continuity|comics]] by [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)#Marvel UK|Marvel UK]] revealed that the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobot]] [[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]] used to go by the name "Divebomb" until a [[Predacon (G1)|Predacon]] humiliated him and [[Divebomb (G1)|claimed the name as his own]]. Likewise, the [[Transformers: Energon (cartoon)|''Energon'' cartoon]] revealed that [[Wing Saber (Energon)|Wing Saber's]] original name was "Wing Dagger". Neither name was ever used for the corresponding toys.

[[File:BotconG2Streetwise.JPG|thumb|right|upright=1.4|New toy for a ''Generation 1'' character as a redeco of a toy for a different ''Generation 1'' character his original toy didn't share a sculpt with, sporting the colors of his original toy's ''Generation 2'' redeco and the name of his Japanese market-only doppelgänger. Confused yet?]]
Lastly, a character might also have different names for different markets. [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] usually calls their toys of [[Optimus Prime (disambiguation)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Optimus Primal]] "Convoy", [[Jazz (disambiguation)|Jazz]] is known as "Meister", [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] becomes "Lambor", and so on (although that practice is currently changing). In return, Hasbro gave many [[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2001 toyline)|2001 ''Robots in Disguise'']] toys different names when they ported the ''Car Robots'' line to their markets. Furthermore, [[The Transformers (toyline)#Hasbro European line|some toys released in Europe]] after the [[The Transformers (toyline)|original toy line]] had ended in the USA got different (but usually English or English-derived) names for different markets, and when Hasbro eventually released those toys in the USA as part of the ''[[Transformers: Generation 2 (toyline)|Generation 2]]'' toy line, they were renamed again. But since all name [[variant]]s of those toys featured the same [[bio]]s (albeit in different languages), they're commonly considered to be the same characters by fans.

Japan has its share of name changes for upgrades too: Like his Cybertron counterpart Overhaul who became Leobreaker, the Japanese ''Galaxy Force'' version "Jackshot" became "Ligerjack". Furthermore, ''Galaxy Force'' "Exillion", "First Aid" and "Backpack" (''Cybertron'' [[Hot Shot (Armada)|Hot Shot]], [[Red Alert (Armada)|Red Alert]] and [[Scattorshot (Cybertron)|Scattorshot]]) became "Exigeyser", "First Gunner" and "Backgild" ("[[Cybertron Defense Team|Cybertron Defense]]" Hot Shot, Red Alert and Scattorshot), respectively.

An odd case is the ''[[Transformers: Universe (2008 toyline)|Universe]]'' [[Robot Heroes (toyline)|Robot Heroes]] figure "Snarl": Like ''[[Transformers Animated (toyline)|Animated]]'' [[Snarl (Animated)|Snarl]], he was designed with [[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]] [[Slag (G1)|Slag]] in mind, but when Hasbro realized that the word "slag" is considered an insult in the United Kingdom, they decided to change the toys' names to that of Slag's fellow [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobot]] [[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]]. Since the ''Robot Heroes'' figure pretty obviously looks like the G1 Slag character, fans generally consider him to be Slag under a different name, rather than G1 Snarl in the body of G1 Slag. Likewise, the [[BotCon 2010]] exclusive "Turbomaster" toy represents the ''Generation 1'' [[Scorch (G1)|Scorch]] character under a different name (due to trademark reasons), not ''Generation 1'' [[Turbo Master]] in a different body (and with a different faction), and the BotCon 2010 exclusive "Streetstar" toy represents ''Generation 1'' [[Streetwise (G1)|Streetwise]], not his original toy's redeco-as-a-different-character [[Streetstar]]. This was officially confirmed by [[Pete Sinclair]] in order to avoid confusion.

It gets more difficult with unusual cases, though, particularly with toys and characters "imported" from Japan to the USA many years after the fact. ''[[The Transformers: Generation One Commemorative Series|Commemorative Series]]'' [[Ricochet (Headmasters)|Ricochet]] is considered the same character as ''[[Transformers: The Headmasters (franchise)|Headmasters]]'' Stepper. Other cases are less clear; see "questionable cases" below.

====Same universe, same name, different character====
Many times multiple characters go by the same name even though they're entirely different individuals. The more common case is when two entirely different characters in two different [[continuity|continuities]] share the same name (discussed below); but this can also happen within the same continuity. Even though some fans tend to call [[Hasbro]] "lazy" because of this, there is some logic to it: If more than one [[human]] can go by the name "Bob Smith", why shouldn't the name [[Prowl (disambiguation)|Prowl]] be shared between several [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertronian]] citizens?

It started with [[Barrage (Insecticon)|Barrage]] the [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticon]] from 1985 and [[Barrage (Micromaster)|Barrage]] the [[Micromaster]] from 1990, and [[Sky High (Pretender)|Sky High]] the [[Pretender]] from 1988 and [[Sky High (Micromaster)|Sky High]] the Micromaster from 1990. ''[[Transformers: Generation 2 (toyline)|Generation 2]]'' introduced more same-name characters, as did ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (toyline)|Beast Wars]]'' and ''[[Beast Machines: Transformers (toyline)|Beast Machines]]''.

The ''[[Unicron Trilogy]]'' was equally guilty of this, with names such as [[Dirt Boss (disambiguation)|Dirt Boss]], [[Mirage (disambiguation)|Mirage]], and [[Downshift (disambiguation)|Downshift]] assigned to several different characters, most of them [[Mini-Con]]s. Hasbro did, however, attempt to avoid attributing the same name to two different [[bulk|''Unicron Trilogy'' characters who ''weren't'' Mini-Cons]]. For example, an ''[[Transformers: Energon (franchise)|Energon]]'' character that resembles [[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]] [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] was named "[[Downshift (Energon)|Downshift]]" because the name "[[Wheeljack (Armada)|Wheeljack]]" had already been used by a major ''[[Transformers: Armada (franchise)|Armada]]'' character.

Takara took similar steps during their version of the "Micron Trilogy": ''Armada'' [[Scavenger (Armada)|Scavenger]] had been named "Devastor" (the Japanese name of ''Generation 1'' [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]]) in Japan, so Takara's version of [[Constructicon Maximus]] (a G1 Devastator [[homage]]) was named "Buildron" instead. Likewise, ''Armada'' [[Blurr (Armada)|Blurr's]] Japanese name was "Silverbolt", hence the Japanese version of ''Energon'' [[Storm Jet (Energon)|Storm Jet]] became "Afterburner" instead. And since the ''Micron Densetsu'' version of ''Armada'' [[Sureshock (Armada)|Sureshock]] had already been named "Arcee", the ''Superlink'' version of ''Energon'' [[Arcee (Energon)|Arcee]] became "Ariel".

The [[live-action film series]] once again gives us multiple characters within the same continuity using the same name, such as ''[[Movie (toyline)|2007's]]'' [[Jolt (Movie)|Jolt]] and ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (franchise)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' [[Jolt (ROTF)|Jolt]], or [[Mudflap (Movie)|Mudflap]] and ''Revenge of the Fallen'' [[Mudflap (ROTF)|Mudflap]].

Again, there is room for confusion: Are ''Armada'' [[Jolt (Armada)|Jolt]] and ''Cybertron'' [[Jolt (Cybertron)|Jolt]] the same or different characters? For the really confusing cases, once again see below for "questionable cases".

====Different universe, same name, different character incarnation====
[[File:WMTheLegacyOfBumblebee.jpg|thumb|300 px|This is rare: Three different character incarnations using the same name in one package.]]Since the inception of the [[Transformers brand]] in 1984, the various series and toy lines have introduced multiple [[continuity|continuities]]. Several [[franchise]]s may be set within the same continuity, while the same franchise might have incarnations in several slightly different universes. Either way, some universes, especially those from different franchises, are very different from each other—for example, the [[Unicron Trilogy]] and the [[live-action film series]].

Nevertheless, characters may appear in those universes that share not only the same name, but also distinct physical traits and similar basic characterizations. Generation 1 [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] has a [[Optimus Prime (Armada)|counterpart]] in the [[Unicron Trilogy]] and [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|another one]] in the [[Movie continuity]]. Likewise, Generation 1 [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] had a [[Bumblebee (Movie)|live-action]] and an ''[[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Animated]]'' [[Bumblebee (Animated)|counterpart]]. Although the general audience might simply consider them all the same characters, most fans view them as different incarnations of the same general character archetype.
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====Different universe, same name, different character====
Characters in different universes might also use the same name despite having nothing else in common. For most fans, this is less problematic than two characters with the same name in the same universe, since it's entirely possible that a White supremacist, a Buddhist monk or a genius child in another universe might also be named [[Barack Obama]].

Therefore, ''[[Movie (franchise)|Movie]]'' [[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]] is an entirely different character from [[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]] [[Micromaster]] [[Barricade (G1)|Barricade]], and both are entirely different characters from ''[[Transformers: Energon (franchise)|Energon]]'' [[Barricade (Energon)|Barricade]]. Likewise, ''[[Transformers: Cybertron (franchise)|Cybertron]]'' [[Mini-Con]] [[Shockwave (Cybertron)|Shockwave]] has nothing in common with Generation 1 [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] other than the name.

A common reason for this is that [[Hasbro]] wants to protect their [[trademark]]s. When no new toy based on the original [[Thunderwing (G1)|Thunderwing]] is planned for the foreseeable future, Hasbro will simply slap the name on the [[Thunderwing (Classics)|next available Mini-Con]] to make sure the name is used in commerce for another term. Considering the large number of [[homage]] toys in recent years, however, this practice is applied less often than in the past.

"[[Ransack (disambiguation)|Ransack]]" might be the name applied to the largest number of distinctively diverse characters between multiple universes, although there are even some different "Ransack" characters occupying the same universe.

====Different universe, different name, similar character====
[[File:UniverseBrawnvsCybertronOverhaul.jpg|thumb|200 px|left|Say, sir, you look familiar.]]These ones are the most difficult to categorize: There can be characters based on characters from older franchises with their own universes which are given different names (often for [[trademark]] reasons). There's ''something'' that ties them to the older character, be it the characterization, a still similar, but more lawyer-friendly name, a similar [[alternate mode]] or a similar color scheme and/or deco. However, for the purposes of this wiki, these are usually ''not'' considered alternate versions of differently-named characters from different universes, but mere [[homage]]s.

For example, ''[[Transformers: Energon (franchise)|Energon]]'' featured a character who was obviously based on ''[[The Transformers (franchise)|Generation 1]]'' [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]], but was named "[[Shockblast]]" for trademark reasons. (However, the ''[[Transformers: Alternators|Alternators]]'' toy of G1 Shockwave was ''also'' named "Shockblast" for trademark reasons, thus making the connection stronger.) Meanwhile, another ''Energon'' character who was visually based on ''Generation 1'' [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (but had a different personality) was named "[[Downshift (Energon)|Downshift]]" instead, because there had already been a major character named "[[Wheeljack (Armada)|Wheeljack]]" in the previous, same-universe franchise, ''[[Transformers: Armada (franchise)|Armada]]''. (The [[Transformers: Energon (cartoon)|''Energon'' cartoon]], however, mixed up Downshift's name with that of his fellow Autobot [[Cliffjumper (Energon)|Cliffjumper]] more often than not.)

Similarly, ''Armada'' [[Hot Shot (Armada)|Hot Shot]] essentially occupied the position of ''Generation 1'' [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] as the main "yellow kid-appeal character" in the [[Unicron Trilogy]] universe with some elements of G1 [[Hot Rod]] mixed in (in fact, Takara's ''Micron Legend'' name for Hot Shot ''was'' "Hot Rod"), mostly because the latter two names were both unavailable to Hasbro for trademark reasons during that time. (As a matter of fact, ''[[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Animated]]'' [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] was originally intended to be named "Hot Shot", but was renamed when ''[[Movie (franchise)|Movie]]'' [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]] became a household name overnight, easily overshadowing the popularity of UT Hot Shot.) Furthermore, ''[[Transformers: Cybertron (franchise)|Cybertron]]'' [[Overhaul (Cybertron)|Overhaul's]] color scheme was based on ''Generation 1'' [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] (even though Overhaul had previously been designed with G1 [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] in mind, most of that was scrapped when it turned out the name was unavailable for [[trademark]] reasons), whose personality also happens to be similar to Overhaul's.

===Toys vs. fiction===
====Same toy, same universe, different company, different character====
[[File:WindchargerOverdrive.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|right|We're different guys, honest.]]In some cases, the [[Hasbro]] and [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] versions of a toy represent different characters.

This was more common during ''[[The Transformers (toyline)|Generation 1]]'', when the Hasbro and Takara lines started to diverge more and more. For the 1987 lineup, one could still debate whether the [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmasters]] and [[Targetmaster (technology)|Targetmasters]] such as [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok/Megazarak]] were to be considered different interpretations of the same characters, or fully-fledged separate characters... however, the Hasbro Headmasters' Nebulan partners (such as [[Zarak (G1)|Zarak]]) were treated as the same characters as their larger "[[Transtector]]" robots in Japanese fiction, and the Targetmaster Nebulans were robots rather than organic aliens in Japanese fiction. Also notably, Targetmaster Nebulans [[Nightstick (Cyclonus)|Nightstick]] (from [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]]) and [[Fracas]] (from [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]]) got repurposed (but not or only minimally [[redeco]]ed) to new Targetmaster toys [[Ricochet (Headmasters)|Stepper]] and [[Artfire (Headmasters)|Artfire]] and renamed into "[[Nightstick (Ricochet)|Nebulon]]" and "[[Nightstick (Artfire)|Nightstick]]" for the Japanese market, respectively. Hasbro later released a [[The Transformers: Generation One Commemorative Series|Commemorative Series]] "[[Generation 1 reissues|reissue]]" of Stepper in the USA under the name "Ricochet", renaming "Nebulon" into "Nightstick"... but there's no official information whether this Nightstick is in any way related to Cyclonus's Nightstick.

When Takara turned to ''[[Transformers: Super-God Masterforce (franchise)|Masterforce]]'' and ''[[Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers: Victory (franchise)|Victory]]'', differences between the toys and their Hasbro counterparts started to become more apparent, while the characters were almost exclusively separate entities. Some toys sported entirely different decos between the two companies or even [[mold]] differences, with cases like [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]]/[[Minerva (Masterforce human)|Minerva]] or [[Crossblades (G1)|Crossblades]]/[[Blue Bacchus]] and [[Thunderwing (G1)|Thunderwing]]/[[Black Shadow (Victory)|Black Shadow]] really stressing the definition of "same toy", effectively making them concurrently released redecos or [[retool]]s. Other cases such as [[Siren (G1)|Siren]]/[[Shūta Gō|Goshooter]], [[Dreadwind (G1)|Dreadwind]]/[[Buster (Masterforce)|Buster]] and [[Darkwing]]/[[Hydra (Masterforce)|Hydra]] or [[Doubledealer]]/[[Clouder|Doublecoulder]] are less definitive, and yet again others like [[Hosehead (G1)|Hosehead]]/[[Cab (human)|Cab]] or [[Squeezeplay]]/[[Cancer (Masterforce)|Cancer]] are virtually indistinguishable from each other in toy form. In what may be the most prominent example, [[Ginrai (human)|Super/God Ginrai]], whose toy was the (slightly superior) counterpart of Hasbro's [[Powermaster]] [[Optimus Prime (G1)/toys|Optimus Prime]] but a separate character from Convoy (Optimus Prime's Japanese name), was later released by Hasbro as a Commemorative Series "reissue" named "Powermaster Optimus Prime", with minimal differences from Takara's previously released God Ginrai reissue, unlike the more obviously different 1988 releases of the respective toys.

In later years, the Hasbro and Takara versions of a toy almost exclusively represent the same character, with very rare exceptions. Sometimes this can happen for [[trademark]] reasons, when a toy was designed as a new version of a [[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]] character, but Hasbro can't release the toy under the name of the character it's designed to represent. Usually the substitute name just makes it the same character under a different name (as mentioned above), but sometimes the name is taken from a different ''Generation 1'' character. The most prominent example is ''[[Transformers: Alternators|Alternators]]'' [[Windcharger (G1)#Alternators|Windcharger]], who was actually designed with the [[Omnibot (G1)|Omnibot]] [[Overdrive#Binaltech|Overdrive]] in mind, and was in fact released under that name in Takara's ''Binaltech'' version of the line.

In other cases, the cause might be a miscommunication (or disagreement) between Hasbro and Takara: While Hasbro intended ''[[Transformers: Armada (toyline)|Armada]]'' [[Thundercracker (Armada)|Thundercracker]] as a different character than [[Starscream (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Starscream]], whom he was [[redeco]]ed from, the [[Transformers: Armada (cartoon)|''Micron Legend'' cartoon]] made the "Thundercracker" colors an upgraded form of Starscream, and Takara released their version of the toy under the name "Starscream S" ("Super Mode"). The English ''Armada'' dub of the cartoon tried to "fix" the error by having Starscream remark that he "look[s] like Thundercracker" in his new colors.

Things got worse during ''[[Transformers: Energon (franchise)|Energon]]'': Even though [[Inferno (Energon)|Inferno's]] redeco was released as a new character named "[[Roadblock (Energon)|Roadblock]]" by Hasbro, the [[Transformers: Energon (cartoon)|cartoon]] made him an upgraded version of Inferno, and Takara appropriately released him as "Inferno V" ("Volt"). Likewise, the redeco of ''Energon'' [[Jetfire (Armada)|Jetfire]] ("Skyfire" in Japan), released as "Skyfire S" ("Sonic") by Takara, was released as a different character named "[[Overcast (Energon)|Overcast]]" by Hasbro, whom the [[bio]] then identified as Jetfire's long-lost brother. The same thing effectively happened with [[Landmine (Energon)|Landmine]] and [[Cliffjumper (Energon)|Cliffjumper]], whose redecos were released by Hasbro as new characters named [[Landquake (Energon)|Landquake]] and [[Beachcomber (Energon)|Beachcomber]], respectively, despite the cartoon once again depicting the new colors as "upgraded" versions of the same characters. However, Takara ultimately never released their own versions of these redecos.

There's also the odd "different branch of the same company" case: The ''[[Transformers: Generation 2 (toyline)|Generation 2]]'' "Hero" [[Optimus Prime (G1)/toys|Optimus Prime]] and [[Megatron (G1)/toys|Megatron]] toys got a bizarre treatment for their [[Transformers: Generation 2 (toyline)#Hasbro European line|European releases]]—stripped of the [[sticker]] texts that identified the US toys as Optimus Prime and Megatron, they were sold as separate characters named [[Sureshot (G2)|Sureshot]] and [[Archforce]], respectively.

====Same toy, same company, different universe, different character or character incarnation====
[[File:Clocker Hardtop Movie Universe.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|right|These are not the same guys. Honestly.]]
Sometimes different-universe characters are created by pure marketing decisions that don't put a lot of thought into the fiction-related aspects (see [[rebranding]]): For example, in late 2008, Hasbro intended to release [[redeco]]s of the ''[[Transformers: Energon (toyline)|Energon]]'' [[combiner]]s [[Superion Maximus]] and [[Bruticus Maximus (Energon)|Bruticus Maximus]] as [[Target]] exclusive [[Superion (G1)|Superion]] and [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus Maximus]] giftsets for the second ''[[Transformers: Universe (2008 toyline)|Universe]]'' line. However, it was ultimately decided to delay them until 2009 and release them in ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (toyline)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' packaging instead, to profit from the expected larger pull of the [[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|movie]]. However, both sets ''were'' released in their originally intended ''Universe'' packaging in some markets (such as Australia and Singapore), thus creating different incarnations of the same characters in different universes, despite them being the same toys, just in different packaging.

The same happened again later in 2009, when Hasbro released two [[Walmart]] exclusive ''Universe'' two-packs of repackaged ''[[Transformers: Cybertron (toyline)|Cybertron]]'' Scout [[redeco]]s originally released as [[Target]] exclusive single packs from the 2007 ''[[Movie (toyline)|Movie]]'' line. Despite being unchanged from their ''Movie'' versions and sporting the same names, the ''Universe'' versions were officially labeled as part of the "Cybertron Series", thus effectively making them different character incarnations than their ''Movie'' counterparts.

An even weirder case occurred in 2006, when four [[Mini-Con]]s released in ''[[Transformers: Classics|Classics]]'' three-packs were also available as "bonus" figures with a Walmart exclusive "[[Black Friday (event)|Black Friday]]" version of ''Cybertron'' [[Primus]]. In addition to the different [[franchise]]-based packaging, two of the Mini-Cons even sported different ''names''—[[Dirt Rocket (Classics)|Dirt Rocket]] and [[Thunderwing (Classics)|Thunderwing]] for ''Classics'', [[Offshoot (Cybertron)|Offshoot]] and [[Nightscream (Cybertron)|Nightscream]] for ''Cybertron'', respectively.

Likewise, the second wave of ''Universe'' (the original line) "Dollar store" exclusive [[Spy Changer]]s included unchanged re-releases of [[W.A.R.S.]], [[Ironhide (RID)|Ironhide]] and [[Mirage (RID)|Mirage]] from the second batch of KB Toys exclusive ''[[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2001 toyline)|Robots in Disguise]]'' Spy Changers, with W.A.R.S. and Ironhide renamed into "[[Camshaft (G1)|Autobot Camshaft]]" and "[[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]]", respectively. Only [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] retained his name, but arguably represents the ''[[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]]'' character rather than his ''RID'' counterpart.

====Same toy, different company, different universe, different character incarnation====
[[File:Hotrod-henkeicomic.jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|left|Does he like JaAm? We may never know.]]Sometimes toys are released under the same name by [[Hasbro]] and [[TakaraTomy]], but are officially declared to belong to different universes: While Hasbro's ''[[Transformers: Universe (2008 toyline)|Universe]]'' [[Hot Shot (Armada)|Hot Shot]] toy represents the same character as his ''[[Transformers: Armada (franchise)|Armada]]'' predecessor, officially placed in the toy line's "Armada Series", TakaraTomy instead decided to officially place their ''[[Henkei! Henkei! Transformers (toyline)|Henkei! Henkei!]]'' [[Hot Shot (Henkei!)|Hot Rod]] release of the toy in the same [[continuity]] as the other, ''Generation 1''-derived ''Henkei!'' toys, thus effectively making him a different-universe incarnation of the character. Likewise, Hasbro officially considers the [[Transformers: War for Cybertron (franchise)|''War for Cybertron'' game franchise]] and its characters to be part of the [[Aligned continuity family|"Aligned" universe]], which includes the toys released as part of the ''[[Transformers: Generations|Generations]]'' line. By contrast, TakaraTomy's versions of those toys released as part of the ''[[Transformers United|United]]'' line are considered to be the same characters as their [[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]] namesakes.
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===Characters spanning the multiverse===
====[[Multiversal singularity|Multiversal singularities]]====
For some characters, Hasbro has officially declared that there is only ''one'' of them ever in-fiction. There are no multiple characters in the same universe, not even different incarnations of a character in multiple universes. There is only one character that either exists in all universes at the same time, or travels from universe to universe in a linear fashion.

The first character that got this treatment from Hasbro was [[Unicron]], starting with the supporting fiction for the 2003 ''[[Transformers: Universe (2003 toyline)|Universe]]'' toy line. This may seem at odds with his [[The Transformers (cartoon)|original ''The Transformers'' cartoon]] origin according to "[[Call of the Primitives]]" and a line in [[Eye of the Storm|issue 69]] of the [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|Marvel US ''Generation 1'' comic]], where Unicron implies that an alternate universe incarnation of himself exists. However, since the "multiversal Unicron" concept is a [[retcon]], it officially overrules these stories.

Other characters that were later also declared "multiversal singularities" by Hasbro are [[Primus]] and the [[Thirteen|thirteen original Transformers]], including [[Vector Prime]] and [[The Fallen]]. Not all fans are happy with the implications of this mandate, however; and furthermore, the different portrayals of The Fallen in [[Dreamwave Productions|Dreamwave's]] ''[[Transformers: War Within: The Dark Ages|War Within: The Dark Ages]]'' and [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount's]] ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' film put a huge stretch on this concept depending on whom you ask. Hasbro's official toy [[bio]] for the ''Fallen'' toy, in particular, is in stark contrast to all the other portrayals of the character. Arguably worse is [[Alpha Trion (WFC)|Alpha Trion]], who was confirmed to be one of the Thirteen, which ''should'' make him a singularity, despite the fact that [[Alpha Trion (SG)|his counterpart in one reality]] is evil, and therefore almost certainly not the same character. (However, Hasbro has suggested that the [[Aligned continuity family]] may be completely separate from the others, so the "multiversal singularity" concept from previous fiction may not apply to them.)

[[Sideways (disambiguation)|Sideways]] is equally problematic: The ''[[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2001 franchise)|Robots in Disguise]]'', ''[[Transformers: Armada (franchise)|Armada]]'' and ''[[Transformers: Cybertron (franchise)|Cybertron]]'' toys and characters and the ''[[Robotmasters (franchise)|Robotmasters]]'' Double Face toy (a [[redeco]] of the ''Robots in Disguise'' Sideways toy; ''Armada'' Sideways' Japanese name was also "Double Face") have all been declared to be the same character by Hasbro or Takara one way or another. ''[[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Animated]]'' Sideways is also strongly hinted to be the same character... but what really stretches it are tangential hints that ''also'' tie ''Animated'' Sideways to the ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (franchise)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' character of the same name.

====Multiversal aggregates====
At the other end of the spectrum, there are entities which are aggregates of several alternate characters from various universes. Most notably this covers the [[Alternity]]. Each entity of the Alternity is the sum total of dozens of incarnations across the multiverse, and thus characters such as ''Alternity'' [[Optimus Prime (disambiguation)|Convoy]] are collectively drawing from the experiences of their component selves.

===Questionable cases===
[[File:SpikevsBusterCartoonMarvelIDW.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|right|Which of these are the same characters? You decide!]]And then there are the rare cases that effectively defy all rules as defined above. The ones that transcend being "borderline cases" and just become instances of bizarro weirdo "we don't know". ''[[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]]'' [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] may have gotten drastically different characterizations between the [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|original comic]] and the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|cartoon]], but the two depictions still have enough in common (being based on the same toy, for instance) to be considered variations of the same character... somehow. ''Generation 1'' [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]] went a step further, being not only given drastically different origins between the cartoon and comic, but also different ''names'', as the cartoon called him "Skyfire". The fact that the Jetfire [[toy]] looks ''very'' different from the cartoon Skyfire/Marvel Jetfire [[character model]] doesn't exactly help, either.

Even worse were the [[Omnibot (G1)|Omnibots]], who got characterizations with wildly varying degrees of consistency between their [[instructions]], the [[You Have Been Chosen.|mail order flyer]] advertising them, profiles in the [[Marvel Comics]] [[production bible]] (which were never officially released to the public), their Japanese market toy [[bio]]s and their profiles in [[Dreamwave Productions|Dreamwave's]] ''[[Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More than Meets the Eye]]'' profile book series.

The [[Autobot|Autobots']] human ally from the ''Generation 1'' cartoon, [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]], had a counterpart in the Marvel comics named [[Buster Witwicky (G1)|Buster Witwicky]], who had effectively the same role as cartoon Spike for a long time... until the comic introduced Spike as Buster's older brother, who had been away at college for years. While Dreamwave's version of Spike can be easily viewed as an older version of his season 1-2 cartoon self, [[IDW Publishing|IDW]] further complicated matters by introducing a "Sam 'Spike' Witwicky" in their own [[IDW Generation 1 continuity|''Generation 1''-based continuity]] who is very different from all previous incarnations. And none of the above takes into consideration the virtually identical character [[Butch Witwicky (G1)|Butch Witwicky]] from the [[Marvel Books|Marvel coloring book]] [[Forest Rescue Mission]], let alone [[Sam Witwicky]], another analogous Witwicky teen who befriends the Autobots in the [[live-action film series|live-action Movie contintuity]].

''Generation 1'' [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] was shown to be rebuilt from [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'', but his original toy [[bio]] states that he is ''not'' the leader of the Decepticons, nor gives any indication of him having once been Megatron. The Marvel comics, by extent of the UK title, featured [[Galvatron (G1)#Marvel Comics continuity|several versions of Galvatron]] who hailed from several alternate realities, although all of them had in common that they were reformatted versions of Megatron (or [[Straxus (G1)|someone disguised as Megatron]]). One of these versions was later officially established a separate entity dubbed "[[Galvatron II]]" via [[e-HOBBY]]. Then IDW introduced [[Galvatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|their own version of Galvatron]], who was definitively an altogether separate entity from Megatron... Likewise, IDW introduced their own version of [[Goldbug (IDW)|Goldbug]] who was a separate entity from [[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]], unlike his toy bio and cartoon and Marvel depictions. Head scratching ensues.

[[File:PyroSparkComicWhatever.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|left|You guys love driving us crazy, don't ya?]]Then there's ''[[Transformers: Super-God Masterforce (franchise)|Masterforce]]'' [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]], whose toy was later released in slightly different colors in [[The Transformers (toyline)#Hasbro European line|European markets]] under the same name... with a very different background in his on-packaging bio. Later, [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] released a ''[[Heroes of Cybertron#SCF|Super Collection Figure]]'' version of Overlord, which was released in the United States market as part of the ''Heroes of Cybertron'' line by [[Hasbro]], renamed "Gigatron"... and [[Tech Spec]] stats that are at odds with the European release of [[Powermaster]] Overlord (his bio doesn't really give him a characterization).

The Europe-only ''Generation 1'' [[Action Master]] [[Charger]] shares his function, motto, Tech Spec stats, and personality description with the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobot]] [[Slag (G1)|Slag]], even though the two look nothing alike... and Charger is a [[Decepticon]]. Yeah, we have no idea, either. Meanwhile, the equally Europe-only [[Action Master Elite]] "Omega Spreem" has similar enough Tech Spec stats and personality descriptions to ''Generation 1'' [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]], in addition to a very similar-looking toy, to be considered the same character, despite the slightly different name (which could be due to a case of [[Engrish]]) and the weird colors.

The Europe-only tail-end ''Generation 1'' [[Obliterator]] [[Pyro (G1)|Pyro]] was [[rebranding|re-released]] as part of the [[Transformers: Generation 2 (toyline)#Hasbro European line|Europe-only version of the ''Generation 2'' line]], renamed "Spark" but retaining the same Tech Spec stats and personality description. Many years later, Pyro ''finally'' appeared in fiction, in IDW ''[[The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers|Last Stand of the Wreckers]]'' comic... and almost at the same time, '''Pyro Ignatius Spark''' appeared in [[Fun Publications]]'s [[BotCon 2010]] exclusive ''[[Transformers: Wings Universe|Wings of Honor]]'' comic [[Generation 2: Redux]], with a drastically different character portrayal.

The ''[[Transformers: Classics|Classics]]'' toy line featured a toy named "Leo Prime", which sported the same colors as ''[[Beast Wars II: Super Lifeform Transformers (franchise)|Beast Wars II]]'' [[Lio Convoy]], but he was declared an Autobot rather than a [[Maximal]]. Then Lio Convoy appeared in IDW's ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (franchise)|Beast Wars]]'' comics, as a Maximal called "Lio Convoy" rather than "Leo Prime", but with a very different character background than his original Japanese portrayal. And then Hasbro released more "Leo Prime" toys in their second ''[[Transformers: Universe (2008 toyline)|Universe]]'' toy line, whose bios reflected IDW's Lio Convoy.

As for the [[live-action film series|live-action movie universe]], IDW's ''[[Transformers: Alliance|Alliance]]'' comic featured a Decepticon who sported the same colors as the [[Walmart]] [[exclusive]] [[Movie (toyline)|''Movie''-affiliated]] [[Jolt (Movie)|Jolt]] toy... yet went by the name "Dead End" (or "Deadend") and sported a different [[alternate mode]]. Are he and Jolt supposed to be the same character? Is he supposed to be the same character as the ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (toyline)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' [[Dead End (ROTF)|Dead End]] toys? The only thing certain is that all of them are separate from the ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' on-screen character [[Jolt (ROTF)|Jolt]] and his toys.

Essentially, in these cases the Transformers Wiki has decided either to consider several or all of these variations of a character as the same or different characters. While there is ''some'' reason to our choices, we are well aware that they may occasionally seem arbitrary. That is simply because these cases are often ''confusing'', and [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/YourMileageMayVary your mileage may vary] whether these are the same or separate characters.

===Official positions===
====Hasbro's official position====
Aside from the official mandate regarding "multiversal singularities", it's not entirely clear whether [[Hasbro]] makes the same distinctions for different incarnations of characters and different characters using the same name as fans do. As far as Hasbro is concerned, are ''[[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2001 franchise)|Robots in Disguise]]'' [[Hot Shot (RID)|Hot Shot]] and ''[[Unicron Trilogy]]'' [[Hot Shot (Armada)|Hot Shot]] two entirely separate characters using the same name, or different incarnations of the same character in different universes? Answers to such questions are rarely known for certain.

The 2008 "Legacy of Bumblebee" three-pack from the [[Movie (toyline)|first live-action movie toyline]] addresses this issue in Bumblebee's case as part of the toys' collective [[bio]], which was written in an out-of-universe perspective. In that bio, "Bumblebee" is described as having had many "incarnations" over the 25 year history of the [[Transformers brand|brand]]. The three incarnations represented in the package are "[[Bumblebee (G1)/toys|Classic Bumblebee]]", "[[Bumblebee (Movie)/toys|Movie Bumblebee]]", and "[[Bumblebee (Animated)|Animated Bumblebee]]". The bio goes on to give the three incarnations a common, generalized biography written for "Bumblebee" in the singular. The bio concludes by pointing out that, while "Bumblebee" may change in some ways, he will always be the [[kid-appeal character|Autobots' friendly face]].

There are a few instances where Hasbro has explicitly declared several toys with the same name as one and the same character, despite drastically different appearances. For instance, the [[packaging]] for the 2008 ''[[Transformers: Universe (2008 toyline)|Universe]]'' Overload toy (a green redeco of ''[[Transformers: Cybertron (toyline)|Cybertron]]'' [[Scattorshot (Cybertron)|Defense Scattorshot]]) identifies him as the same character as ''Armada'' [[Overload (Armada)|Overload]]. If that wasn't confusing enough, Hasbro, when asked about this, [[Hasbro Q&A/May 2009: Answers|gave an oddly phrased answer]] that even tied him to the ''Generation 1'' [[Micromaster]] [[Overload (G1)|Overload]].

Other unexpected same-character declarations made ''Robots in Disguise'' Axer the same character as ''Generation 1'' [[Action Master]] [[Axer (G1)|Axer]]; and ''Robots in Disguise'' [[Sideways (RID)|Sideways]] (who was sold in a two-pack with Axer) was later [[retcon|retroactively]] declared the same character as ''Armada'' Sideways (as noted above).

In contrast, Hasbro stated in the [[Hasbro Q&A/October 2009: Answers|October 2009 Q&A session]], regarding the ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (toyline)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' [[Target]]-[[exclusive]] [[Superion (ROTF)|Superion]] giftset and, by extrapolation, its originally intended release as ''[[Transformers: Universe (2008 toyline)|Universe]]'' [[Superion (G1)#Universe (2008)|Superion]], that [[Airazor (ROTF)|Airazor]] (and, by extrapolation, ''Universe'' [[Airazor (Universe)|Airazor]]) "is a 'male' character that was designed in memorium {{sic}} of [[Slingshot (G1)|Slingshot]]" (whose name was unavailable as a [[trademark]]). So instead of declaring either of the Airazors (whom they presumably don't even view as different characters) to be Slingshot under a different name, Hasbro declared him a different character instead.

So in essence, Hasbro's basic line of thinking appears to be that "same name" equals "same character", and "different name" equals "different character", regardless of how much sense it makes in some instances.

====Takara's official position====
Japanese Transformers fiction is less fractured than its American counterpart. With a few exceptions, comics, storybooks, bios, and other special fiction always take place in cartoon continuity (which ultimately makes for a convoluted mess in itself).

Takara (now [[TakaraTomy]]) seldom weighs in on the dicey issue of character analogs in other universes. However, during a Q&A at the [http://www.wcc-jp.com/ World Character Convention] in December 2002, the head of Takara's Boys Division, when asked flat out if the (then just announced) ''Micron Densetsu'' Convoy (''[[Transformers: Armada (franchise)|Armada]]'' [[Optimus Prime (Armada)|Optimus Prime]]) represented the same character as G1 Convoy (''Generation 1'' [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]]), said that no, he was a different character, more like [[Lio Convoy]]<ref>'''Q:''' <tt>"...in the past, we've seen a variety of "Convoy" who are different characters, such as Lio Convoy and Convoy of Beast Wars. Is the Armada Convoy intended to be a representation of the G1 Convoy, or an original character?"</tt><br/>
'''A:''' <tt>"It's an original character."</tt> —[http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/1febc40cc3fa4163?hl=en Jordon Derber's report from the World Character Convention]</ref> (a completely separate character). On the other hand, a [http://www.takaratomy.co.jp/products/TF/table.html timeline posted on TakaraTomy's website] in 2007 seemed to suggest that the [[Movie (franchise)|2007 movie]] was set in the Generation 1 continuity, thus effectively making movie [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] the same character as G1 Optimus Prime. (Note, however, that other diagrams by Takara to explain Transformers continuities have made the live action movies a separate continuity from ''Generation 1''.)

==Footnotes==
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[[Category:Characters| ]]