Editing Precursor World continuity

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[[File:Generations Selects Primus Vanguard.jpg|right|upright=2.5|thumb|Gathered friends, listen again to our [[Generations Selects Special Comic|Legend]] of the [[Primus Vanguard|BIONICLE]]. In the [[Precursor World|time before time-]]]]
The '''Precursor World''' [[Franchises|franchise]]<ref>The Precursor World is a particularly peculiar edge case. Possessing no branding of its own, the setting slowly precipitated into the shape of a collector oriented micro-franchise a la ''[[Transformers Cloud]]'' and [[Fun Publications]]' [[Transformers: Shattered Glass (franchise)|various]] [[Beast Wars: Uprising|offerings]] as it accrued toys and fiction under a variety of different imprints over the course of several years. As such, we've elected to organize it here as a sort of "virtual franchise" for reader convenience. See the [[Precursor World (franchise)#Conceptual history|conceptual history]] section for more.</ref> is home to the fictional universe and associated toys and storylines that sprung from [[e-HOBBY]]'s ''[[Spin Off]]'' line of exclusive comics. Perhaps the most arcane extrusion yet of the behemoth that is the [[Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Japanese continuity]] of the original Generation 1 cartoon, it tells the tale of the Transformers' god [[Primus]] in the universe that existed ''prior'' to that of [[The Transformers (cartoon)|''The Transformers'']], not dissimilar to the backstory of ''[[Marvel Comics|Marvel]]''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s {{w|Galactus}}. Its primary claim to fame is the fan-favorite [[Primus Vanguard]], a flashy rainbow legion of officially [[Repurposing|repurposed]] toys from across the ''Transformers'' brand.

{{bigquote|Once upon a time, in a certain ancient universe, fought the Warriors of the [[Star Power|Seven Lights]] derived from [[The One|G One]]. 
They were led by the Golden Warrior, Primus, who founded the Primus Vanguard, defenders of the universe.|[[Generations Selects Special Comic Finale Part 1|Generations Selects Finale]]}}

==Franchise components==
*A "[[Precursor World (toyline)|virtual toyline]]" consisting of a combination of officially-released toys made especially for the line, [[Repurposing|repurposed]] toys, and potential [[redeco]]s of other toys.
*A series of [[e-HOBBY]] [[Spin Off|comics]], most of which form a single storyline.
*An e-HOBBY [[Source:Profile Plus|social media feature]].
*The [[Generations Selects Special Comic|ongoing comic]] for [[TakaraTomy|TakaraTomy's]] portion of the [[Generations Selects (franchise)|Generations Selects]] toyline.

==Setting==
{{main|Precursor World}}

Taking place in the universe prior to that of [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] and friends, the citizens of the Precursor World are a race of [[Transformer|shape-changing robots]] known as the "Warriors of the Seven Lights." Believing themselves charged with protecting the titular mystical energies known as the [[Star Power|Seven Lights]] by their creator god [[The One|G-One]], the wheel around which the Warriors' society turns is the [[Primus Vanguard]], a series of color-coded orders led by G-One's disciple [[Primus#The old universe|Primus]] for this purpose. The strength of the Vanguard wanes as threats both [[Straxus (G1)#Precursor World|internal]] and [[Specter|external]] loom, and Primus seeks out [[Black Legendisc|forbidden knowledge]]...

==Overview==
{{chapters|title=Precursor World|align=left|content=
<div class="list-header">''[[Spin Off]]'':</div>
*"[[Cybertron Convobat]]"
*"[[Cybertron Magna Convoy]]"
<br/><div class="list-header">''Spin Off'' web content:</div>
*[[Cybertron Convobat prequel comic|Convobat]]
*[[Cybertron Magna Convoy prequel comic|Magna Convoy]]
*[[Blue Big Convoy comic|Blue Big Convoy]]
<br/><div class="list-header">''[[Generations Selects Special Comic]]'':</div>
*[[Star Convoy comic|Star Convoy]]
*[[Seacons comic 1|Seacons]]
*[[Super Megatron comic 1|Super Megatron]]
*[[God Neptune comic 1|God Neptune]]
*[[Volcanicus comic 1|Volcanicus]]
*[[Abominus comic 1|Abominus]]
*[[Generations Selects Special Comic Finale Part 1|Finale]]
<br/><div class="list-header">Other:</div>
*[[Source:Profile Plus|Profile+]]
}}
{{-}}

The Precursor World was first introduced in 2016 with "[[Cybertron Convobat]]", a pack-in comic for TakaraTomy's exclusive ''[[Spin Off]]'' imprint. Here, the diminutive clones [[Convobat]] and [[Megalligator]] fought to escape the laboratory of their creator [[Straxus (G1)#Precursor World|Straxus]]. In the following installment, "[[Cybertron Magna Convoy]]", the details of the setting began to unfurl as Convobat ventured into the wider world and the concept of the Primus Vanguard was introduced as Straxus and [[Magna Convoy]] fought over the Vanguard's legacy amidst its ruins. These comics were supplemented by online prologues as well as [[Source:Profile Plus|Profile+]], a feature on the official e-HOBBY twitter account that provided additional art and story tidbits.

In ''Spin Off''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> final installment, the narrative flashed back to the glory days of the Vanguard to introduce [[Blue Big Convoy]], commander of the [[Blue Order]], as well as the Vanguard's nemeses, the [[Specter]]s.

The story was next picked up in 2019 with the ''[[Generations Selects Special Comic]]'', a feature to promote TakaraTomy's offerings in the ''[[Generations Selects (toyline)|Generations Selects]]'' toyline. As such, it saw a series of [[Generation 1]] characters shunted backwards in time to the Precursor universe, with particular emphasis placed on Optimus Prime and [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]]. This series took place between the Convobat and Blue Big Convoy comics, dramatizing the rise and fall of the Primus Vanguard that led to the conflict in Magna Convoy's comic.

==Creative team==
The initial ''[[Spin Off]]'' pack-in comics developing the Precursor World and their various ancillary media were created by writer/artist [[Shin Sasaki]] and colorist [[Kazumasa Yasukuni]].

The [[Star Convoy comic|opening arc]] of the ''[[Generations Selects Special Comic]]'' was helmed by Sasaki as well, until with the [[Seacons comic 5|final installment of the Seacons chapter]] the series was dramatically expanded in scope and handed off to the team of writer/artist [[Hayato Sakamoto]], colorists [[Josh Perez]] and [[Gufu Kandagawa]], general assistants [[Lebanon Sugi]] and [[Ricken]], and [[Generations Selects Special Comic#Creative team|many, many more]].

==Conceptual history==
[[File:Primus Vanguard Reborn.jpg|thumb|350px|Magna Convoy makes his triumphant return in the finale of somebody else's toyline.]]
The exact nature of the Precursor World as a concept underwent some development over a number of comics from two major creators released by [[e-HOBBY]] and [[TakaraTomy]]. As presented in the ''[[Spin Off|Legends Spin Off]]'' comics by [[Shin Sasaki]], the setting appears to be a universe totally unconnected to previous stories. Characters like [[Straxus (G1)|Straxus]] and [[Straxus (G1)#United EX|Rollermaster]] were given new backstories, while [[Convobat]]'s function of "Amazon Warrior" implied that his [[Cybertron Convobat|pack-in comic]] takes place on Earth. [[Blue Big Convoy]]'s [[Blue Big Convoy comic|comic]] presents the Vanguard as operating on a [[multiverse|multiversal]] level similar to [[Convoy (group)|pre-existing]] [[Alternity|groups]] while also pulling in [[Go Prime]] under the name "Master Black Lion", an [[Aligned continuity family|Aligned continuity]] character previously established as being a multiversal traveller. 

Under the ''[[Generations Selects Special Comic|Generations Selects]]'' line, Sasaki showed [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] being summoned from [[2011]] of the [[G1 World|Japanese Generation 1 universe]] (known in-continuity as the "G1 World") to an undescribed time and place to face off against a swarm of [[Novaroid]]s and eventually the [[Seacon (Masterforce)|two]] [[Seacon (BW)|teams]] of Seacons. Of particular note here is [[Seacons comic 3|the third Seacon comic]], Sasaki's last work in the series, which shows [[Halfshell]] plotting on behalf of an unseen entity to create a new future, this being the earliest hint at this setting being in the distant past. 

After this, [[Hayato Sakamoto]] presented the setting as the universe that existed before the G1 World, with multiple characters time-travelling back and forth between the two eras. Sakamoto also elaborated on concepts introduced by Sasaki, such as seven varieties of [[Star Power]] being derived from [[The One]]. 

It wasn't until the [[Generations Selects Special Comic Finale Part 2|''Generations Selects'' finale]] that Sakamoto finally explicitly reconciled ''Spin Off'' and ''Generations Selects,'' and the mechanics of the transition to the G1 World were fully elucidated:
	 
The events of ''Spin Off'' were confirmed to occur ''after'' the events of ''Generations Selects'' but ''before'' the yet-to-be-depicted universal rebirth that produces the G1 World.
Furthermore, in an extended dialogue between [[Primacron]] and [[Primus]] in the immediate aftermath of the [[Big Bang]], it was revealed that they would be the only two direct survivors from the Precursor World, with the "reincarnation" many characters anticipated throughout the narrative simply taking the form of a [[Zodiac|generalized life force]] making the journey within the [[Matrix of Leadership]] along with Primus.
	 
Thus, the future is now wide open for new stories with the Primus Vanguard characters in the Precursor World setting, albeit with the threat of the Ragnarok that will ultimately produce the familiar Generation 1 cartoon looming ever on the horizon.

==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*[[:Category:Precursor World sources|Complete archive of Precursor World translations]] courtesy of Mohair Translations
*[https://imgur.com/user/Fanofcoolstuff27 Lettered Precursor World translations] by Fanofcoolstuff27

[[Category:Japanese franchises]]
[[Category:Precursor World| ]]