Nebulos

The name or term "Nebulon" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Nebulon (disambiguation).

"Get out of here, Nebulon! No one likes your style!"

Nebulos (sometimes called Nebulon) is a planet inhabited by lifeforms, most notably a race of humanoids called Nebulans or Nebulons. These beings have found themselves involved with the Transformers in several different dimensions within the multiverse and are usually responsible for or deeply involved in the Headmaster, Targetmaster, and Powermaster technologies.

Fiction

Generation 1 continuity family

Marvel Comics continuity

Marvel The Transformers comics

Read this in an Australian accent. We dare you.

Ten thousand years ago, a conflict threatened to destroy the planet but the first incarnation of the World Watchers organisation defused it. In response to the near-disaster, the Nebulans turned away from the ways of war and locked away their weaponry under the watch of the, er, Watchers. The planet came under the rule of the democratic Council of Peers; an aristocracy existed as well.

A group of Autobots led by Fortress Maximus sought to relocate to Nebulos in order to escape their own millennia-old conflict on their own planet of Cybertron, but their arrival created dissension and mistrust within the Nebulan community. The arrival of a group of Decepticons led by Scorponok soon afterward only escalated these tensions, and Nebulos's age of peace was lost as citizens binary-bonded to Transformers on both sides of the conflict to become Headmasters and Targetmasters.

Realizing the damage that was being done to Nebulos's once-peaceful culture, the Autobots abandoned the planet to join Transformers already on the planet Earth, believing (correctly) that the Decepticons would pursue them off-Nebulos. Headmasters

The UK's letters page states this story took place from the end of 1986 to the end of 1987 (and based on when the Autobots learn about Earth, it's more into early 1988). That leaves Nebulos suffering over a year of destructive, open warfare.

After this the citizens of Nebulos tainted their own energy sources so as to be poisonous to any Transformers that might seek to return to their world. When Decepticons Darkwing and Dreadwind arrived soon after the departure of the other Transformers, they soon found themselves victim of this poisoning, and lay dormant for a time. They were later revived by Nebulan traitors Hi-Test and Throttle, who had stolen power-conversion plans that eventually created the Powermasters. Hi-Q, the creator of this process, eventually binary-bonded with a reborn Optimus Prime, and several of his staff joined with other Autobots, in order to combat the threat posed by Darkwing and Dreadwind. They, too, eventually left Nebulos to join the other Transformers on Earth. People Power!

Known locations on Nebulos included:

• Koraja, the capital city and home of the Council of Peers and the World Watchers.
• Splendora, a popular resort city.
• The Mercury Gardens of Melanossus, the planet's greatest natural wonder.
• The Nursery, Nebulos's most advanced botanical gardens and agricultural research center.
• The Gardens of Eternal Peace and Harmony Macrobiotic Restaurant, a multi-level, high-class eating establishment
• The Arvassian Range, a mountainous region where the Nebulans long ago locked away the implements of war.
• The Folassian Forest, where Highbrow first encountered Gort and his consort Marita.
• The Plains of Thok, home of the Grax Communications Facility.
• An unnamed swamp where the Autobots retreated as the Decepticons gained the upper hand.

News on the planet was reported by the Nebulan News Network.

Regeneration One

Regeneration One continues from the Marvel US series, and does not include the UK stories or any subsequently published stories.

The scientist Borx began Project Lazarus, an attempt to rebuild the Autobot Headmasters' bodies and connect them to their original heads, at the Technodrome. Loose Ends, Part 2 The attempt by Borx's team to access Zarak's files triggered the reactivation of Scorponok's head, and he was able to gain control over the Nebulans. Using the knowledge he gained from his link with Zarak, he was able to complete Project Lazarus, restoring his own body. Natural Selection, Part One

At some point after Optimus Prime and company had left Nebulos, the planet was declared off-limits, presumably to keep the Nebulans from being further involved in Cybertronian affairs. This didn't stop Kup from announcing to the Wreckers that he intended to visit Nebulos, following their stopover on Earth, to tie up any loose ends. Megatron would derail Kup's plans, though. Loose Ends, Part 1

Meanwhile, Grimlock had decided to violate the ban and visit Nebulos on his own, hoping to find a way to cure his fellow Dinobots from the effects of Nucleon. As he approached the planet, he received a report on Project Lazarus. However, upon reaching Koraja Spaceport, Grimlock was attacked by Nebulan forces, whom he noticed appeared to be under some form of hypnosis. Unable to stop them, Grimlock was captured. Loose Ends, Part 2

Grimlock found himself in the hands of Scorponok, who had been successfully restored. Loose Ends, Part 5 The Decepticon explained his revival, and he offered Grimlock a new body for himself and his Dinobots, as long as Grimlock would agree to serve him. Natural Selection, Part One

It was from Zarak's old base of operations on the Plains of Thok that Scorponok completed the restoration of the Autobots Hardhead, Hightbrow, and Brainstorm, only to infect them with his Gene Key, which rewrote the Autobots' CNA to activate the so-called "Warrior Gene", turning them into violent berserkers. Grimlock joined Scorponok and his new warriors as they left for Cybertron, so that Scorponok could use the Gene Key on every Autobot on the planet. Natural Selection, Part Two Fortunately for the Autobots, Grimlock planned to betray Scorponok all along, and sacrificed himself to defeat the Decepticon's plans, a penance for the line the Dinobot commander had crossed. Natural Selection, Part Five

Ultra Magnus dispatched the Rescue Patrol to Nebulos, in the hopes that Fixit and his team could help the Nebulans break free of Scorponok's control and return to their normal lives. He reported on these events to Optimus Prime who had the idea Destiny, Part One of partnering Earth and Nebulos together so that the two worlds could help each other rebuild. Destiny, Part Two

The Construction Patrol began building a space bridge in the Clar Macro-jungle, The War to End All Wars, Part 1 before a corrupted Fortress Maximus attacked. The War to End All Wars, Part 2 After the Dark Matrix creature was revealed to be the perpetrator behind all the recent chaos, Ultra Magnus led a team to Nebulos to locate Galvatron. Joined by a group of humans from Earth, the Autobots managed to slay Galvatron and put Fortress Maximus out of his misery before rescuing Spike Witwicky. In the aftermath of the conflict, Optimus's vision came to pass as Earth and Nebulos united and flourished in their partnership. The War to End All Wars, Part 5

Rhythms of Darkness!

In Primax 490.0 Gamma, Nebulos was one of the first Decepticon enclaves to be liberated by the Confederation of Terran Worlds, and it would go on to become a close Terran ally. Ask Vector Prime, 24/06/2015

Generation 1 cartoon continuity

The Transformers cartoon

Not just Nebulos but nebulous as well.

Nebulos was a world whose inhabitants were enslaved by the Hive, a group of eleven Nebulon telekinetics whose focus on development of their mental powers had caused their bodies to wither, led by Lord Zarak. The populace was mainly forced to do routine farm work, watched over by the machines which the Hive controlled telepathically. A group of rebels rose up against the Hive but, despite gathering sufficient intelligence on the machines, lacked the firepower to destroy them.

Some months after the Hate Plague crisis, a group of Autobots on the distant Cybertron attempted to stop the opening of the Plasma Energy Chamber only for their ship to be struck by a bolt of plasma energy, sending them to Nebulos. Followed by the Decepticons, both factions of Cybertronians joined the local conflict, The Rebirth, Part 1 leading to the birth of Target and Headmaster technology. Interfacing with Vector Sigma, Optimus Prime learnt of the importance of Nebulos and made his way to it. Arriving, Optimus led the Autobots to take back the Key to the Plasma Energy Chamber only to be confronted by Scorponok, a gigantic Headmaster body built out of the Hive's city. The Rebirth, Part 2

With the Key, the Decepticons left Nebulos for Cybertron, the Autobots following. Remaining behind, Spike Witwicky and Cerebros repurposed the Hive's machines to rebuild the oligarchs' original city into Fortress Maximus, following to Cybertron. Once the battle had ended in Cybertron's restoration, Optimus Prime sent the Headmasters and Targetmasters back to Nebulos to dismantle the remains of the Hive before appointing Cerebros as the planet's guardian. The Rebirth, Part 3

Wings Universe

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

Following the rebirth of Cybertron's Golden Age, Galvatron and Zarak led their main forces away from Earth and Cybertron. They attacked Zarak's homeworld Nebulos and other planets in deep space, prompting Optimus Prime and the Autobots to engage in hot pursuit. Generation 2: Redux

In 2012, Runabout and Runamuck kidnapped reclusive Nebulan scientist Hi-Q from Nebulos on behalf of Jhiaxus. This was not noticed until five days later when Hi-Q's assistant, Hi-Test, opened up Hi-Q's laboratory to find him missing. Subsequently, Chromedome briefed Pyro's team about the kidnapping. A Flash Forward, Part 3

Nucleon Quest Super Convoy profile

A scientist from Nebulos named Hi-Q assisted Optimus Prime on his quest for the potent energy source Nucleon, which was located inside black holes. Nucleon Quest Super Convoy's profile

The Transformers Adventure Game Books

A large portion of Nebulos's southern continent is covered by a vast swamp. This perilous marshland is peppered by ancient ruins and quicksand. Swamp of the Scorpion. The planet's equatorial continent is dominated by a vast and arid desert. Desert of Danger

Ladybird Books continuity

It's pink because it's being slowly microwaved on the potato setting.

The planet Nebulos derived most of its power from a pulsar at the edge of its galaxy. A fluke of gravity lead most of the pulsar's radiation to be directed at Nebulos where it is focused on the northern pole. Nebulos's magnetic field was then used by the Nebulans to guide the energy to the areas of the planet it was needed. Decepticons at the Pole

The planet contained a mysterious area known as the Nebulos Triangle, where technology ceased to work. The area was made up of a large metal surface and a huge lake of mercury. It was the metal surface that caused the failure of technology although its origin was unknown. Decepticons Underground

The planet lacked adequate resources to synthesise the lubricants used by Transformers in sufficient quantities. A vast underground lake of oil did however exist beneath a desert plain between mountain ranges. Autobots Strike Oil

The Autobots and Decepticons remained on Nebulos for a lengthy period of time. Hot Rod and Cyclonus were the local commanders at first; Decepticons at the Pole Optimus Prime and Scorponok later took direct control. Autobot Hostage It was on Nebulos where the war ended, when the Decepticons were all sealed underground by Quickswitch and Scoop using Nebulite. Decepticons Underground

Dreamwave Generation One continuity

Nebulon was the fourth world of its system. It had a dual set of rings circling it and multiple moons. It was inhabited by many wild organic lifeforms and the humanoid Nebulan species. The moons circling Nebulon contained their own civilizations. One of these was the Hive Moon, which was home to a green-skinned, somewhat insectoid offshoot of the Nebulan race. More Than Meets The Eye

2005 IDW continuity

Nebulos laid in the Nebula Cluster. In the years before the Great War, the planet was known to Cybertronians; Chaos Theory Part 2 during the Interregnum, Delta Magnus used a power booster rod to trick the primitive inhabitants of the planet into worshipping him An Intimate Beheading and the former head of the Rodion police department visited Nebulos to hunt the natives, keeping a stuffed Nebulan on his desk. Chaos Theory Part 2

By the modern day, Nebulos has developed a global civilization and developed technologically advanced cities that favored domes, rounded bulbous towers, and organic curves. Many of the buildings had a "cracked" ancient look to the outside and green moss-like growth could be seen in patches on their exteriors. The technology level appeared significantly in advance of Earth, but not yet at interstellar travel.

Scorponok had ties to Nebulos, having used businessman Mo Zarak's corporation as a front for his own operations: creating a fusion of Nebulan and Cybertronian technology that seemed to be a precursor to the various *-master technologies. These operations were apparently foiled by the timely intervention of Ultra Magnus. Scorponok, however, escaped. Spotlight: Ultra Magnus

Nebulos was also the site of operations for a Decepticon infiltration team including Ruckus, Darkwing, Dreadwind, Skullcruncher, and others. It became the first target of the resurrected Thunderwing, as his controller Bludgeon had some sort of plan to sacrifice Nebulos in order to restore Cybertron. Nebulos was partially, if not totally devastated in the attack, and the Decepticon infiltrators were either destroyed or fled. Thunderwing departed once Bludgeon's control system was destroyed, but the status of the planet and its inhabitants following his attack remains unrevealed. Stormbringer

Wreck-Gar owned some Nebulan headlights. Dance Among the Shadows

Transformers vs. G.I. Joe

The planet Neb'los was involved in the Great War at some point in the past. The specific details of the conflict are unknown but the encounter ended with Zarak betraying his people to the Decepticons for a position of power. Headmasters

Beast Wars: Uprising

During the 21st century, the Decepticon forces utilized Shockwave's infiltration protocol to destabilize Nebulan society from within. Decepticon agent Zarak sparked a war between the Hive Nations and the World Watcher alliance. Before this conflict could truly escalate, the Human Confederacy arrived to defuse tensions, and the Cybertronians revealed themselves and turned the cold war hot. The Decepticon-Hive alliance developed Headmaster technology from Fausto Borx's experiments on captive Autobots and World Watchers—a technology that was subsequently co-opted by the Autobots to create the first Targetmasters. A Brush With Infamy–Prologue

In 2031, Fausto and Zarak weaponized the city of Kinodia and created MegaZarak, the first Double Headmaster. The Autobots retaliated by binary-bonding Cerebros and Spike Witwicky together, creating the towering superweapon known as Fortress Maximus. A Brush With Infamy–Prologue Head Games The clash of titans cut a vaste swathe of destruction across the battered planet; although Fortress Maximus emerged triumphant, Nebulos had been permanently sterilized and was no longer capable of supporting life. Humans and Cybertronians subsequently memorialized the battle as the "Scouring of Nebulos". A Brush With Infamy–Prologue

The destruction that Fortress and his fellow city-bot wrought proved to be the final straw for the nascent Human Confederacy and its allies, who decided that the Cybertronian civil war was over and forcibly imposed an armistice on both factions. Fortress Maximus and the other Cybertronians responsible for the devastation were subsequently exiled back to an Allowed Zone that encompassed Cybertron and several colony worlds. Head Games Micro-Aggressions

Ask Vector Prime

In Primax 1086.0 Kappa, the Nebulans succeeded in repelling the Cybertronian incursion onto their homeworld. Decades later, however, the planet was devastated by Zarak Maximus. Ask Vector Prime, 11/06/2015

Prime Wars Trilogy marketing material

Nebulos was the possible location of one of thirteen Titans, alongside Cybertron, Unicron, Dominius, Junkion, Antilla, Paradron, Caminus, Earth, Velocitron, Biosfera, Aquatron, Botropolis, Micron, and Gigantion.

Unicron Trilogy cartoon continuity

Cybertron cartoon

Following the conclusion of the Energon War, the Autobot Jetfire spent some time on the planet Nebulon. There he picked up a new accent from the locals, which to some human ears resembles that of Australians. Sort of. Jetfire's Cyber Key Code text

Nebulon's pea soup is notably thick. Challenge

Ask Vector Prime

In Aurex 503.01 Gamma, the self-exiled Autobot Overload attempted to start a new life for himself on Nebulon, but the withdrawal from his addiction to powerlinxing caused fatal damage to his spark. Overload sought help from Nebulan doctors Hi-Q and Arcana, who also had another Cybertronian patient, the nucleon-dependent Mini-Con Rollout. The doctors consulted the records, discovered the Headmaster process, and used it to save both of their patients. Ultimately, however, the combined being had to be taken back to Cybertron to be fully rebuilt by a Cybertronian engineer, Rhinox. Ask Vector Prime, 18/9/2015

Timelines

The Star Arrow was transporting an experimental Force Chip from Nebulos to Cybertron when it was attacked and downed over Sandokan. The Dark Heart of Sandokan

Animated cartoon

Nebulos was the lead planet of the Nebulon Republic, a loose alliance between several planets with organic life. The AllSpark Almanac II Nebulos had nice beaches, and energon "as smooth as a protoform's bottom." Swindle suggested that the Decepticons could retire there if they sold the parts of the Elite Guardsmechs. Decepticon Air

Prime cartoon continuity

Kup lost his original head on Nebulos. Unreliable Narratives

Knights of Unicron

Zarak's Palace, located on Planet Nebulos, was the eighteenth venue for the Knights of Unicron on their 2014 "Till All Are One" tour. Knights of Unicron

TransTech

Ahem. Gentlemen?

At some point in the history of Nexus 208.0 Epsilon, "colonists" from the Aurex Cluster paid the Nebulans a visit, causing Nebulos to become an unfriendly place for Cybertronians.

After the descent of the Shroud, the Axiom Nexus Ministry of Higher Dimensional Sciences determined Nebulos was determined to be one of the points in the universe where the dimensional walls were thinnest between their dimension and Primax 984.0 Gamma, one of the nine foundational universal streams. Vector Prime was assigned to go undercover on Nebulos to monitor and investigate the possibility of restoring access to Primax 984.0 Gamma. Ask Vector Prime, 01/11/2015

Vector Prime arrived on Nebulos safely after a meandering journey with Scorpia and Galaxy Shuttle, and looked forward to exploring the wonders Nebulos had to offer with Safeguard as his guide. It was his hope that appearing as a non-native would cover any lapses due to his alien nature. Ask Vector Prime, 15/02/2015

Notes

• The spelling "Nebulon" has thus far been exclusive to the portrayals of the planet in the Dreamwave Generation One continuity and the Unicron Trilogy continuity family.
• Except for Nucleon Quest Super Convoy's profile, the planet Nebulos did not play a role in the Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity. Headmaster and Targetmaster technology was developed by Transformers on the planet Master.
• Nebulos is one of the names of the Hasbro licensed eyeglass styles from ImageWear.