Alignment

This is Apocrypha The content of this page is considered to be apocrypha or pseudocanon. Fiction that is considered pseudocanon generally falls into one of two categories. It is most likely either unofficial fiction from an official creator that is so informative as to the creator's thought process and/or so influential to the fandom as to be worth documenting, or fiction that is published in such a way as to render it unofficial, such as fan works published as ancillary or bonus images/fiction with other official work. As such, new ideas and concepts introduced here may not hold true for work that is completely canonical.

Galvatron would sell his cannon for this to be canon.

"Alignment" is an unofficial Transformers novella written by Simon Furman, designed to tie up the loose threads left over from the Generation 2 comic book, and to bridge the gap between the Generation 1 era and the Beast Era. The storyline was produced without Hasbro's approval, and as such, is considered non-canon, but is included here on TFWiki.net due to the insight it offers into the author's thought processes regarding the earlier storylines that it follows. As such, those elements of the story that enlighten official stories (namely, the true nature of the Liege Maximo and the purpose of the Hub) could reasonably be considered pseudocanon.

"Alignment" was published in two parts, both released exclusively at the UK convention, Transforce. Book 1 was released at Transforce 2001 in a magazine-styled format; at Transforce 2002, Book 1 was reprinted alongside the newly-written Book 2 in book format. In 2005, the whole story was made available online.

The story features covers and interior illustrations by noted Marvel UK artists, Lee Sullivan, Andrew Wildman, Geoff Senior, Kev Hopgood, Jeff Anderson and Lew Stringer.

Plot

The story takes place several hundred years after "A Rage in Heaven!", by which time the Autobot-Decepticon alliance established in that story has broken down, and hostilities have begun once more. In the intervening years, Galvatron II destroys Megatron and assumes leadership of the Decepticons, arranging the construction of a fleet of Warworlds. In a major battle at Pinea Omicron, Optimus Prime succeeds in defeating Galvatron, but is knocked into stasis lock himself in the process, leaving both sides leaderless and in grave need of energon. Ultra Magnus assumes the role of acting Autobot commander on Cybertron, while the Decepticons, led by a High Council, regroup on "New Cybertron", a world transformed into a metallic sphere through use of the eco-structuring process previously employed by the Cybertronian Empire.

As the story begins, Ultra Magnus sends a crew under the command of Grimlock to search for energon, only for their ship to inadvertently enter the cloaked region of space concealing the Hub, a massive structure of interlinked planets that is home to the menacing, mysterious Liege Maximo. Using this massive resonant web of worlds, the Liege Maximo plans to ascend to the realm of the gods, and with the time of the universal alignment that will allow him to accomplish this goal about to begin, the Liege Maximo takes no chances and directs his forces to attack both the Autobots and Decepticons to keep them occupied. To fight back, a cabal of Decepticons led by Soundwave secretly restores Megatron to life, and the Decepticon leader is able to safely evacuate New Cybertron and blows the planet up to destroy the Liege Maximo's armies. Ultra Magnus is also able to get his fighting forces off Cybertron, and both sides then counter-attack the Hub.

Grimlock's crew attempts to sabotage the Hub from the ground, but they are systematically killed, leaving only Swoop alive by the time the united Autobot-Decepticon counter-attack arrives and draws the Liege Maximo's attention. As the Liege Maximo focuses his attention on the armada, Megatron performs a solo strike on the monster's exposed flank, dying in the process, but causing it to feel pain for the first time in millennia. Panicked, the Liege Maximo begins the alignment, separating his lifeforce from his corporeal form. His body is destroyed by the armada, and Swoop commits a final act of sabotage, causing the portal created by the Hub to collapse. With nowhere to go, the Liege Maximo's lifeforce dissipates, and he is destroyed.

The resolution of this threat leads to the signing of the Pax Cybertronia and the end of the Great War.

Glossary

Since "Alignment" is not canon, the story's unique concepts lie outside of the scope of the wiki. For readers' ease though, below is a list of all concepts "Alignment" introduced to Transformers. Writers of official media, feel free to canonize at will!

• Characters
  • Direwolf, a Decepticon; former acolyte of Unicron. Practitioner of dark science.
  • Ebon Knights, the next big threat after Praetorian.
  • Killzone, a Decepticon; member of the council.
  • Mantissa, a Decepticon; chief scientific advisor of the council. Female.
  • Mindgame, a Decepticon; member of the council.
  • Mogahn the Mass, presumably someone who formed the next big threat after the Swarm.
  • Praetorian, presumably someone who formed the next big threat after Mogahn.
  • Sabrejaw, a Decepticon; member of the council.
  • Stormfront, a Decepticon; surviving member of Galvatron II's elite guard & member of the council.
• Locations
  • Alpha-Epsilon Overloop, a portion of the Hub.
  • Arc, a collection of tactical stations under Iacon.
  • G345 of Lateral Transverse String North-North-East, an ore-processing station. A portion of the Hub.
  • Grand Forum, an open hall with Decepticon political importance on Cybertron.
  • Hadean system, a region of space either near Cybertron or home to it.
  • Hulla Filament, a portion of the Hub.
  • Interlink world of Pi Omega4, a portion of the Hub.
  • Junction 654 of intersecting obverse transit tubeways 42 East 16 and South East 214, an energy routing station. A vital portion of the Hub.
  • Kolkular, a Decepticon city on Cybertron.
  • Lateral transverse string D1089, a portion of the Hub.
  • Pinea Omicron, the location of a devastating Autobot vs Decepticon battle. Next big threat after the Ebon Knights.
  • Progeny, a comet given name by Perceptor.
  • Pyrovar, the six-mooned planet conquered by the Decepticons and eco-structured into New Cybertron.
  • Stellar Galleries, a building on Cybertron.
  • Wilderzones, the regions of space unexplored to Cybertronian knowledge.
• Objects
  • Hyperwave, a type of starship.
  • Magno-clamps, equipment in a Transformer's body to ensure attachment of/to metallic surfaces.
  • Multiform attack jets, a type of jet.
  • Sensory/Analytical Data pod, S.A.D. pod. A recording and broadcasting device.
  • Starpedo, a torpedo for use in space.
  • Vanguard Command ships, a type of starship.
• Other
  • Alignment, the moment on which the portal to the dimension of the gods opens.
  • Dark science, an evil-purposed, magic-like form of science.
  • Energon shield generator, a shielding mechanism invented by the Autobots.
  • Holospore projection, a cloaking mechanism.
  • Mecho-minder, used idiomatically to refer to a caregiver
  • Quarian thrash, some type of music not appreciated among most Transformers.
  • Solar rek, a unit of distance.
  • TAC-scan, a battle-related scan.

Relation to other works

"Alignment" served to answer several of the questions surrounding the mysterious entity, the Liege Maximo, that the Generation 2 comics raised. The story explained, as the comics had hinted, that the Liege Maximo was one of the first Transformers created by Primus, who sought to reconnect with the divine origins of the Transformers by gaining access to the realm of the gods. This was the reason for the eco-structuring that Jhiaxus and the Cybertronian Empire were subjecting planets throughout the galaxy to during the Generation 2 series—this interconnected series of metallic worlds formed the "Hub", a resonant structure that would allow the Liege Maximo to accomplish his goal.

The story also served to form an explicit link between the (Marvel Comics version of the) Generation 1 time period and the recently-concluded Beast Era. It is noted that while the Decepticons are leaderless on New Cybertron, the members of the Decepticon High Council are unable to agree upon a course of action to further the Decepticon cause. Specifically, a splinter group referring to itself as the Predacons advocates "unconditional surrender to the Autobots, a pooling of resources, an extended time of gathering and secret re-building"—this, of course, being the tactic of the Tripredacus Council. At the conclusion of the story, this is ultimately the voice that wins out. Additionally, energon depletion forms a major part of the story, and to overcome it, the concept of downsizing the Transformers' physical forms is introduced. A final tidbit is the sudden appearance of a female Transformer in a continuity in which the Transformers have always been a "genderless" species. This shift in composition ties the Marvel continuity more tightly into Beast Wars, where female Transformers are not an uncommon sight.

Since writing "Alignment", Furman has incorporated some of the story's unique concepts in the official material he has worked on. The Furman-penned Transformers: The Ultimate Guide made reference to "Alignment", explicitly noting that it was unofficial, but reiterating the Liege Maximo's status as one of the group fiction now referred to as the thirteen original Transformers. Years later, that latter detail would become officialized.

"Alignment" was also responsible for coining the name "Galvatron II" to refer to the Galvatron introduced in "Rhythms of Darkness!", which was later officialized by e-Hobby when they used it as the name of their exclusive version of the 2003 Galvatron reissue. Furthermore, the storyline which accompanied the e-Hobby Laser Ultra Magnus reissue described this Galvatron as possessing a Warworld, apparently taking its cue from the backstory briefly covered in "Alignment".

In 2010, in Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II, the authors Jim Sorenson and Bill Forster (through their in-universe proxies of the same names) noted that "Alignment" is an accurate account of the future of Primax 984.0 Gamma (i.e., Marvel Comics US continuity), "as chronicled by Simon Furman". Then, shortly after The AllSpark Almanac II was published, Jim Sorenson himself added the "apocrypha" template to this page, explicitly defining "Alignment" as not necessarily official. Confused yet?

In short, the canonicity of this story is dubious, and will likely remain a subject of debate on this wiki and elsewhere. The text of the story itself has still never been published in officially licensed media.

External links

• Alignment online @ transforce.org