Generation 1 continuity family

This article is about the continuity family. For the franchise that it contains and is named after, see Generation 1 (franchise).

The Generation 1 continuity family is the biggest, oldest, and longest-running family in the Transformers canon. Its core is all of the fiction published under the Generation 1 franchise, which got off to a bifurcated start in 1984 with the Marvel comic and Sunbow cartoon, two distinct universes starring the same cast of characters. Alongside those two main continuities there sprang up a cluster of micro-continuities in the form of books, flyers, and more comics.

As the years went on, many subsequent franchises used strands of Generation 1 lore as the backstory of their own fiction, thus joining and extending the continuity family. Even when the main Transformers franchise is separate from Generation 1, oftentimes secondary "filler" franchises will keep the continuity going. It has also been a favorite with modern comic companies, who have been publishing a relatively steady stream of Generation 1-branded comics for most of this decade.

In Japan, TakaraTomy has not only contributed to the continuity family with unique series of its own, but it even published an "official timeline" that jammed Car Robots and the 2007 film into the Generation 1 multiverse. The inclusion of Car Robots is corroborated by Kiss Players fiction and timelines, but nothing else has touched upon the movie being part of the Generation 1 continuity family.

In-universe, this continuity is referred to as "Primax" in the TransTechs' universal stream designators.

Major continuities

The sheer number of micro-continuities associated with the Generation 1 continuity family makes a completely exhaustive list a near-impossible task. However, there are five major branches, each lasting multiple years and consisting of dozens of stories, with varying number of sub-branches which deserve particular note.

Marvel Comics continuity

• Earth-91274 (Marvel US comics; The Transformers (Marvel US) #1-42 & #44-80, The Transformers: Headmasters #1-4, G.I. Joe and the Transformers #1-4)
  • Earth-91274, plus "Another Time & Place"
  • Earth-91274, plus Marvel Generation 2 (G.I. Joe #138-142, Transformers: Generation 2 (Marvel) #0-12)
  • Earth-91274, plus UK Generation 2 (Transformers: Generation 2 (Fleetway) #1-5)
  • Earth-91274, plus Transformers: Classics (Transformers Collectors' Club, various)
  • Earth-91274, plus The Transformers: Regeneration One (IDW Publishing, Regeneration One #80.5-100)
  • Movie-based alternate future (Transformers: The Movie (Marvel comic) #1-3, "The Big Broadcast of 2006 (issue)"
  • "Rhythms of Darkness!" alternate future
• Earth-120185 (Marvel UK original comics; The Transformers (Marvel UK) #1-289 [including The Transformers: Headmasters and the events of the The Transformers (Marvel US) #1-60 with minor alterations, after which the Marvel UK continuity splinters from US continuity into the events of Earthforce], Action Force #24-27 and Transformers Annual 1986-1992)
  • Marvel UK future timeline, original ("Target: 2006" to "Time Wars", Transformers: The Movie adaptation)
  • Marvel UK future timeline, post-"Time Wars" ("Aspects of Evil!", "Edge of Impact"-"White Fire", "Peace")
• The Official Transformers: Generation 2 Annual
• Condor Verlag comics (Die Transformer, Transformers Comic-Magazin, Transformers Comic-Taschenbuch, Transformers Extra Comic-Sonderheft)

Generation 1 cartoon continuity

• US (The Transformers cartoon, from "More than Meets the Eye, Part 1" to "The Rebirth, Part 3", The Transformers: The Movie, and the Tommy Kennedy scenes of "season 5")
  • Cartoon, plus The Transformers (Madman)
  • Transformers: Wings Universe (much of the cartoon, plus additional Transformers Collectors Club Magazine stories, BotCon comics)
  • Rodimus vs. Cyclonus
  • Mars Attacks: The Transformers
• Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity (a huge assortment of fiction, including but not limited to The Transformers S1-3 and the Japanese-original Headmasters, Super-God Masterforce, Victory, Zone and Car Robots cartoons, along with various Beast Era series and many manga, story pages and toy bios. See Generation 1 cartoon timeline (Japan) for a full rendering.)
  • "Story of Binaltech" and Alternity (a splinter timeline diverging from Japanese cartoon continuity in 2003).

Beast Wars cartoon continuity

• US (Beast Wars cartoon, Beast Machines cartoon)
  • Cartoons, plus 3H Productions/Fun Publications fiction ("Ground Zero", "Reaching the Omega Point", "Primeval Dawn", The Wreckers and Universe comic series, "Dawn of Future's Past", "Theft of the Golden Disk" and "The Razor's Edge")
  • Cartoons, plus IDW BW (The Gathering, The Ascending & Beast Wars Sourcebook)
• Japan (see Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity, above)

Dreamwave Generation One continuity

• Generation 1 "Prime Directive", "War and Peace" & v3 #0-10; War Within v1, The Dark Ages and The Age of Wrath, "Welcome to the Jungle", Transformers: Micromasters and Transformers: More than Meets the Eye
  • The Transformers Trilogy (Hardwired, Annihilation, Fusion), "Two for the Price of One"

IDW Generation 1 continuity

• Many series and miniseries, of which the main set includes but is not limited to The Transformers: Infiltration, Stormbringer, Escalation, Devastation, Revelation and other Spotlights, Maximum Dinobots, All Hail Megatron, The Transformers (IDW), Last Stand of the Wreckers, Heart of Darkness, The Transformers: Robots in Disguise and The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye.
  
• "Spotlight: Mirage"

Toyline franchises

United States

Japan

Generation 1 Generation 2 Beast Wars Machine Wars: Transformers Beast Machines Heroes of Cybertron War Within Universe (2003) Transformers: Alternators Titanium Series Generation 1 War Within Classics Universe (2008) Classic Series Generation 1 Series Generation 2 Series Beast Wars Series Beast Machines Series War Within Series Timelines Wings of Honor

Generation 1 Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers 2010 The Headmasters Super-God Masterforce Victory Zone Return of Convoy Operation Combination Generation 2 Beast Wars Beast Wars Beast Wars II Beast Wars Neo Beast Wars Metals Beast Wars Returns Car Robots Super Collection Figure Acts 1-8 Mega SCF Wave 1 Binaltech Binaltech Asterisk Robot Masters Kiss Players Beast Wars Reborn Henkei! Henkei! Transformers United