2005 IDW continuity

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The IDW Generation 1 continuity is the storyline of IDW Publishing's Generation 1 reboot comic-book series, begun in 2005. It is separate from all other Generation 1 fiction, re-imagining the Autobot-Decepticon Great War as a galaxy-spanning conflict, with Cybertron abandoned as a dead husk and teams from both sides covertly operating on various alien worlds to defend or destroy the native populations—including Earth.

Overview

"-ations"

File:Escalation 1 a.jpg

Remember that time when this didn't happen?

Masterminded by classic Transformers author Simon Furman and told across several consecutive mini-series—almost all given titles ending with "-ation" (Infiltration, Escalation, etc.), hence this becoming a catch-all term for Furman's time on the books—and interlocking single-character "spotlight" one-shots, the story of IDW's first "era" brings the Transformers into the modern day. The traditional "crashed on Earth 4 million years ago" origin is done away with, replaced with a cloak-and-dagger storyline of aliens hiding in plain sight on Earth, not dissimilar to the approach that would be taken in a few years by the live-action film. With Cybertron an uninhabitable wasteland, Earth is presented as simply one of many battlegrounds in a galaxy-spanning war of subversion and conquest that sees the Decepticons employ a strict protocol of infiltration as they attempt to take over alien worlds. Alternate modes serve a very real and important purpose of disguise, as discovery by natives is strictly forbidden by both factions. Open conflict is rare, and battles are often fought entirely in vehicle forms. The series is much darker then the original Marvel comics and G1 cartoon, featuring Autobots who make morally ambiguous decisions, Decepticons that regularly kill humans and Autobots, and many themes of horrific modification, racism, and civilian casualties.

The story opens on Earth, as the Decepticons there have discovered a wildly powerful source of energy, and break protocol to secure it. This soon brings both Megatron and Optimus Prime to the planet, escalating the conflict. The humans are deeply involved as well, both innocent bystanders and active covert organizations such as the Machination, led by a rogue Cybertronian in hiding and seeking to create a Transformer-human hybrid, and Skywatch, a secret US military organization who have control of multiple Transformers who visited Earth prior to the current conflict. As protocol collapses and the war grows more devastating, threats begin to arrive from space: first the alien Reapers, and then a cabal of undead ancient Transformers who attempt to destroy the universe by unleashing the power of the Dead Universe they serve.

Cast

Unconstrained by the needs of portraying a current toyline, Furman was offered a much greater choice in the characters he could feature in his stories, opening with an assortment of the more familiar 1984/85 Autobots and Decepticons, but with the added wild cards of the Battlechargers. Major characters from latter portions of the Generation 1 franchise like Hot Rod and Ultra Magnus were soon to join, as were fan favorites from Furman's days on the original Marvel series like Nightbeat and Scorponok. Popular characters who had never had a chance to shine in Western fiction like Sixshot and Doubledealer became prominent antagonists, while some, such as Hardhead, seemed like almost random additions! Perhaps the greatest example of characters being unconstrained by previous depictions was the transformation of Sunstreaker into a Headmaster.

For Infiltration, artist E. J. Su created new designs for many members of the cast, giving them updated, modern alternate modes—central protagonist Ratchet, for instance, became a Dodge Sprinter ambulance, versus his original Generation 1 design of "van with lightbar on top"—with robot modes reworked accordingly. A few characters retained their original alternate modes but gained updated robot modes, such as Bumblebee, while characters like Optimus Prime and Soundwave stuck to their original designs.

Technology

One of the more distinctive elements of Furman's run was the large amount of new technology employed by the characters in waging their cold war. The Autobots disguise their true nature with solid-light "holomatter" projections which serve as decoy drivers for their vehicle modes, and function as avatars for the Autobots, even quite some distance away, allowing them to covertly interact with a planet's natives. The Decepticons also make use of the human form, employing facsimile constructs — synthetic humans used to destabilize the societies of target worlds.

Several long-standing concepts that are commonplace in Transformers stories were wound back to their point of origin so their development could be integrated into the ongoing tale. Combiner technology, for instance, is not in use at the outset of the series, appearing only as a failed experiment that yielded the barbaric Monstructor. Pretender technology likewise appeared only as a failed experiment, and Headmaster tech makes its debut after years of covert and illegal development. Even the faithful standby of space bridge travel is not available to the main characters, who instead employ a short-range teleportation method called "orbital jump". On the flipside, Furman chose to directly incorporate the implicitly-ever-present concept of size changing, a topic generally left to fan discussion and untouched by official fiction, depicting the attendant mass-displacement as highly energy consumptive.

Other creators

Every mini-series and one-shot that was part of the major ongoing story of the "-ations" era was scripted by Simon Furman, but a few other publications at the time saw other writers take the reigns. Eric Holmes's Megatron Origin explored the early days of the war on Cybertron, centring on the rise of the Decepticon leader, while the freedom offered by the "Spotlight" format yielded three one-shot tales by new writers: a psycho-thriller horror about Kup by Nick Roche, a confusing parallel timeline story featuring Mirage by George Strayton, and a new take on Ramjet with a humorous bent by Stuart Moore. Moore also took up scripting duties on a four-issue New Avengers/Transformers crossover that took place within the present-day events of the "-ations" storyline and was co-published with Marvel Comics.

All Hail Megatron

Seeking to provide a jumping-on point for new readers, IDW brought Simon Furman's run to a truncated end with the Revelation storyline. While the writer wrapped up what loose ends he could in a follow-up mini-series, Maximum Dinobots, the new series began—All Hail Megatron, a "soft reboot" taking place one year after the end of Furman's storyline and beginning in medias res, with the Autobots mysteriously absent, and the Decepticons free to rain destruction on Earth. As was the case during Furman's run, "Spotlight" one-shots supplemented the series, but were by a variety of creators and rarely tied into its events.

This twelve-issue series was written by newcomer Shane McCarthy with art primarily by Guido Guidi, and courted controversy among fans for its near-complete abandonment of much of the world-building done during Furman's tenure. The story's cast was stripped down to the major players from 1984–1986, with many characters redesigned to either resemble the original Generation 1 cartoon, or to promote their new toys in the current Universe line. Perhaps the most enduring element associated with this year-long era for IDW's Transformers was the introduction of Drift, an original Autobot character created by McCarthy who was eventually turned into a toy a few years later in spite of his polarizing effect on the fandom.

The series was initially intended to be followed by a four-issue mini-series entitled All Hail Megatron: Coda, which would contain a variety of short stories that were supposed to address some of the continuity issues between Furman and McCarthy's run. Instead, these four issues were released as issues #13-16 of All Hail Megatron, and contained stories that bridged the gap between the series and the upcoming ongoing comic book.

Ongoing series

Serving as another jumping-on point for new readers, the Transformers ongoing series by new writer Mike Costa launched at the start of 2010, beginning two years after the end of All Hail Megatron. As the series begins, the Autobots are attempting to figure out what to do next after the end of the war, while being hounded by the refurbished Skywatch, led by Spike Witwicky. The death of Ironhide prompts Optimus Prime to retire his post as leader, surrendering himself to Skywatch and leaving leadership split between Bumblebee and Hot Rod; the former soon takes sole command when a disastrous deal brokered with some Decepticon stragglers forces a disgraced Hot Rod to go it alone. An alliance is soon forged between the Autobots and Skywatch without the knowledge of the government, but everything soon goes wrong when the Decepticons launch a revenge attack on two fronts, assaulting the Autobots directly on the battlefield, and manipulating human minds to turn popular opinion against them.

The ongoing proceeded to transition into a more "space-based" approach to storytelling as it headed towards its final storyline, beginning with the three-part "Space Opera" storyline, and followed by the flashback-heavy "Chaos Theory", a look into Megatron and Optimus Prime's relationship penned by James Roberts. Roberts co-authored the final arc, "Chaos", in which the Autobots battle both the returned Galvatron and his army, and the true evil of the Dead Universe, D-Void. "Chaos" had originally been intended to be a separate mini-series, but was incorporated into the ongoing, which shipped bi-weekly for the duration of the storyline, with alternating issues focusing on the final story on Earth as the Skywatch alliance finally breaks down. Concluding with its 31st issue, the series was wrapped up at the end of 2011 with the one-shot "Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime," jointly written, James Roberts and John Barber, who went on to author the new series that launched the following year.

Art style

The ongoing heralded the return of popular artist Don Figueroa to Transformers comics, having left two years prior. Figueroa debuted a new take on Transformer designs that reformatted the entire cast yet again in a very different, mechanically complex design-style that was both evocative of the live-action movie series, and immediately very unpopular with the fandom. In a new move, IDW did not require their artists to adhere to these designs, and so the various companion mini-series published alongside the ongoing (see below), and even later issues of the series itself drawn by different artists, featured a bevy of styles and designs that played fast and loose with any kind of consistency regarding character appearance and alternate mode. Artist Alex Milne went on to take over as main artist for the series at the year-and-a-half mark, and introduced some consistency by drawing the characters in streamlined versions of their Figueroa designs.

Companion mini-series

Bumblebee's rise to leadership is chronicled in a companion mini-series published concurrently with the first arc of the ongoing, by Zander Cannon and Chee Yang Ong. Also released simultaneously as the third part of this opening hat-trick of books was Last Stand of the Wreckers, a mini-series following the activities of the much-loved Autobot commando team elsewhere in the galaxy. Written and drawn by IDW rising star Nick Roche with the aid of longtime fan-author James Roberts, this mini was a breakout super-hit that turned the creative team into fandom darlings, and led to Roberts becoming a regular writer in 2012 (see below).

Costa would also script the final Spotlight one-shot to date, centered on Prowl with art by E. J. Su, and the Ironhide series, following up the story of the character's apparent death, illustrated by Casey Coller and Joana Lafuente. These were followed at the end of 2010 by Drift, in which Shane McCarthy returned to explore the backstory of his creation, drawn by Alex Milne and Josh Perez.

Build up to Chaos took place across two other mini-series: the two-issue Infestation, a tie-in to IDW's cross-franchise event, and Heart of Darkness, which both picked back up on lingering continuity points from Simon Furman's run, following Galvatron in his mission to raise an army against D-Void. Both series were scripted by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, with Nick Roche illustrated the well-received former; conversely, a disjointed story and art from Ulises Farinas, clearly unfamiliar with and lacking the ability to draw Transformers, left Heart of Darkness as perhaps the worst-received offering of the ongoing era.

More than Meets the Eye and Robots in Disguise

2012 ushered in not one, but two new ongoing series as successors to the previous series. Establishing that the remaining Transformers had been picked up from Earth, both series are exclusively space-based. Most characters had been redesigned again, but the in-story explanation is that they were courtesy of Wheeljack (at least for the Autobots). Despite the two series going in different directions, they are connected to each other in various ways — sharing cover images that connect with the other series, and themes (like the Dinobots) featured in both series in August 2012. Both series also start a new tradition since IDW's takeover of the license: special Annual issues. Both series are not afraid to kill popular characters (Furman would be proud). The writers of both series collaborate closely with one another.

More than Meets the Eye

The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye, by James Roberts, focuses around Rodimus's crew of the Lost Light and their efforts to find the mystical Knights of Cybertron. The cast is very diverse — many of the main characters have had little to no prior focus in Transformers fiction. Roberts pulls heavily from both Simon Furman's run and his own prior efforts to establish a rich continuity.

Robots in Disguise

The Transformers: Robots in Disguise, authored by John Barber, involves the efforts of Bumblebee to maintain peace over a post-war, primitive Cybertron. He's joined by Metalhawk and Starscream to appeal to the NAILs and Decepticons, respectively. Unfortunately, plots by Prowl and various Decepticons threaten to undermine the new peace.

Media

The continuity includes the following mini-series, listed in approximate chronological order:

• The Transformers: Megatron Origin — A four-issue miniseries. Megatron rises from a laboring miner to founder and leader of the Decepticon faction.
• The Transformers: Spotlight — An irregularly ongoing series of one-shot stories focusing on a single Transformer per issue. The stories generally fit in to various points in the Transformers' history.
• The Transformers: Autocracy, a digital comic written by Flint Dille and drawn by Livio Ramondelli.
• The Transformers: Monstrosity, sequel to Autocracy by the same creative team.
• The Transformers: Infiltration — A seven-issue miniseries (issues #0 to #6). On Earth, the Decepticons have discovered a potent new power source, and risk everything to exploit it.
• The Transformers: Stormbringer — A four-issue miniseries (issues #7 to #10). On the burnt-out husk of Cybertron, Bludgeon works to revive the ultra-powerful but crazed Thunderwing.
• The Transformers: Escalation — Sequel to Infiltration. Six-issue miniseries (issues #11 to #16). The war on Earth breaks out into open conflict as the Decepticons attempt to make use of the newly-discovered Ore-13.
• New Avengers/Transformers — A four-issue miniseries. The Earth Autobots team up with the superhero squad the New Avengers to confront the Decepticons in the country of Latveria.
• The Transformers: Devastation — Sequel to Escalation. Six-issue miniseries (issues #17 to #22). Megatron throws caution and protocol to the wind, unleashing his ultimate warrior, Sixshot, on the Earth-based Autobots.
• Revelation — Sequel to Devastation, presented as a special series of four Spotlights. The Autobots abandon Earth to deal with the threat of the Dead Universe.
• The Transformers: Maximum Dinobots — Sequel to Revelation. Five-issue miniseries that features Scorponok and his Headmasters, Sunstreaker, Hot Rod and the return of the Dinobots and Shockwave.
• The Transformers: Drift — A four-issue miniseries that was published biweekly, beginning in August 2010. It focuses on Drift's past as a Decepticon and was written by Drift's creator — Shane McCarthy — with art by Alex Milne (line-art) and Josh Perez (colors).
• The Transformers: All Hail Megatron — A 16-issue maxi-series dealing with the fate of Earth at the hands of the Decepticons one year after the withdrawal of the Autobots at the end of Revelation.
• The Transformers Continuum — A one-issue (somewhat skewed) history of the Transformers thus far.
• The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers — A five-issue miniseries spotlighting the Autobot subgroup's adventured outside of Earth. Published alongside the ongoing series but set, initially, before it.
• The Transformers ongoing series — takes place 2 years after All Hail Megatron, with the Autobots in hiding from the military out to destroy them.
• The Transformers: Bumblebee — A four-issue miniseries focused on Bumblebee as the newly elected Autobot leader, which takes place between issues 3 and 5 of the ongoing series.
• The Transformers: Ironhide — A four-issue miniseries revolving around Ironhide's mysterious resurrection on Cybertron. It was written by Mike Costa with art by Casey Coller and colors by Joana Lafuente.
• Infestation — IDW multi-franchise (with Star Trek, G.I. Joe and Ghostbusters) crossover event. With zombies. Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, art by Nick Roche.
• The Transformers: Heart of Darkness — A four-issue miniseries focusing on Galvatron, Cyclonus, Scourge and the Sweeps, and on events that take place between the All Hail Megatron code and Infestation. Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, with art by Ulises Farinas.
• The Transformers: Robots in Disguise — An ongoing split off from The Transformers, written by John Barber that started in January 2012.
• The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye — The second ongoing continuation of The Transformers begun in January 2012, written by James Roberts.
• The Transformers: Windblade (2014) A four-issue miniseries focusing on Windblade in the wake of the "Dark Cybertron" crossover event, written by Mairghread Scott and drawn by Sarah Stone.

Timeline

See main article: IDW timeline.

Notes

• As of, roughly, issue #6 of the 2009 ongoing series, there have been more issues of the IDW continuity published than there were in the original Marvel Comics US continuity.
• When IDW first picked up the Transformers license, Simon Furman pitched a story that would have tied in to his idea for a Cybertron ongoing comic, and would possibly have been in continuity with the Dreamwave comics. The G1 story would have begun with the destruction of Cybertron and the discovery that the destruction of Unicron in the Aurex cluster had destabilized the entire omniverse. To save all of existence, the Autobots travel across the galaxy attempting to reassemble an artifact called the 'Decepticon Matrix', which would have resurrected Unicron - a plot which parallels that of Cybertron, in which the Autobots seek out the Cyber Planet Keys to revive Primus. Vector Prime would have appeared in both series, travelling between universes to guide both groups of Autobots in their quest. It seems that series would then have come together with the concurrent Cybertron comic as Transformers from across the multiverse were brought together for a final, epic clash.