2005 IDW continuity

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?

The IDW universe brings Transformers into the modern day; the traditional "crashed on Earth 4 million years ago" approach is not used. Alternate forms are largely updated to modern-day vehicles, with robot modes reworked accordingly.

The series is notable as a much more "cloak-and-dagger" world than many previous iterations of Generation 1. Earth is initially portrayed as simply one of many battlegrounds in a galaxy-spanning war of subversion and conquest. Also of note is that there is a reason Cybertron is not the site of conflict: the planet is a deserted wasteland, a result of the devastation it suffered in the war. The Decepticons follow 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 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 and Skywatch. Various plot threads, many of them outlined in the Spotlight series of one-shots, continually thread into the main story, and echoes of the Transformers' dark and distant past begin to gather strength as well.

Cast

The series initially was not constrained by the needs of portraying a current toyline, allowing great freedom in cast selection.

The story opened with an assortment of the more familiar 1984 Autobots operating on Earth, with some of their standard 1984/85 Decepticon foes also present. But the free format allowed fan favorites such as Nightbeat and the Battlechargers to be thrown into the mix, and even almost random additions as Hardhead and Dogfight have played roles as the setting expanded and more Transformers headed to Earth. Many of the latter-day Generation 1 cast have been shown fighting the war on worlds other than Earth, and even a few Generation 2 Autobots have made appearances.

New alternate modes

Initially, most of the Transformers seen in this continuity featured alternate modes updated to the modern day. Here are some examples:

• Ratchet: Dodge Sprinter ambulance
• Runamuck and Runabout: Chevrolet Camaro SS
• Thundercracker, Skywarp and Starscream: F-22 "Raptor"
• Prowl: Nissan 350Z police car
• Sunstreaker: Lamborghini Diablo
• Jazz: Current-model Porsche 911 (aka 997)
• Astrotrain: had a new modern diesel engine train mode.
• Ratbat: Sony personal media player
• Hot Rod started as a Cybertronian hot rod, but was reformatted into a Dodge Viper upon settling down on Earth.
• Hardhead started in his familiar Cybertronian self-propelled artillery mode before being reformatted into a wheeled Earth armored vehicle (possibly a Pandur 8X8 APC).

In possibly an art error, one of the covers for Infiltration #0 features Jazz with his original Porsche 935 hood/chest, though it's possible that at the time IDW and artist E. J. Su hadn't finalized the designs yet.

Exceptions

There were also numerous robots that retained the looks of one or both of their "classic" G1 modes. A few examples:

• Bumblebee (although he possesses a new transformation scheme, making for a different looking robot mode to his most familiar appearances)
• Wheeljack
• Optimus Prime, though he started in his Cybertronian form, similar to his look in Dreamwave's The War Within. Note, however, that even in his "classic" mode Prime is given a sun visor on his cab roof/chest and an overall more streamlined and modern truck mode.
• Soundwave, Laserbeak and Ravage have their familiar modes, due to their travel to Earth in 1984.
• Sixshot

Technology

Several aspects of Transformer technology have been refurbished for the series.

Most prominently, the "facsimile circuitry" dummy drivers shown in the Generation 1 Marvel Comics continuity have been replaced by sophisticated solid-light projections composed of "holomatter". Holomatter generators are built into each member of the Autobot contingent on Earth; they can function as an avatar for their respective Autobot, even quite some distance away, allowing the Autobots to covertly interact with a planet's natives.

The Decepticons, in a similar vein, make use of facsimile constructs — synthetic humans grown in special pods from the bodies and minds of kidnapped "template" humans. These replicas are used to destabilize the societies of planets the Decepticons wish to conquer.

Both sides also possess a variant of teleportation technology, seen for example when Megatron travels to Starscream's Oregon command bunker. This "orbital jump" can apparently be coordinated from an Ark spacecraft or the Decepticons' bunker headquarters. Nightbeat describes it as "not the most pleasant way to travel".

Size changing is a rarity, generally abandoned in these energy-short times. Megatron, originally possessing a tank mode, is encouraged by the energy-rich Ore-13 and takes on a size-changing alternate form when he arrives on Earth. His transformation sequence and its attendant mass-displacement process consumes a great deal of energy, and is thus surprising to the Autobots who observe it. Why Soundwave and his cassettes utilized it remains unknown, though perhaps it was a necessity to further his role as a spy.

Conversely, certain technologies did not yet exist at the series' starting point. Gestalt (combiner) technology had only appeared as a long-ago experiment, which yielded only the barbaric Monstructor. Pretender technology had likewise appeared only as a failed experiment, and Headmaster and similar binary-bonding tech makes its debut after years of covert and illegal development. All of these technologies appear to bestow greatly-enhanced power on the users, to the point that Thunderwing devastated the entire planet of Cybertron with his Pretender shell, and Monstructor easily defeated Omega Supreme.

Soft reboot

The "-ations" arcs were written by Simon Furman, and included: Infiltration, Stormbringer, Escalation, Devastation, Revelation, and Maximum Dinobots Furman intended Revelation to be longer and to be followed by another miniseries called Expansion, but due to pressure by IDW, the 2 series were compacted into Revelation, with Maximum Dinobots following up to tie up some loose plot threads. At this point, IDW decided to change things up and give new readers a jumping on point...

All Hail Megatron

All Hail Megatron takes place about a year after Maximum Dinobots and introduces a situation where the Autobots are not on Earth and the Decepticons are free to reign destruction on the planet. Written by newcomer Shane McCarthy, the series initially seemed to ignore much of the previous continuity, with the cast stripped down to the major players from 1984–1986. The result was a series that was "controversial" with the established fandom, to say the least.

Alt mode retrofits

Many alt modes were also retrofitted to be more in line with the old 80s cartoon, or to promote the then-selling line of Universe toys. For example:

• The Seekers take the form of the older F-15 "Eagle", reflecting their Masterpiece toys for no apparent in-story reason.
• Prowl and Hound were upgraded to their Universe toys.
• Sunstreaker and Sideswipe: upgraded to a Lamborghini Gallardo to match their Universe toys.
• Astrotrain: downgraded to a steam locomotive for no logical reason.
• Ratbat: reverted to his classic cassette mode for dubious reasons.
• Hot Rod was badly damaged by the end of Maximum Dinobots and seems to have taken his classic G1 form upon recovery.

Another soft reboot

After nearly half its run "All Hail Megatron" fairly abruptly started referring back to continuity points from Furman's run, but the continuity between the series remained a definite rough spot and IDW eventually announced they would be extending the series with a series of half-issue stories designed to help bridge the gaps. Once the series finished for good, IDW wanted yet another new jumping-on point for fans...

Ongoing series

The new Transformers ongoing series will feature a new writer, Mike Costa and take place 3 years after All Hail Megatron. Artist Don Figueroa returns and has debuted a new take on Transformer designs that seems to reformat the entire cast yet again, giving them a very different, mechanically complex design-style more along the lines of the live-action movie series while still maintaining basic Generation 1 character likenesses.

Media

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

• Megatron Origin — A four-issue miniseries. Megatron rises from a laboring miner to founder and leader of the Decepticon faction.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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: The Definitive Chronology — A one-issue history of the Transformers thus far.
• The Transformers ongoing series — takes place 3 years after All Hail Megatron, with the Autobots in hiding from the military out to destroy them.
• Transformers: Bumblebee — A four-issue miniseries post All Hail Megatron, which is an extended Spotlight for the character, and set alongside the ongoing series.
• The Last Stand of the Wreckers — A five-issue miniseries spotlighting the Autobot subgroup.

• Spotlight — A series of one-shot stories focusing on a single Transformer per issue. The stories generally fit in to various points in the Transformers' history.

Timeline

See main article: IDW timeline.

Production

Initially, the IDWverse was penned almost entirely by veteran Transformers scribe Simon Furman, with the primary exceptions being:

• Megatron Origin (Eric Holmes)
• Spotlight: Kup (Nick Roche)
• Spotlight: Mirage (George Strayton)
• the New Avengers crossover and Spotlight: Ramjet (Stuart Moore)

Pencils on the main -ation series were done by E. J. Su (with Nick Roche and Robby Musso filling in while Su was on paternity leave) and a variety of artists have penciled the other series in the continuity.

However...

IDW decided to shake things up in an attempt to gain new fans. Furman's planned 6-issue Revelation was shortened to four Spotlight issues and its follow-up, Expansion was canceled in favor of a new series, All Hail Megatron, which was written by new writer, Shane McCarthy and illustrated mainly by Guido Guidi. All Hail Megatron was expanded from 12 to 16 issues to mainly fix continuity issues between McCarthy's and Furman's work.

An ongoing monthly series will start in November 2009, written by Mike Costa and illustrated by Don Figueroa. In addition, a Bumblebee miniseries (written by Zander Cannon with art by Chee Yang Ong) will start in December, and 2010 will bring another miniseries, The Last Stand of the Wreckers, which will be written and illustrated by Nick Roche.

Notes

• The IDW continuity is equivalent to the Earth-616 from Marvel Comics in some way.