Transformer

This article is about the living alien robots. For the brand that they appear and are sold as toys in, see Transformers brand.

"Transformers" redirects here. For other uses of Transformers, see Transformers (disambiguation).

Bumblebee, a Transformer, transforming. Savvy?

The Transformers are a species of sentient, living robotic beings (mostly) originating from the distant machine world of Cybertron. The stories of their lives, their histories, and most especially their wars have been chronicled across many different continuities in the vast multiverse.

The designation "Transformer" stems from the species' generally-shared ability to transform, to change their bodies at will, rearranging their component parts from a robotic primary mode (usually, but not always, humanoid) into an alternate form; generally vehicles, weapons, machinery, or animals. In some continuities this ability to transform is innate to all members of the species, in others it was a wartime innovation that was adopted by most, but not all, of the populace.

Although "Transformer" is the most common term for these beings, there are others, mainly "Cybertron" as a reference to any being whose origin traces back to the planet in question (the adjective form being the more frequently used "Cybertronian" and occasionally "Cybertronic").

“	Many millions of years ago, on the planet Cybertron, life existed. But not life as we know it today. Intelligent robots that could think and feel inhabited the cities.	”
—A voice from beyond, More than Meets the Eye, Part 1

Origin

Narration boxes don't lie!

They were the dream--mechanical beings able to transform their bodies into vehicles, machinery and weapons; a last line of defense against the chaos bringer, Unicron! They are at war, heroic Autobot pitted against evil Decepticon, both on their homeworld, the metal planet called Cybertron, and here on our Earth. They are the galaxy's last hope, they are-- TRANSFORMERSThe Transformers comic introductory blurb

The origin of the Transformers species differs according to continuity, and not all continuities have given the race a specific stated origin at all, but, of those that exist, the most prominent are:

• Atechnogenesis — Spontaneous evolution from "naturally occurring gears, levers and pulleys" on Cybertron's surface. This rather questionable origin was given in the first Marvel Comic issue and then rarely mentioned again outside of rumor and legend, or as a belief held in-fiction by Transformers who do not ascribe to the idea of creation by a higher power.
• Quintesson-made — Created as consumer goods and military hardware by the alien Quintessons, who employed Cybertron as a planet-sized factory. This was the origin given for the Transformers in the original Generation 1 cartoon. Although well-known because of the cartoon's prominence, it has been given relatively little attention in subsequent media, and when it is mentioned it is usually in the form of "corrections to the historic record" that depict the Quintessons as merely interfering with the Transformers' development, as seen in 3H's Universe comics and the Aligned continuity family.
• Primus-created — Created by the god-like "Lord of the Light" Primus to carry on his age old battle with the "dark god" Unicron. This origin sprang from Simon Furman's United Kingdom comics and then carried back to the later American Marvel books. It is also the origin that has been embraced and adopted by pretty much every subsequent Transformers work/continuity — and a retcon created by the Transformers Universe and Fun Publications Cybertron comics and related fiction has unilaterally applied the Primus/Unicron backstory to all Transformers continuities in the multiverse, past and future. It remains the origin in the Aligned continuity family.
• Cube Creationism — Introduced in 2007 for the live-action movies and Transformers Animated, this origin claims the cube-like AllSpark, created by forces unknown, mystically gave birth to the Transformers. This origin was folded into the Primus-creation story by the Aligned continuity family, which depicts the AllSpark as simply the object through which Primus acts—something which had, in fact, already implied by a few comics set in the live-action film universe.

Also perhaps worthy of mention is the process of biomechanical evolution, the process by which the Transformers' sister race the GoBots came to be, transitioning from organic beings to mechanical by upgrading and replacing their forms over time. Fiction such as Beast Machines and Kiss Players has shown that Cybertron used to be an organic world, and IDW's Spotlight: Nightbeat featured the world of Gorlam Prime, whose Transformer-like inhabitants evolved this way, leading Nightbeat to speculate that Cybertronians could have had a similar origin, but no continuity has ever established this as a proven origin for the Transformer race.

Biology

Physical construction

Generation 1 Marvel Comics continuity

Transformers are composed of a physical body and their programming. Their programming is encoded into a specialized component called a brain module. Given the resources and a means of assembly, Transformer bodies (including brain modules) can be designed and constructed by other Transformers. Without programming, a Transformer body is a mindless drone. It is able to carry out pre-programmed straightforward missions, but that is about it.

Transformer programming, however, cannot be created by Transformers. The Creation Matrix is able to infuse a Transformer brain module with programming, thus giving the Transformer personality and sentience. Programming on existing Transformers can be copied and stored externally on storage media. These stored minds can be used to infuse a new Transformer body with a new brain module with programming. The brain module (containing a Transformer's programming) can be extracted from the body and installed into other machinery, keeping the Transformer alive.

Transformers: Prime

Transformers consist of a mind and body. A Transformer's mind can be transferred to another body using a cortical psychic patch, where it is possible for two minds to occupy the same body. Without a mind, a Transformer body can be kept alive by artificial means, but it is then essentially without personality. Certain Transformer components, such as T-cogs and voice boxes, are actually bio-mechanical organs, which are beyond Ratchet's ability to construct.

In general

Sparks retail for $29.95 at Sharper Image

Traditionally, Transformers are living, sentient, emotional, and fully-mechanical beings. Many continuities portray Transformer "life" as being granted by a soul-like spark residing within their mechanical frames.

The Generation 2 comic books established that Transformers possess both "genetic material" (useful when "budding") and a distinct cellular structure, presumably both of a somehow mechanical nature.

Original, or extra-fleshy.

By the Beast Era of the Generation 1 continuity family synthetic flesh had become increasingly incorporated into their construction, often to aid in disguise or survival on worlds inhabited by organic lifeforms. (A version of this technology had been introduced earlier with Pretender Transformers, though in that instance the synthetic flesh was a removable outer "shell".)

In the era of Beast Machines, events led to true organics being infused into Transformers biology down to the cellular level, making them "technorganic" with an increased range of powers resulting. (The "ParasiTech" technology introduced in the Generation-1-based Kiss Players series seems to have an organic component to it as well.)

Being mechanical creatures, Transformers possess a number of distinct mechanical parts that make up their anatomy. For a list, see: Transformers Anatomy.

Transformers are also known to suffer from some infamous ailments: Transformers Diseases.

First generation Transformers shared the same computational matrix as Vector Sigma, making their power source compatible with the mega computer. Such Transformers are thus capable of reactivating the sleeping computer intelligence. The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1

See also

For further information, see: Ability

Size

File:Sizes TFTM Unicron vs MF Browning.jpg

Unicron is quite big, Browning is quite small. The contrast scares this poor little boy something mighty.

Transformers are generally large in comparison to Earth lifeforms, (two to eight times the height of a human seems to be about average, though depictions vary wildly even for the same character), but a Transformer can be much, much smaller or much, much larger. There are some small enough to fit in a human's palm (see Browning and the Real Gear Robots). While the Micromasters and Mini-Cons are two groups whose size range is within normal human standards at a time when most Transformers are larger, human-sized appears to be the norm for Transformers altogether in the Beast Era. In the G1 cartoon, the sizes often shift from episode to episode, at times when they can be twice the average human height to that of being able to reach a four-story building. Several Japanese animations have the robots usually large enough for a number of human characters to fit in one hand.

The upper range of size can be a good deal larger, if you include planet-formers like Unicron and Primus or even the colossal city-bots Metroplex or Fortress Maximus (the latter's gigantism depending on the continuity). In the Cybertron series, the planet Gigantion is populated by both extremes: robots who tower over "normal"-sized Transformers, aided by their tiny Mini-Con partners. But to be blunt, the usual sizes range from 20 feet to 40 feet.

See also

For further information, see: Scale

Variance in form

Unconventional limbs make Scorponok a slow typist.

A classic example of a non-humanoid Transformer.

File:ROTF Voyager Demolishor.jpg

A not-so-classic example.

While many Transformers possess a "humanoid" form with two arms, two legs and a head atop their torso, it is not uncommon at all for there to be extensive variations. Some Transformers do not have a "humanoid" mode at all, rather their "primary" form is that of an animal or vehicle. Generation 1's Ravage, Grand Slam and Raindance, for example, or the Beast Wars Mutants.

Elita 1 - Boys 0

Some have unconventional limbs, their hands (or whole arm) replaced with tools, claws, weapons, or some other form of manipulator (like a beast-mode's head!). Some Transformers' lower bodies feature digitigrade legs, or wheels/treads instead of feet, or no discernible separate legs at all. Some even have more (or less!) than the normal number of limbs altogether. This design style became much more common in the Beast Era (Beast Wars Quickstrike and Beast Machines Thrust, for example), and is also common among the Mini-Cons, but Generation 1 is not without its examples (like Shockwave, Scorponok, and Octus).

Transformers' faces also run the gamut of design, from looking like a metal human in a helmet, to faces that can only be described as robotic (again, like Generation 1 Shockwave, whose face consists of little more than a single glowing eye) or animalistic (again, the Beast Era). The Mini-Cons are also notable for more commonly having non-humanoid faces.

The existence and appearance of Female Transformers in most continuities seem to suggest a level of "sexual" dimorphism to the species as well (the term sexual is used in a gender-based, rather than physical sense, see Reproduction for that whole kettle of robo-fish). In almost all cases female Transformers are portrayed as more graceful of form and more rounded and curved in general, often with a more than passing resemblance to an attractive metal human female wearing armor and kibble. There are rare exceptions to this rule (notably Strika and Discharge, though the latter is said to be wearing armor that obscures her true appearance).

Energy

Energon - the food, drink, and primary currency of Cybertron. (It's like if chocolate coins had a valid exchange rate...)

Unlike humans who need air and water as well as food, generally the Transformers' only major need to assure their continued functioning is fuel (though again, even this can vary depending on the fiction).

Energon is the most common and preferred form of Transformer fuel, but other alternatives may be substituted if it is unavailable.

In the Marvel Comics Earth fuel needed to be treated with a special additive (invented by Sparkplug Witwicky) to be made usable by Transformer life. In the Cartoon, on the other hand, human energy sources were converted into energon simply by being condensed inside Energon Cubes.

In the original cartoon the Insecticons alone among Transformers seemed to be able to fuel themselves by ingesting organic matter, but by the Beast Era, the ability to ingest organic substances to supplement their fuel needs seems more commonplace.

The Action Master line introduced a new type of Transformer fuel called Nucleon which was extremely powerful but prone to unpredictable and destructive side-effects.

There are also even further examples of fuel, including Solitarium from the Japanese-exclusive Robotmasters line of toys/FMV produced by Takara, and the kisses of little girls in Kiss Players.

See also

For more information on Transformer biology see:

• New body
• Life cycle
• Reproduction

Culture

File:WOTF Emotion.jpg

Transformers are lovable couples, peaceful creatures, adolescents or omnicidal maniacs.

Regardless of continuity, the most distinctive facet of Transformers society has been its near-continuous state of planetary Civil War. The two major factions in these wars are the Autobots and the Decepticons. The conflict is mostly defined by what each faction believes is the "destiny" of the Transformers: the Autobots believe in a peaceful society where Cybertron is a place of culture and justice, while the Decepticons believe in a "might makes right" philosophy where Cybertron would be the center of a mighty empire. The fact that the vast majority of what we know about Transformers has been shaped by this constant, corrosive warfare should not be overlooked. What a theoretical Transformer society would be like in peacetime is mostly unknown, glimpsed mainly during its disintegration into war or via brief flashbacks and asides. That said, there are some things we do know.

Sociology

The Cybertronian society of wartime is portrayed as heavily polarized between Autobot and Decepticon. When there are neutrals they generally fare poorly, becoming victims of Decepticon abuse and destruction.

What little we know of the society before the war suggests it was stratified economically between "haves" (like the aristocratic Mirage) and have-nots. Other facets of society were similarly Earth-like with fads and fashions, schools and lousy jobs, news media and so on.

Politics

In many continuities Transformers seem to prefer a non-democratic one-world autocracy centered around a single powerful hero-leader called a Prime, who serves as both Head of State and Commander-in-Chief (sometimes referred to as Supreme Commander); in the Generation 1 cartoon continuity the Autobots determine this leadership by possession of the Autobot Matrix of Leadership which is passed from each leader to his chosen successor, while in Dreamwave's continuity they were chosen by a Council of Ancients and in Transformers: War for Cybertron by an Autobot High Council. This would make the Autobots an absolute monarchy.

By contrast, in the Marvel comic continuity, possession of the Matrix does not denote political leadership, as it was more of a religious icon. Instead, Cybertron was previously an absolute monarchy under the Overlords; however, later on, Cybertron became a multitude of autonomous city-states under their own governments with the last Overlord as a figurehead ruler, making it both a federation and a constitutional monarchy. During the war, Autobot Cybertron was governed by a Council of Autobot Elders with the Prime as military commander-in-chief. Emirates existed but we're not sure how they're chosen or what they do.

In the IDW continuity, the planet is ruled by a Senate, with each city-state having a subordinate council with lesser powers; the current Prime was subordinate to the Senate and only ran the security forces. (This would make Cybertron a republic.)

The Decepticons, however, generally bowed only to the supremacy of the most powerful and normally had no mechanism for peaceful handover of power: a Decepticon Civil War often resulted. If the civil war began to seriously hamper the Autobot war effort, the opposing factions would agree to a diplomatic meeting called an Enclave to try the rare idea of talking out their differences. One (brief) exception was Marvel UK's Decepticon High Council, a governing body that decided on the new Decepticon leader.

By the era of the Maximals and Predacons, the planet is dually ruled by Maximal and Predacon governments with separate jurisdictions; it's not fully clear how this worked. We know the Maximals are in charge of pretty much most of Cybertron, with a Predacon Alliance overseeing Predacon affairs and a Bi-Partate Committee for State Affairs bridging the gap: a consociational government. There's a High Council, but they're rarely talked about despite having legislative power (and it may be another term for the Elders). Most of the time, when talking about governments, the Transformers refer to the Maximal Council of Elders or the Tripredacus Council (what is it with Transformers and the word "council"?). Both of them are bodies of old Transformers (well, the former would have to be!) who appear to wield the real power in their respective factions, making this brave new peaceful Cybertron hamstrung by its past. We're told that democracy is a Maximal tradition, indicating the Maximal's Councils are elected by the people.

The Go-Bots are ruled by the Botropolis High Council, a triumvirate selected by unknown means. They have direct control over the Go-Bots military force, right down to personally selecting which Go-Bots are going to placed in a planetary garrison. Their primary concern seems to be "helping" other planets, which doesn't sound sinister at all...

In the Transformers Animated continuity, the planet is governed by the Autobot High Council in the Metroplex. The head of state is the Magnus, an unelected position seemingly based on military rank, and the Council appears unable to depose a Magnus on their own. The Council itself is divided into civilian guilds on one side and military on the other, with security bodies like Cybertron Intelligence having a seat on the Council. How the civilian councilors are chosen is unknown.

The live-action film series, the first Cybertronian civilization was ruled by the Dynasty of Primes, with the Thirteen Primes serving as the highest authority. The later Autobots had a co-leadership structure, control split between the Optimus and Megatron, who commanded the Science Division and Defence Force respectively. Optimus's proper title isn't said ("Prime" was a later addition to his name when he discovered he was the last of the Dynasty of Primes), though Megatron's position was Lord High Protector. There was a law-giving body called the High Council of Ancients, who were respected but an outdated relic of an earlier time. Obviously, this didn't last long when the war started...

Interaction with other races

The Civil Wars have resulted in the factions adopting radically different views of how to interact with other races. The Autobots, in the words of Optimus Prime, believe that "freedom is the right of all sentient beings", whereas the Decepticons view other races, particularly organic lifeforms, as little more than slave labor or target practice. When arriving on a planet, the Autobots will usually attempt to contact the native species and warn them of the Decepticon threat, but sometimes they will remain hidden or outright discourage other lifeforms from participating, usually in an effort to better protect them. The Decepticons often make overt attacks on native species, but there are occasions when stealth has been a priority. After the Great War, the Maximals were banned from travelling to certain areas of the galaxy.

However, one unique method of interacting with other races is binary bonding, a process where an organic lifeform will enter into a symbiotic relationship with a Transformer. Such lifeforms will serve as their heads, weapons, and, in rare cases, their powercores. This process has met with mixed results, as it places the Transformer in a dependent situation in the relationship.

Some Decepticons are known for making deals with other races, either to gain power through an alliance or for cold hard cash.

The Autobots have made diplomatic and military alliances with humanity in several continuities, most notably in having Autobot City built on Earth.

The Arts

The Transformers have been shown to have a very active musical tradition. The Matrix itself has an archive of 11 million traditional Cybertronian songs. Many Transformers such as Jazz and Blaster have shown great interest in music, and Squawkbox is one prominent example of a Cybertronian musician.

Furthermore, sculpture seems to be one of the primary art forms of Cybertron, with many Transformers dedicated to it. One notable (and gruesome) school of sculpture, practiced by a startling number of Transformers involves making art out of the bodies of other Transformers. The Slogism movement is a part of this school.

Before the war, Cybertron also featured many marvels of architecture. See: Crystal City

Timekeeping

Transformers are known to use their own system of measurement for duration of time, but little is known of what system they use to record the passage of time according to their own native calender. Once they have made contact with Earth culture they have been known to adopt human forms of dating events.

Marvel Comics continuity

The Transformers chronicles stated that an incident where the Quintessons attempted to recover a data canister from the Junkions happened in the year 2006. The Big Broadcast of 2006

Galvatron's somewhat unhinged internal monologue remembered that he was converted from a dying Megatron by Unicron in the year 2005 and had subsequently been transported into the past to the year 1991. A Savage Circle

The loss of the Ark occured in "1st Cycle 931" by Cybertronian dating. The Quest!

IDW Generation 1 continuity

The IDW Generation 1 continuity picked up the cycles calendar system from a few Marvel UK Annuals' and ran with it, as well as adding arcs and chords.Last Stand of the Wreckers, and various dates have since appeared in works written by James Roberts. For a while some given dates seemed to contradict others, until "Before & After" mentioned "the switch to the new calendar", confirming that the calendar is divided. Nevertheless, some discrepancies remain, as Ironfist was apparently constructed after the events of Shadowplay, which he played a small part in. If divided into rough pre-war and war periods, dates so far include:

Pre-war period

• 1st Cycle 012 — Megatron is created. Chaos Theory Part 1
• 4th Cycle 501, 1st Chord, Arc 0-09 — Senator Sherma is found dead. Post Hoc
• 4th Cycle 501, 4th Chord — Ratchet operates on Drift, saving his life. Post Hoc
• 4th Cycle 501, 6th Chord — Orion Pax meets with Whirl at Garrus-1. Patternism
• 4th Cycle 501, 5th Chord, Arc 1-13 — Rodion's police headquarters is destroyed. This follows previous events, so the Chord is apparently an error. An Intimate Beheading
• 5th Cycle 522 — Ironfist is constructed. Last Stand of the Wreckers #4 The Nova Prime memorial lectures are held. Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations

War period

• 1st Cycle 598 — Ironfist is Autobranded. Ironfist's profile
• 1st Cycle 3178 — Ultra Magnus is injured by a Cybernought during the Simanzi Massacre. The Gloaming
• 2nd Cycle 087 — The Battle of Sherma Bridge: Optimus Prime and Megatron meet in battle for the first time. Chaos Theory Part 1
• 2nd Cycle 1874 — Ultra Magnus is injured by Torque during the battle over the Nightmare Engine. The Gloaming
• 3rd Cycle 199 — Optimus Prime defeats Megatron during the Vorsk Offensive. Chaos Theory Part 1
• 3rd Cycle 1102 — The Battle for Hell's Point takes place. The Gloaming
• 11th Cycle 987 — The survival rate of Wreckers members is at 42%. Dead Men's Boots

See also

For more information on Transformer culture see:

• Cybertronian Civil Wars
• Religion
• Transformer funerary practices
• Transformer economics
• Transformer furniture
• Transformer romance

Toys

The Transformers were introduced by Hasbro in 1984 with the franchise now known as Generation 1. The line has gone through numerous incarnations since, with the latest being the Transformers: Prime toyline. Nearly all the product sold in the line consists of actual Transformer figures; non-Transformer items such as bases, vehicles and accessories, while common in most boy-centric toy lines, have been fairly uncommon in the history of the Transformers brand.