Time travel
Time travel allows an individual or group of individuals to move to either either forwards or backwards in time, in such a way as to be able to interact with the surroundings and occupants of that time. Depending upon the nature of the universe occupied by the time traveller(s) it may be possible to alter the past in a way that the travellers’ personal timelines are rewritten.
Fiction
Animated continuity
The Autobots discover a mysterious island where dinosaurs have managed to survive into modern times. The Decepticons later plunder the island for its abundant energy resources. Dinobot Island, Part 1 This has the side-effect of causing time warps to appear across the globe. Each time warp was liked to a different time zone and allowed occupants of that time to pass through to the modern world. The Autobots are forced to track down the time warps and send the unwitting time travellers back through before the warps close and strand them. The energon cubes the Decepticons collected are eventually destroyed, releasing the energy and stopping the time warps. Dinobot Island, Part 2
During a battle with the Autobots, Starscream, Ramjet, Ravage and Rumble become low on energy and seek cover in a stone circle throbbing with energy. Pursued by Warpath, Hoist and Spike, the Decepticons are transported back in time to 6th Century England when Starscream activates the circle using some mysterious runes. Without modern energy sources the Autobots and Decepticons struggle to stay active. Starscream designs a primitive dynamo that is able to produce enough energy to keep the Decepticons powered up. The Autobots with the aid of the wizard, Merlin manage to destroy the dynamo. The Decepticons are captured and with Merlin's help the Autobots return to the stone circle and use it to return themselves and the Decepticons to their own time. A Decepticon Raider in King Arthur's Court
Sometime later Megatron and Shockwave manage to construct a time machine of their own called the Chronosphere. Megatron plans to use it to travel back in time and steal energy from Cybertron’s golden age when energy was plentiful. Before he can put his plan into operation however the Autobots and the newly created Aerialbots arrive to thwart him. The Aerialbots however attempt to parley with the Decepticons as they aren’t convinced that the Decepticons are evil. Megatron tricks them onto the chronosphere planning to send them back to the dawn of time. To save the Aerialbots Optimus Prime damages the chronosphere causing it to drop the Arialbots nine million years in the past, to a time before the war began. There they witness the start of the war as Megatron and his Decepticons callously gun down innocent Autobots, Orion Pax, Ariel and Dion. Having learned the truth about the Decepticons nature they pursuade a young Alpha Trion to rebuild Orion Pax into Optimus Prime. As Prime confronts Megatron the Aerialbots plan to stop him from accumulating energy by detonating a massive collection of energon cubes in Iacon. They find themselves trapped by the Decepticons foot soldiers and plan to blow themselves up to prevent the Decepticons from achieving victory. In the future the Autobots manage to repair the chronosphere and the Aerialbots are plucked from Iacon just as the energon cubes detonate and returned to their own time. Shortly afterwards the chronosphere was destroyed in a battle with the Decepticons. War Dawn
Over twenty years later, the Quintessons attempted to use a time machine of their own known as a time window to travel back to Cybertron’s ancient past and prevent the Autobot rebellion that lost them control of the planet. The chronal energy was detected by Perceptor causing Rodimus Prime to lead an assault force to the window. During the battle, Perceptor is knocked unconscious and Blurr, Wreck-Gar, Blaster and his tapes fall through the window eleven million years into Cybertron’s past. At the same time an ancient Autobot called A3 materialises in the present day. The time window continues to leak chronal energy which begins to cause strange phenomena across the galaxy. In some cases time turns backwards, while in others it becomes a continuous loop. The Quintessons conclude that unless the window is closed the whole of space-time will be destroyed and implore Rodimus to close the window. Rodimus is reluctant as this would trap the other Autobots in the past. A3 offers to go back through and find then and send them home before Rodimus closes the window. In the past, the Autobots have joined the rebellion against the Quintessons and have helped them to attack their headquarters, but they are overpowered by Guardian Robots. Just in time, A3 appears and disables the Guardians with his Coder Remote device and sends the Autobots back through the window. Rodimus closes the window and the fabric of space-time is restored. Forever is a Long Time Coming
Beast Wars continuity
By the time of the Beast Wars time travel technology has become commonplace. Maximal and Predacon ships are equipped with Transwarp drives that allow them to travel through time as well as space. The Predacon Megatron stole a golden disc containing details of a massive supply of energon on the planet Earth. With his crew he tried to travel back to Earth’s past using his ship’s transwarp drive. He was pursued by the Maxmimal ship commanded by Optimus Primal. Both ship’s engaged in battle and crashed on what was later discovered to be ancient Earth. Beast Wars, Part 1
At one point Starscream’s disembodied Spark travelled back in time and arrived on Earth where he possessed the Predacon called Waspinator. He was eventually defeated and sent back into space however. Possession
Megatron eventually uncovered the crashed Ark containing the deactivated Autobots and Decepticons, the Maximal’s and Predacon’s ancestors. Attempting to change history by ensuring the Decepticon’s win the Great War Megatron decapitates Optimus Prime. This causes a time storm that threatens to wipe the Maximals out of existence. The Agenda, Part 3
With the help of Blackarachnia, the Maximals manage to keep Prime alive using Teletraan-1, stabilising time. Optimus Primal then takes charge of Prime’s Spark to ensure its safety. Optimal Situation
Beast Machines continuity
After his defeat in the Beast Wars, Megatron was strapped to an Autobot shuttle and transported back to Cybertron for trial. During the journey through time, he managed to loose himself and was able to exit the time jump before the Maximals. He arrived on Cybertron some time before they did giving him time to conquer the planet.
Marvel UK comic continuity
Fleeing the control of Unicron, the future Decepticon leader, Galvatron and his lieutenants, Cyclonus and Scourge, travelled back in time to 1986. For the time jump to be successful a mass substitution process was required, three Autobots, Optimus Prime, Ratchet and Prowl were displaced to holding dimension called limbo, ensuring that the universal balance was maintained. Galvatron planned to build a weapon that would fire on his return to the future and destroy Unicron. Unable to pursue him into the past, Unicron ensnared the minds of Kup, Hot Rod and Blurr and sent them back in time as his agents, displacing Shockwave, Rumble and Thundercracker to limbo in the process. With the help of the present day Ultra Magnus they tricked Galvatron into believing that he had destroyed Starscream. As Starscream was not supposed to die at his hand until 2006, Galvatron decided that he had arrived in an alternate dimension and abandoned his plan and returned to the future. The three Autobots followed soon after. Target 2006
Sometime later, Galvatron returned to the past following his defeat by Rodimus Prime and the destruction of Unicron. Fallen Angel! Deciding to stay permanently in the past he embarked on a plan to give himself god-like powers by harnessing the power the volcano, Mount Verona. In the future Rodimus Prime, desperate to find what had happened to Galvatron, but a bounty on his head. The bounty hunter freelance peacekeeping agent, Death's Head was determined to claim it. He interrogated Cyclonus and Scourge and deduced where Galvatron had fled too and used the time machine to follow him. Wanted – Galvatron Dead or Alive
Horrified at what he had unleashed, Rodimus Prime travels back in time with Kup, Blurr and Wreck-Gar to stop both Galvatron and Death’s Head. Burning Sky! Wreck-Gar reprogrammed Galvatron’s time jump device to transport them all back to the future, but the plan failed as Galvatron had already altered the device to prevent his return. Fire on High! Galvatron was ultimately entombed inside the volcano with Ultra Magnus, his device destroyed. Vicious Circle!
Back in the future, Unicron had survived his destruction and his disembodied head had landed on the planet of Junk. Intending to extract revenge upon his enemies he ensnared the minds of the Junkions to rebuild his body and construct a time portal. Once his body was complete he would reach through the portal and drag Galvatron back to the future for punishment. Using his power of mind control he used Death’s Head, Cyclonus and Scourge to destroy Shockwave. Cyclonus and Scourge took control of the Decepticons and embarked on an all out attack on the Autobots to distract them from discovering Unicron’s plan. Eventually realising they were being used they called a ceasefire. Death’s Head, Cyclonus and Scourge returned to Junk and along with the Autobots attempted to defeat Unicron. Unicron was eventually blown up with explosives and Death’s Head, Cyclonus and Scourge were cast through the time portal. The Legacy of Unicron! Cyclonus and Scourge ended up in the past serving under Scorponok, while Death’s Head was cast across dimensions and met the time traveller called the Doctor, who shrank him to human size and sent him tumbling back through time.
Galvatron eventually escaped from the volcano and attempted to take control of the Decepticons from Shockwave. This resulted in Shockwave deciding to use Megatron as a weapon against Galvatron. Enemy Action!
Cyclonus and Scourge, attempting to regain their lost power approached Shockwave and accidentally let slip that they were responsible for his death in the future. Enraged, Shockwave unleashed Megatron on them and Cyclonus was killed. Dry Run!
Galvatron’s influence in the past had begun to have an effect on the fabric of space-time. Cyclonus’ death twenty years before his creation, coupled with the fact that he and Scourge bypassed the mass substitution system, accelerated the decline. A time rift opened in the future and ultimately destroyed the planet Quintesson. Space Pirates!
The rift expanded and threatened both the past and the future. Autobots and Decepticons from both time zones came together to defeat Galvatron once and for all in hopes of sealing the rift. They found themselves outmatched as Galvatron and Megatron had joined forces and together routed the opposition. During the battle Galvatron was haunted by memories of the battle from Megatron’s perspective, in which events were unfolding differently. Scourge finally realising what was going on sacrificed himself to the rift, but this didn’t stop the destruction. The rift eventually ripped Galvatron apart, but again did not abate. The rift was eventually sealed when Shockwave cast Cyclonus’ body into the rift. Rodimus Prime agreed to destroy all their time machines once they returned to the future Time Wars
Upon returning to the future however, Rodimus discovered that it was not the future they had left. History had rewritten itself and a new Galvatron had been created by Unicron and was now ruler of Cybertron. Aspects of Evil!
G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers continuity
The sentient computer Teletran 3 accidentally transported a number of Transformers through time using wormhole technology. This threatened to cause an apocalypse if they were not returned to their own time.
Can history be changed?
Types of Universe
Time travel theory allows for three basic types of universe in which time travel can occur.
- Type 1 - History is immutable. The timeline cannot be changed. Any time traveller attempting to alter history is either doomed to failure for reasons beyond the time traveller’s control or else may result in an alternate timeline being created.
- Type 2 – The timeline is flexible and can be changed by the actions of a time traveller.
- Type 3 – The timeline is internally consistent. Events can be changed but only if the change cannot be verified by the time traveller. Any alteration will be unable to prevent the attempt to create the alteration.[1]
The different Transformer continuities appear to exist in different universe types and so each will be discussed separately.
Animated continuity
This continuity would appear to exist in either a Type 1 or Type 3 universe. Both War Dawn and Forever is a Long Time Coming show the time travellers becoming a part of the history they are visiting. In both cases the past remains unaltered. This is consistent with a Type 1 universe in which the timeline cannot be changed (and does not feature divergent timelines). It is also consistent with a Type 3 universe in which the timeline cannot be altered in a way in which the time travellers can verify.
A Decepticon Raider in King Arthur's Court doesn’t really offer much evidence to support this, the time machine being little more than a plot device to place the characters in a non-technological society. However the introduction of a number of anachronisms, such as Starscream’s dynamo and the gun powder, do not appear to have any impact on the future. This could also imply either a Type 1 or Type 3 universe.
Beast Wars continuity
The Beast Wars would appear to take place in a Type 2 universe. Evidence that the timeline can be altered was presented by Megatron who projected an image of a mountain recorded on the golden disc in the future. After locating the mountain in the past he destroyed part of it and then checked the golden disc again to find that the image had changed to reflect the damage he had caused. The future had therefore been altered.
Beast Machines continuity
As this is a set in the same universe as Beast Wars, this must also be a Type 2 universe.
Marvel UK comic continuity
This would appear to be a Type 1 universe that includes divergent timelines. The main evidence for this is that the creation of a new timeline would violate mass/energy balance between the old and new timelines. One solution to this is a mass/energy exchange between past and future at the point of time travel.[2]
This sounds very similar to the ‘mass substitution’ process used throughout the UK comic run. There are also a number of ‘futures’ shown throughout the series. The original Transformers: The Movie timeline, the alternate future that Rodimus and company return to after Time Wars, the future where Unicron attacks Cybertron in US#75 and is destroyed, and the alternate future in which Cybertron is destroyed that Galvatron II comes from.
Further evidence of a Type 1 universe is the fact that for the most part the future characters seem to have no memory of events in the past to which they are travelling. The only time a character has any foreknowledge is during Time Wars when Galvatron remembers the battle through Megatron’s eyes. However his memories of the battle are different. Again this could also imply a Type 2 universe and because the memories of those involved would change as the past changes it would be difficult for an observer to know if they were in a Type 1 or Type 2 universe. [3]
