Transformers: Cyberverse (cartoon)

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This article is about the 2018 animated series. For the 2011 toyline, see Cyberverse (toyline).
Cyberverse »
"This, Bumblebee, is my archive of all the experiences you've begged me to remove from your life. I call them 'Bumblebee's Mind Blowers'!"

Transformers: Cyberverse, later rebranded as Transformers: Bumblebee Cyberverse Adventures, is a computer-animated series developed by Boulder Media Studio. It debuted on the Cartoon Network app and website on August 27, 2018, and made its television premiere on Cartoon Network on September 1, 2018. The story is divided into chapters: Chapter One ran for 18 episodes in 2018, Chapter Two ran for 18 episodes in 2019, and a third 26-episode Chapter is scheduled for 2020. Unlike nearly every prior Transformers TV series, episodes are only 11 minutes in length as opposed to 22 minutes.

The series focuses on the adventures of Bumblebee; having damaged his memory chips, he and Windblade must recover his missing memories in order to help him remember his mission on Earth. Unfortunately, the Decepticons are after their friends.[1]

The series is intended to "focus more on characters and their mythology", featuring a stronger emphasis on serialized storytelling, and utilizes the "evergreen" character designs. It is set in a new continuity and is not a sequel to any previous series.

Storyline

During the war on Cybertron, Optimus Prime and a team including Bumblebee have left the planet to search for the AllSpark. The Decepticons catch wind that the ancient artifact is on Earth, and leave to investigate, which forces Windblade to take a one-way space bridge journey there herself. Unable to find any trace of the Ark or Optimus Prime, she manages to find her old friend Bumblebee. However, he is suffering from amnesia and has no recollection of who he is or how he got there. With the pair being pursued relentlessly by Decepticons, Windblade must help Bumblebee unlock and repair his damaged memories of the war and his journey to Earth so that they can locate Optimus and the AllSpark before their enemies do.

In the second season, several decades later, the revived Autobots and the recently arrived Decepticons now battle over the fate of Earth thanks to the knowledge that the AllSpark is somewhere on the planet, protected by its guardian. The conflict escalates when Starscream, believing he has been chosen for a higher purpose, makes his own bid for power that puts both sides at risk. Thus it falls to the Autobots to not only retrieve the AllSpark, but to escort it safely back to Cybertron.

The third season shows the Autobots retaking Cybertron from the Decepticons, but both bots and cons will join forces against mysterious enemies and find new secrets to their homeworld, taking the battle for Cybertron to a whole new level.

Main cast

(Recurring characters only.)

Autobots Decepticons Others
Main Cast
Other Recurring
Main Antagonists
Other Recurring

Episodes

Chapter One (2018)

  1. "Fractured"
  2. "Memory"
  3. "Allspark"
  4. "The Journey"
  5. "Whiteout"
  6. "Megatron Is My Hero"
  7. "Cube"
  8. "Terminal Velocity"
  9. "Shadowstriker"
  10. "Maccadam's"
  11. "Sabotage"
  12. "Teletraan-X"
  13. "Matrix of Leadership"
  14. "Siloed"
  15. "King of the Dinosaurs"
  16. "The Extinction Event"
  17. "Awaken Sleeping Giants"
  18. "Eruption"

Chapter Two: Power of the Spark (2019)

  1. "Sea of Tranquility"
  2. "Bad Moon Rising"
  3. "The Visitor"
  4. "Bring Me The Spark Of Optimus Prime"
  5. "Trials"
  6. "Dark Birth"
  7. "Parley"
  8. "Starscream's Children"
  9. "Spotted"
  10. "Secret Science"
  11. "Infinite Vendetta"
  12. "I Am The Allspark"
  13. "Escape From Earth"
  14. "Party Down"
  15. "Wiped Out"
  16. "Ghost Town"
  17. "Perfect Storm"
  18. "The Crossroads"

Chapter Three: Bumblebee: Cyberverse Adventures (2020)

  1. "The Battle For Cybertron I"
  2. "The Battle For Cybertron II"
  3. "The Battle For Cybertron III"
  4. "The Battle For Cybertron IV"
  5. "The Loop"
  6. "The Dead End"
  7. "The Sleeper"
  8. "The Citizen"
  9. "The Trial"
  10. "The Prisoner"
  11. "The Scientist"
  12. "The Alliance"
  13. "The Judge"
  14. "The End Of The Universe I"
  15. "The End Of The Universe II"
  16. "The End Of The Universe III"
  17. "The End Of The Universe IV"
  18. "Enemy Line"
  19. "Thunderhowl"
  20. "Wild Wild Wheel"
  21. "Alien Hunt! With Meteorfire And Cosmos"
  22. "Journey To The Valley Of Repugnus"
  23. "Rack N' Ruin N' Ratchet"
  24. "Dweller In The Depths"
  25. "Silent Strike"
  26. "The Other One"

Japanese Release

Unlike the English version (which uses voice actors new to their roles), several Transformers alumni voice characters in the Japanese dub. In some cases, this borders on role reprisal, such as Aligned Starscream's voice actor voicing his Cyberverse counterpart or Bumblebee's voice actor having voiced four different versions of Bumblebee. In others, there are nods to their previous characters, with both Optimus Prime and Megatron's voice actors previously voicing Optimus Primal and Megatron in the Japanese dub of Beast Wars.

Like many other Japanese dubs (including Beast Wars, Beast Machines and Transformers: Prime), the Japanese dub of Cyberverse takes a more "humorous" tack towards the show. For example, in the episode Sea of Tranquility as Starscream attacks Windblade he cheerfully goes, "Hello, Starscream here!" Even more serious characters like Optimus Prime aren't spared, as at one point he complains, "I was still talking!" when Megatron punches him.

Other typical Japanese dub additions include characters yelling "Transform!" as they, well, transform. The occasional special attack name is also called out (e.g. in Bad Moon Rising Megatron cries out, "Punishment Cannon: Fusion Cannon, FIRE!" when he blasts Starscream).

Personality-wise, some characters are effectively transplants of their previous incarnations. Starscream, for example, is basically Prime Starscream right down to his mannerisms. Megatron and Optimus Prime are basically their G1 counterparts with Japanese dub Beast Megatron and Optimus Primal's personalities. Other characters have quirks unique to previous Japanese dubs, like Shockwave punctuating his sentences with "shock!" similar to his Prime counterpart and being much more expressive compared to the stoic and clinical English version.

In lieu of an opening theme, Cyberverse has characters talking over the opening credits to pump up the kids watching the show. For the ending, the same character will talk over the English credits commenting on events in the episode, and afterward the Japanese credits will play over stills of highlights from said episode.

Notes

  • Cyberverse draws some concepts from the Bumblebee film, released a few months after Cyberverse debuted; in particular, the plot point of Bumblebee's amnesia is lifted directly from the film, as is the "honeycomb" design of Bumblebee's internal readouts.
  • Unlike previous Transformers series, the characters in this show are drawn with only four fingers. The Cyberverse characters are also known for the "Energon vein" designs in many of their joints (mostly the hips).
  • The show's premiere episodes, "Fractured" and "Memory," were both put up on Cartoon Network's mobile app and website several days before their U.S. television premiere. All subsequent episodes of the show were uploaded the day before they were aired on television, followed by a release on Hasbro's YouTube channel the day after, region-locked to United States users; following a weekend without any videos due to American Thanksgiving, the YouTube release moved to the next Sunday after airing starting with episode 13. Cartoon Network's app/website split each episode into two separate parts, each with a generic title card, and were numbered as such. By the second season, the Cartoon Network site began putting up episodes over a week before they would hit the airwaves, and Hasbro's YouTube uploads returned to their one day delay schedule.
  • While the first season was aired at a rate of one episode per week in the United States, in Canada, two episodes aired every week in a half-hour block. Consequently, "Megatron Is My Hero" through "Maccadam's" all premiered on Canadian television ahead of their US broadcasts. In fact, the entire rest of the first season was initially scheduled to debut in Canada over the following weeks, but it was all pulled and replaced with re-runs, presumably because someone US-side didn't like how far ahead they were getting! However, the show still couldn't catch a break, as the next two episodes premiered on the Xfinity X1 service more than two weeks before they aired on television, with the remaining Chapter One episodes each airing in Singapore at least a week ahead of their US broadcast. This unfortunate scheduling continued during Chapter Two's broadcast, with the season premiering in multiple countries (including Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and France) two weeks ahead of its US broadcast and airing at a rate of four new episodes each weekend, finishing out the season as the US was only just starting it. Chapter Three looks to follow suit, with POP TV in the UK currently scheduled to air the entire season before it's even been dated for release stateside.
  • Compared to past Transformers cartoons set on modern day Earth, the presence of humans in the series is extremely limited. Aside from a kid in the first season episode "Teletraan-X", humans have yet to make a physical appearance, with their presence limited to unseen voiceovers on media services. This is surprising considering that the first episode of the second season reveals that the existence of the Autobots and Decepticons are now public, with both sides directly addressing the people of Earth more than once.
  • While most of the cast make use of evergreen designs, several characters who don't have toys in the accompanying toyline use stylised versions of recent toy or fiction designs. For example, Cyberverse Chromia's appearance is based on her 2014-2018 IDW comic design while Cyberverse Bludgeon is modeled on his 2017 Robots in Disguise toy. The Seekers are a special case, generally using modified versions of Starscream's design (which is based on his evergreen design). This does slightly affect show-accuracy in regards to toys: both Slipstream and Thundercracker's toys are straight redecoes of Starscream's whereas in the cartoon itself the differences between Screamer and his subordinates is more pronounced.

References

  1. ↑ Exclusive: Your First Look At The New Transformers: Cyberverse Animated Series
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