User:Daytonjhammon/Sandbox

The fog of war

Just as Star Wars wouldn't be the same without its titular wars, Transformers wouldn't be Transformers if it didn't have a Cybertronian Civil War or two. While the brand began by introducing the Great War on Cybertron, over the years new types of civil wars have been introduced outside of the Autobot-Decepticon conflict.

Millions of years ago, Cybertron was a planet of peace...until the Decepticons, lusting for power, began a terrible war. Not designed for combat, the Autobots were overwhelmed and subjugated by their evil opponents. While many Autobots fled Cybertron, a few valiant survivors devised new tactics and launched a counter-offensive on their arch-foes. And thus began a terrible series of wars. Many times, both sides have claimed victory, but this has been short-lived, for the Autobots have overthrown Decepticon tyrants, and, likewise, Decepticon treachery has toppled many a peaceful Autobot ruler. And to this day, the war rages on.Computer, "Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 2"

Types of Wars

Great Wars

Autobots wage their battle to destroy the evil forces of the Decepticons!The Generation 1 theme song.

The most well-known type of Cybertronian Civil War, the Great War is always almost always the conflict between the Autobots and Decepticons. Its exact beginnings vary from continuity to continuity: sometimes it's because of Energon supply shortages, sometimes it's started by the Decepticons wanting to establish a new Decepticon Empire across the universe, sometimes it's a war for powerful relics, and in many universes, the war begins after a long period of oppression or stagnancy on Cybertron. Optimus Prime and Megatron are usually the leaders of the Autobots and Decepticons, although occasionally other leaders step up to lead.

While the war always starts on Cybertron, the Great War tends to expand across the galaxy, and eventually finds its way to Earth, getting humans involved. While most children tend to become important allies to the Autobots, a few humans have allied themselves with the Decepticons. In a few universes, the Great War ends after the Autobots and Decepticons team up to defeat Unicron in the Unicron War, and in one universe, the Great War takes place before Optimus Prime and Megatron's teams battle each other on Earth.

Beast Wars

BEAAASSTTT WAAARRRSSS!!!

Their ancestors waged war across the galaxy.
The conflict continues as two opposing factions renew their struggle for control of the universe.
Once again, on a new battleground, "The Beast Wars" have begun...Opening blurb for Beast Wars, from the official website BeastWars.com.

In an era long after the Great War, the Beast Wars is the conflict between the Maximals and Predacons, descendants of the Autobots and Decepticons. While the Beast Wars initially tends to play out similarly to the Great War, with both sides vying for Energon, it's usually started by Megatron's desire to alter history so that the Decepticons become the victors of the Great War. Notable aspects of the Beast Wars include its setting on prehistoric Earth, the use of beast modes, and the occasional presence of a non-Cybertronian third party: a mysterious race of energy-based aliens known as the Vok.

Optimus Primal and Megatron are usually the leaders of the Maximal and Predacon teams on prehistoric Earth. However, in one universe, the Beast Wars involves the Decepticons on Animatron during the Great War.

Other Civil Wars

Thirteen Primes' Civil War

See Also: War of the Primes and First Cybertronian Civil War

Toward the beginning of the timeline is the Thirteen Primes' Civil War. Known as the War of the Primes in the Aligned continuity family and the First Cybertronian Civil War in the 2005 IDW continuity, it is the tragic conflict that brings the Age of Primes to a close. Depictions of this civil war have drastically varied between universes, but the deceptions of certain members of the Thirteen, and the The Fallen's murder of Solus Prime, tend to be defining aspects of the war.

Other Animated Civil Wars

See Also: Second Cybertronian War and Third Cybertronian War

In one universe, there were two other civil wars prior to the Great War.

Combiner Wars

In many universes, the Combiner Wars were a series of conflicts, usually taking place in the post Great War-era, linked to the development and implementation of combiner technology. It tends to involve the Enigma of Combination, an artifact of Nexus Prime. The Council of Worlds is usually involved in picking up after the combiners' mess.

Mini-Con Civil War

In one universe, the Mini-Con Civil War pitted the Mini-Con Council of Sages against a group of insurgents led by the malicious Thrust and his Sky Terror Team.

Decepticon Civil War

Among the Decepticons, there is one guiding principle: rule of the strong. Of course, when Megatron isn't in charge, this tends to lead to conflict among entire groups of Decepticons, each led by a potential Decepticon leader.

God War

The first civil war in the 2005 IDW continuity, the God War is the defining event that introduced information creep to the Transformers. It was a conflict between the members of the Guiding Hand, who were the first five Cybertronians: Primus, Mortilus, Solomus, Epistemus, and Adaptus.

Fiction

Animated

The AllSpark Almanac II introduced the concept of Cybertron having not one... not two... but three Cybertronian Civil Wars. The first civil war, known as the Second Cybertronian War, was fought four billion years ago by the Malignus and Guardians. Unlike most continuities, this non-Autobot/Decepticon-involved war brought about the end of Cybertron's Golden Age. Three billion years later, the Third Cybertronian War was fought between the Protectobots and the Destrons. These factions were ancient predecessors to the Autobots and Decepticons, who emerged as sub-factions before taking prominence during an Age of Expansion.

Ten million years before Earth's 22nd Century, the Great War for the AllSpark began as tensions between the new leaders, Megatron and Ultra Magnus, reached a breaking point. Lasting eight million stellar cycles; it ended with the Decepticons being driven from Cybertron by the Autobots, although they were granted amnesty. The AllSpark Almanac II Dispatches The Autobot's victory was attributed to three vital strategies: control over the space bridges, the creation of the Omega Sentinels, and throwing the AllSpark through a space bridge. Transform and Roll Out TransWarped A Bridge Too Close, Part II

Unique to this Great War were several "mini-wars" taking place across various worlds in the Autobot Commonwealth. These wars include:

• The Software Wars centered around Polyhex, a polity of Cybertron
• The Atlas War on Combatron
• The Machine Wars on Vehicon
• The Pangea Wars on Gigantion
• The Asphalt Wars on Velocitron
• The War of the Dunes on Praun
• The Energon Wars on Paradron
• The Time Wars in the Salvvatan System
• The Beast Wars on Animatron
• The Lava Wars on Magma
• The Data Wars on Bk'n
• The War of the Waves on Antilla The AllSpark Almanac II

Aligned continuity family

The Cybertron of this continuity family experienced two civil wars: the War of the Primes, which ended the Age of Primes, and the Great War, which began at the end of the Age of Rust.

The War of the Primes was a series of skirmishes among the Thirteen, with The Fallen, Liege Maximo, Prima, and Solus Prime playing key roles in the conflict. Caused by tension concerning Liege Maximo's farm and Prima's suspicions of The Fallen, the War of the Primes led to Solus Prime's and Liege Maximo's deaths. The Covenant of Primus However, a different account claimed that Liege Maximo survived the War of the Primes and fled Cybertron, and was pursued by Alchemist Prime. Exiles The Thirteen's civil war had immense consequences for the Cybertronian race, with Solus Prime's body creating the Well of All Sparks, and Onyx Prime's Triptych Mask being used to make Cybertronians more unique than the initial Primes. Another consequence of the War of the Primes was Quintus Prime leaving Cybertron, eventually creating the Quintessons, who would enslave Cybertron during the Age of Wrath. The Covenant of Primus

The Great War was a far deadlier civil war, spanning across the universe. After cycles of social stratification caused by the caste system, the bloated bureaucracy established during the Age of Wrath, and the trauma of the Rust Plague, The Covenant of Primus a gladiator named Megatron from Kaon gathered a following, which would eventually be known as the Decepticons. Megatron desired to become a Prime, but at a hearing in the High Council Tower, the High Council was inspired by the words of Megatron's Iaconian ally, Orion Pax. A humble archivist from the Hall of Records, Orion Pax became Optimus Prime, which led to the war between Decepticons and Autobots starting. Exodus War For Cybertron One Shall Rise, Part 3

Significant moments from the Great War include: Megatron destroying Bumblebee's voice box at Tyger Pax after the AllSpark is fired into deep space, Transformers: Exodus Bumblebee at Tyger Pax Operation Bumblebee, Part 1 Megatron poisoning Cybertron's core with Dark Energon, Optimus Prime receiving the Matrix of Leadership from the Core, Exodus War For Cybertron One Shall Rise, Part 3 the population's Great Exodus from the planet, Exodus War For Cybertron Fall of Cybertron and the war eventually making its way to Earth, whose core is eventually revealed to be the sleeping body of Unicron. Transformers: Prime The Covenant of Primus

Cyberverse

The Great War in Cyberverse was a civil war between the Autobots and Decepticons. Lasting over 66 million years, it began as a political response to corruption, but Megatron's lust for power plunged the planet into war. Megatron Is My Hero

Significant moments from the Great War include: Megatron murdering the High Council, Matrix of Leadership the AllSpark being launched from Cybertron after Megatron's plans for it were discovered, Megatron Is My Hero Allspark the war entering a "Cold War" period, Fractured Sabotage and the war's arrival on Earth. Sea of Tranquility

The Allspark's return to the Well of the Allspark was the de-facto end of the war, Battle For Cybertron IV with the signing of the Treaty of the Wall formally ending the conflict The Immobilizers.

In another reality, Megatron killed Optimus Prime in the early stages of the Great War and claimed the Matrix of Leadership. Without Prime leading the Autobots, the Decepticons quickly won the war with Megatron using the Allspark to create his Decepticon supersoldiers. The Other One

EarthSpark

The Great War in EarthSpark, also known as the "Transformers' War", began as a fight for equality on Cybertron that dissolved into civil war. Warzone Megatron initially led the "dastardly Decepticons" against the "heroic Autobots", with the war eventually spilling over to Earth on September 17, 1984 via spacebridge. Secret Legacy, Part 1 Unique to this universe, Megatron began to realize the error of his ways, and would defect to the Autobots. Shockwave would become the Decepticon leader, and the war would be declared over after the Allspark was sent through a spacebridge back to Cybertron, its final fate left unknown. Warzone Secret Legacy, Part 1