S.T.A.R.S. continuity
The S.T.A.R.S. continuity is a micro-continuity established in several of the mail-order flyers included with Generation 1 toys. Its storyline was intended to encourage readers to join the S.T.A.R.S. fanclub and order away for exclusive toys unavailable at retail.
To fully engage the reader, Hasbro took the interesting tack of blurring the line between the fiction and its medium: Joining S.T.A.R.S. meant not just becoming a fanclub member, but becoming an active agent in the Autobot army. The fiction often switched to the second-person perspective, with Autobots like Ultra Magnus and Overdrive telling the reader directly that he or she needed to take action to save the day. Fanclub merchandise like the Command Center was simultaneously "full-color graphic board [...] perfect for storing and displaying Transformers" and a means to "command your own Earth sector," with one storyline featuring a human boy using it to communicate with and monitor an Autobot squad.
For the purposes of this wiki, we consider the flyers (or at least their basic messages) to be part of their own fiction. All of the stories are understood to be presented by the Autobots to a human audience for recruitment purposes. It is already difficult to place this micro-continuity in any larger framework; the fact that it is vulnerable to the "unreliable narrator" problem makes that task impossible.
Overview
The first message describes the weary Earthbound Autobots near defeat, having sent an S.O.S. to Cybertron even though they're not even sure if anyone would still be there to hear it. Miraculously, a shipment of new Autobot soldiers arrives, and the message details their abilities. S.T.A.R.S. is not actually mentioned at this point, though the second-person narrative does begin to creep into the story. The next message repeats the first, but with the addition of S.T.A.R.S.-recruitment material.
Another message follows up on the story of the previous two, sent from Overdrive (one of the new arrivals). He acknowledges that he and his comrades have turned the tide, and he details Optimus Prime's plan to strike at hidden Decepticon bases with the aid of human allies. The addition of G.I. Joe-related content and its attendant wording suggests that this message is intended for U.S. military personnel.
The next two messages, however, are clearly aimed at children, featuring a story about Johnny, a young S.T.A.R.S. member whose town is attacked by Thundercracker. He attempts to summon and command an Autobot squad, but the outcome is left unresolved. The reader is encouraged to help the fight.
Following that, Ultra Magnus sends a message to his nominee for S.T.A.R.S. Commander, engaging him or her in a training exercise wherein the human is meant to imagine what it would be like to be various Transformers (who happen to be almost the exact same lineup from the story of Johnny).
The next messages feature Rodimus Prime recalling the "greatest battle on Earth." As usual, the reader is told to join S.T.A.R.S. and take part in the "action," though the fact that the battle is happening in flashback makes this narratively troublesome. The final message, however, is a simple tale of fuel-starved Autobots evading a Decepticon strike, which makes the plea to help the Autobots more sensical.
Publication dates
All of the flyers have copyright dates, but those are only according to year, and some years contained multiple flyers. Where there is ambiguity, we have arranged them according to story logic.
Notes
- While most of the Generation 1 mail-order flyers are part of this continuity, not all are. For example, "Look Inside for a Special Offer!" and "Inside...a Transformer Not Sold in Any Store!" have no story content; they simply describe the toys being offered.
