Transformers: Shattered Glass (franchise)
| This article is about the continuity family. For the comic issue, see Shattered Glass (comic). |
"Shattered Glass" is the catch-all name for the fictional universe and associated toys begun in conjunction with BotCon 2008. It is a "mirror universe", where the bad guys are good, the good guys are bad, and (mostly) everyone has different paint schemes. The story is a Transformers take on the old sci-fi warhorse of an evil alternate universe, a concept previously seen in stories such as Star Trek's Mirror Universe and DC comics' Earth-Three.
It comes complete with a time-lost character from "our" world and facial hair for the evil versions of certain good guys.
On a world known as Cybertron, a ruthless and cruel tyrant prepares his army for an all-out attack. Their destination: a planet rich in resources, known as Earth! Only a small band of rebels stands between this evil warlord and his plans for universal conquest. If these brave soldiers are unable to stop the attack, then there will be nothing to prevent this shattered universe from falling victim to the maniacal Optimus Prime and his evil legion of...Autobots?
This is a truly malformed universe, where the Decepticons are heroic and the Autobots are evil!
Coming this spring, the battle lines will be drawn and a new champion will emerge. A young and noble Decepticon will stand up and fight for freedom, the freedom which is the right of
all Transformers! Advising him will be his trusted lieutenant Starscream and his fellow virtuous Decepticons. They will fight to the very last to stop the spread of Optimus Prime's tyranny!Introductory blurb at BotCon.comFiction
Fun Publications proved themselves collectively to be Satan incarnate in April 2008 when they "leaked" three pages of what was purported to be the set's accompanying comic, but which was, in fact, an April Fool's gag by Pete Sinclair, Greg Sepelak and Trent Troop. Taking the silly concept of an "evil parallel universe" and giving it the respectably campy treatment it deserved (including such gags as an ingenious Grimlock, a Jazz that talked like Mr. T and reverse-Furmanisms), the comic was rendered in the art style of Derek Yaniger and even featured flat, 1992-era coloring to complete the effect. Rather unexpectedly, the fandom responded in a virtually unheard-of manner—the comic was almost unanimously loved.
Then it turned out that the most popular thing Fun Publications had ever done wasn't real.
Mmn.
The popularity of "Shattered Expectations" led to several of its aspects being incorporated into the actual "Shattered Glass" world, via online prose stories. Subsequent stories have also taken a more campy approach to creating parallel universe versions of characters, as opposed to the rather uninspired straight-faced take of the convention comic.
The real BotCon 2008 exclusive comic story picked up after the "Crossing Over" storyline, throwing Cliffjumper into an evil parallel universe. Though he immediately joins the Autobots, he begins to suspect that things are not all that they seem. After meeting both the evil Autobots and the heroic Decepticons, he must make a choice. Meanwhile, Optimus Prime has built the Ark to take them to a new world, Earth, that is ripe for conquest. The comic featured a brief return of the retired Transformers artist Don Figueroa and was written by Pete Sinclair and Benson Yee.
When the "Shattered Expectations" comic proved amazingly and surprisingly popular, Greg Sepelak and Trent Troop were brought in to make some dialogue tweaks, returning Jazz to the April Fool's version's Mr. T mannerisms among other changes. Grimlock was still dumb, however, but that could be mitigated...
A text story about Grimlock. It promises a change for the character to the "Shattered Expectations"' ingenious Grimlock.
A text story about the Autobots' second attempt to build an Ark and conquer Earth. Ricochet's plan to ensnare Megatron keep the heroic Decepticons from pursuing their foes to Earth?
Text story with 2-page comic preview. The Autobots and Decepticons land on a bizarre world known as Earth.
Toys
Timelines
- Shattered Glass
A six-figure boxed set which includes bad guys Optimus Prime, Grimlock, Goldbug and Autobot Jazz, and good guys Starscream and Razorclaw.
- Attendee-Only Bonus Toy
- Customizing Class Toy
Repurposed toys
- Quite a few Shattered Glass characters are based on repurposed toys, including:
- G1's MP3 Player Soundwave in "Sonic White" as Shattered Glass Soundwave
- Perceptor in his original pre-Transformers Microman colors as Shattered Glass Perceptor.
- Glit as Shattered Glass Ravage.
Trivia
- The title is similar to Marvel's "Fragile Glass", a story about the Mirror universe from the Star Trek franchise as mentioned above.
