Reformatting

The process of upgrading or modifying an existing mechanical system or being. The term can also be applied to other species/lifeforms. When applied to planet-wide changes, it is known as mechaforming.

When the term was first introduced in Beast Machines, reformatting strictly referred to a process by which a Transformer's body is altered almost instantaneously from a mechanical to a technorganic form. In casual use among fans, the term is often applied more widely to any "instant" body change by some near omnipotent being, such as the Oracle, Unicron, or Primus. This includes G1 Megatron's rebirth as Galvatron, the Maximals becoming technorganic life-forms, and the creation of the Cybertron Defense Team. This usage was canonized by the glossary of the More Than Meets The Eye profiles books by Dreamwave Productions, which defined the term as "The process of upgrading or otherwise modifying an existing mechanical system or being. Can also be used to apply to other species/life forms."

Fiction

Beast Machines

The term was introduced in the premiere of Beast Machines, titled "The Reformatting". The Oracle reformatted Optimus Primal and granted him the ability to reformat other Transformers merely by touching them and concentrating. Additionally, later in the series, the Vehicon general Jetstorm was reformatted (restoring Silverbolt's conscious mind in the process) when Blackarachnia brought him into prolonged contact with organic goo from Cybertron's core.

When reformatted, each Maximal became technorganic, a tightly woven amalgam of technological and organic components. This both bypassed Megatron's transformation lock virus and gave them newfound weapons and abilities. It was also the penultimate step in an elaborate plan by the Oracle to reformat the entire planet of Cybertron.

At the end of the series, Primal and Megatron fell into Cybertron's organic core, which initiated the planet-wide reformat that left Cybertron a technorganic paradise.