List of Transformers TV series - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

This page is a master list of the assorted animated television series based on the Transformers toyline

Transformers (toy line)

The is a line of toys produced by the American toy company Hasbro. The Transformers toyline was created from toy molds mostly produced by Japanese company Takara in the toylines Diaclone and Microman. Other toy molds from other companies such as Bandai were used as well...

. For information on the numerous comic book series about these characters, see Transformers (comics), and to learn how both cartoons and comics separate and inter-relate across various fictional universes, see Transformers

Transformers

A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another by magnetic coupling.Transformer may also refer to:* ASUS Eee Pad Transformer, an Android 3.2 Honeycomb tablet computer manufacturer by Asus...

Launched in 1984 (in production) and introduced in 1985, Hasbro

Hasbro

Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...

's Transformers toyline was promoted through both a comic book by Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics

Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...

and an animated series produced by Sunbow Productions

Sunbow Productions

Sunbow Entertainment was an animation studio, founded in 1980 and owned up until 1998 by Griffin-Bacal Advertising in New York. The first animation efforts by Griffin-Bacal were producing the animated commercials for Hasbro's G.I...

and Marvel Productions

Marvel Productions

Marvel Productions Ltd. , last called New World Animation, was a television and film studio subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment Group , based in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, then New World Entertainment and News Corporation/Fox...

. Although the comic outlived the animated series by a number of years, it was the animated series that truly captured the hearts and minds of children worldwide more so than any other piece of Transformers media from its twenty-five year history. With the original show's conclusion in 1987, original series exclusive to Japan were created which ran until 1990, and the franchise was later re-imagined with the fully CGI Beast Wars

Beast Wars

Transformers: Beast Wars is a Transformers toyline released by Hasbro between 1995 and 2000, and a Daytime Emmy Award winning full-CG animated television series spawned by it that debuted in 1996...

in the late 1990s. The 21st Century saw a total reboot of the Transformers universe, as Hasbro collaborated with Japanese Transformers producers Takara
Takara
Takara Co., Ltd. was a Japanese toy company founded in 1955, that merged with another prominent Japanese toy company, Tomy Co., Ltd., on March 1, 2006 to form Takara Tomy, also known in English as TOMY Company Ltd....

to create a new storyline with Transformers: Armada

Transformers: Armada

Transformers: Armada, known in Japan as , is a Transformers animated series, comic series and toy line which ran from 2002–2003. It was originally scheduled for 2001, however was delayed until early-2002...

and its sequels, produced in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

and then dubbed for English-speaking audience. In 2008, Transformers Animated saw Hasbro take control of the franchise once more through collaboration with Cartoon Network

Cartoon Network

Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....

, bringing writing duties back to America, with animation being handled by Japanese studios. Hasbro also reacquired the distribution rights to the original series from Sunbow finally giving them the complete rights to the series based on their Generation 1 toy-line.

Transformers: Generation 1

The term "Generation 1," or "G1," is a retronym

Retronym

A retronym is a type of neologism that provides a new name for an object or concept to differentiate the original form or version of it from a more recent form or version. The original name is most often augmented with an adjective to account for later developments of the object or concept itself...

, coined after the advent of 1993's Transformers: Generation 2

Transformers: Generation 2

Transformers: Generation 2 is the name used to refer to a Transformers toy line, television series and comic book series which ran from 1993-1995...

. Although frequently used to simply refer to the original 1984, 1985-1987 animated series, the term encompasses all Transformers fiction from 1985 to 1993.

The Transformers

For the series, see The Transformers (TV series)

The Transformers (TV series)

The Transformers is an animated television series depicting a war among giant robots who could transform into vehicles, other objects and animal-like forms. Written and recorded in America, the series was animated in Japan and South Korea...

. For a list of episodes, see List of The Transformers episodes.

After the Federal Communications Commission did away with regulations that prohibited toy companies from broadcasting cartoons based on their products in 1985, The Transformers

The Transformers (TV series)

began with a three-episode miniseries that introduced audiences to Optimus Prime, Megatron and their armies, as they travelled from the metal world of Cybertron

Cybertron

Cybertron is a fictional planet, the homeworld of the Transformers in the various fictional incarnations of the metaseries and toyline by Hasbro. In the Japanese series, the planet is referred to as "Cybertron" pronounced as セイバートロン Seibātoron...

to Earth

Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...

in search of new sources of energy. The final episode ended on an open note, should the series prove popular enough to continue, which it did. A standard season's worth of 13 more episodes was commissioned, expanding the Transformers universe in which the Dinobots

Dinobots

Dinobots is the name of several teams of characters in the fictional Transformers Universe. The groups are made up of several robots, each of whose transformed mode is that of a dinosaur or similar prehistoric animal. They are called Dinotrons in the Japanese version; and ' in the Japanese dub of...

, Constructicons

Constructicons

right|thumb|Scavenger, Bonecrusher, Longhaul, Scrapper & Mixmaster - five of the original six Constructicons The Constructicons are a group of fictional characters from the various Transformers continuities...

and Jetfire

Jetfire

Jetfire is the name of several fictional characters from the Transformers universes. He is nearly always depicted as an Autobot with jet or space shuttle alternate mode.-Transformers: Generation 1:...

(then later called Skyfire in the series) made their debut. With popularity rising, the second season soon followed in 1986 at a mammoth 49 episodes (in order to bring the total up to 65, for syndication

Television syndication

In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...

). Dozens of new characters were introduced throughout the season, including the Triple Changer

Triple Changer

Triple Changers are Transformers that can transform from robot into two different alternative modes.-Transformers: Generation 1:...

s, the combining teams the Aerialbots

Aerialbots

The Aerialbots are a group of Autobots that transform into aircraft and combine to form the giant robot Superion. They were introduced into the Transformers toyline in 1985 and sold as a Superion gift set, and then sold separately in 1986 in most department stores...

, Stunticons, Combaticons

Combaticons

The Combaticons are a group of Decepticon military vehicles in the assorted fictional universes of the Transformers.- Transformers: Generation 1 :...

and Protectobots

Protectobots

The Protectobots are a fictional emergency, search and rescue team of five Autobots in the Transformers toyline. They transform into civilian service and emergency vehicles and combine to form the combiner Defensor...

, and more new Autobot cars and Decepticon planes, while many new ideas and concepts began to establish the history of the cartoon universe.

These 65 episodes were exported to Japan in the same year, where their airing order was rearranged and the series was broadcast under the title of Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers. An OVA exclusive to Japan entitled Scramble City

Transformers: Scramble City

Scramble City is the name of a Transformers OVA created and released in Japan in April 1986. It was created as a promotional video for the new line of 'Scramble City' toys released only in Japan...

was released which cast focus on the combining teams and introduced Ultra Magnus
Ultra Magnus
Ultra Magnus is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers storylines.-Transformers: Generation 1:The greatest Transformer of them all. A commander could want no finer a soldier than Ultra Magnus...

, Metroplex
Metroplex (Transformers)
Metroplex is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers series.-Transformers: Generation 1:Metroplex is capable of transforming into a battle station or a giant robot...

, Ratbat
Ratbat
Ratbat is the name of several fictional characters who appeared in various Transformers universes.-Transformers: Generation 1:As is the case with many Transformers characters, the various continuities in which Ratbat has appeared have portrayed him widely differently in terms of size, personality,...

, Trypticon
Trypticon
Trypticon is a fictional character in the Transformers toyline.-Transformers: Generation 1:Trypticon is the Decepticons' principal command base. He has three modes: a city, a mobile battle station, and a Tyrannosaurus rex. In each mode, he has a variety of weapons...

, and Blaster's cassettes. This video does not perfectly fit into the continuity of the American series due to its different origin story for Trypticon (known as Dinosaurer in the Japanese version).

1986 marked a huge change for The Transformers with the summer screening of The Transformers: The Movie

The Transformers: The Movie

The Transformers: The Movie is a 1986 animated feature film based on the animated series of the same name. It was released in North America on August 8, 1986 and in the UK on December 5, 1986....

, which jumped the action forward in time twenty years to the then-future of 2005 and pitted both the Autobots and Decepticons against the menace of the giant planet-eating robot, Unicron

Unicron

Unicron is a fictional character from the Transformers universe and toyline. Created by Floro Dery, he was introduced in the 1986 animated film The Transformers: The Movie as the film's main antagonist. Unicron is a prodigiously large robot whose scale reaches planetary proportions, and he is also...

. Optimus Prime met his end at Megatron's hands, and Ultra Magnus

Ultra Magnus

Ultra Magnus is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers storylines.-Transformers: Generation 1:The greatest Transformer of them all. A commander could want no finer a soldier than Ultra Magnus...

briefly replaced him as a leader before being succeeded by Rodimus Prime

Rodimus

Rodimus is the name of a fictional character from the various Transformers universes. Rodimus is a young Autobot and succesor to Optimus Prime. He was formerly known as Hot Rod, but was reformatted as Rodimus Prime by the Matrix of Leadership and became the leader of the Autobots...

, while Megatron himself was recreated by Unicron as Galvatron

Galvatron

Galvatron is the name of several fictional Transformers, most often the recreated version of Megatron, the Decepticon leader. He was voiced by Leonard Nimoy in the 1986 Transformers movie, and then by Frank Welker in season 3 and 4 of the animated television series. Since then, other Transformers...

. Many more of the old guard fell in battle as their toys departed store shelves to make room for a new cast of characters created for the film.

1986 also saw the start of the third season of the animated series, which took its cue from the film, picking up precisely where it had left off with Rodimus in command and the Decepticons in exile with Galvatron missing. The season opened with a five-part miniseries entitled Five Faces of Darkness which saw Galvatron return and brought to prominence the Quintessons

Quintessons

Quintessons are fictional aliens from the Transformers universe. Within the TV series, they are the creators of the Transformers, although in most other fictional universes featuring the Transformers, they have no such status...

, multi-faced aliens introduced in the movie who were revealed to be the creators of the Transformer race, and who became a recurring third factor as the season continued through its setting of 2006. The addition of Flint Dille

Flint Dille

Flint Dille is a screenwriter, game designer, and novelist. He is best known for his animated work on Transformers, G.I...

as story editor saw a strong sci-fi aspect infect the season as the Transformers' battles spanned many alien planets, while continuity between episode was tighter than ever before as plot concepts were revisited and expanded to truly flesh out the show's history. Running to 30 episodes, the third season ended with the two-part The Return of Optimus Prime, bringing the legendary Autobot leader back to life. Broadcast in Japan once again, the series was retitled Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers: 2010 (or Transformers: 2010 for short), advancing its setting to the eponymous year.

1987 marked the end of the original American series, mirroring its beginning with a three-part miniseries entitled The Rebirth. Penned by regular series writer David Wise

David Wise (writer)

David Wise is a television and animation writer, tutored by writers such as Ursula K. Le Guin, Frank Herbert, Harlan Ellison and Theodore Sturgeon whilst attending the Clarion Workshop.-Early life:...

(who had previously written several of the series' mythology-building episodes), this finale story introduced the Headmasters and Targetmasters, as well as several other characters. Concluding with the restoration of Cybertron's Golden Age, the Decepticons stole the final scene of the series to prove that their threat still lingered. It is unknown the exact reason the American series ended after the movie, though it is assumed that Sunbow had lost its contract to keep its cartoons running by 1987 (the final Transformers episode "The Rebirth" coincided with the final G.I. Joe episode 'G.I. Joe: the Movie').

Additionally, a fifth season of sorts was aired in 1988, serving as a kind of "best of" collection of the series. The most notable feature of this twenty-episode run was the new intro and concluding segments added to the episodes, which consisted of Powermaster Optimus Prime (rendered in a mixture of puppetry and stop motion animation) relating the events of the episodes to a human boy named Tommy Kennedy. The opening sequence comprised animation taken from contemporary toy adverts, and Prime occasionally referred to new toy characters like Cloudburst

Cloudburst (Transformers)

Cloudburst is a fictional character from the Transformers series. He turns into a jet and has a shell that looked like an armored human. He shouldn't be confused with Phoenix, a Japanese Transformer who shares the same toy.-Transformers: Generation 1:...

. Apparently never re-run after its original airing, the series aired More Than Meets the Eye Parts 1-3, Five Faces of Darkness Parts 1-5, Dark Awakening, the out-of-place Surprise Party, The Return of Optimus Prime

The Return of Optimus Prime

The Return of Optimus Prime is the two-part season finale of season three on the animated TV series The Transformers. Part 1 aired February 24, 1987, Part 2 aired the next day.- Part 1 :...

Parts 1-2, The Rebirth Parts 1-3, and most notably, The Transformers: The Movie

The Transformers: The Movie

The Transformers: The Movie is a 1986 animated feature film based on the animated series of the same name. It was released in North America on August 8, 1986 and in the UK on December 5, 1986....

, split up and aired in five segments, with Stan Bush
Stan Bush
Stan Bush is an American singer-songwriter and musician whose most notable work includes the songs "Dare" and "The Touch" from the soundtrack to the 1986 animated film The Transformers: The Movie, and "She's Got the Power", featured in the American voice dub of the animated series Sailor Moon...

's music video for "The Touch
The Transformers The Movie: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
The Transformers The Movie: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the 1987 soundtrack from the motion picture The Transformers: The Movie. It was released in the United States by Scotti Bros. Records on LP and cassette. It was released in Japan by Pony Canyon on CD in 1989. In 1992, Scotti Bros....

" included in the final part.

Transformers: The Headmasters
Rather than import The Rebirth as a conclusion, Takara, the Japanese producers of the Transformers toyline, opted instead to continue the Generation 1 universe by creating the full-length 35-episode series, Transformers: The Headmasters

Transformers: The Headmasters

is a Japanese anime television series.-Development:Inititally, Takara, the Japanese producers of the Transformers toyline, imported the American Transformers cartoon series from 1985 to 1986...

(two additional clips episodes were produced after the fact for direct-to-video release). Supplanting The Rebirths position in Japanese continuity, The Headmasters occurred one year after The Return of Optimus Prime, introducing the titular characters to the Transformers universe in a wildly different way. Whereas in western fiction, the Headmasters result from the merging of a Transformer with an organic alien being from the planet Nebulos, the Headmasters of the Japanese series are a group of small Cybertronians who departed the planet millions of years ago and crash landed on the inhospitable planet Master. To survive its harsh climate, a select few of the most-highly trained constructed larger bodies called "Transtectors," to which they connected as heads.

When a group of rebellious Headmasters led by [aziz and mario] joined with Galvatron's Decepticons in an attack on Cybertron, the Autobot Headmasters, led by Fortress

Fortress Maximus

Fortress Maximus is the name of several fictional characters from several of the various Transformers universes. Fortress Maximus appeared in the season 4 finale of the US Transformers animated series voiced by Stephen Keener. He was one of the stars of the Japanese Transformers: Headmasters...

returned to their home planet to aid in its defense. The situation soon went from bad to worse when it was revealed that Vector Sigma

Vector Sigma

In the fictional universe of the first Transformers animated series, Vector Sigma is the "mega-computer" that gives sentience to non-sentient robots, and is used by the Quintessons to endow their robotic creations with the true life that eventually leads to their rebellion...

, the mega-computer at the planet's heart, was destabilizing, and Optimus Prime again sacrificed his life to save Cybertron. This soon proved to be only delaying the inevitable, however, when a bomb attack instigated by Zarak turned Cybertron into a burnt-out, inhospitable husk. Rodimus Prime departed to search for a new planet for the Transformers to live on, leaving Fortress in command, operating from the planet Athenia. Meanwhile, Zarak replaced Galvatron - who had vanished in the explosion - as Decepticon leader, constructing a personal Transtector so that he could battle Fortress's own giant form, Fortress Maximus

Fortress Maximus

, and redubbing himself Scorponok

Scorponok

Scorponok is the name shared by several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes. All are Decepticons that turn into Scorpoins.- Transformers: Generation 1:...

.

Although populated mainly with new characters, The Headmasters did continue to feature characters from all previous seasons, including new versions of Soundwave

Soundwave (Transformers)

Soundwave is the name of several characters in the various series Transformers series. His most famous disguise is that of a microcassette recorder and has an iconic voice done by a vocoder.-Transformers: Generation 1:...

and Blaster

Blaster (Transformers)

Blaster is the name of several fictional characters in the Transformers television and comic series based on the popular toy line produced by Takara Tomy and Hasbro. Due to trademark reasons, he is sometimes called Autobot Blaster...

, rebuilt after a duel that destroyed them both as Soundblaster and Twincast. Human Daniel Witwicky and his young Autobot friend Wheelie

Wheelie (Transformers)

Wheelie is the name of two different fictional characters in the Transformers series.-Generation 1:The first Wheelie is a young Autobot who turns into a car. He has a distinctive style of speech, in which he rhymes his sentences while speaking in a high pitched voice, making him sound like a child....

also played major roles in the series, serving as the youthful characters for the audience to identify with. More new characters continued to pour in when Galvatron returned to leadership and the Decepticons embarked on a space voyage, ransacking planets in a chain of stories that introduced the Horrorcons

Horrorcons

The Horrorcons are a subgroup of the Headmasters group in the Transformers toy line.The Horrorcons consist of two Decepticons: Apeface and Snapdragon, both of which transform into three modes: humanoid robot, aeroplane and animal and have very obnoxius, repellent personalities.-Apeface:Apeface is...

and Autobot and Decepticon Clones. The return to Earth was no less momentous, as the Decepticon ninja six-changer Sixshot

Sixshot

Sixshot is the name of two fictional characters from the various Transformers series. Introduced in 1987, Sixshot appeared in the last few episodes of the original US Transformers animated series, voiced by Neil Ross. His defining gimmick was that he had six different forms, not two like a normal...

killed Ultra Magnus, and the Autobot Headmasters finished off Galvatron. When the Decepticons then returned to Master, refugees from the planet were caught in a plasma bomb accident that fused them to the arms of several Autobots and Decepticons, creating the Targetmasters, and in a final move, Scorponok attempted the destruction of Earth, only to be foiled, thanks in part to a traitorous Sixshot.

Never professionally released in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, The Headmasters was dubbed into English in Hong Kong for broadcast on the Malaysian TV channel, RTM 1, and later the Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

satellite station, StarTV

StarTV

Star TV is a Tanzanian television station with a wide range of broadcast content. It is based in Mwanza, near Lake Victoria, and maintains offices in Dar es Salaam....

, where it attained greater fame, leading it to often be referred to as the "StarTV dub." The dub is, however, infamous for its poor quality, full of mistranslations and incorrect names, clearly the work of a small group of individuals (literally, less than half-a-dozen actors fill every role) with little knowledge of the material. This dub has seen some DVD releases in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

and Australia, and the entire series was released in a dual-language format in 2005.

On July 5, 2011, Shout! Factory (publishers of G1 of DVD) will officially release the Headmasters series on DVD for the US and Canada markets but the "StarTV" dub will not be included as per Hasbro's request.

Transformers: Super-God/Chojin Masterforce

The second of the Japanese-exclusive animated series, 1988's Transformers: Super-God Masterforce takes place some years after The Headmasters, introducing the Powermasters

Powermasters

Powermasters were a sub-group within the Transformers toyline in 1988. They were defined by the inclusion of a miniature figure which "unlocked the secret of the transformation"—in other words, the toy could not transform from vehicle mode to robot mode unless the figure was transformed into engine...

and Pretenders

Pretenders (Transformers)

Pretenders is a subline within the Transformers toy line, introduced in 1988. The concept behind the toy was that the Transformers were capable of disguising their robotic forms through the use of synthetic organic outer shells.-Cloudburst:...

to Japanese fiction in ways even more different from their portrayal in the west than those of the Headmasters before them.

With the departure of the Autobots and Decepticons from Earth at the end of The Headmasters, a small group of Autobots remained to guard the planet, having hidden amongst mankind for thousands of years thanks to their "Pretender" powers, which allowed them to shrink down and adopt the forms of human beings. However, the sudden re-appearance of their formerly-defeated Decepticon counterparts, now in the service of the mysterious energy entity Devil Z, means that the Autobots must drop their disguises and return to battle once more. But this is only the beginning of the most unusual Transformer war yet - as the battle escalates, human beings themselves take sides, and, imbued with the power of the "Masterforce", merge with Transtectors sent to Earth by the Autobots in space to become Transformers themselves as the "Headmaster Juniors." But the Decepticons have Headmaster Juniors of their own, and as the conflict rages, events converge on the creation of the most powerful super-robot lifeforms yet - the Godmasters!

The Godmasters are the Japanese version of the Powermasters, with human beings transforming into engines and combining with Transtectors to transform into robots capable of wielding "Chokon Power," the primal energy of life. Most notably, their ranks include Ginrai

Ginrai

Ginrai, occasionally spelled Jinrai and also known as both Super Ginrai and God Ginrai, and later rebuilt as Victory Leo, is a fictional character from the animated series Transformers: Super-God Masterforce and its toy line, one of the Transformers series exclusive to Japan...

, a character based on the Powermaster version of Optimus Prime, reinvented as a Japanese trucker, and the Japanese-exclusive character, Decepticon ambassador of destruction Overlord

Overlord (Transformers)

Overlord is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers universes.-Transformers: Generation 1:-Animated series:Outside of Japan, Overlord's sole animated appearance was in the toy commercial aired in Europe....

.

Running to 42 episodes, Super-God Masterforce had six additional clip episodes made after the fact for video release, one of which, serving as an overview of the series, was selected to be broadcast as the 43rd and final episode of the series. The 42 main episodes received the same dub treatment as The Headmasters, but the dubbed version of the series was not included on the UK DVD release of the series in July 2006. The Australian version includes the "StarTV" dub on a few early and late episodes in the series.

Transformers: Victory

Taking place in an unspecified amount of time after the events of Super-God Masterforce (there is a common misconception that the series takes place in 2025), 1989's Transformers: Victory
Transformers: Victory
, commonly shortened to simply Transformers: Victory, is an anime series produced by Toei Animation. It is a Japanese-produced spin-off of the well-known original Transformers cartoon, and the final complete animated series from the original "Generation 1" era.-Development:Following the conclusion...

is the third Japanese-exclusive series, the final complete Generation 1 cartoon. Led by their new Supreme Commander Star Saber

Star Saber

Star Saber is the name of several fictional characters and also a legendary weapon in the Transformers toyline. He is the protagonist in the Japanese exclusive series Transformers: Victory.-Transformers: Generation 1:...

, the Autobots battle the Decepticons under the command of Deszaras for control of the galaxy's resources.

In contrast to The Headmasters and Super-God Masterforce, both of which had an over-arcing plot direction, the majority of Victory is directionless, returning to the episodic adventure tradition of the original American series which culminates in the much-threatened attack of Deszaras's planet-destroying fortress. In another difference, the characters and toys of Victory are predominantly unique to Japan, and those that are not are remoulded in unique, distinguishing ways - the series debuts the Brainmasters, Brestforce and Multiforce

Multiforce

-Transformers: Generation 1:It is composed of:* Dash - Sun Power* Mach - Space Assault - Moon Power* Tacker - Fire Power* Tackle - Situation Analyst - Earth Power* Waver - Water Power...

, all new toys, as well as the Dinoforce

Dinoforce

The Dinoforce, also known as kyoryu sentai in Japan, was a group of Decepticon Pretenders under the command of Deszaras. Unique to the Dinoforce is their Pretender shells sentience; when the members of the Dinoforce are not merged with their Pretender shells, the shells can think and act on their...

, remoulded versions of the American Monster Pretenders

Monster Pretenders

The Monster Pretenders are a group of fictional Decepticons in the Transformers franchise. The team is the last of the traditional combiners from the Generation 1 series and is one of the few non-Micromaster combiner teams to have six members .-Transformers: Generation...

. Micromasters

Micromasters

Micromasters is a Transformers subline composed of small figures that came packaged in groups and with bases that interacted with the figures. They were sold at the peak of Galoob's Micro Machines craze and were packaged in groups of four just like Micro Machines...

also make their debut in Victory.

Of the 38 episodes of Victory broadcast, six are clip episodes containing no new footage, leaving 32 main episodes, which comprise the DVD collection released in the United Kingdom in September 2006. Six further clip episodes were produced for video, taking the total to 44. Victory also received the "StarTV dub" treatment - when the three Japanese series were broadcast on StarTV, it was under the umbrella title of "Transformers Takara," and all three were branded with Victorys opening sequence. The dub was not released on DVD in the UK either. The Australian release includes the "StarTV" dub for the entire Victory series.

Transformers: Zone
Originally intended to be a full-length direct-to-video (OVA) series, 1990s Transformers: Zone

Transformers: Zone

is a one-shot OVA exclusive to Japan in the fictional Transformers universe.-Development:Originally intended to be a full TV series, Transformers: Zone was forced to become direct-length direct-to-video due to less than expected toy sales. The series was canceled after just one episode at 25 minutes...

was cancelled after only one episode, making it the very last Generation 1 animated project. Following on from Victory, the mysterious three-faced insectoid being, Violenjiger dispatches the nine "Great Decepticon Generals" - Devastator

Constructicons

, Menasor, Bruticus

Combaticons

The Combaticons are a group of Decepticon military vehicles in the assorted fictional universes of the Transformers.- Transformers: Generation 1 :...

, Trypticon

Trypticon

Trypticon is a fictional character in the Transformers toyline.-Transformers: Generation 1:Trypticon is the Decepticons' principal command base. He has three modes: a city, a mobile battle station, and a Tyrannosaurus rex. In each mode, he has a variety of weapons...

, Predaking, Abominus, King Poseidon

Seacons

This article is about the Transformers characters the Seacons. For the shopping mall, see Seacon Square. For the 1961 Worldcon in Seattle, Washington, Seacon, see 19th World Science Fiction Convention...

, Overlord and BlackZarak

Scorponok

Scorponok is the name shared by several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes. All are Decepticons that turn into Scorpoins.- Transformers: Generation 1:...

- to acquire "Zone Energy," destroying the planet Feminia to obtain the world's store. Caught in the destruction of the planet, Star Saber is rescued by Dai Atlas, who then repels an attack by the Decepticons, and is appointed the new Autobot commander at the conclusion of the episode.

The cast of Zone is heavily composed of Micromasters, who also made up much of the toyline. Dai Atlas is a "Powered Master", so named for his motorized gimmick, as is his combining partner Sonic Bomber - the toyline also featured another partner for them, Roadfire, who was not in the episode. The solitary Decepticons in the toyline were the Race Car Patrol, and Metrotitan, a redeco of the Autobot city Metroplex, neither of whom appeared in animated form. They absent parties did go on to appear, however, in the pages of the Japanese publication, TV Magazine

TV Magazine

TV Magazine is a weekly French television listings magazine, published by Groupe Le Figaro.-Circulation:In 2006 TV Magazine had a circulation of 5,329,711, having suffered a small decline from 5,677,411 in 2002.-Other uses:...

- this monthly magazine had always included Transformers manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

and "story pages" (splash page illustrations and prose text) from the beginning, and although no manga was released for Zone (barring a single chapter available through mail-away which simply re-told the episode), its tale was completed through the story pages.

These story pages were also used to provide supporting fiction for the remaining two years worth of toylines - 1991's Battlestars: Return of Convoy

Battlestars: Return of Convoy

Battlestars: Return of Convoy is the penultimate part of the Japanese Transformers continuity, and features the rebirth of Convoy as Star Convoy...

and 1992's Operation: Combination.

Zone is included as a bonus feature on the last disc of the Australian release of Victory with Japanese audio and English subtitles.

Transformers: Generation 2

When the Transformers: Generation 2

Transformers: Generation 2

Transformers: Generation 2 is the name used to refer to a Transformers toy line, television series and comic book series which ran from 1993-1995...

toyline fully launched in 1993, it began with a small collection of original Generation 1 toys, redecoed in various ways, and equipped with ostentatious new gimmicks such as electronic sound boxes and large, firing missile launchers. Although the toyline itself would grow to include many brand new figures, and the comic book which accompanied it was a continuation of Marvel's Generation 1 title, the Generation 2 animated series stuck very closely to the toyline's opening cascade of "rehashed G1." Around fifty Generation 1 episodes from seasons 1 to 3 of The Transformers were chosen and, as the show's narrator proudly proclaimed, "computer-enhanced" with the "Cyber-Net Space-Cube" - a gimmick that essentially consisted of inserting new, computer-generated borders and scene-changes into the existing episodes. CGI

Computer-generated imagery

Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...

clips from toy commercials served to make up the show's opening sequence and commercial bumpers, while the episodes themselves were shown in no particular order.

Beast Wars: Transformers

After the unremarkable performance of the Generation 2 line, Hasbro aimed to completely re-work the Transformers premise; the result was Beast Wars: Transformers, which featured robots with familiar names and organic beast modes. As per the original toy packaging bios and mini-comic, the intention was originally to have the series be a direct continuation of the adventures of the "Generation 1" Transformers, but that would soon change with the advent of the animated series. Produced by Canadian animation house Mainframe Entertainment

Mainframe Entertainment

Rainmaker Entertainment, Inc. is a Canadian computer animation and design company based in Vancouver, British Columbia and Los Angeles, California. It produces computer animation TV series and movies. They are best known for producing the first ever CGI animated series ReBoot, as well as the...

, the computer-animated show was unlike any Transformers cartoons before it, both visually and in terms of story. With Larry DiTillio

Larry DiTillio

Lawrence G. "Larry" DiTillio is an American film and TV series writer. He is most famous for his role as executive story editor of the science-fiction series Babylon 5, and for writing or co-writing most of the episodes in the animated series Beast Wars...

and Bob Forward

Bob Forward

Robert D. Forward , commonly known as Bob Forward, is an American writer, director and producer. Forward is the production director and president of his independent company, Detonation Films. Forward has been the writer of many animated television series, as well as a film, The Owl, based on his...

at the helm as story editors, it was planned for the show to start afresh, with no ties to anything that had gone before, but the off-handed reference to the "Great War" included in the first episode set the internet fandom ablaze. DiTillio and Forward became occasional posters on the alt.toys.transformers newsgroup, and through this back-and-forth interaction with fans, plus their own research of previous Transformers fiction, the Beast Wars animated series soon began to grow, establishing its place as the future - and past - of the larger Generation 1 timeline.

Running to 26 episodes, 1996's first season of Beast Wars began with an unintentional parallel to the original animated series, introducing the viewers to Maximal

Maximal (Transformers)

Maximals are a faction in the Transformers series by Hasbro. They are generally depicted as respecting all life and following a path of peace before war. They follow the tenets of the Pax Cybertronia. The Maximals are opposed by the Predacons...

Optimus Primal

Optimus Primal is a fictional character from the Transformers toyline, and the leader of the Maximal forces and the main protagonist in the Beast Wars television series. He is sometimes called Optimal Optimus...

, Predacon

Predacon (Transformers)

The Predacons usually refer to the name of several fictional Decepticon-like teams led by Megatron, however Transformers: Armada, Predacon is the name of a single character.-Transformers: Generation 1:...

Megatron

Megatron (Beast Wars and Beast Machines)

The Beast Wars and Beast Machines version of Megatron is the main antagonist from the aforementioned parts of the Transformers animated series, toy lines, and multiverse...

and their crews as their ships crashed onto an alien planet, where they warred over the energon they found there. While mostly a scattershot affair of episodic stories, the first season of Beast Wars focused heavily on characterisation, endowing its cast with consistent, developing personalities and naturalistic voice acting that brought the show to life. Additionally, amidst the one-shot adventures, a plot thread began to grow involving a race of mysterious aliens

Vok

The Vok are a race of fictional aliens from the Transformers universe.-Beast Wars:In Transformers history, the Vok were mysterious and powerful aliens who had evolved beyond the corporeal world. Their base of operations—be it another planet, location in space, or entire dimension—is dubbed "Nexus...

who were conducting experiments on the planet that occasionally intersected with the Beast Warriors' stories. This eventually culminated in a two-part conclusion to the season, ending on a cliffhanger that led into 1997's 13-episode season. Many of the characters were upgraded into new "Transmetal

Transmetals

Transmetals are a subgroup of the Beast Wars and Beast Machines characters in the fictional Transformers universe. Ordinary Transformers in the Beast Wars universe have a mechanical robot form and a techno-organic animal form, also known as a "beast mode"...

" forms, and the conflict reached a new level with an exceptionally tightly-plotted story arc that included the revelation that the planet was Earth, the death of Dinobot and more alien conflicts. Story elements laid through the season once again came to a head with a three-part conclusion that firmly tied Beast Wars to the Generation 1 timeline, featuring guest appearances from Transformers of that era and displaying that the Beast Warriors came from their future, and were currently in the prehistoric past. This link proved key to the third and final season in 1998, running to another 13 episodes, in which the Maximals had to defend their past and future against Megatron's attempts to alter history. Longtime Transformers comic scribe Simon Furman

Simon Furman

Simon Christopher Francis Furman is a comic book writer, particularly associated with of a number of notable Transformers comics for Marvel UK, Marvel US, Dreamwave, and most recently, IDW...

was brought on board to script the final episode, which concluded with the end of the Beast Wars, and the Maximal's departure for Cybertron.

Although controversial among fans in its early days due to its complete re-imagining of the Transformers concept, today, it is not uncommon to find long-time Transformers fans - even those who have grown up with the franchise since 1984 - who consider Beast Wars to be their favorite Transformers series

Beast Wars II
Just as with the Generation 1 timeline, Japan was quick to get in on the act when Beast Wars took off. The first season of the North American animated series was imported and dubbed with an increase in humour, under the title of Beast Wars: Super Lifeform Transformers, but due to the short length of the second season, it proved necessary to wait until both it and the third season were completed before any more could be broadcast. In order to fill the ensuing gap, 1997 debuted the Japanese-original cel-animated series, the 43-episode Beast Wars II

Beast Wars II

refers to the 1998 Japanese Transformers television animated series, and the movie and toyline that resulted from it. While its position in the Transformers continuity has previously been unknown, the IDW Publishing comic book mini-series Beast Wars: The Gathering and comments from Transformers...

(also known as Beast Wars Second or Beast Wars The Second). The series featured an entirely new cast of Maximals and Predacons - led by Lio Convoy and Galvatron
Galvatron
Galvatron is the name of several fictional Transformers, most often the recreated version of Megatron, the Decepticon leader. He was voiced by Leonard Nimoy in the 1986 Transformers movie, and then by Frank Welker in season 3 and 4 of the animated television series. Since then, other Transformers...

, respectively - fighting on the planet Gaia - a future Earth, devastated by the power of the energy source the two factions seek, Angolmois energy.

Although largely looked down upon for its very light-hearted approach when compared to the darker North American series, Beast Wars II proved successful enough to spawn a theatrical movie, consisting of three "acts". The first act was a recap of the original Beast Wars television show up to that point, while the second was the undubbed, English-language episode, "Bad Spark", from the show's second season, to serve as a showcase for the upcoming release of the season in Japan. The third act was Lio Convoy in Imminent Danger, a new, original story that saw Optimus Primal pulled forward in time to team up with Lio Convoy to stop the monstrous Majin Zarak
Majin Zarak
Majin Zarak is the name of a fictional character in the Beast Wars Transformers universe-Beast Wars II:Majin Zarak is one of the largest, most powerful Transformers that exists in the modern era of the Transformers Universe. He is extremely powerful, but not all that bright...

.

Beast Wars Neo
Even after the conclusion of Beast Wars II, there was still some time to go before the North American series had generated enough episodes to be aired in Japan, and the 35-episode Beast Wars Neo

Beast Wars Neo

Beast Wars Neo is a 1998 Japanese Transformers television animated series and toy line, and a sequel to Beast Wars II.-Plot:The series focuses on a battle between Maximal and Predacon factions for possession of an energy source called Angolmois. The lone "one-man army" Big Convoy is assigned the...

was produced to fill the 1998 gap. Still cel-animated and ostensibly even more light-hearted than Beast Wars II, this series introduced Big Convoy and Magmatron
Magmatron
Magmatron is a Transformers character who first appeared in the Japanese Beast Wars Neo series, was later released in the American Beast Machines Dinobots toy line, and most recently in official Beast Wars comic continuity.-Beast Wars Neo:...

, new Maximal and Predacon leaders, the former in search of the missing Lio Convoy, the latter questing for the capsule that Lio Convoy had sealed the Angolmois Energy into at the conclusion of the previous series. Beast Wars Neo is particularly notable for one reason - it features the first return of Unicron to animated continuity for a decade. In the course of the series, Angolmois Energy is revealed to be Unicron's life-force, and the series leads to his attempt to transfer it into Cybertron, that it may become his new body.

With the end of Beast Wars Neo, the third season of the North American series had been completed, and it was subsequently combined with the second season and dubbed for Japanese release as Beast Wars Metals.

Beast Machines: Transformers
As controversial as Beast Wars started out, it was nothing compared to the controversy that would result from the infamous Beast Machines: Transformers. The series was the only Transformers animated series to be fully plotted from start to finish by Marty Isenberg

Marty Isenberg

Marty Isenberg is an American animation writer. He is best known for his role as co-story editor on Beast Machines, and Transformers: Animated, and for his work on the revived Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series...

and Robert N. Skir

Robert N. Skir

Robert N. Skir is a writer best known for his work in television animation on shows including X-Men, Gargoyles, Batman: The Animated Series, and Spider-Man...

, writers unfamiliar with Transformers lore who sought to produce the series as, in Skir's words, a "religious epic novel for television." The series tackled the heavy philosophical concept of what it meant to live in an increasingly technological society, running to 26 episodes over two seasons, though in its native Canada, the show was aired simply in one long 26-episode run.

As Beast Machines begins, viewers rejoin Optimus Primal and his Maximals as they return to Cybertron, amnesiac and unable to recall how they got there, only to discover that the planet is now under Megatron's rule, its cities deserted, its occupants stripped of their sparks

Spark (Transformers)

Spark can refer to several objects in the fictional Transformers universe. A spark is usually the "soul" of a Transformer. It is also the name of several Transformers characters. An AllSpark is a term for two different objects within the Transformers media franchise. In the Beast Machines...

. An encounter with the ancient Cybertronian computer, the Oracle

Vector Sigma

, sees them reformatted into new technorganic bodies that blend their mechanical natures with the organic material they acquired on Earth, and as the story of the show develops, an organic past to Cybertron is steadily revealed, as is the story of the Maximal's missing memories and friends. Influences from the original Transformers began to creep into the show as they had with Beast Wars before it, until more obscure concepts such as the key to Vector Sigma

Vector Sigma

and the Plasma Energy Chamber played major roles in the series, each one exemplifying one of the mantras espoused - Primal's dedication to seeing the organic flourish, and Megatron's desire for unfeeling, unthinking technological perfection. The clash between these two powers marked the end of the first season, and served to provide Primal with the revelation that drove the second - that he had been wrong, and that the Oracle desired not the domination of one power over the other, but a balance between the organic and the technological. The second season of the show dove headlong into the storyline, with Megatron body-swapping repeatedly, and the concept of the show allowing for such left-field creations as an entirely organic Transformer that changed from beast to beast, and a Maximal who transformed into a plant

Botánica

A botánica is a retail store that sells folk medicine, religious candles and statuary, amulets, and other products regarded as magical or as alternative medicine...

. The series concluded with a drawn-out battle between Primal and Megatron, which ultimately concluded with their deaths, allowing the planet-wide reformatting of Cybertron into a technorganic paradise.

The concept of technorganic Transformers who needed to concentrate to move between modes and an organic beginning to Cybertron rankled with many fans at the time, viewed as flying in the face of much of the established history of Transformers. Opinions were violently expressed and many bad feelings over the series exist to this day, ranging from the way the characters changed since their Beast Wars days - Rhinox

Rhinox

Rhinox is the name of three fictional characters from various Transformers universes.-Beast Wars:Rhinox's character in the Beast Wars television series is very different from how the toy was depicted. As one of the first year toys, the toy of Rhinox was created before the television series came...

being warped into a villain, Rattrap becoming the team's tech-support, Silverbolt's experiences turning him into an aggressive vengeance-seeker, and Megatron abruptly changing from a complex villain into a more stereotypical "world domination" type - to the ending, ambitiously and permanently altering the nature of Cybertron as it had been understood for nearly twenty years.

Beast Machines was not exported to Japan for several years, finally reaching the country in 2004 under the title of Beast Wars Returns.

Transformers: Robots in Disguise
After the conclusion of Beast Wars Metals, it was necessary for Takara to once again produce an original Transformers animated series and toyline, as Beast Machines had not yet amassed enough episodes to make importing it viable. To that end, the new cel-animated series Transformers: Car Robots (occasionally referred to by the misnomer, Transformers 2000) was produced for broadcast in Japan for 2000. The series, however, ultimately proved duly unsuccessful (to the extent that there was no Transformers animated series broadcast in Japan in 2001) and following both the conclusion of it and the second season of Beast Machines, Takara and Hasbro opted to co-produce the next series for the first time. With this decision made, Hasbro scrapped their plans for the Transtech

Transtech

Transtech is an unreleased line of toys under the Transformers umbrella.-History:After the Beast Machines line ended, Hasbro planned a follow-up series called Transtech. The Transtech concept was a line intended to take Transformers to their most futuristic looking bodies and more plausible designs...

series, and - rather than go a year without Transformers, as Takara had chosen to do - opted to import Car Robots for the 2001 year.

Renamed Transformers: Robots in Disguise

Transformers: Robots in Disguise

Transformers: Robots in Disguise, known in Japan as , is a Japanese anime television series and serves as a self-contained universe separate from any of the other existing Transformers universes...

(regularly referred to with the acronym of RiD by fans) the series stands alone, unconnected to any of the previous continuities as a complete, self-contained universe. Conceptually, the show united ideas from across the G1 and Beast eras by pitting the vehicular Autobots, led by Optimus Prime, against the bestial Predacons, led by Megatron, and through the inclusion of classic concepts such as Headmaster and combining technology; dubbed into English by Saban Entertainment, many fan-friendly references to the previous continiuities were also added. The first story arc of the series is a series of episodic adventures introducing the majority of the cast - like the original animated series, it was very Autobot-heavy, with most characters being newly designed (bar the Spy Changers

Spy Changers

Spy Changers are a sub-line of toys/characters which first appeared in the 2000-2001 Transformers Robots in Disguise toy line. All 6 molds were originally produced as the Transformers: Generation 2 line's Go-Bots in 1995...

, repainted versions of Generation 2 figures, and Tow-Line and Skid-Z, repainted Machine Wars

Machine Wars

Machine Wars was a short-lived toy series in the Transformers toyline, introduced in 1997. The series was initially exclusive to KB Toys and its subsidiaries, although overstock/unsold surplus eventually appeared at other retailers....

toys), while on the Predacon side, only Megatron was a new mould, with his troops being repaints of Beast Wars Transmetal 2 toys. The trend continued into the second story arc, which introduced RiDs version of the Decepticons - redecos of the G1 Combaticons

Combaticons

The Combaticons are a group of Decepticon military vehicles in the assorted fictional universes of the Transformers.- Transformers: Generation 1 :...

and G2 "Laser Optimus Prime" toy - and Optimus Prime's bitter brother, Ultra Magnus

Ultra Magnus

. This led smoothly into the third and final arc of the show, which saw Magnus and Prime merge into Omega Prime

Omega Prime

Omega Prime is a fictional character from the Transformers toyline. He is the combined form of Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus.-Transformers: Robots in Disguise:...

, and Decepticon leader Scourge

Scourge (Transformers)

Scourge is the name of several fictional characters from the Transformers series. He first appeared as one of the central villains in the 1986 film The Transformers, voiced by Stan Jones. He also regularly appeared in the animated Transformers series and Transformers comic books. Since then other...

began his plot to wrest the power of the ancient battle station, Fortress Maximus

Fortress Maximus

, away from both Megatron and the Autobots.

Its airing schedule heavily disrupted by the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Robots in Disguise had to be re-edited in several ways for content, and several of its episodes aired out of order, or not at all in America. Although initially derided by some fans for its especially light-hearted, joke-filled nature, demand is high for the series to be released on DVD in North America; although available in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

, it has yet to see a release in America due to the Walt Disney Company's acquisition of Saban and its products.

Unicron Trilogy

The "Unicron Trilogy" is so-named for the major role that the dark god Unicron

Unicron

plays in each of the three series that comprise it. Spanning twenty years from 2010 to 2030, the trilogy is significant for being a co-production between Hasbro and Takara; the Japanese production team actually wanted to set the series in the Generation 1 continuity, post-"The Rebirth," but this was vetoed by Hasbro's head Transformers design director, Aaron Archer

Aaron Archer

Aaron C. Archer is a toy designer for the Hasbro toy company from 1995 onwards. Archer has worked on toy lines including Batman, Star Wars, and Alien Resurrection, amongst others. Archer's earliest Transformers work were designs for the later Beast Wars toys, including Transmetal 2 Megatron,...

, in favour of completely rebooting the Transformers universe and introducing a brand new continuity for the second time (the first being Robots in Disguise). Archer crafted the basic story outline of each of the three lines, with the anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

themselves then being written and animated in Japan, but in practise, the Japanese studios did not always follow Archer's design. While each series ran for eighteen months in Hasbro markets, lasting from mid-2002 through 2007, the three were annual affairs in Japan, running from January to December in 2003, 2004 and 2005.

Transformers: Armada

Launched in the summer of 2002, Transformers: Armada
Transformers: Armada
Transformers: Armada, known in Japan as , is a Transformers animated series, comic series and toy line which ran from 2002–2003. It was originally scheduled for 2001, however was delayed until early-2002...

was the first series co-produced between Hasbro and Takara, with the intention of creating a toyline for simultaneous release in both North America and Japan. It was released in Japan six months later in January 2003, where it was known as Transformers: Micron Legend. The heavily promoted series was an attempt to re-introduce Transformers to the children of the time, and featured a particularly large number of additional merchandise such as puzzles, games, cards, candy and a tie-in PlayStation 2

PlayStation 2

The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...

video game.

In addition to drawing on and re-imagining familiar elements from Generation 1, such as the Matrix of Leadership, Armada's defining trait was the introduction of a third faction of Transformers - the diminutive robots known as Mini-Con

Mini-Con

Mini-Cons are a human-sized race and faction of power-enhancing transforming robots in the Transformers: Armada universe and its sequels, one of the assorted universes in Transformers fiction...

s (the eponymous "Microns" in Japan). Mini-Cons can "powerlink" to larger Transformers, increasing their powers, and consequently became a sought-after commodity in the war between the Autobots and Decepticons. Eventually, however, the Mini-Cons fled Cybertron in a starship, which warped into the Solar system and crashed on Earth. The series then begins in the year 2010, when three teenagers - Rad, Carlos and Alexis - find and reactivate the buried hulk of the Mini-Con ship, sending out a signal that brings Optimus Prime, Megatron and their troops to Earth.

The Autobots and Decepticons begin scouring the planet to find the stasis panels containing the dormant Mini-Cons, thought to be located in Hellnoville, but soon, the existence of three powerful weapons - each formed from the fusion of three separate Mini-Cons - comes to light. Thanks to the schemes of the mysterious, allegiance-shifting Sideways, the weapons are formed and constantly shift hands, until, through manipulation of the self-doubting Starscream, all three are finally within Decepticon hands. Through the power of these weapons, the ancient evil, Unicron

Unicron

is reawakened, as the mysteries of the show, the origins of the Mini-Cons and the nature of the Transformers' war are explored in a final story arc entitled "The Unicron Battles."

The English-language version of Armada is infamous for having been produced in haste for several reasons, most prominently the fact that Cartoon Network

Cartoon Network (United States)

Cartoon Network is an American cable television network owned by Turner Broadcasting which primarily airs animated programming. The channel was launched on October 1, 1992 after Turner purchased the animation studio Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1991...

would not sign off on the series without a certain number of episodes already completed. To meet this demand, the dubbing studio was forced to work with only partially complete episodes, with animation of a wildly varying quality, containing many errors that were later corrected for the Japanese broadcast. Additionally, there was rarely even enough time to produce more than a first draft of the translated script, leading to many errors in translation making it into the finished product, including incorrect character names, flat, transliterated speech, and at times, utterly nonsensical dialogue that did not match the action onscreen.

A companion comic book was included with the Japanese DVD releases of the series titled Linkage, which focused on the side story of a group of Mini-Cons whose adventures happened concurrently with the animated series. The comic takes the time to flesh out some unexplained plot points from the series, as well as providing an in-depth explanation on the nature of Mini-Cons.

Transformers: Energon

Whatever the technical failings of the Armada animated series, the line succeeded in its goal of reinvigorating the Transformers brand and reacquring the recognisability the series had enjoyed in the Generation 1 heyday. Consequently, the process was repeated, and Hasbro and Takara debuted Transformers: Energon
Transformers: Energon
Transformers: Energon, known in Japan as , is the 2004–2005 Transformers toyline, animated series and comic book series, another co-production between Hasbro and Takara and a direct sequel to Transformers: Armada...

at the beginning of 2004.

Picking up ten years after the end of Armada, Energon focuses on the quest for the titular energy-rich mineral, the Transformers' power source. The Autobots and Decepticons, allied since the conclusion of Armada, have entered into an alliance with humankind in order to mine for energon on Earth, and now operate out of massive "Cybertron Cities" in strategic locations around the world. But, out in the void of space, the damaged, deactivated body of Unicron now serves the staging base of the deranged alien being Alpha Q, who sends armies of robotic Terrorcon

Terrorcon

The name Terrorcons refers to several different groups in the Transformers toyline. They are referred to as Terrortrons in Japan.-Transformers: Generation 1:...

s to steal Energon for his own purposes. But those purposes are not as sinister as they seem, and soon pale in comparison to the evil of the resurrected Megatron!

The Autobots of Energon are empowered with the "Spark of Combination," which allows them to link their bodies together in various configurations - a power that gives the series its Japanese title, Transformers: Superlink - while the Decepticons possess "hyper modes" with excesses of weaponry. The series also introduces the aforementioned Terrorcons, and their Autobot counterparts the Omnicon

Omnicon

-Transformers: Energon:Omnicons were a main group of characters Transformers: Energon series allied with the Autobots. They were opposition of to the Decepticon allied Terrorcons.The Omnicons include:...

s, robots with the ability to handle and shape energon into power-enhancing stars and weapons such as spears and axes.

Transformers: Cybertron

Transformers: Cybertron
Transformers: Cybertron
Transformers: Cybertron, known in Japan originally as , is the 2005-2007 Transformers toy line and animated series, another co-production between Hasbro and Takara...

is the anomaly of the Unicron Trilogy universe. Debuting in Japan in January 2005, under the title Transformers: Galaxy Force, the series was intended by its Japanese producers to be yet another complete reboot to the timeline, beginning yet another continuity from the beginning with no connections to Armada or Energon. It would not be until mid-2005, when Energon completed its run, that Hasbro would release Cybertron into their markets, modifying the show and using other media to establish its place in continuity (see the show's own article for more details). Concluding in Japan at the end of 2005, the series ran throughout 2006 in Hasbro markets, and once again, Takara had no animated product on Japanese screens for that year.

The story of Cybertron centres on a gigantic black hole, created by the destruction of Unicron at the conclusion of Energon, which threatens to consume Cybertron and the rest of the universe. This danger brings the ancient Transformer, Vector Prime

Vector Prime (Transformers)

Vector Prime is a fictional character from the Transformers: Cybertron toyline, animated series and comics. In fiction he is an ancient Autobot, one of the first ever created, with powers over time and space, and turns into a spaceship...

, back to Cybertron, where he sets the Autobots on a quest for the four Cyber Planet Keys, legendary artifacts of power that can seal the black hole. The keys, however, are scattered on planets throughout the galaxy, and the Autobots must now race from world to world to acquire their power before the Decepticons. Aided with new "Cyber Key Powers" of their own, the Transformers makes allies and enemies on each wildly different world they visit, from the racing-obsessed Velocitron to the bestial Jungle Planet and beyond, on an adventure that has its roots in the ancient past, and sculpts a new future for Cybertron.

Cybertron's English language adaptation flouts Unicron Trilogy convention by being competently produced. More than simply a translation of the Japanese version, Cybertron features large amounts of new dialogue, be it to form connections with Armada and Energon, to pay homage to many classic Generation 1 quotes (several lines from The Transformers: The Movie are re-used, in particular, and there are also a few quotes and references to the Beast Era), or simply to fill the many prolonged sequences of silence in the Japanese version, an artefact of the show's excessive use of stock footage

Stock footage

Stock footage, and similarly, archive footage, library pictures and file footage are film or video footage that may or may not be custom shot for use in a specific film or television program. Stock footage is of beneficial use to filmmakers as it is sometimes less expensive than shooting new...

transformation, combination and transportation sequences.

Transformers Animated

Formerly known by the working title, Transformers: Heroes, Transformers Animated debuted December 26, 2007, on Cartoon Network

Cartoon Network (United States)

, and represents yet another fresh start for the animated Transformers universe, albeit one that draws inspiration from many of its antecedents, including, for the first time, elements drawn from the 2007 live-action film. Opening in a manner similar to Beast Wars, the series takes place centuries after the end of the Autobot-Decepticon war, and centers on a small group of Autobots voyaging through space on missions. The group is a Space Bridge

Space Bridge

In Marvel Comics' Transformers comic and cartoon, the Space Bridge is a device used by the Decepticons to travel between different planets, usually between Cybertron and Earth.-Generation One:...

repair crew led by academy washout Optimus Prime, who stumble across the legendary life-giving Allspark on a routine mission, drawing the attention of the long-exiled Decepticons under the command of Megatron. As a result of the ensuing battle, Megatron and the Autobots crash land on Earth, while the other Decepticons are scattered through space. Megatron's remains are discovered by the young Isaac Sumdac, who reverse-engineers his Cybertronian technology to create massive leaps in Earth machinery, transforming the planet into a technological utopia over the course of the following fifty years. The Autobots spend these years in stasis, but when they are awakened as a result of one of Sumdac's experiments in techno-organic fusion going berserk, they publicly save the day, befriend Sumdac's daughter Sari (who later reveals to be a robot herself), and quickly establish themselves as a force for justice on Earth.

The core Autobot team is led by Optimus Prime (voiced by David Kaye

David Kaye

David V. Hope , known professionally as David Kaye, is a Canadian American actor who is better recognized for his work as a voice actor...

, famous for voicing the Megatrons of the Beast Era and Unicron Trilogy) and consists of the speedy, wise-cracking Bumblebee

Bumblebee (Transformers)

Bumblebee is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers universes. In most incarnations, Bumblebee is a small, yellow Autobot with the altmode of a compact car.- Transformers: Generation 1 :...

, gentle giant Bulkhead

Bulkhead (Transformers)

Bulkhead is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes. All incarnations of Bulkhead are Autobots and are green in color. He was introduced in Transformers: Energon as a Mega Vehicle and later redebuted in Transformers: Animated as a completely new character...

, aged, ornery medic Ratchet

Ratchet (Transformers)

Ratchet is the name of several characters in the Transformers universes. According to the original creator of the Transformers names, Bob Budiansky, Ratchet was named after the character of Nurse Ratched from the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The name Ratchet is almost always portrayed as...

and loner ninja Prowl

Prowl (Transformers)

Prowl is the name of several fictional characters in the Transformers series. "Prowl" is one of the most re-used American names in the assorted Transformers series, and its use has become almost synonymous with Autobots who possess a police car alternate mode...

. Early antagonists in the series will be superhuman villains, some of whom will obtain powers through Transformer technology, with the scattered Decepticons (Starscream, Blackarachnia, Lugnut and Blitzwing

Blitzwing

Blitzwing is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers series. He is always depicted as a Decepticon with two alternate forms, that of a jet and that of a tank...

) periodically arriving on Earth in their search for Megatron and the Allspark. The series will also feature many other additional Transformers characters in guest appearances and recurring roles, including Arcee

Arcee

Arcee is the name of a fictional character in the Transformers franchise. She is a female Autobot, usually pink in color. Being the most famous of the Female Transformers, she has two primary forms...

, Ironhide

Ironhide

Ironhide is the name of several different fictional characters in the Transformers universes. According to the original creator of the Transformers names, Bob Budiansky, Ironhide was named after the television series Ironside.-Transformers: Generation 1:...

, bounty hunter Lockdown

Lockdown (Transformers)

Lockdown is the name of multiple fictional characters in the various Transformers universes; all of which are Decepticons who transform into muscle cars.-Transformers Animated:...

, Earth machines brought to life by the Allspark such as the Dinobots

Dinobots

, the Constructicons and Wreck-Gar

Wreck-Gar

Wreck-Gar is the name of two characters from the Transformers universes. Both are unpredictable good-aligned characters who provide comic relief in their series.-Transformers: Generation 1:Wreck-gar is the idiosyncratic leader of the Junkions....

, and the Autobot Cybertron Elite Guard, including Ultra Magnus

Ultra Magnus

(Supreme Commander of the Autobots), Sentinel Prime

Sentinel Prime

Sentinel Prime is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers series. First mention of Sentinel Prime was in issue #65 of the US Marvel Comics Transformers series, where he was mentioned to hold the Autobot Matrix of Leadership before Optimus Prime. Sentinel Prime has since...

, Blurr

Blurr

Blurr is the name given to five different fictional characters in the Transformers universes. He frequently appears as a blue Autobot who transforms into a swift car...

and Jazz

Jazz (Transformers)

Jazz is the name of a fictional character from the various Transformers universes. He is usually portrayed as a music loving robot and talks with a slang accent. He is also a good friend of Optimus Prime's...

.

The show's supervising director is Matt Youngberg (Teen Titans
Teen Titans (TV series)
Teen Titans is an American animated television series based on the DC Comics characters of the same name. The show was created by Glen Murakami, developed by David Slack, and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It premiered on Cartoon Network on July 19, 2003, and the final episode "Things Change"...

, The Batman), with Cartoon Network vice-president Sam Register

Sam Register

Sam Register is Executive Vice President, Creative Affairs, at Warner Bros. Animation.Formerly Vice President of Cartoon Network, Register was the brain behind CartoonNetwork.com, which was started in 1998. After creating CartoonNetwork.com, Register came up with the idea of Cartoon Orbit in 2000...

as executive producer and Vincent Aniceto as line producer. Beast Machines
Beast Machines
Beast Machines is an animated television series produced by Mainframe Entertainment and distributed by Universal Pictures. Hasbro has the full distribution rights to the show as of 2011. It was a direct sequel to Beast Wars taking place within the continuity of the original Transformers series...

writer Marty Isenberg

Marty Isenberg

returned to Transformers as the story editor/head writer for this series, and it is voice-directed by Susan Blu

Susan Blu

Susan Maria Blu , sometimes credited as Sue Blu, is an American voice actress, voice director, and casting director in American and Canadian cinema and television...

, the original voice of G1 Arcee, who will be voicing the character again in this series. Art director/lead character designer Derrick Wyatt (Teen Titans, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends
Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends
Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends is an American animated television series created and produced at Cartoon Network Studios by animator Craig McCracken, creator of The Powerpuff Girls. It first premiered on Cartoon Network on August 13, 2004, as a 90-minute television movie, which led to a series...

, Legion of Super Heroes
Legion of Super Heroes (TV series)
Legion of Super Heroes is an American animated television series produced by Warner Bros. Animation that debuted on September 23, 2006, based on characters appearing in the DC Comics comic book series. The series centers on the young Superman's adventures in the 31st century, fighting alongside a...

) has created a "brand new look" unlike anything seen in Transformers before. The series is being distributed internationally by Entertainment Rights

Entertainment Rights

Entertainment Rights Plc was a global media company. Its main role was in children and family television programming.The group was established in 1989 as Sleepykids. In 1999 it become entertainment rights and was focused on the creation and exploitation of major children's characters and brands...

Transformers: Prime

Transformers: Prime
Transformers: Prime
Transformers: Prime, also known as Transformers: Prime –The Animated Series, is an American computer-animated television series based on the Transformers toy franchise by Hasbro. It airs on the The Hub in the United States...

is a CGI-based series airing on The Hub

The Hub

-Places:* "The Hub", a nickname for Boston, Massachusetts; short for The Hub of the Universe* The Hub , former church in Edinburgh which is now home to the Edinburgh International Festival...

television network. It is also said that the characters for the series have appearances that are a cross between their live-action film and Transformers Animated counterparts. Peter Cullen

Peter Cullen

Peter Claver Cullen is a Canadian voice actor, known as the voice of Eeyore in the Winnie-the-Pooh franchise, Optimus Prime and Ironhide in the original Transformers series, and the narrator in both of the original American Voltron series...

and Frank Welker

Frank Welker

Franklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:...

provide the voices of Optimus Prime and Megatron respectively.

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.