Transformers is a mecha media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the heroic Autobots led by Optimus Prime and the villainous Decepticons led by Optimus Prime's arch-enemy Megatron, the two alien robot factions at war that can "transform" into other forms, such as vehicles and animals. The franchise encompasses toys, animation, comic books, video games and films. As of 2011, it generated more than () in revenue, making it one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time. Ownership of the franchise is currently split between Hasbro (US and rest of the world) and Tomy (within Japan).
History
The franchise began in 1984 with The Transformers toy line, comprising transforming mecha toys from Takara's Diaclone and Micro Change toylines rebranded for Western markets. The term "Generation 1" (G1) covers both the animated television series The Transformers and the comic book series of the same name, which are further divided into Japanese, British and Canadian spin-offs. Sequels followed, such as the Generation 2 comic book and Beast Wars TV series, which became its own mini-universe. Generation 1 characters have been rebooted multiple times in the 21st century in comics from Dreamwave Productions (starting 2001), IDW Publishing (starting in 2005 and again in 2019), and Skybound Entertainment (beginning in 2023). There have been other incarnations of the story based on different toy lines during and after the 20th century. The first was the Robots in Disguise series, followed by three shows (Armada, Energon, and Cybertron) that constitute a single universe called the "Unicron Trilogy".
A live-action film series started in 2007, again distinct from previous incarnations, while the Transformers: Animated series merged concepts from the G1 continuity, the 2007 live-action film and the "Unicron Trilogy". For most of the 2010s, in an attempt to mitigate the wave of reboots, the "Aligned Continuity" was established, which included four series: Transformers: Prime and Transformers: Robots in Disguise, along with the preschool-oriented Transformers: Rescue Bots and Rescue Bots Academy. In 2018, Transformers: Cyberverse debuted, once again, distinct from the previous incarnations. Also in 2018, Hasbro launched a separate toy line called Transformers: War for Cybertron which featured three Netflix miniseries, releasing from 2020 to 2021. Another series, Transformers: EarthSpark, debuted in 2022, again separate from previous continuities. The 2024 animated film, Transformers One, once again takes place in a new continuity, as does the animated web series Transformers: Cyberworld.
Although a separate and competing franchise started in 1983, Tonka's GoBots became the intellectual property of Hasbro after their buyout of Tonka in 1991. Subsequently, the universe depicted in the animated series Challenge of the GoBots and follow-up film GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords was retroactively established as an alternate universe within the Transformers multiverse. The likenesses of the GoBots were depicted in numerous Fun Publishing comics and the 2018 film Bumblebee.
Common story elements Many works of Transformers fiction revolve around two alien robot factions with the power to transform. These two factions hail from the planet Cybertron: the heroic Autobots, led by Optimus Prime, and the evil Decepticons, led by Megatron. Some interpretations of the lore replace them with their direct descendants, the Maximals and Predacons. Another villainous faction, the Terrorcons, may also serve as a stand-in for the Decepticons. These factions may be present at the same time as their Autobot and Decepticon counterparts. Both factions are at war for energon, an energy source that can power themselves and their planet. When their home planet Cybertron is rendered uninhabitable as a result of the war, both factions attempt to escape their homeworld in an attempt to find more energon. It is after this that they find their way to Earth; they may either crash-land into prehistoric Earth on their respective ships and lay dormant until the modern day, escape to Earth from Cybertron, or live amongst humans. While on Earth, they assume the appropriate vehicle, device, or beast forms and continue their war. The Transformers are oftentimes aided by human allies like Spike Witwicky and Mikaela Banes who are roped into their conflict; humans play a major role in Transformers: EarthSpark, which significantly changes the origin of new Transformers by introducing Terrans, Earth-born Transformers who are emotionally bonded to humans through special wearable cyber-sleeves.
A plot point introduced in The Transformers: The Movie (1986), to much infamy from fans, and featured in numerous fictional works since then is the death of Optimus Prime. Depending on the story, Optimus may either be revived later in the work, or not at all; regardless, a new leader would be appointed.
Fiction Transformers: Generation 1 (1984–1993)
Generation 1 is a retroactive term for the Transformers characters that appeared between 1984 and 1993. The Transformers began with the 1980s Japanese toy lines Micro Change and Diaclone. They presented robots who are able to transform into everyday vehicles, electronic items or weapons. Hasbro bought the Micro Change and Diaclone toys, and partnered with Takara. Marvel Comics was hired by Hasbro to create the backstory; editor-in-chief Jim Shooter wrote an overall story, and gave the task of creating the characters to writer Dennis O'Neil. Unhappy with O'Neil's work (although O'Neil created the name "Optimus Prime"), Shooter chose Bob Budiansky to create the characters. The original Transformers mecha were largely designed by Shōji Kawamori, the creator of the Japanese mecha anime franchise Macross (which was adapted into the Robotech franchise in North America). Kawamori came up with the idea of transforming mechs while working on the Diaclone and Macross franchises in the early 1980s (such as the VF-1 Valkyrie in Macross and Robotech), with his Diaclone mechs later providing the basis for Transformers.
The Transformers TV series began around the same time; it was produced by Sunbow Productions and Marvel Productions, later Hasbro Productions. In the second season, the two-part episode "The Key to Vector Sigma" introduced the ancient Vector Sigma computer, which served the same original purpose as the Creation Matrix (giving life to Transformers), and its guardian Alpha Trion.
In 1986, the cartoon was followed by the film The Transformers: The Movie, which is set in the year 2005. It introduced the Matrix as the "Autobot Matrix of Leadership", as a fatally wounded Prime gives it to Ultra Magnus; however, as Prime dies he drops the matrix, which is then caught by Hot Rod. Unicron, a Transformer who devours planets, fears its power and re-creates a heavily damaged Megatron as Galvatron, as well as Bombshell or Skywarp becoming Cyclonus, Thundercracker becoming Scourge and two other Insecticons becoming Scourge's huntsmen, the Sweeps. Eventually, Hot Rod is able to harness the power of the Matrix, becoming Rodimus Prime, and destroys Unicron. In the United Kingdom, the weekly comic book interspliced original material to keep up with U.S. reprints, and The Movie provided much new material. Writer Simon Furman proceeded to expand the continuity with movie spin-offs involving the time travelling Galvatron.Simon Furman (w), Jeff Anderson, Geoff Senior, Will Simpson, Ron Smith (p), "Target: 2006" The Transformers (U.K) #78-88 1986-09-13 - 1986-11-22 Marvel UKSimon Furman (w), Andrew Wildman, Robin Smith, Dan Reed, Lee Sullivan (p), "Time Wars" The Transformers (U.K) #199-205 1989-01-07 - 1989-02-18 Marvel UK The Movie also featured guest voices from Leonard Nimoy as Galvatron, Scatman Crothers as Jazz, Casey Kasem as Cliffjumper, Orson Welles as Unicron and Eric Idle as the leader of the Junkions (Wreck-Gar, though unnamed in the movie). The Transformers theme tune for the film was performed by Lion with "Weird Al" Yankovic adding a song to the soundtrack.
The third season followed up The Movie, with the revelation of the Quintessons having used Cybertron as a factory. Their robots rebel, and in time the workers become the Autobots and the soldiers become the Decepticons. It is the Autobots who develop transformation. Due to popular demand, Optimus Prime is resurrected at the conclusion of the third season, and the series ended with a three-episode story arc. However, the Japanese broadcast of the series was supplemented with a newly produced OVA, Scramble City, before creating entirely new series to continue the storyline, ignoring the 1987 end of the American series. The extended Japanese run consisted of The Headmasters, Super-God Masterforce, Victory and Zone, then in illustrated magazine form as Battlestars: Return of Convoy and Operation: Combination. Just as the TV series was wrapping up, Marvel continued to expand its continuity. It follows The Movie'''s example by killing Prime and Megatron, albeit in the present day. Dinobot leader Grimlock takes over as Autobot leader. There was a G.I. Joe crossover and the limited series The Transformers: Headmasters, which further expanded the scope to the planet Nebulon. It led on to the main title resurrecting Prime as a Powermaster.
An animated series and toyline complimented Transformers: Generation 2, though the former mostly consisted of repackaged versions of Generation 1 episodes.
In 2009, Shout! Factory released the entire G1 series in a 16-DVD box set called the Matrix of Leadership Edition. They also released the same content as individual seasons.
Beast Wars and Beast Machines (1996–2000)Beast Wars was conceived as a reboot of the Transformers mythos following lackluster sales of the preceding Generation 2 line. It was accompanied with a toyline and an animated series, the latter of which won a Daytime Emmy Award.
The story focuses on a small group of Maximals (the new Autobots), led by Optimus Primal, and Predacons, led by Megatron, 300 years after the "Great War". After a dangerous pursuit through transwarp space, both the Maximal and Predacon factions end up crash landing on a primitive, uncivilized planet similar to Earth, but with two moons and a dangerous level of Energon (which is later revealed to be prehistoric Earth with an artificial second moon, taking place sometime during the 4 million year period in which the Autobots and Decepticons were in suspended animation from the first episode of the original Transformers cartoon), which forces them to take organic beast forms in order to function without going into stasis lock. After writing this first episode, Bob Forward and Larry DiTillio learned of the G1 Transformers and began to use elements of it as a historical backstory to their scripts, establishing Beast Wars as a part of the Generation 1 universe through numerous callbacks to both the cartoon and the Marvel comic. By the end of the first season, the second moon and the Energon are revealed to have been constructed by a mysterious alien race known as the Vok.
The destruction of the second moon releases mysterious energies that make some of the characters "transmetal" and the planet is revealed to be prehistoric Earth, leading to the discovery of the Ark. Megatron attempts to kill the original Optimus Prime, but at the beginning of the third season, Primal manages to preserve his spark. In the two-season follow-up series, Beast Machines, Cybertron is revealed to have organic origins, which Megatron attempts to stamp out.