2005 IDW timeline
From Transformers Wiki
This article is a featured article, and considered to be one of the most informative on this wiki.
Beginning as a simple reimagining of the traditional Generation 1 continuity family under the pen of Simon Furman, the 2005 IDW continuity evolved over the course of thirteen years into the single longest-running continuity in the history of the Transformers brand, spanning numerous ongoings, miniseries, and one-shots. Almost every work from 2005 to 2018 ties into the overarching timeline, telling a single unified story that starts at the dawn of time, moves through to the Great War and eventually into a new era of post-war reconstruction. Naturally, such a long-running work of fiction is bound to contain occasional storytelling and artistic inconsistencies, though certain writers have actively sought to correct these mistakes over the course of their careers.
In 2016, IDW Publishing announced the formation of the Hasbro Universe, a shared comic continuity retroactively encompassing the Transformers, G.I. Joe, other Hasbro properties such as Rom the Space Knight, and, in a stranger development, the events of the largely forgotten Hearts of Steel miniseries. For the sake of completion, all those events are covered in this timeline... though some adjustments are required to make them fit.[1]
Contents |
1,000,000+ years ago
5 billion BCE
The planet Cybertron is formed around this time; later religions will hold that the creation of the planet was divinely ordained by the Transformer god Primus. Crisis Intervention
4.5 billion BCE
The planet Earth forms. Crisis Intervention
16 million BCE
The Stentarian civil war begins, pitting the heroic Terradores against the villainous Ammonites. Little Victories Their war precipitates the disastrous Shattering, necessitating the creation of the Galactic Council to stabilize the galaxy and govern the planets who join its ranks. You, Me, and Other Revelations
12 million BCE
According to legend, the very first Cybertronian, in the land that will one day become Iacon, realizes that he can transform. How to Say Goodbye and Mean It This first Transformer is Primus; though later religions will remember him as an omnipotent warrior-god, the "true" Primus is a humble robot much like any other, distinguished solely by his ability to generate the photonic crystals capable of storing sparks. The Unremembering At some point after his creation, he is joined by four others like him: Mortilus, Adaptus, Solomus, and Epistemus. The five are present for the first activation of Cybertron's twelve hot spots, which birth the first true generation of Transformers. The five become known as the "Guiding Hand". Primus is able to use his alternate mode to compress multiple photonic crystals together, creating the Matrix of Leadership. The Unremembering
The creation and subsequent proliferation of the Transformer race leads to the planet's first golden age. You, Me, and Other Revelations Primus supposedly delivers the Prime Pastoral at the future site of Crystal City. Origin Myths The peace lasts until the ambitious Adaptus—worried that their perfect society will only lead to stagnation—encourages Cybertron to wage war against the rest of the galaxy, to encourage growth; when the other four members of the pantheon refuse, the conflict leads to the "God War", pitting the four allies against their treacherous brother. Epistemus is killed in the conflict, and Adaptus—routed but not defeated—flees to Luna 1, where he blasts the planet with an electromagnetic pulse designed to erase the memories of Cybertron's inhabitants and leave them disoriented while he makes his escape. Primus attempts to absorb this same blast, but is only partially successful; he and the other surviving members of the Guiding Hand forget their true identities, with Primus being rendered "compulsively forgettable", and the fallout gives rise to the neurological condition known as "information creep". The Unremembering
Adaptus escapes Cybertron by installing thrusters on Luna-1 and leaving the planet through the Warren. In the meantime, the Cybertronian race, left with only hazy memories of their origins, create new myths based on half-remembered truths; in these stories, Mortilus, supposedly the "god of death", is cast as the treacherous member of the Guiding Hand, whose "death" at the hands of "Primus" rendered the Cybertronian race immortal while giving rise to the Matrix, the brain module and transformation cog, and Vector Sigma. The Unremembering You, Me, and Other Revelations
The first generation of Cybertronians present to witness these supernatural feats supposedly go on to become the mythical Knights of Cybertron, You, Me, and Other Revelations who go on to turn the planet into a paradise. Among their many feats involve defeating the monstrous Trypticon, rumored to be a creation of Mortilus, Salvation alongside Metroplex, the First Titan. Trypticon's body is sealed away beneath the Toraxxis Plains. The Illusion of Control
Eventually, after turning Cybertron into a utopian haven for both the mind and spirit, the Knights leave Cybertron to spread enlightenment aboard a fleet of Titans, taking the Matrix of Leadership with them. You, Me, and Other Revelations They never return, Predestination: A Beginner's Guide though some later evidence suggests that the Knights split into different clans during their voyage across the galaxy. How Bright Their Frail Deeds Most successive generations of Cybertronians do not believe in the Knights as concrete beings, instead viewing them as mythological folk heroes. Dark Dawn
Having fled Cybertron, Adaptus exploits the strange properties of the Warren to travel many millions of years into the future; there he witnesses a terrible sight of a gigantic, false effigy to Primus ravaging the galaxy. In order to prevent this fate from coming to pass, he returns to his own era of history, setting up Luna One as a new base of operations for himself and his clan of followers while building a new network of contacts designed to prevent this terrible future from coming to pass. In this new role, he dubs himself the "Grand Architect". and adopting the motto "prepare, confront, [and] repel". The Unremembering The Return of the King
Deprived of the benevolent leadership of the Knights of Cybertron, Cybertron regresses into a primitive state of barbarism, reverting to a new Dark Age as early Cybertronian civilization splinters into a multitude of competing tribes and societies. Origin Myths As a result of the destruction of his chronal drive, the Decepticon Shockwave is flung twelve million years into the past from the moment of his defeat in the year 2013. Grievously injured, he spends years wandering the barbarian land until he is found by a peaceful "shepherd" named Onyx, who Shockwave recognises as the Cybertronian who will one day be known as Onyx Prime. Shockwave murders Onyx and takes on his identity; he also takes control of Onyx's "flock" of mostly beast-mode Cybertronians, taking one particularly fearless individual under his wing as a student and naming him "Megatronus".
Inspired by a previous encounter in his youth, Shockwave uses his knowledge of future events to manipulate history on a grand scale, guiding it along the course he learned in his youth, while simultaneously manipulating those around him in the hopes of analyzing why his species falls to civil war; The First Who Was Named eventually, Shockwave determines that the only hope for his race's future is to destroy its past, and sets about creating every facet of its culture and religion so that he can, in time, reveal it as a falsehood and build a new civilization on a blank slate. Unforgivable
Prominent tribal leaders soon arise, chief among them the Primes. Five of these Primes—Solus, Nexus, Alchemist, Vector, Alpha Trion and their followers—join forces to commemorate Primus by founding the small village of Crystal City. Around the same time, Megatronus—now a powerful warlord in his own right—aims to expand his territory of the Darklands, and after invading and annexing Protohex he recruits the twin gladiators Galvatron and Arcee, who slay their capricious master Septimus Prime and pledge allegiance to Megatronus. His legions conquer the Forgotten Plains, but when Megatronus marches on the Crystal City, he is met by the armies of the Primes, bolstered by the Liege Maximo and Onyx Prime's bestial legions. Their fighting awakens the original three Titans before Onyx "realizes" that their enemy is his "old friend" Megatronus, leading to ceasefire and a truce—all of which Onyx planned, having unleashed Megatronus on Cybertron to force an alliance between the tribes that would build Cybertronian society. To celebrate the new alliance, Onyx Prime creates a new flag for Cybertron, supposedly based on the visage of Primus himself, but actually based on his foreknowledge of the symbol of the Autobots. Origin Myths The First Who Was Named
The alliance is joined by five more Primes, and together they become known as the Thirteen, The Crucible each ruling a group of followers that come to be known as the Thirteen Tribes and commanding the loyalty of gigantic Titans and diminutive Titan Masters. White Light The Primes become the archetypes for future Cybertronians to pattern themselves after, Heavy but it doesn't take long before the Thirteen grow drunk on their own arrogance and begin to think themselves above other Cybertronians: indeed, it soon becomes common belief that the Primes are so powerful that only a Prime can kill another Prime. The Crucible Origin Myths
10 million BCE
After leaving Cybertron, the Knights of Cybertron travel the galaxy for many years, "changing and being changed by" the many new alien races they encounter. However, their adventure takes an unfortunate turn when the Knights contract the degenerative disease atrophosia through prolonged contact with organic species; around the same time, their fleet lands on the planet Mederi, a planetary euthanasia clinic. The telepathic aliens who control the planet's illusions reconcile the Knights' homesickness with their desire to explore new worlds by creating a "perfect" Cybertron for them to inhabit, a "Cyberutopia". The Knights, believing they'd found paradise at last, inscribe a map to "Cyberutopia" in the Matrix and send it back to Cybertron before they pass away. You Are Here
8 million BCE
As the Primes govern their planet peacefully, Shockwave, in the guise of Onyx, advises Prima to spread Cybertron's "enlightenment" to other worlds via colonization. Megatronus, Alpha Trion, Arcee, and Galvatron join Omega Supreme and the Omega Sentinels on this mission, the first since the days of the Knights of Cybertron. Their effort to colonize the planet Antilla leads into a brutal war against the native Antillans, which only ends when a desperate Antillan scientist constructs and activates a doomsday weapon that annihilates all life on Antilla, its energies wreaking havoc across the galaxy. In the process, the device reaches out across time and space, drawing on the magic of Prysmos and creating the Dire Wraiths and their dark sorcery from it. The resulting dead world is transformed into the dormant Unicron. Stranger Eons
Inspired by Onyx Prime's rhetoric of galactic expansion, twelve Titans leave Cybertron at or around the same time, each one the former servant of a Prime. First Contact They embark on millennia-long deep space voyages, intending to find and colonize distant worlds in an attempt at spreading Pax Cybertronia across the cosmos. Aphelion These planets include Caminus, Velocitron, Eukaris, A 'Bot and Her City Windblade vol. 2 #6 and Arduria. Ceremony Some of these planets, such as Devisiun, are aggressively cyberformed, crushing the native civilizations in the process. Time Will Rust Eventually, thirteen planets become closely associated with the Cybertronian species, and history will remember them as the "thirteen colonies", each connected to one of the Primes.[2] Aphelion
After the Antillan mission fails, however, Prima blames Megatronus for the expedition's failure; acting on Onyx's orders, Liege Maximo stokes Megatronus's resentment, leading him to turn on Prima. Solus Prime intervenes in the fight to save Prima's life, but is killed by Megatronus with the Star Saber. The First Who Was Named The betrayal ignites tensions between the thirteen tribes and escalates into the First Cybertronian Civil War. The Crucible Heavy Megatronus flees the planet, while Liege Maximo is captured by the Primes and imprisoned within his titan, Vigilem, whom the other Titans deem unworthy of remembrance and exile into space. A repentant splinter of Liege Maximo's old tribe agree to keep their former leader and his Titan permanently interred, renaming their dormant Titan "Carcer". Rubicon Heavy The First Who Was Named
Onyx Prime allies first with Micronus Prime, White Heat and later, Nexus Prime. Onyx and Nexus utilize the Enigma of Combination to create an army of Headmasters: combiners between beast-bots and humanoid Transformers. The Crucible The Mind Bomb The joint faction proves powerful, and the Headmasters see action on distant worlds such as Spindrift. Heart of Darkness #3
Onyx Prime and Prima hunt down Megatronus aboard Prima's Titan Emissary, finding him on the planet Tsiehshi; Megatronus kills Prima before being slain by Onyx, his usefulness to Shockwave's machinations at an end. Emissary carries Prima's body to the stars, but Onyx ensures that he will crash on a faraway planet. On returning, Onyx tells Alpha Trion that Megatronus and Prima slew each other in final battle. Megatronus's name is soon forgotten by history, and he becomes known only as "the Fallen". The First Who Was Named
Disgusted by this fusion between beast-bots and his own kind, Galvatron deserts his post in Megatronus's army to begin his own campaign against the Headmasters—a campaign that ends with him killing Nexus Prime. The Crucible Disgusted by the idea of combination, Galvatron conceals the Enigma to prevent any future combiners from coming into being. The Mind Bomb The Crucible The realization that they are not as invulnerable as they thought provokes many of the Primes to flee Cybertron, with the exception of Alpha Trion. The Crucible Nexus Prime's most devoted servant, a diminutive Titan Master named Infinitus, vows revenge for his master's death and swears allegiance to Onyx Prime before going into hiding. White Light
With the war over and the Primes gone, Trion brings together Galvatron and Prima's follower Nova Major in hopes of reuniting Cybertron. Nova Major agrees, noting that under the principles of functionism, everyone will "know their place". The Crucible
Over time, the surviving members of the Guiding Hand re-emerge under new identities: Solomus as the judge Tyrest, Mortilus as the forensic pathologist Censere, and Primus as the unassuming psychiatrist Rung. The Unremembering Censere is inspired by the death of an an old friend of his to begin a lifelong mission to chronicle the deaths of every Cybertronian; after losing his hometown in the war, he relocates to a distant planet where he sets up a base of operations, equipped with a teleport chamber to allow him to record every fatality. The Not Knowing He is unaware that this "planet" is, in fact, a hollow "mould" used to forge multiple copies of Cybertron, utilized by his former brother Adaptus to create a weapon known as the "God Gun" as part of his ongoing goals. Farsickness Elsewhere, the decapitated head of Epistemus ends up under the care of the Omega Guardians and becomes known as "the Magnificence", an artifact able to immediately and accurately answer any question posed to it. The Unremembering Spotlight: Hot Rod
Eventually, however, the space bridge network between the Titans fails and the colonies are permanently cut off from Cybertron and each other. In their absence, the colonists begin developing their own societies that invariably venerate the Thirteen—and, by extension, all Primes—as deities. Aphelion
7 million BCE
Alpha Trion and Metroplex work together to explore the surface of Cybertron, Omega's Conundrum until the Titan eventually goes dormant beneath the city of Nyon. Ruins
Nova Major declares himself "Nova Prime". Accompanied by Galvatron, Jhiaxus, Cyclonus, and Dai Atlas, he embarks on a quest into the planet's lowermost reaches. There, they discover the ancient Omega Supreme, who allies himself with the Prime in the hopes of returning their wartorn planet to its former glory. With Omega Supreme's aid, Nova Prime ushers in Cybertron's "Golden Age". All Good Things Under his direction, the Cybertronian empire expands into space, with the Primal Vanguard serving as offworld peacekeepers. Hangers On
At some point following the departure of the colony Titans, female Transformers disappear from Cybertron under unknown circumstances. ONoffON Arcee, feeling that her "forged male" status has never been true to her spark, approaches Jhiaxus for help; but though the scientist's experiments in reintroducing female Transformers to the now "genderless" Cybertronian species are broadly successful, the invasive process of altering Arcee's CNA gives her her a "maelstrom of contradictory sensory input", and Jhiaxus abandons his now disoriented and homicidal follower. Spotlight: Arcee Post
6.7 million BCE
Nova Prime aims to further expand the reach of the Cybertronian race and, inspired by the legends of the Knights of Cybertron, begins planning what he calls the "Expansion", a massive wave of interplanetary colonization and conquest aimed at establishing "Pax Cybertronia" across the known galaxy. All Good Things To do so, he requires a fresh generation of new Cybertronians, but, around this time, the life-giving, hot spot-igniting pulse waves of Vector Sigma slow down. Nova tasks a team of scientists, led by Tyrest, with extracting new sparks from the Matrix of Leadership, exponentially boosting the Cybertronian population and dividing Cybertronians along "forged" or "cold constructed" lines. A "first wave" of new Transformers is created; additional Sparks are stored until bodies can be created for them.
The process ends after a scientist has a crisis of conscience, steals the Matrix, and replaces it with a forgery while hiding the real one underground. The team simply assumes that they have bled the Matrix dry and the project is abandoned. The Divided Self Twenty Plus One
Hoping to rediscover the lost art of combination, Nova Prime conspires with Jhiaxus in an attempt to replicate combiner technology, seeking a process that allows sentient minds to be merged into one in the pursuit of peace—eliminating all free will save his own, a society where "all are one". All Good Things Galvatron, still opposed to the existence of combiners, secretly launches Nexus's Enigma of Combination into space to put it beyond Jhiaxus's reach. It lands on Earth, in the region that will one day be known as Mesopotamia. The Crucible
In deep space, Onyx Prime and his Titan Chela make planetfall on Eukaris, an uninhabited jungle world. Using the hot spot within his Titan, Onyx oversees the development of a new civilization of beast mode Transformers, free to live without the stigma surrounding beast modes. He eventually departs, but instructs Chela to guard his colony from any intruding "standard-formers". Windblade vol. 2 #6
Aware of Galvatron's gambit from his past experiences as Shockwave, Onyx correctly deduces that Nexus's artifact has landed on Earth and dispatches a Titan Master named Sovereign to find the artifact and summon the Prime when he had found it. Helden The First Who Was Named
Abandoning his colony world of Prion, Micronus Prime creates and then retreats into the sub-atomic realm of Microspace. White Heat O Ship of State Crisis Intervention
6.5 million BCE
With the Cybertronian population growing exponentially under Nova Prime's program of expansion, Jhiaxus's student Shockwave begins planning for an inevitable energon shortage by developing a self-regenerating energy source. Shockwaves
6 million BCE
After a long period of experimentation, Jhiaxus creates Monstructor from six volunteers. Though physically powerful, Monstructor is also violently insane as a result of the crude combination process, and Nova Prime's enthusiasm for the creature prompts Omega Supreme and Dai Atlas to turn on him. All Good Things
While Omega Supreme is occupied battling the beast, Nova Prime and Jhiaxus depart Cybertron in the first Ark to begin their work, with notable crew members Galvatron, Spotlight: Galvatron Cyclonus, Straxus, Grindcore, Spotlight: Cyclonus and Scourge. Rebirth A young 'bot named Tailgate, born only two weeks previously, is part of the crew responsible for cleaning out the craft's coolant tubes before take-off. Cybertronian Homesick Blues He runs late and tries taking a shortcut across the fragile Mitteous Plateau, which results in him falling into stasis underground for several million years. How to Say Goodbye and Mean It
After a prolonged battle, Omega defeats Monstructor and locks him away in an inter-dimensional prison Spotlight: Optimus Prime and entrusts Metrotitan, one of two remaining Titans on Cybetrtron, to Dai Atlas. Primus: All Good Things The Crystal City is destroyed, but not before Shockwave plants a seed of Ore-14 within. The defeat of Monstructor allows Shockwave to realize that his old teacher had flaws of his own; Shockwave takes up the mantle of his teacher, striving to study and better his erstwhile master's works. Shockwaves Around this time he begins to investigate the history of ancient Cybertron. The Crucible
Nova Prime's Ark is subsequently lost in the Benzuli Expanse, transported to the Dead Universe. All aboard perish and are resurrected as undead creatures to serve the will of the D-Void. Spotlight: Galvatron Genesis
With Nova Prime gone, Cybertron enters a brief period known as the Interregnum. Unaware that it's a fake, Delta Magnus of the Primal Vanguard safeguard the Matrix of Leadership until a new bearer can be found. An Intimate Beheading Cybertron suffers from a lack of energy in the wake of Nova's expansion program, and tensions emerge.
Those who were constructed cold face institutionalized apartheid; Chaos Theory Part 1 although this eventually ends due to mounting public pressure, including mass protests and marches. Twenty Plus One However, intrinsic prejudice against constructed cold Transformers persists in among a sizable percentage of the population. Chaos Theory Part 1
After a period of unrest, Nominus Prime becomes the next Matrix-bearer, though by this point the office of "Prime" is largely subordinate to the new, but increasingly corrupt, Senate. Interiors Chaos Theory Part 1 Life After the Big Bang At some point around this time, Cybertronian datekeeping switches to a New Calendar. Before & After Functionist sentiment becomes an institution of society overseen by the Functionist Council, with robots expected to stick to a single job determined by their alternate mode. Monoformers, those without alt mode, face shape-hate. Interiors Chaos Theory Part 1 Life After the Big Bang Unable to determine what Rung does, the Council classifies him as an "ornament"... Little Victories unaware that the unassuming psychiatrist, is, in fact, Primus. The Unremembering
The Senate use the sinister network of secret facilities known as the Institute root out and quash dissent through mnemosurgical techniques like shadowplay. The Functionist Council becomes fond of subjecting criminals to a barbaric head-and-hand replacement ritual known as empurata. Patternism Shockwave joins the Senate in the hopes of precipitating real change on Cybertron and founds the Jhiaxian Academy of Advanced Technology in memory of his old teacher. Shockwaves
As a result of their increasingly stagnant and moribund society, neighboring alien races start calling the Cybertronians "Autobots": an insult, meaning "automatons". Chaos Theory Part 2
At an unknown point, the Omega Guardians "ascend" to the "Higher Realms", becoming four-dimensional beings. They leave the Magnificence on Ki-Aleta, protected by statue-like automatons. The Ties That Bind Eventually, one of them seeks to return to three-dimensional space through a rift in the Benzene Cluster, but is killed in the attempt, with their four-dimensional corpse becoming the knot of quantum tunnels known as the Warren, spanning all of space and time. Crucible (Part 5): The Unremembering
5 million BCE
The experimental ship Unitrex-1 is commissioned and constructed in the city of Unitrex, designed to house a prototype quantum generator. Before it can launch, time travelling Autobots from the future infiltrate the vessel, searching for a way to recharge their time machine. Hoping to use the ship's engine to provide the necessary jump-start, Rodimus uses Perceptor's knowledge of future quantum science to upgrade the Unitrex-1's generator so that it can perform the task, and retroactively creates the very first quantum generator. A reaction between the case and generator causes the vessel to quantum jump away through time and space. Predestination: An Expert's Guide No Guns, No Swords, No Briefcases
A watchmaker named Whirl attempts to leave the Aerial Corps and follow his true passion as a watchmaker. Though initially successful due to a moderate functionary pemitting the change, the Council catches word of his blasphemy and engineer his downfall via a local criminal syndicate. In the aftermath, he is subjected to empurata, leaving him destitute, and, eventually, he is convinced to join the Senate's security forces. Interiors Patternism Stet Megatron is constructed cold in Tarn, intended to house a spark from the Matrix of Leadership. The same Autobots from the future interfere with his development, extinguishing the original spark. Predestination: An Expert's Guide
The time travel misadventure creates a divergent timeline where Megatron was never constructed at all. Before this alternate universe can overwrite reality, the future Whirl replaces Megatron's spark with a forged Point One Percenter spark harvested from the future. This action returns history to its proper course and gives rise to the first and only "hybrid" Transformer. Predestination: An Expert's Guide Megatron spends his early life hoping to become a medic, The Becoming but the tenets of Functionism means that he instead becomes a miner, working at Nova Point. Towards Peace
Orion Pax is brought online from a sparkfield in Iacon; the blacksmith, impressed with his size, invites Alpha Trion to bear witness to his birth. With many options available to him thanks to his truck alternate mode, Orion joins the Iacon police force, but is disturbed by the violence and cynicism inherent in the system. Post
Sickened by the caste-based brutality of Nominus Prime's Cybertron, Megatron writes a treatise arguing in favor of non-violent dissent and the peaceful exchange of ideas. His ideas prove popular among Cybertron's menial classes, attracting a growing movement that threatens the sovereignty of the Senate. Chaos Theory Part 1
While discussing his ideas with his friend Impactor at Maccadam's New Oil House, the two are caught in a bar brawl Chaos Theory Part 1 accidentally caused by the same time-hopping Autobots from the future. Stet The fight sees both Megatron and Impactor arrested; hoping to use the event to silence Megatron, the Senate send Whirl to visit Megatron's cell to permanently silence him. Chaos Theory Part 1
Orion Pax, now a police captain, manages to arrange for Megatron's release before Whirl can finish him off, saving his life. Orion discovers Megatron's readings, and, moved by them, decides to confront the Senate, deciding to 'reclaim' the slur Autobot as short for "autonomous robot". Orion's diatribe inspires Shockwave, who has been searching for promising young Cybertronians, to befriend the police captain in the hopes of nudging him into bearing the Matrix of Leadership. Shockwave arranges for his release and repair, adding a new Matrix chamber to his chest in the repair process. Chaos Theory Part 2
Megatron, however, comes to the realization that peaceful dissent will not be enough to unseat the Senate—and that violence makes a more powerful statement. Chaos Theory Part 1
Shortly afterwards, several Senators make a grab for more power by ordering an attack on Nominus Prime, using it as an excuse to obtain the Matrix of Leadership and enforce more control over an increasingly unruly Cybertronian populace. During the Primal Procession, Nominus is attacked by a suicide bomber and rendered comatose. The public is told that Nominus is merely in hiding while the Senate investigate the comatose Prime, hoping to use their head of security Sentinel to tap into the power of the Matrix. Post Hoc The Chaos of Warm Things Unbeknownst to all, "Sentinel" is, in reality, a false identity constructed by Infinitus, using his Titan Master powers to disguise himself as a normal Cybertronian. Last Light
Sentinel's attempts prove fruitless, but expose an ancient secret: Nominus Prime's "Matrix" is a fake holdover from the days of Nova Prime's reign. Realizing this, the Senate sees no use keeping the Prime around and kill him, releasing a cover story that he passed away from a rust infection. Thus bolstered, the Senate impose the Clampdown, limiting the rights and social mobilities of all Cybertronians. Ostensibly, this is to root out terrorists and tighten security, in reality, it is an opportunity for Senators to track down and silence those who contest their rule. The injustice proves useful for the growing "Decepticon" movement, basing themselves off Megatron's samizdat writings.
As part of attempts to limit any future Decepticon uprisings, the Senate has Megatron transferred to an offworld mine on Messatine to limit his influence. Post Hoc There, he meets Terminus, an elderly miner who encourages him to keep writing. Terminus helps smuggle each new work back to Cybertron, continuing the spread of the Decepticon movement. The Senate eventually tries to cut the problem off at the source, deploying Froid and Trepan to try and rewire Megatron's mind through shadowplay. Megatron escapes the procedure due to a nearby explosion and subsequent evacuation—in reality, the explosion is caused by Brainstorm jumping backwards through time. Births, Deaths, and Interventions Afterwards Megatron publishes his magnum opus, Towards Peace, which will eventually become the Decepticon manifesto. Towards Peace
As part of a complicated plan to eliminate the threat the Decepticons pose to their social order, Senator Proteus promises to recognize the Decepticons as a legitimate political entity if 10,000 of them register as such, actually a method of gathering names for future shadowplay. Patternism To discredit the growing movement, the Senate intends to stage a bombing that will be pinned on the Decepticons. The scheme is foiled by Orion Pax, Ratchet, and a trio of outliers comprising Skids, Damus and Windcharger. They succeed, but as a repercussion, his friend Senator Shockwave is brainwashed and subjected to empurata and shadowplay by the Institute. An Intimate Beheading Realizing that he has been "liberated" from the constraints of emotions, Shockwave continues his energy research in secret. Shockwaves
Thanks to the influence of the Senate, Sentinel is installed as the new Matrix-bearer and becomes “Sentinel Prime”. Patternism Sentinel reorganizes the Senate's security forces into the Elite Guard, a collection of thuggish bruisers. All Our Parlous Yesterdays Infinitus quietly uses his Titan Master talents to assemble a legion of sleeper agents that will join his side should the need arise, including Red Alert. Prowl joins his security services and eventually becomes Sentinel's second-in-command. Last Light
Hoping to take out the bot responsible for the heist, Sentinel Prime's forces try to track down Orion Pax and his friends, forcing them to go on the run. While on the lam, he meets the ambitious Zeta, another of Shockwave's handpicked wunderkind. All Our Parlous Yesterdays
4.2 million BCE
On Luna Two, Thymesis Energon mining facility workers Frak and Rushcut uncover a Point One Percenter spark beneath the moon's surface, the first in ten generations. The spark will become Overlord's. Remembrance Day
4 million BCE
By this time, Cybertronian society is growing increasingly secular, and as a result the role of the Functionist Council in society has greatly diminished. When the Senate catches wind of a new hand-shaped hot spot in Alyon that seemingly proves the existence of the supernatural Guiding Hand, they send the Elite Guard to secure the site, cover its existence from prying Functionist eyes, and use the newborn sparks within for experimentation. Orion Pax and his fugitives clash with the Senate for control of the hot spot, and with the help of some time-travelling Autobots they are successful in defending the location. All Our Parlous Yesterdays
With Messatine abandoned, Megatron is transferred to Mining Outpost C-12 on Croteus 12. Growing increasingly frustrated with his life, he works there for a period of time until Senator Decimus automates the mine, leaving the miners unemployed. When Decimus and his thuggish police force arrives to announce the closure of the facility, the reaction sparks a riot—and in the chaos, Megatron takes his first life. Megatron Origin #1 Megatron and his fellow miners escape in a shuttle to join the illegal gladiatorial games beneath the city of Kaon. Megatron takes over the games and is approached by Soundwave, an emissary of Senator Ratbat, to cause terror throughout Cybertron. Thousands of new Decepticons join the cause, including the Constructicons, who help rebuild the motley collection of gladiators into full-on warriors. Megatron Origin #2
During this period, Shockwave is approached by Starscream, who brings him before Megatron. Realizing that Shockwave has a goal of his own, but with no interest in what it actually is, Megatron offers the former senator the freedom and resources that the Senate cannot provide. In exchange, Shockwave will use his scientific talents to study and improve on Jhiaxus's technology in the hopes of creating a functioning combiner for the Decepticons. Shockwave accepts the offer, though he notes that it will take a very long time. Shockwaves
Megatron unites his gladiators under the Decepticon banner and arranges their "capture" by Sentinel Prime's forces. Once captured, Starscream and Soundwave's forces massacre the Senate, and release the Decepticons from prison so they can overrun the security force's HQ. Megatron Origin #3 News of the Decepticon uprising reaches Sentinel Prime, and the Prime dons his Apex Armor to make a final stand against the Decepticons in Kaon. He loses the ensuing duel with Megatron, and the Decepticon leader fashions his defeated enemy's armor into a throne. With Kaon now a Decepticon stronghold, the security forces withdraw to Iacon. Megatron Origin #4
Sentinel Prime's body is laid to rest within the Primal Basilica... but while "Sentinel Prime" has publicly perished, Infinitus lives on, and the tiny head-bot abandons his old body and goes into hiding underneath Kaon. Neither the Senate nor the Decepticons are able to explain the mysterious loss of the corpse's head. The Last Autobot
Zeta subsequently steps up as the next Prime. Omega's Conundrum His leadership—relying heavily on pageantry and theatrical displays of force—restores a semblance of order to Cybertron, forcing the Decepticons back underground for the time being. Orion Pax returns to the force, helping to keep the peace in these troubled times; To Walk Among the Chosen he asks Ironhide to teach him how to be a soldier and not just a cop. Old Ways
Orion Pax and Zeta help to reshape Cybertron's disorganized security forces into a counter-terrorism army dubbed the "Autobots". Spotlight: Blurr Zeta begins reorganizing Cybertron in ways large and small, "pushing Cybertronian society as fast as it can go". Future Glories Lost Among other things, he gives more rights to members of the disposable class, a political move spurred in part by the writings and campaigning of noted adventurer and rhetorician Dominus Ambus. Before & After Under his leadership, Zeta brings back the Senate as the "New Senate", but he also secretly resuscitates the Institute and turns it into "The New Institute" for his own uses. Remembrance Day
With the Decepticon movement now publicly recognized as a terrorist movement, Zeta takes numerous actions to root out illegal activity, which eventually leads to shutting down popular venues like racetracks. This temporarily puts star racer Blurr out of the spotlight. Spotlight: Blurr Orion Pax later oversees a hostage exchange with the Decepticons. This is a trick to capture the wise Alpha Trion, so the Decepticons can use him to find a Titan and gain spacebridge technology. Pax prevents this. Spotlight: Orion Pax
Hoist is stranded in the Rust Spot and develops a fear of solitude. Spotlight: Hoist Blurr gets caught in Autobot/Decepticon crossfire, but Orion convinces him to turn his self-confidence to the Autobot cause. Spotlight: Blurr
On the Decepticon side of things, growing tension causes ideological rifts among the community. a sizeable portion of Decepticons maintain that their movement should be one of pacifism, but others—bolstered by Megatron's recent actions—begin preparing for all-out war by amassing weapons from offworld. Behind My Bleeding Back Decepticon gunrunner Hefter finds himself on the wrong side of the law when Zeta's forces crack down on the Decepticons, and his death in police custody sparks a larger inquiry that involves Orion Pax. To Walk Among the Chosen With the help of Prowl and conflicted Decepticon pacifist Jetfire, Orion succeeds in uncovering exposing Needlenose and Horri-Bull's Decepticon cell, but his experiences leave him embittered and ready to go to war against the Decepticons. Feel Safe Without Regrets
A young Cybertronian named Bumblebee joins the Autobots after the Decepticons trick him into delivering explosives through his dreams. Ghost Stories
With war looming on the horizon, Prowl forms an alliance with the neutral scientist Mesothulas. Sins of the Wreckers #3 Together, they create many weapons and devices that will see use in the upcoming conflict, but Prowl eventually has a crisis of conscience and recruits Impactor to dispose of his increasingly depraved comrade. Impactor does so in exchange for having Roadbuster released, but finds himself unable to kill "Ostaros", an artificial Cybertronian created in the lab. Instead, he inducts the young "Transformer" into the Autobots as "Springer". Sins of the Wreckers #5
Megatron holds Declaration Day, officially announcing the commencement of the Great War. Zeta and Orion work to fight back against the Decepticons, but Zeta Prime's ruthlessness pushes him to create the vamparc ribbon, which drains energon from his own citizens and other insurgents. Horrified by his leader, Orion Pax turns on him and forges an alliance with Megatron to overthrow the tyrannical Prime. Autocracy
They succeed, and Megatron kills Zeta in an action later remembered as "the gunshot that killed a civilization". Life After the Big Bang Megatron immediately betrays Orion, casts him into the depths of Cybertron, and declares himself ruler of the planet. Lost underground, Orion discovers the long-lost true Matrix and is turned into Optimus Prime. Optimus uses his new connection with the Matrix to awaken the dormant Metroplex and rally a new army against Megatron's dictatorship. The new army of Autobots drive the Decepticons out of Iacon, setting the stage for all-out war. Autocracy
Wheelie is finally (reluctantly) accepted for a scouting mission and crashlands on LV-117. He spends a period of time getting beaten up by giant spiders, picking his arm out of giant lizard dung, and sending a distress signal.[3] Spotlight: Wheelie
Megatron is overthrown and exiled to Junkion by Scorponok, who destroys Cybertron's last major source of energon and awakens the ancient monster Trypticon. Aided by the Quintesson Pentius, Megatron is able to return and defeat the beast alongside Grimlock. Monstrosity
Alarmed by the energon crisis and escalating hostilities, numerous Cybertronians began evacuating the planet in the Exodus, a mass diaspora of neutrals, conscientious objectors, and other non-participants in the war. Dai Atlas and Tyrest oversee the safe evacuation of approximately 10-20 million refugees. Fallout Among the evacuees are the Circle of Light, who secretly depart Cybertron aboard Metrotitan and establish a hidden city on the planet of Theophany. Drift #2 A group of Mortilus-worshiping neutrals discover the drifting Unitrex-1 near Vela Pulsar. Twenty Plus One They take custody of the abandoned ship for the duration of the war, keeping a mutated Sparkeater aboard docile by feeding it turbofoxes. The Chaos of Warm Things
Megatron revives Trypticon using Pentius's spark and gathers the scattered Decepticon forces for a full-scale assault on the Autobots, but Optimus Prime cleanses him of the Quintesson's influence and captures him, Primacy though he is soon freed by a Decepticon raid. Post
At some point after this, the original Ultra Magnus dies under mysterious circumstances. Hoping to keep the legend of the immortal lawman alive, Tyrest creates the Magnus Armor and recruits load-bearer Autobots to wear it, effectively becoming Ultra Magnus. The Gloaming
With both sides searching for a way to bolster their numbers, Cybertronians discover reserves of cryogenically frozen Sparks created via Nova Prime's Matrix bleeding. These new sparks are used to create new Transformers which become known as "Made to Order" soldiers for specific campaigns in what is later termed the "Silver Harvest". Twenty Plus One
The Decepticons move to conquer several nearby cities, and their string of major victories is remembered as the Fall of the First Five Cities —the conquests of Vos, Tarn, Helex, Kaon, and Tesarus. Life After the Big Bang These cities become the inspiration for the Decepticon Justice Division, who name their five operatives after the cities. Rules of Disengagement
Optimus Prime and Megatron repeatedly clash over the course of the war; their very first showdown at the Battle of Sherma Bridge (2nd Cycle 087) becomes legendary. Chaos Theory Part 1 Early into the war, Optimus Prime turns down Megatron's first and only invitation for an Autobot surrender. How to say Goodbye and Mean It
Ironhide is injured saving Optimus Prime from an assassin. The Iron Age Tyrest attempts to broker peace between the two sides. His efforts ultimately fail, but do result in the creation of the Tyrest Accord, limiting the spread of Transformer technology to other races. House of Ambus
The Autobot-Decepticon war expands beyond Cybertron and encompasses many other worlds, and thousands of battles occur both on and off Cybertron over a period of time. During this period, Shockwave leads a detachment back to Junkion in order to recruit the natives. They are opposed by Prowl; the struggle goes on, neither side able to gain an advantage over the other, until one faction decides to detonate the planet entirely to keep it out of the other's hands. The surviving Junkions, led by Wreck-Gar and Rum-Maj, flee the destruction of their home aboard a gigantic vessel and become galactic nomads. A Lonely Pillar on the Plain
3 million BCE
A battle takes place on the planet Clemency for control of the Nightmare Engine, and a flight of K-Class Decepticons succeed in killing a bearer of the Magnus Armor. The Gloaming
The early phases of the war culminate in the destructive Simanzi Massacre, a cataclysmic battle over the Crucible. Details are unclear, but the fallout from the conflict irradiates a sizeable percentage of the planet while cutting the Cybertronian population in half. Among the casualties is a bearer of the Magnus Armor. The Gloaming The Simanzi Massacre leads to the Forced Flood and the Endless Retaliation. Twenty Plus One
Bolstered by their victories, the Decepticons form the Constellate, marking the peak of Decepticon power. In this brief period, the Decepticons conquer and colonize many worlds, using grandiose weapons of war like the gigantic Worldsweeper-class warships. Who's Afraid of the DJD? The devastation visited on other races is enough to prompt the Galactic Council to permanently blacklist the Cybertronian race, You, Me, and Other Revelations and develop anti-Cybertronian weapons to safeguard their member worlds from future destruction. The Waiting Game
With both sides now defending on-planet and offworld footings, the conflict enters a state of total war as both sides pour all available resources into defeating the other. Optimus and Megatron seal themselves inside omniglobes to direct the war effort. Rules of Disengagement Eventually, the Constellate collapses, marking the decline of the Decepticon's imperial phase. Imperial assets are recalled to Cybertron to fight on the home front. Rules of Disengagement
Skids joins the Autobots as a "bomb negotiator", disabling anti-personal mines. One negotiation session goes wrong and lands him in the notorious Grindcore prison. Speak, Memory: Part 1 There, he befriends Quark and catches the attention of Decepticon Damus—Skids's old friend, now a Decepticon. Damus plays a sadistic game where the Autobot repairs the camp's "teleporter", in reality a smelting chamber, and then kills the fifty Autobots he promised to send away, including Quark. The experience proves traumatic enough for Skids to suppress the memory. Speak, Memory! (Part 2) At some point after this, Damus is promoted and joins the Decepticon Justice Division as "Tarn". Do Not Go Gentle
Skids eventually escapes prison and joins the Autobot Diplomatic Corps, working to persuade other races to support the Autobot cause. Who's Afraid of the DJD?
After several other Magnus Armor wearers succumb to battlefield injuries or ailments, Minimus Ambus becomes the latest and longest-serving bearer of the Armor. The Divided Self The Sound of Breaking Glass
100,000+ years ago
650,000 BCE
Shockwave realises Cybertron will soon die and fully launches Regenesis; using energon as a catalyst, he launches thirteen specific ores at thirteen distant planets.[4] Spotlight: Shockwave Unbeknownst to the younger Shockwave, these planets are the thirteen colonies of Cybertronian legend, an ontological paradox set up years beforehand by his future self in the guise of "Onyx Prime". The Falling, Chapter 4: The Hallowing
500,000 BCE
Shockwave leaves Cybertron to begin examining the fruits of Regenesis. Over the ensuing thousands of years, he discovers that the ores that have formed on the different planets have taken on wildly different attributes, and begins formulating a scheme to use them in conjunction to achieve his dream of fuelling Cybertron forever. Syndromica (1) Alpha Trion takes Metroplex off Cybertron to keep him out of Megatron's hands and investigate Shockwave's plot. Hello Cruel World
Still searching for usable Titan technology, Megatron has a team of Decepticons led by Bludgeon search outer space for Metroplex. Crew member Thundercracker finds the Titan, but has a crisis of conscience and ends up letting him go. The Hunting Party Another member, Waspinator, is able to find and injure another Titan, causing it to teleport to Gorlam Prime where it goes dormant. Homecoming
18,000 BCE
Returning to Antilla aboard the titan Nemesis, Onyx Prime and his Maximals uncover the core of the Unicron device, which he dubs the "Talisman". Our Finest Knowing its destructive potential, Onyx entrusts the device to the Maximal crew of the Axalon, sending them on a deep-space mission to locate the Enigma of Combination in the knowledge that their quest would take them to Earth; Strange Visitors Centurion's profile Onyx's ultimate goal for the Talisman is for it to poison Cybertron and act as bait to draw in and destroy Unicron, leaving the Transformers freed of their past and able to begin again on Earth. Ghost in the Machine Our Finest
10,000 BCE
All this shall happen again
The Dynobots attack a Decepticon-held Energon silo in Sub-Sector-Nine. Maximum Dinobots issue 1 Later, they depart Cybertron to hunt down Shockwave in pursuit of revenge for a past defeat. Spotlight: Shockwave
The Axalon, needing to refuel, stops by prehistoric Earth after tracking the energon surges from Shockwave's experiments. Shockwave, present to check on his work, shoots them down, and the crash scrambles their memories. As an experiment, he brainwashes and retrofits the crew to think they are prominent Autobots and Decepticons so he can run the "Ice Age Wars", a control experiment of the Great War while he studies the Talisman.[5] Hearts of Steel #1 Strange Visitors
8390 BCE
The Ice Age has ended[6] and Ore-13 has started to grow unstable. Shockwave abandons his miniature Great War to stabilize Ore-13 but the Dynobots—seeking revenge and sporting energon-shielded beast modes—have finally tracked him down, and they engage him in combat. While he defeats them, he is deactivated by a failsafe set by Grimlock, as the Dynobots' ship triggers a volcanic eruption which buries all six in what would later become Eureka, Nevada.[7] Spotlight: Shockwave The abandoned Axalon crew fight on for a time, but low energon levels eventually force them all into hibernation in secluded regions. Strange Visitors Megatron assigns Bludgeon to investigate Shockwave's projects Spotlight: Shockwave—and Soundwave to watch over Bludgeon. Spotlight: Soundwave
Tracks is rescued from the Predacons by an unknown Autobot. Spotlight: Jazz
Cliffjumper crashlands on an unnamed planet and spends a period of time there watching over young aliens named Kita and Coll until Kita dies when Cliffjumper is discovered by Decepticons. Spotlight: Cliffjumper
A Decepticon named Deadlock leaves Turmoil's command when he feels disillusioned by what the civil war had become, and he stumbles across the Circle of Light. Drift issue 1 His coming prompts the Circle to raise their hidden city above ground. Drift issue 4
3000 BCE
At some point before this period of time, ancient humans discover the Enigma of Combination. The influence of the Enigma "combines" their thoughts and ideas, allowing them to work together and found the city of Uruk.[8] ONoffON
Sumerians develop an early civilization. Revolutionaries #1 timeline
2560 BCE
The Pyramids are constructed. Revolutionaries #1 timeline Around this time, the Talisman somehow winds up underneath the Tomb of Amtoltec in Dahshur, Egypt. The Secret of the Mummy's Tomb
100+ years ago
Over time, the colony world of Caminus runs low on resources and energon, becoming increasingly isolated from the rest of the galaxy. Windblade #3 At an indeterminate point in time, while Caminus still has functioning interstellar ships, the inhabitants detect an emergency beacon from the planet Antilla; however, the explorers find the planet dead and rusted, and inhabited only by Onyx Prime and his army. Surfeit of Primes The surviving explorers flee back to Caminus, but after some years are followed back there by Onyx, who attacks the village Parvus Oppidum and claims the life of Praesidia Magna, leader of the Torchbearers and one of the explorers. Her subordinate Pyra steps up as leader, Ghost Stories while the Mistress of Flame covers up the attack. Another Mine
603 BCE
The Predators put down local resistance in the Skomiloch Territories. They remain while Skyquake rules a mini-empire there. Snare's personnel evaluation
27 BCE
Octavian establishes the Roman Empire as Emperor Augustus. Revolutionaries #1 timeline
220
The Han Dynasty in Ancient China ends. Revolutionaries #1 timeline
1309
The earliest known Commander of Cobra is inspired by the writings of Cobra agent Dante Alighieri, whose Divine Comedy serves as an allegory for Cobra and its dealings, to expand the organization's pursuits into newly discovered lands and new areas of science and learning. Inferno
1320
Dante completes and publishes the Divine Comedy. Cobra Commander sadly has his old friend poisoned for risking revealing Cobra to the world, concluding that the virtuous future Dante had envisioned for Cobra would never come to be. Inferno Revolutionaries #1 timeline
1408
Fortress Maximus is instated as warden of Garrus-9. Last Light
1516
Runaway blacksmith turned adventurer-archeologist Anode and her conjunx endura Lug travel to Luna Two at the behest of their employer, the mysterious "Grand Architect", in search of a rare piece of "widowed metal". They run afoul of a Decepticon Cybernought, but Censere, as the "Necrobot", intervenes. He spirits Anode away through time and space, but Lug is left behind and perishes. Some Other Cybertron
Arcee, who Anode had offered to help with her trauma from Jhiaxus's experiments, is left even more unstable by her sudden disappearance, Post and ends up on a violent rampage trying to track down Jhiaxus and destroy everything he created; she is eventually stopped by Ultra Magnus, who has her spark extracted and imprisoned in Garrus-9. Spotlight: Arcee
1550
Decepticon scientist Thunderwing comes to the conclusion that Cybertron—between ever-dwindling supplies of energon and the fallout caused by millennia of warfare—will soon be entirely uninhabitable. Believing that the Transformers must find a way to adapt to changing planetary conditions, he develops an upgrade based on "polydermal grafting" procedures. Unfortunately, he uses himself as a test subject for the process and, driven mad, he ends up destroying the planet even faster before perishing.[9] Stormbringer
Shortly after Thunderwing's rampage, Soundwave uses Bombshell to take control of Beachcomber. Beachcomber attempts to assassinate Blaster, leaving him adrift in space. The Decepticons began a massive offensive against the demoralized Autobots. Spotlight: Blaster It's all for naught anyway as the planet is soon abandoned, a lifeless, radiation-saturated wreck. With Cybertron now completely uninhabitable, the war does not abate, but moves permanently off-planet. Stormbringer
Following the loss of Cybertron, the nature of the war changes, becoming a series of cloak-and-dagger operations on alien worlds. The Decepticon war machine reorganizes around the infiltration protocol, a step-by-step process by which Decepticons covertly infiltrate a planet's society and manipulate events to bring it down from within. As part of this process, three of the Warriors Elite are promoted to Phase Sixers, including Overlord—who promptly deserts from the Decepticon army. Last Stand of the Wreckers #2
1586
England creates the original Action Man Programme. Revolutionaries #1 timeline
1610
Galileo charts the moons of Jupiter. Revolutionaries #1 timeline
1700s
Incumbent Magnus Armor wearer Minimus Ambus is critically injured in the line of duty, requiring him to step down as Ultra Magnus for a prolonged period. He is replaced as the armor's wearer by Convoy, a hot-headed Autobot with a disdain for organic life. Shining Armor #5
Around this time, the Prysmosian sorcerer Merklynn, disgusted by his home planet's technological advancements, plots to reverse their technological development and does so by casting a spell that brings the system's three suns into alignment with one another, shutting down machinery across the planet. Cybertron No More In the ensuing "Age of Magic", he and his "Visionaries" keep the peace until catastrophe strikes: as the suns move back out of alignment, the gravitational forces unleashed tear the world apart, and only a handful of Prysmosians escape its destruction. Merklynn goes out into the galaxy in the hopes of finding a new world to colonize: a quest that, eventually, leads him to Earth. Schismatic Though Merklynn believes the de-alignment to have been the fault of his own miscalculations, the true cause was the creation of Unicron, which had harnessed the arcana vast from across time and space, destroying Prysmos in the process. Stranger Eons
1800
Following the deaths of his family at the hands of the Dire Wraiths, Rom K'atsema of Elonia joins the Solstar Order to take the fight to them. On his homeworld, he discovers a mysterious ore, anathema to the Wraiths, that forms itself into a symbiotic armor around his body. The Solstar Order uses this ore to found its order of Space Knights. Cold Fire Revolutionaries #1 timeline
Shortly afterwards, the Dire Wraiths discover Earth, drawn to Shockwave's supplies of Ore-13 to amplify their powerful dark magic. The New Colossus Using their shapeshifting talents, Dire Wraith scouts begin infiltrating the worlds' governments and militaries, preparing for an eventual encounter with the Space Knight. Earthfall, Part 3
1830s
A Galactic Council ship destroys a Camien vessel in the Gray Area. One protoform survives, recovered by Rom and taken to the Solstar Order, where the protoform matures into Stardrive. After some years the Cybertronian joins the Order's Space Knights as a cadet, though she is often excluded and made to feel unwanted thanks to anti-Cybertronian prejudice.
The energon synthesizer the Order have developed for Stardrive draws the attention of Starscream, whose Decepticons ally with the Dire Wraith Vekktral and attack the Orchid Crossing space station in order to claim it. The battle draws the attention of an Autobot ship commanded by Convoy's Ultra Magnus. Shining Armor #1 The ensuing fight sees the Autobots team up with the Solstar Knights to counter the Decepticon/Dire Wraith alliance as both parties battle it out on the frozen world of Xetaxxis, Wraith leader Vekktral using his magic to create monstrous Wraith-Cybertronian hybrids. Shining Armor #3 The battle ends with Starscream destroying the energon synthesizer and sterilizing half of the planet in the process, forcing the heroes to retreat and wiping out Vekktral and his Dire Wraiths. The experience leaves Stardrive unwilling to continue fighting in the Space Knights' war; abandoning her allies, she takes up residence on a distant planet... unaware that she has been infected by a fragment of Wraith biomatter.
Bumblebee returns with the Magnus Armor to the Autobot fleet, where Minimus Ambus—recovered from his injuries—takes up the mantle once more. The Galactic Council and the Solstar Order formally decide to keep to their own sectors of space rather than getting caught up in each other's wars, while Starscream determines that the Dire Wraiths are too dangerous to risk allying with—and the Wraiths themselves decide to rely on their magic rather than turning to technology in future. Shining Armor #5
1867
Nearly two feet and a half across his breast
He'd hammer with a nine-pound hammer all day
And never get tired and want to rest
Still believing themselves to be the Autobots and Decepticons, the lost Maximals are roused from their slumber by human activity sometime in the late 19th century.[10] Centurion (believing himself Bumblebee) awakens to the sound of John Henry laying railroad track. While Centurion takes the form of a steam locomotive and makes contact with John Henry and his friends, the brainwashed "Shockwave" fools disgraced scientist Tobias Muldoon into helping him create a "Golden Age" of progress. Hearts of Steel #1 Hearts of Steel #2
Muldoon realizes he's been tricked in time and manages to alert mankind by reaching Mark Twain, helped by "Ravage" following him and Twain defeating him. Hearts of Steel #3 Human industrialists Vanflint and Jacob Lee Bonaventure collaborate with the Decepticons in Muldoon's place, while John Henry and his friends join the Autobots in heading out to stop the Decepticon's "Astrotrain" reaching New York City (running through United States Army blockades). The Autobots fight a running battle down the railroad tracks before knocking the Astrotrain, and the human collaborators riding it, off a cliff. With the threat over, the "Autobots" return to their slumber. Hearts of Steel #4 Strange Visitors
1887
Dormant Maximals are found by the Deep Ones that lurk in our oceans and taken to their unearthly city to join the forces of a slumbering Elder God. Infestation 2: The Transformers #1
1888
Shipping is being sunk by the fishy foes and their "Seacon" slaves, and "Ironhide" (riding the USS Miskatonic) identifies the threat. The steam-powered "Autobots" are rallied again and seek 1,000,000 volts to power up "Optimus Prime" (actually Domitius Major) with the help of Muldoon and Nikola Tesla, but Port Cenotaph, Canada is overrun before they reach it. Infestation 2: The Transformers #1 Domitius Major is awoken just as a combined naval fleet of the world's powers reaches Port Cenotaph and runs into the Elder God. Domitius Major joins the battle and wounds the Elder God badly enough to provoke a retreat, leaving the Royal Navy bemused and questioning Tesla and Muldoon. Infestation 2: The Transformers #2
1900s
Over the course of his travels, Sixshot is challenged by the alien Reapers. He refuses to join them. Spotlight: Sixshot Hot Rod leads a team to secure the Magnificence. Doubledealer, posing as an Autobot, sabotages the raid. Hot Rod hides the Magnificence. He later infiltrates the Decepticon penal colony Styx to rescue "Dealer", who befriends him. Spotlight: Hot Rod
Meanwhile, Kup and Outback crash-land on the planet Tsiehshi, one of Shockwave's Regenesis test planets. The barren, uncharted planet is covered with radioactive crystals of Ore-8. Outback is killed in the crash, and Kup is slowly driven insane by the radiation. Spotlight: Kup
The massacre at Babu Yar takes place, which sees the deployment of the controversial bioweapon Gideon's Glue against Flame's Autobots. Bullets
1914-1919
The Maximal Autobots are, by this time, slowly dying off, though several beginning to shake off their reconditioning and realizing that they are not who they believed themselves to be. Several of the Maximals try to find the Talisman and perish in the attempt. World War I breaks out on Earth, and Domitius Major and Centurion stumble on a battleground. Seeing real conflict causes their artificial memories of the Great War to unravel; Domitius perishes, but Centurion, confused and enraged, dedicates the remainder of his life to hunting down and killing the remaining Maximals on Earth. Strange Visitors
1941
Merklynn—who has arrived on Earth at some point before this time—has forged a human disguise and a new alter-ego as "Garrison Kreiger". Hoping to plot a new course, he joins the US army at the beginning of World War II. One Unholy Machine
Robert Steven Savage also joins the military; after going above and beyond the call of duty in Galibi, he receives a crack team of his own to command: the elite Screaming Eagles. Sgt. Savage profile
1943
With Garrison "Blitz" Kreiger now serving as an officer on the Screaming Eagles, the unit is deployed to fight in Kalistan. They are startled to find robot drones—in reality, creations of the Talisman—fighting for the Axis. Garrison Kreiger, recognizing them as the work of alien magic, becomes fascinated by them. The Secret of the Mummy's Tomb
1944
In the winter of 1944, Centurion tracks the last of the Axalon crew—"Shockwave"—to his hiding place in France. The two battle one another, and are witnessed by the Screaming Eagles, who have arrived in France to help out the local resistance. Centurion defeats his foe and takes his gun as a trophy. Centurion asks for their help in tracking down his old starship so that he can die in peace, and although Kreiger is horrified at the prospect of the "mechanical hell" the Maximals embody, he convinces Savage to assist the alien... and so that he can learn more about the IRON Troopers.
The trio eventually locate the Axalon's frozen remains in Brasnya, but are unprepared for an IRON Trooper ambush, or the sight of the robots puppeteering Domitius's corpse to attack the group. Though Centurion defeats his reanimated commander, energies unleashed by the Talisman caused the ship to vanish, with taking Sgt. Savage with it. A confused and upset Centurion agreed to assist Kreiger, who spends the next several decades grooming him as he begins a decades-long search for the Talisman. Strange Visitors
1960s
Disabled amateur sleuth Mike Power accidentally stumbles on a ring of Brasnyan spies smuggling alien technology into the United States. Their plan is foiled by British super-spy Action Man, who offers Power some words of encouragement. Bolstered by this praise, he goes on to study some of the technology he surreptitiously recovers from their base and eventually builds himself a new set of prostheses. Power and Glory
1982
After serving with the Green Berets, Joseph B. "Joe" Colton is selected to join the Adventure Team, an crack team of American operatives. Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook #1 He serves alongside elite military assets such as Stalker and Miles "Mayhem" Manheim. Secret Raiders They are eventually joined by superpowered operatives including Bulletman and Mike Power, now calling himself the "Atomic Man". The Secret of the Mummy's Tomb Power and Glory As "G.I. Joe", Colton and the Adventure Team enjoy numerous globetrotting escapades, on one occasion meeting Action Man. Secret Raiders
1984
Soundwave is sent to investigate Bludgeon's activities on Earth Spotlight: Soundwave but first makes a detour to Egypt to investigate unusual energy readings.
Kreiger, having spent decades scouring the Earth for alien artifacts, finally tracks the Talisman to its resting place in the Tomb of Amtoltec and goes to retrieve it, disposing of his guide along the way. A few days later, the Adventure Team is deployed to rescue him. The team battles IRON Troopers and runs afoul of Soundwave before before discovering Kreiger and the Talisman. The Talisman upgrades Mike Power's cybernetic limbs; thus empowered, the team is able to see the Decepticon off and recover the Talisman, entrusting it to British intelligence. The Secret of the Mummy's Tomb
Soundwave returns to his main mission on Earth, but is deactivated when Bludgeon, after some of Shockwave's Regenesis ore—which he calls "ultra-energon"—triggers the eruption of Mount St. Helens.[11] Spotlight: Soundwave
1985
Soundwave, Ravage and Laserbeak are excavated by Skywatch. Interest is taken in the cassettes, found in "robot mode", but Soundwave, in cassette player mode, is apparently discarded. Spotlight: Soundwave
1988
Scorponok lands on the backwater planet Nebulos. The latest in a series of flagrant violation of the Tyrest Accords, he develops a working relationship with Mo Zarak and the Zarak Consortium as part of his modus operandi. The duo develop a variation of the Headmaster process involving hybridizing Nebulans and Cybertronians. Ultra Magnus tracks Scorponok to Nebulos, but despite taking severe damage, the Decepticon escapes.[12] Spotlight: Ultra Magnus
Tyrest constructs the supercomputer/judging machine Aequitas, based on Mesothulas' old designs. Sins of the Wreckers #3 The Aequitas trials begin, a catalog of Autobot atrocities. House of Ambus What nobody but Tyrest knows is that every Autobot on trial is "constructed cold", a process he'd help develop. The revelation is enough to gnaw at his conscience, and eventually Tyrest vanishes from the public eye. The Divided Self
Skids eventually moves to Prowl's covert Special Operations, necessitating faking his own death. Hangers On Partnered with Getaway, he is sent to "assassinate" the rogue Tyrest by using a nudge gun to implant the impulse to resign in the Chief Justice's increasingly disturbed mind. The plan fails, and Skids barely manages to escape. Aboard his escape craft, he uses the gun to erase his own memory before setting the shuttle to hone in on the coordinates of his handlers, the Duobots. Arm the Lonely
1990
Obsessed with defeating Squadron X, the Wreckers track them down to the planet Pova. After capturing them, Impactor is ordered to release them due to a technicality. Instead, he executes the prisoners, and as a consequence is himself imprisoned in Garrus-9. Springer subsequently takes over leadership of the Wreckers. Last Stand of the Wreckers Bullets
After a disastrous mission, a despairing Mike Power turns to Kreiger to further upgrade his limbs. Power disappears from the public eye as Kreiger, hoping to use Power for his own ends, experiments on him further. Power and Glory Though deprived of their most powerful member, Joe Colton reorganizes the team into the totally radical "Adventure Force". When Eagles Scream
1994
After years of augmentation to his body by Garrison Kreiger, Mike Power reactivates the Talisman, causing a surge of energy and the reappearance of both the Axalon and a confused Sgt. Savage. Before explanations can be provided, the Adventure Team—now rechristened the "Adventure Force"—storm the facility to shut down Krieger's experiments; team member Stalker does not detect any signs of life from Mike Power's body, and the team is incorrectly left to believe that Power has died. When Eagles Scream
Over the following decade, the time-displaced Sgt. Savage goes on to have many totally radical adventures, teaming up with the contemporary Action Man's Team Extreme and fighting ninja, mutants eco-terrorists, and skateboard gangs! When Eagles Scream
1997
Alpha Trion and Metroplex return to Cybertron. Hoping to return the planet to habitability, Alpha Trion slowly begins cleaning Cybertron's polluted atmosphere.[13] Any Old Iron
1999
A genius psychologist serving in the United States military murders his family and deserts the army, taking with him a cache of explosives and ordnance. Over the seven years that follow, he goes on to build a fortune on pyramid schemes as a Wall Street broker. G.I. Joe: Origins #1
2000s
At some point, a mission by incumbent Action Man Mike Brogan prevents the Action Man Programme's nemesis Doctor X from using a chemical compound to mutate college students. In the mission's aftermath, the head of intel for the Action Man Programme Mercy Gale discovers the body of Doctor X in the wreckage caused by Action Man's entry, and, covering up his death, takes his place as the new Doctor X in order to effect real change instead of just reacting to supervillains' schemes. Mr Love and Justice
2001
The current era of Transformer activity on Earth begins. Starscream heads a unit on Earth as part of the now-standardized infiltration protocol, and the Autobots retaliate by deploying an Autobot cell led by Prowl. Infiltration #1 Advance scout Jazz is the first Autobot to make planetfall, What It's Really Like and is eventually joined by the rest of Prowl's team aboard the Ark-19. Infiltration #1
Conspiracy theorists like Hunter O'Nion begin searching for evidence of extraterrestrials after the anomalous "Buchanan crop manifestations" in Iowa. Infiltration #1
The Cybertronians discover that Earth is not as unaware of their presence as they might have thought—the Decepticons become aware of the Machination. In reality, this is merely a front for Scorponok's latest operation, intending to build off his Headmaster research on Nebulos in the hopes of supplying himself, by this point reduced to little more than a ruined head, with a new body. Escalation
2006-7
Shockwave's hand is discovered in an excavation in Nevada. Spotlight: Shockwave News of the dig reaches the conspiracy theorists but is considered a fringe theory, the "paleo-purists". Infiltration #1
General Clayton Abernathy—codenamed "Hawk"—forms the Joint Services Special Counterterrorist Group, a secretive counter-terrorism unit whose members are taken from the most elite members of the military and legally declared dead for secrecy. His first recruits are Shana O'Hara, given the name Scarlett, and the former Adventure Team member Lonzo "Stalker" Wilkison. G.I. Joe: Origins #1 Crisis Intervention
Joshua Red and Skywatch bring in Joe Colton and Garrison Kreiger to run their Mount St. Helens base, Project: Hot House. The Skywatch team manages to revive the incapacitated Decepticon Bugly, but the Transformer escapes, bringing him into conflict with Hawk's newly formed team; meanwhile, Sgt. Savage arrives in response to a priority distress beacon sent by Colton and Kreiger. Kreiger's ally Centurion defeats Bugly and brings the Decepticon, the Joes and Savage back to the base, and inside, Kreiger has Centurion chain Bugly to the Talisman and throw Savage at it, destroying the Decepticon and flinging Savage into the future once more; the destruction of Bugly proves to Colton and Kreiger that the Talisman can be used as a weapon. When Eagles Scream
From the Dead Universe, Galvatron lures Nightbeat to the rapidly-evolving world of Gorlam Prime and implants a device in his brain. Spotlight: Nightbeat
On Earth, Starscream's infiltration unit discover ripe samples of Shockwave's Regenesis ore, dubbing it "Ore-13". In Arizona, wandering drifter Verity Carlo steals a palm computer from a travelling businessman, unaware that her victim is really an agent of the Machination. Possessing a record of Cybertronian activity on Earth makes her, Hunter, and Jimmy Pink targets of the Decepticons, prompting Ratchet to intervene. Infiltration #0 Infiltration #1 Ratchet brings them back to the Autobot base, and, learning that the Decepticons have preemptively initiated "siege mode", brings the humans along to investigate their abandoned base in Nebraska. Infiltration #4
Tore me apart
You've been
Thunderstruck!
The humans discover that Megatron has come to Earth; Megatron learns from the base's old files that Starscream plans on overthrowing his leader using Ore-13. Disgusted by the power games—and infuriated when Blitzwing and Skywarp accidentally bomb their old base with him inside—Megatron sets off to the new command bunker in Oregon to retake command. Megatron quickly puts down Starscream's insurrection and announces the beginning of "phase 2". Infiltration #6
Hawk's next recruit to his elite team is Sergeant Conrad Hauser, given the new name "Duke", selected for his heroic defense of a supply convoy in Trucial. In or Out? At around the same time, the former psychologist who deserted the army has his finances ruined by the collapse of one of his pyramid schemes; visiting a Las Vegas plastic surgery clinic, he has his face reconstructed in order to build a new life, but is recognised by his former military ally Snake Eyes. The man blows up the clinic to erase the evidence of his new identity, but Snake Eyes survives and is recruited by G.I. Joe. G.I. Joe: Origins #1 Revolutionaries #1 timeline The team manage to kill this "Chimera" and prevent the release of a nerve toxin in 10 major cities, but have no time to also stop the release of financial information that would trigger a subprime mortgage crisis. Origins #5
In the aftermath of their first mission, the team takes the abandoned base Chimera was operating out of as their headquarters, and is informally named "G.I. Joe" after Joe Colton, with his blessing. Origins #5 Secret Raiders Not long afterwards, Sergeant Marvin Hinton manages to track his cousin—a founding member of G.I. Joe codenamed Heavy Duty—to the base after assuming him to be dead, and is inducted into the team himself under the codename of Roadblock. G.I. Joe vol. 3 #11
Orbiting the dead husk of Cybertron, the crew of the Calabi-Yau pick up an anomalous energy burst. Jetfire and several Technobots investigate the strange readings and discover that Bludgeon has used his "ultra-energon" to reanimate Thunderwing's corpse. Stormbringer #1 Thunderwing lays waste to Nebulos and overruns the Decepticon cell already located on the planet before returning to Cybertron. Stormbringer #3 Optimus Prime calls in the Wreckers to combat the threat, and bringing their full firepower to bear the Autobots blast Thunderwing until he runs out of energon. Jetfire analyzes Bludgeon's files and discovers information related to Earth and the Regenesis project. Stormbringer #4 The news prompts Optimus to set course for Earth, and he arrives shortly after Megatron removes Starscream from command. Infiltration #6
Meanwhile, Soundwave, still trapped in his alternate mode, is purchased from a pawn shop. Spotlight: Soundwave Springer orders a costly mission to rescue the stranded and demented Kup, whose Spark is beginning a fatal meltdown. They eventually succeed, but not without taking significant losses at the hands of the elderly Autobot, who mistakes his rescuers for zombies. Spotlight: Kup
Shortly after Megatron arrives on Earth, Ramjet joins the Decepticon's Earth unit. Megatron initiates a plan to increase political unrest on Earth using technology stolen from Doctor Doom. Facing resistance from the Autobots and Avengers, the Decepticons initiate mirror response mode and boost their powers by tapping into Spider-Man's superhuman abilities. Megatron's plan is thwarted by the Autobots and Avengers, helped in part by Ramjet's increasing disloyalty to Megatron. Man and Machine
While returning the humans to their normal lives, Machination forces successfully tail and capture Sunstreaker and Hunter O'Nion while incapacitating Ironhide Escalation #1 Prime, Jazz, and Wheeljack join Ironhide to search for the attackers. Meanwhile, the Decepticons proceed to phase two by activating numerous facsimile sleeper agents within world governments to further destabilize human society. Escalation #1
The Decepticons use their facsimiles to, among other things, escalate tension between Brasnya and Russia. The Autobots intervene, and Prime summons Hot Rod, Hardhead, and Nightbeat to Earth. Escalation #3 During the battle, Prime is nearly killed and encounters the form of Nova Prime within infraspace as he shunts his consciousness into his trailer. Escalation #6
G.I. Joe agent Mainframe, bed-bound after an injury in the field, discovers consistent references to "Cobra" in various terrorist communications. Unable to convince his superiors of his theory that Cobra is a major player driving the happenings of the terrorist underworld, Mainframe goes AWOL in order to investigate Cobra alone. As a parting message, he warns the Joes to "beware Rangoon". Origins #7
Ironhide, Ratchet, Jimmy, and Verity continue to search for Sunstreaker's disappearance, but Ironhide is severely damaged in the process and left behind. Unbeknownst to them, Sunstreaker and Hunter are sent to surgical prep to test the Machination's binary bonding process. Escalation #4
Skywatch takes over the excavation of Shockwave and the Dinobots, while also reactivating and reprogramming Ravage and Laserbeak into loyal Skywatch operatives. Escalation #5
With Megatron's other forces busy, Ramjet initiates an ambitious plan to overthrow the Decepticon leader and seize control of the Decepticons, involving, among other things, a group of jive-talking Mini-Constructicons. His bungled plan ends when Megatron returns from Brasyna, beats him to death, and throws his parts across the globe. Spotlight: Ramjet
Blaster is found drifting in space and returned to the Autobot fold. As he reintegrates into the Autobot command structure, he helps free Beachcomber from Decepticon control. Spotlight: Blaster
Optimus Prime briefly leaves Earth to meet with the ancient warrior Omega Supreme, from whom he learns more about Nova Prime and the nature of Nova's original quest. Optimus winds up defeating and capturing Monstructor, and he sends the "Monstructor Six" into the care of Fortress Maximus on Garrus-9. Spotlight: Optimus Prime Around this time, Wheelie's original distress signal from LV-117 finally reaches Autobot space... only to be ignored due to more pressing concerns. Spotlight: Wheelie
Galvatron briefly leaves the Dead Universe to travel to Cybertron to retrieve Thunderwing's body, defeating Hound's unit on the way. He takes his trophy to Gorlam Prime. Spotlight: Galvatron
Banzaitron initiates an attack on the Autobot prison facility at Garrus-9 in an attempt to free the long-imprisoned Monstructor team. Realizing that they need another of Jhiaxus's creations to track down the unpredictable escapees, Fortress Maximus takes a gamble by releasing Arcee and sending the warrior-bot after them. Spotlight: Arcee
His defeat at the hands of Optimus Prime turns Megatron's behavior increasingly erratic, and so the Earth-bound Decepticons reactivate Starscream to help deal with the problem. Hoping to get an edge over Optimus Prime, Megatron summons Sixshot to Earth, violating the infiltration protocol. Sixshot, though internally conflicted, follows orders and opens fire on the Autobot assets stationed on the planet, destroying the Ark-19. He is, however, followed by the Reapers. Devastation #1
Wheeljack and Hot Rod attempt to rescue Ironhide but are attacked by the Machination's army of mass-produced Sunstreaker clones. With Hardhead's help, they defeat them and rescue Ironhide. Devastation #5 Devastation #6
Meanwhile, Hunter awakens at Machination headquarters and finds Sunstreaker's head. He undergoes the Headmaster process as Abraham Dante does the same with Scorponok. Stealing a spare clone body, he links with Sunstreaker's mind to become a Headmaster and uses his new body to escape the facility. However, the Machination takes Sunstreaker's real head. The hybrid Sunstreaker/O'Nion entity agrees to search for Sunstreaker's real head in the hopes of undoing the process. Devastation #6
From the Dead Universe, Nova Prime orders Galvatron to Earth to deal with the Reapers, whom Sixshot has aligned with, before Starscream shuts him down using a failsafe trigger. Devastation #5 The other Decepticons engage the Reapers, losing the Battlechargers, before being covertly assisted by Galvatron. Triumphant in his mission, he returns to the Dead Universe with Sixshot's body. Devastation #6
Learning of the breakout at Garrus-9, the majority of the Autobots prepare to leave Earth, though Hot Rod and Sunstreaker remain. Concurrently, Skywatch is notified of the battle and prepares to deploy their latest and most powerful asset: Grimlock. Devastation #6 After he is awoken, he escapes from Skywatch and refuses an offer to join forces with Scorponok. Spotlight: Grimlock
Soldier Michael Monk, who served alongside Duke in Trucial, Threat Matrix 3 of 4 is recruited into Cobra by psychologist Lester Horvath, following the discovery that he ranks as an incredibly rare "1" on Horvath's Lome System. Horvath places Monk under high-ranking Cobra member Krake, secretly hoping to sabotaging the terrifyingly brilliant member of High Command, and is eventually killed by Monk for acting outside of Cobra's interests—though not before informing Monk of his intentions, and the fact that Krake has had Monk's family imprisoned in Section Ten. Sedition by Numbers
On Cybertron, Cyclonus arrives and attacks Hound's crew as revenge for the devastation wrought by the war. His attack is interrupted by Ultra Magnus, and he is forced to retreat to Corata-Vaz. After activating the Nega-Core, Cyclonus is again set upon, and activates the Nega-core's reanimated guardian, Thunderwing. He is forced to return to the Dead Universe as his body has been in the "living" world too long. Spotlight: Cyclonus
In the wake of the attack, Optimus and his crew arrive at Garrus-9. They meet with Jetfire and Fortress Maximus and head back to the Ark-32. Spotlight: Cyclonus
The forces of the Dead Universe—including Jhiaxus, Galvatron, Straxus and Grindcore—leave the Dead Universe to begin the Expansion. Leading the charge is Nova Prime, now calling himself "Nemesis Prime". Spotlight: Cyclonus
Nightbeat and Hardhead travel to Gorlam Prime to investigate Nightbeat's missing memories, and they encounter a large group of Micromasters trying to impede their progress. The pair makes it to the Dead Universe portal and Jhiaxus takes control of Nightbeat, forcing Hardhead to kill him, and dive into the portal himself. Spotlight: Hardhead Jetfire decides to use Pretender technology to enable Cloudburst, Landmine, Groundbreaker, and Waverider to survive the Benzuli Expanse. Spotlight: Hardhead
Optimus receives a transmission from Dealer, who says that he's been monitoring the current situation, and he thinks that all of the answers they seek lie in the Magnificence. Spotlight: Hardhead Hot Rod agrees and both travel to Ki-Aleta, the planet where Hot Rod had hidden it earlier. Using the oracle, Hot Rod discovers that Dealer betrayed him, and sends the traitor to his death moments before he could do the same to him. The Magnificence later provides useful info to Ultra Magnus about the machinations of Nemesis Prime. Spotlight: Doubledealer
On Earth, Straxus and Grindcore mine energon in China. Spotlight: Doubledealer They are prevented doing this by Hound's team, primarily Sideswipe. Spotlight: Sideswipe
Galvatron and Cyclonus attack the Mirror-Manifold, the ship of Cloudburst and crew. Spotlight: Doubledealer They are beamed out seconds before their ship explodes by the Technobots in the Nightbird, who present them with their own personal Pretender carapaces. Using these, they battle Galvatron and Cyclonus, defeating one and allowing the other to escape. Using their shells as temporary shields, they cross into the Dead Universe and manage to seal the gate to the Dead Universe. Spotlight: Sideswipe
Nemesis Prime arrives on Garrus-9, and is faced by Optimus Prime. Optimus is attacked, using the Darkness. Spotlight: Doubledealer However, the Darkness reaches out to Optimus as a successor. Nemesis continues the attack but is blasted in the back by Galvatron and falls dead. The Darkness enters Optimus Prime. Galvatron offers Prime a choice: kill himself in the nearby Solar Pool, or willingly pass on the Darkness to him. Prime does both, passing on the Darkness and tossing Galvatron into the pool. Spotlight: Sideswipe Meanwhile, Arcee manages to track down Jhiaxus beneath Gorlam Prime, and with some help from an undead Hardhead, defeats him. With Jhiaxus rendered functionally immortal due to the energies of the Dead Universe portal, Arcee gleefully kills him over, and over, and over, and over... Spotlight: Sideswipe
Above ground, the residents of Gorlam Prime finally complete their evolution into wholly mechanical beings. In honor of their great leap forward, they rename their planet... Cybertron. Spotlight: Sideswipe
Back on Earth, Grimlock and the other Dynobots end up fighting Sunstreaker clones in Fallon, Nevada in an event orchestrated by Scorponok and the Machination. Hoping to repair their ship, the Skyfire, Grimlock calls the Monsterbots for help. Maximum Dinobots #1
Hot Rod takes on Scorponok and fails, while Sunstreaker and Hunter try to reclaim Sunstreaker's original head. Maximum Dinobots #2 The Monsterbots arrive on Earth just in time to rescue the bedraggled Dynobots. The Dynobots begin to have misgivings about Grimlock's increasingly unstable leadership—feelings which come to a head when it appears Sludge has died from a blast by Scorponok. Maximum Dinobots #3
Soundwave, Shockwave, Laserbeak, and Ravage plot together and free themselves from Skywatch's control; Maximum Dinobots #4 Shockwave involves himself in the battle with Scorponok, and both are ultimately are defeated by Grimlock and the Dynobots. Ultra Magnus arrives to arrest the group. Though Grimlock willingly goes with Ultra Magnus, the other four Dynobots walk free thanks to his sacrifice. Shockwave, Scorponok, and Grimlock are all sent to Garrus-9 after a trial, though Grimlock's sentence is shortened thanks to bringing in two wanted Decepticons. Maximum Dinobots #5
2008
Hoping to bolster the Decepticon ranks, Megatron and Deluge create the Insecticons. The process is highly imperfect, however, and the thousands upon thousands of failed clones are abandoned on Cybertron to become the feral "Swarm". All Hail Megatron #7
Shortly after their creation, scientist Bombshell completes Shockwave's project regarding Jhiaxus's combination technology. The result is Devastator: a mentally stable, combat-ready combiner using the like-minded Constructicons. Before the Dawn Shockpoint
Perceptor rebuilds Kup using Pretender technology, reversing the deleterious effects of Ore-8 on his mind. At Prowl's insistence, however, Perceptor also adds technology into Kup's new body that will allow Prowl to take control of the elderly Autobot. Everything in Its Right Place With his new lease on life, Kup organizes a team to rescue captured Autobots. They receive assistance from former Decepticon Deadlock, now known as Drift. Spotlight: Drift On their first mission, they rescue Hot Rod from Bludgeon and the Monster Pretenders; Perceptor is injured and upgrades himself into a sniper. Lost & Found
Sixshot, freed from the Dead Universe following the defeat of Nemesis Prime, attacks Orvus Base to recover secret Autobot scientific research, only for the Throttlebots to escape to the nearby planet Salvvatan VIII. Though Sixshot pursues them, they are rescued by Metroplex, who transforms from the city mode he was hiding as on the planet and stomped the six changer, temporarily incapacitating him. However, Metroplex immediately takes off with the object that he was on the planet to protect, leaving the Throttlebots on Sakvvatan VIII. Spotlight: Metroplex Unfortunately, Sixshot soon recovers and damages the team's shuttle as they try to leave; though the remaining Throttlebots believe they manage to kill the Decepticon before taking off, they soon crash land on the planet Botanica. The Dead Come Home, Part 1
On Earth, Ratchet succeeds in separating Sunstreaker and Hunter. Horrified and disgusted by what humans did to him, Sunstreaker makes a Faustian deal with Starscream to help him take out Megatron in exchange for the Autobots permanently abandoning Earth. All Hail Megatron #8 Ratchet returns Hunter to his house and leaves, unaware that Bombshell is preparing to abduct the young human to gain access to the Headmaster technology still implanted in his body. Our Steps Will Always Rhyme
Following a mission to Rangoon that ends in disaster and a battle with his old Arashikage clan brother Storm Shadow, Snake Eyes goes AWOL from G.I. Joe to investigate Cobra, though he retains back-channel communications with Scarlett. G.I. Joe #6
Using Autobot access codes acquired from Sunstreaker, Megatron launches "The Surge": across the galaxy, Decepticons abandon infiltration protocol and launch an all-out attack on every major Autobot outpost. Bullets The Autobots on Earth are led into a Decepticon trap and are soundly defeated, leaving Optimus Prime in critical condition. Megatron takes the Matrix and exiles them back to Cybertron while he and his Decepticons run amok on Earth. All Hail Megatron #8
During the Surge, Skyquake's Predators assault Garrus-9. Rogue former Decepticon Overlord kills Skyquake and takes over the prison, turning it into an arena for his own amusement. Former warden Fortress Maximus is lobotomized and repeatedly tortured. Last Stand of the Wreckers #1 As part of a deal, Overlord releases Shockwave and restores him operational status; in return, Shockwave removes the Achilles virus implanted in Overlord's body as a failsafe. Last Stand of the Wreckers #3
Knowing that he is being targeted by the Decepticon Justice Division, Shockwave selects a crew consisting of other Decepticons on their "list", and offers them as a trade for his life when the DJD tracks him down; however, Tarn rejects his offer, intent on following the list in order despite its inefficiency. Unaware that the DJD is only there for Scorponok, three members of Shockwave's crew—Scorponok, Flame and Flywheels—eject themselves into space before Shockwave manages to shut off the transmission of Tarn's lethal voice. The Ties That Bind Flywheels is found by the crew of the Weak Anthropic Principle (aka the "Foragers"), while Scorponok and Flame are found and claimed by the Grand Architect, manifesting as an enormous spacebound hieroglyph. Kill All 'Cons
On May 29, 2008, the Earth-based Decepticons make their presence known to humankind. Their combined forces demolish New York City and easily defeat the US military. All Hail Megatron #1 Colonel Daniel Witwicky is brought to New York to aid in its defense, though his troops can do little to defeat the onslaught. The Decepticons rampage across America and annihilate major cities across the nation. All Hail Megatron #2 Within a matter of hours, Washington, D.C. falls. All Hail Megatron #3 College student Marissa Faireborn, in New York as part of the Occupy Wall Street movement, has her worldview shaken by the scope and horror of the invasion. The Mind Bomb
Mercy Gale, head of intelligence for the Action Man Programme—and, in secret, the AMP's greatest nemesis Doctor X—makes her own arrangements that prevent the Decepticon invasion from touching the United Kingdom. Redcliffe Club
Over the next few days, the Autobots and humans struggle to get back on their feet while the Decepticons continue to ravage cities across the globe. On Cybertron, Kup's team crash-lands on the planet and joins the stranded Autobots, who are fighting off the Swarm. All Hail Megatron #4 On Earth, Colonel Witwicky appoints a team lead by his son Spike to take out Megatron. Spike's team is killed by Ratbat and Spike is the only survivor. All Hail Megatron #5
Without the Autobots, the Decepticons quickly grow bored and start squabbling among themselves. The European Union decides to end the threat by deploying nuclear weapons against New York. All Hail Megatron #6 Frustrated by Megatron's sudden listlessness, Starscream plots with the Insecticons. All Hail Megatron #8
On Cybertron, the Autobots decide to use their remaining energon to repair Prime. All Hail Megatron #6 The Autobots struggle to elude the Swarm, but Perceptor is injured. Guilt ridden, Sunstreaker makes the ultimate sacrifice and detonates a bomb to blow up a bridge (and himself) to keep the Swarm away from the other Autobots. Just before he does so, he reveals to Ironhide that it was he who brokered the deal with Starscream that betrayed the Autobots. All Hail Megatron #8
Sarah and Bridge run into Spike, and are later joined by Charles, seeking revenge against Rumble for killing his son. With a weapon reverse-engineered from Shockwave, Spike brings Rumble down with the help of his new friends. On Cybertron, Optimus Prime is repaired, along with the remaining Autobots. All Hail Megatron #9
Bombshell builds a space bridge and reveals that he helped hack into the Autobots' defenses using technology gained by dissecting Hunter O'Nion. Starscream teams up with the Insecticons and Constructicons to attack Megatron, but they are not successful. The Autobots on Cybertron are saved by the arrival of Omega Supreme and taken back to Earth. All Hail Megatron #10
2009
The Autobots arrive on Earth and battle the Decepticons. All Hail Megatron #11 Megatron gets the upper hand against Prime and orders a retreat, leaving the Autobots to be nuked by the humans... but Spike Witwicky, welding a powerful weapon reverse-engineered from Transformer technology, shoots Megatron in the face, allowing Prime to smash Megatron in the face with his own fusion cannon. With Megatron grievously wounded, Starscream takes command and orders a retreat.
The Decepticons do so, but Thundercracker stays behind to dispose of the EU's bomb. He succeeds, but Skywarp blasts him out of the sky for his efforts.
Discovering that his brother's old Headmaster partner has been horrifically mutilated under Bombshell's custody, Sideswipe mercifully terminates the vegetative Hunter. All Hail Megatron #12 In the aftermath, Optimus Prime talks Ironhide out of retiring. Old Ways
Believing the Matrix to be purely symbolic and now devoid of any power it might have once held, Starscream prepares to dump it into space. When Shrapnel reminds him that the Autobots use it to choose their leaders, Starscream declares that with Megatron incapacitated, he will use the Matrix to lead the Decepticons to victory once more. Uneasy Lies the Head
Though the Decepticons have been defeated and mostly driven off-planet, Earth is largely in ruins. More than a billion people have died worldwide from the invasion, and most major cities are left utterly devastated by the Decepticons. Military assets begin hunting for Decepticon stragglers; as part of these early missions, Spike defeats Ravage, but is injured. Faced with a persistent Decepticon threat, Skywatch is heavily reorganized, going from a clandestine paramilitary organization into an international peacekeeping unit designed to hunt down and eliminate rogue Transformers on Earth, wielding reverse-engineered Cybertronian technology. Sparkplug is made head of Skywatch and recruits Spike to work for him. The Man of Steel This new incarnation of Skywatch does not differentiate between factions, and hunts both Autobots and Decepticons indiscriminately. Bumblebee briefly breaks cover to save some humans and is injured for his efforts. Hidden
After the Decepticon invasion, Action Man Programme director Patrick Cain steps down and is replaced by Pauline Bestley. Pauline Bestley profile
Over the next two years, humans and Cybertronians alike struggle to recover from the Surge. With their infrastructure across the galaxy in shambles, many Autobots seek shelter on Earth. Humanity slowly repairs the damage caused by the invasion, but are enraged at the Cybertronians that remain on their planet. After witnessing a defenseless Thrust executed by a group of police officers, Prowl decides that with their numbers so reduced by war, all Cybertronian life—even Decepticons—needs to be protected. Spotlight: Prowl
Thundercracker survives his ordeal, but is badly damaged and unable to transform or fly. Stranded in the ruins of New York, Thundercracker takes refuge in an abandoned building and watches television to pass the time until he's rescued. Seasons in Flight
Cobra commissions Laird James "Destro" McCullen to create the M.A.S.S. Device, a teleporter allowing instantaneous transport across the world; however, his theory is flawed, and he is forced to seal himself into a metal containment suit to survive after testing the device on himself. For his failure, Destro is brought to Cobra's arctic "Section Zero" base to fix his creation or die. G.I. Joe #6 The Betrayers Part 4[1] At the same time, Cobra High Command members Tomax and Xamot Paoli are hired to provide intelligence on G.I. Joe for Colonel Shtern, who wishes to create a Russian counterpart to the team. Oktober Guard, Part 3
Skywatch continues its anti-Transformer operations, reverse-engineering Cybertronian technology to produce new weapons to safely combat rogue Transformers on Earth; this initiative culminating in the development of the unit's signature crash suits. What Skywatch doesn't know is that this technology is secretly being provided to Skywatch via Spike Witwicky, whose disregard for the rules drives him to cut a deal with Swindle. A Second Chance at Eden Gears and Windcharger are amongst those captured. ...For All Mankind
Undercover G.I. Joe agent Chuckles infiltrates Cobra, unaware of its true nature. Though he is outplayed by the Paoli brothers, G.I. Joe: Cobra his intelligence helps convince Hawk that Cobra is real, leading to Snake Eyes and Mainframe being reinstated as Joes. The Betrayers Part 6 Destro completes the M.A.S.S. Device with the help of Doctors Mindbender and Orizama, but is imprisoned in the Section Ten gulag for his insolence; G.I. Joe vol. 1 #16 however, he manages to depose the warden Major Bludd and take over, bargaining with Cobra Commander for freedom and power. G.I. Joe vol. 1 #19 Cobra puts M.A.S.S. into use for theft, assassination, extortion, and even creating "Section Sabine", a base in the Sabine crater on the moon.G.I. Joe vol. 1 #16 In response to Cobra's use of the M.A.S.S. Device, the G.I. Joe team undergoes retraining under Snake Eyes. G.I. Joe vol. 1 #19
Dominus Ambus, now a mole within the Decepticon Justice Division, reports that the Decepticons have lost contact with Garrus-9 and DJD scouting parties do not return. Prowl authorizes Springer to assemble a new team of Wreckers. Their mission is twofold—to rescue any Autobot prisoners and to download data from the Aequitas supercomputer. Last Stand of the Wreckers #1 Bullets At some point after this, the other four members of the DJD discover the mole in their organization and subject Dominus to "domestication", reducing him to a feral "Pet". Another Decepticon thus steps up to become the next "Vos". At Close of Day
Still marooned on LV-114, Wheelie discovers a Decepticon shipwreck with surviving crewmembers Spectro and Spyglass (Viewfinder alas, didn't make it.) He saves an alien from them and in the process blows them and his escape ship to pieces. And so, he waits... Spotlight: Wheelie
At some point after Gorlam Prime's transformation, the malevolent Dead Universe entity known as the D-Void lures the entire population of the planet into his domain and devours their sparks. Heart of Darkness #2
2010
Hawk deploys a new recruit to G.I. Joe, codenamed "Chameleon", to locate and retrieve Chuckles, who has gone off the grid; she is unable to persuade him to return, but brings back Cobra defector Erika Le Tene, half-sister of the Baroness. G.I. Joe: Cobra II In exchange for asylum, Erika joins the Joes, taking on the codename of her rescuer (who quit the team in disgust) and becoming the new Chameleon. Cobra: Special #2 Chuckles is captured by Cobra Commander, who seeks to truly recruit him into Cobra. G.I. Joe: Cobra II
Thundercracker is rescued by a rag-tag team of Decepticons led by Swindle. He discovers, however, that he has lost his taste for fighting, having come to respect humanity and its culture. Seasons in Flight
Prowl is captured by Skywatch, and Hot Rod's rescue mission leads to Ironhide's death. Depressed, Optimus Prime resigns as Autobot leader and surrenders to Skywatch. ...For All Mankind Frustrated by recent events, Hot Rod and a group of like-minded Autobots make preparations to leave Earth. They decide to join forces with Swindle's Decepticons, while the other Autobots chose to remain on Earth, and Bumblebee is elected the new Autobot leader. New Arrivals, Old Encounters
Hawk recruits a civilian to the G.I. Joe team, Agent Helix, thanks to her possession of an unusual ability known as total organic battlefield awareness, Special - Helix and also recruits private investigator Leonard Michaels to investigate the Coil, a religious movement with suspected Cobra ties; however, Michaels ends up brainwashed by the cult's leader Serpentor following Hawk's seemingly apathetic treatment of him, and willingly offers himself to be sacrificed to their deity, Golobulus. Serpent's Tale
Eight months after Dominus Ambus's report, the Wreckers—bolstered by new recruits Verity Carlo, Pyro, Rotorstorm, Guzzle, ascended fanboy Ironfist, and lead by a returned Impactor—arrive at Garrus-9 and begin their assault. Overlord retaliates by ordering the death of all Autobot prisoners upon the Wreckers' arrival save Grimlock, who has vanished. The Wreckers take heavy casualties over the course of their mission, but succeed in capturing Overlord and securing the data from Aequitas. Overlord is captured and the remaining Decepticons scatter, glad to be free of Overlord's oppression. The data slug that contains the various records from the Aequitas trials are entrusted to Prowl. Last Stand of the Wreckers
After dropping off the Wreckers on Garrus-9, Ultra Magnus arrives on Earth to investigate the death of Ironhide and surrender of Optimus Prime. Afraid of being arrested by Magnus, Hoist, Tracks, Beachcomber and Blurr leave to join Hot Rod, but all except Blurr are captured by Skywatch and used as leverage by Spike for Optimus Prime to talk. Magnus leaves to find Hot Rod. A Rude Awakening
Bumblebee's feelings of inadequacy, combined with the derision he faces from his fellow Autobots, pushes him into making a reckless deal with Colonel Gordon Horiuchi. Horiuchi promises the Autobots protection from Skywatch if they capture Decepticons, but at the price of being immobilized if they disobey. Skywatch quickly forces Bumblebee's troops to capture other Autobots, starting with Blurr. After Bumblebee's immobilizing badge is damaged, he locates the creator of the badges and personally destroys them, defeating Skywarp and proving his worth as leader of the Autobots in the process. The Transformers: Bumblebee
Ultra Magnus shows up and tries to arrest Swindle, but Rodimus defends his ally. Seasons in Flight Ultra Magnus takes several Autobots from Bumblebee's group with him to help him detain Swindle and the rebellious Rodimus. Swindle uses the Stunticons to test some experimental combiner technology, and when Ultra Magnus arrives Swindle betrays Rodimus and unleashes Menasor to kill the Autobots. Enemies of the System
Spike releases Optimus Prime to battle Menasor, but the combiner is undone after the Stunticons fail to unite their minds into a workable gestalt. The battle prompts Spike to realize that the Autobots are not part of the problem. Skywatch forges a new alliance with Bumblebee's Autobots, while Rodimus steals Ultra Magnus's spaceship and strikes off on his own. Earthworks
The space-bound Decepticons fare little better than their Earth-bound counterparts; Starscream's poor leadership, combined with dwindling fuel sources, leads to the collapse of the Decepticon faction. Altered Carbon On a desolate asteroid, the Decepticons scrounge for fuel and cannibalize each other for Energon and parts, All His Engines a barbaric practice encouraged by Predacon general Razorclaw, who travels to space following a failed combiner experiment. The Iron Klaw The other Predacons remain on Earth, where they eventually join the government of China as border guards. Hawk Among the Sparrows
Well, I'm back in black
Yes, I'm back in black
Tiring of Starscream's bungled leadership, Soundwave and Shockwave revive Megatron in a new body equipped with Titan-derived spacebridge technology. His old body is used to create replicas of his old gun mode, which contain small pieces of the Decepticon leader's consciousness. Altered Carbon
Rodimus arrives at the Decepticons' asteroid base, intending to retrieve the Matrix. He succeeds in stealing it back from Starscream, but is confronted by the newly upgraded Megatron who blasts him and the Matrix into space. Heart Like a Wheel
In his new body, Megatron retakes leadership of the Decepticons Spotlight: Megatron and sends the Megatron guns to Earth, where they quickly spread amongst unsuspecting humans with anti-Transformer sentiments. Altered Carbon
Spike disobeys orders and goes rogue, hunting down and executing Scrapper in an attempt to prevent Devastator from ever being formed again. Scrapper
On Cybertron, Alpha Trion continues his project to clean the desolate world, though these efforts are threatened by the increasingly ravenous Insecticon swarm. Trion decides to resurrect a copy of the one Autobot most suited for the job: Ironhide. The confused duplicate lacks all of Ironhide's memories from the war, but does his job well. He also recovers Sunstreaker, having survived his sacrifice years earlier. Alpha Trion and Metroplex take off for parts unknown, leaving Ironhide and Sunstreaker on the planet to finish off the Swarm. Over the course of their campaign, Sunstreaker adopts one of the failed clones as a pet, which he nicknames "Bob". The Transformers: Ironhide
As Rodimus floats through space, the Matrix bonds with him, saving his life. He crashes on the planet LV-118, where he meets Wheelie. Together with him and the alien Garnak, Rodimus steals a ship and heads to Cybertron. The Stars My Destination
Galvatron frees himself from the solar pool, fully fused with the Darkness. He tracks down the Dead Universe Transformers trapped on Gorlam Prime, Cyclonus and Scourge. Using his new powers, he revives Scourge, using him to create a personal guard in the form of the Sweeps. Rebirth They investigate the planet's missing inhabitants, Heart of Darkness #1 and upon learning about the D-Void's plans to destroy all Transformers, set out to raise an army to oppose it.[14] Heart of Darkness #2
Galvatron and his men discover a block of ice in space, unaware that it contains a zombie virus brought from another dimension by the extradimensional vampire-zombie Britt. Several of Galvatron's crew members are infected by the zombie virus, and his ship crash-lands on Earth in Las Vegas, forcing the Autobots and Skywatch to pitch in and contain the infestation. Kup is infected by the virus and transformed into a zombie, but uses Prowl's mental link to thwart the swarm and warp Britt, her virus, and himself through time and space to the dawn of the Dead Universe. The Autobots refuse to join Galvatron's army. Infestation This Undermind also targets G.I. Joe through a malevolent, sentient computer virus, but it is stopped from spreading beyond an underwater Cobra base by the sacrifice of Psyche Out. G.I. Joe: Infestation
Though physically unharmed by his experience, Kup is stranded within the Dead Universe and spends the next several billion years on a barren asteroid. Hello Cruel World He encounters the similarly stranded Nova Prime, who tries and fails to turn his body into a space bridge back into the living world. No Exit
Through some difficulty G.I. Joe manages to partially reverse-engineer M.A.S.S. technology, and Snake Eyes and Helix use it to hitch a ride back to Section Zero, forcing Cobra Commander to activate the base's self-destruct and destroy M.A.S.S. to keep it out of the Joes' hands. The staff of the Section Sabine moonbase, totally cut off without the M.A.S.S. device, are left to starve to death. M.A.S.S. Destruction
Galvatron takes his new army to Cybertron, declaring it the first line of defense against the D-Void. Rodimus also arrives on the planet where he meets Ironhide and Sunstreaker and learns of Galvatron's presence. The assorted Autobots leave Cybertron to warn Optimus Prime. Heart of Darkness #4 Out of the Silent Planet
Four months later, North Korean leader Kim Jong Du strikes a deal with three of the Combaticons, providing them with energon in exchange for their services. Under his orders, the Combaticons attack South Korea, prompting the United States government to declare the employment of Cybertronians equivalent to the use of weapons of mass destruction. The Land Ironclads Skywatch and the Autobots move out to defeat the Combaticons. To keep the public from learning that the US also employs Cybertronians, the Autobots remain in their vehicle modes throughout the battle, and are easily defeated. Ranks of Bronze
Bumblebee meets with Thundercracker, who is now only interested in watching TV, and convinces him to help them. Cosmos hacks the spy satellites above Korea, allowing the Autobots to fight in robot mode. Backed up by these resources, the Autobots defeat the Combaticons. Hawks Among the Sparrows As the Autobots are attacked by the Predacons, who have a similar contract with China, Skywatch agent Sandra breaks the encryption on one of the satellites. The secret alliance between Skywatch and the Autobots is revealed to the world, and Russia attempts to nuke the Transformers, though Cosmos saves them. The energon factories in North Korea and China are destroyed, ending the threat from the Combaticons and Predacons. All My Sins Remembered
The incident turns into a PR nightmare for both Skywatch and the Autobots. Bumblebee holds a press conference, but fails to contain the unruly crowd and is grievously injured by Joe Gladki. All My Sins Remembered Megatron's Decepticons return to Earth, attacking the Autobot-Skywatch base and freeing the Decepticon captives within. The plane carrying Optimus Prime, Spike Witwicky and the rest of the Korea team is shot down over the Pacific Ocean. The Demolished Man Ultra Magnus takes charge and has the base evacuated. Altered Carbon He and his troops attempt to regroup, but are defeated by Megatron himself. Meanwhile, Starscream tries and fails to convince Thundercracker to return to the Decepticons. Woken Furies
After two days, Optimus Prime's team emerge from the oceans alive. Prime confronts Megatron, who is holding Magnus hostage, and causes him to flee by injuring Soundwave. Jazz is forced to kill a human in order to save his comrades, furthering Autobot distrust among human civilians. Burning Chrome After another meeting with Prime, Megatron surrenders himself so that he can watch from the inside as the Autobots are crushed by the humans they protect. Enemy Mine
The Commander offers to let Chuckles kill Tomax and Xamot, the architects of his misery, to win him over; Chuckles agrees, Sidewinder but, his agreement is merely a ploy to get close to the Commander, and when he gets the opportunity, Chuckles shoots Cobra Commander through the head, killing him. Rattler Though he intends to kill Tomax and Xamot as well, Tomax manages to get away from him; instead, Chuckles uses a nuclear submarine docked at Section Twenty to destroy the base and kill everyone on it, including himself and Xamot. The Baroness and Tomax manage to escape at the last minute. King Cobra
2011
Six weeks after Megatron's surrender, Rodimus and his crew arrive on Earth and return the Matrix to Optimus Prime. Learning about Galvatron's invasion of Cybertron, Optimus takes most of the Autobots and Megatron with him, Prime leaves Earth on Omega Supreme. Bumblebee, Prowl, Ultra Magnus, and several others remain behind to investigate Megatron's claims that Spike murdered Scrapper. Orphans of the Helix
Prowl investigates Spike by following him around. Police Action: Part 1 While investigating the site of Scrapper's death, he is attacked by Brawl, but defeating and interrogating yields nothing about his motives. The Autobots bring in Sandra, who enlightens them on Spike's sociopathic past. Only Forward Bumblebee and the other Autobots keep busy by tracking down rogue Decepticons, and Bumblebee singlehandedly takes down a Decepticon plot to activate a space bridge. The Question The defeat proves so humiliating that Wildrider quits the Stunticons forever. First Contact
After four months of investigation, Only Forward Spike shamelessly admits to killing Scrapper, but Prowl's fair share of questionable actions makes him unsure on what to do about it. During an attempted arrest of anti-Autobot pundit Ben Simpson, the Autobots learn that he was a facsimile created by Swindle. Under interrogation, Swindle reveals that he had been selling weapons to Skywatch via Spike for years. The alliance between Skywatch and the Autobots quickly dissolves and Spike becomes an international fugitive. A Second Chance at Eden
Cobra scientist Dr. Llund opens a Lovecraftian gateway to bring the Elder Gods through into the world. Crystal Ball, Storm Shadow, Interrogator, and a group of inmates of Cobra's insane asylum manage to stop Llund, though Crystal Ball—a worshipper of the Elder Gods—only stops her as he wants to bring them through properly, by finding every gateway. Infestation 2: G.I. Joe
En route to Cybertron, Optimus Prime must choose life imprisonment or execution for Megatron's punishment in anticipation of his future trial. He tries to talk to his nemesis, but is only goaded into torturing him. Chaos Theory Part 1 When he asks Megatron what he would choose, Megatron chooses death. Chaos Theory Part 2
Cyclonus and the Sweeps take over Kimia Facility. The Autobots arrive on Cybertron, where Optimus Prime again declines to join Galvatron's army, causing Galvatron to responds with violence. Lamentations In order to reach Cybertron's core, Galvatron uses Kimia to fire on the planet's surface until the facility is destroyed from within. As the Autobots fight Galvatron's army, Megatron escapes from captivity and powers himself up using his Megatron-guns. Numbers
Megatron uses the space bridge technology in his body to summon his Decepticon army to Cybertron. The D-Void, acting through Galvatron's Heart of Darkness, mind-controls them into combining with Galvatron's troops to form the "Deceptigod". Kings While Megatron fights and defeats the Deceptigod, Galvatron reaches Vector Sigma and inserts the Heart of Darkness into it, hoping this will stop the D-Void from entering the universe when in truth it does the opposite. Optimus Prime stops the D-Void from turning Cybertron into a portal to the Dead Universe by opening the Matrix of Leadership into the planet's core, emptying the artifact completely. Genesis
Galvatron and his forces are defeated, and the cleansing of Vector Sigma has the unexpected side effect of "resetting" Cybertron back to a living, primordial state. Though the planet is habitable once again, it is also wild and untamed, and all indications of Transformer civilization have been lost. Every Cybertronian in the universe receives a simple message, courtesy of Vector Sigma: "come home". With the Decepticons in shambles and Megatron missing, the Great War is considered over, though the Autobot victory proves pyrrhic. The Death of Optimus Prime
Over the next three weeks, Bumblebee's team returns to Cybertron, taking care to remove every piece of Cybertronian technology they can find on Earth before they depart. Secret Raiders Joining up with the other Autobots on Cybertron, they successfully inter the weakened and disoriented Decepticons within the wreckage of the Kimia satellite and plant them with I/D chips to keep them docile. Before they can begin rebuilding society, however, they are joined by tens of thousands of neutrals, deserters, refugees, and other assorted noncombatants. Prowl dubs the hordes of civilians "NAILs".
Tensions between the three groups grow until Optimus Prime, having inadvertently time-jumped three weeks forward following his defeat of Galvatron, arrives in the shantytown that was once Iacon. The Autobots bring him up to speed, though ex-Autobot Metalhawk, de facto speaker for the NAILs, makes it clear that his people want neither the Autobots nor Decepticons on "their" planet. When riots break out in the streets due to his presence, Prime departs the planet and entrusts the empty Matrix halves to Bumblebee and Rodimus, who are split on whether to stay and rebuild Cybertronian society, or go in search of the Knights of Cybertron in the hopes of starting anew on Cyberutopia . Prime leaves, and declares that, without the Matrix, he is "Orion Pax" once more—and that Optimus Prime is dead. The Death of Optimus Prime
On Earth, the Transformer war is soon overshadowed by the rising threat of Cobra. Secret Raiders The Cobra Council determines the new Cobra Commander through a contest, with the objective to bring as much misery to G.I. Joe as possible, between 7 members of Cobra High Command. The contestants kill countless Joes, destroy the Pit and sink their replacement command center, but in the end, Krake is chosen as Cobra's new leader. Cobra Civil War As his first act, the new Cobra Commander brings Cobra out of the shadows by invading the country of Nanzhao, in the Golden Triangle region where he grew up. Cobra takes control of the country and forces its evacuation, before dropping nuclear weapons acquired from China on Nanzhao's largest population centres, rendering them uninhabitable; thanks to international opposition to the Nanzhaoese regime and a slow-to-act U.S. government, G.I. Joe are unable to prevent Cobra's near-total victory.
Major Bludd, Tomax Paoli and Serpentor, unhappy with the new Commander's actions, attempt a coup; however, the Baroness's assassination of the Cobra Council to cement the new Commander's total control forces Bludd and Tomax to surrender themselves into G.I. Joe custody after Serpentor rats them out. Meanwhile, Storm Shadow—angry over the murder of his oyabun Oda Satori by Cobra assassin Zartan—invites his old sword-brother Snake Eyes to rejoin the Arashikage and help them take down Cobra; Snake Eyes accepts, though Helix is the only Joe aware of the fact, with all others believing him to have died in Nanzhao. Cobra Command
In the aftermath of the invasion, Hawk is dismissed by his superiors, with Duke promoted to Colonel and put in charge of G.I. Joe in his place; the Joes' operating budget is also slashed to 1/3 of what it previously was. To help circumvent their new limitations, Hawk calls in Sergeant Bildocker, a highly skilled "scrounger" capable of calling in favors to get hold of extra resources, on Duke's behalf. G.I. Joe vol. 2 #13 The reduced budget prevents G.I. Joe from mounting a planned rescue mission for the Cobra forces trapped in Section Sabine. Enter the Shadow In order to secure their status as a newly "legitimate" world power, Cobra reveals the existence of G.I. Joe to the world, waging a propaganda campaign against them. G.I. Joe vol. 2 #12 Public awareness of their location forces the Joes to move again, from Fort Baxter to the U.S.S. Flagg. Deep Terror Epilogue
Though the Cybertronians have left Earth alone for the time being, the effect they have on the shellshocked planet is profound. Embroiled in controversy, Skywatch is considered defunct and is shut down by the United States government. Several operatives are shunted into its successor, the international Earth Defense Command, headed by Marissa Faireborn. Detonation Boulevard The Iron Klaw Determined not to let another invasion happen on her watch, Faireborn and the EDC reverse-engineer what technology they can find, producing new anti-Cybertronian weaponry such as mind bombs and particle-based warheads. The Mind Bomb Around this time, eccentric tech industrialist Garrison Blackrock comes to prominence, head of the Onyx software and engineering firm. Unbeknownst to anyone on Earth—including himself—Blackrock is a false identity constructed by Sovereign. As "Blackrock", Sovereign succeeds in collecting dozens of Transformer artifacts from their recent conflicts on Earth, including the corpses of Ramjet and Thrust and the Enigma of Combination. ONoffON From the former two artifacts, he creates an army of Seeker clones for the EDC, which are augmented to combine through the energies of the Engima. I Dream of Wires
Among their many anti-Transformer initiatives is "Project Spectrum", a series of experimental weapons designed to use the Transformers' chameleonic natures against them. Following the mysterious loss of Cornelius Trakker, Adventure Team alumni Miles "Mayhem" Manheim steps up and refines it into the "M.A.S.K." program. Matt Trakker profile
Using a "gift" of 700 million dollars from Tomax Paoli, Duke sets up a specialised, intelligence-focused unit headed by Flint to make use of their ex-Cobra assets Tomax, Chameleon and Major Bludd; the unit is stationed in The Gemini, a Las Vegas casino also "donated" by Tomax. Tomax offers them several leads, including Cobra Commander's son Billy Kessler-Latta; A New Era however, Tomax is able to sabotage their missions through back-channels the Joes are unaware of, Hand to Hand leaving the Joes with proof that Tomax's intel is "good" but with no workable leads. The Hunt is On! The unit takes another blow after Major Bludd is abducted by Colonel Shtern and his Oktober Guard; when the Joes try to investigate, they barely escape with their lives, and Bludd is able to kill Shtern and take control of the Oktober Guard himself. Oktober Guard
Snake Eyes works with the Arashikage to bring down Zartan, managing to crash his plane in the Australian outback, but is secretly working to sabotage and weaken the clan from within. Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow When G.I. Joe discovers Snake Eyes' betrayal, they become a third party in the Cobra-Arashikage war. Snake Eyes' unwillingness to kill Scarlett leads Storm Shadow to realise that he has been misleading them, and seemingly kills him in a climactic battle that destroys the U.S.S. Flagg after Snake Eyes is brought back there; Target: Snake Eyes but in fact, Snake Eyes has faked his death and gone into hiding, with only the Hard Master knowing the truth. Silence
The Pentagon determines that G.I. Joe needs a new approach to effectively fight Cobra, and the unit is reorganised into a public-facing team of "celebrity soldiers" similar to the Adventure Team, stationed on Governor's Island and under the direct command of their namesake Joe Colton; Duke is placed in charge of the field team, Homefront, Part 1 while Scarlett and Mainframe are placed in charge of the Special Missions unit, a sub-team carrying out more "traditional" black ops missions. G.I. Joe: Special Missions Michael Monk is placed in charge of Cobra's Manhattan Bureau, and begins manipulating events to make it seem as if Duke is a Cobra mole; though Monk is eventually found out and defeated, his actions uncover Duke's actual past indiscretions, and he is discharged from the Army. Threat Matrix
Tomax's manipulations lead to the destruction of the Gemini casino and the total collapse of the intelligence unit; Tomax escapes back to Cobra, while Billy Kessler-Latta and G.I. Joe agents Chameleon and Ronin flee and go into hiding. The Cobra Files
2012-2013
Rodimus gathers a crew of two hundred Autobots and purchases the Unitrex-1 during the Festival of Lost Light. The event inspires him to rename the vessel the Lost Light. Hoping to learn more about the secrets behind creating Phase Sixers, Prowl manages to convince Rodimus to take Overlord with them in the hopes of using Chromedome's mnemosurgical skills to probe the Decepticon's memories. Remembrance Day The Sound of Breaking Glass Before they depart, Chromedome, his Conjunx Endura Rewind, and Ratchet discover Tailgate and take him aboard. The Lost Light departs Cybertron shortly afterwards... but the quantum engines malfunction shortly after the ship launches due to a mishap involving Overlord's slow cell The Chaos of Warm Things, and the vessel vanishes in a fiery explosion. How to Say Goodbye and Mean It
The loss of the Lost Light causes ructions between the Autobots, Decepticons, and NAILs; the latter faction believing that the Autobots are now publicly discouraging anyone from leaving their shantytown. Having made the difficult choice to release the Decepticons to help keep the peace, Bumblebee is forced to put down Horri-Bull when the Decepticon oversteps his authority. The Autonomy Lesson
Around this time, war hero and all-around do-gooder Thunderclash decides to strike out on his own search for the Knights of Cybertron aboard his own ship, the Vis Vitalis. He discovers the lost colony of Caminus and recruits three of the inhabitants—Windblade, Chromia, and Nautica—to join him on his quest. Burning Bright A 'Bot and Her City
An attempt on Bumblebee's life via Ratbat leads to the latter's death and prompts Starscream to start working with Bumblebee's Autobots in their efforts to rebuild a functioning government. The World & Everything in It Bombshell secretly continues Shockwave's old combiner experiments, which results in Prowl, at the end of his tether and increasingly emotionally closed-off, seemingly executing him. Devisive Ironhide salvages the situation by petitioning to have the I/D chips installed in the Decepticons deactivated. A Better Tomorrow
After Barrel Roll dies, Silverbolt and his crew of Aerialbots leave Iacon to start anew in the wilderness beyond. Stick Together Ironhide then recruits the Dinobots to try and find the missing fliers; they discover that the lands beyond Iacon have a disorienting effect on Cybertronians. Dinobot Hunt
Meanwhile, in space, the Lost Light rematerializes, twice; the peculiar quantum engines mean that the explosion creates a duplicate Lost Light, one on-course and one off-course. The on-course Lost Light and its duplicate crew embark on a series of improbable adventures that ends when the Decepticon Justice Division, on the trail of the traitorous Overlord and tipped off to his location by conflicted double agent Brainstorm, kill everyone aboard save Rewind. The Road Not Taken
The other Lost Light, however, materializes near the edge of the galaxy, where the crew meets Skids and contends with the Sparkeater. Hangers On The Chaos of Warm Things The Sparkeater's rampage accidentally damages the slow cell containing Overlord, which alerts paranoid security director Red Alert to the stowaway. How Ratchet Got His Hands Back
On Cybertron, Wheeljack investigates a mysterious time machine brought to the planet by Turmoil. Interference Patterns This has repercussions across the galaxy; far away from Cybertron, Orion Pax, Hardhead, Garnak, and Wheelie discover that Jhiaxus, Bludgeon, and Monstructor are carrying out a part of Shockwave's Regenesis program to alter the future using the chronologically destabilized world of LV-117, a plan involving Turmoil's time machine. Thought they thwart Jhiaxus's scheme, the planet is destroyed. Syndromica (1) Syndromica (2)
On the planet Clemency, a band of misfit Decepticons—the former Foragers—stumble on Fulcrum, a cowardly K-Class suicide bomber. Together, they investigate an anomalous Worldsweeper ship containing numerous strange experiments and a brain-damaged Grimlock, whom they reactivate to battle the Decepticon Justice Division. The Scavengers reluctantly take him on. Who's Afraid of the DJD?
Shortly afterwards, the ship chances on the planet Theophany, former home of the now-missing Circle of Light. The crew discovers Metrotitan, and help the struggling Titan return to Cybertron by using Brainstorm's mass-displacement gun to shrink him to a manageable size so he can safely teleport away. You, Me, and Other Revelations
Metrotitan materializes within the ruins of Crystal City, where his arrival interrupts the search for the missing Autobots. Starscream investigates, and the Titan proclaims him the "chosen one" before his destabilized molecules explode and teleport him away All Good Things to Monument Valley on Earth. As Above... So Below Before Starscream can use his new standing to tip upcoming elections in his favor, Iacon is thrown into chaos when Megatron returns. City on Fire
Having experimented with combiner technology in the wake of the D-Void's defeat, Megatron has secretly collaborated with several Decepticons to perfect the process and create a new, more powerful Devastator from the remaining Constructicons... and using Prowl, who has been under Bombshell's mind control all along, as a guinea pig. Heavy Is The Head
The new Devastator lays waste to Iacon, but is defeated by Ironhide, the Dinobots, and the Aerialbots, the latter group having accidentally combined into a new combiner named Superion. The End of the Beginning of the World Wheeljack sacrifices himself to neutralize Megatron, while Superion helps defeat Devastator and return Prowl to his senses. Starscream kills Metalhawk to exploit the NAILs and uses the political leverage to declare himself as the sole ruler of the "Republic of Cybertron", casting both Autobots and Decepticons out into the wilderness. Heavy Is The Head Starscream recruits Rattrap as his second-in-command and finds a useful stooge in the religiously inclined Scoop Three Monologues after taking custody of the comatose Superion and secretly placing Wheeljack into stasis. Heavy Is The Head
A subsequent stopover on Hedonia Cybertronian Homesick Blues brings the Lost Light crew into contact with a group of Ammonites, and a game of one-upmanship goes wrong when Whirl annihilates Terradore commander Imperius Drax. With Drax's successor pushing the Terradores towards a dangerous conclusion, the Ammonites join forces with Shockwave. The Dead Are Not Enough Megatron's defeat pushes Shockwave into accelerating the development of his Regenesis program—having evolved into an ambitious plan to end the universe so Cybertron can live forever. Shockwaves
Not far away, Metroplex detects Ore-7, and Shockwave dispatches his Ammonite army to reclaim the sample. The Ammonites prove incapable of bringing the Titan down, but are successful in incapacitating him with a sample of Ore-2. Having contracted an alchemical virus from exposure to the deadly ore, a grievously wounded Metroplex jettisons his thumb and the Ore-7 sample before splashing down beneath the oceans of Hydrophena to recuperate. The Becoming
Metroplex's thumb impacts the Lost Light, leaving a reluctant Trailbreaker to fight off Lockdown and his crew of Titan Hunters. The Reluctant Specialist Meanwhile, Hoist and a crew of Autobots cope with a leftover phobia shield. The Waiting Game
When Rewind is grievously injured in a battle on Temptoria, the possibility of losing his beloved sends Chromedome into a grief spiral that eventually sees him tapping Overlord's memories. Remembrance Day Unfortunately, Chromedome accidentally allows Overlord to escape, and Rewind has to sacrifice himself to jettison the monster from the ship. Under Cold Blue Stars Not wanting to jeopardize a great destiny he has foreseen for Rodimus, Drift volunteers to take the fall for the incident and is exiled from the ship. The Gloaming Overlord's drifting body is found and taken in by the Galactic Council, who rebuild and recruit him into their service. Your Fierce Tears
Ultra Magnus is also fatally wounded in the battle, but his body disappears from the ship's Medibay. The crew track the Magnus Armor and discover lost moon of Luna 1, The Fecund Moon where they discover Chief Justice Tyrest, who has gone rogue and constructed a universal killswitch designed to eliminate all Transformers who were constructed cold in an act of religious genocide, helped by mad doctor Pharma and knight Templar Star Saber. The crew discovers the secret of Minimus Ambus and eventually defeat Tyrest by using their half of the Matrix to overwrite the killswitch, sacrificing their map to Cyberutopia in the process. This Calamitous Life Tyrest escapes, managing to teleport himself to the other side of Luna 1, where he is found and repaired by the Grand Architect. Farsickness
Windblade and the Brain
One is a Titan, the other's a plane!
Alpha Trion makes contact with Thunderclash and persuades him to send his Camien crew members to Hydrophena, where Windblade uses her cityspeaking talents to tend to Metroplex's many injuries. Burning Bright
Believing that Shockwave's plans will involve the Enigma of Combination, Alpha Trion correctly deduces it to be on Earth. He travels there to retrieve it, but his vessel is shot down by the Earth Defense Command and he is taken hostage to forward the development of the EDC's weaponry. The Crucible Full Fathom Five
With his pieces in place, Shockwave puts the final pieces of his plan into play. At the request of his old student, Jhiaxus manipulates Orion Pax into awakening a Titan slumbering beneath Gorlam Prime and transports it to Cybertron, transforming it into a undead "Necrotitan" that lays waste to Iacon by unleashing a "death plague" that brings the dead back to life, including Metalhawk. Dark Dawn Winners & Losers
"Good; then we will fight in the shade."
Shockwave creates a portal to the Dead Universe to summon Nova Prime and his ancient Cybertronians. Dark Dawn Bumblebee makes an alliance with Soundwave to stop this, but their strike on Shockwave's base proves only partially successful, as Galvatron reemerges before they can close the gate. Finest Hour Gorlam Prime collapses into a Dead Universe portal, and Orion and his crew are saved by the Lost Light. Orion and Hardhead venture into the rift to stop Shockwave's plot. Black Metal Though Hardhead perishes, Orion succeeds in rescuing both Nightbeat and Kup from the thrall of the Dead Universe. In the ensuing fight against Nova Prime, Prime finally kills his villainous predecessor and retakes the title of "Optimus Prime". Finis Temporis
With the Lost Light on Jhiaxus's tail, the ship makes a detour to Hydrophena, where they encounter Metroplex's body, Winners & Losers his Camien caretakers, The Dead Are Not Enough and an army of Ammonites. Into the Abyss The crew use their ship's engines to power up the Titan and return him to Cybertron. In the ravaged remains of Iacon, Bumblebee and Megatron form a strange alliance, Burning Bright and the Decepticon leader uses his internal space bridge to teleport Metroplex's thumb back to its rightful owner, giving Metroplex the energy to kill the Necrotitan and counter the plague. Finis Temporis
Unfortunately, all of this plays right into Shockwave's metaphorical hands; having lured all of the elements in his final plan to Cybertron—and having eliminated Nova Prime's control over the Dead Universe—Shockwave begins his final endgame, using Jhiaxus's chronal drive and the power of all fourteen ores to collapse all of reality into a singularity that will feed Cybertron for all eternity. Finis Temporis The Becoming
Prime, Bumblebee, and Megatron confront Shockwave beneath Crystal City Black Planet while Metalhawk sacrifices himself once again to destroy the Ammonite army. ...And the Damage Done Shockwave shoots Bumblebee Black Planet but the Autobot's sacrifice moves Megatron—having slowly realized the error of his ways—to announce that he is changing sides. Shockwave's incredulity breaks the shadowplay, and, horrified at what he has become, he allows Optimus Prime to put him down. Crystal City collapses into a singularity and drags Bumblebee's body with it. ...And the Damage Done Unbeknownst to anyone, however, Shockwave is not dead, instead having been sent twelve million years back in time, to the dawn of Cybertronian civilisation. The First Who Was Named
Though the Transformers have saved reality, the events of the crisis have changed Cybertron forever. In the aftermath, Autobot Megatron allows himself to stand trial for his crimes against the species, Towards Peace while the three Camiens struggle to adjust to their new lives. With the Decepticons left betrayed and rudderless, a new warrior steps up to take command... Galvatron. Hello Cruel World
2014
Over the course of several years, an increasingly high-tech G.I. Joe continues to pursue Cobra. At some point, Tomax Paoli takes over Cobra and reforms it into a "legitimate" private security force, and G.I. Joe faces the threat of being shut down now that their job is seemingly done. The Fall of G.I. Joe Part One[1]
Megatron's trial in the Raskol Arena lasts for five months, and though Megatron initially pleads guilty, Starscream's blustering testimony convinces him to change his plea to "not guilty". Words Hang in the Air The ex-Decepticon escapes immediate sentencing on a technicality. Requesting to be judged by the Knights of Cybertron, he joins the crew of the Lost Light as co-captain alongside an annoyed Rodimus. Before leaving Cybertron, he announces that the Decepticon cause has failed and that all active Decepticons are to stand down. Predestination: A Beginner's Guide
Snake Eyes emerges from hiding to apparently join Cobra, though he is in fact acting as a deep-cover operative for G.I. Joe. The Iron Klaw After breaking Destro out of a maximum security prison transport, Snake Eyes is tasked with hunting down Billy Kessler-Latta for a pin in his leg, secretly encoded with data; he manages to do so with the help of Erika Le Tene, but allows Billy to go free after a battle with Storm Shadow, instead giving Destro a fake pin. Snake Eyes, Agent of Cobra
Thanks to a combination of G.I. Joe operations in the region, the defection of Cobra Youth captain Isaac Craft, and sabotage by the war-hungry Baroness, Cobra is kicked out of the country of Galibi, where they had been hired to keep the peace during negotiations with its neighbor Schleteva. G.I. Joe vol. 4 The CIA's Operational Support hires Isaac Craft and ex-Joe mercenaries Duke and Big Ben to kill Tomax, but though their actions manage to cause the total collapse of Cobra, their lack of knowledge of Snake Eyes' involvement leads to Isaac's death. The Iron Klaw With Cobra defunct, G.I. Joe is shut down. Secret Raiders
Those Decepticons still loyal to the cause rally under Galvatron's new banner. Soundwave joins Galvatron's splinter group, announcing that they will follow the true Decepticon path and seek peace. Galvatron leads his new troops to Earth, where they meet with General Witwicky and Director Faireborn. The neo-Decepticons convince the skeptical humans of their good intentions by telling them that Megatron has defected to the Autobots, though Galvatron openly chafes under the idea of working alongside humans. Detonation Boulevard In exchange for aid against the Autobots, G.B. Blackrock sponsors the construction of Sanctuary Station in orbit around Jupiter, which will house the new Decepticon movement. Full Fathom Five
As the Autobots and their new allies settle in, Optimus Prime decides to lead a small crew of Autobots (and Prowl's Constructicon hangers-on) back to Earth aboard the Ark-7 in search of Alpha Trion. Hello Cruel World Detonation Boulevard
Metroplex transforms into his city mode and links up with the ruins of Iacon, providing housing, power, and infrastructure for any in need. Towards Peace In time, a "ghetto" of Decepticons springs up around his outskirts, while the Autobots and NAILs live inside the Titan. First Contact Though alive, Metroplex is barely functional, and over several months Windblade slowly nurses him back to health. A 'Bot and Her City As Metroplex recovers, he begins searching for his Titan brethren, scattered throughout the galaxy. Eventually, he locates Navitas on Velocitron, Chela on Eukaris, the remains of the dead Titan on Devisiun, Windblade #4 and Carcer, disguised as Metroplex's lost brother Tempo. Rubicon Though most of the colonies have survived their millennia of isolation unscathed, one world is not so lucky: Micronus Prime's colony world of Mini-Cons is sterilized by the robophobic Black Block Consortia. The sole survivor, a young female named Nickel, joins the Decepticon Justice Division when they happen on the planet days after the attack. The Permanent Revolution
Yes, Windblade and the Brain
Their robotic campaign, is easy to explain
Chromia comes to the conclusion that Cybertron is too dangerous for Windblade to stay, and engineers a public crisis that will allow her access to Metroplex's space bridge by surreptitiously bombing districts within Metroplex. Windblade #4 Windblade investigates and repeatedly clashes with Starscream A Long Way Down, who has by this point established the Badgeless troopers as enforcers of his will. Windblade #3 Windblade is horrified when she learns the truth, but strikes an uneasy deal with Starscream in the name of the greater good: in exchange for keeping Chromia's crimes hidden, Windblade will allow Starscream to contact the other lost colony worlds, help her impoverished home and rebuild the Cybertronian empire with himself at the helm. Though her friend walks free, Windblade is left conflicted by her friend's duplicity and her own moral compromise. Windblade #4
Entering Earth's orbit, the Ark-7 runs up against post-invasion humanity, who deploy sophisticated orbital defense systems derived from Cybertronian technology against them. Sneaking to Earth aboard Sky Lynx, Optimus, Kup, and Jazz encounter Thundercracker, who has gone native on Earth and turned his love of television into a career as an aspiring screenwriter. Thundercracker and his new pet Buster are bait, however, and the Earth Defence Command arrives to arrest the Autobots. Hello Cruel World The Autobots flee to the town of Poverty Flat, where Prowl and the Constructicons deploy Devastator against their foes. Detonation Boulevard The Autobots escape custody and return to their ship, where they trace the development of the "mindbomb" to an EDC base on Bikini Atoll. The Autobots manage to infiltrate the facility, where they discover and free Alpha Trion. In the conflict, Galvatron kills General Witwicky. Full Fathom Five
Trion explains the sordid history behind the Enigma of Combination, prompting the Autobots under Prowl's command to search for it The Crucible while Optimus returns to Cybertron. Signals, Calls, and Marches A globetrotting chase across the world ensues as Prowl's Autobots race Galvatron's Decepticons to find the artifact before the Decepticon leader can destroy it. Vs. ONoffON As they close on the Enigma, Prowl and his Constructicons form an unlikely alliance with Spike Witwicky to infiltrate Blackrock's Onyx facility in China. Devastator's hatred of Spike jeopardizes the mission and causes him to lose control of the Enigma to the Decepticons... who in turn, lose it to Starscream's double-agent Scoop, who has been working within the Decepticons as a mole. ONoffON The Obliterati
In deep space, Megatron continues to grapple with his legacy while dealing with the less-than-accepting crew of the Lost Light, including his old nemesis Whirl. Predestination: A Beginner's Guide A freak transmission and a mysterious coffin causes the Lost Light and its crewmembers to start disappearing, a phenomenon caused by their approach to the quantum duplicate of the Lost Light. Twenty Plus One The Lost Light crew investigates the wreckage of the ship and discovers the "other" Rewind, who is reunited with his beloved Chromedome. slaughterhouse The Road Not Taken Immediately afterwards, Brainstorm, who has been perfecting the development of a portable time case, takes the Lost Light crew out of commission and escapes backwards through history with the intention of talking Megatron out of starting the war and saving Quark from his eventual fate. All Our Parlous Yesterdays A team of Autobots chase Brainstorm across time to prevent a alternate timeline from overwriting reality entirely and succeed in preventing the increasingly desperate scientist from killing Megatron at the moment of his creation—but not without creating some critically important time loops along the way. Predestination: An Expert's Guide
Ratchet decides, after some soul-searching, to leave the Lost Light and go off in search of his friend Drift. Our Steps Will Always Rhyme He tracks the wayward Autobot to the outer rim of the galaxy, and joins Drift in confronting his old commander Gigatron and Hellbat over an army of ancient automatons. Ratchet agrees to help Drift, but only if he promises to return to the Lost Light at the conclusion of their adventure. Drift: Empire of Stone
Learning of Megatron's defection from a postwar edition of his manifesto, Tarn briefly despairs, but his grief hardens into a resolve to kill Megatron, whom he considers a traitor. He joins forces with Deathsaurus's troops in preparation for all-out war against Megatron. The Permanent Revolution
With Windblade's repairs on Metroplex nearing completion, Optimus arrives on Cybertron and helps bring Autobot serial killer Sandstorm, who has been exerting vengeance on war criminals who went unpunished, to justice. Punishment
2015
Starscream resuscitates Wheeljack to help repair Superion with the help of the Enigma and aid Windblade on Metroplex's space bridge. The World of Tomorrow Having established a stable link between the two worlds, Cybertron prepares to make official "first contact"with Caminus after millions of years of mutual isolation. Starscream uses both Menasor and Superion to stage a combiner attack on the planet to win them over, but discovers that the Camiens, like most colonists, consider Optimus Prime to be a divine being, and immediately fall behind him on learning of his existence. The Sum and Its Parts Caminus's leader, the Mistress of Flame, comes to believes that Optimus is the "Arisen", the legendary Thirteenth Prime, a belief not held by Pyra Magna or her Torchbearers. The Medium and the Message
Windblade and Optimus collaborate to undermine Starscream's imperialism from within, and manipulate him into announcing the formation of the "Council of Worlds", a democratic parliament where Cybertron and its colonies will all have an equal voice. The Possible Light Infuriated by news of Starscream's scheme, Prowl and the Constructicons arrive on Cybertron to forcibly cut the planet off from the rest of the galaxy, but Starscream stops them by creating Defensor from the Protectobots, a group of Lost Light delegates. Mistakes and Mayhem Starscream takes custody of Devastator and rebuilds him to incorporate Scoop, forcing the combiner into obeying him. Rattrap, who is secretly a double agent working for Prowl, releases Prowl from prison and gives him the Enigma. You, Me, and the Universe
When Devastator and Menasor go berserk, Prowl uses the Enigma on himself, Prime, and several other Autobots to create Optimus Maximus, who battles Devastator in a fight that spans across the lost colonies. Swindle leads a riot at Metroplex's space bridge; he is shot and presumed dead,All That Remains but Rattrap and Wheeljack secretly hide the brain-damaged Cybertronian, knowing that he has incriminating information on Starscream. Things We Said We'd Never Do The rogue combiners are defeated, paving the way for the creation of the Council of Worlds. Across the other colonies, the inhabitants are alerted to the fact that Cybertron still exists, and prepare for their own first contacts with their ancestral homeworld. All That Remains Optimus visits Prowl to try and reconcile, but the increasingly unstable tactician rejects his attempts. Their disagreement escalates into a full-on fistfight, and Rattrap has no choice but to spirit Prowl's broken body to safety. On Earth, Galvatron and Arcee arrange a clandestine meeting, where Galvatron reveals the otherworldly source behind G.B. Blackrock's Onyx operating code. Now and On Earth
Arcee travels to Cybertron and steals the Enigma, hoping to ensure that nobody else can be changed against their will. Windblade and Chromia track her to the Rust Sea, where they encounter Pyra Magna's group of Torchbearers. An accident leads to the creation of Victorion, the first Camien combiner. The Enigma is returned to its proper place, with Starscream none the wiser, while the Torchbearers opt to remain in the Rust Sea. An Uneventful Night Starscream and Windblade race each other to try and recruit more colonies into the Council of Worlds; after some adventuring, they succeed in convincing the citizens of Velocitron, Devisiun, Eukaris, and "Carcer" to join. The Will of the Few
In space, a visit to the Vis Vitalis for Thunderclash's "pre-wake" sees the legendary Autobot, and the Camien medic Velocity, join the Lost Light's crew after they save the other ship from an infestation of "personality ticks". The Frail Gaze A series of whimsical events leads to the Lost Light crew braving the holographic "Swearth" in search of Swerve The One Where They Go to Earth, which, in turn, leads them to the Necroworld, where they meet Censere. The Not Knowing A discussion regarding the Necrobot's passivity inspires Censere to use one of Brainstorm's discarded time cases to start travelling back in time and rescuing the "Disappeared" before they can vanish from history, storing them in stasis pods before they can overcome their timesickness. Among those brought to the present are Anode and Roller. Do Not Go Gentle
At some point after this, Prowl is kidnapped by his old comrade Mesothulas, who has escaped from the Noisemaze and recruited Mayhem, a post-war terrorist group sporting experimental biomechanical beast modes, to capture a terminally ill Verity Carlo and Stakeout for the Aequitas data they carry. Prowl's capture necessitates the return of the Wreckers, who assemble to rescue the disgraced strategist. Their mission takes them into the Noisemaze, where Prowl rejects Tarantulas's offer of an alliance. The Wreckers manage to free Prowl; Kup and Arcee finally sever ties with him and return to the Ark-7. Sins of the Wreckers
Aboard the Lost Light, crewmember Getaway decides that enough is enough and makes a move to incriminate Megatron by grooming Tailgate into performing a suicide mission. The Lopsided Triangle In case this fails, he also plans a large-scale mutiny, taking advantage of the crew's resentment of Megatron's presence and Rodimus's increasingly erratic leadership; Getaway also convinces them that the captains plan to have him locked up on trumped-up charges, which results in the crew having doubts when he is imprisoned for his attempt to manipulate Tailgate into his death. Filling in the Blanks Speak, Memory! (Part 2) A subsequent encounter with Froid and Sunder results in a super-powered Tailgate, while Megatron decides to permanently lay down arms in the name of pacifism. Speak, Memory: Part 1 Speak, Memory! (Part 2)
2016
A grander scheme with silver lining
For every boy and girl
The formation of the Council of Worlds brings great changes to Cybertron; Transformers from all five colonies start immigrating to Iacon, and the mix of cultures and traditions bolsters the rebuilding city. Aphelion Choose Me This new optimism has little effect on the increasingly frazzled Starscream, who starts experiencing recurring hallucinations of Bumblebee—who, unbeknownst to anyone, still lives within the Crystal City singularity. Aphelion Ghost Stories Unsure of his place in this rapidly changing society, Optimus Prime finds a sympathetic ear in Aileron, a young Camien who persuades him to seek out the Torchbearers. They do so, and Pyra Magna vows to build the agnostic Optimus into a worthy Prime. Aphelion At the same time, Galvatron begins recruiting new Decepticons on Cybertron, intending to restart the war on Earth via the space bridge network. The Transgressors
Action Man Mike Brogan sacrifices his life beneath the Thames to prevent Doctor X's antimatter reactor from destroying the world. Ian Noble, the Action Man Programme agent who uncovered the plot, is made the new Action Man thanks to pressure from the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. To the Victors the Spoils Action Man profile
The Dinobots accept a secret mission from Camien-turned-Decepticon sympathizer Swift: transporting a payload of Sparks into the Cybertronian wilderness. They contend with Bludgeon's latest wave of experiments and succeed in reigniting Alyon's old hot spot, gaining Strafe as the newest member of their team. Redemption
The faith the colonists place in Optimus pushes him into making ever more reckless decisions, and when Galvatron launches a unilateral attack on Earth, Optimus responds by using his authority to annex Earth into the Council of Worlds, permanently placing it under Cybertronian protection Once Upon a Time on Earth His actions throw both worlds into chaos; on Earth, the Earth Defense Command forms an alliance with the People's Liberation Army Mecha Force to prepare for total war against the Cybertronians, while on Cybertron, Starscream galvanizes the Council against Prime's actions. The Medium and the Message Blackrock, his status as a mechanical imposter fully revealed, forges an alliance of convenience with Galvatron's Decepticons. It's Beginning To And Back Again Seeking a new advantage, Optimus travels to Sanctuary Station and blackmails Soundwave's Decepticons into joining him and taking down Galvatron. The Autobots battle the Decepticons underwater, where Galvatron uses the powers of the Enigma against his foes before Superion sacrifices himself by de-combining for good to neutralize Blackrock's Enigma code. As Above... So Below
On Earth, events come to a head in Monument Valley, where Optimus, at Alpha Trion's urging, uses his control over Titans to summon Metrotitan. Optimus summoning a holy Titan convinces the colonists that Prime is, indeed, the Thirteenth Prime, and that Earth is a lost colony of Cybertron, which swings public opinion back his way. Prime, Arcee, and Soundwave subsequently pursue Galvatron to Jupiter, where Prime finally kills the ancient warrior. Hoping to repair relations with humankind, Optimus orders Metrotitan to transform and dubs the Titan "Autobot City", an embassy for Cybertronians on Earth. No Fair Fights
Project Spectrum is accelerated in response to the arrival of Metrotitan, with Miles Mayhem recruiting a group of young civilians (including troubled youth Matt Trakker) into the project, which has created anti-Cybertronian weapons including weaponized Masks and heavily armed transforming vehicles. The result is the elite Mobile Armored Strike Kommand task force; however, Mayhem secretly recruits certain members into his own personal black ops team, V.E.N.O.M.. M.A.S.K.: Revolution
In space, the mutinous crew of the Lost Light make their move against Rodimus and his crew by luring them to the Necroworld under the guise of a psychic attack and stranding them there. What they don't know is that Getaway has made a deal with the Galactic Council to hand over Megatron—and even he is unaware that the Decepticon Justice Division has finally tracked down Megatron, and that the Decepticon forces have assembled to take out the traitor and his allies. How Bright Their Frail Deeds Filling in the Blanks The Galactic Council arrives and deploys their new asset Overlord against Megatron. Your Fierce Tears With the help of the returned Ratchet and Drift—and through Skids's own self sacrifice—the crew manage to repel Deathsaurus's troops; Megatron renounces his pacifism and takes up arms once more to finally put down the DJD for good. In the aftermath, the crew discovers the fate of the time-hopping "Disappeared". Megatron is finally reunited with his old friend Terminus... moments before a GC geobomb detonates inside the planet. Do Not Go Gentle
On the Lost Light, the crew are shocked to learn both about Getaway's deal with the council and that he used his nudge gun to erase the memories of those who would not agree to the coup. Getaway pacifies them by lying that the council promised not to harm anyone but Megatron, but his subsequent efforts to alter the terms of the deal ends in failure. Filling in the Blanks
The detonation of the geobomb shunts the entire Necroworld into an alternate reality created by Brainstorm's time-travel misadventures. Bad Moon Rising Rodimus and a small crew of Autobots attempt to teleport back to Cybertron, only to find themselves on the wrong Cybertron! Some Other Cybertron The Functionist Cybertron stands on the brink of extermination, and the arrival of the Autobots threatens to push the uneasy peace completely over the brink. A World Misplaced The Functionist Council eventually deploy their ultimate weapon against Cybertron, and Megatron steps up to lead the counterattack and rallies the Anti-Vocationist League. Modes of Production Most of the Autobots return to their home universe, but Megatron and Terminus are accidentally left behind. Megatron joins the League and begins again, this time basing his revolution on "peace through empathy". On Necroworld, Anode—having been hallucinating Lug still being alive thanks to her timesickness—manages to resurrect her using the widowed metal "snowflake" and traces of Lug's spark energy in Necroworld's flowers. This Machine Kills Fascists
On the "real" Cybertron, Windblade and the other Council members continue to keep the peace 07:00:00 while Starscream hires exiled Eukarian Fateweaver Airachnid to search for Swindle's body in the hopes of permanently silencing the loose end. The Price of You Things We Said We'd Never Do Increasing tensions between the Badgeless and the civilians prompt Ironhide to step up and reform Cybertronian security. Applicable Skills Chromia and Windblade continue to search for Swindle's body as Airachnid surreptitiously racks up a mnemosurgical murder spree, while Blast Off joins the Badgeless to bring down their organization from within. Things We Said We'd Never Do Their inquiry ends when Rattrap and Wheeljack reveal the location of Swindle's body. The Combaticons use the Enigma to probe Swindle's mind and merge into Bruticus, who attacks Iacon. Ironhide's new recruits bring down the combiner, but in the aftermath Chromia confesses to her old crimes and is sent to jail. The Line Between Us
Prompted by Getaway, Perceptor manages to find "the Warren", a series of quantum tunnels that the Lost Light crew can use to reach Cyberutopia, but this "victory" is stymied by the Lost Light finally receiving the "last will and testament" of the crew, broadcast from Necroworld, which reveals their apparent imminent deaths at the hands of the Decepticon Justice Division. Despite Getaway's flustered insistence that the transmission is a fake, the crew is horrified and wants to go back for them, leading Getaway to use his nudge gun to memory-wipe Thunderclash and Riptide, though—unbeknownst to him—it fails on the latter. Getaway has Froid and Sunder released from the ship's brig so that Sunder can use his remote mnemosurgery abilities to trap Thunderclash in a memory loop and make the crew forget the transmission; though Getaway initially balks at Sunder's demand for twenty-five life cords to feast on in exchange, he quickly comes around. Filling in the Blanks
The President of the United States, furious at the EDC's recent failures, dissolves the organization in favor of Joe Colton, leading a revitalized team of G.I. Joe veterans. White Light What she doesn't know is that Joe Colton and several G.I. Joe troopers have been replaced by Dire Wraiths. Concorde Hymn The real Colton, having survived the Dire Wraith attack, takes on the identity of Baron Ironblood and joins up with Garrison Kreiger, intending to solve the Cybertronian problem by other means. Ghost in the Machine
Metrotitan broadcasts a message to the galaxy at large... a message that reaches Cybertron and awakens Infinitus from his long slumber beneath Kaon. Disgusted at what Cybertron has become, "Sentinel Prime" returns to life and rampages through Iacon before bridging to Earth. The Last Autobot There, he captures G.B. Blackrock and forcibly awakens his "Sovereign" persona White Light before leaving for Prion with Soundwave and Optimus. Claiming to be the herald of Onyx Prime's return, Sentinel attempts and fails to convince Optimus to stand with him. White Light Subsequently, Infinitus and Sovereign travel to Luna One, where Infinitus uses his powers to reactivate the Titan graveyard and send them to "cleanse" Cybertron. Infinitus perishes and Fortress Maximus, Red Alert, and Prowl manage to send his fleet of Titans off-course so that it will take months for them to reach Cybertron. Last Light
On Necroworld, the stranded Lost Lighters prepare to attempt re-contact with Cybertron using a convenient alt-mode they found amongst the dead Decepticons. Tailgate accepts treatment for his hyperactive spark, but a vengeful Fangry buries him for another six million years After Megatron before taking control of Necroworld with his fellow Decepticon Disappeared, until Fortress Maximus and his team arrive in response to Team Rodimus's "last will and testament". Sardines
The "Rod Squad"'s first stop is Troja Major, where they seek to obtain a new map to Cyberutopia from Nautica's contact Agonizer; however, Nautica has an ulterior motive for travelling to the planet, seeking to use the Carthasian Mengel's Resus Cradle to resurrect Skids from his brain module. Meanwhile, Anode and Lug meet up with her old co-worker Wipe-Out, but soon find themselves under attack from both the Black Block Consortia and the forces of the Grand Architect, led by Flame. An Axe to Break the Ice Anode, Lug and Wipe-Out escape, and Flame's troops instead pursue their more important target—a newborn Transformer known as the "Infinite", capable of turning into anything—to Mengel's lab. Nautica manages to break out of Mengel's siphon and escape from the Grand Architect's men before losing her friendship with Velocity, which Mengel had demanded as payment for Skids's resurrection, but loses her emotional connection to her memories of Skids in the process. Flame and his men recover the Resus Cradle, which is actually the Magnificence, and deliver it to Scorponok. Chasing the Infinite The Grand Architect moves his plans into their final phase, using the Black Block Consortia, which he has infiltrated and taken over, to clear the Benzene cluster of life so that he can use its threadbare space to banish the threat he had seen so long before. Farsickness
Around three weeks into Skip's journey, tensions start to flare during a prank war between the bored Swerve and Anode; things come to a head when the crew receive news from Fortress Maximus on Necroworld that Tailgate has apparently spontaneously combusted, leading a grief-stricken Cyclonus to inadvertently wound Rewind with his Great Sword. As fighting breaks out aboard the ship, Skip's mass-shifting begins wearing off, causing the dead Decepticon to shrink, threatening to crush the crew. Sardines Ten, having apparently gained the ability to speak—in reality, the Omega Guardians manipulating the crew by speaking through him—attempts to rally the other Autobots to save the de-materializing Ratchet by plotting a course through the Warren to Mederi.[15] You Are Here
Doctor X manipulates the Action Man Programme into retrieving the data she requires to gain full access to all American intelligence communications; in the process, however, Action Man discovers her true identity as Mercy Gale, and she is forced to flee the AMP. Action Man
Rom the Space Knight makes planetfall on Earth to hunt the Dire Wraiths, but is taken off guard by the subtlety of their infiltration and their ability to hide from his energy analyzer. With the help of traumatized military veteran Darby Mason and Wraith-infected police officer Camilla Byers, Rom is able to disrupt the Wraiths' operations in northern California, and discovers that they have infiltrated the forces of G.I. Joe. Earthfall Rom's investigation leads him to Seattle, where the Wraiths have him attacked by the monstrous Axiom. Field Test
Several months pass, and humanity and Cybertronians uneasily coexist on Earth in spite of the Autobot's continued humanitarian efforts. Concorde Hymn All this changes when extradimensional warlord Baron Karza, hailing from Micronus Prime's dying dimension of Microspace, sets his sights on Earth's ample supplies of Ore-13, which he can use to save his universe. The New Colossus He cuts a deal with the Dire Wraiths and Miles Mayhem and begins transporting supplies of the ore into his dimension, which has the side effect of destabilizing the ore on Earth and threatening the planet with nuclear annihilation. Concorde Hymn Believing the Cybertronians at fault, “Colton” seeks out Miles Mayhem, who gears up to deploy M.A.S.K. in the field by using his captive Blitzwing as a source of scientific development. Secret Raiders
Colton deploys G.I. Joe in Portland against Jazz and Arcee; during the battle, Rom arrives and immediately kills the false Colton. Concorde Hymn The Autobots pursue Rom while Windblade relocates to Earth to deal with the malfunctioning Metrotitan, and a cityspeaking session catapults her into Microspace. Informed Thundercracker defends the President from a Dire Wraith incursion Thundercracker & Buster Save the World while Action Man leads a daring heist to rescue Kup from MASK captivity. The Modern World The heroic Micronauts cut a deal with their nemesis Karza and travel to our dimension. The New Colossus The Scavengers briefly stop by Earth, where they befriend washed-up G.I. Joe recruit MP3 and Crankcase's online boyfriend—in reality a pacifistic Dire Wraith—as part of a mystical "Crossover". Nothing Will Ever Be the Same Again!
Miles Mayhem, M.A.S.K., and the Dire Wraiths launch an assault on Autobot City, which turns into a free-for-all when Baron Karza arrives. Only by teaming up do the heroes manage to force the villain back into Microspace and neutralize Earth's remaining stores of Ore-13. In the aftermath, Optimus Prime and his new allies realize that they will have to defend Earth together, as equals. Valley Forge
G.I. Joe parts ways with the U.S. government to become an independent peacekeeping force, adapting the captured Decepticon warship Nemesis, which they rechristen Lemuria, into an underwater base of operations. G.I. Joe vol. 5 #1 Skywarp, mistreated and abandoned by Galvatron's Decepticons, reluctantly joins the G.I. Joe team in exchange for them promising to fix his lost teleportation powers. D.T.A. Former G.I. Joe leader Duke returns to the U.S. Army, taking on Roadblock—torn between his loyalties to G.I. Joe and his country—as an informant. G.I. Joe vol. 5 #3 Duke profile
The Micronauts are captured by a scientific organisation that seeks to vivisect them, but escape with the help of a sympathetic scientist. Micronauts #7 Following their discovery of a miniature city populated by refugees from a destroyed future Microspace, Micronauts #9 a battle with alternate future versions of themselves inadvertently brings the Micronauts under attack by Baron Karza's forces once more. Micronauts Annual
Windblade returns to Cybertron just in time for Sentinel Prime's fleet of undead titans to make planetfall on Cybertron. The Republic of Cybertron musters its defenses and prepares to fight back... Ping but their efforts aren't enough, and as a result Starscream orders his troops to storm Carcer against the wishes of its commander Elita One and force the Titan to transform. Desperate Times Windblade joins the infiltration team, but is horrified when she learns she has awoken Vigilem after years of slumber. Desperate Measures Vigilem destroys the zombie Titans, but proves too much for Windblade to control. Metroplex releases Chromia to help her, and Elita One manages to kill the Titan... but not before Vigilem disgorges Liege Maximo, the Prime teleporting away to places unknown. Rubicon
Miles Mayhem and his V.E.N.O.M. loyalists split from M.A.S.K., and begin building a criminal empire by selling dangerous prototype Masks on the black market. They are thwarted by M.A.S.K., who have V.E.N.O.M. arrested and imprisoned; however, while they celebrate their victory, M.A.S.K. member Brad Turner is captured and replaced by the shapeshifting Zartan. M.A.S.K. issue 5
Rom's fellow Space Knights Livia and Orphion arrive on Earth, believing that the planet's Wraith infection has reached the point where the planet must be destroyed. Despite his comrades' intent, Rom is able to convince them to stay their hand and investigate the cause of the Wraiths' unusual behavior after a battle with the Absence almost kills Livia. Reinforcements A battle with the Wraith-monsters Scylla and Charybdis reveals that the Dire Wraiths are gathering energy to hasten the growth of the Presence, a Dire Wraith deity incubating within the planet. Long Roads to Ruin
2017
In the country of Schleteva, G.B. Blackrock investigates the Talisman and provokes a crisis aboveground when his recklessness transforms civilians into Dire Wraiths. Crisis Intervention He, Action Man, Ayana Jones, and Kup team up to chase the Talisman across the globe and beyond in the hopes of returning Ayana's G.I. Joe comrades to normal, encountering a villainous alliance—the Iron Ring—of foes such as Baron Ironblood, the Predacons, The Iron Klaw and Centurion, the last of the living Maximal Autobots... even as the frozen corpse of Domitius Major is examined by the forces of Ironblood and Garrison Kreiger. Strange Visitors The Revolutionaries break into Kreiger's Project Ice Man compound and capture Kreiger while also reuniting with the time lost Sgt. Savage. Power and Glory Before they can transfer the Talisman and Kreiger over to G.I. Joe however, Baron Ironblood attacks with Savage unmasking him as Joe Colton. When Eagles Scream Blackrock proves able to use his connection to the Talisman and his Titan Master powers to heal the infected the mutates Verenyans via Metrotitan's Space Bridge, a wave that somehow releases the consciousness of the deceased Mike Power into the body of Centurion. Nonetheless, Colton's alliance proves able to escape with the Talisman with it sending another mutagenic wave that the new Centurion shields Action Man from before returning to life and explaining his recovery. Ghost in the Machine
Baron Karza, having built a new army after being sent back to Microspace, invades Earth to create a new home for his people; Enerchanging with Micronus Prime's body, Karza uses its power to defeat and capture Optimus Prime, Arcee and Jazz, while his forces neutralise M.A.S.K. and G.I. Joe. Wrath of Karza #1 Though his armies almost manage to conquer the planet, he is stopped by the Micronauts, who release the Autobots from Karza's orbital prison to fight him. Wrath of Karza #4 Karza is forced to team up with the Autobots when his wife, Shazraella, starts using the power of the Entropy Cloud that has consumed Microspace, but they are unable to defeat her. Shazraella is eventually stopped when the Micronauts' leader, Oziron Rael, ascends to become one of the Time Travelers and separates her from the source of her power; the Time Travelers arrange to have spacebridges created between Microspace and Earth, with Optimus pledging to help welcome any ambassadors of Microspace to the planet. Wrath of Karza #5
Optimus Prime's adventures prove inspirational enough to recruit a whole new generation of idealistic Autobots, recruited from the colonies and religiously devoted to their leader. With his new recruits, Prime and the Autobots continue their mission of global peacekeeping while preparing Earth to join the Council. This uneasy status quo is thrown into doubt when the Junkions arrive on Earth, hoping to rebuild their world using Earth's supplies of Ore-13. To Walk Among the Chosen A series of mutual misunderstandings caused by Prime's increasing ruthlessness escalate the crisis to the point of all-out war between the Transformers and Junkions, as Soundwave uses Megatron's original words to turn the Junkions' servant Sharkticons against their masters, Future Glories Lost but Optimus salvages the situation at the last moment by convincing his troops to lay down arms. Feel Safe Without Regrets
The Junkions relocate to an abandoned EDC base to start the construction of "Little Cybertron", but Slide, who has lost her brother Oiler in the hostilities, is unable to forgive the Junkions and finds herself being groomed by an increasingly ambitious Pyra Magna, who has grown tired of Prime's leadership, What It's Really Like even as Optimus and Pyra tentatively bury their hatchet...for now. Ghost Stories Jazz, in an effort to increase understanding between humans and Cybertronians, agrees to an interview with Hector Ramirez, but the interview is used as a trap by G.I. Joe, who seek to apprehend him for his killing of John Powell years before. Jazz escapes thanks to a tip-off from Optimus Prime. What It's Really Like
Ex-Cobra mysticist Crystal Ball and the Dreadnoks take over Inner Mongolia, leading the Chinese government to call on G.I. Joe for aid; G.I. Joe vol. 5 #1 though they manage to capture Crystal Ball, the team are faced with a greater threat when a group of subterranean monster are released on the Earth. G.I. Joe vol. 5 #4 Snake Eyes and Agent Helix disobey orders to try and fight the monsters, but are disciplined and imprisoned in the brig when they return to Lemuria. G.I. Joe vol. 5 #8 An underground G.I. Joe mission succeeds in destroying the monsters' nest, but in the chaos, Crystal Ball and the Baroness—previously captured by the Joes—are broken free of a prison transport taking them to the Hague by Cobra loyalists, and escape. The Baroness subsequently declares herself the new Cobra Commander of a revived Cobra. G.I. Joe vol. 5 #9
a) A powerful gestalt being formed of six Autobots through mystical and ancient technology
b) One sword-wielding boi
After months in space, the Protectobots and Mirage finally catch up with the Lost Light where they are all, First Aid in particular, caught off guard by the change in command and the resulting changes aboard ship as well the myriad of suspicious activities and attitudes. At a private meeting, they are approached by Riptide who confesses the truth behind the mutiny against Rodimus and his role therein. Simultaneously however, Getaway and his loyalists corner them forcing the Protectobots into a running firefight to try and escape the ship only to be subdued and placed within a memory loop, Full Circle while Riptide is forced into the ship's oil reservoir, which has been filled with scraplets. Filling in the Blanks To secure his control of the ship, Getaway contacts Star Saber, hiring him as an enforcer.
As the Lost Light makes multiple trips through the Warren, in order to deal with his co-conspirator Atomizer's growing doubts, Getaway forces him to execute the comatose Rook to prevent the Protectobots from forming Defensor; however, Riptide, who survived his dip in the oil reservoir, awakens the comatose Autobots to help them escape. The Protectobots retrieve the corpse of Ambulon from the ship's morgue to use as the combiner's leg, but even the combined might of Thunderclash, Mirage and Defensor is no match for Star Saber, who cuts them down where they stand. Thunderclash, Riptide and First Aid are able to escape the ship thanks to Atomizer turning on Getaway, but the captain murders Atomizer with his bare hands in response before the ship emerges from the Warren at its destination.[15] Journey's End
The body of Astrotrain, sliced into pieces in Jupiter's orbit, falls to Earth infected with a techno-virus that Earth's villains take an interest in; however, M.A.S.K. and G.I. Joe are together able to secure the body. The Deathstone A subsequent battle with a Dire Wraith sorcerer by M.A.S.K. is thrown into jeopardy when V.E.N.O.M. attacks, forcing Matt Trakker to surrender to Mayhem so that they can stop the Wraith's plans. The team is able to disrupt the Wraith's mutagenic magic, but the team loses faith in Matt's leadership and breaks apart. M.A.S.K. #10
Meanwhile, a bunch of people are manipulated into murdering each other in a mansion. Clue
During a misadventure on the planet Frayus, the Scavengers are caught in a three-way fight between the Galactic Council, the Black Block Consortia, and Deathsaurus and Nickel's Decepticons. They are rescued by Agonizer, who uses a portal to bring them to Troja Major, with Nickel inadvertently being brought with them. Journey's End Agonizer hires the Scavengers to retrieve the Magnificence from Flame on the planet Confluence, but after they arrive they are captured by Flame's master Scorponok; The Ties That Bind however, the group is able to escape after Nickel and Spinister manage to treat the symptoms of Grimlock's brain damage, restoring the Dinobot to his "old self". Discovering that Scorponok has created an organic baby called the Firstborn, the first of a race of "organic Decepticons" containing Cybertronian sparks, the Scavengers take the baby and the Magnificence and flee; Grimlock takes the Firstborn and fights his way out, while the other Scavengers and the Magnificence are sent through Scorponok's transmat portal.[15] Kill All 'Cons Grimlock is picked up by First Aid and crew, who drop the Firstborn off at Troja Major and repair Thunderclash before setting off in search of the Lost Light on a ship chartered from Wipe-Out. A Dance Before Dying
On Cybertron, Starscream—increasingly "haunted" by the "ghost" of Bumblebee Ghost Stories—picks up the pieces from the leftover Titan crisis; as part of a deal between himself and the Mistress of Flame, he releases Chromia into the Mistress's custody so that she can hunt down and kill Liege Maximo. Heavy He subsequently has Airachnid alter the memories of the Combaticons and turn them into loyal bodyguards for his own purposes. The Price of You Meanwhile, Bludgeon reawakens Trypticon, intending to lay waste to the galaxy in the name of Cybertron; the Dinobots, Sandstorm, and Trypticon defeat him, sparks Bludgeon had harvested from the Alyon hotspot subsequently developing into a wave of newborn protoforms within the belly of the bestial Titan. Starscream takes Bludgeon into custody, and manages to revive Slug—who was killed by Sandstorm while hunting Bludgeon—using a corrupted Sweep spark. Salvation The Dead Come Home, Part 1
Windblade's doctor informs Starscream of his discovery that Vigilem downloaded his mind into Windblade's before his death, and that it is slowly killing her. After some deliberation, Starscream has Airachnid connect his mind to Windblade's so that he can save her, despite the risk to his own life. If I Know You Entering Windblade's mind, he intervenes to stop Vigilem from killing her, but Vigilem begins to take control of Starscream's body. However, on looking into Starscream's memories, Windblade sees his creation through cold construction; in response, she "forges" Starscream's spark to create a projection of his"true form"—the form he would have taken had he been forged, rather constructed cold. With Starscream forcing Vigilem back into Windblade's mind, she destroys the Titan within her spark, allowing the two to awaken. Your First Mistake
With Sideswipe's health increasingly deteriorating, the Autobots humanely shut down his CR chamber. The Life of Sideswipe Soon afterwards, Alpha Trion recounts the origin of the Autobot symbol to Optimus Prime, Starscream and Pyra Magna before the President calls to announce that Marissa Faireborn has been chosen to represent Earth on the Council of Worlds. Origin Myths
At the official induction ceremony, Colton's alliance attacks First Strike #1 before heading into the depths of Metroplex to deploy the Talisman, First Strike #2 leaving behind their army of Iron Grenadiers, Dreadnoks and Red Shadows, with Doctor Mindbender in the Baron Ironblood costume as a distraction. First Strike #3 During the attack, the mercenary Colditz and a trio of Red Shadows are sent to retrieve the Centurion/Mike Power hybrid, who apparently willingly rejoins his side, kidnapping Blackrock in the process. Arcee and the remaining "Revolutionaries" head into the Cybertronian wilderness after them. Unification Day: Dawn Centurion actually intends to take revenge on Kreiger, but Colditz has actually been ordered to take him into the wilderness to ensure that he doesn't interfere with the villain's plans with his connection to the Talisman. The Revolutionaries manage to talk the overloading Centurion down, but he is left in stasis lock and unable to help them against the Iron Ring. Unification Day: Dusk
Meanwhile, on Earth, G.I. Joe and M.A.S.K. contact Soundwave to reach Cybertron and stop Colton, First Strike #2 only to be thrown in jail under charges of suspicion by Starscream. Sunstreaker and Ironhide head underground to try and kill Colton but the human general manages to outmaneuver them and escape Metroplex. First Strike #4 Optimus Prime breaks the Joes out of prison, to Windblade's disappointment, and—along with Soundwave and a returning Arcee—head to the core of Cybertron, managing to beat the villains there. First Strike #5 Despite the intervention of Starscream, Elita One and Obsidian, who attempt to arrest or kill everyone present, Colton's alliance is prevented from reaching the core; however, Kreiger—actually the alien wizard Merklynn—activates the device where they are, using it to magically alter the whole planet's energon and transform a portion of Cybertron into a replica of his lost homeworld Prysmos, from which he intends to conquer the galaxy. A broken, defeated Colton and his allies are taken into custody on Cybertron. First Strike #6
In response to Merklynn's actions, Cybertron uses almost half its energy to beam a signal—"Welcome. Death."—into space, where it finds its target in the orbit of a black hole: Unicron. The Signal
Every lad in this land has his duty to do.
While G.I. Joe and the Cybertronians deal with Colton's attack, Aileron leads a team of colonists to search for the missing Jazz on Earth, eventually finding him under attack by humans in Oaxaca. Primeless, Part 1 Though Jazz and the colonists succeed in tracking the Cybertronian weapons the humans were using to their source (Rumble and Frenzy, posing as humans via holomatter avatars), Jazz is angry and upset that Optimus Prime didn't attempt to find him or deal with the weapons, and heads off on his own once more. Primeless, Part 2 Meanwhile, other villains take advantage of the absence of G.I. Joe and Autobot City's leadership, such as V.E.N.O.M. (now under the employ of Cobra) G.I. Joe: First Strike and the Dire Wraiths. Micronauts: First Strike
Discovering from Centurion that protoforms once again exist on Cybertron, Optimus and his allies confront Starscream over his knowledge of the active hot spot. Starscream takes Prime to see the resurrected Slug, who agrees to help track down the Dinobots and the protoforms; however, when Optimus's team finds Centurion, the Dinobots and Sandstorm in the wilderness, Bludgeon uses his Void Scepter from afar to drive Slug into a murderous rage over his teammates working with his killer. The Dead Come Home, Part 2 After Slug is calmed down, Trypticon, wishing to protect the protoforms, emerges from the ground to demand an end to the fighting; this prompts Optimus to declare Trypticon to be the Earth embassy on Cybertron, preventing him from having to turn the protoforms over to Starscream's government. Meanwhile, Prowl and his allies rescue the surviving Throttlebots on Regalis V from Onyx Prime's beast army in the Peaceful Revolution, acting on intelligence provided by Pyra Magna. The Dead Come Home, Part 2
2018
Thundercracker's attempts to write a biopic of G.I. Joe agent Chuckles are interrupted by Starscream, who asks Thundercracker to make a film about his life. Thundercracker eagerly sets to the task, though he is stymied by the seemingly impossible task of portraying Starscream both positively and honestly. Starscream: The Movie
On returning to her seat on the Council of Worlds, Windblade is outraged to learn that the council have not yet told the public about Liege Maximo's escape, and informs the planet of the truth herself. Though she is expelled from the council, when Starscream calls free elections as demanded by Elita One, she agrees to run for office. Starscream, meanwhile, is haunted by his experience within Windblade's mind and the vision of what he could have been, and when the electoral debate comes, he confesses to his crimes in full for all to hear. Starscream, along with his co-conspirators Airachnid, Rattrap and the Combaticons, are all arrested, and Windblade goes on to win the election and be declared the "first delegate", the new ruler of Cybertron. The Chosen One
Thundercracker, on learning of Starscream's arrest, is not dissuaded from his filmmaking, seeing it as the perfect ending to the movie. Not wanting the fairly-accurate-but-kind-of-terrible film released, the imprisoned Starscream has a message sent to two Badgeless, who attempt to kill Thundercracker to prevent the film's release. Thundercracker manages to kill his two attackers, and returns to Earth... where he finds out that all interest in the film is dead in the water. Starscream: The Movie
Baron Karza joins forces with the Dire Wraiths, intending to channel the Entropy Cloud destroying Microspace to accelerate the awakening of the Presence. The Micronauts recruit Rom and his allies to help them, and—following a detour to Microspace—are able to use the Cloud's power to kill the Presence instead, though it costs Orphion's life to do so. Though the Wraiths are defeated, a more-than-happy Karza returns to Microspace a hero, and the Micronauts pursue him to prevent him from conquering the now-saved dimension. Rom & the Micronauts
Using intelligence gained from Cesspool, G.I. Joe track Cobra to their new base: a mysterious, verdant jungle populated by dinosaurs at the North Pole. The Joes make it past Cobra's defenses, but their killing of the Viper army plays into Cobra's hands, fueling Crystal Ball's blood-magic and allowing the birth of a new "Cobra Moon". At the same time, Roadblock breaks ties with Duke, but Skywarp offers to defect to Duke's side instead, and breaks Snake Eyes and Helix out of the brig to join him. Scarlett's Strike Force
Optimus Prime, Marissa Faireborn and the President of the United States inaugurate an Ore-13 mine in Kentucky, staffed by human, Cybertronian, and Junkion alike; the ore is refined into energon and shipped to Cybertron, compensating for Merklynn's magical tainting of their fuel supply. However, the arrival of the first shipment is overshadowed—quite literally—by the arrival of Onyx Prime's enormous eyeball-shaped ship Nemesis in the skies above Iacon. Onyx Prime, with a chained Liege Maximo at his feet, demands to speak to Optimus Prime, who he calls "the Arisen". Surfeit of Primes While Soundwave attempts and fails to read the mind of Liege Maximo, arguing breaks out between Onyx, the Council of Worlds, and Optimus; things reach a head when Soundwave enters the council chambers, and is enraged to see Optimus defending Onyx. Just as Alpha Trion realises the truth of Onyx's identity, an explosion rips through the Spire and kills Trion, which Onyx blames on Soundwave. Another Mine Liege Maximo vanishes from captivity in the chaos, while Onyx stokes dissent and confusion by impugning Optimus's allies, revealing the truth that Soundwave killed Horri-Bull to the furious Decepticons.
With fighting breaking out in the city streets, Onyx boards his skiff to return to the Nemesis; meanwhile, Devastator forms to forcibly "rescue" Starscream from prison, while Metrotitan travels from Earth to Cybertron and submits to the command of the "chosen one", firing on Onyx's vessel. As the situation gets further out of control, Metrotitan refuses to obey Optimus's orders to stand down and fires on him and Windblade, sending Optimus falling to the ground; Onyx catches him aboard the skiff and has the Nemesis return fire, knocking Metrotitan to the ground. After subduing the furious Optimus, Onyx tears his "face" off, revealing his true identity as Shockwave. The Ground
Explaining what happened to him and how he became "Onyx" to Optimus, Shockwave has the Nemesis take them to the Crystal City singularity and throws Optimus in so that he may share Shockwave's enlightenment. The First Who Was Named With the discovery of his "true self" and the prophecies surrounding him seemingly adding up into a chance to become the savior Cybertron needs, Starscream has Devastator carry him to the fallen Metrotitan, where for one moment he believes he really does have some grand destiny... only for Shockwave to show up and mock him with the revelation that the entire prophecy was the result of his manipulations to place a fool like Starscream on the throne of Cybertron, before murdering Metrotitan. Within the singularity, Optimus—now finding himself in infraspace once more—reunites with Bumblebee, whose ghostly form is dragged away from Starscream to meet with his old leader. The Hallowing
With Shockwave's machinations having sowed chaos across Iacon, Scoop's religious faith drives him and the other Constructicons on as Devastator, taking on Victorion out of a sheer single-minded intent to prove that Starscream is a reincarnation of the treacherous Megatronus. In the meantime, Optimus devises a means of escaping from Infraspace, using the Matrix as a means of generating an escape back to the real world. Endless Forever Ultimately, Arcee succeeds in killing Liege Maximo, Victorion triumphs over Devastator, and the minds of Optimus and Bumblebee come to inhabit Pyra Magna's body; Shockwave is taken prisoner, and Pyra is treated to disentangle the minds of Optimus and Bumblebee from her own. Unforgivable
During Optimus's convalescence, Ironhide and Kup are sent to attempt diplomatic negotiations with the Prysmosian inhabitants of New Prysmos. While Wheeljack discovers that the Talisman is tunnelling towards Cybertron's core and threatening to finish what Merklynn started, a faction of Visionaries called the Darkling Lords—covertly urged on by Merklynn—attempt to conquer Cybertron for themselves, their leader Virulina murdering Kup with magic. Leoric and his Spectral Knights oppose Virulina's plan, and ally with Ironhide's team to stop them; though they succeed in preventing the Darkling Lords' conquest, a reaction between Galadria's magics and Wheeljack's bomb rockets New Prysmos to the surface of Cybertron and surrounds it with a swathe of organic grass. Merklynn is imprisoned for his misdeeds, and is left dejected and fatalistic by his realisation that all he did was for naught, as his actions have summoned Unicron. Transformers vs. Visionaries
Learning of Kup's death, Springer and Verity Carlo attempt to meet up with Impactor, but are embroiled in Mayhem's anti-faction scheme in the process—which, in turn, causes Verity's kidnapping by Overlord, who has been working on Earth with Tarantulas on the Timemaze, a gateway allowing access to other times and alternate timelines. Though Impactor sacrifices himself to save Springer and Verity, Overlord is dealt with by sending the two halves of his body into different time periods, and Tarantulas dies in the arms of his "son". Leaving a message to the surviving Wreckers and their allies asking that they make sure nobody has to do what the Wreckers did again, Springer departs into the Timemaze in the hope of changing history for the better by preventing the war. Requiem of the Wreckers
The Lost Light's final Warren jump brings them to what they believe to be Cyberutopia; Journey's End however, the paradise world is actually Mederi, an ancient medical facility designed to allow terminally ill patients to die happy through an telepathic "happy ending". You Are Here Due to a lack of a cohesive idea of what Cyberutopia "should" be, however, the crew finds the planet empty; when they are subsequently attacked by the Grand Architect's fleet, Getaway strikes a deal, allowing Scorponok to transform the crew into sparkeaters in exchange for a position among the Grand Architect's followers. Lūstrāre Scorponok's transmat portal also brings the Scavengers to Mederi, the illusion causing them to perceive the facility as Grimlock's cell in Garrus-9.[15] Kill All 'Cons You Are Here
Skip's travel through the Warren to Mederi is interrupted when the mass-displacement fails and the Autobots are exposed to the compressed space outside, causing them to crash on the artificial moon; because of Cyclonus's desire to see Tailgate again, the facility presents itself to them as the Afterspark, complete with illusory versions of their dead friends to welcome them.[15] Metastasis
However, the Mederi illusion is imperfect; Nautica's loss of her connection to Skids allows her to walk into the Scavengers (causing the illusion to fail when they see conflicting environments), while Ratchet's scepticism leads him, Rodimus, Drift and Ultra Magnus to the device controlling the illusion, which they destroy. The Everlasting Voices (2): The God War You Are Here Realizing where they are, Rodimus's group figures out what happened, and Rodimus comes to the conclusion that Mederi is Cyberutopia, the dying Knights having been fooled by the illusion into believing that they had found a new, perfect Cybertron. Ultra Magnus manages to inform the crew of the truth in time to prevent all of them except for Nightbeat and Ten from being killed by "ascension", causing all of the "ghosts" to fade away—except Tailgate, who had been secretly teleported to Mederi from Necroworld by the Omega Guardians—but as soon as the three groups reunite with the intention of returning to Cybertron, they are set upon by the Sparkeater army transformed from the Lost Light crew. You Are Here
Joined by Grimlock, First Aid and their team, the combined group comes flees the Sparkeaters, only to be attacked by the Lost Light itself, under the command of the Grand Architect's forces; under Rodimus's direction, the majority of the crew barricades themselves in Mederi's Ward Zero to find a cure for the Sparkeaters, while he and a small team board the Lost Light aboard Wipe-Out's ship. Rodimus and Cyclonus confront Star Saber and Getaway, killing the former and preventing the latter from committing suicide by destroying the ship in a nucleon explosion; Getaway instead tries to stab Rodimus in the back, but is killed by the oil reservoir scraplets, under the control of the scraplet colony that Whirl had previously bonded with.
Though the medics on the ground manage to cure the sparkeaters through "concussive medicine", as everything else is going on, a giant rift is formed in space, Lūstrāre pulling Mederi and the Lost Light through to the Benzene Cluster, now home to the five false Cybertrons created by the Grand Architect. Rodimus persuades the Grand Architect to let his entire team come aboard the Architect's Worldsweeper, angering Scorponok, who has Sunder attempt to probe the Architect's mind; however, the Grand Architect is able to force Sunder out, and kills Scorponok in response. The God Gun is activated with the intent to form an interdimensional portal to banish the Architect's foreseen threat through, Farsickness but in fact, the false Primus that the Architect had seen so long ago was the Cybertron of the Functionist Universe, transformed and controlled by the Functionist Council, which used the portal to enter the mainline universe—with Megatron and the Anti-Vocationist League fleeing ahead of it.
Split up between the Worldsweeper and Megatron's Last Light, the Lost Lighters have both the Functionists' plan and the true history of the Guiding Hand revealed to each other; The Return of the King the latter prompts the enraged Solomus to kill Adaptus, though he is fatally wounded himself. The crews of the Lost Light and Last Light reunite on the former ship to plan a way to stop the Functionist Primus, currently laying waste to the replica Cybertrons; the Magnificence proposes having Rung create three Matrices as bombs to destroy the planet, but instead, the crew propose using twelve Matrices to destroy Vector Sigma and the Functionist Council while leaving the planet unharmed. The Magnificence, angered, reveals its "wisdom" to actually be the voices of the Omega Guardians, who want Primus destroyed to blow the Benzene rift open wide enough for them to return and "eat everything"... so Nickel smashes the Magnificence, stopping their plans short. The Unremembering
Rung uses his alternate mode to create twelve Matrix replicas, but the effort kills him in the process. To forcibly transform "Primus" back to planet mode, Fortress Maximus and Red Alert—on the instructions of a future Rodimus—pilot Luna 1 through the Warren, back in time and into the back of the robot's neck, forcing transformation and ensuring the crew can use the planet's hot spots to channel the Matrix energy. The crew land on the hot spots, but thanks to the morality lock, are unable to open the Matrices until an encouraging speech from Rodimus gives them the self-belief they need to do so—though Megatron remains unable to do it, forcing Rodimus to open his Matrix instead. The released energy obliterates the Functionist Council for good before radiating back out, igniting the Luna 1 hot spot and giving life to a new generation of sparks; together, they form the shape of a message from Rung: "DON'T FORGET ME". A Spark Among Embers Tragically, within a matter of days, the crew give in to information creep and lose all their memories of Rung. How To Say Goodbye And Mean It: Part 2
On Cybertron, Optimus Prime and Bumblebee are revived to help against Unicron, now in the process of consuming Cybertron's colony worlds. Unstopped and Unstoppable Though Prime and his allies are able to save much of the populations of Elonia Our Darkest and Caminus, they are unable to find a way to stop Unicron within the monster-planet, and are forced to retreat. Last Stand Starscream's plan, to have Bludgeon's "Decepticon Vengeance Division" trap Unicron in a stasis web, proves a miscalculation; Bludgeon has changed loyalties to Unicron, and allows his fleet to be corrupted and transformed by the chaos-bringer. Meanwhile, Bumblebee seeks out Omega Supreme, who was part of the original invasion of Antilla, for answers; the comatose Omega Sentinel projects a vision of Unicron's origins into Bumblebee's mind before dying, just in time for Unicron to appear over Cybertron, transforming into a robot mode in the image of Cybertron's mythical Uncreator, gained from the integration of the Titan Nemesis and its transformation cog. Stranger Eons Meanwhile, Earth comes under attack by an advance party of Maximals, who target Lemuria; G.I. Joe and the refugees they have taken in are saved by Skywarp, Snake Eyes and Helix, who return to rescue their old comrades. Last Stand
The Cybertronian fleet rallies to defend Cybertron while its leaders debate what to do; Victorion attempts to break into Unicron's interior and kill the planet-eater from the inside, but is stopped by Monstructor, who—under Bludgeon's command—tears Stormclash in half and breaks the Torchbearer combiner apart. Starscream advocates having Metroplex space bridge to Earth so that a portion of the population can survive, but is convinced to allow Windblade to execute an alternative plan: Our Finest appealing to the Visionaries and their magic for help. Using the Talisman, the Visionaries use a wave of magic to teleport the Cybertronians and refugees to Earth, though only the sacrifice of Blurr and a suicide attack on Unicron by Elita One lets everyone get to safety. The Transformers and Elonians are teleported to Earth, moments before Unicron tears Cybertron in two and consumes it, Road's End while the Visionaries themselves are sent back in time to the earliest days of Prysmos. A World and a Future Meanwhile, a confrontation between Slide's colonists and the Dinobots at Mount Rushmore ends in the death of Gimlet and G.I. Joe agent Mainframe. Time Will Rust
Shockwave—teleported to Toronto to begin his conquest—is horrified to realise Unicron has survived the destruction of Cybertron, and contacts Bludgeon to initiate his backup plan, unaware that his agent and the Maximal army have switched their loyalties from Shockwave to Unicron himself. Sanctuary Station is evacuated in light of the approaching Maximals, with a small number of its residents laying down their lives to buy time. Road's End Putting aside their history and enimities, all of Earth's heroes and villains join to hold the attackers back, with Destro's M.A.S.S. device allowing Trypticon, Metroplex and a full army of Cybertronians to teleport into the midst of Bludgeon's fleet. Assembly Starscream, Skywarp and Thundercracker carry Optimus Prime, Arcee and the Talisman down to Unicron's surface, but Skywarp and Thundercracker are waylaid by Maximals, preventing Skywarp from teleporting them into the planet-eater's interior; instead, Starscream chooses to give up his life to activate the Talisman, which burns its way down into Unicron. Optimus and Arcee follow it into the interior where it enters the black hole at Unicron's core, with Optimus jumping in after it.
On Earth, Shockwave is betrayed by his follower Rhinox, but is "rescued" by Prowl, who has Stardrive use her Dire Wraith powers to link with Shockwave's mind; in turn, Jetfire connects her to Soundwave, wielding the Enigma of Combination in conjunction with Superion and the Earth Enigma. Victorion, who uses the Enigma energies to combine with Slide as a replacement limb, kills Monstructor while the Dinobots sacrifice themselves to kill Bludgeon and destroy his Worldsweeper; but Soundwave's true intent is to unite the spirits of those who have fallen with Shockwave's memories and send them through to Optimus to give him the strength he needs, though Soundwave crumbles to dust as he uses its power. In Infraspace, Optimus encounters the spirit of Unicron's creator, whose rage and grief animates the superweapon; rather than fight him, however, Optimus owns up to the legacy of Cybertron and the Primes, and offers the Antillan peace and compassion instead. Remembering his daughter who was killed so long ago, the scientist allows the Talisman to consume Unicron; the giant collapses into its own singularity, which settles in as a second, dark sun for Earth.
In the aftermath, the survivors take stock. Arcee celebrates with her love on Earth's moon, while Thundercracker carries Skywarp back to Earth and reunites with Marissa Faireborn and Buster. Windblade and the President of the United States begin making plans for a future for Cybertronian and human alike; the surviving Dinobots are rescued from the ruins of the White House; and Pyra Magna takes up the mantle of the deceased Mistress of Flame, inviting the remorseful Slide to serve as one of her new Torchbearers. Ceremony Prowl makes contact with the Lost Light crew on "New Cybertron", where he insists that Megatron face trial once more, with the Galactic Council presiding in lieu of the long-dead Knights of Cybertron. In order to increase the planet's energon reserves and bring the new generation of sparks online, he also requisitions the Lost Light's quantum generators; Rodimus reluctantly agrees, on the condition that he and the crew are allowed one last trip aboard the ship before it's decommissioned. After a one-day "victory lap", the crew returns to Cybertron, but not before the scientists propose attempting to recreate the quantum accident that duplicated the Lost Light at the beginning of their quest, shunting the "duplicate" ship into another universe so that they can continue their quest on their own terms. With the agreement of the crew, they do so—and though the version of the crew that returns to Cybertron is unaware, they are successful in the attempt, their duplicates setting out on a new adventure.
The "main universe" Megatron is tried by the Galactic Council, and—despite Rodimus lying on his behalf by claiming that Megatron was able to open the Matrix—he is sentenced to either death or permanent solitary confinement. How To Say Goodbye And Mean It: Part 2 The trial marks the start of a better working relationship between Cybertronians and the council: Bumblebee is selected as the Transformers' ambassador, accompanied—unbeknownst to anyone but him—by the spirit of Starscream, who has traded roles with Bumblebee to become a "ghost" only he can see.
Life goes on. A funeral is held for Optimus Prime, with Windblade reflecting on his flaws and virtues alike, and opining that the most important thing about him was his willingness to challenge himself. Transformers, Elonians and humans alike help to rebuild on Earth. Pyra makes an effort to settle into her new role as a spiritual leader. Buzzsaw hunts down human poachers in Soundwave's name. Thundercracker's film, Last Laugh: The Life and Death of Chuckles, is nominated for "Best Original Screenplay" at an awards show. Shockwave is imprisoned in Lemuria, left immobile to reflect how his lack of faith led to his failure. Aileron and her colonist allies take to the stars to explore. And Arcee becomes a mentor and teacher to a new generation of three races on Earth, using the story of Optimus Prime and his life to inspire them to build a better future. Post
Many years later
Years pass. Minimus Ambus, having destroyed the Magnus Armor at Megatron's urging, helps with resettle the new "Lunarian" 'bots born from Luna-1, unaware that they all resemble Rung. Swerve's becomes a franchise, but eventually its owner is forced to close all but one location. Rewind's quest to learn all he can about the Functionist Universe causes him to contract Delta's Malady and becomes stuck as a mass-shifted data stick, though he and Chromedome continue to live happily together. Brainstorm, injured in a lab accident, adapts his briefcase as a mobile life support system. Whirl, directionless, ends up in and out of prison for various crimes. Rodimus signs onto the crew of Thunderclash's new ship, the Exitus. Nautica writes a memoir of the crew's travels. Ratchet and Drift become conjunx endurae, and share many years together.
Eventually, Ratchet dies of age-related burnout; his components are sent to medical centers across the planet, and a funeral is held for him on the Rivets Field of the Functionist Cybertron. The crew reunites after many years, catching each other up on what has become of them. Cyclonus and Tailgate, concerned by what has become of Whirl, invite him to live with them when he is released; and, when Whirl is offered Ratchet's hands by Drift to replace his own lost ones, refuses, as he doesn't consider himself broken. Drift and Rodimus reflect on whether their attempt to duplicate the ship so long ago worked before going their separate ways, promising to keep in touch. How To Say Goodbye And Mean It: Part 2
Alternate timelines
Spotlight: Mirage
The Decepticon Mirage tracks the ailing Autobots to the Pegasus Star Cluster, where he briefly succeeds in taking Optimus Prime hostage before perishing. Spotlight: Mirage
Hail and Farwell
2008
Two years after becoming a Headmaster, Hunter O'Nion continues to have adventures with his partner Sunstreaker, their minds permanently fusing into a new, singular entity. Hail and Farewell
Pax Cybertronia
15 million CE
In a far-distant future, the Great War is over and the Decepticons have perished. An ancient Ironhide, the last surviving veteran of the Great War, tells war stories to a new generation of Cybertronians on Gorlam Prime alongside Alpha Trion. Pax Cybertronia
Functionist timeline
5 million BCE
Megatron perishes on the date of his cold construction. Without Megatron's writings to upheave Cybertronian society, the Senate grows increasingly controlling, and eventually clashes with the Functionist Council regarding the use of Nova Prime's spark stockpiles. When the Senate seals Vector Sigma behind a wall of impenetrable ununtrium, the Council overthrows the Senate, kills Nominus Prime, and institutes hardline Functionism across Cybertron, A World Misplaced periodically altering the Grand Cybertronian Taxonomy to declare "mass recalls" of "obsolete" Transformers. The Custom-Made Now
2014
Following the dissolution of the Primal Vanguard, Minimus Ambus returns to Cybertron to find his brother an empurata victim. Rewind dies in a mass recall. The Custom-Made Now
2016
A geobomb accident sends the crew of the Lost Light to Functionist Cybertron. Some Other Cybertron They battle the forces of the Council with the Anti-Vocationist League in their quest to return home, as the Council deploys Luna 2 to "harvest" Cybertronians for reforging into crusaders to cleanse the universe of everything not having a role in the eyes of Primus. Modes of Production The crew manages to return to the main timeline victorious, but the Functionist Universe Rung is killed and Megatron and Terminus are accidentally left behind. Megatron takes command of the League and prepares to start his revolution anew, as it always should have been. This Machine Kills Fascists
Despite the loss of Luna 2, the Council continues their plans, instead turning Cybertron itself into their weapon of genocide, augmenting it with a robot mode in the image of Primus after Megatron thwarts their plans one time too many. Over centuries, the Council—now merged with Vector Sigma—carry out their campaign of "sterilization", with Megatron and the Anti-Vocationist League fighting them at every turn. The Return of the King
2833
After centuries, the Council pursue the Last Light, the AVL's ship, through a rift in space; this brings them to the present-day Benzene of Megatron's native universe, which Twelve-of-Twelve declares to be a gift from Primus in the form of a new universe to purify. The Return of the King
Quantum jump universe
2018
Having pulled the "magic trick" of duplicating themselves into another universe, the Lost Light crew finds themselves in completely uncharted space, further than they've ever been. Jubilant, the crew sets out to chart the new universe, an adventure that could well take forever. How To Say Goodbye And Mean It: Part 2
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The events of IDW's G.I. Joe comics just... cannot take place in the eight-year timeframe allotted to them in post-Revolution works. Per G.I. Joe vol. 1 #2, at least five years passed between G.I. Joe's founding and their first contact with Cobra; per Cobra vol. 2 #12, two years passed between first contact and the end of "Cobra Command"; an undefined amount of time was covered by the events of "Deep Terror" and "Target: Snake Eyes"; per G.I. Joe vol. 3 #15, G.I. Joe vol. 3 covered at least seven months; and according to G.I. Joe vol. 4 #1, five years passed between the events of volumes 3 and 4. To make it fit, we're here assuming that the "retconned" timeline shortens the first and last gaps to 3 years each.
- ↑ The thirteen colonies are LV-117, Gorlam Prime, Prion, Caminus, Devisiun, Arduria, Antilla, Tsiehshi, Velocitron, Carcer, Eukaris, Elonia, and Earth. Not all of these planets were shown to have been officially colonized by Cybertronians; in some cases, they are only called colonies due to their close association with the history of Cybertron, though it's possible that at least some of them hosted true colonies that simply failed.
- ↑ In "Space Opera Part 1: The Stars My Destination", Rodimus claims that Wheelie disappeared shortly after Rodimus joined the Autobots, which he did in Autocracy.
- ↑ "Six Hundred Thousand Meta-Cycles Ago"
- ↑ A caption says Centurion hasn't been on the Axalon for "twenty thousand years", which clashes with Spotlight: Shockwave but does put this nicely in the Ice Age.
- ↑ The real Ice Age ended several thousand years earlier.
- ↑ Shockwave specifies in Maximum Dinobots #5 that he has been waiting for "ten thousand, three hundred and ninety-six years, two months and three days".
- ↑ Issue 37 of The Transformers claims that this only happened 2000 years ago, which contradicts historical events alluded to in later issues and real life; Uruk existed as far back as 4000 years ago, and was far from the first civilization.
- ↑ 700 stellar-cycles ago, so if a stellar cycle is ~7.5 months, then presumptively ~437 years ago.
- ↑ The Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook would lay down that the events of Hearts of Steel took place 150 years before the present date. This date contradicts real-world historical information; In the story, Mark Twain lives in San Francisco, as he did from 1864 to 1866, but refers to a daughter in issue #4, who would not be born in the real world until 1872.
- ↑ In real life, the volcano erupted four years earlier.
- ↑ 29 stellar cycles ago, or 18 years
- ↑ 12 meta-cycles ago, or 13 years
- ↑ The point at which Galvatron escapes the solar pool is never made explicit, but it can be inferred from several pieces of evidence: it occurs after All Hail Megatron (per Revelation's epilogue), Autobot guards are present on Garrus-9, and it has been "years" since Galvatron's defeat.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 The Lost Light timeline relative to the rest of the universe takes... a lot of No-Prizing to figure out. Despite Crucible taking place simultaneously to Unicron, the characters indicate that from their perspective it was only four weeks between Dissolution and Crucible, rather than two years. This can be fixed by assuming that the characters' various trips through the Warren took them through time as well as space... but we're also going to assume that Scorponok's transmat portal had similar time-bending consequences, as otherwise, timeline crossover means we'd have to conclude that it took years for Mirage and the Protectobots to catch up with the Lost Light. James Roberts encourages us not to try and do the mathematics.
