Transformers

Transformers is a massive media franchise centered on mecha, which are large robots. These robots are unique because they possess the ability to transform their bodies into other forms. They can change into vehicles, animals, or even weapons. The stories typically focus on a conflict between two alien factions. One group is the heroic Autobots, and the opposing group is the villainous Decepticons.

This franchise includes toys, animation, comic books, video games, and films. By 2011, it had become one of the highest-grossing media franchises in history.

The creation of the franchise involved a collaboration between American and Japanese companies. It began with Japanese toy lines known as Diaclone and Micro Change. These toys featured robots that could transform into everyday items or vehicles. The American company Hasbro bought these toys and partnered with the Japanese company Takara. A designer named Shōji Kawamori helped create the concept of transforming mecha. He worked on the Diaclone and Macross franchises in the early 1980s.

To build a world for these toys, Hasbro hired Marvel Comics to create a backstory. Editor-in-chief Jim Shooter oversaw the story. Writer Dennis O'Neil created the name "Optimus Prime." Later, writer Bob Budiansky was chosen to create the specific characters. The original era is called Generation 1, or G1. This term covers the animated series and comic books from 1984 to 1993. The G1 stories include different versions for Japanese, British, and Canadian audiences.

Many different story universes, or continuities, exist within the franchise. One group of shows is called the Unicron Trilogy, which includes Armada, Energon, and Cybertron. Another series, Beast Wars, created its own mini-universe. In Beast Wars, the robots are called Maximals and Predacons. They take on organic animal forms to survive on a primitive planet. This planet is actually a prehistoric Earth with a second moon. The moon and the high levels of Energon were built by an alien race called the Vok.

Specific details and tools drive the plots of these stories. In the original series, the robots crash-land on Earth in ships named the Ark and the Nemesis. Optimus Prime uses a tool called the Creation Matrix to give life to machines. A computer named Vector Sigma also serves this purpose. In the 1986 film, the story moves to the year 2005. This movie introduced Unicron, a Transformer that devours entire planets.

The film also featured famous voices, such as Orson Welles as Unicron.

The franchise has seen many reboots and expansions over the decades. In the 1990s, a series called Generation 2 was released to market new toys. This story explored how Transformers originally bred asexually. In the 21st century, several companies have released new comics. Dreamwave Productions started in 2001, followed by IDW Publishing in 2005. Most recently, Skybound Entertainment began releasing comics in 2023. There is also a live-action film series that began in 2007.

Transformers connects to many other areas of popular culture. The early Marvel comics featured crossovers with characters like Spider-Man and Nick Fury. The franchise also involves complex mythology, such as the creator Primus. Primus is a character who fights his nemesis, Unicron. Even a competing brand, the GoBots, became part of the Transformers multiverse. Hasbro acquired Tonka in 1991, which included the GoBots intellectual property. This allows the GoBots stories to be seen as an alternate universe.