The Transformers is a line of mecha toys produced by Japanese company Takara and American toy company Hasbro. Initially a line of transforming mecha toys rebranded from Takara's Diaclone and Micro Change toy lines, it spawned the Transformers media franchise.
Unicron is a fictional villain from the Transformers media franchise. Designed by Floro Dery, he was introduced in the 1986 animated film The Transformers: The Movie and has since reappeared in Transformers: Armada, Transformers: Energon, Transformers: Cybertron, Transformers: Prime, Transformers: The Last Knight and Atari's 2004 Transformers video game. Unicron is a prodigiously large robot whose scale reaches planetary proportions, and he is also able to transform into a giant planet. Unicron's origin has expanded over the years from simply being a large robot to being a god of chaos who devours realities. He often employs the help of Decepticons in his work, and in some stories is considered part of the origin of the Decepticon forces.
Grimlock is the name of several fictional robot characters in the Transformers robot franchise. He is usually portrayed as the leader of the Dinobots, a subfaction of Autobots who can transform into metal dinosaurs. In 2007, USA Today polled people as to which Transformer they want to appear in the second installment in the Transformers film series; Grimlock came in tied for second with Devastator.
Ultra Magnus is a fictional character from the various Transformers storylines in the Transformers franchise, generally appearing as a chief lieutenant of Optimus Prime.
Arcee is the name of several fictional characters in the Transformers franchise. They are female Autobots, usually pink or blue in color. Being the most famous of the Female Autobots, she has made more appearances and has had several more incarnations than any other female Transformer. Originally she turned into a car, however, later incarnations have turned into motorcycles. Arcee's design, alternate mode, and personality vary depending on continuity. Usually colored pink and white, she has also been depicted as a blue-colored character, and Botcon storyline saw her reformatted into a Maximal spider.
Soundwave is a fictional character appearing in various Transformers continuities within the Transformers franchise. His most well-known disguise is that of a micro cassette recorder. Throughout most of his incarnations, he is an underlying loyal lieutenant of the Decepticon leader Megatron. He is commonly depicted as Megatron's communications officer and, in some interpretations, only speaks when mocking the Autobots.
Blaster is the name of several fictional characters in the Transformers television and comic series based on the popular toy line produced by Takara Tomy and Hasbro. Due to trademark reasons, he is sometimes called Autobot Blaster. He is an Autobot who specializes in communications.
Beast Machines: Transformers is an animated television series produced by Mainframe Entertainment as part of the Transformers franchise. Hasbro has the full distribution rights to the show as of 2011. It was a direct sequel to Beast Wars, taking place within the continuity of the original Transformers series. The show ran for two seasons, airing on YTV and Fox Kids from 1999 to 2000. Of the Transformers animated series produced in North America, Beast Machines was the only one to have been completely conceptualized and outlined in advance, lending it a more serialized and linear storyline than the others. Prior to Transformers: Prime in 2010, Beast Machines was also the last, and second only entirely computer-animated Transformers series produced, along with its predecessor Beast Wars. The Beast Machines intro theme was "Phat Planet", by Leftfield. It is also the final installment in the Generation 1 cartoon era.
Jazz is a fictional robot character from the Transformers franchise. He is usually portrayed as a music-loving robot that speaks using African-American Vernacular English. In certain continuities he is shown as being Optimus Prime's good friend and right-hand man.
Scorponok is a major antagonist whose name is shared by several fictional characters throughout the various Transformers universes. Characters with this name are usually Decepticons or Predacons that turn into robotic scorpions or have scorpion-shaped robot modes. Some versions of the character are also known as Megazarak or Black Zarak in Japan.
Jetfire is the name of several fictional characters from the Transformers franchise. He is almost always depicted as an Autobot with flight capabilities and a jet or space shuttle as an alternate mode. In some continuities he is a former Decepticon.
BotCon, briefly known as "The Official Transformers Collectors' Convention", was an annual convention for Transformers fans and collectors. BotCon has been held annually since 1994. BotCon is a syllabic abbreviation for "Robot Convention" but also refers to "Autobot" and "Decepticon", the protagonist and antagonist robot factions in the many continuities in the Transformers franchise.
A repaint is a toy, typically a figure or doll, that was created entirely from a mold was previously available; however, the colors of the plastic and/or the paint operations have been changed. Repaints differ from redecos in that repaints do not alter the actual placement of paint applications while redecos do.
The Fallen is a fictional robot supervillain in the Transformers robot superhero franchise. According to Hasbro, he was formerly known as Megatronus, and was a multiversal singularity, meaning that while he exists across the multiverse, there is only one Megatronus. This is no longer the case because of an event called The Shrouding, where all multiversal singularities within the Hasbro-Takara multiversal now exist as separate beings within each universe. As explained in more detail in the appropriate sections below, the Fallen has been given different origin stories in several of the different continuities in which he has appeared. Although the Fallen's origins are only suggested in his comic book appearance, they would be fully explained in Dorling Kindersley's Transformers: The Ultimate Guide.
Sideswipe is a fictional robot character in the Transformers franchise. Because of trademark restrictions, toys of the character are sometimes marketed as Side Swipe.
Cliffjumper is the name of several fictional characters from the Transformers franchise. His name is usually associated with an Autobot whose toys are often red repaints or remold of Bumblebee toys.
The Transformers: Generation 2 was a Transformers toy line that ran from 1992–1995, in conjunction with a corresponding comic book series and edited reruns of the original cartoon beginning in 1993. The prior Transformer television series, comic books and toys became known as 'Generation 1' or G1 retroactively, and are now officially referred to as such by toymaker Hasbro. Generation 2 was discontinued as the first Beast Wars: Transformers toys began hitting the shelves.
Beast Wars II: Super Life-Form Transformers is a 1998 Japanese Transformers anime series, spawning a movie and a toyline. It was broadcast on TV Tokyo from April 1998 to January 1999, and was the first Transformers anime to be produced by Nihon Ad Systems and animated by the studio Ashi Productions. The series was preceded by Beast Wars: Transformers, and was followed by Super Life-Form Transformers: Beast Wars Neo. The series has a much lighter tone and is aimed more toward children, whereas the more accessible Beast Wars was intended for a wider age-range. The anime uses conventional animation rather than the CGI of its predecessor. With the exception of the faction leaders, all of the characters within the toy-line are either remolds, reissues, or recolors of earlier Beast Wars or Generation 2/Machine Wars toys.
Smokescreen is the name of several different fictional characters in the Transformers robot superhero franchise.
Transformers Go! is a Transformers anime series and toyline exclusive to Japan. It features several Autobots teaming up to battle the evil Predacons seeking to conquer Earth. It is the first animated series in the franchise to be produced in Japan, following a hiatus of 8 years since Transformers: Cybertron.
