Megatron is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the Transformers media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. Megatron is the cruel and tyrannical leader of the Decepticons, a faction of sentient, war-mongering robotic lifeforms that seeks to conquer their home planet of Cybertron and the rest of the known universe. He serves as the archenemy of Optimus Prime, the leader of the rival Autobot faction. As with all Cybertronians, Megatron has the ability to transform between his robot form and various vehicles or weapons. His alternate modes have ranged from a Walther P38 handgun, a particle-beam weapon, a telescopic laser cannon, and a Cybertronian jet, depending on which continuity he is depicted in.
The Decepticons are the main antagonists in the fictional universes of the Transformers multimedia franchise. They are depicted as a faction of sentient robotic lifeforms led by Megatron, identified by a purple face-like insignia. Capable of transforming into alternate forms, these are often high tech or powerful vehicles; including aircraft, military vehicles, heavy equipment, ground combat vehicles, expensive luxury cars, sports cars and even smaller-than-human-sized objects.
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.
Starscream is an antagonist in the many continuities in the Transformers franchise. He is one of the most frequently occurring characters in the Transformers fictional work, appearing in almost all continuities throughout the Transformers franchise. Generally depicted as a sadistic Decepticon transforming into a jet fighter and serves as Megatron's right-hand man throughout the franchise. Starscream's defining trait is his desire to overthrow Megatron and take his place as Decepticon leader.
The Autobots are the main protagonists in the fictional universe of the Transformers, a collection of various toys, cartoons, films, graphic novels, and paperback books first introduced in 1984. The Autobots, led by Optimus Prime, are opposed by the Decepticons, headed by Megatron. Both Autobots and Decepticons have "sparks", which function as souls and contain their minds and personality. They can transform into machines, vehicles and other familiar mechanical objects, as well as mimic organic lifeforms (Dinobots). Autobots typically transform into cars, trucks and other road vehicles; some exceptions transform into aircraft, military vehicles, communication devices, weapons, or robotic animals. These Autobots are often grouped into special "teams" that have the suffix "-bot" at the end, such as in Dinobot.
Transformers is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the Autobots and the Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms, such as vehicles and animals. The franchise encompasses toys, animation, comic books, video games and films. As of 2011, it generated more than ¥2 trillion in revenue, making it one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time.
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.
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.
Bumblebee is a fictional robot character in the many continuities in the Transformers franchise. The character is a member of the Autobots, a group of sentient self-configuring modular extraterrestrial robotic lifeforms.
There have been three main publishers of the comic book series bearing the name Transformers based on the toy lines of the same name. The first series was produced by Marvel Comics from 1984 to 1991, which ran for 80 issues and produced four spin-off miniseries. This was followed by a second volume titled Transformers: Generation 2, which ran for 12 issues starting in 1993. The second major series was produced by Dreamwave Productions from 2002 to 2004 with multiple limited series as well, and within multiple story continuities, until the company became bankrupt in 2005. The third and fourth series have been published by IDW Publishing with the third series starting with an issue #0 in October 2005 and a regular series starting in January 2006 to November 2018. The fourth series started in March 2019 with issue #1 and is currently still being produced. There are also several limited series being produced by IDW as well. In addition to these three main publishers, there have also been several other smaller publishers with varying degrees of success.
Transformers: The War Within is a series of comic book mini-series written by Simon Furman and published by Dreamwave Productions featuring Generation One characters with brand new pre-Earth designs.
Optimus Prime, known in Japan as Convoy, is a fictional character created by the Transformers franchise. He is a Cybertronian, a fictional extraterrestrial species of sentient self-configuring modular robotic lifeforms, a synergistic blend of biological evolution and technological engineering. In almost every version of the mythos, Optimus is the leader of the Autobots, a faction of Transformers who are rivals of the Decepticons, another faction. He is defined by his strong moral character and is almost always portrayed as the primary hero of the story, opposing the evil Decepticon leader Megatron.
The Transformers: Stormbringer is a comic book mini-series, published by IDW Publishing.
The Transformers was an 80-issue American comic book series published by Marvel Comics telling the story of the Transformers. Originally scheduled as a four-issue miniseries, it spawned a mythology that would inform other versions of the saga. It also had a UK sister title that spliced original stories into the continuity, running for 332 issues.
The Transformers is a comic book line by IDW Publishing based upon Hasbro's Transformers characters and toy line, featuring many writers and artists across multiple series. It is notable for being the longest continuously running Transformers continuity to date, beginning in October 2005 with The Transformers: Infiltration and ending in November 2018, after the six-issue Unicron event comic. The following year, it would be rebooted and succeeded by a new comic book series on 2019.
The Transformers: Megatron Origin is a comic book limited series by IDW Publishing exploring the origin of Megatron in its rebooted G1 universe. Written by Eric Holmes, the story explored the beginnings of the Decepticons and the Great War, and serves as a prequel to the various IDW G1 Transformers stories such as The Transformers: Infiltration, Stormbringer, Spotlight and Escalation. Alex Milne is the artist with alternative covers by Marcelo Matere. The series is available in The Transformers: Volume 1.
New Avengers/Transformers is an intercompany crossover comic book series published by Marvel Comics and IDW Publishing that involves the pre-Civil War New Avengers and the Transformers. It is set in the fictional nation of Latveria, and involves the characters Captain America, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Luke Cage, Wolverine, Falcon and Ms. Marvel from the Avengers, and Prowl, Ratchet, Jazz, Bumblebee and Optimus Prime from the Autobots. It was written by Stuart Moore, penciled by Tyler Kirkham and premiered on July 5, 2007. The tag line for the series is "Assemble and Roll Out!"
Transformers is a comic book series by IDW Publishing, spun off from the Transformers film series.
Transformers '84: Secrets & Lies is an American comic book limited series written by Simon Furman, drawn by Guido Guidi and published by IDW Publishing. Based on the Transformers franchise by Hasbro, the series is meant to be a prequel to both the continuity established on the original comic book by Marvel Comics, and the other continuity established on the alternate comic book by Marvel UK.
