Animated continuity family
From Transformers Wiki
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TheAnimated continuity familyis the umbrella term for the television show and ancillary media produced by theTransformers Animatedfranchise,which primarily ran from2007to2009.The fifth-largestcontinuity familyis notable for its distinct, highly characterful art style, and its unique approach to the widerTransformersmythos—pulling from both the2007 filmand the originalThe Transformerscartoon,but also incorporating many characters and concepts from across theTransformersfranchise into its story.
Although this broad-minded approach made theAnimatedcartoonsomething of a fandom darling, the franchise did not enjoy the same level of support as otherTransformersendeavours, despite strong sales—due to a variety of factors, the show was not renewed for a fourth season. A few remnants of the franchise persisted into the early 2010s with the release ofIDW Publishing'sAllSpark Almanacs,but beyond thatHasbroandTakarahave shown little interest in revisiting this particular continuity.
Within the fictionalTransformersmultiverse,theTransTechclassify everyAnimatedcontinuity as a part of the "Malgus"universal cluster.
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Major continuities
As of 2023, we identify two major continuities in this family. The lists below are not meant to be complete guides to every work in that continuity, but provide a quick overview of that continuity's most notable media.
Animated cartoon
- Transformers Animated(2007-2009)
- Transformers Animated: The Arrival(2008)
- The AllSpark Almanac(2009)
- The AllSpark Almanac II(2010)
- "The Stunti-Con Job"(2011)
- The AllSpark Almanac Addendum(2011-2012)
- "The Return of Blurr"(2015)
TheTransformers Animatedcartoon debuted in December2007,riding on the popularity of that summer'swildly successful live-action film.Animatedbegins four million years after the end of theGreat Warbetween theAutobotsandDecepticons;the victorious Autobots controlCybertronand have banished the Decepticons to the galactic rim. However, when a youngOptimus Primeand hisAutobotmaintenance crew discover the life-givingAllSparkon a distant asteroid, they find themselves under threat fromMegatron,who pursues them through aspace bridgetoEarth.After reactivating in the 22nd century, the Autobots take up residence in the city ofDetroit,robotics manufacturing capital of the world; with the help of the eccentricSari Sumdac,they contend withhumansupervillains, science experiments run amok, and the Decepticons.
IDW Publishingreleased a number of tie-in books:The Arrivaltells stories set before and during the cartoon's first season, while theAllSpark Almanacs are lavishly illustrated, extensively researched guidebooks to the entireAnimateduniverse and featurecharacter models,backstories for just about every character to ever appear in the show, and literally hundreds of easter eggs andTransformersin-jokes. In2011,Fun Publicationsreturned to the universe for a one-off story, which followed the dysfunctional members of "Team Stunticon"as they attempted to spring Megatron and his underlings from prison, andagainin 2015.
Unusually for tie-inTransformersmedia, almost all of these stories were produced with some level of input from the television show's production crew, most prominentlyMarty IsenbergandDerrick J. Wyatt.For this reason, we consider all of these stories to be in canon with the television show itself, rather than occupying a closely-related but separate continuity like most ancillary media.
The Coolcomic
- Transformers Animated: The Cool(2010-2011)
Naoto Tsushimawrote and drewTransformers Animated: The Cool,an anime-inspired take on theAnimatedcartoon to tie in with the Japanese release of the series in2010.The comic was a more-or-less faithful retelling of the cartoon, but featured a number of differences from the source material—for instance, thefinal issuedoes not includeProwldying, as he did inthe finalAnimatedepisode.
Minor continuities
Continuities that comprise multiple books, issues, or instalments, and so are notmicro-continuities,but are far less significant.
Toy bios
As with basically allTransformerstoylines, theAnimated toylinefeatured a number ofbiosproviding backstory for toyline-exclusive characters andredecoesthat are irreconcilable with the cartoon continuity. Bumblebee's "Elite Guard"redeco, for instance, is supposedly based on Sari painting Bumblebee inElite Guardcolors, while his "Patrol Bumblebee"toy depicts a timeline in which Bumblebee adds stealthy tactics to his arsenal.
Be the Herobooks
- Prime Suspect(2009)
- Quest for the AllSpark(2009)
- Web of Deception(2009)
- Time-Quake(2009)
A number of "choose your own adventure" books set in an alternate continuity.
Titan Magazines
- Transformers Animated(2008)
- Transformers Unvierse(2008-2009)
In 2008,Titan Magazineslaunched aTransformers Animated-themed magazine in the hopes of piggybacking off the success of theirongoing movie comic.The magazine took place in some version of the cartoon's second season, but featured a number of major and minor continuity discrepancies that render it largely irreconcilable with the cartoon: in this universe, the Autobots are joined by the new characterAfterburn,who is ultimately revealed as a Decepticon spy. The comic evidently did not perform very well, because it was cancelled after a whopping three issues, and the four remaining stories were folded into Titan's more successfulTransformersmagazine in issues#17,#23,#24,and#25.
Animated shorts
- Animated shorts(2008-2009)
Studio 4°Cproduced a number of comedic short films advertising theTransformers Animatedcartoon. Their placement in theAnimatedcartoon continuity is debatable at best, andat least onecannot fit anywhere into the cartoon timeline.
Transformers Animated: The Game
A video game set in an alternate version of the cartoon's second season, which sees the Autobots foil Megatron's plans to build aspace bridge.AlthoughMarty Isenbergpenned the game's script, it cannot fit into the main continuity for several reasons.
