Reproduction
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Though their bodies may be mechanical,Transformersare, at heart, living beings, and like all creatures, Cybertronians also create new members of their species. But while organic life-forms procreate through a comparatively quick, self-contained, and straightforward procedure, Cybertronianreproductionis a complicated affair. The vast majority of Cybertronians reproduce asexually, but how exactly a new Transformer is created, given life, and introduced to the world is a complicated process—a process that often plays a key role in the origin of their species and culture, even if individual methods of reproduction often vary wildly across differentcontinuity families.
Reproductive methods
Mechanical construction
- See also:Drone,Man-made Transformers
In the very earliest days of theTransformersfranchise, before the franchise established the more supernatural aspects of Cybertronian biology, early fictional portrayals treated the Transformers like conventional—albeit highly sophisticated—robots. With the right parts and technical knowledge, anyone could simply build a new Transformer like an ordinary machine. Once built, this new Transformer simply springs to life, a sentient and fully-functioning individual. In theoriginalTransformerscartoon,Wheeljackand company created theDinobotsthis way, theConstructiconsrebuilt a human city intoTrypticon,and the temporarily super-intelligentGrimlockcreated theTechnobots.
As theTransformersfranchise continued to evolve, this mundane treatment was largely forgotten in favor of more mystical means of procreation, but permutations and new twists on the idea have continued to surface. TheCyberfactoriesfrom the cartoon-basedWings Universe,for instance, are said to have mass-produced a new generation of Transformer life on the planetEarth,and the process of "cold construction" from the2005 IDW continuitycombines the concept of mechanically assembled bodies with the idea ofsparkinfusion from an outside source. In still other stories, mechanically built Transformers are specifically flagged up as mindless "drones."Lacking the presence of an animatingspark,these drones are "artifical" beings—mindless, mass-produced units who operate on a set of preprogrammed directives rather than a conscious mind.
In someTransformersuniverses, sufficiently connectedhumanorganizations have studied and reverse-engineered alien techno-biology to manufacture their own Transformers. In some stories, these man-made Transformers are mere drones, mindless human machines that approximate Cybertronian anatomy for their own destructive purposes, while in others the intersection of human and Cybertronian technology has given rise to fully-sentient, human-built Autobots such as theAutoroopers.
Spark infusion
As theTransformersfranchise evolved beyond these simple roots, later stories would firmly establish that Transformers werenotsimple automatons; rather, they were fully-sentient living beings. Thus, both theMarvel comicand cartoon would separately explain that the creation of a Transformer entailed infusing their physical form with a guiding, animating life-force. TheBeast Warscartoon would eventually dub this life-force a "spark,"and still later fiction revealed that sparks generally came from a supernatural artifact capable of imbuing new Transformers with life. In theMarvel comic,this artifact was the "Creation Matrix," and itsPrimal Program,conceptual forerunner of the laterMatrix of Leadership.Concurrently, thecartoonintroduced the omniscient supercomputerVector Sigma,which turned Megatron's transforming but non-sentient robots into theStunticons.
After the release of bothBeast Warsand its sequelBeast Machines,later stories set in theGeneration 1 continuity familywould essentiallyretconthat both the Matrix and Vector Sigma were creating new sparks whenever they brought Transformers to life. Soon, the2007Transformersfilmintroduced theAllSpark—coopting the name of theTransformer afterlifegiven inBeast Machines,the metaphysical "realm" from which all Sparks were generated and returned to after death—as an artifact with similar life-giving properties, which carried over into that year'sTransformers Animatedcartoon. Much like Vector Sigma, bothAnimatedand the live-action film depicted the artifact with life-giving powers, but even more pronounced: the AllSpark can infuseanymachine with a spark and spontaneously bring it to life—though results can range from articulate, fully-sentient Transformers to the animalistic creatures collectively known as "AllSpark Mutations."
In rarer circumstances, exotic substances likeenergoncan have a similar effect on mundane objects; The variousBotBottribes, for instance, are the products ofenergon radiationinfusing everyday objects at a human shopping mall with Cybertronian robot forms. In a similar vein,Angolmois Energydisplayed the ability to "evolve" normal, organic animals intoMaximalsandPredacons.
Forging
In someTransformerstales, the creation of new sparks is tied toCybertronitself—only a healthy, thriving planet can naturally create the sparks that will become the next generation of Cybertronians. Some stories, most notablyDreamwave'sGeneration 1comicsand theAligned continuity familyhave described theWell of All Sparksas the physical mechanism from which new sparks are drawn up from the core of the planet. In other stories, a sacred artifact such as Vector Sigma or the AllSpark can serve as an intermediary, the physical mechanism by which new sparks are imbued into theliving metalthat will become their mortal form. This mass of living metal becomes aprotoform,a living entity that's roughly analogous to a human fetus. Over time, the liquid metal mass cools and develops into a fully-fledged Transformer, adopting a unique personality andalternate mode.Sometimes referred to as "protoforming" or "being protoformed,"IDW Publishing'sMore than Meets the Eyecomic book coined the term "forging" to describe the entire process, and in the years since the term has grown to become a loose synonym for "birth" in general.
Other means
- Sexual reproduction
Although the vast majority ofTransformersuniverses feature both male andfemaleTransformers with an understanding oflove,the vast majority of Transformers do not reproduce sexually, and indeed regard this kind of procreation as something entirely alien to their mechanical worldview. (Though admittedly, there isn't a lot of direct evidence forhumansreproducing sexually in mostTransformersmedia, which is, after all, aimed towards kids.) A handful of stories have nevertheless revealed that some Transformers organize themselves into humanlike family units that could imply organic methods of reproduction... although, again, asTransformersis mostly for kids, little has been revealed beyond infrequent mentions of parents and the occasional crude innuendo, the latter almost certainly added for comedy's sake rather than any kind of definitive canon.
Some versions ofWheelie's backstory, for instance, note that his parents died in the crash that marooned him on the planetQuintessa.Similarly, the JapaneseVictorymangareveals thatDeathsaurusand his forces have been fighting for the sake of their civilian families living on top of thePlanet-Destroying Fortress,which include Deathsaurus's wifeEsmeraland manychildren.InRevenge of the Fallen,Jetfirementions parents, while inThe Last Knight,Houndalludes to a bad relationship with his father.
- Budding
TheTransformers: Generation 2comicrevealed that, after their creation byPrimus,early Transformers reproduced by "budding," amitosis-like form of asexual reproduction whereby Transformers could rapidly reproduce by generating a mass of energized liquid metal from within their body. This mass then splits itself off from the "parent" Transformer to become a new Cybertronian. Illustrations suggest that this is something of a communal event, with others surrounding the budding robot in a circle. Once the Transformers had hit a population level that Primus deemed desirable, the practice stopped and all memory of it was erased.
When theCybertronianfaction rediscovered and revived the process over the next 4 million years after theArk's disappearance, Primus's lifeforce was spread thinner and thinner between them, and the successive generations of budded Transformers became increasingly less sentient and emotional. The lifeform called theSwarmwas created as a byproduct of the process. Transformers who have undergone the budding process retain some sort of primal link to their offspring; the DecepticonOnslaughtdoubles over in pain when his Cybertronian descendantMindsetis destroyed, and theLiege Maximosays he would know if his descendant, Megatron, were to die.
- Cloning
Transformers possessgenetic materialof a sort, and this "genome" can be copied and manipulated by scientifically minded individuals to createclones.In some instances, these cloned Transformers are identical in every way to the donor Transformer; in other stories, cloned Transformers may take on different names, color schemes, develop new personalities, and even possess radically differentalternate modes—they are, essentially, a new individual with little connection to the original beyond the circumstances of their creation.
Familial relationships
Although the Transformers are generally understood to reproduce asexually, canonical sources have sometimes used genealogical terminology to describe certain relationships. Most commonly, some Transformers possess siblings, and more often than not these siblings are referred to astwins—SideswipeandSunstreaker,JetfireandJetstorm,orSkidsandMudflap.WhenTransformersfiction has deigned to give an explanation for this phenomenon, the most common explanation is that twins are the result of a "split protoform" or a "split spark"; akin to the random splitting of a human zygote.
The setting of theBeast Erafeatured a cast of characters far removed in time from the originalAutobotsandDecepticons,which the show's cast ofMaximalsandPredaconsreferred to as their "ancestors."Rattrapoccasionally mentions his "great-aunt"Arcee,and some sources have referred toOptimus PrimalasOptimus Prime's descendant. In the absence of sexual reproduction, the use and meaning of these genealogical references is difficult to explain. This term may also be used in an ideological sense or even a technological sense, much as the CD or MP3 player is, in a way, a "descendant" of the gramophone.
Fiction
Generation 1 continuity family
Marvel Comics continuity
MarvelThe Transformerscomic
Before Primus shut down, he gave the Transformers a "genetic matrix" that contained his essence and power, which could be used to create more Transformers without his direct involvement.The Primal ScreamThis "Creation Matrix" contained a "Primal Program"encoded within the Matrix's crystal,[2]which could be used to give life to new Transformers. Over time, the Matrix passed from one leader to the next, until, by the modern day, it had come into the possession ofOptimus Prime.The New OrderAlthough Optimus Prime would eventually leave Earth, theMatrix Flameon Cybertron burned constantly as long as the Matrix still existed and could channel its life-giving energies. The Autobot resistance on Cybertron harnessed the Flame to create their new warrior,Ultra Magnus.[3]
Once the Transformer war spilled over to modern Earth,Shockwavecaptured and decapitated the Autobot leader, using the Creation Matrix to build and animate theConstructicons.The Next Best Thing to Being There!Shockwave then attempted to imbue life into the newly builtJetfire,but was thwarted byBuster Witwicky,who had had the Matrix downloaded into his mind by Prime's still-living head.Prime Time!Once Prime had been rescued, he used the Matrix to bring Jetfire to life.Rock and Roll-Out!
MarvelGeneration 2comic
Soon after Primus createdPrimaand the first generation of Cybertronians, he gave them the ability to "bud" off from one another as a way to rapidly increase their population, replicating their own genetic material in the process. However, this method of reproduction posed its own unique dangers, and was only ever intended to be a stopgap measure to quickly grow their numbers beyond the Transformers Primus himself had created from the fabric of Cybertron. If Transformers buddedtoomuch, the essence of their creator would grow thinner and thinner between them, resulting in a cold and emotionless race.
Once Cybertron's population grew to a desired number, Primus caused his creations to forget about the process entirely, leaving them to reproduce using the Matrix alone... but eventually a group of Decepticons would resurrect the process, quickly shedding their ignoble origins to become the coldly efficientCybertronianempire. This new faction relied exclusively on budding to procreate, but their overuse of the process led to the creation of theSwarm.The Power and the Glory
Cartoon continuities
The Transformerscartoon
Although some Transformers such as theDinobotsS.O.S. DinobotsandTrypticonFive Faces of Darkness, Part 4were simply built on Earth like conventional machines,Megatronfirst created theStunticonsby rebuilding five normal road machines into transforming, remote-controlled robots; unlike the Dinobots, these remained entirely mindless automatons. To turn them into truly sapient Cybertronian lifeforms, Megatron took them toVector Sigmaon Cybertron, and ordered the ancient computer to bring his creations to life, granting them Cybertronian intellects and personalities.The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1In turn, the Autobots constructed their own team, theAerialbots,and brought them to life through a similar process.The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2
A temporarily superintelligentGrimlockcreated theTechnobotsusing parts fromUnicron's severed head, and sacrificed his own enormous intellect to imbue the team with above-average intelligence—a process, that, notably, did not involve Vector Sigma.Grimlock's New Brain
Victorycomic
A large population of civilian Decepticons lived atop thePlanet-Destroying Fortress,includingDeathsaurus's wifeEsmeral,his son, and many other small dinosaur Transformers, collectively dubbed the "Baby Dinoforce."The Grand Victory War
Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity
Although the Autobots and Quintessons made several Transformers without the aid of Vector Sigma (a form ofPrimus), those base Transformers were not considered fully alive robots, being considered byWheeljackin1985as more akin to animals. He would change his mind after creating theMonsterbotsin2011,where he realized they were still legitimateTransformersin their own right, just with less intelligence. Over time, the Monsterbots would grow fully-developed minds.The Road to Legends' Revival Chapter 3The intelligentTechnobots' creation was possible becauseGrimlockhad absorbed Vector Sigma's knowledge when he became a genius.Volcanicus comic 2
Wings Universe
Cybertronians in this universe are created on assembly lines at specialized production centers. These plants seem to create Cybertronians based on set blueprints that determine both their design and to some degree their personality, as bothSide Burn'sunique appearance/attitude andIronfist'sextra processor are explained as being the result of "glitches" in their production lines. Cybertronians seem to hold some loyalty to the center that created them, as Side Burn joined the Autobots after his own was destroyed by the Decepticons.Side Burn's profile in Club magazine #39Ironfist's profile in Club magazine #36
In the years following the revitalization of Cybertron, a Cybertronian alliance with Earth and Nebulos led to the proliferation ofCyberfactoriesacross the planet to mass-produce a new generation of Earthborn Transformers. These factories operated using technology reverse engineered from Vector Sigma to bring the new Transformers online.Generation 2: Redux
Following the Rebirth,Jhiaxusutilized advanced cloning technology to birth a "second generation" of Cybertronians modelled after the mightiest of Autobots and Decepticons.A Flash Forward
Beast Warscartoon
BothMaximalsandPredaconsbegin as protoforms, nonsentient masses of liquid metal. Protoforms are fragile in their unprotected state, vulnerable toenergon radiation,The Spark,but given the right circumstances they can survive indefinitely when inside astasis pod.Beast Wars (Part 1)Where exactly these new protoforms and the sparks they carrycomefrom is something of a mystery; some semi-canonical sources have inferred the existence of an autonomous "Matrix facility"and a"Pit"where Maximal and Predacon protoforms are respectively manufactured, but details are scarce and sometimes contradictory.Beast Wars UniverseThe Razor's Edge
The protoforms aboard the Maximal starshipAxalonwere placed in stasis pods for their journey, but after the ship and its crew found themselves diverted to prehistoricEarth,the newborn protoforms were ejected into orbit rather than risk damage in the crash. When a stasis pod landed on Earth, its inbuiltDNA scannersurveyed the terrain for nearby lifeforms, then generated abeast modefor the new protoform, based on the local wildlife, to bring the new Transformer online.Fallen ComradesThe SparkPredaconshell programsare capable of altering the personality of a protoform before its activation, potentially turning them into an obedient Predacon soldier.Double JeopardySpider's Game
DreamwaveGeneration Onecontinuity
Transformers generally begin life as a protoform, a skeletal mass of partially formed circuits that can be altered to suit specific needs. These are kept in stasis pods filled with nurturing nutrient gel until the body is infused with a spark, usually from the Matrix. If the Matrix is absent, life can be granted by attuning the protoform to an energy wavelength similar to the Matrix and then applying a concentrated burst of energon. This alternative is rarely used, as it is extremely resource-consumptive and requires restrictively high amounts of energon. Once a spark is infused into a protoform, it begins a reformatting process that designs its own robot and alternate modes for the new Cybertronian. Some believed that the Cybertronian race had yet to explore other potential avenues of creating Transformers, although what form this might take remains mysterious.More than Meets the Eye #8
Following the loss of theArk,Shockwavebegan experimenting with new methods of creating life, including cloning.Recipe for HateThe process sought to induce the natural splitting of a spark through technological means, manipulating a pair of protoforms to match based on a set of pre-programmed variables.More than Meets the Eye #8From this, he created several unique individuals based on both Autobots and Decepticons like includingSunstorm,an experimental, highly unstable clone ofStarscream.Night of the CombaticonsAs resources grew scarce, Shockwave worked with the Autobots to create a new generation of Transformers by secretly tapping the power of Vector Sigma. Eventually, their efforts gave rise to theMicromasters,a smaller and more fuel-efficient breed of Cybertronian.Destined for Nothing
2005 IDW continuity
According toScorponok,no mechanical lifeforms in the galaxy are capable of sexual reproduction.Kill All 'ConsThus, Cybertronians are normally created through one of two methods: they are either "forged"or"constructed cold."Their names include an" of [place] "suffix to describe where they were born, e.g."MegatronofTarn".
Forged Transformers are created when an energy pulse from Vector Sigma flashes across Cybertron and its moons, ignitinghot spotswhere new sparks emerged from the planet. After a great celebration, Cybertronians would gather "sentio metallico"from the planet's surface," nurturing "the substance until it coalesced around a freshly-harvested spark.The Fecund MoonRemembrance DayBeginning as a simple geometric shape, a newborn protoform follows thegenetic instructionshard-coded within their spark to develop limbs, facial features, and components related to their future alternate mode.Silent LightIf the protoform struggles to find a form, specialized medical professionals known asblacksmithshelp the new Transformer along by sculpting the metal into its most natural shape.A World MisplacedOnce a protoform cools into a solid mechanical form, the young Transformer develops by imprinting on its surroundings, learning how to walk, talk, interact with others, and eventransform.Surfeit of PrimesShining Armor #1The Dead Come Home, Part 2From "first flash" to the final product, the maturation process lasts no more than two weeks,This Calamitous Lifewith the specific protoform-to-Transformer phase taking anywhere from two to five days.This Machine Kills FascistsShining Armor #1
A small group of forged Transformers are known as "Point One Percenters"(about 0.01% of the population) and may possess strength, durability, or endurance beyond that of the average Transformer.The Divided SelfSomeTitanscarried hot spots within their bodies, using the Transformers birthed from these hot spots to colonize distant worlds during the reign of theThirteen.First ContactTheVelocitronianTitanNavitasonce identifiedWindbladeas the "sparkling" ofher planet's Titan,Caminus.Race Against the Light
Cold construction was instituted byNova Primeafter theFirst Cybertronian Civil War;fearing that the increasingly infrequent pulsewaves from Vector Sigma would halt entirely and leave him without enough Transformers to create hisgrand galactic empire,Nova entrusted the Matrix of Leadership to a science team headed byTyrestand charged them with tapping its legendary energies of creation. The scientists succeeded in doing so, and proved able to generate thousands of sparks a day and house them in artificially-built bodies in what historians would dub the "Silver Harvest."Sparks were produced at such a rapid rate that they had to be stockpiled until new bodies could be constructed.The Divided SelfTo do so, the sparks were "frozen" inphotonic crystalsuntil they were "thawed" and placed in a body inside a specialized postnatal facility, leading to the term "constructed cold".Predestination: An Expert's GuideUnbeknownst to the majority of Cybertronians, these photonic crystals were themselves manufactured by a unique Cybertronian,Rung.Modes of ProductionThe prefabricated forms that housed Matrix-derived sparks did not match the "genetic instructions" encoded within a newborn spark, and at least one constructed cold Transformer,Starscream,developed a habit of periodically changing bodies.Someinterpreted this as a sign that his spark was still subconsciously trying to find its "true form",Your First Mistakebutothersheld that it was merely a sign of his own vanity.Another Mine
Recognizing the potential for outcry against what they were doing, a cover story was put in place to explain the birth of these new Transformers: the public were told that they were created viaspark-splicing,using the energy of a Forged spark to ignite a new one.The Fecund MoonEventually, one of the scientists had an attack of conscience and stole the Matrix, replacing it with a forgery; unaware of this, Tyrest and his team believed that they had bled the Matrix dry.The Divided SelfThe public were never told why the "spark-splicing" program was stopped; as such, by the time ofNominus Prime's assassination, SenatorShockwavehad made repeated lobbies to resurrect it.An Intimate BeheadingResentment towards constructed cold robots led to religiously motivated prejudice in the name ofAdaptusand even apartheid against the "knock-offs." By the timeMegatronwas first arrested, theSenatehad relaxed these laws and the discrimination wasofficiallyconsidered a thing of the past, cough cough.Chaos Theory Part 1Megatron himself occupied a unique position as the only "hybrid" 'bot. Originating as a wholly cold-constructed bot, the body's original spark was destroyed by a time-travellingRewind;a Point One Percenter spark which had been harvested on Luna 1 in the present day was placed in the empty shell byWhirl.Predestination: An Expert's Guide
As the war dragged on, the Autobots discovered a long abandoned cache of frozen sparks from Nova Prime's era. Desperate to bolster their numbers, Autobot command began mass-producing legions of cold-constructed soldiers to fill out their ranks. These "Made to Order"soldiers were named after the campaigns they were activated for, e.g."Getawayof theCorcapsia Incursion".Early M.T.Os followed a ten-step education program before they could be declared fit for duty; as the war worsened, however, the number of steps dwindled to seven, then, finally, three simple directives uploaded directly into their minds as their sparks thawed so that new M.T.Os could be airdropped as soon as they came online.Twenty Plus OneThe Decepticons had their own supplies of M.T.O. soldiers, includingAmbulon.The Not KnowingDecepticon M.T.Os were constructed using raw material from melted-down Autobot prisoners, but where their sparks were sourced from is not known.Speak, Memory! (Part 2)The Decepticons experimented with cloning late in the war and created three sentientInsecticonsfrom experiments on a naturally-occurring subterranean species. The process proved horribly inefficient, however, and the three thousand failures lived on as the ravenous"Insecticon swarm".All Hail Megatron #7
The scientistMesothulasinvented a third form of "reproduction" after discovering the ability to create an artificial spark by synthesizing Matrix energy. The only known being created through this method was "Ostaros", a robot who would later becomeSpringer,indistinguishable from any other Cybertronian save for the circumstances of his creation. Whether or not Springer counts as a "true" Cybertronian, or merely an advancedreplicantsynthrobot, is presumably up to the reader to decide.Sins of the Wreckers #3Sins of the Wreckers #5After the war, Scorponok obtained theMagnificenceand learned how to infuse organic lifeforms with extracted sparks. To revitalize the dying Decepticon movement, he planned to mass-produce these biological creatures; by reproducing sexually, the spark they carried would split again and again and again until their population reached a desired number, at which point their sparks would be harvested and placed back into cold constructed bodies. Onlyone organicwas produced as a proof of concept before Scorponok lost possession of both the child and the Magnificence.Kill All 'Cons
| Characters by origin | |||||
| Forged | Constructed cold | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-war | "Warborn" | Unknown | First wave | Second wave/M.T.O. | Unknown |
- ↑At least thirteen of the Titans carried hot spots within their bodies for colonization purposes; by extension all known Transformers native to the colony worlds are Forged.
- ↑Megatron is a hybrid Transformer, consisting of a forged spark in a cold constructed body.
Beast Wars: Uprising
Little is known about how the "Builders of Cybertron"—the former Autobots and Decepticons who fought the Great War—reproduced, although they regarded Vector Sigma as their" font of life ".Head GamesBy the end of their conflict Vector Sigma was counted among the casualties, threatening the dying Cybertronian race with slow extinction.Broken WindshieldsDuring their heyday, science identified some particularly exceptional Builders as Point One Percenters, who had helped thwart Unicron's attack on Cybertron.The Inexorable March
Correctly realizing that the Cybertronian race was doomed without an alternate means of generating new sparks,Cerebrosbargained with the hyper-evolvedHuman Confederacyin the hopes that they could grant his race a future. Using theenergon matrixthey provided, he helped to create the Maximals and Predacons as successors to the Autobots and Decepticons—but even though his contemporaries merely saw these newly created "proto-races" as slaves to continue their old grudges via vicious gladiatorialGames,Cerebros viewed this as an acceptable sacrifice to curtail further Cybertronian aggression.Head Games
Years into theGrand Uprising,the artificially createdGalva Convoyand his cloned energon matrix devised theVehicon,a mass-produced proto-race that could "reproduce" by infecting other Cybertronians and transforming them into more mindless Vehicons. Originally conceived as a weapon of war, the rise of the Vehicons soon snowballed into theVehicon Apocalypsethat effectively ended the Grand Uprising.Derailment
Of Masters and Mayhem
After the onset of the Great War, several Cybertronians were constructed cold.The Truth We Make
TransTech
As Maximals with "fully integrated organic parts,"Kitte Shūshūand her husbandZ Grillconceived their sonStampyusing them—the only explicit confirmation of sexual reproduction in theTransformersfranchise.[4]Andromeda - Axiom Nexus News, 2015/05/10
Transformers vs. G.I. Joe
FollowingMegatron's defeat,Brawnand his spouseCover Girlused a combination ofHeadmaster,binary bonding,andtechnoactive coretechnology to conceive a half-Cybertronian, half-human child.The War Never Ends
2019 IDW continuity
New Transformers are forged from Cybertron's living metal, a process that begins with the mass harvesting of raw materials by gigantic, mobile crawlers such asLeviathanThe World In Your Eyes Part Threeand continues at thePyramidinIacon,where this metal is shaped into a new body to house a spark obtained from the Well of All Sparks. Finally, the newborn Transformer is introduced to the people of Cybertron in a great open-air celebration officiated by the reigningPrime.The World In Your Eyes Part FourWannabee, Part 2The Transformers of this universe emerge in a comparatively underdeveloped state; born without a concrete understanding of the world around them and lacking analternate mode,the task of educating these new Transformers falls to a volunteer "mentor"that essentially serves as a parent. Under their mentor's tutelage, new Cybertronians learn about life on Cybertron, apprentice themselves in a job that suits their interests and talents, and eventuallyscanan alternate mode for themselves.The World In Your Eyes Part OneThe World In Your Eyes Part TwoArcee/Greenlight: Run
With the passing of theNominus Edictin the years that followed theWar of the Threefold Spark,the forging of new Transformer lives became a strictly controlled affair, only permitted every few kilocycles when theSenatedeemed it appropriate.The World In Your Eyes Part FiveDespite this, at least one freak accident resulted in the birth ofCliffjumpermere hours afterBumblebee's own forging.Wannabee, Part 2
Unicron Trilogy
Armadacartoon
Very little is known about how new Transformers come online in this continuity, with the exception of theMini-Cons.These tiny Transformers were deliberately created byUnicronfrom his cells so as to accelerate the ferocity of the Transformer war on Cybertron; their collective birth had them all hatch from glowing green pods of energy inside Unicron's innermost workings.Drift
Linkage
RedlineandFalciacombined energy from theirspark framesin order to create a new body forTwirlto inhabit after herMini-Con storage panelwas destroyed in battle. After returning to the living world, Twirl viewed the pair as her "father" and "mother," a claim that Falcia vehemently denied.Linkage Part 7
Live-action film series
Transformer mythology holds that their race was created by theAllSpark,an ancient artifact of unknown origin. When the artifact found its way to Earth, thehumansofSector Sevenexperimented with the AllSpark's life-giving properties, and discovered that the AllSpark's energy could animate machinery and turn any electronic device into feral "AllSpark Mutations."This power made it of interest to the Decepticons, who, after arriving on Earth, sought to recover the AllSpark and use its power to create a new generation of Decepticons from Earth's technology to conquer the organic world.Transformers
Somewhat confusingly, this continuity family also provides the most evidence for some kind of sexual reproduction: various characters such asHoundAge of ExtinctionandJetfireRevenge of the Fallenhave alluded to mothers and fathers, ancillary tie-in media has claimed thatMegatronkilled his andOptimus Prime's father,Transformers AutobotsMegatron himself supposedly possesses "chromosomes,"Age of ExtinctionandWheeliehumpsMikaela Banes' leg in a moment of passion. (Yeah...)Revenge of the Fallen
At any rate, those Transformers in this universe who are not simply brought to life by the AllSpark begin as "hatchlings,"tiny unprogrammed protoforms who gestate in fluid sacs and require regular doses ofenergonto survive.Revenge of the FallenAs they mature, hatchlings leave this pod and begin to consume minerals.Dark of the MoonEventually, they assume their adult dimensions, becoming aprotoformcapable of engaging inscanningfor new alternate modes.Revenge of the FallenTheDinobotsappeared to have reproduced during the three years sinceOptimus Prime's departure from Earth, birthing the rambunctious "Mini Dinobots,"but details beyond this are scarce.The Last Knight
Animated
New protoforms are created from Cybertron's abundant reserves ofprotomatter,mined from the planet'sSonic Canyons.Once harvested, this metal then placed inside astasis podand exposed to the light of the special Matrix Chamber within the dojo of theCyber-Ninja Corps.After many stellar cycles, the protoforms are imbued with sparks and brought online.The AllSpark Almanac IIFive Servos of DoomYoung Autobots may attendAutobot boot campto learn how to work as a team.Autoboot CampTraditionally, protoforms were granted sparks through theAllSpark,which had supposedly created the Transformer race ten billion years prior; whenMegatron's Decepticons sought to seize the AllSpark for themselves during theGreat War,the Autobots hid the artifact in deep space, far from Cybertron.Transform and Roll OutAlthough the Autobots no longer controlled the AllSpark, they could still bring new protoforms online by usingVector Sigma.The AllSpark Almanac II
WhenOptimus Primeand his crew inadvertently stumbled upon the AllSpark in the present day and destroyed its physical form during a battle onEarth,the "AllSpark fragments" that remained displayed the ability to animate machinery,The Elite Guardeach fragment acting as an immortal, indestructiblespark.Mission AccomplishedTwo AllSpark fragments turned a pair ofhumanmachines into theConstructicons;Rise of the Constructiconsanother fragment brought a heap of garbage to life as the eccentricWreck-Gar,Garbage In, Garbage OutandStarscreamused a cadre of stolen protoforms and subdivided his own AllSpark fragment to create a legion of dysfunctionalclones.A Fistful of Energon
Shattered Glass
In this backwards universe, new Cybertronians receive "embers"from theOmega Terminussupercomputer. Legions of misshapenmutantsattend to this twisted machine by gathering the corpses of the dead from across Cybertron and bringing them to the mass graveyard that surrounds the computer's plinth. Over time, Omega Terminus processes, breaks down, and recycles these remains into fresh robotic bodies, then imbues them with embers to bring them to life. The influence of Omega Terminus ensures that newborn Transformers quickly forget their origins, and its existence is thus considered to be a myth to the people of Cybertron.
In addition to this, the Omega Terminus can also grant embers to non-sentient Cybertronian mechanoids.Grimlockwas one such being; under the influence of the Omega Terminus, he rapidly evolved from a simplistic, AI-powered machine into a true Cybertronian, gaining a powerful robot mode and a sophisticated intellect to boot.Dungeons & Dinobots
Aligned continuity family
All Cybertronians begin their existence in theWell of All Sparks.This channel to the living core of Cybertron, created after the death ofSolus Primeand her return to Primus,The Covenant of Primusis where new sparks are formed through theAllSparkthat traditionally resides within the Well. In eras past, new protoforms would first have to reach the surface via a death-defying run through theUnderworldand its assorted horrors to prove their courage and bravery, but this practice eventually faded—by the era just before the Great War, protoforms were simply harvested from the Well, taught to transform, and put to work under thecaste system.ExodusOther near-Cybertronian creatures, such as theInsecticons,could replicate themselves, but each successive generation grew increasingly primitive.Fall of Cybertron
The earliest Transformers born from the Well were unaware that they couldtransformat all; when theQuintessonstook control of the planet during theAge of Wrath,they claimed that they had given the Cybertronian race this ability. The influence that the Quintessons exerted over the primitive planet was considerable to the point where newborn Cybertronians during this era began emerging from the well without names, merely numbers. Finally, however, an underground resistance group capturedSilverboltas he emerged from the Well and examined him to prove that theT-cogwas a natural part of Transformer biology.
In theGolden Agethat followed the expulsion of the Quintessons from their world, Transformers colonized other planets by usingconversion beamsto instantaneouslycyberformpromising planets into metallic, Cybertron-like worlds. A portion of Cybertron's own AllSpark energy was used to ignite the colony's core to create a miniature copy of the original Well on Cybertron.The Covenant of Primus
When the Autobot/Decepticon war erupted, however, the AllSpark briefly ceased to produce life in a seeming act of divine rebellion. However the AllSpark created one final wave of Transformers who unanimously joined the Autobots, a generation that includedBumblebee.ExodusDuring the war, the DecepticonShockwaveexperimented with cloning, and even managed to create armies ofPredaconsbased off prehistoric creatures who had once roamed ancient Cybertron.Project PredaconThe Decepticons were able to clone protoforms, andStarscreamused an abandoned science lab aboard the Decepticon vesselHarbingerto briefly create a team ofclones.ArmadaAfter the end of the war,Optimus Prime,who had since absorbed the energy of the AllSpark into his physical form for safekeeping, sacrificed his life to reignite the Well and give birth to a brand-new generation of Cybertronians.Predacons RisingThe Covenant of Primus
Ask Vector Prime
The DecepticonRagnarokwas anOutlierwho could clone himself at will by budding.Ask Vector Prime, 2015/06/25
Any part ofThe Source—including bothPrimusandUnicron,as well as theChronarchitect—can be harnessed to create a new spark, and even Unicron's poisonous emanations likeDark EnergonandAngolmois Energycan be used, under the correct circumstances, to grant life to Cybertronian bodies.Vector Primeheld that it was not theoriginsof a spark that determined its future alignment, and pointed out that all sparks had the capacity for both good and evil.Ask Vector Prime, 23/07/2015
Cyberverse
TheAllsparkwas the source of Cybertronian life and the mechanism by which new sparks came into existence.AllsparkDuring the Great War,Megatronhoped to use Vector Sigma to reprogram the Allspark, then use it to create to a new generation of unstoppable Decepticon warriors.Megatron Is My HeroAlthough this plan was ultimately foiled in one universe,the Megatron of an alternate timelineaccomplished this goal after killing his universe'sOptimus Prime,and used the Allspark of his universe to create an army ofDecepticon supersoldiers.The Other One
EarthSpark
Fifteen years after the end of theTransformers' war,the first new generation of Transformers in many years were created whenRobbyandMoMalto placed their hands on theEmberstone,an artifact ofQuintus Prime.The stone constructed new protoforms from the Earth, creating the first everTerranTransformers,TwitchandThrash.Secret Legacy, Part 1
Toys
When two toy manufacturing companies love each other very much,one of themmay start shooting Transformer design propositions to theother one.There, during several months of gestation, engineers will work on those designs, which will be developed into functional and manufacturable Transformers. Once the Transformer is ready to be produced, its design will be sent to marketing and ultimately to the chain manufacturer for the delivery. Voilà! A new Transformer is born!
Notes
- During the early years of theTransformersfranchise, Hasbro had a strict "no-girls" policy regarding the potential existence offemale Transformers.Hence, Marvel writerBob Budiansky's invention of the Creation Matrix as a means of generating new life began as a way to explain how the Transformers could procreate.[5]
Foreign names
- Japanese:Jiko zōshokunō( tự kỷ tăng thực năng, "budding" ),Forged(フォージドFōjido),Constructed cold(コンストラクテッド・コールドKonsutorakuteddo Kōrudo),Spark ketsugō(スパーク kết hợp, "spark-splicing" )
References
- ↑griffin's 2010 BotCon report
- ↑Powermaster Optimus Prime's Marvel comic profile
- ↑Ultra Magnus profile page in Marvel UK#81
- ↑This hasn't stopped fan fiction writers from speculating, though.
- ↑Bob Budiansky Interview at BWTF.com
