Transformers: Universe (2003 franchise)
From Transformers Wiki
| The name or term "Transformers: Universe" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, seeTransformers: Universe (disambiguation). |
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Transformers: Universeis aTransformersfranchiserunning primarily from 2003 to 2005. It was conceived as a supplement to the runaway success ofArmada,and consisted ofredecosandretoolsof olderTransformer toys,both creating new characters and re-creating old ones. This approach allowedHasbroto meet increased retail demand forTransformerswithout having to greatly increase the brand's development staff and budget.
The storyline for the franchise was written to accommodate the toyline's wide-ranging nature. Set in aGeneration 1-baseduniverse sometime after the events ofBeast Machines,Universedeals with a struggle between theMinions of Unicronand theChildren of Primus.Unicron,injured and floating in deep space, plucks Transformer warriors from across the multiverse and deposits them on his surface. The Transformers are forced to fight each other, and as they do so, Unicron absorbs energy from them in order to repair himself.
The line lacks a clearly-defined starting and ending date. The nameUniversefirst appeared on toys released in 2003. However, in 2002 theBotConexclusive toys bore the nameTransformers: Expanded Universe,and BotCon characters extending as far back as 1996 were all portrayed as being in-continuity with the convention'sUniversecomics.
The franchise largely ended in 2005, although a few moreUniversetoys trickled out to discount stores with a low frequency in 2006 and even in mid-to-late 2008 toys from theCybertronfranchise were still appearing at discount under theUniverselabel.
TheUniversefranchise consists of only two components:
- A toyline.The first wave included aCD-ROMwith related stories.
- A comic seriesby3H Productions.
In 2008, Hasbro revived theUniverselabel with anew franchiseas a catch-all-banner for any product outside of their two main lines,Animatedand thelive-action film series.
