Great Upgrade

Post-Great Upgrade Maximals visit the pre-Great Upgrade Autobot city ofIacon.

The so-named "Great Upgrade"refers to the planetwide restructuring of the societal, geographical, and biological properties of thePlanet Cybertronand its people, following the end of theGreat Warbetween theAutobotsandDecepticons.It involved the rise to prominence of theMaximalsandPredacons,the diminutive descendants of the Autobots and Decepticons. As these smaller and more energy-efficient Cybertronians came into power, they essentially replaced their ancestral predecessors as the planet's new dominant peoples. This, in turn, led to a mass downsizing of nearly the entire population, complete with a full overhaul of the planet's surface to better suit the smaller scale of Cybertron's new main inhabitants.

Fiction

Beast Warscartoon

The Great War had ended with the Autobots defeating the Decepticons,PossessionThe Agenda (Part III)leading to an unstable peace known as thePax Cybertronia.The Agenda (Part 1)In time, the Autobots' descendants, the Maximals, came to be the new ruling power on Cybertron, with the Decepticons' descendants, the Predacons, subservient to the Maximal government—a direct consequence of the Autobots' victory over the Decepticons.The Agenda (Part III)Despite this disadvantage, thePredacon Alliancewas allowed its own government, theTripredacus Council,The Agenda (Part 1)who still had to cooperate with the Maximals' government,The Agenda (Part 2)thedemocratically electedHigh CouncilofMaximal Elders.Chain of CommandPossessionDeep MetalThough, the Predacons also maintained their own degree of law and order through asecret police.The Agenda (Part 2)

With this planetary change from Autobot and Decepticon to Maximal and Predacon also came great physiological advancements to Cybertron's inhabitants. Significantly smaller in size, even the largest Maximals and Predacons were positivelydwarfedby such Autobots of old asOptimus Prime.The Agenda (Part III)They were also born fromprotoformtechnology given life by the implantation of aspark.The SparkEach Maximal and Predacon even possessed anonboard computerthat typically required the use ofactivation codesto transform from one mode to the other.Coming of the Fuzors (Part 1)They also developedDNA-scanning technologythat enabled their bodies to assume organicbeast modesbased on the fauna of alien worlds,Beast Wars (Part 1)in contrast to the purely mechanical forms of their Autobot and Decepticon ancestors.The Agenda (Part III)

Beast Machinescartoon

Cybertron's population centers were radically overhauled during the changeover from Autobot to Maximal. New cities scaled down to the smaller size of the Maximals were built over the larger Autobot cities of old. The Autobot city ofIacon,for example, was replaced by the city ofCybertropolisas the planet's new capital.Master of the HouseSparkwar Pt. II: The SearchIn said capital, the Council of Elders governed the planet from within theCouncil Citadel.Master of the House

During theSpark War,the MaximalsOptimus PrimalandNightscreampaid a visit to the ruins of Iacon, where Optimus mentioned the city's replacement by Cybertropolis back during "the great upgrade from Autobot to Maximal."Sparkwar Pt. II: The Search

3H comics

Three centuries after the destruction ofUnicron,DepartureCybertron's society had been restructured into Maximal and Predacon castes,Covenantwith most of the population reborn as one or the other. With the new Maximal government came new forms of law and order. TheImperial Peace Marshalswere formed to publicly maintain planetary peace, while a new Maximal version of the Autobot's oldWreckersstrike team was recommissioned to serve not only as a last resort the High Council hoped to never have need of in open warfare,Departurebut also as the Maximals' own kind of secret police during this fragile peace.The Wreckers#3 Apelinq profileOn the flipside, the Council also established a Research Cooperative in one of Cybertron's private sectors, which brought the best and brightest Maximals and Predacons to work together for the pursuit of scientific advancement.The Wreckers#3 Apelinq profileBotCon OnlineCryotek profileThe Wreckers: Finale Part 1

The conversion process that enabled Autobots to physically become Maximals was known as theMaximal Upgrade Program.It involved a complete bio-tech overhaul that not only downsized one's exostructure for ten times more fuel efficiency, but also unlocked and magnified their latent abilities. Several months after the Pax Cybertronia, the AutobotsRodimus,Springer,andArceeeach underwent theMaximal Upgrade.Departure

Fun Publications comics

The first Maximals and Predacons came online near the end of theGreat War,serving alongside the Autobots and Decepticons in the waning years of the war.TCC websiteMax CopsCryotek profileTCC magazine #13The Max-CopsSwitchblade profileDuring this time, so too did the Maximal upgrade first come about,The Razor's Edgewith the Maximal9Kbeing one of the first in a line of transitionary models bridging the design gap between Autobot and Maximal.TCC magazine #13The Max-Cops9K profileThe AutobotHigh Beamwas among those who ultimately underwent the Maximal upgrade.TCC magazine #14The Max-CopsHigh Beam profileMaximal and Predaconprotoformswere forged in facilities known as theMatrixand thePit,whereat their bodies were infused withSparksin a sacred (yet rarely-witnessed) ritual.The Razor's Edge

After the Great War, the Maximals rose to powerTCC websiteMax CopsCryotek profileand established their own political nation, theMaximal Imperium.BotCon 2005 Darksyde Dinobot toy bioBotCon 2006 Unit 2 (Tigatron) toy bioTimelines#1 Megatron profileTCC Chromia 10 Pilot (Airazor) toy bioThe Razor's EdgeInitially, this new society was supported by such Autobot organizations as Autobot Intelligence,Descent into EvilThe Razor's Edgewhile Maximal law was enforced by theMaximal Command Security Force.BotCon 2006 Unit 2 (Tigatron) toy bioThe Predacons, however, did not fully take this new peace lying down. Under the leadership ofRazorclaw,the Predacons formed their own army as the "Predacon Empire",BotCon 2009 Razorclaw toy bioand waged several wars against the Maximals and Autobots.The Razor's EdgeLikewise, some Decepticons became restless in their retirement,BotCon 2006 Laserbeak toy bioand joined up with the Predacon ArmyThe Razor's Edgein a "Decepticon/Predacon Alliance".BotCon 2005 Deathsaurus toy bioThis climaxed in a final "Great War"The Razor's Edgethat saw Razorclaw assassinated by the Tripredacus Council.BotCon 2009 Razorclaw toy bioAfter the Decepticons bowed out of the war, the Predacons were left to fight a now hopeless war by themselves. When their last efforts failed, the Tripredacus Council was ultimately left with little choice but to surrender to the Maximals and Autobots.The Razor's Edge

A set of temporary peace accords were drawn up until the formal Pax Cybertronia could be drafted and signed by the Maximal Elders and the Tripredacus Council. In time, the Predacon Empire was restructured into the Predacon Alliance. Despite this, several small insurgent groups attempted to break up this peace,The Razor's Edgebut the Maximal Imperium deployed several squadrons to deal with these rogue factions.TCC Chromia 10 Pilot (Airazor) toy bio

2006 IDWBeast Warscontinuity

The transition of Autobot and Decepticon to Maximal and Predacon dated back to the year2035,in the final days of theGreat War.Three Decepticon generals—Cicadacon,Sea Clamp,andRam Horn—had developed a substance calledtransmatterfor the purpose of reformatting Cybertron's population intoa new state of being.They experimented on some of their fellow Decepticons as test subjects, who were evolved into the first ofa new generation of Cybertronians.Aiming to do the same to Cybertron's entire population, the generals launched atransmatter bombfrom Unicron's lifeless orbiting head. However, their efforts were partially thwarted by the Autobots, and only a portion of the population was affected. Nonetheless, those affected were instantly transformed into liquid metal entitiesDawn of the Predacuscalled "protoforms".The Hot Rod

After the Great War ended,Beast Wars Glossary:Great War (1) entryresources became critically scarce. Protoform technology rose to prominence, thanks in part to its fuel-efficiency in producing smaller-sized Transformers.Beast Wars Glossary:Protoforms/Stasis Pods entryFacilities named "the Matrix"and"the Pit"began producing protoforms and joining them with lifeforces called" Sparks ", birthing more of the newest generation of Cybertronians: the Maximals and Predacons.Beast Wars Glossary:Matrix (4) entryBeast Wars Glossary:The Pit entryAutobots and Decepticons could also downsize into Maximals and Predacons, with Autobots undergoing reconfiguration ceremonies for their Maximal upgrades.The Hot RodOver time, more and more layers of the planetary strata were constructed to better suit the mass downsizing of the population.Beast Wars Glossary:Cybertron (1) entry

Following the death of Optimus Prime, Autobot leadership was restructured into thePrimal Council.But after the Great War, this group was succeeded bythreeof itsmembersDawn of the Predacusdownsizing into protoform bodies and becoming the Maximal Elders,Beast Wars Glossary:Maximal Elders entrywho governed theMaximal Imperium.The Ascending #2In a show of greater unity after the Great War, some Autobots and Maximals took to calling themselves "Cybertrons",intended to put the factional divisions of the past behind them.Beast Wars Glossary:Cybertron (2) entryHowever, the Predacons eventually started a new "Great War"of their own,Beast Wars Glossary:Great War (2) entryraising an armyBeast Wars Sourcebook#2 Halfshell profileunder the banner of the "Predacon Empire".Beast Wars Sourcebook#3 Scorponok profileThough this war lasted for dozens of stellar cycles,Beast Wars Sourcebook#4 Stinkbomb profileand spread to multiple other worlds,Beast Wars Sourcebook#4 Terragator profileBeast Wars Sourcebook#2 Galvatron profileBeast Wars Glossary:Gaea entryit was relatively short-livedBeast Wars Glossary:Great War (2) entryand ended with the Predacons surrendering to the Maximals.Beast Wars Glossary:Destron entry

The war formally ended with the ratification of the Pax CybertroniaBeast Wars Glossary:Great War (2) entrysigned by the Maximal ImperiumBeast Wars Glossary:Pax Cybertronia entryand the remaining factions of the defeated Predacons. After which, the Predacons formed the Predacon Alliance, headed by the Tri-Predacus Council.Beast Wars Glossary:Tri-Predacus Council entryDespite this loss, a dissident underground movement was formed by several former Predacon generals to oppose the Pax Cybertronia and destroy the Maximal Imperium.Beast Wars Sourcebook#2 Megatron profileOn the flipside, a bi-partateCommittee for State Affairswas formed between the Maximals and Predacons to carry out day-to-day operations of government, allowing the Maximal Elders to fade into the background of public affairs.Beast Wars Glossary:Maximal Elders entryA top secretThe Ascending #4special ops unit of the Maximals, known as "the Pack",was also formed underLio Convoy.The Gathering #1The use of "Cybertron" as a term for unity also fell out of fashion, but occasionally remained as an alternative to "Cybertronian".Beast Wars Glossary:Cybertron (2) entry

DreamwaveGeneration Onecontinuity

The innovation ofPretendertechnology showed promise for several future developments. Pretender shells possessed the abilities to imitate the biology of organic lifeforms, shrink down to the size of Earthhumans,and (in some cases) even transform and combine with their inner host Transformer. Some shells even possessed a special regenerative nano-technology. All of these qualities led Cybertronian scientists to suspect it would be possible to create a more energy-efficient kind of Cybertronian, capable of transforming into biological altmodes that would be externally indistinguishable from organic lifeforms, which could prove useful for exploratory missions on other planets. Of course, it would take severalvornsfor such developments (and more) to come about.More than Meets the Eye#8

After the Great Wars between the Autobots and Decepticons finally ended, peace settled across Cybertron. The smaller and more energy-efficient Maximals and Predacons came about to join their more powerful ancestors in Cybertronian society. Though the Maximals and Predacons had their differences, they agreed to a truce and peaceful coexistence.Ain't No Rat

Wings Universe

When Cybertron entered its secondGolden Age,the Decepticon leadersGalvatronandScorponokwere exiled from the planet.The Transformers Menagerie issue 5While those two took the fight with the Autobots toNebulosand other worlds,Generation 2: ReduxthePredaconswere among the few Decepticons left behind on Cybertron. In the absence of any other Decepticon authority figures, Predacon leaderRazorclawtook command of the planet's remaining Decepticons.The Transformers Menagerie issue 5

By the year2013,thePax Cybertroniawas signed by representatives of the Autobots, Decepticons, Earth-born Transformers, andJhiaxus'sclonearmy, officially ending all conflict between each party. By this point, however, Razorclaw and his Predacons had struck out on their own and were joined by theSharkticoncommanderSky-Byte.Having raided one of Jhiaxus's labs, Sky-Byte salvaged several stasis pods containing newborn Transformers, enough to let the new Predacon faction start building its own army.A Common FoeOver time, all remaining Decepticon forces were marshaled under a new banner, with more and more Decepticons evolving intoPredacons.

Chief Autobot Science OfficerPerceptorreasoned that the Decepticons' access toMicromastertechnology could lead to future generations of Predacons being smaller and more energy-efficient. He also deduced that altmodes based on organic life would hold much potential for the future of the Transformers race as a whole, what with the advantages brought on by such organic-based technologies asHeadmasters,Targetmasters,Powermasters,andPretenders,as well asbeast modesin general. Perceptor suspected that Razorclaw and his Predacons would probably pursue such advantages, but also noted how most Autobots seemed reluctant to follow suit. Though, a faction of Autobots led byFortress Maximuswere very open to the implementation of organic-based technology, leading Perceptor to postulate that the future may very well lie in the hands ofMaximus's followers.The Transformers Menagerie issue 5

Legendscomic

The birth of the first Maximals and Predacons dated back to the finalized end of the long civil war between the Autobots and Decepticons, in the year2039.When thePowered Mastersarrived onPlanet Zoneto implement their plans to recreate the destroyedLegends World,they were startled to meet a new offshoot ofMicromasterthat had been created fromProtoformcapsules infused withBeast Power,a kind of energy originally fromPlanet Beast.These new "Beast Warriors" possessed the ability to adopt alternate modes scanned from organic life.Wheeljackobserved their creation and presented them with newinsigniaas proof that the future cannot be changed, for he knew of the role that their descendants would play in both thepastand thefuture.Epiloge

Notes

• Across theBeast WarsandBeast Machinesanimated series, the existence of "the great upgrade from Autobot to Maximal" was only ever mentioned once, in an exchange betweenOptimus PrimalandNightscream(quoted at the top of the article) in the2000Beast Machinesepisode "Sparkwar Pt. II: The Search".Later, the" Great Upgrade "was briefly mentioned again in two entries of the Glossary section first printed in the2008trade paperback release of theBeast Wars Sourcebook.However, since all three instances were mentioned only in passing, what exactly the "Great Upgrade" entailed was left completely vague and ambiguous. As such, the contents of this page had to be inferred from what all else was known, in each continuity, about the changes made to Cybertron, its people, and their societies during the transitional period in which the Autobots and Decepticons were ultimately replaced by the Maximals and Predacons.
• A commonfanconception has been that the "Great Upgrade" referred to the idea of Autobots and Decepticons undergoing a downsizing process to be physically remade into Maximals and Predacons, and that virtually the entire population of Cybertron had undergone this change for the sake of increased energy efficiency. This idea stems from a few disparate sources having been consolidated together during theBeast Era:
  • When theBeast Warstoyline first began in1996,fans were quick to notice that the villains of the line were called "Predacons",sharing the same name as theanimal-based Decepticon subgroupof theoriginalTransformersfranchiseof the 1980s. When theBeast Warscartoon episode "Possession"came along and first declared the Autobots and Decepticons of old to be the ancient ancestors of the Maximals and Predacons, many fans began to wonder if there might be in an in-universe connection between the two groups of Predacons, like if the Generation 1 Predacons might have been the original founders of theBeast Warsfaction (a notion that somelater-madetie-inmediaforBeast Warswould strongly imply, but only because of these very fan theories).
  • The1997Beast WarsMaximalGrimlocktoy was given a bio that revealed he was the very same AutobotGrimlockof old, but never actually explained how he went from being an Autobot to a Maximal. The earlyBeast Warstoyline originally treated the Maximals and Predacons merely as Autobots and Decepticons upgraded with "Bio-Genetic Engineering", complete withOptimus PrimalandMegatronsimply beingOptimus PrimeandG1 Megatronin new forms. But that was before the cartoon came along and completely changed things up to instead make the Maximals and Predacons the distant descendants of the Autobots and Decepticons. Grimlock's bio was likely written with the toyline's original concept in mind, but the notion of an Autobot becoming a Maximal was nonetheless stuck in the minds of many a fan.
  • The1998Beast Warsepisode "The Agenda (Part 1)"revealed that the DecepticonRavagehad been "reprogrammed and rebuilt as a Predacon." This was the first (and only) instance of such a reconstruction process being confirmed to exist within the show's universe. However, it was spoken of (byOptimus Primal) as something known only as a rumor, and whichonlyRavage had undergone, implying it had been conducted in secret and wasnota common procedure on Cybertron (a notion that most of the fandom seemingly did not take into account). When asked directly if any other Decepticons besides Ravage had undergone the same Decepticon-to-Predacon upgrade,Bob Forward's answer was "Probably not."^[1]
  • Two episodes later, "The Agenda (Part III)"showed the first real size comparison between theBeast Warscast and their Generation 1 ancestors, confirming that Maximals and Predacons were practicallyhuman-sizedcompared to their giant-sized predecessors.^[2]Upon entering theArkin this episode,Megatronreferred to the Autobots and Decepticons as "archaic energonguzzlers",as if to suggest that the 'Bots and 'Cons of old were far less energy-efficient than the Maximals and Predacons. This, in turn, drew comparisons by fans to how theMicromastersof late-G1 had been presented inMarvel's Generation 1 comicsas once-large Transformers who had physically downsized to smaller-scaled bodies for better fuel efficiency, which led tofurtherspeculation about whether the Micromasters might possibly have been the missing link between the larger Autobots and Decepticons and the tinier Maximals and Predacons.
  • TheSimon Furman-pennedBotCon 1999prose story "Schism"seemed to all but confirm the downsizing theory by strongly implying that the Maximal known simply as" The Veteran "had once been anAutobotwho fought alongside Optimus Prime during theGreat War,and had since "changed his appearance, name and basic body structure so many times, in the process downscaling to a more energy-efficient size." Over the next several years,additionalBeast Warstie-inmediafrom3H Productions,Fun Publications,andIDW Publishing(and even Furman's twoapocryphalstoriesfromTransforce 2000–2002) would all follow suit by citing many more explicit examples of Autobots and Decepticons downsizing to become Maximals and Predacons.
  • By the time the aforementionedBeast Machinesepisode "Sparkwar Pt. II: The Search" first aired in 2000, and first mentioned the "great upgrade from Autobot to Maximal", fans latched onto the term "Great Upgrade" and applied it to the then-growing conception that had long been set in motion. And yet, despite all of this, the name "Great Upgrade" has never actually been used directly and specifically to refer to such a downsizing process: In two of the aforementionedBeast Warstie-in media—The Wreckers#1and "The Razor's Edge"—the namesMaximal Upgrade Programand simplyMaximal Upgradewere used instead. Plus, the two brief mentions of the "Great Upgrade" in theBeast Wars Sourcebookstated it was an upgrade that Cybertron, theplanet,had undergone, rather than its people (which actually sounds closer to what was probably intended by the original line of dialogue in theBeast Machinesepisode).

Consequently, we are left with a situation where the name "Great Upgrade" is viewed as not solely referring to changes made strictly to Cybertron's surface and societies due to the Maximals and Predacons replacing the Autobots and Decepticons as the planet's new primary inhabitants, but as also referring to a widespread downsizing process that likely wasn't even supposed to have ever been a thing to begin with, all because of a snowball effect begot by exponential theorizing in the early online fandom.

• Nightscream's statement about Iacon having been lost "eons ago" after the Great War is a bit at odds withBlackarachnia'soriginal statement in theBeast Warsepisode "Dark Designs"about the Great War itself having been a mere" three centuries ago ", but does actually better fit thespiritof how far removed from their ancient ancestors the Maximals and Predacons were supposed to be (seeherefor more).
• Though bothBeast Wars: Uprisingand theWar for Cybertron Trilogycartoonsaw Maximals and Predacons come to exist on a future Cybertron, in direct homage to theBeast Warscartoon, there was seemingly no event comparable to the Great Upgrade in either of those two continuities:
  • InUprising,the Maximals and Predacons initially came about as proxies to continue the Autobot/Decepticon war while those two factions became the "Builders of Cybertron",but the smaller"Proto-formers"(asUprisingcalled them) didn't fully replace the Builders as Cybertron's main inhabitants, since many of the Builders continued to exist as Micromasters. Likewise, Cybertron's surface wasn't completely rebuilt to accommodate the smaller size of the Proto-formers and Micromasters; onlysomeof its cities (notablyMicropolis) were built to their scale.
  • In theWar for Cybertron Trilogy's third season,Kingdom,the Maximals and Predacons were the same size as their Autobot and Decepticon ancestors, rather than smaller-scaled Transformers, so there was no need for Cybertron to be altered to a new scale.
• While protoforms are depicted in most of the above fictions as an innovation exclusive to Maximals and Predacons that first came about after or near the end of theGreat War(and thus helped to kick off the Great Upgrade), both theDreamwaveGeneration Onecomicsand, apparently, theWings Universeare exceptions to this:
  • In Dreamwave, protoforms are the standard base form of all Cybertronian life, meaning Autobots and Decepticons (in addition to Maximals and Predacons) begin life as protoforms too, as established inWar and Peace#6andMore than Meets the Eye#8(see theProtoformarticle for more).
  • In theWing Universe,Around Cybertron#9mentioned protoform technology as existing near the beginning of theGreat War,roughly 9 million years ago. Though, what exactly that meant wasn't explained since the mention was more of acheeky referencethan anything substantial.

Foreign names

• Japanese:Maximal Upgrade(マクシマル・アップグレードMakushimaru Appugurēdo)^[3]

References

See also

• Quantum Cycle Upgrade
• Great Transformation
• Beast Upgrade