#unicron singularity

[askvectorprime]

why did Jetfire lose the ability to combine with Optimus prime after armada

Dear Combiner Concerned,

This was another of the many mysterious changes which followed the defeat of Unicron, and his collapse into a black hole.

It is a shame, as Jetfire was always a skilled combiner. Having Powerlinxed with Optimus Prime long before the Spark of Combination was bestowed upon the other Autobots, Jetfire was able to pass on his mastery of this technique to more inexperienced ‘bots like Ironhide, before the art was all but forgotten.

Yet, I find myself wondering. During that final battle, the Autobots’ Combination Sparks merged into one, giving Optimus Prime the strength to hold the Unicron-possessed Galvatron in place, as the Energon surged towards them, incandescent with divine light. And for a moment, something brought Galvatron to his senses—the determination in his own spark flaring, driving him to throw Prime to safety. Had he only given in, it would have spelled the end for not just his oldest adversary—every last one of the Autobots would have been destroyed with them. Only Galvatron himself could have said what drove him in that moment.

Regardless, Primus’ plan proceeded, as it always would have. A sun was born. Alpha Q’s dream became reality. Optimus Prime’s ultimate self dispersed, returning the sparks to all of his valiant soldiers.

As that fateful chain reaction began, roiling and exploding, I ask you… how long did Galvatron live? As the last of Unicron’s strength burned away, for how many cycles did his chassis hold together, before it began to melt, to disintegrate?

Could it have been long enough for a Combination Spark to reach him? Some fragment of Primus’ own power, Primus’ dream of unity, drawn to whatever enigma in Galvatron’s spark caused him to spare his hated foe.

What would a sun do, with that power? With those instructions: to combine?

Was it the Unicron Singularity which begat the disappearance of the Spark of Combination—or could it have been the opposite?

[etchbee]

the transformers iceberg

(explanations + commentary below the cut)

This iceberg is less an objective measure of the community and more just my personal descent into the fandom over the last year or so. Every iceberg I could find online is like bayverse exclusively, and I wanted to make one specific to my experience!! So, this one is mostly idw comics, with some fandom jokes/theories, and little tidbits of the movies/TV shows mixed in. I know a lot of the stuff in the top and middle probably seem super elementary to you guys, but I was really making this with the lense of someone who has absolutely no experience with the lore AT ALL (how I started out) So the top layer is like, basic normal person things to know. Then layer two (still above the water) is slightly niche knowledge that you probably wouldn’t have without SOME kind of immersion in the media. Then you have the first layer below the water, which is still basic esc canon. Then you have the niche cannon. Then you have the WEIRD canon. (I’m looking at you Moon fight). And THEN we’ve got the deep sea stuff! Which… speaks for itself. Anyways, I’m definitely gonna keep adding to this so if you have any ideas please send them in!! And let me know if you have a favorite cause I think some of these are pretty funny :) 

If you want clarification on one of these feel free to shoot me an ask and I’ll totally explain it!!

Also, as far as lore stuff, I’m basing a lot of these off of the TFwiki IDW timeline which you can find here. So, that’s my provided source.

[cybertron-smash-or-pass]

Bonus! Rescue Bots Academy Ratchet

[tachyon-omlette]

as an addon to this - when the creator god that opposed your own creator god suddenly "smiles" on you & turns you into the superweapon your creator always wanted you to be (& always hated you for not being) long after you had rejected that fate, further complicating your withered sense of self & making the nature of your existence both much simpler & yet much more complicated

or: FINALLY, AFTER ALL THESE YEARS, PATHOS OF UNICRON HAS A GUN

[xivu-arath]

legitimately gnawing on my hands over the "which sci fi series has the best lore" poll because, yes, destiny lore did in fact rewire my brain and how I approached writing

but. holy shit. the reason no one knows transformers lore that I've seen is because it is batshit layers of incredible and stupid at the same time

[chibiveneficus]

ok but no like, for the farm sim, the player character is a cybertronian that was in a battle and knocked into stasis and left behind. years/decades/centuries pass, cybertron (war currently on pause cause everyone important is having a four million year nap) eventually wanders close enough to a star that it allows solar energy harvesting - an old neutral(?) wakes up and is foraging in the rusted ruins of the battlefield and stumbles upon the pc. whatever brand the pc had has been worn away and the neutral is kind enough that they take you in and get enough energon in you to wake you up.

you don't think about going back to whatever side you were on, they left you behind after all. the old mech teaches you how to concentrate thin energon in troughs (think rock candy), how to catch and raise a robo-chicken (it's not like there's stores), how to build useful stuff. haven't decided if there's other people already there or if they trickle in a few at a time, other neutrals and deserters surviving in the mess war left behind to create a functioning town.

I don't think cybertron has enough tilt for seasons - instead, I imagine that it's veeeery slowly rotating, just enough that they have a whole month of sun, followed by a month of dusk, a month of darkness, and then a month of dawn. don't know how to greatly differentiate dusk and dawn yet, still chewing on that. maybe one could be constant acid storms, forcing the player to primarily work the mines/do inside stuff. (I did a very cursory poke around the tfwiki looking for any mentions of weather other than acid rain on cybertron with no dice. it is past midnight and i am tired though)

but yeah....tf farm sim...... _(┐「ε:)_

I desperately want to play stardew but transformers themed, and holocure but robot themed. alas, i would have to make them myself orz

[ckret2]

bouncing off that anon's ask, who would you ship Bill with *outside* of Gravity Falls? Literally any media go ham with it

Invader Zim for exactly one reason: their voices would be sooo annoying together. Imagine it. Imagine the dirty talk. Absolutely atrocious.

This isn't a ship but I think he should hang out with Team Rocket. I mean I guess it could be a ship if you wanna find a way to fit him into the polycule. They've got plenty they can relate to each other on: complicated relationships with parents, being special in your species in a way that makes you a freak/outcast, seeking family via criminal gang, trying to accomplish ONE evil task for like a billion years and somehow no matter how many people you try to manipulate or how clever your cover stories and creative your plans you just canNOT do it...

But mainly I want him to give them terrible advice and horrible help on their criminal ambitions while trying to get them to build him a portal. They waste 50 episodes on 50 different portal-building schemes while Bill gets progressively more irate, and in turn they get equally furious at this annoying talking Ghost-type they can't touch or make go away. Poké balls work on him but he immediately pops back out even madder, which does nothing to help him persuade them that he's not a Pokémon.

Anyway within a month they'd all die for each other. In a very emotional moment when he thinks they're about to be killed and there's nothing he can do about it, he'd tell them they would have made fine Henchmaniacs; and then when they inevitably survive he immediately takes it back.

I think Bill and Unicron would hook up and I think Unicron would make Bill worse. I think he's one of the only beings in existence that could make Bill worse. Bill's got a self-destructive streak a mile wide and Unicron would exacerbate it. They'd break up cordially and then slowly grow to loathe each other more and more in retrospect. Bill would still booty call Unicron when drunk and Unicron would accept.

this isn't necessarily a ship but imagine if bill and getaway teamed up

The Princess in Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer. Bill would promise her a diamond the size of a star and she would build him a portal in less than a week. Bill would compliment her interior decor sensibilities and she might actually compliment his appearance because he's very bright, and that would be enough for them to decide they're besties. They'd get champagne, trash talk their enemies, and bully the plebs like a couple of high school mean girls. They'd make out while completely wasted and deny it when they're sober. Each of them privately thinks the other one is their pet.

Grendel from Grendel. Bill would initially hook up with him expecting him to be the monster equivalent of a party frat boy and then they'd talk philosophy in a dark cave for 18 hours straight and mutually feel like they're not alone for the first time they can remember. They'd make each other worse and then fix each other and then Grendel would die in battle and Bill would get worse again.

I think he could have something with Frankenstein's monster, too—original novel version, not movie version. Similar reasons to Grendel: strong sense of alienation from parents and of isolation from everyone else in the world; feeling of having been created as something totally singular, feeling of having a perspective no one else shares; self-identification as the monster in the narrative of their own life... Plus with the monster Bill's also got "life inevitably culminates in killing my own dad." Bill met him because he was actually trying to get Frank to build him a portal—he's like the first scientist trying to do major projects using electricity—but then ended up more fascinated by the science project than the scientist.

[polygonal-trees]

Welcome new Transformers fans!

You might have seen this Don't Make Me Tap The Sign meme floating around. Transformers One has been out for a little while now so I want to expand on it as well as some other TF fandom things.

What does "Transformers doesn't have a set canon" actually mean?

Essentially, every new Transformers story is a reboot. They might draw from or expand on concepts from previous iterations but canonically each continuity family is separate. This means all lore is extremely flexible - origin stories, relationships, even personalities can change wildly between iterations and while some may be better or worse than others, they are all equally canon.

For example: Orion Pax was a dock worker in G1, an archivist in Prime, and a miner in TF One. None of these contradict each other.

Continuities also tend to share ideas without being directly connected. For example Transformers One draws from Transformers Prime in multiple ways (e.g. it features Airachnid) but it is not a prequel to Prime and in fact directly contradicts it. Yes I know there's a guy on xitter claiming tfone is a prequel to the Bay movies but he's wrong.

What is a continuity family?

Most storylines include tie-in novels, comics, video games, and other shows that all share the same canon.

The Aligned Continuity is the most well known. It consists of Transformers Prime, Rescue Bots, Rescue Bots Academy, Robots in Disguise 2015, multiple video games, and some tie-in novels and comics. They are all ostensibly set in the same canon... except the Aligned Continuity is inconsistent so even its lore is loose :')

My point is that while every continuity is separate, some shows are connected.

(Sorry if this is confusing. It is confusing. You get used to it)

What about fanon?

The Transformers franchise is old enough that a lot of fanon has become so pervasive it exists in a sort of nebulous space where it feels like it could be canon or at least become canon once enough fans are working for Hasbro but essentially: oh boy is there a lot of fanon

For example: seeker trines, doorwing speak, the Unicron Singularity and all forms of robot sex (sorry) are fanon, but they appear so often in fanworks that it's easy to get confused (I know I do!)

It's safest to assume something isn't canon unless you've seen it in a show (and even then, it may only be canon to that particular show)

Can I mix-and-match in my own fanworks?

Absolutely! It's very common for creators to set a story in one continuity but transplant a character from another, or use a different backstory, or borrow whole plot points from different canons. Chop up that lore and make a delicious continuity soup.

So why is this important?

It is very, very, very, very, very frustrating to be "corrected" about something that isn't relevant, or to see someone critisize a show based on lore that doesn't apply, or to have a character be called OOC when they're not, etc. I think a lot of fandom slapfights could be avoided if more people understood how loose Transformers canon actually is. Do what you want with your own creations but please be mindful when it comes to interacting with other people's.

This is A Lot

You don't have to know everything about Transformers to be in the fandom and have a good time - if you're only interested in TF One that is perfectly alright, you don't need to watch every show and read every comic and play every game to be considered a fan of something.

But if you want to find out more I recommend checking out the TFWiki - it isn't perfect but it gives a good rundown of most general lore as well as details about specific shows.

That's it from me. I hope this is helpful! It's the sort of thing I would have liked to read when I first joined the fandom haha

[ikkosu]

Ikko! Ikko! I've always had a thing for shaterred glass characters.... Have you ever imagined yourself with sg prowl? It could kidnap you for whatever purpose only imagine the optics red and you You have nowhere to run. 😈😈

Sammy!❤️

If SG prowl is the opposite. Then I'd reckon he's one big of a dumbass. Calm scheming asshole. I mean he's still cunning but braincell probably shared with Springer is still in the equation.

I haven't read the SG comics but I'd definitely would 100% want to be kidnapped by him. Not because he's hot as fuck but because his 'security' is so shit everytime you're taken by him finding a way to get out is is as easy as finding Starscream's ego in that confined metal Twinmk body of his.

At this point you know his place like the palm of your hand. Hopping on and off whenever you please, pretending 'oh no!! Prowl's out to get me again!!' and after like a bunch of sticky pounding you waddle away to the deceptions while Prowl is having an aneurysm wondering how in unicron's two ass you got out.

Prowl. You have one door. It's not locked. And the lock — it's also cheap. Why did he even have a door anyway? Don't they use like, idk, gates. Even if he did he wouldn't even remember the fucking password.

And Springer is mommy's boy. Always the one grabbing the human. Always the one running after them when they'd left for the umpteenth time again. And, just as always, has one singular braincell that just explodes when he even tries to form a thought.

He'd be the more saner one. At this point he's not longer holding up his blaster when he sees you again for the hundredth time, on the deception battlefield. the deceptions themselves aren't even concerned anymore.

"They're taken!" Poor new deception barges into the briefing room and everyone rises up with an alarmed look.

"Which human?" One of the cons clarified with a narrow look.

"(Y/n)!"

The new con was expecting everyone to scramble out with a series of shouts, push and shove, but all they get is a blank look, a collective vents, and they all sit back down again, neutral stature. "Give it a few days. They'll be back."

And you did. Like a cat disappearing from the house, coming back home with new food on its maw. Said food is classified blueprints from the autobots. The only person wary though is Megatron. He's not sure how you're able to handle this everytime. But he got used to it, silently watching as you stroll into base with questioning bruises on your neck.

"You're aware you're fraternizing with the enemy?" He approaches you own evening.

You shrug. "A good stress relief. But hey, at least I've got you in intel.."

That shut him up real good.

[askvectorprime]

What’s the World of Forms?

Dear Friendly Philosopher,

This gets into rather metaphysical territory, but I will attempt to summarize.

The Cybertronian philosopher Platonix claimed that existence is but a reflection of the reality created by G One. In this theological model, the universes Cybertronians observe are like photonic umbras upon the hull of a warehouse, created by these true substances—in other words, every plasma pump, smelting pool, or Optimus Prime was created in the image of some ideal source object. These ultimate forms would reside in the "real universe", a hyperuranic realm close to G One.

It’s an interesting hypothesis, but if every last sentient being and object were a multiversal singularity, I imagine the Realm of the Primes would get rather cramped… and be altogether too tempting a target for Unicron!

[solarzilla]

Guess it hasn't been shared here but the covers of the unpublished Collision Course which was suppose to be idw's last title but it was already too late. What I found most interesting is that Starscreams shown on the two covers are his Regeneration One self as that universe was cutt off from the rest of multiverse. There's also how multiversal travel would've been harder to do now as a result of the Shroud in the Fun Publication stories. Apparently there couldn't be any Bayverse stuff as Milne said they needed Paramount's permission which sounds unfair and the fact that a lot lore involving the Multiversal Thirteen was rooted in there. Apparently other stuff couldn't be used as I see no Unicron Trilogy stuff besides Armada Megatron and no 2001 RID. I guess Gobots are also included even though they are canonically Transformers in their realities

The Grimlock vs BW Megatron cover could've tied back to the idw beast wars comic as the Dinobots had gone missing over there and Megatron was next to a protoform x that was seemingly Grimlock. Optimus is in some kind of "Energon Universe" in both one of the covers and a page by Tom Scioli along with Megatron from the 2014-2016 tf vs Gi joe comic returning from Dream Valley from mlp

Least Milne described it as the tf equivalent to Infinite Crisis though at the time of the tf multiverse, there isn't really an equivalent to the anti-monitor besides Unicron but Unicron hasn't a multiversal singular being in almost a decade so not his death was causing the death of the multiverse like with the Black Hole in Cybertron. Most multiversal threats had already been dealt with by Vector Prime and something like the Hytherion only eats dying worlds so their decay doesn't spread to others

[cybertron-smash-or-pass]

I will never fucking be free of soundwave related technical difficulties. The Unicron Singularity is real and it's kicking my ass. We're just. We're just gonna let this run. Fuck it. Time loop episode on cyberverse smash or pass dot tumble dot gov.

[lets-try-some-writing]

I love the Unicron "I guess I'm a Sire now" au, like I adore it. But also I vibe the au "humans are other and terrifying, borderline uncanny valley to bots " line of thought......sooooooo, hear me out:

Unicorn sees his offspring: they are very tiny and deceptively weak (at least in comparison to his brother creations), so he decides to meddle and gives us a boon, he changes us....a bit. Maybe he starts with the little ones (to him we are little ones) that are closest to the conflict: the tfp kids + associated humans, and giving it a test trial before moving to humanity as a whole

They still look as humanly possible, but its obvious that they are very other to an external expectator (even to other humans). But one thing is for sure, he made them into predators using human skin...

He builds them stronger, faster and more cunning than ever before, with superior senses. More resilient to the trials of time and less prone to injury or disease (giving his children immortality is anathema to him; chaos brings the possibility of change, which is inherent to them as much it is to him). He re-makes them with a general idea, but gives them a singular extra gift, to make them unique between each other, and as proof of his care snd devotion, but not su much as to isolate them from each other...

If ever asked, he will deny the possibility of partaking in favouritism like his brother. And yet, its a fact that he holds his most favored very close to his core (aka: the tfp kids, much to Papa Op infinite dismay). His children have faced dangers beyond the capabilities, and still, they have percevered despite all odds being against them, and he couldn't be any prouder (he knows that his kids will bring down empires if given the chance, well...HE WILL GIVE IT TO THEM)

In simpler words: I want the kids to become wholly other cause of Father Unicorn meddling, their reactions (and the bots + cons reactions)

This idea is FANTASTIC! I'm mad at myself for not writing for it sooner! Dang. Well I will try to make up for it with my work! Let's see how this turns out. I've always been a bit fan of cosmic horror and uncanny valley type situations. They are fun to write about.

Previous part here.

Not Quite Human Anymore

It was not his wish originally to change his creations. They had adapted and evolved just fine on their own without his interference. However now that Primus's children were involved, things were different. The playing field needed to be evened once Primus's children inevitably failed to protect his in a moment of hesitation or a lapse of judgement. Unicron refused to watch his children perish to forced that were unnatural to their world. They were HIS creations, and they would die in a manner he saw fit, not as victims to Primus's creations ridiculous war.

Thus while he used his avatar to keep an eye on the children who were most affected by Primus's creations, Unicron began to think and plan. He observed Primus's creations, he saw what they gained and what they lacked. He saw their mentalities and watched how they behaved. Then he observed his own children, watching how they preferred to act and what would suit them best.

It took months of careful planning, he couldn't risk hurting his little ones after all. However once he had come up with a plan he liked, he looked to his three most affected children and decided to use them to test his newest alteration. He had never done this to any of his creations, so they would be the first. If all went well, they would be leaps and bounds ahead of the rest of humanity, his little heralds. But if things went south, they would have Primus's creations to guard them, especially the Prime that seemed to taken with them.

Thus very quietly, Unicron began to act. He twisted the essence of the children, molding their flesh, their senses, and their minds to better endure the presence of Primus's eternal creations. It was a slow process, one that had the children growing taller rapidly. The team and the adult humans wrote it off as growth spurts kicking in... right up until they just kept growing. Jack reached a startling eight feet and didn't even seem to be suffering for it. Miko stopped at around seven feet, and Rafael at six. They towered over their peers and didn't even end up being disproportionate in any way.

They were taken to doctors and had Ratchet look over them when they began to start developing other adjustments. Their teeth sharpened, their eyes restructured entirely to be able to see in almost any light condition, and their sensory capabilities skyrocketed to the point of being on par with the bots. Their skin evidently became tougher, not invincible and still very capable of bruising but far less likely to tear. Their immune systems shot up in ability, warding off any and all diseases that weren't severe and lessening the pains of those that were meant to kill. They became faster, able to jump farther, last longer, and more importantly, their reaction times became increadible.

Overall they looked largely the same, if not for the fact that they were now the size of smaller minicons. The only other noticeable difference in them beyond their leap in capability was Rafael's new agility to sense fields, Miko's near total resistance to climate changes besides the worst of temperatures, and Jack's ability to handle pressure changes and hold his breath without fainting or being crushed. The children were rightly panicked, June and Fowler especially so. For the children's safety and to keep the government off them, they were kept with the bots until Ratchet could figure things out.

The team were startled and confused more than anything else when it came to the children, especially as their abilities became more obvious after their run in's with the Cons. Optimus nearly had a spark attack when Jack ended up flying high into the air after grabbing ahold of Laserbeak during battle and being carried off. He was retrieved but Optimus was expecting to find a corpse with how fast and how high the cassette had gone. Instead he found Jack right as rain clinging to Laserbeak's back as the cassette landed on the ground again. He nearly had a similar breakdown when Miko went through a groundbridge without them knowing that led straight to the Arctic. He once again expected to find a body, instead finding Miko rather unconcerned sitting in the snow building an igloo. As for Rafael? He didn't panic when the boy began asking why he was sad even when he was masking it, no instead he focused on helping Rafael figure out his gift if only so that it didn't overwhelm him.

The children startled Optimus, but he loved them all the same even if he had a vague inkling as to what was happening to them.

Ratchet straight up thought they were creepy. He still cared for the children and often found himself staring and running tests, but they worried him. He grew especially more concerned when after the children seemed to settle into their abilities, reports from around the globe began turning up pointing towards humans everywhere gaining a few extra inches and having an increase in strength, skill, and will.

Bulkhead and Wheeljack worried for the children but found their changes more relieving than anything else. Now the kids would be safer and less likely to die from random things that even their sparklings could endure. They found it especially fun to start chucking small lob balls (softly) at the children only to watch Jack or Miko catch it and toss it back. Bumblebee was also relieved, if a tad worried, but mainly took the changes in stride. He had a grand old time setting the children on his shoulders and not having to worry about them as much. Arcee was concerned and took little joy in the changes with how distressed they made the children in the beginning. Most of her time went toward trying to help them adapt while Ratchet tried to figure everything out.

The Decepticons didn't know all the details, but when the children did turn up on the battlefield, they found the vermin harder and harder to kill. A blaster shot just wasn't enough anymore, especially with that squirrel targeting them as well. Of course they grew more and more concerned about the whole thing when they too began noticing the reports of humanity changing into something... other. It reeked of divine influence and they began watching the children more closely to see if they could figure it out.

Unicron for his part simply began his work in relative silence. To ease the transition he sang to his children, every last one of them. During dreams he gave them visions of what they could do with their newfound frames. When they grew fearful he would hum softly to them in their minds through the bonds he forged through his touch. The humans didn't even know it was him, nor did they "hear" his song. But their souls knew him for what he was, their maker.

He tried not to play favorites, but he adored his three heralds. They were gifted, special, and so very unique. Not only that, but they had Optimus wrapped around their fingers. He adored them, and as he watched them grow and learn, he could see their ambitions and their drive. He would give them to the world.

Thus in dreams he sang to them. He showed them all they could be. And just to spite Optimus because he knew the Prime knew he was the one behind the changes, he became more bold with his usage of power around them, showing them marvels and warping the world to his desire.

[tachyon-omlette]

Aurex Eda - Armada & Cybertron versions (edited from @genesisorionix22's original concept, with their permission)

they r technically the same guy (singularity w/in Aurex) he just looks a lil different

[tfunity]

We call her 'Gaia.' But, really, that's just hope. Humanity was born from Typhon.

Name, Title: Unicron, Unmaker

Domain: Chaos, Stars, Organic Life, Evolution, Death (the place)

Singularity Type: Supermassive

Alt: Planet Earth, Chimera

Weapons of Choice: Adamant Hunter, Longinus Hunter

Primacron's Notes:

The culmination of hatred and hubris. A god I bound to my larger daughter's horn chose to exist within some prototype Gray Goo I had in the back of the lab. By the time I noticed Primus carrying its bucket around, it was already too late.

It just-- kept getting bigger. First it ate scraps, then pests, then contenders at the gladitorial pits, then people, then planets. Everything is food.

Except for me. I'm always allowed to escape from any world it finds. Considering how violet I am these days, I do think this thing is spitefully keeping me alive.

Et tu, Unicron. Et tu.

Secrets, Lies, and Other Stuff:

Origin of the Sol System and all that lives within. Overarching antagonist for most of the series, with the exception of S4. Has little goals beyond consuming everything.

It's a very simple monster. Kill, consume, conquer.

Design Notes:

More deeply resembles the bone that bound it than its brother, being a near replica of Primacron's larger daughter. The only exception is the armor it wears. And the giant hole in its chest.

Like Primacron, it has only three fingers. It has far more toes though, to help it grip onto things; it's very unstable on a good day.

Being gray goo (see the tiny original form on the bottom there), its form is completely malleable. Its smaller alt, a roughly described 'chimera,' usually resembles any of the mixed-species monsters of myth. Gryphons and the goat-lion-snake classical chimera are the most common. It acts mostly cat like.

The Hunters, the original Hunters, wrapped around its arms were gifts from Primus. The charm on each has a little vocal recording that it, despite claiming to feel nothing, keeps around.

Face deeply resembles Rodimus'.

Musical References:

[measlyfurball13]

Seeing as your one of the only people I know who is into Transformers, would you mind info dumping about it?

I know very little of anything about it besides the old "Micheal Bay!" Joke, and that it was initially made to sell toys, but that doesn't really mean anything.

So tell me, is there "more than meets the eye" to this franchise?

HOOOOOOOOO BOY

The single most important thing to know about Transformers is that there is no singular canon. Rather, there's a TON of different continuities, or basically alternate versions of the same universe. Transformers is a franchise that basically tells the same story over and over again, altering each time while keeping some very basic core themes and characters.

Optimus Prime is the leader of the Autobots. Megatron is the leader of the Decepticons. The Autobots are the good guys, the Decepticons are the bad guys, and they have been fighting a war for millions of years. It is rare for continuities to change these core facts. They might be modified, but they will never be unrecognizable.

In one continuity, Optimus might be a younger, more inexperienced leader. In another, he may be old, wise, and powerful. In some continuities, Optimus and Megatron have personal beef with each other through their backstories, making them almost lost brothers of a sort. In others, Megatron is a stranger and Optimus is an impersonal victim of his cruelty. Each time this story, the story of Transformers, is told, little details like this change.

Generally, continuities try to keep a certain "feel" to them. While sometimes a continuity will completely reinvent a character, most of the time it will try to keep a character within a few (arbitrarily chosen) character traits and/or role.

So, if this story has been told over and over again, and there's certain established expectations for characters, what was this all based on? The answer is the original 1984 animated cartoon! This cartoon is referred to as "Generation 1", or just "G1" for short. This is the cartoon made to sell toys. The animation quality is poor, the dialogue and music are cheesy, and I absolutely love it to pieces. I would highly, highly recommend that you watch the first three episodes, which basically acts as the pilot for the whole show. It really writes the characters at their most iconic and introduces the setting.

Now that you understand that G1 is the base, you can go from there and explore other continuities! Remember, continuities don't connect across different mediums (with the very distinct exception of one specific continuity, which I'll get to right after this) so feel free to find one that interests you. In general, each cartoon (or close series of cartoons) is a continuity. Allow me to list some of the more popular ones:

Transformers Beast Wars. This is arguably the continuity that follows the established G1 pattern the least, since this is the cartoon that followed right after it. In this one, the transformers turn into animals and battle on a prehistoric earth. This one is well-renowned for its surprisingly deep character writing, but the antique 3D animation is the biggest hurdle to enjoyment. It's kinda the continuity that's the most forgotten.

Transformers Armada, Energon, and Cybertron. Also known as the Unicron Trilogy (no, not "unicorn"!), this one was made in Japan and then dubbed and exported. They introduce a lot of anime-inspired features into the lore such as powerups and the like. Armada is regarded very highly with good writing, the other two not so much. The continuity between them is fairly loose. You could absolutely get away with watching just that one. Here's a link to Armada.

The Michael Bay films. You already know this one. These live action films are in a continuity of their own. In all absolutely fairness, the first movie is pretty good, barring Bay's more childish flairs. If you don't mind the U.S. military being portrayed as the absolute good guys, I think you'll genuinely like it.

The Bumblebee movie. Special shoutout to this one! This live action movie is in its own continuity that's really fun. This is an excellent movie and I love it so much, please watch it at some point.

Transformers Animated. This is one of the most widely beloved continuities in the entire franchise. People really, really like this show. It takes the franchise in a refreshing new direction, with the first season feeling almost a bit more like a superhero cartoon than a "traditional" transformers cartoon. The Autobots are the absolute underdogs in this one and it's hard not to root for them. Here's a link. This one's a good one to start with.

Transformers Cyberverse. This one is a web series that was focused for a younger audience for the first season, gets decent in the second but then gets absolutely and insanely fucking unhinged in season 3. I. . . don't recommend this one for any beginners? It's a trip. That first season is pretty unbearable. The second season starts out feeling like you missed something, and then gradually gets kinda better. Season 3 is insane. Look, just tackle this one after you've tackled the others. Don't start here.

Transformers Earthspark. The newest of the bunch, this one is releasing on Paramount Plus. I've really enjoyed what I've seen of it! It's a much more down-to-earth approach to the story. It changes some characters but in interesting ways. The new characters are excellent as well. You can definitely start with this one.

And finally, without further ado:

Transformers Prime.

I fucking LOVE this one.

This one is my favorite and was what really got me into the Transformers fandom. This cartoon takes the good innovations from the Michael Bay movies and then actually tells an amazingly competent story with it. It's the Transformers cartoon with the darkest tone by a long shot, and it really sells that this story is about a war. Characters die! The serialization is suuuuuuuper tight- one of my favorite examples is that injured characters have to spend time onscreen healing back up.

This cartoon also gives a significant amount of focus and exploration of the Decepticons as a faction as well, which is rare for the franchise. Both the Autobot and Decepticon characters will charm their way into your heart.

This show is equivalent in quality to Avatar the Last Airbender to me. I know that's probably overhyping it. You may not like it as much. But I really really really love it.

Here is a link to the first season.

But wait! There's more. Welcome to the Aligned Continuity!

Transformers Prime is actually part of the franchise's first attempt to really connect a story across media platforms. The result was. . . mostly successful? Definitely a lot of plot holes/errors, and some of the continuity is trash, but I want to highlight two videogames specifically:

Transformers: War for Cybertron. This game is a third-person shooter by High Moon studios. They do an absolutely stellar job with this one. Taking place on Cybertron, the home planet of the transformers, this one acts as the first part of an indirect prequel to Transformers Prime.

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron. If the first game is good, then this game is amazing. The devs layer on more amazing mechanics to those introduced in the first game, with some of my absolute most favorite moments in all of gaming happening in this one. It acts as a second part of the prequel to Transformers Prime.

The writing in both of these games is so amazing, and the gameplay is so much fun. I know you love videogames, so that's why I'm recommending these two you. HOWEVER, the cost is that these games are stupid difficult to get ahold of. You'll most likely have to sail the high seas, yo-ho-ho, if you catch my drift. I play these on my Xbox 360. Best of luck to you!

Anyways, there are other entries into the Aligned Continuity. There's a set of three novels that I've heard are stellar. If you're looking for a show for young kids but that is also fun for you to watch, you could always check out Transformers: Rescue Bots. That one has a small but devoted fanbase of older fans.

But do NOT touch the cartoon in this continuity called Robots in Disguise. Do not. It's marketed as a sequel to Transformers Prime. It is not. Not really. It's like the Halo 5 of Transformers. Every day I am reminded that it exists I am in pain.

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And there lies the end of my introduction! If you actually did read all of this, congrats to you. Ironically, I'm not sure that you've really ended up more knowledgeable than you started. I didn't really go over anything specific about characters or plot or lore or anything. But I hope I've illustrated my point that to do so would be fruitless- this story exists in so many different iterations that you just have to go out and find the one that resonates the most with you, y'know?

My recommendation for getting acquainted with the franchise is to start with those first three G1 episodes, then move on to either Animated or Prime. You could also pick Beast Wars if you're looking for something with a more retro 90s charm, which I know you like from Marathon.