World Origin of the Transformers

[Nibune]

I know there have been comics and such about the origin of the transformers, but every time I try and search for "cannon" material it seems like it neglects something or changes something that was done prior. Ex: Quientissions (however u spell it) versus Primus

Even more disturbign to me I think is after 20 years, they have yet to explain how new Transformers actually come to be, not until Beast Wars did we get a better sense of sparks/protoforms.

But how do the transformers summon a spark to a protoform, and of course another biggie, does it take a male & female to create a new spark?

I curious if anyone knew when creators of Transformers would finally sit down and say, well this is how this happens, because i sympathize with Michael Bay having to trying a piece together the history of the transformers when its been so varied to date.

or does anyone have a take on how new transformers come to be?

 

[lars573]

They never will. Every new continuity they come up with will have new origin. Including Bay's movie.

 

[Jochimus]

I think the closest you're likely to get to a "definitive" origin of the Transformer race is what's covered in DK Publishing's TRANSFORMERS: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE, which essentially follows Dreamwave's "cartoon/comic retcon" model. Granted, that doesn't cover any of the newer continuities. but so many of them already pay homage to elements of the G1 story as it is (even the Allspark of Bay's continuity is basically a pastiche of the Creation Matrix and the Underbase from the original Marvel comic).

 

[lars573]

Beast Machines was where the term All-Spark came from. Optimus Primal had a line talking about "Vector Sigma, the All-Spark."

 

[Jochimus]

Beast Machines was where the term All-Spark came from. Optimus Primal had a line talking about "Vector Sigma, the All-Spark."

I know where the term Allspark came from; my point is that Bay's version of the Allspark, in both its outward appearance and its inherent properties, seems to derive more closely from the Creation Matrix (which imbues life in machines at the sheer will of its custodian, instead of having to resort to shoving a key into an underground supercomputer on Cybertron) and the Underbase (a massive cube of energies so powerful that they're fully capable of destroying life as well as creating it, and which ends up being ejected into space to keep it out of Megatron's hands).

 

[Optimus_Prime_]

In G1 (cartoon) they eventually explained they were robots created by the Quintessons that were used for slave labor and military campaignes. Eventually they went rogue and overthrew the Quintessons. The comic explained that they were created by the "God" Primus after he imprisoned himself in a forming planetoid. He created the Transformers to fight his rival "God" Unicron.

 

[brianbuck]

At this point, there are so many different storylines, and continuities within those storylines that any definitive origin story is impossible and probably counterproductive.

 

[Gabe99]

The Secret Origin of the TRANSFORMERS – Part 1

 

[Grootster]

Personally, I feel like the Quintessons are the only really good origin story the brand has come up with. The idea of an intelligent alien species creating a robot army that defies their programming is far more thought provoking than space god Primus popping the 13 Primes into existence for vague reasoning. I'm all for going more in-depth with the origins, but I wish they'd get rid of all the quasi-magic "living machine" nonsense they seem so stuck on.

 

[Abishai100]

Something terrific about the Transformers (Hasbro) franchise is that it really delves into the emotional 'angle' to A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) fantasy/adventure storytelling.

There are many robotics franchises out there --- e.g., Gobots, Robotech, etc. --- but the Transformers universe offer us all kinds of 'democracy-oriented' patriotism/optimism story-branching.

This suggests (to me!) that the origin of the Transformers must have something to do with the value of life itself (i.e., AllSpark)...

For example, the Junkions (a species of whimsical warrior-robots who live on a planet of 'junk') who were introduced in Transformers: The Movie [1986] are not only friendly but also pseudo-philosophers.

So you really can't talk about Transformers origin stories without addressing values themes. IMO, all this 'controversy' regarding Transformers origin storytelling is actually excellent for the overall franchise...

What do you think?



====

WRECK-GAR: The Autobots love peace and defend the Matrix.
UNICRON: The Matrix of Leadership belongs to me!
WRECK-GAR: Unicron, you will use it to reverse evolution...
UNICRON: Very clever, Wreck-Gar, but that is not your concern.
WRECK-GAR: The fate of Cybertron is of concern to all Junkions.
UNICRON: That's because you live on a planet of junk.
WRECK_GAR: Evolution of Transformers involves meditating on peace.
UNICRON: I want the Matrix!
WRECK-GAR: The Autobots always wrestle with leadership...
UNICRON: They can't even decide if Optimus or Rodimus should be emperor.
WRECK-GAR: There is no emperor of Autobots; they value ancestry!
UNICRON: Autobots crave energy just like their ancestors...

====


Junkions (Transformers Wiki)

 

[Grootster]

I don't know if I fully agree with that statement, I actually feel like the brand could stand to delve a bit more into the A.I. aspect of the robots.

I'm not saying they should make them completely emotionless or make a Transformers movie like Ex Machina (although hey, I'd watch it). I'd just be interested to see that theme explored a bit more.

I think it would be an interesting way of differentiating the Transformers from the human characters. As it is, the TFs are basically just metal humans. There's virtually no difference outside of superficial things like appearance. They have morals, souls, free will, etc. Pretty much every TF story would work the same if they were organic beings wearing armor.

Before someone says "that would be too boring/philosophical for a kid's brand...just watch Pixar's Wall-e. (Or even Big Hero 6). The robots in those have plenty of personality while still being distinctly A.I. Honestly, I think it opens even more doors for interesting storylines and dilemmas. They could have Transformers get reprogrammed by villains, or be prevented from doing something because their programming limits it. They could deal with computer viruses. They could have human morals conflict with the robots' programming.

I can sort of understand why they don't go this route in the cartoons, but I'd love to see a movie series or a game or comic that deals more with A.I.

 

[LTuser]

In G1 (cartoon) they eventually explained they were robots created by the Quintessons that were used for slave labor and military campaignes. Eventually they went rogue and overthrew the Quintessons. The comic explained that they were created by the "God" Primus after he imprisoned himself in a forming planetoid. He created the Transformers to fight his rival "God" Unicron.

To me, the comics were the better (and first) origin story..