Transformers (Dixie Forever)

Transformers is a long-running toyline and animated series originating in the Micro-Change and Diaclone toy lines in Japan, which were taken by Hasbro and Marvel into the Confederate States and United States into a hugely successful cartoon, toy, and comic book line.

Original Series
The original animated series, retroactively called Generation 1 by fans, tells of the story of the war between the Autobots and Decepticons, led by Optimus Prime and Megatron, respectively.

Season 1
Introducing the Transformers in a four-part 90-minute movie, featuring nearly cinematic writing and animation, this was aired over four days in 1984, and launched the Transformers craze in both the US and CS. The writers told of how Megatron came from Kaon in the north of Cybertron, a gladiator wanting to rule all of Cybertron, destroy the Autobots and colonize all of Cybertron and the universe with Decepticons. The Autobots fight for freedom, justice, and peace against the evil Decepticons. This season introduced Devastator and the Dinobots, Skyfire, and the Insecticons. The season ended with the supposed destruction of the Decepticons in their starship escaping Earth with energon for Cybertron.

Season 2
The Decepticons escaped their ship moments before it exploded, and return to Earth to fight the Autobots. The Autobots' ship, the Ark, had an aft compartment where they went into stasis in the asteroid field, and they brought them back to Earth as reinforcements. This way, over a dozen new Autobots were introduced into the series, rather than just having them show up. The Decepticons find their old ship, the Nemesis, and bring out the (deluxe) Insections and other warriors to fight the Autobots. This season escalates the battle between the Autobots and Decepticons, and includes new characters like Bumper, Spin-Out, Cordon, Barrage, Chop-Shop, and others to the fight. There are 26 episodes this season, ending with a cliffhanger fight to keep interest alive across the summer break. This season also features a cameo episode with the alien-suited Spiderman, Captain America, and Wolverine, and later with GI Joe.

Season 3
The show returns and this year brings combiners from the Japanese 'Scramble City' line, with Superion, Menasor, and other combiners joining the fight. The year ends with the Autobots hinting at the movie with a line about Delta Magnus helping built Autobot City. Based on the popularity of last year's cameos, the GI Joe make another cameo in this series, along with MASK.

Movie
The nearly two hour epic animated movie featuring almost every Transformer was a superbly written and animated feature film featuring a full-on, knock-out fight between Optimus and Megatron, ending them both, but allowing Megatron to be reborn as Galvatron. The Autobot City fight, a full 20 minute fight featuring all the Autobots and Decepticons, and featuring their voice talents and epic battles resulting in the deaths of a number of characters such as Hound, Wheeljack, Chop-Shop, Huffer, Barrage, and the Reflector trio, the Autobots are attacked again by Galvatron, but escape in their shuttles. They are separated and one shuttle lands on Junkion, while the other lands on Quintessa. Eventually Ultra Magnus loses the matrix of leadership to Galvatron, his Sweeps, and his Armada, and the Autobots find they must face Unicron, who is going to destroy Cybertron, then Earth. The Autobots make friends with the Junkions and lead them to destroy Unicron but are eaten. Hot Rod eventually fights Galvatron and takes the matrix, which turns him into Rodimus Prime, who defeats Galvatron, releases the power of the matrix, which destroys Unicron, and leads the Autobots out of Unicron. Unicron is destroyed, and the Autobots retake Cybertron from the Decepticons.

Season 4: 2017
While the movie was a critical success, kids were traumatized by the loss of Optimus Prime. Rodimus Prime was portrayed as a great leader, along the lines of heroes like Robert E Lee or Stonewall Jackson or George Washington, as wanting peace, but being ready for war, and having a healthy respect for the past and past heroes. A short return of Prime in "Dark Awakening" gave kids a taste of his return, but with a large letter-writing campaign, a new movie was needed to bring Optimus back. This season was originally 26 episodes, but lengthened to 45 to give enough time to create the new movie. Centurions also make a cameo in this season, helping the Autobots defeat the Decepticons and Doc Terror.

Movie: The Return of Optimus Prime
Optimus Prime was returned to life by a Quintesson, who we found had originally built the Transformers back in season 3. A hate plague threatened all life in the universe, and this TV movie event brought Optimus back to lead the Autobots again.

Season 5: Headmasters
Optimus leads a force of Autobots to investigate a mysterious signal on a planet named Nebulos. They find humans on the planet who speak English and have a somewhat Earth-like civilization. Through the course of the season, the Nebulans build trust with the Autobots, and the Hive, a political party that was based on the old Republicans of the 1860s and the current Democrats of the 1980s in the US, who wanted power at any cost and to subjugate the Nebulan people, team up with the Decepticons. At first, the Autobots must surrender their heads to the Nebulans to prove their trust, but the Decepticons (Skullcruncher, Weirdwolf, Snapdragon, Apeface, and Mindwipe) threaten the city. Spike and Carly work with Arcana, who had formerly worked on a bio-mechanical binary bonding process, and helped create a headmaster process for Brainstorm, Hardhead, Chromedome, and Highbrow, and they surprise and defeat the Decepticons. In the next episode, the Decepticons steal the technology and create their own headmasters, evening the scales. Two episodes later, the Targetmasters are created by the Decepticons, and the technology is soon copied by the Autobots. Spike makes his investigation into the signal and finds a giant city with a huge Autobot symbol on it, and discovers that it's an old Cybertronian Fortress-class ship, which would turn into a city when it landed on a planet, forming a base of operations for Cybertronians who went on stellar voyages. The Autobots move into the city and get it up and running and the Decepticons begin their work transforming the Hive city into a weapon like the Fortress ship, eventually creating Scorponok, with Zarak, the Hive leader, as its head. By season's end, the Autobots and Nebulan partners force the Decepticons off the planet after a big battle between Fortress Maximus and Scorponok on Nebulos.

Season 6: Masterforce
The Autobots and Decepticons return to Nebulos and the first party to investigate finds the power supply poisoned. Slapdash, Getaway, and Joyride try to save the Nebulans against Darkwing and Dreadwind, and barely save Rev, Hotwire, and Lube, and their leader, Hi-Q, from the Decepticon combiner jet. Two episodes later, Rev, Hotwire, and Lube are kidnapped by Darkwing, and the Autobots are unable to refuel. With their power dangerously low, Zetca, Bullet, and Aquastar become powermasters to help them beat the Decepticons. A two-part episode featured the defeat of Optimus Prime, who was trying to save the city against Gigatron, and was critically damaged, and his rebuild the next episode by Hi-Q into a powermaster with the ability to combine with his trailer to be as powerful as the Overlord Gigatron with Hi-Q as his powermaster. Two episodes later, Prime gets the Apex Bomber trailer and defeats Gigatron again. Pretenders are introduced with human-sized monsters menacing the seaside town of Korandra. The Autobots create Pretenders to get into the city disguised as humans in battle armor, and soon defeat the Decepticons. Metalhawk is the leader of the Pretenders. Minerva, Nightbeat, Hosehead, and Siren join the Autobot headmasters, and the series features several cameos of older Autobot favorites, including Sunstreaker and Sideswipe.

Season 7: Victory
The final animated series introduces Star Saber and the Brainmasters, Monster Pretenders and Monstructor, the introduction of micromasters and micromaster bases, and Action Masters, rebuilt older Autobots who died at Autobot city, the mausoleum sending their tombs crashing into Nebulos on the desert continent (based on Australia), and being reenergized by nucleon, an experimental power supply which locks their transformation cog, making them all rely on targetmaster partners. The series eventually restores their transformation ability and ends with a five-part movie, aired as one movie-length feature on TV, featuring the epic battle between the Autobots and Decepticons, and the final restoration of Cybertron by the Autobots.