Transformers: War For Cybertron: 10 Things To Know Before Watching Netflix’s Transformers Series

Going strong since 1984, Transformers has become a staple of television animation. But for the first time (possibly barring Transformers: Prime), Hasbro has teamed up with Netflix to bring the fans a series geared towards the older part of the fanbase.

Marketed as a trilogy, Transformers: War for Cybertron is the first installment in the new Siege universe. While all Transformers series are pretty self-contained – even for Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015), viewers don’t need prior knowledge of Prime – there are some very essential basics to know. With a better knowledge of past lore, fans can predict what may happen later in the series and the storylines that may be revisited.

Here are 10 things to know before watching Netflix’s Transformers series, Transformers: War for Cybertron.

10 Basic Generation 1 Knowledge

Otherwise known simply as “G1” among the fanbase, Generation 1 refers to the 1984 Transformers series up until the 1986 movie. Generation 2, or G2, refers to the 80s show after the movie. Basically, if Hot Rod is Rodimus Prime, it’s G2. If Optimus hasn’t died yet, it’s G1.

G1 established anything and everything Transformers. This includes the functionality of Space Bridges (most of the newer series are fond of using these or some sort of modification), Vector Sigma, the Matrix of Leadership, and what the heck a Prime is. In fact, G1 established the first Optimus Prime origin story.

9 Basic Movie Knowledge

Don’t worry, no actual movie watching is involved. But the 2007 Transformers movie influenced the course the franchise would take for the next decade. The first live-action movie established the Autobots – and, to an extent, the Decepticons – as refugees in a war.

Though there were whispers of it in G1, the movie universe confirms that Cybertron is a dead planet and the only way to restore it is by use of the AllSpark – more on that later. The movie also established how Bumblebee lost his voice. So far, in every series following the movies, Bumblebee has indeed lost his voice and gained it back in some way.

8 Basic IDW Character Knowledge

Not to be confused with the current Transformers run with IDW, the first IDW Transformers comic ran from 2005 to 2018. Obviously, it’s impossible to even summarize 13 years of plot twists and characters. But the largest influences the comics left were in the latter part of its run, around the 2012 era. Rodimus and newcomer Drift became very popular characters within the fandom. Windblade made her comics debut in the series of the same name and brought Chromia into the spotlight as well. Hopefully, War for Cybertron will have some of these characters on the roster.

7 Major Characters

Optimus Prime, Megatron, Starscream, Soundwave, and Bumblebee should all be familiar names at this point. But there’s a handful of unsung heroes (and villains) that tend to get overlooked. Ratchet and Ironhide come to mind for the Autobots. Though they were in the live-action movies, their characters were one dimensional at best. Ratchet, as the medic, struggles to feel useful when he fails a patient. Ironhide, the weapons specialist, is one of Optimus Prime’s most trusted confidants.

For the Decepticons, Shockwave deserves a big shout out. Shockwave is terrifying because of the fact that he’s loyal to the Decepticon cause, a genius, and operates on logic. He doesn’t let emotions guide him or his actions. He doesn’t care about ethics as long as what he’s doing is logical and useful.

6 Energon

Also known as the lifeblood of all Transformers, energon is what allows Transformers to keep functioning. It’s food and water all wrapped into one. On Cybertron, it needs to be mined and refined before it’s ready for consumption. Abysmal mining conditions and later, a massive energon shortage, caused the war to start and escalate.

The War for Cybertron promotional material confirmed that the Autobots have an exodus plan. That tells longtime fans that Cybertron is dying and most likely, has stopped producing energon. In the history of this storyline, the lack of energon is what forces the Autobots and Decepticons to find refuge on Earth.

5 Elita-1

No, this isn’t Arcee. And yes, she’s important enough to warrant her own section.

Elita-1 makes her grand re-entrance into the franchise, not being seen in animated media since G1. On the surface, she’s basically Optimus Prime’s wife. However, digging into the G1 lore, she and others under her command – Chromia, Moonracer, etc. – stayed on Cybertron to combat the remaining Decepticons while everyone else took a 4 million year long nap on Earth. She and Optimus were reformatted at the same time as well, her previous iteration being Ariel.

Basically, she’s robot Wonder Woman and it’s amazing to see her animated again.

4 The Matrix of Leadership

An artifact passed down for generations, the Matrix of Leadership determines the next Prime and carries all knowledge and wisdom of the previous Primes. Though War for Cybertron seems like it will focus more on the AllSpark, the Matrix has been used to establish the war. In Transformers: Prime, Megatron started the war because Orion Pax (Optimus Prime) was chosen as the next Prime. Even if this scenario doesn’t happen, Optimus will most likely acquire the Matrix in some way.

3 The Transformers Multiverse

The best thing about Transformers is that it’s very easy to get into regardless of the iteration. Transformers tends to reset itself with a new story with every title, with the slight exception of Transformers: Prime to Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015). All the shows are broken down into separate universes, both from official sources and by fans.

Keeping up with the tradition, Transformers: War for Cybertron will add its story to the overall Transformers multiverse. All new viewers need to know that this exists. This is why fans argue over the best iteration of Optimus Prime. Yes, there’s more than one. Yes, they’re all slightly different. That’s what keeps things interesting.

2 The Decepticon Cause

The IDW comics created a new history for the Decepticons. They started as a group of revolutionaries combatting the inequality in Cybertronian society, while the Autobots were essentially the police force trying to keep the status quo. However, over the years, both sides flipped. Megatron began preaching tyranny while Optimus Prime, a former cop, supported freedom.

1 The AllSpark

The AllSpark has become the single most important artifact in all of Transformers lore. Though fans are a bit fatigued with seeing it pop up everywhere, the potential the AllSpark itself carries is too good to just be cast aside now. It’s been the focal point of the main Transformers series since the first live-action movie premiered.

Basically, the AllSpark is the life force of Cybertron. It’s like the semi-sentient core of the planet and the primary source of Cybertronian life. Without the AllSpark, there is no life on Cybertron. From there, things get a little hazy since every series has its own spin on the importance of the AllSpark. Sometimes, it stops giving life prior to the war. Other times, it’s simply been lost to time, but has the power to restart the war. Just know that the AllSpark is really important, everyone wants it, and it usually gets launched off of Cybertron which results in a massive stalemate.

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