History ComicBook / HasbroComicUniverse

With the end of ''All Hail Megatron'' came a new ongoing series by Mike Costa, simply named ''The Transformers'', that many hoped would bring the series out of its AudienceAlienatingEra, especially with the return of fan-favorite artist Don Figueroa to art duties. Unfortunately, instead of his traditional style, Figueroa debuted the series with a new, overly skeletal and mechanical art style influenced by [[Film/{{Transformers}} the Transformers movies]] that was instantly unpopular with fans, particularly for [[http://tinyurl.com/DonsNewStyle what it did to characters' faces]]. On top of that, Costa freely admitted that he didn't really "get" the characters or see how to make them relatable, and in general struggled with writing a Transformer-based story; meanwhile, hands-off editorial direction led to massive inconsistency between characters' designs and personalities, even within the main series!

The ''Hasbro Comic Universe'' [[note]]or ''[[ComicBook/Revolution2016 Revolution Universe]]''[[/note]] is the SharedUniverse of (most of) Creator/IDWPublishing's Creator/{{Hasbro}}-licensed comics, debuting with the release of the ''ComicBook/{{Revolution|2016}}'' miniseries in 2016. Through CanonWelding of the previously unrelated IDW ''Franchise/TransformersGeneration1'' and ''[[ComicBook/GIJoeIDW G.I. Joe]]'' series (and to a far lesser extent, ''[[ComicBook/JemAndTheHologramsIDW Jem and the Holograms]]'' and ''[[ComicBook/Clue2017 Clue]]''), and the introduction of ''[[ComicBook/RomIDW ROM]]'', ''ComicBook/{{Micronauts|IDW}}'', ''ComicBook/ActionMan'' and ''ComicBook/{{MASK}}'' to the universe, these disparate franchises have been formed into a single shared universe.

* ''New Avengers/Transformers'': A crossover miniseries with Creator/MarvelComics, involving the ComicBook/NewAvengers and [[ComicBook/DoctorDoom Latveria]] getting involved in the Transformers' war. Set during Escalation, it has had little effect on the overall universe, and can probably be considered mostly non-canon. Ran for four issues.

* OneGenderRace: The Transformers, initially, with the exception of Arcee. This storyline was ''very'' controversial amongst the fandom, and was eventually given a RetCon - there are no female Transformers ''on modern Cybertron''; for whatever reason, they're only found on the LostColony worlds.

* ''G.I. Joe: Special Missions'': A Chuck Dixon series named after [[ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHero the classic series of the same name]] and continuing the idea of G.I. Joe as a secretive and shadowy task force through the "Special Missions Unit", which lasted for 14 issues from 2013 to 2014.

The ''Hasbro Comic Universe'' [[note]]or ''[[ComicBook/Revolution2016 Revolution Universe]]''[[/note]] is the SharedUniverse of (most of) Creator/IDWPublishing's Creator/{{Hasbro}}-licensed comics, debuting with the release of the ''ComicBook/{{Revolution|2016}}'' miniseries in 2016. Through CanonWelding of the previously unrelated IDW ''Franchise/TransformersGeneration1'' and ''[[ComicBook/GIJoeIDW G.I. Joe]]'' series (and to a far lesser extent, ''ComicBook/JemAndTheHologramsIDW''), and the introduction of ''[[ComicBook/RomIDW ROM]]'', ''ComicBook/{{Micronauts|IDW}}'', ''ComicBook/ActionMan'' and ''ComicBook/{{MASK}}'' to the universe, these disparate franchises have been formed into a single shared universe.

* ''[[ComicBook/MicronautsIDW Micronauts (IDW)]]'': An ongoing series by Cullen Bunn, ''Micronauts'' is a ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy''-esque tale of Oziron Rael's RagtagBunchOfMisfits and their attempt to save their world from the Entropy Cloud and the machinations of Baron Karza. The team consists of [[TheSoCalledCoward Pharoid]] (Oziron Rael), [[SuperSoldier Acroyear]], [[FlyingFirepower Space Glider]] (Phenelo-Phi), [[BarrierWarrior Orbital Defender]] (Larissa), [[HumongousMecha Biotron]], and [[RobotBuddy Microtron]]. The series crossed over with the others in ''Revolution'', and subsequently ended after 11 issues (plus an Annual and Revolution one-shot) to lead into...

* ''Comicbook/AwYeahRevolution'': A parody miniseries by [[ComicBook/TinyTitans Art Baltazar]] that takes a sideways look at the Hasbro Universe, featuring the threat of Baron Karza, who attacks the Earth... [[SillyReasonForWar because his favourite superhero Snake Eyes comes from there,]] [[TheCollector and he wants to collect him.]]

The longest-running and most expansive part of IDW's universe, IDW's Transformers universe began as a DarkerAndEdgier UltimateUniverse reimagining of the Franchise/TransformersGeneration1 franchise by longtime Transformers author and mastermind behind ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMarvel'''s comics, Creator/SimonFurman. It's since expanded to cover a huge range of styles and tones of the franchise, with multiple fan-favorite (and [[DorkAge less fan-favorite]]) authors writing for it. It can be roughly divided into five "eras", based on the main writers and editorial direction of the series.

A [[ReTool "soft reboot"]] of the IDW Transformers universe involving a new author, [=Shane McCarthy=]. This era was [[DorkAge very controversial]] for a number of reasons, the most prominent being that IDW forced Furman to truncate his long-running plan for the universe into four Spotlights and Maximum Dinobots so that [=McCarthy=] could take over, in the hope that the rebrand would increase sales. Similarly, ''All Hail Megatron'' had almost no link to the plotlines of the "-ations" until halfway through, leading to many believing, at first, that it was a full ContinuityReboot. Tonally, ''All Hail Megatron'' drops the [[{{Deconstruction}} deconstructive]], AdaptationDistillation and ReimaginingTheArtifact elements of the "-ations" in favor of a DarkerAndEdgier take on the [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformers G1 cartoon]]. It ran from 2008 to 2009.

With the end of ''All Hail Megatron'' came a new ongoing series by Mike Costa, simply named ''The Transformers'', that many hoped would bring the series out of its DorkAge, especially with the return of fan-favorite artist Don Figueroa to art duties. Unfortunately, instead of his traditional style, Figueroa debuted the series with a new, overly skeletal and mechanical art style influenced by [[Film/{{Transformers}} the Transformers movies]] that was instantly unpopular with fans, particularly for [[http://tinyurl.com/DonsNewStyle what it did to characters' faces]]. On top of that, Costa freely admitted that he didn't really "get" the characters or see how to make them relatable, and in general struggled with writing a Transformer-based story; meanwhile, hands-off editorial direction led to massive inconsistency between characters' designs and personalities, even within the main series!

** ''The Transformers: Redemption'': A sequel one-shot by John Barber that has been described as ''Film/MadMaxFuryRoad'' [[RecycledInSpace WITH]] [[EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs DINOBOTS!]]

* ''The Transformers Continuum'': A one-shot that aims to summarise all the events of the "-ations" and ''All Hail Megatron'' for the benefit of new readers... [[invoked]][[CriticalResearchFailure ''aims'' being the important part]].

** Pharoid, Acroyear and Biotron are only really similar to their Marvel counterparts appearance-wise, as their personalities and backstories belong to Marvel. (Did you know that the original Acroyear might be ComicBook/StarLord's father?)

** All over the place, as is standard for an UltimateUniverse approach; it often involves making characters [[AdaptationalVillainy more violent or darker]]. Special mention goes to [[ComicBook/TheTransformersIDW Thundercracker]], who is actually an ''[[AvertedTrope aversion]]'' - he's an example of the personality traits from the character's original bio being used for the first time in fiction, ''ever''. (Of course, [[ZigzaggedTrope Bob Budiansky's Thundercracker]] [[ItMakesSenseInContext probably wasn't obsessed with becoming a sitcom writer]]...)

* ''ComicBook/{{Revolutionaries}}'': Described as "''Marvel Team-Up'' meets ''ComicBook/{{Planetary}}''", ''Revolutionaries'' is a TeamUpSeries focusing on a team consisting of [[ComicBook/TheTransformersRobotsInDisguise Kup, Garrison Blackrock,]] [[Franchise/GIJoe Mayday]] [[note]](a new G.I. Joe codename for Ayana Jones of ''[[ComicBook/TheTransformersRobotsInDisguise Robots in Disguise]]''; the codename dates back to the much-maligned ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeExtreme'', and had also been used in the Devil's Due continuity)[[/note]], and ComicBook/ActionMan; it is a mystery-focused TeamUpSeries focused on the mysterious artifact called the [[BigDumbObject Talisman]]. The series delves into some of the more obscure and strange corners of the shared universe, bringing together such disparate elements as [[WesternAnimation/SgtSavageAndHisScreamingEagles Sgt. Savage]], the [[Franchise/{{Transformers}} Predacons]], the [[Franchise/GIJoe Adventure Team]], a new [[Franchise/GIJoeARealAmericanHero Cobra Commander]], and the... ''[[{{Elseworld}} Hearts of Steel]]'' Transformers?! Meanwhile, the heroes will have to contend with [[ComicBook/ActionMan Doctor X]], [[Franchise/GIJoe Storm Shadow]] and [[UnexpectedCharacter Baron Ironblood]], who want the Talisman for their own purposes.

Wiki/TFWikiDotNet offers coverage of the ''Transformers''-related parts [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Revolution here]], and an [[http://idwhasbro.shoutwiki.com/wiki/Main_Page IDW Hasbro Wiki]] has been established to handle everything else.

* CompositeCharacter: Miles Mannheim/Mayhem and the G.I. Joe Sea Adventurer.

[[caption-width-right:350:Pictured: [[ComicBook/MicronautsIDW Biotron, Space Glider, Orbital Defender, Acroyear,]] [[ComicBook/TheTransformersRobotsInDisguise Arcee, Victorion, Soundwave, Optimus Prime, Kup,]] [[ComicBook/GIJoeIDW Roadblock, Scarlett, Snake Eyes,]] ComicBook/ActionMan, [[ComicBook/RomIDW ROM]], [[ComicBook/{{MASK}} a Thunderhawk, and a Rhino]], [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters amongst others]]. Not pictured: [[ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW ponies]], [[ComicBook/MightyMorphinPowerRangersBoomStudios teenagers with attitude]] and a [[ComicBook/JemAndTheHologramsIDW truly outrageous band]].]]

In a tiny universe known as Microspace, a cataclysm called the Entropy Storm threatens to destroy everything. As the disaster goes, the twin armies of the Ministry of Science and the Ministry of Defense seem intent only on fighting each other to secure power rather than fixing things; so it may be up to a [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits team of unlikely heroes]] to save everything. A ContinuityReboot of Marvel's ''ComicBook/{{Micronauts}}'' series, based on the toys by Mego, IDW's ''Micronauts'' features an entirely new cast (with the exception of Acroyear, Biotron and Microtron, who have all been reimagined) due to Marvel's ownership of the characters they created. In ''Revolution'', they will cross over to IDW's main universe... [[LilliputianWarriors where they're about 4 inches tall]].

* DarkerAndEdgier: Most of the series have a significantly greater degree of violence and more mature storytelling than their predecessors, though the original ''ComicBook/RomSpaceknight'' and ''ComicBook/{{Micronauts}}'' comics didn't shy away from either.

The longest-running and most expansive part of IDW's universe, IDW's Transformers universe began as a DarkerAndEdgier UltimateUniverse reimagining of the Franchise/TransformersGeneration1 franchise by longtime Transformers author and mastermind behind [[ComicBook/TheTransformers Marvel's ''Transformers'' comics]], Creator/SimonFurman. It's since expanded to cover a huge range of styles and tones of the franchise, with multiple fan-favorite (and [[DorkAge less fan-favorite]]) authors writing for it. It can be roughly divided into five "eras", based on the main writers and editorial direction of the series.

* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersDrift'': A four-issue miniseries by [=Shane McCarthy=] dealing with the origins and adventures of his CreatorsPet Drift. It's actually considered significantly better than ''All Hail Megatron'', and a decent character story; most of the dislike of it and the character come from [[WesternAnimation/TheItchyAndScratchyShow Poochie-esque]] CharacterShilling, percieved [[ForeignCultureFetish weeaboo traits]] (such as using katana and having kanji on his car mode), and IDW pushing him as "[[WolverinePublicity our Wolverine]]".

* AbortedArc: Quite a few storylines were left hanging from Simon Furman's run on ''The Transformers'', as well as within other authors' series. Several plot points have been picked up by later authors, however, particularly by John Barber (the "[[FanNickname god of continuity]]").