

The first was the Robots in Disguise series, followed by three shows (Armada, Energon, and Cybertron) that constitute a single universe called the "Unicron Trilogy". There have been other incarnations of the story based on different toy lines during and after the 20th century. Generation 1 characters underwent two reboots with Dreamwave in 2001 and IDW Publishing in 2005, also as a remastered series. Sequels followed, such as the Generation 2 comic book and Beast Wars TV series, which became its own mini-universe. The term "Generation 1" covers both the animated television series The Transformers and the comic book series of the same name, which are further divided into Japanese and British spin-offs, respectively. In its history, the Transformers robot superhero franchise has expanded to encompass comic books, animation, video games and films. Initially a line of transforming toys rebranded from Takara's Diaclone and Microman toylines, the franchise began in 1984 with the Transformers toy line, and centers on factions of self-configuring modular extraterrestrial robotic lifeforms (often the Autobots and the Decepticons) in an endless civil war for dominance or eventual peace.

Transformers is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy.
