Transformers: Wings Universe

Okay, where are the wings?

Transformers: Wings Universe is a Generation 1 universe based loosely on the original cartoon.^[1] It has been depicted in Fun Publications comics and prose stories, the first of which was titled "Wings of Honor".

Overview

The Wings Universe stories take place in a timestream very similar to the Generation 1 cartoon continuity. The stories dance around the events of the cartoon, creating additional backstory and sometimes plugging plotholes. Wings doesn't take place in the actual cartoon universe, however, only a nigh-identical universe. Differences include the designs of some of the characters. Transformers like Scourge, Ironhide, and Ratchet are in their BotCon toy bodies, while Galvatron and Cyclonus are in their Universe bodies. The events of the cartoon are said to have happened largely unaltered except for characters such as these having different appearances.

Most of the early Wings Universe stories are set in Cybertron's distant past, at the outbreak of the Great War. They establish that there was an Autobot Elite Guard at that time, from whose winged insignia the title is derived. Later stories shift focus to a post-"The Rebirth" setting, bringing late-G1, Generation 2 and Machine Wars characters into the universe. In a "finale" of sorts for the universe, a final jump forward in time took the story to a post-Beast Machines timeframe, with inspiration drawn from the 3H Productions stories set in that era.

Timeline

Writer and editor Pete Sinclair has given most of the following timeline for events in the Wings Universe:^[2]

• 9 million years ago
  • "Wings of Honor" (flashback)
  • "War Dawn" (flashback)
• 8,999,990 years ago
  • "The Coming Storm: Part 2"
  • "Flames of Yesterday"
  • "The Coming Storm" parts #3 & #4
  • "A Team Effort"
  • "The Coming Storm" parts #5 & #6
  • "Battle Lines" parts #1 through #6 (up to the end of the attack on Iacon)
• 8,999,990 years ago through 4,000,000 years ago
  • "Battle Lines, Part 6" (latter part)
• 4,000,000 years ago through 2007 AD
  • Events akin to the beginning parts of "More than Meets the Eye, Part 1"
  • Beast Wars, "Ground Zero", and events akin to the parts of Reaching the Omega Point set on prehistoric Earth
  • Primeval Dawn
  • Events akin to The Transformers seasons 1 and 2, The Transformers: The Movie, season 3, and "The Rebirth"
• 2010 AD
  • "Wings of Honor" (present)
  • "The Coming Storm: Part 1" (present)
  • "Generation 2: Redux"
  • "A Flash Forward" ^[3]
• 2012 AD
  • "A Flash Forward" parts #2 through #6
• 2013 AD
  • "Interlude..."
  • "Termination"
  • "A Common Foe"
• 2030s AD
  • "Tornado - Decepticon Saboteur" (entries pre-BotCon 2014)
• ~2300 AD
  • "Dawn of Future's Past"
  • Beast Wars (modern-day Cybertron portions)
  • Reaching the Omega Point's "Covenant" story
  • Beast Machines and Transformers: The Wreckers
• 2984 AD
  • "Hoist the Flag"
  • "Tornado - Decepticon Saboteur" (entries post-BotCon 2014)
  • "Legacy"
  • Events akin to the parts of Reaching the Omega Point set in Shokaract's alternate future

Creative team

Writing duties on the Wings Universe have shuffled between Rik Alvarez, Forest Lee, Pete Sinclair, and Jesse Wittenrich (or combinations thereof), while art has been drawn by Guido Guidi, Dan Khanna, Andrew Griffith, Casey Coller, and Matt Frank. "Generation 2: Redux" was written by Greg Sepelak and Trent Troop, with Robby Musso, Frank Milkovich, Evan Gauntt, Trent Troop, and Jesse Wittenrich on various art duties.

Notes

• An ultimately unrealized prequel story to "Termination" would have featured Scourge (based on the TFSS 1.0 toy) as one of Jhiaxus's clones.^[4]
• A story about Lyzack was also planned for release in 2011, but wasn't finished in time. It would have bridged the gap between "The Coming Storm" and "Battle Lines".

References