Timeline - 1985 to 2007 - what happened?

I have rediscovered Transformers again in my 40s and have been collecting and watching for a little while now.
One thing I’ve always wondered with the Transformers G1 series and Movie.
The movie is set in 2005 (some places say 2007). The first two season of the Tv series is set in 1985.
My question is : What happened between these years? That’s more than 20 years of an unaccounted time.
I haven’t watched other shows like Beast Wars (which I assume is set in the far future), but I have read a bit of the Marvel Uk comics which has a bit of Time Travel involved between 2005 and 1985.
From what I gather, Seasons 3 and 4 of the original series are set in 2007.
(Please don’t answer “It’s just a Tv show!”)

The movie is set in 2005. Season 3 is set in 2006, season 4 maybe 2007.
(Beast Wars is generally considered as taking place 300 years after season 4)

Within the universe of the Cartoon we really don't know what happened inbetween.

We know: the Decepticons returned to Cybertron and conquered it and the Autobots followed and set up secret bases on two of Cybertron moons. The Autobots also built Autobot City Earth. Spike and Carly wed and had a son named Daniel.

Everything else is really speculation or retcons (some of which are good and some are bascially fan fiction).

Within the universe of the comic books lots more happened but that's a different continuity that does its own thing.

I suspect it was the equivalent of a "reboot" in 1986, though that term did not exist back then (but sure became a theme with Transformers!) The creators are on record on the 86 movie DVD saying they wanted to kill off the original cast to make way for new toys. So my guess is the sudden (and very jarring as a kid) jump to the future was a mechanism to get a new bunch of characters in that could gel with a mature Spike/Carly and a new child figure.

Anglophone canonical sources are rather vague up until Beast Wars.
Japanese sources offer more insight.

2007

• The events of KISS Players happens.

• The events of Music Label happens.

2010

• The events of G1 cartoon Season 3 happens. Although this happened in 2005 in Anglophone canon, in Japan it happened in 2010 (hence why the Japanese dub of S3 is called "Transformers 2010")

2011

• The events of "The Headmasters" happens, including the destruction of Cybertron. But Cybertron is restored by the end of the decade because reasons.

2020

• The events of "Super God Masterforce" happens. Eh!

2021

• The events of Unite Warriors happens.

2022

• The events of Legends Vol. 57 and Vol. EX (Greatshot) begins.

2023

• The events of Legends Revival Vol. 1 happens.

2025

• The events of "Transformers Victory" happens.

• The events of the 'Hero Set' (Classic Pretenders sans shells) happens.

• The events of Legends Revival Vol. 2 happens.

2026

• The events of Legends Vol. EX (Greatshot) concludes.

• The events of "Transformers Zone" (including extended canon) happens between 2026 and 2030.

2031

• The events of "Battlestars" happens.

2035

• The events of "Operation Combination" (and extended canon) happens.

2036

• The Prime Mode Plague happens.

Late 2030s

• The events of Transformers: Generation 2 (and extended canon) happens (note that in Anglophone canon, G2 happens in 1993-95)

2039

• A ceasefire is declared between the Autobots and Decepticons.

2040

• The Great War between the Autobots and Decepticons ends.

• Humans create the android beings Artemis and Moon.

24th Century

• The events of Beast Wars begins here.

• The events of Beast Machines happens.

Tens of thousands of years later

• The events of Beast Wars Second happens.

A few years after that

• The events of Beast Wars Neo happens.

Thanks for the replies and answers. It’s pretty much what I thought.
I would have loved to see how autobot city was established and how the Decepticons were driven off earth.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hawkangel

Thanks for the replies and answers. It’s pretty much what I thought.
I would have loved to see how autobot city was established and how the Decepticons were driven off earth.

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Oh sorry, I misunderstood your original post and for some weird reason thought you were asking what happened after 2007 - but you were asking about what happened between 1985 to 2005! Mea culpa!

Okay...

So the cartoon itself does make a time skip from 1985 to 2005 with little explained (like, where the hell did Sparkplug go?). However, the Japanese did try to fill in at least one gap with the direct-to-video "Scramble City" episode which showed the construction of Autobot City. This story is set in the late 80s (so well after the events of Season 2) and establishes that Ultra Magnus was already on Earth - the Autobots had constructed Metroplex and the Decepticons had constructed Trypticon.

Now the events in the Marvel Comics on the other hand continue until 1992, and the G2 comics continue events until the mid-1990s. Having said that, the events of The Transformers The Movie don't happen in the main universe of the Transformers Marvel Comics, but rather an alternate future timeline. Nonetheless, in the comic continuity Autobot City is constructed over a buried Metroplex who slumbers beneath the city. He was activated during the Quintesson occupation of Autobot City.

JAPAN!
Naturally the Japanese have come to fill in more gaps.

• Late 1980s: The events of Scramble City happens (see above)

• Early 1990s: G.I. Joe defeats Cobra. Cobra Commander will eventually become Old Snake (as seen in Season 3)

• Late 1990s: The events of the Battle of Stargate happens.

• 2000: The events of Car Robot happens (with extended canon happening up till 2002).

• 2003~2005: a splinter timeline is created and the events of Binaltech happens.

• 2004: back in the main timeline, the events of Robotmasters happens.

• 2005: the events of KISS Players begins

• 2010: the events of The Transformers The Movie happens (or 2005 in the Anglophone canonical timeline)