The Great War - What's it all for?

[GoktimusPrime]

Allspark gave life to the first Primes.

Affirmative, as a sacred implement executing Primus' will. Other examples of sacred implements are the Creation Matrix and Vector Sigma. But ultimately all Transformer life and the creation of Cybertron across every universe stems from Primus - either through direct or indirect creation. In the movie universe it appears to be indirect.

They be the ancestors of all Cybertronians.

Negative. The first Primes are not the ancestors of all Cybertronians, only ancestors of the Primes, like Sentinel Prime and Optimus Prime. Remember that in every continuity, there were 13 original Transformers created by Primus (directly or indirectly). Revenge of the Fallen stated that there were 7 Primes among the original creations, thus we can deduce that the remaining 6 of the Original 13 were not Primes, and other non-Prime Transformers would have been descendant from them.

This makes sense to me, because if EVERY Transformer was descendant from a Prime, then wouldn't they all be Primes? (Skidimus Prime and Mudflapimus Prime?? No thanks...) Even though Optimus and Megatron were of equal status as co-rulers of Cybertron during the age of unification, only Optimus was entitled to be called "Prime" because only he was a descendant of the Prime lineage (although Optimus initially declined accepting the Prime title, much to Megatron's frustration).

We all know the story of the Fallen and his Prime brothers and the Matrix of Leadership. So those Primes died, Fallen allegedly slaughtered every descendant of the Primes on Cybertron save for one orphan who was hidden away. That orphan be named Optimus.

Negative. Optimus did not exist during such an ancient time in Cybertron's history. The Primes are Optimus' ancestors, not his brothers.

And I have been unable to find out from the stories how did Sentinel Prime survived that holocaust. It wasn't told (as far as I see it's obviously a logical hole; they changed writers between ROTF and DOTM and somehow the new guys must have forgotten partly what was told before, or deliberately chose to ignore it).

Negative, Sentinel Prime isn't that ancient either. Although he is far more ancient than Optimus Prime, he is still also a descendant of the Primes.

Remember that the original 7 Primes also can't transform (e.g. The Fallen never transforms in the movie). In the movie continuity the ability to transform was something that the Original Transformers - well okay, let's call them Cybertronians - built into their creations like their workers and Seekers etc.

Anyway Sentinel found the hidden Optimus and brought him up, together with Megatron.

I don't recall that ever happening.

Sentinel did mentor Optimus and Megatron together - and indeed when it was later discovered that Optimus was a Prime, it planted seeds of anger and jealousy in Megatron which led him to secretly follow a new master - the Fallen.

They two be his equally best students and faithful followers. Sentinel managed to capture a sun and secure its orbit around Cybertron, thereby powering Allspark for generation of energon to feed the starving planet. This has secured Sentinel's place as sole leader of the Cybertronians, who then were divided only by tribes and no political allegiances. Cybertron's entered into an era know as The Golden Age.

It was Sentinel Prime and Wheeljack who transported a sun to Cybertron and harvested its energy. Optimus Prime and Megatron and their followers located the AllSpark before then.

Another obvious logical defect here is that no one knows where the Fallen was and what he's doing during this Cybertronian Gold Age under leadership of Sentinel. It was revealed that he was in captivity in another world, which doesn't make any sense seeing he's just carried out a massacre before everything ever started and with only two Primes survived (one of which obviously a hatchling back then), no one would ever have the power to defeat him and put him into captivity anyway.

Again, Sentinel Prime and Optimus Prime weren't around when the Fallen was placed in the Phantom Zone^his sarcophagus.

(how on earth is that ever considered equal I'll never understand).

Optimus Prime was in charge of furthering the Transformers' knowledge and Megatron was in charge of defending Cybertron... they probably had to confer for major executive decisions - this would explain why Megatron requested Optimus to give him supreme executive authority (in Foundation #2); Optimus obliged and that's when Megatron granted himself the title of "Lord High Protector" and outranked Optimus (breaking the balance of power).

Movie origin was IMO one of the best TF stories ever written, regardless of its logical flaws, as it explores a deeper and more conflicting humanity running inside the main TF characters, making them more real and closer to feelings. Classic G1 is appealing as well but way too naive in story (after all I started watching them when I'm already in my late 20s)

I prefer G1, which - to put it very shortly, worked like this:

+ Primus directly creates Cybertron and the original 13 Transformers to combat Unicron. He grants the original 13 Transformers the ability to transform, mimicking Unicron's own ability.
+ Primus imbues a portion of his life essence into a sacred vessel known as the Creation Matrix. In the cartoon continuity Primus' will is executed by another sacred implement known as Vector Sigma
+ The Transformers establish city-states and establishes their capital at Iacon.
+ A group of gladiators arises -- those who survive the Vos-Tarn War are united by Megatron and call themselves Decepticons. Thus they begin a plan to expand and conquer.
+ One by one Cybertron's city-states fall to the expanding Decepticon empire. Sentinel Prime is slain in battle and passes the Matrix to Optimus Prime.
+ High Councillor Traachon vetoes himself out of office - the Autobot Council of Elders steps down and gives supreme executive authority to Optimus Prime. For the first time ever, supreme command of the Autobots now rests in the hands of a soldier and not politicians who had never seen battle. Under Optimus Prime's leadership, the tide of battle turns. Iacon never falls into Decepticon hands and formerly conquered city-states are liberated by the Autobots' under Prime's command.
+ Optimus Prime leads a group of Autobots aboard the Ark - they are intercepted by Decepticons and accidentally crash on Earth.