Transformers questions by newbies, and not-so-newbies

[Paulbot]

Is there a TF reference book that shows the cartoon transformations for the G1 characters? I think there is but I'm not sure which one...

"The Ark" book(s) have all the animation models and for some characters they have transformation sequence guides, but it's really only a few.

The Japanese book "First Series Complete" shows how the toys for each cartoon character transforms, but that's not quite the same.

[Tober]

"The Ark" book(s) have all the animation models and for some characters they have transformation sequence guides, but it's really only a few.

The Japanese book "First Series Complete" shows how the toys for each cartoon character transforms, but that's not quite the same.

Cool, thanks Paul.

[Verno]

Can someone explain what a 'Universal Singularity' is? I have many questions...

[Sky Shadow]

Can someone explain what a 'Universal Singularity' is? I have many questions...

Do you mean Multiversal Singularity? If so, it's characters and things that are the same individual in every Transformers universe he/she/it inhabits. I.e. There is only one Primus, Unicron, Prima, Vector Prime, Logos Prime, Nexus Maximus (LOL), The Fallen, Alpha Trion, Vector Sigma, etc. and every time we see them in any Transformers universe, they're actually the same individual. Even though that probably doesn't make any sense.

[Paulbot]

Can someone explain what a 'Universal Singularity' is? I have many questions...

If you mean multiversal singularities that's some rubbish that someone at Hasbro came up with that some people have taken as binding gospel canon but which is so contradictory and creativity limiting that it's not worth bothering about.

(but basically the idea that for some beings in TF fiction there is only one of it and it exists in all alternate realties/timelines/univesese. So everytime you see the character it's the same one - so the Fallen who was in the movie is the same Fallen that was in the Dreamwave series, and every single time you've seen Unicron it's the exact same guy just popping around.)

A Universal Singularity would mean something that there's only one of the in the universe, and there should be billions and billions of those.

[Verno]

Ah, yes, Multiversal Singularity.

So. Do these Singularities (Vector Prime, Alpha Trion, etc) exist in differing universes at the same time? Or are they somehow travelling from universe to universe and seemingly repeating similar events (mistakes) in all of them?

[Golden Phoenix]

Ah, yes, Multiversal Singularity.

So. Do these Singularities (Vector Prime, Alpha Trion, etc) exist in differing universes at the same time? Or are they somehow travelling from universe to universe and seemingly repeating similar events (mistakes) in all of them?

Maybe.

I was under the impression that some of the Singularities, like Primus, exist in different universes at the same time. While others, like Unicron, can travel from one universe to another.

I think Vector Prime and Alpha Trion are like Unicron in that sense. There are also suggestions that any member of the Original 13 are also Singularities.

However, you should note that the Alinged continuity is excluded from this because Hasbro said so. And then IDW has it's own version of the origin story that has Primus in it too, but I don't think there has been any yes or no to if it fits in.

[griffin]

I was just having a quick read on TFwiki to see where or when the concept originated, it was Simon Furman in 2003 who first suggested the Multiverse idea and dimension-hopping as a way to explain multiple versions of the same character over the years (toys and stories) when he was doing the 3H Universe comic. From there it seemed to be an easy way for others to get around questioning the use of certain characters in a different storyline (particularly since Transformers has had many, many, many storylines/toylines over the 30 years... and any relation between those stories is often retconned rather than pre-planned).

So Furman set the precedent of Unicron being a singular entity, and a couple other characters in FunPub comics in the next few years, but when The Fallen showed up in the TF2 movie, questions were raised about if it is the same character as the comic Fallen... since they both had similarly unique betrayal back-stories.
This was also around the time of Hasbro creating their "First 13" lore... which included The Fallen, and these 13 were then claimed to be Singularities (in that only one exists, and if you see a storyline with that character in it, it is the same as in other stories).
To complicate things though, one of the people who had been working on the early FunPub comics (Forest Lee), who developed the Multiverse concept even further to tie together more Transformers stories to each other, went to work at Hasbro as a copywriter (character bios and promotional materials)... so he may have influenced the idea of Singularity characters and Multiverse into canon across the brand (not just within FunPub's universe).

A quick comment by him on a Hasbro panel at BotCon was later expanded to a rather complicated, yet oddly scientific, explanation as to why "Singularity" characters can exist and "die" in multiple forms in multiple universes, but still be the same single character.
But even that has had some contradictions in the past (Fun Pub having a Shattered Glass Alpha Trion, before Hasbro's retcon of the First 13 as being Singularities).


I like the idea of finding a way to tie all the Transformers story universes together in some way so that a toy collector can play with different toys more "plausibly", but I think this "Multiversal Singularity" idea is a complicated method that was too much too late. It should have been kept simple, as just Unicron (and maybe Primus) early on as the universal "god", and all future uses referred to the story of the first version.
Hasbro is supposed to have some sort of "executive producer" control over their brand, particularly when it comes to approving stories by their license holders.

I think many of us who have been fans longer than 3 or 4 series, have created our own reasons for them to be related, particularly if we have toys from each series and play with them. Mine was a faulty Spacebridge that would cross dimensions, allowing characters from each to interact with other dimensions (like Gen1 dimension, Beast Wars dimension, JP Gen1 dimension, Gen2 dimension, Armada dimension, etc).

[Paulbot]

It's so unneccesary and instead of adding anything of value it overcomplicates things. It's only (if at all) relevant or even discussed with FunPub stories (which are glorified fan fic).

That there's alternate TF realities is something that's been in place from the moment the first cartoon episode aired and had a different and irreconcilable story to the comic book.

There's no reason the original Universe story couldn't have just involved the Unicron of Dimension C21-whatever plucking 'bots from other universes. Saying that every Unicron is the same Unicron, and in each dimension he keeps getting stuck in metal prisons and sometimes being created by Tornedron and always getting blown up, and people thinking this is a good idea? Nonsense!

[Sinnertwin]

Don't we all?


My question: What's the go with Amazon's preorders?
Do they ship immediately once they become available or do they give you the option of adding extras to your cart once the preordered item is available?

It looks like they ship immediately once it's in stock