Transformers Classics

This Transformers continuity is an Alternate Timeline continuing on from The Transformers while ignoring Transformers Generation 2 and some UK-exclusive stories. The Classics continuity was first introduced in Fun Publications' Transformers fan club magazine, specifically, the comic "Crossing Over" serial (2007) which started in the magazine's thirteenth issue. The story involved Skyfall and Landquake arriving in a new universe and coming across another Great War. They also discover more about their origin and meet a third member of their group, Breakaway. That storyline got continued in Transformers Trans Tech and eventually Transformers Shattered Glass.

Other stories under the Transformers Timelines label continue the adventures of Nightbeat & some of his friends, Megatron and the remnants of his followers, Bludgeon & his followers, Ratchet, and even introduce Mini-Cons and GoBots into the mix.

The name Classics comes from the Transformers toyline released by Hasbro during 2006, a filler line between Cybertron and the first live-action movie, from which some character designs were taken for this continuity.

When IDW Publishing announced Regeneration One as another alternative sequel to the Marvel comic, Classics came to an end, via the destruction of the entire Classicsverse, save Earth which as dragged into the world of Transformers Shattered Glass.

Tropes used in Transformers Classics include:

• Alternate Timeline: One of many that followed the original Transformers comic.
• Apocalypse How/Class X-4: Shattered Glass Ultra Magnus invades the Classicsverse and uses the Terminus Blade to destroy it, save the local Earth which was dragged into the Mirror Universe.
• Arm Cannon: Megatron.
• Combining Mecha: Skyfall and co. Although they don't actually combine until meeting their fifth member.
• Enemy Civil War: Bug Bite versus Megatron and later (continuing from The Transformers) Megatron versus Bludgeon.
• Eviler Than Thou: Megatron to Bug Bite. It's clear that the idea of wiping out, potentially, the last survivor of a whole universe, especially one as smug as Bug Bite, is his idea of Christmas.
• Fully-Absorbed Finale: Starts the plot thread that ultimately closes the book on the saga of Challenge of the Go Bots.
• Happy Ending Override: The Great War restarted pretty much right away, it spread even further across the galaxy, and the story ultimately ended when Shattered Glass Ultra Magnus crossed over and destroyed the entire universe. If that's not this trope, then what is?
• Hardboiled Detective: Nightbeat, Siren, their Nebulan former headmaster partners, and a couple of the Dinobots split off to form their own Private Detective agency that takes heavily after this genre.
• Intercontinuity Crossover: The plotline regarding Skyfall and Lanquake. Also, "Games of Deception" has Bug Bite, and Cliffjumper eventually also ends up in Shattered Glass.
• Merchandise-Driven: Characters who appear are almost always the ones who recently had toys of them released.
• Not Hyperbole: Bug Bite mocks Megatron "having no known weaknesses." As he learns, this includes an immunity to mind control. Megatron really is just that powerful.
• Sapient Ship: "Cheap Shots" has Nightbeat being hired by Amory, a non-transforming living ship whose pilot has been kidnapped.
• Sequel Series
• Superman Stays Out of Gotham: The last issue, where Earth is dragged into the Mirror Universe, features cameos of several Marvel heroes doing disaster relief. One has to wonder why they didn't help out more in the events of the original comic.
• Take That: The Classics universe was created when Unicron was destroyed in The Transformers, the resulting split timeline overwriting the Challenge of the Go Bots universe. In other words, Unicron killed the GoBots.
• Your Head Asplode: Megatron inflicts this on Bug Bite. Turns out though that Bug Bite's brain wasn't in his head.