Cybertron (planet)



Cybertron is the home planet of the Transformers and (usually) the body of their creator, Primus.

"This world is older than you can imagine. It has sailed the starscape...tending budding galaxies...forever a buffer to the approaching darkness. And now its fate...is in your hands."

- A voice to Optimus Prime


 * Japanese name: Seibertron

Marvel G1 comics
Cybertron was the adopted form of Primus, who trapped himself and Unicron in barren asteriods which they then shaped into their physical forms. While Unicron turned his prison into a transformable, humanoid body, Primus reformed himself into a home for a robotic race he created to fight Unicron with similar transformation abilities.

Cybertron for some time was in the orbit of Alpha Centauri, and its inhabitants were at peace. But the avaricious Megatron sought to rule the planet and turn it into a "cosmic dreadnaught." This plan would find a kind of fruition, but not what Megatron intended: The cataclysmic forces of his wars eventually sent the planet careening through deep space.

Its aimless journey brought it near Earth four million years ago. The asteroid belt threatened it, so Optimus Prime led an expedition to clear the way. They were successful, but they were ambushed by Decepticons led by Megatron, and their battle ended with a crash-landing on Earth that left all the combatants deactivated. Their compatriots on Cybertron mourned their loss but continued the wars.

In the modern day, Prime and Megatron's troops were reactivated, and they eventually found their way back to Cybertron. The world had changed little in the intervening eons, but the return of the old legends helped bring about the fulfillment of the planet's destiny. Deep below the surface, a small group of the once-lost Autobots fought the Mayhem Attack Squad in a chamber containing the giant head of Primus. A stray shot hit the god's face, and he awoke with a scream that alerted Unicron to his location. When the Chaos-Bringer arrived, the Autobots and Decepticons united against him, but the battle still wreaked havok on the planet. Unicron was defeated by the opening of the Matrix, which destroyed both deities. In the aftermath, Cybertron suffered storms and earthquakes that many believed would tear the world apart. The remaining Transformers evacuated, but Cybertron was ultimately saved by a band of humans who awakened the Last Autobot. He was, it turned out, a safeguard put in place by Primus to guide the planet's reconstruction after the god's death. What it was reconstructed into is unclear.

Significant locations
Cybertron was historically organized into city-states, the largest and most important being Iacon City. Others have included Helix, Polyhex, Kalis, Kaon, Tarn, and Vos.

Beneath the sewers, the Demons in the Darkness were locked away.

At the center of this Cybertron there was a room with a huge head of Primus on the wall where he sleeps and was watched over by the Keeper. Somewhere within the depths of Cybertron could also be found a chamber containing the Last Autobot.

Sunbow G1 cartoon
Cybertron appeared considerably smaller than the planet Earth. Entirely metallic on the surface, some of the lowest levels of Cybertron consisted of rock and dirt, suggesting an organic beginning to the planet. Its gravity was light enough that humans were able to traverse the surface without any trouble, and it possessed a breathable atmosphere. Water, or at least a substance resembling it, was in evidence on the planet - lakes and rivers have been shown to exist, albeit sparingly. Many levels below the surface was the energy-furnace, the Plasma Energy Chamber, and at the heart of the planet was the spherical mega-computer, Vector Sigma. Cybertron was orbited by at least two unnamed moons, but its own place in the cosmos appears unfixed - in 1984, it was clearly shown to exist outside of the Milky Way galaxy; however, nine million years prior, Starscream and Skyfire had been able to fly from the planet to Earth under their own power, suggesting that it may drift freely through space, and had been passing through the Sol System at that point, going on to drift out of the galaxy over the ensuing millennia.

If the assorted colourful exclamations made by numerous Transformers are anything to go by, Cybertron also played host to a vast array of fauna, including but not limited to: ant-droids, bolt-bats, cyber-ducks, dynametal ducks, electro-toads, glitch-mice, guineapigatrons, helio-hamsters, hydro-weasels, photovoltaic pussycats, retro-rats, robo-rats, sheepacrons, titanium moosebots, turbo-foxes, zap-mice and robotopossums.



12 billion years ago, the Oracle's essence, encased within a protective shell after having his body destroyed by Unicron, fled to a dead planet at the center of the universe, which he proceeded to transform into a verdant, living world.

''In time, multi-faced aliens called Quintessons immigrated to the Oracle's green planet, and the aliens were able to take control of him, transforming him into the mega-computer Vector Sigma and obtaining the shell that had held his essence, which went on to become the Matrix of Leadership. Using the power of the Key to Vector Sigma, the Quintessons, transformed the Oracle's green planet into the metallic Cybertron.''

Twelve million years ago, the Quintessons used Cybertron as a factory to manufacture their robot creations. Notably, the origins of the planet are never explicitly stated - the Quintessons may have built it, xenoformed an organic world, or colonized an existing metal planet. Whatever the case, after a million years, the Quintessons were forced to abandon Cybertron when their robots evolved true sentience and feelings, and knew they were being used as slaves, rebelling in the First Cybertonian War. The second war was soon to come, however, when the robots splintered into two factions - the peace-loving Autobots and the war-mongering Decepticons - and began fighting amongst themselves. With the Autobots' innovation of transformation, they were able to win - or at least stalemate - the war, and a period of peace descended on Cybertron, which shone with a healthy golden glow, distinguishing the period as the "Golden Age."

Eventually, however, Decepticons adopted transformation as well, along with robot-mode flight powers, and around nine million years ago, the creation of the Decepticon Megatron re-ignited the war on Cybertron. Megatron rallied like-minded individuals to his cause, and brainwashed others into his service, quickly killing the current Autobot leader in a strike on one of Iacon's outer cities. With this act kept out of the public knowledge, rumors circulated as Autobot machinesmith Alpha Trion worked diligently on a new process to reconstruct Autobots into battle-hardy configurations for the war he knew was coming. That war finally erupted in full when Megatron fatally injured a naive young dock worker, Orion Pax, and Alpha Trion made him the first subject of his new process, reconstructing him into Optimus Prime, who would lead the Autobots in the Third Cybertronian War.

After a further five million years of war, during which many Autobots fled the planet, the Decepticons had acquired a large hold on the planet, with the majority of it under their control. The main Autobot force continued to operate from the capital city-state of Iacon, but Cybertron's energy levels were depleted to a dangerous low, necessitating a space mission to locate a new planet with new sources of energy that the Transformers could harness. Optimus Prime led his best and brightest on The Ark, but they were pursued by Megatron's elite troops, and all were stranded in stasis on Earth for four million years.

In the ensuing four million years, Shockwave, who Megatron had left in charge as guardian of the planet, maintained the Decepticon hold on the planet, though he was unaware of the continued guerrilla efforts of Elita One's Female Autobots to undermine him as they raided his energy supplies. Eventually, Cybertron's energy level dipped so low as to put the planet in immediate, mortal danger. Re-establishing contact with Megatron, who had awoken with the other Transformers on Earth in the year 1984, Shockwave co-designed the Space Bridge, an intergalactic transport system that could transport Energon Cubes from Earth to Cybertron, abating the planet's impending doom.

Cybertron's place in the universe was forcibly altered in 1984 when the Decepticons constructed a colossal Space Bridge that actually transported the entire planet into the Sol system, into Earth's orbit, where its gravity wreaked havoc with the planet's natural balance, unleashing an unending torrent of energy created by natural disasters. The energy acquired re-energized Cybertron enough to put it out of the danger zone, but the planet was soon knocked out of orbit by a massive Energon explosion, and set drifting off through the solar system. At this closer range, Cybertron remained easily accessed throughout 1985 at least, with the Autobots now able to reach it by conventional transportation (Omega Supreme), rather than having to constantly hijack use of the spacebridge.

By the Earth year 2005, Cybertron had exited the Sol system, but, remaining within the Milky Way, was still relatively easily accessible by shuttlecraft from Earth. By this time, the Decepticon forces had succeeded in conquering the entire planet, forcing all the Autobots off it, leading them to relocate to Autobot City on Earth, and to two staging ground bases on two of Cybertron's moons. It was at this time that Cybertron came under attack from the world-eater, Unicron, who consumed the two moonbases and assaulted Cybertron itself, only to be destroyed by the power of the Autobot Matrix of Leadership. His deactivated, decapitated head fell into orbit around Cybertron, a grisly new satellite to replace those he had destroyed. With the Decepticon forces in disarray after Unicron's attack, Rodimus Prime and his troops succeeded in driving their foes off Cybertron, reclaiming the planet for the Autobots, restoring and re-energizing much of the planet by 2006, when the world came under frequent attacks from the returning Quintessons, whose previously-secret history with the Transformers came to light.

In the year 2007, Cybertron was once again wrenched from its place in space when Galvatron and the Decepticons invaded the planet and constructed a massive planetary engine that propelled Cybertron back into Earth orbit once more. Once there, Galvatron opened the Plasma Energy Chamber, intending for the energy release to drive the Sun supernova, consuming Earth, Cybertron and everything else in one final destructive blow. Spike Witwicky and the Autobots' Nebulan allies were able to stop this plan by reversing the rocket engine, which drained off the excess solar energy and channeled it straight into Vector Sigma, which used it to full re-energize Cybertron. Its rich golden hue restored, Cybertron entered a new Golden Age.

The Headmasters anime
In 2011, it was discovered that the release of the energy of the Matrix by Optimus Prime to cure the Hate Plague had much more far-reaching consequences that anyone suspected. With the Matrix's energy depleted, Vector Sigma's balance - permanently tilted in favour of the Autobots by the existence of the Matrix - was reset to neutrality, allowing the Decepticons, bolstered by their new Headmaster troops, to freely invade Cybertron. Eventually, this forced Optimus Prime to sacrifice his life by merging with Vector Sigma in order to stabilise the computer before it destroyed Cybertron from within.

Not long thereafter, Vector Sigma developed a new metal alloy dubbed Cybertonuron, which enticed Galvatron into another raid on the planet. However, the Decepticon Headmaster leader, Zarak, feared the power that Galvatron would gain from the alloy, and so, to prevent either him or the Autobots from obtaining it, arranged for his Headmasters to plant bombs at the core of the planet, within Vector Sigma's chamber. The Autobots were unable to stop the countdown and the bombs detonating, tearing Cybertron apart and leaving it a charred uninhabitable ruin drifting in space.

The Cybertron Alliance apparently worked together to rebuild Cybertron during the period of peace between Generation 1 and Generation 2

Beast Wars cartoon




Three hundred years after the end of the Great War, the Autobots and Decepticons had faded into obscurity while their descendents, the Maximals and Predacons, dominated Cybertron. The planet had found a star to orbit (eccentrically, but still), which reflected the relative stability that had come upon Cybertronian culture at last. The Maximals, inheriting the Pax Cybertronia, ruled over the Predacons in a time of uneasy truce. Peacetime diversions had sprung up, such as the Six Lasers Over Cybertron amusement park. Or for more "mature" amusement, one could find joints where the servers went around without their torso plates on.

Beast Machines cartoon


The tranquility of that age would come to a rapid end when Megatron returned from the Beast Wars and set a virus loose on the world that incapacitated the population and paved the way for Vehicon rule.

As Optimus Primal and his Maximals fought back, several facts about the planet became apparent. It had at least two moons, one with big gashes in its surface. The Maximal city of Cybertropolis had been built over the ruins of Iacon and was home to billions of Transformers. And this was just the latest example of an eons-old trend of vertical expansion. In fleeing from the Vehicons, the Maximals found many layers of abandoned civilization, all the way down to the rocky crust of the world. There, fossils existed of bats, dinosaurs, and birds (which were well-preserved enough to harbor DNA). A few plants, such as trees and flowers, were seen growing underground or even occasionally breaking through to the surface. And stranger yet, drilling through the rock revealed the planet's green, oozing "organic core."



Another previously-unseen feature of the planet - but one that went unremarked upon - was its heavy cloud cover. Across dimensions and timeframes, Cybertron has been conspicuously devoid of visible weather systems. But when the Maximals returned from the Beast Wars, their view from orbit showed extensive, unmistakable clouds (which were also seen from the ground). This wouldn't last forever, though: By the time Botanica arrived, the clouds had vanished again. The only major planetary event in the meantime was the doomsday energy storm that occurred when Primal and Megatron pitted the Plasma Energy Chamber against the Key to Vector Sigma. However, it is unclear whether this actually caused any meteorological effects.

Finding a chamber of fossils, Nightscream drew the conclusion that Cybertron's animals had been driven extinct by colonizing robots, a theory mildly supported by Primal's conviction that a balance between organic and mechanical needed to be "restored" to the planet. In the end, Primal's dream became a reality when he applied his "reformatting" power to the organic core and converted the entire world to a technorganic state.

3H comics
According to the Al-Badur, the Quintessons had once served Unicron, and in so doing, they found the "dimensional landing" of Primus: Cybertron. Rather than alert their master, however, they decided to capitalize on their discovery for their own purposes. They attempted to subvert Primus's creations via the Plasma Energy Chamber, but the results were disastrous. Success came when they placed a shell program over Vector Sigma and channeled the divine power into creating a subservient race. That race would one day rebel and become the Transformers, but the Quintessons' influence remained in the form of the Vector Sigma shell program - otherwise known as the Oracle. Primus could nonetheless sometimes send messages from Vector Sigma through the Oracle, but it is difficult to tell the difference.

Dreamwave
The only continuity in which Cybertron has been mapped to some extent. A map of one hemisphere of the planet appears in the DK Transformers Ultimate Guide.

IDW
The Transformers homeworld is located around Shaula which can be seen from earth as the second brightest object in the constellation Scorpius, located in its tail.

Some time ago, the constant fighting and the stripping of Cybertron's natural resources by both Autobot and Decepticon to feed their age-long war led to a terrible cataclysm that rendered Cybertron uninhabitable. As of the present day, it is a dead planet.

With no atmosphere, Cybertron's surface is unprotected from cosmic radiation and is wracked by plasma storms. Transformers must divert energy to their personal shielding in order to remain on the surface for short periods; the surface is presumably immediately lethal for humans. The Transformer race has abandoned the planet (save for occasional scientific surveys from orbit) and is now conducting its conflict across the galaxy.

Landing on Cybertron is forbidden.

But by Spotlight Galvatron, it's not.

Unicron Trilogy


Cybertron is the body of Primus. Much like the versions of Cybertron before it, it is a metallic planet that is damaged by conflict. Cybertron existed in an unnamed system until the Energon series, where it was pulled from orbit and pushed into another part of space (or universe) that Alpha Quintesson had created.

In Energon, Cybertron was equipped with a system of Energon Towers that could surround the planet with a protective field, which has since been disabled due to Decepticon attack.

Cybertron had at least one known moon in the Armada series, but this moon turned out to be Unicron. It is unknown whether it was always Unicron's depowered body, or if the moon somehow became a new "host" body for him.



Through the ages, Cybertron has had many repairs, causing new "layers" to be added to the surface of the planet. Deep within the core is a pool of Super Energon that was once guarded by the four ancient combiners, Constructicon Maximus, and Bruticus Maximus, Superion Maximus, and his unnamed brother.

At the end of the Energon series, Cybertron was granted a new sun when Primus trapped Unicron's spark within a ball of Super Energon, igniting it. This sun would eventually collapse, becoming the Unicron Singularity.



It is unknown how large Cybertron is in this continuity, but it is most likely the size of Earth or smaller. Cybertron has an atmosphere, but it was unbreathable by Earth life forms as when Rad, Carlos and Alexis visited the planet in 2010, they required spacesuits to operate on the surface; by 2020, however, humans were capable of surviving without specialised suits, indicating that an oxygen/nitrogen-based atmosphere may have somehow been generated by the planet or created by Transformers or humans artificially.

In the Cybertron series, much of the planet had been repaired, including the construction of a "Sky Dome" headquarters where important meetings are held. This structure housed the artifacts that were used to mount the Omega Lock, which unlocks the robot form of Cybertron.

Transformers (2007) movie


Cybertron was a world where mechanical creatures were brought to life by a device known as the All Spark. The origins of the All Spark were lost to the mysteries of time. On Cybertron, the Cybertronians were a peaceful people, led by Optimus Prime and Lord Megatron. The two brothers created a balance; Prime was fair while Megatron was firm.



However, Megatron had a desire for conquest, while Prime believed in protecting weaker races. Megatron raised an army, the Decepticons, and sought to take the All Spark to conquer the universe. Prime raised his own army, the Autobots, and in the war that followed, Cybertron was decimated. Prime eventually sent the All Spark through a wormhole into deep space, and Megatron pursued it. Both were lost. Without the All Spark's power, Cybertron became a dead world. The Autobots and the Decepticons scattered across the galaxy, hoping to either create a new world or locate the All Spark and restore Cybertron. Geography-wise, the surface of Cybertron is a mystery. Large rivers of molten liquid criss-cross the planet, though whether this is lava, molten metal, or possibly energon is anyone's guess. In more urbanized areas, the stone and lava seem to be covered over with steel, such as the city of Tyger Pax. However, these incidents took place during the war, so it may have been the result of the devastation Cybertron saw.

Transformers Animated
In an interesting turn of events, the Decepticons have been driven entirely from the planet. Autobot mastery of space bridge technology, and their strategic relocation of the AllSpark led to ultimate victory, and a Cybertron where an entire generation has seen neither armor-plating nor transistor of a Decepticon.

Significant locations
Locations on Cybertron in various continuities include:
 * The Well of All Sparks
 * Vector Sigma Chamber
 * Acid Wastes
 * Autobase
 * Cybertonium Pit
 * Darkmount
 * Decepticon Detention Center
 * Decepticon Crypt
 * Decepticon stronghold
 * Hall of Heroes
 * Hibernation Chamber
 * J'nwan
 * Ky-Alexia
 * Mass Transit System
 * Maze
 * Matrix (facility)
 * The Oracle Tank
 * Pit (facility)
 * Plasma Energy Chamber
 * Rust Sea
 * Security Services HQ
 * Six Lasers Over Cybertron
 * Smelting pool
 * Sonic Canyons
 * Stanix
 * The Forbidden Zone

Provindes include: Polyhex

Cities present are:
 * Cyber City
 * Cybertropolis
 * Crystal City
 * Helix
 * Iacon City
 * Kalis
 * Kaon
 * Nova Cronum
 * Simfur
 * Tarn
 * Tyger Pax
 * Vos
 * Yuss

Trivia

 * The name "Cybertron" was used by Marvel Comics long before the Transformers series came about. In issue 48 of the original X-Men title (released in September 1968), a computer named Computro created a race of robots named the "Cybertrons".
 * Cybertron's "gashed" moon often glimpsed during the course of Beast Machines is heavily based on one side of a modern sculpture by Arnaldo Pomodoro, "Sphere within Sphere" ("Sfera con Sfera"), that can be found in the Vatican City's Courtyard of the Pinecone. See, kids?  Transformers IS educational.
 * The size of the Planet Cybertron varies between different continuities. In one, the diameter of the planet is around 6,300 km, while the Marvel comics describe it as "Saturn-sized," placing its diameter at around 120,000 km. We can probably lay these at the feet of Primus, who is god after all, and can decide to be whatever size he wants.