A timeline for the events of the 2007 live action film Transformers continuity.
Timeline[]
Created as a promotional tool that played out during the run-up to the first live-action movie, the Sector Seven Alternate Reality Game presented Transformers as real beings, and the film and associated media as merely a "hiding in plain sight"-style cover-up propagated by Sector Seven. Through its various outlets, the game shaped a timeline featuring many unique events, chronicled here.
For funzies, this timeline also includes all other workable movie-based media that occupies a world where Transformers are real, chiefly the letters pages from Titan's UK movie comic and various other tie-in promotions, games and websites.
Of course, this timeline also shares many events with that of the "mainstream" movie universe timeline, which can be read here.
20th Century[]
"Over 100 years" prior to 2007, Sector Seven was founded by Stanford Julius Morehouse, Edgar Thibedeau Westfield, Neville Octavian Brewster, Percy Emerson Whitting, Wallace Wilson Clairmont, Alistair Jennings Crowther and Vance Milhaus Lawson. It is unknown if the group's founding pre-dates the discovery of the stasis-locked Megatron by Archibald Witwicky in the Arctic in the late 19th Century, or if the group was formed afterward to research the frozen giant and protect Earth against his kind.
On August 15, 1977 AD, the Ohio State University Radio Observatory radio telescope detects a strong narrowband radio signal emanating from the Sagittarius constellation that Sector Seven deduces to have been sent by another of the Mega-Man's kind. Unbeknownst to the humans, the sender is Optimus Prime, who they designate N.B.E.-02.
Starscream arrives on Earth in the spring of 1982, taking on an F-15 alternate mode, and is caught on video around the world; in Laos on March 12, in India on April 22, 1982 and in Estonian SSR on May 9, 1982. On June 16, video footage is captured of him transforming to robot mode in Sacramento, California. Starscream would subsequently make reference to working with Thundercracker while he too sported an F-15 form, suggesting his fellow jet may also have been on Earth and aiding him at this time. Ironhide and Barricade were also engaged in covert action, with very different bodies to what they'd subsequently have, and remember that decade with concern.
Unable to keep this information suppressed due to a major leak in security of unknown origin, Sector Seven finalize an incident report on July 17, 1982 which issues the directive to enact "Operation Hungry Dragon". This operation takes the form of a collaboration with Japanese toymaker Takara to produce an assortment of toys and fiction themed around the N.B.E.s, which Sector Seven claim are the subject of a video game they are creating. This allows Sector Seven to dismiss any claims relating to the Transformers or their world as fictional characters, hiding them in plain sight. Its details finalized on March 11, 1983 and approved by Sector Seven's director, Hungry Dragon is initiated on March 15.
One bit of fiction created during Hungry Dragon was a Transformers cartoon. Barricade used to watch this cartoon, liking the episode "Triple Takeover".
21st Century[]
2003[]
The Beagle 2 Rover is destroyed on Mars by Bumblebee. To control leaks of the footage beamed back to Earth from the Rover, Sector Seven enacts "Hungry Dragon 2", following the same pattern as before, this time choosing the especially visible medium of a live-action feature film and ancillary media.
2006[]
Sector Seven commences experimentation with the energies of the AllSpark cube, an operation codenamed "Maximum Shunt". On March 16, a piece of machinery is brought to life creating subject AX9-8946-09SU-1, but it escapes and kills leader researcher James Farr before being terminated.
In the closing months of this year, N.B.E. activity suddenly spikes on Earth. On November 16, video evidence the eighth N.B.E. ever recorded is obtained; over the next two months, Sector Seven's catalogue of N.B.E. sightings balloons to 125 or more unique entities.
2007[]
January[]
The insectoid N.B.E.-125 is caught on camera on January 22.
February[]
On February 2, 2007, the detection of a "blip" that matches Sector Seven's threat profile prompts agent Alexander Powers to order the re-commencement of research into Project Maximum Shunt, despite the concerns of chief scientist (and his ex-lover) Rebecca Howard. On the same day, an inexplicable lapse in Sector Seven security allows a local pizza boy to stumble into the organization's headquarters in the wee hours of the morning. He is ejected, his video equipment confiscated, but the mystery of the extensive breach in security remains. In a potentially related case, over the next two weeks, a mysterious hacker known only as Agent X infiltrates the Sector Seven mainframe. He begins disseminating backdoor passwords across the internet, allowing concerned citizens access to Sector Seven's systems and information.
On February 26, Rebecca Howard successfully decrypts a series of audio files from the Mega-Man's systems, matching them to the 1977 signal from N.B.E.-02. Concluding that N.B.E.-02 is a force for good who may be able to aid them against the increasing number of hostile N.B.E.s appearing across the planet, she requests permission to attempt contact. When Powers denies her request, she goes over his head, only to be refused by his superiors as well.
Video footage of N.B.E.-115 is taken at a civilian birthday party on February 28.
March[]
On March 5, continued interference by Agent X in Sector Seven operations leads him to be classified their Public Enemy Number One, though by March 12, Alexander Powers suspects that those who have exploited X's backdoor passwords may be prime candidates for Sector Seven agents. Subsequently, Agent X releases seven brief podcasts to the public over the following month (on the 17th, 18th, 21st, 23rd 26th, 27th, 30th and 31st), hinting at the cover-up operations and the beginnings of Sector Seven.
Hungry Dragon 2 proceeds apace. On March 23, Sector Seven agent Hugo Weaving, who maintains a public front as a Hollywood actor, convinces operatives Steven Spielberg, Michael Bay, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman to allow him to oversee the depiction of the Mega-Man in the upcoming feature film. He immediately begins recording vocals, with the bipartite goal of monitoring the production from within.
On March 26, Rebecca Howard disobeys orders and attempts to broadcast her message to N.B.E.-02. The transmission is shut down and Howard is detained, but at least a portion of the message makes it through before being cut off.
April[]
On April 1, Rebecca Howard is freed from Sector Seven custody by Agent X, who has been monitoring her and sees a potential ally in her. The following day, X takes his information leaks up to the next level, providing access to Sector Seven's video records of N.B.E.s 8, 115 and 125, and on April 4, the pair launch the Stop Sector Seven website to continue their anti-Sector Seven campaign.
On April 12, high-ranking agent Reggie Simmons threatens Powers with dismissal if the matter is not soon settled. Powers takes the instruction to heart, sending a Sector Seven strike team to eliminate Howard, locating her with a subdermal tracking chip unknowingly implanted in her body. The team arrives as Howard and Agent X are engaged in a video negotiation with Powers, but an explosion not of the troops' doing cuts off the feed and destroys the building. For his failure, Powers is demoted, and agent Gravesen takes his place.
Howard takes up the mantle of Agent X, releasing new podcasts on April 18 and April 27. The fate of the original Agent X remains a mystery.
On April 20, Starscream sends a threatening message via the SETI Institute, directly addressed to Sector Seven and warning them that the AllSpark will soon be his. Though subsequent events are unknown, it is apparent that Starscream enters into some kind of agreement with Simmons and Gravesen that prevents immediate destructive action by the Decepticons.
Events reach a flashpoint on April 23, when Bumblebee touches down on Earth, arriving in response to Howard's signal.
May[]
Seeking to stem further leaks in the wake of the huge turning point that is Bumblebee's arrival, Sector Seven bars all electronic communication from the first of the month. As such, things go quiet for the first half of May, with the only new developments being the launch of another counter-information site by Chevrolet on May 10, and the release of Agent X's tenth podcast on May 12, trying to further spread the word of Sector Seven's evil to new parties.
N.B.E.-57 is videotaped on May 3.
Having failed to acquire any more allies within Sector Seven and desperate to spread word of the impending Decepticon mass arrival, Optimus Prime makes contact with the independent proactive nutritionist organization known as the Lunchables Brigade, using their nationwide channels to pass vital data to the other Autobots already on Earth.
With the release of the feature film drawing close, Sector Seven's promotional campaign notably increases beginning with a trailer on May 17 and a poster on May 25.
June[]
The Sector Seven Mobile Command Unit begins its journey around the United States, stopping in strategic locations to carry out civilian examinations and continue to perpetrate the cover story that Transformers are a work of fiction and the subject of a film. On its June 17 stop in Columbus, Ohio, Transformers Wiki admin David Willis is diagnosed with Class 2 Ear Fungus.
Agent X leaks the final new password for Sector Seven's mainframe on June 6, followed by two further updates to his podcast on June 14 and June 27 with trailers for the film and the 1982 footage of Starscream, respectively.
With Sector Seven pulled in various different directions by both the increase in Transformer activity on Earth and the media hype surrounding the impending feature film reaching fever pitch, its security steadily weakens, and a third faction of Transformers, the Mountain Dew Robots, are able to infiltrate the Hoover Dam Base on June 9.
Concurrently, Sector Seven's Bravo Team seeks out N.B.E.-23, which ends in disaster when the Decepticon attacks them in the desert and apparently slays them all on June 26. It is likely no coincidence that this act of overt aggression comes only two days after Starscream's latest message to Sector Seven, warning Simmons and Gravesen of violent retribution if they continued to stall him in his quest for the AllSpark.
July[]
Sector Seven's film is released on July 4 to great financial success. Active communication from Agent X/Rebecca Howard ceases as of July 6 with a final message to user Methusalen on the Stop Sector Seven site, thanking him for his devotion but warning all that the fight is not over.
Release of the film coincides with a huge public display of Transformer activity on Earth that eerily mirrors the events of the movie, including a climactic battle in Mission City. Subsequent information suggests that Sector Seven is disbanded soon after as a consequence of their inability to prevent this conflict. The government presents the cover story that the Transformers were robotic constructs built by the company Mendelson Robotics.
On July 19, United Kingdom-based publishing company Titan Comics—presumably another participant in Sector Seven's Hungry Dragon operation—launches a Transformers-themed comic.
2008 to 2009[]
Evidently seeking to counter the now-defunct Sector Seven's cover-up with some human-indoctrinating propaganda of their own, the Decepticons seize control of Titan Magazines at the beginning of 2008; the editorial staff are caged like animals but Simon Furman goes on the run, his abilities indicating he may be a deep-cover Maximal. Starscream takes the job of responding to letters sent in by the magazine's adolescent readers. The Decepticons also keep a close eye on the production of the sequel documentary to Sector Seven's original disinformation film, again created by Michael Bay. While they initially try to force the documentary onto a more... on-message path, they eventually back off from this tactic and always stay tight-lipped on any details about the film. Starscream admits they fear that sharing too much will hurt their war effort, and that higher powers may intervene if they go too far.
On May 19, 2009, the websites TheRealEffingDeal.com and GiantEffingRobots.com go live, both competing with one another to blow the whistle on Sector Seven's cover-ups. Both sites are quite silent for their first month online, until they begin posting videos of Transformers sightings from around the world on June 19. On June 22, Agent X/Rebecca Howard makes contact with TheRealEffingDeal site webmaster Leo Spitz, sharing the accumulated data of the "Stop Sector Seven" movement from two years prior. Robo-Warrior, webmaster of GiantEffingRobots, loudly refutes all the claims Leo posts. In an unguarded moment, Robo-Warrior refers to Agent X as a "she" - something only an ex-Seven man could have known. Leo is last heard from on June 24, when he posts a message of alarm to his Twitter account.
Also in June 2009, Titan editorial duties take their toll on Starscream and he suffers a nervous breakdown. The Autobots leap on this opportunity to wrest control of the company from the Decepticons, establishing a power-sharing agreement that sees Ironhide and Barricade share correspondence duties. Ironhide had already found Furman and, in a disturbing abuse of power, physically threatened the writer to ensure the final alternate-universe story had an Autobot-friendly ending.
Alternate Timelines[]
- Movie timeline—The chronology of the "mainstream" live-action movie universe, incorporating comics, novels and other media in a way that doesn't contradict each other.
- Bayverse timeline—The chronology of the live-action movie universe that is composed only by the first five movies without any tie-in media to fill in the plot holes.
- Titan Magazines movie timeline—Covering the UK take on the movie universe, which diverges following the events of the first film. Also includes a timeline of the parallel universe where the events of the movie turned out differently.