Marvel Comics

Cybertron was divided into city-states, such as Vos and Tarn. Shockwave and Starscream were leaders of Tarn and Vos respectively, and mutually destroyed each others' states. State games were held, pitting gladiator against gladiator.

The Autobot-Decepticon war started when a gladiator named Megatron rallied the disgruntled and dispossessed. The last of the Autobots Overlords fell then. The Overlords were succeeded by the Autobot Council of Elders. At Emirate Xaaron's lobbying, High Councilor Traachon gave Optimus Prime control of the Autobot army.

After the Ark left, a Decepticon called Trannis rose to power. The Autobot Council of Elders surrendered to Trannis, except for Emirate Xaaron, who ran off and hid. Trannis executed the council. Emirate Xaaron rallied the Autobots and led a guerrilla war against the Decepticons. The Wreckers assassinated Trannis.

Straxus rose to power, more of a threat than Trannis ever was. The Autobots were scattered and forced underground. This brings history up to the start of the comics.

US Comics (Generation 1)

• Issues #1-6: Transformers awaken on Earth after respective spaceships crash. The Autobots use Sparkplug Witwicky's help and some poison fuel to triumph against the Decepticons. Shockwave arrives, takes over the Decepticons, and annihilates the Autobots. Only Ratchet escapes. Shockwave uses Optimus Prime's disembodied head to create the Constructicons. Megatron schemes to regain control.

• Issues #7-16: Ratchet heads to the Savage Land and reactivates the Dinobots. The Dinobots take Megatron out of the picture for the time being. Shockwave inadvertantly spawns Circuit Breaker's hatred of Transformers when one of his attacks on G. B. Blackrock's oil rigs leaves the woman crippled. Prime transfers the Creation Matrix program to Buster Witwicky, who gives life to Jetfire. New Autobots are created, and Megatron challenges Shockwave.

• Issues #17-25: Cybertron is contacted. Megatron and Shockwave establish a truce. Meanwhile on Cybertron, Blaster combats Straxus's plans to open a spacebridge between Earth and Cybertron. Omega Supreme protects the Ark from a massive Decepticon attack. The Special Teams (Stunticons, Aerialbots, Combaticons, and Protectobots) are introduced. Megatron and Optimus Prime duel in a video game. While Optimus Prime technically wins, he commits suicide at the end. Ethan Zachary saves a copy of Optimus Prime on a floppy disk.

• Issues #26-37: Grimlock takes over the Autobots. Blaster is stuck on Earth and beset by Scraplets, which are cured by water. Scraplets are tiny parasitic robots that devour Transformers. Blaster strikes out on his own, not accepting Grimlock's rule. G. B. Blackrock funds RAAT (Rapid Anti-Robot Assault Team), which is led by Circuit Breaker. Blaster investigates, but Autobots forces are ordered to arrest him for treason.

• Headmasters #1-4: Fortress Maximus and other Autobots who are tired of war leave Cybertron. They land on Nebulos, and after a few false starts, they establish peace with the natives. Scorponok, noticing that Fortress Maximus and his crew have vanished, takes a group of Decepticons and follows. Several Autobots offer their heads as tokens of peace to the Nebulans. Thus, the Headmasters are created. Scorponok strikes a deal with Lord Zarak. Fortress Maximus takes the war to the Earth.

• Issues #38-46: Galen dies, and Spike, Buster's brother, takes Galen's place as Fortress Maximus's head. Spike rescues his bother from the Decepticons. Shockwave is defeated by Fortress Maximus. Ratbat escapes and pilots the base into space. Blaster and Grimlock prepare to duel but instead team up to fight Decepticons. Fortress Maximus works to restore Optimus Prime and takes him to Nebulos, where Optimus Prime becomes a Powermaster.

• Issues #47-66: The Decepticons locate the Underbase, a vast store of knowledge that shows the old adage, "Knowledge is power," to be literal. Starscream gains the Underbase's power and decimates both sides (mostly his own) before exploding of power overload. Megatron returns but is thwarted by Ratchet. Both are presumed lost in a blast. With Unicron coming, Optimus Prime searches for the Creation Matrix. However, Thunderwing finds the Matrix first.

• Issues #67-80: Unicron yanks a Galvatron out of another dimension and sends him to attack the Autobots. Optimus Prime tries to unite the factions to face the coming threat of Unicron. Shockwave sparks Decepticon civil war. Primus teleports all his children to Cybertron to fight Unicron. Zarak and Optimus Prime nobly die in the combat. Optimus Prime, however, returns from the dead with the help of his Powermaster partner.

The UK comics mainly fit in the gaps between the US comics. Dinobots get much love. They also deal with the time-travel mess with Rodimus Prime and Galvatron. Death's Head shows up quite a bit.

Generation 2

• G.I. Joe #139-142: Megatron is rebuilt by Cobra. G.I. Joe teams up with Hot Shot and Skydive to stop Megatron, but he escapes.

• Issues #1-5: Grimlock and his crew of roughnecks discover the G2 Cybertronians, who are out terraforming hapless planets. Optimus Prime squares off against Jhiaxus. Meanwhile, Fortress Maximus holds off Megatron. The Ark explodes. Fortress Maximus dies and presumably Spike does as well. Bludgeon and the Decepticons show up in the Warworld, a vast battlestation. Optimus Prime Matrix-dives and discovers the history behind the G2 Cybertronians. Unlike the rest of Primus's children, they did not forget how to divide, and they left Cybertron in dissatisfaction ages ago.

• Issues #6-9: Megatron trashes Bludgeon and takes control of the Decepticons. He steals the Creation Matrix from Optimus Prime. Many new Decepticons are created, although some join the Autobots. Jhiaxus thrashes Megatron. Megatron is forced to team up with Optimus Prime. The Swarm threatens to devour all the Transformers. Optimus Prime discovers that the Swarm is an unintended byproduct of budding. Starscream leads Jhiaxus and his armies to the Autobase.

• Issues #10-12: The Swarm devours many Transformers. Starscream gets the Matrix and merges with the Warworld. He becomes vastly powerful but also SNAD. Starscream gives the Matrix back to Optimus Prime to ward off the SNAD cooties. Jhiaxus is devoured, defiant to the end. Optimus Prime is devoured by the Swarm, and the Matrix gives the Swarm a conscience. The Swarm rebuilds Optimus Prime and departs. Meanwhile, the Liege Maximo plots.

Random Important Facts

• Marvel comic Decepticons generally cannot fly, unlike their G1 cartoon counterparts. If they have flight-capable alternate modes, they can obviously fly in that mode, but not all Decepticons with aerial transforms can fly in robot mode. Most Seekers are shown to be able to fly in robot mode. Folks like Flywheels are not.
• Water is extremely rare on Cybertron.
• Nebulans look exactly like humans.
• Spike has a younger brother, Buster.
• There is no Skyfire, only Jetfire.
• The Matrix Flame is a sacred artifact related to the Matrix. It indicates the state of the Matrix. It going out is Bad.
• Chain of Primes: Prima was the first Prime, created from the living body of Primus himself. Prime Nova followed him. Next was Sentinel Prime. Then came Optimus Prime. Thunderwing was next. The Matrix reverted to Optimus Prime after him. Starscream carried the Matrix for a time, and Optimus Prime regained it in the end.
• Primus and Unicron are the last of the Light and Dark gods, respectively. There is mention of a multi-dimensional Matrix where gods go to die. Pz-Zazz has a sacred life force akin to the Creation Matrix.
• New Transformers come from the Creation Matrix, creation factories, or budding.
• Rodimus Prime is not a whinypants. Send a bounty hunter after him, and he'll just pay the bounty hunter twice what you were offering and send him back after you.
• Skywarp with paint apps is easily mistaken for Starscream.
• Some Transformers believe that they originated from naturally occurring pulleys and gears on Cybertron.