The Transformers: Evolutions

The Transformers: Evolutions: "Hearts of Steel"
Issue #1 cover by Guido Guidi
Publication information
Publisher	IDW Publishing
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Miniseries
Publication date	June–September 2006
No. of issues	4
Main character(s)	Autobots, Decepticons
Creative team
Created by	Hasbro
Written by	Chuck Dixon
Artist(s)	Guido Guidi
Colorist(s)	Jay Fotos

The Transformers: Hearts of Steel is a comic book miniseries published by IDW Publishing. It was intended to be part of a comic book line titled The Transformers: Evolutions, following the same idea of DC Comics' Elseworlds series. Each series was to create an alternative reality: a continuity in a different time era during which the Transformers would exist. In other words, the Transformers can exist at places and at points in time that would not be possible in the current 'IDW-verse'. As of 2007, only the Hearts of Steel series was produced, which is set in the United States during the Industrial Revolution. The rest of the series was cancelled, likely due to poor sales and IDW has announced that there will be no more Evolutions series until after the 2007 movie, as Hasbro did not want to make things confusing with more alternate universe tales.

The story begins with the Autobots and Decepticons waging war on Earth around the time of a previous ice age. No explanation is given how they arrived on Earth, but their alternate modes are metallic fantasy beasts. The freezing temperatures and lack of energy forces both sides to take shelter and lie dormant for eons. The Autobots retreat to a cave while the Decepticons are later seen underwater.

At some point during the Industrial Revolution, noise outside their cave awakens the Autobot Bumblebee. He ventures outside the cave to discover the planet's new dominant species — man, and that they have developed steam powered technology and the capacity to build railroads. He observes some men, featuring the famous John Henry enjoying the labor of driving spikes into the ground for a new railroad. Bumblebee changes his alternate form to be a steam-powered spike driver and helps the humans who are unaware of his true robotic nature.