Underbase

The Transformers
Cover to The Transformers #2 (November 1984). Art by Michael Golden
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Series
Publication date	September 1984 - July 1991
Number of issues	80
Main character(s)	Autobots, Decepticons
Creative team
Writer(s)	Bob Budiansky, Simon Furman
Creator(s)	Hasbro

The Transformers
Cover to Transformers #262 (Marvel UK, March 29th 1990). Art by Stephen Baskerville
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel UK
Schedule	Biweekly / Weekly
Format	Series
Publication date	September 18, 1984 - July 18, 1992
Number of issues	332
Main character(s)	Autobots, Decepticons
Creative team
Writer(s)	Simon Furman
Creator(s)	Hasbro

The Transformers was an 80-issue American comic book series published by Marvel Comics telling the story of the Transformers. Originally scheduled as a four issue mini-series, it spawned a mythology that would inform other versions of the saga. It also had a UK sister title that spliced in original stories into the continuity, running for 332 issues.

There were several main story arcs that ran through the Marvel comics.

Issues # 1-4 - The Autobots and Decepticons land on Earth via the Ark, paralleling the cartoon. The Autobots are reformatted by the Ark to resemble cars and trucks; the Decepticons take the form of jets, weapons or in the case of Soundwave, a cassette deck with tapes.

The Decepticons wreak havoc, steal energy and build a fortress. The Autobots, seen here as very weak underdogs, unsuited for war, fight valiantly to stop their foes.

Ultimately, it's the humans that the Autobots befriend that save the day. Buster Witwicky's father, captured by the Decepticons to formulate a fuel for them, secretly poisons his captors.

In the final battle, five Autobots take on the entire Decepticon army. With the Autobots on the cusp of defeat, the tainted fuel concocted by Mr. Witwicky kicks in and the Decepticons fall.

The Autobots don't even have time to celebrate, however, as the 4-part mini-series ends with Shockwave making an appearance, blowing the remaining Autobots to pieces. This cliffhanger led directly into the monthly Marvel run, which began 3 months after the miniseries ended. (Issue #4 had a cover date of Mar. 1985; issue #5 had a date of June.) The series was originally intended to end after issue #4 and the planned last page of issue #4 indicated as much, but with strong sales, Marvel was convinced to make the series ongoing and the ending was altered to have Shockwave show up and attack the Autobots prior to the issue being published.