Transformers: Generation 2 facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Transformers: Generation 2
Logo
Genre	Science fiction Action Adventure
Production company(s)	Hasbro / Takara-Tomy
Distributor	Claster Television/Hasbro Studios Takara Tomy

The Transformers: Generation 2 (often called G2) was a special part of the Transformers universe. It included a popular toy line, comic books, and even old cartoon episodes shown again. This series ran from 1992 to 1995. Before G2, the first series of toys, comics, and cartoons was called 'Generation 1' (or G1). The toy company Hasbro officially uses these names. Generation 2 ended when the first Beast Wars: Transformers toys came out.

Awesome G2 Toy Line

The Generation 2 toy line started by bringing back older G1 toys from the 1980s. Many of these classic toys got cool new features. Some had spring-powered missile launchers. Others had electronic parts with flashing lights and sounds.

New Colors and Designs

A big change for G2 toys was their bright, new colors. These colors were often very different from the original G1 versions. The toy packaging also had a fresh look. It featured a new logo with different Autobot and Decepticon symbols.

Because only some G1 toys were re-released, many characters in the G2 cartoon didn't have matching toys. Also, the new colors meant the toys didn't always look like their cartoon versions.

Brand New Transformers Toys

In 1993, G2 started introducing completely new toy designs. One of the first was Megatron in a new tank mode. Later, totally new characters appeared. Some of these had never been sold in America before.

Cyberjets and Go-Bots

In 1995, the last year of Generation 2, some toys were sold without the "Generation 2" name on their boxes. Two main groups were the Cyberjets and the Go-Bots.

• Go-Bots: These were small cars, about the size of Hot Wheels or Matchbox cars. They could change into small robots. There were six different Go-Bot designs at first. They later got new colors and were named after G1 characters.
• Cyberjets: These were small jet planes with missile launchers. They were some of the first Transformers to have snap-together joints. This made their robot modes much easier to pose. There were three main jet designs, with six different color styles in total.

Exciting G2 Comic Books

Marvel Comics created a twelve-issue Transformers: Generation 2 comic book series. This series was quite intense. It featured some new Generation 2 characters. Many characters from the original series also appeared.

New Stories and Enemies

The comic story was about a new group of Transformers called Cybertronians. They had moved beyond being just Autobots or Decepticons. A huge enemy called The Swarm was also a big threat. It was slowly moving towards Earth, putting all Transformers in danger.

Optimus Prime went into the Matrix to learn about The Swarm. He found out it was a strange result of an early form of Transformer reproduction. In the UK, a shorter Transformers: Generation 2 comic series was also published.

Japanese G2 Comics

In Japan, the G2 story was different. It was told in TV Magazine and in mini-comics that came with the toys. This story was set after the animated series timeline. It showed a time of peace between Autobots and Decepticons. This peace was called the Cybertron Alliance.

However, human soldiers accidentally killed one of Megatron's loyal followers. This made Megatron upgrade to his "Combat Hero" form. It also caused the war to start all over again. The story focused on the new toy designs like the Laser Rods and Cyberjets. It also introduced a Reconfiguration Matrix. This allowed Optimus Prime to change forms after being badly hurt by Megatron. The story ended with Laser Optimus Prime winning. Megatron then led the Decepticons away into space.

The G2 Animated TV Series

There wasn't a completely new Generation 2 cartoon series made. Instead, the original Generation 1 Transformers series was shown again. But it had some cool new changes!

Computer Graphics and Effects

The only new video made for G2 was short computer-animated scenes. These were used for toy commercials. This made G2 one of the first shows to use computer animation, even before ReBoot.

The Generation 2 TV series used the Marvel Comics commercial as its main opening. It also added computer-animated scenes from the toy commercials. These new computer graphics were used as short breaks between scenes. New computer-animated transitions were put over the old cartoon animation. Sometimes, the footage was slowed down to hide where the original scenes ended.

How the Story Was Presented

The old stories were shown as if they were historical records. These records were displayed by something called the Cybernet Space Cube. The idea was that the cube would show scenes from the series on its six sides. It would spin to a new side during scene changes. This replaced the classic spinning Autobot and Decepticon logos that were used before.

Some Generation 2 episodes have been released on DVD in the United Kingdom. These DVDs were simply called "Transformers: Generation 2." They included episodes like "More Than Meets The Eye" parts 1–3, "S.O.S. Dinobots," and "Heavy Metal War."

List of G2 Episodes

All Generation 2 episodes were taken from the original Generation 1 television series. They were shown again between 1993 and 1995 with new effects and editing.

See also

In Spanish: Transformers: Generation 2 para niños