15 Ways the Transformers Have Transformed: First Appearance vs. Latest Appearance

Transformers -- more than meets the eye with these heroes and villains from car robot toy commercials. The series (designed to move plastic that turns into weird different shapes like a car, or a different car, or a gun) inspired a cartoon series that inspired a legion of sequels all of which are weirder than the last. They turned into raptors and gorillas, and then into anime and a Michael Bay film, while some other cool toys got left behind. 

The story of the Transformers is that of a civil war. The Transformers saga finds the Autobots fighting against the Decepticons on their planet Cybertron for control of the world and the world's energy source Energon, and the Sparks, which are part of their DNA and soul. The planet is their living god, and the entire battle is for the soul of the planet, and the world itself is a brother to another planet that wants to kill it and everything because he's the actual literal devil. Yeah.

The series has lasted for years and years, and like the characters, it 

transformed

 the entire time. Here’s how.