History ComicBook / TransformersGeneration2

* ShoutOut: [[Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000 Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot]] can be seen among the scores of dead bodies on J'asik in issue #9.

* ShoutOut: [[Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000 Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot]] can be seen among the scores of dead bodies on J'asik in issue 9.

* FromBadToWorse: ''Often.'' Every time you think you've [[DarkestHour seen rock bottom]], something tops it. [[spoiler:Bludgeon's Decepticons attack the Earth and kill thousands just to draw out Optimus Prime. ''Then'' Megatron's forces take over and continue the attack, doing as much damage as they can. All ''that'' pales to the damage Jhiaxus inflicts, as he turns San Francisco into a smoking crater from orbit.]] Bad enough? No? [[spoiler: Meet The Swarm]].
* GreaterScopeVillain: The Liege Maximo, who not only controls the Cybertronian Empire, but is implied to be the Decepticon from whom all the others originated. He describes Megatron as a descendant.

* LosingYourHead:
** Megatron rips [[spoiler:Bludgeon]]'s head off, [[spoiler:but it's just the head of his Pretender shell, so he's able to break out of it and give one last attack before Megatron finally kills him]].
** [[spoiler:Mirage]] is implied to be decapitated by a stray laser blast.

* DoubleMeaningTitle: The "Generation 2" title can refer to either Jhiaxus' second generation of Cybertronians or the second generation of Decepticons brought to life by Megatron using the Matrix.

* ApocalypseHow: Of various levels. San Francisco and everyone living there are wiped off the face of the planet by Jhiaxus. Later, the Swarm attacks Earth, but we never see what--if anything--happened to the human population. Future writers--particularly Larry DiTillio, co-head writer of Beast Wars--preferred to think that the Swarm caused THE COMPLETE EXTINCTION OF HUMANITY, but its up to the individual reader to decide just how badly humanity took one on the chin.

* BreakoutCharacter: Jhiaxus is one of the more well-remembered parts of the G2 era, receiving new incarnations and getting actual toy representation over the years.[[note]]including one based directly off his appearance in this series in 2022.[[/note]]

* {{Crossover}}: The G2 series' launch was helped by a crossover arc with ''ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHeroMarvel''. In the crossover, Cobra is responsible for building Megatron's new body, and they play a major role in the second issue. G.I. Joe turns up halfway through the series after the Decepticons start trashing the Earth. They request Autobot reinforcement and aren't too happy when the only bot Skydive can produce is OptimuBres Prime.

* DarkerAndEdgier: The tone of the comic is a lot darker and more violent than just about any other Transformers series, with the possible exception of ''ComicBook/TheTransformersLastStandOfTheWreckers''.

* {{Crossover}}: The G2 series' launch was helped by a crossover arc with ''ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHeroMarvel''. In the crossover, Cobra is responsible for building Megatron's new body, and they play a major role in the second issue. G.I. Joe turns up halfway through the series after the Decepticons start trashing the Earth. They request Autobot reinforcement and aren't too happy when the only bot Skydive can produce is Optimus Prime.

** IDW's ''Regeneration One'' also went this route, though a few concepts from G2 would be used.

A few years after the original ''[[ComicBook/TheTransformers Transformers]]'' comic had ended its run, Marvel published a new 12 issue series entitled ''Transformers: Generation 2.'' Loosely based off the toyline of the same name, the series was written by Creator/SimonFurman, with art by Derek Yaniger and Manny Galan. In keeping with the tone of many comics in the [[TheNineties 1990's]], ''Generation 2'' had a dark and violent tone, with numerous major and minor characters killed off as Optimus Prime and Megatron fought the vastly superior forces of the second generation Cybertronian Empire. The series lasted from November 1993 to October 1994.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/transformers_generation_2_1a.png]]]]

[[quoteright:303:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/G2Logo_8167.jpg]]

** ''Franchise/TransformersClassics'' by [[Franchise/TransformersTimelines Fun Publications]] takes the Classics toyline and writes its own sequel to the original Marvel comic series, essentially ignoring the Generation 2 comic.

* MerchandiseDriven: Just about averted. Very few of the new Generation 2 toys apart from Megatron actually make an appearance until halfway through the series, and even then they're minor characters.
** And some characters, like Ramjet, show up still sporting their Generation 1 decos.

* NotSoDifferent: Jhiaxus will tell you the Cybertronian Empire has evolved beyond its forebears, but Jhiaxus himself proves just as bad as any former Decepticon.

The first issue has now been reviewed by [[WebVideo/AtoptheFourthWall Linkara]]

* {{Crossover}}: With ''ComicBook/GIJoe'', who helped launch the G2 series. Cobra is responsible for building Megatron's new body, and they play a major role in the second issue. G.I. Joe turns up halfway through the series after the Decepticons start trashing the Earth. They request Autobot reinforcement and aren't too happy when the only bot Skydive can produce is Optimus Prime.

Reruns of the G1 television series were also marketed under the banner. The Cybernet Space Cube, a piece of ConspicuousCG, was used for scene transitions and the opening, which featured a new CGI-animated sequence similar to the toy commercials of the time. Hasbro also launched the ''Generation 2'' toyline around the same time the comic premiered. The first year mostly saw redecoes of older ''Generation 1'' toys with new features such as guns that fire missiles, and in a few cases, soundboxes. Also part of the line were several toys imported from the European G1 line and a brand-new Megatron toy that transformed into a tank instead of a gun due to federal law. 1994 introduced new toys, as well as redecoes of the Aerialbots and Combaticons, and in 1995, it became clear that Hasbro was seriously running out of ideas, turning to small and cheap toys such as the Cyberjets (which saw the extensive use of balljoints, a feature that is now all but standard in the toyline), the Go-Bots (which were, in a nutshell, transforming 1:64 scale Hot Wheels cars, even being compatible with Hot Wheels and Matchbox playsets), Laser Cycles, and Auto Rollers; 1995 did, however, introduce the fan-favorite Laser Optimus Prime toy. The line was cancelled in 1995, and it seemed ''Transformers'' was finished. Enter ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars''...

* ConspicuousCG: The aforementioned Cybernet Space Cube. Also the CG in the 1994 toy ads.

* {{Crossover}}: With ''GIJoe'', who helped launch the G2 series. Cobra is responsible for building Megatron's new body, and they play a major role in the second issue. G.I. Joe turns up halfway through the series after the Decepticons start trashing the Earth. They request Autobot reinforcement and aren't too happy when the only bot Skydive can produce is Optimus Prime.

A few years after the original ''[[ComicBook/TheTransformers Transformers]]'' comic had ended its run, Marvel published a new 12 issue series entitled ''Transformers: Generation 2.'' Loosely based off the toyline of the same name, the series was written by Simon Furman, with art by Derek Yaniger and Manny Galan. In keeping with the tone of many comics in the [[TheNineties 1990's]], ''Generation 2'' had a dark and violent tone, with numerous major and minor characters killed off as Optimus Prime and Megatron fought the vastly superior forces of the second generation Cybertronian Empire. The series lasted from November 1993 to October 1994.

* {{Crossover}}: With ''GIJoe'', who helped launch the G2 series. Cobra is responsible for building Megatron's new body, and they play a major role in the second issue. G.I. Joe turns up halfway through the series after the Decepticons start trashing the Earth. They request Autobot reinforcement and aren't too happy when the only bot Optimus Prime can produce is Skydive.

A few years after the original ''[[ComicBook/TheTransformers Transformers]]'' comic had ended its run, Marvel published a new 12 issue series entitled ''Transformers: Generation 2.'' Loosely based off the toyline of the same name, the series was written by Simon Furman, with art by Derek Yaniger, and Manny Galan. In keeping with the tone of many comics in the [[TheNineties 1990's,]] ''Generation 2'' had a dark and violent tone, with numerous major and minor characters killed off, as Optimus Prime and Megatron fought the vastly superior forces, of the second generation Cybertronian Empire. The series lasted from November 1993 to October 1994.

Reruns of the G1 television series were also marketed under the banner. The Cybernet Space Cube, a piece of ConspicuousCG, was used for scene transitions and the opening, which featured a new CGI-animated sequence similar to the toy commercials of the time.

Speaking of toys, the ''Generation 2'' toyline was launched around the same time the comic premiered. The first year mostly saw redecoes of older ''Generation 1'' toys with new features such as guns that fire missiles, and in a few cases, soundboxes. Also part of the line were several toys imported from the European G1 line (often called the G1-G2 transitional period), and a brand-new Megatron toy that transformed into a tank instead of a gun due to federal law. 1994 introduced new toys, as well as redecoes of the Aerialbots and Combaticons, and in 1995, it became clear that Hasbro was seriously running out of ideas, turning to small and cheap toys such as the Cyberjets (which saw the extensive use of balljoints, a feature that is now all but standard in the toyline), the Go-Bots (which were, in a nutshell, transforming 1:64 scale Hot Wheels cars, even being compatible with Hot Wheels and Matchbox playsets), Laser Cycles, and Auto Rollers; 1995 did, however, introduce the fan-favorite Laser Optimus Prime toy. The line was cancelled in 1995, and it seemed ''Transformers'' was finished. Enter ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars''...

A few years after the original ''[[Comicbook/TheTransformers Transformers]]'' comic had ended its run, Marvel published a new 12 issue series entitled ''Transformers: Generation 2''. Loosely based off of the toyline of the same name, the series was written by SimonFurman with art by Derek Yaniger and Manny Galan. In keeping with the tone of many comics in the [[TheNineties 1990s]], ''Generation 2'' had a dark and violent tone, with numerous major and minor characters killed off as Optimus Prime and Megatron fought the vastly superior forces of the second generation Cybertronian Empire. The series lasted from November, 1993 to October, 1994.

* DarkerAndEdgier: The tone of the comic is a lot darker and more violent than just about any other Transformers series, with the possible exception of ''ComicBook/TransformersLastStandOfTheWreckers''.

* BigBad:
** Jhiaxus is this for most of the series.
* BiggerBad: The Liege Maximo, who not only controls the Cybertronian Empire, but is implied to be the Decepticon from whom all the others originated. He describes Megatron as a descendant.

* EnemyMine: Optimus Prime and Megatron form an alliance to combat the forces of the second generation Cybertronians, who vastly outnumber the Autobots and Decepticons combined.

* HeroicSacrifice: Optimus Prime allows the Swarm to devour him so that it will be exposed to the Matrix and enlightened as to just what it is.

* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Jhiaxus beats the ''crap'' out of Optimus.

* VillainousBreakdown: Jhiaxus.