TRANSFORMERS: THE BASICS on GENERATION 2 

The greatest legacy of the Transformers Generation 2 franchise is that its name gave the original Transformers series its new permanent title: Transformers Generation 1!

Id argue Megatron being a tank is the longest lasting element of G2

Also probably not one of the major ones, but this is the first series that has Megatron's alternative mode be a tank, which is now considered to be the character's main alternative mode throughout most modern TF media. EDIT: Off-topic, but I find it kinda hilarious one of the Autorollers was going to be named "Dirtbag".

I like how you always give a positive spin on things in this series. It's all too easy for people to be really harsh on eras like G2 for their failures or mistakes, but this series always does such a great job of spotlighting their positive contributions to the overall TF franchise. That's true fanboy love right there, and I totally respect that! 👍

I was very young when G2 happened but, between the colors and the packaging, I have some early toy store memories of G2. Now whenever I see the crazy G2 color schemes and especially the G2 insignias my brain gets happy.

I love that G2's biggest contribution to the franchise was only incidental. "If this line is called Generation 2, then obviously the first one must be Generation 1" lol

That "This is NOT your daddy’s Autobot" on the comic has always been eyebrow raising. Bruh it’s only been like three or four years since the last one.

It may not have been a rip-roaring success, but I owe my Transformers fandom entirely to Generation 2. It was one of the very first television shows to consume my attention as a young lad. The phrase "THROUGH THE MAGIC OF THE CYBERNET SPACE-CUBE" has been burned into my memory for 30 years, among others.

G2 is probably one of the most unique part of transformer history

G2 always felt like the Dragon Ball GT of Transformers. There's something about it that has alot of untapped potential that we might never see again outside of the Marvel comics of that continuity which honestly went pretty hard. I wouldn't be surprised if that comic inspired the Bayverse in some ways.

A lot of G2 characters were pretty cool. I wonder what would have happened if it had an actual original cartoon to promote it.

I find it quite extremely fascinating that the transformers we know today are an amalgamation of the work of Japanese, American, and British creators. I can't think of another franchise that had its creation connected to three countries.

Don't mess with G2 fans, it's just me and I don't like to fight

My favorite Transformers toy of all time is RID Scourge, a repaint of G2 Laser Optimus Prime. That figure still holds up to this day

G2 is very personal for me for these reasons. G2 was at the time underwhelming, but it was G2 that got me into the TMUK Transformers fan group, and it was being part of that community which seeded my fandom permanently. If not for G2, I might have lost interest in Transformers like I did Thundercats or TMNT. Additionally, it was directly being part of that fan group that led to me becoming a Christian, leaving home for pastures new and having all the adventures following - I found a friend community that I'm still part of today, they are like family to me and I have since lived a very genuinely happy life because of all of the above. Without exaggeration, none of those things would have happened how they did if I hadn't joined TMUK, and that only happened because of G2 (since it was the UK comic that introduced me to TMUK - I didn't know it was a thing before that). On that level, I'll forever be grateful for G2 for being the trigger point for everything I've had since, and have lived a long and happy life because of those things. It's funny how one set of plastic toys can spiral someone's life in such a dramatic way! I think in retrospect the comic was better than what Furman came up with when he did Regeneration One (G2 has better scripting and story events - RG1 had better artwork IMO). Arguably, if we didn't have G2, we wouldn't have Beast Wars and if we didn't have Beast Wars leading through to RiD and Armada, we wouldn't have all of the later content that brought Transformers back right at the right time of a retro wave, and the franchise could have been forgotten as a relic of the 80's like Challenge of the Gobots, Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors or M.A.S.K. It probably would have had a brief resurgence here and there like Thundercats, but ultimately, I think G2 kept the toyline around on life support long enough for future events to keep it going. I don't think it has aged well, and wasn't exactly life of the party back in 1994-1996, but it was crucial for us to still be talking about Transformers today, and some of the innovations it made - as well as some awesome designs and toys - are worthy of being fondly remembered. Laser Rod Optimus Prime and G2 Megatron are just two of them, and some of the recoloured Special Teams may be an eyesore, but they are fun to look at!

Every time I think I know the 'backstory' of a particular aspect of the Transformers... Chris comes along and TOTALLY blows that delusion outta the water!! This really was an education. Some stuff I knew but, like 70% of it, I've never even heard of. Just an amazing episode. The amount of info you drop is just staggering. I never knew G2 had so many subgroups. I can't thank you enough for this one. You NEVER disappoint.

So many childhood memories were re-awakened because of this video. Thank you Chris!

This was when I became a TF *fan*. I was the exact target demographic for the original, but it wasn't a line I could afford much of. Come G2, I was legally an adult, had disposable income, had just found the nascent online TF fandom, and the toys were legitimately more posable than nearly every other action figure on the market. I loved that it expanded the universe while still remembering the past. I loved its technical innovations that have defined TFs to this day. And thus it will always be possibly my personal favorite era of the franchise.

Generation 2 is what introduced me to Transformers. It's nice to see it getting renewed interest and some respect.

I remember seeing these originally on the shelves at Woolworths and thinking what are THESE??! Possibly one of the greatest memories I have. Man I loved being a kid in the 90s

Hot Take: I actually liked the swap of Megatron from a gun (that needed to be held by another Decepticon) to a tank or any other self sufficient vehicle capable of delivering destruction. Yes, 1980s Megatron is iconic, but I think this was a positive change overall (minus the color scheme)

For me, G2 is pretty significant. I watched the transition from G1, collected the comics, even had a bunch of the toys. But it didn't really hit home for me until years later, where the Internet gave me the Japanese G2 comics, showing the conclusion to the very, very long Transformers canon continuity. It was a very special treat.

i feel that megatron is better as a tank than as a gun, means he doesn't need someone else to operate him

6:59 This artist seems interesting, I wonder if there's an ongoing podcast where we can learn more about him and his work

I really like G2 Megatron's design. I do hope Hasbro releases a G2 Version of Megatron in the near future and not just a repaint.

I was in college when G2 came out so felt I was too old to buy toys. I did pick up all 5 issues of the short lived Fleetway comic. Having loved the G1 UK comic, seeing Simon Furman was again writing the comic and Bludgeon being Decepticon leader was proof this actually followed on from the G1 comic that I'd grown up on so I had to read it. Be almost another decade before Dreamwave got me collecting and I finally got to read the complete G2 US run thanks to the Titan reprints. In 2005, an ex bought me a collection of 30+ G2 figures for my birthday. It's been great recently seeing the cancelled repaints being restored with the new Seekers Cloudcover and Sandstorm. Great video as always.

I remember when they repackaged the original G1 series as "Generation 2" I just couldn't watch any more. I completely missed the comic line, much to future me’s dismay.

G2 was actually the era of Transformers that I started watching in. While I never saw all of them, most of the tv episodes I saw were the re-edited G2 ones. Going back, I’d be like “Hey. Where’s the CGI transitions and the cool 3D intro?” I also had a couple of toys from this era too. For the longest time, we had the Space Case and Hooligan figures, yet we forgot their names and referred to them as Starscream and Tigertron respectively.

Your Transformers content is amazing.🎉❤

I remember seeing G2 stuff on the shelves, sadly my interests had shifted to music and video games and I never bought any - big regret.

Obviously in honor of the G2 toyline and the 1990s as a whole, we have to comment with an obligatory and extremely bodacious *DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDE!!!*

Both G2 toys of Megatron was used to called Reverse Megatron a tank into transform from Reverse Convoy, while Missile Truck Laser Optimus become Transformers Car Robots of Black Convoy or in American version so called Scourge. I had these toys collection in my college times. Transformers G2 manga was interesting.

6:57 "Yeah, the inset poster, as you say, is another Nigel Kitching piece. A-a-a lovely piece of Optimus & Megatron Goin' at it Optimus & Megatron Goin' at it Oooooh Goin' at it Isn't it great? Aw it's great. Big Chunky Optimus & Megatron Goin' at it Ooooooh Plump Optimus & Megatron Oh I love it! Optimus & Megatron Goin' at it Aw, yeah yeah yeah Goin' at it Optimus & Megatron Goin' at it Aw, yeah yeah yeah Goin' at it"

It's sad that the generation 2 comic was almost expected to fail, since the main evil character, Jhiaxus, was named sarcastically as a reminder, sounding like: Gee-ax-us

That is such a great point about G2 causing G1 to be named G1. It's *so* obvious, but not something I'd ever thought about.

I played with several knock-off copies from this toyline as a kid, bought from our local Family Dollar. Specifically, the Cyberjets and Lasercycles. They unfortunately did not come with their associated gimicks, if I recall correctly.

I remember renting a few of the g2 episodes on VHS one lazy weekend. That CGI screen transition was definitely memorable. Mostly because it made it completely unwatchable.

G2 was definitely a more "wild" point for Transformers that I really don't think alot of people were particularly ready for, but it definitely managed to get things warmed up for what would come next in the 90's. However the best things out of it were undoubtedly the comic, combined with all of it's "EXTREME" 90's testosterone that was cancelled way too soon just as it was building up to something really good and the toys that when you overlook some of the G1 recolours, there were plenty of figures with unique gimmicks & molds that stand out. As always Chris, great episode.

The saddest thing about G2 is how many characters have been trapped there; hopefully Hasbrp will give some more of the original G2 transformers some more love outside of mainly just G2 redecos for classic characters.

G2 has long been the coolest part of Transformers for me. The Uber-edgy artwork for the comics still speaks to me on a (pun-intended) primal level.

The G2 comic is still the only "true" continuation of Marvel continuity for me and is by far Furman's best ending to a continuity, even with the cliffhanger.

That Jazz, Sideswipe, and Inferno wave was straight fire! I had em all and remember playing with Sideswipe at my grandma's house.

Never knew about the Gi Joe cross over but it would explain my desire to get the likes of anything garish from the 90s Joes, the Super Sonic Fighters, Air Commandos, Eco-Warriors, Mega Marines and even Star Brigade to go with my g2 Tfs

I think it's interesting that despite trying to be grittier and darker, it gave us some of the most interesting and colorful color schemes and patterns that weren't seen in the g1 run. Say what you want but I think some of them are genuinely cool like Megatron's camo and Sideswipe new colors.

Weird, I could have sworn I only saw the 5-part pilot re-edited for G2. I don't think I knew they did so much of the series. I do think this was around the time that the Sci-Fi channel started showing G1 early in the morning, and I got up early every morning so I could record every episode. First time I was re-introduced to G1 (I was in high school) and I haven't stopped loving it since.

I remember Generation 2 1992 when Batman: The Animated Series came out. And then Exosquad came out in 1993 by Universal Animation Studios with the toy line by Playmates. The Exosquad toy line was just killing Generation 2 until Universal decided to kill Exosquad in 1993, leaving Playmates with a temporary toy licensing that would go away soon. So Playmates came out with more toys, board games, and a Sega Genesis video game ending in 1996. The License is now back at universal studios. But yeah Batman and Exosquad were the first two nails, but Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was the last nail in its coffin.

Only thing from G2 that I really appreciated was Megatron becoming a tank. It fit so perfectly that you end up thinking that he should have always been a tank. The pistol was madness. 😅

G2 deserved better. Such a shame what happened to it. But I am happy for the contributions it made that are now staples of the franchise as a whole. Those ads were so fun and I was first exposed to Transformers with the G2 cartoon's 3-parter Pilot. I know it's just G1 but with CGI transitions, but I had a soft spot for those segments.

“An entire sublime dedicated to cancelled G2 recolors” is such an insane statement that I can’t even fathom the figures being real as I hold them in my hands.

My original Optimus was the G2 with the black trailer. It was thrown in the bin in the great toy purge my father committed when I was 14. But I managed to find another original Italian copy on ebay some years ago, so he’s back on the shelf.

Ahh…..generation 2 definitely a product of it’s time, some of the toys I do like, the rotor force, the color changers, and the cyber-jets are some of my favorites, though I didn’t know that the accelerators or the sky-scorchers were released here. I wish the stuff from Britain was released here though.

The G2 Cyber Jets were my absolute favorite transformers growing up. I played with them for years until they literally fell apart beyond repair. I've currently got Hooligan and Jetfire replaced and on my desk

I remember very little about transformers back then. When Beast Wars came out, my brother and I became fast fans of the toys and the cartoon, but we had transformers from before then. We had the full Gen2 Aerialbots set and 3 members of the gen2 Combaticons, though we wouldn't know those titles for years afterwards. My brother also had one of those laser light-up Decepticons, though we never knew his name. We knew of Optimus and Megatron, though we never had any toys of them until bat/alligator versions at the beginning of BW before the cartoon completely got rid of that idea. Actually, I think there was a long time that I thought Gen2 Brawl was Megatron since they gave the same color scheme. We had even watched some of the cartoon, though I honestly don't know if it was Gen2 or not. I seem to recall thinking Silverbolt was the leader of the Autobots... Like I said, I don't remember much, I was 5 or 6 at the time and I'm 34 now. I guess we got into transformers just as Gen2 was winding down and just in time for Beast Wars to come out. EDIT: Decades later, I would buy the CombinerWars Aerialbots as I saw them in Walmart, despite my brother telling me it was silly for a grown-ass man to be buying Transformers toys, but he really flipped out on me when I later bought the boxset of them in their Gen2 colors, though he did understand the nostalgia of that one.

COBRA rebuilding Megatron as a tank has stuck with me for decades, along with "Fort Max gets the axe!"

Something you forgot to mention is how several g2 decepticon mold’s were reused for the Japanese series beast wars 2nd.

Really nice episode of The Basics once more, especially since I really did not know much about G2 at all before, only having heard it get name dropped here and there. Keep up the great work! Also, could you myb do a Basics episode on the multiverse some time? I feel like this would be an interesting concept to explore, especially since it used to play quite a big role in TF lore, as far as I’m aware.

I wasn’t into TF growing up too much, I enjoyed the G1 series but the figures were a bit too high priced for my parents to afford, so as I watch Chris’s content, I’m in awe of the sheer size of the characters and lore built around toy lines from Japan imported to the US. Now that I have a little $$ here and there, the thought of trying to collect even one character’s entirety of figures makes my head hurt. 😁 Questions: Those that read this and do collect, do you concentrate on one character, faction or subgroup of TF? Are third party figures as good as the “official” ones?

As a European kid in the 90s, these are the toys and commercials I'm actually most familiar with. Nostalgia galore in this video.

I actually like Generation 2, specifically the new characters introduced by it. If the G1 cartoon had gone on for even longer, perhaps they might've gotten a chance to have spotlight time in it.

I love me some G2! Those colour schemes! I want more toys like that! And that derek yaniger art! Great stuff!

I remember going into stores to see the 'new' G2 figures, eager to buy what I missed during G1, only to find out they all had wonky colours... As a 12 year old kid, I hated blue Grimlock and yellow Constructions and purple Ramjet... It was for me the last time I'd even go looking for Transformers figures in stores. 😢

I'd kill for a modern figures of the cyber jets. I always thought they were so cool.

My introduction to Transformers! I still remember the Christmas morning when I got my first three TF figures. They were the G2 Minibots Hubcap, Beachcomber, and Seaspray. 😁

Because of my age and my connection to the original series (Christmas 1984 was pretty magical for 5-year-old me), I always think of Generation 2 as the “new” one. Then I remember it was first released over 30 years ago. Oof. Many fans far more hardcore than I ever was weren’t even alive yet. Brains and nostalgia are funny things. Thanks, Chris, for another solid trip down memory lane.

I was worried this one wasn't going to be good, yet you did it. The info, the pics and vids, I learned new things, and why g2 is so cool and important. Thank you!

This video is SO 90's, it makes me want to put it in an Air-sealed bag. (It's a collectors item!)

It was actually G2 that protected me from the trauma of Optimus Prime's death in Transformers the Movie. Back when i was a kid, i watched Season 3 of Transformers G1 first. That made me wonder what happened to Optimus Prime when he appeared as a zombie and was later revived. Then i saw Transformers G2 which chronicles the adventures of Optimus Prime and Megatron. So when i watched the movie, that only answered my questions.

So much death and graphic violence… so much hardcore action hero vibes… I wonder if these comics were Michael Bay’s role model when making his films! 🤣

I had stopped collecting toys by the time G2 hit and hadn't had a great idea of the line. It's fascinating to learn new stuff about this franchise. Thanks for the insightful video, Chris!

Mom wake up Chris Mcfeely made a new tf video!

I didn't even know there was a g2 till recently. I grew up and owned many g1s of the 80s.. but, by the time g2 came out circa mid-90s, I had fallen out of toy buying and collecting for a number of years.. starting college, my focua was totally elsewhere. I'm sure this may be a fond trip down memory lane for some. Me?.. it is I'll always seem like a poor rehash of old stuff and g1 will be forever the best for me. Thanks for the g2 story and insight, though.

What do you think the live action version of Transformers and G.I-Joe crossover is going to be like and who all are going to play a major role in this movie?

The only things I have of G2 are reprints of the G2 comic that came in two graph novels. Love the well written story.

Man that tank Megatron WAS my Megatron! I was obsessed with that figure, and I was way too young to get a gun megatron. I also had that G1 reissue of the original Optimus Prime with the crazy trailer that said OPTIMUS PRIME in huge letters!

I was too "old" when G2 came out and didn't get to enjoy them. Now that I'm old enough I've enjoyed the G2 colors these days. Especially the Combiner Wars with those garishly amazing colors. So many great colors so much potential.

I was being born around '92. So by '93, Generation 2 was my first exposure to the Transformers franchise. Been a fan since.

Generation 2 was my first introduction to Transformers. I was very confused by the out-of-order episodes. One day it was Optimus and Megatron, the next day it was Rodimus and Galvatron. It wasn't until the animated movies release on DVD did I understand what had happened lol

Beast Wars and Beast Machines - G3 Unicorn trilogy - G4 Animated and Bayverse - G5 Alignedy continuity - G6 Cyberverse snd Bumblebee movie - G7 Earthspark and rotb - G8 Cant wait for G9!

Tremendous work, excellent detail. I had naturally veered away from transformers towards the end of the original G1 run (particularly after action masters), and G2 kinda passed me by so it's great to have this kind of summary.

My collection really started off with G2. Because I had a job and money to spend. My favorites of this line were the Lazer Rods.

The general impression I got from G2 was EXTREME! And NEON! So very 90s.

Hi Chris,Great video about The Transformers:Basics On Generation 2, Keep them coming, Also G2 is probably one of the most unique part of Transformer History. Also your latest Video was magnificent, Also i too like how you always give a positive spin on things in this series. It's all too easy for people to really harsh on eras like G2 for their failures or mistakes,but this series always does such a great job of spotlighting their positive contributions to the overall TF franchise. That's true fanboy love right there, and I totally respect that.👍, Also it may not have been a rip roaring success, but i owe my Transformers fandom entirely to Generation 2. It was one of the very first Television shows to consume my attention as a Adult(18-20),. The phrase "THROUGH THE MAGIC OF THE CYBERNET SPACE CUBE" has been burned into my memory for 30 years, among others, Also Transformers Generation 2 is one of my favorite Transformers franchises both Toyline and TV Series/Shows of all time, Also The Transformers Generation 2 is one of my favorite and best Comic Book Series of all time,Also probably not one of the major ones but this is the first series that has Megatron's alternative mode to be a tank, which is now considered to be the character's main alternative mode throughout most modern TF media.Also Generation 2 is what introduced me to Transformers it's nice to see it getting renewed interest and some respect. Also A lot of G2 charcters were pretty cool. I wonder what would have happened if it had an actual original cartoon to promote it. Also my favorite Transformers G2 toy of all time was Optimus Prime The leader of The Autobots, Also my other Favorite G2 Transformer toy was the leader of The Dinobots Grimlock, Also So many childhood memories were re-awakened because of this video. Also thank you Chris for sharing keep up the good work stay safe out there have a good night and until next time TILL ALL ONE.🙂👍🟢🌆🏋️🏆💪🔵🦸😎🌆

G2 comics were WAY better than the G1 comics (Even though Simon is a snake who pissed on Bob's legacy after Bob had him take over writing G1.) G2 had more detailing in their looks and more grit👍👍💯

I had no idea that my Robots in Disguise Scourge was G2 Optimus Prime! Clever re-use!

I was a very young lad when G2 landed in Finland. One of my earliest childhood memories is the shelf on a local convenience store which was full of these G2 bots. Every time we went to that store I would run straight to that shelf and just gaze at them in awe. What a horrible day it was, when going there once more, I witnessed them being replaced by these things called "Beast Wars". I was so shattered to lose those G2s, that I developed a deep hatred towards anything BW related, a state of which I was able to cure myself many years later.

G2 not Beast Wars, is the TRUE continuty to The Transformers (the writers even said Beast Wars wasn't a direct continuation to the original Transformers show.) G2 would have been the first Transformers show to be fully CG if they had the budget for it. It's toy commercials are the first to use CG👍👍💯

Thanks for this bday gift. Always wondered what G2 was when I was a kid...then came the "Great Imanadultnow Schism" then I found your channel a couple years back, reinvigorated those days watching reruns with the autobots (specifically sunstreaker) driving across a lake with skis from the old cartoon from the 80s

I was too young for the initial G1 cartoon release and could only catch it on TV through the G2 re-airing. It still blows my mind that the G2 spacecube showed up again in the 2007 movie. All my first transformers toys were hand-me-down minibots and G2 reissues, and I still hope we can see more of the G2 figures coming back. Legacy Clench is my unattainable dream, and my first autobot car was Ricochet. Shame about the comic, though, despite jhiaxus being as popular as he was, those books were expensive toilet paper.

I always thought it was so goofy when they started having Optimus Prime an Megatron covered in decals of their own names. Were their subordinates having trouble remembering who they were? Did they contract energon-amnesia and needed a constant reminder of their identities? :D

2:34 What's the 90's cube? A crossover with The Borg? I thought Michael Bay invented The Cube in 2007.

One of the big selling points of Gen2 figures over the Gen1 toys before them were the increased level of articulation available. As new methods were developing or being experimented with in the 90's, the figures were more poseable and dynamic. This had some successes but also a few failures; Decepticons like the purple Combat Hero Megatron or the Laser Rods lacked heels on the feet/legs of their robot modes to aid in standing upright when those figures were noticeably top-heavy in those modes.

As a kid from 1984 who was sad when the original line seemingly 'died' (as we kids precieve time going MUCH slower than it actually was), only for the line to seemingly come back from the dead just a few years later. I was elated, and hold a fondness for G2, especially as it let me grab some of the Gen1 toys I missed out originally, even if they were recolored (and not always flatteringly so).

I saw a youtuber talk about the scrapped Legacy netflix show. It was going to be a sequel to Kingdom and was actually going to feature Jhiaxus as the main villain. It was going to be a multiverse story and was going to actually feature Armada Optimus Prime too. I think that's cool they were going to feature a G2 character as the main villain. Sucks it was scrapped though.

I Just hope Gen2 Doenst surfer the same anymore and I hope jiaxhus get appearances on next series and Movies, I hope Hasbro come up with BW and Gen 2 cartoons and With gen2 Optimus and megatron❤❤❤

I hope Optimus and Megatron turns into g2 into next Transformers movies and series, A though, We rather and Love G1 and BW and G2

Being born in 89 I missed out on the original G1 hype. Growing up G2 was what I was familiar with I was little shocked to realize that Grimlock toy was not original Blue and Constructicons color scheme was not yellow and purple.

G2 was my starting point with Transformers, alongside my older brother's G1 hand-me-downs. I may still prefer G1 overall, but I can't help but love the G2 characters and colors. I still have my G2 Electro, which I now treat like a Fabergé egg so the GPS won't turn it to dust.

I am tied to this era, since I do have an original G2 Dreadwing with Smokescreen, and I have both Roadrocket and Jihaxius in Legacy form

That line "this is not your father's Autobot" still makes me hmm. My father was born in 1950! He never had an Autobot!

Look at it this way, without G2, we wouldn’t have beast wars. So thank you G2, your failure pathed the way for the franchise’s continued success