Hello   Jeffy here. I recently acquired both Aligned novels. I just hit chapter 20 in Exodus, but so far along the way I can't but think.

The book says "The official history of the War for Cybertron" but it's getting harder and harder to link it to WFC. The main points are Orion Pax becomes Optimus Prime and Starscream meeting Megatron.

In WFC, Optimus (not Orion Pax) is appointed Prime in the middle of the war. After the invasion and all that. Also, Megatron first meets and recruits starscream after he overtakes Trypticon Station.

In Exodus, Orion Pax is renamed Optimus Prime when he and Megatron, brothers in arms, go to the council to gain equality. It was only after Orion Pax became Optimus Prime that Megatron lost it, fired at Halogen, and officially started the war. Also, Starscream was there from the get-go.

So I find it easier to think of Exodus (and exiles I'm guessing) as a precursor to TF: Prime instead of WFC and FoC. Am I wrong in thinking this?

 

I just throw away this aligned continuity trash altogether and just make them separate continuities with a bunch of similarities. Less headaches that way.

 

Exodus and Exiles are both very badly written and edited. There are far too many continuity issues in both books to really consider them prequels to either War for Cybertron or the Prime TV show, and they can't even get the continuity right within themselves! This Aligned Continuity Family thing is a load of s**t, I think it could have worked if handled by a better creative team, but as it is, trying to link Exodus and Exiles with Prime or War for Cybertron will just make your head hurt. I agree with Bountyan, treat them all as their own separate things to avoid confusion.

 

This.

 

I'm just gonna agree with Bountyan/Tyler. Better to just let each thing be its own thing than try to link them all together.

 

FoC even contradicts WFC.

If you listen to the audio logs, the backstory it gives is basically that in Exiles. Which contradicts Optimus' story in WFC itself.

 

The Aligned Continuity Family makes about as much sense as trying to fit Dragon Ball Z into the same universe as Hello Kitty.

At least the DC Animated Universe made sense due to the same creative team working on each show.

 

This.
Hasbro be smokin' shrooms.

 

Well I wouldn't go as far as calling the aligned 'continuity' trash, but yeah the novels, games and cartoons should be separate continuities with some similarities.

 

I guess I'm the only one then?:/ I'm absolutely loving the book but to me it seems to fit Prime quite well. Could someone shed light on how the books are different from Prime? Instead of just telling me not to link them, anyway.

Also please bear in mind I still have like 17 chapters to go in Exodus

 

Honestly, half of the fun for myself is seeing how "contradictions" could potentially fit into each other, as no story has only ONE side being witnessed.

 

This.

 

The only real point of discontinuity in the Prime backstory example is really just when Optimus/Orion has, takes, or loses a name. The falling out of the two friends before the council is obliquely referred to in the course of WFC's gameplay (when the giant holographic Megatron head addresses Optimus in the room full of spider-things, and "what happened so long ago" is referred to), so it still happened, and when the council said Optimus was Prime is fairly irrelevant, as he didn't ACTUALLY become Prime until Sentinel/Zeta died and the title could be passed to him (which, IIRC, was something the Exodus novel pointed out). The MAIN BEATS of the story are the same, and THAT is the basic point of the Aligned continuity - the main beats of the story are the same, but the bits in-between are subject to the decisions of the individual writers, and it all fits together if you "squint". As you'll have seen, the backstory recounted for Prime and Megatron in "One Stall Rise" in the Prime cartoon is as it appears in Exodus.

 

Good Enough for Me.

 

Thank you for the first REAL answer. What you're saying makes perfect sense.

 

The "squint test", as top Hasbro fella Aaron Archer has called it, is key to not going insane when it comes to the Aligned continuity. All creators making entries in the Aligned continuity are basing their work on a series bible developed by Hasbro, and are free to extrapolate and build their own stories on its basics. There will be moments of discontinuity as a result of creators doing their own thing, but if you "squint", it all BASICALLY lines up. You'll see something similar in the origins of the Decepticons' Nemesis spaceship as you get to the end of Exodus - it's got the same BASIC origin as would later be depicted in the FOC game (I won't spoil it in case you haven't played it yet), but the specifics of how it comes about are different. But - squinty-squinty, and the basic fact of its origin is the same across both, and this origin is vaguely, indirectly echoed by events that occur in the Prime cartoon.

It's essentially the same as how the G1 cartoon and the G1 comic were both made based on the same production bible, with the same basic history and character descriptions, but wound up being very separate universes. If it helps to think of the Aligned continuity as really being multiple separate continuities that are just similar, in the same way the G1 cartoon and comic are similar but separate, do that - but understand that the direct intent with them is to present stories that are MUCH, MUCH closer together than was the case with G1, even if they don't line up 100%.

 

Problem is all three sets of stories will have contradictions, enough such that you *can't* link the three together.

Consider the "Aligned" Continuity as more of a guideline for how they'd like to see future TF franchises base their lore around... even if Hasbro would like to consider the three together... just can't happen. TBH, they *should not* be the same continuity anyway. Let the games go in whatever direction they want, let the TF Prime show go whatever direction they want.

 

Ditto,

As long as I get to enjoy a half hour show,that's all I care about.

I Don't play the games,don't buy all books or comics. so while these exist,their invisble to me.

If your looking for great story telling stories,spectacular plots with rich fleshed out characters. Then I never found any of this in the 28 years worth of TF media.

 

Thanks for clearing it up guys

another question: Disregarding the games, are there any details in the books that contradict Prime?

 

Other than Dark Energon?