Simon Furman

Simon Furman is the writer of a number of notable Transformers comics for Marvel Comics UK, Marvel US, and Dreamwave. He also wrote the final episode of the Beast Wars: Transformers cartoon, the Transformers Ultimate Fan Guide, and several convention exclusive comics and novellas.

Related Topics:
Transformers - Marvel Comics - Dreamwave - Beast Wars

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Furman's writing is notable for his use of religion and myth as an underpinning to the Transformers mythology. He invented an origin story for the Transformers that involved a ancient struggle between the god of life, Primus, and his counterpart, a god of anti-life/destruction Unicron. The latter was borrowed from the Transformers movie, where he was never given a backstory. According to this origin story, The Transformers were a creation of Primus as a warrior race who were to be the last line of defense against Unicron. This origin differs from the cartoon series, where the Transformers were created to be robot servants of the alien Quintissons.

Related Topics:
Primus - Unicron

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Aside from the creation myth, mythological underpinnings can be found in several of his stories, such as the Matrix Quest storyline, where the Autobots and Decepticons search for the Creation Matrix, a powerful object constructed by Primus. A Quest for the Holy Grail comparison is apt.

Related Topics:
Matrix Quest - Autobots - Decepticons - Creation Matrix

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Furman's Transformer: Generation 2 plotline introduced the Liege Maximo, one of the first Transformers, a person who killed the first Prime in order to steal the Matrix. The Decepticons, he says, descend from him. This is reminiscent of the Cain and Abel story. Since Transformers Generation 2 was cancelled, the Liege Maximo storyline was concluded in the convention exclusive novella Alignment.

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Furman's convention exclusive novella/comic serial, The Omega Point, includes an apocalyptic End of Days scenario for the Transformers, and a quest by one of the heroes to ask for help in the land of the dead.

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Furman still collaborates with regular Marvel UK Transformers artist, Andrew Wildman, as WildFur Productions.

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Furman also wrote a Doctor Who audio adventure for Big Finish. The Axis of Insanity features the Fifth Doctor, and was published in 2004.

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In 2005, Furman announced that he will be writing a new continuity of Generation 1 Transformers comic books for IDW Publishing.

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