How does Transformers the Movie fit into the continuity?
The basic events of Transformers the Movie are vital towards the 21st century setting introduced from #113 onwards. However, it is a mistake to assume that Transformers the Movie as constructed by the UK comic stories [which I will call ‘the Comic Movie’] is the same as the film, or the comic book adaptation. There are several points which don’t gel with the former – aside from several contradictory characterisations [the Dinobots, Soundwave, Ratbat, Ravage] there are a few direct differences – the Comic Movie happens in 2006, and the Decepticon turned into Cyclonus is possibly named as Life Spark, who definitely isn’t thrown from Astrotrain in the film. The comic adaptation, already debatable for UK canonicity as it was only printed as a Special outside of the comic itself, can be similarly discharged because there’s nowhere that Hot Rod, Kup and Blurr can timejump. So what does happen in the Comic Movie?
