The Transformers, a race of sentient robots from the planet Cybertron, have been involved in a eons-old war between the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons. In an effort to save their home planet from destruction as it passes through an asteroid field, the Autobots lead a mission into space to clear a path through the asteroids. After the mission is completed, the Decepticons attack the weakened Autobot warriors. In a desperate effort to defeat the Decepticons, Optimus Prime, the Autobot leader, crash lands the Autobot spaceship, called the Ark, into the (believed to be) lifeless planet nearby. Four million years later, the Transformers are awakened to discover that this planet (Earth), is not so lifeless after all. The war begins anew...