The following contains spoilers for Transformers One, now playing in theaterscharacters of Transformers One are firmly aware of the danger they pose, with even the most powerful Primes unable to weather a full-frontal assault from the overwhelming alien race.

Although they aren't the emotional crux of Transformers One, the Quintessons do provide an overarching danger to the universe that expands the scope of the franchise in a cool way. While they may not have the original role they filled in the animated shows, they do hint at the broader dangers posed to the Transformers, and could easily become a dominant element of any prospective sequel to Transformers One. Here's how the Quintessons factor into the animated film and how they compare to previous iterations.

The Quintessons In Transformers Lore Explained

How The Quintessons Differ Between Different Interations

In Transformers lore (as well as the latest iteration of the franchise, Transformers One) the Quintessons are a chaotic and dangerous race of aliens often opposed to Optimus Prime and the rest of the Autobots. Although they often share a visual design, such as tentacle bodies fused with cybernetic elements, different iterations of the franchise have reimagined the race in different ways. Introduced in The Transformers: The Movie, the Quintessons are an ancient race that had lived on Cyberton eons before the titular robotic race did.

In the original series continuity, they were even responsible for constructing the factories that built the progenitors of that race. In other continuities (like the Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy), they were reinvented as ancient enemies of Cybertron who enslaved the Cybertronian race. In others (like Transformers: Cyberverse), they were changed into a multiversal threat. Except in the purposefully reversed continuity of the "Shattered Glass" timeline from the comics, the Quintessons are consistently major threats to the Transformers universe, including in Transformers One.

The Quintessons' History In Transformers One

The Quintessons Have Been At War With Cybertron For Years

The Quintessons are the overarching villains of Transformers One, serving as a lingering threat even as Sentinel Prime proves to be the film's primary antagonist. The Quintessons are established as alien invaders who came to Cybertron seeking to claim the Energon that flowed naturally from the planet. This set off a massive conflict with the Cybertronians, with the Primes doing everything they could to combat the encroaching invasion. However, fifty cycles before the events of the film, the Primes were lured into a trap set by their assistant, Sentinel.

Having allied with the Quintessons, Sentinel set up an ambush that killed nearly every Prime (save for Alpha Trion). Although the Quintessons technically claimed control of the world and left Sentinel in charge, the Matrix of Leadership deemed him unworthy and disappeared. This resulted in the Energon wells drying up. In the fifty cycles that have ed since then, Sentinel has convinced the rest of the populace that he was the sole survivor of an attack that killed the Primes. In reality, he still serves the Quintessons and has effectively enslaved his own race to achieve their goals.

Why The Quintessons Want Cybertron's Energon

Energon Is A Power Source With A Lot Of Dangerous Potential

One of the big reveals of Transformers One is the discovery that Sentinel Prime has been bringing up much of the Energon mined on Cyberton directly to the Quintessons. Across several versions of Transformers continuity, Energon has been the primary energy source that fuels the robots in disguise. Although Energon is crucial to the survival of Cybertronians, it's also seemingly capable of fueling other creations and devices. In some continuities (like the live-action Transformers films), Energon is the direct source of Energon,

In Transformers One, Energon is a naturally flowing energy source on Cybertron that serves as both a food and energy source. It makes sense then why the Quintessons would want it. Shown pumping up large quantities of the substance to their ship after having it delivered by Sentinel, the Quintessons clearly have plans for the energy source. It may even play into their role as intergalactic traders and schemers as in other continuities, giving them a powerful tool to use as they expand their reach across the cosmos.

How Transformers One's Quintessons Compare To Michael Bay's

Quintessa Was Never Confirmed To Be A Quintesson — But Has Some Serious Similairites To Them

The Quintesson species didn't formally appear in Michael Bay's live-action Transformers timeline, but a character quietly implied to be connected to them was the chief villain of Transformers: The Last Knight. Played by Gemma Chan, Quintessa was introduced as the so-called creator of the Cybertronian species, similar to the Quintessons of the original Generation 1 continuity. Although not directly identified as one of the Quintesson, her appearance bears a similarity with the creator of the Quintessons in a different Transformers continuity.

She also notably shares a name with the home planet of the Quintessons from the original animated series. The Quintesson of Transformers One are a far less personable and more diabolical alien species. Although they seem to share the same overarching plans for conquest and universal transformation, their deceptive nature is far less pronounced in Transformers One in contrast to the more cerebral threat from Michael Bay's Quintessa. The version of them in Transformers One instead utilizes an overwhelming armada and sneaky strategies to enact their plans.

What The Quintesson's Future Is After Transformers One

The Quintesson Could Become The Big Bads For A Potential Transformers Two

The Quintessons are notably not defeated by the end of Transformers One. The film's plot is ultimately more focused on the Cybertronians and the revolt against Sentinel that leads to the conflict between Prime and Megatron. However, the film doesn't forget about the threat posed by the Quintessons. The ending of the film sees Orion Pax, having fully achieved his true potential as Optimus Prime, sending out a message to the universe to warn the Quintessons that they are willing and able to fight them back if they ever return to Cyberton.

This sets the stage for a potential sequel to Transformers One to bring the Quintessons in a big way, potentially as the kind of threat that could reunite (or further fracture) the Autobots and their newfound rivals, the Decepticons. Due to the open-ended nature of the prequel's ending, the Quintessons could become a serious threat in the next film in the series, or potentially be sidelined to make way for new plot developments. However, given their importance in Transformers One, it wouldn't be surprising to see their eventual return.