#this could've worked

At least GI Joe had the perfect excuse for them introducing new characters: they're an army group. Of course they get new recruits! What are the Transformers doing, soliciting fresh blood from Cybertron? They've been powered down for 4 million years, nobody probably even remembers them on their home planet except as myths or historical figures! Transformers is inconsistent while having a very strong origin story, and that origin makes the inconsistencies hard to miss.

If I were to try and fix Transformers G1 season 2, I think I have some specific demands. Demand 1: I want to pitch a GI Joe and Transformers five part crossover. And demand 2: I want to pitch a story where the Transformers and Atlantis episode stars Namor as the Prince of Atlantis. I don't care about the rights, this is purely fanfiction anyway. So give me Namor meeting the Transformers!

Now, my pitch for the GI Joe and Transformers crossover actually involves a few different things. It's a five parter, true. But parts 1 and 2 take place during season 1 of GI Joe, and parts 3 to 5 take place during season 2. That way, we can get an almost equal amount of Cobra Commander and Serpentor. Also, I think parts 3 to 5 of this storyline can be used to introduce all those new Transformers that start popping up. Those new Transformers don't start popping up until (going by the transformers wiki I found) season 2 episode 11 or 12. So let's assume that the first ten episodes of season 2 all happen before parts 3 to 5 of this miniseries.

Anyways, parts 1 and 2 of the crossover would involve Cobra and the GI Joes finally meeting the Autobots and Decepticons. Cobra is planning a big mission out on the west coast, something massive like earthquakes or the siege of a city. But they arrive at their planned location only to discover the Decepticons have beaten them to it! This is the first time Cobra is hearing of these aliens, whereas some of the GI Joes already know vaguely about the Autobots (due to US government intelligence).

Cobra and the Decepticons end up brawling in the streets, until GI Joe and the Transformers both end up teaming up to stop them. Overwhelmed by their foes, Cobra and the Decepticons retreat. After a few days of silence and regrouping, Cobra Commander sends a delegation to the Decepticons. He wishes to make an alliance. If the Decepticons help destroy GI Joe, then Cobra shall tackle the Autobots!

This leads to part 2 of the saga, where the four different groups all tangle once more. This time Cobra takes on the Autobots and the Decepticons take on the GI Joes. But they both fail in their missions, predominantly because both groups refused to trust each other. Cobra Commander had privately had some of his best men sneak into the Decepticons base and mess with their tech, while Megatron had also sent some of his men to destroy Cobra's weapons. Because of their hatred for each other, Cobra Commander and Megatron both fail disastrously in their attempts to conquer their enemies. They both end up retreating again, while GI Joe and the Autobots learn that they can both count on each other to come to their allies defense.

After this, there'd be a timeskip. A few things might happen in the Transformers plotlines, but GI Joe is really where all the actions at. Cobra Commander has been couped by Serpentor, the temperamental super soldier Cobra created out of the DNA of famous warriors and dictators. Serpentor is much crueller than Cobra Commander, and he has the brilliant idea to go toe to toe with Megatron. Specifically, he builds a massive magnetic device that he uses to try and subjugate the Decepticons. He bends them all to his will, and he forces them to serve him! But Megatron doesn't go down easy, and he manages to get one of his Decepticons to flee to Cybertron for backup.

In the meantime though, the Decepticons are now the puppets of Cobra! Cobra, the new and improved. Cobra, the mighty! And in the wake of Serpentor's great victory, he interrogates the Decepticons for information on how to best conquer earth for Cobra. He learns that Megaton and his Decepticons had once used a giant robot named Nightbird in their evil, and that they still might be able to reactivate her and control her. With this knowledge, Serpentor easily comes up with a new scheme to destroy GI Joe…

What Cobra alone could not do, Serpentor figures these Decepticons might be able to do. He offers them a proposal: destroy GI Joe and help Cobra conquer the globe, and Serpentor will in exchange destroy those Autobots Megatron hates so much. He'll kill all of them and melt them into thrones for his earthly empire! But if he does this, Megatron and his men must leave earth and never return. Should they return, Serpentor will not hesitate to destroy the Decepticons like he'll destroy the Autobots! Seeing no alternative left to him (and willing to try making the best of a bad situation while awaiting reinforcements from Cybertron), Megatron makes the deal with Serpentor. And lo, the world's deadliest alliance is born!

Together, over the course of episodes 3 and 4 of this 5 parter, Serpentor successfully manages to capture all of the Autobots (except the idiotic little ones, Cliffjumper and Bumblebee), and he has them all immobilized. Soon they will be dissected by Dr. Mindbender. Then Cobra will know what makes them tick, and they can create new things from them. Perhaps they may be useful for improving the B.A.T. soldiers. Or perhaps they can be used to create weapons for subjugating those Decepticon fools!

But while Serpentor succeeds brilliantly, Megatron fails spectacularly. He tries to snuff out the GI Joes with the aid of his fellow Decepticons and of the newly freed robot Nightbird, but nothing he does seems to work. Megatron never learns why, but he was failing because Starscream and Cobra Commander had teamed up. Cobra Commander and Starscream never really bothered talking before, but they quickly find they have a lot in common when they're both forced into the raid on the Joes. Cobra Commander wishes to retake Cobra from Serpentor, whilst Starscream wishes to coup Megatron and become leader of the Decepticons.

Together, Starscream and Cobra Commander aid the GI Joes in fighting the Decepticons. They do this in secrecy, and without either the Decepticons or the GI Joes knowing. But they succeed, and they make Megatron retreat from battle. From here on, Cobra Commander and Starscream think that victory is within grasp for both of them! They're ecstatic. But when they get back to Cobra HQ and find the Autobots about to be smelted (with the Decepticons soon to follow), they know that they both may be in deep trouble.

This is where episode 5 comes in to wrap up the whole big storyline. It turns out a whole battalion of new cybertronians (both Autobot and Decepticon alike) have arrived on earth to save their compatriots. This is how characters like Astrotrain, Blitzwing, Inferno, Beachcomber, Smokescreen, Dirge, Ramjet, Grapple and Hoist all show up in time for Transformers season 2. The Decepticon troops were already helping Shockwave keep the peace back on Cybertron as part of the Cybertronian army, but the Autobots had to be recruited and discovered by Cliffjumper and Bumblebee (both of whom were forced to sneak around Cybertron together). Honestly, Cliffjumper and Bumblebee's big adventure could be it's own bonus episode.

But in any case, they successfully manage to find new forces just in time for them to free the other Autobots and Decepticons. From here, it's a simple matter for the Autobots and Decepticons to both turn on Cobra! GI Joe even get into the fun, having trailed Megatron all the way back to the Cobra base. It turns into a total free for all, with almost everyone against Cobra. Serpentor barely manages to escape, and he vows that he'll have his vengeance on all these fools! Autobot, Decepticon and GI Joe alike will receive no mercy under his future regime!

Meanwhile, the Autobots and Decepticons return to their status quo battle. They have a whole lot of new members, but their fight still remains the same. And Cobra Commander and Starscream are both left dreaming of what might have been. Together, they were so close. So close. They could've both won. But no…they're still stuck as second fiddles to maniacs. But perhaps one day, if the stars do align, Cobra Commander and Starscream might meet again. Not as second fiddles, but as leaders of their armies! And then Serpentor and Megatron will learn the folly of picking fights with them!