2013 brought a year of endings and beginnings to the Transformers brand – not only was it the year that Transformers Prime ended, but it was also the year that saw several key members of the Transformers brand team, many of whom had worked on the brand since Transformers Armada or earlier, part ways with Hasbro – but not before unleashing the single biggest Transformer toy ever built. On the front of new beginnings, buzz and hype began to build for Transformers 4, and the Transformers Generations line transitioned to a new “comic pack in” style, bundling IDW’s Transformers comics with the Deluxe class toys. [Read more…]
30 Years of Transformers in 30 Days – 2012
In 2012 the Transformers Prime toyline made its debut almost a year after the show first arrived on screens, with Japan also getting a toyline all of its own complete with several Japan-only releases. Transformers Prime entered its second season on the Hub, and a new Transformers show for younger audiences based on the Rescue Bots toys also launched. The Transformers returned to video game consoles with the Fall of Cybertron, with a line of Generations toys released to coincide with it. IDW relaunched its comics as well, with John Barber and James Roberts helming new ongoing series Robots in Disguise and More than Meets the Eye, while Simon Furman returned to the classic Generation 1 comics continuity that began with The Transformers #1 in 1984 in the form of the Regeneration 1 comic series. [Read more…]
30 Years of Transformers in 30 Days – 2011
In 2011, Earth went dark – at least, such was the tagline of Transformers 3! Transformers: Dark of the Moon was the third release in the Transformers live-action movie franchise, and rounded out a loose trilogy formed by the first three live action movies. As always director Michael Bay and Paramount delivered a special effects tour de force, this time in 3D! The Aligned continuity continued to grow and gather pace, with the first full season of Transformers Prime and a follow up to the novel Exodus, called Exiles. Hasbro also kicked off their push to expand the appeal of Transformers by introducing a new Playskool Heroes Transformers series, Transformers Rescue Bots, and they also introduced the new building-block system Kre-O, which was all about Transformers. Amid all this, Takara-Tomy rolled out a new Masterpiece Convoy, the MP-10 Convoy Version 2, which was a new and smaller interpretation of Optimus Prime in the Masterpiece series, setting the trend for a whole line of new Masterpieces… [Read more…]
30 Years of Transformers in 30 Days – 2010
As Transformers entered its 26th year, a new continuity dawned. Dubbed “the Aligned Continuity”, it was a multi-media reboot of the franchise comprising the novel Transformers Exodus, the video game Transformers War for Cybertron, and the new fully CGI animated cartoon series Transformers Prime. The toyline transitioned from toys based on Revenge of the Fallen to a newly rebranded “Transformers” line, commonly referred to as Hunt for the Decepticons. Combiners got a whole line dedicated to them – sort of – with Power Core Combiners, and Classics returned for a third outing with the Transformers Generations line. IDW’s Transformers comics continued, with two very important miniseries released alongside the ongoing comic – Last Stand of the Wreckers by Nick Roche and James Roberts, and the movie continuity based miniseries Transformers: Sector Seven by John Barber. [Read more…]
30 Years of Transformers in 30 Days – 2009
Transformers entered its 25th year and celebrated with a big bang – in the form of director Michael Bay’s signature explosions, with Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Revenge of the Fallen was not the only big thing to come out in 2009, since Hasbro rebranded the Universe line as a full-on 25th anniversary celebration incorporating new versions of characters from Beast Wars and Transformers Armada as well as reinterpretations of the classic characters. Transformers Animated concluded with its third and arguably greatest season, although the ending was somewhat soured with the knowledge that the series was cut down prematurely. IDW marked the 25th anniversary in their own fashion, by giving Transformers an ongoing comic series, while in Japan, Takara-Tomy introduced the world to the Alternity… [Read more…]
30 Years of Transformers in 30 Days – 2008
Moving from strength to strength, Hasbro introduced a new Transformers cartoon, one that was written in the west and co-produced with Cartoon Network. This new series was called Transformers Animated, and went with a radical change to the established art style of what had gone before, polarizing opinions from the very first glimpse of the series – though clever writing meant it quickly became a well-loved show. Its toyline was delayed, though, thanks to retailers demanding more movie toys on store pegs. Fans who disliked the new take in Transformers Animated were not left out in the cold either, as Hasbro recognized the success of the Classics series and brought out a new Classics styled series under the name of Transformers Universe, which blended redecos with Classics style reinterpretations of the original characters. Last but not least, IDW proclaimed “All Hail Megatron” as they carried out a soft-reboot of their Transformers continuity. [Read more…]
30 Years of Transformers in 30 Days – 2007
2007 was the year that Transformers took the world by storm and once again became a household name, driven by the success of Dreamworks and Michael Bay’s explosive new take on the Transformers mythos. A massive toyline comprising several different segments for all audiences was launched to tie in to the movie, and the UK got a new Transformers comic based on the live-action movie universe, the first true ongoing comic for the UK since 1991 (barring the false starts in Generation 2 and Armada). Japan also embraced the live action movie, even going as far as to adopt the name “Optimus Prime” in the place of “Convoy”. They followed up the release of the movie with more reissues of classic toys. [Read more…]
30 Years of Transformers in 30 Days – 2006
The Transformers Cybertron line wrapped up through 2006, but with the Transformers live action movie not arriving until the summer of 2007 and the associated toyline not being released until May 2007, Hasbro needed a filler line to fill the void. Hasbro took a cue from Takara’s Robot Masters line and introduced a short line that reimagined the classic Transformers characters in updated designs, ushering in the first Transformers Classics line. In Japan the newly merged Takara-Tomy released a short and controversial series called Transformers Kiss Players, featuring giant robots smooching girls who were drawn to look like pre-teens in the artwork. Yeah… [Read more…]
30 Years of Transformers in 30 Days – 2005
It was the year 2005, a year shockingly not marked by people donning silver jumpsuits or driving around in flaming winnebagos. What 2005 did bring was the third of the Unicron Trilogy series, Transformers Cybertron, which premiered first in Japan as Transformers Galaxy Force. New license holders abound too, as IDW Publishing took up the reins of Transformers comics, and Fun Publications took over running the conventions, restoring the original name Botcon and even getting a Transformers Collector’s Club set up, complete with exclusive toys. In addition, the Transformers live action movie got a director in the form of Michael Bay… [Read more…]
30 Years of Transformers in 30 Days – 2004
2004 was the 20th anniversary year of the Transformers and also a disastrous year for the brand. Toys were poorly distributed leading to a long period where very little new product made it to shelves, and two major licensors – Dreamwave Comics and 3H who ran the official convention – folded. On the positive side Hasbro and Takara pressed ahead with the Alternators / Binaltech line, a well-received collector-oriented line that reimagined classic Transformers are real cars with realistic detailing and interiors, and the 20th anniversary was marked with a special 20th anniversary Optimus Prime, whose production was aided by a fan poll hosted on this website! In Japan, the 20th anniversary Optimus Prime was released as Masterpiece MP-1 Convoy, kicking off the popular Masterpiece line. [Read more…]