Transformers (toyline)

Transformers is the name of a line of toys produced by Hasbro from 1984 onwards, and also of a number of spin-offs based on the toys including a Marvel comic book series, an animated television series that began airing on 1984 (Transformers series) and a feature-length movie, '. The original series was followed by a number of spin-offs with varying levels of popularity.

Related Topics:
Toy - Hasbro - 1984 - Marvel - Comic book series - Animated - Television series - Transformers series

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A Transformer is an intelligent robot (usually a large humanoid, though there are many exceptions such as animal forms) that is able to "transform", reconfiguring itself into a common and innocuous form, such as a car, airplane or animal. The taglines "More Than Meets the Eye" and "Robots in Disguise" reflect this ability.

Related Topics:
Robot - Humanoid - Car - Airplane - Animal

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Transformers originally featured two main factions warring for control of their home planet, Cybertron. The heroic Autobots (Cybertrons in the Japanese version) were led by Optimus Prime, and their opponents, the Decepticons (Destrons in the Japanese version), were led by Megatron. The Autobots were mainly cars in warm colors while the Decepticons were planes in cool colors, with some exceptions.

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Cybertron - Autobot - Optimus Prime - Decepticon - Megatron

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The Transformers toyline was developed by Hasbro after they met up with Takara representatives at the 1983 New York Toyfair and decided to combine and re-brand Takara's Diaclone and Micro Change toylines into the Transformers for release in the United States.

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Hasbro - Takara - Diaclone - Micro Change - Transformers - United States

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The basic backstory of the toyline and subsequent comic books and cartoons was developed by the Marvel Comics writers Jim Shooter and Dennis O'Neil (O'Neil actually giving Optimus Prime his name). Most of the subsequent character names and profiles throughout the original run were done by the primary Transformers US comic book writer, Bob Budiansky.

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Marvel Comics - Jim Shooter - Dennis O'Neil - Optimus Prime - Bob Budiansky

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Floro Dery was primarily responsible for the look and feel of the Transformers cartoon series and was the visual creator of Transformers: The Movie. He refined some of the initial season one animated character models done in Japan, and subsequently interpreted the toy box art for further characters, creating the models that would become the visual guidelines both for the comic books and the animated cartoon.

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Most Transformers come with tech specs which detail the Transformer?s characteristics. Older Transformers come with Robot Points which could be redeemed for special Transformers which were not sold in stores, such as the Omnibots or the Decepticon triplets known as Reflector (which featured heavily in the early episodes of the television series, despite not being easily available as toys).

Related Topics:
Tech specs - Decepticon

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The line covered numerous sub-series -- see also Beast Wars. The television show also had many more seasons in Japan than in the U.S.A., leading to additional characters and stories that North American fans knew nothing about.

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