Thanks to SYFY WIRE we have a very interesting Interview With The IDW Transformers Vs Visionaries Creative Team for you.

The most recent crossover in the IDW Hasbro Universe has just hit comic stores a few days ago and brings us a new adventure after the events of “First Strike”. The Transformers will have to face the dangerous Visionaries. The Knights Of The Magical Light are introduced for the new generation with a renewed look and origin.

The creative team behind the issue: Writer Magdalene Visaggio, artist Fico Ossio, editor Sarah Gaydos, and assistant editor David Mariotte comment on several hot topics of this saga. and a shocking death from the very fist issue. You can read the full interview here or you can read on for the full article too, but be careful since there are really heavy spoilers even from the title of the article itself.

IDW’s Hasbro Comic Book Universe raises the stakes right off the bat in the new year, starting with today’s release of Transformers vs. Visionaries #1, merging the long and storied universe of the Transformers with the reboot of the short-lived cartoon of Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light. At the center of the Visionaries are two factions of knights, the Spectral Knights and the Darkling Lords, with each member represented by animal totems that they can turn into.

They find themselves refugees on Cybertron after Prysmos is destroyed as a result of the events in the Hasbro summer crossover, First Strike. But as diplomatic attempts to coexist disintegrate, Virulina of the Darkling Lords goes on the offensive and murders a fan-favorite Transformer (revealed below) threatening those who stand in her way. This is not your typical crossover, in which two properties meet, shake hands and go separate ways. SYFY WIRE spoke with the creative team behind the issue — Magdalene Visaggio, artist Fico Ossio, editor Sarah Gaydos, and assistant editor David Mariotte — about the impact of this loss and why it was significant as the story’s moment of liftoff.

**Spoiler Warning: Major spoilers for Transformers vs. Visionaries #1**

Magdalene, what made Cybertron a likely home for New Prysmos and a launching point for the new Visionaries?

Magdalene Visaggio: That was decided long before I joined the team. When David Hedgecock first emailed me asking if I wanted to pitch for Visionaries, the initial starting point they gave me was basically “Prysmos has been destroyed and the Visionaries are refugees on Cybertron following the events of First Strike.” I got to decide what had happened to Prysmos and why they’d chosen Cybertron.

What I found so intriguing was the contrast – essentially a civilization of Luddites seeking refuge on a planet of robots. And Merklynn had chosen it so specifically; there had to be a connection. That’s when I realized that in so many ways this was a story about religion and ideology, about what the Prysmos as a non-technological society meant to Merklynn and the Visionaries. Prysmos represented an ideal, a blow against the rest of the technology-driven universe. Making Cybertron of all places the new Prysmos was about making a point as much as finding a new home.

David Mariotte: Editorially speaking, it just made sense. We had this MacGuffin, the Talisman, that we knew was going to bring the Visionaries to the universe. It’s even named after an old MacGuffin from the previous Visionaries comic. But through threads we were weaving in Revolutionaries and other books, it was clearly tied to the Transformers too. Plus, there’s this nice, natural conflict between the Visionaries, who gave up technology for magic, and the Transformers, who essentially are technology.

You had one season of television and a handful of six comics from Star Comics / Marvel Comics to pull from. What did you feel were the best elements, and which ones did you feel needed to be updated or brought to a more exciting place?

Magdalene Visaggio: There’s a ton of great concepts in the old Visionaries cartoon from a storytelling standpoint. The basic structure of the show is super compelling. But I knew that that kind of content wasn’t going to fly in 2017. So I approached this much like Ron Moore approached Battlestar Galactica: What’s the stuff here that matters, versus what’s the stuff here’s that’s designed to sell toys? We only have five issues to work with, so everything needed to be streamlined; initially that meant paring down the cast and simplifying the magical system, which in the show involves multiple animal totems, with some of the players getting magical staves and others getting the power to control ancient vehicles. I basically stripped everything down to something that wouldn’t demand copious explanation: Everyone gets a staff that can summon holograms, nobody gets more than one totem, etc.

I also really can’t stand it when villains exist for the sole purpose of being evil. So I needed to figure out what exactly separates the Darkling Lords from the Spectral Knights. You know, what is the story the Darklings are telling themselves where they’re the good guys? So I landed on the idea that they’re both factions of a single organization run by Merklynn – the Visionaries, natch – with different philosophies that went into schism. There’s more there that’s gonna come into play as the book unfolds.

Fico Ossio: We kept the original concept, the idea behind Visionaries, and started from there. After we had the story, we worked on what this world and characters should look like and then matched that with the original designs/characters and IDW’s Transformers. But overall we wanted to do a complete update from the original for the most part.

Sarah Gaydos: For me, the key was having a believable situation where both the Visionaries and our current IDW version of Transformers all would exist believably in one place, so it just didn’t make sense to stick with a vintage look. Fico did a fantastic job of updating the character design and mechanics of the Visionaries. I couldn’t be happier with it!

Kup is killed at the end of the first issue, thus propelling this series. Why Kup, why now, and what was it about this story where you felt Kup’s true death gave it the weight you needed to ignite this crossover?

Magdalene Visaggio: I’m a longtime Transformers fan. I grew up on the G2 stuff that was airing when I was a kid, and watched the old movie on an ancient VHS endlessly, so I have an incredible love for that curmudgeon. But I hadn’t been keeping up to date with the comics – Transformers continuity is a ridiculously complicated minefield – so I didn’t realize how much the character had grown. Despite that, I knew right away that killing Kup of all people was a massive responsibility, and I wanted to center the first issue on him as much as I could, to make his farewell mean something. He died trying to be the better man. Kup is always calling on people to be better. To me, that made it feel like it was worth a damn.

Fico Ossio: Gotta say it was a hard page to draw. I’ve been drawing Kup for a while now and even did the last design for him, so … Yup. Tough one! But honestly, the way Mags wrote it was fantastic. And it definitely shifts the story into high gear in a great way. We needed that.

David Mariotte: This is a crossover book, but it’s also the debut of the Visionaries and it needed to have real, concrete stakes that would resonate for readers new and old. I think it was former editor Carlos Guzman who said in one of our early calls with Mags, let’s kill Kup. And the room was simultaneously horrified and excited. Horrified, because we (especially me) loved Kup. Excited because it made perfect sense. Kup has been a part of the IDW Transformers series for 10 years and, in my opinion, really charted how the universe has developed. With the escalation of events in this series, and what they mean for this phase of our books, it just made sense to see the bold, new, Kup-less frontier.

He obviously provided many more big moments in the comics for IDW, and you highlighted some of those moments at the end of the book. Fans will want to see him avenged, right?

Magdalene Visaggio: And he’s not going to be the only one to die before all this is over. This is a high-stakes story that is going to have long-term consequences for the IDW G1 franchise.

Fico Ossio: OH YES! I’m looking forward to drawing that.

Sarah Gaydos: Hell yes, I want to see him avenged. This book has real stakes, real emotions at play. Mags is doing a fantastic job with balancing all these aspects of intrigue, betrayal, grief, and somehow packing in a ton of heart all at the same time. And Fico’s art, with colors by David Garcia Cruz, captures the incredible visuals of New Prysmos, while still bringing the spirit of Transformers everyone knows and loves to life.

 

What do you say to fans of Kup who might see his death, by a long-forgotten Hasbro property, as unworthy? How do you show them that he didn’t die for nothing?

Magdalene Visaggio: The Visionaries are a freakish, unexpected new situation that Kup is navigating to the best of his considerable ability. On top of that, Cybertron is still recovering from its own series of disasters and trying to forge a new identity, and Kup’s sacrifice is a part of that process. He died trying to make sure the Cybertron their building represents their highest ideals. He died a statesman.

Fico Ossio: He died upholding what he believed in and stood for. I reckon that’s a hero’s death.

David Mariotte: Kup died doing what the thought was right, and that’s not for nothing.

Sarah Gaydos: Folks will absolutely have to read this series, as well as what is coming, to see. Kup’s sacrifice is extremely noble, and I think before he was murdered, he had a sense of what was a stake. Cybertron is literally on the line.

At least you had him say Bah-Weep Gra-gnah Wheep, Ni Ni Bong one more time. He was this cranky, cantankerous old coot. What’s your favorite Kup story?

Magdalene Visaggio: The first and the best: Transformers: The Movie.

Fico Ossio: Have to agree with Mags … and on a personal note, it’s hard not to pick “Revolutionaries.” That comic meant a lot to me, and I loved the dynamics with Ian (Action Man) on that one.

David Mariotte: My favorite story about Kup or my favorite story Kup told? Cuz there’s this one about petro-rabbits … But really, I think it’s “Spotlight: Kup.” Nick Roche masterfully introduced him to this version of Transformers, and that story still gets me when I think about it.

One of the alluring things about this crossover is that we’re looking at magic greatly affecting Cybertron and the Autobots. Readers will think this is a huge mismatch of wizards vs. Transformers, but magic is a great equalizer, isn’t it?

Magdalene Visaggio: One hundred percent. The Transformers are up against the wall for the first time, and the situation escalates absurdly quickly. They went from “We’re building a new future!” to “We’re on the verge of extinction” in the space of probably less than 48 hours.

Fico Ossio: I think that the best part of the crossover. To have the Transformers face a danger completely new and out of their comprehension.

David Mariotte: As much fun as it can be watching giant robots punch the robo-snot out of each other, I think that real drama and interesting conflict comes from watching two forces that are mismatched. Transformers and humans have rumbled plenty of times before, but almost always with the help of other Transformers to build the humans up to their level. We’ve always been the underdog and had to rely on them. This time, the Transformers are facing a threat that they’re kind of outmatched by, even though it’s coming from such smaller guys. And that is interesting.

Sarah Gaydos: I absolutely love the inversion of power between these tiny little flesh creatures vs. these huge sentient, robotic creatures. And the fact that aversion to technology (and that’s putting it lightly) is at the heart of the Visionaries lore, that just ties in so nicely together. Fico came up with a great visual depiction of what the magic does to the body of a Cybertronian, and it is … so gross …

 

With magic playing such a big part, you chose some interesting characters to combat that in Wheeljack, a scientist, Breakdown and Ironhide, a typically traditional, protective, and defensive voice. Talk about playing those personalities up against New Prysmos, Darkling Lords, and Spectral Knights.

Magdalene Visaggio: Ha, yeah. I actually didn’t get much of a say in the matter, which I think is really cool. So many other characters were occupied in other books and stories, so these were the face characters that were available – which is kind of exactly how it happens in-universe, too; you don’t always get to pick your team. I credit David Mariotte for handing me a group of Cybertronian heroes who would be a great foil to the Visionaries I was reinventing.

David Mariotte: It’s true, there are a lot of other Transformers doing a lot of other things right now, but we worked with my predecessor, Carlos Guzman, to figure out a core handful of characters that would be available and a good fit. And a lot of them fell into place naturally. Ironhide is a head of security on Cybertron and suddenly there’s this whole city with unknown capabilities that he has to deal with. Wheeljack’s a scientist who is suddenly up against a force that defies explanation. Breakdown, and I’ll never stop harping on how well Mags writes him, has been a background character for a while now, but he finally gets his chance to step up and show Cybertron what he’s made out of.

Fico’s art and character design are on display in this series. He had some great inspiration, I mean, who can forget those toys with the holographic chest plates and staffs, but perhaps Fico can walk us through these radical makeovers.

Sarah Gaydos: I’ll let Fico speak to this, but I want to also shout out the incredible work that David Garcia Cruz is doing on colors!

 

Fico Ossio: Early on, without even having a pitch, I took the original designs of the characters and just tried to make them look as cool as possible, a bit more realistic maybe. But when Mags joined the team we all started taking about what to do with the book and that first design just wasn’t working for either of us.

We wanted to give them a more … “barbarian” feel to them rather than “Knights in shiny armors.” As if they pieced it together with remnants of previous technology.

Diversity was a priority number one as well, so the original look of the characters and gender was left behind for the most part. We kept their chest emblems and their spectral animals and started from there. I kept checking the originals to pick some little things like the colors and some details of armor, but for the most part it was a complete update for them. Also we wanted to work around the staffs. I mean, it seemed impractical, so that’s why I turned them into this shields and fractionated the pole in two parts, which became their weapons. Some kept their original ones. But the main characters, Leoric and Virulina and others work with this new practical design.

When they transform they pieced it all together. The chest plate is the main characteristic of the Visionaries, so there was no way around it. But I made it smaller and less clunky. Same reasoning than with the staffs, we wanted them to look more practical too.

After the murder of Kup, which Spectral Knight or Darkling Lord will readers find endearing? Which one will be the redemptive figure?

Magdalene Visaggio: The central figures of the book, on the Prysmosian side, are Leoric, Virulina, and Arzon. I’ve tried to stick to the show’s depiction of Leoric as a well-meaning but flawed leader, and he makes some critical mistakes early on that cause trouble down the line. I personally really find his demeanor – emotionally shut-off, bewildered by his situation, making decisions on the fly and hoping they’re the right ones – really attractive.

Virulina is an absolute joy to write. She’s my Magneto, I guess; a cackling supervillain who has completely comprehensible motives that would be almost sympathetic if they weren’t so extreme. She’s the flip side of Leoric; where Leoric is driven by uncertainty, and is primarily a reactive force, Virulina is full of passionate intensity. She knows what she wants and goes after it.

 

Arzon is the real enigma. He’s a Spectral Knight who constantly expresses doubt and skepticism with the course of action Leoric is pursuing.

Honestly, I really love them all: Galadria the inflexible doctrinaire, Witterquick the trash-mouthed smart-aleck, Cindarr the thoughtful and direct lieutenant, Cryotek the disappointed idealist. There’s a lot to chew on with these guys, and I think there’s someone for everyone.

Fico Ossio: It’s hard to pick one. Mags is doing such a fantastic job building their personalities! But … I’d have to go with Virulina. It’s one of those perfect villains that almost draws you to their view of things. Witterquick has some cool moments too.

David Mariotte: In terms of the Visionaries, Galadria really steps up throughout the series. She’s my one to watch. She has a lot of heart. Meanwhile, I think all of us actually really like Virulina, despite knowing that she is just the worst. You’d never want to meet her, but she’s fun to read about.

Sarah Gaydos: I’m just going to say that Virulina is the worst. She’s so the worst, that she somehow flips back around and also becomes the best. The way Mags is writing her is just deliciously evil. Same with Merklynn.

And on the other side, which of the Transformers besides Ironhide steps up to honor Kup’s legacy?

Magdalene Visaggio: Oh man, I don’t wanna say.

Fico Ossio: We’ll have to wait and see. Big shoes to fill!

Sarah Gaydos: You’ll have to read to find out!

Be sure to check out how all the grisly details play out in the first issue of Transformers vs. Visionaries #1, available in print and digital today.

 

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Thanks to the official Takara Tomy Twitter account we have images of the label templates for Takara Tomy LG-63 G2 Megatron.

As you may remember, Takara Tomy Legends line is bringing their homage to the G2 Hero Megatron using the TR Voyager Megatron mold using the iconic G2 colors from the original toy. According to the instructions, this figure will include some stickers like the Generation 2 Decepticon logo, and also the infamous “Megatron Rules!” sticker from the US G2 Hero Megatron toy. To top it all, a pair of Predacon logos are also included for his Headmaster, painted to resemble Beast Wars Megatron, and the new partner included which resembles BM Savage Noble.

We finally get a great view at how the new stickers look on the figure which is displayed with his weapons on shoulder to make him looks like the original G2 mold.

You can check out the images after the jump and then sound off at the 2005 Boards!

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Emiliano Santalucia has updated his Facebook portfolio with a piece of artwork he did for Hasbro’s Tiny Titans line. The line was known for its blind-bagged releases and miniature depictions of Transformers both classic and contemporary, and on show here is the work he did for Optimus Prime himself. The art is a nice hybrid of the Generation 1 and Robots in Disguise (2015) versions of Optimus Prime, with the classic rifle in the hands of the modern version of the Autobot leader. Check it out attached to this post.

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Unique Toys have updated their Weibo with images of their new Palm Series releases – the “No Minds and Unhappy” set of their takes on Cerebros and Apeface, and the “Day and Night” set of their versions of Highbrow and Snapdragon. Each one is a tiny roughly Legends scaled release, fully transformable and complete with incredibly tiny Headmasters. Their not-Snapdragon even has an option for dragon-like wings involving his weapons – something we hope Hasbro also incorporates into their own, official Snapdragon when it eventually comes our way.

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Takara have updated their Transformers Legends comics page with a bonus “Xmas” comic (though apart from some gifts at the end there’s not much Christmas in there). This comic introduces White Lune, sister of White Leo, Doublecross’ Headmaster partner – and also features Blurr getting his Targetmaster, a first in Japanese fiction.

Check out the comic attached to this post – please be aware, due to cultural differences some of the humor within may not be appropriate to all audiences. Caution is advised.

The post Transformers Legends Bonus Comic 48 – White Lune appeared first on Transformer World 2005 - TFW2005.COM.

Via Notrab on Weibo, we have an in-hand image of all five Dinobots from Power of the Primes merged into their mighty Volcanicus form. We’ve seen a few shots of the combination at conventions, but this image is the first one we’re aware of in the wild using the toys we’ll all soon be picking up from store shelves. Note that the transformation on the individual figures is not 100% spot on – Slag’s arms for example are not tabbed in here – so the final article may look a little tidier. Check out the image to see the » Continue Reading.

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This year at TFNation, you will have The Touch! You will have The Power! And you can fly, if you try leaving the past behind! Yes friends, the one and only Stan Bush will be attending TFNation 2018 as a guest of honour – and he will also be performing a concert on the second day of the convention following the Saturday evening Club Con programming.

Stan Bush is an Emmy award winning musician, and an inductee into the Transformers Hall of Fame. You may be familiar with some of his work – including the iconic Transformers anthem “The Touch“, “Dare“, both of which featured in Transformers the Movie (1986), and “Til All Are One“, which was featured in Transformers War for Cybertron. Stan’s other Transformers music credits include a frankly awesome remix of The Touch heard in the credits to Transformers Fall of Cybertron, and “Ground Zero“, which was the theme of Botcon 1997 (it was later remixed into the aforementioned Til All Are One).

Outside of Transformers, Stan has done music for movies including The Wraith (1986) and Kickboxer (1989), TV shows including the US dub of Sailor Moon and the Netflix show Glow, as well as video games including Saints Row IV and Guitar Hero. As well as that, he wrote “Capture the Dream” for the 1996 Summer Olympics, and has recorded 14 studio albums across a career spanning more than three decades, including his most recent album, “Change the World“, which was released in 2017 and is available at www.stanbush.com and on itunes.

Stan will be available to meet attendees and sign autographs throughout the three day run of TFNation from 17 – 19 August 2018. But that’s not all, because on the evening of 18 August 2018, he will be performing a full-on concert for attendees. There will be a small cost associated with this – £20 for Saturday attendees, and £15 for those attending for the full weekend – but it is a price worth paying, because there is something magical about hearing “The Touch” performed live by the man himself. It’s quite probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for many fans – so be sure to take full advantage of it!

TFNation 2018 will be taking place over the weekend of 17-19 August 2018, at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole in Birmingham in England. Stan Bush will be joining voice actor D.C. Douglas as a guest of honour, with many more guests yet to be revealed! Check out the TFNation homepage for more information.

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On 26 December 2007, a new Transformers show, Transformers Animated, made its debut with a three episode pilot which launched a new and different take on the Transformers mythos. Where Optimus Prime was once the supreme commander of the Autobot forces, now he was just a lowly starship captain of a spacebridge repair crew. The Decepticons were powerful and formidable, and the setting was an Earth 50 years into the future, where high technology made robots commonplace and technologically enhanced super villains a part of life.

This was Transformers Animated. We’ve chosen to mark its ten-year anniversary today, on the anniversary of its first non-pilot episode airing, to reflect how Transformers Animated was Transformers in the year 2008, sandwiched between two movie years. We’re also going to dive into how Transformers Animated was a show cut tragically short by a combination of circumstances, and what its lasting legacy has been.

Read the full discussion after the break!

Transformers Animated opening titles

Debuting in 2007, Transformers Animated was at the time of airing the first fully western written and produced Transformers show since Beast Machines. It took Transformers back to its cel-animated roots, with slickly animated action sequences, a good mix of self-contained and ongoing plots, and some genuinely funny moments over the course of its 42 episode run. It shook up the formula by making the Autobots a maintenance crew, rather than warriors, by setting the series in peacetime after the Decepticons were defeated (although very much still out there waiting their moment to return) – and by fixing it so Optimus Prime was not the invincible hero Autobot leader, but crucially a flawed individual with doubts, who has made (and still occasionally makes) mistakes, and is not even close to the leader of the Autobots. 

After an initially rocky reception, the show rose to become a fan-favorite installment in the Transformers mythos, leading many to mourn its passing and for years after to request Hasbro to release the final toys who were cancelled by the line’s abrupt end. Some eventually made it out as Toys R Us exclusives, others made it out in Japan – but a handful never saw the light of day.

History

The story of Transformers Animated began in 2006, when news started to emerge of a new Transformers series being worked on following the end of Transformers Cybertron, under the name of Transformers: Hero. The working title was derived from the show’s core concept of taking the main cast and treating them like superheroes, a unique twist used for the show that set it apart from previous shows and the live action movies, which treated Transformers as a “war” story, or a space opera.

The first characters outside of Optimus Prime and Megatron to be confirmed for the show was Sari, when it was announced that Tara Strong would be voicing her, with the declaration she was “not a Transformer, just a little girl!” Oh, if only we knew…

Our first look at Transformers Animated Optimus Prime, from 19 June 2007. 

The show’s name was confirmed in April 2007 to be Transformers: Animated, a play on how it would be the animated series following the live-action movie, and also a reference to the show’s slick style. On June 19, 2007, we got our first look at Optimus Prime from Transformers Animated.

Reception was overwhelmingly negative, with many fans swearing they were done with Transformers, with not one but two incarnations taking their beloved robots in disguise in divergent directions from their beloved Generation 1 roots in 2007. And in fairness, this was not completely unjustified. Michael Bay’s Transformers was around the corner with its excessively detailed (some might even say overworked) designs, while on the surface of things, Transformers Animated was extremely stylized and simplified, to the point of being cartoony or exaggerated.

Attitudes began to soften fairly quickly once actual footage of the show emerged at San Diego Comic Con 2007. The show’s stylized designs looked much better in motion, with the high production values and the care of the team working on the show evident from the first footage. Early rumors suggested that the characters would transform with a “tazmanian devil spin”, which was shown in the early footage, alongside more traditional and detailed transformations. Moreover, the initial footage revealed a return of the Dinobots – their first onscreen depiction since Generation 1 – along with a Generation 1 inspired Arcee, and Tom Kenny doing a fantastic performance as Starscream inspired by the late Chris Latta’s style. Truly, it was a Transformers cartoon that was updating the show for a new audience while maintaining a strong connection with its earlier identity as a franchise – kind of an “Ultimate Transformers” take on the franchise like what Marvel was doing with X-Men and Spider-Man at the time.

Crucially, the show was not a co-production intended for simultaneous US and Japanese airing – in fact, Japan would not get Transformers Animated until 2010, two whole years after the US. They made up for it with an awesome opening song by JAM Project, granted.

The full Autobot lineup from Transformers Animated

The show premiered on Cartoon Network on 26 December 2007, with the first two seasons of the show airing back-to-back from January 5 2008 to June 28, 2008. A third season would air in 2009 between March 14 and May 23. The show went with a similar approach to the popular Beast Wars series, with individual episodes having an A plot contained largely within the episode, and a secondary plot or theme which united them into an ongoing season-long arc. For example, the first season focused on Megatron acting as a puppet master, manipulating things from behind the scenes to effect the creation of a new body for himself, while the second season dealt with Megatron’s ongoing plan to construct a spacebridge to attach Cybertron while most individual episodes also dealt with fragments of the Allspark being technology to life in strange and interesting ways.

The characters themselves also grew and changed over the course of the series. For example, Lockdown’s rivalry with Prowl developed over the course of his many appearances, while Bulkhead’s complicated relationship with the Constructicons was developed each time the latter group appeared in the show. Every season made good use of flashback episodes to flesh out the backstories of the Autobots, and to shed light on how they became the robots they are, culminating in the third season’s flashback episode showing the origins of the team. We never got as much background on the Decepticons, although thought was given to a Blackarachnia and Blitzwing focused flashback episode in the unmade season 4. 

The show was also notable for how it treated its villains. Early on, the Autobots would face not only Decepticons, but also human villains, given unique abilities through technology. The opponents, both human and Decepticon, had unique abilities and there were often other factors in play that forced the Autobots to come up with clever solutions to their problems. This together with the unique abilities each character possessed meant that battles and other action sequences were more exciting than the “stand and shoot, then someone uses a stock footage supermove” action from previous shows. The use of human opponents also meant that the Decepticons tended to be held in reserve, and when they did show up it was an event, as they were as powerful as the whole team together, really forcing the Autobots to rely on their wits and teamwork to overcome the odds.

We’d also be doing the show a disservice if we did not cover another reason that made the Decepticons and other characters so memorable when they showed up – their personalities. From the easily led and Weird-Al quoting Wreck Gar (voiced by Weird Al) to the triple changing, triple personalitied Blitzwing, to the narcissistic and petty Sentinel Prime, to the GLORIOUS Lugnut, to a wonderfully voiced and performed Starscream, each and every character had a personality, quirks, and goals of their own which allowed them to stand out as memorable characters. Even the humans, such as Captain “this is why I hate machines” Fanzone to villains like Nanosec and Meltdown had something unique and memorable to offer. This is also to say nothing of the number of characters who made cameos throughout the show’s run, particularly in the later seasons when we got to see more of Cybertron and every scene on the planet was packed with characters familiar and obscure.

A selection of the toys from the Transformers Animated line

Naturally as a merchandise-led franchise, Transformers Animated had a toyline to accompany it, and as a post-movie toyline, the line was split into different tiers much as the 2007 movie line had been. For younger fans, there were the Bumper Battlers and the spring-loaded Activators, which replaced the Basic / Scout class. The main line was made up of Deluxe, Voyager, and Leader class figures, which boasted an unprecedented level of show accuracy, and some of which were quite amazing with how well they managed to make a robot turn into a vehicle, considering that some of the designs in the show clearly needed to cheat to work. Moreover, the line lacked a linewide gimmick, with the focus instead placed on making bringing each character to life with their signature weapons or signature transformation. This really worked in the line’s favour, as did the overall quality of the figures’ sculpts, which exuded character even when they were just stood in a completely neutral pose on a shelf.

When considering both the toys and the show together, it came over as being a real love-letter to long time fans as well as a well-made show, one developed with lots of care and attention. By all accounts, the show should have succeeded and enjoyed a much longer lifetime than its one-year run.

Why Transformers Animated failed

Transformers Animated ultimately fell victim to the success of another branch of the Transformers franchise – the live-action movies. Because Transformers was so successful in theaters in 2007, there was strong retailer demand for more movie toys on store shelves – something which delayed the launch of the Transformers Animated line by a whole six months, meaning that instead of the toys hitting shelves to coincide with the airing of the show in January 2008, they arrived in June 2008, by which time season 2 had already almost finished its initial run on Cartoon Network. This surely must have hurt the line’s toy sales, as it meant you couldn’t go out and buy that cool character you just saw on screen. And even once the toys were out, the retailers were still demanding more “realistic Transformers”, this time, the Universe toyline. Details suggest that the Universe toyline sold far more strongly than the Transformers Animated toyline, which was particularly shocking as Universe had no dedicated show or comic to support it.

The show itself fared little better. Although it was a co-production between Hasbro and Cartoon Network, Cartoon Network did little to promote the show past its premiere, and moved the show into a poor timeslot as was the case with other Transformers shows on the network. Character designer Derrick J Wyatt had at one point suggested there were issues behind the scenes which hurt the series, an accusation that seems to hold water given that the show was a co-production, unlike earlier shows to suffer the same fate. A final nail in the coffin would also have been Hasbro partnering with Discovery to launch their own network, prompting Cartoon Network to decide there was no future in the show. 

The final factor that ultimately brought down Transformers Animated was its timing. Coming out between Transformers 2007 and Revenge of the Fallen meant the line was perhaps destined to be curtailed – particularly given the stated retailer demand for movie toys, and the wild success of the two movies. At this point in history, Hasbro was of the mentality that the movie line should be the only thing on shelves, meaning even if the other issues had been avoided, Transformers Animated would have still run into a brick wall around May 2009 when The Fallen took his revenge, and all the available shelfspace (or was that just Bumblebee?).

Transformers Animated, in the end, was a series perhaps fated to be a star burning half as long, but twice as bright.

Lasting impact

What we are here to do though is celebrate Transformers Animated, and as well as recognising its 42 well-written episodes, we can look at the lasting impact the show has had on Transformers as a whole. Speaking at Botcon 2009, Hasbro called the show the “benchmark” of quality for future Transformers shows – although it can be argued that nothing to have come since has truly lived up to the series.

Transformers Animated, unlike Beast Wars before it, did not really invent any new concepts which have since permeated the whole Transformers mythos. It was an “Ultimate Transformers”, a distillation of everything that made the preceding 25 years worth of stories enjoyable, rather than an innovator. But what it did do, it did extremely well, with detailed character arcs, memorable personalities, and even establishing the broad template for the membership of “Team Optimus Prime” – compare, if you will, with Transformers Prime who had 4/5 of the same characters on its core cast – with the fifth one, Prowl / Arcee both being stoic types who turned into motorcycles.

A selection of characters from Transformers Animated, and the later toy releases who were inspired by them.

Transformers Animated created some memorable characters, none more prominent than the Transformers answer to Boba Fett, Lockdown, who has gone on to appear in the IDW comics and served as the main antagonist of Transformers Age of Extinction, not only that but also having one of the best showdowns with the heroes to date in that movie. He has become established as a default choice of bounty hunter for the Transformers mythos. He also lays claim to an extensive number of toys, including several based on his Animated design in the Revenge of the Fallen line. 

Right there with Lockdown is Bulkhead, who went on to become one of the five main Autobots in Transformers Prime and one to make a cameo toward the end of the Robots in Disguise cartoon. Such is Bulkhead’s rise to prominence that we’d not be surprised if Bulkhead might also get some kind of a role in the upcoming Transformers Cyberverse series – perhaps as a friend to Bumblebee in the latter’s Cybertron days, much as Animated Bumblebee and Bulkhead were friends in the academy. Among the other Autobots, Animated established a different personality for Ratchet which again carried over to Transformers Prime, and potentially beyond, as well as establishing a warhammer as Ultra Magnus’ weapon of choice. 

On a lesser note, Lugnut has also become a character spreading beyond Transformers Animated, with a release in the Generations line and cameos in the IDW comics, as did the Animated interpretation of Blitzwing, at around the same time. Slipstream, the female Starscream clone, has also become the default concept for a female Seeker, with two different toys released over the last few years. We’re actually surprised she never made it into IDW’s comics – she might have been a good foil for Windblade.

With that being said, one thing we wish Animated had been able to carry on was the sense of threat that the Decepticons presented, by using them sparingly and offering up other, lesser threats such as human villains. Hasbro themselves are reported to have requested that human villains be taken out of the show to place more focus on the Decepticons, which unfortunately undermined the idea of making the Decepticons credible threats later in the show’s run, although they always outclassed the Autobots whenever they appeared. Human villains have been used considerably less since Transformers Animated, with even Transformers Prime downplaying its human antagonists considerably, and writing them out completely early in the second season. 

Will we see another like it?

So with all of this being said, the final question is, will we one day see another show which could rival Transformers Animated as a fan-favoured entry into the Transformers mythos? We’d say wholeheartedly, yes. There was no special circumstances that made Transformers Animated that could not be repeated right now, in fact. All it needs is for a team to make a show who care about the source material, treat it with respect, and put an interesting spin on it while also connecting with that identity that makes something undeniably Transformers. For all we know, Boulder Media could be about to do just that with Transformers Cyberverse.

Transformers Animated was an amazing series. While it did not get nearly the amount of love or retailer support it needed out of the gate to make the most of its run, it gave fans a Transformers show that was clever, well-written, that respected what made Transformers so enjoyable and that respected the wider mythos, while also giving its own presentational spin and creating some unique story arcs to accompany the show.

It is hard to believe ten years have passed since the show first aired. We’ll be rewatching some of our favorite episodes later today, will you join us?

Transformers Animated footage, with the full-length intro song. We hope the second verse will be used again in the future!

The post Happy 10th birthday, Transformers Animated! appeared first on Transformer World 2005 - TFW2005.COM.

Via Previews World we have our first look at the IDW Transformers VS Visionaries #4 Retailer Incentive Cover.

The cover, courtesy of artist Brendan Cahill, got a similar style of some previous Transformers Vs Visionaries covers we have seen before featuring one of the Visionaries next to a Transformer. This time we have Galadria with Wheeljack, and we can see they are a good combination for this art.

Transformers VS Visionaries #4

(W) Magdalene Visaggio (A) Fico Ossio (CA) Brendan Cahill

Leoric and Ironhide only have hours left to save Cybertron from destruction, while Virulina tries to harness the life energy of Leoric’s captured friends to accelerate the end. Now Leoric must somehow detonate the counter-wave bomb and rescue his people. And the clock is ticking.

In Shops: Mar 14, 2018

Don’t forget to grab your copy when it’s available and while you wait, you can check out the cover after the jump and then sound off at the 2005 Boards!

The post IDW Transformers VS Visionaries #4 Retailer Incentive Cover appeared first on Transformer World 2005 - TFW2005.COM.

TFW2005 friend and sponsor The Chosen Prime brings you their newsletter for this week. See the highlights below and then read on for the full listing!

Greetings and happy new year from The Chosen Prime!

We have a number of new arrivals and pre-orders available this week, presented below.

Let us know if there’s a particular figure you’re looking for that isn’t listed here or on the website. Happy shopping! 

LATEST PRE-ORDERS

   
Mastermind Creations R-33 COLLISUS
Estimated Release April 2018 
Dr. Wu M11 MERLIN
Estimated Release January 2018 
Dr. Wu M10 LANCELOT
Estimated Release January 2018 
Dr. Wu M09 ARTHUR
Estimated Release January 2018

   
Planet X PX-16 CHARON
Estimated Release February 2018 
Generation Toy GT-10 BW T-Beast APE
Estimated Release Q1 2018 
King Arts UFO GRENDIZER Super Robot
Estimated Release Q2 2018 
S.H. Figuarts Dragon Ball Z MAJIN-VEGETA
Estimated Release June 2018

   
Perfect Effect DX09 MEGA DORAGON
Estimated Release May 2018 
Perfect Effect PC-19B BLACK GORIRA JR 2-Pack 
Estimated Release April 2018 
ZetaToys ZB03 SILVER ARROW
Estimated Release 2018 
Storm Collectibles Mortal Kombat SHAO KAHN & THRONE (Special Edition)
Estimated Release February 2018

The post The Chosen Prime Newsletter for January 5, 2017 appeared first on Transformer World 2005 - TFW2005.COM.

Comics website Outright Geekery reports on a positive reception for the first issue of Transformers VS Visionaries (be warned, spoilers in the article). According to their information, the first issue that reintroduces the Visionaries (albeit in a new and different form) has sold out at a distributor level, prompting a second printing which is due to arrive on the same day that issue two of the five issue miniseries is due to arrive, January 31st.

It’s an interesting indicator of how much interest there is in bringing back one of Hasbro’s lesser known franchises, although fans of the original have complained that these new Visionaries have little to do with the originals. Time will tell if as the Visionaries become a larger part of IDW’s Hasbroverse if they will take on more attributes of their classic incarnations.

The post Transformers VS Visionaries 1 Second Printing coming end of January 2018 appeared first on Transformer World 2005 - TFW2005.COM.

Thanks to 2005 Boards member Nevermore we can report that Transformers Titans Return Legends Wave 4 Us Finally Out At German Retail.

After a long wait, Titans Return Legends wave 4 Brawn and Roadburn were found at Real inside the Kronenberg Center in Essen-Altendorf. It has been a long wait but these great little molds made their way into shelves.

Happy hunting for all German fans. Keep reporting all you sightings around the world at the 2005 Boards!

The post Transformers Titans Return Legends Wave 4 Out At German Retail appeared first on Transformer World 2005 - TFW2005.COM.

Toy Fair Season is just around the corner and we have started to receive information from exhibitors regarding what they will bring onto the show floor for the year 2018.

Hong Kong Toys And Games Fair 2018 is the first fair to bring us our first look at the new toys. During the 2017 edition of the fair, we received our first look at Movie Masterpiece Bumblebee and Shadow Spark Optimus Prime from Transformers: The Last Knight.

Simba Dickie was previously known to bring Bumblebee: The Movie die-cast vehicles and RC cars to Hong Kong Toys And Games Fair. But, we learned yesterday that the toys will be showcased at this year’s Nuremberg (Germany) Toy Fair instead.  However, the aforementioned toys will be on display at the Simba Toys Kowloon, Hong Kong City Office. We reached out to the company for further information and are yet to hear back from them.

Additionally, we are yet to hear from Hasbro regarding their participation as well. Since China is a huge market for the company, it is likely that we’ll see something from them. By the time this post went live, the company is not yet listed as a registered exhibitor for the show. We will update you with any new development.

Soap Studio will also be returning this year to the expo at booth 1D-E16, ED-TSO with their 4″ Megatron and Optimus Prime. More information regarding the toys can be found after the jump.

Hong Kong Toys And Games Fair is one of the few fairs that will allow photography of the toys prior to New York Toy Fair and therefore we may see new Transformers toys tomorrow; on January 8th. The show will continue until January 11th at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center.

Soap Studio b.wing X Transformer 4″ Figure – Megatron

Unit Price: US$ 16.50

Product Highlight: Characters designed by b.wing Non-scale articulated figure with stand included Approximately 100mm in height Accessories include Flail, Optimus Prime doll, paddle balls, energy cubes, stand Head and joints are movable

Whats in the box: Megatron x1, Flail x1, Optimus Prime doll x1, paddle balls x2, energy cubes x1, stand x1

Soap Studio b.wing X Transformer 4″ Figure – Optimus Prime

Unit Price: US$ 16.50

Product Highlight: Characters designed by b.wing Non-scale articulated figure with stand included Approximately 100mm in height Accessories include : Bumblebee car, trolley, axe (Kendama), gun, stand Axe is a Kendama; accessories can be put in trolley Head and joints are movable.

Whats in the box: Optimus Prime x1, Bumblebee car x1, trolley x1, axe (Kendama)x1, gun x1, stand x1

The post TFW2005 Toy Fair Guides: Transformers Toys And Merchandise At Hong Kong Toys And Games Fair 2018 appeared first on Transformer World 2005 - TFW2005.COM.

Hasbro has updated their official corporate website with our best look yet at several character renders from their new Transformers: Evergreen designs.

The images feature Starscream, Grimlock, Bumblebee and Megatron.

Transformers: Evergreen is a concept initiated by Hasbro to push character designs across various licensed products and services without any attachment to existing Transformers product lines such as movies, cartoons or comics.

For the task, Hasbro hired several prominent artists to design the characters. Evergreen desings recently started popping up on products such as Fidget Spinners, Go-Karts, Candy, Books, Piñata, IDW Comic Book Covers and even on Carnival Cruise Costumes.

More importantly, the Evergreen designs became the basis of Transformers: Authentics toyline and highly stylized versions of the designs seems to be the foundation for Transformers: Cyberverse; an upcoming animated series by Boulder Media Studio.

We took the liberty of extracting the images from the site and the renders are available for you, after the jump.

The post Better Look At Transformers: Evergreen Character Renders appeared first on Transformer World 2005 - TFW2005.COM.

TFW2005 Friend and Sponsor Ages Three And Up have sent through their latest newsletter. Check out some highlights below and hit the links to see it all!

Latest Arrivals

Diaclone Reboot -DA-13 Powered System Dirt Loader
Diaclone Reboot -DA-12 Powered System Gyroseptor
MP-39 Masterpiece Sunstreaker
Transformers Generations Power of The Primes – Legends Wave 1 – Set of 4
Mastermind Creations – Reformatted R-26 -Malum Malitia
Takara Transformers Legends – LG56 Perceptor
Perfect Effect – PC-18 Perfect Combiner God Jinrai Upgrade Kit
MP-36 – Masterpiece Megatron
Transformers Generations Power of The Primes – Deluxe Wave 1 – Set of 4
Takara Transformers Legends – LG57 Octane

See All Latest Arrivals

Latest Pre-orders

Perfect Effect – PC-22 Power of the Primes Starscream Upgrade Set
Perfect Effect – PC-21 Power of the Primes Dinobots Upgrade Set
Mastermind Creations – Reformatted R-33 Collisus
Transformers Generations Power of The Primes – Leader Optimus Prime
Transformers Generations Power of The Primes – Leader Rodimus Prime
Generation Toy – Guardian – GT-08D Motor
Generation Toy – Guardian – GT-08C Bulance
Generation Toy – Guardian – GT-08B Copter
Generation Toy – Guardian – GT-08A Sergeant
Generation Toy – GT-10 BW T-Beast

See All Latest Pre-orders

Arriving Soon

Flame Toys – Transformers Drift
Fans Hobby – Master Builder MB-06 Power Baser
MP-15E and MP-16E Masterpiece Cassettebot and Cassettetron Set Exlusive
DX9 – D11 Richthofen

See All Upcoming Arrivals

The post Ages Three And Up Newsletter 01/07/2018 appeared first on Transformer World 2005 - TFW2005.COM.

Artist Ken Christiansen has shared more of his Combiner Wars Packaging Art this week and we collect them for your viewing pleasure in our forums.

The images were shared via Ken Christiansen’s Facebook account as usual and we can appreciate the full and complete body art of Stunticon Motormaster which completes all CW Stunticons packaging art so far. There’s more than meets the eye this week since Ken has started sharing images of the CW Protectobots Hot Spot, Blades and First Aid so we should expect the rest of the group in the next days.

You can find our previous round ups below where you can find the art of:

– Here you have the art of Aerialbots Air Raid and Firefly and the rest of the Stunticon group: Dragstrip, Breakdown, Offroad and Dead End.

– Here we have the sketches of Combiner Wars Silverbolt and Optimus Prime.

– Here you can check out art of Sky Dive and Alpha Bravo Packaging Art.

You can find the new images of this week after the jump and then you can sound off your impressions at the 2005 Boards!

The post Sketches of Combiner Wars Packaging Art by Ken Christiansen Round Up appeared first on Transformer World 2005 - TFW2005.COM.

Thanks to our friends of Transformers @ The Moon for sharing more of their deleted audio tapes from the Transformers G1 cartoon. These never-before-heard audios are from the episodes The Ultimate Doom Part 3 & Countdown To Extinction.

Here’s what TF@TM tells us about these clips:

“First up is a very short video of The Ultimate Doom Part 3. Very little was cut from the slugged tape that my brother and I own, but what there was you can now hear”.

“Then there are over 5 minutes covering Countdown to Extinction. Always one of my favorite episodes. 12 characters have additional lines in this audio which is also from a slugged tape meaning that it has been timed to the storyboard. You’ll get to hear Optimus Prime like you never have before”.

We have included both clips for your listening pleasure below, and then you can sound off what you think of this great piece of Transformers history at the 2005 Boards!

The post Transformers G1: The Ultimate Doom Part 3 & Countdown To Extinction Deleted and Extended Audio appeared first on Transformer World 2005 - TFW2005.COM.

In what has possibly been the longest tease we are pleased to inform you that the Titans Return figure that was first available at HasbroToyShop.com and announced at New York Comic Con 2017, the deluxe Titans Return Grotusuque with Scorponok, is FINALLY available to purchase at ToysRUs.com.

The figure had been placed on the website for some time now but unavailable to order. We have successfully placed an order tonight. The figure is limited to 1 per customer, as quantities are limited. Get your orders in if you haven’t yet purchased this figure!

Click here to order Titans Return Grotusque from ToysRUs.com!

The post Titans Return Grotusque Now Available to Purchase at ToysRUs.com appeared first on Transformer World 2005 - TFW2005.COM.

Holding to a nice pattern in recent weeks, we are privileged to share another insightful interview with the legendary voice of Optimus Prime while awaiting the latest episode of Machinima’s Titans Return. This time around, Peter Cullen gives valuable advice to future voice actors, touches upon the endurance of the Transformers brand and recalls the experiences of auditioning for both the original Generation 1 series and the Michael Bay films. Imagine yourself as Laserbeak witnessing this scene!

I had to audition a total of three times, they weren’t quite convinced. I don’t blame them, because at the audition Michael asked me if I played any other characters and I said yes, I played Ironhide and Ironhide had a scene with Optimus Prime. There was a girl reading Ironhide not giving it any dimension. I assumed that Michael Bay was at least aware of some of these characters so I said “if you don’t mind I’d like to read that part, I did him two and half years on the television series.” She said ok. (Cullen breaks into the Ironhide voice) “aww come on Prime, lets kick some butt!” Going back and forth between the two characters, I could see Michael Bay was going to be a little bit concerned. “Is this guy gonna give me a cartoon interpretation of this new multimillion dollar movie, or is he going to be able to act the part?” So in retrospect I probably shouldn’t have done Ironhide, because I did have to go back the next time and prove I really could act. I haven’t told that story in awhile.

Read the entire interview here, then share your impressions on the 2005 boards!

The post Peter Cullen Interview: Over 30 Years of Voicing Optimus Prime appeared first on Transformer World 2005 - TFW2005.COM.

Courtesy of Weibo user 爆料人小明, we now have a better look at Studio Series Voyager Class Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen Megatron. Previously, we saw only a partially concealed teaser of this figure, but now we are treated to its full glory.

This Voyager Class toy is based on the Decepticon tyrant’s appearance on the second movie of the Live Action Movie Series by director Michael Bay. As we learned previously, this new toy comes with a cardboard background depicting ‘Forest Fight’; series’ most beloved action sequence. Voyager Megatron’s bio is as follows:

“Megatron holds nothing back to unleash destruction against his ultimate nemesis”.

Megatron transforms in 32 Steps.

You can check out the new image, after the jump.

The post Transformers Studio Series Voyager Class Megatron Fully Revealed appeared first on Transformer World 2005 - TFW2005.COM.