Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Trivia / Transformers

Go To

1!!Franchise-wide trivia:
2* Once per series:
3** Optimus Prime learns how to fly: G1, Beast Wars, Cybertron, Animated, Revenge of the Fallen, Prime
4** Optimus Prime dies (usually sacrificing himself, and usually coming {{back|FromTheDead}}). In fact, this happens ''so'' [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/The_many_deaths_of_Optimus_Prime often]], it's easier to list the series where this ''doesn't'' happen: ''Anime/TransformersRobotsInDisguise'' '01, (though it nearly happens in the last episode), ''WesternAnimation/TransformersRescueBots'', ''WesternAnimation/TransformersRobotsInDisguise2015'' '15 and ''ComicBook/TransformersShatteredGlass'' (where, since it's a MirrorUniverse, this happens to Megatron instead).
5** Megatron becomes Galvatron: G1, Robots in Disguise, Unicron Trilogy (and we mean ''every subseries'' of the Unicron Trilogy[[note]]Done for trademark reasons, according to Aaron Archer. It wasn't as much of an issue in Japan: ''Armada'' Megatron/Galvatron was ''Micron Legend'' Megatron/Megatron SuperMode; ''Energon'' Megs/Galv was ''Super Link'' Galvatron/Galvatron General; and the ''Cybertron'' version was ''Galaxy Force'' Master Megatron/Master Galvatron - Takara didn't originally intend for ''Galaxy Force'' to be in the same continuity.[[/note]]), Age of Extinction, Shattered Glass
6*** A technicality with Prime- Megatron is resurrected and given an upgraded body by Unicron, the standard Galvatron origin, but he's never referred to as such. A single toy of this form just called it "Unicron Megatron"
7** Starscream comes back from the dead: G1, Beast Wars, Unicron Trilogy, Animated
8** Waspinator blows up: Beast Wars, Beast Machines, Animated
9** Someone makes an evil Optimus clone: G1, Robots in Disguise, Energon, Beast Wars II, Prime, Age of Extinction [[note]]When the humans in Age of Extinction make Galvatron, they specifically say that they're designing him to look like Optimus Prime; Galvatron keeps reprogramming himself to resemble his old body. He keeps Optimus' truck vehicle form though.[[/note]]
10** Unicron Appears: G1, (technically) Beast Wars, Armada, Energon, Prime, Beast Wars Neo, Rise of the Beasts
11** Transformer with a human for their alternate mode: Masterforce, [[spoiler:Animated]], Revenge of the Fallen.
12* If you were to play every ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' opening theme ever made back to back, it would take just shy of 40 minutes to complete.
13** If you just watched the English intros of every main Transformers cartoon, it would still take over thirteen and a half minutes.
14* AdaptationOverdosed: The AdaptationSequence below speaks for itself.
15* AdaptationSequence: Toys --> [[ComicBook/TheTransformersMarvel Comic]] --> [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformers Cartoon]] --> [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformersTheMovie Animated movie]] --> [[WesternAnimation/BeastWars Sequel]] [[WesternAnimation/BeastMachines cartoons]] --> [[Anime/TransformersRobotsInDisguise Reboot]] [[Anime/UnicronTrilogy cartoons]] --> [[ComicBook/TransformersGenerationOne Lots]] [[ComicBook/TheTransformersAllHailMegatron lots]] [[ComicBook/TheTransformersLastStandOfTheWreckers more]] [[ComicBook/TheTransformersIDW comics]] --> [[Film/Transformers2007 First live-action movie]] --> [[WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated Another reboot cartoon]] --> [[Franchise/TransformersTimelines Even more comics, and prose]] --> [[Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen Second live-action movie]] --> [[VideoGame/TransformersWarForCybertron Video game]] --> [[Literature/TransformersExodus More prose]] --> [[WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime Slightly video game/movie-based reboot cartoon]] --> [[Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon Third live-action movie]] --> [[WesternAnimation/TransformersRescueBots Spin-off to the previous cartoon]] --> [[Film/TransformersAgeOfExtinction Fourth live-action movie]] --> [[WesternAnimation/TransformersRobotsInDisguise Another sequel cartoon]] --> [[Film/TransformersTheLastKnight Fifth live-action movie]] --> [[WesternAnimation/TransformersCyberverse Yet another reboot]] --> [[Film/{{Bumblebee}} Movie reboot (we think)]] --> [[WesternAnimation/TransformersRescueBotsAcademy Sequel to spin-off]]
16** And that's not even counting all the minor stuff!
17* DummiedOut: Some of the Transformers' toys have the clear/translucent plastic for lightpiping in their heads painted over, disabling that feature. Others may have the vestiges for integrated weaponry, like missile launchers, but lack the springs or mechanisms for actually loading or firing them.
18* ExecutiveMeddling: Tons and tons and tons, relating to marketing and the usual reasons. For example: the GrandFinale to Creator/SimonFurman's MythArc comic series was cut from 12 issues to 4 so that IDW could publish ''All Hail Megatron'' instead.
19* InconsistentDub: The Latin American and ''even the European Spanish'' dubs, ''all the way'': Due to the fact Hasbro wanted to dub the Spanish versions in the U.S. for having more control about the dubbing (This is was during G1, the animated movie and the Japanese Anime versions, mind you), all the Spanish language versions (including the European one) were sometimes dubbed by a Spanish-language studio in Los Angeles. The main problem with this approach is, due of consideration about the Spaniard viewers, especially in the Anime versions, some series were dubbed using the European Spanish dialect, but keeping the local accents ''intact'': Not only the Latin American viewers had to tolerate a very fake Spaniard accent, but the Spaniards had to tolerate a ridiculous Spaniard dialogue with ''[[NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent Mexican and Central American accents.]]''
20** In fact, Mexican voice acting studios only dubbed a very small amount of ''Transformers'' stuff: The ''Beast Wars''/''Beast Machines'' series, ''Prime'', ''Robots in Disguise'' and the live-action films. Other countries that dubbed the rest of the TF series were: Chile (''Animated'') and Venezuela (The Unicron Trilogy).
21** While the Mexican dub of ''Beast Wars'' was pretty good, it was panned for changing the names of all the characters to Spanish equivalents. This was corrected later in ''Beast Machines''' dub.
22* TheMerch: Aside from the toys, there's also OfficialCosplayGear.
23* NoExportForYou: Many Japanese things haven't been officially released in the US such as ''Scramble City: Mobilization'' and the only episode of ''Transformers: Zone'' due to Toei being notoriously difficult to work with, ''VideoGame/TransformersCallOfTheFuture'' even though all of the dialogue is in English and ''Anime/TransformersGo'' due to the fact that it doesn't fit anywhere into the Aligned timeline and wound up being ignored in Japan due to the release of ''WesternAnimation/TransformersRobotsInDisguise2015'' which started with Optimus dead unlike in ''Transformers: Go!''
24* OldShame: In TheNewTens, the franchise has started to phase out the OneGenderRace aspect of the Cybertronian people, and has introduced more female (and even transgender) characters; quite notably, while older works often felt the need to explain the very existence of female transformers, nowadays they simply exist in the setting without any questions asked. This likely stems from the RunningTheAsylum aspect of the franchise, the growing female fanbase, and as a response to the perception that female bots tended to be present only as the TokenMinority and/or to give the male characters [[HaveIMentionedIamHeterosexualToday female love interests]] - not to mention that adding them in from the get-go is easier than coming up with convoluted reasons for their low numbers (Looking at you, [[ComicBook/TheTransformersIDW IDW Arcee]]).
25* PromotedFanboy: Benson Yee, frequent convention visitor and operator of a popular [[http://www.bwtf.com Transformers web site]]. He was approached on ''Generation One'' expertise for ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' and received a "Consultant" credit on certain episodes.)
26** Then there's Don Figueroa, who built his own meter-tall custom Transformers from scratch before becoming a fan-favorite artist and toy designer.
27*** And [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Fandom#Fans_gone_official even more promoted fans]] beyond that.
28* RunningTheAsylum: Arguably, it's one of the few series that has benefited from it.
29* ShowAccuracyToyAccuracy: Rather famous in the original toyline, as the repurposed toy molds were from stories of piloted (not sentient) mecha and transforming defense bases. Ratchet and Ironhide ([[PaletteSwap repaints of each other]]) weren't even humanoid in their alternate forms. Even ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' had to take some liberties with the character models as the toys would have to cheat to be workable with both modes. Because of the lead time necessary for the movie line compared to the actual movie many of the toys are based on earlier designs and not the final character design, although by the third film most every character had a reasonably screen-accurate toy. ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' was the first series to feature genuine cooperation between the character designers and the toy developers, resulted in extremely screen accurate toys.
30* TrendKiller: During the 80s, there were several "transforming vehicles" lines on the market, like the big two of 1983's ''WesternAnimation/ChallengeOfTheGobots'' and 1984's ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'', 1985's ''WesternAnimation/{{MASK}}'' and ''WesternAnimation/JayceAndTheWheeledWarriors'', and 1986's ''WesternAnimation/{{Centurions}}''. By 1987, ''Transformers'' were the top dog, but already suffering from declining sales, at least part of which was thanks to the debut of the ''WesternAnimation/{{Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles|1987}}''[[note]]Another big factor was the lack of a concurrently airing cartoon to help sell the characters and thus the toys[[/note]]. By 1990, the Transformers toyline died with a whimper, taking the concept of transforming vehicles as a key point of a toyline with them. The Transformers franchise would make a comeback thanks to the [[Film/TransformersFilmSeries Michael Bay films]], but "transforming vehicles" as a whole haven't been so widespread since.
31* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Many, many toys and concepts end up being discarded - from G1 alone, we have characters originally being named differently (e.g. Swoop was to be named "Divebomb" before the name was later repurposed for the Predacon bird), a planned Unicron toy and ''two'' planned Arcee toys for the original toyline, an axed rerelease of the original Megatron toy in a blue/orange deco (dubbed "Lava Megatron" by Hasbro and "Safety Megatron" by fans), two Megatron triple changers ([[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/File:Megalvatron.jpg one that switched between Megatron, Galvatron and a gun]] and [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/File:Skywarpatron.jpg another between Megatron, Skywarp and a plane]] and many, many more. See [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Unreleased_toy here]] for more.
32----
33
34!!Trivia for [[Pinball/{{Transformers}} the pinball game]]:
35* LimitedSpecialCollectorsUltimateEdition: The Limited Edition tables, which cost nearly $2,000 over the regular "Pro" model, and were produced in limited quantities (125 for each faction, and 500 of the "Combo" version).

Top