Line #102 YMMV/Transformers


1	''For the 2007 movie of the same name, see YMMV/Transformers2007''.
2
3	[[AC:[[Franchise/{{Transformers}} Franchise-wide items]]]]
4	* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Very common amongst the various universes and incarnations, both in-universe and out. Quite a few people view the Decepticons as [[WellIntentionedExtremist Well-Intentioned Extremists]] and the Autobots as a [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans peaceful but oppressive group]]. The series has had a long history of varying morality to it, with each version differing on just how good or evil the Autobots and Decepticons are. The general official stance nowadays seems to be this: Autobots are flawed but are largely good and the Decepticons are extremists who kick the dog a lot and are more often than not [[FantasticRacism unabashedly racist towards other races]].
5	* AlternateSelfShipping: There's numerous fanart and fanfic of transformers (usually Autobots) somehow running into their Shattered Glass counterparts and getting... screwed.
6	* AmericansHateTingle:
7	** Though it's not outright despised by any means, Japan's relationship with ''Transformers'' has been far more mixed than America's. This is mainly because ''Transformers'' is very much out-of-step with the traditional tropes of the {{mecha}} genre: most SuperRobot shows have themes of empowerment and HumansAreSpecial, which Transformers don't have since they lack pilots and come from an alien world with no human involvement, and most MerchandiseDriven boy-aimed toylines place far more focus on the good guys than the bad guys (to the point that the bad guys often don't get toys at all), when ''Transformers'' has always kept the two on relatively equal footing. Consequently, Japanese-aimed media tends to just shrug and treat the whole thing as an outright farce aimed at small children, with GagDub reworks and goofy spinoffs, and more than a few shows and toylines that did reasonably good business in America outright bombed in Japan (''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' being the most noteworthy).
8	** On the other end of the spectrum, one idea common in the Japanese side of the brand is Transformers that turn into bullet trains: see the Trainbots, Team Bullet Train, Sixliner, and Optimus Exprime. In Japan, being a RailEnthusiast is borderline mainstream, and the country's heavy and widely-used public transit is something of a point of pride. In America, it's niche at best, and public transit is much less central, with the ''shinkansen''-style bullet train being almost unheard of. The Trainbots were the only combiner team Hasbro never bothered to import in ''G1'', Team Bullet Train (despite being well-liked by fans) sold poorly enough that its ''Universe'' redeco was cancelled, and in general, the only train-based character to feature in American-made media is Astrotrain, who is a Triple Changer and [[SteamNeverDies typically doesn't turn into a modern train.]] Conversely, when Takara started working on a series with no intention for it to be broadcast in America, they made ''[[Anime/ShinkansenHenkeiRoboShinkalion Shinkalion]]'', a series about ''nothing but'' robots that turn into bullet trains. This meant that when Takara announced that the first ''Masterpiece''-style combiner team would be the G1 Trainbots, Japanese fans were enthusiastic, while American fans were baffled.
9	* ArchivePanic: The [[https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Generation_1_continuity_family Generation 1 continuity family]] ''alone'' has a ridiculously long list of media.
10	* BaseBreakingCharacter: There's a whole cavalcade of characters, many of whom cause strong emotions in people.
11	** Bumblebee. Intially, he was a decently popular character, [[KidAppealCharacter especially among children]], until the movies expanded his role and introduced him to a wider audience. His unexpectedly good reception, which rivalled that of Optimus Prime himself, caused Hasbro give him a heavy presence in later series. This led to backlash from people who wanted Hasbro to give some focus to other neglected characters, which the movies were guilty of downplaying in favor of Bumblebee. Combine this with his movie characterization [[RetCanon becoming the norm]] for later adaptations and you've got oversaturation of a character that had strayed too far from the source material.
12	** Unicron, he's either a fearsome GodOfEvil that provides neat EnemyMine situations or the biggest GenericDoomsdayVillain the franchise has to offer. There's also his robot mode, which is either awesome or makes no sense (why does a planet that can eat planets whole need to turn into a robot that loses this ability?).
13	** The Classics Seeker Mold. When the Classics launched to fan acclaim, the Classics Seeker mold was considered the de-facto mold for the Seekers, updating the animation models with modern technology to produce Starscream and the rest of his posse, the retools even giving the Coneheads accurate functional toys. However now fans question if the mold has been overused; with Hasbro churning out figure after figure of obscure Seekers or special edition Starscreams (and that's not getting into the accusations of mold degradation from repeated uses). While the mold was eventually retired fans are split between the argument over whether it was one of the best uses of a mold with so many G1 accurate figures from it, or whether it was an overdone mold whose age shows in its mid 2000s tooling.
14	*** The ''Earthrise'' voyager seeker eventually replaced it, but that toy itself caused fandom headaches as, out of 8 uses of the toy, only ONE of them (Starscream) was sold at general retail. The rest were limited exclusives, with production further hindered by the COVID crisis, causing some of them to be scalped online for $100 or more apiece.
15	** Action Masters. The last wave of G1, they were widely blamed for killing the franchise (the line was on its last legs long before then, so this is admittedly unlikely), and their mere status as "[[OxymoronicBeing Transformers that don't transform]]" largely guaranteed they'd be disliked simply for abandoning the franchise's main gimmick. However, they have picked up some pretty strong defenders who argue that Action Masters had their own charm (they were some of the more posable and screen-accurate toys of the era, and did come with transforming accessories), and the Action Master ''characters'' seem to be well-liked enough. The concept was also VindicatedByHistory somewhat when other sublines showed that "remove transformation to focus the budget on making one really awesome robot mode" was actually a concept that could work really well.
16	** Alpha Bravo, Offroad, and Rook. Many fans see them as [[ReplacementScrappy Replacement Scrappies]] for Slingshot, Wildrider, and Groove of the Aerialbots, Stunticons, and Protectobots respectively while others believe that they bring variety to the teams in Alpha Bravo and Offroad's case.[[note]]Being the sole helicopter on a team of jets and the 2nd truck on a team of (mostly) cars respectively.[[/note]] In Rook's case, many of his defenders state that it is more logical for a [=SWAT=] vehicle than a motorcycle (that has to be made larger) to make up a limb of a gestalt, despite not usually being a problem otherwise. Further, unlike Alpha Bravo and Offroad, Rook only replaces a limb, as Groove is still on the team, just relegated to a chest piece. Not to mention Rook is considered one of the best Combiner Wars molds in his own right.
17	*** While this is averted with the Combiner Wars version of the Combaticons, many fans are not happy with Blast Off's appearance as a redeco of Quickslinger (aka Slingshot) instead of his iconic appearance as a space shuttle and that the low-flying AV-8B Harrier jet in particular is a poor fit for the character, since his entire personality and name is about being physically and in his mind metaphorically above other robots. Others argue that his new appearance is more practical for someone who is part of the ''Combat''icons, again, despite not being an issue otherwise.
18	*** Even if some fans don't mind Blast Off's alt-mode, others have found contention with the use of Slingshot's head instead of Firefly's despite the two of them being mold mates and Firefly's head being closer to Blastoff's in appearance due to having a mouthplate. Others think the Quickslinger's visor is a better approximation of Blast Off's visor, and that is the more important feature.
19	** Generations Devastator: the return of the original combiner was divisive to say the least. One side loves him, as a massive solid figure, and the perfect recreation of the green giant whose flaws pale in comparison to how good it is. The other side takes issue with all the sacrifices made to achieve the mold such as hollow plastic, and dumbing down the Constructicons themselves to get a better Devy (most infamously are the elbows, with Hook and Mixmaster's being uncomfortably thin, Long Haul's elbows only bend sideways, and Scrapper has no elbows). There is also the matter of Mixmaster's vehicle type being changed so that the mixer faces forward, leaving Devastator's foot as the smaller back engine block rather than the cab section, a change some have questioned since the other five remained faithful to their original designs. His size is either praised for giving him the towering presence he deserves, or criticized for not being in scale with all the other combiners (being half a foot taller than them). Then there's his price tag of a solid $160, with his parts sold in box set. Some feel this is an acceptable price for such a massive popular toy, others feel Devy should have been smaller and more affordable.
20	*** The Unite Warriors release in Japan then went and gave the toys proper elbow joints- one common fan defense of Scrapper's arms was that they "had to" be straight for stability, yet Tomy's retool handled it just the same. The set also included individual guns, though did not change Mixmaster's design. It was, however, a lot more expensive to import. Hasbro's decision to use the original toolings for the late 2020 reissue again brought up the fan debates.
21	** The Thirteen as a concept are known to spark debates. Fans enjoy them for their cosmic importance and grandeur, their beautiful character designs, and the mythic scale they add to Cybertron and its origins. Detractors find the lore and stories attached to them to be decidedly underwhelming and the Thirteen themselves bland StockGods without much to care about. That they tend to show up a ''lot'' from the beginning of Aligned onward and have gotten into more than one ContinuitySnarl only makes the debate louder. (And let's not even get into the idea of Optimus being one of them...)
22	** Primus, rounding off the divine figures of the lore: he's either the heart of the larger mythos who deserves respect as a creator deity should and gives the franchise a genuine scope and gravity beyond just war stories and cartoon antics and an awesome planet-sized robot to boot, or an utterly bland entity who's barely even a character at all, whose larger mythos only serves to crowd out the actual interesting stuff, and who doesn't even have the decency to be [[EvilIsCool cool like his brother]]. Creators have gone back and forth between positioning him at the center of the cosmos to proclaiming that he straight-up doesn't exist. Not helping things further is that the most prominent form of him in recent years, [[spoiler:[[ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye Rung]]]], is ''radically'' [[DoingInTheWizard different from the standard take]]--either this is the only time since his introduction that Primus has been remotely interesting, or it's a slap in the face to the whole concept. The one thing people universally agree on is that his ''Anime/TransformersCybertron'' toy was pretty great.
23	%% ** Optimus Prime has become divisive in later years, mostly because of his {{Flanderization}} from a baritone FatherToHisMen to an IncorruptiblePurePureness robo-Jesus who has lost [[TheStoic his ability to emote]]. One group feels he should always be portrayed as the BigGood who would never do anything morally questionable in ''any'' situation, while others feel this simply makes him incredibly boring, especially since historically people have reacted [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks very vocally]] if he's either portrayed as anything other than a perfect leader or replaced by someone else who isn't as morally upstanding as Optimus is. Not helping matters is that even the G1 version had his morally questionable moments[[note]]Willing to bury the Dinobots alive because their initial reaction to sentience was to attack the Autobots, his clear intent to execute Megatron in the movie before Hot Rod intervened, etc.[[/note]] that are often ignored while the moral grayness of other versions is criticized for being DarkerAndEdgier and/or OutOfCharacter, and his tendency to [[DeathIsCheap "die" before eventually being brought back]] having become extremely predictable over time. In short, Optimus Prime is either an unreplaceable face of the franchise who some writers just don't understand, or a bunch of goodness tropes pretending to be a character that has become TheArtifact kept alive by NostalgiaFilter.
24	* BrokenBase: It's a franchise steaming past 30 years so there's bound to be divisions.
25	** Repaints and Retools. Due to cost reasons, toys are frequently repainted and in some cases altered (most prominently given a new head) and sold as another character. This has been going on since the beginning of the franchise and it causes a bit of consternation. On the one hand, many repaints go on to be accepted as their own character and fans happily anticipate the mold's reuse; the Seekers are the biggest example of this. On the other hand certain fans feel the practice is lazy and extensive use of repaints can decay the mold used to create the toy leaving later produced figures more prone to breaking. In addition there are the outliers who feel other characters are more deserving of remolds than some of the ones chosen. Finally there's the issue of factory errors. If a figure has a design flaw and the retool doesn't fix it, fans are left with two toys with the same problem (such is the case of Generations Blitzwing's infamous shoulder flaw that carried over to his retool, Doubledealer).
26	** The more mystical aspects of Transformers lore, are they out of place or do they fit in well with the sci-fi? Such a debate plagues even the writers and toy designers.
27	** When toylines are released which makes the better figure/gives the better paint job: Hasbro or Takara? Adding onto that, many opinions, both positive and negative, of the color scheme or toy designs seem to heavily depend if they're "[[NostalgiaFilter G1-Accurate]]."
28	** RIRFIB and FIRRIB: what colors are Rumble and Frenzy? Due to switching them for the cartoon Rumble (whose toy was red) became blue and Frenzy (whose toy was blue) became the red one. The Japanese dub of G1 switched the character names so they would match their toys, and since then the debate has taken off reaching memetic levels and producing countless jokes. Different comic series, books, video games, all assign colors to them and there's no set consistency. The Tfwiki has a humorous [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/FIRRIB article]] on it. One of the few consensus on the matter is that ComicBook/TheTransformersIDW made a mistake by making Rumble red and Frenzy blue, and then changing it around for no reason before changing it back, confusing everyone.
29	** How should the toys be designed? Stickers vs. Paint Applications, and with the stickers, self applied vs. factory applied? It all depends on which you think will last longer, what looks better, whether or not you think applying them just gives room for error. Balljoints vs. Ratchets? Articulation is a must, but which provides smoother movement? Which one lasts longer? Which one is more prone to errors in quality control?
30	** The "Ask Vector Prime" feature, which ran on the official Website/{{Facebook}} page from April 2015 to February 2016. The feature allowed fans to ask questions of writer Jim Sorenson, in-character as GuardianOfTheMultiverse Vector Prime, with the answers becoming part of official ''Transformers'' canon. Fans are split on if it was a clever way to resolve mysteries that likely would have no answers otherwise (like the names and fates of minor characters) or a sad excuse for fans to add their own FanWank to canon by asking leading questions of Vector Prime. In particular, a large edit war erupted on Website/TFWikiDotNet when Vector Prime was asked a series of questions that resulted in ''WesternAnimation/ChallengeOfTheGoBots'' (an old competitor of the Transformers brand that it later bought out) being officially added to ''Transformers'' canon, and how the Wiki should address this.
31	** Primus vs. Quintessons: Some fans prefer the Marvel Comics origin which says that Cybertron is a shell around an ancient god named Primus, with Unicron also being an ancient god. Primus created the Transformers as a means to fight Unicron some day. Others prefer the cartoon origin which says the Quintessons colonized a dead asteroid, building a mechanical factory planet on it, and building the Transformers as mere consumer goods to be sold to alien races. The machines eventually developed intelligence and ran their creators off to escape slavery. Unicron is also a giant WMD created by the monkey-like alien Primacron, merely an oversized robot that became too powerful for its creator to control. Fans of the former prefer its mythic scope and scale and the cosmic conflicts it inspires, and lambast the Quintesson origin as silly, boring, and mundane, while fans of the latter find Primus and his lore to be stuffy and self-important, and prefer the idea that the Transformers are just robots and don't need a cosmic purpose. There's also a third faction that believes that, while the Primus origin isn't necessarily ''bad'', it's become massively overused in new continuities and should be retired
32	** "Third Party" Transformers toys made by unlicensed companies. Not the typical bootleg toys, mind you -- new toys designed to mimic or update franchise characters, add-on sets for existing toys, etc. The mentality behind these is "if they won't make it officially, WE will!". This can range anywhere from unofficial Masterpiece toys(we have seen 3P toys based on Mirage and various other characters that have yet to see official toys, and Shockwave had TWO unofficial updates before the official release!), IDW characters or designs that may not get official toys, or "artist interpretation" designs. The fandom is highly split on this issue because of the legality(these toys are being made with no license or permission) with some taking a strong pro-corporate stance and others going with the "if Hasbro won't make it, I'll buy from someone who will" line of thought, or just liking how the third party figures aren't as restricted by the budget and safety concerns of official figures. Hasbro themselves have been unusually quiet on the issue, taking no real legal action against these companies(granted, many of them are located in China which could make things difficult, and some new designs are so different that Hasbro may have little legal ground -- considering they themselves often do unauthorized homages in their toy lines. One exception was an unofficial Unicron figure that was announced when Hasbro announced a backer-funded Unicron figure and understandably didn't want the unofficial alternative to hurt their campaign), failing to go after online stores that carry them, etc, with a sort of "we're okay with add-on kits that require buying our toys" quiet approval of that part of the market. However, Takara HAS gone after online retailers, at least in Asia, and the management of Botcon was very strict about not allowing ANY such toys at the conventions (including threats to confiscate any toys people bring, even personal copies -- which they may have no actual legal authority to do).
33	** The Masterpiece line has created a few major broken bases:
34	*** The first is MP-01 Optimus Prime vs. MP-10 Optimus Prime. Proponents of MP-01 consider it the best Transformer ever, loaded with gimmicks, articulation, and a great deal of die-cast giving it a fantastic heft. Those that like MP-10 more think MP-01 is overrated, the die-cast detracts from the figure, its alt-mode is terrible, and MP-10's proportions are better.
35	*** Beginning with MP-27 Ironhide, Takara's design philosophy on Masterpieces have torn the fandom asunder. Basically, Takara has begun making the figures look as animation-accurate as possible. While you wouldn't think that this would be contentious, detractors lament the fact that in doing so they make the figures look flat and dull, with large portions of completely undetailed plastic, and often use lots of fake KibblesAndBits in robot mode to achieve the right proportions that make transformations overly-complex. Others like the "straight from the screen" look, and feel that the effort needed to get them completely animation-accurate is an accomplishment in of itself.
36	** The ''Generations'' Deluxe Class Blast Off toy. While most of them would actually think that his new alt mode actually made sense to his "Combaticon" moniker, some of them would prefer the original Space Shuttle alternate mode. The other side of the criticism is the head, which is reused from Slingshot's/Quickslinger's. And then there's the ''Unite Warriors'' Deluxe Class figure (later released in the US as an Amazon exclusive figure), which restores his original Space Shuttle alternate mode.
37	** The ''Authentics'' line. While [[EnsembleDarkhorse Megatron & Starscream (somehow, but still disliked by fans due to his nap time-ish undercarriage on his alt mode) toys is excellent on their own]], Optimus Prime & Bumblebee's toys are not well received due to their overly-simplified transformation schemes (with fake chest & limited articulations), and not helping to the fact that they're the size of a Scout Class figure, and they're recently upscaled into Voyager-sized (with some added arm joints) as well. While some of them are fine with it since it was only aimed for very young Transformers fans, most of the fans believed that Hasbro might have also went to the knock-off route.
38	** In most of the franchise's fictions, human characters tend to get a ''lot'' of hate, to the point that some fans straight-up ''detest'' the idea of ''any'' humans showing up outside of being fodder for Decepticons to mow down. The hate isn't universal, mind, and in a lot of cases the hate for humans is more a case-by-case basis (for example, Daniel was hated back in ''Generation 1'', but his father Spike was well-liked; Sam and most of the humans in the Bayformers movies are ''very'' hated, but Charlie in ''Bumblebee'' was considered one of the highlights of the film). For some, the franchise doesn't even ''need'' to be set on earth and they'd much rather see the war fought on Cybertron and follow the bots, but for others part of the franchise's appeal is they're robots ''in disguise'' which somewhat requires they be on earth and around humans. And while many humans tend to be TheScrappy, it really just makes the ones who ''aren't'' all the more likeable by contrast, and their bond with the robots can often help humanise the bots and showcase why the Autobots are the good guys in works where the Autobot/Decepticon war is less BlackAndWhiteMorality.
39	** Heavily-simplified figures made for small children like One-Step Changers. One side approves of them for letting very young fans be able to enjoy transforming toys without having to struggle with figures that would be too complex for them and argue that they are harmless since they are usually accompanied by traditional figures of the same characters. The other side criticizes them for having wonky proportions and low articulation (simplistic transformation and durability in the hands of a small child are prioritized) and feel that they take up shelf space that could be given to more traditional figures.
40	** Works that modernize G1 (comics, ''Bumblebee'') versus works that reinvent the franchise (''Unicron Trilogy'', the first 5 live-action movies). Supporters of the former argue that the elements set up by G1 don't need to be changed much in order to work in modern times and that reinventing the franchise is just [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks breaking what doesn't need fixing]]. Supporters of the latter argue that merely adjusting the G1 setting [[ItsTheSameNowItSucks is giving up the opportunity to make something new]] and enjoy the unique takes the reinventions have.
41	** Not that their aren't aversions, of course. Pretty much everyone, regardless of their personal opinions, can universally agree that ''Kiss Players'' was a travesty, the ''Energon'' anime was garbage (though ''Website/TFWikiDotNet'' has massively cut down on the complaining on its article), and that Pat Lee is a horrible human being.
42	* CantUnhearIt:
43	** Let's face it, Creator/PeterCullen ''is'' Optimus Prime, unless the character is portrayed as younger like in ''Animated'' or is separate from Prime himself, like in ''Beast Wars''.
44	** Creator/LeonardNimoy turned in a well-received performance as Sentinel Prime in ''Dark of the Moon'', so much that from then onwards, if the character is portrayed as a former mentor figure [[spoiler:who pulled a FaceHeelTurn]], odds are that Nimoy is the voice fans will hear as him.
45	* CompleteMonster: So many of them, [[Monster/{{Transformers}} it has its own page]].
46	* CreatorsPet:
47	** Bumblebee has become this, due to his [[Film/TransformersFilmSeries live-action film]] and [[WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime Prime]] incarnations being overpacked in case assortments and, especially in Movie BB's case, having too many just-slightly-different versions of the same toy.
48	*** ''WesternAnimation/TransformersRescueBots'' is filled with Bumblebee toys, including a large playset. Bumblebee only appears in three episodes as a guest. A lot of fans are bemoaning the oversaturation of Bumblebee, and wishing [[Anime/TransformersArmada Hot Shot]] would make a comeback. In fact, the creators of ''[[WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated Animated]]'' vied for Hot Shot (in a main role, at least), but since execs wanted 'Bee instead, they had to [[LeeroyJenkins comp]][[MotorMouth romise]]. And for all his charm, he has a ''lot'' of screentime and is intentionally annoying.
49	*** In general, Bumblebee's popularity has really risen since the first Michael Bay movie, and leading to complaints about TF fiction echoing those about the toyline - you'll hear more than one fan, while not hating the little guy, saying that it's been an endless rehash of the same thing for ages and it's time someone else got to shine.
50	** As the franchise marches on many start to view Grimlock as one, feeling he's overused, overpowered, and overhyped. They feel his stories just involve "Grimlock shows up and beats up everyone to be a badass" and prefer his less powerful incarnations.
51	** And then we have [[TheScrappy Skids and Mudflap]]. They got almost as much toys as Bumblebee in ROTF, and had more screentime than ''any other Autobot''. Thing is, it's possible that them flopping and flopping ''hard'' led to Bumblebee becoming a CreatorsPet.
52	** Drift started out as this. The guy read like a laundry list of every bad TF fanfic trope -- badass [[BadassAngster Angsty]] {{Ninja}} {{Samurai}} with a {{BFS}} who pulled a HeelFaceTurn in a woefully overwrought backstory. The only one he didn't have was (thankfully) any feelings for a human girl. However, thanks to James Roberts' ''More Than Meets the Eye'' ongoing, Drift has been ([[BrokenBase mostly]]) RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap. It also didn't hurt that his [[MerchandiseDriven toy]] was really great.
53	* CrossesTheLineTwice:
54	** Takara Tomy thought it would be a good idea to release [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/File:MP4Sconvoysleepmode.jpg a recolor of Masterpiece Optimus Prime]] to represent ''his death in the movie''. You know, that one scene that traumatized ''thousands'' of children and made them lock themselves in their rooms? It still manages to become funny just for the sheer ridiculousness of it. And then Amazon went and recolored the Earthrise Prime in those same colors, [[SerialEscalation even adding the damage to his head and waist as additional retooling, and having the outer box be a view through his windscreen of his death scene.]]
55	--->'''Website/{{TF Wiki\|DotNet}}:''' "Remember that scene from the [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformersTheMovie movie]] that made you cry and traumatised you as a kid? Well now you can display me doing just that!"
56	** One of the alternate faces and pairs of hands for Masterpiece Ultra Magnus allows you to recreate the iconic pose of him... failing to open the Matrix of Leadership and cursing at it as he's blasted to pieces by Galvatron's forces.
57	** The '[[Toys/TransformersStudioSeries Studio Series]]'' toyline has a history of incorporating jokes based on serious moments from the movies:
58	*** The Leader Class figure of The Fallen was deliberately designed to have his face taken off like Optimus did to him in the film, and it's an actual advertised feature.
59	*** A 2023 set bestowed us with "Dying Prowl and Ironhide", retools of previous figures of the characters with blown chests and agonized expressions to recreate their deaths in ''The Transformers: The Movie'', including various blast effects to place on them.
60	*** Doubling down on bullying Ultra Magnus, his Commander figure has specialized parts that allow you to pull his arms and legs off.
61	*** The Core Class figure of Mohawk has a removable head to replicate his death scene after being blasted by Bumblebee in ''The Last Knight''.
62	* DracoInLeatherPants: Oh Primus. Some fans take the WellIntentionedExtremist interpretation to the next level and act as if the Decepticons are the actual good guys rebelling against the "fascistic" Autobots. This often involves conveniently glossing over the numerous horrible war crimes, abusive behavior, and horrific racism that the Decepticons commit. This is especially bad in series that give the Decepticons a sympathetic/tragic backstory or avert AlwaysChaoticEvil.
63	** Fans writing from a perspective of "the Decepticons were right". ''Transformers Animated'' starts to lean this way itself, as the high command seems a bit morally suspect and the Decepticons are basically rebellious freedom fighters whose leader happens to be Megatron. Then again, we see the kind of people who follow Megatron.
64	* EnsembleDarkHorse: [[EnsembleDarkhorse/{{Transformers}} Quite a few from all series.]]
65	* EpilepticTrees: While it was revealed that Hasbro confirmed that future gold-molded toys (G2 Quickslinger, for example) will not have Gold Plastic Syndrome due to the improved plastic formula, this doesn't prevent a certain clique of fans on worrying whether they will break for a year later.
66	* EstrogenBrigade: It’d be easier to list the Transformers shows who ''didn’t ''have armies of fangirls who find these dang robots hot.
67	* EvilIsCool: The Decepticons naturally. Their side contains the more military orientated vehicle forms and they were the first to debut big new gimmicks like Triple Changers and Combiners.
68	* FanDislikedExplanation:
69	** The Franchise/TransformersAlignedUniverse, Hasbro's attempt to give the setting a definite backstory that stayed consistent in every incarnation of the franchise. While a good idea in theory, Hasbro [[ExecutiveMeddling kept pushing it to the writers]], who in turn disliked having their visions meddled with, usually resulting in either CreatorsApathy toward's Hasbro's rules or a massive amount of [[ContinuitySnarl Continuity Snarls]]. Probably the best known example of this is the supposed connection between the modernized G1-inspired videogames ''War of Cybertron'' and its sequel, and the movie-inspired ''Prime'' cartoon. While the developers of both franchises did try to add some links to the other, it doesn't quite work and it's generally easier to consider them to be separate universes.
70	** Likewise, the concept of [[https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Multiversal_singularity multiversal singularities]] (certain characters who share their name with an alternate universe counterpart are actually the same being traveling between them) is also generally seen as awkward for similar reasons. Thankfully, Hasbro realized the concept was difficult to write around, and it was eventually done away with.
71	* FanNickname: Several Transformers toys in the 21st century (especially after the 2007 film) feature what fans in the 2020s have christened "Gorilla Arms", where the arms are typically sculpted in a way that the elbows only bend inwards. Fortunately, the vast majority of transformers toys with elbows do not have this problem.
72	* FandomRivalry:
73	** With the [=GoBots=] fandom. Both franchises are very similar, and many fans of ''Transformers'' call ''[=GoBots=]'' a rip-off, although the former's toyline is actually older. Aspects of [=GoBots=] being merged into the Transformers franchise has slightly softened things up a bit.
74	** In a case of rivalries within the fandom, many fans of other franchise works (the Generation 1 fans in particular) have this with the live-action movie fans. Fans of the live-action movies are usually disconnected from the fans of other Transformers works, so they have a different reaction to the former's cries of TheyChangedItNowItSucks, usually of the CriticalBacklash kind. Notably when ''Bumblebee'' came out, many of the franchise's fans praised it for being TruerToTheText, but [[MortonsFork many fans of the previous live-action films did not like the change in tone]], resulting in a lot of fiery debate among all but the few who can enjoy both takes on live-action Transformers.
75	** In another in-fandom rivalry, there are fans of Third Party toys and fans of the official toys. Third Party figures run by the logic of "if Hasbro won't make it, these guys will", but there are legal issues involved that scare off others who decide to stick to official toys.
76	* FirstInstallmentWins:
77	** For better or worse, G1 is the best known of the series, and only the live-action movies can stand up to it in terms of general recognizability. It gets the most callbacks, most parodies in popular culture draw from it, Peter Cullen and Frank Welker are considered the best Optimus and Megatron, the comic series that are produced in the present day draw from the G1 reference pool far more than others, and future series base their characters more on the old designs than any others. Even the toylines feature the most homages to G1, and the old toyline has the most figures given updates with modern toolings. The Masterpiece series, aimed to the collectors, features a predominant Gen 1 cast.
78	** When it comes to the Michael Bay films, the first film is the only one many people would argue is actually good, or at the very least, the best of the films.
79	* FriendlyFandoms:
80	** Somewhat surprisingly with ''Series/DoctorWho'' of all things. It helps that many of the better-regarded writers for the franchise are also Whovians; also of note is that EnsembleDarkhorse Death's Head (originally from the Marvel UK Transformers comics) made the jump ''from'' this franchise ''to'' the mainstream Franchise/MarvelUniverse via an encounter with The Doctor.
81	** As a whole, Transformer fans have historically good relations with other Hasbro series, namely the company's other flagship titles.
82	*** It's very close with the ''Franchise/GIJoe'' fandom and most people who like one like the other. Not surprising given the two series are not only made by the same people but are also frequently set in the same universe and crossover often, but also have a very similar tone and give shout outs to one another on a daily basis.
83	*** And the [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Bronies]] also qualify -- the 2014 [=BotCon=] had several exclusive comic variant covers from IDW and other stuff that crossed between both series, like Soundwave and DJ PON-3 working together. On an old front, because both series had their first generation at about the same time, many fans of either work grew up practically considering the other series their fandom's DistaffCounterpart. Also helping is the MLP G1/FIM fic ''FanFic/TheElementsOfHarmonyAndTheSaviorOfWorlds'', which has the humans from the 80s' MLP not just helping to found modern Equestria, but also living on the same Earth as the G1 cartoon, the 80s' ''G.I. Joe'' toon, ''WesternAnimation/JemAndTheHolograms'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Inhumanoids}}'' (which were previously linked, mainly by a Geraldo Rivera parody named Hector Ramirez). The first chapter of "Side Stories of First Contact" has Prime meeting with Celestia, Luna and Twilight; a prequel fic, "Day of the Broken Fang", details what happened to Cobra (Serpentor attacked the Decepticons and got annihilated); most of the fic focuses on Cobra Commander escaping and the Autobots, Joes and Oktober Guard forming the Earth Defense Command.
84	%%** Despite being released years apart, the franchise shares one with ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse''. %%ZCE
85	* GrowingTheBeard:
86	** The series as a whole settled into its own around 1985, when the second wave of toys started up and introduced massively improved mechanics and fan favorite characters like the Dinobots and Constructicons. It was also around this time that Simon Furman started writing for the Marvel comic, which led to the creation of much of the franchise's mythos and characterization.
87	** Creator/FrankWelker's Megatron voice is generally considered to have improved in TheNewTens - while his original Megatron voice from TheEighties has its fans, the age-induced VocalEvolution present from ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' onward is seen as a ''much'' more menacing take that sounds genuinely creepy.
88	* HilariousInHindsight:
89	** There's an unmade transformer called [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Buffalo_Dump Buffalo Dump]]. Does [[WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd James Rolfe]] know about this guy?
90	** Transformers were initially devoid of female Autobots or Decepticons because Hasbro reasoned that boys wouldn't be interested in girl toys. Not only have there been female Transformers in nearly every continuity, but the enormous male fanbase of [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic a certain cartoon based on another Hasbro franchise that was generally considered girly]] has most certainly disproved Hasbro's belief that focus on female characters would alienate the interest of boys.
91	** The Action Masters subline from Generation 1 was lambasted for being "Transformers that don't Transform". Nowadays, there are many prestige and collector-grade Transformers toys and figures that don't transform...and they're snatched up by collectors and fans![[note]]Usually this is because the toy/figure compensates in some other way, such as extreme show accuracy or because it's a static statue or diorama depicting an action scene rather than a playable toy[[/note]]
92	* JustHereForGodzilla: Fans generally only care about the robots themselves and are ambivalent at best towards the human characters.
93	* {{Macekre}}: A rare case for ''toys,'' of all things. ''Transformers'' was created from [[http://www.cracked.com/article_19470_6-classic-kids-shows-slapped-together-from-recycled-material.html two completely unrelated toy lines.]]
94	** Administrivia/TropesAreTools: ...which ended up creating a well-loved and more memorable franchise, so much so that [[RecursiveAdaptation the American toyline would be brought back to Japan]], then later go on to produce its own toys.
95	* LGBTFanbase: The franchise is very well loved by LGBTQ+ fans thanks to the balance of attractive characters (both male and female), the emphasis on friendship and found family in the shows, and the ''many'' HoYay (as well as LesYay) moments within and between the Autobots and Decepticons.
96	* MagnificentBastard: See [[MagnificentBastard/{{Transformers}} here]].
97	* MemeticBadass: Optimus Prime is the Robo-Jesus.
98	* MyRealDaddy: Although writer/artist Bob Budiansky created the personalities for most of the original G1 characters and wrote many of the early comics, the fandom largely considers Simon Furman to be the man who brought ''Transformers'' to its full potential. He breathed new life into the comics, established much of the lore and characterizations for the franchise, and has wrote a good majority of ''Transformers'' comics. Nearly every ''Transformers'' series takes at least one or two cues from his work.
99	* MorePopularSpinOff: The toys that would become the ''Transformers'' were spinoffs of ''Microman'', or as it was called in the West, ''Micronauts''. Creating the Diaclone and Micro Change lines which in turn was retold by Hasbro into ''Transformers'' we know today. ''Transformers'' has eclipsed all the previous toy lines in the public consciousness and popularity.
100	* PeripheryDemographic: ''Transformers'' has a massive and varied fanbase of people from numerous demographics. Hasbro is quite aware of this; the comics can essentially do the things that the children-focused cartoons can't so that adult fans aren't left out.
101	** Specifically, ''Transformers'' has a huge fanbase of women and girls who grew up with the shows and collect the toys.
102	* RonTheDeathEater: According to some the Autobots were horrible oppressors who are being overthrown by the "heroic" Decepticons. This view pretty much requires for one to believe that dictators frequently encourage their slaves to express free will and despise cultural discrimination.
103	* RootingForTheEmpire: A small contingent of fans feel that the Decepticons are the real good guys, and that the Autobots are evil. Granted, a few continuities show that the Bots aren't perfect paragons of justice, and the Cons had good reasons to rebel, but stories where Decepticons [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/The_Interplanetary_Wrestling_Championship! take small children hostage]] (or [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Murdered_puppy kill]] [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Pis a puppy]]) show that they are ''NOT'' nice mechs.
104	** Given a bit more weight in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' in which the ''Autobots'' are the ruling empire led by someone who's just a bit too willing to do bad things to achieve victory for comfort while the Decepticons are the scrappy rebels, albeit vicious and ruthless ones.
105	** In the IDW comics the Autobot government ''was'' evil (well corrupt at least) and the Decepticons were laid off blue collar workers living in slums until this one miner showed up... (Most of the story is set millions of years later, by which point they're rather less sympathetic).
106	** One of the movie prequel comics showed one part of the falling out between the Autobots and Decepticons was Prime wouldn't allow Megatron to attack a hostile force on their way to Cybertron, until they arrived and started attacking. Megatron was just trying to protect Cybertron.
107	** In the ''VideoGame/TransformersWarForCybertron'' continuity, Megatron was initially a gladiator who rebelled against an oppressive, caste-based society ruled by the Autobots, so initially it was the Autobots themselves who were the Empire and you should have rooted against. But Megatron became too prideful and ruthless, to the point his ideal of a caste-less society was buried by his desire to rule. Transformers seems to have been moving over the years from "Decepticons evil, Autobots good" to an almost ''Franchise/StarWars''-like setup, where Cybertronian society badly needed shaking up but the Cons went too far and the necessities of war turned the Autobots into the casteless society the Decepticons wanted, while the Decepticons [[TheDarkSideWillMakeYouForget became too obsessed to remember their original intentions]].
108	** The Megatron in ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' seems to imply that the Predacons are currently stuck as servants to the ruling Maximal class and its Council of Elders. Megatron himself is made into [[UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler a very nationalistic figure, fighting to improve the lot of his suffering people after their terrible losses in the last war, damn the consequences. And get power himself in the process]].
109	* SacredCow: Optimus, as an icon of popular culture since TheEighties. Many of his fans strongly believe that he's a universally-loved character, and will adamantly defend him from outright criticism.
110	* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: One of the most infamous fandoms for this - Website/TFWikiDotNet was first to describe the behaviour, and term, of DarthWiki/RuinedFOREVER. The fandom's full of differing opinions so now all changes are met with criticism by a certain group, and the changes back are met with criticism by other groups. It's gotten to the point of parody, and beyond, so now there are tons of fans making fun of this mindset mixed in with those who actually do dislike the changes, leading to a severe case of PoesLaw.
111	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter:
112	** Some have noted that Warpath would perfectly fit into the live-action films, due to his love of explosions and action.
113	** Despite Springer being a [[LovableRogue Han Solo esque]] DeadpanSnarker, the very first Autobot triple changer, and having a good dynamic with [[BreakoutCharacter Arcee]], he's been pretty much DemotedToExtra since Generation 1.
114	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: The infamous-for-a-reason manga ''Kiss Players'' was basically pure concentrated {{Squick}} created purely for shock value. However, its plot is something that could've been amazing if taken seriously: Galvatron's cells infect machines and turning them into techno-organic {{Eldritch Abomination}}s, the Earth Defense Command creates artificial Transformers to fight them, but pilots also infected by Galvatron's cells are needed to power them up to their fullest. Enter... random people who happened to have them take hold instead of anyone you'd logically pick for this, including someone so timid as to make Shinji Ikari look like Jack Bauer by comparison, someone so psychotic as to make Hannibal Lecter look like Shinji Ikari by comparison, and others - thankfully we've got the truly heroic Marissa Faireborn along. All led by someone who seems to mean well, and is downright motherly to her troops… but more and more clearly has ulterior motives. What’s down that stairwell that only Commander Amao has access to? And who’s that mysterious girl that sometimes appears? The first to find out ends up in a Vat Of Science Goo being experimented on! It all just deserves better than to be nothing but licensed TrollFic. The second year of the line actually tried to undo some damage by turning it into a time-travel story packed with references to fan favorite moments and eras, but by then the damage had been done.
115	* TookTheBadFilmSeriously: Whether if the TV show/movie is good or bad, you can always expect Creator/PeterCullen and Creator/FrankWelker to deliver stellar performances as Optimus Prime and Megatron. They always gives it their all simply out of love for the characters.
116	* VindicatedByHistory: Fairly common due to the fanbase being notoriously cautious towards change and new series. ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' is probably the most notable example; at first condemned as a borderline shark-jumping moment, it's now regarded as one of the best periods in the franchise's history and even some of the most diehard GEEWUNNERS compliment it.
117	** In a case of this happening with one person's contributions to the brand rather than any individual franchise, Bob Budiansky was derided as an hack in the early Usenet fandom for his work on the Marvel G1 comic, largely due to a string of campy issues before the end of his tenure on the comic. As the years passed and the behind-the-scenes of the franchise's creation became more understood, fans learned that Budiansky had been instrumental in ''Transformers'''s success, coming up with the premise, most of the character names, personalities, bios for the first three years toyline and basically being single-handedly responsible for many of the iconic and memorable aspects of the franchise. While his later issues of the Marvel comic still invite some derision, Budiansky's name is seen in a much positive light.
118	* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids:
119	** ''Kiss Players'' is infamous for how incredibly ''not'' kid-friendly it is. To give an idea of how bad it was, ''Kiss Players'' is a ''Sailor Moon''-esque MagicalGirl manga. Website/TFWikiDotNet compares it to '''Manga/ShadowStar'''. The writer/artist of the manga has explicitly said he [[{{Troll}} deliberately designed the comic to shock people for kicks]].
120	** Despite their name, the "Kids Stuff" series of audio books are filled with (non-graphic) violence on a massive scale. To name a few examples - the Rocky Mountains are melted into a molten puddle, world weather patterns are violently altered, thousands of humans die in a huge explosion, and Skyfire dies via burning up on re-entry. [[AngstWhatAngst Nobody seems very much bothered by any of this]].

Context YMMV / Transformers