And The Fandom Rejoiced / Transformers

Transformers fans tend to rejoice almost as much as they cry Ruined FOREVER. Hasbro's comic-con conference got this.

Arranged by continuity family:

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Generation 1

• The Classics line, when it premiered in 2006, was a big hit. Then it went on hiatus for the first movie. Then it came back (as Universe) in 2008. Then another hiatus. Then another rebirth in 2010 (as Generations and Reveal the Shield). Basically, the fans are ecstatic every time the Classics style comes back, and once we figured out that we're getting them every other year...
• John Barber has been announced as the new editor for IDW's ongoing Transformers comics. Barber is known for his insane use of plotting and Arc Welding in the Transformers film comics to fix multiple different continuity errors.
• Wait, is IDW finally going to merge all the different Hasbro properties, including the Transformers, into one Shared Universe?!? We're finally getting the crossover we deserve!
• What's this? A new Transformers game? Transformers: Devastation? Oh, it's not by High Moon Studios. Well, we saw how well that worked last time... Wait, it's a beat-'em-up by PlatinumGames? And it's based on the original series? Hell yes!
  • You can play as Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Sideswipe, Wheeljack, and Grimlock? and all of them,^note  Except Wheeljack, whose voice actor has long-since passed as well as Megatron and Soundwave have their original voice actors^note  Starscream does not have his voice actor as he had the same actor as the aforementioned Wheeljack? Sign me up!
  • There's always the chance it could end up a half-baked download-only title like The Legend of Korra... What's that? The team contains a lot of the core members behind Bayonetta? And it has the same director as Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance? And it will be available as a full-retail title? YES!
• What's that? Shout! Factory finally has the home media rights to The Transformers: The Movie? And they're releasing it this September in time for the film's 30th anniversary on DVD and Blu-ray? Hooray!
• Okay so, the trailer for Kingdom has come out, and it has Beast Wars characters like it was hinted at back at Earthrise-WAIT A GODDAMN MINUTE, IS THAT NEMESIS PRIME?! AND HE'S TEAMING UP WITH GALVATRON?!?!
• Generations:
  • Deluxe Orion Pax, Bumblebee, Megatron and Trailbreaker. WITH THEIR IDW DESIGNS.
  • Coming 2014, Deluxe Skids (in his IDW design), Armada Starscream, and WASPINATOR. As the Transformers Wiki puts it: This is indeed proof that there is a God, and He loves Beast Wars.
  • Also coming 2014, Voyager Roadbuster and Whirl, Brainstorm (also his IDW design), Sky-Byte, and RHINOX, WITH HIS CHAIN GUNS OF DOOM.
  • And don't forget Legends Swerve and Tailgate! The Japanese versions even give Swerve the infamous My First Blaster!
  • Among a veritable landslide of other fantastic Generations figures comes one particular gem hidden amongst the gold... Deluxe. Generations. Arcee!
  • 2015 is the year of COMBINERS. To start it, we have SUPERION AND MENASOR. ALL DELUXE FIGURES CAN COMBINE WITH ALL VOYAGERS. Remember that Voyager Optimus Prime from BotCon 2014? HE CAN COMBINE WITH ANY DELUXE FIGURES. YES.
    • Superion deserves special mention. The original toy was notoriously flawed due to its fragile design in spite of its awesome concept. This new Superion manages to retain the feel of the original while eliminating the flaws of the original and making it in scale with the existing Classics and Generations line. Menasor promises to be just as good, with both teams getting lovingly show-and-comic-accurate designs.
    • Hasbro caught some flak from the fans for the omissions of Wildrider and Slingshot from the lineup of the Stunticons and Aerialbots, replacing them with Offroad and Alpha Bravo, respectively. Hasbro's response was to talk to Takara and borrow their molds for the missing characters. Brake-Neck and Quickslinger, the trademark-friendly versions of Wildrider and Slingshot, are due to appear by the end of 2015, which means fans are going to get 'perfect' reissues after all. Fans rejoiced.
    • And in 2016, we got a Deluxe Groove for those who want a perfect G1-accurate Defensor.
    • And in 2018, we also got Space Shuttle Blast Off for those who want a perfect G1-accurate Bruticus.
  • 2015 will see the release of Generations Combiner Wars Leader class ULTRA MAGNUS. And he's NOT an Optimus Prime retool or anything, he's based on how he appears in the IDW comics! It gets better, his two guns and missile pods can combine to form a HAMMER. And it gets even better. He comes with MINIMUS AMBUS. And he has his own vehicle mode! YES.
  • Do you like combiners? Because we are also getting Defensor!
    • And TITAN CLASS DEVASTATOR! Six Voyager-sized Constructicons combining into the biggest combiner ever! Basically, each Constructicon is the size of the G1 Devastator toy.
    • Apparently, the Fan-Built Character voting is returning...for an entire combiner team!
    • The new combiner has arrived: Victorion, the first female combiner, with new hand/feet molds the fandom has been asking.
    • As many expected, we're also getting Bruticus. However, unlike Superion, Menasor, and Defensor, Bruticus will be formed from the original Combaticons. ^note Onslaught, Vortex, Blast Off (albeit as a fighter jet for better scale), Swindle, and Brawl
    • And just like Superion and Menasor, there will be an exclusive Bruticus in G2 colors!
  • Apparently, Combiner Wars will go on into 2016...and then we'll have a new line, named Titan Wars! No word so far on what it includes, but images shown at Botcon 2015 hint at Astrotrain, Blaster with the original boombox mode and a new base mode, and FORTRESS MAXIMUS! Who once again retakes his spot as the largest Transformers toy ever! Did I mention each figure seems to be a Headmaster, with small vehicles and other functions for the smaller figure to interact with?
  • There are many exciting news from NYCC 2015, so to recap:
    • The next theme (actually called Titans Return) and the previous Combiner Wars will be part of the "Prime Wars Trilogy''.
    • All Deluxe, Voyager and Leader figures are Headmasters, with "one-size-fits-all" heads (called Ttan Masters) with balljoint necks. So far only the Deluxe are the original Headmasters redesigned.
    • The Voyagers are all Triple Changers with two vehicle modes, with Galvatron and Sentinel Prime already announced.
    • Topped by the announcement of Alpha Trion, with a lion mode. ^note one of the canceled toys for Alpha Trion was a remold of a lion mode character
    • The Legends all fit in the chest of the Leaders; many of them are Mini-Cassettes who turn into datapads and vehicles.
    • The Leaders are also Triple Changers with a base mode; so far only Blaster is announced, but the existence of Decepticon Mini-Cassettes heavily hints at Soundwave as well.
    • Replace "heavily hints" with "just confirmed".
    • Some of the original Headmasters were redesigned as unpartnered Titan Masters, which are sold with a small transforming vehicle they can ride in one mode and combine with in another.
  • Just announced for next year: Leader class Powermaster Optimus Prime^note YMMV, though, as he's only a Headmaster like the others, with "Apex" as a Titan Master and Titan class Fortress Maximus!
  • New voting pole (now on Facebook, on November 24th), this time to choose the Titan class figure for 2017: Trypticon, Omega Supreme or Scorponok.
    • Trypticon wins! YES!
    • And for those who wanted the other two? Don't worry! Omega Supreme and Scorponok eventually came in both Siege and Earthrise respectively!
  • Annoyed with "Betatron?" Don't worry, the rest of the Technobots are coming, truly giving us Computron! And they're bringing Liokaiser with them!
    • And Computron comes with Scrounge, of all people!
  • What's going on for 2017, other than the Trypticon mentioned above? OVERLORD, that's what!
  • Leader. Class. SIXSHOT. And he still haves all six modes! (OK, the gun mode was replaced with a submarine mode that is blatantly an upside down gun, but still)
  • Power of the Primes, the final chapter in the trilogy, is on the horizon and so far it's basically cranked the hype up and snapped the dial off. BOTH previous gimmicks return (with Titan Masters retooled into "Prime Masters" that slot into other figure's armor parts). Deluxes and Voyagers can form combiners, while the Leaders have an "evolution" gimmick where they can armor up into more powerful forms.
    • The opening salvo? THE DINOBOTS ARE BACK! AND They're bringing a new member (the Legends-sized lady raptor Slash) and combine to form VOLCANICUS! Forget the Beast, now this is the Dinobot Combiner!
  • We're also getting Elita One and the rest of the Female Autobots (some of whom are getting their toys for the first time ever)! And they can combine as well!
  • ABOMINUS, (The combined form of the Motherf-ing Terrorcons) IS CONFIRMED FOR POWER OF THE PRIMES BABIES!!!!!
    • Alongside that, TITAN CLASS PREDAKING!!!!!!!
  • Wonder where the Seacons went? No worries, they're coming along as part of Generation Selects! And they're even getting a redeco as God Neptune!
  • Battletrap is a Decepticon C-lister without many notable appearances (other than getting his ass kicked during Time Wars like 90% of that arc's cast), and was recently given a new pair of toys. Why is this here? Note the word 'pair.' From what was once one of the most underwhelming 'transformations' in the G1 Duocon gimmick (insert helicopter into car, spring loaded robot forms with zero articulation), Hasbro has instead engineered two Legends-class that not only transform into distinct and self-sufficient robot modes, but these two robots combine to form a single Deluxe size robot...and they do so using some of the most complex mechanisms and detailed sculpting seen to date, especially in Legends class toys. He's come◊ a long way◊ and shows that Hasbro still knows a thing or two about updating a character.
  • Punch/Counterpunch was a unique concept in the original G1 era: a Transformer with a single vehicle mode, but two robot modes, reflecting his status as a 'double spy,' that is, an Autobot undercover as a Decepticon. The original toy◊ was ambitious for its concept, but also rather underwhelming as none of its three modes were particularly interesting. They tried again with the Timelines rendition◊ of the character, which did a little better but still fell short thanks to the strange and unflattering proportions, most notably an inexplicably small head. 2018 finally saw the release of a Generations version◊, which finally manages to do everything the original sought to do: have two visually distinct robot modes that manage to share no overt details and a car mode that neatly encapsulates both robot modes. Little wonder that it sold out within an hour of becoming available on Amazon.
  • The announcement of the new biggest Transformers toy of all time: HasLab UNICRON! A toy that breaks the records at 27 inches tall and is accurate to his original movie design! The Chaos Bringer finally gets the toy he deserves.
    • And how is HasLab going to follow this up? With yet another holy grail, or rather two: STAR SABER AND VICTORY LEO! AND THEY CAN COMBINE INTO VICTORY SABER!
    • This announcement is all the more groundbreaking as it marks the very first time ever that Hasbro will release toys of whom are quite possibly among the biggest Ensemble Dark Horses of the franchise^note disregarding Wing Saber from the Unicron Trilogy. While Takara has obviously released several iterations of them (mostly just Star Saber) as they debuted in a Japanese-only installment, Hasbro has tried a few attempts to make toys of these characters that went nowhere (including a cancelled Robot Heroes figure and the fact Star Saber lost the fan poll to get a figure in Power of the Primes to Optimus Primal).
    • With the Star Saber campaign being a roaring success, there was only one character that they could've picked to act as a follow-up HasLab: that's right, after losing the Power of the Primes poll, DEATHSAURUS (and yes, he's actually called "Deathsaurus" and not "Dezarus" like the Combiner Wars Sky Lynx redeco, likely due to this being marketed at adult fans) is finally getting a new, anime-accurate toy, complete with both of his Breast Animals (localized as "Chest Animals" for very obvious reasons), with a stretch goal adding in his "Living-Metal-Destroying Cannon"! After many, many years, the iconic Autobot and Decepticon leaders from Victory can clash once again!
    • While fans were not too impressed with the Holi and Fire micromasters that came with Victory Saber (loose joints and constant limb detachment being common complaints), Hasbro made a shocking reveal following the HasLab Deathsaurus campaign in the form of Pipo and Boater. That's right, they felt compelled to give fans the entire Rescue Patrol Team as a set, and the fact that they are the right colors (Holi and Boater were infamous for having white in the show instead of black from the toys) and newly molded brings hope for fans of the group.
  • While many of the new toys in the Siege line have been quite well received for their cartoon/comic accuracy, a special prize goes to the new Commander-class Jetfire, a truly massive toy and a loving call back to both the cartoon and the original comic. Jetfire was once the toy to own in Generation 1 and now he's taken that spot once again in Siege. A few fans have also relished how thoroughly this release flips the metaphorical bird at Harmony Gold, who lost several important lawsuits in the past few years, which defanged the infamously litigious company to the point that Hasbro feels comfortable releasing a toy with obvious allusions to the character's origins as a rebranded Super Dimension Fortress Macross Variable Fighter. And for bonus points (or for those who just want to rub even more salt on Harmony Gold's wounds), among the new G1 Funko Pops is a Jetfire...who just so happens to be a near-perfect Super-Deformed Rendition of the original Valkyrie toy. How that even got past the legal radar (in spite of the 2013 lawsuit preventing Harmony Gold from suing Hasbro over Jetfire ever again) is astounding, but nonetheless awesome.
  • Speaking of Siege, guess who else finally got a toy? Rung! And he's not alone! Impactor finally gets a toy that is not only accurate to his original design, but is now available at general retail! Finally, the leader of the Wreckers gets his due.
  • The announcement that Kingdom, the third part of the War of Cybertron Trilogy, would feature the Maximals and Predacons got many fans rejoicing. This marks the first ever proper crossover between G1 and the Beast Era (disregarding both Power of the Primes^note which only featured Optimus Primal and the IDW Comics^note which gave the entire Maximal faction a severe case of Adaptational Villainy).
  • We are finally getting a toy of The Ark. And it now transforms into a robot inspired by Autonomous Maximus/The Last Autobot!
  • After all these years, we are finally getting G1-accurate versions of Jhiaxus and Elita One in the first year of the Legacy line! And in the following year, we're also getting Devcon!
  • Hasbro has once again made a toy of a popular Japan-original character, as the second year of the Legacy line dives into the Japanese Beast Wars canon with a brand-new figure of LIO CONVOY^note albeit under his already-established western name, Leo Prime, which had been used on various redecos and retools based on Convoy's design!
  • After previously getting shafted in the War for Cybertron Trilogy line, the trinity of Decepticon Double Targetmasters is finally completed with a new figure of Needlenose, with both Sunbeam and Zigzag at his side.
  • Perhaps the most unexpected reveal for the Legacy line's second year was a character nobody expected Hasbro to make a toy of due to how he was unmistakably not kid-friendly— THE ORIGINAL IDW VERSION OF TARN!
  • After all these years, we're finally getting toys of Dion and Ariel (renamed Erial for copyright reasons) based on their appearances in "War Dawn"! Combined with the Alpha Trion and Orion Pax two-pack from the year prior, the whole gang's finally together!
  • Thought the Ark getting a transforming figure was cool? Well, Legacy Evolution is about to one-up that with a transforming Titan-class NEMESIS figure, finally letting the iconic G1 Autobot and Decepticon ships duke it out. She's got the Decepticon insignia for her face, of course — and yes, we said she!
  • What's this? Amazon has revealed a new "Prewar" subline? What's going to make this different from the prev-It's based on the IDW comics? CHAOS THEORY OPTIMUS AND MEGATRON?!? SENATORS RATBAT AND SHOCKWAVE?!? AND BASED ON THE BOXART, WE MIGHT BE ALSO GETTING NOVA PRIME!!! After all these years, one of the highlights of IDW's tenure over the franchise is getting the attention it deserves.
  • Studio Series is finally expanding into Commander Class, eh? Well, who's it gonna be- THE TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE ULTRA MAGNUS?! AND HE ACTUALLY TRANSFORMS FROM ARMORED MODE TO TRUCK MODE WITH NO WHITE OPTIMUS INBETWEEN?! AND HIS LIMBS CAN DETACH TO RECREATE His death scene okay that's grim BUT IT'S STILL COOL AS HELL!
  • Also, forget "might be", because we're FINALLY getting NOVA PRIME! And he's modeled after his Transformers: Devastation design, to boot!
  • Beast Era fans hit it BIG with the announcement of Legacy's third year, with three characters from Beast Wars, Beast Wars II, and Beast Wars Neo getting their first brand-new figures ever: there's Tigerhawk, now with cartoon-accurate colors and details ripped straight from Tigatron and Airrazor's Kingdom figures, the reckless Tasmania Kid (or Beast Wars Snarl if you so prefer), and teased via being front-and-center in the year's key art◊ is the Emperor of Destruction himself, MAGMATRON.
  • Gee, it sure would be nice if the Marvel comic got any representation for the 40th anniversary- THEY'RE DOING A GENERATIONS SUBLINE BASED ON IT? GRIMLOCK FINALLY HAS HIS SWORD? SHOCKWAVE COMES WITH PRIME'S SEVERED HEAD FROM WHEN HE TRIED TO GET THE MATRIX FROM HIM?! YES! YES!
• Takara's always had a flair for the awesome when it came to special occasions, and after Raiden in the Masterpiece line, we have two things: Missing Link Optimus Prime and Masterpiece Ginrai.

RID 2001

• 2017 saw the Japanese version of the Combiner Wars toyline slow down to only online exclusives. But, Takara decided to end the line with a bang, and fans only had one thing to say when the set was revealed: "Ruination AWAKENS!
• While the 2001 Robots in Disguise franchise received a decent amount of representatives in modern toylines (primarily Sky-Byte and Scourge, but occasionally a Side Burn, with a one-off Ruination in 2017), fans immediately blew up upon the reveal of 2024's HasLab campaign: OMEGA PRIME. We're talking a box set containing a Commander Class-size RID Optimus Prime (complete with his own separate super mode!), a slightly smaller RID Ultra Magnus, Bluebolts, Magnus' signature Blue Bolts cannon given a life of its own, and (as backer unlocks) the Matrix Blade and stand bases modeled after the Global Space Bridge! And yes, they still shake hands to start combining.
  • The fact that the big 40th anniversary Haslab wound up essentially being "just another Optimus Prime" (among other minor quirks and quandries) lead to the air surrounding the first day or two of the campaign feeling a bit dismissive... Except it turns out that way more people were excited at the prospect of a modernized Omega Prime than anyone could've expected, as the campaign reached its initial goal of 10,000 backers after only 10 days — the fastest of all the Transformers Haslabs thus far. "And The Fandom Rejoiced" indeed.

Unicron Trilogy

• In 1986, The Transformers: The Movie came out, with the planet-eating Unicron as the main villain. However, given that he was the size of a planet, a respectably-sized toy could never be made. Until finally they released quite a few that did the character justice, about 15+ years later!
• Three words: Primus. Action. Figure.
• After the complete mess that was the 2008 Universe Armada Hot Shot, Hasbro and Takara later made a new and much better-received figure in the Thrilling 30 Generations toyline; Armada STARSCREAM.
• Following that, we have Combiner Wars giving us new versions of Megatron. But not just the original; the Armada version got the same treatment! (even if it uses the same base mold).
• Hasbro once again delivered bombshells in the Siege line for Unicron Trilogy fans, and gave us new versions of Cybertron Optimus Prime and CYBERTRON DEFENSE HOT SHOT.
• Who does Legacy bring back as the first year's flagship Titan Class figure? Metroplex. CYBERTRON Metroplex. And from the Velocitron subline, we have the planet's leader herself: CYBERTRON OVERRIDE!
• In celebration of Armada's 20th anniversary, 2023's iteration of Legacy will dedicate some of its focus to making new toys of characters from the series! Revealed figures include both Hot Shot (complete with Axelzooka!) and the show's iconic incarnation of Starscream, and if the year's key art◊ is any indication, Armada Optimus will be making his grand return!
• More of the new slate of Armada toys have been revealed, including a new figure of Megatron, with it being hinted that there'll be a new Tidal Wave figure for him to combine with coming down the line, and alongside him was revealed the brand-new, incredibly GLORIOUS Commander-class Armada Optimus Prime figure. From the amazing package art, to being able to once again combine with his trailer to form his Super Mode, to scaling appropriately with Megs, many are already predicting this guy's gonna be the best Legacy Evolution has to offer.
• Three words: MINI-CONS ARE BACK! A re-release of the Legacy Evolution Hot Shot figure in Powerlinx colors was confirmed to be coming, and he's got Jolt packed-in with him!
• Aww, look at the little Core-class Energon Megatron figure, he's so cu-HEY IS THAT ARMADA TIDAL WAVE IN THE LEGACY UNITED KEY ART?!
• TITAN. CLASS. ARMADA UNIVERSE TIDAL WAVE. All of his vehicle modes are intact, there's a new base mode, and he even comes with accessories that let Legacy Armada Megs gear up without compromising Tidal Wave's majestic size!
• Cybertron universe Starscream. And he has a Cyber Key.
• Vector Prime is BACK. Sure he's a retool of a previously-used sculpt but at least Hasbro chose one of the most well-liked toolings of the toyline for him!

Transformers Film Series

• Michael Bay Films:
  • Peter Cullen was the voice actor for Optimus Prime in The Transformers. When it was announced that he would play Optimus Prime in the 2007 film, the Transformers Wiki put it best: "And there was much rejoicing. (One person started complaining. He was torn limb from limb, skewered and eaten.)" It didn't silence all of them — we're talking about fanboys here — but it did get the fandom to rally behind the movie and arguably make it the success that it was. Another big rally cry here was the very impressive trailers that showcased brief images of the actual robots, including Optimus Prime transforming with the classic sound effect. Considering Cullen's Optimus was described as "a surrogate father to a generation of latchkey kids", it's hardly surprising. The final trailer before its premiere ended with Bonecrusher tackling Optimus and revealing just what kind of special effects this movie would have.
    • The studio tried to pull this off again with Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen, when they cast Frank Welker to reprise his role as Soundwave, whose super-processed, artificial-sounding voice was one of the most distinctive in the old cartoon. Although the voice is unmistakably Dr. Claw because they left out all the processing in the finished film, it could double as a Mythology Gag since it was always the Dr. Claw voice, heavily modulated.
    • Welker was originally casted as Megatron too, but the producers decided his voice wasn't right for the part and replaced him.
    • However, he got to heft Megs's Fusion Cannon again for the video game adaptations of the first two movies.
  • This official announcement about Transformers: Dark of the Moon hits the trope to anyone tired of the GM brands in the films. Though this was not the case in the toy department, as said alt mode prevented the character from appearing in the toyline for over a decade.
  • Then, with Transformers 3, the fanbase was split, as usual, on whether the third film would be like ROTF. First, came the announcement (probably faked) that The Twins wouldn't return. Then, Bay said that they would get rid of the "humor" that overruled the second film. The big announcement was the reveal of the villain... Shockwave. Cue massive rejoicing. (even if Shockwave ended up being one of the villains, not the Big Bad)
  • On the toy front, the toys for the third movie have been... underwhelming so far. Cue Sentinel Prime
  • Leonard Nimoy as Sentinel Prime (Optimus' predecessor) was near universally praised. Nimoy has Transformers history voicing Galvatron from The Transformers: The Movie.
    • More importantly, for years, Nimoy didn't want to talk about playing Galvatron (it was part of his I Am Not Spock) phase. He's definitely done a 180 about that.
  • "Oh hey, more Mechtech figures, god how reta- HUMAN ALLIANCE SOUNDWAVE!? Niiiice."
  • With Megan Fox gone, I wonder who Rosie Huntington-Whatever's gonna be playi...Carly? G. 1. Carly?!!
  • And then came the announcement that the Twins were indeed cut out of the film in the editing room. And There Was Much Rejoicing.
  • So, Corey Burton isn't reprising his role as Shockwave. Bummer. I wonder who they're considering as a replacement... wait, David Warner?! And once he didn't go, Frank Welker came instead, but it wasn't too bad.
  • The revelation of a new group of Autobots calling themselves The Wreckers was quite exciting, since they have never had a real presence in any TF media except for the comics. In addition, Michael Bay stated that they "Don't really hide who they are." and we see NASCAR vehicles outfitted with lots of guns. They're also Nascar fans, mechanics, and, to a certain extent, engineers.
  • High Moon Studios announced as the developers of the Dark of the Moon console game (appropriately enough), as well as the fact it would be a "midquel" to the events of the films, not a straight-up adaptation.
  • They're making a fourth movie? Is that really necess— is that Optimus Prime riding Grimlock!?◊
    • The trailer's out and...HOLY CRAP!! CAB-OVER OPTIMUS?!!
  • Okay let's look over the Dinobots. Okay we've got Grimlock (duh), Slash, Scorn, Slug, Strafe (AKA Swoop). Okay, that's sounds nice but it's not the same without... wait... SLUDGE AND SNARL?
  • Frank Welker as Galvatron. Let me repeat that... Frank. Welker. As. GALVATRON.
  • Fans of Lockdown were incredibly happy to hear that he was to be included.
  • Those who are sick of Michael Bay should be happy to know that while there are plans for even more sequels, Transformers: The Last Knight will be the last Transformers film made with Bay's involvement.
  • Apparently, Hasbro is trying to enter the cinematic universe craze, with a few spin-offs and crossovers with other franchises.
  • William Lennox and Robert Epps are returning for the fifth film. And so is Seymour Simmons!
  • After five films^note if you disregard Galvatron in the fourth film, Welker finally returned to his most iconic TF role, voicing Megatron for the first time in the live-action films.
  • Oh, a new cast member. I wonder who - ANTHONY HOPKINS?!?!!
  • Behold: Studio Series, a line which has gotten more and more exciting the more figures are revealed.
    • We're getting another Devastator! One whose components actually transform into individual robots! Prepare for wallet extermination!
    • A whole decade after the release of Dark of the Moon, we are finally getting a proper Mirage figure, after years of the character being Screwed by the Lawyers due to his alt mode being a Ferrari.
• Other Films:
  • Bumblebee was great, and a total love-letter to everything about Transformers, from the G1 style Cybertron battle scenes and a shift in the character aesthetic to look more like they do in cartoons and toys, not to mention had a really great human character that was actually useful and had a genuinely endearing friendship with Bee. Really, there were a lot of moments during production that could constitute an entry on this list, but probably the biggest thing? Well, the reason why it's not among the Michael Bay Film entries (other than the fact it was not directed by him): Bumblebee was officially announced to be the start of a new Transformers Cinematic Universe. After a decade of Michael Bay's highly derided live action films, Hasbro is making the decision to end the franchise and take Bumblebee into its own continuity, meaning a Continuity Reboot. And after the high acclaim Bumblebee got, what comes next is going to be highly anticipated.
  • Been over 2 years since Bumblebee, wonder when or if the sequel will come. Wait, they confirmed it... Transformers: Rise of the Beasts? As in Beast Wars?!?!! They're doing yet another crossover?!? Anthony Ramos is the human lead? And Ron Perlman is reprising his role as Optimus Primal from Power of the Primes? Now that is just prime!
  • The new villain Scourge looks absolutely metal. And he's being played by Peter Dinklage!
  • Okay, trailers look cool, wonder what the story of the movie will be like DID PRIMAL JUST SAY "UNICRON"?!? And the fact he's not the Earth like he was in The Last Knight truly cements that Hasbro is committing to the new films being a Continuity Reboot!
  • The finale has a triple dose for fans across the entire frachise: Optimus saying his iconic TILL ALL ARE ONE, Prime being saved from the collapsing spacebridge by Primal who repeats said phrase, and capping it all off, their escape is set to the long awaited return of Arrival to Earth.
  • Wait, who's this guy approaching Noah at the end? He must be a member of Sector Sev-WAIT A MINUTE! THE CARD HE GAVE NOAH SAYS G.I.JOE!!!!! AFTER ALL THE FAILED ATTEMPTS IN THE PAST DECADE WE'RE FINALLY GETTING THE HASBRO CINEMATIC UNIVERSE WE DESERVE! TILL ALL ARE ONE!
• Studio Series
  • Bumblebee Concept. Art. Rumble. And he works with the earlier Soundwave Release! But that pales in comparison to CONCEPT ART MEGATRON, whose even a TRIPLE CHANGER!

Animated

• Transformers: Animated? Looks rather half-assed if you ask me and— wait, David Kaye as OPTIMUS PRIME?! Yeeessss...
• First Arcee toy that's a car? YEAH!!
• Hmmm, all the humans are suffering Chuck Cunningham Syndrome in season 3, and it would kill to see Sari agai.....she's staring in a two parter!? YES!
• What's this? An episode that predominantly focuses on Blackarachnia and Waspinator? And it's written by Larry DiTillio and Bob Forward, the original story editors of the Beast Wars show? Now that is ultra gear!
• After years of waiting, Shout! Factory announces they will release not only season 3 on DVD, but all three seasons in the originally intended widescreen format!
• It's been a decade and a half since Animated came out, will the line ever be brought up again? Luckily, Legacy Evolution has us covered with a new figure of Animated Prowl!
• Legacy United keeps the love for Animated going, with the first wave bringing new figures for Animated Bumblebee AND Optimus Prime!

Aligned Universe

• Generations/Video Games:
  • Hasbro will never ever make a combiner aga- wait is that Deluxe Brawl? Well that's cool but-DELUXE SWINDLE? OK that's cool too- THE REST OF THE COMBATICONS ARE GETTING DELUXE TOYS? AND THEY'LL COMBINE INTO BRUTICUS? SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!
    • On that note: Hasbro's making new Transformers: Fall of Cybertron figure?! Including SHOCKWAVE?! AND BRUTICUS?! SLAG YEAH!
    • Also, New Kickback, and possibly other Insecticons, but in truth there is a voyager Soundwave coming out (FOC), and it has an updated version of the tapes he ejects. Rumble, Ratbat, Ravage, Frenzy, and Laserbeak are now disks that can fit inside him, just like in G1.
    • Voyager Grimlock. Voyager Blaster (a Soundwave retool, but with his own minions!). Retools of the Combaticons into THE WRECKERS. WHICH COMBINE INTO RUINATION. AND RUINATION HAS EMIRATE XAARON'S HEAD.
  • METROPLEX HEEDS THE CALL OF THE LAST PRIME!
    • The new biggest Transformers toy ever! Until Fortress Maximus (a retool of said toy) took the slot.
  • Oh hey new Studio Series toys just got annou- wait a second, aren't those the War For Cybertron game designs? Those aren't movie-related, why would Hasbro- THEY'RE THE FIRST IN A DEDICATED "GAMER EDITION" SUBLINE?! SHUT UP AND TAKE MORE OF MY MONEY!
  • While the Prime figures in the Legacy toyline were largely met with a ho-hum reaction, the line's third year opens with a couple of shockers: THUNDERTRON, who only ever appeared in the Prime toyline and the Aligned novels, and RESCUE BOTS CHASE, who nobody was expecting due to the series' younger demographic. Could this mean more Generations-style Star Seeker and Rescue Bot figures are in the works? We'll have to wait and see!
• Transformers: Prime:
  • Well, it looks kind of dumb. Huh? Steve Blum is Starscream? That's cool but no one can replace Chri- Jeffrey Combs is Ratchet?! Still neat but... Dwayne Johnson is Cliffjumper! Cool! Maybe I'll give it a shot if it comes on, but... OH MY LORD!!! FRANK WELKER AND PETER CULLEN ARE BACK AS MEGATRON AND OPTIMUS PRIME!!! I AM SO WATCHING THIS!!!
    • And for those who didn't like Megatron's G1 voice, Frank has a new, menacing voice for the character that some consider to be one of the best Megatron voices of all time.
    • Dwayne Johnson voicing Cliffjumper caused a great number of fans to jump in excitement... too bad he died only five minutes in, but damn if it wasn't a badass five minutes.
  • To a lesser extent, fans still hurt by the premature death of Transformers: Animated were happy to hear Bulkhead's back.
  • Also, Bumblebee and Cliffjumper not sharing the same mold for the first time since the original series.
  • Arcee's badassitude in the prequel comic pleased female fans, especially after the fembots' treatment or victimization by the Smurfette Principle in previous TF installments. Or lack thereof.
  • Prowl's hopeful appearance◊ in the series.
    • His only scheduled appearance so far is in the Transformers Universe MMO game and there's already fanart of him. Also, his appearance and character are apparently based on a mixture of his G1 and Transformers: Animated incarnations.
    • And to go along with Prowl's possible appearance, based off the character's appearance in the live action films, as well as fitting the Evil Counterpart theme the series has going in regards to the character match-ups: Barricade◊. Psycho Cops FTW
  • And then, of course, you have the toys. Even non-fans of the series like Rob Bricken think they look great.
    • This was inverted later on when they held back the release and shortly thereafter canceled the line, in order to replace the figures with new Prime toys marketed towards a younger demographic.
  • Two Words: Unicron. Figure. That isn't sixty dollars. Unfortunately it was only a Japanese exclusive.
  • Oh, and perennial Transformers cast member David Kaye has also been announced to voice a character. Autobot or Decepticon, he's sure to be AWESOME.
    • His role has been revealed in "Toxicity": the Insecticon Hardshell.
  • When asked at Comic-Con whether or not the Dinobots would show... they commented they are part of the long term plan. Don't believe it? Click here and read. And then the cherry on top: that same post confirmed Combiners *squee*
    • Unfortunately, neither of those showed up at all. Though the Dinobots did get their own spin-off comic that saw them interact with the cast of Prime as a form of Canon Welding.
  • The Insecticons make their return in season 2.
  • The return of Nemesis Prime.
  • Wheeljack is back!
    • They exploded again after seeing the preview for "Triage" - Wheeljack and Soundwave locked in battle. So we basically have two of the biggest TF badasses of all time in an epic battle.
  • At the end of Shockwave's induction into the Transformers Hall of Fame, there was a brief clip of him in Transformers Prime, alongside Arcee, Cliffjumper, and Starscream. The fandom exploded with delight.
    • Then he finally appeared in "Out of the Past". It might've only been a Whole Episode Flashback appearance (for now), but he was still pretty damn badass!
  • A movie was announced, featuring a Unicron Possessed Megatron requiring the Autobots, Decepticons and Predacons to do an Enemy Mine.
  • A sneak preview of Season 3 reveals Shockwave's back. And he's bringing Predaking.
  • They're bringing in a combiner for Transformers Prime? Finally! Who is it? Wait? ABOMINUS!?
  • It gets better, they're bringing in Ultra Magnus!
  • Soundwave breaks his voicelessness and says the classic "Soundwave Superior. Autobots Inferior." line. Also, the fact that it's Frank Welker back in the role.
  • Bumblebee actually gets to speak!
  • The Trailer for Predacons Rising is her-HOLY SHIT, IS THAT GALVATRON?! Not exactly, but close enough that it might as well be.
• Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015):
  • Transformers Prime is over, so what's next for the Aligned continuity? Huh? The new series will be a continuation of Prime!? And the old voice cast will come back if they agree!!? Including Peter Cullen and Frank Welker!!? OH FRABJOUS DAY!
  • A Decepticon leader that is not Megatron. In a not-Japanese series.
  • Given the mobile game ties in with the toyline, we now know two new figures to come: Prowl and Megatronus (AKA The Fallen).
  • It's a small thing, but the spin-off comic has introduced a Vehicon named Steve, finally acknowledging the "Steve the Vehicon" fandom joke and including him as an actual part of the canon.
  • Like promised, the second season adds a few Prime characters; namely, Soundwave and Laserbeak in "Portals" and Ratchet in "Decepticon Island"
  • There will be a third season after all. And for those who were salty that Prime did not follow through with Combiners, this season is going to feature them in droves! Including the Stunticons!

Cyberverse

• Some of the more surprising inclusions in Transformers: Cyberverse left the fandom rejoicing.
  • For the first time ever, Rack'n'Ruin has not only appeared in animation, but also gets a toy!
  • Cheetor and Sky-byte make their return to animation!
  • Bludgeon finally makes his animated debut as well!
  • The final episodes introduce the Perfect Decepticons, AKA Tarn from More Than Meets The Eye! One of the biggest Ensemble Dark Horses in the franchise has been acknowledged!
  • Thought Volcanicus was tied only to G1? Well, he's made his debut in the Cyberverse toyline as well!
  • Both of the Finale Movies had their fair share of welcome surprises.
    • "The Immobilzers" not only has Volcanicus appear, but also the Mercenaries! And they're being led by Trypticon!
    • Wanted Tarn himself to show up rather than being the template for an army of mooks? No need to worry, for "The Perfect Decepticon" will feature him as the Big Bad! Finally, he makes his proper animated debut!
  • Disappointed Cyberverse Windblade didn't get a proper Deluxe-class figure? Legacy United's got you covered!

EarthSpark

• Longtime Promoted Fanboy and Fandom VIP Nick Roche being involved with the show's art direction is a welcome development.
• They've just revealed the voice cast, and Optimus and Megatron are being played by Alan Tudyk and Rory McCann! And if that weren't enough, Steve Blum is reprising his role as Starscream!
• The entire Retraux Flashback segment during Alex Malto's recap of the great war is a true love letter to the franchise that has excited the fandom.

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