History Trivia / TheTransformers

!!General

!![[ComicBook/TheTransformers The Marvel Comics]]
* See Trivia.TheTransformersMarvel

!![[WesternAnimation/TheTransformers The Sunbow Cartoon]]
* ChristmasRushed: [[https://tfwiki.net/wiki/The_Transformers_(cartoon)#Fight.21_Super_Robot_Lifeform_Transformers The Japanese release]] of the show was imported and dubbed in a rush, with preliminary or erroneously translated scripts being used( it was not as bad as [[Anime/UnicronTrilogy what would resurface much later]]), which caused issues like characters being referred by the wrong name or having the wrong voice (the seekers to a even bigger degree than the US dub, and even Blitzwing got Ramjet's voice at one point). Several minor/semi-regular characters had completely different voices depending on episode( Bluestreak got hit the worst, with ''seven'' different voice actors used in the japanse dub for him in total), in addition to [[ShortRunInPeru a few episodes]](Autobot Spike and Changing Gears) reaching japan several weeks before their US broadcast.[[https://tfwiki.net/wiki/The_Transformers_(cartoon)#Fight.21_Super_Robot_Lifeform_Transformers_2010 The third season]] got hit even worse, with even more gaffes in terms of referencing characters (the narrator at one point mistook Wildrider and Dead End as Runamuck and Runabout), but the most notable (and amusing) example is (again, as a result of preliminar scripts being used)[[https://tfwiki.net/wiki/File:TVMagazineStarscreamsGhost1.jpg The promo art]] for the Episode "Starscream's ghost", featuring Blitzwing (Who is nowhere to be seen in the actual episode, as Octane replaced him in the final version).
* CreatorBacklash: "Carbombya" (a [[{{Qurac}} heavily stereotyped]] {{Expy}} of [[UsefulNotes/{{MuammarGaddafi}} Gaddafi]]-era UsefulNotes/{{Libya}}) offended Creator/CaseyKasem (the voice of Teletraan 1, Cliffjumper, who had survived the movie, and Bluestreak, whose fate was never divulged) so much that he left the show during the third season.
* CreatorsFavorite: The three episodes {{Creator/AKOM}} did for season 2 put the Constructicons as major characters, with the team factoring ''heavily'' on the plots of those episodes.
* CreatorsPest: Despite ironically writing over half of the episodes featuring him, David Wise disliked Omega Supreme, dismissing him as a "stupid character" based on a "completely illogical" toy.
* DuelingShows: With ''WesternAnimation/ChallengeOfTheGobots'', another cartoon about shape-shifting robots based on a toyline that even shared some voice actors with ''The Transformers'' (e.g.: Arthur Burghardt, Creator/FrankWelker, and Peter Cullen). Ironically, the [=GoBots=] franchise eventually became the intellectual property of Hasbro after they bought Tonka in 1991 and the two are now considered to exist in the same multiverse. Albeit with the Go-Bots universe being very, ''very'' distant from any known Transformersverse. The only [=GoBot=] who has any sort of impact at all is Bugbite, who has since become a Decepticon.
** Granted, there is a big reason that Hasbro hasn't done much with the [=GoBots=] franchise- Bandai. When Hasbro purchased Tonka, they gained only partial ownership of the franchise. Bandai still owns the actual toys, meaning they also own the character models. While we've gotten a few nods as well as some recolored toys, Hasbro can't actually make any on-model [=GoBots=] toys for legal reasons. Interestingly, Bandai is releasing their own modern take on many of these characters with a new Machine Robo line in Japan, although being based on Revenge Of Chronos, they will not have the Hanna-Barbera faces.
* ExecutiveVeto: Female Transformers were intended to be present from the franchise's start (with Bob Budiansky even presenting Ratchet as such), but Hasbro shot it down under the pretense that ''Transformers'' was a "boy toy", and "girl robots" weren't desired. This is the most likely reason why a toy version of G1 Arcee wasn't released until 2014, ''28 years after she debuted''.
-->'''Bob:''' [[http://rustingcarcass.yuku.com/topic/954 Well, I remember bringing up that question early on with Hasbro, "are any of these female?" And then I think Hasbro's attitude was, 'this is a boy toy. We don't wanna have, you know, girl robots.' So, I said, "OK, just want to clarify that."]]
* ExiledFromContinuity:
** Sort of - while Buzzsaw did make a few appearances, use of him was discouraged by the series bible (since Buzzsaw's toy was packed alongside Soundwave's, and so long as he was around Buzzsaw didn't need to be shilled as much as the other Mini-Cassettes). He got a bit more equal time alongside Laserbeak in the comics, at least until he was out of commission for a couple dozen issues.
** Played straight with Reflector. The character was prominent in the first season, with a few speaking parts, but in the second season, he disappeared almost entirely, never mind the fact he only appeared in two issues of the Marvel Comic, where he was blatantly killed off very early in the going. He last appeared in the movie, and vanished without a trace shortly thereafter, leaving fans to believe he perished during Unicron's attack on Cybertron. This was mainly due to the fact his toy was not part of the initial 1984 offering, despite being in the cartoon. Hasbro had put the kibosh on releasing him because they believed a transforming camera was too boring. Nevertheless, he was a general retail item in Japan when the line was released there in 1985, and became a mail-away item in America in 1986.
** This also happened (to some extent) with Jetfire, the Deluxe Insecticons and the Deluxe Vehicles. Due to their status as toys originating from companies other than Takara, they weren't to be used in fiction because Takara didn't want to give their competitors (Bandai and Takatoku, respectively) free advertising. The end result was that Jetfire was redesigned for the comic and cartoon (the latter renaming him "Skyfire"), while the Deluxe Insecticons/Vehicles were more or less gone entirely[[note]]Venom did, however, appear in the semi-obscure [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Slaves_of_the_Insecticons Slaves of the Insecticons]], and the UK version of the comic prominently featured the Deluxe Vehicles as members of the Wreckers. Chop Shop and Venom also appeared in said version's "Time Wars" epic[[/note]]. Omega Supreme and Sky Lynx were also from another company, in this case Tomy, though they did appear in the cartoon despite not getting Japanese releases; when Takara and Tomy merged in 2005, both were finally released in Japan as part of the ''Encore'' line of G1 reissues. Shockwave was also a non-Takara mold, but this was made by a South Korean company that Takara not only considered too small to be a threat, but they even licensed the mold for release as Laserwave (Shockwave's Japanese name).
* HeAlsoDid: [[WesternAnimation/AeonFlux Peter]] [[Anime/ReignTheConqueror Chung]] served as a storyboard artist for the first two seasons and the movie.
** Creator/MasamiObari got his start on this series, designing and animating Optimus Prime's Transformation sequence. As well as some (presumed) animation work on "Heavy Metal War".
** [[Anime/StarDriver Shinji]] [[Anime/{{Megazone23}} Ara]][[Manga/{{Appleseed}} maki]] also did several character designs[[note]] Soundwave, his Cassettes and Reflector, to be specific.[[/note]] and created the concept for Perceptor.
** Animator Shinya Ohira would get his start doing several illustrations for the series through Studio Ox.
** Many of the other (confirmed) animators would also make names for themselves down the line, including ''Anime/MartianSuccessorNadesico'' creator Kia Asamiya (under his real name, Michitaka Kikuchi), ''VideoGame/DivineGate'' and ''Anime/AkudamaDrive'' Character designer Cindy H. Yamauchi (under her real name, Hideko Yamauchi) and ''Anime/PlasticLittle'' co-creators Satoshi Urushihara and Kinji Yoshimoto. Nelson Shin, who formed AKOM during the production of Season 2 and was a staple of Marvel's animation department at the time, would also go on to direct ''Animation/EmpressChung'' and serve as one of the current animation directors on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''.
** Two that pertain to the movie: Several of the film's key animators were, at the time of production, employees of Creator/{{Bebow}}[[note]]in particular, Masanori Shino, character designer for the ''Manga/BlackLagoon'' and ''Manga/TerraFormars'' adaptations[[/note]], Creator/{{Madhouse}} and Creator/{{Sunrise}}. Whereas Unicron was originally designed and conceived by Takehiko Ito, who would go on to create ''Manga/LordofLordsRyuKnight'' and ''Manga/OutlawStar'', as well as be the character designer of two other mecha series, ''[[Anime/NGKnightLamune40 NG Knight Lamune & 40]]'' and ''Anime/KOBeast''.
** The writing staff for the series included the likes of ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain''[='s=] Earl Kress and ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987''[='s=] David Wise as reoccurring writers for Season 2 (with Wise also penning the series finale); George Arthur Bloom (the creator for PBS' ''WesternAnimation/{{Cyberchase}}'') writing the opening three episodes; Gerry Conway (Responsible for ''ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied'' storyline and co-creator of characters like ComicBook/ThePunisher, [[Characters/BatmanJasonTodd Jason Todd]] and ComicBook/ManThing) wrote for two Season 3 episodes; ComicBook/SwampThing creator Len Wein, who co-wrote "Webword", and Creator/PaulDini, who wrote the episode "Dweller in the Depths".
* HostilityOnTheSet: "Thief in the Night", in addition to infamously driving the late Creator/CaseyKasem, who was of Lebanese descent, to quit the show in disgust of its depictions of Arabs (including naming a nation "Carbombya"), was the only time Creator/MauriceLaMarche voiced a character on the show, Six-Gun -- and [=LaMarche=] was annoyed with voice director Wally Burr's method of directing. That said, before Burr's passing, while [=LaMarche=] stood by some of his criticisms, he did state most of them were out of line and reconciled with Burr. [[note]]The [[Wiki/TFWikiDotNet Transformers wiki]] explains that Burr was a perfectionist, who often held sessions up to the maximum allowed at the time (a whopping ''8 hours''). [[Creator/TownsendColeman Townsend Coleman]] is quoted as saying Burr would insist on prolonging recording sessions, whether "it was necessary or not." [=LaMarche=] was of the opinion Burr was a PrimaDonnaDirector who wanted the actor to parrot the lines back to him as he himself would have performed them. The wiki does point out that "Thief in the Night", as mentioned above, is also the episode where Casey Kasem walked out and offers that that might also have been a factor in [=LaMarche=]'s bad experience.[[/note]]
* IKnewIt: A long-standing fan theory was that the reason for the seemingly endless supply of Sweeps is that, because Unicron reformatted the corpses of the Insecticons into the Sweeps, the Sweeps retained the cloning abilities of the bodies which they were created from. Flint Dille eventually confirmed this to be true at TFCon 2016.
* InternationalCoproduction: The original 1984/1985 ''Transformers'' toys were all recycled molds from Japanese company Takara's ''Diaclone'' and ''Microman/Micro Change'' lines repainted and released under one brand in the West by Hasbro. Later years used molds from other Japanese companies, such as Bandai, Takatoku, and Tomy.
* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Well, toys. A number of toys are unlikely to ever receive reissues in most parts of the world. This can be due to ever-changing toy laws (something that ensures a Western rerelease of the original Megatron will never happen), the original mold being lost or broken (as is the case with a number of 1984 Autobots and the Dinobots) or legal issues (Jetfire, due to the original toy being a ''Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross'' toy made by competior Bandai). And then you have toys that are rarely intact due to design flaws (many a Prowl on eBay will have their die-cast roofs missing, and let's not get started on toys with Gold Plastic Syndrome...).
* NoExportForYou:
** Season 4 (consisting solely of the three-parter "The Rebirth") was never initially dubbed in Japan, with ''Anime/TransformersHeadmasters'' being created to continue the series in a new direction. It wouldn't be until 1996 that a dubbed version of "The Rebirth" was released on the japanese home media release of the show, but with different seiyus other than Creator/TesshoGenda (Optimus/Convoy), Seizo Kaito (Megatron/Galvatron), Creator/KunihikoYasui (Rollbar), Creator/MasashiHirose (Searchlight), and Issei Masamune (Narrator)[[note]]It was eventually given a broadcast at Cartoon Network japan on 2007.[[/note]]. Similarly, when "Day of the Machines" and "Attack of the Autobots" got released in 1990 on video, several of the minor roles were recast, with Creator/KatsumiSuzuki taking over as Frenzy, Bluestreak and Wheeljack, and Creator/HiroakiHirata making his voice acting debut as Ironhide.
** A number of toys weren't released in the UK due to a fear of oversaturation, among them Shockwave, Swoop, the Predacons, and more. Likewise, America didn't get toys released in Europe between 1991 and 1993, such as the previously Japan-exclusive Overlord. Due to legal issues with toy molds, Japan didn't get certain toys under the ''Transformers'' brand either, like Jetfire, Omega Supreme and Sky Lynx (though the situation changed for those last two when Takara merged with Tomy).
* TheOtherDarrin:
** Voice director Wally Burr substituted as Thundercracker for John Stephenson in "War Dawn", and as Ratchet for Don Messick in "Masquerade".
** Other notable voice changes include Skids[[note]]from Michael Chain in "Quest For Survival" to Dan Gilvesan in "Triple Takeover"[[/note]], Outback[[note]]from Gilvesan to Creator/GreggBerger[[/note]] and Onslaught[[note]]normally voiced by S. Marc Jordan, but was replaced by Terry [=McGovern=] in the first "Five Faces of Darkness" episode, then ''again'' by Creator/SteveBulen for the character's brief role in "The Rebirth".[[/note]]. Also, due to an error in the episode's script, Creator/MichaelBell fills in for Neil Ross as Bonecrusher in "The Autobot Run".
** After the death of Roger C. Carmel, Jack Angel took over as Cyclonus, also taking over as Ultra Magnus around the same time. The other movie characters (save for Arcee, Wheelie, Blurr and Springer) were similarly replaced with actors from the show.
** Alpha Trion was normally voiced by John Stephenson, but was voiced by Creator/CoreyBurton in "War Dawn" and by Tony Pope in "Forever is a Long Time Coming".
** The Japanese dub '''''loved''''' to do this, with many of the supporting cast alternating between roles on a regular basis.
* TheOtherMarty: Ted Schwartz was originally intended to be Judd Nelson's replacement as Rodimus Prime's voice after ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformersTheMovie'', and he still has a few lines (in the recap of part 2 and one line in part 3) that weren't dubbed over by Dick Gauthier in "Five Faces of Darkness".
* RecycledScript: David Wise has a habit of recycling scenes between cartoons he writes for, with ''Transformers'' being one of them. For instance, "Microbots" has a similar scene to the ''[[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987 TMNT]]'' episode "Shreddered and Splintered". The episode 'Kremzeek', meanwhile, was later recycled by Wise TWICE: once for TMNT and again for Disney's 'The Mighty Ducks'.
* UncreditedRole:
** Frank Welker was accidentally left out of the credits to the opening episodes. This was rectified starting with "Transport to Oblivion".
** Many incidental and guest roles, including female characters like Chromia and Allegra, are mostly unidentified or outright unknown.
** Neither Toei, AKOM or Sei Young ever received proper credit for their work on the show (as was standard with most cartoons from the era that outsourced its animation), which makes it difficult to pinpoint which episodes were done by which studio. It gets worse, as both Toei and AKOM outsourced further to other studios, many of whom are unknown. While most of the episodes have been identified as one of the three studios (or to a subcontractor like Ashi Production or Studio Look), at least 9 episodes -- 7 from Season 2, and 2 from Season 3 attributed to AKOM -- are still unaccounted for, the same applies for any proper animator credits for any of the other episodes.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
** The character that became Skyfire was originally named Jetfire like the toy he was based on, and closer resembled its design (albeit with a blue visor opposed to the toy's red). However, possibly because of Takara's plans to release ''The Transformers'' in Japan and the Jetfire toy being owned by rival Bandai, the character was completely redesigned and renamed to no longer resemble the toy[[note]]though the original model was used for the Jetfire toy commercial[[/note]]. This change (at least, the name change) came late enough in production of Season One that scripts and recorded dialogue still used the name "Jetfire".
** By a similar count, the production bible suggests that there were plans to redesign Skyfire again and reintroduce him into the show, at which point he could see use again. This never happened.
** In "War Dawn," Ariel was supposed to die along with Dion. However, members of production realized that since she was Orion Pax's LoveInterest and already had a similar color scheme, she could simply be rebuilt as Elita One, so the script writers added Alpha Trion's remark about his intention to do so. (This, by the way, is why fans propose Dion was also rebuilt into someone Optimus would know.)
** Octane's role in "Starscream's Ghost" was originally intended for Blitzwing, who was banished from the Decepticons in the "Five Faces of Darkness" five-parter. Blitzwing was replaced by Octane to promote Octane's [[MerchandiseDriven newer toy]], resulting in several narrative discrepencies.
** Astrotrain's bizarre behavior in "The God Gambit" made him completely out-of-character, as the whole "ordering Starscream around, choking him, and Starscream fearing him" thing may have been intended for Megatron, but Astrotrain was shoehorned in to shill his then-new toy.
** "The Rebirth" was originally supposed to have five parts instead of the three it ended up with.
** The production bible for the series said that Shockwave could clone himself at will, which never happens in the series. ''VideoGame/TransformersDevastation'', however, [[DevelopmentGag brings this back]] for his boss fight.
** The production bible also specifies Rumble as being a "red robot" (similar to his toy and comic design), but in the series itself he and Frenzy switched colors. A FreezeFrameBonus in "Heavy Metal War" shows [[http://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/4/46/RumbleisRed.jpg the "red robot" description alongside Rumble]]. [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/FIRRIB The debates]] have been raging ever since.
** Dan Gilvezan was originally supposed to play both Bumblebee and Spike Witwicky before it was decided to have Corey Burton play Spike to avoid TalkingToHimself.
** Sparkplug Witwicky was going to appear in "Five Faces of Darkness", but he was ultimately cut. His only line was given to Blaster.
** "Heavy Metal War" was originally written as the series finale had the toyline not been a success. This is evident in how the Decepticons are tossed into a river of lava at the end of the episode. The shot of Megatron vowing revenge was likely added later on.
** In an earlier draft of "War of the Dinobots", it was an original character named Doctor Lynn Hyashi who discovered the meteorite instead of Chip. In a deleted subplot, Sparkplug's jealousy of her technical expertise would have paralleled Grimlock's jealousy of Prime's leadership.
*** Also, the reason Reflector looks alarmed when Megatron orders the footage of the Decepticons' defeat by the Dinobots turned off is because the footage was originally supposed to be showing a rather detailed, gruesome battering Reflector received from the Dinobots.
** "Fire on the Mountain" was going to include a subplot of [[DefectorFromDecadence Skyfire]] trying to convince [[HalfHeartedHenchman Thundercracker]] to join the Autobots, and while the Seeker wouldn't accept, he would help Skyfire foil the Decepticons' plan-of-the-week. This ended up being severely downplayed in the final version, though it does put Thundercracker's final line in the episode [[note]] mocking Megatron & Starscream while saying the Autobots "aren't such wimps after all" [[/note]] in a new light.
** As noted above, female Transformers would've been a part of the franchise from the very beginning (with Ratchet specifically being one), but this was nixed by Hasbro since they believed boys would liken playing with female Transformers to playing with Barbie dolls.
** Many unproduced toys exist. Among them include:
*** [[http://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/e/e4/G1toy-UnicronprotoHasbro.jpg Two]] [[http://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/5/56/G1toy-UnicronprotoTakara.jpg versions]] of a Unicron toy that never went past the prototype stage due to cost concerns, flimsy arms and a faulty voice chip. Takara had their own version in the works, which also never got released.
*** Two Arcee prototypes ([[http://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/5/58/G1ArceeProto.jpg one with her original design]] and [[http://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/e/e5/Concept-HeadmasterArcee.jpg one that was a retool of Chromedome's toy]]). Neither went through due to the fact Hasbro saw the toyline as a boy's toy.
*** Two Megatron Triple Changers ([[http://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/6/64/Skywarpatron.jpg one that turned into a plane and Skywarp(!)]], and [[http://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/8/8e/Megalvatron.jpg another that turned into Galvatron and a handgun]]).
*** Double Pretenders (that is, two robots in a Pretender shell who combine when outside it).
** Megatron almost had a different name. When the writer of the initial Transformers fiction came up with the name, it was shot down by Hasbro, as they felt it conjured up images of nuclear weapons. He then reminded Hasbro that Megatron was supposed to be the BigBad and the name was approved.
** Similarly, Starscream was originally named Ulchtar in Denny O'Neill's original treatment for the comic book, but Bob Budiansky changed it.
** Hasbro attempted to re-release the original Megatron toy several times after his release in the US, but these efforts failed since the toy looked like a real gun, despite the later releases of the original toy containing an orange cap as per US toy gun laws. It's one of the reasons Toys R Us refused to sell the figure, and any Walther P-38 Megs must have an orange cap if released in the US at all. Buyers eventually have to import the Japanese version to circumvent this.
*** Despite US Federal toy gun laws only requiring an orange barrel cap, recent California state law requires toy guns sold there to have much more bizarre safety colors. This played a part in Hasbro's decision, which not only prevented the G1 toy being reissued but also hindered the ''Classics'' gun mode toy from being reissued for many years(Amazon eventually sold it in bright red and black as an online exclusive).
** In the early 80's, Takara planned to release the car and jet robots known as ''Diaclone'' in Japan as ''Diakron'' in the United States. The first initial toyline failed (mainly because the only toys in the line were the ones that became Sunstreaker, Ironhide, Traibreaker, and the Powerdashers, as well as the Multi-Force 14 Robot later nicknamed the "Guts Blocker Autobot" after appearing in the Dreamwave G1 comic), so they tried again at a toy fair. However, the toys caught the eye of Hasbro, who proceed to rebrand the toyline, along with the Microman toys, as ''Transformers''. Takara later dropped the ''Diaclone'' car and jet robots and ''Microman'' lines and rebranded them as ''Transformers'' as well. (They also released several ''Diaclone'' and ''Microman'' toys themselves as part of the ''Kronoform'' line, which was also short-lived.)
* WordOfGod:
** {{Fanon}} assumed that the character Dion from the episode "War Dawn" survived the attack on storage yard 67 and was rebuilt into someone important (Ultra Magnus and Ironhide being the most popular choices), seeing as his best friend, Orion Pax was rebuilt as Optimus Prime. In 2010, Hasbro flat out stated that [[http://www.tfviews.com/news/main/hasbro-q-and-a/1024 Dion was never rebuilt into anybody else]] and had not even survived. Also, The ''ComicBook/TransformersWingsOfHonor'' continuity had Dion survive the attack, but he was still called Dion.
** For the longest time it was a mystery as to worked on the episode "Call of the Primitives" (Both TMS and Obari's names were thrown around. The latter eventually revealing that even ''he'' had no clue; Creator/AshiProductions was also an often mentioned suspect due to their involvement on the show's first two seasons and the episode's similar appearance to the concurrently airing ''Toys/MachineRobo'' series in Japan). This was eventually cleared up when ''Manga/{{Karneval}}'' director Eiji Suganuma came out and [[https://twitter.com/LandSoda/status/487278887332638721 confirmed his own involvement on the episode]] as its animation director; while also revealing that Predaking's transformation in the episode was animated by Shin Matsuo, an animator on ''Machine Robo'' and illustrator for the series' promotional material in Japan. He would further confirm in 2020 that the episode was not produced by either TMS or Ashi, but rather by Toei themselves, with assistance from subcontract firm Studio Look.
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* ExiledFromContinuity: Sort of - while Buzzsaw did make a few appearances, use of him was discouraged by the series bible (since Buzzsaw's toy was packed alongside Soundwave's, and so long as he was around Buzzsaw didn't need to be shilled as much as the other Mini-Cassettes). He got a bit more equal time alongside Laserbeak in the comics, at least until he was out of commission for a couple dozen issues.

* NoExportForYou: Season 4 (consisting solely of the three-parter "The Rebirth") was never initially dubbed in Japan, with ''Anime/TransformersHeadmasters'' being created to continue the series in a new direction. It wouldn't be until 1996 that a dubbed version of "The Rebirth" was released on the japanese home media release of the show, but with different seiyus other than Creator/TesshoGenda (Optimus/Convoy), Seizo Kaito (Megatron/Galvatron), Creator/KunihikoYasui (Rollbar), Creator/MasashiHirose (Searchlight), and Issei Masamune (Narrator)[[note]]It was eventually given a broadcast at Cartoon Network japan on 2007.[[/note]]. Similarly, when "Day of the Machines" and "Attack of the Autobots" got released in 1990 on video, several of the minor roles were recast, with Creator/KatsumiSuzuki taking over as Frenzy, Bluestreak and Wheeljack, and Creator/HiroakiHirata making his voice acting debut as Ironhide.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
** In the early 80's, Takara planned to release the car and jet robots known as ''Diaclone'' in Japan as ''Diakron'' in the United States. The first initial toyline failed (mainly because the only toys in the line were the ones that became Sunstreaker, Ironhide, Traibreaker, and the Powerdashers, as well as the Multi-Force 14 Robot later nicknamed the "Guts Blocker Autobot" after appearing in the Dreamwave G1 comic), so they tried again at a toy fair. However, the toys caught the eye of Hasbro, who proceed to rebrand the toyline, along with the Microman toys, as ''Transformers''. Takara later dropped the ''Diaclone'' car and jet robots and ''Microman'' lines and rebranded them as ''Transformers'' as well. (They also released several ''Diaclone'' and ''Microman'' toys themselves as part of the ''Kronoform'' line, which was also short-lived.)
** Hasbro attempted to re-release the original Megatron toy several times after his release in the US, but these efforts failed since the toy looked like a real gun, despite the later releases of the original toy containing an orange cap as per US toy gun laws. It's one of the reasons Toys R Us refused to sell the figure, and any Walther P-38 Megs must have an orange cap if released in the US at all. Buyers eventually have to import the Japanese version to circumvent this.
*** Despite US Federal toy gun laws only requiring an orange barrel cap, recent California state law requires toy guns sold there to have much more bizarre safety colors. This played a part in Hasbro's decision, which not only prevented the G1 toy being reissued but also hindered the ''Classics'' gun mode toy from being reissued for many years(Amazon eventually sold it in bright red and black as an online exclusive).
** Unicron was originally going to be released as a toy after the movie, but the faulty microphone and flimsy arms meant the toy had to be scrapped. Takara had their own version in the works, which also never got released.
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* See {{Trivia.TheTransformersMarvel}}

* ArtistDisillusionment: Bob Budiansky, who has lost all interest in the series even several decades after he left it. According to post-''Transformers'' interviews, while he initially approached the project with complete enthusiasm (even writing the "Tech-Spec" bios for the toys), ExecutiveMeddling and the constant need to feature new toys sapped it away. It doesn't help that his tenure was derided by some fans who consider his stories more juvenile than those of Creator/SimonFurman -- a point that Budiansky agrees with, as [[ItsNotSupposedToWinOscars he was targeting his stories for prepubescent boys]].
* CreatorsApathy: Hasbro didn't really care what kind of stories the Marvel writers told as long as the comic shilled their toys and stayed child friendly.
* CreatorBreakdown: Bob Budiansky (see above) suffered from stress due to trying to constantly shove in new toys, which led to him leaving the comic. He has since said that he has no intention of working on ''Transformers'' again, though that doesn't mean he wouldn't say "no" if Hasbro asked him. His only post-Marvel ''Transformers'' work was IDW's faithful adaptation of the animated movie, which was less stress-inducing for obvious reasons.
* CreatorsFavorite: Creator/SimonFurman, writer for a great number of ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' comics, has a couple favorites:
** Grimlock. By his pen, Grimlock is a cunning warrior who uses HulkSpeak to [[ObfuscatingStupidity make his enemies underestimate him]], while the TV series simply had him be too dumb to string a sentence together.
** Nightbeat, a C-list character whom Furman brought to the forefront by making him a FilmNoir-style HardboiledDetective. In the current IDW-universe that Furman is helping to write, he [[spoiler: killed Nightbeat off fairly early on so fans can know that AnyoneCanDie,]] even his own favorite character. He did something similar in the G2 comics, [[spoiler: killing off Nightbeat as a self-inflicted PlayerPunch]].
* ExecutiveMeddling:
** Hasbo at first did not approve Megatron's name, believing that the name evoked images of nuclear bombs. Bob Budiansky responded that this was ''exactly the point'', as Megatron was the series' main ''villain''. Hasbro wisely backed off and approved the name.
** The reason female Transformers didn't appear from the very start (aside from Marvel's adaptation of the animated movie and Arcee's appearances in UK-exclusive stories). Budiansky was ready, willing and able (Ratchet was even a candidate for an early female character), but the Hasbro execs thought there shouldn't be girls among "toys for boys" in a comic book "for boys" (human female characters were obviously exempt from this reasoning).
** Hasbro demanded that the comic give attention to every new toy they produced and get routinely remove older or discontinued Transformers. This annoyed the writers, particularly Budiansky, as they regularly had to get rid of major members of the established cast and bring in large rosters of characters they didn't know what to do with.
** Marvel had licensed out Spider-Man to Mattel in 1984 and they only agreed to let the character make a guest appearance in the Hasbro licensed comic if he appeared in his black symbiote suit, which had just been recently introduced and would be less identifiable then his classic suit. Ironically, the black suit would become Spidey's standard costume for a few years and Mattel had to produce toys of it.
* ExiledFromContinuity:
** When it comes to reissues of the series, people want readers to forget ComicBook/SpiderMan was in issue 3. The Savage Land is also prominently featured as the resting place of Shockwave and the Dinobots upon their arrival on Earth, but that was nixed as the book was slowly separated from the rest of the Franchise/MarvelUniverse.
** Circuit Breaker, due to appearing in ''ComicBook/SecretWarsII'' before ''The Transformers'', is owned by Marvel and not Hasbro. As such, for a long time IDW reprints didn't include stories featuring her. The IDW-published ''Regeneration One'' [[WritingAroundTrademarks features her as an unnamed silhouette in a flashback]], while in the present day she's dead, with Spike Witwicky becoming [[LegacyCharacter Circuit]] [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute Smasher]].
** Death's Head, the famous bounty hunter from the series, fell into the same issues as Circuit Breaker and is under Marvel's ownership instead of Hasbro's, his transition to the Marvel Universe occurring courtesy of [[Franchise/DoctorWho the Doctor himself]]. Hasbro responded years later by creating the similar character [[WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated Lockdown]] so they could use their own Death's Head.
* ImageSource:
** BigGood
* SequelGap: ''Regeneration One'', the continuation/conclusion of the comic, was released a full 21 years after issue 80's release.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: ''Techno-X'', a proposed 90's revamp of Circuit Breaker and the Neo-Knights by Simon Furman and Andrew Wildman, integrating the team more fully into the Marvel universe. Had the series been picked up, the Transformers would have been {{retcon}}ned as an elaborate training simulation created by G.B. Blackrock (who, supposedly, would've had a dark secret and fought [[Comicbook/IronMan Tony Stark]]). Team member Dynamo would have also been retconned as part of the simulation, since, by Furman's own admission, they had absolutely no idea what to do with him once the Transformers comic ended.