The Transformers And Their Generations

By Author: Billy Bobb
Total Articles: 41
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Transformers are toys produced by US-based toy maker Hasbro. Transformers change, or "transform" of course, from the shape of robots to the shape of other things such as cars, planes, tanks, weapons, and even cassette players. The Transformer line of toys was adapted into an animated television show, a Marvel comics series, and several full length feature movies. Transformers have enjoyed the most popularlity in the USA, Britain, and Japan.

The Transformers legacy began in the 1970s with the Japanese toylines Microman and Diaclone, produced by toy maker Takara. Hasbro bought a license to rebrand and use the Takara toylines in 1984, and rebranded them as "Transformers".The toys were basically the same, though they were often repainted in different colors or had other minor changes. Hasbro also created its own storyline for the toys, giving them new personalities and names that didn't apply to the Takara toys. Then Hasbro later started thinking up new Transformers that had no origin in the original Japanese toylines. Takara stopped marketing Microman and Diaclone in 1985, and instead began marketing Tranformers, copying ...
... the success of the American series.

In 1984 an animated Transformers tv series began running, as did a Marvel Comics series. In 1986 the animated tv series was adapted into a full-length motion picture. The movie caused an uproar with its depiction of the death of many Autobot characters including Optimus Prime, their beloved leader. In 1987 Optimus Prime would be brought back to life at the end of the third season of Transformers. That year was the US animated series' last year, but a Japanese version of the show continued to be produced, and comicbook series continued to be updated in the US and the UK. It should be pointed out that these various series did not conform to the same storyline and they contradicted each other over and over.

Since the end of the original tv series, new "generations" of Transformers have arisen, but the majority of fans of the original generation are unimpressed and prefer the old series. Beast Wars was an incarnation of the Transformers series produced in Canada from 1995-1999, and was followed by Beast Machines from 2000-2001. This generation of Transformers was represented in a new toyline from Hasbro. It was set in the future from the original Transformers series, with many story tie-ins.

Other comic book series about new generations of Transformers have also arisen, but have never matched the popularity of the Generation 1 Transformers. Only the recent Transformers film franchise has reached the levels of the original Transformers craze, with the live action "Transformers" achieving mammoth success in 2007, and the sequel "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" achieving just as much in 2009. You can expect another installment in 2011-12. Featuring fantastic computer-animated action and a young allstar cast of actors, the franchise has revived Transformers as a dominant force in the entertainment industry as well as the toy industry.
Billy Bob grew up on the Transformers and owns every issue of their Marvel Comics series. See his favorite Transformers coloring books at