MediaWiki - User contributions [en]

Tigatron (BW)

2009-10-30T22:31:25Z

74.216.96.9: /* Device Label */

{{Faction|maximal|wreckers|autobot}}
{{disambig2|the prominent Beast Wars character|the Playskool Go-Bot|Tigertron}}
{{picsneeded}}

:''Tigatron is a [[Maximal]] from the [[Beast Wars (franchise)|Beast Wars]] portion of the [[Generation 1 continuity family]]. He was previously designated '''Unit 2'''.''

[[Image:Tigatron-takaraprofile.jpg|right|300px|thumb|I must kill you... because God told me to!]]
Damage to his stasis pod upon crashing to [[Earth]] caused [[Tigatron]] to emerge far more tiger than robot. A loner who is more connected to the Earth than any other Beast Warrior, he enjoys the planet's natural beauty and is often concerned about the damage that the Transformers' battle is doing to it. Scout, infiltrator, and sometimes programming guru, Tigatron has filled a variety of roles for the Maximals.

{{bigquote|We were given a paradise! All we had to do was live there in peace. But we proved unworthy... and the paradise is no more.|Tigatron|"[[The Trigger, Part 2]]"}}

:''Chinese name (Taiwan):'' '''Lǎo-hǔ''' (老虎, "Tiger") / '''Bái Hǔ''' (白虎, "White Tiger")
:''Spanish name:'' '''Tigretron'''
:''Polish name:'' '''Tygrytron'''
:''Portuguse name (Brazil):'' '''Tigertron'''

==Fiction==
===First Wave Toy Bio===
A powerful and fearless warrior, Optimus Primal appointed Tigatron to patrol the nothern polar sector, where he roams in his beast mode. When he encounters Predacon activity, he is capable of transforming rapidly and reconfiguring his titanium tail into a powerful quasar cannon, which he then uses to vaporize his enemies! Additionally, he sports a toxic fluid blaster, which renders any body struck by it completely useless. {{storylink|Tigatron#Toys|Tigatron bio}}
{{note|The on-package [[Bio|bios]] of the first wave of Beast Wars toys, predate the development of the ''Beast Wars'' cartoon and its backstory. They seem to present the characters as a direct continuation of the previous Autobot/Decepticon conflict, with Optimus Primal actually being a new form of Optimus Prime and Megatron being his Generation 1 counterpart, and their battles taking place on present day, [[human]]-inhabited Earth, rather than in the distant past. Once the cartoon launched, the toyline adjusted itself to match that continuity instead, relegating this one to an aborted [[micro-continuity]].}}
===Cartoon continuity===
====Dawn of Future's Past====
[[Image:Tigatrondawn.jpg|left|250px|thumb|He wasn't even supposed to be here today!]]
Tigatron was once known as Unit 2, part of the [[Maximal Command Security Force]] which protected the fragile peace that existed on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] in the centuries following the [[Pax Cybertronia]]. One of the Security Force's elite troops, Unit 2 was often put in charge of guarding important Maximal artifacts, a job that often required his amazing prowess at tracking. Despite his strong command of this environment, Unit 2 wondered if his destiny and place was elsewhere.

When the [[Golden Disk (Voyager)|Golden Disk]] was stolen by a band of rogue [[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]], Unit 2 responded along with Unit 1, [[Nitrostreak]]. After Nitrostreak was incapacitated, Unit 2 attempted to follow the [[Darksyde]] by commandeering the ''[[Chromia 10]]'', pursuing, along with [[Airazor (BW)|its pilot]]. During the ensuing firefight, their ship was badly damaged. [[Optimus Primal]] had their [[spark]]s remotely uploaded to [[blank]] [[protoforms]] in the [[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]'s cargo hold, which saved their lives, but severely damaged their core mainframes. {{storylink|Dawn of Future's Past}}

{{note|This story is a [[retcon]], as Tigatron was originally treated as a newborn protoform in the ''Beast Wars'' animated series. Instead, here he is revealed to have been a Maximal who existed previously on Cybertron but ended up on the ''Axalon'' in a stasis pod, damaged to the point of not remembering any of his past.}}
{{-}}
====''Beast Wars'' Cartoon====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Blu Mankuma]] (English), [[Kōichi Tōchika]] (Japanese), [[Armando Tiraboschi]] (Portuguese)

[[Image:Tigatron1.jpg|right|200px|thumb|This is a land of peace, and I will kill anyone who says otherwise!]]
Tigatron was born in the far frozen north, at first heavily damaged in his memory circuits and unable to remember friend from foe. In his beast mode, he patiently watched the Predacon and Maximal forces duke it out. When [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] threatened the white tigers, and the Maximals conceded the fight, Tigatron knew his alliance. {{storylink|Fallen Comrades}}

His alliance established, Tigatron became a background player—feeling more at home as a tiger than a robot, he was allowed to remain in the wilds as a scout. He sent weekly updates to the ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]'' through communication towers {{storylink|The Trigger, Part 1}} and lending assistance to the Maximals when called upon (which, for a background scout agent, [[A Better Mousetrap|was]] [[Spider's Game|quite]] [[Call of the Wild|often]]). He was rarely seen inside the Maximal base, regarding artificial environments as "strange", and preferred to act solo believing he hunted better alone—this sometimes meant he would need rescuing. {{storylink|Spider's Game}}

He and [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] held a strong sibling friendship. While Cheetor was youthful and eager, Tigatron was confident and wise. Cheetor called him "Big Cat" frequently.

He was the first to discover the [[Vok]]'s [[Brigadoon|flying island]], and believed this area with its powerful death ray and many horrible death-traps to be a land of peace. He felt at home here and tried to protect it from the Predacons, and was enraged and horrified when the Beast Wars led to the island's destruction—by his own hand, after [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] warped it into a weapon. {{storylink|The Trigger, Part 1}} {{storylink|The Trigger, Part 2}}

Being more at home with his beast mode than his robot mode, his help was invaluable when the Maximals were left stuck in beast mode and overpowered by animal instincts. He helped them learn to work with these instincts instead of struggling for dominance. {{storylink|Call of the Wild}}

[[Image:Airazortigatrontrigger.jpg|left|180px|thumb|A cat and bird fall for each other. Love is truly blind.]]
Tigatron had an organic tiger friend named [[Snowstalker]], who may or may not have been the basis for his altmode. Some fans have speculated that the pair were [[Robot-fleshling romance|more than friends]], as the [[Human|dumb stubbies]] say. Sadly, Snowstalker became one of the war's casualties, putting Tigatron in a funk for a short while, until he realized that doing nothing only meant more innocents would die. {{storylink|Law of the Jungle}}

Not much later, Tigatron was the first to detect a pulsing alien energy source. When [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] initiated a somewhat suspicious truce shortly afterwards, [[Optimus Primal]] ordered a covert infiltration of the Predacon base. [[Rattrap]] and [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] made enough of a distraction to allow Tigatron inside the [[Darksyde|Predacon base]].

Inside, he hacked his way into the ship's computer systems and found out what had Megatron so worried—the [[Vok]] were coming back, and they weren't happy. {{storylink|Before the Storm}} Tigatron and the rest of the Maximals barely survived the subsequent attack of the alien [[Planet Buster]].

Tigatron and Airazor formed a very powerful relationship during this time. They both felt a strong connection to the prehistoric [[Earth]], and they frequently spent their time outside of the Maximal base in their beast forms instead. After the destruction of the Planet Buster sent dozens of stasis pods crashing to Earth, the pair set off on a voyage to find what had become of their Maximal comrades within the pods. Unfortunately, before they could discover any still-functional pods, they were abducted by a [[Metal Hunter|bizarre alien plant]]. {{storylink|Other Visits (Part 1)}}

The two were not seen again until much later, when their inert bodies were revealed to be the captives of the Vok, floating somewhere in a deep space nebula. The Vok removed their Sparks from their bodies, which were then fused into the awesomely powerful [[Vok]] emissary [[Tigerhawk]]. When the Vok influence was removed from Tigerhawk, the Sparks of Tigatron and Airazor likewise fused and entered the empty shell. {{storylink|Other Victories}}

====Transformers Beast Wars: Transmetals Video Game====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Scott McNeil]] (English), ??? (Japanese)
{{Note|Tigatron is a hidden character in the Beast Wars Transmetals video game. His character model is a palette-swapped version of Transmetal Cheetor's body.}}
[[Image:N64Tigatron.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Tigatron's been dunked in bleach.]]
{{storylink|Beast Wars: Transmetals|Beast Wars: Transmetals}}

{{charstubfiction}}

====3H comics====
[[Image:Primeval Tigatron.jpg|right|180px|thumb|It's the "happy" equivalent of dull surprise!]]
Tigatron and Airazor's sparks were sent back to Earth by the [[Vok]] sometime after [[Tigerhawk]]'s destruction. Tigatron's spark took possession of [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]]'s former body at the bottom of a lake. Joining Transmetal Airazor and a newly-created [[Primal Prime]], {{storylink|Primeval Dawn Part 1}} Tigatron battled [[Tarantulas]] and Ravage, who had also managed to escape death. {{storylink|Primeval Dawn Part 2}}

{{note|The "Primeval Dawn" story was never finished, so how Tigatron came to join the [[Wrecker|Wreckers]] is unknown.}}

Tigatron, Primal Prime, and others arrived on Cybertron during Megatron's anti-biological reign. Various teams met with the [[Oracle]], which assigned them various tasks. When Optimus Primal objected, saying that with all these soldiers, Megatron could be defeated easily, the Oracle swept him away and cleansed his memory of the recent events. Tigatron vehemently objected to this treatment of his former commander. A set of coordinates was infused into Primal Prime's head by the Oracle. When arriving at an Autobot shuttle, which was to ferry the Wreckers to those coordinates, Tigatron felt that something was amiss. It was then that the Vehicon generals [[Spy Streak]], [[Scavenger (BM)|Scavenger]], [[Quake (G1)|Quake]] and [[Blastcharge (BM)|Blastcharge]] attacked. Tigatron used his Nature's Fury attack, utterly destroying Quake. During the ride in the Autobot shuttle, Tigatron meditated, recovering from the battle. Upon arrived at their destination, he once again sensed that danger awaited the Wreckers...{{storylink|Departure}}

{{storylink|Wreckers: Finale Part II}}

{{charstubfiction}}

{{-}}
===''Beast Wars Metals'' comic===
[[Image:Blackarach24.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Let's hope Airazor doesn't find out about this.]]
Following the [[Quantum surge]], Tigatron was separated from the other [[Maximal|Maximals]] and left stranded somewhere on [[Earth|Energoa]]. Following [[Optimus Primal]]'s rebirth and escape from [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]], [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] was left to sadly ponder where her "Tigatron-sama" was. Elsewhere on Energoa, Tigatron could be seen staring poetically at the [[Moon (moon)|moon]]. {{storylink|Raise the Curtain for Beast Wars Metals!!}}

At one point later, he was forced to do battle with the [[spark]]-less body of his beloved Airazor. Not wishing to harm her, he willingly let the evil Airazor take the opportunity to decapitate him. Just as evil Airazor began to strike, the spark of the ''real'' Airazor entered his body. In cyberspace, the two embraced each other and vowed never to be apart again. Their sparks then merged, resulting in the all-powerful [[Tigerhawk]].

{{-}}

==Toys==
===Beast Wars===
[[Image:Tigatron-HasbroToy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Surprisingly not a case of yellowing.]]
*'''Tigatron''' (Deluxe, 1996/1997)
**''Japanese ID number'': '''C-8'''
**''Accessories'': Tail-gun, water-shooting gun

: Part of the third wave of [[Hasbro]] ''[[Beast Wars (toyline)|Beast Wars]]'' Deluxes, the original Tigatron toy is a [[redeco]] of the original [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] toy in cream, silver, and green, transforming into a fairly generic big cat in shape. His robot-mode parts color layout is notably different from Cheetor's. In robot mode, he is armed with a rifle made out of his hindquarters and tail, along with a second [[Water-squirting gimmick|water-squirting]] "gut gun" formed out of his stomach. This cannon is usable in both modes, but in beast mode, it's awkward and just plain weird. As with most early ''Beast Wars'' toys, he features a "[[mutant head]]" that replaces his face.

[[Image:Tigatronbwtakara.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Over time, this will [[photodegradation|yellow]] and become the Hasbro version.]]
: The [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] version was released a year later, in a more [[Show-accuracy|show-accurate]] bright white color, with his [[Paint operation|paint applications]] directly copied from Cheetor's layouts just as the show model had done. This version also has slight [[Retool|mold tweak]] to keep the beast head pointed forward.

: This mold was also used to make [[Shadow Panther]] and [[Ravage (G1)/toys|Tripredacus Agent]]. It was slated to be used for ''[[Universe (2003 toyline)|Universe]]'' [[Nightprowler]], but that toy set was canceled.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1996/Maximal/Tigatron/tigatron.htm More information on Tigatron at TFU.info]

{{-}}{{anchor|BWJVs}}
[[Image:VS8-TigatronBlackarachnia.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Let's hope neither Airazor or Silverbolt find out about this...]]
*'''Deep Forest Showdown: Tigatron VS Blackwidow''' (VS set, 1997)
**''Japanese ID number'': '''VS-8'''
**''Accessories'': Tail-gun, water-shooting gun

: In Japan, Tigatron was available both individually and in a two-pack with the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]]. Both toys are identical to their individual Japanese releases.

{{-}}{{anchor|BC01}}
[[Image:Tigatron2001 toy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|You better watch out, [[Rescue Roy|Roy]]!]]
*'''Tigatron''' (Deluxe, 2001)
**''Accessories'': Tail-whip, left & right pistol barrels

: A [[BotCon 2001]] [[exclusive]], [[Transmetal]] Tigatron is a redeco of ''[[Beast Wars Metals]]'' [[Ravage (G1)/toys#Metals|Ravage]], which is itself a [[retool]] of Transmetal [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]]. He transforms into a mechanical cat with flip-out thruster-wings. His robot-mode arms have spring-loaded flip-out blaster grips, which also have barrel extensions that can be clipped to his legs in beast mode. His tail separates to become a whip weapon, but he doesn't hold it very well. His chest panels open up to reveal a decal; he also came with an extra decal sheet to display other options within his chest, plus Maximal and [[Wrecker]]s [[insignia|faction symbol]] decals for extra customization.

: The original version of this mold was slightly retooled to make ''[[Armada (toyline)|Armada]]'' [[Cheetor (Armada)|Cheetor]]. It was also used as the model for the non-toy character [[Cataclysm]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2001/Maximal/Tigatron/tigatron.htm More information on Transmetal Tigatron on TFU.info]''

{{-}}

===Timelines===
[[Image:Unit2-toy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|In recognition of his bravery in the field, Unit 2 was granted the MCSF's highest honor, Really Bitchin' Upholstery.]]
*'''Unit 2 (Tigatron)''' (Scout, 2006)
**''Accessories'': Engine-blaster, left & right side-pipes, Maximal Golden Disk Key

: A retooling of the ''[[Cybertron (toyline)|Cybertron]]'' [[Clocker (Cybertron)|Clocker]] toy using [[Cheetor (BW)/toys|"Axalon Cheetor"'s new headsculpt]], "Unit 2" transforms into an open-topped Cybertronic sports car. Due to painted whiskers on his robot mode face that resemble a [[human]] mustache, Unit 2 is one of a small percentage of Transformers who feature [[facial hair]]. His rear engine assembly reveals a pair of spring-loaded flip-out guns when a [[Cyber Planet Key]]/[[Golden Disc Key]] is placed in it. This assembly becomes a hand-held blaster in robot mode. His side-pipes can also be removed and used as hand-weapons.

: This toy was an "attendance [[exclusive]]" for [[BotCon 2006]], available only to pre-registrants who actually showed ''up'' for the convention.

: The original version of this mold was also used to make ''Cybertron'' [[Swerve (Cybertron)|Swerve]], [[Movie (toyline)|movie-verse]] [[Clocker (Movie)|Clocker]], and was the basis for many non-toy members of the [[Maximal Command Security Force]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2006/Maximal/BCTigatron/tigatron.htm More information on "Unit 2" at TFU.info]''

{{-}}
===Beast Wars Telemocha Series===
*'''Tigatron''' (Deluxe, 2007)
**''Japanese ID number'': '''TM-11'''
**''Accessories'': Tail-gun, water-shooting gun

: The [[#Dx1|original Tigatron toy]] was given an ''extensive'' redeco using a ridiculous number of [[Paint operation|paint applications]] for his ''[[Beast Wars Telemocha Series]]'' release. He retains all of the [[Gimmick|gimmicks]] of the original version as well.

:Included in the set is a DVD of Tigatron's debut episode, "[[Fallen Comrades|Solitary Warrior Tigatron]]".

{{-}}
===Device Label===
*'''Tigatron''' (Device Label, 2009)
[[Image:Device Label Tigatron.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Despite appearances, he is NOT [[Ravage (SG)|waving]].]]
:''[[Device Label]]'' Tigatron transforms from a working USB 2 gigabyte thumb drive into a white mechanoid tiger.

[[Image:DeviceLabeltoy-Tigatrondesktop.jpg|left|thumb|300px|You can name him anything you want.]]

:Stored on the USB drive is an installable program called "Transformers Desktop Defender." When the Tigatron device is plugged in, a Tigatron avatar appears on the screen, transforming from thumb drive to jaguar mode as the program is activated. The program's setup allows you to rename your jaguar to anything you desire, alter the avatar's movement speed and his personality, decide whether he eats your desktop icons, and view his function, mission, and [[tech spec]] numbers. Whether he appears as Ravage or Tigatron can be selected as well.

:This mold was also used to make ''Device Label'' [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]], and he came preloaded with the same program.

{{-}}

==Merchandise==
===Robot Heroes===
*'''Tigatron vs Inferno''' (2-pack, 2009)

[[Image:Robotheroesinfernotigatron.jpg|300px|thumb|right|It's Johnny the tackling Alzheimer's patient! "WWHO AM IIIIIiiiii?!" *fwump*]]
:Part of the fifth wave of ''[[Universe (2008 toyline)|Universe]]'' ''[[Robot Heroes (toyline)|Robot Heroes]]'', Tigatron is a [[redeco]] of ''Robot Heroes'' Cheetor. He is painted in the original American toy's colors (being mostly pale yellow, with a silver face), and like Cheetor has articulation at the shoulders and neck. He comes packaged with [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]].

:The US release of this two-pack has been cancelled, but it has been found in Australasia (Hong Kong and Australia) and European (UK, Germany and Russia) markets.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2009/Maximal/RHTigatron/tigatron.htm More information on Tigatron at TFU.info]''

{{-}}

==Trivia==
[[Image:BWRConcept07.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Tigatron's control art. Note the extensive retooling from Cheetor that never happened.]]
[[Image:Tigatron-orangetoy.jpg|right|150px|thumb|C-L-E-M-S-OH CRAP!]]
[[Image:Tigatron-packageart.jpg|right|150px|thumb|He's armed with a cryo-freeze beam and a deadly raspberry-blowing tongue.]]
* The original concept art for Tigatron, shown in the "[[Beast Wars Reborn Golden Disc]]", shows that he was originally intended to be a [[Retool|retooling]] of the mold, rather than a simple [[redeco]], changing his beast-mode head and a lot of his robot-mode parts (yet not the face), as well as giving him some kind of horrible tumor gun. Obviously, this didn't happen.

* The Tigatron shown at Toy Fair in 1996 was cast in orange plastic instead of cream-colored, giving him a more "traditional" tiger look. The change to a "white" tiger has so far been unexplained.

* Tigatron's beast mode may well have been female. His template animal was female, and while wild felines have size differences between males and females Tigatron and Snowstalker were shown as being the same size; indeed, they were for all intents and purposes identical, such that [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] thought Snowstalker ''was'' Tigatron. (Though to be fair, Waspinator is not the brightest crayon in the box.)

* In the Japanese dub of ''Beast Wars'', for the sake of humor, Tigatron was played as a "samurai" ronin. Additionally, since [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] was made male in the Japanese dub, "he" was presented as Tigatron's ward whom he looked to as a "brother" (hence the close bond)... but this did not prevent the "wacky" dubbing from broadly hinting at homosexuality between the two, especially after the events of "[[Other Visits (Part 1)|Other Visits]]".

* An unused idea by [[Larry DiTillio]] was that the Vok ceased trying to destroy Earth because contact with Tigatron (after his abduction) made them question the morality of the tactic. <ref>http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~sstoneb/tf/tidbits/vok.txt Translation of relevant text from the book ''[[Beast Wars Universe]]''</ref>

* Tigatron's role in the ''Beast Wars'' cartoon was originally intended for [[Wolfang (Maximal)|Wolfang]].<ref>[http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/browse_frm/thread/9c79c4226fc6dd28/30c3cdf158ea6e52?lnk=st&q=bob+forward+beast+wars+tigatron+wolfang&rnum=1#30c3cdf158ea6e52 alt.toys.transformers]. The change was also discussed in the commentary track on one of the ''Beast Wars'' DVD releases.</ref>

* Tigatron's [[package art]] is one of a handful that features the toy's mutant head instead of the regular robot head, to rather hilarious effect.

*Tigatron's Japanese name was rendered as '''Tigertron''' on a trading card.<ref>http://www18.tok2.com/home/jackhama/transformers/bwtcard_1/img/006.jpg Trading card</ref> Both English spellings are possible Romanizations of the Katakana.

*He has a [[Five Servos of Doom|stadium named after him]].

* Cheetor and Tigatron are the only characters in ''[[Beast Wars (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'' who are definitely [[Scale|in the correct scale]] to the lifeform he has adopted as a beast mode, being seen nearby a real tiger.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.tfu.info/1996/Maximal/Tigatron/tigatron.htm Tigatron at TFU.info]
*[http://www.botcon.com/archive/story/characters/tigatron.html Tigatron's profile at BotCon.com]

[[Category:Beast Wars characters]]
[[Category:Convention exclusives]]
[[Category:Maximals]]
[[Category:Non-Triple Changer third mode]]
[[Category:Security officers]]
[[Category:Timelines characters]]
[[Category:Transmetals]]
[[Category:Wreckers]]
[[Category:Robot Heroes]]

Tigatron (BW)

2009-10-30T22:30:37Z

74.216.96.9: /* Device Label */

{{Faction|maximal|wreckers|autobot}}
{{disambig2|the prominent Beast Wars character|the Playskool Go-Bot|Tigertron}}
{{picsneeded}}

:''Tigatron is a [[Maximal]] from the [[Beast Wars (franchise)|Beast Wars]] portion of the [[Generation 1 continuity family]]. He was previously designated '''Unit 2'''.''

[[Image:Tigatron-takaraprofile.jpg|right|300px|thumb|I must kill you... because God told me to!]]
Damage to his stasis pod upon crashing to [[Earth]] caused [[Tigatron]] to emerge far more tiger than robot. A loner who is more connected to the Earth than any other Beast Warrior, he enjoys the planet's natural beauty and is often concerned about the damage that the Transformers' battle is doing to it. Scout, infiltrator, and sometimes programming guru, Tigatron has filled a variety of roles for the Maximals.

{{bigquote|We were given a paradise! All we had to do was live there in peace. But we proved unworthy... and the paradise is no more.|Tigatron|"[[The Trigger, Part 2]]"}}

:''Chinese name (Taiwan):'' '''Lǎo-hǔ''' (老虎, "Tiger") / '''Bái Hǔ''' (白虎, "White Tiger")
:''Spanish name:'' '''Tigretron'''
:''Polish name:'' '''Tygrytron'''
:''Portuguse name (Brazil):'' '''Tigertron'''

==Fiction==
===First Wave Toy Bio===
A powerful and fearless warrior, Optimus Primal appointed Tigatron to patrol the nothern polar sector, where he roams in his beast mode. When he encounters Predacon activity, he is capable of transforming rapidly and reconfiguring his titanium tail into a powerful quasar cannon, which he then uses to vaporize his enemies! Additionally, he sports a toxic fluid blaster, which renders any body struck by it completely useless. {{storylink|Tigatron#Toys|Tigatron bio}}
{{note|The on-package [[Bio|bios]] of the first wave of Beast Wars toys, predate the development of the ''Beast Wars'' cartoon and its backstory. They seem to present the characters as a direct continuation of the previous Autobot/Decepticon conflict, with Optimus Primal actually being a new form of Optimus Prime and Megatron being his Generation 1 counterpart, and their battles taking place on present day, [[human]]-inhabited Earth, rather than in the distant past. Once the cartoon launched, the toyline adjusted itself to match that continuity instead, relegating this one to an aborted [[micro-continuity]].}}
===Cartoon continuity===
====Dawn of Future's Past====
[[Image:Tigatrondawn.jpg|left|250px|thumb|He wasn't even supposed to be here today!]]
Tigatron was once known as Unit 2, part of the [[Maximal Command Security Force]] which protected the fragile peace that existed on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] in the centuries following the [[Pax Cybertronia]]. One of the Security Force's elite troops, Unit 2 was often put in charge of guarding important Maximal artifacts, a job that often required his amazing prowess at tracking. Despite his strong command of this environment, Unit 2 wondered if his destiny and place was elsewhere.

When the [[Golden Disk (Voyager)|Golden Disk]] was stolen by a band of rogue [[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]], Unit 2 responded along with Unit 1, [[Nitrostreak]]. After Nitrostreak was incapacitated, Unit 2 attempted to follow the [[Darksyde]] by commandeering the ''[[Chromia 10]]'', pursuing, along with [[Airazor (BW)|its pilot]]. During the ensuing firefight, their ship was badly damaged. [[Optimus Primal]] had their [[spark]]s remotely uploaded to [[blank]] [[protoforms]] in the [[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]'s cargo hold, which saved their lives, but severely damaged their core mainframes. {{storylink|Dawn of Future's Past}}

{{note|This story is a [[retcon]], as Tigatron was originally treated as a newborn protoform in the ''Beast Wars'' animated series. Instead, here he is revealed to have been a Maximal who existed previously on Cybertron but ended up on the ''Axalon'' in a stasis pod, damaged to the point of not remembering any of his past.}}
{{-}}
====''Beast Wars'' Cartoon====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Blu Mankuma]] (English), [[Kōichi Tōchika]] (Japanese), [[Armando Tiraboschi]] (Portuguese)

[[Image:Tigatron1.jpg|right|200px|thumb|This is a land of peace, and I will kill anyone who says otherwise!]]
Tigatron was born in the far frozen north, at first heavily damaged in his memory circuits and unable to remember friend from foe. In his beast mode, he patiently watched the Predacon and Maximal forces duke it out. When [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] threatened the white tigers, and the Maximals conceded the fight, Tigatron knew his alliance. {{storylink|Fallen Comrades}}

His alliance established, Tigatron became a background player—feeling more at home as a tiger than a robot, he was allowed to remain in the wilds as a scout. He sent weekly updates to the ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]'' through communication towers {{storylink|The Trigger, Part 1}} and lending assistance to the Maximals when called upon (which, for a background scout agent, [[A Better Mousetrap|was]] [[Spider's Game|quite]] [[Call of the Wild|often]]). He was rarely seen inside the Maximal base, regarding artificial environments as "strange", and preferred to act solo believing he hunted better alone—this sometimes meant he would need rescuing. {{storylink|Spider's Game}}

He and [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] held a strong sibling friendship. While Cheetor was youthful and eager, Tigatron was confident and wise. Cheetor called him "Big Cat" frequently.

He was the first to discover the [[Vok]]'s [[Brigadoon|flying island]], and believed this area with its powerful death ray and many horrible death-traps to be a land of peace. He felt at home here and tried to protect it from the Predacons, and was enraged and horrified when the Beast Wars led to the island's destruction—by his own hand, after [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] warped it into a weapon. {{storylink|The Trigger, Part 1}} {{storylink|The Trigger, Part 2}}

Being more at home with his beast mode than his robot mode, his help was invaluable when the Maximals were left stuck in beast mode and overpowered by animal instincts. He helped them learn to work with these instincts instead of struggling for dominance. {{storylink|Call of the Wild}}

[[Image:Airazortigatrontrigger.jpg|left|180px|thumb|A cat and bird fall for each other. Love is truly blind.]]
Tigatron had an organic tiger friend named [[Snowstalker]], who may or may not have been the basis for his altmode. Some fans have speculated that the pair were [[Robot-fleshling romance|more than friends]], as the [[Human|dumb stubbies]] say. Sadly, Snowstalker became one of the war's casualties, putting Tigatron in a funk for a short while, until he realized that doing nothing only meant more innocents would die. {{storylink|Law of the Jungle}}

Not much later, Tigatron was the first to detect a pulsing alien energy source. When [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] initiated a somewhat suspicious truce shortly afterwards, [[Optimus Primal]] ordered a covert infiltration of the Predacon base. [[Rattrap]] and [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] made enough of a distraction to allow Tigatron inside the [[Darksyde|Predacon base]].

Inside, he hacked his way into the ship's computer systems and found out what had Megatron so worried—the [[Vok]] were coming back, and they weren't happy. {{storylink|Before the Storm}} Tigatron and the rest of the Maximals barely survived the subsequent attack of the alien [[Planet Buster]].

Tigatron and Airazor formed a very powerful relationship during this time. They both felt a strong connection to the prehistoric [[Earth]], and they frequently spent their time outside of the Maximal base in their beast forms instead. After the destruction of the Planet Buster sent dozens of stasis pods crashing to Earth, the pair set off on a voyage to find what had become of their Maximal comrades within the pods. Unfortunately, before they could discover any still-functional pods, they were abducted by a [[Metal Hunter|bizarre alien plant]]. {{storylink|Other Visits (Part 1)}}

The two were not seen again until much later, when their inert bodies were revealed to be the captives of the Vok, floating somewhere in a deep space nebula. The Vok removed their Sparks from their bodies, which were then fused into the awesomely powerful [[Vok]] emissary [[Tigerhawk]]. When the Vok influence was removed from Tigerhawk, the Sparks of Tigatron and Airazor likewise fused and entered the empty shell. {{storylink|Other Victories}}

====Transformers Beast Wars: Transmetals Video Game====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Scott McNeil]] (English), ??? (Japanese)
{{Note|Tigatron is a hidden character in the Beast Wars Transmetals video game. His character model is a palette-swapped version of Transmetal Cheetor's body.}}
[[Image:N64Tigatron.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Tigatron's been dunked in bleach.]]
{{storylink|Beast Wars: Transmetals|Beast Wars: Transmetals}}

{{charstubfiction}}

====3H comics====
[[Image:Primeval Tigatron.jpg|right|180px|thumb|It's the "happy" equivalent of dull surprise!]]
Tigatron and Airazor's sparks were sent back to Earth by the [[Vok]] sometime after [[Tigerhawk]]'s destruction. Tigatron's spark took possession of [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]]'s former body at the bottom of a lake. Joining Transmetal Airazor and a newly-created [[Primal Prime]], {{storylink|Primeval Dawn Part 1}} Tigatron battled [[Tarantulas]] and Ravage, who had also managed to escape death. {{storylink|Primeval Dawn Part 2}}

{{note|The "Primeval Dawn" story was never finished, so how Tigatron came to join the [[Wrecker|Wreckers]] is unknown.}}

Tigatron, Primal Prime, and others arrived on Cybertron during Megatron's anti-biological reign. Various teams met with the [[Oracle]], which assigned them various tasks. When Optimus Primal objected, saying that with all these soldiers, Megatron could be defeated easily, the Oracle swept him away and cleansed his memory of the recent events. Tigatron vehemently objected to this treatment of his former commander. A set of coordinates was infused into Primal Prime's head by the Oracle. When arriving at an Autobot shuttle, which was to ferry the Wreckers to those coordinates, Tigatron felt that something was amiss. It was then that the Vehicon generals [[Spy Streak]], [[Scavenger (BM)|Scavenger]], [[Quake (G1)|Quake]] and [[Blastcharge (BM)|Blastcharge]] attacked. Tigatron used his Nature's Fury attack, utterly destroying Quake. During the ride in the Autobot shuttle, Tigatron meditated, recovering from the battle. Upon arrived at their destination, he once again sensed that danger awaited the Wreckers...{{storylink|Departure}}

{{storylink|Wreckers: Finale Part II}}

{{charstubfiction}}

{{-}}
===''Beast Wars Metals'' comic===
[[Image:Blackarach24.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Let's hope Airazor doesn't find out about this.]]
Following the [[Quantum surge]], Tigatron was separated from the other [[Maximal|Maximals]] and left stranded somewhere on [[Earth|Energoa]]. Following [[Optimus Primal]]'s rebirth and escape from [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]], [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] was left to sadly ponder where her "Tigatron-sama" was. Elsewhere on Energoa, Tigatron could be seen staring poetically at the [[Moon (moon)|moon]]. {{storylink|Raise the Curtain for Beast Wars Metals!!}}

At one point later, he was forced to do battle with the [[spark]]-less body of his beloved Airazor. Not wishing to harm her, he willingly let the evil Airazor take the opportunity to decapitate him. Just as evil Airazor began to strike, the spark of the ''real'' Airazor entered his body. In cyberspace, the two embraced each other and vowed never to be apart again. Their sparks then merged, resulting in the all-powerful [[Tigerhawk]].

{{-}}

==Toys==
===Beast Wars===
[[Image:Tigatron-HasbroToy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Surprisingly not a case of yellowing.]]
*'''Tigatron''' (Deluxe, 1996/1997)
**''Japanese ID number'': '''C-8'''
**''Accessories'': Tail-gun, water-shooting gun

: Part of the third wave of [[Hasbro]] ''[[Beast Wars (toyline)|Beast Wars]]'' Deluxes, the original Tigatron toy is a [[redeco]] of the original [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] toy in cream, silver, and green, transforming into a fairly generic big cat in shape. His robot-mode parts color layout is notably different from Cheetor's. In robot mode, he is armed with a rifle made out of his hindquarters and tail, along with a second [[Water-squirting gimmick|water-squirting]] "gut gun" formed out of his stomach. This cannon is usable in both modes, but in beast mode, it's awkward and just plain weird. As with most early ''Beast Wars'' toys, he features a "[[mutant head]]" that replaces his face.

[[Image:Tigatronbwtakara.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Over time, this will [[photodegradation|yellow]] and become the Hasbro version.]]
: The [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] version was released a year later, in a more [[Show-accuracy|show-accurate]] bright white color, with his [[Paint operation|paint applications]] directly copied from Cheetor's layouts just as the show model had done. This version also has slight [[Retool|mold tweak]] to keep the beast head pointed forward.

: This mold was also used to make [[Shadow Panther]] and [[Ravage (G1)/toys|Tripredacus Agent]]. It was slated to be used for ''[[Universe (2003 toyline)|Universe]]'' [[Nightprowler]], but that toy set was canceled.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1996/Maximal/Tigatron/tigatron.htm More information on Tigatron at TFU.info]

{{-}}{{anchor|BWJVs}}
[[Image:VS8-TigatronBlackarachnia.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Let's hope neither Airazor or Silverbolt find out about this...]]
*'''Deep Forest Showdown: Tigatron VS Blackwidow''' (VS set, 1997)
**''Japanese ID number'': '''VS-8'''
**''Accessories'': Tail-gun, water-shooting gun

: In Japan, Tigatron was available both individually and in a two-pack with the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]]. Both toys are identical to their individual Japanese releases.

{{-}}{{anchor|BC01}}
[[Image:Tigatron2001 toy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|You better watch out, [[Rescue Roy|Roy]]!]]
*'''Tigatron''' (Deluxe, 2001)
**''Accessories'': Tail-whip, left & right pistol barrels

: A [[BotCon 2001]] [[exclusive]], [[Transmetal]] Tigatron is a redeco of ''[[Beast Wars Metals]]'' [[Ravage (G1)/toys#Metals|Ravage]], which is itself a [[retool]] of Transmetal [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]]. He transforms into a mechanical cat with flip-out thruster-wings. His robot-mode arms have spring-loaded flip-out blaster grips, which also have barrel extensions that can be clipped to his legs in beast mode. His tail separates to become a whip weapon, but he doesn't hold it very well. His chest panels open up to reveal a decal; he also came with an extra decal sheet to display other options within his chest, plus Maximal and [[Wrecker]]s [[insignia|faction symbol]] decals for extra customization.

: The original version of this mold was slightly retooled to make ''[[Armada (toyline)|Armada]]'' [[Cheetor (Armada)|Cheetor]]. It was also used as the model for the non-toy character [[Cataclysm]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2001/Maximal/Tigatron/tigatron.htm More information on Transmetal Tigatron on TFU.info]''

{{-}}

===Timelines===
[[Image:Unit2-toy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|In recognition of his bravery in the field, Unit 2 was granted the MCSF's highest honor, Really Bitchin' Upholstery.]]
*'''Unit 2 (Tigatron)''' (Scout, 2006)
**''Accessories'': Engine-blaster, left & right side-pipes, Maximal Golden Disk Key

: A retooling of the ''[[Cybertron (toyline)|Cybertron]]'' [[Clocker (Cybertron)|Clocker]] toy using [[Cheetor (BW)/toys|"Axalon Cheetor"'s new headsculpt]], "Unit 2" transforms into an open-topped Cybertronic sports car. Due to painted whiskers on his robot mode face that resemble a [[human]] mustache, Unit 2 is one of a small percentage of Transformers who feature [[facial hair]]. His rear engine assembly reveals a pair of spring-loaded flip-out guns when a [[Cyber Planet Key]]/[[Golden Disc Key]] is placed in it. This assembly becomes a hand-held blaster in robot mode. His side-pipes can also be removed and used as hand-weapons.

: This toy was an "attendance [[exclusive]]" for [[BotCon 2006]], available only to pre-registrants who actually showed ''up'' for the convention.

: The original version of this mold was also used to make ''Cybertron'' [[Swerve (Cybertron)|Swerve]], [[Movie (toyline)|movie-verse]] [[Clocker (Movie)|Clocker]], and was the basis for many non-toy members of the [[Maximal Command Security Force]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2006/Maximal/BCTigatron/tigatron.htm More information on "Unit 2" at TFU.info]''

{{-}}
===Beast Wars Telemocha Series===
*'''Tigatron''' (Deluxe, 2007)
**''Japanese ID number'': '''TM-11'''
**''Accessories'': Tail-gun, water-shooting gun

: The [[#Dx1|original Tigatron toy]] was given an ''extensive'' redeco using a ridiculous number of [[Paint operation|paint applications]] for his ''[[Beast Wars Telemocha Series]]'' release. He retains all of the [[Gimmick|gimmicks]] of the original version as well.

:Included in the set is a DVD of Tigatron's debut episode, "[[Fallen Comrades|Solitary Warrior Tigatron]]".

{{-}}
===Device Label===
*'''Tigatron''' (Device Label, 2009)
[[Image:Device Label Tigatron.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Despite appearances, he is NOT [[Ravage (SG)|waving]].]]
:''[[Device Label]]'' Tigatron transforms from a working USB 2 gigabyte thumb drive into a black mechanoid panther.

[[Image:DeviceLabeltoy-Tigatrondesktop.jpg|left|thumb|300px|You can name him anything you want.]]

:Stored on the USB drive is an installable program called "Transformers Desktop Defender." When the Tigatron device is plugged in, a Tigatron avatar appears on the screen, transforming from thumb drive to jaguar mode as the program is activated. The program's setup allows you to rename your jaguar to anything you desire, alter the avatar's movement speed and his personality, decide whether he eats your desktop icons, and view his function, mission, and [[tech spec]] numbers. Whether he appears as Ravage or Tigatron can be selected as well.

:This mold was also used to make ''Device Label'' [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]], and he came preloaded with the same program.

{{-}}

==Merchandise==
===Robot Heroes===
*'''Tigatron vs Inferno''' (2-pack, 2009)

[[Image:Robotheroesinfernotigatron.jpg|300px|thumb|right|It's Johnny the tackling Alzheimer's patient! "WWHO AM IIIIIiiiii?!" *fwump*]]
:Part of the fifth wave of ''[[Universe (2008 toyline)|Universe]]'' ''[[Robot Heroes (toyline)|Robot Heroes]]'', Tigatron is a [[redeco]] of ''Robot Heroes'' Cheetor. He is painted in the original American toy's colors (being mostly pale yellow, with a silver face), and like Cheetor has articulation at the shoulders and neck. He comes packaged with [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]].

:The US release of this two-pack has been cancelled, but it has been found in Australasia (Hong Kong and Australia) and European (UK, Germany and Russia) markets.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2009/Maximal/RHTigatron/tigatron.htm More information on Tigatron at TFU.info]''

{{-}}

==Trivia==
[[Image:BWRConcept07.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Tigatron's control art. Note the extensive retooling from Cheetor that never happened.]]
[[Image:Tigatron-orangetoy.jpg|right|150px|thumb|C-L-E-M-S-OH CRAP!]]
[[Image:Tigatron-packageart.jpg|right|150px|thumb|He's armed with a cryo-freeze beam and a deadly raspberry-blowing tongue.]]
* The original concept art for Tigatron, shown in the "[[Beast Wars Reborn Golden Disc]]", shows that he was originally intended to be a [[Retool|retooling]] of the mold, rather than a simple [[redeco]], changing his beast-mode head and a lot of his robot-mode parts (yet not the face), as well as giving him some kind of horrible tumor gun. Obviously, this didn't happen.

* The Tigatron shown at Toy Fair in 1996 was cast in orange plastic instead of cream-colored, giving him a more "traditional" tiger look. The change to a "white" tiger has so far been unexplained.

* Tigatron's beast mode may well have been female. His template animal was female, and while wild felines have size differences between males and females Tigatron and Snowstalker were shown as being the same size; indeed, they were for all intents and purposes identical, such that [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] thought Snowstalker ''was'' Tigatron. (Though to be fair, Waspinator is not the brightest crayon in the box.)

* In the Japanese dub of ''Beast Wars'', for the sake of humor, Tigatron was played as a "samurai" ronin. Additionally, since [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] was made male in the Japanese dub, "he" was presented as Tigatron's ward whom he looked to as a "brother" (hence the close bond)... but this did not prevent the "wacky" dubbing from broadly hinting at homosexuality between the two, especially after the events of "[[Other Visits (Part 1)|Other Visits]]".

* An unused idea by [[Larry DiTillio]] was that the Vok ceased trying to destroy Earth because contact with Tigatron (after his abduction) made them question the morality of the tactic. <ref>http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~sstoneb/tf/tidbits/vok.txt Translation of relevant text from the book ''[[Beast Wars Universe]]''</ref>

* Tigatron's role in the ''Beast Wars'' cartoon was originally intended for [[Wolfang (Maximal)|Wolfang]].<ref>[http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/browse_frm/thread/9c79c4226fc6dd28/30c3cdf158ea6e52?lnk=st&q=bob+forward+beast+wars+tigatron+wolfang&rnum=1#30c3cdf158ea6e52 alt.toys.transformers]. The change was also discussed in the commentary track on one of the ''Beast Wars'' DVD releases.</ref>

* Tigatron's [[package art]] is one of a handful that features the toy's mutant head instead of the regular robot head, to rather hilarious effect.

*Tigatron's Japanese name was rendered as '''Tigertron''' on a trading card.<ref>http://www18.tok2.com/home/jackhama/transformers/bwtcard_1/img/006.jpg Trading card</ref> Both English spellings are possible Romanizations of the Katakana.

*He has a [[Five Servos of Doom|stadium named after him]].

* Cheetor and Tigatron are the only characters in ''[[Beast Wars (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'' who are definitely [[Scale|in the correct scale]] to the lifeform he has adopted as a beast mode, being seen nearby a real tiger.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.tfu.info/1996/Maximal/Tigatron/tigatron.htm Tigatron at TFU.info]
*[http://www.botcon.com/archive/story/characters/tigatron.html Tigatron's profile at BotCon.com]

[[Category:Beast Wars characters]]
[[Category:Convention exclusives]]
[[Category:Maximals]]
[[Category:Non-Triple Changer third mode]]
[[Category:Security officers]]
[[Category:Timelines characters]]
[[Category:Transmetals]]
[[Category:Wreckers]]
[[Category:Robot Heroes]]

Hasbro

2009-10-30T18:14:59Z

74.216.96.9: /* Trivia */

[[Image:Hasbrologo.jpg|right|130px|thumb|Making the world transform. (Well, apart from Japan, [[TakaraTomy|these guys]] handle that.)]]
'''Hasbro''' is a [[toy]] company, and owner of the [[Transformers brand|''Transformers'' brand]] in most markets outside of Japan, where it is owned by [[TakaraTomy]].

==History==
[[Image:Hasbrooldlogo.jpg|left|75px|thumb|Siamese twins at home.]]

Hasbro was originally founded in 1923 as "Hassenfeld Brothers" by brothers Henry and Helal Hassenfeld from Rhode Island. The company originally sold textile remnants, but soon moved into manufacturing pencil boxes and school supplies.
In 1952, Hasbro first rose to fame with a little toy called [[Optimash Prime|''Mr. Potato Head'']]. You might have heard of it. The company went so far as to purchase advertising time for the toy on a newfangled invention called television. You might have heard of that, too.

In 1964, Hasbro had an even greater success with the original ''[[G.I. Joe (franchise)|G.I. Joe]]'' toy designed by Don Levine, which caused Hassenfeld Bros. to grow to be one of the largest toy companies in the USA. In 1968, the company would change its name to "Hasbro Industries, Inc."

Through a series of importing licenses and spin-offs, G.I. Joe ultimately led to the ''[[Microman]]'' and ''[[Diaclone]]'' toylines by Japanese toymaker [[Takara]], which in turn would lead to Hasbro's release of the original ''Transformers'' toyline in 1984. At that time, Hasbro was employing the services of [[Marvel Comics]] and the advertising agency [[Griffin Bacal]], who helped them come up with new marketing strategies and background stories for their toylines, including the revamped ''G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' and ''[[Generation 1 (franchise)|The Transformers]]''.

In 1984, Hasbro also bought out a competing toy company named [[Milton Bradley]] (MB), which resulted in the merged company briefly assuming the name "Hasbro Bradley, Inc." After the merger was completed, the company changed its name into simply "Hasbro, Inc." Milton Bradley's European facilities would also be used to distribute the initial wave of [[Toy|''Transformers'' toys]] to be [[Generation 1 Europe (toyline)|released in Europe]] before the merger was completed. Later in the '80s, Hasbro would go on to release other toy brands such as ''[[Visionaries]]'' and ''[[Beastformer|Battle Beasts]]''--the latter eventually becoming closely (if strangely) related to ''Transformers''.

In 1991, Hasbro bought out former competitor [[Tonka]]. In the same year, Hasbro consolidated most of their international markets: Prior to this point, Hasbro subsidiaries such as the afroementioned Milton Bradley had still been responsible for distributing ''Transformers'' toys in some countries (even though the toys' packaging had sported the name "Hasbro" since 1986). Those subsidiaries were officially restructured and given the parent companies' name in an attempt to establish "Hasbro" as a worldwide household name.

In 1995, Hasbro temporarily transferred control of the ''Transformers'' franchise to its [[Kenner]] subsidiary (which had previously been a subsidiary of Tonka), then phased out the Kenner brand in 2000.

In the new millennium, Hasbro, following [[Marvel Comics|Marvel's]] example, intends to reinvent itself as an "entertainment" company, [[Hasbro Studios]]. Instead of merely commissioning animated TV shows as advertising vehicles for their toys, Hasbro licenses its brands to Hollywood studios, which turn them into big budget blockbuster movies, using the toys' established household names as a marketing appeal. 2007's ''[[Transformers (2007)|Transformers]]'' movie was the first of those feature films. The sequel, ''[[Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen]]'', and a ''[[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]]'' movie were both released in 2009, and movies based on the successful board game ''Monopoly'' and [[Kenner]]'s old ''Stretch Armstrong'' toy have also been confirmed. Hasbro believes that their new "the movie of the toy" strategy will be more lucrative than the old "the toy of the movie" concept, which involves hefty licensing fees.<ref name="brandweek">[http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/jun2009/db20090611_333306.htm Brandweek article on Hasbro's new movie-related business strategy]</ref>

==Hasbro today==
===Employees===
====Corporate====
* [[Brian Goldner]], Chief Executive Officer
* [[Alfred J. Verrecchia]], Chairman of the Board

===Boys' Toys===
* [[Samantha Lomow]], Vice President of Marketing and Design
* [[Vickie Stratford]], formerly Sr. Design Project Manager for ''Transformers'', now transferred to the ''Star Wars'' brand as its head of design(?)
* [[Joe Kyde]], Designer (Boy's Toys, Exclusive Division)

===Girls' Toys===
* [[Michelle Field]], Director of Marketing

====''Transformers'' Brand====
=====Marketing=====
* [[Greg Lombardo]], Sr. Director of Global Marketing
* [[Michael Vibede Vanting]], Global Brand Marketing Director
* [[Michael Ballog]], marketing
* [[Jared Jones]], marketing
* [[Matthew Proulx]], marketing
* [[Forest Lee]], copywriting

=====Design=====
* [[Aaron Archer]], Director of Global Design and Development
* [[Jared Wade]], Director of Global Product Design
* [[Eric Siebenaler]], Senior Product Designer
* [[William Rawley]], Senior Product Designer

===Hasbro's regional offices===
Hasbro has smaller offices all around the world, who are not involved in the production of toys, but rather take care of the customer relationships and marketing in their local regions. Known locations of local offices include Denmark (covering the whole nordic region), [[Canada]], [[Germany]], the [[United Kingdom]], [[France]], [[Australia]] and [[New Zealand]].

===Relationship with fandom===
[[Image:Hasbrotour-fleshlesskitty.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Hasbro showed they love the fans by giving a tour of their offices during BotCon 2007. Hasbro showed they hate the fans by including this!]]

[[Fandom|Fandom's]] relationship with Hasbro is as paradoxical and confusing as our relationships with our [[wikipedia:Alcoholism|parents]]. They are an incredible source of joy and happiness, as well as the focal point of rage and blame for pretty much everyone in the Transformers community. To much of the fandom, Hasbro's actual involvement in the Transformers franchise is rarely acknowledged when not negative. Many view their activities to consist entirely of:

* [[Thundercracker (G1)#Timelines|Slapping fans in the face]].
* [[Trukk not munky|Getting things all wrong]].
* [[For safety reasons|Screwing up Takara's toys]].
* [[Redeco|Being lazy]].
* [[To sell toys|Trying to make money]].
* [[Ruined FOREVER|Ruining everything forever]].

When they found the time to create and maintain a successful, celebrated franchise that was the basis of 25 years of obsession and happiness for the exact same fans is unknown.

===Questionable brand decisions===
* In the early days of the ''[[The Transformers (toyline)|Generation 1]]'' line's run, Hasbro were entirely focused on "product" and viewed the attached fiction as a mere marketing tool. As a consequence, they viewed "[[character]]s" as easily replacable, and their strategy at that time can be summed up as "new toys, new characters". Hasbro certainly didn't anticipate the audience actually to attach to the characters featured in the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|television show]], and were utterly surprised by the fan backlash after nearly all of the 1984-85 cast had been graphically killed off in the [[The Transformers: The Movie|animated movie]] and replaced by newly introduced characters. Hasbro now recognizes that this move was a mistake that hurt the brand.<ref>[http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2007-06-28-transformers-main_n.htm USA Today: "Transformers: From Toy Story to Serious Art?"]</ref> In Hasbro's defense, though, it needs to be pointed out that this wasn't a flawed approach unique to them, as the importance of recognizable characters for the public image of a brand was a novel concept to the toy industry as a whole at that time. Hasbro have learned their lesson, and now [[Jazz (Movie)|mostly]] kill relative [[Blackout (Movie)|nobodies]], and rely a lot more heavily on recurring, recognizable characters across their various toylines and the corresponding fiction.

* Hasbro's corporate executives were eager to make the move to [[multilingual packaging]] for the United States market to save money, forcing that decision upon their ''Transformers'' staff. Although representatives were prepared with responses to fan complaints about how ugly and uninformative it was, the design team eventually managed to convince their higher-ups how ugly it was, so the US packaging returned to normal.<ref name="botcon2005">[http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/0cd6f0724b39615f?dmode=source&output=gplain Steve-o's 2005 BotCon Report]</ref>

* At times, Hasbro has been willing to allow the broadcast of clearly incomplete or poorly-constructed [[Energon (cartoon)|advertising media]].

* Hasbro often have their official promotional [[toy]] [[stock photography]] done by people (both internal and outsourced third party photo studios) who have a tendency to display the toys in awkwardly mistransformed states, sometimes so glaring that the photos could be viewed as really bad representations of Hasbro's products... yet they are used in official advertising, including Hasbro's public website and even on the toys' packaging. Reportedly, Hasbro has recently decided to send a member of a design team (at least an intern) along to the photo studio to transform and pose the toys properly.

* As the toys became more and more complex, Hasbro's official toy [[instructions]] became less and less helpful. Written directions were omitted entirely in favor of pictures-only instructions with the launch of the ''[[Armada (toyline)|Armada]]'' line in 2002, and those pictures-only instructions have a tendency to omit useful steps, are sometimes unclear on vital details, and might occasionally be based on early [[prototype]]s that differ from the final toy, thereby including transformation steps that aren't ''possible'' with the toy in hand. ''[[Universe (2008 toyline)|Universe]]'' [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] even recycled the instructions from his [[mold]]-mate [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]], even though Sideswipe was supposed to use an alternate transformation as compared to Sunstreaker.

* In the lead up to the [[Transformers (2007)|2007 live-action movie]], to deal with the expected international audience for both the movie and the accompanying toys, Hasbro started to redirect visitors of their official ''Transformers'' website to localized versions of the site based upon their IPs. However, it was obvious that Hasbro's interest in their international markets was rather marginal, as demonstrated by the fact that many of these international localised sites were rarely updated, if at all; and if they were, the updates were still marginal, and the product lists remained incomplete. To the frustration of non-American fans, clicking any links to the US version of the site resulted in the user being automatically redirected to their outdated localized versions. Even bugs that allowed users to circumvent the redirect were eventually "fixed" in favor of an even more aggressive redirect. This was ''finally'' resolved for good in 2009, with the addition of a US-specific website URL that doesn't redirect anyone anywhere anymore.

* The somewhat more "mature" tone of the live action movies, [[Transformers (2007)|''Transformers'' (2007)]] and ''[[Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen]]'', especially the crude, often sexually-themed humor displayed in both films, has been the center of much controversy. In particular, a lobbyist group named the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood repeatedly tried to lobby the Federal Communications Commission into tightening regulations for marketing movies rated "PG-13" and [[Movie (toyline)|associated]] [[Revenge of the Fallen (toyline)|merchandise]] to children.<ref name="fccfilter">[http://arstechnica.com/media/news/2009/08/transformers-movies-get-caught-in-fcc-content-filtering-inquiry.ars Ars Technica article on the CCFC/FCC story.]</ref> Hasbro themselves appear to be still undecided about their official position regarding the more "mature" tone of the movies and its ramifications for the [[Transformers brand|brand's]] public image, having left several questions to this effect unanswered.<ref name="allsparkqa">[http://www.allspark.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=61539 July/August 2009 edition] of the Allspark [[Hasbro Q&A]]</ref><ref name="tformersqa">[http://tformers.com/transformers-hasbro-answers-your-burning-questions-part-v/12149/news.html July/August 2009 edition] of the TFormers Hasbro Q&A]</ref>

==Trivia==
* The [[Decepticon]] [[Flamewar]] collects Hasbro memorabilia.
* Hasbro isn't all about [[To sell toys|selling toys]] and making money. According to [[Transformers (2007)|''Transformers'' live-action movie]] writer [[Roberto Orci]], some at Hasbro argued against updating some returning characters in ''[[Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen]]'', so that parents would '''not''' have to buy the same toy twice for their children just because of a minor change or modification to the characters' designs. <ref>[http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/showpost.php?p=2186879&postcount=171 Roberto Orci posting at TFW2005.com]</ref> (We will just point out now that they ''still did that''.)
* According to Hasbro Australia representatives and designer [[Eric Siebenaler]], all of the Transformers toys jointly developed between Hasbro and Takara/TakaraTomy are manufactured at factories contracted to the Japanese toy company. This means Takara is indirectly responsible for whatever quality control problems you have been having with your toys, so you can stop complaining about it being entirely Hasbro's fault.
{{-}}
==See also==
*[[Hasbro-Discovery Communications Joint Venture Network]]

==Footnotes==
<references/>

==External Links==
*[http://www.hasbro.com/ Hasbro's official website]
*[http://www.hasbro.com/transformers/ Hasbro's official ''Transformers'' website]

[[Category:Companies]]
[[Category:Hasbro]]