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Transformers: The Last Knight (film)

2017-09-17T15:28:14Z

Darquehex:

{{Nav-tlk}}
[[File:TLK Poster.JPG|thumb|upright=1.67|So forget any ideas you've got about lost cities, exotic travel, and digging up the world. We do not follow maps to buried treasure, and "X" never, ever marks the spot.]]
'''''Transformers: The Last Knight''''' is the fifth film in the [[live-action film series]], serving as a sequel to ''[[Transformers: Age of Extinction (film)|Transformers: Age of Extinction]]'', and was released on [[June 21]], [[2017]].

When he is gifted a [[Talisman (TLK)|Talisman]] by a dying [[Transformer]] knight, [[Cade Yeager]] finds himself pursued by both the [[Decepticon]]s and the [[Transformers Reaction Force]]. He is soon recruited along with [[Viviane Wembly]] by [[Edmund Burton|Sir Edmund Burton]], last of the [[Order of the Witwiccans]], to once again save the world from a new impending threat.

{{quote|One hundred billion trillion planets in the cosmos. You want to know, don't you? Why they keep coming ''here?''|[[Edmund Burton|Sir Edmund Burton]]|''Transformers: The Last Knight''}}

==Synopsis==
[[File:TLK Knight gives staff.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Eternal life, Doctor Jones! The gift of youth to whoever drinks from the Grail.]]
It is the year [[484]] in [[England]]. A medieval battle rages. [[King Arthur]] and his [[Knights of the Round Table|knight]]s are looking down the barrel of defeat at the hands of the [[Saxon]]s, and their only hope lies with the magician [[Merlin]]. Elsewhere Merlin, in reality merely a drunkard, rides up to a long-crashed alien ship and beseeches the occupants for help. He has kept their secret, but now needs their help. The other knights are losing hope, but Arthur believes Merlin will come through. Merlin manages to convince [[Stormreign|a giant metal red-armored knight]] at the ship to help, and it presents him with a [[Staff of Merlin|staff]], allowing him to return to the battle with a [[Dragonstorm|giant metal dragon]]. The battle is won in favor of Camelot.

Present day: [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] drifts apparently lifeless in space. Both he and [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]] have vanished from [[Earth]], and Transformers have been declared illegal, with the [[Transformers Reaction Force]] set up to track them down, though they've found refuge in some places such as [[Cuba]], where [[Seymour Simmons]] is hanging out with the remaining [[Wrecker]]s. Transformers continue to arrive in waves and [[NASA]] scientists detect something large incoming.

[[File:TLK Canopy downed.jpg|thumb|right|300px|He speaks a dozen languages and knows every local custom. He'll blend in, disappear and you'll never see him again.]]

Four kids, craving adventure, breach a fence and enter a section of city ruined by a previous Transformer battle. They stumble on a crashed Transformer ship with a still-living occupant. TRF [[Sentinel (TLK)|Sentinels]] close in on them and warn them that they're trespassing; however [[Izabella]] appears out of nowhere to help, slinging bottles of green ooze which result in one Sentinels shooting another. Izabella's tiny robot [[Sqweeks]] wraps a cable around the legs of the remaining Sentinel and it topples over, allowing the kids time to get away. Pursued by another Sentinel, Izabella takes the kids to shelter — a Transformer named [[Canopy]] whose back is a hollow mound of rubble. They're joined by Sqweeks, who's lost his arm in the battle. Canopy and the kids start moving, unaware the TRF has spotted them. Unable to determine what faction Canopy is and with kids possibly in danger, TRF commander [[Santos]] orders an air strike. The missile takes out Canopy, who thanks a tearful Izabella before dying. The kids are soon rescued by [[Cade Yeager]] and [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]] who destroy another Sentinel.

Cade drives the kids to the border of the no-go zone and drops them off before returning to the crashed ship. Despite his efforts, the pilot within dies, but not before attempting to present Cade with the [[Talisman (TLK)|Talisman]]. Cade does not take it. He reports the pilot's death to Bumblebee shortly before [[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]] appears and Cade is suddenly surrounded by TRF forces. Meanwhile, the Talisman sprouts legs and crawls away from the ship. Cade refuses to divulge where the other Transformers are. Bumblebee arrives, only to be blown to pieces by the TRF. Moments later, the parts start reconnecting as Bumblebee reassembles himself, sending the TRF forces into disarray as he does so. He and Cade take Santos hostage, but the standoff is interrupted by the arrival of [[William Lennox|Lennox]] who tries to talk Cade and Bee into standing down. [[Hound (Movie)|Hound]]'s appearance settles things however, and Cade, Bee and Hound leave, though the TRF manages to get a tracking device onto Bumblebee.

Lennox reports to [[Morshower|General Morshower]] who plays a recording of Barricade reporting back to Megatron. Megatron is disappointed Barricade failed to secure the Talisman as it is the object they need to lead them to the staff, but Barricade believes the TRF will lead them to it. Morshower orders Lennox to return to his covert infiltration of the TRF.

[[File:TLK Optimus chained.jpg|thumb|left|300px|My soul is prepared. How's yours?]]

Optimus's voyage through space comes to an end as he crashes on the ravaged surface of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], which has been mysteriously disassembled into many pieces. He encounters and attacks [[Quintessa (TLK)|Quintessa]], who claims to be his creator and the "Prime of Life," but she easily restrains him.

As he returns to the [[Junkyard (TLK)|junkyard]] he calls home, Cade realizes that the Talisman has somehow ended up in his vehicle. In England, [[Cogman]] alerts [[Edmund Burton|Sir Edmund Burton]] to the arrival of the Talisman. Elsewhere in England, [[Viviane Wembly]] wins a game of polo for her team before returning to the [[University of Oxford]]. She lectures her class on King Arthur, someone she believes to be a made-up legend, unaware she's being watched by Burton. Burton gives instructions to a nearby parked car.

Quintessa tells Optimus that he must retrieve her staff, stolen by her knight guardians and hidden on Earth.

[[Drift (AOE)|Drift]] and [[Crosshairs (AOE)|Crosshairs]] are hanging out in the junkyard. Cade, Hound, and Bumblebee stop off on their way back so Cade can banter with the local authority, Chief [[Sherman]], who complains that his cruiser has been stolen. The trio continue to the junkyard where [[Jimmy (TLK)|Jimmy]] and [[Wheelie (ROTF)|Wheelie]] are looking at online photos of custom cars. They are unaware Izabella and Sqweeks have stowed away on Hound. While Bumblebee and Crosshairs come to blows, Cade persuades [[Grimlock (AOE)|Grimlock]] to cough up Sherman's cruiser, or what's left of it. [[Daytrader]] arrives, bringing [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]]'s head and a new voicebox for Bumblebee. He's interested in Cade's Talisman, and says it's a sign of the impending apocalypse. Izabella fronts up to Cade and attempts to pursuade him to let her stay. They return to Cade's trailer for antics with the [[Mini Dinobot]]s and trade stories of lost family members. Izabella manages to impress Cade with her knowledge of Cybertronian physiology and he's convinced to let her stay.

In [[Namibia]], scientists arrive at a location to find a giant metal horn poking out of the ground. News of the horn, and five more like it, get back to Simmons and Burton. Meanwhile the NASA scientists meet with [[President of the United States|presidential]] staff to report they have detected an approaching planet, which they say will arrive in three days.

Helped by Hound, Cade makes an untraceable satellite phone call to [[Tessa Yeager|his daughter]] at college, but is unable to speak to her for fear that his voice will be recognized by the [[CIA]], and can only listen as she tries to convince him to get a girlfriend.

Lennox meets Morshower at the [[Pentagon]] for a briefing on the horns — Megatron has been spotted visiting them and has snatched up two CIA operatives as hostages. Lennox and some lawyers meet with Megatron to negotiate the return of some of his men. They agree to release [[Mohawk]], [[Dreadbot]], and [[Nitro Zeus]]; [[Berserker]], however, turns out to be a step too far, and Megatron is forced to select [[Onslaught (ROTF)|Onslaught]] instead. Morshower believes they can use Megatron so they can get hold of Cade's Talisman themselves.

[[File:TLK Megatron fires.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The Grail is mine, and you're going to get it for me.]]

As morning breaks over the junkyard, the Decepticons prepare to move in, observed by the TRF. Izabella attaches a new arm to Sqweeks, before helping Cade fit Bumblebee's new voicebox. Bee is not happy with the result, which sounds like a GPS. Sherman gives the group advanced warning of the impending Decepticon assault, and the Autobots and humans scramble to get ready to escape. Megatron's group arrives to find the junkyard deserted, at least until Hound pops up and starts shooting. Megatron returns fire. The Autobot group heads into the nearby town, where Drift finds the tracking device on Bee. Grimlock and [[Slug (AOE)|Slug]] ambush the TRF forces en route to the town. Santos has a swarm of unmanned drones sent in. The Decepticons arrive in the middle of town and immediately spot Sqweeks, which draws Izabella out in an attempt to save the tiny Autobot. Cade detonates the explosives hidden around town and flees with Izabella, pursued by Barricade. The 'Con is knocked aside by Grimlock, who also devours Dreadbot. As the battle rapidly turns against the Decepticons, with Onslaught being killed by Drift and Crosshairs, Megatron calls a retreat. Mohawk, however, is left behind and is subsequently reduced to a head by Bumblebee. Cade, Izabella, and Jimmy take cover in a disused church as the TRF drones move in, however the drones continue to pursue them through the church. Cade and Izabella take two of them out, but Jimmy tries to bluff a third, banking on the idea it's using facial recognition. He gets shot anyway, but fortunately it was only a beanbag.

The trio head into another disused building and enter a lift where they encounter Cogman, who announces he's come to collect Cade. The discussion ends when a drone arrives, and Cade ends up clinging to it as it flies wildly around the street. Cogman phones Sir Burton to report the bad news, but fortunately Cade survives his impromptu flight, partly thanks to the Talisman protecting him from bullets. He manages to ride another drone to the ground and is met by Cogman who explains that he's important because of the Talisman. Crosshairs attempts to prevent Cogman from doing anything, only for the smaller robot to break his finger. Cogman convinces Cade to go with him and leave the others. Cade and Bee accompany Cogman on a plane to England.

Morshower and Lennox track the flight, and note that Megatron's group is giving pursuit. Lennox is ordered to take the TRF team to the UK as well.

Simmons calls Sir Burton to let him know a book has been tracked down. NASA continues tracking the incoming planet, now identified as Cybertron. Quintessa reveals to Optimus that Earth is actually [[Unicron]] and that they're going to kill him with the staff, an act which will destroy Earth and restore Cybertron. Optimus's optics turn purple as Quintessa addresses him as "Nemesis Prime". Optimus swears to fight anyone who interferes with his new mission.

Viviane and her family watch a news report on the giant horns. Conversation turns to her dead father, and her mother suggests she check her father's study in case there's anything useful for her work. Disinterested, she instead gets into her car where an invitation falls out of the glove compartment. The car takes off of its own accord and starts driving her through the streets of [[London]]. When she smashes a window, the car complains in a French accent and throws her into the trunk. She calls for help, having realized she's in a Transformer, and the car [[scanning|scans]] a passing Lamborghini, reconfiguring itself into a copy of the other vehicle.

Cade's plane lands at Sir Burton's castle, where he and Bumblebee are shot at by [[Bulldog (TLK)|a tank Transformer]]. Sir Burton apologizes and takes a look at the Talisman. [[Hot Rod (DOTM)|Hot Rod]] arrives carrying Viviane, who is unhappy at being kidnapped. Once things calm down, Sir Burton explains he's the last of the [[Order of the Witwiccans]]. Cade's boorish behavior towards Viviane results in him being assaulted by Cogman. Sir Burton shows off portraits of his family tree and the Witwiccans, and relates how the Transformers have been helping humans for centuries, such as when Bumblebee and Hot Rod took part in [[World War II]]. They head to another building which houses the original [[Round Table]] used by King Arthur and his knights when they teamed up with the twelve [[Knights of Iacon]]. Further there is a legend that a last knight would be found and thanks to possessing the Talisman, that's Cade. Only Merlin's DNA can unlock the power of the staff, which is where Viviane comes in as a direct descendant of Merlin. She has no idea where the staff might be though. Further discussion is halted as [[MI6]] and TRF forces arrive to assault the castle. Despite [[Spitfire Autobot|one of the elderly Autobots]] attempting to defend the castle only to power down as a result of his aging, Hot Rod's time stopper weapon gives the group enough time to escape.

[[File:TLK Bumblebee car attack.jpg|thumb|right|300px|]]
Simmons makes an irate call to Sir Burton, who is currently being pursued through London and is late for the appointment at [[Trinity Library]]. Bumblebee arrives at Viviane's house with her and Cade, and the pair start rifling through her father's study in search of a clue. Sir Burton's dropped off at the library, but Simmons demands to be inducted into the Order of Witwiccans before he'll point Sir Burton to the book, which reveals Earth is Unicron and points them to [[Stonehenge]]. Cade and Viviane find a clue in an old popup book which points them to the [[HMS Alliance|HMS ''Alliance'']] at the navy museum. The TRF arrive at the house. Meanwhile, Sir Burton and Cogman switch cars and a high-speed chase through the streets of London ensues. Cade and Viviane, now also making a getaway in Bumblebee, let them know about the navy museum. Cogman manages to shake his pursuers while Bumblebee manages to shake Barricade by blasting the Decepticon.

Bumblebee reaches the naval museum at the same time as Cogman and Sir Burton, and they have the HMS ''Alliance'' evacuated. Sir Burton leaves the others to it, explaining that the submarine, in reality a Transformer, knows the way to the staff. The sub launches, with Bumblebee clinging to the exterior so he cam come along for the ride. The sub's departure is noted by TRF and they track it as it heads away from England. The TRF scramble their own submersibles to give chase. A nuclear sub fires missiles at the ''Alliance'' which responds by ramming the other sub and diving deeper into the ocean. Cogman fires himself out through a torpedo tube.

Sir Burton arrives at Number 10 to see the [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]], but is turned away. Cogman returns to the sub with a couple of fish he's caught. Viviane and Cade share clumsy sexual chemistry until Cogman reveals he's made sushi as a "last meal". Sir Burton takes a secret back entrance into Number 10 to talk to the PM, holding off security by threatening to release the [[watch that killed Hitler]]. Sir Burton tells the PM to mobilize the military to Stonehenge. The ''Alliance'' zeros in on a vast undersea Transformer ship, which lights up as they approach. The pursuing TRF subs also spot the ship, but have to make their own way in after the airlock doors close behind the ''Alliance''. The ''Alliance'' surfaces beyond the airlock, and the group starts exploring.

Back at the junkyard, Izabella, Sqweeks, and Crosshairs look up at the approaching Cybertron. Elsewhere, NASA scientists give a briefing as the approaching planet scrapes the surface of the [[Moon (moon)|Moon]]. The doomsday news is broadcast on [[television]] around the world. The subs carrying the TRF teams led by Lennox and Santos emerge into an air pocket, and they move out. Daytrader arrives back at the junkyard with the [[Knight Ship|Autobots' ship]], and the group there prepares to head to England to help out. Cade and Viviane find a chamber holding motionless Knights of Iacon. Cybertron moves into Earth's atmosphere, passing the [[International Space Station]]. Viviane touches a Celtic engraving which reveals Merlin's sarcophagus, inside which they find a wooden staff. As the TRF moves through the same chamber, [[Skullitron|one of the knights]] springs to life. Cade keeps it distracted as the TRF attacks it, eventually bringing it down. Viviane grabs the wooden staff which transforms into metal in her hands. Lennox and Santos attempt to get her to hand it over, but she reveals only she can use it. More knights revive and attack, however a short time later, Optimus kills them and forces Viviane to turn the staff over to him. Sending the others back to the sub, Cade, Lennox, and Bumblebee go after Optimus.

[[File:TLK-Cade wields Excalibur.jpg|right|thumb|300px|]]
Bumblebee fights with Optimus atop the vast ship as it comes to the surface. Bumblebee manages to get the better of his former leader, and Cade attempts to persuade Optimus to stop fighting. As the ship rises out of the water, Optimus is able to get the upper hand and is prepared to end Bumblebee when Bee manages to talk in his own voice. Shaking Quintessa's influence, Optimus drops his sword, just in time for Megatron to swoop in and claim the staff. After the Decepticons leave, the remaining Knights of Iacon emerge from the ship and are ready to execute Optimus for aiding Quintessa's cause. The Talisman transforms into a sword which Cade uses to block the killing strike, and the Knights recognize Cade as a knight. Though Prime is ready to die, Cade talks him out of sacrificing himself, and Optimus announces they have to destroy Quintessa with the other Autobots show up in their ship.

Cybertron makes touchdown on Earth, causing untold destruction. Megatron arrives at Stonehenge with the staff. Lennox contacts Morshower with the coordinates for the "end game", an [[ignition chamber]] which is part of one of the dangling pieces of Cybertron and military forces move in. Cade comes up with a plan to load Ospreys onto the Autobot ship so they can get close enough to the ignition chamber to land. NASA thinks this is a bad plan and works on an alternate idea. The massive ship continues towards Stonehenge where the Decepticons, along with Sir Burton and the military forces, are waiting. At Sir Burton's signal, the military opens fire on the Decepticons as the massive ship arrives directly overhead. The Autobots regroup with Cade and the TRF, and Optimus Prime gives a stirring speech before blasting off. Cogman manages to find Sir Burton, who had been blasted by Megatron sometime prior to the Autobots' arrival, shortly before he expires.

Megatron returns to the Ignition Chamber where Quintessa is waiting. She plugs the staff into the floor, and lightning starts arcing about. The pieces of Cybertron start moving about and joining together, causing those on the ground to run for their lives. Massive worldwide destruction ensues. As the Autobot ship carries Autobots, knights and humans up to their fates, Cade asks Viviane out on a date. Jets soften up the defenses around the ignition chamber while the humans all board the Ospreys, and Cade has it out with Santos. Shamed, the TRF troops all rip off their insignias. The Ospreys launch, and Izabella and Sqweeks reveal they've stowed away on the one carrying Cade and Viviane. Covered by the jets and the giant three-headed dragon, the Ospreys head to the ignition chamber, and crash-land on the surface. The landing site is immediately a war zone as Megatron and his Decepticons stand in their way. Lennox spots the entrance to the chamber, but the team is pinned down by a gun emplacement. Izabella instructs Sqweeks to go blow the gun emplacement up. [[Infernocus]] merges under Megatron's orders and knocks Bumblebee and company out of the air.

[[File:Transformers_5_Unicron.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Trust no one.]]

Meanwhile, the NASA scientists have come up with a plan to use nukes to cause a nearby chunk of Cybertron to destroy the ignition chamber. Morshower contacts Lennox to let him know the new plan, and the TRF forces start withdrawing. Sqweeks succeeds in blowing up the gun emplacement. Optimus arrives aboard the dragon and takes out Infernocus. As the TRF troops parachute off the platform, the jets nuke the neighbouring chunk of Cybertron. Viviane drops her parachute and heads back towards the chamber, followed by Cade. The chunk hits the platform containing the chamber, however despite the devastating impact, the chamber continues to function. The chamber tumbles down until it comes to rest on another part of Cybertron. Inside, chaos reigns as the Autobots and Decepticons fight and Viviane grabs the staff. Optimus kicks Megatron through a wall shortly before another impact sends the chamber tumbling out of the sky. Bumblebee kills Nitro Zeus and blasts Quintessa as Optimus manages to distract her. Quintessa vanishes in a flash of blue light. Viviane finally pulls the staff free, shutting down the Ignition Chamber just before it crashes to the ground. Optimus dramatically drives out of the cloud of debris raised by its impact, carrying Cade and Viviane. As everyone reunites, Optimus gives another stirring speech about how Earth and Cybertron are now joined as one before the Autobots depart for Cybertron alongside the guardian knights.

Meanwhile back in Namibia, Quintessa, now in a human form, walks up to one of the scientists studying the giant metal horn and offers to tell him how to kill Unicron.

==Quotes==
"All right, I am what they say. I'm a liar, a charlatan. I've deceived my whole life, but if I could, for one moment, change this world for the better, I would give up everything! Everything! I'd give up drink! Money! Wom- ...Drink and money!"
:—'''Merlin'''

"Get that out of my face."
:—'''Megatron''''s disdan on the welcome wagon.

"Your world is dying. I've been waiting for you, Optimus...Come meet your ''maker''."
:—'''Quintessa'''

"You dare to strike your ''God?!'' Your war ''doomed'' Cybertron!" 
"Megatron started the war-" 
"''You'' destroyed your world, you fool!"
:—'''Quintessa''' shows '''Optimus''' who's boss.

"There is a way to heal your world. My power of creation, the staff, was stolen from me by my twelve Guardian Knights. They betrayed me, and hid it on Earth. Gave it to your ''precious'' humans...the staff is the only way to bring life back to Cybertron. You are going to find it for me. Do you seek redemption, Prime? ''Do'' you?" 
"My maker, I ''do''." 
:—'''Quintessa''' coaxes a half-brainwashed '''Optimus''' to her side.

"The end is near, my old treacherous friend... what a shame you'll be unable to see it."
:—'''Megatron''' musing to the decapitated head of Starscream

"Go to hell!" 
"'This planet ''is'' hell!"
:—'''Izabella''' and '''Megatron''' exchange smack talk

"Don't kill the messenger... or the messenger will kill ''you''."
:—'''Cogman'''

"You are needed, sir. Urgently. My master is fond of saying that all the important decisions in life often come down to just one moment."
:—'''Cogman''' impresses on Cade the gravity of the situation.

"Optimus...it is time you knew the truth. The place you call Earth has another name: Unicron." 
"Earth...Unicron? Cybertron's ancient enemy?" 
"Yes. You are going to kill him. With my staff, we will drain the very life from Unicron. Earth ''will die''. 
"Yes..." 
"And your world will be reborn... ''Nemesis Prime''. 
"I will fight anyone who stands in my way."
:—'''Quintessa''' coaxes a completely brainwashed <s>'''Optimus'''</s> '''Nemesis Prime''' to her side.

"Introductions. Miss Viviane Wembly: Master of History, Oxford; Doctor of Philosophy, also Oxford; and Doctor of Letters, Oxford again, I think. Anything else? Anyway, meet Cade." 
"...''Yeager''. Cade Yeager. I'm an inventor."
:—'''Sir Edmund Burton''' and '''Cade Yeager'''

'''Hot Rod:''' "Bonjour, chérie! Je M'appelle Hot Rôd." 
'''Viviane:''' "Ut what?" 
'''Hot Rod:''' "Hot ''Rôd.''" 
'''Viviane''' "Hut Rud?" 
'''Hot Rod:''' "''Hot Rôd!''" 
'''Sir Edmund Burton:''' "Hot. Rod." 
'''Hot Rod:''' "Mhmm." 
'''Sir Edmund Burton:''' "It's his French accent." 
'''Viviane:''' "Is he French?" 
'''Sir Edmund Burton:''' "No, he just likes the accent." 
'''Hot Rod:''' "Non! No no no, I ''hate'' the accent! But I can't get rid of it! I'm ''stuck'' with the accent!"
:—Everybody loves '''Hot Rod'''.

"Bee?" 
"Yes." 
"But he's so nice." 
"Behind the lines during the war they called him many things... nice was never one of them." 
:—'''Cade''' and '''Sir Edmund''' on Bumblebee's past.

"I-I am Bumblebee... Your oldest friend! Optimus... I would lay down my life for you."
:—'''Bumblebee''' regains his voice, and Optimus regains his mind.

"I knew you couldn't do it! Your time is over, Prime. You ''failed''! You turned your back on Cybertron, now you will watch Earth ''DIE''!"
:—'''Megatron''' denounces Optimus after his redemption

"Knights, Autobots - this cannot and will not be the end. To save Earth and her people, we are going to steal Quintessa's staff. Only you, Viviane, can take it back. I will lead the way into her chamber, and when the account of the ages is etched into the cosmos, let those who exist long after us know that this was our finest hour!"
:—'''Optimus''' rallies his new and old allies before the final battle

"Did you forget who I am? ''I am Optimus Prime!''"
:—'''Optimus''' as he kills the Infernocons. They should've run for cover, or at least DUCKED.

"We were brothers once!" 
"''Once.''"
:—'''Megatron''' and '''Optimus Prime'''

"At the heart of every legend, there is truth: a few brave souls unite to save the world. We can be heroes in our own lives, every one of us, if we only have the courage to try. Our fates were always intertwined, but now our worlds are joined as one. We need to repair our planets, work together, if we wish to survive. A dangerous secret is buried deep inside the Earth. There is more to this planet than meets the eye. I am Optimus Prime, calling all Autobots... It is time to come ''home''."
:—'''Optimus Prime'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s closing narration.

==Characters==
{{featuredcharacters|
h1=[[Autobot]]s|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime/Nemesis Prime]] ([[Peter Cullen]])
*[[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]] ([[Erik Aadahl]])
*[[Hot Rod (DOTM)|Hot Rod]] ([[Omar Sy]])*
*[[Hound (Movie)|Hound]] ([[John Goodman]])
*[[Drift (AOE)|Drift]] ([[Ken Watanabe]])
*[[Crosshairs (AOE)|Crosshairs]] ([[John DiMaggio]])
*[[Cogman]] ([[Jim Carter]])
*[[Sqweeks]] ([[Reno Wilson]])
*[[Grimlock (AOE)|Grimlock]]
*[[Slug (AOE)|Slug]]
*[[Mini Dinobot|Mini-Dinobots]]
**Mini Grimlock
**Mini Slug
**Mini Strafe
*[[Wheelie (ROTF)|Wheelie]] ([[Tom Kenny]])
*[[Daytrader]] ([[Steve Buscemi]])
*[[Topspin (DOTM)|Topspin/"Volleybot"]] ([[Steven Barr]])
*[[Canopy]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*"[[Bulldog (TLK)|Bulldog]]" ([[Mark Ryan]])
*[[Trench]]
*[[Spitfire Autobot]]
*[[Northrop Autobot]]
*[[HMS Alliance|HMS ''Alliance'']] Autobot

|h2=[[Decepticon]]s|c2=
*[[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]] (Frank Welker)
*[[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]] ([[Jess Harnell]])*
*[[Nitro Zeus]] (John DiMaggio/Steven Barr)**
*[[Mohawk]] (Reno Wilson)
*[[Onslaught (ROTF)|Onslaught]] (John DiMaggio/Steven Barr)**
*[[Dreadbot]]
*[[Berserker]] (Steven Barr)
*[[Junkheap (AOE)|Junkheap]]
*[[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]]'s head
*Decepticon [[protoform]]s

|h3=[[Human]]s|c3=
*[[Cade Yeager]] ([[Mark Wahlberg]])
*[[Viviane Wembly]] ([[Laura Haddock]])
*[[William Lennox]] ([[Josh Duhamel]])
*[[Izabella]] ([[Isabela Moner]])
*[[Edmund Burton|Sir Edmund Burton]] ([[Anthony Hopkins]])
*[[Seymour Simmons]] ([[John Turturro]])
*[[Santos]] ([[Santiago Cabrera]])
*[[Jimmy (TLK)|Jimmy]] ([[Jerrod Carmichael]])
*[[Morshower]] ([[Glenn Morshower]])
*[[Merlin]] ([[Stanley Tucci]])
*[[King Arthur|King Arthur]] ([[Liam Garrigan]])
*[[JPL Engineer]] ([[Tony Hale]])

|h4=[[Knights of Iacon]]|c4=
*[[Dragonstorm]]
**[[Stormreign]]
**[[Dragonicus]]
**[[Steelbane]]
*[[Skullitron]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Talisman Knight]]

|h5=Others|c5=
*[[Quintessa (TLK)|Quintessa]] ([[Gemma Chan]])
*[[Infernocus]]
**[[Infernocon]]s
*[[Unicron]]
*The [[watch that killed Hitler]]
*[[Vatti Transformer]]
|nonumbering=true
}}
* *Certain lines from these characters are not delivered by their credited actors, but by who appear to be the fill-in actors who performed the "scratch track" for the movie, whose recordings have survived into the finished film.
* **Nitro Zeus' voice actor varies depending on the version of the film, with one having him played by John DiMaggio, and the other with him played by Steven Barr. Same thing applies with Onslaught's single line.

==Continuity notes==
*Optimus left Earth at the end of [[Transformers: Age of Extinction (film)|the last movie]], to look for the mysterious [[Creator (AOE)|Creators]]. No sign or mention of that [[Seed]] he was carrying, though he announced at the time he was going to take it where "it can never be found."
*The Dinobots were "set free" by Optimus at the end of the last movie, though they have since joined up with the main Autobot team in hiding, presumably for pragmatic reasons.
*After going nameless in the previous film, Grimlock is called by name (by Cade) in this film, the only Dinobot so named.
*Cade's daughter Tessa was a soon to graduate high school student in ''Age of Extinction'', and she has since gone on to college.
*Izabella mentioned that her parents were killed during the Decepticon invasion in ''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)|Dark of the Moon]]''.
*Starscream was killed by a [[NEST]] boomstick at the climax of ''Dark of the Moon''. ''Age of Extinction'' established that scavengers had salvaged many objects from the Battle of Chicago.
*Megatron addresses Starscream's disembodied head as "my treacherous old friend". Back in ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'', Megatron accused Starscream of abandoning him to die in the [[Transformers (film)|first movie]]. We wouldn't call that a justified accusation, but what can we do? It's the word of a dead skull against that of the universe's greatest warlord.
*While [[Leadfoot (DOTM)|Leadfoot]] was killed by [[Cemetery Wind]] in a video recording in ''Age of Extinction'', the fate of his two fellow [[Wrecker]]s were unknown at that point. Similarly, only [[Brains]] reappeared in the last film whereas Wheelie was nowhere to be found. This film reveals that Wheelie, Topspin, and Roadbuster have all survived being hunted by Cemetery Wind. And given that [[Sideswipe (Movie)|Sideswipe]] was also mentioned to have been killed by Cemetery Wind in ''Age of Extintion'' tie-in material, the only Autobot who survived the end of ''Dark of the Moon'' whose current status is unknown is [[Mirage (Movie)|Dino]].
*When Viviane is abducted by Hot Rod, she asks if her captor is a famous Transformer such as [[Shockwave (Movie)|Shockwave]] or [[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]], unaware that they both died in ''Dark of the Moon''.
*Daytrader gives the Autobots [[Knight Ship|Lockdown's ship]], which was last seen being attacked by [[People's Liberation Army|Chinese military]] jets in Hong Kong.
*The T.R.F. uses the exact same tactic to take out one of the Knights as N.E.S.T. used to take out Shockwave and Barricade in ''Dark of the Moon''.
*The ''Ark'' is briefly seen on the Moon, where it was revealed to be back in ''Dark of the Moon'', having been left there untouched in the years since, along with the site of the [[Apollo 11]] moon landing.
*Among the landmarks trashed by the hanging chunks of Cybertron is the [[Great Pyramid of Giza]], where the climax of ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' took place, recognizable by the top missing to reveal the Star Harvester hidden underneath.
*The Decepticons are seen using several [[Orbital Assault Carrier]]s, as they were in ''Dark of the Moon'', though there's no word on if these Carriers are the same ones from the Chicago operation.
*Quintessa teleports herself away; she seems to have a bodily [[space bridge]] much as [[The Fallen]] did.
*It's never made clear whether or not [[Quintessa (TLK)|Quintessa]] is one of the [[Creator (AOE)|Creators]] alluded to in the previous film. She claims to be the "[[Prime (rank)|Prime]] of Life" and to have created the [[Transformer|Cybertronian]] species, but that is up for debate.
*Drift only has one of his swords, like the end of the previous film, showing that he never retrieved the other from the battle with the KSI drones.
*Sir Burton states that Viviane is the last living descendant of Merlin, along with stating that he is the last living member of the Witwiccans, indirectly stating that [[Sam Witwicky|Sam]], who has not been seen or heard from since ''Dark of the Moon'' (and [[Stephen Hawking]]) is dead at this point.
*[[Jolt (ROTF)|Jolt's]] head can be seen in the [[Junkyard (TLK)|junkyard]].

==Transformers references==
* As usual, many of the new characters have roots in older portions of the mythos:
** [[Hot Rod (DOTM)|Hot Rod]] is based on [[Hot Rod (G1)|a Generation 1 character]] introduced in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]''.
** [[Onslaught (ROTF)|Onslaught]] is derived from [[Onslaught (G1)|the leader]] of the [[Combaticon (G1)|Generation 1 Combaticons]]. For his appearance in the film, he is an altered version of [[Long Haul (ROTF)|Long Haul]].
** Quintessa is a loose adaptation of the [[Quintesson]]s—the recurring race of antagonistic extraterrestrials who terrorized both the Autobots and Decepticons in season 3 of the original 1980's cartoon. In the cartoon continuity, the Quintessons were the creators of the Transformers, in the same way that Quintessa claims to be in the film. She seems to be physically based off of [[Quintus Prime]], a relatively new character introduced through 2013's ''[[Transformers: The Covenant of Primus|The Covenant of Primus]]''. The decision to make the character female is something wholly new, although it may speak to some influence from [[Solus Prime]].
** The [[Mini Dinobot]]s are baby-like scaled-down versions of Grimlock, Slug, and [[Strafe (AOE)|Strafe]], the latter of whom oddly does not appear in the film itself.
** [[Unicron]] is the ancient enemy of [[Primus]]/Cybertron, who was introduced in ''The Transformers: The Movie''. The idea of Unicron having a connection to Earth seems to be inspired by the ''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' cartoon, where Unicron ''was'' the core of the Earth, with the rest of the planet having formed around his dormant body during his hibernation. Whether or not this corporeality holds true for this incarnation of Unicron remains to be seen.
* When Optimus Prime falls under Quintessa's control, he is dubbed "[[Nemesis Prime (disambiguation)|Nemesis Prime]]", an obvious reference to the evil clone of Optimus Prime that has appeared in many [[Nemesis Prime (Armada)|conti]][[Nemesis Prime (G1)|nui]][[Nemesis Prime (Prime)|ties]]. The ''Prime'' version was, believe it or not, used as a template for Galvatron's background in the last film, where he was supposed to be a copy of Optimus.
* Several Transformers introduced in this film have altered designs from past films, yet are entirely new characters nevertheless. [[Nitro Zeus]] employs the same body design as the [[KSI Boss]]es but has a head identical to [[Shockwave (Movie)|Shockwave]]'s, [[Dreadbot]] is an altered version of [[Crowbar]], [[Canopy]] is another altered version of Long Haul, [[Berserker]] is a homage to [[Crankcase (DOTM)|Crankcase]], and [[Trench]] is the same body-type as [[Scrapper (ROTF)|Scrapper]] and [[Scrapmetal (ROTF)|Scrapmetal]].
** The rest of the robot cast-[[Cogman]], [[Sqweeks]], the [[Knights of Iacon]], [[Mohawk]], [[Daytrader]], "[[Bulldog (TLK)|Bulldog]]", and the [[Infernocon]]s-are new characters with entirely new designs.
* Edmund Burton claims Cogman is a [[Headmaster (technology)|"headmaster"]], which is typically a human-sized bot that transforms into the head of a larger bot. While this reference ''is'' borne out by his [[Cogman#Toys|Deluxe Class toy]], which features a larger vehicle body and a detachable head, we don't actually see Cogman do anything like that in the movie itself.
* This is not the first time the Transformers have been associated with [[A Decepticon Raider in King Arthur's Court (episode)|Arthurian times]], nor would be [[The Golden Knight|the last]].
* Galvatron eventually returns back to using his true name, something we've seen [[Megatron (Armada)| before]].

==Real-life references==
*The bogus voice box Bumblebee gets from Daytrader has the voice of {{w|Siri}}, the AI assistant found in most iPhones.
*Crosshairs calls Cogman a "[[Star_Wars_(film)|C-3PO]] ripoff".
*Sir Edmund Burton quotes the song ''[[w:It's a Long Way to Tipperary|It's a Long Way to Tipperary]]'' in reference to World War I.

==Other editions==
*Two versions of the film were released to theaters: one screened in English-speaking countries, which seems to be the "finished" version, and another shown internationally, with foreign language subtitles, which appears to be an earlier version. There are numerous differences in dialogue between the two versions, with some lines being dropped, added, or changed completely for the finished version, including ones that even help to make the film make more sense!
**When Hound shows up when TRF are talking to Bee and Cade, in the finished version he says, "Sorry I'm late! My invitation to this ass-kicking must have gotten lost in the mail." The alternate version has him say "Mornin', fellas! I like showing up to a gun fight! This round mound's gonna mow you down. Translation: Sayonara, suckers!"
**When Daytrader says "You always resort to violence, right off the bat!", in the finished version Hound replies "I love violence!". Hound does not reply in the alternate version.
**Hound has an extra line about wanting to "deep-six" Daytrader in the alternate cut right before the Vatti Transformers appears, whereas he remains silent in the final edition.
**Izabella laughs at Cade's attempts to make Grimlock spit out the cruiser in the alternate cut. She smiles, but remains silent in the final version.
**When Jimmy and Wheelie argue, the finished version has Wheelie back down a bit when Jimmy threatens and grabs him, with Wheelie adding that Jimmy is the worst "senior vice president ever". In the alternate cut, Wheelie continues to berate him , threatening "I'll have my Autobot brethren kick your ass!". Oddly, he still flails his hands around when he's not saying anything in the latter version, meaning his animation is meant to be paired with the "finished" audio.
**In the "earlier" version, all of Nitro Zeus's dialogue is provided by Steven Barr, and the actor receives an on-screen credit for the role. For the "finished" version, it was all re-recorded by John DiMaggio (with the credits altered to reflect the change), with some differences. During his introduction, for instance, the finished version has him say: "I know where you live, Enrique, say hello to your wife for me!" while the other, he says: "By the way, Enrique, Chad's sleeping with your wife!"
**In the final film, Onslaught's single line of dialogue was recorded by DiMaggio, while Barr re-recorded said line in the alternate version. Deja vu huh?
**When arriving at the Junkyard, DiMaggio-Nitro remarks "Aw man, I kicked more ass in prison!" upon learning that Cade and co. have left, while in the alternate version Barr-Nitro says "Unfortunate, because I was looking to knock some heads!".
**While Megatron is musing to the head of Starscream, as he says "The end is near", DiMaggio-Nitro cuts in with "Oh, she's coming!" while Barr-Nitro remains silent.
**When the Decepticons arrive in the abandoned town, Barr-Nitro says: "I know they're close!" while DiMaggio-Nitro says: "Oh, I feel a fight comin'!"
**In the final film, when the Autobots discover the tracker planted on Bumblebee, Crosshairs remarks "The tracker led 'em right to us! When are you gonna grow up?" but in the alternate version, he says "What's this? You brought 'em right to us!"
**In the final film, after Drift kills Onslaught ("and his fat head!"), Crosshairs remarks, "Don't get any deader than that!" In the alternate version, Crosshairs is silent, and Drift instead says "Fantastic!" after his quip about Onslaught's head. In the final film, Drift's lips are still visibly moving at the point when he says "Fantastic!" in the alternate cut.
**After the town battle, Crosshairs calls the TRF drones "gnats" as he shoots them down in the finished version. He remains silent in the alternate version.
**In the finished version, when Crosshairs is talking about Cogman he says, "Hey Cade, what's with the C-3PO ripoff?", but in the alternate version he says, "I'll swat this metal cockroach for you Cade."
**Crosshairs whines that his finger is broken in the background when Cogman is speaking to Cade in the finished version. He remains silent in the alternate version.
**When Megatron steals the staff from Optimus, the "finished" film features Nitro Zeus saying: "You blew your chance to kill Unicron!" followed by Megatron saying: "I knew you couldn't do it. Your time is over, Prime! You failed!" The other has no Nitro Zeus dialogue, and instead features Megatron saying: "Quintessa, the most ruthless of our Gods, knew you couldn't do it. She knows I'm strong and you're weak."
**When the Knights of Iacon attack Optimus, in the alternate version one of the Knights tells Prime "She put you under a spell!". In the finished version, that line was removed.
**Barricade has an extra line at Stonehenge in the alternate version, where he says "Yes! Drain Unicron! He will be powerless!"
**The finished version adds an extra line between Cade and Lennox on Cybertron about Optimus never having made it to the Ignition Chamber, while the alternate version never acknowledges his absence.
**When Optimus Prime attacks Quintessa, In the finished version she says, "You traitor!", and Optimus retracts his faceplate. In the alternate version she says, "Nemesis! You traitor!", and Optimus' faceplate does not retract.
**The final version has Quintessa scream as Bumblebee blasts her, while Bumblebee quips "Sting like a bee!"—but in the other version, Quintessa is silent, and Bumblebee's dialogue is very slightly different, with him saying "''I'' sting like a bee."
*The Chinese release adds roughly 2 minutes of content just for soft-advertising.
*Additionally, the digital version, while primarily the "finished" version, alters a few minor things.
**All of Hound's red cross symbols have been recolored blue.
**The scene of Wheelie checking the used car website has been removed.
**For some reason, Barr-Nitro's "Unfortunate, because I was looking to knock some heads!" line is in place of DiMaggio's "I kicked more ass in prison!", despite DiMaggio providing the voice for Nitro Zeus in every other scene.

==Errors==
===Continuity errors===
*[[Grimlock (AOE)|Grimlock]], [[Slug (AOE)|Slug]] and [[Wheelie (ROTF)|Wheelie]] randomly disappear from the story, although they were likely left at the junkyard during the final battle.
*Optimus forgets obvious things. He's astonished by the decrepit condition of Cybertron, despite knowing it was destroyed in the third film. In addition, he remarks that he has not heard Bumblebee's voice "since Cybertron fell". Bumblebee actually spoke with his real voice briefly at the end of the [[Transformers (film)|first film]], albeit with a different voice actor.
*Sir Edmund says the battle depicted at the start of the movie took place in 484 AD, while a caption over the first present day scene says it takes place 1600 years later, which would result in the rest of the film taking place in 2084.
*Transformers are falling from the sky, an event which Burton claims to have an answer to - yet he never gives it.
*There's no explanation for why Cybertron is intact after it disintegrated in ''Dark of the Moon'', nor is it explained why Cybertron is smaller than Earth when it was previously much bigger. It's possible the planet reformed itself over the years into its smaller state.
*No explanation is offered for how Galvatron has become Megatron again. He even transforms normally now, as opposed to bursting into a cloud of [[Transformium]] and reforming the way he did in ''[[Transformers: Age of Extinction (film)|Age of Extinction]]''.
**And no explanation is offered for how Bumblebee's body can fall apart and reform at will - an ability that essentially makes him immortal. Not like any [[Jazz (Movie)|other character]] could've used this.
*When Cade and Izzy are fitting a new voice box into Bumblebee, it is clear that they are using a prop on set, with no sign of Bumblebee's body. It is possible that due to his reforming ability, Bee was able to remove his head for the procedure.
*Speaking of Bumblebee's reforming ability, no explanation is given as to how he received such an ability. Back in the 2007 film he lost both of his legs and was unable to reform, as well as being clearly in pain.
*How does Daytrader have [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]]'s head if it was destroyed in the third film?
*Just before the Decepticons invade the junkyard, Drift is shown with both his swords.
*Sqweeks is missing his scavenged Decepticon arm when the Decepticons invade the junkyard, his original arm appearing back in its place. It returns in all subsequent scenes with the character.
*The abandoned town the Autobots and humans seek refuge in has buildings which are a few stories tall at most, then Jimmy, Cade and Izabella are abruptly in a multi-story building with janitorial staff and an external lift when they encounter Cogman. After Cade's ride on a drone, they're suddenly back in the area with no tall buildings in sight.
*Ironhide and Optimus Prime are depicted in historical paintings, but both were clearly seen arriving on Earth for explicitly the first time in the [[Transformers (film)|first film]].
*How does Hot Rod have the Lamborghini chest in an old war photo if he selected the new disguise merely seconds ago and Lamborghini didn't ''exist'' until 1963?
*Despite the Decepticons all following Cade and Bumblebee to England, only Barricade apparently bothers to try to track them down once there.
*Bumblebee tears out the "defective" voicebox yet is able to talk to Optimus later with no voicebox. Maybe he put the old one back in offscreen?
*Where does Optimus go between taking off after giving his speech, and later turning up on Dragonstorm? The "finished" version of the film briefly addresses this by adding an exchange between Cade and Lennox, where the latter says Optimus didn't make it.
*En-route to Cybertron, despite Bumblebee having regained his voice, he once again insists on speaking with an audio clip.

===Technical/animation errors===
*As noted above, at certain points in the film, Hot Rod and Barricade's voices are not provided by their credited actors. The performers delivering these lines appear to be the fill-in actors who performed the "scratch track" for the movie, whose recordings have survived into the finished film.
**Hot Rod's anomalous line—"She's very difficult!"—comes when he and Viviane arrive at Burton's estate. We can tell this is the scratch track because a promotional clip of the scene released before the film featured ''all'' of Hot Rod's dialogue being delivered by this actor, before Omar Sy recorded over it; his first line in the clip ("Leetle lady, non!") is replaced in the film (with "Non non non, leetle lady, why do you have to be zat way? Pour quoi?") but "She's very difficult!" remains unchanged.
**Barricade non-Jess-Harnell dialogue can be heard when the Decepticons arrive at Stonehenge ("I've lived for this! I've lived to kill a planet!" and "Drain Unicron! He will be powerless.").
*When Mohawk jumps on top of the car, Onslaught's head is shown leaning against the vehicle's left door. However, when Drift decapitated Onslaught, his head fell behind the car.
**In addition, two different cars are used for the shots. The doors of the car were also open when Drift decapitated Onslaught, but are closed when Mohawk jumps onto the car.
*When Optimus meets Quintessa and tosses his shield away, it reappears on his arm in the very next shot before disappearing again.
*When Cade, Viviane, and Cogman are aboard HMS ''Alliance'', there is a camera shot of Cade looking through the periscope with Cogman to the right of screen. The camera angle then changes and shows Viviane in another part of the chamber. The camera returns to Cade, Cogman has vanished. The camera pans back to Viviane again, then returns to Cade, with Cogman back in the shot.
*Despite transforming into a larger vehicle, Dreadbot is visibly shorter than Barricade.
*When the Autobots are commenting on the Knights of Iacon, Hound's mouth is animated to be saying something too soon before he actually begins speaking.

===Geographic discontinuities===
*A road trip from the outskirts of Chicago to the Badlands of South Dakota takes about twelve hours, but Cade, Bumblebee, and Hound make the commute all in the same afternoon.
*When the authorities arrive at Burton's mansion, it is noted that "TRF and MI6" are in pursuit. In real life, MI6 is the UK's ''external'' intelligence agency; it is more likely that {{w|MI5}}, the UK's domestic intelligence agency, would be the British central government's agency present.
*American street signs of the hanging green-coloured variety can be seen during the chase scene in London.
*Viviane leads her class from a large, expansive archaeological museum into the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. While there is an archaeological museum attached to the Natural History Museum, it looks nothing like the one featured in the film.
*The Royal Navy's submarine museum is nowhere near London as the movie depicts; it is actually in Gosport, Hampshire.
*Stonehenge is not as isolated in open countryside and from main roads as portrayed - the A303 among other roads runs past the monument. Also, the town of Amesbury is across said main road, less than two miles away.

==Adaptations==
Two comic adaptations are made for the film: [[A New Friend]] by IDW Publishing as the promotion for both the film and Schick's Hydro line of electric razors, and [[Mission to Cybertron]] released exclusively for the Toys"R"Us exclusive Transformers: The Last Knight Blu-Ray Combo Pack.

==Music==
==Score==
:''Main Article'': [[The Last Knight (Music From the Motion Picture)]]
Continuing the tradition of the previous films, the music is once again composed by [[Steve Jablonsky]]. The ending theme of the movie is Torches by [[X Ambassadors]].

==Home video releases==
==Theatrical posters==
<center><gallery>
File:TLK Poster wide Dragonstorm.jpg
File:TLK Poster Rethink Heroes.jpg
File:TLK Poster.JPG
File:TLK Poster Stonehenge.jpg
File:TLK Poster Legend Secret.jpg|Nazis. I hate those guys.
File:TLK Poster Here Forever.jpg
File:TLK Poster IMAX 3D.jpg
File:TLK Poster char Optimus Prime.jpg|Optimus "Barely Appearing in this Movie" Prime
File:TLK Poster char Megatron.jpg
File:TLK Poster char Bumblebee.jpg
File:TLK Poster char Hound.jpg
File:TLK Poster char Hot Rod.jpg
File:TLK Poster char Cogman.jpg
File:TLK Poster char Burton.jpg
File:TLK Poster char Lennox.jpg
File:TLK Poster char Yeager.jpg
File:TLK Poster char Izabella.jpg
File:TLK Poster char Jimmy.jpg
File:TLK Poster char Wembly.jpg
</gallery></center>

==Reception==

{{quote|[sighs] Here we go again.|BBC Radio 5 critic Mark Kermode on ''The Last Knight''<ref>[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ee6xh5AmQo Mark Kermode review]</ref>}}

After four films where critics hated it but the audience showered it with money, ''The Last Knight'' broke the trend by ''not'' being showered with money. It had been projected to make $70-75m in its first days in North America, itself the lowest opening<ref>[http://deadline.com/2017/06/spider-man-homecoming-hoping-to-catch-opening-in-the-100m-vicinity-1202114641/ Deadline, June 15th 20917: "‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Hoping To Catch Opening In The $100M Vicinit"]</ref>, but that was downgraded to $63m after the first few days were even lower than the lowest expected.<ref>[http://deadline.com/2017/06/transformers-the-last-knight-opening-weekend-box-office-1202118976/ "Deadline: ‘Transformers’ Still Rusty At $63M+"]</ref> In the end it made almost $70m over the first five days, better than the revised projection but lower than all of the previous films. <ref>[http://deadline.com/2017/06/transformers-the-last-knight-opening-weekend-box-office-1202118976/ Deadline: "Why ‘Transformers’ Is Screaming For Reboot After $69M Start; ‘Wonder Woman’ & ‘Cars 3’ Fight Over 2nd Place"], 25th June 2017</ref> By mid-July, after over three weeks, the film had grossed $122.1m in North America against a $217m budget (not counting marketing costs). This meant a lot of critics began to zero in on the sluggish profit, taking the view that American audiences were just getting bored of Bay's version of the franchise.

Internationally the film did $196.2m in the same first five days, of which $123.4m came from [[China]] alone<ref>[http://deadline.com/2017/06/transformers-the-last-knight-opening-weekend-box-office-1202118976/ Deadline: "Why ‘Transformers’ Is Screaming For Reboot After $69M Start; ‘Wonder Woman’ & ‘Cars 3’ Fight Over 2nd Place"], 25th June 2017</ref>(who love the franchise so much delaying ''The Last Knight'' reduced 2016 cinema growth to 3%, down from 48% in 2015!)<ref>[https://www.forbes.com/sites/robcain/2017/06/11/transformers-gears-up-for-another-1-billion-box-office-bounty/#659ff09e2325 Forbes: "'Transformers' Gears Up For Another $1 Billion Box Office Bounty"]</ref> The Chinese had been expected to spend up to $290m on the film's run. <ref>[http://variety.com/2017/film/asia/chinas-weying-boards-paramounts-transformers-the-last-knight-1202465635/ Variety:"China’s Weying Boards Paramount’s ‘Transformers: The Last Knight’"]</ref> However, in its second week in China takings dropped by a harsh 75% and after 10 days it had only grossed $198 million, which was seen as a disappointment—some pundits had expected $400m from China—and left it unlikely the film would perform as well as ''Age of Extinction'' had.<ref>[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/china-box-office-transformers-5-crashes-back-earth-75-percent-slide-second-weekend-1018449]</ref> ''The Hollywood Reporter'' visited a [[Shanghai]] screening and reported "walkouts, general disinterest and plenty of snickering over a conspicuous abundance of [Chinese] product placement" despite a truly massive PR campaign and the fourth film's mega-popularity. Chinese social media made it clear the plot was too complicated and the product placement, all products the Chinese knew weren't in America, was too dumb; the audience found it ''very'' funny when Wheelie looked up a Chinese used car website.<ref>[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/transformers-last-knight-has-pandering-chinese-audiences-hurt-transformers-5-1016926 The Hollywood Reporter: "Has Pandering to Chinese Audiences Hurt 'Transformers 5'?", July 2 2017]</ref>

In the end, the film finished a 65 day run in cinemas with a worldwide gross of only $604m. <ref>[http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=transformers5.htm]</ref> It even did not exceed the gross of the first film, which concluded with a worldwide gross of $709m, with domestic numbers over double what ''The Last Knight'' was able to take home. <ref>[http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=transformers06.htm]</ref>

==Production staff==
The film was directed by [[Michael Bay]], and was written by [[Art Marcum]], [[Matt Holloway]], and [[Ken Nolan]].

==Development details==
[[File:Transformers 5 provisional logo.png|thumb|right|143px|Transfivemers doesn't have the same ring to it.]]
*December 18, 2014 — [[Mark Wahlberg]] confirms to MTV that he is signed on for the next two Transformers films.<ref>[http://www.mtv.com/news/2030612/mark-wahlberg-transformers-5/ Mark Wahlberg Just Found A 'Transformers' Sequel] on MTV.com</ref>
*March 27, 2015 — [[Paramount Pictures]] negotiates with [[Akiva Goldsman]], hiring him to create a "writer's room" with the intention of building a cinematic universe.<ref name="goldsman">[http://deadline.com/2015/03/transformers-akiva-goldsman-paramount-sequels-spinoffs-1201400027/ Paramount Enlisting Akiva Goldsman To Ramp Up 'Transformers' Output] on deadline.com</ref> Goldsman goes on to hire a number of writers over the next few months: [[Steven DeKnight]] (''Daredevil''),<ref>[http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/transformers-cinematic-universe/35696/transformers-cinematic-details-more-writers-over-10-films Transformers cinematic details]</ref> [[Robert Kirkman]] (''The Walking Dead''),<ref name="deadlinewritersroom">[http://deadline.com/2015/05/transformers-writers-robert-kirkman-zak-penn-art-marcum-matt-holloway-jeff-pinkner-1201430601/ 'Transformers' Spinoff & Sequel Scribes Set] on Deadline.com</ref> [[Art Marcum]] and [[Matt Holloway]] (''Iron Man''),<ref name="deadlinewritersroom" /> [[Christina Hodson]] (''Shut In'', ''The Fugitive''),<ref name="hodsonbeer">[http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/446175-christina-hodson-and-lindsey-beer-join-transformers-writing-team Christina Hodson and Lindsey Beer Join the Transformers Writing Team]</ref> [[Lindsey Beer]] (''Dig''),<ref name="hodsonbeer" /> [[Zak Penn]] (''Pacific Rim 2''),<ref name="deadlinewritersroom" /> [[Jeff Pinkner]] (''The Amazing Spider-Man 2'', ''Lost''),<ref name="deadlinewritersroom" /> [[Andrew Barrer]] and [[Gabriel Ferrari]] (''Ant-Man''),<ref name="barrerferrari">[http://deadline.com/2015/05/transformers-ant-man-andrew-barrer-gabriel-ferrari-cybertron-1201433402/ 'Ant-Man' Scribes Andrew Barrer & Gabriel Ferrari Join 'Transformers' Writers Room] on Deadline</ref> [[Ken Nolan]] (''Black Hawk Down''), and [[Geneva Robertson-Dworet]].<ref name="nolandworet">[http://www.slashfilm.com/transformers-writers-room/ Akiva Goldsman Teases 'Transformers' Franchise Plans]</ref> Involved in the pitching process are [[Steven Spielberg]], [[Michael Bay]], [[Brian Goldner]], [[Lorenzo di Bonaventura]], [[Mark Vahradian]], and [[Don Murphy]].<ref name="deadlinereveal">[http://deadline.com/2015/09/transformers-writers-room-akiva-goldsman-transformers-5-1201531918/ 'Transformers' Writers Room Wraps] on Deadline</ref>
*May 27, 2015 — As part of the news surrounding Barrer and Ferrari joining the room, it's revealed that another pitch is an animated prequel movie set on Cybertron, with the working title of ''[[Transformers One]]''.<ref name="barrerferrari" />
*June 8, 2015 — The writers meet on the Paramount lot for the writer's room.<ref name="nolandworet" /> The writers work for the next three months to plot out the next ten years of ''Transformers'' films.<ref name="stephendaviskeynote">[https://youtu.be/F_P2fw_DlS4?t=812 Stephen Davis's keynote speech] at MIPJunior.</ref>
*July 28, 2015 — DeKnight reports that as a result of the gathering of writers, Goldsman and Pinkner will be co-writing Transformers 5.<ref name="deknightreveals">[http://au.ign.com/articles/2015/07/28/daredevils-steven-deknight-on-the-transformers-writers-room-and-planning-ahead Daredevil's Steven DeKnight on the Transformers Writers Room and Planning Ahead] on IGN</ref>
*September 17, 2015 — Deadline reveals more about the writer's room process and reports that Barrer and Ferrari will write the animated feature, with Pinkner and Beer writing later films.<ref name="deadlinereveal" /> Bay remains uncommitted to directing.<ref>[https://twitter.com/michaelbay/status/644622092110032896 Tweet by Michael Bay]</ref>
*October 3, 2015 — [[Hasbro Studios]]'s [[Stephen J. Davis]] relates more details of the writing process in a keynote speech at the MIP Junior Conference.<ref name="stephendaviskeynote" />
*November 20, 2015 — With Goldsman now enlisted to create a writer's room for ''[[G.I. Joe (franchise)|G.I. Joe]]'' and ''[[Microman|Micronauts]]'', Paramount begins negotiating with Marcum, Holloway and Nolan to write the film.<ref>[http://deadline.com/2015/11/transformers-g-i-joe-micronauts-akiva-goldsman-paramount-hasbro-1201632388/ Akiva Goldsman 'Transformers' Writers Room Leads Paramount & Hasbro To Set One For 'G.I. Joe', 'Micronauts'] on Deadline</ref>
*December 14, 2015 — Wahlberg re-confirms in an interview with CinePop that he'll be back in Transformers 5.<ref>[http://cinepop.com.br/exclusivo-mark-wahlberg-confirma-ao-cinepop-que-estara-em-transformers-5-109295 Mark Wahlberg interview with CinePop]</ref>
*January 4, 2016 — Bay confirms he will be returning to direct.<ref name="rollingstone">[http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/features/13-hours-can-michael-bay-pull-off-a-gritty-movie-about-benghazi-20160104 '13 Hours': Can Michael Bay Pull Off a Gritty Movie About Benghazi?] on Rolling Stone</ref>
*January 12, 2016 — It's totally definitely the last ''Transformers'' film for him this time though.<ref>[https://youtu.be/Yn9bkPNV4JA?t=472 Michael Bay interview with Collider]</ref>
*February 12, 2016 — Transformers 5 is now being released on June 23, 2017. In addition, [[Transformers Universe: Bumblebee|Transformers 6]], acting as a [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]] spin-off, and [[Transformers 7]] are set to be released respectively on [[June 8]], 2018 and [[June 28]], 2019.<ref name="toyfairreveal">[http://news.tfw2005.com/2016/02/12/transformers-5-transformers-6-bumblebee-spin-off-movie-revealed-309503 Transformers 5, Transformers 6 And Bumblebee Spin-Off Movie Revealed] ToyFair news at TFW2005</ref><ref>[http://news.tfw2005.com/2016/02/12/transformers-6-tentative-title-revealed-bumblebee-movie-309597 Transformers 6 Tentative Title Revealed – The Bumblebee Movie] at TFW2005</ref>
*February 18, 2016 — Casting calls go out for June filming in [[London]] and [[Detroit]], also confirming [[Peter Cullen]]'s return as [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]].<ref>[http://www.acting-auditions.org/2016/02/transformers-5-casting-calls-for-new-lead-roles.html Transformers 5 casting call for new lead roles] on acting-auditions.org</ref>
*February 26, 2016 — After negotiations, it's announced that Michigan will provide $21 million in incentives towards the film.<ref>[http://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MIEDC/bulletins/138dd29 'Transformers 5' lands in Detroit] from the Michigan Film & Digital Media Office</ref>
[[File:TLK Optiface Prime.jpg|thumb|right|300px|5 movies in and [[Michael Bay]] is still finding ways to make my face even more ridiculously detailed. Pretty soon I'm going to look like [[Deceptigod]].]]
*April 6, 2016 — Cinematographer [[Jonathan Sela]] is reported as being booked to work on the film.<ref>[http://variety.com/2016/artisans/news/agencies-book-artisans-on-fast-8-transformers-5-to-the-bone-macgyver-and-altered-carbon-1201747892/ Agencies Book Artisans on 'Fast 8,' 'Transformers 5,' 'To the Bone,' 'MacGyver' and 'Altered Carbon'] on Variety</ref>
*April 13, 2016 — Filming dates are revealed via a casting call on acting-auditions.org.<ref>[http://www.acting-auditions.org/2016/04/transformers-5-casting-calls-auditions-information.html 'Transformers 5' Casting Calls and Auditions Information] on acting-auditions.org</ref>
*May 12, 2016 — [[Isabela Moner]] tweets that she's been cast in the movie.<ref>[https://twitter.com/isabelamoner/status/730835465163530241 Tweet by Isabela Moner]</ref>
*May 14, 2016 — Bay suggests [[Tyrese Gibson]] is under consideration to return.<ref>[https://www.instagram.com/p/BFXbTA2IWpr/]</ref>
*May 16, 2016 — The film's title is officially revealed to be ''Transformers: The Last Knight'' in [https://www.instagram.com/p/BFfCGhRoMmW/?taken-by=transformersmoviea teaser trailer] posted on a newly-launched Transformers Movie Instagram.
*May 17, 2016 — [[Josh Duhamel]] announced to be returning for ''Transformers: The Last Knight''.<ref>[https://www.instagram.com/p/BFg6ffIoMvx/]</ref>
*May 25, 2016 — Michael Bay posts a [https://www.instagram.com/p/BF1sPamoWtc/?taken-by=michaelbay photo] as production begins in Cuba.
*May 27, 2016 — A [https://twitter.com/transformers/status/736286302870605824 teaser] is posted containing morse code which translates to "I'm coming for you May 31st."
*May 31, 2016 — Michael Bay posts [https://www.instagram.com/p/BGFEZ9vIWv1/a video] of [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]] and announces production is about to start.
*June 3, 2016 — [[Anthony Hopkins]] joins the cast.<ref>[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/anthony-hopkins-joins-transformers-5-899343]</ref>
*June 4, 2016 — [https://www.instagram.com/p/BGPsjYZoMpq/?taken-by=transformersmovie&hl=en First look] at [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]]'s vehicle mode, which is a 2016 Chevrolet Camaro.<ref>[https://www.instagram.com/p/BGPsjYZoMpq/?taken-by=transformersmovie&hl=en Bumblebee vehicle mode reveal]</ref>
*June 4, 2016 — The [[Freya|World's Loneliest Dog]] is cast.<ref>[http://michaelbay.com/2016/06/04/freya/ MichaelBay.com - Freya]</ref>
*June 10, 2016 — [[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]] is confirmed to return as a 2016 Ford Mustang.<ref>[https://www.instagram.com/p/BGes1IfoMqf/?taken-by=transformersmovie&hl=en]</ref>
*June 18, 2016 — [[Mitch Pileggi]] reveals he has a role.<ref>[https://twitter.com/mitchpileggi1/status/743667068138979329 Tweet from Mitch Pileggi]</ref>
[[File:TLK Bumblebee profile.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Back to the basics.]]
*June 20, 2016 — [[Laura Haddock]] joins the cast.<ref>[https://twitter.com/laurajhaddock/status/744915023299026944 Tweet from Laura Haddock]</ref>
*June 22, 2016 — New robot character [[Sqweeks]] is revealed.<ref>[https://www.instagram.com/p/BG-IEBroWgA/ Michael Bay on Instagram]</ref>
*June 28, 2016 — Tyrese Gibson is confirmed to return.<ref>[https://www.instagram.com/p/BHLBipSDqcO/ Tyrese on Instagram]</ref>
*June 30, 2016 — [[Santiago Cabrera]] joins the cast.<ref>[https://www.instagram.com/p/BHSfP9EAIi_/ Official movie Instagram reveal of Santiago Cabrera]</ref>
*July 1, 2016 — [[Drift (AOE)|Drift]] is confirmed to return with a new Mercedes alt-mode.<ref>[http://michaelbay.com/2016/07/01/drift/ Drift - MichaelBay.com]</ref>
*July 27, 2016 — [[Onslaught (ROTF)|Onslaught]] is confirmed to appear in the film.<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/transformersmovie/photos/a.196236317078490.37515.180774635291325/1112021768833269/?type=3&theater Onslaught photo] on the official Transformers movie Facebook page.</ref>
*August 4–13, 2016 — A series of character profiles are released on the official movie Facebook. New character [[Hot Rod (DOTM)|Hot Rod]]<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/transformersmovie/photos/a.196236317078490.37515.180774635291325/1116775651691214/?type=3&theater Hot Rod Facebook reveal]</ref> is first to be revealed, and [[Crosshairs (AOE)|Crosshairs]]<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/transformersmovie/photos/a.196236317078490.37515.180774635291325/1119387291430050/?type=3&theater Crosshairs Facebook reveal]</ref> and [[Hound (Movie)|Hound]]<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/transformersmovie/photos/a.196236317078490.37515.180774635291325/1120161021352677/?type=3&theater Hound Facebook reveal]</ref> are confirmed to return. Also shown are profiles for Drift,<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/transformersmovie/photos/a.196236317078490.37515.180774635291325/1117988908236555/?type=3&theater Drift Facebook reveal]</ref> Sqweeks,<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/transformersmovie/photos/a.196236317078490.37515.180774635291325/1118574891511290/?type=3&theater Sqweeks Facebook reveal]</ref> Barricade,<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/transformersmovie/photos/a.196236317078490.37515.180774635291325/1120871694614943/?type=3&theater Barricade Facebook reveal]</ref> Megatron,<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/transformersmovie/photos/a.196236317078490.37515.180774635291325/1121491451219634/?type=3&theater Megatron Facebook reveal]</ref> and Bumblebee.<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/transformersmovie/photos/a.196236317078490.37515.180774635291325/1122785391090240/?type=3&theaterBumblebee Facebook reveal]</ref>
*August 9, 2016 — Members of a number of ''Transformers'' fan sites, including TFWiki, are treated to [[Transformers 5 set visit|a set visit]].
*September 4, 2016 — [[Stanley Tucci]] is back as [[Joshua Joyce]] (He later turned out to be playing Merlin, but it's unclear from the article where the confusion originated).<ref>[http://variety.com/2016/film/global/stanley-tucci-to-reprise-transformers-role-in-the-last-knight-1201852108/ Stanley Tucci to Reprise 'Transformers' Role in 'The Last Knight'] on Variety</ref>
[[File:TLK Izabella trailer speech.jpg|thumb|right|250px|True fact: Isabela had to beat Megatron in an arm wrestling contest to get this part.]]
*September 24, 2016 — Location shooting at Blenheim Palace in England proved controversial as [[Winston Churchill]]'s birthplace became draped in Nazi banners. Bay told BBC News that veterans shouldn't be too upset as Churchill is a "big hero" in the film.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-37453284 Transformers' Blenheim Palace 'Nazi' scenes defended] from the BBC</ref>
*October 14, 2016 — Bay announces via Facebook that [[John Turturro]] will be back as [[Seymour Simmons]] & [[John Goodman]] back to voice [[Hound (Movie)|Hound]]<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/transformersmovie/videos/1174984035870375/ Michael Bay video on Facebook]</ref>
*December 5, 2016 — The [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyVKK87hYYM teaser trailer] is released.
*February 3, 2017 — The [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npaVgxxtKxQ "Big Game Spot"] is released on YouTube.
*March 12, 2017 — The [https://twitter.com/transformers/status/840751026693062656 Kid's Choice Award Clip] is revealed.
*March 17, 2017 — The [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVYSyiL4iis "Izzy Stays and Fights" preview], a family-aimed trailer attached to ''{{w|Beauty and the Beast (2017 film)|Beauty and the Beast}}'', is released.
*March 22, 2017 — Eight [http://ew.com/movies/2017/03/22/transformers-last-knight-motion-posters/ "motion posters"] for the film's robot cast are released.
*April 12, 2017 — Another [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FIH1TeIS9Q trailer] is released.
*April 24, 2017 — As part of the "[[Reveal Your Shield]]" promotion, Hasbro releases [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWXj0JSZQjE a video] featuring [[Peter Cullen]] and [[Frank Welker]] credited as the voices of Optimus and Megatron.
*May 5, 2017 — Variety reports that the film's release is being moved forward two days to June 21.<ref name="datemove">[http://variety.com/2017/film/news/mark-wahlberg-transformers-the-last-knight-1202410380/ 'Transformers: The Last Knight' Moves Forward Two Days]</ref>
*May 7, 2017 — The [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7toS4s_79ZA "Optimus Prime Dialog Coach" teaser] is released.
*May 9, 2017 — The [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVZhsL3vV8M "Secret Past" TV spot] is released.
*May 15, 2017 — A preview of an Empire Magazine feature on the film includes the news that [[Jim Carter]] has been cast as Cogman.<ref>[http://www.empireonline.com/movies/transformers-last-knight/exclusive-explosive-new-look-bumblebee-transformers-last-knight/ Exclusive, Explosive New Look At Bumblebee In Transformers: The Last Knight] on Empire Online</ref>
*May 17, 2017 — The [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ue7cNNfjCyc International Trailer] is released.
{{--}}

=== Changes before, during and after production ===
*Tyrese Gibson was intended to return as [[Robert Epps]], but the logistics of filming in Europe and a scheduling conflict with ''[[Wikipedia:The Fate of the Furious|The Fate of the Furious]]'' resulted in him being unable to take part.<ref>[http://www.ok.co.uk/celebrity-news/1104536/tyrese-gibson-transformers-the-last-knight-robert-epps-josh-duhamel-mark-wahlberg-michael-bay Tyrese Gibson exclusively admits he was 'p****d' to miss out on filming Transformers: The Last Knight alongside original co-star Josh Josh Duhamel] on OK! Online</ref>
[[File:TLK Primal concept.jpg|upright=1.55|thumb|This would ''probably'' start another era of [[Trukk not munky]].]]
*Concept art was made for a movie incarnation of [[Optimus Primal (BW)|Optimus Primal]] and a Cybertronian snake that never made into the final film.<ref>[http://news.tfw2005.com/2017/07/26/optimus-primal-concept-art-last-knight-345543]</ref><ref>[http://news.tfw2005.com/2017/08/02/transformers-last-knight-new-unused-snake-concept-art-furio-tedeschi-346195]</ref>

{{-}}

==Notes==
===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''''Transformers Saigo no Kishiō''''' (トランスフォーマー最後の騎士王, "Transformers: The Last Knight King")
*''Finnish:'' '''''Transformers: Viimeinen Ritari''''' ("Transformers: The Last Knight")
*''Italian:'' '''''Transformers - L'ultimo cavaliere''''' ("Transformers: The Last Knight")
*''Korean:'' '''''Teulaenseupomeo: Choehuui Gisa''''' (트랜스포머: 최후의 기사, "Transformers: The Last Knight")
*''Mandarin:'' '''''Biànxíng Jīngāng 5: Zuìhòu de Qíshì''''' (Taiwan, 變形金剛5：最後的騎士, "Transformers 5: The Last Knight"), '''''Biànxíng Jīngāng 5: Zuìhòu de Qíshì''''' (China, 变形金刚5：最后的骑士, "Transformers 5: The Last Knight")
*''Portuguese:'' '''''Transformers: O Último Cavaleiro''''' (Brazil, "Transformers: The Last Knight"), '''''Transformers 5''''' (Portugal)
*''Russian:'' '''''Transformery: Posledniy rytsar' ''''' (Трансформеры: Последний рыцарь, "Transformers: The Last Knight")
*''Spanish:'' '''''Transformers: El último caballero''''' ("Transformers: The Last Knight")
*''Ukrainian:'' '''''Трансформери - Останній лицар''''' ("Transformers: The Last Knight")
*''Czech:'' '''''Transformers: Poslední Rytíř''''' ("Transformers: The Last Knight")

==External links==
* [http://www.transformersmovie.com/ Transformersmovie.com]
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3371366/?ref_=nv_sr_1 ''The Last Knight'' at IMDB.com]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformers:_The_Last_Knight ''The Last Knight'' film on Wikipedia]
* [https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transformers_the_last_knight/ ''The Last Knight'' on RottenTomatoes.com]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

{{stub}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Last Knight(film)}}
[[Category:Real world films]]
[[Category:The Last Knight| Last Knight (film)]]

Botanica (BM)

2017-03-01T18:46:54Z

Darquehex: /* Notes */

{{factions|maximalbm|maximal}}
{{disambig2|the freedom fighter from ''Beast Machines''|the council member from ''Animated''|Botanica (Animated)}}
:''Botanica is a [[Maximal]] from the [[Beast Machines: Transformers (franchise)|Beast Machines]] portion of the [[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[File:Botanica TechnorganicRobot.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb||375px|The fandom somehow failed to [[Arcee (G1)|clamor]] for this one.]]
The Transformers have taken on myriad [[alternate mode]]s over the years, but '''Botanica''' remains unique: she transforms into an ambulatory plant. She is competent and powerful, as well as a bit mystical, and has a strong connection to the planet and an affinity for growing things. A scientist first and foremost, she can be fastidious and fussy in her dedication to her work—sometimes to the point of overlooking the things that matter most.

==Fiction==
===''Beast Wars'' cartoon continuity===
====''Beast Machines'' cartoon====
{{voiceactor|[[Kathleen Barr]] (English), [[Atsuko Tanaka]] (Japanese)|[[Vera Miranda]] (Brazilian Portuguese), [[Arianne Borbach]] (German), [[Ruth Toscano]] (Latin-American Spanish)}}
[[File:Botanica OriginalPlantMode.jpg|left|thumb|250px|REFORMAT ME, SEYMOUR.]]

Botanica captained the same type of exploration mission that the ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]'' originally undertook. After landing on a [[Regalis V|planet]] dominated by mobile plants, her crew adopted new alternate modes to study this alien ecosystem.

When they received [[Megatron (BW)/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Megatron]]'s fake distress signal, Botanica left the planet and returned to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], whereupon Megatron's automated defense system shot down her [[Botanica's ship|ship]]. The attack and subsequent crash damaged her higher reasoning circuits, leaving her operating on basic survival instincts. When [[Optimus Primal/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Optimus Primal]] and his [[Maximal]]s investigated her ship, they found her in a feral state. In her plant mode, she attacked them and then fled underground, spreading seeds as she went. The seeds immediately sprouted into various plants, the most insidious being rapidly-growing vines. Primal worried that, left unchecked, the plants she was producing would destroy the [[technorganic]] balance he sought to create. She was somehow drawn to the [[technorganic orchard]] (and, [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] noted, its pipeline to the planet's [[organic core]]). Catching up with her there, Primal noticed that she was sparking the way the Maximals had when they were infected with Megatron's [[Transformation virus|virus]]. This gave him the idea to [[Reformatting|reformat]] her into a technorganic body, which restored her sanity. After explaining the story behind her unusual [[beast mode]] and the circumstances of her arrival, she pledged to help Optimus's group. This was lucky for the Maximals, who were immediately set upon by [[Vehicon (BM)|Vehicons]]. Botanica converted to robot mode and unleashed a chain-lightning attack that reduced a phalanx of [[Tank Drone]]s to dust. With the threat over, Botanica turned her attention to the ailing orchard, altering the overhead lighting and allowing the plants to flourish once more. {{storylink|Home Soil}}

[[File:Botanica5.jpg|thumb|right|200px|"Botanica, Triffid mode!"]]

While the other Maximals continued the fight against the Vehicons, Botanica took up residence in the orchard, tending to the plants. She chose not to fight, arguing that the more the Maximals fought Megatron, the more they became like him. Although Cheetor and [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] resented this, Primal accepted her reasons, and also reminded his team that they were more than enough to fight Megatron and [[Thrust (BM)|Thrust]]. However, Botanica soon received a vision from the [[Allspark|Matrix]], which showed her how much pain Cybertron was in. Botanica abandoned her pacifism and joined in the fight, saving the Maximals from a trap [[Obsidian (BM)|Obsidian]] and [[Strika (BM)|Strika]] had sprung. {{storylink|Sparkwar Pt. I: The Strike|The Strike}}

Botanica later accompanied the Maximals to the surface, where they watched Megatron reinforce his position in anticipation for his next move. She was then tasked with accompanying Rattrap to the Citadel as the Maximals searched for the captured Sparks, or any clues to their current whereabouts. She wasn’t too happy with her assigned partner. Botanica and Rattrap only managed to find the empty canisters that once held the captured Sparks in Megatron's old haunt, and moved on. As the pair walked away, they were attacked by Strika and her drones, and quickly forced to run away at full speed. They wound up in a holographic pleasure booth. Rattrap was ecstatic about what they had stumbled upon, while Botanica insisted they stay focused on the situation at hand. While Rattrap was distracted by a virtual vacation, Strika caught up to them and resumed her assault against the Maximals. But as Strika advanced towards Botanica, the Vehicon inadvertedly stepped into one of the holographic booths, and Rattrap took advantage of the situation to entrap her in the holographic vacation Botanica had just then pulled him out of. Rattrap began fishing for compliments from Botanica for his quick thinking, but Botanica simply stated that the chip wouldn’t last forever, and dragged Rattrap away from the building. The both of them later reconvened with the other Maximals to learn that Megatron was keeping the captured sparks within the Grand Mal. {{storylink|Sparkwar Pt. II: The Search|The Search}}

On her subsequent mission, Botanica was teamed up with Rattrap, Blackarachnia and Optimus, and tasked with infiltrating the Grand Mal. Within the floating fortress, they encountered Thrust and his drones but nonetheless managed to make it all the way to Megatron’s inner chamber. There, they were pinned down by the Vehicon leader's defenses. Megatron attempted to remove Botanica's spark, along with every other Maximals’, in order to fuse them to his already ascending essence. Thankfully, Nightscream blasted Megatron's spark with a sonic blast, freeing his comrades. The Maximals then took control of the Grand Mal.{{storylink|Sparkwar Pt. III: The Siege|The Siege}}

[[File:BMEndgame1 Rattrap Botanica dying.jpg|thumb|left|200px]]

With Megatron presumed dead, Botanica returned her focus to the orchard, with the help of a reluctant [[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]]. They began arguing over the other's respective priorities, but eventually [[kiss]]ed. Despite pledging to delete it from memory, they showed obvious concern for each other. {{storylink|Spark of Darkness}} When the still alive Megatron launched an attack on the Maximal-held [[Grand Mal]], they were forced to raise the shields, which cut Botanica off from the [[organic core]]. Rattrap jettisoned her into an escape pod with a field projecting the same harmonics as the Grand Mal's shields, saving Botanica's life but also allowing Megatron to fire through the shields. Botanica met up with Silverbolt, Blackarachnia and Nightscream on the outside. {{storylink|Endgame Pt. I: The Downward Spiral|The Downward Spiral}} They then doubled back towards the Grand Mal, which had been brought down in their absence. En-route, Botanica had located a power conduit, and helped Rattrap connect it to the fortress for one final stand against the Vehicons. As the pair were repairing the Grand Mal's systems, they danced around the subject of one another's feelings awkwardly. As the confrontation against Megatron's troops began, Botanica sensed that the technorganic orchard was under attack. She headed underground with Nightscream and Rattrap to defend it against the Vehicon Moles obliterating the trees. Though the trio held their ground for a time, they eventually fell in battle, and their sparks were extracted by Vehicons. {{storylink|Endgame Pt. II: When Legends Fall|When Legends Fall}}

[[File:Rattrap bm treehugger.jpg|thumb|right|200px|If you like to talk to tomatoes, if a squash can make you smile...]]

When Megatron was finally destroyed and Cybertron reformatted, Botanica awakened, Spark restored to her body. As she returned to the surface, she finally admitted her [[Transformer romance|romantic relationship]] with Rattrap. So she likes small rodents. Deal with it. {{storylink|Endgame Pt. III: Seeds of the Future|Seeds of the Future}}
{{-}}

====''Transformers Legends'' anthology====
While Botanica and Rattrap were bickering in the [[technorganic orchard]], Megatron's spark animated a [[Cycle Drone|Cycle drone]] and attacked them. After a brief scuffle, the thing exploded, sending the pair diving for cover. {{storylink|Singularity Ablyss}}

====3H comics====
A week after the conclusion of the Spark War, Botanica was present on Cybertron for the latest [[Quintesson]] invasion. The planet spoke to her during the conflict, informing her of a greater threat coming from below. She took Rattrap and Nightscream with her to explore the planet's depths, where they ran across the [[Wrecker]]s' Quintesson ally, [[Al-Badur]]. Initially suspicious, the Maximals reluctantly accepted Al-Badur at his word after he used some old Quint codes to deactivate a third of the [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticon]] forces on the surface.

They made contact with what remained of the Wreckers, and Al-Badur brought them to a Quintesson banishing chamber, which could hopefully be used against their foe [[Cryotek (Universe)|Cryotek]], who had mainlined some of [[Primus]]'s own power through the [[Divine Light]]. Naturally, Al-Badur tried to betray them, opening the banishment portal in the hopes of sending both Cryotek AND the assembled heroes to some distant void. Arcee warned the others in time so that only [[Sentinel Maximus]] was caught with Cryotek in the force field surrounding the portal. Botanica was also suffering her own problems the unique nature of the Quintesson chamber was cutting her off from her symbiotic connection to Cybertron's organic side. Using her electro-blasters against Cryotek had only further depleted her reserves, and she was forced to flee the chamber. She still managed to help from a distance, however, using her techno-organic vines to carry the injured [[Hot Rod|Rodimus]] back into the fray, where he could do the most good. {{storylink|Wreckers: Finale Part II}}

====''Wings Universe''====
Following the Great Reformatting of Cybertron, Botanica and her friends stood guard over Cheetor as their leader attempted to commune with the Oracle. {{storylink|Hoist the Flag|Alpha Trizer's profile}}

====''Transformers Legends'' comic====
Following the [[Great Reformatting]], Botanica and the other surviving Maximals listened to Cheetor explain that [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]]'s spark was not gone for good, but lost in [[Legends Universe|another universe]]. {{storylink|Legends Comic: Bonus Edition Vol. EX (Rattrap)|Bonus Edition Vol. EX}}

====Waspscream continuity====
In [[Primax 208.06 Zeta]], Botanica instead joined up with [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspscream]]'s Predacons in the [[Spark War]] against Megatron's Vehicons. The Predacons eventually emerged victorious. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime#Facebook|Ask Vector Prime, 2015/08/16}}

===''Beast Wars: Uprising''===
[[File:AloneTogetherPrologue Botanica unleashes drone.jpg|thumb|left|200px|"I am GROOT."]]
Botanica was part of a Maximal [[Resistance]] cell who rebelled against the status quo imposed by their [[Autobot]] masters. Rattrap equipped her with a drone that she wore on her chest. {{storylink|Alone Together: Prologue|Prologue}} She met and recruited [[Jawbreaker]] to her cause after finding him wandering the streets. {{storylink|Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club issue 57|Jawbreaker's profile in Club magazine #57}} After [[Transmutate (character)|Trans-Mutate]] was betrayed by [[Cryotek (Universe)|Cryotek]], Botanica rescued her from the authorities. {{storylink|Perception}} Botanica was part of a small team that infiltrated the [[Ferromax Detention Center]] with the intent of rescuing [[Dinobot (BW)|Dynobot]]. Once they rendezvoused with Rattrap inside, Botanica unleashed her drone to take care of the cameras on the maximum security level. Though initially reluctant, she let Rattrap take command of the mission, and they succeeded in freeing Dynobot. {{storylink|Alone Together: Prologue|Prologue}}

As one of the earliest resistors, Botanica was made a Resistance delegate to the post-war [[Cybertronian Parliament]]. {{storylink|Derailment}}
{{-}}

===''Regeneration One''===
[[File:Botanica war to end all wars.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3]]
After being attacked by [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]]'s [[Primum Fugae]] and perhaps sensing the imminent rise of the [[Dark Matrix (G1)|Dark Matrix]] creature's [[shadow-leech]]es, the [[Demon]]s from the depths of Cybertron began to form protective coccoons around themselves, which the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] found creepy. {{storylink|The War to End All Wars, Part 4}} Much, much later, when the [[Hot Rod/Marvel Comics continuity|last of the Transformers]] returned to Cybertron to die, a strange blue energy spread from his body to the coccoons, one of which then opened to reveal Botanica—the first of a new generation. {{storylink|The War to End All Wars, Part 5}}
{{-}}

==Notes==
*Botanica's pre-production name was '''Binary'''.
**In [[2015]], this name was utilized for [[Binary|similar but separate character]] in ''Beast Wars: Uprising''.
*Botanica is a rarity, in that she was a major recurring heroic character in a ''Transformers'' television show, but was apparently ''never'' intended [[To sell toys|to have a toy]].
*Despite not being meant for a toy, it was ''Hasbro'' that suggested a robot-to-plant Transformer, out of a drive to do different things with the franchise.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DaZTNszyGU Moonbase 2 interview with Bob Skir], 1:36:40 to 1:36:49</ref>
[[File:Botanica OriginalBody.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|They laughed at the idea of a "ship's gardener." Oh, how they laughed.]]
*Assuming the Transformer seen in silhouette at right is Botanica, she was, for fifteen years, the only plant-based Transformer ever seen in the canon. She states the other members of her crew also took plant modes, so she's not unique within the fictional universe. However, judging by the reactions of Optimus Primal and the other Maximals, they had either never heard of "Plantformers" before, or they are extremely rare. ([[Saberback]] and [[Sling (BWN)|Sling]] could each partially transform themselves into plant-like shapes for disguise purposes, but in both the toys and the fiction these were not "full-body" transformations, instead more like a cloaking mode, and they were never purported to be living plants.) [[Ask Vector Prime]] would eventually provide examples of other [[Treant Troop|plant]]-[[Flytrap|based]] Transformers out there in the [[multiverse]].
*Botanica's technorganic transformation is different from all the others; instead of being surrounded by colored lights, a ring of technorganic plants spring up, and shrink down, revealing her robot mode.
*When in plant mode (which is most of the time), Botanica is the only Transformer with an alternate mode that exhibits {{w|Heterochromia iridum|heterochromia}}. While she has two yellow eyes in bot mode, her plant mode's left eye is green. The only other transformer to feature this characteristic is (one interpretation of) [[Panther]], though only in his robot mode.
*Botanica's technorganic robot mode bears a striking resemblance to popular depictions of a {{w|cryptid}} known as the {{w|Flatwoods monster}}, down to her unusual collar and ability to hover.
*Despite her pacifist ways, Botanica is well-armed, with several weapons at her disposal, including energy projectiles, electrical fields, and a "chain-lightning" attack that leaps from one enemy to another. Huh. [[Mirage (G1)|Surprisingly well-armed]] [[Ratchet (Movie)|for someone who]] [[Beachcomber (G1)#The Transformers cartoon|doesn't like to fight]].
*The planet that Botanica and her crew were sent to explore is apparently Planet Jungle from [[Mainframe Entertainment]]'s other toyline-based cartoon ''{{w|Shadow Raiders}}''. Whether this is an intentional crossover or simply due to the recycling of backgrounds and animation models for budget reasons is unclear: the Prison Planet episodes of ''Shadow Raiders'' had reused ''ReBoot'''s Mainframe to fill out backgrounds.
*Her appearance in ''Alone Together'' is based on ''Beast Hunters'' [[Soundwave (WFC)#Beast Hunters|Soundwave]]. Not only that, the drone that she possesses is based on ''Prime'' [[Laserbeak (WFC)#Beast Hunters|Laserbeak]]. Her coloration is based on her alternate mode in ''Beast Machines'', presumably because it is more recognizable than her seldom-seen robot mode.

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Botanica''' (ボタニカ ''Botanika'')
*''Mandarin:'' '''Botanica''' (Taiwan, 波坦妮卡, ''Pō Thǎn Ní Khǎ''), '''Shùshén''' (China, 树神, "Tree God")

[[Category:Beast Machines Maximals]]
[[Category:Beast Wars: Uprising Maximals]]
[[Category:Fiction-only Transformers]]
[[Category:Female Transformers]]
[[Category:Legends Maximals]]
[[Category:Plants]]
[[Category:Regeneration One Transformers]]
[[Category:Resistance]]
[[Category:Scientists]]
[[Category:Universe Maximals]]
[[Category:Wings Universe Maximals]]

Headmasters (issue)

2015-06-08T13:39:17Z

Darquehex: /* Covers (3) */

{{Comicstory|series=tfvsjoe
|issueno=7
|prev=FCBD Funnies
|next=
|image=TFvsJoe7_regcvr.jpg
|title="Headmasters"
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[June 3]], [[2015]]
|coverdate=March 2015
|written by=[[Tom Scioli]] and [[John Barber]]
|art by=Tom Scioli
|colors by=Tom Scioli
|letters by=Tom Scioli
|production by=[[Chris Mowry]]
|editor=[[Carlos Guzman]]
|continuity=[[Transformers vs. G.I. Joe]]
}}

'''Scarlett is confronted with the reality that neither G.I. Joe nor the Transformers actually exist, and that she is a mentally unwell patient about to return to her life in the nice, normal town of Springfield...'''

==Synopsis==

To cure her of her delusion that "Transformers" and "G.I. Joe" are anything more than children's toys and cartoons, [[Scarlett|Shanna O'Hara]] is strapped into the [[Brainwave Scanner]] by the kindly [[Doctor Mindbender|Doctor Mindelbinder]]. In the dreams the machine induces, Scarlett sees herself fighting strange reptile-creatures... a small [[Bumblebee (G1)|robot's head]] held between a human thumb and forefinger... a metal face and the words "[[Mindwipe (G1)|mind wipe]]"... and herself, praying before a shining [[Optimus Prime (G1)|robotic figure]], who tells her he will soon return.

Following her session, Mindelbinder takes Shanna to see [[Doctor B]] and her current robotics project: "[[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]]", an artificial intelligence she has named after a character from the ''Transformers'' cartoon. As Shanna is wheeled through the hospital, she observes a nursery full of babies, and a [[Billy (G.I. Joe)|young man]] with cybernetic limbs, who apparently communicates with her telepathically to tell her that "[[Snake-Eyes|her boyfriend]]" was responsible for his condition. The mental technique feels familiar to Shanna... but nonetheless, in a subsequent office session with Mindelbinder, she appears to have been cured of her delusions, and now tells the doctor that she knows the robots and soldiers are only imaginary. Reunited with her husband Fred and her two children, she returns home to [[Springfield (G.I. Joe)|Springfield]]. But in truth, Shanna has only told Mindelbinder what she knew he wanted to hear—dark visions of alien ghosts swarm in her mind as she tries to go about her daily life, their voices ringing in her ears, the world and everything in it seeming artificial... until eventually, unable to bear it any long, she shaves half her hair off, and discovers a fresh scar on her scalp. Picking the wound open, Shanna finds an electronic implant within, which she jolts to life with a shock from a power cord. In her mind's eye, the image of [[General Flagg|a general]] appears, who urges her to get out as fast as she can.

At a welcome home party thrown for her by the neighborhood, Shanna sees many familiar faces in the crowd—those her mind tells her are her old G.I. Joe teammates. She tries to jog [[Mutt]]'s memory, but he reacts only with confusion... until he leaves the party, and finds himself being followed by a [[Junkyard (G.I. Joe)|dog]]. He tries to shoo the animal away, but it pounces on him... and its fond licking of his face stirs a memory within him...

Pushed to the brink, Shanna slits her husband's throat, and sets their house on fire with her children—whom she is convinced are not real—still inside. Leaving the inferno, Shanna finds all her friends waiting for her... and a whispered "Yo Joe" from Mutt confirms that all she has believed is true. She is Scarlett of G.I. Joe—and she will have revenge.

The Joes, bar Scarlett, locate the bodies of the [[Autobot]]s who were captured alongside them, and although the 'bots are non-responsive and stuck in vehicle mode, they still make useful getaway cars. Before long, the Springfield police force are in hot pursuit, but the Joes outrun them and smash through her roadblocks to finally burst out of Springfield... which they discover is an artificial town constructed inside [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]], the Decepticon "city of madness". Their minds finally clearing as they escape the boundaries of Scorponok, the Joes are amazed to see [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]], back on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] once more, facing off against the huge scorpion-city. At a command from their leader, the mesmerized Autobots are suddenly themselves again, and transform to enter the fray.

Back in Springfield, Scarlett returns to the hospital to confront her tormentors. She first comes upon Doctor B, and hands her a sword: a means of defending herself as Scarlett attempts to kill her. The doctor refuses to take the blade, insisting that she is only there to obtain funding from [[Cobra]] to further her own research, and that Scarlett's grudge has nothing to do with her. Content with the woman's refusal to fight, Scarlett spares her life, and then heads for Mindelbinder's office. There, Mindelbinder—or rather, Cobra's [[Doctor Mindbender]]—chastizes her even as he opens fire on her, claiming that she would have suffered ''much'' worse had a more callous intellect than his been responsible for her treatment. Mindbender escapes when Scarlett is attacked by her "children"—revealed to be bio-mechanical constructs, now seared by flame down to the metal skeleton—but she quickly overpowers them, catches up to Mindbender, and forces him to spill the beans. Mindbender hastily explains that the entire facility has been set up by [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] to study the brains of both human and Transformer in order to deduce the commonalities between them, with the end goal of "decrypting" the living mind itself and attaining complete control of all sentient beings in the universe. Satisfied with his answers, Scarlett straps Mindbender into the Brainwave Scanner, and stabs him through the heart; in his final moments, the doctor sees a twisted vision of a DNA spiral, and the faces of his heroes—the greatest rulers, conquerors, and villains in history—laughing at him.

Scarlett moves to depart the hospital, but is confronted with a final unexpected opponent: a bio-mechanical duplicate of ''herself''. The pair turn out to be evenly matched in every way, meaning that neither can win over the other... so all Scarlett focuses on is ''not'' bleeding to death before her doppelganger. This gruesome tactic works, and Scarlett is guided to her final objective by the ethereal alien voices: [[Mo Zarak]], the [[binary bonding|binary bonded]] master of Scorponok, who betrayed his people the [[Nebulos|Neb'los]] to the Decepticons long ago. Springfield was built upon their remains, and the ghosts of the Neb'Los now cry out for Scarlett to enact their vengeance. Scarlett slays Zarak, severing his bond with the city of madness, then takes control of Scorponok herself. For her first action, she uses the city's massive claws to return Bumblebee's still-living head to the humbled Optimus Prime.

==Featured characters==
Characters in ''italic text'' appear only in flashbacks. 
{{Featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] (4)
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] (5)
*[[Seaspray (G1)|Seaspray]] (20)
*[[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] (21)
*[[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] (22)

|c2=
*[[Mindwipe (G1)|Mindwipe]] (3)
*[[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]] (23)
*[[Mo Zarak|Zarak]] (25)

|h3=[[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]]|c3=
*[[Scarlett]] (2)
*[[Junkyard (G.I. Joe)|Junkyard]] (11)
*[[General Flagg]] (12)
*[[Gung-Ho]] (13)
*[[Alpine]] (14)
*[[Beachhead]] (15)
*[[Steeler]] (16)
*[[Dusty]] (17)
*[[Quick Kick]] (18)
*[[Mutt]] (19)
*[[Doctor Venom]] (24)

|h4=[[Cobra]]|c4=
*[[Doctor Mindbender]] (1)
*[[Doctor B]] (6)
*[[Crimson Guard|Fred]] (8)
*Scarlett's children (9-10)

|h5=Others|c5=
*[[Billy (G.I. Joe)|Billy]] (7)
}}

==Quotes==

"Why are you here?" 
"Delusions of persecution. Anti-social behavior. Violence. To myself and others." 
"What is G.I. Joe?" 
"G.I. Joe is a cartoon for children." 
"And Cybertron?" 
"A nonsense word, invented to tie together several unrelated robot toys into a single advertising narrative. Created in a boardroom by three toy executives named Cy, Bert and Ron."
:—'''Doctor Mindelbinder''' and '''Shanna'''

"You're a doll, Shanna. You're a doll that nobody wanted and for that reason alone, you are rare and valuable."
:—'''Doctor Mindbender'''

"I refuse to take my medicine if the doctor himself has never tried it."
:—'''Scarlett''', as she straps Mindbender into the Brainwave Scanner

"Zarak. Butcher. Betrayer. I don't know you from Adam. The ghosts of long-buried Neb'los demand your head. Who am I to refuse them their due?"
:—'''Scarlett'''

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
*One of the first images Scarlett sees after being plugged into the Brainwave Scanner is what looks like herself, fighting reptilian creatures. In the issue's commentary, Scioli describes this as "memory regression going back to an ancestor", so presumably, these snake-men are of the reptilian race we were introduced to last issue, the spawn of [[Koh-Buru-Lah (creature)|Koh-Buru-Lah]].
*Bumblebee yet lives! The little yellow 'bot's decapitated head was brought back to Cybertron in [[The Golden Boys|issue #0]], and has been worn on a chain around Megatron's neck ever since, up until last issue, when Megatron had stopped wearing it. Now we know why!
*If you didn't pick up [[Robots in Disguise issue 0|''Robots in Disguise'' #0]] on [[Free Comic Book Day]], then Billy's appearance here will be unexpected: his plight, including the loss of his limbs to Snake-Eyes and their replacement with cybernetic duplicates, was detailed in the issue's ''Transformers vs. G.I. Joe'' back-up strip, "[[FCBD Funnies]]".
*Scarlett mentions once being "almost married", perhaps a reference to the promise she made to marry Snake-Eyes in issue #0. The characters have gone through similar plots in other pieces of ''G.I. Joe'' fiction.
*Gung-Ho still has the Autobot symbol tattoo he got in issue #5.
*[[Tunnel Rat]] found a machine that he believed could possibly have been "making" people last issue; looks like the bio-mechanical beings we see in this issue are the answer to that mystery.

===Transformers references===
*For his appearance in Scarlett's Brainwave Scanner vision, Bumblebee is based directly on his original Generation 1 character model, rather than the revised look he normally has in this series.
*Also part of Scarlett's vision in one small panel is Decepticon hypnotist [[Mindwipe (G1)|Mindwipe]], with an appearance largely based on the face of his original toy, rather than his character model. Given the deliberately psychedelic collection of images, which includes things Scarlett cannot rationally be aware of, it's hard to know what to make of his brief showing here, beyond perhaps the inference that his abilities have something to do with the Brainwave Scanner, or might be an additional "treatment" used on Scarlett.
*Though the bit about "Cy, Bert and Ron" is fictional, Scarlett alludes to the Transformers toyline's real-life origin as "several unrelated robot toys", namely ''[[Diaclone]]'' and ''[[Micro Change]]''.

===G.I. Joe references===
*This issue is largely inspired by the two-part ''G.I. Joe'' cartoon episode, "There's No Place Like Springfield," in which [[Shipwreck]] awakes in the town of Springfield with no memory of the last few years, surrounded by ever-so-slightly "off" versions of his friends, and slowly thinks he is going insane. The whole thing, naturally, is revealed to be a Cobra plot, with the other inhabitants of the town turning out to be [[Synthoid]]s. Scioli notes in the commentary that in early drafts of this issue, Shipwreck was the star of the story.
*Springfield itself was created for the original Marvel ''G.I. Joe'' comic, in which it was a real, functioning town cast in the image of wholesome 1950s midwestern Americana—but one which was a public front for Cobra, with all those who lived in it being members of the organization. We previously saw an incarnation of the Springfield of Earth in this continuity in [[I Saw Three Ships|issue #1]].
*Though not discussed in-story, Scarlett's fake husband being named "Fred" indicates he is a member of the [[Crimson Guard]]. In the Marvel series, elite members of the Guard's "Fred" series all had plastic surgery to look identical and operated undercover across America. One memorable "Fred" was the father in an all-American nuclear Springfield family, like Scarlett's in this story, and the character's connection to the image of Springfield was previously referenced in this series when he and his family appeared on a billboard in issue #1.
*The torturous Brainwave Scanner was a fixture of the Marvel series, where it was designed by Doctor Venom. We previously saw a version of the device in Venom's own lab aboard the ''USS Flagg'' in [[Form Follows Function|issue #4]].
*"Doctor B" is something of a composite of Doctor Adele '''B'''urkhart, a minor supporting character in the Marvel series memorable for being at the center of the very first issue's plot, and [[Sidney Biggles-Jones|Doctor Sidney '''B'''iggles-Jones]], from the [[G.I. Joe (comic)|''G.I. Joe/Transformers: Generation 2'' crossover]]. She combines Burkart's non-combatant aggressive-peacenik stance with Biggles-Jones's role as a scientist who signed up with Cobra to further her work.
*Fred calls Gung-Ho "Ettie"; that's short for his real name, Ettienne, if you were wondering.
*When Scarlett sneaks up on Doctor B, the doctor asks "Who's there?" and Bumblebee tells her: "The most dangerous thing in the world. Ninja holiday." "The Most Dangerous Thing in the World" and "Ninja Holiday" are the titles of two episodes from the second season of the original ''G.I. Joe'' cartoon.
*Doctor Mindbender's nightmarish Brain-Scanner-induced vision comes straight from the ''G.I. Joe'' cartoon mini-series, "Arise, Serpentor, Arise!" Inspired by the sight of the greatest conquerors and villains in history and the spiral of DNA, Mindbender will go onto genetically engineer the Cobra emperor, [[Serpentor]]. Dooooesn't look like he'll be around to do it in ''this'' story, though!
*The figures in Doctor Mindbender's dream include every genetic donor named in "Arise, Serpentor, Arise!", with the exception of {{w|Ivan the Terrible}} and {{w|Geronimo}}. All of them are real (see below), except for a fictional Egyptian general named Xanuth Amon-Toth.
*Doctor Mindbender's filecard lists his specialities as "mind control" and "interrogation" (his established primary roles within Cobra), "dentistry" (he was formerly a dentist before joining Cobra), and in an obscure reference, "wrestling", referring to an early, abandoned version of the character's profile, in which it was alleged he might have previously been a professional wrestler.

===Real-life references===
*When Junkyard follows Mutt, the page is titled "Mutt and Junkyard", after comic strip ''{{w|Mutt and Jeff}}'', in with suitably appropriate "Sunday Funnies"-style title font.
*As Mutt thumps on Inferno's dashboard to try and wake him up, he shouts "Robot roll call!", the famous lyric from the opening to ''{{w|Mystery Science Theater 3000}}''.
*Given the debt Scioli's work owes to the oeuvre Jack Kirby, it's worth mentioning that Megatron's ambition to find the encryption key to the mind shares no small degree of similarity with one of Kirby's most famous villains' [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Life_Equation ultimate quests].
*In addition to the aforementioned fictional Amon-Toth (presumably a reference to Conan villain [[Wikipedia:Thoth-Amon|Thoth-Amon]]), the figures in Doctor Mindbender's dream who are derived from Serpentor's origin story in the ''G.I. Joe'' cartoon are: {{w|Julius Caesar}}, {{w|Sun Tzu}}, {{w|Hannibal}}, {{w|Philip II of Macedon}}, {{w|Alexander the Great}}, {{w|Attila|Attila the Hun}}, {{w|Moctezuma I|Montezuma}}, {{w|Genghis Khan}}, {{w|Grigori Rasputin}}, and {{w|Napoleon|Napoleon Bonaparte}}. {{w|Vlad the Impaler}} was also part of the cartoon's list, and is here in spirit: rather than include Vlad himself, the issue replaces him with the fictional character he inspired, [[Dracula]], much to Mindbender's own disbelief. The comic adds: {{w|Osama Bin Laden}}, {{w|Joseph Stalin}}, {{w|Kublai Khan}}, {{w|Mordred}}, villain of Arthurian legend, {{w|Adolf Hitler}}, {{w|Caligula}} and someone named Toshiro.

===Other notes===
*This issue was originally solicited for release in March, but production delays meant it did not come out until early June. No further issues of were solicited for three months in order to for the series to catch up.
*An earlier version of the double-page sequence of the Autobots' and Joes' chase with police lacked two of the inset panels, bearing in their space the words "Grand Theft Autobot" done out in the style of the video game Grand Theft Auto's logo. It's unknown why it was ultimately altered, but IDW editor-in-chief Chris Ryall posted the earlier version of the sequence [http://ryallsfiles.tumblr.com/image/120624964113 online].

===Covers (3)===
*'''Standard cover:''' G.I. Joe and Cobra battle on an asteroid to which [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] is attached, by [[Tom Scioli]]
*'''Subscription cover:''' Optimus Prime battles Soundwave and Starscream while the Joes and Cobras battle in the air on flight packs that look like [[Seeker (body-type)|Seeker]] wings, by [[Joe Quinones]]
*'''Cover RI:''' Starscream by [[Kody Chamberlain]]

<gallery>
File:TFvsJoe7_regcvr.jpg
File:TFvsJoe7_subcvr.jpg
File:TFvsJoe7_cvrRI.jpg
</gallery>

===Advertisements===
*''Transformers vs. G.I. Joe'' #8
*''[[Combiner Wars]]''
*[[The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More than Meets the Eye]]'' #42
*''Onyx''
*Tom Scioli's ''American Barbarian'' hardcover collection
*IDW "Artist's Edition" collections (back cover)

==External links==
*[http://www.comicosity.com/preview-transformers-vs-g-i-joe-7/ Preview]

Side Burn (RID)

2013-12-22T23:09:23Z

Darquehex: Misspelled word.

{{factions|autobot}}
{{disambig3|Side Burn}}
:''Side Burn is an [[Autobot]] from the [[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (franchise)|Robots in Disguise]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:SideBurnAnime.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Ladies...]]
'''Side Burn''' is an adolescent speedster and turbo-revving young punk. His brain development has yet to catch up with his ego and robo-hormones, and if he gets bored or preoccupied he'll wander away from his assignment or get in the way of someone else's without a second thought. This is particularly annoying to his law-abiding brother [[Prowl (RID)|Prowl]] and the fussbudget Autobot computer known as [[T-AI]]. Even the more easygoing [[X-Brawn]] can grow tired of his antics. They're no fun anyway, and he can always outrun them. He can outrun just about everybody and everything except his own foolishness.

His greatest folly is his fixation on red cars. Transformer or not, sentient or not, he can't resist chasing after a pretty little thing of the red persuasion, proclaiming loudly and often his libidinous designs. This is usually a bad idea, and occasionally a ''very'' bad idea, like that one time the red car turned out to be [[Megatron (RID)|Megatron]] in drag. Yikes. His "super" redeco was red. It's best not to think about it.

Side Burn is a good talker as well as a good racer. He can tell a real tearjerker of a story if he's in the mood. Ask [[Slapper (RID)|Slapper]] about it some time.

==Fiction==
===''Robots in Disguise'' cartoon===
{{voiceactor|[[Wally Wingert]] (English), [[Punch UFO]] (Japanese)|[[Francesco Pezzulli]] (Italian), [[Seok Jeong Yang]] (Korean), [[Carlos Íñigo]] (Latin American Spanish)}}

[[Image:Battle Protocol Side Burn.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"That's one good synopsis of Battle Protocol, alright."]]L
As usual, Side Burn was chasing a red sports car when Megatron attacked [[New York City]]. So engrossed was he that Prowl had to interrupt him to answer T-AI's summons to the [[Global Space Bridge]]. The three brothers reached New York where Side Burn commented that he'd forgotten how ugly the [[Predacon (RID)|Predacons]] were, and proceeded to see off [[Dark Scream]] with a missile. The battle ultimately ended with Megatron abducting [[Koji Onishi|Koji's]] father, [[Kenneth Onishi|Doctor Onishi]]. {{storylink|Battle Protocol!}}

The [[Autobot Brothers]] were later assigned to intercept the Predacons, who were prowling [[Metro City]] and stealing batteries from cars. Prowl again interrupted Side Burn's red sports car hunt to point out that he was supposed to be patrolling. The pair soon spotted [[Sky-Byte (RID)|Sky-Byte]] attacking the very sports car Side Burn had just been chasing and his heart was broken when the car was subsequently destroyed. {{storylink|An Explosive Situation}}

Assigned to protect the [[Linear RFG]] bullet train, the Autobot Brothers found themselves tangling with the Predacons, who were trying to blow up a rail bridge on the train's path. Ultimately they were unable to save the bridge, but the train was saved by [[Team Bullet Train]]. {{storylink|Bullet Train to the Rescue}} Together with [[Optimus Prime (RID)|Optimus Prime]], the brothers protected a [[Plutonium Energy Generator]] from the Predacons. They escorted the generator as it was transported across the city the next day, with Prowl becoming increasingly exasperated by Side Burn's endless complaining. They were brought to a halt by a traffic jam engineered by Slapper. Fortunately the [[Spy Changer]]s were able to lend a hand and the Autobot Brothers got to sit back and watch the Predacons' defeat. {{storylink|Spychangers to the Rescue}}

[[Image:Hunt for Black Pyramid Sideburnchicken.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Side Burn IS Spider-Man!]]
On another mission, Optimus joined the Autobot Brothers at the end of the Global Space Bridge, which was terminated some distance short of a ship under attack by Predacons. Side Burn was the first to attempt to jump out to the ship... but chickened out at the last moment. After Prowl and Optimus made their attempts, Side Burn hitched a ride with X-Brawn and provided protection while his older brother repaired the stricken ship. {{storylink|The Hunt for Black Pyramid}}

To help cheer Koji up, Side Burn took the boy on a visit to the [[Payuma ruins]]. The pair soon found themselves tangling with Sky-Byte, who was also exploring the ruins, and were forced to get higher in order to radio the other Autobots to alert them to the problem. Side Burn's brothers stopped Sky-Byte escaping with a box which turned out to contain [[Doctor Onishi's microchip]]. This held much valuable information and would help the Autobots greatly in the struggle to follow. {{storylink|The Secret of the Ruins}}

[[Image:Sideburn's Obsession Sideburngasskunkdarkscream.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Once Zed arrives, the party can begin.]]
The Predacons finally hatched a trap—Megatron disguised himself as a red sports car and lured Side Burn to a junk yard where the Autobot was captured and tied up by the other Predacons. Slapper asked him why he liked red sports cars, and he spun a tale of lost love when he was just a young tricycle. Unfortunately the kidnapping lured Optimus Prime to the car crushing plant where Side Burn was being held, and the Autobot leader was also captured. The pair were soon rescued by X-Brawn, Prowl and the Spy Changers, and fought off the Predacons. Though Side Burn announced he'd learnt his lesson, a few minutes later he was chasing another red sports car. {{storylink|Sideburn's Obsession}}

The brothers were assigned to protect "[[Grandpa]]", an aging steam train. In the end Team Bullet Train did most of the work protecting Grandpa, but Prowl and X-Brawn were busy stopping Side Burn from chasing red sports cars anyhow. {{storylink|Secret Weapon: D-5}} All three brothers volunteered to enter the [[International Grand Prix]] in order to try and find [[Skid-Z (RID)|Skid-Z]], a recently arrived Autobot who had scanned a racing car and become possessed by the urge to compete in races. Side Burn attempted to chat up a red sports car at the starting line, only to realise it was Sky-Byte when it talked back. Once the race began, Skid-Z failed to show up—but the Predacons did, and Optimus and the three brothers found themselves holding up a huge rock dropped onto them by Megatron. Fortunately Skid-Z himself finally turned up and destroyed the rock, allowing them to chase Megatron off. {{storylink|Skid Z's Choice}}

[[Image:Tow-Line Goes Haywire Side burn.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Ooooh, kinky!]]
Side Burn was parked happily ogling a red sports car in a showroom when he was abruptly towed away, protesting the whole time. Once Prowl had released him, he was introduced to the tow truck—the recently arrived Autobot [[Tow-Line (RID)|Tow-Line]]. A few hours later, Side Burn was back ogling cars (though disappointingly the red car had been replaced with a yellow one) and was towed again by Tow-Line. This time, however, the other Autobot had been brainwashed by the Predacons and was carrying out their bidding. Side Burn found himself dumped into a pit at a power plant along with X-Brawn and [[Rapid Run (RID)|Rapid Run]]. The trapped trio made some unsuccessful attempts to escape before they were rescued by a repaired Tow-Line and fought the Predacons once more. {{storylink|Tow-Line Goes Haywire}}

When the Predacons became convinced that the "[[Cave of the Dragon]]" harboured a powerful Transformer, the three brothers employed their acting skills to try to make the Predacons think that the disguises Optimus and Team Bullet Train were wearing were a giant transforming robot, and got fired on by [[Railspike (RID)|Railspike]] for their trouble. {{storylink|The Ultimate Robot Warrior}} Called in to the Autobot Base, Side Burn and the rest of the Autobots watched footage of their old adventures and speculated on where the Predacon base might be located. {{storylink|Hope for the Future}}

Optimus and the Autobot brothers went to [[Castle Peak]] to investigate what turned out to be a crashed Autobot spacecraft. Unfortunately they were unable to prevent Megatron stealing the six [[protoform]]s inside and taking them to a [[McKinley Army Base|nearby military base]] where the protoforms were reformatted into [[Decepticon]] warriors. {{storylink|The Decepticons|The Decepticons}} Sent to [[Sherman Dam]] to investigate X-Brawn's disappearance, Prowl and Side Burn encountered the Decepticons and were both tossed into the lake behind the dam, at the bottom of which they were reunited with X-Brawn. The trio were freed when the Decepticons blew a hole in the dam and, in the ensuing fight, they aided [[Rail Racer (RID)|Rail Racer]] in fighting off [[Ruination (RID)|Ruination]]. {{storylink|Commandos}}

[[Image:Attack from Outer Space Side Burn.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Sideswipe is a guy?!]]
After the Decepticon [[Movor]] was shot into space, he tracked the Autobots in an attempt to locate the hidden Autobot base. Side Burn was, of course, doing some tracking of his own—[[Kelly (RID)|Kelly]]'s sports car to be exact—and led the Decepticons on a merry chase. Informed by X-Brawn that the love of his life was waiting at [[Pier 7B]], Side Burn raced there to find the other Autobots waiting to spring a trap on the Decepticons who were still tailing him. {{storylink|Attack from Outer Space}}

[[Mega-Octane]] met with Optimus, claiming that the Decepticons had rediscovered their Autobot sides. The Autobot brothers were skeptical, so Side Burn came up with the bright idea of testing their honesty by forcing them to do all manner of menial tasks. After watching them all day, the brothers finally admitted that perhaps the six Decepticons were honest after all. Of course, it wasn't long before the plot was revealed and the brothers were alerted to a brawl between Optimus, [[Scourge (RID)|Scourge]] and Ruination. {{storylink|The Test (episode)|The Test}}

The three brothers were called to a power plant where they chased off Sky-Byte and the Predacons. Later X-Brawn was told by Sky-Byte that the Decepticons were going to raid the [[Bayshore power plant]]. The brothers rushed there only to be told by T-AI that the Decepticons had actually attacked the [[Crestline power plant]] instead. They proceeded to the correct plant to find the Decepticons had already been seen off by Rail Racer. {{storylink|The Fish Test}}

[[Image:Landfill Sideburncrash.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"T-AI! Don't scream over the comm like that!" "That wasn't me, X-Brawn."]]
Sent to a diamond mine, the three brothers were brought up short by an incomplete Global Space Bridge, and were introduced to the [[Build Team]]. Keen to prove themselves in battle, the Build Team took over the mission at the mine. {{storylink|Wedge's Short Fuse}} Using the space bridge some time later, Side Burn ended up first on an island in the middle of a lake, and then in the middle of an indoor go-kart track, due to Decepticon sabotage. He was eventually able to rendezvous with the other Autobots in the Arctic, where they watched [[Landfill (RID)|Landfill]] fight off Megatron. {{storylink|Landfill (episode)|Landfill}}

After being duped out of stolen oil by the Build Team, the Decepticons began attacking construction equipment. The Autobots attempted to stop them without involving the Build Team, but had little success. A final attempt to confront the Decepticons had the three Autobot Brothers turn up in the middle of nowhere—the Build Team had sabotaged the space bridge so they could confront the Decepticons themselves. {{storylink|A Test of Metal}}

[[Image:Ultra Magnus Forced Fusion Side Burn.jpg|left|200px|thumb| Few know that the bathing T-AI toy was originally intended for Side Burn. Hope Prime's not peeking over the rocks.]]
While attempting to stop the Decepticons raiding an oil refinery, the three brothers were interrupted by a [[Ultra Magnus (RID)|mysterious Autobot car carrier]], who insulted them as the Decepticons escaped. Later they encountered the Autobot again and this time he scrambled their circuits and deposited them in a junk yard. Once they'd recovered, Optimus called them back to base for a systems check. {{storylink|Ultra Magnus (episode)|Ultra Magnus}} Optimus confronted the Autobot, named Ultra Magnus, himself and was soon overpowered. The Autobot Brothers rescued him from the battlefield and took him to an island to recuperate. Side Burn kept Optimus company for a while, and learned that Magnus was the Autobot leader's brother. A short time later, Optimus was attacked by the Decepticons, and the brothers found the portal at the end of the space bridge had been blocked by Sky-Byte. They eventually broke through only to witness Optimus and Ultra Magnus combining into [[Omega Prime]] for the first time. {{storylink|Ultra Magnus: Forced Fusion!}}

[[Image:Two Faces Ultra Magnus Side Burn powerup.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Kaioken times me!]]
Tracking Ultra Magnus, the Autobot Brothers spied him talking with Sky-Byte and assumed he was betraying them. The trio soon found themselves captured by the Predacons and were promptly freed by Magnus, who informed them he was pretending to defect in order to gain information. Returning to help Optimus against the Predacons, the three brothers found themselves being beaten on by Megatron. All three of them received a sudden power boost which was somehow channeled through Magnus, powering them up and enabling them to fight off the Predacons, with a little help from Omega Prime. {{storylink|The Two Faces of Ultra Magnus}} Prowl and Side Burn went out looking for Ultra Magnus and soon found him. Tailing the Autobot, they saw him talking with Scourge and confronted him, only for him to flee and leave them to fight Scourge and Ruination. Although the two brothers powered up for battle, they began to experience an odd energy drain and had to be rescued by Optimus and X-Brawn. {{storylink|Power to Burn!}}

The Autobot Brothers were sent to guard the subway below Metro City as the Build Team was searching for some mysterious ruins. The trio were confronted by the Decepticons, come to find the same ruins, and left them to the tender mercies of Team Bullet Train. Wandering further, they encountered Ultra Magnus, and Side Burn was distracted by a hallucination of red sports cars, leading the group to the ruins themselves. {{storylink|Fortress Maximus (episode)|Fortress Maximus}} To their surprise the ruins turned out to be [[Fortress Maximus (RID)|Fortress Maximus]], whom the Autobots set about concealing in Metro City. While patrolling to ensure the operation wasn't uncovered, the Autobot Brothers stumbled on Sky-Byte talking to Koji and confronted the shark. Koji discovered that the pod Sky-Byte had been carrying contained his abducted father and interrupted the fight to tell the Autobots that Sky-Byte had rescued his dad. The three brothers apologised to Sky-Byte, who realised his huge blunder and fled in panic. {{storylink|Koji Gets His Wish}}

[[Image:Sideburnhearts.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"Tuxedo Mask is sooooo dreamy!"]]
Doctor Onishi and T-AI quickly worked out a way to locate the remaining [[O-Part]]s needed and soon the Autobot Brothers were locked in competition with the Build Team to find the most of the artefacts. Side Burn and [[Wedge]] were especially competitive and Side Burn was depressed when his team lost. At least until X-Brawn pointed out the approaching red jeep driven by Kelly. {{storylink|A Friendly Contest}} Back in the Autobot base, T-AI merged with the O-Parts. She soon sent Optimus and the Autobot brothers, with Koji tagging along, to a remote part of the [[Sahara|Sahara Desert]] in search of the [[Orb of Sigma]]. The foursome located the Orb under the desert and fought Megatron and the Decepticons for possession of it, eventually returning it to base. {{storylink|Peril from the Past}}

With information extracted from the Orb, the brothers and the Build Team visited a temple from which they extracted [[Cerebros (RID)|Cerebros]], the control robot for Fortress Maximus. They were confronted on exiting the temple by the Decepticons and Predacons who stole Cerebros. The Autobots were forced to go on the defensive against the Decepticons and guard Maximus' hiding place. Scourge managed to activate Maximus anyway, and the giant was only stopped by the intervention of Koji Onishi. {{storylink|Maximus Emerges}}

[[Image:Human Element Side Burn vehicle.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Dude! We're cruisin' the fast track! Back to Transformers on <strike>[[Fox Kids]]</strike> <strike>The Fox Box</strike> <strike>4Kids TV</strike> <strike>The CW4Kids</strike> <strike>Toonzai</strike>, [[Vortexx]]... wait, I mean <strike>Fox Kids</strike> <strike>ABC Family</strike> <strike>Jetix on ABC Family</strike> <strike>Jetix on Toon Disney</strike> Disney XD... oh whatever, forget it.]]
Scourge attempted to control Maximus in the desert by magnifying the human portion of his bio-signature. Again Optimus and the Autobot Brothers rushed there. At Koji's insistence, Side Burn carried the boy closer to try to command Maximus to stop, but Koji was unable to override Scourge's control. Maximus was subsequently halted by the arrival of the Build Team and Team Bullet Train with a thousand children. {{storylink|The Human Element}} Having thwarted one attempt by Scourge and Mega-Octane to kidnap Koji, the brothers were assigned to guard him. Koji wasn't keen on being guarded and swapped clothing with his friend [[Karl]], leading to Karl being kidnapped by the Decepticons in another attempt to control Maximus. Optimus and the Autobot Brothers were able to rescue Karl and retrieve Cerebros into the bargain. {{storylink|Mistaken Identity}}

[[Image:Galvatron's Revenge Side Burn.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Side Burn ponders if he could chase and harrass himself.]]
When the Decepticons located and attacked Autobot headquarters, the Autobots led them into a trap and engaged them in a fierce battle. The arrival of Galvatron's ''[[Megastar]]'' turned the tide in the Decepticons' favour, until the Autobots were able to activate Fortress Maximus and destroy the battle station. {{storylink|Surprise Attack!}} Galvatron, however, was not through and began to drain energy from Fortress Maximus. The brothers attempted to shoot him down without success. After Galvatron managed to use [[Cyber-bat|cyber-bats]] to control Earth's children, Omega Prime called a retreat, but the Autobots were followed into the space bridge by the Decepticons. Galvatron saw this as an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, and flooded the tunnel with molten lava. The Autobots, with the help of some urging from Koji, were able to escape the lava and confront Galvatron once more. {{storylink|Galvatron's Revenge}} The Autobots soon found themselves on the losing end of the battle, and shielded Optimus long enough for their leader to find Ultra Magnus and form Omega Prime. During the final confrontation between Galvatron and Prime, the rest of the Autobots were all held paralysed but provided Prime with moral support.

After Galvatron's defeat, Side Burn returned to chasing red sports cars and being told off by Prowl. {{storylink|The Final Battle (RID)|The Final Battle}}
{{-}}

===Ultra Magnus...to the Rescue?===
[[Image:DWSummerspecial RID Autobrothers Megs.jpg|right|150px|thumb|"I've got the strangest feeling I'm being turned into something vague and nonsensical!"]]
When [[Scourge (RID)|Scourge]] and [[Sky-Byte (RID)|Sky-Byte]] led an attack on [[Arizona]] to drain the energy out of a vague and nondescript building in the middle of the desert, [[T-AI]] tried to call upon the Autobot brothers to help, but [[Prowl (RID)|Prowl]], Side Burn and [[X-Brawn]] were busy tangling with [[Megatron (RID)|Megatron]] in [[Oregon]].

Megatron eventually fled the battle and Side Burn arrived to help Optimus, only to find the conflict resolved. {{storylink|Ultra Magnus...to the Rescue?}}
{{-}}

===''Universe'' comic===
Some time after the defeat of Galvatron, Optimus Prime formed the [[Dimensional Patrol]] from the ranks of the Autobots who had stayed behind on Earth (apparently including Side Burn and Prowl), as well as additional experts in transwarp technology, to defend the planet from those who would do it harm via the "temporal and spatial nexus" in Earth's proximity. Unfortunately, Optimus Prime, Ultra Magnus, and several members of the Dimensional Patrol were abducted by [[Unicron]]. Here Side Burn and the others were to battle each other in the [[Cauldron]], where their energy would feed and repair the shattered body of the Chaos Bringer. {{storylink|The Official Transformers Collectors' Club Magazine issue 1}}

===''Cybertron'' comic===
[[Image:Optimusprimaluniverseend.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Side Burn loves a good game of multiversal cornhole.]]
Eventually, both Side Burn and Prowl ended up fighting in the [[Transformers: Universe (2003 franchise)|Universe]] conflict, where [[Omega Prime]] had already joined [[Optimus Primal]]'s [[Child of Primus|Children of Primus]] against the [[Minion of Unicron|Minions of Unicron]]. In the final battle against [[Unicron]], the Chaos Bringer began to dissolve below them just as the Children of Primus' victory was achieved. To save themselves, Primal led his troops (presumably) back to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] through a transwarp portal. Side Burn and Prowl were personally thrown by Omega Prime through the portal. The two presumably made it safely back to Optimus Primal's universe however Omega Prime was sent into an alternate time stream. {{storylink|Revelations Part 2}}

{{-}}

==Toys==
{{picsneeded|Good photos of the toys not depicted here, and a good, non-mistransformed photo of the original Sideburn.}}
===Robots In Disguise===
[[File:RID Side Burn Toy.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Now where'd my little red sportscar get to?]]
* '''Speedbreaker'''/'''Side Burn''' (Deluxe, 2000/2001)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''C-004'''
**''Accessories:'' Rear fender/missile launcher, tailpipe/missile, gun/knife

: ''[[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (toyline)|Robots in Disguise]]'' Side Burn transforms into a blue, hot-rodded [[Wikipedia:Dodge Viper|Dodge Viper]] with flame decos on the hood. Side Burn is essentially a [[shellformer]], with very little of his car mode pieces being incorporated into his robot limbs, and is also notorious for being difficult to transform, even for adult collectors. His missile launcher is formed from his rear fender, and the projectile launched is his vehicle mode tail pipe. His small silver gun/knife can be held in two different positions (depending on what weapon one wants) and can be stored in both modes via a peg on his back.

: This mold was [[retool]]ed to make ''[[Transformers: Universe (2003 toyline)|Universe]]'' [[Roulette (Universe)|Roulette]] and [[Shadow Striker (Universe)|Shadow Striker]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2001/Autobot/Sideburn/sideburn.htm More information on Side Burn at TFU.info]''

{{-}}{{anchor|Super}}
[[File:RIDSuperSideBurnToy.jpg|thumb|right|300px|]]
* '''Super Speedbreaker'''/'''Side Burn''' (Deluxe, 2000/2001)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''C-026'''
**''Accessories:'' Rear fender/missile launcher, tailpipe/missile, gun/knife

: "Super" Side Burn is a [[Spontaneous recoloration|Fire-red]] [[redeco]] vaguely resembling [[Generation 1 (franchise)|''Generation 1'']] [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]], with the main differences between [[Super mode|Super]] Speedbreaker and Side Burn being that Side Burn had an Autobot emblem on his roof and a small official Dodge Viper logo added to the front, the latter of which had been added for [[Licensed vehicle alternate modes|licensing reasons]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2002/Autobot/SuperSideburn/sideburn.htm More information on Super Side Burn at TFU.info]''

{{-}}{{anchor|SuperClear}}
*'''S(uper) Car Robo 3 ''Kyodai'' Set <Clear Version>''' (Multi-pack, 2000)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''C-026-S''' (Speedbreaker only)
**''Accessories:'' Rear fender/missile launcher, tailpipe/missile, gun/knife

:As part of the "3 S(uper) Car Robot Brother Set" (S<ref>"Super" (スーパー) is written in katakana next to the English letter "S" on the packaging, making exact transcription difficult.</ref>カーロボ3兄弟セット <クリアーバージョン>), a clear version of Super Speedbreaker was available as part of a giftset with clear versions of [[X-Brawn#SuperClear|Super Wildride]] and [[Prowl (RID)#SuperClear|Super Mach Alert]]. This exclusive set was first available at the [[Osaka Toys Land Show]] on September 24th, then again at [[Super Festival 19]] on October 9th, both times for 6000 yen, with the set being limited to 1500 pieces total between the two shows. He was also available at [[BotCon Japan 2000]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2000/Cybertron/ClearSpeedbreaker/speedbreaker.htm More information on Clear Speedbreaker at TFU.info]''

{{-}}{{anchor|Spychanger}}
[[Image:RID-toy SideBurn-Spychanger.jpg|right|300px|thumb|I don't feel like myself at all.]]
* '''Side Burn / Daytonus''' (Basic, 2001)
**''Accessories:'' Rifle

: Part of the second wave of ''Robots in Disguise'' [[Spy Changer]]s, this version of Side Burn transforms into a 1:64-[[scale]] [[Popular Earth vehicle alternate modes|Dodge Viper]]. He features through-axle wheel construction that allows his super-speedy rolling on smooth surfaces. His gun fits in his underside in car mode, forming his tailpipe. He was only available in a two-pack with [[Daytonus]].

: This mold was initially planned for the ''[[Transformers: Generation 2 (toyline)|Generation 2]]'' [[Go-Bot (G2)|Go-Bots]] sub-line before it ended.

: This mold was also used to make ''[[Transformers: Universe (2003 toyline)|Universe]]'' [[Jazz (G1)/toys#Universe (2003)|Autobot Jazz]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2001/Autobot/SideburnGobot/sideburn.htm More information on Spy Changer Side Burn at TFU.info]''

{{-}}

===Universe (2003)===
[[File:Universe2003toy-SideBurnDeluxe.jpg|thumb|right|300px]]
* '''Side Burn''' (Deluxe, 2004)
**''Accessories:'' Rear fender/missile launcher, tailpipe/missile, gun/knife

: A [[Walmart]] exclusive, ''Universe'' Side Burn is a [[repaint]] of Super Side Burn, with black paint being added over the red on the car mode parts (though the bumpers are still red), a carbon-fiber pattern being added to the hood, and a giant Autobot insignia being placed on the car roof. The gun/knife was also de-chromed and painted silver instead. Also, the Dodge Viper logo was added to the front of the car, as it had been for both Shadow Striker and Roulette.

: This toy was [[Repurposing|repurposed]] as [[Transformers: Shattered Glass (toyline)|''Shattered Glass'']] [[Side Burn (SG)|Side Burn]]

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2004/Autobot/SideBurn/sideburn.htm More information on ''Universe'' Side Burn at TFU.info]''

{{-}}
==Notes==
* In ''Car Robots'', Side Burn addresses X-Brawn using "''aniki''" 兄貴, a casual way of saying "big brother", contrast to Prowl's more formal "''aniue''" 兄上 in the context of "elder brother".
* The alternate mode of Side Burn seems to be downgraded in horsepower, since there are eight exhaust pipes connecting to his engine block (which are clearly seen whenever he is in robot mode), indicating that his power comes from an eight cylinder engine, rather than the V-10 engine all regular [[wikipedia:Dodge_Viper|Dodge Vipers]] have. That is probably why he can never catch [[Kelly (RID)|Kelly's]] little red sports cars.
* Side Burn's original Japanese name, "Speedbreaker", is a synonym for [http://www.delhitrafficpolice.nic.in/speed-breaker.htm "speed bump"]. It's unknown if the irony was intentional. What was certainly unintentional, however, was the accidental use of the name in Side Burn's first ''Robots in Disguise'' toy's bio.
[[File:G2Go-BotBlackViper.jpg|thumb|250px|"Black Viper" - the hottest sequel series Chrysler sponsorship can buy! Coming to you Fall 1994.]]
* Given that the original Side Burn toy's English-language [[bio]] talks about his "new spark engine" and the enhanced attributes it gave him, while the bio of his super mode toy merely describes his personality and abilities, it seems that the two were accidentally swapped at some point in production. The same thing happened to Prowl.
* "Spy Changer" Side Burn was the first official release of a mold originally intended to be released as part of the ''[[Transformers: Generation 2 (toyline)|Generation 2]]'' [[Go-Bot (G2)|Go-Bots]] sub-line. Presently, the original identity of the mold is unknown.
* He pursues a woman for hours and hours wherever she goes, despite her clear objections. Thinking about this for more than two seconds will make you feel all dirty inside, and you just have. (Just think, a different show and this would [[Silverbolt (BW)|be presented as romantic]].)
* Super Speedbreaker/Side Burn's vehicle mode served as an inspiration for the Earthly car design adopted by [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] in the [[The Transformers: Devastation|Devastation]] segment of the [[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW continuity]].
* In the "[[Bee in the City]]" script-reading at [[BotCon 2008]], ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (franchise)|Beast Wars]]'' [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] mistakenly calls ''[[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Animated]]'' [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] "Side Burn", as part of a running gag where the kid-appeal 'bot is called by various other kid-appeal-bot names from the ''Transformers'' franchise's long history.

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Speedbreaker''' (スピードブレイカー ''Supīdobureikā'')
*''Korean:'' '''Speedbreaker''' (스피드브레이커 ''Seupideubeureikeo'')

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Robots in Disguise Autobots]]
[[Category:Spy Changers]]
[[Category:Universe Autobots]]
[[Category:Wal-Mart exclusives]]

Misconceptions and urban legends about Transformers

2013-10-23T21:25:09Z

Darquehex: /* Beast Wars */

{{picsneeded}}
Over the years, many '''misconceptions and urban legends''' have sprung up within ''Transformers'' [[fandom]], often resulting from such factors as fuzzy childhood memories, inaccurate catalog illustrations, and mistranslations of foreign material.

==Toys==
===Generation 1===
*'''Transformers is (only) a cartoon from the Eighties that has been brought back into vogue recently.'''
: A misconception usually held by casual fans or nostalgic adults is that Transformers went away some time around 1986 (or 1987, or 1988—pick your year). People who stumbled across a newer incarnation of the Transformers franchise before 2007 commonly assumed that it had only recently popped back up as an attempt to cash in on '80s nostalgia. From 2007 onwards, people who were (obviously) aware of the [[live-action film series]] commonly believed that it was the [[Transformers (film)|2007 movie]] that brought the franchise back from limbo. Neither assumption is correct.
:In fact, the [[Transformers brand]] has been continuous since 1984 (there was a brief gap between 1990 and 1993 as far as the United States market was concerned, but the brand still continued with new products in other markets). It includes many [[Franchise|lines of toys, cartoons and comics]] that span nearly three decades, with no sign of stopping, as Hasbro considers it a core brand. Each line has experienced varying degrees of success, rebooting when its target audience gets too old or uninterested in the toyline and fiction.
:Some of this misconception is based on the fact that most of the original audience stopped watching and following the franchise after its cancellation, or even before (as it wasn't "cool" to be kiddy once puberty hit). Without any exposure to the market, the toyline and the new cartoons, they simply assume that ''Transformers'' has sunk in popularity, quality and/or sales, since it's not what they remember.
:It ''is'' true that Transformers hit a low point of popularity in the early 1990s, with the cancelation of Generation 1 and the unremarkable sales of ''[[Transformers: Generation 2 (toyline)|Generation 2]]''. But the successor ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (toyline)|Beast Wars]]'' line re-established the brand for a new generation beginning in 1996, and Transformers has been a dominant toy franchise ever since. While it's true that the live-action movies caused a major hike in popularity for the brand, they didn't revive a long-forgotten franchise; rather, they merely turned a steadily successful toy series into a major worldwide multimedia phenomenon.
{{-}}
*'''Generation 1 obviously has the best toys, cartoons and characters.'''
:Casual fans likewise tend to assume automatically that the original 1980s iteration of Transformers is the best and most successful line to date, with all other successors being unpopular and/or unsuccessful ventures.
:While it's hard to measure the overall success of every line in all its aspects, the original line has been surpassed in both quality and sales multiple times over. In factors such as realistic alternate forms, durability, articulation, action features, and complexity, various later toylines have all exceeded Generation 1. And while fiction can't be measured objectively, many fans will swear up and down by some of the later incarnations of ''Transformers''.
:Arguably, Transformers is in an endless cycle of creating [[true fan|new fans who share new opinions on what is "teh greatest"]].
{{-}}
*'''Powermaster Optimus Prime was the first, ''original'' Optimus Prime toy.'''
[[Image:G1 OptimusPrime toy.jpg|right|150px|thumb|1984—the original.]]
[[Image:PowermasterOptimusPrime toy.jpg|right|150px|thumb|1988—the Powermaster version.]]
:This one claims that the [[Powermaster]] [[Optimus Prime (G1)/toys|Optimus Prime]] toy, originally released in 1988, is the ''original'', first Optimus Prime toy ever released, rather than the ''earlier'', non-Powermaster toy, which is an entirely different mold and was originally available in 1984. This phenomenon is particularly common in [[eBay]] auctions, where Powermaster Optimus Prime toys are frequently advertised as "ORIGINAL Optimus Prime".
:The reasons for this misconception are obvious: Numerous people arrived late to the party—that is, became fans of the original ''Transformers'' line after the ''real'' original Optimus Prime toy had vanished off the shelves in 1986 (the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|cartoon]] was still shown in reruns on TV). Any of them looking for a toy of the iconic [[Autobot]] leader would only find the Powermaster toy on store shelves starting in 1988. Fast-forward to 20 years later, and people who weren't really paying a lot of attention to the brand for the past few years, now looking to sell off their childhood toys, would naturally conclude that the toy they got as a kid was the ''original'' Optimus Prime toy.
:The phenomenon is even more widespread in countries such as Germany, where the cartoon wasn't officially shown on TV until 1989(!). By that point, the ''original'' toy, which had originally been released by [[Milton Bradley]] in the European market in 1985, was long gone off the shelves. Thus, the only Optimus Prime toy available to kids who had only just become fans because of the cartoon was the Powermaster version. Admittedly, gray imports of the Mexican version of the ''original'' toy by [[IGA]] were also available in European stores around this time, and Hasbro themselves would release the original toy again two years later as part of their European-exclusive [[Classics (Europe)|Classics]] line of reissues. However, the Powermaster Optimus Prime toy was still a lot more widespread.

*'''20th Anniversary Optimus Prime was the Optimus Prime toy available more than 20 years ago/Alternators are the same toys that were available 20 years ago.'''

[[Image:20thAnniversary OptimusPrimesm.jpg|left|125px|thumb|Sadly, this didn't exist until 2003.]]
:This misconception usually comes from people who, upon seeing the 20th Anniversary [[Optimus Prime (G1)/toys|Optimus Prime]] toy (which was originally released in 2003/2004), honest-to-god swear it's the toy they had when they were a kid. Similarly, there are also people who believe that the toys from the ''[[Transformers: Alternators| Alternators]]'' line are the same toys they had as kids, when they're most likely confusing them with the original Autobot Cars, which are about half the size.
:The reasons for this aren't too hard to guess: People were a lot smaller when they were kids, so obviously the original Transformers toys seemed a lot larger to them. Since these fans didn't repeatedly hold or play with their Transformers while growing up, they weren't constantly adjusting to the toys' size in relation to their own. This resulted in blurred memories of outright ''gargantuan'' Transformers toys available in the 1980s. (One might wonder how tall those people would remember [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] being.)
:When confronted with the original toys—now relatively small because the fans have grown up—these people often reject them, insisting the "original" toys were ''larger'' (occasionally even accusing the ''real'' original toys of being downsized [[Knockoff|knockoffs]]). Showing them the Alternators or 20th Anniversary Optimus Prime, on the other hand, will bring back warm (albeit incorrect) memories.

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*'''A "giant"-sized Optimus Prime toy was available during Generation 1.'''
:A variant of the above of sorts. In at least a few cases, claims regarding a "giant" Generation 1 Prime may stem from dim memories of coming across [http://www.pleasesavemerobots.com/scrambledcity/skorbia/skorbyg2.html oversized Optimus Prime knockoffs that were made in Korea]—or because they had the ''normal'' Prime as kids, when they (the former kids) were about ''half'' the height they are now (see above). Other people also may have blurred memories of the Powermaster Optimus Prime toy's larger robot mode when combined with his trailer.
:The release of 20th Anniversary Optimus Prime didn't exactly help matters either (again, see above).

*'''"Bumblejumper" is a fan name for a yellow version of Cliffjumper./Bumblejumper was sold both on Bumblebee and Cliffjumper cards.'''
[[Image:G1Bumper toy.jpg|thumb|right|250px|"Bumper", who later would be known as "Bumper".]]
:As part of the launch of the [[The Transformers (toyline)|''Generation 1'' toyline]] in 1984, Hasbro released two Autobot [[Mini Vehicle|Minicar]] toys, [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys|Bumblebee]] and [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]], both of which had vehicle modes that used [[Choro-Q]]-like proportions. Bumblebee was based on a classic Volkswagen Beetle, whereas Cliffjumper was based on a Porsche 924 Turbo. In all the official advertising as well as the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|cartoon series]] and the [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|Marvel comics]], Bumblebee was consistently colored yellow, whereas Cliffjumper was colored red (not counting one-off coloring and [[Animation error|animation errors]]). However, Hasbro also released a red Bumblebee and a yellow Cliffjumper, both of which used the same cardbacks as the regular versions.
:In addition, Hasbro also released a [[Bumper (G1)|''third'' mold]] using a similar body structure and transformation scheme, based on a Mazda Familia 1500XG. This toy had originally been available as part of [[TakaraTomy|Takara]]'s ''[[Micro Change|Microchange]]'' line, but was not officially advertised as a ''Transformers'' toy. (Note that this toy is not to be confused with [[Hubcap (G1)|Hubcap]], a yellow [[retool]] of Cliffjumper released in 1986.) To this very day, only yellow samples of this toy in ''Transformers'' packaging have surfaced, all of them on "Cliffjumper" cards. The color variants for Bumblebee and Cliffjumper continued to be available with the 1985 assortment (which featured [[Rubsign|rubsigns]] and the Mini Vehicle toys packaged in robot mode rather than in [[Alternate mode|vehicle mode]]), whereas no samples of the Mazda Familia in 1985 packaging have surfaced thus far.
:Fans later started to refer to the Mazda Familia mold by portmanteau names such as "Bumblejumper", "Cliffbee" and "Bumper". The last of these names was eventually made official when a character based on the toy made appearances in the ongoing [[Transformers: Generation 1 (Dreamwave) |''Generation One'' Volume 1]] comic series by [[Dreamwave Productions]] and in the ''[[The Transformers: Megatron Origin|Megatron Origin]]'' mini-series by [[IDW Publishing]]. However, fans who know about the Bumblebee/Cliffjumper color variants, but are unaware of the existence of the Mazda Familia mold, occasionally incorrectly assume that the name "Bumblejumper" refers to the yellow color variant of Cliffjumper... which is simply referred to as "yellow Cliffjumper" by most fans.

*'''A now-rare (and thus valuable) blue variant of Bluestreak was available during Generation 1.'''

[[Image:G1 Bluestreak boxart.jpg|right|150px|thumb|You had this as a kid. The picture, that is. Not the toy.]]
:The very earliest [[The Transformers (toyline)|Generation 1]] toy [[catalog]]s used a photo of a blue-sided ''[[Diaclone]]'' Fairlady Z to represent [[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]]; photographs of the same toy were used for Bluestreak's own [[Instructions|instruction booklet]]. The same blue-sided color scheme was also used on his [[Package art|box art]]; which was in turn shown on ''every'' 1984 instruction booklet as a sample tech spec.
:All this gave rise to a long-standing myth that a blue Bluestreak toy was sold under the ''Transformers'' brand during Generation 1, with some people going so far as to "remember" owning blue Bluestreaks as children, or at least knowing someone else who did. Adding to the confusion, ''[[wikipedia:ToyFare|ToyFare]]'' magazine has a long history of listing the supposed blue Bluestreak as a "foreign [[variant]]" in its monthly price guide.
:However, actual samples of a blue-sided Bluestreak in a sealed ''Transformers'' box have ''never'' appeared, and the [[Karl Hartman|collectors who have been at it since the very beginning]] and [[Jon Hartman|amassed ''insane'' numbers of rare Transformers]] have never seen one.
: Oddly enough, numerous other Transformers toys from that era were depicted in both catalogues and packaging art with colors they were never released in —[[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]], [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]], the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]], for example— yet Bluestreak is the only one to be (mis)remembered in this manner, perhaps because his name is Bluestreak, so he had to have been blue, right?

*'''A show-accurate Skyfire toy was available during Generation 1.'''

[[Image:Jetfire-SkyfireModels.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Patience. You just have to wait 22 years.]]
:Due to some legal entanglements, [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]] was renamed "Skyfire" for the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Generation 1 cartoon]], with a [[character model]] that bore only a vague resemblance to the toy. Some confused viewers seem to have come away assuming that there had to be a [[Show-accuracy|show-accurate]] Generation 1 toy by the name of Skyfire. (The ''[[Transformers: Classics|Classics]]'' Jetfire toy is actually designed as a mix between the original toy and the cartoon character model.)

*'''Some Generation 1 toy molds were in use as long ago as 1974.'''
:Some ''[[Micro Change|Microchange]]''-derived toys have the text "©1974 TAKARA" stamped on them, and as a result are occasionally sold on eBay with descriptions such as "original 1974 [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]]". However, the date 1974 refers to the introduction of the original [[Microman]] franchise due to the way Japanese IP law worked at the time; the first ''Microchange'' toys weren't even designed until the early 1980s.

*'''A winged variant of Sludge was available during Generation 1.'''
:A [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]] [[knockoff]] that featured wings and a pterodactyl-like beast head was fairly commonplace during the Generation 1 era, and in some cases people who owned this knockoff as children seem to have misremembered it as being a [[Hasbro]] or [[TakaraTomy|Takara]]-produced [[variant]].<ref name="Sludge Knockoff">[http://www.toyarchive.com/Transformers/Knockoffs/Sludge1.html http://www.toyarchive.com/Transformers/Knockoffs/Sludge1.html]</ref>

*'''A Unicron toy was available during Generation 1.'''
[[Image:Unicron Proto.jpg|thumb|200px|Seriously, aren't you glad your poor parents didn't have to waste like a hundred bucks on this back in '86?]]
:No toys of [[Unicron]] were available (or even produced beyond [[prototype]]) until 2003. In fact, the mere ''existence'' of those prototypes wasn't actually officially confirmed until many years later. The first official Unicron toy to be released came out as part of the ''[[Transformers: Armada (toyline)|Armada]]'' line in 2003 and was a brand new mold, not based on an old, unused prototype.
:The fictional existence of a ''[[The Transformers (toyline)|Generation 1]]'' Unicron toy is likely based on schoolground one-upmanship: if one kid had a larger toy such as [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] or [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]], a rival kid would claim to have a Unicron toy in order to appear cooler, but would most likely retire to his bed a sobbing mess, knowing in his heart that one day God would punish him for being a HUGE FIBBER.
:What could also have attributed to this misconception was the voice actor for Unicron himself, Orson Welles. He died before the movie's release and the part in the 1986 movie was his last for his death in 1985. He loathed the part and could not even remember his character's name; he was quoted as saying, "I play a big toy who attacks a bunch of smaller toys," mistakenly assuming there was a toy for him.

*'''The reissue Soundwave toys released by Takara are reverse-engineered from Soundblaster because the original molds are lost.'''
:Both the ''[[The Transformers Collection]]'' and ''[[Transformers Encore|Encore]]'' [[Soundwave (G1)/toys|Soundwave]] releases have different tape buttons and hinges than the ones found on the vintage Hasbro release. While the vintage Hasbro Soundwave had inset controls and an internal tape deck hinge, the Takara reissues have a large button block that serves as a pivot point for an external tape deck hinge. The supposed reason for this is the mold for the original versions of the buttons and door are lost or worn out, so a new single tape door was made to work with the Soundblaster mold.
:In fact, the buttons and hinge used on the reissue Soundwaves were originally a [[retool]]ed running change [[variant]] of Takara's original 1985 release of Soundwave. The further Soundblaster retool was based on the later Japanese version of Soundwave, as were the reissues. Presumably, the original mold in its original condition ''is'' lost - but this happened ''long'' before Takara retooled Soundwave into Soundblaster.

*'''A few years ago, a crazy old man claimed he had created the original ''Transformers'' toys.'''
:In 2005, the ''Transformers'' [[fandom]] learned, by way of a newspaper article posted by an internet fan site, of the existence of [[Henry Orenstein]], a former toymaker. Although the main focus of the article was Orenstein's then-current achievements in the field of poker, it also implied that Orenstein had "created" the original ''[[The Transformers (toyline)|Transformers]]'' toys, and even featured a photo that depicted a somewhat confused-looking Orenstein holding [[Optimus Prime (G1)/toys#20th Anniversary/Masterpiece|20th Anniversary Optimus Prime]], with his facial impression strongly implying that he had never seen this particular toy before. Many fans subsequently assumed that this was a deluded old man who believed he had created the concept of ''Transformers'' toys, even though the fandom knew full well by this point that the original toys were originally created in Japan. His status as the "creator" of the ''Transformers'' toy line was subsequently repeated in several other articles about the man, possibly directly based on its mention in the original 2005 article.
:The ''fact'' is that Orenstein had worked for [[Hasbro]] during the 1980s, and was the person who had convinced [[George Dunsay]], then Hasbro's Vice President of R&D, to acquire the rights to a (more or less) innovative type of Japanese toys, which would eventually become known as the original ''Transformers'' toys. In addition, Orenstein shares the original patent for the [[rubsign]]s with Dunsay. Aside from that, his contribution to the [[Transformers brand|''Transformers'' brand]] is marginal at best. Obviously, the writer of said newspaper article had only marginal knowledge of the history of the ''Transformers'' brand, was told what was most likely nothing more than an anecdote by Orenstein (his biography is full of fascinating episodes, by the way), and subsequently inflated it massively with hyperbole, possibly in an attempt to gain more attention to his article due to the popularity of the brand, even before the [[Transformers (film)|2007 movie]]. The only question is, where did the photographer get the 20th Anniversary Optimus Prime toy from?

===Generation 2===
*'''"Generation 2" means "after ''The Transformers: The Movie''."'''
:This common but explicitly false idea probably stems from the many casual fans who grew up with the original ''Transformers'' line but stopped paying much attention around 1986, when the animated ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'' debuted and the ''Transformers'' craze began to die down. Many such fans regained some interest in ''Transformers'' many years later, particularly with hype surrounding the [[Transformers (film)|2007 live-action movie]]. Seeing the phrase "Generation 2" batted around in fandom, it might seem natural to assume it refers to the big changeover that happened with the animated film. It certainly didn't help that, early in the life of [[Dreamwave Productions|Dreamwave]], [[Pat Lee]] shared in this misconception, leading other new arrivals to the fandom to ape his use of the term.
:While the original animated movie certainly marked a change from one "generation" of toys to another, along with some new design trends, the phrase "Generation 2" refers to [[Transformers: Generation 2 (franchise)|a very specific franchise]], marketed from 1992 to 1995—years after the animated film had come and gone. Its relative obscurity probably contributes to the mis-attribution of the term, as ''Generation 2'' marks a low point in popularity for ''Transformers'' as a whole.

===Robots in Disguise===
*'''The ''Robots in Disguise'' toyline was known as "Transformers 2000" in Japan.'''
:As information about the then-new [[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (toyline)|''Car Robots'' toyline]] began to trickle out of Japan in 2000, early rumors purportedly from Japanese sources indicated that it was officially named "Transformers 2000".<ref name="Transformers 2000">http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/browse_frm/thread/e6436b92178f0c0a</ref> It's possible those Japanese sources were also going by early, inaccurate rumors or perhaps a soon-to-be-discarded working title for the line. The idea persisted with many Western fans well after the true name of the show was revealed, encouraged by online import retailers (who were equally misinformed) using the title to promote pre-orders on their sites.

*'''''Robots in Disguise'' Side Burn was so complex, the toy's designer later apologized.'''
:Basically. [[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (toyline)|''Car Robots'']] [[Side Burn (RID)|Speedbreaker]] was the first ''Transformers'' toy designed by [[Hironori Kobayashi]], and it kind of shows. In a later interview, he admitted that the development process was a "painful experience" and an "admonition" to do better in the future.<ref name=Translated interview at ToyboxDX>http://toyboxdx.com/phorum/read.php?3,97799,97800</ref>

===Alternators===
*'''A yellow version of Alternators Tracks was released to North American stores (but then recalled by Hasbro).'''

[[Image:YellowTracks.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Only in Japan, baby.]]
:When [[Hasbro]] (and [[TakaraTomy|Takara]]) originally announced the ''[[Transformers: Alternators| Alternators]]'' version of [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] in 2004, the toy's [[Alternate mode|vehicle mode's]] primary color was yellow. This caused the ire of a significant portion of the fandom, which insisted that the toy had to be ''blue'', like its ''[[The Transformers (toyline)|Generation 1]]'' predecessor.
:However, while Takara did release their ''Binaltech'' version of the toy in yellow, stolen [[Prototype|samples]] of the Hasbro version eventually surfaced which were indeed blue rather than yellow. Hasbro eventually confirmed at [[OTFCC 2004]] that the initial idea had been to release the toy in yellow first, and then later as a running change [[variant]] in blue, like Takara would ultimately do. However, Hasbro had encountered problems at the test shot stage, where it became evident that some of the toy's innards were shining through the yellow plastic. As a result, plans for a release of the yellow version were scrapped, and it was decided to release the blue version from the get-go.
:However, around the time when the yellow version of ("Autobot") Tracks was originally supposed to arrive in stores, rumors started circulating that some stores (usually [[Walmart]]) had indeed received a shipment of the toy, but were then asked by Hasbro to send back the entire batch. Some variants of this rumor later even claimed having seen a cell photo from the friend of a friend depicting a yellow Alternators Tracks in packaging on top of a case sporting a "RETURN TO SENDER" note. Conveniently, circumstance always prevented these people from taking a photo and sharing it with the internet public.
:Needless to say, no substantial evidence has ever surfaced to back up these claims. Furthermore, there are several factors that make this story extremely doubtful: First, Hasbro—in their own words—discovered the problems with the see-through yellow plastic at the test shot stage (which is the entire ''point'' of this part of the production run). Why would they actually bother to continue the production run, print the packaging, pack the toy and send it to stores and ''then'' decide to recall it? Never mind that toy recalls are usually done due to safety concerns, not because of ''looks''. Also, we've seen "leaked" (read: stolen) packaged samples of pretty much every single Alternators toy several months prior to its official release. Yellow Tracks? The last thing we saw of him was an unpackaged, painted sample with (intentionally) off-color Autobot [[insignia]] and "NOT FOR SALE" markings. In all the years since the toy's alleged stealth shipment to stores, not a single packaged sample has surfaced.
:The only "packaged" versions of a yellow ''Alternators'' Tracks we ever got to see were internet pranks of the "yellow ''Binaltech'' Tracks in photoshopped Hasbro box" variety. Which, of course, didn't help matters at all.
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[[Image:WindchargerOverdrive.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Castrated at the request of Honda.]]
*'''Hasbro omitted ''Alternators'' Windcharger's gun barrel for safety reasons.'''

: When the first stolen [[Prototype|test shots]] of ''[[Transformers: Alternators| Alternators]]'' [[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]] surfaced in 2004, the toy sported an extraordinarily long gun barrel (which doubled as the [[Alternate mode|vehicle mode]]'s drive shaft). The toy was ultimately released without the barrel, which was not shown or mentioned anywhere on the packaging or in the instructions. Indeed, Windcharger's weapon accessory was officially identified as a "shield" on the back of the packaging (in addition to the actual, ragtop roof shield). [[TakaraTomy|Takara]], on the other hand, later released their own ''Binaltech'' version of the toy (named [[Overdrive]]) with the full barrel, prominently shown in the official promotional photos.

:The initial fan theory upon seeing the barrel-less toy was that Hasbro had gutted it [[for safety reasons]], under the notion that the long barrel might pose a choking hazard. Even though this was refuted by actual experts on toy safety standards, the rumor still persisted. An official response from Hasbro's customer service department to an e-mail inquiry (published on a fan site's message board) confirmed that the reason for the barrel's omission was "so the accessory would not look like a weapon".<ref name="Windcharger gun barrel">"http://forums.tformers.com/talk/index.php?showtopic=13088 Response from Hasbro's customer service department regarding the lack of Alternators Windcharger's gun barrel.</ref> Eventually, Hasbro (in the presence of Takara representatives) would confirm the full story at [[BotCon 2005]]: It had indeed been Honda, specifically their North American branch, that had asked to remove the gun barrel and all references to "weapons" from the toy, its packaging and included paperwork. Honda's Japanese department, on the other hand, had no such concerns, which is why Takara were able to release the ''Binaltech'' version with the barrel intact.

===Masterpiece===
*'''Masterpiece Convoy has more diecast parts than 20th Anniversary Optimus Prime/Masterpiece Convoy is made almost entirely out of diecast/20th Anniversary Optimus Prime is made entirely out of plastic.'''
:This misconception was started by now defunct Hong Kong-based online retailer Action-HQ<ref name="plasticahq">[http://tformers.com/transformers-20th-anniversary-optimus-prime-plastic/2150/news.html "20th Anniversary Optimus Prime Plastic?"], November 2003.</ref> and ''might'' have been extrapolated from the ''[[Transformers: Alternators| Alternators]]'' toys, which are made entirely out of plastic (except for the rubber tires) for their Hasbro releases, whereas their Japanese ''Binaltech'' counterparts feature a few parts made out of [[die-cast|die-cast metal]].
:In fact, however, the amount of die-cast metal parts versus injection-[[mold|molded]] plastic parts is the same between 20th Anniversary [[Optimus Prime (G1)/toys|Optimus Prime]] and his Japanese ''[[The Transformers: Masterpiece| Masterpiece]]'' Convoy counterpart. The only differences between the two toys (not counting the packaging) are the shortened smokestacks for Hasbro's 20th Prime and the addition of painted battle damage that is missing from the Takara version.

===Transformers Collection===
[[Image:G1 Vol.1 Issue2 1.jpg|thumb|100px|right|A solicitation of then upcoming Takara reissues? Not really.]]
*'''Takara's ''Transformers Collection'' had something to do with Dreamwave.'''
:In 2002, Takara launched their series of [[Generation 1 reissues]] named ''[[The Transformers Collection|Transformers Collection]]'', also commonly referred to as "bookbox reissues" or even "Dreamwave reissues" among fans. The reason for that is simple: The [[package art]], especially for early releases such as [[Jazz (G1)/toys|Meister]] or [[Prowl (G1)/toys|Prowl]], was directly taken from the covers of and promotional posters for [[Dreamwave Productions|Dreamwave's]] first ''[[Prime Directive|Generation One]]'' mini-series drawn by [[Pat Lee]]. A common misconception among fans at that time was that Takara was coordinating their reissues with Dreamwave. Some even tried to predict upcoming reissues based on the existing Dreamwave covers. Yet [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] and [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] never materialized.

:In fact, probably the main reason why Takara recycled Pat's Dreamwave artwork of those characters for the [[packaging]] of their reissues was its coincidental availability: The artwork had already been created and paid for, so why commission new art when they could just use what already exists? Furthermore, only about half of the TFC reissues actually sported "Dreamwave" package art, whereas the rest ''did'' use newly-commissioned art drawn by Japanese artist [[Hirofumi Ichikawa]], who has never in his life worked for Dreamwave and had been drawing in this style long before Pat Lee rose to his brief "superstar artist" fame.
{{-}}

===Commemorative Series===
*'''Commemorative Series Side Swipe was found at Toys"R"Us stores in the USA.'''
:In mid-2004, [[Toys"R"Us]] decided to discontinue the [[The Transformers: Generation One Commemorative Series|Commemorative Series]] line of ''[[The Transformers (toyline)|Generation 1]]'' [[Generation 1 reissues|reissues]] they had [[exclusive|exclusively]] carried up until that point due to low sales. This affected several planned releases, such as [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]], [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]], [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] and [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]], which ultimately never came out. However, it ''also'' affected the ready-to-ship ''Commemorative Series'' VIII and IX: Series VIII [[Skids (G1)|Autobot Skids]] and Series IX [[Ricochet (Headmasters)|Ricochet]] were still released; however, Series VIII [[Sideswipe (G1)|Side Swipe]] was ultimately released as a [[KB Toys]] exclusive over a year later, whereas Series IX [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] ended up as a [[Hasbro Toy Shop]] exclusive shortly afterwards. Side Swipe ''did'', however, show up at ''Canadian'' and ''Australian'' Toys"R"Us stores at different points in 2004.

:Still, around the time when Side Swipe's intended series-mate Skids hit stores, rumors started to pop up that someone ''had'' indeed found Side Swipe at Toys"R"Us. Similar to the "yellow ''[[Transformers: Alternators| Alternators]]'' [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] at [[Walmart]]" rumor, however, nobody was ever able to provide evidence of having purchased the toy. Thus, any of these instances were likely either due to fans trying to get their ten minutes of internet fame, or misinterpretations of Canadian or Australian sightings as hailing from the US ('cuz, y'know, all ''Transformers'' fans are presumed to be Americans by default).

===Prime===
*'''''Transformers: Prime'' was not initially planned to have any toys.'''
:The [[Transformers: Prime (toyline)|toy line]] for ''[[Transformers: Prime (franchise)|Transformers: Prime]]'' was ''very'' delayed, debuting roughly a year after the associated cartoon had premiered. Previously, at a [[BotCon 2010]] panel about the then-upcoming ''Prime'' cartoon, a Hasbro representative had made a statement that they weren't talking about toys just then. ''Transformers'' fandom being [[Red Alert (G1)|what]] [[Breakdown (G1)|it is]], a widespread belief developed that Hasbro was never going to make ''Prime'' toys ''at all.'' As additional information gradually surfaced, this evolved into a rumor that ''Prime'' would only have a small number of toys, with some further speculating that they would also be limited to the Deluxe [[size class]] (since initially only Deluxes had been seen). The eventual revelation of a full ''Prime'' toyline caused the belief to evolve once more, with the new theory being that there wasn't ''originally'' going to be a ''Prime'' toyline, but Hasbro changed their minds due to demand.
:The reality, as usual, was much less apocalyptic. The statement from the Hasbro Studios panel was never intended to refer to anything except the panel itself—the people ''in that room'' weren't going to be discussing toys ''at that panel''. (In fact, [[Eric Siebenaler]] expressed excitement about [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]]'s toy at the very same panel.) As for the delay in the line's launch, put simply, this was for appearance's sake. Hasbro wanted to establish ''Prime'' as a strong ''fictional'' franchise, rather than merely [[To sell toys|a glorified toy commercial]], and reasonably concluded that launching a toyline immediately would detract from that goal. There ''was'' a point when a few ''Prime'' toys were planned to be released under the ''[[Transformers: Generations]]'' banner, but since ''Generations'' is exclusively Deluxes, the aforementioned Bulkhead (a Voyager) indicates that this idea had already been abandoned when the rumors started.
:In short, this is just a matter of fans jumping to conclusions based on misinterpreted statements.

===Europe (all generations)===
*'''Optimus Prime's toy was originally not released in Europe due to a trademark conflict.'''
[[Image:Jetfire-Dutch.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Oddly enough, Optimus Prime can still be seen in the background.]]
:In 1985, Hasbro launched the [[Generation 1 (European toyline)|''Transformers'' line]] on the European continent, using the domestic subsidiaries of [[Milton Bradley]], whom Hasbro had recently merged with, to distribute the toys in countries such as France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. The "MB"-branded ''Transformers'' toys were released in two [[wave]]s before the packaging started to sport "Hasbro" logos in 1986. However, the first wave was a rather odd line-up, with many prominent characters missing, among them [[Optimus Prime (G1)/toys#Generation 1|Optimus Prime]]. Instead, MB declared [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]] the leader of the Autobots and even depicted him as such in a [[pack-in material|pack-in]] mini-comic. Furthermore, Dutch comic book publisher [[Junior Press]], which published a translated version of the [[Marvel Comics|Marvel]] [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|''Transformers'' comic]], initially renamed Optimus Prime into "Jetfire" for all his comic appearances. Optimus Prime's toy was eventually released with the second wave of MB-branded ''Transformers'', and the Junior Press comics subsequently referred to him by his correct name. The reason for Optimus Prime's initial omission from the MB line-up is claimed to be due to a [[trademark]] conflict: A Swedish manufacturer of kitchen utensils named "[http://www.optimusstoves.com/ Optimus]" allegedly made the use of the name unfeasible for the time being. This theory was widely accepted by the majority of the Transformers [[fandom]] for many years.

:It was only recently that the theory was put into question, if not to say completely refuted: A manufacturer of kitchen utensils usually does not operate in the "toys" field, thus making a trademark conflict unlikely to begin with. The rumor originates from an editor's note in the Junior Press comic trying to explain the "Optimus"/"Jetfire" name confusion and subsequent rectification, which claims that the ''Transformers'' were originally ''two'' toy lines by different manufacturers in the United States, and MB had only released one of them in the Netherlands, while the "[[copyright]]" to the name "Optimus Prime" belonged to the other manufacturer. Many years later, this editor's note (including the incorrect use of the term "copyright" rather than "trademark") was cited by a Dutch fan who added his own speculation (without marking it as such) about the "Optimus" company in a response to a website article about the MB Transformers, thus spawning the urban myth that was subsequently accepted by the fandom.<ref name="optimusdutch">[http://www.fredsworkshop.com/veuro2.html The origin (?) of the "Optimus trademark conflict in Europe" rumor?] at The Complete Transformers Variants Page</ref>

:A much more likely explanation for the entire two-wave MB line-up that brings more sense to another odd portion of the Junior Press editor's note is the fact that a French company named [[Joustra]] released their own version of [[TakaraTomy|Takara's]] ''[[Diaclone]]'' line in many of the same markets as MB would release their ''Transformers'' toys in. The theory suggests that because of Joustra's exclusive contract with Takara, any toys from their ''Diaclone'' line-up were initially off-limits for MB's ''Transformers'' line-up.<ref name="mijofive">[http://20thcenturytoycollector.com/mb-transformers-part-5/ Mijo's "MB Transformers: Part 5" article] at 20th Century Toy Collector</ref> A related theory suggests that Joustra's parent company, Ceji, got into financial trouble at the time, prompting them to sign a deal with MB to allow them to use their existing (but still unsold) ''Diaclone'' stock and release it in ''Transformers'' packaging instead. This explains why the second wave of MB-branded ''Transformers'' matches up almost perfectly with Joustra's ''Diaclone'' line-up.<ref name="mijofour">[http://20thcenturytoycollector.com/mb-transformers-part-4/ Mijo's "MB Transformers: Part 4" article] at 20th Century Toy Collector</ref>

*'''The Generation 1 Seacon Overbite was released under the name "Jawbreaker" in some European markets.'''
[[Image:JawbreakerComic.jpg|right|thumb|UK comic exclusive name variant!]]
:This appears to originate from the fact that [[Enemy Action!|issue 152]] of the Marvel UK comics, the first appearance of the [[Seacon (G1)|Seacons]], refers to [[Overbite (G1)|Overbite]] as "Jawbreaker", a name repeated in his appearance in [[Salvage!|issue 160]] and an "A to Z" profile in the [[Transformers Annual 1989]]. In the early days of the Transformers online fandom, when information about (and scans of) the UK comics were made available to a larger number of American fans for the first time, they concluded that this must mean that the toy had been released under a different name in Europe (which is not ''entirely'' unfounded: Generation 1 toys ''had'' been released under alternate names in Canada and Italy; and many of the tail-end G1 toys that were released following the cancellation of the line on the United States market were also available in several name variants on various European markets). A further variation of this rumor even cited legal (possibly [[trademark]]) reasons as an explanation for the alleged name change.
:However, no substantial evidence has ever surfaced to back up this rumor; in fact, European fans, when questioned, all claimed to recall that the toy was called "Overbite" when released in their respective countries (except for Italy, where [[GiG]] actually didn't release the Seacons ''at all''). Furthermore, the [[Letters page (Marvel UK)|letters page]] in [[City of Fear!|issue #164]] of the UK comic features a question by a confused (British) reader who inquires about the "Jawbreaker" name, since the toy was called "Overbite" when released in the UK (which then results in a made-up-on-the-spot explanation on behalf of the Marvel staff to reconcile both names).
:So, why ''did'' the story identify the character as "Jawbreaker"? It's likely that writer [[Simon Furman]] simply got a few names mixed up, since the Overbite toy's instructions refer to his ''weapon'' as a "Jawbreaker cannon", and his weapon mode for Piranacon is called "Jawbreaker weapon" in the Piranacon assembly instructions. That, or "Jawbreaker" was an early working name for Overbite. Or, as his first appearance was very early in the year, when the story was written Marvel UK had received incomplete information about a toy that was not yet on sale.

*'''Some toys were exclusively (or predominantly) available in the United Kingdom (sometimes also the Netherlands).'''
:This likely stems from the fact that during the early days of the Transformers online fandom, when information from European countries was shared with American fans, two of the most active fanbases (or, at least, fanbases with members who were capable of, and interested in, engaging in conversations using the English language) as far as Europe was concerned were based in the UK and in the Netherlands. As a result, when information about toys (or toy variants) that were not available in the United States was spread, there simply were no fans from Germany or France around to confirm that the toys in question had also been officially available in their respective countries. (Although to be fair, it's quite possible that some toys, such as the [[Milton Bradley]]-branded ''Generation 1'' toys, were indeed released in bigger quantities in the Netherlands than in Germany or France.)<ref name="mbpart6">[http://20thcenturytoycollector.com/mb-transformers-part-6/ "MB Transformers: Part 6"] at 20th Century Toy Collector.</ref>
:As a result, the red variant of [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] was initially branded a "Netherlands" release, as were some the Mexican toys originally produced by [[IGA]] for the Mexican market that were later imported to Europe through gray channels and sold in at least half a dozen countries (most notably exotic variations such as blue versions of [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys|Bumblebee]] and [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]]). Meanwhile, tail-end G1 releases after the toyline had been cancelled as far as the United States market was concerned, such as the [[Action Master Elite|Action Master Elites]], the "[[Classics (Europe)|Classics]]" reissues, the [[Turbomaster|Turbomasters]] or the [[Obliterator|Obliterators]], were often referred to as "UK exclusives" (and are occasionally still to this very day), even though all of them were also available in numerous other countries—some of them even in Canada and Australia!
:Simply put, there are very few toys that were actually exclusive to a single European country: ''[[Transformers: Alternators|Alternators]]'' [[Jazz (G1)/toys#Alternators/Binaltech|Meister]] and ''[[Transformers: Cybertron (toyline)|Cybertron]]'' [[Megatron (Armada)|Megatron]] have both only been released in Italy as far as the European (but not the American, or Australian, or Asian) market is concerned. Even the red "Powerlinx" version of ''[[Transformers: Armada (toyline)|Armada]]'' [[Thrust (Armada)|Thrust]], which had originally been available as a "[[USA Edition]]" in Japan and was later found in Israel of all places, also has confirmed sightings for Italy, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom. The toy was even found in ''Australia'', but only in stores that also occasionally sell toys imported from other countries, and again in European packaging, oddly enough.
:The first ''genuine'' "UK exclusives" were released as part of the accompanying [[Movie (toyline)|toyline]] for the 2007 [[Transformers (film)|''Transformers'' live action movie]], namely a three-pack containing the Deluxe Class toys [[Jazz (Movie)|Autobot Jazz]], [[Protoform]] [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Brawl (Movie)|Decepticon Brawl]], and a two-pack, named "Towed to Safety", which contained the first of the two Deluxe Class [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]] molds and [[Longarm (Movie)|Longarm]] (''not '' to be confused with the Screen Battles—aka "Battle Scenes"—"Final Stand" set, which was ''also'' available in the UK), both of them in their original decos. Meanwhile, other multi-packs or minor variants of toys from the 2007 movie toyline that were available in the UK but not in the United States were also available in other places, such as Japan, Hong Kong, Australia or other European countries again.

*'''A green variant of Trailbreaker was available in some European countries.'''
:This belief seems to stem from the fact that [[IGA]]'s Mexican version of [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] (which, like most Mexican Transformers, was widely available on the European gray market circa 1989, as mentioned above) used the same head sculpt as [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]]. But like the "Blue" Bluestreak, no samples of an actual green version of the Trailbreaker mold actually sold ''as'' "Trailbreaker" have been found.

===Takara vs. Hasbro===
*'''Takara (alternatively, Hasbro) are ''solely'' responsible for designing, developing and manufacturing (all, or certain specific) ''Transformers'' toys.'''
: This was true only for the original [[The Transformers (toyline)|''Generation 1'' toys]], and possibly also the [[Transformers: Generation 2 (toyline)|''Generation 2'' toys]]. Most of the toys from 1984 to 1986 were imported (and, occasionally, slightly altered) versions of already-existing Japanese toys originally designed and released by [[TakaraTomy|Takara]]. Following that, Takara developed new toys both for the Japanese and the Western market, now specifically with ''Transformers'' in mind. The primary exceptions are a handful of toys licensed from other Japanese companies (Jetfire, Whirl and Roadbuster, for example), and the 1986 toys for the [[The Transformers: The Movie|animated movie]], which were mostly based on designs by [[Floro Dery]].
: However, ever since 1988<ref name="dunsay">[http://obscuretf.com/hhk/images/full/BC04Dunsay.jpg BotCon 2004 program guide interview with George Dunsay]</ref>, most "main" line toys released both in Japan and the Western hemisphere (such as the [[Unicron Trilogy]], ''[[Transformers: Alternators|Alternators]]'', the [[Movie (toyline)|2007 Movie line]] and ''[[Transformers: Universe (2008 franchise)|Universe]]/[[Henkei! Henkei! Transformers (toyline)|Henkei! Henkei!]]'') have been designed and developed in cooperation between [[Hasbro]] (or its subsidiary [[Kenner]]) and [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] (now TakaraTomy). (For the specifics of this joint venture development process, see the article about [[Toy|toys]].)
: Still, numerous reasons have led some people to assume incorrectly that ''all'' ''Transformers'' toy lines were ''solely'' developed by only one of the two companies:
:* The Western public and mainstream media, naturally, tend to be unaware of the existence of Takara (TakaraTomy these days). It's therefore logical to assume that Hasbro, the company responsible for distributing Transformers toys outside Japan, is also solely responsible for developing and manufacturing the toys. The fact that Hasbro regularly chooses not to mention their Japanese business partner in official press releases and interviews hasn't exactly helped matters, either.
:* On the other hand, Western anime fans are used to Japanese companies being solely responsible for designing robot toys, which are then imported and sold by Western companies. For lack of better knowledge, those people then simply assume the same also applies to ''Transformers'' toys — namely, that Takara does ''all'' the design and engineering work on their own, and Hasbro is merely the Western ''distributor'' of those toys. The fact that the back of Hasbro's packaging for ''Transformers'' toys sports a small note saying "Manufactured under license from Takara Co., Ltd." (changed to "TOMY Company, Ltd." on more recent toys) is occasionally cited as "proof" that Takara is the sole manufacturer of ''Transformers'' toys as well. A long paper trail of evidence to the contrary<ref name="Hasbro Tour">[http://www.seibertron.com/events/gallery.php?event_id=70&size=0&start=272 Exemplary rundown] of the development process of ''[[Transformers: Cybertron (toyline)|Cybertron]]'' Leader Class [[Optimus Prime (Armada)|Optimus Prime]], shown during the Hasbro tour at [[BotCon 2007]]. Of course, Hasbro just replaced the name "Takara" in some of the steps with "Hasbro" in order to convince fans that... yeah, riiiight.</ref> has not been able to convince those people of the flaws in their conspiracy theory — rather, some of them have even postulated the existence of a so-called "Hasbro PR machine", whose sole purpose is to convince ''Transformers'' fans that Hasbro actually has a larger part in the development of ''Transformers'' toys than is actually the case.<ref name="Propaganda">[http://toyboxdx.com/phorum/read.php?1,88668 ToyBoxDX thread with anime fanboys arguing that "Takara is an enormous toy '''manufacturing''' company. Hasbro doesn't manufacturer anything. The sole reason for its existence is for marketing the products of their partners and wholly-owned subs. Just to be clear here - Takara is bigger than Hasbro."] They wouldn't even believe that [[Joe Kyde]] actually worked at Hasbro. No kidding.</ref>
: That being said, there ''are'' indeed a few toys originally developed by either Hasbro or Takara without the other one's involvement, and then later picked up by the other company, but they're fewer than usually assumed: For Takara, those include the new molds for ''[[Beast Wars II (toyline)|Beast Wars II]]'', ''[[Super Lifeform Transformers: Beast Wars Neo (toyline)|Beast Wars Neo]]'' and ''[[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (toyline)|Car Robots]]'', plus various mostly short-lived, collector-aimed, niche market lines (such as the new ''[[Robotmasters (franchise)|Robotmasters]]'' molds, the ''[[Smallest Transforming Transformers]]'', the ''[[Hybrid Style]]'' toys etc.); for Hasbro, those are mostly either toys originally based on fiction-based franchises that did not originate with Hasbro (such as ''[[Animorphs]]'' or the ''[[Star Wars (franchise)|Star Wars Transformers]]'' and their later successor, ''[[Transformers: Crossovers]]''), cross-brand lines ''within'' Hasbro where the Transformers toys only make up one part of the overall lineup (such as the [[Titanium Series]] and the [[Robot Heroes (toyline)|Robot Heroes]] figures) and a few very rare "main" line Transformers toys such as the ''Generation 2'' [[Power Master|Power Masters]] and [[Grimlock (Energon)|Grimlock]], [[Swoop (Energon)|Swoop]], [[Alpha Quintesson]], [[Kicker Jones#Toys|Energon Kicker]] and [[High Wire (Armada)|High Wire]] from ''[[Transformers: Energon (toyline)|Energon]]''.

*'''Takara's Japanese-market releases are always of intrinsically better quality than their U.S. counterparts. (E.g., they have sweeter exclusives, and are always more show-accurate, have more accessories, and have tighter quality control.)'''
: This one depends a bit on the speaker, as it can either be a genuine misconception, a matter of opinion, or at worst, [[Personal canon|willful]] [[True fan|snobbery]]. But, like any broad generalization, it does have some basis.
:*"Better quality" can refer to the fact that Japanese versions of individual toys sometimes have clear plastic instead of painted-on windows like [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Movie Bumblebee]], or have vac-metallized parts where the equivalent U.S. release doesn't, like [[Optimus Prime (Armada)|''Energon'' Optimus Prime/Grand Convoy]]. Or, "better" quality can refer to the fact that Japan is a less litigious society, with different toy safety laws, and Takara can thus give [[Optimus Prime (G1)/toys|Prime]] toys old-school long smokestacks, which are now shortened in the U.S. [[for safety reasons]]. These laws also mean that [[Megatron (G1)/toys|Masterpiece Megatron]] is freely available in Japan, but hard to get in the U.S. (the exact opposite of ''real'' handguns, ironically).
:*"More [[Show-accuracy|show-accurate]] decos" does have some basis, as Takara frequently releases its toys later than Hasbro does Stateside, and thus they are better able to reflect discrepancies between late-run changes to a character's coloration in a show (such as with the original [[Rattrap]] or [[Tidal Wave (Armada)|''Armada'''s Tidal Wave]]). The most extreme example of this was ''[[Beast Machines: Transformers (toyline)#2005 (Beast Wars Returns)|Beast Wars Returns]]'', the Japanese release of ''Beast Machines'', which was ''years'' later than in the U.S., allowing Takara to add a lot of the deco that was added to the characters by [[Mainframe Entertainment]] that was not accurate to the original toys.
:*"More accessories" mostly comes from the fact that ''some'' of Takara's releases have some extra accessories, but the only cases of this before the reissues were [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]]'s two swords, Megatron's sword and bullets (even though the Japanese release lacked the barrel, scope and stock extensions) and clear cases from the various cassettes. Japanese reissues have included additional accessories from the cartoon (the axe, chain mace, Energon cubes and gun-mode Megatron in the ''[[The Transformers Collection|Transformers Collection]]'' reissues of Optimus and Megatron, Insecticons and Starscream, respectively, the Matrix from New Year's Convoy). Some ''[[Transformers: Energon (toyline)|Super Link]]'' releases came with [[Redeco|redecoed]] [[Energon weapon|Energon weapons]] as well. ''[[Henkei! Henkei! Transformers (toyline)|Henkei! Henkei!]]'' [[Hot Rod (Henkei!)|Hot Rod]] came with two missile launchers and missiles not included with ''[[Transformers: Universe (2008 toyline)|Universe]]'' [[Hot Shot (Armada)/toys#Universe_.282008.29|Hot Shot]] due to budget constraints, and featured the original tooling for the rear bumper for their inclusion. In contrast, ''Henkei! Henkei!'' [[Sideswipe (G1)#Henkei! Henkei!|Lambor]] was ''lacking'' the supercharger engine accessory ''Universe'' Sideswipe came with—TakaraTomy officially confirmed that they had ''deliberately omitted the optional piece of accessory'' to make the toy more "G1-accurate".<ref name="generations2009">Interview with Hisashi Yuki in [[Transformers Generations 2009|''Transformers Generations 2009'' vol. 1]], [http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-news-rumors/223379-takaratomy-staff-interview-generations-2009-vol-1-translation.html English translation] at TFW2005.</ref>
:*"Sweeter exclusives" is really a matter of taste. If endless redecos of Generation 1 toys as completely unprecedented Generation 1 characters, buying $40 worth of toys you got a month ago for a single [[Mini-Con]], and shelling out half your mortgage for [[Lucky Draw figure|Lucky Draw]] gold chrome figures is what floats your boat, then yeah, Japan has better exclusives.
:*"Tighter [[quality control]]" is a total myth. Takara products are manufactured under much the same production conditions as Hasbro's: Pretty much everything for both markets is made in China—in fact, according to Hasbro [[Australia]] representatives and Hasbro 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 (at least indirectly) responsible for whatever quality control problems occur with Hasbro-released toys. Takara's standards of quality control for their domestically-released toys are just as likely to let mistakes creep through. Just ask any buyer of ''Henkei! Henkei!'' [[Thundercracker (G1)#Henkei! Henkei!|Thundercracker]] how well his weapons stay attached to the arms. And let's not even get started on ''[[The Transformers: Masterpiece|Masterpiece]]'' [[Hot Rod (G1)/toys#Masterpiece|Rodimus Convoy's]] first production run.
:*The fields in which Takara genuinely excels Hasbro are comparably minor: Takara's [[stock photography]] generally tends to be more impressive than Hasbro's, without obvious mistransformations and awkward poses, and at the same time looks more representative of the actual toy due to less reliance on blatant digital touch-ups. Likewise, Takara's [[instructions]] tend to be more detailed and useful than Hasbro's.

===Other===
[[Image:SteamhammerEnergonUniverse.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Not literally a waste of packaging material.]]
*'''"Repackaged" toys are ''literally'' unsold toys sent back to Hasbro, taken out of the old packaging, put into new packaging and then sent back to stores.'''

:Every so often, a ''Transformers'' toyline features [[rebranding|rebranded]] items; toys that originated in one line, but are later re-released as part of a later one with virtually no changes to the toy itself, only the packaging it came in. This happened most frequently during the final stages of the original ''[[Transformers: Universe (2003 toyline)|Universe]]'' line, which featured numerous straight re-releases of toys from the since-ended ''[[Transformers: Energon (toyline)|Energon]]'' and ''[[Transformers: Cybertron (toyline)|Cybertron]]'' lines, among many others. Because the common fandom term for those releases was "repackages", a popular misconception claims that those toys are ''literally'' "repackages": unsold toys sent back to Hasbro, who took them out of their old packaging, put them into new packaging and then sent them back to (different) stores.

:Needless to say, that theory is dubious for various reasons. Generally, old unsold toys are ''not'' sent back to Hasbro. They either [[Shelfwarmer|remain in the store]] until someone finally decides to buy them, or the store somehow dumps them. And even ''if'' Hasbro did regularly get sent back huge shipments of unsold toys, they'd be highly unlikely to go through the effort (and additional cost) of literally repackaging them. Hasbro confirmed this in January of 2009, stating that due to the toys being manufactured in Asia, it would be a waste of time and money to repackage them only to sell them at the same price-point.<ref>[http://www.sirstevesguide.com/index.php?categoryid=13&p2_articleid=1934 SirStevesGuide.com, Tri-Weekly Hasbro Q&A - January 30th]</ref> Thus, they are new production runs of previous product.

{{-}}
[[Image:SmokesniperStarscream.jpg|right|200px|thumb|The similarities are astounding. Especially those that aren't there.]]
*'''A new toy that is vaguely reminiscent of an older toy is a retool of said toy.'''

:Hasbro likes to [[redeco]] toys a lot (usually to recoup the R&D costs for developing the original [[mold]]). They also like to release redecos of toys from older lines in newer lines. In some instances, Hasbro also don't just redeco a toy, they [[retool]] it (or create new toolings for new parts that replace parts of the old version of the toy)—sometimes to improve a feature or fix an error, but sometimes also to give the toy new features or [[Gimmick|gimmicks]], or simply to make it different enough from the original version so owners of the original version would be interested in buying the "retool" as well.

:Some of those retools are comparably minor (such as [[Jazz (Movie)|Final Battle Jazz]] from the [[Movie (toyline)|2007 Movie line]]), whereas others can be pretty elaborate. Sometimes the retools are so elaborate that the line between "retool" and "new [[mold]]" gets blurred. The most drastic instances in this regard would be [[K-9]] from ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (toyline)|Beast Wars]]'' (based on [[Wolfang (Maximal)|Wolfang]] from the same line) and [[Crumplezone (Cybertron)|Dark Crumplezone]] from ''Cybertron'' (based on the original ''Cybertron'' Crumplezone toy), both of which have most, if not ''all'' of their parts entirely retooled. Another borderline case would be the ''[[Transformers: Armada (toyline)|Armada]]'' [[Mini-Con|Mini-Cons]] [[Mirage (Armada)|Mirage]] and [[Swindle (Armada)|Swindle]], which were released around the same time and are based on the same basic design, share a similar body structure and have very similar [[Alternate mode|alternate modes]].

:However, sometimes fans ''definitely'' get too far decrying a new toy a "retool" (or "remold"). Toys that share some superficial design similarities, coupled with similar transformation schemes, are often mistaken for retools even though they're simply that: Similar toys based on the same general design, maybe even directly influenced by the older toy, but nothing more. For more examples, see: [[retool#Not actually a retool|retool]].

{{-}}
*'''Hasbro lost the rights to a lot of G1 Transformers names. That is why you see toys named "Autobot Jazz" or "Decepticon Brawl" these days. Takara is more competent than Hasbro and doesn't need to change their toys' names.'''

:That's not quite how name rights —aka [[trademark]]— work. There are indeed instances where another company has snatched a trademark, making it unavailable for Hasbro's use. The reason is because trademarks need to be consistently used in commerce (roughly once every year or so), or it could be considered "abandoned", making it open for grabs should another company try to claim it. "[[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]]" is unavailable to [[Hasbro]] because Mattel holds several similar trademarks, "[[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]]" was too similar to Gendron's "Toledo 'Blue Streak'" trademark, and a company named Lanard held the trademark "Shockwave" until a few years ago. This prompted Hasbro to use substitute names for toys based on these characters, such as "Rodimus Major" and "Rodimus" for Hot Rod, "Silverstreak" for Bluestreak and "Shockblast" for Shockwave (Hasbro has since managed to reacquire the "Bluestreak" and "Shockwave" trademarks).

:Meanwhile, the names with prefixes such as "Autobot" or "Decepticon"? Those are usually non-compound single real words from the English language. Hasbro's legal department considers them too "generic" to be easily defensible as trademarks, hence the addition of prefixes such as "Autobot Jazz", "Decepticon Brawl "or "Constructicon Devastator" for better protection. This does ''not'' work with names already trademarked by another company–otherwise, [[Bandai]] could release a toy named "Megazord Optimus Prime" tomorrow, and Hasbro couldn't do anything about it.

:For a while, it seemed like these trademark quibbles were limited to Hasbro, and [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] was somehow exempt due to a different market situation. However, the ''[[Henkei! Henkei! Transformers (toyline)|Henkei! Henkei!]]'' line saw the emergence of quite a few "Cybertron", "Destron" and "[[Stunticon (G1)|Stuntron]]" prefixes, implying that the trademark situation on the Japanese market was changing, and starting with the [[Movie (toyline)|''Movie'' line]], TakaraTomy (now adopting Hasbro names instead of their established Japanese-market names) began to use "Autobot" and "Decepticon" prefixes. With ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (toyline)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' and ''[[Transformers United|United]]'', TakaraTomy even used prefixes for names Hasbro has been able to use ''without'' prefixes.

{{-}}
*'''Hasbro is responsible for your local store not having the newest toys right now.'''

: Hasbro actually has almost nothing to do with distribution (when Product A arrives in Store B) beyond making sure the manufactured product leaves the factories and shipyards of China at the desired time. Once the items arrive on US shores, they are almost immediately sent from the ships to the distribution centers for the retail chains that ordered them. From there, it's more truck rides to various regional warehouses, which is all controlled by the retailers, not Hasbro. After that, the schedule for taking product from those warehouses and putting it on shelves is dictated by each chain's inventory system.

: It's ''conceivable'' that Hasbro could take more control of the situation, but that would require chains like Wal-Mart to release the vise-like death grip they have on manufacturers' nuts that lets them dictate how the system works—and they're sooooooo not doing that.

{{-}}
*'''Hasbro should totally cater to the wishes of older collectors, as they purchase the most Transformers product.'''

: Fans would like to think they've got some sway over the direction of the [[Transformers brand|''Transformers'' brand]]. After all, they've been buying toys for many years (as opposed to the limited purchasing span of most children), and they buy many ''more'' toys than any individual child. And in truth, Hasbro does pay attention to the desires and discussions of its older buyers, even designing certain line segments like ''Alternators'' or ''Classics'' and its successors with collectors as the primary target audience.

: Collectors, however, simply can't compare to the vast numbers of children out there whose parents buy Transformers for them. The bulk of Transformers product is purchased for and/or by young children, and if a company like Hasbro wants to stay in business and keep making money (and by extension, more toys), it must design and market its products accordingly. No accurate figures exist on the collector/children ratio, but estimates mentioned at BotCon panels range from around 10% to 20% of all purchases coming from older collectors—enough to be worth listening to, but not at all the driving force behind the brand. Past toylines have shown that betting ''too much'' on sales from adult collectors can be disastrous.

: Furthermore, it's not as though the [[fandom|fans]] speak with a unified voice. More often, for every fan pushing for one particular idea, there's another fan who thinks that same idea is boring or [[Ruined FOREVER|awful]].

==Fiction==
===Generation 1===
====General====
*'''Transformers were meant as a "genderless" race. Arcee and the other female Transformers were added to the brand because feminists complained about the Transformers all being male.'''
: When [[Bob Budiansky]] was assigned to work out the character details for the toys, he initially intended some of them to represent female characters, like [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]]. However, he was not given permission by [[Hasbro]] to include females because the company feared it would have a negative impact on the sales of those toys.<ref>[http://rustingcarcass.yuku.com/topic/954 Rusting Carcass interview]</ref>
: For the [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|comics]], this was not a big deal, even though Budiansky still slipped in a female Cybertronian in the form of [[Aunty]]. For the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|cartoon]] however, Hasbro's interests had to be matched with those of the TV networks that would broadcast ''The Transformers''. Since television requires a bigger investment than comics, but also offers the potential for a much better payoff, it is of interest for a TV network to broadcast material that reaches the highest possible demographic. Women make up half the population, so TV networks want at least one (hero) female character to bring in their views. As noted in the [[production bible]], the [[Female Autobots]] and possibly [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] are the result of the networks' demands. This situation has not remained unique in ''Transformers'' history either; Female [[Override (Cybertron)|Override]] and [[Sari Sumdac]] have also been added to their respective cartoons because of network demands, whereas [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]], [[Strika (BM)|Strika]] and [[Botanica (BM)|Botanica]] were a request from the writers to Hasbro.
: Despite persistent stories, there is no documented instance of feminists demanding the inclusion of female Transformers (and likely, they've got something better to do than complain about another generic boys show like there are hundreds of). There is, however, a comic story called "[[Prime's Rib!]]" which presents Arcee's introduction to the Autobot ranks as an attempt by Optimus Prime to appease [[Feminist mob|human feminists]]. While the story is obviously satire, through hearsay it has become believed by some that it is what actually happened.

====The original cartoon====
*'''The original ''The Transformers'' series was redubbed anime which originated in Japan, just like ''Battle of the Planets'', ''Voltron'', ''Robotech'' and other such shows screened in the '80s.'''
: Although most moderate-to-hardcore fans are well aware that this is a fallacy, there are those more casual fans (or those who have not rewatched the Generation 1 cartoon since childhood) who are under the misconception that [[The Transformers (cartoon)|''The Transformers'']] was an anime.
: Although the original toyline and thus the characters' basic visual designs were taken from Japanese-originated products, the original characters, names, factions and entire story premise of the whole ''Transformers'' franchise were developed in the United States by [[Hasbro]], [[Marvel Comics|Marvel]] and eventually [[Sunbow Productions|Sunbow]]. Although the animation was farmed out to [[Toei|Japanese]] (and later also [[AKOM|Korean]] and [[Unknown Filipino animation studio|Filipino]]) [[Tokyo Movie Shinsha|studios]], the writing and original voice recording of [[The Transformers (cartoon)|all four seasons of the original series]] plus ''[[The Transformers: The Movie|The Movie]]'' was entirely done in America.
: This misconception probably stems from distant childhood memories of the cartoon, the fact that shows like the aforementioned ''Robotech'' were redubbed anime and the ''Transformers''' obvious Japanese influences. This ''may'' also be due to passing exposure to ''[[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (cartoon)|Robots in Disguise]]'' and the [[Unicron Trilogy]] shows which, viewed as an adult, are ''very'' obviously redubbed anime.
: This is in part related to the misconception that '''all''' ''Transformers'' toys are ''solely'' designed, developed and manufactured by [[TakaraTomy|Takara]], and all [[Hasbro]] ever does is to put them in new packaging and distribute them in the Western market (see above). Because this is true for other Japanese robot toylines, and therefore it must also apply to ''Transformers''.

*'''''The Headmasters'' was going to be dubbed into English and shown in America.'''
: In America, "Season 4" consisted of "The Rebirth", a 3-episode mini-series. In Japan, "The Rebirth" was ignored, and a full-fledged series titled ''The Headmasters'' continued the story instead. Rumors once swirled in the fandom of an American-led dub of ''The Headmasters'' series; the dub was largely finished, goes the story, till the materials were lost in a warehouse fire.
: Given the meandering pace of the series (common for Japanese shows but anathema to American sensibilities), the presence of numerous characters who had no toy equivalent on US shelves, the incompatibility with the "[[Nebulan]]" head characters, the number of Japanese cultural references, and the very existence of "[[The Transformers (cartoon)|The Rebirth]]", this rumor seems unlikely on the surface.
: More to the point, no official confirmation or other evidence has ever surfaced to back it up. In all likelihood the rumor was probably a [[wikipedia:Chinese_whispers|Chinese Whisper]] from the fact that the English language [[Omni Productions]] dub (or "Star TV" dub) was screened on UK satellite TV during the 1990s.

====The Transformers: The Movie====
[[Image:TFTM dead gray Prime.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Traumatizing enough as it is, frankly.]]
*'''There exists an "uncut version" of ''The Transformers: The Movie'' containing all sorts of non-kid-friendly content.'''

: These stories stem mainly from the fact that many home-video releases of ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'' omit two relatively minor instances of characters using profanity, which during the 1990s resulted in some [[alt.toys.transformers]] posters advertising "uncut" VHS copies of the movie for sale, thus either intentionally or unintentionally creating the myth of a really foul-mouthed and ultra-violent alternate version of ''The Transformers: The Movie''. At least one poster claimed to have uncut reels of the original film showing a number of violent scenes<ref>[http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/browse_thread/thread/07464cbfbb5d0cc9/8aee0b30765b2b4a?hl=en#8aee0b30765b2b4a THE UNCUT JAPANESE TRANSFORMERS MOVIE]</ref>, but, unsurprisingly, was unwilling to provide any form of proof.<ref>[http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/browse_thread/thread/799fec40c1aa285e/6af42e4099affa04?hl=en#
Doth the Canadian protesteth too much?]</ref> So have ended all claims of uncut footage from the film.

:A much stranger rumor, whose origins are unclear, claims that the original theatrical cut of ''The Transformers: The Movie'' depicted [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] crumbling into dust after dying, and that that scene was cut by the distributor in mid-release because children were traumatized by the imagery. Interestingly, the "[[Death of Optimus Prime]]" track on the original soundtrack album does contain ten extra seconds of music. At the end, just before the song's final low-octave percussion sequence, there is a very distinct series of notes that appears nowhere else in the song and is not in the onscreen version. However, no other evidence of this "lost" animation sequence exists among the many storyboards, preliminary animations, interviews, varying formats, etc., that have come to light. The myth could be related to the death of Starscream, a few scenes later, where Starscream '''does''' indeed crumble to dust after being shot by Galvatron; time and distance could lead fans to confuse the two scenes.

:These claims should not be confused with the extra storyboarded scenes and early script revisions which have come to light over the years, which do in fact contain a lot more violence. But no evidence exists that any of these sequences, even those that made it to storyboard, were ever animated. Especially given the expense of producing full animation.

::''See also: [[The Transformers: The Movie#Edits]].''

{{-}}
*'''Some portions of Unicron's dialogue were recorded by an actor other than Orson Welles.'''

: A common rumor in the Western fandom claimed that Unicron's final lines ("Destiny... you cannot destroy my.. destiny!") were recorded by [[Leonard Nimoy]], based on claims that those lines sounded "different" from the rest of [[Orson Welles]]' lines.<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092106/trivia IMDB.com reference to the Leonard Nimoy-as-Unicron rumor.]</ref> Compounding the rumor is the fact that Welles died shortly after recording his ''TF:TM'' lines<ref>[http://www.amazon.com/This-Orson-Welles/dp/030680834X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-6174389-3113623?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1182349938&sr=8-1 According to one biography, Welles recorded his ''TF:TM'' lines on October 5, 1985 and died five days later.]</ref> (and indeed, one version of the rumor has Welles actually dying ''before'' completing his lines). Despite being debunked repeatedly (including by [[Susan Blu]] and [[Wally Burr]], both of whom should know), this one still pops up from time to time.<ref>[http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-news-rumors/387399-leonard-nimoy-officially-announced-voice-sentinel-prime-13.html#post5858748 Nimoy-as-Unicron rumor repeated by TFW2005 user "RedAlert Rescue".]</ref><ref>[http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2007/07/when_orson_welles_was_a_transformer.single.html Slate.com discusses the Unicron rumor.]</ref>

{{-}}
*'''''The Transformers: The Movie''/Scatman Crothers coined the term "ginormous", which has since been added to several dictionaries.'''

: In ''The Transformers: The Movie'', [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]], voiced by [[Scatman Crothers]], described [[Unicron]] as "a ginormous, weird-looking planet". The word "ginormous", a portmanteau of "gigantic" and "enormous", was officially added by the Merriam-Webster Online dictionary in 2007.<ref name="webster">[http://www.merriam-webster.com/info/newwords07.htm Merriam-Webster adding the word "ginormous]</ref>

: Some fans believe that Crothers had coined the term, which is incorrect for several reasons. Even putting aside the notion that under this theory, Crothers is assumed to have ad-libbed the line (rather than simply reading it from [[Ron Friedman]]'s script), the term has actually been around for much longer, being listed in the Oxford English Dictionary as a "British informal" word that has existed since at least the 1940s, and was originally military slang.<ref name="oxford">[http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/ginormous Oxford dictionary entry for "ginormous"]</ref>

{{-}}
*'''''The Transformers: The Movie'' was never released in Japan.'''

: It is true that ''The Transformers: The Movie'' was not released in Japan at the same time it was released in [[Hasbro]]'s markets, with Japanese fans instead getting the ''[[Scramble City: Mobilization]]'' OVA to explain the changes going into the third season of the show (second for Japan). But ''The Movie'' ultimately made it to Japanese theaters in August 1989. The various discrepancies between it and subsequent Japan-only Generation 1 fiction (such as who [[Prowl (G1)#The Headmasters cartoon|didn't]] [[Wheeljack (G1)#Victory cartoon|survive]] the movie) are largely a matter of the Japanese animators and writers being unaware of the precise details of the film.<ref>http://tfarchive.com/community/showthread.php?s=&postid=216153#post216153</ref><ref>http://tfarchive.com/community/showthread.php?s=&postid=216478#post216478</ref><ref>http://tfarchive.com/community/showthread.php?threadid=30800</ref>

{{-}}
*'''''The Transformers: The Movie'' was released in Japan under the title ''Matrix Forever''.'''

: ''[[Matrix Forever]]'' was actually the title of a 20-minute video created to promote the Japanese release of ''The Transformers: The Movie'', but some Western (and even Japanese) fans have been confused into thinking that ''The Transformers: The Movie'' itself was renamed ''Matrix Forever''.<ref>http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/a5d29844863d2c29</ref>

====The Marvel comic====
*'''A Spider-Man story from the Clone Saga era confirms that Spider-Man's appearance in issue 3 of the Marvel ''Transformers'' comic isn't considered part of the mainstream Marvel Universe.'''
: Originally, the [[Marvel Comics|Marvel]] [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|''Generation 1'' comic]] was intended as a four-issue limited series. As was common with Marvel's licensed titles at that time, the early issues featured guest appearances by well-known Marvel characters, most prominently [[Spider-Man]] in [[Prisoner of War!|issue 3]]. However, when the title was expanded into an ongoing series, Marvel soon dropped all references to its established superhero universe. (The [[Savage Land]] got named in [[Repeat Performance!|issue 8]], but that's about it.) Likewise, no subsequent stories in Marvel's other non-licensed titles ever made mention of the Transformers existing in the same universe. Eventually, in 2006, the then-recent edition of the ''[[Wikipedia:Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe|Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe]]'' identified the Transformers' Earth (or, more precisely, the Marvel UK universe which [[Death's Head (G1)|Death's Head]] debuted in) as "[[Earth-120185]]" within Marvel's own multiverse, versus the mainstream Marvel Universe's "Earth-616". (In addition, the Marvel US ''Transformers'' universe has recently been declared to be "[[Earth-91274]]", although this designation still has to be established in an official Marvel publication.)

:What's ''not'' true, however, is that a Spider-Man story published as part of the "[[wikipedia:Clone_Saga|Clone Saga]]" during the 1990s features a line where Peter claims that he had never been to Oregon, thus negating his appearance in ''Transformers'' issue 3 (where he ''does'' make a trip to Oregon). The issue in question is "Adjectiveless" ''Spider-Man'' #57 (1995), where Peter Parker (the <strike>clone</strike> guy who would have been active as Spider-Man at the time of ''Transformers'' #3) claims (in a monologue) to have never been to '''Utah''', where Louise Kennedy (whose murder he was accused of) had been killed by [[wikipedia:Kaine|Kaine]] in ''Spider-Man: The Lost Years'' #3.

====Japanese Generation 1 fiction====
*'''In Japanese continuity, Megatron and Galvatron are two separate characters.'''
:There are a few instances of Japanese fiction (and advertising) that would seem to support this notion, all of which can be attributed to a lack of communication between [[Hasbro]] and [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] prior to the release of ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]''. All of them were ultimately ignored by the "primary" fiction, namely the (dubbed) third season of the cartoon (named ''Transformers: 2010'' in Japan) and the accompanying manga, which followed the Western story concept of Galvatron being a reformatted [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]].
:There is also a ''Transformers: 2010'' [[manga]] story that depicts [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] commanding a legion of automatons created in [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]]'s image, which some non-Japanese-speaking fans have interpreted as depicting Galvatron and Megatron co-existing.<ref>http://tfarchive.com/creative/showentry.php?s=179</ref>

*'''In Japanese continuity, the Destrons (Decepticons) were invaders from a planet called Destron.'''
:The [[Autobot|Autobots]] were renamed "Cybertrons" in the Japanese translation, resulting in a misconception that the Destrons ([[Decepticon|Decepticons]]) must hail from somewhere other than the planet [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. However, the Japanese translation also used slightly different spellings for the faction, "Cybertron" (literally: サイバトロン, "Sa-i-ba-to-ro-n"), and the planet, (literally: セイバートロン, "Se-i-baa-to-ro-n"), commonly interpreted as "Seibertron" by Western fans, in order to avoid confusion, even though both words originally started out based on the English name "Cybertron".<ref name="tfa522">[http://tfarchive.com/creative/showentry.php?s=522 The Transformers Archive essay about various urban legends surrounding the Transformers franchise]</ref>
:This rumor presumably originates from an article a Thomas Wheeler had written for ''Attic's Collectible Toys and Values Monthly'' during the hiatus between the [[The Transformers (toyline)|G1]] and [[Transformers: Generation 2 (toyline)|G2]] toylines. According to that article, Hasbro chose not to follow this element of the story because of the similarity between the term "Destron" and ''[[G.I. Joe (franchise)|G.I. Joe]]'''s "[[Destro]]" character. Of course, seeing as the story originated in America to begin with and was only dubbed into Japanese later on, this doesn't make a lot of sense. In later years, Wheeler wrote toy reviews for Master Collector's website, which occasionally also display a certain lack of knowledge about various toys and the ''Transformers'' brand's overall history, so it doesn't seem entirely out of place for him.

*'''Black Shadow and Blue Bacchus are both members of a "Space Mafia".'''
:[[Black Shadow (Victory)|Black Shadow]] and [[Blue Bacchus]], two characters from ''[[Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers: Victory (franchise)|Victory]]'', both have their function listed as "Space Gangster". An early fan translation of their on-package [[Bio|bios]] misinterpreted the Japanese word for "gangster" to mean "Mafia", hence the belief that a "Space Mafia" exists in the Japanese Generation 1 universe.

*'''Metrotitan is a zombie version of Metroplex.'''
: [[Metrotitan (Zone)|Metrotitan]] was a Destron [[redeco]] of [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] from the ''[[Transformers: Zone (franchise)|Zone]]'' portion of Japanese Generation 1 continuity. For unclear reasons, Western fans believe that Metrotitan was a "zombified" version of Metroplex, and a stranger variation on this rumor holds that Metrotitan was somehow "regrown" from one of Metroplex's legs.<ref name="tfa522" />

====European Generation 1 fiction====
*'''Starscream and Shrapnel are female characters in the French dub of Generation 1.'''
: This rumor is only partly true. The [[The Transformers (cartoon)|''Transformers'' cartoon]] used three different dub teams for the French version: one for the TV show's dub broadcast in Quebec, one for the TV show's dub broadcast in France and one for the [[The Transformers: The Movie|1986 movie]] used in both countries. Neither of the TV show's dubs depict [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] as a female as he uses a distinctively male voice;<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhOCYZRxypM YouTube: Doublage de France: Combaticons et Égo]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMXCeXw5Vdo Doublage Québécois: Égo et Dr. Croc-en-ville]</ref> however, the movie's dubbing team used a female voice for Starscream, and at one point [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] calls Starscream "une imbécile" (articles in French are gender-specific), clearly cementing Starscream's movie status as a female.<ref>http://web.archive.org/web/20080612225831/http://www.bigbot.com/mp3/transformers_mp3.shtml#Femmes</ref> All the same is also true for [[Shrapnel (G1)|Shrapnel]], who is even referred to as "Mademoiselle Shrapnel" by [[Kickback (G1)|Kickback]] in the movie.

*'''The German version of ''The Transformers: The Movie'' was edited and didn't depict Starscream's death scene.'''
: German TV didn't air a dubbed version of the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|''Generation 1'' cartoon]] until 1989. ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'' was aired for the first time on German TV in 1994, with only one repeat. For unknown reasons, a rumor was circulating for several years claiming that [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream's]] death was considered too "violent" for German TV standards for children's programs and had therefore been edited out.<ref>[http://www.ofdb.de/view.php?page=fassung&fid=7489&vid=38680 German movie database ''still'' listing the rumor about Starscream's "edited death" in TF:TM]</ref> However, recordings of the TV airing still exist, which don't feature any obvious edits other than [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike's]] infamous "swear" line. Furthermore, a German DVD edition of the movie released in 2004 that features an entirely different dub also depicts Starscream's death in all its glory.

*'''An Earthforce story was written to promote the non-combining Constructicon toys.'''
:The comic story "[[Desert Island Risks!]]" from issue 264 of the [[Marvel Comics|Marvel UK]] [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)#Marvel UK|G1 comic]] reveals that the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] have somehow lost their ability to combine into [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]]. As a result, they try to build another Devastator as a new robot.

:Some fans mistakenly believe that this is somehow related to a re-release of the Constructicons (now in yellow) that were available in [[Generation 1 (European toyline)|Europe]] after the ''[[The Transformers (toyline)|Generation 1]]'' toyline had ended in the USA. Those Constructicons omitted the extra parts necessary to form Devastator; and furthermore, [[Hook (G1)|Hook]] and [[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] (neither of them officially named in this version; all six toys came on multi-purpose cardbacks simply named "Constructicon") were [[retool|retooled]] to omit the tabs that were necessary for combining them (and [[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]]) when forming Devastator. Since the toys couldn't combine into Devastator anymore, fans believe that the [[Earthforce]] comic story was intended to serve as an "explanation" for this.

:The problem with this theory, however, is that the yellow "Euro" Constructicon toys were released in 1992; the comic story, however, had already come out in early 1990. If anything, "Desert Island Risks!" was based on the [[Action Master]] version of Devastator, which no longer consisted of six individual Constructicons. (Also, the individual Constructicons don't even appear in the story.)

===Beast Wars===
*'''In Japanese ''Beast Wars'' continuity, Optimus Primal and Megatron were the same characters as their Generation 1 namesakes.'''
: Although the Japanese dub of the ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'' cartoon originally did state that [[Optimus Primal|Primal]] and [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] were new incarnations of the Generation 1 faction leaders (possibly due to a communications breakdown with Hasbro and/or [[Mainframe Entertainment|Mainframe]]), the translators eventually backed away from that idea.<ref>http://www.bwtf.com/bw/toys/techspecs/primalultra.shtml</ref><ref>http://tfarchive.com/creative/showentry.php?s=180" rel="nofollow</ref>

[[File:BWIICatalogCover01.jpg|right|thumb|Everything you know is a lie!]]
*'''The characters of the ''Beast Wars II'' and ''Beast Wars Neo'' cartoons hail from the same time-period as the cast of ''Beast Wars''.'''
:''[[Beast Wars II: Super Lifeform Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars II]]'' and ''[[Super Lifeform Transformers: Beast Wars Neo (cartoon)|Beast Wars Neo]]'' remain at present the only Japanese-exclusive Transformers cartoons to have never been subtitled in their entirety, either officially or by fans. As such, even here on TFWiki, knowledge of their absolute specifics is far from 100%. But this particular misconception does have a nugget of truth in it: The first [[Catalog#Beast_Wars_II|pack-in catalog]] included with the Japanese ''Beast Wars'' toys did indeed present [[Lio Convoy]] and [[Galvatron (BWII)|Galvatron]] as contemporaries of ''Beast Wars'' Optimus Primal and Megatron. Subsequently, the Hasbro toy bios of [[Transmetal 2]] [[Cybershark]] and ''[[Dinobot (BM)|Dinobots]]'' [[Magmatron]] further complicated matters by making vague yet recognizable references to the two Japanese cartoons: Cybershark's bio alluded to the ''Beast Wars II'' [[Seacon (BWII)|Seacons]], and Magmatron's bio recalled both ''Beast Wars Neo''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s hunt for the [[Angolmois]] capsules and the character's "[[Emperor of Destruction]]" title; both likely derived from the original misconception.

:In truth, however, the [[Emissary of the Fourth Planet|thirty-sixth episode]] of the ''Beast Wars II'' cartoon established that the planet [[Gaea]], on which the series was set—which was clearly intimated to be a future version of [[Earth]]—had been lifeless for tens of thousands of years. As the ''Beast Wars'' characters hailed from a time only 300 years after the Generation 1 era, when Earth was still populated, this made it apparent that their native time was ''long'' after that of the ''Beast Wars'' cast. A scant few weeks later, the [[Lio Convoy in Imminent Danger!|''Beast Wars II'' movie]] corroborated this with a guest appearance from Optimus Primal, who was treated as a figure of legend, and not a present-day equal of Lio Convoy's. A fan translation of TakaraTomy's [[Generation 1 cartoon timeline (Japan)/src|2007 timeline]], which clearly dated ''Beast Wars II'' and ''Neo'' shows to tens of thousands of years after the home-time of the ''Beast Wars'' cast, was the first exposure many English-speaking fans had to this idea, having long taken the catalog as immutable canon for the cartoon, but that is now firmly relegated to the status of a [[micro-continuity]]. As for the aforementioned toy bios, the references they made were thankfully parsed vaguely enough to mean little, if anything at all, to those unaware of either Japanese series, and many Hasbro toy bios from the Beast Era were already often contradictory to the material presented in the cartoons to begin with, to the point that the bios can and generally are considered part of a separate continuity all on their own.

:In contrast to the ''Beast Wars II'' cartoon, though, the [[Free the Captured Matrix!|third chapter]] of the [[Beast Wars II: Super Lifeform Transformers (manga)|''Beast Wars II'' manga]], set in a different continuity from the cartoon, ''did'' follow the catalog's lead by showing Optimus Primal existing on Cybertron at the same time as Lio Convoy. Similarly, the ''Beast Wars II'' and ''Neo'' casts appear as contemporaries of the ''Beast Wars'' characters in [[IDW Publishing]]'s ''[[Transformers, Beast Wars: The Gathering|The Gathering]]'' and ''[[Transformers: Beast Wars: The Ascending|The Ascending]]'' comic books (though that one was likely less a deliberate choice, and more a product of the original misconception).

*'''In ''Beast Wars II'', Apache is a drunkard as part of a Native American stereotype.'''
: [[Apache]] did indeed get drunk in the first episode of the ''[[Beast Wars II: Super Lifeform Transformers (franchise)|Beast Wars II]]'' cartoon, but only in grief, believing (erroneously) that his actions earlier had caused the death of [[Lio Convoy]] (which didn't happen). He did not get drunk again for the duration of the cartoon, nor did he ever do so in the manga. Outside of that, the Native American stereotype "common" to Japanese fictions is a stoic, silent, and often mystical warrior—none of which could be used to describe Apache accurately at all.
: That's not to say there aren't [[Jointron|some ethnic stereotypes]] in BWII that could be considered pretty offensive.
: Amusingly enough, in the sixth installment of the [[Beast Wars II: Super Lifeform Transformers (manga)|''Beast Wars II'' manga]], ''Lio Convoy'' gets drunk for no apparent reason and ends up trashing Apache's room.

===Beast Machines===
*'''A ''Beast Machines'' writer said, "Real heroes don't use guns."'''
:''Beast Machines'' was the first (but not the last) ''Transformers'' series to explicitly avoid all hand-held projectile [[weapon]]ry. While the [[Vehicon (BM)|villains]] still had traditional "blasters" mounted on their bodies, some of the [[Maximal|heroes]]' weapons were more esoteric (such as [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]]'s energy-web attack, activated by putting her hands on the ground, or [[Optimus Primal]]'s gauntlets, powered by absorbing enemy fire). According to story editor [[Bob Skir]], this creative decision was agreed upon between the story editors, [[Fox Kids]], [[Mainframe Entertainment]], and [[Hasbro]],<ref name="Skir">[http://web.archive.org/web/20080222040119/http://bigbot.com/beast-machines-transformers-bob-skir/Beast-Machines-FAQ/Sat_06_Nov_1999.html Archived Q&A from Bob Skir's now-defunct website,] where Skir responds to the gun controversy (question 7).</ref> and it is indeed reflected in the toys as well.

:Note that many Maximals had weaponry that was functionally no different from a "gun"—compare [[Botanica (BM)|Botanica]]'s hip-mounted energy cannons, [[Nightscream (BM)|Nightscream]]'s back-mounted sonic blaster, or Optimus Primal's chest-mounted energy disc launcher to [[Jetstorm (BM)|Jetstorm]]'s shoulder-mounted ray guns or [[Strika (BM)|Strika]]'s wrist-mounted energy... tossing thingies.

:On his website, Skir also elaborated on his own position as a writer choosing if or how to portray gun use, including this statement: "Our heroes use their wiles and resourcefulness, plus a few cool weapons. Guns? I've never been a fan of them myself, and do not write heroes who need them."<ref>[http://members.aol.com/zobovor/guns.html Article on the fan Dave "Zobovor" Edwards' personal site,] quoting Bob Skir's original gun statement.</ref> Some fans interpreted Skir as condemning ''all'' gun use, even in the real world, no matter the circumstances. This led to the misquote, "Real heroes don't use guns,"<ref>[http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/browse_thread/thread/be5e55a90df944bb/b748601b997b3508#b748601b997b3508 Alt.toys.transformers thread] with the misquote and attendant assumptions right at the start.</ref> which remains a notoriously persistent error in the fandom. Skir, responding to the controversy, said on his site that "there '''are''' heroes who '''do''' need guns (such as the [[Punisher]]). Spider-Man doesn't need guns. Neither does the [[Hulk]]. And neither do Optimus, Cheetor, Black Arachnia{{sic}}, et al."<ref name="Skir" />
:Notably, the [[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (franchise)|series]] [[Unicron Trilogy|immediately]] [[Movie (franchise)|following]] ''Beast Machines'' did return to classic hand-held gun use among both heroes and villains. However, the more recent ''[[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Animated]]'' series has again eschewed guns, probably because of its younger target audience.

===Robots in Disguise===
*'''The Japanese ''Car Robots'' cartoon was a direct sequel to ''Beast Wars Neo''.'''
: Some fans seem to have concluded, based on the similar animation style and overall tone, that the [[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (cartoon)|''Car Robots'' cartoon]] was meant to pick up where ''[[Super Lifeform Transformers: Beast Wars Neo (cartoon)|Beast Wars Neo]]'' had left off, but all indications are that ''Car Robots'' wasn't meant to take place in any pre-existing TF continuity. But now Takara says it's in the Generation 1 continuity. <ref>http://tfarchive.com/creative/showentry.php?s=490</ref>

===Transformers (2007)===
[[Image:Japaneseflowchart.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Look! No 2007 movie!]]
*'''The movie series takes place in the Generation 1 timeline in Japan.'''
: This is another one of those instances where one TakaraTomy thing, very early in the life cycle of a new ''Transformers'' [[franchise]], will say one thing about said franchise, and then literally ''everything else ever'' will say another.

: When the live-action movie series was getting started, TakaraTomy went live with their "World of Transformers" web site. The website timeline made the rather bizarre claim that the 2007 live-action movie also somehow took place in the Japanese Generation 1 continuity in 2007, but this was ''not'' reflected by the accompanying flow-chart, and was established to not be the case by the [[Generation 1 cartoon timeline (Japan)/src|''Kiss Players'' timeline]] (which noted that the movie-verse Autobots and Decepticons came from another universe when they appeared in a ''Beast Wars'' crossover). And of course, nothing else ever attempted to make the connection.

:So... technically, in one [[micro-continuity]] this is true. Everywhere else? Not so much.

{{-}}
*'''''Transformers'' was nearly rated R by the MPAA.'''
: In the spring of 2007, it was reported that ''[[wikipedia:Disturbia|Disturbia]]'', a then-upcoming [[DreamWorks]] film starring [[Shia LaBeouf]] and produced by [[Steven Spielberg]], had received an R rating from the [[wikipedia:Motion_Picture_Association_of_America|Motion Picture Association of America]]. That film's rating was eventually lowered to PG-13 on appeal, but in the meantime some ''Transformers'' fans became confused and believed that it was ''[[Transformers (film)|Transformers]]'' that had been rated R, leading to some heated discussion on ''Transformers'' message boards.

{{-}}
[[Image:MovieCreditsNoBrawl.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Invisible credit.]]
*'''Brawl is named in the credits.'''

: The Decepticon tank, who was named "Devastator" in a subtitle in the movie, ended up being named "[[Brawl (Movie)|Brawl]]" in [[Hasbro|Hasbro's]] [[Movie (toyline)|toy line]]. Both Hasbro and the screenwriters, [[Alex Kurtzman]] and [[Roberto Orci]], have expressly favored the toy's name, referring to the name in the movie as an "error".

: Since the character has a "speaking" line in the movie, some fans claim that the voice actor is named in the ending credits, and the character's name is stated as "Brawl" there. In fact, however, there's no credit ''at all'' for the character, under either name, as he has no voice actor, his "speaking role" being little more than echo-y electronic gibberish.

{{-}}
[[Image:BanachekMustacheMan.jpg|right|250px|thumb|One of these is not like the others.]]
*'''The Decepticons' hologram is Tom Banachek.'''

: Several Decepticons in the movie are seen using a holographic "pilot"/"driver" based on the same short-haired, mustache-clad human with an intense stare, only wearing different clothes to match their respective [[alternate mode]]s. Since [[Tom Banachek]], the head of [[Sector Seven]]'s Advanced Research Division, also sports a mustache, a short-cropped hairstyle and a pretty intense stare, many fans mistakenly believe that the Decepticons' hologram is meant to look like him.

: There are two problems with that. One, the Decepticons' hologram, dubbed "[[Moustache Man]]" in the credits, is played by real-life United States Air Force Major [[Brian Reece]], whereas Tom Banachek is portrayed by established actor [[Michael O'Neill]].

:Two... how would the Decepticons know who Banachek even was to model a hologram after him?

{{-}}

===Animated===

*'''The Japanese dub of ''Transformers Animated'' presents it as a prequel to the live-action movies.'''

:This appears to have ''some'' basis: Back in March 2010, the then-recent edition of ''[[TV Magazine]]'' published some early pre-release information about the Japanese dub of the [[Transformers Animated (cartoon)|''Animated'' cartoon]]. Among the details announced was the name-change of [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] to "Ironhide", and changing his character to be closer in personality to [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]] from the [[live-action film series|live-action movies]]. The article allegedly also claimed that because [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] was not Supreme Commander of the Autobots in ''Animated'', the cartoon would be "set chronologically before the live action movies".<ref name="tvmagani">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/animated-8/latest-edition-of-tv-magazine-reveals-new-transformers-animated-japan-details-169265/ TFW2005 reporting on ''TV Magazine'' article about the Japanese dub of the ''Transformers Animated'' cartoon], March 2010.</ref>

:In actuality, however, not much of this has been reflected in the dub itself: Aside from the aforementioned renaming of Bulkhead into "Ironhide", there's nothing in the Japanese dub that ties the ''Animated'' cartoon any closer to the live-action movies than its American counterpart.

===Revenge of the Fallen===

*'''Barricade's return?'''
:A common misconception among fans is that [[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade's]] Saleen Mustang alternate mode was spotted on the set of ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'', possibly as part of the alleged "disinformation campaign" director [[Michael Bay]] repeatedly insisted he had initiated. In fact, however, a truck transporting three "Barricade" prop vehicles was spotted in Culver City, California, in March 2008, more than ''two months'' before principal shooting for ''Revenge of the Fallen'' started.<ref name="vehspotted">[http://www.superherohype.com/news/transformersnews.php?id=6980 Superhero Hype reporting on the spotting of Barricade vehicles in March 2008]</ref> There's been no indication that this had any significance other than moving the prop cars... someplace. Barricade would not make his reappearance until the ''next'' movie, ''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)|Dark of the Moon]]''.

===Prime===
*'''The High Moon Studios games are part of G1.'''
{{quote|We really did look very closely at Generation 1 stuff and tried to capture what for us was the essence of the characters.|[[Sean Miller]], Director Character and Animation|[http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2009/12/21/transformers-art-video.aspx Gameinformer interview]}}
:With its designs aiming at a video gamer audience who grew up with [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]], the development team for ''[[Transformers: War for Cybertron (360/PS3/PC)| War for Cybertron]]'' took a great deal of inspiration from the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|original cartoon]] for such things as characters and the design aesthetic for [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]].<ref>[http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2009/12/21/transformers-art-video.aspx Gameinformer interview]</ref> A [[Commercial#War for Cybertron|commercial]] even depicted Shockwave ordering Soundwave to play [[The Touch|a song]] made famous by the [[The Transformers: The Movie|original animated movie]]. Furthermore, War for Cybertron toys were sold as part of the ''[[Transformers: Generations|Generations]]'' toyline that featured Generation 1-styled characters. These factors led many to believe the game was actually part of Generation 1.

:To be fair, there was and is virtually no information available to the average fan that ''War for Cybertron'' is not part of Generation 1. Hasbro has essentially been folding ''War for Cybertron'' into their modern continuity, and have been informing dedicated fans of this fact through [[Hasbro Q&A|question and answer sessions]].<ref>"The official story of the original 13 and specifically Alpha Trion has not been explored fully in the modern continuity that Transformers War for Cybertron, Exodus, and Prime are a part of." [[Hasbro Q&A/September 2010: Answers]]</ref> The [[Transformers: War for Cybertron (comic)|''War for Cybertron'' comic adaptation]] and [http://www.hasbro.com/transformers/en_US/play/details.cfm?guid=7fd5ecd9-19b9-f369-1041-a7635be83172 online timeline] actually are adaptations from ''[[Transformers: Exodus]]'', which is the basis for the new modern continuity fiction.

:Canonically, both WfC and its sequel Fall of Cybertron are in the Aligned continuity, but beyond suggestions and mandatory changes from Hasbro, High Moon Studios doesn't seem to care about Hasbro's declarations of canon. In the art book for the sequel to WfC, ''[[The Art of Transformers: Fall of Cybertron]]'', the only influences of the concept art and designs mentioned are G1 related. Dreamwave, the original cartoon, and other concepts and ideas from Generation 1 are cited, but the fact that Cliffjumper's head is based off of Prime Cliffjumper's is not mentioned, nor are the modifications to Optimus Prime's gun, Megatron's new body, [[Tox-En]], or the other assorted influences from Prime.

*'''''War for Cybertron/Fall of Cybertron'' is a prequel to the G1 cartoon.'''
:With its designs aiming at a 20-something audience who grew up on the original cartoon, many gamers would be forgiven for mistaking ''[[Transformers: War for Cybertron (games)|War for Cybertron]]'' for a prequel, and it doesn't help that the developers at [[High Moon Studios]] advertised the game as such. More savvy fans would recognize that the game is generally irreconcilable with the cartoon (or any other Generation 1 continuity for that matter): the circumstances of [[Optimus Prime (WFC)|Optimus Prime]]'s rise to power would contradict "[[War Dawn]]", and Optimus's [[Sentinel Zeta Prime|predecessor]] does not possess the Matrix, unlike his [[Sentinel Prime (G1)#Generation 1 cartoon|cartoon counterpart]]. The Autobots left Cybertron because the [[Core]] shut down, not because energy sources were depleted, and characters like [[Jetfire (WFC)|Jetfire]], [[Breakdown (WFC)|Breakdown]], [[Cyclonus (WFC)|Cyclonus]], the [[Aerialbot (WFC)|Aerialbots]] and [[Trypticon (WFC)|Trypticon]] wouldn't be on Cybertron or even ''exist''. Additionally, the game draws inspiration from other continuities, including characters not from Generation 1 like [[Slipstream (WFC)|Slipstream]] and [[Demolishor (WFC)|Demolishor]]. The game does share a lot of similarities with Dreamwave's ''[[War Within (franchise)|War Within]]'' series (where Jetfire and Trypticon are present), but it cannot take place in that continuity either.

==Companies==
===Marvel Comics===
*'''John Romita designed the Generation 1 character models.'''
:The rumor here comes about through a misreading of the credits to [[The Transformers Universe]]. Legendary Marvel Comics artist John Romita, Sr. was listed as "Art Director", leading readers to assume that he was in charge of designing or developing the various [[character model]]s used in the series (and reprinted in said comic). However, Romita was actually the Art Director for Marvel Comics as a whole at the time. The majority of the character models were in fact done by [[Floro Dery]], who went uncredited.<ref>See [http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2007/01/11/comic-book-urban-legends-revealed-85/ Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed] for more information.</ref>

===TakaraTomy===
*'''Takara was taken over by Tomy.'''
:In 2005, it was announced that Takara, longtime Japanese manufacturer/distributor of Transformers toys, and former competitor Tomy would merge into a new company, named [[TakaraTomy]], as of March 1, 2006. Some fans misinterpreted the media coverage, believing that Takara had been bought out by rival Tomy. This was not helped by official press releases declaring Tomy the "surviving company", Tomy having the majority of shares, and the merged company simply going by the name "Tomy" outside Japan.
:The name issue is easily explained, as it was done for purely pragmatic reasons. "Tomy" is an internationally established brand, since the company already had divisions in many other countries prior to the merger, and distributed their toys under their own name there. Takara, meanwhile, had mostly abandoned ventures into international markets years ago, and had its products distributed through other companies (such as [[Hasbro]]) instead. Therefor, the merged company decided to use the better-known name for its international business, while it would continue as "TakaraTomy" within Japan itself.
:Now, as for the specifics of the merger... Although the merger ratio was set at 0.356 of a Tomy share for each Takara share (including a split of Tomy's stock), and the companies announced a layoff of 15% of their combined workforce mostly on the Takara side, the term "merger" (as compared to "take-over") was prominently used in all the official announcements by the two companies, and twisting tiny details into a de facto "takeover" of Takara by Tomy is effectively splitting hairs.

*'''e-Hobby is owned by Takara (TakaraTomy).'''
:The [[e-HOBBY]] shop is owned by Part One, Ltd. Although the company has had close ties with Takara for decades, the online store also sells toys by other companies, primarily TakaraTomy's rival [[Bandai]].
:The online store ''directly'' owned by TakaraTomy, meanwhile, is [[Toy Hobby Market]].

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
* [http://tfarchive.com/creative/showentry.php?s=522 Ten popular but incorrect rumors about Japanese Transformers]

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