Spain

Spain, formally the Kingdom of Spain, is a coastal nation in southwest Europe; it's a NATO member-state and the second-largest nation in the European Union after France. It borders Portugal and France, and also shares the Mediterranean Sea with multiple other European countries like France, Italy, and Greece.

Thanks to its previous history of colonizing foreign countries and beating the crap out of the locals, Spanish is now one of the world's most spoken languages.

Fiction

Invaded by Moops in the 8th century.

Generation 1 cartoon continuity

The Transformers cartoon

Based on the map of the Europa 2000, Spain has annexed the Montpellier region of France. It's unknown if they gave it back after the '80s. Trans-Europe Express

Super-God Masterforce cartoon

The Autobot Godmasters searched Spain as a possible location for the last Godmaster. Assemble! The Four Godmaster Gunmen

Later, the monstrous Overlord tore through southern Europe, possibly including Spain. God Ginrai - Save Cancer!?

Victory cartoon

Puente de la Constitución de 2025

If Overlord had done that, then it was just an extra pisser when the Decepticons raised Atlantis and caused major flooding in Spain. The Autobots tried to help rescue operations there, only for Hellbat to destroy a bridge deliberately so a train couldn't escape across it. What a git! The Terror of the Giant Tidal Waves

Young Corgi continuity

Spain would presumably be part of the Federation of Western Europe. Battle Beneath the Ice

Autobot Alert!

Sixteenth century Spanish explorers discovered a sphere of Cybertite in North America, and attempted to return it to their homeland. Unfortunately, their ship, the Seville sank before they could get back. Autobot Alert!

Live action film series

Titan movie comics

Blazemaster was intercepted by Skywarp over Cordoba, Spain. Turn and Burn

IDW movie comics

When Jetfire caused the U.S.S. Maine to be destroyed/lost, the stranded sailors blamed the Spanish. [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Spanish-American War|{{#if:I wonder what happened then?|I wonder what happened then?|Spanish-American War}}]] Original

Transformers in Spain

Nordics can brag all they want about their 'stable and healthy economy', but where are their fancy translated blister cards again? (This caption was made by Mediterranean gang)

Starting in 1985, the U.S. Transformers comic was released in Spain by publisher Forum <ref>"Comics published in Spain and Latin America", from Spanish website Transformers MegaWeb</ref>. Antena 3 premiered the original Transformers TV show, as well as a good portion of the later Japanese cartoons - Transformers: The Headmasters, Transformers: Super-God Masterforce, and Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers: Victory also all aired on Antena 3 <ref>"Animated series directed in Japan", from Spanish website Transformers MegaWeb</ref> - and, eventually; also Transformers: Generation 2. Later on, Tele 5 would air future shows like Beast Wars and Transformers: Armada. <ref>"Animated series directed in the United States / Canada", from Spanish website Transformers MegaWeb</ref>

Transformers figures were first licensed into the Spanish market through Milton Bradley in 1986, however; they saw an earlier introduction of sorts with national toy company Gisima covertly launching a few bootlegs of Beachcomber, Windcharger, and Seaspray in 1985. These were commonly available on small stories, kiosks, and even gumball machines at one point, with sightings of these molds being reported up until the early 2000s <ref>"The Lost Tribe", TFSource article on the Gisima Mini-Vehicle bootlegs</ref>. As with other European countries, The Transformers again experienced a peak in popularity across Spain during the early 90s, with late Generation 1 figures like the Micromasters and the Classics reissues arriving in abundant numbers to national toy stores. Notably, Spain received the honor of getting fully-translated Spanish packaging during this time (beyond Italy with GiG, other European countries had to settle for either English or multilingual packaging instead).

Much like their cousins in Portugal, the Iberian branch of Toys"R"Us has continued to operate as a major national toy retailer after their American counterpart's bankruptcy. As a result, some figures that were exclusive to specific retailers in the U.S., like the Netflix War for Cybertron Trilogy figures and Walmart's ensemble of Transformers One toys, were released in Spain through their Toys"R"Us stores instead. <ref>The Transformers category in Toys"R"Us Spain (Archived in April of 2025)</ref> Another instance of a foreign retail exclusive releasing in Spain was Kmart's Universe Mini-Con Class 10-Pack showing up on El Corte Ingês department stores at the end of 2009. <ref>A Madrid El Corte Inglês Transformers display stand during 2009's Jornadas de Transformers Españolas, with the Mini-Con Class 10-Pack visible on the right side</ref>

Fandom

Spain has a moderately sizeable Transformers fandom, with various fan groups having cropped up across the country in the past decades. Most notably amongst these was ATAC (Asociación de Coleccionistas y Aficionados a los Juguetes Transformables, in English; "Association of Collectors and Aficionados of Transformable Toys"), a fan club best known for organizing several fan events that include large, nearly-comprehensive exhibits of Transformers toys from all eras across the country.

At one point in 2009, when partnering up with the aforementioned El Corte Inglês department store chain, ATAC's exhibits received the backing of Hasbro, with that year's Madrid exhibit getting promoted by posters with official Transformers branding and the event even doubling as a promotional stand for Activision's then recently-released Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen video game. <ref>"ACAT Jornadas de Transfans Españolas 2009" on TFW2005</ref> Future events - dubbed the Jornadas de Transfans Españolas ("Spanish Journeys of Transformers Fans") - would also receive Hasbro backing. Unfortunately, with ATAC's website no longer online and their Facebook page void of updates after 2019, it appears that the organization has ceased activities sometime since. <ref>https://www.facebook.com/asoc.acat</ref>

Notable people

• Ramón Rocabayera, a Spanish voice actor who dubbed Optimus Prime in the original cartoon.
• Alfredo Martínez, a Spanish voice actor who's been frequently voicing Optimus Prime in the country's dubs since Transformers: Armada.
• José Avilés, a Spanish comic book artist who's worked on some IDW Publishing Transformers titles.

External links

• [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Spain|{{#if:||Spain}}]] at Wikipedia
• {{#if:||Spain}} at the IDW Hasbro Wiki

References

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