Superman
Superman is a powerful being. In some universes, he is a cartoon character.
Fiction
[edit]Super-God Masterforce cartoon
[edit]Ginrai compared the power granted by transtectors to that of Superman, noting that people would want to use such power beyond the constraints of society. Friend or Foe!? The True Form of the Monster!!
Transformers Legends anthology
[edit]Jake Williams knew of [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Superman (1940s cartoons)|{{#if:Superman cartoons|Superman cartoons|Superman (1940s cartoons)}}]] made by [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Max Fleischer|{{#if:||Max Fleischer}}]]. Through them, he had learned of Superman's alter ego: Clark Kent. Lonesome Diesel
Transformers film
[edit]Robert Epps referred to the United States Air Force's Combat Control as "Superman School". Transformers
Rise of the Beasts film
[edit]To console Noah after the latest in a long string of failed job interviews, Kris brought up how even the mighty Superman suffered job hunting woes before he was hired by the [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}} Daily Planet|{{#if:|| Daily Planet}}]]. Noah didn't find the sentiment particularly uplifting, however. Rise of the Beasts
Notes
[edit]- In Battle on the Junk Planet, when Scrapheap sees Blurr speeding by very fast, he uses the Superman-related catchphrase "Faster than a speeding bullet!".
- Optimus Primal's rescue of the Axalon in the Beast Wars episode "Victory" was an homage to a traditional Superman rescue, complete with "Is it a bird?" "Maybe a plane?" and some very Superman-esque musical cues.
- The character of Centurion from Revolutionaries began as a pitch for a Superman expy, and would have been depicted as a Cybertronian who left the planet during Thunderwing's rampage and came to Earth in the 1930s and being "adopted" by a kind family from Kansas. While ultimately unused, elements of this pitch would find their way into another IDW-original character, Stardrive.
- Though the two characters have nothing in common aside from their names, IDW Centurion's profile in the Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook cites him as a reinterpretation of the Centurion drone from the Marvel UK Generation 1 stories. It is perhaps worth noting that Marvel Centurion's color scheme is primarily blue with red and yellow accents... just like Superman.
- Last Bot Standing #3 has Steeljaw sardonically call Hot Rod the "last son of Cybertron" in reference to Superman's occasional moniker, "the Last Son of Krypton".
- Superman, Batman, and the rest of the Justice League would've met the Transformers in a comic book crossover pitched by Phil Jimenez. Alas, the pitch never came to fruition.<ref>{{#if: |""—|}}{{#if: https://www.cbr.com/phil-jimenezs-jlatransformers-crossover-pitch-was-undeniably-epic/ |Kevin Melrose|Kevin Melrose}}{{#if: CBR |, CBR|}}{{#if: Phil Jimenez's JLA/Transformers crossover pitch was undeniably 'epic' |, "Phil Jimenez's JLA/Transformers crossover pitch was undeniably 'epic'"|}}{{#if: 2012 |, 2012{{#if: 08 |/{{#switch:{{#len:08}}|1=008|08}}{{#if: 30|/{{#switch:{{#len:30}}|1=030|30}}|}}}}|}}{{#if: https://www.cbr.com/phil-jimenezs-jlatransformers-crossover-pitch-was-undeniably-epic/ ||}}{{#switch:{{#sub:https://www.cbr.com/phil-jimenezs-jlatransformers-crossover-pitch-was-undeniably-epic/%7C7%7C11}}%7Cweb.archive= (archive link)|}}{{#switch:{{#sub:https://www.cbr.com/phil-jimenezs-jlatransformers-crossover-pitch-was-undeniably-epic/%7C8%7C11}}%7Cweb.archive= (archive link)|}}{{#switch:{{#sub:https://www.cbr.com/phil-jimenezs-jlatransformers-crossover-pitch-was-undeniably-epic/%7C7%7C10}}%7Carchive.is= (archive link)|}}{{#switch:{{#sub:https://www.cbr.com/phil-jimenezs-jlatransformers-crossover-pitch-was-undeniably-epic/%7C8%7C10}}%7Carchive.is= (archive link)|}}{{#if: | (dead link)}}</ref>
- Animated Toxitron is an homage to Bizarro, a failed clone of Superman.
- As with Optimus Prime, Superman is considered an analogue to Jesus.
- Much like Batman, Superman has been voiced by a number of Transformers voice actors over the years that consisted the likes of Nolan North, Travis Willingham, David Kaye, Alan Tudyk, Peter Jessop, David Lodge, Michael Daingerfield, Yuri Lowenthal, Crispin Freeman, Beau Weaver, Michael Donovan, Max Mittelman, Troy Baker, Adam Baldwin, and Darren Criss.
Foreign names
[edit]- Japanese: Superman (スーパーマン Sūpāman)