Target

Target is a major U.S. retailer. They have had a lot of Transformers exclusives over the years. They briefly had a Canadian subsidiary between 2013 and 2015, which carried some of those exclusives figures during that time as well.

There is also an Australian Target store chain that has officially no connection to the US Target company except the name. Target Australia has also carried many Transformers toys as exclusives as far as the Australian market was concerned.

List of Target exclusive toys

This list only refers to the United States market. Over the years, a lot of toys that were exclusive to Target stores in the USA were available at Zellers stores in Canada, and as mass retail releases in other places such as Australia or Europe.

Beast Machines

• Magmatron

Robots in Disguise

• Cryotek
• Dreadwind and Smokejumper

Universe (2003)

• Nemesis Prime
• Overbite & Repugnus two-pack
• Long Haul & Hightower two-pack
• Bonecrusher & Scavenger two-pack

The three two-packs above were originally planned to be released as wave 4 of the Universe Ultra assortment. They were briefly listed, but not actually sold on HasbroToyShop.com before the deal to release them through Target was reached.

Cybertron

• Critical Path Pack (Red Alert and Sideways)
• Drag Race Pack (Hot Shot and Override)
• Ground to Air Blast Pack (Crosswise and Thundercracker)
These three two-packs featured unchanged versions of the Deluxe Class toys of the same names.
• Evac with bonus Mini-Cons Razorclaw and Steamhammer
• Leobreaker with bonus Mini-Cons Sky Lynx and Thunderblast
• Mudflap with bonus Mini-Cons Shockwave & Tankor
These three bonus packs featured unchanged versions of the Voyager Class and Mini-Con Class toys of the same names.
• Legends 4-Pack (Megatron, Soundwave, Jetfire and Optimus Prime)

Classics

• Battle for Autobot City: Ultra Magnus vs Skywarp

Transformers (2007)

Scout Class

Wave 1 Hardtop Arcee Signal Flare

Wave 2 Strongarm Skyblast Clocker

Wave 3 Armorhide Elita-One Air Raid

Wave 4 (Allspark Power Wave 1) Warpath Storm Surge Crosshairs

Single releases

• Robo-Vision Optimus Prime
• Autobot Jazz
• Starscream
• AllSpark Bumblebee
• AllSpark Autobot Jazz
• AllSpark Decepticon Brawl
• AllSpark Barricade with Frenzy
• Deep Space Starscream

Multipacks

• "Evolution of a Hero" two-pack (Classic Camaro Bumblebee and Concept Camaro Bumblebee)
• "Generations Legends" four-pack (Movie Legends Class Optimus Prime, Legends of Cybertron Optimus Prime, Movie Legends Class Megatron, Legends of Cybertron Megatron)
• "Ultimate Optimus Prime 3-Pack" (Titanium Series 3" "Robot Mode" Optimus Prime, "Vehicle Mode" Optimus Prime and Protoform Optimus Prime)
• Optimus Prime Battle Rig Blaster with bonus Fast Action Battler Power Hook Optimus Prime

The above bonus pack featured unchanged versions of the Optimus Prime Battle Rig Blaster and Fast Action Battler toys.

• Screen Battles — "Freeway Brawl" (Voyager Class Optimus Prime and Deluxe Class Bonecrusher)
• Screen Battles — "Battle Over Mission City" (Voyager Class Megatron and Deluxe Class Final Battle Jazz)

Animated

• Stealth Lockdown with Legends Class Bumblebee and Legends Class Optimus Prime
• Rescue Ratchet with Legends Class Starscream and Legends Class Prowl
• Shockwave with Activators Bumblebee
• Sunstorm with Activators Ratchet

Universe (2008)

Legends 5-packs Aerial Rivals (Classic Series), contains: Air Raid Autobot Blades Ramjet Skydive Thrust Special Team Leaders (Classic Series), contains: Autobot Hot Zone Hun-Gurrr Razorclaw Scattorshot Silverbolt

Voyager Deluxe Comic 2-packs Autobot Ambush (G1 series), contains: Autobot Roadbuster Dirge Standoff Beneath the Streets (War Within series), contains: Ratbat Springer

Titanium Series Hot Zone Optimus Prime Thrust

The Titanium Series figures were released in 2009, well after Transformers product had ceased being released in the Titanium Series proper. The packaging co-brands them as both Universe and Titanium Series toys.

Revenge of the Fallen

• Superion giftset, contains:

  • Air Raid
  • Airazor
  • Fireflight
  • Silverbolt
  • Skydive

• Bruticus Maximus giftset, contains:

  • Blast Off
  • Decepticon Brawl
  • Onslaught
  • Swindle
  • Vortex

  Superion and Bruticus Maximus were originally intended to be released in Universe packaging, and were released that way in various Asian and Oceanian countries, but for the US market, Target asked Hasbro to put them in Revenge of the Fallen packaging instead.
• The Fallen ("burning" redeco)
• "Straightaway Shootout" five-pack (Legends Class), contains:

  • Ironhide
  • Mudflap
  • Runamuck
  • Swerve
  • Sparkcrusher

• "N.E.S.T. Global Alliance" Legends Class 2-Pack

  • Bumblebee/Shadow Striker
  • Rally Mudflap/Offroad Skids
  • Smokescreen/Starscream

Transformers (2010)

"Are you Username Ladiesman217?" "No." "Oh. Never mind."

• *"Crash Landing Attack" two-pack (Deluxe Class), contains:

  • Bumblebee
  • Thrust

• "High-Speed Spy Battle" two-pack (Deluxe Class), contains:

  • Autobot Skids & Mudflap
  • Sideways

• "Hunters Rumble" two-pack (Deluxe Class), contains:

  • Sideswipe
  • Barricade

• "Rotorwash Rumble" two-pack (Deluxe Class), contains:

  • Arcee
  • Tailwhip

Dark of the Moon

• "Bumblebee vs Megatron" contains:

  • Bumblebee (Cyberverse Legion)
  • Megatron (Cyberverse Commander)

• "Leadfoot and Ironhide" contains:

  • Leadfoot (Cyberverse Legion)
  • Ironhide (Cyberverse Commander)

• Arcee (Deluxe class)
• Bumblebee (Deluxe Class)
• Autobot Jazz (Deluxe Class)
• Space Case (Deluxe Class)
• Autobot Ratchet (Voyager Class)
• Starscream (Voyager Class)
• Leadfoot / Sergeant Detour and Steeljaw (Human Alliance)

The Last Knight

One Step Turbo Changers 6 Pack Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Grimlock, Hound, Megatron, & Barricade

Voyager Class Optimus Prime

List of non-toy Target exclusives

Movie (2007)

• Optimus Prime transforming gift card
• Transformers-themed version of Stratego
• Transformers movie DVD with exclusive bonus comic

Unreleased toys

Energon

• Optimus Prime with Mini Optimus Prime
• Megatron & Soundwave
The larger Optimus Prime and Megatron toys would have been redecos of the Energon Leaders Class toys, the smaller toys would have been United States releases of Takara's Smallest Transforming Transformers figures.

Universe

• Drench vs. Smokescreen (Battle in a Box)
The "Drench" redeco of Armada Wheeljack was eventually released by the Transformers Collectors' Club as the BotCon 2008 exclusive Shattered Glass Sideswipe. The "Smokescreen" redeco of Armada Hot Shot , on the other hand, remains unreleased.

Movie (2007)

• Backtrack
• Gunbarrel
• Reverb
While these toys were never officially released, significant numbers of them have turned up in various online sales.

Transformers (2010)

• "The Ravage Infiltration" multi-pack includes:
  • • Rollbar
    • Flak
    • Ravage (Legends class)
    • Three human soldier mini-figures
  This set never came out through North American Target stores, but was released in the United Kingdom as an exclusive to the Sainsbury's supermarket chain.
• "Sideways Sneak Attack"
  • • Sideways (Deluxe Class) (battle damage deco based upon his death scene.)
    • Arcee (Legends Class)
    • Chromia (Legends Class)
    • Elita-One (Legends Class)

  Dark of the Moon

• "Autobot Team Racers" contains:

  • Leadfoot (MechTech Deluxe Class)
  • Topspin (MechTech Deluxe Class)

  Notes

  • Target teamed with Hasbro to promote the toyline for the live-action Transformers movie in its stores, working more closely with the company than perhaps any other retailer in the brand's history. Side effects of this included the Robo-Vision promotion, the transforming Optimus Prime Target gift card, and Target donating a gift pack (containing a free $5 gift card and comic) to every pre-registered attendee of BotCon 2007.
  • Luckily for Canadian Transformers fans, a lot of Target exclusive toys tended to be available either at general retail in Canada, or at Zellers. In 2013, many former Zellers stores were taken over by Target's newly-formed Canadian subsidiary, which meant that instead of Zellers, Target was now selling its own exclusives in Canada. Following Target's withdrawal from the Canadian market in 2015, those few figures that were Target exclusives in the United States now ended up either as Walmart or Toys"R"Us exclusives in Canada.
  • Tania Gunadi, the voice of Miko Nakadai in Transformers: Prime, has recently done a Target Commercial where she's an elementary school teacher.

  See also

  • "Market Six"

  External links

  • Official Target website