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The Transformers franchise in Portugal

Transformers media arrived relatively late to Portugal, with the cartoon debuting in November of 1989 and now-defunct publishing company Meribérica/Líber only printing the comic book all the way into 1990. The first 18 issues of the US comic, from "The Transformers" to "The Bridge to Nowhere!", were released by Meribérica, but the series was abruptly cut short after the release of the last issue in December of 1990.

As with other regions that experienced a peak in the popularity of Transformers during the early 90s, Portugal saw a mixture of 1989's Chinese reprint of the The Transformers toyline and the later European Classics reissues making up the bulk of its toy offerings in national stores. The Chinese figures were imported by Portuguese distributor Chaves, Feist & Cia. S.A. (which also distributed several Tomy and Nintendo products during this era), and the rear portion of the packaging usually included a large printed sticker with the transformation instructions translated into Portuguese and - if any - a list of included acessories.

Also sometime during the early 90s, an oddity hit the Portuguese market when the (otherwise) Japanese-exclusive Star Convoy managed to show up in his original Takara packaging across a handful of Portuguese stores, most notably in hypermarket chain Jumbo (later rebranded and renamed into the French Auchan group). As a result, it is surprisingly not too uncommon to find Star Convoy copies on the Portuguese secondary market.

As with other European countries, some U.S. retail exclusives were released in Portugal under different national retail chains: for instance, the second wave of Target's Scout Class figures from the 2007 Transformers movie toyline were released by the now-defunct Feira Nova stores, and the Netflix War for Cybertron Trilogy figures and Walmart's Transformers One toys were released through Toys"R"Us in Portugal - which, in conjunction with their Iberian cousins in Spain; have continued to operate as a major toy retailer after the bankruptcy of their American counterpart.

Notable people

• Gonçalo Lopes, a Portuguese comic book artist that has illustrated and colored some IDW Publishing comics and Transformers Collectors' Club stories.

The Transformers franchise in Spain

Starting in 1985, the U.S. Transformers comic was released in Spain by publisher Forum. 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 - and, eventually; also Transformers: Generation 2. Later on, Tele 5 would air future shows like Beast Wars and Transformers: Armada.

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 (G1)#Toys|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. 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, most 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 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. 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.

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 that's 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 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. 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.

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.

The Transformers franchise in Brazil

Transformers has had a surprisingly complex history in Brazil, with the country being first introduced to the characters through the U.S. comics near the end of 1985 and the cartoon eventually airing in 1986. National toy company Estrela, however; would get the license to manufacture and market Transformers toys quite a few months before the comics were released, resulting in an odd toyline that did not feature either of the two original factions and virtually none of the named characters, with currently existing molds being named after their vehicle modes instead (thus; Bumblebee became known as Volks, Brawn as Jipe, and so on). This toyline also only featured the Mini-Vehicles and Jumpstarters in terms of molds imported from the Hasbro toyline, with the only two other types of figures available being the more gimmicky auto-transforming Bat-Robô and Eletrix toys imported from different Japanese toylines. Whereas some color schemes were imported from the Hasbro toyline, others were entirely new, thus adding to the collector allure of these figures. They also licensed out the Transformers toyline to Argentina's Antex, which in turn created even more newly-colored Mini-Vehicles and Jumpstarters.

By the end of 1985, the comic book had brought about the introduction of proper Transformers factions and characters to the Brazilian toyline, and with it; the renaming of the Autobots and Decepticons into "Optimus" and "Malignus". Accordingly, Estrela released a new wave of Mini-Vehicle retools in 1986 under the faction names of Optimus and Malignus, yet again with entirely new color schemes, but now bearing completely different insignia from that used by the Autobots and Decepticons. Add to this the fact that the cartoon would release in the same year with the factions now returning to their original names, and the result is that the Optimus and Malignus of the Brazilian toyline are instead often considered separate all-new factions by fans, an interpretation that was eventually adopted by a few instances of later official Transformers media!

Throughout the 90s and 2000s, Estrela transitioned from being a manufacturer to a distributor of Transformers toys in the country, with their relationship with Hasbro ending in 2007 as they moved towards their own distribution chains in South America instead (and also ensuing a decade-long lawsuit regarding royalties for the Hasbro-derived toylines that Estrela still manufactured locally, lasting up until its settlement in 2021). Much more about all of this can be read on the wiki's dedicated page on Estrela, but in short; the quirks of their unique toyline have become a major intrinsic part of the legacy of the Transformers franchise in Brazil.

Fandom

Given the country's sheer size and the popularity of the franchise during the 1980s, it might not be much of a surprise that Brazil has one of the most active Transformers fan scenes in Latin America. Much of it sprung from the internet during the turn of the millennium with Yahoo Groups' Planeta Cybertron ("Planet Cybertron") and the Aliança Transformers Brasil ("Brazilian Transformers Alliance") website and forum, with the community of these pages eventually uniting into the primarily Facebook-based Nova Cybertron ("New Cybertron") group during the 2010s.

Starting as small informal meet-ups between the members of the aforementioned communities, the Encontrebas eventually grew in scale into becoming the country's de facto unofficial Transformers convention. Sometimes done in partnership with toy stores, these events often involve exhibitions of Transformers toys and all-ages activities.

Notable people

• Marcelo Matere, a Brazilian artist who has worked extensively with the Transformers franchise as a character designer, comic book artist, and packaging artist.
• Guilherme Briggs, a Brazilian voice actor who's dubbed various incarnations of Optimus Prime.