G.I. Joe and the Transformers (toyline)
From MediaWiki
| This article is about the toy line homaging various crossovers between the Transformers and G.I. Joe brands. For 1986 comic crossover by Marvel Comics, see G.I. Joe and the Transformers (comic). For other crossovers with G.I. Joe, see G.I. Joe crossovers (disambiguation). |
G.I. Joe and the Transformers is the name under which crossovers in toy form between Transformers and the G.I. Joe franchise are sold.
Initially, the "toy line" was made up entirely of annually released sets available exclusively at the Hasbro Toy Shop booth at San Diego Comic-Con, and subsequently at the Hasbro Toy Shop website, with the themes of the sets and the packaging design meant to commemorate the eponymous G.I. Joe and the Transformers comic book mini-series from Marvel Comics, including a continuation of the series' numbering. Those sets consisted entirely of redecos of figures and vehicles taken from the G.I. Joe line, with non-transforming G.I. Joe vehicles made to resemble Transformers characters.
Later, Fun Publications also released several crossover sets that were exclusively available through both the Transformers Collectors' Club store and the G.I. Joe Collectors' Club store under the same name. Those sets commemorated instances of crossovers between the two brands in season 3 of the original Transformers television series, and later also the issues of the Marvel G.I. Joe comic that served as a prelude to the Generation 2 comic, again using mostly redecos of G.I. Joe figures and vehicles but this time also including redecos of actual Transformers figures.
Even though the annual Hasbro Toy Shop/San Diego Comic-Con sets supposedly ended in 2013 with a set named "The Epic Conclusion!", 2016 saw the release of another set.
G.I. Joe and the Transformers-branded toys
Hasbro Toy Shop/San Diego Comic-Con exclusives
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Transformers Collectors' Club/G.I. Joe Collectors' Club exclusives
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Honourable mentions:
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Both of the figures below were simply branded with the Transformers logo. Nonetheless, like the rest of this portion of the toyline, they were available from both collectors' club stores.
Other crossovers between Transformers and G.I. Joe in toy form
- A G.I. Joe Transformer was mocked up around the time of the Generation 2/G.I. Joe crossover comic, but it went unreleased. Also unreleased was a proposed redeco of at least parts of the original Omega Supreme toy in the G.I. Joe toyline, though the time frame of when this was pitched is more nebulous.
- In terms of things that did see release, the Generation 2 toys of Jazz, Sideswipe, and Onslaught each included a firing missile launcher retooled from the one originally available with the G.I. Joe figure Snow Serpent.
- Energon Snow Cat's alternate mode is based on a "Snow Cat" SAM half-track.
- Also in Energon was the Energon Kicker with High Wire Combat Class two-pack, which featured the show's central human character sculpted in the style of the then-current G.I. Joe "Valor Vs. Venom" line, suggesting a collaboration of design departments. Kicker's pack-in buddy High Wire transformed into a(n ostensibly) Joe-compatible dirt bike.
- The first explicit crossover toy to be released was Titanium Series Cybertron Heroes Megatron, which took inspiration from the Dreamwave Productions comic Transformers/G.I. Joe and referred to the series' events on the back of its packaging.
- In 2006, collectable model company First 4 Figures solicited three statues based on covers to Devil's Due's G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers comic mini-series. The first depicted Optimus Prime in his HISS tank body posing with Snake-Eyes, the second featured the Baroness walking Ravage on a chain leash, and the third was of Storm Shadow standing triumphant on Prime's disembodied head. Ultimately, only the latter statue was released, though the company lobbied hard to get the Baroness/Ravage set out.
- The Universe (2008) Mini-Con Skyhammer is noted by Hasbro's website to have a deco based on the Cobra Rattler.
- At JoeCon 2011, John Warden and Rik Alvarez revealed the existence of a cancelled release from the previous year's Pursuit of Cobra line which was to contain an Arctic-decoed Baroness and a (non-transforming) robot panther explicitly designed to resemble Ravage. It'd be another two years before this character pairing finally saw a toy release (see above).
- Transformers Collectors' Club Figure Subscription Service Series 3.0 Serpent O.R. represents Cobra member Serpentor.
- Combiner Wars Decepticon Viper's alternate mode is an overt homage to a Cobra Rattler, including two winged Cobra/Decepticon insignias. His robot mode face is based on the characteristic flight helmet of Rattler pilot Wild Weasel.
- For San Diego Comic-Con 2017, Hasbro produced a Revolution-branded box set in celebration of IDW Publishing's shared comic continuity. The set made extensive use of Joe tooling to create figures of not only Roadblock and occasional G.I. Joe affiliates Action Man and Matt Trakker, but also Rom the Space Knight, a Dire Wraith, and Leoric from Visionaries. The centerpiece of the set is the large, Leader Class Jetfire, and it also included nine non-articulated Micronauts minifigures.
- Collectable company Kidrobot released a line of merchandise based on the Tom Scioli/John Barber Transformers vs. G.I. Joe maxiseries starting in late 2017, including blindboxed three-inch vinyl figurines, enamel pins, and key rings, as well as a handful of seven-inch figurines of Megatron and Cobra Commander.
- In 2021, Funko released a pair of Pop! Retro Toys "Transformers vs. G.I. Joe" mystery boxes exclusively to GameStop. Each set contained a choice of either Optimus Prime and Cobra Commander or Megatron and Duke, with an assortment of other collectible gubbins.
- In 2022, the Transformers Collaborative toyline finally broke the glass ceiling by releasing Transformer toys that are actually to scale with and operable by G.I. Joe figures, which are included with their larger partners in the form of G.I. Joe Retro Collection "O-Ring" toys (read: new molds directly replicating the 1980s Real American Hero toy engineering). The inaugural release was "Megatron H.I.S.S. Tank" with Baroness; it was followed by "Bumblebee A.W.E. Striker" with Sgt. Stalker; "Soundwave Dreadnok Thunder Machine" with Zartan, Zarana and Ravage; and "Autobot Kup Triple "T"" with Sgt. Slaughter and Leatherneck.
