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Where Do Transformers Come From?
by Dave Coustan
FROM : http://stuffo.howstuffworks.com/transformers-origin.htm
9/29/2004
It all seemed so natural and believable -- a complete universe that made sense as a whole. Everyone could transform from a vehicle -- or cassette tape or gun or dinosaur, in some cases -- into a robot. The rules were clear. Decepticons hate Autobots. Optimus Prime, the heroic red Mack truck, led the Autobots and wished one day the Decepticons would cease their evil ways. Megatron, the fancy pistol, was the leader of the Decepticons, and he cursed the goody-goody Autobots and their constructive outlook on life.
But as it turns out, the Transformers had a checkered past before they were introduced to America. They were a ragtag bunch of toys from different product lines, brought together by Hasbro and Marvel Comics and given a quick facelift and a story line. In 1984, Hasbro bought the licensing rights to various unrelated Japanese Takara toys from the Microman and Diaclone lines and wove a melodramatic story around them about a civil war between good and evil robot factions. They created a comic book series and TV show to add richness to the story line and make the toys more desirable.
And it worked. The Transformers toys were wildly successful in the United States. As Hasbro sought new ways to expand the U.S. toy line, it continued to take pre-existing Japanese toys from companies like Bandai and weave them into the Transformers universe.
 Photo courtesy Transfan Asylum Optimus Prime puzzles at his own origins. |
Here are some of the differences between the original Japanese toys and the Transformers:
- Tiny Pilots: Initially, Diaclone transforming vehicles came with tiny humans who "drove" them, as in the Robotech and Macross stories. Hasbro made the vehicles themselves sentient beings with souls and personalities who didn't need pilots. Once they had souls, the Transformers could be larger-than-life heroes and villains who kids could love and hate.
- No Faces: Since they had no feelings or personalities, many of the original Japanese Tankara robots had blank metal faceplates and visors. When they became Transformers, each robot was given a full face with eyes, nose and mouth. Strangely, while most of the mouths resembled organic lips or at least an opening, a few of the mouths remained nothing more than flat metal plates. Optimus Prime, for example, had a single angled plate where his mouth should be. No opening. When he spoke in the cartoon, the plate just moved up and down a little. We don't know whether this was a conscious decision on the part of Hasbro or a happy accident that made animating Optimus Prime easier. Other characters, like Megatron, had a crease for a mouth and the suggestion of lips. His mouth moved in sync with his dialogue.
Photo courtesy Transfan Asylum
Mouthless Optimus Prime is on the left, lippy Megatron on right. - Working Weapons: The original Japanese toy that would eventually become Megatron the transforming gun could actually shoot plastic pellets. This was removed from the American version. Hasbro apparently decided that America wasn't ready for ultra-realistic gun replicas that could fire small plastic projectiles.
Photo courtesy Jesse Chen and TF Association
What every kid needs. - "Cool" Names: Before his gig as a Decepticon, Megatron was part of a line of gun replica toys called GunRobo. They were named after the type of gun they were, so he was "Walther P-38 UNCLE." The fighter jets Starscream and Thundercracker were Diaclone JetRobos, and had unimaginative names like "F-15 Eagle." By giving them cool names, Hasbro and Marvel took toys that appealed mostly to model builders and niche anime nerds and made them much more approachable. Not every kid would be interested in a highly detailed model of an F-15 fighter jet, but who can resist a conniving evil robot named "Starscream" who also just happens to transform into an uber-cool fighter jet?
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