X-Nico

50 unusual facts about Transformers


2011 Daytona 500

Next, Martina McBride performed the national anthem, and Josh Duhamel, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and movie director Michael Bay of the upcoming movie Transformers: Dark of the Moon, gave the command for drivers to start their engines.

Alex Milne

Graduating from Sheridan College, Milne debuted on the comics scene after being hired by Dreamwave Productions to pencil their Transformers: Energon series.

Milne was the principal artist on the Transformers Movie sequel comic: Transformers: The Reign of Starscream.

Chevrolet Kodiak

This vehicle serves as the alternate mode for the character Ironhide in the 2007, 2009 and 2011 Transformers films.

Cities in Dust

A cover of the song by The Everlove was used for a trailer of the video game Transformers: Fall of Cybertron.

Delair Bridge

A brief shot of the bridge can be seen in the movie Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen from the defunct PECO Richmond power station on the Pennsylvania side of the river.

Downshift

A slightly recolored version of the Energon Downshift toy was available in 2005 exclusively at Kay Bee Toy Stores as part of the Transformers: Universe line, and appeared in the official Hasbro Transformers Fan Club exclusive Transformers: Cybertron comic book.

Cybertron’s Downshift is an original toy by Hasbro and does not appear in Transformers: Galaxy Force toy line or its cartoon series, which was dubbed into English to become Transformers: Cybertron (this version turns into a Buick Gran Sport).

Driller

The Driller, a giant Cybertronian worm-like creature controlled by Shockwave in Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Gitanes

In the original Transformers series, Mirage transforms into a Formula One Ligier racecar sponsored by "Citanes" (altered so as to get past the law forbidding tobacco advertising).

Griffin-Bacal Advertising

One of their first clients was Hasbro, whom employed their services for coming up with advertising campaigns for several of their toy lines such as "G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero" and Transformers.

Guido Guidi

When the title changed to Transformers: Energon he drew the first two issues (#19-20) and #22.

A longtime Transformers fan, Guidi was brought in by Dreamwave Productions to be artist for their Transformers: Armada comic, doing issues #8-13 and returning for #18 after a four issue run by Don Figueroa.

Hirohiko Kakegawa

He has starred in a number of anime series, such as Transformers and Turn A Gundam.

Hurlburt Field

The Transformers 3 movie, in production in September 2010, and featuring the CV-22 Osprey and AC-130U Spooky, was filmed in part at Hurlburt Field.

KSEX

It was managed by voice actor and radio personality Wayne C. Lewis, who uses the on-air name Wankus (who was later made part owner), a name he used also in mainstream when he played the part of Prowl in the Fox hit, Transformers: Robots in Disguise.

Many of Horror

The song is featured on the deluxe edition soundtrack to the film Transformers: Dark of the Moon and is played during the end credits.

Matrix of Leadership

In Transformers: Exodus, the Matrix is mentioned to have been the jewel in the hilt of Prima's Star Saber.

Nate Burleson

After signing with the Lions, Burleson has given himself two nicknames; Nate "Touchdown" Burleson and "Recepticon," keeping with the Transformers-themed nickname "Megatron" established for fellow receiver Calvin Johnson.

Omega Sentinel

A Transformers character or series of characters related to incarnations of Omega Supreme.

Omega Supreme

Although no toy exists for Omega Doom, his design is based on the toy for Cybertron Menasor, with a head that resembles that of Generation 1 Omega Supreme.

Optimus Rhyme

The name of the band as well as the stage names of the members and a majority of their lyrics refer to the Transformers franchise.

Painted Skin: The Resurrection

In mainland China, Painted Skin: The Resurrection scored the highest grossing opening for a local film and the third highest opening following the 3-D re-release of Titanic (1997) and Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

Pokémon: Jirachi Wish Maker

Tomiko Suzuki (who had previosly voiced in Transformers: The Headmasters and Transformers: Super-God Masterforce) died after suffering heart failure on July 7, 2003, 12 days before the film was released in Japan.

Recon Team

The Recon Team is the name of a group of several fictional characters from Transformers: Cybertron.

Repugnus

:Repugnus received his second homage when his name and red-and-yellow color scheme were used again in Transformers: Cybertron as a repaint of - and brother to - that line’s Undermine.

Revan

A Darth Revan figure was also released as a Mighty Mugg, a popular series of stylized figures based on characters from the Star Wars, Marvel Comics, Indiana Jones, G.I. Joe, and Transformers universes.

Smile for Them

A version of "End of the World" appeared on the soundtrack for the 2007 film Transformers, featuring additional vocal effects and keyboards.

Sunstreaker

In the final battle between the forces of Optimus Primal and Unicron, the Chaos-Bringer had disappeared (due to the events of Transformers: Energon), with Primal's forces barely making it out.

Takara

Both Takara and pre-merger Tomy have had strong relationships with Hasbro, which has distributed Takara's hit products such as Transformers, Beyblade, e-Kara and Battle B-Daman and Tomy's Zoids brands internationally.

On the other hand, most of Takara's international hit products (Microman, Transformers, Battle Beasts, Beyblade, B-Daman, et al.) have been sold and branded by other companies, most notably Hasbro.

These lines, created initially in 1975, were collectively re-branded as "Transformers" for the western market by Hasbro in 1984.

Transformers Animated: The Game

Transformers Animated: The Game is a video game for the Nintendo DS handheld based on the current Transformers television incarnation, Transformers: Animated.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon: The Junior Novel

Wheeljack, the Autobot's "scientist", who transforms into a blue Mercedes-Benz car.

Soundwave, a satellite, who comes to Earth in form of a silver Mercedes-Benz.

Transformers: Exodus

The terrorists then attack a casino in the city of Altihex, where Sentinel Prime (the main political leader of Cybertron) is attending a show.

Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday

The convoy carrying him is sabotaged and derailed by a Soviet spy, who indicates a KGB assault will take place to recover Megatron.

Transformers: Masterpiece

An intricate version of Megatron, in scale with Masterpiece Convoy/Optimus Prime, which transforms into an oversized Walther P38.

Transformers: Prime – The Game

The game features the voice cast from the show such as Peter Cullen, Frank Welker, Sumalee Montano, Steven Blum, Josh Keaton, Jeffrey Combs, Kevin Michael Richardson, and Daran Norris.

Transformers: Retribution

Transformers: Retribution will be the final installment of the trilogy which consists of this novel, Transformers: Exodus (the first novel), and Transformers: Exiles (the first sequel), and will be in the same continuity as Transformers: Prime and Transformers: War for Cybertron.

Transformers: Super-God Masterforce

On July 3, 2006 the series was released on DVD in the UK, and it was aired on AnimeCentral in the UK a few years later.

Transformers: The Reign of Starscream

They rejected his idea to make the series introduce characters for the next film (which Alex Milne designed), making it into a wrap-up to the first film.

Starscream tells Barricade to carry on his role as his spy on Earth, while he flies to the Hoover Dam to recover Frenzy.

The Transformers use spaceships, the absence of which in the film is explained by the Decepticons parking theirs (the Nemesis) on Mars before flying as protoforms to Earth.

Transformers: The Veiled Threat

Alan Dean Foster, author of another Transformers novel and the novelizations of both movies, is the author of this novel also.

After an extended chase where Knockout proves he has what it takes, and Starscream challenges Prime to single combat inside Rome's Colosseum.

Transformers: Victory

Despite his apparent death in The Transformers: The Movie, Wheeljack returned during the death of God Ginrai/Birth of Victory Leo saga, along with Perceptor from the original series, with God Ginrai and Minerva from Transformers: Super God Masterforce returning too.

Transformers: Zone

Following on from Victory, the mysterious three-faced insectoid being, Violenjiger dispatches the nine "Great Decepticon Generals"—Devastator, Menasor, Bruticus, Trypticon, Predaking, Abominus, King Poseidon, Overlord and BlackZarak—to acquire "Zone Energy", destroying the planet Feminia to obtain the world's store.

USA Cartoon Express

By the end of the 1980s, a more diverse lineup of cartoons aired on the Cartoon Express, including G.I. Joe, Transformers, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, The Real Ghostbusters, Jem, Robotech, and Alvin and the Chipmunks.

Wacker Drive

In Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011), Wacker Drive is seen in a number of scenes.


71st Fighter Squadron

In the 2007 movie Transformers, the Decepticon Starscream, disguised as an F-22 Raptor, bears the fuselage and tail markings of the Air Combat Command, the 1st Fighter Wing and the 71st; however, as previously noted, the 71st has not switched to the F-22.

Auto Assembly

Regular guests at the convention have included Transformers comic writer Simon Furman, artists Andrew Wildman, Lee Sullivan, Geoff Senior, Simon Williams, and colourist Jason Cardy.

Autobot

In the Michael Bay live action films as well as in the CGI-animated series Transformers: Prime, the title Autobots is explained to be the short version of the title Autonomous Robotic Organisms.

Battlestar

Battlestars: Return of Convoy, the penultimate part of the Japanese Transformers continuity

Breakthrough role

Another example is the 2007 film Transformers which marked the breakout role for actress Megan Fox - enabling her to grow from being a co-star to a lead role in the 2009 film Jennifer's Body.

Buster Jones

He is probably best known from his roles as Black Vulcan in Super Friends, Blaster in The Transformers, Doc in G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero and Winston Zeddemore in The Real Ghostbusters (replacing Arsenio Hall) and later Extreme Ghostbusters.

Closing credits

On other occasions additional scenes to advance the storyline (as in Wild Things, and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End), influence or guide the viewers to a possible outcome of the film's conclusion (as in WALL-E) or set up sequels (as in Transformers and Iron Man) may occur after the credits roll.

David Slack

He has written and/or produced on such shows as Law & Order, Lie to Me, In Plain Sight, Teen Titans, Jackie Chan Adventures, Generator Rex, Transformers: Prime, and more recently, Person of Interest.

Destron

Predacon or Destron, a faction from Beast Wars: Transformers

Ekeberg Line

In addition, six trailers were built from Hannoversche Waggonfabrik (HaWA) The delivery of new rolling stock required a new depot building at Holtet, two new electric arc transformers and a ticket price increase.

Electric power system

One of Westinghouse's engineers, William Stanley, recognised the problem with connecting transformers in series as opposed to parallel and also realised that making the iron core of a transformer a fully enclosed loop would improve the voltage regulation of the secondary winding.

Flavor text

Flavor text was popularized by the dossiers of 1980s toys, primarily G.I. Joe filecards and Transformers tech-specs, but is now more commonly associated with games such as Magic: The Gathering.

Flint Dille

He is best known for his animated work on Transformers, G.I. Joe, An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, and his game-writing, The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, and Dead to Rights, as well as his non-fiction book written with John Zuur Platten.

Jeff Kline

The series Transformers: Prime won a 2012 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program for which Jeff Kline was named for his work as executive producer.

John Benjamin Hickey

He has also appeared in Flightplan, Flags of Our Fathers, Freedom Writers, Then She Found Me, the remake of The Taking of Pelham 123, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, The Bet and Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows.

Marissa Faireborn

Marissa debuted in the 5-part mini-series "Five Faces of Darkness", travelling to Jupiter's moon, Io, in order to rescue the stranded Autobots Blurr and Wheelie.

Mudflap girl

In issue #4 of the Dreamwave Productions comic Transformers: The War Within, Optimus Prime is portrayed as having a mudflap with the silhouette of Elita One.

Nerf Blaster

Cross-promotional models have also been released, themed around Marvel Super Heroes, Star Wars, G.I. Joe and Transformers.

Optimus Primal

A recent interview with writer Tim Seeley indicated that the use of Teletran-1 by the Maximals and Predacons during the Beast Wars imprinted itself on the computer, allowing the information to be passed down to other Transformers.

Patrick Spaziante

Spaziante other works include worked on Mega Man and Transformers for Dreamwave Productions' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the miniseries Muties for Marvel Comics, and Avatar: The Last Airbender for Nickelodeon Comics, which was based on the television series of the same name.

Powermasters

Darkwing: He transforms into a Tornado jet with Throttle, and merges with Dreadwind to form Dreadwing.

Richard Duffin

1949: With Raoul Bott, "Impedance synthesis without the use of transformers", Journal of Applied Physics 20:816.

Rocket jumping

In the live-action film Transformers, the character Ironhide performs a rocket jump over a screaming woman after transforming from his truck mode.

Roger C. Carmel

Carmel voiced Smokey Bear in fire safety advertisements and Decepticon Lieutenant Cyclonus, amongst others, in the second and third seasons of the popular Transformers animated series.

Rübeland Railway

The power system used for this isolated network was not the usual German, single-phase, electrification system, 15 kV AC, 16 2/3 Hz, but single-phase, 25 kV AC, 50 Hz, which was taken from the 110-kV state electricity network at a substation at the exit to Blankenburg with the aid of transformers.

Sean Hartter

He raised his kids on a steady diet of Transformers and Akira Kurosawa films and taught them all he knew about art, music, film, literature and life.

The Transformers: Escalation

The Autobots rally to find his corpse, but the Machination prove more than ready for Jazz and Wheeljack.

Hardhead was part of Optimus' crew, first seen in Stormbringer.

The Transformers: Infiltration

Written by long-time Transformers writer Simon Furman, it is a new origin for the Generation 1 Transformers.