Transformers
Architects Of My Childhood and Fandom
by Phil Perich for the Capes and Lunatics Blog
I’ve been seeing more and more articles on the Transformers lately, probably due to the recent release of the Transformers: Last Knight movie. This got me thinking about how much the Transformers not only shaped my childhood but also my entertainment interests for most of my life. And most of their success probably wouldn’t have been possible without Marvel Comics as I’ve recently learned.
Originally planned as a four issues limited series, Transformers #1 was cover dated September, 1984.
Transformers #1 (September 1984)
I originally believed that the Hasbro company just gave all the info and ideas for their toy line to Marvel Comics and just expected them to come up with an original story. But from what I have recently read, the job was even bigger than that, with several writers coming up with the names and backstories for the characters. When I originally read the comic as a child, I thought the comics just adapted the story of the Transformers trip to Earth from the cartoon, but that was also a creation of the minds at Marvel.
And that’s where the Transformers changed my life for the better. I was always a voracious reader, early on just reading whatever books I could get from the school library, mostly some old Hardy Boys mysteries. Then after watching the Transformers cartoon I discovered the comics and my future was set. The storytelling in the comics captured my attention and imagination much more than the more simplistic plots of the cartoon did. Most of humanity trusted the heroic Autobots as much as their rivals the evil Decepticons, which was not at all. The series proved so popular that the limited series became an ongoing. Issue #4 ended the way none of the cartoon episodes would, with the Decepticon Shockwave arriving to defeat all the Autobots and hang them in their own headquarters like metal sides of beef the next issue.
Transformers #5
Of course the Autobots would eventually escape and triumph. But the comic would continue to push the boundaries of great storytelling going beyond anything the cartoon could or would do, from original storylines such as the hitman who used Megatron as the ultimate weapon. But the biggest original elements of the comics were the humans who chose to fight these gigantic alien robots. There was the US governmentgroup RAAT (Rapid Anti-robot Assault Team) who made it there job to capture or destroy any and all Transformers. But the one who stuck out the most in my mind was Circuit Breaker. After a Deception attack, computer programmer Josie Beller was paralyzed, but used her skills to not only design metal armor that would let her walk again, but battle the Transformers hand to hand, one on one.
Transformers #9
And the comics also made tragic heroic figures of characters that were little more than a joke on the cartoon, like the Autobot Blaster. Blaster was one of my favorite characters from the original Marvel run but was later killed off thanks to an overabundance of characters to pull from. Strong, heroic and brave, standing up to Grimlock when the Dinobot leader took control of the Atuobots after Optimus Prime’s death and forbade them from helping humanity. Not bad for a character that transformed into a boombox.
Blaster
The Transformers even introduced me to one of my other “loves”, the Marvel Comics Universe in general. Issue #3 guest starred the Amazing Spider-Man in his new (at that time) black suit. While it seems like a weird team-up, just about every Marvel character has encountered Spider-Man at one time or another, this also gave the Transformers some comic book legitimacy in my eyes.
Transformers #3
Even though the comic forged it’s own path in so many respects, it also took a few cues from the cartoon. When Optimus Prime is killed in the animated movie, he was also killed off in the comic, two different times before the series ended.
Transformers #24
But as he died twice, Prime returned from the great beyond, the second resurrection just in time for the last issue. And just like Optimus Prime the Transformers would return again and again in comics, movies and toys.
Which characters, TV shows, movies or other forms of fiction changed your life? Let me know!
nightwingpdp@gmail.com & capesandlunatics@gmail.com
@Nightwingpdp & @CapesLunatics on Twitter
You can hear me discussing all things TV, movie, comics, music, gaming and more every week with my friends on the Capes and Lunatics Podcast. You can find my podcast, blog and those of others at www.southgatemediagroup.com. You can also find all my creative endeavors at www.philperich.wordpress.com.