Toy Bender

The following article originally appeared on the Wizard Universe website. Since they purged their archives, I’m mirroring it here.

[SDCC] TRANSFORMERS TRIPLE THREAT
Hasbro, IDW and the Cartoon Network unveil new toy lines and comics and a cartoon series aimed at young children

By Paul Rudolph
For Wizard Universe.com
Posted July 28, 2007 9:50 PM

Representatives from Hasbro, IDW Publishing and Cartoon Network combined forces to discuss the future of the Transformers franchise for a panel at Comic-Con on Saturday.

IDW kicked off the panel by announcing that the Devastation series that picks up after Escalation will broaden the scope of the war on Earth, and pledged the plot will live up to the title. It was also hinted that the Galvatron and Optimus Prime Spotlight issues tie in directly to Devastation.

A Ram Jet Spotlight issue, to be penned by Stuart Moore, will tie into the New Avengers/Transformers series by Marvel and can even be considered as issue #5 of that series, according to IDW.

The announcement of a new Beast Wars series called Beast Wars Ascending was met with applause and shouts of joy from the audience. That book will hit shops sometime in October or September.

At this point the audience was asked if anyone hadn’t seen the live-action “Transformers” movie. The one woman who said she hadn’t was jokingly asked to be escorted out. This segued into IDW’s news that they will continue to do some comic tie-ins with the film. One in particular will detail the Decepticons’ journey to Earth. The comic will be a bonus pack-in with the “Transformers” DVD and will be a Target exclusive.

Hasbro took over the Transformers news with the announcement that it will continue to produce figures from the “Transformers” film. The line is called Allspark Power and it focuses more on variants of figures with a few new molds of brand-new characters. Two of the new ’bots set to be released are Landmine and Stockade, both of which were inspired by the Sector 7 Vehicles seen in the film. Landmine’s alternate vehicle is the Sector 7 dune buggy, while Stockade is the Sector 7 SUV.

One of the variant figures that met with audience approval was a red Chevy Camaro that will be the newest version of Cliff Jumper. Another variation that was popular with the crowd was First Strike Optimus, who more closely matches his G1 paint scheme than the flame-decorated version seen in the film. The Hasbro rep pointed out that in the alternate forms, each figure has blue tinting, which comes from the power of the Allspark.

More Robot Heroes releases were announced for late spring and early fall. The ultra-cute line will see more G1 figures, the addition of characters from Beast Wars, and more characters from the live-action film.

Hasbro confirmed the Classics line will return in ’08, continuing with the name Transformers Universe. The company then showed preproduction art for Sideswipe and Sunstreaker. Both characters were identical in their robot form except for their paint schemes, but it was pointed out that their chest pieces will be different in the final versions. There’s at least one new changer in the form of Octane, who has the alternate forms of a military tanker truck and a transport plane.

Hasbro then turned over the panel to the Cartoon Network team, who was there to talk about the new series “Transformers Animated,” which has a target audience of ages 6 to 11. The network representatives said it’s time to make a series for small children to bring them into the world of the Transformers, ensuring the franchise’s future.

The show’s creators said that the biggest challenge was going from a blocky look for the robots to an organic one, but the Japanese who are working with Cartoon Network in designing and animating the series were up for such a challenge, they said.

The show also promises to bring back some classics of the Transformers universe that haven’t been seen in a long time. There was a screening of footage from “Transformers: Animated” that had a rocking version of the old “Transformers theme.” The show has elements of G1 Transformers and the live-action film. It features a ragtag group of Autobots who are looked down upon by the elite Autobots of Cybertron. Optimus Prime is not the leader of all the Autobots; rather, his rank is more the equivalent to that of a captain. He answers to a commander and even has a rival. The creators promised that the show will be filled with things from the Transformers universe that many fans have forgotten about.

It was also revealed that the Dinobots will return along with Arcee, who looks very close to her G1 appearance. The voice of Arcee will be provided by the original actress, Sue Blu. Corey Burton, who was the voice of Spike in the original cartoon, is also returning, this time as Megatron and Ratchet. The producers hinted that Spike might make a return as well. One new character that the production team is particularly excited about is Lockdown, who was described as the series’ Boba Fett and is voiced by popular sci-fi actor Lance Henriksen.

Toys based on the new animated series were also shown. The animated versions of the popular Dinobots Slag and Grimlock were greeted with applause. The new Soundwave is a boxy, Scion-like vehicle that comes with an electric guitar, which turns into Laserbeak.