The 10 Biggest Transformers News Stories of 2024

[@R0-83-RT]

Watching this video it feels like 2024 for Transformers can be summed up as "This is amazing....but"

[@JasonX0659]

I saw Transformers One on a Saturday morning in IMAX! The only thing missing was a bowl of cereal and some pajamas!

[@Cry-byte]

It is so refreshing to have someone always stand up for Earthspark against people who only hate on it for all the wrong reasons. Not even a favorite show of mine, but the "what a wonderful word for a wonderful experience" scene that has unfortunately become infamous due to bigoted reactions was so touching to me and made me tear up. It's very obvious that the show is written with a whole lot of sincerity, thought and love. (Not speaking for the 2nd season though, been very hesitant to watch it.)

[@mayday2237]

It's not BAD but it is a step down

[@Cry-byte]

​@@mayday2237 You mean season 2? Realized my comment was badly worded and should have said "finish it," I think I got to just before Prowl appears, about halfway through? So far feeling it's been a mostly fun watch but lacking the substance and heart of s1, especially don't like that they've backpedalled on the nuanced take of the decepticons. Definitely plan to get to it eventually though to fully decide for myself. "It's not BAD, but..." is probably the most positive opinion I've heard of it lmao, but definitely agree with you so far.

[@cybersilver5816]

Hasbro is shoring up all their resources for the next couple years because they are at risk of losing their Disney licenses. They're preparing to take a big hit, which is why Transformers is both doing major fan service (making the 13) while also playing it safe (AotP isn't a trilogy, unified packaging, no longer funding movies in favor of things that will get them through this potentially difficult time) At least, I assume that is what is happening. It's just my speculation

[@EternityKingdomsHeadHoncho]

Add on the financial failures of the DND movie, the Snake Eyes movie, and the last two Transformers movies, and you’ve got a very accurate assessment of where Hasbro is right now.

[@samurexatlas7373]

@@EternityKingdomsHeadHoncho As someone who hasn't played DND I felt the movie was fun. I will say that now for all to hear.

[@sh1nyman483]

@@samurexatlas7373 I think a lot of people who saw the DND movie enjoyed it, it's just that it wasn't as profitable as hoped (like Transformers One).

[@ahmallama47]

@@samurexatlas7373 as someone who HAS played dnd, it is a very fun movie, people just didnt go out to see it sadly. everyone who did seemed to enjoy it from what i hear

[@LEGONERD06]

@@samurexatlas7373its generaly agreed that the movie was good but the marketing was awfull. So basicly what happened to tf one

[@AjCollison]

I’m not sure if this has been said yet, but if anybody wants to watch earthspark and doesn’t wanna pay the Paramount+ fee. Netflix has the first 18 episodes and the next couple seasons might show up in a later date

[@lawtan9256]

They have kept season 1 of Prime as well

[@HellofromOrange]

2024 was really a massive year for this franchise

[@FireFury190]

I’d also say two others reasons why TF One bombed was because none of the trailers gave you a good idea on what the main plot of the film was about. All it told you was that Optimus and Megatron used to be friends and a ton of cool scenes with no context as to what’s happening. Then you have the fact that the live action films already gave audiences a false impression on what the brand is. That being a serious action war series. When for the most part TF isn’t really that most of the time. So to go into a film that’s dramatically different to that style turned people away. If this was the first film since the 86 movie we wouldn’t have this issue since there wouldn’t be that expectation.

[@Alexisilver]

A small footnote to include with Age of the Primes; the toy line is getting chopped from four waves to three

[@samurexatlas7373]

But that seems to be making it BETTER, wave 1 came out swinging

[@cybersilver5816]

They also said higher production numbers to compensate, so hopefully no more missing 4th members of combiner teams (*cough cough* Breakdown)

[@TJOmega]

But the waves no longer have fillers from previous lines, meaning we're getting just as many toys. So I didn't see it as a big deal, just them cleaning up the distribution.

[@haydenreviewscustomcombos]

I can’t wait to see the intro to the full version of Project Star-catcher.

[@bennewbury2572]

That’s goes double for me

[@samurexatlas7373]

It's a V-Tuber it looks? Maybe lore to accompany it? We know TJ has VTuber friends, and looks up to Ironmouse. It's not impossible.

[@TJOmega]

Yes, it's a Vtuber project, and yes, there is copious amounts of lore I will be gradually releasing.

[@haydenreviewscustomcombos]

@@TJOmega can’t wait for the eventual release.

[@haydenreviewscustomcombos]

The sky bound, Transformers comics deserve a hardcover collectors edition.

[@harrisonwhaley7872]

Well the Strong Museum of Play isn’t a Toy Hall of Fame explicitly. It’s a museum of play, therefore things that aren’t toys are included like the balloon

[@WA_Stokins]

As someone who lives in Rochester, it's AWESOME to see Strong Museum giving Transformers some love.

[@haydenreviewscustomcombos]

Going forward, Transformers should be a Tubi exclusive. More people probably have Tubi TV rather than Paramount+.

[@Richy_Rockman8386]

Tubi was actually how I found the unicron trilogy and beast wars.

[@haydenreviewscustomcombos]

@ you know, Tubi TV was actually how I originally found all three seasons of Transformers prime, after I had bought the second and third seasons from Amazon, and was watching the first season on Netflix.

[@therussianwanderer4851]

24:09 Yeah, do a video about the possibilities of it.

[@TheACcam]

Dont forget with Omega Prime there were people super angry that the Haslab, which was supposed to celebrate the 40th anniversary, turned out to be a toy from what most consider a low tier filler series. Lets in get into the "we were told that Optimus Prime would never be in a Haslab".

[@davewire87]

Astral Agent Magnetar is definitely giving me Hyper Agent Gridman vibes.

[@Bladebreaker08]

I think one of the biggest things was Masterpiece ending and being taken over by MPG….

[@bigconvoy9850]

earthspark made me yearn for a cool kick ass transformers show similar to the style of that 40th anniversary anime short we got recently. Man all we want is something kickass.

[@tmntman3086]

Interesting video and opinions. But I'd like to play a bit of devil's advocate to a couple of the thoughts you gave. 1: The Toy Hall of Fame I think it is entirely reasonable for it to take this many years for Transformer to make it into the THOF. I say that only because the strength of Transformers brand isn't solely from the toys. I don;t even think it is predominately from the toys. The Transformers brand has been around for 40 years. But as a toy line, the G1 line wasn't original. There were other robots that convert to cars/other items toys on the market before them. (Transformers itself was just an amalgamation of multiple preexisting toy lines for the first two years.) The real value of G1 was in the mythology that was created around it both by Marvel in creating the basic idea and characters and then running the comic for so many years, the cartoon, and perhaps most importantly, the movie. Killing Optimus Prime made what should have been an hour or so of mindless summer distraction into a major life event in a huge number of children's lives. But none of that is the toys. When you focus on the toys themselves, G1 Transformers were ambitious. But very few of the toys came anywhere near the promise of a toy that was both an action figure and a vehicle. Most were vehicles which could take the form of an action figure shaped brick. Now they did get better. But if you want to ask how so many other toys made it into the hall of fame before Transformers, take a look at Missing Link Convoy and Legacy United G1 Optimus where both Takara and Hasbro recognized that they were finally able to deliver on the Optimus toy kids dreamed of 40 years ago. Now take a look at how little a Rubik's cube has changed in a fifty year time period. Now tell me that, judged strictly as a toy, the Transformers were better. 2: John Warden and his focus on G1 I've noticed that you have mentioned in several videos when talking about John Warden that you also mention how some of the fan base feels he was to G1 focused. To your credit, you've remained fairly impartial on the topic to the point that I don't actually know if you feel that way as well or not. But as the sentiment has been mentioned repeatedly in various videos of yours, I'd like to present a rebuttal. I was/am a fan of the G1 license, though my exposure was largely from the comics, starting with Marvel, then G2 Marvel, Dreamwave and the full runs of IDW. Post Transformers RID (2001), my interest in the Transformers toy lines became VERY sporadic. And a lot of what did catch my attention/wallet were attempts to revisit G1 characters. So Combiner Wars which appeared to be an actual whole hearted return of the characters I had followed for close to 30 years at that point, that is what got me interested in Transformers again to the point of actually buying more than one or two per year. I have greatly enjoyed being able to assemble a modern recreation of the original line. As for the idea that they are too focused on G1. I'd just like to point out that outside of the handful of core characters which retailers want to see repeatedly, Hasbro hasn't really been repeating G1 characters that much since the start of Titans Return. And even with all of that, they still haven't covered all of the G1 line. So to those naysayers, be patient, your time will come. G1 fans waited 30+ years for this. 3: Omega Prime as a HasLab offering This isn't specific to Omega Prime, as I've heard much the same complaints about most HasLabs and crowd funding in general. But I think this is a great example of what we lost with the loss of Toys R Us and dedicated toy stores in general. And support from the remaining large retailers isn't great. In my area, there are 11 Target and Walmart stores within a 10 mile radius of my home. Of those stores, ZERO carry titan class Transformers. And only one carries Commander Class. Unless we see some sort of return of dedicated toy stores that would carry larger items like this just to stand out in the market, I can fully understand why manufacturers are having to find new ways to get such products into consumers' hands.

[@lynngreen7978]

Hopefully, there will be more Generations, and more combiners, since we have Devastator, Menasor, and Bruticus, vs Superion.

[@Arrabbiata-o9t]

If I had to give one criticism to the Skybound comics, it's become a little too kill happy with recent issues. The death of Bumblebee set an unfortunate precedent, as it seems like big name characters seem to get killed every other issue. It sucks because the comics have some great takes on the older characters, such as my favorite character Arcee, where the comic very nicely blends the friendliness and motherly aspect of the G1 incarnation with the tragedy and edge of her Prime incarnate. But I just can't get invested in the comics knowing that there's a good chance that she might be the next one to bite the dust in future issues.

[@R0-83-RT]

My 1 critique would be the alternative cover art for issue 13 that used Ai.

[@WillisWheeler]

They should brought it out in the summertime . The studio was scared of deadpool.

[@WillisWheeler]

Sky bound comics are great because it went back to basics .

[@lynngreen7978]

Warden might be under a non-compete clause

[@harrisonwhaley7872]

If they made any budget cuts along with the layoffs, we will see it when Age of The Primes ends… I really hope we don’t see another Fall of Cybertron

[@FireFury190]

I’ll never understand the problem with people saying the first trailer made it look like a kids film. THIS IS A KIDS MOVIE WHAT ARE YOU ALL TALKING ABOUT? The problem wasn’t the tone because plenty of kids films that have similar trailers to this one and end up actually being very deep still do very well. And Transformers has always been a brand that is aimed at kids. Hell Earthspark and other TF shows are just as kiddy as that trailer. I also think many people seem to forget a lot of animated kids films are marketed this way. Comedic first trailer, more in depth 2nd trailer.

[@Puzzledtraveller]

Where in the heck is our Omega Prime, they should have shipped already.

[@Arthus850]

Just be patient. They never gave a guaranteed time for when it would arrive. Better to be delayed but good than rushed and underwhelming.

[@SamanthaS92]

Wasn’t the estimated ship date always late 2025? 😅

[@FireFury190]

I disagree on them advertising more of the seriousness and heart because you’d end up spoiling those big moments in the trailer. Which are meant to be surprises for the audience expecting something different. A lot of Disney films are like that.

[@MikeD974]

My problem with Omega Prime is if I want it I'm gonna pay way more then it's worth because Haslab doesn't care about Canada which by now it ridiculous it's more money they are losing out on not including us here

[@ivanprime93]

Hasbro doesn't care about the rest of us non Americans either

[@masterdeity3400]

over $700 for him in Australia through EBgames.

[@MikeD974]

@masterdeity3400 wow that's crazy

[@Andyjoe522]

I have to wonder if push back against the Omega Prime Haslab in any way influenced the new direction Titan class has taken. Main thing making me think not is that Star Optimus was probably in the works already when Omega Prime was announced, and I don't know if they design process is flexible enough for the them to have changed Star Optimus in any meaningful way in the just under a year between the Haslab's reveal and its reveal.

[@eoinkenny2857]

If you give Earthspark a chance its good the best since prime

[@tymenvarela4211]

Anyone else bothered by the fact that we're not getting a Zeta prime at all? He's part of the 13 after all

[@masterdeity3400]

In some versions he isn't, notice how Nova Prime isn't a part as well. It's because there are some interchangeable members.

[@lawtan9256]

I think 🤔 that the discussion about Earthspark is interesting. I thankfully havent seen the "inclusion" discussions. I thought it was failing because the toys look so terrible. I wish hasbro would have another TF Prime situation where the main line had a good piece of fiction on TV. Those earthspark toys are clogging space in stores everywhere

[@AndersGears]

My biggest news is no more transformers movies.

[@samurexatlas7373]

No more Hasbro funding. Doesn't mean nothing

[@AndersGears]

@@samurexatlas7373 So like the old howard the duck where they only got the name of the main character?

[@samurexatlas7373]

@@AndersGears I don't know. Likely Hasbro will oversee but not cash into any films.

[@SamanthaS92]

@@samurexatlas7373who’s gonna pay to make movies to sell Hasbro toys if not Hasbro? Um, no one… correct! 😅

[@samurexatlas7373]

@@SamanthaS92 It was never just Hasbro, Paramount was also putting stake into the films.

[@krimsonklaww611]

Optimus: "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings" Some random bigot: "got it! *Immediately turns around and starts whispering* he said non-binaries are bad"

[@harrisonwhaley7872]

Paramount is absolutely not capable of marketing One better. They literally used the exact same first trailer AGAIN when they advertised it was on streaming. The same stupid song and same stupid bee jokes in the final push to maybe recoup some losses

[@jackblackrosedragon9325]

I was mistaken lol. Bad research.

[@jackblackrosedragon9325]

More like no research lol. Apologies everyone.

[@francescobattiante7351]

Rather than be against woke culture, people could just disagree with it and ignore the show. We agree to disagree, that's all.

[@Trebleshot]

I would hope that the negative views of Earthspark you mention are a vocal minority. But I'm cynical and have a low opinion of the human race in general. I will always refer to the MIB quote regarding the difference between a person and people. I do have some issues with Earthspark, though I liked the first season. But those issues have nothing to do with the human cast's ethnicity or the presense of non-binary characters. Animated had it's fair share of vocal critics when it came out and year later it's touted as one of the best (rightfully so). Maybe we will see what time does for Earthspark.

[@RialVestro]

I don't think there was a fatigue of Transformers movies in general. There was a fatigue of Transformers movies that don't actually look like Transformers movies. I was tired of the "Micheal Bay" designs that even when he wasn't directing anymore we still got in the Bumblebee movie and Rise of the Beasts. I was tired of Transformers that aren't recognizable as Transformers. I wasn't expecting Transformers One to be another movie like we've gotten before because for the first time in YEARS the Transformers actually look like Transformers. This is the only Transformers movie I've ever been truly excited for. It's really just a matter of people are tired of the Celebrity actors being hired because they're big names rather than hiring actual Voice actors who can play the characters. And I don't think it needed to be Peter Cullen, there are a lot of voice actors who could fill that role but hearing Chris Hemsworth voice in the trailers rather than the Optimus Prime voice was really distracting. It's not as bad in the actual movie and what the trailer doesn't show us is that he can do the Optimus Prime voice. Same thing for Megatron. I'm not as attached to Megatron sounding a certain way because every Megatron sounds different anyway, Brian Tyree Henry had a lot more freedom to make it his own and he did an amazing job. I love this movie so much. There use to be a time when Hasbro would make the same character design at multiple different price points knowing full well not everyone can afford the big expensive figures but it seems like Hasbro is less willing to do that anymore. That's the part I'm not happy about. It's not that it should be Retail or Haslab, do both and make everyone happy.

[@haydenreviewscustomcombos]

I just don’t want the identity of characters like nightshade to be politicized, and if I hadn’t seen that half of it to begin with, I would’ve been more open. From now on, I will be.

[@KRBrickBot]

Nightshade's identity is an owl transformer who's an inventor and scientist.

[@EL-uj1pl]

Nightshade is a textbook study in how petty bigotry is. Tourists coming in to bash on them even though they'd never seen the show should say enough.

[@cybersilver5816]

​@@EL-uj1ploof I've spent too much time in fandoms knowing what you mean by tourist.

[@haydenreviewscustomcombos]

@ the pronouns thing was something I had to get used to.

[@RockinRhinox]

I'm pretty sure Age of the Primes was planned to be a two year line even before Warden was brought back. I remember Mark posting something about a big change in 2027 last winter so I think they just realized Warden was redundant and let him go.

[@Teletran35]

lol it wasn't the ethnicecity It was the wokeness