25 Awesome Years

Today is the Transformers 25th Anniversary. A quarter of a century ago, the first Transformers merchandise hit the stores - the first of a four issue limited series. After that, we were flooded with cartoons and toys and so much other crap that kids could live on it for decades!

I was 7 when the cartoon came out and I sunk my teeth into it and never let go. I watched a lot of other cartoons and had a ton of other toys, but none of them held my interest (or lasted long enough) to rival my love for Transformers. I would wake up at 5 in the morning just to see reruns of the cartoon - and I was in the 3rd grade! What kid wakes up that early? A kid who loves 30-minute toy commercails, that's who! When the movie first came out, I begged and pleaded for my parents to take me (and was constantly denied), but I finally saw it on video and was totally ready to get spanked because a movie I wanted had the word 'damnit' in it. Thankfully, the home version cut out the "Oh shit" line!

Cut to 1989, I'm in 7th grade and I'm still buying up Transformers everywhere I can. I go to some run down store and just then find out the Transformers have a comic book! I had never read a comic in my life before then so imagine my durprise that Transfomrers had a whole life there, even after the cartoon had ended. I snatched it up and immediately got a subscription and ordered every back issue I could (I still haven't gotten the whole series, though I check the comic shops everytime I go there).

After the series got cancelled, I truly believed Transformers to be dead. I had a huge lump in my throat as I read the last issue. But then I saw a commercial for Generation 2 and mistakenly thought it was for the comic book and not a repackaged Generation 1. I was still hyped about the resergence, no matter how short it lasted.

By thte time Beast Wars came around, I had been in the Air Force for a year. It didn't matter to me that I was considered an adult now, I was ecstatic that a new series of Transformers was out. I had just gotten married and my wife watched (probably with embarrassment) as I'd play with my toys while watching the cartoon. I didn't care, I loved the new series because it was growing up and maturing with me.

Shortly after all that, my modest collection of toys was stolen during a move and I found myself a lot less upset than I thought I'd be. My collecting had kind of dwindled and I was disappointed with the Japanese dubs we were getting so I didn't follow the cartoons much. I collected all of the comics Dreamwave produced, and later the IDW ones. I also bought the boxed sets of Generation 1 and watched them a lot even though they didn't hold up as much to my memories.

Finally, some great things happened - Another freaking movie! And another American-made cartoon series! A girlfriend who likes it too and collects more than I do! So now my collection is building up again and spreading to other series (robot Heroes and Legends class stuff). I found some online forums that has sparked my interest in fan contributions and I'm planning to make my own soon. I'm proud and happy to be a fan again and really looking forward to the future of Transformers more than ever.

Transformers has been a huge part of my life almost as far back as I can remember. It's something everyone I associate with knows about me. I even had it put into my wedding in a small part. Honestly, I can't imagine what my life would have been like without it. It may sound cliche, but I truly believe it. It's something that has shaped my creativity - I started writing stories about them when I was in 6th grade and I continue to do so to this day. My love for the original cartoon even helped figure out what exactly I want to do with my life.

Happy birthday, Transformers, and thank you for all you've done for me.

Legends

I'm not a huge Transformers collector - I don't go out and buy every figure from any of the lines and I'm generally turned off by Hasbro's insistency to repaint every figure they've made. Before last year, almost every Transformer purchase since G1 has been a Megatron (and I still didn't buy every one they've released - stupid Titaniums). This last year has changed that a bit because I'm engaged to a special girl that's latched onto my collection and picked up most of the main Animated line - except the repaints, of course.

But since the 25th Anniversary, I've found myself rabidly collecting the Legends class. I even got the Target exclusive 5-packs. The toys are cheap and really well done for their size (most of them at least); they usually have decent articulation and more elaborate transformations than just flipping the chest over the head and the legs up. Some of them are better designed than others (I'm looking at you Vector Prime/Scattershot), but I'm surprised to say my favorite so far is Wheelie. That's right, that same little guy we all used to hate, with the giant flip-up face cover and his gangly arms has evolved into an awesome figure. He may not have the best articulation or the most involved transformation, but he certainly has a great balance of both of them. He has a transformation similar to Legends Brawn, but without the letdown of his legs visible on the roof and his feet sticking down below the tires. His feet fold in for vehicle mode. It's amazing.

So Wheelie's come a long way and, in truth, the 25th Ann. Legends line has done the same for a lot of the Minibots from over 22 years ago. I would have liked to see a few more of the first wave get updates (Specifically Huffer), but it's certainly nice to see those little guys get some big love.