GT-R Megatron and Noa (2013)

Over the almost 40 years of the Transformers franchise, and the literally thousands of toys created over that span of time, and the dozens (if not hundreds) of different alternate modes those toys have taken, it perhaps goes without saying that the automobile remains the most common alternate mode in the franchise. That said, it remains comparatively uncommon for an automobile-mode Transformer to be a Decepticon, rather than an Autobot, and even less common for such a Decepticon to use an automobile alternate mode that is not only a real type of car (as opposed to something made up, usually to avoid having to pay for intellectual property rights), but a specific real world automobile! GT-R Megatron is indeed an example of this uncommon occurrence.

Not Your Father's Autobot - Episode #9 - Transformers: Generation 2 issue #9

For this episode of Not Your Father's Autobot, we're discussing Transformers: Generation 2 issue #9, cover dated July, 1994. This issue can be found reprinted via the Transformers: Rage in Heaven paperback, which may be purchased via Amazon. Listeners may also wish to try to find a copy of either the collected paperback or the issue itself via eBay (purchases through these links do not support the podcast in any way). 

Masterpiece Lambor G-2 Version (G2 Sideswipe, 2012)

As my brother Nick and I have spent the past year doing Not Your Father's Autobot, one of the things we've often commented upon is the incongruity created by the fact that the comic nominally focused on Generation 2 features so few of the actual toys from that line. One notable exception to this is Sideswipe, who from the first issue was featured in his distinctive G2 color scheme. When the Masterpiece line chose to homage this toy with "Lambor G-2 version" (using the Japanese names for Sideswipe and G2, respectively), they went a step further, not only homaging the G2 toy, but specifically the character's depiction in the comic.

Siege Refraktor (2019)

Trademark concerns strike again!

Transformers fans have long had to accept that the names created for certain characters in another era don't always meet the intellectual property concerns of today, and that sometimes a familiar character is going to come out as a new toy with a different name. So it is that we got "Refraktor" in the early part of the Siege segment of the War for Cybertron trilogy in 2019. Long time fans will recognize that this is intended to be "Reflector," who had made appearances in the early days of the original 1980s Transformers cartoon (even though his toy was relegated to mail order status several years later, having been held back from the retail market due to what must have been a late decision by Hasbro). I'm not sure what changed since 2016, when BotCon Reflector was released with the original name (as several other Reflector homages had done in the years immediately previous), but it has long been understood that made-up names are easier to protect than common words, so perhaps Hasbro was just being extra careful this time around.

Nezha Power-Up Pack (2019)

As I've described in the past, most Transformers fall into one of two categories: 1) toys available in North America through Hasbro, 2) toys available in Japan through TakaraTomy. This toy is an exception. That's not such a big deal, in and of itself. There are quite a few Transformers that don't properly fall into one of those two main categories. Even so, I'd argue that this toy is somewhat distinctive even amongst those exceptions. Nezha has a history that is perhaps unique among Transformers, and the full story is possibly still waiting to be told (although at this point, whether or not it will remains uncertain).

We'll Be Back!

The month of October is proving to be a complex one, and I find that I need to take a short break to get caught up on other priorities. I apologize for the delay, but I'm moving all plans ahead four weeks (including the roughly-monthly episode drops of Not Your Father's Autobot). Expect to find another post here on November 10th, with the next episode of Not Your Father's Autobot now scheduled for December 12th.

In the meantime, you can find all of the episodes that have already been posted (including our recent coverage of issue #8 of Transformers: Generation 2) here.

Not Your Father's Autobot - Episode #8 - Transformers: Generation 2 issue #8

For this episode of Not Your Father's Autobot, we're discussing Transformers: Generation 2 issue #8, cover dated June, 1994. This issue can be found reprinted via the Transformers: Rage in Heaven paperback, which may be purchased via Amazon. Listeners may also wish to try to find a copy of either the collected paperback or the issue itself via eBay (purchases through these links do not support the podcast in any way).