Although initially a separate and competing line of toys, Tonka's Gobots became the intellectual property of Hasbro after their buyout of Tonka in 1991. Subsequently, the universe depicted in the animated series Challenge of the GoBots and follow-up film GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords was established as an alternate universe within the Transformers multiverse.[3] While Hasbro now owns the fictional side of the property (character names, bios, storyline), the actual toys and their likenesses were only licensed from Bandai in the 1980s, were not covered by the Tonka acquisition, and are not available for Hasbro use.
History
The GoBot toy line was based on figures produced by Popy of Japan (the now-defunct character division of Bandai), named Machine Robo.[2] In another similarity to Transformers, Tonka decided to make the figures sentient robots, rather than human-piloted mecha as they had been in Japan, and divided them into two factions – the good Guardians and evil Renegades (although early figures were simply described as ‘Friendly’ or ‘Enemy’ on the packaging). The figures were all given individual names, in contrast to the simple designations they received in Japan.[4][5]
Introduced in 1983 by Tonka Inc., the GoBots toys were part of the robot "sensation" that swept the nation for a short time.[6][7][8][9]
The line sold well initially but was overtaken by Transformers. 1987 was the final year in which new Gobots were released. In 1991, Hasbro acquired the GoBots range from Tonka Inc.[10]
Releases
Tonka released the first batch of figures to stores in 1983, one year prior to the Transformers. The bulk of the Gobot line was taken from the Machine Robo "600 Series" line of figures, which were around 5–8cm / 2-3 inches high on average. The robot figures transformed into a mixture of generic and specific contemporary machines, plus a handful of Second World War fighter aircraft, and a number of futuristic designs. This unnamed assortment, usually referred to as "Regular" Gobots, was used throughout the four years Gobots were produced and was later supplemented by figures from the Machine Robo Devil Invaders sub-line, plus some aborted Machine Robo figures and some commissioned from Bandai by Tonka.
Larger figures, averaging around 12–15cm (5-6 inches) tall in robot mode, were released as Super Gobots. Some of these were drawn from the Machine Robo Scale Robo DX line, some from the MR Big Machine Robo line (these included larger versions of Leader-1, the Guardian leader, and Cy-Kill, the Renegade leader) and some designs not released in Japan. The line also included two gestalt-style figures, the car-based Puzzler and monster-based Monsterous.
Several other ranges were drawn from existing Bandai figures (such as the Secret Riders [11]).
Tonka did design some toys for the line, including the Guardian Command Center and Renegade Thruster playsets, and the motorized Renegade Zod. In addition to these, two versions of the Power Warrior were made for both the Guardians and the Renegades, using molds from the Machine Robo line and recolored. The Nemesis Power Warrior used a tank for the center body and was released only in Japan. A large playset called the Gobotron Fortress was also shown to have existed in various articles and catalogues, but it has never been released.
Cover to #2 of the Gobots comic series by IDW Publishing. Art by Tom Scioli.
Hanna-Barbera produced a cartoon series called Challenge of the GoBots to promote the toy line, which ran for 65 22-minute episodes from 1984 to 1985.[12] In 1986, soon after the end of the Challenge of the Gobots television series, the Gobots co-starred with the Rock Lords in an animated feature film GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords, again produced by Hanna-Barbera.[13]
In 1984, two Gobot children's books were published by Golden Books, an imprint of Western Publishing. The books, titled War of the Gobots and Gobots on Earth, were written by Robin Snyder and illustrated by Steve Ditko, and chronicled the origins of the Gobots. The Gobots were also featured in the 1986 book Collision Course Comet - Robo Machine Featuring The Challenge Of The Gobots and the 1985 book The Wagner Sirens-Robo Machine Featuring The Challenge Of The Gobots, both of which were published by Egmont Books.
The closest thing to a Gobot comic book was the Gobots Magazine, produced by Telepictures Publishing. This included a short comic strip, based on the Challenge of the GoBots cartoon continuity, as well as features on real-life robots, quiz pages and the like. It ran quarterly from winter 1986 to winter 1987, managing five issues. Unlike the Transformers comics, it was aimed at a very young readership.
In the UK, a Robo Machines comic strip was produced, using many of the characters from the Gobot line, but following a different continuity than the cartoon. This was written by Tom Tully, and ran in the second volume of Eagle from November 1984 to July 1985. After Fleetway discontinued their licence agreement, the property was leased to World Distributors, who produced annuals following the cartoon continuity in 1986 and 1987.
A Gobots video game was released in 1986 by Ariolasoft for the Commodore 64,[14]Amstrad CPC, and ZX Spectrum[15][16] computer formats. Gobots software for other computers, home video game systems or coin-operated arcade game systems is unknown at this time.
It was announced that Hasbro has applied for a new Go-Bots trademark (this is not a renewal) under "distribution of motion pictures, ongoing television programs" and "Toys, games and playthings, namely, toy vehicles and accessories for use therewith.[17]
In October 2018, IDW began publishing a Go-Bots mini series written and illustrated by Tom Scioli.[18]
Unlike Transformers, Gobots was released in several guises around the world.
In the UK, France and a number of other European countries, Bandai released the figures as Robo Machine, utilising most of the Tonka names. Later on, when the Challenge of the Gobots cartoon arrived, this was changed, or modified (often resulting in clumsy branding such as Robo Machines featuring Challenge of the Gobots or Challenge of the Gobots - A Robo Machine Production).
In Australia, the line was released as Machine Men. The Machine Men name had been used also by Bandai in an item to market Machine Robo in America in early 1984, but after issuing six figures the line failed. However, Bandai's Australian release was successful enough to retain the Machine Men branding, which was even added to the cartoon when that began airing.
In Brazil, the line was initially produced by Glasslite as Mutante. The license was later taken over by Mimo.
It was also translated into Arabic and retitled Hikayat alamaliqa, or A Tale of Giants.
In Japan, Bandai opted to keep with the Machine Robo line, rather than importing the Gobots due to licensing issues.
Transformers
In 1991, Hasbro took over Tonka, and thus the Gobot trademarks; the molds for the action figures remain the property of Bandai, having only been leased to Tonka, and some were reissued in 1993 for the European Robo Machines line. Since then, the trademarks have been used several times — a character called Gobots was released in 1993, a range of figures in 1995 was called the Go-Bots, and Hasbro subsidiary Playskool issued a line named Transformers: Gobots in 2002. To this date, there have been a few exclusives referencing GoBots, but they have all been recolors of other Transformer molds as opposed to new figures. Examples of this are the Transformers 2007 movie-themed Fracture (based on Crasher) and Backtrack (based on Night Ranger; unreleased, but shown in promotional materials) and Revenge of the Fallen figures Deadlift (based on Spoons) and Reverb (based on Dart). Also, Botcon 2007 Bugbite, an off-white repaint of Classics Bumblebee, was released as the second Bug Bite toy in Transformers. The first Bug Bite was a Japanese-exclusive white repaint of Generation 1 Bumblebee which retained Bug Bites VW Beetle vehicle mode. The color change to white was due to Bumblebee and Bug Bite sharing the colors yellow and black in their original competing releases.
The name Leader-1 was reused for Transformers Armada Megatron's mini-con in 2002.
While Hasbro has used current toy technology to update their G1 Transformer characters over the years, it is unlikely that Gobots will receive similar treatment, as the molds—and thus, the original character designs—belong to Bandai.
In 1995, a line of Transformers called Go-Bots (small, Matchbox-sized car Transformers which had racing axles) were released, including Bumblebee, Double Clutch, High Beam, Ironhide, Megatron, Mirage, Optimus Prime, Soundwave, Sideswipe, and Frenzy. Of the 6 molds produced, 15 Go-Bot characters were released, including the 1995 BotCon convention exclusive figure, Nightracer (a recoloring of Go-Bot Bumblebee). Subsequent uses of these molds were renamed Spy Changers.
Gearhead was used to demonstrate the Hasbro Go-Bots line at Toy Fair 1995. They were described by the pitch-man as "The all-new, most mind-blowing, laser-slashing, robot-bashing product line ever!" [19]
Guillermo Gutierrez in the 2018 film Bumblebee (film) asks the protagonist Charlie Watson if the Transformers are like the fictional toy line Gobots in a deleted scene on the Blu-Ray. The film is set in 1987.
Kenner Products, known simply as Kenner, was an American toy company founded in 1946. Throughout its history, the Kenner brand produced several highly recognizable toys and merchandise lines including action figures like the original series of Star Wars, Jurassic Park and Batman as well as die cast models. The company was closed and merged by its corporate parent Hasbro in 2000.
Transformers is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the heroic Autobots and the villainous Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms, such as vehicles and animals. The franchise encompasses toys, animation, comic books, video games and films. As of 2011, it generated more than ¥2 trillion in revenue, making it one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time.
Soundwave is a fictional robot character appearing in various Transformers continuity lines within the Transformers franchise. His most well-known disguise is that of a micro cassette recorder. Throughout most of his incarnations, he is an underlying loyal lieutenant of the Decepticon leader Megatron. He is commonly depicted as Megatron's communications officer and in some interpretations, only speaks when mocking the Autobots.
Jetfire is the name of several fictional characters from the Transformers franchise. He is almost always depicted as an Autobot with flight capabilities and a jet or space shuttle as an alternate mode. In some continuities he is a former Decepticon.
Machine Robo: Revenge of Cronos, known in France as La Revanche des GoBots, is a Japanese anime television series produced by Ashi Productions. It ran on TV Tokyo from July 3, 1986, through May 28, 1987.
GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords is a 1986 American animated science fiction action film based on the GoBots line of toys. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and released to theaters in 1986 by Clubhouse Pictures, the last film the company released. It featured the first appearance of the Rock Lords, who were given their own toyline after the film.
Sideswipe is a fictional robot character in the Transformers series.
Cliffjumper is the name of several fictional characters from the Transformers franchise. His name is usually associated with an Autobot whose toys are often red repaints or remold of Bumblebee toys.
Machine Robo is a Japanese transforming robot toyline first released in 1982 by Popy, a division of Bandai, then later by Bandai proper. The franchise was marketed as Robo Machine in Europe and Machine Men in Australia. A large portion of these toys were exported to North America as part of Tonka's Gobots series, which began in 1983.
The Transformers: Generation 2 was a Transformers toy line that ran from 1992–1994, in conjunction with a corresponding comic book series and edited reruns of the original cartoon beginning in 1993. The prior Transformer television series, comic books and toys became known as 'Generation 1' or G1 retroactively, and are now officially referred to as such by toymaker Hasbro. Generation 2 was discontinued as the first Beast Wars: Transformers toys began hitting the shelves.
Robo Machine was a European transforming robot toyline released by Bandai from 1982 to 1988. Robo Machines was a short-lived revival from late 1992 to 1993. The line was initially a European release of the Machine Robo line, before gradually becoming the counterpart to Tonka’s Gobots line. The line appeared in the UK, France and Germany, amongst others.
Challenge of the GoBots is an American animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera, based on the GoBots toyline released from Tonka. The show was first broadcast in syndication on September 8, 1984, then the show joined the weekday/weekend programming block The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera on September 15, 1985. It was later rerun on the USA Cartoon Express.
Transformers: Generation 1 is a toy line from 1984 to 1990, produced by Hasbro and Takara Tomy. It was a line of toy robots that could change into an alternate form by moving parts into other places, and it was the first line of toys produced for the successful Transformers toy and entertainment franchise. The line was originally called The Transformers, with "Generation 1" originating as a term coined by fans of the toys when the Transformers: Generation 2 toy line was released in 1992. Hasbro eventually adopted the term "Generation 1" to refer to any toy produced in that era.
A transforming robot is a robot that can change to take on the appearance or form of another object. This type of robot was a very popular toy concept in the 1980s; such toy robots could typically morph from a humanoid form to that of a vehicle, animal, or commonplace object.
"The Robo Machines" is a British comic strip, appearing in titles published by IPC Magazines. The story was published in the anthology Eagle from 10 November 1984 to 29 July 1985, written by Tom Tully, with art by Mario Capaldi and later Kim Raymond. Based on Bandai's Robo Machine toys, the story depicts an attack on Earth by evil scientist Stron-Domez and his evil Robo Machines.
Popy (ポピー) was a Japanese toy manufacturer of the 1970s and early 1980s. The company was owned by Bandai. It was founded in 1971 and merged back into the parent company in 1983. The company is best known for its groundbreaking Chogokin robot figures.
Godaikin or GoDaiKin was a line of Super Robot toys released by Bandai America from 1982 to 1985, composed of figures from Popy-created series such as Chogokin and Popinika.
The Convertors were a line of action figures manufactured by Select in the 1980s.
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