Built to Rule is a building blocks toyline from Hasbro that is compatible with such leading brands as Lego. These sets were released from 2003 to 2005. Sets are usually based upon existing toys and characters from the Hasbro brand, such as Tonka, G.I. Joe and Transformers: Armada.
Built To Rule was marketed as "Action Building Sets". All sets came with one set of building blocks you could build into a full sized vehicle, and one specially designed 3 3/4 G.I. Joe figure. The forearms and the calves of the figures sport places where blocks could be attached.
The 2003 Built To Rule followed the G.I. Joe: Spy Troops story line.
Some of the figures in 2004 featured additional articulation with a mid-thigh cut joint.
Transformers Built to Rule toys were predicted by some groups to be big sellers in 2003. [18] A small number of Transformers: Energon Built to Rule sets had a limited, test market release, but the entire line performed poorly, so it was dropped in its entirety in 2004.[ citation needed ]
There are some significant differences between the Armada and Energon sets, though both are based on the same basic premise. Each Transformers kit is centered on a "Trans-Skeleton", a very simple humanoid body that folds up for vehicle mode without dis-assembly. From there, extra parts are added to the Trans-Skeleton for either mode. For Armada, the Trans-Skeleton was a very broad, flat solid plate with thin, stick-like limbs attached to it, which led to very awkward-looking robot modes. The structure of the Trans-Skeleton was changed for the Energon characters, to a much more solid skeleton with larger, blockier limbs. This led to much more solid, stable and sturdy-looking robot modes.
Unicron is a fictional villain from the Transformers media franchise. Designed by Floro Dery, he was introduced in the 1986 animated film The Transformers: The Movie and has since reappeared in Transformers: Armada, Transformers: Energon, Transformers: Cybertron, Transformers: Prime, Transformers: The Last Knight, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, and Atari's 2004 Transformers video game. Unicron is a prodigiously large robot whose scale reaches planetary proportions, and he is also able to transform into a giant planet. Unicron's origin has expanded over the years from simply being a large robot to being a god of chaos who devours realities. He often employs the help of Decepticons in his work, and in some stories is considered part of the origin of the Decepticon forces.
Soundwave is a fictional robot character appearing in various Transformers continuity lines within the Transformers franchises. 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.
Snake Eyes is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books, and animated series, created by Larry Hama. He is one of the original and most popular members of the G.I. Joe Team, and is most known for his relationships with Scarlett and Storm Shadow. Snake Eyes is one of the most prominent characters in the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero franchise, having appeared in every series of the franchise since its inception. He is portrayed by Ray Park in the 2009 live-action film G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, and the 2013 sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation. Henry Golding portrays the titular character in the 2021 spin-off Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins.
Transformers: Armada, known in Japan as Super Robot Life-Form Transformers: Legends of the Microns, is a Japanese anime series which debuted on August 23, 2002. As the first series co-produced between the American toy company Hasbro and their Japanese counterpart Takara, Armada begins a new continuity/universe for Transformers, with no ties to any of the previous series, including its direct predecessor Transformers: Robots in Disguise in 2001. It inspired two sequels, Transformers: Energon and Transformers: Cybertron.
There have been three main publishers of the comic book series bearing the name Transformers based on the toy lines of the same name. The first series was produced by Marvel Comics from 1984 to 1991, which ran for 80 issues and produced four spin-off miniseries. This was followed by a second volume titled Transformers: Generation 2, which ran for 12 issues starting in 1993. The second major series was produced by Dreamwave Productions from 2002 to 2004 with multiple limited series as well, and within multiple story continuities, until the company became bankrupt in 2005. The third and fourth series have been published by IDW Publishing with the third series starting with an issue #0 in October 2005 and a regular series starting in January 2006 to November 2018. The fourth series started in March 2019 with issue #1 and is currently still being produced. There are also several limited series being produced by IDW as well. In addition to these three main publishers, there have also been several other smaller publishers with varying degrees of success.
Hawk is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero media franchise. He is one of the original members of the G.I. Joe Team, and debuted in 1982 as a Missile Commander, but was later promoted to full commander of the team. Hawk is portrayed by Dennis Quaid in the 2009 live-action film G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.
Scarlett is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books and animated series. She is one of the original members of the G.I. Joe Team, and debuted in 1982. The character is also featured in both the G.I. Joe: Sigma 6 animated series and comic books. Scarlett was portrayed by actress Rachel Nichols in the 2009 film G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and Samara Weaving in the 2021 film Snake Eyes.
G.I. Joe: The Movie is a 1987 American direct-to-video animated military science fiction film produced as a sequel to the animated series G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, based on the original Hasbro toyline. It was produced by Sunbow Productions and Marvel Productions and was animated in Japan by Toei Animation Co., Ltd.
Flint is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero series. He was originally created as a character for the Sunbow G.I. Joe animated series in 1984, and later introduced into the comic book and produced as an action figure in 1985. He is portrayed by D.J. Cotrona in the 2013 film G.I. Joe: Retaliation.
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.
Firefly is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books and animated series. He is a mercenary who works for the Cobra Organization as a saboteur. He is portrayed by Ray Stevenson in the 2013 film G.I. Joe: Retaliation.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a third-person shooter video game based on the 2009 live action film Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. It is the sequel to 2007's Transformers: The Game, and the second video game adaptation of the live-action Transformers film series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game were developed by Luxoflux, and ported to Microsoft Windows by Beenox. The PlayStation 2 and Wii versions were developed by Krome Studios, and the PlayStation Portable version was developed by Savage Entertainment. All versions of the game were published by Activision, and released on June 23, 2009 in the United States. Australia received the games one day later, and Europe on June 26. A sequel, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, was released in June 2011, based on the film on the same name.
2007 marked the 25th anniversary of the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline. To commemorate the event, Hasbro released a G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero 25th Anniversary collection of newly sculpted 3¾" figures based on classic and new designs of many of the line's best known and most popular characters. The 25th Anniversary figures added a swivel chest feature to replace the traditional O-ring construction, and they added swivel wrists, ankles, and double-hinged knees in addition to the usual shoulder, elbow, and knee articulations.
Blowtorch is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books and animated series. He is the G.I. Joe Team's original Flamethrower and debuted in 1984.
Lt. Stone is the name of three different fictional characters from the G.I. Joe franchise. Each one of them are featured in a different continuity: two Lieutenants, and a Sergeant. In addition to these each of them have an action figure in the line of toys by Hasbro.
Transformers: War for Cybertron - Autobots and Transformers: War for Cybertron - Decepticons are two action-adventure video games based on the Transformers franchise, published by Activision in June 2010. A port of High Moon Studios' Transformers: War for Cybertron for the Nintendo DS, they were developed by Vicarious Visions, who also worked on Transformers Autobots and Transformers Decepticons in 2007, and Transformers Revenge of the Fallen: Autobots and Transformers Revenge of the Fallen: Decepticons in 2009. Although they share some basic similarities, the two games follow different storylines, and feature different characters, missions, and locations.
Smokescreen is the name of several different fictional characters in the Transformers robot superhero franchise.
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero is a comic book that was published by Image Comics from 2001 to 2005. Based on Hasbro, Inc.'s G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero line of military-themed toys, the series picks up seven years after the end of the Marvel Comics series.