I don’t talk much about Transformers here, what with this being a G.I. Joe page and all (or…well…at least a G.I. Joe and Marvel Animation page recently…  :shifty: ) but I ran across this story on TFW2005 and just felt like I had to comment.

Well, that is, if you can consider “NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!” a comment.

Yeah, yeah, I know…  “just a rumor”.  But a rumor that punches me right in the gut and gives me sudden flashbacks to Sigma 6.  But really, it’s a rumor that makes a whole lot of sense.  Let’s think about this.  Transformers launched their live action film in 2007 and it pretty much shattered all expectations.  It blasted the brand itself into the stratosphere and made Transformers a household name, which, let’s face it, it hasn’t really been since 1984.  Yes the brand sold exceedingly well and survived nearly non-stop for over two decades (which is an astounding accomplishment in toy retail these days) but it wasn’t the #1 toy in the land until Michael Bay got done with it.

We all know when the sequel hits this summer, most likely all other Transformers “concepts” will be making way for the movie stuff, just like the G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary is fading for the movie releases as well (and just like the Classics did in ’07 to much fandom dismay).

So, this begs the question…what is the Transformers: Animated audience?  To my understanding, it’s always been the 6-12 year old boys.  Yes, the studio has done a remarkable job with the G1 homages and the great tributes for us old timers, but at its core, this series was meant to appeal to the younger demographic.  Well, this is the same demographic that the movie stuff is designed to lure in.  So it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to have two expressions battling each other for the same audience, does it, especially when stylistically they are so drastically different.  The Universe stuff kind of has a separate appeal, in my mind.  That’s the stuff for the G1 diehards, the long time fans, and the folks who don’t necessarily support the motion picture product, but who have been around for the long haul, and still have enough buying power to keep the line afloat.  But when it comes to Animated, I just don’t see that happening when faced off against Revenge of the Fallen.

Season Three is slated to launch in March.  You gotta figure it’ll run its course by May/June, just in time for ROTF.  Revenge of the Fallen hits huge, Animated fades away, and if my thinking is correct, it most likely ain’t coming back.  Would they really put the Animated series in “hiatus” for nearly a full year while the movie stuff runs it’s course?  I strongly doubt it, and the overall style of the cartoon is so drastically opposite of the film that I can definitely see it not finding a spot back on pegs after ROTF has wrapped up it’s run.  Universe does have a place.  Animated, not so much.

So yeah, even though it’s a rumor, it has that shred of truth behind it, and I’ve got this same bummed out feeling in the pit of my stomach as I did back when the Sigma 6 rumors scurried around, and the more you thought about it, the more it all made sense.

But I don’t have to like it.