Transformers Were Part of Marvel Universe & Here’s How

Like many different fictional franchises, the Transformers rose to popularity as comic book characters that could have deeper stories in the pages of different comics. In that regard, they weren’t so different from the characters from the world of Marvel Comics because they both have expanded stories in the comics. But the surprising part is that Marvel Comics once published the Transformers. So, are the Transformers part of the Marvel universe?

The Transformers were once part of Marvel’s comic book world before Marvel Comics lost the licensing rights to publish the Transformers. Currently, the Transformers are published by IDW Publishing and are owned by Hasbro. That means that the Transformers belong to the Hasbro Universe.

While it may be true that the Transformers were once part of the Marvel universe in the comics, we did see a few crossovers between the Avengers and the Transformers. In that regard, they once shared the same fictional universe before the Transformers became part of their own universe in IDW Publishing. That said, let’s talk more about this topic in greater detail.

Do the Transformers exist in the Marvel Universe?

One of the things that we know about the Transformers is that these giant robots are characters that were made popular by the Transformers animated cartoon. Of course, there’s no doubt that they became even more popular today due to the success of the Transformers movies. And that’s why the Transformers franchise has had enormous wins in the toy and merchandise department.

Of course, while that may be true, many fans forget that the Transformers also existed in the world of comic books. The comics expanded the stories that were never given a lot of attention in cartoons or movies. And for a comic book series to become successful, it has to be published by a reputable comic book publishing company.

That is why the Transformers were actually published by Marvel Comics from 1984 to 1991. The Transformers had a total of 80 published issues during its time with Marvel Comics. There were also four spin-off miniseries, including The Transformers. That means the Transformers were once part of Marvel Comics’ assets in the 80s and early 90s. But does that mean that the Transformers existed in the Marvel universe?

Strictly speaking, the Transformers used to be part of the Marvel Comics universe despite the fact that Marvel hardly ever used the franchise as an asset in telling stories in the comics. Regardless of how popular the Transformers were, Marvel Comics focused more on telling the stories of the superheroes, and that’s why the heroes were more likely to collaborate with one another. This also explains why the Transformers hardly ever had any run-ins with other Marvel Comics characters when the franchise belonged to Marvel’s publishing rights.

Marvel Comics didn’t utilize the Transformers much back then because these giant robots were moneymakers in the toy and merchandise department instead of the comic book department. As such, we could barely confirm that the Transformers used to be part of the same universe as the other Marvel superheroes.

The Transformers have since moved on from Marvel, which means that Marvel Comics no longer owns the publishing rights to the Transformers. That means that the Transformers’ run in the Marvel universe ended in 1991. The fact that the Transformers had a limited time in Marvel Comics could also explain why Marvel didn’t try to fully utilize the franchise by completely including the Transformers into the Marvel universe as far as the comics were concerned.

Of course, because the Transformers are not part of the Marvel Comics universe, that also means that they are not part of the MCU. However, similar fictional franchise the GoBots exists in the MCU world, as ‘The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special’ confirmed this.

In that film, Drax and Mantis went to Earth to try to make Peter Quill happy in time for Christmas. They decided to kidnap Kevin Bacon and get as many Christmas trinkets as possible. On Earth, Drax ran into some cosplayers in Hollywood. One such cosplayer was cosplaying a GoBot character under the name Cy-Kill.

Drax was enraged upon seeing the cosplayer because it resembled the GoBot that killed his cousin. This confirms that the GoBots exist in the MCU as fictional characters as far as this cinematic universe is concerned.

Who owns the Transformers?

Another thing that makes the Transformers franchise a bit complicated is that different people own different rights to the franchise. American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy own Transformers. As mentioned, Marvel once owned the rights to the comic book publishing of the Transformers.

However, while Hasbro and Takara Tomy still own the Transformers media franchise, IDW Publishing owns the rights to publish the Transformers comic books. IDW Publishing has owned the rights since 2006. Despite that, we’ve seen a few crossovers between IDW Publishing’s ‘Transformers’ and Marvel Comics’ ‘Avengers.’

The fact that Hasbro primarily owns the Transformers franchise is probably another one of the reasons why Marvel Comics never went all-in on the Transformers by including the characters in the entire Marvel Comics universe. The people in Marvel probably thought the partnership with the Transformers wouldn’t last very long because Marvel never had full ownership over the characters.

What universe are the Transformers in?

Another reason why the Transformers aren’t part of the MCU is the fact that the storyline of the Transformers movies has its own fictional cinematic universe. Of course, the MCU falls under the banner of Marvel Studios, owned by Disney. On the other hand, the Transformers movie franchise belongs to Paramount Pictures.

That means that the Transformers are part of an entirely different fictional film universe that falls under the banner of Paramount Pictures. Some people call this universe the ‘Hasbro-verse’ because the movies in this fictional cinematic universe were based on the toys owned by Hasbro. We are talking about the Transformers toy line and the G.I. Joe toy line.

Of course, in ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts,’ the ending hinted at the future of the Hasbro Universe when it showed a US Government agent recruiting Noah Diaz into a secret organization known as the G.I. Joe. And we know that G.I. Joe is right up there with the Transformers in popularity within the Hasbro toy world.

In that regard, we expect to see an entirely new fictional cinematic universe in the future, especially with the Transformers collaborating with G.I. Joe. And this can be traced back to the comics, where both franchises had a few crossover storylines.

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