There, they plan to create a weapon that will guarantee the Renegades’ victory. The big battle is set to begin, but Cy-Kill takes two of his most trusted soldiers and they steal the Astro Beam, which will allow them to travel to Earth. As the miniseries opens, Cy-Kill is plotting a revolutionary war that would end with him taking over the planet. The Guardians maintain peaceful ways, but they are opposed by the Renegades, mostly due to the thirst for power exhibited by their leader Cy-Kill. The mechanical planet of Gobotron (yikes, that’s an awful name) is populated by large robots consisting of two opposing factions. The five-part Challenge Of The Gobots miniseries sets up the premise of the show and readies it for its next incarnation as a full-fledged series.
CHALLENGE OF THE GOBOT FULL
(This was a full year after Transformers aired its first full season of thirteen episodes, which likely accounts for the perception of Gobots coming late to the party).
CHALLENGE OF THE GOBOT SERIES
For the Gobots, Tonka partnered with Hanna-Barbera to create a five-part series that was shown in syndication the week of October 29, while the regular series did not come out until the following September. The two toy lines competed on television as well as toy shelves, with their respective debuts coming in the form of miniseries in 1984. While the Transformers could boast the likes of Optimus Prime and Starscream, the Gobots countered with Tank and Scooter. The Gobots had the multi-pronged problem of less cool advertising, lamer transforming capabilities, and even lamer names. Back in the day, as I recall, the Gobots were seen as inferior, and possibly even knockoffs, though I’m not sure which actually came out in Japan first. Tonka introduced the Gobots in 1984 (based on Japan’s “Machine Robo” line), the same year that Transformers toys hit the market from Hasbro (Habro has since bought Tonka). Like Transformers, the Gobots were adapted for the North American market by an American toy maker, licensed from shape changing robot toys produced in Japan. Transformers has been immortalized in popular culture, serving as a touchstone for Generation X’ers around the world, a high point of their childhoods.Īnd then there was Challenge Of The Gobots. That cartoon, nevertheless, was extremely popular and begat a successful comic book that managed to even outlast the original toy line by a few years. Still, there was something pretty cool about seeing giant robots transform into various vehicles, which served the toy line much better than it served the plots in the cartoon. Never had there been a more ludicrous premise for a show than Transformers, a tale of alien shape-changing robots that carry out their battles on planet Earth. By the mid-1980s (much aided by decreasing television regulation that had prevented such shows previously), kids were watching such popular shows as G.I. Life in the 1980s meant cartoon watchers had their choice of animated series to watch- but most of them seemed to be toy tie-ins.
Fortunately, The Guardians of Gobotron are ready to assist humans is resisting the evil robots. Renegades from the planet Gobotron come to Earth to force the population there to aid them in their quest of taking over their home world.
0 kommentar(er)
