The following contains spoilers for Transformers One, currently playing in theatersTransformers one Includes a sly reference to one of their biggest original rivals, over thirty years after they defeated and absorbed them. Debuting in 1984, Transformers has been a consistent element in Western pop-culture for decades, with the robotic heroes and villains of Cybertron coming to life in several different iterations across film, television, animation, video games and comics. What makes this success unique is the fact that Transformers Was actually beaten to the market by another similar franchise, which even shared a lot of core concepts.
Despite being the second to launch, Transformers became a much more successful franchise, while the competitor eventually went out of business and was bought by the company that produced TransformersHasbro. Since then, the letters and concepts have faded into obscurity while the last version of the letters Transformers one Highlight the adaptability and enduring qualities of Transformers. Their latest film even references the thwarted enemies, slyly using their name as an insult to Cybertron. It is a clever moment that could quietly hint at their existence in the universe established by Transformers oneIt’s the end.
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Transformers one refers to gobots and makes them an insult
Gobots apparently count as an insult Transformers one
GoBots are referenced in Transformers one As a clear insult used on CybertronHighlighting the old rivalry that exists between the franchises. After Orion Pax, D-16, and Bumblebee inadvertently drag Elita-1 into their mission to the surface, she lays into them with a number of insults. This is not a huge change from her previous attitude towards Orion, especially when they worked together before. Orion’s efforts to save Jazz ends up getting Elita-1 removed from her position at the Energon Mines, causing her to casually insult him throughout the film.
While on the train going from Yakon City to the surface, One of Elita-1’s insults refers to Orion and his friends as “gobots.” It’s a little throwaway line that serves as a clever easter egg for longtime fans of TransformersReferencing the overall history of the series. However, the fact that it is used as an insult takes on a new meaning because of the existence of GoBots In the real world as a rival franchise to Transformers Which ultimately cannot compete with the robots in disguise.
Transformers & GoBot’s history and rivalry explained
How Gobots fought (and lost) to Transformers
Hitting the market a year earlier Transformers, GoBots was the biggest competitor to Transformers Success in the 1980s. Produced by the Tonka company through a branding deal with Bandai between 1983 and 1987, the GoBots are functionally a similar idea that has a similar original conception, focusing on a war between heroic and villainous alien cyborgs. The GooBts got an animated series – Challenge of the Gobots – and an animated film, GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords. Although they initially sold well, their success was quickly dwarfed by Transformerswhich debuted the following year with a similar gimmick and concept.
Eventually, Tonka was bought by Hasbro and absorbed into their company, giving Hasbro the rights to the characters and storylines of the GoBots franchise (although the actual toys were only licensed from Bandai by Tonka and could not be recreated by Hasbro). Transformers Effectively killed their biggest competitor in 1987 and acquired them in 1991. As such, “gobot” can be seen as a term synonymous with “loser” on Cybertron, explaining why Elita-1 used it as a go-to insult about Orion.
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Do Gobots Exist in the Universe of Transformers One?
Transformers Animated films could quietly be the perfect way to bring back GoBots
The reference to GoBots can also be seen as a sly hint to the wider universe of Transformers one. The universe has a number of differences between the original franchise lore seen in others Transformers Movies, hinting that other new tweaks may exist in this animated take on the Transformers Study. This includes GoBots, whose stories and characters can be reimagined in the new universe. Their apparent designation as an insult among the Cybertronians suggests that if they do exist in the Transformers one Universe, they are not very well-judged.
It’s interesting to see the GoBots brought back in some formEven as an in-universe gag that reveals their adventures are mock or fictional in-universe. It is possible that GoBots Might even find redemption in a new animated Transformers timeline, which could incorporate elements of the franchise more openly into a shared universe alongside Optimus Prime, Megatron and the rest of the iconic Cybertronians. While the reference to GoBots in Transformers one It could just be a sly reference to the past, it could also set up a return for the long-defunct series.