June 9th, 2026.
There's a lot of stuff surrounding that date. It's Rockman Day. Nintendo had a Nintendo Direct this morning, with a Nintendo Treehouse showcase afterwards. Heck, it's even my 25th wedding anniversary!
But no, that wasn't enough. John Hasbro decided to log into his YouTube channel and present us with nearly an hour of... well, we'll see, I guess. There have been so many leaks and reveals and even reviews of products that haven't even been announced by anyone yet that have gone around, I'm not sure they have anything left to surprise us with.
So I'm here, you're here... let's get this show on the road, and see if there's anything left to meet the eye.
I actually rather like this thumbnail. Very Fire Guts Ginrai-coded. Think that'll be a reveal? The waiting music ain't bad, either.
Okay, nine minutes and 19 seconds in (no, I didn't wait, I skipped ahead), and the show is starting.
We're joined as always by our hosts, Mark Designer and Nate Marketing-Action Brands, two gentlemen whose destinies were clearly spelled out for them right out of the Well of Allsparks, as that also happens to be what their job titles are. I wish I had that kind of job security. I don't think people even have oxen anymore, or use them to ford rivers. And don't get me started about the comma people refuse to use...
Anyway, Nate reveals that they're working on 2028, and 2027, and finalizing 2026, and still catching up on 2025. I'd love to see the charts mapping out their plans. Not even with the actual info, I just want to see how it's all put together that far in advance.
John Hasbro at work.
Apparently the 13th Prime isn't Optimus or Rodimus or Zeta or even Sentinel, but Vortex Prime, who they'll be showing off later. Can't wait to see that. I guess Bruticus is going to have a really mean right hook after the upgrade, huh?
First up, they're starting with Deluxes, and from those, we kick off with the talk of the town...
It's Tailgate!
Mark brought his G1 Tailgate to show a comparison, but said it's so yellow that it wouldn't look good there. And here some people think they always take the colors for the new toys from the worst samples of the old they can find. Tailgate laughs in your general direction!
Got some retooling, same gun as Windcharger, new parts, but no blast effect -- which is ironic, since Tailgate has a "magnetic" personality of his own, and could have still made use of that -- especially since it doesn't look like they retooled the connection point at the front. Oh well.
Also, they're planning to continue utilizing this mold in the future. As who? Sound off with your best guesses in the Transformers Discussion forum or the comments below.
But with the Minibots almost done, Mark says maybe it's time to move into other things... like Throttlebots!
Tailgate pre-orders open on Hasbro Pulse and mainline retailers at 1pm ET on... June 9th. Ooh. Sorry about that. Well, hopefully they still have some left by the time you read this...
Next up is...
I wonder if Fangry also suffers from Fanxiety.
It's Fangry! With Brisko! I don't think the latter was given much characterization, but you can always pretend he's an unusually eloquent and verbose chicken farmer.
Mark is particularly proud of keeping the Tech Spec meter on the front. Are you? Tell us in the comments, or on our forums!
Pre-orders also open...ed at 1pm EST for Hasbro Pulse and mainline retailers.
Now we've got...
Ironically, he hates when people get too close.
It's Pointblank and Peacemaker! Or rather, Blanker, as he's known in Japan's Headmasters subseries, which is what they retooled his head to resemble. Also, no clear windows any more, either.
Huh. Looks like they have a new configuration for Peacemaker there. Incorrect transformation, or does this just further his mastery of targeting? Discuss in the comments below, or our forums!
Unfortunately, nothing about him connecting at the wrist, as in the show. Pity. That was a really cool feature of Universe Cyclonus, and he didn't even have a Targetmaster in that show!
Pre-orders at the same time, same places.
Next Deluxe is...
"Hot Rod is gonna be so jealous when he sees the size of my new engine!"
Joyride!
They don't have much to say on this one beyond the usual glazing, which is unfortunate. At the very least, I was hoping he'd reveal that, since I don't see his gun anywhere, that maybe the engine could do something we hadn't seen to fill that need, at least in robot mode. Nope. Joyride just gets to race to the front lines, only to be defenceless when he gets there. Poor guy.
Does Joyride deserve to be more than just cannon fodder? Tell us in the comments below, or on our forums!
They also mention wanting to hear more about Powermasters, naming Optimus Prime, and if people want them.
Same info for pre-orders.
Coming up next...
For all the nonbelievers out there who didn't think John Hasbro had the lugnuts to release a full Bruticus, they're giving you another chance to get Vortex. Also, Swindle's here!
Nate goes into why they revealed him so early that people would start cursing whenever the subject came up, and it was so people interested in investing in a full set of Combaticons could see everything.
Marks loves the Combaticons so much that he wants to make new ones -- like, not new versions of these again, but new members, from what I gather -- and Nate teases that Mark is already working on something like that.
In case you had any doubts, Swindle (and presumably Vortex) are up for pre-order now.
And then...
"Whatever you do, just don't call me 'Gears'. Turns out he has a very good attorney."
Galaxy Force Vector Prime!
Mark says he leaned into the original toy deco, but also tried to "amp it up" as much as possible. He also describes how they used a new type of plastic for the shinier, more metallic parts, "90% solid, 10% transparent," and with a certain type of metallic flake.
Am I the only metallic flake you see here? Tell us in the comments, or on our forums!
Comes with a Galaxy Key that can be removed and attached to the Blade of Time, which has been downgraded from the "Blades of Time." It's the same mold as before, just a new deco, and has the Prime logo on there like the other artifacts. Is that enough for you to buy this one to complete the set of artifacts?
Vector Prime will go up for pre-order the day after Christmas and is being sold exclusively in Botswana. Nah, just kidding. It was today, like everything else today. Same places as the rest, too.
Now is the time for Leaders!
Unfortunately, we just get this guy who killed everyone else instead.
Megazarak is here to drive down collector's prices on convention exclusives! Maybe? I don't know how this stuff works.
Anyway, missing from most of these Armada and Cybertron molds has been Minicons, which Mark says are coming.
Are you coming for Minicons when they get released? Or is their lack of inclusion with their respective bulks enough to keep you away? Tell us in the comments or on our forums!
Pre-orders are a thing. Or at least they were. I don't know if they still are. But now's as good a time to check and see if you're interested.
Now, if you've been summoned here for a purpose, then you might relate to this next one...
"We hunger... but our alt mode cannot fit through the drive-thru!"
Now it's time for the Unicron Soldier, based on the little kneebiters that attacked Optimus Prime and Scorponok in issue #74 of the original Marvel comics run, and no, I did not need to look that up, thank you very much. If you don't believe me, you can call me a liar and/or a hack in the comments below, or in our forums.
They go into how this is basically like a hybrid avatar/comic minion/Cybertron Unicron homage, and suggests using him as an army builder to give the Thirteen Primes something to fight.
Mark also points out the Unicron logo, which hasn't been used in some time, but he wants to use it more going forward when it comes to Chaos Bringer-affiliated characters. He also mentions other collections of characters with distinct sigils, like Quintessons and Wreckers.
Nate mentions the prospect of re-releasing HasLab Unicron, and emphasizes they are not re-releasing that Unicron, but are interested on what fans want if/when they release another Unicron, such as Titan or Leader or what have you. They try to keep to scale somewhat, but at the same time, they're open to new interpretations.
Y'know, Mount St. Unicron from Transformers: Prime would make a good Titan scale. Someone pass that along...
As with everything else up to this point, pre-orders are open now.
Moving on to a HasLab exclusive... remember what they said about Minicons earlier?
"Orange you glad we heard your pleading for Minicons?"
It's Powerlinx Red Alert! And he comes with not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven, not nine, not sixty-nine, but EIGHT Minicons with which to fill out your ranks!
There's the Dark Saber trio, and the ones for Optimus, Megatron, Starscream, Wheeljack, and of course, Red Alert.
Apparently, Armada Starscream was a retool of Reactivate Starscream, and no one even noticed. What kind of fans are you? Tell us in the comments below, or in our forums.
Anyway, he didn't have a Minicon port, being the first of the lot, so Swindle there has a little clip to help him make the connection with his Bulk.
Nate confirms that yes, they're doing Armada Cyclonus and Demolishor, but he can't say when. And no word on what happens with their Minicons when they do happen, either.
Pre-orders opened at 1pm ET for Hasbro Pulse and 2pm everywhere else, so you should be good when you read this, so long as they still have any left.
Also from Pulse...
♪ When Ultra Magnus leaps into battle... ♪
Flame Toys Ultra Magnus!
Six different complete sets of hands, over 200 points of articulation (more than most humans, but don't test this. If you do test this, tell us how it sent in the comments below, or in our forums), die cast (a lost art no more!), tiny buttons for lighting up the chest and the head, a display stand, and "unbelievable" packaging. Oh, and axes, swords, and other things they don't go into as much detail about.
It's available to pre-order now exclusively on Hasbro Pulse, and is currently 40% off for 40 days as part of the 40th anniversary apology tour and their 40th attempt at making Ultra Magnus an accepted substitute for Optimus Prime. Some other stuff is part of the sale, too.
Now they're getting into non-toy stuff related to the Apology Tour, and for that, they brought out Paul Franchise to help.
The vinyl album The Transformers The Movie The Soundtrack The Reformatted Edition has Stan Bush, and they released a new song today: The theme song by The Knights of Unicron featuring Brittney
More surprises for The⁴ are still to come.
...berserker!
And a development that was completely unfathomable is that they've partnered with Fathom Entertainment to get The Transformers The Movie back in theatres on September 17th, which is also Transformers Day. It's going to be a global release, day and date with the domestic (read: U.S.) release, and you can go to Fathom Entertainment's The Transformers The Movie The Apology Tour hub website to sign up for alerts of when tickets go on sale.
If you could fathom this announcement, then tell us in the comments below, or on our forums!
At San Diego Comic-Con, there's going to be a brand panel with "juicy reveals", and Takara Tomy designers are coming Stateside to be a part of it. The actual date will be announced on their socials.
Can't afford dental care? Just bite into one of our Energon cubes, and it won't be an issue any more!
Part of an imbalanced breakfast.
One of this year's San Diego Comic-Con and Pulse exclusives is the above figure set, featuring a reproduction of the canceled cereal's box containing the Legacy United G1 Universe Optimus Prime repainted in cartoon colors and featuring a new head sculpt, a special trailer featuing the brand logo ink jet printed on the sides (which can also launch Roller), and a "simplified Core" class Jazz figure that evokes the G1 toy.
Do you wish you could have eaten Energon Cubes for breakfast when you were a kid? Tell us in the comments below, or in our forums!
But that's not all that's coming to SDCC...
This is a Transformers Collaborative pack that crosses over with another Hasbro brand, Jem and the Holograms.
This set includes the cleverly-titled "KP Cassettes" Glit, Sundor, and Rosanna (with blasters), along with a Blaster with a new color scheme and new head sculpt, microphone, and a guitar that's more than meets the eye (it turns into a keytar), all in a gleaming holographic package.
Is this outrageous, or truly, truly, truly outrageous? (And will the aftermarket price be even more outrageous than that?) Let us know in the comments below, or in our forums!
On top of all that, also happening at (or adjacent to) SDCC...
Optimus doesn't have the blues, just lots of shades of grey.
The Transformers The Movie Apology Tour is rolling on into San Diego's House of Blues on Thursday, July 23rd at 7pm with the "Celebration of Life" concert, featuring the Knights of Unicron (with special guests), Cold Slither, and Jem (apparently without the Holograms)!
The physical soundtrack drops this weekend, and their social channels will tell you when tickets go on sale. Quantities are limited, and in addition to general admission tickets, they'll have special VIP tickets that give you access to a VIP party and VIP gift bag.
Oh, and more Apology Tour dates are still to come after Comic-Con.
Nate also mentions that more Studio Series '86 product is on the way that hasn't been announced yet.
And that does it for this edition of the Transformers Fanstream from Hasbro Pulse! I'd ask what you think, but where could you possibly leave your opinions?
