Transformers Pop Culture References

TELEVISION PROGRAMS | MOVIES | MAGAZINES, COMIC BOOKS, AND COMIC STRIPS | BOOKS | SONGS/MUSIC VIDEOS | MISCELLANEOUS/OBSCURE STUFF | ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

"And who could forget Trans Farmers: robots that turned into barnyard machinery."--Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, "The Great Cufflink Caper!"

Two decades ago, the Transformers became such a phenomenon unto themselves as a cultural icon that they crept their way into various television programs, films, comics, and more.  Some of the references were oblique, some were blatant, and some of them might very well have been unintentional.  The references have also seen a resurgence of late, due in part to the recent resurgence in all things retro-1980's, but also, I think, because the sorts of people who collected Transformers as kids are finally old enough to be working on the TV episodes and whatnot in which those robots in disguise are making appearances.  

This is a fairly comprehensive, but by no means exhaustive, list of references to Transformers in publications or recorded media.  This list does not document references found on the Internet (like web sites or self-published web comics), and I skipped the obvious official crossovers like appearances in Marvel's G.I. JOE, but as far as I'm concerned just about anything else is fair game.  (I leave it to you to decide whether some of these are "true" pop culture references or not.)  Quite a few of these were gleaned directly from ATT (in fact a few were shamlessly cut-and-pasted from Google), so if you notice any inaccuracies below, please inform me of them.  I've tried to acknowledge the person who first mentioned these, but I did find a few of them myself.

Television Programs

• ALF.  Alf is reading an issue of the HEADMASTERS comic at the beginning of one episode.
• Angel.  In the episode "Hero," the boat which Angel planned to use to ship some demons out of the country was named Quintessa.  The phrase "more than meets the eye" was reportedly used in a previous episode.⁹
• Anything but Love.  They ran an episode about a couple taking a cross-country train trip. There was a scene where the woman demonstrated the fold-down sink, and the man made a sarcastic remark to the effect of, "Great. We're travelling across the heartland on a Transformer!"¹
• Batman: the Animated Series.  In the episode "His Silicon Soul", the opening scene takes place at the "Cybertron Warehouse", which is adorned with a suspiciously Autobot-like logo. ¹
• Clerks.  In an episode from 2000, there's a scene that's done in the style of low-budget Korean animation, and includes a scene with a red car full of midgets who then transforms into a robot and crushes his occupants to death.  In another episode, there's a dance scene in which a crudely-drawn G1 Scourge makes an appearance, complete with Decepticon symbol on his chest.¹
• Daria.  At the end of every episode, images of the main characters are shown during the credits in assorted costumes, occasionally satirizing elements from pop culture.  One of them is Mr. O'Neill, Daria's English teacher, dressed up in a robot costume with a vague resemblance to Optimus Prime (pictured, right).²²
• Doug.  In an episode aired in 1999, Quail Man encounters a group of Robotic Assistant Principals from planet Nebulous.  (The joke isn't immediately obvious until you realize that before the word "headmaster" was used to describe Transformers with detachable heads, it used to refer to the principal of a school.)³³
• Dexter's Laboratory.  In episode #52, "Last but Not Beast," four vehicles that can combine into a robot make an appearance, one of which is a green, futuristic Winnebago looking very much like Rodimus Prime.  (He forms the right leg.)  The key Dexter uses to activate the transformation is straight out of Voltron, incidentally.
• Family Guy.  In the episode "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein," Peter visits a synagogue and marvels at all the people there he's familiar with.  At this point, a red truck drives through the doors, turns into a robot, and puts on a yarmulke, prompting Peter to respond, "Optimus Prime's Jewish?"  (This episode was originally pulled from the line-up, but has subsequently aired on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block, and was included on the DVD set.)
• The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.  Jeffery the Butler came into the room and announces that he's bought some Transformers for his son.  Will Smith's character walks by and notices them, grabbing them and proclaiming, "Oh man, Razorbeast!  I've been waiting for this one since October!"  He snatches up Razorbeast and the other toy, Iguanus, and proceeds to growl and have the toys fight each other before running off to play with them s'more.
• Garfield and Friends.  One episode opened with Garfield saying, "The Garfield Guarantee: No giant robots or annoying little blue people."¹  (Okay, so it's not Transformer-specific.  But it's close enough.)
• The Incredible Hulk.  In a 1997 episode of this UPN animated series, Bruce Banner is searching through some mecahnical equipment and identifies one of the instruments as a "Unicron Transformer."  (It's no coincidence that this episode was penned by Bob Forward, former story editor for Beast Wars.)
• It's Garry Shandling's Show.  One episode opens with Garry Shandling playing with the Transformers Battlin' Robots game (he called it Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, if memory serves--it's the same concept).
• Mystery Science Theatre 3000.  In "The Brute Man" episode, the main villain brings a lovely gift to a girl who was nice to him, not realizing she's blind up until just then...
   GIRL: What did you bring me?
   CROW: A Transformer I got with my Happy Meal.²
• My Two Dads.  There's an episode in which Nicole gets a Sixshot toy for her birthday.  Sixshot himself becomes the source of a story gag when Joey proceeds to randomly invent transformations for him.
• The Powerpuff Girls.  In the episode "Jewel of the Aisle," the girls are watching a TV show called Mech-Animals, animated in CGI (above, right), which takes place on a Cybertron-like world.  A robotic ostrich character says to a koala, "We will fight, Koala... we will fight!" before the ostrich changes into robot form in a drawn-out, over-dramatic transformation sequence.
• Sealab 2021.  This Cartoon Network series, aired on their late-night Adult Swim programming block, has made several references to Transformers.  In episode 16, "Hail Squishface," a Soundwave toy can be seen among the junk that the Asian peddler is trying to sell.  Later in the same episode, the Gloop creatures assemble themselves around Captain Murphy's body to form armor, and both the shape of the armor and the pose he strikes are obviously borrowed from Hasbro's package art for the Fortress Maximus toy.⁴⁰  (I am told there's another episode in which a lawyer sues some robots and gets energon cubes as part of the settlement.  I need to start watching this show again.)
• The Simpsons.
  • In "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show," episode #4F12, Krusty the Klown is lamenting the poor ratings of Itchy and Scratchy and says, "I gotta replace it with some Chinese cartoon where the robots turn inta... BLINGWADS!"⁸
  • "Girly Edition," episode #5F15, features The Mattel and Mars Bar Quick Energy Chocobot Hour, which includes a character who bears a resemblance to Rodimus Prime.⁸
  • In "Kamp Krusty," episode #8F24, as Homer is doing push-ups, he recites:  "Size... strength... agility..."²⁸  Is he chanting Dungeons & Dragons character attributes, or Transformers tech specs categories? You decide.
  • "HOMR," episode #BABF22, includes a clip shown at an animation convention of two transforming robots duking it out, one of which Bart calls "one badass Transformazoid."⁸
  • In "Worst Episode Ever," episode #CABF08, Bart and Millhouse get into a fight, and each of them grabs a transformable robot.  Bart transforms his into a weapon, while Millhouse's toy ends up changing into a watering can.³⁷
• Sheep in the Big City.  On this Cartoon Network series, there was a toy commercial for a robot action figure called the "Action Pop 'Em Transformerizerator Squad Guy."
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  In the episode "The Big Cufflink Caper!" the speaker at an awards show demonstrates, "...and who could forget Trans Farmers--robots that turn into barnyard machinery," and proceeds to convert the robot into a tractor.  (As an aside, many episodes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles written by David Wise tend to borrow heavily from the scripts he wrote for Transformers.  There's an episode called "Plan Six from Outer Space" in which a robot impostor takes Splinter's place.  The robot is called a Pretendicon and can transform into a briefcase.)
• The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.  Tom Hanks appeared as a guest on the January 6, 2001 show, and the discussion turned to childhood toys of the 1980's.  Tom Hanks notes that Transformers were a favorite of his and proceeds to sing the theme song (435K; 40 seconds long).
• Welcome to Eltingville.  In the premiere episode of this Cartoon Network series, two characters compete in a trivia contest of fanboy obscuria, and one of the questions is, "Which Transformer transforms into a VW beetle?"  (Come on... does anyone not know this one?)

Movies

• Baby Monitor: Sound of Fear.  In this 1998 made-for-TV thriller, you can spot the Beast Wars Optimus Primal toy laying on the bed near the beginning of the movie.³⁸
• Big.  Tom Hanks' character plays with some test-market toys at a board meeting.  One of them is a robot that turns into a skyscraper.  Not especially impressed, he suggests "a giant, prehistoric bug" instead.  (Ironically, the building used for the exterior shots of the MacMillan toy company is in fact the Hasbro building in New York City.)¹⁸
• Boogie Nights.  One of the characters sings Stan Bush's "The Touch" (583K; 54 seconds long) the heroic theme from The Transformers: the Movie.
• Eat, Drink, Man, Woman.  A man enters a toy store, planning to buy a gift for his son, and behind him you can see an entire wall's worth of Transformers toys.
• Flight of the Navigator.  David, the main character, is taken to what will be his new room in the military base.  To placate him, the army has loaded up his room with toys, including Megatron and a couple of Shrapnel toys, still in the boxes.
• Hackers.  This film, starring Jonny Lee Miller and Angelina Jolie, features a scene where the boyfriend of the character Kate refers to Dade and his gang as "Leopard Boy and the Decepticons."⁷
• Knock-Off.  In this 1998 Jean Claude Van Damme film about bootleg merchandise from Hong Kong, a character appearing near the film's end is carrying an all-black version of Beast Wars Megatron, which is actually a bomb in disguise.  (There's a metaphor if ever I've seen one.)
• The Princess Bride.  Trypticon can be spotted among the toys in the grandson's bedroom during the opening scene.²⁴
• The Professional.  This film is also known as Leon.  Natalie Portman's character can be seen watching clips from the G1 show on five separate occasions, specifically from the episodes "More Than Meets the Eye" and "War of the Dinobots."
• Spaceballs.  The ship Spaceball One, that turns into a giant robotic maid who threatens to suck the atmosphere from the Earth with her vacuum cleaner, is referred to as a Transformer.  When the maid is destroyed, her head is even jettisonned from her body like Unicron from The Transformers: the Movie.  What's more, both the Spaceballs coloring book and lunch box that Yogurt holds up at one point are both Transformers brand products with new logos slapped on top.²³
• Spawn.  The back of the video cover includes the blurb, "Beyond good, beyond evil, beyond imagination," which is almost identical to the tag line used in the movie posters for The Transformers: the Movie.¹⁶
• Top Gun.  When his wife and son come to visit him at the air base, Goose gives his son a  G1 Starscream toy as a gift.

Magazines, Comic Books and Comic Strips

• ARCHIE COMICS.  My source was uncerain from which issue this scan was taken, but the hovercraft in the background is unmistakably the Autobot Seaspray.¹¹
• CAPTAIN AMERICA.  In volume #3 issue #10, Captain America happens across two kids during an hallucination sequence who have the following exchange:

  "F'r the last time, you dweeb--Micronauts rule!"
  "Shut up!  Shut up!  Transformers kick Micronaut butt!"³

• The Family Circus by Bil Keane. (50K).  A certain Guardian Robot makes a cameo.
• G.I. JOE: SPECIAL MISSIONS.  In issue #5, "Showdown," Slipstream buys a transforming toy and gives it to an air force mechanic, whose son is in the hospital.  He identifies the toy as "Jetfire, a swing-wing fighter," even though the comics artists were using Megatron's animation model sheet as a reference.
• LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES.  In issue #99, as a nuclear power plant is changing configuration into a battle station, Robin exclaims, "It's bending... changing... like some kind of Transformer toy!"²⁴
• MAD MAGAZINE.  This satire magazine has parodied Transformers now and again:
  • In issue #257 (Septmeber 1985), a three-page segment suggests Truly Logical Transformers, toys that reflect elements from real life, such as a car that turns into a lemon (literally).  The beginning of the segment also has a drawing of a robot that is obviously based on Shockwave.
  • Issue #285 (March 1989) includes a mock Toys "R" Us advertisement for the Transrobonauts Action Assortment Set.  "Clicks, snaps, and interchanges with Technobugs, Dinotron Slimemasters and Transrodent Reptobots to form a pile of rubble you won't know what to do with!"
  • Finally, issue #343 (March 1996) suggests that if Nautilus merged with Transformers, you could transform your weight machine into an entertainment center after you gave up exercising.  (This bit includes a hand-drawn Transformers logo, complete with Autobot symbol.)
• Marvin by Tom Armstrong. (six panels, 360K).  Hasbro never made a transforming TV set, though maybe they should have.
• NINJA HIGH SCHOOL.  In volume #2 issue #1, as Princess Asrial is transformed from her normal Salusian form to a slightly less furry humanoid form, Optimus Prime shows up in a cameo with the reminder, "Kids, don't try this at home!  Leave it to the experts!"¹¹  (Incidentally, Asrial apparently uses Mecha Armor in the image of Optimus Prime, if the unused cover to issue #2 is any indication.)
• Sally Forth by Francesco Marciuliano. (156K).  This strip from 10/31/04 ruminates on the Halloween costumes of days past.
• SCUD: THE DISPOSABLE ASSASSIN.  In issue #15, a character named Jeff, who speaks in sound bytes, at one point uses "It's over, Prime!" as a battle cry.³⁹
• SONIC THE HEDGEHOG.   There have been numerous Transformers references in this title, also published by Archie Comics.  
  • In issue #13, Dr. Robotnick's converting ship is referred to as a Transformer.  
  • In issue #31, Sonic says of a giant transforming robot prototype, "There's more to him than meets the eye!"
  • The pin-up poster of Espio Chameleon from KNUCKLES THE ECHIDNA #18 appears to take place on Cybertron itself, including a purple tower in the background adorned with the Decepticon insignia, as well as  Laserbeak and two Decepticon jets in Cybertronic form flying overhead.
  •  SONIC SUPER SPECIAL #8 has three references.  The first is the appearance of the Autobot Matrix of Leadership being kicked up in the dust behind Sonic as he runs.  The Autobot symbol also appears on Rotor's computer console.  Finally, Soundwave (pictured, right) can be seen in his Cybertronic form in the background at one point.  (It is interesting to note that the Matrix always seems to pop up behind Sonic Prime.)
  • A fire safety ad that appears in numerous issues features a superhero (named Inferno, incidentally) instructing two boys who each just happen to have an Autobot and Decepticon insignia on their shirts.
  • The Autobot Matrix appears again in SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #81, once more following Sonic in a trail of assorted debris.²¹  You can also see an Autobot insignia mounted on the wall at one point in this issue.
  • In issue #96, Sonic is reading a comic book called "Auto Hero" that depicts an Autobot symbol on the cover.  In the comic, a character disappears into a Cyber-Tone phone booth, and emerges as a caped superhero wearing Optimus Prime's mask and colors, and proclaims, "Roll Out!"³¹
• The Tick: Mighty Blue Justice.  This tie-in book has a page of grandiose plans for a "Tickmobile," including the note, "Some cars I've seen on TV can turn into giant robots.  Find out how this is done!"¹
• THUNDERBOLTS.  In issue #4, the character Meteorite says, "But like those popular children's toys of a few years ago, there's more to us than meets the eye."¹²
• WOLVERINE.  In issue #140, Wolverine and Nightcrawler are searching for Magneto, who was reportedly spotted in a junkyard, but instead find his mechanical duplicate along with numerous other robots.  One of the robots they fight (pictured, left), thrown in by artist Leniel Francis Yu, is amalgam of Optimus Prime and Soundwave.  He's even got an Autobot insigna on his chest.²⁰

Books

• Doctor Who: Father Time, Lance Parkin.  This book, set in the 1980's, includes an encounter between the Doctor and a Volkswagen Beetle in which the vehicle transforms into a robot form.²⁶
• Doctor Who: The Taking of Planet 5, Simon Bucher-Jones and Mark Clapham.  One passage is as follows:  "There was a time when it always seemed to be Saturday when I was on Earth, and the children's programmes were excellent, if the memory doesn't cheat." [The Doctor] made folding motions with his hands and muttered something that sounded like "robots in disguise."  In the same novel there is a reference to a planet of alien philosophers known as New Quintesson.¹⁵
• Good Omens, Neil Gaiman/Terry Pratchett.  The novel has a brief mention of transforming toys, as well as a scene where a kid mistakes the Metatron (the voice of God) for Megatron. ¹
• Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace.  This 1996 novel includes a passage in which one of the characters, Don Gately, is having a fever dream in which "it seems somehow real vital to be able to remember his doing something more than just hunkering blankly down amid his Transformer-cars and trying to see if he could hear tiny agonized screams, listening very intently."³⁴
• Needful Things, Stephen King. The novel mentions a kid watching the Transformers cartoon.¹
• Popsy, Stephen King.  In this short story, a character mentions that he wanted to buy some of "those Transformer figures" for his grandson. ¹
• Understanding Comics, Scott McCloud.  A chapter called "Show and Tell" opens with a kid demonstrating a transforming robot toy to his class.¹

Songs/Music Videos

• Alien Nation, "Return to Cybertron"/"Unicron."  This hip-hop group has a vinyl album called "Return to Cybertron" that contains these two tracks, the latter of which has samples from the Beast Wars episode "Other Voices."  The cover for the album (pictured, right) prominently features original artwork of Soundwave and Unicron.⁶
• The Decepticonz, "Intro."  This song from the former ska band's debut album retold the story of the Transformers from the Decepticons' perspective, with lyrics like "from these ships came all our men, masters of deception," and "behind our leader, Megatron, you know that we can't go wrong."²⁴
• DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, "The Magnificent Jazzy Jeff."  This 1987 song from the Rock the House album, contains the following lyrics:  "Now this is a story that should not be forgot/ about the day my DJ turned into an Autobot/ He got struck by lightning in an electrcial storm/ he got coated with the steel, and began to transform!"²⁵
• DMX, "Get At Me Dog."  Part of the song goes something like this:  "When it's on, I transform like Optimus Prime.  I'll form the head--roll out!--let's stay alive."³
• Dr. Dre, "Light Speed.".  This track from the album Chronic 2001 has the line, "Makin' fools retreat like Megatron and Starscream.  Oh yeah, I scream on stars..."³
• Faith No More, "We Care a Lot."  This song form the 1985 Introduce Yourself album has the lyric, "We care a lot... about Transformers, 'cause they're more than meets the eye!"⁵
• Freestylers, Electro Science.  The cover for this album (pictured, left) features an image of Blitzwing, lifted from his TRANSFORMERS UNIVERSE profile and strangely colored. ¹⁹
• Lost Prophets, The Fake Sound of Progress.  The cover art for this album includes a line art drawing of a Macross Valkyrie, which is tangentally-related to Transformers in that it strongly resembles the Jetfire toy. ³²
• Pop Will Eat Itself, "Can U Dig It."  The song includes the line, "We dig Optimus Prime and not Galvatron!"
• Public Enemy, "Fight the Power."  In the beginning of the music video, someone is waving a flag sporting a Decepticon insignia.¹⁰
• Rahzel, "Make the Music 2000."  At the beginning of the second verse, the self-proclaimed "Human Soundwave" proclaims, "Drop more bombs than Megatron, watch me transform!"  At this point he makes a passable transformation sound effect, and then the video cuts to four different shots from "Transformers: The Movie."³
• 7L & Esoteric, "Be Alert." This track contains samples from the Transformers cartoon show (no specific data available at this time).⁶
• Shockwave, Dominicon.  All nine songs from this album were named after Transformers characters, and each of them includes introductory clips from the original cartoon.  ("Ravage" opens with dialogue from "Blaster Blues":  What is that noise?  Humans call it music.  Not this human!)  Also, one of the tracks from Autohate is entitled "Merge for the Kill."²⁴
• Tailothepup, "Starscream."  The transformation sound effect is featured throughout the entire song, and ends with a sound clip of Starscream from the episode "Divide and Conquer."  As of this writing the song is available here.
• Warren G, "Transformers."  The song contains the refrain, "Transformers, bustas in disguise," complete with robotic flanging.¹⁴
• Wu-Tang Clan, "Impossible."  This song includes the passage, "I space knight like ROM, consume planets like Unicron, blastin' photon bombs from the arm like Galvatron."³

Miscellaneous/Obscure Stuff

• Comedy Central.  On one of the network's many television compilations of comic routines, one stand-up comic mentions The Transformers: the Movie and questions why a children's toy would get its own theatrical film.  He asks, "What's next, Etch-A-Sketch the movie?" and proceeds to demonstrate what it might be like if there were two giant knobs on either side of the movie theater screen.³⁶
• Dinosaur Park (Ogden, UT).  A 1999 television commercial for the Dinosaur Park began with a clip show of assorted dinosaur toys, including the Beast Wars Megatron T. rex.
• Johnson State College (VT).  There is a local punk band at the college that calls themselves "Transformers for Girls."³⁰
• Select.  In the November 97 issue of Select (an English music magazine embodying 'fab' and other British adjectives), on page 75, there is an ad for 'The Future Sound of the United Kingdom', a 'UK big beat scene' compilation album. The bottom left of the photo has Red Alert from TRANSFORMERS UNIVERSE #3 cut directly from the comic. ⁴
• Ridge Race 64.  This Nintendo 64 racing game features a desert track with a movie theater.  In the Intermediate skill level, if you enter the theater at night, one side reads Transparents the Movie: More Than Meets the 'Y' and on the other side you'll see "Starring P. Culling as Optimize Prime."  The game also includes a tractor trailer that is nearly identical to Optimus Prime's truck mode.¹⁷

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Acknowledgements

¹TV's Grady, ²M Sipher, ³HooksX, ⁴ bateau@dsuper.net, ⁵Crystal Screamer, ⁶Jeff Morris, Patrick Webber, ⁷Suspsy, ⁸Scarab8006, ⁹Scott E. Kampa, ¹⁰Ben Poston, ¹¹JFoster917, ¹²Aeronaut, ¹³ZacWilliam, ¹⁴The Nixtr, ¹⁵"Josh" (kbowl8343 at charter.net), ¹⁶Metlhd3138, ¹⁷Aryudsoh, ¹⁸Eddie X-Tomb, ¹⁹Punicron, ²⁰David Cousens, ²¹ Jon Brown, ²² Dragonclaw, ²³Robert Pessognelli, ²⁴Hooper_X, ²⁵Outtsyder, ²⁶Brian Kilby, ²⁷Matt Marshall, ²⁸Derek Bassemir, ²⁹Bdrodman, ³⁰Nathan Bouvier, ³¹ShadowWing, ³²bigedmachine at hotmail.com, ³²Devastator, ³³Blevins, ³⁴AriX, ³⁵Jim Lee, ³⁶JSimmons81, ³⁷Ground Zero, ³⁸Wombat King ³⁹Finback, ⁴⁰ChessPieceFace.

Thanks to Kathleen "Nightwind" Kirkland and ppgworld.com for the screen shots.

The Family Circus was created by Bil Keane and is property of King Features Syndicate, ©1986.    Marvin was created by Tom Armstrong and is property of North America Syndicate, ©1986.  Sally Forth was created by Greg Howard is property of King Features Syndicate, ©2004.  This page is not intended to infringe on the trademarks of the aforementioned copyright holders.  I just thought it was neat that they made Transformers references, is all.

This Page Created 1/1/2000
Last Update: 11/1/2004
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