Ever since the 1980s, Transformers have been a big deal. For a cartoon literally created to sell toys to children, the Autobots and the Decepticons have had a lasting grip on pop culture. But as with many child-oriented properties of the “80s and “90s, Transformers was coded as “for boys.” Despite being robots – who surely do not reproduce in the same manner as Earth creatures – the Transformers were male. Lady Transformers were thought to be extinct until Elita One, Chromia, Firestar, Moonracer, Greenlight, and Lancer appeared in a single episode (out of 98) of the cartoon. It wouldn”t be until Arcee was introduced in Transformers: The Movie that most people would become aware female Transformers were even possible.
But that was then, and this is now. And now, Hasbro is determined to give girls and boys an opportunity to pick from multiple lady Transformers as their childhood make-believe avatar. Windblade was introduced into the IDW Publishing comic last year – to the usual hand-wringing about girl cooties – but as of now, she is the in good company as the leader of an all-female group of fighters.
HitFix Harpy got an exclusive look at the six women who will be joining Windblade across the Transformers universe. From the new Machinima series Transformers: Combiner Wars to the comic series, these ladies are ready to roll out! You can see them first in the free Android and iOS game from Backflip Studios, Earth Wars.
From the Transformers: Earth Wars press release:
Inspired by Hasbro”s Transformers Generations Prime Wars trilogy, Transformers: Earth Wars players must choose to fight with Optimus Prime and the Autobots or Megatron and the Decepticons in a battle to decide the fate of planet Earth. Once allegiance has been sworn, gamers assemble a powerful team of playable characters, raid enemy bases for Energon stockpiles, and construct the Space Bridge to add reinforcements from Cybertron, all while playing in real-time against other players around the globe.
The game also features notable storytellers and voice actors from the Transformers franchise, including dialogue written by comic legend Simon Furman and voice acting from Peter Cullen, the original voice of Optimus Prime, and Frank Welker, the original voice of Megatron.
My favorite part about these new characters has to be their look. Gone is the vaguely human female shape that dominated past attempts at Transformer women. Instead, these warriors vary in shape, size, and temperament. My personal favs are Pyra Magna and Rust Dust!