COUNTDOWN: 15 G1 media original Transformers characters who could finally be given toys!

Recent iterations of the ongoing Transformers Generations line have plunged ever greater depths of franchise obscurity when searching for character inspiration, and we couldn’t be more here for it!

That’s been magnified thanks to capsules such as Comic Edition and individual releases like Legacy Devcon, all of which serve to deliver Autobots and Decepticons who, crucially, made their debut in 1980s media, as opposed to hailing from the vintage toy roster to begin with. What a time to be alive!

Loving the number of G1 characters who, for the first time ever, are getting accurate/faithful toys as part of Legacy/AOTP https://t.co/1YRVlMpKrk pic.twitter.com/W3IpMgPLbE

— Sixo | Transformers (@SixoTF) September 23, 2025

In any case, there are plenty more examples of Transformers characters who originated from the original cartoon and comics, and who currently have no real ‘accurate’ toys to their name, so that’s what we’re here to consider today! Sure, some of our choices have been immortalised in figure form before, but never in a way which feels true to their original media depiction. So, here are 15 examples we’d love to see happen before too long.

#15: Scrounge

The Transformers (Marvel US) #17, artwork credit: Perlin / Williams / Yomtov

This isn’t the first time we’ve mentioned Scrounge on one of these lists, and we doubt it’ll be the last! The diminutive Autobot spy with the special arm is a Marvel fan-favourite in many ways, despite his untimely (and frankly quite nightmarish!) end at the hands of Straxus. He did appear in toy form during Combiner Wars as a Cosmos retool, packed in with the Computron box set. Still, it’s high time the adorable but unfortunate lad was given a more faithful homage, complete with his whacky wheel alternate mode!

#14: Rack’n’Ruin

The Transformers: Regeneration One #93 (Retailer Incentive Cover), artwork credit: Senior / Burcham

Rack’n’Ruin is another name that you’ll likely hear mentioned towards the top of any wishlist from a Marvel UK Transformers fan, except in this case, it’s actually two names! Yes, the distinctive duo were fused at the shoulder in an unspecified life-saving operation, making them a memorable part of Impactor’s Wreckers crew after their debut in Target: 2006. A later tie-in promotional booklet would confirm they used to transform into ‘mini-jets’, but this ability was lost during their procedure, meaning they would be an unusual bet for modern toys in more ways than one! We’d love to see it, though.

#13: Playback

This next one is an oddity, if only because it involves several different characters being retroactively merged into one – and quite tenuously at best! You see, the robot above appears in the season 3 cartoon caper “Fight or Flee,” where Scourge and Cyclonus discover a planet of Autobots named Paradron. It’s not long before they encounter loads of different bots, including this striking specimen, who is initially in charge of Paradron’s communications tower. We later see that he’s seemingly been co-opted to the Decepticon cause, now lauding over captured citizens from his own planet, although it’s all unclear! In any case, what’s even more strange is that this character was later deemed by Ask Vector Prime to be one and the same with Playback, an Autobot corpse who we see washed ashore on Earth during the Marvel UK comics B-strip The Big Shutdown! Regardless, it gives this idiosyncratic character design a name – now he just needs a toy!

#12: Nautilus

The Transformers (Marvel UK) #114, artwork credit: Simpson / Perkins

Like many on this list, Nautilus is a blink-and-you-miss-it one-and-done character, but that doesn’t mean his design is any less memorable, especially with such a rocking metal mohawk affair! He’s an Autobot spy who, shortly after the events of the 1986 movie, returns from being deep undercover in Decepticon territory to report back to Rodimus Prime on Galvatron’s whereabouts. It’s a small but crucial role that sets up a very messy series of events, which makes Nautilus worthy of being realised in toy form in our book. The fact that he also happens to look *so damn good* is just the icing on the cake.

#11: Rook

Transformers: Generation 2 (Marvel US) #1, artwork credit: Yaniger / Tokar

Rook is a notable original character from the notoriously ’90s Generation 2 comic run for several reasons. First, he’s one of the more memorable parts of Jhiaxus’ Decepticon descendants brigade, and not just because he’s given an actual speaking role with some sense of characterisation. In fact, Rook crops up fairly frequently throughout the book, often serving as the despot’s right-hand man in various capacities. However, he’s also worth singling out because he manages to survive the whole way through (a bit of a rarity even for the known characters who were there to sell actual toys!), and is present for the now legendary cliffhanger featuring the monstrous Liege Maximo! We’ve had both Jhiaxus and one of his troopers made real in recent Generations form already, and the true big bad will be on the way as part of the Age of the Primes line-up, so why not this humble but faithful foot soldier, too?

#10: Beta

Before Alpha Trion was even an ‘Alpha’ in name, there was already a Beta! In many ways, this courageous warrior is one of the most deserving of all to be made into toy form, given she was instrumental in helping to lead the rebellion of Cybertronian slaves against their cruel masters, the Quintessons! Long before Autobots and Decepticons were even a thing, Beta wore the Autobrand as a mark of oppression, but together with Alpha Trion (then known as A-3), they turned it into a symbol of hope, as told in the episode Forever is a Long Time Coming. There’s already a new Age of the Primes toy which commemorates the look of her comrade from this very episode, so why not Beta herself?

#9: The Triumvirate

The Transformers (Marvel UK) #213, artwork credit: Sullivan / Place

Three for the price of one now with this trio of gluttonous ghouls who hail from an unforgettable Marvel UK B-story, set after Megatron’s (well… kinda) return to Cybertron following Time Wars. With Straxus now deposed as Decepticon leader, a power vacuum has left the spot open for Legonis, Octus, and Seizer to rise up and… do absolutely nothing, really. Well, except to sit around and order everyone to wait on them hand and foot. Yes, they may be a bit of an embarrassment as tyrants go. However, they’re still incredibly memorable and would make for some very distinctive toys!

#8: Megadeath

The Transformers (Marvel UK) 1991 Annual, artwork credit: Staz / Cassell

It’s safe to say that a few of today’s choices would prove pretty wild in figure form… but just *imagine* this guy! Megadeath is hands down one of the creepiest and most repulsive designs ever to originate from the classic Marvel Transformers adventures, only appearing late in the day in a 1991 annual illustrated text story. His evil disposition is arguably even worse, though, as is his impressive arsenal, which includes a bombing aircraft alternate mode (how?!) and a nuclear power core in his chest. We don’t really know why he looks like… that, but seriously, how could you not want to see such a thing made real?

#7: Shockwave’s head guard

Bad guys come in all shapes and sizes, and on the opposite end of the spectrum to the previous entry is this delightfully dorky Decepticon. Looking like a retro 1960s sci-fi reject, the unnamed lackey in question is a much maligned servant of Shockwave’s on Cybertron, as seen in the episode Desertion of the Dinobots. He is in charge of the various other (even more) awkward enforcers running around the abandoned planet, which is enough to put him in the spotlight for today’s list, anyway. Just look at his little fish bowl!

#6: Tusks & Fang

The Transformers (Marvel UK) #82, artwork credit: Smith / Burns

Another pair that have been previously mentioned on similar lists, but c’mon, you’ll forgive us considering the character designs in question, right? After all, Fang is about as splendid as bad guys get, all decked out in green and blue and covered in spikes as he is. However, not even his goofy vibes can contend with Tusks, a rather awkward robot who also happens to function as the resident piano of Maccadam’s Old Oil House! If you can’t see the immediate appeal in such a thing being made into a toy, then we can’t help you.

#5: Decepticon trooper

The Transformers (Marvel UK) #114, artwork credit: Simpson / Perkins

Hailing from the very same legendary issue as Nautilus, this no-name no-good punk is part of a Decepticon airborne hunter squad who thought they got the jump on Rodimus Prime’s Autobots until it turned out they’d been duped. He doesn’t last long on the page, as despite pleading for mercy, our unidentified antagonist soon discovers Rodimus Prime is not as benevolent as his predecessor. Regardless, it’s a design which has long stuck in the mind since the classic tale was first published, and could make for a fun toy design even now! More obscure things have happened.

#4: Trannis

If the name Trannis is unfamiliar to you, then that’s fair enough. After all, it hails from a little-known text story named Cybertron: The Middle Years!, buried away in #83 of the Marvel UK comic. There, we learn the character was a Decepticon who seized power of Cybertron after Megatron vanished to Earth, conquering most of the planet and forcing the surrender of the Autobots at that time. His actions led directly to Emirate Xaaron setting up the underground resistance, whilst Trannis himself was later assassinated by the Wrecker and replaced by Straxus as tyrant-in-chief. However, the name has since been retroactively applied by Ask Vector Prime to an otherwise unidentified warlord briefly featured in the cartoon episode Five Faces of Darkness Part 4. He is glimpsed during Rodimus Prime’s journey into the Matrix and Cybetron’s history and appears to be one of the early Decepticon rulers during the Great War. He’s clearly very Junkion in design (those wheels and that beard are a giveaway), meaning there’s not much stopping us from imagining exactly how he might look in toy form!

#3: Triton

The Transformers (Marvel UK) 1989 Annual, artwork credit: Smith / White

Triton has a rare pedigree in Transformers fiction – he is canonically the last Decepticon alive (at least in this timeline!). In the year 2510, the Autobots have finally defeated their adversaries. Except that’s not quite true, as Triton remains undetected as an undercover operative. He sets about trying to usurp the fragile peace effort by quickly stirring tensions within Rodimus Prime’s ranks, ensuring the ceasefire doesn’t remain for long. Though he is killed in the process (meaning that there are now really no Decepticons left), the damage is done as the Autobots turn on each other and war breaks out all over again. Tell us how this guy doesn’t deserve to be realised in toy form, eh?

#2: Macabre

The Transformers (Marvel UK) #88, artwork credit: Simpson / Perkins

Everyone knows who Impactor is these days (especially as he’s one of the burgeoning number of Marvel UK originals who have had a couple of toys over the years, now!). But how about the guy who killed Impactor, eh? That would be the gloriously gaudy (and delightfully monikered) Macabre, who is so desperate to make a name for himself that he becomes determined to assassinate Emirate Xaaron during the events of Target: 2006. Things go awry, and it’s the wily old buzzard’s faithful soldier who takes the blast instead, whilst Macabre himself suffers an immediate fatal shot and has largely been consigned to obscurity ever since. Well, expect the story proved so influential, he was later brought back by Nick Roche as part of IDW’s Last Stand of the Wreckers, too! If that doesn’t equal enough cred to be granted a toy, we don’t know what does.

SPECIAL MENTION: Spanner

The Transformers (Marvel US) #18, artwork credit: Perlin / Williams / Coletta / Yomtov

Included purely as a special mention here because honestly, we have zero clue how such a thing would even work as a practical toy of any kind, Spanner is also one of the most unfortunate Cybertronians of all! A scientist who opted not to choose a side in the Autobot/ Decepticon conflict, he was later forced to build a space bridge to Earth by the cruel Lord Straxus, only for the tyrant to make his captive part of his creation, too! Nightmare fuel.

SPECIAL MENTION: Hook, Line & Sinker

The Transformers (Marvel US) #66, artwork credit: Senior / Yomtov

Another special mention now on account of these guys not *technically* being Transformers – or even Cybertronians at all – but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t make for intriguing toys all the same! The punnily-named trio are heralds of Unicron, created with the sole purpose of retrieving an alternate universe Galvatron to serve the chaos bringer in the present era. The timey-wimey multiverse stuff can be confusing at times, but needless to say, these three are extraordinarily cool!

#1: Sentinel Prime

OK, I know what you’re going to say – there already *is* a Sentinel Prime toy. Actually, a few of them exist! Yet hear me out here, because whilst that’s absolutely true, none of them are designed after what has later been retconned as the character’s classic cartoon appearance during the same Five Faces of Darkness Part 4 flashback where we meet Trannis! Initially known by the rather workaday name of “U-Haul Robot”, this blue and orange Autobot ancestor was given the Sentinel identity originating from the Marvel comics after being depicted wielding the Matrix of Leadership, thus cementing his legacy as the now familiar character. It’s quite a different appearance to anything we’ve seen in terms of other toy designs, too, so it could be truly fun to see, especially with another robot from these same scenes going on to inspire the appearance of Age of the Primes Prima Prime! Could it ever happen? We shall see!

So that’s our list! Which of these would you most like to see as toys?

TTFN