Transformers is a brand of toys marketed by the American company Hasbro, Inc. Each toy can transform from a robot into a vehicle, a beast, or another form. Transformers have won admiration for the clever craftsmanship that enables them to change form. They have been the subject of comic books, games, motion pictures, and television programs. 
The Polish American businessman Henry Orenstein created Transformers in the early 1980’s. Orenstein, a toy inventor, had founded the company Topper Corporation decades earlier. Topper enjoyed some success in the 1950’s and 1960’s with the Suzy Homemaker line of toy appliances and licensed toys based on the TV series “Sesame Street.” However, Topper went bankrupt in the early 1970’s. By the early 1980’s, Orenstein was looking for a new hit toy. At a toy fair, he saw potential in two Japanese toy lines: Microman and Diaclone. Microman was a line of robot action figures with movable joints. Diaclone toys were vehicles that could transform into larger robots piloted by tiny figures.
Orenstein arranged a branding deal between Takara—the Japanese manufacturer of Microman and Diaclone—and Hasbro, Inc. Hasbro released the Transformers toy line in 1984. The new toys resembled the Diaclone toys but had a different background story. They also did not include the tiny pilot figures. According to the Transformers’ story, alien robots from the planet Cybertron were hiding on Earth disguised mainly as cars, trucks, and other vehicles. One group, known as the Autobots, defended Earth from their villainous rivals, the Decepticons.
The animated TV series “The Transformers” (1984-1987) explored the story of the Autobots and Decepticons. The heroic Optimus Prime, who transformed into a tractor-semitrailer, led the Autobots. Megatron, who transformed into a gun, led the Decepticons. The Transformers: The Movie (1986) also features animated Transformers. “The Transformers” TV series was edited in the early 1990’s to include computer-generated imagery (CGI) and additional scenes meant to reframe the story. The resulting series, “Transformers Generation 2” (1992-1994), was presented as a fictional history lesson for future Cybertronians. 
Transformers enjoyed new popularity with the release of the motion picture Transformers (2007), by the American director Michael Bay. The film featured live actors alongside advanced CGI Transformers. It starred the American actors Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox. The Canadian American actor Peter Cullen voiced the character Optimus Prime for the film, as he had done for “The Transformers” TV program. Later “Transformers” films include Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009); Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011); Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014); Transformers: The Last Knight (2017); Bumblebee (2018); and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023).
