5 Awesomest (and 5 Lamest) Transformers Crossovers Toys

?Back in 2006, Hasbro Wookiee-spiked the Transformers punch, creating a line of toy vehicles that morphed into robotic recreations of characters from the Star Wars universe. Once Marvel was sprinkled in the mix, Spider-Man and company joined the party and the line was henceforth known as Transformers Crossovers. To nerds, this was exciting news indeed. Seeing such iconic brands join forces was almost the perfect confluence of events, like winning an Ash figure from Evil Dead as a door prize on Free Comic Book Day.

The Crossovers story is kind of jumbled, but basically, these bots aren’t supposed to be mirror images of the characters they’re inspired by. For Marvel, the story goes that Mr. Fantastic and Iron Man did some tweaking with alien tech to create special suits for everyone, while Hasbro (kind of) leans on the Force and dark side to explain why Star Wars vehicles can suddenly change into giant robots that look like their pilots.
With that in mind, we dig the looks and moves of some of these guys, while we really question why a portion of the others ever escaped the factory floor.

THE AWESOMEST:

5) Wolverine/Jeep

?It’s no secret that Wolverine is one popular dude; no nerd can resist the unstoppable Canuck. That said, we’re happy to report that he got a fair shake. Besides the nice color scheme and retractable claws, Wolvie here transforms into a Jeep-like vehicle. It’s the perfect solution for when Logan needs a nature break for some trademark wound healin’ and soul searchin’ in his ritualistic flannel.

4) Yoda/Republic Gunship

?Who would’ve thought everyone’s favorite Dagobah-dweller could make such a cool spacebot? Robo-Yoda’s design isn’t perfect, (the articulation’s kinda blah), but overall, we dig this fearsome blend of muppetry and intergalactic aeronautics. Now, if only Frank Oz would do some custom recording: “Transform, we must!”

3) Captain America/Humvee

?This guy kinda resembles what we’d imagine an Optimus Prime Fourth of July Edition to look like, and that’s okay by us. That’s because aside from just looking like a wicked transformable piece of A.I., the toy’s Cap-ish elements are supremely noteworthy. Take the spare tire that converts to a button-powered expandable shield for instance. Or the neat-o adjusting head wings.

2) Ghost Rider/Motorcycle

?Of all the Marvel crossover Transformer toys, Ghost Rider’s entry is probably the truest to the look of the source material. Of course, since he rides a motorcycle, he’d better be. In all fairness, they did a pretty rad job with capturing the feel of the fiery antihero and his bike. The skull kneepads and flame-wheel hand push this guy over the top for us.

1) Darth Vader/Death Star

?We’re thinking this D.V. mech looks super-pissed because of how hard it is for it to transform (read the Amazon reviews – yikes!), but we can forgive the difficulty. Why? Because it’s a freaking talking Darth Vader robot that turns into the Death Star. Not only does it look completely unstoppable, but the toy comes with a lightsaber and several bonus mini figurines, too. Epic.

The Transformers Crossovers that are significantly less than meet the eye begin on the next page.

—-

THE LAMEST:

5) Spider-Man/Helicopter

?We assume this bulky Spider-Man’s frozen, wide-eyed expression came after learning that he’d once again been paired with a vehicle he doesn’t need: in this case, a helicopter. That, or Pete’s just realized that the suit he’s wearing probably inhibits him about as much as it helps. You generally don’t need to worry about flying when you can web-sling between buildings, dude.

4) Luke Skywalker/X-Wing

?Well, looks like Luke’s gotten himself caught up in one of Vader’s torture devices and – wait. What? You mean he’s supposed to move around like that? Oh. How… uncomfortable. If you absolutely have to own a Luke Skywalker Transformer, the snowspeeder version is a safer bet, mostly because it looks like something from Star Wars, not an insect fried by a bug zapper.

3) Han Solo/Millennium Falcon

?We’re not surprised that this robot looks like it’s about to cry; we assume it just discovered its horrendous cyber hair. Or, maybe it read the side of the box it came in, only to learn that it was supposed to look like Han Solo. Either way, this is a complete tragedy. If you’re somehow cursed with receiving this ‘former as a gift, it’s probably best just to leave it in Falcon mode to hide the horror.

2) Carnage/Muscle Car

?Repainting the line’s cool Venom toy and calling it “Carnage” might’ve made sense to someone sitting in an office somewhere. Since the real Venom and Carnage don’t have anything resembling the same physical specs though, we can’t agree. What jelled with Venom’s toy because of the black paint and his larger-than-life image simply stings the eye when applied to his red sometimes-adversary. All is not lost though: if you ever wondered what it might look like if Carnage’s symbiote accidentally took over an abandoned refrigerator, you have your answer. Edutaining!

1) Boba Fett/Slave-1

?So… unbelievably… awkward. Boba Fett’s ride is done plastic justice here, but its mech mode resembles that ill-proportioned classmate who wears sweat pants to every occasion. Needless to say, for the galaxy’s resident bad-ass bounty hunter, it’s a strange juxtaposition. The fact that it calls to mind “Bang Bang Bart (embed link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhPcjbuOrKg)” doesn’t help its cause, either.