Universe (2003 toyline)

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The original Universe toyline, launched in 2003, was originally conceived as a line entirely made up of redecos (and occasionally retools) of toys from older lines.

Even though the line was effectively cancelled in its original form after a little more than a year, it still continued in other forms (such as rebranded toys from older lines) for nearly three more years, coupled with the odd delayed release from its original run.

The current Universe line launched in 2008 shares its name with the old line, but has a different underlying concept.

History and overview

Precursors

The Universe line was, in a way, a continuation of the extended Robots in Disguise line, which also consisted of redecos of toys from older lines, most of which were available as store exclusives.

The Wal-Mart exclusive Dinobots mini-line that was available concurrently with the Armada line was also a precursor of the Universe line in some ways.

Lastly, the name of the line originated with the BotCon 2002 exclusive toys, which were branded with the title Expanded Universe.

Initial conception and original run

The Universe line was originally intended to run concurrently with the main Energon line and the Alternators and Commemorative Series lines and consisted of the mass retail price points "Deluxe" ($10USD) and "Ultra" ($20USD). In addition, an unusually huge number of store exclusives single toys and multi-packs (often with additional Mini-Cons or Mini-Con teams) was released as well. Some of those multi-packs were even available at lower prices than the original releases of those molds combined. The OTFCC 2003 and 2004 exclusives were also branded "Universe".

The molds used for the Universe line spanned from as far back as late-Generation 1 to the most recent lines. Molds from Beast Machines and Armada were particularly common in the line. Some molds that had previously only been available in Japan (such as Big Convoy or the Micromaster Sixcombiner teams) were also made available to Hasbro's target audience for the first time that way.

The first wave of toys came with a pack-in CD-ROM featuring related stories and games.

The line was officially only available on the American market, although some toys (the aforementioned Micromasters, in particular) were released in some European countries in Energon and Cybertron packaging, coupled with a few American imports (such as the Battle in a Box sets) that were sold by online retailers and specialty stores.

Discontinuation and continuation

The Universe line effectively died as a mass retail line when Wal-Mart decided to discontinue the Ultra Class assortment in late 2004 due to low sales. Earlier that year, Wal-Mart had already stocked half a dozen of exclusive Universe toys, which had also ended up as shelfwarmers. The Deluxe assortment was cancelled by Hasbro shortly afterwards.

Two more KB Toys exclusive Deluxe toys (in Cybertron-esque packaging) followed in 2005, as well as two more KB Toys exclusive Micromaster waves in 2005 and 2006, respectively. Furthermore, three Ultra two-packs that had already been produced before the Ultra assortment was cancelled eventually ended up as Target exclusives, also in 2006.

Aside from those delayed releases of already planned toys (except for the KB Deluxes), the Universe line was still continued for nearly four more years (!) following the cancellation of the mass retail assortments, but now only in the form of rebranded toys from more recent lines such as Energon, Cybertron and Classics, with no redecos whatsoever. Those toys were mostly available from liquidator stores such as Dollar General, Family Dollar or Tuesday Morning. Even a new mold, which was available as a Chevrolet online store exclusive in 2008, used the old Universe logo in its instruction sheet.

Legacy and successors

After the Universe line had ended as a mass retail line, the short-lived 2006 Classics line briefly served as an all-encompassing line that contained a few redecos of toys from older lines (most notably Legends of Cybertron figures) in addition to new molds.

The 2007 live-action Movie toyline also contained a considerable number of redecos of toys from older lines, starting with the Target exclusive Scout Class assortment, later followed by other store exclusive redecos of toys from the Armada, Energon and Cybertron lines.

Hasbro ultimately launched a "new" Universe line in 2008 which combined the predominant "new molds" aspect of the Classics line with the "redeco" aspect of the old Universe line. The widely accepted way to distinguish between toys from the two Universe lines (it's unclear whether Hasbro officially thinks of them as one and the same, or as two lines using the same name) is the different logo. The old Universe logo was last used for Swerve, the aforementioned Chevrolet exclusive.

Universe toys

The redeco line (2003 - 2006)

Tiny Tins (mass retail)

Wave 1 (March 2004)

• Dirt Boss
• Downshift
• Mirage

Note: An odd exception to the "redeco" rule of the early Universe line, these three Mini-Cons, released individually with additional Tiny Tins, were unchanged from their original releases as part of the Armada Race Mini-Con Team.

Deluxes (mass retail)

Wave 1 (June 2003)

• Reptilion
• Silverbolt
• Snarl

Wave 2 (August 2003)

• Blackarachnia
• Dinobot Striker

Wave 3 (October 2003)

• Inferno
• Ratchet

Wave 4 (January 2004)

• Dinobot Triceradon
• Skywarp

Wave 5 (March 2004)

• Skydive

Wave 6 (August 2004)

• Fireflight with Mini-Cons Firebot and Thunderwing
• Nemesis Strika

Wave 7 (October 2004)

• Air Raid & Wind Sheer two-pack
• Swerve with Mini-Con Roadhandler

Wave 8 (February 2005)

• Longhorn
• Night Slash Cheetor
• Frostbite

Wave 9 (April 2005)

• Blastcharge

Ultras (mass retail)

Wave 1 (July 2003)

• Optimus Primal
• Razorclaw

Wave 1.5 (October 2003)

• Tankor & Obsidian two-pack

Wave 2 (November 2003)

• Depthcharge

Wave 2.5 (March 2004)

• King Atlas

Wave 3 (August 2004)

• Whirl with Mini-Cons Makeshift and Gunbarrel
• Stockade & Magna Stampede two-pack with with Mini-Cons Terradive and Prowl

Wave 3.5 (October 2004)

• Soundwave and Space Case

Note: A fully-fledged fourth mass retail wave was planned; but ultimately the new toys that would have been included with it ended up as Target exclusives.

KB Toys exclusive Micromasters

Series I (Protectobots - May 2004)

• First Aid
• Autobot Groove
• Hot Spot
• Prowl
• Red Alert
• Streetwise

Note: The six Protectobots could be merged to form Defensor. The toys were also available as non-exclusive releases on Energon cards in Europe.

Series II (Constructicons - October 2004)

• Bonecrusher
• Buckethead
• Hightower
• Long Haul
• Quickmix
• Scavenger

Note: The six Constructicons could be merged to form Constructicon Devastator. The toys were also available as non-exclusive releases on Energon cards in Europe.

Series III (Railbots - September 2005)

• Midnight Express
• Overload
• Railspike
• Rapid Run
• Swindle
• Tankor

Note: The six Railbots could be merged to form Rail Racer. The toys were also available as non-exclusive releases on Cybertron cards in Europe, even before the US versions came out, with the first sighting hailing from the Netherlands in August 2005. The Universe versions were also available from Australian online retailer Casefresh since July 2005, and at Australian KMart stores since August 2005.

Series IV (Aerialbots - September 2006)

• Air Raid
• Fireflight
• Ro-tor
• Skydive
• Silverbolt
• Storm Jet

Note: The six Aerialbots could be merged to form Superion. The toys were also available as non-exclusive releases on Cybertron cards in Europe, even before the US versions came out, first being stocked by UK-based online retailer The Entertainer in March (!) of 2006. In the USA, the Universe versions were later also found at CVS Pharmacy stores.

Other store exclusives

KB Toys exclusives (September 2005)

• Snow Cat
• Downshift

Note: The packaging for these two toys was odd insofar as it featured Cybertron-specific logos and other design elements. In addition, the assortment number (27271) was identical to that of the KB Toys exclusive Energon redecos of Armada Demolishor and Cyclonus, which were released a year earlier, a rare instance where an assortment number was carried over from one toyline to another one.

KMart exclusives (July 2004)

• Crystal Widow vs. Oil Slick (Battle in a Box two-pack)

"Market Six" exclusives (October 2004)

• Smokescreen vs. Ransack with Mini-Cons & Liftor & Refute (Battle in a Box two-pack)
• Ultra Magnus vs. Treadshot with Mini-Cons Over-Run & Nightbeat (Battle in a Box two-pack)

Note: These two-packs were available from stores such as Kohl's, Meijer, Menards and ShopKo. A third two-pack was also planned, but ultimately never released.

Sam's Club exclusives (September 2003)

• Optimus Prime (RID redeco)
• Ultra Magnus (RID redeco)

Target exclusives

• Nemesis Prime (August 2004)
• Overbite & Repugnus two-pack (March 2006)
• Long Haul & Hightower two-pack (March 2006)
• Bonecrusher & Scavenger two-pack (March 2006)

Note: The three two-packs above were originally planned to be released as wave 4 of the Universe Ultra assortment. However, when Wal*Mart decided to cancel the Universe Ultra assortment, the toys, which had already been produced by that point, were put on hold, and were ultimately released as Target exclusives more than a year later than originally intended.

Toys"R"Us exclusives (March 2004)

• Ramjet with Mini-Cons Thunderclash, Gunbarrel, Terradive and Thunderwing

Wal-Mart exclusives (February 2004)

• Ultra Magnus & Ironhide two-pack (Spychangers)
• Optimus Prime & Prowl two-pack (Spychangers)
• Side Burn (Deluxe)
• Prowl (Deluxe)
• Ruination five-pack (Armorhide, Mega-Octane, Movor, Ro-Tor and Rollbar)
• Sunstorm with Mini-Cons Inferno and Street Action Team (Sureshock, High Wire and Grindor)

OTFCC exclusives

OTFCC 2003 (July 2003)

• Sunstreaker
• Sideswipe
• Roulette and Shadow Striker two-pack

OTFCC 2004 (July 2004)

• Megazarak with Mini-Con Caliburn
• Sentinel Maximus with Mini-Con Ape-Linq

Note: Only Megazarak was actually available at the convention itself. Sentinel Maximus was delayed and was later shipped out by Hasbro themselves in November 2004, following the bankruptcy of 3H Enterprises.

Rebranding and other odds and ends (2005 - 2008)

Spy Changers

Wave 1 (February 2005)

• Hoist
• Autobot Jazz
• Optimus Prime
• Prowl
• Silverstreak
• Wheeljack

Note: These Spy Changers, found at Dollar General and Family Dollar stores, were unchanged from the "G1" Spy Changers exclusively available from KB toys a year earlier. The only change was the packaging.

Wave 2 (August 2006)

• Autobot Camshaft
• Hoist
• Mirage

Note: The second wave, found at Family Dollar, Roses and Dollar General stores, mixed Optimus Prime, Prowl and Autobot Jazz from the first wave with the new additions Autobot Camshaft, Hoist and Mirage...which were unchanged from the second version of the KB Toys exclusive clear redecos of the Robots in Disguise Spy Changers W.A.R.S., Ironhide and Mirage, respectively, other than the names and the packaging.

Basics

Wave 1 (August 2005)

• Perceptor (Grindor, High Wire & Sureshock)
• Insecticon
• Arcee
• Strong Arm
• Windrazor
• Doom-Lock

Note: These "Basics", which were found at Family Dollar, Dollar General and Ocean State Job Lot stores, were all unchanged from the Energon Energon Class toys of the same names other than the packaging, with the exception of "Strong Arm", who was renamed (sorta) from the "Energon Strongarm" redeco from the Energon line, but otherwise unchanged as well. Windrazor's packaging omitted all references to his combiner abilities.

Wave 2 (October 2006)

• Terradive
• Treadshot
• Wideload
• Energon Saber (Scattor, Skyboom and Wreckage)
• Cruellock
• Signal Flare

Note: These "Basics", which were found at Dollar General stores, were all unchanged from the Energon Energon Class toys of the same names other than the packaging. Terradive, Treadshot and Wideload's packaging all omitted any references to their combiner abilities.

Wave 3 (October 2007)

• Scattorshot
• Backstop
• Brakedown
• Undermine
• Brushguard
• Lugnutz

Note: These "Basics", which were found at Dollar General stores, were all unchanged from the Cybertron Scout Class toys of the same names other than the packaging.

Deluxes

Wave 1 (October 2005)

• Storm Jet
• Barricade
• Steamhammer
• Sharkticon

Note: These Deluxes, which were found at Big Lots, Tuesday Morning and KB Toys stores, were all unchanged from the Energon Combat Class toys of the same names other than the packaging. Storm Jet, Barricade and Steamhammer's packaging all omitted any references to their combiner abilities.

Multi-packs

Wal*Mart exclusives (November 2007)

• Opposites Attack (Excellion vs. Thundercracker)
• Search for the Pirate Moon (Downshift vs. Cannonball)

Note: The toys in these two-packs were unchanged from the Cybertron Deluxe Class toys of the same names. Both packs were originally available as non-exclusive mass retail releases in the Philippines in September 2007, and were later available as Wal-Mart exclusive Black Friday releases in the United States in November of the same year.

Other (September 2007/July 2008)

• The Ultimate Battle (Optimus Prime vs. Megatron)

Note: The toys in this two-pack, originally found at Dollar General stores in September 2007 and later also at KB Toys stores in July 2008, were unchanged from the two-pack of the same name originally released as part of the Classics line other than the packaging.

New molds

Chevrolet Store exclusive (March 2008)

• Swerve

Note: Samples of this toy originally popped up in China in August 2007, coupled with rumors about it being some kind of Chevrolet promotional item. To this very day, there is no evidence that Swerve has ever been officially available in China. Hasbro also told a story at BotCon 2008 about the toy having been intended for a Chevy promotion in Europe; but again, there's no evidence that this promotion has ever actually happened. The only confirmed official release of Swerve was via the Chevrolet online store in March 2008.

Unreleased toys

In early 2004, a large number of stolen samples of toys intended for the Universe line appeared on eBay. Even though none of those toys were ultimately released, all of them were later officially revealed by Hasbro one way or another. Also, many of them later did see a release through other outlets than originally intended:

• Redecos of the Armada Super-Cons Hot Shot and Wheeljack as Generation 1 Smokescreen and Generation 2 Drench (but as a Decepticon like "Euro" Drench), respectively, including their respective Mini-Con partners Jolt and Wind Sheer. These were confirmed by Hasbro as an intended third Battle in a Box two-pack that would have been available from the same stores as the Smokescreen/Ransack and Ultra Magnus/Treadshot two-packs. While the "Smokescreen" redeco of the Hot Shot mold still hasn't seen a release, the "Drench" redeco of the Wheeljack mold was later released—with slight modifications—by the Transformers Collectors' Club as the BotCon 2008 exclusive "Shattered Glass" Sideswipe toy.
• A redeco of the Armada Giga-Con Jetfire, including redecos of his Mini-Con companion Comettor and the Space Mini-Con Team (Astroscope, Sky Blast and Payload). A listing found in a Toys "R" Us computer confirmed this as an intended TRU exclusive named "Spacewarp", which was ultimately never released. However, the Transformers Collectors' Club later released the toy in a slightly modified version of this deco, sporting a new head sculpt, as Astrotrain. While the Comettor redeco (named Starcatcher) was included, the Space Team redecos were replaced by redecos of the Cybertron Giant Planet Mini-Con Team.
• Redecos of the Beast Wars Deluxe toys Cheetor, Tarantulas/Blackarachnia, Transmetal Waspinator and Mutant Soundwave. More than two years later, an odd checklist update on Hasbro's public Transformers website (which was "fixed" days later) revealed what appeared to be the intended names for those toys, as well as their intended purpose: Leatherhide (Soundwave) vs. Blackarachnia and Nightprowler (Cheetor) vs. Waspinator were apparently intended to be two Wal-Mart-exclusive "Halloween Horrorcon" two-packs. While the Cheetor and Tarantulas/Blackarachnia molds were later used again as part of the Beast Wars 10th Anniversary and Beast Wars Telemocha lines, none of these specific decos have been officially released thus far.
• Redecos of the Generation 1 Seacons that were supposed to be available as a Wal-Mart-exclusive giftset, named "Piranhacons", with the combined form named "Piranhaking". Even though the aforementioned checklist on Hasbro's public website confirmed them as having been intended for the Universe line, Hasbro themselves stated at OTFCC 2004 that Wal-Mart had asked them to release them under the Energon banner instead. Either way, Wal-Mart later decided to back out of the deal. Instead, the Seacons (now under their original Generation 1 names again) are going to be available via the Transformers Collectors' Club in 2008.
• In addition, a Chinese distributor list leaked to the internet in 2004 contained the names of four more toys listed under the mass-retail Deluxe assortment, namely "Sonar", "Optimus Primal", "Optimus Minor" and "Thrustor". It's unclear whether there were ever any concrete plans behind those names, or whether they were merely placeholder names.
• The Allspark fansite also received details about planned OTFCC 2005 exclusives following the bankruptcy of 3H Productions. These included retools/redecos of Energon Strongarm as Brawn and Roadbuster, Energon Slugslinger as Devcon, Robots in Disguise Megatron as Beast Wars Transmetal 2 Megatron and Robots in Disguise Optimus Prime as Generation 1 Hot Spot/Defensor. With the exception of Hot Spot/Defensor, who was shown as a prototype, none of the other ideas made it beyond the design stage.

Trivia

• The Grimlock & Swoop/Mega-Dinobot combiner was originally intended for the Universe line, which would have made it the first newly created mold(s) be initially released as part of the line. However, Hasbro ultimately decided to release it as a two-pack in the Energon line instead. As a consequence, Chevrolet Swerve was the first (and only) new mold to be released under the original Universe banner...in 2008, shortly before the second Universe line was launched.
• On their official Transformers website, Hasbro listed several combo-packs of Armada Mini-Con teams (Adventure Team/Sea Team, Road Wrecker Team/Night Attack Team, Race Team/Space Team) under "Universe". The actual toys, however, whch were available from Toys"R"Us and Wal-Mart stores and were unchanged from their Armada releases other than the packaging, came on Energon rather than Universe cards.

See also

• Expanded Universe—a short-lived BotCon 2002 exclusive toyline whose characters appear in the Universe comic.