Transformers Vs. G.I. Joe - Mania.com
HomeREGISTER HomeRSS 
HomeHOME



31 Comments | Add
 

Rate & Share:
 

Related Links:
 

Info:
  • Series:

Transformers Vs. G.I. Joe

More Than Meets The Eye Transfomers and GI Joe the Real American Hero Face Off

By Chad Derdowksi     October 20, 2009


Transformers Vs. G.I. Joe
© Mania/ Robert Trate

 


Hasbro scored a double victory at the box office this summer with the release of two films based on two of their biggest toy properties: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. Neither film was a hit with many critics, but both performed admirably and ensured that sequels are on the way. With victories over the box office, the toy shelves and against Father Time himself (both of these toy lines have been alive and kicking for over two decades), it’s time to settle the score and answer the question on everyone’s minds: Who would win in a fight?
 
 

Transformers and G.I. Joe Battle

The Cartoons

The Transformers made their debut on September 17, 1984 and enjoyed four seasons and an animated film before the plug was pulled. Their story spanned generations, introduced tons of characters and even saw the death of their leader, Optimus Prime (who was eventually brought back to life). 
 
But four seasons (and one season of “greatest hits” episodes) couldn’t dim the spark. The Transformers were back with Beast Wars in 1996, an all-CGI series that saw them turned into animals. Three seasons of Beast Wars led into a season’s worth of Beast Machines. In 2002, fans were treated to Transformers: Armada. And Armada begat Energon and Energon begat Cybertron… it all gets a little confusing and they’re certainly not all in the same continuity. Then in 2007, we saw the most recent animated incarnation of the Robots in Disguise: Transformers Animated, which lasted three seasons.
 
G.I. Joe made their entrance into the animated world with a five-part miniseries that aired in September of 1983. One year later we got another series and finally in 1985, fans got a proper animated series which ran for two seasons. There was even an animated feature film, but after the lack of success of the Transformers film, it ended up being shown on television as another 5-parter rather than in theaters.
Hasbro cut costs and did another two seasons with different animators, but like those later Transformers series’, most folks just tend to forget about it if they were even aware of it at all. Both Sgt. Savage and his Screaming Eagles and G.I. Joe Extreme attempted to reboot the franchise in the ‘90s with new villains and heroes but neither was a success. The early 2000s saw the release of a couple of direct-to-DVD computer-generated movies and 2005 gave us the debut of G.I. Joe: Sigma 6, another reboot, this time with an anime-influenced style. And in 2009, fans enjoyed the phenomenally awesome G.I. Joe: Resolute. Written by Warren Ellis, this modern take on the classic story originally debuted as 5-minute webisodes before being broadcast on Adult Swim.
 
The Scorecard
With several variations, movies and multiple continuities, it’s a tough call, but it boils down to this: We’ve watched both series recently and neither one is exactly award-winning material. However, we’re able to sit through a number of episodes of Transformers while we can barely stomach even 22 minutes of G.I. Joe. The Transformers movie featured a robot that transformed into a planet and ate other planets. The G.I. Joe movie had worm people who lived in the Himalayas. It doesn’t take a genius to know that Transformers wins the first round, and knowing is half the battle.
 
 

Transformers and G.I. Joe Battle

The Toys

The concept is so simple but so brilliant: robots that turn into vehicles. What kid wouldn’t go completely bananas for that? Transformers started out as two separate Japanese toy lines, Microman and Diaclones, which were imported and refurbished in the states as The Transformers. They were (obviously) a huge hit and many new variations were introduced over the years including Headmasters, Beast Machines and the like. The Transformers continue to spawn new incarnations today, including crossovers with Star Wars, Marvel Comics and even Disney characters.
 
G.I. Joe figures date back to 1964 and have gone through almost as many incarnations as the Transformers, including Action Man, Super Joe and the Real American Hero incarnation that most fans are familiar with. Though not every version of the toy shares this hallmark, one of the most well known features of the Joe toys are their many points of articulation. You can pose them just like real soldiers, a fact that has made them a cherished toy icon for many years. As with the Transformers (toy line and animated series), there have been several different continuities and reboots as well as a return to the classics: both Transformers and G.I. Joe have recently seen figures based on their classic ‘80s incarnations hit the toy stands in recent years.
 
The Scorecard
Cars that turn into robots are cool. A robot that turns into a Walther P-38 is cool. But nothing beats Kung-Fu Grip! Round two goes to G.I. Joe.
 
 

Transformers and G.I. Joe Battle

The Comics

The Transformers had a comic book? Yeah, it turns out that Marvel published 80 issues between 1984 and 1991. However beloved the Transformers comics may have been, they have always been overshadowed by the vastly superior G.I. Joe comics, which were also published by Marvel and ran 155 issues. The ‘80s G.I. Joe comics stand as one of the finest toy tie-ins ever produced as well as one of the most underrated comics of the era, thanks to Larry Hama, who penned the majority of the series.
Both Transformers and G.I. Joe remain in print and continue to see new adventures, as IDW acquired the license to both series’ several years ago.
 
The Scorecard
Yo Joe! The Real American Hero walks away with the victory in this round.
 
 

Transformers and G.I. Joe Battle

The Movies

The first Transformers flick received generally favorable reviews while the second one was one of the worst reviewed films of all time. Nevertheless, both films were big budget spectacles that were allegedly enjoyed by lots of people and made oodles of money. G.I. Joe: the Rise of Cobra was released to poor reviews and big box office receipts. While it wasn’t the hit that either of the Transformers films were, it made enough scratch to ensure that we’ll see the continuing adventures of Joe and Cobra on the big screen in at least one sequel.
Both film franchises are renowned for their simplistic plots that pandered to the lowest common denominator, their overabundance of poor acting and stereotypical portrayal of minorities. They are reviled by fans who can’t make peace with the changes made to both continuity and the appearance of the characters but are adored by filmgoers who just want to shut their brains off for two hours and watch stuff blow up.
 
The Scorecard
Whether or not the films were any good is up to fans and critics to decide. It’s clear that somebody liked them, because they made a whole lot of money and introduced the characters to a whole new generation of fans. But no matter how you slice it, Transformers are the clear cut winners of round four. When it comes to box office muscle, they flexed their techno-organic biceps and crushed G.I. Joe like a paper cup.
 
 

Transformers and G.I. Joe Battle

The Big Fight

We’ve discussed toys, comics and cartoons. We’ve mulled over box office receipts and quality. Now it’s time to get down to brass tacks: the fight. Who would win if G.I. Joe faced off against The Transformers? For the sake of this imaginary matchup, we’ll pit the entire Joe line against the entire Transformers line, meaning that Autobot and Decepticon will find common ground and the Joe team will have the military genius of both Sgt. Slaughter and Serpentor!
 
G.I. Joe represents the best the military has to offer. Their technology far exceeds anything that the current military is using… even the stuff that won’t be declassified for another 20 years. And the stuff Cobra is using is even more advanced than that. They’ve cloned a man using the DNA of dead conquerors!
 
The Transformers are a highly evolved form of sentient machinery with thousands of years of combat experience and the ability to disguise themselves as a variety of everyday objects. Unlike the Joes and Cobras, who use humans to pilot machines of destruction, the Transformers are living machines of destruction.
 
So how does the battle play out? Well, it goes a little something like this: The Transformers turn into robots and step on the Joes and Cobras, squashing them like ants. End of story. This isn’t a Godzilla movie where the military finds a way to defeat a big, lumbering animal; the Transformers are every bit as intelligent as the Joes and Cobras, probably even more so. Yeah, military tactics and know-how are great and firepower would take out a few of them, but ultimately it just boils down to giant robots stepping on humans and squishing them between their big steel toes. Yo Joe? No, Joe. Transformers win hands down.
 
 
 
Become a fan of Mania on Facebook HERE

 

MOVIES REVIEWS

COMMENTS AND RESPONSES

Showing items 1 - 10 of 31
1 2 3 4 >  >>  
TKay42one 10/20/2009 3:05:29 AM

I have to agree...on the whole I think that Transformers has it all over G.I.Joe.  Don't get me wrong, I loved em both as kids...and every weekend I'd take my allowance to Toys R' Us to get a new G.I.Joe figure...hey, when the figures are only $3.00...well, I'd wait for Transformers for Christmas...lol.  The only thing I wish they'd done back then was have toy crossovers too...I knew they crossed over in comics all the time, but how cool would it have been to have had Transformers that were size appropriate to accomodate G.I.Joe's 3 1/2 inche figures?  I think Hasbro missed the boat on that one.  As for the movies...eh, I liked the first Transformers well enough, but hated the second, and didn't bother to see the G.I.Joe movie.  I guess it's fine for people who (like this article says) want to turn their brains off and what stuff blow up, but I just can't do this.  I'm not a high thinker or anything, but...well, I don't buy a bunch of jars of Gerber's in case I don't want to use my jaws at all.  Sorry, but I need a LITTLE mental stimulation in my entertainment.

jedibanner 10/20/2009 6:01:31 AM

Agree....ESPECIALLY on the movie part. Joe's movie suck dunky balls like no other movie did in the past 5 years.

Flint521466 10/20/2009 6:06:25 AM

I too played with them both growing up.  But my brother & I spent way more time playing GI Joe.   We would play for hours.   Like TKay said GI Joe guys were $3.00 so it was easier for us to buy them for ourselves.  Plus Mom would usually always get us "a guy" because she knew damn well that $6 bucks was gonna get her at least 2 hrs. of peace & quiet when we got home.   Those were the days.  No work, wife or kids.  No bullsh!t ya know?  Just long afternoons w/ a 5 man team trying to infiltrate the Terror Dome and take out COBRA's hierarchy.  Suicide mission you say?  Wasn't every GI Joe mission a suicide mission back then?;-) 

savagelee 10/20/2009 8:13:32 AM

GRIMLOCK VS ROADBLOCK - " Play it straight, or there's no doubt - I'll turn your eyeballs inside out."

Man, GI Joe could team-up with the Transformers, and they'd still get taken down by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  

GI Joe's big advantage that Chad left out, is that the Joes are cooler. They've got punk rockers and Buzz Aldrin and Rowdy Roddy Piper, and the Fridge. GI Joes got the Dreadnaughts. What have the Transformers got? A bunch of shiny hunks of double-jointed metal that all look exactly the same from a distance?

I'm saying it loud & proud - Transformers suck rectum, and their music is even worse. Go Joe!

Bryzarro 10/20/2009 8:18:49 AM

Gotta agree on this article as well.  I LOVED both as a child.  but the adult me have to say Transformers went over much better than GI Joe.  I did have a 4:1 ratio of GI Joe to Transformers in toys and as said that was due to a cost factor with my awsome middle class folks! 

GI Joe vehicles could seat 2 sometimes 3 or 4 guys and The Terrordrome was awsome.  We used to build trenches and mountains in the backyard for battle fields. 

Transformers toys were great but were limited to Xmas and the odd surprise.  They were great but not GI Joe great. 

But cartoon wilse as an adult.  I can only watch GI Joe the movie not the shows.  So campy and sometimes lame.  Where as Transformers has some minor camp the battles were great.  I did catch GI Joe Resolute and that friggin blew my mind.  I never thought I would ever see a GI Joe story so well thought out and delivered excellently.

thorin02 10/20/2009 9:24:12 AM

The GI Joe Comic stands as one of the best military oriented comics of all time.  Especially the first 60 or so issues (before the demands of the ever weirder toy tie ins started to eat away at the books efforts at realism and bloated the cast).  Hama's ability to create so many distinct and intereresting characters was amazing.  The cartoon pretty much removed all semblance of realism and dumped down both the characters and plots.  Even as a kid it never hooked me the way the comics did.   Resolute did a good job of capturing the spirit of comic. 

I never could get into the Transformers comic.  I tried but it just never clicked for me.  The cartoon on the other hand rocked.  Unlike movies you actually got to spend time with the Transformers themselves (come on in both movies the Transformers were barely in 25% of the scenes).   And unlike GI Joe the cartoon series does stand up well over time. 

 

gauleyboy420 10/20/2009 9:31:58 AM

I like this list it's fun... And I agree Transformers dominate the humans.

I am getting seriously tired of Transformers movie bashers. C'MON! There are way more people out there that enjoyed the movies than did not, and to say a movie got bad review by critics....seriously? How many movies do critics really give a good review of

Out of all the people I personally know (not in the digital world of rabid fan-boys/girls) most really enjoy the movie. You said yourself you could barely sit through 3-4 episodes and the majority of those episodes involved a robot that turns into a gun yelling at a robot that turns into a plane, and so on...

Like it or not MANY, MANY Transformer fans LOVED the movies...I'm one of them. And I hope we see a few more.

I guess people liked G.I. Joe as well. Me not so much, but I'm not gonna bust a movie a bout a fictional sci-fi (ish) elite military team for being a smash-em up explossion movie.

Transformers 1&2 ARE AWESOME
Thank you Mr. Bay

TKay42one 10/20/2009 9:35:14 AM

Just another thought on the Transformers movie vs. the G.I.Joe movie...if they had intended G.I.Joe for the big screen, what happened to the star power?  Really, the biggest names that I remember are Don Johnson and Burgess Meredith (I would say Sgt. Slaughter also, but he was also in the regular shows, so whatever).  The Transformers movie, on the other hand, had Robert Stack, Leonard Nimoy, Eric Idle, Judd Nelson (say what you want, but you can't deny he was pretty big in the 80's - kind of wondering how he'll do in "Boondock Saints 2") and even Orson Welles!  Maybe they just didn't want to shell out paychecks after the box office let down of "Transformers".

And just a personal note on the toys...nothing will ever beat the Christmas (I think it was 1983 or 1984) when I got the G.I.Joe Tomcat AND the Millenium Falcon...awesome.

TKay42one 10/20/2009 9:40:24 AM

Gauleyboy, I'm not going to put you down for liking the Transformers movies...as I said, I overall enjoyed the first one (could have done with more distinguishing features so that during fight scenes I could tell robots apart instead of just seeing giant rolling balls of metal)...but to try to make a point that most Transformer fans liked the movies...why is that so impressive?  I'd be more impressed if more non fans liked them too.  A lot of non fans I know liked the first one, but most people I've talked to (fans and non alike) were greatly disappointed with "Revenge of the Fallen."

TKay42one 10/20/2009 9:42:41 AM

I think they should have waiting to kill Optimus at the END, and bring him back in the third one.  That's how a lot of awesome trilogies work.  Can anybody tell me that "Empire Strikes Back" was not the most awesome 2nd act?  Luke finds out Vader is his father, Han gets frozen and taken to Jabba...really leaves you NEEDING that 3rd movie.  "Revenge of the Fallen" just left me with a "whatever" feeling.

1 2 3 4 >  >>  

ADD A COMMENT

You must be logged in to leave a comment. Please click here to login.

MOVIES NEWS UPDATES

MORE CONTENT BY CHAD DERDOWKSI

POPULAR TOPICS