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First Crossover Transformer - 1996 Onyx Primal/Batman

PostPosted: Fri Mar 02, 2012 9:11 pm
by Orin McMonigle
I'm sure we're all familiar with the various crossover transformers with Star Wars and Marvel but I am writing to ask if anyone is aware of any crossover transformers prior to the Botcon 1996 Onyx Primal Batman repaint (Kenner owned both toys at the time). I am interested in knowing if it is in fact the first crossover?

Re: First Crossover Transformer - 1996 Onyx Primal/Batman

PostPosted: Fri Mar 02, 2012 9:37 pm
by Screamfleet
Depends what you mean by crossover, cause spider-man appears in the early issues of the transformers comic.

Re: First Crossover Transformer - 1996 Onyx Primal/Batman

PostPosted: Fri Mar 02, 2012 9:53 pm
by Optimum Supreme
Screamfleet wrote:Depends what you mean by crossover, cause spider-man appears in the early issues of the transformers comic.


He likely means a Transformers toy (this is the toy forum after all! :D ) that is somehow also connected to another franchise, not a crossover in the fiction like Spidey and GI Joe showed up way back when.

Re: First Crossover Transformer - 1996 Onyx Primal/Batman

PostPosted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 7:11 am
by Orin McMonigle
Yes, in crossover transformer the word toy is the context of the question (and the forum). Anybody familiar with an earlier crossover transformer toy?

Re: First Crossover Transformer - 1996 Onyx Primal/Batman

PostPosted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 7:26 am
by RhA
Onyx is not a crossover, more like a nod at best. Those horrible Marvel TF's are the first, I'd say.

Re: First Crossover Transformer - 1996 Onyx Primal/Batman

PostPosted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 12:51 pm
by zodconvoy
I have Onyx Primal and he is not a cross over. Botcon in the 90's didn't have anywhere near Batman money. And his writeup was that "AND YOU WILL KNOW MY NAME IS THE LORD" speech from Pulp Fiction with his name substituting the word Lord. Hell, the only person who even thinks that the original blue bat Primal is a Batman crossover is David Willis and he gets weird with the "my personal canon is right because I know people" crap.

It's a fun little guy for as long as the transforming gimmick holds out. These things weren't designed to last 15+ years, after all. I kept mine in the foreground of my Scourge/Nemesis Prime display for years and just stuck him back in the box and put it in the closet when I took that down.

I know that Snowcat from Energon is based on the GIJoe vehicle of the same name. But even before that, in G2 there were GoBot characters, even one toy named "GoBots." They pluralized it and everything. When I was a kid, I thought that the Tracks winged car mode was a MASK crossover but that's just the weird idea of a 5 year old in the 80's.

Re: First Crossover Transformer - 1996 Onyx Primal/Batman

PostPosted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 1:22 pm
by Dead Metal
Yea as Zod pointed out OnyPrimal is not a Crossover, he's a homage.

IF you're looking for homages there is also Energon Crulock, who transforms into a robotic version of the American Godzilla.

Then there is Energon Signal Flare, who transforms into a MASER tank, you know those useless tanks fromt the Godzilla movies that get blown up the moment they attack big G.

G1 Megatron's altmode is based on a modified Walter from the TV show "The man from U.N.C.L.E..

There's more but I'm too lazy to list them all.

Re: First Crossover Transformer - 1996 Onyx Primal/Batman

PostPosted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 1:32 pm
by RhA
Dead Metal wrote:Yea as Zod pointed out OnyPrimal is not a Crossover, he's a homage.

IF you're looking for homages there is also Energon Crulock, who transforms into a robotic version of the American Godzilla.

Then there is Energon Signal Flare, who transforms into a MASER tank, you know those useless tanks fromt the Godzilla movies that get blown up the moment they attack big G.

G1 Megatron's altmode is based on a modified Walter from the TV show "The man from U.N.C.L.E..

There's more but I'm too lazy to list them all.


Bloody crap, Singal Flare is a MASER. I never made the connection.

Re: First Crossover Transformer - 1996 Onyx Primal/Batman

PostPosted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 2:12 pm
by Mkall
It took me a while, but I tracked down a Dealer Exclusive version of Onyx Primal. I love the mold to pieces. As a kid, he was the first figure I owned (The blue one of course) that had dual swords and could do some pretty cool poses.

Re: First Crossover Transformer - 1996 Onyx Primal/Batman

PostPosted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 2:18 pm
by Windsweeper
I've heard a few people say that Turbomaster Boss is loosely based on Michael Keaton's Batmobile.

Stake Out was based on the cop cars in Robocop.

Re: First Crossover Transformer - 1996 Onyx Primal/Batman

PostPosted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 4:11 pm
by Screamfleet
RhA wrote:Onyx is not a crossover, more like a nod at best. Those horrible Marvel TF's are the first, I'd say.


This is why I didn't understand the question, because homage =/= crossover.

Re: First Crossover Transformer - 1996 Onyx Primal/Batman

PostPosted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 6:54 pm
by Chaoslock
I thought this guy was meant to be the first crossover (with the GIJoes):
http://www.toyarchive.com/Transformers/ ... mers1.html

Re: First Crossover Transformer - 1996 Onyx Primal/Batman

PostPosted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 7:36 pm
by zodconvoy
Windsweeper wrote:I've heard a few people say that Turbomaster Boss is loosely based on Michael Keaton's Batmobile.

I had toy cars like that in the early 80's. It was just a common super future car design with a turbine in it.

Chaoslock wrote:I thought this guy was meant to be the first crossover (with the GIJoes):
link

I'd say that doesn't count since it wasn't released.

Beast Wars Megatron is a total color palette swipe from Barney. You know it's true!

Re: First Crossover Transformer - 1996 Onyx Primal/Batman

PostPosted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 7:42 pm
by Mkall
zodconvoy wrote:
Windsweeper wrote:I've heard a few people say that Turbomaster Boss is loosely based on Michael Keaton's Batmobile.

I had toy cars like that in the early 80's. It was just a common super future car design with a turbine in it.

Chaoslock wrote:I thought this guy was meant to be the first crossover (with the GIJoes):
link

I'd say that doesn't count since it wasn't released.

Beast Wars Megatron is a total color palette swipe from Barney. You know it's true!

Only partially - I don't recall seeing any lime green on him. The did get the insidious personality pretty accurate though.

Re: First Crossover Transformer - 1996 Onyx Primal/Batman

PostPosted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 9:04 pm
by zodconvoy
Mkall wrote:
zodconvoy wrote:Beast Wars Megatron is a total color palette swipe from Barney. You know it's true!

Only partially - I don't recall seeing any lime green on him. The did get the insidious personality pretty accurate though.

Not only is his whole stomach green but he even has the spots on his back. Image
Also, curse you for making me Google Barney the Dinosaur.

Re: First Crossover Transformer - 1996 Onyx Primal/Batman

PostPosted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 10:51 pm
by Orin McMonigle
Mkall wrote:It took me a while, but I tracked down a Dealer Exclusive version of Onyx Primal. I love the mold to pieces. As a kid, he was the first figure I owned (The blue one of course) that had dual swords and could do some pretty cool poses.

How much was that one?

Re: First Crossover Transformer - 1996 Onyx Primal/Batman

PostPosted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 7:58 am
by Orin McMonigle
Also, what number is yours? Mine is 094. There weren't even twenty vendors at that botcon and there were 1700 "Batman repaints" made for that botcon but nobody knows if out of those there were 100 dealer exlusives, 150, 200?

Re: First Crossover Transformer - 1996 Onyx Primal/Batman

PostPosted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 8:36 am
by RhA
zodconvoy wrote:
Mkall wrote:
zodconvoy wrote:Beast Wars Megatron is a total color palette swipe from Barney. You know it's true!

Only partially - I don't recall seeing any lime green on him. The did get the insidious personality pretty accurate though.

Not only is his whole stomach green but he even has the spots on his back. Image
Also, curse you for making me Google Barney the Dinosaur.


Mind blown.

In a bad way.

Re: First Crossover Transformer - 1996 Onyx Primal/Batman

PostPosted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 12:10 pm
by Mkall
Orin McMonigle wrote:
Mkall wrote:It took me a while, but I tracked down a Dealer Exclusive version of Onyx Primal. I love the mold to pieces. As a kid, he was the first figure I owned (The blue one of course) that had dual swords and could do some pretty cool poses.

How much was that one?

Fairly inexpensive considering. I think I paid only 100 or so after shipping

Orin McMonigle wrote:Also, what number is yours? Mine is 094. There weren't even twenty vendors at that botcon and there were 1700 "Batman repaints" made for that botcon but nobody knows if out of those there were 100 dealer exlusives, 150, 200?

I think 70-something. I'm not near it at the moment. Oddly enough no one I've found seems to know how many dealer Exclusive versions there are out there, at least not that I can find at the moment.

Re: First Crossover Transformer - 1996 Onyx Primal/Batman

PostPosted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 12:40 pm
by Orin McMonigle
It has been a little while but I'm pretty sure they didn't tell the vendors how many they made.