In the early 1990s, it seemed like the "Transformers" craze of the 1980s had fizzled out. The first sign of the decline was when "The Transformers" cartoon ended in 1987. The toy line and comic kept chugging along, but then ended early in the 1990s. The last major push of the "Transformers" toy line, Action Masters (Transformers who didn't transform ), proved that the franchise was running on fumes. A 1992 reboot, "Transformers: Generation 2," didn't take either.

Obviously, the fortunes of "Transformers" improved from there. The franchise has been going strong for 40+ years; it became a blockbuster movie franchise in 2007 and there's been a plethora of "Transformers" cartoons and comic books since. (The latest news? A cartoon is in development adapting Skybound's recent "Transformers"

See Full Page