The Transformers And G.I. Joe Have Crossed Over Before – Here's What Happened

It's happening — the crossover that Paramount Pictures shareholders everywhere demanded, "Transformers" and G.I. Joe." The latest "Transformers" film, "Rise of the Beasts," ended with lead Noah (Anthony Ramos) being offered a job with G.I. Joe — his new employers are especially keen to meet his robot friends.

Assuming a sequel is in the cards (with the current box office returns for "Rise of the Beasts," it's unclear), an Autobot/Joe team-up seems like the route it will take. The owner of both the "Transformers" and "G.I. Joe" comics, Robert Kirkman's Skybound Entertainment, is also launching new series of both. This time, the two properties will be linked from the beginning — another sign the Powers That Be are pushing this crossover hard.

"Transformers" and "G.I. Joe" have parallel histories. Both brands began in the 1980s as toylines owned by Hasbro and had cartoons that were really just half-hour commercials for the toys. The two cartoons had many of the same writers and voice actors; Christopher Collins used the same screechy voice for Cobra Commander in "G.I. Joe" and the Decepticon Starscream in "Transformers."

Oddly, the cartoons have never intersected much; the closest thing to a crossover was some cameos in "The Transformers" season 3. Since that season was set in the far-off future of 2006, it was able to offer some epilogues for the "G.I. Joe" cast. Captain Marissa Faireborn, a recurring human friend of the Autobots, is the daughter of the Joes' Flint (real name Dashiell Faireborn) and Lady Jaye. Cobra Commander also appears in the episode, "Only Human." With Cobra apparently ancient history, the Commander has become a mercenary called "Old Snake." He digs up some old Cobra technology to help crime boss Victor Drath turn four Autobots into humans.

The comics have been where "Transformers" and "G.I. Joe" crossovers happened. Both series had an ongoing comic published by Marvel ("G.I. Joe" written by Larry Hama, "Transformers" by Bob Budiansky then Simon Furman). In 1986, the series intersected with the 4-issue mini-series "G.I. Joe and the Transformers" by Michael Higgins and Herb Trimpe. The Decepticons and Cobra team up, and after a misunderstanding, the Autobots and Joes ally to defeat their shared enemies. "G.I. Joe" characters also appeared in the sequel series, "Transformers: Generation 2" (written by Furman), where Megatron makes a deal with Cobra to build him a new body (one resembling his on-the-market toy).

The most surprising thing about the original Marvel crossover is that "G.I Joe" got top-billing. Once the 1980s ended, it became clear that the Robots in Disguise were the franchise with staying power while the Joes were too '80s to adapt.

In 2003, Devil's Due Press (then the owner of the "G.I. Joe" comics license) used "Transformers" as a draw for their series with crossover "G.I. Joe vs Transformers" — Cobra discovers the dormant Autobots and Decepticons and converts them into weapons. In 2004, Dreamwave Comics published the World War 2 set mini-series "Transformers/G.I. Joe" (written by John Ney Rieber, penciled by Jae Lee).

IDW Publishing (owner of the "Transformers" comic license from 2005 to 2022, and "G.I. Joe" from 2008 to 2022) launched a shared universe of Hasbro Properties with the 2016 event "Revolution." However, "Transformers" was the center of this universe; it all ended with the mini-series "Transformers: Unicron" (written by John Barber, art by Alex Milne) which was mainly about wrapping up the "Transformers" storylines with mere cameos from the other franchises.

The movies appear to be taking the same route. The plan is to have "G.I. Joe" characters show up in the next "Transformers" movies; it's clear who's supporting who. The IDW comics did something similar, inserting a Transformer into the main cast of the 2017 "G.I. Joe" comic. However, this decision was saved from gimmickry by writer Aubrey Sitterson choosing the most unexpected Transformer possible.

Skywarp was one of the original Decepticons; he shared a design and jet alternate mode with his fellow "Seekers," Starscream and Thundercracker, but stood out thanks to his striking black-and-purple color scheme. His character bio described him as a simple-minded bully, one who enjoyed playing pranks with his unique teleportation ability.

In the IDW comics, the Seekers go their separate ways after the Autobot/Decepticon war ends. Starscream maneuvers himself into becoming Cybertron's new leader while Thundercracker retires to Earth and tries to become a writer. Skywarp, ever a brute, signs up with the revenant Decepticons led by Galvatron and Soundwave. During the events of the ongoing comic "Robots in Disguise," his teleportation abilities malfunction and he starts phasing in and out of reality. To get himself fixed, he reluctantly joins G.I. Joe, serving as both the team's transportation and weapon of mass destruction. Skywarp's fighter jet mode actually goes with G.I. Joe's military theme. However, personality-wise he's one of the worst fits for the team; he has no care for humans, even viewing his own teammates as little more than insects. 

If I were writing the "Transformers" + "G.I. Joe" movies, the Joes drafting a Decepticon would be at the top of ideas I'd want to explore. Which of these comics, if any of them, will the movies take a page from? We can only wait and see.

"Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" is playing in theaters.