R.I.P. Jim Shooter 1951-2025, Transformers Co-Creator

Jim Shooter, a giant of the comics industry, died Monday after a fight with esophageal cancer at the age of 73. Probably most comic and Transformers fans do not know who he is but he was a highly influential part of 1980s comics and foundational to the creation of Transformers. Influence that continues to this day. Reactions from the industry to his death can be found here.

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he rekindled an interest in comics as a young teenager. At the age of 13, he started submitted his writing and artwork for the Legion of Super-Heroes to DC, where at the ripe old age of 14 he received work from DC Comics to write stories for Supergirl, Superman and eventually Legion. This was the beginning of a very long career in comics. While still working as a teenager at DC he multiple characters including the Parasite and the first race between Flash and Superman.

In 1969 he started working for Marvel as an editor and occasional co-plotter. He left to work for work elsewhere before returning to DC and then moving to Marvel as an editor again in 1975. Other comics legends tried to replace Roy Thomas including Len Wein, Marv Wolfman, Gerry Conway, and Archie Goodwin but all found it was a job they didn't like (if a comic fan, you know this is a murder's row of comics legends). This led to him becoming Marvel Editor-In-Chief in January 1978.

During his tenure that lasted until 1987 he oversaw the renaissance of the X-Men under Chris Claremont, believed to be a failed corner of Marvel but quickly becoming the Marvel standard. His other influence including Frank Miller's Daredevil run, a refocus on Thor, Roger Stern's Avengers and The Amazing Spider-Man run. He started company wide crossover events with Contest of Champions and Secret Wars (that will influence the next two Avengers movies) and helped shepherd such significant story lines as Dark Phoenix, Days of Future Past and more. 

It was during this time in the early 1980s, after the success of G.I. Joe toy line, comic and cartoon launch, Hasbro came to Marvel looking to launch their new line based on a bunch of different toy properties that they had licensed from Japanese company Takara. The result was a six page treatment that laid out all the huge beats we know about Transformers with Cybertron, Autobots vs Deceptions, the Ark, Optimus Prime and more. Its worth a read for any Transformers fan. Once the treatment was accepted as the start of the Transformers saga, Shooter eventually turned the assignment over to Bob Budiansky who created most of the characters, mythology, and names that are still part of the franchise today.

Shooter continued in the comics industry, founding Valiant Comics (Ninjak, X-O Manowar, Bloodshot, and more). He then founded now defunct Defiant Comics and Broadway Comics. Some of his last work was writing characters for Dark Horse Comics in the early 2010s. If you are interested, you can read his version of the "Secret Origin of Transformers" Part 1 and Part 2. Suffice it to say Transformers as we know them would not exist without Jim Shooter. Nor would the X-Men movies, TV series and so much more. A true comic legend.

Condolences to his family and friends on their loss.

Michael Bay Returning to Transformers?

New rumors are circulating regarding the future of Transformers movies. 

1) Michael Bay is in discussions with Paramount to direct a new Transformers film from a script written by Jordan VanDina (Animaniacs, Dodgeball 2). 

2) Josh Cooley (Transformers One) is signed to direct a live action movie

3) The G.I. Joe/Transformers movie is still a possibility. 

4) There are two other movie ideas being explored. 

None of this has been confirmed by anyone that isn't in the Hollywood gossip business. 

From Puck News as transcribed from Seibertron:

Bay misses the ’bots (and the megabucks): Did you know that Michael Bay is developing a new Transformers movie at Paramount that he wants to direct? Bay, the auteur of explosions and up-skirt shots that defined the first five mega-grossers, had sworn off directing the franchise since his Shia LaBeouf–free Transformers: The Last Knight earned just $600 million in 2017—big, but about half the gross of the previous installment.(Paramount also tired of his astronomical fees.)

Yet the franchise has atrophied without Bay, and he himself has not reached those box office heights since—even complaining recently about not being able to get movies greenlit.

Bay approached the studio last year to come back as a hands-on producer and possibly director, and he’s got writer Jordan VanDina working on a script. It’s one of five or so Transformers projects in development that David Ellison and Skydance will inherit if/when the Paramount sale closes.

Josh Cooley, who made last year’s animated Transformers One, just closed a deal to pursue a live-action take. There’s also a possible G.I. Joe/Transformers crossover in development, and the studio has two separate ideas in early stages.

Hopefully the Bay project will come together; it really is the perfect match of filmmaker and material. And Paramount can take its time. The studio keeps the rights as long as a movie is in production by 2029.

I have a problem believing these rumors. The Hasbro Transformers license apparently does have a clause that Paramount has to have a movie in production (vs released) every five years or lose the license. Transformers One finished production in 2024 so that means they have until 2029 to get something going. Something as complicated as Transformers need lead time but not four years of it. There is a clock but there is also no rush.

Now if the last three movies killed it at the box office that would be one thing but they didn't. It was a series of diminishing returns where the movies might have made a small profit or broke even. Not making enough money wouldn't necessarily prevent another movie. In this case part of the reason the movies kept coming is the risk was being split between Paramount and Hasbro.

That will no longer be the case as Hasbro is under financial strain due to over all toy sales, including Transformers, dropping quarter after quarter. They announced late last year that they are no longer co-producing any films so the risk is now 100% on Paramount.

This by itself is pretty normal for movies except Paramount is not exactly on financially strong grounds either. Add to that it is stuck in merger limbo waiting on approval from the US government to merge with Skydance. It seems like a franchise as expensive and previously important to the company as Transformers would be waiting on new owners to dictate its future. 

Result is timing wise this news makes no sense to me but Hollywood does beat to its own drum so who knows for sure. Guess will fine out for sure eventually. 

Weird Transformers Movies Fan Theories

For your entertainment, mostly because probably no movie news for awhile, here is a compilation of fan theories about the Transformers movies by ScreenRant. They are pretty out there, giving Michael Bay and the movie script writers entirely too much credit, really just the usual overly complicated ways fans often try to smooth over plot holes. Thanks to Feris O for the link.