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Hasbro has unveiled their plans for New York Comic Con 2025, spanning October 9 to October 12. Featured brands include TRANSFORMERS, G.I. JOE, MAGIC: THE GATHERING, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, MY LITTLE PONY, Star Wars, Marvel, and Ghostbusters. Events include the usual brand panels and talent signings we always look forward to, plus a live concert, a Ponification station (you read that right), and more. There will, of course, be merch. You can check out the full press release below. HASBRO TO SHOWCASE FAN-FAVORITE BRANDS AT NEW YORK COMIC CON 2025 Experience a Universe of Fun Based on TRANSFORMERS, G.I. JOE, MAGIC: THE GATHERING, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS and MY LITTLE PONY Plus Premier Collaboration Brands Star Wars™ and Marvel from Disney Consumer Products and Ghostbusters from Sony PAWTUCKET, R.I. –– SEPTEMBER 30, 2025 –– Hasbro, a leading games, IP and toy company, is bringing the fun to New York Comic Con with a full lineup of activities for fans of all ages! Explore the worlds of TRANSFORMERS, G.I. JOE, MAGIC: THE GATHERING, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS and MY LITTLE PONY, along with premier collaboration brands Star Wars™ and Marvel from Disney Consumer Products and Ghostbusters from Sony through engaging content and experiences. HASBRO BOOTH #1012 Explore the best of Hasbro in person! The booth offers an immersive experience for fans of all ages, with product displays and a curated selection of top-quality toys and collectibles available for physical purchase. Attendees will have the opportunity to be the first to secure the following Hasbro Fall Convention Exclusives: TRANSFORMERS GENERATIONS ARMADA NEMESIS PRIME & AIR DEFENSE MINI-CON TEAM, G.I. JOE CLASSIFIED SERIES #172 COBRA-LA PYTHONA, STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES MACE WINDU & DARTH SIDIOUS FIGURES, STAR WARS: THE VINTAGE COLLECTION JEDI SPIRITS 3-PACK and MARVEL LEGENDS SERIES FANTASTIC FOUR VILLAIN SUPER-SKRULL. HASBRO BRAND AND PARTNER PANELS Join Hasbro and their partners for engaging brand panels at New York Comic Con, celebrating TRANSFORMERS, G.I. JOE, MAGIC: THE GATHERING, Star Wars, Marvel, and Ghostbusters! Attendees can expect the hottest new product reveals, important updates, and presentations from the creative minds behind their favorite franchises. Hasbro Star Wars™ and MARVEL Panel: Thursday, October 9 from 11:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. | Room 408 - Hasbro hosts an action-packed toy panel with brand team members to reveal exciting new products, giving fans a first look across these iconic product lines. The panel will bring updates on the Hasbro lines inspired by Star Wars, including The Black Series and The Vintage Collection, and the Marvel Legends product line. Fans who are unable to attend the panel can tune in to an exclusive Hasbro Pulse NYCC Fanstream recap on YouTube, Thursday, October 9 at 12:00 P.M. EST. Nickelodeon x Magic: The Gathering: Friday, October 10 from 11:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M. | North-Room 409 - Get your exclusive first look at the next powerful team-up between Magic: The Gathering and Nickelodeon. It's going to be [redacted]! Hasbro Toy Panel – Action Brands: Friday, October 10 from 11:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M. | Room 406.3 - Hasbro’s brand marketing and design teams return to NYCC with an action-packed showcase of its iconic action figure lines. Fans can expect updates from TRANSFORMERS, including preorder timing for recently revealed items, including Studio Series. The panel will also introduce new additions to the G.I. JOE Classified Series, with a first look at a covert new vehicle designed for icy terrain. Plus, Ghostbusters fans won’t want to miss behind-the-scenes info on the latest Kenner Classics collection news. Join Hasbro’s team for exclusive reveals, behind-the-scenes insights, and a glimpse at what’s next in action figure storytelling. Additionally, the final results of the 2025 TRANSFORMERS and G.I. JOE Hall of Fame Vote will be revealed during the panel. Fans can still cast their vote for TRANSFORMERS (here) and G.I. JOE (here) through Tuesday, October 6 at 3:00 P.M. EST. Fans who are unable to attend the panel can tune in to an exclusive Hasbro Pulse NYCC Fanstream recap on YouTube, Friday, October 10 at 12:00 P.M. EST. PARTNER PANEL TRANSFORMERS & G.I. JOE: A New Era for the Energon Universe: Saturday, October 11 from 1:15 P.M. - 2:15 P.M. | Room 406.1 - The worlds of TRANSFORMERS, G.I. JOE, and Void Rivals change forever - and this is THE panel to get all the details! Join superstars Robert Kirkman, Joshua Williamson, Dan Mora, Tom Reilly, Jorge Corona, Conor Hughes, and Skybound Executive Editor Ben Abernathy for all new Energon Universe revelations...and a special surprise giveaway for fans. HASBRO BRAND EXPERIENCES G.I. JOE Cold Slither Live Concert – Back by popular demand, Cold Slither will make its on-stage return during New York Comic Con! Based on their depiction in the 1985 animated series G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero, this 16+ concert experience is set for Saturday, October 11 at The Gramercy Theater (doors open at 8:00 P.M.). Presented by Hasbro and Reigning Phoenix Music, Cold Slither brings a full-force blend of original metal mayhem and ‘80s nostalgia. Purchase limited-edition show-only gear, including exclusive t-shirts, a poster, LPs, CDs, a collectible pin and more. Tickets are available for purchase here while supplies last. Energon Universe x Skybound Talent Signing – Meet the artists of Skybound’s Energon Universe at Midtown Comics Times Square on Friday, October 10 from 7:00 – 9:00 P.M. MY LITTLE PONY Talent Signings and Activities – Fans will have opportunities to meet and get autographs from Andy Price, comic artist for MY LITTLE PONY, and Tara Strong, voice actress of Twilight Sparkle at Kayou’s booth (#1217). Additional details are available on Kayou’s official account on Instagram. Talent Appearance Schedule: Thursday, October 9 11:00 A.M. - 7:00 P.M. Andy Price Giant Card Live Art Friday, October 10 4:00 P.M. – 6:00 P.M. Andy Price Live Sketch & Autograph Session *Limited to 15 fans on a first come, first served basis (one per person). No other items or merch will be signed. Sunday, October 12 11:00 A.M. – 1:00 P.M. Andy Price Live Sketch & Autograph Session *Limited to 15 fans on a first come, first served basis (one per person). No other items or merch will be signed. 2:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M. Tara Strong Card Signing *Limited to 200 fans on a first come, first served basis. Card for signature provided by Kayou (one per person). No other items or merch will be signed. Additionally, the Kayou Ponification Station will be hosting 5-hour sessions daily where superfans can transform into their favorite pony look during these times: Thursday, October 9 and Friday, October 10 from 1:00 P.M. – 6:00 P.M. Saturday, October 11 and Sunday, October 12 from 11:00 A.M. – 4:00 P.M. The Finest Edge of Twilight: Dungeons & Dragons Talent Signing – Hosted by Penguin Random House, join author R.A. Salvatore for special signing sessions throughout NYCC to celebrate the new Dungeons & Dragons novel. Appearance Schedule: Friday, October 10 11:30 A.M. - 12:30 P.M. at NYCC’s official autograph area - Hall 1A, Table # 45 (Table # Subject to Change) 1:30 P.M. - 2:15 P.M. at Penguin Random House booth (#3021) Saturday, October 11 11:30 A.M. - 12:30 P.M. at NYCC’s official autograph area - Hall 1A, Table # 42 (Table # Subject to Change) 3:30 P.M. - 4:15 P.M. at Penguin Random House booth (#3021) Join the Allspark today.

Variety.com reports that Ron Friedman, writer of the animated "The Transformers: The Movie", passed away on September 15, 2025 as a result of cardiopulmonary arrest. He was 93. Friedman graduated with a BA in Architecture from Carnegie Mellon University and made a name for himself in writing and production, writing what would become more than 700 hours of written content as a member of the Writer's Guild of America. These credits include work on "Happy Days", "The Andy Griffith Show", "Starsky and Hutch", and "The Odd Couple", including Emmy award-nominated work on "The Danny Kaye Show", and later on animated fare like the 80s Transformers cartoon, its contemporary GI Joe (and the movies for both), and Bionic Six, among others. In the 90s, Ron contributed to "Taz-Mania", the 90's Marvel animated "Iron Man", and "Fantastic Four: The Animated Series". Transformers fans will recognize his name from the early Generation 1 cartoon seasons, indulging in light world-building in namedropping Cybertronian flora and fauna as well as infusing dialogue with characterful quirks like Warpath's BLAM! POW! speech. Beyond that, Friedman is perhaps most notable in the fandom as having penned the 1986 animated movie (his initial draft being reworked by Flint Dille), from where Friedman gained the dubious honor of being "the man who killed Optimus Prime" -- despite having, by his own account, tried to talk Hasbro out of it. Nonetheless, Friedman took the infamy of his involvement in a formative step for this iconic 80s brand in stride, even titling his memoir "I Killed Optimus Prime" and writing from the heart about his lifetime of written work for various media. "I believe I’m obliged to take anybody who buys anything I wrote away from their cares of the day and give them something new so they can come away satisfied and entertained. That’s what keeps the world going. Think of a world without books, comic books, without iconic figures, without music, and without entertainment. Horrendous! It’s why the Romans said, “art is long, life is short.” I’m in the art business for popular consumption and hope that I give some value in addition to the entertainment and maybe something to think about." -- Ron Friedman, on his life as a writer for entertainment (from an interview with Todd Matthy) Allspark Forums Discord Server Twitter/X Facebook Page Bluesky Instagram

Image via Wikipedia Some sad news this week, as Hasbro has announced that it is moving to Boston from its longtime home in Rhode Island. By the end of 2026, around 700 employees are expected to make the transition with the company to the new headquarters, located in Boston’s Seaport District at 400 Summer Street, where they will have seven floors across 265,000 square feet to play with. Not everyone is celebrating, though. The Hassenfeld Brothers, Herman, Hillel, and Henry, founded the company in the city of Pawtucket all the way back in 1923, and it has been a staple of the community ever since, supporting the community by providing jobs, recruiting from the state's colleges and universities, and donating to local charities, such as the Hasbro Children’s Hospital and the Rhode Island Special Olympics, which they said they will continue to support. Despite this, the Mayor of Pawtucket, Don Grebien, had this to say: According to Boston Business Journal Executive Editor Doug Banks, the folks in Pawtucket were even willing to go so far as to offer the company an undeveloped parcel of land in Providence for the low, low price of $1 USD. You can't even get a BotBot for that cheap. "They even as of last week, they were scrambling to offer economic incentives, but in the end, it wasn't enough," Banks explained. Two Transformers conventions would be held in Rhode Island, thanks to the company's ties to the area. The first, BotCon 2007, included a tour of the company. The second, HasCon 2017, would celebrate all of the company's brands. It would be the first as well as the last of its kind to date. Time marches on, but this truly marks the end of an era. Feel free to discuss this further in the comments below, or over in the "Hasbr-uh-oh" thread in our forums! Sources: Hasbro Newsroom, CBS Boston (via Princess Viola) Allspark Forums Discord Server Twitter/X Facebook Page Bluesky Instagram

Various outlets have reported the passing of former Hasbro CEO Alan G. Hassenfeld in London, England, on July 8, 2025. He was 76. His passing was confirmed by former Hasbro executive Alfred Verrecchia, who provided no additional details. After joining the company in 1970 and moving up the ranks, including becoming executive vice president in 1980, Alan took over running Hasbro from his brother Stephen Hassenfeld in 1989 until stepping down as CEO in 2003. He retired from chairmanship in 2005 and took on the role of chairman emeritus, which he relinquished in 2024. Since his retirement, he lived a life of philanthropy, establishing the nonprofit Hassenfeld Family Initiative LLC in 2008, "a philanthropy with the goals of globalizing safety and human rights within the area of children's products, empower women in developing countries." His work as chairman of the Hassenfeld Family Initiative included establishing the Ethical Supply Chain Program to support the focus on safety and human rights in producing children's products. In 2022, Alan and the Hassenfeld Family Foundation partnered with The Toy Foundation to spearhead an industry-wide relief effort to support families impacted by the war in Ukraine. Alan pledged $1m to the effort, saying, "Everything we do as an industry is about children. It’s our responsibility to do everything in our power to try and bring a smile to the faces of these children as they endure this incredible darkness. As we watch these events unfold, how can any of us not want to help in every possible way?" Alan also founded the Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence, RI, and his family contributed to the Hassenfeld Child Health Innovation Institute at Brown University in 2015. Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks released this statement: Allspark Forums Discord Server X Facebook Page Bluesky Instagram

Virtually every fan growing up with Transformers in the 80s was drawn to its unique aesthetic, which brought an alien world of shape-shifting cars and jets and other things to undeniable, imagination-stoking life. One of the most striking visual anchors for Generation 1 was the classic back-of-box mural depicting Autobots and Decepticons waging a pitched battle in space. This artwork, as well as later pieces like the Transformers book Sun Raid cover and inner illustrations, is credited to noted science fiction artist David Schleinkofer, who also did pieces for Hot Wheels storybooks as well as box art for various computer games like Absolute Zero. Schleinkofer recently passed away on April 20, 2025, of Lou Gehrig's disease, as reported by comics website downthetubes.net, from which many of these images are mirrored. Schleinkofer's signature airbrushed style graced many works in the 70s and 80s, and he left his visually immersive mark on various franchises, including Battlestar Galactica, Sim City, and Robotech. His art also saw publication in the likes of Asimov Sci-Fi Magazine and Cosmopolitan. In the 90s, his work shifted more toward fine art and landscapes, as well as paperback covers via commission. An interview with Schleinkofer was shared in 2013 on the alt.toys.transformers group, and can still be checked out. You can check out David Schleinkofer's Flickr page here. Allspark Forums Discord Server X Facebook Page Bluesky Instagram

This year's holiday season is in full swing, and of course that means one more visit from the Gorilla of Christmas Past, Present, and Future (lie buried in the past) -- Garry Chalk! Garry's done these charming holiday parody songs for quite some time (this is the 8th in a row!) and it would be lovely to have him continue to be around as long as possible, giving it his all every year. Garry is battling stage 4 Hodgkin's Lymphoma (more below), but even that couldn't stop the ol' boss-bot from recording this with Candice N. Santora. Please send Garry your best at: Instagram @ chalkgarry Cameo @ cameo.com/garrychalk Twitter @ garrychalktalk Instagram @ primal.parodies Instagram @ cannedice.santora Allspark Forums Discord Server X Facebook Page Bluesky Instagram

Have you ever wanted to go shopping in a store that's nothing but wall-to-wall Transformers? Well, now you can! If you live in London, that is. Recently, the first official stand-alone Transformers store in the world had a soft-opening at Battersea Power Station, timed to perfectly coincide with the 40th anniversary of the brand. From the Battersea Power Station website: Art by Pye Over on YouTube, Toys are Russ has made a visit, and provided a couple of videos to give us a better idea of what the store, well, has in store for its guests. First is a full walk-around of the newly-opened establishment: And in this second video, Russ goes into more detail about the things he found out about the store, what they'll be carrying, the opening, a dance sequence featuring five Robosen figures, and more! So, are you planning to roll out for London to check out the store? Or are you hoping that one will transform a vacant store front in your neck of the woods? Join the Allspark today. Allspark Forums Discord Server X Facebook Page Bluesky Instagram

The holiday season beckons, and Hasbro will be ready to meet you there with an event at the NYC High Line from December 6 to 8, 11 AM to 3 PM. In cooperation with Amazon, Hasbro presents "Hasbro Toyland on the High Line" at the High Line Chelsea Market Passage. At the event will be Hasbro's top brands -- Transformers, Peppa Pig, Beyblade, Furby, Potato Head, Play-Doh, and more, along with licensed products like Star Wars and Marvel. All of these will feature alongside free activities (see below) that include a photo op with Santa Claus (and some special friends from Hasbro brands)! At Hasbro’s Holiday Pop-Up Event, parents and kids can look forward to the following FREE activities: Hasbro Product Showcase: Explore and play with a variety of toys from Hasbro brands, including BABY ALIVE, BEYBLADE, FURBY, HASBRO GAMING, MONOPOLY, MY LITTLE PONY, NERF, TRANSFORMERS, PEPPA PIG, POTATO HEAD, and PLAY-DOH, plus premier collaboration brands including Star Wars™ and Marvel. All battery-operated toys will be powered by Duracell for countless hours of play! Photo Opps with Santa and Hasbro Characters: Capture lasting memories with Santa and Hasbro characters, including Peppa Pig, Izzy Moonbow, Sunny Starscout, and Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head. Complimentary photo frames will be provided (while supplies last).[MD1] Letter to Santa Station: Send letters to the North Pole first class! Use your best penmanship to share wishes and hopes with Santa at his special mailbox. Giveaways & Snacks: Grab a tote bag filled with holiday goodies including a $25 Paramount+ gift card, Duracell batteries with Power Boost ingredients, picture frame, stickers and other delightful gifts. Get cozy with delicious cookies and hot cocoa![JC2] [MD3] Follow Hasbro Toyland on Amazon, @Hasbro on Instagram, @Hasbro on Twitter and @Hasbro on Facebook for news and updates. Let us know if you'll be in town and checking out this event! Allspark Forums Discord Server X Facebook Page Bluesky Instagram

Good evening, Allsparkers! We're hoping you're having a fabulous fall so far. We would like to inform you that the Allspark is currently accepting applications for our writing team! We're looking for writers to talk about news, leaks, opinion pieces, reviews, contests, collaborations, rumors about who's going to get offed in the next Skybound is--- okay maybe not that one. We want bots who just love gabbing about everything Transformers. Requirements: Account with good standing in both the Allspark Forums and Discord. Articles will primarily be posted in English, however a translator wouldn't be a bad idea. News happens at any time, so if you're a night owl or an early bird, you need not fret if you get on during the late hours. Those interested should contact one of the @Council of Elders on our Discord via DM or message one of the staff here on site for a brief interview and a few questions.

Hasbro is currently facing a class action lawsuit by the West Palm Beach Firefighters' Pension Fund, over allegations that the company has been misleading investors regarding the quality of its inventory. If any of that sounds confusing, I'll try to break down the alleged chain of events here. In the beginning, there was the 2020 Covid Pandemic. Like many businesses, Hasbro faced a serious disruption to its supply chain, which would make inventory more difficult to get, or at least less consistently able to get. At the same time, a more welcome result of the pandemic was a surge in demand for Hasbro's products, as families were stuck at home with nowhere to go. Less supply, more demand. Hasbro compensated by drastically increasing its inventory, so it would have enough products on hand to meet this demand. Essentially, Hasbro leaned from "just-in-time" more towards "just-in-case" inventory management. The idea was to have more inventory than needed today, just in case they couldn't get enough tomorrow. What Plaintiffs allege is that Hasbro ordered far too much, far more than would be needed as the pandemic wound down and demand wound down with it, but Hasbro continued to represent to investors that this excess inventory was high quality and they anticipated being able to sell it. Allegedly these optimistic projections were knowingly false and misled investors as to the company's actual condition. Among the allegedly knowingly false representations is the following: It is allegedly knowingly false that Hasbro anticipated bumps in demand from big entertainment releases (film and TV, essentially) in late 2022 and throughout 2023, and they must have known that they should not have built up extra inventory in advance of any such film and TV releases. You can read the unabridged complaint here. We thank LordGigaIce on the Allspark Forums for bringing this case to our attention. It will be very interesting to read Hasbro's response to these allegations. Watch this space. Join the Allspark today.

Japanese site eHobby continues to roll out their exclusive SD Transformers cards, as they've updated their website to show off wave TWELVE of these neat little things, which are sold in pairs for JPY980. The latest additions to the super-deformed-art card lineup give us a nice leader-focused selection with nostalgic doses of the 90s, some eHobby exclusives, and even some more recent (well, 2010s) Generations concepts. Wave 12 features Action Master Optimus Prime (with Armored Convoy), Action Master Megatron (with Neutro-Fusion tank), G2 Laser Ultra Magnus, G1 toy-based Galvatron, Generations Senator Ratbat, Titans Return Sentinel Prime, the G1 Destrons, and Unicron (on a sleek gold card!). Have you been collecting these cards? Which is your favorite card or wave so far? Stop on by and tell us what you think of this latest wave! Allspark Forums Discord Server X Facebook Page Bluesky Instagram

Hello Allspark! This has been a long time coming but I've finally removed Wordpress completely from the site. There are several reasons to do this: For starters. nobody ever went to the front page. I can't count the number of times or years I've seen people say (sometimes in a mean way) "There's a front page?" Well now there's not, sort of. All news going forward will be posted in the forums, which is the default landing page for https://www.allspark.com Of course, you can still get to the forums index by just clicking the "Forums" tab at the top. Lots of other reasons about how awful and resource intensive WP is. I've decided I'm not going to archive the bulk of the news we've posted on the front page, but for reference a large portion (but not all) was carried over to the "new" front page if you need to refence anything. But any bookmarks or links to the WP site just redirects to the landing page at allspark.com Also, I wanted to make it so you guys could link and comment DIRECTLY on the news posts. It makes it easier for us to not have to duplicate links everywhere and it makes it easier on you since you already have accounts and post here. I'm sure there will be a few kinks to work out but over the course of our testing in 2024 we've been pretty happy with the results. The days of needlessly complex websites are kind of a thing of the past so the ease of use on reading news on your mobile devices is a plus. We had our roots as a forums community, and with the appalling state of corporate owned social media, suppressing algorithms and an otherwise nanny state where you can't even speak in clinical terms without having accounts nuked - I want to bring forums back to what we do here. That said, if you see news here you like feel free to like and share it on your own social media accounts to bring more awareness to the fact that "YES" forums still exist. Let me know if you have any questions or comments, you can just post them here! I wanted to thank everyone who's stayed for this INSANE 25 years. Nov 11 will mark the 25th year The Allspark has existed in one form or another. Unbelievable. Oh, also, if you subscribe to this forum and click the box for email alerts you'll be notified every single time a new news article is posted.