Transformers Introducing More Female Characters

Hasbro is making a push for more female characters in the Transformers franchise, with more female Transformers characters appearing on television and in comics.

"People are more accepting now of women playing stronger roles in everything across the board, whether it's animation or television or film," actress Constance Zimmer, the voice of Autobot cadet Strongarm in the new Cartoon Network series Transformers: Robots in Disguise, tells USA Today.

Many of the fans who grew up with the original series are now adults with daughters, and "it's very important for them to have strong female characters so that they can relate and bridge that love with their kids," says Mairghread Scott, who writes for the animated series and IDW's Transformers: Windblade comics.

Windblade is an especially important character. The fans helped build her by participating in online polls to determine her personality traits and abilities. Victorian, a "Combiner" made up of six other female Autobots, is another character created through polling, and is set to debut in IDW's Transfomers: Combiner Hunters comic in July.

Female transformers like Arcee, Chromia and Solus Prime have been part of the Transformers mythology since Generation 1, but now they'll be more a part of the present story than past mythology.

"Our female fans have demanded to be part of the story," says Sarah Carroll, senior brand manager for Hasbro's Transformers toys. "To have them be represented as well is something that's only natural."