Earlier this year, IDW Publishing announced that it would celebrate the 35th anniversaries of Transformers and Ghostbusters with a crossover between the two franchises. That crossover will see the Ecto-1 become a Transformer known as Ectotron. Hasbro already revealed that Ectotron will be released as a toy for collectors. Now Hasbro has revealed a second Transformers/Ghostbusters offering in the form of a San Diego Comic-Con exclusive set.
The SDCC exclusive revealed at Polygon has Autobot leader Optimus Prime decked out in Ghostbusters colors. The 9.5-inch figure transforms into its semi truck form with the Ghostbusters logo and slogan emblazoned on this side, as well as a splash of green slime. This version of Optimus is known as Ecto-35.
When Optimus is in upright robot form, the trailer for the truck becomes a base for ghost-busting and Decepticon fighting activity. It includes maintenance supplies and a ghost trap. The packaging can even be worn as a proton pack. Check out photos below.
Transformers/Ghostbusters writer Erik Burnham spoke to ComicBook.com in March about the crossover. "Part of the reason I think they've lasted so long is the foundation: Ghosts are cool. Robots are cool. It's obviously more than that," Burnham said. "Ghostbusters explores dealing with the unknown with humor and curiosity. Transformers is (depending on where you look) anything from a straight-up fight of good against evil, to a more nuanced look at disagreements between two groups that come to war (which, no, not the same thing.)"
He went on to say that Ectrotron was the most challenging part of the crossover to write. "To be honest, the biggest challenge is Ectotron," Burnham said. "He's a new character, so he doesn't yet have an established voice that I can clearly hear. You give me Starscream, I will hear the inflections of Chris Latta. Megatron? Frank Welker. Optimus Prime? Peter Cullen. And, of course, the Ghostbusters have been in my head for YEARS. Those voices are all very clear and etched into my brain – but not Ectotron. Not yet. I know he'll gel before the end of the book, though, and I'm looking forward to seeing what his voice ultimately becomes!"
What do you think of the Ghostbusters version of Optimus Prime? Will you be picking one up from San Diego Comic Con? Will you be reading the Transformers and Ghostbusters crossover miniseries? Let us know in the comments section.
