The Transformers are a series of toys licensed by Hasbro that include two lines of changing robots from Japanese company Takara. When it came time to develop a coherent backstory for the Diaclone and Micro Change figures, Hasbro turned to the same people that had reinvented the G.I. Joe franchise not long before.

RELATED: 5 Beast Wars Characters IDW's Transformers Gave New Life (& 4 Who Didn't Change At All)

Marvel Comics would create both the lore behind the characters and the characters of the line. Specifically, editor-in-chief Jim Shooter and writer Bob Budiansky with fellow writer Dennis O'Neil created the name "Optimus Prime." Having a close relationship with the medium of comics, it's no surprise that there have been some odd duck moments over the last thirty-eight years.

CONTENT WARNING: THE TF COMICS ARE SURPRISINGLY DARK. DEATH, PTSD, AND BODY HORROR ARE DISCUSSED IN THE FOLLOWING LIST.

10 Spider-Man Versus The Decepticons

Spider-Man versus Transformers Megatron

What may surprise newer fans of Marvel Comics is the incorporation of their licensed material in the greater Marvel Universe. While recent developments like Conan The Barbarian joining the Avengers is a once in a blue moon sort of event, back in the late 70s and early 80s, it was a regular practice to fold IPs like Godzilla2001: A Space Odyssey, and (the desperately in need of a comeback) ROM Spaceknight into the same world as the X-Men and the Fantastic Four.

As such, in Transformers #3 by Jim Salicrup, Frank Springer, Kim DeMulder, Mike Esposito, Nel Yomtov, and Janice Chiang, the robots in disguise are met with the web-slinging wall-crawler, Spider-Man. While the Transformers would continue to have future crossovers with the likes of the New Avengers, it's this specific issue that remains the most iconic example of their interconnectivity with Earth-616.

9 Optimus Prime As A Severed Head

Optimus Prime As A Severed Head Marvel Comics

The initial Transformers four issue-mini series ended on the extreme cliffhanger of Shockwave standing over a pile of dead Autobots declaring victory. Once it was decided to make the series ongoing, issue #5 began with Shockwave stringing up the corpses of the dead heroes as Buster Witwicky sneaks in and comes face to face with the disembodied head of Optimus Prime. Writer Bob Budiansky with artist Alan Kupperberg would depict Prime granting Buster the ability to repair and restore the fallen dead – something that would be revisited with the character of Sari Sumdac in 2007's Transformers: Animated.

8 Galvatron Meets Megatron

Galvatron Meets Megatron Transformers Marvel Comics

If it hasn't become apparent so far, the events of the 1980s Marvel Comics explicitly contradict the events of the Transformers animated series and feature film. As opposed to other franchises that maintain a consistent continuity throughout their history, the Transformers franchise prides itself on reinvention and recontextualization. One of those moments is how the Marvel series handled Galvatron: Megatron's future reincarnation via Unicron. As told in Transformers #77 by Simon Furman, Andrew Wildman, Stephen Baskerville, Nel Yomtov, and Rick Parker, the future version of the Decepticon leader traveled back in time to recruit his past self in an attempt to rule the universe. With egos that big, it's no surprise that they quickly came to blows.

7 The Time The Dinobots Became A Combiner

Transformers The Beast Within Dinobots Combiner

Combiners are a fan favorite sub-category of Transformer – from the classic Constructicons who form Devastator to the ferocious and deadly Predaking formed by the Predacons (no, not those Predacons). With the Dinobots being some of the most popular characters in the franchise, it's a surprise that it took decades for the team to get the combiner treatment.

While Volcanicus, created for the Power of the Primes line, might be what most fans think of, the original combiner for Grimlock and pals was... THE BEAST. First appearing in The Beast Within by Darren Jamieson and Dylan Gibson as a bonus in the 2004 DVD release of G1 season 2 from UK company Metrodome, BEAST is a mishmash of body horror in a comic so poorly conceived that it's become a running joke in TF fandom.

6 The Myriad Of Human Super-Villains

Transformers Marvel Comics Circuit Breaker Neo Knights The Mechanic

Human adversaries are by no means something exclusive to the Marvel Comics series. Greedy businessmen and mad scientists have always been after the opportunities afforded by autonomous cybernetic lifeforms and the fuel they call Energon.

RELATED: Transformers: 10 Human Villains The Autobots Have Fought

However, possibly due to the close ties to the Marvel Universe, the classic comics are littered with costumed supervillains such as Circuit Breaker. Looking somewhere between Seven of Nine and the monster at the end of Superman III, she along with equally silly adversaries such as the Mechanic and the superteam called the Neo-Knights would be a consistent threat to the Autobots. This idea was again reworked for Transformers: Animated decades later.

5 Optimus Prime Commits Suicide

Transformers #24 Marvel Comics Optimus Prime Megatron

Death is a revolving door for the Autobot leader. Ever since he first perished in The Transformers: The Movie from 1986, the death and rebirth of the character has been a storyline touched in nearly every single piece of Transformers media. However, a mere month after the film's premiere, Optimus would meet his death after breaking his moral code... in a video game.

Transformers #24 by Bob Budiansky, Don Perlin, Ian Akin, Brian Garvey,  Nel Yomtov, and Janice Chiang saw Prime and Megatron agree to settle the war in a virtual world created by Flippy-Floppy Industries. Megatron, being Megatron, cheats at the game to gain the upper hand, but Prime sacrifices the "lives" of the NPCs in the game to win. Feeling like he betrayed his code, he decides to self-destruct. Thankfully, all of Prime's personality can be quickly installed onto a 5 ¼ inch floppy disk.

4 Kup's PTSD Induced Hallucinations

Transformers Spotlight #7 Kup

First appearing in the aforementioned 1986 animated film, the crusty battle-weary Autobot veteran quickly became a fan favorite. Voiced by the legendary Lionel Stander, Kup's pessimistic and cynical attitude made a perfect match for Hot Rod's naive optimism. Kup would finally receive a comic spotlight, no pun intended, in The Transformers: Spotlight #7 by Nick Roche, Andrew Elder, and Robbie Robbins. The old warrior is reimagined as suffering from severe hallucinations and PTSD. Stranded alone on a planet and haunted by the "ghosts" of his comrades, this issue presented a new and interesting status quo for the character going forward in the IDW continuity.

3 Megatron And Ratchet Get Cronenberged

Transformers #70 Megatron Ratchet Fused

Late into the run of the Transformers comics by Marvel, writer Simon Furman (with artist Andrew Wildman) would tell one of the most haunting stories in the franchise. Along with inker Stephen Baskerville, colorist Nel Yomtov, and letterer Rick Parker, Transformers #70 "The Pri¢e of Life!" saw Decepticon leader Megatron and Autobot medic Ratchet fused together after an interdimensional collapse they were caught between months prior. Thanks to the prowess of Fixit, both Cybertronians are restored to their original forms and left to deal with what must be tremendous psychological trauma.

2 The Multiversal Adventures of Death's Head

Death's Head Transformers' Comics

There are several original characters in the Transformers comics that have become fan favorites, even making the leap to other media like movies and television. One lesser-known but equally beloved weirdo is the Freelance Peacekeeping Agent, Death's Head.

RELATED: 10 Transformers Who Only Had Important Roles In The Comics

First created by Simon Furman and Geoff Senior in the UK edition of Transformers #113, Death's Head was lovably quirky and totally not a bounty hunter. His further adventures would send him across the multiverse to face off against the likes of Doctor Who and Marvel's Time Variance Authority.

1 Kiss Players Could Make Up This Whole List

Kiss Players Transformers

Transformers: Kiss Players by writer and artist Yuki Ohshima is... a lot. Created by Ohshima in 2006, it was the sole piece of Transformers media released in the country between Transformers: Cybertron and the Michael Bay film, making it the primary TF media at the time by default. Taking place between the 1986 film and 3rd season of the G1 cartoon, it saw Galvatron crash into Tokyo and create a Hiroshima-like explosion that decimates the city. Due to this event, the governments of the world create the Kiss Players, which is a group of women who can power up Transformers by, well, kissing them. The series is infamous for its sexually charged and risque depictions of the girls as they are threatened by tentacle-like monsters and the ghost of Starscream. The Seeker's plans of revenge are foiled – in part due to his failure to pull up his panties after possessing the body of a young woman in the bathroom. Kiss Players is every bad stereotype of Japanese comics rolled into one.

NEXT: 10 Ways Simon Furman Changed Transformers