Visionaries
From Transformers Wiki
Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Lightwas a short-lived toyline released byHasbroin 1987. The series was set on the alien world ofPrysmos,a technological utopia which was suddenly plunged into a feudal, medieval state when the "Age of Science" came to an end and the new "Age of Magic" began. The heroic Spectral Knights and villainous Darkling Lords struggled for control of his new world using magical powers gifted to them by the wizard Merklynn, famously represented in the toyline as colourful holograms on the figures' chests and weapons.
As a contemporary ofTransformers,Visionariesreceived a similar dual-pronged advertising push. The line was given an animated series (lasting only one season of thirteen episodes) co-produced bySunbow ProductionsandTMS Entertainment,featuring many voice actors who also worked onTransformersand scripted byFlint Dille,Buzz Dixon,andDouglas Booth,and most importantly as far as this article is concerned, a comic book fromMarvel Comics.Like everything else to do with the line, the comic book did not last long, running to only six issues and being cancelled halfway through a four-part story. Regardless of this failure, the UK branch of Marvel Comics reprinted the series, but it performed evenworsethere, and their comic only managed to reprintfourof the six issues before folding. They also reprinted the first issue again in an annual released in 1988. The final two issues of the original comic were then split into eight smaller parts, and printed asback-up stripsin the UKTransformerscomic, running from#183to#190,during which time the series was brandedThe Transformers & Visionaries.A few months later,Visionariesreturned to the UK comic when the first issue alone was reprinted yet again (presumably to piggy back off the animated series belatedly appearing on British TV that spring as part of Children'sBBC's flagship Saturday morning seriesGoing Live), this time split up intosevenparts and included in issues#213through#219.
Years later,Visionarieswould share another unusual connection withTransformerswhen Hasbro reused the name of the brawny Spectral Knight Cryotek for a newRobots in Disguisecharacter.
In 2017, after some heavy foreshadowing,Visionariesjoined the ongoingHasbro Universe,receiving acrossover comicthat pits the characters against the Transformers.
Contents |
Fiction
Animatedcontinuity
Swindlethinks theDarkling LordsofPrysmosmight be good customers, and plans to use his experience with theAngry Archeras a primer to speaking their quasi-medieval lingo.AllSpark Almanac
2005 IDW continuity
After the Trinary Re-Alignment had reverted Prysmos to an arcane state, the wizardMerklynnchose a group ofPrysmosiansonto whom he imparted artifacts of great magical power to become his Visionaries.SchismaticMerklynn masterminded that one incarnation of the group splinter into the Darkling Lords andSpectral Knightswanting to take advantage of the fires of the change brought about by the charismatic Darkstorm.Good Men
This age would not last however. Eventually the ternary stars drifted out of alignment, unleashing gravitational forces that tore Prysmos apart. Though millions of Prysmosians died, the majority of the Visionaries managed to escape their planet.SchismaticStranger Eons
A shape resembling that of the Visionaries' hexagonal chestplates appeared on a wall inside theTomb of AmtoltecinDahshur,Egyptalongside other hieroglyphs, some of which depictedShockwaveand theMicronautsAcroyearandBiotron.The Secret of the Mummy's Tomb
In2018,the surviving Visionaries came to inhabit the city ofNew PrysmosonCybertronwhere they debated how to proceed with regards to theirCybertronianhosts, though not all the Visionaries chose to attend the meetings.Schismatic
The Visionaries splintered even further afterVirulinamurderedKupand declared war on the Cybertronians. The Spectral Knights opposed her plan of genocide but in doing so, they earned the ire of the ordinary Prysmosian citizens and were chased out of New Prysmos. The Darkling Lords then consolidated their hold on the city while the Knights sought out the Cybertronians as allies to derail the plans of Merklynn and the Lords.Cybertron No More
Seeking to heal the rift between Darkling Lords and Spectral Knights, Virulina sought the remainder of the Spectral Knights, now underCryotek's command, and convinced them to pledge allegiance to her.Desperate MeasuresMerklynn had his own plans for reunification and convincedArzonto join his cause and to one day become leader of the Visionaries in the new world order.Good MenAfterGaladria's healing magic had given a happy ending to virtually all parties, the Spectral Knights assumed full control of New Prysmos with Leoric as leader once again.The Curtain
WhenUnicronattacked Cybertron,Windbladesought out Leoric to use Prysmosian magic to teleport the Cybertronian race toEarth.Though the Visionaries managed to evacuate Cybertron before Unicron destroyed it, Windblade noted they'd hadn't made the trip to Earth.Road's EndUnbeknownst to the Cybertronians, the Visionaries had been sent back to the prehistoric past of Prysmos where they dissolved their factions and began anew.A World and a Future
Marvel UK Reprints
| Issues | Story | Visionaries at Marvel Database |
| #183- #186 | "Quest of the Four Talismans Part 1" | Visionaries Vol 1 5 |
| #187 -#190 | "Quest of the Four Talismans Part 2" | Visionaries Vol 1 6 |
| #213- #219 | "The End -- -- The Beginning!" | Visionaries Vol 1 1 |
Toys
Revolution
- Revolution Set(SDCC Gift Set, 2017)
- Accessories:Staff, whip
- Released as part of aSan Diego Comic-Con2017 exclusive set, Leoric is an action figure made up of redecoed parts from variousG.I. Joeaction figures, with a new head, torso and weapon based on Leoric's classic design. He was packed with several otherHasbro Universeaction figures:Jetfire,Matt TrakkerofM.A.S.K.,Action Man,RoadblockofG.I. Joe,Romand aDire Wraith,and nineMicronautsmini-figurines. Unlike his original toy, he doesn't have a hologram on the chest.
- Leoric is included in the set despite the lack of Visionaries in theRevolutioncomic; he was presumably added to promote theupcomingVisionariescomic,which was officially revealed at the convention.
