One of the best comic book miniseries of 2019 was the IDW crossover series featuring two of my favorite 1980s properties: Ghostbusters and the Transformers.

The MINISERIES introduced the new Transformers character of Ectrotron, an Autobot scientist who – not coincidentally – ends up taking on the vehicular form of the Ghostbusters’ transportation, the Ecto-1. Ectotron brings the Autobots together with the boys in gray to defeat the ghost of the Decepticons, who were all destroyed when Gozer visited and destroyed Cybertron.

It was a pretty crazy miniseries that I highly recommend.

Ectrotron was a pretty fun character, and in a different age it may have been one that was quickly forgotten. But in 2020, even the most obscure characters have the chance to become more. And Hasbro has answered the prayers of so many fans of both properties with a new release of Ectrotron.

Usually, when a collectible like this is released – or quite frankly, even announced – I resign myself to never actually owning it. But with a global pandemic causing a virtual quarantine, it seemed to make things work in my favor this time. As soon as I saw it advertised on Facebook, I went to Amazon, threw Ectotron in my cart and set it for delivery.

It took three weeks, but it was completely worth it.

The packaging is a pretty perfect reproduction of the 1980s Generation One Transformers line, something I saw a lot of as a kid with my old collection. It’s comforting seeing such a classic property coming back with a completely new character. The total package for Ectrotron is so great that I haven’t been able to bring myself to take the toy out of the box yet. From the box, the Ecto-1 and the Slimer figure that comes with it, looks great. Plus, I’m a little worried my 3-year-old will want to play with it, and that’s just a recipe for disaster.

I may just have to buy myself a second Ectotron.