10 Best Licensed Marvel Series Like Transformers And Star Wars, Ranked

Marvel Comics is best known for its legendary roster of superheroes. Captain America, Spider-Man, Iron Man, and the X-Men: Marvel’s superheroes are among the most amazing, fantastic, and incredible in the world. But Marvel’s heroes weren’t the only individuals fighting the forces of evil, with countless other series and IPs delivering equal amounts of excitement and thrills. As Marvel continued to establish itself as a major comic company, they looked to expand their line-up of comic titles to include these licensed characters and series, pushing the limits of what they could offer fans each month.

In the late ’70s and throughout the ’80s, Marvel proved that it could take existing licensed IPs and expand on them in huge, successful ways. From toy lines to movies, TV shows, and book series, Marvel brought all the high-quality writing and artistic talents it used for its in-house heroes and applied them to their licensed titles. With dozens of licensed series to its name, these are among the best Marvel has published.

10 Shogun Warriors

Shogun Warriors debuted as a series of transforming mecha toys from Mattel in 1979. The figures were based on Japanese toys made by the Japanese toy company Popy. Each of the figures was taken from a pre-existing anime or tokusatsu, including characters from Mazinger Z, Godzilla, Tosho Daimos, Reideen the Brave, and many more.

Mattel approached Marvel and asked if they could create a comic series based on the toy line. Marvel took the Shogun Warriors toys and told the story of how Richard Carson, Genji Odashu, and Ilongo Savage – three ordinary humans – became chosen to pilot the fearsome Shogun Warrior robot known as Raydeen. Together, the trio defended Earth from gigantic monsters and robots while piloting massive anime mechas.

9 2001: A Space Odyssey

Based on the 1968 Stanley Kubrick film of the same name, 2001: A Space Odyssey explores mankind’s evolution. Beginning with the primitive ape-men who would become homo-sapiens and ending with man exploring the stars, 2001 is a science fiction tour de force. Its expansive and metaphysical themes naturally made it the perfect source material for Jack Kirby to tackle.

In 1976, Jack Kirby created his take on 2001. The first portion of the series follows the events and themes of the movie, although with certain changes to the characters and plot. In issue #8, Kirby introduced the character known as “Mister Machine” who would later become Marvel’s Machine Man. 2001 was already a science fiction masterpiece, so having Jack Kirby craft his own interpretation of the film was an absolute treat for science fiction fans.

8 The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones

Indiana Jones is one of cinema’s greatest heroes. The quintessential action-adventure series, Indiana Jones follows the exploits of the titular archeologist as he travels the globe in search of rare treasures. Of course, no adventure would be complete without an army of villainous forces to spice it up. Indiana Jones has proven to be one of cinema’s greatest series with its iconic theme song, timeless performances of Harrison Ford, and its homage to Golden Age heroics.

The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones debuted in 1983 and gave fans exactly what its title promised. No longer confined to the adventures of his movies, Indiana Jones exploded into action all around the world with even more treasures to find, bad guys to beat, and people to save. It was a risky move taking on one of the biggest film franchises of its decade, but Marvel nailed everything that made Indiana Jones great.

7 ROM Spaceknight

Originally a toy produced by Parker Brothers in 1979, ROM had a rather unflattering debut. As Parker Brothers had predominantly been a board game company, producing a line of action figures was brand-new to them. Combined with the fact that making electronic toys was expensive, Parker Brothers opted to cut corners and make ROM figures as cheaply as they could. ROM’s first appearance was stiff, chintzy, and forgettable. Luckily, Marvel gained the license to create a comic series for ROM, which turned out to be way better than his toy line.

1979’s ROM: Spaceknight (by Bill Mantlo, Sal Buscema, and Steve Ditko) gave the ailing toy line a fresh start. Hailing from the planet Galador, ROM was originally an organic being who was transformed into a mighty Spaceknight to battle the evil Dire Wraiths. ROM would find himself folded into the Marvel Universe proper throughout his series, crossing paths with nearly every major hero on Earth. Since his debut, ROM has enjoyed a strong cult following and is one of Marvel’s best and luckiest acquisitions.

6 Star Trek

Star Trek is one of the most seminal franchises in science fiction history. A trailblazing pioneer for broadcast television since its debut in 1966, Star Trek introduced the world to the USS Enterprise and its timeless crew. Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Bones McCoy, and the rest of the crew explored the depths of space to chart unknown space and establish peaceful relationships with other intelligent life.

Over the years, Star Trek has had many different series by many different companies, with Marvel taking the helm in 1979. Marvel adapted the series’ first film, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and continued with another 18 issues. What makes Marvel’s Star Trek series so interesting is that it was based on the unreleased Star Trek: Phase II TV series. For Trekkies wishing to see the adventures that almost were for Captain Kirk, Marvel’s series is the way to go.

5 Micronauts

Small and mighty, the Micronauts debuted as a toy line from Mego in 1976. Inspired by the Microman toys by the Japanese toy company Takara, the Micronauts were small action figures that boasted an impressive amount of articulation for their size. The toys sold well but were discontinued in 1980 when Mego filed for bankruptcy in 1982. But fans of the tiny action figures received a stellar comic adaptation courtesy of Marvel Comics.

Created by Bill Mantlo, Micronauts ran from 1979 to 1984 for 52 issues, not including 42 other cross-over and spin-off issues. The series followed the titular heroes as they fought to protect the Microverse from the evil Baron Karza. Since their debut, the Micronauts have left a sizable legacy, with characters like Bug moving into the regular-sized Marvel Universe and the Microverse featured heavily in the MCU.

4 Transformers

The Transformers, the world’s most famous transforming team of alien robots, have thrilled and entertained fans since their debut in 1984. Various toys were originally from Japanese company Takara’s Diaclone and Micro Changes toylines, but Hasbro rebranded Transformers for Western markets. The series features the heroic Autobots led by Optimus Prime as they battle to protect Earth from the evil Decepticons and their evil leader, Megatron.

Marvel was originally only meant to produce a four-issue mini-series for Transformers, but the comics’ massive success spawned a sprawling 80-issue series from 1984-1991. Marvel’s take on the Transformers would be so well-received that much of its content would be adapted into multiple iterations of the Transformers universe. It might be safe to say that Marvel’s initial take on Transformers became more than meets the eye.

3 GI Joe: A Real American Hero

Yet another toy line from Hasbro, GI Joe became one of Marvel’s most successful licensed series based on toys. In the early ’80s, Hasbro wanted to reinvigorate its GI Joe line of action figures. Relaunching them as GI Joe: A Real American Hero, Hasbro turned to Marvel and asked if a comic series could be made for the rebranding. Then-editor for Marvel, writer Larry Hama just happened to be scripting the plot for his own series, Fury Force, which was meant to feature a team of highly specialized soldiers.

When asked to write GI Joe, Hama adapted his plot for Fury Force into what would become GI Joe: A Real American Hero. Larry Hama’s take on GI Joe was significant as he had actively served in the Vietnam War as a firearms and explosive ordnance expert. His first-hand military experience helped push GI Joe into larger and more realistic scenarios. His work would define the series, giving ample and substantial backstory to the Joes and their nemesis, Cobra Commander.

2 Conan the Barbarian

The most savage hero of all, Conan the Barbarian is high fantasy’s ultimate hero. Created by author Robert E. Howard, Conan the Barbarian epitomizes the fearsome sword-wielding warrior. Guided by a fittingly savage moral compass and valuing the pursuit of adventure over riches, Conan slays those who deserve the bite of his blade and aids those who have earned his strength.

Marvel acquired the publishing rights to Conan the Barbarian and released his first issue in 1970. Conan’s series would run for 275 issues, chronicling the Cimmerian’s countless adventures. At times, he was a roaming barbarian, a king, and, other times, a bandit or pirate. Conan’s adventures took him all across the wild lands of Hyboria. A radical departure from the usual Marvel fare, Conan’s success led to other sword and sorcery series, such as 1971’s Kull, 1973’s Thongor, and 1977’s Red Sonja.

1 Star Wars

Star Wars needs no introduction. Tales of the brave Jedi, the treacherous Sith, and innumerable beings that dwell alongside them throughout the galaxy have become the stuff of legends. Upon its release, no one could have ever imagined that 1977’s Star Wars would go on to become one of the most successful and impactful series of all time.

Following the break-away success of the film, Marvel produced a six-part adaptation of Star Wars: A New Hope. The success of the mini-series proved so great that Marvel would continue to publish another 107 issues. Marvel’s original series would adapt the original trilogy of films and explore the time between them. Many companies have published Star Wars comics over the years, but Marvel’s stands as some of the best available stories of the galaxy far, far away.