The Major Reason Why the Transformer BLUESTREAK Actually Had 3 Other Names

You'd begin to wonder if some of the TRANSFORMERS had trouble accepting their names. What with Optimus Prime being awesome, and other wicked names like IRONHIDE and SHOCKWAVE being the real winners (no rational transformer would have an issue with either name, right?). But Bluestreak? Sounds pretty cool. Just like Starscream. It's catchy. Yet, the name wouldn't stick at all on several occasions, but not because the transformer in question (a sleek silvery blue car, duh) had an issue with the name --

Rather, It Was a Legal Trademark Issue, All Thanks to a Toy Car Company!

Back in 2002, a little company called Gendron, Inc., registered a specific name with the USPTO: Toledo 'Blue Streak'. This presented a problem for Hasbro, not having the means to register the name, resulting in their transformer character to go with a change: Silverstreak.

This, of course, only affected Hasbro here in the U.S. and not in Japan. The exact same character was, in fact, simply called "Streak" -- short for, you guessed it, BLUESTREAK. That's two different names -- STREAK and SILVERSTREAK. Ready for one more name? You may have heard of it in a certain TRANSFORMERS film....

SIDESWIPE From the REVENGE OF THE FALLEN Sequel Was, In Fact, BLUESTREAK

Confused, yet? Don't worry. It all falls into place. You could easily watch the film and recognize the transformer known as Sideswipe, realizing that he's just a redesigned Bluestreak for legal purposes. Smart move, Hasbro. Once Gendron actually abandoned their trademark in 2009, it turned out that Hasbro switched the name back to what it originally should've been. Bluestreak.

Long journey for the disassociated and confused transformer.