In 2010, Hasbro inducted humans and robots from the worlds of toys, entertainment and CYBERTRON into the inaugural class of its TRANSFORMERS Hall of Fame, honoring more than 25 years of “robots in disguise” action. Now in its second year, Hasbro is once again turning to fans to help finalize the 2011 robot inductee class.

Hasbro’s internal panel of judges has chosen three iconic characters to induct into the TRANFORMERS Hall of Fame in 2011—Heroic AUTOBOTS IRONHIDE and RATCHET, as well as evil DECEPTICON SOUNDWAVE.

Beginning today, TRANSFORMERS fans around the world may cast their vote for the 2011 Fans’ Choice robot inductee to join the honored ranks, alongside last year’s honorees OPTIMUS PRIME, BUMBLEBEE, MEGATRON, STARSCREAM and the 2010 fan-voted character, DINOBOT.

The 2011 Fans’ Choice finalist ballot was created with input from several TRANSFORMERS collector-fan media outlets, which conducted independent polling of their readers to ensure the ballot represents the robots that most resonate with TRANSFORMERS’ passionate fans. The 2011 Fans’ Choice finalist ballot features GRIMLOCK, SHOCKWAVE, AUTOBOT ERECTOR, WASPINATOR and AUTOBOT JAZZ. Fans may cast votes daily from now until 11:59 PM ET on April 22. The winning robot will be revealed at the TRANSFORMERS Hall of Fame induction ceremony at BotCon in Pasadena, CA, on Saturday, June 4.

The TRANSFORMERS Hall of Fame was created to honor those influential in building the iconic entertainment brand, as well as the actual “ROBOTS IN DISGUISE.” The inaugural induction ceremony was held at BotCon 2010. TRANSFORMERS influentials Bob Budiansky, Peter Cullen, Hideaki Yoke, and Kohjin Ohno were members of the inaugural class, along with five notable robot characters that are a part of Transformers lore.

Fan’s choice nominee: GRIMLOCK

“Me GRIMLOCK want little statue!”

GRIMLOCK fought his way through the gladiatorial pits underneath Kaon to become one of the greatest warriors on CYBERTRON. Having joined the AUTOBOTS early on during the Great War, GRIMLOCK has fought and survived through enough battles to have earned a top ranking position amongst the AUTOBOTS. GRIMLOCK rose to lead a group known for their shock and awe style of military tactics, these soldiers were known as the Lightning Strike Coalition Force. Captured by SHOCKWAVE they were eventually reformatted into the team known as the DINOBOTS. During a fierce battle, GRIMLOCK’s vocal processors were damage leading to his awkward and distinct way of speaking.

Fan’s choice nominee: AUTOBOT ERECTOR

“Wait, what is this? Why am I here?”

Once a member of the evil CONSTRUCTICONS, AUTOBOT ERECTOR was scrapped from the team in favor of the DECEPTICON HOOK, because he wasn’t green. Dejected, AUTOBOT ERECTOR had no choice but to join the AUTOBOTS and did so at the battle of Tyger Pax. There he saved the day by distracting enemy fire with his body allowing for OPTIMUS PRIME and the AUTOBOTS to escape the battlefield. AUTOBOT ERECTOR is a true creative genius and now hailed as the top construction engineer for the AUTOBOTS, having designed such marvels as the Armada Laserbeak Surveillance System and the Real Gear Quick Action Weaponry. AUTOBOT ERECTOR is favored by many AUTOBOTS for representing a lost generation of TRANSFORMERS who prove you don’t need to famous to loved by all.

Fan’s choice nominee: WASPINATOR

“WASPINATOR suffered for your enjoyment.”

“WASPINATOR is one of the most durable TRANSFORMERS of all time. Despite getting blown up all the time, WASPINATOR was able to endure this constant torment and pull himself together long enough to make it to the restoration chambers. Part of the original PREDACON crew which stole the Golden Disc from the Hall of Records, WASPINATOR was marooned on prehistoric Earth where he battled in the BEAST WARS. Before reformatting into a beast, WASPINATOR was known by the designation of WASP.

Fan’s choice nominee: SHOCKWAVE

“I am the only logical selection.”

SHOCKWAVE has always based his actions on the most logical choices. Having joined MEGATRON during the early days of the Great War, SHOCKWAVE believed MEGATRON would quickly crush the High Council and bring about a new order to CYBERTRON. AUTOBOTS and DECEPTICONS everywhere fear SHOCKWAVE for his unethical experimentations. SHOCKWAVE believes that through his work, he will discover a better form of existence for CYBERTRONIANS everywhere and sacrifices must be made to accomplish this. To further his goal of reformatting the species, SHOCKWAVE stayed behind to lead the DECEPTICON forces on CYBERTRON during the Great Exodus. On the surface, SHOCKWAVE is unquestionably loyal to MEGATRON, however this only masks his true intentions of ruling all over all sentient beings in the universe.

Fan’s choice nominee: AUTOBOT JAZZ

“Vote for me or you’ll be sorry. I’m a bad cat who likes to party.”

AUTOBOT JAZZ embodies the essence of what it means to be an AUTOBOT. Loyal, brave and cunning, have allowed AUTOBOT JAZZ to rise to become one of OPTIMUS PRIME's top lieutenants in the war against the DECEPTICONS. Having joined OPTIMUS PRIME on the Ark during the Great Exodus from CYBERTRON, AUTOBOT JAZZ’s upbeat attitude has always been a source of inspiration to his fellow AUTOBOTS. An admirer of Earth culture, AUTOBOT JAZZ effortlessly incorporates the popular local vernacular into his dialect. AUTOBOT JAZZ has even built his obsession with music into his weapons systems with his deployable speaker blasters capable of firing up to one hundred sonic booms per second.

Stay tuned to Tformers.com for more details as they are made available. Your best resource for all the Transformers news and community every day.