10 Strangest Fictitious Countries
4. Carbombya - Transformers
The only surprising part about this hysterically childish, racist name is that it didn't come to be under the direction of Michael Bay. But die-hard Transformers fans know that the Socialist Democratic Federation of Carbombya has been around since Reagan.
No need to harp on Transformers fans, as even they appear to have trouble accepting that Carbombya was canon. We will, however, wag all the fingers of shame at the writers, who created this blithely racist stand-in for Libya. At least when Back to the Future did it, it was played entirely for laughs.
Carbombya first appeared in the 1986 episode The Five Faces of Death as a kingdom in the Sahara region whose sign proudly reads: "4,000 people, 10,000 camels." Get it? Because racism.
Every bad '80s Arab stereotype is on full display, mostly coming out of the mouth of Carbombya's despot Abdul Fakkadi. He, as well as other Carbombians, are often heard swearing on the lives of their mother's camels.
Eventually, Fakkadi is brought down by NATO forces, but not before setting up a safe haven on earth for the surviving Decepticons after the events of Transformers: The Movie.
Needless to say, Carbombya didn't go over well even in a decade where Libya was often the boogeyman of the Middle East on film. Casey Kasem, a regular on the show, left in disgust, citing his Lebanese descent.