Summary
Calvin and Hobbesis famous for its ability to capture what life is like through the eyes of a child, as it follows six-year-oldCalvin and his (allegedly) imaginary friend/anthropomorphic tiger, Hobbes. The two of them get up to no shortage of mischief together, from disobeying Calvin’s parents to pulling pranks on each other. However, the majority of their play takes place entirely in Calvin’s imagination.
Hobbes isn’t the only product ofCalvin’s creativity inCalvin and Hobbes, which is something that’s shown with Calvin’s increasingly clever imaginary inventions. Calvin has come up with a great number of awesome gadgets and gizmos throughout his comic strip history, ones that make some of his more fantastical adventures possible - like traveling through space and time, and shapeshifting into animals. Here are10 of the funniestCalvin and Hobbescomics starring Calvin’s imaginary inventions!
Calvin and Hobbes' 10 Best Spaceman Spiff Comics
Sometimes the greatest Calvin and Hobbes comics don’t feature either of them, but instead Calvin’s alter ego: Spaceman Spiff! Here are the 10 best!
10Hobbes is Impressed by Calvin’s Transmogrifier (for the Wrong Reason)
Calvin and Hobbes- August 11, 2025
In the comic strip that debuted Calvin’s Transmogrifier, the six-year-old excitedly shows it to Hobbes. He explains that his new invention can transform anyone into anything, from animals and bugs to even dinosaurs. However, it’s not the device itself that impresses Hobbes, but what it’s made out of. Hobbes takes a good look at the Transmogrifier and says, “It’s amazing what they do with corrugated cardboard these days”.
Given that the Transmogrifier is an imaginary invention, the ‘device’ is actually just made of cardboard, and can only transform someone with the power of imagination. However,Hobbes decides to take the invention literally, choosing to believe that Calvin could actually make such a high-tech piece of machinery out of cardboard- which is as ludicrous as it is hilarious.
9Calvin Transmogrifies Himself into a Mini Hobbes
Calvin and Hobbes- June 24, 2025
After showing Hobbes his new invention, Calvin decides to show him how well it actually works. So, Calvin goes inside the box, moves the knob to ‘tiger’, and lets the technology do its thing. The result isCalvin ‘transmogrifying’ himself into a mini Hobbes- and it’s as adorable as it is hilarious. Except, Hobbes doesn’t seem to think so…
“Words fail me” is all that Hobbes had to say after seeing Calvin as a little tiger, seemingly disturbed by this successful test run of the Transmogrifier. What’s interesting, though, is that Calvin is disappointed too, despite the fact that his machine worked perfectly. It seems one anthropomorphic tiger in between the duo is plenty, even though ‘Hobbes and Mini Hobbes’ sounds like a spin-off series with incredible marketing potential.
8Calvin and Hobbes Experience the Existential Horrors of Cloning First-Hand
Calvin and Hobbes- July 09, 2025
Using the ever-versatile cardboard box, Calvin invented the Duplicator which - as advertised - has the power to duplicate anyone who steps foot in the box. So, just like with the Transmogrifier, Calvin decides to test out his new invention on himself. Hobbes is skeptical, as he often is, but Calvin pushes him to start the device once he’s inside the box - and it works! While that would be worth celebrating, things started to get dark almost immediately.
When Calvin praises himself for being a genius, the voice of his duplicate calls him a liar, saying that he was the one who created the Duplicator, and that the first voice was the clone. This is the sameexistential horror that rears its ugly head in practically every ‘cloning story’, and Calvin and Hobbes are experiencing itfor themselves.
7Calvin Comes to a Stark Realization When He’s Face-to-Face with His Clone
Calvin and Hobbes- August 03, 2025
After releasing his clone, Calvin reveals the reason he created him to begin with: to clean his room and do his homework so he and Hobbes could go out and play. When Duplicate Calvin hears this, he immediately rejects the purpose of his creation, and instead sprints outside before Calvin can make him do any of that. When Duplicate Calvin is gone, Hobbes comments, “He’s a duplicate of you, all right”, to which Calvin indignantly replies, “What do you mean? This guy is a total jerk!”
Calvin is a bit of a brat, that much is clear from practically every comic strip, and it’s hilarious that he doesn’t realize it until he experiences his own behavior himself. Because the truth is, Hobbes is right,the way Duplicate Calvin reacted is exactly what Calvin would do. And, in Calvin’s own words, he was “a total jerk”. In fact, it’s this problem that leads to Calvin creating an add-on to the Duplicator, the Ethicator (which is perhaps something that Calvin should use on himself).
6Calvin and Hobbes' Bed-Making Robot Actually Works (but Not as Expected)
Calvin and Hobbes- August 04, 2025
Unlike some of his other inventions, the Bed-Making Robot that Calvin made is actually real, as in, it’s a physical robot that is able to literally carry out its purpose without the addition of Calvin’s imagination. However, that shouldn’t imply that it’s functional. In this story arc, Calvin is told to make his bed, so he designs a robot to do it for him to get out of making his bed himself.
Calvin and Hobbes spent all day creating this robot, but no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t get it to work. Just as they were throwing in the towel, it was Calvin’s bedtime. In other words,by spending all day creating a Bed-Making Robot, Calvin got out of making his bed, meaning the robot technically fulfilled its purpose - just not as expected.
5Calvin’s Cerebral Enhance-O-Tron Makes Calvin Look Ridiculous (& Cosmically Intelligent)
Calvin and Hobbes- July 30, 2025
When Calvin needs to be smarter for school, he decides that instead of studying, he’s just going to invent a device that will make him more intelligent with the push of a button: the Cerebral Enhance-O-Tron. Made from a cardboard box and a pasta strainer connected with string, Calvin’s ‘Thinking Cap’ works a little too well. Not only does it do as-advertised and makes him more intelligent, it alsoenlarges Calvin’s head to a comical degree.
While his head does look hilariously ridiculous after using the Cerebral Enhance-O-Tron, that’s a small price to pay for how insanely smart it made him. It’s later confirmed that Calvin understands all the natural laws of the universe, reducing them to a simple equation. Calvin becomes cosmically intelligent thanks to this imaginary device (but he still looks ridiculous).
4Calvin Threatens to Rip a Hole Through Space & Time… to Get Out of Doing Homework
Calvin and Hobbes- July 16, 2025
Calvin has always despised doing homework, and will find any excuse to get out of it - including fracturing the very fabric of existence. Calvin decides to build a time machine (surprise, out of a cardboard box) and plans togo forward a few hours in time to steal his completed homework from his future self, and bring it to the past. As any fan of time travel-based science fiction knows, this would create a paradox that could potentially rip the universe apart - good thing it’s imaginary.
What’s perhaps even funnier about this comic than the idea that Calvin is willing to potentially doom the universe just to get out of homework is Hobbes' reaction to the whole thing. He knows that there’s something off about Calvin’s logic, but decides that the oddest thing about the situation is that he’s sitting in a box, which is strange, given that Hobbes is a big cat and should enjoy Calvin’s box-based inventions.
3Calvin and Hobbes Get Into a Shapeshifting Battle with the Transmogrifier Gun
Calvin and Hobbes- June 01, 2025
While the Transmogrifier worked exactly as Calvin designed it, the six-year-old decided to upgrade the invention by making it more portable. So, he creates the Transmogrifier Gun, which can turn anyone into anything when they’re shot with it. And,in true Calvin and Hobbes fashion, the two use this advanced technology to mess with each other, which leads to a hilarious shapeshifting battle.
Hobbes turns Calvin into a tiny pterodactyl, so Calvin turns Hobbes into a duck. Both are displeased with what the other has done, so they snatch the Transmogrifier Gun back and forth from each other while transforming the other into increasingly absurd things, like a talking pig and a sentient flower - and it’s utterly hilarious.
2Calvin Creates a Surprisingly Violent Imaginary Alter Ego: the World’s Most Powerful Computer
Calvin and Hobbes- July 29, 2025
While most of Calvin’s inventions are tools made for a specific purpose, the World’s Most Powerful Computer is actually more of Calvin’s alter ego - one who is surprisingly violent. When Calvin introduces himself as the World’s Most Powerful Computer to Calvin (wearing a cardboard box over his head with drawn-on robotic features), he claims that he can answer any question. So,Hobbes asks why the World’s Most Powerful Computer wears little red sneakers, at which point, Calvin throws the cardboard box off his head and chases Hobbes down.
It seems this imaginary invention couldn’t answer any question, or perhaps - to Hobbes' question meant specifically to annoy Calvin - violence was the only answer. In which case, this invention works perfectly.
1Calvinball is Calvin and Hobbes' Greatest (& Most Chaotic) Invention Ever
Calvin and Hobbes- June 30, 2025
Calvin’s inventions primarily consist of decorated cardboard boxes that function entirely in Calvin’s imagination, like the Transmogrifier, Duplicator, and time machine. However, this invention might be the greatest of them all, as it’s less of an ‘invention’ and more of an all-new sporting activity: Calvinball. Therules of Calvinball are simple: the game cannot be played the same way twice. That means the objective of the game changes every time it’s played, and even while Calvin and Hobbes are playing it, making it a masterclass in imaginary play.
With every one of these inventions, it’s clear that Calvin’s creativity truly knows no bounds, and watching his imagination flourish in these comic strips makes for some of the funniest in the entireCalvin and Hobbesfranchise, with these 10 being some of the greatest standouts among the comics starring Calvin’s imaginary inventions.
Calvin and Hobbes
Calvin and Hobbes was a satirical comic strip series that ran from 1985-1995, written, drawn, and colored by Bill Watterson. The series follows six-year-old Hobbes and his stuffed Tiger, Calvin, that examines their lives through a whimsical lens that tackles everyday comedic issues and real-world issues that people deal with.
