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We won't beat around the bush, 2022 was one of the worst years for Transformers collecting due to atrocious distribution that was worse than what we saw during the pandemic. Even now, several 2022 toys have never been found at US brick and mortar retail like the AOE Crosshairs wave from Studio Series, and the Earthspark line which is still a no show anywhere in the US even though it was meant to be released at the same time as the show, for the holiday season (you know, that time of the year when most toys are purchased). We basically ended up with shelves looking very similar for the majority of the year with stores having so much Legacy wave 1. Plus there was the headache many had with exclusives around the world (still no indication of an Asian release for Galaxy Shuttle). Some fared better of course and those who buy principally online did get most of the 2022 toys (but still, no Earthspark and very little Cosmos), so we still have quite a bit to look back on (although next year will be PACKED with 2 more lines on the shelves). Below are the picks for the year from the various staff members here on Seibertron.com. Please tell us your pics for toy of the year, best exclusive, best Legacy toy, best SS toy and what you look forward to most in 2023 Transformers wise.
Transformers Toy of the Year
It's a tie between Victory Saber and MPM Blackout for me, but since I'll talk about Blackout later, I'll stick for Victory Saber here. While mine does have one of the more common issues with the filled in peg hole (giggidy) that didn’t stop me from enjoying my toy in all its facets, that’s how good this toy is. I love going from the giant spaceship to his different robot modes. You have the the tiny brain master becoming a larger robot who then combines with a giant suit which then also combines with a mechanical lion to either be a giant robot or starship. It is a glorious super robot, I can see so much love went into designing this toy and I feel I got my money's worth (the whole package was cheaper than what Legacy Metroplex retails for). Now if Hasbro could send me a replacement copy for my single defect, that would be great. - William-James88
Legacy Jhiaxus. Legacy has been a line embracing the chaos of what Transformers fans really want: a little bit of nonsense. It's only right that not-quite 30 years later, this line brings us a toy of G2 Jhiaxus for the first time. The first time. No really, grab your Foreigner belt because it really feels like the first time this time! Those orange things are just for show. It also helps that Legacy's Jhiaxus is one of the best figures in the entire line, with a transformation that hits just the right balance between fun and involvement, great articulation and an imposing presence suitable to the character. The alt mode weapon storage is really up to your imagination, but weapons inappropriately sticking out of nice-looking vehicles is extremely on-brand for G2 so this isn't a problem.
Legacy Voyager Class Jihaxus. Just a fun toy to mess with. He's a solid figure and it's nice to get the G2 version after all these years. A haslab Liege Maximo when Hasbro? - ZeroWolf
Legacy Metroplex. I was very excited for this figure this year, and it did not let me down in any capacity. Metroplex is big like he should be, scales with the Unicron trilogy like he should be, and he looks like he should. The colors and paint work on him are magnificent. All the joints they added to make him super duper posable are amazing. What they did with his head is amazing. How they worked Sparkdrinker to split, adding so many new fun things to do with him, was beyond great. He ruled, there is no ifs, ands, or buts about it. He ruled the year. - D-Maximal_Primal
HasLab Victory Saber. It's the best and most accessible version of the character(s) that I'll own, and was worth the wait. - Bounti76
Favourite Legacy toy
Blaster. The final wave of Kingdom was a crapshoot at retail for me, so it's a good thing Blaster was rereleased in Legacy. While wave 1 seemed to be overordered, the repacked Blaster didn't stick around too long whenever it was restocked and I can see why, this toy is a beauty. Blaster has always been an independent toy from Soundwave, so I am so glad he finally gets his own dedicated mold. Plus, we now have a proper voyager sized blaster in the generations line with a proper alt mode and he's even compatible with cassettes released from the past 4 years. Plus, he comes with a cassette while at the same price point. Basically, he's a perfect. - William-James88
Y'all know I have to get in my annual double-dip, so while Jhiaxus is what I'd consider the overall tops for the year and most definitive representative of 2022 Transformers, my personal favorite for the Legacy lineup is the Titan Class entry: Cybertron Metroplex. It's really tough to re-do some Cybertron/Galaxy Force characters as toys with any real improvements, but some of them do exist. I wasn't sure upon its initial reveal if Metroplex was one of them, but that feeling was wrong. Not only does the size of this toy scale wonderfully with other Cybertron toys, but he looks even more accurate to the cartoon than his original, very heavily "inspired by the show's CGI" Leader Class entry from 2006. While the lack of Drill Bit and a Cyber Key are still major oversights, the toy's so fun overall that I can look past them - assuming that obvious spot for Drill Bit gets utilized at some point through Core Class. - ScottyP
Transmetal II Megatron. I had a really tough time with this, as Jhiaxus, Megatron, and Metroplex were by far the 3 best Legacy figures this year. But I saw everyone else giving Jhiaxus love, so I felt comfortable going this way. Megatron is a true Leader Class figure, with size, complexity, and presence to him. He is so very good. Initial images were questionable, but in hand, he absolutely rules. This right here is a royally grand toy. - D-Maximal_Primal
Commander Class Motormaster. He's just so well done. Fun to transform back and forth (the trick with the feet is cool), appropriately hefty, and looks great in both modes. - Bounti76
Favourite Studio Series toy
Bumblebee Ratchet/Ironhide. I really liked the beginning scene from the Bumblebee movie so it was cool to see Hasbro go all in on those designs for the Studio Series toyline. I like that they got to make up their own alt modes, giving the designers more agency than with any other movie design since all they had to adhere to was a robot mode. And that's the part that amazes me because it could have all gone the Soundwave route where the alt mode feels really secondary but with the Ratchet/Ionhide mode, we got wonderful Cybertronian alt modes that are a great reimagining of their typical van alt mode, with one of my favourite transformations. I'm a sucker for inside out transformations where the robot folds within the alt mode, it just feels so satisfying and provides distinct details for each mode without giving extraneous kibble. - William-James88
Core Class Laserbeak. I mean it even (sort of) includes a Tea Party backdrop! Haters of this toy (hi, r/transformers) have bad taste and need to go back to fun school. Sure, it's barely a step up in molding from the old Legends Class movie Bumblebees of yesteryear, but dude, daddy's home. - ScottyP
For this, I'm choosing the Fallen. Despite its many, many flaws, I do have a soft spot for the Revenge of the Fallen movie. This toy is everything I wanted in a representation of the character. - ZeroWolf
TLK Hot Rod - This was a good year for SS, and I think the king of that is Hot Rod. The Fallen getting a magnificent leader toy is certainly up there, as is the fun of Brawn, but Hot Rod was definitely a case of "oh finally!" come to life. As someone who owns several official and 3P Hot Rods, this toy gives us the proper TLK Hot Rod design that TLK did not give us, coupled with the design choices of a 3P but made to a deluxe price point, and made for almost a mini-MP figure. This is a dang good figure, and worth your time to check out. Kibble management, smart transformation, the look in both modes down, they gave us the full package here. Well done. - D-Maximal_Primal
Leader Class Sludge. This is the Sludge I've waited for since I never got the G1 toy at Christmas in 1985. Big, hefty, fairly poseable, nice transformation, and that gorgeous dino mode. A few minor things (hollow dino mode belly, less than tight joints) don't detract at all from my enjoyment of this figure. - Bounti76
Favourite Masterpiece toy
MPM Blackout. This guy came right at the end of the year for me since my best option was importing the Takara release and he basically eclipsed almost all other toys I had the pleasure of handling in 2023. Of course, he was one of the most expensive ones but when something is pricey you do expect it to match your expectations, something the MPM line has not done consistently (still disappointed with that Prime we got). Well, MPM Blackout is worth every penny. The Transformation is fully original and finally concludes that imaginary contract I made with Bay/Paramount when I first saw the designs back in 2007 and expected it as a transforming toy. - William-james88
From a jam-packed field of :checks notes: five entire Masterpiece figures released in 2022 it was hard to pick one stand-out, because they're all equally close to one another in presence and quality. I'm going with the first Trainbot, Shouki, but that pick is probably based more on the novelty of a train alt mode than anything else. Getsuei, Nightbird, Crosscut and even MPM Blackout were all pretty darn great too in their own ways. I like quality and quantity, but if I have to pick only one, then quality is fine. - ScottyP
Senator Crosscut. It's incredibly well done so and I ended up taking a step back from Raiden for cost concerns. - ZeroWolf
MPM Blackout. I was excited for this toy coming into the year, and it lived up to the hype. It is a big figure that has a truly impressive copter mode that looks great from every angle (including bottom!) and that has a super robot mode that is an imposing size and also very posable. There are so many smart little cues in the transformation and robot mode, like the way the check and cockpit windows work, that makes him truly stand above the MPGs this year. - D-Maximal_Primal
Masterpiece Clutch. That we got a Senator Crosscut with him (who's the best looking of that mold) is just icing on the cake. - Bounti76
Favourite Exclusive
Cosmos. It’s really a pity not everyone who wants one can get one because this little bot is a joy to transform and discover. I also really liked how the Velocitron Blurr turned out, a very welcome surprise. - William-James88
Override. The exclusive channel was a great place to be this year. Not only were there great and sometimes wacky repaints, but just about all of them complemented either Kingdom or Legacy (or both) in what felt like very natural ways. There were even some new molds among Walmart's Velocitron sub-line, and this is where my favorite exclusive for the year was contained: Override, or if you prefer, Nitro Convoy. Basically all of my notes from Metroplex apply here as well, though Override's at least got Cyber Planet Key compatibility of a sorts which is a big positive. Speedia's leading lady is another example of a smaller sized Voyager Class toy with an expanded budget hitting a really sweet spot quality-wise in the "main" line, and though this isn't the most popular opinion I hope we see many more toys like her in the future. - ScottyP
I'm going with plucky little Cosmos here. I was down on him at first but after having him in hand, he's won me over (okay, being the only one I ended up with from the line may factor in here). - ZeroWolf
Wreck N' Rule Springer. This one really surprised me, and is why I want to include him here. I didn't get Siege Springer, as the old T30 is still far superior to that figure. But this one, I wanted to get the Wrecker Hammer, and he had a big ole Wreckers symbol, so why not. And he is real nice in hand. The colors and paint work help him stand so far apart from both T30 and Siege, and he owns this mold. He is real nice, glad I got this one in particular. - D-Maximal_Primal
Tie between Cosmos and Minerva. I was lucky enough to get a Cosmos right out of the case as he was being unpacked, and I've never seen another one since (why 1 to a case, Walmart??). Despite his hella rarity, he's a fun toy in all regards and is the perfect scale with the other small-deluxe Minibots so far (Netfix Bumblebee, Kingdom Warpath, Selects Hubcap, etc.) - Bounti76
And despite only NOW showing up at physical Walgreens (I saw 6 yesterday alone), it's nice to FINALLY own a retail release of the first female Autobot toy ever released, since (barring a reissue of Minerva's G1 toy), her original 1988 figure is prohibitively expensive. She's got a fun mold, a satisfying transformation, and her body actually becomes a decent portion of her altmode, aka she isn't a huge shellformer. - Bounti76
Favourite piece of Transformers Fiction
Earthspark was perfectly fine for the kid show it was. It gave us an excellent take on Megatron, easily my favourite character in the show (too bad his toy isn’t that great)- William-James88
The percentage of good stuff proportionate to the amount of Transformers fiction released this year would point to it being a really great year for the stories that give depth to our Cybertronian friends. That probably can't be said in general though, as the overall amount of output delivered was collectively tiny, especially as compared to some other recent years. While the Beast Wars comic and TV's Earthspark provided some super fun material, the best of the heap this year was Nick Roche and EJ Su's Last Bot Standing. Simultaneously a send-off to everything that came before and a challenge to everything that is to come, this book imagines what the real end-game for the Cybertronian race could look like. Whatever your expectations were of it, you were likely not prepared for the tough questions this story attempts to answer. I doubt we'll ever see a Transformers story like this one again, but thank goodness this happened.
But dang Hasbro, we all love Moon but why'd you force Waddlepop out of it? That's the kind of uncomfortable stuff I want to read! - ScottyP
IDW Last Bot Standing - Anyone who knows me knows I almost never buy individual issues of comics, i buy trades. So, the fact that this series got me to buy all 4 individual issues should say something. This comic was pure joy to read, a great de-construction of Rodimus and the story of countless endgames finally reaching a logical conclusion. The story helped solidify Rodimus as one of my all time favorites, while also giving such a nice breath of air with the Pack of Antagonists. It was a great time, and a true sendoff to the IDW era of Transformers. - D-Maximal_Primal
EarthSpark. It's a fun show, with some nice callbacks to other TF fiction that manages to still do its own thing. - Bounti76
Best TF related Moment
Watching Earthspark with my kids while my son was playing with the new Earthspark toys (we got them up in Canada). If there's a heaven, I can't imagine it being better than that. - William-James88
I should begin elaborating with a point of clarity: I'm not happy about IDW's license to make Tranformers comics not being renewed. They made most of my favorite Transformers stories over the years, and losing the ongoing Beast Wars series from Burnham and Burcham (among many others) is a great loss.
What I am celebrating, in a way, is the end of the least interesting Transformers ongoing comic in a very long time. With the wider universe of the TF 2019 continuity wrapping up so early compared to other books and side projects, it feels like this was inevitable even if IDW's contract had been met with a renewal. Interesting side stories like most of Galaxies and the brief, probably-intended-as-a-toy-pack-in Wreckers series never felt like they fit alongside Optimus Prime and Megatron's boring, planet-wide war about, uh, stuff they probably could have talked out. Then there's Exarchon, an attempt at the "villain that could unify all Cybertronians" trope that was handled so awkwardly it led to me dropping my subscription for the book. I eventually did grab and read the rest after its cancellation was announced - my message had been sent - but the damage was done at that point. The book had committed a far greater sin than being actively bad, it was inactively just a thing that existed with no soul to be found in the story. The primary emotional response I had to it wasn't anger or frustration, it was ennui. Was the sometimes bizarre lack of direction and cohesion due to Hasbro interference, editorial shuffling, a lack of long-term planning, or even some combination of those things? One day we might know, but whatever the cause, this run ultimately failed. I mean no disrespect to the creators, sometimes the best efforts we put forth just don't work. The 2019 Transformers comic continuity ending was a mercy and hopefully leads to better things in the future for both TF comics and the creators that worked hard on this latest iteration. - ScottyP
HasLab Deathsaurus reveal. On one hand, it felt inevitable given the HasLab Star Saber, but seeing Hasbro going full throttle with the character (that someone on the design team clearly loves) was pitch perfect. - ZeroWolf
If I had to choose a 2nd one, it would have been the drop of the teaser trailer for Rise of the Beasts, letting us see a glimpse of how the beast wars gang look on the big screen. - ZeroWolf
Deathsaurus announcement - Deathsaurus has been a very specific character i have longed to see done right, and his announcement in Haslab was a huge highlight. Couple that with how well he turned out in the colored renders, painted prototypes, and all the accessories he will come with at his very impressive size, and I am super excited for him. His announcement was a truly great moment of the year. - D-Maximal_Primal
Seeing "bad bot" characters outnumber good bots and sell very well. Deathsaurus become HasLab's most popular figure ever, and the main Legacy lineup was at least 50-75% Decepticons and Predacons (Deluxe figures 8-4, Core 6-2, Voyager 4-2, and Leader 3-1 ratios). - Bounti76
The reveal of HasLab Deathsaurus, specifically Thew's reaction. I'm a latecomer to his content and his appearance on the Pulse livestream was tremendously entertaining! And this single stream led me to finally watching the various anime for the first time.- Rotostormnz
What are you looking forward to most next year
I have been fascinated by Hasbro’s ability to push the release of the ready made Rise of the Beasts toyline and the effect it will cause. Instead of seeing two different sets of toys for the same characters released a year apart, we will see similar characters in similar price points on the shelves at the same time and I’m looking forward to seeing the difference between those toys and the different approaches taken. - William-James88
Whenever I try to be optimistic about Transformers in 2023, I remember there's a movie coming out and it all comes crashing down. I know that more of the MPG Trainbots are on the way, so let's go with those. - ScottyP
There's a lot coming out that I really want to see but most of all? Commander Class Armada Optimus Prime. The original is a brick, no getting around it, but it also has a lot of charm. It'll be interesting to see how Hasbro handle it with the technological improvements of the past couple of decades (*sniff* has it really been that long already?*sniff*). - ZeroWolf
Rise of the Beasts - I always love a movie year, and with what we have seen so far, I am very excited for Rise of the Beasts. I won't let you movie haters knock me down! Particularly, the Terrorcons, Maximals, and Mirage have me very excited for the new movie. I cannot wait. - D-Maximal_Primal
Hopefully getting the first female Titan toy, if the rumors about the Nemesis are realized. Since Lodestar is the first female Titan in fiction, maybe she could be a remold of Nemesis? - Bounti76
The releases of Legacy Evolution Voyager Tarn and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. I'm very curious to see what other G1 Retro reissues we get (fingers firmly crossed for Mirage!) as well as a handful of leaked listings that would make me very, very happy if they came true. - Rotorstormnz
There's been a very tiring argument within the Transformers community for years as to whether or not the new Live Action films we are getting are part of the same universe as previous live action Transformers films directed my Michael Bay. But in reality, the argument is pointless since Bay is still involved no matter what, the designs still feature aesthetics from the Bay era and this would not be the first soft reboot anyway.
We'll just look at the facts. Firstly, neither Hasbro nor Paramount want to totally disassociate themselves from the legacy of the Bay era films, nor dissociate themselves from Bay himself. Those films inspired a new generation of Transformers fans and brought in billions. So you'd never hear the word "reboot" from them so as not to alienate fans of the franchise. Plus both Travis Knight, director of Bumblebee, and Steven Caple Jr, director of Rise of the Beasts, along with Lorenzo Di Bonaventura, said that these "not made by Bay" films are within the live action universe we already know of. That was even one of the reasons why we couldn't have Megatron in the Cybertron scene in the Bumblebee movie. And fans thinking that either the Bumblebee movie or the upcoming Rise of the Beasts film have nothing to do with Michael Bay are wrong. Michael Bay was on set of Rise of the Beasts with Steven Caple Jr, the director, as the film was being shot. He is a hands on producer here, and you can see him in this Instagram video below:
Now in terms of designs, everything we have seen so far is indeed a departure form the 2007 film which had very alien designs. But that ignores 5 films since then where designs did evolve under Bay as well. So even if this is a "reboot", that doesn't mean that those who didn't like the live action designs will suddenly fall in love with them now. We just saw the toy for the upcoming film and here it is next to a toy of a character from a Bay directed film. Which is which? Can you tell from just the design cues? It looks like they both crawled out of the same factory. Simply said, we will still have complex designs with multi layered armor, a staple of live action movie designs.
Just to answer the previous questions in case you truly did not know, the figure on right is Hot Rod from a film directed by Michael Bay and the figure on the left is Battletrap from the new film, which Michael Bay is producing but not directing. And that brings another trope diehard fans hate about live action films: name slaps. Like with Bayverse Crosshairs and Crankcase, this Battletrap is just a reused name of a G1 toy with no reference to that character, which in this case had a very unique gimmick. This is a trend we saw in the Bay films and it is alive and well here. Plus, Bumblebee retains the same face he had from the Bay directed films, along with the car radio voice and the Camaro alt mode, offering a loose continuity with the previous films. I'd hope an actual reboot would forgo the design cues from the biggest staple of the Bay era, Bumblebee. But instead, we are getting all these design throughlines.
Also, if this is a "soft reboot", that doesn't mean it's not within the Bayverse. It would be (at least) the second soft reboot of its kind in the Bayverse, after all. After the initial trilogy, Michael Bay changed things up in Age of Extinction and the Last Knight. Optimus got a major redesign, looking more like a superhero than a robot made of car parts, and the faces looked more human, especially the faces of the villains (like Lockdown). That change in design carried over to the Bumblebee movie villains like Shatter and will probably carry over to the Rise of the Beasts villains as well. Any evidence of incongruence to continuity story is far from being a smoking gun when a film like The Last Knight exists. In that film, everything we saw before was retconned and continuity flew out the window.
That's why in the end, it really doesn't matter if this film is labelled as a reboot or not. You can call it a reboot if you like but remember:
- No one at Hasbro or Paramount is calling it that
- It is labelled as TF 7 in all toy listings as well as on set
- Michael Bay is still involved and on set
- There are still reused G1 names with no connection
- Design elements are carried over from previous films; Bumblebee still has the Bayverse face, radio voice and Camaro alt mode
Plus, you'll still get scenes focused on humans, including a scene where the main male character goes for a job interview (again). Trying to piece it with the other films will make as much sense as piecing The Last Knight with the rest (let's not, let's just choose sanity). Regardless, we saw with Bumblebee that we can still get a good story with a greater emphasis on the bots within a film that was meant to be a prequel to the Bay films. So nothing is stopping this film from being good too, regardless if it is in the Bayverse. And also, most importantly, nothing spares it from being terrible if it's not in the Bayverse either.
Hello everybody! Welcome back for the second part of this series focused on minicons.
You can find part 1, focused on minicon teams, here.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of what has been one of the most influential Transformers toylines ever created, whose wild success eventually opened the door to investing in the Bayverse.
Armada introduced us to minicons as the “third faction”. Spawn of Unicron and pokemon of the week, these tiny robots were hunted down by both Autobots and Decepticons as “power ups” for larger Transformers.
Minicon toys came in two flavours: teams, sold, in 3-packs, and partner minicons sold together with their bigger partner. Today we’ll focus on the latter.
Minicons have been defined as “feature-activating micromasters”. Partner minicons are meant to integrate with their “bulk” best buddy, unlocking secret powerups and otherwise unaccessible features. This is important: the partner minicon should provide a significant upgrade.
In ranking these teams, 1-10 scores were given for:
Integration in alt mode: how well does the minicon integrate in the bulk’s alt mode?
Integration in robot mode: same, for the robot mode.
Powerlinx gimmicks: how well does the minicon play into the main gimmick?
Engineering: how well was this toy built?
Transformation: how original and well executed is the transformation?
We also add a note on the best repaint out of several available, and we ask the question: which minicons were truly essential for its partner? Not as many as you think…
The list includes all 34 partner minicon molds: 20 from Armada, 4 from Cybertron, 1 from Universe 2.0 and 9 from Power Core Combiners.
It might be strange to see Armada and PCC minicons together, but the underlying concept is really one and the same. How well did PCC execute that concept… we’ll see.
Let’s get started!
#5 Comettor (with Armada Jetfire) (39/50)
Integration, alt mode: 10, Comettor, like Rollout, is an essential part of Jetfire’s alt mode.
Integration, robot mode: 7, Comettor looks the part on top of Jetfire’s blaster, but nothing more.
Powerlinx gimmick: 7, the pop-out wings look awesome, even if other minicons could be used as well.
Engineering: 7, considering the complexity of the transformation, the result is as great as it could have been.
Transformation: 8, original and not trivial.
Versions: 4
Best version: Armada Powerlinx.
Essential? Yes.
#4 Rollout (with Armada Overload) (41/50)
Integration, alt mode: 8, differently from Comettor, Rollout is not an option for Overload’s alt mode.
Integration, robot mode: 7, the “breastmaster + headmaster” gimmick is fun, but minicons are meant to be optional partners, and Rollout is not an option as it carries Overload’s head. Compare with Sideways, which comes with its own independent head.
Powerlinx gimmick: 8, that G1 transformation sounds still plays after 20 years.
Engineering: 9, the four modes don’t require much effort, but that’s no guarantee for success, see Universe Jolt.
Transformation: 9, simple but effective, across all four modes. The gun mode is just smart.
Versions: 7
Best version: Energon CostCo.
Essential? Yes.
#3 Stripmine (with Cybertron Quickmix) (42/50)
Integration, alt mode: 10, at this stage of the Unicron Trilogy nobody expected such a level of minicon interaction, but Stripmine delivered, almost turning Quickmix into a playset. The combination of Cyber Key gimmick and minicon is unique.
Integration, robot mode: 8, just like Leader-1, Stripmine can turn into a handheld gun.
Powerlinx gimmick: 7, while the main gimmick depends on a Cyber Key, Stripmine takes the whole toy to the next level.
Engineering: 9, it all works flawlessly.
Transformation: 8, not trivial, and solid.
Versions: 2
Best version: Cybertron.
Essential? Yes.
#2 Rook and Crosswise (with Armada Sideways) (43/50)
Integration, alt mode: 10, these two minicons can’t really be separated, and their combined Kamen Rider mode is pure genius.
Integration, robot mode: 10, the revival of the Headmasters gimmick, which also involved Overload, started here. A homage to Punch/Counterpunch, Kamen Rider, headmasters AND Unicron, all in one? Mind-blowing.
Powerlinx gimmick: 10, activating a different faction symbol per head is still lots of fun. Remember, the first run of Armada Sideways had the gimmick inverted.
Engineering: 7, it’s all functional, but many things could have been better.
Transformation: 6, this is primarily one humanoid figure whose alt mode is two minicons.
Versions: 4
Best version: Armada (second run).
Essential? Yes.
#1 Leader-1 (with Armada Megatron) (46/50)
Integration, alt mode: 7, Leader-1 unlocking extra missile launchers while doubling up as a gun pod always puts a smile on my face. The activation of “rat-tat-tat” sounds has the opposite effect.
Integration, robot mode: 10, Leader-1 can turn into a handheld gun, connect to a shoulder as a missile pod or enter a “not so secret compartment” to physically integrate into Megatron’s robot mode. Awesome.
Powerlinx gimmick: 10, the alt mode gimmicks also work in robot mode, and make Leader-1 a memorable partner.
Engineering: 10, it’s possible to achieve great things even with a simple execution - something that eluded most similar efforts in the Unicron Trilogy (see Cybertron Drill Bit).
Transformation: 9, simple, effective and elegant.
Versions: 3
Best version: Armada.
Essential? Yes.
Megatron truly reigns supreme over mini-cons. With the top 5 done, let’s find out which mini-con is truly the worst partner a Transformer could ask for!
Now, we also have the rest of the rankings for those curious of who'd be the runners up and which would be the worst one.
#6 Inferno (with Armada Thrust) (38/50)
9 / 6 / 5 / 10 / 8
Thrust is not that different from Hot Shot - not in the sense that they are both gullible idiots, but in their alt mode integration with their minicon. While Hot Shot has some unexpected air vehicle, Thrust has a land one - a small truck, adding firepower as nobody’s business.
Just like Jolt, Inferno and Thrust can share an accessory - in this case, Thrust can use Inferno’s launcher as a handheld weapon. Plot twist: Thrust got no hands!
Versions: 4
Best version: Powerlinx Inferno.
Essential? No.
#7 Jolt (with Armada Hot Shot) (37/50)
8 / 6 / 5 / 10 / 8
Jolt is the quintessential minicon. Its interaction with Hot Shot in alt mode is the stuff legends are made of (YUM JAAM!), and it’s a solid, well designed toy all around. As an additional bonus, Jolt can carry Hot Shot’s engine block as a gun, a rare example of accessories being shared between partners.
Versions: 2
Best version: Armada Jolt, the original.
Essential? Yes.
#8 Crumplezone (with Armada Cyclonus) (36/50)
10 / 2 / 10 / 9 / 5
Together with Demolishor, Armada Cyclonus sports the best alt mode integration in all of Armada. While Demolishor’s integration ended with alt mode, Cyclonus has several powerlinx gimmicks, maximising the real estate for Crumplezone to connect to. The “rat-tat-tat” gimmick is not trivial, and works perfectly as intended.
Versions: 4
Best version: Cybertron
Essential? Yes.
#9 Safeguard (with Cybertron Vector Prime) (35/50)
9 / 10 / 0 / 8 / 8
One of the most memorable partner minicons, Safeguard is an essential complement to Cybertron Vector Prime, even more in its Japanese version. No real powerlinking feature, but plenty to like.
Versions: 5
Best version: Galaxy Force
Essential? Yes.
#10 Wind Sheer (with Armada Wheeljack) (34/50)
7 / 0 / 7 / 10 / 10
A fantastic mini-con in both modes, with a fun transformation, Wind Sheer manages to look right next to Wheeljack thanks to coordinated color schemes and an overall alignment with the powerlinx gimmick’s appearance. Some instability - the powerlinx’ trigger tends to displace the minicon - but a great effort overall.
Versions: 3
Best version: Micron Legend.
Essential? No.
#11 Heavy Load (with Cybertron Menasor) (33/50)
7 / 6 / 6 / 7 / 7
The only minicon partnered with a Decepticon in the post-Armada era, Heavy Load has an original alt mode and a couple of interesting ideas for integrating with Menasor… how interesting, it depends on how much you like Menasor’s futuristic alt mode, which is more alien and sci-fi looking than many, many others in the Unicron Trilogy.
Versions: 1
Best version: one guess.
Essential? No.
#12 tie Throttler (with Power Core Combiners Sledge) (32/50)
9 / 8 / 0 / 8 / 7
A unique minicon whose alt mode is a… drill attachment. A necessity, for those who ever played with this little fellow. Simple but not trivial engineering completes one of the few essential PCC minicons.
Versions: 3
Best version: PCC.
Essential? No.
#12 tie Thunderclash (with Armada Skywarp) (32/50)
9 / 3 / 8 / 5 / 7
Compared to Swindle, Thunderclash works much better as Skywarp's partner, with much better integration in alt mode. In robot mode connecting Thunderclash meaningfully is a challenge, as there's not even a pseudo-shield option, balancing things out. However, Thunderclash has two fun modes and a fun transformation, making it closer to Liftor in terms of value. Beware breakages, though.
Versions: 5
Best version: Micron Booster v2 Saber.
Essential? Yes
#13 Incinerator (with Armada Blurr) (31/50)
10 / 4 / 10 / 4 / 3
A stylish, fun minicon car designed to activate a very specific - and excellent - gimmick. On the other hand, The simply designed Armada Incinerator could be considered the Trojan horse for Cybertron’s Cyber Key gimmick.
Versions: 3
Best version: Armada.
Essential? No.
#14 Beacon (with Power Core Combiners Steelshot) (30/50)
9 / 8 / 0 / 7 / 6
A fun, versatile mini-con with great personality, great addition to many larger TFs.
Versions: 4
Best version: PCC.
Essential? No.
#15 Nightbeat (with Armada Side Swipe, or A.S.S.) (29/50)
10 / 5 / 8 / 3 / 3
Nightbeat is the core of Side Swipe’s entire design. From this perspective, all of A.S.S.’ limitations can be a bit more acceptable. However, Nightbeat as a robot toy doesn’t really work - it’s not surprised that it was demoted to “Seek and Destroy drone” for a later release.
Versions: 2
Best version: Micron Booster v3.
Essential? No.
#16 Longarm (with Armada Red Alert) (28/50)
5 / 6 / 6 / 6 / 5
Longarm is a G1 Micromaster which happens to have a mini-con port. Great for G1 fans, but Red Alert could have been paired with a better match. Longarm’s crane is way too tiny to be a credible gimmick.
Versions: 6
Best version: Movie.
Essential? No.
#17 Blackout (with Armada Demolishor) (27/50)
10 / 3 / 3 / 6 / 5
Blackout and Demolishor have the best alt mode integration in all of Armada. However, things fall apart in robot mode, with just a two-steps missile launcher gimmick which was not interesting to start with.
Versions: 5
Best version: Energon KB Toys, the Devastator homage.
Essential? Yes.
#18 Over-run (with Armada Optimus “Bendy” Prime) (26/50)
5 / 10 / 4 / 4 / 3
A great targetmaster homage with some integration in alt mode - better than Sparkplug’s - and a problematic transformation. The powerlinx double-punch gimmick is on top of nobody’s list.
Versions: 5
Best version: Armada.
Essential? No.
#19 Swindle (with Armada Starscream) (25/50)
7 / 6 / 8 / 3 / 1
Somehow, Swindle works as Stascream’s partner, but it would be very difficult to pitch this concept without experiencing the toy. There is some redemption in robot mode with a fan-made shield mode, but ultimately Swindle fails as a Transformers toy, as even Nightbeat was designed with better articulation.
Versions: 7
Best version: Armada.
Essential? Yes (AAAARGH)
#20 Razorbeam (with Power Core Combiners Darkstream) (24/50)
5 / 9 / 0 / 5 / 5
Razorbeam is an axe, first and foremost. The transformation is not particularly involved, but Razorbeam manages to be a bit more interesting than many other PCC “turrets”.
Versions: 3
Best version: PCC.
Essential? No.
#21 Liftor (with Armada Smokescreen) (23/50)
0 / 0 / 3 / 10 / 10
Hailed as a “tiny god” since its release, Liftor is one of the most exciting transformer toys out there, with a fun, simple transformation, a heroic robot mode and a fun alt mode. This design would work even at larger scales, and I hope one day we’ll finally get a Masterpiece Liftor. As it happens, Armada Smokescreen is one of the most indecisive designs of the UT, and there is no true interaction between Smokescreen and Liftor. Looking at its eye patch, and based on Aaron Archer’s comments, it seems Lift-OR was meant to be a pirate, just like Demolish-OR. A wasted opportunity for a BotCon set.
Versions: 2
Best version: Universe Liftor.
Essential? No.
#22 Rollbar (with Armada Scavenger) (22/50)
7 / 0 / 0 / 7 / 8
Rollbar is a fun little minicon which can sit at the steering wheel in Scavenger’s alt mode. Fun and original, but ultimately worthless as a power-up. Just like Hoist, Scavenger didn’t really need a minicon.
Versions: 2
Best version: Energon Hound.
Essential? No.
#21 Bumb-burst (with Power Core Combiners Salvage) (21/50)
7 / 6 / 0 / 4 / 4
A highly versatile mini-con which looks straight out of the PS2 Armada videogame. Simple, but effective.
Versions: 4
Best version: PCC Chainclaw.
Essential? No.
#22 Groundspike (with Power Core Combiners Heavy Tread) (20/50)
8 / 6 / 0 / 4 / 2
This minicon, just like Nightbeat, is all about alt mode integration. The transformation is nothing more than a yoga pose, but at least it can become a great Devastator-like chest plate for many TFs, including Tidal Wave or PCC combiners.
Versions: 4
Best version: United EX Wheezel. Blowpipe might be easier to find.
Essential? No.
#23 Dead End (with Armada Unicron) (19/50)
4 / 0 / 3 / 6 / 6
Unicron has an immune system… made of mini-cons. The problem with Dead End is that it’s meant to represent on of trillions of Unicron antibodies, while its size makes it closer to a moon. Nice integration in alt mode, but its activation of leg missiles is problematic, as each missile is meant to be a Dead End drone by itself.
Versions: 7
Best version: Bug General, from Micron Booster v3.
Essential? No.
#24 Ramjet (with Armada Tidal Wave) (18/50)
8 / 0 / 0 / 5 / 5
The smallest mini-con, small and simplified enough to fit into a working elevator in Tidal Wave’s aircraft carrier mode. If Legacy Evolution Ramjet was core class, a potential LE Titan Tidal Wave would need to upgrade into a HasLab project. Would you pay $500 for a HasLab Tidal Wave?
Versions: 2
Best version: Energon / Super Link.
Essential? No.
#25 Caliburst (with Power Core Combiners Huffer) (17/50)
7 / 4 / 0 / 4 / 2
An iconic PCC minicon, Caliburst looks great as a weapon in alt mode, a bit more interesting than similar concepts in the same toyline. Surely more exciting that Legacy’s Energon weapons.
Versions: 3
Best version: PCC.
Essential? No.
#26 Waterlog (with Power Core Combiners Undertow) (16/50)
7 / 4 / 0 / 4 / 1
The wings in robot mode suggest some actual alt mode, instead we are left with a competent targetmaster/armor/turret with wings.
Versions: 3
Best version: PCC.
Essential? No.
#27 Leadfoot (with Power Core Combiners Pinpoint) (15/50)
6 / 3 / 0 / 4 / 2
An interesting homage to G1 Powermasters, with a simple transformation into an engine block. the twin barrels help, but nothing stops this minicon from being ultimately boring.
Versions: 4
Best version: PCC.
Essential? No.
#28 Airlift (with Power Core Combiners Sky Hammer) (14/50)
5 / 3 / 0 / 3 / 3
Just another competent targetmaster/armor/turret.
Versions: 4
Best version: PCC.
Essential? No.
#29 Drill Bit (with Cybertron Metroplex) (13/50)
6 / 0 / 0 / 3 / 4
You can see why the Legacy Metroplex’ product team ended up “costing out” a potential Core Class Drill Bit from the picture. Drill Bit is very similar to Leader-1, and manages to lose all potential of its close relative: no gun mode, no powerlinx-activated gimmick, just a parking spot on top of Sparkdrinker, making its twin drills truly dismal, when you look at the gargantuan machine behind it.
Versions: 3
Best version: Galaxy Force (with painted windows)
Essential? No (Legacy was right!)
#30 Sparkplug (with Armada Superbase Optimus Prime) (12/50)
0 / 0 / 0 / 5 / 7
Sparkplus combines an interesting, original transformation with limited engineering and articulation, and no specific interaction with Superbase Optimus Prime except for that “flat double-barrelled cannon” which can be deployed in base mode by many other minicons.
Versions: 5
Best version: Armada Corona Sparkplug.
Essential? No.
#31 Refute (with Armada Hoist) (11/50)
0 / 0 / 0 / 7 / 4
When you look at the ratio between gimmicks and articulation, there’s a clear pattern: early waves of Armada heavily prioritised gimmicks, making minicons truly central, while some of the last releases increased articulation at the expenses of minicon interactivity. The culmination of this process is Armada Hoist, and Armada toy which does not need a minicon - as demonstrated by its excellent remold, Cybertron Longrack.
Versions: 4
Best version: Armada.
Essential? No.
#32 Universe Jolt (with Universe 2.0 Hot Shot) (08/50)
1 / 0 / 0 / 2 / 5
Universe Jolt is an abomination, and a warning to all Tfans asking for modern versions of UT toys. The most iconic powerlink port of the entire Unicron Trilogy, connecting Jolt to Hot Shot’s car mode, has been removed, replaced by friction and luck. Plastic feels cheaper than most KOs, and would not pass the test for a Kinder Suprise toy. How anybody approved this is beyond human comprehension.
Versions: 3
Best version: TFCC Cop-tur, at least it’s a new character.
Essential? No.
Every month now, Seibertron.com brings you a Top 5 list related to all things Transformers written by the main editor or a guest. These are our opinions (just like movie or game reviews hosted by sites are still just the opinion of one person) so what matters most is what you guys think of the topic or list, and I hope to see your own lists or comments on omissions and ranking. Let's have fun! All previous lists can be found here.
Top 5 Best Transformers Minicon Teams + All Minicon Teams Ranked
Hello everybody! It’s good to be back. This year marks the 20th anniversary of what has been one of the most influential Transformers toylines ever created, whose wild success eventually opened the door to investing in the Bayverse.
Armada introduced us to minicons as the “third faction”. Spawn of Unicron and pokemon of the week, these tiny robots were hunted down by both Autobots and Decepticons as “power ups” for larger Transformers.
Minicon toys came in two flavours: teams, sold, in 3-packs, and partner minicons sold together with their bigger partner. Partner minicons will be ranked in the second part of this celebration.
This first top 5 will focus on Armada mini-con teams were sold in 3-packs, each with a dedicated theme. Minicons have been defined as “feature-activating micromasters.
In ranking these teams, 1-10 scores were given for:
theme execution: how well does the trio represent its unique concept?
gimmick: how well implemented is the team’s gimmick?
power-up credibility: how credible does the team look when powerlinked?
engineering: how well was this toy built?
transformation: how original and well executed is the transformation?
We also add a couple of completely arbitrary notes on best partner for powerlinking, and best repaint out of many (MANY!) available. The list includes all 21 minicon team molds: 11 from Armada, 1 from Energon, 2 from Cybertron, 6 from Classic and 1 from Thrilling 30.
Let’s get started!
#5 Armada Race Team
Score: 43/50
Theme: 10, a nice variety of racing cars, no doubt
Gimmick: 10, the Skyboom shield combiner gimmick is great fun, and it doubles up as a “flying thing” which is fun by itself
Power-up: 10, the shield looks great in the hands of most ‘bots
Engineering: 6, the individual robot modes are quite sacrificed for the Skyboom combination
Transformation: 7, one of the three members, Mirage, barely transforms
Best partner: Smokescreen or Hoist
Versions: 8
Best version: Armada Road Assault team, which looks great with a variety of holders.
#4 Armada Air Military Team
Score44/50
Theme: 10, no doubt about what these planes are about
Gimmick: 10, they handle triple-changing at minicon scale very well
Power-up: 10, an excellent homage to G1 targetmasters
Engineering: 7, Terradive is prone to breaking - you can be careful, but it’s way too fragile
Transformation: 7, it does the job for all members, but it’s not revolutionary
Best partner: Armada Starsceam
Versions: 9
Best version: Galaxy Force Calibur Team, remolded and repainted to be paired with GF Sonic Bomber
#3 Armada Space Team
Score: 45/50
Theme: 10, they went above and beyond with an additional “ground transport” combination of two members
Gimmick: 10, the combination into the Requiem Blaster is well executed, with a stable weapon which can be comfortably handled by most TFs
Power-up: 10, a blaster for every season
Engineering: 7, the satellite is prone to breaking or losing pieces
Transformation: 7, one of the three is at G1 micromaster level of simplicity
Best partner: Armada Megatron (if you don’t know why, ask Smokescreen)
Versions: 6
Best version: The Umbral Blaster made up of the minicons from the 3 different mini-con vs packs (to go with TFCC Timelines Astrotrain)
#2 Armada Sea Team
Score: 48/50
Theme: 8, this is indeed a Sea team, but the terracotta colors are truly baffling. The Micron Legend original X-Dimensions release and its DVD version make this set worthwhile..
Gimmick: 10, three boats which double up as rocket pods for their partners
Power-up: 10, three credible weapon attachments
Engineering: 10, all three minicons are well built and sturdy
Transformation: 10, three diverse transformations, including an excellent one
Best partner: Micron Legend Shockwave (the purple version)
Versions: 6
Best version: Micron Legend X-Dimensions Sea Team (of course!)
#1 Armada Land Military Team
Score: 49/50
Theme: 10, three military vehicles which mean business
Gimmick: 10, three excellent rocket pods, with a well-designed pressure-based gimmick
Power-up: 10, possibly the most credible minicons for powerlinking
Engineering: 9, all three minicons are well built, with minor issues for Knockout’s legs
Transformation: 10, Bonecrusher has possibly the best transformation of any Unicron Trilogy toy
Best partner: Armada Demolishor (of course!)
Versions: 6
Best version: Armada Night Attack Team, to go with… anything, really, it’s just that good.
With the top 5 done, let’s find out which is the undisputed worst minicon team ever made as we rank ALL remaining teams!
#6 Armada Air Defense Team (42/50)
6 / 9 / 10 / 9 / 8
Iconic because of the Star Saber, but with an uncertain theme overall
Best partner: Armada Starscream or Micron Legend Hot Rod
Versions: 12
Best version: Air Assault Team, to go with Armada Galvatron
#7 Classic Night Rescue Team (41/50)
10 / 8 / 7 / 7 / 9
Original and partly awesome transformations, possibly the best post-Armada minicons.
Best partner: none - most Classic minicons don’t really work well when powerlinked
Versions: 6 Divebombs, 4 Firebots, 7 Strongarms
Best version: Classic
#8 Thrilling 30 Assault Team (40/50)
10 / 10 / 5 / 7 / 8
A great homage, reimagining Armada Perceptor at deluxe scale, with uneven engineering.
Best partner: none - these three are just too large for powerlinking
Versions: 1
Best version: T30
#9 Armada Destruction Team (38/50)
8 / 10 / 5 / 7 / 8
Together with Armada Cyclonus, the Destruction team represents all the best aspects of Armada. It’s a shame that Dualor got one of the most boring alt modes.
Best partner: Armada Cyclonus
Versions: 9
Best version: Micron Legend Space Galaxy Destruction team, to go with Energon Cyclonus
#10 Armada Adventure Team (37/50)
10 / 10 / 7 / 6 / 4
Meant to be the equivalent of the Destruction team for the Autobots, Armada Hoist’s cost-cutting led to losing its gimmick, limiting the value of this team. The micromaster-level transformations don’t help making them relevant, even if the theme is well executed.
Best partner: none
Versions: 6
Best version: Cybertron Lunar Assault Team, with Universe Ransack
#11 Armada Emergency Team (36/50)
10 / 7 / 7 / 7 / 5
Another great G1 targetmaster homage, ruined by the second worst minicon ever made - Armada Prowl.
Best partner: Armada Red Alert
Versions: 10
Best version: Armada, with Armada Red Alert
#12 Classic Dinobot Team (35/50)
10 / 10 / 1 / 7 / 7
Great homage to G1 Dinobots and Beast Wars but very weak as minicons.
Best partner: none
Versions: Terrorsaur has 6, others have 5
Best version: Rise of the Fallen (G1 repaints)
#13 Cybertron Recon Team (34/50)
6 / 10 / 3 / 8 / 7
Almost a celebration of minicons by itself, with two great transformations - but not really made for powerlinking.
Best partner: none
Versions: 8
Best version: Galaxy Force Micron Booster v3 repaints
#14 Classic Demolition Team (33/50)
7 / 10 / 6 / 3 / 7
Nice variety of alt modes, with some of the weakest engineering across any minicons.
Best partner: none
Versions: Broadside has 5, others have 6
Best version: G1 Micron Booster v4 with Universe Heavy Load
#15 Street Action Team (32/50)
10 / 10 / 1 / 6 / 5
Armada Perceptor is an iconic combiner and can hold Hotshot’s engine gun, but the individual robots suffer because of it - more than for most other minicon combiners. Very original and unique alt modes, points for audacity.
Best partner: none
Versions: 6
Best version: Micron Legend Magna Convoy DX Fembot version
#16 Cybertron Giant Planet Team (31/50)
1 / 5 / 7 / 10 / 8
Interesting little Transformers with great engineering, but not really great for powerlinking, and with a non-executed theme.
Best partner: none
Versions: the airplane has 3, others have 4
Best version: TFCC Timelines with Astrotrain
#17 Street Speed Team (27/50)
7 / 7 / 1 / 6 / 6
Easily the worst Armada minicon team, it betrays the core concept with tiny cars which make no sense whatsoever in the context of powerlinking, with an “articulation” gimmick which adds very little value, and a boring, uninteresting colour scheme.
Best partner: none
Versions: 8
Best version: Armada Beast Wars Transmetal repaints
#18 Classic Clear Skies Team (25/50)
10 / 1 / 3 / 5 / 6
They all fly, with some original transformations, but once again failing at powerlinking.
Best partner: none
Versions: Nightscream has 5, the others have 6
Best version: G1 Minicon Team (Japanese exclusives Sling, Glide and Dragoyell)
#19 Classic Predator Attack Team (25/50)
10 / 1 / 1 / 5 / 4
They are all predators, and they all suck in terms of engineering or powerlinking.
Best partner: none
Versions: Dreadwing has 4, others have 5
Best version: BotCon 2008 Shattered Glass Predacons
#20 Classic Dirt Digger Team (21/50)
1 / 7 / 1 / 6 / 6
Armada showed us that original, diverse transformations were possible even at minicon scale. The Dirt Digger team, combining simple transformations with misassembly and breakage, was made to remind us that times had changed.
Best partner: none
Versions: Grindor has 3, others have 4
Best version: Classic, if you must
#21 Energon Perceptor (Energon Street Action Team) (20/50)
1 / 6 / 1 / 6 / 6
Energon didn’t give us many minicons, but it gave us was memorable: the Energon Saber, a great remold of the Air Defense Team, and Energon Perceptor, one of the most abysmal concepts ever devised in almost 40 years of Transformers. 20 years later, I still can’t imagine how this concept got approved. Energon Perceptor is so bad it’s not even funny.
Best partner: none
Versions: 6
Best version: Japanese exclusive Stealth City Team
This wraps up our minicon team ranking. We hope you enjoyed this article more than I enjoyed Energon Perceptor.
Every month, Seibertron.com brings you a Top 5 list related to all things Transformers written by me, your fellow editor. These are my opinions (just like movie or game reviews hosted by sites are still just the opinion of one person) so what matters most is what you guys think of the topic or list, and I hope to see your own lists or comments on omissions and ranking. Let's have fun! All previous lists can be found here.
Top 5 Best Dirge Transformers Toys
So we made a list for the three main seekers already, now we tackle the coneheads! Dirge is first simply by random choice. Since many of these molds have already been visited in the past, the blurbs for each will be rather brief. While writing the lists for the coneheads, what I did find interesting was that each of them had at least one toy where only that specific conehead was used as a redeco. Like this first one here...
It's thanks to this release that we can actually call that wonderful Cyberteron voyager Starscream mold a seeker mold. On the show, Starscream and Thundercracker didn't share the same body type And that happened way later in a different line. Of course, since the Starsream toy had 2 different decos (standard in Japan and Thrust like maroon in the US), there was some variation, but Dirge (of all characters) was the only other character to use this mold. It's too bad there is 0 remolding to make him distinct, especially for his head, but the deco does give us a different looking face. The deco is stellar all around, giving us the right blues and browns of the G1 toy but onto this Cybertronian design. And as stated, you can still have a nice mix of colours to make it look like you have a group of seekers with this mold on your shelf.
It might be a controversial statement but here it is: I much prefer the G1 coneheads over the three main seekers. I love how different they are from one to the next in terms of wings and weapons. Plus, with that conehead you reduce your kibble in robot mode.
This one is super fun and it reminds me of an era I really miss. Ever since G1, going into Beast Wars the Transformers brand has a rich history of giving us toy only characters. These toy were not a material representation of a character from a show, it was just a toy to be enjoyed for what it was with it's own distinct design. ROTF Dirge is one of those toys. And it's pretty awesome since it is a movie verse interpretation of the coneheads. And I would say it is much more in line with what fans would have liked from these movies. While the design is still busy for a more "real life" aesthetic, this Dirge feels a lot more like a reimagining of the G1 design/character rather than a name slapped onto a bot. They give him the bare essentials like his conehead, the cockpit chest design and the right colour scheme and then just go wild after that, but in a fun way. There were several movie toys from that era which were of non movie characters and they often were far more interesting than the toys representing on screen characters. It's something I miss from movie toy lines.
Masterpiece MP-11ND Dirge
The masterpiece mold was dated by the time it came out but that didn't stop Takara from releasing all the coneheads with it. And I feel my thoughts on the pros of the G1 toys also work here. I like the variety that the coneheads offer with the wings and weapons. And while I really like that the cockpit chest rotates to be in the right direction in robot mode, it's unfortunate that the remainder of the jet nose juts out between his legs, which also removes the illusion that his head is the nosecone. It's a really nice representation of Dirge regardless.
Honestly, I think both are great. The Earthrise mold refines a lot of aspects of the classics mold and improves on articulation but I still think classics Dirge looks amazing. And without it, we wouldn't have the Earthrise one. And once again the same reason I preffer the G1 coneheads over the other seekers applies to these molds too, with the better treatment of kibble (on the Classics one) and variety of distinguishing features from one remold to the next. These molds rock. I know it, you know it, easy number 1 pick.
Every month now, Seibertron.com brings you a Top 5 list related to all things Transformers written by me, your fellow editor or a guest. These are our opinions (just like movie or game reviews hosted by sites are still just the opinion of one person) so what matters most is what you guys think of the topic or list, and I hope to see your own lists or comments on omissions and ranking. Let's have fun! All previous lists can be found here.
Top 5 Same-Sex Transformers Couples
Happy Pride month, everybody! My name is Tigerhawk7109. I’ve been on the forums for about two years now. And, this week, I’ll be bringing you a special Pride-themed list. Before we begin, though, let me set one major rule: canon pairings only. As much as I stan ships like AlphaRoad, they’re not official. Also, major spoiler warning for More Than Meets the Eye and Lost Light ahead. And please remember that the use of the term "same-sex" is in the generalized sense where sex is used to refer to gender quite often. Now, without further ado, let’s get into it!
5: Knock Out and Breakdown
Knock Out, the slick Decepticon medic, was far and away the breakout character of Transformers: Prime. He was suave, he was extremely vain, and he gave Autobots like Bumblebee and Arcee a real challenge on the roads. His partner-in-crime was Breakdown, a heavy bruiser who filled the role of Bulkhead’s archnemesis. From their interactions in the show, many fans suspected that the two might have been a couple. As fun as it might’ve been, there was no official confirmation- until IDW stepped in and put their own spin on things.
When Knock Out was introduced in Windblade: Volume 2 number 4, he retains everything from his Prime persona except the sadistic streak. He’s a high-ranking racer on Velocitron, but nothing’s really been said that’s new. However, when Moonracer and Windblade have their conversation at Maccadam’s, the Velocitronian alludes to Knock Out having a Conjunx Endura who ‘couldn’t break Mach 1 if his life depended on it.’ Breakdown, with his bulky build, certainly fits this description. In the Holiday Special, we finally get confirmation that the two are a couple.
Because they had less time for their relationship to develop than any of the others on this list, Knock Out and Breakdown are lower in the ranking- but that doesn’t mean that they’re any less precious.
4: Drift and Ratchet
Suffice to say, this is a relationship that not many saw coming. Drift and Ratchet are polar opposites- one is an ex-Decepticon trying to find his place in the world, and the other is a grouchy old medic who’s losing his touch. But, if you look closely, you can see how their relationship developed over the course of More Than Meets The Eye and Drift: Empire of Stone. When Drift is knocked down by a brick after taking the blame for Overlord, Ratchet is the only member of the ship’s crew who helps him up. In issue 28, when Atomizer hands Rodimus a list of those who supposedly didn’t vote for him, Ratchet reveals that it’s a fake- because his name isn’t on it. There are a number of reasons why this could be, but we’re led to believe it’s because of Drift. The turning point in their relationship comes when Ratchet attends Brainstorm’s trial. After the scientist gets away with a slap on the wrist, Ratchet finally snaps at Rodimus for letting Drift take the fall. He leaves the Lost Light in a shuttle, with a figurine of Drift made by Ten on his dashboard. By Lost Light, the two are officially a couple. Their relationship’s buildup was absolutely genius, and is one of many examples as to why James Roberts is a fricking genius.
3: Anode and Lug
Anode and Lug were the first major newbies introduced in Transformers: Lost Light, the sequel to More Than Meets the Eye. They are a couple when we first meet them, but we also meet them when they have a pretty major argument. Anode eventually realizes that the Lug she is seeing isn’t real- she’s a mere hallucination, brought upon after being saved by the Necrobot. Using a protoform and a spark, Anode is able to essentially bring Lug back to life. Now that’s dedication.
However, that’s not the only reason that Anode and Lug are special. The two are the first official transgender couple in Transformers, and have a whole page dedicated to Anode explaining why the two of them didn’t feel right as males. This quality, combined with the real and believable nature of their relationship, makes Anode and Lug a truly special couple.
2: Cyclonus and Tailgate
All I can say is this: James Roberts knows how to write a romance, because God damn. These two get off to an extremely rocky start. Poor Tailgate is looking for somebody to room with, and Cyclonus lets him into his quarters- only because there’s a sparkeater on the loose. When the minibot starts to annoy him, Cyclonus knocks Tailgate out cold. Gradually, the two grow closer, bonding over the fact that they are both from Cybertron’s ancient past. At the end of Season 1, Cyclonus uses his own spark energy to cure Tailgate’s cybercrosis. In Season 2, Getaway plays on Cyclonus’ reluctance to show his feelings, and manipulates Tailgate into almost getting killed. Cyclonus protects him, and is shredded by bullets. When Tailgate is presumed dead after Fangry locks him in a radioactive chamber, Cyclonus’ faith and desire to see him again causes Cyberutopia to manifest itself as the Afterspark. These two have so much development, and have so much love between them- except Cyclonus’ pride keeps him from saying the Big Three Words until Lost Light issue 16. Caught in the middle of this romance is Whirl, who slowly pushes the two into revealing their feelings for each other. That comedic plot point alone is just fantastic.
1: Chromedome and Rewind
You all saw this coming. Chromedome and Rewind have the single-most developed relationship in all of Transformers history. They don’t just top a list of same-sex couples- these two would top a list of all couples. From the very first issue, we see them fight and make up, like a real couple. The two are very obviously lovey-dovey with each other. However, it’s not until after Rewind sacrifices himself to get Overlord off the ship that he finally says ‘I love you.’ Heartbroken, Chromedome locks himself in his quarters and plays his husband’s final message, a composition of footage recorded by Rewind himself, over and over again. However, the two get a second chance when Megatron discovers a quantum duplicate Lost Light, with Rewind the only survivor. Seeing as he is the same, yet different, from Chromedome’s Rewind, the two get off to a less-than perfect start. Their love eventually grows back to what it once was- to the point where Chromedome almost kills himself to bring Dominus Ambus, Rewind’s old Conjunx, back from his lobotomized state as ‘The Pet.’ Instead of bringing Dominus back, Rewind severs Chromedome’s arm, keeping him alive at the cost of his former husband. There are no other words to describe just how deep their relationship runs.
Honourable mention: If there was one other couple I need to make mention of, it’s Tigatron and Airazor- specifically from the Japanese dub of Beast Wars. Airazor was male in Japan, which was all well and good for the most part. But when the obvious affection between the two blossomed into romance, they inadvertently became the first gay couple in Transformers history.
What do you guys think of this list? Got a couple you think should be on it? Sound off in the Energon Pub forums. For now, this is Tigerhawk7109, signing off.
Every month now, Seibertron.com brings you a Top 5 list related to all things Transformers written by me, your fellow editor. These are my opinions (just like movie or game reviews hosted by sites are still just the opinion of one person) so what matters most is what you guys think of the topic or list, and I hope to see your own lists or comments on omissions and ranking. Let's have fun! All previous lists can be found here.
Top 5 Best Skywarp Transformers Toys so Far
Sure sure, Skywarp has teleportation abilities, but we all know what really makes him stand out from the rest: his awesome deco. Purple is the thematic colour of the Decepticons (looking at the logo) and it highlighting a black jet is just gorgeous. So while it's not usually the case, deco will have a bigger impact on some choices in this list, especially since time and time again Hasbro finds ways to really mess up his deco (like the Classics deluxe and Combiner Wars leader).
This is the one that started it all with that beautiful deco. It just looks so good. The mold itself is one most fans are familiar with. You are either on board or you're not. And while I have always been lukewarm about it, that jet mode is awesome and looks great in those colours.
While not his usual all black self, this isn't Skywarp's usual G1 self. It was a completely new Seeker body and while it's during the era where Hasbro cheaped out on deco and plastic, making the other seekers who use this mode rather lackluster, it works pretty well for Skywarp. The purple highlights really pop against the grey, almost like they do in the game this toy is based on. And plus Skywarp held this body in the comics too, so you get a deluxe IDW Skywarp, two birds with one stone and all that. The mold overall is rather quaint but Skywarp makes it work best, especially thanks to the deco which plays a special role in concealing the head which is left out in the open in alt mode, which is one of my big gripes with this mold.
The MP mold rarely makes these top 5 seeker lists since it was already dated by the time it came out and the dumb exclusivity simply added costs to an already overpriced toy (plus, this is the only MP-11 seeker never to be released in the west). BUT the MP is a rare instance where they get the show deco right. The cartoon actually added some extra purple that was not on the original G1 toy, like the shoulders, and until 2020 this MP was the only toy to really get the right colour pattern for our dear old Skywarp. In contrast, there's the Combiner Wars leader Skywarp which just gets it wrong. It gives him a purple chest, completely ruining the illusion of his chest being a warped version of his alt mode's nosecone. Granted, robot mode chest on the MP mold was always wonk looking but at least the colour's right. And the MP jet mode is just amazing looking. It was always the better mode, same with the G1 toy, and the colours just rock.
Hasbro went all out on Armada Skywarp and I really want to highlight that. They gave him a new headsculpt, new cockpit laser cannons, new wing turbines and a new Mini-Con partner. And while Armada Strarscream's deco strayed very far from his G1 self, Skywarp was a beautiful blend of the G1 black and purple but applied to his new Armada look. I know there are big fans of that mold out there and this is the best rendition of the mold bar none.
1. Earthrise Skywarp
Everyone likes the Classics seeker mold but there was definite room for improvement (height for one) with Skywarp being most in need of a redo due to the odd bright prune colour choice by Hasbro (and odd paint quality by Takara). But Earthrise came through for us with a loyal deco to the G1 cartoon on an excellent mold. I know I was weary since Hasbro's deco choice for Siege Skywarp was God awful but seeing those perfect colours of Earthrise Skywarp in hand almost made me forgive the odd choice for a screaming headsculpt. Plus, unlike the MP, the cockpit chest is tapered in the right direction (down). This is my definitive Skywarp.
Honourable Mention: I just wanted to note the really nice job the now defunct Transformers Club did for their homage to Armada Skywarp using the Generations Armada deluxe Starscream mold.
With there being buzz again for a new Transformers film, I thought of starting this ranking which will update through the years as more movies get added. This ranking consists of theatrically released Transformers films. Be sure to let us know your ranking too.
Ranking of the Transformers Films with Theatrical Releases
7. Transformers The last Knight
With the previous film steering things in the right direction by finally having the robots actually feel like characters and not just background noise, I was legitimately excited for this film. Megatron was coming back as well with the best design we had seen for him so far in the series and it looked like Optimus could finally be the prominent character in the film, especially based on the marketing. I mean, you look at this and Optimus is the last knight, right... RIGHT?!?!?!?!
Wrong!
The last knight is Mark Wahlberg. You wondering why? Well it's because he doesn't have sex a lot. They spend some minutes discussing that very thing. Oh and Optimus, the guy on the poster? Not in the film much. The last film ended with him setting off on an awesome revenge mission in space and this one opens with the film showing us that he wasn't really made for deep space flight. This film is a dud with the most uneven tone of the entire series. Like having some really raw and visceral medieval action intercut with Stanley Tucci being a clown as a drunk Merlin. Tone deaf, truly tone deaf. There's just so much wasted potential here. Evil Optimus? Lasts for just six minutes. Cool new Megatron? Not there much, plays second fiddle to Quintessa. Barricade returns? Taken out without Bee even needing to transform. Unicron is planet earth? Not gonna focus on that too much. Cog is called a headmaster? He never transforms into anything and is just a butler robot. The submarine is a Transformer? Never transforms. Bee can finally talk again? He does, after we were told that he still can't, and after his two second speech he goes back to the radio voice.
This doesn't feel like a Transformers movie in the least. It looks like one of the writers in the writer's room had an Arthurian legend descendants script in the works and the rest of the writers just added Transformers to it. This film is just a junk fest of scenes and random ideas put together, avoid it "no matter the cost".
6. Transformers Dark of the Moon
My issue with this film is that it is so damn boring. Like mind numbingly so. The Transformers hero characters are relegated to the background here, even in the fight scenes and they seem to have no agency. The Wreckers are there for 2 minutes of screen time and mostly in the background of those 2 minutes. This is not a joke. The montage scene of Sam looking for a random job lasts longer (it lasts for 4 minutes). And I absolutely hate how they have to write ridiculous reasons for Optimus not to join a battle (and thus save some money on CGI), like getting tied up with ropes. It just makes this huge blockbuster feel so cheap. Speaking of Optimus, any hint of that noble warrior is gone here and he's just a murderer. I get that he is beyond pissed off in Age of Extinction, which gives a reason for his overly rash behaviour, but we don't have that here. Just a murder machine who executes his mentor by shooting him in the head point blank. That particular scene does not make him look heroic in the least. And once again, Megatron plays second fiddle to another villain. Also, the studio insisting on Leonard Nimoy to say his famous Spock line in the context of villainy made me want to hurl. Although the "homage" to the Columbia shuttle tragedy is probably worse.
5. Transformers Revenge of the Fallen
One thing that pisses me off to no end with these films is the total disregard for the robot characters. The live action films treat the robots as just random characters we don't need to know much about and the constructicons are a great example of this. We see them in the beginning, they aren't introduced nor so they talk among themselves to establish anything. And then later in the film, we see Devastator, who you'd think would be made up of those constructicons. But he isn't. Instead, he is made up of construction vehicles lying around a pyramid which suddenly merge together into devastator. And during that time, you have the constructicons from the beginning fighting the Autobots. It's like the writers and filmmakers are going out of their way to show how little any of this means to them. The writing is beyond poor in this film with one of the key plot points being that only a Prime can defeat the Fallen, the villain of this film which Megatron plays second fiddle to. And while Optimus does beat him after getting some parts from Jetfire, I don't see why it had to be a prime and not just any other bot who was jacked up on extra parts.
And I hate how terribly cheap the film looks with its obvious cost cutting methods. There's an important scene where Optimus is resurrected and it's entirely obscured by a tarp.
All that said, there are some good things in this film. For one, Megatron's looks are a step up here in robot mode. I like how the tank treads incorporate into his feet and the asymmetry of his arms adds a real creepy factor. This look is the one that has remained the most iconic for Megatron's Bayverse tenure even though he changed look in every film. Also, that forest battle scene is pretty incredible. Not just because it is well done, but it lasts long enough for it to become this small pocket in the history of Bay films where the robots are the main characters. Sure Sam runs around, but he serves his purpose as indicating to the audience just how different Autobot and Decepticon ideologies are. In that scene, Sam is there not as a main character but just as a means to share more info about the robots to the audience, no matter how basic that info is (Auobot good, Decepticon bad). It's an awesome 3 minute scene that you can watch again and again on youtube with no need for what comes before or after and none of the films previously mentioned have something this good.
4. Transformers Age of Extinction
This film gets kudos for actually trying to fix major issues from the previous films. For one, the bots actually feel like characters with their own personality traits. Optimus is a full fledged character here, well at least as much as any of the human characters. Sure, it's the murder machine version of the character, but at least you know where he's coming from. All the Autobots get several lines of dialogue. I remember Protoman (a reviewer on youtube and a friend) reviewing the Drift figure and saying that the character probably wouldn't have more than two lines of dialogue in the film and this film proved him (and many others) wrong. Were they good lines? I'm not even going there, I am just happy these characters have lines. And speaking of the Autobots, they are colour coded this time around to make the action scenes easier to follow. And there are some pretty kick ass action scenes, be it Hound and Bumblebee's last stand, Optimus Against Galvatron, Optimus against Lockdown, the dinobot charge, flying around Chicago, Bee vs Stinger atop the robotic Pterasaur, lots of fun stuff. Plus the villains are good here. The bounty hunter Lockdown is rather threatening and I really liked Kelsey Grammer as an 80s type villain that is just obviously evil. We even get scenes of just the Transformers heroes talking and figuring things out with no human in sight. Crazy, I know!
3. Transformers (2007)
In comparison to the rest, there isn't much to say here other than I think it was a good first outing for a franchise branching out into a new era. Sure, the humans take centre stage for most of the film but it serves as an introduction to the brand and the new mythos of this interpretation. It does an ok job at what it's trying to do even though Bay's live action style was never something I was overly fond of, especially the idea that really cool stuff will be relegated to the background and that the Transformers are secondary characters with action told from a ground witness point of view. It was fine for a first film and that point of view even works well in that military desert scene vs Scorponok but I feel what worked for one film did not work for the entire franchise. And the CGI still holds up, which is quite an achievement and it shows just how cutting edge the film was when it first came out.
2. Transformers The Movie
This film is really special and I haven't cracked the code as to why it works so well for so many of us. I just know for a fact that it is extremely captivating to kids (Or those who watched it when they were kids). The drawings are gorgeous and the animation is good. It holds up very well and you can definitely tell that this is a movie rather than another episode of the show to the point where going back to the show will feel like a downgrade after seeing it. It also feels truly epic. You feel the stakes. I feel it does waver off a bit after Galvatron's initial attack with the remaining autobots, where three parties are split off into new worlds, but everything comes back together for a grand finale. The part of the writing that I find rather impressive is everything to do with Galvatron. It's not easy to bring about the idea of a different character also being a new version of an old character, and to do that without that becoming the main plot you are telling. Here, I feel they do it effortlessly. I love how Galvatron retains the memory of his previous self and is proud of his achievements, yet you see that this is a new persona at the same time. Just wonderful stuff all around.
1. Bumblebee
This may not be a revolutionary movie for most, but to me it proves that the Transformers franchise can truly inhabit the world of classic live action films without any mockery. The film itself is excellent for what it is, an Amblin film for today's generation of kids. It goes for the 80s aesthetic all the way by not only making it the setting, and giving the robots the more classic look and feel of that era, but also in giving us a film that feels a product of that era of film making and storytelling, like ET.
I love the world building etched into the dialogue. Like how Bee's sentencing by Blitzwing shows Megatron's ideals of "Peace through Tyranny". That first segment with Bee coming to Earth is just so beautifully done. That was originally how the film began in the script, when there was no Cybertron scene and while I think that Cybertron scene is all kinds of fun, I am really impressed at what Bee's arrival on Earth accomplishes in terms of storytelling and aesthetics for this new breed of live action Transformers films. They show us how Bumblebee scans and transforms and how that changes his own aesthetic through an action scene. Right after that it shows us just how bad the odds are against the autobots with the battle against Blitzwing. We see the advantage a flier has over a bot that can only transform into a car and and there are some nice shots contrasting their size, mirroring the larger war at hand. I love how Bumblebee goes to destroy his flight mechanism to ground him first. Plus how that fight finishes shows how the Autobots had to get crafty to survive and continue fighting.
We get some more awesome fight choreography at the end against Dropkick and Shatter, and the filmmaker even throws in a few moments of showing how a Transformers fight differs from other robots fighting, with using their transformation abilities as they fight. Plus you've got a great soundtrack and good human characters, and a solid performance from John Cena (who has BY FAR the best line in the film). I am just very happy this movie came out by the time I had kids (a boy and girl) since it's a great way to share this brand I love so much with them within the modern slew of entertainment. It's the Transformers film I can truly recommend to anyone and everyone.
Every month now, Seibertron.com brings you a Top 5 list related to all things Transformers written by me, your fellow editor, or a guest. That's the case this month where fellow Seibertronian Kurona wrote this list. These are our opinions (just like movie or game reviews hosted by sites are still just the opinion of one person) so what matters most is what you guys think of the topic or list, and I hope to see your own lists or comments on omissions and ranking. Let's have fun! All previous lists can be found here.
Top 5 Worst IDW G1 Transformers Stories
For many years, the IDW Generation One comics have been a gift to its readership. Entertaining battles and interesting new spins on old characters are a standard of any good Transformers series; but the IDW comics stand out in particular for being aimed at an older audience than usual - hence we've been challenged with darker material, philosophical questions, political allegories and deep character studies the likes of which we have never had in the franchise before. Among all this sophistication, however, it's sometimes easy to forget that the company has unfortunately put out some very, very bad stories in its time. Let's count down what are arguably the 5 worst IDW Transformers stories!
5. Combiner Wars
As time has gone on, my opinion on this crossover has lightened up a bit as it does have quite a few good points. We have some fantastic action courtesy of a very unique style of combiner battles, we get to see Starscream's political machinations behind the scenes continue to wreak havoc on society, and this arc did provide the true beginning to the Colony Worlds story that makes the Windblade books and Till All Are One so good.
Neither did most the comic, Superion
However, these are not enough to save this crossover - only enough to put it at the top of the list rather than the bottom. This was a scary event from the outset as it put interference from Hasbro at an all-new high - while IDW did advertise some of Hasbro's Universe/Generations toys before, generally it was at a much lower rate compared to the usual amount of salesmanship Transformers fans are used to and they were allowed to continue their stories with only a couple new bodies or background characters to show for it. However, Combiner Wars saw fit to shove in as many toys as it could at an alarming rate, even to the expense of interesting concepts like the Prowl-controlled Devastator getting shelved for the sake of showing off the new £150 Titan-Class toy. An attempt at focus in the storyline seems evident but we can barely keep up as the titular gestalt scuffles rage not once, not twice, but three times over the course of but a few issues when the political and religious ramifications of Cybertron coming into contact with Caminus should be at the forefront. 'Combine' that with an unprecedented amount of scripting and art errors and it's easy to see why many fans at the time took to calling this the worst arc of the post-Death of Optimus Prime era.
- Kurona
4. Infestation
This is a bit odd because it technically isn't a Transformers story - well, it is, but the actual Transformers part is just one aspect of it. The actual story is based around, as far as I can tell, two of IDW's original franchises - CVO: Covert Vampire Operations and Zombies vs. Robots. A prelude of multiversal nonsense has zombies invade multiple universes in what was at the time billed as the biggest crossover event of IDW as a company, with zombies infesting various of their licensed universes - G.I. Joe, Ghosbusters, Star Trek and, of course, Transformers. This isn't the first time IDW Transformers has done a cross-continuity crossover, but it is notable for being the only one of the two that stayed canon and had effects on the universe going forward.
Kup and Cyclonus both sum up my feelings
And as one might have guessed, the two-issue segment of Infestation containing the Transformers is pretty bad! Transformers does not lend itself well to the threat of undead flesh. The whole point of zombies as a horror trope is that no matter what you do, no matter how hard you try to stop it; it is slowly coming for you, it will get you, and everyone who falls in its path will be added to its ranks. It's very chilling, and while in recent years Zombies in horror movies have arguably not been used to their best potential - that's a top 5 worst list all on its own - it's still very possible to make them very scary with a human element. Not with a giant-robots-from-outer-space element. You can't possibly fear for the Autobots here as the best the zombies can do is weakly slap their metal before getting kicked away or obliterated by a photon blast, and even in the story Wheeljack uses their advanced technology to make sure they can't even get to the humans beyond a small portion of Las Vegas! But even beyond that faulty premise the story does not inspire confidence. Galvatron and Prowl are both wildly out of character, very weak "it's magic, we don't have to explain it" reasoning is used for the main villain to pose a threat to Cybertronians, and a potentially interesting look at Kup's mental health following Everything in its right place (a very good Transformers story I can recommend) is pulled out of nowhere by trying too hard to link the undead to what happened in his Spotlight and resulting in a rather pointless sacrifice to stop villains we don't care about from a universe we don't care about. Maybe CVO and Zombies vs. Robots are interesting franchises, I don't know; but it really had no business being here.
- Kurona
3. 2019 IDW Reboot Series
You know what's worse than something bad? Something boring. And this series is the most boring piece of Transformers fiction I ever read. At any point that it picks up an inkling of momentum, it then shifts into an all talk issue leading to absolutely nowhere. I swear I never read a comic with so many panels of Transformers just talking while walking up or down some stairs.
Here's a shot from issue 7
Now one from issue 8
By 10 we at least get to see some actiOH My God STOP!
And this was supposed to be a bold new era of Transformers fiction. Give me a break!
- william-james88
2. All Hail Megatron
Ah, All Hail Megatron. Now we're getting to the big leagues. For those that have only started reading IDW in the past few years, a quick history lesson - when IDW first got the license to Transformers back in 2006, the infamous and well-loved among the fandom writer Simon Furman was given full reign to create whatever story he liked with nothing to hold him back. And it was, in fact, rather interesting and a Transformers story unlike what we had seen before. Full emphasis was put on 'robots in disguise' as Autobots and Decepticons alike made sure to hide themselves from humans at all cost. Darker, more complex morals for the Autobots were introduced with an Optimus jaded by the war and implied to not have the matrix. Megatron played the long game with an infiltration protocol that had the Decepticons pervade a world's politics and society before destroying it and taking over. Lesser-used characters like Hardhead and Doubledealer became big players alongside new concepts like Sunstreaker being a Headmaster. This was no Shakespeare, but it was a great breath of fresh air for the franchise.
Kup once again asks the important questions
So you can probably understand why the fans who loved this little era were not appreciative when All Hail Megatron came around. Suffering sales forced IDW to bring in a whole new direction and soft-reboot for the title as Shane McCarthy took over writing duties. So what was this fresh new direction? What wellspring of new ideas came from a writer new to the series? Well, the Decepticons abandon all subtlety and take over Earth. And suddenly have technology that in previous stories was stated to be extremely rare and lost to the ages. And then the Autobots come and defeat them. Oh, and Optimus has the matrix and there's an original character who is a samurai Decepticon turned Autobot in there somewhere. Disregarding the AHM: Coda series which attempted to patch this up - and in some parts was rather good - this plays out essentially like a bland, standard, by-the-books G1 episode or action movie with a superficial gritty overlay. Little characterisation is given or focused on beyond Ironhide's newfound want for punching everyone and everything, and I constantly ask why I don't stop reading this and put on the 1986 movie instead. At least that one had the bravery to actually kill off important characters to increase tension! Oh sure, it was purely to sell toys, but it's a heck of a lot better than this! At the end of the day, this is a story that tries to pretend it's mature and gritty but instead has no new ideas, nothing important to say, no risks to take, and comes off as a watered-down version of an 80s movie whose express intent was selling toys.
- Kurona
1. Revolution
It was a little difficult for me to put this ahead of things as cynical as All Hail Megatron, as you do feel a real passion here. One of the great things about all the creative teams on the modern IDW Transformers comics is that you can feel a true love for the franchise and the series they're writing for - this isn't just a day job for them, this is something they want to do and something they adore doing. And as an aspiring writer myself, I can kind of see how they thought this could be a fun idea - much as the concept has arguably been overdone after Marvel's movies proved it could be successful, an expanded shared universe does bring in a lot of positives. You're able to explore a lot more areas of your world and universe and focus on a lot of different things at once without getting in the way of each other all the time. Your franchise can bring in a lot of different readers looking for a lot of different things. You can have some great crossovers with some entertaining team-ups and history if you really work well at it!
No, Optimus, apparently no-one in this comic can
But it's hard to see how one could start up a shared universe worse. I'm not entirely sure how much I have to criticise this here - of the six franchises involved, four of them have no history and have either just started up a few months prior or are starting in this very book. It... the premise speaks for itself. This is probably not going to go very well. Between having to start up MASK, restart G.I. Joe and show what exactly is going on with the Transformers; Micronauts and Action Man barely get to show up at all in the crossover while ROM does show up... and acts completely out of character in the first issue by killing someone without trying to explain why (trying to explain being something he had consistently done in his own comic up until this point) to set up artificial drama and conflict in the second. As crossovers go, this is badly thought out. While the focus has to be on some group and you can't be perfect in your distribution; you should at least try and give equal focus to each party involved in the crossover and make sure to represent them correctly. Instead we got a trigger-happy moronic G.I. Joe randomly shooting at the Autobots in what is... probably the 1,673th time in this franchise humans don't understand there are good robots (despite their predecessors in the EDC making such a distinction and going about things far, far better in more interesting ways for the story), ROM being an idiot, a bulk of focus being given to MASK characters who at the end of the day don't really contribute anything to the story, and Action Man and the Micronauts only arriving at the last second to give too little joy too late. The final battle should be an awesome sight to behold - all these iconic characters people have grown up with over the years banding together for the very first time to fight a threat none of them can hope to face alone. But the actual action panels are a mess with too much happening to make out anything that's going on - not helped by the art which is decent at best, and distorts characters like Victorion and Arcee beyond recognition at worst - and even if they were good by the time you got to Issue #5 you're so exhausted from the terrible quality of the preceding issues and trying to make sense of what I can only generously call a plot that it's difficult to feel any investment or care.
I really did try to like Revolution. I really did. And you know what? I like the shared universe! The miniseries Revolutionaries alone has proven its merits, some of the books (especially Micronauts) are pretty damn good, we've got what looks to be a decent, small-scale crossover between Transformers and ROM coming up, and despite the fears many fans had; the Optimus Prime ongoing has had minimal effect on its stories by the shared universe while the other two ongoings (Till All Are One and Lost Light) go on as if it never happened. The shared universe is working out fantastically, and if any readers left because of Revolution - something I can't be surprised by and something I really can't blame you for - I absolutely urge you to pick up these ongoings you loved again, because they're still great and Revolution has not hurt them in the slightest.
But as a comic? As a story? As a crossover? As something I can pick up to read and try and enjoy and have fun and hopefully get invested in some new characters and comics? Revolution is an objective failure in almost every area, and I am sorry to say that it is the worst story in the IDW G1 continuity that at the time of writing has ever been put out.
- Kurona
Dishonourable mentions:
Dark Cybertron is yet another unfortunate example that shows IDW sadly, for whatever reason, can't make a good crossover. It wasn't awful and I would certainly recommend it to you over anything on this list, but it was a very long very boring story that, contrary to a lot of modern IDW's strengths, required you to know a lot of backstory and seemed to exist for the pure purpose of tying up loose threads from when Furman left the series. Still, it does provide some good lines, some good team-ups (Whirl and Arcee, Rodimus and Optimus), and managed three incredible twists at the end - two of which it seemed like Hasbro would never let IDW do - that paved the way for amazing stories and have not been undone since.
New Avengers/Transformers, on the other hand, is so stupendously bad it almost got a spot on this list. I decided against it as Infestation is one multi-continuity crossover enough for the list and unlike that one, this has the good grace to be non-canon to both franchises involved. But it is still a mess. Some cool ideas like Iron Man getting a bigger suit to be on-par with the Decepticons and a neat homage to Marvel Transformers #3 aside there are almost no good points to be found here; the art isn't particularly outstanding, character motivations seem to come and go (ESPECIALLY with Dr. Doom), the plot is standard and boring and almost nothing interesting comes of the team-ups. But hey, I got to mention Dr. Doom and Iron Man in a Transformers list, so I'll give it that.
Also, while the Heart of Darkness limited series is related to the Infestation event that is already on the main list, I wanted to make special mention of it here for adding terrible art to an already completely uninspired story.
Every month now, Seibertron.com brings you a Top 5 list related to all things Transformers written by me, your fellow editor. These are my opinions (just like movie or game reviews hosted by sites are still just the opinion of one person) so what matters most is what you guys think of the topic or list, and I hope to see your own lists or comments on omissions and ranking. Let's have fun! All previous lists can be found here.
Top 5 Best Starscream Transformers Toys so Far
While anticipating the next Masterpiece Starscream, I just wanted to cover all the great toys that we got of him so far. This is one of the few characters that has been a mainstay through different eras, almost as much as Optimus Prime and Megatron (even more so than Bumblebee who was absent for the Unicron Trilogy). And since Takara's best designer is a fan of the character, he was always given some extra love in the design department, and as we're about to see, it shows.
5. Studio Series Starscream
Upscaling a toy might be an easy way to put "new" products on the shelves but it can also result in great toys, like Beast Hunters Voyager Predaking. And the result for this voyager Starscream is awesome! Even being familiar with the deluxe mold from Dark of the Moon, the bigger pieces made for a very fresh transforming experience. And it being an upscale did not feel in any way like it had less parts than it should. It felt complex enough for a voyager. I really appreciate the attention to detail like covering parts that used to show hollowness adding parts to beef out the sides, add detail to the sculpt and, best of all, use that now famed Takara MP Beast Wars technology for adding a digital textured deco layer all across the alt mode. Really cool. The tatooed redeco for the Revenge of the Fallen version is just as good.
This is one of the best seeker molds of all time. The design choice to have the robot mode be so slim and sleek makes him look creepier than any version of Starscream before. I am so impressed with how they were able to pull off a robot mode as skeletal as the one depicted onscreen and yet still have him perfectly transform into a tight and smooth jet mode where no robot limb protrudes, as is often the case with jets.
It is really too bad that the voyager Starscream toy in his show colours was never released by Hasbro, but at least fans got to experience this excellent mold in other colours, such as a very Thrust like burgundy and in blue with Dirge. And yes, even with the Siege mold out there, this is the better looking Cybertronian mode we've ever gotten for Starscream.
These two toys are both great and achieve the same purpose so what I saw for one is almost the same as I'd say for the other. They are relentlessly detailed and screen accurate (obviously, the MPM more so). There are many separate pieces which shift in perspective by being moving from the background to foreground while transforming him to the point where it really feels like there is a robot inside the jet made up of all the jet parts and you uncover him through the transformation. Both of these toys show us what perfection is in a different way. With the Leader class one, we have a much cleaner jet mode and a satisfying while intuitive transformation but the robot mode is not as detailed. With the MPM one we have the most perfect robot mode we will ever get for the movie Starscream design. However, it is far more fiddly and the jet mode, while still looking sharp, does have an undercarriage which looks more out of place. So these toys tell us that while you can't have absolute perfection, you can still have two incredible toys.
I have made lists for seekers and jets in the past and while I always included the classics mold, I did always wish it was bigger. I loved the look of it though, as well as the simple yet smart transformation. It seems Hasbro was thinking the same thing, and now I realize there is a trend in good Starscream toys being the result of upscaling a good deluxe toy. With this toy, we have what I would call our definitive Starscream for a classics scale. Plus with this being the same scale and overall aesthetic as the Siege tetra jet, you can form a really awesome armada of seekers varying in designs and colour with Starscream in the lead.
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