Rated X wrote:Wow, this is the most subjective top 5 topic yet. Everybody's got a different opinion on whats "badass" and one mans trash is another mans treasure.
But if I wrote the list, the classics seeker mold would be #1. Its transformation was revolutionary upon its introduction and has stood the test of time for a decade. No other classics mold has been re-issued as many times. The Classics Prime mold would be my # 2 for all the same reasons. When people still jump to buy a reissued mold that's 10 years old, you know its badass.
Badass =/= G1 Accurate. That's not to say they're mutually exclusive (I do happen to like the look of the Classics Prime mold a lot in fact, though I think the Seeker mold is thoroughly outdated and in need of a proper replacement- if they weren't so expensive I'd buy the iGear Raptor Squadron) but what is G1 accurate may not be badass, and vice versa. Heck, a toy that looks good isn't necessarily badass. Case in point, Generations Arcee- a fantastic toy, but not exactly badass with her sweet smile and dainty proportions (though she was of course plenty capable in the cartoon- I think, haven't actaully watched Season 3 yet- and is a veritable killing machine in IDW!).
I will agree with you that "badass" is a very subjective term, but hey, that's what's fun about these lists- seeing other people's opinions and discussing them.
And just because I feel like it I'm going to list a few more I feel deserve mentioning.
5: Movie Stockade. I love this guy, from his beefy proportions to his slick vehicle mode to his badass headsculpt. Even his gimmick is loads of fun! My only gripe with him as a toy is his lack of ankle rockers and his lack of any kind of ranged weapons or the means to hold them. The articulated fingers are neat as hell though.
4: DotM Shockwave. He certainly isn't your daddy's Shockwave, that's for certain! I just LOVE this redesign of ol' one-eye, from the cannon that's just big enough to look menacing but not so big it causes problems like poor old Energon Shockblast (RIP, buddy) to the glorious frontal rack o' ribs to the headsculpt with its blazing red eyeball and the creepy Tarantulas-maw, and that GLORIOUS purple hue. It's possibly one of the only Shockwave toys (aside from the also pretty awesome Animated toy) that did something completely new with the design concept rather than just retreading G1, and yet it's still recognizably Shockwave. Plus, the often attempted but rarely well executed "Cybertronian Tank" mode actually works well! Well, I like it anyway, but at least it isn't just plainly obviously a robot doing yoga (I'm looking at you, Prime Shockwave). I really wish this guy got some actual development in the movie- IMO they should have ditched Sentinel Prime entirely and had this guy voiced by Leonard Nimoy, perhaps working as a morally ambiguous scientist who ultimately turns on Megatron when he feels he's gone too far.
But I digress. I love this toy, wrinkles and all.
3: Animated Oil Slick. He's metal as all hell. His head is in a jar. His colourscheme rocks hard. He has a flail. He turns into a motorcycle with a goddamn ram skull on it. Do I need to say much more? I think it speaks volumes about how goddamn cool looking this toy is that it makes the divisive Animated aesthetic look good alongside either Animated or CHUG toys. He's just so damned cool and I want him.
2: Beast Wars Rampage. I had to put him in somewhere, I'm sorry. I just love this design so much. For one thing, he's an enormous robotic cannibalistic king crab, and that's just badass. For another, his colourscheme is just awesome and really makes the sculpted detail pop, especially with the orange drybrushing and the chromed shell. Thirdly (fittingly enough), his "vehicle mode" is one of the only good-loooking vehicle modes out of all the Transmetal figures, AND it has working treads! The only reason he's not number 1 is his slightly cumbersome robot mode and its enormous amount of kibble. Regardless, I want one, and one day I shall have one. It helps that his character in the show was absolutely fantastic, and easily one of the most gloriously terrifying villains in Transformers history.
Sweet Primus, don't let Rampage and Airachnid meet or we're all doomed.
1: Transmetal 2 Blackarachnia.
Yes, Transmetal 2 Blackarachnia.
Hear me out, please. Sure, she's a kibble monster in robot mode like Rampage, but somehow it WORKS better than Rampage- whilst it makes posing her a nightmare (or so I'm told, I don't actually own the figure, sadly) it makes her look like Kerrigan from Starcraft, the Alien Queen and the Qubeley from Zeta Gundam had a 3-way lesbian lovechild (with colourscheme mostly courtesy of the Psycho Gundam). The massive shoulderpads, the gribbly spider-legs forming creepy claw-arms, the curving hand-talons that look like they could cut you open from stem to stern, the creepy alien knee-high boots and "bra" that adds slightly alien-BDSM look, the generally Gigeresque sculpting and detailing, and that lovely airbrushed pink on the yellow and chrome parts! Between the fact she's pretty big, and the fact she's dressed like some kind of demonic brood mother/alien hive queen, she looks imposing, powerful and just plain
vicious, with an air of sensuality- which is not something that can be said about a lot of Transformers toys.
Of course, the alt mode is where it really goes to 11- like female Oni (Japanese ogres known for fluctuating tempers) she goes from monstrous but strangely attractive to OH MY GOD IT'S F***ING TERRIFYING once you transform her into spider mode. Whereas the robot mode has a regal, almost majestic look to it, the spider mode is 100% pure predator. Like, she's going to hunt you down and devour you and there's nothing you can do about it. Between the increase in that lovely silvery-pink airbrushed chrome, the wonderful asymmetrical sculpting on every single component (each individual LEG is unique!) and the gorgeously petrifying face, she really does look like a nightmare given plastic form (or at the very least, a really cool boss monster from a 1990s SNES game).
Literally the only complaint I have with her aesthetically (I'm not sure about functionally because I don't own her) is the weird hand-pincer weapon in robot mode made from her spider jaws. It looks a bit...I dunno, phoned in? Still, it's nowhere near enough to detract from the overall badassery that is
Supreme Empress of Destruction Kurokumokogo TM2 Blackarachnia.
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