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So here we are, another year is over and done with and while looking back on 2021 might not be of high importance on everyone's list of things to do, we did get some pretty cool figures. So the staff team at Seibertron got together to share what they liked best of the year in different categories and we invite you to join in on the fun and give us your pick for each category. Now, here we go!
Figure of the year
william-james88: Kingdom Rodimus Prime. As part of the standard Kingdom line, spending $80 on a voyager sized figure is rough. BUT if the same toy was released as a special "Gen MP" release, which was a line of toys with MP level engineering made to fit in with the current classics scale line, and he came with a trailer, turret platform, accessories (matrix, sword of Primus, effect parts) fans would be all "take my money" and the fact that it's below $100 would sound almost incredulous. Well that's what this Rodimus Prime toy is, truly. More complex than MP-10 with similar number of accessories. And since he's chug scale, he's 80$ instead of 150$ (hell, this released these days in MP scale and MP quality, we'd be looking at $250). I for one thank our Hasbro overlords for trusting me to understand what I am getting in this 80$ package. Obviously, if you find it on sale, then that's even more awesome but that's the same for any great toy.
Scotty P: MP-52 Starscream and/or MP-52+ Thundercracker. I suppose Skywarp makes the cut here too, though end of December releases get tricky, especially with the slower pace of international shipping these days. Anyhow, this third version of a Masterpiece seeker mold delivers the pinnacle, thus far, of the "Sunbow" style design aesthetic for the MP line. Delivering a complex transformation that is, for once, pretty easy to learn while still achieving a superb sculpt with all the articulation you need made this a slam dunk. I didn't need any more Masterpiece seekers but given what the final product is in this case, I can say in retrospect this is something I really wanted.
Bounti76: Unicron. The sheer scale of the figure and the PRESENCE he has is worth the cost.
ZeroWolf: I was conflicted here. Part of me wanted to give this to Unicron but then I couldn't think of a good reason why compared to others. So instead I'm going to say...Transformers Kingdom Core Class Rattrap. Sure, his shoulders are awkward but any toy I can return to and fiddle with constantly are a win for me.
Kanrabat: Definitely Masterpiece Reboost. Not only it's an original character for once (at least in the TF universe) but it's an AFFORDABLE MP with a simple transformation that is FUN to do. I was blown away by this truly Masterpiece of a Masterpiece.
Favourite Kingdom toy
william-james88: Even though this was the best year ever for my favourite series, Beast Wars, none of the beasts impressed me as much as Cyclonus. That transformation was amazing, truly going from one completely different form to another.
Scotty P: Rodimus Prime. Kingdom was an excellent line overall and this nearly went to Dinobot with even Huffer getting some consideration in my mind. Rodimus Prime is something like a dream which is why it gets the nod here for me. Some fans are understandably apprehensive about the switch from size classes to price classes even now, years after it happened, and Rodimus Prime certainly can be looked at as the poster child of this when comparing the robot mode to previous releases such as Jetfire. This is a case where size just doesn't matter when the toy uses that additional budget to be so darn good. Rodimus borrows cues from several previous iterations of the character and even MP-44 for the under-trailer accessory storage, has every feature he needs and even possesses the best headsculpt we've seen for this character ever. It's not perfect, as the trailer tab tolerances are a little frustratingly off and the packaging itself caused paint woes, but this is one of those topics asking for a "favorite" and not "best", so Commander Class Rodimus Prime was an easy pick.
Bounti76: Tie between Slammer and Cyclonus. Slammer is great fun to transform and feels solid, and Cyclonus not only looks the part, but is an engineering slam dunk.
ZeroWolf: this was going to be Airazor but Tigatron nipped her to the post.
Kanrabat: Very hard to decide. I guess Leader Beast Megatron is my favorite of the bunch. A fantastic mold with amazing poseability and great show accuracy. Why pay 400$+ for the MP when you can have this one?
Favourite Studio Series toy
william-james88: Slug, it was really great to finally get another big dinobot that wasn't Grimlock for a change. I love how beefy he is and I feel these leaders (both he and Grimlock) give us what we all want in a leader class release.
Scotty P: Studio Series 86 Grimlock. If Studio Series' branding being co-opted by The Transformers: The Movie wasn't enough, the toys released for this section of the line have been far superior, delivering pleasant and high-quality figures with 90% less of that frustrating 'panel massage action' when compared to their movie universe peers. Ignoring Wheelie, who should have been replaced with a sword, this is very nearly the definitive Classics-style Grimlock I've always wanted. An excellent companion piece in Slag makes me very excited for the inevitable releases of Sludge, Snarl and Swoop.
Bounti76: Tie between Dino and Jolt. We FINALLY got screen accurate versions of these two... only 10 years after the movie they were in came out. Technically, Dino's car mode isn't a Ferrari, but licensing issues aside, still looks great.
ZeroWolf: Grimlock, has to be...Who can resist a robot dinosaur?
Kanrabat: SS86 Grimlock. Simple, yet so perfect. Another mini MP.
Favourite Cyberverse toy
william-james88: I really didn't like deluxe Soundwave when he was first shown. The character has a great model on the show but it seemed ruined with some offputting kibble. But in hand, most of the issues went away. Not physically, everything I disliked was still there, but I just loved transforming and posing him that they didn't matter as much.
Scotty P: Deluxe Slug. Sometimes you have so many toys of a given character (or character archetype) that you feel like there are no surprises left to be had. Cyberverse Slug takes away some of the jaded feelings this old-timer gets on occasion by delivering two expressive modes that have a process to transform between the two that lives up to the brand's "More Than Meets the Eye" tagline.
Bounti76: Deluxe Class Arcee. Screen accurate robot (minus the back kibble) that actually feels decently made, and not be a "kiddie" toy, designed more to be cheap.
ZeroWolf: Deluxe Class Dinobot Slug...see previous answer.
Kanrabat: I didn't bought much Cyberverses so I'll cheat a bit because he was re-released in 2021. Ultra Skullcrunsher. This one blow both the OG G1 and the TR update away. Sure, he's no headmaster but the whole package just works. He's fun to transform, have a logical gimmick and he do MORE than the previous versions. Truly impressive.
Favourite Masterpiece toy
Scotty P: MP-53 Reboost. As is tradition, I've managed to pick two MP toys in this list once again. It's true though, while I don't think this is on the same objective level of nicety as the new Starscream, Reboost is an amalgamation of so many cool ingredients at once that he quickly became my unexpected favorite Transformer for the last little while. Start with the equally great MP-52 Skids, give him a cool red repaint, extra accessories, the soul of Diaclone and a headsculpt with the energy of Alternity and you get an amazing piece that feels like a celebration of everything that went into making it a reality. The fact that Reboost is a "literally nobody" type of character could be a knock against it, but in this era of Total Brand Awareness where everyone in the brand's A and B tiers gets done ad nauseum, these are the types of Transformers that spark the imagination and keep me invested.
Bounti76: Skids. Out of nowhere, and he and Reboost bring me back to the things I loved about Masterpiece in the early 2010s- fun transformation and durability of the figures without being overly complex.
ZeroWolf: Skids, thanks to not having to rely on cartoon accuracy, they instead made a fantastic toy that shines in both modes.
Kanrabat: I'll say MP Reboost again.
Favourite Exclusive
william-james88: We had great exclusives this year. I FINALLY got my coneheads but I can't use that for the best exclusives of this year since they were supposed to arrive in 2020. With beasts being absent from this Beast Wars fan's year end list, it's about time I changed that as I claim Covert Agent Ravage as my favourite exclusive. This was not cheap but it is the best toy of the character we ever got and none of those were ever cheap. I appreciate how he transforms different from Cheetor at parts and looks very different in robot mode. It's also a really cool package with a fun spin on how incredulous his transformation was on the show.
Scotty P: Buzzworthy Bumblebee's "Worlds Collide" set. This feels like a throwback to the exclusives of 20 years ago and I love it. One set manages to provide a killer black and teal repaint of a "good guy faction" leader that hasn't been done 19,000 times already, Blackarachnia in her weekend clubbin' outfit, a re-use of the awesome Earthrise Cliffjumper tooling as Bumblebee to fill in your kinda-sorta-Mini-Bot-homage ranks and a toy that should've been released years ago in Fangry. In a time where store exclusives are becoming as large a part of the overall Transformers toy line as the main series releases, this stood out as a uniquely fun and creative set that provided great value.
Bounti76: Tie between Tyrannocon Rex and Puffer and Road Ranger. The first female Leader Class figure. An official toy of a European version of a character that used another character's mold, and an official toy of an eHobby exclusive that brought GoBots into the Transformers family. I'm all about firsts and obscurity.
ZeroWolf: Origin Bee. Despite not being a G1 purist, I know a fun toy when I see one.
Kanrabat: Agent Ravage. A great package for a relatively reasonable price, with a superb figure. The engineering on the Agen Ravage is quite something.
Favourite piece of Transformers fiction from 2021
william-james88: My kids and I had a blast with the two Cyberverse films. I really wish we had a Volcanicus that transforms as he does on the show.
Scotty P: Cyberverse special 2 "The Perfect Decepticon". Honestly, it was such a bad year for Transformers fiction that nothing even came close except for the other Cyberverse special, but I picked this second one because the first one focused on one of the worst concepts in Transformers: combining Dinobots :shudders: Additionally, this special accomplished something that was very questionably possible by managing to make Tarn a character that worked in an all-ages piece of media while still keeping true to the character and his truly menacing personality. Add in fantastic roles for characters such as Soundwave and Hot Rod while providing moments to almost every character that mattered previously in the series at some point and you get "The Perfect Decepticon", which was the perfect finale for the best Transformers cartoon series since Armada.
Bounti76: Light/Star, the Transformers Annual for 2021. It strongly featured the first ever female Titan to have appeared in fiction, but also saw the "birth" of Computron (my favorite childhood combiner) in IDW.
ZeroWolf: The Transformers Cyberverse conclusion (thanks to Pop! On Sky TV for airing the specials in the UK!)
What are you looking forward to most next year
william-james88: Seeing what will happen toy wise with the change in release schedule for Transformers Rise of the Beasts. This delay was way too late in the toy development cycle so I am curious if Hasbro will release what was done already and rerelease it later. And I am also curious as to how different the toys will be from the final models now that there is even more time spent in post production between toy designs and final movie designs.
Scotty P: The chaos that ensues from RotB's delay. Necessity is the father of innovation. Mother of invention. Cousin of filler toy lines? Something like that. Bring me all the weird repaints and previously canceled molds. They're probably better than all the movie toys were going to be anyhow.
Bounti76: Finally/hopefully getting a G1 Elita One, and saving money- Legacy looks to be an easy pass for me so far, based on what I've seen.
ZeroWolf: A toss up from looking at what the line after Legacy looks like, and more MP Raiden reveals
Kanrabat: The toys being better distributed with fewer QC issues. But I think I'm asking for the moon.
Every month or so, 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 Thrust Transformers Toys
While he might seem like just another seeker type bot in the Decepticon ranks, Thrust has become a legacy character with prominent roles outside of G1. He got quite the spotlight in Armada and thus eventually in the Legends Universe where that incarnation became part of the Grand Galvatron combiner. He was even in the Bayverse toyline and in Cyberverse (though only in the English dub since he is Red Wing in Japan). Now after over 30 years of Thrusting, let's check out the best toys out there.
I am way more lenient with the G1 seeker mode when it comes to the coneheads due to the added variety of the molding, with the idiosyncratic wings and weapons. Sure, they have double the partsforming of regular seekers but the way I see it, if you're gonna partsform either go big or go home. Thrust was a G1 mainstay, getting constantly reissued in the 80s and I can see why he was popular. He is afterall my favourite G1 seeker. I just love the addition of the VTOL fans on the wings, along with the burgundy colour scheme.
4. Transformers Masterpiece MP-11NT Thrust
The masterpiece toy does a good job at conveying the Thrust we all know and love though that mold makes the bot mode look too busy depending the angle. I do like that the MP conehead retool gives that extra transformation step of rotating the nosecone chest so that it is tapered properly. The retooling does lead to the unfortunate fact that the "real" nosecone kibble does end up between the robot's legs, so I guess it's a give and take with this dated mold. I do have an extra gripe with this release concerning Thrust, you can't switch his face out with an open mouth look to recreate the scene where Prime rams him (probably his most iconic scene). I almost felt so petty about it that I wasn't going to include the MP on this list. But there aren't that many Thrust toys out there.
3. Studio Series 76 Bumblebee Movie Thrust
While the Armada toy is not on this list, I do find it very interesting that he was the conehead to break through the pack and become his own character in that continuity. And it's had a lasting impact, as we can see with this toy that borrows the colour scheme from Thrust's Armada version rather than the G1 counterpart. And he is singled out again in the Bumblebee movie by being the only conehead to join the seekers in taking down the tower at the very beginning of the film. The toy itself is very good, much better than the Blitzwing mold, which looked similar at first. Everything connects in a very solid way in both molds and while the bottom of the Cybertronian jet is a bit more chunky than I would like, it does come together well in giving us a new type of Cybertronian alt mode for the seekers. And I love that extra touch of giving him that triangular design behind his head to distinguish him from the other seekers and refer to his conehead roots. Also, of many toys released today, he really has all I would expect from a voyager class mold, with greater complexity and mass (we tend to only get one or the other sometimes).
Does this mean that a combiner wars limb is better than an MP? Hell yeah it does! The deco here is just absolutely sublime. I really like the headsculpt which is a G1ified version of the Armada face and I think it looks better. He's a wonderful homage in one of the coolest combiner sets we have ever gotten. While I am not a fan of the Armada toy, I did like how Thrust distinguished himself as his own character rather than being just another seeker, so I find it a real treat to have a great looking version of that character.
1. Transformers Generations War for Cybertron Earthrise Thrust
The classics mold was good, and I think the Henkei Thrust (Japanese version of the classics toy) looked especially glorious. And while I do really give props to having the head actually be the nose cone, I admit it did mess with the jet mode, both by being too short and seeing a robot face underneath. This new version gives us the ultimate Thrust toy. We get proper proportions in all modes and makes the classics version feel obsolete (I mean, I personally sold mine). It's a shame he was tough to get for some but that turned out to be the case for most of the coneheads.
With the holiday season now in full swing, I wanted to write a quick guide for parents, or grandparents or relatives of kids who like Transformers. If you are at the store and not sure what to get, here are some toys that I'd recommend based on value, quality, age appropriateness and presentation (something that looks good as a present), which is more important this time of year. And if you are a life partner of a Transformers fan, and knows what they have and don't have, well just skip to the end. We will break it down by tight age categories (though there is some overlap) since when it comes to younger kids, the products vary wildly for what is too complex or too babyish. And remember, these are simply recommendations for those who are not sure what to get.
For 2-3 year old, I would recommend either Rescue Bots Dinobot Adventures Optimus Prime or the Rescue Bots Dinobots 3 pack. Both are terrific toy for young kids. Optimus turns into a t-rex in one step and he has an Ankylosaurus friend which swiftly becomes a shield for him in robot mode.
This product may not be in your area so I am also recommending this 3 pack that can currently be purchased on Amazon.com. It has a nice variety including a robot that turns into a 2 headed dragon, a t-rex that turns into a motorcycle and a robot that turns into a Stegosaurus. All three transform in just 1 step and can easily be done by someone as young as 2. Here is the link: https://www.amazon.com/Transformers-F29 ... TOY_FIGURE?tag=seibertron07-20&
For 4-6 years old, I would recommend the roll and combine Slugatron toy from Cyberverse. You get 2 characters, it's not too complex, the combiner mode looks good and the gimmick is fun. Also not too pricey. Overall, it's a good package and looks great as a Christmas gift. We have a video review for you to check out below and here is the link to the item on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Transformers-Bum ... TOY_FIGURE?tag=seibertron07-20&
For 6-9 years old I would recommend Cyberverse deluxe Soundwave (remember, deluxe Soundwave, not warrior Soundwave, which is not a good toy) since he's a main character of the current show, has a good transformation which is challenging enough for this age group and is basically 2 bots in one due to Laserbeak, a bird that transforms into a cassette that stores in his chest. There is a review below. There are no longer any copies available online for the retail price, but he could still be found in stores.
Another option would be Cyberverse deluxe Slug, who also looks great and has a fun transformation, and is especially fun for a kid who likes dinosaurs since he turns into a robotic Triceratops. He is also readily available on Amazon right now https://www.amazon.com/Transformers-TRA ... TOY_FIGURE?tag=seibertron07-20&
Now, for older fans, there is one hot toy this year that most fans want (especially anyone over 30) but not all are willing to spend their money on. And that is Rodimus Prime from the Kingdom line. The toy is fantastic, and the best official representation we have ever gotten of the leader of the Autobots once Optimus died. The reason why many fans hesitate over this toy though is the price. It is $80 USD, so not cheap, and he isn't big either (he is made to scale with all the other figures). But that's why gift giving is so fun. I know that while I may not want to spend all that money myself, I would never say no to finding it under the Christmas tree. And if ever you aren't sure if they have it or not, just keep the receipt. Here is the link to this toy on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Transformers-Toy ... B08D6T2R6W?tag=seibertron07-20&
And here is the link for this toy at Walmart.com https://www.walmart.com/ip/Transformers ... /410445526?wmlspartner=FYAGeMjDX6c&=&affs=p&wid=5b6b4213e4b0bcb699adeb9f&u1=&oid=223073.10006940&sourceid=37141976172661509211&affillinktype=3&veh=aff
Every two weeks, 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. Some images for this article come from Toybox Soapbox.
Top 5 Best Volkswagen Beetle Bumblebee Transformers Toys
With the Volkswagen company being rather coy with their license on Transformers toys, it took a while to have enough toys to make such a list. With the floodgates opening (and then seemingly closing) for the 2018 Bumblebee movie, we now have more Volswagen Beetle Bees than ever before so let's look at the best of the bunch.
A real classic if there ever was one and probably the second most iconic G1 toy (the first being Broadside, obviously). The transformation is quaint but fun and the car mode is perfect for what it is. I especially like that there is barely no hint that it transforms, with a really nice chassis underneath and that good old diecast. The sticker for the penny racer motor is a nice touch too. This being the toy that started it all for Bumblebee, I am glad it was reissued so that everyone can enjoy this fun toy.
4. Transformers: Bumblebee Energon Igniters Speed Series Bumblebee
Most legion/legends sized movie Bumblebee figures are not great. They either have fake chests for a simplified design to help the proportions or use the front of the car as the chest and end up looking bad. But this one works. We have a nice little Beetle for a car mode and a good looking bot mode with a real chest. And this toy even look more accurate than the more complex versions of this character model since he doesn't have the car doors as wings in bot mode.
3. Transformers Movie Masterpiece 7 Bumblebee
This is a very solid figure, with tight joints, and a tight fitting transformation that holds together well. After the massive disappointment that the Studio Series VW Bee proved to be, the solidness of this guy is a breath of fresh air. Transformation wise, this Bee does a great job at rotating and moving parts around to get them to properly compact and fit together in car mode. One thing I really like is how the the shoulders roll down, then swivel to the back so they can line up along the back of his legs. Over all, I really love this figure. While it doesn't have a ton of die cast, it is there, and give this smaller figure some nice heft. He does a good job of giving Bumblebee that "young bot" feel that this character has traditionally had. - Ironhidensh
Here is a toy that we all wanted for so long, a classics Bumblebee toy that turned into a VW Beetle. And the fact that it is a good toy is just icing on the cake. It feels a lot like a more affordable masterpiece toy (it even has the removeable backpack like MP 21) and scales perfectly with the ton of G1 characters we got in the two recent toy trilogies. The mold itself is top notch with a nice level of complexity, but still being intuitive. And it's really fun how this feels a lot like the G1 era where Bumblebee and Cliffjumper have different car modes and bot modes and yet share the same transformation. It's too bad this was hard to get for many because this really feels like the only Bumblbebee toy you'd need on your classics shelf.
My dear Masterpiece Bumblebee, after seven years, you're still the one. While the Bumblebee movie may have given us more VW themed toys than ever before, we can't forget that for a long time, the G1 toy was all we had for a Bumblebee turning into a Beetle. So when this Masterpiece came out, it was truly a time to celebrate. Not only did we finally get an actual Bumblebee that turned into a Volkswagen Beetle but it turned into an accurate Beetle rather than a super deformed version like in G1. And yet the amazing designers still found a way to give us the same look in bot mode as if it did turn into that same alt mode, with the recreation of the full car roof on his torso.
I really love that Transformation. The legs, for instance, do give homage to the G1 transformation but with added complexity to integrate kibble better and give him a nicer shape. And Takara provides all the articulation you would need. I love this toy and the fact that the more recent MP Bumblebee doesn't come close to this toy tells me that going for that extra toon accuracy and making a design more complex than it should be isn't always a recipe for success. This toy found a beautiful equilibrium of all these aspects of a Transformers toy.
The galleries just won't quit this week, but boy are they nice to look at! Seibertron has been up to his photo magic again with not one or two galleries, but this time, we get a whopping FOUR galleries of recent and recent-ish figures: Worlds Collide Bumblebee; Bumblebee's highly sought after Netflix figure, in his classic VW Beetle mode, and his mold mates Hubcap and Bug Bite.
For those not familiar, Hubcap was a G1 figure released in 1986 as a simple retool of the Cliffjumper mold, with a new head and no spoiler. To add to the confusion, Cliffjumper had also previously been released in a yellow version. Bug Bite was a retooled version of G1 Bumblebee with a cartoon accurate head, released in 2004 in a set with other recolored G1 minibots in a set intended to represent the Transformers' biggest competition in the 80s, the Gobots! Bug Bite would also receive another toy at Botcon 2007. Long story short, Bug Bite, Hubcap, and Bumblebee have long shared a toy history, and now do so again in these latest galleries. You can click on any picture below to be taken to that figure's specific gallery.
For those looking for any of these toys, Hubcap can be ordered via Seibertron's own store, Bug Bite is still available at a handful of online retailers, and the Worlds Collide four-pack should be released in U.S. Target stores sometime in the next couple of weeks. Netflix Bumblebee, however, was a Walmart exclusive, and seems to be the only way we'll be getting Bumblebee in his VW Beetle mode. That Wave 2 of Netflix figures has been gone from stores for some time, and seems unlikely to be reissued any time soon, if at all. For those of you who plan on tracking down the Worlds Collide pack the UPC code is 5010993854783, and the DPCI code (Target's internal stock code) is 087-16-8265. Happy Hunting!
Coming in hot on the heels of Decepticon Fangry, Seibertron brings us a gallery of another figure from the same Worlds Collide 4 pack, Blackarachnia! Her deco and new head might leave some of you scratching your heads, because this is not how she looked in the Beast Wars cartoon. But that's what her regular retail release in the Kingdom line was for. This release of the Predacon femme fatale is an homage to her original toy that was released in 1996. That figure was a simple redeco of Tarantulas, which looked nothing like her show model. But many Beast Wars fans may like this version of of Blackarachnia if it reminds them of the toy they had as a kid.
Seibertron captured some fantastic shots of this soon-to-be released Target exclusive, including some comparisons to the figure she's decorated to look like, shots with her Predacon brethren, her regular retail Kingdom release, and the rest of her packmates. Those hoping to do a spider leg switch with the Kingdom version will be happy to see that Seibertron has done it for you, so you can see what that'll look like. Click on any picture below to be taken to these high class galleries.
Additionally, in order to help those looking to locate this pack when it's released at Target in the next couple of weeks, we've included screenshots of the UPC code on the box, as well as the Target listing showing the DPCI code (Target's internal inventory code).
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.
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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