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While many are enjoying their deluxe and legends class toys from Power of the Primes, which have been fine for the most part, the voyagers are definitely the most divisive toys from the line. For a reason that still boggles the mind, Hasbro never did reveal that Voyager Starscream could turn into a torso, nor is that torso mode found in any promotional or stock images. This simply added more mystery to a toy that many were lukewarm about. So below is a pictorial review to help you see what the toy is all about.
Jet Mode
The Jet mode is as serviceable as Silverbolt's was. It is still a robot hiding under a jet (even more so than Silberbolt). Unlike Silverbolt though, we are treated to a staggering amount of foil stickers. While they don't look anywhere near as good as paint, I did not find this to be the main flaw with the toy. It does give more of a sense that this is a toy for an audience much younger than me (which is exactly what it is), but none of it was peeling and the application was fine, with lines meeting up.
I remember Hasbro stating that they really tried to have that exact shade of off white plastic fans associated with Starscream back when they released the Combiner War leader figure. However, I always found the end result rather dull. The plastic is a tad bit lighter/brighter here but not by much. The red and blue are much brighter though and make me realize how the colours on the leader figure look faded.
You can open the cockpit to place a Prime Master or Titan Master (it's more made for them in their "cube" mode). I don't find it to be a great look. You can place the smaller figures all across his jet mode though.
A big issue I have with this toy is a design flaw with two robot leg panels which fold down so that the legs (which make up the back of the jet) can recede closer to the jet body. These panels each have a peg for them to stay secure to the knees in robot mode. Howver, them being symetrical means they end up protruding at the same spot and hit one another in jet mode so it looks like the jet is permanently split in the back. To me, this is a much bigger mishap than the use of stickers.
Robot Mode
The conversion from jet to robot is more complex than I thought and by that I mean that it isn't just 3 steps. There is a nice moment where you have to pivot the wings 180 degrees. I always love when Takara gives us transformation with big movements like that, it makes the transformation feel more dynamic.
The end result isn't great though. This mode is where the biggest flaw with figure comes into play, the proportions. Having his forearms be the same colour as the armour gauntlets was a bad idea. He looks like Popeye. The feet are giant too, plus he has a small head. These proportions have given a false sense of scale in the past (he is smaller than I imagined) so I have several comparison images below to give a sense of scale. I don't know about you, but he really seems to not mesh in style with any of the other toys we would line him up with.
Now a reason for the odd proportions is that his arms hide the combiner ports. And to that I say "so what?!" Silverbolt's did as well but you don't see him with giant gauntlets. And those giant gauntlet flaps dont even cover anything since the combiner hole ends up being in his inner wrist so there is no point to his arms looking this big aside from the designers wanting to do something new and different. While I will always give an A for effort, the result and actual grade is far from spectacular. And plus they expect you to add the combiner feet to make even bigger gauntlets. Thanks, but I will pass. The null rays are nothing to write home about either. They just seem there like it was in their contract and they didn't find a way to get out of it in time.
I really dislike those feet stickers. They definitely make this toy look like something from Imaginext. The head is also very generic. We have had tons of Starscream heads but they always find some way to invigorate them, like the Ghost Starscream head we got in Untie Warriors or the one we got in Robot in Disguise. But here it really is simply generic. And so is the combiner head for that matter. Which leads me to...
Torso mode
Firstly, the transformation into torso mode is stellar. It is by far the most involved transformation we have ever gotten from a combiner torso and it has a unique look which doesnt seem to be just a leftover from other modes (like Volcanicus). Plus it has a fun homage to movie Stasrcream's Doritos body and is incredibly solid. I still stand by the fact that the best torso is Silverbolt's (well, technically for me it's Galvatronus, but you catch my drift) but his chest can become undone. With Starscream, it's rock solid. Plus you can tab in the null rays for storage in an elegant manner. There is the idea that you can also plug in his enigma of combination and well, you will see the results below. The face is quite dull though, as generic as his robot mode face, and the crown seems to have the same contract the null rays got. But it is cool to have the cockpit form the chest, making him look like a bigger version of himself. I think that is very witty and gives a lot of sense to the smaller fake cockpit we see in his robot mode.
There are of course flaws with the combiner mode, but not necessarily the torso. The combiner feet are far too narrow and while I appreciate the ankle tilt, him being so wide at the torso makes me avoid spreading his legs since it looks off and the lack of ratchets at the robot mode elbow makes him harder to pose properly. Adding the extra hands to the back of the feet is something I do not recommend. Firstly, with so much kibble in the front of his torso and most legs having more bulk in the front, he has more of a tendency to fall forwards, so there is no point to enforcing heels. Plus, you have to be really parallel to the feet or else you will just make any stance more unstable. So basically, adding them only raises the possibility of him being unstable while never adding to the stability.
All in all, I don't think I will keep this toy, but there is a lot of potential with the torso mode which is why I am still going to pick up Elita-1.
Another Tuesday, another episode of Machinima's Titans Return animated series! We're on to Episode 6 now, which, in complete honesty, is the worst one yet. But let's delve into the new episode and figure out exactly why! Here's Titans Return Episode 6!
We open with a (pretty cool?) shot of Trypticon, who's still raging through the city completely unopposed now with the death of Metroplex in the previous episode. This shot pans out to reveal Optimus Prime returning to the city, driving into the Basilica to meet Perceptor. We very quickly cut to the Combiners back at Fortress Maximus. They've just watched their laser beams disappear in the distance, headed toward "Metroplex City". The redundancy does not escape me. The combiners discuss their next plan, and have I mentioned that I hate Menasor's voice? Yeah, I hate Menasor's voice.
Megatron tells them that Metroplex City is a total loss, and the combiners respond by trying to beat the daylights out of him, calling him a "Betrayer" and a "Vile Traitor", etc. Didn't he help you just a little bit ago? You know, when Starscream took over your bodies? He helped rescue you! All the combiners are just so randomly hostile, it looks really strange. Megatron explains the Mistress of Flame has died, which just aggravates the Combiners more, as they believe he was the one who killed her.
Back at the Basilica, Perceptor and Optimus learn the same macabre fact, stumbling upon the Mistress' body in the Prayer chamber. They don't know who the killer was, as Perceptor gains no new evidence from studying her wounds. They leave her body in the prayer chamber, turning their attention to the more pressing matter of the Titan Dinosaur stomping though the city. They return to the basilica's controls. The dialogue here is clunky, again, as we've come to expect, but it just goes to show that most of the time errors like this aren't the voice actor's fault. A lot of times it's the direction they're given or the editing the tracks receive in post. You can have big celebrities like Wil Wheaton and voice acting legends like Peter Cullen and still have your dialogue be awkward.
Anyway, they finally get the Basilica's defenses up, and they attempt to slow Trypticon down. This is just straight up Godzilla at this point.
They return to the chamber of Primes, where Hot Rod had given up the Matrix of Leadership, and we get more scenes with the Chorus of Primes. Yay. "Asdkfhdlkierjml, jsdkfhguinegnkjfjg, Optimus Prime."
Yes, the Chorus of Primes returns to the series, just as indecipherable and completely non-understandable as the last time. Prime reclaims the Matrix from the chamber, once again truly becoming Optimus Prime.
The Combiners are still fighting with Megatron when Windblade and Emissary come in to save him, breaking up the fight. Brace yourselves, it gets really corny. "What the Headlight are you Junkpiles doing?" Really? Really? You just said damn in the last episode, I don't think Hell is really off limits.
They demand to know who really killed the Mistress, and Megatron pulls up literally just footage from the last episode. Emissary questions why he didn't just show them this footage before, and while he definitely has a point, he and Windblade just arrived seconds ago. There is no way he knew what was happening. Oh, look, Megatron downloaded Go90!
Victorion uses the Enigma of Combination, uniting the combiners again. They disappear, traveling to the city to help stop Trypticon. Then, for whatever reason. Windblade is hooked up to Fort Max. There is nothing mentioned about this leading up to it, if I remember correctly. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but this plan comes out of nowhere! She links with Fortress Maximus, and is appears something has gone wrong. Emissary yells for her to disconnect, but she doesn't hear him. On that cliffhanger, the Episode ends. Oh God, she's regenerating! Who's going to be the next Doctor Windblade?!?
This episode really feels boring and drawn out. It made 11 minutes really feel like 20, and really started to look like a bad Godzilla/Kaiju overdub. Between the mostly-inaccurate mouth movements, bad timing and pacing, and, you know, the actual Kaiju. Don't get me wrong, it is still leagues better that Combiner Wars, but it still leaves much to be desired.
Thanks for reading my review of Episode 6. If you want to watch it yourself, you can find it over on Go90. Do you agree with me? Am I completely off base? Please let me know and share your thoughts down below! I'll see you next Tuesday with the release of episode 7!
...and just like that, we've moved on to Week 2 of the 2017 Transformersmas Holiday Photography challenge! Last week we covered winter sports, and we got a ton of great submissions (find our favorites down below!), but now it’s time to switch focus to this week's theme!
Holiday Movies!!
Everybody has a favorite holiday movie that they watch religiously every year, whether it's old standards like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer or Miracle on 34th Street, modern favorites like Elf or Polar Express, or unconventional (and slightly overused) picks like Die Hard or Batman Returns. Pick Seven iconic scenes from your favorite Holiday films and recreate them with your Transformers! Let your TFs have the starring role, and share the results in the Energon Pub Forums below! We can't wait to see what you come up with!
And now, without further ado, here's our favorite photo submissions from the past week.
To be featured in next week's theme announcement, post your Transformersmas photos below, or using the hashtag #transformersmas on Twitter and Instagram!
Bronzewolf in review 4 wrote:That's right! Somehow we're already half way through the second Machinima Transformers series,
Hate to burst your bubble there Bronzewolf, but there are 10 episodes to this series, your pain is going to have to endure a little longer, were not quite half way there yet.
...what?
westjames/notirish. wrote:There are 11 episodes... 4 is not the halfway point, 5 is.
NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
...
...
...
Machinima Transformers Titans Return Episode 5. Let's get it over with.
We open again on the Metroplex/Trypticon fight, as the giant robot Kaiju charges the City Titan. Windblade checks in on the fighting as Hot Rod arrives and we get something new in the series. Something completely revolutionary... Diagonal split frames!
The dialogue in this scene is especially badly paced. It doesn't flow like a normal conversation, and it's so apparent you can't ignore it. Hot Rod and Windblade join the battle, and Hot Rod actually gets a couple cool shots here that flow really nicely thanks to some pretty good animation! Like this! This was awesome! I know, I didn't expect it from this series either.
Hot Rod realizes the spirit of Starscream is within Trypticon as he and Windblade try to assist Metroplex. The city robot is taken down eventually by Trypticon, however, and Trypticon finishes him off with the most ridiculous scene in the series. Hey, guys? Yeah, Godzilla Vs. Gigan called. They want their campiness back.
It appears that Metroplex is defeated as Emissary ejects himself from the Titan's body. As he runs from the battle, Trypticon spots him and eats him, absorbing his Laserblast power. Hot Rod realizes that he must free Emissary as the laser beams fired by the Combiners in the previous episode finally arrive at their target and start falling from the sky. It doesn't phase Trypticon, as he continues to terrorize the city. Yep, singlehandedly destroying the city more than Trypicon and Metroplex combined. Good job, guys.
We cut away from the action for a moment to a tank entering the Mistress of Flame's prayer chamber. It's revealed to be Megatron, who discovers the Mistress' body on the floor. She uses the last of the power in her spark to ask him if the combiners were successful in reactivating Fortress Maximus. He says he doesn't know anything about that. She tells him Overlord has returned, and dies. Finally, the sarcasm of Megatron has come to save us all.
Back in the battle, Hot Rod makes it inside of Trypticon to save Emissary, and launches back out through Trypticon's eye. He throws Emissary to Windblade as Trypticon bats him across the city. Windblade rushes to his aid and promises she'll send Ratchet to help him. Ratchet?? Why can't he be in the show? But...but..
She transforms and takes Emissary away, mentioning that they haven't been properly introduced. Emissary already knows who she is, however, as she's well known amongst the Titan Masters. Windblade laughs and says that she's "Quite the fan favorite".
Yeah. HAHAHA HASBRO YOU'RE VERY FUNNY WE GET IT
Overlord arrives on the scene, and starts threatening the injured Hot Rod. As he talks, he makes the most bizarre movements in both Combiner Wars or Titans Return. He flails around like something out of Food Fight. I shouldn't be reminded of Food Fight when watching your TV show/Movie. Just as kind of a general rule. Can someone put Disco music over this? Please?
Eventually Hot Rod tries to shoot Overlord, but yet again it does nothing. Overlord then says he has something for Hot Rod, bestowing upon him what appears to be an evil matrix, turning him into what is assumed to be Rodimus Unicronus, although we never see that. It's certainly a twist that I didn't see coming, and is actually pretty intriguing. With that, episode 5 is over.
It's certainly one of the more action-packed, interesting episodes out of the lot so far, but I'm not certain that makes it good. There are severe issues with the pacing of the dialogue, but we've come to expect that by now. There are times when Windblade and Hot Rod are talking where you can tell the two voice overs were recorded at separate times, and there's a lot of emotional disconnect because of it. The animation at times, though, is actually really good. It shows how much of an improvement it's had over the previous series. The mouth movements are tighter, closer to the words actually being spoken, and characters are far less jerky. It's so much better that Combiner Wars, and the series is so much more enjoyable because of it.
Well, that's episode 5! Wanna watch it for yourself? You can find it over on Go90. Please share your thoughts below in the Energon Pub forums! Do you agree with me? Do you disagree? I want to hear it! Thanks for reading, and I'll see you all next week! Mmm, yeah. Now THAT'S finger-licking good.
Every two weeks, Seibertron.com brings you a Top 5 list related to all things Transformers written by a Seibertron staff member. 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.
5 Good Things about All Hail Megatron
10 years. It's been 10 years since IDW's All Hail Megatron started, and it's amazing to think it was that long ago - it seems like only yesterday people were deriding it for taking away from a unique story, having very bad and basic writing; and in general being one of if not the worst thing to come out of the continuity so far. Yes, it wouldn't be a stretch to say a sizeable amount of IDW Transformers fans don't like this story. But we all know the criticisms - we all know why it garners such hatred, whatever your opinion on the story. So as the story reaches such a milestone this year, how about we look at the positives? It is my personal philosophy that no matter how bad a story, no matter how bad the writing or the characters or anything else is; you can find something decent in there. It may be a very worn out needle in an enormous mound of haystacks, but everything has some good points. Which is why today, to coincide with the recently released trade paper back, I'm counting down the top 5 good things to come out of All Hail Megatron!
5. These panels.
They're funny. I really have nothing else to say; while I don't usually enjoy the direction of making Decepticons evil for the sake of evil, I just really like these panels and think they're hilarious. ... onto number 4!
4. Deluge
I did say something about a very worn out needle, right? Yes, this isn't an amazing thing or anything that will really save the story; but when the comic focuses so much on characters from Season 1 or 2 of the cartoon, it's very refreshing to see someone this bizarrely obscure show up.
You'd think the comic would have gone with Shockwave or a Cassette or even an oddly intelligent Thrust for the role of Mad Decepticon Scientist, but instead we get someone dredged up from the Generation 2 toyline who was had never been used in official fiction before; far before writers like Roberts and Barber started using the likes of Tailgate, Skyfall or Roulette. Not too much to comment on, just an awesome little cameo.
3. Frenzy
Let's leave aside the arguments of which one is Rumble and which one is Frenzy - the comic calls the blue one Frenzy, so I'm calling the blue one Frenzy for this article. Though there is a reason the arguments over which one is which is so prominent for them; that being that not a lot else stands out about Soundwave's twin cassettes. They're generally just little grunts that do some chip damage and crack some jokes; and occasionally one of them pulls out some piledrivers - though the second one isn't seen doing much of anything most the time. For a few pages, this comic changed that.
When the order is given, the tiny Decepticon lets loose a shrill cry that brings everyone in the area of effect into an insanity-inducing nightmare - including himself. So for a couple images we get these rather frightening images of Frenzy going on a bloodlust-induced rampage against helpless soldiers. Not bad for the little sometimes-blue sometimes-red assistant of Soundwave.
2. The Covers
I will be the first to admit that I am not the greatest art critique in the world. I'm a story and characters person; when it comes to the actual lineart and colours of a comic the best I can say half the time is "this doesn't look good" or "this is friggin' awesome". But you know what? These covers are friggin' awesome.
From Communist-esque propaganda to Megatron standing triumphant with Prime's head on a pike to a homage to the well-revered Batman comic The Killing Joke; All Hail Megatron went out of its way to give you some damn good art before you even opened up an issue and they all managed to convey a single message - Megatron and the Decepticons here, they have won, oh ****. Nothing much else to say aside from asking you to look at the examples below and urging you to search around the net for more of AHM's covers because they're really, really good.
1. Thundercracker
Modern IDW readers know Thundercracker as a former Decepticon who has grown used to living on Earth; having possibly the closest relationship with humans of any of the Transformers and wanting to stay out of the war as much as possible - though sometimes helping out the Autobots when he feels he must - to focus on of all things writing screenplays and looking after his dog. He's a wonderful person, and it's fantastic to see him be such a unique and fun character in the franchise once later writers got a hold of him. So it might surprise some people that this is the story the seed of that characterisation was planted.
Before All Hail Megatron, Simon Furman - rather ironically - wrote Thundercracker among other Decepticons much as he was in the Generation 1 cartoon. A personality-less mook who done the grunt work for Starscream and Megatron; no character traits to speak of, nothing really worth remarking on. All Hail Megatron surprisingly changed this. At a few points in the story we see him very dissatisfied with how Megatron is handling things; how extreme his methods are - the creation of the Insecticons, and the dishonour in slaughtering humanity. And at the very end of the comic, when Megatron's forces retreat and prepare to drop a nuclear bomb on America; Thundercracker throws his faction off and catches the nuke, flies it into space and detonates it - before Skywarp shoots him down for his betrayal. It would take some time for him to develop into the dog-loving dorky scriptwriter we know now, but it was wonderful to for once see this character get any sort of characterisation and for it to go in such a heroic direction without him completely becoming an Autobot. This easily makes him the best part - and the best character - of All Hail Megatron.
Once again, Seibertronians, it’s time to deck the halls, trim the tree, and break out some bots! It’s officially Transformersmas! Our annual photo challenge is here again, and we're doing things a bit differently this year. Go ahead and check out our announcement article from a couple weeks back to catch up on all the new details!
If you read that article, you know that we're now doing weekly idea prompts to make the load of 25 photos in 25 days a bit lighter! This being the first week, the theme is
Winter Sports!
Just because it’s cold doesn't mean your bots can't stay active! Take them on an adventure, whether it's skiing, snowboarding, ice skating, intertubing, or anything else you can come up with, and share the results here! Pick seven winter-themed sports and post a photo once a day down in the comments below!
After you share your photos, check back next Friday (one week from now) where we'll have picked a couple favorites from the past week and posted them up on the front page for all to see! We'll also be announcing week 2's theme at that time, as well. And of course, you'll be featured in our Transformersmas round-up at the end of December!
Can't wait to see what you guys come up with! Get shooting, and Merry Transformersmas!
Oh, To Be Young and (Star)Driven (Spoiler free-ish)
Synopsis
Bumblebee vs. Rom vs. Starscream vs. the Dire Wraiths! All alliances are off—this is a fight for survival! Torn between her Cybertronian heritage and her Solstar Knight upbringing, Stardrive takes control of her fate!
Rom reference
Story
We reach, with issue five, the last part of this mini-series uniting both Transformers and the Solstar Order of Rom and the other Knights. And I'll admit, I'm both glad the conclusion was as satisfying as it was, and a little saddened that the story is entirely over as far as we're concerned in the current IDWverse. Though it's true, repercussions retroactively are felt through Revolution and First Strike, and we have some continuations elsewhere too, Stardrive's story is currently done with.
Or is it
I had my concerns earlier in the series - issue two specifically, as you can read again here - but since then, both John Barber and Christos Gage have been able to diverge from the potentially platitude-filled plot, into a cosmic cluster-truck of a comic, and a truly enjoyable mini-series that attempts to introduce new characters to old stories, and new stories with established characters.
Bonus: added Star Wars reference
The best part of the combination of the two styles, for me at least, was the amount of fun that they clearly had in filling in the stories. The interactions between the Decepticon team, Starscream included, are some of the best examples of robot-banter that come to mind in recent books, and play entirely into good fanservice and references. And best of all, they don't cause tonal whiplash that can be common in this type of story, as we switch to other scenes in the book.
Astrotrain: the new Waspinator
If there is one major critique I have about the issue, and perhaps the series as a whole, it's its supposedly titular character: Stardrive does have a lot of moments, and she does appear a lot more after the initial qualms I had earlier in the series, but there is still a lingering sense of not having had enough about her, with a not entirely satisfying resolution by the end of it all. Which is a shame, given the potential of her story, and I do want to see more of it.
Art
Alex Milne really gives in - as we started seeing in the past numbers - to his technorganic leniencies, as Vekktral!Magnus is pretty much centre-stage for the entire issue, and the reason around the rest of the cast to rally and find their own resolution to their respective plots, with some really exciting choices in the Magnus side of the story, and some fantastic action sequences all the way through.
Borders literally bleeding into panel
The colouring, perhaps, is what is the newest addition to the visual style, and what sets the recognisable Milne hand from other Transformers titles so far - in the best way possible, of course! Josh Perez has been amazing for the entire series, and the gradual sunset in this issue just proves it - plus the addition of Priscilla Tramontano's work to cap it all off towards the end, and I am one visually satisfied reader.
The choom is back!
Tom B. Long on the side of production and lettering has some truly excellent moments too, balancing the work of the artists in such a way that the fonts chosen and the words placed do never cover what the focus should be, and instead draw attention to them. In terms of covers, the one in the thumbnail is the splendid Nick Roche / Josh Burcham action portrait, while the other two (previously seen in news stories) can be found as always in the Database entry for the issue here.
Thoughts Spoilerish ahead
The new approach, for this side of IDW comics at least, of going plot-first was an interesting one - especially given the position that this series would occupy as a generic prequel to a lot of current galactic politics in the Hasbroverse - but it turned out to be an excellent one too. Milne's detail-oriented artwork provided a playground in which Barber and Gage could easily work their stories once the framework was established, without burdening the art with too much exposition.
FURMANISM KLAXON
And as a result, with the effort of the entire visual team, we get a comic that is extremely enjoyable as a piece of art (read: it's pretty to look at), and successful in doing what it had to do: establish the links in the universe that had to be established after the universe had already been set years ago. Barber's contribution was perhaps the most valued in keeping the threads tidy, but Gage had no small feat either, and they synchronised very well.
There are some flaws, such as the second issue's slump, and the trade will undoubtedly prove a much smoother reading overall - and what is perhaps the best outcome of the series is that both target readerships probably got enough page-time each to satisfy being 'lumped together' feelings that inevitable rose at the start. We do find out a lot more about the Order, and the Dire Wraiths are better established as antagonists throughout, and even through the humour - at times almost surreal - there are some really touching moments. Do yourself a favour, and give this series a read!
We're back this month with another instalment of the creative round-up we've all come to know and love: Transtopia is back, and it's time to wrap up warm, watch the chestnuts roasting, and forget what holiday is supposed to go where - it's robots time.
Take a look below at the works of creative side of the Seibertron.com community, including paint jobs, customs, touch ups, fan fiction, artwork, builds, mods, comics, photos, and more. Make sure to comment if you like what you see, and support the creators in their threads, too!
THE HELP DESK
Fellow Seibertronian mordhelm bring good tidings with a question about art, and specifically, how to repaint a certain Frenzy figure - drop in some knowledge here!
Synopsis
As the consequences of the First Strike event reverberate, Optimus Prime ventures into the wilderness of Cybertron to search for the first new Cybertronian life to emerge in four million years!
Getting the truck outta here
Story
We leave First Strike almost entirely behind with this issue of the ongoing Optimus Prime series from IDW Publishing, though there are clear echoes at the start of the comic for sure - some louder than others - but the real accomplishment of the comic overall is just how much story it packs in one single issue.
THAT is an Arcee facesculpt expression
You will remember the Throttlebots in the IDW universe only if you were with the publisher's output since the Spotlight days, and specifically Spotlight: Metroplex, and we really had heard nothing from them since - the way in which Barber catches everyone up is admirable, and doesn't fall into the expodump traps it could've, still leaving a lot to be inferred or imagined being left out.
Really though, poor things
On the other side, we also have a continuation of the Dynobot trilogy, or Redemption of the Dinobots, with some additional information as to what went down after that story 'ended' and what may or may not have happened to the new sparks being discovered and activated, yet again leading to more questions answered and other not at all.
Arcee is still the best
And finally, we have some references to both Rom vs Transformers: Shining Armor - which will see its final issue next week - and the First Strike event, which this comic serves as one of the consequences of in terms of the general frame. And it's a frame that makes perfect sense, once you take into account how the stories have crossed paths, and who shows up in the multiple scenes that you will enjoy spending time identifying - or just using our database for (warning, spoilers obviously).
Art
The art by Livio Ramondelli adds a nice touch of continuity with the Redemption of the Dinobots story, as the writing does for First Strike and the others - and it's one of his best efforts yet, with some true standouts when another returning character appears in his machinations, and some seriously eery scenes looming over pretty much the entire book.
WHO
Ramondelli obviously also provides his own colours, and much like for the Dinobot one-shots, the choice of palette and tones used in different scenes fit perfectly to the surprisingly very dark issue that Barber's script has laid out. The flames on one side, the cold metal on the other, it does feel like the heart of something is weighing heavy, all the way through.
"Botanica" indeed
The lettering is once more in the hands of capable Tom B. Long, and his combinations with Ramondelli's style always stands out a little more than usual - usually thanks to the hues of the backgrounds - but that's never a bad thing. The cover used for the thumbnail is the exercise in empathic emotion, with Casey Coller and John-Paul Bove taking on the surviving Throttlebots at their most vulnerable yet resilient; all others can be found in the Database entry for the issue here.
Thoughts Spoilerish ahead
If you've read through me trying to highlight a couple of strands present in the issue, you make have one of two takeaways: there is a lot going on - perhaps too much, and it can get overloading or overbearing after a certain point, especially as a newer reader; there is a lot going on, and that's the best thing we could've had from a story like this, merging together threads that had been almost liminal so far. I veer on the latter, but entirely understand the former.
Still social commenting
The visual side of the book fits the tone and hits the spot exactly for the issue, and it helps deliver an intricate set-up and build of that merging I just mentioned - what I am concerned about, if anything, at this stage, is the landing. We'll see next issue how Barber and the others conclude this incursion into contemporary Hasbroverse, after such a strong take-off. But if you liked the Spotlight era, the Dinobots, the science experiments, and certain unlikeables - and a lot more about Arcee, which is never turned down as an offer - this book is for you.
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.
Top 5 Best Transformers Troop Builders
Ah the infamous troop builder. I will be honest, it was a concept I was not familiar with when I got back into collecting in my adult life. As a kid I got toys on my birthday and Chritmas so you bet your ass that I was gonna ask for a different toy and not the same one again just because there was more than one of the same character model on the screen sometimes. But of course, I get it now. With more disposable income, we can now indulge in recreating scenes and armies from the shows we love. And to build those armies in your display, you are gonna need troops. The Transformers brand has had a lot of toys to build troops with over the years and we will look over the best ones right now. Enjoy!
I really like the Generations Scourge toy but what makes the Titans Return version better for troop building is that you can change his face. So now, your army of Sweeps can have some different characteristics. The Ptero head for instance looks like the type of head given to his sweeps in previous releases. Takara also released a different head (shown below) just to build a sweep army. But you don't have to stop there, you can given them any heads and make them as diverse or similar as you like. It's a decent toy all around as well. Very accurate to the cartoon and both the Takara and Hasbro versions have fun features in their different decos.
This is one of the very best Commander Class toy from the Cyberverse line, if not the best, and it also happens to be a troop builder. The size works well for a Cyberverse scale army and an affordable one at that since he was at a lower price point than deluxes. Intricate transformation, well detailed and show accurate, what more would you want? Well aside from a voyager scale one for a much pricier army.
3. Titans Return Sharkticon
Yes, Titans Return have given us several troop builders, and good ones too. Sharkticon is an iconic little guy, due to his appearance in the 86 movie and this is his best toy yet. He is a fun little guy on his own, with a smooth and smart transformation, a great look and even the ability to act as a sub for little Titan Masters. But then you add more of them and you get a menacing (while also cute) army. And them being smaller figures, which is true to the scale, makes them a more affordable troop to build.
I have raved on this toy before and it's pretty crazy that an undisputed top 5 (top 3?) toy from that whole Prime line was the troop builder Vehicon toy. If only the jet versions were as readily available and affordable, we could replicate Megatron's army as seen on the show.
I think this is the first time a G1 toy ends up being number 1 on a list not specifically about g1. But yeah, there is no better option to me. This is the original swarm and the original troop builder and still the most impressive. These guys take the cake because of their variety of design from one another while also being uniform. This is where the generations versions of these guys fail since the colours, plastics and builds don't match. they end up being seen more as individual toys than a united swarm. While the articulation may not be optimal, the quality of these toys remains unmatched to this date with a combination of clear plastic, chrome, die cast and even functional wheels to give that extra mecha component. And the swarms are in insect mode anyway, so robot mode articulation is useless. Plus, these guys have been rereleased plenty of times that they end up being the same price point as a set of the 3 generations figures anyways, so I whole heartedly recomend anyone curious about g1 toys to check these out. They are still to this date the most faithful looking versions of the most iconic troop in Transformers history.
Honourable metions: Beast Machines Sonic Attack Jet
While Beast Machines deluxe Jetstorm was a decent toy, it lacked screen accuracy in both the deco and the sculpt. In comes a redeco that has more vibrant colours, closer to the look and feel of the show. And it happens to be an army builder for the Jetstorm drone army. So while not ideal we do get a differentiation between the leader and his goons and it is luckily the masses that have the more screen accurate deco, which I personally feel looks much better.
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