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This review is spoiler free aside from the mention of the presence or some characters.
I keep thinking of that big bold line from the original G2 comic with “this is not your father’s Autobots” and how the strategy for franchises has changed since the Poochie filled era of the 90s. The recent era of deconstructing heroes is now past as well and instead what people want is nostalgia, like a reboot to G1. BUT, while nostalgia can seem like an easy sell, it must be done right, which is very tricky. There must be familiarity but it can't just be a retread.
After having read the first issue, I can confidently say that writer/artist Daniel Warren Johnson gives us a G1 reboot in glorious loving fashion. While it can easily be seen as a reboot to both the G1 show and the G1 comic, it is also a new story, and made accessible to all types of Transformers fans. Fans of the original G1 comics are bound to get a kick out of Johnson’s art since it is very reminiscent of Geoff Senior at times. There is a great panel of Ratchet getting an action scene which reminds me of how Geoff Senior would juxtapose a dynamic and fluid scene with such simple shapes making up blocky and angular characters. We get that same contrast here in Johnson’s art. The bright colours from Mike Spicer are the icing on the cake, complementing the art perfectly for a classic feel.
The story itself is very familiar, as intended for the opening of a new saga reinventing G1. But within the first issue, Johnson makes it clear that it is not a simple retread of G1, with a significant character death. This, along with the mysterious lack of a particular villain, sets the rest of the comic in uncharted waters. The familiarity now rests simply with the characters. This is the opposite of deconstructing characters and it reminds me instead of seeing Peter B Parker in the first Spider-verse movie, where we have characters in a new story and new continuity, but written in a way that you can instantly recognize them in a classic portrayal. While there have been a lot of different versions of Optimus Prime, Jetfire and Starscream throughout the brand’s 40 years, consistent traits have lingered throughout, creating specific personas we attribute them with to the point where we can tell when a character isn’t acting as he should (or as we think they should). And in this comic, these characters feel like the ones I know and love. Optimus is as heroic as we all know him to be, Starscream is as malicious as you’d expect him to be and Jetfire battles with the familiar internal conflict.
One last point I want to address is a change to the chronology by Johnson that I find very significant for the brand. He reduces the time for both the war and the main bots’ slumber from millions to hundreds of years. It’s just a change to the dialogue, with no other repercussions, but that’s all I needed. Interactions make more sense now, I can better imagine the length of the war, and there being little change from when they crashed, if that is revealed to be the case, will make more sense. But this is just a personal nitpick I had with storylines in the past and Sci Fi in general (paging Doctor Who), so I was glad to see it addressed here.
Overall, I recommend this issue to any Transformers fan who wants new G1 content in their life. It is a really meaty issue too, leaving you both satisfied and wanting more. Plus the humans present are not annoying, nor remove any of the spotlight from the bots (if ever there was any concern).
4.5 out of 5 stars
You can pick up this comic today at your local comic shop or grab it at our toy and comic store (along with thousands of other products) at shop.seibertron.com. We also have an exclusive cover for Transformers #1.
Thanks to regular reviewer and fellow Seibertronian chuckdawg1999, we have a review of a figure that is just starting to pop up at online retailers, Deluxe Class Nightshade, from the Earthspark cartoon! Chuck starts off in Nightshade's robotic owl mode, then shows us their transformation into robot mode. They're a somewhat smaller Deluxe, but they compact from robot mode very well. Let's get on with the review and Chuck's thoughts on Nightshade.
Nightshade is very green, but man does the metallic green pop! Obviously, you'll need to buy this figure to complete Mandroid but besides that Nightshade is a solid figure overall.
Asian fans are posting their excitement, on Reddit, at getting Studio Series 86 commander class Ultra Magnus. This has let a handful of reviewers get their hands on it too and we are posting a roundup of these reviews below. There is a lot at stake here for fans. For one, he is the most expensive mainline magnus to date, and its a character everyone already has. So the question of "is he worth it" is more prevalent for fans here than previous releases. You'll let us know what your conclusion is!
Also we want to thank all the fans who brought these videos our way.
EDIT: We've been informed that this toy has also been spotted at a few different places in Australia too, primarily Toyworld's.
It seems like almost the entirety of the Legacy Evolution line is now available in some form or another, be it online or in stores. We are still missing a few, but with the recent sightings, we are now well into wave 4 of the Legacy Evolution line in terms of sightings. The wave 4 deluxes have now been found at the Plaza Bonita Target in California by ApocalypseThruster. Those are Detritus, Bombshell, Strongarm and Shadow Striker. This adds to the recent sighting of the wave 4 voyagers, Bludgeon and Trashmaster, at Gamestops in both the US and Canada. This wave's leader, Dreadwing has not appeared in stores yet, but is available at online retailers, like cdmstore.
You can see video reviews for all those figures below.
chuckdawg1999 wrote:Bombshell completes the Legacy Evolution updates to the G1 Insecticons and I have to admit that I feel underwhelmed. Bombshell is a repaint/retool of Shrapnel and while it works well, I'm disappointed that we're denied three unique molds for the Insecticons. I do enjoy Bombshell and it's a worthy addition to your Insecticon army.
chuckdawg1999 wrote:If you were to ask me to list 10 figures that I don't think would get updates in a modern Transformers line, Detritus wouldn't make the list because I just wouldn't think of it. Imagine my surprise that our first experience with the SS86 Hound mold is Detritus here in the Legacy Evolution line. The mold is fantastic and the best modern Hound mold we've gotten, much easier to handle than the Masterpiece. While I can't say this is a must-have figure, if you want to experience the SS86 mold Detritus is a solid purchase, on sale, which will probably be before we see the release of Hound.
chuckdawg1999 wrote:Shadow Striker is a great figure but there are lots of little things going on with it that might turn some people off. First, I feel labeling the figure from the Cyberverse Universe is a disservice as the use of this mold is clearly meant to homage the TFCC convention exclusive. That leads to the second point, this mold is meant for Robots In Disguise Sideburn who we know is coming at a later point. With that said I find it hard to recommend this figure since once Sideburn is released most of this version will become redundant.
chuckdawg1999 wrote:What some new parts and paint can do for a mold is fantastic. Elita-1 and Minerva were ok, but Strongarm is the best use of this mold. Outside of an entirely new mold, this is the best modern interpretation of Strongarm we'll get and it's my favorite figure of the wave.
chuckdawg1999 wrote:It's incredible how some different colors can make you appreciate a mold and realize what it's for. While we all thought that the mold was intended for Tarn, with these new colors and details of the mold pop, I believe that Bludgeon was the intended use all along. I also have to point out that a Voyager Transformer has enough articulation to do a proper two-handed sword pose, something that figures double or triple the price can't do. If you tend to favor Tarn then I'm not sure I can recommend the double dip, but this is the best Bludgeon figure since the original G1 mold.
chuckdawg1999 wrote:It's nice to see Hasbro reach across all Transformer lines for Legacy. Prime was an exciting show coming in the wake of the live-action movies. Skyquake and Dreadwing were two of the stand-out characters from the show and it's nice to see them in Evolution. The base mold that they share is meant to homage the Predator Skyquake, a character from the European Generation One period. Skyquake and Dreadwing are fun figures and either or both would fit well in your collection.
While the first wave of the Earthspark line was released almost all at once, the remainder of the line has been appearing sporadically on shelves and online. So while some may already have the toys below, they are the latest releases and we wanted to show you some reviews in case those who don't have them yet were curious. Below you will see three reviews from fellow Seibertronian Chuckdawg for Flip Changers Megatron, Twitch and Deluxe Grimlock. For Grimlock, he is currently available on Amazon if you want to get him.
chuckdawg1999 wrote:By this point, we all know what to expect from the Flip Changers. Megatron is one of the better ones since the propellers actually spin, I was expecting them to be molded in. It's touches like that, that I appreciate and I think you will too.
chuckdawg1999 wrote:The truest definition of a desk toy is something fun to fidget around with. We should all know what to expect with Flip Changers from Earthspark by this point. No articulation, all gimmicks. Terran Twitch looks really good and is close to the show model. As I always say do NOT throw these around as they can break, I'm especially concerned about the Vtol wings on Twitch.
chuckdawg1999 wrote:Well, this figure almost fooled me. I first thought this was an all-new mold with so many new parts. Grimlock, is a heavy retool of the Cyberverse Deluxe figure, almost every exposed piece is retooled from that mold. While my copy is a bit loose in the hips, I find this to be the better of the two releases.
We thanks Razorbeast88 for sharing with us a review from Chefatron. This is a review of the newly revealed Transformers Legacy United deluxe Animated Bumblebee. Here we can see comparisons to the original, along with all the accessories and how the figure can handle them. You'll let us know what you think!
Fans have been getting Legacy leader class Nova Prime for the past couple of weeks and for those who still don't have it yet and want as much info as possible, we have some reviews from the community to share. Below you will find a video review and a pictorial review from our community members.
-Kanrabat- wrote:Got the (Amazon exclusive?) Nova Prime!
First, that's big, sturdy box! The insides of the packaging must be quite premium.
...Or not.
I noticed that the whole thing was put face-down.
The super bot looks awesome, except for the hollow firetruck things. I'll be looking forward an upgrade kit.
The mini Prime is nice. Like a clone of Magnus.
The transformation was full of TRAPS. The worst one being the legs-armor's "panels". Those are screwed in place and are not meant to be moved. As for the rest, it's so different than Siege/Kingdom Magnus that I had to look up the instructions to know what to do. That's rare.
The final truck is pretty damn nice.
I'll be looking forward some upgrade kit and the Reprolabels.
This set is a lot more fun than you would think. While Prime and Bumblebee are animation-style repaints Hasbro also includes a nice assortment of extra accessories like a cartoon-style blaster for Bumblebee. Obviously, the big draw for this set is the trailer which unlike the Earthrise one, is fully loaded with the repair drone complete with radar dish, and a very well-built roller. It should also be mentioned that both figures show no sign of mold degradation. This really is a fantastic set and really worth the purchase.
The G1 reissues in cartoon colours of Perceptor and Kickback appeared in Canada last month but have yet to be found in the US. Below are images of this new Perceptor compared to the previous reissue which was a straight rerelease of the G1 toy.
A few points to note:
- the instructions only show 1 alt mode (microscope)
- the microscope is not functional
For those curious about Kickback, here is a review showing comparisons to the G1 colours as well.
The Rise of the Beasts toyline isn't done yet. While all mainline toys have been made, distribution is all over the place and just now are Americans finding the big simple Scourge toy from the Titan Changer line at Walmart. While obviously not a toy aimed at collectors, there are Scourge completionists out there and of course this gives parents a big and affordable Scourge toy to buy for their kids. We have some video reviews for you below if you are curious, and where you can check out that very detailed front grill.
This toy is part of the second wave of Titan Changers where he is the only new figure.
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