TRANSFORMERS - THE VEILED THREAT

SPOILER WARNING - THIS POST CONTAINS SEVERAL SPOILERS FOR THE IDW ALLIANCE AND DEFIANCE COMICS AS WELL AS THE VEILED THREAT NOVEL AND POSSIBLY REVENGE OF THE FALLEN ITSELF. PROCEED ONLY IF YOU DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE SPOILED.

Just released is the Transformers - Revenge of the Fallen prequel novel THE VEILED THREAT by Alan Dean Foster. clocking in at 281 pages for $7.99 US, it promises to bridge the gap between the first and second movies.

But before we get into the novel, just to catch everybody up on where we are, I’ll summarize the relevant portions of the IDW prequel comics stating with Defiance and then on to Alliance.

In the distant past the Allspark created a race of interdimensional beings on the planet that would become Cyberton. After beginning to cyberform their planet, they learned that the Allspark needed to be periodically renewed, and that the only way to do this was through the energies of an exploding star, so, being unable to search themselves, the Allspark provided by creating the Transformers. Seekers like Jetfire were sent to find suitable stars and constructors like the Constructicons were then sent to build harvesters to reap exploding stars’ energy to channel into the Allspark. A harvester was built on Earth, but before the sun was destroyed, one of the interdimensional beings, The Fallen, betrayed his brethren and destroyed their sarcophagi, which apparently house their essences, but before he could seize all the power for himself, his fellows managed to entomb him within his own sarcophagus artifact. The Harvester failed to activate and had an Egyptian pyramid built around it by the natives.

So, fast-forward to Optimus Prime and his archeological team finding The Fallen’s sarcophagus on Cybertron. The Fallen begins talking to Megatron and orders him to begin a war of conquest and a search for the Harvester. Decepticon/Autobot war ensues and the Nemesis is built to aid in the search. The Fallen’s sarcophagus leaves onboard with Soundwave and most of the other Decepticons as the war rages. When the Allspark is launched into space, Megatron follows but stops to answer a distress call from the Nemesis, which appears to have crashed landed on an ice world and been abandoned, except for The Fallen’s artifact. He orders Megatron to continue his search for the Allspark, which ultimately leads him to Earth.

The events of the older prequel comics and the movie take place, as well as the Reign of Starscream miniseries before going right into Alliance.

The Autobots clean-up the remaining Allspark-created mechs from the Mission City battle and then begin making preparations to dispose of the remains of the deceased Decepticons. Barricade is revealed to be alive and Starscream returns from his adventures on Cybertron to fight a resurrected Wreckage. In the course of the fight, he loses Frenzy’s head and destroys Bumblebee’s just-repaired vocal circuits. Starscream flees after the battle and Frenzy’s head is swiped by Simmons before Sector Seven is officially disbanded. Meanwhile, Soundwave arrives on Mars and heads for Earth. Several other retail-exclusive repaint Decepticons arrive and begin wreaking havoc. Jazz is buried at sea inside Optimus Prime’s trailer, and the defeated Decepticons are dumped in the ocean. A shard of the Allspark, which revived Wreckage, is given to the Autobots for safekeeping at their new base on Diego Garcia, where they have teamed up with Epps, Lennox, and the remains of Sector Seven to form NEST, an anti-Decepticon strike force. NEST then proceeds to defeat or capture all of the newcomer Decepticons and misses out on getting Barricade several times. Bumblebee is sent to look after Sam Witwicky, and new Autobots arrive from space, Sideswipe, Arcee, Chromia, a third motorcycle sister, and an ice cream truck. The story ends with NEST preparing to confront the Constructicon Demolisher in Shanghai.

The events of the novel seem to take place within the middle of the Alliance series, although exactly where seems a little abstract.

The novel opens with Megatron, dead, at the bottom of the sea, and this is where he stays throughout the book, no miraculous resurrections here. Cut to the Gulf of Aden where pirates attack a freighter which just so happens to be ferrying Epps, Lennox, Ironhide, Ratchet, and other NEST members to their base on Diego Garcia. Ironhide soon transforms to robot mode and scares the pirates off. Arriving at DG, the boys meet up with cybernetics expert Kaminari Ishihara, who has been swimming in the lagoon with the newly arrived Autobot veteran Longarm serving as lifeguard. Everyone enters a briefing where a sighting of Starscream in Zambia is discussed and a plan is hatched with Optimus Prime to confront him.

Meanwhile, we find that Agent Simmons is now, with the disbanding of Sector Seven, working in his mother’s deli in New York. He’s also tinkering with Frenzy’s disembodied head in his basement.

In Africa, we lean that Starscream is not only in the area, he’s gaining control over local rebel groups by using his internal synthesizers to create gold coins. He is also accompanied by three other Decepticons, Dropkick, Macerator, and Payload. They soon attack a local dam construction site, making short work of the security forces, and proceed to steal mass quantities of explosives.

The NEST team soon arrives in Africa with Prime, Ironhide, and Ratchet as well as new arrivals Salvage and Beachbreak, who transforms into a commando jetski. The Autobots soon engage Dropkick, Macerator, and Payload in battle in the Zambezi River. This is all part of Starscream’s brilliant plan, however, as the Autobots soon discover that the current is pushing them towards Victoria Falls. Everyone but Prime and Macerator gets out in time, the dueling pair going over the side. Starscream swoops in to save Macerator while Prime dangles helplessly. Eventually the NEST team manages to haul Prime up using Beachbreak’s tow-cable, but the celebration is short lived as Starscream swoops in and knocks the diminutive Beachbreak off the falls and to his death.

The Autobots and their human allies soon realize that Starscream may try and destroy a series of dams along the Zambezi and head off after the fleeing Decepticons. At one of the dams, the ground-based Decepticons attack. Payload heads to the valley floor to try and crack the dam with repeated blasts while Dropkick and Macerator fend off the arriving Autobots.

After a short scuffle, Prime manages to knock Macerator over the side of the dam before dispatching his dangling foe with his built-in sword. Ratchet takes repeated hits from Payload while trying to melt the fissures in the cracking dam back together. Both Ratchet and the dam are ultimately saved when the humans enter the dam and open the flood gates, knocking Payload downriver and out of the book. A damaged Dropkick escapes and everyone returns to Deigo Garcia.

Again, we cut back to Simmons in his basement, experimenting on Frenzy and brooding that that punk kid Sam Witwicky has a hot girlfriend and is going to Princeton. Frenzy tries to subvert the building’s electrical system, and after a little chaos, Simmons decides he needs to move the Decepticon head to a space beneath his mother’s deli.

Back at NEST headquarters, two more Decepticon presences are detected and a pair of teams are readied to head out and take care of them. Epps and Russian scientist Petr Andronov accompany Longarm and impetuous young motorcycle Knockout to Peru to find Decepticons that have been detected in the deep jungles. On a steep mountain pass, the party is attacked by Decepticons Ruination and Blademaster. Despite inexperienced and risky behavior by Knockout, Both are severely damaged and driven off.

Simultaneously, Lennox, Ishihara, Prime, Ironhide, and Salvage arrive in the Western Australian Outback and begin searching for Decepticons. Lennox soon realizes that the ‘Cons are attacking sites with energy reserves, oil and coal in Peru and uranium in Australia. The team decides that there is a second group of Decepticons not under Starscream’s command, harvesting massive amounts of energy in an attempt to revive Megatron.

Arriving at a uranium mining site, the NEST team discovers a trio of construction vehicles which, naturally, turn out to be Decepticons. The leader, Kickback, takes Prime on and is quickly run through with the Autobot leader’s sword. The other two, Tread and Trample, are quickly killed through the combined efforts of the rest of the team.

Back at DG, a small crab Decepticon infiltrates the base and hacks into the NEST computers before sneaking back into the sea and an unknown accomplice. Despite the break-in, the NEST team continues their usual business, discussing different ways the Decepticons could draw massive quantities of power to revive Megatron.

In Italy, Starscream enters into a deal with an Italian criminal named Bruno Carrera to help destroy Optimus Prime in exchange for dominion over Europe when the Decepticons triumph. A plan is hatched and Swindle and Deadend begin ripping through the streets of Rome causing general chaos and trying to draw the Autobots out. After an extended chase where Knockout proves he has what it takes and more, Starscream challenges Prime to single combat inside the Coliseum.

Prime and the Autobots enter the ancient structure, and Prime promptly falls through a trap door to a subway tunnel extension and into a strong set of restraints arranged by Carrera. Starscream then proceeds to attack the remaining Autobots while a helpless Prime is confronted by a vengeful Barricade. Before the Decepticon can dispatch Prime, the humans attack Barricade and Prime manages to work himself free. He easily hands Barricade his skidplate and returns to the surface where Starscream has fled.

On his way to whatever scheme he has cooked up next, Starscream takes the time to visit Carrera at this villa, where he pays him back for his “failure”.

Finally, Epps and Lennox are relaxing on the beach back at DG when Knockout approached and informs them that something significant is happening, mentioning how he is unfamiliar with the term “shanghaied”.

...

Overall, the book isn’t bad. The Transformer fights are pretty well written and exciting, and the characterization of the robots is as complete as that of any of the humans. The story is fast-paced and there is very little filler. That being said, the story is more pointless than the last Movie prequel novel. The first 250 pages of the book seem to be about Starscream consolidating power while a second cabal of Decepticons works to undermine him and revive Megatron, but in the last 30 pages the story takes a hard left turn into the Rome battle and never returns. There’s no resolution to anything really. The asides with Simmons are especially meaningless and only serve to set up what I assume will be a story thread in the movie. The last quarter of the book begins to feel like the old 80’s cartoon, with the Decepticons searching for energy sources and Starscream allying with the crime boss. It’s not bad per se, but it breaks with the tone that had been established for the Movieverse already.

Events in the book mesh pretty well with what has been established in the two IDW prequel series. Some plot points and character appearances are a little cumbersome when you try to reconcile the novel with the comics, but nothing directly contradicts anything else.

Some items of note:

The battle in Mission City and, the presence of the Transformers themselves, are a target of a huge cover-up and misinformation campaign by the governments of the world. How many people are buying into it is uncertain.

The acronym NEST is never explained in the book. I know I've seen what it stands for online somewhere, but it escapes me at the moment.

At the base at Diego Garcia, Ironhide is stockpiling Energon, which is described as a Transformer energy source. Energon is manufactured from existing energy sources and does exist naturally in the universe in a more unstable form. There is evidence that it exists naturally on Earth, but the Autobots don’t have the time or resources to search for it. Energon doesn’t figure in to the story at any point, and the mention seems more like a nod to G1 and Beast Wars.

At one point when Epps and Ironhide are talking shop, it’s revealed that each Transformer has a specialty, and according to their specialty, they create ammo, supplies, etc through nannoengineering, quantum alteration of volatile compounds, and subatomic metaflux metallurgy. Essentially, eating scrap and creating stuff internally.

Quite a few words are spent describing how extremely hot Kaminari Ishihara is. This, coupled with her being super-smart and a skilled martial artist, serves to turn her into nothing more than some sort of fantasy figure for dudes instead of a viable character.

As for the Transformers…

Optimus Prime - Prime is Prime. This Prime, however, is a little more direct and brutal than usual, impaling two Decepticons with his sword with no hesitation.

Ironhide - Ironhide’s direct approach and habit of wanting to solve every problem by blasting or crushing it is still amusing. He does seem to have warmed up to humans a bit since the Movie.

Ratchet - Ratchet again proves that he’s the most action-oriented, battle-tested Ratchet yet.

Longarm - The obligatory grizzled veteran, Longarm does seem to genuinely enjoy being on Earth and interacting with the planet’s fascinating organics, even to the extent of playing with feral cats using his Tow-truck mode’s headlights.

Don't make Longarm slap you!

Salvage – A new arrival to Earth, Salvage has no real personality to speak of. Sharing the name and pickup truck mode of his toy version even if he wasn’t created by the Allspark like the toy bio says.

Knockout - Another new arrival, Knockout is the Movieverse’s version of Cheetor/Hot Shot/Animated Bumblebee. A young, impetuous motorcycle with a desire to prove himself, he endangers the team on the Chile mission and Longarm has to smack him across the face to straighten him out. A scene where Epps helps him alter his holographic rider from 50’s era Marlon Brando to something less conspicuous is pretty entertaining.

Bumblebee is too seasoned and competent, so make way for Knockout!

Beachbreak – The little commando jetski that could. His completely original name betrays him as cannon-fodder at the outset.

Starscream - Starscream is the devious, power-hungry schemer we’ve come to expect. A lot closer to his G1 version here than in any previous movie material, a quick mention is made of his recent time on Cybertron in the Reign of Starscream comic miniseries.

Barricade - Not dead.

Frenzy - Not dead either, just an angry little head.

Dropkick - Another pickup truck, Dropkick is pretty much you basic Decepticon. He exhibits none of the manic-depressive traits his toy bio points towards.

Macerator - Macerator is a garbage truck with a massive shredding mechanism mounted to him. He’s a mean little brawler who likes to tangle with Prime, and get his skidplate kicked for it.

Payload – Unlike the armored car toy version, this Payload is an anti-aircraft tank that spends most of his time using his weapons systems to the utmost.

Ruination – A V-22 Ospery with a bad attitude. No mention is made of the established Osprey Decepticon Incinerator.

Blademaster – An undetermined type of helicopter, Blademaster isn’t around long enough to matter.

Kickback – Kickbak is the seeming leader of the small band of “constructicons” intent on reviving Megatron. He’s brash and confident, in no way hesitant when attacking Optimus prime. He uses his Bulldozer blade in robot mode as a shield, and his other hand is a huge warhammer which can emit a devastating sonic blast.

Tread and Trample – A identical pair of excavators who are an example of Transformer twins. The sometimes speak in perfect unison and are very aware of each other’s actions and situation. Sort of like the Crimson Twins for GI Joe, but without finishing each other’s sentences.

Swindle - A mean Decepticon street-racer, only slightly beyond his drone origins.

Deadend - Not really all that different from Swindle.

Deadend - Fast and Furious?

Decepticon Crab Infiltrator – An unnamed tiny spybot. He doesn’t speak and seems to be a mech not unlike Scorponok or Frenzy.

Overall, the book is a light and mostly entertaining read. The Transformer battles are the high points, and make up for the lack of any substantive narrative. It’s great beach, airplane, or lunch break reading. It’s probably by no means essential to a greater enjoyment of the Movieverse, but I do feel comfortable recommending it to any Transfan with a few hours to kill.

But that’s just my take, if you’ve read it, let me know what you think!

Electiontron '08

With the election just around the corner, the Cybertronian people are turning out for what may be the biggest election in eons. To let you know the fair and balanced truth of our Prime candidates, here’s Slamdance and Rook:

SLAMDANCE: Hello, Cybertron and with the election nearing, many Cybertronians are wondering just who should be the lucky candidate for Prime? For the Generation Ones, we have Grimlock. For the Generation Twos, we have Rodimus. Grimlock supports a strong military to protect the citizens of Cybertron from Decepticon insurgents as well as mining for more Energon as well as looking into alternative fuel sources, such as Nucleon. Rodimus supports socialism.

ROOK: That’s a hardly fair. Rodimus supports many issues that resonates with the population. He’s not only for alternative fuel sources but his main concern is to bolster our economy, as we teeter on a recession. We were so close to entering a new Golden Age but the current Optimus administration totally bungled our fuel sources along with our economy with his meaningless war.

SLAMDANCE: The war was not the fault of the Optimus Administration, but that of the Sentinel Administration.

ROOK: Oh, you First Gens like to believe that.

SLAMDANCE: It’s true, had Sentinel Prime been strong to actually stand up to these Decepticons when they were a lesser threat, we could have avoided a long drawn out war. Optimus didn’t start the war. They did. He just finished it.

ROOK: But he didn’t finish it. The Decepticons are still around, and now there’s a multitude of smaller factions rising up in the vacuum of the Decepticons. Sweep uprising, Quintesson terrorism, and let’s not forget that there’s the Predacons right over there, that while we’re running around chasing fictional boogey bots who might want to drop a Hate Plague on us, their economy is booming an we’re heading toward the largest transfer of power in Cybertronian history. That’s why Rodimus is the right choice for change. Grimlock is just another Optimus Prime. We just cannot afford another four million more years.

SLAMDANCE: Grimlock is nothing like Optimus Prime. They’ve opposed each other on several key accords.

ROOK: But he still sided with Optimus, 90% of the time.

SLAMDANCE: Because he was working toward a same goal, a safer and more secure Cybertron. While he disagreed with many of Optimus’ policies, that is one goal that they both shared. A desire for a safe ad peaceful planet. Something I’m not too sure Rodimus feels the same about. Rodimus may one day be a great leader, but right now, he’s too young and inexperienced. He doesn’t have the credentials that Grimlock has.

ROOK: Grimlock is a dinosaur. He’s too old and out of touch with today’s Cybertronian. Right now, the average blue chassied Cybertronian worker is feeling the Energon crunch. Grimlock, like Optimus, wants to give Energon breaks to the larger Gestalts and Citybots, leaving your average Joe Six-Cylinder out in the cold, struggling just to get new tires on their wheels. Rodimus wants to distribute the Energon evenly, allowing everyone to have an opportunity for greatness, as opposed to the select few. And as far as his lack of experience goes, you certainly can’t say that about Rodimus’ running mate, Ultra Magnus. He was even appointed by Prime for a while to be his replacement. That’s a lot more of a credential than Grimlock has, much less his running mate Moonracer. I mean, I speak for the rest of Cybertron when I say “Who?”

SLAMDANCE: Moonracer has been around a lot longer than Rodimus, and has much more experience. She was part of the resistance movement against Shockwave during the Great War and served under Elita-1. She’s served as a strong leader and role model and said no to the Space Bridge to nowhere. And at the very lease, she sees eye to eye with Grimlock on the issues. Ultra Magnus is the exact opposite of Rodimus’ claims. He’s been preaching “change” since he started his campaign, but Magnus, who’s been around since before we both came online is the exact OPPOSITE of change! He’s the living contradiction for his entire campaign. He’s had the opportunity to step up to plate and swing for leadership multiple times, and he’s always bunted the ball. How is this supposed to be any different?

ROOK: Well with Magnus, Rodimus has a spokesman that can speak to the people. Together they czn make true change for Cybertron and make it quickly.

SLAMDANCE: Just because Rodimus is faster, doesn’t make him better.

ROOK: Why is it whenever you First Gens always bring up the race issue? Yes, Rodimus turns into a race car and he’s not a slow lumbering lizard or semi truck. That doesn’t mean he’s incapable of the job.

SLAMDANCE: I never said-

ROOK: You First Gens always want to remain stuck in the past and never move forward, but you have to. We’re not immovable die cast bricks anymore. Embrace the change.

SLAMDANCE: Is that your answer for every time you Second Gens start to lose an argument? To play the racing card? Fine, we’ll go that route. Rodimus has had a few too many questionable acquaintances over the years. Pacifistic Anti-Cybertronians, like the Paradrons. Friendships with unrepentant Decepticons like Blitzwing. And let us not forget how a keen-eyed future leader like Rodimus can be mentored by Kup for so long and supposedly miss all that he said? His “record breaking funding’ for his campaign seems to have questionable sources, like Nebulon and the Matrix Templars. And I won’t even bring up his religious beliefs, where he claims to be the chosen one.

ROOK: Shall we go into Grimlock’s associations with the Dynobot 5? The simple fact is that we need change for Cybertron and Grimlock wants to put us back in the past as opposed to moving us toward the future where we need to be, which is what Rodimus wants to do.

SLAMDANCE: That’s most certainly debatable, but we are out of time. Thank you for joining us tonight. Join us again next time as we talk with Former Optimus Aide, Prowl and his thoughts on Grimlock.

ROOK: Good night folks. Vote early and vote often!

Halloween on Cybertron

It's that time of year again. Soon, goblins, ghouls and ghosts of all shapes and sizes will be haunting the streets and demanding treats. Over the years, the world of the Transformers has seen it's share of monsters unleashed and creatures on the loose. Here's a look at some of my favorites...

ZOMBIES!


Yes, the dead of Cybertron have risen many times. The reanimated form of Optimus Prime returned in the creepiest G1 episode, "Dark Awakening". Starscream and Wreckers leader Impactor shambled about in the UK comics. While not technically a zombie, the fused form of Ratchet and Megatron from Marvel's Transformers #70 was certainly one of the most disturbing images from that series.

IT'S A GHOST!


Starscream. Who ever thought that the most back-stabbing and weasely Transformer of all time would have an immortal spark? After his death in "Transformers the Movie", Starscream returned to haunt the world of the living in the G1 episode "Starscream's Ghost" and his immortality would be carried on through to Beast Wars, Energon and Transformers Animated.

CREEPY CRAWLERS


Everyone hates spiders, especially giant, maniacal, mechanical spiders. Tarantulas was especially creepy as a force to be reckoned with during the Beast Wars.



Blackarachnia started out as a female copy of Tarantulas, but quickly emerged from his shadow to become one of the most popular Transformers of the modern era. Blackarachnia has always walked the line between good and evil and continues to do so in Transformers Animated.

IT'S ALIVE!


The Frankenstein-like Autobot X was created from spare parts by Sparkplug Witwicky. When Sparkplug's son, Spike, is critically injured, mad scientist Wheeljack tranfers Spike's mind into the hulking monstrosity, and the fun begins! Autobot X's first and only appearance was in the "classic" G1 episode "Autobot Spike". Autobot X even watched the movie "Frankenstein" during the episode. I guess the writers wanted to make sure the kiddies who were watching understood the analogy.

I VANT TO SUCK YOUR ENERGON!


In the G1 episode "The Dweller in the Depths" we got to meet the Quintessons' early experiments, the Trans-Organics. The most powerful of these creatures was the Dweller, an energy leech who created "energy vampires" out of his victims. There certainly were quite a few horror movie type episodes in that crazy third season.

MOONLIGHT MADNESS!


The character(s) Savage/Noble was a pretty unique addition to Beast Machines series. The werewolf-like Noble, who would transform into the dragon called Savage, was actually Megatron. Megatron's attempt to rid himself of his organic side (from Beast Wars) resulted in this strange creature. After Megatron's spark was freed from this form, the Noble creature still somehow lived, but was later killed while fighting Megatron.

DRAGON TALES



Some of my favorite G1 toys were the Terrorcons...Hun-Gurrr, Rippersnapper, Cutthroat, Sinnertwin and Blot...who could combine into the monstrous Abominus. I think the Terrorcons can be considered dragons, although Blot's creature form defies explanation.



Of course the most famous Transformer dragon would have to be Transmetal 2 Megatron. After merging with the spark of his G1 namesake, and then taking a bath in hot lava, this new and improved Beast Wars Megatron eventually went on to conquer Cybertron.

MONSTER MASH!


Who can forget the Pretenders? (Yes, I know some of you want to.) The Decepticon Pretenders did have some pretty good monster shells, though. The first three were Skullgrin, a bone-faced minotaur; Bomb-Burst, a giant vampire bat creature; and Submarauder, an undersea gillman. Although they never appeared in the US cartoons, all three played a major role in the Japanese Masterforce series as Dauros, Blood and Gilmer respectively.



Another Decepticon Pretender of note is Bludgeon, master of Metallikato, a Cybertronian martial art. After a fine showing in the Marvel G1 comic, the skeleton-faced Bludgeon became a fan favorite.

RUN FOR THE SHELTERS!


Although my colleague Deinonychus recently covered the best Transformers dinosaurs, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the big daddy of them all, Trypticon. Able to give Godzilla himself a run for his money, Trypticon can not only crush a city, but transform into one as well.

That's the end! Remember, always trick-or-treat with a buddy, wear reflective clothing at night, and only eat wrapped candy. Oh, and if you're being chased by monsters, never, ever run into that old, abandoned house at the end of the street. That never works.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

For the love of Legends

A long time ago, I had a lot of Transformers. About 1100 to be exact, almost every toy from Generation 1 through Energon, Universe, Alternators and a good chunk of Cybertron. Then some "real life" stuff happened and I came to the conclusion that I was running out of room, disposable income, and a love of all things Transformers. So I sold them all. Made a pretty penny on the older stuff, but after a while....I missed them. Not so much the toys that I had sold, but just the presence of Transformers on my shelves.


A cross section of the Legends Class

Hasbro created a new size class during the Cybertron run. The Legends class were down-sized versions of larger toys, about the same size as the old G1 Minibots. I had a few and thought they were cool, but I never expected Hasbro to invest in the Legends size class in the long run. I was wrong.


Movie Legend Scorponok vs. Universe Legend Jazz

Some Cybertron Legends were cleverly repainted into G1 characters as the Classics series was released. When the Transformers movie toys hit, almost every movie character was released in a Legends size class. I started buying more and more, and now I'm a Legends completist. Though most of the toys lack the articulation of their bigger cousins, they're actually pretty neat little toys. Plus, the price is right in this ever increasing poor economy with Legends costing anywhere between $3 and $5. As with any other size class, Hasbro is utilizing repaints to fill out the line, but so far they've been well done.


Legends Classics Jetfire, Cybertron Thundercracker and Universe Starscream

Now into Universe/Classics 2.0 we're getting a plethora of both repaints and brand new molds in the Legends class. Hasbro seems to be on track to release all the major G1 Minibots as Legends with Brawn, Bumblebee, Beachcomber, Cosmos, Wheelie and Warpath all scheduled for new mold releases. Transformers Animated fans can look forward to Optimus Prime, Starscream, Bumblebee and Prowl. Articulation is also being stepped up as the new molds for G1 Jazz and Hound and G2 Megatron have a lot of poseability for such small toys.


Upcoming Universe Legends figures

Repaints aren't done yet, either. Two boxed sets are going to hit soon as Target stores exclusives. Both the "Aerial Rivals" set and the "Team Leaders" set repaint Cybertron Legends molds into even more G1 characters.


Target exclusive Team Leaders set

If you're a Transformer fan who lacks a lot of display room and is on a budget, take a look at Legends. A variety of characters and styles across several generations and an easy to handle price point make this size class very attractive. I currently have 47 Legends toys, a far cry from the thousands I used to own, but a collection that's very satisfying in its' own right.


Universe, Cybertron and Movie Megatrons

A LITTLE ABSURDITY

Just something for you Transfans wrapped up in the current US political process.

IT'S A DECEPTICON!

Just about every aspect of Generation 1 has been dissected, reused, and scrutinized to the point that there seem to be very few obscure corners left in the venerable old toyline. But some aspects seem to slip through the cracks, falling victim to the flashier and more nostalgic parts. One of these shadowed corners of G1 has to be the Mini-Spies.



As a kid, the only thing better than getting a brand-new Transformers toy was getting two at the same time. A stroke of brilliance on Hasbro's part, these little pull-back motored suckers were packed in as a free bonus with the Autobot Minicars in 1985. They were the first Transformers to feature the heat-sensitive rubsigns, and these were the only way to determine whether the toy was an Autobot or a Decepticon. They came in four different styles (A Mazda, Porsche, Jeep, and Dune Buggy) and three colors. When you add the differences in style, color, and faction all together, you come up with twenty-four possible figures, making them extremely collectible.


Originally sold in Japan as Mecha-Warriors, the toys that became the Mini-spies were either blue or red and were molded in the same four styles, resulting in eight different toys. This is just another great illustration of how Hasbro took Takara toylines and built them into a cohesive universe over here in the States.


Outside of the original commercial, the Mini-spies never appeared in the cartoon or the comics. They had absolutely no background or acknowledgment until 2003 when they were included in a two-page spread in issue number four of the Dreamwave More Than Meets The Eye profile books. Here the Mini-spies were described as almost Cybertronian civilians, filing non-combat and support roles due to their decreased durability, but from time to time serving as spies and infiltrators.

In recent years, "free" packs-ins have returned to Transformers with Classics Minicons and Activators on larger boxed figures, but cheap, small toys added to the smaller carded toys at the lower price-points seem to be a thing of the past. I know I personally would love to see something along the lines of the Mini-spies return. You'd think the collectability aspect would have been seized upon several yeas ago when Pokemon and other things of its ilk were at their popularity heights, but the Armada Minicons seemed to be what Hasbro picked to take advantage of that stage in the toy market.

And who knows, with the success IDW has had with the Transformers comic license, there could be a good possibility of seeing the Mini-spies in a cameo or supporting role sometime in the future. Or, dare I wish it...a Spotlight issue?

Spotlight On... TFU Wave 3

Names: Ironhide, Silverstreak, and Sideswipe
Series: Transformers Universe / Classics 2.0
Released: Now!
Notes: Silverstreak is a repaint/remold of TFU Prowl, Sideswipe is a repaint/remold of Sunstreaker using an alternate conversion method, Ironhide is a brand-new mold to be repainted later as Ratchet.

LZ's Notes: Yes, I actually opened a second SIlverstreak. Blue Streak was one of my earliest Transformers back in the G1 days, and I decided he was worthy of opening. The alt mode is really nice, but in transforming him the first time, I found that his doors and sholders tend to seperate a lot in the process. I'm not all that particularlly fond of his "turtleneck" look either. But those are minor complaints when seeing this classic toy updated for the modern era. One of these days, though, I want someone to step up and finally give me my damn "blue" Blue Streak. I'm looking at you Takara!