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Transformers Mini Racers with G1 Characters Found at Kroger

Date: Sunday, February 19th 2023 10:01pm CST
Categories: Toy News, Site Articles
Posted by: william-james88

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Views: 52,504

We have news that the Transformers Mini Racers first shown over a year ago have been found in the US. While these are very similar to the Rescue Bots Mini Racers we previously had, these are all G1 characters. It's a trend we've seen a lot now where the Rescue Bot products are being revamped within a more G1 themed line. These particular products are one of the lowest priced Transformers items that transform in the Fisher Price aisle of retail stores. These ones have 2 robot heads, one that peeks out in alt mode, like the bot is driving itself and another for the robot mode. This series has Trailbreaker, Arcee, Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and Hoist. These were found at a Kroger in Indianapolis, IN.

If you have found them, share your sightings with our community in the sightings section and on our boards in your region related thread.

This sighting was originally posted here by Dilbertron.

Would the Trend of Retro Style Figures Work for New Transformers Characters in the G1 Toy Style?

Date: Thursday, September 29th 2022 12:22am CDT
Categories: Site Articles, Editorials
Posted by: william-james88

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Views: 75,813

"Vintage", "Retro" and "Nostalgia" has been a big trend in the toy world for the past few years and we simply seem to be getting more. For instance, we currently have on shelves:
- Super 7 recreating the toy aesthetic of the late 70s with new characters that were never made in that style in their ReAction line.
- Mattel recreating the toy aesthetic of 80s MOTU figures for designs of MOTU characters that never appeared in the original line (like the 200X series in that classic style) in their MOTU Origins line.
- Hasbro making late 70s style figures of new Stars Wars characters from the Mandalorian and Obi-Wan series in their Star Wars Retro line.
- McFarlane reviving the 80s Super Powers line by adding DC characters that were never part of the original line as well as modern takes on DC characters with the same scale and articulation.
- Marvel Legends having a subline filled with carded 3.75 inch characters with limited articulation reminiscent of toys sold in the late 70s, early 80s.



These are all well known characters/brands replicating a style or aesthetic from the 80s and yet that list is missing a major player of that era: Transformers. The Transformers brand inspires so much nostalgia and strength among older fans that some will even debate whether or not the Transformers toylines sold in kids' toy aisles, like Legacy, is more for them than it is for kids. If we look at the toy brands mentioned at the top of the article which have a retro toyline, like Star Wars, DC, Marvel and He-man, each of those brands also have more kid friendly lines and at least one toyline dedicated to highly detailed and highly articulated figures at the same price points as deluxe/voyager Transformers toys (which technically makes Transformers a better deal than any other similarly priced action figure since they have double the parts count).

We'll take Marvel for the simplest comparison. The multiple Marvel Legends waves each year are in the same vein as the multiple Studio Series and Legacy waves we get. For kids, Marvel has a bunch of toylines, like the Monsters line, the Mech Line, the Bending line, movie specific lines (recently Thor and Spider-man) and those are in the same vein as the Cyberverse and Earthspark toylines for Transformers. And then there is also the Marvel Legends Retro line, which they are going full hog on, even to the point of introducing different scales like with the new Sentinel figure. There is no counterpart to that in the Transformers line.

Sure the Transformers line has figures labelled as retro, but these are rereleases of pre-existing figures, nothing new like McFarlane's new Super Powers line, or the Marvel Legends Retro line, or the Star Wars Retro line. And I make sure to bring up those last 2 a lot because they are from Hasbro, which means Hasbro sees the value in this retro type of play or collecting and spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on brand new molds. The Transformers line becomes one of the only major lines in the toy aisle which does not have a comparable retro line alongside its other lines.

So the question then becomes, is that untapped potential, or a dodged bullet? And how would that even look like. An equivalent could be a redeco of G1 blades in Alpha Bravo colours giving fans the option of having that extra combiner limb on their vintage Superions. Or you could have the G1 characters/toys in their Bayverse decos. Like a silver G1 Jazz or a G1 Optimus with a flame design on his cab. How about an Ironhide and ratchet similar in deco to their E-Hobby releases but with extra parts to plug in a head with references to their Bayverse looks. Or a new mold of a 70s Camaro to give us a Bayverse Bumblebee but with G1 style transformation and articulation.

It could also be G1 toys we never had, like redecos of the G1 seeker mold and have it be Acid Storm. Or a retool of the wings to give us a G1 Windblade. Going the G1 route, they could release that G1 headmaster Arcee, from a redeco/retool of Chromedome. Or simply make a fully new G1 style toy based on the initial design.

Another example could be a grey G2 Megatron sold in G1 packaging to retroactively give G1 Megatron a tank mode so that we can have a cohesive aesthetic of the character of his various tank modes throughout the different eras. These ideas have been around for a while, as evident by the digibash you can find below from site owner Seibertron himself, but with more retro type product out there than ever before in the retail toy aisle, it's the perfect time to bring them back. The question is, would you fans be up for it? I ask because while this may look fun, there have been recent lines that mirrored the G1 toyline in terms of being out of scale and simpler than Generations toys, like the Cyberverse line, and those were mocked by many fans who even questioned their existence. Which makes one wonder, if the G1 line was released today, with all its partsforming, hollowness, non show accuracy, lack of articulation and simplicity, would it be mocked just like fans are mocking other lines suffering from the same issues?

Is this a thing that we want? Is this a thing that we need? Let us know what you think, both in terms of how a line like this would look like and if it is something that would interest you.

Top 5 Best Transformers Cyberverse Toys

Date: Monday, April 18th 2022 6:34pm CDT
Categories: Site Articles, Editorials, Top Lists
Posted by: william-james88

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Views: 123,102

Every two weeks, Seibertron.com brings you a Top 5 list related to all things Transformers written by me. 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 Transformers Cyberverse Toys

With the Cyberverse show over and the toyline now being the place where the Rise of the Beasts 2022 toys will be released, I felt it was time to look back at the toys made for the Cyberverse show. While the show did end up winning over a lot of fans in the later seasons (if you didn't watch the first half of season 3, you are missing out), the toyline was never made to win over older fans. It was a toyline for kids through and through. There were some pretty fun toys in there and I am looking at the ones I think are the best of the lot.


5. Deluxe Soundwave

Soundwave is one of the best characters from the Cyberverse show. While some characters get hat is the equivalent of a cameo, Soundwave got a full arc from Cybertronian citizen just having a good time, to ruthless Decepticon soldier, to Cybertronian resistance warrior to Cybertron's ultimate hero. And he had a great design too, which is why the toy looked disappointing from the start for not fully invoking the design and having some issues with kibble. But the toy won me over. It's very solid, has a fun transformation and comes with a cute transforming Laserbeak. In the end, it gives us another good Soundwave toy and e finally have a good toy for this wonderful version of the classic character.








4. Warrior Hammerbyte

This is a really fun toy of a new original character. While he is indeed a warrior as opposed to a deluxe figure, he feels more like a toy from the Cybertron line with nice hard plastic and a simple yet also meaty transformation. And it has a great design in both modes plus a fun non intrusive gimmick. And all for the low price of yesteryear's deluxes. So yeah, very reminiscent of the Cybertron line, which is something you will hear a lot of in the next entry.








3. Ultimate Grimlock

No other Cyberverse toy aimed only at kids even comes close to being as awesome as him. He is very imposing and really commands the space he takes. While he is light, the plastic feels strong and durable. The transformation is not too difficult but interesting and there are even surprises in it for people who know the typical Grimlock conversion inside and out. He has decent poseability and fine gimmicks that don't get in the way. Plus, he is the size of a leader class toy, almost 9 inches tall and only cost $30 USD. Design, transformation and articulation wise, this is almost like a Grimlock we would have gotten in the fabled 2004-2006 Cybertron toyline.










2. Deluxe Slug

While I love animated Slag, I think this guy takes the cake as the best deluxe Slag/Slug we've ever gotten. Now that I think of it, is he the best deluxe toy to represent one of the Dinobots? Could be. He has great articulation, including his horns which actually have their own transformation step, even the SS86 leader Slag doesn't have that. Lots of accessories, a nice colour palette with many differently coloured plastics working well together and a simple yet very well done hand to "paw" transformation. The face is very expressive too.








1. Deluxe Bumblebee

This is one of the greatest deluxe Bumblebee toys we have ever gotten and that is saying a lot since there have been some really good deluxes lately. This one works really well though since it finally gives us a version of that Evergreen design which combines multitude of now classic Bumblebee elements. While probably unintentional, I really like how the black and yellow plastic around the feet are perfectly aligned with the stripes on the car roof making it look like the car's design runs deep within the robot's innards. Nice car mode, great robot mode, good articulation, smart transformation, nice weapon storage for the gun in car mode, relevant accessories with unique blast effects make this an all around winner.





Honourable Mentions:

Deluxe Arcee: the car mode is super cute and a fun new take on Arcee. there is very minimal alt mode integration with the robot mode but at least the backpack you get is show accurate.

Deluxe Megatron: too loose for my liking in important areas but that transformation is really amazing. I love toys that feel like origami where you are shaping a vehicle into a robot and that's what this was, especially for the upper torso/back.

Warrior Cybertronian Starscream: now this is how you make a simpler toy! Articulation is not jeopardized, neither are proportions or the look of either mode. It simply requires few steps to get from one mode to the next. Of course, that is not always achievable, but when it works it can be a thing of beauty and the perfect toy for a kid wanting to mimic the speed of conversion seen on the show.

Seibertron's Year End Review Where we Look at the Best Toys of 2021

Date: Thursday, January 6th 2022 3:07pm CST
Categories: Toy News, Site Articles, Editorials
Posted by: william-james88

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Views: 150,412

Seibertron's 2021 Year End Review

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!





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.






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?






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.







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.






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.






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.






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!)




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.

Top 5 Same-Sex Transformers Couples

Date: Sunday, June 6th 2021 5:59pm CDT
Categories: Site Articles, Editorials, Top Lists
Posted by: Tigerhawk7109

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Views: 166,087

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.

We thank @LostVelocitron for the thumbnail art.

Top 5 Worst IDW Transformers Stories

Date: Sunday, April 4th 2021 12:44am CDT
Categories: Site Articles, Editorials, Top Lists
Posted by: Kurona

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Views: 127,173

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.




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.




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.




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!




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.

Top 5 Best Arcee Transformers Toys

Date: Friday, March 5th 2021 1:21pm CST
Categories: Site Articles, Editorials, Top Lists
Posted by: william-james88

Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 96,696

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 Arcee Transformers Toys

2020 was the year of Arcee since we had a toy of this character in every line. We got one in Masterpiece, Studio Series, Cyberverse and Generations. So clearly, we now have enough toys to get a decent Top 5 list going on. Here we go!


5. Cyberverse Deluxe Arcee

Arcee was a super fun character on the show, especially thanks to voice actress, Jaime Lamchick, and the toy conveys her lax and gunslinging personality well. Greatly posable, real dynamic, and hey, she comes with an actually useful Maccadam part (hammer!), and unlike other Arcees out in 2020, this one has a manageable and actually accurate backpack.
-notsoalex






4. MP-51 Masterpicee Arcee

The vehicle is absolutely PERFECT. All the details are there. Despite the arms hanging a bit low, the car roll flawlessly. The interior is perfectly detailed, down to even a painted dashboard! Transformation is long and hard, but surprisingly not frustrating. Also, everything felt SOLID in hand with nothing seeming fragile or about to break. |We end up with a pretty nice fembot with a backpack that is not too bad in person, considering that the car mode have NO sacrifices. Obviously, Arcee is back heavy and it limit some poses. The chest and high collar is an odd design choice but it's not too bad, she's still worth every single cent that I paid. Could this Arcee be better? Maybe yes, but some choices had to be made. Here, it's the vehicle mode that got priority so the robot is a bit compromised with her backpack. Regardless, I highly recommend this official MP.
- Kanrabat








3. Prime RID and First Edition Arcee

For the Prime line, certain characters were released twice in totally different molds at the begining. There was the First Edition (FE) version that was supposed to come out first in some sort of exclusive capacity followed by a Robots in Disguise (RID) mold that was meant for a more general release. For most bots, there is a clear winner between the two versions, but not Arcee. It turns out both her FE and RID molds are excellent and you can't go wrong with either of them to represent Prime Arcee in your collection. The RID version is a bit more accurate with her wings but the FE version has that nice complex transformation that adds some unique alt mode integration in the robot mode for the chest area. And both just look great!
-william-james88






2. Animated Arcee

We often get sleeker versions of earth based cars (like Cybertron Hotshot) that don't capitalize on the potential of designing vehicles from other worlds. This one totally fits the bill though. Unlike so many other alt modes, it bravely crosses the line between being a futuristic design to a full blown cybertronian one. It is a great homage to G1 Arcee which is followed through in robot mode and I like the added massive spoilers in the back. That detail gives it enough variation from the traditional Arcee model. Too bad it has exposed hands in vehicle mode though. Props go for it having that signature Arcee backpack without going the easy route and making this a shellformer.
-william-james88






1. Takara Legends Arcee

While we have had several Arcees since this release, two more in the Generations line, this still feels like the best one. As a fan of Transformers toys, vehicle integration goes a long way and of all the Arcees with this G1 vehicle mode, this is the one that tries the hardest. While the backpack is unavoidable, the integration of the hips and chest means there is less to attempt to compact together in the back and you are instead left with what G1 Arcee would look like on the show if her backpack didn't magically shrink. The deco given by Takara just pushes it over the edge for G1 accurate goodness. It's a great toy all around and still the definitive Arcee to this date.
-william-james88

Seibertron's 2020 Year End Review

Date: Saturday, January 2nd 2021 1:41am CST
Categories: Site Articles, Editorials
Posted by: william-james88

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Views: 70,327

Seibertron's 2020 Year End Review

On this glorious 1st of January 2021, we said goodbye to 2020 and while there are no wishes of faring well to that year, it did give us quite a bit of Transformers product. Gone are the years of just one line on the shelves to support whatever show is on, we had several lines celebrating current and past Transformers eras. This year gave us an Arcee for every line as well as the best deluxe Bumblebee figures (plural), among a myriad of other toys, and now we look back on all of that. Please share us your thoughts with what your picks would be for each category.




Deluxe Thunderhowl. Unique transformation and weapon storage in wolf mode. - Bounti76

Ultra Rack'n'Ruin. I haven't had much experience with the Cyberverse figures, but I did get to play with a fellow collector's Rack'n'Ruin figure earlier this year. It's got some fun play gimmicks, but the obvious draw is that this is the first toy version of the character, though the Cybertron redesign does differ quite a bit from the original G1 character model. Here's hoping we get a repaint of Earthrise Doublecrosser as Rack'n'Ruin at some point!-Wolfman Jake

Deluxe Arcee. Arcee was a super fun character on the show, especially thanks to VA, Jaime Lamchick, and the toy conveys her lax and gunslinging personality well. With the other crappy Arcee toys this year, having one with a manageable (and actually accurate!) backpack, along with other pros, this one easily takes the cake. Greatly posable, real dynamic, and hey, she comes with an actually useful Maccadam part (hammer)! -notsoalex

Tiny Turbo Changers Sharkticon/the Sharkticons from that one set with black one-step Rodimus. They are just too adorable for words. It's too bad Tiny Turbo Changers badically don't exist in America anymore, as this means troopbuilding opportunities are limited. -ScottyP

I really like deluxe Arcee. The alt mode is a really cute take and the robot mode is very show accurate, right down to how the backpack looks. - William-james88

Hard to call between Ultra Class Thunderhowl and...Actually, scratch that, I'm just calling it for Thunderhowl! -ZeroWolf






Tie between Devastator as a whole, and the Chromia, Elita-1, and Arcee 3 pack. Hasbro showed us that at the complete opposite ends of the scale, they can do well engineered toys. Plus we FINALLY get movie Elita-1 in her proper altmode. - Bounti76

Leadfoot. This guy has been a long time coming. The original Deluxe Leadfoot figure's release was cancelled in most markets, so there was no way to complete the Wrecker trio at that scale unless you imported the scarce Takara Tomy version. More importantly, the figure is well designed, fun to transform, armed to the teeth, and oozing with "Nascar" charm. Although pre-order quantities were limited for this Target exclusive in the U.S., Studio Series Leadfoot was a rare success story in brick-and-mortar availability, unlike many other Transformers retailer exclusives this year. -Wolfman Jake

Devastator. This one might be cheating, but Hasbro released it as one boxset so it's one toy in my book! Absolute behemoth comprised of multiple great toys on their own. He feels like an event or a spectacle. It's amazing we finally have an awesome toy of this big action set-piece from a crap movie. No mark against the toy, this set is amazing, with a giant combined robot mode! -notsoalex

Overload. Even if the combiner is ugly as sin, the Devastator journey is finally over and the individual robots we got out of it all rock. -ScottyP

Got to be Devastator, a true beast of a combiner. -ZeroWolf

Movie 1 Megatron for me. I remember loathing the original toy from 2007, and disliking the design in general, which I have adressed in my top 5 worst lists. Hasbro really went out of their way here to give us an involved transformation with distinctive looks for both modes and they didn't cheap out on the paint. -william-james88







Deluxe Cliffjumper. Even though the figure is small, he's got some amazing engineering and fantastic paint- almost all the Red seen on him is paint. Mini-Masterpiece indeed. - Bounti76

Scorponok. It's boring to pick the Titan, but Scorponok is outstanding and is maybe the most well-rounded, fully realized entry to the Titan Class ever. -ScottyP

Voyager Starscream. This figure has been an even longer time coming! We waited nearly 14 years for a new G1-styled "Seeker" figure. The original, and prolific, Classics 2006 mold was great, but too small. Many fans dreamed of an "upscale" of that figure. Now it's finally here, and I couldn't be happier. Starscream is easily one of the "Mini Masterpieces" that many, including myself, have been raving about since the beginning of the War for Cybertron Trilogy. -Wolfman Jake

Earthrise gave us a lot that I am thankful for but I think my favourite is Snap Dragon. Triple changers always have a weak mode out of the three but I find this one is solid all around. I was waiting quite a while for this toy (ever since Hasbro made all their voyagers triple changes in titans Return) so I am glad my patience paid off. -william-james88

Commander Class Sky Lynx. Such a fun toy, nothing complicated, satisfying joints and transformation, looks great in all its modes (along with a base mode that isn't terrible), and it's friggin' Sky Lynx! He is the best. -notsoalex

Has to be his magnificence, Sky Lynx. A fantastic update. -ZeroWolf






Night Club Dance-frenzy Rung. It even included a bonus Ultra Magnus accessory! -ScottyP

Netflix Soundwave. He is amazingly well done, and finally turns into his G1 altmode. And though I'm a sucker for toy accuracy, I love that he has his red visor. - Bounti76

Walmart Netflix War for Cybertron Trilogy Bumblebee. This little guy is a big deal. Many fans anticipated an eventual Bumblebee redeco of Earthrise Cliffjumper, himself a very satisfying figure, but no one could guess that Hasbro would get the license to use the classic G1 Volkswagen Beetle! This is the BEST iteration of G1 Bumblebee we've gotten in a mass-market modern Transformers line, and to think, this time Bumblebee is the redeco and retool! Again, this is a "Mini Masterpiece" of a figure, right down to the real world vehicle mode details. -Wolfman Jake

Hasbro finally released Prime Breakdown. FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh and he comes with jet vehicon, another toy they never released? Well, I won't say no. -william-james88

Pulse exclusive War for Cybertron Trilogy Deluxe Centurion Drone. The Brunt mold is easily the best Siege Weaponizers in my opinion and having the toy in nicer colors is, well, nice. It is good to see the robot mode in the ACTUAL colors it was made for, y'know? Not only is the toy great, but the accessory pack is also great fun. Some of it is a bit... useless to me, but others really help enhance their respective toy. -notsoalex

The Pulse Exclusive 10th Anniversary Prime Jet Vehicon and Breakdown Boxset, a very nice surprise for once! -Zerowolf






With Piranacon, we finally got the last of the Scramble City style combiners. The level of deco and paint on these figures is insane, Skalor/Gulf in particular. The figures are great on their own, but then combined into Piranacon, it's somehow cranked up a notch. Out of any of the CW style combiners, he just has PRESENCE that the others don't. And then they gave us Selects God Neptune out of that. The paint on that figure is stunning, and painstakingly accurate to the original Beast Wars II toys. Plus we got remakes of toys from a Japanese only cartoon. How's that for obscure toy lovers? Also, the fact that Scylla got some major retooling is pretty impressive. - Bounti76

Netflix Optimus Prime. While Earthrise Prime looked good, I was not interested in another trailer, and I didn,t like the grey on the legs reminding us all that the lower half was using recycled bits from the Siege mold with vestigial parts. But along came the Netflix release which gave me pretty much what I wanted in the first place. I now got to experience this excellent mold. -william-james88

Earthrise Optimus Prime. Yes, this challenges what it means to be a "retool." Earthrise Optimus Prime shares much of the truck bed assembly with Siege Optimus Prime, while creating a brand new mold for the truck cab, resulting in a new transformation that is even more interesting than that of the Siege version, and even more accurate to the original cartoon's stylings. Like Starscream, we've been waiting since the Classics line back in 2006 to have a proper modern update of G1 Optimus Prime. As good as some of the "re-interpretations" have been in the Generations lines, no collection is truly complete without a "definitive" Optimus Prime, and this is it. Dare I say it once more, but Earthrise Optimus Prime is truly a "Mini Masterpiece." - Wolfman Jake

Netflix/War for Cybertron Trilogy Deluxe Class Bumblebee. I didn't really think the Earthrise Cliffjumper mold was worth the asking price, but I still got his other 3 reuses at full price, no respect for myself and all that. Do I regret it, not a chance, all of them are great toys and improve upon the original, especially Bumblebee. He gets the distinction of turning into the first licensed vehicle in years (or maybe the first in general?), at least for mainline-ish G1-update toys. Excellent 70's Volkswagen Beetle mode and an extremely fun robot mode. Sweet boy. -notsoalex

Super Megatron elevates the TR Galvatron mold to an amazing level and accomplishes some crazy feats along the way. Never thought we'd see this toy but I'm so glad we did -ScottyP

Netflix Transformers War for Cybertron Spoiler Pack 2# Nemesis Prime. The choice to use the Siege Prime mold with the trailer was inspired, meaning that Nemesis owns the mold for himself. -Zerowolf






Mp-50 Tigatron is the standout. I really love how massive that toy is and how we get a similar looking robot mode to Cheetor's (as it should be) but a totally different transformation. I am really happy Takara did not go the easy way out on this one. william-james88

MPM Ratchet. It only took 13 years to get a decent, screen accurate version of Ratchet, and kibble in altmode aside, it was worth the wait. - Bounti76

MP-50 Tigatron, almost by default! It was a slow year for Masterpiece with most of the releases being repaints. MPM's entries were both ok and Lio Convoy was fun, but Tigatron delivered in every way for me. A complex but not impossibly so transformation, excellent sculpting and a heavy dose of presence make this the real Tiger King. -ScottyP





Transformers: Galaxies comic. I wish this was an ongoing series, because I find it much more engaging and interesting than the main series. - Bounti76

War for Cybertron Trilogy - SIEGE. I liked it. Ditto with EARTHRISE. - Wolfman Jake

Cyberverse Chapter 3/Bumblebee Cyberverse Adventures. Woof, what an exciting journey from beginning to end. I forgot what it felt like to have good on-screen Transformers media! IDW2 narrowly made it, but I had to lend it to Cyberverse, especially season 3. This "Chapter" blew me away with a fun team dynamic, actual stakes with threatening villains, great dialogue and storytelling, and an all-around fun time. Looking forward to the Cyberverse TV movies! -notsoalex

Cyberverse Season 3 and nothing else even came to mind. This is possibly the only highlight in an extremely bad year for storytelling in the Transformers universe. Honorable mention to the Transformers manga volumes from Viz as the other bright spot in our darkest hour. -ScottyP

Has to be Transformers Cyberverse Season 3, it upped the ante significantly, and proved that Cyberverse was far from what first impressions made of it. -ZeroWolf

Cyberverse season 3 was a blast. That first half was excellent with a really great take on Hot Rod becoming the hero in the most organic way we have ever seen in Transformers media. I know a lot of fans have been asking for a reboot of G1 and this is it. Plus, since it's a kids show (just as G1 was), it's a great way to introduce your passion to your kids. -william-james88






Cyberverse Clobber. Her transformation is both interesting enough for adults, and easy enough for kids. Plus, I always enjoy fembots who don't look typically feminine. - Bounti76

Cyberverse 1-Step Whirl. This was a hard one as I don't own many easy-to-transform toys, so I chose the only one I own, but it is a really good one. Whirl then, it's a shame his last toy was just fine, not really scratching that MTMTE itch, and surprisingly, this 1-Step does! Cyberverse Whirl himself is a fun guy, thanks to the voice-work of Jeremy Levy, and the toy brings that light hearted-ness! Fun and addictive transformation, certainly a good pick-up. -notsoalex

Cyberverse Battle Call Optimus Prime. I would have loved this to pieces when I was 6. -ScottyP

Rescue Bots Dragster Chase, i will let this picture speak for itself. -william-james88




Worst Transformers Toy of the Year

Any Micromaster. They have extremely limited articulation, limited usability, and they took up peg space that could have been better utilized. The only exception is Blast Master and Fuzer, and only because of their very cool combined mode. - Bounti76

Earthrise Arcee. It's bad, folks. It's better as Netflix Elita One, despite the new shoulder clearance issues introduced with that remold, since it's at least painted adequately. Arcee doesn't even have her face painted to contrast with her white helmet. Even Lifeline, the Paradron Medic, got that much.
- Wolfman Jake

Earthrise Arcee/Netflix Elita 1- these two can share the award, and I just can't square the circle that these were from the same designers as all the other Earthrise toys. Better Arcee toys exist in the Deluxe Class, and no doubt will in the future. -ZeroWolf

Earthrise Quintesson Judge. I don't own the exact toy, I own the superior colored and also pre-assembled WFC Pit of Judgement Judge, though flavoring in what others have said, the Earthrise Judge is not a good toy! I understand the toy isn't supposed to do much, it's a Quintesson Judge, some goofy design that isn't Really Anything after-all, but what they chose to do with it is... boggling. Too much partforming and balancing pieces onto other pieces, and it doesn't even look good! Just keep it in the Judge mode, yeah, at least, IF you can. The horror stories about those faces, yeesh. Feel bad for the folks that spent a ton of time into a toy that comes out as just ok-to-bad. Also, was it asking too much to have all of the faces have moving mouths? I guess so! -notsoalex

Earthrise Arcee for being an action figure strapped to the flimsy shell of a space car. Arcee is a wonderful character but this toy was terrible. -ScottyP

Netflix Elita 1. I know people say it has the better deco but it adds an extra annoyance of limited posing due to remolded shoulders, making a really bad toy become even worse. -william-james88

Quick Reviews of Transformers Galaxies #9, Transformers 84 #3, and Transformers My Little Pony #2

Date: Wednesday, September 2nd 2020 5:59pm CDT
Categories: Comic Book News, Reviews, Site Articles
Posted by: Tigertrack

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What’s new in Transformers comics this week - 9/2/2020

It’s new comic book day again, the first in September, and we find ourselves here with a slew of new comics fiction to chew on and enjoy.



This week’s offerings include Transformers My Little Pony Friendship in Disguise #2, Transformers Galaxies #9, and Transformers 84 Truth and Lies #3. All 3 issues feature several covers some drawn and colored by IDW Transformers heavy hitters, for your collecting specifics.

No local comic shop? You can conveniently order them from the Seibertron.com eBay store!!!


Mini-Review of Transformers 84 Secrets and Lies #3 (Tigertrack)

This issue really had me at hello…as soon as Counterpunch said, “Megatron and Shockwave BOTH sleeping with the fossils…” like he’s a stereotypical 1920’s gangster stooge. I knew we were going to get to focus on some new (old) Decepticons. And that’s exciting, capiche?

Yes, this issue really more than the last issue goes it’s own direction and fills in details revolving around Straxus, Scorponok, and Thunderwing before they get their future moments to shine. Reminiscent of the IDW’s earlier Stormbringer mini-series bringing these big cons together (along with Shockwave) to discuss Thunderwing’s science, this issue tugs at those fond memories of that series, as these cons basically divide Cybertron.

That’s not all it has in common with that series. At the request of our spy-ally, Punch, our friends the Wreckers make their origin appearance. It’s nice to have the definitive start, and thankfully, it comes about a bit unconventionally. I was thinking they were started by Emirate Xaaron, Kup, or Magnus, maybe even Impactor, but I was at least, mostly wrong - Or at least by Punch's possibly skewed point of view, anyway. And that my friends is amazing, as well.

Just waiting on Ralph...I hear he really likes to Wreck-It.

BUT NOT ONLY ALL OF THAT… a little bot by the name of Star Saber makes an appearance (no misrepresenting cover syndrome here). I could go on, but I might ruin EVERYTHING, and you guys have to have something left unspoiled, right?

Cons to the left of me, cons to the right of me.

I can’t say enough how I love what Guido Guidi, and John-Paul Bove are doing with the art here. John-Paul shared via twitter his process and just how much effort and time it took to research and experiment to come up with the coloring and shading as he did, working to mix colors to get the original look, but with a little bit more modern twist. Phenomenal… And I will say his name one more time since I messed it up before, well done, John-Paul Bove (super-kind and forgiving individual, btw).

For the 3rd of 4 issues in a mini-series, I think this one has been my favorite so far, which is hard for 3rd issues to do. It did something with characters that I wanted or expected to see happen, perhaps in the Regeneration series. Didn’t happen there, but here it is! Good on you Guido, Simon, and John-Paul, another entertaining issue. My only teeny tiny quibble with the issue was for me there was no clear cut cover that I really wanted. Nick Roche and Casey W. Coller’s were too similar, in an inverted kind of way, so I am going with the regular cover by Guido Guidi of commander Star Saber! Plus plenty of other cool cameos and story additions that I don't want to entirely spoil. Think opposites of the Decepticons presented, and the Autobot I just mentioned.

Battle Up!

4.75 out 5 symbols


Mini-Review of Transformers My Little Pony Friendship in Disguise Issue #2 (Tigertrack)

Welcome back fans of kindness, silliness, and friendship! If you were hoping that Issue #2 would pick up where Issue #1 left off... I'm sorry, that's a different comic. Instead, we have two new crossover stories following entirely different cast members from each of these unlikely collaborators; the Transformers and the My Little Pony-ies.

Broken into two short stories like last issue. These stories are not disguising any silliness.

The first short focuses on Grimlock, who did appear for a moment in the first issue, left behind as the other Autobots headed to Equestria via the dimensional spacebridge.

This short sees Grimlock battling Devastator on Earth defending the ark from the those dastardly, cunning Constructicons. The dinosaur leader finds himself allied with Spike, a spunky, smart dragon and royal advisor in Equestria. Spike finds himself in a perilous situation after Grimlock is punted and squashed into submission. And the ending leads to a nice new friendship, and excellent, feel good message.

Me Grimlock, butt kicked!

The 2nd story is the Equestrian equivalent of a Food Network culinary chef show led by cute as a button pony, Pinkie-Pie.

Shockwave is ready to..."mix it up."

The surprising part of this is not the odd partnerships of ponies and robots, BUT the inclusion of brand new Transformers star Gauge. She's featured in Galaxies and also seems to be quite a successful chef, as well. Shockwave shows up as Gauge's foil, ready to -in a very twisted Grimm's fairy tale kind of way- see how many ponies it takes to make a pony-powered energon smoothie. It's another fun, silly story with more than a few slapstick moments. Gauge and Pinkie-Pie beating Shockwave on any day of the week is far-fetched, but the chuckle moments are many and it just adds to the story's expected over-the-topness.

"BAAAAMMMM!!!...time to KICK it up an notch."

Stay to the end, so you can experience the fun cultural 'food' exchange.

4 out 5 ! It had a dinobot and combiner!




Mini-Review of Transformers Galaxies Issue #9 (william-james88)

Full of spoilers below.

This is the story that closes out the Gauge, Greenlight, Arcee story. I'd say this is the best of the recent issues in this Galaxies arc, but there is still a lot to be desired. This is basically the story of someone who was indoctrinated into a cult and then rebels against the cult leader. What is tough here is that we the audience clearly know that Arcee and Greenlight are good guys and the cult leader isn't, so when Gauge talks about conflicting emotions and ideologies that battle in her mind, there is no conflict going on in the reader's mind since we know where she will side with. And even though Gauge states that she must become her own person and not listen to either side, we know that's also bogus because there isn't enough character development for her to be more than a "good" bot.



I do like that Heretech was fleshed out in this reboot. While he was a James Roberts character, we saw very little of him (though I did make the most of it by breaking down a James Robert script page starring Heretech and Megatron in gun mode). He is of course very much a copy of the cult leader archetype trying to make every drink the Kool Aid but I think that's fine since Transformers fiction is always incorporating archetypes into the Transformers world/lore.



Thew best part of the issue, and why I think a Transformers fan should look into it, is the final fight with the three heroines and Heretech. It is almost fully in alt mode. So not only do we have transformations in a Transformers comic, but we see how the alt mode can be weaponized. Heretech becomes a drill tank, which is a vehicle very dear to the heart of Transformers fans. I also like the callback of him (wrongfully) thinking he is the chosen one and becoming the same vehicle that Rung was forcibly converted into in the James Roberts comic book run. Both lend to the theme of false beliefs, lies, heresy and not being the chosen one after all.

In the end, this was fine. Not amazing or groundbreaking, but I still enjoyed it and appreciated seeing more Heretech and drill tanks.

3 out 5 symbols

Comic Reviews for TF vs Terminator #3, TF '84: Secrets and Lies #2 and TF / My Little Pony: Friendship in Disguise! #1

Date: Wednesday, August 19th 2020 8:03pm CDT
Categories: Comic Book News, Reviews, Site Articles
Posted by: Tigertrack

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Views: 68,072

Happy comic book day everyone!

We just wanted to remind you that there is a great variety of comics fiction to be consumed coming out this week (and one from previous weeks).



Just in case you missed it, ScottyP reviews the Transformers Rise of the Decepticons Issue #22.

Also coming available this week, Transformers Vs. The Terminator Issue #3 (mini-review by williamjames)

A lot has happened since the first issue was released for Terminator Vs Transformers 1 but the main things in relation to this books as that since then I watched Terminator Dark Fate and Netflix's Siege series. Both left me underwhelmed. They were both trying something new but also failing at it. Transformers vs Terminator 3 acts as a palette cleanser to both of those by being a fun retelling of the first episodes of the G1 Cartoon and adding the Terminator to it. Everything you'd want as a G1 fan is here including a fight between Optimus and Megatron using their respective energon weapons. And there are transformations aplenty. Everyone feels on point, especially Optimus who is truly the Optimus of yore. It was impossible not to hear Cullen's voice, as it was in the 80s, while reading this comic. All the classic lines are said, and while I didn't need them there, I didn't mind. They at least fit with the G1 pastiche the author is going for. I also really like the fact that the cast is much smaller than other Transformers comics and the Siege show. It makes for a more focused story. Then again, smaller casts on both sides, and one side being warriors while the other one is scientists really speaks to me as a big Beast Wars fan. It's a good formula.

It's basically a greatest hits album

This issue also reminded me of how much of a failure All Hail Megatron was. In just a few panels, this issue shows us just how easy the Decepticons could take over if they were unopposed and we see the destruction and death they cause, something lacking from the actual story of Megatron taking over Earth unopposed. As for the Terminator angle, it was most present at the cliffhanger and while I am impressed at Starscream's genius, it isn't clear how he arrives at his conclusions. I did like the interactions between the Terminator and Arcee.

Speaking of Arcee, she is given a nice new alt mode and Alex Milne has a field day with how it integrates into her robot mode, creating a similar silhouette. I like Milne's art for the most part though I do really miss the cleanliness from his MTMTE days. He adds a lot of lines here to add shadow (like cross hatching without the cross effect) but I don't think it works with the colourist's attempt to show that shadow by using a darker colour. Hand drawn shading is meant to be used to differentiate light and dark against the same colour, so using a darker colour for the shaded parts just makes everything much darker than it needs to be. Still, that doesn't detract from some really mouth watering splash pages. Overall, not only did I enjoy this issue but it's something I needed.

out of 5 stars

Would you believe it, also available for purchase this week, is Transformers 84 Secrets and Lies Issue #2 (tigertrack shares some thoughts)

I think this series is being written for me. I’ve read and re-read the original US Marvel comics series many time, and also the UK Marvel comics series and kind of love consuming them, but they have gotten a bit too familiar, somewhat stale. This series adds a new level of detail and understanding to what previously was. It’s amazingly and lovingly drawn by Gudio Guidi to match classically created character art…even down to the color work done by Jean-Paul Bove being simpler-reminiscent of the 80’s style. Do I think it’s necessary? No. Is it fun. Yeah, I think it is -it totally immerses you into feeling like you are consuming material from the original time period. I also think it allows people newer to the fandom to experience and consume the older stuff without making commitments to whole collections, or graphic novels.


So Marvel TF readers, if you’ve ever wondered what the heck the Dinobots were doing on Earth, when they did not seem to be a part of the ark crew that we knew about (remember this is comics, so not cartoon origin), why Shockwave was not boarding the ark to attack the Autobots pre-planetfall and yet ended up on Earth, or how warlord Straxus received his new home (with a smelting pool even!), you get your answers here. For those up on current and previous IDW lore some of this is going to look REALLY familiar, something writer Simon Furman confirms in his afterthoughts.

Yes, all to familiar and repetitive (*clears throat, whistles*)

I recommend this comic for G1 Dinobot, Shockwave, and Counterpunch fans, as well as, fans of 80’s Marvel series Transformers (hence the title), or someone looking to dip a toe into that end of the fandom. It really is fun, and a nice change of pace from other current fiction. It includes a lot of action, ‘easter eggs’ and adds to the lore, albeit a bit needlessly...Fun, overly thought through continuity hole filling fun.
1/2 out of 5

And finally, from last week, a little share about a little comic subtitled, 'Friendship in Disguise'. There's no doubt about it 'Transformers and My Little Pony' is an unexpected, and fun crossover (thoughts shared by tigertrack and sons).

Fun and friendship is the name here. My boys loved it—and I enjoyed it too). I’m a casual MLP participant, but my boys (8yo and 11yo) are much more refined reading the comics, and watching the movie and cartoons. They were surprised by the crossover idea, and immediately opened it to read when I gave it to them, consuming it in no time.

There’s a lot of tongue-in-cheek fun, and this issue doesn’t take itself too seriously, as I imagine the series probably will reflect that as a theme, as well. Plenty of silliness, and some great sincere messages as well. Sometimes characters play very simple (Windblade, Bumblebee, Optimus Prime), trying to stick close the the main themes, and sometimes they play pretty deep (Arcee). The art reminded me of the ol’ ‘Robot Heroes’ toys from a few years back working to match the style of the ponies in their world. I don't think it's 'just for kids' though. There's fun to be had here for older Transformers (and pony) fans too. Just don't expect anything much above G-rated fun (maybe a little PG). For those with loved ones who like MLP, this is a nice way to introduce them to your love of Transformers, and get to understand their world of MLP, a little better too.

Oh Bumblebee, there's our innocent, thoughtful youth
Yes, there's evil in this book, but it's nice evil...CUTE evil

If you want to be a part of something pretty different in Transformers crossovers, give this a try. You may be happily surprised. And the next issue features a cover with Grimlock and combiners, so… interest level even higher? Or a cover lie? I excitedly cannot wait to find out!



It's worth a shot on cute and fun, but not a great story, yet.
out of 5

All three issues have several covers to choose from, and of course, your mileage could vary from ours.

Check out the VSD entries to see them all.

Transformers Vs. The Terminator Issue #3
Transformers 84 Secrets and Lies Issue #2Transformers and My Little Pony Friendship in Disguise Issue #1