Cybertronian Optimus Prime In Brief

Cybertronian Optimus Prime is a new reinterpretation of the Autobot hero from the War for Cybertron video game. He has excessive articulation and seems to feel more expensive than other toys at this scale. Clearly, this is not a good toy for tiny hands. Well worth the $13-$15.

Introduction

There have been many Cybertronian Optimus Prime toys, although not many that were by any means "normal." We have an Animated model, a die-cast metal version from The War Within comic books, and a few odds and ends. This one is notable because it seems to take inspiration from an unused TransTech design, plus it came out within days of the War for Cybertron video game which inspired it.

He turns from a weird alien truck thing to a robot, like pretty much every Optimus Prime toy (except most are Earth trucks). The true nature of this character has yet to be revealed in terms of if you should think of him as the original Prime, an alternate history Prime, or the start of an entirely new continuity/storyline. The latter seems to be the way things are going, this may well be "Ultimate G1" and the start of something pretty cool.

Robot

Cybertronian Optimus Prime's articulation is pretty astonishing. It makes sense that Hasbro opted to package him in robot mode, as you get to see just how many parts and pieces make up this complex figure. The figure has multiple joints on each arm-- an elbow, a shoulder, even a swivel wrist which is something you don't see much of on this toy line. More astonishing for a toy of this size, though, are double-jointed knees. Hasbro really went all out on this one, even including some sort of kneecap joint which doesn't seem to have any purpose at all. We checked the character designs, it seems it may well be a superfluous detail.

The figure is about 6-inches tall, and his transforming blaster can be used in a variety of ways. He can hold it in his fist (left image), or plug it into a hole on either forearm (as seen in the right image). Hasbro even integrated a place to mount it on his back in robot mode, which is about as close to thinking of everything as you can get on a toy like this.

While lacking in deco, the figure does sport an impressive amount of detail and it seems the toy's budget went squarely into tooling. There's even a Cybertronian Autobot-esque, Primus-ey logo on his back which you only see during transformation! Assembling this toy seems like it must be a nightmare, but if you put it together piece-by-piece you could notice all the grooves, panels, bumps, and other mechanical doodads which give this figure a less-cartoonish look than you may be used to on a toy of this scale. The paint is lacking, but they did try something new-- rather than the seemingly traditional yellow highlight coloring, he is covered with pink markings.

Prime's exaggerated head seems to have more in common with the comics than the toys, as his antenna are unusually long. His light-up eyes function well, and the silver for his face mask and forehead crest seems to have turned out just fine. Another color might have brought it a little more life, but it certainly looks fairly bad-ass enough as it is.

Vehicle

It's a truck! We think. There's only so many forms a stylized semi can take, particularly when it has to evoke the legacy of Optimus Prime. Having said that, it seems like the designers may have taken a cue from the unused TransTech designs to make something a little more alien. They also bulked it up a bit, which makes it look and feel a little more like the toys so many children of the 1980s lusted after.

As is the case with most Deluxe-class toys, the vehicle holds together pretty well. The transformation is quite complex, so do use the instructions, but everything eventually massages together into the streamlined, windowless vehicle you see before you. Like the action figure, there is a place to store the gun on the back. The gun does need to be "collapsed" slightly, which is easy as its spring-loaded auto-transformation gimmick seems to allow for storage in all sorts of places.

The wheels roll, it looks cool, there's really not much else to say about it. Other than the gun rack, there are no additional play features in vehicle mode.

Additional Accessories

Cybertronian Optimus Prime includes a transforming gun. It basically folds over itself for easy storage.

Comparisons

Cybertronian Optimus Prime is about the size of your average current "deluxe" car, making him shorter than his previous "Classics" self by a good head and change.

From left to right: Cybertronian Optimus Prime (2010, Generations), Optimus Prime (2006, Classics).

Packaging & Shipments

This toy came packaged in the first wave style Transformers Generations packaging with a compliment of paper twist-ties, which are much more easily removed than the plastic and wire ones used for most of the past 15 years. The bubble also has a sticker advertising the HUB Network, a Hasbro-owned cable channel which won't launch until October of 2010, which at this moment is in the far-flung future.

It's about standard for Transformers these days-- mostly red, a big bubble, and not a lot of cross-promotion as of late. The figure first hit stores in June 2010 with casemates Thrust, Drift, and War for Cybertron Bumblebee. In the initial assortment, each shipped at two per shipping case. However, at the same time (or a little earlier with some online accounts) a case shipped with 4 Primes and 4 Bumblebee. So technically, these two hit first.

Fin

This is a complicated action figure, but is a unique enough spin on the character that it qualifies as new enough to warrant buying. Expect mild frustration transforming him, but expect great things from the robot mode. There are so many joints here that you can fidget with him for weeks.

Reviewed and photographed by Adam Pawlus
Sample purchased via Amazon.com in June 2010 for $14.99
Reviewed on July 15, 2010.