10 Transformers That Need More Exposure Part II

I hope everyone enjoyed the Part I of this two part article.  Without further ado, here is the second half.

Jazz

www.botchthecrab.com

Look, I know that Jazz has been featured a lot in the IDW comcics, but I don't believe he's been used to his full potential.  Up until the soft reboot that was All Hail Megatron, Jazz was just another Autobot.  He was featured in the background, did some neat things like fight alongside Wolverine, and that was about it.  Then All Hail Megatron happened.  The best thing to come out of that series was Jazz got something of a reboot himself.

With Optimus Prime severely damaged, Jazz was in command of the Autobots.  Jazzimus Prime, so to speak.  While he didn't do much during his time in command, a very interesting Spotlight issue was published that really established a different side to the cool cat Autobot.  It turned out that Jazz is a one man wrecking crew.  Millions of years ago, Jazz rescued an injured Tracks behind enemy lines and took on the Predacons single-handed.  That's one bad 'bot.

Once Mike Costa launched the Ongoing series, Jazz got to kill a human and then get taken out of the field.  After the Chaos event, Jazz wrote poetry.  I'll say that again.  Jazz left the Autobots to join the NAILS and now writes poetry.  Ugh.

Really and truly, just read the last paragraph again to understand why Jazz is an under served character.  This guy could be the Jason Bourne or James Bond of the Autobot ranks.  Instead, he does nothing.  I don't begrudge anyone for writing poetry.  I fully support the arts, but Jazz isn't a poet.  He's a special ops agent who needs to be in the field doing what he does.  Unless this is some sort of setup by James Barber and Jazz is just undercover.  If so, bravo good sir, bravo.

Piranacon

www.botchthecrab.com

I'm guessing Devastator is the only gestalt the Decepticons have?  Sure, Menasor showed up that one time, and then there's Monstructor.  I don't count Monstructor as a Decepticon in the comics since he really works for Jhiaxus.  So that leaves Devastator.  Lonely Devastator.  What confounds me is that the Decepticon gestalts outnumber the Autobot ones 2-1, and yet we only get Devastator.  The giant who can't think because his components are always arguing.  Like all of the other Decepticon combiners.  Except for Predaking and, most successfully, Piranacon.

What do you get when you have six, sometimes five, robots that like to hunt so much that they love to stay combined to the point that their leader has to install a timer so they don't run out of Energon?  A ferocious killer, of course.  Piranacon is the ideal gestalt.  He's apparently so ideal that no one has decided to use him in anything.  Except for that one time he grabbed Scorponok's ship in the Marvel series.  The Seacons as a whole haven't gotten any love in the IDW-verse.  Except for the mention that Nautilator sounds like Megatron.

Gotta stretch before you grab a spaceship.  www.tfwiki.net

Look, I get that Devastator is the first.  I understand that Monstructor is all new and shiny, that Menasor and Bruticus are sexy to a lot of writers' because they were in the cartoons.  That leaves poor old Piranacon out in the cold.  Just think about a gestalt fight where the gestalt isn't slow and stupid, but quick, agile, and cunning.  Seriously, just think about it for a bit and see if you don't agree with me.  I know I do.

Reflector

TFWiki.net

Viewfinder, Spyglass, and Spectro - the original gestalt?  I'm a big fan of this guy (guys?).  Reflector got a lot of love during the first season of the animated series, but has pretty much disappeared since.  He showed up once in the Marvel run, once in the Dreamwave run, and a few times in the IDW-verse.  That was before Viewfinder wound up with a steel beam in his chest and died.  So now Reflector is no more, I'm assuming, which is stupid.

Reflector should be out there blackmailing his fellow Decepticons, bartering their compliance for power.  Maybe reporting back to Megatron.  Being a spy, Reflector should be under Soundwave's purview anyway, so perhaps there's that.  More than that, I'd like to see how the rest of the Decepticons react around him, with all three components talking at the same time.  I'm certain they'd be unnerved by him.  How do you refer to a being like Reflector?  Plural or singular?

"Let's see what we can see what someone does with me."

 TFWiki.net

Sure, more and more people are using cell phones to take their pictures now, so maybe that's why he's not being used as much.  Then again, many, many people still use cameras.  It's not like cameras are going away anytime soon. 

Computron

TFWiki.net

In the IDW-verse, the Decepticons currently have Devastator and Menasor.  Maybe Monstructor, but I tend to think of Jhiaxus as more of an opposing faction to the rest of the Transformers, so that leaves Monstructor off the table.  And the Autobots have...squat.  It's time to rectify that.  As Skids told the Ammonites in The Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye #22,  "We're close to perfecting combiner technology!"  So why not let the science bots known as the Technobots experiment on themselves to become the first Autobot gestalt?  What's that?  Most of them died on the Kimia facility?  Doesn't matter.  Hardhead was dead and he came back.  Ditto for every other Transformer.

Computron is my favorite of the Autobot combiners.  You know, all three of them.  Quick little rant - Why are there only three Autobot combiners?  That's just ridiculous.  Say there's an all out gestalt battle, how do they overcome those odds?  Idiotic.  Sorry, rant over.

Where was I?  Ah, yes, Computron is under used.  The Autobots seem to be full of science bots, but I don't think too many of them are an analytical as Computron.  Will Grimlock be the one to unlock the keys of combiner technology allowing the Technobots to do their thing?  Who knows?  I'd like to find out. 

The Technobots, as a group, have really led something of a charmed life in the IDW books.  They went from being non-entities to being featured pretty heavily in Furman's later "-tion" books and the Stormbringer miniseries.  To have 3/5 of the team killed defending Cybertron from Galvatron is fitting, I suppose, but I know that James Roberts can bring them back.  He has to.

Logic dictates it.  TFWiki.net

Punch

TFWiki.net

Talk about a clean slate.  This guy hasn't been in anything.  He's been mentioned in the comics, but that's it.  One time in Regeneration One, but that's it.  He may be the deep cover agent that Springer mentioned in the comics once, but nothing has ever materialized from that seemingly throwaway statement.  There's also the matter of IDW still needing to release their proposed miniseries about Punch.

There's just so much potential with Punch that I don't even know where to start.  Deep cover agent reporting back to Prime about the workings of the Decepticons?  The psychological toll that it's taking on him being a double agent?  The near constant threat of being caught?  What if Punch were actually a triple agent?  Perhaps he had been found out and turned by the Decepticons.  Man, that I'm getting delirious just thinking about it.

I'm actually surprised that James Roberts hasn't planted this guy into a comic somewhere.  Still, there is hope that Punch will get the exposure that he deserves.  In 2010, IDW did announce a miniseries starring Punch with some sort of top secret creative team.  You know, at the rate that Nick Roche works, he could be writing and drawing this.  That would be very welcome. 

Well thus ends the second chapter of this topic, and with it, my contribution to the topic.  For now.  Are there any characters that you think are deserving of more screen time?  Let me know what you think.

MP-18 Masterpiece Streak

Finally!  After a decade of Masterpiece figures, we're finally treated to the figure I've been dying to get - Bluestreak!  Ever since I MP-01 was released, I've been pining for the day I'd get a Fairlady Z Masterpiece figure.  I've sat through multiple iterations of Prime, Seekers, Megatron, Grimlock, the somewhat bad Rodimus Prime, multiple Lamborghini uses, and finally he's here!  Was he worth the wait?

If you've gotten MP-17 Prowl, then you're pretty familiar with how MP-18 transforms and works.  The devil, however, is in the details.  There are a few differences between Prowl and Bluestreak.  The first is that the head sculpts are different.  I was expecting them to have the same heads, just in different colors.  Nice surprise.

Short horns on the crest

Long horns on the crest

There is also a difference in vehicle mode as well.  Since Bluestreak doesn't have a light bar, he doesn't have the peg to attach his weapon for an attack mode.  Or does he?

Just a plain old 280z...

What's this?

There is a little peg that you can flip up from the hood that allows for the gun to attach.

The more I look at Bluestreak, the more enamored I become.  He his spot on to his animated character model.  The colors are just brilliant.  I'm very excited to have a Bluestreak with the black hood.  Which just serves to remind me that I need to get the eHobby version.

If I could go back in time and tell my eight-year-old self that I'd have a super poseable Bluestreak when I was in my 30's, I'd probably sucker punch myself for telling a lie.  Then I'd jump up and down.  Seriously, just check out the red legs and silver shins and feet.  Just gorgeous.

Bluestreak loves to squat

I decided to splurge for Bluestreak, so I ordered the version from BBTS that came with the collector coin.  I was shocked to discover that getting the collector coin also gave you a chromed launcher, which I thought was only a Japanese Amazon.com exclusive.  Hopefully Smokescreen will come with one as well.  If not, I'll be hitting up eBay for the other one.

I like the coin.  It's pretty jazzy.  Even if I don't want to open it.

How many Shanix is this worth?

I'll end this post with the obligatory shots of Bluestreak hanging out with all of the other in-scale Autobots.  Just for fun.

"Pull over!"

Bros shaking hands

Prime's guards

Look to the sky!

10 Transformers That Need More Exposure Part I

We truly live in a Golden Age of Transformers comics.  With Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye, Transformers: Robots in Disguise, and Transformers: Regeneration One, more and more Transformers are seeing exposure beyond the supposed core cast.  Characters such as Hot Rod, Ultra Magnus, Skids, Swerve, Tailgate, Metalhawk and even Chromedome have been given great focus and characterization.  These are truly great times for the Transformer comic enthusiast.  Even with the ever-expanding cast, there are still those characters that I feel could use more exposure.  Here then, for your reading enjoyment, are the first five characters on my list, in no particular order.

Smokescreen

www.botchthecrab.com

Know who loves Smokescreen?  Hasbro and Takara.  Just looking at his TFWiki profile, he's had two reissues of his original figure, essentially 4 Binaltech figures,Classics and Henkei figures and he's now a hotly anticipated Masterpiece figure.  That's a lot of love.

Do you know who doesn't seem to like Smokescreen?  Writers.  Sure, he's been in every iteration of a comic published by whatever company is holding the license at the time, but it's always been as a background guy.  Fighting Thunderwing?  Better throw Smokescreen in there.  Everyone knows him, but no one's done anything to really to give any kind of personality.  Except for the TV show.

Yes, Smokescreen had an entire episode dedicated to him and it really colored my opinion on him.  Thanks to this episode, I think that this how Smokescreen should be portrayed - as an inveterate gambler.

Don't start thinking that I want an entire three issue story arc dedicated to Smokescreen in some, ahem, smoke filled room playing poker or attending robot bird fights.  Instead, I've always thought of Smokescreen as a risk taker on the outside, but on the inside he's someone that's rigged the risks in his favor so he's not really taking that big a risk.  Think Longshot from The X-Men combined with Hot Rod and Prowl.  Then again, I would like to see a scene where Bumblebee and Cosmos have to drag Smokescreen out of a casino so he can help in a battle.  I dig it, how about you?

Bluestreak

www.botchthecrab.com

How about that - another Datsun!  And my favorite character to boot!  Bluestreak is the bee's knees.  And like any great Marvel superhero, he has a tragic back story.

Here's Bluestreak's TFWiki profile:

Bluestreak is a talker. He talks a lot. Any subject, any time of the day, his lips are flapping while his Autobot comrades are rolling their eyes. Could be about things on Earth, could be about things on Cybertron, could be about just about anything, but the point is, y'know, he's talking. Words are coming out of his mouth in a near constant prattling stream. Some think he's vapid, that his mouth just moves a billion times faster than his brain, if his brain is moving at all. Or they imagine that he's a fool who doesn't know when to shut up, that he drones on and on and on and on because maybe he just likes to hear himself speak or something.

His friends realize, however, that his jabbering hides a deeper pain. At the beginning of the war, Bluestreak's home city was totally destroyed by Decepticons. He was the only survivor. It's as if by talking he tries to drown out his own fears and memories somehow. "There's some demons runnin' loose inside that boy," says Hound, "and sometimes I think they grab hold of him and won't let him go." He hated war, he still does, but ever since, he's hated Decepticons even more. It is odd to see a bot of peace so willingly take up arms, but Bluestreak's got a score to settle.

Talk may be cheap, but it keeps him sane. 

So Bluestreak has some sort of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?  Survivor's Guilt?  Is he Spider-Man?  That...that could work.  

Why not? www.tfwiki.com

I honestly think that Bluestreak was meant for bigger and better things in the the IDW universe.  He commanded his own squadron in Stormbringer.  He did have some speaking lines during Costa's Ongoing run, but nothing really materialized.  From my understanding, James Roberts wanted to include Bluestreak as part of the Lost Light crew, but John Barber wanted to use him RiD.  This turned out to be a bad move as Bluestreak has been relegated to the background.  Ugh.  Maybe Hot Rod can take Bluestreak with him once Dark Cybertron ends.  Hopefully.

Battletrap

www.botchthecrab.com

Ah, Battletrap, the perennial background character.  He's used whenever a writer or artist wants to prove that they're about more than the 1984-86 guys.  Maybe he's mentioned as a weird science project; an early precursor to the triple changing process.  But there's more...much more there, I believe.

Duocons are a nifty concept, if you ask me.  They're small scale gestalts.  And with Flywheels meeting an unfortunate end at the hands of the Decepticon Justice Division, Battletrap is the only one left.  With his huge feet.  Where was I?  Yes, interesting concept.  The amazing thing to me is that with the Duocons, both vehicles appear to be sentient beings in their own right as demonstrated by the two halves of Flywheels arguing all of the time.  But whereas Flywheels two halves fought, Battletrap's have achieved a sense of camaraderie.  If you call squishing foes together with your two halves camaraderie.

www.seibertron.com

I had intended for this to be about Flywheels, as I prefer him over Battletrap, but as I stated above, he's dead.  Anyway, I think that just exploring the dynamic behind the Duocons would be fascinating.  How did the Duocons come to be?  Were they an experiment or were they constructed that way?  Are they gestalts?  Are the two halves truly sentient?  These are questions just screaming to be answered.

Roadblock

www.botchthecrab.com

First off, I think that Pretenders as a whole are under represented.  From the great origin presented in Stormbringer to the first successful use of the process in Revelation, the presentation in the IDW-verse has been top notch.  But Roadblock hasn't been represented in the comics other than as a cameo.  It's time someone changed that.

The biggest sticking point in the comics, whether it's been Marvel or IDW, has been the lack of Decepticons.  While I like Jhiaxus, Straxus and their ilk, I don't really understand their inclusion.  There are tons of characters with great bios that have been produced in plastic form, but haven't been given their due.  Why?

Roadblock is a ground forces commander that uses fear to motivate his troops.  Then again, I can imagine that most Decepticon commanders are the same way.  His uncompromising disposition has caused those under his command to get promoted just to get away from him!  I'll admit that there isn't much to work with here, but there's enough.  It's not like there was a ton of characterization with Skids before he blew up in popularity.  He may not be a featured character, but maybe used in an issue to explain how a character got to his position as a flashback.  It's worth a shot.

Jetfire

Why is he on this list?  He's been featured plenty in the comics!  Well, he was under Simon Furman, but then he just kind of disappeared.  Not that it's a bad thing, as it made room for other characters to shine.  Still, I think there's room for him as more than a background guy now.

Jetfire is a scientist, even if his tech spec bio gives him the function of "Air Guardian".  Let's see, during the "-tion" comics, Jetfire was responsible for finding a way to beat Thunderwing when he first went insane, defeated Jhiaxus, and perfected Pretender technology.  Then he was used as an air guardian and then Apeface shot him.  

So I guess that there's only room in the group for one main scientist.  Once the Autobots returned to Cybertron, Wheeljack became the science guy whilst Perceptor became the science guy in space with Hot Rod.  Can't there be more than one science guy?  Besides, what exactly has Wheeljack done during this time?  He launched a rocket into Cybertron's orbit to help stabilize Energon flow, and got shot by a brainwashed Prowl and killed.  Maybe killed.  Surely Jetfire could have done that and a better job to boot.  I seriously doubt Jetfire would've been killed.  Then again, Jetfire did get punked by Apeface, so what I do know?

Well, that's it for Part I.  Are there any characters that you feel have been under served?  Sound off in the comments!

Anime Devastator

Have you ever purchased a figure and instantly regretted it?  To be perfectly honest, I've never regretted a purchase.  Ever.  That is until I purchased Anime Devastator, Encore 20A.  As soon as he shipped, I wanted to cancel the order, but it was too late.  It's not that it's a horrible release, not by a long shot.  I just don't see the point, I guess.

In 2011, TakaraTomy released Devastator as the 20th Encore figure.  He was apparently reverse engineered from a set of existing toys since the original mold had been lost to time.  Or KO manufacturers.  I picked up this release since it was easier to get this than to track down decent Constructicons at good prices.  Fast forward to 2013 and TakaraTomy decided to jazz up Devastator with a more yellow version of Devastator replete with a new head sculpt that better emulated his look from the cartoon.  Oh, and Mixmaster would now feature a purple mixing drum.  Imaginatively titled Encore 20A - Anime Devastator, this release seemed to be met with a solid "Ho-Hum" from everyone.  Especially me.

I'm still not sure what prompted me to pull the trigger on this purchase.  Once I got him and opened him up, I just put the decals on and combined the Constructicons into Devastator and put him with the other Devastator.  It turns out that there are quite a few differences besides the head and drum.

Above, you can check out the differences in the heads.  The newer head is up front.  It does look better, I suppose.  I guess he should be tearing down Autobot City.

 Anime Devastator features black forearms as opposed to the purple of regular Devastator.

Long Haul got some paint apps on the front of his truck grill.  He also got his headlights painted.

Mixmaster has the purple drum, plus red eyes.  The silver is absent from his forehead, however.

Scrapper has a more defined head thanks to the paint apps.

Bonecrusher has red eyes and his face is better defined thanks to the application of silver.

Ditto for Scrapper.

Hook has red eyes.  His head looks a lot better.

I think that my biggest problem with this release is that I feel as though TakaraTomy should have just done this release over the original Encore release.  It's just superfluous, I guess.  I'll be more positive on my next post, I promise.

The Endgame

Think about an end you can live with

Think about an end I can give you

Think about an end that'll satisfy
Lyrics from "Think About an End" by Anthrax

I like to think of myself as a reflective and introspective person; almost overly analytical.  For over the past decade, I've been hemming and hawing about what my ultimate endgame would be in regards to collecting.  And for the vast majority of those years, that plan has shifted constantly.  It's only within the last year that I've achieved any kind of focus .
  

The first figure I ever bought on secondary market was Afterburner.  My original Afterburner broke, and I was in need of a replacement, so I decided to test some uncharted waters and ordered him.  That was in 2001.  Since then, I've given myself various ages to get out of the game, so to speak.  I was 24 in 2001 and I gave myself until I was 25 to get out.  Once I hit 25, I pushed that to 28.  Just a few more vintage guys, I kept telling myself.  I'm getting too old for this was a prevailing thought in my head.  This was getting me nowhere.

Here's the thing: it's not like I want to get out of collecting all together; I buy new figures all of the time.  Rather, I've always been looking at an exit strategy for vintage figures.  It's insane for anyone to think that they'd be able to get every figure made.  Especially if you're behind the 8 ball, like I am/was.  Even more so once you find out about Generation 1 figures that you had never even heard of from Japan or Europe.

Ten years ago, I figured I had maybe 100 or so figures to get.  Then about seven years ago, I found out about the Japanese exclusive figures.  My heart sank.  There was no way that I could ever hope to catch up.  In crisis, I just shutdown.  What could I ever hope to accomplish?  I decided to just stick to newer figures like CHUGS, Binaltech and Masterpiece and the Takara Reissues.  At least I could stay current with those.

My thinking started to change around the time I started this blog.  I'm not really sure what kicked it in, but I really wanted to get a nice even number with my collection and then stop.  Then I just went nuts and decided to get everything.  Now, that I've calmed down a bit, I have a very sensible and reasoned approach to my collection. Even if my wife doesn't think so.

My main goal is to finish the U.S. figures. With luck and skill, I should have that finished in two years.  Hopefully.  At my current rate of acquisition.  This is all in a vacuum and doesn't factor in announcements of new Masterpiece figures, reissues, or interesting Generations figures.  Seriously, as of now, I already have five Masterpiece figures preordered for 2014.  Five!  And based on how Hasbro started off 2013 with the horrid War for Cybertron figures, I had no clue that we'd get Trailbreaker, Hoist, Skids or freaking Metroplex.  Who saw those coming?  

I might not always know what my next vintage purchase will be, but I do at least know what my last figure will be.  

TFwiki.net

Action Master Prime was the last G1 figure I got as a present from my parents.  I sold all of Action Masters several years ago for ridiculous prices and regretted it ever since.  I think that ending on AM Prime makes sense.  Told you I had a plan.  

So now that just leaves me with the Japanese and European stuff.  It would be pointless of me to try to get them all.  I'm thinking that I may try to get a few, but with prices trending the way they are, I find that highly dubious.  I may stand pat with the U.S. stuff and hope for some Encore releases to plug any non- U.S. holes.  Hopefully.

Not in the cards.  For now.  Tfwiki.net

Him either.  Tfwiki.net

While I'm in no way looking to get out of the hobby, I know that one day I'll get to the point where vintage may not be viable.  Thanks to my plan, I think that I will feel comfortable with wherever I am when the day comes.  The main point with collecting, as always, is to have fun while doing it.  No matter what, I'm always having fun.  What about you?  Do you have an exit strategy?

Orion Pax

Picture it - millions of years ago on Cybertron, a young dock worker is introduced to a charismatic Decepticon named Megatron.  Megatron duped this young 'bot into giving him a tour of the dockyards.  As thanks for the tour, Megatron did extensive damage to the 'bot, nearly killing him, his best friend, and girlfriend.  Thanks to the timely intervention of a kind tinkerer, the young 'bot was reconstructed into a new, more powerful body - Optimus Prime.  Megatron had just created his own downfall.  This turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as Optimus initially looked like this in his former life:

Perms aren't just for women...

Picture it - millions of years ago, on Cybertron, a young police Captain made a name for himself by battling corruption and standing up for what was right.  One of those acts was releasing a falsely imprisoned Megatron and telling him to keep up the good work.  After raising the ire of the corrupt Senate, this young policebot was befriended and mentored by an honest Senator, given an upgraded body replete with a Matrix cavity.  This would prove to be fortuitous, as this policebot would become Optimus Prime.

Riding dead comrades is one way to battle corruption

 Did you know that both of the above 'bots are one and the same?  The name of that robot who would one day rise to become Optimus Prime?  Orion Pax.  The first version of Orion Pax was introduced in the classic G1 cartoon "War Dawn" episode.  As you can see, he looked nothing like Optimus Prime.  Other than the rockin' 'do, the most obvious thing about Orion Pax is that he has a mouth.  After his evolution in to Optimus Prime, he would get a faceplate.

The funny thing about the IDW version of Orion Pax is that he starts out with a faceplate, but after some modifications by Senator Shockwave, he's given a mouth.  And then he becomes Optimus Prime and gets the faceplate back.  For reasons.

Faceplate

Upgraded with new and improved mouth!

Which, when you think about it, is pretty funny.  He went form looking like Optimus Prime, to getting upgraded to new body with a Matrix cavity that looked nothing like Optimus Prime to yet another upgrade that made him look like his older self.  The reason for this is, of course, is artistic gaffe or decision by IDW.  Still, I kind of chuckle when I think about it.

So, thanks to IDW and Hasbro, we know have a figure based on the middle version of Optimus Prime's evolution - the Orion Pax with a mouth.  Honestly, I had a few reservations about this figure once I saw preview pictures of him online.  For starters, he looked so small.  Frail, even.  To top it off, that head!  It was tiny!  It was as though a kid had put his dad's suit on.  Would this figure be released with such a tiny noggin?  Would Hasbro actually release a sickly precursor to the great and powerful Optimus Prime?  In short, yes, yes they would.

Here's Orion Pax as he is in package - robot mode.  You can see the similarities to Orion Pax and Optimus Prime in this figure.  First you have the obvious red and blue color scheme.  There's a window on his chest to boot.  Hmm...that rifle looks familiar as well.  Prime doesn't carry an axe, so that's Pax specific.  As are the blades on the side of the arm.  Note the miniscule head.  Still Hasbro did an amazing job of capturing the comic version's likeness. 

I did have some reservations about this figure's ability to strike a pose, as I've had with every other figure from this assortment.  After some fiddling around, I was able to get some fairly decent poses out of Orion Pax.

They aren't perfect, but I like them. The head is still a little jarring, but I can live with it.  Like the rest of his assortment cohorts, Orion Pax's head does not look up or down, only left and right.  As evidenced by the photo above, the axe that he comes with features an extremely long handle.  Apparently, like Drift, Orion Pax can hold the axe with both hands.  However, I could only get it to look like he was swinging a bat or something, not like he's about to chop off an opposing criminal's arm or head.

Awkward...

Did you know that Orion Pax transforms into a truck?  I find it hard to believe!  A version of Optimus that's a truck?  Innovative and out there, I know.

Here's a bit of a top-down view for your enjoyment:

I really do like this mode.  It's a reminiscent of the War for Cybertron truck mode.  Man, is it sharp.  In the included Spotlight: Orion Pax issue that accompanies this figure, Orion at one point hauls a trailer.  This has, naturally, led to a 3rd party company creating said trailer.  I'm good with just the cab.  I think that the trailer will also come with a new head of ol' Pax as well. 
See the hole on the side rear of the truck?  There's another one on the opposite side.  Unlike when I was a kid, Hasbro has been kind enough to incorporate weapon storage in vehicle mode for most of it's figures.  The rifle and axe can attach to these ports for an attack mode.  I'm not too fond of how the axe looks when it's attached, but that's just me.

When I first saw the preview pictures of Orion Pax online, I was troubled with a lot of things about him.  Small head, articulation, mouth, and figure size all made me doubtful that this would be a decent figure.  After playing with him for quite a bit, I think that he may be my favorite figure of the assortment.