Radio Free Cybertron - All of our Transformers podcasts!

This week: Super7 Ultimates wave 2 is looking pretty good. Well, Grimlock is looking pretty good. We'll hold judgment on the others until later.

News

Super 7 Ultimates Wave 2

Wal-Mart subline leak

8 figures total

5 Deluxe, 2 Voyager, 1 Leader. But not Leader-1, sorry.

Leader supposed to be RID (2001) Scourge

Overall contents said to include “1 RID, 1 G2, 2 Unicron Trilogy, 2 Diaclone, 2 G1”

Strongly hinted figures include Road Rocket, Hauler, Cybertron Override.

This week we round out the leaks from over the weekend. Also, we discuss Fan Fest Friday, new photos of the MP Cliffjumper test shot, MP Shouki, and more!

 

News

RFC News Desk 146 – Generations 2022: Spoiled

Toy News: Official Photos of "Cyberverse" Ultimate Class Hot Rod and Volcanicus

Toy News: Hasbro Pulse Fan Fest Reveals New "Studio Series" 1986 Releases

MP Cliffjumper test shot robot and vehicle mode

First Look at Transformers Masterpiece Raiden Trainbot Shouki Combiner Team Figure?

It's the middle of summer, so that means it's time to spoil almost all of next year's toys! A new Generations trilogy begins next year, with the title "Legacy". The first segment of the Generations Legacy trilogy will be called Evolution, according to the insiders. I suppose "Transformers Generations Legacy Trilogy: Evolution" isn't the most ridiculous full line name we've had in the last few years...

Core Class

* Optimus Prime

* Soundwave

* Skywarp

* Shockwave

* Iguanus

* Energon Monster

Optimus and Soundwave are probably repacks from the Kingdom molds, while Skywarp will be a redeco of this year's Core Class Soundwave.

Deluxe Class

* Wildrider

* Dead End

* Drag Strip

* Breakdown

* Skids

* Kickback

* Crankcase

* Tarantulas

* Arcee

* Pointblank

* Elita-1

* Energon Monster

These don't reflect known wave groupings, by the way. In fact, the Stunticons would probably be around a third wave if they're not spread out over multiple assortments, since they'd be needed to coincide with the long-rumored Motormaster in the summer.

Arcee is supposedly the Transformers Prime character and not a third time up for the Kingdom mold. Likewise, Elita-1 is being hinted heavily to being related to the Nightbeat the inside info folks have been saying for a while was coming in the 2022 line. Meanwhile, a second Energon Monster at the Deluxe level leads me to believe this might be next year's Fossilizer equivalents, though that's purely speculation for now.

Voyager Class

* Soundwave

* Armada Starscream

* Jhiaxus

* Bulkhead

* Inferno

Soundwave is allegedly a repack of the Netflix Earth-mode Soundwave, though probably without the remolded Ravage or Laserbeak. Inferno meanwhile is expected to be the Predacon fire ant, and not a repack of Kingdom Inferno, but only time will tell on that one. And going by 2014 Generations, Jhiaxus and Armada Starscream are probably co-engineered together. Place bets now on whether Jhiaxus will end up orange again...

Leader Class

* Galvatron

* Dragon Megatron

* Laser Optimus Prime

* Blitzwing

Kingdom Galvatron is reshipping next year - hopefully with consistently correct shoulder assembly. The rest should be new toys.

Commander Class has been said for a while to be the Motormaster that would go with the listed new Stunticons, so that seems much more concrete now. Titan Class has also been touched upon, supposedly being based on Transformers Cybertron Metroplex. It'll be a while before we'd have any verification to really back that up, but we know the well is drying up for first-run G1 characters to put in the Titan class, so short of a do-over on G1 Metroplex, branching out to other series is about the only option remaining if Hasbro wants to keep the giant size going.

As ever, bear in mind that these listings are long in advance of product being committed to toolings, or possibly even prototyped, so things can and may change between now and next year. Though generally speaking, listings like this turn out to be pretty accurate. We'll probably get our first official looks at the first wave's worth of toys when Pulsecon kicks off later this year. Unofficially? I don't know, maybe tomorrow?

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This week: Uh, we find out what's coming out in 2022? Mostly?

News

Breaking: Target listings for most/all of wave 1 of next year’s Generations, and some Studio Series. Information via Voltrace and Nova Maximus on TFW

Note: leaked items links go to Autobase Aichi to minimize the credit/attention given to the leakers

Stolen Kingdom Pipes

Stolen Kingdom Shadow Panther

Stolen Selects Blue Bluestreak

Icon Heroes Unicron Pen Holder

Also from Icon Heroes, pin sets using G1 boxart: Grimlock & Ironhide, Starscream & Shockwave

This week we discuss the new wave of Super 7 Ultimates Transformers, and share (mostly!) non-spoiler thoughts on Transformers WFC Kingdom.

News

*  Via Autobase Aichi: Super 7 Ultimates wave ...2?

This week: That sure is a lot of Bumblebee stuff. Oh, and Chris got basically everything. Hope you like toys!

News

RFC News Desk 145 – All About Bees

Masterpiece Crosscut And Nightbird! Plus, A First Look At Cliffjumper?

Premium Finish Wave 4 Revealed: WFC Starscream and Studio Series Ratchet

The Next Fan First Friday Has Been Scheduled!

Fathom Events is doing another theatrical release of Transformers the Movie

It's been a very Buzzworthy Bumblebee weekend. Three new Studio Series vs packs were identified, some of which already having in-store sightings. The new set feature unchanged repacks of previous molds, and include Clunker Bumblebee vs Barricade, High Octane Bumblebee vs Stinger, and VW Bumblebee vs Muscle Car Dropkick. The sets look like they'll be about $43 as they turn up at Targets and probably online before too long.

The Worlds Collide four pack has turned up in stores already, with sightings in at least Texas and New Jersey on Monday. The set may be shipping two per case, with some stores getting at least two cases worth at a time. The retail on this four pack is $84.99.

Finally in Buzzworthy news, Origin Bumblebee, the all-new Deluxe Bumblebee based on the hovercar vehicle form seen in the first episode of the G1 cartoon was found in the Dallas area late last week. One oddity with this release is the absence of a plastic window on the box, instead simply having an open front.

Stock photos were discovered for Cyberverse Deluxe Cheetor, a figure that's been rumored and referenced in inventory datamining for quite a long while now. The figure will ship in Dinobots Unite styled packaging, and features armor pieces instead of standard blast effects. Expected release timeframe is currently unknown.

And rounding things out, Commander Class Rodimus Prime and the Titan The Ark have hit US retail, with in store sightings at a few Targets, as well as online availability from walmart.com in the case of the Ark. Online inventory went fast this past Friday, but some of the orders have already been fulfilled and delivered over the weekend.

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This Week: Masterpiece Nightbird? I hope she scales with MP-36.

News

Seeing RED: Optimus Primal & Reformatting Megatron RED Collection Figures Revealed

Masterpiece Nightbird!?

This is the Radio Free Cybertron review podcast of War for Cybertron: Kingdom, on Netflix.

Kingdom debuts July 29th, 2021!

 

Minor spoilers ahead. 

I'm going to keep this brief. As this is a pre-release review of Masters of the Universe Revelations, you really just want to know if it's worth your time, or if I liked it.

The answer is yes. I enjoyed it and I think it's worth your time.

Have a good day!

Okay, we can go a little deeper than that, but I do want to keep spoilers to a bare minimum as we dig in. First thing’s first, there's a time jump after the first episode, which is important, and some characters die throughout the series. Not saying who, not saying when, but expect it to happen.

If that bothers you a little, Masters of the Universe characters dying on-screen, then you're probably like me. 

I guess that’s the whole sticking point with me and this series. Masters of the Universe Revelations is supposed to be a continuation of the original He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon from the 1980s, but I question that a little bit. In general, Revelations is respectful to the source material, but it doesn’t take its source material too seriously--just itself. Deaths come more frequently than I would like, and that just doesn't feel authentic to the spirit of the original series, which was a show for children. It's funny how characters who managed to survive hundreds of episodes or issues of their earliest adventures somehow manage to die routinely when they're pulled out of mothballs for an older audience. 

Other small tweaks bug me as well. Adam, for example, is presented as small and somewhat scrawny. In the original cartoon, he was a doppelganger for He-Man and no one noticed. Is it silly that Adam looked like He-Man? Absolutely. Is that an indelible part of the charm and actual canon of Masters of the Universe? I'd argue yes. Is this a minor complaint? Most likely. But this is a series full of minor complaints. 

Heck, the much-lauded voice cast bugs me a bit.  For example, Alan Oppenheimer's voice is core to who Skeletor is. If Oppenheimer is too old or frail to play the part, cast someone in the role who at least tries to sound like Skeletor. Instead, we have Mark Hammil playing The Joker, more or less. It just never clicks with me. Oh, and since we have The Joker, we also have Batman. They just call him Mer-Man. Literally, it’s the same voice. Mer-Man’s original voice is probably silly forty years later, but it is what it is. The change made here just feels arbitrary and wrong.

The voice cast is one of the selling points of the series, and it’s mostly good. I actually really enjoyed Sarah Michell Geller as Teela--which is fortunate because she is the series lead.

Yes, Teela is the lead character of the series. The story of He-Man takes a break after the first episode, and we focus on Teela for the remainder of this season. I am entirely okay with that, in practice. In theory, it should feel kind of like a bait and switch--the series that this is supposedly a continuation of Is HE-MAN and the Masters of the Universe, and I wouldn't blame someone if they felt a little bit cheated by that. But it doesn’t bother me.

Overall, the series takes itself a bit too seriously for my tastes, even though they throw in some corny jokes along the way--those jokes feel like they're intended to juxtapose the corniness of the original series to this series, with its more modern sensibilities and sophistication. Honestly, I could do with a bit more corniness and faithfulness to the original series.

But like I said in my opening statement, I enjoyed Masters of the Universe Revelations. It really is fun, and Kevin Smith is a good storyteller.

Be forewarned, the season, or half-season, ends on a cliffhanger. I won't say what happens, but it felt like it was trying to poke a bear. Take that for what you will.

In closing,