Generation 2 Drag Strip

This is another one of those ultra expensive, ultra rare Transformers from the Generation 2 era. Drag Strip was originally planned to be rereleased with the other Stunticons and Protectobots as part of the Transformers: Generation 2 toy line, but all of those figures were ultimately cancelled. Only a few carded samples of the Stunticon limbs (minus the BotCon exclusive Breakdown which has many samples) are known to exist. Drag Strip is a direct remold of the original figure from Generation One. The only difference is he has an entirely new color scheme. He is one of the few Generation 2 combiner repaints that actually looked good with a new color scheme. If you find him on eBay, be prepared to pay a fortune for him (say, well over $5,000).

Roll For It

After taking a short hiatus, here is another entry for the ol' blog. This entry is for the fifth episode of the original Transformers animated series entitled Roll For It. This episode definitely ranks as one of my favorite episodes of the original cartoon. After Megatron's apparent destruction after being pulled into the Space Bridge, Starscream has taken control of the Decepticons. He leads an attack on a power plant, but he is thwarted by Optimus Prime and the Autobots. After their defeat, Prowl and Bluestreak follow the Decepticons as they go to make repairs on themselves. Meanwhile, back on Cybertron, it is revealed that Megatron is in fact alive. He tells Shockwave that he must get back to Earth as he fears what damage Starscream is doing in his absence. He contacts his Earth bound forces, and tells Starscream and Thundercracker that their plan to steal the anti-matter formula will take place when he returns. Megatron then takes the Space Bridge back to Earth.

Rumble meets Megatron, and reports that Reflector is getting the access codes to the laboratory where the formula is housed. Bumblebee and Spike arrive at the same lab with their new ally Chip Chase. The professor gives Chip a disk which will allow his home computer to connect to the lab. After they leave, they are attacked by Laserbeak. After Bumblebee escapes, Megatron decides to attack the lab at once rather than wait for Starscream, Thundercracker, and Soundwave. Prowl and Bluestreak follow Starscream to a jet hanger where they are getting parts to repair themselves. The two are outnumbered, and Soundwave damages Prowl. Prowl then links up with another computer (Chip's) as his battle computer is off line. Chip them "pilots" Prowl, and he and Bluestreak defeat Starscream, Thundercracker, and Soundwave. Meanwhile, Megatron learns that the professor has transfered the anti-matter to Chip's computer. He orders Starscream's squad to find the computer and steal the formula. Chip hears the Decepticons arrive, so he decides to rip up the disc that now contains the formula. Soundwave sends Ravage to capture Chip.

Starscream and company bring Chip to the lab as Optimus Prime and the Autobots arrive. Soundwave scans Chip's brain, and extracts the anti-matter formula. Megatron then orders for Chip's termination. Meanwhile, Prime then enacts a plan to rescue Chip and hopefully stop the Decepticons. Hound and Mirage distract Rumble, and infiltrate the lab with Spike and Bumblebee. The Autobots rescue Chip, and Optimus Prime smashes through the main wall to bring in the other Autobots. However, Megatron detonates a newly created anti-matter Energon Cube and nearly destroys the lab. The Autobots are all heavily damaged, and they retreat to the Ark for repairs. The Decepticons then try to attack the Ark with Megatron absorbing several anti-matter Energon Cubes to become a powerful weapon in gun mode. Wheeljack creates a new device to take over a Decepticon's motor systems, and after Chip attached it to Skywarp (who was using Megatron in gun mode), he fires on the Decepticons. At the same time, the anti-matter is becoming unstable forcing Megatron to abandon it before it explodes within his body. The Decepticons retreat, and the Autobots welcome Chip officially as their new friend and ally.

As I mentioned in the beginning of this post, this episode is one of my favorites. It had a good story, introduced a mainstay character, and the animation was excellent. The episode had a more anime feel than the first four episodes. Unfortunately, after this episode, the animation for season one took a bit of a dive until The Ultimate Doom and Heavy Metal War. This is one of the best episodes of season one to check out.

Post #100!! Reflections on Generation 2

I can't believe this will be my 100th blog post. I know that's not really a big deal, but it is fun to see that I have been blogging this long. I thought for today's post, I would take a look back on probably the one toy line outside of Generation One that had a huge impact on me as a fan. That toy line was 1992's Transformers: Generation 2.

Around 1990, the Transformers brand was dead in the United States. It was still going in Europe and Japan, but in the U.S. it was finished. There were no new toys, comics, or television shows. Also, the line had really gone on out on what many fans would call a low note. The toy line ended with the non-transforming Action Masters and more Micro Masters. There were also the K-Mart Legends, but that was all. The comic book had also ceased printing by this time or by early 1991. The comic ended well, but with everything else in the Transformers franchise gone and the toys being sent to the clearance aisle, there really wasn't much left for the robots in disguise.

In 1992, Hasbro decided to take a stab at reviving the Transformers name in the United States. Hasbro knew that the Transformers brand was a popular one in the 1980's. Maybe they also realized that they strayed too far from the original concept, who knows. They launched a revived Transformers toy line in 1992 with Transformers: Generation 2! In order to capture the magic of the original series, the first wave of toys were all remolds and redecos of a handful of original toys. The first wave consisted of Autobots: Optimus Prime, Jazz, Inferno, Sideswipe, Grimlock, Slag, and Snarl. Also, the first wave saw the Decepticons: Starscream, Ramjet, Scavenger, Mixmaster, Long Haul, Bonecrusher, Hook, and Scrapper (the six Constructicons could combine to form Devastator). The toys were a huge success. This lead to more original molds of several mini-bots being released in the first year. Also, Hasbro imported several European exclusive Autobots and Decepticons to flesh out the first year with all new Autobot cars and Decepticon jets. Megatron was also pulled in with an all new mold and he was now able to transform into a tank.

The line's success pushed Hasbro to relaunch the original animated series (now dubbed Transformers: Generation 2), and relaunch the Marvel comic book (also now known as Transformers: Generation 2). The first season of the show ran on the weekends with episodes selected to promote the current figures. The comics continued the original story, and Marvel did a great job with the new story lines and for growing up the Transformers and making the story much darker. With all of the success of the first year, Hasbro released more remolds in second year with the Airealbots and Combaticons. They also released new molds called the Laser Rods and Rotor Force, and the triple-changing Dreadwing. There were also new molds for Combat Optimus Prime and Combat Megatron. The cartoon was picked up for a second season (now airing every weekday), and the comic book continued on.

By year three, the line had run out of steam. The animated series ended after season two and the comic book ended after only twelve issues. The year three toys were also highly disappointing with the not so interesting Gobots and Autorollers. The Cyberjets did introduce ball and socket joint design to the line which allowed for more articulated figures and more complex transformations in the future. The last great figure to be released was Laser Rod Optimus Prime. With the line fizzling out, Hasbro passed the Transformers property to its boys' division, Kenner to try and breathe new life into the fading Transformers. The line would be reborn in 1996 with Beast Wars, which helped catapult the franchise to an undying phenomenon that is still going strong in 2010.

Why did I write about Transformers: Generation 2? Wasn't Generation One the reason I became such a huge fan? Well...yes and no. Generation One was a fond memory from my childhood. I loved watching the adventures of the Transformers on television and video cassette, loved the movie, read the comics, and enjoyed taking my custom Autobot and Decepticon armies into battle. Transformers: Generation 2 is what got me hooked all over again, but it was in a new way. Generation 2 allowed me to really dive into those great memories, collect classic toys I was too young to have in 1984, and it came at a time when I could truly appreciate the nostalgia. As my Transformers hobby continues to fade into the past, I can always look back on the years of Generation 2 fondly. I will always remember the surprise of seeing the toys return to the toy shelves, choosing Mixmaster over Jazz at Wal-Mart, waking up early on Saturday morning to see Heavy Metal War for the first time, getting new Transformers for my birthday, or even my parents surprising randomly with the Generation 2 rerelease of Optimus Prime. It was a great run, and I will remember those years fondly.

Transformers #68

Don't let the decent looking art on the cover fool you. There are no words to describe the absolute terrible nature of this issue. I don't have any complaints with the writing of Simon Furman, but the artwork done by Dwayne Turner is without a doubt the worst, most disgusting, wretched, filthy, vomit inducing abomination to ever disgrace any Transformers comic. For Turner's Transformers artwork alone, this comic is terrible despite a good story.

This story is called The Human Factor. It brings back long time human character G.B. Blackrock (he was a main character in the early run of the comics). He is currently looking for a man named Hector who has a unique power to tap into energy sources and create powerful energy bursts. This man had singlehandedly defeated the Decepticon Micro Master Air Strike Patrol. In fact, it looks as if this super human knocked them off line for good. Blackrock has also assembled a new team of super humans (The Neo-Knights) to aid him. Currently, there are two members, Thunderpunch and Rapture. Meanwhile, Starscream appears and is also searching for Hector as he wishes to tap the powers of the human for his own purposes. At the same time, Starscream is being tracked by another robot.

Hector is located by Josie Becker (a.k.a. Circuit Breaker). She tries to get him to to join her in destroying all robots, and she tells him her story of how the robots ruined her life (Shockwave attacked an oil rig she worked on way back in Transformers #6, which resulted in her becoming paralyzed and forced to rely on her exo-armor to move). At this moment, Starscream and the Neo-Knights locate them. Circuit Breaker attacks Starscream (she remembers him from issue #9). The Neo-Knights battle Starscream and defeat him. All three sides state their desire for Hector. Starscream offers him power, Circuit Breaker offers him fame, and Blackrock offers the chance for him to fight for what is right. Hector decides to join the Neo-Knights as Dynamo, and Circuit Breaker decides to focus her grudge on only the Decepticons and also joins the team. When Starscream awakens after being placed in a trance by Rapture, he discovers that the robot who has been following him is none other than the long thought dead Shockwave who offers to join with Starscream to take over the leadership of the Decepticons!

The story is pretty good in that it introduces the Neo-Knights, follows Starscream's new schemes for Decepticon leadership, and reintroduces Shockwave. All of these characters will actually play a large part throughout the remainder of the comic's run. However, Turner's artwork is again just awful. He didn't do bad with the human characters, but his depiction of the Transformers literally ruined this issue. I simply can't read because of the terrible artwork. Again, this is sad because the story is actually interesting. It's one thing to have a bad story (parts 1 & 2 of the Matrix Quest), but if you have a good story with art that makes you want to be ill, that's not a good combination. If you can stomach Starscream looking like ... who knows what, you will enjoy the comic's story. However, you have been warned. To the best of my knowledge, because of the negative reaction to Turner's artwork, he NEVER again did the artwork for ANY issue of Transformers over the next twenty years (it seriously was that bad). Simon Furman has also gone on record saying this was the only issue he has ever worked on that he was disappointed entirely by the results. I guess it goes to show that you really can't judge a book by its cover.

European Classics Brawl

After Prime and Sideswipe, why not take a look at one more European exclusive before moving on? This is the European Classics re-release of the Decepticon known as Brawl. The figure is exactly the same as the original release with all of the metal parts and the same molding. To transform him from tank to robot, you pull up the turret, pull back the rear section and flip it back to form the legs, flip down the front section of the tank to form the chest, and the sides of the front section form the arms. Brawl in his Generation One incarnation had a pretty bland paint job for a good figure design. However, once he was combined with his fellow Combaticons to form Bruticus, his bland colors didn't seem bland any more and seemed to fit right in with the powerful warrior. Great toy.

European Classics Optimus Prime

I just posted on the European exclusive Sideswipe, but I had to make a quick post about a line that would have been awesome to see in the United States in 1991. This toy line was the European Classics line which featured re-releases of classic figures from the Transformers Generation One universe from 1984-1987 in 1990 and 1991. This release was of Optimus Prime!

The toy is exactly the same as the original 1984 version. It features the same Optimus Prime mold, all of the same parts, the same die-cast metal, and the same rubber tires. The difference was that this figure featured all new packaging, and it was brought back for a new generation of fans. I remember back in the mid 1990's when eBay was taking off, and I would see this figure up for sale. I always asked myself why Prime was packaged in this way. I got my answer years later after learning of the European Classics line. Fortunately, Hasbro brought the classic toys back in the early 2000's (although over priced) with the Commemorative Series at Toys r Us!

Action Master Sideswipe

I will always believe that one of the great tragedies of the Generation One line was that Hasbro discontinued it in the United States. I understand the line was failing in the U.S. by 1990, but they sure did release some awesome figures in 1991 and 1992 over seas in Europe. Some of those figures included the fantastic former Japanese exclusive Overlord, the Autobot Brain Masters, re-releases of the original toys as the first "Classics", and all new Action Masters. One such Action Master was Sideswipe.

Like all of the previous Action Masters, Sideswipe was designed to be similar in his look to his original animated counterpart. Hasbro did a great job of blending the classic toy version of him with the animated version for a great looking figure. He is painted in primarily red and white with his black helmet. His Action Master partner (like most of them) was just ridiculous. He came with a tank which transformed into a helmet and battle armor. Call it what you want, I think Sideswipe would have gotten decimated by the Decepticons if he went into battle with that thing. Excellent figure, but a really dumb accessory.