Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Transformers Prime Cyberverse Commander Class Megatron Part 1

All Hail Megatron, one more time

This new review series on the first day of this new month feels like a follow-up to the review on "Transformers: Prime" Cyberverse Commander Class Optimus Prime instead of a brand new one. ^^


This is "Transformers: Prime" Cyberverse Commander Class Megatron. ^^ In this scale, the sense of rivalry between him and Optimus Prime is unmistakable as not only are they from the same cartoon series, they are of the same product line as well. ^^ It's that rivalry between the two which prompted me to pick both of them up together back in February. Subsequently, I realized I like them for different reasons as individual figures, but as a pair, the eternal theme of Optimus Prime versus Megatron in the world of Transformers definitely warrant getting both of them if you're interested in Cyberverse-sized figures.

Come to think of it, it's quite a shame that Megatron from "Transformers: Prime" never received a "First Edition" Voyager Class treatment. ^^; The only two releases featured in that line were Optimus Prime and Bulkhead. I would definitely get Megatron if he was included as part of the "First Edition" Voyager Class releases. If that was indeed the case, I don't think I'll need to get these two Cyberverse figures anymore. When the Robot in Disguise series was introduced for "Transformers: Prime", Megatron did get a Voyager Class release from it, and it's arguably close to "First Edition" Voyager Class Optimus Prime in terms of size, but I am not pleased with the design simplification of its look and transformation after reading some of the reviews about it. For that, I didn't bother getting it even though I always wanted a large-sized figure of Megatron from "Transformers: Prime". At this stage, it's already two years too late to even hope for a "First Edition" Voyager Class treatment to be given to the Decepticon boss, so I'm definitely happy to be able realize the rivalry between Optimus Prime and Megatron through this Cyberverse Commander Class line instead. ^^

Speaking of that rivalry, this is the first pair of Optimus Prime and Megatron of the same product series in my collection. ^^ For the Autobot boss, I have the Leader Class figures from the first and second movie, Binal-Tech version (Convoy), Transformers Alternity Super Black version (Convoy), and the aforementioned two from "Transformers: Prime". For Megatron, I have the Transformers Alternity version, Voyager Class figure from "Dark of the Moon" and of course this Cyberverse Commander Class version. As listed above, while I do have the two in Transformers Alternity format, it should be the initial Vibrant Red edition of Convoy that I should get to build a more "accurate" showdown between him and Megatron. ^^; It kind-of surprises me that after so many versions of Optimus Prime I managed to get my hands on in the past, I never really cared for his arch-nemesis. ^^; I think that's probably because I didn't like how the character was designed in a few incarnations of him in the past. While Optimus Prime gets to stay true to his unflinching sense of justice and constant show of leadership and valor, some versions of Megatron showed him as a petty skimmer, always angry and screams for no apparent reason, crazy, and can be humble enough to be taking orders from others. ^^; I like his character design in "Transformers: Animated", even though I never wanted a figure of him from that series, or any other character in that matter because of their weird body proportion design. ^^;

When it comes to being a fearsome boss of the Decepticon army, I think Megatron in "Transformers: Prime" is my pick as the best representation of the character, since the beginning half of the 1986 animated movie before the character died I supposed. ^^ Apart from the character design, it's also good to hear Frank Welker voicing Megatron in a Transformers cartoon series again. ^^ His powerful voice is perfect in bringing out the brute strength and destructive nature of the character. Ultimately, the well-written story of the entire TV series also helped to establish Megatron's characteristics and how he is more evil and scarier than some of his earlier incarnations. The benefit of having a better overall story to character development is also true for other characters in the show like Arcee, Ratchet, Starscream and Airachnid. All in all, the good character design of Megatron in "Transformers: Prime" certainly is one of the huge factors that motivated me in getting this particular figure. ^^ For that, the cartoon series' objective of promoting corresponding toys and figures can be said to be a success on me as a customer, even though I'm too old to be part of the target audience already. XD



Front view of the blister pack.


(Right) "Cyberverse Command Your World Megatron Decepticon Leader".
(Right) CG image of Megatron's alien jet mode is shown. The lack of clear purple parts on the jet is a clear indication of the many design inconsistencies to be expected between the image and the actual figure. ^^;


Image of the Decepticon legion on the left hand side of the card.






The figure can be seen very easily and clearly through the clear shell.


The figure is standing on top of the folded instruction manual.


A rough comparison of Megatron with Legion Class Arcee in robot mode.


Information about Megatron on the package's right hand side.


Top and bottom faces of the blister pack.






Introduction of the character as well as images of the figure in robot and vehicle modes on the back of the package.


The package is carefully cut from its side in order for the content to be removed.





Front view of the content.





Rear view of the content.


The complete backdrop with the remaining edges of the cut plastic cover removed.


The cardboard label for the top, side and bottom faces of the plastic container.


The neatly folded instruction sheet on Megatron's transformation.



The unfolded instruction sheet shows how to transform Megatron from robot to jet mode, ...



... and back again. ^^



A straight-out-of-box display of Commander Class Megatron.

Unlike Optimus Prime from the same Commander Class line, Megatron's transformation design is pretty unique for both robot-to-jet and jet-to-robot sequences. ^^ Since Optimus Prime was shown to transform from robot to vehicle mode, I'll do the reverse for Megatron. ^^

More images of Megatron in his alien jet mode and then a show of the transformation design coming up in the next posting. ^^

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