Before we confront the existential horrors of the science-fiction year of 2025, let’s look back at 2024’s year in Transformers, and Transformers-adjacent stuff.
Class of ’24.
I wasn’t as prolific on the review front as I usually am, largely because I got married last year, and nothing monopolizes your time and your budget like putting a wedding together.
Worth it, though.
I didn’t even get a chance to talk about Transformers One, a very good movie that everyone should watch (and it didn’t do too well in theatres, so clearly everyone didn’t watch it). That, and if you haven’t picked up the Skybound Transformers comics, I recommend hunting down the two trade paperbacks that have been released, it’s the best Transformers fiction currently being made. And beyond that, plenty of good bots (and bad bots with good figures) came out, and there were quite a few that I loved. At this point, release dates are fake, so this list is going to be “stuff I reviewed in 2024,” with links to each longform article, if you want to know more. But let’s start with a couple of non-numbered bonus categories:
Best Non-Bot Figure: Figma Samus Aran, Metroid Dread Version
Sliding into action!
This gal came in the mail right as we moved into the new year, and pretty much set the tone for the entire year. I love the Metroid franchise, I loved the most recent new title, Metroid Dread, and loved Samus’s new look in the game, so this was always going to be an easy sell.
I mean, just look!
As a figure, it’s ludicrously pricey (you’re going to have to pay north of 100 dollars, unless you’re some kind of deal-finding wizard), but it justified the price by being a super-detailed, super-articulated high end replica of Samus’s latest look, while not forgetting that it’s still a toy, and should be designed to be posed and played with.
I mean, it comes with working magnets!
I started using this specific figure as my avatar on social media, so that says something about the esteem I hold it in.
How your email finds me.
Best Retro Pickup: Commemorative Series Rodimus Prime
Surprisingly compatible with Studio Series 86 in altmode.
Admittedly, my opinion here is influenced by the fact that a) I managed to snag this complete, mint figure for about $65 Canadian dollars, and b) Rodimus Prime is a Transformers character I hugely identify with as an adult living through the 2020s.
Two very important sources of comfort.
And, to be fair, the original Rodimus Prime is a strange figure, and an obvious downgrade from the Optimus it was replacing. But there’s an appeal and charm to be found in the oddness of the design and engineering of this 1986 Floro Dery-derived Space Winnebago.
Scooting along on their Battle Segway.
There’s no other Transformer quite like it, and it was endearing enough to live on my work desk for months, if only so I could nod at that face and go, “you said it, buddy.”
Also how your email finds me.
Anyway, now onto the main event, in internet-friendly countdown format!
These cool cats have better places to be, anyway.
He’s stomping mad that he’s at the bottom of the list.
Clutch has a lot going for him. He’s a TFCon souvenir, which I always love, he’s a reference to an early 90s Transformer, complete with gaudy colors, which I also love, and he’s a bizarre, Botcon-esque new-head-on-a-body-that-only-kinda-works retool, which is a fascinating idea.
And he scales surprisingly well with mainline Transformers.
But beyond that, this guy deserves credit for being an unofficial third-party figure that manages to avoid the usual pitfalls of these kinds of releases. He’s solid and chunky instead of fragile and fiddly, he’s got a simple, elegant transformation, instead of one that makes you regret your entire hobby, and he has an honest-to-Primus spring-loaded missile-launching gimmick, which you never see anywhere at all these days!
That’s right. The gun shoots missiles!
The reason he’s so low on this list, though, is there’s one third-party foible he didn’t avoid: A ludicrous, $200-dollar-plus price tag, and that was if you bought him at the convention, before he hit the aftermarket. Still, if you get a chance to get some version of this tooling for a price you’re comfortable with, it’s a surprisingly fun time.
He’s about to shoot my eye out for placing him so low.
I’m currently salivating over a new Rodimus Prime retool of it, while cursing the fact that it’s a limited-run release that didn’t come out at TFCon.
Hey, does anyone with a few hundred dollars to spare want to be *really* cool?
10) Legacy United Deluxe Cyberverse Universe Windblade
A bot of mystery.
At first glance, there’s seemingly no specific X-factor here that makes this figure special, it’s just a well-made normal Deluxe, easy to transform, poseable, and well-engineered.
And willing to fight for a spot on the list.
But what makes it special is that HasTak finally did the thing here, and the thing was “make an actual good Windblade figure that’s also based on her standard design.” Considering the first (not very good) Windblade figure was in 2014, it was a very long wait.
All it took was being a series regular on a good Transformers TV show.
Transformers: Cyberverse was a very good show (watch it if you haven’t, the episodes are all 11 minutes), and it just so happened that Windblade was on it, sporting her typical look, instead of any kind of redesign, so this Legacy United release replicated that, to great success.
Queen of the Windblades.
9) Dramatic Capture Series Nemesis Bridge
The Big Bads.
This is an odd one, because most collectors probably already have some version of these three figures, and we know that the Megatron, at least, is set to get a newer, presumably better figure in the Studio Series 86 line. But me, I decided to stop chasing the dragon of perpetual, slow G1 updates, and grab this set as my final version of this group of Decepticon leaders.
Soundwave gets the throne in this mode, because he can’t move.
And, taken on its own, you’re looking at three very good Voyager-class figures (including the formerly-rare Netflix Soundwave), each with fancy, premium Takara paintjobs, and a copy of that really fun throne that first came with Coronation Starscream, which is worth owning just for the photo opportunities.
They’ve loaned this out more times than they can remember.
The set’s, again, a bit pricey, but fair for what’s in the box, if what’s in there appeals to you, like it did to me.
Knowledge is power.
8) Generations Comic Edition Leader Straxus
For all your comic cover (and panel) re-enacting needs.
I’ve become a complete Transformers Comic Book Guy over the last few years, thanks to a book club over on the Transformers Wiki’s Discord server, which means, whenever there’s a figure of a Marvel comics original, it draws my attention.
If there’s one thing Straxus does well, it’s demand attention.
Straxus is the big highlight of the Generations Comic Edition line, finally giving Bob Budianski’s bombastic blue blowhard of a baddie a blissfully big modern figure, and doing so as a clever retool of Kingdom Galvatron , which was already a great figure in its own right.
They literally have the same altmode!
It’s the only one from this series I grabbed, and well worth importing from Hasbro Pulse.
I wasn’t kidding, that Dramatic Capture throne’s seen some real use this year.
7) Retro Blaster, with Steeljaw
Perfect for Autobot Dance Parties.
This was a treat, because I’d never handled a G1 Blaster, or any of his tapes, until this 2024 cartoon-colored reissue happened. And I genuinely wasn’t expecting to have as much fun with him as I did. Sure, he’s got almost no poseability, and is hilariously out of scale with pretty much everything, but there’s something inexplicably *fun* about him.
Well, he can move a little.
Maybe it’s the detailed, boxy altmode with the pop-open tape door, maybe it’s his smooth, fun transformation, maybe it’s the cool retro vibes of the robot mode, maybe it’s the way Steeljaw represents the designers of the 80s taking a second, improved pass at Ravage’s design and engineering, but I had more fun with him than a lot of modern figures.
Relatable images.
I guess some things are just timeless.
Most out-of-scale Marvel reference ever!
6) Retro Soundwave, with Laserbeak and Ravage
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Speaking of timeless, there’s the other cassette-bot that got a toon-colors reissue alongside Blaster. I think I only rated this guy higher than Blaster because he comes with two cassettes, and does that cool thing where his weapons turn into batteries that store inside him.
Double the animals!
Literally the only thing that the original Soundwave lacks is a modern suite of articulation, and all his cassettes lack are accessories that you can actually store anywhere. Other than that, this figure still held up in 2024, and even ranked higher than the update in the Dramatic Capture set.
He runs circles around Starscream, and he came out in the same year!
The timeless gimmick, the smooth transformation, the boxy, retro design of the big guy and his animals, it all just has a certain je ne sais quoi.
And he can do the lamppost mode!
5) Super 7 Unicron ReAction Figure
Pretending he’s in scale.
Alright, listen. Yes, ReAction Figures are overpriced, like a lot of Super 7’s offerings. And yes, this tiny little Unicron doesn’t transform, and is barely articulated.
He’s got enough joints to do it to ’em, though.
But just look at him. It’s the silly 1986 prototype G1 figure that they never produced, replicated in loving detail.
Even if the intimidation factor is gone.
If you get the appeal here, you’ll love this. If not, you’ll wonder why it’s so high up. This is just one of those things that was made for me, specifically.
And anyone else looking to easily assemble toy versions of the Cybertronic Spree.
4) Legacy United Voyager Origin Wheeljack.
A king amongst kings.
The previous two Origin figure were shockingly good Deluxes, on top of accomplishing the engineering flex of replicating the “looks like it changes into a car, actually changes into a sci-fi vehicle” thing from the show’s first episode. I guess the designers decided they needed an extra challenge when they made this third guy, and added in “has to be able to stash an entire Deluxe-sized figure inside of his vehicle mode, despite that figure being two years old and not designed with this feature in mind.”
Look! He’s doing the thing!
Not only did they pull that off, but the rest of Wheeljack’s design and engineering continues to clear the high bar the Origin figures have set.
And he can carry his buddy’s Energon Tubes!
Like, he’s not perfect, but considering everything that he does, he’s a really impressive package. He’s also totally worth the Voyager price tag, despite his Deluxe size, and that’s not something you can always say.
“Ow!”
Before I go onto the top three, I just want to say that I had a lot of trouble picking which one of these three were the best, and my opinion probably changes every couple of days. So, not to go “they’re all winners” on you, but you could argue for any of these next three being in the top spot.
Admittedly, the gigantic flying tiger probably has the advantage in a straight fight.
3) Legacy United Deluxe G1 Universe Gears
Best paired with a black-suited Spider-Man.
This is one of those figures where you can’t point to one specific reason why it’s really good.
Maybe it’s because he could do this unsupported?
I guess everybody who designed and built him was just really, really on the ball, or really loved Gears, or both.
Gears wrote that.
He uses his small-for-a-Deluxe size to spend his budget on an unusually complete suite of articulation, a transformation that’s the exact right balance between “simple, but involved and elegant,” and a general feeling of sturdiness that’s hard to define.
Little. Blue. Powerful.
He’s just one of those guys you just love picking up and transforming, and then posing around your desk, only moreso.
He deserves more respect.
2) Legacy United Leader Beast Wars Universe Tigerhawk
Sent from the heavens to end the Beast Wars.
The phrase I keep using here, shamelessly stolen from a friend of mine, is “tribute to the greatest toy of all time.” The original Beast Wars Tigerhawk was a childhood favorite of mine, and this is an extremely fitting update.
The original toy commercial cemented this as a great rivalry, to me.
He’s big (in fact, just as big as the original), complicated, but not too complicated, and just has a lot going on.
What guys mean when they say “I got a lot going on.”
He’s definitely worth Leader-class prices, and the value-adds are interesting.
Like the ability to serve as a noble steed.
Sure, he doesn’t shoot missiles or have spring-loaded gimmicks, but every feature on the original is represented here in some way, and he adds articulation, animation-accuracy, and durability (thanks to no chrome) as the trade-offs.
Plus, he has the details needed to assume his secret abandoned tank mode.
I honestly didn’t think they’d ever give this guy an update, and the fact that he got a really good one on top of just existing is the icing on the cake.
A pair of proud predecessors.
1) Legacy United Deluxe G1 Universe Optimus Prime
He fought his way to the top of the pile!
Maybe it’s recency bias, but I think this guy’s the best Transformer to come out in 2024, and one of the best in general.
Same great style, in convenient compact form.
See, what makes him great is that he combines a bunch of the factors that other entries on this list have, all in one package. The original Optimus Prime figure is a timeless toy, and all of the things that made it good. including the sculpt and the transformation, are lovingly preserved here, in a scaled-down format.
There’s a few new features.
And then, he’s combined with the kind of rock-solid modern engineering and articulation that figures like Gears have.
Sliding into action! Wait, I said that already.
This is a G1 Optimus where you won’t lose the fists, or chip the chrome, or have stickers flake off, who can survive falling off a table without damage, and who comes with a ridiculously expressive suite of modern articulation, plus a few extra accessories.
One extra transformation step was all it took to stop you from losing his fists.
Well, he’s missing a trailer, but they went out of their way to make him compatible with a bunch of Optimus Prime trailers, including the original.
The VNR repaint of the Earthrise trailer pairs nicely.
The point is, everything I like about old Transformers, and new Transformers are both contained here, and it’s only for the price of a normal Deluxe.
He’ll take on any competitor!
Like I said at the time, I genuinely think everyone that likes and collects Transformers should pick a copy of this guy up.
On his way to your shelves, I hope!
And that’s it for 2024! A solid lineup of robots, and a solid year for the franchise, in my opinion. As for 2025, honestly, it’s weird not having a movie coming out this year, after Rise of the Beasts and Transformers One going back-to-back, and it’s nebulous if that GI Joe teamup movie is even still happening, to say nothing of how the Transformers: Reactivate video game is now officially vaporware. On the other hand, it looks like we could be seeing a reissue of the War for/Fall of Cybertron games in the near future, and we’re just starting the back half of Daniel Warren Johnson’s superp, award-winning Transformers comic run with Skybound, so there’s going to be plenty of storytelling to keep me occupied. Oh, and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond will be releasing for the Switch, and whatever the new Nintendo console is.
I wonder what version of Rodimus Prime and/or Hot Rod will end up on next year’s list, since it keeps happening.
As for the plastic side of things, I was already gifted with and/or found a swathe of robots on the holiday break, so I’ve got a lot to talk about. As for what’s coming out, while my initial impression of Age of the Primes was that I wasn’t very into it, they’ve got a few figures that wound up catching my attention. Meanwhile, Studio Series is only just starting to really cover Transformers One. So, look forward to plenty more Bot Reviews from me, and hopefully, a full, proper return to weekly reviews. Either way, here’s to seeking out the good bits of 2025.
One last group photo for the road! Y’know what else is probably gonna keep happening? Me accidentally catching my lamp in the frame.
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