Originally written February 2019, one of my earliest reviews.
Since his appearance in the very first episode of the Generation One cartoon, Shockwave’s always been a quiet figure of mystery. Whether the guardian of Cybertron, an amoral scientist, a beast trainer, or a time-travelling master manipulator, Shockwave’s always been coldly logical, intense, and powerful. His purple, one-eyed, gun-armed design has mostly been iconic and unchanged throughout Transformers history, a rarity that speaks to how unique his appearance is. So it’s surprising that it’s taken this long to get a mass-released full-sized modern toy of his G1 self, though Transformers: Siege, with its heavy banking on nostalgia, is the perfect place for it.
This time, they did something a little different, though, and something that’s bound to be a little bit controversial to collectors: Sold at the Leader-class pricepoint ($70), Siege Shockwave is really a smaller, Deluxe-sized figure that instead comes with an armor upgrade that can be used to bulk him up, in either of his modes. On one hand, it’s definitely the most original thing to come out of Siege so far, a line that’s more about crafting very well-made new versions of familiar things, instead of new things. On the other hand, the figure’s small size and nature have people questioning whether or not it’s worth the high price tag. Let’s have a look at him and find out. Some photography in this review comes from Venomously Addicted Photography, who you can follow on Facebook and Instagram.
Super Robot Mode
Right out of the gate, this is a bonkers design. It’s not just the Shockwave we know on steroids, it’s a crazy mutant Shockwave, and once again, this is the most unique idea Siege has given us. It’s a shame about his size, though, as even with all his armor, he’s the size of a Voyager, smaller even than his wavemate, Ultra Magnus is. Sure, he’s wide and broad, but he looks puny, which is disappointing. Still, it’s a cool design that, when the arms are all splayed out in different directions, also looks a bit creepy and insectlike.
So, at the core of the figure is Shockwave himself, in his familiar design. He’s got a hexagonal chest, a cyclops head with antenna, and here’s where it gets weird. Big, stompy gunfeet, giant shoulder pads with sideways wings on them, and four arms, three of which end in guns. He’s also got a big, unwieldy backpack for heft, and a rubber hose going into his right inner gun arm. It’s basically evolved, mutant Shockwave, and he looks great.
He’s got a simple colorscheme, consisting almost entirely of two shades of purple, with some silver, and glowing yellow eye on his face, thanks to the window on top causing it to collect any nearby light and make it shine. As with the rest of the Siege line, he’s also got some battle damage on him, which consists of actual sculpted damage on his feet (something no other Siege figure thusfar has done), and silver grime on his shoulders, making it all fairly unobtrusive, and making it look “cleaner” than the rest of the Siege line. He’s also covered in sculpted tech detail, but in-hand, it’s subtle and unobtrusive, and looks particularly nice inside his chest, which is cast in transparent plastic.
Despite being covered in armor, he’s still crazy poseable. He’s got wrist swivels on all four of his arms, ankle tilts, a bendable, waist, and movable shoulders, on top of the usual articulation. His knees are made of unusually stiff ratchets, presumably to keep him stable, which worked, because he’s very stable and solid too, despite the backpack and armor.
Transformation to Inner Robot Mode
Basically, you just pop all the armor off. You can even do it without the instructions. What I wish they did show you how to do was combine the chunks of armor. The back of the box shows it all combining into a single piece (the use of which I’ll get into below), but the instructions don’t mention this feature. I was able to figure it out from squinting at the photo, but it’s still a shame that they don’t tell you how. Additionally, since his armor attaches to him using the same-sized connection points as most of the weapons and accessories in the Siege line, it’s completely possible to give chunks of this armor to other figures.
Inner Robot Mode
Unlike his crazy combined form, this is a very traditional, very familiar Shockwave design: Hexagon Chest, Cyclops Eye, Gun-Arm with Hose, the works. Unlike a lot of classic characters, his animation and comic book designs were very close to his toy’s appearance, and that unified appearance is really faithfully replicated here, with some extra tech detail, and a bit of a backpack, but he wears it well. The only damage on him is that lightly-sculpted singeing on the toes of his feet.
He’s got the same poseability as his larger form, complete with the same stiff knees. His removed armor now leaves mounting points for weapons from other Siege figures on his lower legs, upper and lower arms, and on his back. He’s essentially Deluxe-scale, and really feels like he could have been sold on his own for that price. Basically, this is your Shockwave for your Classic shelf.
Unlike his similarly-designed wavemate, Ultra Magnus, his armor actually has a use in this mode, instead of sitting in a pile, though, as mentioned before, it’s one that the instructions don’t demonstrate: It all combines into a “hovering” chunk with wings and guns that makes me think of an oversized “hoverboard,” the type with wheels that’s all the rage today. Befitting of a hoverboard, Shockwave can peg onto it and ride it like one, but he’s also stable enough to splay out and ride it more like a surfboard. Either one is quietly funny in a different way. It’s even got the ability to adjust its angle, via moving the arms that form part of its base.
Transformation to Spaceship Mode
It’s a pretty simple transformation, again. Basically, you lift his arms straight up, drop him on his chest to make him into a slab, and adjust the backpack and other parts to make him into something that isn’t obviously a body lying down.
Spaceship Mode
Originally, Shockwave transformed into a giant-sized laser pistol, which kids could hold in their hands. Like Siege Megatron, however, Shockwave was forced to reinvent his alternate mode, due to restrictions in North America about selling semi-realistic guns, even if they’re purple space lasers. So, what was the sneaky solution? One that Hasbro’s used in the past, on the Titans Return version of Sixshot, another gun-former: Flip it upside down, and call it something else in the marketing, never referencing the gun mode. So, in this case, it’s a “spaceship.” helped by his visible arm and leg joints (note that in the above photo, it’s been flipped back rightside up, into its “gun” configuration.)
To their credit, it has been redesigned to fit the spaceship description a bit. He has a cockpit/command center that rises above the long body, and even has a little transparent yellow window that catches the light, making it look like Shockwave’s eye. Additionally, the feet in the back of this mode have sculpted details on them that suggest thrusters. That being said, the rubber hose now plugs into the side of the command center, giving it an odd look, and you can totally flip it over, use the cockpit as a handle, and have him be a small, pea-shooter-sized laser gun (again, as above). He’s even got a clear part up front that looks a bit like a camera flash, which suggest that it shoots big, thick, cartoonish lasers. Still it’s only semi-obviously not a folded up robot, no matter what side you look at him from, rendering it a bit of a weak altmode.
Transformation to Super Spaceship Mode
This time around, the armor he comes with does some actual transforming, unlike making his hoverboard, which makes this feel like the natural next step in his transformation. Aside from that, it’s a case of slapping shells and accessories onto the altmode.
Super Spaceship Mode
Again to the credit of the designers, this makes for an even more believable spaceship than his smaller form, and looks like something out of an 80’s space anime to me. It’s huge, and it feels huge, with the tiny canons at the front giving it a sense of scale. Sadly, his hip joints are still openly hanging out, but the rest of him looks a lot nicer, thanks to the armor covering it up. He’s also really big in this mode, and it’s the first of his forms that feels leader-scaled. The new shell at the front of him is also more shiplike, looking like a combination of guns and a flashlight. Aside from the visible hip joints, the only knock I have about this nice-looking design is that rubber hose sticking out of the cockpit, which doesn’t have a way to stash that isn’t in the way. He’s also still got mounting points on his front sides, in case you want this ship to have even more guns than the ten or so he’s already got facing forwards.
Overall
I’m almost not sure what to say about this figure. He’s very well-designed and well-made, solid and fun. His crazy armored robot mode is also the most inventive thing Siege has done, and removing that armor turns him into a perfect classic Shockwave. However, I can’t get around the fact that he’s scaled like a Deluxe ($30) that armors up into a Voyager ($40), but is sold as a leader ($70), and, regardless of how well-made he is, he doesn’t seem to justify the price (see the pic below for him next to a Voyager). I think it comes down to the fact that, despite his inventive design, there’s no “wow” moment, like with his wavemate, Ultra Magnus, who’s also a bit small, but where I can see where the budget went, thanks to his complex engineering.
It’s tough, because he’s not bad, he’s just overpriced. On his own merits, he’s a perfect G1 Shockwave with a cool bonus set of armor. As a Leader-class toy, I can’t honestly recommend him at full price, unless you really love Shockwave or his design. Maybe catch it on clearance or a sale, as he’s definitely worth owning on his own benefits.
(2021 Update: In the two years since I wrote this, I’ve come around a lot more on the idea of deliberately-undersized figures that use their budget in different ways, mainly thanks to excellent releases like Studio Series 86 Hot Rod, Generations Selects Hubcap (and Trilogy Bumblebee), and Earthrise Optimus Prime being more effective expressions of what can be done with it. While I’ve certainly softened on the concept, and this figure by extension, I still do feel like this one in particular felt undercooked for the pricepoint. Still, if you can find him on the secondary market these days for a deal, he’s definitely got more appeal.)
