Scorponok doesn't get as much attention in the Season 1 Predacon team compared to the likes of Megatron, Waspinator, or Blackarachnia. He's basically killed off in the second season, has not gotten any new merchandise that fits him (excluding a repaint of Scamper from the TFCC), and ironically, the Beast Wars Scorponok homage in RID2015 isn't even named Scorponok (instead he is Paralon). That's not to say that the love for the guy is missing outright, but let's be real here: he's quite the underdog of the Predacons and was in need of a new incarnation. Thankfully, the Beast Wars cast is returning into the Kingdom line, and after having 2 of the Predacon All-Stars in Wave 1, it's great to have this guy pop up as we continue deep into the line. Now let's get into the review!
Here is Scorponok in, well, his scorpion mode. It certainly doesn't have the cartoony look but does capture the coloring of the beast mode quite well, I'd say. Much like with the textures of fur, wrinkles, and feathers applied into the beasties, the exoskeleton of the scorpion mode is given the appropriate amount of textures to provide a slightly bumpy feel that makes it look less toyetic and more organic. Sure, the red legs stand out and maybe the stinger looks too much like a red tip penis, but the beast mode overall feels accurate to what the actual animal is for the most part. The proportions are generally correct even if some liberties were character-specific for this guy. His articulation consists of ball joints on the legs as well as the swivels and hinges for the arms and pincers. Not that much to do but we can't expect it to do much given the type of animal it is.
For a beast mode comparison, he's quite a big one in this size in terms of the amount of space he takes up. The height of his tail makes it formidable enough to combat Megatron given how big the tyrannosaurus yes-man is. He's definitely low in terms of height but is comparable to how much space gets taken up when compared to Blackarachnia.
Transformation for this guy is somewhat involved. The arms transform exactly how you would, but aspects of this guy like the way the legs transform as well as how the scorpion head and legs fold away aren't part of the traditional scheme. The waist hinges up to the chest as it closes, and the legs can be stashed away decently to keep kibble from taking up space. The resulting robot mode is certainly accurate to the cartoon, with the design traits, color scheme, and overall proportions. It's an execution that the Kingdom line goes for, and while it certainly is accurate to the show, I do find some of its aspects to be a little underwhelming. Not that he's a bad figure, but it's things like the hollowness of the front of the tail and the back of the legs that are bothersome. I can get behind the gaps on the back of the biceps or the back of the tail for the cost-effective nature of the line, but the ones I do have a bigger problem with are more noticeable and bothersome. Additionally, the backpack could be managed better, but I can at least get behind it if it fits him somewhat and doesn't compromise the stability. His feet are thankfully big enough, and the weight of the rest of his body and the claws help balance everything.
Head sculpt is the first to accurately depict the head in the cartoon, with a mouth, the underslung horns, and the visor, all in the appropriate colors. The Netflix show weirdly gives him two eyes, but then again, the Beasties don't really have the same CAD-file accessibility that a majority of Autobots and Decepticons have. Only exceptions I can think of are Arcee, Bumblebee, Alpha Trion, and Galvatron, even if some of them did have toys in the later lines. Anyways, it's a nicely done head sculpt, and the same goes for the articulation. Ball joint for the head, shoulders that move front and back, in and out, bicep swivels, and claws that swivel as well as open and close. The waist swivels, hips move front and back, in and out, swivel at the thighs, bend at the knees, and the ankles pivot as well as hinge up and down.
The accessories he comes with are just the two rockets and the Cyberbee, both of which are in character for Scorponok. The missiles have mostly red paint on them but the bee's a nice touch overall since he was known to use it at times, most-notably in Gorilla Warfare.
As far as reuses are concerned, Scorponok had at least a Legacy repaint in the form of Sandstorm, which replaces most of the gray and red with beige, orange, and purple with a new head sculpt based on the Mutant Head that was a gimmick Year 1 Beast Wars toys had at the time. If anything, it helps make the figure much more worthwhile than had he not come with it. It also sells him as a separate character even further than a mere palette swap.
And for a reuse that includes both heads and takes us back to Scorponok himself, here we have the Buzzworthy Bumblebee Creatures Collide 4-pack version that not only gives him a toy-accurate deco but also has translucent purple parts. You can also give him normal or mutant heads if you so choose. He comes with Skywasp, Ransack, and Goldbug.
For a show-accurate repaint, Scorpos gets the Beast Wars Again treatment to have a less plasticy look to better resemble the Mainframe CGI model. He was included with Rhinox.
For a figure comparison with the only other example he has, here he is next to the original 90s version, and...I'm sorry, but it's hard to compare them if they're not apples for apples. One is meant to be cartoon-accurate and the other was made before the cartoon (I presume), they are in different size classes, and the engineering is different overall. Admittedly, the original one had a fragile right claw, but if you can at least move past that, you have two radically different takes of Beast Wars Scorponok. The original version is still a great figure from the reviews I have seen.
For a size comparison with his other Predacons, he may fill up the Season 1 ranks after not having any re-Pred-sentation, but he's a short one! I know he is meant to be short in the show, but it feels surprising given how the WFC Deluxe line-up works of late. He's even shorter than Blackarachnia, and it makes me wonder how the other Predacons will scale. Overall, this guy is a surprising addition to the line in many ways. The engineering's not too shabby (the underside looks pretty weak), the articulation and overall plastic quality is good, the paint apps are solid, and the accessories, while small, fit his character appropriately. With Wingfinger being a mid-tier addition to the line, I guess Scorponok may be the strongest of the Wave 3 Deluxes (ignoring the Wheeljack repack since he is from Earthrise). Let's hope Tracks will be as good as him...right?
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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