Jhiaxus is nothing like Optimus Prime or Megatron; he despised the Great War between Autobots and Decepticons and moved forward with the Cybertronian faction. His cold yet harsh behavior led to his increased hatred towards the likes of Optimus, to the point damaging his face and eventually contributing to the horrors that are The Swarm. He's popped up in numerous other forms of fiction, with varying degrees of capturing his essence in the likes of FunPub and IDW comics. But none of his toys captured his likeness whatsoever. While they were able to be added into the fiction eventually, they were always orange repaints of a vaguely fitting jetformer, first with Beast Machines Jetstorm and then with Thrilling 30 Armada Starscream...until now. Let's take a look at Legacy Jhiaxus!
Here is Jhiaxus in his jet mode. It's a fairly accurate design to how it looked in the Generation 2 comics, and the upper portion looks pretty good, what with the surprisingly solid deco and fairly unique proportions. For some reason, the use of golden yellow, white, red, and green reminds me of those popsicles that were from a Tornado game that Vinesauce played at one point. On the top of the jet is the gun that he'd normally use in his robot mode, with the sensor on top to replicate the detail in the jet mode while also helping the piece fold away. The wings being underneath most of the bulk is pretty neat if you ask me, which is an uncommon detail of the vehicle mode. With the futuristic and somwaht bat-like look to him, Jhiaxus is pretty original for a jet mode.
The undercarriage is not that great thanks to the arms being stuck underneath, which attempt to fit in nicely with the rest of the jet mode yet don't integrate themselves that nicely. Maybe if this was a current leader, it'd be able to fit in easier, but I'm guessing that's so the winglets underneath the big wings can stay in place. Other forms of weapon storage include the smaller gun underneath the nosecone.
Transformation is pretty similar to what a normal jetformer has. Chest cockpit, arms from underneath, back becomes the legs, but the way certain details are made, from the hinges used on the wings to the asymmetrical sensor on the shoulder, and the tailfin becoming the inner part of the legs, results in quite the difference between himself and the traditional Seeker. Seriously, the robot mode greatly resembles a Seeker roided out and ready to do more damage than expected. The bulk captures the befitting powerhouse proportions that a Cybertronian leader would possess, and the sculpted details are also well-implemented, with subtle details here and there like on the back with the vents. Also, the white plastic feels like a mix between normal white plastic and the type of plastic used on Siege Apeface. It's got a sort of sheen to it that determines its slightly different density that I don't think has been explained before.
Head sculpt is very much like an aggressive Starscream head design, with the center portion between the helmet ears looking much gruffer than what we've seen before, and the chin-strap adds another layer of power that the air commander and his repaints lack. His articulation is a little unique for the norm, with a ball-jointed head, shoulders that move front and back on swivels and in and out on hinges that are implemented within the torso than being within the shoulders themselves like with SS86 Hot Rod. Bicep swivels, elbow bends, wrist swivels, finger articulation, waist swivel, front and back hip movement as well as in and out, thigh swivels, knee bends, and ankle pivots that annoyingly move outward, which can make it a little annoying to have him stand straight if they're loose.
His guns can be placed in his hands, though they don't go in as smoothly as I'd hope unless you angle them right. It just boils down to the way the hands are molded. But it is interesting how he has finger articulation and isn't a smaller Voyager like Hot Rod, nor is he a Leader Class figure. Maybe it's the simpler engineering that grants him this, but hey, he can recreate the pose of him slapping Prime long before Will Smith told Chris Rock to keep his wife's name out of his mouth.
For a robot mode size comparison, here he is with Optimus Prime and Megatron, the former being the Netflix version that I used as a G2 stand-in and the latter being the actual G2 repaint. And yeah, it makes me excited to make a G2 display of sorts since those figures will more than likely have new molds and retools to boot, don't you think? So overall, Jhiaxus is the best version of the character we're getting in terms of size and accuracy, though I will say he does feel al ittle average in the Legacy line. Regardless, he's a pretty cool addition to the line-up for a main antagonist that isn't just a Megatron type of guy, and I look forward to other comic characters like Bludgeon and Tarn.
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