Rise of the Beasts introduces the Terrorcons as a new faction for the Movieverse, with roles that are currently unknown beyond being bad guys. I like that we continued using our imagination for the robot designs, where they tend to set aside any of their G1 forms to get an overhaul that makes them unique or badass. Battletrap ditches the helicopter half of himself to now be a single-unit robot, which works well if you ask me. Now let's see how Battletrap turned out as a figure!
The backdrop he comes with depicts the attack at the museum possibly connected to Freezer's backdrop. We'll find out WHY they're attacking during the night at the museum when the film releases.
Here is Battletrap in his tow truck mode. It's a licensed orange and dark gray GMC tow truck with clear red windows, and it looks great for a character like him. The colors already fit a tow truck, and the design also fits the bruiser-type persona he's set to have. It's a nice and bulky alt mode all around, and I like that the wheels, despite being snap-on rather than pinned, were able to roll smoothly (especially the rear double-wheels). Having them be bigger than normal in addition to other added parts like the lightbar, the engine (which was shown launching a missile towards Wheeljack and Arcee), and the grille guard all add an extra layer of badass to prove this guy is no measly Duocon anymore.
That being said, it's not all perfect. While Ironhide from way back in 2018 fared very well apart from his toes dangling down, Battletrap's kibble could be a little better managed. His feet nearly touch the ground while the back is a bit of a mess when it comes to exposed parts (which I value they tried to make it look as convincingly clean), but the tow cable doesn't really stay together as well as I'd like unless his wrecking ball is attached on, which does make it look a little less for towing and more for wrecking. If you remember Bubba from the Cars game Race-O-Rama (something something am I the only one that isn't minimme), he was a big bully type of tow truck, the likes of which would probably lose against someone who wants to kill like Battletrap. I even like Bernie's Towing and Autobody being imprinted on the doors.
We definitely have a few tow-truck formers this year. He and Scraphook are similarly scaled with one another, even though one is a Voyager and the other a Deluxe. Also nice to see the variety of design traits for each character, from the Mad Max vibe of Scraphook to the heavy-duty look of Battletrap overall.
Transformation can be somewhat intricate for those who wouldn't be patient with the somewhat limited spacing for parts like the arms and the windshield/middle portion of the hood and grille. On the other hand, the leg transformation is actually pretty smooth, and it kind of reminds me of how some other figures would have panels wrap around the leg to bulk it out, though the resulting robot mode feels like a badass take on the Trailbreaker/Hoist design. It's more badass and aggressive than the G2 truckformer look, making him almost worthy of a Wrecker Hook repaint. The torso is chunky and dense while the arms look somewhat short and the legs longer by comparison. Still, he makes for a nice compliment to the aesthetics of Shatter and Dropkick, where they look like the higher-ranking villains like TLK Megs, Lockdown, or Sentinel Prime rather than the monstrous types like Barricade, Bonecrusher, or Mohawk AS WELL AS those Beewuncons. I guess people may find issue with the arm kibble jot staying in place as well as they'd hope.
Head sculpt is vaguely reminiscent of a mix between TFP Soundwave, Cybertron Sideways, and some other robot escaping my mind. Probably resembles Tarn but for the Terrorcon faction. Weirdly, his eyes are hard to make out while he looms like he has that dumbass anime blush scratch mark on his cheeks. His articulation is standard for the line, with his head on a ball joint, shoulders that move front and back as well as in and out, bicep swivels, elbow bends, a waist swivel, hips that move front and back as well as in and out, swivel at the thigh, bend at the knees, and the feet hinge downwards as well as pivot. You can attach the wrecking ball over the hand by opening it before sliding it onto the hand and closing it like with Legacy Bulkhead.
For a size comparison with a familiar face, here he is next to Ironhide, fellow GMC truck Transformer. Both designs being radically different yet having similar design traits, like the bed becoming the legs or the front being the chest, but they're very different kinds of beasts, with Ironhide having more beef that gives him an extra length of badass that Battletrap makes up for by being more sinister and more likely to wreck things without being a Wrecker. It's cannons vs wrecking ball, everyone! As for Battletrap himself, he is a solid mold that manages to be a good start for the Terrorcons in the normal trio of size-classes, though there are a few places that could use tweaks here and there. I still recommend him.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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