Transformers Robots in Disguise 2001 X-Brawn review

While most designs of Brawn have been pretty close to the G1 iteration, X-Brawn was practically a unique guy thanks to not just his cooler name, but also because of his entirely different design as well as a huge left arm that gives Thanos or Hellboy a run for their money. Amusingly, he looks like a Japanese robot yet turns into a German SUV and talks like a cowboy. He's the oldest Autobot Brother, and even after Hasbro stuck with the Geewun look for future Brawns, at least the Shattered Glass comics from Fun Pub depicted the evil version of the G1 character to later be reformatted as X-Brawn, and the One-Step Changer of AOE Rollbar (who looks like that Sonic RS that seemingly was going to be a Transformer) would unusually look like the character we got here. Anyways, let's see how well this guy holds up.

Here we have X-Brawn in his vehicle mode, which is a Mercedes-Benz ML320 SUV. Coated in silver paint with clear windows, chrome hubcaps, brushguard, and grille, and an Autobot insignia among other paint apps added throughout the toy, making it look somewhat like a die-cast toy car. You can see the head inside, but that is apparently show-accurate in the first episode where he saved Koji from harm. The main difference betweem.this and the Takara version is the Autobot insignia on the hood, which I feel compliments him though the Japanese variant can work as a generic toy car without it, on top of having the proper headlights remaining visible than how they are here. 

The doors open like on a die cast car, but the interior instead has X-Brawn's head waiting to pick you up for a ride. This is even show-accurate to the cartoon when Koji was a brief passenger in the first episode. Also like die-cast cars, his hood can open to reveal his chrome engine, predating numerous Alternator toys and Energon Hot Shot by 3-4 years!

For one more look at the Autobot Bros as a set, here we have him on the right next to Prowl and Side Burn. The alt mode of choice he has isn't anywhere near as sporty as the younger siblings, but it still fits him nonetheless on top of being a heavier character. This altmode could be seen as loosely reminiscent of Ironhide and Trailbreaker as far as being a midsized vehicle is concerned.

Transforming X-Brawn is pretty easy, with the torso being one of the more intricate steps of the transformation. The left arm has more going on with the transformation due to the way his design works, as you reveal a hand while hinging the wheel back, and the doors overlap each other somewhat. The robot mode's asymmetry is not just showcased with the arms, but we also see a bit of this on the upper torso, where the tech details are different from one another (on top of the coloring they're given). There are rumors that X-Brawn was going to be named as Strongarm because, well, look at his left arm, but that name wouldn't be used until Energon. The only issues I have with the bot mode would be how the two doors get in the way with each other, as well as the lower legs having nowhere to tab in place. The back panel could be handled better so as to not look like it's barely integrated.

The head sculpt is done pretty accurately, especially with the chrome eyes that are common in the RID 2001 line. It's great to see this figure not have anything removed in terms of paint apps beyond the headlights being changed for licensing issues while the Autobot insignia is added on the hood. Seen here with his weird weapon in one hand, another on his back, and a knuckle guard on the left hand, the articulation consists of ball joints at the neck, the right shoulder, the right elbow, the left hand, and the hips, while the left shoulder swivels front and back as well as hinge in and out somewhat like the knees do. His thumb is also poseable.

As far as reuses are concerned, this is Super X-Brawn in a redeco similar to the Toyota Rally cars you might have seen in something like Gran Turismo 3. The bright white with red, blue, and green decals make it stand out along with the CYBERTRON WILD markings (along with the number 24) to remind fans of his Japanese name, Wildride. The altered headlights and added Autobot insignia are the same with the Hasbro version.

Here we have the clear version of X-Brawn, which at least fits well with his opaque counterpart already being white compared to the added blue of Prowl and the red color swap off Side Burn that this set exclude.

While the younger Autobot Brothers got plenty of repaints in the Universe line (along with the convention exclusives), we only got one repaint for this mold to represent a separate character in the form of Universe 2003's Ratchet, exclusive in a 2-pack that also featured Prowl-repaint Inferno. The tools and siren are all tampographs, and the Emergency font looks pretty generic on him. The choice seems so bizarre to go with, as Trailbreaker would have been selected to go with the Sideswipe and Sunstreaker repaints of Prowl in the convention comics. However, the name was unavailable for Hasbro to use. Some of his weapons are no longer chromed, though.

For a bot mode size comparison, here we have him next to another X-Brawn but without the X-, just to showcase how wildly altered the character was when going from this barrel-chested robot to a gut with a huge left arm and a real car. I bet X-Brawn could survive the 86 movie with said left arm.

And one more group of the Autobot Brothers together, just as we close out the reviews of the Autobot Brothers. X-Brawn is a very funky design overall, but I can't ignore how cool it looks in plenty of ways, especially with how he doesn't feel too similar to the other bros. I think you can get this guy at a good price with no problem, but be sure to have the wheels facing forward on the shins because I didn't realize that was supposed to be done.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐