Transformers Animated Soundwave review

It's that time again for another Transformers Animated review, this time for a Deception with unique origins amongst his kind. Rather than be a normal member of the faction, Soundwave vegan life as a Trojan horse of sorts: a gift made by Megatron intended for Sari's birthday. Knowing she would use the Allspark Key to upgrade this seemingly innocent toy, what Megatron expected was to use Soundwave as a new body before it ended up gaining sentience and turning against humans for technological superiority. While initially unwilling to attack the Autobots from refusal to harm other machines, he was tricked into believing they were traitors for serving the humans he despised. Soundwave didn't make that many appearances in the show, yet he still felt like he was a pretty prominent dude overall. Makes me wonder what he'd be like if he fully joined the Decepticons. Anyways, the revolution is now, because he now takes the review spotlight!

Here we have Soundwave in his vehicle mode. A stylized Scion XB with music elements, this alt mode further solidifies my belief that it was always meant to be a jukebox on wheels. I mean, if you remember the first Cars movie where one of the prankster cars, DJ, was a tuned out Scion with a jukebox in the trunk as well as tons of equalizers to make the altmode all about music. It has a Hot Wheels vibe with the angular profile, stylized rims, and thinner windows than normally possible on the real car, and the Allspark Blue accents actually compliment the toy rather than make it gaudy like in many Allspark Power figures (mainly the Target exclusive versions of Bee, Barry, Brawl, and Jazz). I also like the gold for the logo and the custom bumper made to resemble the tape deck buttons. I hope whoever came up with these design elements got a raise because they know how to make kickass cars I want to see in real life.

Laserbeak can tab on the top, which adds for some funky storage considering how much he comes off like a promotional tour car more than anything this time.

One thing that does suck is that the equalizer on the back is not painted, which was probably neglected because of the bot mode deco, but I would like to see some extra details on the back.

For an alt mode size comparison, here he is next to Earthrise Trailbreaker (the Legacy United Autobots Stand United version, specifically). While the scale has changed between figures from 2008 to 2020, these two seem fairly reasonable if we consider Trailbreaker is a pretty small pickup truck only bulked up with a camper on the back. Thankfully, Animated Soundwave feels nicer to hold and mess around with than Trailbreaker when it comes to plastic quality.

Before we go further in the robot mode, I need to point out a minor yet glaring design flaw: the knees are misassembled in a way that makes him bowlegged. It seems that only my copy was affected, yet this never happened for other people compared to the widespread issue that plagued many Electrostatic Soundwaves. The transformation isn't affected, but he's stuck in that cowboy stance.

First, you need to unscrew the shins from the inside of the lower legs. Be sure not to lose the screws and have them organized properly so they don't get assembled all wrong!

Then you must slide the joints from the swivel pegs before swapping them at the ball joints used for the knees. That way, the sides that are going inwards face each other while the flatter sides are flush with the thighs.

Once completed, you now have this look for the knees. Properly straightened and healthy for fighting against the humans oppressing the machines. On a side note, his beef with organic lifeforms could make him and Beast Era Megatron buddies while they teach the average Japanese Tokusatsu villain how to better hate the human race than just "erm they're heckin' bad ☝️🤓". That being said, that serial number on the shin looks rough...

Anyways, the transformation is pretty fun to go back and forth, mostly with the legs just doing all this twisting and turning to go from the front of the car to the lower legs, not to mention the way the tires face forward on the shoulders or the chest and head snapping in place feeling more satisfying than on other toys. It's this mix of nice plastic quality and addictive engineering that makes you want to pick up an Animated Transformer and play with it. The resulting robot mode is a great reimagining of the classic design Soundwave had in G1, but heavily creating an identity of its own unlike most past versions of Soundwave we had since 2018 that used the evergreen design. He's got shoulder speakers to amplify his audio, dynamic proportions rather than generic blocky ones, and an even stronger music influence than the G1 version's tape deck altmode. This dude could easily infiltrate a DJ booth and blend in fine enough if he doesn't want to attack the humans partying! You'd think the purists would be on board with this look, though I bet even a stylized remaining of the G1 design would be seen as an unholy insult that would trigger them as much as whenever Soundwave has a drastically different design like in the films or Prime.

His head sculpt is meant to be based on the way some characters from 2000 AD's ABC Warriors had their eyes shaped, but it's kind of vague in terms of how the homage turned out. Still, I love the badass shape of the visor contrasted by the bigger cheek guards and mouthplate, making him still look awesome in spite of being cartoony. He looks like he could play Fat Joe's album in the series and get away with licensing fees! How articulation consists of swivels at the neck and waist, ball joints at the shoulders, elbows, hips, and knees, as well as hinges at the ankles. Using the knobs on the guitar as pegs for the screw holes means he can be posed rocking it out with Laserbeak!

As for Laserbeak's bird mode, spite it in half to form the wings, slide the top part down to form a more feather-like tail, and shorten the guitar neck to complete the look. I wish the eyes were painted but this is still one of the best ways to integrate Laserbeak without making him a tape.

As far as reuses are concerned, the Takara version of Soundwave has a metallic coat of paint while the Decepticon insignias are fully colored. I may add some Reprolabels to complete the purple look on the logos for the Hasbro copy...

We later got Electrostatic Shockwave that casts him in grey with red and lavender accents. Instead of Laserbeak, he comes with Ratbat the keytar. I almost want to get this just for Ratbat, but the deco looks cool on Soundwave.

The Takara version manages to be even better, replacing the grey with black, lavender with silver, and adding some gold on Ratbat. If there was ever a Takara Animated repaint to get, make this one of them!

For anyone wondering how well he would look with a modern Animated toy, or at least one set ing as a retool, here he is next to the recent Age of the Primes version of Animated Wreck-Gar. Though clearly a retool of a spiky Junkion and not really matching the source material anywhere near as well as the other Animated characters we got in the series (other than the Autotrooper), these two Allspark Key creations (Allsparkeyrations?) don't look too different from each other when it comes to the overall aesthetics. Overall, Animated Soundwave is a great figure to have from the Deluxe Class cast of characters, especially with that rockstar vibe that makes him want to rock the face off any unsuspecting Autobot. Even if he wasn't part of the main group of Animated Decepticons, I recommend you get him ASAP. 

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

McFarlane DC Multiverse Wally West Flash & Dark Flash review

It's that time of the year where we take a look at a DC superhero known to not only run fast as hell, but to also affect continuity wherever he goes. Ignoring the Golden Age, everyone immediately thinks of Barry Allen as THE main Flash, but there is always a second best when it comes to Wally West. Whereas the former was more serious and intelligent, no doubt thanks to his scientific experience, while the latter tends to be witty and often times seen as "relatable" before millennial writers ruined that kind of character trait. Despite Wally being a successor to Barry, he is somehow better tapped into the Speed Force, no doubt likely a trait we see whenever the new guy surpasses the original in feats (such as Gohan surpassing his dad, Goku). As for Dark Flash, he represents the Lightning Knights and one of the many minions under the Darkest Knight, aka The Batman Who Laughs. Without further ado, let's see if these speedsters are worth picking up or leaving behind in the dust.

Here we have Dark Flash in-hand, who represents a twisted version of Flash as he appeared in the Rebirth era. As far as I can tell, this is either a new mold inspired by the costume that was modded for this character specifically, or it is a retool of an existing Rebirth Flash. That being said, it is unique for having the sleeves torn off while the shoulders and wrists remain covered up. I really want to like the entire look of the figure, but I'm not entirely sold on the use of yellow when mixed with the charcoal black and the very pale and chalky lavender skin. A wash or some dry-brushing would help blend in with the darker color scheme, especially with the yellow given how that fits a traditionally vibrant Flash costume. We'll get into a prior version of the character in a moment, but as far as aesthetics go, the lavender and yellow hold the rest of the otherwise solid, corrupted design back.

His head sculpt is appropriately zombified, all stemming from the Lightning Knights being evil and twisted from the traditional heroism found in most Speedsters. I bet he looks like MCU Thanos under that mask, albeit with a double chin.

Since we already know the standards of McFarlane DC Multiverse articulation, his sole accessories are two alternate heads that feature slightly different snarling expressions, which makes perfect sense if you want to army build duplicates of them into a fairly frightening (speed) force. However, the original Dark Flash, originally a Gold Label release, had lightning effect parts that went on his limbs while the costume had black boots, gold on the logo, waist, thighs, ear pieces, and wrist guards, and black within the chest logo. I wish those paint apps that were removed on the Red Platinum version were kept so as to make the costume more complete, though I guess that can be justified with the yellow now being relocated to the boots. It's a weird trade off, especially with how much I get reminded of when Hasbro does this with slightly altered versions of their figures whenever they come with a new accessory or two. If you really want a version of him to go with the rogues gallery of everyone's favorite scarlet speedster, who am I to judge you?

As for Wally West, he is a reuse of the Flashpoint version of Barry Allen, which is the Blue Beetle body to my recollection. New to this figure is a diaper piece with the symmetrical lightning bolt and more generic boot tops. What I like best about the figure is the use of gold to distinguish him further from Barry. Unlike Barry, his eyes are whited out, and the chest logo has a black outline on the circle and lightning bolt. This isn't the first time we had a Wally Flash; the Task Force wave featuring Darkseid as the BAF had this as sort of a pretool with pixelated paint apps to simulate the video game artstyle. I skipped the entire wave but own the Darkseid BAF as someone who prefers my New God villain in titular, darker colors. Instead of an alternate head or BAF parts, this new Wally West Flash has alternate hands in the form of a pair of fists and splayed open hands, as well as a right pointing hand and a left flat open hand.

Let's bring em together and see how well either of them fit well with Dark Flash. Neither have the sculpted details that DF had, but the yellow on the figure matches Barry fine enough. If I had the regular Gold Label version, it would probably fit with Wally a tiny bit more. Just remember neither matches the more modern design of the Lightning Knight.

Overall, I would have to give Wally West the advantage because not only are the alternate hands more versatile than two barely different snarling heads, but you're more likely going to want to complete the 90s JLA group than you are the more recent run of DC. Hell, between this, and both Page Punchers for Barry Allen with the same hands and Jay Garrick means we have more options to complete a more classic (or at least pre-2000s/pre-New 52 Justice League). Wally wins, and Lightning loses.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Dark Flash)

⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Wally West)

Marvel Legends Retro Spider-Man Villains Electro & Mysterio review

Two foes we've seen regularly in Spider-Man mythos often continue the trend of wearing green and having their own unique abilities that briefly put our hero in a pickle before he outsmarts them as per usual. Electro, aka Max Dillon, gained his abilities after being struck by lightning, while Mysterio used visual effects as his abilities to throw people off. They continue the trend of being green along with most of the Spider-Man villains, but they at least have slightly different shades in addition to  being the focus of today's review. Let's see how well these two retro carded figures turned out!

Here we have Electro in-hand. Using the Spider-UK body, which is familiar to me with the Gamerverse PS4 version from years ago, this is a fairly appropriate mold choice for a character like him. It's neither too skinny as with the Pizza Spidey body he once had in the Space Venom wave, nor is it too bulky while maintaining a fairly close approximation of the comic physique. However, being a comic figure, his costume details are tampographed with yellow paint that thankfully isn't too inconsistent with the parts molded in yellow plastic. The same can be said with the yellow parts with any green paint, though the boots have the green spikes match the legs slightly less. While the costume was fairly simple, we at least have the forearms with the spikes that add to the electric theme.

His head sculpt adds to the comic factor with an absurd star-like mask that is very jagged and radical, no doubt fitting someone who's value is pure shock from everything he conducts towards Spider-Man. As for his articulation, the head is on a ball and disk hinge combo, the shoulders move front and back as well as in and out, the biceps swivel, double-joints for the elbows, and both fisted and electric hands can swivel on their pegs as well as hinge in and out. The torso uses an ab crunch as well as a waist swivel, while the hips can move front and back as well as in and out. The thighs swivel, knees are double-jointed, boots swivel, and the feet are able to hinge and rock side to side.

As for Mysterio, this is not our first stab at the character; the Retro version had a suit filled with rich textures and the like, which originated from the 2017 Lizard BAF line around the time Homecoming came out. This version, based on the 90s animated series, uses the Vulcan body with character-appropriate gloves and boots. However, as is the case of Hasbro's own beliefs and approaches to homaging the series they either use poorly applied shading like on the VHS sets or leaving them with saturated plastic colors that may be too shiny to some. This is more matte than other Legends of late, and thankfully the color discrepancy between the limbs and the pinless joints is far less noticeable here. The cape is the typical sculpted het fairly regal trope seen on many Hasbro Legends with capes, though this one has trouble staying in place without the help of some additional tabs. It stays in fine with the dome weighing it down in place somewhat. While the color break up does its job fine, deco is mostly reserved for the belt buckle, the boots, and maybe the diamond-shaped fasteners on the cape?

While the articulation is mostly the same as Electro, Mysterio has accessories unique to him. These translucent tentacles and head are neat even if they lack deco, and while the former can snap onto the legs, the latter can be held in either open hand or used on the empty neck. He does, however, come with the alternate head for his alias, Quinton Beck. Being a new sculpt compared to Electro being a reissue, he has a more realistic aesthetic compared to older Legends figures, and that generally clashes with the animated aesthetics. Word of advice: be ready to deal with the cape not wanting to stay in place without the dome.

Here we have them alongside Renew Your Vows Spider-Man, aka the one who has been my classic Spidey for a few years (still not interested in Maximum, sorry). Honestly, both figures do just fine enough jobs at what they are supposed to represent. Electro being a reissue is okay, though be ready to pay slightly more than what he cost in 2020. Meanwhile, Mysterio suffers from the cape not staying in place and having few paint apps, but the accessory count does him some favors. Electro should be at shops like BigBadToyStore while Mysterio stays a Walmart exclusive.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (both)

McFarlane Digital Red Tornado & Blackfire review

It's that time of the year again, when we have two McFarlane DC Multiverse figures paired together! This time, we have my least favorite section to revisit, that being the Digital subline, where accessories are usually sacrificed in favor of a redemption code for a CAD file of its associated action figure. I have bought a few figures from the waves, don't get me wrong, but it's always going to be in favor of the action figure rather than some redemption code for a program I'm not even going to use. It's something that I won't miss from the McFarlane era of DC figures, especially if it wasn't advertised as the company saying, "hey, you can use these to customize your own versions of the characters if you have the tech," with how overly niche the Digital side of things can be. Anyways, we have the possible last few stretches of characters to look forward to with the likes of Red Tornado and Blackfire as our review focus, so let's see if these two are worth getting despite the slight price hikes.

Here we have Red Tornado in-hand, which is a retool of the Rebirth era version of the character we got early on in the line, to my understanding. Being closer to the Bronze Age of comic books that many people would rather have, we get simpler comic details rather than having ones raised in relief, or at least ditching the belt in favor of a cross in the midriff. We also have no deco on the sides of the legs, but we have it remaining on the arms. What was once gold is now yellow (ironic because the gold is on a release that is called "Gold Label", but there may be a version of this with the mark as well, so who knows what is going on). I don't have much else to say with a simple character in solid red with yellow here and there, but apparently, the legs are supposed to have yellow stripes down the middle. I mean, some comic art has them but others don't, so either the promo art is inconsistent or the toy designers went the easy route. Whatever it's supposed to be, people need to make up their mind.

Head sculpt is possibly the same as the original, with not much else to talk about with the sculptwork when it is a blank bald man head with a yellow arrow pointing at the bridge of his nose, and some eyes with eyeliner around them to make them stand out. It's one of those head designs that is summed up with "does the job fine". His articulation is the standard affair for the DC Multiverse line, as everyone has 22 points of articulation. Same range, same blank bodies, you know the drill.

His sole accessories are the alternate hands that are gesturing at what may be yet another huge problem with this figure: the lack of bendy wires! It's already bad enough that New 52 Superman doesn't have this issue, and it's also no better when No Man's Land Batman has no wire implementation, but HOW MANY MORE FIGURES ARE GOING TO HAVE THEIR CAPES WITHOUT BENDY WIRES?! If you're not going to add one, then don't sew small spaces meant for them to go through! And don't use a ribbon material where it won't flex that easily for a vanilla pose! AND DON'T USE A FUCKING WIRE FOR THE COLLAR AND NOT ADD ONE FOR THE CAPE YOU CHEAP ASSHOLES!!!!! I wouldn't even mind them not adding a bendy wire if they went with including the tornado stand that fits the character, but nope! Minimum effort.

As for Blackfire, this figure is a reuse of the Collector Edition Starfire, which is a retool of, you guessed it, Knightfall Catwoman! While the sleeves and boots at least made sense for the younger sister, not removing the ridges for the boots and gloves results in the discrepancies in what should be a spandex suit. Another issue I have with the figure would be the lack of stability when standing her without the base. Her heels are a pain in the ass to keep her from falling over, and with the shape of her shoes, she ends up being a bitch to stand up. Not helping is the hair on the figure, nice as it may be, has a bit of weight that contributes to her toppling over at times. As for positives, the metallic paint job is beautiful, from the shiny, chrome-like silver to the colorful, petroleum-esque blue that has a slight rainbow effect under the light. And while the lack of retooling to remove the glove and boot ridges may be annoying, the proportions of the build fit the slightly older Blackfire than her sister.

Head sculpt is more or less similar to Starfire, what with both of them being sisters and all that. I like that the orange paint on the skin tone pops along with the red used for the lips and eyebrows in addition to the green eyes. I also like that the silver on her head set is picked out without any skimped areas, even with the luscious hair. Her articulation being similar to everyone else means we can go straight to her accessories: two effect parts she dubbed blackbolts, not to be confused with the Marvel Inhuman. They merely rest over the fists and don't have spaces tight enough to stay in place. You'll have to figure that out. Honestly, while not as frustrating as Red Tornado's cost cutting, Blackfire's balancing issues and retool incapabilities still hold her back. The metallic deco is nice, but you may be want to get Starfire since she has a flight stand (even if the other accessories are more or less the same).

On a side note, we have a Platinum chase variant of Starfire in sci-fi gothic colors that may be intended for Blackfire. Both are based on DC Rebirth.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Red Tornado)

⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Blackfire)