Transformers Studio Series Megatron (MV1) review

Megatron's changed his looks more than any other Transformer did in the Movieverse, though not as much as Bumblebee did (who did so in every film, used two forms in MV1 and AOE, and received more forms than proper character development in his solo film). It's cool to see what he'll look like in the next film, but it's annoying because I do want to see him stick with some of his forms a little longer. This is especially true for his MV1 self, which wasn't as prominent as the other designs we've gotten since then. It also doesn't help by the fact that his first two figures in the MV1 design SUCKED, with a Leader Class figure that looked terrible and was incompetent compared to Optimus and Brawl, while the Voyager had ice on it and looked too weak for a Decepticon leader with ruthless personality. ROTF had a so-so Leader and a decent Voyager, DOTM had a Voyager that was alright but no Leader Class figure, AOE gave us only a Voyager and no Leader, and the TLK series gave us both, yet the Voyager manages to be the best version of a pre-Studio Series Megatron while the Leader, while better engineered than the other figures, does have some flaws. Now with the Studio Series, we have a ROTF form that was great despite the lack of silver paint and no swappable right arm, a DOTM form that's good but has some issues, and now a MV1 form that's cheaper than the Masterpiece figure but still manages to be just as good!

UPDATE (07/20/2021): Premium Finish version added

Let's go over the backdrop that comes with him. It's the Mission City battle that took place at the end of the movie. Can I honestly say that I was hoping it'd be the Sector 7 chamber where Megatron broke free from his icy prison? Anyways, most of the characters come with it, the only ones that don't have it include MV1 Optimus, both Bumblebees, Bonecrusher, Blackout, and Barricade.

Here is Megatron in his jet mode. It's a design that's generally hard to do right because most of the time, it's not quite easy to make a vehicle mode for a robot that's not got any specific vehicle parts, but it works for Megatron since he's got an alien design and doesn't suffer from the fireball look of the Deluxe Protoforms or the folded up robot look seen with those weird Trans-Scanning figures due to the fact that he still turns into a jet. An alien one, but a jet nonetheless. In terms of proportions, it's got about everything you would need to make it look like the vehicle, including the arms from the sides, the tail-fin, the nosecone, and the aesthetics of the wings. This figure doesn't have the robot head exposed, which may be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how accurate it is. Honestly, some of the concept art did a better job concealing it than the toys did, but either way, it does flow better than the slightly exposed TFP Megatron head in that version's jet mode. The arms would normally be hidden within the altmode, but I feel they complete the look. Speaking of look, this guy's painted with a nice coat of silver that was missing from the ROTF figure. Why this was done only on this version now when the ROTF figure had a prototype with silver paint is beyond me, but I gotta give major props to Hasbro for making one of two good versions of MV1 Megatron and giving them some silver paint.

The weapon storage is admittedly dumb, as you simply slap the mace under the jet and just leave it there. It'd probably fit better if it was underneath it, but it beats having it on the top.

Here he is with himself, his other self, his other, other self, and Motormaster. No, here he is with his forms from Revenge of the Fallen, Dark of the Moon, Age of Extinction, and The Last Knight. It's so great to have Megatron figures that fit in scale and are done very well, as before then, I had a MV1 Megatron that sucked, an ROTF Megatron that is better but is broken, a DOTM figure that's fine but has problems, a Galvatron that needed paint, and a TLK figure that seemed like the only good Movie Megatron in my collection until now. These figures look great together, and I now want to see what's next for the Studio Series Megatron Universe. Perhaps we'd get a new Galvatron or a reuse of the TLK figure with a battle mask and lighter gray? I hope it's that because I'm already happy with the current TLK Megatron. Back to the SSMV1 version, it's nicely done, and a lot better than I expected in terms of the jet mode.

Megatron's transformation is thankfully different from what we got previously, as the legs aren't just from under the wings or from the back. Instead, they're part of the wings and part of the back, resulting in one of the more involved leg transformations, especially for the wings and tucking them in. The arms are fairly basic, but to their credit, the nosecone folds up and goes inside the chest. Now for the robot mode, I'm going to say right off the bat that the torso is that of his ROTF form. While it does suck that it's not 100% accurate to what it should be (especially when he's got none of the reused parts from the other Megatrons), at least it still fits with the character. Plus, I'm so used to seeing it that it honestly doesn't bother me as much as I originally thought, so it's more "That's weird they didn't make a new chest when everything else is new" and less "ARGH HASBRO WTF HATE YOU LAZY POOPIE HEADS" like some fans are. Proportionally speaking, this Megatron's got a bit more beef than I remember him having, which isn't a bad thing as he still looks aggressive yet has the strength nonetheless. The legs, though, can take some getting used to, as they're a lot blocky than I'd like. At least they don't look like the details are etched on like with the DOTM Leader figure, but it's still noticeable. From the side, there's not much else to say beyond how good the figure looks, but it's so good to see the back look streamlined. No stupid backpack like with the old figures and the tucked away back wings does tend to be missing on the older figures, even if the wings are not actually on the back (the Masterpiece does have them on the back). The hips pieces do look a little out of place compared to the rest of the body, though, mainly due to the lack of paint.

The headsculpt is so good to see done right, even if it took Hasbro THIRTEEN YEARS to give us a MV1 head design that doesn't have any bad light piping, inaccuracies, or stupid paint apps. The paint is nicely applied, there's gunmetal gray to contrast the silver, the eyes are red (even if they're hard to see, they don't look bad), and the molding is superb. There's no horrifically bad attempt at making Megatron look good (well, as good as a frightening alien tyrant would look). As for the articulation, the head is on a ball joint, the shoulders move front and back as well as in and out, though they do have a tendency to flex slightly (and untab from the back), the biceps swivel, and the elbows bend (while the hands can only move inwards). The hips move front and back, in and out, thighs swivel, knees bend, and the ankles pivot.

The mace he comes with is sadly the only accessory that's included with this toy. While it's nice to see him come with a A weapon, I kind of wish that the fusion cannon would be included, as despite being used briefly, it was an iconic moment where he told Optimus to "JOIN THEM IN EXTINCTION!!!" as he deployed the fusion cannon. I guess you can fold the hands away and pretend he's got guns, but that's not as fun! Also, the mace head is on a mushroom joint while the actual mace doesn't bend too well since it's a rigid material.

His only reuse so far is one that baffles me. This is the Premium Finish version of Megatron, who is barely any different from the regular version. Okay, maybe he has some slight rust-like patterns here and there to give the illusion of a metal texture, but this ain't it, chief. Maybe if his chest was retooled and he came with his fusion cannon, it'd be a more justifiable purchase. That being said, this was the PERFECT opportunity for a repaint of the ROTF Megatron that not only has the silver paint but ALSO has a retooled right arm that can be swapped for a fusion cannon or his forearm. WTF, Takara?!

Here he is with him and his...boys? Well, can you really associate yourself and your alternate forms with the "Me and the Boys" meme? Anyways, he's around the same height as with the other Megatrons from the Studio Series line and does tower over Galvatron and TLK Megatron. I honestly don't mind Galvatron being short given how the drone was originally meant to replicate Optimus Prime before it was hacked by the mind of Megatron, thus possessing the drone and reconfiguring it to mimic his look. TLK Megatron, on the other hand, does look a little too short next to the main three bodies. Setting aside the non-trilogy designs of Megatron, seeing three Megatrons with consistency in sculpting, scale, and engineering is great, even if ROTF Megatron could use paint while DOTM Megatron could use a little bit more engineering in mind.

Here he is with his MV1 Voyager and Leader forms. I don't have the Masterpiece figure, but I will mention that while that figure does look amazing, I wish it didn't have some of the bronze pieces or the red around the chest. For now, we will make do with this comparison. My Voyager Megatron has some silver paint on it, which is why it looks weird and is also incomplete due to me losing interest in customizing it. Not like it matters since I have the new Voyager. As for the Leader, it may be a childhood toy of mine and my brother, but it looks stupid nowadays. So despite being bigger, it isn't better than the new take on MV1 Megatron.

It's so nice to have Megatron be painted beautifully and also sculpted accurately, so with that in mind, he'll take TWO...heads from his older toys.

Here he is next to the other Decepticons from the first movie. I have to admit, the older toys did look a little more colorful, as they had a bit more saturation in their color schemes. Still, they all look great together, and can only be beaten by a Masterpiece Decepticon display and a Prime1Studios display.

After owning a Megatron that looks stupid, a Brawl that was too small, a Barricade with that blue Allspark Power crap, getting another Megatron that looked stupid, having a Bonecrusher that was also too small, and not having any Blackout or Starscream from the MV1 line, I'm quite happy to own the Studio Series versions.

Here he is with his nemesis, Optimus Prime. They scale nicely with each other, as Megatron is at 35 feet while Optimus was at 28. It's so good to see them contrast one another even more, as it's not just the looks or motivations, but also the look of a tyrant that towers over the hero.

All in all, it's so nice to have these two look good next to each other, as the older Optimus figures, while decent for their time, were pretty blocky, while Megatron's figures looked dumb. Thankfully, we have a pretty good MV1 Optimus next to a great MV1 Megatron. Now to get the MPM version to go with MPM-4 Optimus. As for Megatron himself, he's my favorite version of the character in this line, coming with some great engineering, really neat effort in the articulation, and having at least two-three flaws. I highly recommend you all get him!

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