Blitzwing, Blitzwing, Blitzwing, what a wasted opportunity you were in that Bumblebee movie. You know, it's funny how many people get upset when some Decepticons don't have as much prominence as the others, yet people are perfectly fine with Blitzwing dying too soon (probably because this isn't a Michael Bay film). Sad too because he was the first villain to appear in the movie, though he wasn't off to a great start given how people assumed he was Starscream (I mean, LOOK AT HIM) until it turns out that he was named Blitzwing, meaning this guy has nothing in common with the G1 dude (but it's okay because it's not a Michael Bay film, amirite?). Stupid double standards amongst the nerd culture aside, I did kind of like Blitzwing's design in the Bumblebee movie and was hoping to get his action figure in the Studio Series line, but less than 2 years after his brief on-screen appearance, let's see how well it stacks up, shall we?
Here we have his backdrop, which mostly reuses the same image from the encounter with Bumblebee in the movie. He can fit in there no problem, and you might even include the little B-127 himself if you want!
Here we have Blitzwing in his jet mode. Design-wise, it's not quite accurate to the vehicle mode he took form of in the movie, but it does at least resemble what it should look like without the licensing fees. As far as proportions go, I'm a little unsure of how it's supposed to look. Part of it has that similar feel to Nitro Zeus's jet mode (toy version, at least), where it's got a little too much bulk that keeps it from being very accurate to how he briefly appeared in the movie. Also, another thing I don't like about it is the overspray that goes over the canopy. That is not accurate to the movie, and I don't know why it comes with it. Also, the vertical tailfin always looks odd since it seemingly has that "split" look to it. All in all, it's a decent but not quite perfect or accurate jet mode.
The underside of the jet mode has some nice weapon storage, what with the gun filling in the gap around where the faux cockpit is placed, and there are also spots for the hand claw and the missiles...or are they bombs? The underside would be a little wonky without these pieces, so it's appreciative that they add to the toy.
The cockpit does open, though there is no proper storage for a Titan Master. Well, not that there needed to be one since he's not Titan Master compatibility. At least there's no seat that messes up the articulation!
Here is Blitzwing next to the other Jetformers of the Movieverse, which are Starscream and Nitro Zeus. His jet mode certainly has that similar look to Nitro Zeus's. It's kind of funny how that works, though it's the tailfins and sizes are different from one another. Still, while these are mostly gray jets feel like they could be been-there-done-that, but they at least attempt to distinguish each other fairly well, with Starscream doing so the most due to the unique shape of the F-22 Raptor.
The opening cockpits are a nice touch for at least Blitzwing and Nitro Zeus, though Nitro Zeus was made with Titan Master compatibility due to the existence of Cog, who was a Headmaster in the toyline despite not showing that in the movie (boo!). Oh, and I have Wheelie and Brains inside of the cockipt.
Before we cover the transformation, I want to mention that the tailfins on the shoulders are misassembled. They are slanted in the wrong direction, but you can instead swap them around and they'd look better than they are right now.
The transformation is pretty involved for a jet Transformer that is normally done up like a Starscream. The wings and arms are fairly simple, but the legs transform pretty well, and the cockpit swiveling in order to allow the faux canopy part of the chest to go over it is a nice compromise as it can't transform like it did in the movie. Sure, there are some bars that look a little out of place, but they don't look too noticeable. and things like the hinges for the wings give him a little more personality like with Earthrise Starscream.
And the robot mode itself looks pretty good. Apart from maybe the tailfins sticking out too much from the sides or the panels within the forearms, this figure looks very close to how he (briefly) appeared on screen. The proportions are captured nicely, too, even if the arms look a little too lanky like on the CGI model. The wings look a little too big from the sides, but that's how they were in the movie. The missle pods make them look a little more complete. The face sculpt certainly has a Starscream look to it, but I feel it's a little too no-nonsense for the character. I'm sure this was intended to be a pre-2007 Starscream at some point in time before the film was re-edited, but it's a more serious Starscream face with a gas mask apparatus and some clear orange parts that I don't think were on the model. He's also kept the red part on the head.
Articulation is very good for this guy! Aside from a ball-jointed head, he's got shoulders that move front and back as well as in and out, double-jointed elbows, and wrist swivels to boot. He also has one hand that can open and close (more on that later). There is a slight waist swivel, and the legs can move front and back, in and out, the thighs swivel, the knees bend, and he has some ankle pivots! One of his accessories is a cannon that goes over either hand and it gives him a transformed state, which is done very nicely. I especially love how it mostly blends in with the hand while also giving the barrel some nice paint to boot.
Now let's go back to the right hand for a moment. It has poseability in the knuckles and only in that hand. Now why would he have an articulated right hand, let alone one that is a right hand?
Perhaps it can help him with shaking hands with the only other figure I have with poseable fingers, that being Earthrise Optimus Prime! Oh, and Beewun Twenty Seven seems angry at his friend shaking hands with a Decepticon (who isn't even his actual friend).
Maybe shaking hands for their friendship shows that there might be more to them both than meets the eye. OptimusXBlitzwing, anyone?
But of course, the main intent is for Blitzwing to grab Bumblebee by the neck and use another accessory of his to remove the voice box. You can switch out either hand and give him the extremity so you can make Bee's inability to speak official...though we know for a fact that he wasn't the true Decepticon to do that, Travis.
You can do plenty of weapon-swaps with this guy since the hands are on 5mm ports, So Mirage may have to hold BW's gun and Impactor's gun, but Blitzwing has the 5mm ports of Mirage's weapons on his arms, Impactor has the right hand and voice box remover of Blitzwing, and Ratchet can take the small pistol and instead use the left hand to give him shoulder massages.
And of course, let's bring in Darth Vader and have both of his hands cut off like Count Dooku's were back when the man in the black suit was once Anakin Skywalker. Sadly, no lightsaber is included with Blitzwing, and there isn't an Emperor Palpatine to go with him.
There may not have been any repaints for this guy, but there is an interesting history regarding the stock images. The initial pics had a fairly normal shade of gray, and there was no overspray for the canopy. The nosecone is gray, but it's not inaccurate. The second pics have a different shade of gray, but the head and crotch are not painted properly. Part of me feels this is a prototype that was used by accident, though it's funny how that it was used in the first place.
And here is Blitzwing next to the other characters in the Bumblebee movie! He scales pretty well next to Optimus Prime, though it is a case of the robot scale in the movie not being a realistic as in the other films. I guess it makes sense if Blitzwing wasn't as much of a bigger bot (or Con) compared to Starscream, but that's just me. I would add Cliffjumper in this, but he sucks...so Optimus Prime and Bumblebee have to take care of Nightbird's daughter, a guy who's named after a grunt in the 2007 game, and a guy who looks like Starscream.
And here is Blitzwing next to some of the other prominent Jetformers in the Movieverse (even if the most prominent one was Starscream). He's shorter than either of the two, but I think it works as he wasn't as much of a bigger character as either of these two gentlemen. And thankfully, he's not so short that he might as well be a Deluxe (another issue of the size charts from the Bumblebee movie). I know Nitro Zeus was repainted into Thundercracker, so I'd love to see Blitzwing be repainted into Skywarp so we can have an interesting trio of Seekers that aren't really repaints of Starscream (and are instead repaints of other Jetformers...one of them looking like Starscream, I might add).
And here are the final images we have to close off on the review. Oh, it seems Megatron isn't happy with Blitzwing taking his job as the one Transformer who rendered Bumblebee mute.
Yeah, part of me wants to end the review this way, but I don't think Blitzwing deserves that much flak.
This guy is currently tied with Optimus Prime as the best figure to be based on the Bumblebee movie. While most of the figures based on the movie have been pretty wack, this guy, along with Optimus Prime, Offroad Bumblebee, and Car Dropkick are some of the few good entries we have so far. I'm also glad that this guy isn't as half-assed like with Car Shatter, Cliffjumper, and Chopkick. I like how this guy transforms, and the accessories he comes with are nice additions, too. The right hand is a nice touch, though it makes me wish we got that for Studio Series Jetwing Optimus Prime. I'm so happy that we have a Blitzwing that is transformable and in scale with the other toys in the line, especially when all that would be acceptable was the Nitro Series one. That figure wasn't bad but it didn't seem quite fulfilling (setting aside that it was made for kids). So despite my dislike for the Bumblebee movie and my disappointment with Blitzwing's brief appearance in the film, this is a great figure for the line!
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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