The Siege version of Megatron was considered by many (myself included) to be one of the best versions of the character in modern lines. The Classics Voyager was fine for what it was, and the Titans Return version was nearly perfect, but the Siege version did everything I wanted it to do, and it made for a sweet take on the G1 guy overall. That being said, how do we make Megatron go from Siege to Earthrise when he can't turn into a Walter P-38? Well, Hasbro made him an Earth tank mode, but let's see how striking the differences are.
Here is Megatron in his vehicle mode, which is now an Earth tank rather than a Cybertronian tank. As a heavy retool of the Siege figure, I have to commend Hasbro for at least making the figure feel distinct from the Siege version in terms of design cues; the tank treads are brand new, the front of the tank is more fitting of an Earth tank design, the turret has a new barrel piece that completes the Earth tank mode, and for the most part, it works well. Some may find that the need for an Earth tank mode is kind of unnecessary, but I don't mind it so much for G1 Megatron since he's not so upset about taking an Earth disguise like Movie and TFP Megs are.
The proportions to the tank mode are quite good, though the feet sticking out does hurt the appearance somewhat thanks to the fact that they are not implemented in any way. On a side note, there's a new piece that is made specifically to make this less of an H-tank, which is kind of a nice idea yet it does end up feeling like a piece that you'd forget about considering how nondescript it is as well as how annoying it'd be to attach it.
Here he is next to the Siege version on the right. I know some will say that Hasbro didn't need to make this figure since the Siege one was already good for fans, but while the Siege one does look cooler, I don't mind the Earthrise figure given how, as previously mentioned, G1 Megatron isn't someone who doesn't object to using an Earth mode. One thing I do want to mention is that maybe the turret looks a little undersized, but beyond that, I appreciate Hasbro making the new figure look different enough from the older figure, though the battle damage paint apps being even more present here than on the Siege one is kind of ironic.
The bottom part of each figure is also slightly different from one another; I already covered the H-tank aspect on the Siege version being present while Earthrise uses a new piece to make it less like one, but the front of the tank that attaches to the front treads is different on both, with the new version better making it look less like an H-tank.Both of their heads are slightly exposed along with their chests.
Transformation into the robot mode is also the same as the Siege version, though while the hands feel tighter, the ankles are a little looser in comparison; it allows for smoother posing yet makes them unable to stay in one place while in tank mode. Also, we now have an added bit of partsforming with the piece that went between the legs. With all that said, the robot mode is similar to the Siege one, but with a bit of an Earth-influence to it. Things get more noticeably different if you were to take a look at the backpack, which strikes me the most because it's chunkier than Siege's version! I'll get into more comparisons with the Siege figure, though this guy's got some things I do like, such as the midriff not being as small and therefore looks fine on the chest, and the Fusion Cannon, as well as the head, look more classic in terms of design.
Speaking of, the head does have even more of a traditional G1 look than the ER version in terms of the shape of the helmet, though the face does look a little more grumpy than the Siege version's squinting anger. Still, he looks like he's not impressed with Autobot righteousness. The articulation is the same as the Siege version, with a waist swivel that doesn't dislodge the back kibble as badly and ankles that are a little looser. I still wish his wrists swiveled. And of course, you can give him the epic Fusion Cannon on him as always. It's something that was not in need of big change, but at least the new version looks just as good as the old one, which is something I can't say with the Ion Blasters Prime had from Siege to Earthrise.
So yeah, the fusion cannon itself looks pretty cool, but what about this other accessory? It's supposed to resemble the sword he had in the G1 toy, but it doesn't really look that convincing when the entire barrel and part of the turret are left on there. The thing can't even be removed from there, and even if it was arm-mounted, it doesn't look that good. Part of me wondered that it was supposed to be removable, yet the budget on the toy was not even enough to cover making it a separate piece despite it being a retool, so Hasbro just made this section look like a clump of plastic that can't be removed to reduce the part count.
Megatron received at least one reuse with this tooling, that being a G2 deco. While this version looks quite nice, I'm not really sure I'd want to have too many versions of this mold since I want to have the Netflix version be my Cybertronian Megatron, ER Megs as his Earth form, regular Siege as his miner form, and the Combat version as a Megaplex of some kind. And yeah I already got him.
Now it's comparison time! Here he is on the right next to the Siege version. While the ER version has most of the tooling changed to make it more Earth-like, the arms are mostly the same from one another in terms of tooling; it's the deco that's the same though the backs of the ER shoulders don't have the little flaps. In terms of what is different, the lower legs, waist, torso, head, and fusion cannon are different. While the proportions are slightly different, with the ER version having a slightly less wide upper torso and an extended midriff, the two figures actually share the same height despite the new figure not looking as tall thanks to the slight difference in position for the torsos and shoulders. What makes the height work is the face being extended downwards slightly. While the Siege one is the better head, the Earthrise one is more accurate to the G1 media in terms of shape.
I appreciate that the fusion cannons are different from one another, even if they didn't need to do that. As previously mentioned, better than how Optimus's weapons were changed between sublines.
That being said, the sword of the Earthrise version sucks compared to the Siege version. The Siege one was made from the turret and made for a pretty mean blade while this one's just a clump of parts. You can either disassemble the parts to make what could have been intended to be the sword...
...or you can give the Earthrise figure the Siege sword. Maybe an extra one if you feel like it!
For a comparison with his arch-enemy, here he is next to the Earthrise version of Optimus Prime. While the change from Siege to Earthrise is present for the figure, it's not as striking as Optimus Prime in terms of the overall appearance. That being said, I don't mind it since he doesn't feel as unchanged as I initially expected. Plus, I don't care if Megatron can't be a gun mode.
Now some may find it odd that Optimus Prime is taller than Megatron, but they are at eye-level. Kind of hard to tell because of the lack of silver on the face, but blame Hasbro.
So now we're at the end of the review, and I must say that this Megatron isn't as bad as I expected. Like there are some things I wish would be better on this guy like the swordthing and the back of the shoulders, but I can at least be sort of happy with what we got since it's a decent attempt at an Earth-mode Megatron and he'll go well with Starscream and the upcoming Soundwave. If you happen to find this guy, get him only if you are a completionist, a big Megatron fan, or if you see him on clearance. Beyond that, you might be happy with Siege Megatron.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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