Optimus Prime's naturally going to appear in every new Transformers series with Cyberverse being no exception. This incarnation uses the Evergreen design with a stylized take on it, making him look more like the love child of G1 and Animated. It's a good aesthetic, even if I'm not 100% on board with the Evergreen/G1 aesthetics being used more often for every bit of media. That being said, I did want a version of Optimus Prime based on the cartoon, though Cyberverse continued the same problem that the 2015 RID line did and make gimmick toys prominent with random sizes and making the toys feel more like afterthoughts than the RID stuff. Now we've gotten to the Deluxe Class subline, which gives us 8 characters to collect; each one comes with a piece of the Build-A-Figure Maccadam. With all that said, does Optimus Prime make for a good Transformer despite his size?
Here we have Optimus Prime in his truck mode. Design-wise, it's the typical 1984 homage that Cyberverse generally has, though with a modern look that is mainly from the Evergreen aesthetics. It's moreso prominent with this design as it has a roof and different grill design that the Evergreen version of Optimus Prime has, giving it an animated feel to it. The headlights are reminiscent of Animated Optimus Prime, which is another comparison that this version of Optimus Prime normally gets. It's almost like Cyberverse Optimus Prime is the midpoint between Animated and G1. Aside from the way the bumper looks, this doesn't look too bad as far as truck mode proportions look, and it's undeniably got that classic feel to it with a modern vibe. I like that the windows, while not translucent, are a light shade of blue as they pop among the red plastic. One nitpick I do have is that part of the grill doesn't have any red paint nor is there any silver paint applied to it.
It also hides most of the robot parts with no real problem, though the lower legs look a little noticeable and the front of the truck does lean forward a bit, much like with Beewun Optimus. It's not a killer, but it does make the middle tires kind of hard to roll. There are some crevices from where the shoulders are placed, and the windows are unpainted, but it's otherwise no big deal.
His ion blaster can be stored on the back, and his effect piece can be placed on the exhaust port to make it look like he's got nitrous.
Transformation's basically what you'd expect a G1-esque Optimus Prime to do. Arms go out, waist swivels, head faces forwards, and it's an example of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" that I think suits a transformation scheme like this (don't confuse me saying that it applies to how the designs change). Robot mode also looks pretty good. I like the Cyberverse designs, and Optimus Prime's was one that I wanted to get a decent toy out of. The other versions not being poseable enough or remaining in the Voyager Class size did hurt me, and while this guy is a Deluxe, he's a pretty nice take on the guy. That being said, the Autobot insignias having differently thick outlines is bothersome and inconsistent. The forearms having chunks of the altmode from the underside is distracting, but at least it's not so bad from the front. Also might be hard to tell in these images, but some of the red plastics are also inconsistent in terms of the shade of red they have; a few parts have a more matte shade of plastic while the shoulders have a more metallic shade that's done up like that likely because of their durability when used as ball sockets.
Head sculpt looks pretty decent for its size, and it captures a stylized take on the G1/Evergreen design. I like that the face is silver like the mouthplate, which can't be said for Earthrise Optimus Prime. Faceplate should be darker, though. As for his articulation, the head is on an expressive ball joint, shoulders move front and back as well as in and out on ball joints, the biceps swivel and the elbows bend 90 degrees, and his wrists are able to move around on their ball joints. The waist swivels, and the hips move around on ball joints (though any forward movement is compromised because of the waist armor. That being said, if you use that hinge for an ab crunch, you can fake any additional leg movement. The legs swivel above the knee, the knees bend, and the ankles can hinge as well as pivot. The ball joints on my copy's hips are a little loose, so do keep that in mind if you have yet to buy one.
His accessories comprise of an ion blaster and an effect piece. The former looks decent yet doesn't go all the way in his hand because of the peg used to store it in vehicle mode, but the effect piece looks pretty sweet when used on the gun! It's so refreshing to have Transformers come with effect pieces without really compromising them too much. See, Hasbro? Your WFC guys can come with em, too! On a side note, the weight of the effect piece does make the hand flop around a bit when attached.
You can remove the longer piece and give him a different look for the blast piece when it's attached, but the fun doesn't stop there as he's got a pretty sweet addition in the form of the Matrix of Leader ship. It's not removable, may need some gold paint for the core and it may not be designed accurately to how it actually looked, but it's a sweet bonus that Hasbro didn't have to include yet they did for attention to detail!
The best part is that it's also compatible with the effect piece, meaning you can have him light our darkest hour against not Unicron but Starscream (and twice!), for that back-stabbing Seeker turned against everybody in Seasons 2 and 3. In terms of other things worth mentioning, he and 7 other Cyberverse Deluxes include pieces for Maccadam, the first time we've had a Build-A-Figure gimmick within toys since Beast Wars 10th Anniversary's Transmutate (that is if you exclude combiners). It's neat that we got a version of him because he's a pretty awesome character in the show. More on him later, though Optimus Prime includes his left forearm, which has a few paint apps on it as well as a wrist swivel.
Optimus Prime's a decent figure for the Cyberverse line, but aside from the cosmetic issues I mentioned and the tolerances of the hips, I wish this guy was bigger! Imagine if Cyberverse and RID15 did what the Movie lines and Animated have done and make toys that are for kids yet feel like stuff collectors would be happy to own. They were pretty happy marriages between those concepts, and even if that weren't possible, I'd be fine if the kids got bigger versions of the characters with electronics while the older fans had the more traditional Deluxe, Voyager, and Leader Class figures. Now as for getting Optimus, I got him when the Cyberverse line had a restock of Deluxes when Wave 2 popped up, meaning now your chances of getting a copy may vary if you can find one in stores or not (online prices will be skippable if needed).
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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