Much like a lot of background characters in Star Wars, Jolt is kind of an intriguing addition to the franchise thanks to his unique design as well as his small yet significant role in Revenge of the Fallen as the guy who transplanted Jetfire's parts to Optimus in order to go against The Fallen. The guy barely did anything else apart from that in the movie yet he has a bit of a following even to this day. Hell, Capcomkai is best known for his PFP themed after Jolt, and everyone wants to see a clear look at his CGI model! Even if Jolt became less and less prominent in the merchandise (his last figure being a repaint of the DOTM Deluxe), and it's great to have this guy as small yet significant addition to the small number of Movieverse guys in Studio Series!
As far as the backdrop is concerned, IT'S NOT A SCENE JOLT'S IN! Yes, he was never in Dark of the Moon and was only shown in Revenge of the Fallen! I've seen both movies countless times and Jolt definitely never appeared in DOTM. The Operation Firestorm backdrop would make sense, and I know many don't care about these backdrops, but at least make them make sense for the character they're in!
That aside, here is Jolt in his vehicle mode, which is a fairly nice replica of the Chevy Volt he has in the movie. While the shade of blue is lighter than it actually is in the real model, and the paint apps do look a little simpler here than they are on most other vehicles, the general accuracy to the Volt is present all around, even if it's more close to how the Lamborghini altmode of Earthrise Sunstreaker and Kingdom Sideswipe are. I say that because this vehicle mode doesn't quite have that exact licensed vehicle feel to it, even with the additional Chevy logo. Maybe it's the sculpted details not conveying the weal world vehicle feel? Maybe it's the more plastic car mode that doesn't convey that it looks like the real vehicle? Like the gray instead of black doesn't bother me, and the silver is a nice addition, but I just wish it had a little more of that certain something that made Bumblebee, Lockdown, Soundwave, and Dropkick feel nice and complete, hell, Dropkick's shade of blue would make this figure look nice, and I think the Chevy bowtie should be gold, right? Again, I don't hate this vehicle mode, as it is a nice Volt, but it needs to be a little more special than it currently is.
The paint apps are what keep the vehicle from feeling drab, as the taillights, headlights, side mirrors, rims, and the black or dark gray used for the windows go well in making the vehicle mode look complete, and I especially like the fact that the tires, even if there's a blue ring on the front that comes from where they snap onto. Like I said, not a bad car mode, but I just wish it felt a little less soft on the panel lines as well as the shade of blue.
He does have weapon storage that isn't the best in the world, but it is serviceable given how these whips work.
For a size comparison, here he is with Studio Series Bumblebee from the same wave he and Gnaw were in (as well as being one of four Buzzworthy Bumblebee releases in early 2021) as well as Dino from the middle of the year. Okay, I think we can see how Jolt kind of pales in vehicle mode compared to Bumblebee and Dino; Bumblebee especially wins because even though the ROTF version has stripes that are not that different from the MV1 version and a less details front, the figure's shade of yellow as well as the glossy black paint and plastic make the toy feel less cheap than he otherwise would be. I think if the front lined up a little better and there were more paint apps to make it more accurate, then it'd be even better than it is, but Bumblebee looked like a refined vehicle overall. As for Dino, I know his vehicle mode isn't the most accurate of the three, but at least its plastic quality, paint apps, and sculpted details, were close to what a Movie toy should have as we see with Bumblebee. Jolt doesn't have any alignment issues for his front nor does it look inaccurate to the vehicle mode like with Dino, but he does feel like a hybrid between being a proper licensed vehicle in Studio Series and the likes of Kingdom Sideswipe and SS86 Jazz. Again, the vehicle mode doesn't suck because of that, but it does need that certain something.
The transformation is definitely on the Studio Series side of things, and while some may find it to be rather similar to the DOTM Deluxe transformation, I find that it at least manages to be more original on its own, combining elements of how the ROTF figure looked with elements of how the DOTM toy transformed, on top of having a less toyetic and more movie-inspired transformation scheme that one would imagine would be used if he ever did transform on-screen. The resulting robot mode is rather interesting as far as Jolt designs are concerned, with this having quite the amount of kibble as well as details that I find interesting as far as the way they're used is concerned. Jolt's robot mode is somewhat of a shellformer, which will turn some people off given how much changes on the back and hips. It's there, but I think it's manageable (apart from the backpack not clipping on). It's not as reasonable as the Siege Seeker mold wings, but it's much better than the way it was handled on the mediocre WWII Bumblebee figure.I like the scupted details, and the use of silver as wellas clear plastic on the thighs all make the figure feel more like a proper Movie bot than he otherwise would be without those details. If anything, I like how broken up the details are until you get to the feet. Maybe they're colored like that, but I reckon they should be at least given some silver to break them up. Also, much like with some G1 Skids reissues, Jolt's kind of wobbly because one wheel doesn't go all the way onto the slot as the other does, and it's hard to mitigate that without ankle pivots.
The head sculpt is the first that gives us the proper Jolt face details, and one that doesn't have that shrimp-like design he's known for (it also doesn't match how it looked on Capcomkai's PFP, but that's besides the point), but I will admit that apart from it being less distinct and more humanoid (like a cross between Evac and Lockdown), it does take some getting used to. Many would probably prefer the inaccurate head design, but this itself isn't too bad. It's kind of small, almost at the same size as Blitzwing's head. As for the articulation, he has a ball-jointed neck with some limited range (not as bad as the old Deluxe), shoulders that move front and back as well as in and out, bicep swivels, elbow bends, inward wrist curls, an ab-crunch, a waist swivel, hips that move front and back, in and out, knee bends with a rather nice detail that's sculpted to make it more mechanical, swivels below the knees, and ankle hinges. The articulation is so close to being very good, and it is on-par with the WFC trilogy level of articulation, but I don't like that the thighs lack swivels that the fact that the ankle pivots are nonexistent. On some other figures, it's perfectly excusable given how they transform. Sime like Camaro Concept Bumblebee, Jazz, and Ratchet can pull it off because it was easier for them to implement it, others like Stinger, Lockdown, and AOE Drift can't because of how they transform. Jolt, along with Dino, Roadbuster, and Dropkick, should have ankle pivots given how easier it would be to implement them.
At least the figure has his whips, which look pretty accurate as well as at a decent length. Admittedly, I kind of think they're more of a mix between the whips and the blades he had in the ROTF toy, but that's from the fact that they're stiff overall. That being said, Jolt looks cool with them, and while I can see why some would want them to have a bendy wire and make them more flexible, I at least appreciate that they're detailed well enough and are not compromised severely. I will admit that replacing the thumb of the hand with them is weird and may lead to missing pieces, but at least Hasbro knew they can use the thumbs and store them on the hip skirt panels. It's a respectable compromise for weapon integration; not the best, but far from the worst.
For a size comparison, you can see how he's not too far off from the other Deluxes in the line, with a respectable height that may have an extra edge if his head was bigger. I also have to say that while the vehicle mode was not as good as the others in terms of presentation, the robot mode more than makes up for it, with the normal blue being broken up by the nice silver and gunmetal gray that makes him feel more like a proper Movie toy. Hell, the kibble, while not the best as far as looks are concerned, is at least better than Mirage's given how it fits the design and doesn't make him look as stumpy. Bumblebee's proportions are still the best, though.
And now it's time to do what everyone wanted to do ever since MV1 Optimus and Jetfire came out in the same wave: having him electrify and transplant those afterburners at the request of Ratchet near the end of the movie. I'll admit that it would be nicer if he had the Operation Firestorm backdrops to make the scene more complete, but hey, there are plenty to go around anyhow so I think it doesn't really matter if the box has the wrong one. And now I'm reminded that background character Jolt has a toy before on-screen main characters like The Fallen and Twins do! I hope The Fallen pops up in the 2022 line-up because ain't no way am I getting a barely different Earthrise Starscream instead of any Dinobot or a Bayverse Leader Class figure next year. As for the Twins, if Hasbro doesn't want to release them in order to appeal to the unappreciative TF fans and the people who make the current climate of commentary feel like 1984, let's hope a third party company makes them as good as the third party versions of Bumblebee, Hot Rod, etc.
I gotta say, it is nice to combine Optimus and Jetfire into a single unit after not doing so for so long, but I have to admit that it felt great to have a Jolt figure that not only complete the scene but also feels consistent with the line-up overall. I know I said that Jolt's vehicle mode was nearly good (mainly because the colors and details felt flat), and there were a few design traits I would change, but as it stands, I like how Jolt turned out overall. Not 100% perfect, and maybe it's from me wanting proper Studio Series figures instead of the 86 movie guys, but I'll happily take him over having no Jolt. I know people will say that the Movie Advanced one is the best, but his torso's blocky, the shoulders don't tab anywhere, and he's expensive as fuck!
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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