By this point, Optimus Primal is getting quite the spotlight compared to the other characters. Every individual we covered in the Studio Series line has at least one mainline counterpart, with the Voyager we previously covered being the first stab at a normal transforming Primal in his case. That was pretty good, but the Ultimate version made by Takara that Hasbro surprisingly brought to the US in their Pulse site blew it out of the water, bringing in so many play features that I feel make the Leader-sized Primal easily better than almost every Leader Class figure made since Age of Extinction, movieverse or not. Speaking of Leader Class, Optimus Primal has a third iteration to cover, and we're about to see if it is the best version of the character made out of the previous versions or if it will have certain things holding it back.
Here we have Optimus Primal in his beast mode, which is the closest a Primal has towards resembling the CG model associated with the character in terms of main HasTak merchandise. The coloring, sculpt work, and anatomy are entirely accurate this time around, and I definitely see how it really shows if we were to compare him to Scourge, who is based on the concept art in the Studio Series line. The mainline Voyager and Ultimate had varying degrees of resemblance to the CG model seen in the film, but this guy manages to nail it perfectly. The articulation is pretty good save for the hips having less range due to the crotch, but the head is on a ball joint and includes an articulated jaw, shoulders move front and back as well as in and out, the biceps swivel, elbows bend, the wrists swivel, and the fingers are articulated at two points. Hips move front and back as well as in and out somewhat, and the ankles can hinge up if needed, but that's pretty much it. Speaking of, I don't like how ugly the backs of the legs look, moreso than the other toys we took a look at.
For a beast mode comparison, here he is with the Ultimate Optimus Primal figure on the left and the mainline Voyager on the right. The mass retail toys are both more or less the same size, and both are undoubtedly much smaller than the Ultimate version of the character. Obviously, one is meant to be part of a group of other figures, and the other is meant to be a centerpiece toy that gets the big-ticket spotlight (at least in Japan). However, both versions of Primal are worth about $55 each. And this review will determine which figure is worth getting over the other.
For a size comparison with his fellow Maximals, here he is with Rhinox, Cheetor, and Airazor in their beast modes. Primal certainly looks the most accurate among the others in terms of the sculpted details and coloring better matching the CG model, with Rhinox being in second-place while Cheetor clearly has an inaccurately proportioned head and isn't as metallic. Airazor is obviously inaccurate.
And here we have him with the sole Predacon in the franchise, at least currently living. Primal can easily smash the hell out of the other Predacons, and I can't wait to see how the new Scorponok will look in the line once we get him in the Studio Series line. And of course, we can have him posed with Primal as they have a brief standoff. I liked how that was one of the first scenes we see in the trailer, taking us back to that action-oriented energy without either being super obsessed with nonsensical lore (*cough* The Last Knight) or trying to be a cutesy origin story for normies and purists (*cough* Bumblebee).
And here we have him with the Autobots in the movie's iconic group shot. I can hear the theme play as the Optimus duo tells the Maximals and the Autobots to ROLL OUT!
Transformation is similar to how other versions of the character went from beast mode to robot mode, only this time, we get a somewhat more involved forearm transformation where the beast hands are hidden away to reveal the slightly smaller robot hands, which also face the proper way for the robot mode. I don't think we see anything like that with prior Primal toys. And of course, the robot mode is the closest we've ever gotten to the CG model in terms of mainline Hasbro release. Comparable to the Yolopark model kit, the design better matches the more Beast Machines silhouette with the more rounded shoulder pads, organic-looking torso, and bulkier forearms vs prior toys matching the Season 1 look. I love it when a toy doesn't have any hollow parts missing, especially when it makes the toy look as complete as possible with the current Hasbro budget logic. The backpack is a little weird in terms of how it's folded into itself, but beyond that, I feel it does a good job at keeping everything together nicely and tidily. The beast mode feet being visible from the back, however, is ugly as hell. With how much Hasbro likes to make their Voyagers with Benefits so involved, they forgot to hide them. Or at least implement them within the robot's feet.
Head sculpt is where things get quite deviated when it comes to its aesthetics. It resembles the traditional Primal motif, but it also has a bit of a Beast Machines influence from how technorganic the head appears to be. Even with the mouth-in-mouthplate approach. It's odd how they went with this since we barely saw this look in the movie versus the mouthplate being prominent in the film. And even when the face was exposed, it looked more like the normal beast's face rather than this design. His articulation consists of a ball jointed neck, mostly same arm articulation, a waist swivel, better hip movement as well as thigh swivels, knee bends, and ankle pivots.
His swords can be held in his hand either traditional Primal dual-wielding or combined together, Darth Maul style, the latter being what we saw more often on-screen. While the Ultimate Class figure had a bit of an issue holding his swords tightly given the finger articulation and the thumb region not being compatible with the circumference of the sword handles, this one wins with its 5mm hands being as functional even with the finger joints.
The swords could either be stored on his hips like a traditional swordsbot, or they can be mounted on the back like a traditional Primal toy. TFWiki says they can mimic the shoulder cannons from Season 1, but I don't buy it.
The chain he comes with was never used in the movie but was briefly seen in the trailer that had the preliminary final battle scene, which was overhauled for the final movie when the VFX was improved. It's multijointed and can easily hold a pose, making photography and stop-motion work much easier to do if you know how to pose the chain right. If you don't want to use the chain for Primal, then you can instead have Battletrap utilize it since he actually had a wrecking ball. It probably wasn't intentional since it was not mentioned in the instructions, but I feel that Hasbro wanted to rectify the lack of a chain accessory for Battletrap since we don't really see him use his wrecking ball, TFP Bulkhead style.
Of course, when Battletrap wants a real fight, he receives one before Optimus gets annoyed that he didn't give the Terrorcon a stab through his retched spark. Primal's finger articulation makes it easy to pose him holding the wrecking ball in his hands as he's about to smash his face.
Another accessory he comes with that definitely wasn't meant for him is an axe that he can hold no problem as well as store on either the back or his hips, but it is clearly meant for Optimus Prime to use. Also, is it me or is the way Prime using a blade on his right arm and an axe on his left hand a callback to the way it was used in Dark of the Moon? Well, if I were to put on a tinfoil hat and also mention that one of his grunts near the end of ROTB was recycled from when Sentinel cut Prime's arm off in DOTM, then yeah, it was probably an intended callback.
Bumblebee can also hold the axe to mimic the scene where he attempted to save his long-time friend from Scourge's blade before the Terrorcon leader kills him. Another neat callback to when his older self would have a Battle Blade in the Revenge of the Fallen game and in the Hunt for the Decepticons toy line.
The Transwarp Key is a Matrix-shaped accessory that can either be kept in one piece as was the case at the beginning of the movie, or split in half in reference to how the Maximals kept both halves away from Scourge before one of them was found by Elena Wallace in the museum with the Airazor statue.
For a Primal-themed comparison, here we have him with his other iterations in 2023. Man, Donkey Kong sure has been getting a lot of attention in 2023. Anyways, he most certainly matches the CG model the best, especially in contrast to the mainline Voyager. That being said, when you put him next to the Ultimate Class figure, you start to question if paying $55 for this Leader Class figure is about as valuable as it is for the larger toy. Sure, the Studio Series one has better engineering, but it's still got some hiccups that could have been prevented. Sure, it's the most accurate sculpt, but so is the Yolopark model kit, and he may not transform but he costs less than this toy. And sure, he scales better with the Studio Series line, but that doesn't justify how short he stacks up with other Leader Class figures before him.
Of note, the mainline version of Primal also has an exposed face, but it resembles the Season 1 Primal design a little more than the Studio Series one.
And here he is in between the other two Maximals in robot mode. While they look great as a set (sorry Airazor but you died), especially since they have a Beast Machines influence (I know Rhinox was Tankor in a majority of the series shut up), but again, we got two Voyager Class figures versus one Leader Class figure, and there is only a subtle height difference.
And here he is in between Scourge, who is also a Leader Class figure, and Optimus Prime, who is a Voyager. Being shorter than a Leader Class figure who was also a Voyager with Benefits was already a major knock on this guy, but being shorter than a Voyager Class figure makes things hurt even more. Honestly, I don't hate Studio Series Optimus Primal; he looks great and has a lot of fun articulation to utilize in addition to complimenting the other toys in the line. But I'll admit that he is not worth the asking price versus any other figure we've gotten in the Leader Class line-up this year. SS86 had a reasonable example with Snarl, and Legacy Evolution had Skyquake and Megatron who were at least able to have larger alt modes. Hell, Scourge was decently taller than Primal and he's okay as a Leader Class figure. If you want to get this guy, I won't stop you. But I recommend getting him at a cheaper price than what he normally goes for. Otherwise, get the Ultimate version. Same price for a taller figure with more features implemented, even if he isn't screen-accurate; sometimes, a toy with play features is better than the one with screen-accuracy in mind.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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