Transformers Legacy United Cybertron Starscream review

Legacy gave us an Armada Starscream that was a pretty good improvement on the undersized Thrilling 30 Deluxe, and we now have the Cybertron design that was likely the most reused when it came to merchandise. However, it appears we are missing Energon Starscream from Legacy Evolution. Come on, Hasbro! You had one job and you flubbed it all because you're still afraid people hate Energon severely! Anyway, we are dipping more and more into Cybertron characters having dedicated new molds (apart from Vector Prime), so we'll see quite a bit more franchise love soon with Hot Shot after this guy. But until then, let's review the iteration of Starscream that set aside his Armada aspirations in favor of being a traditional backstabber!

Here we have Cybertron Starscream in his vehicle mode, a Cybertronic jet similar to the appearance of the G1 character's War Within design with arguably the best look for a Tetrajet than any other iteration. While it looks fairly bulky as a piece of flying aircraft, especially given how small the wings are, this fits well as if Starscream took the power of a massive battleship and shrunk it down to be fitting for his current size (spoiler alert: he grows HUGE near the end and fights against Primus). Heck, look at how the cockpit scales with the rest of his vehicle mode; this guy would be massive even without the Omega Lock! If you look closely behind said cockpit, his head is no longer buried within what will become his chest pylons, as the figure can now store it away properly.

The cannon is able to be stored on the back, which uses two little tabs from within the tailfin halves to store it in place, but I can at least say it's something. It also makes up for the miniguns surrounding the cockpit being molded in place. And on the back, you can barely see the Cyber Key stored in place.

For a jet mode comparison, here he is next to his Armada counterpart. They're both great in their own ways, but I have to admit that I kind of like Cybertron a tiny bit more since he feels more like a heavy-duty threat, even if Armada looks more aerodynamic by comparison. Honestly, Armadascream fits well for someone who's not quite as evil as he'd later become in Cybertron, especially given his character arc. Poor guy never got redeemed.

Transformation is similar to the original Voyager Class toy, though without ratchet joints and with some additional steps, such as the head now requiring you flip it out as well as bringing the hands out. Some of the figure's engineering features parts borrowed from Siege Starscream; they include the butterfly joints, inner shoulders, biceps, and wrists. Not only is that a pretty genius move since Siegescream was already great, but it also means he gets to have as much arm poseability as that figure has despite his bulkier shoulders. The robot mode, much like the transformation, is a case similar to Beast Wars Silverbolt where I mention how they knew if it ain't broke, there's no need to fix it. While the design is leaner than the original toy, it still captures that more ruthless side of Starscream if he were to truly fulfill his plans. I love how even without the traditional wing kibble on the back, he still feels like he has them with the winglets on his shoulder pieces. His shins should use more paint apps, and maybe the inner crevices on the shoulders below the red areas, but he's otherwise great all around. He even has the show-accurate navy blue. It might be closer to black without being as dark as said color.

His head sculpt is top-notch notch as always with the Unicron Trilogy line, and I think he has a slight smirk at least from this angle. It's almost like his plans are coming to fruition at long last, and it'll "pain" him to unleash his revenge against Megatron. His articulation consists of a ball-jointed neck, shoulder rotation, outward shoulder movement (with the pieces being able to hinge down for more range, bicep rotation, double-jointed elbows, wrist rotation, slight hinges for the wrists due to the transformation, waist rotation, universal hip joints for front and back movement as well as in and out, thigh rotation, standard knee joints, and ankle hinges as well as pivots. The blades can be flipped manually instead of automatically like the Cybertron Voyager Class toy once had.

While you can't normally use the spring-loaded swords, you can at least utilize the Cyber Key for recreating the scenario where he'd deploy them like in the show, though at this rate, it's more of a bonus compared to actually contributing to a gimmick. He can still use his blaster, which I believe isn't one that was utilized in the show at all but is still a good addition apart from it being entirely unpainted.

Some of Starscream's parts, consisting of the tailfin halves and the null wing pieces, come disassembled out of the box. While this is usually done to make the packing of a toy much easier without tackling space issues, it makes me wonder if Hasbro plans future reuses where they'd alter sculpted details or any weapons they'd utilize. A Skywarp is coming soon, but I would also love to have repaints based on Universe 2008 Dirge, Shattered Glass Starscream, and the Thrust-esque Toys R Us repaint that Hasbro included in a 2-pack with Vector Prime. We should also get repaints based on the Legends of Cybertron line, such as Skywarp, Sunstorm, both Universe 2003 AND G1 Ramjet, and maybe that one obscure Legends Class 4-pack version of Starscream that came with redecos of Universe 2008 Bee, ROTF Bee, and 2007 Starscream. Hell, I'd even take a G1 colors version like the Platinum Edition version got! Don't expect a Thundercracker since he had a design unique from Starscream's in Cybertron.

For a Unicron Trilogy comparison, here he is with his Armada counterpart, and no Energon iteration between them. I do like Armada Starscream a lot, though I have to admit that Cybertron Starscream feels a lot more fulfilling as a design, as he feels a lot less restrained when it comes to looking like a threat while Armadascream was more like he'd be in-between good and evil, which is symbolic of his character arc in Armada itself. If we had Energon here, he'd represent being incomplete and lost until he gets his Cybertron upgrade. 

And here he is with his fellow Cybertron new mold, Override. I love the fact that we got two new molds for the Unicron Trilogy, especially since Siege Galaxy Upgrade Prime and Gen Selects Hot Shot were both reuses of existing figures. After seeing the Armada line get new molds with respect put in them, I know we have a lot to look forward to for the Cybertron line. Admittedly, we still have redecos like Cannonball being made from Crankcase as well as Vector Prime being retooled from Jhiaxus, but at least we get a sense that there's effort put into making them fairly faithful to the Cybertron line. I still look forward to new molds regardless, and repaints where needed. Cybertron Starscream, on the other hand, is a very good figure, and one I'd consider to be up there with the best molds of the Legacy United line without a shadow of a doubt. I greatly recommend you get this guy, and if you haven't gotten Armadascream, I recommend him too if you see him on clearance since we gotta give them homes.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐