Takara’s latest Masterpiece Transformer has finally been released after what seems like four million years, and it’s time for the Fwoosh collective to take a look at it and see how it stacks up. Canonball, Prodigy, DisThunder and Ibentmyman-thing have transformed their four opinions into one article to give you the scoop on Prowl, the latest Autobot to roll off the assembly line.
Disthunder
Transformers is a unique property when it comes to ensemble casts. It seems like every time a new Masterpiece figure is announced, there’s a roar of “Oh man, that’s mah dawg right therr!” or something to that effect. Funny thing is, a lot of the same people are roaring each time. It’s not hard to understand why, really. As kids, your favorite characters would rotate with birthdays, episodes, etc., so it’s no surprise that even as an adults we’re scatterbrained over trying to narrow it down. And that also makes it no surprise that this applies to Prowl, or that we here at Fwoosh were all falling over each other to write a review for him. At least in principle, anyway.
Commanding, bombastic, outgoing, impulsive, charismatic — none of these words have anything to do with Prowl. On the characterization sliding scale that now makes up G1, Prowl was the “straight guy.” Always on task, following procedure to the letter, and taking Autobot military doctrine over gut-check heroics any day of the week, it’s strange that Prowl doesn’t have a mustache. In the cartoon, he maintained these traits with a bit of good nature, but in the comics, especially the modern ones, it comes with an air of superiority and ends-justifies-means moral ambiguity. And that makes for one hell of an interesting character, especially pitted against the likes of Grimlock, Springer, and Rodimus — who he despises. So, sure, he might seem like a funny choice for a soft spot in your heart, but let’s face it — bad cops are downright boring without a good cop — especially a kinda dirty good cop.
Prodigy
When I first saw Prowl announced as the next Autobot car to be released in the Masterpiece line, I let out a very audible “YES!” Putting in that preorder was so awesome, knowing that I’d finally have the perfect figure of Prowl that I’ve been waiting on for oh… I dunno.. 30 years? It also kinda sucked realizing that I’d have to wait another six months for the figure to arrive at my doorstep.
Well he’s here now and I couldn’t be happier. He’s perfect, spot on, 100 percent accurate, or better yet, he truly is exactly what I wanted. The Masterpiece Transformers line is steadily moving up into the number one spot on my favorite toy line of all time list, and it’s because they keep delivering figures as good as this one.
Fully articulated and detailed to the max, he looks like he jumped right out of my old Transformers comics, or from the cartoon I religiously watched every afternoon. I’m really not sure I’d change a thing on him. His transformation isn’t overly complicated, and in ‘bot mode he has a perfect amount of movement and playability. Prowl was always one of my favorites as a kid, coming in right behind Hound and Mirage as my three favorite of the Autobot cars. The toy was great back then but this is the figure I imagined he was. No imagination needed any longer. With this figure, I finally have the Prowl I always wanted. Seriously, if you’re on the fence with this guy, don’t be. Go out and get him now!
ibentmyman-thing
If you wait long enough, the time eventually comes when a concept is brought as close to perfection as possible. These are great times to be a Transformer fan, because it seems as if everyone is tripping over themselves to deliver the best possible versions of all of these great characters. Takara has raised their own bar by pumping out Masterpiece after Masterpiece lately, from Red Alert and Sideswipe to the stunning Soundwave. They’ve shown a dedication to the Autobots in the coming months, and Prowl is the first shot fired in what will be a deluge of what put the “auto” in Autobots.
Prowl comes during a perfect storm of Prowlness for me. First, he plays an important part in the latest Robots in Disguise trade that I very recently finished reading, and second, I’m currently in the middle of watching the entire ’80s run of Transformers and noticed something I somehow didn’t pick up on as a kid: Prowl sounds like GI Joe’s Duke.
Well that just makes perfect sense in hindsight.
I had previously though that the Transformers being offered in the various CHUG lines were as close to perfect representations as I’d be getting, but the roof has been blown off the building. Prowl is now the definitive G1 Prowl. I don’t see how he can be topped anytime soon. He’s as super-articulated as possible — somewhere inside of me my child-self is squealing at Transformers with Marvel Legends-esque articulation — and he just looks great. I can’t find a bad pose, a bad angle. These Masterpiece figures are the best hybrid of showpiece and plaything. Looking neat is fine, but I want to play with my toys, and that’s all possible with Prowl.
Some transformations of these newer Transformers can be a bit fiddly. I’m frankly not used to having to read instructions. When I was a kid I was able to intuit how to transform them just by looking at the figure, but as an adult I have to read instructions and try to follow the diagrams as much as I can. It makes me feel old. Prowl wasn’t as difficult as some have been, but a part here or there made me have to stop and stare to figure what went where. It’ll take a few more back-and-forths to get it down.
But that’s all beside the point, and I’m resigned to the fact that it’s not a 15-second process anymore. What matters is that Prowl can fire his big honking laser rifle and kick Decepticon butt just like any of the rest of my super-articulated toys can. If this sounds like a slobberfest, that’s because it’s paying off to have never given up on toys like so many do, and I’m being rewarded by getting great figures like Prowl. It doesn’t get any better than this.
canonball
The original G1 Prowl was my first Autobot car back in ’84. Before I read the first issue of the Marvel series, or before I saw the first episode of the cartoon, Prowl was the absolute must-have Autobot car as far as I was concerned. My only exposure to these characters was through the commercials for the toys that aired constantly, and it was Prowl’s design that first caught my eye. There was something about his being a police car that turned into this giant alien robot that struck a chord, more so than even the red Lamborghini, which was the default favorite car of every kid in ’84. Because he was a police car while all the others were just random cars, he seemed like the obvious choice to be the leader of my Autobot crew, which at that time consisted of Gears and … no one else.
Once I became familiar with the Transformers universe through reading the Marvel comic and through watching the cartoon, other characters commanded my attention much more than Prowl would. He was just never saddled with as much panache as other character were, like Jazz, Ratchet, and Optimus Prime. But when I looked over my shelf filled with my growing Transformers collection, Prowl was one I always felt the need to pick up and play with, and when my friends and I would play with our Transformers, I was almost always Prowl in our backyard adventures.
This figure brings back all sorts of giddy feelings. I was relieved to find mine in nearly perfect condition when I opened him up since I ordered him from an Asian retailer and a return would be… difficult. His alt mode is extremely faithful to the original toy, which is such a joy to see. One complaint I have here, though, is the car’s interior — there really isn’t one. For a “Masterpiece” toy, I somehow expect this to do at least what the Alternators did by giving us an authentic-looking alt mode. We get a great exterior, but the interior is no better than the average deluxe-class Transformer.
All that does, however, is give me reason to keep him in ‘bot mode forever, which is fine with me. His ‘bot mode is exactly what we always wanted from a Prowl figure. Takara really nailed it.
Holding this Masterpiece Prowl in my hands takes me right back to those early days of wanting a figure just because it’s an awesome toy. Even though after 30 years these characters have been more or less defined, this figure is enough to kick-start my imagination again and make me want to take him out in the backyard and just… play. Good work, Takara.
