This figure’s release was inevitable, but it’s difficult to gauge just how essential it was. I can’t speak for the Fall of Cybertron game, but Skywarp hasn’t had a very big role in the Robots in Disguise or More than Meets the Eye comics. Hasbro loves the Seekers, though, so when the Fall of Cybertron Starscream hit the pegs a couple years ago, it was pretty much guaranteed that we’d see that mold repainted into Thundercracker and Skywarp, and guess what? We did. Still, it’s cool to see the original three Seekers assembled in any form, so this Skywarp does add an element of “completion” to the IDW-inspired Seekers.
Skywarp’s packaging is standard Hasbro/IDW packaging. He’s displayed in ‘bot mode with an issue of the IDW’s Robots in Disguise #23 prominently displayed behind him. The comic has a custom cover depicting Skywarp front and center, which makes sense for presentation purposes, but, considering the issue’s content, Skywarp on the cover is rather misleading. From what I can tell, Skywarp appears in exactly two panels in the issue, and he doesn’t so much as speak in either.
The above pic is Skywarp’s most prominent appearance in the issue, and this is just a fraction of the actual panel. It’s a rather large battle scene featuring a lot of characters, so this panel was by no means orchestrated to feature Skywarp. He was just sorta there too. Regardless, as inconsequential to the comic’s narative as he may be, he’s still a cool-looking figure.
The details of this mold were covered in the Thundercracker review, so head on over there and check it out if this mold is new to you. The only aspect of this figure that’s new or different is his paint, and, just like with the original G1 Seekers, that is almost enough to make it feel like a new, unique figure.
Skywarp was always the “black” Seeker, but here there’s much more gray and purple than there is black. The black is used for what almost amounts to a highlight effect. It looks good, though, and the figure is still very clearly “Skywarp”; there’s no mistaking that.
Just like Starscream and Thundercracker, Skywarp comes with two twin Gatling guns that can be attached to either arm. He can also hold them in his hands like traditional guns, but I prefer this configuration since it’s what I most associate with the Seekers.
The two guns can also be combined to form a twin death-machine that actually looks pretty imposing. It’s a neat gimmick, but aside from joining them for the purposes of the above picture, I don’t expect to pose him with his guns like that ever again.
Being able to display the three Seekers together is pretty much the only reason to pick up this guy. It’s sad to admit, but I can’t imaging anyone buying this Skywarp just because it’s Skywarp. I can see someone doing that with the Masterpiece figure or with a more G1-inspired deluxe-class figure, but for this particular mold, Skywarp really only works in the context of the Seekers as a group. He hasn’t had a very large role at all in the recent comics, so completing this incarnation of the Seekers is really the only reason to get this guy. Or if you just really love the mold and need every single version available.
Given Hasbro’s fondness for Seeker repaints, I wouldn’t be surprised to see this mold repainted as Acid Storm sometime in the near future.
His Cybertronian jet mode looks cool in this particular color palette. Again, there’s nothing new to speak of aside from the color scheme, so if you were fond of this alt mode before, there’s no reason you wouldn’t like it now. All the shortcomings appear here too, of course. His head in this mode that bugs me. It’s not hidden at all — it’s just turned around. The back of his head is plainly visible just behind the cockpit a little bit. It’s pretty weak as far as effective transformations go, so fortunately his ‘bot mode looks better.
One of the reasons I’m happy the Armada Starscream was released is I like the idea of having a Starscream/Thundercracker/Skywarp set that isn’t comprised of straight-up repaints. I like the way these two look together, despite Starscream’s being just a little bit shorter than Skywarp. I’m not quite sure why, exactly, but that bugs me.
Skywarp is part of the latest Generations wave that seems to be popping up everywhere at the moment. I picked up mine at Fred Meyer, but I’ve seen them at Target, Walmart, and Toys R Us as well. With each figure shipping in a ratio of two per case, Skywarp should be an easy figure to track down. The wave seems to be moving pretty quickly overall, however, so your mileage may vary.
