For every hero, there has to be a villain for him to battle. Otherwise, things would get pretty boring in our favorite movies, shows, or books. Last week I gave my top five Autobot wants in the Masterpiece line, so I figured it was time to give the bad guys the same treatment. It’s going to be all Autobots for a while though, with Wheeljack, Bumblebee, and Ultra Magnus all scheduled to be released this year to add to the Masterpiece collection.
So hopefully in 2015 the line will switch to a more Decepticon-heavy lineup to start making things a bit more even. My Decepticon shelf is aching for some new bots. So far in the Decepticon ranks, Starscream, Thundercracker, Skywarp, Soundwave (along with his cassettes Rumble, Lazerbeak, Buzzsaw, Ravage, and Frenzy), and Megatron have all been given the Masterpiece treatment. They’ve repainted the Seeker mold to give us Sunstorm and Acid Storm, Soundwave was remade into Soundblaster (who came packed with Ratbat), and MP-10 Optimus Prime was repainted into Black Convoy (Scourge or Nemesis Prime). The Megatron figure is a real oddball because scale wise, he only fits in with MP-01 Optimus Prime, so it’s almost pointless to count him. The others, though, have all been some really great figures to own, so hopefully these five characters can be crafted with the same love and skill to give us some great figures to add to our Decepticon collections.
Okay let’s just get this one out of the way. I mean, who doesn’t want a new Megatron in the Masterpiece line?
The Megatron figure we already have in the Masterpiece line is a real oddball because scale-wise, he only fits in with MP-01 Optimus Prime, so, again, it’s almost pointless to count him. Plus, he truthfully wasn’t that great of a figure. His legs were super skinny and some parts of him just looked off. I know the goal of the Masterpiece line is to keep things looking as close to the original toys as possible, but with Megs here, I could definitely be okay with some changes to make sure that ‘bot mode looks perfect. Perhaps even making his alt mode a tank or a plane? I know that would bother some, but for me ‘bot mode is where it’s at and whatever they have to do to get that aspect of him perfect, I’m all for. I just want to get as far away from this as possible :
Wow, that is one mess of a toy. I have no idea where my love for my childhood toys went, but I hate this figure. I feel like the first Masterpiece Megs suffered from the same restraints his original toy did, so maybe because his alt mode gun form limits how good his ‘bot mode ends up, let’s go with something different? I know I’d be cool with it.
Speaking of changing Megatron into something different, Galavtron here would fit in that category.
While in the original cartoon and book history, Galvatron was created by Unicron with the dying, broken down body of Megatron. However, in current comic continuity, Galvatron is an altogether different character. Same super evil, super nuts bad guy, but he’s not Megatron. Or he’s not what used to be Megatron. I like that better because I can keep them both on the shelf as two completely different villains.
Now, while the original Megatron toy’s bot-mode suffered because of transforming engineering limitations, Galvatron didn’t suffer nearly as badly from those same limitations because his alt-mode was a much thicker cannon instead of a real-world handgun. Not that the original toy was great, because like most of the original Transformer figures, there were limitations on what the toy designers could pull off back then. Not so anymore, and I could see TakaraTomy creating a perfect-looking Galvatron that transforms into his iconic cannon mode no problem.
Next up is Cyclonus who, because of the awesome IDW More Than Meets The Eye series, has become a huge favorite character of mine. Before MTMTE I never gave the guy two thoughts and just considered him another Decepticon baddie. Now, after reading James Roberts’ portrayal of him, I have to have a figure of him. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, go get this book right now and you’ll see what I mean. It’s the very best a Transformer comic can be.
I think one of the big reasons I never cared a whole lot about Cyclonus before MTMTE was because his original toy was bad. Real bad.
Woof. Is that a stinker or what? So while Cyclonus has played an important part in the Decepticon hierarchy for a long time, I was never attached to him because I hated the original figure so much. The Classics Cyclonus, however, really was nice, but that’s a much smaller scale from what I usually base my collection on. Masterpiece Transformers are my bag, baby, and all my Transformers need to scale to that for me. One more thing about Cyclonus — I know I’m carrying on about the MTMTE book, but along with loving the way Cyclonus is characterized in it, I also dig the hell out of how he looks too.
The look is obviously very heavily samurai-inspired and it works, in my opinion. When you add in how well he’s written in the book, Cyclonus is now a must-have figure for me. He doesn’t have to be the MTMTE version because I’d buy him if he’s more classic looking too. But man, would I love at least an MTMTE influence.
This may be out of left field but I really think Bombshell would make for an excellent Masterpiece figure. In fact, I’d like to see TakaraTomy eventually get to all three original Insecticons. Kickback would be awesome too, but I’ll settle for this guy since I always dug his mind control abilities. I know he’s been renamed Hardshell due to legal issues, but his momma named him Bombshell, so I’mma call him Bombshell.
One of the big reason I want the Insecticons is that I loved the toys as a kid. They transformed pretty well, and both alt mode and bot mode were fun to play with. I always dug their colors and I really feel like some updated Masterpiece versions would be a fun addition.
TakaraTomy is doing a smaller-scale Masterpiece figure in Bumblebee, so maybe they could include some extra accessories to compensate. Maybe even knockout the original three Insecticons all at once. I know I’d buy it.
If you thought my Bombshell pick was out of left field, this one may really confuse you. I’m not backing down though. I want, no make that I NEED a Tarn figure.
That’s right. Tarn. I know some might be thinking “Who?” If you’re interested, here’s his Transformers Wiki page. He’s a hugely powerful Decepticon on the level of Overlord and Six Shot. He’s the leader of the Decepticon Justice Division who spend their time hunting down Decepticon traitors and turncoats. Or really anyone who they view as not loyal enough to the cause. He’s so loyal to Megatron and the Decepticon ideals that he had his face molded into the actual Decepticon symbol. That’s awesome.
He would have to be a big Masterpiece figure, and because of how limited his appearances are, he may not warrant the Masterpiece treatment in some eyes. I’m pretty sure we’ll never get one, but a guy has to dream right? His alt mode has been rarely shown, but it’s a big, Autobot or Decepticon traitor-crushing, badass tank. It’s an alt mode that would be cool to have in Masterpiece scale.
Still not sold? He’s a ruthless, brutal, powerful, super loyal, and cool-looking character — all traits needed to be one of the truly great Decepticons. Plus on top of all that, when he does capture who he’s hunting for, he doesn’t just blast them or crush them under his feet; he has a special and unique talent: he uses his vocal processor to find just the right frequency to make his prey’s spark self destruct. That’s right. He executes his prey with the sound of his voice.
Now I know he’s an IDW comic-only character, and people may think he doesn’t have the history to warrant a Masterpiece figure. Valid points. But I really think that a Transformer who spends all his time striking fear into Decepticons to make sure they follow the path is cool. Plus, there is no doubt to me that he would make for an amazing transformer to add to the shelf. If a third-party team came along and made a nice version of him, I’d be hard pressed to say no, but I just know a Masterpiece version couldn’t be topped.
There are quite a few other Decepticons who would be great additions to the Masterpiece ranks, but these are just my personal top five. Regardless of who I want most, the line needs more Decepticons. So hopefully what TakaraTomy has said at some recent toy shows is true, and 2015 will bring more Decepticons to the line.
Like the list? Hate the list? Discuss on the forums!
