Fun fact: way back in the halcyon days of the early ’90s, Marvel’s Transformers Generation 2 comic wasn’t quite performing up to expectations (though, ironically, if any comic today sold similar numbers, it would be considered a runaway hit), so there were talks of the book’s possible cancellation (it would run for just 12 issues). In response, Transformers scribe Simon Furman and his team created a character called “Jhiaxus,” which was intended to not-so-subtly reveal how they felt about the situation — “Jhiaxus” is pronounced as “Gee, ax us.”
Jhiaxus is something of a mad scientist who considers himself above the age-old war between the Transformers factions. He strives for a more advanced, unified coalition that has risen above the primitive construct of war. He does not necessarily identify as a Decepticon, but, depending on with fictional incarnation of Jhiaxus you’re looking at, he could easily be considered at home among the ranks of all the Decepticon commanders we’ve seen, like Straxus, Bludgeon, Thunderwing, Shockwave, etc. He meets all the criteria: scary visage, kooky ideas as to how the universe should be run, troops willing to serve under him, the works. And it’s awesome to add Jhiaxus to the Generations collection because it gives us a character who was instrumental in the development of the Dark Cybertron story arc, and thus influenced the direction of the IDW comics in general. That alone makes him an essential, I believe.
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Jhiaxus’ packaging is standard 2014 Generations fare, and a copy of Dark Cybertron #10 is included. The exclusive cover is pretty cool, though. it depicts Jhiaxus looking particularly psychotic and I really dig that. This isn’t a character I’ve had a ton of exposure to, outside of the G2 comic and the parts of Dark Cybertron that I’ve read, so any little thing helps in terms of characterization.
The figure is a repaint/remold of the Generations update of Armada Starscream. The Starscream mold is a good one to begin with, and there’s enough here that’s new that this figure doesn’t feel redundant at all. His colors are awesome too — I’m a complete and utter sucker for the orange/grey combo. I love it. And they actually managed to work Jhiaxus’ similarity to Starscream into the comic when Starscream said, “That’s how you really want to end this, Jhiaxus — by cosplaying as me?” It’s clever in a meta sort of way and helps to add legitimacy to the figure.
His head sculpt is downright frightening, and it looks to me as though there’s a bit of a “Darth Vader” influence in his design with what looks to be a breathing(?) apparatus/voice box attached to the lower portion of his face. I’m not positive what it’s supposed to be, but I like it. There is actually a lot of personality in this sculpt, which is nice to see. From the crazed look in his eyes to the open mouth, Jhiaxus looks as though he’s about to bite someone’s ear off. Starscream’s?
For accessories, he comes with two identical blasters that can be held via the standard 5mm peg holes in his fists, and they can also be attached to the underside of his wings in jet mode. Given the little bit that I know about the character, twin blasters is a bit disappointing in terms of weapons. Straxus came with a big ol’ ax, so it seems as though Jhiaxus should come with something similar in terms of cruel potential — a hammer maybe? Pistols seems so basic and boring. It is what it is, though. At lease he looks intimidating, but that’s not because of the pistols.
He’s nicely articulated with a great range of motion in both his arms and legs. His head is also on what feels like a ball joint, so he can be put in a wide array of poses. The only bummer is his feet. Like Starscream, there is no rocker functionality, so his feet are permanently posed in this slightly spread “heroic” stance. It’s a bit annoying, and the addition of rocker functionality would have been appreciated.
As revealed in the comparison, there’s enough here that’s new that Jhiaxus feels like much more than a Starscream repaint/retool, even though one is clearly built on the other.
Jhiaxus’ alt mode is a jet with a clear Cybertronian flair to it. Again, the orange and grey totally make the figure. And there’s something about an orange jet that brings to mind the color explosion that characterized the G2 toy line. So while there isn’t much about the figure’s ‘bot mode that ties him to his G2 roots, the colors here do create something of a tether.
He has two missiles that can be launched by pushing in on the clear plastic pieces at the end of each cannon. They’re not spring loaded, so there’s little chance of their firing off randomly when you’re not ready, which is nice. It actually takes a little bit of work to get them to fire, so it’s unlikely they’ll end up behind the couch lost forever.
Jhiaxus is a cool and interesting character that I’m glad to have on my shelf, but how essential he is will depend on the impression he made in the comics. I’m happy to have him and I think he looks awesome among my Decepticon ranks, so I can easily recommend him.
