Animated Megatron (Cybertron Mode)

Robot Mode: I''ve read somewhere that parts of this version of Megatron, especially the head, were based on the inital designs for Movie Megatron. If so, they did a pretty good job turning them into something decent. Because Megatron in robot mode looks pretty spiffy.

In his Cybertron mode Megatron makes for a powerful-looking robot. His predominantly white colours are a bit of a departure from the normal grey (which the two other Animated Megatrons sport), but it does look pretty good on him. The black and ruby red highlights do their part to give him a regal look. His proportions are a bit off, as he sports very big legs that connect to a rather small (in comparison) torso. Still, it doesn''t really hurt him and the body is sculpted pretty nicely, right down to individually sculpted fingers.

Megatron does have one major weak spot and that''s his weapon. Like many versions of the Decepticon leader he sports a huge cannon on his arm, but in his case the cannon does not sit directly on his arm, but rather on an extra extension with an additional hinge. Not only that, but the cannon is connected to said hinge near its rear, causing most of the massive weapons length to jut out in front of Megs, unbalancing him somewhat (so that''s why he needs those humongous legs). This construction makes it pretty difficult for Megatron to properly align the gun. You can sort of fold it down a bit so it does sit closer to his arm, but it still doesn''t quite align right.

I realize that the gun sits on this extra extension because of his transformation, but it would have been a much better choice, in my opinion, to design it as a removable weapon and simply plug it into a different place when he''s in vehicle mode (a design choice that works well for the two other versions of Animated Megs, btw). The gun also features two blades aligned alogn the rear of it, one of which can flip out and switch sides to form one long blade running the entire length of the cannon. Looks good, but I doubt it''s very practical in a fight.

So the bottom line for the robot mode: Pretty good except for one major design flaw that, while not ruining the robot mode, drags it down quite a bit.

Alternate Mode: In this, his original Cybertron body, Megatron transforms into a spaceship that looks somewhat like a hovercraft. Whether you like the look of it is, of course, entirely up to you, but one thing the designers accomplished rather nicely here was to make it look alien. This is not a craft built on Earth, it''s alien and it looks the part. So thumbs up for that.

The starship mode is where Voyager Megatron trumps his Deluxe-sized counterpart Battle Begins Megatron. The ship is more detailed, better designed, and you don''t see a robot head sticking out front. It has a landing gear and the detailign on it looks pretty good. The only slight flaw here is that of the two red blades that flank the cockpit on both sides, one doesn''t quite line up straight because of the mechanism that lets it flip around in robot mode. That''s pretty much the only flaw, though. A nice vehicle mode.

Remarks: This figure represents Megatron as we saw him in the very first episode of the Animated cartoon series. Within a few minutes of his appearance he got blown up by Starscream, knocked around by the Autobots, and finally kicked out of a spaceship to drop to Earth by Optimus Prime. He then spent the rest of the first season as a severed head before gaining an Earth mode body. All the more surprising that we got not one, but two different versions of this ''Cybertron Mode'' body, which was seen for all of five minutes maybe.

Megatron in his Voyager incarnation is an interesting figure and I like his design, but the fact that his main characteristic, his big cannon, is so poorly designed makes him, in my eyes, the worst of the three Animated versions of Megatron. A lot of that problem could have been avoided, I think, simply by making the weapon removable instead of placing it on that extension. Anyway, this version of Megs isn''t a bad figure, far from it, but I often find that one major flaw which could easily have been avoided annoys me more than a figure which is just bad altogether. So the bottom line is: Buy Leader Megatron and the Battle Begins pack. This one here''s only second choice.

Rating: B-

And for a second opinion the review by guest reviewer Tobias H:

Prelude: The Animated series is a clear homage to Generation 1 of the Transformers. Many of the old characters were recycled and given a new, more dynamic look for this new series.

Then as now, Megatron is the leader of the Decepticons, once again the bad guys of the series. Megatron’s first appearance in the pilot isn’t exactly a glorious one, though. He pursued a small group of fleeing Autobot workers on his own in order to get his hands on the newly recovered AllSpark.

Not exactly one of Megatron’s most stellar ideas, because due to several unfortunate circumstances – including a little “present” from Starscream – he ended up crashing to Earth in the form of several charred pieces.

All the better, though, that this short appearance lead to a figure of its own.

Robot Mode: One thing I noticed about Megatron right at the get-go: He’s extremely posable. His posability puts the Movie figures to shame. Voyager Megatron can do just about every conceivable pose from the cartoon series and looks mighty fine doing it.

Also worth noting is the basic design of the figure, which is very edgy. Mostly straight lines and diamond-shaped elements, combined with a rather dark, but also elegant-looking colour scheme, all of which gives Megatron a very regal look. The colours are mostly black and a not-too-dark grey, with a few red and transparent plastic highlights thrown in. Rounding out this rather well-done colour scheme is the golden Decepticon crest, which is placed in a red diamond-shape on Megatron’s chest and looks pretty good there.

The figure features many great details, too. Apart from what I’ve mentioned already, there are quite a few small things about this figure you only notice upon closer inspection. Megatron’s face for example, which carries the same look of grim determination Megatron sported during his short appearance in the pilot episode. I also want to mention his heels. Instead of just adding a simple balancing spur here, the designers afforded Megatron a more detailed element.

What I like best about him are his hands, though. Not only does Megatron have very nicely sculpted hands, showing every individual digit instead of the standard Transformers fist. Megatron’s hands also feature several red plastic highlights, which emphasize them without being too obvious.

Despite all the praise I’ve heaped upon Animated Megatron so far, though, I do have to mention one thing that bothered me a little bit. That thing being related to Megatron’s huge cannon. The cannon looks great, can be fired, and has an additional gimmick in that it can be turned into a kind of sword, too. But unfortunately the cannon’s not sitting directly atop Megatron’s right arm. It is connected to it via an additional hinge, slightly above the arm. I’d have found it better if Megatron’s cannon were directly on his arm like it was in the original series.

Despite this little downside I think that Animated Megatron is a very good representative of this time-honoured name, a worthy successor of his predecessors. He combines a very aesthetic look with extraordinary posability.

Alternate Mode: The first time I saw Megatron’s alternate mode I had to spend some time trying to figure out what exactly it is I was looking at here... and which side is supposed to be the front.

To put that first: Megatron’s alternate mode is a kind of light Cybertronian battleship. I’m not calling it a “star fighter” for a reason, because that term simply doesn’t fit. I remember a vehicle from “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”, which kind of resembles it. The alien Jem’Hadar flew ships that are in some ways comparable to Megatron’s vehicle mode. This vehicle is very hard to describe, though, so I will focus on the capabilities of the alternate mode, rather than the look.

First thing first: Nothing about this alternate mode hints at the fact that a robot is hidden inside it. Regardless, though, many of the small details we see on Megatron’s robot mode are visible here, too. The space ship looks very wholesome and solid, but its small foils also make it look elegant. There is something insect-like about this vehicle, making it look wonderfully threatening.

The true strength of this alternate mode isn’t in itself, though, but rather in its close resemblance to Megatron’s later Earth mode. Once on Earth Megatron transformed into a kind of futuristic helicopter. Unfortunately at the time of this review I don’t own that model, but I’ve seen numerous pictures of it. So I can say that many elements of Megatron’s Cybertronian alternate mode have been brought over into his Earth mode.

There, too, you have that little tail fin. The cockpit of the helicopter is in the same spot as the command module of the starship. Looking at the ship’s wings, you can see silver-coloured details (probably meant to be turbines), which are in the place where the helicopter has its rotor blades.

So I can confidently state that Megatron’s alternate mode will especially appeal to those, who like these kinds of details. It does take some getting used to, no doubt, because as a space ship it does look somewhat strange, but I consider that a plus, actually.

Conclusion: Finishing up this review, I can honestly say that Animated Megatron, the Cybertronian variant, is a very well-made Transformer despite his rather strange alternate mode and the thing with the cannon. A worthy successor to the original Megatron.

In terms of posability he is one of the best Transformers ever and his looks in robot mode appeal to me a great deal. There are probably other opinions about him out there, especially his alternate mode might not appeal to some people, but this is my personal point of view, so: I like him!

Rating: So for a rating he gets a very good B+

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