Animated Rodimus Minor

Series: Animated
Allegiance: Autobot
Categories: Deluxe Store Exclusive
Year: 2010

Rodimus ~~Minor~~ Prime is one of the most promising young robots ever to graduate from the Academy. His trainers were so impressed with him that he was given command of a small unit right after graduation. During the short time he has commanded his troops, he has molded them into a tight-knit force to be reckoned with. Everyone expects him to one day rise to the rank of Magnus and command Autobot forces across the galaxy.

Prelude: Let’s get one thing out of the way first: This figure’s official name is Rodimus Minor. The character in the Animated cartoon was called Rodimus Prime, though. So why is this figure called ‘Minor’ instead of ‘Prime’? Simple, Hasbro felt there were too many Primes in the Animated series already. Yeah, two really are a lot. Anyway, to me this figure is Rodimus Prime. Live with it.

Robot Mode: There isn’t much you can do to improve the classic Hot Rod / Rodimus look, so the figure stays true to the basics. Car hood with flames on it as chest, arms with the triple exhaust pipes, and a red and orange color scheme. One change is that Rodimus’ lower body does not contain any car parts; the legs simply fold up inside the car chassis in alternate mode. As a result Rodimus’ lower body is very slim, while his upper body looks more powerful, giving him a swimmer’s figure. Not a bad thing, just a departure from the standard.

Apart from the more cartoonish Animated style, the figure doesn’t really differ all that much from other incarnations of the character such as Classics Rodimus for example. One big difference, though, is the weapon. Rodimus wields an Energy Bow instead of a rifle or a Targetmaster in this incarnation. It fits well with his overall image and colors, so no complaints on that front, either. The figure’s posability is also up to current standards, including a ball-jointed head. So to sum it all up: A great incarnation of Hot Rod / Rodimus Prime with no flaws worth mentioning.

Alternate Mode: Rodimus Prime transforms into his old Hot Rod vehicle mode, a sleek red sports car. The car holds no resemblance to any existing model as far as I know, but it clearly emphasizes speed. No robot parts are visible here (except from underneath) and everything folds together quite well without much in the way of visible seams. Only the rear is a tiny bit open, but that’s not a big thing.

Rodimus’ weapon can be mounted on top of the car, giving it fire power and (if you’re so inclined) wings of sorts. This weapon fits a lot more smoothly than the Targetmaster did on G1 Hot Rod, so no complaints on that front, either. An all-around good and solid vehicle mode.

Remarks: Rodimus Prime appeared in but a single episode of the Animated cartoon, the third season opener “Transwarped”. He led Team Athenia, consisting of Brawn, Red Alert, Ironhide and Hot Shot, which squared off against the so-called Team Charr, consisting of Strika, Cyclonus, Blackout, Spittor, and Oil Slick. To make a long story short, Rodimus’ team got their skidplates kicked pretty good and were never seen again. The final shot of Rodimus was him being infected with Cosmic Rust at the hands of Oil Slick. The AllSpark Almanac (Vol. 2) hinted at Rodimus having survived and being in recovery, but no more than that.

The figure itself is a very good representation of yet another classic character that was reimagined for Animated. It doesn’t contain any exciting gimmicks or ultra-special features, but it’s a good, solid, flawless Deluxe-class figure of one of my favorite characters of all time. Which is quite enough for me.

Rating: A-