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Series: Beast Wars
Allegiance: Maximal
Categories: Super Transmetal
Function: Supreme Commander
Year: 1998
Optimal Optimus, a wise and compassionate Maximal commander, developed his trademark valor and heroism during his role in the Beast Wars. Exposure to a nebulous entity reconfigured him into the ultimate four-mode Transmetal. Optimal Optimus' reactive smart missile cannons are functional in all modes of operation. In hypersonic attack mode he has upgraded Cybertronian "air guardian" jet technology equipped with scramjet modules specialized for unmatched velocity. In armored ground-assault mode he transgresses all terrain and overcomes all opposition. Battle-reactive blast shields supply him with an impenetrable defense, making Optimal Optimus the most potent threat ever to face-off against Megatron and his Predacons.
Robot Mode: The largest Beast Wars robot of them all, Optimal Optimus is a massive fighting machine, armed to the teeth and looking ready to pound Predacons into the ground. Unlike his earlier incarnation Transmetal Optimus Primal he retains very few of his Gorilla characteristics in robot form. Only his very long arms and clawed feet hint at his beast form. You can modify his robot form a little by putting the blast shields either on his forearms or applying them to his shoulders. He looks good either way, it's really a matter of taste. You can also fold out his shoulder wings, making for yet another change in looks. Optimal Optimus also carries a rifle, but it looks very puny in his giant hands and with his shoulder-mounted cannons he really doesn't need it. All in all, Optimal Optimus has a great and very posable robot mode.
Alternate Modes: Optimus has three alternate modes. The first is his gorilla beast mode, a leftover from his two previus incarnations. The gorilla uses the same arms and feet as the robot mode, only exchanging the chest and head to give the whole thing a more beastly feel. The gorilla retains enough resemblance to the previus incarnation to show they're essentially the same guy, but looks a lot fiercer and more powerful.
Optimus can also transform into an armoured ground transport and futuristic jet. The two modes are nearly identical. Just fold in the wheel of the car, fold out the arms and arm wings and bingo, you have the jet. Both modes take a little getting used to. They don't realy look like a car and a jet, they look like a big robot trying to be a car and a jet. Still, they don't look too bad. Optimus' play value is more in his robot and gorilla modes, though.
Remarks: Whereas the second season of Beast Wars showed brilliant storytelling, the third one degenerated into being a gimmick-ladden toy commercial. Transmetals became Transmetal 2s, characters were killed off in rapid succession, and the finale was just one big contrievance. Still, it did bring us some interesting toys, including this one. Taking the spark of the legendary Optimus Prime into himself, Optimus Primal was transformed into Optimal Optimus, becoming larger and more powerful than before. Okay, so the series producers didn't know the difference between a Transformer spark and the Autobot Matrix, but still, the idea was pretty neat. And produced one of the better toys of the Beast Wars line to boot.
Rating: B+
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