Legacy Iguanus

Prelude: Back in 1988, Pretender Iguanus was so enamored with his Pretender shell, he dreamed of permanently fusing with it. Fast forward 34 years and Iguanus’ dreams have finally come true in the Legacy toy line. He is now one with his shell, no longer a robot inside a shell. So now he merely pretends to be a Pretender? Does that make him a Meta Pretender? A Pretender Squared? Well, we shall see. Let’s say go!

Robot Mode: As mentioned above, Iguanus has ditched his G1 robot mode and now sports a robot mode that is a dead ringer for his original Pretender shell. Looking at the Legacy figure and the G1 Pretender shell side by side, the two look amazingly alike (except for the size, obviously). Iguanus appears in all his scaly purple glory.

Big difference to both the G1 shell and the G1 robot: the articulation. Iguanus is about as bendy as they come, ball-jointed throughout and includes a turning head and waist, as well as poseable feet. Absolutely no complaints here, Iguanus can pose with the best of them.

The one downside to the robot mode is the somewhat strange weapon. Well, downside might be too strong a word, but the weapon could definitely be improved upon. It’s actually part of the hilt for a combined sword, the other two parts are with Legacy Core Class Hot Rod and Skywarp. Without those parts, it’s... well, you can sort of see it as a weird-looking gun. Side note: the art on Iguanus’ packaging shows him shooting eye beams. That’s a reference to his G1 techspec, where his Pretender shell was said to have hypnotic eye beams. Nice little detail.

So bottom line: an excellent robot mode. Iguanus shows superb articulation and an astounding level of detail, too. A better weapon and he would have been perfect.

Alternate Mode: The original Iguanus’ inner robot transformed into a kind of futuristic bike, so naturally this figure here, too, becomes a bike. It actually does a much better job of it than the original, to be honest. The bike still looks futuristic and kind of weird, but it’s easily recognizable as a bike and can seat a driver of appropriate size without any problems. The only downside here is that the bike really needs some kind of kickstand. The broad tires make it possible to have the bike stand unsupported, but it’s a very delicate balance. So yes, a kickstand would have been nice.

Apart from that one flaw, though, a nicely executed bike mode. Weird, strange, but looking good.

Remarks: The second wave of Pretenders to appear back in 1988 are kind of the unloved middle child, never appearing in any cartoon and never having much of an impact in the comic books, either, at least when compared to far more popular Pretenders like Bludgeon, Thunderwing, and… yeah, those two are pretty much it, aren’t they? Which just makes me all the more glad to finally see some of these guys referenced in a modern-day series.

Legacy Iguanus is a fun figure and nicely pays homage to the original Pretender’s desire to become one with his shell (and the eye beams, too). Even apart from that, the detail work and great articulation make it a fun toy even if you have never heard of Pretender Iguanus before. So bottom line: a great start into the Legacy line. A fun Transformers figure for just about everyone.

Rating: B

 

 

Review Showdown: Well, you have read this review. Now it’s time to read the review of G1 Iguanus if you haven’t already. All done? Well then, who is the Lizard King, the first Iguanus among all Iguani? We are breaking things down by the following, fully objective, logical criteria: Size, Articulation, Majesty of Tail, Number of Easily Lost Parts, Alternate Mode, and Strangeness of Weapon. And here is our result: