Legacy Transmetal II Megatron

Prelude: Back in the days of Beast Wars, Megatron achieved his Transmetal 2 form only a handful of episodes before the series ended. Fast forward a quarter century (give or take) and that same barely-seen version of the Predacon leader gets a new figure that is on pretty much everyone’s list of top official Transformers toys of 2022. We are certainly living in interesting times. So here he is, the Predacon leader in his final, most powerful form, ready to smash history to bits. Let’s say go!

Robot Mode: In recent years many figures sold in the Leader-Class were really just Voyager-class figures with extra parts. Not so Megatron, who stands tall and towers over (present-day) Voyager-class figures easily. He is actually even taller than the figure he is modelled on, standing over a head taller than Beast Wars Transmetal 2 Megatron (though not nearly as broad). He is also far better proportioned than his predecessor, striking an impressive, lean figure that nevertheless looks very powerful. And he is also the spitting image of the Megatron we saw in the final few episodes of Beast Wars, so no problems on that front, either.

As a matter of fact, you will be hard-pressed to find any problems with this figure at all. Articulation is great, including the left arm, which is really the neck and head of Megatron’s dragon mode. Unlike on the original figure, this arm is not a rubbery thing with an only semi-functional (and misassembled) gimmick inside it, but rather a solid collection of joints that allow you to put that arm into all kinds of cool poses and even spew fire thanks to an included effect part. Megatron has nothing to complain about in the looks department, either. The colors are bright, the details look great, so again: no complaints.

The dragon wings on Megatron’s back are composed of four separate surfaces each and can unfold into an impressive wing span. While the wings are relatively thin, they are still very solid, so I don’t foresee any breakage problems here. And another thing worth mentioning: neither the wings nor any other part of Megatron here is painted in chrome paint that, two decades on, will flake like nobody’s business. Another point in favor of the new guy.

If you really, really need to find a flaw, then the only thing that comes to mind is that the back plate doesn’t tab in solidly, but that really makes no difference to the overall stability of the figure. I have heard some people complain that Megatron doesn’t have the dragon’s chest as a shield on his arm (it’s on the back here), but personally that doesn’t bother me at all. So bottom line: an excellent robot mode. Even a die-hard Beast Wars fan such as myself has to admit that this guy is a definite improvement over the original figure in more than one aspect. Very nicely done.

Alternate Mode: Enter the Dragon! Let’s leave aside the question of how a power-up would turn a beast mode based on a Tyrannosaurus Rex into a winged, fire-breathing dragon and simply look at this beautiful dragon bot here in front of us. The transformation isn’t exactly intuitive, but not particularly difficult, either.

Much like in robot mode, the dragon mode fixes several problems the original figure had. For one thing, the robot’s head is now pretty well hidden inside the dragon’s butt instead of hanging there in plain view. The legs are far more stable, even though they might just seem a tiny bit large for the dragon. The little dragon arms are better articulated, too. I already mentioned the lack of a rubber neck in robot mode, but in this mode you also notice the lack of a rubber tail. So we’re getting a fully poseable neck and tail for our dragon.

Overall the dragon mode is pretty cool. The base of the beck could be a bit better (you can see the robot fist inside if you look closely) and the dragon’s sides are a tiny bit open, too, but those are just nitpicks. The dragon looks cool, is very nicely articulated (including the wings), and it can breathe fire in this mode, too. What more do you want of a dragon mode? So bottom line: thumbs up for the dragon mode, too.

Worth mentioning: Legacy TM2 Megatron foregoes the original toy’s vehicle mode, which… yeah, no one really cared about, I guess. It never appeared in the show, it looked terrible on the toy, so I am not heartbroken about them leaving it out. I bet there are quite a few people who never even knew (or forgot) that Transmetal 2 Megatron had a vehicle mode. The dragon still has detailing in the shape of wheels on his knees, but that is the only concession to that forgotten mode.

Remarks: Having seen how much power Optimus Primal gained by briefly merging his spark with that of the mighty Optimus Prime, Megatron attempted to do the same by taking in the spark of his Decepticon predecessor as well. The result was an upgraded form with vast power, which almost allowed Megatron to succeed in his goal to destroy the Ark and change the future. In the end he was defeated, though, and returned to Cybertron in time to become the main bad guy of Beast Machines. That is another story, though.

While Transmetal 2 Megatron is not my favorite form of the Predacon leader (the Transmetal 1 will always fill that role), this Legacy Leader-class figure here is certainly a brilliant toy. Perfectly captures the character, retains the cool look of the original while mitigating its faults, all tied together in a near-perfect package. So unless you are absolutely and in no way a fan of beast-formers, you should definitely give this figure here a try.

Rating: A

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