Revenge of the Fallen Mindwipe

Robot Mode: ROTF Mindwipe is, of course, a homage to G1 Mindwipe and while the two figures don't exactly look very much alike, they do bear a certain similarity in one respect. Like his predecessor, Mindwipe has 'bat-wings', really the wings of his jetmode, that sit on his shoulders and sort of fold backwards. That folded look alone is a pretty good-looking feature, much more natural-looking than a stiff, straight set of wings could be. The red spikes protruding from the wings are a nice detail, too.

The similarities end there, though, and put side by side the two figures don't look a whole lot alike. Much more importantly, though: Mindwipe looks great in robot mode. He has a very lean, almost gaunt look to him, despite his large upper torso and the powerful legs. The head looks like the standard 'helmet-head' at first, a visor for eyes above a mouthguard, but looking closer you notice two piercing eyes behind the transparent visor, a nice touch considering that Mindwipe is supposed to be a hypnotist.

Mindwipe's legs are designed such that you have a choice. You can either position them the 'normal' way (see pictures 1 & 2) or make them adopt the bird-legged stance so common in the ROTF line (see pictures 3 & 4). Personally I prefer the more humanoid look, but take your pick here. In terms of weapons Mindwipe sports two flip-out blades. Due to the way the mechanism works he can only hold them in a tip-down way, but combined with his excellent posability he can pull off all sorts of cool-looking poses with them. The only slight drawback here is that, in order to keep them 'flipped-in', so to speak, he has to keep his wrists at a 45 degree angle. Doesn't really hurt him any, but worth mentioning.

So what does that leave us with? A truly excellent robot mode. Cool-looking, posable, nice weapons, and just one tiny flaw that isn't really a flaw. So to sum it up: No complaints here.

Alternate Mode: Mindwipe transforms into a F-117 Nighthawk stealth bomber. Now some people might be disappointed here, as the stealth bomber is a rather boring-looking vehicle and features nothing in the way of gimmicks aside from a working landing gear. Not me, though. I love solid, good-looking vehicle modes that show no hint of the robot hidden inside. Mindwipe's bomber mode is a very solidly put together plane. Everything fits together nicely, the detailing is very good, and I while I like the more modern "flying wing" design of stealth bombers better than this older Nighthawk model, it's still a great-looking aircraft. I could have done without the Cybertronian glyphs on the wings (a bit counter-productive for a disguised alien robot to write alien script on its disguise), but that doesn't change the fact that Mindwipe's vehicle mode offers no real cause for complaint, either.

Side Note: The ROTF scout-class figure Skystalker can attach to Mindwipe in vehicle mode. I don't own Skystalker yet, so pictures will be forthcoming once I do get around to him in his own review.

Remarks: The original Mindwipe was a Decepticon Headmaster and he, too, had the power to hypnotize other robots. In the G1 cartoon finale "Rebirth" he used those powerful abilities to hypnotize Lightspeed and make the Autobot... drive backwards. Well, no one said hypnotic powers came with any sort of ambition or smarts. He was a tad more dangerous in the Japanese "Headmaster" cartoon, where he used his powers to put numerous Autobots, including the Dinobots, to sleep, which brought the Decepticons very close to conquering Cybertron.

In Revenge of the Fallen Mindwipe is still a hypnotist, but more importantly he's a kick-ass toy. As bad as the ROTF Movie was, the ROTF Voyager-class line of toys keeps dishing out first-rate figures and Mindwipe is one of them. There is nothing I can think of which would make this toy any better than it is (except maybe some mild tune-up for the wrists). Two great modes, a solid "background story" (the profile text), everything fits together very nicely. Granted, Mindwipe has yet to appear in any media, but that's just about the only negative thing anyone can say about him. So my bottom line is: Buy this toy!

Rating: A

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