G2 Electro

Robot Mode: There are a few things one notices about Electro very quickly. The first is probably the hole in his legs. Each leg features half-a-hole and when he puts his legs together you can look right through them. Strange look. Anyway, Electro might look a bit strange, but that doesn't mean he looks bad. Far from it. His build makes him look pretty powerful.

Like all Laser Rods he is ball-jointed, making him very posable. Unfortunately Electro has two problems in this area. One, he carries a rather large and heavy backpack (containing the electronics), which makes him prone to toppling over backwards, and second, his feet could use much longer heels in order to counter that weight. Unfortunately they don't, so it's pretty hard to put him in any pose that doesn't include bending forward slightly.

As a weapon Electro carries the Laser Rod that gives his subgroup their name. Connect it to his backpack via a cable and it lights up. A pretty cool gimmick, I like it. So all in all what we have here is a good-looking robot with a cool gimmick, but some problems concerning stability. Which sums up as good, but could be better.

Alternate Mode: Electro transforms into a golden pick-up hot rod, sporting that same strange yet oddly pleasing design that most of the Laser Rods have. I really like the Laser Rod vehicle modes and Electro is no exception. The laser gimmick is, of course, fully functional in this mode as well. Press on the small button in front of the engine and it lights up. Simple, but cool.

Electro also features a decently sculpted interior for his driver's cabine, something that still isn't commonplace with car-style Transformers, so I appreciate it when it's done. His laser sword can be stored underneath the car and isn't visible except from the rear, but even there you could just mistake it for an exhaust. So all in all a simple, but well-done vehicle mode.

Remarks: The most noteworthy thing about Electro (except for the fact that he is NOT the Spider-Man villain) is that he's considered one of the most fragile Transformers figures of them all. I got a first-hand demonstration of this, as he arrived in pieces after I bought him on ebay. Granted, the seller hadn't exactly packaged him well, but the other TFs included in the same package survived unscathed, whereas Electro lost a leg and broke off several large pieces from his torso. I glued them back on and he's holding together, but I read that a lot of other people had similar problems with him. So if you get him, treat him very carefully.

Which pretty much sums up my recommendation for this figure. I like Electro, I like the Laser Rods in general, and in some way I like him even more since I fixed him again. Still, he is a pretty fragile fellow and if you happen to find one that is whole (which isn't an easy feat), you need to treat him as if he were of glass. Come to think of it, he'd probably be less fragile if he were.

Rating: B

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