Botcon Double Punch (G2: Redux)

Prelude: Double Punch here is a repaint of Energon Scorponok. Seeing as it’s been over five years since I reviewed that figure, though, I think it’s time to give this mold another complete rundown. Besides, my buddy Caked-Up picked him up for me at Botcon, which alone makes him deserving of the full treatment. Thanks again, Caked-Up.

Robot Mode: Let me start by saying that Double Punch has one of the most awesome paint jobs ever. G2, which this year’s Botcon celebrated, was known for wild paint jobs (it was the 90s, after all) and while the original DP came out as part of late G1 and not G2, he already did sport a wild paint job. Black, mixed with neon pink and green. It sounds crass and might not be for everyone, but to me it just looks fabulous and I absolutely love it.

Now for the actual figure: Energon Scorponok is, in my mind, one of the best molds of the Energon series. He looks powerful and dangerous. DP takes that look and his new paint job takes nothing away from it. In terms of posability the only restriction DP has is in the arrangement of his shoulders, along with the disproportionate design of his arms. Once you get used to it, though, you can put him in all sorts of poses without too much trouble. Btw, there are actually two different ways you can configure DPs shoulders. The first is the one you see in most pictures above, with the shoulder struts sticking out at an angle. The second one I’ve only made a single picture of. Here the shoulder struts point straight up. This makes DP a whole lot stockier and makes the arms look even shorter. Personally I much prefer the first variant (which is also the official one), but to each his own.

Double Punch has some very minor design problems that are not present in Energon Scorponok (at least not in my version). The visor on his head is very loose and tends to fall off. I tried to fix this with some carefully applied force, but it only works in the short term. Also the pipe-things attached to his chest plate are also very loose and shouldn’t be touched too much. Not sure if this is a general problem or just something with my version. Not a big thing, but I thought I’d mention it.

Weapon-wise DP really can’t complain. His scorpion tail looms above his head, ready to deploy twin cannons. Additionally he has two huge claws instead of hands, which can open up to reveal a missile launcher inside them. He also has these spike-things on his knees, so you really don’t want to have him knee you in the chest or other body parts.

To sum it up: I love this robot. The original was already very nice, but the new paint job just makes this figure pure awesomeness. Two thumbs up.

Alternate Modes: Double Punch is a triple changer, so he has two different alternate modes. The first is a ground-based vehicle on tank threads that resembles a scorpion. It has small stingers on front, the huge claws/shears at the sides, and the big scorpion tail hanging above its main body. It can also be seen as a construction vehicle of some sort, seeing as DP has a little hook at the tip of his tail and those claws could easily be used for demolition work. The cannons can flip forward in this mode as well, of course, and the claws are as posable here as they were in robot mode. A nice vehicle mode, successfully creating a balanced mixture between a mechanical scorpion and an actual vehicle.

DP’s second vehicle mode is a kind of futuristic space fighter. The general arrangement is similar to the ground-based vehicle mode, but the scorpion tail now flips forward to serve as the ‘nose’ of the jet, while the claws angle backward to serve as wings and the tank threads are now on top with jet engines folded out to the sides. Look-wise the jet does okay, if somewhat lacking in aerodynamics. The big downside here is, though, that the joint of the scorpion tail isn’t really strong enough to support the front end sticking out straight. The jet does okay as long as you keep it on the table surface or floor, but taking it in hand inevitably leads to the front section dipping down. So while it’s nice that they gave this figure a third mode, it’s the weakest of the three by far.

Remarks: Double Punch here is, of course, a homage to the Actionmaster of the same name (who was not G2, by the way, but G1), who in turn was a homage to the Japanese-exclusive Black Zarak from Masterforce, who in turn was a repaint of the original G1 Scorponok, whose Energon homage was repainted for this figure. Got all that? Good, moving on then.

When I wrote this review I was first tempted to give this awesome figure a straight A, but then I thought it over and also took a look at the review I wrote for the original Energon Scorponok (who got a B back then). So taking into account the weak third mode and the minor design problems (which might just be my version only) and still factoring in the completely awesome paint job and the triple homage involved (original Double Punch – Black Zarak – Scorponok), this figure is still well worth getting and definitely among my favorite Botcon exclusives ever.

Rating: A-