Cyberverse Rack'n'Ruin

Prelude: For all that few people know of them, Rack’n’Ruin are among the most unique Transformers ever. Two separate Autobots, Rack and Ruin, fused together into a single entity. For over three decades this particular character (or characters, rather) never appeared in toy form, neither official nor third party. With Cyberverse, though, we are finally getting an official Rack’n’Ruin figure. Was it worth the long wait? Let’s say go!

Robot Mode: Let’s clarify the most important point first: Ruin is the one with the monocle. Okay, now that we have established that, let’s move on to the robot in front of us. In his original comic appearances, Rack’n’Ruin were two separate robots that were connected at the shoulder. The Cyberverse version, however, is more of a single robot with two chests and two heads. To be fair, that works a lot better than having two figures with each missing an arm and being fused at the shoulder.

The figure itself is roughly Voyager-class sized and has decent articulation for a Cyberverse toys. We have knees, elbows, and ball-jointed arms and legs providing a good deal of movement. Not great, but good enough for some nice poses. The two heads are immobile, naturally, but decently sculpted. I just wish they had given them different facial expressions. Rack and Ruin show identical smirks, the monocle is the only difference.

Rack’n’Ruin comes with a big blaster he/they can hold in hand or carry on his/their back. Sadly the guns on his forearm are locked in place pointing backwards and cannot swivel forward. They are only for the vehicle mode. Additionally the figure has an Energon armor gimmick. Release a hatch behind the figure’s heads and the chest flips open, a transparent-blue chest plate flips out, and covers the chest(s) and heads. It’s a nice gimmick, if superfluous, but once the chest plate is engaged, the robot’s torso does not snap solidly together anymore. It doesn’t fall apart or anything, but it’s wobbly.

So bottom line, Rack’n’Ruin is a fun figure with a very unique look. Could have done without the gimmick, but otherwise the robot mode is pretty good.

Alternate Mode: Rack’n’Ruin transform into something that somewhat resembles an armored military car. The guns on the robot’s forearms come into play here, while the hand-held blaster becomes part of the hood and the front bumper. The car is, well, recognizable as a car, let’s put it that way. It’s a serviceable alternate mode, but little more than that.

Remarks: Rack’n’Ruin first appeared in the famous Transformers UK comic story “Target: 2006” as one of the Wreckers, the Autobots’ elite commando unit. His rather unique design, two separate robots connected at the shoulder like cojoined twins, made up for the fact that he seldom spoke and never really did anything of consequence. Rack’n’Ruin also appeared in the IDW comics, where we briefly saw the two separate bots they once were in a flashback. In the Cyberverse series Rack’n’Ruin was among the crew of the Ark and crashed on Earth with the rest, only to be awakened by Bumblebee and Windblade in the finale of season 1.

While the Cyberverse toy line is, of course, meant for a younger audience instead of adult collectors, it has some very interesting and unique designs. Case in point the very first Rack’n’Ruin figure we ever got. And while it does not quite fit with my other Wreckers stylistically, it is a fun figure and well worth getting for Wreckers fans and fans of unique, interesting Transformers designs.

Rating: B-