Prime Ultra Magnus (Cyberverse)

Robot Mode: Ultra Magnus appears as a nice mixture between the original G1 Ultra Magnus (mostly the head) and his more recent Animated incarnation. He’s mostly blue with some red and silver/grey highlights and looks pretty good overall. Very nicely detailed for a figure of this size class.

In terms of articulation Magnus also does a pretty good job. The joints are a bit loose on mine, but I don’t know whether that’s a general problem. The big shoulder pieces need to be adjusted now and then, but otherwise there is nothing to complain about. Okay, Magnus can’t turn his head, but I can live with that.

Like his Animated predecessor Magnus carries a big hammer as his main weapon. He can wield the weapon two-handed, but that requires quite a bit of rather unnatural-looking arm positioning, so I advise against it. The hammer can convert into a big rifle, which he can either hold on hand or mount on his forearm. Either way, a weapon befitting Ultra Magnus. Overall, nothing to complain about here, a superb Commander-class figure in robot mode.

Alternate Mode: Have we seen any Ultra Magnus so far that didn’t become a truck? I don’t think so. Magnus again becomes a truck, again somewhat resembling the vehicle mode of his Animated predecessor with some shades of RID Ultra Magnus as well. Not too much I can write here, a rather basic-looking truck with good detailing for its size. The hammer/rifle can be put on the rear end, either pointing forward as a gun or backwards for a kind-of crane look. Either way, a fully sufficient vehicle mode. No complaints.

Remarks: At this point in time we haven’t seen Ultra Magnus appear in the Prime TV series. He had a role in the Exodus novel (supposedly the prequel to both the Prime TV series and the War for Cybertron computer game) as the leader of the Wreckers, which this toy’s profile mirrors (though the elite force isn’t named). Seeing as a Voyager-class toy is also planned for Magnus, one can assume he’ll appear in the TV series sooner or later.

Ever since the Scout class was repurposed as the ‘Cyberverse Big Guys’ class I’ve mostly steered clear of it, but Ultra Magnus here is well worth the exception. A superb robot mode, a good vehicle mode, a kind-of Animated homage, and an all-around very nice figure. Fully recommended and not just for Ultra Magnus fans.

Rating: A-