Titans Return Mindwipe

Robot Mode: Mindwipe from Titans Return is, of course, an updated version of G1 Mindwipe, big surprise. He is smaller, of course, but apart from that he looks nearly identical and is clearly meant to be the same guy. Really, the only major difference is that the little bat wings on his back are right-side up whereas G1 Mindwipe had them upside down and that the head of the bat is clearly visible on his back.

Naturally he is a good deal better articulated and also somewhat more detailed than the nearly 30 year old original toy. His articulation is only slightly hampered by his somewhat boxy lower legs, otherwise he can pose with the best of them, no problem. Like his predecessor he carries a laser gun for a weapon, but he also adds a combination of arm shield and claw, which he can either hold in hand or plug into his forearm. Looks pretty good.

To sum it up: a robot mode that does a perfect job of capturing the old G1 character and has no flaws worth mentioning. Thumbs up.

Alternate Mode: Mindwipe still transforms into a robotic bat just like in days of yore, but with several notable differences. First off, the tiny wings from the robot mode are not the wings of the bat mode, those are formed from the legs. Which makes for a somewhat slimmer bat, but also means that this Mindwipe here is missing the speakers G1 Mindwipe had on the sides of his body. Not a big thing, but it might matter so some G1 purists. Look-wise there is little difference to the G1 bat, but the big wings are actually articulated here, making several different wing poses possible. You can make them even better articulated, of course, if you don’t tab them in with the bat’s tiny little feet, but tabbing them in makes for a more wholesome look. Your choice which looks better to you. The bat has a cockpit in the center of its chest for Vorath and the arm shield and laser gun together form the bat’s tail. That is also my only minor complaint here, as the tail looks nothing like a tail and totally like an arm shield and a gun attached to the bat’s butt. Apart from that, though, a very nice bat mode.

Partner: Mindwipe comes with Nebulon… sorry, Titan Master Vorath, a small figure with articulated shoulders and connected knees that forms his head (or the head of any other Headmaster figure from Titans Return for that matter). Vorath is a pretty close match to his G1 predecessor, only with purple limbs instead of red ones. Vorath can also use Mindwipe’s arm shield / claw as a gun emplacement that can connect with the base modes of Leader-class Titans Return figures. So overall, a typical Titan Master. No complaints.

Remarks: Mindwipe was one of the original 1987 Headmasters and had brief appearances in the G1 cartoon finale “Rebirth”, as well as the Marvel comics. His most prominent role was in the Japanese Headmaster series, where he – among other things – used his hypnotic powers to defeat the Dinobots and helped blow up planet Seibertron (Cybertron). Not a bad resume for a bad guy.

As a toy Mindwipe is nothing more and nothing less than an updated version of the old G1 figure. Smaller, but better articulated, better detailed, and with no real flaws I can think of. The Takara Legends series will use a repaint of this figure as Convobat (better known in the West as that superfluous Optimus Primal toy from the very beginning of Beast Wars), which I also think about getting. So bottom line: a really nice toy for everyone who is a fan of the original Headmasters or just likes beast-Transformers in general.

Rating: B+