Titans Return Wolfwire

 

Prelude: Wolfwire was originally known as Weirdwolf in Generation 1. I assume trademark issues were at play, as I don’t really see anything offensive about that name. Anyway, I don’t much mind the name change, though I do think Weirdwolf sounds, well, weirder. And weird is good.

Robot Mode: The original G1 Weirdwolf was a big, blocky dude. Titans Return Wolfwire, while clearly meant to the be same guy, is smaller, leaner, and far, far better articulated. Also, he foregoes half the annoying back kibble that G1 Weirdwolf had, as there is no separate hip/tail piece hanging off his back. What he also lacks, though, are Weirdwolf’s slide-open shoulder launchers, which are just a solid sculpted piece here. Not a big thing, but noticeable to a GeeWonner like me.

Comparisons to the G1 original aside, Wolfwire is a pretty cool figure in robot mode. No restrictions on movement, articulation is good enough for him to wield his sword two-handed (in some poses at least), and he has no problems standing, either. Side Note: I know that you’re supposed to turn around Wolfwire’s feet so he has yellow toes and the wolf claws as heels, but personally I prefer him with the wolf claws as toes. It’s probably the Beast Wars fanatic in me.

Weapon-wise Wolfwire comes with a large rifle and a sword made from the tail of his beast mode. The rifle is a bit cumbersome, but the sword looks really good in his hands and he can pull off all sorts of cool swordfighter poses. So overall Wolfwire is an excellent figure in robot mode, both on his own and as a homage to G1 Weirdwolf. Two thumbs up!

Alternate Mode: Wolfwire transformers into a … you guessed it, a wolf. He uses pretty much THE most basic beast transformation imaginable, going down on all fours and flipping the wolf head forward (plus some hip transformation), but the result is nevertheless quite the impressive wolf. All four legs are fully articulated, the wolf head can move and open its jaws, only the tail is stuck in place. The wolf features a cockpit for Monxo (see below) and you can plug in Wolfwire’s rifle on top of him, too, which looks pretty cool. Not much else I can write here that the pictures don’t tell better. A really cool wolf mode, no complaints.

Partner: Wolfwire comes with Nebulon… sorry, Titan Master Monxo, 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). Monxo’s resemblance to his G1 predecessor Monzo is present, though not particularly strong. Monxo can also sit down in Wolfwire’s rifle, turning it into a gun emplacement that can also plug into the base modes of Leader-class Titans Return figures. So overall, a typical Titan Master. No complaints.

Remarks: Weirdwolf 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 –helped blow up planet Seibertron (Cybertron).

Titans Return Wolfwire is my favorite among the original Decepticon Headmasters. A very cool robot mode, a nice beast mode, and no flaws worth mentioning. I might have gone for a straight A if he had retained those slide-open shoulder missile launchers from his G1 days, but well, you can’t have everything. Still, a very good figure, well worth getting. Fully recommended.

Rating: A-