Cybertron Galvatron

Series: Cybertron
Allegiance: Decepticon
Categories: Leader
Year: 2006

The rage Megatron feels after his defeat by Metroplex activates the dormant power within his Unicron armor. This vast energy draws power directly from the Giant Planet itself, feeding into Megatron and changing him into the mighty Galvatron. A living engine of destruction, Galvatron lives only to conquer all and grind the universe beneath his armored heel. His weapons and intellect super-charged by the living energy of the Giant Planet, there are none powerful enough to stand in his way.

Robot Mode: Galvatron in robot mode is a towering giant of black and silver, looking very powerful and impressive. His posability is quite good and his broad feet make sure that he is stable in most poses. The arm joints on my Galvatron are a bit weak, not sure if that's a general problem or not, but still tight enough to hold his weapons without problems. Said weapons are stored in the two partitions on his back (really the fenders of the car mode) and can be unlocked using his cyber planet key. They are the 'Death Claw', which goes onto his forearm, and the 'Death Machine Gun', a hand-held gun. The claw looks great, the gun is a bit tiny for a Megatron/Galvatron figure, but apart from that, good. All in all there is very little to complain about regarding this robot mode.

Alternate Mode: Supposedly a triple-changer, Galvatron has two alternate modes, but they are really just one in my book. Galvatron transforms into a car, though that word is too small for the powerful racing machine he becomes. Sleek, big-wheeled, and dangerous-looking, Galvatron makes for an excellent car. By inserting the cyber planet key into the slot on the back you can raise the two turbines on the top, giving Galvatron an extra speed boost. He can also fire two missiles from the slots on top.

Galvatron's second alternate mode is supposed to be a jet, but it's really just the car mode with the fenders folded backwards. The 'jet' has no real wings except the small, stubby ones from the car front and really looks nothing like a jet to me. It has the same cyber planet key feature as the car and can also fire missiles. My advice, keep Galvatron in robot or car mode, the jet mode is pretty forgettable.

Combiner Modes: Much like Optimus Prime, Galvatron can combine with Ligerjack/Leobreaker (or his evil counterpart Dark Ligerjack / Nemesis Breaker). He basically folds one of his arms away and the lion attaches as a bigger, stronger arm with the claws. It doesn't hold together quite as well as it does with Prime, as the slot where Ligerjack attackes is affixed to the main body by only a small knob and tends to fall off. It looks cool, though, and not quite as misproportioned as with Optimus.

Remarks: Ever since the G1 days it has become a must for every toyline's Megatron to transform into Galvatron and except for the original one, this Galvatron has always been a repaint of Megatron. That said, though, I find Cybertron Galvatron's paintjob a whole lot better than the wild mix of colours they gave Megatron. In fact, with his black and silver colouring I dare say Galvatron holds more resemblance to G1 Megatron that Cybertron Megatron does.

The figure as such has quite a few strong points and only a few weak points. The jet mode is pretty much a tack-on you can forget about and if the problems I had with Galvatron's elbow joints isn't just in my version then that's a point against him, too. The figure itself is well-designed, though, and I really like the look. It would have been better had they given him a big, honkin' gun instead of that tiny 'Death Machine Gun', but that might just be me. All in all I can safely recommend Galvatron to all Cybertron fans and because of the cooler colour scheme I recommend him over Megatron.

Rating: B+