Cybertron Megatron (Deluxe)

Prelude: The Cybertron toy line coincided with the 10th Anniversary of Beast Wars, where we got new figures of Megatron and Optimus Primal. Given that the Cybertron series featured the Jungle Planet with lots and lots of beast mode Transformers, it was probably an easy decision to take those two figures and put them into the Cybertron toy line as well, just with different paintjobs. So here is Megatron. No, not the Beast Wars guy, the Cybertron guy. Yes, it’s definitely the Cybertron guy, not the Beast Wars guy, never mind the T-Rex mode. Let’s say go!

Many thanks to my buddy Patrick G. who loaned me Megatron here for this review.

Robot Mode: Leaving the colors aside for the moment, this figure is clearly a homage to Beast Wars Megatron. You got the T-Rex hand for a right hand, the long tail on the left arm, the clawed feet, the chest plate design, all of it clearly homages the Predacon leader. As for the paint job, instead of black and purple you have mostly greens and browns, which is, of course, also a homage, namely to Armada Predacon (who is also a homage to Beast Wars Megatron, naturally). And yet another Beast Wars call-back: Megatron’s face is sculpted with Beast Wars’ trademarked bared-teeth snarl. Brilliant!

Megatron is a very nicely articulated figure, including a waist swivel and articulated feet. The plates on the sides of thighs sometimes get in the way a bit and the plate sitting on his left shoulder tends to be pushed up when you pose him, but neither of that is really a hindrance. Despite being somewhat asymmetrical due to his huge left arm, Megatron has a solid stand and no balancing issues.

Speaking of the giant left arm, the tail of the beast mode contains Megatron’s Cyberkey gimmick. Entering the Jungle Planet Cyberkey makes the tail flip open, revealing a missile launcher. A simple gimmick, but it works. And if you don’t like Megatron with a huge left tail arm, the tail can simply be removed as it’s really a handheld weapon that snaps into Megatron’s actual left hand. Said hand is a three-fingered claw and while the arm is a bit short with the tail removed, it still looks pretty cool. Of course Megatron’s right hand is the head of the beast mode, nothing new here.

Bottom line for the robot mode: excellent, yeees! Just about the only complaint I have is that the figure really should be Voyager-sized instead of Deluxe (even though he is tall for a Deluxe), but apart from that? Great.

Alternate Mode: Naturally Megatron transforms into a T-Rex and the transformation is more or less the same as that of the old Beast Wars Ultra-Class figure. The proportions of the T-Rex seem a tiny bit off to me, with its big head and very, very tiny arms, but that’s not really a thing to complain about. The T-Rex looks great overall and retains full articulation in the legs and neck (really the robot’s right arm), allowing for multiple cool dinosaur poses.

Megatron’s Cyberkey gimmick works in this mode as well, the key causing the tail to snap open to reveal the missile launcher. Whether or not that really makes sense in this mode, what with Megatron having to fire his missile out of his… eh… tail, is an entirely different question, of course. So bottom line: a good T-Rex mode. No surprises here, but no complaints, either.

Remarks: According to this figure’s profile text, Megatron found himself reformatted by the power of the Jungle Planet Key into a beast form. He hated it at first, but learned to enjoy it, especially when he could clamp his jaws around Optimus’ neck. Of course Megatron never became a T-Rex or any other kind of beast in the actual Cybertron cartoon, but these little micro-continuities formed from the profile texts of the toys are very enjoyable and Cybertron did it better than most other toylines (just read the various profiles of the Mini-Con two-packs to see how much love they put into it). In my personal head canon, this figure here is, of course, the upgraded form of Armada Predacon, but that’s just me.

So is this figure worth getting? Definitely. The robot mode is brilliant, the T-Rex mode is good, and the fact that you can remove the big tail on the left arm immediately puts him a step above most other figures that homage Beast Wars Megatron. Whether you prefer this paintjob here or the more Beast Wars faithful purple one is a matter of taste, of course. Still, if you like dinosaurs and robots transforming into dinosaurs, this is a figure you should own a version of. Even if it’s the eye-searing Botcon Cindersaur.

Rating: A-

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