Superlink Shadow Hawk (Cosmo Type)

Prelude: When most people hear the term ‘Terrorcon’, they are thinking of the G1 combiner team of the same name. In Energon, though, the term was used to describe the endless hordes of Energon-stealing Decepticons loyal to Unicron. One of them was Divebomb, who remains one of my favorite figures to this day. And while Hasbro never gave us a repaint of him, Takara did release Cosmo Type Shadowhawk. And since my original review of Divebomb is already seventeen years old, I think we can take the time for another full review for this repaint here. Let’s say go!

Robot Mode: Shadowhawk, to me, looks like he stepped right out of some 80s anime movie. A very stylized robotic warrior with huge boots, highly impractical knee spikes, hawk-heads for hands, and huge energy blades on his arms. I remember that one of the first things I thought upon seeing the first version of this mold was: he’s a bird, right? Where are the wings in robot mode? Shadowhawk looks very sleek and kibble-free in robot mode. If you don’t know what he transforms into, the hands are really your only clue. The wings are expertly hidden in the legs and the hawk feet can be folded down on the back, if you wish, making him even sleeker.

Articulation is excellent for a figure this size. He’s got ball-jointed elbows and leg, knee joints and a turning head, too. The feet move a bit, too, allowing him to remain stable in a large number of poses without problems. For weapons he carries two huge Energon blades that he can attach to his forearms or hold in hand. The blades can also combine into a huge, Z-shaped blade (also very 80s anime-like). He also comes with an Energon star, which attaches to his chest. Both blades and star are fully compatible with pretty much every other Energon / Superlink figure as well, of course.

So bottom line for the robot mode: I love this guy. Not sure whether I prefer the white or blue version, to be honest, they both look great. One of the greatest Basic-/Scout-/Legends-Class robot modes ever in my book.

Alternate Mode: Shadowhawk’s transformation is simple, yet surprisingly effective. The robotic bird’s large wings unfold from his robot legs, the arms form the bird head and neck, while the robot head becomes the tail. The bird is amazingly well-articulated, being able to move his wings and feet in all sorts of ways. Only its neck and head are fixed, but that’s not really an issue for me. The ‘claws’ of the feet make it so that Shadowhawk can easily perch on the arm or shoulder of a larger Transformer, too.

Both Shadowhawk’s Energon star and his Energon blades can attach in this mode as well. The blades are on the sides of the neck, the star is on the back (the robot’s chest). Personally I think the bird looks a lot sleeker without the big Energon blades, but again, that is fully subjective. So bottom line: one of the best bird-mode Transformers I have ever seen and rocking that 80s anime style in this mode as well. No complaints and two thumbs up.

Remarks: According to the backstory of Energon, both the Divebomb and Battle Ravage drones were originally inhabitants of Planet Q, just like Alpha Quintesson. Their planet was eventually devoured by Unicron, who then turned them into his mindless slaves. The blue Cosmo-Type Shadowhawks did appear in the cartoon as well, two of them being rescued from starvation by Ironhide and Kicker, and later spying on Megatron for Scorponok.

The Divebomb mold remains one of my all-time figures in its size class. It’s a great-looking figure with a very cool transformation and it carries that late-80s anime look very well. Whether you prefer him in his original white or in the Cosmo-Type blue is, of course, entirely subjective. Personally I’m still hoping to one day get my hands on the Laserbeak and Buzzsaw variants of this mold (without having to sell one of my kidneys in the process). So bottom line: a pretty perfect Basic-Class figure. Recommended to everyone.

Rating: A