Age of the Primes Carnivac (Wreck'n Doom Collection)

Prelude: In touch with the ground, I'm on the hunt, I'm after you. Smell like I sound, I'm lost in a crowd, and I'm hungry like the woooolf! Hey, remember that wolf guy from the Pretender Beasts line? Remember how he appeared in quite a few comic books? No? Well, you’re probably not the only one. But he is Carnivac, he exists, and after THIRTY-SEVEN years he finally gets his second-ever toy figure. Get ready to howl!

Robot Mode: Carnivac is a repaint of the Titans Return Wolfwire figure with no structural changes apart from a new face. His new paintjob is based on the original G1 Carnivac’s inner robot mode, being mostly purple and gold with some turquois highlights. Apart from the new grouchy-looking face, which is based on Carnivac’s appearance in the Marvel UK Comics instead of the original toy’s, he has also received new weapons. Instead of the bathtub rifle of the Titans Return figure, he has a golden rifle that resembles the rifle of the G1 figure. His tail-sword has also been reworked, a bit smaller than that of Wolfwire.

Apart from these changes, Carnivac is the same excellent figure that Wolfwire was. Very nicely articulated, to the point where he can wield his blade two-handed, and with a very cool look, too. He can attach both of his weapons to either his shoulders or legs for storage. The only slight downside is that the head (which is actually a Titan Master, see below) sits a bit loosely in its socket, so he’s got a bit of a wobbly head thing going on. Not a big thing, though, and really the only tiny flaw on an otherwise near-perfect robot mode.

Bottom line: every bit as good as Wolfwire was and looking even cooler with his grumpy face and new colors.

Alternate Mode: The original Carnivac transformed into a wolf, which then wrapped a Pretender shell that looked like a wolf around itself. The new Carnivac figure foregoes the Pretender shell and simply transforms into a wolf, period. Much like Wolfwire, the inner wolf of the original Carnivac was a clearly robotic animal and so is this new one here, not bothering to look organic. It has the same purple-golden paintjob as the robot, naturally, with turquois legs and tail. 

While there are no structural changes when compared to Wolfwire, there is a material change. If you remember, Wolfwire’s back plate was made from some kind of rubbery material that was oftentimes warped right out of the packaging. Thankfully Carnivac went with a more solid plastic here. So opening the panel to seat his Titan Master inside of him works fine now and the panel closes with a satisfying click instead of some dull rubber sound.

The original Carnivac’s wolf mode didn’t have eyes, by the way, but a visor instead. The new Carnivac has a visor, too, though in his case it was merely painted over the existing wolf eyes without making a change to the mold. Works just fine, though, and looks pretty cool. The wolf is very nicely articulated, all fours legs can move, as well as the head, and the rifle can be mounted on top to give it firepower. So bottom line: an excellent wolf mode, no complaints.

Partner: Being a repaint of a Titans Return Deluxe figure, Carnivac is, of course, a Headmaster. His head detaches and transforms into the Titan Master Survivor. Survivor, named after the group from the Marvel UK Comics (see below) is a repaint of Wolfwire’s Titan Master Monxo, just with the new face on his back.

Remarks: Carnivac, one of two Decepticon Pretender Beasts, never appeared in any cartoon, but does have quite a few comic creds on his resume. He briefly appeared in the Marvel US comics, but got a far more extensive run in the Marvel UK comics, where he was a member and eventual leader of the Mayhem Attack Squad. The Squad and the Wreckers joined forces against the time travelling Galvatron during the climax of the Time Wars, which led to large casualties and Carnivac being ousted by his own troops for working alongside Autobots. Carnivac later on joined the Survivors, a group created from surviving members of Wreckers and Mayhems, both, and sought revenge against several Decepticons for killing his friend Catilla. Carnivac also returned in the IDW Comics run, where he starred in Sins of the Wreckers and Requiem of the Wreckers as a member of Tarantulas’ faction.

We’ve seen a lot of obscure characters return to the toy shelves lately and Carnivac is someone whom I certainly did not expect to see ever again. It’s a great reuse of the Wolfwire mold, fixes the figure’s one flaw, and looks amazing in its new colors. Add a very strong resemblance to the original figure (minus the Pretender shell) and you have a great toy that is a must for every fan of the Marvel UK comics or the Pretenders. Fully recommended. That just leaves one question: where is Snarler?

Rating: A-