Studio Series Optimus Prime (SS-38)

Prelude: Ask any given Transformers fan about his favorite scene from the Bumblebee Movie and odds are you’ll be referred to the opening scene on Cybertron. A scene that included a brilliant homage to the famous charge of Optimus Prime from the 1986 Transformers movie. The Studio Series has now given us a toy version of the Optimus Prime seen in this scene, undoubtedly the GeeWunn-est Optimus of the entire Movie franchise. So here we go!

Robot Mode: Let us begin by saying that this robot here is quite clearly Optimus Prime, no doubt about it. And he has all the stylings of the classic G1 Optimus Prime, too. Sure, he has that gap between the two chest windows that was inspired by his appearance in the IDW comics, but apart from that he clearly rocks the G1 Evergreen look. He’s got enough detailing and kibble to pass as a Movie-line figure, too, so all in all a very nice amalgamation of the two design styles. Very nice.

Optimus is a pretty basic figure in that he comes with just one weapon, a variation of his usual black rifle, and no gimmicks. Not even a Matrix (removable or not) behind those chest windows, just a straight-up Optimus Prime figure. The aforementioned rifle can be clipped to his back when he needs his hands free, but that’s it in terms of gimmickry. So all you get is a great-looking, nicely articulated, and highly detailed Optimus Prime figure, which is really all you need.

Some minor points that spoil a perfect rating for this figure. One, he’s got those little hinged plates on his shoulder, which always ride up when he moves his arms. Not a big thing, but superfluous in my mind. A bit bigger: the lower legs, which are basically hollow and several of the plates being pegged together here are rather soft plastic. The figure still has a solid stance, no worries here, but somewhat firmer plastic with more solid connections would have been better here.

So bottom line: a very, very nice Optimus Prime figure. No gimmicks, no overdone stylings, just a solid figure of a great-looking robot. Minor point deduction for the legs, but overall: two thumbs up.

Alternate Mode: As befits an Optimus Prime who goes back to the roots, this figure transforms into a truck that looks much like a 1970s Marmon cab-over-engine truck. The transformation is nothing we haven’t seen before, the only thing that’s slightly original here is the way the legs fold apart to become the rear part of the vehicle. This leads to a lot of plates resting against the back of the driver’s cabin, which looks a bit strange from certain angles.

Apart from that, though, a very nice truck mode. It’s not 100 percent the classic Optimus truck, but very, very close. Optimus’ blaster can be mounted on the back of the truck if you wish. So bottom line: a nice truck mode. Nothing too fancy, but nicely nostalgic.

Remarks: Let’s table the discussion on whether or not the Bumblebee Movie constitutes a reboot for the Movie line and simply concentrate on the fact that we saw a 1984-style Optimus Prime on the big screen. Age of Extinction teased it by giving us an Optimus with his classic alternate mode, but the Bee Movie gave us the full Monty.

As a figure the Bee Movie Prime is a pretty good package with only a few minor issues that prevent a straight A rating from me. The lower legs could be a bit more solid, the kibble plates on his shoulders are somewhat redundant, but otherwise this is a pretty brilliant figure. Recommended to everyone who likes Optimus Prime, especially when he comes in G1-stylings.

Rating: A-