Frankenstein Frankentron

Series: Collaboration Frankenstein X Transformers
Year: 2023
Allegiance: Neutral
Class: Deluxe

After 20 years of imprisonment on Cybertron, cybernetic genius Dr. Arkeville escaped during the attack of Unicron on the planet. With his own cybernetic body rapidly failing, Dr. Arkeville constructed a new body from the desecrated corpses of Decepticon warriors crushed by the world devourer. His attempt to transfer his own mind into the creature failed, though, and he perished even as his creation came online. His mind a jigsaw puzzle of dead Decepticons and an evil human genius, the confused robot named himself Frankentron and staggered away to find purpose in life.
(Profile written by Yours Truly, not an official text)

Prelude: Here we have Frankentron. Or is it Frankentron’s Monster? Is there a tiny human called Dr. Frankentron inside this robot? Maybe a Headmaster? No? Just the robot? Okay, so here we have a robot called Frankentron, not Frankentron’s Monster, who is part of the Transformers Collaboration line, crossing over the with classic Universal monster movie Frankenstein. So all together everyone, let’s say “It’s Aliiiiive!!!”

Robot Mode: Frankentron is a retool of War for Cybertron Siege Impactor, which I have already reviewed. So this review here will focus mostly on the differences. Frankentron is mostly the same robot as Impactor, though he has received a new paint job, a new head (naturally), and new hands. The head clearly emulates the classic Boris Karloff Frankenstein look with the high forehead, green skin, and screws. The new hands are sideways to the elbow joint, so that Frankentron can replicate the Karloff Frankenstein’s iconic shuffle walk with the outstretched arms. Given that the figure lacks wrist joints, though, it means that the hands are permanently stuck like that unless you turn the entire arm.

Instead of Impactor’s tank rifle, Frankentron comes with a large silver Tesla coil (named after the inventor, not the car company, just want to make that clear), complete with a purple lightning blast effect. Frankentron can’t really hold the Tesla coil in hand, comfortably, but he can attach it to his forearm or back or wield it reversed as a club. Weirdly enough the purple blast effect also has a 5mm handle on it (see fifth picture), not sure why. He still has Impactor’s shoulder gun as an additional weapon.

Side note: too bad I have recently sold my Studio Series Dark of the Moon Megatron, because that one came with a tiny figure called “Igor”, which would have nicely fit the theme.

Bottom line: we have a Deluxe-sized robot with nice articulation who does a pretty good job of cosplaying as Frankenstein. The robot itself is average, but the Frankenstein homage is very nice.

Alternate Mode: Unsurprisingly Frankentron transforms into the same kind of science fiction tank as Impactor, but instead of a big gun out front he has the Tesla coil, which can point straight ahead or swivel up. So I guess you could call it a mobile lightning gun or something? It’s also black and green now, naturally, but otherwise it’s the same tank as before. Nice, but unspectacular except for the retro-sci-fi look with the coil as a gun.

Packaging: I don’t usually write much (if anything) about a figure’s packaging, but in this case it deserves an extra mention. Frankentron’s packaging features a pull-out inner box that emulates an old-school VHS cassette. The Cybertronian letters on the label read “It’s Alive!” (at least according to TFWiki). It’s a very neat idea and nicely implemented, so this will be one of those few Transformers boxes I’ll definitely keep instead of throwing it out for recycling.

Remarks: I am sure everyone knows the story of mad scientist Victor Frankenstein and his monster, created from various body parts taken from corpses, and brought to life by lightning. Possibly the most famous iteration of this story is the 1931 black and white movie with Boris Karloff, whose portrayal of the monster would become part of the public consciousness for decades to come. There isn’t really any sort of canon Transformers story to this figure, so the profile text above is entirely of my own making.

Looked at purely as a Transformers figure, Frankentron isn’t really much to write home about. Not bad, but not particularly good, either. It’s the Frankenstein connection that makes it interesting, as well as the pretty cool box. I skipped it when it came out due to the rather hefty retail price, but got it and Draculus for my birthday this year and as a gift he’s pretty cool.

So bottom line: only an average Transformers toy, but a pretty fun crossover with the classic Universal monster movie. Recommended to fans of Frankenstein and weird Transformers crossovers.

Rating: B