
Series: War for Cybertron: Earthrise
Year: 2020
Allegiance: Autobot
Class: Commander
Prelude: His comrades call him Commander Modesty, he describes himself as “superior forces”, and his ego is big enough that he will even take on the mighty Trypticon. He is Sky Lynx, the most handsome, most powerful, and most charming Autobot ever, at least according to himself. And he got a shiny Commander Class toy in the Earthrise line, too. So, let us ask ourselves: what would Sky Lynx do? Well, he would review this wonderful toy. Let’s say go!
Combined Beast Mode: Sky Lynx’ primary mode is a combination of his two vehicle forms into a single beast. I guess technically that makes him a Duocon, right? Anyway, the original G1 Sky Lynx was a highly unusual Transformer back in the day for not having a humanoid-looking robot mode. Sure, there were other TFs without humanoid modes, too, but those were usually little Cassettes or other helper bots. Not so Sky Lynx, who was one of the largest toys of his year, just like this new one here, Earthrise Sky Lynx, is a Commander Class toy, meaning he’s pretty big as well.
Sky Lynx appears as a kind of four-legged winged dragon in his primary mode. The toy itself is larger than the original G1 figure, but a tad smaller than Mastermind Creations Inventa Magna. The basic look is the same as that of the original toy, though, and he looks absolutely fabulous to me. Spoiler: I’m a huge Sky Lynx fan. This new Earthrise figure perfectly captures the look of the G1 toy, but makes several notable improvements:
Articulation, for starters. Not only are all four legs better articulated than back in the day (though without the motor function), both the long neck and the tail can move up, down, and sideways now. Also, articulated wings, capable of flapping up and down. Now while this is pretty cool, it’s also the figure’s one weak spot. The joints holding those relatively big wings up are pretty small in comparison and already feel a bit loose. I fear that long-term the wings will inevitably start to droop.
Apart from that, though, I have no complaints about this fabulous mode. One additional upgrade when compared to the G1 toy, Sky Lynx now has two extra blasters, which can attach to any of his four legs. His main weapon remains the blaster inside his mouth, of course, which is blast effect compatible. One thing I wanted to mention, too: the feet. Both the original G1 toy as well as Inventa Magna have feet that look clawed. Earthrise Sky Lynx however has “normal” feet. Not better or worse, I’d say, just something I noticed.
So bottom line: still one of the most innovative Transformers designs of all time. I love this mode. Apart from the dangers of the wing joints eventually wearing out, I have no complaints.
Individual Beast Modes: Sky Lynx can split into two different beast modes. The top half of him (the “Sky” part) pretty much remains as it is, just unfolds two red bird legs from underneath the shuttle torso, thus becoming a sort of bird / flying dinosaur. Not much difference here to the combined mode apart from the number and thickness of legs, really. The bird legs are a good deal better articulated than they were back in G1, of course.
Sky Lynx lower half (the “Lynx” part) becomes a sort of robotic cat, probably a Lynx. The only “transformation” required here is to unfold the lynx head from the front portion, the rest remains as is. I always liked this mode as well, though, and with the better leg articulation and an articulated neck and head, this lynx here easily beats out the G1 original. It can also open its jaws and also has a blast-effect-compatible blaster inside it. Very nice.
While I prefer Sky Lynx in his combined mode, his two individual beast modes are pretty good, too, though I prefer the lynx to the bird.
Alternate Modes: It’s not terribly hard to guess that Sky Lynx, or his upper half at least, transforms into a space shuttle. Both the tail and the neck are drawn back into the torso, the wings and bird legs fold in, and you have a space shuttle. The cargo bay doors can open, the shuttle has a three-point retractable landing gear, and overall it looks exactly like it’s supposed to: a space shuttle. Very nicely done.
Now Sky Lynx’ lower half was originally intended as a shuttle crawler, aka the tracked platform that would bring the shuttle to the launch tower. The G1 cartoon, though, basically made it a part of the shuttle itself, possibly a cargo module or something. In the end it was really nothing more than a brick with tank tracks, which hung underneath the shuttle. Not bad as such, but a bit boring.
This is where Earthrise Sky Lynx really shines, in my opinion, for finally doing something with that brick. It becomes a launch base in itself. Now it won’t be taking G1 Countdown’s place as best Transformers launch base anytime soon, but it looks pretty good. The brick basically folds out and becomes a Trypticon-like base where the shuttle can stand center stage with the main ramp connecting to the cargo hold. The various ramps can connect to other base modes from the War for Cybertron series to create larger cities/bases. Very nice.
So bottom line: great alternate modes and bonus points for finally doing something fun with the tracked brick.
Remarks: Sky Lynx was one of the new characters introduced in season 3 of the original Transformers cartoon and, given that he had a pretty big and expensive toy on the shelves, he appeared quite often. Fast forward a few decades and Sky Lynx appears again in the Netflix War for Cybertron series’ second season, subtitled Earthrise. There he was a very different character, hungering for the Matrix of Leadership, which caused Alpha Trion to banish him into a different dimension. The Netflix cartoon was very, very bad, mind you, but the toy we got out of it is an entirely different matter.
Now if you’re a big Sky Lynx fan like me, the range of available toys isn’t that big. Apart from the original toy – which was reissued but once in the Encore line – you have the Combiner Wars figure, Inventa Magna, and this one here, full stop. Even Fortress Maximus has more figures than Sky Lynx.
Now in direct comparison I’d say that, while Inventa Magna is the bigger and better-articulated toy, Earthrise Sky Lynx is a far more playable toy. Plus he actually does something with the Lynx component apart from it transforming into a brick by adding the launch base mode. So if you’re only looking to buy one single Sky Lynx toy, I definitely recommend the Earthrise version here. It’s big, it’s fun, it’s sturdy, and apart from my worries of the wing joints wearing out one of these days, it has no flaws worth mentioning. So go and buy it if you haven’t already. It’s what Sky Lynx would do.
Rating: A-
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