Transformers Legacy toyline

[Sabrblade]

For all its flaws in execution, WFC was presented from the beginning as a trilogy, with a clear mission statement and even a basic plot arc. IDK if that got shaken up a bit by the pandemic, as I don't recall whether the BW pivot was always planned as such a core part of part 3. The last two years are mush in my mush brain. Regardless, from the get-go, there was "[x aesthetic] plus Micros plus Weaponizer style components", which remained consistent through the three lines (albeit with Kingdom shifting to Core class).

General consensus (as Hasbro never admitted it outright) is that the third part of the WFC Trilogy was originally going to be all TFTM themed, with the Studio Series 86 figures that were released in 2021 originally meant to be in the line that ultimately became Kingdom, with the none of the Beast Wars figures originally meant to be part of the line (and with the Fossilizers likely originally going to be something more TFTM-appropriate than dinosaur skeletons, and named something else of course), the BW figures only added to celebrate their 25th anniversary after Hasbro previously failed to celebrate BW's 20th anniversary and likely didn't want more flack for missing the anniversary as second time in the row.

Legacy's very premise lends itself to a chaotic, reshuffling-prone feel, too, as it basically doubles down on Kingdom's "let's have a mix of lines/character groups" which makes it a bit tough to get a unified sense of what's in each wave or line. Not necessarily a bad thing, mind: it's been really cool to see Bulkhead, Override, Jhiaxus, etc revisited and in some cases revisited really well. And it's been refreshing to break away a bit from the "cross off the G1 checklist" game (although that's been good for collecting too). But rather than move forward one era at a time (say, a Kingdom-style "G1 and UT" trilogy), it's Everything Everywhere All At Once.

The premise for Legacy as described by Hasbro in their livestreams is that dimensional portals have opened up and are bringing all of these non-G1 characters from other universes into a G1 universe to all team up together in a big multiversal war. It's kind of like the 2003 Transformers: Universe line (and sorta like RobotMasters too, with the portals) in that sense, but with all new molds instead of redecos.

It's also like the 2008-2009 Universe line and the 2014 Thrilling 30 line that likewise made new-mold toys of characters from across the various different series to celebrate the Transformers brand's 25th and 30th anniversaries, respectively. Legacy's main difference from Universe 2008/09 and Thrilling 30 is that it's not celebrating the brand's anniversary, it's simply doing what those lines did just because (and probably because enough fans complained about the lack of non-G1 updates since Combiner Wars).

 

[lastmaximal]

Yeah, I get that about Legacy. That's my POINT, is that that thin elevator pitch is all the fictional/conceptual spine this line has. It's funny you compared it to those lines for clarity or illustration, when both of those got a decent amount of media depictions fleshing out their story and featuring their characters, and here, it's just "uh, more portals opened up! Look, it's That One From That Show! (Repeat per wave)" It's gotten about as much care as naming Red Cog, Guard, and Breaker.

The brand's 40th is gonna hit around the time the third line in this supposed trilogy (I think this was mentioned when Legacy was announced or thereabouts), so presumably this is a three-line-long tour of the franchise or something. It's kind of a long time to meander, but eh. Maybe they can prep better for lines 2 and 3.

And yeah, that makes sense about the third line for WFC. Character selection got pulled to pad out Studio Series (and this has since become its own thing), etc, which actually also kinda explains the returning Earthrise figures as padding (although it's kind of funny that they A, picked Arcee rather than a better mold, and B, didn't put her in 86, although that worked out well for everyone).

This is the first I'm hearing of the Fossilizer spots originally being more TFTM themed. Junkions? Lithonians? Dang, would've been cool.

But idk about the sense of making up for failing to celebrate BW 20th. It makes sense enough that they saw the 25tg coming up and wanted to do something for it unrelated to/independent of the last anniversary, and the opportunity coincided with the gaps left in WFC.3 to make SS86.

 

[lastmaximal]

The planet also appears to be composed of what is known in the aquarium hobby as clown barf gravel.

With long stretches and loops of self-replenishing asphalt.

 

[G.B.Blackrock]

The loss of the Energon Monsters probably explains why wave 1's clear plastic weapons gimmick disappeared. Legacy seems to have had a chaotic development.

I don't hate Skullgrin's tank mode but it is a strange downgrade from what they originally had in mind. I don't get what happened.

Bombburst looks like a home run though. I haven't cared for the modern Pretender approach but they've finally convinced me. I guess it's because they finally convincingly made a shell based robot mode look like a totally separate thing from the vehicle mode. They didn't just slap a monster head on a normal robot, nor did they invent a new vehicle mode to match the look of the shell. They made the shell and the inner vehicle mode morph back and forth between each other.

I'm not quite at the "they convinced me" state, but I do have to admit that Bomb-burst really does get the look they're going after "right." It's still not a Pretender once you've ditched the outer shell, IMHO, but if they refuse to do Pretenders correctly, and insist on doing the characters anyway, this is a decent compromise.

If only the others that attempted this concept did so this well.

 

[Sabrblade]

Yeah, I get that about Legacy. That's my POINT, is that that thin elevator pitch is all the fictional/conceptual spine this line has. It's funny you compared it to those lines for clarity or illustration, when both of those got a decent amount of media depictions fleshing out their story and featuring their characters, and here, it's just "uh, more portals opened up! Look, it's That One From That Show! (Repeat per wave)" It's gotten about as much care as naming Red Cog, Guard, and Breaker.

Universe 2008 had fiction?

This is the first I'm hearing of the Fossilizer spots originally being more TFTM themed. Junkions? Lithonians? Dang, would've been cool.

It's mostly speculation than anything concrete that the Fossilizers would have been something else. But since the third line was going to be TFTM-themed, it would make sense for its gimmick figures to be as well, since dinosaur skeletons wouldn't really fit with the TFTM theme and feel like they only came about to match the Beast Wars-themed part of the line.

 

[TheSupernova]

Universe 2008 had fiction?

Well....there was that time that Megatron and Cyclonus (the only one that actually had a current figure at the time!) were hanging around. Bumblebee and Prime were there, too! Someone blew up a gas station, I think.

 

[Undead Scottsman]

Pretenders are due for a conceptual rework, IMO.

If I were writing it, they'd be normal transformers with living biotissue directly grafted on to them so they can pass as organics. (Humanoids in the case of the Autobots, monsters in the case of Decepticons) rather than sticking with the "robot in a shell idea."

 

[lastmaximal]

ACTION BLAST


I think

 

[TheSupernova]

Pretenders are due for a conceptual rework, IMO.

If I were writing it, they'd be normal transformers with living biotissue directly grafted on to them so they can pass as organics. (Humanoids in the case of the Autobots, monsters in the case of Decepticons) rather than sticking with the "robot in a shell idea."

Like Beast Wars, but with people!

Oh, man, people hate humans in Transformers now, just wait until there's humans on Transformers!
(Seriously, though, I think it's an interesting idea!)

 

[Sabrblade]

Pretenders are due for a conceptual rework, IMO.

If I were writing it, they'd be normal transformers with living biotissue directly grafted on to them so they can pass as organics. (Humanoids in the case of the Autobots, monsters in the case of Decepticons) rather than sticking with the "robot in a shell idea."

Like Beast Wars, but with people!

Oh, man, people hate humans in Transformers now, just wait until there's humans on Transformers!
(Seriously, though, I think it's an interesting idea!)

 

[TheSupernova]

The funny thing is that Masterforce was the only one of the Japanese series I've watched, too! Whoops!

 

[MrBlud]

It is (by far) the best one too.

 

[Shadewing]

Masterforce is imo the best way to do pretenders conceptionally. A secret force of Autobots hiding as humans, the ultimate take on 'Robots in disguise' with the Decepticons using their Shells to try and distract humans from their activities. Take a bit of IDW's Infiltation protocols as well, while mixing in a bit of super-heroics with the Autobots armored forms. Either set it in a post-war period (Typical G1 story, a bit like Cyberverse Season 2 where they skip past that era but still imply it happened) with Earth knowing of and probably being damanged by the war or follow Infiltation with it doing something that isn't the typical 'ark crash then war' with a more cold war-ish approach to the Transformers conflict.

Anything is better then the 'obviously giant humans' from Marvel's take where they had to make the rest of the universe giant sized to make the concept work off-world.

 

[Steamed Hams]

Beast Wars was the right way to do Pretender beasts.

 

[ZacWilliam1]

To be fair, as soon as Furman took over the Pretender Shells as disguises angle was completely dropped and after that they were portrayed as super powerful body armor that could both heal the robot inside and become a second simultaneously active body for them. He made them seem pretty cool despite Budiansky having missed the obvious trick of having them shrink in "human" form.

-ZacWilliam, for Pretenders I really prefer a hybrid approach. They are super armor that can be a second body like the comic but also the Autobot ones can shrink to Human-size for disguise.

 

[G.B.Blackrock]

Pretenders are due for a conceptual rework, IMO.

If I were writing it, they'd be normal transformers with living biotissue directly grafted on to them so they can pass as organics. (Humanoids in the case of the Autobots, monsters in the case of Decepticons) rather than sticking with the "robot in a shell idea."

So, Beast Wars, then....

 

[lastmaximal]

I'm warming up to this "transforming shell" stuff although designwise it's a tricky target to hit. Bomb-burst manages to nail it at Core class, Iguanus a little less well, and Skullgrin... I wish he had more shell design cues. Overall it's finally clicking for me that the concept now is "they're all Mega Pretenders"; I'm reminded of the old Generations Thunderwing (who admittedly lucked out as that shell always HAD an altmode).

But I'd love more stuff on par with Bomb-burst. Although I'd prefer it if we somehow got Micromasters or Mini-Cons or whatever of the inner robots who could Powerlinx or piggyback onto the altmodes (like I think Generations Thunderwing's drone jet was meant to, iirc they originally wanted it to transform). Just to get as close as we can to the original concept without the unfeasible need to physically use these as suits for the inner robots.

 

[Undead Scottsman]

It is (by far) the best one too.

Interesting, I thought it was easily the least of the G1 Japan exclusives. It's a fun, weird thing where they basically made a tokusatsu based on Transformers, but I had trouble engaging with the show early on.

Victory was the one that one the really suprised me with how good it was.

Beast Wars was the right way to do Pretender beasts.

Eh, they're never really "pretending" in Beast Wars. Cheetor almost immediately pegs Waspinator as a Predacon (and let's face it, giant arthropods and miniature extinct animals are TERRIBLE disguises) and it's never really used as a disguise after that. It's used for energon insulation and by S2 they're not even bothering to design them to look like real animals anymore, with Fuzors and Transmetals.

Beast Wars is top 3 all-time for me, but it ranks pretty poorly on the spectrum of "robots in diguises"

 

[Future_Erika]

Beast Wars is top 3 all-time for me, but it ranks pretty poorly on the spectrum of "robots in diguises"

Y'know that's probably why, as a beast wars kid, that aspect of the franchise has always been very low priority to me

 

[MrBlud]

Interesting, I thought it was easily the least of the G1 Japan exclusives. It's a fun, weird thing where they basically made a tokusatsu based on Transformers, but I had trouble engaging with the show early on.

Victory was the one that one the really suprised me with how good it was.

It took me several tries to get into Victory.

I watched and enjoyed it but it was definitely a slog at first.

I like tokusatsu, maybe that’s why I was so taken with Masterforce.