Generations: Prime (Actual Product May Vary)

Just a few days after the big Studio Series 2025 info drop, we now have the same for the next mainline iteration of Generations, which is supposedly called Prime. It'll be a fitting name, as it seems we are finally getting a toyline that focuses on the Thirteen Primes. Yes, we had Power of the Primes, but the Thirteen were included there more in spirit than in any real sense.

Also, it seems that this line will forego the inclusion of any kind of themed partsformer characters, such as the weaponizers or fossilizers. I'd imagine that this is due to roster concerns, since we are apparently continuing to get "normal" characters alongside members of the Thirteen. 

One other thing to keep in mind is that Vector Prime should be kicking off this whole range of the Thirteen by being a Legacy United release, according to listings we've had for a while.

-Deluxe Solus Prime: Solus gets her first normal toy release. She'll be expected to include her hammer, and I really hope she is a unique mold and not based on another female TF's tooling. That said, I think ai expect a motorcycle alt mode, simply because that's the most common mode for deluxe female TFs (I think).

-Deluxe Air Raid: as with the Constructions, the Aerialbots appear to be back! Air Raid is always my favorite, so I'll probably get him. Also, it's hard to believe that it's been 10 years since the last set was released. I actually never got a complete set of CW Aerialbots (in the G1 colors, anyway), so I may actually go in for the whole set this time.

-Deluxe Fire flight: probably my second favorite Aerialbot. I wonder if he will be a proper Phantom this time or remain a retool of Slingshot.

-Deluxe Animated Wasp: ah, the first entry that I'm truly excited about. I've waited since 2009 or so for a true Wasp figure. I'd still be up for the concept to be executed across other continuities, like the movies, Prime, etc. I do hope that Wasp has a unique head mold, and it'd be fun later on to get a 2-pack with BB and Wasp in swapped colors in reference to that one episode.

-Deluxe Alchemist Prime: this guy has been more or less identified as Maccadam over the past decade or so. I do kind of wish that he was a voyager, and if they lean into the Cyberverse design I imagine he will turn into a truck, which is a boring choice for such a character. Hopefully this figure is surprisingly good.

-Deluxe Crasher package refresh: I actually did see Velocitron wave 2 deluxes at one of my local Walmarts, and even bought Crasher, but I was never overly excited by her and had plenty of the Mirage mold, so I returned her. However, that wave absolutely needs a refresh, so I'm happy to see it here.

-Deluxe Swindle: some theorize that this will be Animated Swindle and this not telling of a new Bruticus, but Wasp has an "Animated" adjective, so considering we now know that Devastator and Superion are in the works, what exactly is there to suggest that they aren't also revisiting Bruticus? 

-Deluxe Micronus Prime: I'm a bit surprised that they aren't saving this guy for core class, but I imagine he'll be a small deluxe, possibly with a large accessory like the bubble his Prime universe version is usually shown with. I also hope this leads to minicons in the core class.

-Deluxe Venom: another one I'm really excited about! Venom is easily the best of the "deluxe" Insecticons, and I love cicadas. I'm pretty happy that he will be in the mainline, as the others (save the previously released Ransack) are relegated to the Mayhem capsule.

-Deluxe Sky Dive: my least favorite Aerialbot in terms of robot design and personality, Slingshot does have the cool Harrier alt mode going for him. Also, it looks like Skydive is the only Aerialbot limb left off this list, which contrasts with how only one Combaticon is included (not unlike the first two waves of Combiner Wars).

-Voyager Prima: it's about time we got a figure of this guy. A retool of the leader TR Black Shadow mold was planned for Power of the Primes, but then shelved, so I'm glad he'll get a chance to shine. I hope he does look mostly like his Covenant of the Primes art, as that is his most distinct appearance, and I love the Matrix-bearing Star Saber weapon. He needs to have a lot of silver paint, and I hope he has a flying alt mode.

-Voyager Armada Red Alert: this was the obvious next Armada Autobot choice since Hot Shot and Optimus are already done. I'm glad he's a voyager; the Cybertron designs are good, but I always appreciated how the Armada design was like Archer's take on a more RiD Car Bros-type transformation (and Cybertron Smokescreen later would have the same kind of feel). 

-Voyager Rescue Bots Heat Wave: I'd kind of had this idea that the four main rescue bots might all get done as deluxes (as Chase is), so I'm glad to see that they are willing to make them more varied. Heatwave is honestly my least favorite of the four, but he is still a great character, and like all of them has deserved a more faithful rendition for a long time now. With this line being so focused on the Primes, some wonder if RB Heatwave will also be a torso core for Nexus Prime, but I think Hasbro is probably more concerned with making him a faithful RB representation. Plus, Timelines Heatwave was a retool of the Energon equivalent of Onslaught, so if we are getting new Combaticons AND if they actually want to make Nexus a full-fledged combiner, I can see his torso coming from Onslaught instead (I still don't understand how we didn't get a new Nexus Prime from Combiner Wars). I greatly look forward to Blades and Boulder, who I imagine would be a deluxe and voyager, respectively. 

-Voyager RID Skybyte: Finally! While I used to own a TMII Cybershark (a mess of a mold) and I passed on T30 Skybyte (too many compromises in the design along with too few improvements), I do enjoy the character and have no plans to sell off my Botcon 2010 version. Still, between the RID resurgence we are seeing and the recent passing voice actor Peter Spellos, it's very appropriate that Skybyte gets another chance to shine. One thing I did like about the T30 toy was the shark head actually serving as the robot chest, which made much more sense than in hanging off the lower back in bot mode, so I hope that stays, but I worry that the current adherence to show-accuracy may not allow for that one major improvement. Regardless, I'm really looking forward to this guy and I hope we catch wind of a new RiD Megatron to join him sooner than later. 

-Voyager Alpha Trion: Well, this is interesting. Not a surprise, as Alpha Trion has been part of the 13 for a while now, but we already have a pretty-much perfect G1 iteration from the Legacy 2-pack; there's a distinct chance that this could just be a rerelease of that Scourge retool (after all, while it was easy to acquire, that set was an exclusive set). On the other hand, we could also be dealing with either a retool of Thundertron OR Vector Prime, with either one making plenty of people happy. And again, we could get a totally new mold that is more in-line with the Covenant of Primus artwork. I suppose my least favorite option would be a Vector Prime retool. That was a great idea in 2007, but I want the pantheon of the 13 to look as distinct as possible from each other, and unless United Vector Prime gets some very heavy retooling, this idea won't allow for that. 

-Voyager Flatline: FINALLY! Flatline is one of the greatest concepts to come from IDW, and it's a shame he hasn't already gotten a toy or otherwise seen more of a spotlight. Granted, it's incredibly likely that this toy will be an Armada Red Alert retool and thus not a hearse, but the Deceptions finally getting their creepy medic will be a great boon.

-Leader The Fallen: this also has the potential to be great. I've (and other's have) been wanting a better non-movie The Fallen since the release of the Titanium figure (which was great for the standards of that line). Like most, I'm hoping for a design that is closer to his War Within: The Dark Ages appearance, with the tank mode shown in the More Than Meets The Eye profile books. I'm also a fan of his RiD 2015 appearance, and the Covenant of Primus design (which was also used for IDW) isn't the worst either, so I wouldn't mind if some elements from these other forms made it into the toy. Ultimately, though, I definitely want it to most resemble the DW version, and I hope it's a large leader class toy as well (think SS86 Dinobots, as he should be able to take on Grimlock). This will likely be the big showpiece of all the releases thus far leaked, and I'm very excited for it. 

-Leader G2 Grimlock: I'm a bit suprised that we are going to get yet another repaint as the original SS86 deco is getting a package refresh next year, and we have the 40th/Comic version this year, but I'm going to assume that this will be the actually-released G2 blue deco. Which, honestly, is as boring as the yellow/blue tiger deco is weird. I don't think I'll go for this, but I'm glad for those that are interested. 

-Leader Onyx Prime: Onyx is a bit of a weird one, with a fuzor-like robot mode (winged centaur) and an altmode I don't think we've ever seen, even though it'll be some kind of "beast" since he's the progenitor of beast-formers. I hope this toy actually gets to represent Onyx himself, as he became effectively a non-character in IDW for reasons I'll leave out here in case anyone's unaware. This has the potential to be another showpiece, and I hope it's at least as amazing at Legacy TMII Megatron. 

And that's it! For now, anyway. 

Clearly, some of the Thirteen remain unlisted: 

-Nexus Prime: I already discussed him a bit. I really hope he isn't based on the Covenant of Primus design; it's a boring pile of parts. He definitely need to be a combiner. 

-Amalgamous Prime: being the progenitor of a race that barely gets fictional representation (the Shifters), I expect him to either be a multi-changer or rewritten to be the progenitor of the "-izer" type characters/toys, like Weaponizers, Fossilizers, etc. and be able to break apart himself. 

-Quintus Prime: the remaining Prime I'm most excited about. There's a chance that this could be made female to reference TLK Quintessa, but then Solus Prime is supposed to be the progenitor of females, so maybe not. Either way I hope this turns out nicely.

-Liege Maximo: Some hope for the G2 incarnation as a Titan class toy, but I find that unlikely. At the same time, I don't think Disney will be too fond of LM being too close to Loki in appearance, so I suspect we will get something a bit between the two. I figure he will be at least voyager class, but preferably leader class (maybe even commander).

Studio Series 2025 (Actual Product May Vary)

 So, JTPrime unleashed what is presumably 90% of the Studio Series 2025 lineup last night. No commander class was listed, so maybe there will not be one, or more likely he just couldn't get the info on it yet. 

I just wanted to do a rundown of the list, as it's a pretty interesting mix with a few surprises!

First is deluxe class "A-level" TF One B-127. I'm still not solid on what is meant by A-level, but most know that TF One is the new CG animated movie set on Cybertron. I don't care too much for the B-127 designation being carried over from the 2018 movie, but I am interested to see what the designs will look like for the new film.

Another A-level release is deluxe class "DEV" Optimus Prime. Speculation says this is a Devastation video game reference, and some think that it may therefore be a cel-shaded repaint of the upcoming Legacy deluxe Optimus. We'll see, it could be something totally different.

Double Punch (another deluxe) we already know will be an RotB Scorponok repaint. The SS-107 got released in purple, which was supposed to be Double Punch's colors according to concept art, which also showed a red Sandstorm variant. Not sure what this repaint will look like, but I hope it is the green deco that SS-107 was intended to have.

Next up is deluxe Hatchet, of which we've already seen a render. He looked a bit rough, and I didn't buy the other SS Dreads, so I'll likely pass on this.

Deluxe MV6 Bumblebee: not exactly sure what this will be. We could be entering the era of SS revisions, as 2018 VW BB was first released through SS, or it could be the Camaro design from the film's ending that isn't the same as the RotB design. I could really go for a new VW mold, as the original SS mold is not great nor very accurate.

SS86 Preceptor package refresh: I can think of better choices for a PR, but whatever

Deluxe class TF One Starscream: kind of weird to get a deluxe Starscream after he has consistently been a voyager for years now, I'm interested to see the design regardless.

Deluxe class Que: Finally! Wheeljaq never got a domestic release, so it's about time he gets an SS showing. I hope it's a good take.

Deluxe class SS86 Bonecrusher: So, they're finally doing it! People have been asking for an SS86 Devastator for years now, and we are finally getting one. As you'll see down the list, other Constructicons show up across both deluxe and voyager price points. It is a bit curious that Bonecrusher and (spoiler) Scavenger are deluxes, as this presumably means that Devastator will overall be smaller than the Combiner Wars version, but we'll see how it shakes out. I'm assuming that the forearms/fists, which are traditionally add-ons to Bonecrusher and Scavenger, will be included with someone else, maybe a leader class Long Haul (some even anticipate a commander-class set including Long Haul, Hook and the various combiner accessories).

Deluxe class SS86 Jazz package refresh: like many others, I am not really sure why Jazz gets a PR when we know that a more toon-accurate version is coming via the autobot 5-pack. He's certainly the best choice from the initial SS86 wave (Blurr and Kup shelfwarmed for a long time), but he wasn't exactly rare, either. 

Deluxe class SS86 Scavenger: see my entry above for Bonecrusher. I've always preferred Scavenger to Bonecrusher (backhoes are cool), so I kind of hope he gets released first. 

Deluxe class WFC Autobot Solider: This is a High Moon/Gamer Edition release, and I don't know exactly what they'll do here, as they could make a dedicated mold for the in-game fodder models, or it could just be a slight retool of an existing figure. Hopefully it turns out to be a compelling offering, as most of the GE deluxes so far haven't been so. 

Deluxe TF4 Widow Maker: this is an interesting one. Widow Maker is an Age of Extinction concept art character, often thought to be the precursor for what became Stinger. While this may just be a rehash of Stinger (which was is in the first SS wave), it certainly won't be an exact recreation of Widow Maker's concept art appearance for what are hopefully clear reasons. Despite its less than retail-friendly features, the design could be easily modified. I do find it weird that a pretty great Widow Maker custom, primarily based on SS-107 Scorponok, just appeared online the other day, and there is a halfway-decent chance that we could get something like that in an official format next year. 

Voyager class WFC Skywarp: I'm one of those that is actually looking forward to owning Gamer Edition Starscream, and as always, Skywarp is just a better-looking Starscream, so I'll happily pick this up, especially if it comes with some better weapons. 

Voyager class TF7 Optimus Prime package refresh: I totally looked over this listing until now! Is SS-102 actually getting a mass-retail release? I hope so, with how difficult it was to obtain. I can't believe that this isn't getting talked about more. 

Voyager class WFC Ironhide: I've wanted a High Moon Ironhide since 2010, but I'm glad he gets to be released as a voyager rather than being stuck as a deluxe as he would have been in the initial Generations lineup. Granted, I don't expect this voyager to be tall, based on Gamer Edition Optimus and Megatron. 

Voyager class TF One Sentinel Prime: I'm intrigued, if only because it's so rare for us to get a Sentinel Prime. I wasn't impressed by the Titans Return version being a weird pretool for Astrotrain, and I foolishly skipped SS DotM Sentinel (he should get a package refresh), so I wonder how this version will turn out. Glad it's not a deluxe, at any rate. 

Voyager class WFC Thundercracker: less exciting than Skywarp, but yes I'll get him to complete the trio. Not sure that I'll sell off my original deluxes as that is one of the better FoC Generations molds. 

Voyager class SS86 Scrapper: see below.

Voyager class SS86 Mixmaster: I'll just discuss both of these here. I already kind of talked about Devastator under the Bonecrusher listing, but it's hard to miss that both voyager class Constructicons are the legs. This makes sense it we are trying to keep relatively human proportions for Devastator, but I do still expect that the combiner thighs will somehow be separate from these voyager components. Of the two, I prefer Scrapper, in part because he's the leader, but I'm also anticipating now having a Scrapper with elbows, so that's a plus. I also hope Mixmaster has a more traditional headsculpt than the CW version (as cool as that one looked, it didn't seem accurate to the original toy or cartoon) and that more will be done with his mixing barrel in robot mode. 

Leader Class TF7 Apelinq: SS-106 Primal was one of my favorite 2023 releases, so I'm very happy that we are getting the most reasonable option for reusing the mold. I expect that most of the weapon accessories for Primal will be be dropped in favor of removable armor/blades for Apelinq's gorilla mode, but I'm also interested to see what they do with the robot mode. Maybe he will even come with an extra faceplate head that can be given to Primal? 

Leader class TF4 Optimus Prime: I guess this could either be the evasion OR knight design, right? Most suppose it'll be the latter, which I agree with. I am pretty happy with the TLK Voyager, but it definitely had room for improvement. I'm expecting/hoping for something like SS-106 Primal here - a robot that is still mostly voyager-sized, but comes with plenty of weapons - shield and sword are a must, but a gun would help as well, and possibly even removable knight upgrade gauntlets. I hope he doesn't overshadow Galvatron!

And finally, two leader class package refreshes: DotM Shockwave (not a bad choice - it came out 4 years ago and I don't remember it being incredibly common) and...wait for it...SS86 Grimlock! Yes, despite the original release definitely being a shelfwarmer and now getting three repaints (SG, G2/Toxitron, and Comic/40th Anniversary), SS86 Grimlock is returning to mass retail. Presumably Swoop will be released by this fall, so it makes sense to get the normal Grimlock release back into rotation so people late to the party can round out their collection for a reasonable price. I kind of hope that this release dispenses with the Wheelie figure and includes at least one of the Comic/40th edition swords; I'd be ok with them leaving the crown out. I suppose I'm a bit put out that, in order to get sword for Grimlock, Slag, and Sludge I need to buy the Comic/40th edition, which I don't really care for otherwise. I suppose my suggestion has a shot if only because it'll be released in 2025, unlike the 40th edition which is releasing this year sometime. 

So what's missing? As noted, the commander class is absent. Also, we're only seeing one new leader mold here (and that's making an assumption that the TLK voyager isn't getting retooled for TF4 Optimus) and two new leader releases total. Last year saw 3 new leader SS molds - Snarl, Scourge and Primal - along with continued shipments of Sludge and the Fallen (and maybe more Coronation Starscreams). I'm not sure if Long Haul is a safer bet as a stand-alone leader or as part of a Commander-ish 2-pack with Hook, but if any of the SS86 Constructicons will be notably larger, it'd probably be Long Haul, following suit with the CW version. At the same time, we are getting 2 mass-retail leader package refreshes, so I don't know if those "replace" a new release in Hasbro's mind, so maybe AoE Optimus and Apelinq really are all we are getting in this size class that's new for 2025. 

And what if the commander class isn't a Hook/Long Haul set? We're supposedly getting Commander SS86 Optimus this year, and we got SS86 Magnus last year. I suppose it's time for an SS Decepticon Commander, but aside from the Devastator Torso Kit, I'm not sure what you'd want to do. If it's G1, it ostensibly needs to be from TFTM (the biggest stretch of that has been Snarl) and I don't think we have any big TFTM Decepticons aside from Devastator except MAYBE a new take on Galvatron that comes with a bunch of stuff. I know people never shut up about a commander class DotM Devcon, but I just don't see that one happening. I'd love a new take on 2007 Megatron, but commander would be overkill for that design; it could be done effectively as a leader. I think there are a lot more Autobot options for commander, so that's probably what will happen if the Torso Kit doesn't pan out. 

Also, where are the core class releases? I really want to see RotF Ravage in core class, though I'd like BB Ravage to be finally gone from shelves first. There are more tapes to be done (is Ratbat in TFTM? I hope so), and we still need the AoE Steeljaw that was teased (?). Also, is it weird that the wiki has core class Ratchet, Wheelie, DotM Laserbeak and Blue Rumble as 2022 releases? I didn't see Spike until late December 2022, and the others I mentioned were definitely 2023 releases, with the Arcee/Freezer wave not really showing up until May 2023. Anyhow, I'm sure there are plenty more releases to do that I'm not thinking of. A core class 2007 Scorponok would be great - my favorite toy for him was the 2007/8 legends class, but it has a broken GPS stinger. They could even just release that mold with better plastic and I'd take it. 2007 Frenzy, of course. A better bird mode DotM Laserbeak would be great. RotF Wheelie for sure, and possibly Brains. Maybe even some kind of Reedman release? 

Who knows, maybe we'll have a decent chunk of 2025 "Legacy" leaks soon. But for now, there is plenty to chew on here.