By Loran
Mercy is not dispensed here, fools! Only… reviews.
Since the start of the 2010 product year, Hasbro really seems to be giving us a lot of throwbacks to the Marvel days. Bludgeon? Check. Thunderwing? Check. Mindset?! (seriously, who saw that one coming) Check. And of course… if there’s one character that needed a figure, it was good old Lord Straxus. Of course, they (somehow) couldn’t get the rights to the name Straxus, so instead he’s called Darkmount! Regardless of what they call him, we all know who he is, and that’s a totally insane Decepticon warlord.
Since I’m so used to calling him by the name, I’m going to refer to him as Straxus for the rest of the review…
His first alt-mode is some sort of artillery APC tank thing. I’m not quite sure what it is. It resembles a Howitzer but has sort of a World War II feel to it. I can’t quite place my finger on it. The mix of wheels and treads is very cool, though, and certainly something rarely seen on Transformers. One very awesome feature about this figure are his little guns. They come mounted on clips that can be switched around on different ports. It’s very nice, and allows for some slight customization. He also has markings with “M17” written on his body, referencing the fact that he first appeared in issue 17 of the Marvel comic.
Straxus also has a second alt-mode, resembling some sort of artillery cannon, a la Galvatron. It… really doesn’t do it for me. I know it’s supposed to be a reference to his alt-mode from the comics, but it just feels like a lazy afterthought, like Universe Galvatron’s cannon mode. I think I’ll pass on this mode…
His transformation is a bit finickier than some of his Generations compatriots, requiring a lot of pieces to be transformed in a certain order to prevent them from clashing against each other. One thing I like to do is change the arrangement of his guns, moving some to his shoulders. It makes him look a bit more intimidating.
In fact, the whole PACKAGE here is intimidating. His robot mode has that awesome Cybertronian war-monger feel that the best Decepticon dictators have. His head is creepy as all hell, and while not a direct translation of his Marvel design, gets the job done. You don’t need to be told which nasty ‘con this is, because it’s damn obvious. His chest has those weird triangle things the original had, and his arms are adorned with the “innards” of his tank treads. It’s just awesome.
On top of looking insane, he has some GREAT poseability. At first glance, you would expect most of it to be hindered by all of his kibble, but that is fortunately not the case! Everything plugs away smoothly and works just great. His arms have an exceptional amount of poseability, and even has hinged fingers AND wrists. This allows him to hold his nasty pickaxe weapon with both hands, and it looks awesome.
I do, however, find his ankle joints a bit strange. While they get the job done and stand just fine, there’s so much… blank space there. It almost looks unsettling and uncomfortable.
I do have two issues with him, however. One is his size. Yes, I know, the Generations line is Deluxe-only, but I feel a Voyager would’ve suited this guy much more. Second is the colors-what the hell? Why BIRGHT BLUE? Why not black, midnight blue, or dark purple? I know he appeared blue in the comics, but I always felt that was because plain black doesn’t look right in “inked” form. Still, they’re two minor grievances to an otherwise awesome figure.
Yeah, Straxus is just the bee’s knees. It’s so great to see some of the Marvel-only characters finally getting some street cred, and I hope this trend continues. I’d recommend him to any fans of classic G1 or anyone looking for new characters in their ranks. He fits both perfectly.
Also, it seems he was once a warrior from Hyrule…
