Legacy Jhiaxus (2022)

The third time, as it happened, was indeed the charm.

The first official Jhiaxus toy, which I reviewed a dozen years ago, was a repaint of a Beast Machines figure, and looked nothing like the character created for the Transformers: Generation 2 comic book, either in form or coloration. But even though it was little more than a name slapped on a seemingly unrelated figure, the fact that the comic had already been ancient history for a decade at that point meant that few Transformers fans ever expected to have another opportunity to see the character in toy form, so we snatched it up.

The second official Jhiaxus toy, I didn't even bother with. It was also a remold of an existing figure, although the result was admittedly a better attempt to look like the comic book character, at least physically. Unfortunately, they insisted on giving it the same wholly-inaccurate color scheme as the previous toy, which totally killed any interest I might have had, so I left that one on the shelves....

Finally, in 2022, just a few months after I finished recording a podcast series covering the Transformers: Generation 2 comic book, Hasbro finally released an all-new mold toy depicting Jhiaxus as he originally appeared in that book. Needless to say, I grabbed this one as soon as I was able.

Jhiaxus' robot mode, in particular, looks like the comic book design given three-dimensional form. The fists don't have individually articulated fingers, but do open and close to hold weapons (he comes with two, not shown here), rather than simply using a peg. This feature facilitates posing Jhiaxus in an appropriately sized chair (the one depicted here did not come with Jhiaxus) to emulate an iconic scene from the comic.

The vehicle mode also attempts to duplicate the one seen in the comic, although it does have to fudge the proportions and details a bit just to obey the laws of physics (and to stay within the Voyager price-point's budget, no doubt). I'm perfectly happy with the compromise.

It must be recognized that the comic for which Jhiaxus had been created was roughly three decades in the rear-view mirror at this point, so the fact that Hasbro made so many efforts to finally get us a toy in his originally-depicted form is a testament to the character's popularity among die-hard fans. Unfortunately, whether due to market oversaturation or the character's obscurity among less rabid fans than I, there were still quite a few Jhiaxuses (Jhiaxii?) on the shelves for many months after its release. The good news is that, if this character does appeal to you, and you somehow didn't pick it up three years ago, you shouldn't have any trouble finding one for a reasonable price now. Happy hunting!