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.

Toxitron Collection Cloudcover (2023) and the "Lost" Generation 2 Toys

So, it's been a couple of years, but I'm back with a semi-regular posting schedule. I'm hoping to have at least a post a week for the time being, although posts won't always go up on Fridays so that I can properly recognize anniversaries and such on the proper date. Also, I'm trying to be a bit more diverse than just writing about Transformers for the time being (although it did seem appropriate that my first post in so long should make clear that Transformers will remain something this blog should be known for). You'll see what I mean as more posts appear in the coming weeks.

Not Your Father's Autobot - Episode #12 - Transformers: Generation 2 issue #12

For this, the final episode of Not Your Father's Autobot, we're discussing Transformers: Generation 2 issue #12, cover dated October, 1994. This issue can be found reprinted via the Transformers: Rage in Heaven paperback, which may be purchased via Amazon. Listeners may also wish to try to find a copy of either the collected paperback or the issue itself via eBay (purchases through these links do not support the podcast in any way). 

Titans Return Laser Prime with Refractor and Rodimus Prime (Chaos on Velocitron set, 2017)

Before the final episode of Not Your Father's Autobot drops on Sunday, we've one more Generation 2 homage figure to feature. During the Titans Return segment of the "Prime Wars" Trilogy, a set given the name "Chaos on Velocitron" was released as a Toys "R" Us/online exclusive. At the time, this set was the only way to complete the pair of Autobot Clones (new versions of the classic figures featured here), in addition to a number of other characters (all reuses of previously released molds to a greater or lesser degree). Most of these deserve their own features, but we're mostly going to focus on the Generation 2 homage here, called "Laser Prime" for this release.

Not Your Father's Autobot - Episode #11 - Transformers: Generation 2 issue #11

For this episode of Not Your Father's Autobot, we're discussing Transformers: Generation 2 issue #11, cover dated September, 1994. This issue can be found reprinted via the Transformers: Rage in Heaven paperback, which may be purchased via Amazon. Listeners may also wish to try to find a copy of either the collected paperback or the issue itself via eBay (purchases through these links do not support the podcast in any way). 

Combiner Wars G2 Menasor (2016)

 

Back in the days of what we now call "Generation One," the Aerialbots and the Stunticons came out more or less simultaneously, and their first appearances in both the cartoon and the comic were closely tied to each other. It perhaps thus seems obvious not only that both teams were redone in Combiner Wars, but that both received "Generation Two" redecoes. Fans of the actual Generation 2 line, however, know that the story is rather more complicated than that, specifically in regard to the Stunticons.

Not Your Father's Autobot - Episode #10 - Transformers: Generation 2 issue #10

For this episode of Not Your Father's Autobot, we're discussing Transformers: Generation 2 issue #10, cover dated August, 1994. This issue can be found reprinted via the Transformers: Rage in Heaven paperback, which may be purchased via Amazon. Listeners may also wish to try to find a copy of either the collected paperback or the issue itself via eBay (purchases through these links do not support the podcast in any way). 

Combiner Wars G2 Superion (2016)

When the "Generations" sub-line of the Transformers franchise evolved into Combiner Wars in 2015, it represented a shift in how the franchise handled Generation One homages. Up to that point, most G1 characters were given toys that weren't really intended to be "merely" updated versions of the originals, but indeed were "reimaginings" of them. Bumblebee became a small vehicle, but not really intended to be any kind of VW Beetle, for example. Classics Megatron may have been a hand-held weapon, but bore little resemblance to the Walther P-38 of the G1 toy. As of Combiner Wars, designs tended to shift more toward the G1 model, while still adding articulation and hewing closer to animation models when possible.

Not Your Father's Autobot - Episode #9 - Transformers: Generation 2 issue #9

For this episode of Not Your Father's Autobot, we're discussing Transformers: Generation 2 issue #9, cover dated July, 1994. This issue can be found reprinted via the Transformers: Rage in Heaven paperback, which may be purchased via Amazon. Listeners may also wish to try to find a copy of either the collected paperback or the issue itself via eBay (purchases through these links do not support the podcast in any way). 

Masterpiece Lambor G-2 Version (G2 Sideswipe, 2012)

As my brother Nick and I have spent the past year doing Not Your Father's Autobot, one of the things we've often commented upon is the incongruity created by the fact that the comic nominally focused on Generation 2 features so few of the actual toys from that line. One notable exception to this is Sideswipe, who from the first issue was featured in his distinctive G2 color scheme. When the Masterpiece line chose to homage this toy with "Lambor G-2 version" (using the Japanese names for Sideswipe and G2, respectively), they went a step further, not only homaging the G2 toy, but specifically the character's depiction in the comic.

Not Your Father's Autobot - Episode #8 - Transformers: Generation 2 issue #8

For this episode of Not Your Father's Autobot, we're discussing Transformers: Generation 2 issue #8, cover dated June, 1994. This issue can be found reprinted via the Transformers: Rage in Heaven paperback, which may be purchased via Amazon. Listeners may also wish to try to find a copy of either the collected paperback or the issue itself via eBay (purchases through these links do not support the podcast in any way). 

Fall of Cybertron G2 Bruticus (2012)

Although the Generation 2 line was retired in 1995 in favor of the massive changes in store with Beast Wars, the brand has hardly been forgotten, and indeed has been revisited by Hasbro several times since then. In 2012, a set of molds created for the Constructicons as they appeared in the Fall of Cybertron games were given a full "G2" treatment in one the most comprehensive homages to-date.

Not Your Father's Autobot - Episode #7 - Transformers: Generation 2 issue #7

For this episode of Not Your Father's Autobot, we're discussing Transformers: Generation 2 issue #7, cover dated May, 1994. This issue can be found reprinted via the Transformers: Rage in Heaven paperback, which may be purchased via Amazon. Listeners may also wish to try to find a copy of either the collected paperback or the issue itself via eBay (purchases through these links do not support the podcast in any way). 

Bulletbike (1995)

While the period of Transformers history we now consider the Generation 2 line (even though the actual words "Generation 2" had already been dropped by this time, at least in the United States) was ending in this country, there were a few toys released in other parts of the world that never made it here at all. Perhaps most well-known among these are the Power Masters. Power Masters (not to be confused with the "Powermasters" of 1988, which included the first update of Optimus Prime since the original, as well as Joyride) were essentially similar to the Throttlebots, in that they were fairly simple toys with pull-back motors. The main difference in the Power Master gimmick was that you couldn't just let go of the toy after pulling it backward and expect it to shoot forward. Instead, you had to insert one of its weapons into a slot on the toy (which was the same in both robot and vehicle mode), which acted as a key to unlock the mechanism that held the motor in place. Only then would the toy roll forward.

Not Your Father's Autobot - Episode #6 - Transformers: Generation 2 issue #6

For this episode of Not Your Father's Autobot, we're discussing Transformers: Generation 2 issue #6, cover dated April, 1994. This issue can be found reprinted via the Transformers: Dark Designs paperback, which may be purchased via Amazon. Listeners may also wish to try to find a copy of either the collected paperback or the issue itself via eBay (purchases through these links do not support the podcast in any way). 

Road Rocket (1995)

As the Generation 2 toyline moved into its third (and final, as it turned out) year, Hasbro began to quietly drop not only the "Generation 2" banner from the Transformers logo, but even the Autobot and Decepticon faction symbols from the toys themselves. While the toys were still all sold as belonging to one or the other factions, if you were to pick up a loose toy without its packaging or instructions, you could easily be forgiven for not knowing whether the character was a "good guy" or a "bad guy." That said, the color schemes will often give the astute collector a clue. In the case of Road Rocket, if you decided that the red color scheme suggested the likelihood that the character was an Autobot, you would be correct.

Not Your Father's Autobot - Episode #5 - Transformers: Generation 2 issue #5

For this episode of Not Your Father's Autobot, we're discussing Transformers: Generation 2 issue #5, cover dated March, 1994. This issue can be found reprinted via the Transformers: Dark Designs paperback, which may be purchased via Amazon. Listeners may also wish to try to find a copy of either the collected paperback or the issue itself via eBay (purchases through these links do not support the podcast in any way). 

Cyberjet Air Raid (1995)

In 1995, the last year of Generation 2 in America, not only was the "Generation 2" heading quietly dropped, but in a clear attempt to get additional product out at a minimum cost, almost every mold released during the year was either used twice, or had clear plans to do so that simply fell through when the entire line was cancelled to make way for Beast Wars. This kind of mold reuse is common today, but despite the truth that some mold reuse had been done since the very first Transformers toys in 1984, this was a significant increase compared to then-recent years. Perhaps as part of an attempt to persuade kids (or parents) to buy molds that had already been used just a few months previously, the reuses were all given the names of classic Transformers characters from Generation 1. Such is the case with today's featured figure, Cyberjet Air Raid.

Not Your Father's Autobot - Episode #4 - Transformers: Generation 2 issue #4

For this episode of Not Your Father's Autobot, we're discussing Transformers: Generation 2 issue #4, cover dated February, 1994. This issue can be found reprinted via the Transformers: Dark Designs paperback, which may be purchased via Amazon. Listeners may also wish to try to find a copy of either the collected paperback or the issue itself via eBay (purchases through these links do not support the podcast in any way). 

Windrazor (1993)

In February and March, I covered two of the three "Skyscorchers" I own. I actually had Windrazor for much longer than either of those two, but as I got it second-hand without the hand weapon/radar (actually, I discovered that the peg from the weapon is broken off, still in the weapon hole for Windrazor's jet mode!), I decided that I should discuss the others first, so as to demonstrate that feature that, in theory, figures in this subline shared. With that out of the way (and with Space Case discussed in April to break up the monotony), let's talk about Windrazor.