As we head into Hasbro Pulse Con 2023 this Friday, we suddenly got leaked images of the upcoming Transformers Legacy: United Animated Universe Bumblebee figure, and that spawned a whole lot of unwarranted discourse, even borderline disrespectful towards the original designer Derrick J. Wyatt who passed away in 2021. Personally, I don’t find any reason for these strong reactions, especially after seeing the official reveals for two of the Animated Universe Legacy: United figures.
I’m going to focus on Optimus Prime because, well, I’m an Optimus Prime collector. But first, we get to see a key visual from this set, which sees both Optimus Prime and Bumblebee jumping onto a fiery battlefield. It’s also the motif of this set, going from the green and calm from Legacy: Evolution to orange and fiery red for Legacy: United. We also have packaging design for Legacy: Evolution, which is more of the same except with the updated color motif to match the logo and all.
Before going further, I do want to emphasize that these Legacy: United versions are meant to have a more angular Generation 1 aesthetic to fit with the rest of your Transformers Generations collection. So, while these don’t have the same stylized lines and curves, they very much look like how these characters would look if transported to a more G1-looking universe.
Let’s look at Animated Universe Optimus Prime, and besides the harder angles, this figure really catches the spirit of the very stylized original design. While I don’t have the original Voyager class figure since I wanted both Cybertron-mode and Earth-mode Optimus Prime in the same size class, I still think the relatively smaller Voyagers nowadays should still provide a good comparison with the relatively larger Deluxes back then.
Regardless, I am definitely adding this guy to my collection.
Transformers Generations – Legacy: United Animated Universe Optimus Prime
January 2024 / $34.99
Then we have Animated Universe Bumblebee who got leaked a couple of days ago and sparked that toxic discussion I mentioned earlier. While I don’t have the original anymore, I did get a copy back in the days when I’m still figuring out what Transformers to collect. I ultimately sold my original after being turned off by its loose ball joints, but if you ask me, this updated version also captures the essential design elements of the original. It even has the same pair of stingers that can attach in the same spot in vehicle mode.
While I’m not getting this figure, I don’t see the reasons for those unnecessary knee-jerk reactions.
Transformers Generations – Legacy: United Animated Universe Bumblebee
January 2024 / $24.99
