Product Line / Transformers Generations – War for Cybertron: Earthrise
Scale & Class / Leader Class Transformers Figure
Manufacturer / Hasbro & Takara Tomy
Release Date / 2020
Appearances / Transformers War for Cybertron: Earthrise
As the second installment in the War for Cybertron trilogy, Earthrise depicts the war between the Autobots and Decepticons as they eventually reach Earth. Going from their Cybertronnian forms with battle damage paint splotches in Siege, Earthrise sees the Transformers take on more familiar Earth-bound vehicle modes. At least that’s the concept of the toyline as their appearances in the Netflix animated series remain unchanged throughout the trilogy. In any case, this provided Hasbro yet another opportunity to sell figures of the same characters, which of course includes Optimus Prime. With his version in Siege already considered an amazing figure, many were excited to find out that the Earthrise version is even better. Like almost Masterpiece levels of better, which is quite uncommon for a mainline release.
In keeping with the consistency of scale across figures, Optimus Prime is technically Voyager sized, but the inclusion of a trailer increases his parts count, and price point, to a Leader Class. Earthrise Optimus Prime is easily on the best mainline figures recently released thanks to the combination of excellent aesthetics, great articulation, and decent accessories. You can’t ask more for aesthetics as he’s as G1 as you can get with a modern figure. Couple this with the great articulation carried from his Siege version without the extra Cybertronnian parts. He also has an opening chest compartment with a removable Matrix of Leadership inside, something seen in larger figures until recently. He includes two other accessories: the Ion Blaster and the trailer. The trailer can convert into a repair bay or a combat deck thanks to the artillery drone connected via an articulated arm. You can also connect the artillery drone to the back of Optimus Prime as a jetpack.
