We love to bring toys like this to light.
Megatron believes in making any sacrifice necessary for the survival of Cybertronian civilization. He's a headstrong idealist,
but isn't unwilling to adjust his strategy when victory hangs in the balance. As one of the most well-known Decepticon figureheads, Megatron is an innate leader who commands any room he is in. His sharp wit, intelligence and clever nature aid him in his goals.
As toy collectors, we often know months in advance what toys are coming and will be on the lookout for them - see, for instance, my multi-year quest to find a Tarn - but that does take away a certain part of the fun: namely, the surprise of finding some cool unexpected release waiting for you on the shelf at the store. Like, I may know that Studio Series Megatron is coming soon, but I don't pay attention to Earthspark, so "Cyberglow" Megatron was just an eyecatching thing hanging right there on the pegs.
Despite the packaging claiming that this is a "Deluxe Class" figure, it's a repaint of Warrior Class Megatron. Yes, they're about the same size, but Warrior Class is much more simple than Deluxe, so this is kind of an unimpressive toy on its own - the sculpt is relatively low-detail, there's not as much paint or articulation... but at least it costs a little less? That's good.
Earthspark Megatron does have an interesting design, so it's a shame that doesn't come through very much in the toy.
He was partially inspired by Megatron in the popular IDW comics run, so he ends up with a broad, angular chest over a drawn-in waist, and has large armor on his shoulders. It is definitely, recognizably Megatron, even without any gun (or tank) kibble on him anywhere. He does have kibble, it's just not for a gun. It's easier to accept innovation when we're dealing with a new continuity instead of retconning an old one.
This figure doesn't even include Megatron's arm cannon. He's got his Energon mace, the participation trophy of Megatron weapons, but no actual gun. Articulation is, as we said, less than usual: poor guy doesn't even get a neck! There are balljoints for the shoulders, elbows, hips, and ankles, a swivel waist, and hinged knees. It's enough to play around with him, and the feet are large enough to support even some pretty wild poses, but having the permanently fused head is a true oddity.
But hey, at least converting him is simple, right? Hinge the shoulder armor out to the sides so you can raise the arms, and plug it together over his head; bend the elbows 90°, rotate them down, and close the elbow flaps to lock everything into place; turn the waist around, point his toes, and fold the legs up; push the chest out from the rear, turn it around, and put it back in; finish by repositioning his hip-flaps to be little stabilizer wings.
Yes, "wings": Earthspark Megatron's altmode is not a tank, but some kind of strange tilt-rotor aircraft - that's why the robot had propellers hanging off his elbows. This obviously isn't the first time Megatron has been an aircraft, and the colors all carry over, so this is a pretty good altmode for him.
If that's all there was to this toy, it wouldn't be getting any attention right now. But it's called "Cyberglow Megatron," and therein lies the appeal: Megatron glows in the dark! It's not a lot, just the headlights(?) on the shoulders, and a few lines on the arms and chest. Most of those are still visible in the altmode, which is nice, and the Energon mace is molded from GitD plastic, as well. So this isn't a lot of glowing, but it's enough to be fun.
This isn't the first glow-in-the-dark Transformer, but since all the others were exclusives or limited releases or what have you, it might as well be. The toy itself is fine, if unremarkable by current collector standards, but those little dabs of GitD paint really make a difference!
-- 08/19/25
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