Vector Prime

Gigawatt wasn't the first time-travelling Transformer. Vector Prime is a Transformer from the earliest days of Cybertron's history. There is a legend of 13 original Transformers, built by Primus before he took the shape of the Planet Cybertron. It has been rumored that Vector Prime is actually one these original 13! That bio comes directly from Hasbro... 20 years ago. Not only is there no info about the character on the box, there's none on Hasbro's site or in any marketing material, so we went back to the original Cybertron release and the Cyber Key code. Remember that? When Hasbro used to not only put some info on their website, they actually put extra info, too? Those were the days! Remember, kids, anybody who tells you Capitalism breeds innovation is either lying to you for their own profit, or has been fooled by someone who lied to them. The idea of the 13 original Transformers was officially introduced in 2004's Ultimate Guide, and even identified a few existing characters as members of the group, but it wasn't until the next year's Cybertron franchise and its inclusion of a new character called Vector Prime that the idea was introduced to general audiences. The original Vector Prime was designed by Aaron Archer, and was meant to have visible gears and so forth, to make him look more like a clockwork than most Transformers do. This new version does not get that feature, sadly, because he's a retooling of the 2022 Legacy Jhiaxus, who did have open panels in his legs, but they're full of wires, not gears. Close, but not close enough. Things are much better above the knees, though, because he gets a new chest with a sunken circle that matches his old design, and new shoulders that feature his old-fashioned armor. They kept the arms the same, which is fine, but we really wish there'd been somewhere in the budget they could have found a little room to make new shins that suited him better. If nothing else, they'd be able to get rid of those hinge-attachment-points that used to be for Jhiaxus' ankle-wings and now barely serve any purpose. He does get new wings of his own, once again hanging behind his back to simulate a cape, and his accessories include his sword and, since he was a Cybertron character, a Cyber Key. Everything is smaller, because the toy itself is smaller - a little less than 7" tall, with joints at the head, shoulders, biceps, elbows, wrists, waist, hips, thighs, knees, and ankles. Although the sword (apparently named "Rhisling," because... Vector Prime loves wine, I guess?) isn't quite as detailed as the old one, it does at least have a painted hilt to add some contrast. The itsy bitsy Cyber Key (aka "the Zeonomicon") gets the same details representing all four planets, but it doesn't activate any features on the toy, and rather than slotting into his waist, it plugs into holes on the chest so it will at least look like it's in the same place. It can also attach to the sword, or fit in a slot on Vector Prime's back. Converting Vector Prime is more complex than the 2005 toy, but that's to be expected. Open the forearms so you can fold the hands away, then do the same with the back and head. Lift the chest and rotate it 180°, shift the shins up over the upper legs while pointing the toes down, swing out the tailfin, turn the wings to the outside and lock them into place in the back (on those otherwise-vestigial hinges we mentioned before), tuck the arms back and fold them down so the forearms plug into the thighs. Vecky's altmode is vaguely similar to what he had before, but still with some substantial differences. They did their best to turn Jhiaxus'... space... jet... thing into Vector Prime's slightly different space jet thing, and honestly did a decent job of that. Compared to the Cybertron release, the nose isn't as long and the undercarriage is thicker - though when you're a multiversal singularity moving between dimensions, it's not unthinkable that some visual differences might crop up. The colors on this toy are nicer than the old one. The browns are shifted more toward the red end of the spectrum, the body is a slightly darker gray, and the translucent blues are slightly metallic, meaning they contrast against the gold apps beautifully. The accessories can be attached in this mode, though the key fitting on top is much more seamless than the sword just being plugged in under one of the wings. Also, the sword hilt has a hinge, though the instructions call no attention to it and there's no easily apparent use for such a thing. Using Jhiaxus as a base for this figure is... a necessity of toymaking in the 2020s, and it may even have been the best choice available, but you have to admit this would have been better if Vector Prime had been designed first and Jhiaxus was the re-mold. Still, a character who can move between dimensions and any point in time? Who could possibly be a better inclusion for a storyline where Transformers from every reality are being pulled together? -- 11/26/24 Would it have been smarter to make Vector Prime first and Jhiaxus second? Tell us on our message board, the Loafing Lounge.

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