Power of the Primes

[Dominic]

Am I the only one who is disappointed that the cards for Power of the Primes are not meant for use in some sort of game?

[Sparky Prime]

Am I the only one who is disappointed that the cards for Power of the Primes are not meant for use in some sort of game?

Yeah, I would have thought they'd have more functionality to them. From what Hasbro's website shows, each figure can come with a card for any one of 12 of the Primes. I get the Prime Masters are meant to be interchangeable, but what's the point of the cards associating the figures with any one of them? It almost feels like there was supposed to be a game or something that was meant to tie into the cards.

[Dominic]

There are also cards for Primes that do not have figures scheduled.

At the very least, there should have been a game.

[Sparky Prime]

There are also cards for Primes that do not have figures scheduled.

Yeah, I know Prima, Nexus Prime and Amalgamous Prime don't have Prime Master figures... Which seems odd to me, especially when they took the time to make an Enigma of Combination accessory. Why wouldn't the 12 Primes, especially Prima and Nexus as two prominent members, all get figures?

Edit: Of course as soon as this comes up, an image surfaces (possibly the back of a poster that comes with Predaking) of the full line-up of Prime Masters, which even includes the last 3. The article mentions this isn't proof they'll be getting molds, but it is an indication they may yet be on the way.

At the very least, there should have been a game.

I agree.

[Dominic]

Despite the fact that Hasbro is trying to portray itself as a media and entertainment company, they are screwing up the media side of their franchises pretty badly. (The current cartoon is possibly the worst TF thing yet. I am actually nostalgic for the clever and nuanced writing of "Rescue Bots".)

Yeah, I know Prima, Nexus Prime and Amalgamous Prime don't have Prime Master figures... Which seems odd to me, especially when they took the time to make an Enigma of Combination accessory. Why wouldn't the 12 Primes, especially Prima and Nexus as two prominent members, all get figures

The figures actually make pretty lousy Primes though. (I am still mad that the Liege Maximo figure is the only one we are likely to ever get.) Characters like Amalgamous are impossible to do proper toys of. Hasbro might have been better off letting the cards represent the Primes' effects on characters.

Edit: Of course as soon as this comes up, an image surfaces (possibly the back of a poster that comes with Predaking) of the full line-up of Prime Masters, which even includes the last 3. The article mentions this isn't proof they'll be getting molds, but it is an indication they may yet be on the way.

At least there is only one card for Predaking.

[Sparky Prime]

Despite the fact that Hasbro is trying to portray itself as a media and entertainment company, they are screwing up the media side of their franchises pretty badly. (The current cartoon is possibly the worst TF thing yet. I am actually nostalgic for the clever and nuanced writing of "Rescue Bots".)

What current cartoon are you talking about? The Machinima Power of the Prime's web-series? I'm really surprised they got some pretty big name actors of that honestly, with how sub-par it is. I'd agree, Hasbro certainly does need to work on their media side of things.

The figures actually make pretty lousy Primes though. (I am still mad that the Liege Maximo figure is the only one we are likely to ever get.) Characters like Amalgamous are impossible to do proper toys of. Hasbro might have been better off letting the cards represent the Primes' effects on characters.

Well the Prime Master's are really only meant to represent the Prime's sparks rather than the Prime's themselves. What Liege Maximo figure? As far as I know, he's never had a proper toy. There are a few of the 13 that have had toys over the years though... Vector Prime (Cybertron), Alpha Trion (Botcon, Titans Return), Megatronus (Titanium Fallen, ROTF Fallen, RiD Megatronus), Nexus Prime (Collectors Club) and "The Arisen" if we accept Optimus Prime as a reincarnation of him. But yeah, I'm disappointed they haven't made proper toys of the whole group.

[Dominic]

Some of the Primes would be impossible to make as toys, especially if the toys are meant to incorporate or represent the characters' signature gimmicks.

The Skullgrin figure is supposed to be Liege Maximo. I know that the current Liege Maximo is not really the character introduced in Generation 2 (25+ years ago) or shown in "Alignment". But, considering the hype that the Primes were given 5 years ago, and that some of them were first depicted in a very pricey sourcebook, the Prime figures bother me. At best, they are the only representations of certain characters. And, in a few cases, they are worse than toys Hasbro has already made.

What current cartoon are you talking about? The Machinima Power of the Prime's web-series? I'm really surprised they got some pretty big name actors of that honestly, with how sub-par it is. I'd agree, Hasbro certainly does need to work on their media side of things.

Yes, the Machinima series. I actually miss the old "Robots in Disguise" series. Admittedly, the Machinima series is pretty to look at. But, Hasbro should be embarrassed by the writing. (I have read better pack-in comics.)

The real problem is that Hasbro is trying to present themselves as a media company, while their in-house content has gotten worse over the last 10 years.

[Sparky Prime]

Some of the Primes would be impossible to make as toys, especially if the toys are meant to incorporate or represent the characters' signature gimmicks.

Other than Amalgamous (given his ability to constantly change form), I don't see that any of them would be impossible to make. Most of their signature gimmicks are weapons or relics that could be represented in toy form easily enough or abilities you'd have to use your imagination for anyway. Even with Amalgamous, I think Hasbro could pull it off if they make him a multi-changer figure (like Sixshot or Gigatron) where each form just represents a few of his favorite forms or something like that.

The Skullgrin figure is supposed to be Liege Maximo. I know that the current Liege Maximo is not really the character introduced in Generation 2 (25+ years ago) or shown in "Alignment". But, considering the hype that the Primes were given 5 years ago, and that some of them were first depicted in a very pricey sourcebook, the Prime figures bother me. At best, they are the only representations of certain characters. And, in a few cases, they are worse than toys Hasbro has already made.

The Pretender shells the Prime Master's come with are described as decoy armor. The Skullgrin armor is not meant to be Liege Maximo himself, it's just meant to hide his spark from those that would use his power for their own means. Which, I really don't understand why Hasbro went that route in the first place... Skullgrin, Cloudburst, Metalhawk, Submarauder, Landmine, Bomb-Burst, Bludgeon and Octopunch are all established characters in their own right. Why give their Pretender shells to the Prime Master figures when they have no relation to the Primes?

Also seems odd to me that they paired Octopunch with Solus. Given Quintus has a more squid-like appearance, I would have thought that would have been a better choice.

[Dominic]

The Fallen (Megatronus) should have been paired with Bludgeon by that logic. (But, I doubt Hasbro is thinking that much about it.)


The inner figures are supposed to be the Primes, meaning that Liege Maximo is an even less impressive figure.

Hasbro should have gone for straight Pretenders and/or Power Masters.

[Sparky Prime]

The Fallen (Megatronus) should have been paired with Bludgeon by that logic. (But, I doubt Hasbro is thinking that much about it.)

And it would have been a nice call back if they'd had Onyx come with Bomb Burst instead of Megatronus, given the first character to use the name Onyx was a repaint of the bat version of Optimus Primal. Not sure why they decided to have him come with Predaking instead. Hasbro has made a lot of odd choices for this line...

The inner figures are supposed to be the Primes, meaning that Liege Maximo is an even less impressive figure.

The inner robots are just meant to represent the Prime's spark. Which really doesn't make much sense given a spark is an orb of energy, not a transforming robot, but again, lots of odd choices from Hasbro in this line.

Hasbro should have gone for straight Pretenders and/or Power Masters.

Yeah, I agree. Mixing the two concepts, essentially hijacking the Pretender shells and reducing the Primes to nothing more than Power Masters that hide in them was not a great move IMO.