Starscream

I was never a big fan of Transformers since I started collecting toys again - I never saw the point. Two toys in one? Not a great deal of fun when the vehicle form looks cheaper than a $2 children's plaything, and the robot form looks ridiculous and immobile. Then, a change came - first, the incredible Unicron, one of the coolest toys of the past few years, started to sway me with his size and coolness. (His chest opened up and shot a missile right in Tim's face!!) Any toy that eats planets has got to be cool. Then, the clincher - 20th Anniversary Optimus Prime, 2004's Toy of the Year - showing that the transformed robots could be even more awesome, detailed and mobile than many other robot toys on the market. With that, I was in Transformer heaven - I got onto the cartoon, the movie, the different figures, it was great. And now, the fad has passed, but I'm still on the prowl for those awesome-looking robot figures. A fan-favourite from the original series, Starscream was supposedly second in command to the evil Megatron, but stood on his own as not just being against the good guys, but also against his leader and anyone else who got in his way. Transforming into a sweet fighter jet and featuring Chris (Cobra Commander) Latta's awesome scratchy voice, what stopped him from taking over? Pure, undeniable stupidity. Back in the old days, being so stupid usually meant having your ass kicked over and over - ah, how times have changed. Now, it means you get elected as president for a second term. Unlike some of the other Energon Transformers who borrowed names from the originals, Energon Starscream follows suit from the original Starscream - he transforms from a nifty fighter jet into a sweet-looking robot. Standing 6" tall, he looks awesome - he has a completely different paint scheme from the original red/white/etc., featuring dark transluscent greens, light blues, darker purples and metallic red, looking cool in both jet and robot formation. He's one of the better looking Energon Transformers and it suits the cool popular character. There is a repaint due any time now, featuring a more classic color scheme, but that wouldn't mean anything if the figure wasn't any good. Unlike the original toys, Energon Starscream is articulated out the wazoo - he features completely movable shoulder joints, elbows, legs, knees, feet, neck, and that's aside from all the other moving parts that allow him to transform. Exceptionally cool is a set of rocket launchers that fire from moving compartments alongside his shoulders (in robot mode) or under the wings (in jet mode). Almost powerful enough to take out an eye, the projectiles are soft and hit with less impact than the shot-to-the-brain projectiles from Unicron. Starscream includes a special weapon, a two-part sword much too big for him that's over 7 1/2" long. He looks ridiculous carrying it, so it fortunately splits into two, a smaller sword and a gun, which look badass rather than plain 'ol bad. The weapon is made from dark green transluscent plastic and stained with silver paint along the blade, and it looks very nice - suitable weaponry for Starscream. Of course, as a Transformer, he does his thing from jet form to robot and back. I have to say I've found Starscream to be one of the toughest Transformers I've ever transformed - harder than both Unicron and Anniversary Prime. It might be that I'm insane, but the guy's tricky and I still can't remember how to do him. None-the-less, the jet looks just as good as normal form, and the weapon split into two looks pretty sweet attached underneath the wings. Very cool! Overall, Starscream is a very sweet figure, probably my favourite of the non-boxed Energon toys. I'm glad I got into the Transformers for a while, there are some awesome toys to be found in here, though I still can't shake the feeling that many of them just look like crap. Ignoring obvious abominations (see: Energon Omega Supreme) does anyone actually like the ridiculous look of Tidal Wave robot-form? What about the new Optimus Prime? To name just a couple that have been reviewed here. Meh, as long as cool stuff like Starscream is made, I'll buy it. Who's your favorite Decepticon sub-commander? Tell us on our message board, the Loafing Lounge.

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