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The Primes React To Voyager Class Nexus Prime

Author's Notes:

Obviously, this is based on my own initial reaction to the Voyager Nexus Prime toy that was revealed last week. Suffice to say that I'm not exactly thrilled with what Hasbro is oh so graciously deigning to bestow on us; the other Primes have been good (even Star Convoy, who I've bitched about), so I'm completely flabbergasted on how Nexus turned out... Although it doesn't help that I'm someone who doesn't just get upset, but upset about things.

For the record, this is how Nexus Prime looked when the character first debuted. Hopefully, you can understand my (and Micronus's) anger with this figure reveal.

I'm aware that we've had some news from the designer that we're probably getting Nexus's limb-bots as well. While that eases some of the pain, it leaves me with a lot of questions on how they'll end up being released. Will we get them as part of the mainline, or will they all be in a single box set? If it's the latter, will it include Nexus's core bot as well, meaning that I shouldn't bother trying to hunt the Voyager down? And what about the skeleton? If Nexus still needs a combiner skeleton, will one be released as part of the aforementioned box set, or will I need to borrow the one for Silverbolt/Bruticus? And if we're getting a dedicated combiner skeleton, will it be a recolor of Silverbolt's frame, or a retool? Does that mean that Landquake will be replaced with another flier (which is the part that I'm least bothered about)? I have so many questions and concerns about this one, and it's exhausting me.

Frankly, all of the above could have been alleviated if Hasbro held off on Bruticus and made Nexus the mainline combiner for 2026. Yes, I know Nexus is the less marketable/profitable option, but to put it bluntly, this is already a toyline about characters who primarily exist in lore, and only got fleshed out in the last decade or so. This line is already primarily for the collectors and the big fans, so you might as well make us happy by letting Nexus be Nexus. Failing that, maybe Hasbro could have booted Nexus up to Leader, and made him split into a bunch of vehicles, Getter Robo style.

On a lighter note, Maximo does look good (although the fact that his horns aren't attached to his head threw me off). I'm not sure how I feel about the chunky blaster... I guess the people who miss when Transformers had missile launchers will enjoy it.

I'm not exactly thrilled with the quality of this one... the photos were taken in my room, on my computer desk, so the lighting isn't as good, plus I needed to take some pictures at weird angles and make sure that I didn't accidentally put my leg in the shot or something. Then again, this is more of a "rant" comic, so maybe I can get away with it being so scuffed. =p

For the record, I headcanon Alchemist as having kind of an Irish accent. Y'know, kind of like an older pub owner?

Apologies if the dialogue is hard to follow - In the future, I'll be more mindful about speech bubble placement to make my comics easier to read.

Age of the Primes Alchemist Prime: It's definitely not magic

Continuing the ranks of the Thirteen, Alchemist Prime joins us as another Deluxe class addition to the roster. Blending multiple different design elements of a character we’ve actually seen in any meaningful capacity, he takes on some sculpting of the much beloved Cyberverse incarnation, while bearing colors and facial features more so inspired by the rendition seen in The Ultimate Guide, with a few other bits sprinkled in for good measure.

(I tried getting him to hold Solus' hammer and it- it was too tight it wasn't happening)

He’s a real looker, and a visual treat overall. The more forest-y green looks great (and is color matched pitch perfectly) and is complimented wonderfully by the silver and gold highlights. His face sculpt is an absolute delight. Easily the highlight of his appearance. The almost goggles, his goatee, the STACHE. It’s perfect. So charming. His stature is stocky, but he’s not short, coming in at average deluxe height. Didn’t trade width for length.

Alchemist is... not a figure with a lot of surprises. His joints are completely standard, with 90° at the elbows, shoulders, knees, and hips in all directions except back. Swivels where you want them, ankle tilts, you get it. His only real interesting notes are his hands, which lack wrists, and his head, which gets to look up and down pretty well thanks to the transformation hinge. It’s absolutely possible to get plenty of good poses out of him but he’s not as limber as he could be.

The transformation follows the trend of not many surprises. There’s no element of “oh THAT’S how that works!”, it’s just “oh, yeah, that makes sense”. The biggest revelation is that his chest isn’t used as a part of the vehicle mode.It’s fun, overall, he feels good to flip back and forth on the whole, though getting his legs in place for vehicle mode can feel a tad funky. I’d also recommend doing the windshield before moving the arms into place, the method suggested by the instructions… kinda sucks.

The resultant van is… I’m not going to say “nothing” because that’s both disingenuous and isn’t a very descriptive complaint. It feels solid and tabs together nicely, and, ultimately, reads well. It does fall victim to “vague sci-fi vehicle that lacks strong definition” (a la much of SIEGE), as do some of the other Primes, though I’d much rather this than the vague spaceships of Alpha Trion or Quintus, and ESPECIALLY the bundle of bullshit that is Onyx. So while it’s maybe a bit plain, it does look nice. The colors are similarly splendid here, with the translucent blue windshield making up for the reduced amounts of silver and gold and pairing nicely with the green. The black plastic gets a bigger presence, as well.

I initially passed on Alchemist when he first came out, as while he looked nice, he didn’t seem interesting enough for me to go in on. But, alas, I am human, and temptation grew. Seeing him for under MSRP on Mercari was enough and I caved. Do I regret my purchase? Not even slightly. Would I have paid more for him? Also no. Having him in hand has definitely helped how I feel. He’s nice! He looks good, plays well, he just doesn’t immediately stick out like some other figures. This rings especially true when compared to some of the other Primes. Megatronus is big, striking, with an interesting transformation (and a design with actual media presence...). Solus has great colors, and what I feel is a nifty transformation. Amalgamous is a whole canister of weird (something he can probably turn into). Even Quintus, whose transformation amounts to little more than laying him flat, is still incredible looking. Alchemist… is kind of just a guy. Which does work perfectly for the bartender Maccadam.

I keep doing this thing where I’m passing on a bunch of figures, then I buy one on a whim and I’m like “oh man I should give more guys a chance even if I’m not 100% sold” and then I don’t. Not having a steady stream of disposable income has. Not helped.