It is SDCC 2017 week, and Power of the Primes is revealed as the Prime Wars Trilogy finale, with Prime Masters, Pretender-style decoy armor and a Rodimus Prime that carries his own Hot Rod. Listener John Garcia calls in from the Hasbro panel, where he asked about Headmaster Arcee. Chris uncovers hidden combiner ports, and Rob’s cereal-box poster discovery hints at Arcee again. Plus the Machinima Titans Return voice cast and the first BotCon in 1994.
Live From the SDCC Hasbro Panel
Longtime listener John Garcia makes his first RFC appearance, calling in from San Diego Comic-Con after the Hasbro panel. Dressed as Calendar Man, he got the first question and asked, for Don, where Headmaster Arcee and Daniel are. The panel answered that someone asks that at every convention.
He describes the new Prime Masters as Titan Master bodies with glowing sparks instead of faces. Deluxes wear them as chest armor, Voyagers as a buckler weapon, and Leaders get a Matrix. Rodimus Prime impressed him most: the Winnebago cab becomes a separate Hot Rod that integrates into the bigger figure. Asked about Titans Return Trypticon’s leg problems, the panel said it is one of those things that happens. The loudest applause came from fans of the Combiner Wars cartoon. Hasbro hinted that the fan-vote Optimus Primal Leader will share Rodimus Prime’s play pattern. John also liked Skullgrin and Beachcomber, and he confirms Darkwing and Dreadwind are retooled Aerialbots.
This Week in History
In 1994, the first BotCon was held in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Don was there, on his first ever flight with his dad’s Polaroid camera. He expected a hotel ballroom and found a show where he first learned about overseas product. He remembers meeting John, Carl and Tony Prado and being first in line for the dealer room. Brian recalls entering the fandom through Rose’s Transformers newsletter in the mid-1990s, back when convention news meant refreshing alt.toys.transformers. In 2007, all three episodes of “The Rebirth” finally aired on Cartoon Network Japan, 20 years late.
News
SDCC 2017 – Power of the Primes First Look Official Images
Power of the Primes is the Prime Wars Trilogy finale, and the crew walks through the first figures. Jazz is an all-new mold with a combiner port. Rodimus Prime switches between Hot Rod and Rodimus with more integration than parts-forming, though he is boxy from behind. Darkwing and Dreadwind are retooled Aerialbots, and Beachcomber finally gets a new figure. Voyager Starscream looks inflated because, Chris explains, he is a combiner torso whose feet become the buckler. Liege Maximo comes with Skullgrin decoy armor, a tiny Pretender shell for Titan Masters and Prime Masters. Chris says the Prime Masters are the sparks of the 13 Primes on the Titan Master body. John Warden says every Leader will share Rodimus Prime’s Matrix gimmick, including Optimus Primal. The crew wishes for Star Saber, Thunderclash and Animated Sentinel Prime. Don expects Omega Supreme to face Trypticon, while Diecast bets on Unicron as the line’s big bad. [Source: TFormers]
In his Toy Detective feature, Rob covers SDCC’s free poster that folds into a box of Trypticon’s Titan Master Crunch. The back lists every Titans Return Titan Master, including Leonid, which is Daniel spelled backward, hinting at a Headmaster Arcee. Don has seen reports that it will only be a Titan Master with a companion figure. The list also includes Professor Go, likely Shooter’s father from Masterforce. [Source: TFormers]
SDCC 2017 – Power of the Primes: The Secret Combiner Wars and Starscream’s Hidden Ability Revealed
Chris documents combiner ports on the new figures, especially Starscream’s forearms and feet. Hasbro reposed the display sample to hide them. Chris expects Starscream to form a torso the way Silverbolt did and does not expect fixed teams. One host notes that Wave 1 and Wave 2 are not faction-aligned, so a full Decepticon team takes two waves. [Source: TFormers]
SDCC 2017 – IDW Hasbro Comics Panel Report: First Strike, Transformers, Micronauts, ROM, More!
IDW plans a Unicron storyline next year and a December Till All Are One annual about electing Cybertron’s next leader among Windblade, Elita-1 and Starscream. Don is thrilled that Visionaries was announced as a title. [Source: TFormers]
SDCC Exclusives to Hit HasbroToyShop on 8/14?
The SDCC exclusives are expected on Hasbro Toy Shop on August 14. Brian plans to block his calendar, and one host just wants the Primitive Skateboarding Optimus Prime. [Source: TFormers]
Peter Cullen voices Optimus Prime, replacing Jon Bailey, and Brian would rather have kept Bailey. The cast mixes YouTube influencers with names like Judd Nelson as Rodimus Prime, Michael Dorn as Fortress Maximus, Wil Wheaton as Perceptor and Nolan North as Metroplex. Jason David Frank plays Emissary, which the crew swears is not a joke. Jason Marnocha returns as Megatron, a highlight of the first series. [Source: TFormers]
Rescue Bots Academy to Recast All Parts, Even Optimus Prime, With Non-Union Voice Actors
One host is glad Peter Cullen is voicing Optimus Prime somewhere, since the whole Rescue Bots cast is being replaced. One host notes production is moving to New York, an unusual choice for a non-union recast. [Source: TFormers]
Trial and Error: An Unofficial Transformers Animated Graphic Novel at TFNation
Brian highlights a secret project from Chris McFeely and Jim Sorenson: an unofficial graphic novel of the unmade Transformers Animated Season 4, built from what is known of the plans. It will only be available at TFNation in mid-August. Brian calls it one of the coolest things of the week. [Source: Seibertron]
Kre-O Lives! Wave 3 Kreon Battle Changers Spotted at Dollar General Stores
Leftover Kre-O Battle Changers, including Megatron, Grimlock, Shockwave and Ironhide, are turning up at Dollar General. One host wants them but no longer lives near a Dollar General. [Source: TFormers]
Most of TFCon’s third-party reveals were covered in RFC Extra 33. The standout is a Thunderclash built from a third-party Tarn, which Don dubs Culture Clash. The crew also notes Weijiang’s Omega Supreme, possibly its first figure that is not a knockoff, and knockoffs that appeared before Fans Toys revealed its own Cyclonus. [Source: TFormers]
DX9 D-11 Richthofen: Images of Unofficial MP Style Powerglide Figure
The crew finds DX9’s Masterpiece-style Powerglide really nice looking, though nobody plans to buy it. [Source: TFormers]
Perfect Effect PC-19 Gorira Jr. Upgrade for Unofficial Optimal Optimus
Rob wrote up this bizarre kit: a pair of tiny gorillas in Optimal Optimus colors that turn into an axe, a gun and a hammer. He calls it creative and insane. [Source: TFormers]
First Look at Transformers Tribute Bumblebee Evolution Three Pack?
An Amazon listing shows a Bumblebee three-pack with the 2007 Camaro, a modern Bumblebee and the new movie version. The decos look unchanged from the original releases, and the crew finds them ugly. [Source: TFormers]
Transformers: The Last Knight Cosplay Swords From Japan
One host loves the design of Megatron’s blade but cares little for the rest. One host expects soft, Nerf-like material for convention rules. [Source: TFormers]
Transformers The Last Knight Smartphone Docks From Swordfish Tech
Chris explains the $100 docks are statues with a slot for a charging cable and an LED in the base. The Optimus Prime version sold out in under a day. The crew calls them ridiculous. [Source: TFormers]
Listener Email
A listener who enjoyed the JD Church episode asks about Optimus Prime now being listed among the 13 Primes. The crew traces the 13 Primes to the Aligned Continuity, which most of them never warmed to. One host notes that John Barber worked the 13 Primes into IDW’s backstory and that Power of the Primes likely carries that mandate.
What’s on TFormers
Chris’s Overlord review is up, shot on his new camera. Rob reviewed ROM vs. Transformers: Shining Armor #1, with Alex Milne back on interiors. The Hall of Fame results are in, and TFormers voters matched about five of the nine official finalists. Triggerhappy took the top toy slot, with Trypticon and Topspin as the other finalists. Coming up on RFC Reviews, Diecast covers MW-001 Rendorza, an upscaled knockoff of the Last Knight Voyager Megatron.
What We Got This Week
Chris got Titans Return Overlord and is really happy with it. The heavy paint looks great, but the Titan Master’s turquoise helmet paint rubs off when removed, so he suggests leaving it in. The upper body is about 90 to 95 percent different from Sky Shadow, while the lower half is the same. He expects the Prime Masters to work in Overlord’s slots and suspects TakaraTomy delayed its version to pair with them. His delivery became an adventure when the carrier scanned the express package as signed before delivering it.
Don found the Titan Class Primus, with its G2-style deco, at Target and got it below retail with discounts and reward points. He is keeping it boxed. He also got a Voyager Hound that later turned out to be a knockoff. From Hasbro Toy Shop he got Voyager Megatron for himself and a friend, plus Sawback to reach free shipping.
Diecast got Titans Return Trypticon, which broke as soon as he tested the leg ratchets. He spent two hours on two separate repairs inside the leg. He expected a Weijiang deluxe-size Bumblebee and got an upscaled Age of Extinction Bumblebee bigger than a Leader. He also got Titans Return Blitzwing.
Matt cleared Titans Return Sweeps off his Walmart pegs, giving him six plus the TakaraTomy Scourge. He bought another little Sharkticon, his 26th. With a 10 percent coupon from Ages Three and Up, he got DX9’s War in Pocket Seekers. They run a bit big for Legends scale but have Cyberjet-style arms.
Brian got Titans Return Trypticon, but FedEx delays mean he has not opened it yet.
Rob got a box of figures Chris had been holding for him: Combiner Wars Cyclonus and Bruticus, Sky Lynx, the rest of Titans Return Wave 1 and Galvatron. It also held the SDCC 2016 Windblade and Fortress Maximus. He likes Hardhead best of the Wave 1 deluxes and calls Galvatron downright excellent. He also suggests Operation Clean Sweep as this year’s toy drive name.
Radio Free Cybertron is the world's first and oldest toy and action figure podcast — broadcasting from the heart of the Transformers fan community since October 1999. What started as a scrappy fan show has grown into an institution, with nearly 1,000 episodes and over 25 years of coverage. Every week, host Brian Kilby and the RFC crew dig into the latest Transformers news, toy reveals, collecting, and everything hitting shelves from Hasbro, Takara, and beyond. No fluff, no hype — just informed, passionate collectors who have been doing this longer than anyone else on the planet. The original. The longest running. Till all are one.
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