The Radio Free Cybertron crew looks back on 2020 with the RFC Awards, a predictions scorecard and a month-by-month news recap. Generations Selects Super Megatron sweeps best engineering, Earthrise Starscream and its seeker mold rack up votes, and G2 Megatron wins the impromptu best redeco. Brian names COVID-19 the year’s biggest news, while Chris picks John Warden’s move from Transformers to Power Rangers. Earthrise Arcee and Masterpiece Lio Convoy lead the sad trombone awards.

2020 RFC Awards

Best Leader Class and Up

Brian and Don pick Earthrise Optimus Prime, which Brian calls the best Optimus Prime possible at its price. Rob and Diecast pick Titan Scorponok, and Matt picks Sky Lynx. Chris abstains, calling Earthrise Optimus Prime a Voyager with an extra box, and substitutes best Generations Selects: G2 Sandstorm, a toy that never existed beyond box art.

Best Voyager

The Earthrise seeker mold dominates. Matt and Rob pick Skywarp, and Brian and Diecast pick Starscream. Don picks Selects G2 Megatron, the only way Hasbro could get him to buy that mold. Chris counts Selects Super Megatron, which began as a Voyager.

Best Deluxe

Diecast and Matt pick Alleycon, a troop builder nobody expected, so it wins. Chris picks Earthrise Bluestreak as the ideal Autobot car, Rob picks Selects Greasepit and Don picks Smokescreen. Brian abstains because he likes too many.

Best Legends, Micromaster or Battle Master

Matt and Rob pick Slitherfang, a snake that becomes a ramp. Don picks Smashdown, Diecast picks the Astro Squad and Chris picks Spy Patrol. Brian picks Soundbarrier, which first got him excited about Earthrise.

Best Engineering

Diecast, Don and Matt pick Selects Super Megatron for turning a forgettable Galvatron into a great toy. Chris and Rob pick Earthrise Optimus Prime for its clean transformation, and Brian picks Earthrise Starscream.

Best Toy of the Year

Picks are Sky Lynx for Matt, Scorponok for Don and G2 Megatron for Diecast. Rob picks Netflix Soundwave, Chris picks Super Megatron and Brian picks Earthrise Starscream, the perfect repaint canvas. At the end of the show, Matt switches his pick to the dead Optimus Prime figure.

Best Redeco

Added on the spot, this category goes to G2 Megatron for Brian and Chris. Rob picks Greasepit, Diecast picks Thrust and Matt picks G2 Sandstorm.

Biggest News of the Year

Matt picks Takara’s Generations Selects God Neptune. Don picks the flood of store exclusives nobody could find, and Diecast passes. Rob picks Beast Wars figures coming in Kingdom. Chris picks John Warden moving from Transformers to Power Rangers, and Brian picks COVID-19 for its effect on everything from stock to conventions.

Sad Trombone: Most Disappointing Toy

Brian picks Masterpiece Lio Convoy and Chris picks R.E.D. Megatron, which fails even as an action figure. Rob picks Paradron Medic, and Diecast and Don pick Earthrise Arcee, which they call worse than every Arcee before it. Matt picks Earthrise Megatron as a near copy of Siege Megatron. Diecast also names Zeta Unicron his third-party toy of the year.

2020 Predictions Recap

Brian called three original Masterpiece molds, and Arcee, Tigatron and Starscream count. Chris nailed a new Masterpiece Starscream, though he overshot the price. Matt nailed Warpath as a small Deluxe. Don gets credit for Masterpiece Arcee, which landed as MP-51 rather than MP-50. Masterpiece Raiden, a Transformers and Power Rangers comic, a movie announcement and Earthrise Tracks did not happen. Neither did Masterpiece Jazz, a pricier Masterpiece, Masterpiece God Ginrai or Generations Star Saber. The crew’s 2021 predictions follow on RFC 709.

2020 Month by Month: January to April

January brought the Walmart G1 Astrotrain reissue, Earthrise Starscream images, the first HasLab Unicron production update and the first Earthrise Micromasters at retail. February saw Earthrise Grapple and Starscream in stores and a vendor catalog leak of Sky Lynx, Scorponok and Battle Masters. The My Little Pony crossover comic arrived, as did Viz’s Transformers manga volumes. A planned BotCon return for 2021 drew heavy blowback, which Brian chooses not to rehash.

Toy Fair 2020 was live-streamed by Hasbro, with reveals including the Tiger Electronics G2 handheld reissue and the first Netflix War for Cybertron toys. Flame Toys’ Windblade model sparked controversy, and Brian explains why, as a parent, he does not want licensed Transformers sexualized. In March, MP-50 Tigatron and Earthrise Sunstreaker and Trailbreaker were revealed, while COVID-19 hit supply chains and canceled TFcon USA. April brought Selects Super Megatron, the Earthrise Prowl and Ironhide Earth Mode two-pack and hard-to-find Target seeker and clone two-packs, and SDCC was canceled.

2020 Month by Month: May to August

May brought word of an animated Transformers prequel directed by Josh Cooley, a God Neptune tease and the dead Optimus Prime figure. Zobovor’s Walmart listings also previewed Netflix Deluxes. June brought Movie Masterpiece Ratchet, Studio Series 86 and a leaked Top Gun Maverick crossover. The R.E.D. line, Battlegrounds and the numbered Back to the Future Gigawatt were also revealed.

July brought Selects Rotorstorm, shown with the wrong head, plus Walmart Collector Con’s blind preorders and the Quintesson Pit of Judgement. John Warden moved to Power Rangers, leaving Lenny and Ben Montano to lead the Transformers team. The crew calls the $60 Netflix Ultra Magnus blind-box spoiler pack the worst decision of the year, since it hit clearance within weeks. The Netflix Siege series debuted, a counterfeiting ring was busted and G1 Funko Pops arrived. Transformers Tuesdays began with Selects Hot House and Bug Bite, and Kingdom leaked in full.

2020 Month by Month: September to December

Toy Fair moved to October 2021, and Hasbro PulseCon in late September gave the smoothest SDCC-style exclusive buying experience yet. Reveals included the Selects Diaclone Sunstreaker two-pack, the Shattered Glass two-pack, the Galactic Odyssey sets and the Transformers: Prime 10th anniversary reissues. October added the G1 Megatron P-38 water pistol in Japan, Selects Abominus and the Combiner Wars Devastator reissue. Earthrise Bluestreak surfaced at Walgreens, and Studio Series 86 Grimlock, Jazz and Blurr appeared.

November brought Masterpiece Starscream version 2 details, Golden Lagoon on Hasbro Pulse and the Ultimate X-Spanse X-Men collaboration. December closed with Kingdom wave 2, Core Class Bumblebee with Spike and Target’s Buzzworthy Bumblebee line. Brian also reviewed the Netflix Earthrise series.

Radio Free Cybertron: The Transformers Podcast

Brian Kilby

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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