Cybertron Primus

Robot Mode: Primus makes for a very imposing figure in robot mode. Supreme-sized, he is nearly as tall as Armada Unicron, his chief adversary, and the level of posability and detailing on this figure is just awesome. Though one must say, for a god of light and peace Primus carries quite the abundance of weaponry. He can flip out cannons from the 'wings' (really halves of Cybertron's northern hemisphere) on his back, twist out rocket launchers from his legs, and his Cyberkey unlocks blasters on his forearms. His hands have individually posable fingers (though they are a bit too long, I'd say) and the rest of his body is equally bendy. If there is one tiny flaw it's his feet, which are a bit small and tend to fold in. Still, a very, very good robot mode that is everything one could except from the creator of all Transformers.

Alternate Mode: You will believe a robot can transform into a nearly perfect sphere! That's what Primus does. His transformation is surprisingly simple (though very much reliant on the Omega Lock) and you end up with Cybertron, the home world of the Transformers. The planet manages to look the part quite well, even to the point of having individual cities and some kind of impact crater on the back. The planet stands on four tiny legs, so it doesn't roll away. Feature-wise you can use Primus' Cyberkey to pop out the wrist blasters of the robot mode, or you can twist the Omega Lock on the pole cap and fold out the 'wings' along with the big shoulder cannons. A great planet mode.

Primus also has a kind of third mode, a so-called battle ship. Basically it's just Primus lying on his stomach with the legs joint together and the arms folded in. Still, for an intermediate mode it doesn't look too bad and the idea of a planet-sized battleship is somewhat appealing. So bottom line, not bad, but the worst of Primus' modes.

Partners / Add-Ons: Primus comes with the Omega Lock (or Chip Square in Japan), a big key-like apparatus which can fit up to four Cyberkeys. The Omega Lock is a necessary component for Primus' transformation, as you need to use it four times to transform him from robot to planet or vice versa. The Omega Lock lights up when put into one of Primus 'key-holes'. The downside: Lose the Omega Lock and you can't transform Primus anymore.

Some versions of Primus (mine included) came packaged with Unicron's head, a replica of the remains that circled Cybertron like a moon in the original cartoon series. The head is sculpted more like the original movie version rather than the Armada version and shows quite a bit of damage (more than was seen in the series, actually). It also includes the tentacles Unicron extended during his one failed attempt to claim Cybertron as his new body. All in all a great extra.

Remarks: Fans have long suspected that Cybertron (the planet) could transform into a robot mode ever since Simon Furman first established in the comics that the Transformers' home planet is actually the physical form of Primus, God of Light, and creator of all Transformers. Cybertron (the series) gave us this transforming planet. You can see that a lot of love and effort went into this figure, which has come a long way since the original planet-Transformer, Unicron. The transformation is much smoother, the planet actually looks like a sphere, and the amount of gimmicks is cool without being overwhelming. The only thing that slightly bugs me about this figure is that it can't transform without the Omega Lock, but that is a minor concern. I got this figure as a Christmas present from my lovely wife and it only made me love her more. Recommended to everyone that can afford the price tag.

Rating: A

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