Shockblast - Alternators - Figure


DECEPTICON: SHOCKWAVE

FUNCTION: MILITARY OPERATIONS COMMANDER


"Clarity of thought before rashness of action."

Introduction

The Decepticon Alternators are vastly outnumbered and without a leader. Well, part of that problem is solved with the release of Shockwave. Old One-Eye is back and better than ever. How does the would-be Decepticon leader handle his new form? Read on, true believer.


Packaging

Shockwave's box is in the same as the other Alternators in the second style packaging. The window is gone, though the dome covering the toy, with it's top down, is still intact, keeping the grubby hands of the consumers at bay. The artwork is pretty good comparatively speaking. The side panels show Shockwave in car mode with the top on and in robot mode. The cross-sell on the bottom shows Ravage.

The back of the box highlights some of the features Shockwave has such as detailed interior, secret weapon, and an all new body style.

Vehicle Mode

Shockwave's vehicle mode is a modified. Utilizing the Jazz mold, Hasbro and Takara changed the front of the car and the spoiler to resemble the Mazda RX-8 "Mazdaspeed Version II" as seen here. Thus, all the features Jazz has are shared with Shockwave. The look, a dark blue with black trim, belongs to Shockwave and it's very becoming on the Decepticon.

The hood opens to reveal engine detail. All four doors open, with the rear doors opening back, showcasing the interior. The dashboard is highly detailed and accompanied by the gear shift and parking brake, which is to the left of the gear shift. The front seats are black and silver with a small silver triangle showing through the front. The trunk opens as well for some storage space.

A Decepticon insignia adorns the license plate along with the letters "SHKWAV" which is why I'm not referring to him by his packaged name. Shockwave has the standard Cybertronian Radial tires. He does not, however, share the same chrome hubcaps as his real life counterpart as his are black. This makes the vehicle mode look a little lacking and is my only, yet minor, complaint about the car mode.

Underneath is a lot of car detail that gets folded up in robot mode. One of my main reasons for buying Shockwave was the gun hand that replaces the proper left hand Jazz has. I wondered how well it could fit. Well, as you can see, it fits just fine, so long as you remember how to transform it correctly. The rear muffler is chrome and detaches in robot mode to give Shockwave some added, if not a bit unnecessary, firepower.

Robot Mode

Standing at around 7" tall, Shockwave is now ready to command the Decepticons to victory over the Autobots. The detail in his head is astounding and a great homage to the original Shockwave. His single, yellow eye glows when light enters through the yellow triangle atop his head. The silver fins on either side of his head are also in place, with areas sectioned off into small panels. I don't know if it's intentional or not, but Shockwave's muffler/rifle can have two settings. There's the fully extended version with a stock and a shorter, pistol-like version that can be achieved by folding the rear stock back into the muffler while keeping the handle folded down.

As with his Alternators comrades, Shockwave sports a nice amount of articulation. His neck rests on a ball-socket, giving him an excellent range of motion, even better than Jazz as he can look almost straight up. Each shoulder rotates and flexes outward. They don't seem to pop out of their sockets like the ones on Jazz, though. His elbows are double jointed and his wrists also rest on ball-sockets. His index finger moves independently from the other three fingers, which share the same hinge. His gun hand can rotate and pivot slightly. He swivels at the waist and his hips turn and extend outwards. He can bend at the knees and his ankles bend and rotate. Lastly, his "toes" can bend and turn. There are also small black panels underneath each foot that can be swung down to give him additional support depending on the pose he's in.

Decepticon insignias, lined in silver, are stamped on both shoulders. His mid and lower torso are black on the front with the silver of the front seats showing on the sides. His upper legs are dark blue with purple details painted on each near the hip. His lower legs are black with purple highlights and gray joint pieces where they connect to the feet. The back doors don't seem to pop off on Shockwave like they do on Jazz, but when they do as I'm sure they will, they pop right back into place. The rifle stays in place fairly well with some fidgeting.

Final Thoughts

Shockwave's always been a favorite of mine character of mine in both cartoon and comic book. I am very pleased at how the Alternators version turned out as I wasn't sure Shockwave would make a good car-bot. The attention to detail in robot mode and the very slick vehicle mode make it work well. This is definitely one of the best Alternators thus far and the best Decepticon Alternators, worth picking up.



ReviewerRichard C. Mistron  
DateMarch 20th 2005  
Score 8 stars (8 out of 10)  
Reads19589


Back to Reviews Index
Advertise on TFormers.com








This site uses cookies for site configuration, advertising, and analysis. By using this site you accept our policies - Read Full Site Policy OK
Sign Up For The TNI Newsletter And Have The News Delivered To You!


Forums Communities: Toy Fans - Marvel Fans - Transformers Fans

@ToyNewsI Socials: Facebook - Twitter - Instagram

@MarvelousNews Socials: Facebook - Twitter - Instagram

@Tformers Socials: Facebook - Twitter - Instagram

@JediInsider Socials: Facebook - Twitter - Instagram

Entertainment News International (ENI) is the #1 popular culture network for adult fans all around the world.
Get the scoop on all the popular comics, games, movies, toys, and more every day!

Contact and Support

Advertising | Submit News | Contact ENI | Privacy Policy

©Entertainment News International - All images, trademarks, logos, video, brands and images used on this website are registered trademarks of their respective companies and owners. All Rights Reserved. Data has been shared for news reporting purposes only. All content sourced by fans, online websites, and or other fan community sources. Entertainment News International is not responsible for reporting errors, inaccuracies, omissions, and or other liablities related to news shared here. We do our best to keep tabs on infringements. If some of your content was shared by accident. Contact us about any infringements right away - CLICK HERE