New York Comic Con was just this past weekend and Hasbro was busy unveiling new bots! This time, we got the Decepticon team that forms Abominus, the Terrorcons.
The designers at Hasbro have become masters at revision. Sometimes, we’ll still get straight repaints of existing molds (like Titans Return Chromedome and Breakaway), but more often than not, fans are treated to a few brand new or tweaked parts that make the figure feel entirely new.
What’s immediately impressive about the Terrorcons is that, while they are most likely based on the figures created for the Dinobots’ wave, it’s nearly impossible to tell what’s been reused. In fact, I would hazard that these figures are practically all new, with only some of the core combination components being reused.
Perhaps They Feared What They Would Unleash
For me, that signals possible re-use down the line. Hasbro doesn’t like to create anything that they can’t repurpose later in a toy line. So I started thinking what would could possibly be in store for Team Abominus and immediately came up with one name: Monstructor.
Released in 1989, Monstructor was the last U.S. Generation 1 combiner (and also the smallest). Comprised of six mini bots that fit inside monster-themed Pretender shells, the toy’s rarity and complete absence in the cartoon (the team did sneak into the G1 comic) has made it one of the most obscure combiners in Transformers history. Because of that dearth of development, modern comics have had fun with Monstructor. They’ve elevated the character to a kind of boogeyman, where no one’s really sure what’s holding the combiner together, only that it’s deeply “not right.” Just check out this description from the TFwiki:
A palpable cloak of dread follows his movements, and the very sight of his summoning and formation has driven sane beings beyond the bounds of madness. All living things, mechanical or organic, decay and die at his merest touch.
Sounds like a bag of laughs, right? We’ve never gotten a modern toy interpretation of Monstructor, but the Terrorcons team could easily be repainted to give us just that.
Power of the Primes Terrorcons
But enough behind-the-scenes blather. You’re here to gawk at the new plastic! While the Terrorcons’ combined form wasn’t shown, we got to see all the new team members (that’s team leader Hun-Gurr at the top of the page). Before you check them out, take a close look at the original G1 Terrorcons:
What impresses me the most with the Power of the Primes versions is how faithful they are to the original toys, while elevating the design to modern standards.
It’s clear that the designers are old school fans, wanting to bring back the toys they remember from their youth, insane late-80’s color combinations and all, but making them as cool as they remember. Anyone who’s picked up an original G1 combiner toy can attest that they rarely live up to time-worn memories.
Abominus’ combiner parts are well integrated as weapons and accessories by the Terrorcons. Hun-Gurr uses the feet as forearm-mounted cannons. And while it wasn’t specifically mentioned, the in-person shots I’ve seen of Sinnertwin show that the fist can convert to a ballistic backpack of sorts that can be attached in beast mode.
Just as the Dinobots perfectly captured the old school 80s aesthetic, the Power of the Primes Terrorcons do the same. The original team was an oddball mix of monsters and there’s been no attempt to retcon that fact. You want a couple of two-headed dragons, a gargoyle, a landshark, and an…ogre? This is the only place you’re going to find them all.
The Terrorcons will be released next year, I’m assuming the wave after the Dinobots. Hopefully, we’ll know more once the initial Power of the Primes toys starts to ship.
