Cyberverse has been trotting out a lot of characters that originated in G1. Some of these toys could be considered an improvement on their originators, others have been woefully compromised by putting in half-arsed gimmicks (such as Acid Storm’s Toxic Slice) and being overly simplified for Warrior-Class toys.
Today we look at a character that has only cropped up in a couple of flashbacks so far in the Cyberverse cartoon, but has still warranted a toy. We look at the Autobot cop bots love to hate, we look at Prowl.
Robot Mode
A nicely proportioned figure. Much more reminiscent of G1 Prowl than either the Animated or RID(01) figures before, which are the last two times Prowl got a cartoon outing. He has ok elbow and knee movement, but all but no side movement when it comes to the shoulders or hips. He lacks neck articulation too so Prowl had better hope he is facing whoever he is fighting!
The head sculpt on Prowl looks really good here, both in the face and also his helmet horns. I quite like the stars on the shoulders too. However I find his legs quite bland and they could have used a lot more detail.
The biggest disappointment is the huge panel on the back of his head, makes him look like he is carrying the back of a chair on his shoulders. This can be mitigated somewhat by his gimmick move, which we will shortly see.
Robot Battle Mode
By pushing down on the front of Prowl’s chest, you make his shuolder cannons come down to do his ‘Jetblast’ move. Why this is called a jetblast I have no idea, I think they must have just picked a term at random. Anyways, the cannons pop down, making the back of Prowl not look nearly as bad, in fact I’m not sure why anyone would display Prowl otherwise. Also for once we are seeing a gimmick that does not compromise the toy to any great extent.
Vehicle Mode
A nicely proportioned police car. Note sure if you can tell from the photos but it is worthy of note that Prowl is not sporting his usual black but rather a very dark blue, much like Barricade in The Last Knight. It kinda suits him and modernizes him to look like police cars you would actually find on patrol in the US, rather than an old fashioned Sherrifs patrol car. Like the robot mode, this vehicle would look a lot better with some more detail put in, the very front of the car looks good but the rest is severely plain, somewhat like RID(15) Strongarm.
Battle Vehicle Mode
Not on the box and not in the instructions, but you can transform Prowl so that his guns stick out of the windscreen and rest of the bonnet, much like the G1 Triggercon Crankcase. My son discovered this so full credit to the young fella! You do this by simply not folding Prowl’s shoulder cannons back up when transforming him, this in no way affects the rest of the transformation or the formation of the vehicle mode. While it doesn’t look brilliant, it will add a lot of play value for younger fans who want to send their vehicles into battle.
Transformation
Like all the Cyberverse figures, the transformation is very simplistic. Great for younger fans but will not hold much interest for your older Transfan.
So worth a buy?
If you are after a more complex, visually pleasing and articulated Prowl then I recommend waiting until the new one in the SEIGE toyline is released (though that one lacks shoulder cannons). However if you are a collector of Prowl’s like I am, or a fan of the cartoon, or even simply looking for a toy for a younger kid, then this Prowl is worth a go.
Got something to say about this toy? Pop it in the comments section below!
Related Articles:
Toys Review: Cyberverse Shockwave & Grimlock
Toys Review: Cyberverse Acid Storm