Toy Wizards Review: Transformers Earthrise Leader Class Optimus Prime

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“One shall stand, and one shall fall”.

One shall stand alright, majestically on my toy shelf that is. Us kids of the 80’s wanted all the Transformers in the room, but there was that one robot in disguise in particular that was on every kids grail list when it came to G1, and that was the fearless Autobot leader, Optimus Prime.

My best friend Perry had Optimus in his full regalia, robot, trailer, along with Roller and all of the bells and whistles that made G1 Optimus so great. I’m not ashamed to admit my envy whenever I’d go over to play and see him there.

Fast forward over 30 years later and I got my hands on a Walmart G1 reissue, and there was much rejoicing, despite this re-released Optimus not including his iconic trailer…thankfully though patience proved to be a virtue and I got him on clearance and didn’t have to pay full retail.

While G1 Optimus will always be my greatest love, when I saw there was going to be a new Prime in the Earthrise line, sirens went off in my head like Teletraan I alerting the Autobots of Decepticon intruders. I had planned to pick up Siege Optimus, but once I saw this Earthrise version, I held off and I’m glad I did.

Earthrise Optimus Prime is absolutely gorgeous and completely captures the spirit of the G1 cartoon Prime to a tee. Transforming him from robot to vehicle mode and back to robot mode is an absolute joy. At no point did I curse him under my breath during the process, as some of the War for Cybertron figures have enjoyed fighting me along the way.

Transforming Prime is simple and straightforward but it’s also incredibly fun and satisfying, especially converting him into his robot mode. The level of engineering is sublime, and Optimus in robot mode is a super clean figure with virtually zero kibble and doesn’t have a huge backpack like his Siege counterpart. Siege Optimus looks great, no question, but Earthrise casts an incredible silhouette from any angle.

While unfortunately we don’t get Roller as a feature with this Leader class figure, we do get that amazing and iconic trailer. Sure, the trailer is a little on the short side compared to G1 or any number of Masterpiece or third party Primes, but I’ll forgive it. I mean, just looking at it in full vehicle mode gives me all the nostalgia feels.

The only nitpicks I have; and they’re super minor, is I could do without the giant peg on the side of his rifle. It’s a little unsightly, but again it’s a minor gripe. I also would’ve been super jazzed had Hasbro included Optimus’ Energon-axe. Since the panels on his arms open up Masterpiece style and his fists can tuck inside, Hasbro could have easily put in a port for Prime’s Energon-axe to plug into.

At the end of the day though, this may be the most gorgeous Optimus Prime us Transformers fans have ever received that isn’t a Masterpiece, and while he doesn’t come with a ton of accessories, I had no problem paying his Leader class price, and neither should you. Earthrise Optimus Prime is available at bigbadtoystore.com for pre-order with an MSRP of $54.99.

I give Earthrise Leader Class Optimus Prime 5/5 Matrixes of Leadership.