When I come to write about Transformers, I find myself falling into one of two patterns: "lookit new toy", and "axe to grind". Elita-1 is kinda both, so buckle up, it's gonna be a bumpy ride. We gotta talk about gender stereotypes, and I’m sure if I had a significant readership, it would set the comments section alight.
Now, people often get very defensive when this topic comes up. And, I am aware of my limitations and privilege as a commentator, so I don't pretend to be any form of expert. That said, the Transformers brand has been historically terrible at gender balance. There just aren't that many girls by ratio, so much so that the thick end of 40 years its still noteworthy when a female-coded toy appears. Smurfette or the Pink Ranger, basically, if she were a giant robot. And when they do appear, they tend to lean on a very narrow selection of body types and clichés which can have some negative effects on things like kibble backpacks. Furthermore, there's what I shall term the "Flame Toys Incel-baiting problem", where people think its appropriate to, in what is still a children's brand, rotoscope a cosplayer in body paint in order to attract the pillow-hugging fraternity. Maybe save that for the fan art? Again, I'm no authority, but its obviously a problem that Hasbro needs to work on. To their credit, we're seeing a lot more ladies these day, with BotBots being a highlight, but more needs doing.
The 2018 Power of the Primes Elita-1 toy
Elita has suffered all the problems mentioned above, and she historically not been recognisable enough to get many toys. If we include the bayverse version there's a few more, but Elita is often a repaint of those few female-coded Transformers, and as noted, there aren't many of those. My personal opinion of the character is largely neutral, Elita hasn't really been in media I've enjoyed. Her role in fiction is usually one of a female counterpart to, and/or love interest of, Optimus Prime. She has definitely been seeing a lot more plastic lately and seems to be up for a big role in Earthspark. The first of what can be considered her comeback tour was a voyager class jet in Power of the Primes, a Starscream retool. While it has its problems, I have high opinions of this toy; it's the superior use of the mould and generally looks both feminine and physically powerful, a good thing for the character. Unfortunately, it was part of a combiner based on her team, which only had one limb/deluxe design, some members only getting a limited release, and the mould was dire. They messed that one up something fierce. Elita then got a toy in the Netflix/Siege line, which was an Arcee remould, and also dire. Now we have the Legacy version, and, no, it isn't dire.
Elita-1's cybertronian buggy mode looks a little bit dorky, and that’s not a criticism, it's why I got the toy. Not every carformer needs to a sports car or a scifi brick on wheels. It's got nice colours, and translucent windows. It's also well served with 5mm ports, with a total of eleven ports on the car itself, and six on the guns for combi-weapon shenanigans. Four of those end up on the back end with the not actually concealed feet, and it would have been to have some flaming exhaust effect parts. The overall design of the vehicle has prompted some speculation that it's based off fanart, not something I can comment on, but they did include a removable piece to replicate her “exposed scalp” in vehicle mode. So, we have a very characterful car with the possibility of excessive armament. I'm completely on board with that, but there is a problem. You can get an idea by looking through the windscreen, but to make it explicit…
Yeah. This happens an awful lot with female-coded Transformers, the vehicle mode is a shell wrapped around a feminine torso that doesn't get involved with any engineering. It doesn't have to be that way, in fact Prime Universe Arcee from the same line isn't that way. I suppose the most charitable thing you can say here is that that this is more about cartoon accuracy than unhealthy stereotypes, and it's not the worst example we've had lately. But it could be better. Also, and there's not an elegant segway for this, but it needs to be mentioned somewhere, the wheels are white plastic with black paint tires. Who thought that was a good idea? Any wear at all will reveal white specks.
So, after a comparatively brief conversion, Elita-One has a pretty decent robot mode, with two thirds of a car bundled up on its back. As mentioned this happens a lot with such characters, and even the POTP version I praise above has a similar problem. That backpack does unavoidably colour the discussion, not just because its there, as it foreshadows a retool. The first actual female Transformer that got a toy was the Japanese exclusive character Minerva, from Super God Masterforce, a rabbithole of a topic there isn't time for today. There are additional joints in the toy to give Elita the same distinctive shoulder pylons, which I suppose helps with the overall experience. The additional steps are something to do, it puts a pair of 5mm ports in a better place, and you can always fold it away if it bothers you. The backpack actually isn't a hindrance, as it turns out. I mean, you might have issues connecting a weaponizer or similar to the back, but that's last year's play pattern. So, let's put that to one side, as the other visual aspects do however merit discussion. Elita's head and torso are in what I'm gonna call "Hasbro Standard Fembot Style". She is skinny and rounded in a way not found in most Transformers, whom usually go in for a "heroic male" and/or "made of boxes" look. I'm put in mind of a clothes shop mannequin with toys like this, although one done up with scifi panels. There's stuff to unpack with this as a look, not all of it positive, although I can think of worse stereotypes to invoke in a kids brand. Flame Toys, I'm looking at you. On the one hand, this approach does produce something that registers as female to someone living in my culture, while still being a machine. On the other, we're running into perceptions of beauty and body image, with the implication that their design priorities started with the words "pretty girl" in all caps. Again, I'm no authority here, there's only so much time in the day, and I don't feel like forestalling counter arguments with a paragraph about double standards, male power fantasies, and how those two things become a false equivalent. I'm just highlighting something that is not automatically a positive, which has had significant influence on how this toy was made.
However, in the spirit of fairness, let us acknowledge the bits where the designers made the toy less of a shellformer and more involved as a product. Like the way she's not in high-heels, and instead has lower legs made from bits of car which look like sensible shoes. There's a lot of paint, a lot of colour. I adore the utterly daft false forehead accessory. Its a nice looking toy with respectable articulation, the good baseline we've had since Siege, and two guns. There's an appeal to that. Unlike so many recent female autobots, and certain other products, its managed to achieve two decent modes despite, or perhaps because of its shellformery nature. Yeah, its flawed, but it works.
My point? Only that Legacy Elita-1 is something that exists. I've not really gone in for Legacy much so far, so I can't judge how she compares to her stable-mates, but I'm happy enough. Quirks like the vehicle mode were what drew me to the toy. That said, maybe its time to stop designing toys this way? Because it's taken them at least four moulds to get to this one, which is good mainly on its own terms, only to follow up with SS86 Arcee, which is both a literal and figurative step backwards in time. Retire those character models, lads.
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