Jhiaxus' wiki profile picture
I don't think it's controversial to suggest that British writer Simon Furman was the main reason people liked the Marvel Transformers comic. This is not to downplay, or throw shade at, other creatives like Bob Budianski. Furman's long form narratives and characterisation are a big part of why the comics have aged better than the cartoon. For a time, Furman was the pet writer of the fandom, his presence adding prestige to many a project. However, Simon Furman has slowly aged into the Embarrassing Grandad of the brand, his presence being akin to that of Arnold Swatzengger in an action film made after True Lies. While he did good work back in the day, he needs to retire. And if you see him approach gender issues or Arcee? For primus' sake, rugby tackle him to the ground for the common good. Furman, I mean, not Arnie. Arnie's still mostly OK I think, and while the dude is in his 60's, I wouldn't want to try my luck.
The 2003 Robots in Disguise Jhiaxus toy
The 2014 Generations Jhiaxus toy
Jhiaxus has the distinction of being one of Furman's more singular creations, created specifically for the Generation 2 comics series as a non-toy character. A noted bastard with a punny name, Jhiaxus was a Decepticon whom ran off to found a galactic empire during that 4 million gap, under Leige Maximo, a character whom eventually become important in the deep lore sense. Jhiaxus served as the primary antagonist of the comic series, gradually loosing his grip until he famously punched the mouthplate right off Optimus Prime. That is not hyperbole, its what he actually did. Jhiaxus having made his mark, made an unprecedented jump to plastic with a 2001 repaint, although it was something of a nameslap. Furman would bring the character back in a more of a mad scientist role, giving us the deeply troubling Spotlight: Arcee, a comic which IDW spent a lot time course correcting from. You can look that up yourself, but the misogynistic and transphobic themes put me off the man. This somehow didn't stop Jhiaxus from getting another toy in 2014, a retool of the concurrent Armada Starscream. That's not a bad toy, it does a lot with the retooling that it didn't need to, but it's more a melange than a specific Jhiaxus. Finally, we come to today's subject, Legacy Jhiaxus. Which, against the odds, is very definitely the G2 version. Although it may become someone else.
So, let's start with the weakest aspect of it, the jet mode. As a comic first character, Jhiaxus' altmode was rarely seen and not especially well thought-out. It was a Cybertronian jet, but it wasn't immediately clear how he got there. They could have gone for a shellformer approach to replicate that, but they instead followed the visual cues of the robot mode, and extrapolated from there. So, what we have is a seeker-styled form in white & yellow with green bat wings. It is not, in the strictest sense, hugely good. The arms are just hanging out the underside and the translucent cockpit area serves the highlight a few flaws. Like the head. The general appearance of this form makes me wonder if this guy is sharing engineering with another toy, and put me off buying this until the price was right. In fact, I had a suspicion before this toy was revealed that history would repeat, and this would be a retool of Starscream again. This obviously proved to be incorrect, and given some legitimately clever touches in the leg transformation, I find myself wondering if this is purpose built, rather than merely optimised for reuse, but I honestly don't know at time of writing. Idle speculation aside, the mode is rough around the edges, but functional. Jhiaxus confirms to Siege standard 5mm ports and guns, with an undocumented feature involving his shoulder pylon. Is this alt mode good enough to stand on its own, within the voyager price point? Honestly no. You'd have to be a very lovestruck fan boy to say otherwise. But, there are other merits to this toy.
Putting Jhiaxus into robot mode reveals where they put the budget, and it was money well spent. It's like Derrick Yanniger’s art just leapt off the page, personifying that seeker-but-also-a-beef-mountain build that G2 Jhiaxus had. I mean, just look at him. It's the new gold standard for such things, clean, minimal hollowed out bits, and modern touches like flight stand compatible ports worked unobtrusively into the sculpt. But then, a question presented itself, is this actually a good robot mode? Or is just a pretty one that traded its alt mode for steroids? Well, let's think about that. Legacy, to the best of my knowledge does not do bad robot modes. Since Siege there has been a lot of standardisation with respects to articulation and the 5mm port system, with toys moving the same way and having accessory options. While there is the occasional stinker, the baseline is pretty high these days, so is Jhiaxus doing enough to keep pace, and excuse the jet mode? Well, he's got nothing to apologise for, and opening hands. His construction tends towards universal joints rather ball & socket joints, but these are all well-executed. Posing is something that comes quite easily, with the hands presenting opportunities usually not available to mass market Transformers. The two guns he have also suit him very well, a large rifle and submachine gun for varied murder. It is a good robot mode, and certainly one that will please fans. Is it good enough to make you forget the jet mode? Well, dear reader, I think you're gonna have to make your own mind up on that one.
My point? Only that Legacy Jhiaxus is something that exists. He's some distance from a great toy, but what he does well, he does very well. Also: Trans Rights are Human Rights.
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