Happy Halloween!
The Fallen’s first appearance, Transformers: War Within: The Dark Ages #1
The Transformers brand has a pantheon. It's a complex topic that sort of congealed from disparate sources over decades. Transformers are people after all, and people have religion. And given that this is pop sci-fi, it's very easy for your average Cybertronian to eventually meet one of their gods, given that a lifespan of a million years plus is not uncommon. Thus, we have The Thirteen Primes, a mélange of Hellenistic, Norse, and obviously Christian influences applied to giant robots. Megatronus The Fallen is one such demigod, and if you have a command of the English language, you probably don't need me to explicitly say that he's a fallen angel. My interest in The Fallen is an entirely superficial one. I've not really engaged with any of his wildly divergent fictional appearances, and I find the whole Thirteen thing to be something in need of a champion. It's a concept that Hasbro and lore nerds seem to want to make happen, rather than actual creative types. That said, The Fallen as originally depicted is an idea so pitch perfect stupid, so juvenile, so edgelord, so heavy metal album cover, that it loops back around to awesome again. He's an evil satanic furnace robot that is perpetually on fire, and is also the inspiration for the Decepticon badge. He's what Tarn so desperately wishes he was, and could easily have been. Bludgeon tells him to tone it down. Unicron considered a restraining order, before making him a herald. I can't help but love that, and it is so nice that the designers prioritised that version. Not exclusively so, as the accessories evoke other iterations, but it's been a few waves since since we've had something purpose built to be a comic-first character.
Let's talk about the tank mode. It was, after all, the main point of discussion here, but more for what it could be than what it was. People thought that it foreshadowed a leader class Megatron, Fallen here having a transformation scheme obviously inspired by the Siege Megatron toy. As it would turn out this was not the case, The Fallen reportedly having been designed without concessions for future remoulding. Which is unusual, and I expect some form of reuse somehow. Anyway, Fallen does have issues in this mode, such as Visible Head Syndrome and a general gappy-ness of construction. I can't say its a good tank for those reasons. That said, it kinda works as a vehicle mode for a mythological demi-god in dark tones, and it does have its positives. This has a presence, even without the gorgeous flame effect bits. It is not nice. It is the stuff of nightmares, electric guitars, and vehicular homicide. The turret turns without looking odd. Good, too many toys get that wrong, although the gun is feeling in need of another securing tab. There's a secondary missile pod and smoke dischargers on there too. Good, a nice little detail. There's a lot of 5mm port functionality too, the flame effect parts plug in that way. Good, although the spear just kinda straps to one side like he is moving house. And while it is indeed based of the Siege Megatron transformation scheme, it's been refined and expanded for a leader class pricepoint. Good, it's nice hand candy, although the chest plate likes to detach. Is it a great tank mode? No, that's not something you honestly claim, but it's definitely in the realm of good enough for something that absolutely is not trying to be a disguise. Or making a rod for its own back, SS86 Megs, I'm looking at you.
Putting it into robot mode reveals an almost perfect translation/interpretation of Dreamwave era comic art. Which, of course, I love in a deeply superficial way. There's some oddities and nitpicks though. The feet for example are oddly hollow for transformation purposes, so it's like he's on tiptoe. There is also the use of rubbery plastic for his spear, and I'm honestly not as into it as I want to be. It's stupid, and functional, but not quite stupid enough to be amazing. What greatly excused these complaints however, was posability. Now, with articulation having been standardised and generally pretty good since Siege, you might wonder what it takes for something to be noticeably posable? Especially when the robot in question is already built like a brick shithouse? The answer turns out to be butterfly joints in the shoulders, opening hands, and solid fundamentals. It makes the toy surprisingly expressive, and my first attempt to pose the toy is what made it all click for me. Above and beyond the significant edgelord vibes, it was finding a sassy striding super villain pose almost immediately. Like Skeletor if he was on fire and also a robot. The Fallen would probably do well in that franchise, now I think if it. So he moves about as good as he looks, and looks good. No new colours appear, but he remains so striking in that juvenile-fan-art-original-character-do-not-steal sense. The head is perfect, with a sneering faceplate, atop a powerful looking body. Elements of the tank mode are there, but rather downplayed as more of the tracks end up concealed in the chest than with other tankformers. As robot modes go, there's much to like.
Megatronus The Fallen is very much the perfect version of what it's trying to be. What is, is fairly stupid, but it commits. The robot form was clearly the focus of efforts here, but when they have done so well with it, it's very hard to begrudge. The tank mode may be a bit of a hot mess, but it's a long way from being a dumpster fire. If you like the look, congratulations.
Here's some more glamour shots.
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