Titans Return (toyline)

Prime Wars Trilogy « Titans Return » Toyline Storybook Comic Cartoon

The Titans Return play pattern, or "ecosystem", as Hasbro calls it, in a nutshell.

Titans Return is a subline imprint of the Generations toyline, constituting the second portion of the Prime Wars Trilogy.

Introduced in mid-2016, Titans Return (initially touted under the early working name Titan Wars) features its own new line-wide gimmick: all Deluxe, Voyager, and Leader Class figures include a Headmaster-style Titan Master partner, all of which are completely interchangeable. To compensate for the size differences, Leader class figures feature large helmets that cover the Titan Masters, while Voyager class figures have spring-loaded pop-out adornments to "bulk up" their heads. All Voyager and most Leader class figures are Triple Changers; each Leader class figure's third mode is a base/battle station, which can be manned by the Titan Master figures. Each Deluxe and Voyager figure's hand-held weapons can transform and/or combine to form a "turret" that any Titan Master can sit in, and which can attach to the base modes of the Leader Class figures. Most figures feature several tiny pegs dotted across their bodies, which allow Titan Masters to stand securely on them.

Additionally, a new Titan Master assortment was introduced, each including a single Titan Master, plus a small vehicle or beast. These can transform into a vehicle/beast for the Titan Master to ride, a second vehicle/beast formed by combining with the Titan Master, and a 5mm weapon for a larger figure to wield. Legends Class figures are predominantly Mini-Cassette characters, and can transform into both a vehicle and a blocky PDA that can fit inside Leader Class figures such as Blaster. Though never officially addressed by Hasbro, Deluxes no longer included comic books (previously included with Thrilling 30 and Combiner Wars figures in the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, and Asia) in any market, thus eliminating the need for English-only packaging entirely, leaving only two types of multilingual packaging, one for Europe and the other for all non-European markets. However, the character cards included with all figures (except for Titan Masters) now featured Tech Spec stats on their back.

Titans Return also finally brought back a minor but significant feature missing from several previous lines: All size classes are explicitly identified by name on the packaging again (in multiple languages, no less), thus leaving no unnecessary room for confusion with outdated working names floating around. Sort of.

Voting for the second Titan Class figure was conducted via Facebook, with fans choosing between a remake of Omega Supreme, Trypticon, or Scorponok. Trypticon won.

“	Harness the power of Titan Masters	”
—Official tagline for the Titans Return line

Toys

General retail

Titan Masters

Every Titan Master class micro-figure comes with a triple-changing mini-vehicle or mini-beast that converts to another vehicle/beast as well as a weapon.

Wave 1 Crashbash Loudmouth Nightbeat Terri-Bull		Wave 2 Apeface Brawn Clobber Skytread		Wave 3 Decepticon Fangry Overboard Autobot Ptero Sawback		Wave 4 Repugnus Autobot Shuffler		Titan Master Nightbeat.
Wave 5 Ramhorn

Legends Class

Every new-mold Legends Class figure features cross-compatibility with other figures in the line. Toys with "spy tablet" modes are designed to fit inside Blaster and Soundwave's chest compartments. All the rest have some form of opening cockpit in their vehicle or beast modes that can seat a Titan Master mini-figure.

Wave 1 Autobot Rewind Autobot Stripes Autobot Wheelie		Wave 2 Laserbeak Ravage Decepticon Rumble		Wave 3 Bumblebee Gnaw Kickback		Wave 4 Brawn Roadburn		Legends Class Rewind.
Wave 5 Autobot Cosmos Seaspray

Deluxe Class

Wave 1 Hyperfire & Blurr Furos & Hardhead Fracas & Scourge Grax & Skullsmasher		Wave 2 Autobot Stylor & Chromedome Xort & Highbrow Vorath & Mindwipe Monxo & Wolfwire		Wave 3 Autobot Throttle & Autobot Breakaway Firedrive & Autobot Hot Rod Blowpipe & Triggerhappy Daburu & Autobot Twinferno		Wave 4 Convex & Perceptor Freezeout & Autobot Topspin Flintlock & Sergeant Kup Gatorface & Decepticon Krok Chasm & Decepticon Quake		Deluxe Class Skullsmasher & Grax.
Wave 5 Aimless & Misfire Flameout & Twin Twist Scorchfire & Windblade		Wave 6 Caliburst & Slugslinger

Voyager Class

Wave 1 Nucleon & Galvatron Autobot Infinitus & Sentinel Prime		Wave 2 Autobot Sovereign & Alpha Trion Darkmoon & Astrotrain		Wave 3 Doomshot & Megatron Diac & Optimus Prime		Wave 4 Blunderbuss & Broadside
Wave 5 Murk & Decepticon Octone Decepticon Hazard & Blitzwing

Leader Class

Wave 1 Twin Cast & Autobot Blaster Autobot Apex & Powermaster Optimus Prime		Wave 2 Soundblaster & Soundwave		Wave 3 Decepticon Revolver & Six Shot		Wave 4 Ominus & Sky Shadow		Leader Class Powermaster Optimus Prime & Apex.
Wave 5 Dreadnaut & Decepticon Overlord

Titan Class

Wave 1 Emissary & Cerebros & Fortress Maximus

Wave 2 Decepticon Necro & Decepticon Full-Tilt & Trypticon

Exclusives

Convention sets

While these toys premiered at conventions (most prominently San Diego Comic-Con 2016), they ended up available through other venues, like the Hasbro Toy Shop online store or the A1 Toys website in the United Kingdom. See individual entries for more information.

Titan Force Sentinel Prime Windblade Brainstorm

Fortress Maximus Convention Edition Fortress Maximus Cerebros Emissary

Store exclusives

Walgreens Autobot Teslor & Brainstorm Wingspan & Cloudraker

ToysЯUs Chaos on Velocitron (Autobot Nautica, Fastclash, Laser Prime, Quickswitch, Rodimus Prime)

BigBadToyStore Siege on Cybertron (Magnus Prime, Metalhawk, Pounce, Thunderwing, Tidal Wave)

San Diego Comic-Con 2017/Hasbro Toy Shop Primitive Skateboarding Optimus Prime & Shreddicus Maximus

Notes

Eleventh hour changes return.

Adults, buy toys!

• As has been noted at the beginning of this page, Titans Return started out under the working name "Titan Wars". That earlier title was featured in schematics on display during BotCon 2015, which constituted the first public hint of the successor to Combiner Wars, as well as in a leaked internal Hasbro sheet for the San Diego Comic-Con 2016 exclusive version of Fortress Maximus. The final name "Titans Return" was first officially used at New York Comic Con 2015. As can be expected, the early name is still used by many retailers around the world (particularly European ones) in official advertising and on store receipts, with annoying persistence.
• Technically, the first figure specifically designed for the Titans Return play pattern that got released was Legends Class Buzzsaw, who was given an early release under the Combiner Wars subline imprint. In fact, comparing the product code and assortment numbers of the first two waves' worth of figures strongly implies that Hasbro originally intended to simply continue the Combiner Wars assortments with Titans Return product, rather than relaunching them as new assortments. Under this line-up, Stripes and Rewind would have presumably been released as part of wave 6 of the Legends Class assortment alongside Wreck-Gar while Wheelie would have been released in the subsequent wave together with Ravage and Rumble, and Laserbeak in the wave after that. Blaster would have been released as part of wave 6 of the Leader Class assortment (following wave 5's Skywarp) with Powermaster Optimus Prime released in the subsequent wave. The Deluxe and Voyager line-ups would have presumably remained unchanged.
• Early in the toy line's life cycle, Hasbro Australia promoted the Titans Return figures with three different full-scale advertisement posters (alternatively depicting Powermaster Optimus Prime, Fortress Maximus, or Galvatron) found at numerous public transport stations. This form of public advertisement is pretty much unprecedented for Transformers toys in general, and for a "collector"-oriented line in particular!
• Beginning with wave 3 figures, the pictograms on the tech-spec cards went through some minor cosmetic changes from the previous waves; the strength icon changed from a whole muscular torso to just a muscular arm, the 'motion blur' effect on the running humanoid figure which marks speed changed from triangles to striations, the intelligence icon switched from a human brain to a Cybertronian's head silhouette with gears inside, and lastly the firepower icon changed from just a bullet to a bullet followed by a blast effect.
• Another change that occurred with the wave 3 figures was that the default packaging design was now "Decepticon"-themed, after having previously been "Autobot"-themed ever since the Age of Extinction line in 2014, promoting some people to incorrectly assume a packaging design error.