Power of the Primes (toyline)
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Power of the Primes is a subline imprint of the Generations toyline, and the third and final portion of the Prime Wars Trilogy.
First revealed in mid-2017 at San Diego Comic-Con, Power of the Primes, in keeping with the previous two toylines, features a line-wide gimmick: "Prime Masters", small Titan Master-type figures that represent the sparks of the Primes. Unlike Titan Masters, Prime Masters are available only in their own pricepoint, where they are packaged with Pretender-style Decoy Armor, but can interact in some way with all larger assortments.
Legends Class figures retain the ability to seat a small figure in alt-mode, whilst the Deluxe and Voyager Class pricepoints see the return of Combiner Wars-style Combiners. The combination joints remain unchanged, whilst the hand/foot system is tweaked: all Deluxes now include a hand, and all Voyagers a pair of feet. These accessories (dubbed Prime Armor) also facilitate the Prime Master integration for those size classes: Deluxes can use their hand as chest armor, into which a Prime Master spark mode can slot, and Voyagers can use their feet as forearm bucklers, which similarly fit a Prime Master. All Voyager Class figures also include an Enigma of Combination, shaped like a Prime Master spark mode, that can fit onto their combined mode chest.
Finally, Leader Class figures feature an "Evolution" gimmick, wherein each toy includes a Deluxe-sized character who can "evolve" into a Prime by combining with additional armor. Each Leader includes a uniquely-colored Matrix of Leadership, the central crystal of which can be removed and replaced with a Prime Master.
Ahead of the line's release, a fan vote took place to determine a character who would become a new Prime in both the toyline and accompanying stories, with Optimus Primal claiming victory, and a place in the Leader Class assortment.[1]
Toys
Prime Masters
Wave 1
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Wave 2
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Wave 3
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Legends Class
| Wave 1 | Wave 2 | Wave 3 |
Deluxe Class
| Wave 1 | Wave 2 | Wave 3 | Wave 4 |
Voyager Class
| Wave 1 | Wave 2 | Wave 3 |
Leader Class
Wave 1
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Wave 2
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Wave 3 |
Power of the Primes (TakaraTomy)
Unlike its predecessors in the Prime Wars Trilogy, Power of the Primes was not rolled into Legends or Adventure in Japan. Instead, Takara's Power of the Primes (パワーオブザプライム Pawā obu za Puraimu) line forgoes the usual cartoon-accurate repaints or retools that signified Takara's take on other portions of Generations and features toys that are identical to their Hasbro versions down to the last factory-applied sticker.
Notes
- Just like Titans Return had the early working name of "Titan Wars", it appears Power of the Primes war initially going to be called "Prime Wars" before that name was promoted to the overall title of the entire trilogy. Inevitably, several online retailers and distributors still list the figures under that name.[2][3][4][5]
- Along the same lines, the working name for the Prime Masters was "Power Masters", which again still appears in online listings.[6][5]
- Power of the Primes toys made their global retail debut at Target stores in the United States on November 11, 2017, roughly a full month before they were expected to be sighted anywhere worldwide. Given that Transformers toys, going for roughly a decade, had been consistently sighted first in Hasbro's Asian markets, this came as a big surprise for the fandom.
References
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ "Prime Wars Legends", "Prime Wars Deluxe", "Prime Wars Voyager" and "Prime Wars Leader" listed at Swiss distributor Max Bersinger.
- ↑ Target Weekly Ad & Coupon Matchups 12/3 – 12/9, including "Transformers Generations Prime Wars Deluxe Figure"
- ↑ Early Walmart placeholder listings using the name "Prime Wars": Deluxe Class Snarl, Sludge and Rippersnapper.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Brandora. de listings for "Prime Wars Power Masters", ""Prime Wars Legends" and "Prime Wars Deluxe".
- ↑ Southern Hobby listing for "Transformers Generations: Power Of The Primes – Power Master Assortment", listing removed but still referenced at TFW2005.
