First revealed in late 2021 at Hasbro Pulse Con 2021, Legacy commemorates the approaching 40th anniversary of the Transformers brand by featuring new toys of characters from across the Transformersmultiverse. The toys are largely in the scale and style of those from the War for Cybertron Trilogy, including numerous 3 mm posts and 5 mm ports from the C.O.M.B.A.T. System. Non-"Generation 1" characters are updated with a Generations aesthetic to fit with the rest of the toyline, most evident with the toys based on Prime. Legacy characters can "harness the power of Energon" as each toy includes an "Energon-infused weapon"[2]: an, often translucent, accessory that the figure can wield in multiple ways and combine with others, not too dissimilar to the 2003Energon series. The toyline also sees the return of combiners from Hasbro for the first time since Power of the Primes, with the Stunticons being released over 2022. As the line moves into 2023, it will put some focus on characters from Armada to commemorate the series' 20th anniversary.
The storytelling of Legacy follows characters brought together from across the multiverse as their universes collide.[2] As such, non-"Generation 1" characters are given prefixes associated with their series of origin, such as "Cybertron Universe". Replacing the package bios of old is a QR code on the back of each box, or for Core Class figures, on the instructions, which leads to the character's bio on the Transformers website. Certain characters have also been given these prefixes to denote specific iterations, such as "Comic Universe"Impactor.
Similar to its predecessor, the toyline features re-releases from previous lines, even all the way back to Siege, though Legacy elects to remove the battle damage paint applications from these toys where applicable.
Announced in fall 2022 at that year's Pulse Con, the second year of Legacy introduced the imprint "Evolution", retiring the "energon weapon" concept in favor of a series of integrated weapons referred to collectively as "Evo-Fusion." In addition to the headline gimmick, Evolution introduced a variety of other new concepts, including Core Class combiners in the form of a new pocket-sized iteration of Volcanicus spread across several waves of Dinobots, as well as a return to the "weaponizer" concept with a new tribe of modular Junkions.
This item is currently scheduled for release, but is not yet available at mass retail.
Exclusives
Store exclusives
Please note that the exclusivity listed for toys below applies to the United States. The Buzzworthy Bumblebee line is exclusive to Target (in the U.S.) and to Hasbro Pulse. Following on the KingdomGolden Disk Collection, the Wreck N' Rule Collection focuses on the Wreckers and their new Fossilizer recruits throughout the multiverse. Much like its predecessor, the toys are exclusive to Amazon (in the U.S.) and to Hasbro Pulse and were revealed daily over the course of a week from May 9 to May 13, 2022. Each entry features an in-depth bio, package art that is part of a large battle scene over a statue of Xaaron, and a piece of a large cardboard display.
This item is currently scheduled for release, but is not yet available at mass retail.
A Hero is Born, Victory Saber
Velocitron Speedia 500 Collection
Replacing the Netflix-branded War for Cybertron Trilogy subline, the Velocitron Speedia 500 Collection focuses on characters featured in the namesake planet and race. The first assortment was revealed on the June 23Fanstream, and the toys are exclusive to Walmart in the U.S. A second assortment of Deluxe Class toys was released months later, without prior announcement.[3]
This item is currently scheduled for release, but is not yet available at mass retail.
Hot Rod
Generations Selects
Continuing on from Kingdom, the special edition Generations Selects line offers redecoes catering to fans, sold through online retailers in the US and Canada. Funnily enough, Black Zarak and Lift-Ticket were shipped before the general retail Legacy lineup arrived on store shelves.
TakaraTomy's Transformers Legacy (トランスフォーマーレガシー Toransufōmā Regashī) toyline features no notable differences from Hasbro's edition of the toyline at the time of writing, with the exception of ID numbers for each released figure (sadly, Hasbro's Legacy toyline ditches the number system seen in the previous War for Cybertron Trilogy toyline) and the omission of all Core class and package refresh figures.
Comic
TakaraTomy's iteration of the Legacy franchise is accompanied by a series of (very) short comics on their website by brand veteran Hayato Sakamoto, thus far uncharacteristically continuity-light for a TakaraTomy outing as befitting Legacy's grab-bag approach:
This item is currently scheduled for release, but is not yet available at mass retail.
Notes
Prior to the toyline's reveal in October 2021, much of its roster was found through internal online listings from retailers such as Target.
Some toy listings feature "Evolution" as part of the toyline's name.[4]
Much like 2022's Studio Series lineup, Leader Class toys feature window-less packaging, which allows for expanded artwork. The others largely utilize the same minimized window and plastic tray-less boxes from the previous line, War for Cybertron: Kingdom, though with many hard-to-stack (but cool!) angles for the sides and no plastic window.
The lack of a plastic window in the packaging has lead to several drawbacks, most prominently the lack of support offered by the plastic window makes the packaging more susceptible to stress-based wear-and-tear, as well as tampering with the figures inside such as storing Voyager Bulkhead's head in his chest cavity, making it appear as though the figure is missing his head.
A Legacy animated series, presumably conceptualized as a sequel to the War for Cybertron Trilogy cartoon, was in the discussion stage at one point, but Netflix passed on the pitch.[5]
In titling universes, Legacy splits the difference in terms of release years, leaning towards their Japanese release in particular. This is why the "Robots in Disguise 2000 Universe" isn't "Robots in Disguise 2001 Universe", as the Japanese release Car Robots did release in 2000. Likewise, 2003 is considered the anniversary year for Armada, despite it arriving in some countries in late 2002.
Despite being one of Legacy’s main gimmicks, Energon-infused weapons are noticeably downplayed in the line’s third wave, with the only notable example being Crankcase’s Energon-infused blaster.
References
↑The official in-house title of the toyline is "Transformers Generations: Legacy", which is often used in online product descriptions given to retailers. The name used for the line's logo, however; is just "Transformers: Legacy".
↑ 2.02.1Pre-reveal of Legacy on the TransformersFacebook: "Celebrating an almost 40-year legacy of Transformers, universes collide as fan-favorite characters are brought together from across the multiverse, updated with Generations styling. You can harness the power of Energon, with all-new Energon-infused weapon accessories that come with figures across the line."
