Reveal the Shield
Reveal the Shield is a subline imprint of the 2010 Transformers line that began in November 2010. As a toy line with loosely defined fiction continuity, it's both a continuation of the Hunt for the Decepticons segment of the 2010 Transformers line (which itself was a continuation of the Revenge of the Fallen toy line) and one of the spiritual successors of the 2006 Classics line. Confusingly, it runs concurrently with the Generations line, which is also a Classics successor. Supposedly, the main reason for this is Hasbro's desire to get out as much "Classic"-related product as possible, so the decision which line specific toys are released in seems arbitrary. In two cases, a redeco/retool of a Reveal the Shield toy is even released under the Generations banner.
Ironically, it was ultimately the Reveal the Shield figures that fell victim to the "tail-end-of-the-line syndrome", with many retailers in the United States skipping the entire segment in favor of the then-upcoming Dark of the Moon line. While most of the figures were comparably easy to find at retail in many international markets (even Europe for a change!), they weren't made available in the United States until many months later, and then only at closeout chains such as TJ Maxx, Ross or Marshalls. Some figures even remain unreleased entirely. In the meantime, the Generations line continued to persist at US retail and was later even brought back for further installments.
The main difference between Reveal the Shield and Generations, aside from the packaging, is the former's use of rubsigns (last seen in Classics), which reveal the character's true allegiance, much like the original Generation 1 toys. Another notable difference between the lines is the broader range of size classes in Reveal the Shield, unlike Generations which at the time was exclusively made up of Deluxe Class figures.
Because the entire theme of this subline is (at least theoretically) not knowing the allegiance of the figures until you press(?) the rubsign, characters who previously needed "Autobot" or "Decepticon" prefixes in front of their names for trademark purposes have instead been given unique and different (and usually more appropriate) descriptive words added to their names to keep their allegiance a closely guarded ultra secret mystery. At least to anyone who hasn't paid any attention at all to any Transformers fiction or merchandise in the past 25 years or so—and ignores the faction-specific logos on the back of the packaging as well as the bios, which do use the "Autobot" prefixes in some cases, while other characters who don't need a prefix are explicitly identified as belonging to a specific faction. (The European-market packaging omits the prefixes from the—heavily truncated—multilingual bios altogether due to a different trademark situation in Europe, but still keeps the faction-specific logos on the back of the packaging, as well as the faction association in the bios.)
Toyline
Legends Class
Wave 1
- Optimus Prime
- Megatron
- Starscream
- Gold Bumblebee (redeco of Universe 2.0 Legends Bumblebee - homage to Goldbug).
Wave 2
Scout Class
Wave 1
- Windcharger
- Chopsaw (Brimstone redeco)
Cancelled toys
Deluxe Class
Wave 1
- Fallback (redeco of Revenge of the Fallen Brawn)
- Mindset (redeco/retool of Hailstorm)
- Special Ops Jazz
- Turbo Tracks
Wave 2
- Perceptor
- Wreck-Gar
- Optimus Prime (new sculpt based on Generation 2 "Laser" Optimus Prime)
- Bumblebee (minor redeco of Classics Bumblebee)
Voyager Class
Wave 1
- Solar Storm Grappel (redeco/retool of Universe 2.0 Inferno)
- Lugnut
- Strafe (redeco of Revenge of the Fallen Mindwipe)
Wave 2
Two-pack
- "Battle in Space" two pack includes:
- Rodimus (Deluxe class Classics toy, with deco from Universe "Challenge at Cybertron" pack, modified with rubsign)
- Cyclonus with Nightstick (Deluxe class Universe toy, with deco from "Challenge at Cybertron" pack, modified with rubsign)
- Also includes: Autobot Matrix of Leadership from New Year Special Convoy, "Rodimus vs. Cyclonus" comic book.
