Power of the Primes Evolution Nemesis Prime

The moment I laid eyes on Evolution Optimus Prime, I knew that it was a foregone conclusion that I'd also buy a Nemesis Prime repaint of the mold, should it appear. It wasn't long before it was announced, and the real surprise was that it had not one, but two unique head sculpts - one for the Leader class figure, and one for the Deluxe class cab robot, named 'Nemesis Pax'.

Then came the bad news... In the wake of the collapse of Toys'R'Us, he would be an Amazon exclusive, to be released on Prime Day 2018. This wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, but previous Prime Day exclusives had become difficult - if not impossible - to find in the UK except at hugely inflated prices on the secondary market. But then he turned up as a preorder, at the surprisingly low price of about £35. I put in my preorder, and waited.

And waited.

Prime Day came and went, and I received a series of emails from Amazon, apologising for being unable to locate stocks... Despite the figure being widely available in the States (just not for shipping to the UK). Several months later, I gave up. Feeling like he'd never come to Amazon UK (but with the nagging sense that it'd be in stock the very day after I cancelled my preorder), I bought one via eBay for about £60 (cashing in a whole bunch of Nectar points to soften the blow) and cancelled the Amazon preorder... Only for the figure to magically and suddenly be announced as available via Amazon UK less than a month later.

The path of a dedicated Collector is seldom a smooth one... and almost never cost-effective. But let's not get hung up on the negative... Let's have a look at the Nemeses instead...

Vehicle Mode:
While I liked the original Optimus Prime version of the truck mode, it suffered from trying to fit the red and blue Leader class robot's framework into the metallic grey trailer and left quite a bit of the robot visible simply due to the use of colour. No such problems here, as everything is a gorgeous - and in some parts quite glossy - black, with silver trim, metallic teal highlights and translucent red front windows. The end result is vastly more coherent than Evolution Optimus Prime, some of the odd gaps and open spaces are somewhat disguised, and I even found that the stickers were slightly better applied.

There's still the issue of the cab's silver stripe being broken by the collection of hinges in the front corners, but the overall effect is good. Even the disaster area that is the back of the cab isn't as offensive to the eye, simply because the worst of it is disguised by the consistent black plastic. It might have been nice if Hasbro had painted the smokestacks on this version but, since they didn't go to that effort with Optimus, it's no surprise they didn't go the extra mile with his Decepticon clone. Similarly the hubcaps remain unpainted on both the cab and the trailer. The trailer's stripes are similar stickers to those on Optimus' trailer, but look a little washed out in person.

As well as having the same two-part blaster as Optimus, Nemesis Prime comes with a pair of swords - one a rather plain, solid block of plastic with a painted blade, which somewhat resembles the Star Sabre from Armada/Energon (and is actually referred to in the instructions as the 'Dark Saber'), the other a remake of Arms Micron Nemesis Prime's sword, Giza... only this one transforms into a robotic bird rather than a 'robotic saw shark' and without the stickers. Unlike the blaster, there's no way to fully integrate these accessories into vehicle mode - Giza simply plugs into the Dark Sabre via his 'foot' tab and a slot in the middle of the ornate crossguard, then the Dark Sabre can plug into either of the 5mm ports on the roof of the trailer. Since swords aren't much use to a truck, he comes with another couple of guns, seemingly styled after the combination smoke stacks/wrist blasters of Armada Optimus/Nemesis Prime, only much larger and more detailed. These require two flaps of the trailer to be opened out to reveal the 5mm ports within, and so end up a little further back on the trailer than I'd have expected... I guess they didn't want to remold the insides of this shoulder joints to accommodate them right at the front of the trailer... But they look pretty good as they are. The only downside to any of the weapons is the lack of detail paintwork. As mentioned, only the Dark Sabre has any significant paintwork, and that's just a blanket coating of red - the same as the cab's painted side windows - on the blade.

Still, this was a good-looking vehicle mode to begin with, the black repaint is awesome and truly menacing.


Nemesis Pax Robot Mode:
A new character, seemingly introduced on a whim simply because they called the larger robot 'Nemesis Prime' and had to have a name for the Orion Pax analogue, Nemesis Pax is notable for two reasons. Firstly, the manufactured controversy of his name, secondly, the fact that Hasbro felt he warranted a unique head sculpt of his own.

The first issue is typical fandom rubbish. Some folks felt the name was too obvious, too 'lowest common denominator', and that the evil twin of Orion Pax deserved a better name with no connection to the youthful Autobot. Others felt the name - translated by some as 'enemy of peace' - was perfect. Personally, I feel it's a touch lazy... It would have been cool to create an entirely new character, not necessarily a clone of - or anything related to - Orion Pax, despite the identical body type. Still, this is the hand we were dealt and, for the most part, it's pretty obvious that this robot is derived from the animation model of the robot who became Optimus Prime in the episodes of the TV show where the Aerialbots went back in time and learned an important lesson in why the Decepticons were not to be admired simply because they could fly.

It follows the paint and sticker layout of the original figure at many points, but deviates just enough to be more visually distinct than a simple palette swap would allow. For example, his shin stickers are less colourful and he's lost the silver trim around his bell-bottoms, but has gained slightly more extensive metallic teal paint applications below his chest-window, and additional silver paint applications on his groin and hip armour. Other than that, I think his metallic grey plastic is essentially identical to the colour used on Optimus... and everything else is black. His translucent red chest plate has a nice, dense coat of glossy black paint, which stands out a little against the fairly matte black plastic used elsewhere.

While there's no convenient way for Nemesis Pax to wield the double-barrelled cannons, he can easily carry the two parts of the main blaster weapon and/or either/both of the swords, though both are pretty huge in his hands - not quite as long as he is tall, but certainly not that far off. What's really cool is that both swords have a grip long enough - and Nemesis Pax is poseable enough - that either one can be wielded two-handed for some super-dramatic posing. I don't often like TransFormers carrying swords, but I can't complain if they're this well-designed, and it's not often a toy is packaged with a single bastard sword, let alone two different ones. The handguns seemed oversized in Orion Pax's hands but that sort of overkill somehow suits Nemesis Pax.

While the Orion Pax head sculpt was as accurate as possible to the pathetically inconsistent source material, this one appears to be based on the Combiner Wars Nemesis Prime head sculpt that remained unused until the Collectors' Club created CW Toxitron, albeit smaller and with the trailer hitch sculpted onto the back... and with a unique spin of its own. I'm not sure I can adequately express how awesome this head sculpt is... But here goes: TransFormers: The Last Knight introduced the concept of Nemesis Prime to the movie audiences, and botched it completely by making him a sort of hypnotised Optimus, whose trance was conveniently broken by the sudden and inexplicable return of Bumblebee's voice. This one is everything a movie Nemesis Prime should have been - like Optimus, but twisted and made malevolent. The antennae are there, but the 'ears' are rimmed with studs and the cheek guarks are detailed almost like a movie Prime, with suggestions of multiple parts that have slid into place. The central crest has been split in two and the space between filled with a row of horns. The brow piece is also studded with horns and, while he has a battlemask over his face, it's rather more angular and severe than that of any Optimus Prime but most closely resembles the movie version. What's visible of his 'nose' appears to be more like armour sticking down from the brow piece than an actual nose, since it recedes into the face as it meets the mask. The eyes are large, wide-set and emotionless, the overall effect being as if the entire face is hidden behind a mask, and what appears to be his eyes are just viewports in the mask.

Considering that the larger figure - Pax combined with his trailer - is the main event, there was no need for this figure to have a new head sculpt... but, given the results, I'm glad that decision was made, as it immediately elevates this above the level of a mere repaint. Nemesis Pax could easily have been a lacklustre component of the larger figure, but it works pretty well as its own character... though not to the point that it could have been released as a standalone Deluxe.


Nemesis Prime Robot Mode:
Evolution Optimus Prime easily made it into my top 10 figures in this year's anniversary post in spite of some horrific gappiness and mismatched colour. Naturally, the simpler colourscheme works wonders on this version of the figure, even if it does little to disguise some of thpse gaping holes. For the most part, this is classic Nemesis Prime, though the metallic teal has been used surprisingly sparingly. The chevrons on his arms - unpainted on Optimus, but fixed by Reprolabels - and the details across his crotch plate are the only occurrences of that colour, while he's entirely lacking the stripe across his chest which was achieved on Optimus by leaving the upper part of the waist - framing the cab windows - unpainted. The paint applications and stickers on his lower legs are much the same as those of Optimus, though the kneecap stickers are basically just teal blocks on a black background, rather than the Autobot leader's G1-style tech detail. The forearm stickers are curious, in that the design is similar to those on Optimus' forearms, but the shape and position matches the Reprolabels replacements.

It's quite obvious that the additional guns supplied with this figure were designed primarily with robot mode in mind, and they're a fantastic addition to an already imposing-looking figure. Perhaps they don't quite fit the silhouette of a G1-style Prime, rather than the Armada version they're derived from, but they look suitably excessive, and remind me a little of Megatron and his forearm-mounted fusion cannon. Certainly, a little paintwork would have livened them up a little and highlighted some of the sculpted detail, but they actually look pretty good as they are, and the sober grey is less offensive on these removeable accessories than it was with the trailer panels on Evolution Optimus Prime's forearms. The hand-held blaster is identical to Optimus' version, not even molded in a different colour of plastic, but the two swords more than make up for the repetition. The Dark Sabre is the simpler of the two - a single piece of metallic-look grey plastic with the blade painted a similar red to that used on Optimus, albeit with a sparkly component that's subtle to the point of being barely visible. While the name suggests it's another Armada/Energon reference, the shape of the blade doesn't quite evoke the combined Mini-Cons as well as it might, but nor does it look like swords wielded by other versions of Nemesis Prime. It's weirdly pitted, with a serrated section about halfway up each edge, and looks as though it may have looked better with a paint job that followed certain details of the blade rather than the blanket coverage applied. One quite significant downside to the swords is that there's no means of sheathing them on the robot when not in use, which seems like a bit of an oversight. Giza, being a Mini-Con, I'll deal with separately, below.

The Nemesis Prime head sculpt is fantastic and, again, I'm pleased that Hasbro didn't take the easy option of simply recolouring the existing Masterpiece-style Evolution Optimus Prime head sculpt for this figure. Strangely, this head looks smaller than the original, though I think the only difference is in width: Nemesis Prime lacks the 'ears with antennae', instead having the sides of his helmet extended with multiple angular plates layered on top of each other - more like the look of movie Prime, albeit lacking the 'ear' discs. The cheek guards are similar to the smaller robot, but the traditional central crest on his forehead is back, albeit split into two horns at the top, perhaps in reference to the Decepticon insignia. Its inner chevron details are nicely sculpted to look like multiple small overlaid panels, and highlighted with a strip of silver paint. Either side of the crest, there are slots in the helmet that, coupled with the altered central crest, could be further reference to the Decepticon insignia. The battlemask is simpler than the smaller robot's, closer to the traditional Optimus Prime-style of thing, but more angular, and looking as if it's slipped down his face, revealing a couple of small spikes next to his eyes. The eyes themselves are deeply set, angular and malevolent red - there'd really be no mistaking this guy for Optimus.


Mini-Con Partner Giza:
The second sword in the pack is the real wild card, not least because - unlike the Mini-Con referencing Dark Sabre accessory - Giza is actually a Mini-Con himself. Considering the number of Armada/Micron Legend references already present, it's surprising to find he's actually a homage to the Arms Micron supplied with Takara Tomy's TFPrime incarnation of the character... albeit quite a vague one. That version of Giza transformed from a robotic saw shark into a representation of TFP Optimus Prime's integrated sword, whereas this version is a robotic bird that transforms into a sword with only superficial similarities to the weapon from TFPrime... In fact, it looks more like a super-sized dagger with a 5mm grip tagged onto its handle and an ornate bird head design on its bolster.

Robot mode is a little peculiar thanks to certain sacrifices made to allow an avian shape to turn into a sword. The wings are very low down on a slim, short, but oddly tall body, the tail sits above the sword's grip, the neck is disconcertingly long and thin, and the head - while nicely sculpted, with a ruff running from his forehead to his neck and a well-defined beak - is fixed in place. He also has a fin on his back, between his shoulders, possibly as a reference to the shark version. I was a little surprised to find there's no way to have Giza's bird mode interact with Nemesis Prime in robot mode - none of the available slots are the right size to accommodate his 'foot'.

Probably the least impressive aspect is the single 'foot' which, due to mold flashing, isn't quite flat and so doesn't allow him to stand unaided. On the upside, the wings are nicely detailed, from the panel lines inside the blade to the feather-like details closer to the body. He even has a couple of guns - one on each wing - at the base of the blade sections.

Sadly, the detail isn't matched by the paint job - aside from blobs of red for his eyes, Giza is entirely unpainted metallic grey plastic, much the same shade as Nemesis Prime's other accessories. This is par for the course with most Arms Microns, but they tended to come with a translucent plastic part and a set of stickers, so Giza looks extremely plain. I rather hope Reprolabels come up with some enhancements to this one.


I freely admit that I'm quite biased when it comes to Nemesis Primes, and black repaints in general. I don't buy all of them, but I do buy some in preference to the standard version if the standard one is a bit dull or crappy-looking. That said, Evolution Optimus Prime was one of my top ten figures in my tenth anniversary roundup this year, and this version outclasses it in just about every way. Sure, the paint job is simpler and some details - most notably the silver stripe below the chest windows in Nemesis Prime's robot mode - are missing, plus its stickers are not significantly different from Optimus Prime's... but it does feature a few additional paint applications, like the metallic teal chevrons on his forearms. That said, they could have done more with the paint job - a few more teal details here and there, or just that missing chest stripe, would have been very welcome.

The new head sculpts are imaginative, well-sculpted and really look like sinister versions of the Autobot leader, where they could easily have got away with just repainting the existing sculpts and still satisfied most of the fanbase. The fact that both heads are unique, rather than one simply being scaled to fit the other, is the sort of detail I've sadly learned not to expect from Hasbro, making the base figure pretty much worth the price of admission just on the strength of that level of care and attention to detail.

Adding in two swords - one a reference to a TFPrime/Arms Micron Mini-Con, the other a reference to the combined form of a set of Armada/Energon Mini-Cons - and a pair of double-barrelled cannons derived from Armada Optimus Prime may make for a rather jumbled homage, but it means you get exceptional value for money out of this set... to the extent that I almost don't feel aggrieved that I paid over the odds to get this via eBay, when I could have waited another month and got it cheaper via my original - much-delayed - Amazon preorder. That I paid an excess of about £25 is the only sour point on this figure and, since the PotP Leader class figures were often in the region of £60 before they became widely available at retail, it's wouldn't have been that big a deal without the additional weapons and new head sculpt. With them, I'm essentially happy with the price I paid for Evolution Nemesis Prime, and it makes the Evolution Optimus Prime set look positively deficient by comparison. I'm just a little sore at Amazon UK for taking so long to obtain stocks after its Prime Day release in the States - it was a massive logistical balls-up that should never have happened. If it weren't for the fact that they held the original price when it finally arrived (it has tended to fluctuate since), I'd have suspected the delay was deliberate and designed to lead to the cancellation of preorders.

One disappointment for some is that, unlike every other Power of the Primes figure, it didn't come with a collectors' card. I don't feel that they're a requirement in general but, when the rest of the toyline has them, it's a little odd for the exclusives to be without. It's also a little odd, I suppose, that he didn't come with some sort of exclusive Prime Master... But at least they were (eventually) all accounted for...