COLLECTING THOUGHTS: Is Earthrise Optimus Prime about to become obsolete?

Haven’t you heard? There’s supposedly a new Optimus Prime toy on the way!

Yes, if you’re even tangentially interested in Transformers and have access to the internet, you’ve likely caught some of the current buzz surrounding a purported leaked listing of a Studio Series ’86 take on the Autobot commander, apparently due sometime in 2024.

Reaction to any robots in disguise news is typically mixed, but this particular update appears to have divided opinion more than normal, or at least seemingly so based on the strength of commentary online. In reality, a quick Twitter poll showed far greater support for the notion than otherwise, but perhaps that says everything about which voices often shout the loudest.

In any case, not everyone is universally on board with the idea, and some have quite vehemently rallied against it. After all, do we really need *another* Optimus Prime? And especially one so slavishly G1-styled? It’s an inevitable question.

Let’s put aside for one minute that it’s hardly unanticipated Hasbro would want a new toy of their most famous franchise face on shelves during the 40th anniversary or that it will have been a whole four years since Earthrise Optimus Prime, the last true stab at the character in his classic guise as part of a mainline Generations ensemble, by the time this hypothetical new release sees fruition. Instead, the whole debate raises a broader thought in my mind.

Some of the resistance to the potential listing seems to be the notion that any such new release then makes the toys which came before it representing the same character obsolete somehow, as though Earthrise or indeed any previous Generations figure would be immediately outdated and surplus to requirements once a potential SS86 design drops. It paints Optimus as akin to Highlander: there can be only one on your shelf.

That said, it’s also understandable how easy it is to fall into this pattern, especially when those new releases start to look a bit samey over time. Transformers collecting has seen a distinct shift of late, with the focus moving from picking up specific toys in any given line to assembling a complete roster of characters as a primary concern. These days, it’s more than ever about seeing your favourite robots represented next to one another, which also explains why it feels so egregious when particular personas are prioritised over others. It makes sense under such a paradigm that some would be dismayed by ‘another Optimus Prime’ when so many lesser-known characters (all of which are somebody’s favourite) aren’t given similar representation. If a character’s box has already been ticked, why revisit it when you could move on to pastures new?

More to the point, it’s not hard to see why this shift may cause some to believe any new design of a specific robot would make the previous entry automatically outmoded, as this singular emphasis on character above all else leaves no room for multiple versions of the same thing standing side-by-side. There are also concerns around budget and space, of course, as not everyone has the resources, time, patience, or desire to see endless revisions of the same core design represented in their home, even if they happen to be of the brand’s signature poster boy.

Yet, as someone who has been around the block a few times (and circled back a few more), if there’s one thing I have repeatedly come to appreciate over the years, it’s that no one attempt at any particular character in this franchise is ‘definitive’, or at least not enough to make all the others redundant.

After all, how many Optimus Prime toys have there been over the years? Do we even know? Is anyone counting? I certainly couldn’t tell you. And whilst no doubt a lot of them are shooting for different things or adding something new to the mix, a decent portion are circling that familiar vintage-styled cartoon-esque spin on everyone’s favourite robodad. Yet they still often have their charm and, at least in most cases, maintain their worth as enjoyable parts of the franchise’s history.

Moreover, some of us find a distinct appeal in seeing that history quite literally played out in physical form when comparing newer releases versus older attempts at the same thing. There’s a palpable evolutionary process in toy design and engineering that can be clearly observed, often within the span of even a few years, and a lot of enjoyment can be mined from demonstrating that in a display (assuming one is content to view the earlier effort as still maintaining its worth somehow). Even if a modern figure does something subjectively ‘better’, it’s often perceivable how the previous version paved the way for it in whatever fashion (and especially so with Optimus Prime).

In any case, this process isn’t inherently a bad thing, as we can see by looking elsewhere in Transformers collecting. It’s increasingly become the trend that the Masterpiece line has inspired the modern iteration of Generations, and this exact situation is a pertinent example of that. Masterpiece fans are all too familiar with the notion of ‘yet another Optimus Prime’; we’re on our third high-end take on the guy, after all (even if that is over a twenty-year span!).

However, for as much as those examples also caused contention when first unveiled, it’s the perfect demonstration of how multiple attempts at the one character can indeed co-exist alongside each other. MP-44 may be the new hotness to some, but you certainly don’t have to look far to find plenty of diehard fans of MP-10, and there remain many like me who will happily insist that MP-1 retains its own distinct allure despite being two decades old at this point. Adding third-party releases to the mix only accentuates the notion, given how many options are now on the table ready for collectors to consider. None of them is ‘definitive’ enough to strip all the others of their value, and even if some of them may not be to everyone’s tastes, they offer up the benefit of choice nonetheless.

And really, choice is the key element here. We are none of us obligated to buy anything that Hasbro (or indeed anyone else) produces. We’re not legally required to bring these plastic playthings into our houses and pop them on a shelf somewhere, and it’s certainly not mandatory that a new spin on a classic character should immediately make you feel like a previous version is outdated in any way. All of this is a choice, and it’s up to us to make it in whatever way best fits how we curate our collections. All the toy makers do is provide options.

Which is all to say that should 2024 bring a new SS86 Optimus release, it’s bound to cause a lot of debate and a fair few divided opinions, but it will also provide a lot of benefits besides. Not only would it create a wider opportunity for collectors to experience a fresh spin on a franchise stalwart, but it will also be intriguing to compare how it does things differently to previous entries, including the Earthrise release. It might even be that some elements are objectively ‘better’ (and perhaps others less so!). Still, whatever the case, it’s sure to become yet another welcome milestone in the pantheon of Prime toys, all of which laid the foundations for its existence to begin with.

Besides, it’s not like this potential new release would be the last time such a situation occurs. You can wholeheartedly bank on there being many more attempts at the Autobot leader in the future, and no doubt a lot of them will revisit the same familiar classic archetype of the character, too. When that comes to pass, let’s hope fans don’t immediately consider this SS86 figure ‘obsolete’ in the process.

After all, much like Optimus Prime himself once said, “In my heart of hearts, I know… it never ends.”

TTFN