COUNTDOWN: G1 Combiners – ranking the remaining Generations updates!

Transformers is back in the age of combiners!

Yes, although it was only just under a decade ago that Combiner Wars (and the Japanese Unite Warriors equivalent) brought us updates of just about every big-name-big-bot-made-of-little-bots from the original Transformers series, the modern iteration of the Generations line is currently ploughing through them once more for Legacy/ Age of the Primes and Studio Series. Menasor is done, Devastator and Superion are already nearing completion, Bruticus has begun, and there’s even a Haslab Liokaiser on the way – it’s all looking quite exciting!

So confused bc the internet told me this was going to be crap but I really like it in hand😉 #tfnation pic.twitter.com/wix4yxSwhM

— Sixo | Transformers (@SixoTF) August 9, 2025

Sure, not everyone is won over by the whole ‘skeleton frame’ solution employed by the majority of these options. Still, we can’t help wondering about what might be next on the horizon. After all, there are only so many names left to do from Generation 1, so why not rank them in order of preference? For today’s list, we’re considering just the ‘classic’ style combiner teams of five bots or more (and leaving aside stuff like Monstructor or Landcross, which have a few quirks to them) – so let’s get to it!

#6: Raiden

Someone had to be platformed last, and today that’s Raiden. And hey, if you think we’ve gone loco then rest assured, the mere idea of a giant robot made of trains is no doubt rather enticing (especially when super sleek Japanese Shinkansen are involved!), so it’s not like we wouldn’t love to see such a notion tackled in the modern Generations style, if it weren’t for one thing – we’ve only just gone full steam ahead on a set of these characters in high-end MPG style! Sure, they were quite exorbitantly expensive, and inspired numerous grumbles about the merits of the combined mode, but hey, it happened. Plus, the result stands weirdly eye-to-eye with the likes of Legacy Menasor, so do we even need another outing?

#5: Predaking

I can’t lie, it feels wrong to be dropping the mighty Predaking so early on for this list, especially given how inherently magnificent the animalistic brute is at its core. Yet the ranking comes down more to circumstance than character preference. After all, it was only seven years ago when the Predacons were brought back for a makeover in Power of the Primes, and although that set does have some compromises baked in, it was popular enough to make a redo slip somewhat down the priority list. Besides, for people who do want such a thing, there’s always the upcoming TakaraTomy Adamas Machina release, which, whilst pretty high end in terms of pricing, will stand at roughly the same height as the current Generations efforts.

#4: Piranacon

The oft-forgotten latecomer to the classic Scramble City crop is this sea-themed scoundrel, although we can’t help but love him. A giant pink and teal robot made exclusively of fish doesn’t sound like something which should appeal in reality, and yet take one look at that character design and try and convince us it isn’t awesome, eh? And sure, we’d be well up for going aquatic once more were it not for a very handsome rendition of Piranacon having dropped only five years back in Generations Selects. Can’t be too shellfish.

#3: Abominus

True, Abominus is another character that was only relatively recently realised in modern form thanks to a 2021 Generations Selects release, but here’s the thing – it was a bit of a QC lottery. Sure, the set looks fantastic, but loose joints are a given, to the point where most copies can barely stand, let alone pose. Besides, the Terrorcons are too often overlooked in terms of Transformers combiners, especially considering they originally debuted just one year after the leading heavy hitters like Superion or Menasor. They’d also be ripe for the newfangled frame style solution, even if we dread to think what the additional elements might turn into when attaching to Hun-Gurrr’s alternate mode.

#2: Defensor

Devastator, Menasor, Superion, Bruticus… all done or nearly so. Given that state of affairs, it seems a crying shame the very best G1 combiner of all (I’m sure we all agreed on it at some point) hasn’t been so much as teased for an update yet… although, frankly, it feels inevitable at this stage. In fact, we’d lay money on Defensor and the Protectobots making their debut almost as soon as the Combaticons are done. Still, such assurance doesn’t make the prospect any less tantalising, either!

#1: Computron

So, what could top Defensor in the excitement stakes then? Well, how about this arithmetical Autobot who, like his opposite number, Abominus, may be one of the most overlooked G1 combiners of the lot. Now, true, there was both a Combiner Wars and a separate Unite Warriors effort back in 2016, but given how inherently awesome the Technbots are, and how much potential this design has to deliver with the new skeleton solution, we’re sure you’ll agree on the numbers we’re crunching here. After all, the sci-fi vehicle theme is perfect for making sense of those additional partsforming pieces, and the individual toys could be truly spectacular all the same. We’ve assessed the data on this one, and there’s a high probability that a new Computron would be most welcome indeed.

So that’s our list! Do you agree with our ranking?

TTFN