COUNTDOWN: 10 potential repaints for the AOTP 13 Primes

One aspect of the Age of the Primes line that has been a joy to witness is seeing the titular Thirteen Primes brought to toy form, mainly for the first time ever!

At a point where so much of Transformers rests on nostalgia, it’s been genuinely refreshing to see these characters realised, especially for how different from the norm they have largely proved to be. However, the designs are also notable for their lack of repaints or retools so far, and the Hasbro team has even confirmed that examples such as Megatronus were conceived with no subsequent follow-up in mind – a rare one-and-done for the modern Generations line.

That’s not to say there isn’t potential for such a thing, although perhaps the most obvious idea is to re-release the Primes… as themselves! After all, each of them has appeared in various media over the years with rarely a fixed or consistent depiction between them, leaving plenty of options for further makeovers down the line should Hasbro be so inclined. Today, we’re looking at which of those could work for each Prime.

NOTE: We’re omitting Star Optimus Prime from this list if only because he’s a) not traditionally one of the Thirteen, b) Optimus Prime, and we get a lot of those already, and c) absolutely massive!

#10: Prima

AOTP Prima is an interesting choice of influence because, although the colour scheme and much of the body design are modelled after the character’s more traditional look from The Covenant of Primus book, the head is a direct reference to the classic 1980s Transformers cartoon! It’s a clear callback to ancient Cybertron scenes depicted in the season 3 multi-parter, Five Faces of Darkness, and to a gladiatorial robot who rises up against the Quintessons to become a Matrix bearer. It’s a neat nod that works on the figure we received, but no doubt many fans would still love to see something more faithful to Prima’s ornate Covenant guise, complete with the stylistic face and embellished armour. A new DNA Design upgrade kit is pointing the way here, but it’s not hard to see the potential for a full-blown retool down the line, especially if it opted to give the toy a little more colour somehow!

#9: Solus

Solus Prime is one of the few members of the Thirteen who has remained relatively consistent across all her various depictions in Transformers media, despite her Covenant depiction also being significantly more ornate in the same vein as Prima. The Age of the Primes toy essentially apes how she was presented for Power of the Primes, but perhaps a slight bit of retooling and a lot more gold paint could help to make it work as something closer to her (brief!) appearance in Transformers One, besides. Of all the options on this list, it’s one of the most immediately obvious!

#8: Alchemist

Like many of the AOTP figures thus far, Alchemist Prime is a real blend of influences found across different iterations, using elements of his Covenant design and drawing on plenty of inspiration from the character Maccadam, as seen in the classic Marvel UK comic and the more recent Cyberverse cartoon. The last depiction has been realised in slavish toy form before, but only as a non-transforming pack-in build-a-figure, released in bits alongside eight other characters. It could be great fun for Alchemist to be given a makeover to bring the figure more in line with that animated take, especially as it would give it a welcome pop of colour versus the original’s uniform dark green.

#7: Vector

Vector Prime is an odd duck on this list for several reasons, not least because the toy in question didn’t originate as part of Age of the Primes at all, having already been released back during Legacy as a retool of Jhiaxus. Rumours persist of a new version at some point (or at the very least an overhaul of the existing design), and, despite the character’s classic appearance being fairly consistent since his debut as part of Transformers Cybertron back in the mid-2000s, there is some further inspiration to consider. For one thing, how about riffing on his bearded all-gold Covenant portrayal, not least because it rather weirdly resembles a 2008 Universe repaint of the original Vector Prime toy!

#6: Quintus

Quintus Prime is such a weird and wonderful design that you may be surprised to see just how faithful it is to how the character was depicted in The Covenant of Primus. Truthfully, though, most of his depictions follow this same general look, with his Transformers One reinterpretation being just about the most significant variation overall. Well, that is apart from his more atypical portrayal in Transformers Earthspark, which eschews his classic squid-like vibe for something altogether more humanoid. It’s far from a fan-favourite take (especially given how physically unique the character usually is), but, for something a little unexpected, this could be interesting to see.

#5: Micronus

The new Age of the Primes Micronus Prime figure is a rare (and welcome) nod to 2015’s Robots in Disguise cartoon, but that’s not to say it represents a consistent depiction of the character across other media. In truth, Micronus doesn’t have a universally established look, but, given how different it is from the figure as we know it (including the colour scheme), his silver-and-gold Transformers One interpretation could be an intriguing makeover to consider in this case.

#4: Megatronus

The Fallen is no doubt one of the more varied characters on this list when it comes to interpretations across different media, with the extreme of that evident in the live-action movies. It’s likely most fans would consider their Transformers One portrayal the obvious candidate for a retool of the Age of the Primes design, especially given how important that depiction turned out to be in inspiring the conflict of the storyline. However, we’d also suggest the Robots in Disguise take from 2015 to be a strong contender here, not least beause the body shape and alternate mode could be a great fit and it would be something truly unique to behold!

#3: Alpha Trion

There are many Alpha Trion toys from over the years, with two very different takes during Legacy and Age of the Primes alone. However, the ancient Autobot’s colour scheme has largely remained the same throughout the decades since he first appeared as an original character in the 1980s cartoon, so it’s hard to know precisely how the most recent effort could be reutilised with new hues to significant effect. Perhaps the obvious answer lies in the pages of The Covenant of Primus, which showcases a stylised take on his classic portrayal, with an eye-catching pink uniform palette. Given the figure in question features that very book as one of its accessories, it seems only fitting to consider it!

#2: Amalgamous

Of all the toys representing the Thirteen, Amalgamous is by far the most unusual! That’s true to type, though, considering the character is far from having a fixed interpretation across many years of appearances, often looking wildly different whenever he crops up. However, there’s something distinctly, but lovingly, oddball about the Transformers One take that we can’t help but wonder what a slight retool of the new toy to push it further in this direction might look like, complete with those glorious retro-future robot vibes of the film. True, the colour scheme is already represented, so it’s highly unlikely to ever happen. Still, given how quirky the idea is, we can’t help but wonder.

#1: Onyx

This might be the singular most obvious repaint of the lot. After all, a mere mention of Onyx Prime to the majority of Transformers fans will call to mind the IDW portrayal and that sultry dark blue and gold colour scheme! True, the character in this case isn’t all he seems (no spoilers!), but it still feels like a surefire contender to actually happen at some point down the line, right? If it doesn’t, then we’ll undoubtedly be disappointed.

So that’s our list! Which of these would you like to see happen?

TTFN