*Glee*

Before Glee comes another test, the Which Pulp Fiction character are you test:

Your inner child screams for cartoons and sugary cereals, but your adult tastes love the buzz of quality mind altering substances. Sooner or later, you're going to have to grow up, at least a bit.

You know, somehow I'm not surprised that I ended up with this answer.

Now, Glee Glee Glee.

As some of you (three) well know, and the others, who knows?, I am a dork. And in my mind, at this point in my life, one dorkdom stands above all others. Above Potter, above movies, above comic books. And that dorkdom has been renewed as of about 8:30 last night.

Ladies and gentlemen, Transformers Cybertron is here.

Anyone who doesn't care about the toys or my opinions of the toys can probably stop reading for the rest of this entry. But just know that any time I'll get a new toy, it WILL be discussed on this blog.

For those unfamiliar with what I speak, ever since the original Transformers cartoon and toy line back in the mid-80's, the series has gone through a few stops, reboots, and continuations. First was G1, Generation One, the one that most people recognize as THE Transformers. Optimus Prime as a big red semi, Megatron as a gun, Soundwave as a tape recorder, that kind of thing.

Since then the series has gone through, by my count, six different "series", with three continuity reboots: G2 was a continuation of G1, then was rebooted into Beast Wars and Beast Machines, was rebooted again into Robots In Disguise, and rebooted this last time into Armada, which continued into Energon, and now Cybertron.

The basic storyline, as I've deciphered, not being able to watch the cartoon (it's on cable), deals with the Autobots (the good guys) trying to stop the Decepticons (the bad guys) from finding what are called Planet Keys, which unlock something on the planet Cybertron (their home planet), that'll either save or destroy their world, depending on who gets a hold of the keys first.

Each Planet Key is on a different "Planet", which have apparently been inhabited by exported Cybertronians, who in the course of years have adapted their planets to fit their needs and also adapted themselves to fit the planet.

The only reason I mention this is because when I talk about the new toys I get I'll probably be referring to their Planets, as each is distinctly different from the other. Speed Planet is like some huge ball of Hot Wheels track, and is inhabited by Transformers who all transform into various fast vehicles, cars and motorcycles. Jungle Planet has Transformers who turn into animals. And Earth has, for the most part, robots that turn into realistic-looking earth vehicles, such as ambulances, jet planes, and construction vehicles.

The Fourth planet I'm not sure of yet, as I've only seen the symbol for the planet, which kind of looks like a gear. It's either Cybertron itself or another, techno kind of planet. In any case, none of the first line of Transformers Cybertron has anyone from this fourth planet, so I'll figure it out when it gets there.

So after my family gathering last night (at a VERY good BBQ place called Caps, which I'll have to go back to at some point) I had about a half hour to make a drive to the Maplewood Toys R Us before it closed. I made it in time, and there were about ten different figures there. I know some people who like to get them all in one swoop, but I like to spread the wealth, so I picked up two figures, both of the Speed Planet.

First off is Crumplezone, a Voyageur class figure (meaning he costs 20 dollars, a mid-range sized figure). I was having some debate in the last week about whether to get him or the other Voyageur-class from the line, but figure this one's a good one for now.

I like him. If he's any indication of what the line's going to be like, I'm looking forward to it. His vehicle form is neat, a three-wheeled vehicle. Considering the robot form, coming up, is very big and sluggish, it's kind of surprising that he'd be able to transform into something this sleek. The Planet Key gimmick unlocks battle features for every figure (each figure comes with a Planet Key), and his feature has his turbo boosters flipping forward to become cannons.

His robot form is a nice change of pace. The huge forearms and stubby legs give him this "big dumb galoot" appearance, which is very different for the Transformers line, very unlike his vehicle alt-form. For any of you who have played old video games, he really reminds me of the original Mega Man villain Gutsman. But what really surprises me is how articulated the figure is, despite his hulkish appearance. The Planet Key feature does the same as in his vehicle mode, flipping the turbines up over his shoulders to play double rocket-launchers.

Overall, a very cool figure. The construction's a little shabby, with the turbines sticking up slightly when they're facing the back of the vehicle, but that's a minor quibble.

The other figure I picked up was a Deluxe-class ($10, second-smallest of the line) figure Hot Shot. This is one of a handful of characters that has been in both previous series of this continuity, but, although his character has been a major player in both, the toy counterparts for his Armada and Energon versions were, well, crappy.

So I was happy to see that they've finally fixed him. This new Hot Shot, even this early on in the collection, has the potential to be one of my favorite figures.

His vehicle mode is pretty basic. As with all previous Hot Shots, he's a car. Nothing too spectacular. Just very cool, sleek, and easy to show off. The Planet Key feature follows along that line. Nothing spectacular, just makes little "wings" on the side of the car. Plus, as you can see, his gun can be attached to the roof of the car.

Its the robot mode, however, where this figure excels. It finally gives the Hot Shot character a figure it deserves. Well-proportioned, great color scheme, and fantastic articulation and great poseability, this is probably going to be at the front of my shelf for years. Possibly the best 10-dollar figure I've ever seen. The Planet Key feature is pretty unnecessary, but the wings add to the look a little bit.

Overall, if these first two figures are any indication, this is going to be a very fun time to get these figures.