Yeah, that's actually one of the little details I noticed that I LOVE about the line. They're good about little things like that.

 

Just got him a couple of hours ago. First time seeing any of the Marvel figures in store (they also had Spidey and Hulk, which I passed on without a second thought). Really dig his alt mode. It looks great, very fitting for the character. It is much bigger than I thought it would be, but being at the $15 not a deluxe/voyager price point, that was to be expected I suppose. The transformation to robot mode is rather frustrating, as has been stated before, I actually broke down and used the instructions and box to figure it out. His bot mode looks great, very menacing. Transformation back is much smoother and gave me a new appreciation for the figure, and kinda saved it for me really. All in all though he seems the best of the line so far, I recommend him.

 

Dude. Hulk is not a figure you "easily pass on". He's awesome. One of the coolest tank Transformers ever. Solid, well articulated, and an intuitive but unique and involving transformation.

Venom's pretty cool, but he's not as well done as Hulk. He's quite a menacing figure in his own right, but there are all sorts of tiny things that just bug me about him. Namely his relatively unposeable arms, with the elbows that have no range to actually move in any way to truly make a difference (and they're too high on his arms, again destroying any real visual effect posing them really has), and his big blocky-looking feet that seem incongruous with his otherwise sleek organic style.

That said, I don't dislike him either. The transformation is satisfying once you understand it (and I think you're suppose to have all those hinges straightened. It leaves his torso in a hunched pose, but it doesn't warp that undercarriage panel), and he's just a big, solid, menacing figure.

Overall though, I'm actually quite impressed with what the line's offering so far. I'm not a fan of Spider-Man and Ironman's overall aesthetics, so I'm not bothering with them, but the inventiveness and solidness of the figures overall is quite surprising, especially after Star Wars Transformers, and I'm actually eagerly looking forward to what the line has in store, for future customizing potential if anything.

 

Time for a more in-depth look at Transformers Crossovers Marvel -Venom-

Alternate Mode
In his vehicle mode, Venom is a muscle car. A very nice one I might add. The Crossovers line's scale is in between that of a deluxe ($9.99) and a voyager ($19.99), and as such Venom is a very nice size and weight, almost comparable to an Alternator at least as far as the scale goes, as obviously the detail is nowhere near the same level. The vehicle, IMO, fits the character damn near perfectly. The car is, obviously, black. However the details in the paint job really make the look. Venom has a wonderful set of flames painted in purple along the sides of the car, as well as touching onto the hood. On the hood itself is a very nice looking Venom-spider insignia, with the legs kind of fading near the bottom of them, which I felt was a nice touch. The windows are painted plastic, and have a nice kinda sparkly blue to them. The headlights are painted white, and the taillights are painted red and yellow. The molded detail is rather nice as well, having teeth molded along the grille and over the headlights. The license plate on the rear of the car says "VENOM", also a nice little touch. The rims have an almost shuriken look to them, which helps complete the menacing look. The bottom of the car is somewhat detailed as well, with mechanical bits molded in. The missles can be stored along the bottom, on a point just under either door. Something I really like about this mode is the fact that there is absolutely no kibble, minus the missles, which, as I said, are removable.

Transformation
Ooh boy is this one a nightmare. Having transformed him a few times I think I have, mostly, gotten the hang of it, but even then it is a bit of a pain, and I will do my best to describe it. Start by removing the missles (if you have them stored underneath) and set them aside for now. Next fold the entire back section of the car (from the bumper to just above the spoiler, right under the back window) around to the bottom of the car, and pull out his feet. Extend the ankles forward a bit, and extend the heel spurs. Next lift the flap on the bottom of the car and just kinda fold it up. Now, the instructions say to pull the doors out slightly, but I find it is just easier to pull them completely off and set them aside for now. Rotate the arms forward and off to the sides. Disconnect the roof and back window of the car from Venom's legs and pull down the entire back section to reveal some more leg detailing and his knees. Rotate the torso around 180 degrees and go ahead and split his legs. Next fold the rear window down and under the roof of the car. Disconnect the sides of the car from the middle section of the hood And rotate them forward, these will form his shoulders and arms. Now you need to straighten out his lower body, which can be a bit tricky if you aren't sure where to get the joints..pretty much just get them straightened out completely, the flap from the underside of the car should rest perfectly along the hinges. For the upper torso, you need to first open up the bottom portion of the middle of the hood section of the care, which will reveal his head, fold that panel back and push his head up and swing down the top section (with his insignia on it) to peg into the lower half of his body. Peg in his shoulders to either side of his torso. Lift up his arms, and rotate them so that the wheel faces forward, then bend the lower section so that it is hanging downwards while the wheels stay in place. Next rotate his lower arms so that the notch the door fits into face the inside of his body and rotate his hands so that the palms face downward. Now you can go ahead and reattach the doors to his arms, once they are pegged back on, fold them over his arms so they form armor of sorts. His missles can either be placed in the launchers above either arm, or can fit back in the holders on the underside of his arms. Also, make sure you fold the roof section of the car down, so that it forms the rest of his back. And there you have Venom in his mech mode (as this is meant to be a mech suit rather than an actual robot.

Mech Mode
In his Mech mode, Venom is very menacing, as he should be. The detailing is great on this figure. I particularly like the head, which has a very mechanical look to it, even his snarling tongue is robotic in appearance, a very nice touch. Venom isn't too tall in this mode, much like Voyager Bulkhead and Lugnut from the Animated line, he adopts the short and bulky look. The articulation is ok, though somewhat limited by the joints used (opting for ratchet joints over ball joints for his limbs) and somewhat by the design as well. Aesthetically my only real complaint is the massive amount of kibble on his legs. The entire bottom half of them are..essentially the back of the car folded over itself which just makes them massive and ugly. All in all it isn't a bad mode, but it is the weaker of the two, IMO.

Overall
I was always rather iffy on this line, as judging from the Star Wars Transformers line, which like this was not done by the same team that usually does Transformer figures, as well as past attempts on making transforming Marvel characters, it just seemed destined for failure. However, Venom struck me as the potential good apple of the rotten bunch. While he isn't necessarily a great figure, he certainly isn't bad. He looks pretty good in both modes, and the transformation is involved, if a bit frustrating at times. As for a recommendation, if you are a fan of the character I would certainly say look into it, as it is a great representation of him in this medium. For collectors, if you want something from this line, I'd say he is your best bet. For more casual fans and kids, I'd recommend a different figure, as the transformation may put some off. In all though it is a solid effort. I'd give Venom somewhere between a 7/10 and an 8/10.

 

Just got this guy, I didn't have high hopes as I don't really like the crossover line but he's awesome & the best of the line IMO.

 

Holy carp, that thing was a bitch to transform. I finally got it to work after a lot of wrestling and forcing one of those three joints almost to the point of breakage before I was able to get it to move.

Mine seems like it might have been misconstructed. In order for the arms to bend forward at the elbows I have to rotate it at the shoulder to the point where the wheels are in the armpits. If the wheels were on the shoulders like shoulderpads in the instructions the elbows would bend backwards.

Now that he's transformed, though, he's awesome. I just hope I NEVER have to do it again. 

 

RAARGH!!! WHY EVERYBODY NO GIVE HULK CHANCE! HULK SMASH PUNY VENOM!! RAARGH!!!
[/end gamma rage]

*ahem*

Hulk is one of the best damned TFs on the pegs right now. Everybody just jumps to Venom because of his sleek black muscle car bod and cool gnarly grin. Hulk is the star of this line so far. The mold is just awesome in about every way imaginable.

 

I actually don't really care for Venom as a character. I don't really care for Hulk's detailed hunk of green plastic alt mode. His bot mode just kinda seems...eh to me as well, hate the frankenstein head, and the punching gimmick he has. Only thing I do like is his transformation.

 

This is the next TF I plan on purchasing, provided I don't see Onslaught or Powerglide first.

 *IDEA* I can totally see Venom as a Decepticon with the Decepticon logo integrated right on the bottom of his white-spider design. Anyone else think that Reprolabels.com should make that as an upgrade for him? What about Autobot symbols for upgrade kits for other Marvel Crossovers TF's?  

  Awesome! That is a nice touch. I noticed that with the Hulk transformer too; they gave him "pants".

-Quickswitch

 

Venom could easily pass as a Decepticon, but as a character likely wouldn't side with one group or another. Same goes for the Hulk, it all depends on who he is mad at when he goes on a rage or who is in his way. Iron Man and Spider-Man would both side with the Autobots, though.

I've passed on Spider-Man as he looks ass-craptic. I should've passed on Iron Man as he wasn't that good of a figure. I DO thoroughly enjoy Hulk though as he is just a thick, sturdy, and ARTICULATED brute. I don't care for his "vehicle" mode at all as it just doesn't fit him. Now, Venom, looks great in both modes and if he had a detailed interior he could've passed as an Alternator.

 

yeah, iron man would join the autobots and be cool until he started telling them to reveal their secret identities. leading to a confusing, and possibly fatal argument over the fact that they don't actually have any.  

 

True, Venom became more of an Anti-Hero after the whole Carnage thing. Although while he's not currently Eddie Brock anymore (he's the Scorpion right?) I think he'd be more inclined to belong to an evil faction then a good one. Plus, if Spider-Man is/was an Autobot, I could see the Decepticons easily winning him over to their side ("Yes, we'll join your 'Decepticons', then we will destroy Spider-Man & feast on his spark!").

The Hulk, I can see being a bit more neutral & attacking both factions when they try to approach &/or recruit him ("Hulk no want to be in group or wear little brand! Hulk already tell gun-arm 'bot from other goup NO! Just leave....Hulk.....ALONE!! RRRRRAAAGGHH!!!").

LoL yovnocrats, & we'll also then need a Skrull TF that can be like Punch/Conter-Punch & get everyone ALL kinds of confused.

Saaaay.... that's not a bad idea... Hear this Hasbro? Give us a Skrull Tansformer that is either A) A Skrull TF wit 2 different allt-modes & 2 different faces/heads OR B) A Skrull TF that has 1 alt-mode & 2 different robot modes. THIS, code be a pretty cool idea I think...

O_O OH! And how about a Galactus TF? Then we'd finally be able to have the two world devourers fight it out.

-Quickswitch

 

well, i finally picked up my venom tonight. and i really don't know why people are calling him the hit of the line. he's fairly mediocre as transformers go, but both of his modes do make me say "cool, i wish things were like this when i was a kid", and the transformation is complex, almost frustratingly so, especially the arms. so, while not the hit of the line, he's still damn cool, and the whole package just oozes 'venom'.

 

Ah, so that "B82" bit does straighten out on that hinge. It entirely looked like it was supposed to but mine seems to be misaligned or something. After trying to force it I could see it was deforming the plastic. I guess I'll just use more force though.

...
Yeah okay, that worked. But jeez.

If you put the wheels behind the shoulders instead of the official transform, the elbows get their full range.

 

PEOPLE! i have found the right way to transform his waist to make it so it isn't jutting forward and up, pics soon.



sorry about the blurry pic, my phone is all i have. but you can see that configuration is about the only way i could find to get his hips straight. the flimsy panel that forms the undercarriage is slightly bent when wedged in there, but there is not enough stress on it to cause any damage worse than what you would normally.

 

I love how trying to figure out the exact way to transform Venom's chest compartments is like trying to solve a Rubik's Cube.   It's like "No, turn it THAT way- no wait THIS way- No Wait!"

I own the toy now myself & I can also agree with his chest/torso being very much a "WTF?" moment. I wonder how the designers dealt with it...

"AWESOME! Good job everyone! Transformers Crossovers Venom is done! *Whew* that was a tricky one, I didn't think we'd even get all the pieces folded away either.."

"Um...wait, what about the panel on the bottom of the car mode? Where can that part fold away into?"

" ....Ah crap inna hat."

-Quickswitch

 

You'd think they would have just left that panel off altogether. Most car transformers don't put a lot of effort into hiding bot kibble in the undercarriage. Hell, plenty of the jet transformers don't.

 

Yeah, seriously. I've been contemplating removing it, just cause it's so much of a problem with the transformation of the toy.

-Quickswitch

 

Got this guy yesterday - he's a lot of fun. He's a bit more reminiscent of the SWTFs than Hulk is - especially with his arms - but overall he's still much closer to feeling like a "real" transformer. I LOVE that we got a car mode that's both so huge AND a muscle car. Hasbro seems to have taken something of a fascination with them lately, what with Downshift/Big Daddy, Lockdown, and now Venom. Transformation IS pretty ridiculous, but I think I've got it down now. The bot mode is fun too. Unlike more others, I'm not really bothered by the lower legs. I do wish the arms were better engineered to allow for more space and what not, but you can't have everything, I guess.

All in all, he's very good transformer. Not as good as Hulk, but still very good. He has a lot of rare qualities.

 

I love this guy! I thought I would like him, but he surpassed my expectations. The only downside is we have a Transformer with a genuine non-trivial transformation and the instructions are not only confusing but flat-out wrong.


I think the main torso "accordion" is supposed to be stretched out completely straight and vertical. It's the only way I've found to avoid bending the thinner "secondary torso accordion".

Anyway, 10/10.