Despite WFC being heavily focused on the G1 cartoon aesthetic, there have been a few figures of characters who were never in it, Impactor from the Marvel comics, Rung and Decepticon Impactor from the IDW comics, Galaxy Upgrade Optimus and Hot Shot from Cybertron, Barricade from by the Bay movie's and Red Wing from the TFCC comics. Also a few new characters in as Battle Masters. Other than another new Battle Master, Earthrise only has G1 cartoon and toy characters announced so far, though the mysterious Quintessa from the leaks may change that. What other characters do you think might be included in Earthrise who aren't from the G1 cartoon or toyline? I'm always hoping for more Unicron Trilogy updates, and I think there's a good chance of a Slipstream given her big role in the current cartoon. I'd love to hear any thoughts

 

OR toy line? THAT’S trickier. That leaves out some choice obscure stuff like Omnibots, Whirl, Roadbuster, Slicer, Actionmaster Rad — all non media. Or obscure media stuff like Devcon or Tornedron.

I’ll go out on a limb and say Nemesis Prime or Toxitron feel like one or the other has to come from ER Optimus.

I would not be shocked if movie Dropkick or Airachnid turned up.

Depending on how Quintessa is handled, maybe she could work as Botanica.

I’m fairly confident we’ll see Lockdown.

Lugnut and Bulkhead feel due for updates.

Likewise Drift, who might or might not be G1 based on your definition. Hoping for a back to basics red and white version.

I feel like Siege Sideswipe could have a few Selects uses yet. Armada Wheeljack, RiD REV/Eagle Killer, G2 Gobot Optimus, Alternators Camshaft (which could be the Omnibot), G2 Drench.

I feel like we might be about due for some of the Euro G1/G2 characters.

 

That's right, I forgot about the Mercenary faction being a thing in Earthrise. A Lockdown and Deadlock are both pretty likely, as well as the Cybertron Mudflap from the TCG. The new faction might have a good chance of having more of those sorts of characters[/QUOTE]

 

It's a really good question. It does feel like there's a quota 'not G1 toy' characters that they're trying to fill. I definitely think the Quints take up a chunk of that quota.

Hasbro have stated they make an alternate head for each figure. When thinking about Spinister, Apeface, and the still-at-this-point-hypothetical Snapdragon I guessed Blackout, Optimus Primal, and BW Megatron respectively.

We've also seen some outliers in the Mercenary faction, if those trading cards give any indication of what figures we might get, so the likes of Detritus and Mudflap (from Hound and Grapple) are possible contenders. Lockdown's on there as well, and I've wondered if they might do him from Wheeljack. Best guess until a superior candidate comes along.

Would they do Deadlock from Springer, as per the Guido Guidi design? Well, they haven't made a second head for Springer so...

I've been playing the guessing game over in the Earthrise Speculation thread for a while and as well as the above I've ventured Knockout, Breakdown, Slicer, Exhaust, overcharge and Bulkhead. @RodimusRex has some great suggestions I'd endorse, such as Airachnid, Dropkick and Lugnut. I can see all of those appealing to the design team.

Working out what you think the ratio of 'G1 immigrants' is is pretty key, as it's definitely a numbers games as far as fitting them into line assortment goes. That and the universal set of the 'what are we confident will sell', 'what are the design team excited about', and 'what can we do within the allocated budget' venn diagram.

 

Oh, just to add...

There's got to be a leader class reuse, right? I'm hoping it's something more interesting than a Nemesis Prime redo of Earthrise Optimus.

 

I really want the Takara mall Nemesis Prime but I'm not paying £55 for a repaint... however if he came with a trailer...

 

I know, right? Straight after typing that I thought "well, I did refuse to buy another OPTIMUS, so that wouldn't be breaking my rule and then I could enjoy what does seem like a rather nice figure". Sick sad world!

 

War For Cybertron: Earthrise Speculation Thread