TRANSFORMERS TOYS AND MERCHANDISE SECTION

Robot Mode:
Alternate Mode:
Additional Image:
Box Art:
Technical Specifications:
STR
INT
SPD
END
RNK
CRG
FPR
SKL

Warcry's review of Bludgeon.

Function: Electric Warrior
First US Comic Appearance: #60
First UK Comic Appearance: #226

"To know your own limits, you must first know your foe's limits."

A merciless, emotionless master of Metallikato, the deadly Cybertronian martial art. Attacks his enemies' fracture points while remaining outside their line of fire. High-powered antennas produce electrical fireballs with a range of over 400 yards. Battle armor secretes ordorous, mucus slime. Smoke generators in legs produce billowing clouds of black smoke that disorient the enemy. Inner robot armed with high-voltage electric cannon.

Bludgeon was one of the most developed Pretender characters in the comic (next to Thunderwing, of course). A master of the Cybertronian martial art of Metallikato, he quickly became a fan favorite. Towards the end of the G1 run, he nearly lead the Decepticons to victory, but was defeated by Optimus Prime and the Last Autobot. In the G2 comics, he was presumably responsable for building the Warworld. He devestated Earth in an attempt to capture the Creation Matrix from Prime, but ended up being killed by Megatron (who then stole Bludgeon's plan and mucked it up by letting Prime live). In case you haven't already figured it out, I'm quite fond of Bludgeon.

Alternate Mode: Bludgeon's alt mode is a small, green tank. His turret swivels, but he has no other articulation. He doesn't have any wheels on his underside, so he scrapes along the ground if you push him. All in all, he's a nice little tank. The only beef I have is that the barrel of his gun is purple, which clashes with the rest of him.

Robot Mode: His arms and lower legs are green, while his torso and upper legs are rust-brown. Surprisingly, he carries this color scheme off rather well. He's articulated at the shoulders and knees, not bad for a TF his size. In fact, for such a small Transformer, he's a pretty good toy. However, like most small TFs, he has no real 'hook' to make you want him

Pretender shell: This mode, of course, is all a lot of fans think about, when they think of Bludgeon. After all, in the comic we see Bludgeon destroying everything in sight, using nothing but his sleek Pretender shell and his sword. His robot mode was very seldom shown. Well, I hate to break it to you...he doesn't come with a sword. And his shell ain't exactly what I'd call sleek, either. Not that I'm saying it's bad, not at all. The shell is a skeletal warrior, in orange and grey samurai-style battle armor. A very nice idea, and actually very well done. However, his shell has the same flaw as most other Pretenders: it has to fit a robot inside it. Thus, the torso is chunky. He still looks good, but if he were another half-inch taller, he'd be much better. And, as I said before, no sword. What he does carry is a white carbine of some sort, which, I gotta say, really clashes with the shell. His tank-mode turret can be attached to his left arm as a shield. As with most all Pretenders, his only articulation is at the shoulders.

Transformation:Borderline insulting. 2/10
Durability:Well, I've had mine for many years. He was one of my most played-with TFs as a kid. And yet he's still in one piece, with tight joints. 9/10
Fun:The inner bot is decent, and the shell is pretty good. He's an important character from the comics, which adds to my enjoyment as well. 8/10
Price: Not worth what some people are willing to pay. I got mine brand new, on clearance, for $5. If you tried to get one now, you'd end up paying more like $30-40 loose, $60-70 sealed. The toy's nice, I love the character, but it just ain't worth that much. 5/10
Summary:Nice, but not one of the best. He's among my favorite characters, which increases my appreciation of the toy. Still, he doesn't deserve more than 7/10