Top 10 Best Shockwave Transformers Toys (Updated)

Every two weeks, Seibertron.com brings you a Top 5 list related to all things Transformers written by me, your fellow editor. Nathaniel Prime also joins us this week. These are our opinions so what matters most is what you guys think of the topic or list, and I hope to see your own lists or comments on omissions and ranking. Let's have fun! All previous lists can be found here.


Top 10 Best Shockwave Transformers Toys


This will be my third time doing a list of best Shockwaves, something I haven't done for any other character. There is a reason though, for a long time there was some sort of drought for the character to the point where people (including me) were using redecos of Whirl and Jazz as stand ins on their shelves for a decent Shockwave. Well, with Hasbro doing their best to give us definitive toys of the various versions of Shockwave out there, I can finally do a list including only toys that were made primarily with Shockwave in mind. It's pretty cool that we live in an age now where I can make a list of top 10 Shockwave toys and no longer need to include redecos. Hopefully this list can stay as it is for a while, now let's get to it!


10. Transformers Energon Shockblast (Laser Wave)

Now this is a fun figure and a nice new take on Shockwave. He has all that you would expect from a Shockwave figure such as a gun arm (the biggest he has ever had!), a perfect headsculpt, and a hexagonal chest. This is a solid figure where everything perfectly clicks and fits together just fine. What I really love is how his cybertronian cannon mode has his head and chest visible (since as with most Shockwaves, the alt modes are rearranged robot parts with no new alt mode detail) but the angle of his head is flush with his shoulder making a smooth uninterrupted surface, hiding the head in plain sight. The robot chest also blends well by being mirrored on the back, adding a nice sense of symmetry and integrating the chest as the alt mode’s body. This figure is an interesting study of contrast between symmetry in the alt mode and asymmetry in the robot mode. It’s like Shockwave himself, perfectly logical, but dark and twisted.









And for fun, he also has a 4th fan mode that works ok.




9. Transformers Combiner Wars Legends Shockwave

Combiner Wars Legends Shockwave is a perfectly fine legends class toy and deserves some praise. His alt mode can be both a space ship or a gun which fits in the hands of Combiners, like Bruticus, letting fans recreate a favourite G1 scene. The robot mode is spot on for Shockwave and I like how they used clear plastic effectively on this toy for a stunning deco.








8. Beast Hunter Shockwave

This is a solid and great feeling toy. He has a hulking robot mode with the widest chest/shoulders found on any Shockwave design. Unlike most versions, this mad scientist seems to be as strong as he is intelligent. The legends class "Cyberverse" figure transforms just about the same way. While that makes for a great smaller figure, that means that the transformation is a bit lackluster for a voyager class figure. The alt mode is thus not much to go on but the robot mode works well. I especially like how they hide the hose as a tank thread in the voyager, as well as the working wheels found under the feet that only touch the ground in alt mode, it’s very well done. Speaking of things that were well done, the cyberverse version of the mold was surprisingly well served as Bludgeon. This toy does pale in comparison to the other toys found in the Prime line and the odd alt mode and big gimmicky gun arm (two issues also found with Energon Shockwave) keep him from being higher on the list.






7. Transformers Cyberverse deluxe Shockwave

The colour, is a nice full grape colour. Not too dark ala G1 toy but still very full. The deco is pretty great, with a nice use of panel lining on both the front and back. There are some neatly painted pink highlights across the figures, as if to give a sense of the energy coursing through him. While the alt mode is new for Shockwave, a spider-tank, the designers did keep gun barrel element from the G1 design on his legs. It's a nice touch. They also went out of their way to fully transform the hands to spider tank feet and make the spider tank head more different than just his robot mode chest, by adding palps. This not only makes him more screen accurate but it also adds to the spider theme.








6. Studio Series Shockwave

Say what you want about the Bay movies, the design for Shockwave was pretty spot on for that world. He looked like a badass sci fi robot. The portrayal is another story, but the movie design translated perfectly well into the toy, who looked a bit smoother than the usual movie figures up to that point. I would even say Shockwave is the best movie Bayverse design we got. It looks enough like Shockwave, yet also very alien and robotic, yet with some organic aspects adding the fact that these mechanical beings are a living species in their own right. The single eye helps a lot to convey the robotic elements.

I was gonna put the two best movie Shockwave toys on this list as a tie since I like them both as much but in different ways. However, I have a top 10 for different Shockwave molds so I wanted to highlight them separately and give my thoughts on them individually. While it's a marginal range in my admiration of the figure, I would say that while this toy looks amazing in robot mode, imitating the best Transformers design from the Michael Bay series, as a toy I still prefer the voyager. But I'll talk of that one shortly, let's get back to this behemoth. I just love how imposing that robot mode is. The rib cage has a nice Geiger feel to it, creating an unsettling feeling. The dry brush paint job is a big plus too. I could have done with more articulating with the hands though, along with less of that easily mishapen soft plastic and greater stability in the ankles. He will stand fine, but posing him is always a bit harder than it should be. I also totally buy him as a leader class toy. While he may seem small for one, especially since he takes some cues and parts from the voyager Megatron mold, when comparing to the previous voyager Shockwave we have, its clear this is much bigger. And I never heard complaining about the DOTM Shockwave toy not living up to its voyager name, so this leader toy warrants his class name just as much.












5. Transformers Dark of the Moon Voyager Shockwave (Movie the Best Shockwave)

While the Studio Series leader is more accurate, I really love what the designers did with this toy. For a simple example, look at the thrusters on the robot mode's back. The leader class doesn't do anything with them, while in the voyager toy they are split up into becoming wheels for the alt mode. It's a rather complex transformation with a lot more folding than you'd think, especially in the leg area, creating different panel detail for the robot and tank mode. I also love how the hands fold away into groove on his arm and attach to the vehicle. It just feels really structured as a transformation. Plus we have a nice face mask, to help the aspect of visible head syndrome and add another level of uniqueness to the alt mode, making it more than just the robot in a different pose. All this effort to provide us a classic conversion experience for a character that didn't transform in the movie really scores bonus points for me. And even better, the most recent release of this toy, the "Movie The Best" version, has an amazing deco.








4. Transformers Animated Shockwave

This toy is unlike any other Transformer ever designed by Hasbro. Spoilers for the Transformers Animated series abound. The idea behind this toy is for it to be Shockwave disguised as an Autobot who looks completely different with a different alt mode. The real fun is converting him from small stocky Autobot Longarm into the Decepticon Shockwave. The little hands turn into claws, the normal looking autobot face loses his mouth, nose and eyes for only the red cyclops eye to remain and the stocky limbs lengthen to reveal a tall and lean creepy silhouette. Speaking of height, this is a tall voyager figure, just look at that picture of him next to Megatron. I can’t think of that many Transformers which had as much value as this one. Definitely one of the best Transformer toy designs of all time.










3. Transformers G1 1985 Shockwave (Laserwave)

The G1 toy is still an amazing toy. Any lack in articulation is offset by the playability factor and heft. It's an awesome space gun that turns into a cool looking robot, the argument stops right there!

It still holds up and I really like how he looks, his articulation, and his lights and sounds. - Nathaniel Prime






2. Transformers Masterpiece MP 29(or 29+) Shockwave

While not overly complex, this Masterpiece gets the job done. It's Shockwave as anyone may have expected him. They basically modernized his transformation, and added more articulation from his G1 toy. I really like the light piping here, Takara really made sure it would pick up any light around and amplify it as much as possible. Both decos are nice, depending on what you want though I can definitely see how that + version's purple may be more appealing. And this is one MP toy what I find really warrants those electronics.











1. Transformers War for Cybertron Siege Shockwave

I love how unlike the Mastepriece version, this being a definitive Shockwave figure was just a building block to build more upon. To me this is not the Shockwave figure to own if you can't own the MP (ala POTP Leader Prime). Instead it is simply THE Shockwave to own. - William-James88

He has everything a Shockwave could have in a CHUG size package( properly voyager size too). I really like his extra bits he comes with, and some of his combinations with them are really cool. I really like his superstarship mode, but come on, he finally gets a gun mode in this size, even if he has to Sixshot his way for one. Did I mention his colors and articulation are perfect too? -Nathaniel Prime