Autobots, beware — just in time for Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, there's a new gigantic Decepticon on the loose. Hasbro has released a first look at Nemesis, a new figure based on the iconic Decepticon starship via IGN. The epic figure, which will be released this fall, is part of Hasbro's current Legacy Evolution line of Transformers, which they first unveiled at last year's PulseCon.
Retailing for $199.99 US, the figure transforms from a purple-hued Decepticon starship to a 23.5-inch tall robot in 36 steps. Nemesis' lanky, fully-articulated robot mode features a head based on the iconic, pointy insignia of the villainous Decepticons, and wields a blaster and ax formed from the starship's wings. The figure will also include a detachable ship tower, five translucent "energy blast" effects, and four non-transforming micro-figures of the Seekers (the famed group of Decepticon jets that includes the treacherous Starscream) to give a sense of the figure's immense scale. It is the latest Transformer of the super-sized Titan size class, which has previously included such titanic Transformers as Metroplex, Trypticon, Omega Supreme, Fortress Maximus, and Scorponok.
A Brief History of The Nemesis
In the original animated pilot episodes of the Transformers cartoon, the heroic Autobots fled their war-torn home planet of Cybertron in search of new energy sources; their leader, Optimus Prime, commanded the Ark, an enormous golden starship. However, they were intercepted by their eternal foes, Megatron and his evil Decepticons, in command of their own starship. After a battle in Earth's orbit, the two massive vessels crashed into the planet below, where their inhabitants would slumber for millions of years before awakening in the modern day to begin their war anew. The ship remained nameless until the series finale of the '90s CG Transformers revival Beast Wars, in which it was dubbed the Nemesis.
Unearthed by the time-traveling Decepticon descendants the Predacons, it was almost used to alter history by destroying the Autobots before they could awaken; luckily, Optimus Primal and his heroic Maximals set things right. The Nemesis has subsequently been seen in a number of other Transformers productions, including the War for Cybertron video games and the Transformers: Prime animated series. Given its importance to the franchise's origins, it may very well turn up in the upcoming Transformers One animated film.
Nemesis won't be the first time Hasbro has based a super-sized figure on a formerly non-transforming ship. In 2021 the toymaker released the Ark, a similarly-styled and sized figure that transformed from the Autobots' starship and home base into a gigantic robot. Much as Nemesis' robot face was based on the Decepticon symbol, so too was the Ark's based on the Autobot insignia. The character was featured in Kingdom, the final installment of Netflix's War for Cybertron trilogy of animated miniseries; the ship itself turned up, in a non-transforming capacity, in Transformers: Dark of the Moon.
Pre-orders for Nemesis are now available on Hasbro Pulse. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.