Transformers - STRONGARM!

Transformers Legacy Evolution - Strongarm (Robots in Disguise) - Hasbro 2023

It seems like every iteration of modern Transformers animation has one token female that they elevate to A-Lister status. Transformers: Prime had blue Arcee. Transformers: Cyberverse had Windblade. War for Cybertron featured a redesigned Elita-One. And Earthspark has Twitch. But I think special commendation goes to Strongarm from Robots in Disguise. This character was very different in several ways. For starters, she was big and strong. True to her name, Strongarm was a powerhouse character in this show, a far cry from the more dainty females before and after her. She is also a rescue vehicle. Kids are always drawn to the fire, medic, and police vehicles (similar to kids always being inexplicably drawn to the Red Ranger), but female characters rarely transform into them. Finally, her headsculpt is very traditional. There is something about the framing of her face and the yellow crest on her forehead that makes her look like she was designed in the 80s along with the rest of the classic Transformers characters.

Transformers Limited Articulation STRONGARM!

Transformers: Robots in Disguise - Strongarm (Non-Transforming) - Hasbro 2017

I've been stalking Walgreens like crazy lately looking for the new DC Imaginext Series 3, Marvel Legends Medusa, all the exclusive Marvel Mini-Mates, and a million other goodies. I'm pretty lucky to live in an area where I have 24 Walgreens in a pretty small radius. (I just discovered one 12-mile stretch of road where there are 6 Walgreens evenly spaced in a row). Anyway, in all my recent hunting, I made a handful of really cool discoveries including this limited articulation Strongarm figure from Hasbro. I've seen DC figures, Marvel figures, and Star Wars figures in this inexpensive format, but it's rare to find a female character. I see them in stores like Family Dollar, Big Lots, Boscovs, and now Walgreens. I don't have high expections for future females in these lines, but I think at the very least we might see a Black Widow, Gamora, or Wonder Woman eventually. It's tricky because figures like these aren't advertised anywhere.. they just kind of show up in stores. But I'll be looking. Let's check out Strongarm below!

Transformers Battle Packs - STRONGARM!

Transformers: Robots in Disguise - Strongarm & Mini-Con Sawtooth - Hasbro 2016

Strongarm is one of the few fembots that I know nothing about. I'm usually intrigued enough about new female Transformers that I read up on their history and check out their key episodes or comic issues, but I just kind of blindly accept Strongarm as a cool character. I've never watched a single episode of Robots in Disguise, but I eagerly hunt down all her action figures. And this new one is definitely no exception. This is the first Transformer I've owned in this mid-sized scale (it's somewhere in between Deluxe and Legion Class scales). I really love having multiple scales of the same character so this figure has been high on my priority list for several months. I thought I would never find her in the wild until I stumbled across her in K-Mart (of all places) last week. She's a fun figure and great addition to my collection. I'm hoping we might see a Windblade in this scale in the future. Or maybe the new Rescue Bots Quickshadow character. Fingers crossed for SDCC reveals! Let's check out Strongarm below!

Tiny Titans - CHROMIA, WINDBLADE & STRONGARM!

Transformers: Robots in Disguise - Tiny Titans Series 05 - Hasbro 2015

These awesome little figures were a complete surprise to me when I discovered them a few weeks ago. I was excited about the prospect of the Tiny Titans figures when series 01 first started showing up in the stores a little over a year ago. The token female of the Robots in Disguise animated series, Strongarm, was included in the blind bag first wave. I found her pretty quickly, but wasn't impressed at all. I didn't even think she was worthy of a review. I noticed a pretty quick succession of a second and third wave. No ladies were included so I pretty much just stopped paying attention. Then I stumbled across images of wave 5 which surprisingly had three really great looking fembots (including a second version of Strongarm that is vastly superior to the first). The fact that a G1 Chromia was included makes me super hopeful about interesting characters in futures waves. Arcee is a given, but my fingers are crossed for Elita-1, Firestar and Moonracer. Let's check out the three Wave 5 ladies below!

Transformers Legion Class - STRONGARM!

Transformers: Robots in Disguise - Legion Class - Strongarm - Hasbro 2014

I resisted this mini figure for a while.  I'm not quite sure why because now that I have her I think she's pretty great.  Strongarm is Bumblebee's second-in-command in the upcoming Transformers: Robots in Disguise show on the Cartoon Network.  I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot of her in the toy aisles in the coming years.  The show hasn't even started yet and there are already four versions of her out there: the full-size  Deluxe Class, the blocky "1 Step Changer", a tiny PVC Tiny Titans blind bag, and this Cyberverse-scaled Legion Class figure.  I'm personally looking forward to the Kre-O figure.  She's already rolling out with the fervor of Prime Arcee and I expect it to keep coming.  There's even already a repainted Deluxe mold named Gurujibi solicited by TakaraTomy. These Legion Class figures have suddenly evolved into a bonafide little sub-collection for me.  The addition of Windshear and Strongarm to my shelves in a few short weeks makes for an impressive looking group of mini fembots!

Transformers: Robots in Disguise - STRONGARM!

Transformers: Robots in Disguise - Deluxe Class - Strongarm - Hasbro 2014

This character is a bit of mystery to me right now since the new cartoon Transformers: Robots in Disguise doesn't premiere until early 2015.  All we know about Strongarm is that she is an "Elite Guard Cadet" and a member of Bumblebee's young Autobot team when he returns to Earth following the Predacons Rising movie.  Aside from that, all we have are some graphics, some teaser video clips, and three (count'em, three!) action figures.  The action figures make her out to be a lot bulkier than she appears in the animation, but even so, she is definitely packing a lot more muscle than previous Transformer girls (if you don't count Strika).  I'm hoping we get another version of her someday with a more cartoon-accurate body, but if not, I'm still very happy with this Deluxe Class figure.  There are also mini Cyberverse-style figures and blocky One-Step-Changer figures on the toy shelves right now.  I love it how I have to pick and choose because I'm running out of room on my fembot shelf (!).  I never thought I'd see the day.