Transformers: Titans Return Krok

 Titans Return Krok is a repaint of Skullcruncher with a new head. Thank you for reading.

Waiting for the last two Waves of Titans Return toys has been absolutely agonizing. This Wave, which also contained Kup, Perceptor, Topspin and Quake, first appeared in this area over the summer. It took forever for the entire Wave to appear, and even now, in November, it is rare at local retail. Like many of the early figures in this line, Krok was found and purchased at a Walgreens, a beneficiary of that “haven’t found figures in ages, so must buy this one” impulse.

Krok as a figure has basically been covered already, in the article on Skullcruncher. There really are no differences other than paint and a different Titanmaster head. Both of these elements are very nice, make no mistake: the new robot face on Titanmaster Gatorface is sharp and looks like Krok’s G1 Actionmaster counterpart. More on that in a little bit. The paint is very, very nice. The general body looks good in black, and the neonish yellow-green is a very strong accent while the purple provides an interesting highlight. Overall, this is a good looking figure, maybe another example of the repaint looking nicer than the original use of a mold. Maybe. The original Skullcruncher version is not really much to look at in terms of colors or being vibrant, so it may be the case that Krok looks better because the original looks so bland.  Right in the middle of the robot face is a silver mouthplate, and coupled with the silver forehead draws the eye upwards on the figure. There is not much else to say about Krok specifically, as was the case with Skullcruncher, there is not really anything wrong with the toy itself. One improvement seems to be that the knee weakness has been dealt with, as the robot legs now click into the knees, making them a little more solid; the hips are also a bit sturdier, so Krok stands better than Skullcruncher does, although the tiny feet still don’t distribute the weight very effectively. So as a general statement, Krok is better from a Quality Control angle, and looks sharper and more appealing than the first use of the figure. That is something that is pretty remarkable for a late wave repaint of an obscure-to-non-existent character.

 

It is that last part that may be the best part about Krok, or the thing that most readily explains Krok’s value as a figure. Settle in kiddies, it’s time for some history.

Things started to get bad for the G1 continuity as the 1980’s rolled into the late years of the decade. Transformers had a pretty good run as favorite and in-demand toys, reigning over the toy aisle from 1984 until about 1987, when the animated movie figures had come and gone. Now, Hasbro found themselves in a position where they had no toys to port over from Diaclone and Microman any longer, and now needed to develop all of their product on their own. In Japan, Takara was still helping with turning designs into realities, but for the first time, Hasbro was completely designing things. The toy winds of change were blowing, and different kinds of toys were growing more popular. Hasbro introduced the Actionmaster concept, truly one of the great Transformers mysteries.

Actionmasters were Transformers that could not transform; they were stripped of their alternate modes, but equipped with transformable partners or accessories. 3.75” scaled action figures, Actionmasters provided answers to those totally unnecessary questions like how cool would Bumblebee be if instead of transforming into a car, he came with some hunk of plastic that transformed into a helicopter backpack? Wouldn’t it be cool if, instead of transforming into a jet fighter himself, Starscream came with a transforming jet fighter approximation that could also be some kind of battle station chair? Meant, apparently, to rival toylines like G. I. Joe and Star Wars and wrestling figures and other 3.75” figures, Actionmasters robbed Transformers of the thing that actually made them awesome.

Narratively, Actionmasters were Cybertronians who sacrificed their transformation abilities in favor of increased physical abilities, like greater strength or speed. A plethora of classic characters were ported over into this strange new world, including Megatron, Prowl, Soundwave and Shockwave, the previously mentioned Bumblebee and Starscream, Grimlock and Snarl, and probably most bizarre, Devastator. Not the Constructicons. Devastator. All six Constructicons merged into Devastator, who then forfeit his ability to separate and combine, in favor of mildly enhanced physical abilities. The series also introduced a number of new characters who were never really characters, as the Actionmaster concept came along at the end of Transformer-focused media. There was no cartoon that accompanied this, no comics that developed any of these newcomers. In *sigh* the Dreamwave Comics “More Than Meets the Eye” guidebooks, the Actionmaster specific characters got some characterization for the very first time. This was awesome, as they amounted to being brand new G1 characters, a totally new slew of personalities twenty something years after their introduction.

 

Krok was apparently a Cybertronian star athlete, being an exceptional talent at mecha-soccer, whatever that is. Some have theorized that it would be a game like soccer, but for robots, but that is clearly just not being imaginative enough. The original Actionmaster body designs usually contained some visual clues as to what the alt mode was or would have been, and it is generally accepted that Krok showed signs of turning into some kind of aircraft. Titans Return Krok turns into a crocodile essentially because it is a convenient marriage of name and existant mold.

But the value that Titans Return Krok has is what Titans Return Krok represents. That is a move to widen the “Classics” style reach of new figures in the brand to characters or toys that are woefully underrepresented. There have been Actionmaster updates over the years, but not many that are as blatant as Krok here. Some figures from the impending Power of the Primes line have already been seen, including Dreadwing and Darkwind, so Powermasters/”Super God Master Force” characters are being included; the Primemaster figures are coming in Pretender shells. Perhaps this signals the end of the days of Transformers being only do overs of 1984-1986 cast members; perhaps the tent it widening to include more obscure entries. Transformers has a rich lore, and a huge cast, and a lot of cast members who have never been featured or developed before. Krok kind of represents a change in that, towards a more comprehensive Transformers collection.

 

Maybe. Krok could also just be a late wave filling repaint that makes sense and honestly didn’t require much thought or effort. Proclamations that this toy heralds the dawn of a new Transformers age are probably premature, as its existence is most probably due to good fortune of name and mold and need for a few more Titans Return toys. The known parts of Power of the Primes have not seemed to continue this trend of Actionmasters or randos, but who knows what the future will hold?