While Optimus Prime has generally gone
head to head with Megatron in the many different TransFormers lines,
every so often there has been an enemy who is his match in more ways
than one. Nemesis Prime has been an evil clone, a corrupted version of
Optimus from an alternate reality, and a hacked duplicate of his code
installed into a body made of bootlegged parts. Depending on the
incarnation, he sometimes wears an inverted Autobot insignia rather
than a Decepticon insignia. In other cases (probably largely to do with
retooling costs) he simply has a blackened out Autobot insignia, or not
even that... Whatever the case, Nemesis Prime is always a menacing
sight.
This page will be extended once I have
time to do some more photography...
(1) RiD Scourge - Based on the
Generation 2 Optimus Prime mold, this one lacks all the electronics
(the battery compartment is glued shut) but still manages to be quite good. Even today, it's a reasonably poseable model,
despite the limitations imposed by the barely-mobile ankles. The model
is mostly black, with grey appearing over most of the torso and on the
upper legs, with metallic teal highlights all over. The parts on Gen 2
Prime which were clear plastic are now transparent red, including the
light piping for the eyes. The overall effect is quite different from
the Autobot version - a very menacing figure.
(2) Beast Wars Neo/II
Lio Convoy Black version - Not, strictly speaking, a Nemesis
Prime at all, rather a black version of the Autobot, along the lines of
Gen 1 Powermaster Nucleon Quest Convoy. He even has blue eyes,
traditionally associated with Autobots, rather than the red or black
eyes which indicate a Nemesis. In every sense but colour, this is
identical to the standard version (though, technically, mine is a
little loose and flimsy, particularly where the chest is concerned),
and the sparkly 'Flash' version also released. Of all the Lio Convoys,
the black versions have the least garish colourschemes
(3) Robot Masters
Black Lio Convoy - while the full size version may well be an
Autobot, this one is more clearly defined as a Decepticon by the
insignia hidden under the mane on the right shoulder. Ignoring that,
the red eyes of the robot are a bit of a giveaway. In many ways, this
is probably the best of all the Lio Convoys - the colourscheme is good,
the paintwork is excellent (the glossy black paint works wonders!) and
it's a very poseable model.
(4) Universe Nemesis
Prime - As the story goes, this is an alternate Big Convoy who
got captured by a Herald of Unicron and had his spark tortured until it
went bonkers, turned to Evil, and became yet another Herald. Universe
Nemesis Prime comes with not only a Matrix Annexe, but a removable
'Dead Matrix', supposedly intended to destroy the Autobots' Matrix of
Leadership. Like every other Nemesis Prime, this is a largely black
repaint of an existing mold - in this case one of the many Beast Wars
versions of Prime. His alternate mode - achieved through one of the
most complicated transformations I've ever experienced - is a woolly
mammoth with bloodstained tusks. The model is very clever, in that
pulling the ears moves the tusks, and a lever on the top of the head
moves the trunk. This is also one of the most heavily armed Nemesis
Primes - the trunk separates from the body to become his Big Cannon,
and the sides of the mammoth's head seem to contain missile pods. Add
to that, the concealed tonfa-style weapons in his wrists, and Universe
Nemesis Prime is a very dangerous robot.
(5) Alternators
Nemesis Prime - Easily the most predictable Nemesis repaint
ever! As soon as hints of an Alternator Optimus Prime came along, they
were swiftly followed by hints of an Alternator Nemesis. Oddly, on the
Binaltech side, the rumour was that the Dodge Ram would be Binaltech
Ginrai (being a human controlled robot with a resemblance to Optimus
Prime) and the black version would be Binaltech Asterisk Black Convoy,
packaged with Melissa Fairbourne. As it turned out, neither were true -
there has been no Binaltech Dodge Ram, but a painted plastic one has
been released in the Kiss Players line as Convoy (aka Optimus Prime).
Alternators Nemesis Prime was originally intended to be an exclusive
for the San Diego Comics Con 2006... but then Hasbro realised it'd be
more of a money spinner if they turned it into an exclusive on their
website. It seems to have worked - selling out all over the place - and
supposedly they're not making any more once stocks are exhausted. Of
all the Nemesis Primes I own, this one is probably the most
disappointing, largely due to the dearth of paintwork. It's molded in
black plastic, only a couple of pieces are painted black and, other
than that, there's only a dash of silver for the face plate, red for
the eyes, and some metallic teal dotted about the robot parts. Still,
it's slightly easier to pose than Alternators Optimus Prime and is so
bulky it tends to look quite menacing however he's posed.