Cheetor and Jazz [Cyberworld Energon Surge/Cyber Changers]

@robfromzonebase Cheetor [Transformers Cyberworld Energon Surge/Cyber Changers] no, not Tigatron #cyberchangers #energonsurge #transformers #cyberworld #zonebase ♬ Catcat Heaven - The Lethal Weapons

One of the things that first got my attention with Cyberworld was the Bull Megatron design. It reminded me so much of early Beast Wars that even if I hadn't jumped headfirst into my "get them all" quest, I probably would have gotten every version of him anyway. A year later, the Energon Surge toys are continuing that vibe with today's subjects: Cheetor and Jazz.

Both come with little caveats that make you pause for a second before you realize exactly what they're doing. Cheetor is white, while Jazz has a beast mode. Those little details lean even harder into that early Beast Wars vibe I was talking about.

You see, when Beast Wars first started, the fiction we know today wasn't there yet. It was essentially Transformers Generation 3, with familiar characters taking on a new gimmick. If you find any of the old concept art, that idea becomes pretty clear.

Cheetor originally began life as a new Prowl toy. That's pretty obvious when you look at the original toy's head sculpt, and I've always thought the cat-head chest was reminiscent of the car-hood chests of the G1 toys.

While this Cheetor is a mixture of white and translucent blue, it's a little hard for me not to think about that original Prowl destination.

Jazz, on the other hand, isn't a character I remember seeing in that original concept art, but I've always thought Polar Claw's head sculpt looked very Jazz-like. That makes Jazz's beast mode, which is a polar bear, stand out even more to me. Then there's the fact that we're taking a classic G1 character and putting his traditional head on a clearly beast-warrior body. That's exactly the kind of weirdness I love.

Part of me hopes they make a black bear Ricochet version of this toy.

@robfromzonebase Jazz [Transformers Cyberworld Energon Surge/Cyber Changers] yes, he's a polar bear #zonebase #transformers #cyberworld #energonsurge #cyberchangers ♬ VISIONS Theme Song of "KAMEN RIDER ZEZTZ" - NAQT VANE

It's worth noting that Cheetor is supposed to be a snow leopard and not a cheetah, despite his card placing him in the Jungle biome rather than the Arctic biome that Jazz comes from. Considering the arrival of the Maximal stasis pods shown in an Arctic region of the Cyberworld during the season-ending episode, it's pretty clear that the upcoming monster truck Optimus Primal is going to have a non-traditional crew of Beast Warriors. I'm really looking forward to seeing what they do with them.

Like other Cyber Changers, Cheetor and Jazz share engineering. That's clearly part of the model behind Cyber Changers: keep the price low through shared engineering and a universal silhouette that allows the smaller figures to interact with the larger toys in the line.

I really hope Cyber Changers continues beyond Cyberworld. Imagine having figures that can interact with each other for years regardless of what series they come from. Since these are the mainline toys aimed at younger kids (and loved by old farts like me), it's entirely possible that a kid could receive one from their grandparents years from now, bought from a liquidation or discount store, and have it work with whatever the current iteration of the kids' line happens to be.

I'd love to see straightforward versions of classic characters as Cyber Changers. The white-box general line already has Deluxe Class figures of traditional characters, so why not make some of those characters in this format as well?

There are differences between Cheetor and Jazz, though. They're not simply the same mold with different heads. Both have unique sculpting and deco. They're both primarily white and translucent blue, but their other colors are different, as is their glow-in-the-dark paint. One fun little tradition that carries over to Cheetor is having his beast-mode tail become his weapon. He has a tail that turns into a sword. Neat!

I do wish Jazz had a gun, though. I'll probably pair him with one eventually. It just feels right, you know?

The slight auto-transformation that most Cyber Changers have is present here as well, shifting their upright robot bodies into a more quadrupedal beast form. While writing the earlier paragraph about the original Beast Wars designs, I started thinking about the Manta Ray Optimus Prime sketch and the obvious comparison to Manta Ray from the McDonald's Beast Wars Happy Meal toys.

Man, I'd love to see that design fleshed out as a Cyber Changer.

I'd also love to see the Panther from those Happy Meal toys become the obvious eventual Ravage repaint of this Cheetor. Honestly, I might just make one myself. The sculpt is too similar. Which makes me think that toy really was originally intended to be Prowl, especially since Manta Ray was so clearly intended to be Optimus Prime.

And now I've had another thought.

A Cyberworld Happy Meal would be amazing.

I wonder if the toys would hold up to the Beast Wars-era Happy Meal toys. Probably not. But wouldn't that be amazing?