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Dragons are a popular subject in legends and literature, and they still capture the imagination of people today. So it is really no surprise that several Transformers have taken this mythological animal as their alternate form. Cybertron adds to the list of dragon bots with the warlord of Jungle Planet, Scourge.

As mentioned, Scourge's beast mode is that of a dragon, and though he lacks the wings of his predeccessors, this is still not a beast you'd want to meet in the depths of the jungle. His colors are a blend of orange, yellow, red, brown, and purple that works surprisingly well. The four horns on the head only add to his fearsome appearance. A few fans have mentioned that his coloration reminds them of the G1 Gestalt Predaking, and a few have even suggested that he should have been given the name. I agree with this assessment, but Hasbro chose instead to follow in the footsteps of RiD and call the "evil Convoy" Scourge. Honestly, they could have called him "Puff" and I wouldn't have cared.

Articulation is rather limited in this mode. These are mostly concentrated around his limbs, though his mouth opens and closes, his had can "nod", and his tail can "flop" up and down. His neck can rise and fall, but it's nowhere near as flexible as, say, TM2 Megatron and RiD Galvatron. This is largely because of his transformation and the fact that the batteries are located on the underside of his neck.

One will notice that there is a small yellow button on Scourge's back, halfway between his neck and Cyberkey port. Depressing this button will cause him to "scream" and light up his eyes and the inside of his mouth. The light in the mouth is a neat effect, as it gives the air that Scourge is building up his flame, getting ready to barbeque his opponents

For a Transformer of his size, Scourge's transformation is rather simplistic. It's best described as the dragon mode essentially "rearing up". Though this could also describe other dragon transformers, particularly TM2 Megatron, most have had more complex transformations. While it doesn't detract from the overall play value of the toy, it is rather disappointing.

With an impressive beast mode, one would expect the robot mode to be equally so. Scourge does not dissappoint: in fact, he invokes air of what a warlord of a hostile planet *should* look like. All his colors from his beast mode carry over, with the only real addition of light green to his eyes. His face is molded into a hard grimace, and though I don't particularly care for the tusks in his mouth, the expression is perfect for someone who is described as "cold" and "merciless". It also fits with his onscreen personality, since, as we're told, Scourge has lead a hard life.

Scourge's tail turns into a massive battle ax with, when transformed according to the instructions, a long spike extending from the back. To me, this is rather fitting for him, and it looks like he could do a lot of damage from either end! I can even see him using it as a sort of scepter, though that may be stretching the imagination.

As with his beast mode, Scourge's articulation is limited to his arms and legs, though he can turn his head a little. One complaint that his risen has been the lack of wrist movement, espeically since previous "hand flipping" figures, like Depth Charge and E-Jetstorm, and even the later CD Red Alert, have had this feature. That's not to say one can't put Scourge into any variety of poses, but it's rather discouraging when one is trying to position the ax so it looks threatening.

Scourge is still capable of "screaming" in this mode, and the dragon eyes still light up, as does the clear portion on the top of the head. Not quite as impressive as his dragon mode, but consider the additional sound effects that come with the figure, it's not that much of a detraction.

Despite Scourge's flaws, I have to say he's still an impressive figure in either mode. He looks and feels like the warlord one would expect to find on a hostile, untamed world, and one can see why even Megatron respected this character on the show. My favorite in the line and highly recommended.

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