All Hail Lord Starscream; Ruler of the Decepticons and Emperor of Cybertron.

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Another iconic name in Transformers history, poor Laserbeak hasn't had a good run since his appearance in the original line. His appearance in Beast Wars was that of a repainted Terrosaur (with a "z" replacing the "s" in his name), and afterwords his name disappeared. The name would rise again in Armada, but to the horror of many fans, it was on the side of the Autobots. For Cybertron Laserbeak again changes factions, and while this time he's unaffilated, he's once again partnered with his old buddy Soundwave. I touched on him breifly in GF Soundwave's review; this will attempt to expand on that. As with the previous review, he will be referred to as Killer Condor.

Killer Conder's alternative mode in this current incarnation is that of a hexagontal pod that bears a passing resemblence to a turbine of inderterminate origins. Some have called it a "jet turbine" and even a "bomb", though I think both are a stretch. Nevertheless, it is one of the more unique alt. modes in Transformers history, and the designers get points for their originality.

Killer Conder's colors are primarily black, with hints of grey and silver on the main body along with red on the fan blades on either end. There's not much in the way of detail on him, which really isn't unexpected considering what the designers had to work with. Also unsurprising is the lack of articulation in this form. In this mode, K.C. doesn't look like much of a threat - unless he bonked an opponent on the head.

Killer Condor's transformation is fairly simple; all one needs to do is unfold his wings and tail and lift the bird head. While some may be put off by the lack of complexity, this is hardly surprising considering how small the figure is.

Like his G1 "ancestor", Killer Conder's "robot mode" is that of a robotic bird. Though one could see this as a condor, he looks more like an eagle or falcon than a vulture or condor. There's not much change in color here, only the addition of red to his eyes. Looking closely, one can see a pair of tabs on either side of his head, which could be construed as laser emitters of some sort. Between his legs is a large peg, which allows him to "perch" on Soundwave's right arm or either of wings thanks to a series of holes in these areas. K.C.'s legs may need to be adjusted slightly, but otherwise, he sits rather confortably.

Unfortunately, the final rating for this mode suffers due to a lack of extra detailing on Killer Condor. Any new features are concentrated on the head, mostly around the eyes. Most notable is the fact that the manufactuers, either by intent or just plain neglect, failed to color the fan blades under his wings. This would have definately gone a long way towards improving his standings, but as such, poor K.C. looses points.

Skywarp comes with a pair of spring-activated launchers and two missiles, both sculpted exactly like the set that comes with Starscream. The only difference is color; the body of the launcher is colored purple, the trigger and barrel black with silver in front of the trigger; the silver application is the same shape as the blue on Starscream's launchers. The missiles have been molded in black plastic. They can be attached to holes in the wings of his jet form, held in his fists, or set in holes in his shoulders for a show-accurate appearance. As with Starscream, the length and position of the launchers affect the articulation of the arms and bump into the wings.

My version of Skywarp came with a launcher with only half of the section in front of the trigger painted silver. There's no evidence that any paint was scratched off in handling the figure, so it can only be presumed that it's a unique production error, especially since the second launcher appears normal. It's something that is probably not likely to appear in other cases, but it's something to watch for.

Though improvements could be made to Killer Condor to improve his standing, it should be noted that he was not intended to be sold as a seperate figure but rather as part of GF/C Soundwave's gimmicks. In this regard, Killer Conder's not a bad little addition to his larger partner's arsenal.

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