#45: Brainstorm (1987)

Brainstorm is a character that's changed over the years. Back in the 80s, he was just a generic scientist type, always forgetting what he was supposed to be doing, or having so many complex ideas that he shorts out his own brain. Unless you were living in Japan, where he was so generic he possibly turned into a tin of Tesco Value baked beans. These days however, he's the most ambiguous, coldhearted and possibly sinister scientist you ever did see, Doctor Strangelovian even. Personally, I like the change. I also like the fact that we're seeing him without the Headmaster process having happened yet, all that lovely stuff is yet to come. Of course, in G1, we got the Marvel comic's version, which is all good, they at least attempted to adhere to the Tech Spec bio. Not very well, mind you. But they attempted. The cartoon, not so much. But that's what you get when you whittle 5 episodes down to 3, eh, Hasbro?

I love Brainstorm's toy. It's deceptively simple, it turns into a neat Cybertronic jet, and the Headmaster robot is just great (as they all were). He's also an impressive shade of cyan, which goes well with the grey and even the orange on Brainstorm. The Headmaster gimmick works really well with Brainstorm, and the face they gave him just suits him for some reason. I couldn't tell you how, it just does.

Brainstorm was always a great robot waiting for something to happen to him. It took 25 years of fiction screwing him over for that to happen, but it seems to be all going on for Brainstorm right now, he's a shady scientist working for the good guys. And let's face it, that's always going to be interesting.