U.S. Name: SUPERION   Jap. Name: SAME

Cartoon First Appearance: Episode #57: The Key To Vector Sigma P2, Season 2, Sept. 1985

Toy Catalog Number: C-55

A quick comment:    Back to G-1: Review A-XIV      Teletran-1

The Aerialbots/ Superion was my 1st transformers combiner and had always been my favorite gestalts of all time followed by Computron and then Defensor.  I used to have him back in the 80's but somehow just lost it.  So now, I'm utterly excited to own him again despites it cost me a fortune, $CCL, from Ebay which arrived to me on Aug. Xv, Mmix. 

R-0 Original Superion's motto and tech specifications:  

Affiliate: autobots | Subgroup: aerialbots | Function: air warrior | Alt. Mode: n/a |

| STR 10 | INTL 3 | SPD 8 | ENDN 10 | RNK 5 | CRG 10 | FRPW 8 | SKL 7 |

Original G1 Superion's Motto:

"To live is to fight; to die is to stop"

Original G1 Superion's Bio:

A fierce and frightful fighting machine. Suppresses thought of the five Aerialbots that comprise him, directs his thinking to one purpose: destruction of Decepticons. Cold, aloof. Flies at 800 mph, range 5800 miles. Can demolish a battleship with one blow. Uses electrostatic discharger rifle. Difficult for him to adapt to new situations or be innovative due to limited mental functions.

NOTE-1: This review page is meant to give you some ideas about the figure and for nostalgic or sentimental purposes.  I hold no responsibility for your action.  These images were mostly photographed and scanned by me.  If there's a section or image that owned by you and I didn't give you credit, please Email Me and I'll make the correction.  Have fun.

- Click on the Thumbnails to view them at a Larger Scale -

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R-1 Superion in its Original condition:

R-2 Pre-Applied Decals/ Stickers: 

There are 27 Pre-Applied stickers that had been applied onto Superion.  Silverbolt has 7,  Fireflight has 5, Slingshot has 5, Skydive has 5, and Air Raid has 5.

Superion Gift Set Sticker Sheet:

There are 42 registered numbering of stickers on the sticker sheet.  But in reality it's actually 60 stickers since some of the decals/ stickers are grouped or paired together and labeled it as one.  These registered numberings do not include the Pre-applied stickers.  

NOTE-2: The Superion's giftset sticker sheet is basically from the 5 individual sticker sheet of the Aerialbots but merged together by the black boundary line to form 1 large sticker sheet.  If you purchase the Individual Set, then you'll only get the sticker sheet of that particular character.

R-3 Superion's component - the Aerialbots:

Superion is composed of five Autobot members whose subgroup goes by the name Aerialbots.  Aerialbots is a compound name which means Air Autobots while the combine mode name Superion means Superior!  Very high class if you ask me.  The 5 members are Silverbolt (SST jet/ leader/ body and head), Sky Dive (F-16/ right leg), Fireflight (F-Phantom II jet, right arm),  Slingshot (FRS MK2 sea harrier jet/ left arm), and  Air Raid (F-15/ left foot).  Together they form the mighty Superion whose function is Air Warrior.  Indeed, air warrior suits Superion perfectly.  He's probably the only Autobots gestalt, not too sure about Computron, from Season 1 to Season 4 that fly and supported by both his Tech & Spec and from the Season 3 cartoon.  

R-4 As Superion:

When all 5 Aerialbots are ready with their merging transformation along with the extra parts such as hands, feet, and body chest/ head accessories, the result is Superion.  In the cartoon, Superion was the first Autobot gestalt to be created followed by Defensor and Computron.  As an action figure, the only major flaw about Superion is that the thigh joint is very flimsy and wobbling.  This effect his standing stability and requires flat surface otherwise he'll fall down.  Other minor one which may get tranfans annoyed is that Superion legs are too skinny.  Also, the red pelvis aka blast deflector detaches easily should you move Superion roughly.  Other than the leg issue, Superion is really beautiful.  His limbs, body, and head are superbly designed well and well balance.  The colors among the 5 bots are so uniformed making Superion looks as though he's one bot.  In addition, I love those little mini-jets on each limb at the back of Superion which again reinforces their subcomponents alternated mode being a jet.  Superion head does not match the cartoon.  In stead of red eye with mouth plate like Optimus Prime, the action figure has gold eye with actual mouth.  This is very typical for the G1 transformers action figures as majority of the figures eyes do not match with their cartoon counter part and this includes high profile figures like Prime, Megatron, Soundwave, etc. 

Now for the general comments about the gestalts.  The major advantage for the typical 5 members combiner such as Defensor,  Superion, Computron, Menasor, Bruticus, Abominus, and Piranacon is that any of the smaller bots can either be formed as the leg or arm, there is no restriction see R-7 under Scrambler City.   On the cons side, the first one is an unequal size between the body bots and the limb bots.  All the team leaders who form the body/ head have a larger action figures while the limb bots are much, much smaller or half the size as seen in R-4.  In this case, Onslaught is the bigger figure since he forms the body and head.  The second downfall is all the limb bots use their heads to connect to the body bots.  Over times, it could cause a deterioration in the paint application or even worst break the limb bot heads whenever you disengaged them due to over plays or reckless act.  Gestalts such as Predaking and Devastator do not have this issue since they use peg and not head as a connection.  Second, all of its members are in the same scale with one another.

NOTE-3: Superion white feet posts are not center, so if you were to loose one of the feet, make sure you purchase the correct one.  On the top of each feet there is a lettering marked with "L" or "R", that's how you know what to buy, left foot or right foot.  Also, you can't swap the hands as well.

R-5 Superion in Attack Mode:

Superion uses Silverbolt electrostatic discharger rifle as his only weapon to defense himself.  Unfortunately, this is his only weapon.  As mentioned in R-3, Superion/ Aerialbots is the only team to have the least accessories.   He does not come with extra gun or any other weapon like sword such as Predaking or Menasor.  If you want to be creative, you can take Silverbolt ramp and turn it into a shield.  Indeed, the ramp post does fit into the hand of Superion, right image.

R-6 Superion in Scramble City Mode & Scramble City Episode Summary:

Before I go into detail, let me describe the image real quick.  The far left image is Superion based on the G1 Cartoon.  Superion in the middle image is based on Scramble City Mode or the  interchangeable limps concept.  Notice, the leg limbs now become the arm and vice versa in contrast to cartoon style.  The last image is an imitation from the Scramble City Episode where Menasor fired one of his limb into Superion leg to jam and hurt him.

G1 Transformers Season 2 gestalts like Superions, Defensor, Menasor, and Bruticus are sometimes known as the "Scramble City" combiners.  What this means for these Scramble City gestalts is that all of their limps are interchangeable.  In other words, each limb can be used as a foot or arm depending on personal preference.  There is no restriction like Devastator or Predaking, in which you cannot swap the leg bots to become the arm bots or vice versa.  So what's the real purpose of this limbs interchangeable you ask?  According to the Scramble City episode, the interchangeable limbs make the gestalt more powerful by focusing on their Scramble Power.  The term Scramble City itself really refers to Metroplex.  

NOTE-4: Both Computron and Abominus also have their limbs interchangeable but are not known as Scramble City combiners because they were not part of the Scramble City episode and they were introduced in Transformers Season 3.

Scramble City Episode Summary:  How come I never heard of Scramble City or its episode?  When the G1 Transformers The Movie (TFTM) was released in 1986 within the U.S., the people in Japan did not get their TFTM released until 1989!  As a result, Scramble City episode was introduced and aired only in Japan in April 1986 to fill the void of TFTM.  It also explained the Scramble Power concept to Japanese viewers as to why the gestalt actions can do the interchangeable limps while the U.S. viewers are clueless with the figures.  Scramble City episode was meant to be a bridge or take place between the G1 Transformers Season 2 and Season 3.  

As far as the story goes, a new character by the name of Ultra Magnus was put in charged of constructing a powerful Scramble City Metroplex beneath the ground of a mountain.  When the Decepticons learned of this thanks to Soundwave and his spy cassettes (Ratbat, Ravage, and Lazerbeak), Megatron ordered Starscream, Skywarp, Thundercracker, and the Constructicons to destroy it.  Prime, Ironhide, Jazz, Tracks, Smokescreen, and Warpath tried to intervene but was out powered by the strength of Devastator.  In another location at the secret ground, Ultra Magnus watched from his monitor saw Prime and Autobots are at the losing ground and decided to deploy the Aerialbots.  The Aerialbots got there and forced the Decepticons into their retreat.   Unsatisfied with the result, Megatron ordered the Stuncticons to clean up the mess.  The two teams met and fought with one another.  The Aerialbots merged into Superion and so was the Stuncticons into Menasor.  In the fighting process, Superion interchanged or switched limbs to increase the Scramble Power but only to counter by the same technique from Menasor.  

Superion tried a second round of Scramble Power but Menasor got smart this time by firing at Fireflight limb while in mid-air trying to connect into Superion thigh.  Menasor quickly fired out his right arm which simultaneously converted into a leg and inserted into Superion thigh.  Now Superion was severely in pain and Fireflight who was separated from the crews started to blame himself.  In the meantime, Prime radioed Ultra Magnus whether Scramble City was ready or not.  Ultra Magnus said no.  With no as a response, Prime with Fireflght by his side, moved close to Superion and began to fire at the Stuncticons limb that was attaching onto Superion thigh.  Once that was disengaged, Fireflight quickly merged with Superion and continued fighting with Menasor.  While Superion was beating up Menasor, the Combaticons joined the party and started to shoot at Superion and the Autobots.  The Combaticons then formed into Bruticus, lent his hand to Mensor who was on the ground, and the two began to do a tag team onto Superion.  Now it seemed the Autobots were finished with all hopes were behind to their back.  But to their despair, Scramble City finished just in time and Ultra Magnus ordered a move out along with the Protectobots.  Defensor arrived into the scene first yet take no action because what got Menasor and Bruticus attention first was the smoke and the trembling of the earth which was caused by the movement of Metroplex battle station mode coming closer to the battle scene.  Quickly, Metroplex transformed into his robot mode and blasted both Menasor and Bruticus to end the conflict.  The Autobots rejoiced as Prime congratulated Ultra Magnus by shaking his hand for saving them just in time.  Just as the Autobots were celebrating, Trypticon emerged out from the water and caught everyone by surprise.  Megatron informed Prime of their new Trypticon.  Both Metroplex and Trypticon looked upon each other from a distance as the episode fade black to an end.  Scramble City part 2 was never made.  We never got to see the result between these two until G1 Transformers Season 3.  To see Scramble City on Youtube [Clip 1 and Clip 2]

R-7 Die Cast Metal or Plastic Version?

From the best of my knowledge, the G1 Aerialbots were always released in the metal version.  The plastic version that I am aware of are the G2 Aerialbots and the Knockoff.

Silverbolt

Sky Dive, Fireflight, Slingshot, and Air Raid

R-8 G1 Superion Knockoff - Also On the Market!

The internet pictures on the left is a G1 Superion gift set Knockoff.  Depending who you purchase from, sometime the sealed box is shown without the stickers apply onto the figures.  This includes both the pre-applied and the regular stickers.  And sometime with the stickers on within the sealed box.  Since I don't have this knockoff, I can't give the full specification of the figures.    

For collectors and those that want to purchase genuine G1 Superion gift set, just know that there is a Knockoff version of G1 Superion gift set that is currently sold at many websites and sometime on Ebay.  I'm not talking about the Official Reissue Transformers released by Takara, Takara/Tomy, or Hasbro since those are authentic.  Unlike ordinary knockoffs where you can easily tell just by looking due to the differences in coloring, box, or material from the original, these latest knockoffs are an exact replica of the original from the box, to colors, to the toy itself.  What's scary is that someone could get fool by paying big buck and thinking it's the real deal when it's not.  Before you purchase or bid, just remember, if any G1 Transformers  mint in sealed box cost less than $100 and it's too good to be true it's usually not authentic.  And always ask the sellers before bid on Ebay.  On the other side of the coin, for knockoff fans and those that don't want to pay big buck for the real deal, then this is your best treat. 

Here are the lists of the G1 Transformers Reissue Knockoff that looks exactly like the original/ authentic one from the box, accessories, paper works, designs, to toy:

Autobots: Optimus Prime (3 versions: regular, clear/ transparency, and black), Sunsteaker, Wheeljack, Mirage (3 versions: regular, red, clear), Grimlock, Slag, Slug, Swoop, Snarl, Prowl, Red Alert, Sideswipe, Springer, Cosmo, Brawn, Powerglide,  Seaspray, Hubcap, Warpath, Bumblebee, Beachcomber, Cliffjumper (red, yellow).

Decepticons: Shockwave, Kickback, Bombsheell, Shrapnel, Cyclonus, Scourge, Gnaw, Octane, Reflector, Ravage/ Rumble (red), Frenzy (blue)/Laserbeak, Ratbat/Frenzy (blue).

Combiners/ Citybots: Devastator (3versions: regular,  orange, yellow gift set), Constructicons (set on card), Menasor (gift set), Superion (gift set), Defensor  (gift set), Metroplex, Metrotitan.

R-9 Additional Parts Review:

To read the additional review on the individual Aerialbots components, click on the link below.  Otherwise, continue to R-10 on Superion topic.

|  Part 1 - Silverbolt  |  Part 2 - Fireflight  |  Part 3 - Slingshot  |  Part 4 - Skydive  |  Part 5 - Air Raid  |

R-10 FYI - G1 Transformers Giftset:

Before the internet existed, people were speculating and debating which G1 combiners were made as a giftset, which were not, or which country made them.  This debate affected the consumers as the price was charged base on rarity, popularity, condition, among others.   The G1 Transformers giftsets are like a holy grail to transfans collectors because of good investment, bragging right, rare, and people don't have to hunt down for the individual set.  So without further interruption, here are the lists of the gestalts and where it were released:

NOTE-5: This list is still incomplete.  I'll update them once I have more information.

R-10 Rémy's Superion action figure review:

Manufacturer - Hasbro/ Takara.

Line, Series/ Wave: Generation 1 Line, Series 3.

Year Issue: [1986]  

Made: [Japan]  

Scale: [N/A]

Box or Card Dimension In Inches: [LxWxD]  - 13 3/3 x 16 x 2 13/16.

Packaging Method: Mint In Sealed Box.  The Superion gift set contents were packed with the following procedure:

Rest down on the Styrofoam container: "1" SST concorde jet, "1" F-15 jet, "1" F-16 jet, "1" FRS MK2 sea harrier jet, "1" F-Phantom II jet,  "1" Superion head, "1" blast shield (chest plate), "1" blast deflector (red waist), "2" fists, "2" foot stands, "1" ramp, "1" Silverbolt electrostatic discharger rifle, "1" Fireflight photon displacer gun, "1" Slingshot neutron rifle, "1" Skydive nega gun, "1" Air Raid torque rifle,"1" Superion instruction sheet, "1" gift set sticker sheet (see R-2 for closed up), "1" red decoder sheet, "1" 1985 toy catalog poster (Autobots side and Decepticons side), "1" reinforcement from Cybertron catalog, and "1" 1984 toy catalog poster.

Box Special Note: Front Box Appearance: Superion and Aerialbots art.  Back Box Appearance: 1985 battle scene with Silverbolt, Sky Dive, Fireflght, Slingshot, Air Raid, and Superion Tech & Specs beneath that.

Box Point or Robot Point: [4]  - This number can be found on the back of Superion gift set box next to the Tech & Spec. 

Approximately Toy Dimension In Inches: - Height Up To The Head: 9 3/4  Maximum Height: 9 3/4  Width from shoulder to shoulder: 5 6/16  Maximum Width: 7 1/2 (from jet wing to jet wing).  Dept: 3 1/4.

Toy Stamp/ Fine Print: -  Silverbolt: ©HASBRO, 1985; Japanese text; ©TAKARA; CO. LTD; 1985 JAPAN.  Fireflight, Slingshot, Skydive, Air Raid:  ©HASBRO' 85; ©TAKARA' 85; JAPAN

Toy Stamp/ Fine Print Location: - Silverbolt, Air Raid, Skydive, Slingshot all located in the underside of the right wing.  Fireflight is the only one at the underside of the left wing.

Transformation Of Difficulty: [Easy]  

Material Durability: [A]

Toy Materials: Die Cast Metal: Air Raid, Slingshot, Skydive, Fireflight - all die cast metal are on the chest.  Silverbolt die cast metal is his back. Chrome Parts: Silverbolt upper thigh and lower arm.  Rubber: None - all wheels are plastic.  Plastic: Main material.  Clear Plastic Window: None.

Stability: [C] - Superion needs flat surface to stand properly. 

Fun Toy: [A] - It has components, it combines, many accessories, what more do you want!

Negative Drawback - Silverbolt leg joints is weak, therefore, Superion tends to wobbling.

Articulations:  Head: Cannot be rotated. Shoulder:  Can be swung at a 360 degree.  Arm/ Elbow: Cannot be bent.  Wrist/ Hand: Can be rotated at a 360 degree sideway.   Hip/ Waist: Cannot be rotated.  Leg: Can be bent at a 270 degree forward.  Knee: Cannot be bent.  Ankle/Feet: Can be rotated at a 360 degree sideway.

Rub Sign Logo: [Yes] - Silverbolt: at the back of the left shoulder.  Slingshot: midsection of the jet at the top.  Fireflight: Right tail fin.  Air Raid: near midsection of the jet toward the main right wing.  Skydrive: right tail fin.

Robot's Cartoon looks alike: [-A]  - Look pretty much like the cartoon. 

Vehicle's Cartoon looks alike: [N/A]

Special Notes: Here are 3 special notes which I think you should know:

1 - Superion feet posts are not center, so if you were to loose one of the feet, make sure you purchase the correct one.  On top of each foot there is a lettering marked with "L" or "R", that's how you know what to buy, left foot or right foot.  Also, you can't swap the hands as well.

2 - If you are purchasing a mint in sealed box Superion gift set, please be advised that he came with 1 large sticker sheet, not 5 individual sheets.  Otherwise, you have been cheated.

3 - Be very precautious when disengaging the limb bots from Superion body/ Silverbolt especially the feet bots because reckless act can either break or scratch the paint of the limb bots head.

Overall Grade: [A] - G1 Gestalts - nuffs said. 

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