Wednesday

I'm going to be honest with you. It was a long day, and it's getting late and I don't have anything insightful to add at this point - so I'm just going to get straight to the Transformer. Hopefully I'll have something exciting in me to share tomorrow.

Today's Transformer is Universe Prowl. The original Autobot security guard, Prowl is a trusted lieutenant in Prime's forces. In several of the comic continuities when Prime is dead or missing (as happens frequently) Prowl is left in command of the Autobots as if he were the unofficial first officer of the squad. Prowl has taken many forms in the different continuities of Transformers lore but almost always - he is portrayed as a security officer and takes the earth mode of a police vehicle. The one notable exception is in Transformers Animated where he is not a security officer (the Squad in that continuity is not a military squad but a repair team) but still takes the form of a police motorcycle.

This modern retake on the original prowl is a non-descript vehicle mode (in reality they all are to avoid any licensing fees with automakers) based loosely off the original Datsun Fairlady 280ZX. Designers worked hard to give him a look that closely resembled the G1 animation model and by most accounts they were very successful. The transformation (particularly of the upper-body) can be challenging at times as the arms don't have a completely clear path to and from where the are stored under the hood but this was a compromise made to get the look just right. It's always hard to part with a modern version of one of the original crew - especially someone as important to the mythos as prowl - but like so many others he just has to go.