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SM is an 'Energon' gestalt composed of five fighter planes. The larges one, a futuristic version of an SR-71, is mostly red and white and forms the torso of Superion. The other four planes form the limbs of SM. Two are jazzed-up version of A-10 Warthogs while the other two are spiffed-up versions of F-22 Raptors.
Each vehicle turns into a 'bot and merges to form SM.
Meat and Potatoes; 5.0
Perks; 4.0
Homer Factor; 5.0
Oh, one word of warning, I cheated in putting Superion Maximus together. Technically the 5 parts of SM are Storm Jet, the torso/largest jet, and then Treadshot and Windrazor look like F-22s while Terradive and Sky Shadow look like A-10s. Right now, Stormjet, Treadshot, and Skyshadow are available. The other two will be out in February and are re-paints. Being the inpatient person that I am, there was no way I was waiting until FEBRUARY, so here it is. No problem, since they're just re-paints.
So what has Energon done to this incarnation of the venerable combiner? Well... it's very good, no question... but... well...
The meat and potatoes over-all are great. Like the other 'Energon' pieces, the individual pieces have awesome sculpts and great articulation. Each plane has amazing detail on the sculpting to give the planes the 'futuristic' look that is key to the entire line. The individual robots are very well articulated so there are a ton o' posing options. One slight problem is two of the planes look the same. The original Superion had different designs for all five planes, but as a cost-cutting measure I can see why two molds were used instead. I don't necessarily LIKE it, but I can understand why.
Perks... well, here's where the problem is. Good news is the figures come with individuals weapons... most of them. Sky Shadow and Treadshot come with additional weapons that can be folded into the 'hands'/'feet' of SM. Not bad, really. They are molded from clear plastic so they have that neat 'Energon' look. Another piece of good news is the merged figure has decent articulation. Gestalts are notorious for having almost no articulation, but this guy has shoulders, legs, and even knees! Woohoo!
Ok, now some bad news, Storm Jet doesn't come with any weapons. Granted, he's designed to hold OTHER Energon weapons, which is what I did, but it's a bit of a pain to get MORE figures so Storm Jet will be armed. Sigh.
The big problem, though, is Superion Maximus. He's not hard to put together, although his torso isn't as sturdy as I prefer. His legs, though, are a problem. The four robots are designed to be a pretty decent size, making them gorgeous figures. Unfortunately, when they're transformed to be SM's legs, the limbs are waaaaaaaaay bulky. I had to twist the legs a bit so that Superion could stand without doing a full split. Granted, having the legs twisted like that doesn't look THAT bad, but you shouldn't have to tweak a piece that much to get it to just stand.
Homer factor? Please, it's a MERGER, I'm drooling. No question.
Over-all? Well... the figure isn't BAD. The individual pieces are very well done, even if Storm Jet is under-armed. However, the merged form is a bit... well, it should be much, much better. In the end, if you're a sucker for mergers, it's certainly worth getting. On the other hand, considering the work over-all on 'Energon', I expected much more for this piece.