The Chaos Bringer has come for your wallet.

There have been plenty of Transformers rumors leading up to SDCC. At TFcon this past weekend, fans heard hints that various repainted War for Cybertron Siege characters would be revealed as box sets for certain retailers (much like Greenlight on Amazon). We also heard that there would be an “expected” Titan-class figure announcement about which character would be next after Omega Supreme’s fall release (smart money is on Skorponok).

But no one was expecting this.

You Cannot Destroy My Destiny

Hasbro has started a new HasLab project, the same crowdfunding platform that brought Jabba’s Sail Barge to life, on its new home at the Hasbro Pulse website. It’s none other than the biggest villain in the entire Transformers universe: Unicron!

Eat your way to a planetoid figure! (Credit: Hasbro)

Straight from the 1986 Transformers: The Movie, Unicron will stand over 27″ tall in robot mode. That’s 4 inches taller than the previous record-holder, Fortress Maximus. In planet-eater mode, he’ll be 30 inches in diameter and his prodigious 19 lb. bulk will be supported by a custom stand.

“Furnace tummy” they called me. I showed them. (Credit: Hasbro)

But we’re just getting started. The figure features individually articulated fingers (something usually only seen on third-party Transformers), a chomping robot mouth, moveable eyes, and a lens-type motion to open and close his jaws in planet mode (which looks incredibly satisfying).

Articulated for “the touch.” (Credit: Hasbro)

And I haven’t even gotten into the design and deco for Unicron. As I’ve mentioned before, modern Transformers designers are children of the 80s. As such, they’re designing toys that represent how they remember characters rather than how the characters actually looked in toy or cartoon form.

Proceed to oblivion! (Credit: Hasbro)

Because while I’m sure there’s a very niche portion of the fan base that’s upset we aren’t finally getting this unproduced G1 toy…

Orson Wells, but in toy form, the G1 Unicron was never produced. (Credit: Seibertron.com)

…I think most Transformers fans can agree the HasLab version, that takes into account every iteration of the character from G1 on, is a much more imposing figure.

Don’t talk to me or my…oh, never mind, I’m just going to eat him. (Credit: Hasbro)

He’ll be made to fit in with the War for Cybertron line, which possibly means you’ll be able to plug Unicron in as a weaponizer to another figure. Which is stupid and ridiculous and I love it. I look forward to Hound wearing Unicron as a hat.

“He turns into a planet? Where’s the fun in that?” (Credit: Hasbro)

Your Bargaining Posture is Highly Dubious

So how, exactly, will we get this monstrous beast of a figure into our hands? Being a HasLab project, it all hinges on getting at least 8,000 backers to hand over $574 before August 31 of this year.

The less said about the Twitter comments about this feature the better. (Credit: Hasbro)

That’s right. Nearly $600 for a Transformer. So not only is Unicron the biggest figure Hasbro has ever produced, he’s also the most expensive.

(Credit: Hasbro)

The fandom, of course, is up in arms about the expense, accusing Hasbro of a crass money grab. But if current toy trends have proven anything, it’s that adult collectors are willing to plunk down large amounts of cash for items that can serve as showpieces (like Super 7’s $600 Snake Mountain playset).

Do I wish Unicron was less expensive? Sure I do. Does that mean I won’t become a backer for a chance to own the most detailed, most articulated, most insanely awesome Transformer ever? No it does not. And just over 36 hours after he was announced, 1,000+ fans are feeling the same way.

(Credit: Hasbro)

If you’re ready for your wallet to proceed to oblivion, head over to HasbroPulse.com to get started (and check out all the amazing information on how Unicron is being developed). As long as Unicron is funded by August 31, the figure will ship in early 2021.

(Credit: Hasbro)

If you’ll be at SDCC this weekend, be sure to stop by the Hasbro booth! If Jabba’s Sail Barge is any indicator, they’ll have a prototype Unicron on display.