I don’t know whose brilliant idea it was, but someone decided that having two Dinobots be re-imagined as Energon combiners was a good idea. They also thought that it was a good idea to have them only be able to merge with one another, thereby all but removing the overall gimmick for the Autobot half of the line. And thus, the two-pack. Grimlock was an obvious choice; he was both the head of the Dinobots and a character so popular that his character was one of a handful that the comics actually revived due to the 1988/1989 push to re-release popular older figures. Unfortunately, he was partnered with Swoop and the duo were set up so that Swoop would have to form the legs… why they had the smallest one having to support the second biggest one is a question that lingers to this day.

            I managed to score a used Energon Grimlock from a yard sale, but unfortunately I didn’t see Energon Swoop; given the fact that most of the Transformers and Power Rangers toys present were in awful shape (I was literally finding only bits and pieces of figures), it’s possible that Swoop simply didn’t survive the previous owner; Grimlock himself is missing half of his tail, a testament to what he endured. As Grimlock and Swoop were only ever meant to combine with one another, this right here kills one of the figure’s two main gimmicks (the other being the fact that it’s a redone version of G1 Grimmy).

            This is a shame, as Energon Grimlock is actually a decent figure by himself. Granted, his physical proportions are more in keeping with Animated than Energon (especially once you realize that his dino tail is almost as big as the rest of his body) but all in all he’s still a neat toy. He’s got a surprising amount of articulation in his dino legs / robot arms, something that actually boosted his play value.

            All in all? I can’t rate the figure highly as his gimmick relies on another figure to do properly; unlike the other Energon Autobots, he was *literally* not made to work with them and so the purpose of that entire line has therefore been defeated. If you can find him and Swoop together, go for it. Rating: 5 / 10.