Star Wars has been on a bit of a low point lately for toys. Not really a low point of quality or anything, if feels more like a low point of interest. The last few movies did alright, but not really amazing, and a lot fo the character designs were kind of bland. Lately they have been tapping into some of the older movies, and part of that, thankfully, involves re-releasing some of the previously release Black Series figures in the Archives line.
This isn’t a new line or anything, it’s been going on for a while, but it’s been getting better. They aren’t straight re-releasing figures for starters, they tend to have better paint apps and modern face print technology. Basically, they tend to be better. Anakin Skywalker was originally figure number 16 in the Black Series, released way back in 2014 or so.
This particular iterations is based on his appearance in The Revenge of the Sith. The pinnacle moment for Anakin, when he turns to the Dark Side and becomes Darth Vader. Though he doesn’t have a red light saber, Anakin didn’t have a red saber anyway, he does have an alternate “Evil head”. The second head is similar to the main head, though the pain apps make him look a bit more pale and he is scowling a bit more. Both looks good though, using the more modern print tech.
The only other accessory is his light saber. Like a lot of Star Wars figures, the blade is removable and the hilt can be hung on his belt. One thing of note, the blade and hilt feel a lot more rubbery than previous light sabers. The older ones are a little bendy, likely mostly to keep them from breaking easily, but this saber in particular seems really rubbery more than soft plasticey. It holds it’s shape and works already, but I kind of worry about sagging over time, which happens a lot with swords that aren’t real stiff.
The base figure is very similar to other Jedi releases, probably the same mold even, but comparing him to Revenge of the Sith Obi-Wan, he somehow is slightly better articulated. I couldn’t really get Obi-Wan to hold his sword with two hands properly, but Anakin could pull off a few two handed poses. He still can’t do anything real dynamic with any two handed poses, which is a bit of a bummer. The upper arms get caught up on the chest tunic too much.
I had been a little worried that Black Series was going to completely abandon the older movies for a while but they have really been pushing back into them. I’m glad they have re-released Anakin here, he’s one I’ve been wishing I had in my collection.
