For years, I survived with a single Force FX Lightsaber, and it wasn’t made by Habsro.  I managed to get the Master Replicas Force FX Darth Vader Lightsaber from the FAO Schwarz website when they accidentally listed it for around twenty dollars.  I always considered it neat, but a novelty.  I had it displayed for a while, but with a non-removable blade, it took up an inordinate amount of display space.  The next time I was feeling sporty about a lightsaber, I bought the eFx Signature Edition Darth Maul Lightsaber.  It’s much easier to display, but as just a hilt, it felt a little hollow.

Then a series of terrible, terrible things happened.  First Litzky PR sent a free sample of the Force FX Elite Darth Revan Lightsaber to Mr. Nomadscout.  Then Mr. Nomadscout sent that sample to me, again for free, and I immediately knew I was in trouble. I was blissfully unaware of the removable blade Force FX Lightsabers.  As they say, ignorance is bliss and I was able to resist the siren’s call of the Force FX sabers for years, but the removable blade proved to be my kryptonite. Hasbro had made the frosted mini-wheats of lightsabers.  With the blade removed, the hilt creates an easily displayed prop replica, but the kid in me loves attaching the blade and chasing the dogs around the house.  I knew I would want more of these.

I made a quick mental list of which sabers I would want to acquire, and Palpatine jumped immediately to the top of the list.  I’ve loved the design from the second I saw ol’ Sheev pull the “up the sleeve” trick to lay waste to three out of every four Jedi Masters.  Excuse me for a moment.

Note to self. Idea for a podcast name:  Sheev’s Sleeves.

Okay, I’m back.  Wait.  Was my mic still on?  Did everyone just hear that?  NO ONE STEAL THAT IDEA!

I’ve been staring at this Emperor Palpatine saber on Entertainment Earth for a while, but managed to avoid pulling the trigger.  But when I saw it sitting in GameStop yesterday, I threw my wallet at the cashier for the instant gratification.  Imagine that concept.  People are more likely to buy something if they can get it now instead of having to wait a week for it to ship.  Hasbro should apply the logic to their other lines as well, and sell them in stores. 

Once I had this open, it was exactly what I was hoping for.  It’s an amazing display piece.  The mirror-like electrum finish looks incredible, and the vertical stand allows for the most economical display footprint.  That is primarily why I purchased this item, but the play features are fun as always.  The progressive ignition still impresses me, as do the cutting and clashing features.  The only aspect I find questionable is the “Force Lightning Effect.”  Holding the green button to the left of the hilt turns the blade purple.  This feels like a gratuitous re-use of the color change feature from the Darth Revan saber. First, I would expect a “Force Lightning” effect to be blue, and not purple.  Second, when did Palpatine deflect any Force Lightning with his saber? Am I forgetting something?

Oh, and yes, I did pre-order the Force FX Dark Saber.