Mandalorian are all the rage now, thanks to a show called “The Mandalorian.”  Well, at least that’s what Hasbro would have us believe.  Mandos are cool and all, but it’s hard to keep track of what’s happening in TVC with these guys.  I had to read up just to understand the lore, and the differences.  So I’m going to take a stab at it.  The Death Watch was a group of warriors that valued the old warrior ways of Mandalore, and opposed the pacifist rule of Satine Kryze.  They were led by Pre Vizsla, with Bo-Katan Kryze at his side.  After joining forces with Darth Maul, a bunch of stuff happened, and Maul took control of Mandalore after killing Vizsla.  The Death Watch then split, with some remaining loyal to Maul, and others fleeing the planet with Bo-Katan.  At some point during all this, a group of Death Watch warriors arrived on the planet Aq Vetina to rescue a village from Separatist attack, and in the process, they took in a young Din Djarin who was raised as a member of The Tribe, a sect of the Children of the Watch.

Confusing?  Maybe.  I’m not even sure I got all that right.  But here’s the point for collectors of TVC.  Hasbro, in short order, is releasing four Mandalorian warrior figures.  This “Death Watch Mandalorian” is from The Mandalorian live action show, and can be seen rescuing Kid Djarin from the Super Battle Droids in an S1:E8 flashback.  The Clone Wars-inspired version is coming soon, as the “Death Watch Airborne Mandalorian,” which were seen in a bunch of TCW episodes during the fight for control of Mandalore.  Also coming soon are a similarly inspired pair of figures representing the Death Watch that were loyal to Darth Maul.  The “Mandalorian Super Commando” had black and red armor to honor the former Sith Lord. while the “Mandalorian Super Commando Captain” fashioned horns on their helmets to be even more Mauly.  We should have all four figures in our hands this year.  This is the first of the four.

Enough talk.  Let’s talk more.  This figure is awesome.  I really struggle to find anything wrong with it.  It is a great representation of the live-action version of the organization.  Hasbro opted to go with the two-stripe rank, even though (I think) the three-striper who actually rescues Din and several one-stripers get more screen time.  The sculpt is great.  It is essentially a retool, mostly of the pre-beskar Din Djarin figure.  It feels completely new, though.  The tooling, paint, and updated articulation are all top notch. 

The figure has full JLA, including the new style hips.  Posing this figure is a joy.  It stands easily, and can be posed in tons of ways.  I love how most of the new figures from Hasbro have elbow and knee joints that can bend well past 90 degrees, which really makes a huge difference from past figures in ability to achieve realistic posing.  I don’t believe that Hasbro has any room in 2022 for better articulation than this figure sports.

As for features, the helmet is non-removable, which is fine since these guys were nuts who never took them off, even when eating.  Even still, we get an articulated range finder, which seems hit or miss with some Mando figures today.  For accessories, we get a pistol that fits well in the figure’s hand and in the holster.  The jetpack is removable (leaving a hole in the back, if you choose to do this.).  Also included is the shotgun-like weapon, with the two-handed grip.  This blaster was pretty powerful, making short work of B2 SBD’s.

I have to dig deep to come up with any complaints.  The rifle is a bit soft, and the figure probably should have included a couple of flame effects to plug into the jet pack.  Other than that, I have nothing but praise for this figure.  A bunch of them taking on separatist foes would make for a great diorama.  Maybe Hasbro would consider releasing a troop builder 4-pack to include the different rank insignia. 

I can find no reason to score it less than 10, other than we’re about to get Mando’d out.  Fortunately for this figure, it’s the first of the bunch, so I’m not there yet.