No one saw this coming.  Hasbro created the one clone buck to rule them all (for now), and they’re repainting it left and right.  The world is upside down!  [What’s that now?  Literally everyone saw this coming?  Well, I find that very hard to believe.  It’s true?  Oh.  Ah, well, then…].  Everyone saw this coming.  Hasbro created the one clone buck to rule them all (for now), and they’re repainting it left and right.  The world is as we knew it would be!

This release is based on the appearance of Phase I Clone Troopers in Ahsoka, which occurred during the flashback induced by the World Between Worlds during Ahsoka’s training with Anakin.  In one of the flashbacks, Ahsoka and Anakin are transported back to one of their first battles of the Clone Wars, on Teth.  Teth first appeared during The Clone Wars Movie, which launched the television show, and then made a few appearances in other episodes as well as in The Bad Batch.  Anakin and Ahsoka were joined by Captain Rex and Torrent Company of the 501st Legion on a mission to locate and rescue Jabba’s son, Rotta.  Asajj Ventress kidnapped Rotta as part of a plot by Dooku and the Separatists to end any chance at an alliance between Jabba and The Republic (for use of his hyperspace lanes). 

I just watched some scenes from the TCW movie so that I could re-acquaint myself with Teth and the clones depicted in the Ahsoka flashback.  In TCW, the heroes deploy and attack the suspected location of Rotta, being held at an abandoned B’Omarr Monk monastery (not unlike Jabba’s palace on Tatooine) from far below its cliffside location.  The opening moments show the clones charging on foot, supported by AT-TE’s and gunships, while the CIS forces reign blaster fire from their positions ahead.  The live-action flashback pretty much mimics this aspect of the opening shots of the battle. 

Fans are well aware that the earliest Phase I clone soldiers donned all white armor, while officers wore different color flashes to indicate rank of Commander (yellow), Captain (Red), Lieutenant (Blue), or Sergeant (Green).  The Grand Army of the Republic seemed to quickly drop the idea of allowing their ranks to be easily noted at distance by the enemy.  Simultaneously various colors and patterns were slowly being adopted by the clones to indicate their unit affiliation or to highlight their individual personalities.

While Rex had clearly gone all out with his specialized gear and unique paint job by this time, most of the clones that served on Teth were still in their basic white armor.  There were a couple of exceptions.  In the cartoon, there is at least one clone in Rex’s unit that has the markings depicted by this figure.  That is to say, it’s an early representation of the blue flashes adopted by the 501st, rather than those of a clone lieutenant.  The main differences that are most easily seen is the stripe down the center of the faceplate (continuous from “mohawk” fin to the chin on the LT, but broken on the forehead of the 501st) as well as the rank pips (4 blue dots on the left breast plate of the LT, absent from the 501st).  During the cartoon battle, one of these blue clones is conversing with Rex, and Rex refers to him as “sergeant.”  Additionally, during the live-action flashback battle, the battlefield is occupied by a significant number of the blue clones, as well as plenty of the all white clones.  In a real unit, you wouldn’t have so many lieutenants running around. 

Some may argue these are semantics, or continuity errors, or this or that.  But to me, this figure is therefore erroneously named “Clone Trooper Lieutenant”, and it is 100% a 501st Phase I Clone Trooper from the early stages of the war.  This should be corrected forthwith, straightaway, and pronto.  And it should be on a different cardback.  With a different source.  But keep the same VC number.  Or, the same cardback, with a different source, and a different VC number.  Or the same cardback, with the same source, and the same VC number.  Or with a paint variation but on a different cardback with the same source and….wait, what was I talking about?  I’m glad Hasbro has this part covered.

Anyway, this Clone Trooper Lieutenant 501st Clone Trooper is now arriving in our collections.  It works in concert with the VC347 Anakin Skywalker we reviewed yesterday, together with some white Phase I clones.  However, we lack a Phase I Rex and an updated Ahsoka Padawan to complete the scene.  Based on the disturbingly oversized special collector figures that were recently pipelined, I’d like to think a Phase I Rex is coming soon to TVC.  I’d also take a Kid Ahsoka based on the live-action flashback to replace the now terrible VC102.

The figure is great, we’ve reviewed it multiple times already.  This one doesn’t have a removable helmet, which I believe makes this a unique sculpt at the moment, with it therefore not being just a simple repaint of VC309.  It does come with both clone blaster weapons (no silver details).  It’s decorated well; it has some nice chipping in the paint scheme but lacks any kind of dirty wash or weathering, which is typical for recent clones.  The articulation is top notch, with the exception that the elbows and knees don’t flex much past 90.  Hasbro really has to bring that back into the line and make it standard.

Great sculpt, nice rank unit colors, excellent articulation, and a new (better looking) non-removable helmet result in an excellent 9/10.