The Black Series
Darth Plagueis
Editor’s Note: This review has been updated with a second look…
Original Review: Chris - 1/25/2014 07:48 PM
I’ve said it many times. One of my major gripes with the PT when compared to the OT is the weakness of the PT back story next to that of the OT. The OT’s back story is so immense that the audience and its on-screen out of water avatar, Luke Skywalker, were almost crushed by it. The PT’s back story is so wafer thin that it very well could have been written by Mrs. Hazeltine in Professor Donner’s adult education creative writing class. If you got that as a Throw Momma from the Train reference and your name does not rhyme with “yawn”, I’m impressed. You can be my friend. Remember, a writer writes…always.
That PT back story basically consisted of two name drops. One light. One dark. The former being Sifo-Dyas and the latter being the inspiration for the 18th figure of the Black Series, Darth Plagueis the Wise. Let me start of by saying that I HATE the visual concept of the Muun species in the Star Wars universe. To me, the Muun looks like it’s the result of a neophyte Photoshop artist having just seen Da Vinci’s Grotesque Heads for the first time. Even though I am a bit of a Sith connoisseur, Darth Plagueis has never been on my personal priority list for that reason.
But as Mr. Burns once famously said, I know what I hate and I don’t hate this. In fact, I kinda really like this figure. The sylphlike limbs are reminiscent of the alien from Close Encounters of the Third Kind and add an aura of creepiness. The headsculpt manages to portray the vacant expression of an inwardly focused character. I don’t know if this was intentional or a happy accident, but it works. The totally unimposing physique combined with an unconcerned expression manage to portray a confident Sith Lord.
I find the soft goods robe works well with the figure with the exception of the hood which is perpetually problematic at this scale. The hood can be worked into a non-ridiculous presentation with a little effort. My only real gripe with the figure is the elbow articulation. I don’t even think elbows can achieve a ninety degree bend. This is certainly annoying. I’m not really sure how Darth Plagueis is supposed to interact with the non-light saber accessories. I hope I got it right. My ignorance to the Expanded Universe aspects of Darth Plaguies is not due to spite. It’s because Star Wars: Darth Plagueis sits in my “to be read” stack and I don’t want to research the character too heavily for fear of spoilers.
All in all, I’m happy to have Darth Plaguies join my Sith Lord shelf. 9 out of 10.
Updated Review: Bret - 11/12//2018 07:05 AM
Have you heard the tragedy of Darth Plagueis’s thighs? They were so thin that he had a hard time standing straight. I mean, he could stand, but he had a lean, and I assume it’s because he lacked proper muscles in his thighs. It’s tragic. TRAGIC, I TELL YOU!
I never read the book Darth Plagueis. I’ll wait for the summary by Jimmy Jim Jam. So all I know about him is that he tried to cheat death. I have to guess the rest. He must have been an idiot. He apparently was okay with Sidious having his own apprentice, Maul, on the side. And then he died. I think that pretty much sums it up. Thanks, Jimmy, but I got this.
As for the figure, it’s pretty cool. He’s a Muun, and he’s not the first of his species to be made into an action figure. Good ol’ San Hill was one of those weird separatist council members who elicited an unintentional laugh from the audience during my first viewing of Attack of the Clones. Part of that was because of his silly thin head, and part was probably because of his corny line that was delivered with a comical smugness. San Hill may have been ridiculous, but his fellow Muun was one of a very long line of Sith Lords that bid their time waiting for the right moment to destroy the Jedi and take over the galaxy. In fact, he was the last Sith Lord master to NOT rule the galaxy. What a loser!
So the figure isn’t too bad, although it’s far from perfect. All I know about the Muun species is from San Hill’s 4 seconds of screen time. Plagueis is tall, although probably not tall enough, I imagine. He’s ridiculously thin, which seems accurate. And he has a silly shaped head, although as Chris points out, he does have a pretty satisfactory expression that gives him some depth, even at this scale. The sculpt is overall pretty good. He’s wearing a simple bodysuit, with the main standout feature being the boots/shin armor. The articulation is standard for the time super articulation, minus a waist. What a waste! He can be manipulated into some fairly basic fighting poses, so long as you can get him balanced to stand upright. My sample has an annoying lean, for which you have to compensate when posing.
He’s got a nice array of accessories. He has a Sithy staff, which he can wield a s a weapon, or just use as a walking stick of sorts. He has his red lightsaber, which also attaches to the end of the walking stick for whatever benefit. He can handle both, or either one, using a (relatively weak) two handed weapon grip. His hands aren’t particularly grippy, but they suffice. He comes with a removable bolero jacket (look it up), since he’s apparently a rather fashion forward Sith. He has his black soft goods robe, which seem to fit him better than most Hasbro robes at this scale. The hood isn’t ridiculous, but it isn’t great either. With some effort, the hood can be shaped to conform to his weird head just a bit (It didn’t really reflect as such in the photos. Whaddya gonna do?).
Finally, he comes with his respirator mask, like most Sith do. I wasn’t sure which way it was supposed to go. It seems that the pointy part would go by the nose, with the wider part covering the chin, and the air hoses being at the bottom. This seemed the most intuitive to me, and the picture of him on Wookieepedia would indicate that is correct. However, when the mask is turned the other way, with the point at the chin and the wider part and hoses at the nose, it seems to fit the sculpt better, as if this is what Hasbro intended. Along with Chris’s original photos, and after checking several other collecting sites’ galleries, it seems there is no consensus. So, do you what works for you, I guess. Whatever you choose, the head has to be removed from the strangely pliable neck post and ball joint before you position the mask over the post, and then reattach the head. The mask is somewhat ill-fitting, and tended to fall down off the face at the slightest provocation.
Overall, it’s an interesting looking Sith figure, but he would’t have been anywhere on my wish list. I guess it’s a good thing he exists, because it would seem that his mere mention in ROTS, along with a cameo of his ashes in an urn in Palpatine’s office is all we have for reference. The figure looks pretty nice, but has fairly pedestrian super-articulation, especially due to the lack of a waist joint. I would probably give this figure a 7 at best. I had no fun taking pictures of this figure, and that tends to affect my rating. At the risk of angering my colleague, I’m going to drop it a point to an 8. It’s close enough to the definitive version of the character, even though it has room for improvement, particularly in the articulation arena.
Verdict: Re-issue (VERY LOW priority)
The figure goes for moderately high prices on eBay, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this is one of the Black Series figures that Hasbro decides to repack in TVC, but if they have not yet done so, I’m not too supportive of it being selected. Unless he plays some kind of role in Episode IX (which seems plausible given all the rumors, especially from those highly reliable UK sites that Chris likes to reference).
Verdict Guide:
Re-sculpt = The figure is not definitive, and a new version should be developed.
Re-issue = This version is definitive (or close enough), and shows sufficient secondary market demand to warrant a straight repack.
No Action = This release does not require new attention.