The original cut of The Empire Strikes Back had a brief but memorable scene in which audiences were treated to seeing the Emperor for the first time on screen. In that scene, Clive Revill was the actor who provided Palpatine’s voice.  That’s right:  Clive Reville “only” voiced the character, but did not portray the him physically.  That was done by actress Marjorie Eaton.  The role was then recast for Return of the Jedi and all subsequent films and was then played by Ian McDiarmid.  Revill’s and Eaton’s role remained untouched until Lucas started screwing around with the originals, and the scene was eventually replaced with an updated version of the scene featuring Ian McDiarmid. 

Hasbro has had a ton of Palpatine figures over the years, but this is the first and only version that was specifically sculpted to look like the original ESB character, with the likeness as portrayed by Eaton.  That makes it a particularly unique offering.  However, as the Emperor only appeared in holographic form in ESB, this is really one of those “just of screen” incarnations created by Hasbro.  In order to more faithfully recreate the scene on your shelf, you’d probably look for that Disturbance in the Force electronic set offered at SDCC (shown in the last pic).  There’s really no place for this figure in a movie-accurate setup, but you should still find somewhere to put it, because it’s pretty neat that it even exists.

The figure is a standard SA sculpt, with ball jointed head, shoulders, elbows, knees, and ankles, along with a swivel waist, wrists, and hips.  It has good balance, and can be posed reasonably well, especially for a character that just stands th…no, no, that’s ridiculous.  He’s a Sith and he should be a dynamic figure.  He may be a hunched over old man, but so was Yoda, and he could duel with a lightsaber like nobody’s business.  In fact, the figure even comes with a lightsaber.  As ridiculous of an accessory as that is, it really just drives home the point that this isn’t a figure based precisely on it’s on screen appearance.

The head sculpt is really the standout aspect of the figure, with a more than passing resemblance to the creepy ESB Emperor.  It’s painted a bit strangely, but it has a kind of ghostlike appearance, which seems fitting.  It has sufficiently creepy eyes, and succeeds at being this singular, non-McDiarmid version of the Emperor.

Besides the aforementioned lightsaber, he comes with a well-sculpted cane.  The figure can grip both of these accessories in his right hand, as the left is sculpted in an open-palmed gesture.  The cane rests realistically on the floor as the figure grips it.  The removable hood is pliable plastic, and fits over the head nicely.  The hood is paired with a removable soft goods robe.  For the most part, it is cut very well, with long droopy Sith sleeves.  In conjunction with the non-removable soft goods skirt, the overall effect is pretty good.  My only real complaint would be the excessive length of the robe. Mixing soft goods with plastic clothing can sometimes be a nightmare, but it is executed fairly well here. 

I give this an 8/10.  It’s a special figure of the original ESB character, and therefore should hold a special place for old school collectors.  Get one if you don’t have it.  If you do, make sure you dig it out of your storage bin and display it!  I will call this the definitive pre-McDiarmid ESB Palpatine. But this figure, despite the high score, is not sufficient as a true Emperor Palpatine.  That figure is in desperate need of a definitive effort by Hasbro is The Vintage Collection.  This one is a novelty, and stands apart.

Build-A-Droid 

Emperor Palpatine contains the body for U-3PO, who was on board the Tantive IV as it was attacked by Darth Vader’s Star Destroyer.  Source:  A New Hope.