Back to the Black Series, Phase III (Red)...yep, it’s another repack!  Man, TBS was generally pretty uninspired, eh? In this case, was it a good choice for a repack?  Are you looking for an answer now?  Well, you won’t get it.  You have to read more stuff, and you may or may not enjoy it.

First off, have you ordered your Sail Barge* yet?  Do it now. I’ll wait.

Good?  Ok.

Chris reviewed this figure back in 2012, when it was The Vintage Collection’s VC105.  You can read his take.  Our reviews were less…wordy…at that time.  Since then, we’ve each recently earned our degrees from University of Phoenix recently, we know more words, so we’ll use them.

The figure is excellent, but you probably already know that.  There’s nothing really different here from the TVC release, except that the robe is of a superior material.  You get the opportunity to display this figure in two completely different ways, or even create some hybrids if you desired. The main draw here is that this is a great Emperor’s Royal Guard.  The figure looks fantastic standing at attention holding his staff, ready to do whatever it is that the royal guards are supposed to do when called upon.  Yoda certainly had no problem with them in ROTS, so maybe they’re all talk.  At least the next generation of Praetorians did more than just crumple to the ground like punks.  Anyway, the soft goods cape works well.  It can be positioned to hide the one strange thing about the figure, the right hand grip only works if you twist it kind of unnaturally into a position that must be painful for the poor guy to have to hold. 

Alternatively, you can create a Kir Kanos Crimson Empire dude.  The figure comes with two helmets, without which reveal the head underneath.  Also included is a removable shoulder guard, removable robe, and two different weapons.  Mixing and matching the equipment can give a variety of different looks.  It’s a versatile figure, with a lot of articulation and accessories.  It’s an outstanding example of what the collector line can offer.  You should get this figure.  Get several, and make a full compliment of guards to escort Palpatine off his shuttle.

Chris gave the figure a 9.  While this is a straight repack (other than the improved robe material) I am deducting one point for dropping the TVC packaging in favor of the TBS box, and also because that Kir Kanos dude ain’t cannon no more.

[Editor’s Note 9/21/18:  We have dropped the TVC figure to an 8 because of the poor coloring, thick robe, and room for improved articulation.  This figure dramatically improves the quality of the robe material enough to overcome some of the other negatives, and makes this a 9.]

Wait, what?  You didn’t order the Sail Barge* yet?  You’re just the worst type of person.  DO IT.

*Note to future historians:  The link provided at the time this review was written was for the utterly fabulous Khetanna Sail Barge campaign.  We in the present assume that you are reading this with envy, when the most awesome Hasbro Star Wars product ever made could have been had for a mere $500 US dollars.  As you read this, you’ll do the quick calculation and find that it is now worth 6 million Jovian Wingnutz, and all those that own one are automatically knighted into the Order of the Asteroid Belt.