Darth Vader (Exclusive Collectors Edition) - ROTS - Basic (Exclusive)

Lured by promises of unlimited power, Anakin gives up everyone he cares about and falls to the dark side of the Force. Encased in the black armor that will come to strike fear throughout the galaxy, he is no longer Anakin Skywalker – he is now Darth Vader.

Wow. The power of marketing! Only Hasbro could sell us a bridge via TARGET in the form of a nearly decade old sculpt with some pretty glowing paint on it, mark it up over 100% and create a demand that didn’t seem to be filled – even with 50,000 units produced of it. By now you know that 50,000 pieces isn’t small by any means for a Star Wars figure. It’s not the same numbers we see for a mainline basic figure, but 50,000 pieces should have sat on shelves for months. Instead, the Darth Vader (Exclusive Collectors Edition) figure was cleverly marketed beforehand and the buzz stirred from it made it one of the most sought after figures of 2005. We’re impressed with how well the figure went over with the collecting community, but come on, really, didn’t most of you have buyer’s remorse by the time you arrived home with it? Yes, we’re being overtly harsh here. After all, this “lava reflection” Darth Vader figure was more about an experience than an actual collectible. So what are your recollections?

The packaging of this Darth Vader figure goes on to explain that it was created especially for Target to celebrate the release of the final episode in the Star Wars saga, Revenge of the Sith. And then on the front of the packaging it clearly shows its edition size has been "limited" to 50,000. Again, this isn't a tiny number folks and had it not be advertised as a goldmine rarity, it may have lasted on the shelves a little bit longer. The shocking $12.99 price tag is something we frankly don’t understand. Hasbro has a strange affection for the Darth Vader sculpt that started out life in 1997’s POTF2 Final Jedi Duel Cinema Scenes multipack. If you recall, they also used the same sculpt for 2002’s Toy Fair “silver” Darth Vader figure as well. But the facts of the matter are that the figure is terribly disproportionate, poorly articulated and not aesthetically pleasing at all. The packaging was fun, but it didn’t make the overcharge of $12.99 any more palatable.

We would be remiss not to mention that Darth Vader (Exclusive Collectors Edition) marks a very momentous point for Star Wars fans. George Lucas said that Revenge Of The Sith was to be the last Star Wars film ever, so Hasbro really went above and beyond to create exclusives that collectors could cherish for years, not because they’re fantastic collectibles, but because they're memory triggers about where we were and what we did and what we bought to celebrate Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith in theaters. This Darth Vader figure is poor at best. Between his chubby and wonky proportions and his ill-colored lightsaber (where’s its “lava reflection” glow?), Darth Vader is overall a disappointment on nearly every level. Some of you had to be handed a ticket when you walked into TARGET on April 2, 2005 to ensure you got a figure, while other could walk right to the Star Wars aisle and pick it off of the shelf. But whatever memory you had, it was obviously a great one.