Darth Vader - TAC - Basic (30 48)

While scouring the asteroid field for the Millennium Falcon, Darth Vader communicates with the Emperor via a hologram projection pod that transmits a flickering image of the sender. Vader coldly assures his Master that young Skywalker “will join us or die.”

Why is this action figure just called “Darth Vader”? This only begins to state the many problems with this action figure. Collectors wondered for years why a holographic image of Darth Vader never was included in the basic figure line. And now that it’s here, that question answers itself. Darth Vader is wrought with issues and we find this particularly upsetting. But we also need to put into the equation that this figure was included as a last minute replacement to the postponed The Force Unleashed wave of figures that got pushed into 2008. But sometimes haste makes waste unfortunately. If you like solid clear baby blue figures, then Darth Vader will make you really happy. But if you’re looking for a more authentic holographic representation of the Dark Lord of the Sith, complete with correct scale and everything else, well, keep on walking. Darth Vader is scene specific from The Empire Strikes Back, but on top of a very old sculpt being used, the figure just doesn’t add anything thrilling to your collections. That's not to say that there is something sympathetic about this figure that makes us grin a little. Unfortunately, this is a holographic figure that you won’t be able to include him in any dioramas thanks to his extraordinarily large size. (Jedi Council members are OK to be full 3.75" scale, Vader is not.) And believe it or not, we think the VOTC Darth Vader would have been a much better choice from which to make this new figure. At least you could position that figure in a pose that isn’t so action-oriented.

[Holographic] Darth Vader is a rework of the 2001 POTJ Darth Vader (Emperor’s Wrath) figure. For this round, the extra skull insert has been removed. It is a bit surprising that Hasbro would use an Episode VI Vader to construct this figure. But urban legend has it that Hasbro originally intended to use the 2000 POTJ Darth Vader (Dagobah) figure which would have been a little more fitting. Most Star Wars characters that carry lightsabers usually have them cast in blue for their hologram counterparts. We honestly think this is silly and at best, only the hilts should be carried forward and not the entire blade. And the flowing cloak (also cast in clear blue plastic) in very annoying and really doesn’t fit the purpose or aesthetic of a holographic figure too well. But the figure is what it is. It is “nice” to finally have a holographic Darth Vader, but it needs to be revisited again (and in smaller scale) before we can get excited about it. And there are no glittery particles mixed into the blue plastic to give it that illuminated look. But we do want to make the point that there were a lot of better figure choices to use. And we don’t think using a Power Of The Jedi figure was the best method. So you’re probably wondering if there is anything good about this figure. Well, the indirect answer is indeed yes. Hasbro also seemingly forgot what scene this version of Darth Vader is actually based, judging from the packaging and the coin. Sometimes referred to as being part of wave "7.5" which is the Repack & Repaint wave of the year, Darth Vader truly falls under wave 9 as it came after the Attack Of The Clones wave to replace The Force Unleashed wave.

We love the coin. It portrays Vader kneeling before the Emperor in his chamber ring and the angle is perfect to simulate that he is looking up. (This is also the still used on the packaging as well.) While this isn’t a reason to buy an action figure, we don have to admit that it makes swallowing this purchase much better. Sadly we have literally ripped this figure to shreds. You must be wondering what we think would make it better. We are glad you asked. Scale, scale, scale. Hasbro needs to make holographic images more to scale. 99% of the time they aren’t life size in the film, so we hope Hasbro can start scaling these back quite a bit and include them as accessories rarther than basic figures. We think everyone is over holographic 3.75” scaled figures now. (Editor’s Note: And with what Hasbro can do now with the miniature holograms included with The Clone Wars basic figures Asajj Ventress (No. 15) , Count Dooku (No. 13) and Commander TX-20 (CW46) as well as the Legacy Collection’s Clone Commander Cody (BD44) and the Darth Sidious Hologram (BD10), they certainly can make a much cooler “action figure” with today’s technology. Let’s get a significantly reduced scale Darth Vader hologram and the projector (scaled to fit inside the new big-size AT-AT vehicle) in its place. That would be a completely awesome accessory for the vehicle. But even though we wish for something else in its place, this figure sold marvelously well at retail (and it should have). We could go on and on and we know you get our point.) Let’s see what the future holds and hopefully we can get some really cool holographic figures forthcoming.