Cad Bane - TCW [SOTDS] - Basic (CW42)

Cad Bane and Todo 360 sneak inside the Jedi Temple. Bane has a well-deserved reputation as a ruthless bounty hunter. He is hired by Darth Sidious to steal a Jedi holocron. He and his techno-service droid gain access to the building and break into the well-guarded holocron library.

The Clone Wars line is clearly a learning curve for Hasbro. They have uttered time and again that it’s a kids’ line and that not all of the figures need to be full of high quality articulation. But with each season of the television show, we see the figures getting better and better (there are exceptions of course) and it seems that Hasbro is either directly or indirectly trying to reel in collectors of the realistic line. Until Hasbro starts making realistic-style The Clone Wars action figures, likely many collectors will never have the opportunity to appreciate the characters of the Filoni media event. And despite our initial resistance to the franchise, we have warmed up to it at an exponential rate. Yes, there are some figures that make us scratch our head, but the line is really becoming engaging and the figures are awesome. We say the line is a learning curve because Hasbro has just released the third unique version of Cad Bane and he is the best so far by a landslide. Forget what you know about the 2009 TCW [S2] Cad Bane (CW22) figure and the figure in the 2010 TCW [SOTDS] Pirate Speeder Bike With Cad Bane Deluxe/Class I set. Those are now antiquated thanks to a sterling new figure in the “Shadow Of The Dark Side” basic figure line look. You’ll be happy once you get Cad Bane into your collections. A beautiful paint job and enhanced articulation are only the beginnings to what makes this figure superior. And this time he doesn’t ship alone. He comes packed with Todo 360!

Hasbro made significant strides to make this version of Cad Bane the best. There is more free-flowing movement throughout the figure that was once inhibited by his complicated bounty hunter outfit (and everything cast in plastic). The first and most obvious difference is the this new Cad Bane figure is huge and dwarfs the previous versions. The difference is actually quite shocking. But the changes didn't stop there. He has new blaster pistols that are still very pliable but are bigger and fit like a glove in his holsters. He also comes with a separately molded satchel that fits nicely across his chest. And it is well-sculpted. His all-new head sculpt is brilliant. He has a sneer on his face and you can see all the evil welling up behind his eyes without pupils. And this Duros’ evil personality shines through better than ever thanks to excellent sculpting and even better paint applications. Cad Bane doesn’t have a perfect center of gravity unfortunately and he wants to fall forward all of the time (at least on our sample). But with a little patience, you are able to set him at ease and he will flesh out your collection beautifully. What’s more, Cad Bane is further improved this time around thanks to a separately sculpted piece, faux leather coattails and a removable hat that almost snaps into place instead of just balancing on his head. All of these enhancements make an action figure all the better and we’re thrilled Hasbro expended all of this energy to make this figure shine. We got articulated knees on the Deluxe figure, but this version is all the better and the joints are very well hidden. There is certainly a lot to be happy about here.

So a figure this great is just 100% perfect all around isn’t it? Well, unfortunately no. But this will depend upon your point of view. With 2010's TCW [SOTDS] Cad Bane’s Xanadu Blood vehicle also released in the same "Shadow Of The Dark Side" line, you would think they would have ensured compatibility.... but they didn’t. Cad Bane does not fit into the cockpit of the vehicle and this is a terrible shame. It makes us wonder if they even test these things out before releasing them. We wonder as we wander down this never-ending road of collecting. But will you live without having Cad Bane pilot his vehicle? We hope you will be able to deal with it, but we do feel your frustration. Hopefully the inclusion of a second figure will ease your pain. As a bonus, Hasbro has thrown in Todo 360. Essentially just an accessory, he only comes with an articulated head. However, Hasbro has given him an impressive paint job and there is an insignia on his head which ties everything all together. Todo 360 looks tattered and worn and it’s quite astounding that Hasbro included this such detail in this tiny figure. But the lack of articulation hardly qualifies it to be an action figure. Cad Bane is a monumental action figure in The Clone Wars line. It’s pretty cool that they are going back and improving their earliest takes on the figures. Cad Bane is essentially perfect now. He doesn’t come with articulated ankles, but everything else is. And between the enhanced sculpt and improved paint job, there is no doubt that this is a figure you must acquire for your collection.