Princess Leia/Darth Vader - TAC - Comic Packs (No. 09)

The Star Wars: Infinities comics were embraced tightly by fans of the Expanded Universe. And even hardcore “movie only” fans couldn’t deny how cool some of the stories were. The theme of this comic series was based on a “what if.... “ perspective where one event transpires differently from what we are familiar with in the films. This then changes the path of the storyline forever and sets our beloved Star Wars characters on new an exciting journeys. (Think of the premise in the "Back To The Future” franchise – changing one thing will change history, for better of for worse.) Hasbro specifically chose Star Wars: Infinities #4 to base a Comic Packs set on and we have to come right out and say it’s one of our most favorite yet. Based on altered events from The Empire Strikes Back, it is now Leia instead of Luke that confronts Darth Vader and the stage is set for other things to happen as well. It’s one of our most favorite Comic Packs sets because this duo looks fantastic together and their design is wonderful. This is actually saying a lot because although Princess Leia is super-articulated, Darth Vader is much more limited in articulation. We would have hoped for more (and better) articulation on him, but he has an incredible sculpt and cool features that make him better than he actually is.

Darth Vader looks very much like the 2007 TAC Concept Darth Vader (Ralph McQuarrie Signature Series) (30 28) figure, but even better in our opinion. The shape of the helmet is almost an exact replica of the McQuarrie concept of Darth Vader, and even his cape has been designed to look similar to it as well with that familiar jagged-edged hem reminiscent of what Batman wears for a cape. But instead of soft-goods, Hasbro opted to mold it in a very flexible plastic. It fits the figure perfectly. The figure unfortunately has swivel shoulders and it makes the ball-jointed elbows more necessary than ever because that it really your only meaningful upper body movement. The helmet is removable (one piece) and underneath is a very comic inspired interpretation of Anakin Skywalker. Apparently Hasbro forgot that he sustained terrible burns and was bald, but we digress. But the portrait looks awesome and could maybe perhaps pass for a younger and more handsome version of Anakin Skywalker, had he not turned to evil. Hasbro has incorporated a removable battle-damaged chest plate with excellent painted details underneath of it. It snaps into place with two tiny plugs and stays there snuggly and doesn’t fall out. Lastly, Darth Vader also comes with a lightsaber.

As we have mentioned, Princess Leia is also excellent. She has a better than average likeness and the sculpt is just as good. Loaded with plnety of quality articulation, you’ll have lots of options for posing and balancing her and you’ll find she has a high level of overall great play value in general. She comes with a lightsaber hilt with a detachable blue blade. These types of lightsabers gives us indigestion because they are so easy to break. The very small attachment plug breaks off it you look at it wrong. And perish the thought if she falls forward because any force like gravity will be enough to snap it off and it will forever stay in the lightsaber hilt. Hasbro etched lots of fine detail into her costume and the colors are painted very well. It’s very interesting to see Princess Leia in Jedi gear, but it works well here. The Princess Leia/Darth Vader Comic Packs set comes highly recommended by us. You’ll definitely appreciate what a great action figure Darth Vader is, even if he’s the inferior figure in this two-pack. Are there things we would have liked to see approached differently? Absolutely! Princess Leia’s face shouldn’t have been painted and Hasbro should have sold their firstborn to ensure Darth Vader came with ball-jointed shoulders. But there is really enough here to make this a worthwhile purchase for your collection. (Editor's Note: Special thanks to Jayson Krebsbach from Yakface.com for the reference images.)