Padmé Amidala - TBS [P1] - Basic (#01)

Padmé Amidala is captured during a mission to Geonosis and must fight for her life in the execution arena.

Collectors aren’t a patient group of people, but you know if we wait long enough that Hasbro will eventually get to updating some of their earliest action figure efforts. Padmé Amidala in her battle-worn outfit while sustaining the multitudes of brutality in the Geonosis arena was in need of a major overhaul and it took Hasbro over a decade to get the redo out to us. The wait was long, but now Hasbro brings us an all-new sculpt (that’s right, not one part has been reused) that is a stunning likeness of the former Naboo queen and with battle scars so realistic that you’ll cringe a little bit looking at them. There is new packaging to be had. It’s slightly dull and drab, but Hasbro used a bright orange color for the font and pattern detail to break up the monotonous line look. You’ll have to look beyond it if you don’t like it, because there are some great figures contained within it. Padmé Amidala is the first figure in the 3.75” The Black Series line and she is the perfect introduction to collectors to show them that good things are in store for this line. Attention to deal, super-articulation, excellent sculpting and flawless deco are all parts of the recipe to The Black Series line and that collectors should have a plethora of great things to look forward to should the line thrive and become the new replacement for The Vintage Collection. Padmé Amidala is nearly flawless. In fact, aside from the mismatched right arm elbow joint, we can’t find anything else that sticks out negatively. She is that good. Let’s look specifically at what makes this figure a complete success.

As stated, Padmé Amidala is an all-new sculpt. When you compare her against the similar, but quite different Padmé Amidala figure from the 2008 TLC The Padmé Amidala Legacy Evolutions set, you’ll find that at first glance they should contain at least some similar parts. But upon closer inspection you’ll quickly discover that nothing was borrowed and brought forward. Some detail that you’ll probably notice right off the bat is that Padmé Amidala’s white outfit is significantly darker than the Evolutions figure. Clearly she has sustained quite a bit of battle-damage at this point as compared to when she first enters the Geonosis droid factory, but the creamier tone of her outfit looks infinitely better and more authentic. With plenty of premium ball-jointed articulation, Padmé Amidala also comes with plenty of swivel articulation, most of it however works successfully with the ball-jointed points of articulation. They work in tandem with each other instead of against each other. You will also notice that Padmé has a much rounder face with softer (and much more feminine) features. She is actually pretty and looks very much like actress Natalie Portman. She has been sculpted with a ball-jointed torso. The ripped portion where the Nexu swiped at her actually hides a nice section of the articulation for a more seamless look. The bleeding scratches look fantastic and finalize the need for any more battle-damaged Amidala figures for our collections. Yes, you can finally toss out your 2007 TSC Padmé Amidala (SAGA 067) figure.

Padmé Amidala comes with her signature Naboo blaster. It may be misapplied for this particular action figure’s needs. By this point she had been stripped of any weaponry brought with her before encountering the Geonosians and Separatists. But Hasbro remedies that issue immediately by arming her with a droid blaster too. There are plenty of scenes in Attack Of The Clones where we see Padmé brandishing a Battle Droid blaster, so it would really be quite a shocker if Hasbro decided not to include alternate weaponry. Her hands have been sculpted very well to accept both guns and we are glad we can bury that concern (with the others we had for this figure) because not possessing the ability to hold your own gun is a very frustrating thing for collectors. Padmé Amidala is perfectly in scale with the rest of the properly scaled figures in the basic figure line. And despite this figure stealing the show for one of the best Padmé Amidala figures of all time, she still looks good next to the Evolutions figure. (But you may find that the Evolutions figure is going to start aging again. The Evolutions head sculpt pales in comparison.) The Vintage Collection may be done and you may be resistant to accept The Black Series as the new basic figure line for collectors. But don’t shoot yourself in the foot and pass on the great action figures that will soon be coming in this new lineup. Padmé Amidala is proof positive that amazing figures are coming. The Black Series is the new collector line and Hasbro is producing action figures with you in mind.