Battle-Damaged Darth Vader - TLC - Basic (GH 3)

A fierce battle with the newfound Rebel Alliance aboard the Death Star has pushed Darth Vader to the brink of defeat. Beaten and broken, the Dark Lord of the Sith is the closest he's come to death since Obi-Wan Kenobi defeated him on the burning shores of Mustafar.

Arguably, the most-anticipated figure of 2007 was 30 (77-07)'s Battle-Damaged Darth Vader. We were mercilessly teased with the prototype at Toy Fair 2007 but when schedules went amuck for The Force Unleashed video game, the figures based on it were also postponed until the first quarter of 2008 including the shining star, Battle-Damaged Darth Vader. But like anything Star Wars, all of the figures were well worth the wait. In particular, Battle-Damaged Darth Vader stole the show as an expertly sculpted action figure with some added play value (as in you put him together) finished off with great, um, battle-damage. He satisfied most in almost every way and will probably see release again throughout the duration of the basic figure line. A very nice touch to this figure is his torn cape. It looks fantastic and has been tattered appropriately to match the horrible destruction of his body and very famous costume he endures in the game. The paint job is incredible and he is super-articulated and the articulation is premium. The head likeness is based on actor Sebastian Shaw while the packaging artwork shows Hayden Christensen. And interestingly, the video game character looks to be an amalgamation of both actors, so the approach here works just fine for us. But whatever image this action figure favors, we can absolutely confirm that it is excellent in nearly every way and will be one of the highlights in your collection. The Force Unleashed has grasped the hearts of MANY Original Trilogy collectors. But that’s because the makers of the game are fans of it too and intended to bring all of this flavor forward into the video game.

While we will profess that the action figure is pretty awesome in every way, there are some things we would have preferred to see adjusted. For starters, his shoulder armor piece is too gold in color. We all know at best this piece of his armor is silver and the image in the video game looks even darker (almost all black). And the cloth outer robes do not go over top the costume like his Episode IV appearance. We’re not sure if this is something specific to the video game, or just Hasbro taking liberties here, but it does feel a tad off somewhat. Since The Force Unleashed takes place between Episode III and Episode IV, we are slightly disappointed that his costume doesn’t favor Episode IV. That would have pleased many Star Wars collectors. There are however several unique takes to appreciate despite this. One other issue we take is with his metal foot. It is too big for his frame because it is wider than his foot that is covered by a boot. This left foot looks a bit out of scale and slightly exaggerated, but nonetheless cool. (We are evidently nitpicking here. Sometimes things don't have to be perfect to be cool, the metal foot is one of these examples. Still, we would have loved to have seen editing done before the figure’s release.) When the helmet is put on his head, the eyes don't match up perfectly. This will cause an anal-retentive collector to go mad. The same is true for his chest plate but to a lesser degree. We wished the parts just fit together a little bit better. But remember that this is a 3.75" scale figure, and we still think Hasbro provided us with a premium product here. Again, these aren’t reasons to thrown out the baby with the bathwater.

The Force Unleashed was a pretty big hit and it seems that fans are savoring the very small collection of figures so far with the hope that more will follow. And this is quite a powerful thing since many do not even know much about the game or follow it. Looking at Battle-Damaged Darth Vader over and over, it really makes you consider how much hell Anakin Skywalker experienced time and again. And seeing him vulnerable in his Darth Vader costume, while cool, somewhat takes away from his assumed invincibility we saw throughout most of the Original Trilogy. And of course we only saw his harsh exterior crumble when he was softened by Luke Skywalker reaching out and trying to save him. The spirit of the figure is weak, but the flesh of it is strong (if that makes any sense). So, Battle-Damaged Darth Vader excels and fails in many different ways. That is not to say that this is a poor action figure, because it isn't. It is actually a marvelous action and one of the best Hasbro has ever produced. But you will have to accept this stage of Darth Vader for who he is and what he endured in The Force Unleashed video game (and all related materials in the multimedia event). Looking much cooler in the 30 (77-07) packaging, the figure has been reissued in The Legacy Collection as one of the few and quickly discontinued "Greatest Hits" figures. Its designation is officially GH 3. Nothing quite beats silver and black packaging and TAC had the coolest packaging where it counted. But with The Legacy Collection version you get the dome and third leg to R4-D6 which in and of itself is a Build A Droid you should absolutely track down. The packaging isn’t as exciting, but the Droid Factory feature is. The choice is yours!