Imperial Death Trooper - Elite Series

The elite soldiers of Imperial Intelligence, Death Troopers are encased in specialized stormtrooper armor with a dark, ominous gleam. These soldiers serve as bodyguards and enforcers for Director Krennic, a highly placed officer within the advanced weapons Research Division of the Empire.

Imperial Death Troopers are awesome. And admittedly they look awesome in the Disney Elite Series line too. Not all characters look great in a die-cast metal format, but droids and helmeted characters don’t look all that terrible. Rogue One: Star Wars Story possessed a remarkable Original Trilogy familiarity, and it went over well with longtime Star Wars fans. The members of the Galactic Empire that were introduced also helped to develop an already diverse Imperial navy and the new designs and colorful armor helped fans to appreciate them more. The Imperial Death Troopers were a “reverse” Stormtrooper type of character, but their tall and thin frames helped establish them as some of the unique Imperials we’d seen up to this point. And they quickly became a focus of merchandising throughout 2016. The Elite Series Imperial Death Trooper came out better than expected. And collectors found it to be a high point in the Elite Series line.

The Imperial Death Trooper looks great. He comes with 16 points of articulation, but this articulation system is standard for the line. The range of movement the system offers isn’t ideal, but the Elite Series are intended for display, and not play. The figure can hold his guns well, but other than that he doesn’t do much else. The detail etched into the metal is impressive. And the inclusion of some plastic parts helps to create a seamless figure that is complete from head to toe. Ball-socket, ball-jointed, and swivel articulation make up the figure’s movement. But again, the points don’t function well as a system, so you can’t attain a lot of movement with the figure. Again, lack of movement isn’t a huge deal with the Elite Series line as these are meant to be displayed and not much else. But you have to wonder why the figures cost as much as they do when they aren’t the most friendly when it comes to their articulation; a significant source of an action figure’s cost.

The Imperial Death Trooper has a fantastic sculpt and relatively hidden articulation, but he also has stunning paint operations. Disney did a beautiful job decorating the figure, and the figure looks so good that he could have jumped out of the screen into your hands without question. The neon green detail in the helmet is stunning. And the shiny black armor brings everything together in a wonderful way. This guy, in particular, is a commander as evidenced by the pauldron. We didn’t have success removing it, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t possible. Like all of the Elite Series figure, the Imperial Death Trooper comes with an oval-shaped Star Wars display stand. Each Elite Series figure has a hole in its right foot. The functionality of the hole isn’t ideal but works for the most part. It’s no secret that the Imperial Death Trooper is one of the best figures in the Disney Elite Series line. Collectors of this format are going to regard it as one of the finest too. But it is limited in movement.