Infinities Darth Vader - TBS [PP] - Six Inch Figures

In a galaxy filled with endless possibilities, Vader duels Luke aboard the second Death Star when Leia arrives revealing that she too is a Skywalker. Unable to confront both his children, he turns from the dark side. He reemerges as a Jedi once more, clad all in white.

In 2008, right before reaching the pinnacle of the Golden Age of Star Wars collecting (long gone and never returning), Hasbro went into overdrive with the Comic Packs line. It focused on many Expanded Universe sources from the many comics produced in the George Lucas era of Star Wars. One Comic Packs set, the Darth Vader/Princess Leia two-pack based on characters from Star Wars Infinities: Return Of The Jedi #4, gave collectors an all-white Darth Vader action figure. And because Hasbro designed the Comic Packs line to save on tooling costs wherever possible, Hasbro made use of an existing Darth Vader figure to produce the set. It was a popular Comic Packs set and commands quite a bit on the aftermarket today. But here we are, almost a decade and a half later, Hasbro decided to add 50% of the original Comic Packs set into their Publishing Program line. And admittedly, the new Infinities Darth Vader 6-inch figure, part of The Black Series 6-inch line, turned out inordinately well. However, it does use “older” tooling, which 6-inch collectors may find a bit frustrating. In our opinion, however, the Infinities Darth Vader looks fantastic, and we’re happy to see Hasbro acknowledge some of the best storytelling in the timeline.

That said, the Infinities Darth Vader is a breath of fresh air. We love the old Expanded Universe banner, and it’s lovely to see Disney Star Wars eat their words by seeing these figures produced and released for the original collector base. With so many near-definitive or definitive versions of Darth Vader 6-inch action figures under Hasbro’s belt, collectors should expect them to re-release them as needed to support the current media consistently. Hasbro returned to their 2020 lineup for Darth Vader and chose The Empire Strikes Back version from the "Anniversary" lineup (based on the 2017 A New Hope version) for this “Infinities” release. The all-white figure and all-white soft-goods fabric look gorgeous. And aside from some “pinkish” discoloring, we think this figure is a highlight of the 2022 product calendar year. Most collectors know this figure well by now. There isn’t much new to write about this figure, other than it’s nice to see it again available in a “photo negative” interpretation this time. Infinities Darth Vader may not appeal to all Star Wars collectors, but it’s a perfect candidate for the “Publishing Program” format. Now, all we need to do is get Hasbro to update this version of Darth Vader for The Vintage Collection. That action would be swell.

In 2017, the A New Hope Darth Vader was an all-new figure, and after a couple of releases, it remains a viable action figure “buck” for the line no matter its metamorphosis. Originally based on the character’s appearance from A New Hope (and likely Rogue One, too), Darth Vader brought a semblance to The Black Series 6” line that wasn’t present in previous versions. The figure is streamlined, tall, imposing, and athletic, all crucial details missing from older versions. The soft goods components’ draping is contained, has beautiful flowing characteristics, and sits nicely on the figure in many poses. Simply put, it’s the perfect template for all versions of Darth Vader across the Star Wars saga. The deco is simple here but as perfect as possible. Infinities Darth Vader comes loaded with 27 points of articulation. With this many points of articulation, the figure has incredible flexibility in your collection. What’s more, Darth Vader’s joints and nice and tight, and the figure doesn’t move from its position once you situate it there. Darth Vader comes with a hilt and a detachable red lightsaber blade. We adore the packaging Hasbro produced for these comic characters. But we also hope they make counterparts, so we have others to interact with them to complete our form of storytelling on a display shelf.