Jedi Vs. Darth Sidious - TSC - Battle Packs

Here, in a lavish Senatorial office atop one of the tallest buildings on Coruscant, the endgame of the conflict between Sith and Jedi begins. Revealed as a Dark Lord of the Sith, Chancellor Palpatine vaults across his desk with the uncanny speed of a master in the Force, his lightsaber blazing to life. Its blade carries the swift death of no less than three Jedi. Even the great Mace Windu will be fought to a standstill in this, the first battle in a conflict that will end with the extermination of the Jedi.

The Saga Collection’s Jedi Vs. Darth Sidious Battle Packs set works significantly better in theory than it does in execution. On paper, it’s a set that should be very likeable and enjoyable, but yet the catalogue of parts available to us in 2006 don’t really allow for the best multipack it could be. For the group of figures in this set do not work together as well as they should have. A pivotal scene in Revenge Of The Sith, we really need super-articulated action figures (especially the Jedi) in order for Hasbro to do the justice this set deserves and right now a few more updates are needed before an ambitious Battle Packs set like this gets released for purchase. The biggest eyesore in this set is the included Darth Sidious figure. In fact, the 2005 ROTS Palpatine (III 35) figure is quite an abomination and never should see rerelease again. We think that the 2005 ROTS Sidious Vs. Mace Battle Arena Darth Sidious figure would have been a significantly better option here. That one is far from perfect too, but the proportions just seem more accurate (oh, and it doesn't have an awful action feature either). Not only does Darth Sidious technically have the wrong portrait (he should have come with the "handsome" Chancellor Palpatine head - he wasn't disfigured at this point), it's just a terrible figure overall. But if you can overlook the Darth Sidious figure, the rest of the candidates in this set are pretty fine (albeit imperfect) specimens. The set looks fantastic packaged and Hasbro has really mastered the marketing aspect of these sets with flawless presentation. The packaging pulls at our obsessive compulsions so don’t be surprised if you can’t resist this set.

Perhaps the best figure in the set is the repacked 2005 ROTS Agen Kolar (III 20). With a great deal of usable articulation (as well as the flexibility of the removable robe pieces so you can make an Episode II specific version of him), Agen Kolar has a wonderful soft-goods skirt (crafted in a form of synthetic velvet) and an wonderful pose. We’d be inclined to say that if this figure had some enhanced articulation like a ball-socket head, it would be the definitive version of him. Saesee Tiin and Kit Fisto are two other figures in this set that have been reused from the 2005 Revenge Of The Sith line. Both 2005’s ROTS Saesee Tiin (III 30) and 2005 ROTS Kit Fisto (III 22) see some paint alterations from their original releases and are reasonably good action figures and aside from a few coloring issues and just a few points where articulation could be improved, these figures are great for now until definitive version are made for us. Mace Windu is the surprise figure of the set. Hasbro resurrected Mace Windu from the 2003 SW Jedi High Council (Featuring Mace Windu, Oppo Rancisis & Even Piell) (1 of 2) set. This figure appears a little disproportionate and short when compared to the other Jedi in this set and we think Hasbro could have utilized other options for better results.

For trivia lovers, you may be interested in knowing that the Jedi Vs. Darth Sidious Battle Packs set appeared on early product lists as The Attempted Arrest Of Chancellor Palpatine. The latter is a little bit too wordy and the revised and final title gets right to the point. Still, no matter what this set ended up being called, it’s definitely one of Hasbro’s more loveable multipacks. A few years down the road as Hasbro updates the basic figure line, we think a revisit of this set would be sublime. Imagine this set packed with super-articulated updates of all the included characters. But as much as we would love to see this, it's likely that it will never happen. Always in motion is the future and who knows how long this format will last or what direction it will head. We think that as is the Jedi Vs. Darth Sidious Battle Packs set is a great enhancement to your collection. Could Hasbro have updated some of the included action figures? Absolutely! But that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t serve a wonderful purpose in The Saga Collection. We hope Hasbro continues this trend of movie-specific scene-inspired multipacks. Jedi Vs. Darth Sidious is only the tip of the iceberg. There is a wealth of scenes to draw incredible action figure sets. We hope Hasbro gets to work. And as figures get better, we'd love to see Hasbro revisit these with ultimate action figure interpretations of these characters.