Savage Opress - TCW [SOTDS] - Basic (CW59)

Savage Opress is magically strengthened by the witches of Dathomir and trained by Count Dooku in lightsaber combat and the ways of the dark side. Dooku sends Opress on a mission to kidnap the king of Toydaria, but when the Jedi intervene, Opress wields his double-bladed lightsaber with devastating results.

Hasbro was pretty quick when it came to getting Savage Opress into The Clone Wars basic figure line. Destined to be one of the most popular characters in The Clone Wars television show, perhaps Hasbro felt more under pressure to attack this character as a priority number one to hopefully proactively meet demand. They’ve created a “shirtless” and “armored” version that were released right around the same time. Both are excellent specimens, but the “armored” version, also known as Savage Opress (CW59) is undoubtedly the superior figure. It comes with the same exact points of articulation as his “shirtless” counterpart, but some of the details like the paint job in particular is much more superior on the “armored” version. But it doesn’t stop at just the paint job. The sculpting of his armored costume and the inclusion of an all-new double-bladed lightsaber reinforce the fact that Hasbro wants to make quality products for us in the basic figure line. Savage Opress is an important Star Wars character to get right because he is immediately recognizable and kids and collectors both have latched onto him and memorized his every move. Thankfully, Hasbro brings an excellent action figure to the table for us and the final result should allow you to breathe a sigh of relief.

The most notable improvement when comparing the “armored” version of Savage Opress with the “shirtless” is the paint job of the face. Hasbro has cast the portrait in black plastic and painted the yellow details on top. This is completely opposite on the “shirtless” version, also known as Savage Opress (CW55). But having yellow paint against a black backdrop creates a more natural look to the facial structure and we're not entirely sure why this effect happens. There is more texture to the face and the color isn’t too bright. The horns poking through his crown are also painted extremely well. They are flawlessly decorated right down to the scalp and they too couldn’t look more realistic. Instead of a plastic-molded skirt like the “shirtless” version, the “armored” version has a soft-goods skirt which obviously helps when trying to pose the action figure. His hands are sculpted quite well so he can maneuver his battle axe (with projectile) as well as his ultra cool double-bladed lightsaber. Every little detail on Savage Opress (CW59) is really stunning. Take for example the hairline chevron pattern on his chest. It is expertly painted without any bleeding or imperfections. The removable shoulder armor is a nice touch, although it does leave big holes when not in place. And lastly the silver paint used to color his boots, belt and gauntlets is smooth and even. Sometimes silver doesn’t work well in plastic, but it works like a charm here.

Savage Opress comes with directions on how to utilize the action feature of his battle axe. It’s a little silly, but it seems that since Hasbro is squeaking action features back into action figures that they are well advised to remind us how these stupid things work. But the most interesting thing is that Hasbro has managed not to sacrifice the good aesthetics of their action figures by ruining the sculpts to only include the bulky action-oriented accessories. Action features are now part of accessories, but they also included the non-action feature version of the accessory or a different realistic accessory as well to make collectors happy (and quiet). It’s quite brilliant to be honest. What more could you ask for here with this awesome Savage Opress action figure? (You want ankle joints, don’t you?) With a solid 12 points of articulation, a beautiful paint job, the finest details we have seen in a longtime on a The Clone Wars figure and a healthy amount of accessories, Savage Opress should impress you at very high levels. We bet this won’t be the last time we see Savage Opress in the basic figure line. And we bet that you’ll see Savage Opress carried forward in a whole bunch of future assortments as well. This version of Savage Opress is absolutely superior and while it may take some time for Hasbro to meet demand at the retail level, rest assured that Hasbro will do all that they can to make sure that it does.