Anakin Skywalker - TVC - Basic (VC80)

There seems to be a pattern with a few figures in The Phantom Menace wave of The Vintage Collection. They all have "Expanded Universe" elements added to their movie-specific appearances. Just as you can quickly (and entirely) disrobe Darth Sidious to show a "dark Jedi" underneath, Hasbro applied something similar to Anakin Skywalker but in the other direction. Padawan Anakin Skywalker, as seen at the tail end of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, is more "Anakin Skywalker through the eyes of Episode II" than specifically that character at the celebration on Naboo. Anakin has all the necessary Jedi training tools to become a Jedi Knight. The Jedi training helmet, remote, and lightsaber are all things we saw in Episode II when Yoda was training the younglings. In case you're unsure of our position, additional accessories like these only add play value to what would otherwise be a very "boring" figure. And it indeed adds a world more worth of play value here. We have now seen Hasbro throw these "off-screen" accessories into basic action figures. It keeps things interesting in the basic figure line, and for that, we're thankful. Accessories not part of the scenes in the films aren't a big deal for purists since they are easily placed to the side if collectors want to remain faithful to the movies or those looking for "movie only" interpretations of the Star Wars characters. Since we didn't see young Anakin Skywalker train in the Jedi arts in the films, now we can make that a reality through the basic figure line. And we couldn't think of a better way to have Hasbro deliver all these things to us. An excellent action figure loaded with accessories is always a winning combination. And collectors will have difficulty finding something to complain about with this interpretation of Anakin Skywalker. After years of claiming that a new and revised young Anakin Skywalker action figure would likely not be tackled or revisited, Hasbro threw us off course and decided to produce it anyway. A decade later, they've reissued the figure with Photo Real updating and a revised paint job, making it fresh for the 2022 iteration of The Vintage Collection. The enhanced paint operations make this update more memorable than the original release.

Anakin Skywalker is a nicely articulated action figure. Hasbro worked in an impressive 22 points of articulation. The first release came with mismatched ankle joints, but Hasbro corrected it for the 2022 release. Now, nothing interrupts or disrupts the overall aesthetics of the figure currently. The enhanced paint operations here are fantastic. The figure will mildly impress you as you inspect it closely. We're confident you'll find that there is still something here to appreciate. Despite this, we're seeing how the head sculpt is aging now. Hasbro incorporated a soft-goods skirt, which is a very nice touch but not entirely necessary since the figure doesn't come with ball-jointed hips. Still, it helps when moving them back and forth. The coloring looks pretty good, and the amount of detail added is adequate. There is more here than we expected Hasbro to include on a figure of this size or stature. The game changed for smaller-sized action figures when Hasbro released 2010's TCW [SOTDS] Boba Fett (CW32) figure. That figure was a fantastic accomplishment so we wouldn't have any problems holding Hasbro to the same criteria for the new Anakin Skywalker figure. Unfortunately, they chose not to include ball-jointed hips here – and that's a setback for us because we're spoiled now. Hasbro gave Anakin Skywalker a wonderful portrait even though the figure looks slightly cherubic. But you'll find a strong resemblance to actor Jake Lloyd. The figure's hair is short and meant to look freshly cut, but it is more curly than anticipated. The costume comes loaded with details, including proper wrinkling and coloring. Anakin Skywalker has a few problems when it comes to standing. The feet are smaller, so we imagine the quality of the ball joints in the ankles might be somewhat compromised. Anyway, you may have difficulty keeping the figure upright at times. Anakin Skywalker is also appropriately scaled and looks in proportion, standing next to both Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, and it's a basic rule that all action figures should be in scale to each other. That rule is satisfied here.

As mentioned earlier, Anakin Skywalker comes with "Episode II-specific" accessories, and that's ironic since the character never appeared in Episode II as a young Padawan. Hasbro was gracious to include an all-new lightsaber and hilt, but more importantly, Hasbro was incredibly kind to us and ensured that the hilt plugs into a hole in the figure's belt. This design is a beautiful addition to the figure. After all, many collectors can't stand to see gaps in their action figures. Anakin Skywalker also comes with an all-new Jedi Padawan training helmet. It's a spectacular design, although it looks too big for the figure's head. But it doesn't discount the impressive sculpting of the accessory. And lastly, Anakin Skywalker comes with a training remote on an "invisible" stand. It's all one piece (the stand and the remote), but we don't understand why Hasbro designed it to droop as it does. It almost looks humorous. But again, this is the Expanded Universe's take on the figure and not something we will let upset us. The paint job on the figure is equally impressive, too. Hasbro updated many of the colors used in the 2022 update. The figure's skin tone is lighter, too. We hope Hasbro garners great success from this action figure so they can go back and develop an all-new "Tatooine slave" version of Anakin Skywalker, an outfit the character wore throughout most of Episode I. Once we have that version, we think it's a safe bet that we will not need others. (They can include a pair of goggles with it so we can have a Podrace take on Anakin as well.) Anakin Skywalker, once again, is another excellent all-new action figure in The Phantom Menace wave in The Vintage Collection. We don't think it's the best choice for a reissue, but for some reason, Hasbro thought so. It still perplexes us how far along we have come in the basic figure line. If you can rewind your memory to 1999, did you ever think we would ever get a short action figure like this with 22 points of articulation? That's a remarkable feat. We certainly didn't anticipate it coming to fruition. But we're happy that it is so we can enjoy a small work of art like this action figure.

Editor's Note: Hasbro re-released The Vintage Collection Anakin Skywalker (VC80) figure in April 2022 with a significant number of changes. Updates include: (1) Photo Real deco, (2) lighter muted complexion (3) matching ankle joint pegs, (4) different color palette of outfit, (5) refreshed 2020 packaging with different graphics, (6) different shade of green for figure backer and nameplate, and (7) different placement of action figure and accessories in bubble

Review Status Update: The original publication date of this review is January 3, 2012. It was subsequently updated with a new Photo Gallery and revised General Analysis and republished on April 8, 2022 after Hasbro reissued the figure.