Sith Lords (Darth Vader/Darth Maul) - POTJ - Action Collection

Within the darkest shadows of the galaxy exists the Sith, a sinister order devoted to the dark side of the Force and led by the fearsome Dark Lords of the Sith. Of these dreaded figures, none are more notorious or more dangerous than Darth Maul and Darth Vader. Both masters of the dark side share a legacy of servitude under the most powerful force of evil the galaxy has ever known. Darth Maul, a master of hand-to-hand combat, was a lethal warrior and a key figure in the Sith's rise to power, while Darth Vader hunted down and exterminated nearly all the Jedi Knights-an act that made way for the Empire's galactic reign of terror. Each was finally defeated by their own slavery to the dark side of the Force.

Driven to his knees by Luke Skywalker's relentless lightsaber attack, Darth Vader faces his final defeat in the throne room of the Death Star.

Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Maul exchange lightsaber blows near the reactor core of the Theed generator complex.

As Hasbro tucked the entire Star Wars saga under one banner, the Power Of The Jedi line, they created some interesting products that didn’t make sense, but went over well with collectors nonetheless. One release from the Action Collection that fits this bill is the Sith Lords (Darth Vader/Darth Maul) two-pack set. Pairing Darth Vader and Darth Maul together is a strange move to make, but because they’re both Sith Lords, they fall under the same label and therefore make sense for a themed product like this Action Collection set is. Both figures have varying levels of newness, but Hasbro did enough to both of them to make them feel like completely new figures in the Action Collection line. Two of the Star Wars saga’s most popular characters packaged together is a sagacious decision to make in retrospect. Star Wars collectors love the villains from the films, and this Action Collection set brings together two of the most popular “bad guys” from the films. And for some strange reason, the set goes over better than we expected.

Darth Vader is a retool and repaint of 1998’s POTF2 [FF/TKC] Darth Vader electronic 13” figure. This time Hasbro completely repainted the figure to give it a screen-accurate paint job for Anakin Skywalker’s face. The new paint job is eerily, realistic, and beautifully applied. It makes the 1998 version look pretty bad by today’s standards. More important, Hasbro also retooled the figure's right arm to include a removable hand showing wiring underneath the glove. The new feature works like a charm. It stays tightly in place so he can wield his lightsaber. But it’s also easily removable for when you want to recreate the moment when Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight) chops it off in his anger. The three-piece helmet is still in place here. The collar stays in place and isn’t removable, but the faceplate and domed helmet snap-fit together to complete Darth Vader’s signature look. Like the 1998 version, Darth Vader is based on his appearance from Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi. Hasbro faithfully recreated all of his features nicely.

Darth Maul is an all-new figure and is different than all the previous versions of Darth Maul previously released. Hasbro tooled ANOTHER all-new portrait for this release. And you’ll notice this version has a more streamlined look to it than the first two Hasbro produced during the Episode I line. Hasbro added more distinguishing details to Darth Maul’s costume, and the fabrics look to be of higher quality too. For this release, Darth Maul comes with a double-bladed lightsaber hilt that breaks into two parts, recreating what we see during his battle with Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Likewise, the two halves each accompany a lightsaber blade. It’s nice to have the interchangeability this lightsaber accessory offers. Hasbro could have made this a very simple lightsaber, but they did all they could to give every iteration of it seen in the film. We’re glad to see them employ so much effort in a small accessory. The Sith Lords (Darth Vader/Darth Maul) set is very nice. If you appreciate the Action Collection scale, this set is for you; no questions asked.