Cad Bane - SW [TPM 3D] - The Clone Wars (CW4)

Cad Bane is hired by Darth Sidious to break into the Jedi Temple and steal a holocron containing the secret names of future Jedi. The resourceful and cunning bounty hunter carefully puts his plan in place using schematics of the temple, a techno-service droid and an unscrupulous shapeshifter.

Cad Bane left an indelible mark on The Clone Wars television series. He wreaked havoc on the Jedi and did his dastardly deeds whatever way was needed and often involved others to do his dirty work. He also found new clever ways to get his missions completed whether via clone trooper disguise or brazenly just appearing in his plain space pirate gear wielding his blaster pistols. In 2009, Hasbro released a fair representation of this character in the red phase of The Clone Wars line. It sold like mad, but collectors were complaining incessantly (and rightfully so) about its lack of articulation and its inability to stand upright without some some of aid. We do share some of those points because we had a devil of a time getting our particular sample to stand up without falling frontwards or backwards. On top of that being said, this version of Cad Bane, while excellent in sculpt, also suffers from having too small a scale. This character is significantly taller than many others in The Clone Wars television show, yet the 2009 TCW [R] Cad Bane (CW22) action figure version was no different in height from a clone trooper and this lack of stature isn’t negligible. It does hurt the aesthetics of the figure even despite having a well done sculpt.

Hasbro eventually fixed this problem by releasing a stunning all-new version of him (including some soft-goods) as 2010’s TCW [SOTDS] Cad Bane (CW42) figure. This iteration of Cad Bane is stunning. Ball-jointed knees were added for extra balance and the sculpt, height and paint job were all relatively flawless. But then came the Star Wars [The Phantom Menace 3D] line look. And collectors in particular just weren’t ready for the aggressive platform changes Hasbro was making to the line. They decided in 2012 (whether or not they felt this way previously) they were aggressively planning their kids’ lines for ... well ... kids. Beginning in 2012, the Movie Heroes and The Clone Wars lines were taking a different direction going forward. Articulation would be significantly reduced and older sculpts would be dusted off from the vault to be in line with the new figures with reduced articulation. For the first time in years collectors saw figures resurrected from the nineties and early 2000s. It was alarming, disconcerting, and downright depressing. It wasn’t until Celebration VI that year when Hasbro explained in an upfront manner that these lines are not for us, the collectors.

When anything is “taken away” from us we feel the pain. And it still feels awkward that Hasbro has come out and said so strongly that The Clone Wars line (that has picked up so many adult collectors over the last few years) isn’t for them. And many didn’t. No matter where you stand on the issue, we are going to see many action figures in these lines that just don’t meet our articulation standards. But when you see them, just remember that Hasbro said they didn’t make them for you. If there is any saving grace to this reissue of Cad Bane, it’s that Hasbro included some extra accessories to help add to its play value. Taking all the weapons from 2010’s TCW [SOTDS] Nikto Guard (the TRU exclusive) and 2011’s TCW [SOTDS] El-Les (CW47), Hasbro beefed up Cad Bane’s arsenal so that he can have a little more selection when trying to meet his bounty hunter goals. We won’t even try to recall all the various weaponry Cad Bane utilized in The Clone Wars television show, but we’d venture a guess that it’s a good bet it wasn’t most of these extra weapons. The same old features have been carried forward for this release. He comes with a removable western-looking hat and his two blaster pistols that still fit nicely in the holsters. This Cad Bane figure isn’t wonderful to see again from a collector's standpoint, but we suppose he serves a purpose and that is that it focuses on the kids.