Commander Thorn - TBS [P2] - Basic (#15)

Commander Thorn completes the trio of Season 6 The Clone Wars clone commander in The Black Series [Phase II] line. It is interesting to compute the ratio of time between how long ago the announcement that these characters would be a part of the basic figure line to their actual release dates. We’re talking that difference of time can be computed in years. It’s motto to complain about such trivial things like that anyway. Commander Thorn from wave 8 joins Clone Commander Doom (#13) and Clone Commander Wolffe (#12) as, to date, the only three character from The Clone Wars: Lost Missions (Season 6) episodes. Part of the Coruscant Guard, Commander Thorn is really just a fancy Shock Trooper that leads his army of clones through battle at the final stages of The Clone Wars television show. Admittedly, all three clone commanders turned our remarkably better than both the prototypes viewed at various media events and the promotional solicitation images produced for retailers. The figures aren’t perfect, but all have excellent paint operations and showcase the unique features of each clone very, very nicely. Commander Thorn has a few fine details on his armor, and it’s our opinion that Hasbro has done an excellent job at recreating the “wings” on his helmet, both neatly and accurately. Even the “cheek” areas of the helmet (which are painted red) have nice and clean white pattern lines. We imagine that most collectors will be impressed with Commander Thorn as we are.

Commander Thorn is both a retool and repaint of 2015’s TBS [P2] Captain Rex (#09) figure. This time the figure has been given an all-new head sculpt (it differs from head sculpt of Clone Commander Doom) and an all-new left arm (which features an obnoxiously thick and flaccid antenna). On the whole, Commander Thorn has been painted rather gracefully. There aren’t any signs of bleeding and for the most part the red color flashes have been expertly applied. Utilizing pretty much the same exact lower bodies as Captain Rex (#09) and Clone Commander Doom (#13), Commander Thorn has a molded kama that houses two DC-17 blaster pistols when not in use. In almost similar proportion to all of The Black Series [Phase II] clones, save for Clone Commander Wolffe (#12), Commander Thorn fits right into the line perfectly well. Like the other clones that share his lower body, we’re not too thrilled with the range of motion you can get out of his lower body. It’s super-articulated and everything, but there are certainly limitations and you’ll have to see it for yourself to understand what we mean here. As a whole, Commander Thorn brightly stands out among the rest of the clone army and that is saying a lot because we have received so many colorful clones throughout the years. Matching his onscreen appearance yet in realistic style, we warmly welcome Commander Thorn into The Black Series [Phase II] fold.

Commander Thorn comes with two DC-17 blaster pistols. Most collectors are disappointed that Hasbro didn’t give him the screen accurate chain gun. But in all honesty, unless they use an accessory from another toy line like GI Joe, Hasbro would have to tool a new gun from the ground up because the only tooling that exists are the chain guns from the animated The Clone Wars line. Commander Thorn fits in well with many of the other realistic The Clone Wars figures Hasbro has made for the basic figure line to date. He especially looks fantastic next to 2012’s TVC Shock Trooper (VC110) figure, even if their respective reds aren’t perfect matches. Oh, and with the Shock Trooper’s enormous helmet and Commander Thorn’s smaller than average helmet, they do look comical next to each other from the neck up. It’s truly a shame that the attention towards The Clone Wars franchise has whittled down to a trickle. We believe Hasbro has interest in the property, but they just are unwilling or unable to release as many basic figures as necessary to make them feel more regular than a treat. Commander Thorn, not a popular character as he wasn’t even part of the original run of the series, as well as the other clones in The Black Series [Phase II] line will have to suffice until things change for the better and basic figure lines exceed more than the less than two dozen it currently produces per line look. We’re not trying to sound ungrateful, but more is more when it comes to variety in a basic figure line.