General Grievous - TCW [R] - Basic (CW01)

General Grievous is a brilliant strategist who has honed the droid army into a terrifyingly efficient fighting force. Part living matter and part machine, Grievous is skilled with a lightsaber and relishes any opportunity that allows him to duel – and defeat – a Jedi.

Ever since his 2003 debut in the original Tartakovsky's Clone Wars micro-series, General Grievous has become one of the most essential characters of the Prequel Trilogy and related Expanded Universe stories. We have watched quite a development of his appearance from all the sources ranging from the original animated series, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith, his pre-cyborg form seen in the comics, and now we’re being treated to his 3D CGI form in the insanely popular The Clone Wars television series. One thing is for certain. No matter where he shows up, you can bet he will be instantly recognizable as well as wanted in action figure form. Ultimately, General Grievous seems too vulnerable at times. He sustains treacherous battle-damage multiple times, and his many limbs don’t seem invincible from the swing of a Jedi’s lightsaber. Yet all of these things don’t seem to detract from his coolness and remaining a Star Wars fan’s favorite character. It is probably true that Grievous' superiority will keep him on screen for the long haul and that he’ll remain an imposing adversary to battle the gallant Jedi. The artisans at Hasbro have deft hands and know how to create small masterpieces that become our action figures. But General Grievous, while technically excellent, isn’t one of their masterpieces. Please understand us. General Grievous is an incredibly crafted figure and it is evident that they had great respect for his character because the likeness is beautiful. In short, Hasbro did a fantastic job on The Clone Wars version of General Grievous, but it isn't close to being definitive yet.

Let’s explain what is bothering us the most. His limited articulation is quite a bummer. He only has a total of eight points of articulation across six areas. He is barely better than one of Hasbro’s 1995-2000 action figures. Specifically, General Grievous really needs ankle and knee joints to maximize his standing ability as well as attaining cool action poses. It’s just not possible here at all. It’s a balancing game to get his warped legs stand. Perhaps it’s not necessarily a deal breaker, but why did Hasbro cut corners here? General Grievous doesn't have the positioning ability or play value any kid or collector longs for, so does he have value elsewhere? Yes. He has to be considered for his sculpt first and everything else second because this is where he thoroughly impresses. General Grievous is very delicately sculpted and aside from suffering a bit from too small pea-sized head, he is nearly free from flaws. He is so thin in spots (a true testament to his design) and thankfully Hasbro has used a little bit more of a stiffer plastic that aids him in holding his shape rather well. There is stunning marbling deco running throughout his "bone" portions of the plated armor. Details like this are very impressive to us that we have to give Hasbro thunderous applause for spending the time to breathe life into their action figures. General Grievous is tall and in perfect scale with the other figures in The Clone Wars line. He also has a zigzag like silhouette which makes him very geometrical in stature. His shape is very clean thanks to his sharp lines and curved angles.

All these “extras” work together like a true team does, which, from this perspective, make him an exceptional figure. Loaded with accessories, General Grievous comes with a droid blaster, two green lightsabers, two blue lightsabers, and two sets of interchangeable arms (one set of separated arms and one set of closed arms). He is perfectly "armed" (no pun intended) and is not in need of any other Separatist-specific regalia. Sadly, his hands don’t hold the thin lightsaber hilts all that well. He does however hold the droid blaster in both hands very, very well. There should be no doubt that General Grievous will be a mainstay in The Clone Wars television series, so we probably can expect General Grievous to make multiple returns to the basic figure line. Also, Hasbro seems as if they have more than a few ways to repackage him. After all, he is already in the second wave of The Clone Wars [Red] line look now. Apparently none of us can get enough of him. Aside from lacking super-articulation, we would have loved to see Hasbro give him a soft-goods cape and maybe even a MagnaGuard’s electropole. General Grievous has been a very strong seller already in the line and this mold has been used for the Toys R Us’ 2009’ TCW [B] Holographic General Grievous figure. Hasbro is definitely making good use of this action figure. While we expect many to decry his limitations, we’d encourage everyone to focus on his positives. General Grievous does really have much more to offer than you may realize. You could also always wait for Hasbro update him too.