Sith, The - TAC - Evolutions

After thousands of years, the Sith reveal themselves to the Jedi. Witness their evolution with these Sith figures! Darth Maul attacks the Jedi, revealing that the Sith are still a threat to the galaxy. Then Count Dooku, a former Jedi, comes out of hiding as a Sith Lord to attack the Republic. Finally, the Emperor, who should be fighting to save the Republic, is revealed as the most powerful and menacing Sith of all!

One of the more surprising Evolutions sets released during the Revenge Of The Sith line was The Sith three-pack. It made total sense for Hasbro to produce, but it was just a little surprising to see Hasbro toss all of their Sith eggs into one basket and release them as a boxed set. It didn’t upset collectors however to get all three of these figures at once. Getting an updated Darth Maul, Count Dooku and Emperor Palpatine all in one set is a pretty powerful and momentous event that Hasbro believed they could cash in on it again and re-release it in the first wave of 30 (77-07) Evolutions line. Not only did Hasbro update these action figures from all previous counterparts, they arrived to collectors in mostly super-articulated glory. It would have been a grievous mistake for Hasbro to not allow this set to get a second chance at retail. Three main Sith in one multipack is truly an incredible gift from Hasbro. Although Darth Maul has yet to be perfected, we have to side with Hasbro that both Count Dooku and Emperor Palpatine are excellent action figures and they might not need to see another update again. The Sith Evolutions set is an incredible product and we couldn’t be happier that Hasbro developed it when they did. And this set shows that Hasbro really does care about getting premium figures out to collectors.

As we’ve mentioned, Darth Maul (The Sith Return) is good, but perhaps the letdown of the trio. This version of him could have been definitive, but he fall short by having the most annoying swivel elbows you could possibly imagine. If you even attempt to move them to pose him holding his double-bladed lightsaber, it’s a good bet the lower arms are going to pop off of the figure. Why would Hasbro include so many premium points of articulation yet cheap out on the points of articulation that need to upgraded the most?! It’s mind boggling to us, but it is terribly unfortunate that Darth Maul (The Sith Return) lacks ball-jointed elbows. Also, and we might be in the minority here, Darth Maul’s head sculpt isn’t fantastic. it might be the expression, but it honestly doesn’t look too much like Darth Maul. He has too many pearly whites showing. Something looks “off” about it and we’re not even sure if we can exactly pinpoint it. His face deco looks good, but it just ever so slightly look “off” too. We don’t know, but we think Hasbro could have done better here. Darth Maul comes with a removable cloak (cast in plastic), a Sith probe droid and corresponding “invisible” stand, macrobinoculars and a double-bladed lightsaber. There are plenty of accessories here to keep you busy. It’s just a shame that they don’t interact with a definitive version of Darth Maul.

Count Dooku (The Clone Wars) on the other hand is probably the best figure in this set. It’s surprising to us that Hasbro released Count Dooku in the Revenge Of The Sith basic figure line as 2005’s ROTS Count Dooku (III 13) figure and then they have quickly bettered that figure only a few months later with this one. Anyway, it’s great to see this figure again in 2008. This is absolutely a definitive Episode II or Episode III version of Count Dooku. You’re going to love him. The soft-goods are stellar (his cape is two-layered) and the sculpt and articulation couldn’t be better. He also comes with his signature lightsaber. Count Dooku (The Clone Wars) is the reason to buy this set hand down. Emperor Palpatine is another good figure in The Sith Evolutions set, but we’re not entirely sure what reference Hasbro used to design him. He doesn’t look like any stage of the character is Revenge Of The Sith really, but with a little tweaking it seems that Hasbro could really make a definitive Episode VI version of him at some point. He is super-articulated and comes with a soft-goods robe. His accessories include a removable clasp, lightsaber and cane (as seen in Episode VI). As a bonus, Hasbro also included interchangeable hands that hand Force lightning attached to them. When properly balanced these hand attachments look pretty amazing. The Sith Evolutions was a wise multipack to re-release. Be sure you have yours.