Q9-0 (Zero) - TBS [P4] - Six Inch Figures (TM11)

A bug-eyed protocol droid with modified programming, Q9-0 – or "Zero" to his colleagues – operates with precision timing.

It seems that for every bounty hunter in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, John Favreau is ensuring that there is some equivalent of that character in The Mandalorian Disney+ series. The recently-introduced Q9-0 (Zero) is a dead ringer for 4-LOM, and they both are protocol droids on either some mercenary mission or an assassination attempt on their many quarries. Q9-0 (Zero) was also known as “Zero,” and Hasbro ensured to included its nickname in parentheses on the figure’s packaging. The droid was part of a team led by Ranzar Malk and involved the star of The Mandalorian, Din Djarin. Their leader sent them to rescue a prisoner aboard the Bothan-Five. Unfortunately, the other bounty hunters betrayed Din Djarin and left him behind. And then Zero discovered Grogu and attempted to take its life, just before Din Djarin destroyed Zero. Cleverly, Din Djarin saved Zero’s remains on the Razor Crest as well. The Black Series 6-inch Q9-0 (Zero) turned out well, but we’re unsure how many collectors will be into the all-new action figure. Hopefully, everyone will want to add this character to his collection.

We analyzed Q9-0 (Zero) from head to toe, and we cannot find any reused parts. That doesn’t mean Hasbro didn’t reuse anything. We cannot find any repeated tooling. The figure of Q9-0 (Zero) turned out excellently, but for some strange reason, the figure doesn’t feel like a long-awaited or exciting release for The Black Series [Phase IV] lineup. In all honesty, it feels like we’re getting a character from The Empire Strikes Back reinvented instead. There is no doubt that substantial similarities between Q9-0 (Zero) and 4-LOM exist. If you don’t see them, well, we don’t know what else to say. But there is such a strong resemblance of 4-LOM here that it doesn’t feel original enough. That doesn’t mean it’s terrible. It doesn’t feel as fresh as, say, the many other characters from The Mandalorian produced in the 6-inch action figure line. The character has a removable tan harness, reminiscent of something you’d see the Clone Troopers use (from The Clone Wars), seemingly to distance Q9-0 (Zero) from 4-LOM. Also included with this figure is a blaster identical to Boba Fett’s. It’s an excellent addition here, and it’s fascinating to see a droid use the same weapon as Boba Fett.

Q9-0 (Zero) comes with an astounding 30 points of articulation. Often, Hasbro takes shortcuts with articulation on droid action figures. But they didn’t sell us short with this figure. Perhaps the biggest surprise here is the inclusion of “butterfly” shoulder joints. You don’t necessarily think about a droid needing all of this upper body movement, but they do assist you with maintaining some exciting poses. Aside from a “barbell” head joint (which comprises a ball-socket head and reverse ball-socket neck), the rest of the figure’s articulation is relatively standard. Q9-0 (Zero) has a simple yet stunning paint job. The figure is primarily dark gray, a typically “boring” color. Still, with the colorfully accented arm wires (red and yellow) and other gold details throughout the armor, the character has a decently varied palette of color. The harness is removable, but it’s a pain in the butt to remove. And we haven’t tried to return it to the figure, so that will be interesting as well. Overall, we’re pretty pleased with Q9-0 (Zero). It will be nice to see this character as part of The Vintage Collection, and it seems like a definite addition since Hasbro promised to make all of the Razor Crest-related characters for us.