Darth Revan - TVC - Basic (VC301)

Revan left Coruscant a hero of the Jedi Civil War – and returned a traitorous Sith disciple, bent on destroying the Republic.

You can thank JTA that you have the all-new The Vintage Collection Darth Revan action figure. Do you remember when we called out Hasbro for their egregious decision to include 2007's TAC Darth Revan (30 34) figure into The Vintage Collection a few years ago? The figure had inferior articulation and wasn't accurate to the character. The torch-wielding sycophants mercilessly attacked us for speaking our minds. There were more dumb collectors than we had anticipated. Because the figure was hard to find back when it was initially released, those who lowered their expectations with Hasbro Star Wars action figures were happy to see the figure available as a straight repack. We caused such an uproar about that terrible business decision that it catalyzed Hasbro to eliminate this debacle of a figure from the release schedule. They quietly swept their dumb decision to include this obsolete figure in the line under the carpet like they never announced it. Soon, Hasbro announced that Darth Revan wouldn't be released after all. Collectors got even madder at us because our campaign to stop Hasbro dead in their tracks worked. We stood firm that we deserved all-new tooling like The Black Series 6-inch collectors and demanded the same treatment. Then the laughable rumor that "Hasbro forgot about adding the figure to the lineup" began swirling around the internet thanks to an uninformed YouTube video. And that idiotic fake news piece got squashed when The Vintage Collection Archive Book was released, where it confirmed that Hasbro canceled the Darth Revan re-release due to the outcry from the community. Regardless, we're thrilled to see Darth Revan arrive in The Vintage Collection as collectors intended.

So, those who have standards for their action figures can rejoice over the delightful all-new Darth Revan action figure. It's better than we ever expected, and we're proud to add it to our collections. Darth Revan comes beautifully packaged on a card with the Knights Of The Old Republic entertainment logo. We could be more impressed with the character photo of Darth Revan. Admittedly, finding excellent reference photos of the character that aren't too dark or in bizarre poses is challenging. That said, most collectors will be satisfied with the figure's packaging, but most importantly, they'll be elated over the action figure. Hasbro designed the figure with a mixed-media approach. Darth Revan has a molded hood, but the cape and skirt are soft goods. The molded hood is also functional here as it can hold the cape in place and form it to the body. We like to refer to the style of the soft goods as tattered. You find peaked edges and holes and tears throughout them. Hasbro installed the cape of the figure in a way where it has two ends, each with a hole, and overlaps on the neck post. It creates a beautiful drape, and it hangs closely around the figure. Our only complaint is that the cape and skirt need to be more shiny, which means that Hasbro is still using the cheapest materials to produce these action figures. We wish they would spend more money and find fabrics and materials that are flatter and richer in detail. Why work so hard to produce the definitive tooling for the figure and then go cheaps on its accouterments? It doesn't register well in our minds. Even so, there are too many things to be happy about with Darth Revan, so we'll focus on the positive here.

Underneath the molded hood is a simple but nicely painted portrait. It looks very much like the video game character. But more impressive is the tooling and detail in the action figure's body. The sculpting is accentuated by the gorgeous paint operations of metallic gold, silver, and red that contrast the mostly-black character. Hasbro was too light on the action figure's accessories. We longed to have Darth Revan's hilts in addition to the fully-lit lightsabers, but Hasbro sold the figure short. Again, if the 6-inch version has them, why doesn't this figure? The hilts hanging from the belt are as crucial as anything else on this character. The red and purple lightsabers are lovely here, and the figure holds them well, although the hilt of the purple lightsaber is a tad too thick for the figure's hands. Darth Revan's articulation system is fantastic. It has the latest premium points of articulation, and you can position it easily despite the long skirt. Overall, we couldn't be happier about how well Darth Revan turned out. We feel it rivals The Black Series 6-inch figure released a few years ago. And Hasbro is already making the most of this tooling as they've also produced a Jedi Knight version of Darth Revan in a multipack for The Vintage Collection. It's incredible to see another old Expanded Universe character added to The Vintage Collection. With Darth Revan and Bastila Shan (VC69) already in the lineup, we only hope and pray that an all-new Darth Malak is also on tap for release. But we probably have barking and clapping seals begging for the 2007 TAC Darth Malak (30 35) figure as they're content with whatever Hasbro throws down their gullets. That aside, we're proud of what Hasbro accomplished here. This figure is a job well done.