Savage Opress - TCW [SOTDS] - Basic (CW55)

Savage Opress is a dangerous assassin whose strength and abilities are enhanced by the Nightsisters, mysterious witches on the planet Dathomir. Opress uses menacing battle axes to deliver death and destruction at the command of Count Dooku and the Sith Lord's former agent Asajj Ventress.

In December 2010, JTA was fortunate enough to attend the premier The Clone Wars: Secrets Revealed theater presentation by Lucasfilm, Ltd. in Philadelphia. It was during that presentation where we as viewers were treated to the introduction of Savage Opress. Episodes 13, 14 and 15 of Season 3 were meshed together in one seamless storyline in the theater version (it was incredible) and the stories told and the characters introduced were some of the best stuff The Clone Wars has ever brought to the table. Savage Opress, a Dathomirian Zabrak was one of the central characters in this story arc and pretty much everyone knew right away that this would be one of the most popular characters in the third season of The Clone Wars. We were right. Hasbro knew they that had a burden on their shoulders as well and needed to work overtime to ensure that plenty of Savage Opress action figures would be available as soon as possible at retail. They cleverly made two Savage Opress action figures and released them concurrently to help meet demand. The figures are a lot of fun and very well made. But are they perfect? Usually Hasbro has to go through a learning curve with some figures before collectors deem them as perfect. We wouldn’t go as far to say that Savage Opress (CW55) is perfect, but he’s cool and we know he is going to sell very well for Hasbro.

You’ll probably notice right away that he comes with 18 points of articulation. This is certainly a decent amount of articulation, but he would have benefited by coming with articulated ankles. He’s a very large and slightly top-heavy action figure that requires good balance to prevent himself from falling over. Movement in the ankles would have been ideal here. Thankfully his boots cover a generous surface area when you stand him up and helps with his wonky balancing issue. (You will need to be patient to get him to stand up confidently without falling down. It’s possible, but sometimes exhausting depending on how you pose his knees.) With a ball-socket head and ball-jointed shoulders and elbows, Savage Opress is a dream come true in the upper body area. He can hold both battle axes (the standard one as well as the action feature version) and you can pose him in multiple action stances wielding his large weapons as well. The details included on his weapons is quite incredible. Small details like control panels or grips have their own unique color and have been painted cleanly and do not bleed. You’ll have to see it for yourself to appreciate what we’re commenting on because this is something collectors really aren’t that used to in the realistically styled line, although we have seen signs of major improvements in The Vintage Collection.

Savage Opress (CW55) has a great paint job, but it’s not as good as the Savage Opress (CW59) figure. The head is sculpted in yellow plastic and the tattoos and other details are painted over it, whereas the Savage Opress (CW59) figure is the other way around. Still, while both look really good, something looks a little off on this figure. The expression on his face looks to be full of anger and Hasbro has sculpted a very believable snarl on his mouth. His horns have been sculpted very sharply and we actually felt a little pain when pushing the head back on to the neck post. The black tattoos have been painted in a flat black on his chest and back (as well as his arms) and we’re quite stunned by how excellent it looks. All of the lines are even and the left and right sides of the markings are exact mirror images of each other. Savage Opress is a good “head” length taller than the average Clone Trooper action figure. Keep in mind that this action figure represents Savage Opress after the Nightsisters make him evil. In that scene he gains incredible strength, girth and height. Savage Opress will stay a steady popular action figure. Every kid who watches The Clone Wars is going to want this action figure for his birthday or other holidays. Remain steadfast and secure him for your collection. You are definitely going to want this action figure.