Chancellor Palpatine (Chancellor Of The Republic)/Darth Sidious (Sith Lord) - Lords Of The Sith - 1:6 Scale Figures

As the Clone Wars reach their final, grim days, the devastated galactic citizens regard Supreme Chancellor Palpatine as the unwavering defender of the Republic. He has remained in power long after his term ended in order to see the Clone Wars won and peace restored to the war-ravaged galaxy. Hidden from all, not even known to his apprentices, Palpatine is Darth Sidious, Dark Lord of the Sith. Through intricate planning and dazzling adaptability, the Sith Master rose to the office of Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, granting him the power necessary to engineer the Clone Wars and manipulate the Jedi with the firm intent to destroy the Order and enslave the galaxy.

The powerful Darth Sidious had many willing servants and aides. A natural compliment to his own genius, the vividly tattooed Darth Maul was a living weapon that served Sidious mercilessly until his surprise demise at the hands of young Obi Wan Kenobi. Once a stately aristocrat, noble Jedi Count Dooku grew dissatisfied with what he saw as the Jedi blindly serving a corrupt Senate. Lured to the dark side through pride and lust for power, Dooku became Darth Tyranus, pawn of Sidious and leader of the Separatists.

The greatest and most tragic of Palpatine's servants is Anakin Skywalker, The accomplished young Jedi Knight. Palpatine lures Anakin to the Dark Side with promises of power over death, and the ability to do great good, all the while planting seeds of doubt and fostering Anakin's growing resentment of his status within the Jedi Order. Overwhelmed by the fear of loss, the bitterness of betrayal, and the hunger for power, Anakin falls to the Dark Side. As Darth Vader, hunter of Jedi and destroyer of the Order, Anakin becomes the grim enforcer of the Palpatine's will. Anakin's submission enables Palpatine to step from the shadows and simultaneously declare himself Emperor and order the destruction of the Jedi Order, confident that his new apprentice will both execute his plans and protect his master. Darth Vader's black, masked visage is the symbol of Palpatine's Empire, another tool to be used to maintain power and impose his will upon the former Republic.

So far our most favorite "specialty" in Sideshow Collectibles 1:6 Scale Figure line is the two-pack concept. Sideshow Collectibles introduced us to the Chancellor Palpatine/Darth Sidious set first and it has been one of the neatest entries in their 1:6 Scale Figure line to date. There isn't any savings with buying two figures in one package, but it is like a evolution of sorts to see the same character in two unique states. We'd prefer if they relegated the same character in the two-packs line, but if they feel the need to package two Rebel pilots together or two Rebel troopers together, we'd be just as fine with that too. Chancellor Palpatine is a very awesome 1:6 Scale Figure. While we are getting a little bit bored with the Art S. Buck body that is used to make their Star Wars figures, Sideshow makes it completely exciting by their attention to detail with portraits, costuming and accessories. All three of these areas of concern are addressed completely and with brilliant and passing results. Chancellor Palpatine's costume is replicated beautifully from Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith with a heavy crepe fabric pant suit and matching outwear that is reminiscent of terrycloth that has long tabards hanging down the front. The outfit is colored in an accurate maroon or burgundy color and it falls with a very nice drape against the figure's body. Palpatine's head sculpt is spot on and we love that Hasbro gave him a rather neutral look on his face. His hairline, nose, grimace and eyes are nearly perfect and if it weren't for his slightly too tall stature (all thanks to the inferior Art S. Buck frame) we would claim that this is one of the most perfect action figure's Sideshow has ever done. He comes with a lit lightsaber, a lightsaber hilt and a Senate hovercam. The Senate cam droid is a piece of art in and of itself. Magnificently painted and expertly designed, it is one of the nicest accessories our 1:6 Scale Figures have ever seen to date. (There are even Aurebesh symbols printed on the top of its body.)

Darth Sidious is the real star of this two-pack. Not yet available in the Hasbro line, this is the premier version of Sidious all of us want in our collections. (Editor's Note: Darth Sidious in this attire was released in The Vintage Collection finally in September 2010.) Exactly as he appeared when he took on Yoda in that unforgettable Senate duel, Darth Sidious is just an amazingly created 1:6 Scale Figure. He doesn't have the scariest look on his face, though he does look very dark and foreboding. His Sith eyes look great and his evilness is found at every angle of the figure from his fingernails to the wrinkles on his face. Again, Sideshow Collectibles has flawlessly recreated the costume from the film. His faux fur shawl (or whatever that type of outerwear is called) lies nicely over his shoulders and remains fastened together with a clasp that lies in the neck area. His long robe remains split from the neck down (a very important detail that we are thankful Sideshow paid attention to here) and has a beautiful drape all the way down his body. The cuffs on the ornate robe match his stole and his hood has a wire sewn in it so that you can achieve the exact look you want for it on his head. Aside from wishing he had a little bit more of an angry look on his face, we really don't have too much to complain about when it comes to Darth Sidious. He too comes with a lit lightsaber and a lightsaber hilt, but instead of the gold colored hilts Chancellor Palpatine comes with, he comes with silver colored ones (unless we got them posed with the wrong figure). He also comes with some "Sith" historical item that we honestly don't know what it is called. But is is a pyramid shaped accessory with exquisite detail. Both Chancellor Palpatine and Darth Sidious come with one set of interchangeable hands. This has been pretty much a standard with all 1:6 Scale Figures that Sideshow Collectibles created.

The exclusive accessory is actually not disappointing in the least. It is one of the "bronze" statues seen in Palpatine's office, Braata to be exact. Braata was one of the Four Sages of Dwartii which were controversial philosophers and lawgivers from the earliest days of the Galactic Republic. The Four Sages were Sistros, Faya, Yanjon and Braata. Since Palpatine is a Star Wars character that definitely thinks outside of the box, it is quite fitting that these philosophers would appeal to him to the point of getting statues of them in his business quarters. It is a very simple accessory, but we love it and it really completes this two-pack in such a striking way. Per Wookieepedia, "Supreme Chancellor Palpatine had bronzium statues of the Four Sages in his office suite in the Republic Executive Building on Coruscant. The statue of Sistros, one of the two flanking the doorway to Palpatine's private antechamber, had a lining of neuranium underneath its bronzium surface. Hidden deep within this statue lay Palpatine's lightsaber, dormant for decades until finally used against four Jedi Masters on Empire Day." This is definitely more information than any of us probably ever wanted to know, it still is interesting nonetheless. Sideshow Collectibles has made it a mission of theirs to really look deeply into the films to include special accessories that the casual viewer (and most fans) would overlook. But we are thankful that they have this attention to details so finely tuned because they really know how to pad their 1:6 Scale Figure line as a result. Sometimes the 1:6 Scale Figures accessories are light and fluffy, but for the most part they make it totally interesting. The Chancellor Palpatine/Darth Sidious two-pack is absolutely one of our most favorite products Sideshow Collectibles has ever produced and we are thrilled that Sideshow made them as well as they did. If you collect the 1:6 Scale Figure line then this set is a must-have, don't even think about it.