Darth Malgus - TVC - Basic (VC96)

We have been collecting since “forever”, but one thing we haven’t come to terms with understanding yet is how some Expanded Universe characters gain the notoriety that they do. There are collectors out there in the collecting community that would just assume to never see another Momaw Nadon or Ree-Yees super-articulated update produced again by Hasbro in favor of more EU characters just like this Darth Malgus and this is something that makes movie fans like ourselves cringe with disbelief. The EU fans' platform is all about a character that they've developed an affinity for whether he/she/it appeared via a rare cameo in a video game, novel or comic book. And yes, there are many EU characters that also have prevalence in their respective sources, but we still find it interesting how even they can draw as big of an audience and support system as they do. Or is it really a much smaller audience than it appears that works harder than the movie fans to make it known just how badly they want to see their character get made into an action figure (as well as other collectibles made based on them)? These characters always top the Fans’ Choice polls, sell out instantaneously at every level of retail and seek unbelievable aftermarket prices only moments after they’re “officially done” at retail. We think it’s great that they garner the support they do, but we don’t understand why so many of the movie character don’t get the same level of support. Perhaps movie fans take them for granted? Whatever your take or position is on the Expanded Universe and its deep bed of characters, there is absolutely no denying that employees at Hasbro are also big fans because they are consistent in delivering these collectors excellent action figures that may not necessarily interest the hoi polloi. And they comprise some of Hasbro’s finest work.... like them or not.

Many of us here at Jedi Temple Archives couldn’t tell you the first things about The Old Republic or the ultra cool Darth Malgus, which probably makes us completely unqualified to write a review about this release from The Vintage Collection. But what we can tell you is that Hasbro has developed an astonishing action figure and it’s one that we’re proud to write about just for its sheer brilliance. That says a lot about a character we have only seen in Google searches on the web. One part Darth Vader and one part Grand Moff Trachta has been mixed with 98% total awesomeness which solidifies the fact that Darth Malgus is an exciting action figure no matter how you slice it. Hasbro sculptors went ape crazy with the details on this action figure. The figure is loaded with texture and it has a corresponding paint job to show off just how much effort the makers of this figure put into it. We did our best to find complaints as we inspected it from head to toe, but were pretty much shot down and failed to come up with anything that would allow us to whine. Its complex sculpt and slightly complicated use of layered soft-goods only hit home the fact that this is a figure designed with collectors’ purest intentions in mind first. There is a cape that attaches to the neck post by removing his ball-jointed head. And then there is an outer hooded cloak that nicely goes over the cape. Of course, Hasbro needs more time to perfect the soft-goods hood, so it isn’t as functional as you’re going to want it to be, but the multilayered look is beyond impressive. Hasbro has even worked in the chest armor to be removable. It’s a very nice added feature here. Darth Malgus also comes with a lightsaber and separate lightsaber hilt that attaches to his belt! What more could you want?!

Darth Malgus succeeds on so many other levels too. He has the perfect stance. And when we say “perfect” we mean perfect. The legs slightly “V” out from the hips and you can easily get the ball-jointed ankles flush with the surface on which you stand him. (This is a big deal because sometimes ball-jointed articulation is a nightmare for action figures if they’re not engineered properly to prevent falling over, frontwards or backwards.) Malgus has been designed with flawless posture as well. You know this guy means serious business. His stature is alarming and you just know he is ready to defeat his enemies with intense agitation. Oh, and that expression on his face? It scared the bejesus out of us. This character is evil incarnate and it’s no wonder why he has such a strong following. The head sculpt is phenomenal and it ranks as one of the finest we’ve seen in The Vintage Collection to date. Fans who have been waiting for this figure for a long time will have reason to celebrate. Hasbro did you good here. This isn’t a jab, but when we look at Darth Malgus, he looks like an angry Darth Vader (with Sebastian Shaw likeness) on steroids. (And we don’t mean gym rat POTF2 Darth Vader either.) And we mean this on a serious level, not attempting to be humorous. We’ve already developed a soft spot for this figure and are proud to have it in our collection. Hasbro hasn’t proven their pride over this figure yet as they’ve made it difficult to find at retail. Hopefully thye'll get it in gear and make this action figure much more widely available. It’s original case assortment contains one piece and is packed with seven The Phantom Menace wave repeat figures. Not everything can be perfection, can it?