Anakin Skywalker - SW [S - P1] - Deluxe

Ten years after the fight to save Naboo from invasion, the galaxy is on the brink of civil war. Under the leadership of a renegade Jedi, thousands of solar systems threaten to secede from the Galactic Republic. A courageous Jedi Knight, his impulsive and headstrong apprentice, and a queen-turned-senator are drawn into the heart of the conflict... and the beginning of war.

Battling for their lives in the arena, Anakin and Obi-Wan Kenobi clash against thousands of Geonosian Warriors in a grueling confrontation. As Geonosians attack, Anakin uses the Force to retrieve a second lightsaber and prepares to defend himself at all costs.

If there was one character you could expect to see too many of in the Star Wars “Saga” line, it would easily be Anakin Skywalker. Sure, he was one of the main characters in Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones, but we believe that no one truly understood just how many times we would see him produced in plastic. In the Deluxe figure line we received him twice. This one has been unofficially subtitled with “With Slashing Lightsaber Action!” In other words, this is the Anakin Skywalker that came with the Geonosian Warrior sliced up into multiple parts. The Anakin Skywalker figure included here is relatively terrible, but the Geonosian isn’t half bad. But let’s talk about Anakin Skywalker first. The whole point of Anakin Skywalker is to mimic the swinging action while holding two lightsabers. While we really didn’t see him utilize two lightsabers until his confrontation with Count Dooku, Hasbro has extrapolated this idea to create a Deluxe set where this multitasking action occurs between Anakin and the Geonosian natives. As a toy we suppose it succeeds, but the aesthetics here are horrifying. We mean horrifying literally. It’s one of the worst Anakin Skywalker action figures we have ever seen. This isn’t an exaggeration in the least.

For the first time ever, Hasbro executed their first take on “soft-goods” with this Anakin Skywalker action figure. The tabards have been designed from a vinyl type of material. They provide a unique texture to the action figure, but they don’t fit properly and bunch up when they shouldn’t. Overall we find them to be an annoyance/distraction rather than an enhancement to the figure. Anakin Skywalker also has a dreadful head sculpt. His mouth is open. His eyes are angry. And his hair looks too in place for the action he should be executing simply by judging it from how the figure was posed (in action). The figure has a lever on its back. When you push it in and out it recreates a mock “slashing action” which allows the two included lightsabers (one blue and one green). This also means that his arms are attached with hinge-jointed articulation (activated by the lever). You only get horizontal movement. You cannot place his arms at his side. Anakin Skywalker also comes with two swivel wrists (for more lightsaber posing options) and two swivel hips. The figure is clearly limited in this department, but keep in mind that these play features are intended for much younger Star Wars fans. The lightsabers he comes with are whole in that they do not come with removable blades. The hilts are unique and the sculpts are nice.

We really do like the included Geonosian You can utilize Anakin’s slashing lightsaber action to break the Geonosian into multiple pieces. The battle-damage detail on the Geonosian is very cool. The insides of the Geonosian are red and look like real “bug” guts. Hasbro did a fantastic job on them. He can stand fully assembled, but will come apart easily if bumped. It comes with five points of articulation including a swivel head, swivel left shoulder, swivel right shoulder and two swivel (and removable) wings. It comes without any weapons. In our opinion the Geonosian looks to be a little bit short, but that could just be our eyes (or maybe Anakin is too large). This Geonosian is unique because he comes without armor. Hasbro had once stated that this Geonosian was based off of concept art before the film was released. This is quite plausible since these figures were made so far in advance. But there is a little bit of trivia for you. Both figures interact well with each other. While the Geonosian serves a unique purpose in the toy line (as a battle-damaged Geonosian), there are already better versions of Anakin Skywalker and there will be even better ones in the future. The Star Wars “Saga” Anakin Skywalker Deluxe figure may not be one of Hasbro’s greatest efforts, but we think there are a couple things about it that are charming.