Darth Vader - TAC - Saga Legends

Vader is obsessed with finding the young Rebel who destroyed the Death Star, believing him to be the offspring of Anakin Skywalker. Following up on a probe droid lead, Vader identifies the Rebel base on Hoth but arrives too late, as the last of the Rebels flee Echo Base.

When Hasbro developed the 2005 ROTS Darth Vader (Special Edition 500th Figure) they probably didn’t realize how useful it would be for future release of Darth Vader. Who are we kidding?! Of course they saw the future possibilities! Based on his appearance in The Empire Strikes Back, Hasbro chose some of their most popular figures released previously to add to the newly hailed Saga Legends line. They chose the Darth Vader figure based on his appearance from Episode V and originally released in The Saga Collection as 2006’s TSA Darth Vader (SAGA 038) figure. The Darth Vader (SAGA 038) figure is tooled in a way so that the removable helmet dome is glued in place (thank the Maker). If you recall, that 2006 TSC Darth Vader (SAGA 013) figure drove collectors mad because the helmet wouldn’t stay on for anything. Darth Vader comes with his signature lightsaber and a great soft-goods cape, but these things aren’t anything new and expected at this point. Although there are better Darth Vader figures out there, we are fond of this one for one reason or another. Not everyone agrees with us on this point, so you’ll have to develop your own opinion here.

The Saga Collection was a very cool collection for collectors. This is when figures started showing signs of tremendous development. And we were so distracted by this that Hasbro could throw in straight repacks or slightly repainted popular figures and we just bought them with the rest of the new figures. It didn’t matter. And Hasbro made them new enough to warrant another purchase with special accessories or improved paint operations. For the 30 (77-07) Saga Legends release, no new ground is broken here. And in fact all that’s different here is the inclusion of the Episode V coin. This will be something you’ll either want, or want to dismiss. We’re fond of the coins, so we’re happy about them, but they are certainly stagnant for come collectors. There aren’t any cool accessories here that came with the Darth Vader (SAGA 038) figure, but at least those who want a nice Darth Vader figure will be able to look forward to this. It’s really a nice figure. Sure, it could use enhanced articulation, but we find we are able to pose him in a variety of waves. But hey, if you’re waiting for better, this simple repack is an action figure you can easily disregard for your own collection.

Despite how cool this version of Darth Vader is, we obviously aren’t going to be completely happy until we get a super-articulated version of him. (Editor’s Note: Obviously this came come to pass multiple times since. We have more super-articulated Darth Vader action figures than we know what to do with now.) But like so many other “less than perfect” action figures released in various collections like the 30 (77-07) basic figure lines, the accessories totally steal the show and make the purchase more than worthwhile. Sadly, Saga Legends is just a greatest hits collection, so the accessories are going to be completely toned down for this sub-line. This Darth Vader figure is cool because Hasbro painted some "lightsaber damage" on Vader's right shoulder blade to represent the one and only hit Luke got on him. So, there are some cool scene specific traits to this action figure. We always appreciate these screen accurate details translated onto our action figures. These little gestures go a very long way. Surely we will Darth Vader released in the basic figure line until kingdom come. But he always seems to sell. And you can bet he will sell in the Saga Legends line.