Sith Legacy, The - TAC - Evolutions

The menacing Sith emerge again and again through the centuries, teaching each generation their dark secrets. A thousand years before the Battle of Yavin, Darth Bane brings the Sith Order back from near extinction in his quest to reclaim their glory. His legacy is carried on by Darth Nihilus, who blights whole worlds in his desire to destroy the Jedi. Darth Maul serves a power-hungry Sith Lord who plots the elimination of the Jedi.

During the entire duration of the 30 (77-07) line, fans and collectors had to admit that Hasbro was very gracious to all of us. Whether you are a strict fan of the movies or the rich Expanded Universe, there was something for everyone in TAC and the products all were of extremely high quality. Take for instance The Sith Legacy Evolutions set. The Evolutions product line was of course a collector-oriented so the figures would be made very well, but Hasbro went the extra mile to make all three figures even better. Technically, all the Sith in this set are from the Expanded Universe, although Hasbro designates Darth Maul from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Darth Maul never had a bare chest in the film and the inspiration for this concept actual comes from early Episode I concept art. Nonetheless, Darth Maul is probably the reason to purchase this package, but we’ll get into more detail about him shortly. The Sith are a very popular group of characters and there is no denying that some of their designs are incredibly cool. The Sith Legacy Evolutions is certainly giving collectors three more nods and these characters should make quite a splash in your collection.

Darth Nihilus is one cool Sith lord. Having an almost skeletal portrait, he is perhaps the eeriest of the three evil Sith lords in this set. Hasbro expertly mixed wonderfully sewn soft-goods (with lots of natural looking tears and battle-damage) into the mostly plastic molded outfit. Although he has a ton of articulation, he remains rather static because the parts of his costume that aren’t cloth inhibit his movement. Still, Darth Nihilus looks great right out of the package and we’re not sure is extra utility is necessary for this action figure. Outfitted with a lightsaber, Darth Nihilus will indeed be a favorite Sith lord in you collection. Darth Bane may be the weakest figure in the set, but that doesn’t mean he is poor. There is something about him that is reminiscent of a character in the Marvel universe and not exactly Star Wars. Bane comes with the most accessories out of all the figures including orbalisk chest armor, mask and gauntlets. He also comes with a removable cape and lightsaber. He looks very close to one Expanded Universe source we found, but Darth Bane looks very different in most other sources. His face looks a little bit like a mean clown rather than a Sith lord, but we are sure he will appeal to many fans of The Old Republic out there.

Darth Maul is just plain awesome. He is well-designed and the sculpt is nearly perfect. He has some killer abs and a very muscular body frame including broad shoulders and chest. He has an amazingly gritty expression on his face and the paint job is pretty good. We are being picky, but we think the red paint is not striking enough. It almost blends in too much with the black and there should be more separation between the two colors. After all, Darth Maul’s trademark is his tattoos. (Editor’s Note: This figure was rereleased in the Legacy Collection (BD05) and Hasbro addressed the brightness of the red color. The figure has been repainted for this release and the revision makes this figure even better. The Legacy Collection brought collectors some of the best figures ever made, but enhancements and tweaks were done for their own betterment.) Unfortunately, Darth Maul comes with a 1999 era accessory. It’s nearly unbelievable, but it definitely looks old and dated and doesn’t fit the modern look of the action figure. Still, you’re getting this pack for the figure and not the accessories. All in all, The Sith Legacy is another great release in the Evolutions series. We suspect great sets will be coming down the pike and if Hasbro keeps making them this well, we have a lot to look forward to in this line.