Anakin Skywalker - ROTS - Deluxe

Anakin Skywalker, hero of the Republic, turns to the dark side of the Force and joins the evil Sith. After nearly dying in combat, one final change erases all traces of his former self. No longer Anakin, he is now Darth Vader.

If Revenge Of The Sith never got released after Hasbro released their corresponding toy line in April of 2005, all of us would have pretty different ideas about what actually happened in the film. If the Anakin Skywalker Deluxe figure is any indication, we would be asking ourselves “wait, didn’t he get burned instead of changing into Darth Vader?” Obviously some of the finer details of Revenge Of The Sith weren’t made available to Hasbro as they developed the toy line, but they certainly took some artistic license in the Deluxe line to create the greatest amount of play value for the younger audience who would soon get introduced to the final film in the Prequel Trilogy. The Anakin Skywalker Deluxe figure is not screen accurate and even the bio on the card back has its share of errors and inconsistencies, but it is oddly enjoyable and possesses an element of fun that we find rather amusing. That doesn’t mean it’s a great action figure.

There is an even amount of positive and negative characteristics with the 2005 ROTS Anakin Skywalker Deluxe figure. First and foremost, this is Darth Vader (at the point of the film which this figure is clearly based). There is no official change of Anakin Skywalker to Darth Vader here. This is really Darth Vader to Darth Vader technically. However, the “Anakin Skywalker” facet of this figure is inaccurate. he comes with Jedi robes that are partially inspired from Episode II as well as his base outfit for Episode III. It’s a bit confusing quite honestly. In order to make the “quick change” into the black iron lung (what old timers know as Darth Vader), Hasbro has to create a “bobble head” type of feature so that is tucks into his chest cavity to accept the Darth Vader mask/cape combination piece. Interestingly, we’re thankful they did that because it allows for an aesthetically pleasing look for Darth Vader. There is no oversized helmet and it really looks like a pretty decent version of Darth Vader once fully assembled.

Actually, we’re very impressed with how authentic Darth Vader looks, especially since you have to assemble him together piece meal. But there are great proportions here and the individual parts you utilize to assemble him are very well designed. The base Anakin Skywalker figure has limited articulation, but once you change him into the Darth Vader outfit, he can wield a lightsaber and it looks pretty great. Due to the restrictive nature of the other parts needed to transform him, action poses or stances will not be able to be achieved. But we do want to direct your attention to one aspect of this Deluxe figure. Look at the Darth Vader head sculpt. Is it just us, or does that look fantastic? Even the removable life support box piece looks great. Clearly the Deluxe line isn’t for everyone, but we have to credit where credit is due and we’d say that this may be one of the best Deluxe figures of the Revenge Of The Sith line. We don’t say this from a collector viewpoint, just a play value viewpoint.