Anakin Skywalker/Assassin Droid - TLC - Comic Packs (3)

The battle is going badly for the Republic on Jabiim. Separatist forces are launching their final strike, and Republic forces are in retreat. Only a handful of Padawans, whose Masters have been killed in battle, stand between the Republic forces and the approaching Separatists with their Pollux A-Series Assassin Droids. The Padawans decide to fight the Separatists, giving the Republic forces time to escape. Anakin chooses to join them in their brave yet futile last stand, but fate has other plans for young Skywalker.

The Clone Wars battles that were a subset of the Star Wars: Republic comic series contained some of the most virulent battles in recent memory. And for battles that are this violent, portentous and noxious, a new type of Separatist Droid needed to be developed to spell believable certain doom for the many Republic heroes attempting to restore freedom. The story documents some very important turning points in the Clone Wars, most importantly Anakin Skywalker’s internal dilemmas. This in and of itself was a necessary “plot line” for Hasbro to also develop an all-new iteration of Anakin Skywalker for the popular Comic Packs line which would show a visually distressed expression on his face. The figure turned out rather wonderfully and the paint operations on it are fantastic. Hasbro managed to capture the personality of this particular version of Anakin Skywalker quite well. Not only is the angst and uncertainly sculpted beautifully into the action figure, the dirtiness of his Jedi robes reinforce the brutality of the various battles this Jedi Knight underwent in the Clone Wars. The set is so good that Hasbro wisely repacked it into The Legacy Collection and it sold very well a second time in the revised packaging/line look. For all intense and purposes, the set is knockout hit for us. While there is evidence the Anakin Skywalker sculpt was inspired from previous parts, this is really all-new tooling. And of course the Assassin Droid is all-new, albeit a repacked figure for this line.

So let’s just put this out there. Anakin Skywalker is originally an all-new action figure, although this version is a repack of the original 30 (77-07) Comic Packs release. Like us, you’d probably bet your collection that it utilizes parts from the 2005 ROTS Anakin Skywalker To Darth Vader Evolutions figure. Well, they do share similarities, but nothing from the 2005 Revenge Of The Sith release has been carried forward here. The figure is an instant success because it possesses an incredible sculpt and some incredible articulation has been incorporated beautifully into it. However, while the figure has quality articulation, it is encumbered by the [removable] plastic outer robes as well as the plastic skirt molded directly to the figure. So, this figure looks stunning, but isn’t the most functional figure we’ve seen. Sometimes this is alright. The details etched into the figure are quite impressive and the paint job is just beautiful. But as we stated, the figure functions more like a statue with some limited movement more than an action figure. We actually are big fans of the head sculpt even though his eyebrows are too accentuated for our tastes. It does however have excellent proportions and really captures the Episode II/Clone Wars look of Anakin Skywalker quite well. And the dirt on his cheeks just sells it home hard for us. Just keep in mind that all of the figure’s premium articulation essentially goes unused. Hasbro should save this type of tooling for figures that can utilize it.

The other all-new figure in this set is the Assassin Droid. Again, this is a slight repaint of the figure from the original 30 (77-07) Comic Packs release. This action figure is sure to make Star Wars collectors of all ages very, very happy. And you’ll probably want to army build it as well. It lacks wrist movement, but it’s not a huge deal. There is an additional point of articulation on this figure due to the inherent design of the character. Hasbro added hinge-jointed articulation to the droid’s left shoulder cannon. This weapon can swing up and down and you’re able to place it in many configurations. It gives the Assassin Droid a threatening appearance and adds a believability that this character was encountered at some point during the Clone Wars. There are also lower forearm cannons as well but they do not include articulation of any type. But they emphasize the idea that this is a dangerous battle droid. The figure has a great deal of posing potential most notably due to the ball-jointed torso. And let’s not forget about the Assassin Droid’s stunning paint job. This figure looks like it was cast from real metal it is done so well. And the details in the shape of the outer armor are just stupendous. With an eerie head sculpt and red eyes, this Assassin Droid should easily strike fear into the rest of the figures in your collection. This was a wise Comic Packs set to re-release for The Legacy Collection. We’re glad that new collectors have another opportunity to get these great figures.