Clone Commander Wolffe - TBS [P3] - Six Inch Figures (Exclusive)

Clone Commander Wolffe (clone designation CC-3636) served in the Clone Wars as commander of the tight-knit unit known as the Wolfpack. A seasoned and battered combatant, Wolffe has witnessed some of the worst the war has to offer. Despite tragedy, he fights on bravely, proudly brandishing his battle scars and instilling loyalty among his men.

The Black Series 6” line has been on the market since 2013, but Hasbro will be playing “catch up” with it for as far as the eyes can see. When you have a 40+ year property like Star Wars, there are a ton of characters that fans and collectors want to see made, but that wish list is quite finite because of the few slots Hasbro has to place new figures into the line. So while it might not be satisfying to receive a new action figure based on a character from The Clone Wars ever now and again in 6” scale, it’s sadly more of a blessing that Hasbro found a spot even to offer it. The Barnes & Noble/Disney Store/GameStop shared exclusive Clone Commander Wolffe figure from The Black Series [Phase III] 6" line is a figure that many fans of The Clone Wars wanted for years now. Hasbro decided that he would make a great exclusive release. And we’re siding with them on this decision. He isn’t an army builder, so mass availability isn’t necessary. And with three retailers picking it up, it should have enough availability to be accessible to most people who want him. The figure boasts new and old parts and functions like most other Clone Troopers already produced in the line. The new portrait is stunning with its gorgeous “photorealistic” technology, and we believe Clone Commander Wolffe is destined to be a hit this year.

While this figure is for every 6” collector, fans of The Clone Wars will inevitably fall in love with this figure a little bit more than the average consumer. Despite this, we believe that Clone Commander Wolffe misses a few small marks. We’re not cutting down the figure. It is a very nice release. But it feels as if the approach of this figure shows that Hasbro went for a hybrid appearance of his phase I and phase II armor (although this figure is intended to be phase II – make no mistake about that). Reusing parts can sometimes muddy the defining waters of what makes a different Star Wars character unique, and we think some of that was lost here thanks to utilizing existing parts that are shared, and no exclusive, with Clone Commander Wolffe. We also noticed that the tooling of the reused parts is getting a tad rough. Clone Commander Wolffe has some joints that are misshapen and don’t articulate as smoothly as they once did. These aren’t terrible problems, but they do exist. The new parts are stunning, however. The all-new portrait is fantastic. His gross, milky battle-damaged eye is perfection as we see it (no pun intended), and the scar above and below it is amazingly realistic. The Wolfpack deco is beautiful and cleanly applied on his armor, and that distinguished gray-blue color of it is perfectly matched to what is seen in The Clone Wars television episodes.

Our sample has some funky soft-goods on it. They’re meant to recreate the divided kama of the character, but they bunch up and create a bit of a disheveled look on our figure. If it’s just a matter of futzing with them to straighten them a bit, then this may be no issue for collectors. We didn’t expend the time to straighten them if that’s the case. One thing is certain; they’re too short regardless. One thing that bums us out is that Hasbro neglected to include his phase I helmet with this release. Yes, there are some fine differences between the phase I and phase II armor of Clone Commander Wolffe, but Hasbro could have easily circumvented this because the differences are so minor that the only differences between the two are the helmets. And since the figure only comes with two DC-17 blaster pistols (in addition to the removable helmet), it would have felt like collectors were getting a decent amount of stuff along with their figure. Why Hasbro didn’t also include a DC-15 blaster rifle and DC-15 blaster pistol with Clone Commander Wolffe is beyond our comprehension. They still haven’t learned that these 6” figures need to come with more accessories to help justify their expensive $19.99 MSRP. Releasing Clone Commander Wolffe is only going to stir the appetites for more The Clone Wars figures. Hopefully, Hasbro keeps them coming.