Prince Xizor - SOTE - Basic

Height: 1.9 Meters
Status: Underlord of Black Sun
Classification: Falleen
Affiliation: Black Sun

Prince Xizor is the head of the galaxy-wide criminal organization known as Black Sun, his power and influence challenged only by the Emperor and Darth Vader. A villainous mastermind, Xizor uses his huge, intergalactic shipping operations as a legitimate front, employing millions of criminals to execute favors for the Empire and carry out his own evil agenda. His characteristic lack of emotion is due much to his Falleen ancestry which evolved from a species of reptile. Cold and clever, he plots his moves with a diabolical genius and fights with the skill of a tera kasi master, stopping at nothing to get in his way. Those that dare challenge Xizor generally meet with death by his own hand or by one of his myriad of henchmen. His favorite proverb: "To contend with Xizor is to lose."

Despite their devotion to the Emperor (though Xizor's commitment is at best a political maneuver) there is little love between Vader and the Dark Prince. Vader does not trust the crime lord's intent, while Xizor seeks vengeance against Vader for the deaths of his family. A direct attempt on Vader's life however, would be too dangerous – even for Xizor – and in his opinion, a fate not painful enough. To ruin Vader in the eyes of his beloved master would be the ultimate degradation, a feat which could only be accomplished by locating and eliminating Luke Skywalker. Spoiling Vader's promise to deliver Skywalker to the Emperor alive would undermine Vader's reliability and give Xizor all that he desires: final vengeance and Vader's position as the second most powerful figure in the galaxy.

Arguably, the most exciting event of 1996 was the Shadows Of The Empire multimedia event. The storyline went through events that transpired in between The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi and featured a cast of familiar characters in addition to new ones to tell a fascinating story. New characters like Dash Rendar and Prince Xizor are major players in the Shadows Of The Empire video game and story. And the action figures made by Hasbro are extremely nice efforts. Prince Xizor, in particular, is a beautifully tooled and decorated action figure. Many collectors are disappointed with the bulky body types of action figures in the Star Wars toy line. And their feelings are validated by most. Interestingly, many of the action figures in the Shadows Of The Empire line have slightly reduced physiques, and the revised approach has done wonders to how many of the action figures turned out in the line. Prince Xizor turned out extraordinarily well. Although appearing a tad differently in the toy line than he did in the comics or video game, there is no denying that Kenner/Hasbro did a remarkable job on the action figure. Aside from his “prince” moniker and the importance Emperor Palpatine placed on him instead of Darth Vader; collectors have little to complain about when it comes to the action figure. Let’s see why you’ll want him too.

Prince Xizor is a Falleen Prince of House Sizhran and the leader of the powerful criminal organization Black Sun during the Galactic Civil War. He also ran business deals with the upper class on Coruscant. So he has some solid history in the Star Wars universe, and it explains how Emperor Palpatine discovered him. And from what we learn about him in the novel and comics, it seems as if Kenner/Hasbro tooled an extremely accurate action figure with just the right expression on his face. Prince Xizor is tall, athletic in build and possesses a commanding presence in the action figure line. He’s wearing an extremely regal-looking outfit with accouterments that only jazz it up further. Despite his high-class appearance, you still know that this character is a virulent warrior. And Kenner/Hasbro tooled all the right attitude and details to bring everything that makes up this character all together wonderfully. Prince Xizor comes with six points of articulation including a swivel head, swivel shoulders, a swivel waist, and swivel hips. His mold gown encumbers most of his lower body movement, so don’t expect to achieve any dynamic poses. But Prince Xizor is also pre-posed in the arms and legs, so Kenner/Hasbro ensured they provided a great base figure for when it comes time to display him on a shelf or in a diorama.

Prince Xizor is lightly accessorized. He comes with two unique energy shield. Each one fits into his hands separately. But they also have a neat interlocking feature to create a doubled (and larger) shield. The shield halves are cast in translucent blue, and the handles are black. They’re very striking accessories and are very eye-catching. Light enhances them beautifully, and they look like they’re glowing at the right angle. You have to remember that the Kenner Star Wars action figures come with simple articulation, so you’re limited with how you can pose them. But the most important thing to remember here is that dynamic tooling of the character, and how nicely and accurately they look to the multimedia source. It’s not an exaggeration to say the Prince Xizor is one of the nicest looking figures in the Star Wars line to date. You may not like his background or his role in Shadows of The Empire. You’re entitled to feel that way. You will, however, be harder pressed to find fault in the design of the Prince Xizor action figure. If there is any complaint with the Prince Xizor action figure, it’s the lack of other characters from Shadows Of The Empire that Kenner/Hasbro did NOT produce. There are some great characters in the multimedia event, but the line only contains a sampling of the characters from it.