Captain Cardinal - TBS [P3] - Six Inch Figures (Exclusive)

Served as Armitage Hux's personal guard, as he was among the orphans that Brendol Hux took in to create the First Order from.

Do The Black Series 6” collectors get taken aback when Hasbro releases an obscure background character only part of the Star Wars Canon and not the films? That’s where Captain Cardinal fits into the Star Wars universe. The characters made his debut appearance in the Phasma novel, a book overlooked by most Star Wars collecting community members. We find it particularly interesting that Hasbro would choose a character from an unpopular source on which to base a retailer exclusive. Then again, when you discover how they produced this character for The Black Series 6”, well, it couldn’t be clearer why Captain Cardinal won the slot. It makes total sense to create an action figure like this. Hasbro took the tooling originally from 2017’s TBS [P3] First Order Stormtrooper Executioner (the first First Order Stormtrooper with the new head sculpt) and most recently released as 2019’s TBS [P3] First Order Stormtrooper (97) figure and cast it in solid red plastic. The rest of the figure (the accessories) is parts we’ve seen previously, also colored to match the bright and colorful Captain Cardinal. Known by the names Archex, CD-0922, and the nickname “Emergency Brake,” Captain Cardinal received praise from Supreme Leader Snoke. (Sounds like a great novel, huh?)

Admittedly, Captain Cardinal is a striking action figure that comes in a beautifully designed box. All of The Black Series [Phase III] 6” exclusives come in specially colored and designed packaging, but Captain Cardinal’s is incredibly unique. The side has a marbled effect, and the burnt orange box details add a combination of colors we haven’t seen utilized in this line to date. Outside of the packaging, Captain Cardinal is about as dull as you can imagine. A differently colored First Order Stormtrooper with a soft-goods cape from Captain Phasma is hardly an exciting release. But if you’re into the First Order, this may be an addition to the line you’re excited to add to your collection. The Galaxy’s Edge launch of Disney Parks merchandise was August 30, 2020. And on top of several 6” figures, Hasbro worked with Disney to produce a line of products inspired by the parks, including 3.75” Droid Depot Build A Droid figures, and a host of other merchandise. Of interest, Hondo Ohnaka and DJ-R3X. Commander Pyre is also part of the exclusive releases but released at a later date. We still fail to see the connection between Captain Cardinal and Galaxy’s Edge, but perhaps they’re looking to expand the character selection by using the Cannon source material.

Honestly, this tooling is tired. The figure’s joints don’t articulate like they used to move. They’re stiff, and some are downright stubborn to shift. Also, the figure’s symmetry is somehow affected. It’s quite a chore to get the figure to stand upright and straight without some finagling and futzing. With 28 points of articulation, Captain Cardinal moves as you desire (despite its uncooperative parts), but there are still issues with how you can bend his elbows, hips, and knees. Sadly, the articulation is still burdened by the armor pieces. This fault likely will never be an issue Hasbro revisits. Still, the figure is shiny and overall looks decent as a display piece. Despite the figure’s limitations, you can pose Captain Cardinal in a variety of ways. And if you’re strong, you can remove the head sculpt and remove the soft-goods cape for a host of other looks and poses as a red First Order Stormtrooper, not much different than a Sith Trooper! We strongly feel that a carbonized finish for Captain Cardinal would have served this figure best. Unfortunately, Hasbro decided to approach this figure old hat. So they didn’t bring anything new to the table. It will be interesting to see if these Galaxy’s Edge exclusive will make a more comprehensive retail appearance, but now they are TARGET exclusives. Still, right now, TARGET seems to have solidified that partnership.