Action Figure #669: Star Wars The Black Series Darth Malak

 He left his jaw on the floor... in another Galaxy.

 You wouldn't know it because I stopped writing about games, but I finished KOTOR this year... a game I had started back when I was a wee kid but never finished before. Darth Malak is the main bad guy in KOTOR, and while he wasn't the most memorable villain ever, he did have an interesting design... which made it into plastic form.

 As you can tell, Malak doesn't have the most involved or interesting design ever. He has a red suit and black boots. What does make him stand out is the half-cape over his right arm, made out of soft goods, and his metallic jaw, because Revan slashed it off one time. All around the robotic jaw you get a nice paint job of the scarring, which looks really good. Dressing all in red, as opposed to black, makes him stand out from other Siths, which is pretty neat, but the robotic jaw bears a resemblance to other villains, such as Vader, so it all works out. All in all, great sculpt, they did what they could with such a simple design.

 Articulation is up to par with modern Black Series. He has a ball jointed diaphragm, a ball jointed waist, butterfly joints, thigh swivels and single jointed elbows and knees with very deep cuts. The skirt part of his coat is made out of soft plastic, so it doesn't hamper his articulation too much, but, his best feature is...

 ... that you can remove his robotic jaw! The detail on his wound and robotic voice box is just beautiful. It's not a 100% accurate to the game, but it's pretty close to how it looked in it, so I'll let it pass. It's an amazing little unnecessary detail that makes the figure feel like a labor of love from people that loved the source material. It's such a small thing, but elevates the figure so much. He is about half a head taller than Bucky Cap.

 The Black Series came out swinging with this figure, and they knocked it out of the park. They got the most that they could've ever gotten from his character design, and the result is fantastic. I hope we get more KOTOR figures, definitely.

9.0

Action Figure #668: Star Wars The Black Series Anakin Skywalker (Ahsoka)

 You were supposed to destroy the Sith!

 Considering how much I loved Clone Wars, I've been meaning to get my hands on General Anakin Skywalker for a while now, so the Ahsoka update was everything I wanted... or is it?

 Well... I like the soft-goods on this guy, and I really dig the Clone Wars armored suit, even if I prefer his usual attire. The best thing about this figure is how perfectly they nailed Haysen Christensen's older likeness. He looks exactly like he looks in the Ahsoka series, which is just incredible. But that's about all the good things I can say about this guy. Firstly, they reused the basic Anakin's double jointed legs, gumminess and everything. But that's nothing compared to what they did to his arms. His shoulders droop from way too low, which already makes him look off, but they are also extra long, in no small part due to how thick his elbows are. No matter how you pose him, you'll always feel like something is off with him. And then there's the shoulder pads, the bit of plastic that connects the butterfly joint to the pad itself is of different lengths between the right and left arm, and I looked it up and it happens with every copy of the figure, so his arms look even more uneven and wrong. This is honestly one of the ugliest Black Series figures I've seen.

 His waist is on a ball joint, he has single jointed elbows, with a nice, deep cut, and double jointed knees with swivels on his thighs. He has very generous butterfly joints that lets him hit some very neat poses... if only his arms weren't so long.

 This is what I meant about the thick elbows. They do this ugly figure no favors. He is as tall as the other Anakin figures, and slightly shorter than Bucky Cap.

 Sure, he is a remake of an older figure... but they've been doing such a great job updating older figures... why didn't this Anakin get a full upgrade instead of just a simple head update? Which, admittedly, is a fantastic new headsculpt, but still. It gets even worse because the General Kenobi figure is so darn good, so why didn't General Skywalker get something that good too? I'm only being generous with the score because I do love this head sculpt, I like the design and Anakin is my favorite character next to Cal.

3.5

Action Figure #667: Power Rangers Lightning Collection Mighty Morphin Ninja Black Ranger

 The king of dubbed anime is here.

 It's been slow, but with the Mighty Morphin Ninja Black Ranger I'm now only one Ninja ranger short of a full team.

 Well, all these Ninja figures are identical, so not much else to add to what I've already written twice. I do think the gold accents on his black costume make him look the best among them, however. Three different heads, a pair of fists, two alternate hands and an effect piece are the goodies he gets, as the rest of the figures. The likeness to Johnny Young Bosch is there, but it's not perfect.

 That said, his right leg has this huge gap at the swivel. I'm starting to see why so many people claimed that Lightning Collection had many QC issues.

 If you'll allow me a little copyin' and pastin' ....  Articulation is almost as good as the rest of the line. He has double jointed elbows and knees, swivels on his thighs, boots and biceps. He has no ab crunch, and his waist seems to be ball jointed, but you won't get much beyond spinning his torso. He has butterfly joints and drop down hips but I didn't seem able to get more than a few millimeters from his hips. He is almost as tall as Bucky Cap. 

 Having toyed around with this buck for a third time.... I'm starting to see its limitations. The sculpt is good and I love the very 90's Ninja design, but having no diaphragm articulation is so disappointing on a Ninja action figure. Yeah, he's alright.

7.0 

Action Figure #666: Power Rangers Lightning Collection Lord Drakkon (Evo III)

 666 the number of the Drakkon.

 So, there I was, browsing the net only to discover that Lord Drakkon Evo III had a figure made! He has skyrocketed up in price, because he used to be an exclusive, but I managed to find a decent deal on him... and y'know me, I can't say no to gold and black color schemes!

 Despite the black color scheme, this is Drakkon at his most heroic, after fulfilling his plan, this is how he envisioned himself in his heroic dream scenario, which is why he has a cape! This is not just a recolor of the previous figure, as every armor piece, while similar, is different to the original figure. I do like the overall look of the figure, as he looks very powerful and evil. He comes with the Saban Sword, two gripping hands, two open hands, an unmasked head sculpt, two green electricity effects, and a base with broken Mighty Morphin Helmets that can hold either Saban or one of the electricity effects. While I got the figure missing one of the open hands, it seems the seller made up for it including a Dragon Knife... which is quite convenient since my Green Ranger is missing his!

 As can be seen here, the boots and gauntlets LOOK very similar, but it isn't just the paint job, the sizes and lines inside the boots and gauntlets are actually different. The most notorious change is the shield, which is completely different. I don't think either design is better than the other. Lord Drakkon is a badass fusion of the Green and White Rangers, while this Evo III is a badass evil Ranger overlord. Both designs and figures are great.

 The one big issue with the figure is that the cape is slightly harder than I expected, which makes him very top heavy and a bit hard to balance. Thankfully you can take it off. The backside of the shield is a bit lacking in detail, and you'll have those three gaping holes behind him, but it's not too bad.

 If something can be said about this line is how consistently good the articulation is. Butterfly joints, double jointed elbows and knees, swivels on the biceps, thighs and boots, a ball jointed ab crunch and a hinged waist.

 The only issue with the articulation is that this new shield is much wider than the original's, so he can't move his arms straight up. I don't think they could've done anything to prevent this, sadly, but it does limit some of the poses he can strike. He is as tall as the original Drakkon, which the picture below fails to convey since I had to finagle with his legs and feet to get him to stand with his cape, and he is a bit shorter than Bucky Cap.

 Well, he is about as great as the original figure. In the comics, Drakkon was running on aura alone, and all his suits were incredible, so I'm just happy we got to have this version too. If Lightning Collection ever comes back, I wouldn't mind getting the other two forms Drakkon had... or even the exclusive Evo he had in the game! All that said, no, this figure isn't worth its new price. While I love the figure itself, the goodies, like the green electricity and the helmets' base isn't anything special, so buying this figure nowadays means buying an even more overpriced Drakkon figure.

8.0

Action Figure #665: Star Wars The Black Series Doctor Aphra (Coat)

 The doctor got lazy.

 So, here's the thing. I knew that Doctor Aphra was a thing, but I didn't know much about her besides her popping up in a few Star Wars comicbook anthologies I read. But then I discovered this figure, thought she looked kinda cool and decided to read a bit more about her and... I can't say I care much about her as a character, but I thought she was a great figure.

 And, at first, I thought she looked really cool, but something was a bit off. Why did her belt had a peg for what looked like a light saber? And then I looked at the art-insert of the box, and there were a few differences, and then I realized... This Aphra figure is a 75% reuse of Mara Jade! I'll give them this, the coat looks really cool and is unique to her, and so are the arms, plus, Mara Jade's sculpt is really good and it does fit Aphra... except for the belt which definitely isn't hers and doesn't match the art. She comes with a blaster pistol and a helmet you can take off.

 As far as articulation goes, she gets double jointed knees, swivels on her thighs, single jointed elbows that go over 90 degrees when bent, a ball jointed ab crunch and a hinged waist. Butterfly joints would've been nice, but she doesn't really need them, however, the coat does limit her range when lifting her arms, so they'll have to go at an angle and not straight up, which is a bit disappointing. She's about a head shorter than Bucky Cap.

 Maybe it's a bit harsh to call it lazy, because most of the reuse here is well suited for Aphra, but if they were going to go the extra mile with the jacket, they might as well have given her a unique belt all to herself. Aside from that, I think that she is a good looking figure, and Mara's sculpt is a winner, although, sadly, her jack does limit a bit of her movement. But, yeah, she's alright.

6.5

Action Figure #664: Star Wars The Black Series Savage Opress

 The li'l bro is not so li'l, it seems to me.

 For being in, say, 10 episodes outta the 120 something Clone Wars episodes, Savage Opress made quite an impact! I'm kinda happy I got to see the character in action around the time this figure got made!

 This guy is a beast, he is one of the largest Black Series figures, which, y'know, he should be since he towered over everyone else in the show. He features an entirely new sculpt that looks very menacing, and his stoic expression seems ripped straight out of the show. So, yeah, as far as the sculpt goes, he looks fantastic and very faithful to the source material. He comes with his giant ax and his double bladed light saber.

 Articulation features the newest and best Black Series has to offer. His elbows and knees are single jointed, but with very deep cuts allowing for bends deeper than 90 degrees. He has a ball jointed ab crunch and a ball jointed waist, with butterfly joints and the new ball peg wrists. Whichever the case, posing him is fun and smooth. His pauldrons rotate alongside his arms, so they don't limit his arm movement, however, they might be a bit too soft, making them warp in uneven ways and thus making them look asymmetrical in neutral stances. He is about a head taller than Bucky Cap.

 This is one of those figures that is a mix of it being a top notch action figure and a great character design that I really dig, so I love having this guy in my collection.

9.5

Action Figure #663: Star Wars The Black Series Moff Gideo(Dark Trooper Armor)

  Los Pollos Hermanos isn't paying the bills anymore, time to break bad. In Space.

 Having watched the Mandalorian season 1, I've been wanting a Moff Gideon for a while now, and just as I was about to buy the original release, this Moff Gideon (Dark Trooper Armor) got announced, which looked much cooler, so I decided to wait... which is the reason it took me so long to add Gideon into my collection.

 Let's start off with the good. The headsculpt is just perfect, he looks a lot more like Giancarlo Esposito than the previous figure, so that's a huge plus. I can't say how accurate the rest of the figure is to the show because I haven't started Season 2 yet, but I do think he looks like a badass cross between a Storm Trooper and a Mandalorian, all clad in black and red. I particularly love the two-tone cape that is black on the outside and red on the inside. He comes with a helmet, a spear-like weapon, a collapsed version of that weapon and a tiny gun.

 My biggest gripe with this figure is the helmet. It's made out of very soft, pliable plastic, so it doesn't stay as tight as I would like. Even worse, part of his chin tends to show from under the helmet, so unless you have Gideon looking down, with the helmet on, you'll have to play around with his torso to get the angle right so that his chin isn't showing. It's such a dumb oversight, because they've done figures with removable helmets before, like Jango Fett and Pre Vizla, and those worked perfectly, so there's no excuse here.

 On the articulation end, he has single jointed elbows and knees with great range on each. He has a ball jointed ab crunch and a ball jointed waist. He also has the new peg-wrists they have been using. Also, he is a bit of a.... let's call him a Short King, because he is super short! About a head and a half shorter than Bucky Cap.

 Well, 90% of the figure is really good. Great sculpt, great accessories, great articulation... it's just that the issue with the helmet is such a bummer, because the helmet could make him look SO cool.

7.5

Action Figure #662: Star Wars The Black Series Imperial Praetorian Guard

 In Star Wars you know the bad guys mean business when they clad themselves in red.

 Because the First Order had to copy everything the Empire did, here's the Royal Guard analogue, the Imperial Praetorian Guard AKA the guys in red. But, hey, at least these ones got to fight instead of just walking next to the Emperor!

 I think this guy looks great. His armor is a cross between a storm trooper, a Royal Guard, a Mandalorian and an ancient Roman warrior, and the red armor looks very sleek. They opted for a soft goods cape and skirt. which were the perfect choice for him. Since this guy is actually part of a group, he comes with two different weapons, the chain-sword and a scythe-like weapon, he is not supposed to use both at the same time, since these guys tend to fight with one or the other.

 My only issue, is that these guys have energized weapons, so the edge of his scythe and the bits of chain should've been painted in bright or translucent pink. They almost got it right with these pink stripes on the chain sword, but the scythe got nothing. It makes his sparky weapons look dull and boring.

 Articulation is on brand for modern figures. Ball jointed ab crunch, butterfly joints, single jointed elbows, with  good range on them and double jointed knees. The pauldrons rotate alongside the shoulders, so no issues the, and the soft-goods skirt means he loses no articulation below the waist. He is definitely a fun figure. He is a bit shorter than Bucky Cap.

 The Imperial Praetorian Guard is definitely a fun figure to own. He looks badass and is fun to play with. They could've done a little more to make his weapons stand out, but it's not too bad.

8.0

Action Figure #661: Star Wars The Black Series Director Orson Krennic

 If it was up to him, it would've been called the Krennic Star.

 I couldn't just finish a Rogue One display with the heroes alone, I needed the bad guy, I needed Director Orson Krennic. And now, I can truly say that I'm done collecting Rogue One!

 Well, on the outset, this is yet another Empire General. And while all of them look the same, I've noticed that each one has different folds on their baggy pants! But two things make this one stand aside from the rest: His cape and his gloves. Sadly, the cape is garbage. It's made out of soft plastic, which hampers movement, and.... it just lies over his shoulder, so it's easy for it to come off if you play with him. But then again, just moving his arms makes it fall off. It's a bit of a shame, really, because Black Series loves soft-goods, and this guy NEEDED as soft-goods cape. At least the headsculpt is accurate to the actor, and he comes with a blaster pistol.

 So, let's assume that you take his cape off, what can you expect from him? Double jointed knees and thigh swivels, with a ball jointed waist. His elbows are single jointed, and while they don't have the deepest of cuts... they at least reach a 90 degree bend. He is a head shorter than Bucky Cap.

 Take away the cape and he is a decent action figure... but taking away the cape means removing want makes Krennic Krennic. Just fixing the cape to his shoulders would've fixed the issue. As it stands, it's a boring action figure.

4.0

Action Figure #660: Star Wars The Black Series Bodhi Rook

 Rogue One team: Completed.

 Well, Bodhi Rook finally completes my Rogue One team. Probably the least exciting member of the team, but, hey, in Star Wars everyone needs a pilot!

 Bodhi Rook's design is very simple and boring. He wears a grey pilot's jumpsuit with a brown vest, and that's it. I'll tell you this much, to make up for the simplicity, they went wild with the folds on his clothes. On the other hand, the head sculpt is hit and miss. The likeness to the actor is spot on, and I do like the translucent goggles.. even if you can't move them. The only issue is that the paint for the beard and sideburns looks like a brown smear than anything else, in fact, there's a strip of unpainted head below one of the goggle straps, I looked it up and it seems to have happened with other copies of the figure, which is just disappointing. He comes with two accessories, a blaster and a backpack.

 The back pack accessory comes with a thingie that is connected to a thread that extents from the back pack.

 The only way to rev up the thread again is by hand and by disassembling the back pack. This part of the pack isn't held as securely as I'd like, but it stays on for the most part.

 He gets single jointed elbows and knees, but with very deep cuts so both get over 90 degree bends. He has a swivel on his waist and on his thighs, and he also has butterfly joints which add a tiny bit of extra range to his arms. He is quite a bit shorter than Bucky Cap.

 So... He is a decent figure about a character I don't care about with a rather dull design. But the team did the most that they could with the character, so there's that.

5.5