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Yodasnews Review: Emperor Palpatine’s Clone and Luke Skywalker (Dark Empire II)
Star Wars: Comic Packs - Review and Photography by Jeffrey A. Gouse (SithLord0498)
Review Date: April 15, 2009
FIGURE SPECIFICATIONS
Points of Articulation
Emperor Palpatine’s Clone (14): Ball-jointed (head, shoulders, elbows, knees, ankles); Swivel-jointed (wrists, waist, legs)
Luke Skywalker (14): Ball-jointed (head, shoulders, elbows, knees, ankles); Swivel-jointed (wrists, waist, legs)
Accessories
Emperor Palpatine’s Clone: Lightsaber, Force Lightning
Luke Skywalker: Lightsaber, Bodo Bass’ Jedi Holocron
Packaging: Standard Comic Pack (ca. 2009) Packaging
A year and a half ago, I reviewed the Episode V Infinities Darth Vader and Leia Organa Comic Pack and came to a disheartening conclusion: Hasbro was being “lazy” with the quality of the figures. Since then, the Comic Packs have exploded into a major element of the Star Wars toy license with more than 40 sets released and more on the way. But did Hasbro improve the quality in that span of time?
Unfortunately, not as much as I had hoped. Paint applications are still dodgy on some figures (e.g. – the Princess Leia figure included in the Leia/Xizor pack), and many figures are still lacking in their articulation and pale in comparison to their single-carded counterparts. The reason for this still eludes me, and it is increasingly unacceptable since the prices are averaging $13 per set (or $6.50 per figure)—a noticeable increase from their original $10 price tag.
Yet there are some packs which appear to fire on all cylinders. Of course, one can never really know until they put the figures to the test. Today’s review looks at a relatively recent Comic Pack, one that (in the packaging) looks like a winner and worthwhile purchase. The conclusion, unfortunately, is not clear-cut and greatly depends on the personal tastes of the consumer. The reasons for that will become clear as we proceed.
However, a quick note before we begin…
Contrary to most of our product reviews, these figures will be largely based on their own aesthetics and design rather than compared against their comic book counterparts. The biggest reason is that I don’t own the Dark Empire II trade paperback, and other reference images are in short supply on the Internet. Additionally, the enclosed issue does not give a good look at either Palpatine or Luke. Even if it did, the illustrations in this early Dark Horse comic book are very stylized and are not viable as reference material anyway.
That being said, let’s begin.
PORTRAIT
Palpatine’s Clone: Above Average (Bordering on Average)
The first thing that comes to mind when looking at this is “Palpatine became a vampire?!” There is a clear Dracula-vibe to the hair style, jaw structure, and red eyes. Of course, he doesn’t have fangs. What he does have is much more humorous. Through a combination of heavily pronounced cheekbones and what appear to be buck teeth, Palpatine’s clone actually resembles a green-skinned chipmunk more than a reborn Sith Lord. On top of that, Hasbro threw on some thick black eyeliner above each eye.
So are there any redeeming qualities on this portrait? There are several. First and foremost, this is a reasonable approximation of a young Darth Sidious—especially when viewed in profile. The sculptors did a fantastic job replicating the unique shape of Ian McDiarmid’s nose. Additionally, the snarling facial expression is an excellent choice for this reincarnated agent of evil. However, the beauty of the sculpting is obscured by the poor painting on the eyes and teeth. Regardless of the flaws, it is clear that Hasbro paid a good deal of attention to their work even if they missed the mark in places.
Luke Skywalker: Above Average (Bordering on Average)
In terms of looking like the character, Luke’s portrait is the better of the two in this set. The moppy hair is reminiscent of Mark Hamill’s style in Episodes IV and V, but it has a more mature look to it. That’s perfectly understandable and expected since this is several years after Endor. The face is undeniably Luke and with a somber expression that matches the story. It does fall short in a few areas. First, the sculpting of his features is a tad soft, making it hard to distinguish the details on his lower face. Second, the eyes are not evenly painted, making one eye look swollen shut in certain lighting.
Finally, we come to the most peculiar shortcoming of this portrait. It is, however, not in the face. The neck post sports a decidedly pinker shade of flesh tone paint, which sticks out like the proverbial sore thumb. In fact, the best way to describe it is that Luke has sunburn all around his neck. It’s not sample-specific either. Every sample I have seen on the shelf has this anomaly.
COSTUME & BODY
Palpatine’s Clone: Above Average
Technically, Palpatine has two costumes in this set. The first is comprised of the black robes and shoulder armor that he is wearing in the packaging. The second costume lurks underneath the robes, and it consists of various bandages and sashes wrapped around his tumorous body. As such, we will start from the outside and work our way through to the core.
From what little is shown of Palpatine in the first issue of Dark Empire II (reprinted and packaged in this set), the robes do not appear to be fully accurate, but that will not be a factor here for the reasons stated at the beginning of this review. On its own merits, the figure’s robes are extremely well made albeit a tad complicated with the various ties that keep them closed. Those ties, however, add to the overall dynamic look of the figure (check out the final image in this review for an example). As for the shoulder armor, it is a combination of Darth Vader and Count Dracula, a fitting inspiration given the clone’s vampiric appearance. The two tone black and gray paint is visually striking, and the minute details are sculpted with realistic precision, details that include simulated cloth, circular metal decorations, and creases in the back of the collar.
As for the underlying “mummy wraps”, they are entirely sculpted on top of the figure and are less impressive. The details are soft and muddled on the bandages wrapped around the arms and legs, and there is some paint slop in these areas as well. The hands and shins, however, look terrific with very realistic layering sculpted on the bandages. While not technically part of the outfit, the blue and gray tumors covering Palpatine’s deteriorating body are both grotesque and gritty—although a bit soft in areas as well.
One final note about the body: the neck is taller than it should be. Presumably, the taller neck is needed to make the proportions look correct when the bulky robes and high-seated shoulder armor is attached. When the figure is stripped down, however, it gives Palpatine a “giraffe neck” and looks awkward at most angles.
Luke Skywalker: Average
Unlike the portrait, Luke’s costume and body are clearly the poorer of the two. However, it’s also one for which a decent reference image could be found on the Internet. The strange thing is that it’s from the cover of the original Dark Empire—not the sequel upon which this two-pack is presumably based. Even odder still, the cover art on the enclosed comic (Dark Empire II #1) shows a completely different costume for Luke. So did Hasbro screw up or did this costume appear in Dark Empire II? Since I don’t own the trade paperback, that’s a question I can’t answer.
So let’s assume Hasbro got the right costume. The next question is whether or not they did a good job on it. Since there is a reference image to be had, we’ll compare the costume against it. While they hit on most of the major details, most of those details aren’t quite accurate. The belt is a close match although the buckle should be a separate inner oval and an outer ring. The ribbing on the jumpsuit matches the Dark Empire cover art as does the high collar. The billowing of the cloak is a good match as well, but Hasbro neglected to include the cloak’s short sleeves. Also, the stiffness and weight of the plastic limits Luke to neutral poses (unless you take the cloak off), but it does offer extra support and balance.
Truth be told, it’s not one of Luke’s better costumes. The one pictured on the enclosed comic would have been a much more visually striking choice.
However, the major issue here is not the choice of costume or its accuracy. It’s that this figure’s body is too much of a throw-back to the buff “He-Man look” of the earlier Power of the Force 2 Luke Skywalker figures (ca. 1995). This is most noticeable in the heavily pronounced pectoral muscles as well as the arms. Let’s face it—Luke was never this muscular, and it negatively stands out among other modern Luke figures.
ARTICULATION
Palpatine’s Clone: Excellent
Things take a sharp turn for the better in this category. With 14 points of articulation and the majority of them being ball-jointed or ball-hinged, Palpatine can hold a wide variety of poses. Naturally, the robes do restrict movement slightly more than the stripped-down version, but the difference is negligible. Combative stances are fairly easy although it can take a little bit of time and work to find a good center of gravity. That is where the hinged ankles come in very handy. Also, the ball-jointed head can be manipulated to convey a variety of emotive expressions through a simple tilt of the head.
Luke Skywalker: Excellent (Bordering on Above Average)
Luke has the exact same articulation as Palpatine, but it lacks the same high level of stability. After playing around with the joints for a while, it seems as though there are two reasons for this: 1) the He-Man chest makes the figure slightly more top-heavy and 2) the joints on this particular sample are looser than those on Palpatine. Luke does have some advantages over his nemesis though. For example, he can get into a more believable one-knee kneeling pose (Palpatine’s center of gravity results in a wide-legged kneeling pose). Still, this figure is unstable enough to diminish its rating.
ACCESSORIES
Palpatine’s Clone: Excellent
Palpatine may not come with much, but what he has is top-notch. The quality of the sculpting found on his lightsaber (a decidedly ironic blue-bladed weapon) is excellent and really emphasizes the design influences of both Luke Skywalker’s green-bladed saber (shape of the emitter) and Darth Vader’s weapon (the ridged grip). Whether this was intentional or just a coincidence, the mere fact that such a comparison can be hypothesized means Hasbro did an amazing job on the details.
The Force lightning attachment is among the best in the modern era. The clamp fits securely to the figure’s wrist, and the lightning is sculpted in such a way that the thumb can slide into the lightning. The result is a more integrated look between the lightning and hand. The plastic is strong yet light enough to not sag or weigh down the figure’s arm, and the sculpting of the tendrils is very dramatic and chaotic (in a good way). While some may prefer an interchangeable hand with the sculpted lightning attached to it, such hands often suffer from very broad or fused fingers and sloppy flesh tone paint. This is a much better approach to designing a Force lightning accessory.
Luke Skywalker: Average
The problem here is the Jedi Holocron with the ghostly hologram of Bodo Bass. On paper, it sounds like a killer accessory. In the packaging, it looks awesome with a fantastically sculpted bubbly Bodo. Out of the packaging and in the hands of consumers, it’s a colossal failure. The hologram is simply too heavy and attached to a cube that is both too small and too light. It cannot free-stand on a table because it immediately tips over. A more level bottom on the Holocron and a hollow and lighter Bodo may have remedied this problem. Displaying it in Luke’s hand is not an option either because there is no way to securely get the figure to hold it. I spent ten minutes trying to keep it in Luke’s hands long enough for a quick photo, but it just didn’t happen. Ultimately, it is a useless accessory.
The lightsaber, on the other hand, is the saving grace of this category and keeps it in the middle of the spectrum. Like Palpatine’s weapon, Luke’s lightsaber has many small details sculpted on it. The rumble-strip design of the saber grip is particularly impressive and gives it a very realistic texture. The only thing missing here is an unignited version of the saber (same for Palpatine). It’s a missed opportunity, but it is not something to be held against this figure.
OVERALL RATING – Average (Bordering on Above Average)
The Dark Empire II Comic Pack has a great deal of potential, but there are just too many negative elements to give it a must-buy recommendation. Of the two figures, Palpatine is the clear winner, and it would have been much better to tweak the aesthetics a bit and release it in the basic figure line. Luke is not a terrible figure by any stretch of the imagination, but the overly-muscular body, shaky stability, inflexible cloak, and absolutely useless Holocron accessory great diminish the value of the figure. At an average shelf price of $13 (close to $18 at some K-Marts), this pairing just isn’t worth the price for the casual collector. At $10 or $11, it would be—just not $13. The line has to be drawn somewhere.
That being said, fans and/or focus collectors of Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious will definitely want to grab this set just for the clone figure. The same is true for fans of the Expanded Universe. Dark Empire fans…well, this will obviously cater to their tastes. Luke Skywalker fans and focus collectors would do well to pick up this set since it contains a considerably better version than the old POTF2 Dark Empire Luke (same for Palpatine’s Clone).
In the end, this is a Comic Pack that just didn’t get it together enough to be spectacular, and it can only be recommended for more specialized collectors such as those mentioned above. Casual collectors would be better served to grab two entries from the basic figure line.
