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Even space-warriors like to cosplay, sometimes.
Darth Maul's Mandalorians modified their armor to reflect allegiance to the Dark Lord. These super commandos wore red and black, and some even fashioned horns atop their helmets.
"Darth Maul's Mandalorians"? How did Darth Maul get Mandalorians? Also, you can just get Mandalorians? Somebody tell that to Target! After being left for dead on Naboo, Darth Maul returned. A little less sane, sure, but still a threat - this time to both the Jedi and the Sith. Needing a base of power from which to plan his revenge, he teamed up with Pre Vizsla, who similarly hated Count Dooku and Obi-Wan Kenobi. But, you know, they're both villains, so they tried to betray each other; Maul won, and the former members of the Death Watch pledged their lives to their new leader.
The modified helmet is easily the most eye-catching thing about the super commando. It starts as the familiar Spartan-style brain bucket we've known since Boba, with the dark, T-shaped visor and the sunken cheeks, then adds 10 thin horns to the top. They're flat, not rounded, like metal blades; the outer four are long, the inner four are short, and the two on the sides have a sharp bend so they can still point upward. There are matching spikes added to the shoulder armor, because Mandalorians know how to work a theme.
The majority of the figure's molds come from
Jango - if you're familiar with that figure, you already know what to expect here. The new parts are limited to the head and shoulders, obviously, but also the thighs because of the different armor: instead of plates on the front of the legs, the "Mauldalorian" has smaller plates on the outside of the legs for his holsters. New holsters also mean a new belt, since on Jango those were connected pieces.
When they were still independent, the Death Watch wore dark blue uniforms; under Maul, they wear drab suits with grey and red armor. The back is solid red, while the breastplate and helmet have geometric patterns to suggest Maul's tattoos. There are a few silver apps on the armor as well, showing scrapes received during battle.
We can tell this is just some generic Mando and not their leader Gar Saxon, because the visor on his helmet was yellow, not black.
The Super Commando has swivel/hinge ankles, double-hinged knees, swivel thighs, balljointed hips, balljointed torso, swivel/hinge wrists and elbows, swivel biceps, swivel/hinge shoulders, a hinged neck and a balljointed head. Jango's elbow hoses are still here, going from one side of the joint to the other and limiting the range a bit, but the additional swivel in the bicep is meant to help deal with that. The hip joints on my figure are slightly loose, wobbling side-to-side a bit; that makes getting him to stand well a little tough, especially with the added weight on his back.
Yes, Jango's jetpack makes a return appearance here, done in grey with just a little bit of red trim to bring it in line with the overall design of the figure. His guns are simple, blocky things, reminding us that this character originated in The Clone Wars. They fit in the figure's holsters really tightly, and look good in his hands as well.
The Mandalorian Super Commando is a Walmart exclusive, alongside a blue "Mandalorian Loyalist" that represents the Death Watch before pledging to Maul's service. They allegedly came out in November, but good luck finding them anywhere yet. I ordered online, and despite WM's notoriously unreliable website, did manage to get it. It's a neat exclusive, based on the aesthetic alone. And right now, don't we all want more Mandos?
-- 12/27/20
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