Darth Malgus

Gotta love how the Old Republic MMO was like "Darth Malak is Vader-coded, but not Vader-coded enough; let's see how we can fix that." A legendary Sith Lord, Darth Malgus emerges from hiding with a mysterious plan that could secure his legacy in the annals of the Sith. Born 3,700 years before the Death Star would blow up Alderaan, the boy called Veradun was raised on the capital world Dromund Kaas, which was part of the Sith Empire. Yes, that used to be a thing: the Sith being a political organization that stewarded a section the galaxy, separate from the Galactic Republic. That's who Jedi knights Revan and Alek found out in the Outer Rim, and who brainwashed them to the Dark side before sending them back. At one point Malgus led a sneak attack that allowed the Sith Empire to conquer Coruscant, beginning a brief period where the Sith functionally ruled the galaxy. Darth Malgus is sold as a Deluxe figure, like Black Krrsantan or the Gamorrean Guard. And you may understandably wonder why, until you open the figure and realize Malgus stands 7" tall. And The Black Series doesn't suffer from the size-creep problem the Marvel Legends team doesn't have the talent to avoid, so it turns out Malgus is just a giant! And that size means a little bit different articulation. Most of it is the usual stuff you're used to, but we get swivel/hinge knees instead of double-hinges and a thigh swivel, and there's a balljoint in the waist as well as in the chest; you know, minor stuff. Gotta say, though, kneepads don't work with a single hinge very well. While Malak filled the Darth Vader role in KOTOR, he also wore red - Malgus just goes right for the dark costume with an armored chestplate. One of the last SW comics Dark Horse published before the license moved to Marvel was The Star Wars, which adapted the earliest 1974 draft of the script and had art by Mike Mayhew doing his best to channel all the original Ralph McQuarrie designs. Darth Malgus looks like he could fit perfectly into that series as an alternate take on Darth Vader (or, well, technically an alternate "Prince Valorum," since that was the Sith Knight's name back then - there was a "Darth Vader," but he was just a human general and that was his given name, not a title). There are large shoulder pads that are rotated behind the figure when you unwrap it: they're the kind that are held in place by the toy's arms so they can move out of the way when need be, so be sure you remember to bring them forward. Malgus wears a hooded cape, which is not removable, but can be pushed back to reveal his pale, bald head. He wears a respirator mask that covers his nose and mouth, with its shape definitely recalling Vader's mask even more than Malak's metal scarf did. Surprisingly, that's a separate mold, so you could remove it if you wanted - you'd need to carefully pop the figure's head off, but then you'd get to see his minorly scarred jawline. Considering he wears a cape you can't take off, it's slightly surprising that Hasbro didn't cheap out on the paint on his back. His undersuit is grey, with black for the padded parts. The armor on his torso fully covers his back, and gets silver apps to remind us how technological it is, His shoulder pads and bracers are a darker grey than the bulk of the suit, so they stand out decently. This definitely is not a cbright figure - the most colorful part is the scar tissue that gets hidden by his mask - but he still looks really awesome regardless. Since Malgus is so large, his lightsaber wouldn't look right in his hand unless it was similarly enhanced. The hilt is almost as large as one of Darth Maul's, and the thick red blade is over 4" long! The blade can be removed, though there's no way to hang the hilt on him when you do. The hilt has two metal blades that reach up past the emitter area, giving it a look like a small axe or shovel. Star Wars: The Old Republic's Darth Malgus is not what you'd call a "creative" design, as far as videogame characters go, but there's something fun and appealing about "retro alternate-reality Darth Vader" as an actual thing. But while this figure's size is accurate, it still feels weird to see a human Star Wars toy be a full inch taller than everybody else; your head may say it's correct, but your gut rejects it. Hopefully this figure will turn out to be like Revan, and will just be the first release from his game, with more figures coming later to up the numbers in your display. -- 03/09/24