Darth Vader (Duel's End)

Peekaboo! As the momentous battle between Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi nears its end, Kenobi peers past the armored visage of his former apprentice to see what Anakin Skywalker has become. Okay, so between this release and Qui-Gon, it seems only the exclusive figures get any specific character info on the back of the box, while the regular figures all have to share the same generic text. Is the packaging designed by different teams? The graphic designers who understand their job are put on the exclusive boxes, while the managers who don't have even a basic clue are overseeing and approving the mass releases? Could be. This Vader is not the same sculpt seen at the beginning of The Black Series - comparing it to the only other Black Series Vader I have (which used the original sculpt), there are numerous small differences in the padding of his suit. Why? Why would you bother with that? Since this figure comes from a story set between Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars, he has some era-specific elements that are sure to please the people who think there's some difference between Episode 4 and Episodes 5 and 6. It used to be that "robes over the armor" was the signifier of a pre-ESB look, but these days it kind of goes back and forth. Kenobi put the robes under the armor, and so this toy does as well. This new sculpt originated in 2017, with the carded "40th Anniversary" figure, which was definitely intended to be a 1977 version of the character. That said, this Darth Vader would have needed some new parts anyway. The chest, for instance, would have needed to be remolded no matter what. As great a Jedi as he was, Obi-Wan's flaw was his inability to believe the worst about Anakin, which is why he was never willing to kill him. He'd leave Anakin to die the most horrible death imaginable, sure, but not finish him off himself. So in their fight at the end of this series, Obi-Wan didn't go for lethal strikes, instead attempting to disable Vader by disabling his suit. Thus, the control panel on the front of his chest has two lightsaber gouges carved into the front of it, something that makes this torso unique. And then there's the helmet. One of the wounds Obi-Wan inflicted was to Vader's face, so this head has been sculpted with a large cut right through the outer layer of the mask, revealing Anakin's toasted head within. Frustratingly, the head and helmet are sculpted as separate pieces, but they're glued together permanently, so you can never see him fully. The head is complete in there - like, you can look up under the flap and see the back of his scalp and both his ears. Wasted potential! The face, what we can see of it, is painted nicely, with dark batches around the eye and the yellow, Sith-coded iris. Fittingly, the gash in the helmet looks slightly melted, not simply shattered or sliced. If a lightsaber instantly cauterizes any wound it inflicts on flesh, it stands to reason that's how magic space armor would react to it, as well. The figure has a balljointed head and neck, swivel/hinge shoulders, pectoral hinges, swivel/hinge elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, a balljointed waist, balljoint hips, swivel thighs, double-hinged knees, and swivel/hinge ankles. As frightening as Darth Vader was in Rogue One, Obi-Wan Kenobi is the only time we've actually seen him in a real fight, which meant a "fighting" suit had to be built to allow the actors and stuntmen to move adequately. The cape and robe are softgoods, of course, so they won't impede his poses. The cloth has even been intentionally cut on the back, to show where Obi-Wan landed a strike on Vader's back. His only accessory is his lightsaber, which has a removable blade and can be hung from a hook on the left side of his belt. The material around his waist is thick enough that it does sometimes want to push the hilt off the hook, however. Although it doesn't happen in the show, giving this toy a fully removable helmet would have been better, especially since they molded the entire head beneath it. Maybe they're planning to do a Star Wars Rebels version, which would look like this but need the other side done? That'd be fun. Seeing Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader duel was not something I expected to see from the show, but it was a powerful scene and makes for a really cool exclusive toy. -- 05/04/24

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