Friday, May 22, 2009

Figure of the Day: Day 1,028: Anakin Skywalker

ANAKIN SKYWALKER Lightsaber Attack!
Revenge of the Sith Collection 1
Item No.:
Asst. 85173 No. 85274
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: III-02
Includes: Blue lightsaber hand, hilt, hand, and either a red lightsaber hand OR a Count Dooku lightsaber
Action Feature: Squeeze legs together for lightsaber attack!
Retail: $5.24-$6.99
Availability: March/April 2005
Appearances: Revenge of the Sith

Image: Adam Pawlus' toy shelves.

Bio: Anakin is now a full Jedi Knight and his heroic feats have made him a hero throughout the Republic. He is lured to the dark side of the Force by promises of unlimited power. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Commentary: Since 2005 we've had some version of Anakin Skywalker from the final prequel in circulation. Maybe they'd label him "Darth Vader," but it's the same basic figure with new bells and whistles. This particular version was made for the kid-friendly year of 2005, in which you could buy figures pretty much everywhere and they were pretty cheap too. This particular figure isn't super-articulated-- that sort of thing wasn't really common at the time-- but he did have what were essentially ball-jointed elbows, a removable right hand which you could swap out, jointed hips, a jointed neck, and ball-jointed shoulders. So he was pretty good, even though a really awesome version would follow him down the road.

This figure looks basically good. He's a little thinner and tanner in the face than other versions, but you basically get who he is when you look at him. The deco isn't anything special, and newer versions of the figure have been entirely resculpted to include ball-jointed hips, which basically means the main reason to get this figure is his unique accessory-- a red lightsaber, which we're told is from a deleted scene. Apparently, at one point, Anakin was supposed to construct a Sith lightsaber. This was removed from the final film at some point, but the concept made it into the toy line. The figure itself is a fun toy, but it has difficulty sitting and really, the main reason to get it is the wacky slice-and-dice action.

Collector's Notes: This mold has frequently been repainted and reused. In addition to this basic carded release, the figure has appeared in Battle Packs, been repackaged with new accessories, and most recently was redecorated in 2008 as a "comic book version" for Wal-Mart's exclusive comic pack assortment.

--Adam Pawlus


Day 1,028: May 22, 2009

2 comments:

Sinkchicken said...

Kudos to George for deleting that scene! I mean, between hacking off Mace's arm, telling his wife he loves her more, going to the dark side in a big way and then putting together his own legion to slaughter younglings, when the heck would he have found the time! I mean he was probably ready to kick back when he got sent off to Mustafar to cry and scare the mouse droids!

The Right Noble Lord Edzo said...

If I'm not mistaken, this particular III-02 was "updated" at least thrice throughout 2005. Hasbro swapped out the "ordinary" red lightsaber with Count Dooku's lightsaber in solid red, translucent red and pink colors.