PRINCE XIZOR with Princess LeiaThe Legacy Collection Comic Packs
Item No.: Asst. 87504 No. 87687
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #8
Includes: Staff, Princess Leia figure, comic book
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $12.99
Availability: Summer 2008
Appearances: Shadows of the Empire
Bio: As Leia struggles to save the Alliance from being crushed by the Empire, she learns that bounty hunters are after Luke. She infiltrates Black Sun to find out why that crime syndicate wants Luke dead. The leader of Black Sun is Prince Xizor, who sees Luke as a way to get his revenge upon Vader and, at the same time, gain favor with the Emperor. Her mission is in jeaopardy when she meets Xizor and finds herself unable to resist the prince's strange power. (Taken from the figure's box.)
Commentary: This is the third action figure release of Prince Xizor since 1996. Best known as one of the weaker sellers of his day-- I remember going into a brand-new Wal-Mart that was stuffed with these guys, despite the case not shipping for months-- the figure was probably one of the worst sellers of the pre-Episode I era. And now, we have a new version, proving once more that when Hasbro or Kenner said "never again" that they really don't necessarily mean that. What they mean is "ask again later."
This figure improves on the original by giving him a less ridiculous weapon, slightly better proportions, and the ability to be posed as you're more likely to see him in the comics. His gown restricts leg movement, even though he's basically super-articulated. (For those keeping track, that means 14 or more joints. In his case, 14.) The green-skinned businessman/crimelord has cloth "sleeves," for lack of a better word, hanging off his arms, and these really don't do him any favors. The detail on the head and armor are superior to previous releases, although the 1996 figures had thicker necks and slightly angrier looking heads, which served them well as villain action figures. Were it not for his eyes looking at you somewhat menacingly, this figure could be a good guy based on his body language and appearance. There's a lot of purple, grey, and gold here, making this a reasonable upgrade from the original figures.
Collector's Notes: Still available at a store near you, most likely. With this figure's release, that means that the only basic carded figures from 1996 that haven't had at least one new version cranked out are Chewie in Bounty Hunter Disguise, Dash Rendar, Luke Skywaler in Imperial Guard Disguise, and if you want to get technical, the version of Boba Fett released in 1995 with the brown gloves, red gauntlets, and multi-colored jetpack hasn't been revisited yet either.
--Adam Pawlus
Day 1,038: June 5, 2009
3 comments:
I thought this was an acceptable re-release and overall they did a good job; I think the larger problem is that Xixor is simply not a very compelling character, a problem that plagues just about every character introduced in Shadows of the Empire (though for the life of me I don't understand why they gave us yet another lackluster Leia in the pack when it would have been obvious and easy to do Guri). I expect no matter how good a job Hasbro might do with a re-release of Dash Rendar, he will likely (justifiably) be met with similar consumer indifference.
Seeing Xizor AGAIN brought back the pegwarming nightmares of the '90's. Pass.
I picked up the comic pack on clearance at a grocery store for half retail. For that price Xizor is okay. But the character didn't do anything for me in 1996, and it doesn't now. As a figure his plastic robe makes him less fun that the originals (if you took off the original's robe). And he still has no henchmen. A crime boss without goons is just about worthless.
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